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Of laureat Phebus holy the eloquence,
All were to litill for his magnyficence.

160

O yonge lyon, bot tender yet of age,
Grow and encrefe, remembre thyn aftate,
God the affyft unto thyn herytage,

And geve the grace to be more fortunate,
Agayne rebellyouns arme to make debate.
And, as the lyoune, whiche is of beftis kinge,
Unto thy fubjectis be kurteis and benyngne.

I pray God fende the profperous lyf and long,
Stabille thy mynde conftant to be and fast,
Right to mayntein, and to refift all wronge,

All flattringe faytors abhor and from the caft,
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.

Wythe hevy chere, with dolorous hart and mynd,
Eche man may forow in his inward thought,
Thys lords death, whofe pere is hard to fynd

165

170

175

Allgyf Englond and Fraunce were thorow faught.
Al kings, all princes, all dukes, well they ought 180
Bothe temporall and fpirituall for to complayne
This noble man, that crewelly was flayne.

More fpecially barons, and thofe knygtes bold,
And all other gentilmen with hym enterteynd

In fee, as menyall men of his houfold,
Whom he as lord worfheply manteynd:

185

To forow 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 perlefe 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, 2co 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 mofte pure, and goddis moder dere, To forowful harts chef comfort and folace,

Of all women O floure withouten pere, Pray to thy fon above the starris clere, He to vouchefaf by thy mediatioun

To pardon thy fervant, and bringe to falvacion.

In joy triumphaunt the hevenly yerarchy,

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

205

210

Thorowe

Thorowe bounte of hym that formed all folace :
Well of pite, of mercy, and of grace,

215

The father, the fon, and the holy gofte

In Trinitate one God of myghts mofte.

ttt I have placed the foregoing poem of SKELTON's before the following extract from HAWES, not only because it was written first, but because I think SKELTON is in general to be confidered as the earlier poet; many of his poems being written long before HAWES's Graunde

Amour.

THE

X.

TOWER OF DOCTRINE.

The reader has bere a fpecimen of the defcriptive powers of STEPHEN HAWES, a celebrated poet in the reign of Hen. VII. tho' now little known. It is extracted from an alle"The gorical poem of his (written in 1505.) intitled, "Hift. of Graunde Amoure & La Belle Pucel, called the "Palace of Pleafure, &c." 4to. 1555. See more of Hawes in Ath. Ox. v. 1. p. 6. and Warton's Obferv. 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 fmall lyric piece of Hawes's, the reader will excufe the infertion of this extract.

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I

Loked about and faw a craggy roche,

Farre in the weft neare to the element,

And as I dyd then unto it approche,

Upon the toppe I fawe refulgent

The royal tower of MORALL DOCUMENT, Made of fine copper with turrettes fayre and hye, Which against Phebus fhone foe marveylously,

That for the very perfect bryghtnes

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

Of that palaice, whereas Doctrine did wonne :
Tyll at the laft, with myfty wyndes donne,
The radiant brightnes of golden Phebus
Aufter gan cover with clowde tenebrus.

Then to the tower I drewe nere and nere,
And often mufed of the great hyghnes
Of the craggy rocke, which quadrant did appeare:
But the fayre tower, (fo much of ryches
Was all about,) fexangled doubtles;

5

10

15

Gargeyld with grayhoundes, and with many lyons, za Made of fyne golde; with divers fundry dragons.

The little turrett' with ymages of golde

About was fet, whiche with the wynde aye moved

With propre vices, that I did well beholde

About the tower, in fundry wyse they hoved With goodly pypes, in their mouthes ituned, That with the wynd they pyped a daunce Iclipped Amour de la bault plefaunce.

25

The

K. 22. turrets. PC

V. 25. towers. PC.

The toure was great of marveylous wydnes,

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

A grece there was ychefyld all of ftone
Out of the rocke, on whyche men dyd gone
Up to the toure, and in lykewyfe dyd I
Wyth bothe the Grayhoundes in my company :

Tyll that I came unto a ryall gate,

Where I fawe ftondynge the goodly Portres,
Whyche axed me, from whence I came a-late;
To whome I gan in every thynge expreffe
All myne adventure, chaunce, and bufyneffe,
And eke my name; I tolde her every dell:
Whan fhe herde this fhe lyked me right well.

Her name, fhe fayd, was called COUNTENAUNCE;
Into the bafe' courte fhe dyd me then lede,
Where was a fountayne depured of pleafance,
A noble fprynge, 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.

30

40

45

Of whyche there flowed foure ryvers ryght clere, 50 Sweter than Nylus ‡ or Ganges was ther odoure; Tygrys or Eufrates unto them no pere:

I dyd

. 44. befy courte. PC.

V. 49. partyes. PC.

Nyfus. PC.

†This alludes to a former part of the Poem.

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