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The Lady Jane Grey Internet Museum Poetry

A Lamentable Ditty on the Death of Lord Guildford Dudley, and the Lady Jane Grey, That For Their Parents Ambition, In Seeking to Make These Two Young Princes King and Queen of England, Were Both Beheaded in the Tower of London

Compiled by: Ambrose Philips
Source: "A Collection of Old Ballads: Corrected from the Best and Most Ancient Copies Extant ; with Introductions Historical and Critical Vol. III"
Year: 1725
Found here.

When as King Edward left this life,
In young and blooming years,
Began such deadly hate and strife,
That filled England full of tears,
Ambition in those ancient days,
More than ten thousand, thousand, thousand
Troubles did arise.

Northumberland being made a duke,
Ambitiously did seek the crown,
And Suffolk for the same did look,
To put Queen Mary's title down;
That was King Henry's daughter bright,
And Queen of England, England, England,
And King Edward's Heir by right.

Lord Guilford and the Lady Jane
Were wedded by their parents wills;
The right from Mary so was ta'en,
Which drew them on to further ills:
But mark the end of this misdeed,
Mary was crowned, crowned, crowned,
And they to death decreed.

And being thus adjudg'd to die,
For these their parents haughty aims,
That thinking thus to mount on high,
Their children King and Queen proclaims;
But in such aims no blessings be,
When as ten thousand, thousand, thousand,
Their shameful endings see.

Sweet princes they deserv'd no blame,
That thus must die for father's cause,
And bearing of so great a name,
To contradict our English laws.
Let all men then conclude in this,
That they are hapless, hapless, hapless,
Whose parents do amiss.

Now who more great than they of late?
Now who more wretched than they are?
And who more lofty in estate,
Thus suddenly consum'd with care? Then princes all set down this rest,
And say the golden, golden, golden
Mean is always best.

Prepar'd, at last drew on the day;
Whereon the princes both must die;
Lord Guilford Dudley by the way,
His deared lady did espy,
Whilst he unto the block did go,
She in her window weeping, weeping, weeping,
Did lament her woe.

Their eyes that look'd for love e'er-while,
Now blubber'd were with pearled tears,
And every glance and lover's smile,
Were turn'd to dole and deadly fears:
Lord Guildford's life did bleeding lye,
Expecting angels, angels, angels,
Silver wings to mount on high.

His dearest lady long did look,
When she unto the block should go,
Where sweetly praying on her book,
She made no sign of outward woe;
But wish'd that she had angels wings,
To see that golden, golden, golden
Sight of heavenly things.

And mounting on the scaffold then,
Where Guilford's lifeless body lay,
I come, quoth she, thou flower of men,
For death shall not my soul dismay:
The gates of heaven stand open wide,
To rest for ever, ever, ever:
And thus those pprinces dy'd.

Their parents likewise lost their heads,
For climbing thus one step too high:
Ambitious towers have slippery leads,
And fearful to a wise man's eye:
For one's amiss great houses fall,
Therefore take warning, warning, warning,
By this, you gallants all.
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