For thou, quoth he, fhalt be my wife,
And honoured for my queene;
With thee I meane to lead my life,

As fhortly fhall be feene:

Our wedding fhall appointed be,
And every thing in its degree:

Come on, quoth he, and follow me,
Thou fhalt go fhift thee cleane.

What is thy name, faire maid? quoth he.

Penelophon *, O king, quoth fhe:

With that the made a lowe courtfèy;

A trim one as I weene.

65

70

Thus hand in hand along they walke
Unto the king's pallàce:

The king with courteous comly talke

75

This begger doth imbrace:

The begger blufheth fcarlet red,
And ftraight againe as pale as lead,

But not. not a word at all fhe faid,

At last fhe fpake with trembling voyce,

And faid, O king, I doe rejoyce

That you wil take me for your choyce,
And my degree's fo base.

And

Shakespeare (who alludes to this ballad in bis "Loves Labour loft," A IV. Sc. 1.) gives the Begger's name Zenelophon, according to all the old editions: Eut this feems to be a corruption; for Penelophon, in

the

And when the wedding day was come,
The king commanded strait
The noblemen both all and fome

Upon the queene to wait.
And she behavde herself that day,
As if he had never walkt the way;
She had forgot her gowne of gray,
Which she did weare of late.

The proverbe old is come to paffe,

the text, founds more like the name of a Woman. The story of the King

and the Beggar is also alluded to in K. Rich. II. A&t V. Sc. 7.

V. 105. Here the Poet addresses himself to kis mistress.

And thus they led a quiet life

During their princely raine;

And in a tombe were buried both,

As writers fheweth plaine.
The lords they tooke it grievoufly,
The ladies tooke it heavily,
The commons cryed pitioufly,

Their death to them was paine.
Their fame did found fo paffingly,

That it did pierce the starry sky,
And throughout all the world did flye
To every princes realme.

V. 112. Sheweth was anciently the plur. numb,

VI.

TAKE THY OLD CLOAK ABOUT THEE,

-is fuppofed to have been originally a Scottish Ballad. The reader here has an ancient copy in the English idiom, with an additional Stanza (the zd.) never before printed. This curiofity is preferved in the Editor's folio MS. but not without corruptions, which are here removed by the affiftance of the Scottish Edit. Shakespear in his OTHELLO, A. 2. has quoted one ftanza, with some variations, which are here adopted: The old MS. readings are however given in the margin.

THIS

HIS winters weather waxeth cold,

TH

And froft doth freefe on

every hill,
And Boreas blowes his blafts foe bold,
That all our cattell are like to spill;
Bell my wife, who loves no ftrife,

She fayd unto me quietlie,

Rife up,

and fave cow Crumbockes life, Man, put thine old cloake about thee.

HE.

O Bell, why doft thou flyte

Thou kenft cloak is my

It is fo bare and overworne

and scorne' ?

10

very thin:

A cricke he thereon cannot renn:
Then Ile noe longer borrowe nor lend,
For once Ile new appareld bee,
To-morrow Ile to towne and spend,'

For Ile have a new cloake about mee.

SHE.

Cow Crumbocke is a very good cowe,
Shee has been alwayes true to the payle,

Still has helpt us to butter and cheese, I trow,
And other things fhe will not fayle;

I wold be loth to fee her pine,

Good husband, councell take of mee,

It is not for us to go foe fine,

Then take thine old cloake about thee.

15

20

My

HE.

My cloake it was a very good cloake,
Itt hath been alwayes true to the weare,
But now it is not worth a groat;

I have had it four and forty yeare:
Sometime it was of cloth in graine,

25

"Tis now but a figh-clout as you may fee, It will neither hold out winde nor raine;

30

Ill have a new cloake about mee.

SHE.

It is four and fortye yeeres agoe

Since th' one of us the other did ken,

And we have had betwixt us towe

Of children either nine or ten;

Wee have brought them up to women and men ;
In the feare of God I trow they bee;

And why wilt thou thyself mifken?

35

Man, take thine old cloake about thee.

40

HE.

O Bell my wife, why doft thou floute!

Now is nowe, and then was then :

Seeke now all the world throughout,

Thou kenft not clownes from gentlemen.

They are clad in blacke, greene, yellowe, or 'gray,' 45 Soe far above their owne degree :

Once in my life Ile 'doe as they,'