Classic Poem

A MINTAS , on a summers day
to shunn Apolloes beames,
went driuing of his fflockes away
to tast some cooling streames.
and through a fforrest as hee went,
neere to a riuer side,
a voice w hi ch fro m a groue was sent,
invited him to abyde:

A voice well seeming to bewraye
a discontented mind,
ffor offtentimes I hard him say,
10000 times, " vnkinde! "
the remnant of this ragged mone
wold not escape my eare
till euery sigh brought fforth a grone,
& euery sobb a teare.

But leauing her vnto her-selfe; —
in sorrowes, sighes, & mone,
I heard a deadly discontent:
these 2 brake fforth att one:
" Amintas! is my loue to thee
of such small account,
that thou disdainest to looke on mee,
& loue as thou was wont?

" How often didest thou p ro test to me,
" the heauens shold turne to naught,
the sunn shold ffirst obscured bee,
ere thou wold change thy thought!"
but heauens, be you dissolued quite!
sunn, show thy fface no more!
ffor my Amintas, hee is lost,
a! woe is me therffore!

" How oft didst thou ingraue o u r names,
neere to the rocke of Bay?
still wishing tha t our Loue shold haue
no worse successe then they.
but they in groues still happy proue,
& fflourish doe the still,
whiles I [in] sorrow doe remaine,
still wanting of my will.

" O ffalse, forsworne, & ffathelesse man!
disloyall in thy loue!
thou hast fforgott thy promises,
and dost vnconstant proue.
& thou hast [left] me all alone
in this woefull distresse,
to end my dayes in heauinesse,
w hi ch well thou might redresse. "

And then shee sate vpon the ground,
her sorrowes to deplore;
but after this was neu er seene
to sigh nor sobb noe more.
And thus in loue as shee did liue,
soe ffor loue shee did dye;
a ffairer creature neuer man
beheld w i th morttall eye.