126. 'And she, exhausted with weeping and watching.' Gower (Confes.
Amantis, ed. Pauli, i. 160) speaks of a ship that is _forstormed and
forblowe_, i. e. excessively driven about by storm and wind.
130. Or read: 'That madë her to slepe sone'; without elision of _e_ in
_made_ (Koch).
136. _Go bet_, go quickly, hasten, lit. go better, i. e. faster. See note
to Group C, 667. Cf. _Go now faste_, l. 152.
_Morpheus_ is dissyllabic, i. e. _Morph'ús_; cf. _Mórph'us_ in l. 167. I
here add another illustration from Golding's Ovid, fol. 139:--
'Alcyone of so great mischaunce not knowing ought as yit,
Did keepe a reckoning of the nights that in the while did flit,
And hasted garments both for him and for her selfe likewise
To weare at his homecomming which she vainely did surmize.
To all the Gods deuoutly she did offer frankincense:
But most aboue them all the Church of Iuno she did sence.
And for her husband (who as then was none) she kneeld before
The Altar, wishing health and soone arriuall at the shore.
And that none other woman might before her be preferd,
Of all her prayers this one peece effectually was herd.
For Iuno could not finde in heart entreated for to bee
For him that was already dead. But to th'intent that shee
From Dame Alcyons deadly hands might keepe her Altars free
She sayd: most faithfull messenger of my commandements, O
Thou Rainebow to the sluggish house of slumber swiftly go,
And bid him send a dreame in shape of Ceyx to his wife
Alcyone, for to shew her plaine the loosing of his life.
Dame Iris takes her pall wherein a thousand colours were,
And bowing like a stringed bow vpon the cloudie sphere,
Immediately descended to the drowzye house of Sleepe,
Whose court the cloudes continually do closely ouerdreepe.
Among the darke Cimmerians is a holow mountaine found
And in the hill a Caue that farre doth run within the ground,
The C[h]amber and the dwelling place where slouthfull sleepe doth couch.
The light of Phoebus golden beames this place can never touch....
No boughs are stird with blasts of winde, no noise of tatling toong
Of man or woman euer yet within that bower roong.
Dumbe quiet dwelleth there. Yet from the rockes foote doth go
The riuer of forgetfulnesse, which runneth trickling so
Upon the litle peeble stones which in the channell ly,
That vnto sleepe a great deale more it doth prouoke thereby....
Amid the Caue of Ebonye a bedsted standeth hie,
And on the same a bed of downe with couering blacke doth lie:
In which the drowzie God of sleepe his lither limbes doth rest.
About him forging sundry shapes as many dreams lie prest
As eares of corne do stand in fields in haruest time, or leaues
Doe grow on trees, or sea to shoore of sandie cinder heaues.
Assoone as Iris came within this house, and with her hand
Had put aside the dazeling dreames that in her way did stand,
The brightnesse of her robe through all the sacret house did shine.
The God of sleepe scarce able for to raise his heauie eine,
A three or foure times at the least did fall againe to rest,
And with his nodding head did knock his chinne against his brest.
At length he waking of himselfe, vpon his elbowe leande.
And though he knew for what she came: he askt her what she meand': &c.
139. The first accent falls on _Sey_; the _e_ in _halfe_ seems to be
suppressed.
154. _His wey._ Chaucer substitutes a male messenger for Iris; see ll. 134,
155, 180-2.