POLYHYMNIA: VERSES TO LORD NORREYS, SELECTION by WILLIAM BASSE

5.
O TRUE nobilitie, and rightly grac'd
With all the jewels that on thee depend;
Where goodnesse doth w greatnesse live embraced,
And outward stiles on inward worth attend;
Where ample lands in ample hands are plac'd,
And ancient deeds with ancient coats descend:
Where noble bloud combin'd with noble spirit
Forefathers fames doth, with their formes, inherit:

6.
Where ancestors examples are perus'd
Not in large tomes or costly tombs alone,
But in their heires; and, being dayly us'd,
Are (like their robes) more honourable growne:
Where Loyalty with Piety is infus'd,
And publique rights are cherished w@5th@1 their owne;
Where worth still finds respect; good friend, good word;
Desart, reward. And such is @3Ricot's@1 Lord.

7.
But what make I (vaine voyce) in midst of all
The Quires that have already sung the fame
Of this great House, and those that henceforth shall
(As that will last) for ever sing the same?
But if on me my garland justly fall,
I justly owe my musique to this name:
For he unlawfully usurps the Bayes,
That has not sung in noble Norrey's prayse.

8.
In playne (my honour'd Lord) I was not borne,
Audacious vowes, or forraigne legs,^1^ to use;
Nature denyed my outside to adorne,
And I of art to learne outsides refuse.
Yet, haveing of them both enough to scorne
Silence & vulgar prayse, this humble Muse,
And her meane favourite, at yo@5r@1 command
Chose, in this kinde, to kisse your noble hand.

^FOOTNOTE^

^1^ "Forraigne legs," @3i.e.,@1 gestures of courtesy. Cf. @3Sword and
Buckler,@1 st. 5, p. 10, "a legging foote," and st. 63, p. 26. This stanza, if
it may be trusted, affords us the only hint we have of Basse's personal
appearance.

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...