Eke the whole Convent on the pavement lay,
Weeping and praising Jesu's Mother dear;
And after that they rose, and took their way,
And lifted up this Martyr from the bier,
And in a tomb of precious marble clear
Inclosed his uncorrupted body sweet.
Where'er he be, God grant us him to meet!
Young Hew of Lincoln! in like sort laid low
By cursed Jews,-thing well and widely known,
For it was done a little while ago, -
Pray also thou for us, while here we tarry,
Weak, sinful folk, that God, with pitying eye,
In mercy would his mercy multiply
On us, for reverence of his Mother Mary!"
How mighty and how great a Lord is he!
For he of low hearts can make high, of high
He can make low, and unto death bring nigh;
And hard hearts he can make them kind and free.
Within a little time, as hath been found,
He can make sick folk whole and fresh and sound: Them who are whole in body and in mind,
He can make sick, bind can he and unbind All that he will have bound, or have unbound.
To tell his might my wit may not suffice;
Foolish men he can make them out of wise;
For he may do all that he will devise;
Loose livers he can make abate their vice,
And proud hearts can make tremble in a trice.
In brief, the whole of what he will, he may;
Against him dare not any wight say nay;
To humble or afflict whome'er he will,
To gladden or to grieve, he hath like skill;
But most his might he sheds on the eve of May.
For every true heart, gentle heart and free,
That with him is, or thinketh so to be,
Now against May shall have some stirring,
To joy, or be it to some mourning; never
At other time, methinks, in like degree.
For now when they may hear the small birds' song, And see the budding leaves the branches throng,
This unto their remembrance doth bring
All kinds of pleasure mixed with sorrowing;
And longing of sweet thoughts that ever long.
And of that longing heaviness doth come,
Whence oft great sickness grows of heart and home;
Sick are they all for lack of their desire;
And thus in May their hearts are set on fire,
So that they burn forth in great martyrdom.
In sooth, I speak from feeling, what though now
Old am I, and to genial pleasure slow ;
Yet have I felt of sickness through the May,
Both hot and cold, and heart-aches every day, -
How hard, alas! to bear, I only know.
Such shaking doth the fever in me keep
Through all this May, that I have little sleep;
And also 't is not likely unto me,
That any living heart should sleepy be
In which Love's dart its fiery point doth steep.
But tossing lately on a sleepless bed,
I of a token thought which Lovers heed;
How among them it was a common tale,
That it was good to hear the Nightingale
Ere the vile Cuckoo's note be uttered.
And then I thought anon, as it was day,
I gladly would go somewhere to essay,
If I perchance a Nightingale might hear;
For yet had I heard none, of all that year,
And it was then the third night of the May.
And soon as I a glimpse of day espied,
No longer would I in my bed abide,
But straightway to a wood that was hard by
Forth did I go, alone and fearlessly,
And held the pathway down by a brook-side;
Till to a lawn I came, all white and green,
I in so fair a one had never been.
The ground was green, with daisy powdered over; Tall were the flowers, the grove a lofty cover, All green and white; and nothing else was seen.
There sat I down among the fair, fresh flowers,
And saw the birds come tripping from their bowers,
Where they had rested them all night; and they
Who were so joyful at the light of day,
Began to honor May with all their powers.
Well did they know that service all by rote,
And there was many and many a lovely note,
Some, singing loud, as if they had complained; Some with their notes another manner feigned; And some did sing all out with the full throat.
They pruned themselves, and made themselves right gay,
Dancing and leaping light upon the spray;
And ever two and two together were,
The same as they had chosen for the year,
Upon Saint Valentine's returning day.
Meanwhile the stream, whose bank I sat upon,
Was making such a noise as it ran on
Accordant to the sweet Birds' harmony;
Methought that it was the best melody
Which ever to man's ear a passage won.
And for delight, but how I never wot,
I in a slumber and a swoon was caught,
Not all asleep and yet not waking wholly;
And as I lay, the Cuckoo, bird unholy,
Broke silence, or I heard him in my thought.
And that was right upon a tree fast by,
And who was then ill satisfied but I?
Now, God, quoth I, that died upon the rood, From thee and thy base throat keep all that's good, Full little joy have I now of thy cry.
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