In joy triumphaunt the hevenly yerarchy, Thorowe bounte of hym that formed all solace : The father, the son, and the holy goste 215 +++ I have placed the foregoing poem of Skelton's before the following extract from Hawes, not only because it was written first, but because I think Skelton is in general to be considered as the earlier poet; many of his poems being written long before Hawes's "Graunde Amour." X. THE TOWER OF DOCTRINE. THE reader has here a specimen of the descriptive powers of Stephen Hawes, a celebrated poet in the reign of Hen. VII. tho' now little known. It is extracted from an allegorical poem of his (written in 1505,) intitled, "The Hist. of Graunde Amoure and La Belle Pucel, called the Palace of Pleasure," &c. 4to. 1555. See more of Hawes in Ath. Ox. v. i. p. 6. and Warton's Observ. v. ii. p. 105. He was also author of a book, intitled, "The Temple of Glass. Wrote by Stephen Hawes, gentleman of the bedchamber to K. Henry VII." Pr. for Caxton, 4to. no date. The following Stanzas are taken from Chap. iii. and iv. of the Hist. above mentioned. "How Fame departed from Graunde Amour and left him with Governaunce and Grace, and howe he went to the Tower of Doctrine," &c.-As we are able to give no small lyric piece of Hawes's, the reader will excuse the insertion of this extract. I LOKED about and saw a craggy roche, Farre in the west, neare to the element, And as I dyd then unto it approche, Upon the toppe I sawe refulgent The royal tower of MORALL DOCUMENT, Made of fine copper with turrettes fayre and hye, That for the very perfect bryghtnes What of the tower, and of the cleare sunne, Of that palaice, whereas Doctrine did wonne : Then to the tower I drewe nere and nere, Gargeyld with grayhoundes, and with many lyons, The little turrets with ymages of golde About was set, whiche with the wynde aye moved With propre vices, that I did well beholde About the tower, in sundry wyse they hoved With goodly pypes, in their mouthes ituned, That with the wynd they pyped a daunce Iclipped Amour de la hault plesaunce. The toure was great of marveylous wydnes, Into the toure for to have an intres : A grece there was ychesyld all of stone 10 15 20 25 30 35 Greyhounds, Lions, Dragons, were at that time the royal supporters. This alludes to a former part of the Poem. Tyll that I came unto a ryall gate, Where I sawe stondynge the goodly Portres, Whyche axed me, from whence I came a-late; To whome I gan in every thynge expresse All myne adventure, chaunce, and busynesse, Her name, she sayd, was called COUNTENAUNCE; Of whyche there flowed foure ryvers ryght clere, I dyd than taste the aromatyke lycoure, And after thys further forth me brought The flore was paved with berall clarified, 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 *Nysus. PC. V. 44, besy courte. PC. V. 49, partyes. PC. That treated well of a ful noble story, Of the doubty waye to the Tower Perillous ; Howe a noble knyght should wynne the victory Of many a serpente foule and odious. XI. THE CHILD OF ELLE, —is given from a fragment in the editor's folio MS.: which, tho' extremely defective and mutilated, appeared to have so much merit, that it excited a strong desire to attempt a completion of the story. The Reader will easily discover the supplemental stanzas by their inferiority, and at the same time be inclined to pardon it, when he considers how difficult it must be to imitate the affecting simplicity and artless beauties of the original. Child was a title sometimes given to a knight. See Gloss. ON yonder hill a castle standes The Child of Elle to his garden wente, Whan, lo! he beheld fair Emmelines page The Child of Elle he hyed him thence, And soone he mette faire Emmelines page The story of the poem. 5 10 "Nowe Christe thee save, thou little foot-page, Now Christe thee save and see! Oh telle me how does thy ladye gaye, And what may thy tydinges bee?" And the teares they falle from her eyne; And aye she laments the deadlye feude Betweene her house and thine. 15 20 And here shee sends thee a silken scarfe And biddes thee sometimes thinke on her, And here shee sends thee a ring of golde For, ah! her gentle heart is broke, And in grave soone must shee bee, Sith her father hath chose her a new new love, Her father hath brought her a carlish knight, 25 30 And within three dayes shee must him wedde, "Nowe hye thee backe, thou little foot-page, And telle her that I her owne true love Nowe hye thee backe, thou little foot-page, This night will I bee at her bowre-windòwe, The boye he tripped, the boye he ranne, Untill he came to fair Emmelines bowre, 35 40 45 |