CArew of ancient Carru was, And Carru is a plowe, Romanes the trade, Frenchmen the word, I doe the name auowe. The elder stock, and we a braunch, At Phoebes gouerning.
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From fire to sonne, doe waxe and wane, By thrift and lauishing. The fire, not valuing at due price His wealth, it throwes away: The sonne, by seruice or by match, Repaireth this decay. The smelling fence we sundry want, But want it without lack: For t'is no sense, to wish a weale, That brings a greater wrack. Through natures marke, we owne our babes, By tip of th' upper lip; Black-bearded all the race, saue mine, Wrong dide by mothership. The Barons wife, Arch-deacons heire, Vnto her yonger sonne Gaue Antony, which downe to me, By 4. descents hath runne. All which, and all their wiues, exprest A Turtles single loue, And neuer did tha'duentrous change, Of double wedding proue. We are the fist: to swarue herefrom, I will not though I could, As for my wife, God may dispose, Shee shall not, though she would. Our family transplants it selfe, To grow in other shires, And Countrey rather makes then takes, As best behoofe appeares. Children thrice three God hath vs lent, Two sonnes, and then a mayd, By order borne, of which, one third We in the graue haue layd. Our eldest daughter widow fell, Before our yongest borne: So doe hard haps vnlooked come, So are our hopes forlorne. Mine trebled haue in either sexe, Those which my parents got, And yet but halfed them, which God My graundsire did allot: Whose grace in Court, rarely obtayned, To th'yongst of those eighteene, Three Kings of England Godfathers, For Godmother, our Queene.
The Armes of our family, are Or. 3. Lyons passant, sable: armed and Langued Gules.
It exceedeth good maners, to inuite your longer stay at our cold harbour; and yet, for that diuers strangers haue, either vpon cause or kindnesse, pretended to like well of a saltwater pond there made; and others, whose dwelling affoordeth a semblable oportunity, may (perhaps) take some light herefrom, to doe the like: if they be so disposed, I will put my selfe to the payne of particularly describing it, and you may (notwithstanding) at your pleasure, saue the labour of perusing it; wherein I will by the way interlace some notes, for the Imitaters better instruction.
There lyeth a creeke of Ose, betweene two hilles, which deliuering a little fresh rillet into the sea, receyueth for recompence, a large ouerflowing of the salt water tides. This place is deepened to a pond, by casting vp part of the Ose to the heades, part to the middle, and part to the sides: the vpper head stoppeth out the fresh water, the lower keepeth in the salt: the middle rayseth an Iland for the Workmens [105] ease, the owners pleasure, and the fishes succour. The Ose thus aduaunced, within short space, through the sunne and winde, changeth his former softnes, to a firmer hardnesse. Round about the pond, there is pitched a frith of three foote heighth, sloped inwards, to barre any Otter from issuing, if hee there aduenture his naturall theft, as it would foreclose his entrance, but lose the pastime of his hunting, if the same declined outwards. In one of the corners next the sea, standeth a flood-gate, to bee drawne vp and let downe through reigles in the side postes, whose mouth is encompassed with a double frith, of two foote distance, eche from other, and their middle space filled vp with small stones: this serueth to let in the salt water, and to keepe in the fish, when the flood-gate is taken vp: and therefore you must not make the frith too close, nor the compasse too little, lest they too much stop the waters passage. It riseth of equall heighth with the banks, & they must outreach the highest full sea mark, by two foot at least: neyther ought your flood-gates foote to stand euen with the pondes bottome, lest emptying the water, it wholly abandon the fish, but must leaue about three foot depth within.