His losse, by lacke of thee to heaven hent,
And with last duties of this broken verse,

Broken with sighes, to decke thy sable Herse!
And
ye, faire Ladie! th' honour of your daies,
And glorie of the world, your high thoughts scorne;
Vouchsafe this moniment of his last praise
With some few silver-dropping teares t' adorne;
And as ye be of heavenlie off-spring borne,
So unto heaven let your high minde aspire,
And loath this drosse of sinfull worlds desire!

680

685

THE

TEARES OF THE MUSES.

BY ED. SP.

DEDICATED TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE

THE LADIE STRANGE.

1591.

TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE

THE LADIE STRANGE.

MOST brave and noble Ladie; the things, that make ye so much honored of the world as ye bee, are such, as (without my simple lines testimonie) are throughlie knowen to all men; namely, your excellent beautie, your vertuous behavior, and your noble match with that most honourable Lord, the very Paterne of right Nobilitie: But the causes, for which ye have thus deserved of me to be honoured, (if honour it be at all,) are, both your particular bounties, and also some private bands of affinitie,* which it hath pleased your Ladiship to acknowledge. Of which whenas I found my selfe in no part woorthie, I devised this last slender meanes, both to intimate my humble affection to your Ladiship, and also to make the same universallie knowen to the world; that by honouring you they might know me, and by knowing me they might honor you. Vouchsafe, noble Lady, to accept this simple remembrance, though not worthy of your self, yet such, as perhaps by good acceptance thereof ye may hereafter cull out a more meet and memorable evidence of your owne excellent deserts. So recommending the same to your Ladiships good liking, I humbly take leave.

Your La humbly ever.

ED. SP.

*Lady Strange was a daughter of Sir John Spenser, and sister of Lady Carey, to whom Muiopotmos was dedicated.

THE

TEARES OF THE MUSES.*

REHEARSE to me, ye sacred Sisters nine,
The golden brood of great Apolloes wit,
Those piteous plaints and sorrowfull sad tine,
Which late ye powred forth as ye did sit
Beside the silver springs of Helicone,
Making your musick of hart-breaking mone!

For since the time that Phoebus foolish sonne
Y thundered, through loves avengefull wrath,
For traversing the charret of the Sunne
Beyond the compasse of his pointed path,
Of you his mournfull Sisters was lamented,
Such mournfull tunes were never since invented.

Nor since that faire Calliope did lose

5

10

Her loved Twinnes, the dearlings of her ioy,
Her Palici, whom her unkindly foes,

15

The Fatall Sisters, did for spight destroy,

Ver. 15.-Palici.] The Palici were children of Jupiter and Thalia, not Calliope.

poem consists of the lamentations of the nine Muses over the