RICHARD BARNFIELD.

A.D. 1594.

EDITED BY

JAMES ORCHARD HALLIWELL, Esq. F.R.S.

HON. M.R.I.A., HON. M.R.S.L., F.S.A., ETC.

LONDON.

REPRINTED FOR THE PERCY SOCIETY,

BY T. RICHARDS, 100, ST. MARTIN'S LANE.

M.DCCC.XLV.

COUNCIL

OF

The Percy Society.

[Pg iii]

PREFACE.

Two copies only of the poem by Barnfield here reprinted, are known to be preserved; one in Sion College Library, and another, formerly in Heber's possession, mentioned in "Bibliotheca Heberiana," iv. 15. Its merits and great rarity have pointed it out as a work deserving to be more known and appreciated. Barnfield is, perhaps, chiefly remembered by his elegant pieces printed in the "Passionate Pilgrim," attributed by some to Shakespeare; but Mr. Collier has distinctly proved them to belong to the less eminent poet. The "Affectionate Shepherd" was his first production, as he himself confesses in the preface to his "Cynthia," 1595, and it has received the well-merited commendation of Warton. Besides these poems, he is the author of "The Complaint of Poetrie for the death of Liberalitie," 4to. 1598, and others published at the same time, reprints of which are in the British Museum; also "The[Pg iv] Encomium of Lady Pecunia, or the Praise of Money," a curious manuscript in the Ashmolean Museum, and likewise printed in the author's life-time. It

should be mentioned that in the original copies of the following tract are a few hexameter verses on the Rape of Helen, which have been omitted as of an inferior kind to the other part of the work, and for still more obvious reasons. The "Affectionate Shepherd" itself will be found remarkably free from the coarseness which disfigures so much of the Elizabethan literature,—an additional inducement, if any were necessary, for rescuing it from the liability to destruction which is of course incident to any book of such excessive rarity. Our thanks are due to the Rev. H. Christmas, Librarian of Sion College, for the courtesy and liberality with which he permitted our transcript to be made from a volume of tracts possessing the greatest charm for the bibliographer; for besides the present one, it contains the first edition of Shakespeare's Lucrece, and several other pieces of nearly equal value, in the finest possible condition.

THE

AFFECTIONATE SHEPHEARD.

CONTAINING THE COMPLAINT OF DAPHNIS FOR THE LOUE OF GANYMEDE.

Amor plus mellis, quam fellis, est.

London:

Printed by John Danter, for T. G. and E. N., and are to bee sold in Saint Dunstones Church-yeard in Fleetstreet.

1594.

[Pg 3]

TO THE RIGHT EXCELLENT AND MOST BEAUTIFULL LADY, THE LADIE PENELOPE RITCH.

[Pg 5]

THE AFFECTIONATE SHEPHEARD.

THE TEARES OF AN AFFECTIONATE SHEPHEARD SICKE FOR LOVE, OR THE COMPLAINT OF DAPHNIS FOR THE LOVE OF GANIMEDE.

[Pg 15]

THE SECOND DAYES LAMENTATION OF THE AFFECTIONATE SHEPHEARD.

[Pg 33]

THE SHEPHEARDS CONTENT, OR THE HAPPINES OF A HARMLES LIFE. WRITTEN UPON OCCASION OF THE FORMER SUBJECT.

[Pg 45]

SONNET.

[Pg 46]

THE COMPLAINT OF CHASTITIE, BRIEFELY TOUCHING THE CAUSE OF THE DEATH OF MATILDA FITZWALTERS, AN ENGLISH LADIE, SOMETIME LOVED OF KING JOHN, AFTER POYSONED. THE STORIE IS AT LARGE WRITTEN BY MICHAEL DREYTON.

[Pg 49]

NOTES.

P. 6, l. 1.—Blin.] To cease.

Wright's Political Songs, p. 212.

P. 7, l. 25.—Her hart more hard than adamant or steele.] Compare "Midsummer Night's Dream," ii. 2.—

P. 8, l. 15.—Ban.] Curse.

P. 9, l. 13.—Crownets.] Coronets. The term occurs in Shakespeare.

P. 9, l. 22.—Hunts-up.] Mr. Collier has printed a very curious song, from which it appears that the hunts-up was known as early as 28 Henry VIII. The following extract will show the nature of it:—

P. 10, l. 10.—Eughes.] Yews.

P. 10, l. 15.—Ladon.] A river in Arcadia.

[Pg 50]P. 11, l. 2.—Syrinx.] An Arcadian nymph, who, flying from Pan, was turned into a reed, which was afterwards made into a pipe by the pursuer.

P. 11, l. 24.—Prickets.] Bucks of the second year.

P. 12, l. 10.—Spyke.] Lavender.

P. 12, l. 11.—The scarlet dyde carnation bleeding yet.] The idea of a bleeding flower gives additional grace to one of the most beautiful passages in Shakespeare.—

P. 12, l. 13.—Good for the blinde.] According to Gerard, p. 537, "eiebright stamped and laid upon the eies, or the juice thereof, mixed with white wine, and dropped into the eies, or the destilled water, taketh awaie the darknesse and dimnesse of the eies, and cleereth the sight."

P. 12, l. 18.—Sops in wine.] Pinks.

P. 12, l. 19.—Bootes.] The marsh marigold. According to Gerard, p. 671, this name for the plant was current only "in Cheshire and those parts."

P. 13, l. 2.—Tyce.] To entice.

P. 15, l. 6.—The christall fountaines.]

Midsummer Night's Dream, iii. 2.

P. 16, l. 24.—Boult.] A short thick arrow.

P. 16, l. 24.—Thrustle-cocke.] The male thrush.

P. 16, l. 25.—Afforde.] "Afford's," orig.

P. 17, l. 6.—Grype.] A griffin.

P. 17, l. 13.—Oozels.] Blackbirds. See p. 24.

P. 18, l. 3.—As white as whale.]

Love's Labour's Lost, v. ii.

[Pg 51]P. 20, l. 12.—My lovely faire.] Compare the Midsummer Night's Dream, i. 1.—

P. 22, l. 3.—Fautors.] Abetters, supporters.

P. 25, l. 1.—When huntsmen, &c.]

Juvenal, xii. 84.

P. 27, l. 1.—White is the colour.] This stanza seems to have been imitated in "Greenes Funeralls," 4to. London, 1594. See the "First Sketches of Henry VI," Introduction, p. xxiii.

P. 30, l. 4.—Knife.] So in the original, but probably a mistake for swords.

P. 30, l. 8.—Glaver.] To flatter.

P. 35, l. 11.—Deck.] Pack of cards.

P. 40, l. 12.—Rampicke.] Partially decayed; a term generally applied to a tree which begins to decay at the top through age.

P. 40, l. 21.—Melt.] "Melts" in the original.

P. 42, l. 24.—Cruell, unkinde, and wilt thou leave me so.] Compare Midsummer Night's Dream, iii. 2, "why unkindly didst thou leave me so?"

P. 46, l. 3.—After.] Afterwards. The poetical legend by Drayton, here alluded to, will be found in the collected works of that writer.

P. 48, l. 4.—Ones.] Once. After this poem is inserted, in the original, three pages entitled, "Hellens Rape, or a light Lanthorne for light Ladies. Written in English hexameters."