roses, Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of Thy belt of straw and ivy buds, But could youth last, and love still breed; VII. LIKE HERMIT POOR.1 (Before 1593.) IKE hermit poor in pensive place obscure doubt, To wail such woes as time cannot recure, Where nought but love shall ever find me out. And at my gates despair shall linger still, To let in death when love and fortune will. Ascribed to Raleigh in "To-day a Man, to-morrow none," 1643-4; King's Pamphlets, B. M. vol. 139. It is anonymous in the "Phoenix Nest," 1593, p. 69; in "Tixall Poetry," p. 115; in MS. Rawl. 85, fol. 21, verso; in Harl MS. 6910, fol. 139, verso, &c. A gown of grief my body shall attire, And broken hope shall be my strength and stay; And late repentance, linked with long desire, Shall be the couch whereon my limbs I'll lay. And at my gates despair shall linger still, To let in death when love and fortune will. My food shall be of care and sorrow made; My drink nought else but tears fallen from mine eyes; And for my light, in such obscured shade, The flames may serve which from my heart arise. And at my gates despair shall linger still, To let in death when love and fortune will. VIII. FAREWELL TO THE COURT.1 SIKE truthless dreams, so are my joys And past return are all my dandled My love misled, and fancy quite retired; 1 Signed W. R., with the above title, in "Le Prince d'Amour," 1660, p. 132, and on that authority, acknowledged by Oldys, p. clxxiii. note, and inserted in the Oxford edition of Raleigh's "Works," viii. 730: correctly, for it is quoted as his own by Raleigh himself in the Hatfield MS.; see No. XX. line 144. There is an anonymous copy in the "Phoenix Nest," 1593, p. 70. My lost delights, now clean from sight of land, I only wail the wrong of death's delays, Whose sweet spring spent, whose summer well nigh done; Of all which past, the sorrow only stays; Whom care forewarns, ere age and winter cold, IX. THE ADVICE.1 ANY desire, but few or none deserve M will; Therefore take heed; let fancy never swerve But unto him that will defend thee still: For this be sure, the fort of fame once won, Farewell the rest, thy happy days are done! Many desire, but few or none deserve To pluck the flowers, and let the leaves to fall; 1 Signed W. R., like the last piece, in "Le Prince d'Amour," 1660, p. 133; and therefore accepted by Oldys and the (xford editors, viii. 731. There is an anonymous copy in MS. Rawl. Poet. 85, fol. 116, as "written to Mris A. V." Therefore take heed; let fancy never swerve But unto him that will take leaves and all: For this be sure, the flower once plucked away, Farewell the rest, thy happy days decay! Many desire, but few or none deserve To cut the corn, not subject to the sickle; Therefore take heed; let fancy never swerve, But constant stand, for mowers' minds are fickle; For this be sure, the crop being once obtained, Farewell the rest, the soil will be disdained. X. IN THE GRACE OF WIT, OF TONGUE, AND FACE.1 (Before 1593.) ER face, her tongue, her wit, so fair, so sweet, so sharp, First bent, then drew, now hit, mine eye, mine ear, my heart: Mine eye, mine ear, my heart, to like, to learn, to love, A shorter copy than the above occurs anonymously in the "Phoenix Nest," 1593, p. 71, and is repeated in "Le Prince d'Amour," 1660, p. 131, as "The Lover's Maze," with the signature W. R., as in the last two cases. Hence it was accepted by Oldys and the Oxford editors, viii. 730. The above copy is taken from Davison's " Poetical Rhapsody," where it is anonymous; the title from editions 1611 and 1621. In editions 1602 and 1608, it is called "A reporting Sonnet." Her face, her tongue, her wit, doth lead, doth teach, doth move: Her face, her tongue, her wit, with beams, with sound, with art, Doth blind, doth charm, doth rule, mine eye, mine heart. ear, my Mine eye, mine ear, my heart, with life, with hope, with skill, Her face, her tongue, her wit, doth feed, doth feast, doth fill: O face, O tongue, O wit, with frowns, with checks, with smart, Wring not, vex not, wound not, mine eye, mine ear, my heart: This eye, this ear, this heart, shall joy, shall bind, shall swear Your face, your tongue, your wit, to serve, to love, to fear. XI. FAIN WOULD I, BUT I DARE NOT.1 AIN would I, but I dare not; I dare, and yet I may not; I may, although I care not, for pleasure when I play not. MS. Rawl. 85, fol. 41, verso, with the signature "W. R." in apparently a later hand: thence inserted in the Oxford edition of Raleigh's "Works," vol. viii. p. 732, with the title "A Lover's Verses." There is an anonymous copy of the first three stanzas in Harl. MS. 6910, fol. 154. |