Hector of Troy, and kings ere Troy was built,

Or Thrace was Thrace, were there: old Dardanus, And Ilus, and Assaracus, came along.

For in the house of Fame what famous man,

What prince, but hath his trophy and his place?
There Joshua, David, and great Machabee,
Last anchor-hold and stay of Jacob's race,
Did march; and Macedonian Alexander,
Victorious Charles the great, the flower of France,
Godfrey of Bullen, whom the Christian kings
Created King of great Jerusalem;

And Arthur glory of the western world,
And all his knights were in this royal train.
Jason was there, knight of the golden fleece,
Knights of the Tosson,* and of St. Iago,

Knights of the Rhodes, knights of the Sepulchre,
Were there the air was pester'd + to my thought.
Among them all a worthy man of mark,

A prince of famous memory I saw,

Henry the Eighth, that led a warlike band

Of English earls, and lords, and lusty knights,
That ware the garter sacred to St. George.

Who was not there? I think the court of Fame
Was naked and unpeopled, in this train
There was so many emperors, lords, and kings,
Knights errant and adventurous. In the book

*Tosson] i. e. toison d'or. Of the different orders of knighthood mentioned here, the reader will find a particular account in Segar's Honour, p. 79, 94, 95, 106.

+ pester'd] i. e. crowded.

That on a desk lay open before Fame,-
For in a sumptuous chariot did he ride
Of crystal, set with leaves of glittering gold,
And fair tralucent* stones, that over all
It did reflect, within that glorious book
I saw a name rejoiced me to see,
Francis of Bedford; I could read it plain,
And glad I was that in that precious book
That name I found, for now methought I said,
Here virtue doth outlive th' arrest of death.
For dead is Bedford, virtuous and renown'd
For arms, for honour, and religious love,
And yet alive his name in Fame's records,
That held this garter dear, and ware it well;
Some worthy wight let blazon his deserts:
Only a tale I thought on by the way,
As I observ'd his honourable name.

I heard it was his chance o'erta'en with sleep,
To take a nap near to a farmer's lodge,
Trusted a little with himself belike:

This aged earl, in his apparel plain,

Wrapt in his russet cloak, lay down to rest,
His badge of honour buckled to his leg,
Bare, and unhid. There came a pilfering swad,†

tralucent] This word (the same as translucent) is found in several pieces before the appearance of Jonson's Masque of Hymen, where Gifford (note on his works, vol. vii. p. 78) seems to think it was first used.

+ swad] Means here, as in other passages of our old writers, a rude clown, a rustick: I see swaines are not such swads, but

And would have prey'd upon this ornament,
And 'say'd t' unbuckle it, thinking him asleep :
The noble gentleman*, feeling what he meant,
a better prey;

66

66

Hold, foolish lad," quoth he,
This garter is not fit for every leg,
And I account it better than my purse."
The varlet ran away; the earl awak'd,
And told his friends, and smiling said withal,
"'A would not, had 'a understood the French
Writ on my garter, dar'd t' have stoln the same."
This tale I thought upon, told me for truth,
The rather for it prais'd the poesy,

Right grave and honourable that importeth much;
Ill be to him, it saith, that evil thinks.

O sacred loyalty, in purest hearts

Thou build'st thy bower! thy weeds of spotless white, Like those that stood for Rome's great offices,

they have thoughts and passions, and be they never so low, they can looke at beauty."-Greene's Never too late, Part Second. Sig. N 2. n. d.

"A Bonny lasse, quaint in her country tire,

Was lovely Phillis, Coridon swore so :
Her locks, her lookes, did set the swaine on fire,
He left his Lambes, and he began to woe,
He lookt, he sitht, he courted with a kisse,

No better could the silly swad then this."

Greene's Perimedes, The Blacke-Smith, 1588, Sig. H 3. Mr. Todd and Archdeacon Nares are most amusingly at variance in their explanations of this word: the former (in his ed. of Johnson's Dict.) says, it means "a short fat person," the latter (in his Gloss.) " a slender person."

* gentleman] Ashmol. copy "gentle."

*

Make thee renown'd, glorious in innocency.

Why stick I here? The train cast in a ring
About the castle, making melody,

Under the glorious spreading wings of Fame,
I saw a virgin queen, attir'd in white,

Leading with her a sort of goodly knights,
With garters, and with collars of St. George:
Elizabeth on a compartiment

Of gold in bysse was writ, and hung askew
Upon her head, under an imperial crown.
She was the sovereign of the knights she led :
Her face, methought, I knew, as if the same,
The same great empress that we here enjoy,
Had climb'd the clouds, and been in person there;
To whom the earth, the sea, and elements
Auspicious are. A many that I knew
Knighted in my remembrance, I beheld,
And all their names were in that register;
And yet I might perceive some so set down,
That howsoe'er it hapt I cannot tell,
The carl Oblivion stoln from Lethe's lake,
Or Envy stept from out the deep Avern,
Had ras'd, or blemish'd, or obscur'd at least.

What have those fiends to do in Fame's fair court?
Yet in the house of Fame, and courts of kings,
Envy will bite, or snarl, and bark at least,
As dogs against the moon that yelp in vain :
Say frustra to those curs, and shake thy coat.
* make] Old copy "makes."

† sort] i. e. company.

And all the kings, since that king Edward's days,
Were with their knights and companies in that train :
When all were whist,* King Edward thus bespake;
"Hail Windsor! where I sometimes took delight
To hawk, and hunt, and back the proudest horse,
And where in princely pleasure I repos'd,
In my return fro France," a little sigh

I heard him fetch withal; his reason why
I cannot guess; I think it was for this,

That England had given o'er their traffic there,-
"And twenty times hail Windsor!" quoth the king,
“Where I have stall'd so many hardy knights,
And tournaments, and royal justs perform'd:
Behold in honour of mine ancient throne,
In honour of fair England, and St. George,
To whom this order of the garter first
I sacred held; in honour of my knights,
Before this day created and install'd,
But specially in honour of those five,

That at this day this honour have receiv'd,
Under Elizabeth, England's great sovereign,
Northumberland and Worcester, noble earls,
Borough, and Sheffield, lords of lively hope,
And honourable old Knowles fam'd for his sons,
And for his service gracious and renown'd;
Lo, from the house of Fame, with princely trains
Accompanied, and kings, and conquerors,
And knights of proof, loyal and valourous,

whist] i. e. still, silent.