palms, by the sweet wells, we did, to the great fear of us all, see a great battle between the dragon and the unicorn; and, as God would, the unicorn thrust the dragon to the heart; and, again, the dragon with his tail stung the unicorn to death. Here is a piece of his horn; the blood of dragons is rich; that battle was worth two hundred marks to our captain. Then we travelled further into Teneriffe, into an exceeding high mountain, above the middle region, whereas we had great plenty of rock alum, and might well hear an heavenly harmony among the stars. The moon was near hand us with marvellous heat; and when we came down at the hill-foot grew many gross herbs, as lovage, laserpitium, acanthus and solanum: and whether it was by the eating of solanum or no, there was a great mighty man naked and hairy, in a deep sleep, whom we gently suffered to lie still. He had a great beard in which a bird did breed, and brought her young ones meat; this man slept half a year and waked not. Our captain declared unto us that the spials had viewed the land, and how that our enemies were at hand. The next day most fearful people painted with sundry colours approached in strange beasts' skins, with flint so were their shafts and darts made, with whom we fought and slew and took some, and yet the people so assaulted us, that with much difficulty we recovered our barks. And then we sailed forth, and chanced to let fall our sounding-lead new-tallowed, whereupon did stick gold. With all speed we sent down our divers, and so within three days we gathered thirty hogsheads of fine gold, besides two butts of orient pearls; all the shore was full of coral. From thence we sailed to the great isle called Madagastat, in Scorea, where were kings, Mahometans by religion, black as devils. Some had no heads, but eyes in their breasts. Some, when it rained, covered all the whole body with one foot. That land did abound in elephants' teeth; the men did eat camels' and lions' flesh. Musk and civet in every place did abound, and the mother of pearl, whereof the people made their platters to put in their meat; they dwell among spice; the ground is moist with oil of precious trees. Plenty of wine out of grapes as big as this loaf; much pepper; they cannot tell what to do with sugar; but that their merchants of Maabar, twenty days' journey off, do come and take of their goods frankly for nothing; but some of them do bring iron to make edge tools, for which they have for one pound twenty

pound of fine gold. Their pots, pans and all vessel are clean gold garnished with diamonds. I did see swine feed in them. Civis. Did you see no strange fowls there and fishes?

Mendax. In the isle called Ruc, in the great Can's land, I did see mermaids and satyrs with other fishes by night came four miles from the sea, and climbed into trees, and did eat dates and nutmegs, with whom the apes and baboons had much fighting, yelling and crying. The people of that land do live by eating the flesh of women. In this land did I see an ape play at ticktack and after at Irish on the tables with one of that land; and also a parrot give one of their gentlewomen a checkmate at chess. There geese dance trenchmore.

Civis. God keep us from those cruel people.

Mendax. But, sir, as for birds, they are not only infinite in numbers, but also in kinds; some voices most sweet and some most fearful; nightingales as big as geese, owls greater than some horse; and there are birds that do lie in a rock where dragons are, whose feathers on their wings are thirty foot long, the quill as big as a cannon royal. Also I heard parrots dispute in philosophy, fresh [?] in Greek, and sing descant. Also there are a people called Astomii, which live very long, and neither eat nor drink, but only live by air and the smell of fruits. In Selenetide there are women, contrary to the nature of other women, do lay eggs and hatch them, from whom do children come fifty times greater than those which are born of women. There did I see Scipodes having but one foot, which is so broad that they cover all their bodies for the rain and the sun.

Item, I did see men having feet like horse, called Ippopodes.

Item, I did see the Satyrs, half men and half goats, playing upon cornets.

Item, I did see Apothami, half horse and half man.

Item, I played at tables with the people called Fanesii, whose ears were as long as cloaks, covering all their bodies; near them is the great city called O, four hundred miles within the wall; the wall was brass, two thousand gates, six hundred bridges as big as London Bridge; the city paved with gold. Naked men dwell there with two heads and six hands every man. did I see apes play at tennis.

There

Civis. I pray you is there any plenty of precious stones?

Mendax. Very many, but hard to come by; but in the island Zanzibar is much plenty of ambergris, that they make clay for their houses withal, there, if we had holden together like friends, we might have gotten a world. When I do remember it, alas, alas, every man is but for himself; you may consider what division is; emeralds, rubies, turkies, diamonds, and sapphires were sold when we came thither first for the weight of iron; a thousand rich turkesses were sold for three shillings four pence, to be short, one with another, after three shillings four pence a peck. Our men gathered up carbuncles and diamonds with rakes under the spice trees.

Civis. How chance you brought none home in to this realm ? Mendax. Oh, sir, we filled two ships with fine gold, three ships with ambergris, musk and unicorns' horns, and two tall barks with precious stones, and sailed by the adamant stones, which will draw iron unto them, and so cast away the greatest riches in Heathenness or Christendom.

WILLIAM BULLEIN, A Dialogue against the Pestilence 1573

CONCLUSION

An Elizabethan Day

And then he drew a dial from his poke,
And, looking on it with lack-lustre eye,
Says very wisely, "It is ten o'clock;

Thus may we see," quoth he, "how the world wags:
"Tis but an hour ago since it was nine,

And after one hour more 'twill be eleven;
And so, from hour to hour we ripe and ripe,
And then from hour to hour we rot and rot,
And thereby hangs a tale."

As You Like It, 11. vii. 20-28

One of the Clock.

It is now the first hour and time is, as it were, stepping out of darkness and stealing towards the day: the cock calls to his hen and bids her beware of the fox, and the watch, having walked the streets, take a nap upon a stall: the bell-man calls to the maids to look to their locks, their fire and their light, and the child in the cradle calls to the nurse for a dug: the cat sits watching behind the cupboard for a mouse, and the flea sucks on sweet flesh, till he is ready to burst with blood: the spirits of the studious start out of their dreams, and if they cannot fall asleep again, then to the book and the wax candle: the dog at the door frays the thief from the house, and the thief within the house may hap to be about his business. In some places bells are rung to certain orders: but the quiet sleeper never tells the clock. Not to dwell too long upon it, I hold it the farewell of the night and the forerunner to the day, the spirit's watch and reason's workmaster. Farewell.

Two of the Clock.

It is now the second hour and the point of the dial hath stepped over the first stroke, and now time begins to draw back the curtain of the night: the cock again calls to his hen, and the watch begin to bustle toward their discharge: the bell-man hath made a great part of his walk, and the nurse begins to huggle the child to the dug: the cat sits playing with the mouse which she hath catched, and the dog with his barking wakes the servants of the house: the studious now are near upon waking, and the thief will be gone, for fear of being taken: the foresters now be about their walks, and yet stealers sometime cozen the keepers: warreners now begin to draw homeward, and far dwellers from the town will be on the way to the market: the soldier now looks towards the cour de garde, and the corporal takes care for the relief of the watch: the earnest scholar will be now at his book, and the thrifty husbandman will rouse towards his rising the seaman will now look out for light, and if the wind be fair, he calls for a can of beer: the fishermen now take the benefit of the tide, and he that bobs for eels will not be without worms. In sum, I hold it much of the nature of the first hour, but somewhat better. And to conclude, I think it the enemy of sleep and the entrance to exercise. Farewell.

Three of the Clock.

It is now the third hour, and the windows of heaven begin to open, and the sun begins to colour the clouds in the sky, before he shew his face to the world: now are the spirits of life, as it were, risen out of death: the cock calls the servants to their day's work, and the grass horses are fetched from the pastures: the milk-maids begin to look toward their dairy, and the good housewife begins to look about the house: the porridge pot is on for the servants' breakfast, and hungry stomachs will soon be ready for their victual: the sparrow begins to chirp about the house, and the birds in the bushes will bid them welcome to the field: the shepherd sets on his pitch on the fire, and fills his tarpot ready for his flock: the wheel and the reel begin to be set ready, and a merry song makes the work seem easy: the ploughman falls to harness his horses, and the thresher begins to look toward the barn: the scholar that loves learning will be hard at his