¶The Countesse of Pembrokes Pastorall.
A Shepheard and a Shepheardesse,
sate keeping sheepe vpon the downes:
His lookes did gentle blood expresse,
her beautie was no foode for clownes.
Sweet louely twaine, what might you be?
Englands Helicon. Or The Muses harmony.
About this Item
- Title
- Englands Helicon. Or The Muses harmony.
- Publication
- London :: Printed [by Thomas Snodham] for Richard More, and are to be sould at his shop in S. Dunstanes Church-yard,
- 1614.
- Rights/Permissions
-
This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. Searching, reading, printing, or downloading EEBO-TCP texts is reserved for the authorized users of these project partner institutions. Permission must be granted for subsequent distribution, in print or electronically, of this text, in whole or in part. Please contact project staff at eebotcp-info@umich.edu for further information or permissions.
- Subject terms
- Pastoral poetry, English.
- Link to this Item
-
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A16274.0001.001
- Cite this Item
-
"Englands Helicon. Or The Muses harmony." In the digital collection Early English Books Online 2. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A16274.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 15, 2024.
Pages
Page [unnumbered]
Two fronting hills bedeckt with flowers,
they chose to be each other seate:
And there they stole their amorous houres,
with sighs and teares, poore louers meate.
Fond Loue that feed'st thy seruants so.
Faire friend, quoth he, when shall I liue,
That am halfe dead, yet cannot die?
Can beautie such sharpe guerdon giue,
to him whose life hangs in your eye?
Beautie is milde, and will not kill.
Sweet Swaine, quoth shee, accuse not mee,
that long haue beene thy humble thrall:
But blame the angry destinie,
whose kinde consent might finish all.
Vngentle Fate, to crosse true Loue.
Quoth hee, let not our Parents hate,
disioyne what heauen hath linckt in one:
They may repent, and all too late
if childlesse they be left alone,
Father nor friend, should wrong true loue.
The Parents frowne, said shee, is death,
to children that are held in awe:
From them we drew our vitall breath.
they challenge dutie then by law,
Such dutie as kills not true Loue,
They haue, quoth hee, a kinde of sway,
Page [unnumbered]
on these our earthly bodies here:
But with our soules deale not they may,
the God of loue doth hold them deere.
He is most meet to rule true loue.
I know, said she, tis worse then hell,
when Parents choise must please our eyes:
Great hurt comes thereby, I can tell,
forc'd loue in desperate danger dies.
Faire Maid, then fancie thy true loue.
If wee, quoth he, might see the houre,
of that sweet state which neuer ends.
Our heauenly gree might haue the power,
to make our Parents as deere friends.
All ranck our yeelds to soueraigne loue.
Then God of loue, said she, consent,
and shew some wonder of thy power:
Our Parents, and our owne content,
may be confirmde by such an houre,
Graunt greatest God to further loue.
The Fathers, who did alwaies tend,
when thus they got their priuate walke,
As happy fortune chaunc'd to send.
vnknowne to each, heard all this talke.
Poore soules to be so crost in loue.
Behinde the hills whereon they sate,
they lay this while and listned all:
Page [unnumbered]
And were so mooued both thereat,
that hate in each began to fall.
Such is the power of sacred loue.
They shewed themselues in open sight,
poore Louers, Lord how they were mazde?
And hand in hand the Fathers plight,
whereat (poore harts) they gladly gazde.
Hope now begins to further loue.
And to confirme a mutuall band,
of loue, that at no time should cease:
They likewise ioyned hand in hand,
the Shepheard and the Shepheardesse.
Like fortune still befall true loue.
FINIS.
Shep. Ionie.