Page:Gesta Romanorum - Swan - Wright - 2.djvu/454

442 Deeply as did ever one, In the Muses' Helicon. Many times he hath been seen With the faëries on the green, And to them his pipe did sound, As they danced in a round; Mickle solace would they make him, And at midnight often take him, And convey him from his room To a field of yellow broom, Or into the meadows where Mints perfume the gentle air, And where Flora spreads her treasure, There they would begin their measure. If it chanced night's sable shrouds Muffled Cynthia in her clouds, Safely home they then would see him, And from brakes and quagmires free him. There are few such swains as he Now-a-days for harmony .'

"The history of Darius, who gave this legacy to his three sons, is incorporated with that of Alexander, which has been decorated with innumerable fictions by the Arabian writers. There is also a