26 THE PRAISE OF GARDENS 



it on the soft plane trees, other some sticking to the pitch tree 

 made it tenderer by its embracements ; so by this meanes 

 the tree served to beare up the ivie, and the ivie was a crowne 

 to the tree ; on both sides many fruitfull Vines bound with reeds 

 spread forth their branches, which displaying their seasonable 

 blossomes through the bands, seemed Hke the curled lockes 

 of some young lover. The walkes which the trees hanging over 

 shaded, were here and there enlightened, whilst the leaves 

 driven this way and that way with the winde, made roome for 

 the sunne to shine through. Moreover, divers flowers strived 

 as it were to shew their beauty; the daffadilly and the rose, 

 whose beauties were equal, made the earth of a purple colour, 

 the upper part of the rose-leaves was of the colour of blood 

 and violets, the lower part white as milk ; the daffadilly differed 

 not at all from the lower part of the rose; the violets were of 

 the colour of the sea when it is calm ; in the midst of the 

 flowers sprang up a fountaine, which was first received in a 

 foure square bason, and running from thence it fed a little 

 rivulet made with hand : in the grove were birds, some used to 

 the house, and to bee fed by the hands of men, others more 

 free sported on the tops of trees, some of them being eminent 

 for their singing, as the grass-hopper and the swallow, some 

 of them againe for their painted wings, as the peacocke, the 

 swanne and the parrot. The grasshopper sang of Aurora's bed, 

 the swallow of Tereus table; the swan was feeding near the 

 head of the fountaine; the parrot hung on the bough of a 

 tree in a cage : the peacocke stretching forth his golden plumes 

 seemed to contend in beautie not onely with the rest of the birds, 

 but even with the flowers themselves, for to say truth, his 

 feathers were flowers : wherefore willing to give her a hint of 

 my intended love, I fell in talke with Satynis my Father's 

 man (who was at that time in the garden) taking the argument 

 of my speech from the peacocke, which by some chance spread 

 her wings just over against him. . . . 



Concerning trees, now that they are in love one with another, 

 it is the common received opinion of Philosophers, which I 



