Speech and Song of the Lady in Comus. 279

ENGLISH

POETRY.

PART THE FIRST.

CHEVY-CHACE.*

HEAVEN prosper long our noble king,
Our lives and safetyes all;
A woeful hunting once there did
In Chevy-Chace befall.

To drive the deere with hound and horne,

Erle Percy took his way;

The child may rue that is unborne,
The hunting of that day.

The stout Erle of Northumberland
A vow he once did make,
His pleasure in the Scottish woods.
Three summer days to take;

The cheefest harts in Chevy-Chace
To kill and beare away.
These tydings to Erle Douglas came,
In Scotland where he lay :

* The old spelling has been preserved in this and the following ballads, because when once explained it will not be any difficulty; and the differences between the ancient and modern form will afford a useful exercise in orthography.

B

Who sent Erle Percy present word,
He would prevent his sport.
The English Erle, not fearing that,
Did to the woods resort,

With fifteen hundred bow-men bold;
All chosen men of might,
Who knew full well in time of neede
To ayme their shafts aright.

The gallant greyhounds swiftly ran,
To chase the fallow deere:
On Munday they began to hunt,
When day light did appeare;

And long before high noone they had
An hundred fat buckes slaine;
Then having dined, the drovyers went,
To rouze the deere againe.

The bow-men mustered on the hills,
Well able to endure;

And all their reare, with speciall care,

That day was guarded sure.

The hounds ran swiftly through the woods,
The nimble deere to take,

That with their cryes the hills and dales
An eccho shrill did make.

Lord Percy to the quarry went,

To view the slaughter'd deere ; Quoth he, "Erle Douglas promised This day to meet me heere:

"But if I thought he would not come,
No longer wold I stay.'

With that, a brave younge gentleman
Thus to the Erle did say: