Jocastus and his man Bromius come upon the Elves while plundering the orchard: the latter is for employing his cudgel on the occasion, but Jocastus is overwhelmed by the condescension of the princely Oberon in coming to his orchard, when His Grace had orchards of his own more precious Than mortals can have any. The Elves, by his master's permission, pinch Bromius, singing, Quoniam per te violamur, Ungues hic experiamur; Statim dices tibi datam Cutem valde variatam. Finally, when the coast is clear, Oberon cries, So we are got clean off; come, noble peers Of Fairy, come, attend our royal Grace. Let's go and share our fruit with our queen Mab And the other dairy-maids; where of this theme We will discourse amidst our cakes and cream. Cum tot poma habeamus, Triumphos læti jam canamus; Faunos ego credam ortos, Tantum ut frequentent hortos. I domum, Oberon, ad illas, Quæ nos manent nunc, ancillas, Quarum osculemur sinum, Inter poma lac et vinum. In the old play of Fuimus Troes are the following lines:[404] Fairies small, Two foot tall, With caps red On their head, Danse around On the ground. The pastoral poets also employed the Fairy Mythology. Had they used it exclusively, giving up the Nymphs, Satyrs, and all the rural rout of antiquity, and joined with it faithful pictures of the scenery England then presented, with just delineations of the manners and character of the peasantry, the pastoral poetry of that age would have been as unrivalled as its drama. But a blind admiration of classic models, and a fondness for allegory, were the besetting sins of the poets. They have, however, left a few gems in this way. Britannia's Pastorals furnish the following passages:[405] Near to this wood there lay a pleasant mead, Where fairies often did their measures tread, Which in the meadows made such circles green, As if with garlands it had crowned been; Or like the circle where the signs we track, And learned shepherds call 't the Zodiac; Within one of these rounds was to be seen A hillock rise, where oft the fairy-queen At twilight sate, and did command her elves To pinch those maids that had not swept their shelves; And, further, if, by maiden's oversight, Within doors water was not brought at night, Or if they spread no table, set no bread, They should have nips from toe unto the head; And for the maid who had perform'd each thing, She in the water-pail bade leave a ring. _Song 2._