The First Day 43 



The watery clouds that in the air up-roll'd 

 With sundry kinds of painted colours fly ; 

 And fair Aurora, lifting up her head, 

 Still blushing, rise from old Tithonus' bed. 



The hills and mountains raised from the plains, 

 The plains extended level with the ground, 



The grounds divided into sundry veins, 



The veins inclos'd with rivers running round ; 



These rivers making way through nature's chains, 

 With headlong course, into the sea profound; 



The raging sea, beneath the vallies low, 



Where lakes, and rills, and rivulets do flow : 



The lofty woods, the forests wide and long, 

 Adorned with leaves and branches fresh and green, 



In whose cool bowers the birds with many a song, 

 Do welcome with their quire the summer's Queen ; 



The meadows fair, where Flora's gifts, among 

 Are intermixt, with verdant grass between ; 



The silver-scaled fish that softly swim 



Within the sweet brook's crystal, watery stream. 



All these, and many more of his creation 



That made the heavens, the Angler oft doth see ; 



Taking therein no little delectation, 



To think how strange, how wonderful they be : 



Framing thereof an inward contemplation 

 To set his heart from other fancies free ; 



And whilst he looks on these with joyful eye, 



His mind is rapt above the starry sky. 



Sir, I am glad my memory has not lost these last 

 verses, because they are somewhat more pleasant 

 and more suitable to May-day than my harsh dis4 

 course. And I am glad your patience hath held 

 out so long as to hear them and me, for both 

 together have brought us within the sight of the 

 Thatched House. And I must be your debtor, if 

 you thfnk it worth your attention, for the rest of my 

 promised discourse, till some other opportunity, and 

 a like time of leisure. 



VENATOR. Sir, you have angled me on with 

 much pleasure to the Thatched House ; and I now 

 find your words true, " that good company makes 



