WARD 
 
 DEWITT 
 
 TAfLO. 
 


 
SONGS AND VERSES 
 WALLER 
 
SONGS AND 
 VERSES 
 
 SELECTED FROM THE WORKS 
 
 of 
 
 Edmund Waller, Efy. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 The Village Prefs 
 191 1 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Song. Peace Babbling Mufe! 7 
 
 To PHYLLIS 9 
 
 Song. CHLORIS Farewell! 13 
 
 On a Girdle 1 7 
 
 Song. Go Lovely Rofe! 19 
 
 8 3983 
 
Song. PEACE, BABBLING MUSE! 
 
PEACE, babbling mufe! 
 I dare notfing what you indite; 
 ffer eyes refufe 
 
 To read the paffion which they write: 
 Sheftrikes my Jute, 
 But if it found) 
 
 Threatens to hurl it on the ground: 
 And I no lefs her anger dread \ 
 Than the poor wretch that feigns him dead, 
 While fome fierce lion does embrace 
 His breathlefs corpfe, and lick his face : 
 Wrapd up infilentfear he lies, 
 Torn all in pieces, if he cries. 
 
 [7] 
 
To PHYLLIS 
 
PHYLLIS! why fhould we delay 
 Pleafures fhorter than the day? 
 Could we (which we never can!) 
 Stretch our lives beyond their f pan; 
 Beauty like afhadowflies, 
 And our youth before us dies. 
 Or would youth, and beauty , Jlay , 
 Love hath wings, and will away. 
 Love hath fwifter wings than time: 
 Change in love to Heav'n does climb; 
 Gods, that never change their Jlate, 
 Vary oft their love and hate. 
 PHYLLIS! to this truth we owe 
 All the love betwixt us two: 
 Let not you and I enquire, 
 What has been our pq/i defer e: 
 On what fhepherds you have f mil" d, 
 
 [9 J 
 
Or what nymphs I have beguWd 
 Leave it to the planets too. 
 What we f hall hereafter do : 
 For the joys we now may prove >, 
 Take advice of prefent love. 
 
 ( 10] 
 
SONG 
 
Song. CHLORIS FAREWELL 
 
I now mufl go: 
 For if with thee I longer flay, 
 Thy eyes prevail upon me fo, 
 I fhall prove blind, and lofe my way. 
 
 Fame of thy beauty, and thy youth, 
 Among the refl, me hither brought: 
 Finding this fame fall fhort of truth, 
 Made me flay longer than I thought. 
 
 For Pm engaged by word and oath, 
 Afervant to another's will: 
 Yet, for thy love, Pd forfeit both, 
 Could Ibefure to keep itflill. 
 
But what affurance can I take? 
 When thou, foreknowing this abufe, 
 Forfome more worthy lovers fake. 
 May* ft leave me with fo juft excufe. 
 
 For thou may" ft fay, 'twas not thy fault 
 That thou didft thus inconftant prove ; 
 
 Being by my example taught 
 To break thy oath, to mend thy love. 
 
 No, CHLORIS, no: I will return, 
 And raife thy ftory to that height, 
 That ftr anger s f hall at diftance burn; 
 And f he diftruftme reprobate. 
 
Then f hall my love this doubt dif place 
 And gain fuch truft^that I may come 
 And banquet fometimes on thy face , 
 But make my conftant meals at borne. 
 
ON A GIRDLE 
 
THAT which her /lender waift confirid, 
 Shall now my joyful temples bind: 
 No monarch but would give his crown, 
 His arms might do what this has done. 
 
 It was my Heaven's extremeftfphere, 
 The pale which held that lovely deer : 
 My joy, my grief , my hope, my love, 
 Did all within this circle move/ 
 
 A narrow compafs! and yet there 
 Dwelt all that V good, and all that 's fair : 
 Give me but what this riband bound, 
 Take all the reft the fun goes round. 
 
Song. Go! LOVELY ROSE 
 
GO, lovely rofe! 
 Tell her that waftes her time^ and me, 
 
 Thai now f he knows ^ 
 When I refemble her to thee, 
 How fweet and fair fhe feems to be. 
 
 Tell her thafs young^ 
 Andfhuns to have her graces fpy'* d 
 
 That hadft thoufprung 
 In deferts^ where no men abide^ 
 Thou muft have uncommended dy'd. 
 
 Small is the worth 
 Of beauty from the light retired: 
 
 Bid her come forth > 
 Suffer her f elf to be defied \ 
 And not blufhfo to be admired. 
 
 [ 
 
Then die! that f he 
 The common fate of all things rare 
 
 May read in thee: 
 flow f mall a part of time they f hare 
 That are/o worf drous fweet and fair! 
 
 One hundred ten copies of this booklet 
 have been printed at the Village Prefs 
 by FREDERIC and BERTHA GOUDY in 
 March 1911, and is thefirjl iffue from 
 the PRESS Jince its total deftruftion by 
 fire January 10, 1908.