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I.

HE Squire of Dames his tale thus 'gan to tell;

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Sith you command my tongue, fir Satyrane, I now will all declare that me befell,

The caufe of muchel fcath and dol'rous pain,
Ne fhall thy gentle eye from tears refrain.
Me Columbel commanded far to go

'Till I fhould full three hundred nymphs attain, Whose hearts fhould aye with Virtue's leffons glow, And to all swains but one cry out for ever, No.

II.

To find the fortilage that ne'er will yield
Is not an easy matter, good fir Knight;
Troy town, they fay, is now a grafs-mown field,
That long withftood the force of Grecian might;
And castles fall though deep in earth empight;
Ne ought fo strong is found but what may fail,
The fun at last shall lofe his glorious light,

And vows or bribes o'er women may prevail;

Their hearts are made of flesh, and mortal flefh is frail.
III.

With heavy heart, and full of cark I go
And take my congé of my blooming maid,
I kifs'd her hond, and louting very low,
To her beheft at length myself array'd:

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The fair we love expects to be obey'd,

Although the bid us with the keftrel fly;

So forth I prick, though much by doubt dismay'd,
The hard experiment refolv'd to try:

For fhe was wond'rous fair, and much in love was I.
IV.

A grove I reach'd, where tuneful throftles fung,
The linnet here did ope his little throat,

His twitting jefts around the cuckoo flung,
And the proud goldfinch show'd his painted coat,
And hail'd us with no inharmonious note:
The robin eke here tun'd his fonnet fhrill,
And told the foothing ditty all by rote,

How he with leaves his pious beak did fill,

To shroud those pretty babes, whom Sib unkind would

V.

And many a fair Narciffus deck'd the plain,
That seem'd anew their paffions to admire;
Here Ajax told his dolors o'er again,

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And am'rous Clytie ficken'd with defire;
Here the blown rose her odors sweet did spire;
Through the dun grove a murm'ring river led
His chrystal streams that wound in many a gyre;
The baleful willow all the banks befpread,

And ever to the breeze ycurl'd his hoary head.

VI. Soon

VI.

Soon to the grove there came a lovely maid,
For maiden fure fhe did to me appear,

In plain check-laton was the nymph array'd,
Her sparkling eyes stood full of many a tear,
And the bewept the absence of her dear.
Alas! fhould beauty be to woe ally'd?

Beauty, methinks, should meet with better cheer,'
Content should never wander from her fide;

Good luck, I pray to heav'n, the face that's fair betide. VII.

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"Ah! woe is me, fhe cry'd, fince Colin's fled, "Whose gentle presence did these plains adorn, "Soon was he ravish'd from the nuptial bed, "Torn from these arms, from his dear leman torn! "O grief! far fharper than the pointed thorn, "I saw him ill-beftad by martial band.

"Alas the day that ever I was born!

"Where roves my Colin, on what foreign ftrand,

Arraught from Laura's eyes, and his dear native land?

VIII.

"Alas! he only knew to prune the vine,

"Or through the earth to urge the biting share, "To twist the bower with fragrant eglantine, "Where free from heat we fhun'd the noon-tide air,

Or

"Or to the mart to lead his fleecy care.

"And is it fit in hacqueton and mail

"The youth for war's grim terrors should prepare! "His voice outfung the love-lorn nightingale,

"And deftly could he daunce, or pipe along the dale. IX..

"The gos-hawk fierce may pounce the trembling dove, "The favage wolf may tear the bounding fawn, "But fparrows mild are form'd for feats of love, "And kids dew not with blood the flow'ry lawn; "Then how fhall he, in whom all

graces dawn, "In the red field the cruel paynim kill?

"For scenes like these find men of hellish spawn. ""Tis his with joy the virgin's heart to fill,

"And not on foreign fhore his foemen's blood to spill.

X.

"No days of blifs my forrows fhall aslake, "For him I'll ever drop the dol'rous tear. "Adieu the circled green, the buxom wake, "Since Colin's gone I taste of nought but drear. "Stretch me, ye maidens, ftretch me on the bier, "And let my grave-ftone these true words adorn: "A wretched maiden lies intombed here,

"Who faw a fhepherd brighter than the morn, "Then pin'd her heart away, and dy'd of love forlorn.” XI. Much

XI.

Much was I grieved at her piteous plaint,
And greeted to myself, O happy Squire !
At length, though late, thou hast found out a faint,
Who, but for Colin, feels no warm defire.
Perdie, quoth Satyrane, I her admire;
No lozel loose fhall here discover'd be.
The other anfwer'd with his cheeks on fire,
Now by my hallidom you foon shall fee
That words may with the heart full often ill agree.
XII.

I, nought accoy'd, came up unto the fair,
And swore to love her all my length of life;
Then offer'd her to gorgeous domes to bear,
Where haidegives are daunc'd to harp and fife.
She foon forgot she was another's wife,
And granted with me to defert the plain.
Are fuch enfamples emong women rife?
If fo, my Columbel I ne'er fhall gain,

But hunt around the world, and find my labours vain.
XIII.

My lips I'gan to royne in fell defpite,

And forth I rushed from her false embrace,

Through the thick wood I wander'd day and night,
Ne met I living creature face to face:

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