Then Midas, hating riches, haunts the pasturegrounds and groves, And up and down with Pan among the Lawnds and mountaines roves. But still a head more fat than wyse, and doltish wit he hath, The which as erst, yit once againe must woork theyr mayster scath. The mountayne Tmole from loftye toppe to seaward looketh downe, And spreading farre his boorely sydes, extendeth to the towne Of Sardis with the t'one syde and to Hypep with the tother. There Pan among the fayrye elves that dawnced round togither In setting of his conning out for singing and for play Uppon his pype of reedes and wax, presuming for to say Apollos musick was not like to his, did take in hand A farre unequall match, wherof the Tmole for judge should stand. The auncient judge sitts downe uppon his hill, and ridds his eares From trees, and onely on his head an Oken garlond weares, Wherof the Acornes dangled downe about his hollow brow. And looking on the God of neate he sayd: Yee neede not now To tarry longer for your judge. Then Pan blew lowd and strong His country pype of reedes, and with his rude and homely song Delighted Midas eares, for he by chaunce was in the throng. When Pan had doone, the sacred Tmole to Phebus turnd his looke, And with the turning of his head his busshye heare he shooke. Then Phebus with a crowne of Bay uppon his golden heare Did sweepe the ground with scarlet robe. In left hand he did beare His viol made of precious stones and Ivorye intermixt. And in his right hand for to strike, his bowe was redy fixt. He was the verrye paterne of a good Musician ryght Anon he gan with conning hand the tuned strings to smyght. The sweetenesse of the which did so the judge of them delyght, That Pan was willed for to put his Reedepype in his cace, And not to fiddle nor to sing where viols were in place. The judgement of the holy hill was lyked well of all, Save Midas, who found fault therwith and wrongfull did it call. ' Apollo could not suffer well his foolish eares to keepe Theyr humaine shape, but drew them wyde, and made them long and deepe. And filld them full of whytish heares, and made them downe to sag, And through too much unstablenesse continually to wag. His body keeping in the rest his manly figure still, Was ponnisht in the part that did offend for want of skill. And so a slowe paaste Asses eares his heade did after beare. This shame endevereth he to hyde. And therefore he did weare A purple nyghtcappe ever since. But yit his Barber who Was woont to notte him spyed it: and beeing eager to Disclose it, when he neyther durst to utter it, nor could It keepe in secret still, he went and digged up the mowld, And whispring softly in the pit, declaard what eares hee spyde His mayster have, and turning downe the clowre ageine, did hyde His blabbed woordes within the ground, and closing up the pit Departed thence and never made mo woordes at all of it. Soone after, there began a tuft of quivering reedes to growe Which beeing rype bewrayd theyr seede and him that did them sowe. For when the gentle sowtherne wynd did lyghtly on them blowe, They uttred foorth the woordes that had beene buried in the ground And so reprovde the Asses eares of Midas with theyr sound.

 Apollo after this revenge from Tmolus tooke his flyght: And sweeping through the ayre, did on the selfsame syde alvght Of Hellespontus , in the Realme of king Laomedon. There stoode uppon the right syde of Sigaeum, and uppon The left of Rhetye cliffe that tyme, an Altar buylt of old To Jove that heereth all mennes woordes. Heere Phebus did behold The foresayd king Laomedon beginning for to lay Foundation of the walles of Troy : which woork from day to day Went hard and slowly forward, and requyrd no little charge, Then he togither with the God that rules the surges large, Did put themselves in shape of men, and bargaynd with the king Of Phrygia for a summe of gold his woork to end to bring. Now when the woork was done, the king theyr wages them denayd, And falsly faaste them downe with othes it was not as they sayd. Thou shalt not mock us unrevendgd (quoth Neptune). And anon He caused all the surges of the sea to rush uppon The shore of covetous Troy , and made the countrye like the deepe. The goodes of all the husbandmen away he quight did sweepe, And overwhelmd theyr feeldes with waves. And thinking this too small A pennance for the falsehod, he demaunded therwithall His daughter for a monster of the Sea. Whom beeing bound Untoo a rocke, stout Hercules delivering saufe and sound, Requyrd his steeds which were the hyre for which he did compound. And when that of so great desert the king denyde the hyre. The twyce forsworne false towne of Troy he sacked in his ire. And Telamon in honour of his service did enjoy. The Lady Hesion, daughter of the covetous king of Troy . For Peleus had already got a Goddesse to his wife, And lived unto both theyr joyes a right renowmed lyfe. And sure he was not prowder of his graundsyre, than of thee That wert become his fathrinlaw. For many mo than hee Have had the hap of mighty Jove the nephewes for to bee. But never was it heeretofore the chaunce of any one To have a Goddesse to his wyfe, save only his alone. 

 For unto watry Thetis thus old Protew did foretell: Go marry: thou shalt beare a sonne whose dooings shall excell His fathers farre in feates of armes, and greater he shall bee In honour, high renowme, and fame, than ever erst was hee. This caused Jove the watry bed of Thetis to forbeare Although his hart were more than warme with love of her, for feare The world sum other greater thing than Jove himself should breede, And willd the sonne of Aeacus this Peleus to succeede In that which he himself would faine have done, and for to take The Lady of the sea in armes a mother her to make. There is a bay of Thessaly that bendeth lyke a boawe. The sydes shoote foorth, where if the sea of any depth did flowe It were a haven. Scarcely dooth the water hyde the sand. It hath a shore so firme, that if a man theron doo stand, No print of foote remaynes behynd: it hindreth not ones pace, Ne covered is with hovering reeke. Adjoyning to this place, There is a grove of Myrtletrees with frute of dowle colour, And in the midds thereof a Cave. I can not tell you whither That nature or the art of man were maker of the same. It seemed rather made by arte. Oft Thetis hither came Starke naked, ryding bravely on a brydled Dolphins backe. There Peleus as shee lay asleepe uppon her often bracke. And forbycause that at her handes entreatance nothing winnes, He folding her about the necke with both his armes, beginnes To offer force. And surely if shee had not falne to wyles And shifted oftentymes her shape, he had obteind erewhyles. But shee became sumtymes a bird: he hilld her like a bird. Anon shee was a massye log: but Peleus never stird A whit for that. Then thirdly shee of speckled Tyger tooke The ugly shape: for feare of whose most feerce and cruell looke, His armes he from her body twicht. And at his going thence, In honour of the watry Goddes he burned frankincence, And powred wyne uppon the sea, with fat of neate and sheepe: Untill the prophet that dooth dwell within Carpathian deepe, Sayd thus: Thou sonne of Aeacus, thy wish thou sure shalt have Alonely when shee lyes asleepe within her pleasant Cave, Cast grinnes to trappe her unbewares: hold fast with snarling knot: And though shee fayne a hundreth shapes, deceyve thee let her not. But sticke unto't what ere it bee, untill the tyme that shee Returneth to the native shape shee erst was woont to bee. When Protew thus had sed, within the sea he duckt his head, And suffred on his latter woordes the water for to spred. The lyghtsum Titan downeward drew, and with declyning chayre Approched to the westerne sea, when Neryes daughter fayre Returning from the sea, resorts to her accustomd cowch. And Peleus scarcely had begon hir naked limbes to towch, But that shee chaungd from shape to shape, untill at length shee found Herself surprysd. Then stretching out her armes with sighes profound, She sayd: Thou overcommest mee, and not without the ayd Of God. And then she, Thetis like, appeerd in shape of mayd. The noble prince imbracing her obteynd her at his will, To both theyr joyes, and with the great Achylles did her fill.

 A happye wyght was Peleus in his wyfe: a happy wyght Was Peleus also in his sonne. And if yee him acquight Of murthring Phocus, happy him in all things count yee myght. But giltye of his brothers blood, and bannisht for the same From bothe his fathers house and Realme, to Trachin sad he came. The sonne of lyghtsum Lucifer, king Ceyx (who in face Exprest the lively beawtye of his fathers heavenly grace,) Without all violent rigor and sharpe executions reignd In Trachin. He right sad that tyme unlike himself, remaynd Yit moorning for his brothers chaunce transformed late before. When Peleus thither came, with care and travayle tyred sore, He left his cattell and his sheepe (whereof he brought great store) Behynd him in a shady vale not farre from Trachin towne, And with a little companye himself went thither downe. Assoone as leave to come to Court was graunted him, he bare A braunche of Olyf in his hand, and humbly did declare His name and lynage. Onely of his crime no woord hee spake, But of his flyght another cause pretensedly did make: Desyring leave within his towne or countrye to abyde. The king of Trachin gently thus to him ageine replyde: Our bownty to the meanest sort (O Peleus) dooth extend: Wee are not woont the desolate our countrye to forfend. And though I bee of nature most inclyned good to doo: Thyne owne renowme, thy graundsyre Jove are forcements thereunto. Misspend no longer tyme in sute. I gladly doo agree To graunt thee what thou wilt desyre. Theis things that thou doost see I would thou should account them as thyne owne, such as they bee I would they better were. With that he weeped. Peleus and His freends desyred of his greef the cause to understand. He answerd thus: Perchaunce yee think this bird that lives by pray And putts all other birds in feare had wings and fethers ay. He was a man. And as he was right feerce in feats of armes, And stout and readye bothe to wreake and also offer harmes: So was he of a constant mynd. Daedalion men him hyght. Our father was that noble starre that brings the morning bryght, And in the welkin last of all gives place to Phebus lyght. My study was to maynteine peace, in peace was my delyght, And for to keepe mee true to her to whom my fayth is plyght. My brother had felicite in warre and bloody fyght. His prowesse and his force which now dooth chase in cruell flyght The Dooves of Thisbye since his shape was altred thus anew, Ryght puyssant Princes and theyr Realmes did heeretofore subdew. He had a chyld calld Chyone, whom nature did endew With beawtye so, that when to age of fowreteene yeeres shee grew, A thousand Princes liking her did for hir favour sew. By fortune as bryght Phebus and the sonne of Lady May Came t'one from Delphos , toother from mount Cyllen, by the way They saw her bothe at once, and bothe at once were tane in love. Apollo till the tyme of nyght differd his sute to move. But Hermes could not beare delay. He stroked on the face The mayden with his charmed rod which hath the powre to chace And bring in sleepe: the touch whereof did cast her in so dead A sleepe, that Hermes by and by his purpose of her sped. As soone as nyght with twinckling starres the welkin had beesprent, Apollo in an old wyves shape to Chyon clocely went, And tooke the pleasure which the sonne of Maya had forehent. Now when shee full her tyme had gone, shee bare by Mercurye A sonne that hyght Awtolychus, who provde a wyly pye, And such a fellow as in theft and filching had no peere. He was his fathers owne sonne right: he could mennes eyes so bleere, As for to make the black things whyghlt, and whyght things black appeere. And by Apollo (for shee bare a payre) was borne his brother Philammon, who in musick arte excelled farre all other, As well in singing as in play. But what avayled it To beare such twinnes, and of two Goddes in favour to have sit? And that shee to her father had a stowt and valeant knight, Or that her graundsyre was the sonne of Jove that God of might? Dooth glorie hurt to any folk? It surely hurted her. For standing in her owne conceyt shee did herself prefer Before Diana , and dispraysd her face, who there with all Inflaamd with wrath, sayd: Well, with deedes we better please her shall. Immediatly shee bent her bowe, and let an arrow go, Which strake her through the toong, whose spight deserved wounding so. Her toong wext dumb, her speech gan fayle that erst was over ryfe, And as shee stryved for to speake, away went blood and lyfe. How wretched was I then, O God? how strake it to my hart? What woordes of comfort did I speake to ease my brothers smart? To which he gave his eare as much as dooth the stony rocke To hideous roring of the waves that doo against it knocke. There was no measure nor none ende in making of his mone, Nor in bewayling comfortlesse his daughter that was gone. But when he sawe her bodye burne, fowre tymes with all his myght He russhed foorth to thrust himself amid the fyre in spyght. Fowre tymes hee beeing thence repulst, did put himself to flyght. And ran mee wheras was no way, as dooth a Bullocke when A hornet stings him in the necke. Mee thought hee was as then More wyghter farre than any man. Yee would have thought his feete Had had sum wings. So fled he quyght from all, and being fleete Through eagernesse to dye, he gat to mount Parnasos knappe And there Apollo pitying him and rewing his missehappe, When as Daedalion from the cliffe himself had headlong floong, Transformd him to a bird, and on the soodaine as hee hung Did give him wings, and bowwing beake, and hooked talants keene, And eeke a courage full as feerce as ever it had beene. And furthermore a greater strength he lent him therwithall, Than one would thinke conveyd myght bee within a roome so small. And now in shape of Gossehawke hee to none indifferent is, But wreakes his teene on all birds. And bycause him selfe ere this Did feele the force of sorrowes sting within his wounded hart, Hee maketh others oftentymes to sorrow and to smart.

 As Caeyx of his brothers chaunce this wondrous story seth, Commes ronning thither all in haste and almost out of breth Anaetor the Phocayan who was Pelyes herdman. Hee Sayd: Pelye Pelye, I doo bring sad tydings unto thee. Declare it man (quoth Peleus) what ever that it bee. King Ceyx at his fearefull woordes did stand in dowtfull stowne. This noonetyde (quoth the herdman) Iche did drive your cattell downe To zea, and zum a them did zit uppon the yellow zand And looked on the large mayne poole of water neere at hand. Zum roayled zoftly up and downe, and zum a them did zwim And bare their jolly horned heades aboove the water trim. A Church stondes neere the zea not deckt with gold nor marble stone But made of wood, and hid with trees that dreeping hang theron. A visherman that zat and dryde hiz netts uppo the zhore Did tell'z that Nereus and his Nymphes did haunt the place of yore, And how that thay beene Goddes a zea. There butts a plot vorgrowne With zallow trees uppon the zame, the which is overblowne With tydes, and is a marsh. From thence a woolf, an orped wyght, With hideous noyse of rustling made the groundes neere hand afryght. Anon he commes mee buskling out bezmeared all his chappes With blood daubaken and with vome as veerce as thunder clappes. Hiz eyen did glaster red as vyre, and though he raged zore Vor vamin and vor madnesse bothe, yit raged he much more In madnesse. Vor hee cared not his hunger vor to zlake, Or i'the death of oxen twoo or three an end to make. But wounded all the herd and made a havocke of them all, And zum of us too, in devence did happen vor to vail, In daunger of his deadly chappes, and lost our lyves. The zhore And zea is staynd with blood, and all the ven is on a rore. Delay breedes losse. The cace denyes now dowting vor to stond, Whyle owght remaynes let all of us take weapon in our hond. Let's arme our zelves, and let uz altogither on him vall. The herdman hilld his peace. The losse movde Peleus not at all. But calling his offence to mynde, he thought that Neryes daughter, The chyldlesse Ladye Psamathe, determynd with that slaughter To keepe an Obit to her sonne whom hee before had killd. Immediatly uppon this newes the king of Trachin willd His men to arme them, and to take their weapons in theyr hand, And he addrest himself to bee the leader of the band. His wyfe, Alcyone, by the noyse admonisht of the same, In dressing of her head, before shee had it brought in frame, Cast downe her heare, and ronning foorth caught Ceyx fast about The necke, desyring him with teares to send his folk without Himself, and in the lyfe of him to save the lyves of twayne. O Princesse, cease your godly feare (quoth Peleus then agayne). Your offer dooth deserve great thanks. I mynd not warre to make Ageinst straunge monsters. I as now another way must take. The seagods must bee pacifyde. There was a Castle hye, And in the same a lofty towre whose toppe dooth face the skye, A joyfull mark for maryners to guyde theyr vessells by. To this same Turret up they went, and there with syghes behilld The Oxen lying every where stark dead uppon the feelde And eeke the cruell stroygood with his bluddy mouth and heare. Then Peleus stretching foorth his handes to Seaward, prayd in feare To watrish Psamath that she would her sore displeasure stay, And help him. She no whit relents to that that he did pray. But Thetis for hir husband made such earnest sute, that shee Obteynd his pardon. For anon the woolfe (who would not bee Revoked from the slaughter for the sweetenesse of the blood) Persisted sharpe and eager still, untill that as he stood Fast byghting on a Bullocks necke, shee turnd him intoo stone As well in substance as in hew, the name of woolf alone Reserved. For although in shape hee seemed still yit one, The verry colour of the stone beewrayd him to bee none, And that he was not to bee feard. How be it froward fate Permitts not Peleus in that land to have a setled state. He wandreth like an outlaw to the Magnets. There at last Acastus the Thessalien purgd him of his murther past.