And now that woodman's wife, the mother of

the flood,

The rich and goodly vale of Aylsbury, that stood So much upon her Thame, was busied in her bowers,

Preparing for her son as many sutes of flowers, As Cotswold for the bride, his Isis, lately made; Who for the lovely Thame, her bridegroom, only stay'd. [prest, Whilst every crystal flood is to this business The cause of their greet speed and many thus request; [doth blow "O whither go ye floods? what sudding wind Than other of your kind, that you so fast should flow? What business in hand, that spurs you thus away? Fair Windrush, let me hear; I pray thee, Charwel, say." [not see They suddainly reply, "What lets you should That for this nuptial feast we all prepared be? Therefore this idle chat our ears doth but offend: Our leisure serves not now these trifles to attend." But whilst things are in hand, old Chiltern (for his life)

From prodigal expense can no way keep his wife; Who feeds her Thame with marle, in cordial-wise prepar'd,

And thinks all idly spent, that now she only spar'd In setting forth her son: nor can she think it well, Unless her lavish charge do Cotswold's far excel. For Aylsbury's a vale that walloweth in her wealth, And (by her wholesome air continually in health) Is lusty, firm, and fat, and holds her youthful strength. [and length, Besides her fruitful earth, her mighty breadth Doth Chiltern fitly match: which mountainously high,

And being very long, so likewise she doth lie From the Bedfordian fields, where first she doth begin, [doth win, To fashion like a vale, to th' place where Thame His Isis' wished bed; her soil throughout so sure, For goodness of her glebe, and for her pasture pure, That as her grain and grass, so she her sheep doth breed,

For burthen and for bone all other that exceed : And she, which thus in wealth abundantly doth flow, [stow: Now cares not on her child what cost she do beWhich when wise Chiltern saw (the world who

long had try'd,

the most:

And now at last had laid all garish pomp aside; Whose hoar and chalky head descry'd him to be old, (cold) His beechen woods bereft, that kept him from the Would fain persuade the vale to hold a steady rate; And with his curious wife, thus wisely doth debate: Quoth be, "You might allow what needeth, to [cost? But whereas less will serve, what means this idle Too much a surfeit breeds, and may our child annoy : [cloy. These fat and luscious meats do but our stomachs The modest comely mean, in all things likes the Apparel often shows us womanish precise. [wise. And what will Cotswold think when he shall hear of this? [cost, I wiss."

He'll rather blame your waste, than praise your But women wilful be, and she her will must have; [be brave. Nor cares how Chiltern chides, so that her Thame

Alone which tow'rds his love she eas'ly doth convey: For the Oxonian Ouse was lately sent away [feet; From Buckingham, where first he finds his nimbler Tow'rds Whittlewood then takes: where, past the noblest street†,

He to the forest gives his farewel, and doth keep His course directly down into the German deep, To publish that great day in mighty Neptune's hall, That all the sea-gods there might keep it festival. As we have told how Thame holds on his even course,

Return we to report, how Isis from her source Comes tripping with delight down from her daintier springs; [brings And in her princely train, t' attend her marriage, Clear Churnet, Coln, and Leech3, which first she did retain, [restrain With Windrush: and with her (alt outrage to Which well might off'red be to Isis as she went) Came Yenload with a guard of satyrs which were [like dame. From Whichwood, to await the bright and godSo, Bernwood' did bequeath his satyrs to the Thame,

sent

For sticklers in those stirs that at the feast should be. These preparations great when Charwell comes

to see,

To Oxford got before, to entertain the flood, Apollo's aid he begs, with all his sacred brood, To that most learned place to welcome her repair. Who in her coming on, was wax'd so wond'rous fair, [they That meeting, strife arose betwixt them, whether Her beauty should extol, or she admire their bay. On whom their several gifts (to amplify her dow'r) The Muses there bestow; which ever have the pow'r Immortal her to make. And as she pass'd along, Those modest Thespian maids' thus to their Isis sung; [every side,

"Ye daughters of the hills, come down from And due attendance give upon the lovely bride : Go, strew the paths with flowers, by which she is to pass.

For be ye thus assur'd, in Albion never was
A beauty (yet) like hers: where have you ever seen
So absolute a nymph in all things, for a queen?
Give instantly in charge the day be wond'rous fair,
That no disorder'd blast attempt her braided hair.
Go, see her state prepar'd, and every thing be fit,
The bride-chamber adorn'd with all beseeming it.
And for the princely groom, who ever yet could

name

In all that could pertain to courtship, long agon, As coming from his sire, the fruitful Helidon 19, He travelleth to Thames; where passing by those towns [clowns, Of that rich country near, whereas the mirthful With tabor and the pipe, on holydays do use, Upon the May-pole green, to trample out their shoes: [rings", And having in his ears the deep and solemn Which sound him all the way, unto the learned springs 12, [meet, Where he, his sovereign Ouse most happily doth And him, the thrice three maids, Apollo's offspring, greet [grown With all their sacred gifts: thus, expert being In music; and besides, a curious maker known: This Charwel (as I said) the first these floods among, [sung: For silence having call'd, thus to th' assembly Stand fast, ye higher hills; low vallies, easily And forests, that to both you equally apply [lie; (But for the greater part, both wild and barren be) Retire ye to your wastes; and rivers, only we, Oft meeting let us mix: and with delightful grace, Let every beauteous nymph her best-lov'd flood embrace,

An alien be he born, or near to her own spring,
So from his native fount he bravely flourishing,
Along the flow'ry fields licentiously do strain,
Greeting each curled grove, and circling every
plain;

Or hasting to his fall, his shoaly gravel scow'rs, And with his crystal front then courts the climbing tow'rs. [a name, "Let all the world be judge, what monntain hath Like that from whose proud foot there springs some flood of fame : [is set, And in the Earth's survey, what seat like that Whose streets some aniple stream abundantly doth wet? [road, Where is there haven found, or harbour, like that Int' which some goodly flood his burthen doth unload? [foreign fraught By whose rank swelling stream the far-fetch'd May up to inland towns conveniently be brough Of any part of Earth, we be the most renown'd That countries very oft, nay, empires oft we bound. As Rubicon, much fam'd both for his fount and fall, The ancient limit held 'twixt Italy and Gaul13. Europe and Asia keep on Tanaïs' either side. Such honour have we floods, the world (even) to divide. [by us; Nay, kingdoms thus we prove are christen'd oft Iberia takes her name of crystal Iberus. Such reverence to our kind the wiser ancients gave, As they suppos'd each flood a deity to have. "But with our fame at home return we to proceed. [Tweed, In Britain here we find, our Severn, and our The tripartited isle do generally divide, [ber side. To England, Scotland, Wales, as each doth keep Trent cuts the land in two so equally, as though Nature it pointed out, to our great Brute to show

1 A hill betwixt Northamptonshire and Warwick. "Famous rings of bells in Oxfordshire called, the cross-ring. 12 Oxford. "That which was called Gallia Cisalpina, and is Lombardy, Romagnia, and the western part of Italy.

How to his mighty sons the island he might share.
A thousand of this kind, and nearer, I will spare;
Where, if the state of floods at large I list to show,
I proudly could report how Pactolus doth throw
Up grains of perfect gold; and of great Ganges tell,
Which when full India's showers enforceth him to
swell,
[shore:

Gilds with his glistering sands the over-pamper'd How wealthy Tagus first, by tumbling down his ore,

The rude and slothful Moors of old Iberia taught To search into those hills, from which such wealth he brought. [bring, Beyond these, if I pleas'd, I to your praise could In sacred Tempe, how (about the hoof-plough'd spring) The Heliconian maids, upon that hallowed ground, Recounting heavenly hymns, eternally are crown'd. And as the Earth doth us in her own bowels nourish; [flourish. So every thing that grows by us, doth thrive and To godly virtuous men, we wisely liken'd are: To be so in themselves, that do not only care, But by a sacred power, which goodness doth await, Do make those virtuous too, that them associate.” By this, the wedding ends, and brake up all the

And Thames, got, born, and bred, immediately doth To Windsor-ward amain, (that with a wond'ring The forest might behold his awful empery) [eye, And soon becometh great, with waters wext so rank, That with his wealth he seems to retch his wid'ned bank: [grounds, Till happily attain'd his grandsire Chiltern's Who with his beechen wreaths this king of rivers [makes, Amongst his holts and hills, as on his way he At Reading once arriv'd, clear Kennet overtakes Her lord, the stately Thames, which that great flood again,

crowns.

With many signs of joy, doth kindly entertain. Then Loddon next comes in, contributing her store; As still we sce, the much runs ever to the more. '` Set out with all this pomp, when this imperial

did bear, (Which in her cinders now lies sadly buried here) With alabaster, tuch, and porphyry adorn'd, When (well-near) in her pride great Troynovant she scorn'd. [thy vallies pass, §. Thou saw'st great burden'd ships through these Where now the sharp-edg'd scythe shears up the

spiring grass:

That where the ugly seal and porpoise us'd to play, The grass-hopper and ant now lord it all the day: Where now St. Alban's stands, was called Holmhurst then;

Whose sumptuous fane we see neglected now again, "This rich and goodly fane, which ruin'd thou dost see," [me: Quoth Ver," the motive is, that thon importun'st But to another thing thou cunningly dost fly, And reason seem'st to urge of her sterility." With that he fetch'd a sigh, and ground his teeth in rage;

Quoth Ver," Ev'n for the sin of this accursed age. Behold that goodly fane, which ruin'd now doth stand,

To holy Albion built, first martyr of the laud; Who in the faith of Christ froth Rome to Britain

came:

And dying in this place, resign'd his glorious name. In memory of whom, (as more than half divine) Our English Offa rear'd a rich and sumptuous shrine

And monastery here: which our succeeding kings From time to time endow'd with many goodly things.

[before And many a christian knight was buried here, The Norman set his foot upon this conquer'd shore; [stowrs, And after those brave spirits in all those baleful That with duke Robert went against the pagan powers, [stood, And in their country's right at Cressy those that And that at Poicters bath'd their bilbows in French blood; [fought, Their valiant nephews next at Agincourt that Whereas rebellious France upon her knees was brought:

In this religious house, at some of their returns, When Nature claim'd her duc, here plac'd their

hallow'd urns:

Which now devouring Time, in his so mighty waste,
Demolishing those walls, hath utterly defac'd.
So that the Earth to feel the ruinous heaps of
stones,

That with the burd'nous weight now press their sacred bones,

|

to sin." [delight, When Watling in his words that took but small Hearing the angry brook so cruelly to bite; As one that fain would drive these fancies from his mind, [gentler kind. Quoth he, "I'll tell thee things that suit thyMy song is of myself, and my three sister streets, Which way each of us run, where each her fellow meets,

Since us, his kingly ways, Mulmutius first began,
From sea again to sea, that through the island ran
Which that in mind to keep posterity might have,
Appointing first our course, this privilege he gave,
That no man might arrest, or debtors' goods might
In any of us four his military ways.
[seize
And though the Foss in length exceed me many a
mile,

[isle, That holds from shore to shore the length of all the From where rich Cornwal points to the Iberian

seas,

Till colder Cathness tells the scattered Orcades, I measuring but the breadth, that is not half his gaet;

[state, Yet, for that I am grac'd with goodly London's And Thames and Severn both since in my course I cross,

[Foss. And in much greater trade, am worthier far than But oh unhappy chance! through time's disastrous Our other fellow streets lie utterly forgot: [lot, As Icning, that set out from Yarmouth in the east, By the Iceni then being generally possest, Was of that people first term'd Iening in her race, Upon the Chiltern' here that did my course embrace:

Into the dropping south and bearing then outright, Upon the solent sea stopt on the isle of Wight. "And Rickneld, forth that raught from Cambria's farther shore, [promontore; Where South Wales now shoots forth Saint David's And, on his mid-way near, did me in England ineet; [street Then in his oblique course the lusty straggling Soon overtook the Foss; and toward the fall of Tine, Into the German sea dissolv'd at his decline." Here Watling would have ceas'd, his tale as having told: [would hold; But now this flood, that fain the street in talk. Those ancient things to hear, which well old Watling knew,

44

With these enticing words, her fairly forward drew. Right noble street," quoth he, thou hast liv'd long, gone far,

Much traffic had in peace, much travailed in war; And in thy larger course survey'st as sundry grounds [uarrower bounds, (Where I poor flood am lock'd within these, And like my ruin'd self these ruins only sec, And there remains not one to pity them or me) On with thy former speech: I pray thee somewhat For, Watling. as thou art a military way, [say. Thy story of old streets likes me so wond'rous well, That of the ancient folk I fain would hear thee tell." With these persuasive words, smooth Ver the Watling wan: [began: Stroking her dusty face, when thus the street

Watling, chiefest of the four great ways. ? Not far from Dunstable.