Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/450

---

The hurbly waves (bubbling waves) in up boyling,
Rounde as byralle ther beamys out shynynge.

Amyddis the gardeyn stode a fresh laivrer (laurel),
Theron a bird syngyng bothe day and nyghte.

And at a somewhat later period, Stephen Hawes, in his singular poem entitled "The Pastime of Pleasure", describes a larger and more magnificent garden. Amour arrives at the gate of the garden of La Bel Pucel, and requests the portress to conduct him to her mistress —

"Truly," quod she, " in the garden grene
Of many a swete and sundry flowre
She maketh a garlonde that is veray shene,
Wythe trueloves wrought in many a coloure,
Replete with swetenes and dulcet odoure;
And all alone, wythout company,
Amyddes an herber she fitteth plefauntly."

From the description of this "gloryous" garden that follows, we might imagine that the practice of cutting or training trees and flowers into fantastic shapes, as was done with box-trees in the last century, had prevailed among the gardeners of the fifteenth. The garden of La Bel Pucel is described as being —

Wyth Flora paynted and iwrought curyously.
In divers knottes of marvaylous gretenes;
Rampande lyons stode up wonderfly.
Made all of herbes with didcet swetenes,
Wyth many dragons of marvaylos likenes.
Of dyvers foures made ful craftely,
By Flora couloured wyth colours sundry.

Amiddes the garden so moche delegable
There was an herber fayre and quadrante,
To paradyse right well comparable.
Set all about with foures fragraunt;
And in the myddle there was resplendyshaunte
A dulcet spring and marvaylous fountaine.
Of golde and asure made all certaine.
* * * *
Besyde whiche fountayne, the moost sayre lady
La Bel Pucel ivas gayly syttyng;
Of many foures fayre and ryally
A goodly chaplet she was in makynge.