Of wheat, rye, barley, vetches, oats, and peas;
Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep,
And flat meads thatch'd with stover, them to keep;
Thy banks with pioned and twilled brims, 64
Which spongy April at thy hest betrims,
To make cold nymphs chaste crowns; and thy broom groves,
Whose shadow the dismissed bachelor loves,
Being lass-lorn; thy pole-clipt vineyard; 68
And thy sea-marge, sterile and rocky-hard,
Where thou thyself dost air: the queen o' the sky,
Whose watery arch and messenger am I,
Bids thee leave these; and with her sovereign grace, 72
Here on this grass-plot, in this very place,
To come and sport; her peacocks fly amain:
Approach, rich Ceres, her to entertain.
Enter Ceres.
Cer. Hail, many-colour'd messenger, that ne'er 76
Dost disobey the wife of Jupiter;
Who with thy saffron wings upon my flowers
Diffusest honey-drops, refreshing showers:
And with each end of thy blue bow dost crown
My bosky acres, and my unshrubb'd down, 81
Rich scarf to my proud earth; why hath thy queen
Summon'd me hither, to this short-grass'd green?
Iris. A contract of true love to celebrate, 84
And some donation freely to estate
On the bless'd lovers.
Cer. Tell me, heavenly bow,
If Venus or her son, as thou dost know,
63 stover: fodder
64 pioned and twilled; cf. n.
68 pole-clipt vineyard: one in which the vines cling to poles
71 watery arch: rainbow
74 amain: at full speed
81 bosky: bushy
85 freely: liberally
estate: bestow
