have more hours then Saint Barnabies day, which is the longest in the yeare. The Sundaies (as if it were leape yeare) shall by a number be leaped over, so that, a blindnes falling into their eyes, they shall not for foure, or five, or six moneths together, be able (by the help of those that make the best waters, to recover sight, or to cure sore eyes) to see a church, but shall be strucke with such megrims and turnings of the braine, that insteed of going to church they will (if my arte faile me not) stumble into a taverne. The dog-daies will al this yeare raigne thrice, or twice every week at least, and that verie hot ly, but their sorest rage will be about the Beare-Garden.

As touching the rising and setting of the sunne, it will bee more strange this yere then ever it was; for albeit hee shine never so brightly in our horizon, yet there are certain persons (and those no small fooles neither) that shall not have power at high noone to beholde it.

The moone (like a bowle) will keep her old byas, onely she will be very various in her influence, for as well men as women shall bee more madde in the other quarters then in that wherein are play'd such trickes by the midsommer moone.

I have a moneths minde to travell thus through the whole yeare, but the glasse which time bestowes upon me being not fed with many houres, I must heere hoyst up new sailes, and discover (as it were foure several countries) the foure seasons of the yeare.

He then proceeds to give "A Description and Prediction of the foure quarters of the yeare 1609,"-and first,

"OF WINTER,"

which he thus humorously com

mences

Winter, the sworne enemie to Summer, the Friend to none but Collyers & Woodmongers: the frost-bitten Churle yt hangs his nose still over the fire: the Dog that bites loutts, and the Devil that cuts down trees, the unconscionable binder up of Vintners faggots, and the onely consumer of burnt Sacke and Sugar. This Cousen to death, furtherer to Sicknes, and brother to Old Age, shall not shew his hoary bald-pate in this Climat of curs, according to our

usual computation, upon the 12. day of December, at the first entring of the Sunne into the first minute of the signe Capricorn, when the said Sunne shall be at the greatest South declination from the Equinoctiall line, and so foorth, with much more such stuffe then any meere Englishman can understand: no, my countriemen, never beat the bush so long to finde out Winter, where he lies like a Begger shivering with colde, but take these from me as certaine, and most infallible rules: know when Winter Plomes are ripe and ready to be gathered, when Charity blowes her nailes, and is ready to starve, yet not so much as a Watchman will lend her a flap of his freeze gowne to keep her warme: when Tradesmen shut up shops, by reason their frozenhearted creditors goe about to nip them with beggerie: when the price of Seacole riseth, and the price of Mens laboures falleth, when everie chimnye casts out smoak, but scarce any dore opens to cast so much as a maribone to a Dog to knaw: when Beasts die for want of fodder in the field, and Men are ready to famish for want of foode in the Citie; when the first word that a wench speakes at your coming into her chamber in a morning, is, prethee send for some fagots, and the best comfort a Lawyer heates you withal is to say, what will you give me : when olde Men and their wives devide the holy bed of marriage: when Gluttons blow their Pottage to coole them; and prentisces blow their nailes to heate them; and lastly, when the Thames is covered over with yce, and Mens hearts cake t over and crusted with crueltie: theu maist thou, or any Man be bolde to sweare 'tis Winter. Now because I find in the Ephemerides of Heaven, certain unlucky, criticall, and dangerous daies set down whose foreheads are full of plagues, and under whose winges are hid other dismall miseries, that threaten this region, it shall not be amisse if, first, I open the bosome of Winter, and shew unto you what diseases hang upon him. He then proceeds to enumerate "12 great and grievous Plagues," (that) "shal especially fall upon the heads of this our English Nation" which are Saint Paulus plague is the first, yea, and one of the heaviest, and this is when a man hath never a penny in his

if the Spring will prove any more cheerefull.

[Which he commences in a highly flowery and poetical strain.]

"OF THE SPRING."

Spring the bride of the Sun, the nose-gay giver to weddings, the only and richest hearbe-wife in the world; the rarest gardner, sweetest perfumer, cunningst weaver, noblest musition, for all sortes of birdes are her schollers: this mother of health, phisition to the sicke, surgeon to the wounded: this daughter of plenty, and sister to Summer comes not in attired in her greene roabes, as 'tis published in print, upon the 10. daye of March, as it were Maies tryumph after the Sun (with an Herculean vigor) hath conquered his twelve labours, and (like a skilfull charioteer) hath driven his golden wagon through the twelve figures, &c. But shall I tel you at what signe the Spring dwelleth? cast up your eies and behold, for by these marks shal you know her when she comes: when the Nightingale sits singing with a brier at her brest, and the adulterer (that ravished Philomell) sits singing at the thornes which pricke his conscience when young teares put on new liveries, &c.: when the earth beares all kindes of flowers, when gardens begin to be dressed and the Church to be mended, &c. Then and onely then doe the vernall gates flye wide open, then maist thou be sure to sweare it is the Spring. The brests of this delicate young bed-fellow to the Sunne will so flowe with the milke of profitte and plentye, that (of all other men) players by reason they shal have a hard Winter, and must travell on the hoofe, will lye sucking there for pence and two pences, like young pigges at a sow newly farrowed. It is likewise thought that in this time of copulation betweene the planets and the earth, lawyers will grow up so thick that they will scarce live one by another, and most of them shall be to their Clients as tares are to a field of corne: they shall prosper best when they choake those by whome they are nourished. [This is a beautiful simile, and not less so from the justness of it.]

The disposition of this season is to be hot and moist: by which meanes

those moist handed creatures, whose blouds begin to feele warmth, when the spring of desire boyles within them, shall have the other qualitie like-wise, they shall be hot in their tongues: But if any woman happen to fall into that pestilent infirmitie, let the poore man upon whose handes any such light commodities lyes, apply this medicine, for it is a present cure.

[This humorous story is too long for insertion, but sufficient extracts will be given to shew its tendency and humour, as it is probable that it may have been read, if it has not supplied some hints to Shakspeare for his Taming of the Shrew, which was not published but in the first Folio edition of his Plays in 1623. There is, however, an earlier play upon the same subject, and under the same title, which he is generally supposed to have availed himself of.— (See Baker's Biogr. Dram.)

"A Medicine to cure the Plague of a Woman's tongue, experimented on a Cobler's Wife."

A merry Cobler there was (dwelling at Ware) who for joye that he mended Mens broken and corrupted Soles, did continually sing, so that his shop seemed a verrie bird cage, and he sitting there in his foule linnin and greasie Apron shewed like a Blackbird. It was this poore Sowters desteny not to be hang'd, but (worse than that) to be marryed, and to what Creature thinke you, to a faire, to a young, to a neate delicate Countrie Lasse, that for her good partes was able to put downe all Ware: but with this Honny that flowed in her, did there drop such abundance of Gal and Poison from her scorpion-like tongue, that Monsieur Shoo-mender wished his Wife were set upon the shortest Last, and a thousand times a day was ready to die Cæsars death: O valiant Cordwayner! and to stab himselfe not with a bodkin, but with his furious Awle, because he knew that would goe through Stitch: hee never tooke up the endes of his threed but he wished those to be the endes of his threed of life he never parde his patches, but he wished his knife to be the sheeres of the fatall Sisters three : hee never handled his ball of waxe but he compared them to his Wife and sighed to think that he that touches pitch must be deffiled. Now did his

Songs as heavily come from him as Musick does from a Fidler, when in a Taverne he plaies for nothing, &c. In this purgatorie did our graduate in the Gentle craft live a long time, but at length he was thrust into Hell, for his wife (not following the steps of her Husband, who was ever on the mending hand, but growing from bad into worse) cast aside her wedding stocking, and drew on a pair of yellow hose: then was my miserable Cobler more narrow. ly watched then a mouse by a Cat, or a Debtor by a Catch-pole &c. &c.

Wearied therefore with this worse than a Beare-baiting and being almost worne to the bare bones, he went to consult a Doctor of whome all Ware was affraid, because the Vicar of the towne suck'd more sweetnesse out of his Patients whome he sent to him (by reason all that came under his hands, went the way of all flesh) then out of all his tithe-pigs: who happening to dwell close by this distressed Cobler, and explaining the nature of his case to him, the Doctor hereupon swore he would cure him, and stepping into his studie he returned immediately with paper in one hand & a faire Cudgell in the other, delivering both to the Cobler, protesting that neither Gallen, Avarois, nor Hipocrates can prescribe any other remedy then this, and that if this medicine cures not the Womans evill, nothing can the Cobler having neither the wrighting nor reading tongue, requested the Doctor to read the receipt, as for the cudgel he understood that well enough. The paper therefore, after a solemne O yes by all the standers by,

a

was read and contained thus much-
Take this Salve Cobler for thy plague- sore,
A crabbed cudgell fits a froward whore,
Beate her well and thriftily,
Whilst she cries out lustily!
Never let thy hand give ore,
Till she sweares to scolde no more.

At the end of this the audience gave a plauditie, in token they liked well of the Doctors Phisicke: the Cobler thanked him and thus insteede of an Epilogue spake to his neighbors Neighbors (qd he) you know, and I know, nay the Devill himselfe knowes, that my Wife hath stucke uppon mee like a plague thus many yeares, to apply either the sirrop of salt-cele, or the Oile of holly to her shoulders, I

heatherto was affraide, because I had no warrant that a Man might lawfullye beat his wife. But now sithence Maister Doctor (who weares not a Velvet Night-cap for nothing) having turned over his bookes, findes that no hearbe, mineral, salve, nor plaister, no purging nor any other blood-letting will cure, or take out that worme under a Woman's tongue, (which makes her mad,) but onely a sound beating, I will (God willing) give her the Diet hee sets downe, and if ever I complaine hereafter to any Phisition for the griefe of this Plague, let all Ware laugh at me for an Asse, and sweare that my wife weares the Breeches.*

Next comes "A Prediction of
Summer."

Summer the minion of the yeare, and Mistress of the Earth: Daughter and Heire to the Spring and Empresse over manye Kingdomes: whose Robes are fieldes of standing corne, and whose crowne is a garland of all sorts of fruits: Summer the releever of the poore and Landlady to the rich: the Ploughman's Goddesse to whome he praies, the Husband-man's Queene whome he worships: the filler-up of Barones, the feeder of Birdes, the fatner of Men & Beastes, the Treasurer of the World: the Nurse of Plenty, the enemie to Death & Famine: Summer, that is the Saint, to whom Bowyers and Fletchers kneele, in whose praise Archers send forth showts and Hay-makers merry songs.

[Notwithstanding this high-flown description of Summer, he prognosticates a famine.]

And albeit this lady of the yeare be (like her couzen the Spring) of a sweet and delicate complection, and that her body is by nature so fruitfull, that still and anon she is in labour to bring forth, yet that cursse which at the first was laid upon the earth, shall now this yeare, 1609, fall upon her, insomuch that her lusty and strong limbes shall grow weake by want, and her entrailes be ready to dry and shrinke up to nothing, by reason of a strange famine

In the long list of Deckers' dramatic pieces in the Biogr. Dram., we find "A Medilished, very probably this story dramatised. cine for a Curst Wife," 1602, a play not pubSee Jones's edit. of Baker's Biogr. Dram., art. "Deckers"

that most assuredly will feed upon her. Many deare yeares are set down in our abridgements of Chronicles, (here he quotes several ;) but the face of this shall looke more leane than ever did any. (He thus concludes his prophetic list of calamities :)-If any complaint this yere be made for the scarcity of bread, let none be blamed for it but Tailors; for by al the consent of the planets, it is set downe that they will be mighty bread-eaters, insomuch that half a score halfpenny loaves will make no shew upon one of their Stals. But least we make you hungry that shall reade of this misery, by discoursing thus of so terrible a famine, let us make hast to get out of the heart of this dry and mortall summer, and trye what wages the yeare will bestow uppon us the next quarter.

Of Autumne, or the fall of the leafe." From which we will give one or two short but curious extracts.

You have heard before of certaine plagues and of a famine that hangs over our heads in the cloudes: misfortunes are not borne alone, but like married fooles they come in couples, a civill warre must marche at the heeles of the former misery, and in this quarter will he strike up his drum.

*

for uprore and noise will fill all countries, insurrections or risingsup will be within the cittie, and much open villany will be without the walles; but the hottest and heaviest warre, the blackest and bitterest day of battaile that is prognosticated to happen, shal be betweene lawyers and their clyants, and Westminster-hall is the field where it shall be fought. What thundering, what threatning, what mustring, what marching, what bravery and out-braving, with summoning to parlees, and what defiance will there be on both sides; dismall will be these conflicts to some, deadly to others, and joyfull to a third sort. It is not yet doombd by the celestial arbiters on whose side the victory shall flye, but by all astrologicall likelihoods, it is thought that the lawyers will carry it away, (be it but with wrangling,) and they that goe armed with buckram bagges, and pen and inke-hornes instead of flaske and touch boxe, by the tree sides, you shoote nothing but paper

bullets, wil have those that march with black boxes at their girdles, and billes in their hands, in sudden and terrible execution. Another civil warre doe I finde will fall betweene plaiers, who, albeit at the beginning of this fatall yeare, they salute one another like sworne brothers, yet before the middle of it shall they wish one anothers throat cut for two pence. The Contention of the two houses (the gods be thanked) was appeased long agoe, but a deadly war betweene these three houses will I feare burst out like thunder and lightning, for it is thought that flag will be advanced (as it were in mortall defiance against flag), numbers of people will also be mustered and fall to one side or other, the drums and trumpets must be sounded, parts will then even by the chiefest players bee taken: the whole world must stick to others, or els all the water in the Theames will not serve to carry those away that will be put to flight, &c. The comfort men have in a time when victuals growe deere or scant, is either to be well furnished, or els to have the gift of absti nence, and to be content with little: now because flesh is a great preserver of mans life, I will show you one stratagem how you may get much into your own hands, how to use it when you have it, and how to refrain from taking of it, albeit your hunger be never so great.

Here follows this "Excellent Stratagem how in the time of Famine to be well provided of Flesh, how to preserve it a long time from corruption, and how (when hunger is most sharp set) a Man shall have no lust to fall to, but may grow abstinent," which we lament we cannot give for the benefit of the present times; but the story, though it possesses much humour, is too long for insertion, and there is even a still stronger objection than its length to our giving it entire-its indelicate tendency; something like it, however, is to be found in Boccacio, but in this there is not only an enlargement of the story, but a great improvement, as there is a moral in this tale which is wanting in his; for here a disgraceful and merited punishment follows the