134

EPITHALAMION,

FEHOLD whiles the before the altar ftands
Hearing the holy priest that to her speakes
And bleed her with his two happy hands,
How the red roles fluth vp in her cheekes,
And the pure now with goodly vermill stayne,
Like crimila dyde in grayne,

That even th' Angels which continually,
About the facred Altare doe remaine,
Forget their feruice and about her fly,

Ofte peeping in her face that feemes more fayre,
The more they on it ftare.

But her fad eyes ftill fastened on the ground,

Are gouerned with goodly modefty,

That fuffers not one looke to glaunce awry,

Which may let in a little thought vnsownd.

Why blush ye loue to giue to me your hand,
The pledge of all our band?

Sing ye fweet Angels Alleluya sing,

230

240

That all the woods may anfwere and your eccho ring.

Now / al is done; bring home the bride againe,

bring home the triumph of our victory,

Bring home with you the glory of her gaine,

With ioyance bring her and with iollity.
Neuer had man more ioyfull day then this,
Whom heauen would heape with blis.

Make feast therefore now all this liue long day,
This day for euer to me holy is,

Poure out the wine without restraint or stay,

1. 237, period (.) for comma (,) of original.
1. 239, for comma of original I add ? .

250

Poure not by cups, but by the belly full,

Poure out to all that wull,

And sprinkle all the postes and wals with wine,
That they may sweat, and drunken be withall.
Crowne ye God Bacchus with a coronall,
And Hymen also crowne with wreathes of vine,
And let the Graces daunce vnto the rest;
For they can doo it beft:

The whiles the maydens doe theyr carroll fing,
To which the woods shal answer & theyr eccho ring.

RING/ye the bels, ye yong men of the towne,
And leaue your wonted labors for this day:
This day is holy; doe ye write it downe,
that ye for euer it remember may.

This day the funne is in his chiefest hight,

With Barnaby the bright,

From whence declining daily by degrees,
He somewhat lofeth of his heat and light,

261

When once the Crab behind his back he fees.
But for this time it ill ordained was,

270

To choose the longest day in all the yeare,

And shortest night, when longest fitter weare:

Yet neuer day fo long, but late would passe.
Ring ye the bels, to make it weare away,

And bonefiers make all day,

And daunce about them, and about them fing:

that all the woods may answer, and your eccho ring.

AH / when will this long weary day haue end,
And lende me leaue to come vnto my loue?

135

EPITHALAMION.

How flowly do the houres theyr numbers spend? 280
How flowly does fad Time his feathers moue?
Haft thee O fayrest Planet to thy home
Within the Westerne fome:

Thy tyred fteedes long fince haue need of rest.
Long though it be, at last I fee it gloome,
And the bright euening ftar with golden creaft
Appeare out of the East.

Fayre childe of beauty, glorious lampe of loue
That all the hoft of heauen in rankes doft lead,

And guydeft louers through the nights fad dread, 290
How chearefully thou lookest from aboue,
And feemft to laugh atweene thy twinkling light
As ioying in the fight

Of these glad many which for ioy doe fing,

That all the woods them answer and their echo ring.

Now/ceaffe ye damfels your delights forepast;
Enough is it, that all the day was youres:
Now day is doen, and night is nighing faft:
Now bring the Bryde into the brydall boures.
The night is come, now foone her disaray,
And in her bed her lay;

Lay her in lillies and in violets,

And filken courteins ouer her display,
And odourd sheets, and Arras couerlets,

Behold how goodly my faire loue does ly
In proud humility;

1. 290, 'nights sad dread' accepted from 1611 for 'nights dread' original.

1. 304, period (.) for comma (,) of original.

300

Like unto Maia, when as Ioue her tooke,
In Tempe, lying on the flowry gras,

Twixt fleepe and wake, after she weary was,
With bathing in the Acidalian brooke.
Now it is night, ye damfels may be gon,

310

And leaue my loue alone,

And leaue likewise your former lay to fing:

The woods no more shal answere, nor your echo ring.

Now / welcome night, thou night so long expected,
that long daies labour doest at last defray,

And all my cares, which cruell loue collected,
Haft fumd in one, and cancelled for aye :

Spread thy broad wing ouer my loue and me,
that no man may vs fee,

And in thy fable mantle vs enwrap,

From feare of perrill and foule horror free.
Let no false treason feeke vs to entrap,
Nor any dread difquiet once annoy
The fafety of our ioy:

But let the night be calme and quietfome,
Without tempeftuous ftorms or fad afray:
Lyke as when Ioue with fayre Alcmena lay,
When he begot the great Tirynthian groome :
Or lyke as when he with thy felfe did lie,
And begot Maiefty.

And let the mayds and yongmen cease to sing:
Ne let the woods them anfwer, nor theyr eccho ring.

1. 310, period added for nothing of original.

320

330

138

EPITHALAMION.

LET / no lamenting cryes, nor dolefull teares,
Be heard all night within nor yet without:
Ne let falfe whifpers breeding hidden feares,
Breake gentle fleepe with mifconceived dout.
Let no deluding dreames, nor dreadful sights,
Make fudden fad affrights;

Ne let housefyres, nor lightnings helpless harmes, 340
Ne let the Pouke, nor other euill sprights,

Ne let mifchieuous witches with theyr charmes,

Ne let hob Goblins, names whose sense we see not,

Fray vs with things that be not.

Let not the fhriech Oule, nor the Storke be heard:
Nor the night Rauen that ftill deadly yels,

Nor damned ghosts cald vp with mighty fpels,
Nor griefly vultures make vs once affeard:

Ne let th' vnpleasant Quyre of Frogs still croking
Make vs to wish theyr choking.

Let none of these theyr drery accents fing;

Ne let the woods them answer, nor theyr eccho ring.

BUT / let ftil Silence trew night watches keepe,
That facred peace may in afsurance rayne,
And tymely fleep, when it is tyme to sleepe,

May poure his limbs forth on your pleasant playne,
The whiles an hundred little winged loues,

Like diuers fethered doues,

Shall fly and flutter round about your bed,

And in the fecret darke, that none reproues

360

Their prety stealthes fhal worke, & fnares fhal spread

1. 341, 'Pouke'—Pucke, is misprinted 'Ponke' in the original. So in 1. 356 'poure' is misprinted 'ponre' (n for u).