Reliques of ancient English poetry: consisting of old heroic ballads ...

2 ANCIENT SONGS
Likewife afjayed to prove that girdle's powre.
And having it about her middle Jet
Didfind it fit withouten breach or let.
Whereat the refl gan greatly to envie.
But Florimel exceedingly did/ret
Andfnatehing from her hand, &c.
Asfor the trial ofthe Ho r n e , it is not peculiar to our Poet : It
occurs in the old romance, intitled Morte Arthur, which was
tranfiated out of French in the time of K. Edw. IV. andfirjl printed anno 1 484. From that romance Ariofio is thought to
have borrowed his tale of the Enchanted Cup, C. 42. &JV»
See Mr. Warton's Obfervations on the Faerie Queen, &c.
The Jlory of the Horn in Morte Arthur varies a good
deal from this of our Poet, as the reader will judge
from thefollowing extract. " By the way they met with
" a knight that was fent from Morgan le Faye to king
" Arthur, and this knight had a fair home all garnijhed
" with gold, and the home had fuch a virtue that there
" might no ladye or gentlewoman drinke of that home, but
Ct
iffte we true to her hufband : and if Jhee were falfe
" Jhe JhouldfpiU all the drinke, and if pee were true unto
cc her lorde, Jhee might drink peaceably : and becaufe of
*' queene Guenever and in defpite of Sir Launcelot du Lake,
** this home was fent unto king Arthur." This horn is
intercepted and brought unto another king named Marke,
who is nst a whit more fortunate than the Britijh hero,
for he makes " his queene drinke thereof and an hundred
" ladies moe, and there vjere but foure ladies of all thofe
-ii
that drank cleane" of which number the faid queen,
proves not to be one [Book II. chap. 22. Ed. 1632.]
In other refpecls the two Jlories are fo different, that vje
have jujl reofon to fuppofe this Ballad was written before
that romojice was tranjlated into Englijh.
Asfor queen Guenever, Jhe is here reprefeniedno otherwife,
than as we find her in old hifiories and romances. Holinjhed
obferves, that " Jhe was evil reported of, as noted of inconti-
*' neuce and breach offaith to hir hujband." Vol. I. p. 93.
£3= Such Readers, as have no relish for ture
antiquity, will find a more modern copy of
THIS BaLLaD AT THE END OF THE VOLUME.
IN