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"Whatte though I onne a sledde be Thenne Florence, fault'ring ynne her saie,

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"Thenne welcome dethe! for lyfe eterne I leave thys mortall lyfe: Farewell, vayne world, and alle that's deare,

Mye sonnes and lovynge wyfe!

"Nowe dethe as welcome to mee comes, 205
As e'er the moneth of Maie;
Nor woulde I even wyshe to lyve,
Wyth my dere wyfe to staie."

Quod Canynge, "Tys a goodlie thynge
To bee prepared to die;

And from thys world of peyne and grefe To Godde ynne Heav'n to flie."

And nowe the belle began to tolle,

And claryonnes to sound;

210

Syr Charles hee herde the horses feete 215 A-prancing onne the grounde:

And just before the officers

His lovynge wyfe came ynne,
Weepynge unfeigned teeres of woe,
Wythe loude and dysmalle dynne.
"Sweet Florence! nowe I praie forbere,
Ynne quiet lett mee die;

Praie Godd thatt ev'ry Christian soule
Maye looke onne dethe as I.

220

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Tremblynge these wordyes spoke, "Ah, cruele Edwarde! bloudie kynge! 235 Mye herte ys welle nyghe broke:

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"I goe to lyfe, and nott to dethe;
Truste thou ynne Godde above,
And teache thy sonnes to feare the Lorde,
And ynne theyre hertes hym love:

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Before hym went the council-menne, 265
Ynne scarlett robes and golde,
And tassils spanglynge ynne the sunne,
Muche glorious to beholde:

The Freers of Seincte Augustyne next
Appeared to the syghte,
Alle cladd ynne homelie russett weedes,
Of godlie monkysh plyghte:

270

1 slave.

2 fell.

* displayed.

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1 stringed.

2 cathedral.

3 great.

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A dreery spectacle;

Hys hedde was placed onne the hyghe Heere, uponne mie true loves grave,

crosse,

Schalle the baren fleurs be layde,

Ynne hyghe-streete most nobile.

Nee one hallie Seyncte to save Al the celness of a mayde.

Thus was the ende of Bawdin's fate:

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Gonne to hys death-bedde, Alle under the wyllowe tree.

soule,

Ynne heav'n Godd's mercie synge!

1 running.

6 sweet.

2 hair.
7 they.

3 skin.
8 than.

ruddy.
⚫ coldness.

5 cold.

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I hate the sins that made thee mourn 15

And drove thee from my breast.

The dearest idol I have known,

Whate'er that idol be,

Help me to tear it from thy throne,

And worship only thee.

1 fasten.

4 reeds.

2 grow.

3 elfin.
⚫ deadly.

THE TASK

From BOOK I

more

570

Their fluttering rags, and shows a tawny skin, The vellum of the pedigree they claim. There often wanders one, whom better | Great skill have they in palmistry, and days Saw better clad, in cloak of satin trimmed With lace, and hat with splendid riband bound. 536 A serving-maid was she, and fell in love With one who left her, went to sea, and died.

To conjure clean away the gold they touch,
Conveying worthless dross into its place;
Loud when they beg, dumb only when they
steal.

Strange! that a creature rational, and cast
In human mould, should brutalize by
choice

575

Her fancy followed him through foaming

waves

To distant shores, and she would sit and

weep

His nature, and, though capable of arts By which the world might profit and himself,

540

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Self-banished from society, prefer
Such squalid sloth to honorable toil!
Yet even these, though, feigning sickness

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Such health and gaiety of heart enjoy
The houseless rovers of the sylvan world;
And breathing wholesome air, and wander-

ing much,

A bosom heaved with never-ceasing sighs.
She begs an idle pin of all she meets,
And hoards them in her sleeve; but need-

Need other physic none to heal the effects
Of loathsome diet, penury, and cold.

591

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power

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