To the right honourable Sir Christopher Hatton,
Lord high Chauncelor of England. &c.
T
H
h
ose prudent heads, that with theire counsels
wise
Whylom the Pillours of th’earth did sustaine,
And taught ambitious Rome to
tyrannise,
And in the neck of all the world to rayne,
Oft from those graue grave affaires were wont abstaine,
With the sweet Lady Muses for to play:
So Ennius the elder Africane,
So Maro oft did Cæsars cares allay.
So you great Lord, that with your counsell sway
The burdeine of this kingdom mightily,
With like delightes sometimes may eke delay,
The rugged brow of carefull Policy:
And to these ydle rymes lend litle space,
Which for their titles sake may find more grace.
To the most honourable and excellent Lo. the Earle
of Essex. Great Maister of the Horse to her Highnesse,
and
knight of the Noble order of the Garter. &c. etc.
M
A
a
gnificke Lord, whose vertues exellent
Doe merit a most famous Poets witt,
To be thy liuing living praises instrument,
Yet doe not sdeigne, to let thy name be writt
In this base Poeme, for thee far vnfitt unfitt .
Nought is thy worth disparaged thereby,
But when my Muse, whose fethers nothing flitt
Doe yet but flagg, and lowly learne to fly
With bolder wing shall dare alofte to sty
To the last praises of this Faery Queene,
Then shall it make more famous memory
Of thine Heroicke parts, such as they beene:
Till then vouch safe thy noble countenaunce,
To these first labours needed furtheraunce,
602
To the right Honourable the Earle of Oxenford,
Lord high Chamberlayne of England. &c. etc.
R
E
e
ceiue Receive most Noble Lord in gentle gree,
The vnripe unripe fruit of an vnready unready wit:
Which by thy countenaunce doth craue crave to bee
Defended from foule Enuies Envies poisnous bit.
Which so to doe may thee right well
befit,
Sith th’antique glory of thine auncestry
Vnder Under a shady vele is therein writ,
And eke thine owne long liuing living memory,
Succeeding them in true nobility:
And also for the loue love , which thou doest beare
To th’Heliconian ymps, and they to
thee,
They vnto unto thee, and thou to them most deare:
Deare as thou art vnto unto thy selfe, so loue love
That loues loves
& and honours thee, as doth behoue behove .
To the right honourable the Earle of
Northumberland.
T
H
h
e sacred Muses haue have made alwaies clame
To be the Nourses of nobility,
And Registres of euerlasting everlasting fame,
To all that armes professe and cheualry chevalry .
Then by like right the noble Progeny,
Which them succeed in fame and worth, are tyde
T’embrace the seruice service of sweete Poetry,
By whose endeuours endevours they are glorifide,
And eke from all, of whom it is enuide envide ,
To patronize the authour of their praise,
Which giues gives them life, that els would soone haue have dide,
And crownes their ashes with immortall baies.
To thee therefore right noble Lord I send
This present of my paines, it to defend.
603
To the right Honourable the Earle of
Ormond and Ossory.
Receiue R
E
e
ceive most noble Lord a simple taste
Of the wilde fruit, which saluage salvage soyl hath bred,
Which being through long wars left almost waste,
With brutish barbarisme is ouerspredd overspredd :
And in so faire a land, as may be redd,
Not one Parnassus, nor one Helicone
Left for sweete Muses to be harboured,
But where thy selfe hast thy braue brave mansione;
There in deede dwel faire Graces many one.
And gentle Nymphes, delights of learned wits,
And in thy person without Paragone
All goodly bountie and true honour sits,
Such therefore, as that wasted soyl doth yield,
Receiue Receive dear Lord in worth, the fruit of barren field.
To the right honourable the Lo. Ch. Howard, Lo. high Admi-
ral
of England, knight of the noble order of the Garter,
and one of her Maiesties Majesties
priuie privie Counsel. &c. etc.
A
N
n
d ye, braue brave Lord, whose goodly personage,
And noble deeds each other garnishing,
Make you ensample to the present age,
Of th’old Heroes, whose famous ofspring
The antique Poets wont so much to sing,
In this same Pageaunt haue have a worthy place,
Sith those huge castles of Castilian king,
That vainly threatned kingdomes to displace,
Like flying doues doves ye did before you chace;
And that proud people woxen insolent
Through many victories, didst first deface:
Thy praises euerlastingeverlasting monument
Is in this verse engrauen engraven semblably,
That it may liue live to all posterity.
604
To the most renowmed and valiant Lord, the
Lord Grey of Wilton,
knight of the Noble order
of the Garter, &c. etc.
M
O
o
st Noble Lord the pillor of my life,
And Patrone of my Muses pupillage,
Through whose large bountie poured on me rife,
In the first season of my feeble age,
I now doe liue live , bound yours by vassalage:
Sith nothing euer ever may redeeme, nor reaue reave
Out of your endlesse debt so sure a gage,
Vouchsafe in worth this small guift to receaue receave ,
Which in your noble hands for pledge I leaue leave ,
Of all the rest, that I am tyde t’account:
Rude rymes, the which a rustick Muse did weaue weave
In sauadge savadge soyle, far from Parnasso mount,
And roughly wrought in an vnlearned unlearned Loome:
The which vouchsafe dear Lord your fauorable favorable doome.
To the right noble and valorous knight, Sir Walter Raleigh,
Lo. Wardein of the Stanneryes, and liefenaunt
of Cornewaile.
T
O
o
thee that art the sommers Nightingale,
Thy soueraine soveraine Goddesses most deare delight,
Why doe I send this rusticke Madrigale,
That may thy tunefull eare vnseason unseason quite?
Thou onely fit this Argument to write,
In whose high thoughts Pleasure hath built her bowre,
And dainty loue love learnd sweetly to endite.
My rimes I know vnsauory unsavory and sowre,
To tast the streames, that like a golden showre
Flow from thy fruitfull head, of thy loues loves praise,
Fitter perhaps to thonder Martiall stowre,
When so thee list thy lofty Muse to raise:
Yet till that thou thy Poeme wilt make knowne,
Let thy faire Cinthias praises bee thus rudely showne.
605
To the most vertuous, and beautifull Lady,
the Lady Carew.
N
E
e
may I, without blot of endlesse blame,
You fairest Lady leaue leave out of this place,
But with remembraunce of your gracious name,
Wherewith that courtly garlond most ye grace,
And deck the world, adorne these verses base:
Not that these few lines can in them comprise
Those glorious ornaments of heuenly grace,
Wherewith ye triumph ouer over feeble eyes,
And in subdued harts do tyranyse:
For thereunto doth need a golden quill,
And siluer silver
leaues leaves , them rightly to deuise devise ,
But to make humble present of good will:
Which whenas timely meanes it purchase may,
In ampler wise it selfe will forth display.
E. S.
To all the gratious and beautifull Ladies in the
Court.
T
H
h
e Chian Peincter, when he was requirde
To pourtraict Venus in her perfect hew,
To make his worke more absolute, desird
Of all the fairest Maides to haue have the vew.
Much more me needs to draw the semblant trew,
Of beauties Queene, the worlds sole wonderment,
To sharpe my sence with sundry beauties vew,
And steale from each some part of ornament.
If all the world to seeke I ouerwent overwent ,
A fairer crew yet no where could I see,
Then that braue brave court doth to mine eie present,
That the worlds pride seemes gathered there to bee.
Of each a part I stole by cunning thefte:
Forgiue Forgive it me faire Dames, sith lesse ye haue have not lefte.
FINIS.
E. S.