Of laureat Phebus holy the eloquence,

160
All were to litill for his magnyficence.
Oyonge lyon, bot tender yet of age,

Grow and encrese, remembre thyn aftate,
God the aflyst unto thyn herytage,
And
geve

the grace to be more fortunate, 165
Agayne rebellyouns arme to make debate.
And, as the lyoune, whiche is of bestis kinge,
Unto thy subjectis be kurteis and benyngne.
I pray God fende the prosperous lyf and long,

Stabille thy mynde constant to be and fast, 179
Right to mayntein, and to resist all wronge,

All flattringe faytors abhor and from the cast,

Of foule detraction God kepe the from the blast,
Let double delinge in the have no place,
And be not light of credence in no case.

175 Wythe hevy chere, with dolorous hart and mynd,

Eche man may forow in his inward thought,
Thys lords death, whose pere is hard to fynd

Allgyf Englond and Fraunce were thorow faught.
Al kings, all princes, all dukes, well they ought 180
Bothe temporall and spirituall for to complayne
This noble man, that crewelly was flayne. .
More specially barons, and those knygtes bold,

And all other gentilmen with hym enterteynd
In fee, as menyall men of his houfold,

185
Whom he as lord worsheply manteynd:
To sorow full weping they ought to be conftreynd,

As oft as thei call to ther remembraunce,
Of ther good lord the fate and dedely chaunce.
O perlese prince of hevyn emperyalle,

190 That with one worde formed al thing of noughte ; Hevyn, hell, and erth obey unto thi kall;

Which to thy resemblance wonderfly haft wrought

All mankynd, whom thou full dere haft boght, With thy blode precious our finaunce thou dyd pay, 195 And us redemed, from the fendys pray:

To the pray we, as prince incomperable,

As thou art of mercy and pite the well, Thou bringe unto thy joye etermynable

The fowle of this lorde from all daunger of hell, 200

In endles blis with the to byde and dwell
In thy palace above the orient,
Where thou art lorde, and God omnipotent.
O quene of mercy, O lady full of grace,
Maiden moste pare, and goddis moder dere,

205 To forowfull harts chef comfort and folace,

Of all women O foure withouten pere,

Pray to thy fon above the starris clere,
He to vouchefaf by thy mediatioun
To pardon thy servant, and bringe to salvacion.
In joy triumphaunt the hevenly yerarchy,

With all the hole forte of that glorious place,
His foule mot receyve into ther company

Thorowe

210

Thorowe bounte of hym that formed all solace :

Well of pite, of mercy, and of grace, The father, the son, and the holy goste In Trinitate one God of myghts moite.

215

3

+++ I have placed the foregoing poem of Skelton's before the following extract from HAWzs, not only because it was viritten first, but because I think Skelton is in general to be considered as the earlier poet; many of his poems being written long before Hawes's Graunde Amour.

X.

THE TOWER OF DOCTRINE.

The reader has here a specimen of the descriptive powers of Stephen Hawes, a celebrated poet in the reign of Hen. VII. tho' now little known. It is extracted from an allegorical poem of his (written in 1505.) intitled, “ The

Hift. of Graunde Amoure & La Belle Pucel, called the “ Palace of Pleasure, &c." 410. 1555. See more of Hawes in Ath. Ox. v. 1. p.6. and Warton's Observ. v. 2. p. 105.

The following Stanzas are taken from Chap. III. and IV. " How Fame departed from Graunde Amour and left him “ with Governaunce and Grace, and howe he went to the “ Tower of Doctrine, &c.”—As we are able to give no small lyric piece of Hawes's, the reader will excuse the infertion of this extraet.

10

1
Loked about and saw a craggy roche,

Farre in the west neare to the element,
And as I dyd then unto it approche,

Upon the toppe I sawe refulgent

The royal tower of MORALL DOCUMENT, 5
Made of fine copper with turrettes fayre and hye,
Which againit Phebus shone soe marveylously,
That for the very perfect bryghtnes

What of the tower, and of the cleare sunne,
I could nothyng behold the goodlines

Of that palaice, whereas Doctrine did wonne :

Tyll at the last, with myfty wyndes donne,
The radiant brightnes of golden Phebus
Auster gan cover with clowde tenebrys.
Then to the tower I drewe nere and nere,

15
And often mufed of the great hyghnes
Of the craggy rocke, which quadrant did appeare :

But the fayre tower, (so much of ryches

Was all about,) sexangled doubtles ;
Gargeyid with grayhoundes, and with many lyons, 2a
Made of fyne golde; with divers sundry dragons.
The little turrett' with ymages of golde

About was set, whiche with the wynde aye moved
With propre vices, that I did well beholde

About the tower, in sundry wyse they hoved 25

With goodly pypes, in their mouthes ituned,
That with the wynd they pyped a daunce
Iclipped Amour de la hault plesaunce.

The
K. 22. turrets. PC. V. 25. towers. PC.

40

The toure was great of marveylous wydnes,

To whyche ther was no way to passe but one, 30 Into the toure for to have an intres :

A grece there was ychefyld all of stone

Out of the rocke, on whyche men dyd gone Up to the toure, and in lykewyse dyd I Wyth bothe the Grayhoundes in my company t: 35 Tyll that I came unto a ryall gate,

Where I fawe stondynge the goodly Portres, Whyche axed me, from whence I came a-late ;

To whome I gan in every thynge expresse

All myne adventure, chaunce, and busyneffe,
And eke my name ; I tolde her every
Whan she herde chis she lyked me right well.
Her name, she fayd, was called CountENAUNCE ;

Into the base: courte she dyd me then lede,
Where was a fountayne depured of pleafance,

A noble sprynge, a ryall conduyte-hede,

Made of fyne golde enameled with reed; And on the toppe four dragons blewe and ftoute Thys dulcet water in four partes dyd spoute. Of whyche there flowed foure ryvers ryght clere, 50

Sweter than Nylus I or Ganges was ther odoure ; Tygrys or Eufrates unto them no pere :

I dyd

dell :

45

+ This alludes to a former part of the Poem.
1'. 44. besy courte. PC. V. 49. partyes. PC.

| Nyfus. PC.