Grocott & Ward, comps. Grocott’s Familiar Quotations, 6th ed. 189-?.
Lark
The lark, that shuns on lofty bough to build.
Waller.—A Song. Of the Queen.
The busy lark, the messenger of day.
Chaucer.—The Knight’s Tale, Line 1493. Dryden has “the morning lark.”
Not a lark, that calls
The morning up, shall build on any turf
But she shall be thy tenant, call thee lord,
And for her rent pay thee in change of songs.
Ford.—The Sun’s Darling, Act II. Scene 1.
It was the lark, the herald of the morn,
No nightingale.
Shakespeare.—Romeo and Juliet, Act III. Scene 5. (Romeo to Juliet.)