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Ah! good Hobbinoll, mought I thee praye
Of ayde or counsell in my decaye.

Hob. Now, by my foule, Diggon, I lament
The hapleffe mifchiefe that has thee hent;
Netheleffe thou feeft my lowly faile,
That froward fortune doth ever availe:"
But, were Hobbinoll as God mought please,
Diggon fhould foone finde favour and ease:
But if to my cotage thou wilt resort,

So as I can I wil thee comfort;

There mayst thou ligge in a vetchy bed,
Till fayrer Fortune fhewe forth his head.

Dig. Ah, Hobbinoll! God mought it thee requite; Diggon on fewe fuch freends did ever lite.

DIGGONS EMBLEME.

Inopem me copia fecit.

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255

GLOSSE.

The Dialecte and phrase of speache, in this Dialogue, feemeth fomewhat to differ from the comen. The caufe whereof is fuppofed to be, by occafion of the party herein meant, who, being very freend to the Author hereof, had bene long in forrain countryes, and there seene many diforders, which he here recounteth to Hobbinoll.

Bidde her, Bidde good morrow. For to bidde, is to praye, whereof commeth beades for praiers, and so they fay, To bidde his beades, f. to faye his praiers.

Wightly, quicklye, or fodenly.

Chaffred, folde.

Dead at mischiefe, an unusuall speache, but much ufurped of Lidgate, and fometime of Chaucer.

Leefe, deare.

Ethe, eafie.

Thrife three Moones,t nine monethes.

That froward fortune doth ever availe.] Todd clearly did not understand this line: he took "availe" in the modern acceptation, whereas it meant of old to lower, to submit, and the sense is, that froward fortune always lowers Hobbinol's humble sail.

* Thrife three Moones.] Mifprinted in the 4to. 1579, "These three Moones;" but fee p. 103. C.

Measured, for traveled.

Wae, woe, Northernly.
Eeked, encreased.

Carven, cutte.

Kenne, know.

Cragge, neck.

State, stoutly.

Stanck, weary or fainte.

And nowe: hee applieth it to the tyme of the yeare, which is in thend of harvest, which they call the fall of the leafe; at which tyme the Westerne wynde beareth most swaye.

A mocke, Imitating Horace, " Debes ludibrium ventis."

Lorne, lefte.

Soote, fwete.

Uncouthe, unknowen.

Hereby, there, here and there.

As the brighte, &c. tranflated out of Mantuane.

Emprife, for enterprife. Per Syncopen.

Conteck, ftrife.

Trode, path.

Marrie that, that is, their foules, which by popish exorcifmes and practices they damne to hell.

Blacke, hell.

Gange, goe.

Mister, maner.

Mirke, obfcure.

Warre, worse.

Crumenall, purfe.

Brace, compaffe.

Enchefon, occafion.

Overgraft, overgrowen with graffe.

Galage, fhoe.

The groffe, the whole.

Buxome and bent, meeke and obedient.

Saxon King, King Edgare that reigned here in Brytanye in the yeare of our Lord which king caufed all the Wolves, whereof then was ftore in this countrye, by a proper policie to be destroyed. So as never fince that time there have ben Wolves here founde, unleffe they were brought from other countryes. And therefore Hobbinoll rebuketh him of untruth, for faying that there be Wolves in England.

Nor in Christendome: this faying feemeth to be ftrange and unreafonable; but indede it was wont to be an olde proverbe and comen phrafe. The original whereof was, for that moft part of England in the reigne of King Ethelbert was christened, Kent onely except, which remayned long after in myfbeliefe and unchriftened: So that Kent was counted no part of Chriftendome.

Great bunt, Executing of lawes and iuftice.
Enaunter, least that.

Inly, inwardly afforefayde.

Prively or pert, openly, fayth Chaucer.

Roffy, the name of a shepehearde in Marot his Æglogue of Robin and the Kinge. Whome he here commendeth for greate care and wife governance of his flock.

Colin cloute: Now I thinke no man doubteth but by Colin is meant the Authour selfe, whose especiall good freend Hobbinoll sayth hee is, or more rightly Mayfter Gabriel Harvey: of whofe fpeciall commendation, aswell in Poetrye as Rhetorike and other choyce learning, we have lately had a fufficient tryall in divers his workes, but fpecially in his Mufarum Lachrymæ, and his late Gratulationum Valdinenfium, which boke, in the progreffe at Audley in Effex, he dedicated in writing to her Majestie, afterward prefenting the fame in print to her Highneffe at the worshipfull Maifter Capells in Hertfordshire. Befide other his fundrye most rare and very notable writings, partely under unknown tytles, and partly under counterfayt names, as his Tyrannomaftix, his Ode Natalitia, his Rameidos, and effpecially that parte of Philomufus, his divine Anticosmopolita, and divers other of lyke importance. As alfo, by the name of other shepheardes, he covereth the perfons of divers other his familiar freendes and best acquayntaunce.

This tale of Roffy feemeth to coloure fome particular Action of his. But what, I certeinlye know not.

Wonned, haunted.

Welkin, fkie: afforefaid.

A weanell waste, a weaned youngling.

Hidder and fhidder, he and she, Male and Female.
Steven, noyse.

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Quod caret alterna requie durabile non eft."

Forehaile, drawe or diftreffe.

Vetchie, of Pease strawe.

EMBLEME.

This is the faying of Narciffus in Ovid. For when the foolishe boy, by beholding hys face in the brooke, fell in love with his owne likenesse, and not hable to content him felfe with much looking thereon, he cried out, that plentye made him poore, meaning that much gazing had bereft him of fence. But our Diggon useth it" to other purpose, as who that, by tryall of many wayes, had founde the worst, and through greate plentye was fallen into great penurie. This poefie I knowe to have bene much used of the author, and to fuche like effecte, as fyrste Narciffus fpake it.

" But our Diggon ufeth it.] Todd omitted both "our" and "it," but the first is left out in the folio 1611: "it" is abfolutely required by the sense. Above Todd printed "Olde Natalitia," instead of " Ode Natalitia," a corruption alfo in the folio 1611. C.

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IN Cuddie is fet out the perfecte paterne of a Poete, whiche, finding no maintenaunce of his ftate and ftudies, complayneth of the contempte of Poetrie, and the causes thereof: Specially having bene in all ages, and even amongst the moft barbarous, alwayes of fingular accounpt and honor, and being indede fo worthy and commendable an arte; or rather no arte, but a divine gift and heavenly inftinct not to bee gotten by laboure and learning, but adorned with both; and poured into the witte by a certain 'Erbovaraoμòs and celeftiall infpiration, as the Author hereof els where at large difcourfeth in his booke called The English Poete, which booke being lately come to my hands, I mynde alfo by Gods grace, upon further advisement, to publish.

PIERCE. CUDDIE.

Pierce.

[graphic]

UDDIE, for shame! hold up thy heavye
head,

And let us caft with what delight to chace,
And weary thys long lingring Phoebus

race.

Whilome thou wont the fhepheards laddes to leade

In rymes, in ridles, and in bydding base;"
Nowe they in thee, and thou in fleepe art dead.

Cud. Piers, I have pyped erst so long with payne,
That all mine Oten reedes bene rent and wore,
And my poore Muse hath spent her spared ftore,
Yet little good hath got, and much leffe gayne.
Such pleafaunce makes the Grafhopper fo
And ligge fo layd, when Winter doth her straine.

poore,

The dapper ditties," that I wont devise
To feede youthes fanfie, and the flocking fry,
Delighten much; what I the bett for thy?
They han the pleasure, I a felender prife;
I beate the bush, the byrds to them do flye:
What good thereof to Cuddie can arise?

Piers. Cuddie, the prayfe is better then the price,
The glory eke much greater then the gayne:
O! what an honor is it, to restraine

The luft of lawleffe youth with good advice,
Dr pricke them forth with pleafaunce of thy vaine,
Whereto thou lift their trayned willes entice.

Soone as thou gynft to fette thy notes in frame,
O, how the rurall routes to thee doe cleave!
Seemeth thou doeft their foule of fenfe bereave;
All as the fhepheard that did fetch his dame
From Plutoes balefull bowre withouten leave,
His muficks might the hellish hound did tame.

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in bydding bafe.] i. e. in challenging to contests of speed-inviting to the trial. The game was usually called Prison, or Prisoners' base. C. b The dapper ditties.] The neat or pretty songs, &c. So Drayton, in his Shepherd's Garland," ed. 1593, p. 13.

"

tune thy reed to dapper virelays." TODD.

The original meaning of the word "dapper" was vigorous, bold, strong. C. what I the bett for thy?] What am I the better therefore? C.

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