God prosper long our noble king, A woful hunting once there did To drive the deer with hound and horn, The child may rue that is unborn, The stout Earl of Northumberland The chiefest harts in Chevy-Chase These tidings to Earl Douglas came, Who sent Earl Percy present word, With fifteen hundred bow-men bold, Who knew full well in time of need The gallant greyhounds swiftly ran, On Monday they began to hunt, And long before high noon they had Then having dined, the drovers went The bow-men muster'd on the hills, Well able to endure; Their backsides all, with special care, That day were guarded sure. The hounds ran swiftly through the woods, The nimble deer to take, That with their cries the hills and dales An echo shrill did make. Lord Percy to the quarry went, To view the slaughter'd deer; But if I thought he would not come, With that, a brave young gentleman Lo, yonder doth Earl Douglas come, All men of pleasant Tivydale, O cease your sports, Earl Percy said, That ever did on horseback come, I durst encounter man for man, Earl Douglas on his milk-white steed, Rode foremost of his company, Whose armor shone like gold. Show me, said he, whose men you be That, without my consent, do chase The first man that did answer make, Who said, We list not to declare, Yet we will spend our dearest blood Ere thus I will out-braved be, I know thee well, an earl thou art; But trust me, Percy, pity it were, Let thou and I the battle try, Then stepp'd a gallant squire forth, 1 i. e. "I, as one in deep concern, must lament." The construction here has generally been mi». understood. The old MSS. read "woful dumps." The corresponding verse in the old ballad is as follows: "For Wetharryngton my harte was wo, That ever he slayne shulde be; For when both his leggis wear hewyne in to, Yet he knyled and fought on hys kne." The rest were slain in Chevy-Chase, Next day did many widows come, They washed their wounds in brinish tears, Their bodies, bathed in purple gore, They bare with them away: They kiss'd them dead a thousand times, God save our king, and bless this land And grant henceforth, that foul debate THE TWO CORBIES.1 There were two corbies sat on a tree Where shall we go and dine to-day? As I sat on the deep sea sand, I saw a fair ship nigh at land, I waved my wings, I bent my beak, Come, I will show ye a sweeter sight, His sword half-drawn, his shafts unshot, But his hawk, his hound, and his lady fair. His hound is to the hunting gane, THE pretensions of Queen Elizabeth to poetic genius are about as valid as her pretensions to beauty; yet she loved to be flattered for both, as much as for her classical attainments, which she really possessed. The desire of shining as a poetess was one of her weaknesses; and her vanity, no doubt, made her regard as tributes justly paid, the extravagant praises which the courtiers and writers of her age lavished on her royal ditties. We have but very little of her poetry: the best piece, perhaps, is one which shows that, notwithstanding her maidenly stateliness and prudery, she was not altogether a stranger to the tender passion. VERSES ON HER OWN FEELINGS. I GRIEVE, and dare not show my discontent, 1 It would of course be impossible here to give a mere outline of Elizabeth's life, so full of important events. Any good history of England may be read for the requisite information. Of the smaller histories, Keightley's is the best. Read, also, a well-written life in Mrs. Strickland's "Lives of the Queens of England." In Dr. Drake's "Shakspeare and his Times," will be found some interesting particulars of her attainments, domestic habits, love of dress, vanity, jealousy, and her fondness for the drama and the brutal show of bear-baiting, &c. &c. 2 These verses first appeared in print in "Headley's Anc. Eng. Poet." They were transcribed from a manuscript in the Ashmolean Museum. Unfortunately, the most important word is half obliterated-"upon Moun-s departure;" but the following account from the old chronicler Stow shows pretty conclusively that it refers to the Duke of Alencon. "These Lords (the Ambassadors from France,) after divers secret conferences amongst themselves, and return of sundry letters into France, signifying the queen's declination from marriage, and the people's unwillingness to match that way, held it most convenient that the duke should come in proper person, whose presence they thought in such affairs might prevail more than all their oratory: and, thereupon, the first of November, the said prince came over in person, very princely accompanied and attended, though not in such glorious manner as were the above-named commissioners, whose entertainment, in all respects, was equivalent unto his estate and dignity. By this time his picture, state, and titles vere advanced in every stationer's shop, and many other public places, by the name of Frauncis of Varow, Duke of Alanson, heir apparent of France, and brother to the French king: but he was better known by the name of Monsicur, unto all sorts of people, than by all his other titles. During his abode in England, he used all princely means to prefer his suit, and in his carriage demeaned himself like a true born prince, and the heir of France: and when he had well observed the queen's full determination to continue a single life, he pacified himself, admiring her rare virtues and high perfections. The queen in all respects showed as great kindness unto the duke and all his retinue, at their departure, as at any time before, and for period of her princely favors, in that behalf, she, with great state, accompanied the duke in person to Canterbury; where she feasted him and all his train very royally, and then returned. The next day, being the sixth of February, the duke, with his French lords and others, embarked at Sandwich." "As dead queens rank but with meaner mortals, we may assert, without much fear of contradic tion, that little else can now be gratified by the perusal of Elizabeth's poetry than mere curiosity.”— Headley. |