University of Virginia Library

Tottel — Songes and Sonettes — 1557 Other Songs and Sonettes written by the earle of Surrey. by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey

Syns fortunes wrath

The constant louer lamenteth.

Syns fortunes wrath enuieth the welth,
Wherin I raygned by the sight:
Of that that fed mine eyes by stelth,
With sower swete, dreade, and delight.
Let not my griefe moue you to mone,
For I will wepe and wayle alone.
Spite draue me into Borias raigne,
Where hory frostes the frutes do bite,
When hilles were spred and euery playne:
With stormy winters mantle white.
And yet my deare such was my heate,
When others frese then did I swete.
And now though on the sunne I driue,
Whose feruent flame all thinges decaies,
His beames in brightnesse may not striue,
With light of your swete golden rayes,
Nor from my brest this heate remoue,
The frosen thoughtes grauen by loue.
Ne may the waues of the salt floode,
Quenche that your beauty set on fire,
For though mine eyes forbere the fode,
That did releue the hote desire.
Such as I was such will I be,
Your owne, what would ye more of me.

In the rude age

A praise of sir Thomas wyate thelder for his excellent learning.

In the rude age when knowledge was not rife,
If Ioue in Create and other were that taught,
Artes to conuert to profite of our life,
Wende after death to haue their temples sought,
If vertue yet no voyde vnthankefull time,

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Cc4r

Failed of some to blast her endles fame,
A goodly meane both to deterre from crime:
And to her steppes our sequele to enflame,
In dayes of truth if wyates frendes then wayle,
The only det that dead of quick may claime:
That rare wit spent employd to our auaile.
Where Christ is taught we led to vertues traine.
His liuely face their brestes how did it freat,
Whose cindres yet with enuye they do eate.

Eche beast can chose

A song written by the earle of Surrey by a lady that refused to daunce with him.

Eche beast can chose hys fere according to his minde,
And eke can shew a frendly chere like to their beastly kinde.
A Lion saw I late as white as any snow,
Which semed well to lead the race his port the same did show.
Vpon the gentle beast to gaze it pleased me,
For still me thought he semed well of noble blood to be.
And as he praunced before, still seking for a make,
As who wold say there is none here I trow will me forsake.
I might parceiue a wolfe as white as whales bone,
A fairer beast of fresher hue beheld I neuer none.
Saue that her lokes were coy, and froward eke her grace,
Vnto the which this gentle beast gan him aduance apace.
And with a beck full low he bowed at herfeete,

[_]

her feete

In humble wise as who would say I am to farre vnmete.
But such a scornefull chere wherwith she him rewarded,
Was neuer sene I trow the like to such as well deserued.
With that she start aside welnere a fote or twaine,
And vnto him thus gan she say with spite and great disdaine.
Lyon she sayd if thou hadst knowen my mind before,
Thou hadst not spent thy trauail thus nor al thy paine forlore.
Do way I let the wete thou shalt not play with me,
Go range about where thou mayst finde some meter fere for the:
With that he bet his taile, his eyes began to flame,
I might perceiue hys noble hart much moued by the same.
Yet saw I him refraine and eke his wrath aswage,
And vnto her thus gan he say when he was past his rage.

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Cc4v

Cruell, you do me wrong to set me thus so light,
Without desert for my good will to shew me such despight.
How can ye thus entreat a Lion of the race,
That with his pawes a crowned king deuoured in the place:
Whose nature is to pray vpon no simple food,
As long as he may suck the fleshe, and drink of noble blood.
If you be faire and fresh, am I not of your hue?
And for my vaunt I dare well say my blood is not vntrue.
For you your self haue heard it is not long agoe,
Sith that for loue one of the race did end his life in woe
In tower strong and hie for his assured truthe,
Where as in teares he spent his breath, alas the more the ruthe.
This gentle beast likewise whom nothing could remoue,
But willingly to lese his life for losse of his true loue.
Other there be whose liues doe lingre still in paine,
Against their willes preserued ar that would haue died faine.
But now I doe perceue that nought it moueth you,
My good entent, my gentle hart, nor yet my kind so true.
But that your will is such to lure me to the trade,
As other some full many yeres to trace by craft ye made.
And thus behold our kyndes how that we differ farre.
I seke my foes: and you your frendes do threten still with warre.
I fawne where I am fled: you slay that sekes to you,
I can deuour no yelding pray: you kill where you subdue.
My kinde is to desire the honoure of the field:
And you with blood to slake your thirst on such as to you yeld.
Wherfore I would you wist that for your coyed lokes,
I am no man that will be trapt nor tangled with such hokes.
And though some lust to loue where blame full well they might
And to such beasts of currant sort that should haue trauail bright.
I will obserue the law that nature gaue to me,
To conquer such as will resist and let the rest goe fre.
And as a faucon free that soreth in the ayre,
Which neuer fed on hand nor lure, nor for no stale doth care,
While that I liue and breath such shall my custome be,
In wildnes of the woodes to seke my pray where pleseth me.
Where many one shal ruse, that neuer made offense.
This your refuse against my power shall bode them ne defence.
And for reuenge therof I vow and swere therto,
I thousand spoiles I shall commit I neuer thought to do.
And if to light on you my luck so good shall be,
I shall be glad to fede on that that would haue fed on me.

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Dd1r

And thus farewell vnkinde to whom I bent and bow,
I would ye wist the ship is safe that bare his sailes so low.
Sith that a lions hart is for a wolfe no pray,
With bloody mouth go slake your thirst on simple shepe I say.
With more dispite and ire than I can now expresse,
Which to my pain though I refraine the cause you may wel gesse.
As for because my self was aucthor of the game,
It bootes me not that for my wrath I should disturbe the same.

If care do cause men cry

The faithfull louer declareth his paines and his vncertein ioies, and with only hope recomforteth somwhat his wofull heart.

If care do cause men cry, why do not I complaine?
If eche man do bewaile his wo, why shew I not my paine?
Since that amongest them all I dare well say is none,
So farre from weale, so full of wo, or hath more cause to mone.
For all thynges hauing life sometime haue quiet rest.
The bering asse, the drawing oxe, and euery other beast.
The peasant and the post, that serue at al assayes,
The shyp boy and the galley slaue haue time to take their ease,
Saue I alas whom care of force doth so constraine
To waile the day and wake the night continually in paine,
From pensiuenes to plaint, from plaint to bitter teares,
From teares to painfull plaint againe: and thus my life it wears.
No thing vnder the sunne that I can here or se,
But moueth me for to bewaile my cruell destenie.
For wher men do reioyce since that I can not so,
I take no pleasure in that place, it doubleth but my woe.
And when I heare the sound of song or instrument,
Me thinke eche tune there dolefull is and helpes me to lament.
And if I se some haue their most desired sight,
Alas think I eche man hath weal saue I most wofull wight.
Then as the striken dere withdrawes him selfe alone,
So doe I seke some secrete place where I may make my mone.
There do my flowing eyes shew forth my melting hart,
So [that] the stremes of those two welles right wel declare my smart

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Dd1v

And in those cares so colde I force my selfe a heate,
As sick men in their shaking fittes procure them self to sweate,
With thoughtes that for the time do much appease my paine.
But yet they cause a ferther fere and brede my woe agayne.
Me thinke within my thought I se right plaine appere,
My hartes delight my sorowes leche mine earthly goddesse here.
With euery sondry grace that I haue sene her haue,
Thus I within my wofull brest her picture paint and graue.
And in my thought I roll her bewties to and fro,
Her laughing chere her louely looke my hart that perced so.
Her strangenes when I sued her seruant for to be,
And what she sayd and how she smiled when that she pitied me.
Then comes a sodaine feare that riueth all my rest
Lest absence cause forgetfulnes to sink within her brest.
For when I thinke how far this earth doth vs deuide.
Alas me semes loue throwes me downe I fele how that I slide.
But then I thinke againe why should I thus mistrust,
So swete a wight so sad and wise that is so true and iust.
For loth she was to loue, and wauering is she not.
The farther of the more desirde thus louers tie their knot.
So in dispaire and hope plonged am I both vp an doune,
As is the ship with wind and waue when Neptune list to froune.
But as the watry showers delay the raging winde,
So doth good hope clene put away dispayre out of my minde.
And biddes me for to serue and suffer pacientlie,
For what wot I the after weale that fortune willes to me.
For those that care do knowe and tasted haue of trouble,
When passed is their woful paine eche ioy shall seme them double.
And bitter sendes she now to make me tast the better,
The plesant swete when that it comes to make it seme the sweter.
And so determine I to serue vntill my brethe.
Ye rather dye a thousand times then once to false my feithe.
And if my feble corps through weight of wofull smart.
Do fayle or faint my will it is that still she kepe my hart.
And when thys carcas here to earth shalbe refarde,
I do bequeth my weried ghost to serue her afterwarde.