To take his supper upon his knee,
And sitt downe by the kitchen fyer."

But when they had supped every one,
To bedd they tooke theyr waye :

He sayd, "come hither, my little foot-page,
And hearken what I saye.

Goe thee downe into yonder towne,

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And low into the street;

The fayrest ladye that thou can finde,
Hyer her in mine armes to sleepe,
And take her up in thine armes twaine,
For filinge* of her feete."

Ellen is gone into the towne,

And low into the streete :

The fairest ladye that shee cold find,
She hyred in his armes to sleepe;
And tooke her up in her armes twayne,
For filing of her feete.

"I praye you nowe, good Childe Waters,
Let mee lye at your bedds feete :
For there is noe place about this house,
Where I may 'saye a sleepe.+"

'He gave her leave, and faire Ellèn
Down at his beds feet laye :'
This done the nighte drove on apace,
And when it was neare the daye,

Hee sayd, "Rise up, my litle foot-page,
Give my steede corne and haye;
And soe doe thou the good black oats,
To carry mee better awaye."

Up then rose the faire Ellèn

And gave his steede corne and hay: And soe shee did the good blacke oates, To carry him the better away.

*i. e. defiling. See Warton's Observ. Vol. ii. p. 158. † Ver. 132. i. e. essay, attempt.

Shee leaned her backe to the manger side,
And grievouslye did groane:

Shee leaned her back to the manger side,
And there shee made her moane.

And that beheard his mother deere,
Shee heard her there monand.*

Shee sayd, "Rise up, thou Childe Waters,
I think thee a cursed man.

For in thy stable is a ghost,

That grievouslye.doth grone:

Or else some woman laboures of childe,
She is soe woe-begone."

Up then rose Childe Waters soon,
And did on his shirte of silke ;
And then he put on his other clothes,
On his body as white as milke.

And when he came to the stable dore,
Full still there hee did stand,

That hee mighte heare his fayre Ellen,
Howe shee made her monànd.*

She sayd, "Lullabye, mine owne deere child,
Lullabye, dere child, dere:

I wold thy father were a king,

Thy mother layd on a biere."

"Peace now," hee said, "good faire Ellèn,
Be of good cheere, I praye;

And the bridal and the churching both
Shall bee upon one day."

*sic in MS. i. e. moaning, bemoaning, &c.

X

PHILLIDA AND CORYDON.

THIS Sonnet is given from a small quarto MS. in the editor's possession, written in the time of Q. Elizabeth. Another copy of it, containing some variations, is reprinted in the "Muses Library," p. 295, from an ancient miscellany, intitled “ "England's Helicon," 1600, 4to. The author was Nicholas Breton, a writer of some fame in the reign of Elizabeth; who also published an interlude intitled "An old man's lesson and a young man's love," 4to. and many other little pieces in prose and verse, the titles of which may be seen in Winstanley, Ames' Typog. and Osborne's Harl. Catalog. &c. - He is mentioned with great respect by Meres, in his second pt. of "Wit's Common-wealth," 1598, f. 283, and is alluded to in Beaumont and Fletcher's "Scornful Lady," Act ii. and again in "Wit without Money," Act iii.-See Whalley's Ben Jonson, vol. iii. p. 103.

The present edition is improved by a copy in "England's Helicon," edit. 1614, 8vo.

IN the merrie moneth of Maye,
In a morne by break of daye,
With a troope of damselles playing
Forthe I yode' forsooth a maying:

When, anon, by a wood side,
Where as Maye was in his pride,
I espied all alone

Phillida and Corydon.

Much adoe there was, God wot;
He wold love, and she wold not.
She sayde, "never man was trewe;
He sayes, 66 none was false to you."

He sayde, "hee had lovde her longe :"
She sayes," love should have no wronge."

Ver. 4, the wode. MS.

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Corydon wold kisse her then :

She sayes, 66 maydes must kisse no men,

Tyll they doe for good and all."
When she made the shepperde call
All the heavens to wytnes truthe,
Never loved a truer youthe.

Then with manie a prettie othe,
Yea and nay, and, faithe and trothe;
Suche as seelie shepperdes use
When they will not love abuse;

Love, that had bene long deluded,
Was with kisses sweete concluded;
And Phillida with garlands gaye
Was made the lady of the Maye.

tit The foregoing little Pastoral of "Phillida and Corydon," is one of the songs in "The Honourable Entertainment gieven to the Queenes Majestie in Progresse at Elvetham in Hampshire, by the R. H. the Earle of Hertford, 1591," 4to. [Printed by Wolfe. No name of author.] See in that pamphlet,

"The thirde daies Entertainment.

"On Wednesday morning about 9 o'clock, as her Majestie opened a casement of her gallerie window, ther were 3 excellent musitians, who being disguised in auncient country attire, did greet her with a pleasant song of Corydon and Phillida,' made in 3 parts of purpose. The song, as well for the worth of the dittie, as the aptnesse of the note thereto applied, it pleased her Highnesse after it had been once sung to command it againe, and highly to grace it with her cheerefull acceptance and commendation.

"THE PLOWMAN'S SONG.

"In the merrie month of May,' &c."

The splendour and magnificence of Elizabeth's reign is no where more strongly painted than in these little diaries of some of her summer excursions to the houses of her nobility; nor could a more acceptable present be given to the world, than a republication of a select number of such details as this of the entertainment at Elvetham, that at Killingworth, &c. &c. which so strongly mark the spirit of the times, and present us with scenes so very remote from modern manners.

Since the above was written, the public hath been gratified with a most complete work on the foregoing subject, intitled "The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth, &c. By John Nichols, F.A.S. Edinb. and Perth, 1788," 2 Vols. 4to.

XI.

LITTLE MUSGRAVE AND LADY BARNARD.

THIS ballad is ancient, and has been popular; we find it quoted in many old plays. See Beaum. and Fletcher's "Knight of the Burning Pestle," 4to. 1613, Act v. "The Varietie," a comedy, 12mo. 1649, Act iv. &c. In Sir William Davenant's play, "The Witts," A. iii. a gallant thus boasts of himself.

"Limber and sound! besides I sing Musgrave,

And for Chevy-chace no lark comes near me."

In the Pepys Collection, Vol. iii. p. 314, is an imitation of this old song, in 33 stanzas, by a more modern pen, with many alterations, but evidently for the worse.

This is given from an old printed copy in the British Museum, with corrections; some of which are from a fragment in the editor's folio MS. It is also printed in Dryden's Collection of

Miscellaneous Poems.

As it fell out on a highe holye daye,
As many bee in the yeare,

When yong men and maides together do goe
Their masses and mattins to heare,

Little Musgràve came to the church door,
The priest was at the mass;

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But he had more mind of the fine womèn,
Then he had of our Ladyes grace.

And some of them were clad in greene,
And others were clad in pall;

And then came in my lord Barnardes wife,
The fairest among them all.

She cast an eye on little Musgràve

As bright as the summer sunne :

O then bethought him little Musgràve,
This ladyes heart I have wonne."

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