geous,
And in a pette be in some cornere hurl'd;
Yet you by little fingeres will be greased
And known hereafter by the marke of thumbe;
At which, my little booke, be ye well pleased,
For booke, like mouthe, unopened is dumbe.
And there be some, perchance, will bidde you off
To Conventre, or Yorke, or Jericho;
But be not you, my booke, abashed by scoff,
For I will teach you where you boun to go,--
Which is in Gloucestershire, there unto Bisley,
Where the church spire is spied long afarre;
It is not either uncouth, square, or grisly,
But soareth high, as if to catch a starre;
Where shall the brother of the _Christian Yeare_,
Keble, hereafter tend the seven springs,
Above whose fountains doth The Grove uproar,
Like to Mount Helicon, where Clio sings,
Where rookes build, and peacocke spreadeth tail.
And there the wood-pigeon doth sobbe Coo coo;
Neither do sparrow, merle or mavis fail,
And there the owl at midnight singeth Whoo.
And where there are a Laurel and a Rose,
Beneath whose branches wide a broode doth haunt;
The whom high walls and fretted gates enclose,
Where goode may enter, badde are bidde avaunt.
And there is one yclepen Margarete,
Who alsoe for the nonce is clepen Rose,
For she must on some other hille be sette
When Hymenaeos shall her lotte dispose.
And, little booke, it is to her you runne.
And sisters eight, for they, in soothe, are nine;
And in their bowere baske as in the suunne,
And beare Maid Marion's love to Catherine,
Who is her gossipe, and she is her pette;
And nought mote save us from a wrath condign,
If you, my booke, should haplessly forgette,
Nor bended knees, I trow, nor teares of Margarete.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

DEDICATION v
Introduction 1
Lion, Tiger, and Traveller 4
Spaniel and Chameleon 6
Mother, Nurse, and Fairy 7
Jove's Eagle, and Murmuring Beasts 9
Wild Boar and Ram 10
Miser and Plutus 11
Lion, Fox, and Gander 12
Lady and Wasp 14