Comes Sir Charles Blount, in or and azure dight;
Rich in his colours, richer in his thoughts,

Rich in his fortune, honour, arms, and art.
And him the valiant Vavasor assails,
On fierce and ready horse, with spear in rest,
In orange tawny, bright and beautiful,
Himself, his men, and all: and on they speed,
And haste they make to meet, and meet they do,
And do the thing for which they meet in haste;
Each in his armour amiable to see,

That in their looks bear love and chivalry.

The

(MASTER ROBERT CAREY,

Seventh Couple. MASTER WILLIAM GRESHAM.

By this the trump call'd Carey to the tilt,

Fair bird, fair cygnet of our silver swan;

When, like a lord in pomp and princely show,
And like a champion fitted for the war,
And not unlike the son of such a sire,
Under a plume of murrey and of white,
That like a palm-tree beautifully spread,
On mighty horse of Naples mounted fair,
And horse at hand and men and pages pight,
All with a burning heart greets he her grace,
Whose gracious countenance he his heaven esteems,
And to her sacred person it presents,*

As who would say, my heart and life † is hers,

To whom my loyalty this heart prefers.

* And to her sacred, &c.] Ox. MS.

"And to her majesty the same presents."

theart and life] Ox. MS. "life and all.”

And at the summons out his foeman flies,

Gresham, the heir of golden Gresham's land, ri
That beautified* new Troy with royal Change,
Badge of his honour and magnificence:

Silver and sable such his colours were, 444
And ready was his horse, and readier he,
To bound, and well behave him in her eye,
Upon whose looks his life and honour stood.
Then horse and man conspir'd to meet amain;
Along the tilt Carey and Gresham go,t
Swift as the swallow, or that Greekish nymph
That seem'd to overfly the ears of corn:
And break they do, they miss not, as I ween,
And all was done in honour of their queen.

The Eighth Couple. Sir WILLIAM KNOWLES,

1

MASTER ANTHONY COOKE. Then, like the three Horatii in the field, Betwixt the Roman and the Alban camp, That triumph'd in the royal right of Rome, Or old duke Aymon's glory, Dordogne's pride, || Came in the noble English Nestor's sons, Brave Knowles his offspring, hardy champions;

* beautified] Ox. MS. “beautifieth."

† go] Ox. MS. "glide."

ears] Old copy" eyles."

*,,,

Or old duke Aymon's glory, Dordogne's pride] The adventures of the four sons of Aymon have furnished matter for various romances both in prose and verse. ·Of Le Livre de quatre filz Aymon two translations had appeared in English before Peele's time. A play called The four sons of Amon was written by Robert Shawe.

Each in his plumes, his colours, and device,
Expressing warrior's wit, and courtier's grace.
Against sir William ran a lusty✶ knight;
Fine in device he was and full of wit,
Famous beyond the chalky British cliffs,

T

And lov'd and honour'd in his country's bounds, baf
Anthony Cooke, a man of noble name,†
For arms and courtship equal to the best:
Valour and Virtue sat upon his helm,

Whom Love and lowering Fortune led along,
And Life and Death he portray'd in his shew;
A liberal Hand, badge of nobility,

A Heart that in his mistress' honour vows
To task his hand in witness of his heart,
Till age shake off rough war's|| habiliments.
Then with such cunning can they couch their staves,
That worthily each knight himself behaves.

The Ninth Couple. {SIR THOMAS KNOWLES,

PHILIP BUTLER.

The youngest brother, Mars his sworn man,
That wan his knightly spurs in Belgia,
And follow'd dub of drum in fortune's grace,

Well hors'd and arm'd Sir Philip Butler greets;
The noble Essex friend and follower,

In mourning sable dight by sympathy,

A gentle knight; and meekly at the tilt *
He stands, as one that had no heart to hurt
His friendly foe: but at the trumpet's sound
He flies along; and bravely at the face

His force he bends: the rival of his fame

Spurs on his steed, nor shuns the shock for fear :

And so they meet; the armour bears the scar
Of this encounter and delightful war.

MASTER ROBERT Knowles, The Tenth Couple.MASTER RALPH Bowes.

The last, not least, of these brave bretheren, †
Laden with honour and with golden boughs,
Entering the lists, like Titan arm'd with fire
When in the queachy§ plot Python he slew,
Bowes takes to task with strong and mighty arm,||
Right richly mounted: horse and man it seem'd
Were well agreed to serve as roughly there
As in the enemy's reach for life they would; ¶
And when they ran methought a tempest rose,
That in the storm the clattering armours sound,
As horse and man had both been borne to ground.

* A gentle knight, &c.] Ox. MS.

“A knight well-thew'd; and mildly at the tilt.”

+ bretheren] So spelt in the old copy for the sake of the verse. boughs] Ox. MS. "leaves."

§ queachy] Spelt “queackie” in the old copy: see note

vol.

|| strong and mighty arm] Ox. MS. “stout and sturdy lance.”

¶they would] Ox. MS. “and fame.”

The

MASTER THOMAS SIDNEY,

Eleventh Couple. MASTER ROBERT ALEXANDER.

Thus long hath dainty Sidney sit and seen
Honour and Fortune hover in the air,

That from the glorious beams of England's eye
Came streaming; Sidney, at which name I sigh,
Because I lack the Sidney that I love,t
And yet I love the Sidneys that survive.
Thus long, I say, sat Sidney and beheld
The shivers fly of many a shaken spear;
When, mounted on a courser trapt in white,
And throughly well appointed he and his,
Pure sparks of virtue kindling honour's fire,
He thought he might, and, for he might, he would
Reach at this glory,—fair befall him still!—
And to the tilt, impatient of delay,

He comes, encounter'd with a threatening point
That Alexander menac'd to him fast,

A valorous and lusty gentleman,

Well fitted with his armour and his steed;

And him young Sidney sits, and had he charg'd
The Macedonian Alexander's staff,

He had been answer'd by that valiant youth:‡
So well behav'd himself this fair young knight,
As Paris had to great Achilles' lance
Applied his tender fingers and his force.

* from] Ox. MS. "fore."

+ love] Ox. MS. "lov'd."

‡ that valiant youth] Ox. MS. " this lovely boy."