30 338 A pikeax and a spade, And eke a shrowding shete, [Me 163] Me thinkes I heare the clarke, 35 And bids me leave my woful warke, 40 45 50 My kepers knit the knot, That youth did laugh to skorne, Thus must I youth geve up, Lo here the bar-hed skull, By whose balde signe I know, These croked cares hath wrought, And ye that byde behinde, 55 M2 As ye of clay wer cast by kinde, [A 164] III. A SONG TO THE LUTE IN MUSICKE. Shakespeare has made this sonnet the subject of some pleasant ridicule in his ROMEO AND JULIET A. IV. Sc. 5. where he introduces Peter putting this Question to the Musicians. 30 "PETER. why "Silver Sound"? why "Musicke with her 35 "silver sound"? what say you, Simon Catling? "1. Mus. Marry, sir, because silver hath a sweet sound. 5 "PET. Pretty! what say you, Hugh Rebecke? "2. Mus. I say, silver sound, because Musicians sound for silver. "PET. Pretty too! what say you, James Sound-post. "3. Mus. Faith, I know not what to say. "PET.... I will say for you: It is "Musicke with her silver "sound," because Musicians have no gold for sounding." This ridicule is not so much levelled at the song itself (which for the time it was written is not inelegant) as at those forced and unnatural explanations often given by us 10 painful editors and expositors of ancient authors. This copy is printed from the (l. an corr.) old quarto MS in the Cotton Library, [Vesp. A. 25.] entitled "Divers "things of Hen. viij's time“: with some corrections from The Paradise of dainty devises, 1596. 15 [WHERE 165] WHERE gripinge grefes the hart would wounde, And dolefulle dumps the mynde oppresse, There musicke with her silver sound In joye yt maks our mirthe abounde, In woe yt cheres our hevy sprites; The Gods by musicke have theire prayse, In seas, whom pyrats would destroy, O heavenly gyft, that rules the mynd, 10 5 15 35 20 O musicke, whom the gods assinde To comforte manne, whom cares would nippe! Sence thow both man and beste doest move, MS [IV. KING 166] IV. KING COPHETUA AND THE BEGGAR-MAID, is a story often alluded to by our old Dramatic Writers. Shakespear in his ROMEO AND JULIET, A. ii. Sc. 1, makes Mercutio say, "Her [Venus's] purblind son and heir, “ "Young Adam* Cupid, he that shot so true, 5 As the 13th Line of the following ballad seems here particularly alluded to, it is not improbable but Shakespeare 10 wrote it SHOT SO TRIM, which the players or printers, not perceiving the allusion, might alter to TRUE. The former, as being the more humorous expression, seems most likely to have come from the mouth of Mercutio. In the 2d Part of HEN. IV. A. 5. Sc. 3. Falstaff is in- 15 troduced affectedly saying to Pistoll, "O base Assyrian knight, what is thy news? These lines Bp. Warburton thinks were taken from an old It is probably in allusion to the same play that Ben Jonson says in his Comedy of EVERY MAN in his humour, A. 3. Sc. 4. "I have not the heart to devour thee, an' I might be made as "RICH as King Cophetua.“ At least there is no mention of King Cophetua's RICHES in the present ballad, which is the oldest I have met with on the subject. 25 30 It is printed from Rich. Johnson's "Crown Garland of "Goulden Roses." 1612. 12mo. (where it is intitled simply, A 35 SONG OF A BEGGAR AND A KING:) corrected by another copy. *See above p. 130. † See Meres's Wits Treas. f. 283. Arte of Eng. Poes. 1589. p. 51, 111, 143, 169. Read that once in Affrica From natures lawes he did decline, But did them all disdaine. But, marke, what hapned on a day. 10 As he out of his window lay, 10 20 15 Mi He saw a beggar all in gray, The which did cause his paine. The blinded boy, that shootes so trim, From heaven downe did hie; He drew a dart and shot at him, In place where he did lye: [Which 168] Which soone did pierse him to the quicke, Then from the window he did come, A thousand heapes of care did runne For now he meanes to crave her love, And not this beggar wed. But Cupid had him so in snare, That this poore begger must prepare And, as he musing thus did lye, How he might have her companye, 35 35 30 30 40 35 30 339 25 5 In thee, quoth he, doth rest my life, For surely thou shalt be my wife; [Or 169] Or else this hand with bloody knife The Gods shall sure suffice. 45 Then from his bed he soon arose, 50 55 60 70 75 80 And to his pallace gate he goes; The gods preserve your majesty The king to them his pursse did cast, That after them did hye. The king he cal'd her back againe, For thou, quoth he, shalt be my wife, Our wedding shall appointed be, [What 170] What is thy name, faire maid, quoth he? With that she made a lowe courtsèy; Thus hand in hand along they walke The king with courteous comly talke She was in such amaze. |