VIRGINS.
Sisters, Hesper a fellow of our bright company taketh.
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
35 . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
YOUTHS.
40 . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
Hesper, awaiting thee each sentinel holdeth alarum.
Night veils love's false thieves; thieves still when, Hesper, another
(35) Name, but unalter'd still, thou tak'st them surely, returning.
45 Yet be the maidens pleas'd in woeful fancy to chide thee.
Maybe for all they chide, their hearts do inly desire thee.
Hymen O Hymenaeus, O Hymen come Hymenaeus.
VIRGINS.
Look in a garden-croft when a flower privily growing,
(40) Hid from grazing kine, by ploughshare never y-broken,
50 Strok'd by the breeze, by the sun nurs'd sturdily, rear'd by the showers;
Many a wistful boy, and maidens many desire it:
Yet if a slender nail hath nipt his bloom to deflour it,
Never a wistful boy, nor maidens any desire it:
(45) Such is a girl untoy'd with as yet, yet lovely to kinsmen;
55 Once her body profan'd, herflow'r of chastity blighted,
Boys no more she delights, nor seems so lovely to maidens;