The gentlemans exercise Or an exquisite practise, as well for drawing all manner of beasts in their true portraitures: as also the making of all kinds of colours, to be vsed in lymming, painting, tricking, and blason of coates, and armes, with diuers others most delightfull and pleasurable obseruations, for all yong gentlemen and others. As also seruing for the necessarie vse and generall benefite of diuers trades-men and artificers, as namly painters, ioyners, free-masons, cutters and caruers, &c. for the farther gracing, beautifying, and garnishing of all their absolute and worthie peeces, either for borders, architecks, or columnes, &c. By Henrie Peacham Master of Artes.

The Riuer Nilus.

Nilus at this day is seene in the Vaticane in Rome, cut out in white marble, with a garland of sundrie

fruits and flowers, leaning with his left arme vpon a Sphinx from vnder his bodie issueth his streame, in his left arme a Cornu-cop•••• full of fruits and flowers on one side, a Crocodile on the other, six••••ene little children smiling and pointing to the floud.

The Sphinx was sometime a famous monster in AEgypt, that rem••ined by conioyned Nilus, hauing the face of a Virgin, and the bodie of a Lion, resem∣bling bodily str••ngth and wisedome.

The Crocodile, the most famous S••rpent of AE∣gypt, who hath his name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 from the fe••re he hath of S••••••ron, which hee cannot endure, wherefore those in AEgypt that keepe Bees set great store of Saffron about the hiues, which when hee seeth, hee presently depa••teth without doing any harme.

The sixteene children resemble the sixteene cu∣bits of height, being the vtmost of height of the flow¦ing of Nilus, their smiling countenances, the com∣moditie it bringeth, gladding the hearts of the drie and poore sunburnt inhabita••ts.