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Her plumes, her pendants, bracelets, and her ringes,
Her daintie fan and twentie other thinges:
Her lustie mantle wavinge in the winde,
And everie parte in collour and in kinde:
And for her wreath of roses she nil dare,
With Flora's cunning counterfet compare.
So that what living wight shall chaunce to see
These goddesses, eche placed in her degree,
Portray'd by Flora's workmanshipe alone,
Must say that arte and nature met in one.

Sil. A daintie draught to lay her downe in blue,

The collour commonly betokeneth true.

Flor. This peece of worke compact with many a flow'r,

And well layde in at entrance of the bow'r,

Where Phoebe meanes to make this meetinge royall,
Have I prepared to welcome them withall.

L

Pom. And are they yet dismounted, Flora

That wee maye wend to meet them on the waye.

saye:

Flor. That shall not neede: they are at hand by this,

And the conductour of the traine, hight Rhanis.
Juno hath left her chariot long agoe,

And hath return'd her peacocks by her rainebowe.
And bravelie, as becomes the wife of Jove,
Doth honour, by her presence, to our grove.
Fair Venus, she hath let her sparrowes flie
To tende on her and make her melodie:
Her turtles and her swannes unyoked bee,
And flicker neere her side for companie.
Pallas hath set her tygers loose to feede,
Commanding them to waite when she hath neede.
And hitherward with proude and statelie pace
To doe us honour in the silvan chase,
They marche like to the pomp of heaven above,
Juno the wife and sister of King Jove,

The warlike Pallas, and the Queene of Love.

Pom. Pipe, Pan, for joy, and let thy shepherdes sing,

Shall never age forget this memorable thing.

Flor. Clio, the sagest of the sisters nine,

To doe observance to this dame divine,

Ladie of learning and of chyvalrie,

Is here aryved in faire assemblie,

And wand'ring up and downe th' unbeaten wayes,
Ring through the woodes, sweet songes of Pallas' prayse.

Pom. Harke Flora, Faunus, here is melodie,

A charme of birdes and more than ord'narie."

The three rival deities thus disclose their pretensions and promises to the shepherd Paris.

"Juno. Nay, shepherde, looke upon my stately grace, Because the pompe that longs to Junoe's mace,

Thou mayst not see: and thinke Queene Junoe's name,

To whom old shepherds title workes of fame,

Is mightye and maye easily suffize,

At Phoebus' hands, to gaine a golden prize.

And for thy meede, sythe I am Queen of Riches,
Shepherde, I will reward thee with greate monarchies,
Empires and kingdomes, heapes of massye golde,
Scepters and diadems, curious to beholde,

Riche robes of sumptuous workmanship and cost,
And thousand things whereof I make no boast.

The moulde whereon thou treadest shall be of Tagus' sandes,
And Xanthus shall runne liquid gold for thee to wash thy

handes:

And if thou like to tende thy flocke, and not from them to flie,
Their fleeces shall be curled gold to please their master's eye.
And last to sett thy heart on fire, give this one fruite to me,
And shepherde, lo, this tree of golde I will bestowe on thee.

Hereuppon did rise a Tree of Gold, laden with diadems and crownes of golde.

The ground whereon it growes, the grasse, the roote of golde,
The body and the barke of golde, all glistninge to beholde,
The leaves of burnisht gold, the fruites that thereon growe
Are diadems set with pearle in golde, in gorgeous glistringe
showe.

And if this tree of gold in lue may not suffice,

Require a grove of golden trees, so Juno beares the prize.
[The tree sinketh.

Pall. Me list not tempt thee with decoyinge wealthe,

Which is embas'd by want of lustie healthe:

But if thou have a mind to fly above,

Ycrown'd with fame neare to the seate of Jove:

If thou aspire to wysdome's worthines,

Whereof thou mayst not see the brightnes;
If thou desire honour of chyvalrie,
To bee renown'd for happy victorie,
To fight it out and in the champain fielde,
To shrowd thee under Pallas' warlike shielde,
Το praunce on barbed steedes, this honour loe,
Myselfe for guerdon shall on thee bestowe.

And for encouragement, that thou mayst see
What famous knightes dame Pallas' warriors bee,
Beholde in Pallas' honour here they come,

Marching alonge with sounde of thund'ring drom.

Ven. Come, shepherde, come, sweete shepherde looke on me,
These bene too hot alarams these for thee:

But if thou wilt give me the golden ball,
Cupide, my boy, shall ha't to playe withall,
That whenso 'ere this apple he shall see,
The god of love himself shall thinke on thee,

And bid thee looke and chuse, and he will wounde,
Whereso thy fancye's object shall be founde,

And lightlie, when he shootes, he doth not misse:
And I will give thee many a lovelie kisse,
And come and play with thee on Ida here,
And if thou wilt a face that hath no peere,
A gallant girle, a lustie minion trull,
That can give sport to thee thy belly full,
To ravish all thy beating veines with joye,
Here is a lasse of Venus' court, my boy."

Juno and Minerva are dissatisfied with the judgment, and make a formal appeal to the Upper House. Paris is brought to the bar, and makes a defence both wise and eloquent.

And

"Paris. Sacred and just, thou great and dreadfull Jove,

you thrice reverende powers, whom love nor hate

May wrest awry, if this to me a man,

This fortune fatall bee, that I must pleade
For safe excusall of my giltless thought,

The honour more makes my mishap the lesse,
That I a man must pleade before the gods,
Gracious forbearers of the worlde's amisse,
For her, whose beautie how it hath entic't,
This heavenly senate may with me aver.
But sith not that, nor this may doe me boote,
And for myself, myself must speaker bee,
A mortal man amidst this heavenley presence:
Let me not shape a longe defence to them,
That bene beholders of my giltless thoughtes.
Then for the deede, that I may not denie,
Wherein consists the full of mine offence
I did upon commande: if then I er'de,
I did no more than to a man belong'd.

And if in verdict of their formes divine,

My dazled eye did swarve or surfet more

On Venus' face, than anie face of theirs,
It was no partiall fault, but fault of his
Belike, whose eye-sight not so perfect was,
As might decerne the brightnes of the rest.
And if it were permitted unto men

(Ye gods) to parlè with your amourous thoughtes,
There bene that sit upon that sacred seate,
That would with Paris erre in Venus' praise.
But let me cease to speake of errour here:
Sith what my hande, the organ of my hearte,
Did give with good agreement of mine eye,
My tongue is 'ray'd with process to maintaine.

Pluto. A jolly shepherde, wise and eloquent.
Paris. First then arraign'd of partiallitie,
Paris replies ungiltie of the fact.

His reason is, because he knew no more
Faire Venus' cestus, than Dame Junoe's mace,
Nor never sawe wise Pallas' cristall shielde.
Then as I look'd, I lov'd and lik'd att once,
And as it was refer'd from them to me,
To give the prize to her, whose beautie best
My fancy did commend, so did I praise
And judge as might my dazl'd eye decerne.

Neptune. A peece of art, that, cunninglie pardie, Refers the blame to weakenes of his eye,

Paris. Now (for I must add reason for my deede) Why Venus rather pleased me of the three: First in the intrayles of my mortall eares, The question standing upon beauties blaze, The name of her that hight the Queene of love, Me thought in beauty should not be excelled. Had it bene destyned to majestie,

(Yet will I not rob Venus of her grace,)
Then stately Juno might have borne the ball.
Had it to wisdome bene entituled,

My human wit had given it Pallas then.
But sith unto the fairest of the three,
That power that threw it for my farther ill,
Did dedicate this ball: and safest durst
My shepherde's skill adventure, as I thought,
To judge of forme and beautie, rather than
Of Junoe's state or Pallas' worthines,
That learn'd to ken the fayrest of the flocke,

And praysed beautie but by nature's aime :
Behold to Venus, Paris gave this fruite,
A dayesman chosen there by full consent,
And heavenly powers shall not repent their deedes.
Where it is said, beyond desert of hers,

I honour'd Venus with this golden prize;
(Yee Gods) what can a mortall man
Decerne, betwixt the sacred gifts of heaven.
Or, if I may with reverence reason thus:
Suppose I gave, and judg'd corruptly then,
For hope of that that best did please my thought,
This apple not for beautie's prayse alone:
I might offende, sithe I was pardoned,
And tempted more than ever creature was,
With wealth, with beautie and with chivalrie:
And so prefer'd beautie, before them all,
The thing that hath enchanted heaven itself.
And for the one, contentment is my wealthe:
A shell of salte will serve a shepherde swaine,
A slender banquet in a homely skrip,
And water running from the silver spring.
For armes, they dread no foes that sit so lowe,
A thorne can keepe the wind from off my backe,
A sheep-coat thatch'd's a shepherd's pallace high.
Of tragicke Muses shepherdes con no skill,
Enough for them, if Cupid be displeased,
To sing his prayse on slender oaten pipe.
And thus, thrice reverend, have I told my tale,
And crave the torment of my guiltless soule
To me be measured by my faultless thought.
If warlike Pallas, or the Queene of heaven,
Sue to reverse my sentence by appeale,
Be it as please your majesties divine,
The wronge, the hurte not mine, if anie be,

But hers whose beauty claim'd the prize of me."

The famous Chronicle of Edward the First, by the same author, is a most crude and tedious performance, and has not even the merit of being poetical.-It is a tissue of most gratuitous extravagances. One of the notable contrivances to terrify women and children is this.-Queen Eleanor demands a boon of Longshanks, which he grants without hesitation.-She instantly requests, that all the long beards of the kingdom of England may suffer amputation; and that the right breasts of all the female part of the population, may undergo the same dolorous

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