X. The Tower of Doctrine..........................................................................................
[1]The reader has here a specimen of the descriptive powers of Stephen
Hawes, a celebrated poet in the reign of Henry VII. though now little known. It is
extracted from an allegorical poem of his (written in 1505,) intitled "The Hist. of
Graunde Amoure & La Belle Pucel, called the Palace of Pleasure, &c." 4to. 1555. See
more of Hawes inAth. Ox. v. 1. p. 6. and Warton'sObserv. v. 2. p. 105. He was also
author of a book, intitled, "The Temple of Glass. Wrote by Stephen Hawes, gentleman
of the bedchamber to King Henry VII." Pr. for Caxton, 4to. no date.
The following stanzas are taken from Chap. iii. and iv. of the Hist. above
mentioned. "How Fame departed from Graunde Amour and left him with
Governaunce and Grace, and howe he went to the Tower of Doctrine, &c." As we are
able to give no small lyric piece of Hawes's, the reader will excuse the insertion of
this extract.
I LOKED about and saw a craggy roche,
Farre in the west neare to the element,
And as I dyd then unto it approche,
Upon the toppe I sawe refulgent
The royal tower Of MORALL DOCUMENT,
Made of fine copper with turrettes fayre and hye,
Which against Phebus shone so marveylously;
That for the very perfect bryghtnes
What of the tower, and of the cleare sunne,
I could nothyng behold the goodlines
Of that palaice, whereas Doctrine did wonne:
Tyll at the last, with mysty wyndes donne,
The radiant brightnes of golden Phebus
Auster gan cover with clowde tenebrus.
Then to the tower I drewe, nere and nere,
And often mused of the great hyghnes
Of the craggy rocke, which quadrant did appeare:
But the fayre tower, so much of ryches
Was all about, sexangled doubtles;
Gargeyld with grayhoundes, and with many lyons,
Made of fyne golde; with divers sundry dragons.[2]
The little turrets with ymages of golde
About was set, whiche the wynde aye moved
With propre vices, that I did well beholde
About the towers, in sundry wyse they hoved
With goodly pypes, in their mouthes ituned,
That with the wynd they pyped a daunce
Iclipped Amour de la hault plesaunce.
The toure was great of marveylous wydnes,
To whyche ther was no way to passe but one,
Into the toure for to have an intres:
A grece there was ychesyld all of stone
Out of the rocke, on whyche men dyd gone