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He boldly rode and made him to obay:
It was the beast that whylome did forray
The Nemean forrest, till th'Amphytrionide
Him slew, and with his hide did him array;
Behinde his back a sithe, and by his side
Under his belt he bore a sickle circling wide.

The sixt was August, being rich arrayd

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In garment all of gold downe to the ground:
Yet rode he not, but led a lovely Mayd
Forth by the lilly hand, the which was cround
With eares of corne, and full her hand was found;
That was the righteous Virgin, which of old

Liv'd here on earth, and plenty made abound;
But, after Wrong was lov'd and Justice solde,

She left th'unrighteous world and was to heaven extold.

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Next him, September marched eeke on foote;
Yet was he heavy laden with the spoyle
Of harvests riches, which he made his boot,
And him enricht with bounty of the soyle :
In his one hand, as fit for harvests toyle,
He held a knife-hook; and in th'other hand
A paire of waights, with which he did assoyle
Both more and lesse, where it in doubt did stand,
And equall gave to each as Justice duly scann'd.

Then came October full of merry glee :

For, yet his noule was totty of the must,
Which he was treading in the wine fats see,
And of the joyous oyle, whose gentle gust
Made him so frollick and so full of lust:

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Upon a dreadfull Scorpion he did ride,
The same which by Dianaes doom unjust
Slew great Orion; and eeke by his side

He had his ploughing share, and coulter ready tyde.

Next was November, he full grosse and fat,

As fed with lard, and that right well might seeme; For, he had been a fatting hogs of late, That yet his browes with sweat, did reek and steem, And yet the season was full sharp and breem ; In planting eeke he took no small delight: Whereon he rode, not easie was to deeme ; For it a dreadfull Centaure was in sight, The seed of Saturne, and faire Nais, Chiron hight.

And after him, came next the chill December;
Yet he through merry feasting which he made,
And great bonfires, did not the cold remember;
His Saviours birth his mind so much did glad :
Upon a shaggy-bearded Goat he rode,
The same wherewith Dan Jove in tender yeares,
They say, was nourisht by th'Idœan mayd;
And in his hand a broad deepe boawle he beares;
Of which, he freely drinks an health to all his peeres.

Then came old January, wrapped well

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In many weeds to keep the cold away; Yet did he quake and quiver like to quell, And blowe his nayles to warme them if he may : For, they were numbd with holding all the day An hatchet keene, with which he felled wood, And from the trees did lop the needlesse spray : Upon an huge great Earth pot steane he stood; From whose wide mouth, there flowed forth the Romane floud.

And lastly, came cold February, sitting
In an old wagon, for he could not ride;

Drawne of two fishes for the season fitting,
Which through the flood before did softly slyde
And swim away: yet had he by his side.

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His plough and harnesse fit to till the ground, And tooles to prune the trees, before the pride Of hasting Prime did make them burgein round So past the twelve Months forth, and their dew places found.

LETTERS TO GABRIEL HARVEY

I

GOOD Master G., I perceive by your most curteous and frendly Letters your good will to be no lesse in deed than I alwayes esteemed. In recompence wherof, think, I beseech you, that I wil spare neither speech nor wryting, nor aught else, whensoever and wheresoever occasion shal be offred me yea, I will not stay till it be offred, but will seeke it in al that possibly I may. And that you may perceive how much your Counsel in al things prevaileth with me, and how altogither I am ruled and overruled thereby, I am nowe determined to alter mine owne former purpose, 10 and to subscribe to your advizement, being notwithstanding resolved stil to abide your farther resolution. My principal doubts are these. First, I was minded for a while to have intermitted the uttering of my writings, leaste, by overmuch cloying their noble eares, I should gather a contempt of my self, or else seeme rather for gaine and commoditie to doe it, for some sweetnesse that I have already tasted. Then also me seemeth the work too base for his excellent Lordship, being made in Honour of a private Personage unknowne, which of some ylwillers might be upbraided not 20 to be so worthie as you knowe she is: or the matter not so weightie that it should be offred to so weightie a Personage:

or the like. The selfe former Title stil liketh me well ynough, and your fine Addition no lesse. If these and the like doubtes maye be of importaunce in your seeming to frustrate any parte of your advice, I beeseeche you, without the leaste selfe love of your own purpose, councell me for the beste and the rather doe it faithfullye and carefully, for that in all things I attribute so muche to your judgement, that I am ever more content to annihilate mine owne determinations in respecte thereof. And indeede for your Io selfe to, it fitteth with you now to call your wits and senses togither (which are alwaies at call), when occasion is so fairely offered of Estimation and Preferment. For, while the yron is hote, it is good striking; and minds of Nobles varie as their Estates. Verum ne quid durius.

I pray you bethinke you well hereof, good Maister G., and forthwith write me those two or three special points and caveats for the nonce, De quibus in superioribus illis mellitissimis longissimisque Litteris tuis. Your desire to

heare of my late beeing with hir Majestie muste dye in it 20 selfe. As for the twoo worthy Gentlemen, Master SIDNEY and Master DYER, they have me, I thanke them, in some use of familiarity: of whom, and to whome, what speache passeth for youre credite and estimation, I leave your selfe to conceive, having alwayes so well conceived of my unfained affection and zeale towardes you. And nowe they have proclaimed in their apei máy a generall surceasing and silence of balde Rymers, and also of the verie beste to: in steade whereof, they have, by autho[ri]tie of their whole Senate, prescribed certaine Lawes and rules of Quantities 30 of English sillables for English Verse, having had thereof already greate practise, and drawen mee to their faction. Newe Bookes I heare of none, but only of one, that writing a certaine Booke, called THE SCHOOLE OF ABUSE, and dedicating it to Maister SIDNEY, was for hys labor scorned, if at leaste it be in the goodnesse of that nature to scorne.

Suche follie is it not to regarde aforehande the inclination and qualitie of him to whome wee dedicate oure Bookes. Suche mighte I happily incurre, entituling my SLOMBER and the other Pamphlets unto his honor. I meant them rather to MAISTER DYER. But I am, of late, more in love wyth my Englishe Versifying than with Ryming; whyche I should have done long since, if I would then have followed your councell. Sed te solum iam tum suspicabar cum Aschamo sapere: nunc Aulam video egregios alere Poëtas Anglicos. Maister E. K. hartily desireth to be commended 10 unto your Worshippe.

II

Truste me, you will hardly beleeve what greate good liking and estimation Maister Dyer had of youre Satyricall Verses, and I, since the viewe thereof, having before of my selfe had speciall liking of Englishe Versifying, am even nowe aboute to give you some token, and howe well therein I am able to doe for, to tell you trueth, I minde shortely at convenient leysure to sette forth a Booke in this kinde, whyche I entitle Epithalamion Thamesis, whyche Booke 20 I dare undertake wil be very profitable for the knowledge and rare for the Invention and manner of handling. For in setting forth the marriage of the Thames I shewe his first beginning and offspring, and all the Countrey that he passeth thorough, and also describe all the Rivers throughout Englande whyche came to this Wedding, and their righte names, and right passage, &c. A worke, beleeve me, of much labour, wherein notwithstanding Master Holinshed hath muche furthered and advantaged me, who therein hath bestowed singular paines in searching oute their firste 30 heades and sources, and also in tracing and dogging oute all their course til they fall into the Sca.

O Tite, siquid ego,
Ecquid erit pretii?

But of that more hereafter. Nowe, my Dreames and Dying

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