The Poetical Works of John Skelton :: :: University of Virginia Library

I thanked her moche of her most noble offer,
Affyaunsynge her myne hole assuraunce
For her pleasure to make a large profer,
Enpryntyng her wordes in my remembraunce,
To owe her my seruyce with true perseueraunce.
Come on with me, she sayd, let vs not stonde;
And with that worde she toke me by the honde.

So passyd we forthe into the forsayd place,
With suche communycacyon as came to our mynde;
And then she sayd, Whylis we haue tyme and space

195

To walke where we lyst, let vs somwhat fynde
To pas the tyme with, but let vs wast no wynde,
For ydle iangelers haue but lytill braine;
Wordes be swordes, and hard to call ageine.

Into a felde she brought me wyde and large,
Enwallyd aboute with the stony flint,
Strongly enbateld, moche costious of charge:
To walke on this walle she bed I sholde not stint;
Go softly, she sayd, the stones be full glint.
She went before, and bad me take good holde:
I sawe a thowsande yatis new and olde,

Then questionyd I her what thos yatis ment;
Wherto she answeryd, and breuely me tolde,
How from the est vnto the occident,
And from the sowth vnto the north so colde,
Theis yatis, she sayd, which that ye beholde,
Be issuis and portis from all maner of nacyons;
And seryously she shewyd me ther denominacyons.

They had wrytyng, sum Greke, sum Ebrew,
Some Romaine letters, as I vnderstode;
Some were olde wryten, sum were writen new,
Some carectis of Caldy, sum Frensshe was full good;
But one gate specyally, where as I stode,
Had grauin in it of calcydony a capytall A;
What yate call ye this? and she sayd, Anglia.

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The beldynge therof was passynge commendable;
Wheron stode a lybbard, crownyd with golde and stones,
Terrible of countenaunce and passynge formydable,
As quikly towchyd as it were flesshe and bones,
As gastly that glaris, as grimly that gronis,
As fersly frownynge as he had ben fyghtyng,
And with his forme foote he shoke forthe this wrytyng:

Formidanda nimis Jovis ultima fulmina tollis:
Unguibus ire parat loca singula livida curvis
Quam modo per Phœbes nummos raptura Celæno;
Arma, lues, luctus, fel, vis, fraus, barbara tellus;
Mille modis erras odium tibi quærere Martis:
Spreto spineto cedat saliunca roseto.

Then I me lent, and loked ouer the wall:
Innumerable people presed to euery gate;
Shet were the gatis; thei might wel knock and cal,
And turne home ageyne, for they cam al to late.
I her demaunded of them and ther astate:
Forsothe, quod she, theys be haskardis and rebawdis,
Dysers, carders, tumblars with gambawdis,

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Furdrers of loue, with baudry aqueinted,
Brainles blenkardis that blow at the cole,
Fals forgers of mony, for kownnage atteintid,
Pope holy ypocrytis, as they were golde and hole,
Powle hatchettis, that prate wyll at euery ale pole,
Ryot, reueler, railer, brybery, theft,
With other condycyons that well myght be left:

Sume fayne themselfe folys, and wolde be callyd wyse,
Sum medelynge spyes, by craft to grope thy mynde,
Sum dysdanous dawcokkis that all men dispyse,
Fals flaterers that fawne thé, and kurris of kynde
That speke fayre before thé and shrewdly behynde;
Hither they come crowdyng to get them a name,
But hailid they be homwarde with sorow and shame.

With that I herd gunnis russhe out at ones,
Bowns, bowns, bowns! that all they out cryde:
It made sum lympe legged and broisid there bones;
Sum were made peuysshe, porisshly, pynk iyde,
That euer more after by it they were aspyid;
And one ther was there, I wondred of his hap,
For a gun stone, I say, had all to-iaggid his cap,

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Raggid, and daggid, and cunnyngly cut;
The blaste of the brynston blew away his brayne;
Masid as a marche hare, he ran lyke a scut;
And, sir, amonge all me thought I saw twaine,
The one was a tumblar, that afterwarde againe
Of a dysour, a deuyl way, grew a ientilman,
Pers Prater, the secund, that quarillis beganne;

With a pellit of peuisshenes they had suche a stroke,
That all the dayes of ther lyfe shall styck by ther rybbis:
Foo, foisty bawdias! sum smellid of the smoke;
I saw dyuers that were cariid away thens in cribbis,
Dasyng after dotrellis, lyke drunkardis that dribbis;
Theis titiuyllis with taumpinnis wer towchid and tappid;
Moche mischefe, I hyght you, amonge theem ther happid.

Sometyme, as it semyth, when the mone light
By meanys of a grosely endarkyd clowde
Sodenly is eclipsid in the wynter night,
In lyke maner of wyse a myst did vs shrowde;
But wele may ye thynk I was no thyng prowde
Of that auenturis, whiche made me sore agast.
In derkenes thus dwelt we, tyll at the last

199

The clowdis gan to clere, the myst was rarifiid:
In an herber I saw, brought where I was,
There birdis on the brere sange on euery syde;
With alys ensandid about in compas,
The bankis enturfid with singular solas,
Enrailid with rosers, and vinis engrapid;
It was a new comfort of sorowis escapid.

In the middis a coundight, that coryously was cast,
With pypes of golde engusshing out stremes;
Of cristall the clerenes theis waters far past,
Enswymmyng with rochis, barbellis, and bremis,
Whose skales ensilured again the son beames
Englisterd, that ioyous it was to beholde.
Then furthermore aboute me my syght I reuolde,

Where I saw growyng a goodly laurell tre,
Enuerdurid with leuis contynually grene;
Aboue in the top a byrde of Araby,
Men call a phenix; her wynges bytwene
She bet vp a fyre with the sparkis full kene
With braunches and bowghis of the swete olyue,
Whos flagraunt flower was chefe preseruatyue

Ageynst all infeccyons with cancour enflamyd,
Ageynst all baratows broisiours of olde,

200

It passid all bawmys that euer were namyd,
Or gummis of Saby so derely that be solde:
There blew in that gardynge a soft piplyng colde
Enbrethyng of Zepherus with his pleasant wynde;
All frutis and flowris grew there in there kynde.

Dryades there daunsid vpon that goodly soile,
With the nyne Muses, Pierides by name;
Phillis and Testalis, ther tressis with oyle
Were newly enbybid; and rownd about the same
Grene tre of laurell moche solacyous game
They made, with chapellettes and garlandes grene;
And formest of all dame Flora, the quene

Of somer, so formally she fotid the daunce;
There Cintheus sat twynklyng vpon his harpe stringis;
And Iopas his instrument did auaunce,
The poemis and storis auncient inbryngis
Of Athlas astrology, and many noble thyngis,
Of wandryng of the mone, the course of the sun,
Of men and of bestis, and whereof they begone,

What thynge occasionyd the showris of rayne,
Of fyre elementar in his supreme spere,
And of that pole artike whiche doth remayne
Behynde the taile of Vrsa so clere;

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Of Pliades he prechid with ther drowsy chere,
Immoysturid with mislyng and ay droppyng dry,
And where the two Trions a man shold aspy,

And of the winter days that hy them so fast,
And of the wynter nyghtes that tary so longe,
And of the somer days so longe that doth last,
And of their shorte nyghtes; he browght in his songe
How wronge was no ryght, and ryght was no wronge:
There was counteryng of carollis in meter and verse
So many, that longe it were to reherse.