368 A. Century of Science 



as if they smelt music ; there he knew, doubtless, 

 many a bank where the wild thyme grew and on 

 which the moonlight sweetly slept ; there he watched 

 the coming of &quot; violets dim,&quot; &quot;pale primroses,&quot; 

 flower-de-luce, carnations, with &quot; rosemary and rue &quot; 

 to keep their &quot; savour all the winter long,&quot; 



&quot; When icicles hang by the wall, 



And Dick the shepherd blows his nail, 

 And Tom bears logs into the hall, 



And milk comes frozen home in pail.&quot; 



Such lore as this no books or college could im 

 part. 



It was this that Milton had in mind when he 

 introduced Shakespeare and Ben Jonson into his 

 poem &quot; L Allegro.&quot; Milton was in his thirtieth 

 year when Jonson, poet laureate, was laid to rest 

 in Westminster Abbey ; he was only a boy of 

 eight years when Shakespeare died, but the beau- 

 tiful sonnet written fourteen years later shows how 

 lovingly he studied his works : 



&quot; What needs my Shakepeare, for his honoured bones,&quot; etc. 



The poem &quot; L Allegro &quot; and its fellow &quot; II Pense- 

 roso &quot; describe the delights of Milton s life at his 

 father s country house near Windsor Castle. He 

 used often to ride into London to hear music or 

 pass an evening at the theatre, as in the following 

 lines : - 



