"Thou hadst been gone," quoth she, "sweet boy, ere this, [the boar. "But that thou told'st me, thou would'st hunt "O be advis'd! thou know'st not what it is "With javelin's point a churlish swine to gore, "Whose tushes never-sheath'd he whetteth still, "Like to a mortal26 butcher, bent to kill. "On his bow-back he hath a battle set "Of bristly pikes, that ever threat his foes; His eyes like glowworms shine when he doth fret; "His snout digs sepulchres where'er he goes; 64 Being mov'd, he strikes whate'er is in his way, "And whom he strikes, his cruel tushes slay. "His brawny sides, with hairy bristles arm'd, "Are better proof than thy spear's point can enter; "His short thick neck cannot be easily harm'd; Being ireful, on the lion he will venture: "The thorny brambles and embracing bushes, "As fearful of him, part; through whom he rushes. Alas, he nought esteems that face of thine, "To which Love's eyes pay tributary gazes; "Nor thy soft hands, sweet lips, and crystal eyne, Whose full perfection all the world amazes; "But having thee at vantage (wondrous dread!) "Would root these beauties as he roots the mead. 6 mortal] i. e. deadly. "O, let him keep his loathsome cabin still! 66 Beauty hath nought to do with such foul fiends: "Come not within his danger by thy will; 66 They that thrive well, take counsel of their friends. "When thou didst name the boar, not to dissemble, "I fear'd thy fortune, and my joints did tremble. "Didst thou not mark my face? Was it not white? "Saw'st thou not signs of fear lurk in mine eye? "Grew I not faint? And fell I not downright? "Within my bosom, whereon thou dost lie, "My boding heart pants, beats, and takes no [breast. rest, "But, like an earthquake, shakes thee on my "For where love reigns, disturbing jealousy 66 Distempering gentle love in his desire, "As air and water do abate the fire. "This sour informer, this bate-breeding 27 spy, "This canker that eats up love's tender spring, "This carry-tale, dissensious jealousy, [bring “That sometime true news, sometime false doth "Knocks at my heart, and whispers in mine ear, "That if I love thee, I thy death should fear: 27 bate-breeding] i. e. strife-breeding. "And more than so, presenteth to mine eye "The picture of an angry-chafing boar, "Under whose sharp fangs on his back doth lie "An image like thyself, all stain'd with gore · "Whose blood upon the fresh flowers being shed, "Doth make them droop with grief, and hang the head. "What should I do, seeing thee so indeed, "That tremble at the imagination? "The thought of it doth make my faint heart bleed, "And fear doth teach it divination : "I prophesy thy death, my living sorrow, "If thou encounter with the boar to-morrow. "But if thou needs wilt hunt, be rul'd by me; "Uncouple at the timorous flying hare, "Or at the fox, which lives by subtilty, "Or at the roe, which no encounter dare: "Pursue these fearful creatures o'er the downs, "And on thy well-breath'd horse keep with thy hounds. "And when thou hast on foot the purblind hare, "Mark the poor wretch, to overshoot 28 his troubles, "How he outruns the wind, and with what care 28 overshoot] Malone absurdly gives in the text, and attempts to defend in a note, the reading of the old copy "overshut." D "He cranks 29 and crosses, with a thousand doubles: "The many musits 30 through the which he goes, "Are like a labyrinth to amaze his foes. "Sometime he runs among a flock of sheep, "To make the cunning hounds mistake their smell, "And sometime where earth-delving conies keep, "To stop the loud pursuers in their yell; "And sometime sorteth with a herd of deer; 66 Danger deviseth shifts; wit waits on fear : "For there his smell with others being mingled, "The hot scent-snuffing hounds are driven to doubt, "Ceasing their clamorous cry till they have singled "With much ado the cold fault cleanly out; 66 "Then do they spend their mouths: Echo replies, 'As if another chase were in the skies. By this, poor Wat, far off upon a hill, "Stands on his hinder legs with listening ear, "To hearken if his foes pursue him still; "Anon their loud alarums he doth hear; "And now his grief may be compared well "To one sore-sick, that hears the passing bell. cranks] i. e. winds. 30 musits] i. e. gaps in hedges or thickets, through which the hare is wont to pass. "Theu shalt thou see the dew-bedabbled wretch "Turn, and return, indenting with the way; "Each envious briar his weary legs doth scratch, "Each shadow makes him stop, each murmur "For misery is trodden on by many, [stay: "And being low, never reliev'd by any. "Lie quietly, and hear a little more; Nay, do not struggle, for thou shalt not rise: "To make thee hate the hunting of the boar, "Unlike myself thou hear'st me moralize, 31 "Applying this to that, and so to so; "For love can comment upon every woe. "Where did I leave?"-" No matter where," quoth he; "Leave me, and then the story aptly ends: "The night is spent." "Why, what of that," quoth she? "I am," quoth he, " expected of my friends; “And now 'tis dark, and going I shall fall.”"In night," quoth she, "desire sees best of all. [lips "But if thou fall, O then imagine this, "The earth in love with thee thy footing trips, "And all is but to rob thee of a kiss. "Rich preys make true 32 men thieves; so do thy "Make modest Dian cloudy and forlorn, "Lest she should steal a kiss, and die forsworn. 31 moralize] i. e. comment. 32 true] i. e. honest. |