'Tis well advis'd, in Faith it shall be done; This Reynard said: but as the Word he spoke,

The Pris'ner with a Spring from Prison broke:

Then stretch'd his feather'd Fans with all his might, 770 And to the neighb'ring Maple wing'd his flight.

Whom when the Traytor safe on Tree beheld,

He curs'd the Gods, with Shame and Sorrow fill'd;

Shame for his Folly; Sorrow out of time,
For Plotting an unprofitable Crime:
Yet mast'ring both, th' Artificer of Lies
Renews th' Assault, and his last Batt'ry
tries.

Though I, said he, did ne'er in Thought offend,

How justly may my Lord suspect his

Friend!

Th' appearance is against me, I confess, 780
Who seemingly have put you in Distress :
You, if your Goodness does not plead my
Cause,

May think I broke all hospitable Laws,
To bear you from your Palace-yard by
Might,

And put your noble Person in a Fright:
This, since you take it ill, I must repent,
Though Heav'n can witness with no bad
intent

I practis'd it, to make you taste your Cheer, With double Pleasure, first prepared by fear.

So loyal Subjects often seize their Prince,

790 Forc'd (for his Good) to seeming Violence, Yet mean his sacred Person not the least Offence.

Descend; so help me Jove as you shall find
That Reynard comes of no dissembling Kind.
Nay, quoth the Cock; but I beshrew us
both,

If I believe a Saint upon his Oath:
An honest Man may take a Knave's Advice,
But Idiots only will be couzen'd twice:
Once warn'd is well bewar'd: No flattering
lies

Shall sooth me more to sing with winking
Eyes,
800

And open Mouth, for fear of catching Flies. Who Blindfold walks upon a Rivers brim, When he should see, has he deserv'd to swim?

Better, Sir Cock, let all Contention cease, Come down, said Reynard, let us treat of

run:

And whirling up the Skies, his Chariot drove Through Taurus, and the lightsome Realms of Love,

Where Venus from her Orb descends in Show'rs

To glad the Ground, and paint the Fields with Flow'rs:

When first the tender Blades of Grass

appear,

And Buds that yet the blast of Eurus fear, Stand at the door of Life; and doubt to cloath the Year;

Till gentle Heat, and soft repeated Rains 10 Make the green Blood to dance within their Veins :

Then, at their Call, embolden'd out they

come,

And swell the Gems, and burst the narrow Room;

Broader and broader yet, their Blooms display,

Salute the welcome Sun, and entertain the| Day.

Then from their breathing Souls the Sweets repair

To scent the Skies, and purge th' unwholesome Air:

Joy spreads the Heart, and with a general Song,

Spring issues out, and leads the jolly Months along.

In that sweet Season, as in Bed I lay, 20 And sought in Sleep to pass the Night away, I turned my weary Side, but still in vain, Tho' full of youthful Health, and void of Pain:

Cares I had none to keep me from my Rest, For Love had never enter'd in my Breast; I wanted nothing Fortune could supply, Nor did she Slumber till that hour deny :

THE FLOWER AND THE LEAF. Text from the first and only contemporary edition, 1700, except or variants noted.

30

Wandring I walk'd alone, for still methought To some strange End so strange a Path was wrought:

At last it led me where an Arbour stood, 60
The sacred Receptacle of the Wood:
This Place unmark'd though oft I walk'd
the Green,

In all my Progress I had never seen :
And seiz'd at once with Wonder and
Delight,

Gaz'd all arround me, new to the transporting Sight.

'Twas bench'd with Turf, and, goodly to be seen,

The thick young Grass arose in fresher Green:

The Mound was newly made, no Sight cou'd pass

Betwixt the nice Partitions of the Grass; The well-united Sods so closely lay; 70 And all arround the Shades defended it from Day.

For Sycamours with Eglantine were spread, A Hedge about the Sides, a Covering over Head.

And so the fragrant Brier was wove between, The Sycamour and Flow'rs were mix'd with Green,

That Nature seem'd to vary the Delight; And satisfy'd at once the Smell and Sight. The Master Work-man of the Bow'r was known

Through Fairy-Lands, and built for Oberon; Who twining Leaves with such Proportion drew,

They rose by Measure, and by Rule they grew;

No Mortal Tongue can half the Beauty tell, For none but Hands divine could work so well.

Both Roof and Sides were like a Parlour made,

A soft Recess, and a cool Summer Shade; The Hedge was set so thick, no Foreign Eye

The Persons plac'd within it could espy; But all that pass'd without with Ease was

Her short Performance was no sooner try'd,

When she I sought, the Nightingale reply'd :
So sweet, so shrill, so variously she sung,
That the grove eccho'd, and the Valleys
rung:

And I so ravish'd with her heav'nly Note
I stood intranc'd, and had no room for
Thought,
119

But all o'er-pow'r'd with Extasy of Bliss,
Was in a pleasing Dream of Paradice;
At length I wak d; and looking round the
Bow'r

Search'd every Tree, and pry'd on ev'ry
Flow r,

120 o'er-pow'r'd] o'er-pou'r'd 1700. Probably a misprint.

If anywhere by chance I might espy The rural Poet of the Melody: For still methought she sung not far away; At last I found her on a Lawrel Spray, Close by my Side she sate, and fair in Sight, Full in a Line, against her opposite; Where stood with Eglantine the Lawrel twin'd: 130 And both their native Sweets were well conjoin'd.

On the green Bank I sat, and listen'd long; (Sitting was more convenient for the Song !) Nor till her Lay was ended could I move, But wish'd to dwell for ever in the Grove. Only methought the time too swiftly pass'd, And ev'ry Note I fear'd would be the last. My Sight, and Smell, and Hearing were employ'd,

And all three Senses in full Gust enjoy'd.
And what alone did all the rest surpass, 140
The sweet Possession of the Fairy Place;
Single, and conscious to my Self alone
Of Pleasures to th' excluded World unknown.
Pleasures which nowhere else, were to be
found,

And all Elysium in a spot of Ground.

Thus while I sat intent to see and hear, And drew Perfumes of more than vital Air, All suddenly I heard th' approaching sound Of vocal Musick, on th' enchanted Ground: An Host of Saints it seem'd, so full the) Quire; 150

As if the Bless'd above did all conspire,
To join their Voices, and neglect the Lyre.)
At length there issu'd from the Grove
behind

A fair Assembly of the Female Kind:
A Train less fair, as ancient Fathers tell,
Seduc'd the Sons of Heaven to rebel.
I pass their Forms, and ev'ry charming
Grace,

Less than an Angel would their Worth debase:

But their Attire like Liveries of a kind,
All rich and rare is fresh within my Mind.
In Velvet white as Snow the Troop was
gown'd,

161

The Seams with sparkling Emeralds set around;

157 Forms] Christie wrongly gives form

159 kind,] Christie omitted the comma, but no doubt of a kind means of one kind', i.c. uni form.

Their Hoods and Sleeves the same: And purfled o'er

With Diamonds, Pearls, and all the shining

store

Of Eastern Pomp: Their long descending Train

With Rubies edg'd, and Saphires, swept the Plain :

High on their Heads, with Jewels richly set Each Lady wore a radiant Coronet. Beneath the Circles, al the Quire was grac'd With Chaplets green on their fair Foreheads plac'd, 170

Of Lawrel some, of Woodbine many more; And Wreaths of Agnus caslus others bore: These last, who with those Virgin Crowns were dress'd,

Appear'd in higher Honour than the rest. They danc'd around, but in the midst was

seen

A Lady of a more majestique Mien ;
By Stature, and by Beauty mark'd their
Sovereign Queen.

She in the midst began with sober Grace ; Her Servants Eyes were fix'd upon her Face, And as she mov'd or turn'd, her Motions

view'd,

180 Her Measures kept, and Step by Step pursu❜d.

Methought she trod the Ground with greater Grace,

With more of Godhead shining in her Face;
And as in Beauty she surpass'd the Quire,
So, nobler than the rest, was her Attire.
A crown of ruddy Gold inclos'd her Brow,
Plain without Pomp, and Rich without
a Show:

A Branch of Agnus castus in her Hand
She bore aloft (her Scepter of Command ;)
Admir'd, ador'd by all the circling Crowd,
For wheresoe'er she turn'd her Face, they
bow'd:

191

And as she danc'd, a Roundelay she sung,
In honour of the Lawrel, ever young:
She rais'd her Voice on high, and sung)
so clear,

The Fawns came scudding from the Groves to hear:

And all the bending Forest lent an Ear.
At ev'ry Close she made, th' attending
Throng

Reply'd, and bore the Burden of the
Song:

So just, so small, yet in so sweet a Note,
It seem'd the Musick melted in the Throat.
Thus dancing on, and singing as they
danc'd,
201
They to the middle of the Mead advanc'd:
Till round my Arbour, a new Ring they
made,

And footed it about the secret Shade:
O'erjoy'd to see the jolly Troop so near,
But somewhat aw'd I shook with holy Fear;
Yet not so much, but that I noted well
Who did the most in Song, or Dance excel.
Not long I had observ'd, when from afar
I heard a suddain Symphony of War;
The neighing Coursers, and the Soldiers cry,
And sounding Trumps that seem'd to tear
the Sky.

210

I saw soon after this, behind the Grove From whence the Ladies did in order move, Come issuing out in Arms a Warrior-Train, That like a Deluge pour'd upon the Plain : On barbed Steeds they rode in proud Array, Thick as the College of the Bees in May, When swarming o'er the dusky Fields they fly,

New to the Flow'rs, and intercept the Sky. So fierce they drove, their Coursers were so fleet,

221

made;