This honourable Nymph, had her virgineall diuine and small body couered with a thinne subtill stuffe of greene silke, powdered with golde, vppon a smocke of pure white coorled Lawne, couering her most delicate and tender body, and snowye skinne, as fine and good as euer Pamphila the daughter to Platis in the Iland of Coo, did inuent to weaue. Which white smocke seemed as if it had couered damaske Roses.
The coate which she wore ouer that, was not like our fashioned petticoates with French wastes, for that her sweete proporcioned body needed no such pinching in, & vnholsome weare, hyndering procreation and an enemie to health: but rather like a wastcoate, with little plightes and gathers vnder her rounde and pretty bearing out breasts, vpon her slender and small waste, ouer her large proportioned flanckes and little round belly, fast girded about with a girdle of golde: and ouer the same, a gowne or garment side to the ground, and welted belowe.
This garment beeing very side, was taken vp round about the pitch of her hippes, and before vpon her belly, & tyed about with the studded marriage girdle of Citherea, the plucking vp of ye garment, bearing ouer the girdle about her like a french vardingale, & the nethermost part falling down about her feet in plightes and fouldes, vnstable and blowne about with the sweete ayre & coole winde, causing sometime, by the thinnesse thereof, her shape to be seene in it, which shee seemed with a prompt readinesse to resist and hynder. Her beautie and grace was such, as I stoode in doubt whether shee were begotten by any humaine generation: her
[v] armes stretching downe, her handes long and slender, her fingers small and fayre, and her nayles thinne and ruddy, and shining, as if she had beene Minerua her selfe. Her armes to be seene through the cleere thinnesse of the Lawne, the winges about the size of her garment where her armes came out, were of golde, in an excellent sort and fashion welted, and set with Pearle and stone: and in like sort, all the hemming about of her vesture, with golde ooes, and Pearle, and spangles of golde in diuers places, distantly disposed in a curious and pleasant sort to beholde.
Vppon either side, vnder the armes to her waste, her vpper garment was vnsowed and open, but fastened with three buttons of great Orient Pearle (such as Cleopatra neuer had to dissolue in a Potion) in loopes of blewe silke, so that you might see her smocke betweene the distance of one Pearle from an other, couering her daintie soft snowye thinne skinne: except her small necke and the vpper halfe of her spatious and delitious breast, more desired and contenting mine eyes, then the water brookes and coole Ryuers to the emboste and chased Hart, more pleasing then the fisher boate of Endimion to Cynthia, and more pleasant then Cithera to Orpheus.
The sleeues of her smocke of a conuenient largenesse, and about her wristes plighted and tyed with Bracelets of Golde, double and vnited with Orient Pearle. And besides all her ornaments and gracious gestures, she indeuoured nowe and then with stolen and affected regards, in a sweet & pleasant sort, to cast down her eyes vpon her little round swelling breastes, impatient at the suppressing of her soft and fine apparell: so as I iudged vppon good consideration, and thought that in the dignitie and honourable frame of her personage, the Creator had framed and vnited together, all the violence of Loue. The foure Nourses of the royall Kingdome of Babilon, called The tongue of the Gods, had not that powre to winne fauour and loue of the King, which this most sweet Nymph had.
About her fayre Necke, more white then the Scithian snowe, shee wore a Carkenet of Oryent Pearle: Cerna the wife of Cæsar neuer had the like, and I doubt me that that of Eriphile, which she tooke to Amphiaraus, was nothing comparable vnto it. And in the bending downe ouer the deuision of her breastes, betwixt two great Pearles, there was laced a corruscant rounde Rubie, and
vppon the collaterate sides of the sayde Pearles, two glistering Saphires, and two Pearles, next them two Emeraldes, & two Pearles, and after them two fayre Iacinthes: all these Pearles and Stones were laced in a worke in losenges, in a rare and beautifull manner.
Her fayre heade, sending downe and vnfolding a loose spreading abroade of plentifull hayre, like the smallest threds of golde, wauing with the winde, and vpon her crowne, a garland of tawny vyolets sweetly smelling, and couering the same almost to her forheade: from the middle vpper point whereof, in forme of two Hemycycles to the halfe of her eares, it mounted vppe in curled trammelles, falling downe againe vppon her fayre Temples, moueably wauing and shaddowing the same, and hyding the vpper halfe of her small eares, more fayre then euer was reported of Mimoria.
The rest of her yellowe haire, descended downe ouer her fayre necke, well disposed shoulders, and straight backe, to the calues of her slender legges, moderatly wauing and blowne abroad, in greater beautie than the proude eyed feathers of Iunoes Birde. Such hayre as Berenice did neuer vow in the venereous Temple for her Tholomaus, nor Conus the Mathematrician did euer beholde the like placed in the Triangule.