them, "Why," says the poor man, "the downes, you see, are full of stones,
and we are faine to shoe ourselves thus; and these," says he, "will make
the stones fly till they sing before me." I did give the poor man
something, for which he was mighty thankful, and I tried to cast stones
with his horne crooke. He values his dog mightily, that would turn a
sheep any way which he would have him, when he goes to fold them: told me
there was about eighteen scoare sheep in his flock, and that he hath four
shillings a week the year round for keeping of them: so we posted thence
with mighty pleasure in the discourse we had with this poor man, and Mrs.
Turner, in the common fields here, did gather one of the prettiest
nosegays that ever I saw in my life. So to our coach, and through Mr.
Minnes's wood, and looked upon Mr. Evelyn's house; and so over the common,
and through Epsum towne to our inne, in the way stopping a poor woman with
her milk-pail, and in one of my gilt tumblers did drink our bellyfulls of
milk, better than any creame; and so to our inne, and there had a dish of
creame, but it was sour, and so had no pleasure in it; and so paid our
reckoning, and took coach, it being about seven at night, and passed and
saw the people walking with their wives and children to take the ayre, and
we set out for home, the sun by and by going down, and we in the cool of
the evening all the way with much pleasure home, talking and pleasing
ourselves with the pleasure of this day's work, Mrs. Turner mightily
pleased with my resolution, which, I tell her, is never to keep a
country-house, but to keep a coach, and with my wife on the Saturday to go
sometimes for a day to this place, and then quit to another place; and
there is more variety and as little charge, and no trouble, as there is in
a country-house. Anon it grew dark, and as it grew dark we had the
pleasure to see several glow-wormes, which was mighty pretty, but my foot
begins more and more to pain me, which Mrs. Turner, by keeping her warm
hand upon it, did much ease; but so that when we come home, which was just
at eleven at night, I was not able to walk from the lane's end to my house