Shakspeare and His Times [Vol. 1 of 2] / Including the Biography of the Poet; criticisms on his genius and writings; a new chronology of his plays; a disquisition on the on the object of his sonnets; and a history of the manners, customs, and amusements, superstitions, poetry, and elegant literature of his age

by Nathan Drake

These seeds I sow: swift let them grow,

Till he, who must my husband be,

Shall follow me and mow:"[332:B]

a charm which appears to have been in vogue even in the time of Gay, who, in his Shepherd's Week, makes Hobnelia say,—

"At eve last midsummer no sleep I sought,

But to the field a bag of hempseed brought;

I scatter'd round the seed on every side,

And three times in a trembling accent cried,

"This hempseed with my virgin hand I sow,

Who shall my true-love be, the crop shall mow."