All they without were raunged in a ring,
And daunced round; but in the midst of them
Three other ladies did both daunce and fing,
The whileft the reft them round about did hemme,
And like a girlond did in compaffe stemme:
And in the middeft of those same three was placed
Another damzell, as a precious gemme
Amidst a ring most richly well enchaced,
That with her goodly prefence all the rest much graced.
Looke how the crowne, which Ariadne wore
yvory forehead, that fame day
That Thefeus her unto his bridale bore,
When the bold Centaures made that bloudy fray
With the fierce Lapithes, which did them dismay,
Being now placed in the firmament,
Through the bright heaven doth her beams display,
And is unto the starres an ornament,
Which round about her move in order excellent.*
Such was the beauty of this goodly band,
Whose fundry parts were here too long to tell;
But the that in the midst of them did stand
Seem'd all the reft in beauty to excell,
Crownd with a rofie girlond, that right well
Did her befeeme; and ever, as the crew
About her daunft, fweet flowres that far did fmell
And fragrant odours they uppon her threw;
But most of all those three did her with gifts endew.
XV.
Those were the Graces, daughters of delight,
Handmaides of Venus, which are wont to haunt
Uppon this hill, and daunce there day and night:
Those three to men all gifts of grace do graunt;
And all that Venus in herself doth vaunt,
Is borrowed of them : but that faire one,
That in the midft was placed paravaunt,
Was the to whom that fhepheard pypt alone
That made him pipe fo merrily, as never none.
L1 2
She was to weete that iolly fhepheards laffe,
Which piped there unto that merry rout ;
That iolly shepheard, which there piped, was
Poore Colin Clout (who knows not Colin Clout?)
He pypt apace, whileft they him daunst about.
Pype, iolly shepheard, pype thou now apace
Unto thy love, that made thee low to lout;
Thy love is present there with thee in place,
Thy love is there advaunft to be another Grace.
XVII.
Much wondred Calidore at this feraunge fight,
Whofe like before his eye had never feene;
And ftanding long astonished in spright,
And rapt with pleasaunce, wist not what to weene;
Whether it were the traine of beauties queene,
Or Nymphes, or Faeries, or enchaunted show,
With which his eyes mote have deluded beene.
Therefore refolving what it was to know,
Out of the wood he rose, and toward them did
XVIII.
But foone as he appeared to their vew,
They vanisht all away out of his fight,
And cleane were gone, which way he never knew
All fave the shepheard, who for fell defpight
Of that displeasure, broke his bag-pipe quight,
And made great mone for that unhappy turne:
But Calidore, though no leffe fory wight
For that mishap, yet seeing him to mourne,
Drew neare, that he the truth of all by him mote learne:
And firft him greeting, thus unto him spake;
Haile, iolly Shepheard, which thy ioyous dayes
Here leadeft in this goodly merry-make.
Frequented of thefe gentle nymphes alwayes,
Which to thee flocke to heare thy lovely layes :
Tell me,
what mote thefe dainty damzels be,
Which here with thee doe make their pleasant playes?
Right happy thou, that mayeft them freely fee:
But why when I them faw fled they away from me?
Not I fo happy, answerd then that swaine,
As thou unhappy, which them thence didst chace,
Whom by no meanes thou canst recall againe ;
For being gone, none can them bring in place,
But whom they of themselves lift fo to grace.
Right fory I, faide then fir Calidore,
That my ill fortune did them hence difplace:
But fince things passed none may now restore,
Tell me what were they all whofe lacke thee grieves fo fore?
XXI.
Tho gan that shepheard thus for to dilate;
Then wote, thou fhepheard, whatsoever thou bee,
That all thofe ladies, which thou faweft late,
Are Venus damzels, all within her fee,
But differing in honour and degree:
They all are Graces, which on her depend,
Befides a thousand more, which ready bee
Her to adorne, whenfo she forth doth wend;
But those three in the midft, doe chiefe on her attend :
XXII.
They are the daughters of sky-ruling Iove,
By bim begot of faire Eurynome,
The Oceans daughter, in this pleasant grove,
As he this way comming from feaftfull glee
Of Thetis wedding with Aecidee,
In fommers fhade bimfelfe here refted weary.
The first of them hight mylde Euphrofyne,
Next faire Aglaia, laft Thalia merry ;
Sweete goddesses all three, which me in mirth do cherry.
XXIII.
Thefe three on men all gracious gifts bestow,
Which decke the body or adorne the mynde,
To make them lovely or well-favoured fhow;
As comely carriage, entertainment kynde,
Sweete femblaunt, friendly offices that bynde,
And all the complements of curtefie;
They teach us, how to each degree and kynde
We should ourselves demeane, to low, to bie,
To friends, to foes ; which skill men call civility.
Therefore they alwaies fmoothly feeme to fmile,
That we likewife should mylde and gentle be;
And alfo naked are, that without guile
Or false diffemblaunce all them plaine may see,
Simple and true from covert malice free;
And eeke themselves fo in their daunce they bore,
That two of them fill forward feem'd to bee,
But one ftill towards fhew'd herfelfe afore;
That good fhould from us goe, then come, in greater flore.
Such were thofe goddesses which ye did fee:
But that fourth mayd, which there amidst them traced,
Who can aread, what creature mote fhe bee,
Whether a creature or a goddesse graced
With heavenly gifts from beven firft enraced?
But whatfo fure fhe was, fhe worthy was
To be the fourth with those three other placed
Yet was fhe certes but a countrey laffe;
Yet fhe all other countrey laffes farre did paffe:
XXVI.
So farre, as doth the daughter of the day
All other lefler lights in light excell;
So farre doth fhe in beautyfull array
Above all other laffes beare the bell;
Ne leffe in vertue that befeemes her well
Doth fhe exceede the rest of all her racè ;
For which the Graces that here wont to dwell
Have for more honor brought her to this place,
And graced her fo much to be another Grace.
XXVII.
Another Grace fhe well deferves to be,
In whom fo many graces gathered are,
Excelling much the meane of her degree;
Divine refemblaunce, beauty foveraine rare,
Firme chastity, that fpight ne blemish dare;
All which he with fuch courtefie doth grace,
That all her peres cannot with her compare,
But quite are dimmed when she is in place:
She made me often pipe and now to pipe apace.
Sunne of the world, great glory of the sky,
That all the earth doeft lighten with thy rayes,
Great Gloriana, greatest maiefty,
Pardon thy fhepheard, mong ft fo many layes
As he hath fung of thee in all his dayes,
To make one minime of thy poore handmayd,
And underneath thy feete to place her prayfe;
That when thy glory fhall be farre difplayd
To future age, of her this mention may be made.
When thus that shepheard ended had his speach,'
Sayd Calidore, Now fure it yrketh mee,
That to thy bliffe I made this luckelesse breach,
As now the author of thy bale to be,
Thus to bereave thy loves deare fight from thee:
But, gentle fhepheard, pardon thou my shame,
Who rafbly fought that which I mote not fee.
Thus did the courteous knight excufe his blame,
And to recomfort him all comely meanes did frame.
In such discourses they together spent
Long time, as fit occafion forth them led;
With which the knight himselfe did much content,
And with delight his greedy fancy fed
Both of his words, which he with reafon red,
And also of the place, whofe pleasures rare
With fuch regard his fences ravished,
That thence he had no will away to fare,
But wisht that with that shepheard he mote dwelling share.
But that envenimd fting, the which of yore
His poyfnous point deepe fixed in his hart
Had left, now gan afresh to rancle fore,
And to renue the rigour of his smart;
Which to recure, no skill of leaches art
Mote him availe, but to returne againe
To his wounds worker, that with lovely dart
Dinting his breft had bred his restlesse paine,
Like as the wounded whale to shore flies from the maine,
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