&-LIBRARY3$J E.VERYMAN'S LIBRARY EDITED BY ERNEST RHYS POETRY PERCY'S RELIQUES OF ANCIENT ENGLISH POETRY IN TWO VOLS. VOL. II THE PUBLISHERS OF LIBT^'Rjr WILL BE PLEASED TO SEND FREELY TO ALL APPLICANTS A LIST OF THE PUBLISHED AND PROJECTED VOLUMES TO BE COMPRISED UNDER THE FOLLOWING TWELVE HEADINGS: TRAVEL -$ SCIENCE ^ FICTION THEOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY HISTORY ? CLASSICAL CHILDREN'S BOOKS ESSAYS ^ ORATORY POETRY & DRAMA BIOGRAPHY ROMANCE IN TWO STYLES OF BINDING, CLOTH, FLAT BACK, COLOURED TOP, AND LEATHER, ROUND CORNERS, GILT TOP. LONDON : J. M. DENT & CO. PERCYS RELIQUES 99XNCIENT ENGLISH^ LONDONrPUBLISHED byJ M DENT- -CO AND IN NEW YORK BY EP.DUTTON RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED, BKEAD STREET HILL, E.G., AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK. CONTENTS OF VOL. II SERIES II BOOK THE SECOND PAGE 1. A Ballad of Luther, the Pope, a Cardinal, and a Husbandman i Anderson Scottish . 2. John my Jo. A Song . 5 Little . 3. John Nobody ... j . 6 Elizabeth's at 4. Queen Verses, while Prisoner Woodstock . 9 5. The Heir of Linne 10 * 6. Gascoigne's Praise of the fair Bridges, afterwards Lady Sandes 16 7. Fair Rosamond. By Thomas Delone . .19 8. Queen Eleanor's Confession 26 9. The Sturdy Rock 29 10. The Beggar's Daughter of Bednall Green .... 30 An Essay on the word FIT, and the ancient Ballad-singing . 38 11. Fancy and Desire. By the Earl of Oxford .... 40 12. Sir Andrew Barton . 42 13. Lady Anne Bothwell's Lament. A Scottish Song . 52 14. The Murder of the King of Scots 54 15. A Sonnet by Queen Elizabeth 56 1 6. The King of Scots and Andrew Browne .... 58 17. The Bonny Earl of Murray. A Scottish Song ... 62 1 8. Young Waters. A Scottish Song 63 19. Mary Ambree ......... 65 20. Brave Lord Willoughby 69 21. Victorious Men of Earth. By James Shirley ... 72 22. The Winning of Cales 72 23. The Spanish Lady's Love ....... 75 24. Argentile and Curan. By W. Warner . ... .78 25. Corin's Fate 87 26. Jane Shore 88 27. Corydon's doleful Knell 96 BOOK THE THIRD 1. The Complaint of Conscience . 98, 108 Essay on the Metre of Pierce Plowman's Visions ... 98 2. Plain Truth and Blind Ignorance . .ill viii Contents PAGE 3. The wandering Jew 116 4. The Lye. By Sir Walter Raleigh . .120 Verses two 5. (viz. Sonnets) by King James I . .122 6. and the Abbot of . King John Canterbury . .124 You meaner Beauties. Sir H. 7. By Wotton . .127 8. The old and young Courtier 128 9. Sir John Suckling's Campaigne 130 10. To Althea from Prison. Lovelace . By CoL . .132 11. The Downfall of Charing Cross 133 12. confined. Sir Loyalty By Roger L'Estrange . .135 13. Verses by King Charles I 137 The Sale of Rebellious Houshold-Stuff . 14. .139 15. The Baffled Knight, or Lady's Policy 142 16. Why so pale? By Sir John Suckling ..... 147 of the first . 17. Old Tom Bedlam. Mad Song . .148 Distracted Puritan. 18. The Mad Song the second . .150 19. The Lunatic Lover. Mad Song the third . .152 distracted 20. The Lady with Love. Mad Song the fourth . 1 54 21. The Distracted Lover. Mad Song the fifth . 155 22. The Frantic Lady. Mad Song the sixth . 157 23. Lilli-bulero. By Lord Wharton 157 24. The Braes of Yarrow. In imitation of the ancient Scottish manner. By W. Hamilton 159 25. Admiral Hosier's Ghost. By Mr. Glover . .163 26. Jemmy Dawson. By Mr. Shenstone 165 SERIES III BOOK THE FIRST the ancient Essay on Metrical Romances . .168 I. The Boy and the Mantle 188 2. of Sir Gawaine . The Marriage . .195 3. King Ryence's Challenge 203 4. King Arthur's Death. A Fragment 205 5. The Legend of King Arthur 211 6. A Dyttie to Hey Downe 214 7. Glasgerion * . 215 8. Old Robin of Portingale 218 > 9. Child Waters 221 10. Phillida and Corydon. By Nic. Breton .... 226 11. Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard 228 Scottish . 12. The Ew-bughts, Marion. A Song . .231 13. The Knight and Shepherd's Daughter 232 14. The Shepherd's Address to his Muse. By N. Breton . 235 15. Lord Thomas and Fair Ellinor 237 Contents ix PACK 1 6. Cupid and Campaspe. By John Lilye .... 239 17. The Lady turned Serving-man ...... 239 1 8. Gil [Child] Morrice. A Scottish Ballad . .243 BOOK THE SECOND 1. The Legend of Sir Guy 249 2. Guy and Amarant 254 260 3. The auld good Man. A Scottish Song .... 4. Fair Margaret and Sweet William 261 5. Barbara Allen's Cruelty 264 * 6. Sweet William's Ghost. A Scottish Ballad . .266 7. Sir John Grehme and Barbara Allen. Ditto. 268 8. The Bailiffs Daughter of Islington 269 9. The Willow Tree. A Pastoral Dialogue .... 270 10. The Lady's Fall 274 11. Waly waly, Love be bonny. A Scottish Song . 276 12. The Bride's Burial 277 13. Dulcina 281 14. The Lady Isabella's Tragedy 282 15. A Hue and Cry after Cupid. By Ben Jonson . 285 1 6. The King of France's Daughter 287 1 7. The Sweet Neglect. By Ben Jonson ..... 293 1 8. The Children in the Wood 293 19. A Lover of late was I . 298 20. The King and the Miller of Mansfield ..... 299 21. The Shepherd's Resolution. By Geo. Wither . 305 22. Queen Dido, or the Wandering Prince of Troy . 307 23. The Witches' Song. By Ben Jonson 311 24. Robin Good-fellow 313 * 25. The Fairy Queen 317 26. The Fairies Farewell. By Dr. Corbet . .318 BOOK THE THIRD 1. The Birth of St. George 322 2. St. George and the Dragon 329 3. Love will find out the Way 336 4. Lord Thomas and Fair Annet. A Scottish Ballad . 337 Tho. 1 5. Unfading Beauty. By Carew ..... 34 6. George Barnwell . 34* 7. The Stedfast Shepherd. By Geo. Wither .... 351 8. the Effects of . The Spanish Virgin ; or, Jealousy 353 9. Jealousy, Tyrant of the Mind. By Dryden .... 356 10. Constant Penelope 357 Contents PAGB 11. To Lucasta, on going to the Wars. By Col. Lovelace. 360 12. Valentine and Ursine 361 The of 13. Dragon Wantley ....... 371 14. St. George for England. The first Part . .378 15. St. George for England. The second Part. By J. Grubb . 381 16. Margaret's Ghost. By David Mallet 393 17. Lucy and Colin. By Tho. Tickell 395 1 8. The Boy and the Mantle, revised, &c. .... 397 % 19. The ancient Fragment of the Marriage of Sir Gawaine . 404 The Glossary 412 RELIQUES OF ANCIENT ENGLISH POETRY SERIES THE SECOND BOOK II I. A BALLAD OF LUTHER, THE POPE, A CARDINAL, AND A HUSBANDMAN In the former Book we brought down this Second Series of poems as low as about the middle of the sixteenth century. We now find the Muses deeply engaged in religious controversy. The sudden revolution wrought in the opinions of mankind by the Reformation, is one of the most striking events in the history of the human mind. It could not but engross the attention of every individual in that age, and therefore no other writings would have any chance to be read, but such as related to this grand topic. The alterations made in the established religion by Henry VIII., the sudden changes it underwent in the three succeeding reigns within so short space as eleven or twelve years, and the violent struggles between expiring Popery, and growing Protestantism, could not but interest all mankind. Accordingly every pen was engaged in the dispute. The followers of the old and new profession (as they were their called) had respective ballad- makers ; and every day produced some popular sonnet for or against the Reformation". The following ballad, and that intitled "Little John Nobody," may serve for speci- mens of the writings of each party. Both were written in the reign of Edward VI. are not ; and the worst that were composed upon the occasion. Controversial is no friend to Yet " divinity poetic flights. this ballad of Luther and the is not devoid of Pope," altogether spirit ; it is of the dramatic kind, and the characters are tolerably well sus- tained of is ; especially that Luther, which made to speak in a manner not unbecoming the spirit and courage of that vigorous reformer. It is printed from the original black-letter copy (in the Pepys Collection, vol. i. folio), to which is prefixed a large wooden cut, designed and executed by some eminent master. We are not to wonder that the ballad-writers of that age should be inspired with the zeal of controversy, when the very stage teemed with polemic divinity. I have now before me two very ancient quarto black-letter plays : tbe one published in the time of Henry VIII. intitled the (Efmg IJIan ; other called ^uftjJ ljulitntns printed in the VOL. II. B 2 The Percy Reliques reign of Edward VI. In the former of these, occasion is taken to in- l culcate great reverence for old mother church and her superstitions : in the other, the poet (one R. Wever) with great success attacks both. So that the stage in those days literally was, what wise men have always wished it a supplement to the This was so much the case, that " pulpit. in the play of Lusty Juventus, chapter and verse are every where quoted as formally as in a sermon. Take an instance : The Lord by his prophet Ezechiel sayeth in this wise playnlye, As in the xxxiij chapter it doth appere : Be converted, O ye children, &c.