If thou hast beautie praysd, let her sole lookes diuine
Iudge ought therein be amis, and mend it by her eine.
If chastitie want ought, or temperaunce her dew,
Behold her princely mind aright, and write thy
Queene anew.al
on [sore
Mean while she shall perceiue how far her vertues
Aboue the reach of all that liue, or such as wrote of
yore; To endav

And thereby will excuse and fauour thy good will Whose vertue cannot be exprest, but by an angel's quill.v siden

Of me no lines are lou'd, nor letters are of price, Of all which speak our English tongue, but those of thy deuice.

TO THE LEARNED SHEPHEARD. COLLYN, I see by thy new taken taske, Some sacred fury hath enricht thy braynes, That leades thy Muse in haughty verse to maske, And loath the layes that long to lowly swaynes; That lifts thy notes from shepheards unto kinges, So like the lively lark that mounting singes.

Thy louely Rosalinde seemes now forlorne,
And all thy gentle flockes forgotten quight,
Thy chaunged hart now holdes thy pypes in scorne,
Those prety pypes that did thy mates delight;
Those trusty mates, that loued thee so well,
Whom thou gau'st mirth, as they gaue thee the bell.

Yet as thou earst with thy sweet roundelayes, Didst stirre to glee our laddes in homely bowers, So moughtst thou now in these refyned layes, Delight the daintie eares of higher powers; bleed And so mought they, in their deep scanning skill, Alow and grace our Collyn's flowing quill, ne

And faire befall that Faery Queene of thine,
In whose faire eyes Loue linckt with Vertue sittes,
Enfusing by those bewties fyers deuine

Such high conceits into thy humble wittes,

As raised hath poore pastors oaten reedes.
From rustic tunes, to chaunt heroique deedes. 10

So mought thy Red-crosse knight with happy hand
Victorious be in that faire island's right,
Which thou dost vayle in type of Faery Land,
Eliza's blessed field, that Albion hight; [foes,
That shields her friendes, and warres her mightie
Yet still with people, peace, and plentie, flowes.

But (iolly Shepeheard) though with pleasing style
Thou feast the humour of the courtly trayne,
Let not conceipt thy setled sence beguile,
Ne daunted be through enuy or disdaine :
Subject thy dome to her empyring spright,
From whence thy Muse and all the world takes light.

HOBYNOLL.

FAYRE Thamis streame, that from Ludd's stately Runst paying tribute to the ocean seas,

[towne, Let all thy Nymphes and Syrens of renowne Be silent, whyle this Bryttane Orpheus playes: Nere thy sweet bankes there liues that sacred crowne, Whose hand strowes palme and neuer-dying bayes; Let all at once with thy soft murmuring sowne Present her with this worthy poet's prayes; b For he hath taught hye drifts in shepherdes weedes, And deepe conceites now singes in Faeries deedes.

R. S.

GRAVE Muses march in triumph and with prayses,
Our Godesse here hath giuen you leaue to land,
And biddes this rare dispenser of your graces
Bow downe his brow unto her sacred hand. bil
Deserte findes dew in that most princely doome,
In whose sweete breast are all the Muses bredde;
So did that great Augustus erst in Roome
With leaues of fame adorne his poet's hedde.
Faire be the guerdon of your Faery Queene,
Euen of the fairest that the world hath seene.

szineb sum to exiew s mocy ad H. B. ly or duo disrive dear how side edT WHEN stout Achilles heard of Helen's rape And what reuenge the states of Greece deuisd, Thinking by sleight the fatall warres to scape, In woman's weedes himselfe he then disguisde; But this deuise Ulysses soon did spy,

And brought him forth the chaunce of warre to try.

When Spenser saw the fame was spredd so large
Through Faery Land of their renowned Queene,
Loth that his Muse should take so great a charge,
As in such haughty matter to be seene,

To seeme a shepeheard then he made his choice;
But Sidney heard him sing, and knew his voice.

And as Ulysses brought faire Thetis sonne
From his retyred life to menage armies;eri
So Spenser was by Sidney's speaches wonne,
To blaze her fame, not fearing future harmes;
For well he knew his Muse would soone be tyred
In her high praise, that all the world admired.

MOY SH

mari seesbo Yet as Achilles in those warlike frayesebb Did win the palme from all the Grecian peeres; So Spenser now, to his immortal prayse, Hath wonne the laurell quite from all his feres. What though his taske exceed a humaine witt, He is excused, sith Sidney thought it fittest HAVE enango you'd way lo molong sui sW.L.

To looke upon a worke of rare deuise,

The which a workman setteth out to view,
And not to yield it the deserued prise, vole wav
That unto such a workmanship is dew, badw haA
Doth either prove the judgment to be naught,
Or else doth shew a mind with enuy fraught,l
yde bib noos escavLU stitch aid) 9

yut of onlow to gornado ads devot mid sdgroid bãA

To labour to commend a peece of worke,
Which no man goes about to discommend,

Would raise a iealous doubt that there did lurke Some secret doubt, whereto the prayse did tend; For when men know the goodness of the wyne, Tis needlesse for the hoast to have a synge.

Thus then to shew my iudgment to be such
As can discerne of colours blacke and white,
As alls to free my minde from enuie's tuch,
That neuer giues to any man his right,
I here pronounce this workmanship is such,
As that no pen can set it forth too much.

And thus I hang a garland at the dore,
Not for to shew the goodness of the ware,
But such hath beene the custome heretofore;
And customes very hardly broken' are:

And when your tast shall tell you this is trew,
Then looke you giue your hoast his utmost dew.

IGNOTO.