Page:National Ballad and Song (1897), vol. 1.djvu/47

Or drugges or electuaryes of newe devises,
that shame my purse, and tremble at thie prices.
I paid of both, [the] scott and lott allmost,
yet looke as lanke and leane as any ghost;
For that I allwayes had, I payd the wole,
which, for a poore man, is a princely dole—
what cann be added more to my renowne?
she lyeth breathlesse; I am taken downe;
The waves doe swell, the tide climes ore the bankes;
Judge, gentleweomen, doth this deserue no thankes?
And soe, good night vnto you, euery one;
For loe, our thred is spunne, our playes done.

[Thus hath my penne presum’d to please my friend:
 Oh mighst thou lykewise please Apollo’s eye.[Petyt MS.
 No, Honor brookes no such impietie,
 Yett Ouid’s wanton muse did not offend.
He is the fountaine whence my streames doe flowe—
 Forgive me if I speak as I was taught,
 Alike to women utter all I knowe,
 As longing to unlade so bad a fraught.
My mynde once purg’d of such lascivious witt,
 With purifide words and hallowed verse,
 Thy praises in large volumes shall rehearse
 That better maie thy grauer view befitt.
Meanwhile ytt rests, you smile at what I write
 Or for attempting banish me your sight.]