book,
For my good lord of Bolingbroke.

The author then states that he had heard of the Queen's illness and how
the skill of Arbuthnot had restored her to health:--

A skilful leech (so God him speed)
They said had wrought this blessed deed,
This leech Arbuthnot was yclept,
Who many a night not once had slept;
But watch'd our gracious Sov'reign still:
For who could rest when she was ill?
O may'st thou henceforth sweetly sleep!
Shear, swains, oh shear your softest sheep
To swell his couch; for well I ween,
He saved the realm who saved his Queen.

Quoth I, please God, I'll his with glee
To court, this Arbuthnot to see.

Such loyalty, of course, the hardest heart must touch, but loyalty in
this case had its reward, and the journey to Court was well worth the
pains:--

There saw I ladies all a-row
Before their Queen in seemly show.
No more I'll sing Buxoma brown,
Like goldfinch in her Sunday gown;
Nor Clumsilis, nor Marian bright,
Nor damsel that Hobnelia hight.
But Lansdown fresh as flowers of May,
And Berkely lady blithe and gay,
And Anglesea, whose speech exceeds
The voice of pipe or oaten reeds;
And blooming Hyde, with eyes so rare,
And Montague beyond compare.
Such ladies fair wou'd I depaint
In roundelay or sonnet quaint.

But charming as were these ladies, there was still a better sight in
store for the visitor:--

There saw I St. John, sweet of mien.
Full steadfast both to Church and Queen.
With whose fair name I'll deck my strain,
St. John, right courteous to the swain.

For thus he told me on a day,
Trim are thy sonnets, gentle Gay,
And certes, mirth it were to see
Thy joyous madrigals twice three,
With preface meet and notes profound.
Imprinted fair, and well y-bound.
All suddenly then home I sped,
And did ev'n as my Lord had said.

It was not Bolingbroke who inspired the pastorals, though he accepted
the dedication. The true history of the origin of "The Shepherd's Week"
is well set out by Mr. Underhill. "These pastorals, it should be
explained, were written at the instigation of Pope," he has written.
"The sixth volume of Tonson's 'Miscellany' had concluded with Pope's
Pastorals and begun with those of Ambrose Philips. A few years after its
publication a writer in the _Guardian_[1] (probably Tickell[2])
discussed the Pastoral in a series of papers, and gave the most
extravagant praise to Philips