Once, and but once found in thy company,
All thy ſuppos'd eſcapes are laid on mee;
And as a thiefe at barre, is queſtion'd there
By all the men, that have beene rob'd that yeare,
So am I, (by this traiterous meanes ſurpriz'd)
By thy Hydroptique father catechiz'd.
Though hee hath oft ſworne, that hee would remove
Thy beauties beautie, and food of our love,
Hope of his goods, if I wish thee were ſeene,
Yet cloſe and ſecret, as our ſoules, we'have beene.
Though thy immortall mother which doth lye,
Still buried in her bed, yet will not dye,
Takes this advantage to to ſleepe out day-light,
And watch thy entries, and returnes all night,
And, when ſhe takes thy hand, and would ſeeme kind,
Doth ſearch what rings, and armelets ſhe can finde,
And kiſſing notes the colour of thy face,
And fearing leaſt thou'art ſwolne, doth thee embrace;
To trie if thou long, doth name ſtrange meates.
And notes thy paleneſſe, bluſhing, ſighs, and ſweats;
And politiquely will to thee confeſſe
The ſinnes of her owne youths ranke luſtineſſe;
Yet love theſe Sorceries did remove, and move
Thee to gull thine owne mother for my love.
Thy little brethren, which like Faiery Sprights
Oft skipt into our chamber, thoſe ſweet nights,
And kiſt, and ingled on thy fathers knee,
Were brib'd next day, to tell what they did ſee.
The grim-eight-foot-high-iron-bound ſerving-man,
That oft names God in oathes, and onely than,
He that to barre the firſt gate, doth as wide
As the great Rhodian Clolſſos ſtride,
Which, if in hell no other paines there were,
Makes mee feare hell, becauſe he muſt be there:
Though by thy father he were hir'd to this,
Could never witneſſe any touch or kiſſe;
But Oh, too common ill, I brought with mee
That, which betray'd mee to my enemie:
A loud perfume, which at my entrance cryed
Even at thy fathers noſe, ſo were wee ſpied.
When, like a tryran King, that in his bed
Smelt gunpowder, the pale wretch ſhivered;
Had it beene ſome bad ſmell, he would have thought
That his owne feet, or breath, that ſmell had wrought.
But as wee in our Ile empriſoned,
Where cattell onely,'and diverſe dogs are bred,
The pretious-Vnicornes, ſtrange monſters, call,
So thought he good, ſtrange, that had none at all.
I taught my ſilkes, their whiſtling to forbeare,
Even my oppreſt ſhoes, dumbe and ſpeechleſſe were, Onely, thou bitter ſweet, whom I had laid
Next mee, mee traiterouſly haft betraid,
And unſuſpected haft inviſibly
At once fled unto him, and ſtaid with mee.
Baſe excrement of earth, which doft confound
Senſe, from diſtinguiſhing the ſicke from found;
By thee the ſeely Amorous ſucks his death
By drawing in a leprous harlots breath,
By thee, the greateſt ſtaine to mans eſtate
Falls on us, to be call'd effeminate;
Though you be much lov'd in the Princes hall,
There, things that ſeeme, exceed ſubſtantiall.
Gods, when yee fum'd on altars, were pleas'd well,
Becauſe you'were burnt, not that they lik'd your ſmell,
You'are loathſome all, being taken ſimply alone,
Shall wee love ill things joyn'd, and hate each one?
If you were good, your good doth ſoone decay;
And you are rare, that takes the good away.
All my perfumes, I give moſt willingly
To'embalme thy fathers corſe; What? will hee die?
1896 The Perfume
Once, and but once, found in thy company,
All thy supposed escapes are laid on me;
And as a thief at bar is question'd there
By all the men that have been robb'd that year,
So am I— by this traitorous means surprised—
By thy hydroptic father catechized.
Though he had wont to search with glazed eyes,
As though he came to kill a cockatrice;
Though he hath oft sworn that he would remove
Thy beauty's beauty, and food of our love,
Hope of his goods, if I with thee were seen,
Yet close and secret, as our souls, we've been.
Though thy immortal mother, which doth lie
Still buried in her bed, yet will not die,
Takes this advantage to sleep out daylight,
And watch thy entries and returns all night;
And, when she takes thy hand, and would seem kind,
Doth search what rings and armlets she can find;
And kissing notes the colour of thy face;
And fearing lest thou'rt swollen, doth thee embrace;
And to try if thou long, doth name strange meats;
And notes thy paleness, blushing, sighs, and sweats;
And politicly will to thee confess
The sins of her own youth's rank lustiness;
Yet love these sorceries did remove, and move
Thee to gull thine own mother for my love.
Thy little brethren, which like fairy sprites
Oft skipp'd into our chamber, those sweet nights,
And kiss'd, and ingled on thy father's knee,
Were bribed next day to tell what they did see;
The grim-eight-foot-high-iron-bound serving-man,
That oft names God in oaths, and only then,
He that, to bar the first gate, doth as wide
As the great Rhodian Colossus stride
—which, if in hell no other pains there were,
Makes me fear hell, because he must be there—
Though by thy father he were hired to this,
Could never witness any touch or kiss.
But O! too common ill, I brought with me
That, which betray'd me to mine enemy,
A loud perfume, which at my entrance cried
E'en at thy father's nose; so were we spied.
When, like a tyrant king, that in his bed
Smelt gunpowder, the pale wretch shivered,
Had it been some bad smell, he would have thought
That his own feet, or breath, that smell had wrought;
But as we in our isle imprisoned,
Where cattle only and divers dogs are bred,
The precious unicorns strange monsters call,
So thought he good strange, that had none at all.
I taught my silks their whistling to forbear;
Even my oppress'd shoes dumb and speechless were;
Only thou bitter-sweet, whom I had laid
Next me, me traitorously hast betray'd,
And unsuspected hast invisibly
At once fled unto him, and stay'd with him.
Base excrement of earth, which dost confound
Sense from distinguishing the sick from the sound!
By thee the silly amorous sucks his death
By drawing in a leprous harlot's breath;
By thee, the greatest stain to man's estate
Falls on us, to be call'd effeminate;
Though you be much loved in the prince's hall,
There things that seem exceed substantial;
Gods, when ye fumed on altars, were pleased well,
Because you were burnt, not that they liked your smell;
You're loathsome all, being taken simply alone;
Shall we love ill things join'd, and hate each one?
If you were good, your good doth soon decay;
And you are rare; that takes the good away:
And my perfumes I give most willingly
To embalm thy father's corpse; what? will he die?