| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Cœlia | | Sonnet X. To win the Fort, how oft have I assayed! | | William Percy (1575–1648) |
| | ¶ A Mystery.
[Cf. Barnes’s Parthenophil.]
TO win the Fort, how oft have I assayed! | |
| Wherein the heart of my fair Mistress lies. | |
| What rams, what mines, what plots have I not laid! | |
| Yet still am frighted from mine enterprise. | |
| First from the leads of that proud citadel | 5 |
| Do foulder forth two fiery Culverins, | |
| Under, two red coats keep the Larum Bell | |
| For fear of close or open venturings; | |
| Before the gates, Scorn, Fear, and Modesty | |
| Do toss amain their pikes; but ’bove them all | 10 |
| Pudicity wields her staff most manfully, | |
| Guarded with blocks, that keep me from the wall. | |
| Yet if this staff will ford me clear the way; | |
| In spite of all, I’ll bear my Dame away! | | | | |
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