The Works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 12. John Dryden

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      And to a plesaunt grove I gan to pas

      Long or the bright sonne uprisin was;

      In which were okis grete, streight as a line,

      Undir the which the grass so freshe of hewe

      Was newly sprong, and an eight fote or nine

      Every tre well fro his fellow grew,

      With braunchis brode laden with levis new,

      That sprongin out agen the sonne shene:

      Some very rede, and some a glad light grene:

      Which [as me thought] was a right plesaunt sight;

      And eke the birdis songis for to here

      Would have rejoisid any erthly wight,

      And I, that couth not yet in no manere

      Herein the nightingale of all the yere,

      Full busily herk'nid with hert and ere

      If I her voice perceve could any where:

      And at the last a path of litil brede

      I found, that gretly had not usid be,

      For it forgrowin was with grass and wede,

      That well unnethis a wight might it se;

      Thought I, this path some whider doth parde;

      And so I followid till it me brought

      To a right plesant herbir wel ywrought,

      Which that benchid was, and with turfis new

      Freshly turvid, whereof the grene grass

      So small, so thick, so short, so fresh of hewe,

      That most like to grene woll wot I it was;

      The hegge also, that yedin in compas,

      And closid in allè the grene herbere,

      With sycamor was set and eglatere.

      Within, in fere so well and cunningly,

      That every braunch and lefe grew by mesure

      Plain as a bord, of an height by and by,

      I se nevir a thing [I you ensure]

      So well ydone, for he that toke the cure

      It for to make [I trowe] did all his peine

      To mak it pas al tho that men have seine.

      And shapin was this herber rofe and al

      As is a pretty parlour, and also

      The hegge as thick as is a castil wall,

      That who that list without to stond or go,

      Thogh he wold al day prayin to and fro,

      He should not se if there were any wight

      Within or no, but one within well might —

      Perceve all tho that ydin there without

      Into the field, that was on every side

      Coverd with corn and grass, that out of doubt

      Tho one would sekin all the worlde wide

      So rich a felde could not be espyde

      Upon no cost, as of the quantity,

      For of allè gode thing there was plenty.

      And I, that al these plesaunt sightis se,

      Thought suddainly I felt so swete an air

      Of the eglaterè, that certainly

      There is no hert [I deme] in such dispair,

      Ne yet with thoughtis froward and contraire

      So overlaid, but it should sone have bote

      If it had onis felt this savour sote.

      And as I stode and cast aside mine eye

      I was ware of the fairist medler tre

      That evir yet in all my life I se,

      As full of blossomis as it might be,

      Therein a goldfinch leping pretily

      From bough to bough, and as him list he ete

      Here and there of buddis and flouris swete.

      And to the herbir side was adjoyning

      This fairist tre of which I have you told,

      And at the last the bird began to sing

      [Whan he had etin what he etin would]

      So passing swetely that by many fold

      It was more plesaunt than I couth devise;

      And whan his song was endid in this wise,

      The nightingale with so mery a note

      Answerid him, that alle the wode yrong

      So sodainly, that as it were a sote

      I stode astonied, and was with the song

      Thorow ravishid, that till late and long

      I ne wist in what place I was ne where,

      Ayen methought she song e'en by mine ere:

      Wherefore I waited about busily

      On every side if I her might se,

      And at the last I gan full well espie

      Where she sate in a fresh grene laury tre,

      On the further side evin right by me,

      That gave so passing a delicious smell,

      According to the eglantere full well;

      Whereof I had so inly grete plesure,

      As methought I surely ravished was

      Into Paradise, wherein my desire

      Was for to be, and no ferthir to pas

      As for that day, and on the sotè grass

      I sat me down, for as for mine entent

      The birdis song was more convenient,

      And more plesaunt to me by many fold

      Than mete or drink, or any othir thing,

      Thereto the herbir was so fresh and cold,

      The wholsome savours eke so comforting,

      That [as I demid] sith the beginning

      Of the worldè was nevir seen er than

      So plesaunt a ground of none erthly man.

      And as I sat the birdis herkening thus,

      Methought that I herd voicis suddainly,

      The most swetist and most delicious

      That evir any wight I trow trewly

      Herdin in hir life, for the armony

      And swete accord was in so gode musike

      That the voicis to angels most were like.

      At the last out of a grove evin by

      [That was right godely and plesaunt to sight]

      I se where there came singing lustily

      A world of ladies, but to tell aright

      Ther beauty grete lyith not in my might,

      Ne ther array; nevirthèless I shall

      Tell you a pert, tho' I speke not of all:

      The surcots white of velvet well fitting

      They werin clad, and the semis eche one,

      As it werin a mannir garnishing,

      Was set with emeraudis one and one

      By and by, but many a richè stone

      Was set on the purfilis out of dout

      Of collours, sleves, and trainis, round about;

      As of grete perlis СКАЧАТЬ