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NYMPHIDIA.
Then since no muse hath been so bold,Or of the later, or the old,Those elvish secrets to unfold, Which lie from others reading;My active muse to light shall bringThe court of that proud fairy king,And tell there of the revelling: Jove prosper my proceeding.
And thou, Nymphidia, gentle fay,Which, meeting me upon the way,These secrets didst to me bewray, Which now I am in telling:My pretty, light, fantastic maid,I here invoke thee to my aid,That I may speak what thou hast said, In numbers smoothly swelling.
This palace standeth in the air,By necromancy placed there,That it no tempest' needs to fear, Which way soe'er it blow it:And somewhat southward tow'rd the noon,Whence lies a way up to the moon,And thence the fairy can as soon Pass to the earth below it.
