To feche the floures fressh, and braunche and blome;

And namly hawthorn brought both page and

grome,

With fresshe garlantis partie blewe and white, And them rejoysen in there grete delite.

Eke eche at other threwe the floures brighte, The prymerose, the violet, and the golde; So than, as I beheld the riall sighte,

My lady gan me sodenly beholde,

And with a trewe love, plited many-folde, 1440 She smote me thrugh the very harte as blive, And Venus yet I thanke I am alive.

THE FLOWER AND THE LEAF.1

WHEN that Phebus his chaire of gold so hie Hadde whirled up the sterrie sky alofte, And in the Boole 2 was entred certainely; When shoures sweet of raine discended softe, Causing the ground, fele times and ofte, Up for to give many an wholsome aire, And every plaine was eke yclothed faire

With newe green, and maketh smalle floures To springen here and there in field and mede; So very good and wholsome be the shoures, That it renueth that was old and dede

II

1 Mr. Skeat assigns this poem to the middle of the fifteenth cent ury. It was first published in 1598, by Speght, and no manuscript is known. 2 Taurus, which the Sun enters in May.

3

Many.

"A PLESANT SIGHT."

In winter time; and out of every sede
Springeth the hearbe, so that every wight
Of this season wexeth ful glad and light.

533

And I, so glad of the season thus swete,
Was happed thus upon a certaine nighte:
As I lay in my bed, sleepe ful unmete
Was unto me, but why that I ne mighte
Rest, I ne wiste; for there nas earthly wight,
As I suppose, hadde more heartes ease
Than I, for I nadde sicknesse nor disease.
Wherefore I mervaile greatly of my selfe,
That I so longe withouten sleepe lay;
And up I rose three houres after twelfe,
Aboute the springing of the day;

And on I putte my geare and mine array,
And to a pleasaunt grove I gan to passe,
Long or the brighte Sonne up-risen was ;

20

32

In which were okes greate, streight as a line,
Under the which the grasse, so fresh of hewe,
Was newly sprong; and an eight foot or nine
Every tree well fro his fellow grew,
With branches brode, lade with leves newe,
That sprongen out agen the sunne shene,
Some very red, and some a glad light grene;
Which, as me thoughte, was right a plesant
sight;

And eke the briddes songes for to here
Would have rejoyced any earthly wight;
And I that couth not yet, in no manere,
Heare the nightingale of all the yeare,

40

Ful busily herkened with hart and eare,
If I her voice perceive coud any where.

And, at the last, a path of little breede
I found, that greatly hadde not used be;
For it forgrowen was with grasse and weede,
That well unneth a wight ne might it se:
Thoght I, "This path some whider goth, par-
de!"

And so I followede, till it me broughte

To right a pleasaunt herber,1 well ywrought,

That benched was, and eke with turfes newe Freshly turved, whereof the grene gras,

51

So small, so thicke, so short, so fresh of hewe,

That most ylike greene wool, I wot, it was:
The hegge also that gede in this compas,
And closed in all the greene herbere,
With sicamour was set and eglatere,2

3

60

Wrethen in fere so well and cunningly, That every branch and leafe grew by mesure, Plaine as a bord, of oon height by and by. I ne segh never thing, I you ensure, So well y-done; for he that tooke the cure It for to make, I trow did all his peine To make it passe alle tho that men have seine. And shapen was this herber, roofe and all,

As is a prety parlour; and also

The hegge as thicke as is a castle wall,
That who that list withoute to stond or go,
Though he would all day prien to and fro,
1 Lodging. 2 Eglantine. Together.

"SO SWEET AN AIRE."

He shoulde not see if there were any wighte
Within or no; but one within wel mighte

535

Perceive alle tho that geden there withoute Into the field, that was on every side

70

Covered with corne and grasse; that out of doubt,

Though one woulde seeke all the worlde wide,
So rich a fielde ne coude not be espide
On any coast, as of the quantitie;
For of alle good thing there was plentie.
And I, that all this pleasaunt sight ay sie,
Thought sodainly I felte so sweet an aire
Com of the eglentere, that certainely
There is no heart, I deme, in such dispaire,
Ne with no thoughtes froward and contraire.
So overlaid, but it shoulde soone have bote,
If it had ones felt this savour sote.

And as I stood and cast aside mine eie,
I was of ware the fairest medler tree,
That ever yet in all my life I sie,
As full of blossomes as it mighte be;
Therein a goldfinch leaping pretile

80

89

Fro bough to bough; and, as him list, gan eete
Of buddes here and there, and floures sweete.

And to the herber side ther was joyninge
This faire tree, of which I have you told;
And at the last the brid began to singe,
When he had eaten what he eate wolde,
So passing sweetly, that by manifolde
It was more pleasaunt than I coude devise.
And when his song was ended in this wise,

The nightingale with so mery a note Answered him, that all the woode rong So sodainly, that, as it were a sote,1 I stood astonied; so was I with the song Thorow ravished, that till late and longe Ne wist I in what place I was, ne where; And ay, me thoughte, she song even by mine

ere.

Wherefore about I waited 2 busily,

On every side, if that I her mighte see;
And, at the last, I gan full well aspie
Where she sat in a fresh grene laurer tree,
On the further side, even right by me,
That gave so passing a delicious smell,
According to the eglentere full well.

Whereof I hadde so inly great pleasure,
That, as me thought, I surely ravished was
Into Paradice, where as my desire
Was for to be, and no ferther to passe
As for that day; and on the sote grasse
I sat me downe; for, as for mine entent,
The birddes song was more convenient,3

And more pleasaunt to me by many fold,
Than meat or drinke, or any other thing.
Thereto the herber was so fresh and cold,
The wholesome savours eke so comforting,
That, as I demede, sith the beginning
Of thilke world was never seene or than *
So pleasaunt a ground of none earthly man.

1 Fool. 2 Watched. 3 Agreeable. 4 Ere then.

IIO

119