Haile to the floures, red, and white, and blewe,

Which by there vertue maketh oure lustes newe!"

The thridde lesson the turtill-dove toke up. And therat lough the mavis' in a scorn : He seid, "O God, as mote I dyene or suppe, This folissh dove wille gife us al an horne! There ben right here a thousand better borne, To rede this lesson, which as welle as he, 1392 And eke as hote, can love in all degree."

The turtylle dove seide, "Welcom, welcom,
May,

Gladsom and light to lovers that ben trewe!
I thanke the Lord of Love that doth purveye
For me to rede this lesson al of dewe; 2
For in gode south of corage I pursue

To serve my make till deth us moste departe:"
And than "Tu autem "8 sang he all aparte. 1400
"Te Deum amoris "4 sang the thrustell-cok:
Tuball hymself, the firste musican,

With key of armony coude not unloke

So swete tewne as that the thrustill can: "The Lord of Love we praysen," quod he than, And so done alle the foules grete and lite, "Honoure we May, in false lovers dispite." "Dominus regnavit," seide the pecok there, The Lord of Love that myghty prynce, iwis, He hath receyved here and every where: 1410

1 Thrush. In due order. as). Thou Lord of Love.

Thou also (Lord, have mercy upo Ps. xciii. 1.

Nowe Jubilate syng." "Whate meneth this?" Seid than the lynnette, "Welcom, Lord of blisse !"

Oute sterte the owl with "Benedicite!

Whate meneth all this mery fare?" quod he.

19 2 Laudate," sang the larke with voice ful shrille;

And eke the kite, “O admirabile! 8

This quere wil throwe myne eris pers and thrille;

But whate? Welcom this May season," quod

he;

"And honoure to the Lord of Love mot be,

That hath this feeste so solempne and SO

66

high."

Amen," seid alle, and seid eke the pye.

1420

And furth the cokkowe gan procede anon, With "Benedictus," thankyng God in hast, That in this May wold visite them echon, And gladden them all while the feste shall leste :

And therewithal a-loughter oute he braste, "I thanke it God that I shuld ende the song, And all the service which hath ben so long." Thus sange thay all the service of the feste, And that was done right early to my dome; And furth goith all the courte bothe moste and leste,

Ps. c. I. 13. Choir.

1431

Ps. cxlvi. 1. 3 Probably for O altitudo, Rom. xi
Judgment.

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 Boole2 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

8

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

1 Mr Skeat assigns this poem to the middle of the fiteerth cont It was first published in 1598, by Speght, and 2 Taurus, which the Sun enters in May.

ary.

m^nusc.ip' is Many

knc wn.

"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,' 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,

8

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

60

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,