Bid her awake therefore, and soon her dight, That shall, for all the pains and sorrows past, And, whilst she doth her dight, Do ye to her of joy and solace sing, That all the woods may answer, and your echo ring. Bring with you all the Nymphs that you can hear, For my fair love, of lilies and of roses, Bound truelove wise with a blue silk riband; And let the ground whereas her foot shall tread, The whiles do ye this song unto her sing, The woods shall to you answer, and your echo ring. Ye Nymphs of Mulla, which with careful heed The silver scaly trouts do tend full well, variegated. Bind up the locks the which hang scattered light, That when you come whereas my love doth lie, And eke, ye lightfoot maids, which keep the door, To help to deck her, and to help to sing, That all the woods may answer, and your echo ring. Wake now, my love, awake! for it is time; All ready to her silver coach to climb; And Phoebus gins to show his glorious head. The merry lark her matins sings aloft; The thrush replies; the mavis descant plays; Ah! my dear love, why do ye sleep thus long, For they of joy and pleasance to you sing, My love is now awake out of her dreams, And her fair eyes, like stars that dimmed were With darksome cloud, now show their goodly beams More bright than Hesperus his head doth rear. Come now, ye damsels, daughters of delight, But first come ye fair hours, which were begot, And all that ever in this world is fair, Do make and still repair: And three handmaids of the Cyprian queen, ye The which do still adorn her beauty's pride, Help to adorn my beautifulest bride; And as ye her array, still throw between Some graces to be seen, And, as ye use to Venus, to her sing, echo ring. Now is my love all ready forth to come: The joyful'st day that ever sun did see. O fairest Phoebus! father of the Muse. Or sing the thing that mote thy mind delight, Do not thy servant's simple boon refuse; Let all the rest be thine; Then I thy sovereign praises loud will sing, That all the woods shall answer, and their echo ring. Hark! how the minstrels gin to shrill aloud Their merry music that resounds from far, And thereunto do dance and carol sweet, The whiles the boys run up and down the street, Hymen, iö Hymen, Hymen, they do shout; And evermore they Hymen, Hymen sing, That all the woods them answer, and their echo ring. Lo! where she comes along with portly pace, Like Phoebe, from her chamber of the East, Clad all in white, that seems a virgin best. Some angel she had been. Her long loose yellow locks like golden wire, Do like a golden mantle her attire; And, being crowned with a garland green, Seem like some maiden queen. Her modest eyes, abashed to behold So many gazers as on her do stare, Upon the lowly ground affixed are; Ne dare lift up her countenance too bold, But blush to hear her praises sung so loud, Nathless do ye still loud her praises sing, That all the woods may answer, and your echo ring. Tell me, ye merchants' daughters, did ye see Adorned with beauty's grace and virtue's store? Her cheeks like apples which the sun hath rudded, Her lips like cherries charming men to bite, Her breast like to a bowl of cream uncrudded, Her paps like lilies budded, Her snowy neck like to a marble tower; Whiles ye forget your former lay to sing, To which the woods did answer, and your echo ring? But if ye saw that which no eyes can see, There dwells sweet love, and constant chastity, Regard of honour, and mild modesty; There virtue reigns as queen in royal throne, And giveth laws alone, The which the base affections do obey, |