English

Cowards fear to Die, but Courage stout,
Rather than Live in Snuff, will be put out.

Covered with snow, the herd, with none to guide,
Came to the stall adown the mountain side;
For, ah! Therimachus beneath an oak
Slept the long sleep, from which he ne'er awoke,
Sent to his slumber by the lightning's stroke.

1.

The Courteous Pagan shall condemne
Uncourteous Englishmen
Who live like Foxes, Bears and Wolves,
Or Lyon in his Den.

2.

Let none sing blessings to their soules,
For that they Courteous are:
The wild Barbarians with no more
Then Nature, go so farre:

3.

The court is kept att leeue London,
And euermore shall be itt;
The K ing sent for a bold embassador,
And S i r Hugh Spencer tha t he hight.

" Come hither, Spencer," saith our kinge,
" And come thou hither vnto mee;
I must make thee an embassadour
Betweene the k ing of Ffrance and mee.

" Thou must comend me to the k ing of Ffrance,
And tell him thus and now ffrom mee,

Courage, dear Moll! and drive away despair;
Mopsa, who in her youth was scarce thought fair,
In spite of age, experience, and decays,
Set up for charming in her fading days:
Snuffs her dim eyes to give one parting blow —
Have at the heart of every ogling beau!
This goodly goose, all feathered like a jay,
So gravely vain and so demurely gay,
Last night, to grace the court, did overload
Her bald buff forehead with a high commode;
Her steps were managed with such tender art
As if each board had been a lover's heart.

Countrymen of England, who live at home with ease,
And little think what dangers are incident o' the seas:
Give ear unto the sailor who unto you will show
—His case, his case: Howe'er the wind doth blow.

He that is a sailor must have a valiant heart,
For when he is upon the sea, he is not like to start;
But must with noble courage all dangers undergo:
—Resolve, resolve: Howe'er the wind doth blow.

Our calling is laborious and subject to much care,
But we must still contented be, with what falls to our share.

The country vegetables scorn
To lie about in shops,
They stand upright as they were born
In neatly-patterned crops;

And when you want your dinner you
Don't buy it from a shelf,
You find a lettuce fresh with dew
And pull it for yourself;

You pick an apronful of peas
And shell them on the spot.
You cut a cabbage, if you please,
To pop into the pot.

The folk who their potatoes buy
From sacks before they sup,
Miss half of the potato's joy,
And that's to dig it up.

A COUNTRY that draws fifty foot of water,
In which men live as in the hold of Nature;
And when the sea does in upon them break,
And drowns a province, does but spring a lake;
That always ply the pump, and never think
They can be safe, but at the rate they stink;
That live as if they had been run aground,
And, when they die, are cast away and drown'd;
That dwell in ships, like swarms of rats, and prey
Upon the goods all nations' fleets convey;
And, when their merchants are blown up and crackt,

A COUNTRY life is sweet!
In moderate cold and heat,
— To walk in the air how pleasant and fair!
In every field of wheat,
— The fairest of flowers adorning the bowers,
And every meadow's brow;
— So that I say, no courtier may
— Compare with them who clothe in gray,
And follow the useful plow.

They rise with the morning lark,
And labor till almost dark,
— Then, folding their sheep, they hasten to sleep
While every pleasant park
— Next morning is ringing with birds that are singing

The powers of love so powerful are,
What mortal can withstand,
Or, who can say oppose they dare
Where Cupid bears command
This Damsel quickly she did yield
The youngsters skill to try,
The twinkling Archer won the Field,
And then she down did lye

A Country Lad and bonny Lass
they did together meet
And as they did together pass
thus he began to greet!
What I do say I may mind well,
and thus I do begin: