Stand abacke, ftand abacke, fayd Robin; Itt was never the ufe in our countryè, Ones fhrift another shold heere, But Robin pulled forth an Irysh knife, And gave him fir Guyes bowe into his hand, And bade it be his boote. 220 Then John he tooke Guyes bowe in his hand, 225 When the sheriffe faw Little John bend his bow, Towards his houfe in Nottingham towne, He fled full fast away ; And foe did all the companye; Not one behind wold stay. But he cold neither runne foe faft, Nor away foe fast cold ryde, But Little John with an arrowe foe broad,' 230 235 ** The Title of SIR was not formerly peculiar to Knights, it was given to Priefts, and fometimes to very inferior perfonages. 1 IX. THE TOWER OF DOCTRINE. The Reader has here a fpecimen of the defcriptive powers of STEPHEN HAWES, a celebrated poet in the reign of Hen. VII. tho' now little known. It is extracted from an allegorical poem of his (written in 1505.) intitled, "The Hift. of Graunde Amoure & La Belle Pucel, called the "Palace of Pleafure, &c." 4to. 1555. See more of Hawes in Ath. Ox. v. 1. p. 6. and Warton's Obferv. v. 2. p. 105. The following Stanzas are taken from Chap. III." How "Fame departed from Graunde Amour and left him with "Governaunce and Grace, and how he went to the Tower of Doctrine.”—As we are able to give no small lyric piece of Hawes's, the Reader will excufe the infertion of this extract. I Loked about and fawe a craggy roche, Farre in the weft neare to the element, And as I dyd then unto it approche, Upon the toppe I fawe refulgent The royall tower of MORALL DOCUMENT, Made of fine copper with turrets faire and hye, Which against Phebus fhone so marveylously, That for the very perfect brighteness What of the tower, and of the cleare funne, Of that palaice, whereas Doctrine did wonne a G 4 10 Then 15 Then to the tower I drew nere and nere, The little turrett with ymages of golde About was fet, which with the wynde aye moved With proper vices, that I did well beholde About the towre: in fundry wyfe they hoved 25 With goodly pypes, in their mouthes ituned, That with the winde they pyped a daunce Iclipped Amour de la bault plefaunce. The toure was great of marveylous wydnes, ૩૦ Into the toure for to have an intres : A grece ther was ychyfeled all of stone Up to the toure, and in lykewyfe did I Wyth both the Grayhoundes in my company † : 35 Till that I came unto a ryall gate, Wher I fawe ftondynge the goodly Portres, To whom I gan in every thinge expreffe This alludes to a former part of the Poem. 40 Her Her name, fhe fayd, was called COUNTENAUNCE; Of whyche ther flowed foure ryvers ryght clere, I did than tafte th' aromatyke licoure The flore was paved with berall clarified, 45 50 55 ба 65 70 That That treated well of a ful noble ftory, Of the doutye waye to the Tower Perillous; † Howe a noble knyghte fhould winne the victory Of many a ferpent foule and odious. The Story of the Poem. X. THE CHILD OF ELLE, is given from a fragment in the Editor's folio MS: which tho extremely defective and mutilated, appeared to have Jo much merit, that it excited a firong defire to attempt a completion of the fiory. The Reader will easily discover the Supplemental ftanzas by their inferiority, and at the fame time be inclined to pardon it, when he confiders how difficult it must be to imitate the affecting fimplicity and artless beauties of the original. CHILD was a title jometimes given to a knight. See Gloss. N yonder hill a castle ftandes, With walles and towres bedight, A young and comely knighte. |