12. - If there be any one can take my place

"Amor, che ne la mente mi ragiona."--Dante.

"Amor vien nel bel viso di costei."--Petrarca.

If there be any one can take my place

And make you happy whom I grieve to grieve,

Think not that I can grudge it, but believe

I do commend you to that nobler grace,

That readier wit than mine, that sweeter face;

Yea, since your riches make me rich, conceive

I too am crowned, while bridal crowns I weave,

And thread the bridal dance with jocund pace.

For if I did not love you, it might be

That I should grudge you some one dear delight;

But since the heart is yours that was mine own,

Your pleasure is my pleasure, right my right,

Your honorable freedom makes me free,

And you companioned I am not alone.