ites.
Loe heere (thou cruell faire) that gracious fauour,
the Ensigne (as thou saist) of my vntruth,
Behold in what high-priz'd esteeme I haue her
that gaue me it, the cause of all my ruth:
Looke as this Hawke, faire Loue, so is my hart,
Mangled and torne; cause thou so cruell art.
I sweare to thee by all the rites of loue,
by heauens faire head, by earth, & black-fac'd hel,
I nere meant other loue but thine to proue,
nor in my hart that any else should dwell;
Let this suffize, my ioy, my deere, my chiefe,
My griefes are too too long, though letter briefe.
Twas time to ende, for floods gusht out amaine,
out came the springtide of his brinish teares,
VVhich whatsoere hee writ blot out againe
all blubred so to send it scarce hee dares:
And yet hee did; goe thou (quoth hee) vnto her,
And for thy maister, treate, sollicite, woo her.
And pray thee (if thy Fortune be so good
as to be viewd by sunshine of her eyes)
Bid her take heede in spilling guiltlesse blood,
tell her there's danger in such cruelties:
VVith this, hee gaue it to the messenger,
Who (making speed) in short time brought it her.
Shee, when shee heard from whom the Letter came,
returnes it backe againe, and straight replied,
My friend (quoth she) hadst thou not told his name
perhaps thy Letter, had not beene denied:
VVhereat shee paus'd; but yet ile see (quoth shee)
With what perswading termes, he flatters mee.
Twas quickly read; (God knowes it was but short)
griefe would not let the wryter tedious be,
Nor would it suffer him fit words to sort,
but pens it (chaos-like) confusedly.
Yet had it passion to haue turn'd hard stones
To liquid moisture, if they heard his moanes.
But cruell shee, more hard then any flint,
worse then a Tygresse of Hyrcania,
Would not be mou'd, nor could his lines take print
in her hard hart, so cruell was _Gyneura_.
Shee which once lou'd him deerly, (too too well)
Now hates him more then any tongue can tell.
Oh Nature, chiefest Mother of vs all,
why did you giue such apt-beleeuing harts
To women-kind, that thus poore men inthrall,
and will not dulie waie true loues desarts?
O had their harts been like vnto their face,
They sure had been of some celestiall race.
Shee pittiles, sends backe to _Dom Diego_,
and sayes, his words cannot inchant her hart,
_Vlisses_-like, shee will
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