The fire increaseth and will not be staid, But like a stream[50] that tumbling from a hill Orewhelmes the fields, orewhelmes the hopefull toyle Oth' husbandman and headlong beares the woods; The unweeting Shepheard on a Rocke afarre Amazed heares the feareful noyse; so here Danger and Terror strive which shall exceed.

The men of Cholcos at thy sufferings grive; The shaggy dweller in the Scithian Rockes, The Mosch condemned to perpetual snowes, That never wept at kindreds burials Suffers with thee and feeles his heart to soften.

In this so pleasant place the shepheards flocke Lay everie where, their wearie limbs to rest, On everie bush, and everie hollow rocke, 235 Where breathe on them the whistling wind mote best; The whiles the shepheard self, tending his stocke, Sate by the fountaine side, in shade to rest, Where gentle slumbring sleep oppressed him Displaid on ground, and seized everie lim.

Before them stands the god of seas in place, Clayming that sea-coast citie as his right, And strikes the rockes with his three-forked mace; Whenceforth issues a warlike steed in sight, 316 The signe by which he chalengeth the place; That all the gods which saw his wondrous might Did surely deeme the victorie his due: But seldom seene, foreiudgement proveth true.

I saw a spring out of a rocke forth rayle*, As cleare as christall gainst the sunnie beames; The bottome yeallow, like the golden grayle* That bright Pactolus washeth with his streames.

With deadly force so in their cruell race They pincht the haunches of that gentle beast, That at the last, and in short time, I spide, Under a rocke, where she, alas!

Within this wood, out of a rocke did rise A spring of water, mildly rumbling downe, Whereto approched not in anie wise

Fayre be ye sure, but hard and obstinate, As is a rocke amidst the raging floods; Gaynst which a ship, of succour desolate, Doth suffer wreck both of her selfe and goods.

Sleepe rocke thy Braine, [Sidenote: Sleepes]

To point with our fingers Out all such rockes, shelves, quicksands, gulfes, & shallowes Lying in the sea through which you are to passe In the most dangerous voyage you ere made: Eyther by our care to sett you safe on land,

The 21 we sayled still in sight of Dalmatia, and a little before noone, we had a sight of a rocke in the midst of the sea, called in the Italian il Pomo, it appeareth a farre off to be in shape like a sugarloafe.

we had sight of another small Iland called Catza, which is desolate and on the left hand, and on the right hand, a very dangerous Iland called Pelagosa, this is also desolate, and lyeth in the midst of the sea betweene both the maines: it is very dangerous and low land, and it hath a long ledge of rockes lying out sixe miles into the sea, so that many ships by night are cast away vpon them.

This rocke lieth on the Southside of the towne, and is called Il Cromo, there is nothing on it but onely a Monasterie called Sant Ieronimo.

It hath for the Inner warde two strong castles situated on the top of two high cragges of a rocke, a bow shoot distant the one from the other: the rocke is vnassaultable, for the second warde it hath strong walles with rampiers and trenches made as well as any arte can deuise.

At after noone with a hard gale at west and by north we entered the chanell betweene the Iland Curzola and the hilles of Dalmatia, in which channell be many rockes, and the channell not past 3 miles ouer, and we ankered before the towne of Curzolo.

The Pilot told vs that wee were by his altitude not farre from a citie called Tanasary, in the kingdome of Pegu, and these his words were not true, but we were (as it were) in the middle of many Ilands, and many vninhabited rockes, and there were also some Portugales that affirmed that they knew the land, and knewe also where the citie of Tanasari was.

And returning to my purpose, I say, being amongst these rockes, and farre from the land which is ouer against Tanasary, with great scarcitie of victuals, and that by the saying of the Pylot and two Portugales, holding then firme that wee were in front of the aforesayd harbour, we determined to goe thither with our boat and fetch victuals, and that the shippe should stay for vs in a place assigned.

Come, sit down, fair Nimphe, And taste the sweetnesse of these heavenly cates, Whilst from the hollow cranies of this rocke Musick shall sound to recreate my love.

Come lett us mount ourselfes upon these rockes

No meanes unlesse we leape downe from the rockes, And that's meare desperation.

The sides of the hill are of overhanging rock, "bearing out like mushromes, so that it is impossible to ascend it" except by a passageway "cut out within the Rocke, not with staires, but ascending little by little," and closed above and below with gates guarded by soldiers.

It standeth vpon a very great high rocke as the most part of their castles doe, and was of a very great circuite.

And they finde them in the riuers: for the king will not suffer them to digge the rocke.

Occasionally we meet with topical allusions, for instance the thrust at Taylor put into the mouth of the rude Cancrone: Farewell ye rockes and seas, I thinke yee'l shew it That Sicelie affords a water-Poet.

The occasional lyrics, moreover, are not without merit; the following lines, sung by Eglantine, are perhaps the most pleasing in the play: Upon the blacke Rocke of despaire