. 
 
Brathwaite's Strappado for 
 the Diuell. 
 
jO(9 Copies only Small Fape?' and ^^o Large, 
 ThisisNo.IS5.(^6^, 
 
A Strappado for the 
 Diuell. 
 
 By Richard Brathwaite. 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
 
 The Rev. J. W. EBSWORTH, M.A., 
 
 Editor of the Bagford Ballads , Drolleries 
 of the Restoration, &^c. 
 
 BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE: 
 Printed by Robert Roberts, Strait Bar-Gate. 
 
 M^DCCCLXXVIII. 
 

 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 //^6 
 
 ' A mirthful man he was : the snows of age 
 Fell on, but did not chill him. Gaiety- 
 Even in life's closing, touched his teeming brain 
 With such wild visions as the setting sun 
 Raises in front of some hoar glacier 
 Painting the bleak ice with a thousand hues." 
 
 Anne of Geierstein, 
 
 OOD Wine," says the Proverb, '' needs no 
 bush." Nevertheless, while wine is in de- 
 mand, there hangeth out the advertising 
 bunch of leaves above the door where it is 
 offered to consumers, reminding them of care having 
 ^f^ex, taken to keep the barrel from the sun's scorching 
 t, 'w hen it was brought and stored. So it is with 
 Richard Brathwaite, whose Strappado for the Diuell 
 \ ■, r: uw ready for the entertainment of revellers. " Taste 
 and try ! " is all that is absolutely necessary to be said 
 or sung ; yet are we called on, by our friend whose la- 
 bours have provided this choice and accurate reprint, 
 to write a few lines of introduction. 
 
 In sooth, the book well deserved to be copiously 
 annotated, for, like others by the same author, it is full 
 of quaint allusions to subjects out of the common road 
 of thought and conversation, even in the days when it 
 
 /jf 
 
vi Introduction. 
 
 was first given to the world. It, moreover, illustrates 
 the time by innumerable jocular quips and cranks, 
 proverbs, and a detailed record of the contemporary 
 customs, so that every thoughtful Shakesperian student 
 may rejoice at now possessing the book. It was pub- 
 lished in 1615, when Beaumont and Shakespeare had 
 reached their last year, but while most of the other 
 great dramatists were at their best. It exemplifies 
 alike the laborious trifling which continued to find fa- 
 vour among the wits, as it had done during the reign 
 of the Virgin Queen ; and also that robust and bois- 
 terous vivacity, suited to men of adventurous spirit 
 and hardihood at the time of England's greatest intel- 
 lectual vigour. Of late there has been felt an increased 
 interest in all of Richard Brathwaite's writings, and 
 certainly his Strappado for the Diueltv^tW deserved to 
 be made more generally accessible to students. Fairly 
 to do justice to it, a commentary equalling it in bulk, 
 although without redundancy of annotation, would be 
 required. This is at present deemed inexpedient. The 
 book is offered entire, unadulterated, a verbatim re- 
 print, but nothing more. Those who have detected 
 the inaccuracies of most modern editions of old au- 
 thors will be, doubtless, gratified at securing such an 
 exact reproduction of this rare work as may be deemed 
 equivalent to the original. 
 
 An excellent portrait of Richard Brathwaite is in 
 the frontispiece of his book, A Survey of History ; or, 
 
Introduction. Yif 
 
 A Nursery for Gentry : Contrived and Comprized in 
 an Intermixt Discourse upon Historicall and Poeticall 
 i;'.elations, 1638. It is one of William Marshall's choice 
 engravings, an elaborate composition in eight com- 
 partments ; the oval portrait forms the centre. With 
 pointed beard, stiff horizontal moustache, and cleanly 
 shaven cheeks, it gives us such a likeness of the man 
 as carries its own warrant of fidelity. The full point- 
 lace collar falls over a slashed doublet of dark velvet 
 The strongly-marked features betoken a somewhat 
 fierce animalism: great capacity and impetuosity. 
 The eyes are already dimmed ; they show in their 
 worn and wearied expression a remembrance of by- 
 gone revels, not altogether pleasant. They have lost 
 all the joyous light of youth, and under the knotted 
 brow look out sadly upon the worid. A stalwart com- 
 batant is this, ready at all times for a struggle against 
 any odds that offer. He bears the bruises and the 
 scars, in furrowed front and sunken cheek; but evi- 
 dently he is unsubdued, though weakened, and will 
 " die game," with his face to the foe. He has drank 
 deeply of the cup proffered to him, and has known the 
 bitterness of after-reflections. He has clasped hands 
 firmly in friendship, and has struck hard, when need- 
 ful, at those who may have hated, but dared not scorn 
 him. Yet this face, with its wealth of varied memo- 
 ries, is of a man no older than forty-eight years • It 
 IS thus certified in the engraving. The flame must 
 
viii Introduction, 
 
 have burnt fiercely, to have calcined so much in that 
 short time. With this portrait in view we the better 
 understand and prize his works. 
 
 He is believed to have been born about 1588, and 
 this would make the portrait, marked " aetatis 48," to 
 be representative of him at two years earlier date than 
 when it was published, in 1638, in A Survey of History, 
 It corresponds more closely with William Marshall's 
 full length of him, as *' Barnaby," merrily enjoying his 
 newly-lighted pipe at the ale-house door, than with 
 the lean-visaged yet §rAooth-browed decorous gentle- 
 man in a plaited ruff, whose portrait is prefixed to the 
 Psalms of Davidy in the same year 1638. Joseph 
 Haslewood writes of this second oval portrait, sub- 
 scribed, " quanquam 6," that it " appears to have been 
 intended for our author, when advanced in years." But 
 Brathwaite can scarcely have been represented as more 
 than two years older than the portrait issued almost si- 
 multaneously, in the Survey^ wherein his age is stated. 
 Elsewhere, in his biographical account, Haslewood re- 
 fers to this " engraved title to the Psalms, where he 
 has a more aged appearance, probably adopted as the 
 sedate Christian moralist — a character he seemed de- 
 sirous uniformly to sustain in all his serious and reli- 
 gious pieces." It may be that the biographer intends 
 to admit a certain amount of falsification in the Psalms* 
 portrait : that it was, in fact, like the picture of an 
 actor " in character," more or less disguised in its se- 
 
Introduction. ix 
 
 dateness. Otherwise, we should be led to believe that 
 the assigned date of our author's birth may have been 
 a trifle too late. We hold firmly by a belief in the 
 literal fidelity of the original portrait in the Survey^ 
 with its motto " Meliori nascimur aevo." 
 
 It is not necessary to repeat here the short account 
 of his life given by his loving biographer. In few of 
 his labours had Haslewood so satisfactorily acquitted 
 himself as when he gave back the Barnahcs Itmerarium 
 to the world. He left little for after-gleaners. The 
 first duty now is to reprint Brathwaite's various works 
 with scrupulous fidelity : the second is to add to them 
 such a comprehensive and exhaustive introduction 
 with annotations as they well deserve. From first to 
 last they throw light on our English social history at 
 the most interesting period, from before the time of 
 Shakespeare's final retirement to Stratford, throughout 
 the struggle of the Commonwealth against the Mo- 
 narchy, and beyond the Restoration until 1673. So 
 voluminous an author, one who wrote with a flying 
 pen, and loved to record his own habits, whims, and 
 ^(experiences, beside his allusions to contemporary 
 ^opics, must reward the student of literature. Nor is 
 '{he ever wearisome, except by an excess of sparkle and 
 ■ipoint. His vivacity sometimes fatigues readers who 
 ' :annot keep pace with his sportive sallies. But he is 
 10 mere witling, and quibbler with words. He offers 
 subjects for thought, and would himself have scorned 
 
 b 
 
X Introduction. 
 
 to be considered a jester or buffoon for idle hours. He- 
 has some kinship with George Wither,* his contempo- 
 rary ; resembhng him aHke in the pastoral poems, and 
 in the pungency of his Satires. In the under-current 
 of religious seriousness the two writers are not so far 
 apart as might be imagined. Both were confessors, 
 not martyrs, enduring persecutions for conscience sake. 
 Brathwaite proved his sincerity and fortitude in mani- 
 fold sufferings for the Royal cause, but he seems to 
 have led a much happier and more jovial life than 
 Wither, who was always in opposition amid a factious 
 minority ; always coming into collision with authority, 
 and suffering imprisonments or humiliation, without 
 much benefit to any cause that he chose to advocate. 
 Both men deserve our affectionate remembrance, and 
 are unlikely to be forgotten in the coming age. There 
 will be made a diligent search for every scrap of writing 
 that they left behind them. Except the dreary reli- 
 gious poetry whereunto they piously turned in later 
 years (as a compensation for having earlier indulged 
 
 * Of George Wither, and of William Browne, the author of 
 Britannia' s Pastorals, Brathwaite was a warm admirer. In hi^ 
 poem " Vpon the Generall Sciolists or Poettasters of Brittaine 
 (our p. 23) he writes "On witty Wither neuer-withring plaines," 
 and declares that 
 
 " long may England's Thespian springs be known 
 By lonely Wither and by bonny Bronvne.'^ 
 Again, in Nature^s Embassie, he distinctly alludes to Wither 
 Abuses Stripf and Whipt : " Thou must be Stript, and Whipt, 
 and chastis'd for ^t." 
 
Introduction. xi 
 
 in much satirical '' stripping and whipping " of what- 
 ever they beHeved to be Social Abuses), they wrote 
 few things which the world is inclined to cast aside as 
 " alms for oblivion." 
 
 Even without assuming the received date of Brath- 
 waite's birth to be slightly post-dated, we find him 
 certainly reaching the venerable age of eighty-five 
 years. That he retained his mental faculties until the 
 end, or very near the end, seems to be clearly proved. 
 Whatever may have been the wild excesses of his 
 youth, the actions and the words of his closing days 
 were such as secured respect. Anthony a Wood, who 
 is by no means lavish of praise, declares that " he left 
 behind him the character of a well-bred gentleman and 
 good neighbour ; " and his later biographer gladly 
 adds, " a consistent christian and upright man." As 
 to his appearance, attire, and disposition, " Tradition 
 reports him to have been in person below the common 
 stature, well-proportioned, and one of the handsomest 
 men of his day ; remarkable for ready wit and humour; 
 charitable to the poor in the extreme, so much so as 
 Vto have involved himself in difficulties by it. He com- 
 * rnonly wore a light grey coat, red waistcoat, and leather 
 Dreeches. His hat was a high-crowned one, and be- 
 yond what [height] was common in those days, when 
 jsuch hats were worn. His equals in life bestowed on 
 'him the name of Dapper Dick, by which he was uni- 
 versally known. In disposition he was as admirable 
 
xii Introduction, 
 
 as in person ; and, always taking from the gaiety of 
 heart a conspicuous part in the neighbourhood in pro- 
 moting the festivities of Christmas, those good times 
 gone by long beheld him the darling of that side of 
 the country." 
 
 We need feel no scruple in borrowing one more 
 paragraph from Joseph Haslewood, for it assists to 
 bring before the reader Brathwaite's Cavalier spirit of 
 hospitality, already mentioned. Soon after 1639, when 
 he married his second wife, a loyal Scotch widow lady, 
 he quitted his own family-residence at Burneshead, in 
 Lancashire, which was probably in disorder and diffi- 
 culties, and, as it seems, removed to Catterick, her 
 jointure manor-house, in Yorkshire. " The fevered 
 state of the times might in part occasion his quitting 
 the family residence at Burneshead. Brathwaite was 
 *a subject sworn to loyalty,' and not likely under any 
 sway at that lawless period to escape the common 
 wrack of power. Lavish hospitality in support of the 
 royal cause on the one hand, and contributions impe- 
 riously demanded and violently enforced in the name 
 of either the Parliament or the Usurper upon the other, 
 would serve equally to impoverish his hereditary proj 
 perty, and make a removal to the newly-acquirecli 
 estate at Appleton a matter of convenience to prevent] 
 shading family honours. He declares himself to have! 
 been * a resolute sufferer for both ' sovereign and 
 country, and depicts the very impaired state of his 
 
Introduction, xiii 
 
 fortune at the Restoration, in a poem addressed ' To 
 his Majesty upon his happy arrivall in our late discom- 
 posed Albion ' (1660), which he describes as written 
 * by him who ever held his intimacy of Loyalty a suf- 
 ficient reward for all his sufferings \ and his house most 
 happy in the hospitality of your [the king's] servants.' 
 
 * My ruifCd fortunes I shall nere bemone, 
 Though I have felt as much as any one 
 Of the Delinquenfs whip : Pm still the man 
 I was, before the Civill warrs began ; 
 Those capitall grand-bugbears had no power 
 Z" affright your servant, though they might devour 
 That small remainder which he then possest ; 
 Wherein they grew half-sharers at the least.^ " 
 
 Thus loyal to King and Church he held his way with 
 
 cheerfulness, despite the troubles and material losses 
 
 which it was his lot to encounter. He uses the whip 
 
 of the Satirist, sometimes playfully, and sometimes in 
 
 grim earnest ; but in his hands it is not the implement 
 
 of ruthless cruelty and destruction that it would have 
 
 been if wielded by a Puritan fanatic. This was no 
 
 . i tiarrow-minded sectary, incapable of feeling any bright 
 
 ''4nfluence of joy and beauty from the world that lay 
 
 before his purblind eyes. No prurient moralist was 
 
 pe, secretly enslaved by desire for the luxuries he 
 
 could not compass, but openly denounced, in language 
 
 imore offensive than the love-ditties which the Pre- 
 
 4cisians declared to be idolatrous and blasphemous. It 
 
xiv Introduction. 
 
 is not laid upon us to attempt to reconcile the self- 
 contradictions of such a complex character as Brath- 
 waite's, where the reveller and gallant is conjoined to 
 the austere moralist and pious churchman. We see 
 that he was of open-handed liberality and robust geni- 
 ality, yet religious-minded withal. Like him, in those 
 days, were many others, so that he was not an eccentric 
 humourist, flighty, and almost unintelligible, but a fair 
 sample of a large class of men. Most of them fought 
 for the king's cause against the tyranny of faction, and 
 suffered sore hardships without losing heart or hope ; 
 in many cases yielding up their lives, as well as their 
 estates, in attestation of their loyalty. With this clue 
 to an understanding of the man himself, the writings 
 of Richard Brathwaite become doubly valuable. He is 
 not only an illustrator of rural customs, and of transi- 
 tory habits in the busy city-life ; not only is he of assist- 
 ance to the commentator who desires to learn more of 
 the obsolete phraseology and folk-lore belonging to 
 our richest dramatic literature. He is all this, but he 
 is also a bold and genial Englishman, representative 
 in no small degree of other Cavaliers, who had beer 
 roysters and revellers without ceasing to be gentlemei 
 and christians. ' 
 
 As to the manner in which he looked upon the prin 
 Sectaries, the men whom later days designated th( 
 " unco guid and rigidly righteous," we have a notable \ 
 example in the present volume, on p. 1G9. It is ar 
 
Introduction. xv 
 
 address " to the Precision, that dares hardly looke (be- 
 cause th' art pure, forsooth) on any book, saue Homi- 
 Hes," &c. He gibbets the class of men for posterity, 
 by a reference to this one being 
 
 " wont to slay 
 His cat for killing mice on tN Sabboth day^ * 
 
 We desire not to imitate our author in one thing, 
 viz., the keeping back readers from his book by an 
 accumulation of prefatory matter. Among the few 
 
 * It may be the phrase was already proverbial, for it has the 
 imperfect quotational marks before it. This is the earliest- 
 known appearance of the allusion in print. John Taylor the 
 Water-Poet uses it, several years later, of a Brownist, in The 
 Praise of Hempseed : — 
 
 " The Spirit still directs him hoiv to pray. 
 Nor ivill he dresse his Meate the Sabbath day, 
 Which doth a mighty mysterie imfold. 
 His Zeale is hot, although his Meat be cold : 
 Suppose his Cat on Sunday kill a Rat, 
 She on the Munday must be hanged for that'* 
 Dr. James Smith or Sir John Menzies in Musarum Delici^e, 
 1655, mentions "some close-pared Brother" who will work re- 
 tributive vengeance on a Cat (guilty of having eaten certain 
 lute-strings), 
 
 j " Or else, profane, be hanged on Monday, 
 
 For butchering a Mouse on Sunday. '* 
 [t has also been noted that the incident had re-appeared in 
 Wm. Sampson's play of The Foiv- Breaker 1636. Modern 
 adaptations of a civil-war ballad, telling how " A Presbyterian 
 Cat sat watching of her prey," are found in The Linnet, 
 \[ = Orpheus), 1740, p. 20, and (altered into "There was a 
 jCameronian Cat") in James Hogg's Jacobite Relics, ist. series, 
 37» 1819. 
 
XVI Introduction, 
 
 printed copies of the Strappado, still remaining, there 
 are differences in the arrangement of the leaves. 
 Imperfections, similar to what we find in the rare 
 Drolleries and early song-books, arise chiefly from the 
 books having been roughly used in frequent perusal. 
 Even in the best libraries, where any apparently un- 
 mutilated volume of such class may be stored, it has 
 been generally made complete (like the unique first 
 4to. of Hamlet, 1603), by intermixture of several im- 
 perfect exemplars. Our publisher and printer, with 
 whom had rested the labour of preparing this repro- 
 duction, has spared no pains to make it as nearly as 
 possible an exact reprint of Brathwaite's interesting 
 pages. In them we see the author at an early part of 
 his joyous life. He was not more than twenty-seven 
 years old when it was published. Some parts of it 
 may have been written earlier, but we do not think | 
 this is probable. He was a quick producer, and seems 
 to have generally flung out whatever he wrote without I ( 
 much delay. Elaboration suited not his humour, and ) 
 it is not likely that he kept many unused manuscripts^ f 
 long beside him. When he had executed any piece/ 
 of work that his own judgment approved, as worth}! 
 of being tossed out to an expectant public of good ? 
 fellows,* he probably searched amid his loose papers|[ 
 
 * In general he seems to have hurried his writings into print 
 and almost always left them at the mercy of typographical blun- 
 ders, until such time as he could add an " Apology for the 
 
 \ 
 
 H 
 
Introduction, xvii 
 
 the fly-leaves of favourite volumes whereon he had 
 jotted down some odd thoughts in epigrammatic form. 
 With the aid of such waifs and strays as these (tokens 
 of their fugitive character remaining visible at this 
 day), he would increase the bulk of his book until it 
 looked big enough to face the world. Even when con- 
 secutively paged, his volumes are often composed of 
 several distinct works. Separate titles, dedications, 
 tables of errata, and other camp-followers are accumu- 
 lated in each. They resemble the highland clans that 
 followed the standard of Prince Charles Edward, each 
 under its own feudal leader, and his chosen subor- 
 dinates ; so that they look less like a disciplined army, 
 than a melee of ill-disciplined and incongruous forces, 
 ready at a word to fall asunder. 
 
 Thus, in the present volume, we find his " Love's 
 Labyrinth ; or, the true-Louers knot : inclvding The 
 disastrous fals of two star-crost Louers Pyramvs and 
 Thysbe," following, with no poetic or logical link of 
 connection, closely after the '* Strappado for the 
 
 Errata," under an excuse of the author's absence. But there are 
 a few instances of his keeping manuscript by him for a long 
 time, as in the case of his Comment upon the tivo Tales of our 
 Ancient, Renoivned, and E'ver Living Poet S"". Jeff ray Chaucer, 
 8;c., which was not printed until 1665, but appears to have been 
 (In part, at least), written half a century earlier, having been in 
 161 7 announced for early publication. The Barnahoe Itinera- 
 rium also bears clear marks of having been written at intervals, 
 and long retained in hand before its appearance about 1649. 
 
xviii Inb'oduchon. 
 
 Deuill." Even so in " Nature's Embassie : or, the 
 wilde-mans Measvres," 162 1, (already reprinted at 
 Boston by Mr. Robert Roberts, in 1877) : the charm- 
 ing " Shepheard's Tales," with its separate title-page, 
 and " Omphale, or, the Inconstant Shepheardesse," 
 beside " His Odes, or Philomel's Tears," all of the 
 same date, are formed into one volume, consecutively- 
 paged in the reprint. 
 
 There seems to be good reason for believing that 
 the author designed " Nature's Embassie " to be ac- 
 cepted as a continuation of "A Strappado for the 
 Deuill." After our present p. 234 had followed two 
 leaves having signature and direction. " IF Place this 
 and the leafe following after the end of the First 
 Booke." In lines addressed, at that place, " To the 
 equall Reader," he is told, 
 
 " if these ierks, so lightly laid on, smart, 
 
 Thoullfinde rare whipping cheere i the Second Part, 
 Where Furies run diuision on my song : 
 Patience awhile, and thou shall haue V ere long J' 
 
 We entertain no doubt whatever that the " Second 
 Part " thus announced was none other than the booVj^ 
 published in 1621, under the full title of " Natvre g 
 Embassie ; or, The Wilde-mans Measvres : Dancei' [ 
 naked by twelve Satyres, with sundry others containet 1 
 in the next Section." That no close connection exist 
 between the two works, and that no declaration 
 made to the effect that " this is the promised Secona. 
 
Introduction. xix 
 
 Part of the Strappado," are facts of infinitely small 
 weight in the balance against the supposition. Puri- 
 tanism was growing more powerful, and there had 
 evidently been objections raised against the introduc- 
 tion of the Devil's name into the title of the earlier 
 volume.* As to connection, there is still less between 
 the component parts of the present, and many another 
 volume, by the same author, than there is between 
 the Strappado and the Wilde-men's Measures. So 
 much need was felt for a " taking title," and the ap- 
 pearance of novelty, that the publisher, Richard 
 Whitaker, would be indisposed to risk the success of 
 the book, in 1621, by permitting the author to call it 
 a "Second Part," even of the successful Strappado. 
 As a matter of fact, we know that two years later the . 
 unsold copies were helped into circulation by fresh 
 title-pages, with the more acceptable name of " Shep- 
 heard's Tales. The two books ought never hereafter 
 to be separated. 
 
 Although his name appeared thus prominently, and 
 
 * Thus, in his Essay on Detraction, Brathwaite writes, 
 " Wonder I cannot chuse (for else should I wonder at my own 
 stupidity) how any should harbour the least conceit of an in- 
 tended Detraction by mee, or by my Labours, unlesse my title 
 of De'vill imply so much, which may seem to have affinitie with 
 that which the Greeks terme SLafioXr], Detraction." This ex- 
 tract has, in 1625 (ten years after the publication of the Strap- 
 pado) the following marginal note : — " A pleasant poeme by 
 the Author, long since published ; and ^y some no lesse censo- 
 riously than causelessly taxed.^^ 
 
XX Introduction. 
 
 caused all this connection, the " Deuill " had left very 
 few of his hoof-marks behind him in the books. Per- 
 sonally, he resembles the "harmless fairy," whom 
 Stephano and Trinculo* foun(^ to lead them into a 
 
 * The allusion to "Tom Trincalos " on p. 114 is certainly not 
 to Shakespeare's Tempest^ but (like Milton's) to a play which 
 was a favourite among the Cambridge students : ** Albumazar, 
 A Comedy presented before the King's Maiestie at Cambridge, 
 the ninth of March, 1614 : by the Gentlemen of Trinitie College. 
 London, Printed by Nicholas Okes for Walter Burre, and are 
 to be sold at his Shop, in Paul's Church-yard. 1615." Another 
 4to. edition was issued in 1634, and a third in 1668, with an 
 Epilogue (instead of the short original), written by Dryden, 
 beginning, 
 
 ** To say this Comedy pleased long ago 
 
 Is not enough to make it please you noiv. 
 
 Yet, gentlemen, your ancestors had ivit, 
 
 Whenfeiv men censured, and ivhenfeiver ivrit 2 
 
 And lonson, (of those fe^v the best) chose this. 
 
 As the best model of his master-piece. 
 
 Subtle ivas got by our Albumazar, 
 
 That Alchymist by this Astrologer. 
 
 Here he iv as fashioned, and ive may suppose 
 
 He liked the fashion ivell ivho ivore the clothes. 
 
 But Ben made nobly his ivhat he did mould ; 
 
 What ivas another^ s lead became his gold."' &c. 
 This Epilogue appeared in Couent-Garden Drollery, 1675, "o 
 doubt in the same form as when first spoken (afterwards slightly 
 changed), and probably in the characters of Albumazar, or of 
 Trincalo. The latter person had spoken the original Epilogue. 
 The comedy has been included among Dodsley's " Old Plays," 
 and is in the eleventh volume of the recent edition, 1875, in 15 
 vols. Unless there had been an earlier production of " Albuma- 
 zar" than 1614, Dryden must have mistaken the supposed 
 paternity of Ben Jonson's " Alchymist," which was certainly 
 printed in 1612. The author of "Albumazar" is believed t^'o 
 
 I 
 
Introduction. xxi 
 
 reeking horse-pond (where no horses came, any more 
 than to Venice). He is conspicuous by his absence. 
 It might have been said, " omitted by particular de- 
 sire. Brathwaite has given us the fitting explanation, 
 so far as it goes, in his reference to the Sta^oXos as the 
 Spirit of Detraction : this it is that receives the whip- 
 ping, as is due. He writes (on p. 33) of his " sharp 
 tooth'd Satire," but he is not venomous. He rebukes 
 the poetasters for their fantastical and mischievous 
 perversions of language and thought, "transform'd 
 from English to Italienate." By their indiscriminate 
 adulation of the unworthy, for self-interest, he declares 
 they " bring The Art of Poetry to Ballading." He 
 knows well the price likely to be paid by any true 
 Poet who dare to rebuke the vices of the Court, 
 " As some have done, and haue been meuid up for V." 
 
 He hesitates not to speak his indignant scorn of those 
 who act as poetic panders to luxury, 
 
 ^'•As they runne still in that high-beaten way 
 Of errour, by directing men amisse, 
 Penning whole volumes of licentiousnesse, 
 Descanting on my Ladies Rosie lip, 
 Her Cinthian eie, her bending front, her trip, 
 Her bodies motion, notion of her time. 
 All which they weaue vp in a baudy Rime." 
 
 have been one John Tomkis, or Tomkins. R. Brathwaite's 
 *' Epigramme" speedily followed the publication of the play, to 
 which it alludes. Milton's reference to the Cambridge perform- 
 ance of Trincalo is in his Apology for Smectymnuus, 1642. 
 
xxu Introduction, 
 
 Even in his address "To his Booke " he had glanced 
 at the prevalent error of allowing rich and powerful 
 offenders to escape unpunished, while those in lower 
 condition were treated with severity. 
 
 " let this be vnderstood, 
 
 Great men though ill they must be stiled good, 
 Their blacke is white, their vice is vertue made : 
 But ^mongst the base call still a spade a spade. 
 If thou canst thus dispense (my booke) with crimes, 
 Thou shall be hugged and honour' d in these times ^ 
 
 As Shakespeare puts it : " that in the Captain's but a 
 choleric word, which in the Soldier were rank blas- 
 phemy." It may not improbably be, that the thought 
 in Brathwaite's mind was to make the Devil the re- 
 presentative of evil-greatness : " spiritual wickedness 
 in high places," and to hint, by his title, that he was 
 not afraid of laying on the lash, if it were deserved, 
 because of the dignity in station held by the culprit 
 No honest men need fear him, they are avowedly 
 "out of the survey of his Strappado ;" but those who 
 prove " Recreant " by consorting with " the swartie 
 miscreants of Lucifer," are fairly warned of his inten- 
 tions. 
 
 We find little here of that strange perversion or con- 
 fusion of ideas that meets us in all the art and litera- 
 ture of the middle-ages, and still survives to our day, 
 by which the horror against sin and its embodimenfc 
 in the Arch Spirit of Evil is joined with a sense of t^e 
 
Introduction. xxiii 
 
 ludicrous, prompting to jests and buffoonery, even to 
 contemptuous scorn ; as though we held it to be true, 
 what Ben Jonson took as title for one of his Comedies, 
 " The Devil is an Ass." Those dangerous tamperings 
 with solemn thoughts, traversing them by daylight, 
 shrinking appalled from them in darkness and solitude, 
 were not besetting failings with Brathwaite. He was 
 of healthier taste and sounder judgment. His " Ciuell 
 Diuell " is an ensnaring wanton, whose place of resort 
 and evil enticements are painted with marvellous power 
 and distinctness ; affording a companion picture to 
 John Dickinson's finished portraiture of the downfall of 
 " the faire Valeria," in his Greene in Conceipty 1598, or 
 Thomas Cranley's^;;^<a:;2<^^; or, The Reformed Whore, 
 1635. But it was not any inability to make a "righte 
 merrie leste" on the subject of the Arch-enemy, that 
 kept Brathwaite to more legitimate sources of hu- 
 mour ; as any one can see who turns to p. 95, and reads 
 the laughter-stirring tale, which Admetus used to re- 
 late in his hearing, whilst he sat roasting a crab-apple 
 by the fire, on winter nights. It briefly shows the 
 misery of a hen-pecked husband whose helpmate was 
 "an arrant Deuill of her tongue," and how (after 
 time-honoured custom) the poor man sought consola- 
 tion in "a potte of nappy Ale :" how this prototype 
 of Tam O'Shanter stayed too long at the ale-house, 
 fortifying himself against the home-comforts of his 
 wife's tongue, which he knew to be awaiting his re- 
 
 1 
 
xxiv Introduction, 
 
 turn ; and how, instead of Alloway Kirk full of 
 witches, he encountered what seemed to him the very- 
 Leader of that unholy revel. His absence of fear is 
 accounted for by himself in words of wisdom : 
 
 " Good Spirit, if thou be, I need no charme, 
 For well I know thou wilt not doe me harm : 
 And if the Deuill ; sure, me thou shouldst not hurt, 
 I wed^d thy Sister, and am plagued for V. 
 The Spirit, well-approuiug what he said, 
 Dissolii'd to ay re, and quickly vanished.""^ 
 
 No less true in humour, and longer sustained, is the 
 excellent poem " Vpon a Poets Palfrey, lying in Lau- 
 ander, for the discharge of his Prouender," (p. 156). 
 To be " laid in lauender " was a mild euphemism for 
 being in pawn. With wit that tires neither its exhibi- 
 tor nor the reader, he courses through a multitude of 
 suppositions, incidentally repeating to us the cry of 
 
 * We well remember an ancient Kirk-yard in the north of 
 Scotland, where-through a path ran straight from the public- 
 house to the minister's manse, often trodden, alas ! by an irre- 
 proachable Mess-John, whom friends had vainly attempted to 
 convert to ways of sobriety by serious advice, and even by that 
 heaviest of trials, praying at him ! One night a well-intentioned 
 clerical-brother disguised himself in a sheet, and awaited, beside 
 a tomb-stone, the return home of the unsteady wanderer, in 
 hope of alarming him into repentance and the Pledge. When 
 fairly holding in view the tall white figure, which a struggling 
 moon-beam made visible, the only ejaculation that expressed 
 consciousness was the pathetic enquiry, " Oh, mon ! is it the 
 general resurrection ? or are ye taking a daunder yer lane?" 
 Nothing was left for it but the Presbytery Kirk-sessions, and 
 their sentence of deposition. 
 
 i I 
 
Introduction. xxv 
 
 Shakespeare's Richard III., "A horse, a horse, a king- 
 dom for a horse ! " and the very line from Marlow's 
 Tambourlaine which Pistol mocks, " Hallow, ye pam- 
 per'd lades of Asia, what draw but thirty miles aday ? " 
 Don Quixote's Rozinante, the Trojan Horse, Phae- 
 ton's borrowed coursers of the Sun, are brought in, 
 with a snaffle, to trot before us. As the mother of the 
 minotaur, Queen Pasiphae, is mentioned, we might 
 have expected to encounter Queen Semiramis ; " that 
 injured queen, by chroniclers so coarse. Has been ac- 
 cused, I doubt not by conspiracy, Of an improper 
 friendship," &c. But no, we. never mention her. The 
 wonderful performing-horse of Banks the cunjuror 
 (which was burnt, with its master, in Italy, because 
 this cleverness was believed to be of magic), appears 
 in the twelfth and fifteenth verses. The Pageants and 
 religious moralities, from Adam and Eve to Noah and 
 his ark, which were represented at Bartholomew-Fair, 
 are glanced at. So are Duke Humphrey's dinner-less 
 guests. This poem alone might make the volume 
 precious to us. 
 
 In a Satyre, called " The Coni-borrowe," we find a 
 palpable allusion to one of the characters in Shake- 
 speare's Pericles, " the damned door-keeper " Boult. 
 The public hangman is mentioned in the proverbial 
 saying of " going to Heaven by Derick in a string : " 
 there was a tune known about that time, with a bur- 
 den "Take 'm, Derrick !" See our Bag ford Ballads, (p. 
 
 d 
 
XXV I Introduction, 
 
 JJ'S). Brathwaite's abhorrence of wantonness is spoken 
 with a convincing earnestness, such as few writers have 
 equalled. He uses strong language, but it is because 
 he feels strongly and will not palter with the truth. 
 Our only surprise is that he has not taken his place 
 higher, in the ranks of poetic Satirists, as he deserved, 
 while men inferior to him in command of words, and 
 less impressed with an indignant scorn against un- 
 cleanness, are belauded, if not read, as though they 
 were the masters of their art. The clearness, the col- 
 loquial English, the force and brilliancy of his style, at 
 his best, merit the highest praise. This volume can- 
 not fail to make thoughtful readers desirous of know- 
 ing more of Richard Brathwaite. 
 
 That the writer of such scathing rebukes of lustful 
 dalliance should also be the author of some wanton 
 trifling, as " A Marriage Song," can only be explained 
 by our recollection of the tyranny of moods in destroy- 
 ing self-consistency, and especially by our making 
 allowance for the warmth of the poetic temperament. 
 One never can depend on these Satirists being en- 
 tirely truthful. They have first revelled in iniquity, 
 and then turn approvers or king's evidence, and bear 
 witness against old associates to secure their own 
 escape from punishment. No one knew this better 
 than our greatest poet. When Jacques in the forest 
 of Arden claimed the privilege of satirising whom- 
 soever he would, to blow on them with " as large a 
 
Introduction. xxvii 
 
 charter as the wind," he made the banished Duke tell 
 what would happen : — 
 
 " Most mischievous foul sin in dhidin^ sin ; 
 For thou thyself hast been a libertine. 
 As sensual as the brutish sting itself ; 
 And all the embossed sores, and headed evils, 
 That thou with license of free foot hast caught, 
 Would^st thou disgorge into the general worW^ 
 
 Our author is singularly free from the worst vices of 
 these ill-conditioned " censors of the age." He had 
 never been so debauched with pleasures, and he never 
 became so malignant in his vituperation, as most of 
 the gang who assume the vile hangman's office for 
 hangman's wages. 
 
 While there is such richness of allusion to contem- 
 porary matters in his pages, that scarcely one among 
 them fails to yield something valuable to the student 
 of antiquity, we are apt to forget the genuine sweetness 
 and musical fluency of his best lyrics. The rich flow 
 of his lines makes him pleasant reading, even on such 
 comparatively dull subjects as his address to the Al- 
 derman of Kendall, or the companion poem To the 
 Northern Sparks, the Cottoneers (in both of which, 
 ne^'^rtheless, appear a multitude of ripe suggestions to 
 cultivated students). We see in these latter the pro- 
 genitors of those industrious communities at Wake- 
 field, Bradford, and the other manufacturing towns of 
 the North, whom Brathwaite knew well, and could 
 
xxviii Introduction. 
 
 bring before us both in their hours of steady labour at 
 the loom, and in their wakes and revels, May-games 
 on the green, with Robin Hood and Morris-dancers : 
 
 " One footing actively Wilson's delight, 
 Descanting on this note, I have done whafs right, 
 Another ioying to be nanCd 'mongst them. 
 Were made Men-fishers of poore fisher-men. 
 The third as blith as any tongue can tell, 
 Because he's found afaithfull Samuel. 
 The fourth is chanting of his Notes as gladly, 
 Keeping the tune for tK honour of AxtYiwidi Bradly.* 
 The 5. so pranke, he scarce can stand on ground, 
 Asking whdle sing with him Mai Dixon's round 'i " &c. 
 
 There is poetic grace and daintiness of expression 
 in the charming little lyric, (on p. 93,) 
 
 SUNG TO MAIDS' INCONSTANCY, 
 " Foolish I, why should I grieue 
 To sustaine what others feele ? 
 What suppose, fraile women leaue 
 Those they lou'd, should I conceale 
 
 Comforfs rest, 
 
 Trom my hrest, 
 For a fickle, brittle woman ? 
 
 Noe, Noe, Noe, 
 
 Let her goe. 
 Such as these be true to no man. 
 
 11 
 
 I 
 
 * See the whole available information on this subject gathered 
 by the present writer in Choice Drollery re-print, 1876. 
 
 I 
 
Introduction, xxix 
 
 " Long retired hast thou beene, 
 Sighing on these barren rocks, 
 Nor by sheepe nor shepheard seene, 
 Now returne vnto thy flockes, 
 
 Shame away, 
 
 Doe not stay, 
 With these mouing-louing women. 
 
 They remoue 
 
 From their loue ; 
 Such as these doe oft vndoe menJ*^ &c. 
 
 So, too, with its own charm of music and deep affec- 
 tion, more quaint in form and expression. The funeral 
 Elegy, (on pp. 242, 243,) has the true ring of poetry. 
 And he who likes not " Admetus's Sonnet " is hard to 
 please. 
 
 The breezy freshness of Browne's Pastorals fans our 
 brow as we read that hearty song of The Woodman, 
 Arthur Standish (pp. 168 to 172), with all its nice 
 discrimination of timber and thicket greenery. 
 
 To some readers the so-called " Epigrams " des- 
 criptive of various characters, such as The Courtier, 
 The Wooer, will commend themselves ; a class of 
 compositions then in fashion, and such as Brathwaite 
 excelled in.* There is also work worth studying in his 
 "Panegirick Embleame, intituled. Saint George for 
 England." It has the tenderness and intricate lingering 
 
 * " See his prose " Whimzies j or, A new Cast of Charac- 
 ters," 163 1. 
 
XXX Introduction. 
 
 cadences of the old romances : as befitted days when 
 knights and ladies were content to yield ungrudgingly 
 their time to a perusal or recital of such tales of 
 maiden's sorrow and knightly valour. 
 
 No more need we add, unless we were to annotate 
 his every page, in commendation of this worthy, too- 
 long neglected, but never quite- forgotten. We have 
 not written half the praise we could have ventured, 
 not a tenth part of his due, but those who read him 
 without prejudice will find a hearty friend in Richard 
 Brathwaite, fresh and wholesome, like this first day 
 of Spring. 
 
 J. W. E. 
 
 MOLASH VICARAGE, KENT, 
 
 March 21st, 1878. 
 
 ^ 
 
i 
 
A 
 
 STRAPPADO 
 
 for the Diuell. 
 
 EPy GRAMS AND 
 
 Satyres alluding to the time, 
 
 with diuers meafures of no 
 
 le/fe Delight. 
 
 By fAixroa-vKo?, to his friend 
 Nemo me impune laceffit. 
 
 At London printed hy LB. iox Richard Redmev 
 
 and are to be fold at the Weft dore 
 
 of Pauls at the Starve. 1615. 
 
The Authors Anagranie 
 
 RiCHARDE BrATHWAITE. 
 
 Vertu hath bar Credit 
 
 This lie auow, (for it is I that f aid it) 
 If Vertue haue no coifie.fhe has no Credit, 
 
 A3 
 
 To 
 
TO THE WORTHI- 
 
 lie efteemed the true Chara61;er 
 
 of a Generous difpojition, Sir Thomas 
 
 Gains FORD Knight, his Vertues endeered 
 
 Admiror, wifheth fulneffe of content in the 
 
 Dedication of thefe his Anagrams extra- 
 
 (5led from his Name, and concor- 
 
 ding with his Nature. 
 
 / Thomas Gainsforde. 
 
 Anagram 
 So fame doth raign. 
 
 SO Fame doth raigne with Anagraryi s fo fit 
 As if that Nature had inuented it : 
 For he that knowes thy Vertues and thy Namey 
 Will fay all raigne in thee, all ring thy Fame. 
 
 Thomas Gain/ford. 
 Anagram 
 Shade f Honours game. 
 A pale for Jhe Iter of her game is made, 
 And thou to Honours game art made afitade. 
 Thy Huntfufs Vertue, and thy Beagle grace, 
 Which (well in winde) hath fill the game in chace. 
 
 To 
 
 i 
 
To his much honoured and en- 
 
 deered Mecoenas (the exprefsiujl 
 Charadler of a generous Spirit) iudici- 
 
 ous approuer of bejl-meriting Poejie, Guer- 
 
 doner of Arts, cherifher of Wittes, and ferious 
 
 Protectour of all free-borne Studies, Mr. 
 
 Thomas Posthvmvs Diggs, the 
 
 A uthor humbly dedicates himfelfe, his 
 
 TivciQ-futing Epigrams with 
 
 the vfe of 
 
 his diuinely importing A nagram 
 
 Anagramma. 
 
 Thomas Poflhumus Digges. 
 
 Though time paffe, God fumms. 
 
 H 
 
 In Anagramma Diflichon, 
 
 Ow well thy Anagram with truth it runs, 
 Though time pas nere fo faft, yet God flill fums. 
 
 Or thus. 
 Hopes iffu moft dem' gag't 
 
 An 
 
Another Anagram, 
 
 Two verfes including the Anagram, 
 
 Oblique and priuate men in young and ag't, 
 on whom moft hope is, the we deem moil gagt. 
 
 Annexed, 
 
 At you (faire mirrour) aime I ; you'r my fcope, 
 Much are you gag't vnto your Contries hope. 
 
 1 
 
To the gentle Reader. 
 
 *F I giue thee a deferuing 
 Title (Gentle Reader) no 
 queftion but thou wilt ex- 
 preffe thy felfe in thy cen- 
 fure : th'art no wri-neck critick, politick 
 informer of States; deprauer of wel in- 
 tended lines, nor maligner of others 
 labours : Bee thine owne prefident in 
 the furueigh of thefe diftempered Epi- 
 grammes ; and therein thou may per- 
 forme the part of an honeft man : 
 cancell the bill of errours, or chalke 
 them on, & they fhal ferue to make vp 
 a greater volume for next impreffion. 
 If thou bee gentle (as I tearme thee) 
 
 and 
 
and haft fenfe, thou wilt supplie many 
 defedls, committed in the Preffe by the 
 Authors abfence. Be honeft ftill and 
 thou art out of the fwing of this ftrap- 
 pado : if thou play Recreant (by con- 
 forting with the fwartie mifcreants of 
 Lucifer) the Author hath vowed hee 
 will play Arch-Pyrate with thee, tie thee 
 like a Gallie-flaue to the Maft of his 
 Malu-Sperauza, and ferrie thee ouer 
 into Tartaric, 
 
 Farewell, 
 
 1 
 
To his BOOKE 
 
 BOoke whither goes thoti^ I had rather haue thee 
 To Jiay Jim with me, for my Booke may faiLe me : 
 Sane me^ its true, and thafs the caufe I craue 
 Thou 'de to the world, that thou the world might fatie 
 But thafs a taske (my booke) too hard for thee, 
 Bid hang the woreldfo thou wiltfaue me : 
 Yet pray thee be aduis'd whom thou dojl checke. 
 For fpeaking truth may chance to break thy necke. 
 Which to preuent, let this be vnderjlood. 
 Great men though ill they muft be ftiled good, 
 Their blacke is white, their vice is vertue made : 
 Btit 'mo7igJl the bafe calljlill afpade afpade; 
 If thou canst thus difpenfe (my booke) with crimes, 
 Thoufhalt be hugg'd and honoured in thefe times. 
 
The Epiftle Dedicatorie. 
 
 To all Vfitrers, Broakers, and Promoters, 
 Sergeants, Catch-poles, and Regraters, 
 Vfhers, Panders, Suburbes Tra- 
 ders, Cockneies that haue 
 manie fathers. 
 
 Ladies, Monkies, Parachitoes, Mar- 
 moiites, and CatomitoeSy Fallsy high- 
 tires and rebatoeSy falfe-haireSy 
 periwiggeSy monchatoes : graue 
 GregorianSy and Shee- 
 painters. 
 
 Send I greeting at aduentures, and to 
 
 all fuch as be euill, vay Jirappado 
 
 for the Diuell, 
 
Vpon the Errata, 
 
 GEntlemen (humanu7n eft errare) to confirme 
 which pofition, this my booke (as many other 
 are) hath his fhare of errors ; fo as I run ad prcslum 
 tanquam ad prcslium, in typos quaji in fcippos'. but 
 my comfort is if I be ftrappadoed by the multipli- 
 citie of my errors, it is but anfwerable to my title : 
 fo as I may feem to diuine by my fhile, what I was 
 to indure by the preffe. Yet know iudicious dif- 
 posed Gentlemen, that the intricacie of the copie, 
 and the abfence of the Author from many important 
 proofes were occafion of thefe errors, which defects 
 (if they bee fupplied by your generous coniuence 
 and curtuous difpofition, I doe vowe to fatisfie your 
 affe6lionate care with a more ferious furueigh in my 
 next impreffion. 
 
Errata. 
 
 T^^ge 2 line 2^ for Pine read Vine. p. lo. I. 20 alone wanting. 
 
 -*■ p. 16. I. 13. for fenfelefneiTe read fenfeleffe. p. 15. l. 2'j.for 
 vainelike, r. vainly, p. 26. I. 11. for both y forf oath fo delete, p. 25 
 /. 2^. for wherefore, read wherefoere. p. 43. I. 22. for fhirts r. fheets, 
 for weaues, r. woes infra p. I. 25. p. 48. I. 4. r. cloze, iiid for 
 backe r. barke. p. 266. I. 2 2. for miftruft, r. inftru 61. /or curfe read 
 fcarfe. 
 
 For other errors as the mifplacing of commaes, 
 colons, and periods (which as they are in euerie 
 page obuious, fo many times they inuert the fence) 
 I referre to your difcretion (iudicious gentle-men) 
 whofe lenity may fooner fupply them, then all my 
 induftrie can portray them. 
 
^ 
 
 \ 
 
 to. 
 
 TO THE TRVE DIS- 
 
 couerer of fecrets Mounfieur Bacchus, 
 fole Soueraigne of the luy-bufh, M after-gunner 
 
 of the pottle-pot ordinance^ prime founder of Red-lat- 
 tices ^ cheer er of the hunger-ftaru' d Mufes, and 
 their thred-bare followers, finguler A rtifi 
 in pewter language, and an obfer- 
 uant linguifi for anon 
 anon Sir. 
 His dere Canary-Bird, wifheth, red-eyes, 
 dropfie-legges, and all other ac- 
 coutrements befitting. 
 
 Ottle-nos'd Bacchus with thy bladder face, 
 To thee my Mtife comes reeling for a place : 
 And craues thy Patronage ; nor do I feare, 
 But my poore fragments fhall be made of there, 
 For good reuerfions by thy fcrambling crew, 
 That belch, and reade, and at each enteruiew 
 ^ Of a fharpe temper'd line, commend the vaine, 
 
 Digeft it, and then rift it vp againe ; 
 But know thou cup fhot god, what is expreft. 
 Within thefe Pages doe deferue the beft 
 Of thy light-headed Shamroes, nor 's my tutch 
 For fuch as loue to take a cup too-much. 
 No, no my lines (though I did feeme to fhand. 
 And begge a poore prote6lion at thy hand,) 
 
 B Shall 
 
 B 
 
Shall Hue in fpite of Time, for Time fhall fee 
 
 The curtaine of her vices drawne by me ; 
 
 And though portraide by a leffe art-full fift, 
 
 Yet he that limm'd them is a Satyrift, 
 
 For th' lines he writes (if ought he write at all) 
 
 Are drawne by inke that's mixed moft with gall. 
 
 Yea, he was borne, euen from his infancie, 
 
 To tell the world her fhame, and bitterly 
 
 To taxe thofe crimes which harbour now and then 
 
 Within the bofomes of the greatefh men. 
 
 " Yea, nought I doe but I againe will doe it, 
 
 " Nor ought will write, but I will anfwer to it : 
 
 Yet would I not, great Bacchus^ haue thee thinke 
 
 My Mufe can into that obliuion fmke, 
 
 As to become forgetfull fo of thee, 
 
 (For fo fhe might vnthankfuU feeme to be 
 
 As neuer to record thy worthy Name 
 
 Since I confeffe from thee that fpirit came. 
 
 Which firft infpir'd my Mufe (by thee expreft) 
 
 For when fhe fpoke the leaft, fhe wrot the beft. 
 
 Yea, thou it was, (and fo He euer hold,) 
 
 That quickned me and made me fpeake more bold ; 
 
 By that rare quinteffence drawne from the pine, 
 
 Or from thofe fluent Hogges-head pipes of thine, 
 
 And I doe thanke thee : yet thus much He fay, 
 
 For any kindneffe fhowne me anie waie. 
 
 By thee, or thy attendants, I may fweare 
 
 Not any one did euer yet appeare : 
 
 Nay, I could fay (and truly too) far more 
 
 I neuer ran ten fhillings on thy skore. 
 
 Which 
 
3 
 
 Which may feem ftrange, that I which am fo grown 
 
 Into acquaintance, and to thee well knowne : 
 
 " Should in thy booke haue fuch a diffidence, 
 
 As not be chalkt for want of ready pence ; 
 
 Nay, there's another reafon I could fhew, 
 
 Which might infer that thou doft duty owe 
 
 To men of our profeffion, and its this ; 
 
 (If my conceipt make me not thinke amiffe.) 
 
 Tell me. Where hadft thou luie-bufh, fay where ? 
 
 Which as thine ancient liv'rie thou doft weare ; 
 
 That garland fure me-thinks that I fhould know it, 
 
 From th' Temples fure of fome pot hardy Poet ; 
 
 Who, caufe he had not wherewithall to pay, 
 
 Was forc't to leaue his Garland, or to fhay 
 
 Till fome of 's Patrons pittied his eftate : 
 
 But he, poore man, cleere out of hope of that 
 
 Hauing difcuft it often in his minde. 
 
 Did think't more fit to leaue his wreath behinde. 
 
 Then into fuch apparent danger fall, 
 
 And fo did vnto one of th' Drawers call 
 
 To tell thee, if thou would'fh be fo content. 
 
 He would engage his luie-ornament ; 
 
 Which thou being glad of, for thy priuate vfe 
 
 Wore it thy felfe, and cheat'd the Poet thus. 
 
 Now doeft thou thinke, that we can brooke to haue 
 
 One of our fort thus iniur'd by a flaue, 
 
 Without all fatisfa6lion : Bacchus no, 
 
 Vfe 't to thy groomes, we'le not be baffelt fo. 
 
 Make reftitution of thy bufh againe. 
 
 And tie thy wreath about the Poets braine : 
 
 B2 Of 
 
Or fatisfie his damage in fome fort, 
 
 " Or be thou fure that thou fhalt anfwer for't. 
 
 But thou wilt lightly weigh fuch threats as thefe, 
 
 And fay thou canft bring vs vpon our knees 
 
 By th' power of thy commaund : true thou canft fo, 
 
 Yet (bleere ey'de Bacchus) I would haue thee know 
 
 That we do fo efteeme thy power and all 
 
 Thy followers, we'le vent thee 'gainft the wall : 
 
 Yea euen the kennell fhall a witneffe be. 
 
 Of the fmall refpe6l which we do beare to thee. 
 
 Refigne then what thou oweft, or forbeare, 
 
 To taxe our credits when our skore's not cleere. 
 
 For well may'fh thou forbeare both them and me, 
 
 Since thou dofh owe vs more, then we owe thee. 
 
 Thou know'ft it Bacchus (if fo thou wilt knowe it) 
 
 That garland which thou weares, it was a Poet 
 
 That firft empaund it, and thou like a lewe 
 
 Wilt not reftore to him what is his due. 
 
 But thou wilt anfwer (as I know thou may) 
 
 Yes, I imagine what tis thou canft fay : 
 
 " Bacchus cares not for outward Jignes a rujh^ 
 
 " Good wine needs not the hanging of a bufh. 
 
 Doft not thou vizzard-fac't ingratefull Elfe } 
 
 Yes, for want of a bufh thou'd hang thy felfe. 
 
 And caper like a zuinglian (6 my malice 
 
 Burfts out againft thee) titted vnder the gallowes. 
 
 For tell me how fhould men diftinguifh thee } 
 
 Thoul't fay by thy fire-fparkling phifnomie, 
 
 Thofe wink-apipes of thine, thofe ferret eies, 
 
 Thofe bag-pipe cheeks, thofe fpeciall qualities 
 
 Thou 
 
 1 
 
5 
 Thou art endew'd with : true by th'firft th'art known, 
 But for thy qualities thou haft not one 
 To glory in : for fpeeches ornament 
 Anon, anon fir : — peutor complement 
 Is all thou canft, and this, thou knoweft is fuch, 
 As th'Iay or Parrat they can doe as much ; 
 But I am loath to taxe each crime of thine. 
 For I do know thou lou'ft the Mufes nine, 
 And they loue thee, yet it is fit their vs'd 
 With more refpe6l, then to be once abus'd 
 By any apron-prentice that thou haft : 
 Yea, fit it is not they fhould be out-fac't 
 By fuch vnletterd Animals as thefe, 
 But reuerence the Mufes on their knees, 
 For what be thefe attend thee, fuch as loft 
 Their tongue to gaine two or three words at moft. 
 As for example neate and briske, and then 
 Anon, anon fir, welcome gentlemen. 
 And is it fit that fwads of fuch defert 
 Should ftay the very quinteffence of art 
 For a non-payment ? or make Sergeants ftand 
 In a croffe-lane to laie vnhallowed hand 
 On Albions Mercuries ? no, its not fit 
 That Hypocrenes pure riuelings of wit, 
 Should haue their ftreame with honour doubled) 
 By fuch bafe tenter-hooks once troubled. 
 Let this be then amended (and with hafte) 
 Left fome of thefe profeffors fhould be plac't, 
 Before thy prohibition come to ftay 
 Thy will-for in, they'le hardlie get awaie. 
 
 B5 But 
 
6 
 
 But if I heare thee Bacchus after this 
 
 That thou arrefts but any one I wifh 
 
 Thou fhould'ft exempt I will reuenged be 
 
 Ere many daies, of fome of thine or thee. 
 
 And thanks vnto my Genius (as I craue it) 
 
 Without inuention further now I haue it. 
 
 And thus it is : He to the Peuterer 
 
 To make thy quart pots greater then they were ; 
 
 And fo condition with him, as't may be 
 
 Thou wilt confeffe one day I begar'd thee : 
 
 Or if I cannot by my meanes intreate 
 
 Thy pottle-pots for to be made more great 
 
 Then th'order is, or th'Citties ftampe allowes, 
 
 I hope I fhall preuaile with fome of thofe 
 
 Who are appointed by their charge to know, 
 
 Whether thy pots be fealed yea or no. 
 
 That fuch as are not feal'd they would reueale them. 
 
 And not take bribes in priuate to conceale them : 
 
 Or if this will not ferue, I will deuife 
 
 How to bring th'potts vnto a larger fize ; 
 
 Which if they do negle6l but to performe, 
 
 According to that Nature and that forme 
 
 They are prefcrib'd, then on default they fhall 
 
 Make prefently a forfeiture of all, 
 
 (Which goods confifcate for their great abufe, 
 
 May afterward redound vnto the vfe 
 
 Of all fuch noble skinkers (by confeffion) 
 
 As were deceiv'd by men of this profeffion ; 
 
 But this's not all He doe : Bacchus fhall knowe 
 
 His naprie-drawers fhall not end it fo. 
 
 Surueighers 
 
Surueighers fhall be-gett (and well may be) 
 
 (For worfer trades haue fought monopolye ; 
 
 And rais'd their ftate by't) which fhall fbri6liy take 
 
 Examination, whether you do make 
 
 Your pottles to be bruis'd, bough'd, crufht, Sz: bent 
 
 Vpon fet purpofe and for this intent, 
 
 That you thereby (which is a common crime) 
 
 Might fill your crazie pots with leffer wine. 
 
 For leffer will they hold, through your deceit, 
 
 Being drawne in and made by you more ftraite : 
 
 Yet haue I left the Coopers all this while. 
 
 Which I do know haue fome art to beguile. 
 
 And therefore, if all will not ferue ; He feeke 
 
 And bribe them too, to make your veffels leeke. 
 
 Yea, befide this (know Bacchus) I'ue a meane, 
 
 Which put in pra6lice will vndoe thee cleane, 
 
 And thus I lay my proie6l : He expreffe 
 
 What motiues there be of licentioufneffe. 
 
 Within thy brothel clofures, and with-all 
 
 Complaine of thy partitions, how the fall 
 
 Of many a fimple Virgine (though fhee's loath, 
 
 To do't poore-wench) coms from a painted cloath, 
 
 A curtaine, or fome hanging of like fort, (for't. 
 
 Which done god-wot, they'ue caufe to curfe thee 
 
 And that this might better preuented be, 
 
 I will prefer petition inftantly. 
 
 That thou nor none of thine fhould fuiffer thence, 
 
 (for to auoide this inconuenience) 
 
 Any of different fexes being but payres, 
 
 To goe in priuate manner vp the ftaires : 
 
 B4 And 
 
8 
 
 And this I know (if that my aime be right, 
 
 Will goe well nie to ouerthrow thee quite. 
 
 If none of thefe will doe, yet fure I am 
 
 There is a creature call'd the Puritan, 
 
 Who'le ferret thee, and by a ftri6l furueigh 
 
 Fine thee for bouzing on the Sabboath day, 
 
 Which if they finde, the Righteous they will curfe 
 
 Though their example it be ten times worfe. 
 
 But I would haue thee to repreffe all this, 
 
 Which thou fhalt do by doing what I wifh. 
 
 And that with reafon, which (as I haue fayd it) 
 
 Is but to giue to our profeffion credit : 
 
 They'le pay the man, and if the world goe hard, 
 
 With them at this time, yet they'le afterward, 
 
 Regratulate thy loue (paying th'old skore) 
 
 Which paide they will make bolde to run on more. 
 
 For tell me Bacchus^ though the world appeare 
 
 To learned men as if no learning were : 
 
 And that the golden age (not as it was) 
 
 Smiles on the filken foole, or golden Affe ; 
 
 Yet time will come (yea now it doth begin 
 
 To fhew it felfe (as former times haue been) 
 
 When wife Minerua fhall no honour lacke. 
 
 For all the foole, whofe honour's on his backe. 
 
 But I fhall ftagger Bacchus if I ftay 
 
 Longer with thee, therefore He packe awaie 
 
 Vnto thy fifter Ceres : — I haue fayd 
 
 — Onely looke to thy plate, for all is paide. 
 
 To 
 
To the Queene of Haruejl, daughter and heire 
 
 to Saturne, and Ops, Goddeffe of the Corne- 
 
 fheafe, Ladie Soueraigneneffe of the three Vales^ 
 
 Efam, Beuar, and White-horfe, Inuentres of the Sithy 
 
 Sickle, and weeding-Hooke : much honoured 
 
 by the Reede^ Come Pipe, and Whiftle; and 
 
 with all obferuance attended by 
 
 Hobnaile and his 
 
 company. 
 
 Her Deities admirer wifheth many a 
 feaf enable Haruejl. 
 
 HAile fruitfull Ladie, cheerer of our time, 
 Rare in thy bewtie, in thy ftate diuine, 
 Ripener of Harueft, thou it is whofe birth 
 Yields full encreafe vnto the fertile earth : 
 Thou art that cheering mother that renues (dewes, 
 The Plow-mans hope, and giues their toile thofe 
 Which makes them happie, may my Poems pleafe 
 Thy honourd felfe, that glads vs with encreafe : 
 Yet in my mirth I cannot but repine 
 At that vnhappie ackward loffe of thine, 
 That thou which euer haft been debonaire, 
 Faire in thy felfe, making our fields as faire, 
 With thy ender'd refpe6l, fhould be exilde, 
 Of due content, by loofmg of thy childe. 
 Thy heart, thy hope, thy loue, and thy delight, 
 Thy deare Proferpina, whofe vowe is plight 
 
 Vnto 
 
lO 
 
 Vnto, alaffe I cannot fpeake it well, 
 
 That black-blacht-blabber-lipt foule Prince of hell. 
 
 Yet be contented, manie one there bee, 
 
 Yea I know fom which may lament with thee 
 
 For their ftraide daughters, who I much doe feare 
 
 Are lodged now, or will be lodged there. 
 
 Laffe it is nothing for maides now adaies 
 
 For which of them (though modeft) hath not ftraies, 
 
 In youth, in age, which straying I doe call, 
 
 Dotage in maides, and that is worft of all. 
 
 How manie haue wee in this error fwerud, 
 
 Who in themfelues haue iufty wel deferud. 
 
 That punifhment thy daughter firft regainde, 
 
 'Las I haue known them, though they feem containd 
 
 In modeft bounds, yet thus much I will fay, 
 
 Thy daughter was vnchaft, & fo were they. 
 
 And (pray thee Ceres) credit me in this. 
 
 Though my proceeding was not to my wifh, 
 
 Yet this to thy due comfort I muft tell, 
 
 Thy daughter doth not Hue in Hell 
 
 Without acquaintance, yea I know there are. 
 
 Though they in fumptuous raiment and in fare 
 
 Seeme to excell the worthies of our Land, 
 
 Yet being iuftly poized vnder hand. 
 
 They are as neere to Pluto and his heire. 
 
 As if thofe perfons that leffe gorgeous were, 
 
 May I fpeake more, for I am in a vaine. 
 
 To cull ftrange things out of a fhragling braine, 
 
 That there's no wench truly ingenious, 
 
 Wittie by nature, or ambitious 
 
 In 
 
 f 
 
II 
 
 In her conceipt, but that the time will come, 
 
 That fhe will wander full as farre from home, 
 
 As ere thy deare Proferpina diftraide, 
 
 Transform'd from beauty of a louely maide, 
 
 To be a drudge ('laffe I am forc't to tell) 
 
 Vnto the bafe-borne Skinkird bred in Hell. 
 
 Doe I not know thee Ceres f yes, I know 
 
 Far more of thee, then I intend to fhew 
 
 In publique eie : 'Laffe I doe know thy worth, 
 
 To be the fruitfull Mother of the earth, 
 
 Albions faire-Foftermother, yea that Queen, 
 
 That makes a hopefuU Harueft to be feene. 
 
 Within our flourie Fields : if I might fay, 
 
 What I in due refpe(5l am bound alwaie 
 
 For to expreffe I might example thee, 
 
 To be the glorie of our progenie ; 
 
 Honour of ages, and fucceffe of time, 
 
 Erre6ling to thy felfe that noble fhrine, 
 
 Which nere fhall be defaced by time or age, 
 
 The beft of labour in our Pilgrimage. 
 
 Then Ceres let thy daughter work, for one 
 
 Thou art in due refpe6l admir'd alone 
 
 To be the foueraigneffe oi Albions He, 
 
 Who when retired braines doe fleep the while, 
 
 Shalt fhew thy felfe worthy a facred power. 
 
 Though thy vaine daughter play in hell the whore. 
 
 Yea fit it is, and futing to her birth. 
 
 She fhould play baud in hell plaid whore on earth. 
 
 To 
 
12 
 
 To the Amarous Queene of Delights , Sole 
 Empreffe of loue-ficke Bedlams, profes'd patro- 
 neffe to all young Letchers, Foundreffe of Midnight- 
 Reuels, Sentinell to many a crackt Maide^thead, and fole 
 Benefactor to all lafciuious Nouices ; Befl habilimented 
 by her Coach drawne with foure Turtles^ bea- 
 ring for her armes a Pricke in the midfi of 
 a Center^ with this Motto ; 
 
 Pungimur in Medio. 
 
 And on the other fide a woman-captiue (inftan- 
 ced in Penthifilaea j with this wordy 
 
 Vincitur a vi6lo, vidlor. 
 
 Her much Endered and affedlionate Paliurus wifheth 
 
 manie long delightful nighty Mars his prefence, Vu leans 
 
 abfence, much good fport without difcouerie, 
 
 and many yeeres yet to continue her 
 
 husbands Liuery. 
 
 ^ Bacchus and Ceres if they be away, 
 
 ^ Small good doe I looke for^ may Ytmxsfay. 
 
 CHerry-lipt Venus with thy dimpled Chin, 
 Who by our Letchers, honourd ftill haft bin : 
 For a braue trading damfell, though't may feeme, 
 By my negle6l of thee, that I haue cleane 
 
 * Carpit enim 'vires paulatim 'vritq. videndo. Femina. Virg. 
 ^ Res vulgaris amor, semel insanimius omnes. 
 
 Defcar- 
 
 « 
 
13 
 
 Defcarded thee and thine, yet thou fhalt know it ; 
 Venus hath fome aliance with a Poet, 
 And that a neere one too : for pray thee fay, 
 Who can expreffe thy bewty anie way, 
 So well as they ? and though they onely write, 
 hauing nere hap to come to more delight ; 
 Yet art thou much endeared to their Art, 
 Though they can fay nought for the pra6lick part : 
 Yet mongft our Albion Sibils that are more. 
 In number far, then merit, wit, or power. 
 Some I doe know, euen of the pregnant'ft men. 
 That loue to trade with Venus now and then. 
 And this the caufe why they obferue that vfe, 
 (As I haue heard) for to enflame their Mufe : 
 And fome I could produce, had their defire ; 
 For they, their Mufe, and all were on a fire : 
 More could I write to touch thee neerer'th quick, 
 But as thou loues thofe flroakes are fhort & thick. 
 So I defire the very fame to be 
 In writing out that is concerning thee. 
 
 To 
 
'^B 
 
Honor a, 1 5 
 
 AnHeroyckeEmblemevpon the Warriour 
 called H o no r a. 
 
 TAra, Tantara, Honours fignall come, 
 Whofe be ft of Muficke is the warlike Dnimme, 
 Come braue Tyndarian fpirit, heare thy glorie, 
 Shrouded too long in pitchie darke, whofe ftorie, 
 Shall fhine and fhew it felfe more faire, more bright, 
 Then chaft Latona on the fableft night. 
 Now art thou much admird by euery eie. 
 Though lately vaflald to captiuitie. 
 Now art thou fhowne to be a Monument, 
 Of former glorie, and an ornament, 
 Fit for the eare of Kings, now art thou one. 
 Highly efteemed, that was of late as none. 
 Now can ft thou fhew thy merit and defert. 
 To be deriued from a royall heart. 
 Not chafd with perfumes, like a Carpet Knight, 
 That cannot fight but in his Ladies fight. 
 Not lick ofth fafhions, (like this amorous frie 
 Of Nouice, who nere knew Enemie) 
 Saue their difdainefull Miftres : not enthrald 
 To loue, for loue thou knowft not how its cald. 
 What flile it has, or what be louers charmes, 
 Saue that pure loue which thou doft beare to Armes. 
 Not feruile to each apifh complement, 
 Saue Honours feruice, and Warres management. 
 Not flaue to Fortune, nor engagd to fate. 
 But heire to refolution, an eftate 
 More eminent and glorious to thy felfe. 
 Then all the mifers-Mammons mouldred-pelfe. 
 Not vaine-like proud of Titles, but haft Art, 
 To make thy waie to Honour by Defert. 
 Not gage to proftitution, for the name 
 Of Souldiour hate fuch an ignoble ftaine. 
 
 Not 
 
1 6 Honor a. 
 
 Not lure to lucre, but doft make thy blood, 
 
 An inftrument vnto thy countries good : 
 
 Not in appearance, or in outward fhow, 
 
 To feem to know what thou didft neuer know, 
 
 Not humorous, occafioning offence. 
 
 But with pure valour mixing patience ; 
 
 That two reduc't to one, one drawen from two. 
 
 Might make thee apt to fpeake, & prompt to doe. 
 
 Long haft thou flept, and fome did thinke it ill 
 
 To wake thee, but to let thee fleepe on ftill. 
 
 But how can refolution lie inter'd 
 
 Alas how far haue vulgar iudgements er'd ? 
 
 To thinke thee fenfelefnes ? No, thou didft but winke, 
 
 For to obferue what other men would thinke 
 
 Of thy retired filence, now thou haft 
 
 Rub'd ore thy gummie eies, & ruunes as faft 
 
 To thy intendements forct from coaft to coaft. 
 
 As willing to redeeme what thou haft loft. 
 
 Hallow amaine, downe by the flowrie vale 
 
 Of honour and renowne difplay thy faile, 
 
 Trample on Baftard-greatneffe, bruite their fhame. 
 
 That are efteemed onely great in name. 
 
 Without demerit, tell them worth fhould be 
 
 Drawn from our felues, not from our familie. 
 
 Bid them wipe of that painting from their cheeke, 
 
 Its too effeminate and bid them feeke, 
 
 A6lions that feeme them better : its not amber, 
 
 Sleeking, or chafing in a Ladies chamber, 
 
 Phantaftick humors, amorous conceipts, 
 
 Fafhion inuentors fmne feducing baits. 
 
 What 
 
of Brittaine. 1 7 
 
 What fuch a Mounfeyr wore, or what Tyres be 
 
 Of eminent requeft in Italie. 
 
 No, no, our perfum'd Gallants now muft looke, 
 
 Like to the fonnes of Valour, fmer'd with fmoke. 
 
 Steeled with fpirit, arm'd with beft of youth, 
 
 Dire6lly planted 'fore a Cannons mouth. 
 
 Shake not (my dapper Courtier) though thou heare 
 
 Nought but the voice of thunder euery where : 
 
 Or if the noife of armes breed in thee feare, 
 
 (No leffe then death) go on and ftop thine eare ? 
 
 Bouge not a foot (or if thou feare to kill) 
 
 Winke, and then fay, thou murders gainft thy will. 
 
 How likeft thou this } This is no camp for loue, 
 
 Nor muft thy wreath be heere a Ladies gloue. 
 
 Anticke and apifh fafhions will not ferue, 
 
 In this enobled field, fuch as deferue, 
 
 By a peculiar merit fhall receiue 
 
 The Guerdon of their Valour, and in Graue 
 
 Shall finde a liuing monument, which men 
 
 Admiring much, fhall euer honour them. 
 
 And is not this a nobler monument. 
 
 Then fpend our time in fruitleffe complements. 
 
 Spend a whole age in making of a legge, 
 
 Or feeking how fome office we may begge. 
 
 Trading for vndeferued Honour, got 
 
 By feruile meanes, and by the fimpleft fot. 
 
 That knowes not Honours effence, O may I 
 
 Rather then be fo Honor'd wifh to dye 
 
 In the obfcureft manner, that when Time 
 
 Shall fhroud my afhes in a homely fhrine, 
 
 C Some 
 
1 8 Honora. 
 
 Some earthy vrne, yet may my memorie 
 
 Liue without reach of enuie after me. 
 
 Sacred Bellona, valours choiceft Saint, 
 
 For now by thee flie we vnto our tent. 
 
 Infufe true refolution in the minde 
 
 Of thy profeffors, that their fpirits may finde 
 
 What difference there is in honours fight, 
 
 Twixt a good Souldier and a carpet-Knight. 
 
 His perfume's powder, and his harmonic 
 
 Reports of Cannons, for his brauerie, 
 
 Barded with fteele and Iron, for the voice, 
 
 Of amorous Ganimedes, the horrid noife 
 
 Of clattering armour, for a Downie bed 
 
 The chill cold ground, for pillow to their head, 
 
 Tinckt with muske Rofes, Target and their fhield, 
 
 For gorgeous Roomes, the purprife of the field. 
 
 For nimble capring. Marching, for the tune 
 
 Of mouing conforts, ftriking vp a drumme. 
 
 For dainties, hunger ; thus is honour fed. 
 
 With labour got, and care continued. 
 
 Can this content my Courtier ? yes, it may, 
 
 When his laciuious night and fruitles day, 
 
 His manie idle howers employed worfe, 
 
 (Though better deem'd) then fuch whofe vagrant 
 
 Incurs a penal cenfure ; fhall be paft, (courfe 
 
 And he with whip of confcience throughly lafh't, 
 
 Shall bid adue to Ladie vanitie 
 
 To Courts applaufe, to humors phantafie, 
 
 To honours vndeferu'd, to parafites. 
 
 To fafhions-brocage, and to all delights. 
 
 Which 
 
 J 
 
Honor a. 1 9 
 
 Which reape no fruit, no guerdon, nor reward, 
 Saue care on earth, repentance afterward : 
 Where luftice oft is forc't from her intent 
 Goodneffe being onely caufe of punijhment. 
 Where violence (fo ftrong be great men growne) 
 Makes right fuppreft', and iuftice ouerthrowne. 
 Where fmnes in cloth of Tiffue faire defcri'de. 
 Make that wife Sages Axiome verifi'de. 
 " A great mans foe oft by experience pr ones ^ 
 " Of all that be, no thunder like to loues. 
 Heere Magiftrates are clad in violet, 
 Becaufe pure luftice they doe violate. 
 Here vice is mounted, vertue Hues defpif'd, 
 The worft efteem'd, the better meanely priz'd. 
 Corruption rides on foote-cloth, (fome auerre) 
 And vpright dealing fhee does lackie her. 
 Honour's afraide of Sergeants, merits fad, 
 And Hues as one without obferuance had. 
 Wifdom's out of requeft, for temperance, 
 Shee's neuer knowne but in a Moris daunce. 
 And purple luftice feldom's feene to paffe, 
 To any Court, but riding one an Affe. 
 What then but valour fhould fupport the State, 
 And make a Realme by vice growne defolate. 
 See her owne fhame, and in her fhame conceiue, 
 The bleft memorial of an happie graue. 
 " On then with honour, let the vfurer 
 Made ftiffe with plenty, feele the fhock of war, 
 And tremble, fearing leafl' fhould be his lot. 
 To loofe by warre what his oppreffion got. 
 
 C2 Let 
 
20 To the Poet-afters 
 
 Let the prophane contemner of Gods power 
 
 Be mou'd by terrour, let the Paramour, 
 
 Glaz'd with a fhameleffe fore head leaue her fmne, 
 
 The youthful! Prodigall, thofe nets hee's in. 
 
 Let the prodigious ftate-engroffer feele, 
 
 What harme h'as done vnto the Common-weale. 
 
 Let th'afpiring birth of Dathan fee, 
 
 The end of them, and their confpiracie. 
 
 Let all lafciuious Minions hence reclaime, 
 
 Their odious Hues, and put on robes of fhame. 
 
 Let publique Haxfters (now the moft of all) 
 
 That in their heat, would quarrell for the wall. 
 
 Stand to their Tacklings, let both youth and age. 
 
 Show diftin6l worths in diftant Equipage. 
 
 Lead on Honora, that in time report. 
 
 May make a Campe-Knight gracious in the Court. 
 
 So nobleft minds in beft of A6lions fhowne. 
 
 May challenge Honour when it is their owne. 
 
 Vpon the Generall Sciolifts or Poettafters 
 of Britannie. 
 
 A Satyre. 
 
 COme Arethufe come, for nere had we, 
 At any time a greater need of thee. 
 No Lawrell now, but Nettle's beft to grace 
 Our Laureat Poet : fee his vncouth face, 
 Vnapt for poefie : his ftrange difguife, 
 Onely addreft (in Verfe) to Temporize : 
 Now Parafites proue Poets, and expreffe 
 Their oyly workes : for what is more or leffe 
 
 Dilated 
 
of Brittaine. 2 1 
 
 Dilated on, is confecrate to men, 
 
 That are the greateft : O what need is then. 
 
 To thee (deere Arthufe) that didft frame, 
 
 A Poet to the nature of his name ? 
 
 No time-obferuing fmooth-fac'd fycophant, 
 
 No ftrange conceited Affe whofe Element 
 
 Is to infmuate vnder the fhade 
 
 Of a great Mounfeyrs elbow, thour't prou'd lade 
 
 To thy profeffion, not a faffron band. 
 
 But like a roaring boye, can make thee ftand 
 
 And yeeld obferuance to him : filly foole. 
 
 That Artleffe idiots fliould bring to fchoole, 
 
 The beft of Mufes, thou that once waft borne, 
 
 Not as our great A6leons, to the home 
 
 Of their difhonour, (being of ioy bereft) 
 
 Leaning to others what themfelues haue left. 
 
 (Worfe by degrees then was that PlK^his Car, 
 
 Which Phaeton by rafh attempts did marre : 
 
 And cleere diffolues) laffe fee thy Trophies torne, 
 
 Thy ftatues razed : and that Mount forlorne 
 
 Which firft poffeft the Mufes : now no wreath 
 
 Can be hung vp to memorize the death 
 
 Of any great man, why for vertues due, 
 
 Bids euery Poet (in his verfe) fpeake true 
 
 Of fuch as are deceafed : its true, who then 
 
 Speaking no more then truth, can praife fuch men, 
 
 As rather were then Hu'd ? being, but not 
 
 In real! effence, las what fame is got 
 
 By fuch as write of thefe (whofe only good) 
 
 Is to auerre they were of Noble bloud. 
 
 C 3 But 
 
22 To the Poet-ajlers 
 
 But fo much difproportion'd to their name, 
 As what thy feem'd, they feldome were the fame. 
 The fame ; O noe, their garifh ornament, 
 Their wanton guife, their Loue-ficke complement, 
 Their ftrange diftra6lions, their deformed ftate, 
 Transform'd from Englifh to Italienate, 
 Expreffe fmall comfort to a Poets penne, 
 Which onely fhould delight in fhewing them 
 Vnto the worlds eye, whofe fame fucceedes. 
 And makes them Noble by Heroicke deedes, 
 Drawen from the line of Honour : but how farre 
 Seeme Poets in thefe latter times to erre ? 
 Who write not for refpe6l, or due efbeeme, 
 Had to their owne profeffion, but to gaine 
 The fauour of a great one, this it is, 
 Giues priuiledge to men that doe amiffe : 
 Such be our ranke of Poets now adayes, 
 As they adorne th'Immerited with praife 
 Aboue defert. Hence is it that we bring 
 The Art of Poetry to Ballading. 
 Hence is it, that the Courtier may intend 
 A ftrange pretended proiect for no end, 
 Saue to augment 's expence, a fuites begun. 
 Which makes a filly Farmer quite vndone. 
 Without all hope of compofition : I'affe 
 That fuch tranfgreffions fhould fo freely paffe, 
 Without controulement. Many we haue heere. 
 That can compofe their Verfe, but in a fphere 
 So different to the time, as they defcry 
 Their want of braines to each iudicious eye. 
 
 Yea 
 
of Brittaine. 23 
 
 Yea fome I know are Poets in this time 
 
 Who write of fwains, might write as well of fwine, 
 
 For th' profit of their labours is fo fmall, 
 
 As t'were farre better not to write at all, 
 
 Then to confume fuch pretious time in vaine, 
 
 About a fruitleffe, and defertleffe ftraine : 
 
 Better indeed : when in their Makers fight, 
 
 They muft accomptants be of what they write, 
 
 Whofe eyes be purer, and extenfion beare, 
 
 Aboue th'Dimenfion of a common fphere. 
 
 Yet ranke I not (as fome men doe fuppofe) 
 
 Thefe worthleffe fwaines amongft the laies of thofe 
 
 Time-honour'd Shepheards (for they ftill fhall be) 
 
 As well they merit) honoured of mee. 
 
 Who beare a part, like honefl faithfull fwaines, 
 
 On witty Wither neuer-withring plaines, (feru'd, 
 
 For thefe (though feeming Shepheards) haue de- 
 
 To haue their names in lafting Marble caru'd : 
 
 Yea this I know I may be bold to fay, 
 
 Thames nere had f wans thatfong more fweet than they. 
 
 It's true I may auow't, tliat nere was fong, 
 
 Chanted in any age by fwains fo young, 
 
 With more delight then was perform'd by them, 
 
 Pretily fhadow'd in a borrowed name. 
 
 And long may Englands Thefpian fprings be known 
 
 " By lonely Wither and by bomty Browne, 
 
 Whileft folid Seldon, and their Cnddy too. 
 
 Sing what our (Swaines of old) could neuer doe. 
 
 Yea I do hope, fith they fo well can write. 
 
 Of Shep-heards fport, and of the fields delight 
 
 C 4 That 
 
24 To the Poet-ajlers 
 
 That when they come to take a view of th' Court, 
 
 (As fome haue done) and haue bin mew'd vp for't, 
 
 They'l tell her freely, (as full well they may) 
 
 That in their Judgements, after due furuay, 
 
 Of th' Court & th' Cottage, they may well maintain, 
 
 Vices in the Court, but vertues in the Swaine ; 
 
 And happy be thofe Authors which doe giue 
 
 Vertue and vice their titles, they fhall Hue 
 
 In fpite of Enuie, when fuch men as teach 
 
 That fuch be onely vertuous as be rich. 
 
 Shall lye inter'd where fame fhall neuer finde them, 
 
 For fuch doe feldome leaue a name behind them. 
 
 Laffe they muft dye and perifh, fo mufb we. 
 
 Nor can we gaine ought of eternity : 
 
 Saue that we Hue, Oh then how bleft are they 
 
 That fpend their life in weighing of their dales. ! 
 
 But of profeffants, which compofe their fong i 
 
 To a ftrange defcant ! this He fay they wrong 
 
 Flowrie Parnaffus, where fuch vfed to be. 
 
 As in themfelues made one fet company. 
 
 Thefe fung not what they knew not, but in Verfe, 
 
 What time had taught them they vfe to rehearfe. 
 
 And to reduce it to one perfe6l forme, 
 
 Striuing by proper figures to adorne 
 
 Ech worke, ech compofition : but laffe now 
 
 How farre's that alteration } where we know 
 
 Left that we write, adding to our eflate 
 
 (Begg'd meerely) by a great mans Dedicate. 
 
 Heere is no fubftance, but a fimple peece 
 
 Of gaudy Rhetoricke : Which if it pleafe, 
 
 Yeelds 
 
 \ 
 
of Brittaine. 25 
 
 Yeelds th' Author dear-contentment : thus we ftraine 
 
 The Mufes Text for a peculiar gaine 
 
 Vnto our felues : hence is it vice abides, 
 
 (And lording-like in filken foot-cloath rides.) 
 
 Hence is it Land-lords make their tenants flaues : 
 
 Hence is it wafte-goods ope their fathers graues : 
 
 Hence is it Mammonifts adore their golde : 
 
 Hence is't the impious to perdition folde : 
 
 Hence Sacriledge a priuiledge obtaines : 
 
 Hence th' fneking Lawyer by his Clyent gaines : 
 
 Hence th' Politician, what fo ere befall, 
 
 Will to his trade and fhew a Machiuell. 
 
 Hence impofts rife extortions violence, 
 
 Graced by men that haue moft eminence. (it) 
 
 Hence Sergeants walk vnfroted (though they know 
 
 No friend is worfe then Sergeant to a Poet. 
 
 Hence painted faces (like ill wine in caske) 
 
 Shrow'd their deform'd complexions vnder maske : 
 
 Hence curious Courtiers, gorgeoufly arrayd, 
 
 Weare more vpon their backe then ere was paide : 
 
 Hence th' baudie Pandor, feruile to his whore, 
 
 And hence the Baude that keeps the traders dore ; 
 
 Hence bafe informers take their borrowed light, 
 
 Liuing like Owles that vfe to flie by night : 
 
 Hence wanton Prodigals that fpend their ftate, 
 
 And 'gin repentance when it is too late. 
 
 Hence young and old, hence each in their degree. 
 
 Challenge to them a due Monopolie. 
 
 O how Mineruas temple's now difgrac't, 
 
 By th'skum of Poetry ! fhe that was plac't 
 
 Once 
 
26 To the Poet-tajlers 
 
 Once like th' Ephejian Queene in a pure fhrine 
 
 Of honour and delight, now's forc't to pine. 
 
 And languifh in her bewty, being deprefb, 
 
 By fuch men moft, whom fhe fufpe6leth left. 
 
 Vnpiniond Mufes (fuch as nere could flie) 
 
 Further then vnplum'd birds now preffe as high 
 
 As Eagles ; which by the Colour you may know, 
 
 As eminent and cleere as Flaccus Crow : 
 
 Thefe fteale fele6led flowers from others wit. 
 
 And yet proteft their nature brookes not it. 
 
 They are (for both) fo inuented by their art. ^^ 
 
 Making their pen the difplayer of their heart. 
 
 They brooke no Brocage, yet has workes in preffe. 
 
 Which they are guiltleffe of : but this were leffe. 
 
 Worthy reproofe, if in their gleaned lines. 
 
 Like our age Criticks they would curbe thefe times 
 
 For petulancie : but fo vaine be they. 
 
 As they runne ftill in that high-beaten way 
 
 Of errour, by dire6ling men amiffe, 
 
 Penning whole volumes of licentioufneffe, 
 
 Defcanting on my Ladies Rofie lip. 
 
 Her Cinthian eie, her bending front, her trip, 
 
 Her bodies motion, notion of her time. 
 
 All which they weaue vp in a baudy Rime. 
 
 For fmce there's no obferuance, Accent neither 
 
 (Sith fence and accent feldome goe together.) 
 
 O what afperfions doe thefe lay on her, 
 
 Who beares the onely natiue chara6ler. 
 
 Of her deere iffues merit : fhee, I meane, 
 
 Without whofe nourifhment we had not been. 
 
 She 
 
 1 
 
of Brittaine, 27 
 
 She without whofe embrace, the folid earth. 
 Had quite interr'd the honour of our birth : 
 She without whom we haue no biding place, 
 No manfion, no repofe : fhe by whofe grace 
 We are inhabitants, planted in reft, 
 Sucking pure milke out of her tender breft. 
 She whofe our Guardian gouerning our ftate 
 Shoring our weakneffe, arming vs 'gainfh fate, 
 Guiding our path-leffe paffage, brething life 
 Into our dulneffe : midiating ftrife 
 Becaufe (a peacefull mother) chering vs 
 With folace, when deprefb, tricking our Mufe, 
 With feemly fubie6ls (that whil'ft fhepheards fmg) 
 Of rurall paftimes, midft their fonneting, 
 The grauer ranke might compofitions make. 
 Not for themfelues but for their countries fake : 
 Alaffe poore countrie ; where is all that ftore 
 Of diuine wits that thou haft bred before ? 
 Where is that Quint-effence of poefie, 
 That in (fore-times) was wont to breath on thee : 
 Like a coole Zephirus ? Hyhles pure mount, 
 Renov/m'd in former ages and that Fount, 
 Of facred Cajlalie lie defolate. 
 For they with theirs haue loft their former ftate 
 Of Greatneffe : no proportion nor no flower 
 Decks, with a dafie Border, that fweet Bower 
 Where Cinthia vs'd to reuell : but as th' port 
 Of houfe-keeping is now tranfport'd to Court, 
 " Leauing their Country-houfes, which men looke 
 " And gafe at long ere they can fee them fmoke : 
 
 So 
 
28 To the Poet-after s 
 
 So fruitfull Hefperie^ which vs'd to be 
 The Ren-de uou for facred poefie 
 Leuing to be her felfe, fhuts vp her dore ? 
 Hence is the bankrout poet becom'd poore : 
 Hence is't hee's forc't to write not for the eafe 
 Of his owne minde (but as his Patrons pleafe.) 
 Hence ift that errors muft be Vertues deem'd, 
 Becaufe, poore Poet, its by Fate ordain'd, 
 That if he will not humour, he muft fterue : 
 " For Great-men loue not heare what they deferue. 
 How iealous be our times of their deferts, 
 When they fuppreffe the eminence of arts ? 
 Making them fpeechleffe whereas we do fee, 
 If perfons were difpos'd as they fhould be ; 
 Their fmcere confcience (like a brazen wall) 
 Might beare them vp what euer fhould befall. 
 Then might our Satyre mixe his inke with gal, 
 But with his mixture do no hurt at all. 
 Then might our fcepticke giue his iudgement free, 
 yet do fmall harme to mens integritie. 
 Then might the Lawyer pleade without offence ; 
 Not feare his Confcience with a faire pretence 
 Of doing good, when his corrupted will 
 Vnder pretence of good, a6ls what is ill. 
 Then might the diuels Fa6lors Hue like men. 
 That haue a god, nor for the hundred ten ; 
 Receiuing with aduantage need'd they pay, 
 A greater fumme at that fame latter dale, 
 When due accompts are had : 6 vfurie 
 That art the Cities fcourge, how much haue we 
 
 Occa- 
 
of Brittaine. 29 
 
 Occafion to profcribe thee from our land, 
 
 Since by thy meanes haue we felt heauens hand 
 
 More heauy and reuenging then before, 
 
 VVhofe wrath has vialls euer laid in ftore 
 
 To punifh impious men : its thou (fowle fm) 
 
 Which haft hal'd downe the infe6lion we haue feene 
 
 Rage in this famous He : its thou whofe hight 
 
 Hath turn'd our day of comfort to a night 
 
 Of great affli6lion : for who more can be 
 
 Afifli6led in himfelfe, then inwardly 
 
 Feeling the worme of Confcience gnawing him 
 
 Torment conforting with that birth of fmne 
 
 Wherein he's nurtured : alas poore He ! 
 
 That thou fhouldft fofter fuch as do defile 
 
 Thy once renowmed borders with the hate 
 
 Of a fupernall power, making thy ftate 
 
 Pray to oppreffion, vaffalling thy fame 
 
 (Which once was glorious) to thy odious name 
 
 Of miferie : Great Albion now is growne 
 
 Poore in her felfe, becaufe what is her owne 
 
 She cannot vfe but in depraued wife, 
 
 Makes her selfe fubie6l to all forraine eyes 
 
 As vices fpeftacle : 6 that the bliffe 
 
 Which we enioy by minds Synderyfis 
 
 Th' refined part of man, fhould foyled be 
 
 By th' worft of ils the ftaine of vfury ? 
 
 And who'le inueigh againft it, few or none, 
 
 For mifer-Nature hardly leaues vs one. 
 
 That can fecurely fpeake againft this ill 
 
 So generall is the poifon of our will : 
 
 For 
 
30 The Poet-afters 
 
 For (deere Pernaffus now is fo oppreft) 
 
 It dare not fpeake for feare that intereft, 
 
 Should be demaunded by the Vfurer 
 
 To whom it ftands engag'd : this is the fate 
 
 That Poets haue, to leaue more wit then ftate 
 
 To their pofteritie : 6 impious time ! 
 
 When worft of Fortune followes wits diuine ; 
 
 When noble a6lions motiue in their fpirit, 
 
 Can leaue nought to their Iffue to inherit : 
 
 Saue their poore fathers papers, monuments 
 
 Scarce worth refpe6l : how weakes the Element 
 
 Which Poets are compos'd of, when one frowne 
 
 Sent from a great mans vifage can keepe downe 
 
 Their beft inuention ? filly poefie, 
 
 That (though free borne, art forc't to flauery, 
 
 And vndeferu'd fubie6lion : pittie it is, 
 
 That beft of merit fhould fhut vp her wifh ; 
 
 And dew expe6lance in no other booke, 
 
 Saue in a fkrew'd face or a writhed looke ; 
 
 Vnfit to entertaine an Art diuine 
 
 Which is expreft in that poore Mufe of thine. 
 
 Come, come, great regent of that facred quire, 
 
 Come in thy felfe and fo our foules infpire 
 
 With Arts Elixir and with fpirit toe, 
 
 That we may do with boldnes what we do : 
 
 Ere6l our aged fortunes make them fhine 
 
 (Not Hke the foole in's foot-cloath) but like Time, 
 
 Adorn'd with true experiments which may 
 
 Conuert our odious night to glorious day. 
 
 Let not Ambition mounted in her ftate 
 
 Paffe 
 
of Brittaine, 3 1 
 
 Paffe vncontrol'd : care not for getting hate : 
 
 " For honejl minds are bejl approued Jlill, 
 
 "■ By gaining hate in curbing what is ill. 
 
 *Let not thefe painted blocks oi Itmenaly 
 
 Which for their cloaths are moft admir'd of al 
 
 Stand vnreproou'd : let not their dangling plume 
 
 So daunt thee, as thou dare not well prefume 
 
 To blazon their defe6ls, fpeake what thou feeft 
 
 And care not who be pleas'd, or who difpleas'd. 
 
 Let not moth-eaten Auarice appeare 
 
 In this deere He, without her Chara6ler : 
 
 Lafh me the Symonift, who though precife 
 
 In fhew, can geld his Parfons Benifice. 
 
 Gall me (our graine-engroffers) moulds of th' earth, 
 
 That in their plentie laugh at others dearth. 
 
 Roufe me the Atheift, let's fecurity 
 
 Heare th'iudgement of fupernall maieftie 
 
 Thundring againft him : let th'lafciuious 
 
 Know their bed-broking fm, how odious 
 
 Their fenfuall meetings are to his pure eyes. 
 
 Who euen the fecrets of our hearts efpies. 
 
 Searching our reines, examining our hearts, 
 
 Difcuffmg each intention (and all parts) 
 
 That haue a working faculty : Euen he 
 
 That well approues of morall poefie. 
 
 He that confirmes the motions of our minde. 
 
 And breath's vpon them if to good inclinde. 
 
 Let not fm-tempting wanton Mermaids reft 
 
 Without due cenfure, who with naked breft, 
 
 * Truncoq ; Simillimus Heros. Iiiuenal. 
 
 Atrac- 
 
32 To the Poet-ajlers 
 
 Attrafllue eye, and garifh Complement 
 
 Enfnare our fond vnwary Innocent : 
 
 Thefe are thofe Babell publique proftitutes, 
 
 Lures to damnation, Romane Catamites, 
 
 Inuentreffes of pleafures, penfiue ftill 
 
 To doe whats good, but frolike to doe ill. 
 
 O London how thy Vanity abounds. 
 
 Glorying in that which thy renowne confounds. 
 
 Traduced fafhions from the Dutch to French, 
 
 From French to Spanifh, and not longer fmce. 
 
 Then yefterday, blufh at thy fmne for fhame. 
 
 That Albion (by thy meanes) fhould lofe her name, 
 
 And habit too : fee, fee, how farre thou'rt gone. 
 
 Beyond thy felfe, that therer's no fafhion knowne, 
 
 In forraine Courts, deform'd howfoere it be, 
 
 But by tranfportance it doth come to thee. 
 
 Laffe how immodeft art thou to expreffe. 
 
 Thy felfe fo much by others fafhions leffe .^ 
 
 How ftrangely Metamorphif'd to partake. 
 
 For Angells forme, the moft deformed fhape, 
 
 That Countries can bring out : 6 pittie tis 
 
 That Albions much admir'd Metropolis ^ 
 
 Should make thofe which admir'd her now to hate 
 
 Her vaine condition (introduc'd by fhate 
 
 Too plentifull : Here you Hefperian wits 
 
 May you haue fubie6l more then well befits 
 
 A modeft pen : for nere was any time 
 
 More prone to ill : no Region, countrey, clime, 
 
 Prouince, Ifle, Regiment fo truly bleft 
 
 With all earths bounties, yet hath leffe expreft, 
 
 Of 
 
of Brittaine. 33 
 
 Of gratitude : here Satirifts refort, 
 
 And make an ample coment on the Court, 
 
 Where thou fhalt write, fom's wanton, others vaine. 
 
 Ambitious fome, others doe couet gaine 
 
 By feruile meanes : fome beggars, yet who dare 
 
 Write in thefe daies that any fuch there are. 
 
 Then (my fharp tooth'd Satire) frame thy ditty ^^ 
 
 In the fame forme, vnrip the Crimes of 'th Citty 
 
 With a fherne brow : tell the purple Magiftrate, 
 
 How he has raif'd himfelfe to great eftate 
 
 By others ruine : fuch as Mercers are, 
 
 Tell them darke fhops haue got away ill ware. 
 
 Such as be Gold-fmiths, and are dangerous, 
 
 Call them the Siluer-fmith of Ephefus, 
 
 Long Hue Diana, but no longer then 
 
 By their Diana they doe reape a gaine. 
 
 Such as be Brokers, tell them their profeffion, 
 
 Is not to be a knaue o'th first edition. 
 
 But as thofe garments which are brought to them, 
 
 Vfe to be worne before by other men : 
 
 Euen fo they broke their vices and receiue 
 
 Som crimes wrapt vp i'th garmets which they haue, 
 
 Tell them of Wapping, bid them thankfull be. 
 
 That there is lustice had for Piracie : 
 
 For if that were not (it may well be faid) 
 
 Many their fhops would be vnfurnifhed, 
 
 But in the Country now my Mufe fhall be, 
 
 For brooke fhee'le not a Brokers Company. 
 
 Here fhalt thou see th'pi6lure of Auarice, (eyes, 
 
 Thin-cheek'd, raw-bon'd, faint-breath, and hollow- 
 
 D Nose- 
 
34 To the Poet-ajiers 
 
 Nofe-dropping, rhewme-deftilling, driueling mouth 
 Hand-shaking, haire down-falling, th'mifers cough, 
 Legs goutie, knees vnweldy, hand on cruch, 
 Eies in his bofome, gafmg on his pouch, 
 His labour torment, reft he cannot take, 
 When all are fleeping, he is forc't to wake : 
 His Eies are euer ope, for riches keepe 
 His eies vnclofed : The mifer cannot Jleepe. 
 He's his owne anguifh, fuch an impious elfe, 
 Thats ill to all, but worft vnto himfelfe. 
 He has not bookes whereon to meditate, * 
 
 Onely a debt booke and an Alminake. 
 The one's for forfeitures, where he will pore, 
 And dale by day trauers them ore and ore : 
 Th'other's his Enterlude that yeelds him mirth. 
 Seeing predi6lions of the next yeeres dearth. 
 Hope of a deerer Sommer then laft was 
 Vnfeafoned harueft : O thefe hopes furpaffe 
 All others, Heere the Mifer fets his eie. 
 And when he does thefe ftrange prenotions fpie. 
 He kiffes th'booke, fweares the profeffion's rare. 
 And wifhes all hee reades fuch fubie6ls were. 
 This Cormorant engroffeth all his graine. 
 Makes his barnes greater by a fecret traine 
 Brings ore his neighbours fonne to fet his hand, 
 Vnto a fale, and fo ioynes land to land. 
 This wicked vlcer that corrupts the ftate, 
 Nere thinkes of death, till that it be too late. 
 His gold's his God, yet vfe it cannot he, 
 But in expreffion of his miferie ; 
 
 which 
 
of Brittaine, 35 
 
 Which puts the poore Mifer to a double paine, 
 
 By telling it and putting't vp againe. 
 
 But now (my nimble Satyre) for to thee 
 
 Tends this impolifht peece of poefie : 
 
 How wilt thou taxe, or where wilt thou begin 
 
 With thy tart phrafe, to ftinge and nettle him ? - 
 
 Thou muft be bitter (for in greateft grieues) 
 
 And feftered wounds we vfe no lenitiues 
 
 To mollefie, but corrafiues to gall : 
 
 And of all griefes this is the great'ft of all. 
 
 By it we are degenerate and Hue, 
 
 As fuch as can receiue, but cannot giue 
 
 To Nature competence : Come my deare Mate 
 
 I'll tell thee how to cure their defperate ftate ; 
 
 Which in few words leaft that thy memory faile, 
 
 He fpeake my minde vnto thee in a tale. 
 
 It chaunc't vpon a time (and well might be 
 For fuch like chances fall on miferie,) 
 A pinch-gut Mifer fell extreamely ficke^ 
 So, as at laft his Confcience gan to pricke, 
 And tell him of's oppreffion, wherefoere 
 He turn'd his eyes, hefaw damnation there. 
 Sleepe coidd he not, his fickneffe was too great. 
 Nor hope for ought, his confcience didfo threate 
 And terrific his foule : thus lay this wretch 
 Poore in his fpirit, though to the world rich ; 
 Faine would he oft defire hhnfelfe confefi. 
 But caufe he was falne out with Parifh priefi 
 About a Tith-pigge, he deferred the time^ 
 And would in no cafefuffer this Diuine 
 
 D2 To 
 
36 To the Poet-ajlers 
 
 To minijier due comfort to his Jlate 
 
 All woe-begone : fo great was tH Mifers hate : 
 
 For though he were affli6led, yet would he 
 
 Vp-braide the Par/on full irreuerently^ 
 
 Calling him hedge priefl^ belly -god (nay more) 
 
 That like a Thief e, he came not in at dore^ 
 
 But in at windowe to his Benefice ; 
 
 And that he knew the pra6lice and deuice 
 
 Of him and 's Patron : who that th'law might be 
 
 Difpenfed with vt cafe of Symonie, 
 
 Sold him a horfe (that whatfoere fhould fall,) 
 
 The price might pay for th' Benefice and all: 
 
 This would he fay, concluding merrily, 
 
 Sir Priefl you come more for my pigge then me. 
 
 Silent the Parfon was, for well he knew, 
 
 The Mifer fpoke no more then what was true ; 
 
 Onely he wifht fuch neighbours as he had 
 
 Prefent to pray for him, for he was mad, 
 
 And that by all appearance it was like 
 
 That his difeafe had made him lunaticke : 
 
 Thus euery day his fickneffe did encreafe, 
 
 Bereft of comfort, confcience fweeteft peace, 
 
 Without all hope of health or here or there, 
 
 (For th' worm of confcience follows euery where.) 
 
 There 's no euafion left : where ere we goe 
 
 She will attend vs in our weale and woe. 
 
 You heard confeft he would, but as tis true, 
 
 A mifer loues not him that craues his due : 
 
 So to fuch men this cenfure ftands for iuft. 
 
 They loue their Confcience reft leffe then their ruft. 
 
 What 
 
 1 
 
of Brittaine, 37 
 
 What fhould he doe ? the Parfon now is gone, 
 
 And he vnto himfelfe is left alone 
 
 T' expoftulate with death : his finnes did grieue him 
 
 But now the rnoft when all his friends do leaue him ; 
 
 Torment belowe, iudgement he fees aboue, 
 
 Witneffe within him, that will duly proue 
 
 What he has done on earth (thus all in one 
 
 Make vp a confort in his dying mone : 
 
 Yet as a fhip ore-burdend with her freight 
 
 Sinking before, fayls brauely, being made light ; 
 
 Or as the Ocean beats from fhelfe to fhelfe, 
 
 (Sea-ficke god-wot) till fhe hath purg'd her felfe. 
 
 So this fur-charged foule rowl's here and there. 
 
 And yet to comfort is no whit the neere, 
 
 Till that fame laftage of corruption be 
 
 Exempted quite : then fleepes fhe quietly. 
 
 Confeffe he mufb, but to no Prieft, that's vaine : 
 
 But vnto one cleere of another ftraine ; 
 
 Shall I tell Satire ? yes, thou needs muft know it, 
 
 And this he was ; a thrid-bare neighbouring Poet : 
 
 Who after dew confeffion made to him 
 
 Of euery a6l, and each peculiar fmne, 
 
 Extortion, Violence and Iniurie, 
 
 Preffmg of Orphanes, biting vfurie, 
 
 Forfeitures-taken, forged bills, at laft 
 
 He makes confeffion how a Poet paft 
 
 His pikes : who once was of a faire eftate, 
 
 But after had no profpe6l but a grate : 
 
 O, quoth the Poet, that was ill in you ; 
 
 O (quoth the Mifer) I doe know its true : 
 
 D 3 But 
 
38 To the Poet-afters 
 
 But with remorce I now lament his fall, 
 
 Which 'mongft the reft affli6ls me moft of all. 
 
 Wherefore good Sir, poure out your prayers for me, 
 
 That in diftafb of my impiety 
 
 Languifhing fore, I may be cheerd in ftate, 
 
 Dying in hope, that now lies defperate. 
 
 The faire conditio'nd Poet, though he had heard 
 
 How ill his owne profeffion got reward, 
 
 By this hard-harted Mifer ; yet did he 
 
 Scorne his reuenge fhould in affli6lion be 
 
 Streight he retires himfelfe a pretty fpace, 
 
 Chufmg for's Orifons a priuate place. 
 
 Which being done, to cheere the drooping man, 
 
 With hands heau'd vp, his praiers he thus began. 
 
 Powerfull lehouak, King of Heauen and Earthy 
 That giu'Ji to all things liuing life and birth. 
 Thou that protects each thing which thou haji made, 
 A ndfo preferii^s it, as it cannot fade. 
 Before the time prefin'd : thou that wilt haue 
 Mercy onfuch as thou dojl meane to faue. 
 Looke on this wretch (that lies all woe begon) 
 If fo thou thinke hees worthy looking on : 
 Great is thy mercy, fo it needs m^uft be, 
 If thou wilt faue fuch Mifcreants as he. 
 But what thou meanes to doe, he fainst would know, 
 Whether he muft afcend, or fall below : 
 That he prouifion may according make, 
 And fit himfelfe for th' Voyage he muft take. 
 For if to heauen, he needs the leffe prepare, 
 
 Becaufe 
 
of Brittaine. 39 
 
 Becaiife he knowes all needfull things be there. 
 But much he fear' dy andfofeare other foine, 
 Mongji which my felfe, that there he nere Jhall come. 
 But if to hell (the likelier place dth two) 
 He does defire^ that thou woiddfl this allow. 
 He may haue fomuch refpite as prepare^ 
 The Bonds of allfuch Prodigalls be there : 
 That what he could not cancell here fo well 
 On earth, may there be cancelled in hell. 
 The caufe is this (as it to me appeares) 
 Left that thofe fpe^id-thrifts fall about his eares ; 
 When they fhall fee him, which that he may flay, 
 He'le cancell th! Bonds, thought be long after day 
 Or this's the caufe as he was impious here, 
 He meanes to proue an honefl Deuill there. 
 
 " That Time to Times-fucceffors may bring forth, 
 ''Hell made him better then he was on Earth. 
 
 Much more he praide, but I doe rather chufe, 
 
 (Satyre) to make of all his praiers an vfe, 
 
 That when the vfe fhall well expreffed be, 
 
 Thou maift apply the Benefit to thee. 
 
 Sir [quoth the Poet] I my praiers haue made, ' 
 
 Haue you, (replyed he,) as one difmayed, 
 
 Yes fir, and by them fo my zeale enforc't. 
 
 As I preuaild, though it was long time firft. 
 
 For know an apparifion came ta me 
 
 With a fhrill voice, which bad me fay to thee : 
 
 If thou wilt firft a reftitution make. 
 
 And render vp what thou by Fraud didft take, 
 
 D 4 From 
 
40 The Ciuill Diuell. 
 
 From any man, but chiefty what thou tooke 
 From th'Poet : next, deliuer vp thy booke 
 Of all Accounts, greafst caufe of thy defpairCy 
 To thy CoitfeffouTy and make him thy heyre. 
 Thou fhalt haue health for this, it bad me tell, 
 But if thou wilt not, thou art markt for hell. 
 For Hell, no marry I : take keyes and fhate, 
 I will not buy wealth at fo deere a rate. 
 If thou my pretty Satyre couldfb reclayme, 
 A mifer thus, I'de thanke thee for the fame. 
 But all too long I haue enforc't thee ftay. 
 Vice calleth thee, and Time drawes me away. 
 
 An Epigramme called the 
 Ciuill Deuill. 
 
 IT chanc't one euening as I went abroad, 
 To cheere my cares, and take away my loade, 
 Of difagreeing paffions, which were bred 
 By the diftemper of a troubled head, 
 Midft of my walke, fpying an AUye doore, 
 (Which I proteft I neuer spied before) 
 I entred in, and being entred in, 
 I found the entry was to th'house of fmne. 
 Yet much I wondred, how fm there could be, 
 Where thTmnes prote6lreffe fhow'd most modefty. 
 A ciuill matron, lifping with forfooth. 
 As one that had not heart to fweare an oath, 
 In Graue attire, French hood, all Frenchefide, 
 For fhe had fome-thing more of French befide, 
 
 Her 
 
The Ciuell Diuell. 41 
 
 Her outward rayment in a loofe-gowne made, 
 
 Right after fafhion, with a countnance ftaid, 
 
 And which is ftranger (fhamefaft) her laboord 
 
 (Like a young nouice letcher) making each word 
 
 A proteftation ; she that knew'th deuice, 
 
 T'enfnare a greene wit, feem'd wondrous nife, 
 
 Reprouing of my errour : Sir, I am 
 
 (For thus fhe tooke me vp) wife to a man 
 
 Of due refpeft, one that has office borne. 
 
 Twice in the Citty, therefore pray forbeare. 
 
 You doe mifhake your-felfe, there's none fuch heere 
 
 As you make fute for. I as one difmaid. 
 
 That durft not iuftifie what I had faid, 
 
 Began to flinke away ; fhe feeing this, 
 
 Fearing leaft fhe fhould fuch a Gudgeon miffe. 
 
 Recants what fhe had faid, fwearing though fhe 
 
 Were fuch a mans wife of the Marfhalfie, 
 
 One that had neuer yet incurd ill name. 
 
 Or knew ought more then modefty or fhame, 
 
 Though fhe nere was defam'd in all her life. 
 
 Or loued more then as becom'd a wife, 
 
 Though her affe6lion neuer yet was fhowne 
 
 (Saue to her husband) vnto any one, 
 
 Though fhe was graue in yeers, and therefore might 
 
 Tread rightly now, that had fo long trod right. 
 
 She would pawne name, fame, modeftie, and all 
 
 Affection, husband, yea what ere befall 
 
 Her grauer yeeres fhould once difpence with time, 
 
 " She would, forfooth, remaine entirely mine, 
 
 This alteration made me ftrangely doubt, 
 
 Doubt 
 
 \ 
 
42 The Ciuill Deuill. 
 
 And though my feet were in, my mind was out. 
 Yet fo was I enthralld by tempting fmne, 
 Though Vertue forc't me out, Vice kept me in. 
 Thus did my tempting Genius, fweare, proteft, 
 That of all creatures fhe did loue me beft, 
 And with diffembling teares difguife her ill, 
 Fond is that man, and fonder is his will, 
 That's thus deprau'd : how feruile are men growne, 
 When thefe fame Vertues we efteeme our owne 
 Are thus Eclipf 'd by Hyene faced whores, 
 That proteftation make they will be ours, 
 When they proue nothing leffe, las I do know 
 And by experience, whatfoere they fhow. 
 Their painted Vizards couer naked fmne, 
 Which feeming faire, are euer foule within. 
 A whiten wall, a rotten odious tombe, 
 That proftitutes her felfe to all that come. 
 To all that come, hence then's affe6lion croft. 
 For loue is pure, but luft for them bid moft. 
 But to my Saint-like Deuill : fhe thus precife 
 At firft held credit deere, but now her eyes 
 Like wandring ftars preft to induce fome fm 
 Makes me (the filly fifh) catcht by her gin. 
 Reafon did tell me, and fuggeft her name, 
 Whifpring me in the eare, it was a fhame 
 To gage my reputation to a whore : .'! 
 
 But las who knows it not, fenfe hath more power 
 Then reafon in thefe a6ls : I gaue confent 
 To her inducements, thought her Innocent, 
 And a right modeft matron : yet how farre. 
 
 Did 
 
The Ciuill Deuill. 43 
 
 Did fenfe from reafon in her Verdi6l erre ? 
 
 For how could fhe be modeft that fo foone, 
 
 Was gain'd ere crau'd, fo quickly wood and wonne ? 
 
 Laffe that my fimple ftraine fhould be fo weake, 
 
 As to continue for a wantons fake, 
 
 So firme in my afifedlion ? fhe was graue, 
 
 Its true, fhe was fo : but how many haue 
 
 That forme of grauity, the more their fmne, 
 
 Being fo graue without, fo gay within, 
 
 But fhe protefted ; true, she fwore an oath, 
 
 As any other tempting wanton doth. 
 
 When fhee's in hope of gaine, vnhappy I, 
 
 To leane fo much to harlots forgery. 
 
 Well my braue Curtizan, fmce I am won. 
 
 To doe that a6l by which I am vndone. 
 
 Since I am fnared, and like a Bird thats caught, 
 
 Fledged in bird-lime, am of wit difhraught, 
 
 And fenfes too : I will runne headlong to it, 
 
 And doe it with force, fmce I perforce muft doe it. 
 
 Downe goes the filken Carpet all the while. 
 
 Showing thofe fheets, which lou^rs doe beguile, 
 
 Thofe fheets of luft perfum'd delicioufly. 
 
 With rofie odours, where variety 
 
 Of obie6ls made recourfe : fee wantons fee. 
 
 How many motiues now enuiron me } 
 
 Heere my lafciuious Matron wooes with teares, 
 
 There a repofe for lufts retrait appeares. 
 
 Heere a protefting whore (fee whoredomes fhelfe) 
 
 Rather then loofe me, fhe will damme her felfe. 
 
 There Adons pi(5lure, clipping Venus round, 
 
 Heere 
 
44 The Ciuill Deuill. 
 
 Here loue Europa lying on the ground. 
 
 Heere Mars difarm'd in Beauties chariot drawen, 
 
 Where faire Eryca couer'd ore with lawne, 
 
 Bids him her beft of welcome, and is ledde, 
 
 For want of roomes vnto her Husbands bedde. 
 
 Heere Dande ftood (admiring diuine power) 
 
 Which did defcend like to a goulden fhoure, 
 
 Into her Virgin-lap, there fbraight I fpide 
 
 The tempting Omphale, and on one fide, 
 
 Her wanton fifter, on the other, faire 
 
 Alcinous daughter, courted for her haire 
 
 By great Apollo : but below her foote, 
 
 Sat Hercles fpinning, fhe enioynd him too't. 
 
 Here I beheld the nimble Satyres dance 
 
 The Druids fung, the water-Sea-nimphs praunce. 
 
 Ore the delicious Mede : there was the Queene 
 
 Of Amorous meetings pi6lur'd as fh'ad beene 
 
 Taking a greene-gowne (many fuch there are) 
 
 Of Mars that Martiall Enginer of warre. 
 
 Heere Vulcane lay, poore Cuckold as he was. 
 
 And faw them mating on the greeny graffe. 
 
 Yet durft fay nought, how many fuch there be, 
 
 That fee enough, but dare not fay they fee ? 
 
 Sweet heart (quoth fhe) and fmild, feeing me eye 
 
 This pi6lure more then any one was nie, 
 
 Leaue me the fhadow, to the fubftance goe, 
 
 What thou now feeft, let louers a6lion know. 
 
 He be thy Venus, pretty Ducke I will, 
 
 And though leffe faire, yet I haue farre more skill. 
 
 In Loues affaires : for if I Adon had. 
 
 As 
 
The Ciuill DeiulL 45 
 
 As Venus had : I could haue taught the lad. 
 To haue beene farre more forward then he was, 
 And not haue dallied with fo apt a laffe. (be 
 
 Come, come (my youngling) though I nere could 
 Immodeft yet, He fhow my felfe to thee, 
 A laffe of mettal : Come, in faith thou fhalt, 
 Thou'rt Mars, I Venus, he that limping halt, 
 My V2i/ca7i-huib2ind, pox on't he is gone. 
 And I my felfe as defolate alone. 
 Will entertaine thee : I in manlike fhape, 
 Being a man, a man fhould imitate. 
 Protefted I would doe, yet had no power, 
 For who can deale fo ably with a whore, 
 Or with fo free-bred a6lions, fmce I know. 
 None can affe6lion with ele6lion show. 
 Sincerely or entirely, but whofe ftrife, 
 S'transform'd from wanton a6lion to a wife 
 Of modeft a6lion : this is fhe can doe. 
 And euery night has new conceits to wooe, 
 Though fhe be won, las what is wooing then. 
 Since wooing, winning, be fmall change in men ? 
 Who knowes not whores afife6lion purchaf 'd foon, 
 And that they are not fooner woo'd then wonne ? 
 Or as the world goes, for its more common, 
 Women woe men more oft then men woe women. 
 Hence nature feemes to haue transform'd vs quite, 
 Conuerting day vnto a drerie night, 
 Vertue to vice, a good-names eminence, 
 Expof'd to fhame, and publique impudence. 
 
 Once 
 
4-6 The Ciuill Diuell. 
 
 Once women knew a blufhing fhame-faftneffe, 
 
 But now a blufh is leaft that they expreffe ; 
 
 Vnleffe for fhame of hauing done fome ill 
 
 They feare is known, which they would fhadow ftil, 
 
 Shine brighteft heauen (if thou wilt deigne to fhine, 
 
 And with thy beames difpell this hideous crime, 
 
 Which now (prote6lion has) : curbe them, that call 
 
 Such fmnes as veniall, Venereall. 
 
 Let not an He of an Angelicke name 
 
 Expofe her glory to the houfe of fhame : 
 
 Let not thofe many Tropheies of her worth 
 
 Loofe their renowne or honour in our birth. 
 
 Let not faire Albion, ftil'd from cliff es fo white, 
 
 Change Vertues day ftar to a vicious night. 
 
 Let not thofe many conquefts fhe hath got 
 
 Seeme now depreft, as if remembred not. 
 
 Let not our peace (like Halcion dales) be tane 
 
 From vs and ours and giuen to other men : 
 
 Let not this facred Vine which planted is 
 
 In Albion, fhaken be by wantonneffe. 
 
 Let not our plenty and aboundant ftore ' 
 
 Occafion be that we fhould fmne the more : 
 
 Let not our Realme vnite, diuide that loue 
 
 Which we fhould beare vnto the King aboue : 
 
 Let not our want of wars inuafion bring vs 
 
 A lufh-full war encountring within vs. 
 
 Let not thofe manie bleffmgs we receiue, 
 
 Make vs interre our honour in our graue. 
 
 Let not our feafons yeerly fruitfulneffe 
 
 Produce in vs a loathed barranneffe. 
 
 Let 
 
The Ciuill DiuelL 47 
 
 Let not thofe many ftrange confpiracies 
 
 Which heauen preuented, clofe our thankleffe eyes, 
 
 Let not our being make vs not to be, 
 
 For God is God and will auenged be. 
 
 He feemes fome time to fleepe and fuffer all, 
 
 But calls at lafh for vfe and principall. 
 
 Many, I know, there be of crimes that's ill, 
 
 Drawne from the fource of our depraued will, 
 
 But of all crimes that euer were or be. 
 
 None in this He claimes more impunity. 
 
 A purple fm (for who will not allow it) 
 
 Since purple-fathers oft-times go vnto it t 
 
 The Citties Elders (which though they reproue) 
 
 They doe but chaftice what themfelues do loue. 
 
 Statifts haue lou'd it too : but marke (my friend) 
 
 For all their ftate they had a loathfome end. 
 
 Like ftinking Herod, loth'd Hertogenes, 
 
 Crook't Damocles, lowfie Pherecides ; 
 
 All thefe experience had of this fowle euill, 
 
 And coidd defcribe too-well a ciiiell Diiiell. 
 
 The 
 
48 
 
 The Authors Morall to his 
 
 Ciuell Diuell. 
 
 COme Nouice, come, fee here the fall of youth, 
 Begun in pleafure, but wouen vp in rueth : 
 See what occurrents meete the heires of fhame, 
 Where end is pouerty, and cloz'd ill-name ? 
 See what the fruits be of licentious fm 
 That end in woe as they in heate begin ? 
 See painted Sodom-'di'^'^X^s faire to th'eye, 
 But being tutcht they perifh infhantly. 
 See, fee a wanton Mere-mayd, that does fmg, 
 To bring youths crazie backe to ruining. 
 See Vertue in pretence, but vice in deed, 
 See Harlots a6lion in a Matrons weede : 
 See damned Fa6lors who their trafficke make, 
 Not for their foule but for the diuels fake. 
 See my coach't Lady hurried long the ftreet, 
 Cafting her lufts-eyes on v/ho s'ere fhe meet : 
 See, fee her cerus cheeke, made to delight 
 Her apple-fquire, or wanton Marmofite. 
 See, fee her braided haire, her paps laide out, 
 Which witneffe how fhe 'le do when fhe's put to 't 
 O fee fhe likes vpon th'condition well, 
 Sojhe may coached be Jhe'le goe to hell, 
 And willingly : fee, fee adulterate golde, 
 In valew worft, yet is the deerefb folde. 
 See Albions curfe, Youths gulph, Heires mifery, 
 Our Countries fhame, foules ftaine, earths vanity. 
 
 "O 
 
The Ciuill Deuill. 49 
 
 O Sunne refledl thy gould on my pale Moone, 
 ^ nd let this Dathans braunch be rooted foone, 
 ' It of this flourie ifle : O let not this 
 (So hideous a crime) eclipfe the bliffe 
 V\Tiich Britaine now poffeffeth, may my penne, 
 Be fteeped now in wormewood, that fuch men 
 As haue beene 'erft delighted, now may be, 
 Wain'd from that land-oppreffmg miferie. 
 And you (damn'd profhitutes) that pawn your name, 
 Making a triuiall may-game of your fhame ; 
 Bed-broaking lechers, Broakers of ill ware, 
 For many fuch bafe fa6lors now there are) 
 Heare me fpit out my malice : May you Hue, 
 Tiil you haue nought to take, nor none to giue, 
 For your ore-iaded pleafure : may you ftand 
 Banifht for euer in this Frziitfull land, (power) 
 
 Which fares the worfe (and that by Heauens high 
 For giuing harbour to an odious whoore. 
 May you deteffced liue, intefhate die, 
 And as I doubt not make your Tragedy 
 By death more wofull : may your vlcerous skin, 
 As it beares here the marks of your fowle fm : 
 Like to the I ewes as they did earjl appear e, 
 Who in their fore parts circMmcifed were) 
 Be circmncis'd : that after times may fhew. 
 There was f mall difference twixt the whore and I ewe. 
 And you poore haire brain'd youths that doe begin 
 To neftle in thefe lothfome fmkes of fm ; 
 You that fpend fubftance, heritance and all, 
 Becomming fubie6l to a doubtful fall : 
 
 E You 
 
50 The Ciuill Diuell. 
 
 You that are fent to pra6life ftudious arts, 
 
 But leauing them, betake to worfer parts 
 
 Your vnfledg'd fancies : heare me, and you'le fay. 
 
 It feemes he wifht vs well another day. 
 
 Flie the ftrange woman, let her wanton looke, 
 
 Be vnto you as fome experientft booke ; 
 
 Prefcribing cures for ftrange difeafes be 
 
 As if you did not note, or did not fee 
 
 Her fm-alluring motiues : if fhe fmile 
 
 Confter it thus : this wanton would beguile 
 
 With her affedled feeming, if fhe play 
 
 With her light capring foote, or bid you ftay 
 
 (So brazen fac't is fm) away from thence, 
 
 Taxe, but affe6l not, her loth'd impudence. 
 
 If fhe fhew modefhie (as well fhe may) 
 
 For whoores haue change of faces euery daie 
 
 Vieing new fafhions : you may confter thus, 
 
 It is a painted but no natiue blufh. 
 
 If fhe proteft (beleeue not what fhe fayth) 
 
 For there's no whore but can difpenfe with fayth : 
 
 If fhe inuite you to fome dainty feaft 
 
 Be not entreated, leaft like Circes beaft. 
 
 You be transform'd from that fame forme diuine 
 
 Vnto the beftiall nature of a fwine, 
 
 If fhe allure thee to fome wanton fport 
 
 In that fhe moues you to it, care not for't 
 
 Let S'. foote be (fuch follies luft affoord) 
 
 " For faireft play is euer aboue boord. 
 
 Redart not eyes with her : if fhe looke red 
 
 Say its her guilt, if pale diftempored 
 
 With 
 
The ciuell Ditcell. 5 1 
 
 With fome lafciuious paffion : if conceipt 
 
 Be pregnant in her, fweare its but deceipt 
 
 To draw thee on : if fullen, it may be thought 
 
 Her weight of fm has that diftra6lion wrought. 
 
 If fhe difcourfe, its but fome whorifh tale 
 
 That fhe perchance has purchas't by retaile ; 
 
 If filent, 't may be thought fhe's plotting ill, 
 
 And that's the caufe her oily tongue is ftill : 
 
 If feeming modefb, vertuous or precife. 
 
 Its her diffembling, making her lufts eyes 
 
 Like Bafilisks (who naturally haue 
 
 Defire to kill, where they do feeme to faue.) 
 
 If hope of meanes : fie, let no Generous minde, 
 
 Stoope to fo bafe a lure, as be inclin'de, 
 
 To buy a ftipend at fo deare a rate, 
 
 " As gage a foule, to get a little ftate. 
 
 If difcontent : this is no remedie 
 
 Vnto thy griefe, but ads to miferie : 
 
 For who (through difcontent) goes to a Whoore, 
 
 Muft needs be more deie6led then before. 
 
 If an enforced marriage (as who can) 
 
 Tafte ftill the fweete of comforts, being man : 
 
 This is no way to eafe thy troubled head, 
 
 To make thy felfe adulterize thy Bed. 
 
 If to fpend time : how ill is that fpent time, 
 
 Which adds vnto that great accompt of thine 
 
 Thoufands of accufations .-* where thy looke 
 
 Shall beare record (if wanton) in that booke, 
 
 Where all our a6lions duely written be 
 
 From youth to man,, to Age from infancy : 
 
 E 2 If 
 
52 The Ciuill DiuelL 
 
 If for acquaintance (as oftimes we heare) 
 The greateft men are moft acquainted there ; 
 Thou feeks amiffe, for what's acquaintance worth, 
 By birth borne great, to bafbardife their birth. 
 If to obferue new fafhions, tricks not knowne 
 Before of thee : 'laffe thofe muft needs be growne 
 Quite out of fafhion, when there's none that vfe the 
 Saue Pandors, Bawds, & whoors that fhil abufe them. 
 If to be deem'd a Turne-ball roring lad. 
 Of all the flraines that be there's none fo bad : 
 " Thefe glorie in deformed fhapcs, and thirft 
 After that guize which doth befeeme them worft : 
 But wouldft thou know them } then attend to me, 
 (And I in few words will defcribe them thee. 
 Their peak't-mouchatoes bodkinwife oppofe 
 Each other, and fband brauing of their nofe : 
 They're bluftering boyes, and whatfoe're befall, 
 If they be three to one they'le haue the wall. 
 They haue a mint of oaths, yet when they fweare, 
 Of death and murder, there 's fmall danger there : 
 Buffe-yerkins fay their fouldiers, (but's not fo,) 
 For they were preft indeed but durft not goe. 
 They weare a Cutler's-fhop euer about them : 
 Yet for all that we need not greatly doubt them. 
 For tak't from me by this you foon'ft may know the, 
 They weare the defperat'ft blades, yet dare not draw 
 They're Panders by profeffion, men that get (them. 
 A flauifh meanes out of a feruile wit : 
 They're euer foaking of a pipe, whofe fmoake 
 Makes them contort & wreath their wainskot look 
 
 To 
 
The Ciuill Diuell. 53 
 
 To euery fafhion, they are monftrous proud, 
 
 And what-foere they fpeake they fweare its good : 
 
 They neuer goe to Church, vnleffe it be 
 
 To man their whore, or for formalitie. 
 
 They are and are not : feeming men by fight. 
 
 But beafts, becomming flaues to appetite : 
 
 Their walke is not where Vertue hath recourfe, 
 
 (For to difcourfe of Vertue is a curfe) 
 
 To Roring-boyes : their Rende-voiie' s Tibb Calles 
 
 Her fhrowd their fhrine, their walk's in Garden-allies 
 
 Dofb fee thefe (youngling) ? pray thee fee and mark, 
 
 A whore enticing, and a god-leffe fharke 
 
 Attending her, haue a good eye to him, 
 
 Pray thee beware he's inftrument of fmne : 
 
 Goe not along, let my aduife enforce, 
 
 Leaft thou returne (my boy) by weeping croffe. 
 
 Let not, 6 let not moment of delight, 
 
 Depriue thy foule of her internall light, 
 
 Shame not thy eye of reafon with expence 
 
 Of ill fpent time, expos'd to th'vfe of fence. 
 
 Thy form's Diuine, no fading, vading flower : 
 
 O let not then th'embraces of a whore 
 
 Captiue thy iudgement, but as thou doft take 
 
 Thy Great Creators forme, fo for his fake, 
 
 Referue thy Temple (if thou'le Hue with him. 
 
 To be for Syon^ not for place of Sinne. 
 
 E 3 The 
 
54 
 
 The occafion of this Epigram proceeded 
 
 from the rejlraint of the Author, who in the 
 iuftnes of his caufe (like Zenophons Sparrow) 
 fled for refuge : to the worthily efleemed, the 
 
 Right Worfhipfull Rich. Hvtton, 
 
 Sergeant at Lawe : to whofe prote^ion the 
 
 retired Author commends his Epi- 
 
 gramme entitled, 
 
 HIS CATCH. 
 
 {Singing my catch, if you be not my friend, ) 
 For all my catch, I Jhall be catcht itl^ end. j 
 
 Not in a durance fuite remaine I here, 
 Yet in a fuite like durance hemm'd with feare 
 Retir'd I am : confinement makes me thrall 
 Vnto my felfe, which grieues me moft of all : 
 If I but fee the fhadow of a man. 
 Or th' tinkling of a Braziers copper pan, 
 I feare a Sergeant, fhadow faies its he, 
 And th'Brazier faies, fuch like his buttons be. 
 
 Where 
 
His Catch. 55 
 
 Where fhall I flie to ? 'laffe I know not where : 
 
 For Milford-ldinQ is growne too monftrous deere. 
 
 No, there I muft not goe ; for know you how 
 
 That place is ftil'd ? The Gallants Randa-uou. 
 
 Well, fome-where I muft flie : O now I fee't : 
 
 Philofophers fay ; heate is expel'd by heate. 
 
 Moifbure by moifture ; Colds extremity 
 
 By cold, deriu'd from paffions natiuely 
 
 Concurring in vs : if this then be trew, 
 
 Who fhould I flie to (Sir ?) but vnto you 
 
 That are a Sergeant, and has power to place 
 
 Your God-fonne free from any Sergiants Mace ? 
 
 To you ile flie purfu'de by impudence, 
 
 (A Courtiers garbe) crauing fafe refidence 
 
 Vnder your wings : and know (kinde Sir) from me, 
 
 To doe for Orphanes its a charity. 
 
 Little I am poffeft of well you know, 
 
 And of that little, little doe I owe 
 
 To any man : yet for all this am I, 
 
 Made a fit obie(5l for a Sergeants eie. 
 
 I could not beg if that my caufe were bad, 
 
 But to disburfe for that I neuer had. 
 
 Nor anie for me, 'laffe it feemes to me. 
 
 The caufe might pleade it felfe without a fee. 
 
 Pray Sir (at leaft) if'th Courtier needes will craue it, 
 
 Let him purfue fuch, where 'has hope to haue it : 
 
 For me theres none : but this his wit God wot 
 
 To fue his bond, wheres nothing to be got, 
 
 Yet for the reputation which I beare 
 
 To my vnblemifht credit, I muft feare 
 
 Not 
 
56 His Catch, 
 
 Not our iuft caufe, nor any fuch pretence, 
 
 But brazen-face, and guilded confcience. 
 
 " For dangers felt are worfe then others feard, 
 
 " Which makes me now conceald which once appeared. 
 
 'Laffe Sir, my ftudies cannot brooke reftraint, 
 
 " Since times obferuance giues me argument. 
 
 Of writing what I write : fo fmal's the fhore 
 
 Of La'er I haue, that if I knew not more 
 
 By obferuation, then by reading, men 
 
 Might iuftly fay, I knew not what I pen. 
 
 But lufbice whofe pure eie lookes euer right, 
 
 And can admit of none that cloudes her fight. 
 
 Will fhield my caufe : its trues I know fhe will. 
 
 Yet in meane time I am be-leagred ftill. 
 
 With thefe iniurious burres, thefe tenterhookes^ 
 
 That euen of right me with their gajlly looks. 
 
 Thefe engines of defpaire^ agents of euill, 
 
 Favors for Mammon, Viceroy es for the diuell 
 
 Thefe that lay hold like bird lime : thefe be they. 
 
 That mufl be foundly brib'd, or we muft pay ; 
 
 I haue no hope then but your vertuous felfe 
 
 To faue my crafie veffel from this fhelfe. 
 
 Or fhip-wrack rather, and fo fure am I 
 
 Of your befl: helpe, that I fee fafety 
 
 Appearing midft of daunger : for my truft 
 
 So well repof 'd in one that is fo iuft. 
 
 Cannot be fruftrate, but muft needes receiue 
 
 What you may graunt, and I may iuftly haue. 
 
 And well I know that a6lions of this kinde, 
 
 Keepe beft concordance with your generous minde, 
 
 Whofe 
 
His Catch, 57 
 
 Whofe natiue vertues haue been ftill expreft, 
 In giuing breath to caufes that are beft. 
 A great prerogatiuey as't feemes to me, 
 Haue you or & fuck as onely take their fee, 
 Witthout obferuance or difcuffion had. 
 Of what the caufe is : whether good or bad. 
 Thefe like to fpiders, weaue ore iuftice throne 
 A web, to make their a6lions lie vnknowne. 
 But all in vaine : their vices time defcries : 
 For time has many eares and many eies. 
 Ripe was his wit, and well he vnderfhood. 
 Who rouf't ^ Wejlminjier Hal with Irifh wood. 
 That Iuftice there profeft', fhould like appeare, 
 Suffring no venemous creature to come neere 
 Her sacred throne : no ^Spider, worme, nor moth, 
 But that like vertue fhould accrew to both. 
 Which makes me mufe : fith Irifh wood can fhow, 
 Such pure efife6ls, why Ireland does not fee, 
 O no it were too much to be the fame. 
 In title, temper nature, and in name. 
 But whither wanders my confined Mufe f 
 Lament thine owne, care not for times abufe, 
 It yields thee matter ro expreffe thy fpleene, 
 Which otherwife would be extinguifh't cleane. 
 
 * "RmIms Jinijhing the Jiately building of Weftminfter halt, 
 found fault for being built too little, faying it was f iter for 
 a chamber, then a Hall /or a King q/" England ; taking a plot 
 for one more fpacious to be added vnto it. 
 
 ^ This peculiar vertue the fuperflitious Irifh haue afcribed 
 to the power of Saint 'Pa.trick, 
 
58 His Catch. 
 
 Thou mai'ft retire, ther's one will fee thee pla'fb 
 In fafe repofe, till all thefe ftormes be paft : 
 Which paft, may I my conning quite forget, 
 If better numbers doe not defcant it. 
 
 From me and mine 
 to you and yours, 
 From time to time 
 our praiers like Jhowers 
 
 Dijfufed be 
 
 inceffantlie. 
 
 Your worths obferuer 
 
 I 
 
 R. B. fxLcroavKO<;» 
 
59 
 
 TO MY APPROVED FRIEND 
 T. P. in the condudl of my arreft- 
 
 f earing Epigram his beji 
 of Wifhes. 
 
 I 
 
 F any Sergeant fhould my lines foreftale, 
 Before they fee my Patron enter bayle. 
 Ibid. Where fay ^ 
 
 How Night by Night in feuerall roomes I lye, 
 And that my lines haue farre more Aer then I. 
 
 An 
 
6o 
 
 An Epigramme called the 
 
 Honeji Lawyer, 
 
 Sprightly my mufe, fpeake like the fon of thunder 
 And with a full mouth, ring out Albions wonder : 
 No Suffex Dragon, no Virginian, 
 But of a Lawer that's an Honeji man. 
 Whofe definition if you wifh to know, 
 Is a blacke Swan, faire Moore, or milke-white Crow. 
 He takes no fees, till he conceiue the caufe, 
 Nor with an Oyly bribe annoints his iawes. 
 He wants the vfe of feeling, feares Heauens curfe, 
 Strings not his confcience with his Clients purfe. 
 Hee'l not be tongue-tide, but for lujlice fake, 
 He feekes to earne the mony he does take. 
 He hates aequiuocation and delay. 
 Nor will he make his Threed-bare Client flay 
 For his difpatch : he will not haue his fee, 
 Till he difcuffe the caufes equity. 
 His Judgement will not vaile to wind nor wether, 
 Nor is his confcience made of retching lether. 
 His eye's on luftice, nor will euer he 
 Banke-rupt his foule, t' enrich pofterity. 
 
 His 
 
The honeji Lawyer, 6 r 
 
 His tongue's no time-obferuer, made to pleafe, 
 His fift is fhut from taking double fees. 
 He will not forge a lye, nor wreft the fence, 
 Of law or right, for any faire pretence. 
 He will not backe his Clyent, or maintaine 
 An vniuft fuit, to reape a priuate gaine. 
 He fpeakes and flands too't, nor is forry for't, 
 Though he by fpeaking truth, incenfe the Court. 
 He hates corruption, nor has euer fould. 
 His peace of Confcience, for a peece of gold. 
 He loues no perfumes, nor is one of thofe, 
 Whofe peak't mouchatoes fkirmifh with their nofe. 
 His beard's not ftarcht, he has no fubtile fconce, 
 Nor /anus-like lookes he ten waies at once. 
 His Eare is neuer fhut to poore mens mones. 
 His Coach-wheele is not made of Clients bones, 
 His Confcience nere did ought that needs relenting 
 Or * ere made Clients pay for his wiues painting. 
 His foule was neuer foild by corrupt dealing, 
 Nor ftands he on a veluet gowne at fealing. 
 His face was nere at Braziers, nor his skin 
 Sj/-fambris-like was hung vp to be feene. (can. 
 
 His tongue fpeakes truth, makes peace where ere he 
 Tkzs Lawer mujl be needs an honejl man. 
 It's true, he muft : but where now fhall we finde 
 This man : I feare theres none left of his kind. 
 
 e For my pretty tooth -picker, the Criticke Lawyer, who ftands 
 on the puntylio of his honour, I am by Martialls meanes proui- 
 ded of armour. 505. Epig. 
 
 Carper e caufidicus fertur mea carmina: qui Jit 
 
 Nefcio : Ji fciero, vce tibi, caii/idice. 
 
 Yes 
 
62 A Satyre. 
 
 Yes one I know, and more there be no doubt 
 But that my dull pate cannot find them out, 
 Who's truely honeft : Whom you may difcerne, 
 You Clients you, that vifit this throng Terme, 
 By no example in our Albion more, 
 Then by my Patron in my Catch before. 
 Aske you me why ? Experience tells it me^ 
 ^^ None of^ s Profefjion honejler then he. 
 
 Vpon a Patron, who was at home, and 
 
 yet abroad', in the City^ and yet in the 
 
 Countrey : feene, and not to bee 
 
 feene : in any place, but where 
 
 he was, and as foone to be found 
 
 where he was not, as 
 
 where he was. 
 
 A good Patrons Anagram : is 
 
 Patren. Anag. Parent. 
 
 An euill ones 
 
 Patrone. Anag. Rope an't. 
 
 A Satyre. 
 
 THere is a Patron, to expreffe his name, 
 I thinke it needleffe, for you may conie6lure. 
 Who tis by dumbe fhowes : yet He reade a Le6lure, 
 Vpon's Anatomy : " He thinks no fhame 
 To be at home, yet to deny the fame, 
 By one of 's Pander porters : he is proud 
 
 Of 
 
A Satyr e, 6^^ 
 
 Of a new Title gluen him, yet it's ftale, 
 Knight-hood I wifh : for's fpeech he fpeaks a tale, 
 With a Beere-brewers Grace, as for his bloud. 
 He faies he can deriu't from Robin hood, 
 And his May-Marian, and I thinke he may, 
 For's Mother plaid May-Marian tother day. 
 
 If a rich country-Boore come to prefent him. 
 With Pigge or Goofe, he fhall no fooner come. 
 But the gate's open, and the Knight's at home. 
 Where the Dog-fawning Knight will queftion him. 
 Why he from's houfe has fo long abfent beene ? 
 Yet tother day, a Poet whom he lou'd. 
 At leaft protefted fo : knocking at's gate, 
 Was full two houres enforced there to waite, 
 And ftill he ftaid to find his loue approu'd, (mou'd. 
 Till th'Brazen head fpake, through a cafement 
 (The Knight I meane) but feeing who it was, 
 I'me not at home (quoth he) good Poet paffe. 
 
 An 
 
64 
 
 An Epigram in Curium Lampetram : 
 A Cajhierd Courtier, 
 
 CVrius Lampetray (as he doth confeffe) 
 For he was t'ane i'th nicke, o'th bufineffe, 
 Ha's done, foone done, God wot, a worthy deede, 
 Setting the Courts wreath on the Cities head : 
 But for his wreath, before one Terms demurre, 
 He was degraded of his Courtly fpurre. 
 (True badge of Honour) and from that time fwore, 
 Nere to approach the Cities confines more. 
 What fhould he doe ? the Citie was his gaine, 
 For poore Lampetra nere had courtly flraine ; 
 But apifh imitation, whofe fmall force 
 Made him admired, like an Hobby-horfe. 
 And yet they fay, he had a wit at will : 
 Running like the rundell of a blind horfe-mill. (fet 
 Could fweare an oath, could fome at mouth could 
 His words in fufhian, and could runne in debt, 
 Could skrew his face, could moralize a fable. 
 Yet nere read ^fop, fit at Duke Humfreys Table, 
 Could walke a turne in PauleSy could talke of Spaine, 
 Yet nere was there, and then come home againe. 
 Why this is courtly, and this he could doe, 
 Yea but Lampetra knew not how to woe. 
 Not wooe .-* why he could kiffe, and as they fmg 
 I'th ballad too, he could doe tother thing. 
 "A Pox thats true : But fhall I tell thee why 
 She told all out .-* he did fo fcuruily : 
 
 As 
 
A Satyr e. 65 
 
 " As at the very inftant when theyre talne, 
 Shee faid (poore foole) put vp thy pipe againe, 
 For fuch a Fidler is farre worfe then none, 
 That plaies on ftill, yet has no ftroake but one. 
 But prethee fay, what fhall Lampetra doe ? 
 (As other Courtiers) make a foolifh fhow 
 Of what they haue not : no, it is decreed, 
 Being boorifh bred, he muft with boores goe, feede 
 On huskes and hawes ; and that he may retaine 
 Some courtly garbe, his ruins to maintaine 
 Ith Country mufb this rufticke fwaine be plaft, 
 To purchafe pardons, when the iudgement's paft ; 
 Or he may finde a * Giant at S^ Bees 
 And with his fight get money if he pleafe. 
 
 * Vt in antiquijjimis Monumentis in Monajierio SainSi. Bees, ah 
 incLyto eo generojij}'. viro, Qui in hunc diem cuius opibus pre- 
 cipue Alahajireis verfatur, nuperrime compertus fuit ; et prope 
 Epijiomium in Fleetftreet, publice ojienfum, &c. 
 
 An 
 
66 
 
 An Embleme writte vnto a Gentleman, 
 who entreated the Author to dijlinguijh 
 
 twixt Rome and roome. 
 
 YOu mou'd me fir, next time I chanc't to come, 
 For to diftinguifh betwixt Rome and roome, 
 Which I haue done : and to the full I hope, 
 Rome being as farre from roome, as Peter Pope. 
 For wherefoere I am, wherefoere I come, 
 I muft haue roome, yet that I hope's not Rome. 
 So whenfoere I fee Saint Peters chaire, 
 I doe inferre, ^ Saint Peter has beene there. 
 But that Saint Peters heyre is now at Rome. 
 Though he be there. He fay it's not his roome. 
 Peter Romes piller, Cater piller he^ 
 Whofe roome I loue more then his company. 
 
 a For we read that in the fecond yeare of Claudius reigne. 
 Peter the Apoftle came to Rome, and there remained 30. 
 yeares after, yet fome diflent firom this opinion, &c. 
 
 En 
 
67 
 
 EN TRES EXCEL 
 
 lentifsimo Phantajlo Moriano 
 
 del Caftello, equiti tres illuftriffimo 
 feptentrionalL 
 
 Fades rare horned Dicke. 
 An Anagram included in the Satyre. 
 
 FAdes my rare horned Dicke ? 6, out a cry, 
 His homes bud out, and gall him greeuoufly, 
 What remedy ? faith patience : which appeares 
 In's wife, whofe patience, many burden beares. 
 Then he may learne of her : it's true, you fay, 
 And therefore plyes his hornebooke day by day. 
 
 F2 
 
 Ana- 
 
68 
 
 Anagramma. 
 How Riches freed' d adorne a gull ? 
 
 Epigram. 
 Wife is that Foole^ that hath his coffers full. 
 And Riches freed adorne the verieft Gull, 
 Yet but vncafe the Affe, and youfJiallfee, 
 An Affe isfiill an Affe, andfo is he. 
 
 An Epigram vpon the Anagram, Dedi- 
 cated to the Mirrour of true Excellency, his 
 much admired (though vnacquainted) friend, 
 Don MoRiANO DELL Castello, 
 To whom the Author wifhes many cheer- 
 full daies, delightfull nights with his 
 his late efpoufed Miftrejjfe, whofe 
 imparalelld Vertues hee hath 
 prefumed to illuftrate in 
 
 Thefe his impolijht (yet affe6lionate) Poems. 
 
 MOrios Augiftus thou great man of fenfe, 
 That art enftil'd with bell: of Excellence. 
 
 To 
 
To Phantajio Moriano. 69 
 
 To thee I write : yet doe I not know how, 
 T' expreffe thy worth, or with apparant fhow. 
 Of thy demerits blaze thee as thou fhould. 
 Yet know (braue northerne fpirit) that I would, 
 Doe full as much as any, if my Art 
 Were but of equall valew with my heart. 
 For thou art he amongft all other men. 
 That giues a fubie6l to the freeft pen. 
 And canft define true honour by degree, 
 Drawne from the beft, yet inftanced in thee. 
 Mount thee (refolued Heroe) that thy Fame, 
 May be a wreath to Morianos Name. 
 Shine bright, like Eos with his beamy face, 
 Whofe pretious Mantle, hmg'd with fome gold lacey 
 Made all the paffengers admire his worth, 
 Defcending from Heauens Court, to lighten earth. 
 I know thou canft doe this, for I haue feene 
 Euen in a place, where many more haue beene. 
 And haue obferu'd thee, galloping thy round. 
 Making low Congees, till thou kiffe the ground 
 With lip of thy humility, and then 
 Putting thy foote in ftirrop once againe. 
 Mounted thy barbed fteed, then with thy hand^ 
 Straking thy horfes creft to make him ftand. 
 Who proud on's burden, frolick'd in his ftay. 
 And with a neighing ftomacke trac'd the way. 
 Faire fall thee formall Gallant that haft force,. 
 To tame the courage of a head-ftrong horfe, 
 Difplaying refolution in thy eye 
 Courtfhip in cloths, in fpeech propriety. 
 
 F 3 In 
 
 i 
 
70 To Phantafto Mortano. 
 
 In gefture admiration, in thy looke 
 
 An Orbe of fafhions, or a Table-booke. 
 
 Of new-inuented features : in thy forme, 
 
 Such exquifite perfe6lions as adorne 
 
 Natures beft Mirror, O but that I doubt, 
 
 By fpeaking of thy worth, I Ihall be out. 
 
 I could epitomize each fpeciall thing, 
 
 Thy birth, thy worth, thy wooing, fonnetting. 
 
 Yet for thy loue-fake (whatfoere befall) 
 
 I will fpeake fomthing, though I fpeake not all. (net 
 
 Mongft which my Mu/e records that amorous fon- 
 
 VVhich who will not admire, that looks vpon it, 
 
 Writ to that faire Alicia now behight. 
 
 The chaft-vow'd wife vnto an honor'd Knight : 
 
 Where with loues paffions, thou fo well did fhow it, 
 
 That none could thinke thee leffer then a Poet. 
 
 Apt in thy words, in thy dimenfions rare. 
 
 Thy Figures proper, and thy motions faire. 
 
 Art could not fhow, or euer yet bring forth, 
 
 So farre fetcht ftraines inuented fo farre North. 
 
 Now of her Beauty wouldft thou Comment make. 
 
 And vow to take ftrange labours for her fake : 
 
 Then to induce her loue (by meanes moft fit) 
 
 Thou wouldft commend the promptnes of her wit, 
 
 Protefting by the aery powers aboue, 
 
 (As who ere lou'd would not protefb they loue .'*) 
 
 Noe fpeech ere Pallas fpake merits more praife, 
 
 Then what thy Miftreffe Dere Alicia faies. 
 
 Then wouldft thou defcant of her ruble lippe, 
 
 (Though thou had neuer lucke to tail of it.) 
 
 Then 
 
To Phantajlo Moriano. 71 
 
 Then of her pure complexion which did praife 
 It felfe, not as complexions now adaies. 
 Then of her louely quallities which might be 
 Styled the Eccoes of heauens harmonie. 
 Then of her vertues fo diuine, fo rare, 
 As they furpaft the reft aboue compare. 
 All this thou didft to fhew her eminence, 
 More grac't by thee being ftil'd his excellence. 
 And faire thy loue had ended as begun, 
 If that a Web had not thy loues web fpun. 
 Great Northerne Atlas, what can I fay more, 
 Then of thy merits hath been faid tofore. 
 At leaft obferu'd ? for many men doe fee. 
 And know it well I write but truth of thee. 
 O that times records fhould be fo portraide. 
 In leaues of braffe, that what was done or faid, 
 In auncient ages, fhould fo well difplay, 
 Their full euents, as done but t'other day. 
 Whileft thy renowme great mirrour of the North, 
 Showne in our time, wants one to fet it foorth, 
 " Whereas its no leffe glory to a Crowne, 
 
 To haue Authors then haue Aflors of renowne. 
 Yet fhall not vertue fo obfcured bee. 
 Nor thofe accomplifht parts appeare in thee. 
 Lie rak't in Afhes : No great Morios heire. 
 Thou fhalt not Hue as though there nothing were. 
 Worthy pofterity ; its I will write. 
 Though far vnfitting for fo great a light 
 My beft of thee, that art the beft of man, 
 " He does not ill that does the bejl he can. 
 
 F 4 Accept 
 
72 To Phantajlo Moriano. 
 
 Accept it needes thou muft, how er't be done, 
 
 Being thy Fathers God-fonne, thou his fonne. 
 
 But of all vertues that attend on thee, 
 
 There's none that equals thy humilitie. 
 
 Yet fo as thou art generous with all, 
 
 A ftile that does adorne thee moft of all. 
 
 Vnto thy humble fpirit annex't there is, 
 
 Another foueraigne vertue, Patience ; 
 
 Or the enduring of an iniurie : 
 
 Which of all others is obferu'd in thee. 
 
 Thou wilt not fnuffe if one corredl thee : no. 
 
 Nor hardly aske him why he wrong'd thee fo. 
 
 Thou wilt not anfwere to thine owne disgrace. 
 
 Nor taxe the man that turdefies thy face. 
 
 Thou wilt not grieue for euery light offence, 
 
 Feare is thy guides thy Jhield is Patience y 
 
 Thou like a chriftian walkes (God wot) in feare, 
 
 And being boxt will turne the other eare. 
 
 Thou art Gods man, and whatfoe're men fay, 
 
 He is the beft man at the later day. 
 
 Thou art no bluftring boy that walkes the ftreete. 
 
 And bindes a quarrell with who fere he meete. 
 
 Thou art no Haxtar that by nature's giuen. 
 
 To rage on Earth, but nere to raigne in Heauen. 
 
 In briefe, thou art the man that God will chufe^ 
 
 Wearing a blade for fafhion more then vfe. 
 
 Nor doe I flatter thee for ne're was I 
 
 Seruile to anie man : but if my eie 
 
 Impartiall in her knowledge feeme to fhow. 
 
 What by obferuance other men doe know, 
 
 And 
 
To Phantajio Moriano. 73 
 
 And haue admir'd, pardon I neede not craue, 
 
 Since I expreffe but what thy merits haue 
 
 Deferu'd : enough. Thy vertues are with beft, 
 
 And httle need they to be more expreft, 
 
 Then as they are ? Goe on (my honourd friend) 
 
 And as thou haft begun, fo fairely end. 
 
 Be Fame thy Herauld to blaze forth thy worth, 
 
 Making thee Morios, none fuch vpon earth. 
 
 Be as thou art, and more thou canft not be, 
 
 Since beft of being is included in thee. 
 
 Be thou as hee, to whom all may refort, 
 
 Mufes I meane, and coming thank thee for't. 
 
 Be thou as Ccefar in the Capitall, 
 
 So thou of Morios Caftell Centinell. 
 
 Be as thou art reported, great in wit. 
 
 And fo difcreet, as thou mai'ft mannage it. 
 
 Be as thou art, founder of iollitie, 
 
 Grauen in the gold-cup of our Langanbie. 
 
 Be as thou would'ft be, and I wifh no more. 
 
 So time fhall fecond what I write before. 
 But 'laffe poore Mufe haft thou no more to fpeake 
 Of fuch a fubie6l, (pray thee deare awake) 
 And memorife his name in euery page. 
 From this time forth vnto a following age. 
 No t what is my wit drawne drie .-* or I am tane 
 With fome amazement at a great mans name .^ 
 Why thou haft writ of men as great before. 
 
 And haft expreft their a6lions ore and ore. 
 Turn'th ore their beft of glory, and i'th end. 
 
 So won their hearts, as thou becamft their friend. 
 
 And 
 
74 To Phantajlo Moriano. 
 
 And art thou now growne filent ? cannot he 
 
 That merits beft, receiue like praife of thee ? 
 
 No, no : he cannot ; fo obfcur'de he Hues, 
 
 That though I write but truth, yet who belieues 
 
 A true relation, when we feeme to fhow 
 
 A man to men whom they doe hardly know ? 
 
 O then (redoubted fir) let me now end 
 
 This home-bred Sonnet (as a louing friend 
 
 That would perfwade) if you perfwad' would be 
 
 To fhew your felfe fomething more openlie 
 
 Vnto the world : O fee how men repine, 
 
 That you fo long conceal'd, fhould gull the time, 
 
 Hauing fuch parts, as much adorne your birth, 
 
 Yet has no willing mind to fet them forth. 
 
 What is a lewell worth if euer hid ? 
 
 Or whats a cafed Inftrument in ftead ? 
 
 The lufhre of the former is not feene, 
 
 Nor can we know by 'th latter what't does meane. 
 
 For Gemmes and inftruments are knowne by tutch. 
 
 And fuch as fhow them men, we know them fuch. 
 
 With like good will doe I prefent thee thefe. 
 
 As Mop/us (that poor fhepard) fent a cheefe 
 
 Vnto his Phillis : and it came to me 
 
 Once in my minde, to fend the like to thee : 
 
 But for I fear'd (and I haue caufe to feare) 
 
 That you had better cheefe then any here : 
 
 In fteed of bride-cakes, cheefecakes I was tide 
 
 In loue, to fend this prefent to your Bride. 
 
 All haile to Himen and this marriage day : 
 Strow rufhes, and quickly come away. 
 
 Bring 
 
To Phantajio Moriano, 75 
 
 Bring in your flowers, and giue of each of them 
 
 To fuch as lov'd, and are forfaken men : 
 
 For well I know fo louing is the Bride, 
 
 So curteous and fo liberall befide 
 
 Of her difcreete affe6lion, I dare fay 
 
 None muft depart vnfatisfied away. 
 
 Strew rufhes maides, and euer as you flrew, 
 
 Thinke one day maides, like will be done for you : 
 
 Strew you. He fmg, or if you like not choife : 
 
 Sing you, He ftrew : you haue the better voice. 
 
 Crowned be thou Queene of loue, 
 By thofe glorious powers aboue : 
 Loue and Bewtie ioyn'd together 
 May they col and kiffe each other, 
 And in midft of their delight, 
 Shew thee pleafure in the night. 
 For where a6ls of loue refort, 
 Longeft nights feeme too too fhort ; 
 May thou fleeping dreame of that. 
 Which thou waking doft partake. 
 That both fleepe and watching may 
 Make the darkeft night feeme day : 
 As a fort befieged reft, 
 Yeelding moft, when feeming left : 
 Or in pleafures may thy fmile 
 Burnifh like the Camomile, 
 Which in verdure is encreft 
 Moft, when it is moft deprefl. 
 
 Vertues 
 
76 To Phantajlo Mariano. 
 
 Vertues as they doe attend thee, 
 
 So may foueraigne thoughts defend thee. 
 
 A(5ling in thy loue with him, 
 
 Wedlocks a6lions are no fmne : 
 
 Who in Hymens bands is ioyned, 
 
 And in facred loue combined, 
 
 To remaine euer thine. 
 
 He thy Pi6lure thou his fhrine, 
 
 Thou the mettall he the mint, 
 
 Thou the waxe he the print, 
 
 He the Lant-horne, thou the lampe. 
 
 Thou the buUoine, he the ftampe. 
 
 Thou the figure he the feature ; 
 
 He thy former, thou his creature. 
 
 He the image, legge and limme, 
 
 Thou the mould to caft him in. 
 
 He the plummet thou the center, 
 
 Thou to fhelter he to enter ; 
 
 Thou the Parke or fhady vale, 
 
 " He the dogge that freth's the pale. 
 
 Hammer he to ftrike alone, 
 
 Anuile thou to beate vpon : 
 
 More I could, but more I will not, 
 
 Since to fpeake more much it skils not ; 
 
 Onely I will here extend 
 
 Th' period of my fpeech as friend ; 
 
 And expreffe what I proteft 
 
 Comes from th' center of my breft, 
 
 That my protefhations may 
 
 Beare record another day. 
 
 Id 
 
To Phantqfto Mariano, "]*] 
 
 Id Hy^nen crowne the night 
 Of thefe Nuptials with deHght. 
 
 No more, no more : much honour aie betide, 
 The lofty Bride-groome, and the louely Bride : 
 That their fucceeding dayes and yeeres may fay, 
 Each day appeares Hke to a mariage day. 
 
 But now retire, darke fhades haue lodg'd the fun, 
 Put vp thy pipes for now thy layes are done. 
 
 Finis Epithalami. 
 
 To the hopefull young Gentle- 
 
 man, and his experienced friend, 
 
 M^ Cheater. 
 
 Anagramm. 
 
 TEA CHER, 
 
 Teacher you are, for you haue taught me more^ 
 Then I was taught in all my life before. 
 
 A G R AT V L AT O RY E/>t^ram. 
 
 (write 
 
 TO thee (young youth) thefe youngling lines I 
 Stor'd with my beft of wifhes : may delight 
 
 Crowne 
 
78 To Phantafio Moriano, 
 
 Crowne that long-wifht for Nuptial bed of thine, 
 (Which fhould haue been) if Fate had granted mine 
 With many happy nights : Bleft be my fate, 
 Since what one friend has is communicate 
 Vnto an other, that my loue fhould end, 
 And ending, giue beginning to my friend. 
 But why fay I its ended ? fith by thee, 
 A three-loues fong beares defcant merily. 
 And thus it is : I lou'd her, where thou art, 
 Shee thee, thou mee ; three louers in one heart : 
 Shee thine, thou mine (if mine thou ftil'd may be) 
 Makes her in being thine, efpows'd to me. 
 
 An Embleme which the Author compo- 
 
 fed in honour of his Mi/iris, to whom 
 
 he re/is euer deuoted, 
 
 Allufiuely fhadowing her name in the 
 
 title of the Embleme, which 
 
 hee enftiles : 
 
 His Frankes Anatomic, 
 
 FRanke thy name doth promife much, 
 If thy nature were but fuch : 
 But alaffe what difference growe 
 'Twixt thofe two, I onely know .'* 
 
 I alaffe 
 
Frankes Anatomie, 79 
 
 I alas that to thy bewtie 
 
 Am deuoted in all dewtie ; 
 
 I that once inuented layes, 
 
 Singing them in Shepheards praife, 
 
 I that once from loue was free 
 
 Till I fell in loue with thee : 
 
 I that neuer yet began 
 
 Trade, to hold my miftris fan ; 
 
 I that neuer yet could knowe, 
 
 Whether loue was high or lowe : 
 
 I that neuer loued was, 
 
 Nor could court a looking-glaffe : 
 
 I that neuer knew loues lawe. 
 
 Nor lov'd longer then I fawe ; 
 
 I that knew not what's now common. 
 
 To throw fheep-eyes at a woman : 
 
 I that neuer yet could proue. 
 
 Or make fhew of heartie loue : 
 
 I that neuer broke my fleepe. 
 
 Nor did know what charms did keepe 
 
 Louers eyes : now can tell 
 
 What would pleafe a louer welL 
 
 Shall I tell thee ? yes I will. 
 
 And being tolde : or faue, or kill. 
 
 It would pleafe him, if he might 
 
 Euer liue in's Mifhris fight : 
 
 It would pleafe him t' haue the hap, 
 
 But to fleep in 's Miftris lap : 
 
 Or to haue his Miftris faire. 
 
 With her hand to ftroke his haire. 
 
 Or 
 
8o Frankes Anatomie. 
 
 Or to play at foot-S*. with him, 
 
 Or at barly-breake to breathe him ; 
 
 Or to walke a turne or two, 
 
 Or to kiffe, or coll, or woe ; 
 
 Or in fome retired Groue, 
 
 But to parly with his loue. 
 
 Or when none that's iealous fpies. 
 
 To looke babbies in his eyes : 
 
 Or when a6lion ginnes to fayle, 
 
 To fupply it with a tale. 
 
 Venus vnto Vulcane weddey 
 
 Yet came Mars to Vulcanes hedde : 
 
 He and fhe being both in one, 
 
 Whileft poore Vulcan lies alone ; 
 
 Or if this will not affoord 
 
 loy enough : obferue each bird 
 
 How fhe fmgles out her make 
 
 And to him does onely take. 
 
 See their billing each with other, 
 
 (Loue and dallying younc't together) 
 
 Mutuall loue inheres in either. 
 
 Being birds both of one feather ; 
 
 Or if this yeeld no content. 
 
 To refort vnto the plant. 
 
 Which being grafted skilfully. 
 
 Brings forth fruit aboundantly : 
 
 Deeper that the plant's we fee. 
 
 Sooner will it fruitfull be. 
 
 Which (my franke) in modefty, 
 
 Thus I will apply to thee. 
 
 Deeper 
 
Frankes Anatomie. 8 1 
 
 Deeper that thy loue is let, 
 More impreffion may it get : 
 Riper fruits then fuch as growe, 
 And are planted fcarce fo lowe : 
 If you aske me what I feeme, 
 By impreffion for to meane, 
 I will tell thee : fuch as thefe, 
 Impreffions onely women pleafe. 
 " Coine for ftampe fake we allowe : 
 So for ftampe fake do we you, 
 Weake's that Etiidence you know 
 That has neither feale to fhowe, 
 Stampe, impreffion : fuch (I ken) 
 Are you maydes, not ftampt by men 
 Weake, God wot, for why you take 
 Your perfe6lion from your make : 
 Then if thou defire to be 
 Perfe6l, haue recourf to me : 
 Or fome other that may giue, 
 What old Adam gaue to Eue, 
 'Laffe its nothing : pray thee take it. 
 Many wifh it that forfake it. 
 But when fhamefull dance is done. 
 They could wifh they had begun 
 Many yeeres before they learnt it, 
 (O how gladly would they earne it ?) 
 But too long, I feeme to ftay, 
 Ere thy beauty I difplay : 
 Spare me fweeteft for my Mufe, 
 Seldome makes fo faire a chufe. 
 
 G Chufe 
 
82 Frankes Anatomie, 
 
 Chufe it Loue what ere it bey 
 Reade thy owne Anatomie, 
 
 Pureft of Ophyr-gold, let me prepare 
 Firft for the choice defcription of thy hayre, 
 Which like the fineft thrids of purple feeme 
 Clere to out-ftrip thofe of the Paphian Quee^ie ; 
 Whofe tender treffes were fo neatly wrought, 
 As Cholcos fleece feem'd to be thither brought, 
 And fure it was, what ere fond Poets fay, 
 And this was th' fleece which lafon tooke away. 
 Delicious Amber is the breath which flowes I 
 
 From thofe perfumed conduits of thy nofe. 
 Thy fmile, a fnare, which tempts the way-ward boy 
 Adon the faire, and bids him leaue to ioy 
 In Forreft pleafures, there's a fruitleffe marke, 
 Hauing more ftore of game within thy parke. 
 Thy lippes (two gates) where loue makes entrie in, 
 And yet fo modeft as nere taxt of fmne : 
 Thy cheek, that rofle circlet of pure loue, 
 Refembling neereft that Cajlalian groue ; 
 Where fuch variety of flowers appeare 
 That nought feems good, which is not beter'd there. 
 Thy blufh (pure blufh) Embleme of Chaftitie 
 Blufhing, yet guiltleffe of ought done by thee 
 Portends a maidens honefb-fpotleffe heart, 
 Hauing thy blufli by nature not by Art. 
 Thy chin (that dimpled mount) which hath laft place 
 Yet giues no leffer bewty to thy face : 
 
 Then 
 
Frankes Anatomie. 83 
 
 Then th' greatefb ornament : for it doth fhow 
 Like to a pleafant Vale feated belowe 
 Some fteepy Mount : thy chriftall eyes the fount, 
 Thy chin the Vale, thy louely face the Mount. 
 
 is not then this feature, boue compare, 
 Where breath is perfume, and pure gold is hayre 
 Where fmiles are fnares, lippes gates of luorie, 
 Cheekes rofes, blufhes types of chaftitie : 
 Where chin a vale, the browe the mount, the face 
 That Soueraigne of the heart, that keeps loues place : 
 Where fhall I looke then, or how fhall I moue 
 Thefe eyes of mine and teach them not to loue ? 
 For if my eyes fhould but thy haire beholde, 
 
 1 mufb be forc't to loue for it is golde : 
 If thy delicious breath I chaunce to fip. 
 Being the rofie verdure of thy lip ; 
 
 I deeme my felfe in that fweet perfume bleft 
 
 Much more, in that, worfe breaths be in requefl : 
 
 If thou do fmile, I loue, and wifh the while, 
 
 That I might only Hue to fee thee fmile. 
 
 If thou do fpeake (pure Orator) I 'me dumb, 
 
 For why } thy admiration curbs my tongue. 
 
 If thou but blufh (as maydes are wont to doe) 
 
 My paffions are perplex'd, I wot not how, (pale, 
 
 'Twixt feare and loue : feare makes me wondrous 
 
 Fearing thy blufh came from fome wanton tale. 
 
 Too too immodeft fpoken by my felfe. 
 
 Which to affoyle He reprehend my felfe ; 
 
 If I but tutch, to tutch 's a veniall fm. 
 
 The pretty circle of thy dimpled chin : 
 
 G 2 I vowe 
 
84 Frankes Anatomie, 
 
 I vowe and in my vowe giues Bewtie thanks, 
 
 That chin was Venus, though it now be Franks. 
 
 Yet haue I not fpoke all that I doe fee ; 
 
 Or at leafb iudge in thy Anatomie : 
 
 For true Anatomifts being men of Art, 
 
 Know the exa6l defcription of each part. 
 
 Member and arterie : fo fhould my fight 
 
 Be in my Franke if I defcribe her right. 
 
 Which that I might reduce to fome full end, 
 
 Though there's no end in loue, I will defcend 
 
 To the diftin6l relation of the reft, 
 
 And in my Franks difcouery thinke me bleft. 
 
 Thy wajie, (without wafhe) like a curious frame, 
 
 Aptly proportion'd ftill referues the fame : 
 
 Or like fome well compofed Inftrument 
 
 Exa6l in forme, in accent excellent ; 
 
 So is thy wajiey and happy may he be. 
 
 That's borne to make it ftrike true harmony. 
 
 Thy belly (if conie6lures true may be) 
 
 For we muft gueffe at that we cannot fee. 
 
 Is like an orient Cordon pearled faire, 
 
 With diuerfe feats of Nature here and there. 
 
 Where glides a chriftall ftreameling to abate, 
 
 The heate of Nature oft infatiate. 
 
 Pardon me Deere : Nature ordained firft 
 
 That Fount of yours, to quench the place of thirfb. 
 
 Thy thigh (imagination now mufb doe) 
 
 For I muft fpeake, though well I know not how, 
 
 Like the laborious and the loaden Bee, 
 
 That haftens to her hiue melodioufly. 
 
 ■ Nor 
 
Frankes Anatomic, 85 
 
 Nor is her freight more lufcious (Deere) then thine, 
 
 For thine is full of pleafure, hers of Thyme : 
 
 Thy knee like to an orbe that turnes about, 
 
 Giuing free paffage to thy nimble foote, 
 
 Apt for each motion, a6liue in loues fphere, 
 
 Moouing her ioints to trip it euery where. 
 
 Thy legge (like Delias) neither bigge nor fmall. 
 
 But fo well fram'd and featured in all. 
 
 That Nature might feeme enuious to impart. 
 
 So great a good, and hide fo good a part. 
 
 Thy foote the curiouft module of the reft, 
 
 For Art and Nature there be both expreft : 
 
 Art in the motion, Nature in the frame, 
 
 Where a6lion works, and motion moues the fame. 
 
 Nor can I credite what our Poets fay, 
 
 Affirming Venus chanc't vpon a day 
 
 To pricke her foote, fo as from th' blood fhe fhed. 
 
 The damafke-rofe grew euer after red ; 
 
 For if from blood fuch ftrange efFe6ts fhould be, 
 
 Stanger (ere this) had been deriu'd from thee : 
 
 But Poets though they write, Painters portray, 
 
 It's in our choice to credit what they fay. 
 
 Yet credit me (for I would haue thee know it) 
 
 I neuer yet durft challenge name of Poet : 
 
 Onely thine owne I am and ftill will be, 
 
 For whom I writ this poore Anatomic. 
 
 G 3 Vpo7i 
 
86 
 
 Vpon his Mi/iris Nuptiall, 
 
 E N S T I L E D : 
 
 His Frankes Farewell, 
 
 (pray? 
 
 WHy whither Frankef to th' church? for what to 
 O no : to fay, what thou canft nere vnfay : 
 Alaffe poore Girle : I fee thy quondam, friend, 
 Hath caufe to fay his hopes are at an end : 
 How vainely then be our affe6lions plafte, 
 On women-kinde, that are fo feeming chafte, 
 And priuately fo forward -well-be gone, 
 (If ere I marry) I'le finde fuch an one, 
 As (in her modefty) will thinke't a difgrace 
 " Others to loue when I am out of place. 
 But I do thank thee Franke, th' haft taught me more, 
 Then I could learne in twice feauen yeere before ; 
 For I did thinke your fimple fexe did hate 
 By double dealing to equiuocate : 
 Where by experience now I finde it common. 
 That faft and loofe is vfuall with women. 
 Yet on thefe rites this line my loue Jhall tell, 
 Fare well or ill, I wijh my Vx^vik^ farewell. 
 
 An 
 
^7 
 
 An Epigramme called the 
 Wooer. 
 
 COme yee braue wooers of Penelope, 
 Doe not repine that you fliould croffed be : 
 For pregnant wits, and ripeft braines can fhow, 
 As much or more then euer you did know. 
 And that my ftorie better may appeare, 
 Attend to my difcourfe, and you fhall heare. 
 
 It chanc't vpon a time (and then was'th time) 
 When the thigh-fraughted Bee gathered her thyme, 
 Stored her platted Cell, her fragrant bower, (er 
 
 Crop't from each branch, each bloffom & each flow- 
 When'th pretty Lam-kin fcarce a fortnight old, 
 Skipped and froliked 'fore the neighbouring fold, 
 When'the cheerfull Robin, Larke, and Lenaret, 
 Tun'de vp their voices, and together met, 
 When'th fearefuU Hare to cheere her quaint delight. 
 Did make her felfe her owne Hermaphrodite, 
 When'th louely Turtle did her eies awake, 
 And with fwift flight follow'd her faithfull make. 
 When euery Beaft prepar'd her wonted den, 
 For her owne young, and fhade to couer them, 
 When Flora with her mantle tucked vp, 
 Gathred the dewie flow'rs, and them did put 
 In her embrodred skirts which were rancke fet. 
 With Prime-rofe, Cow-flip, and the violet. 
 The dill, the dafie, fweet-breath'd Eglantine, 
 The Crowfoote, panfie, and the Columbine, 
 
 G 4 The 
 
SS The Wooer, 
 
 The pinke, the plantaine, milfoile, euery one, 
 With Marigold that opens with the Sunne ; 
 Euen then it was, (ill may I fay it was) 
 When young Admetus woed a countrey laffe, 
 A countrie laffe whom he did woe indeede. 
 To be his Bride, but yet he could not fpeede. 
 Which forc't him grieue : heare but his caufe of woe, 
 And you'le not wonder why he fhould doe fo ? 
 
 Vertuous the maide was, and fo grac't by fate. 
 As fhe was wife, and did degenerate 
 From her weake-witted father : modefby 
 Lodg'd on her cheeke, and fhowd virginity 
 In a faire Rofie colour, which was fpread 
 By equall mixture both of white and red. 
 So as no white it feem'd, but Idas fnow. 
 No red, but fuch where Roses vfe to grow. 
 And though of Hero many one doe write, 
 Styling her foueraigne Goddeffe of delight, 
 So faire as fhe was taken for no other, 
 Of all that faw her, then Adonis mother. 
 So pure her skin, fo motiue to the eie. 
 As it did feeme compof'd of luorie. 
 So high and broad her front, fo fmoth, fo euen. 
 As it did feeme the Frontifpice of Heauen. 
 So purely mixt her cheekes, as it might feeme, 
 She was by nature made for natures Queene. 
 So pretty dinted was her dimpled chin, 
 As't feem'd a gate to let affe6lion in. 
 So fweete her breath, (as I haue hard them tell) 
 That like to Cafjia fhe did euer fmell. 
 
 So 
 
The Wooer. 89 
 
 So louely were thofe mounts of pure delight, 
 
 That Gods themfelues wer cheered with their fight : 
 
 So as great loue (for fo our Poets fay) 
 
 Fain'd himfelfe ficke for her vpon a day. 
 
 Wife jEfadapius he was fent forthwith, 
 
 Who felt loues pulfe, yet found no figne of death, 
 
 Or any great diftemper : (yet to pleafe loue 
 
 For he perceiu'd his malady was loue) 
 
 Said ; Sir, I'aue found your grief: what i'ft (quoth he ?) 
 
 A meere confumption, yet be rul'd by me; 
 
 And follow my dire6lions (though with paine) 
 
 And then no doubt you fhall be well againe. 
 
 Fiue mornes muft you to'Abidoes towne repaire. 
 
 And fuck pure milke from th' fair'ft virgin there. 
 
 loue hearing what he wifht, obey'd his heft ; 
 
 And war foone well by fucking Heroes breft. 
 
 Yet what was Hero, though the fair'ft that was 
 
 In all her time vnto Admetus laffe ? 
 
 Though Heroes beuty did allure all men, 
 
 The time is chang'd, now's now, and then was then. 
 
 Each milk-maide in fore time was thought a Queen, 
 
 So rare was perfe6l bewty to be feene. 
 
 But now, where is no Venus to be had } 
 
 Such ftore I wot there be, that euery lad 
 
 Can haue his trickfie laffe, which wantonlie. 
 
 Scarce crept from fhell, he dandles on his knee. 
 
 But to my ftorie of fuch royall parts 
 
 Was fhe compofed, that the very hearts 
 
 Of her attendants, as it did apeare. 
 
 Were fpouf'd to this pure virgin euery where, 
 
90 The Wooer. 
 
 With what refolued filence would her wit, 
 Oppofe her tongue, and feeme to bridle it ? 
 With what difcretion would fhe fpeake her minde. 
 And nere tranfgreffe thofe limits fhe affign'd. 
 But with that decencie of grace and fpeech, 
 As She might feeme the elder fort to teach. 
 " What a bleft fexe were woman if this fong 
 Were onely learnt them, for to hold their tongue, 
 And fpeake no more (O t'were a leffon good) 
 Then that were fit, and what they vnderftood ? 
 But when will that be taught them ! O (I feare) 
 Neuer ; for womens tongues be euery where. 
 So as at firft, if they had no tongue, 
 It may be thought they would not haue been dumb. 
 Such is th'ternall motion, that its fayd, 
 When women fpeechleffe lie they're neerly dead. 
 This virgin which Admetus fought to haue, 
 Befide her vertues, then which who could craue, 
 A better portion, had an ample dowre, 
 Which did enrich thofe gifts that were before 
 Expreffed and dilated, and to tell 
 The very trueth, fhe lou'd Admetus well. 
 And could haue brook't all others t'haue denide, 
 So that fhe might haue been Admetus bride. 
 But he a fhamefaft lad, though oft he fought 
 Her loue, yet durft not vtter what he thought. 
 Nor to her parents could impart his minde, 
 How he affe6led was, and how inclinde. 
 Yet ftill was he refpe6led, and in grace, 
 Nor any fought to put him out of place. 
 
 Nor 
 
The Wooer. 91 
 
 Nor to withdraw th'affection of the maid, 
 
 From that foundation where it once was laid 
 
 For three months fpace, hung it in this fufpence, 
 
 Neither conceald nor fhowne : till's Excellence^ 
 
 For fo was th'Title of a noble Squire, 
 
 Whofe liuing bordered in th'adioyning fhire, 
 
 By an intendment (as he thought vpon't) 
 
 Put poore Admetus nofe quite out of ioynt, 
 
 And thus it was : for I meane to repeat 
 
 By what deceit, what cunning flight and cheat, 
 
 He bobd this fimple Swaineling ; on a day. 
 
 When young Admetus had addreft his way 
 
 To Troinouant, where he occafion had, 
 
 " His Excellence in th'abfence of the ladde, 
 
 Acquaints another with Bellinaes loue, 
 
 (For fo her name was :) he more prompt to moue 
 
 Affeflion, then Admetus ere could be. 
 
 Wins me Bellinds fort couragioufly, 
 
 By new affaults, incurfions, and difplaid 
 
 His youngling Colours : when the breach was made. 
 
 O how methinks I fee th'young Souldier fweat. 
 
 Till he hath done, and perfe6led his feat. 
 
 How he affailes, affaults, afcends, inclines, 
 
 Inuades, inuirons, mines, vndermines, 
 
 VVhirn fhe like to a Fort oppreft doth lye, 
 
 Depriu'd all meanes of helpe, yet will not crye. 
 
 He like a ftout vi6lorious Hanniball, 
 
 Bidding her yeeld, or he will raze the wall. 
 
 She though made fubie6l to his conquering hand. 
 
 Like Carthage Queene flill at defiance ftands. 
 
 He 
 
92 The Wooer. 
 
 He (with the Spirit of a Mirmidon') 
 
 Makes her the Carpet which he lies vpon. 
 
 She (DeiajtiraASk^ will chufe death firft, 
 
 Ere fhe craue mercy, bids him doe his worfl. 
 
 He enters th'breach, and doth his fignall rere, 
 
 And leaues fome token that he has beene there : 
 
 She glories in her conqueft, and throwne downe, 
 
 Sales, I am low, yet am not ouercome. 
 
 He doth renew his battery, and fhands too't. 
 
 And fhe Vyrago-like, yeelds not a foote. 
 
 He takes more firmer grounding, yet is fhe 
 
 Still as fhe was, lower fhe cannot be. 
 
 He plants his Engines deeper, labours more, 
 
 Yet fhe protefts, its worfe then twas before. 
 
 He enters parlye, and fpeakes ore the wall, 
 
 But fhe (as fenceleffe) anfwers not at all. 
 
 He founds rerteat, and to his campe doth creepe. 
 
 Which makes her wake out of her pleafant fleepe. 
 
 Then in a fweete entwining doe they clippe, 
 
 And cull and kiffe, and from the rofie lippe 
 
 Of Hymeiis chafl: embraces doe they taft, 
 
 The fweets aboue, when lower ioyes be paft. 
 
 Heere is the fpell of fweet-charmd Morphus 
 
 Diffolu'd to nothing, by charmes amorous. 
 
 For though fnen (after Labour) rejl doe feeke^ 
 
 Loues eyes be openjlill, and cannot Jleepe. 
 
 ludge what Admetus thought when he did heare, 
 
 Of this report, foone whifpered in his eare, 
 
 How he did looke } how ftrange perplext he was, 
 
 Thus to bee cheated of his louely laffe ? 
 
 Pipe 
 
The Wooer. 93 
 
 Pipe could he not, his cheeks were growne fo thinne, 
 His pipe-bagge torne, no wind it could keepe in, 
 His cloue-ear'd curre lay hanging downe his head, 
 And for foure dayes, would taft no kind of bread. 
 His Flockes did pine (all went contrary way) 
 Heere lay Admetus, there his Sheep-crooke lay. 
 All wea-begane, thus liu'd the Shepheard long, 
 Till on a day infpired with a fong, 
 (For fo it feem'd) to others more then me, 
 Which thus he fung to maids inconftancy. 
 
 Foolifh I, why fhould I grieue, 
 To fuftaine what others feele ? 
 What fuppofe, fraile women leaue, 
 Thofe they lou'd, fhould I conceale 
 
 Comforts reft. 
 
 From my breft. 
 For a fickle, brittle woman, 
 
 Noe, Noe, Noe, 
 
 Let her goe. 
 Such as thefe be true to no man. 
 
 Long retired haft thou beene, 
 Sighing on thefe barren rocks. 
 Nor by fheepe nor fhepheard feene, 
 Now returne vnto thy flockes, 
 
 Shame away. 
 
 Doe not ftay, 
 
 With 
 
94 The Wooer, 
 
 With thefe mouing-louing woman, 
 
 They remoue 
 
 From their loue : 
 Such as thefe doe oft vndoe men. 
 
 Tender-tinder of Affe6lion, 
 
 If I harbour thee againe, 
 
 I will doe it by diredlion, 
 
 Of fome graue experienc't fwaine. 
 
 Nere will I, 
 
 Loue by th' eye, 
 But where iudgement firft hath tride. 
 
 If I Hue, 
 
 Ere to loue. 
 It is fhe, fhall be my bride. 
 
 When this retired Swaine had end'd his fong, 
 He feem'd as one that had forgot his wrong. 
 His Teres were dried vp, his willow wreath, 
 Throwne quite away, and he began to breath. 
 More cheerefull and more blith then ere he was. 
 Forgetting th' Name and Nature of his laffe, 
 So as no Swaine on all the plaine could be, 
 For any May-game readier then he : 
 Now would he tune his pipe vnto his Eare, 
 And play fo fweet, as ioyed the flocks to heare. 
 Yea I haue heard, (Nor thinke I Fame did lye) 
 So skilfull was this lad in Minftrelfie, 
 That when he plaid (one ftroke) which oft he would, 
 No Lajfe that heard him could her water hold. 
 
 And 
 
The Wooer, 95 
 
 And now becaufe I doe remember't well, 
 lie tell a tale which I haue heard him tell, 
 On winter-nights full oft vnto my Sire, 
 While I fat rofting of a Crab by th' fire. 
 
 A Man there was wK had liu'd a merry life, 
 Till in the end, he tooke him to a wife. 
 One that no image was (for fhe could fpeake) 
 A nd now and then her htifbands coftrell break. 
 So fierce fhe was and furious, as in fome 
 She was an arrant Deuill of her tongue. 
 This droice the poor e man to a difcontent. 
 And oft and many times did he repent 
 That ere he changed his former quiet flat e, 
 But las repejitance, then did come too late. 
 No cure he finds to heale this m,aladie, 
 But makes a vertue of 7ieceffity. 
 The common cure for care to euery m.an, 
 A potte of nappy Ale : where he began 
 To fortifie his braine 'gahift all fhoidd come, 
 ^Mongft which the clamor of his wiues loud tongue. 
 This habit graffed in him grew fo flrong, 
 " That when hee was from Ale, an houre feem'd long. 
 So well he lik'd tHprofeffion : on a Time, 
 Hauing ftaid long at pot, (for rule nor line 
 Limits no drunkard) eue^t from Morne to Night, 
 He hafted home apace, by the moone-light : 
 Where as he went, what phantajies were bred, 
 I doe not know, in his difiempered head. 
 
 But 
 
96 The Wooer. 
 
 But ajlrange Ghoji appeared (and fore' d himjiay) 
 With which perplexty he thus began to fay. 
 Good Spirit y if thou be, I need no charme, 
 For well I know, thou wilt not doe me harme, 
 And if the Deuill ; fure, me thoufhouldfl not hurt, 
 I wed'd thy fifter, and am plagued for' t. 
 The fpirit well-approuing what he f aid, 
 Diffolu'd to ayre, and quickly va^iifhed. 
 
 For Guido faith, fome fpirits walke on earth, 
 That cheered are, and much delight with mirth, 
 Such doe admire conceits and pregnant braynes ; 
 Others there are, which Melancholy chaines, 
 And keepes in low Subie6lion, thefe are they 
 Affe6l the balefuU night, frequent that way 
 That is obfcure, filent and intricate, 
 Darke charnell-houfes, where they keep their chat, 
 Of Tortures, Tragicke ends and Funeralls, 
 Which they folemnize for their Feftiualls. 
 Thus would Admetus paffe the winter-night, 
 Wherein he gaue fuch neighbours great delight, 
 As came to heare him : and fuch ftore he had. 
 Of quaint conceits, as there was not a ladde, 
 That of difcourfe had more variety. 
 Or could expreffe his mind more gracefully. 
 But lacke for forrow, how hee's fallen away, 
 That was fo trim a youth but tother day, 
 A meere Anatomy, but skin and bone, 
 One that it pitties me to looke vpon. 
 What fhould the caufe be, fure I cannot fay, 
 But his pale face, fome fickneffe doth bewray ? 
 
 " For 
 
The Wooer. 97 
 
 ' For as our thoughts are legible in our eye, 
 ' So doth our face our bodies griefe defcry. 
 Yet I perchance, by th' Sonnet which hee made, 
 May find the caufe for which he is difmaide 
 How ere it fall, it fhall be fung by me, 
 Now when I want Admetus company. 
 
 Admetus Sonnet. 
 
 NEighboicr Swaines and Swainelins heave nie^ 
 '^ Its Admetus bids you heare 
 Leaue your Pajiures, and come neere niee, 
 " Come away you need not fear e, 
 By my foide, as I affect yotc, 
 I haue nought that can infe5lyoit. 
 O then come, 
 Heare a tongue, 
 That in difcord keepes apart. 
 With a Woe-fur charged heart. 
 
 Nere was Szvaine on plaine more loued. 
 Or coidd doe more feats the^t I, 
 Yet one griefe hath now remoued. 
 All my whilome iollity. 
 All my Laies be quite forgotten, 
 Sheepe-hooke broken, pipe-bagge rotten, 
 O theji come, 
 Heare a tojigue. 
 That with flatteri7ig fpeech doth call. 
 To take long farewell of all. 
 
 H / am 
 
98 The Wooer, 
 
 I am not as once I was, 
 When YX\zd.firJl didfuite me, 
 Nor when that fame red-hair' d laffe. 
 Faire Bellina did inuite me, 
 
 To a Garden there to play. 
 
 Cull, kiffe, clip, and toy all day, 
 O then come, 
 Heare a tongue, 
 
 That in wooing termes was flowing, 
 
 But through Wo has fpoil'd his woing. 
 
 All I can or will dejire ye 
 Wheit my breath of life is f pent. 
 That in loue you would interre m,e, 
 (For it will my foule content,) 
 
 Neare vnto my Fathers hearfe, 
 
 And heflow fome comely verfe 
 On my Tombe, 
 Then m,y tongue 
 
 Shall throb out this lafl adeu, 
 
 Nere were triter fwaines then you, 
 
 A verfe Admetus? I will be the fwaine, 
 Though moft vnfit, to vndertake that paine, 
 Which in faire letters fhall engrauen be, 
 Ouer thy hearfe t'expreffe thy memory, 
 And thus it is : Heere is a Shepheard layd. 
 Who lou'd, was lou'd,yet liu'dand died a Maid. 
 Yet gainfl his will : pray then goodfpirits telly 
 Whether he mufl or no lead Apes in Hell 
 
 How 
 
99 
 
 How Fancie is a Phrenfie. 
 An Epigram, 
 
 ANd thou* Euenus whofe renowm's difperft, 
 About thofe fertile coafts which border thee, 
 Whofe well-tun'd Current runs fo pretily, 
 That Fame her felfe, nor fhall it be reuerft, 
 Ha's thus ena6led : that thy liquid breft 
 Should make my confort vp, for there appeares 
 Euen in thine eyes, continuing ftreames of teares. 
 
 Still may thy S tiding- fo or d, and fpacious courfe, 
 Wafh thofe adioyning vales encircle thee. 
 Which by thy meanes yeeld crops fo fruitfully, 
 That thy pure fand may be of Gaiiges force. 
 Golds pure Elixir : for thou haft remorfe. 
 And pitties my hard hap to loue a fwaine. 
 That hates my loue, and makes my fute in vaine. 
 
 Oft by thy Sliding Channell haue I ftood. 
 Bathing my felfe in teares, teares were the drinke, 
 That quench't my thirft, & whe thou feem'd to fmk, 
 Into fome hollow cauerne, ftreight my blood, 
 " (That little bloud I had) made thy courfe good. 
 
 * Jn Euenum Flumen lubrico pregredicus curfu, 
 
 L.ofG. H2 And 
 
lOO Fanjie is a Phrenjle. 
 
 And fmke into the Cefternes of mine eyes, 
 
 Filling thy ftreams with teares, thy banks with cries. 
 
 Streight fell I downe vpon thy floury fhore, 
 
 As if the fhore had beene my mifhris breft, 
 
 Where I a while conceau'd that fweetned reft, 
 
 As it expell'd the care I felt before, 
 
 Seeming to make my comforts fo much more, 
 
 Becaufe fo long delay'd ; but laffe the while. 
 
 My thoughts chekt me, I chekt my thoghts of guile. 
 
 For well I found, this was a goulden dreame. 
 Yet but a Dreame, that feem'd to reprefent, 
 Vnto mine eyes, that facred Continent, 
 Which fhadowes my content : but this has beene, 
 Euer moft true, Dreames are not as they feeme. 
 And if they were, I' me fure they mift in this. 
 Taking thy Banke for where my miftres is. 
 
 Oft did I cull, and clip, and kiffe, and doe, 
 God wot, full madly, for repofmg there, 
 I call'd the graffe, the treffes of her haire : 
 And bound it vp, yet well I knew not how. 
 Making a bracelet on't, which I would fhow 
 To euery Sheepheard, fo diftra6l'd was I, 
 And euery rurall Syluane that paft by. 
 
 All this thou faw, and thou did pitty me, 
 
 " For thy diftreaming teares explan'd no leffe. 
 
 Surcharged brefhs mufh needs their greefes expreffe, 
 
 Which 
 
Fanjie is a Phrenjte. loi 
 
 Which once expreft ; fuppreffed feeme to be : 
 " Teares unto griefe, yeeld foueraignft remedy. 
 For Teares doe filence greefe, but where appeares 
 Extent of griefe, their griefs doe fdence teares. 
 
 And fuch were mine : fometimes I could not weep, 
 
 But Hke one fence-leffe, laughed at my diftreffe, 
 
 Mixing a ftraine of Mirth with heauineffe, 
 
 Or as one caften in a deadly fleepe, 
 
 That neither fence nor faculty can keepe, 
 
 Euen fuch was I : but ftreight I chang'd my fong, 
 
 Making my ioyes fhort, but my forrowes long. 
 
 Her fancie was the phrenfie that furprifd 
 My idle brain with thefe diftra6led paffions, 
 Ten thoufand fhapes I had, ten thoufand fafhions, 
 Defpifmg, louing, loue where I defpifd'e, 
 Prifnig her moft, where I was loweft prif 'de. 
 Thus my afFe6lions to diftra6lions turn'd, 
 Made me mourne more then louer euer morn'd. 
 
 And Reafon too : for fome I had, my Friends, 
 
 (At leall they feem'd fo) which contemnd my griefe 
 
 Nor fought to yeeld my filly heart releefe, 
 
 With one poore comfort, but as diuers ends, 
 
 Occafion ftrange effe6ls ; fo Loue depends 
 
 (If I may call inconftant Friend/hip Loue,) 
 
 On Fortune heere below , not truth aboue. 
 
 Let mee vnrippe my forrowes, that my breft 
 
 H 3 May 
 
I02 Fanjie is a Pkrenjie, 
 
 May void fuch Scarabees, that vfe to fit 
 
 Vpon each vlcer : whofe contagious witte, 
 
 Is worfe then Hellebore, for they infeft 
 
 The purefh Manfion, louing euer left 
 
 Where they fhow moft Affe6lion, for their ftraine, 
 
 Is not for loue but profit, and their gaine. 
 
 Record them (fweet Euenus) for they hate, 
 Thy facred ftreams : wafh not their foyled fin 
 With thy pure Hquor : for the ^thiops skin, 
 Will be blacke ftill : the doome of enuious fate, 
 (Like Mammons heires) fits skouling ore their ftate : 
 Their Summer-Swallows flouri/h, they make one. 
 But if thy Jiate be blajied, they are gone. 
 
 And thou (Bleji Hymen) that confirmes the loue. 
 
 Of Mortall foules, with thy diuineft rites. 
 
 Knows whom I mean by, for they quench thy lights 
 
 By their abufe : but there's a power aboue, 
 
 Will dafh their gainefull tradings, and remoue, 
 
 Their Bartring from the earth, to th' depth of hell, 
 
 That teach in Marriage how to buy and fell. 
 
 Yet deere Euenus, I haue more to fpeake, 
 For I would haue thee carry me commends, 
 To fuch as be my true approoued friends, 
 (For fome I haue will neither bow nor breake) 
 Mid'ft my affli6lions : but by all meanes feeke 
 To re-infufe life in me : pray the tell 
 When by their houfe thou goejl, that I am well. 
 
 And 
 
Fanjie is a Phrenjie. 103 
 
 And if they aske thee how I brook this place 
 
 Where I'me retired to : fay, as louers vfe, 
 
 Pent from their loues, they cannot will, nor chufe, 
 
 But Hue an Hermits life, and in difgrace 
 
 Of beauty and her name, hath made his face 
 
 Like times annatomie (poore Sceleton) 
 
 An obie6l fit for Ruth to looke vpon. 
 
 Tell them the bookes I reade, be fuch as treate. 
 
 Of A madis de Gaid, and Pelmerm^ 
 
 Furious Orlando, and Gerilion, 
 
 Where I obferue each fafhion and each feate, 
 
 Of amorous humors, which in my conceipt, 
 
 Seeme to to rare, That they that were fo Jirong, 
 
 Should be fo mad, and I be tame fo long. 
 
 But prefently I recolle6l my fenfe, 
 
 And findes a reafon : queftionles I'me mad 
 
 But who cares for't, or markes it ? if I had 
 
 Land (like an elder brother) Eminence 
 
 Of fome Court-Comet, would haue prefidence, 
 
 Ouer my braine-pan : and would beg my wit, 
 
 Though neither he nor I could mannage it. 
 
 So though I loofe my wits I cannot loofe 
 
 My lands, they refb fecure ; where ? can you tell ? 
 
 Where ? yes, where not ? wil't pleafe thee buy, Tie fel : 
 
 What ? wit? I haue none; counfell? neither: houfe? 
 
 The arch of Heauen's my couer ; pray excufe 
 
 My Error, I am pore ; I'haue naught to fell 
 
 H4 But 
 
I04 Fanjie is a Phrenjle. 
 
 But teares and thofe I cannot part with well. 
 
 But (pray thee) fpare thy fpeech to fuch as be, 
 And euer were profeffed foes to loue, 
 And Bayne to marriage, for by them I proue 
 The depth of difcontent : they loue not me, 
 Nor doe I care for't : once I hope to fee, 
 Enuie without a fting, which ftill extends 
 Her hatefuU power vnto depraued ends. 
 
 Yet if thou chance to Aide by Enuies place, 
 (Which by this true difcription thou fhalt know) 
 Her Jiru6lures ruin'd are, a7id there doth grow, 
 A groue of fatall Elmes, wherein a maze. 
 Or labyrinth is fram'd: heere Entdes race, 
 Had their beginning, For there's yet to fee, 
 The very throne where Enuy vf'd to bee. 
 
 Tell that {proud minion) that ambitious dame, 
 Whofe meagre look and broad disfheaiceld lock, 
 Whofe dangling nofe, fJiap't like an apricock. 
 Makes her defert-leffe proud, that I doe blame 
 Her vniuft dealing, though I fcorne to name, 
 Th'uniuftneffe of it : yet this vowe i'le make, 
 I'le nere truft long-nos'd Female for her fake. 
 
 * Et tu quce minio nardoque fulges, extendens occulos altius 
 
 prouedos, dejijie ceptis. 
 
 Nqfutam dicam et fane dicerem, 
 Si iuxta nafum polleat ingenium. 
 
 Could 
 
Fanjie is a Phrenjie. 105 
 
 Could fhe (hard hearted fhe) for priuate gaine, 
 
 (Such lucring Mammonijls the heauens difpleafe,) 
 
 Sell both the loue and liking of her Niece, 
 
 And where loue fhewd her moft, there to refhraine, 
 
 Affection within bounds ? fweet ftreames complaine, 
 
 To hmo on't, I know Ihee'l pitty me 
 
 And grant my fuite — That Jhe may barrain be. 
 
 We haue too manie of that odious brood, 
 We neede no more : it is a fruitleffe fruit, 
 That fhames the Parents : — luno heare my fuit, 
 For it will doe both heauen and earth much good, 
 And be a caueat vnto woman-hood ; 
 " Rather in Marriage not to deale at all, 
 Then to Jet Marriage f acred rites at f ale. 
 
 Farewell {Euenus) I haue writ my minde, 
 
 Which I would haue thy ftreamelings to conuey 
 
 To Enuies houfe, by that frequented way. 
 
 Which as a Port or Hauen is afjign'd 
 
 To euery paffenger : Sweet breathing winde 
 
 Breath on thy failes, that when thou doeft complain, 
 
 Remembring me, thy teare-fwolne eies may raine. 
 
 And fru6lefie the earth : That time may Jhowe, 
 
 This did Euenus for her Poet doe. 
 
io6 
 
 Certaine Sele6l Epigrams, made 
 
 good by obferuance, experience, and 
 
 inllance : with an introdu6lion to Time, 
 
 including fundry conceipted paffages, 
 
 no leffe p leaf ant then 
 
 prefent 
 
 Ifs a mad world my M afters. 
 
 OAge what art thou made of? fure thou art, 
 Compof 'd of other mettall then thou wert, 
 Once was thy glory by thy vertues showen. 
 But now alas thy vertues are vnknowen. (day 
 
 For who fhould fhow worth but great men ? yet each 
 Shews by experience, None more ill then they, 
 Where Honour on a foote-cloth's wont to paffe, 
 Like Appians Land-Lord on his trapped Affe. 
 'Laffe I haue feen what I haue grieu'd to fee. 
 Honour with vertue nere keepe companie. 
 But if they doe {as fome obferuance make) 
 It's not for Confcience, but for fafhion fake. 
 
 O 
 
Epigrams, 107 
 
 O then how vaine is time, to fhowre down good, 
 On fuch as are but great, only by blood ; 
 Not true demerits which makes me contemne. 
 The idle paffions of phantafticke men. 
 Which think't fufficient to be great in fhate. 
 Without leaft vertue fit to imitate : 
 This makes me hence conclude : vice puts on honour : 
 " For vertue, there is none will looke vpon her. 
 
 / in 7ny time hauefeene an vpjlart Lord, 
 Raifed to fudden honour like a Gourd, 
 Whom in as f mall time I may chance to fee, 
 As lonah's gourd, fo withered he may be. 
 And what's the caufe ? becaufe its not demerit 
 Or true defcent, by which he doth inherit. 
 Such new ftolne honors : for then might his name 
 Freely fuch eftimation feeme to claime : 
 But an infinuating humour drawen, 
 " From that fame force of vice, that lothfome fpawne 
 Of all diftempered paffions, which can be 
 Mark't with no better name then flatterie. 
 And is this way to purchafe honour trewly ? 
 Can fuch a man be fayd to merit dewly ? 
 When hows'ere we admire him for his feate. 
 " It was not worth, but bafeneffe made him great. 
 O Time, how ftrangely art thou varied. 
 From what thou once appear'd ; how art thou led 
 By euery fafhion-monger that doth ftand 
 More on the egge-fying of his band 
 
 His 
 
1 08 Epigrams. 
 
 His peak't munchattoes, his Venetian hofe, 
 
 His Buskin-pace, how Gorgon-like he goes, 
 
 His crifpled haire, his fixing of his eye, 
 
 His cerufs-cheeke, and fuch efifemnacie : 
 
 " Then on tru-man-like Vertues : for its common, 
 
 Women are liker men, men liker women ; 
 
 Sith I no other difference can make, 
 
 'Twixt man and woman faue the outward fhape 
 
 Their mind's all one : nor doth their fhape appeare 
 
 Much different : fmce women th'breeches weare : 
 
 Which fafhion now to th'Countrey makes refort, 
 
 In imitation of their weare at Court ; 
 
 Where it is fayd to fhun the meanes of fmnen, 
 
 Came that vfe vp to weare their breekes of linnen ; 
 
 And can we fee this and not pittie it 
 
 When men that haue more complement then wit, 
 
 Shine in the eye of popular refpe6l, 
 
 And others of more worth droope in negle6l ? 
 
 We cannot : yet muft we admire them ftill, 
 
 (That worthleffe are) though't be againft our will. 
 
 What remedy ? He tell thee, though thou dare not, 
 
 But congy when thou meets them : laugh & fpare not 
 
 So't be in priuate, burft thy fides with laughter, 
 
 And whileft th'rt laughing, He come lafhing after : 
 
 Mean time (with filence) I would haue thee hear me, 
 
 That haue composed thefe Epigrams to cheere thee. 
 
 Take them how ere they be : if fowre in tafhe, 
 Reforme thy errors which are former paft : 
 If fweet, let th'relifh of my poems moue 
 That loue in thee, to thanke me for my loue : 
 
 To 
 
109 
 
 To the Precijian. 
 
 FOr the Precifian that dares hardly looke, 
 (Becaufe th'art pure forfooth) on any booke 
 Saue Homilies, and fuch as tend to th'good 
 Of thee, and of thy zealous brother-hood : 
 Know my Time-noting lines ayme not at thee, 
 For thou art too too curious for mee. 
 I will not taxe that man that's wont to flay 
 " His Cat for killing mife on th' Sabboth day : 
 No ; know my refolution it is thus, 
 I'de rather be thy foe then be thy pus : 
 And more fhould I gaine by 't : for I fee, 
 The daily fruits of thy fraternity. 
 Yea, I perceiue why thou my booke fhould fhun, 
 " Becaufe there's many faultes th' art guiltie on : 
 Therefore with-drawe by me thou art not call'd. 
 Yet do not winch (good iade) when thou art gall'd, 
 I to the better fort my lines difplay, 
 I pray thee then keep thou thy felfe away. 
 
 The 
 
no 
 
 The Church-Knight. 
 
 A Church-man was there on a time I reade, 
 Of great eftate his father being dead, 
 Which got, his Syrpe-cloth he difcarded quite, 
 Refoluing fully now to be a Knight : 
 Vp to the Court he goes with fpeede he can. 
 Where he encountred a North-britaine man, 
 With whom difcourfmg in his Euening walke, 
 He fpoke of Knights 'mongfh other idle talke. 
 How th' title it was worthie, and that he. 
 Could well endure entitled fo to be ; 
 For I do reade (quoth he) of fuch as thefe 
 Within the Ecclefiafticke hiftories : 
 What fame and honour they obtain'd by warre. 
 Which fir (belieue me made me come thus farre, 
 That I (if meanes or mony could obtaine it) 
 Might in refpe6l to my profeffion gaine it. 
 The Brittanne his profeffion did require : 
 A Curate once, quoth he, of Brecknocke-^vcQ, 
 Helde, I may fay to you, a learned man ; 
 But fmce my fathers death turn'd gentleman. 
 I ioy me in th'occafion ih'Brittan fayd, 
 (Doubt not fir Prieft) you fhall a Knight be made ; 
 And you deferue't : for though Knights common are 
 " Holy church-knights, fuch as you be, feeme rare, 
 To Long-lane goes the Curate to prouide, 
 An ancient fuite, and other things befide ; 
 
 As 
 
Epigrams. 1 1 1 
 
 As skarfe and rofes all of different colour, ler, 
 
 Which bought, at White-friers ftaires he takes a Scul- 
 
 Prepar'd with refolution all the fooner. 
 
 To gaine this priuiledge and Knightly honour ; 
 
 Which hauing got by long petitioning fuite. 
 
 And pai'd vnto the Brittain his firft fruit, (grieue him 
 
 To's Neighbors ftreight he hies, where they much 
 
 " For, fwearing he's a knight, they'le not belieue him 
 
 Nor would they (fuch incredulous men were thefe) 
 
 Till he had fhowen difcharge for all his fees. 
 
 An Epigramme alluding to the 
 
 fecond Satyre of Ariojio, where he 
 
 taxeth the Clergies pride and 
 
 Ambition, 
 
 THe Church-mens do6lrine is humility, (they, 
 Yet but obferue them, who more proude then 
 VVhofe Damaske caffockes fhew their vanitie. 
 How fhould we then beleeue them what they fay, 
 " Since what they taxe vs in, themfelues bewray : 
 Its too too true : fo that oft-times the Temple, 
 (Though th' houfe of God, giues lay-men worft ex- 
 
 (ample. 
 
 Crucem 
 
112 Epigrams. 
 
 Crucem & coniugem vno petimus fato, 
 Hanging and marrying goe by deftinie. 
 
 It is an axiome in Philofophie, 
 " Hanging and marrying goe by dejlinie ; 
 Both reference haue vnto the doome of fate, 
 Both doe our birth and nature calculate : 
 Nor can we fay thefe two be different far, 
 Sith both haue influence from one ominous ftar, 
 Which bodes our happineffe or our mifchance 
 According to the ftarres predominance ; 
 This made Anninus Cartkage-^vlQr fay 
 " That with a wife he could not well away : 
 For being askt why he with others fhare not. 
 Good fortune in good wiues (quoth he) I dare not, 
 For if I chance to light on one that's wife, 
 " She will be wilfuU, felfe-lov'd, or precife, 
 " If wealthy, wanton, vowing to her friend, 
 " I fhall be Cocold ere a fortnight end : 
 " If poore then peeuifh, of condition fhrewde : 
 " If bewtifull fhe will be monftrous proude ; 
 " And if deformed, lothfome is fhe then, 
 "And th'leaft of thefe would kill a thoufand men. 
 
 But now fuppofe, I could no longer tarrie, 
 But that I might doe either worfe or marrie, 
 And that I fought a wife to fit my turne, 
 (For better tis to marrie then to burne) (riage) 
 
 Though many (they may thank their own good car- 
 Are all afire the firft day of their marriage : 
 
 Why 
 
Epigrams, 113 
 
 Why then as my pofition was at firft, 
 This marriage-day is either beft or worft 
 I ere was maifter of: for if my wife 
 Be loyall as fhe ought, then is my life 
 Made double bleft in her, where I may fay, 
 " Each day lookes cheerefull like a mariage-day. 
 But if felfe-will'd vntamed, head-fhrong, froward, 
 Immodeft, indifcreete, peeuifh, vntoward : 
 Why then through th'fury of her in-bred malice, 
 In climing to her bed, I clime to th' gallowes. 
 Where euery word that doth proceed from her 
 Strangles me like an Executioner ; 
 Her humour is my neck-verfe, which to fort 
 I cannot, if I fhould be hanged for't. 
 Her tongue's my torture, and her frisking taile, 
 Flies vp and downe like to a wind mills faile, 
 Her hands like Fullers wheels, one vp, one downe. 
 Which ftill lie mailing on my coftrell crowne : 
 Which ere I would endure to take her banging, 
 I would goe round to worke and take a hanging : 
 Since therefore Fate hath doomed this to thee, 
 Hanging or wiuing patient thou muji be. 
 
 An 
 
114 
 
 An Epigramme called the 
 Cambrian Alchymiji, 
 
 THe Planet-ftroken Albumazar, 
 Shaues the Mufes like a razor ; 
 Fayry-like we therefore fhun them, 
 Caufe there is no haire vpon them, 
 Mufes loofe their ornament, 
 Cambria has their excrement. 
 
 Excrement ? it's true indeede, 
 Haire growes from th'exceffe of feede. 
 Which by inftance fmall doth varie 
 From th'peere-leffe Seminarie ; 
 Which to make her worth allow'd, 
 Shrowdes her proie6l in a clowde. 
 
 In a Clowde ? its rather fhowne, 
 like the man that's in the Moone, 
 Where our lies Ardelio, 
 Defcants of Tom Trinkillo ; 
 
 Form'd 
 
Epigrams, 115 
 
 Form'd like one that's all in mift, 
 Like a fecond Alchymijl. 
 
 Strange the Proie6l was I wifh 
 Of this Metamorphofis ; 
 Nought was (if I vnderftood) 
 Good, but that it was deem'd good 
 By the great : 6 worthy feate, 
 To be worthleffe deemed great. 
 
 Vpon diuine Rofclus. 
 
 TWo famous Rofcids chanc't I to efpie, 
 A6ling a Metamorphofis, while I 
 Sleepe vnder th'couert of a fhady wood. 
 Where great Archyas for the vmpire flood, 
 Who did their feuerall a6lions thus define, 
 " Art-full the one, the other moft diuine. 
 
 I 2 Vpon 
 
ii6 
 
 Epigrams. 
 
 Vpon Rofcius Hackney, in a Dialogue 
 
 betwixt Expedition, & Endimion. 
 
 (Jleeps, 
 Exped. '\ \ J Hy-ho, Endimion ; how tli Dormoufe 
 
 V V Awake for Jhame^ open thy wink a-peeps! 
 Endim. What Jiur y oil make, I come with f peed I can 
 
 (and too much f peed) for I haue tyr'd my man; 
 Exped. Who, Dulman ? 
 Endim. Yes. 
 Exped. / thought the lade would fhame vs, 
 
 And play vs one horfe-tricke for Ignoramus. 
 
 Vpon Tare ON the Countrey 
 
 Gentleman. 
 
 TArbon they fay is mellancholly growne, 
 Becaufe his wife takes phificke in the towne : 
 Why, that's no caufe ; who would not hazard faire 
 To leaue both land and name vnto his heire ? 
 Yea, but he doubts, (fo iealous is the man) 
 That th'phyficke workes not but Phyfitian. 
 Which if he finde, he fweares he meanes to call, 
 The child not Tarbon but young Vrinall. 
 
 O 
 
Epigrammes. 117 
 
 O monftrous, by this thou'ft truly fhowe, 
 Thy wife a punke, thou needs not call her fo : 
 Which with thy fowre eyes Talbon if thou finde, 
 He neuer truft face, confcience, nor kinde. 
 
 An Epigram called the Court- 
 Attourney, 
 
 WHo's yon, young Stephana ? why fure you ieft, 
 You gallants ride with 4 coach-horfe at leaft ; 
 Befides there is euen in his very eye, 
 A kinde of Court-like formall maieftie : 
 Its true ; yet it is he : for you muft know, 
 Young Stephana is turn'd a Courtier now 
 Which makes him complete, and whers'ere he goe, 
 He has his ducke, or its not worth a ftrawe : 
 But I do doubt, nor be my doubts in vaine, 
 The Courtier muft Atturney turne againe. 
 And then he muft be ftript of euery ragge, 
 And fall againe vnto his buckram-bagge : 
 If this befall, I fhall be forry fort, 
 Sith lahn ajlyles gets but fmall grace at Court. 
 
 I 3 An 
 
ii8 
 
 An Epigramme called the 
 Winde-falL 
 
 Sir Senfuall (a wanton Prieft) there was 
 Who made appointment with a Countrie laffe, 
 That 'gainft the time from market fhe'ft returne, 
 He would keepe tutch and doe her a good turne. 
 The place where thefe two louely mates fhould meet 
 Was a vaft forrefh vnfrequent'd with feete 
 of any paffenger, faue fuch as were 
 Keepers of th'wood, 'mongft which a Forrefter, 
 Vpon occafion chaunc't to come that way, 
 And heard eue-dropper-like what they did fay, 
 Their place of meeting, with the maides confent 
 Which he refolv'd as quickly to preuent. 
 And being vnder fhade fecurely fconft. 
 Which place he had ele6led for the nonft. 
 He ftaies to fee th'returne of this fame Laffe, 
 (which as fhe wifh't) did quickly come to paffe : 
 For Maids that know not what tis to confent 
 To a loft Maiden-head, nor what is meant 
 by giuing of a greene gowne, fooner will 
 Affent to ill, becaufe they know no ill, 
 
 Then 
 
Epigrams, 119 
 
 Then fuch as haue of a6liue pleafures ftore, 
 For well were they experienft in't before. 
 Yea fuch will neuer deale vnleffe they fmell, 
 Some hope of gaine, or like the trader well. 
 At laft the maide hauing her market made, 
 (Perhaps far fooner then her Parents bade) 
 With clothes tuckt vp returnes with fpeedy pace, 
 Downe by the Forreji to'th appointed place. 
 Where' th Prieft Sir fe7tfuall lay all this while, 
 That he the Maid might of her gem beguile. 
 If you had feene what meeting there was then. 
 Betwixt thefe two, you would haue vou'd no men 
 Of any ranke or order were fo good. 
 As Church-profeffors vnto woman-hood. 
 So humble was the prelate, as to pleafe. 
 The fhamefaft maid, he oft fell on his knees. 
 While mumbling /^/^r nojlers on her lips, 
 Down fell his breeches from his naked hips. 
 And all this while poore foule fhe ftood ftock ftill, 
 Not thinking (on my confcience) good or ill. 
 At laft the iolly Prieft (when all was fhowne. 
 That he could fhow) wil'd th'maid to lay her down, 
 Vpon a fhadie banke, which with all forts, 
 Of flowres was checkerd fit for Venus fports. 
 She (though fhe were refolu'd no ill could be 
 By lying downe, yet in her modefty) 
 Would not vnto his motion fo affent. 
 Yet let him blow her downe fhe was content. 
 The fhort-breath'd Prieft (for he was wondrous fat) 
 And ftuff'd withall, makes me no bones of that, 
 
 I 4 But 
 
I20 Epigrammes. 
 
 But j^olus-\-(k& puf 's vp his cheeks well growne, 
 And he no fooner blows then fhe was downe. 
 The Forrejler who all this time had fhood, 
 Vnder a fhadie couert of the wood, 
 Steps in, when'th Prieft his fhriuing fhould begin. 
 Saying all wind-falls they are due to him. 
 Manie fuch Priefts auncient records doe fhow, 
 And prefent times may fhow as many now. 
 
 Another Epigram called, A Cuckold 
 
 with a witnejfe. 
 
 AWilie wench there was (as I haue read) 
 Who vf'd to capricorne her husbands head, 
 Which he fufpe6ling, lay in priuate wait. 
 To catch the knaue, and keep his wife more ftrait 
 But all in vaine : they day by day did mate it. 
 Yet could his foure eies neuer take them at it. 
 This fubtile wench perceiuing how they fhould 
 At laft preuented be, doe all they could : 
 For now Italian-like her husband grew, 
 Horne-mad I wifh, and kept her in a Mew. 
 Inuent'd a trick, which to accomplifh better, 
 Vnto her friend fhe clofely fent a letter. 
 And thus it was ; Friend you fhall know by me, 
 My husband keepes me far more narrowlie, 
 Then he was wont, fo as to tell you true, 
 You cannot come to me ; nor I to you. 
 
 Yet 
 
 d 
 
Epigrammes. 121 
 
 Yet fpite of his eies and as many more, 
 
 VVele vfe thofe pleafures which we vfd before : 
 
 Onely be wife, and fecond what I wifh : 
 
 Which to expreffe (my friend) know this it is. 
 
 My husband as he hates the home to weare, 
 
 Of all the Badges forth, fo feares he'th Beare, 
 
 More then all other Beafts which doe frequent 
 
 The heathy Forrejis fpacious continent. 
 
 If thou wilt right me then, and pepper him, 
 
 Couer thy feruant in a falfe Beares skin. 
 
 And come to morrow, as thou vfd before. 
 
 Tying thy feruant to my chamber dore. 
 
 After this quaint dire6lion he attirde 
 
 His man in beare-skin as fhe had defir'de 
 
 Entring the chamber he receiued is 
 
 With many a fmile, back-fall, and fweetned kiffe : 
 
 For they'r fecure, of all that was before, 
 
 Hauing a Beare that kept the Buffe/r^;/^ dore. 
 
 The wittall foole no fooner inckling had. 
 
 Then vp the ftaiers he ran as he were mad. 
 
 But feeing none but th' Beare to entertaine him. 
 
 Of Homes he neuer after did complaine him. 
 
 In 
 
122 
 
 In Romanum Mnejlorem, 
 
 IT chanc't two Romane Conuerts on a day, 
 Y ox pater nojler 2X the Cards to play ; 
 She mop'd, he pop'd : his popping could not get her, 
 " For fhe thought popping elfewher had been fitter. 
 Thus he went home no wifer then he came, 
 Sith popping was the Puppies chiefeft game. 
 
 In Poetam Hippodramum. 
 OR 
 
 Pojl-riding Poet, 
 
 IT tooke a Poet once I'th head to poaft. 
 For what I know not, but I'me fure it coft 
 His purfe far more (as I haue heard foms fay) 
 Then ere his Mufe was able to repay. 
 
 In Numularium antiphylon. 
 
 CAfh-coin'd } its true ; but he intends to be 
 The ftamper of that Coine is due to me. 
 Pray thee (my friend) forbeare to fet it on, 
 (My ftampe I meane) till I haue throughly done : 
 And I proteft to thee, when I haue ended, 
 rie yeeld to thee, if fhe fay thou canfl mend it. 
 
 hi 
 
123 
 
 In Romanum Sacerdotem, 
 
 ARomane Priell came to abfolue a Virgin by the way, 
 As he in his Proceffion went : where hee refolu'd to flay 
 A night. For what ? not to abfolue the tender Virgins fmne, 
 But as a Ghoflly Fathers wont, to let more errors in : 
 The doore was fhut,the candle out, for I would haue you mark, 
 A camall Father beft abfolues a Virgin in the darke : 
 Which abfolution fo increafd, in zeale and purity. 
 As within fixe and forty weekes it grew a Tympany, 
 A girle forfooth, baptized loan, nor is it any fhame. 
 For W wench in time may proue Pope loan thefecond of that name. 
 
 In PhylcBtum, 
 
 PHylcetus writing loue-lines on a day, 
 A Ratte came in and ftole his lines away. 
 Phyletiis flept on ftill, and minded not 
 While th'hungry Ratte eat vp the lines he wrote ; 
 If I were to be ludge, as much may be, 
 The Rat fhould be in loue, Phyletus free. 
 That feeing th'faucy Rat to loue enthrall'd, 
 Loue-bayne heereafter might be Rats-baine call'd. 
 
 An 
 
124 
 
 An Epigram called the 
 
 Courtier, 
 
 NOW heauen preferue mine eyefight what is here? 
 A man made vp in Wainfcot ? now I fweare, 
 I tooke him for fome Coloffe ; fure I erre, 
 This is not he : yes : this's the Courtier, 
 Braue Pun-tevallo, for thofe armes he beares, 
 (An Affe-head rampant) and that chaine he weares, 
 By bleft Saint Martin^ doe defcry it's he, 
 Well, ile obferue his carriage narrowly. 
 What makes him go fo ftiffe, has he the gout ? 
 No, but a fire in's hams that went not out 
 Thefe feuen yeares to my knowledge : then it has 
 Begun (it feems bout time) when th'glaffe-work was. 
 Its true, it did fo, I haue heard fome fay, 
 He has a pleafant wit, he has one way 
 A pretty thriuing wit, can make a legge, 
 And harken out what office he may begge. 
 Can looke as big and burly on fuch men, 
 (Poore Gnats) that come for to petition him, 
 As Giants in a Pagent, can proteft, 
 For meere formality, laugh at a ieft, 
 (Without conceiuing ont) has witte enough. 
 To put good clofe on, beare his face in's ruffis. 
 
 Like 
 
The Courtier, 125 
 
 Like a braue fprightly Spaniard, will not let, 
 
 With fome new minted oaths to pay his debt, 
 
 And can difpenfe with them, nor does he more. 
 
 In this, then what his Elders did before. 
 
 With truth (in complement) he feldome meetes, 
 
 .For naked truth with Eue lies without fheetes. 
 
 And he endures not that, nor can incline, 
 
 To fuch a motion, but in progreffe time. 
 
 He cannot blulh (no more can women now) 
 
 Till that their pretie painter tell them how. 
 
 He ha's a kind of vaine in fonnetting, 
 
 Purchaft by brocage or by pilfering. 
 
 With which he wooes his miftreffe, he will fet. 
 
 His face to any fafhion, and will bett. 
 
 Wagers on Ladies honours : hauing forgotten 
 
 What he fhould fpeake, hee's fingering his button. 
 
 Or fome fuch trifling a6lion, till he ftore 
 
 himfelfe with wit, which he had loft before : 
 
 Nor did that Morall erre, who wifely would, 
 
 Compare a Courtiers witte to th'Marigold. 
 
 It opens with the Sunne, but beeing fet 
 
 The Mari-gold fhuts vp, fo doth his witte. 
 
 The Marigold's mofh cheer'd by mid-day funne, 
 
 So's he, whence i'ft, he lies in bed till noone. ^ 
 
 Occafion is his Cupid, luft his lure, 
 
 Pleafure his Pander, dalliance his whoore, 
 
 He h'as but one receipt of making loue. 
 
 And being put out, he cannot fpeake, nor moue, 
 
 But like a liue-leffe image, feemes to be. 
 
 Till by good hap his fpeech recouered be. 
 
 He 
 
126 The Courtier, 
 
 He fmells of Complement, in prefence faire, 
 
 And vfes oft to weare bracelets of haire, 
 
 Swearing they came from fuch, but tis not fo, 
 
 For t'was fome tyre-woman he tooke them fro. 
 
 The Ornaments which he admires are thefe, 
 
 To faune, to obferue times, to court, to pleafe. 
 
 To make ftrange faces, fleeke his prefum'd skin, 
 
 Starch his Mouchatoes, and forget his fmne. 
 
 To dance, to dice, to congie, to falute. 
 
 To ftamp, to ftalke, to finger well a lute. 
 
 To tremble at a Cannon when it fhootes. 
 
 To like, diflike, and fill his head with doubts. 
 
 To be in paffion, wind his careleffe armes. 
 
 To plie his Miftreffe with delightfuU charmes. 
 
 To be for all, yet ignorant in all, 
 
 To be difguifd, and ftrange fantafticall : 
 
 Briefly to be, what all his kind haue beene, 
 
 Seeme what they be not, be what leaji they feeme. 
 
 Such is my Puntauallo, and in time 
 
 No quefhion but heel prooue true Pantomime, 
 
 To imitate all formes, fhapes, habits, tyres 
 
 Suting the Court, and forting his defires. 
 
 And then what th'Satyre faid, fhall well appeare : 
 
 The Deuill is the perfe6ls Courtier. 
 Hauing my complete Courtier thus defin'd, 
 I haue no more that I can call to minde, 
 " Saue what is common, and is knowne to all, 
 " That Cotirtiers as the tide doe rife and f ally 
 So I will end with what I haue writ before, 
 " Till the'next tide come, and then I wil write more. 
 
 Vpon 
 
127 
 
 Vpon his much honoured friend 
 
 Mailer JVilliam A /cam, and his 
 
 fele6led Temple. 
 
 Whofe Anagram is produced by the Poet. 
 
 William A/cam. 
 -Sum Via Luci 
 
 -Alma. 
 
 Hoc Anagramma tenes Gulielmi) — Sum via Luci 
 Alma, per cethereos qua iuuat ire locos. 
 
 QucB via ? virtulis via lafiea, quce tibi nota ejl : 
 Nee minor Exemplis Gloj^ia parta luis. 
 
 A 
 
 Epigram. 
 
 In Templo, Venerem Spe6let 
 Qui am,at Venerem. 
 
 Ske him what Temple moft delighteth him, 
 And hee'l replye, that Temple thou art in. 
 
 Nee Venus eji qucB nomen habet veneris, fed Arnica 
 Cafta decs. Arcadice, Delia nomen habet, &=€. 
 
 Looke 
 
128 The Courtier. 
 
 Aske him what Praiers fhould in that Temple be, 
 And he'le replie, what prayers beft liketh thee. 
 Aske him what Temple yeelds him moft content, 
 And he'le reply thy Temple^ ther's his Saynt. 
 Aske him what Temple'^ purer then aboue. 
 He'le fay thy Temple: there's the Queene oi Loue ; 
 Then let me aske your iudgement is't not fit. 
 That Temple honour him^ that honours it f 
 
 Pojles vpon bracelets. 
 
 As loue giues life to euery part. 
 So this giues life vnto my hart : 
 This chaftly lies, and Hues with me, 
 O that I might doe fo with thee ? 
 
 Another. 
 How might I triumph in my bliffe ; 
 If loue were where my Bracelet is. 
 For then fhould loue do no fuch harm 
 To wring my heart, but wreath my arme. 
 
 An 
 
129 
 
 An Eglogue betweene 
 
 Billie and lockie called 
 
 the Mufhrome. 
 
 lockie. 
 
 WHo7i BlUIe whon, what f aire has thou bin at P 
 Thoufe befo trim, I mickle to7^ke7i at : 
 For wele I wate, lajl time I met with thee^ 
 Thou hardly had a lapp tofwedle thee. 
 Pray thee {good Bille,) tell me /with andfoone, 
 lockie 7nay doe what Billy late has done. 
 Billie. What lockie {lither lurden) leffe for wea, 
 Thoujl be fo tattert, but there s many fea, 
 That ill can wappe it : but be vif'd by mee, 
 And thou or lang fall gliJJt in brauery. 
 Swatt on thy tayle man, heeres a bly thy place, 
 And He enfure thee how I gat this grace. 
 
 * Ecioge apud Lucianum extat quce hocticulo plane infcrihitur, Mi- 
 rica nimrium, quam Fungum ejje exijUmOy intempejiiue orientem 
 arentemque, &c. Eo nomine Romanos Sahini appellauere, Gal- 
 los Romani, Tufcos Itali, injimo nempe genere, & ignota gente 
 orta, Jubitoque prouectos, &'c. 
 
 K lockie 
 
 ( 
 
130 The Mujhrome. 
 
 lockie. Mickle may Bille thriue, as hees begun, 
 
 My lugges are lit king, Bille now iogge on. 
 
 Billy. Then heare me locky. Bout mid-belten twas 
 
 Or Ife bethought awrang, when I mujl pajfe, 
 
 Ore th Breamy bourne, and (wele I traw) I had, 
 
 Smaw gere (at tat tide) but a lether-bagge, 
 
 A Motley iacket, an a flop of blew, 
 
 It was my Fadders, I mun tell thee ti'ue. 
 
 A lang youd I, {and langer then thoule/ay) 
 
 And wele, I knew not whether, ne what way, 
 
 FzUe-fare I was, for BiWq Jhoon had neane, 
 
 But an aud pare with him, and they were gane. 
 
 Nor hofe-legs {wele I wate) but skoggers aud. 
 
 That hardly haft poore Billes legs fra caud. 
 
 Hate was my weafin, empty was my maw, 
 
 And nane I met with, I could ken or knaw. 
 
 So vncath was the gete {as butforfhame) 
 
 I had com'd backe toth place fra whein I came, 
 
 For filer had I skant, nor leffe nor mare. 
 
 Then three Bawbees, He tell thee all myftare. 
 
 But lith me locky {after many a mile) 
 
 At la/l I hapt to light vpon an He, 
 
 Bu Come and full a gere, and full aftore, 
 
 For Bille neuer met with like before, 
 
 Sae Greathy was the place where I was driuen 
 
 That I meficker thought I was in Heauen. 
 
 But 
 
The Mujhrome. 131 
 
 But wele If e Jure they that this Hand kept^ 
 
 Were by our Whilome Fathers Angels clept. 
 
 And wele they might be/o, for wele I wate^ 
 
 They were fine men, and men of mickle flate , 
 
 Had lufly hujfes [that were tricke and trim,) 
 
 Cud wele don on their geere, with euery pin, 
 
 Heere flood I mufing lang full heauily. 
 
 Till lockie wha dofi thinke fpeard vp to me. 
 
 lockle. Wha Bille mot that be ? 
 
 Bille. Ane wha thou kens. 
 
 Cand ane, we r aught on meanely, but now fene, 
 
 He has the pricke and preze He fay to thee. 
 
 lockie. Was it not Lobbie ? 
 
 Bille. locky it was he. 
 
 But now the mickle Lurden is fo great, 
 
 Theyr blefl by God, that may with hohhie^eake. 
 
 By Gods bread lockie, he fo gaifh was, 
 
 I thought no boot tofpeake, but let him paffe, 
 
 And had done fo, but Lobby was fo kinde. 
 
 To come to me, and leaue his men behind. 
 
 Great chat we had, and many that were nye, 
 
 Mufd he would chat withfike an ene as I. 
 
 But blith was Lobbie, andfo meeke he was. 
 
 That he vnho^fl fate by me on the graffe, 
 
 Lang did we tauke of this thing and of that, 
 
 A lugge, a Peggy, and a nut-brown Kate, 
 
 K2 A 
 
132 The Mujhrome. 
 
 A Crowd the Piper, and the Fiddler Twang, 
 And many Jike things, as wee lay en alang. 
 Ablangft the leaue, this Councell gaue he mee, 
 That made me wele to leue^fo may it thee, 
 Billie {quoth Lobby) if thoule pro/per heere, 
 Thou mun be bald, and learne to bandon feare, 
 Thou mun not blujh, nor colour change for ought. 
 Though tEplea thou hafl in hand be nerefo nought. 
 Thou mun not take petition {lit hen me) 
 Nor entertaine him., till thou take thy fee. 
 And {wele I warne thee) better way thou thriue. 
 If thy hand, open be to aw that giue. 
 Get meefome pr oilers, they are beji of all. 
 To m"^^ thee weet, when fome good office falls, 
 Or a oarre-hoisted Lawyer that can fee. 
 With his four e eyne where aud concealments be, 
 But of aw things I mun fore-war ne thee hence. 
 To haue fnall dealing with a Confcience, 
 That will vndoe thee (Billy) looke to one, (none. 
 Poore men haue Confcience, but rich men haue 
 ' Mongfl other things liflen to what I fay. 
 For I in brief e willfpeake now what I may. 
 In Teucria here {this Citie where there be) 
 Many a man will haue an eye of thee, 
 Gaine me Acquaintance : it's thefpring of life. 
 And know thou maift a Tradefman by his Wife, 
 
 Be 
 
The Mujhrome, 133 
 
 Bejicker on her Billy Q,yhe it is 
 
 Can ope her husbands Casket with a kijffe. 
 
 Diue me into a Mercers Booke, and fay, 
 
 ThouV t pay 07ijike a time, but doe not pay. 
 
 CJiauke me on Vintners, and for aw thy shore, 
 
 Let great ■ words pay for aw, fill rttn on more. 
 
 Be fate ly Billy {a7zd I doe thee rede) 
 
 Thou mun now throw away thy countrey weed. 
 
 For skoggers, hozen of the Naples twine. 
 
 For thy blew fop, fike a breeke as mhie : 
 
 For thy aud motley iacket, thou mun weare, 
 
 A cloth afiluer,fike as I haue heere. 
 
 TJun mun thou looke big (what way ere thou paffe) 
 
 As if that Billy were not th' man he was. 
 
 Then learne me Billy foine aud Pedegree, 
 
 Noe matter though' t belong not vnto thee, 
 
 And fay thy Grand-fere was a Dttke at leaf. 
 
 And firfl inuentor of Saint Galloway es feafi. 
 
 Maintaiize me leeing in a Liuery, 
 
 For that's the firfl meanes that mun honour thee : 
 
 Let her be Page-like, at thy elbow fill, 
 
 For when thou canfl not doe it, leeing will. 
 
 Let Suters dance Attendance, lithen me. 
 
 And qtiicke difpatch, be it thine enemy e. 
 
 Take fees for expedition, for of aw, 
 
 Sutes haflly ended wreake our ouerthrow. 
 
 K 3 Get 
 
1 34 The Mujhrome. 
 
 Get me an Heralt {wele I wat) oth bejl, 
 
 That may for Vy^^ find fome pretty Crejl, 
 
 A Rat, a Pifmire, or a Butterflie, 
 
 A Corni/h Chucke, a Parrat, or a Pie, 
 
 A nimble Squirrell, or a picke-a-tree 
 
 A We/ell, Vrchin, or a Bumble-Bee. 
 
 Or if of plants y my Bille will haue ane, 
 
 He may full fwithly mange thefe chufe him ane. 
 
 The Brier, the haw-thorne : or the Priuet bufh, 
 
 The Ofire, Cyprefjfe, or where tJimerry Thrufh, 
 
 Sings out her Fa, la, la, but nane there be, 
 
 " That like the Mufhrome WiWq fitteth thee, 
 
 Her grout h is fudden, Billey^ is thine, 
 
 Then take the Mufhrome, its a Crefi of mine. 
 
 Mare need I not fay, keepe but wele my reede, 
 
 Andfiker Ife, thou cannot chufe but fpeede^ 
 
 With that he twin'd fra me, and left me there, 
 
 Where I with mickle Carke, and mickle Care, 
 
 Buftling now vp now downe, at lafi me yode. 
 
 To ply my leffon wele I vnderfiood. 
 
 And in a pretty while I learnd to bee. 
 
 That cunning Gierke that he awarded me. 
 
 Deftly could I tricke vp me fell, and trim, 
 
 Me feat ly fine, in euery legge and limme, 
 
 Wele cud I marke my name in Marchants books, 
 
 Fo wele I wate, wha ere he be, that lookes, 
 
 Ife 
 
The Mujhrome, 135 
 
 Ffe there in black and white^ and wele I may, 
 
 For he is /aid to aw that menes to pay. 
 
 Not a petion wottld I lijle^i ore, 
 
 Till Billie had f am chinke ins fijl before. 
 
 Not a rich mickle loj/ell could there be, 
 
 That had a plea but had his path by me. 
 
 Andjine I fate as Lobbie teld beliue, 
 
 That he that had a confcience could not thriue. 
 
 I draue the Haggard frame, fine whilke time, 
 
 lockie thou fees how Billie ^2/2^ tofhine, 
 
 lockie, Andlang7nay Billie Jhine, but fayne tome 
 
 Fare aw our Coufirils haufe as wele as thee, 
 
 Billie. lockie they doe, norneede thou farken out, 
 
 For we willfeede, wha euer famifh for t : 
 
 O its a place fo full of Fouifance, 
 
 Play but thy round the Flanders will daunce. 
 
 Ladies & Lor dings, Swaine lings with their 
 
 Will trimly trip it ore the leuie plaines. [fwaines, 
 
 And wele F wat that lockie ance could play. 
 
 For F haue heard him, 
 
 lockie. And fo Billie may. 
 
 Billie. Then tmie thy chanter vp and gae with me. 
 
 Come blithly on, 
 
 lockie. lockie does follow thee, 
 
 K ^ A 
 
136 
 
 A Paneglrlck Embleame, 
 
 Intituled, 
 
 Samt George for England, 
 
 The Argument of the 
 Embleame. 
 
 From whence the EngliJJt anciently deriued this Saints 
 canonizationy his orders^ i7iatiguration — of Sigif- 
 mund, Emperour of Almaine : and his prefent to 
 Henry the fift. The infiitution of this order where, 
 the folemnizing where : the feuerall games, exerci- 
 feSy Races, and Martiall trialls aufpicioufly begunne 
 with that Saint. — And the like of Honour ajid ad- 
 uancement. — A comparifon had betweene Perfeus 
 fonne to lupiter and Danae ; who preferued Andro- 
 moda from the fea m,onfter, and Saint George, who 
 flew the Dragon, The difcription of Perfeus, and of 
 Saint George : concluding with a victorious Paean 
 to Saint George. 
 
 H 
 
 The Embleame, 
 
 Aile to thy fhrine thou Saint oi Albion, 
 Who had thy auncient confecration 
 
 From 
 
A Pmiegerick Embleame, 
 
 From thy religious mannagements, as farre 
 
 Difperft, as Turke or Chrijiian planted are, 
 
 Thou art the Saint which we in war doe vfe, 
 
 Hoping by thee to be aufpicious. 
 
 Yet void of fuperftition we impart, 
 
 Sole land to hmiy whoje noble Saint thou art. 
 
 Nor loofe we th' name of th' Ahname Sigifmimd, 
 
 By whom thy precious Reliques firft were found. 
 
 And heere prefented as a royall gift 
 
 To Englands Mirrour, Henry the fift. 
 
 Since when thy order is folemnized, 
 
 At Wind/or, where a part of thee is fed 
 
 To be inter' d : thrice happy monument. 
 
 To couer part of one fo eminent. 
 
 So Saintly verttcous, as no ho7iour can, 
 
 " Giue thee thy due, as onely due to man. 
 
 O may thy inftitution honour'd be, 
 
 By true deferts, and due folemnity. 
 
 Nor whom thy order doth inaugurate. 
 
 May they by vice ftand fubie6l vnto hate. 
 
 But fo euen weigh in all their a6lions here, 
 
 ^^ As Georges Knights may after Saints appear e : 
 
 Which they fhall be, by fhowing feruent zeale 
 
 Vnto the Church, loue to the common-weale. 
 
 137 
 
 In 
 
138 
 
 A Panegirick Embleme. 
 
 In all our games and paftimes feuerall, 
 
 Euer on George as on our Saint we call'. 
 
 For by that name the auncients vnderfhood, 
 
 Their Fortune could not chufe but to be good, 
 
 As Turnaments, lujlsy Barriers^ and the rejiy 
 
 In which his name was euermore exprejl. 
 
 In Races too thefe prefent times affoord 
 
 Inftances ftore, Saint George he giues the word. 
 
 So as it was (as common ftories tell) 
 
 To fay Saint George, as fay God fpeede you well. 
 
 In Martiall trials when our armies met. 
 His name would fpirit in our men beget, 
 ** Heightning their courage, perills paffmg through. 
 " Standing defolu'd before a Cannons mouth. 
 " Out-bearing danger, and with violent breath 
 " Stand at defiance gainfb the threats of death. 
 Marching through horrour they would boldly paffe, 
 ( As for pale feare, they knew not what it was.) 
 Which may be inftanc'd in that holy war. 
 Where thofe that loft their Hues canoniz'd are 
 In leaues of perpetuity : I meane, 
 In the regayning of lerufalem, 
 Where thofe renouned Champions enterprift, 
 For the due honour of their Sauiour Chrifl. 
 
 Either 
 
A panegericke Embleme. 
 
 139 
 
 Either to win that Cittie (maugre th'vaunts 
 Of all thofe helliih god-leffe mifcreants,) 
 Or if they could not th' Cittie fo furprize, 
 Refolv'd they were their Hues to facrifice ; 
 Eiien then I fay when thofe that MarflialVd them, 
 Could 7iot with-hold from flight their recreant men ; 
 " Saint George appeared in a fnbmiffine fJiow, 
 " WifJihig them not to wrong their Coimtrie fo : 
 And though a ghoft (and therefore leffe belieu'd ; 
 Yet was his mouing prefence fo receiv'd 
 As none to fight it out refolued more, 
 T lien f Itch as readieft were to fie before. 
 Vp went their fcaling-ladders to difplant 
 Th'abhorred of-spring of the mifcrea7it, 
 And euer as fome danger they efpide, 
 God and S^ George for Englafid flill they cride. 
 And how fucceffiue that renowned warre 
 Was to thofe Chriftians, which enrolled are 
 In an eternall regifter, may well appeare 
 ^^ By Godfrey BuUoyne who was filled there 
 " King of lerufalem, yet as its fJiowne, 
 " By aic7itient flories, wotdd receiice no crowne, 
 " Thinking' t vnfit that it fhotdd he rehearfl, 
 " TJiat where his maflers head with thorfies was pierfl. 
 
 Hee 
 
140 A panegericke Embleme. 
 
 He that his feruant was fhould be fo bold, 
 
 As haue his head girt with a crowne of gold. 
 
 What fame in forraine coafts this Hero got, 
 
 The lake ^Silene fhewes, if we fhould not ; 
 
 Where in the reskew of a louely Mayde, 
 
 A fearefuU Dragon he difcomfited, 
 
 So as we haue portraide to euery viewe, 
 
 On fignes of Innes how George the Dragon flew ; 
 
 Which fbory to expreffe were too too long, 
 
 Being a fubiect for each fidlers fong : 
 
 " Yet caufe there is (I cannot will nor chufe) 
 
 Comparifon 'twixt him and Perfetis, 
 
 Who fonne to loue and fhowre ftain'd Danae, 
 
 In reskew of the faire Andromade, 
 
 Encountred that fea-monfter ; He explane 
 
 Each attribute of their peculiar fame : 
 
 " And then conferring them one with the other, 
 
 " Colle6l whofe beft their a6lions laide together. 
 
 And firft for Perfeus ; great I muft confeffe. 
 He was in name, his birth inferres no leffe 
 Being loues fonne, yet can he no way fhun 
 The name of Baftard, though he were his fonne : 
 
 Sylene the pond or lake where 
 the Dragon was. 
 
 Deflow- 
 
A panegericke Embleme. 
 
 141 
 
 Deflowr'd his mother was — and in a fhowre 
 
 Of gold, to fhew how gold has foueraigne power, 
 
 T' vnlocke the fort of fancy, and how foone 
 
 " Women are womie, when golden bayts are Jhow7ie. 
 
 Long loue had woo'd and yet he could not win 
 
 What he defir'd, till gold receiv'd him in. 
 
 Which feemes by eafie confequence to proue, 
 
 " Gifts be the gines that biddes the hands of loue. 
 
 Thus fprung the noble Perfetcs, who in time 
 
 " To propagate the honour of that line 
 
 From whence he came, and that it might be fed, 
 
 That he from loue was rightly fathered 
 
 Tooke on him ftrange aduentures ; as to right 
 
 ^* Iniur'd Ladies by a JtJzgle fight, 
 
 " Encounter Giajtts, refcew men diftrefl^ 
 
 In each whereof his glory was repreft : 
 
 " For valiant & more worthy they doe fhew them, 
 
 " That wrofzgs redreffe, then fich as vfe to doe them. 
 
 But th'firft and beft attempt he did on Earth, 
 
 " Was, to wipe off th'blemifit of his birth. 
 
 And th'ftaine of his corrupted mothers honour, 
 
 Which blufhes blaz'd who euer look't vpon her. 
 
 " On them alone im,agin'd it m,ay be 
 
 Went he to th'reskew oi Andromade\ 
 
 Who 
 
142 
 
 A panegericke Embleme. 
 
 Who now was markt for death, and brought to th' 
 
 Where many maids had bin deuour'd before, (fhore 
 
 By a fea-monfter : here the Virgin flood. 
 
 To free her Countrey with her guiltleffe blood, 
 
 Whom Perfeus (as he coafted by that way) 
 
 No fooner vew'd then he began to fay. 
 
 Faire Virgin (then he wept) impart to vs 
 What rude vnhallowed hand hath vs'd thee thus 
 And by the honour of my heauenly Sire 
 What ere he be he fhall receiue his hire, 
 Giant or Monfter in the earth or Sea, 
 Reueng'd he fhall fweete Virgin tell it me. 
 Kind Sir (quoth fhe) and then fhe ftaide her breath 
 As one addrefh to meditate of death, 
 Treate not with me of life, nor aske who 'tis 
 Giant or Monfter that's the caufe of this, 
 Onely know this (thou gentle Knight) that I 
 ^^Am doom' d to death, and Fme refolu'd to die. 
 To die (faire Maide quoth he) } if 't be thy fate. 
 He fympathize with thee in equall ftate 
 And die with thee : onely giue griefe a tongue, 
 To tell me who's the Author of thy wrong : 
 Know then (fayd he) I am that hapleffe fhe, 
 The wretched, pittied, poore Andromadey 
 
 Who 
 
A panegericke Embleme, 143 
 
 Who here am left of friends, bereft of all 
 
 To be a prey vnto a rauenous whale : 
 
 Many haue fuffered ere it came to me, 
 
 Now is my lot and welcome it fhall be, 
 
 To expiate with my vnftained blood 
 
 The Monfters wrath and doe my countrey good ; 
 
 As fhe fpake this vp from the Ocean 
 
 Came that deuouring vafbe Leuiathan, 
 
 Sweeping along the fhore, which being fpide ; 
 
 Good fir retire the noble Damfell cride, 
 
 Yonder he comes for loue of honour flie. 
 
 It 's I am doom'd, then let me onely die. 
 
 But Perfeus (one better tempered, 
 
 Then to behold a Virgine flaughtered, 
 
 Without affayd reuenge) did ftreight begin 
 
 With man-like valour to encounter him, 
 
 DoubtfuU the skirmifh was on either fide, 
 
 (While th'Maide a fad fpe6lator did abide) 
 
 Wooing with teares which from her cheeks did flow 
 
 That loue would giue this Monfter th'ouerthrow : 
 
 At laft her prayers and teares preuail'd fo well, 
 
 As vnder Perfeus feete the Monfter fell ; 
 
 Whence came it (as the ftory doth proceede) 
 
 The Virgin and her Countrey both were freede \ 
 
 Which 
 
1 44 A panegericke Embleme. 
 
 Which to requite (in guerdon of her life) 
 
 Se gaue her felfe to Perfeus as wife, 
 
 " Whom he receiu'd - 6 he did ill hi this, 
 
 " Sith by the Auncient it recorded is, 
 
 Before that Perfeus to her reskew came, 
 
 She was efpoufed to another man 
 
 " By name Vaxedor, {o it was ajinne 
 
 To marrie her that was not dew to him :) 
 
 And better had't been to fuftaine her fate, 
 
 " Then by fuch breach of faith to violate 
 
 Her former Spoufals - which vniuft offence 
 
 " Gods may winke at but neuer will difpe^ice : 
 
 Yea to a barraine Rocke though fhe were tyde. 
 
 Yet better 'twas then to be made a Bride 
 
 " To an vfurped Bed, for that did laie, 
 
 " That ftaine on her, time cannot wipe away. 
 
 Thus haue you heard what noble Perfeus was 
 
 With greateft dangers that his worth did paffe. 
 
 The imminence whereof merits due praife, 
 
 " Andfoich a Poet as deferues the Bales : 
 
 Laurell and Myrtle-though his Nuptiall knot 
 
 '^ Loft hi7n more fame then ere his valour got'. 
 
 ^^ For fo deprau'd's the Nature of our will, 
 
 " Whaf s good we laine, what's ill we harpe onflill. 
 
 Now 
 
A panegericke Embleme. 
 
 Now to thy Englilh Saint, my Mtcfe repaire, 
 
 And lim him fo, that when thou fhalt compare 
 
 Thefe two : He Perfeus may out-ftrip as farre, 
 
 As funne the Moone, or th' Moone a twinkling fbar. 
 
 George now enflil'd the Saint oi Albion, 
 
 By Hnage was a Capadocian ; 
 
 Whofe " valour was expreft in all his time, 
 
 That vertue might in euery a6lion fhine, 
 
 Which to induce beliefe by mouing fence, 
 
 I will produce his bell defcription thence. 
 
 Both for th're femblance which hath euer bin, 
 
 Twixt the renowned Perfeics and him : 
 
 As alfo to make good, that not one ftaine 
 
 ''Eclipji that glory which his a^ls did gaine 
 
 All which by inftance feconded fhall be 
 
 '''Perfeus zv as great yet George more great then he. 
 
 Tutching that Dragon on Sylenes fhore, 
 I haue in part related it before : 
 Yet but as fhadowes doe refemblance make, 
 Vnto the fubftance and materiall fhape, 
 Digreffiuely I onely feem'd to glance, 
 At th'act it felfe, not at the circumftance : 
 
 The Etimologie of Ge orge from Gera and 
 Gion, War-like, or valiant. 
 
 L Know 
 
146 A panegericke Embleme, 
 
 Know then this noble Champion hearing one, 
 
 Along his trauaile making piteous mone, 
 
 In meere remorce drew neerer to the noice, 
 
 " Till he perceiu' d it was a Ladies voice ^ 
 
 Who in a Virgin-milky-white araide, 
 
 Show'd by her habit that fhe was a Maide ; 
 
 Careleffe her haire hung downe, and in her looke, 
 
 Her woes were writ as in a Table-booke : 
 
 Warm-trickling teres came fhreaming from her ei 
 
 Sighs from her heart, and from her accent cries. 
 
 Tyed was fhe faft vnto a pitched ftake, 
 
 Bounding on Sylen's Dragon-haunted lake, 
 
 All which expreft without a Chara6ler 
 
 The wofuU ftate which did enuiron her : 
 
 Saint George obferv'd her teares, and from his eyes 
 
 Her teares by his finde their renew'd fupplies, 
 
 Both vie as for a wager, which to winne, 
 
 " The more fhe wept, the more fhe forced him : 
 
 At laft with modeft hauiour in reliefe, 
 
 Of her diftreffe, he thus allaide her griefe. 
 
 " Sorrowfull Lady, if griefes lefned are. 
 
 When thofe that pittie griefes receiue their fhare, 
 
 Impart your forrowes to me, and in lew, 
 
 " If right I cannot, I will pittie you. 
 
 Alaffe 
 
Alaffe (fweet youth quoth fhe) pittie's too late, 
 When my difeafe is growen fo defperate, 
 Yet doe I thanke thee for thy loue to me^ 
 That neuer yet deferu'd fo much of thee : 
 ^'Pray thee begone, fuck friend/hip lie not tricy 
 To see thy death one is enowe to die, 
 And I am fhee, — croffe not the will of Fate, 
 ''Better's to loofe one then a double Jiate : 
 Be gone I fay do not the time fore-flowe, 
 ^'Perifli I miijl of force, fo needs not thou. 
 Imminent horror would admit no more ; 
 For now the Dragon from Sylenes fhore 
 Came fpitting lothfome venome all about, 
 Which blafted trees and dried vp their roote. 
 S' George the Dragon had no fooner vew'd, 
 Then frefh fupplies of fpirit was renew'd 
 In his vnmatched brefb : him he affailes. 
 And though ore-matcht his fpirit neuer failes 
 Till he fubdew'd him : and as fome auerre, 
 He tyed him faft and made him follow her 
 Vnto her fathers pallace, where we reade 
 In publike triumph he cut off his head. 
 Here may we fee that a6l of Perfeus 
 Equall'd by George and made more glorious 
 
 L2 
 
 In 
 
148 A panegericke Embleme. 
 
 In that he aym'd no further nor was fe'd 
 " To piLt his feete into another s bed, 
 " His conquejl it was te^nporate and itcft, 
 Not ftayn'd with blemifh of defaming luft 
 For no attempt vs'd he to vndertake, 
 But for trite honour and for Vertues fake. 
 
149 
 
 A Vi6lorious Paean to our 
 
 Albions vSt, alhtding to all noble 
 
 fpirits, natiue affumers of 
 
 his Honor & Order. 
 
 10 Pean then mujl wee 
 Giue St George the vi6lorie : 
 Whofe defert 
 Gract each part ; 
 Where fo ere he vsd to be, 
 None more gract, or loud then he, 
 
 Perfeus though his renowne, 
 Did to all the world co^ne ; 
 
 Yet one Jlaine, 
 
 Dimmd his fame : 
 But the world' s fpatious roome, 
 Shrines 5^ George in honours tombe, 
 
 A 
 
I50 
 
 A Satyre called the Coni-, 
 
 borrowe. 
 
 NOw in the name of fate what Saint is fhe, 
 That keepes a fhop of publicke Brothelrie ? 
 Harbours the fharking Lawyer for his pence, 
 And Martir-like confumes his euidence ? 
 Nufles my damned Atheift, makes him curfe 
 Nature and fortune, that his thin-lin'd purfe 
 Should be depriv'd of crowns : do you ask what St ? 
 This Saint was fent from tU fiery Regiment. 
 A Sodome-apple, a lafciuious ftaine 
 To vertues habite, or a whore in graine, 
 A fucke-blood, Hyene, feigning Crocodile 
 Worse then the monfter bred on th' banks of Nyle, 
 A purple Strumpet, Gangrene to the ftate, 
 Earths-curfe, hels-bliffe, foules-foile, & Angels hate, 
 Smoothed Damnation, fmothered infamie, 
 Horror to Age, and youths calamity, 
 Pritty-fac'd diuell of a ginger pace, 
 Grace-leffe in all faue that her name is Grace ^ ■ 
 Soules-running vlcer that infe6ls the heart, 
 With painting, purfling and a face of Art. 
 
 Star 
 
The Co7iy burrow. 151 
 
 Star-blafting honour, vertues foe, expreft 
 
 By hating where fhe feemes to fancy beft. 
 
 Vow-breaking periure, that her felfe adornes, 
 
 With thoufand fafhions, and as many formes. 
 
 Creature of her owne making, hollow trunke, 
 
 A Chrijlian Paganif 'd with name of Punke. 
 
 A Cell, a hell, where fhe'le no others haue. 
 
 The common Palliard-Pandor, Baud, or flaue, 
 
 A cage of vncleane birds, which is poffeft, 
 
 Of none faue fuch as will defile their neft. 
 
 Where fries of Hell-hounds neuer come abroade, 
 
 But in that earthly Tophet make aboade. 
 
 Where bankrupt Fa6lors to maintaine a fhate, 
 
 Forlorne (heauen knows) and wholy defperate, 
 
 Turne valiant Boidts, Pimps, Haxtars, roaring boyes, 
 
 Till flefht in bloud, counting but murders toyes. 
 
 Are forc't in th' end a dolefull Pfalme to fmg, 
 
 Going to Heauen by Derick in a firing. 
 
 It's you damn'd profhitutes that foyle this land. 
 
 With all pollutions, haling downe the hand 
 
 Of vengeance and fubuerfion on the State, 
 
 Making her flowrie borders defolate. 
 
 It's you that ruine ancient families, 
 
 Occafion bloodfhed, pillage, periuries. 
 
 Its you that make the wicked prodigall. 
 
 Strips him of fortune, heritance, and all. 
 
 Its you that makes new Troy with fa61;ions bleede, 
 
 As much or more then euer old Troy did. 
 
 Its you (fm-branded wantons) brings decay, 
 
 To publique fbates. Its you that hate the day, 
 
 L 4 But 
 
152 The Cony burrow. 
 
 But honour night : where euery female finner 
 
 Refembles th' Moone, that has a man within her. 
 
 Lafciuious Burrowes, where there nothing are, 
 
 But toufed, fullied, and ore iaded ware. 
 
 No mufick but defpaire, no other note, 
 
 Saue fome i^r^;^^/^-language from a prophane throat : 
 
 Noe other Accent then the voyce of hell, 
 
 Where Stygian Cii'ce mumbles ore her fpell. 
 
 Shakes her pox-eaten ioynts, and fends for fpies, 
 
 To gaine her traders two fm-tempting eies. 
 
 Where fhe in praife and honour of her trade 
 
 Sales, that the Stewes were m th' beginning made^ 
 
 For the aduancement of a publick good. 
 
 And well it may, if rightly vnderftood : 
 
 For if in pleafures there fuch bitters be, 
 
 As ftill repentauce lackies vanitie t 
 
 If luft that's cal'd by th' fenfuall Epicure, 
 
 The beft of mouing pleasures, and the lure, 
 
 That for the inftance makes our organs rife, 
 
 Thinking that place wee'r in is Paradice. 
 
 If fhe (I say) bring forth no fruit at all, 
 
 Saue news from'th Spittle ^ or the Hofpitall. 
 
 Drie rewmes, catarchs, difeafes of defpaire, 
 
 Puritane-fniueling, falling of the haire. 
 
 Akes in the ioynts, and ring-worme in the face. 
 
 Cramps in the nerues, fire in the priuy place. 
 
 Racking the sinews, burning of the gall. 
 
 Searing the vaines, and bowels moft of all : 
 
 Drying the head, which natur's wont to feede, 
 
 Sucking the blood, whence all diftempers breede. 
 
 If 
 
The Cony bur row. 153 
 
 If beft of pleafures haue no other end, 
 
 Mong'ft earth's delights, the haue we caufe t'extend, 
 
 Our pure affe6lions to an higher ayme. 
 
 Then to corrupt the honour of our name. 
 
 For prefent appetite : I thanke the whoor, 
 
 Thou haft inftru6lted me to haue a power 
 
 Ouer my fence by reafon re6lified, 
 
 And haft well neere my fenfes mortefied. 
 
 I know thy habit, and (and I once haue fworne, 
 
 But now recant it, that no earthy forme 
 
 Was of like compofition, but conceiuing, 
 
 That th' period of thy pleafure was in hauing, 
 
 And that thy luft was but defire of gaine, 
 
 I curb'd my selfe that I fhould be fo vaine. 
 
 To fpend my ftate, my ftock, my name, my nature, 
 
 On such a brittle, fickle, faithleffe creature. 
 
 Fond was my iudgement when my reafon ftraid, 
 
 To foile the honourd title of a maide, 
 
 With brothell greeting, or a painted trunke, 
 
 A rotten Tombe, a Bafaliske, a Ptmke. 
 
 For tell me whore } what bewty's in thee fhowne, 
 
 Or mouing part that thou canft fay's thine owne } 
 
 The blufh that's on thy cheeke I know is made 
 
 By 'th Painters hand, and not by nature laid : 
 
 And that fame rofie-red, and lillie white, 
 
 Which feemes to include a volume of delight, 
 
 Is no more thine, then as it may be faid ; 
 
 Faire is the waineskote when ifs varnifhed. 
 
 Yea I haue heard fome of thy conforts fay, 
 
 Thy 7iight-face is not that thou wearji by day. 
 
 But 
 
154 1^^^ Cony burrow. 
 
 But of a different forme, which vnderflood, 
 
 Rightly implies too faces in one hood. 
 
 Now my (prodigious /^£'r^) that canft take, 
 
 Vpon occafion a contrary fhape. 
 
 Thou that canft varie habits and delight. 
 
 To weare by day what thou putft of at night. 
 
 Thou that with tempting motiues of despaire. 
 
 Braiding the net-like treffes of thy haire. 
 
 Smoothing thy brazed front, oyling thy skin, 
 
 Taking a truce with Satan, and with fmne. 
 
 How canft thou thinke that I will loofe the light. 
 
 Of my deare foule, to pleafe mine appetite } 
 
 How canft thou thinke that for a moments fweete, 
 
 Wherein the height of pleafures, forrows meete. 
 
 I will engage that effence of delight 
 
 For time eternally meafure infinite ? 
 
 How canft thou thinke I am fo void of fenfe. 
 
 Or blinde, as not to know thy impudence } 
 
 True, I was blind, when thy i^\r\-Syre7z voice, 
 
 Made me defpife my felfe, and make a choice 
 
 Of foules-feducing Error : I was blinde. 
 
 When I did hope contented ioyes to finde 
 
 In fo profane a couer : Blinde was I 
 
 When I expected ought but vanitie. 
 
 In fuch an odious harbour : blinde I was 
 
 To looke for vertue in fo vile a cafe. 
 
 But now the glorious effence of my foule 
 
 Tels me. For all thy vertue thou art foule. 
 
 Spotted with Ermins, and that vanitie. 
 
 Of which thar't proud, is like a leprofie. 
 
 Which 
 
The Coniborrow, 155 
 
 VVich runnes to euery vaine, whofe very breath, 
 Poifons the tutcher with infe6lious death. 
 For whats complexion if I fhould fpeake true, 
 (That which thou wears I meane) but what the lew 
 Of lothfome compofitions's vfd to make. 
 As th' fat of Serpents, and the flough of fnakes, 
 With curfed fpittle or fleagme commixed is, 
 And canfb thou thinke this face deferues a kiffe ? 
 No, odious Lecher that beflubbered face, 
 That entertaines no figne nor ftampe of grace, 
 That fm-refle(5ling eye, whose piercings are. 
 Wounds to the soule, and to the mind a care. 
 That artificiall blufh, that painted cheeke. 
 Which neuer feekes, what woman-hood fhold seek. 
 That whorifh looke drain'd from a wanton mind. 
 Shall make me hate, where I was once inclin'd, 
 Shall make me hate ? O that I did not hate, 
 Before this time : but forrow's nere too late. 
 If feruent, and may I excluded be. 
 If my refolues proceed not inwardly. 
 Farewell, but well I doubt thou canft not fare, 
 So long as thou doft lodge in this difpaire : 
 Preuent me then the caufe, and thou fhalt fee, 
 The effect thereof will foone preuented be : 
 Till thm adrdj : for till that time I fiveare ity 
 Thy Connie-burrow is not for my Ferret. 
 
 Vpon 
 
156 
 
 Vpon a Poets Palfrey, lying 
 
 in Lauander, for the difcharge 
 
 of his Prouender, 
 
 An Epigram, 
 
 IF I had liu'd but in King Richards dayes, 
 Who in his heat of paffion, midll the force 
 Of his Affailants troubled many waies 
 Crying A horfe^ a Kingdome for a horfe. 
 O then my horfe which now at Liuery ftayes, 
 " Had beene fet free, where now hee's forc't to fland 
 " And like to fall into the Oftlers hand. 
 
 If I had liu'd in Agamemnons time, 
 
 Who was the leader of the Mirmidons, 
 
 Mounting aloft as wantons in their prime, 
 
 Of frolike youth, planting the Graecians 
 
 In their due order, then this horfe of mine, 
 
 " Had not bin thus confin'd, for there he might, 
 
 " Haue fhowne himselfe, and done his mafter right. 
 
 If 
 
The Poets Palfrey. 1 5 7 
 
 If I had liu'd when Pallas horfe was made, 
 Aptly contriu'd for th'ruine of poore Troye 
 O then there had beene doings for my lade, 
 For he had beene fole author of annoy, 
 Vnto the Troians : well as I haue faid, 
 " He might be Pallas horfe in legge and limme, 
 " Being fo neere proportion'd vnto him. 
 
 If I had liu'd in Pafiphaes raigne, 
 That lusty Laffe, in pleafure euer full, 
 And perfefl dalliance : O I bleft had beene, 
 " She fure would loue a horfe, that lou'd a Bull, 
 And better might it with her honour feeme. 
 " A Bui's too fierce, a horfe more modeft aye, 
 " Th'one routs and rores, the others anfwer's ney. 
 
 If I had liu'd in Alexanders age. 
 Crowning my youth 'mongft his triumphant heires, 
 O then that prince, who in his heat of rage, 
 Bad th'Macedons get ftallions for their Mares, 
 More liuely and more likely would not gage, 
 " His loue for nought, to fuch as mongft the reft, 
 " Would bring a Stallion that could doe with beft. 
 
 If I had liu'd amongft th'Amazonites, 
 Thofe Warlike champions, monuments of Fame, 
 Trophies of Honour, friends to choice delights, 
 Who much defired to propagate, their name, 
 " And therefore wifht that they fo many nights, 
 
 Might 
 
158 The Poets Palfrey, 
 
 " Might haue free vfe with men, in due remorce, 
 For want of men would take them to my horfe. 
 
 If I had liu'd in Phaeton his daies, 
 
 When with vngiddy courfe he rul'd the Sun, 
 
 O then my Palfrey had beene of great prife, 
 
 For hee's not head-flrong, nor would haue out-run, 
 
 His fellow- Horfes, but with gentler pace, 
 
 As foft and eafie as the nimble wind, 
 
 He would with hakney pace lagg'd on behind. 
 
 If I had liu'd when th'warre of Agincourt, 
 
 Burnifh't with fhields as bright as Diamond, 
 
 To which our nobleft Heroes made refort, 
 
 O then my Stallion would haue kept his ground, 
 
 And beene at razing of the ftatelieft fort, 
 
 In all that Prouince : and though fmall he may, 
 
 Yet am I fure he would not runne away. 
 
 If I had liu'd but in Don Quixotes time. 
 His Rozinant had beene of little worth. 
 For mine was bred within a coulder clime. 
 And can endure the motion of the earth, 
 With greater patience : nor will he repine 
 At any prouender, fo mild is he. 
 How many men want his humility ? 
 
 If I had liu'd when that proud fayry Queene, 
 Boafted to run with fwift wingd Zephinis, 
 Tripping fo nimbly ore the leuie greene. 
 
 Of 
 
The Poets Palfrey, 159 
 
 Of Oetas flourie forreft, where each bufh, 
 Taxt her prefumption : then my Horfe had beene, 
 A Horfe of price, O then he had beene tride, 
 And to no manger in fubie6lion tide. 
 
 If I had liu'd when Fame-fpred Tamberlaine 
 Difplaid his purple fignalls in the Eafl, 
 Hallow ye pamphred lades, had beene in vaine, 
 For mine's not pamphred, nor was ere at feaft, 
 But once, which once 's nere Hke to be againe, 
 How methinks would hee haue fcour'd the wheeles, 
 Hauing braue Tamberlame whipping at's heeles. 
 
 If I had liu'd but in our Banks his time, 
 
 I doe not doubt, fo wittie is my lade, 
 
 So full of Imitation, but in fine, 
 
 He would haue prou'd a mirrour in his trade, 
 
 And told Duke Humphreis Knights the houre to dine 
 
 Yea by a fecret inftin6l would had power, 
 
 To know an honefh woman from a whoore. 
 
 Well theres no remedy, fince I am poore, 
 And cannot feede my horfe as I defire, 
 I mufh be forc't to fet a Bill oth dore, 
 And with my Bill pay for my horfes hire, 
 Which once difcharg'd. He neuer run o'th skore ; 
 But for my Bill, (inuention play thy part,) 
 And for my horfe-fake, tell men what thou art. 
 
 Heere Jlands a beajl that eats and hds no teethy 
 
 Wiske 
 
i6o The Poets Palfrey. 
 
 Wiske out and winches, and yet has no tayle, 
 Looks like Deaths-head, and yet he is not death, 
 Neighs like an Affe, and crawleth like afnayle, 
 All bones aboue, no belly vnderneath, 
 ^' L egg' d like a Cammell, with a Sea-horfe foote, 
 " So bigg^s his head he cannot be got out. 
 
 Now generous fpirits that inhabit heere, 
 And loue to fee the wonders of this Ifle, 
 Compar'd with other nations, draw but neere 
 And you fhall fee what was expreft ere-while, 
 Your pay 's but pence, and that's not halfe fo deere, 
 " If you remember, as was that fame toy, 
 "Of Banks his horfe, or Fenners England s ioy. 
 
 What would you fee, that may not heere be feenc 
 A Monfber ? Why, its heere : or would you fee. 
 That which has erft beene fhowne to other men, 
 " A horfes tayle ftand where his head fhould be, 
 Laffe you mufb know I am for none of them, 
 That loue fuch nouelties : my two yeeres fayle, 
 Has brought a winching thing that has no tayle. 
 
 Obferue the wonder, it's not obuious, 
 
 Nor each day common : fee now while its heere, 
 
 For its a monfter fo prodigious. 
 
 That if I can, I'll hau't fome other where, 
 
 And fhow my trauell to the generous. 
 
 " For know my monjler doth this Jlable hate, 
 
 ^'■Hailing a head fo great, a roome fo ftraite. 
 
 Why 
 
The Poets Palfrey, i6i 
 
 Why crowd ye here no fafter ? 'laffe I see, 
 Becaufe I cannot garnifh out my poft 
 With faire infcriptions grauen curiouflie. 
 " Like to your Moiintebanke or Englifh Foijl. 
 The trifling vulgar will not come to me. 
 Nor vifit my flrange one beaft : let them paffe. 
 My Monjler's not fet vp for euery Affe. 
 
 It' for thefe braue renowned Caualieres, 
 
 " That craue to fee, and talke of what they fee ; 
 
 Nay talke of more then either eies or eares 
 
 Were witneffe of Thefe welcome are to me. 
 
 And to my Monjler, for to them't appeares, 
 
 " And to no others, that they might beget, 
 
 " More gaine by th' fight, then ere I gain'd by it. 
 
 What none ? no Mandeuillf is London growne 
 
 To furfet of new accideats ? why hoe, — 
 
 Saint Bartlemews, where all the Pagents fhowne, 
 
 And all thofe a6ls from Adam vnto Noe 
 
 Vs'd to be reprefent ? canfb fend me none. 
 
 Of any fort ? or thou'ld not any fpare. 
 
 But keepe them for the Pagents of thy Faire. 
 
 How many vfd to fwarme from Booth to booth. 
 " Like to SclauonianSy when with famine pinde, 
 Going like Heards, as other cattell doth, 
 Itching for news, yet neuer more inclinde 
 To heare the worfh : where now is all that froth. 
 Of crab-fac't Raskals .? O I know their ftraine, 
 " The Faire being done, theyjleepe till faire againe. 
 
 M If 
 
1 62 The Poets Palfrey. 
 
 If mother Red-cap, chance to haue an Oxe 
 Rofted all whole, O how you'le flye to it, 
 Like Widgeons, or like wild-geefe in full flocks. 
 That for his pennie each may haue his bitte : 
 Or if that limping Pedant at the ftocks, 
 Set out a Pageant, whoo'l not thither runne, 
 As twere to whip the cat at Abington. 
 
 Ill-nurtur'd Bowbies, know what I haue heere 
 Is fuch a Monfter, as to know what tis. 
 Would breed amazement in the ftrangeft eare, 
 But vulgar eyes are ayming ftill amiffe, 
 To whom whats onely rare, is onely deere. 
 For you my wonder fleepes, nor fhall't awake, 
 Till riper wits come for my monfter's fake. 
 
 Farewell vnciuill Stinkards, skum oth City, 
 The Suberbs pandors, boults to garden Alleys, 
 May you through grates fmg out your doleful ditty. 
 For now my Dragon-Monfter fpits his malice. 
 That as you pitty none, fo none may pitty. 
 Your forlorne ftate : O may't be as I pray. 
 So faddefb night may cloud your cleereft day. 
 And for the Oftler, fmce I reape no gaine. 
 Out of my Monfter, take him for thy paine. 
 Yet for remembrance write vpon this fhelfe, 
 Here fiood a Horfe that eat away himfelfe. 
 
 Hymens 
 
i63 
 
 Hymens Satyre. 
 
 DOn BaJJiano married now of late : 
 Has got his witleffe pate a faire eflate, 
 Ift poffible, Fortune fhould be fo blind, 
 As of a world of men not one to find, 
 Worthy her training in her thriuing fchool 
 But an admired Wittall or a Foole ? 
 It's true : why then Fortune's a partiall whoore, 
 To make the foolifh rich, the wifeft poore. 
 Whence we obferue (experience teacheth it) 
 TJie yotmger brotlier hath the elder wit, 
 Yea by example inftanc'd euery where, 
 The Cockney-Cittie's rich, the Suburbs bare, 
 tJun I fee the Goulden age begins, 
 WJien fooles are mates for wifefl Citizens. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 
 
 A Marriage fong called by the 
 
 Author In and Out : and now de- 
 
 dicatedto the lately conuerted honeji- 
 
 man, W, G. and his long 
 
 loue-croffed Eliza. 
 
 The Marriage fong, called 
 In and Out. 
 
 HAh, haue I catcht you : prethee fweet-hart fhow, 
 If fo thou canft, who is in Turne-ball now ? 
 Doft fmile my pretious one ? nay I muft know, 
 There is no remedy, then tell me how ; 
 What my ingenuous cheat, doft laugh to fee, 
 All former iarres turne to an harmony. 
 So generally applauded ? trew thou may, 
 The Night is paft, and now appeares the day. 
 Full of true louifance ; long was thy fuit, 
 Ere twas effe6led, being in and out^ 
 Vowing and breaking, making many an oath, 
 Which now I hope's confirmed by you both. 
 O how I clip thee for it } fmce thy name. 
 Is there renued, which first defam'd the fame, 
 For (heare me Bride-groom) thou by this fhalt faue 
 Thy felfe a Title : I will raze out knaue, 
 
 Difhoneft 
 
The Marriage. 1 6 5 
 
 Difhoneft louer : vow infringing fwaine, 
 And fay thou ceaft to loue, that thou againe 
 Might loue more feruent, being taught to wooe, 
 And wooing doe what Silke-wormes vfe to doe ; 
 Who doe furceffe from labour now and then, 
 That after reft the better they might fpin. 
 
 Spin then (my pretty Cobweb) let me fee, 
 How well thy Bride likes thy a6liuitie. 
 That when fhe fees thy cunning, fhe may fay ; 
 " Why now I'me pleas'd for all my long delay ; 
 " Play that ftroake ftill, theres none that here can let 
 " For non there is can better pleafe thy Bettie. (thee, 
 " O there (my deere) I hope thou'le nere giue ore, 
 " Why might not this been done as well before ? 
 " Nay faint not man, was Bettie fo foone won, 
 " That her fhort pleafure fhould be fo foone done. 
 "Nay then come vp, are marriage ioyes fo fhort, 
 " That Maydenheads are loft with fuch fmall fport ? 
 " This if fhe fay (as this fhe well may fay) 
 
 Like a good Gamfter hold her ftill out play. 
 Firft night at leaft wife, and it will be hard, 
 But fhe will loue the better afterward. 
 Whence is the Prouerb (as it hath been faid) 
 May dens loue them that haue their maydenhead : 
 
 Come then my lad of mettall make refort, 
 Vnto the throne of loue thy Betties fort. 
 There plant thy Cannon fiedge her round about. 
 Be fure (my Boy) fhe cannot long hold out. 
 Ere6l thy ftanderd, let her tender breft. 
 Be thy pauillion ; where thou takes thy reft. 
 
 M 5 Let 
 
1 66 A Marriage Sonnet. 
 
 Let her fweet-rofie Breth fuch ioyes beftow, 
 
 That in that vale of Paradife below, 
 
 Thou may colle6l thy ioyes to be farre more, 
 
 Then any mortall euer had before. 
 
 Yet heare me friend, if thou fecure wilt be, 
 
 Obferue thefe rules which I prefcribe to thee. 
 
 Be not home iealous, it will make thee madde. 
 
 Women will haue it if it may be had. 
 
 Nor can a iealous eye preuent their fport. 
 
 For if they lou't farre will they venter for't. 
 
 Suppofe her ftraying beauty fhould be led, 
 
 To the embraces of anothers bedde. 
 
 Wilt thou A6leon-like thy houre-glaffe fpend, 
 
 In moning that thou neuer canft amend } 
 
 No, my kind friend, if thoul't be rul'd by me, 
 
 I'de haue thee winke at that which thou dofb fee, 
 
 fhading thy wiues defe6ls with patient mind, 
 
 Seeing, yet feeming to the world blind. 
 
 For tell me friend, what harme is there in it ? 
 
 If then being cloyd, another haue a bitte } 
 
 Which thou may fpare, and fhe as freely giue, 
 
 Beleeue me friend, thou haft no caufe to greeue. 
 
 For though another in thy faddle ride. 
 
 When he is gone, there's place for thee befide, 
 
 Which thou may vfe at pleafure, and it'h end, 
 
 Referue a pretty morfell for thy friend. 
 
 Let not thy reafon then be counter-bufft. 
 
 Nor thinke thy pillow with horne-lhauings ftuft, 
 
 If 't be thy defliny to be a monfter. 
 
 Thou muft be one, if not, how ere men confter. 
 
 Thou 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
Epigrams. 167 
 
 Thou may remaine fecure, exempt from fhame, 
 Though megre Enuie aggrauate the fame. 
 For this has been my firrne pojition Jlilly 
 The husbands homes be m the womans will. 
 
 Vpon the Marriage. 
 
 THis Marriage went the neareft way about. 
 Playing now vp, now downe, now in, now out, 
 But being done I wifh loue may begin, 
 Now to be neuer out, but euer in. 
 
 An Epigramme, 
 
 Like to like. 
 
 VPon a time (as I informed am) 
 A Sub-vrbs Baud and Countrey Gentlemart, 
 Comming at the dore where I doe lie, 
 A gallant rufling wench chanc't to paffe by ; 
 Which th' Baud obferuing, — Sir I pray you fee, 
 " How like you gallant and my daughter be. 
 Indeed they much refemble, both in face. 
 Painting, complexion, and in huffing pace. 
 Yea I fhould fay nere any two were liker, 
 If this be as thy daughter is? ajlriker. 
 
 M 4 Vpon 
 
1 68 
 
 Vpon the commodious though 
 
 compendious labor of M"^, Arthur Standifh, 
 
 In the inuention of planting of Wood. 
 
 A wood-mans Emblealme. 
 
 c 
 
 Ome Syluanes, come each in his frejh array ^ 
 Andjing his name that makes you looke/o gay^ 
 Euery Braunchy 
 Euery fprayy 
 Budds as in the 
 Month of May e. 
 Heere the mirtle Venus tree^ 
 There the Cheffenut, wallnut be^ 
 Heere the Medlar fet aboue, 
 Intimates what woemen loue. 
 Lofty pine, 
 Fruitfull vine. 
 Make afpring 
 In winter time. 
 
 The 
 
The Woodman, 169 
 
 The naked field has put a garment on^ 
 With leauy Jhades for birds to peck vpon. 
 Now Nemaea 
 doth appeare^ 
 Flower embordered 
 euery where. 
 Here the popular^ Alder there y 
 Witch-tree, holy-thorne and Brere 
 Here thejhady Elme, andfirre. 
 Dew it, tere-dijlilling mirrh, 
 Euery cliff e, 
 euerie clime, 
 Makes afpring 
 in Winter time. 
 
 Wood-haunting Satires now their minions feeke, 
 And hauing found them play at Barley -br eke. 
 Where delight 
 makes the night. 
 Short (though long) 
 by louers fight. 
 Wher Marifco Fairies Queene, 
 With her Ladies trace the greene ; 
 Dauncing meafures,finging layes. 
 In the worthy planters praife ; 
 Standifh fame 
 each voice implies, 
 Bliffe to Standifh 
 Ecco cries. 
 
 Heere 
 
170 The Woodman^ 
 
 Here Jlands the Wilding on the Jleepie rocke, 
 The Quince^ the Date, the dangling Apricock, 
 Rough Jkind'd Pechy 
 
 lip-died cherrie, 
 Melon citron^ 
 Mulberie. 
 Sallow, Willow, Mellow, Birt, 
 Sweete-breathd Sicamour and Mirt, 
 Heere the Plum, the Damfen there 
 The Pujill, and the Katherinspeare 
 Flowers andflourijh 
 
 blownefo greene, 
 As thefpring 
 doth euer feeme. 
 
 The brittle AJhe and Jhade-obf curing Yewe, 
 The aged Oke clafpt with the Misjletoe, 
 Hawthornes grow, 
 
 one a row. 
 And their fweetejl 
 fmels bejiow. 
 Roy all Palme, Laurell wreath, 
 With young OJiers vnderneath, 
 Loue-refembling Box tree there, 
 Flowrijhing through all the yeere. 
 Seyons young, 
 tender plants. 
 Where the quire 
 of woodbirds chants. 
 
 Flora 
 
The Wood-man, 171 
 
 Flora now takes her throne mid for /he knowes^ 
 Of Standifh care.fhe decks his aged browes : 
 With crowne 
 of renowne^ 
 Monument 
 in time to come. 
 That what he hath done of lafCy 
 After times 7nay imitate ^ 
 ■ So when al our Groues grow greene, 
 Albion may a Forrest feeme, 
 Where iffhe 
 the Forreft were^ 
 Standifh would 
 be Forrefter, 
 
 Then fhould no gorfe grounds, ficrrie whin, or Brire, 
 Depriue the painefull plough man of his hire. 
 Etcery field, 
 then fJwuld yields 
 Great relief e 
 to fhare & fhield. 
 To the Plow fhare for his paine, 
 To the fhield for difcipline, 
 Sith the firfi he fows and reapes, 
 And the last defends and keepes. 
 Standifh giues, 
 to both a part, 
 To the Gauntlet, 
 and the Cart. 
 
 Trees 
 
172 
 
 The Wood-man, 
 
 Trees (Standifh y^^Vj) in fummer vpward growey 
 In winter downe-ward to the roote belowe : 
 This I know noty 
 but I know 
 That with him 
 it is not fo. 
 For in winter of his timCy 
 Now when fap gins to decline ^ 
 Store of fcience bloffome out 
 From the top vnto the root : 
 Root of age, 
 toppe of youth. 
 Winter bearings 
 fummers growth. 
 
 To 
 
173 
 
 To the truely worthy, the Alderman 
 of Kendall and his h^ethren. 
 
 Sir in regard of due refpe6l to you, 
 (If I could write ought that might yeeld a due, 
 To th' Corporation of which I may call, 
 (And dewly to) your felfe the principall : 
 I fhould defire, if power were to defire. 
 To take an Eagles wing and foare farre higher, 
 Then hitherto my weake Mufe could attaine, 
 But 'laffe I fee my labour is in vaine ; 
 For th' more I labour to expreffe your worth. 
 The leffe I able am to fet it forth : 
 Yet let not my endeuours fo be taken, 
 As if with power my will had me forfaken ; 
 For know (though my ability be poore) 
 My good-will vie's with any Emperour. 
 Yea I muft write and though I cannot fpeake, 
 What I defire yet I will euer feeke, 
 T' expreffe that loue which hath been borne by me, 
 (And fhall be ftill) to your Society. 
 Then caufe I know your place and haue an ayme, 
 To fhewe your merits in a fhadow'd name : 
 
 I muft 
 
174 The Alderman of Kendall, 
 
 I muft be bold (affe6lion makes me bold, ; 
 
 To tell you of fome errors vncontroVd^ 
 Which to your beft difcretion He referre, 
 Hauing full power to punifh fuch as erre. 
 Firft therefore I intend to fpeake of is ; 
 Becaufe, through it, there's many do amiffe, 
 Is Idleneffe, which I haue partly knowne, 
 To be a vice inherent to your towne : 
 Where errant pedlers, mercinarie flaues, 
 Tinkers, and Tookers and fuch idle knaues 
 Are too too conuerfant : let your commaund 
 Suppreffe this fmne and refufe of the land, 
 They much difparage both your towne and you : 
 Send them to th! whipping-Jlocke, for that's their dew. 
 You know the Lord (whofe will fhould be obeid) 
 Hath in his facred word exprefly fayd. 
 That thofe which wil not labour they fhould- fterue, 
 (For rightly fo their merits do deferue. 
 Yea if we fhould in morall ftories fee, 
 What punijhments inflicted vfe to be 
 On fuch as could not giue accompt what they 
 Did make prof efjion of from day to day ; 
 Yea fuch as could not {vpon their demaund 
 Expreffe how they did Hue vpon their hand ; 
 I make no quejlion {but by Pagans care^) 
 You that both Magiftrates and Chriftians are, 
 Would fee yo^ur Towne (by th' punifhments exprefl) 
 By felfe-fame cenfures to be foone redreft. 
 And this fame error do I not efpie, jfl 
 
 Onely in them, but in the younger frie, ^ 
 
 Who 
 
 4 
 
The Alderman of Kendall, 175 
 
 Who in their youth do lauifh out their time, 
 
 Without corre6lion or due difcipline : 
 
 Refpe6lleffe of themfelues (as't may be fayd) 
 
 They feeme forgetfull wherto they were made : 
 
 O looke to this let them not run at large, 
 
 For ouer thefe you haue a fpeciall charge ; 
 
 And if they fall beleeu't from me it's true. 
 
 Their blood will be requiY'd offome of you. 
 
 We reade in Rome how they didjlill retaine^ 
 
 Some exercife that they their youth might traine. 
 
 In warlike difcipline or liberall arts, 
 
 Or education in fome forraine parts ; 
 
 So as in time as after it was fhowne, 
 
 Thefe anions gain'd their Citty great renowne. 
 
 But whence can I imagine that this fm, 
 
 Wherein too many haue been nufled in. 
 
 Had her originall but from that ftaine 
 
 Of reputation, and the worlds baine, 
 
 (Which I in briefe am forced to expreffe,) 
 
 To wit, that fwinifh vfe of drunkenneffe ? 
 
 A vice in great requeft (for all receiue it) 
 
 And being once train'd in't there's few can leaue it ; 
 
 How happie fhould I in my wifhes be, 
 
 If I this vice out of requefb could fee. 
 
 Within that natiue place where I was borne. 
 
 It lies in you, deere Townes-men to reforme, 
 
 Which to performe, if that I might prefume. 
 
 Or fo much vnder fauour to affume. 
 
 As to expreffe what my obferuance taught me. 
 
 Or bring to you what my experience brought me, 
 
 I could 
 
176 To the Alderman of Kendall, 
 
 I would make bold fome outward grounds to lay, 
 Which might in fome fort lye an open way, 
 For rectifying fuch abufe as grow, 
 By this foule vice, mid I will tell you how. 
 There is no meane that fooner moues to good. 
 If that the fame be rightly vnderjiood, 
 Then is example^ for it's that doth moue, 
 Such firme impreffion as we onely loue, 
 What greater wittes approue, and what they say. 
 Stands for an axiome mongft the younger aye, 
 Which by the Prouerbe euery man difcernes, 
 Since as the old Cocke crowes, the young Cock learns ; 
 So weake is youth, as there is nought in them, 
 Which they deriue not from the Eldermeny 
 Quickly peruerted (fo depraud's our will) 
 If they fee ought in the Elder fort that's ill, 
 And hardly (when they'r cuftomed in fmne,) 
 Can they be wain'd from that they'r nufled in. 
 But if they once perceiue the Elder fort. 
 Hates vice in youth, and will reprooue her for't 
 If they fee Vertue honourd by the Graue 
 And reuerend MagistratCy care they will haue, 
 To reflifie their errors, and reduce, 
 Their ftreying courfes to a ciuill vfe. 
 If this by due obferuance doe appeare, 
 Methinks you that are Elders^ you fhould feare. 
 To a6l ought ill, left your example fhould, 
 Approue in others, what fhould be contrould. 
 And ill may th' Father chaftife in his fonne, « 
 
 That vice, which he himfelfe is guilty on. ™ 
 
 Your 
 
To the Alderman of Kendall, 177 
 
 Your patternes are moft obuious to the eye, 
 Of each vnfeafon'd youngling paffeth by, 
 Which if he fee defedliue but in part 
 He prefently applies it to his heart : 
 For Ediicatio7i which we may auerre 
 With that diuinely-learn'd Philofopher 
 To be a fecond Nature) now and then 
 Doth alter quite the qualities of men, (were, 
 
 And make them fo transform'd from what they 
 (As if there did fome other men appeare : 
 Yea fo far from their Nature they're eftraung'd, 
 As if they had been in the cradle chang'd : 
 And of this fecond nature I am fure. 
 Example is the onely gouernour 
 Which Plutarch termes tH Idea of our life, 
 Tymon an emelation or aftrife 
 We haue to imitate, that what we fee, 
 May in our felues as well accomplifJtt bee. 
 O then you Prefidents (whofe yeeres do giue 
 To moft of you a faire prerogatiue) 
 Reforme your felues (if you fee ought) and then 
 You better may reform't in other men. 
 As you are firft by order and by time. 
 So firft inioine your felues a Difcipline ; 
 Which being obferv'd by you and dewly kept, 
 You may wake fuch as haue fecurely flept 
 In their exceffe of vanities : 'mongft which 
 Let me (with all refpedl to you) befeech 
 That you would feek exa6lly to redreffe, 
 (That brutifh vice of beaftly drunkenneffe. 
 
 N A7id 
 
« 
 
 178 The Alderman of Kendall, 
 
 And fir Ji to propagate a publique good, 
 
 BaniJEt I pray you from your brother-hoody 
 
 For diuerfe haue obferued it and will ; 
 
 (For man obferues not good fo oft as ill, 
 
 What's done by th' Elders of a Corporation^ 
 
 Giues vnto other men a toleration : 
 
 If any fuch there be (as well may be) 
 
 For that vice raignes in each Society : 
 
 Firft caution them, bid them for fhame refraine 
 
 To lay on Grauity fo fowle a ftaine ; „^^ 
 
 Tell them much happens twixt the cup and lip, al 
 
 And those fame teres of their good fellowfhipy 
 
 If they in time reforme not what's amiffe. 
 
 Shall drowne their reeling foules in hels abiffe : 
 
 Where they may yaule and yarme til that they burfl. 
 
 Before they get one drop to quench their thirft. 
 
 Since th'punifhment fhall be proportion'd there, 
 
 To that delight which we do Hue in here. 
 
 O then, for Gods loue, bid them now prepare. 
 
 To be more ftri6l then hitherto they were. 
 
 Or bid them haue recourfe vnto their glaffe, 
 
 And there furueigh how fwiftly time doth paffe, 
 
 How many aged Emblemes time doth fhowe. 
 
 In thofe fame wrinkles of their furrow'd browe ; 
 
 How many motiues of declining age. 
 
 What arguments of a fhort pilgrimage. 
 
 How many meffengers of inftant death. 
 
 As dropfie, gout, and fhortnes of the breath, 
 
 Catarrs defcending howerly from the head, 
 
 Diftafte of meates, wherein they furfeted : 
 
 And 
 
The Alderman of Kendall, 179 
 
 And thoufand fuch proceeding from ill diet, 
 Nights fitting vp, rere bankets, mid-dayes ryet. 
 But if thefe doting Gray-beards I haue nam'd, 
 Will not by your intreaties be reclaim'd. 
 Then I would wifh (becaufe thefe vices lurke) 
 That you would fall another way to worke, 
 And by dew caftigation force them take 
 Another courfe for youths example fake : 
 For thofe that will not now, at laft repent 
 After fome twice or thrice admonifhment, 
 Derferue a punifhment, nay which is worfe, 
 The Churches Anathema or that curfe, 
 Which fhall lie heauy on them in that day. 
 When what they owe they muft be forc't to pay : 
 But fome of you fuch Reuerend-men appeare, 
 As you deferue that title which you beare, 
 Townes Guardians^ protestors of our peace ^ 
 Andfole renewers of our hopes encreafey 
 So difcreete andfo temperate withall, 
 As if Rome did her men Patritians calj 
 I without affentation might be bolde 
 To name you fo, nor could I be control' d. 
 Wherefore I need not feare but you that are 
 Of fuch fmcerity will haue a care, 
 To roote out thefe (which as they feeme to me) 
 Be maine Corrupters of your libertie, 
 / wifh it and I hope to fee it too^ 
 That when I fhall come to re-vifit it you 
 I may much glory, andfo much the more. 
 To fee them good that mere deprau'd before : 
 
 N 2 Nor 
 
i8o To the Alderman of KendalL ! 
 
 Nor doe I onely fhadow fuch fhould giue, 
 Example vnto others how to Hue ; 
 But ev'n fuch vice-fupporters as begin, 
 Brauado-like to gallant it in Jin : 
 Thefe are incorrigible y^j//^^ their ftate 
 Tranfcends the power of any Magiftrate : 
 For why they're Gentlemen, whence they alleadge 
 They may be drunkards by a priuiledge : 
 But I would haue you tell them this from me. 
 There is no fuch thing in gentilitie, 
 Thofe that will worthily derferue that name, 
 Muft by their vertues chara6ler the fame : 
 For vice and generous birth (if vnderjlood) 
 Differ as much in them, as ill from, good. 
 Befides, if they do fnuffe when they're reproou'd, 
 Or feeme as if, forfooth their blood were moov'd : 
 Tell them that weake and flender is that towne, 
 When fnufifes haue power to menace iuftice down : 
 Shew me true Refolution, they may know 
 That God hath placed Magiflrates below. 
 Who haue power to controle and chaftice fm, (bin :) 
 (And bleft's that town where fuch commaund hath 
 For tell me, if when great men do offend 
 Iuftice were fpeech-leffe, to what efpeciall end 
 Should lawes enacted be ? Since they do take 
 Nothing but Flies, like th! webs which fpiders make 
 Where fmall ones they both tdne and punijh'd be, 
 While great ones breake away m,ore eajily : 
 But rightly is it which that Cynicke fayde^ 
 Who feeing iuflice on a time ore-fwaidy 
 
 And 
 
To the A Iderman of Kendall. 1 8 1 
 
 And ouer bearded by a great-mans will, 
 Why thus it is, quoth he, with lujiice Jiill : 
 Since th' golden Age did hue her, for at fir ft 
 She was true-bred and f corn' d to be e7tforfi 
 To ought but right, yea fuch was Time as then, 
 " Things lawfidl were moft royall amongft m,en : 
 But now fhe thatfhould be afharpe edg'd axCy 
 To cut downe all fin 's made a nofe of waxe ; 
 Wherein ifs lufiice (if I not mifiake it) 
 What ere it be, iufi as the Great-men make it. 
 But Saturne is not banifht from your towne, 
 For well I know there's perfe6l iuftice fhowne, 
 There Themis may be fayd to haue her feate, 
 Where poore-ones may be heard as well as great, 
 There's no corruption but euen weight to all, 
 Equally temper'd, firme, impartiall, 
 Sincere, Judicious, and fo well approu'd, 
 As they that iuftice loue or ere haue lov'd, 
 Are bound to hold that Corporation deere, 
 Since in her colours Ihe's prefented there. 
 Nor do I only fpeake of fuch as be, 
 luftices nam'd within your libertie. 
 But of thofe men wherewith your Bench is grac't 
 And by Commiffion ore the County plac't 
 There may we fee one take in hand the caufe. 
 Ferreting out the fecrecy of th'lawes 
 Anatomizing euery circumfiance, 
 Where if he ought omit, ifs a meere chancey 
 So ferious is he, and withall fo fpeedy 
 Asfure his Pater nofter'j- not more ready : 
 
 N 3 Yea 
 
1 8 2 To the A Merman of Kendall. 
 
 Yea I haue wondred how he could containe 
 So many law-querkes infofmalla brainej 
 For as we fee full oft infufyimer timey 
 When Sun begins more South-ward to incline^ 
 A fhowre of haile-flones ratling in the aire: 
 Euenfo (for better can 1 not compare) 
 His lawe-exhaling meteors) would he 
 Send out his Showre of law-termes vfually : 
 So as I thought and m,anie in thofe places ^ 
 That it did thunder lawe, and raine downe cafes. 
 Yea I haue knownefome strucke infuch a blunder 
 As they imagined that his words were thunder ; 
 Which to auoide ( poor e fnakes) fo fear' d were they^ 
 As they would leaue the Bench andfneake away. 
 There may we fee another fo well knowne 
 To penall fiatuteSj as there is not one, 
 (So well experienfl in them he does make him,) 
 Which can by any kinde of meanes efcape him. 
 Befides for execution which we call, 
 The foueraigne end and period of all ; 
 Yea which may truly be efleem'd the head. 
 From whence the life of luftice doth proceed 
 He merits dew refpe6l : witneffe (I fay) 
 Thofe whipping-flocks ere6led in th'high way 
 Withflockes and pilleries, which he hathfet 
 To haue the vagrant Begger foundly bet : 
 Nor doth he want for any one of thefe, 
 A ftatute in warme flore if that he pleafe ; 
 Which on occafion he can well produce, 
 Both for himfelfe and for his Countries vfe, 
 
 An 
 
of KendalL 183 
 
 Another may we fee ^ though /pare of fpeech^ 
 And temporate in difcourfe, yet he may teach 
 By his effe6luall words the raffier fort^ 
 Who fpeake fo much as they are taxed for' t. 
 Yeafo difcreetly fober, as I wifh, 
 Many were of that temper as he is. 
 For then I know their motions would be goody 
 Nor woidd they fpeake before they vnderftood. 
 Another f olid y and though blunt in words ^ 
 Yet marke him and his countrey curfe affords 
 One more iudicious, pithy in difcourfe^ 
 Sound in his reafons, or of more remorce, 
 Tofuch as are diftreffed, for he' I take, 
 The pore mans caufe, though he be nere fo weake. 
 And much haue I admir'd him in Surueigh 
 Of his deferts fhowne more from day to day, 
 That hefhouldfo difualue worldly praife, 
 When euery man feekes his efleeme to raife. 
 And worthy ly, for neuer nature brought 
 Foorth to the world a man fo meanely wrought, 
 Offuch rare workemanfhip as you fhall finde, 
 IntH exquifite perfection of his minde. 
 Yea, if too partiall though! 1 1 fhould not be, 
 (In that he hath beenfiill a friend to me) 
 I could expreffe fuch arguments of loue, 
 As were of force th'obduratfi hearts to moue. 
 To admiration of thofe vertues refl, 
 Within the generous table of his brefl. 
 But I haue euer hated, fo has hee, 
 " To paint mens worths in words offlatterie. 
 
 N 4 yea 
 
184 To the Alderman 
 
 Yea I doe know it derogates from worth. 
 To haue her f elf e in colours fhadow' d forth, 
 Sith vertue rather craues for to be knowen 
 Vnto her f elf e, then vnto others fhowen. 
 Onely thus much He fay ; ordain! d he was, 
 Euen in his Cradle others to furpaffe. 
 Since for his education it may feeme, 
 Being in mountaines bred, that it was meane. 
 But now offuch an equall forme combin'de 
 As he isfirong in body and in minde. 
 Sincerely honeft, andfo well approu'd, 
 As where he is not known, hee's heard & lou'd, 
 So as on Mountaines born, his thoughts afpire. 
 To Sions mount, & loues triumphant quire. 
 Another there's, who howfoere he feeme. 
 In tE eie offome diflemper'd iudgements mene. 
 In vnderftanding, I doe know his wit, 
 Out-flrips the mofl of thofe that cenfure it, 
 Befides theres in him parts of more defert 
 For Nature isfupplide in him by Art. 
 And wheras fom tds wit impute the wrong, 
 I rather doe impute it to his tongue. 
 Since well I know by due experience, 
 (Atfuch times as he deign' d me conference) 
 For reading, profound reafon, ripe conceipts, 
 Difcourfe offiories, arguing of eflates, 
 Such generall iudgement he in all didfhow, 
 As I was wrapt with admiration, how 
 Me could efieemfo m^enely (hairebraind-elues) 
 Offuch an one was wifer then themfelues. 
 
 Its 
 
of Kendall, 185 
 
 Its true indeed^ hee^s not intemperate. 
 (As this age fajhions) nor opinionated 
 But humble in his iudgement^ which may be^ 
 Some caufe that he is cenfur'd, as we fee. 
 Alas of grief e J none fhould be deemed wife^ 
 Butfuch as can like timifts temporize. 
 Expofe their reputation to the fhame 
 Of an offenfiue or iniurious name. 
 Whereas if we true wifdome vnderfiood. 
 We'd think non could be wife butfuch wer good. 
 And though we queftion thus, afking what md f 
 Vnleffe he be a polititian^ 
 Yet po Hide will be of f mall auaile, 
 When that arch polititian Machauell, 
 Shall flame and frie in his tormented foule^ 
 Becaufe to th world wife, to heauen afoole. 
 Yea I doe wifh (if ere I haue afonne) 
 He may befo wife, as haue wit to fhun 
 A felfe conceipt of being foly wife. 
 In his owne bleared and dimfighted eies. 
 For then I know there will in him apeare, 
 A Chriflian zealous and religious feare. 
 Which like an Angell will attend himflill, 
 Mouing to good, and waine him from whats ill. 
 And far more comfort fhould I haue of him. 
 Then if through vaine conceipt he fhould begin 
 To pride him in his follies, for by them. 
 We fee how many roote out houfe and name, 
 Yea of all vertues which fubfifting be. 
 None makes more perfe6l then humilitie. 
 
 Since 
 
1 86 To the Alderman 
 
 Since by it man deemes of himfelfe^ ands worthy 
 As of the vileft worme the earth brings forth. 
 Which difefteeming I may boldly name^ 
 More noble then to glorie in our fhame : 
 For it doth leade vs in a glorious path. 
 With faf eft condu6l from the day of wrath. 
 When ftandig 'fore that high Tribunall there 
 We're found far better then wee did appeare. 
 And fuch is hee-yet haue I heard it vowde, 
 " Hee has not witt enough for to bee proude. 
 Wheras wee know, and by experience fee, 
 That fooles bee still the proudefh men that be. 
 Nor is he onely humble, for I heare, 
 Of other proper vertues which appeare 
 In his well tempred difpojition, when 
 I hear of no complaints mongfl poorer meny 
 Who are his tenaunts for he has report y 
 Of fhewing mercy , and is bleffed for' t. 
 And is not this a poynt of wifedome, fay? 
 For to prouide thus for another day 
 That for terreftriall things, hee may obtayne 
 A farre more glorious and tranfcendent gayne. 
 Sure (I doe thinke) there is no foole to him. 
 That does enrich his progeny by fmne, 
 Makes fhipwrack of a confcience, bars himfelfe, 
 Of after hopes to rake a little pelfe. 
 Ruines his foule, and ads vnto the ftore, 
 Of his accounts, by racking of the pore. 
 Whereas ofth' other fide hees truely wife, 
 (Though not to man, yet in thalmighties eies. 
 
 who 
 
Of Kendale. 187 
 
 Who pitty and compaffion doth profeffe, 
 To th'forlome widdow and the fatherleffe, 
 Does right to all men, nor will make his tongue, 
 An aduocate for him who's in the wrong ; 
 Accepts of no aduantage, which may feeme 
 To ftaine his confcience, or to mak't vncleane : 
 Hates an oppreffors name, and all his time. 
 Was neuer wont to take too great a fine. 
 Beares himfelfe blameleffe before God and man. 
 Hee's truely wife, or much deceau'd I am. 
 Indeed he is, and fuch an one is plaft. 
 In that fame Mirror which I /pake of laft. 
 Who without affentation may be faid, 
 To haue a patterne vnto others laid. 
 In a6lions of this kind, yea I may fweare, 
 Rather for thefe refpe6ls I hold him deare. 
 Then for his ftate, which may be well expreft. 
 To equall, if not to furmount the beft. 
 But I'ue too farre digreft, in breefe it's he, 
 Who hates the leuen of the Pharifee, 
 And (which is rare) 'mongft richer men to find, 
 He counts no wealth like th'riches of the mind. 
 How happy you {Graue Elders) to haue thefe, 
 Affiftants in your peace, meanes for your eafe. 
 So as their ferious care, ioyn'd to their powers, 
 May feeme in fome degree to leffen yours, 
 For powers vnited, make the army ftronger, 
 "And minds combin'd preferue that vnion longer. 
 O may there be, one mind and one confent, 
 (Cohering in one proper continent) 
 
 One 
 
i88 To the Alderman of Kendall, 
 
 One firme opinion, generall decree, 
 
 Amongft you all concurring mutually : (fords. 
 
 And may your Throne, which fuch good men af- 
 
 Nere fall at oddes by multiplying words. 
 
 Since the fpirit of contention ftirres our blood, 
 
 And makes vs oft negle6l a publique good. 
 
 Thus with my beffc of wifhes, I will end, 
 
 Refling your euer true denoted friend. 
 
 R.B. 
 
 I 
 
1 89 
 
 To all true-bred Northerne Sparks, of 
 the generous fociety of the Cottoneers, who 
 hold their High-roadeby the Pinder of Wake- 
 field, the Shoo-maker of Brandford, and 
 the white Coate of Kendall : Light gaines, 
 Heauie Purfes, good Tradings, 
 with cleere Confcience. 
 
 TO you my friends that trade in blacke and white, 
 In blacke and white doe I intend to write. 
 Where He infert fuch things are to be fhowne, 
 Which may in time adde glory and renowne, 
 To your commodious tradings, which fhall be 
 Gracefull to you, and fuch content to me, 
 As I fhould wifh, at leaft my lines Ihall tell, 
 To after-times, that I did wifh you well, 
 And in my obferuations feeme to fhow, 
 That due refpedl I to my country owe. 
 Firft therefore ere I further goe. He proue, 
 Wherein no leffe. He manifefb my loue, 
 Then in the greateft : that of all haue beene. 
 Shall be, or are, you feeme the worthieft men. 
 
 And 
 
r 
 
 190 To the Cotteneers. 
 
 And this's my reafon ; which may grounded be, 
 On the firme arches of Philofophy ; 
 We fay ^ andfo we by experience fijidy 
 In man there is a bodie and a mindy 
 The body is the couer^ and in it 
 The minds internall foueraignneffe doth Jit y 
 As a great Princeffe, much admired at ^ 
 Sphered and reared in her chaire of Jlate^ 
 While th' body like a hand-maid pr eft f obey^ 
 Stands to performe^ what ere her miftreffe fay. 
 Yeafo7ne compare this bodies outward grace^ 
 Vnto a dainty fine contriued cafe^ 
 Yet for all tK coft which is about her f pent, 
 She founds but harfh, without her inftrumentj 
 Which is thefoule : others refembled haue. 
 The bodies feature to a fumptuous graue. 
 Which garnifht is without full tricke and trim. 
 Yet has nought elfe, but f culls a7td bodies within. 
 Others compare the beauty of the mind. 
 To pith in trees ^ the body to the rind. 
 But of all others have bene, be, or were, 
 In my opinion none doth come fo neere, 
 In true Resfmblanes (nor indeed there can) 
 Then twixt the mind and lining of a m^an. 
 For its the inward fubflaiice which to ^nee, 
 Seemes for to line the body inwardly, 
 With ornaments of vertue, aiid from hence, 
 As he excells, we draw his excellence. H 
 
 Then, my deere countrimen, to giue your due, . 
 
 From whence comes mans perfe6lion, but from you 
 
 That 
 
To the Cotteneers. 191 
 
 That doe maintaine with credit your eftate, 
 
 And fells the beft of man at eafie rate, 
 
 To wit, the minds refemblance, which is gotten, 
 
 By thofe fame linings which yon fell of Gotten, 
 
 For fee thofe thin breech Irifh lackies runne, 
 
 How fmall i'th waft, how fparing in the bombe, 
 
 What IcLcke a Lents they are : yet view them when 
 
 They haue beene lin'd by you, theyr proper men, 
 
 Yea I may fay, man is fo ftrange an Elfe, 
 
 Without your helpe, hee lookes not like himfelfe. 
 
 Indeed if we were in fome parts of thofe. 
 
 Sun-parched countries, where they vfe no clothes, 
 
 But through the piercing violence of heat, 
 
 Which in fome places is intemporate, 
 
 Th' inhabitants go naked, and appeare 
 
 In grifly fort, as if they frenticke were, 
 
 Then you that make vs man-like, fhould not need, 
 
 Nor yowx prof effion ftand in any fteed, 
 
 For why ? the clymate which we then fhould haue, 
 
 No Bombaft, Gotten, or the like wonld craue : (them, 
 
 Since fcorching beames would fmoulder fo about 
 
 As th' dwellers might be hot enuffe without them. 
 
 But heer's an Ifland that fo temprate is. 
 
 As if it had plantation to your wifh. 
 
 Neither fo bote, but that we may abide. 
 
 Both to be clad and bombafled befide. 
 
 Neither fo cold, but we may well allow it, 
 
 To weare fuch yar7ie, a blind man may looke through it. 
 
 Its true indeed, well may it be confeft. 
 
 If all our parts were like fome womens breft. 
 
 Bared 
 
192 To the Coteneers 
 
 Bared and painted with pure Azure veines, 
 
 Though of themfelues they haue as many ftaines, 
 
 And riueld wrinkles, with fome parts as badde, 
 
 Then th' crooked Greeke Therfytes euer had, 
 
 It might be thought your gaines would be fo fmall. 
 
 As Ime perfwad'd they would be none at all : 
 
 But thanks be giuen to heauens fupernall powers. 
 
 Which fways this Maffe of earth, that trade of yours, 
 
 Hath her dependance fixt in other places, 
 
 Then to be tide to womens brefts or faces. 
 
 Let Painters and Complexion fellers looke. 
 
 To their crackt ware, you haue another booke 
 
 To view into, then they haue to looke in. 
 
 For yours's an honeft trade, but their's is fm. 
 
 Next I expreffe your worth in, fhall be thefe, 
 
 Firjl, your fupportance of poor e families, 
 
 Which are fo weake in ftate, as I much doubt me. 
 
 They would be forc't to begge or ftarue without ye. 
 
 The fecond is, (wherein you'ue well deferued, 
 
 The care you haue to fee your Country ferued, 
 
 Not as fuch men who Hue by forraine Nations, 
 
 Impouerifhing this Land by tranfportations, 
 
 For their depraued Natures be well fhowne, 
 
 By louing ftrangers better then their owne ; 
 
 Or as it feemes, to fucke their Mothers bloud, 
 
 Their Natiue Countrie for a priuate good. 
 
 The third and laft, which heere expreft fhall be, 
 
 Shall reference haue to your Antiquity , 
 
 All which I will dilate of, and though I 
 
 Cannot defcribe ech thing fo mouingly, 
 
 As 
 
To the Cotteners. 193 
 
 As I could wifh, yet take it in good part, 
 Proceeding from the centre of a heart, 
 That did this taske and labour vndertake. 
 For y OMX prof ejjion and your countries fake, 
 Whofe ayre I breath'd, O I were worthy death, 
 Not to loue them, who fuck' t with me one breath. 
 How many Families fupported be, 
 Within the compaffe of one Barronry, 
 By your profeffion I may boldly fhow, 
 (For what I fpeake, I by obferuance know.) 
 Yea by eye-witneffe, where fo many are, 
 Prouided for by your peculiar care. 
 As many would the beggars be (I wot) 
 If your religious care releeu'd them not. 
 For there young brats, as we may well fuppofe, 
 Who hardly haue the wit to don their clothes, 
 Are fet to worke, and well can finifh it. 
 Being fuch labours as doe them befit : 
 Winding of fpooles, or fuch like eafie paine, 
 By which the leaft may pretty well maintaine 
 Themfelues, in that fame fimple manner clad. 
 As well agrees with place where they were bred. 
 Each plies his worke, one cards, another fpins, 
 One to the studdles goes, the next begins 
 To rauell for new wefte, thtts none delay, 
 But make their webbe-vp, 'gainft each Market-day, 
 For to preferue their credit : but pray fee, 
 Which of all thefe for all their induftry, 
 Their early rifmg, or late fitting vp. 
 Could get one bit to eat, or drop fuppe. 
 
 O If 
 
194 To the Cotteneers. 
 
 If hauing wrought their webbes, their forc't to ftand, 
 
 And not haue you to take them off their hand. 
 
 But now by th'way, that I my loue may fhew, 
 
 Vnto the poorer fort as well as you, 
 
 Let me exhort you, in refpe6l I am, 
 
 Vnto you all both friend and Conntrhnan, 
 
 And one that wifheth, if hee could expreffe, 
 
 What's wifhes be vnto your Trade fucceffe, 
 
 As to himfelfe, thefe pooremen (vnder fauour) 
 
 Who earne their meanes fo truly by their labour. 
 
 Should not (obferue me) bee enforc't to wait, 
 
 " For what you owe, and what's their due, fo late, 
 
 Time vnto them is pretious, yea one hoiL^^e^ 
 
 If idlye fpe7tt^ is charges to the poor e : 
 
 Whofe labour's their Reuenue : doe but goe, 
 
 To Salomon, and he will tell you fo, 
 
 Who willeth none, exprefly to fore-flow. 
 
 To pay to any man what they doe owe. 
 
 But, if they haue it, not to let them ftand, 
 
 Crauing their due, but pay it out a hand. 
 
 Say not vnto thy friejid (faith Salomon) 
 
 I haue not for thee now, but come ano7t : 
 
 For why fhouldft thou that haft wherewith to pay, 
 
 Put of till morrow, what thou 'inaift to day. 
 
 Beleeue me friends I could not choofe but fpeake, 
 
 And caution you of this, for euen the weake 
 
 And impotent, whofe foules are full as deere, 
 
 As be the Monarchs, whifper in mine eare, 
 
 And bid mee tell you yet to haue a care, 
 
 Not to expreffe their names what men they are, 
 
 For 
 
To the Cotteneers. 195 
 
 For then they doubt that you to fpite them more^ 
 Would make themjlay, farre longer then before. 
 That you would fee their iniuries redreft, 
 Of which they thinke, you were not yet poffeft. 
 But in transferring of the charge to fuch, 
 As be your Favors, which haue had fmall tutch, 
 Of others grief es : your felues haue had the blame, 
 Though't feems your Favors wel deferud the fame. 
 Nor would I haue you thinke Ime feed for this, 
 For they do plead in Forma pauperis 
 That bee my Clyents, yea Ime tied too. 
 In countries loue to doe that which I doe : 
 For euen their teares, mones, and diftreffed ftate, 
 Haue made me for them fo compaffionate, 
 That my foule yern'd within me, but to heare, 
 Their mones defpifd, that were efteem'd fo deere, 
 To their Creator, fee their Image then ; 
 And make recourfe to him that gaue it them, 
 Whofe manfion is aboue the higheft fphere. 
 And bottles vp the fmalleft trickling teare, 
 Shed by the pooreft foule, (which in a word) 
 Shall in that glorious fynod beare record : 
 Where for the leaft non-payment which we owe, 
 Shall paffe this doome-A way ye cur/ed, goe. 
 But I do know by my Experience, 
 The moft of you haue fuch a Confcience, 
 As in that day, what euer fhall befall, 
 Your fmcere foules will as a brazen wall, 
 Shield you from fuch a cenfure ; for to me. 
 Some doe I know bore fuch integrity. 
 
 O 2 As 
 
ll 
 
 196 To the Cotteneers. 
 
 As I dare well auow't, tis rare to find, 
 
 In fuch a crazie time, fo pure a mind. 
 
 But now I muft defcend (as feemes to me) 
 
 From the releefe of many Familiey 
 
 By you fupported, to your fpeciall care, 
 
 To fee your country ferued with good Ware ; 
 
 Which of all others (if well vnderftood) 
 
 Seemes to haue ayme moft at a publique good. 
 
 Well it appeares, euen by your proper worth, 
 
 That you were borne for her that brought you forth, 
 
 Not for your felues, which inftanced may be. 
 
 In that you ayme at no Monopoly, 
 
 1^0 priuate Jiaples, but defire to fell, 
 
 (Which of all other feem's approu'd as well,) 
 
 Your Ware in publique places, which may ftand 
 
 No more for your auaile, then good of th' land. 
 
 Nor are you careleffe what it is you bring, 
 
 Vnto your Country, for your cuftoming, 
 
 Dependance has vpon that due efteeme, 
 
 They haue of you, that are the fame you feem, 
 
 Plaine home-hred chapmen (yet of fuch due note) 
 
 Their word is good, how plaine fo ere's their coat. \ 
 
 Yea doe I wifh, I may haue fuch as they, 
 Ingag'd to me, for they' I do what they fay. 
 
 When filken coats, andfome of them I know. 
 
 Will fay farre more then ere they meane to doe. 
 Therefore it much concernes you to produce. 
 That which you know is for a common vfe. 
 Not for the eye fo much as for the proofe. 
 For this doth tend moft to your owne behoofe : 
 
 Where 
 
To the Cotteneers. 197 
 
 Where Reputation doth fuch cuftome gaine, 
 
 As being got is feldome loft againe. 
 
 Yet fure methinks vty Friends, you put to th' venture, 
 
 When your commodities are ftretcht on th' tenter, 
 
 So that as I haue heard, when come to weting 
 
 They Jhrinke a yard at leajl, more then is fitting. 
 
 Yet doe I heare you make excufe of this. 
 
 That for your felues you know not what it is : 
 
 And for your Fa6lors what they take, they pay, 
 
 If Shere-men ftretch them fo, the more knaues they. 
 
 It's true they are fo, yet for all you vfe 
 
 Thefe words, beleeu't, they'l ferue for no excufe, 
 
 For if you will be Common-weales men, know. 
 
 Whether your Shere-men vfe this feate or no. 
 
 Before you buy, (which found) reprooue them then, 
 
 Or elfe auoid fuch tenter-hooking men. 
 
 There is a Galla^it in this towne I know, 
 
 ( Who damnd him/elf e, but moji of them doe foe) 
 
 If that he had 7zot, to make cloake audfuit. 
 
 Some thirty yards of rug or thereaboiit, 
 
 Yet hardly came to fifteene afterward, 
 
 It had beene meafnrd by the Taylors yard. 
 
 Now was not this too monftrous and to badde, 
 
 That it fhould leefe full halfe of that it had t 
 
 I know not what to thinke (but to be breefe) 
 
 Either the Taylor was an arrant theefe, 
 
 And made no bones of Theft, which is a crime, 
 
 Moft Taylors will difpence with at this time : 
 
 Or fure, if my weake wit can iudge of it, 
 
 The rugge was tentred more then did befit : 
 
 O 3 But 
 
198 To the Cotteneers. 
 
 But you will fay, the Gallant fure did lie, 
 
 Faith if you be of that minde fo am I, 
 
 For its fcarce poffible fo much to put. 
 
 In Cloake and fute, vnleffe heed cloath his gut ? 
 
 (And that's of th' largeft fize) and fo't may be, 
 
 For I'ue heard one skild in Anatomie^ 
 
 (Auerr thus much that euery gut in man 
 
 For at that time his le6lure then began,) 
 
 Was by due obferuation knowne to be 
 
 Seauen times his lejtgth: fo that it feemes to me 
 
 If this be true, which Naturalifts doe teach, 
 
 The Taylor plaid the man to make it reach^ 
 
 So far, for fure the yards could not be fmall, 
 
 That were to make cloake, fute, cloath guts, and all. 
 
 But I doe finde you guiltleffe, for I know. 
 
 As to your Countrey, you your Hues doe owe, 
 
 If priuate harmes might propagate her good, 
 
 (For Countries loue extends vnto our blood) 
 
 So there's no Commerce which you entertaine, 
 
 Aymes not in fome part at a publique gaine ; 
 
 And that's the caufe, Gods bleffmgs doe renew, 
 
 Making all things to cotton well with you. 
 
 " Now to the third Branch, is my mufe addreft. 
 
 To make your Trades Antiquity expreft. 
 
 If I had skill but rightly to define, 
 
 Th' originall foundation and the time. 
 
 The caufe of your encreafe, and in what fpace. 
 
 The people you Commerft with, and the place 
 
 Of your firft planting, then it might appeare, 
 
 Vpon what termes your priuiledges were : 
 
 But 
 
To the Cotteneers. 199 
 
 But fo onfufd be times antiquities, 
 As it is hard dire6lly to Ihow thefe, 
 In what efpeciall fort they were begun, 
 (Yet I may doe what other men haue done) 
 And by conie6lures make your Trade difplayd 
 Speaking in Verfe, what fome in profe haue faide 
 Some are opinioitd that your trade began 
 From old Carmentis, who in colours /pan 
 Such exquijit rare works, as th' webs /he wrought 
 Were farre and nere by forrain nations fought. 
 And as it 7nay in ancient writ appeare. 
 The Phrigian works were /aid to com from her. 
 But now the better to vnfolde the fame, 
 Know that there were two women of that name. 
 The one (for Stories manifefi no leffe) 
 Euanders mother was, a Propheteffe, 
 Who wrot and f pake in verfe withfuch a grace, 
 As fhe re7ioumd the Countrey where fhe was. 
 The other was a Spinfter, which did come. 
 Along with Aquila (when he from Rome 
 Marching amaine, lancht forth for Britanie) 
 Which Coafi Carmentis did no fooner fee, 
 The7tfhe admir'd,for well fhe faw by vfe, 
 TK inhabitants would proue indicftrious. 
 So as in thefe dales rude, they grew in time, 
 Specially N ooth-ward) by her difcipline, 
 To become ciuill, and where prompt to doe. 
 Any fet Tafke this Matron put them to. 
 Touching the place where fhe plantation had, 
 Diuers Hiftorians haue fo differed, 
 
 O 4 As 
 
200 To the Alderman 
 
 As hardly iumpe they by a hundred miley 
 And therefore difficult to reconcile 
 Their different opinions : for they fir iue, 
 Among fl themfelues, & aske wher fhes'd ariue ? 
 Since it appeares when Aquila came afhore, 
 Saue ^ or 4 choice dames, there were no more. 
 Of woman kinde with him : for he was loath. 
 To fhip fuch old hags, were not for his tooth. 
 And therefore fuch as bewty did adorne, (turne 
 Werfhipt with him : for they would ferue his 
 To reconcile thefe doubts, which feems a woder. 
 Know that his fleet deuided was a f under. 
 And driue to fundry creeks, fom Y.-dJ^,fom weft, 
 Som North, y^?;;^ South ; forfo they wer difirefl. 
 By aduerfe winds (as forced from together) 
 They were difperft, they knew not where, nor whither. 
 In which aufpiciotcs temp eft, happy fir ay, 
 For happy was that tempefi may you fay, 
 This modefl matron with an heauy heart. 
 Reft of her friends ariued ith 'North part. 
 With fom young maids which Aquila did minde 
 To bring along to keepe his men in winde. 
 
 The Port whenfhe ariud ( as' t feemes to me. 
 For I doe ground on probability, 
 Drawne from the clime & Ports defcription) 
 Was the rich hauen of ancient Workington, 
 Whofeflately profpeSl merits honours fame, 'j* 
 
 In nought more noble than a Curwens name. *™ 
 
 And long may it referue that name whofe worth. 
 Hath many knights from that defcent brought forth. 
 
 For 
 
of KendalL 201 
 
 For if to blaze true fame (/ ere haue skill) ^ 
 In Bouskill ioynd with CurwQn /how' 1 1 will. 
 Carmentis thus ariud did trauaile on 
 To fiftd finde fome place fit for plantation : 
 For the7i that Coajl as we in ftories reade^ 
 Lay wholy waft, and was vnpeopled. 
 Where in her progreffe by the way Jhe came. 
 She gaue to fundry places different name. 
 " Mongft which her owne name, whe^ice it is they fay, 
 Cartmell or Carment-hill holds to this day 
 Her Appelation ; and now neere an end 
 Of her fet iourney, as fhe did defend 
 D owne from the neighbouring Mountaines, fhe might 
 A woody vale, feafd delicioufy, (fp^^y 
 
 Through which a pleafa^it Riuer feemd to glide, 
 Which did this vale in equall parts deuide. 
 This hailing fpide, (on Stauelaies Cliffes they fay) 
 She laid her fiaffe, whence comes the name Staffe-lay. 
 Corruptly Staulay, where flie ftaid a fpace. 
 But feeing it a moft notorious place. 
 And that the trades men were fo gitien totJi Pot, 
 That they would drinke far more then ere they got. 
 She turnd from thence, yet left fome Maids behinde. 
 That might acquaint them in this wool worke kinde. 
 While fhe did plant, as ancient Records be, 
 Neerer to Kendall in tli Barronrie. 
 Thus haue I drawne your linage as it was, 
 For other Accidents I let them paffe, 
 Onely fuch things as moft obferuant were, 
 (As the ere6lion of your Sturbidge faire. 
 
 I 
 
202 To the Cottiners. 
 
 I thought to fhadow briefely, which began, 
 On this occafion by a Kendall man, 
 Who comming vp or downe I know not welly 
 Brought his com^nodities that way to fell : 
 Where being benighted, tooke no other Jhield, 
 To lodge him and his ware then th' open field : 
 A Majliffe had he, or a mungrill Ctcr, 
 Which he Jiill cride and cald on, Stur-bitch ftur, 
 Leaji miching knaites now fore the fpring of day, 
 Should come perchance, and filch his ware away. 
 From hence they fay tooke Sturbidge firfb her name, 
 Which if fhe did, fhe neede not think't a fhame. 
 For noble Princes, as may inftanc'd be, 
 From Braches had their names as well as fhe : 
 Such Ro7nulus and Reinus were, whofe name 
 Tane from a fhe- Wolfes dug, raifd Romes firft fame. 
 Yea Cyrus which 's as ill, (if not far worfe,) 
 Had but a Bitch (cal'd Spacott) for his nurfe. 
 For in defcents, it is our leaft of care. 
 To aske what men once were, but what they are. 
 Sith great efiates, yea Lordfhips raifd we fee, 
 ( And fo fhall ftill) fromth' ranke of beggar ie. 
 Yea Peafants (fuch hath been their happy fate) 
 Without defert haue come to great eftate, 
 For true it is was faid fo long agon, 
 A paltry Sire may haue a Princely Sonne. 
 ** But haft my Mufe in colours to difplay. 
 Some auncient cuftomes in their high roade way. 
 By which thy louing Countrey men doe paffe, 
 Conferring that now is, with which once was, 
 
 At 
 
To the Cotteneers, 203 
 
 At leaft fuch//^r^^ labour to make knowne, 
 
 As former times haue honour'd with renowne. 
 
 So by thy true relation 't may appeare 
 
 They are no others now, then as they were, 
 
 Euer efteem'd by auntient times records. 
 
 Which fhall be fhadow'd briefly in few words. 
 
 The firft whereof that I intend to fhow. 
 
 Is merry Wakefield and her Pindar too ; 
 
 Which Fame hath blaz'd with all that did belong, 
 
 Vnto that Towne in many gladfome fong : 
 
 The Pindars valour and how firme he flood. 
 
 In th' Townes defence 'gainfh th' Rebel Robin-hoody 
 
 How ftoutly he behav'd himfelfe, and would, 
 
 In fpite of Robin bring his horfe to th' fold. 
 
 His many May games which were to be feene, 
 
 Yeerely prefented vpon Wakefield greene. 
 
 Where louely Ingge and luflie Tib would go. 
 
 To fee Tom-liuely turne vpon the toe ; 
 
 Hob, Lob, and Crowde the fidler would be there, 
 
 And m^ny more I will not fpeake of here : 
 
 Good god how glad hath been this hart of mine 
 
 To fee that Towne, which hath in former time. 
 
 So florifh'd and fo gloried in her name. 
 
 Famous by th' Pindar who firft rais'd the fame ? 
 
 Yea I haue paced ore that greene and ore, 
 
 And th' m.ore I faw't, I tooke delight the more, 
 
 " For where we take contentment in a place, 
 
 " A whole dales walke, feemes as a cinquepace : 
 
 Yet as there is no folace vpon earth, 
 
 Which is attended euermore with mirth : 
 
 But 
 
204 To the Cotteneers. 
 
 But when we are tranfported moft with gladneffe, 
 
 Then fuddenly our ioyes reduc'd to fadneffe, 
 
 So far'd with me to fee the Pindar gone, 
 
 And of thofe iolly laddes that were, not one 
 
 Left to furuiue : I griev'd more then He fay, 
 
 (But now for Brad-ford I muft haft away). 
 
 Brad-ford if I fhould rightly fet it forth, 
 
 Stile it I might Banberry of the Norths 
 
 And well this title with the Towne agrees. 
 
 Famous for twanging. Ale, Zeale, Cakes and Cheefe : 
 
 But why fhould I fet zeale behinde their ale f 
 
 Becaufe zeale is for fome, biU ale for all ; 
 
 Zealous indeed fome are (for I do heare^ 
 
 Of many zealous fempring fifter there) 
 
 Who loue their brother, from their heart iffaith. 
 
 For it is charity, as fcripture faith. 
 
 But I am charm 'd, God pardon what's amiffe, 
 
 For what will th' wicked fay that heare of this, 
 
 How by fome euill brethren 't hath been fed, 
 
 Th' Brother was found in 's zealous Jifiers bed? 
 
 Vnto thy taske my Mtife, and now make knowne, 
 
 The iolly fhoo-maker of Brad-ford towne. 
 
 His gentle-craft fo rais'd in former time 
 
 By princely lourney-men his difcipline, 
 
 " Where he was wont with paffengers to quaffe, 
 
 " But fuffer none to carry vp their ftaffe 
 
 Vpon their fhoulders, whilft they paft through town 
 
 For if they did he foon would beat them downe. 
 
 (So valiant was the Souter) and from hence, 1 
 
 Twixt Robin-hood and him grew th' difference ; 
 
 Which 
 
To the Cotteneers. 205 
 
 Which caufe it is by moft llage-poets writ, 
 
 For breuity, I thought good to omit, 
 
 " Defcendi?ig thither where moft botmd I a^n, 
 
 " To Kendall-white-coates, where your trade began. 
 
 Kendall (to which I all fucceffe do wifh) 
 
 May termed be that parts Metropolis, 
 
 For feate as pleafant, as the moft that are, 
 
 Inftanc't in th' ruin'd Cajlle of Lord Par. 
 
 (For feate imparaled) ; where we may fee, 
 
 " Great men to fall as fubie6l are as we : 
 
 Yea there (as in a mirror) may be fhowen. 
 
 The Subie6ls fall refts in the Soueraigne's frowne. 
 
 Many efpeciall bleffmgs hath the Lord, 
 
 Pour'd on this Towne, for what doth't not afford 
 
 (If neceffary for mans proper vfe) 
 
 Sufficient, if not fuperfluous ? 
 
 Yea I dare fay (for well it doth appeare) 
 
 That other places are more bound to her, 
 
 Then fhe to any, there's no Tow7ie at all, 
 
 (Being for compaffe fo exceeding fmall. 
 
 For commerce halfe fo great, nor is there any 
 
 That doth, confort in trafficke, with fo many. 
 
 But to her priuate bleffmgs, /i^r/z^r^ aire, 
 
 Sweet holefome water, fhe may make compare 
 
 With any clime, for aire nor piercing is. 
 
 Nor in her temprate brething, too remiffe : 
 
 For water, Kent, whence Kendall takes her name, 
 
 Whofe fpring (from Ke^it-mere) as they fay, is tane : 
 
 Swift is't in pace, light-poiz'd, to looke in cleere, 
 
 And quicke in boiling (which efteemed were) 
 
 Such 
 
2o6 To the Coteneers. 
 
 Such qualities, as rightly vnderftood 
 
 Without 'en thefe, no water could be good. 
 
 For Wood (how well fhe was in fore-time growne) 
 
 May foone appeare by th' ftore that is cut downe, 
 
 Which may occafion griefe, when we fhall fee 
 
 What want fhall be to our pofteritie : 
 
 Yet who feekes to preuent this furely none, 
 
 Th' old prouerbe's in requeft, each man for onCj 
 
 While each for one, one plots anothers fall, 
 
 ^^ And few or none refpedl the good of all. 
 
 But of all bleffmgs that were reckoned yet, 
 
 In my opinion there is none fo great, 
 
 As that efpeciall one which they receiue, 
 
 By th graue and reuerend Paftor which they haue ; 
 
 Whofe life and do6lrine are fo ioint together^ 
 (As both fincere, there's no defe£l in either,) 
 For in him both Urim and Thum7nim be, 
 O that we had more Paflorsfnch as he : 
 For then in Sion fJiould Godsflocke e7icreafey 
 " Hailing fuch Shepheards would not flea but fleece ; 
 
 Thus what wants Kendal that fhe can defirCy 
 
 Tyre'j" her Paflor, a7td her f elf e is Tyre, 
 
 He to miftrust her people, fhe to bring, A 
 
 Wealth to her Towne by forraine trafficking ? '■ 
 
 Now muft I haue the White-coates vnder-hand 
 Who were in fore-time a defence to th' land: 
 Yea fuch they were, as when they did appeare, 
 They made their ^oqs perfume their hofe for feare, 
 Experienft Archers, and fo pra6lis'd it. 
 As they would feldome fhoot but they would hit. 
 
 So 
 
 4 
 
To the Cotteneers. 207 
 
 So that though th'darters of rude Scythia, 
 
 The golden- A rchers of rich Perjia, 
 
 The Sihier-Jhields of Greece haue borne the name, 
 
 Blaz'd by the partiall trumpe of lying fame. 
 
 Yet in behalfe of Kendall (I durft fweare it) 
 
 For true renovvne thefe Countries came not nere it, 
 
 As for this name of White-coate vs'd to fore 
 
 It came from th' milk-white fitrnittire they wore (lows 
 
 And in good-footh they were but home-fpun fel- 
 
 " Yet would thefe white-coats make their foes dy yel- 
 
 VVhich might by latter times be inftanced, (lows, 
 
 Euen in thofe border-feruices they did : 
 
 But this t'expreffe (fmce it is knowne) were vaine, 
 
 Therefore, my friends, He turne to you againe. 
 
 And of fome fpeciall matters caution you. 
 
 Which being done He bid you all adew : 
 
 Since God hath bleft you with fuch benefits. 
 
 As the reliefe of nature well befits, 
 
 Hauing of euery thing fufficient fhore, 
 
 There's reafon (Coimtry-men) you render more 
 
 To your Creator, who fo kinde has been. 
 
 To you and yours aboue all other men : 
 
 (Though all (I fay) fhould thankfull be) then fuch 
 
 Who nere receiued of him halfe fo much. 
 
 For well you know its in the Scripture faid, 
 
 Accompt for euerie Talent muft be made. 
 
 And how much more our Talents are, fhall we 
 
 After this life exa6l Accomptants be : 
 
 Be good difpencers then of what you haue. 
 
 And doe not fhut your Eares to fuch as craue 
 
 yet 
 
2o8 To the Cotteneers. 
 
 Your charities Reliefe (for in a word) 
 
 What you giue th' poore, you lend vnto the Lord, 
 
 And be you fure, your loue is not in vaine, 
 
 For with encreafe hele pay it you againe : 
 
 Put not your labourer off with long delay, 
 
 But fatisfie him if you can this day, 
 
 For pittie 'tis, poore foule, that he Ihould fit 
 
 Waiting your time when he hath earned it. 
 
 And this belieue me many crimes produces, 
 
 " Teeming of tenters and fuch like abufes 
 
 Which they are forc't to, caufe they are delaide 
 
 Working for more, then ere they can be paide : 
 
 Be not too rigorous vnto your debtor, 
 
 (If he be poore) forbearance is far better. 
 
 For 'laffe what gaine accrewes to you thereby. 
 
 If that his carkaffe doe in prifon lie : 
 
 Yea, if you kept his bodie till 't fhould rot, 
 
 Th' name of hard-hearted men were all you got. 
 
 And fure, if my opinion faile not me, 
 
 T' imprifon debtors ther's no policie, 
 
 Vnleffe they able be and obftinate. 
 
 And like our Bfink-mpts break t' encreafe their fhate, 
 
 For th' poore they better may difcharge their debt 
 
 When they 're at libertie and freedome get, 
 
 For labour may they when they are inlarg'd, 
 
 But when they die in prifon aWs dif charged, 
 
 O then (my friends) if you haue fuch as thefe : 
 
 Remember to forgiue your trefpaffes. 
 
 At leaft be not extreame to th' poor'ft of all, 
 
 " Giue him but time and he will pay you all. 
 
 So 
 
To the Lanf-lord. 209 
 
 So Time fhall crown e you with an happy end, 
 And confummate the wifhes of a friend. (fure 
 
 So each (through peace of confciece) rapt with plea- 
 Shall ioifully begin to dance his meafure. 
 '' One footing a5liuely VVilfons delight, 
 " Def canting 07i this note, I haue done whafs right, 
 ^^ Another ioyingto benmn^d 'mongjlthem, 
 " Were made Men-fiJJiers of poore fijher-men. 
 " The third as blith as any tongue can tell, 
 " Becaiife he' s foimd a faithfull Samuel. 
 " The fowrth is chaiiting of his Notes as gladly, 
 " Keepi7ig the tune for th'ho7iour ^/ Arthura Bradly. 
 The ^. fo pranke, he fear ce ca7t ftand on ground, 
 Aski7tg whdlefi7ig with him Mai Dixons round f 
 But where haue been my fences all this while, 
 That he {o7t whoi7t prof per ity doth f mile) 
 A7id ma7iy parts of e7nine7it refpe£l. 
 Shoidd be forgotten by m.y flrange negle6l ? 
 Take heede 7ny Mufe leafl thou i7igratefull be, 
 For well thou k7iowes he better thinkes of thee : 
 071 the7i {I fay) expreffe what thou doft wifh, 
 A7td tell the woreld truely what he is : 
 He's 07ie has fJiar'd i7i Nature fpeciall part, 
 And though beholdi7ig little vnto art. 
 Yet beare his words 7nore emphafls or force. 
 Then mofi of tH Schollers that I heare difcourfe. 
 His zvord keeps tutch {and of all men I know) 
 He has tEbeft i7tfide for fo 7nea7ie afhewe. 
 Outwardly bearing, te77iperate, yet will be 
 A bonus focius in good compa7iy, 
 
 P Hee 
 
2IO To the Cottenee7's. 
 
 He vnderjiands himfelfe {as I haue fayd) 
 
 And therefore aymes whereto he firjl was made^ 
 
 In brief e 'mongft all men that deferue applaudingy 
 
 None {hauing leffe of Art) merits more lauding : 
 
 So that though true defert crowne all the refl^ 
 
 Yet if ought want in them its here expreft ; 
 
 But th'Euening fhade drawes on, and damps the light 
 
 " Think friends on what I fayd, and fo good night. 
 
 To the Worfhipfull Recorder 
 of Kendall. 
 
 FOr Townes-abufes (worfhipfull Recorder) 
 I leaue them to your difcreet felfe to order : 
 My Journey's at an end ; hie bacuhim fixi^ 
 My Tale concluded, nought now refts but DixL 
 Nor would I haue you fpeak that, (though you may) 
 *' Which I haue heard a countrie Maior did fay, 
 Vnto a Scholler, who concluded had 
 His latine fpeech with Dixi I haue fayd : 
 To whom th'vnletter'd Maior to aproue the fame 
 Replying thus, tooke Dixi for his name. 
 " If that thy name be Dixi fure I am, 
 Dixi's a learned vnderftanding man. 
 
 To 
 
211 
 
 ■To the Landf-lord where- 
 
 foeuer, 
 
 LAndf-lord to thee, addrefh to fpeake I am, 
 And full as much to thee as any man : 
 For many Errors and fowle crimes I knowe 
 That thou art more then others fubie6l toe. 
 Which ile in part, vnrip, and fo make cleere. 
 As in that day, when all men fhall appeare 
 Before their heauenly Landf-lord, where is had 
 A dew accompt : This now which I haue fayd 
 May be a witneffe, and beare record ftill. 
 That thou didft know before thy Maifters will. 
 Which not perform'd thou know'fb what thou haft 
 " Wi^A manie Jiripes thou Jhalt be chajiifed, (read 
 
 But firft, ere I proceed, fo great 's the cries 
 Of widdowes, and fo many tere-fwolne eyes 
 Of Orphanes fuccourleffe that reach to heauen. 
 As I 'me well-nigh into amazement driuen, 
 And cannot perfe6l what I do entend, 
 Vntill I fee their forrowes at an end. 
 At leaft allayd (for I am forc't to keepe, 
 A confort with thefe filly foules that weep :) 
 So moouing is their paffion (as in briefe) 
 So ftrong's compaffion, I do feele their griefe. 
 
 P 2 Where- 
 
212 To the Lanf-lord, 
 
 Wherefore I muft (fo great is griefes extent) 
 Perfwade thefe blubbert wretches be content, 
 And beare with patience, till the Lord fhall fend. 
 In his good time vnto their forrowes end : 
 Which to expreffe the better I will moue them 
 In mildeft tearmes ; and thus will fpeak vnto them. 
 Ceafe, ceafe (poore iniur' d Joule) your teres tojhedy 
 Weeping for that cannot be remeded, 
 ^ Laffe you are farre deceiu' d ; ifyoufuppofe ', 
 
 Teres can moue Landf-lords : they are none of thofe, 
 Their difpojitions are more harder far ^ 
 Then any other of Gods creatures are : 
 For tell me {Jiarueling) hath thy trickling eye, 
 Pale-colourd tiifage, heauejt-afcending crie, 
 Earth-bending knees, hart throbbing languifJiment^ 
 Eccoing fighs, fouls-fretting dif content, 
 Famine at home, furcharg'd with forrowes loade. 
 Debt with a Sergeant dogging thee abroad, 
 Haue any thefe whereof thoti hafl had part, 
 Been of that force to mollifie his heart ? 
 Haue all thy cries and Orphanes teres together 
 Moou'd him ? 6 no : they are as if a f ether. 
 Were here and there toft with each gale of winde, 
 Thoufhalt not finde that temper in his mind : 
 For he is cauteris'd and voide of fence, 
 And tha7tks his God he has a confcience, 
 Canfland remorceleffe 'gainft both winde and weather, 
 (Though he and's Confcience ^oe to hell together, 
 Yea he doth feele no more thy piteous mone, 
 The7t doth an Anuile when its Jlr coke vpon. 
 
 Why 
 
To the Land/- lord. 213 
 
 Why thenjhoiddjl thou thus Jlriue againjl the Jlreame, 
 THmpoi'time him that feemes as in a dreame, 
 Secure of hell, careleffe of thy diflreffe f 
 Fie take vpojz thee fome more m,anlineffe, 
 Roiife thy deie5led fpirits which now lie. 
 As iffurprifed by a lethargic ; 
 
 Wipe, wipe, thofe eyes with briny fir eamelings drownd, 
 And plant thy felfevpon a firmer ground, 
 Then thus to waft thy grief e-enthralled heart, 
 Which done : pray tell me but, what better art f 
 Well, if thou wilt but filence thy iitft wrong 
 For one halfe howre, or hardly for fo long, 
 Ilefiiew the beft I can of art andfkill. 
 With a7i vfibounded meafure of good will, 
 To tell thy cruell lord, that there's a dooine 
 As well as here in after time to come : 
 He tell him boldly though I chance to motce him 
 For all he's lord, there is a Lord aboue him, 
 Before whofe throne he mufl co7ne to account ; 
 For Syons-Lord is that Lord Paramount, 
 Who fw ayes the maffie orbe of heauen and earth, 
 Brething on euery creature that brings forth ; 
 It's he that giues to each hicreafe andflore. 
 Girdling the f welling Ocean with afhore: 
 The proudefl P ceres he to fubie^lion brings. 
 And proftrate lies the Diadems of Kings : 
 By him oppreffors feele there is a God, 
 That can reuenge and chaftice with his rodde ; 
 Yea, thy iniurious Lord, I meane to tell 
 Though he thinks of no hell, he'sfinde a hell. 
 
 P 3 And 
 
214 '^^ ^^^ Land/- lord. 
 
 And thofe dijlreaming teres which thou hajijhedy 
 Are by thy loiiing father bottled, 
 For there's no teres, Jighs, forrowes, grieues or mones, 
 Which come from any of his little-ones 
 But in his due compajjion fiill exprefl 
 Vnto their caufe, he'lefee their wronges redrefl. 
 How thinks' t of this ? will not thefe things enforce 
 In thy relentleffe Landf-lord a remorfe. 
 Sooner and deeper (of that minde am I) 
 Then ptding with thy finger in thine eye. 
 Well I will make attempt {which if it fall 
 Out to my wifhes as I hope it fhall) 
 The onely fee which I expert of thee, 
 Is that thou wouldfl poure out thy prayers for me, 
 Meane time pray for thy f elf e (while I expreffe 
 Thy grieues, and heauens grant to my hopes fucceffe.) 
 
 Now (rent-inhauncer) where away fo faft ? 
 Pray Hay a little fir for all your hafte : 
 Perchance you may more profit by your ftay, 
 Then if you fhould leaue me and goe your way : 
 For I conie6lure whither you are going, 
 Nay, (doe not blufh) to fome poore fnakes vndoing. 
 To root out fome poore Family or other ; 
 Speake freely man do not your confcience fmother ; 
 Ift not (you Suck-blood) to oppreffe the poore, 
 And put him and his children out a dore ; 
 1ft not to take aduantage on fome thing 
 Or other for his vtter ruining : 
 Ift not becaufe thou art not halfe content 
 That he fhould fit vpon fo eafie rent 
 
 And 
 
The Lands-lord. 215 
 
 And therefore takes occafion vpon naught, 
 
 Forging fomthing he neither faid, nor thought. 
 
 If fuch effe6ls make thee abroad to come, 
 
 Thou might with fafer confcience ftay at home. 
 
 For whence be thefe exa6lions thus to ftretch, 
 
 And racke thy Tenants } thou wilt fay, f enrich 
 
 Thy priuate Coffers^ which in time may be 
 
 A faire ejlate to thy pojleritie. 
 
 Or if not to encreafe thy wealth, or ftore. 
 
 For to maintaine thy ryot or thy whore. 
 
 O thou forlorne and miferable man. 
 
 Come thefe conclufions from a Chrijlian ? 
 
 Be thefe the ends whereto thou wert created, (ted } 
 
 To loue thofe things which make thy foule moft ha- 
 
 Ime forry for thee, (yet vnhappy Elfe) 
 
 Why fhould I grieue that grieues not for thy felfe } 
 
 How canft thou thinke thy children fhall poffeffe, 
 
 Long that eftate is got by wickedneffe ? 
 
 Or how imaginft that it can fucceede 
 
 Well with thy fhort liu'd heires, or with their feede, 
 
 When all that welth (was gathered to their hand.) 
 
 Came from the cries and curfes of the land } 
 
 No no, thou greedy fpunge that fucks vp ftore, 
 
 Yet more thou fuckes, thou needeft ftill the more. 
 
 Euill got goods (howbeit neare foe fay re) 
 
 Seldome enioyed are by the third heire 
 
 For wauering is that ftate is raifd by wrong. 
 
 Built its on Sand, and cannot hold out long. 
 
 Yea I haue feene (euen in that little time 
 
 Which I haue liu'd) Som of you in their prime. 
 
 P 4 And 
 
2i6 To the Land/- lord. 
 
 And fo ere6led to the height of ftate, 
 
 As you might feeme to be admired at. 
 
 For braue attendance, fumptuous attire, 
 
 For fare & pleafure what you could defire. 
 
 In building gorgeous, fo as you might be 
 
 Styled the heires of Earths felicitie. 
 
 Yet 'laffe (againe) how quickly haue I feene, 
 
 Thefe men fhrunke downe, as if they had not been : 
 
 Their pompe decreaf 'd, their great attendance gon. 
 
 And for their many difhes one, or none ? 
 
 True ; for how can it any other's chufe, 
 
 Since God hath promifd not to bleffe that houfe, 
 
 Which aimes at welth, and honour, for to rife \ 
 
 By Orphanes teares, and woeful! widows cries. 
 
 Then for the firft thou fees how it is vaine, j 
 
 To thinke that thy pofherity can raigne ^ 
 
 Or long abide in that eftates poffeffion, 
 
 Is got by fraud, collufion, or oppreffion. 
 
 Now I will fee whereto thy labours tend, 
 
 To fquize the poor e that thou may better fpend 
 
 On wanton conforts (Souls eternall curfe) 
 
 The firfb was ill, but this is ten-times worfe. 
 
 Its well ob/eru'dy that when wee doe begm^ 
 
 Onejinne's attended by an other Ji7ine. 
 
 They come in paires, which feemes approud to be, 
 
 In none oppreffor better then in thee. 
 
 Its not enough to prey vpon the Poore^ 
 
 But thou muft fpend his ftate vpon thy whoore. 
 
 So that me thinkes I almofh might auer, 
 
 Its rather he then thou maintaineth her. 
 
 Muft 
 
To the Land/- lord. 217 
 
 Muft his night cares and early rifing to, 
 
 His dayly labours, when and where to fow, 
 
 His painefull tillage, and his ilender fare, 
 
 His griefe when's crops the leffe fucceffiue are, 
 
 His many howers of want, few of content. 
 
 His fpeciall care to pay his Landf-lords rentj 
 
 Mufl he that earnes his liuing beft we- know, 
 
 (Being as God command'd) in's fweat ofs Brow, 
 
 Muft he the fleepes with many a troubled head. 
 
 To finde his wife and hungry children bread, 
 
 Muft he (I fay) for all his lifes difquiet, 
 
 Maintaine thy whoredome and exceffiue riot, 
 
 Muft he fupport thee in thy vaine delights. 
 
 Thy midnight reuels, and thy pagent fights, 
 
 Thy new inuented fafhions, and thy port, 
 
 -Muft he at th'Cart, maintaine thy pride at Court, 
 
 If this he doe ? this doome to thee is giuen. 
 
 Court it on earthy thoii's neuer Court in Heauen, 
 
 No Ahab no, there is no place for fuch, (tutch. 
 
 Whom poore mens grieues and forrowes will not 
 
 Such as will haue compaffion, fhall be there, 
 
 Receiud in mercy that had mercy heere. 
 
 But fuch as thou, who in the Pride of heart, 
 
 Had little feeling of an others fmart, 
 
 Shall heare that Ve, Away thou curfed, goe, 
 
 " Repent in time, or thou fhalt finde it fo : 
 
 For tell me ? why fhould whoriJJi complement 
 
 Force thee to foules eternall languifhment. 
 
 Why fhould a minutes pleafure take from thee, 
 
 All after-hope of thy felicitie, 
 
 Why 
 
2 1 8 The Lands-lord. 
 
 Why fhould a painted cheeke be fo fought after, | 
 Beleeu't in common fenfe it merits laughter j 
 
 That her complexion fhould by thee be fought, 
 That knows its not her owne, but that 'twas bought, 
 Yea one would thinke more reafon theres to feeke, 
 " Complexion in the fhop, then on the cheeke. 
 And better wil't with generous humors ftand, 
 To buy't at firfb then at the fecond hand. 
 Botha s to be bought : no difference in the f ale ; 
 The one in groffe, the other in Retaile. 
 
 then take heede, mix not two fmnes in one, 
 Sinnes linkt together make the foule to groane. 
 Their burdens heauy, yea tis fuch as they. 
 Draw fm in Cart-ropes (as the Prophets fay) 
 But if thou wilt needes to perdition run. 
 
 And follow on that chafe thou haft begun. 
 If thou wilt make thy body (in few words) 
 A filthy Caske, or Cage of vncleane birds, 
 If that fame foule, which fhould a Temple be, 
 And dedicated to Gods Maiejly, 
 Mufl now be made (it grieues me to expres) 
 A flew for Harlots and licentiou fn effe. 
 Yet let not thy oppreffion be the meanes 
 For to maintaine fuch proftituted queanes. 
 That doe expofe themfelues to publique fhame, 
 *' One fm's enough : fhun thou oppreffions name. 
 
 1 know indeede what was oi Ahab tould 
 Is growne a ftory now exceeding old. 
 
 His mouldred bones and afhes who can finde, 
 Yea his example's quite worne out of minde, 
 
 Since 
 
To L and/- lords. 219 
 
 Since for moft part, mens corps's no fooner rotten, 
 
 Then they and all their a6lions be forgotten. 
 
 Thejiories old indeed, its true they fay, 
 
 Yet is the vfe experienjl euerie day, 
 
 " Ech day we fee a filly "Nahoth. flaine, 
 
 *' And euery day a wicked Ahab raigne. 
 
 Who if he fee one plat of ground that is 
 
 Delightfull in his eye, or bordering his ; 
 
 Whether't be vineyard, garden, or that land, 
 
 (The front I mean) where Naboths houfe doth fband, 
 
 He cannot be content till he has got. 
 
 By fraud or violence, that fame neighbouring plot. 
 
 For like an eye-fore, it did euer grieue him, 
 
 Nor till ge gain'd it, would he euer leaue him. 
 
 Yet for all this, our moderne Ahabs they. 
 
 No fooner heare what facred Scriptures fay, 
 
 Of that example, then they ftraight begin, 
 
 To giue a curfe to Ahab and his fmne. 
 
 Who made no bones (poore Naboth to denye him) 
 
 To haue one little Vineyard lying by him. 
 
 Cruell he was, fay they, and well deferu'd 
 
 His punifhment ; for he was rightly feru'd. 
 
 To be depriu'd of all, life, realme, and crowne, 
 
 That would not fuffer Naboth haue his owne. 
 
 Yea the reward did fit his Tyrant-hart, 
 
 Defpoyl'd of all, that fpoyld the poore of part. 
 
 So their owne iudgements (moft vnhappy Elues) 
 
 That thus pronounce the fentence on themfelues. 
 
 Their owne mouthes do condemn them, for by this 
 
 Each proue their guilt by th'guilt they fhow of his. 
 
 Where- 
 
2 20 To the Landf-Lord. 
 
 Wherefore as Nathan did to Dauid fay, 
 Taking Vriaks life and wife away, 
 Where he propofd this queftion thereupon. 
 Of him had many Sheepe, a7iother one : 
 Wherein indeed the Prophet Jhadowed^ 
 That fa6l which Dauid to Vriah did. 
 Which when that good King heard, as th! Scripture faith 
 He anfwered ftraight, he hath deferued death, 
 Thou art the man (quoth he)fofure I am, 
 I may be bold to fay thou art the man. 
 Thou Ahab, thou that by extortion gaines, 
 Some Skreads of Land to better thy demains. 
 Thou that triumphes in wrongs, and brings the crye 
 And curfe of widdowes to thy Family. 
 Thou that with dainties doft that carrian feede. 
 That maw of thine, while fuch doe begge their bread. 
 As thou oppreft, (to their extremeft wrong,) 
 Thou art the man, He fmg no other fong. 
 Doft thou not yet relent } no ftreams of grace, j^ 
 
 Thrilling or trickling from thy blubber't face .'* Sp ' 
 
 No figne of reformation t Las I fee, 
 Cuftome in fmne cannot relinquifht be 
 Vpon the inftant, wherefore I muft fet 
 My refolution not to leaue thee yet. 
 And howfoere thou take it, I will goe. 
 Yet further with thee He not leaue thee fo. 
 Two fpeciall motiues I might here produce. 
 To moue thee to a confcience, and to vfe. 
 A chriftian-like refpe6l to fuch as be, 
 Ordain'd by God for to Hue vnder thee : 
 
 The 
 
To the Land/- lord. 221 
 
 The firft is : to haue eye vnto that forme 
 
 Or image, which doth euery man adorne, 
 
 Euen his creators image, which might moue 
 
 Vs to loue him for his creators loue. 
 
 Thefecond is : a due efpeciall care, 
 
 Or a confideration what wee are, 
 
 Me7i ; and in that we fhould be humbler ftill, 
 
 " Since beft of vs, are Tejtnants but at will : 
 
 On which two branches briefly He dilate, 
 
 Or rather curfiuely fo fhadow at. 
 
 As feeing his Forme, thy little caufe of pride, 
 
 This good furueigh may make thee mortified. 
 
 The comely feature which is giuen to man, 
 
 Implies the place from whence this creature came, 
 
 Euen from that fragrant garden of delight, 
 
 That fpicy Ede?i, where in our makers fight. 
 
 He did enioy farre more then tongue can tell. 
 
 Till from that height he to corruption fell : 
 
 Yet ftill retain'd his forme which firft was giuen him 
 
 In Paradife, whence now the Lord had driuen him ? 
 
 So precious was this forme (as he who made it. 
 
 For as we reade in Scripture, where he faid it, 
 
 Let vs make man after our Image : he 
 
 Saw in this forme (I fay) fuch maieftie 
 
 As he who (in his mercy faft did make it) 
 
 Becomming man of God, vouchfaf 'd to take it. 
 
 So that what th' firft man Adam, did before 
 
 Chrift, th'fecond Adam as man, did reftore. 
 
 Thou fees this Image then how it was giuen 
 
 And reprefented by the God of heauen. 
 
 Who 
 
» 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 222 To Landf-lords, 
 
 Who in his great compaffions, thought 't no fcorne, 
 That the Creator take the creatures forme ; 
 And how canft thou (irreuerent wretch) difdaine 
 That forme which thy Creator did retaine ? 
 How canfb defpife that image, or prefume 
 To wrong that fhape thy Sauiour did affume ? 
 How canft thou preffe that foule with difcontent/ 
 Which thy Redeemer daign'd to reprefent ? 
 How canft abufe that type for hope of pelfe, 
 Which Chrift thy louer fhadowed in himfelfe ? 
 How canft thou fee that image rack't to be, 
 Which in thy Chrift was ra6l and rent for thee ? \ 
 How canft endure to haue that foule bereft, ' 
 
 Of all releefe, and to haue nothing left, \ 
 
 Driuen from his houfe, forc't from his Tenant-right ? ' 
 When he that is the way, truth, life and lights 
 Taking his forme to fatisfie for fmne. 
 Had not fo much as houfe to hide him in. 
 Birds had their nejls, and euery beaji his denne^ 
 
 Yet had iiot he what was permit' d to them. 
 O let me now perfwade, be not extreame, 
 (Its eajle faies the Prouerb) to wade the Jlreamey 
 
 Where thfoord's at lowejl, recolleSl to minde 
 
 His noble image, and in it thou'l finde, 
 
 Such fmgular impreffions of reguard. 
 
 As I doe thinke thou'l honour't afterward. 
 
 When thou obferu's, ther's nothing that's in him, 
 
 Was not before in Chrijl excepting fmne. 
 
 O then refine the ayme of thy intents, 
 
 In raifmg rints^ thinke on thy Sauiours rents. 
 
 In 
 
To Landf-lords, 223 
 
 In taking of aduantage, thinke on this, 
 
 If God aduantage take for each amiffe, 
 
 In what a cafe wert thou, how woe-begon, 
 
 That of a thoufand cannot anfwer one ? 
 
 If thou to grieue Gods little ones begin, 
 
 Thinke therewithall, that thou art grieuing him. 
 
 Who in his mercy heares the widdowes crie, 
 
 And in his pitty wipes the Orphanes eye, 
 
 Which thou haft caufe to thinke on, fo much rather 
 
 Sith God's the widdows ludge, the orphans Father : 
 
 And though earths lufhice, be of th'fecond fight, 
 
 Yet hee's fo iuft, hee'l doe the pooreft right. 
 
 But if mans Image, which were ftrange, fhould faile, 
 
 With thy remorfeleffe confcience to preuaile. 
 
 From that tranfparent Mirror, He defcend. 
 
 Though it may feeme in it to comprehend 
 
 All humane glory, yea I may fay more. 
 
 The forme of God which he affum'd before, 
 
 Vnto that due obferuance, or that care. 
 
 Whereby we come to acknowledge what we are. 
 
 Man's of a fubftance meane, hauing his birth, 
 
 As his firft natiue Mother, from frayle Earth, 
 
 Brittle's his compofition, and fo weake. 
 
 Be his refolues, as hee can vndertake 
 
 Nought with fo firme a purpofe as may ftand. 
 
 Or will not change with th'turning of a hand. 
 
 His health's ajlranger to him, for when moft. 
 
 It feemeth with him, it is fooneft loft ; 
 
 For his abiding, hee's as in a Tent, 
 
 Wherein hees militant, not permanent. 
 
 The 
 
2 24 ^^ ^^^ Landf-lord, 
 
 The world's his campe, his profeft enemies^ 
 
 Wherewith he is to grapple, they be thefe. 
 
 The turbulent ajfe£lions of his mindy 
 
 Which euery houre is feuerally inclin'd. 
 
 The goale which he doth ayme at, or th'reward. 
 
 After th.Q fight y hee lookes for after-ward : 
 
 Thus thou may fee, in this fame earthly cell, 
 
 Though dwell we feeme, indeed, we doe not dwell. 
 
 But foiourne : Its no inanfion but an Inne^ 
 
 Syons our home^ this pilgrimage is finne. 
 
 As for our ftates, we are but leacers all. 
 
 And fhall be put off, when hee's pleafd to call ; ^M 
 
 Yea I may rather fay (and not amiffe) '^B 
 
 VVe are the Leffees, he the Leffour is. 
 
 And howfoere our Landf-Lords make accompt, 
 
 They'r but inferiour Lords, hee's Paramotmt. 
 
 Then if thou wilt but duely looke vpon't ; 
 
 Thy teiiure ftands vpon a tickle point, 
 
 Yea I doe find thy ftate not worth a ftraw, 
 
 If I haue any iudgement in the law : 
 
 And why fhouldft thou bring poore men into fuit, 
 
 Sith thou thy felfe haft no ftate abfolute, 
 
 But for thy terme of life : fo as methinks, 
 
 When that French gibberifh to my braine-pan finks 
 
 Where lohi a Stiles and 's neighbour John an OkeSy 
 
 With many other Law-baptized folkes, 
 
 Are brought in feaz'd of land, as they doe finde. 
 
 In Burrow, Englifh, Soccage, Gauell-kinde, 
 
 Fee-tayle, fee-fimple {it oftfeemes to me) 
 
 Thefe Lawyers are thefimpleft men that be; 
 
 who 
 
T" 
 
 To the Land/- lord. 225 
 
 10 are perfwaded (and would haue vs too) 
 
 »ut let's difcent from them : — theres fools enough : 
 
 'hat of al ftates and Tenures are poffeft, 
 
 Ir can bee had, Fee- Simple is the befb. 
 
 /hereas I thinke, if well they vnderftood, 
 lat fpecially concern'd them, and their good. 
 
 'hey would conclude, Fee-Jlmple will not doe, 
 
 double-Fee is better of the two. 
 If we could find indeed a difference, 
 'n th'liues oi\^^ temt7'es, then there were fome fence 
 
 'o fay, that fuch a tenure were the strongeft ; 
 
 Jecaufe by it the Tennant Hues the longeft. 
 
 >ut tell me, are not all eftates that be 
 Subie6l alike to mutability : 
 To the poffeffour you will fay they are ; 
 If vnto him, why fhould we further care, 
 Since as the Prouerbe is, wlmi he is gone, 
 The world's gone with him, as all in One : (vant, 
 
 O then thou Earth-bred zvorme, why fhouldeft thou 
 As if thou wert a Lord pj^cBdominant. 
 Why shouldft triumph ore th' meaner fort of men. 
 Since thour't compofd of one felfe Moidd with the ? 
 Thou art but Adams fonne, and fo are they, 
 Both of you fram'd and fafhion'd of one clay, 
 Both haue one image : then compaffion take. 
 If not for them, yet for their image fake. 
 For though thou canft not one good looke affoord, 
 To thefe poore fnakes, they'r deere vnto the Lord, 
 As is thy felfe, as pretious in Gods eies. 
 Bought and redeemed with as great a price. 
 
 Q And 
 
226 To the Land/- lord. 
 
 And though there be twixt Subjiitutes and KingSy 
 
 Superiour flates, and lower vnderlings, 
 
 A difference in the world, yet there shall 
 
 Twixt them (in heauen) no difference be at all, 
 
 Onely what's good fhall approbation haue. 
 
 With King and fubie^ly conquerer andjlaue. 
 
 O then receiue the bowells of compaffion. 
 
 And beare like mind, as thou dofh beare like fafhion : 
 
 Let thy vnrighteous Mammon get thee friends, 
 
 That when thy pilgrime dales of Labour ends, 
 
 Thou may poffeffe a glorious heritage. 
 
 After the period of this pilgrimage. 
 
 My leffons are but fhort, pray then remember, 
 
 As thou the welfare of thy foule dofl tender. 
 
 " The bejl of vs are tennants but at willy 
 
 " Andjland in hazard of diffeifure flill. 
 
 And though our fhates feeme firmer then the reft, 
 
 They are vncertaine tenures at the beft. 
 
 In brief e, thou earthly Landf-lord ftriue to be, (thee 
 
 As thou wouldft haue Heauens Landf-lord towards 
 
 Not too extreame : thou knowfb the doome is giuen, 
 
 That no extortioner fhall enter Heauen. 
 
 Refolue what thou wilt doe : for though it grieue me 
 
 To leaue thee yet, I am enforc't to leaue thee, 
 
 And turne vnto thy Tennant^ who difmaide^ 
 
 Stands heere at doore to heare what I haue f aid. 
 
 To 
 
227 
 
 To the Tennant 
 
 howfoeuer. 
 
 WYi'dXjlate foeuer thou are feazed on, 
 Or in what Tenure thou doft hold vpon, 
 Il'e now addreffe my fpeech in briefe to thee, 
 Wherein I ayme in part to comfort thee. 
 In part to re6lifie what m.ay feeme ill, 
 In thy peruerfe and vn-conformed will ; 
 That in them both for th'loue which I doe owe, 
 To him thou reprefents^ I may fo fhow, 
 That deere affe6lion which we're bound to beare, 
 To one another while we foiourne heere, 
 As when an end of all our forrowes are 
 Reduc'd to one {et period, and our care 
 Shall haue a finall end, what I haue done, 
 " In loue may be approu'd when I am gone. 
 To moue thee vnto comfort, in a word, 
 rie vfe th'perfwafion which I gaue thy Lord, 
 To humble his ambicious fpirit, when 
 I told him of the different ftate of Me7t, 
 How in the eyes of men indeed they were 
 Efteemed great, but when they fhould appeare, 
 Before that high Tribunall, where all fhould, 
 (Though if they might auoid it, many would,) 
 
 Q 2 Make 
 
228 To the Tenant. 
 
 Make their appearance, then the great fhould know, 
 
 They were no more refpe6led then the low : 
 
 One aduocate, one ludge, one barre one triall, 
 
 Confcience the onely difference, when Deniall, 
 
 Seald with abite, or th'accurfed doome, 
 
 Or th'inuitation with VemUcomQ, 
 
 Shall in that generall iudgement there expreffe. 
 
 Or weale, or woe, or hell, or happineffe : 
 
 " So as when all are fummon'd fore that feat, 
 
 It's better to be good, then to be great. 
 
 For then, as well it may be vnderftood, 
 
 They onely fhall be great that are found good. 
 
 But thou wilt aske, is there no comfort elfe ? 
 
 Yes that there is, thy daily labour tells, 
 
 There's a reward of glory that's referu'd, 
 
 For fuch as haue their Maijier duely feru'd, 
 
 In their vocation : there's 2. penny too, 
 
 Which though it be not giuen vnto thee now, 
 
 Yet be affur'd, (for he that fpoke't is true) 
 
 " When th'euening comes, thou fhalt receiue thy due. 
 
 And though thou feeme a little while to ftay. 
 
 Doe not repine, it's th'euening crownes the day. 
 
 Wouldft know what I by th! Eue7ti7tg doe intend } 
 
 I meane the fun-fet of thy life or end 
 
 Of all thy pilgrime dales, which though they bee, 
 
 A very death, or Martyrdome to thee, 
 
 (So little ioy conceau's thou vpon earth,) 
 
 Yet wil thy Comicke end include thy mirth, m 
 
 When from this Vale of labour and of care, " 
 
 Thou fhalt vnto a mount of ioy repaire. 
 
 When 
 
 '^ 
 
 \ 
 
•ym 
 
 To the Tenant, 229 
 
 len from this floting Sea, this fading cell, 
 'Thou fhalt depart, and with thy Sauiour dwell. 
 Yea on thy death-bed thou art comforted, 
 Thinking how truly thou hafb laboured. 
 How many carefull nights thou haft orepaft. 
 Without the leaft of reft, how thy repaft. 
 Was not delighfuU feeding with exceffe. 
 But th' bread thou eate was mixt with carefuliieffe ; 
 Noe houre without afiflidlion or fome grief e. 
 And now to finde to all thy woes reliefe 
 It may no little folace the, when th'end 
 Of difcontents fhall bring thee to a friend 
 That will in armes of charitie receiue thee, (thee. 
 Where beeing lodg'd, no woe, no want can grieue 
 Happy tranflatiojz, and by fo much more, 
 In that thofe Lor dings which triumph'd before. 
 And plaid vpon thy weakeneffe, now fhall ftand. 
 To th' doome which thofe oppreffors of the land. 
 Are subiedl to : tell me (poore wormeling) then. 
 What difference there will bee twixt thee and them } 
 Great were they heere indeed, and did refemble, 
 Thofe Bulls of Bafan^ yet fee how they tremble. 
 How quicke their powerfull greatneffe is made fmall, 
 For little is their pompe, or none at all : 
 See, fee thefe Cedars now are ftrucke with thunder, 
 And thogh they once fate high, thei'r now broght vnder 
 Thofe glorious titles which gaue wings to pride, 
 Thofe gorgeous buildings made them deifide. 
 Thofe many ftate-attendants, more or leffe, 
 Like Sommer-Swallows following their fucceffe. 
 
 Q3 Are 
 
2 30 To Land/ lords. 
 
 Are vanifh't, ruin'd, and difperfed quite, 
 
 Ther's none of thefe can come into their fight, 
 
 Yea which is worfe in-fteed of Eminence ; 
 
 There is an enemy called Confcieiice, 
 
 That ftill difturbs their quiet and their reft : 
 
 Which if at peace, there were continuall feaft. 
 
 But that's impoffible, fuch men as thefe ; 
 
 Haue in themfelues a thoufand WitneffeSy (them, 
 
 And th.QSQ poore fnakes caufe they did heere contemn 
 
 Shall with their Confcience ftand there to condemne 
 
 Where that fame place, they are appointed to (the. 
 
 Shall Tophet be, their word, yee curfed goe. 
 
 Thou feeft then no difference doth appeare, 
 
 Twixt thou and them faue onely when you're heere 
 
 A little garifh vanity there is. 
 
 Which doth include that happineffe of his. 
 
 Who feemes fo popular, yet thou fhalt fee, 
 
 From thence is drawne his greateft miferie. 
 
 For (tel me) doth not that externall ftate. 
 
 Make him forget whereto he was create : 
 
 Doth't not be-lull his foule in fmnes delights, 
 
 (Not knowing how the flesh gainft fpirit fights,) 
 
 Whereby he comes, which is the worft of all, 
 
 To bring his reafon to his fenfes thrall. 
 
 Yea I haue heard of many great mens endy 
 
 So full of feare and horrour as God fend 
 
 Me leffe delights on earth fo I may haue^ 
 
 A quiet eafie paffage to my graue. 
 
 " For reafon doth informe me, rare it is, 
 
 That earths delight fhould bring a man to bliffe. 
 
 More 
 
To the Tenant. 231 
 
 More could I fpeake to comfort thy diftreffe, 
 
 And more I was determinde I confeffe, 
 
 To infill on thy affliction, but I found, 
 
 By my Experience this efpeciall ground, 
 
 Held euer firme when we doe comforts tutch, 
 
 Such is mans nature he will take too much, 
 
 Rather then too too little, yea its fed ; 
 
 More haue through ftore of comforts furfeted. 
 
 Then fuch as from all outward folace pent, 
 
 Haue famifht been through inward difcontent. 
 
 With Gedeons fouldier therefore prefl I am, 
 
 Rather to lap, and like a Jonathan, 
 
 To tutch the hony onely with my rod. 
 
 Then on this fubie6l make too long aboad. 
 
 Which that I may, from comfort He defcend. 
 
 To faults in the which I would gladly mend. 
 
 That God commands from who proceeds all power, 
 
 " Let each be fubie6l to's Superiour. 
 
 For it would breed confufion in the Land, 
 
 If people did admit of no commaund. 
 
 But like a Platoes Common-wealth, fhould be, 
 
 Subie6l to none, but in equalitie. 
 
 Therefore that Lord, who of his grace doth loue vs, 
 
 Hath ranked fome below vs, fome aboue vs. 
 
 Aboue vs that we might be caution'd thence, 
 
 To fhew vnto them due obedience. 
 
 Below vs, that we might thereby expreffe, 
 
 To them our loue, to God our thankefulneffe, 
 
 Otcr loue, that we might our affe6lion fhow, 
 
 In loue to them that ranked are fo low. 
 
 Q4 Our 
 
I 
 
 232 To the Tenant, 
 
 Our thankefulneffe, that we fhould more receiue, 
 
 Then other fome, that more deferued haue. 
 
 Againe, aboue vs^ to acknowledge here, 
 
 Without that power aboue, how weake we are. 
 
 Below vs^ that if we vnhappy Elues, 
 
 Should grudge to fee fom greater then our felues 
 
 By feeing thefe wee might fuppofe they're fent, 
 
 By their degree to bid vs be content, 
 
 In this fame decent comly order then 
 
 Of high and low, great and inferiour men. 
 
 Thou ranked art, nor richeft, nor moft pore, 
 
 For thou feeft many goe from dore to dore, 
 
 Whofef crips their Jiore, whofe wallet is their wealthy \ 
 
 Whofe Jlaffe' s their Jlay, whofe treafure is their health. \ 
 
 Now in thy ranke there's many things I wifh ,' 
 
 Thou wouldft refenne, which I doe fee amiffe. 
 
 " As firft for all thy pouerty and want. 
 
 Thou haft a difpofition arrogant : 
 
 Rajh^ heady , felfe-wild, prouder then thy Jiate 
 
 Can well beare outy extreamely objiinate^ 
 
 Foolijhly peremptory ^ faucy with ally 
 
 Befides I fee in thee (I ntufl tell all) 
 
 A factious wauering nature^ apt to rife 
 
 Through difcontenty in a7iy enterprife. 
 
 A very lack Straw, or a cuflo^ne affey 
 
 Alleadging fuch records as neuer was. 
 
 A peft'lent member to the Kingdomes quiety 
 
 Prone to diuifony enmity y and rioty 
 
 Sower of difcordy felfe conceitedly 
 
 WifCy yet I cannot well imagine why. 
 
 Yea 
 
I To the Tenant. 233 
 
 _ ea, I haue feene, fome of thy crew to gather, 
 Like wild-geefe for the wagging of a feather, 
 Making ftrange combmations, which did tend, 
 Still to their owne fubuerfion in the end. 
 Some Terme agoe on one I chanct to lights 
 ' Was co7ne to towne to trie his tenant-right. 
 With whom difcoicrjlng, he impart' d to in,e, 
 Mongjl other things how mojl iniurioujly 
 JJe and the reft which held one tenure there, 
 'About their Jiate or title troubled were, 
 'And therewitJiall alleadgd that he could Jhow, 
 Cujlomes and dif cords (fo he /aid) enough, 
 And that from Noahs indignation, when 
 Of all tJie world there were but left 8 men ; 
 No, this is true, quoth he, I will affure yee. 
 Without delayer pannelled a lurie : 
 Where thofe 1 2 men (the number fear fe holds right) 
 Rifi7ig to 12, that were before but eight. 
 Found that our anceflry did hold in pottage. 
 Now I imagine he did meane in Soccage, 
 Which to make fur e, this Ctifiom fpeakes for vs. 
 And he with that draws forth a Mittimus. 
 This I may fweare, more then a fennet after, 
 I could not thinke on, but was forc't to laughter. 
 But now to thee, for I haue done thee wrong, 
 To keepe me from difcourfe with thee fo long, 
 Whom I refolu'd to haue aduertifed, 
 Of thefe precedent errors mentioned ; 
 " Conforme thy will vnto thy Lords commaund 
 In fitting things, thou liu'ft vpon his land. 
 
 And 
 
2 34 ^^ '^^^ Tenant. 
 
 And art his Hedge-man, therfore thou fhouldft fhow 
 Thy felfe to him, as thou thy felfe doeft owe. 
 Vnto the Heyre to, a refpe6l is due, 
 For time may come when he fhall pleafure you. 
 Yet meane I not that thou Jhoiddji pay a Fine^ 
 Vnto the heire now in his Fathers thne^ 
 ^^ For if I were an heire as I am not, 
 " Belieue it 1 would thinke that fine ill got. 
 What I doe wifh to the is briefely this, 
 Succeffe in thy eftate, as thou wouldft wifh. 
 Conformed fo vnto thy Land/ Lord here. 
 That with heauejts Land-lord thou may Hue elfewher. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
[237*] 
 
 Riddle me this. 
 
 An Embleame including the 
 
 Authors name. 
 
 TWO waies there be, one broade, the other flraite, 
 which two beat paths leade to a diflin6t flate 
 Of weale, of woe : this if you right explaine, 
 the firft, though worfl, includes the Authors name. 
 Or thus, 
 A Brea, a Banke, a Border, or a Shore, 
 
 Smiles on his name that brought thefe Satires ore. 
 
 His Creji, 
 His Crefl a Cuckolds Croffe : his Motto, Heere 
 I giue a Badge which Citizens doe weare. 
 
 Blow my Plump-fac't Poulterer of 
 Saffron Hill. 
 
 Place this and the leafe following after 
 the end of the Firfl Booke. 
 
 IT 
 
[238^ 
 
 To the equall Reader' 
 
 IF that thy nature anfwere to thy name, 
 Thou in thy iudgement wilt expreffe the fame 
 Which I entitle thee, and hate to be 
 A fquint ei'd Critick to mifconfter me. 
 Howf ere : be what thou wilt, if Equall, finde 
 Lines correfpondent to thy Equall minde : 
 If rough (for all my fmoothneffe thou haft heard) 
 Thou'fe heare far rougher Satires afterward. 
 For if thefe ierks fo lightly laid on fmart, 
 Thoule finde rare whipping cheere i'th Second part. 
 Where Furies run diuifion on my fong : 
 Patience awhile, and thou fhalt haue't ere long. 
 
[239*] 
 
 To the Captious Reader, 
 
 MY anfwer's this to him that faies I wrong 
 Our Art to make my Epigrams fo long; 
 I dare not bite, therefore to change my nature, 
 I cairt an Epigram which is a Satire. 
 
i 
 
J 
 
LO V ES 
 
 LABYRINTH: 
 
 OR 
 
 The true-Louers knot : 
 
 INCLVDING 
 The difaftrous fals of two ftar-croft 
 
 Louers Pyramvs & Thysbe. 
 
 A Subie6l heeretofore handled, but 
 
 now with much more proprietie of 
 
 pafsion, and varietie of inuen- 
 
 tioHy continued: 
 
 By Richard Brathwayte. 
 Res ejl foliciti plena timoris amor. 
 
 At London printed by LB. for Richard Redmer 
 
 and are to be fold at the Weft dore 
 
 of Pauls at the Starr e. 1 6 1 5 . 
 
239 
 
 CAN DIDO ET 
 
 [cordato, Amico fselici Genio, 
 
 '^erfpicaciingeniOy Richardo Mufgraue 
 
 de Harcley Baronetto, coq ; titulo 
 
 vere digno : 
 
 Richardtts Brathwaite hofce extre- 
 mes Amatorum amplexus, grati a- 
 
 11 im i prim itias, folen n iq. officio 
 perfim£las hitmillime 
 
 Dedit, Dicauit, Dedicauit. 
 Richardus Mufgraueenjis. 
 
 A NAG RAM M. 
 
 Charus mufis diurna reges. 
 
 Dyjlickon. 
 
 ( Sicut amas Mufas, Mufis redamaris ab ipfis, 
 1 Charus vt es Mufis, fecla diurna reges. 
 
 } 
 
 Vpon 
 
240 
 
 1 
 
 Vpoii the Dedicato7He, 
 
 IHeare one aske me, if I could finde none, 
 To dedicate this Poeme to, but one 
 That's now tranfplanted to another fphere. 
 And better meafures fmgs then anie's here. 
 Its true indeede, the world's large and wide, 
 And many were there I confeffe befide. 
 My now deceafed Patro7iy I could finde, 
 But none fo well agreeing with my minde ; 
 He was one that I honour'd, and his worth 
 Deferu'd a pregnant Mufe to fet it forth, 
 Which though I haue not I will fhew my beft. 
 To crowne him fleeping in the bed of reft, 
 Where, while I write, my paffion fhall appere, 
 By each lines accent mixed with a tere : 
 But you will fay this fubie6t cannot moue, 
 Such firme impreffion, caufe it treats of loue, 
 A fadder ftraine would better fitting be 
 " Drain'd from the ftreames of graue Melpomeiie, 
 Where euery fentence might that paffion breede, 
 " as if himfelfe were here portraide indeed ; 
 This I could doe and fo expreffe him too 
 (But that his worth would be a fhame to you. 
 
 That 
 
Vpon the Dedicatorie. 241 
 
 That are defertleffe to fee him by Fate 
 Lopt, that has left you much to imitate, 
 Of honour I dare fay, (which ere 't be long, 
 " May be a fubiefl to a better fong.) 
 But I would haue you know how ere this is, 
 It was from th' cradle nat'ralized his : 
 Nor would I raze my Patrons dedicate, 
 '' How^ ere he feem'd to be obfcur'd by Fate, 
 But as I lou'd him lining, my defu'e 
 Is to expreffe my loue vnto him higher 
 Being now dead ; that though my friend be gone. 
 Yet life and death to friendfhip may be one : 
 For til print of lone if it be ftampt aright, 
 Is inoft in heart zvhen it is leaft in fight. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 R 
 
242 
 
 VPON THE PREMA- 
 
 ture death of the moft Generous 
 
 and Ingeiiioiis ; the right Worjhipfitll, Sir 
 Richard Mvsgrave Knight- Barronett of 
 
 Hartley : Who died In Itafyy being preuented of 
 
 his religious purpofe, intending to vifit the holy 
 
 Sepulchre of our Saidour in lerufalem, 
 
 an Epicedivm : 
 
 The Author Dedicates thefe Obit-teres, vnto 
 his vertMOUS and modejl Lady, the much ho- 
 noured Francis Mvsgrave, Daugh- 
 ter to the truly honourable PHILIP 
 Lord Wharton. 
 
 His Ladies Obit-teres. 
 
 TEres I do JJtedde, yet are they JJiedde in vaine. 
 Nor can they call him backe to life againe : 
 
 Yet 
 
A funerall Elegy. 
 
 Yet Jigh I will, to 
 wake him from his 
 
 Jleep, 
 Thus whiljl hejleepes 
 in Earth, on Earth 
 He weepe. 
 So my fad groanes fent forth vnfeignedly 
 May moue the hardeft heart to pitty me, 
 To pittie me, that 
 though I cannot 
 
 haue 
 The priuiledge to 
 fee my htisbands 
 graue 
 Yet may my teres (as me it doth behoiie) 
 Tranfported be to teftifie my loue : 
 My loue which euer 
 fliall thefe obites 
 
 keepe, 
 She can doe verie 
 little cannot 
 weepe. 
 
 243 
 
 R 2 
 
 Richardits 
 
244 
 
 Richardus Mufgrauienfts. 
 
 Anagramm. 
 Vnis refurgam charus diis. 
 
 Dyjlichon. 
 
 Nafcimur & morimur : fed tu moriendo refurges, 
 Gratior & fan6lis, charioratq ; deis. 
 De profeftione eius ad 
 
 San61:ifs, Chrifhi 1 
 
 Sepulchrum. 
 
 Chriftus erat pretium, Chrifti quia morte fepulchru, 
 perlufhrare cupis : quern moriendo capis. 
 
 Richard Mufgraue. | 
 
 Anagramm. 
 
 Graces reward him : 
 
 or 
 We admire his g7^ace. 
 
 Two Anagrammes included in one verfe. 
 
 Dyftich. 
 Graces reward hiniy we admire his grace, 
 Serite both as proper Mottoes for this place : 
 
 .^. -f<l>r .g^, j^n 1^ *^^^ t^fli^ (B^rv 54* •ififj^ (rtf« jitB^ rftrs. Mit*. s""^ 1.**'^ ^a if^ ^r- 
 
 J 
 
 ( 
 
A funerall Elegle. 
 
 TJie firji f expreffe the hope of his reward^ 
 Whence is implie'd oilv comfort afterward. 
 
 245 
 
 Vpon his Graue. 
 
 In Mufgraues heaife I finde the Mufes graue, 
 For by his loffe a Patron loft they hatte : 
 Yet he's not loft, but is afcended higher, 
 Andfings with Mufes of the heauenly quire. 
 
 His Character. 
 
 Faire England gaue me breeding, birth, and name, 
 lerufalem was tJi place where I did ay7ne. 
 But loe my Sauiours graue I could not fee, 
 For my owne graue was made in Italy, 
 
 Vnto the Italian. 
 
 Doe not cofitemne my corps Italian, 
 / am tK remahider of a Gentleman, 
 Who knew what honour was : fo after-time 
 May /hew like loue to thee, thou fkowes to mine. 
 
 R3 
 
 Vnto 
 
246 
 
 A Funerall Elegie. 
 
 Vnto Report. 
 
 To fpeake well of the dead is charitie, 
 If thou be then a Chrifiian, taxe not tne 
 Of what I did : (if men, we're pro7ie to fall,) 
 Speake what is well, or do not fpeake at all. 
 
 
 ' Morte 
 
 
 ' Vitam. 
 
 \ 
 
 
 Fide 
 
 
 Notitiam. 
 
 
 Mors fidelium 
 
 Agone 
 
 
 Brauium. 
 
 i 
 
 efl {de ^ 
 Tranfitus 
 
 Peregrinatione 
 Lahore 
 Expe6latione 
 Mundo 
 
 ^in 
 
 > Patriam. 
 Refrigerium. 
 Praemium. 
 Deum. 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 t 
 
 BeRNARDVS. 
 
 
 Pere^ 
 
 ^i officium mori 
 
 'enti 
 
 s amici. 
 
 
247 
 
 To all vnhappy Louers, 
 
 that their fight, 
 
 COme neere me louers, croft by louers fate, 
 And fee thefe ftar-croft louers 
 May fomthing cheere the drowping of your ftate, 
 Showing fuch beames of comfort in the night, 
 Of your difcomforts : that both loue and hate, 
 " May make you happy louers by renew, 
 " Had to thefe louers crofb as well as you. 
 
 You fay you lou'd ; it's true : and fo did these ; 
 " You fay you lou'd a faire one ; fo did he, 
 Who fancied Thifbee ; you fay louers peace, 
 Is feldome purchas'd but by enmity, 
 Deriu'd from parents : fo did loue encreafe, 
 " In thefe vnhappy Loiters^ who were croft. 
 By Pare7its meanes, of what they fancied moft. 
 
 Tell me then hapleffe louer, haft thou caufe 
 To grieue at that which others haue endur'd, 
 As if thou wert quite priuiledg'd from lawes, 
 Firme in thy felfe, from louers hate fecur'd, 
 " O no, beleeue it, prickles hath the Rofe, 
 ^^•Thefweet her fower ; the hony-Bee her fling, 
 " Loue though a toy, yet fliee's a toilefom thing. 
 
 R4 
 
 Repofe 
 
248 
 
 Repofe thee then vnhappy louer heere, 
 And fee loues fal in tragick meafures fram'd, 
 That when thou feeft a louer loofe his deere, 
 Thou of Hke chance may neuer be afham'd 
 Since thou art but as other louers were. 
 
 ''^ For Jhame its none, to loofe w hats fear ce begun, 
 " But fJtame ist not to doe what fJioidd be done. 
 
 1 
 
 Your paffion-pittier, 
 
 Richard Brathwaite. 
 
 ^ 
 
 w 
 
249 
 
 The Author vpon his infant 
 
 Poeme. 
 
 IF ought's amiffe, imputed let it be, 
 Toth' time wherein this Poeme it was writ, 
 Which was (I muft confeffe) my infancy 
 Of Age^ A rt^ Judgement, Knowledge, and of Wit : 
 Nor doe I thinke it would this time befit, 
 To meddle with my youths minority. 
 Vnpolilht and vnhewd, I therefore fend it 
 Freely toth' World, that fhe may friendly mend it. 
 
 Vpon the Prejfe, 
 
 TRide would I bin byth' Country, Bench, & Prince, 
 Yet but a month agoe, no longer fmce, 
 Was I for fpeaking (as it may be thought) 
 And not for filence to the preffe thus brought, 
 ludge you my friends what confcience there is in't : 
 By th' weights I beare the errors of the Print. 
 
250 
 
 The Argument of Pyramus and 
 Thysbe. 
 
 1 
 
 CHildrens lone and Parents hate, 
 Pure a]fe6lion crosd hy fate. 
 True their lone, fo true to either, 
 That they chufd to die together. 
 Curteous woodnimphs, Tigres fierce, 
 " Wafii with teares their dolefid hearfe, \ 
 
 Mirtle branches, rofes fweete, 
 " Satyres Jlrow about their feete. 
 Woodnimphs with their Syrens voice, 
 Call their parents by their noife. 
 Who with pace (Jlow pace God wot,) 
 " Made haji they coidd, yet hajied not ; 
 Till they f aw their childreii lie, 
 " Arme in arme ftdl louingly. 
 Oft they fought, but all in vaine. 
 To bring life to them againe. 
 Trickling teares came dropping downe, 
 " Groues with teares were ouerflowne. 
 Water mixt with crimfon blood, 
 ^^ Made a deluge where they flood. 
 Thisbees obfequies they fee, 
 " Grauen in an Oliue tree, 
 Their bones to afhes they doe burne 
 And place them in one f acred vrne. 
 That as their loue was all in all. 
 So they might haue one Buriall. 
 
 To 
 
251 
 
 To this JJirine, this Jiattie f aire, 
 
 Louers wont for to repay re. 
 Who to confirme their Jincere Lone, 
 
 Offered them a Turtle Done. 
 ButwJten their reliques fcattered were, 
 
 Maids nere after offered there 
 Their wonted incenfe, but forfooke, 
 
 The A Itar which was wont to fmoke, 
 With mirrhe and thime, which they did burne. 
 
 With folemne rites about their vr^ie. 
 Yet left their fame fhoidd fo decay, 
 
 Their tombe is to be feene this day. 
 Which firfi ere6led was to be, 
 
 Conf enter of their memory. 
 
 Nimrods 
 
Pyramus and Thysbe. 
 
 NImrods faire City, beauteous Babylon^ 
 which admirations eies once gaz'd vpon, 
 Though grac'd in all, in nought fo gracious, 
 
 as in her Thysbe, and yong Pyramus. 
 Thy she a maid as faire, as faire could be, 
 
 he for his fexe, was full as faire as fhe. 
 Thefe two refplendent ftarres, fhone in one fphere, 
 
 and by contiguate manfions bordering neere, 
 Renewd their loues vnhappy memory, 
 
 preff'd downe too much by parents iealoufie, 
 Aye me too iealous, to preuent that good, 
 
 of fmcere loue which cannot be withftood. 
 Thefe two debarr'd of meeting, not of louing, (uing 
 
 for loue, though fmothred, hath an inward moo- 
 Sought means to fhew their mutual loue by woing, 
 
 fupplying that in words, they mifl in doing. 
 Their walls abutting neree, fo neere did meet. 
 
 That thefe two Saints might each another greete. 
 A chinke there was, which Thysbe foone efpies, 
 
 for maids in wanton feats, haue Linceus eyes. 
 
 Which 
 
The true Louers knot. 253 
 
 Which beeing feene (well feene) fhe did repaire 
 
 each morne betime to fee if he were there : 
 At laft he fpies it, (men haue duller witte, 
 
 then women haue, yet better manage it.) 
 This crany was the fhrine to which they came, 
 
 where either call'd on other, by their name. 
 And with deuotion ech to other kneeled, 
 
 protefting loue, hid loue, fo long concealed. 
 Why fhould our Parents, Pyramus would fay, 
 
 feeke to protra6l our loues by long delay } 
 Or why fhould we, with fuch precifeneffe fhunne, 
 
 that which our parents long before haue done .'' 
 Suppofe their loue was pure : our loue's as pure, 
 
 they full as fond as we, were drawen to th' lure. 
 And why, my Thysbe, fhould that comely face, 
 
 for all her feature, haue a ciphers place } 
 Thou art no fhadow, but a fubftance (deare) 
 
 in fubftances, impreffions beft appeare. 
 Then for my loue, thy ioy, and beauties fake, 
 
 that feemes eclypf'd, let me th' impreffion make, 
 .ets to the field, aye me, we cannot goe, 
 
 we are immur'd within the grate of woe ; 
 ^And why fhould I, fond man, my Thysbe moue, 
 
 to wanton pleafure } where's no vfe of loue ; 
 
 know thou lou'ft, in that thy griefe is more, 
 
 pent from that S* which thou would fain adore. 
 ^hysbe flood peeping through this narrow chinke 
 
 and though fhe fpake nought, yet fhe more did 
 [er blufh, her fmile, her biting of her lip, (think, 
 
 did all the fecrets of her hart vnrippe. 
 
 Thus 
 
2 54 Loues Labourinth, or 
 
 Thus whilft they ftood both ftanding at a bay, 
 
 wifhing fome priuate paffage, or fome way, 
 To confummate their vowes : in comes her mother, 
 
 which made them take their leaue one of another. 
 She fkoold her daughter : what my trickfie girle, 
 
 are you befotted with this worthleffe pearle, 
 This beauties bloffome? faire enough, but poore, 
 
 dote on the rich, affe6l his rags no more. 
 Mother (quoth Thisbe) you are much decau'd, 
 
 if I may fpeake with reuerence, he nere crau'd 
 Loue at my hands : what did he here, quoth fhe, 
 
 that he fo priuate fhould difcourfe with thee .? 
 He is (quoth Thisbe) come from Salamine^ (vine ' 
 
 and brought me grapes, pluckt from that tender 
 j^tolus planted, which fhe gaue in haft, 
 
 vnto her mother, praying her to taft : j^ 
 
 Shee tooke and tafted : fruits variety flf 
 
 feru'd at that time for her Apology. 
 The pitchy fhade of night approach't at hand, (mad-j 
 
 when Screech-owles, Fauns, and Satyres haue co- 
 Where skipping in their lawne and flowry groue, 
 
 Siluane to Siluane confecrates his loue. 
 Yet when each chirping bird, goes to her neft, 
 
 loues eyes be open, and can take no reft. |d 
 
 Beafts to their caues refort, furceafe to prey, ™ 
 
 feeding on that they purchaf'd by the day. 
 Each creature in his kind difpos'd to fleepe, 
 
 but feruent loue continuall watch doth keepe : 
 He toffeth in his bed, wilhing it day, 
 
 Hoping 
 
 1 
 
the Ttrue-louers knot. 
 
 55 
 
 hoping thereby his cares to throw away. 
 Yet when the night is paft, the day yeelds more, 
 
 then ere the night affoorded him before : 
 Thus Pyramus enthrall'd twixt hope and feare, 
 
 hopes ^ though fmal fruit of hope in him appeare. 
 He cannot fleepe nor wake, but twixt them both, 
 
 fleeping and waking as a letharge doth. 
 Ift would he hugge his pillow in his arme, 
 
 and cling it faft about, to keepe it warme. 
 : Suppofmg it was Thysbe^ and would fweare, 
 
 no creature ere could be more welcome there, 
 Streight would he call on Hymen, then inuite, 
 
 his friends and kinsfolke to his nuptiall rite. 
 And faigning their replies, thanks he would giue, 
 
 vowing requitall once, if he fhould Hue. 
 Oh what difl:ra61;ions haunt a louers minde 
 
 paffmg thofe bounds which nature hath affign'd. 
 Nought vpon earth, but limits hath we fee, 
 
 but boundleffe loue can nere contained be. 
 Hearbs yeeld a foueraigne cure to euery wound, 
 
 but for loues cure, in hearbs no vertue's found. 
 Then bleft is he, and in an happie ftate, 
 
 who for loues dart is made inuulnerate. ^ 
 IrYet was it hard to fee and not to loue, 
 
 Thysbe's admired beauty, which could mooue, 
 >erpets, birds, plats brute beafts which grafe & feed, 
 
 more then ere Orpheus with his muficke did. 
 
 [er goulden treffes, pure ambrofian, 
 
 Fairer then all the twifts Arachne fpan. 
 
 Shone 
 
256 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 Shone far more bright then Phcebus gliftring raies, 
 
 by all mens iudgements, meriting more praife ; 
 Her corall lip, (no lip) but ports of pleafure, 
 
 which feem'd to open to whole mines of treafure, 
 Appeard fo fweet, that all was fweet about it, 
 
 for I am fure nought could be fweet without it. 
 Her brefts two iuory mounts, mounts may I cal the 
 
 for many vales of pleafant veines empall'd them 
 Thefe like two borders, did such fweets difplay, 
 
 that who lodg'd there, lodg'd in the milkie way. 
 Below a fhady vale, aye mee that fhade, 
 
 which nature in her owne defpite had made, 
 Had made for glory of that facred mount, 
 
 with the fweet Ne6lar of a liuely fount. 
 A ftill diftilling fount, an heauenly riuer, 
 
 for theres no earthly fpring can fpring for euer. 
 Her wanton gate, her glance, her fmile, her toying, 
 
 all ioy'd in one, fhewed pleafure in enioying. 
 So as^ Euphrates, where this city bounded, 
 
 vents vp his paffions, for he oft refounded 
 Beating his bancks, and eccoing in the aire, 
 
 and then retiring backe, feem'd to defpaire. 
 That Thysbe could not loue a fenceleffe one, 
 
 at which repining, he would make his mone. 
 Hath not my current ere renowned beene, 
 
 for th' eafie paffage of my quiet ftreame } 
 Hath not my torrent yeelded much content, (fpent 'i 
 
 to gild his meanes, vvhofe meanes where wholly 
 Haue I not fuffered much } fuftain'd great paines, 
 
 fraugh- 
 
 \ 
 
the True-louers knot. 257 
 
 fraughting your trauaile with a double gaines. 
 And for fupporting of fo many fhippes, 
 
 may not Eitphrates graze vpon her lippes, 
 Whom thus he loues ? vnthankfull coaft (quoth he) 
 
 refpe6ling leaft, who did the moft for thee. 
 This being faid, hee could expreffe no more, 
 
 but in a loue-ficke paffion, bett the fhore. 
 And to ^ confirme, what I haue heard men fay, 
 
 he left his courfe and tooke another way. 
 If fenceleffe riuers that were neuer feene 
 
 to loue, or care for louing, held no meane. 
 In their affe6ling TJiisbe : what fhould hee 
 
 that had both fence and reafons purity } 
 Pure in his mind, and faire in beauties fhew, 
 
 Narciffus fecond for his comely hew : 
 Lipp'd like Adonis, Frycina loued, 
 
 fhaped like Alexis Pollyos approoued. 
 Grac'd with a fmiling countenance, which did breed, 
 
 a louely white, mix'd with a comely red. 
 Two fparkling eyes pierciue as Diamond, 
 
 which, wherfoere they gaf 'd, they feem'd to woud, 
 That though the Sun were fet, yet his bright eies 
 
 fhone as the Beames which from the fun doe rife : 
 The night being gone, too long god wot in going, 
 
 her wandring lights to Tethis banks beftowing, 
 Titan came peeping in at Thyisbes chamber, 
 
 whom fhe refle6led with her locks of amber. 
 Each other greeting, as if had beene there, 
 
 two Suns at once, both in one hemyfphere. 
 
 S Hard 
 
i 
 
 258 Lottes Labyrinth, or 
 
 Hard was the combat, but more hard it were, 
 
 to tell whofe beams diffuf 'd their light moft clear, 
 Yet in the end Titan in an angry mood, 
 
 feeming furpaft, did hide him in a cloud. 
 Thysbe puts on her cloths, bleft were thofe cloths, 
 
 thrice happy fhade, that fhadow'd fuch a Rofe, 
 Where being dreffed, not dreff'd as fhee would bee, 
 
 fhe tooke her to her praiers religioufly. (flow, 
 
 High heauens (quoth fhe) from whence al pleafurea 
 
 deigne fome of then on Thysbe to beftow. 
 For by your power, which I doe much adore, 
 
 I loue but that which you haue lou'd before. 
 Thou thtmdring loue, did dote as well as /, ^« 
 
 wheri thou dejired with Danae to lye ; '^^ 
 
 Which to effeSly thou turn'd her to ajhowre, 
 
 a Goulden Jhowre her beauty to defloure. 
 For cloth d in lightnhig, Danae denaied, 
 
 to ioyne with thitnder : afterward arraid 
 In dewie moijlure, (moijlure we do loue,) 
 
 Jhe cajl ojf Jltame, and did thy Jhape approue. 
 And luno lou's \yi\oxi for his kiffe, 
 
 Venus, Adonis, for his comelineffe. 
 Daphne (poore Laurell) chafed by Apollo, 
 
 running as f aft before as he did follow. |H 
 
 Thus did your loue, your tuft, your thoughts renew, ^ 
 
 if I thifike ill, I thinke no worfe theji you. 
 And well may gods with w omens fexe difpence^ iM 
 
 Since they were firft aicthorif'd their offence. 
 My loue's notfpotted with lafciuious tutch, 
 
 vnleffe it be by louing ouermuch. 
 
 Nor 
 
The true Louers knot, 259 
 
 Nor branded with the note of Infamie, 
 
 but pure as Delia Queene of Chaftitie. 
 Thoughts are the worft, my a6lions they be cleare, 
 
 & he'fe no man whofe thoughts nere foyled were. 
 Then pardon if I loue, fuppofe it zeale, 
 
 whofe pafTions be too hote for to conceale : 
 Leauing her Orifons, compofed of Loue, 
 
 loue dallying praiers : her eyes afide fhe moues, 
 And fees the chinke, which fhe firft faw before, 
 
 which did augment her dolors much the more. 
 For fhee recall'd to minde, to memory, 
 
 her mothers chiding, fathers leloufie ; 
 Both which a fhreame of teares extra6l from, her, 
 
 as if pale death her comforts fhould interre. 
 Oft would fhe call on louely Pyranms, 
 
 with fmothered fpeech, as one fufpitious : 
 Left the pure ayre, and walls adioyning neere, 
 
 fhould prattle loue vnto her parents eare. 
 Oft would fhe nibble out a ftone or two, 
 
 to make the crift feeme bigger to the fhow 
 Of her deepe loue : for they fufpe6led were, 
 
 therefore debard, left they fhould come too neer. 
 Pyravitis pent vp all this while, at laft, 
 
 gets out and hies him to the chinke as faft. 
 Where what difcourfe their mutuall loue afifoorded, 
 
 feem'd by the Gods in heauen to be recorded. 
 Either with greedy eye gafmg on other, (ther : 
 
 Thysbe look'd backe fomtimes, doubting her mo- 
 For fhe fufpedled much her iealous eye, 
 
 in her loues prefence to be euer by. 
 
 S 2 Enuious 
 
26o Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 Enuious wall, oft would thefe louers fay, 
 
 diuide thy felfe and let vs haue a way. 
 To meete, to kiffe, to parley and relate, 
 
 the folemne feftiues of our nuptiall ftate. 
 Why fhould thy marble ftruftures hold vs out, 
 
 vvhofe loue encircles Babilon about ? 
 Or why fhould terrene compofition moue 
 
 a breach or feparation of our loue ? 
 Loue is celeftiall : thou a marble fhrine, 
 
 why fhouldft thou hinder loue that is diuine ? 
 And yet we cannot fo ingratefuU be, 
 
 but we muft offer vp our thanks to thee ; Ml 
 
 Our vowes, our giftes, our beft prif 'd facrifice, 
 
 in that thou yeelds a passage to our eyes, 
 Yeelding some comfort in this gloomie night, 
 
 fupplying kiffes with the vfe of fight. 
 Loue hath fome harmonic, fome fmall agreeing, 
 
 for what it wants in tutch it hath in feeing. 
 Hefperias garden was by ferpents kept, 
 
 whofe euer watching eye-liddes neuer flept. 
 And Colchis Fleece was kept as warily, 
 
 till lafons meanes obtain'd the vi6lorie 
 So be our loues immur'd, interred rather, 
 
 by two fufpicious dames, one fubtile father. 
 Then would they kiffe the wall and oft entreat, 
 
 that in compaffion it would let them meet. 
 We will not tell our parents, nor expreffe, 
 
 who twas, gaue way vnto our happineffe, 
 Louers be faithfull, of our faiths beleeue vs, (vs. 
 
 fmce this ftraight durance cannot chufe but grieue 
 
 The 
 
The true-louers knot. 261 
 
 The wall replyde not : yet their words had force, 
 
 pierfing her hardn effe, foftned with remorfe. 
 For euer frnce, as well it may appeare, 
 
 the marble fheds each morne a Trickling teare, 
 Thus did thefe louers paffe the weary morne, 
 
 depriu'd of that which louers beft adorne, 
 And that is priuate meeting, which being miffmg, 
 
 we beat the aire but with conceit of kiffmg, 
 A vaine conceit, to dally with delight, 
 
 Expe6ling fun-fhine in a clowdy night, 
 Imparadif'd in ioyes he cannot be, 
 
 that's clad in sable roabs of mifery. *"' 
 Oh then conceiue what forrow he fuftaines, 
 
 that in perpetuall languifhment remaines. 
 O what diftraftions do his ioyes diffeuer, 
 
 feeding like vultures on his hart for euer. 
 If ^Zeuxes pi6lured grapes, fo liuely were ; 
 
 That many birds in flocks repaired there, 
 Pecking vpon his ftatues, and did browfe 
 
 vpon his liuely grapes, meere liueles fhowes. 
 Well may we thinke, that loue himfelfe can make, _ 
 
 a farre more liuely, and proportion'd fhape, 
 Then a poore painter ; though his Grapes feeme ripe, 
 
 yet they were drawne from loues firft Archetype. 
 Then loues beft pi6lure, Natures admiration, 
 
 Thysbe, euen Thysbe made for recreation, 
 May well be thought to draw each bird each beaft, 
 
 from Paftures greene, vpon her lippes to feaft. 
 It were a feftiue banquet there to be, 
 
 whofe breath is Ne6iar, breathing deity. 
 
 S 3 Heere 
 
262 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 1 
 
 Here Pyramus would be, if heauens would grant it 
 
 for he efteemes no treafure whileft he wants it, 
 Since fuch a lewell, fuch a pretious Gem, 
 
 in that it's rare, is more admired by men. 
 Thus Tantalifed, the Gods doe feeme to loue him. 
 
 fetting him fruite, but fruite too farre aboue him. 
 For when his lips (pure lips) fhould but com ny them 
 
 they mocke his lips and in derifion flie them. 
 Doft flie my lips (quoth he) 6 doe not flie me, 
 
 for what I doe, I doe it but to trie thee. 
 To trie thy loues which though our parents thwarted 
 
 our conioin'd loue difloin'd fhall nere be parted, 
 Well may our bodies be difioin'd a funder, 
 
 but loue's to head-ftrong, none can keepe it vnder : 
 Loue is free-borne, it cannot feruile be, 
 
 to begge for curtefie with a bended knee. 
 Thysbe kept concord, for each word he fpake, 
 
 feem'd her retired paffions to awake, 
 Stird vp her fpirit, as infpir'd by fate, 
 
 making her flout that was effeminate. 
 Continue thy intendments fweete, quoth fhe, 
 
 and as thy fhadow I will follow thee, 
 Paffmg a fea of dangers launching deepe, 
 
 till I the fhadow to the fubftance creepe, 
 Paffe Oeta's as forreft, fnow-cliued Caucafus 
 
 Thyshe will follow fteps of Pyramus ; 
 Thee Riphean Mountaines, or the Hetririan plaines. 
 
 Each morne refounding with the notes of fwains. 
 If thou loue Vinolus, with her fragrant fpices, 
 
 or Eri6lhea famous for deuices : 
 Thyshe will follow thee with fpeed fhe may, 
 
 only 
 
 *J 
 
The true-Louers knot. 263 
 
 only, her trauaile with thy loue repaie. 
 But thefe are but difcourfes of our ill, 
 
 which if not cured, be augmented ftill. 
 For that you know renues the maladie, 
 
 which rubs the fore, and yields no remedie : 
 For why fhould any labour me remoue, 
 
 From that admired mirror whom I loue. 
 And I am of that nature : more they hold me, 
 
 from fancying thee, more paffions do enfould me, 
 Then plot (my Pyramtis,) contriue, inuent, 
 
 that we may harbour loue in loues content, 
 'ill wearied with ioy, wearyed too foone, 
 
 thou leaue adoring of the watrie Moone. 
 lere being cloyed with the fweetes of loue 
 
 mayft leaue the vale, and tafte the fruits aboue. 
 Thou art my fheepheard, I will be thy plaine, 
 
 I the poore cottage, thou the homely fwaine, 
 Thou fhalt refrefh thy felfe vpon my banckes, 
 
 which hauing don, I know thou'le giue me thanks, 
 For my diffufed flreames, ftreams meerely fent, 
 
 not much enforc'd from Thysbes continent, 
 Come then, for why fhould any marble wall 
 
 being materiall fubflance, fo appall 
 Our ardent wifhes, wifhes which proceede 
 
 from loue-fick paffions, which more paffions feed. 
 Let our diftilling teares congeal'd in one, 
 
 disffolue the hardnes of this flinty fbone. 
 Remorfe may moue this fbone by diuine wonder, 
 
 to let vs meete, diuide herfelfe a funder. 
 This faid, maine riuers of diftreaming teares, 
 
 in their woes-torrents purblinde eies appeares, 
 
 S 4 Seeking 
 
264 . Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 Seeking, but feeking all in vaine God wot, 
 
 to moue that fhrine, which weeping moued not. 
 It wept to fee true loue fo ftraite confinde, 
 
 difioyn'd by fates, which fauours had combinde. 
 It wept to fee their parents fo vnkinde, 
 
 to curbe their bodies prefence, whofe pure minde, 
 Rapt with content of feeing, not enioying, 
 
 a6ls difcontent, debard of further toying. 
 It wept to fee their minds fo well agreeing 
 
 in one felfe place, not to haue one felfe-being. 
 It wept and much repin'd that difmall fate, 
 
 Should croffe pure loue by loue-difioyned hate : 
 And pittying their cafe fhed many a teare, 
 
 Shedding fo many, fhe her felfe did were. 
 Oh what hard harted parents had thefe two, 
 
 fmce what the ftones allow'd, they'l not allow, 
 Reproouing that in theirs, themfelues affe6led, 
 
 foiling their youth with what their youth refpefled 
 Are thefe the fruits and honours of our time, 
 
 the fruitleffe bloffomes of a fterile clyme } 
 Are thefe our louing Sires } oh no, they are hard, 
 
 to preffe downe loue, that cannot be debar'd. 
 You high refplendent heauens, whofe cherifhing heat 
 
 with feafoned warmth, our fpacious borders greet, 
 Temper fuch parents hearts, as are not won, 
 
 till both their line and linnage be vndone. 
 Soften their ftifned minds, oppreff'd with rage, 
 
 playing fharpe tyrants in declining age. 
 For why fhould they find fault their children play, 
 
 fmce in their prime they playd as much as they. 
 
 Decrepit 
 
 1 
 
 % 
 
ft 
 
 The True-louers knot. 265 
 
 Decrepit age, ftilted for want of ftrength, 
 
 with brinifh teares deplores their fins at length ; 
 But thus I confter't : They their age deplore, 
 
 theyr youth is fpent, and they can doe no more. 
 And like an enuious viper, would haue none, 
 
 to vfe their ftrength, becaufe their ftrength is gone. 
 But old age ers in this : experienc'd wit 
 
 fwaies their proceedings, youth abandons it. 
 Nor doe they know what hurt poore maides receiue, 
 
 to pen them vp from that they wifh to haue. 
 For though they be immur'd in walles of Braffe, 
 
 Loue hath her loope-holes by which Jhe will paffe, 
 Infpite of iealous dotage, and efpies 
 
 fome priuy chinke, though wacht by ^ Linceus eies, 
 For loue enclof'd like raging elements 
 
 of fire and water, though imprifoned, vents, 
 And muft eruption haue, it cannot be 
 
 an heauenly motion fhould want libertie. 
 ^Eurydice though fhes enforc't to dwell, 
 
 in Stygian Plutoes court infernall hell. 
 Yet her tranfmounting paffions doe remoue 
 
 themfelues from hell vnto the earth aboue. 
 Poore fwaine Dorinda though by Satires kept, 
 
 in a vaft caue, whofe watchfull eies nere flept, 
 But with reflexion both by night and day, 
 
 had fpeciall care left fhe fhould get awaie, 
 Comforts her felfe in louing, fearing not, 
 
 but chaft defires ore long would get her out, 
 Loue is enfranchifd not in bonds retained, 
 
 fpotleffe as Chrijiall, for no foile can ftaine it. 
 
 The 
 
266 Loues Labyrinik, or 
 
 The boiflrous windes fhut vp in iron grates, 
 
 on each occafion and intendment waites, 
 When they come forth their tempefts hurrie more 
 , grieu'd at their durance, then they did before. 
 /That morn which feds her glittering raies too foone, 
 ^ fables her funne in cloudes ere it be noone. 
 But when its long ere that her beames appeare, 
 
 we doe prefage ere night they'le fhine more cleere. 
 * Thetis exiled from her marine feate, 
 
 a willing exile with the Sea-nimphs meetes. 
 To celebrate Achilles funeralls, 
 v^ in fable robes, in difmall feftiuals. 
 
 Each wept whole flouds of teares to wafh his hearfe, 
 
 whereon engrauen was a doleful verfe ; 
 That no hard harted paffenger came by, 
 
 but feeing it, would fheede teares inftantly : 
 Some made relation of his valiant fpirit, 
 
 fome of the glory which his a6ls did merit : 
 And wofuU Brujis one amongfl the reft, 
 
 being his captiue, whom fhe loued beft, 
 Emburied him with liquid ftreames of forrow, 
 
 renewing griefe with each renewing morrow. 
 So did thefe louers, louers too fmcere, 
 
 rife ere the morning dayftar could appeare, 
 Bewayling much their parents frowardneffe, 
 
 that kept them from the fupport of happineffe. 
 Happie, if happy in enioying loue, 
 
 to fee the Turtle billing with the Doue^ 
 The skipping Kidy the Goate, the penfiue Hinde, 
 
 conforting each with other in their kinde : 
 
 Yet 
 
 1 
 
The true-louers knot. 267 
 
 Yet thefe two louers are debard from this ; 
 
 what brute beafts haue, they haue not but in wifh : 
 And wifhes yield fmall comfort, poore releefe 
 
 to fuch as are preft downe with heapes of griefe. 
 O that heauens fplendor, her tranflucent eie 
 
 fhould fee, and feeing, pittie miferie. 
 Yet fuffer man to be oppref 'd therewith, 
 
 Making him die a neuer dying death. 
 Or why fhould man endu'd with reafons light, 
 
 in his owne bowels harbour fuch a fight, 
 As may fubuert the pallace of the foule, 
 
 ecclipfmg it, making her bewty foule ; 
 Conuerting that by her depraued will, 
 
 as firft feem'd good to fome apparant ill ; 
 Not gathering hony from each bitter flower 
 
 of difcontent, nor reaping fweet of fower. 
 But in diftraflions paffionate we run, 
 
 in headlong courfe till that we be vndone : 
 And then defpairing, we refide in woe 
 
 fhut vp in fhelfes : we know not where to goe. 
 The fillie Bee that labours in her hiue, 
 
 in her Hyblaean works addres'd to ftriue, 
 With nature in proportion : feemes to make, 
 
 more for her felfe then nature for her fake, 
 In her digefting and difpofmg fit, 
 
 what fhe had gathered by her natiue wit. 
 She refts fecure of loue, worfe hap haue we, 
 
 opprefb with loue-fick paffions then hath fhe 
 [But heauens haue fo decreed ; this is our lotte 
 
 Creatures that haue moji reafon^ mojijhould dote. 
 
 Thus 
 
268 Loues labyrinth, or 
 
 Thus each ore-fhadowing eu'ning fhadowed hope, 
 
 ayming at loue, loue was their onely fcope : 
 At which they leuelled : But ('las) difdaine 
 
 foaring aloft, the frute of loue retaines : 
 Lockt from all comfort, fhut from fweete repofe, 
 
 fhe to their parents doth their loue difclofe. 
 Telling them how their children made repaire, 
 
 vnto a chinke which breath'd a cooling aire. 
 Yeelding content enough : and they fhould fee 
 
 that ere long time Thy/be would frutefuU bee. 
 Their parents ftamp'd, but Tymo7i mofi; of all, 
 
 for hee was rich and feard his daughters fall. 
 Yet well he could haue brook'd her nuptiall bed, 
 
 if he were rich that fhould his daughter wed. 
 Fie on fuch Gould-adoring parentage, 
 
 that refts refpectleffe both of youth and age, 
 Who meafure loue by wealth are fure to haue, 
 
 Midas his eares, depriu'd of what they craue, 
 They wreft their childrens minds to make them tafte, » 
 
 the fweet of Gold, which works their baine at laft. ^ 
 "^ Thus parents are as vipers to their feed, 
 
 fmce they their venome in their bofomes feede. 
 Which like to Naptha that being once inflamed, 
 
 Burnes of it felfe, and cannot be reftrained. 
 But loue the more repreffd the more confin'd, 
 
 encreafeth fo much more in louers minde. (them, 
 " For though their watchfuU eies did ftill looke ore 
 
 Gods pittying their diftres did more deplore them ; 
 And loue him felfe yields foueraigne remedy, 
 
 to thefe two louers fraught with mifery. 
 
 And 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
the true Louers-knot. 269 
 
 And well might lotce yield comfort to their wounds, 
 
 fmce he his paffions on like paffions grounds, 
 For he (though God) did doate as well as man, 
 
 transforming Leda to a milke white Swan. 
 loue in his aiery throne with piercing eies, 
 
 thefe louers griefes from high Olimpus fpies, 
 And fpying them oppres'd, pref 'd downe with louing 
 
 Their humane paffions force a diuine mouing. 
 You fruitfull fprigs fprung of a fruitfull tree, 
 
 I heare your plaints, and I doe pittie yee. 
 That the ioynt tablet of two louing hearts 
 
 fhould be deuided into feuerall parts 
 Hard-hearted Parents, made of Marble fure 
 Or elfe they could not fuch diftreffe endure. 
 That their owne budding bloffoms which did grow, 
 
 from their vnfeafoned bofome fhould beftow 
 Their oile, their labour in affe6lions ftraines, 
 
 yet kept in thraldome by their parents reynes. 
 But I that haue the Regiment aboue, 
 
 rules Cupids arrows, knows the vfe of loue, 
 I that haue poafted down from heauens high fphere, 
 
 to DaitaCy lo, and the milke-maides here. 
 And to Latona bewties facred Queene, 
 
 yet to this hower, as loue I nere was feene. 
 Nor euer knowen, fuch was our diuine power, 
 
 tranfuming fhapes of plants and roarie fhowers. 
 Will pittie your afre6lions and apply, 
 
 Vnto your wounds are prefent remedy. 
 For we (as men) do naught of woemen craue, 
 
 but what they well may giue, and we may haue. 
 
 If 
 
n 
 
 2 70 Loues Labyrinthy or 
 
 If the orefhadowing cloudes whofe duskie face, 
 
 obfcures heauens fplendor, Sols refulgent grace : 
 If mifty vapours, foggy excrements, 
 
 thickned by mixture of grofe elements. 
 If Heauen, earth, Sea, plants, ftones, or ferpents may 
 
 yield you content, or can your woes allay, 
 Rely on me ; for loues high diademe, 
 
 was firft ordained to fuccour wretched men, 
 And by the flagrant creffet of the Sunne, 
 
 wele either fee your minds vnited one. 
 Or elfe my power fhall contradi6l her felfe. 
 
 Making affe6lion vaffaile vnto pelfe. 
 Which were difcordant mufique, harfher ftraines, 
 
 then ere Pan fung among his countrie fwains 
 For its not fit that hand-maids fhould command vs 
 
 or fubie6l powers fhould in their a6ls withftand 
 Pelfe (worlds trafh) in loweft ranke fhould fit, (vs. 
 
 loue as a Miftris framd to manage it : 
 For who will contemne the daie, the night adore, 
 
 fet beft behinde, and worft part before. 
 loue hauing in compaffion feene their woes, 
 
 to ° Hefperus the euening ftar he goes. 
 And bids her fhew her light, for by her aide, 
 
 fhe might yeeld fuccour to a helpleffe maide, 
 Hefperus roufed, rous'd before her time 
 
 in heauens horizon ftreight began to fhine : 
 Ore cannoping heauens beawtie with a clowde, 
 
 all which by loue himfelfe was well allowde, ^m 
 
 Then wandring ftarrs in different dignity, -^B 
 
 fent out their lights difparkled orderly. 
 
 Ar6lo- 
 
The true Louers knot, 271 
 
 Ar6lophilax begotten of the beare, 
 
 and Cafjiopeia likewife did appeare, 
 The Pleiades^ Orion, with the reft, 
 
 Cajior and Pollux, whom loue loued befl ; 
 All thefe confort and make one conftellation, 
 
 at loues command for louers recreation. 
 The heauens be-fprinkled thus with fundry lights, 
 
 limit the day by bringing on the night. 
 To comfort wearied fpirits fpent with toyle, 
 
 whofe troubled brains the night-time fhuld affoil. 
 For loue at firft conceiuing mortall feede, 
 
 amidft his labors fome repaft to need. 
 Created night thofe cares to take away, 
 
 which had beene fofbred on the toilefome day, 
 Night wifhed night, to Louers that defire 
 
 to be partakers of that heauenly fire, 
 Cupid (blind boy) infufeth in their breft, 
 
 which once infus'd engendreth their vnreft. 
 But its no matter, leaue we cannot louing, 
 
 though bitter fruits redound to our approuing : 
 This gloomy night yeelds comfort to their wo, (go. 
 
 For loue had fhowen the place, where they fhould 
 To Ninus toomb, a toomb to bury griefe 
 
 fhaded with couert, fit for loues reliefe : 
 Thefe two blefb louers, bleft in loues appearing, 
 
 addreffe their eye for fight, their eare for hearing. 
 Left their fufpicious Parents fhould fift out. 
 
 Their fond intendments which they went about : 
 The Night was very darke, darke nights be beft, 
 
 For fuch as on the day-time take no reft. 
 
 Since 
 
272 Loues labyrinth, or 
 
 Since each difparkling beame which doth appeare, 
 
 yeelds to a lealous louer caufe of feare. 
 But duskie nights which Louers beft approue, 
 
 giue free acceffe of parly vnto loue. 
 Thisbe loue-ficke, for loue had made her ficke, 
 
 time thus occafioned, findes a pretie tricke 
 To gull her keepers and her Parents too, 
 
 which who can blame her, all that loue will doe : 
 Deere be our Parents loues, their wils, their bleffmgs 
 
 by which we profper : deerer be the kiffmgs 
 Of thofe we loue fmcerely from our heart, 
 
 for where they be there is our chiefefh part. 
 No vnfrequented defert can remoue 
 
 our hearts from them whom we entirely loue. 
 No diftance can difioine vnited mindes, 
 
 no labyrinth fram'd with Meanders winds : 
 We reft the fame or elfe it cannot be, 
 
 that our affe6lions ground on conftancie. 
 Thijbe with creeping pace pac'd ore the floore, 
 
 oyling the hinges of the creeking dore, 
 Left it fhould fhew her meaning to her mother, 
 
 whofe eies fhe "^ feared more then anie other. 
 For they were too too iealous and would fpie, 
 
 more in her dealing then her fathers eye : ||| 
 
 For he was bed-rid and could hardly moue ^^ 
 
 his fenceleffe ioints and knew not what was loue : 
 Yet this bed full of bones, this fap-leffe wretch A 
 
 had fap within his cheft, for he was rich ; « 
 
 And more, for which all wifemen-may deride him, 
 
 he euer lov'd to haue his golde befide him. 
 
 For 
 
I 
 
 The true-louers knot. 2 73 
 
 For on his trafh he was fo deeply rooted, 
 
 that he (fond-man could neuer fleepe without it : 
 Thus had he much, yet he defir'd much more 
 
 his gold, his Idole which he did adore. 
 And though he had no vfe for that he got, 
 
 yet he from raking more furceafed not. 
 Which punifhment was firft inflidl'd by loue, 
 
 Rich men fhould haue no vfe of what they loue ; 
 But in an in-bred appetite to golde, 
 
 delight to haue it euery minute tolde : 
 Which being done making an endleffe paine, 
 
 they tell their trafh and put it vp againe." 
 Thus did this aged Tymon : and refpe6led, 
 
 wealth more then youth of girles moft affefled, 
 For richleffe was the fcope he leuel'd at, 
 
 heele call none fonnes but men of good eftate. 
 Worth worthleffe feemes, if worth haue no retire, 
 
 nor meanes by which their honour might afpire. 
 For beggar Irus whofe eftate was poore, 
 
 made Ithacus to driue him out of dore. 
 And feeing him arraide in beggars lift, 
 
 in furious paffion flew him with his fift. 
 Thus men are made refpe6lleffe for their want, 
 
 and pouerty, though faire, yet whole not taunt ? 
 Deeming them moft vnfit of honours throne, 
 
 that haue more wit then fortune of their owne. 
 But he that poifeth worth as worth fhould be, 
 
 will not obfcure true worth for pouertie ; 
 Being the fubftance and maine difference, 
 
 twixt fauage beafts and humane excellence. 
 
 T And 
 
274 Lone labyrinth, or 
 
 And more is trafh inferior to the minde, 
 
 then pith of trees fuperior to the rinde : 
 Thysbe efcaping, hies her to the place 
 
 which was appointed : her admired face 
 Caft fuch a luftre on the plain es belowe, 
 
 as fteepy mountaines couered with fnow. 
 In Maiden white appareld : maides fhould be 
 
 arraied fo to fhew their modeftie ; 
 Such piercing eyes fhe had, which fhon fo bright, 
 
 that they gaue day vnto a gloomy night : 
 So that each Wood-nimph, Faune and Satyre there, 
 
 rofe from their caues perceiuing light appeare. 
 Sihianus god of woods and defert groues, 
 
 his fhaggy head from off his pillow moues ; 
 And halfe afleepe feeing his arbour fhine 
 
 and all about him, long before his time 
 He girds his quiuer to him, and drew neere (cleere : 
 
 to Ninus toombe, where fun-beames fhon mofl 
 Where he no fooner came ; ay me ! too foone 
 
 to that vnluckie fhrine that ominous toombe : 
 But feeing her he caft all fleepe afide, 
 
 fewing, and futing Thysbe for his bride. 
 Mirror of women, beft of Natures art, (heart 
 
 heare a poore wood-god that hath pledg'd his 
 To thee and to thy feature : heauenly queene 
 
 that would thefe flowrie thickets well befeeme, 
 Sit thee downe here : this is an arbour fweet, 
 
 where al the wood nymphs vfe each euen to meet 
 Making a concord ; whofe meUifluous found, 
 
 would glad the birds and all the desert round : 
 
 The 
 
The True- louers Knot, 275 
 
 The Nimphs fhall make their praiers and renew, 
 
 each morne their hymnes, that they may pleafure 
 The Miifes nine from Pyerus fhall defcend, (you 
 
 and to our mufique their attention lend, 
 Where if there anie difcord chance to be, 
 
 Mufes themfelues will yeeld a remedie. 
 There Clio^ Erato, and Melpomene, 
 
 Euterpe, Thalia, and Calliope, 
 Terpfychore, Vrania, and that fweet 
 
 tong'd Poly-himnia fmging at thy feet 
 All thefe fhall grace thee in this rurall plaine, 
 
 if thou canft brooke to loue a Coimtrie fwaine : 
 Yet am I borne more high then mortall men, 
 
 deriu'd from gods euen of immortall ftem, 
 * Sprung my beginning, therfore fcorne not me, 
 
 fmce if thou match thou match's with deitie. 
 The flowery fhrubbs thou feefb doe I command, 
 
 nay euen the Cedar which fo high doth ftand, 
 Refts at my power : there is no branch doth grow, 
 
 whofe moifture doth not from Syluanus flow. 
 The fweeteft fpices of Arabia, 
 
 the preciou'ft perfumes breth in Lidia, 
 Smell by my meanes : for my celeftiall power 
 
 can make each ftinking weede a fragrant flower. 
 Then deare affe6l me, for no perfume's good 
 
 if I want thee that perfumes euery Wood. 
 
 T2 The 
 
276 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 Thysbees replie. 
 
 IF you (quoth Thysbee) as you doe profeffe, 
 deriue your birth from gods then ihew no leffe : 
 For its not fit that gods with ftarres araid, (maid, 
 
 and heauens immortall fphseres, fhould loue a 
 ^ A Countrie laffe beft fits a Countrie fwaine, 
 
 his oaten pipe beft fuites with her harfhy^r^^W, 
 Thofe gods that in Olympus regiment, 
 
 fit and beare rule skorne bafer elements. 
 Then if you be diuine, as fure you be, 
 
 furceafe your fuite which yeelds indignity. 
 To that high of-fpring whence you did proceed, 
 
 ftaine not your loue with any mortall feed. 
 
 Doth mine high linage (quoth Syluanus) fhew, 
 
 that I am too diuine to match with you ; 
 Thou art fure born of that ambrojian airCj 
 
 which loue infus'd in me : thou art too faire 
 To be of mortall race, oh do not then 
 
 debafe that faire fo much to mach with men : 
 Yet if thou wilt not match but with a fwaine, 
 
 He be no god that I thy loue may gaine. 
 A Shepheards habite I wil take vpon me, 
 
 if in that habite I may Hue with thee. 
 For credit me (heauens faint) if thou partake 
 
 of man, all men ile honour for thy fake : 
 Then loue Siluanus, doe not blufh be free, 
 
 loue god or fwaine, Syluanus both will be. 
 
 Thysbe 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
 the True-louers knot, 277 
 
 Thisbees reply. 
 
 IT ill becomes, quoth fhe, your peereleffe ftate, 
 with filly maides to be importunate : 
 You fhould prote6l our weakneffe and defend 
 
 our brittle fexe, and euer be a friend 
 To womans weake proceedings, ceafmg ftill 
 
 to drawe denoted Virgins to your will : 
 We that are confecrate to Vestas fhrine, 
 
 muft in no lafciuious meetings fpend no time : 
 If thou (quoth he) to Vejia dedicate 
 
 thy vowes, thy hefts : what mak'ft the here fo late ? 
 For well I know dame Vefta cannot bide 
 
 her maides fhould walke alone in euening tide. 
 And thofe that meane to fatisfie her will, 
 
 mufl both be chaft and feare fufpicions ill. 
 Thysbe flood mute, fhe knew not what to fay, 
 
 without reply fhe went a prety way 
 And could not anfwer, for her tripping tongue 
 
 and modeft filence told fhe fpoke awrong. 
 For fhe nere Vefta lou'd nor Vejias order, 
 
 but this was beft excufe the time afiford'd her. 
 Churlifh Syluanus (for he was a churle) 
 
 fo to importune a poore Countrie girle, 
 Halfe mad with anger that fhe would not yeeld 
 
 vnto his fuite : takes in his hand his fhield, 
 And raging fternely, fweares he meanes to goe, 
 
 where he will plunge her in a depth of woe. 
 
 T 3 Are 
 
278 Loues-labyrinthy or 
 
 Are you fo coy (quoth he) that youle denie, 
 
 to ioine with gods immortall deitie ? 
 Wele learn young girles manners if we Hue, (grieue 
 
 and make them rew, that they our power fhould 
 With this he went faft trotting vp the hill, 
 
 purfuing hot the proie6l of his will. 
 Intending to command fome fauage beaft, 
 
 vpon her, whom he lou'd, he lik'd to feaft. 
 And reaching neere vnto the hill aboue, 
 
 he wagg'd his hand, and ask'd if fhe would loue ? 
 But fhe denied him loue : doe you denie me ? 
 
 fond ? quoth SyluanuSy fauages fhall trie thee. 
 And thy affe6lion : which no fooner faid, 
 
 then he fent out a Lion to this Maide. 
 A Lion new returnde from rauening pray, 
 
 came to the fount, his blood to wafh away. 
 Where with a fhaking pace he feem'd to come 
 
 towards the place appointed Ninus tombe. 
 But Luna pitting poore Thysbes cafe, 
 
 fends out her light, to tell her who it was 
 That now approach'd her, whom no fooner fpide, 
 
 then in a Caue, poore Thysbe did her hide. 
 But out alaffe for feare, fhe ran fo faft, 
 
 that fhe forgot her tire through too much haft 
 For ihe all breathleffe, and quite out of winde, 
 
 running fo faft did leaue her tire behind. 
 And as one careleffe of her weale or woe, 
 
 diftreffed thus, fhe knew not were to goe, 
 Careleffe of what fhe left or what fhe had, 
 
 not knowing what was good, from what was bad. 
 
 Yet 
 
 I 
 
» 
 
 The true- Loners knot. 279 
 
 Yet nature grafts in all a natiue feare, 
 
 by which th' euent of all things doe appeare, 
 As we conceaue yeeld daunger to our ftate, 
 
 and feare by time, left we fhould feare too late. 
 Thus fhe pent vp within a defart caue, 
 
 with fobs & fighes, expreffe what Ihe would haue, 
 For in that Caue flie wifh'd her loue were there, 
 
 For loues embraces would exempt her feare. 
 Oft did fhe think e the Lion ftaid without. 
 
 and therefore trembling Thysbe made a doubt, 
 To take the open ayre, but pent within, 
 
 wifh'd in her heart, fhe had caraftred him. 
 Whom fhe admires and loues, whofe fweet refpe6l, 
 
 makes her to haue her parents in negle6l. 
 But he too flow, aye me, too flow in doing, 
 
 being fo forward in his formall woing : 
 Stales too too long, being more warely kept, 
 
 by fuch fharpe keepers, that all night nere flept : 
 But as one graflng Hart the reft doth keepe, 
 
 by watchful! eyes warning the reft that fleepe ; 
 So euer one was waking, that might call 
 
 vpon the reft if any thing befall : 
 The Lion hauing quencht his fcorching thirft, 
 
 with fpringing water which he long'd for firft : 
 Found Thysbes tyre, and with his bloody pray, 
 
 befmeard the fame, which done, he went away. 
 Now in the end Pyramus tooke a time, 
 
 a time too late to anfwere loue diuine : 
 Yet in this filent courfe of nighterne race, 
 
 with quick recourfe he runs vnto the place. 
 
 T 4 So 
 
28o Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 ^So that to fee him frolick ore the plaine, 
 
 were worth more prife then ^Hipodamias gaine, 
 For golden apples drew her tempting eie, 
 
 But this young youth affe6ls no vanity 
 But the true touch of loue : vaine, if abufed ; 
 
 but precious as pure gold, if rightly vfed. 
 Then who wil blame vs, labours to endurey 
 
 if we by labours ca7t our loue make Jure f 
 For conjlant loue no trauaile will efchew, 
 
 that conjlant loue by trauaile may renew, 
 Alcides he can ferue the Lidian queene, 
 
 in fpinning, carding, which doe ill befeeme 
 So fhout a mirrors magnanimity, 
 
 but he muft doe it, theres no remedy. 
 For when his manly nature did withftand it, 
 
 one glance of her could wel enough command it. 
 No fpacious confines nor indurate labour, 
 
 if thefe ore-paft, could purchafe ere her fauour. 
 Would he refufe : one fmile reward enough, 
 
 for all the labours he had paffed through. 
 Thysbe the trophie of his breathing courfe, 
 
 Thysbe the garland which doth him enforce. 
 Her he refpe6ls, and whiles he runs apace, 
 
 he meditates of Thysbes beuteous face ; 
 Her comely feature made for ^Adons fhrine, 
 
 whofe luory orbs like Pelops fhoulders fhine, 
 Had made that deep impreffion in his heart, 
 
 that Nature feem'd to ftriue with Natures Art. 
 Nature had giuen her much, Art much the more. 
 Art decking that which Nature dres'd before. 
 
 For 
 
 1 
 
r 
 
 The True-louers knot. 281 
 
 For that fame creature cannot perfe6l be, 
 
 where Art and nature ioyne not mutuallie. 
 If you would haue the module of true wit, 
 
 Nature creates, but Art muft polifh it. 
 Thysbe was perfe6l both in Natures hew, 
 
 and artificiall colours, which did fhew. 
 As if both A rt and Nature fhould contend, 
 
 to make her fuch an one no skill could mend ; 
 For fhe was witty, pregnant, full of fauour, 
 
 Di6linna like, fent out a fragrant fauour. 
 That when fhe walkt' in Babilons faire fireete, 
 
 fhe made the kennel with her perfumes fweet. 
 Pyramus comming, comming all too late, 
 
 to Ninus tombe expe6ls his bewteous mate, 
 Whom when he could not finde, he fear'd her end. 
 
 Feare is an aditmcl to a faithfull friend. 
 Roundly he goes vnto the filuer fpring, 
 
 where all the water-nimphs were wont to fmg, 
 In honour of their Goddeffe and her bewty, 
 
 to whom they offred hymnes as was their duty. 
 He afk'd the Nimphes if they his Thysbe knew, 
 
 defcribing her, and eke her matchleffe hew : 
 And if they did, he praid them feeke about 
 
 their Ne6lar fprings with him to finde her out, 
 For if you be immortall, as you feeme, 
 
 and dedicate your feruice to your Queen^ 
 A beter feruice fure you cannot doe her, 
 
 then to redreffe them owe their feruice to her. 
 This if you will in your compaffion doe, 
 
 I fweare each morne He offer thime to you. 
 
 Better 
 
4 
 
 282 Loues-labyrinth, or 
 
 Better then any Hyble, can affoord, 
 
 with mufick fweete to which the heauens accord, 
 And euer reft deuoted to your Ihrine, 
 
 in that you dayn'd to glad this heart of mine. 
 The water-nimphs repHde with curtuous cheere, 
 
 they knew none fuch, nor any did apeare, 
 But if it pleafd him, they their fprings would feeke, 
 
 exquire each bufhie Ihade, each priuate creeke, 
 To fee if fhe were in their manfions hid, 
 
 which he affented to ; all which they did : 
 But when with watrie tripping they had fought 
 
 both brake and brier ; yet could not finde her out, 
 Wearied with their diurnall labour, left 
 
 Pyrmnus fighing, of all ioy bereft ; 
 Yet did thefe nimphes bemone his hard mifhap, * 
 
 for fitting downe vnder Nereus lap, j 
 
 They turnd their Warbling ftrings to that fad fbraine, | 
 
 that all the woods re-eccoed them againe. j 
 
 Each in their order fung their dolefull verfe, j 
 
 as if it had been ouer Thysbes hearfe, % 
 
 And tun'd their odes with that vnfeafoned time, \ 
 
 y as that brute beafts to pittie did incline, j 
 
 ^ For they in fable colours did portend, 1 
 
 that their two loues were neere a tragick end. f 
 
 Thus fhadie night, Sea-nimphes, flars, plan'ts & all j 
 
 prefage to them and to their loues a fall. • 
 
 Yet Pyramus though fad, for he was fad 
 
 to haue thofe hopes extinguifht, which he had. 
 Seeks ftill about the tombe : fad tombe (quoth hee) 
 
 that hides my loue, fo much admir'd of me : 
 
 Yet 
 
the True Louers knot, 283 
 
 Yet if thou wilt but tell me where fhe is, 
 
 I vow by Heauens He pardon whats amiffe, 
 Yea rie remit thine error and thy wrong, 
 
 for keeping her within thy cheft fo long. 
 Say, wilt thou ? tell me what became of her ? 
 
 Didft thou her bewty in thy fhrine inter ? 
 Didft thou immure her in thy marble toombe ? 
 
 what makes thee filent ? bewty makes thee dumb : 
 Wilt thou fo wrong a louer to conceale, 
 
 From him the mirrour of his ioy, his weale. 
 His heart, his liking euen the flower of youth ? 
 
 and yet conceiues within thy heart no ruth. 
 Fie, fie for fhame : ift fit that monuments 
 
 fhould fo ecclipfe natures beft ornaments } 
 As to obfcure the glory of her face, 
 
 that where fhe is giues honor to the place. 
 Thou much abftradls from trophies Ninus woUy 
 
 in doing that which he would nere haue done. 
 Thou leffens much the honour he obtained, 
 
 loofing that fame which Ninus conquefts gained. 
 For what great gaine or conqueft i'ft t' haue faid, 
 
 I haue poffeffion of a countrey maide. 
 A young vnnurtur'd girle fit for men, 
 
 vnfit for liueleffe tombes which couer them 1 
 This faid this doting young man, blind with louing, 
 
 thinking ould mouldy fhrines had liuely mouing. 
 Mou'd with her loue, whom he did more efteeme, 
 
 then any gem that ere on earth was feene. 
 But when he faw into his error well, 
 
 He feem'd thofe loue-fick paffions to difpell, 
 
 And 
 
284 Loues labyrinth, or 
 
 And to repaire vnto his fearch againe, 
 
 feeking each couert, each vnhaunted plaine, 
 Each thick-fet hill, each groue that he might finde, 
 
 the diapafon of his troubled minde. 
 At lafh too foone, by feeking long he found, 
 
 (Thy she) not Thysbe, but her tire on ground. 
 Vnhallowed ground, vnfeafoned her attire, 
 
 to croffe the paffions of an hot defire. 
 Oh now conceiue what forrows gall his breffc, 
 
 to fee the tire of her he loued beft, 
 Befraeard with bloud, for it all bloudy; fhews, 
 
 her fanguine colour tin6l with Lyons iawes ; \ 
 
 Oft would hee looke vpon it, and would kiffe, ■ 
 
 the tire befmear'd with blood, wifhing it his, 
 His fate, his fortune, to remaine with her. 
 
 fince his long abfence thus had iniur'd her. 
 How to remaine (quoth he) fmce fhe is dead, 
 
 oppreff 'd by death, inclos'd in mourneful weede t 
 How fhould I Hue with her whofe life is gone, 
 
 and hath left me (vnhappy me) alone. 
 Die, die, with her, with whom thou canft not Hue, 
 
 For thou by dying fhalt thy life repriue. 
 And haue her prefence that enthroned is, 
 
 in perfe6l ioies of heauens Elijlan bliffe. 
 Yet ftay awhile, this is not Thysbes tire, 
 
 ftay there (fond wretch) againft thy tongue a Iyer. 
 This was her roabe, this was her comely weede, 
 
 which hauing lofb her owner gins to bleede. 
 Oh loue what caufe hadfl thou thus to remoue 
 
 two, that had their intentions voud to loue, 
 
 Or 
 
the true Louers-knot. 285 
 
 Or why fhould thou this faire occafion fhow vs, 
 
 which being fhowne, doft feeke for to vndoe vs ? 
 Be gods fo iron-hearted, to requite 
 
 conftant affe6lion with a difmall fpite ? 
 A fharpe reuenge it is, to fet vs on, 
 
 and then to leaue vs when we are begun. 
 Did not high loue yeeld vs more hopes then thefe, 
 
 when he commanded Phoebus to furceafe, 
 For to diffufe his beames, bidding him go, 
 
 retire in haft vnto the fhades below. 
 CalHng for Lima to fupply his place, 
 
 fhrowding heauens luftre with her clowdy face. 
 That our efcape fufpe6led leffe might be, 
 
 by the darke vaile of nights obfcurity. 
 But heauens I fee, repine at our fucceffe, (leffe, 
 
 fmce Gods themfelues by Fates haue fhew'd no 
 To plunge my weale in woe, my loue in teares, 
 
 producing nought, but fighes, and fruitleffe feares. 
 Thou harfh tun'd Nemefis, thou tragicke ghoft, 
 
 againft whofe adls my loue declaimeth mofb ; 
 What caufe hadfb thou to fmg this dolefull fong, 
 
 vpon her herfe that neuer did thee wrong t 
 She neuer raild againft thy Soueraigne power, 
 
 but like an harmeleffe doue, a fragrant flower ; 
 Flourifh'd fecure at home, yeelding content, 
 
 by gracefull fmiles, a maids beft ornament : 
 She neuer curb'd thy rage, nor did fhe mell 
 
 with ought but loue, which made worft for her fell : 
 But Fates haue made th^ inftrument of fmne, 
 
 refpe6lleffe of our loffe, fo they may win. 
 
 The 
 
286 Loues labyrintky or 
 
 The pretious fpoyle of Thysbes bleeding foule, 
 
 whofe fad mifhap the plants themfelues condole. 
 Yet thou remorfeleffe art, ill may betide thee, 
 
 that wold haue none to loue that Hue befide thee. 
 Yet for all this thou canfh not me depriue, 
 
 of louing her, whofe life did mee reuiue, 
 For being dead, He rather chufe to die, 
 
 then lining, lofe her loving company. 
 This faid : he takes her tyre, and kiffmg it, 
 
 vpon the fountaine banks did water it. 
 With dewie moifture of ftill-flowing teares, 
 
 which being fhed, renuing drops appeares. 
 Teares liquefied the arbour where he fate, 
 
 which water nimphs perceiuing, wondred at. 
 Oft would he beat his breft, and teare his haire, 
 
 fhutting his hopes in clouds of deepe defpaire. 
 Oft would he curfe the day, the houre, the night, 
 
 that banifht him from Thisbes gladfome fight. 
 Wifhing that night had neuer beene defcride, 
 
 for nere did night more harfh euents betide. 
 Oh Pyramus, and then he figh'd to fpeake, 
 
 for gufts of forrow made his hart-ftrings breake. 
 What meant thou to allure a fimple maid, 
 
 to thefe wild woods } her loue is well repaid. 
 That fhe fhould come vnto the place affignd, 
 
 and thou (bafe coward) come fo farre behind. 
 Thou with a tardy pace came at thy leifure, 
 
 fuch flow-pac'd courfers ill deferue fuch pleafure. 
 Thou too precife, made bones of what thou did, 
 
 fuch fond precifenes feldome hath good fpeed. 
 
 Shee 
 
The true-Louers knot. 287 
 
 Shee to enioy her ioy, cut off delay, 
 
 that Ihe her minds perfe6lion might difplay, 
 And with a courfe as quicke as Pegafus, 
 
 run ore thefe plaines to meet with PyramuSy 
 Which thou requited ill, bafefh of men, 
 
 which time fhall chara6ler with fcandalls pen. 
 A fcandall to thy fexe, and to thy fhate, 
 
 to leaue thy loue in deferts defolate. 
 Oh what mifhap had fhe to loue a fwaine, 
 
 that could not yeeld her loue for loue againe ? 
 Hard was her fortune to affe6l that creature, 
 
 who for a childifh feare delaid to meet her. 
 The gods I know more forward would haue beene, 
 
 to meet loues Parragon, fo faire a Queene. 
 As for her beauty, aye me, beauties faire, 
 
 with Ericiiia fhe might well compare ; 
 And farre more modeft : Venus had her mole, 
 
 but nere was Thysbe ftain'd with bewties foile. 
 But thou haft ftain'd her beauty by thy fault, 
 
 ruin'd that fort, which neuer had affault, 
 But by thy felfe, and by thy felfe too foone, 
 
 fmce by thy meanes her fhrine is razed downe. 
 Turne thee to heauen, and loe the heauens difmaid, 
 
 to fee the tragicke downefall of a maide : 
 Frowning at thee that was the caufe of this, 
 
 caufmg her end that was thy Soueraigne bliffe. 
 Turne thee to earth, and fee her turn'd to earth, 
 
 which makes the caues below refound with mirth 
 That they enioy which thou didft once enioy, 
 
 reaping their comfort from thy deepe annoy. 
 
 Turn 
 
288 Loues labyrinth, or 
 
 Turne thee vnto the Sea, and thou fhalt fee, 
 
 The Nymphes and Syrens crying out 'gainfl: thee. 
 That fhould make promife, yet not promife hold, 
 
 calling thee coward, but thy Thysbe bold. 
 Bold, to aduenture on the gloomy night, 
 
 bold to encounter with Latonas light. 
 Bold in her courfe, fwift in her curfiue mouing, 
 
 bold to efcape, and conftant in her louing : 
 Thus heauen, earth. Sea, concording all in one, 
 
 do fimpathize with thy difcording mone. 
 And wilt thou Hue for this ? O doe not Hue, 
 
 but to requite her loue, let earth receiue 
 This little All of thine : which when they haue, 
 
 they may interre two louers in one graue. 
 Adioyning to this fount, a rocke there was, 
 
 fo fteepe and craggy, that no man could paffe. 
 To which wilde beafts repair'd, making their den 
 
 in th' hollow cauernes which did couer them. 
 Which feene by him 8 : what doe not louers fee 1 
 
 with face deie6led, thus difcourfed he. 
 If any Lion or fierce fauage Beare, 
 
 lodge in this ragged rocke, or coucheth neere, 
 Let him come out, for heere is amorous food, 
 
 9 and cooling ftreames to wafh away our bood, 
 That this may beare record by euery wight, 
 
 two faithfull louers perifht on one night. 
 But thefe are but delaies which cowards vfe, 
 
 10 their trembling paffions feeking to excufe, 
 Caft off vaine feare, feare is a vaffalls weede, 
 
 and place true Refolution in her fteed. 
 
 This 
 
The true Louers knot. 289 
 
 This faid "with praiers vnto his houfhold Gods, 
 
 Offring to Venus altar, myrtle rods, 
 Which grew hard by that fpring where he did fit, 
 
 with other ceremonialls which befit 
 A louers laft farewell : he wifht his friends 
 
 for their too hard reftraint to make this mends, 
 And to ere6l his fhrine by Ninus tombe, 
 
 as witnes of his loue in time to come. 
 Which faid : with hand refolu'd, refolu'd to dye, 
 
 with fword vnlheath'd, he ends his' mifery. 
 Thus hauing ended, ended ere begun, 
 
 for thus the thred of his fhort life was fpun. 
 The fad euents and obfequies enfue, 
 
 which thus in briefe my Mufe relates to you. 
 Thysbe, poore Tkysbe, trembling all this while, 
 
 fhut vp within her caue : began to fmile. 
 And with a cheerefull countenance caft off feare, 
 
 for in that coaft, no ill fhe faw appeare. 
 And much delighted with her fpeedy courfe, 
 
 vnto the fprings, fad fprings, fhee made recourfe. 
 She tuck'd her cloaths vp, for the euening dew, 
 
 had walh'd the herbs that in the forreft grew ; 
 And tucking vp as Country maids doe vfe, 
 
 the high bet path to Ninus tombe to chufe ; 
 Where fhe (vnhappy fhe) no fooner came, 
 
 then like Narciffus eccho, founds his name, 
 Whom fhe affe6ls, admires, whofe onely face, 
 
 drew her (poore wench) vnto that difmall place. 
 Come, come, quoth fhe, thou knowft not how to wo 
 
 Come to thy Thysbe fhe will tell thee how. 
 
 V Shee 
 
290 Loue labyrinth, or 
 
 She wil prefcribe the rules, with fruits of woing, 
 
 for fruitleffe be thofe fruits that haue no doing. 
 We that doe hazard our good names for men, 
 
 if they'l not pleafure vs : what profit then, 
 Of all our toylfome labour we fuftaine, 
 
 that reape no harueft from fuch gufts of pain ? 
 We patient are to beare, and what we bore, 
 
 we doe accept, and wifh it ten times more, 
 That we might pleafure you : how fond are we ? 
 
 The weaker fort bear es your infirmity. 
 But its our Nature, Nature hath ordain'd, 
 
 mans ftrength by womans weakneffe is fuftain'd. 
 In this fame cloudy night, with what defire, 
 
 did all my thoughts, and my intents afpire ? 
 To that fame treafure thou haft promif'd me, 
 
 promife is debt, it muft be kept by thee. 
 With what affe6lion haue I croff'd thefe plaines. 
 
 cheered by wood-nimphs, fmging plefant ftrains, 
 And danf'd Laualto till I came to thee, 
 
 longing for that which thou didft promife mee. 
 Sad Philomela skared from her reft, 
 
 fung with a pricking flothorne at her breft. 
 And fung of Tereus fomething, what I know not, 
 
 which if I knew, yet would I neuer fhow it. 
 12 For Tereus impious in his prophane life, 
 
 to wrong a fifter, and fo chaft a wife. 
 Suftains the torture of his wickedneffe, 
 
 transform'd into a Bird : whofe filthineffe, 
 Loues marifh places, flies the folid ground, 
 
 good reafon why : his confcience was not found. 
 
 For 
 
The True-louers Knot. 291 
 
 1 3 For Tireus was a King and for his luft, 
 
 by loue himfelfe, was from his fcepter thruft. 
 A fenfuall Prince to wanton motions ftirr'd, 
 
 chang'd from a prince, vnto a loathfome bird. 
 Thus did I paffe the filence of the night, 
 
 till I arriu'd within my louers fight. 
 Which yet I cannot doe : oh why fhould we, 
 
 i4 to get a little fport, paune modefty ? 
 Thefe fhady thickets, and that fecret caue, 
 
 thofe pratling Sea-nimphes, & this marble graue, 
 Beare all record what trauell I haue taken, 
 
 yet like a Turtle of her make forfaken. 
 Cannot enioy my loue, aye me, vnkind, 
 
 that feemes inconftant, to a conftant mind. 
 Why fhould our fauors fo deuoted reft, 
 
 to them, whofe hardned harts bred our vnreft t 
 And make vs fubie6l to more inward griefe, 
 
 then ere their comforts can affoord releefe. 
 But thou art too too rafh : (beleeue me fweet,) 
 
 in more remiffe Appearance doe I greete. 
 Thy diuine beauty ; pardon what is faid, 
 
 conceyue no harme fpoke by a harmeleffe maide ; 
 For if thou fhould (as fure I thinke thou doft,) 
 
 lie hid vnder fome bufh, and hearft this noif 'd. 
 This ihrowd inue6lion, gainft thy loue and thee, 
 
 thou might as well condemne my fpeech and me. 
 Why fhould I fpeake againft fo hallowed fhrine, 
 
 to whom I haue bequeath'd both me and mine } 
 Or why fhould I detra6l from that faire funne, 
 
 which (if ecclipf'd) my gliftring raies bee done t 
 
 V 2 Then 
 
292 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 Then enuious thou, to daze that glorious bright, 
 
 whofe firfb arifing gaue thy fetting light. 
 Roufe vp thy felfe for fhame, and honour him, 
 
 whom if I get, heauens treafure I doe winne. 
 More prife and richer then thofe fifters three, 
 
 which kept the apples of faire ^5 Hefpery. 
 This was no fooner faid, then ferioufly, 
 
 ech Bufh, ech place, fhe fought that bordered nie, 
 Doing as children vfe, that feeke about, 
 
 their hid companions, till they find them out. 
 Hard by this tombe, a Mulbery there was, 
 
 16 encircled round with tuffs of greeneft graffe : 
 Which tree look'd once as white as white could be, 
 
 but now was chang'd, like to the Eben tree, (more 
 J 7 Whofe blooms were black as ieat, and which was 
 
 it loft the forme which it retain'd before. 
 Vnder thefe fhady fpraies, lay Pyramus, 
 
 depriu'd of fence, a fcene too ominous. 
 Which when poore Tkysbe, iudge what tis to fee 
 
 a conftant loue in fuch perplexity 1 
 For fure I am, fuch heapes of paffions cloid her, 
 
 that in his death a double death annoid her. 
 Long time fhe brethleffe ftood aboue her loue, , 
 
 depriu'd of fences, for they could not moue. i 
 
 And as one liuing in a lethargy, 1 
 
 hath not the vfe of fences faculty ; ] 
 
 But fleeping feemes fecure of any ill, 
 
 fo in this fenceleffe mouing, ftood fhe ftill : 
 At laft awaked with watry drops downe-falling, 
 
 of her loues name, fhe fell to inftant calling. 
 
 Calling 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
The true Louers-knot, 293 
 
 Calling him by his name : awake, arife, 
 
 with that he heaued vp his heauy eies. 
 Thysbe (faith fhe) calls on thee, fie awake, 
 
 leaue off thy fenceleffe dulneffe for her fake : 
 Thysbe no fooner fpake, but at her name, 
 
 he op'd his eies, and fhut them vp againe. 
 Such was the force of Thysbe^ that being dead, 
 
 by loues reflexe, he mou'd his louely head. 
 And when he lay him downe, as laid before, 
 
 yet his two ftaring eies, ftill glimmering more 
 Were preft vpon his loue, as if his heart, 
 
 was giuen her by his eyes at lifes depart. 
 For they ftill gaz'd vpon her, as if he 
 
 had feen the heauen where he wifht to be. 
 Thrice did he moue his head, yet all in vaine, 
 
 for wanting ftrength, it bended backe againe. 
 Thrice did he kiffe the ground, thrice kiffe the ayre, 
 
 fuppofmg that his Thysbe had beene there. 
 And when he could not find her, hee vnrips, 
 
 his loue efFe6ls, and fmackers with his lips. 
 Thysbe conceiuing what he meant, admired, 
 
 his feruent loue, and to a fhade retired. 
 Hard by this Tombe, where with all blubbered face, 
 
 fhe made this fad narration to the place. 
 Hapleffe and hopeleffe is mine ending friend, 
 
 cruell the Fates that fhould fuch torments fend, 
 Vnto a faithfull Louer : heauens haue done, 
 
 that which the plants within this forreft fhun. 
 They lofe their forme, their feature, and their fhape, 
 
 and what they doe, they doe it for his fake. 
 
 V3 For 
 
294 Loues-labyrinthy or 
 
 For this fame Tree, beares record of our wracke, 
 
 decolored quite from white, to difmall black, 
 And this fame ground, all in a gore of bloud : 
 
 No chirping bird within this fatall wood, 
 And this for loue of him, that now is gone, 
 
 leauing his forlorne Thysbe all alone. 
 Hard was mine hap, to fee his dolefuU end, 
 
 at whofe fad hearfe the Fates themfelues attend : 
 Hard was mine hap, more harfh the courfe of time, 
 
 to crop my loue, my dazie in his prime. 
 Hard was his hap to extinguifh his defire. 
 
 with apparition of a bloody tire : 
 Hard was his hap to forrage heere fo late, 
 
 to miffe his loue, and meete fo foone with Fate. 
 Turne to thy loue, fee if thy vitall breath, 
 
 can call him from the flumber of pale death. 
 See if thou canft reuiue his gafping foule, 
 
 for loe his eies within his head doe rowle. 
 Embrace his ioury necke with foulded armes, 
 
 deftill life in him by thy louing charmes. 
 Buzze in his eares of loue, it will not bee, 
 
 his dying fences haue no mind of thee. 
 Thus round empalld with greefe, was Thysbes mind, 
 
 no hope of life in him can Thysbe find. 
 For he grew ftiffe engor'd with bloudy wound, 
 
 and by his bloud faft glued to the ground. 
 Thysbe efpied her Tire which hee did hould, 
 
 faft in his hand, and did the fame enfould, 
 As if it were fome Antidote to cure 
 
 his gaping wound and make him ere endure : 
 
 Vnhappie 
 
 i 
 
The true-Louers knot. 295 
 
 Vnhappy Tire (quoth fhe) vnhappy were, 
 
 that gaue occafion to my loue of feare. 
 Thou that haft preft my foule in anguifh more, 
 
 then all the robes which ere I wore before. 
 Thou wandring ftragler, Aiding from mine head, 
 
 gaue the firft onfet to this vgly deede. 
 For if thou hadft not been, my loue had liu'd, 
 
 that now of fence & mouing is depriu'd. 
 What hap had I at firft to put thee on, 
 
 when darke Latonas lights were drawing on, 
 Or what misfortune had I for to leaue thee, 
 
 fmce thy departure doth fo greatly grieue mee. 
 It needes mufh grieue me : for it cuts my heart, 
 
 as if my foule from body Ihould depart. 
 He was my foule, my body cannot breath. 
 
 When as my foule is feifed on by death. 
 Why fhould I haue fuch curious regard 
 
 to Nightern robes, whe meaner would haue ferud ? 
 For well I know it was my loues defire, 
 
 to meete my felfe and not m^y curious tire. 
 Fie on this nice precifeneffe weomen vfe 
 
 in garifh dreffmgs : men fhould weomen chufe. 
 Not by their bodies habit, but their minde, 
 
 in lifts of vertue, and refpedl confinde. 
 We that doe loue as we proteft we doe, 
 
 muft not get husbands with a painted fhow, 
 Like puppets in a play, addref'd to play 
 
 ftrange a6ls by night, to purchafe loue by day. 
 Beft honour that befeems a countrey maide, 
 
 is to be modefl, in her a6lions ftaid. 
 
 V 4 For 
 
296 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 For this (beleeue me) modefb lookes doe win 
 
 more hearty loue, then baits of tempting fm. 
 And yet we cannot leaue lafciuious ftraines, 
 
 to draw young men to our immodeft traines, 
 But if young girles would be rul'd by me, 
 
 They'l make their preciou'ft iewel modejiie. 
 Thysbe with this beheld the bloody blade 
 
 which lay all moifhned vnder that fame fhade 
 Where her true louer lay, and feeing it, 
 
 with many a balefull ban fhe curfed it, 
 Calling it cruell : ^8 Cruell /word (quoth fhe) 
 
 that in this fort did part my loue and mCy 
 What made thee fo remorceleffe.fo hard-hearted, 
 
 to fee two conftant loners fo foone parted ; 
 Parted by thee ; fie on thee for the deede, 
 
 thou murdered him, and makes my foule to bleede, 
 Bleede in defpaire of feeing him, againe, 
 
 who gaue a cordiall to m.y toilfom paine. 
 He was the Saint that lining I adored, 
 
 this is his Trunke thefe watrie eies deplored. 
 Yet ioyne with m,e to honour his fad hearfe, 
 
 let plaints and teares thine hardned temper pierce. 
 Pierce thine owne bofome, Bofom if thou hane, 
 
 that brought my louefo timeleffe to his graue. 
 And thou vnhallowed i9 Tombe that coners him, 
 
 who firft enlargd this Empire and did win^ 
 Trophies of honour, which remaine to thee ; 
 in times fucceffion to pofteritie. j| 
 
 20 Open thy marble bofome and receiue^ ' aPI| 
 
 two friends at once in one renowmed graue. 
 
 Thou 
 
The true-louers knot. 297 
 
 Thou hides the ho7iotir of a worthy King^ 
 
 that liuing did great conquejis hither bring. 
 Send him abroade out of thy Jhrine, with f peed, 
 
 and take vs two to thee in Ninus fteed : 
 But thou wilt anfzvere thoufhould wrong him then^ 
 
 to place our reliques amongft fuch prince-like men ; 
 Which is 7iot fo : For reft affur'd that we 
 
 pur chafe more fame then euer purchas' d he. 
 He conquered Realmes by fates aufpicious : 
 
 But thou may truft ^ne, 77iore is got by vs : 
 For we haue conquered Loue, which he coidd neuer^ 
 
 which in our praife fhall be recorded euer. 
 What if his itame be fpread in euery place, 
 
 this founds not m,uch vnto his reliques grace ; 
 Thou cotiers but his afhes turnd to dufl, 
 
 we turne to earth, andfo all Princes mufi. 
 If that thy Monument were fo diuine, 
 
 as the huge gidfe of mou7itaine Inarime. 
 That dothpoffeffe Typhaeus Gy ant fierce, 
 
 andfhrouds him liuing in her hollow hierce. 
 WJure he with refl of his afpiring rout, 
 
 at end of each feauen yeers doe turne about. 
 Yet preffed dowfte with hills that lie aboue them, 
 
 for all their flrength they hardly can remoue them. 
 Then wert thou famous (for good might betide thee) 
 
 to haue fuch liuing wonders fleepe befide thee. 
 But now thou art not fo : for what is he, 
 
 that he can challenge more of death than we ? 
 He might whiVft he furuiu! d and bore the fway, 
 
 his purple flag in euery coaft difplay. 
 
 He 
 
298 Loues labyrinth, or 
 
 ^^He might command, and haue what he commanded, 
 
 but death, pale death now fwaies, & Jhe'l withjiand it. 
 Then honour d hearfe, if hearfes honour haue, 
 
 yeeld to my fute, and perfect what I craue. 
 Doe not denie m,e : to deny 7ne this, 
 
 were to depriue thee honour, me of bliffe. 
 Nay doe notfmile, (for I doe fee thee f mile) 
 
 if that our bones thou in thy brefi compile, 
 And recoiled them after Thysbes death, 
 
 the Nimphes themfelues fhall fet a laur ell wreath 
 Upon thy back : e'r honourd fhalt thou be, 
 
 for this good turne thou did my loue and me. 
 But if thou f come my vows, and cal them vaine, 
 
 yeelding no eare to louers that complaine. 
 Reft well affured the Nimphs reueng'd will be. 
 
 And for our fakes will quite demolifh thee. 
 1/ When trufty Aiax & Achilles came, 
 
 to Patrocles tombe, with teares they bath'd the fame 
 For euery word they fpake of Patrocles, 
 
 drew teares from them, as fireames from Caucafus. 
 Whofe ragged top fends riuers out amaine, 
 
 and being fent, renews her fprings againe. 
 So they deplor'd his death, his f acred hearfe, 
 
 ranckfet with embleames and with dolefull verfe. 
 
 The fwanes of Caifter and eke of Poe, 
 
 V came to enfable him infongs of woe: \ 
 
 Since which fad time the Poets haue reported, < 
 
 that each dale twice the fwannes haue there reforted. \ 
 Faffing by flockes along the Greequifh plaine, ^ 
 
 feeking by fongs to make him Hue againe. >^ 
 
 But^ 
 
The True-Louers knot. 299 
 
 But when it wotild not be, the Swans there /wore ^ 
 
 that from that time they nere would warble more ; 
 But at their ^^ death which they performe : for why 
 
 they neuer fing but hower before they die. 
 Why fhotdd a Grecian haue fuch ho7iour done, 
 
 that neuer a7ty Trophies ere had wonne, 
 Butflaine by He6lor : for no fame he had 
 
 of doing greatly good or greatly bad. 
 And yet forf 00th he muft characters haue, 
 
 in golden letters ore his worthleffe graue. ,^ 
 In polifht marble mufi his fhrine be fet 
 
 infaphires, ^4 tophies and hi britifh ieate. 
 Thus mtcfi he haue refpe6l, when we, god wot, 
 
 muft lie obfcure as if men knew i)s not. 
 And yet our fame deferues 'tnore praife then he, 
 
 more grace, more glorie, and more memorie : 
 Time fhall race out that marble hearfe of his, 
 
 timefhall amend what time hath done amiffe. 
 For we fhall Hue ikfpite of Fates decree, 
 
 when lowe interred this famous Greeke fJ'iall be. 
 Loue cannot die, we loued and therefore death 
 
 fJiall crowne our hearfe with times immortal wreath, 
 And though we die we loue and Hue hi dying, 
 
 loue to pale death perpetuall life applying. 
 Why fhould prince Ilus aSls haue fuch refpe£l 
 
 whofe too7nb with precious emeralds bedeckt? 
 For well I know fuch afts did neuer he, 
 
 In amorous pajjions of true loue as we, 
 25 Yet Batias toomb muft haue infcriptions faire, 
 
 tofhew what man of birth was buried there. 
 
300 Loties Labyrinth, or 
 
 A crowne vpon his head, and in his hand, 
 
 a royall fcepter which did Troy command, 
 Thefe m^ujl exalt his glory and m,ake roome, 
 
 for Fames refounding trumpe in time to come ; 
 And as that hearfe doth memorize his name, 
 
 fo after times by it might doe the fame. 
 O thou iniurious time, that time obferues, 
 
 yeelding not honour as our deeds deferues. 
 Dofi partialife and inodeft bounds furpajfjfe, 
 
 beflowi^tg honour on each worth-leffe Affe-: 
 Ilus a fir anger was vnto thy foyle 
 
 an 26 vp-ftart Prince, who for a little toyle 
 To win a crowne, was thus aduaunc't by thee, 
 
 from Beggers ragges to Princes dignitie. 
 Looke at his low beginning whence he came, 
 
 what were his copes-mates his deie6led name, 
 Looke at his pompe, how ill he could befeeme, 
 
 theflile of King, or fhe the name of Queene. 
 And then exile his glory from thy coaft, 
 
 thy greaffl dif grace of whom thou gloriefl moft : 
 Receiue our afhes, afhes of true loue, 
 
 keepe them as hallowed in thy f acred Groue, 
 Receiue our afhes and abandon his, 
 
 that liuing, kiffmg, dying we may kiffe. 
 For what great grace wilt be in time to come, 
 
 vnto thy foile, to fay, thou keep' ft the toomb 
 Of two true-louers, mirrors of affection, j™ 
 
 louingfo long till loue caine to perfe6lion. ^m 
 
 Perfe6l in loue, fo per fe6l in our loue 
 
 that nought (faue death) could our affections moue : 
 
 And 
 
The true- Loners knot, 301 
 
 And yet in death we languiJJi not in toning, 
 
 though ^T death depriue vs of all vitall moouing : 
 For we conceiiie more ioy intoomb'd together, 
 
 then if we liiCd depriiid the one of other. 
 More mufi I fay tofeale thefe obfequies ; 
 
 for death is fearefull and inuents delaies^ 
 And moft of all in vs : a weaker brood, 
 
 the talke of death yeeldes fear e to woman-hood. 
 And yet, me thinkes I flay from him too long, 
 
 and in my fiay I doe him double wrong. 
 Firft to depritte him life, and thejt begin 
 
 with tar die pace aloof e to follow him. 
 Well He prepare my felfe, the Fates decree 
 
 two Loners flioidd fuflaine their crueltie. 
 And yet not cruell, cnielty is fhowne 
 
 wheji either is debarred of his ozvne. 
 But we by ^SCupids meanes, that pur blind boy, 
 
 obtaiiie by death we coidd not earft enioy. 
 Death yeelds more comfort then oiLr life time did, 
 
 fhewing our loue which long before was hid. 
 No priuate cranie nor no fecret chinke 
 
 need we finde out, nor fearefidl need we fhrinke. 
 For Parents hot ptirfuite we reftfecure, 
 
 fince heauen our hearts, as earth our corps immure. 
 Wee need not haue our Parents in fufpe^, 
 
 they may reft careleffe now whom we affe5l : 
 For welt I know we can be hardly feene, 
 
 twixt heauen and earth, fo great a fpace between. 
 Thus loue an heauenly motion doth afcend, 
 
 from earth to heauen to gratulate her friend, 
 
 Thysbis 
 
302 Loues-labyrintk, or 
 
 Thysbees epic^divm. 
 
 YEt Thysbe ftay thine hand : thine obfequies, 
 defire more celebrating exequies ; 
 Die not inteftate, in this defert groue, 
 
 but confecrate in token of thy loue 
 Thine hefts to Vejla, yet let Vejia know, 
 
 Thysbe unwilling is enforced fo. 
 Then let thy 29parents, Parents though vnkinde 
 
 By Natures X^n^q, fome Jhort memorials finde, 
 Of thy affe6lion : Swannes before they die^ 
 
 leue penfiue odes and warble merrily. 
 3o Yet muft I needs declaime againfh your feare, 
 
 iealous of hurt where no hurt could appeare : 
 For I am fure nere was your thriuing bliffmg, 
 
 more deere to me then was my louers kiffmg. 
 Oh then vnkind vnkindneffe did not fit, 
 
 our chafte defires that could not bridle it. 
 Loue was the hott'fb when it did feeme conceal'd, 
 
 and hid in afhes, yet in time reueal'd. 
 Then blame your felues, not vs : you caus'd our end, 
 
 barring a louer from her long fought friend, 
 Which we doe pardon if youle let vs haue, 
 
 our toomb in one, our afhes in one graue. 
 Which if you fhall performe our hope extends, 
 
 our difioin'd corps conioin'd you make amends. 
 Well do I know o\xr funerals renew, 
 
 currents of teres and ftreames of griefe in you. 
 
 And 
 
The true-Louers knot, 303 
 
 And many pagent mixd with liquid teares, 
 
 will make attendance on our defolate beres. 
 Many diftreaming drops will dim your eie, 
 
 to fee two louers end fo fuddenly. 
 Yet all in vaine, being dead, your teares reflraine : 
 
 for teeres cannot recall vs back againe. 
 The 3i Nimphes themfelues with Poplar twigs will 
 
 an ofier basket for Idalias fake, make 
 
 Wherein colle6l you may fuch fragrant flowers, 
 
 as fhall adorne our monumentall bowers : 
 Yet when you fpreade your flowers ech in degree, 
 
 Strow more on his fide then you ftrow on me. 
 He was more confhant, he did firfh begin, 
 
 I like his fhadow did but follow him. 
 He came vnto the place, and fpite of death 
 
 feeing my tire engor'd did lofe his breath. 
 I like an Ape, to imitate my loue, 
 
 follows his worth, his prefence to approue. 
 A glorious prefence where the gods accord 
 
 all wealth, all ioy, Elizium can affoord. 
 Fruitfull Elyjis where ech conftant mate, 
 
 raignes in fruition of his happie ftate. 
 Where Hero fmiles to grapple with her deere, 
 
 lealous of nothing, for no caufe of feare 
 Can croffe loues a6lion ? theres no Helefpont^ 
 
 But the fweet relifh of a Nedlar fount 
 Hight the Caftalian fount which Gods adore, 
 
 where hauing drunke thei're neuer thirfly more. 
 By this renowmed brooke, fhall he and I, 
 
 prattle of loue, and parents cruelty. 
 
 Yet 
 
304 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 Yet fo wele prattle that we may receaue, 
 
 loues harueft purchaf'd by our irckfom graue. 
 A happy Graue, that is a fpicie vrne, 
 
 where louers vfe to fmile, furceafe to mourne, 
 For by their dying they doe more obtaine, 
 
 then euer here enthral'd they thought to gaine. 
 And can that death be cald a death ? O no ; 
 
 for by that death from death to life we goe. 
 Reaping the bloffomes of experienc'd good, 
 
 which while we Pilgrims were, we neuer could. 
 Then doe not weepe deere friends ; for we enioy, 
 
 the hauen of our hopes, where no annoy 
 Can make difturbance, but empal'd by loziey 
 
 we get renoume for our furpaffmg loue. 
 Let no fad Odes our burials folemnife, 
 
 nor let no teares com trickling from your eies. 
 The 32 folemne^r^ which euer old hath been, 
 
 our buried reliques will full well be feem : 
 Yet when you burne our afhes, you fhould fee, 
 
 His ajhes haue the vpper hand of me : 
 For Cupid with his mother Queene of loue, 
 
 Pres'd downe the female, fet the male aboue. 
 Then for an order (fmce the Gods ordaine it) 
 
 It were prefumption for you to reftraine it. 
 For reft affured if we had mift this chance, 
 
 we had obaid ere this their ordinance. 
 O let our loues recorded be by you, 
 
 and when you fmg vnto our hearfe adew, 
 Euer imprint this caution in your minde, 
 
 Be not vnto your childrens loues vnkinde. 
 
 Hinge 
 
The True-louers Knot, 305 
 
 Hang not the willow token of difdaine 
 
 vpon our Toome : for that each country fwaine 
 Can fet vpon his fhrine : let Venus tree, 
 
 the louely mirtle fhew our conjiancie. 
 If you \/ant any rites or folemne heftes, 
 
 which may befeem our graices : the birds protefts 
 Each in their order to folemnife them, 
 
 and gods themfelues for to eternize them : 
 Each moiLrni7ig Turtle hauing loft her make, 
 
 will mourning make refort for Vemcs fake. 
 And fweet Leitcothoe will reprefent 
 
 of Vmohcs odours a delicious fent. 
 The Nighterne owle, that night wil ceafe from prey 
 
 howling by night, as fhe did howle by day. 
 The little Batt (though fearefull heretofore) 
 
 will flocke amongft the refb and feare no more. 
 Thus euery Bird, for it is Gods defire, 
 
 will with their prefence decke omx fmierall fire. 
 To purge our guilt dame Vejtus promis'd me, 
 
 fhele goe to heauen with lowe and bended knee. 
 And well I know lone, Venus loues fo well, 
 
 he will belieue what tale fo ere fhe tell. 
 Then for her loue let Veuus altars fmoke, 
 
 and in each corner of her Temple looke ; 
 No ornament which beft may her be-fit, 
 
 Be there awanting but to perfefl it. 
 You know our Cittie much relies on her : 
 
 for by her fuccour no diftreffe can fturre 
 The profperous failes of our profperitie, 
 
 but like a flerne fhe's euer fixed nie, 
 
 X To 
 
3o6 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 To rid her from thofe rocks vnto the fhore, 
 
 in Hew whereof we do her fhrine adore. 
 Yet ere I die I mufh take leaue of you, 
 
 you f acred manjions which my woes renew : 
 Thou oliue-tree that planted was fo nie 
 
 vnto my fathers houfe where I came by 
 This laft vnhappie night : thou tender vine, 
 
 Avhofe fupple flips thefe fingers oft did twine. 
 Thou 33 rojie border fet with rofes fayre, 
 
 to which each morne I vfed to repaire, 
 And rob thee of thy ftore to bewtifie 
 
 my hapleffe tire with crimfon puritie, 
 Farewell at once farewell, long may the dew 
 
 of filuer hair'd Aurora water you, 
 Long may you flourifli, this I onely craue, (graue. 
 
 that with your flowers each morne you deck my 
 Such fweetes, fuch fragrant rofes reprefent, 
 
 that your repofe may make it redolent. 
 Send out your fpicy odours and attend, 
 
 with Hyble fruites vpon my bleeding friend ; 
 For manie time and oft hath he and I, 
 
 chas'd one another full lafciuioufly : 
 And if he chaunc't to be too flow in running, 
 
 I would hold 34back and linger for his comming. 
 But of all monuments I bid adew, 
 
 broad Jhadowing beech-trees to the fight of you : 
 You many times haue yeelded fweet repofe 
 
 vnto our loue and feafoned haue our woes, 
 By your contented fhades bleft be you euer, 
 
 and like Elijian-Jhades fade may you neuer. 
 
 O many 
 
The true-louers knot. 307 
 
 O many times haue we two fported there, 
 
 (for we alone were priuiledged there) 
 And twifting nofe-gaies we our flowers would hide, 
 
 left by fome Satyre we fhould be efpide : (them, 
 Oft would we crop fweete flowers and hauing cut 
 
 within our wicker baskets we would put them : 
 And when we more had gathered then we needed, 
 
 we gatherd fhill for fo our loue exceeded. 
 That euery flower we cropt we did apply 
 
 vnto the flower of our virginitie. 
 
 ^' For if fiich flowers fuch fweetneffe did beflowe, 
 flowers are mtcch fweeter that do fpring belowe. 
 
 Fare-well th.o\x fpacious plaine amongft the refb, 
 I haue no caufe but to refpe6l thee beft : 
 
 For manie time and oft haue we two plaide 
 at Barli-breake, but now that fports decai'd. 
 
 Full many fecret corners doft thou yeelde, 
 for Louers fports within thy louely field. 
 
 And thou vnhappy Pijze that mounts fo hie. 
 
 as if thou meant by height to tutch the skie ; 
 Thou mai'ft repine at fates that murdred me, 
 
 fmce Thysbees hand each morne did cherifh thee, 
 Oft haue I planted grafts within thy flemme, 
 
 which now are growne fo high they fhadowe men 
 And with a 35 Water-pot which I did bring 
 
 each morne by time ; I made thine arms to fpring : 
 
 X2 But 
 
3o8 LoMC labyrinth^ or 
 
 But now, poore Pine, pine maift thou now and die, 
 
 for none that I know cherifh thee but I : 
 Now fhall thy fhadowing branches fall away, 
 
 their falling leues to winters fury paie. 
 And none remaines there now to pittie thee. 
 
 When I am dead that liuing nourifht thee ; 
 But be content ; fhed teres in loue of me, 
 
 and when thou hear'ft my death deie6led be : 
 Caft down fome withered leues & fend them hither, 
 
 portending thus much, we mufb die together ; 
 This if thou doft I will thee thankfull call, 
 
 and wil with Laurel thy fad head empall : 
 That though thou die, yet that thou diefh with me. 
 
 in after-times ftill honoured thou maift be. 
 And thou Jlraite chinke to which full many time 
 
 we made repaire : through thee our loue did fhine. 
 And fpearft her beames ; farewell, for neuer more, 
 
 fhall we refort to thee as heretofore ; 
 Thou waft the author of our firft vndoing, 
 
 for by thy meanes thou gaueft vs means of woing, 
 Giuing eyes liberty, which eyes fo wounded 
 
 that by their paffions paffions new rebounded. 
 Yet we do thank thee for thy fore-paft loue, 
 
 for by our deaths the gods themfelues approue 
 Our conftant minds, recorded which muft be 
 
 in heauens conuentions to our memorie. 
 O happy thou whilft our two fragrant breaths 
 
 made thee fo rich, impouerifht by our deaths : 
 For this I thinke, this is my prophefie, 
 
 Nere 
 
The true-Louers knot, 309 
 
 nere fhall fuch lips beftowe their breath on thee, 
 When thou fhalt heare of our difcording end, 
 
 fome foftned teares vpon our fimeralls fpend : 
 Let thine hard marble be diffolv'd to ftreames 
 
 of liquid water, fmce thofe radiant beames 
 Which our refle6ling eyes the marble gaue 
 
 might pierce him more, then euer Lyricks haue 
 The fauage beafts, whofe natures were made tame, 
 
 at the rehearfall of fweet Amphions name : 
 What then fhould Bewtie ? whofe attradliue power 
 
 commands ftones, ferpents & fweet budding flowr : 
 What fhould the Splendor of faire Beawties eie 
 
 a6l, fmce fuch a6ls were done by harmonie ? 
 Open yoxsx flinty bofome, let remorfe 
 
 fhed riuolets of teres vpon my coarfe : 
 Or if you will not fo, at leaft reftraine 
 
 your ayrie chhike, and fhut it vp againe : 
 Let not fuch Monuments Hue when we die, 
 
 for they'le augment our Parents iealoufie : 
 That as we lov'd, kifs'd toy'd when we're lining, 
 
 fo we may loue, kiffe, toy at lifes depriuing. 
 Then fhut that crany vp left after time, 
 
 impute the fault vnto that chinke of thine. 
 This lafb record by Thysbe thus recorded 
 
 bred floods of teres : for teres their fighs afforded, 
 the Balme-trees wept, their teres concrete in one 
 
 difbilled into th' fubfbance of a fbone : 
 Which ftone it feemes, did after couer them, 
 
 for after times found it laid ouer them^ 
 With many faire infcriptio7i which did fhew 
 
 X3 Of 
 
3IO Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 of loue recorded neuer none more true, 
 Then this of Thysbe and her louing mate, 
 
 fuppofmg mutuall death a bleffed ftate, 
 A ftate more bleft in that they had their wifh, 
 
 Thyjbe had hers and Pyramus had his ; 
 They were depriv'd of louing in their liuing, (uing 
 
 but by their deaths the gods themfelues were gi- 
 Tokens of loue, for they enioied their loue, 
 
 which no tranfparent iealous eye could moue, 
 Empall'd by diuine power, heauens maiefty, 
 
 to honour them, that honour'd confbancie ; 
 And which was more : dame Venns (as we read) 
 
 yoking her Doues, came to high loue with fpeed, 
 Her milke-white doues with ayrie coloured wings, 
 
 vnto loues throne their beawteous lady brings ; 
 Where fhe with fmiling countenance, for her fmile, 
 
 all foggie mifts Olympus did exile. 
 Thus fpake to loue, who feeing her did grace her, 
 
 and with enfolded arms 'gan to embrace her. 
 
 Heauen-habiting loue, that in compajjlon fees, 
 
 louers inflamed pafjions : on my knees, 
 Doe I entreate as I am Queene of loue 
 
 for fhipwrackt louers : that thou wilt remoue 
 ^heir earthly members to participate 
 
 the glorious funfhine of one heauenly flate. 
 For they were conftant, conftancy thou loues 
 
 and in thy f elf e their pajjions thou approues : 
 D eigne to eternize them with f acred Baife, 
 
 It's fit fuch mirrors fhould haue endleffe dales. 
 
 That 
 
the True-louers knot. 311 
 
 That confecrate their vowes to gods diiiine, 
 
 then fo pi'opitious to thefe praiers of mine. 
 They were ejiohled with a conftant fninde, 
 
 Such f acred lights, its hard on earth to finde : 
 They were adorn d with Vejlas puritie : 
 
 Veftas pure JJiape de femes eternitie. 
 They liu'd in loicing, and in louing did'e, 
 
 nor did two Vrns their ioyned loue diuide : 
 But both inter' d together, they haue wonne 
 
 a fame recorded hi all times to come. 
 She was as fair e as fairenes coidd be laid 
 
 on mortall colours, though a country maide^ 
 Yet for her thoughts as pure, as was her face, 
 
 fhe well deferues to haue an heauenly place. 
 Doe notfrow7i (deare Sire) me thinks that frowne, 
 
 doe ill befeeme, tofuch as be your owne. 
 I am yoicr daughter, and I know you loue me ; 
 
 and I prefume my praiers needs miifl moue you. 
 Or elfe I fJiould defpaire ere to refort 
 
 from Idas mount, vntoyour heauenly court. 
 Then yeeld affe^it vnto your daughters fuite, 
 
 if you de7iie it me, I will be micte, 
 And neuer inake recourfe vnto your fhrine, 
 
 which cannot choofe but gall this heart of mine. 
 This earthly goddeffe will full well befeeme, 
 
 in lunoes abfence to fupply as Queene. 
 loue fmilde at this, for he defired change, 
 
 and therfore oft from heaue to earth would range 
 For pleafure and delight : variety- 
 willing vnwilling, wrefled this reply. 
 
 X4 You 
 
312 Loues-labyrinth, or 
 
 Youfpeake of wonders (daughter) quoth high ^7 loue, 
 
 of mortall wights fo conjlant in their loue. 
 Thefe two in conjlant louing you furpaffe, 
 
 For they'r more conjlant then ere Venus was. 
 Death cabinet part af under their dejires, 
 
 which like bright flames vnto our throne afpireSy 
 TheyWe worthy (daughter) of a glorious crowne^ 
 
 and they fhall haue it : for wele vfe our owne. 
 But to enioy that ioy, that amorous die 
 
 of bewties fweete complexion : how fhould I 
 Dijioyne thefe two, both would I gladly grace, 
 
 if I could diflance them i7i feuer all place. 
 That f aire form' d creature thou dojtfo much praije, 
 
 I doe remember in her former dales : 
 For Jhe eittirely wijht Jhe might haue time 
 
 to vje her loue, and off red to my fhrine 
 Great Jlore of incenfe ; incenfe it was fweete, 
 
 that I would giue them, time and place to meete. 
 Which I did promife : but I did not pay : 
 
 for feeing her more bewtious then the day, 
 Faire as Orgon, purer then that white 
 
 louely 38 Alcmena wore vpon the night 
 When Jhe fuppos' d Amphitrio her deare loue 
 
 poffefl the place which was fupplide by loue. 
 Being thus faire, (for Thysbe was more faire) 
 
 I much amazed flood, oppres'd with care. 
 Seeming afleepe, yet fleeping I did moane. 
 
 fny too large promife which was pafl and gon. 
 Oft did I wifh I had been Pyramus, 
 
 oft I refolu'd (the night fo tedious) 
 For to tranfhape my felfe, and to defcend, 
 
The True-Louers knot. 313 
 
 and meete with Thysbe as her pointed friend. 
 But luno iealous Queene, with open eie 
 
 Jlept not all night, but fraught with iealoitfie, 
 Askt me full oft what aild me : turne (quoth fhe) 
 
 and with m.y ne£lar lips He comfort thee. 
 Are you in loue? I blufhd : that blufh difplaies, 
 
 you are inclind (quoth fhe) fome otherwaies : 
 You hauefome trickfie Girle, that doth keepe 
 
 your heart enchain' d, your powrefull eies from fleepe. 
 Fie fie (quoth fhe) as you are loue, affe^l 
 
 her that affoords to you the moft refpe£l \\ 
 I am celeftiall 39 wife and fifter both 
 
 vnto your f elf e : and luno would be loth 
 To violate the glory of her fpoufe 
 
 with euery fwaine, in eu^ry brothell houfe : 
 And can you then without regard of me^ 
 
 or of your f elf e, difgr ace your deitie 
 With euery Leda, euery milke-maide, toie, 
 
 while luno is depriued of her ioye ? 
 Now by my God head mortall men adore, 
 
 Faue borne fo much that I can beare no more. 
 Either content you with your choice, your Queene, 
 
 or He tell that which woidd ful ill befeeme 
 The glory of your fiate : the Gods fhall heare, 
 
 what heretofore to tell I did forbear e. 
 Then as you tender th honour of your name, 
 
 Be charie henceforth how you foile the fame. 
 This faid dame luno, but I curbd her fpeech 
 
 with brows contrasted, tillfhee did befeech 
 With trickling teares, that I would pardon giue, 
 
 proteflingfhe would neuer after grieue 
 
314 Loues labyrinth, or 
 
 My royall per/on ; wijhing my delight, 
 
 if it pleas' d me, euen in my lunosjtgkt 
 Wherewith I feemd appeafd, and fayning ^Jleepe, 
 
 with eie-lids Jhut, my heart a watch did keep ; 
 Euer conceiuing fomthing what I know not, 
 
 which if I knezv ifsjhamefor Gods tojhow it, 
 Being lafciuious pajjions, which were bred 
 
 of the diftempred humors of my head. 
 But to be brief e, I did by meanes contriue 
 
 their long fought loues fruition to depriue. 
 Which thus accomplifE d, I am glad of this, 
 
 Venus intreates what loue himfelfe did wifh. 
 This I will doe, (which done) m,ay feem,e a wonder, 
 
 equall their ioies, yet diftance them afunder. 
 He from his Thysbe, Thysbe from her loue, 
 
 loue for his Thysbe, Thysbe y<?r her loue. 
 This faid : bright Venus happy to receiue 
 
 The full accomplifht fute which fhe did craue, 
 Takes leaue of loue, and taking leaue he 4i kift her, 
 
 amidft his kiffes with his prayres he blift her. 
 Venus to 42 Ida hies, Idas fhe fends 
 
 Embaffadour to Thysbe, who attends, 
 The Gods decree ; where hauing come at laft, 
 
 tels to Thysbe all difcourfe was paft 
 Twixt loue & Venus, yet not all fhe told, 
 
 for Venus bade him loues intendments hold, 
 Lefb his narration fhould more forrow breede, 
 
 then any comfort drawne from humane feede : 
 For well I know no loue fo precious 
 
 to her, as was her louely Pyramus. 
 
 When 
 
The True-loMers knot, 315 
 
 When Idas had expreft what /<?^^ decreed, 
 
 he tooke his leaue of Tkysbe, and with fpeede 
 Return'd to Vemcs, Venus Queene of loue, 
 
 whom he with Mars found lying in a groue 
 Of leauy Poplars, fporting midft their pleafure. 
 
 Vulcan was abfent, they had time and leifure. 
 Where we will leaue them, and fwift Idas traine, 
 
 and to our loue-fick Thysbe turne againe. 
 Thysbe addreffd to die, yet long in dying. 
 
 Draws courage to her, & that blade efpying. 
 Which was becrimfond with the bloudy gore, 
 
 of that fame murder it had done before ; 
 Takes it into her hand, (her hand God wot 
 
 as foft as downe, fuch weapons handled not 
 Before this time, (and this time was too foon 
 
 to vanquifh bewty, and to cut it downe. 
 43 Poore wench fhe knew not how to vfe the blade, 
 
 for other armour Nature had her made. 
 But like an vntraind Souldier wanting skill, 
 
 knows not to fight, yet vfeth his good will, 
 Trauerfe his ground as other fouldiers doe, 
 
 yet hath no method, for he knows not how : 
 Euen fo this heauenly creature handled it, 
 
 long time vncertaine how to mannage it. 
 At lafh by reafon, 44i-eafon did acquaint, 
 
 which was the pummell, which the fa.t3\\ pom f, 
 Grafping the blade which fhe before did take, 
 
 to th'fhade which fhadowed Pyramus fhee fpake. 
 Thou, Jhadowing tree, that ^^Jhadowes this dark tombe^ 
 
 Jhelter vs two, that paffengers which come, 
 
 Vnto 
 
3i6 Loues labyrinth, or 
 
 Vnto this forreft, may thy pitty praife, 
 
 and memorife thy loue in after daies. 
 Thoufeejl we are depriiHd of friend or make, 
 
 which may deplore with teres our forlorne flate. 
 Supply our want with thy remorfeftdl fhade, 
 
 flnce (as it feemes) for pitty thou was madcy 
 Couer vs two (two louers) that wotdd be 
 
 gladly ore-cannoped with th leaues of thee. 
 Thou^^ couerfl him already : happy time, 
 
 that twifls about him with thofe fpraies of thine. 
 If Nature had accorded to our vowes, 
 
 thefe armes had clept that necke, thofe flowry bowes, 
 Doe now enfold ; but heauens haue fo decreed, 
 
 to haue two louers clad in fable weed. 
 Which I accord vnto, heauens purge my finne, 
 
 hees gone before, and I muft follow him. 
 Which f aid, fhe fix' d the f word vnto her Brefi, 
 
 with more then womans fpirit which expreft, 
 Her loue vnto her Saint, who lay along, 
 
 congeal'd in bloud, whofe trunke fliee fell vpon. 
 The treefent out her Branches, which did couer, 
 
 their corps with vernant bloffomes, fhadowed ouer. 
 Aurora breath d vpon them, whofe fweet breathy 
 
 perfum'd their bodies, feazd vpon by death. 
 
 Siluan. 
 
The true- Louers knot. 317 
 
 Siluan. EpiccEdium. 
 
 THis done in filent paffage of the Night, 
 when ftars fhone fair & bright in Thetis fight, 
 The rural Wood-ni7nphes did their Odes difplay, 
 
 fabled with woes : which woes to take away. 
 They fung thefe verfes, verfes ominous, 
 
 Ore Thisbes hearfe, and louely Pyramus. 
 Long may your fame ^'^ and glory heer remain^ 
 
 honoicr'd by vs, and by each country Swaine. 
 Long may you Hue renowned, for your loue 
 
 hath made perpetuall eccoes in this groue. 
 A thrice blefi grotie, bleji graue, for fuch bleft Saints, 
 
 That in this fiowry pale heere pitch their tents, 
 Wherein hues warre eternized for aye, 
 
 loft that by night, which was reftor'd by day, 
 Smell fweet for euer, fweetefl of allfweets : 
 
 you fpringing bloffoms which the fpring-time greets. 
 Se7id out your fragra7tt fauor and releeite, 
 
 our troubled fprings which be addreffd to grieue. 
 Let not your vernant bofomefo retaine, 
 
 all comfort from the oat-pipe of a Swaine, 
 That no releafe of forrow or diftreffe, 
 
 makes diminution of his wretchedneffe. 
 What fhould we fing ? no hymne of melody : 
 
 fhall ere poffeffe our defert empery. 
 No tune ofioy, no pleafant ftraine of mirth, 
 
 fhall yeeld contentment to Nereus birth. 
 
 For 
 
3i8 Loues labyrinth^ or 
 
 For farre more fair e, more beautious, Thysbe was 
 
 then any wood-Nimph, any Country Laffe. 
 49 Campafpey^^^ was fair e^ and was belou'd^ 
 
 of potent Monarchs : her proportion mou'dy 
 Doting Apelles, loues effe^s tofhew, 
 
 to that fame pi^tcre which his Pencile drew. 
 Yet if Campafpe were enfhrined heere, 
 
 no caufe of loue would in her frame appear e. 
 More diuine feature was in Thysbes yj3;<:^, 
 
 a more delight f tdl f mile, more comely gracey 
 Then ere Apelles, though in skill mofl rare^ 
 
 could make his picture any way compare. 
 Bring mirtle branches, let vs couer them, 
 
 fhrowding their corps with wreaths laid ouer them ; 
 And euery time and tide, lefsfhed a teare, 
 
 ouer the fad m^emoriall of their Bere, 
 Well doe thefe odes offorrow vs befeemCy 
 
 and better would they pleafe Arcadias Queene, 
 Then if with feafts and triumphs we fhould fpend^ 
 
 our difmall houres, about a louers end. 
 Wee are not for Dianas cheer efull game, 
 
 though we (foretime) haue well approoiid the fame. 
 No quiuer, nor no bow, will we receiue, 
 
 till wee hauefpent our dirges on their graue, 
 Whofe glorious loues, fo well conioyn'd in one^ 
 
 makes their two teares difiill into onefione. 
 For euery drop of bloud which doth defcend, 
 
 from Thisbes wound, flies to her louing friend \ 
 And thofe fame flreames which iffued out amainCy 
 from Pyramus make their recourfe againe. 
 
 And 
 
the true Louers-hiot. 319 
 
 And ioyne with Thysbe, whofe refpeHiue wound, 
 
 licks vp the blood was Jhed vpon the ground. 
 Eternall Trophies hung vpon your hearfe^ 
 
 made euerlajiing, by our penjiue verfe ; 
 And let this marble which doth couer yoic, 
 
 her teares (each morne) with moijined di^ops renew. 
 Which in remorfe, compajjionate may fpend, 
 
 fome dewie drops to witneffe your fad end. 
 You pretty gliding Jlreames which run apace, 
 
 leaue ojf your courfe, and flow vnto this place, 
 That you m,ay moiften this fad m,onument, 
 
 this defert herfe with watry element. 
 And gratifie oicr lotte, that loue you deare, 
 
 andwifh entirely your fweet prefence heere. 
 Leaue off to wafh thofe cliues and ruggy caues, 
 
 and now repair e to monumentall graues, 
 To rinfe all fotde infe6lio7t which didftaine, 
 
 the corps deceafd by your flill flr earning vaine. 
 Why doe you flay ? why feeme you fo hard harted, 
 
 toflied no teares, at conftant loue departed ? 
 If that our Queene fhoidd heare, as fhee fhall heare, 
 
 this your remorfeleffe hart, wozdd cofl you deare. 
 Doe you not fee how we in fable weede, 
 
 to weepe amaine, haue heere repair d with fpeed f 
 And in diftreffe enclof ' d, fidl fraught with woe, 
 
 may aske of you whafs caufeyou doe not foe f 
 See how echfprig ^° fends out a pearled drop, 
 
 and when the pruner feemes their height to crop, 
 They feeme to thanke him for it, wifliing death, 
 
 to decke thefe louers with aflowry wreath. 
 
 See 
 
320 Loues-labyrinth^ or 
 
 See how each bird reforts vnto their Jhrine, 
 
 as if it were vnto fome power diuine : 
 And dedicates vnto their mournfull tombe 
 
 laies, which Jhal feme in after times to come. 
 They warble out their dolefull funeralls^ 
 
 hauing forgot their forepaft feftiualls. 
 Their fad 5i afpe^s fuch forrow doth affoordj 
 
 that we our felues their forrows may record 
 Time yeelds no tune^ nor tune obferu's no time^ 
 
 time, tune, nor meafure keep we ore this fhrine. 
 We cannot defiant, defiant there is none^ 
 
 to fuch as know no defiant but to m,one. 
 Like fpoufe-lofi Turtles, do weflocke together, 
 
 and on each morn by time, confort we hither 
 To celebrate their deaths with m^emorie, 
 
 whofe conftant loues make them chara6lred be. 
 Nor will we ceafe, or make an end of grief e, 
 
 till that their parents yeeld them fome relief e, 
 To confum,mate their wifhes, and fupply 
 
 their former hardnes by their clemency : 
 For in no time did euer children find, 
 
 parents more wilfidl, to their loues vnkind. 
 Yet for that Fate hath done her worfi of ill, 
 
 in that fhe did the bloud of louers fpill. 
 And tyrannifd infhewing of her force, 
 
 raging gainfi loue, depriued of remorfe : 
 Let Parents ceafe to hate, and make amends, 
 
 by folemne hefis for their vntimely ends. 
 It is not fit that 52 death and enmity 
 
 fhould wage their battaile euer mutually. 
 
 For 
 
 1 
 
The true Louers knot. 321 
 
 For none I know, but when their foe is dead 
 
 they fcorne bafe enuy in their brefts to feede. 
 But let vs to our worke, and build vs bowres, 
 
 compof 'd of fragrant bloffomes, and of flowers, 
 Hard by this tombe, this herfe, this defert graue, 
 
 where we may giue what confbant loue doth craue, 
 An ode difplaying paffion : and relate, 
 
 the fad euent of loues vnhappy ftate. 
 Each nimph addreffe her to her dolefull voice, 
 
 that we may charme the furies with our noife ; 
 And draw their hapleffe parents from their cell, 
 
 to heare the faid Narration we fhall tell. 
 So fhall our firft mornes mone performed bee, 
 
 in honour of thefe louers conftancy. 
 
 I 
 
 Siluanor : Threnodia, 
 
 F any rurall God, or poore fwaine^ 
 
 confecrate Leucothoes rod, to this plaine : 
 This herfe, deckt with fable verfe, 
 
 Shall commend 
 
 Him as our friend, 
 Otir fprings, or groues, our ftraine. 
 
 Let your Temples fweet, mixed be, 
 
 With perfumes, let their feet e embalmed be. 
 Then will we, mutually 
 Still expreffe, 
 And confeffe. 
 You defence eternitie. 
 
 Y Venus 
 
32 2 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 Venus with mirtlewand, Cupids bow, 
 
 Pelops with his luory hand will be/low ; 
 All in one, to this Jlone 
 To declare 
 Loue is rare, 
 Loue that hath no painted Jhow. 
 
 loue admires Thyshts face full of fauor^ 
 
 Mir r ha likes the fir ip lings grace and behauioury 
 Venus lippe, los skippe. 
 Were both rare, 
 Yet both are, 
 In one Thysbe, loue would haue her. 
 
 From Olympus loue efpies Thysbes beauty. 
 Which no fooner he def cries, then in duety. 
 Cupids dart wounds his heart, 
 He by force, 
 Sues diuorfe, 
 luno cannot pleafe his fancy. 
 
 Thus did Thysbe Hue and dye, Hue by dying 
 Death confirmes her deity, in applying 
 To her fhrine, power diuine, 
 Which dothfhew. 
 And renew : 
 Life anew, renewed by dying. 
 
 This ode thus tuned in more doleful! fort, 
 Then any Mufe of mine can make report : 
 
 Such 
 
The true Louers knot. 323 
 
 Such errours made refound both farre and neere, 
 
 that thefe {2.6. Jlraines came to \}i\€\r parents eare. 
 They much perplex 'd to heare fuch wofull newes, 
 
 which floods of teares in their moift eies renues ; 
 With fpeed they could, (which fpeed but eafie was,) 
 
 they made recourfe vnto that forlorne place. 
 Teares trickled downe, as drops from yEtas hil. (fill 
 
 which with their ftream.s ech hollow 53 caue did 
 For woes exceeded more in that their Tonibe, 
 
 had bard them hope of future ioys to come. 
 For they were old, old folkes defire to fee, 
 
 a good fucceffe vnto their progeny. 
 But now no hope, mifhap had croff'd their hope, 
 
 e're to attaine at their defired fcope. 
 Oh what 54falt feas for feas they feem.'d to be, 
 
 no drops but floods, which run inceffantly 
 From their dim eies, for teares had made them dim, 
 
 which, nere the leffe, they took much pleafure in. 
 Oft would the Mother clip her Thysbe round, 
 
 w^hich lay all fenceleffe on the bloudy ground. 
 And with a kiffe (as old wiues vfe to doe,) 
 
 her entire loue, her withered lips did fhow. 
 Turne to thy Mother (quoth he) or receiue, 
 
 thy doleful! Mother in thy hapleffe graue ; 
 Acknowledge her that firft aye me too foone, 
 
 brought thee to light, which is eclypf 'd & done ; 
 I nourifhed thee, and with a kind embrace, 
 
 made me an Idoll of that beauteous face ; 
 For I conceiu'd, deceiu'd I could not be. 
 
 No birth more perfe6l, then the birth of thee. 
 
 Y 2 Thus 
 
324 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 Thus did doting 55 trot deplore her fall, (all 
 
 with dropping nofe, faint breth, more then them 
 That did attend her paffion : for the reft 
 
 did more repreffe thofe paffions fhe expreft, 
 Nor is it proper, well I know, that man 
 
 Jhouldjhed his teares with eafe as women can ; 
 For they more prompt to comfort, yeeld releefe, 
 
 to fuch as are oppreft with heapes of greefe. 
 And can conceale their forrow, as is fit, 
 
 knowing the meanes and way to bridle it. 
 They thus remaining ore their childrens graue, 
 
 the hatefull ground, which did their corps receiue, 
 They did confult how they might expiate, 
 
 that wrong of theirs, which they had done fo late. 
 Which whilfb they did aduife, they ftraight did fee, 
 
 their childrens vowes, grauen in an Oliue tree. 
 Which were to this effe6l. " Surceafe to mourne, 
 
 " and place our feuerall afhes in one Vrne. 
 For whilft we liu'd, we lou'd, then fmce we dye, 
 
 let one poore vrne preferue our memory. 
 And let this day recorded bee by you, 
 
 and feftiue kept : eternife louers true. 
 Giue vpper hand to him, for he was firfb : 
 
 refpe6l with care, our bones be not difperft 
 Amongft vnhallowed reliques which will ftaine 
 
 the glorious Trophies which our loue did gaine. 
 Bee not vnkind vnto your childrens loue, 
 
 but what they like, let your confent approue. 
 For if your minds difpofed fo had beene, 
 
 this fpacious glaffe of woe you nere had feene. 
 
 But 
 
The true Louers knot. 325 
 
 But we forgiue, forget, fo you performe, 
 
 what we haue wifh'd : we feaft, ceafe you to mourn. 
 Thefe heftes, thefe rites thus read : without delay, 
 
 they fought their forepaft guilt to take awaie, 
 And rinfe their former ill by prefent good, 
 
 yeelding to loue which they before with-ftood : 
 For admiration rapt them, and they faw, 
 
 no curbe could hold the reins of Venus lawe : 
 For fhe enioyn'd them loue, which they obey'd, 
 
 which by no Parents wifhes could be ftai'd. 
 Each in their order did their obfequies, 
 
 with folemne rites as their laft exequies, 
 Making a fire of Iimiper compos'd, 
 
 in which their louely corps feem'd well difpos'd, 
 Which were confum'd to afhes and conferu'd, 
 
 in one fmall ^^pot, as wel their fame deferu'd. 
 This vrne, poore vrne, which kept their afhes fure, 
 
 was made of Braffe, that it might ere endure. 
 And as a relique, reliques then were vfed, 
 
 in 58 Nimrods Temple in a cheft enclofed. 
 There was it put, to which as fome report, 
 
 all conjlant louers vf'd to make refort. 
 No marriage rite was to be confummate, 
 
 Before they did this relique inuocate, 
 That it would be propitious to their loue, 
 
 in figne whereof each gaue a Turtle-Doue, 
 To explicate their truth, their conjlancie^ 
 
 which they obferu'd for euer folemnly. 
 Thus were thefe two with honour well rewarded, 
 
 their afhes, as times Monuments regarded, 
 
 Y 3 Kept 
 
326 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 Kept and referu'd for Fame, Fame grac'd the earth, 
 
 in fuffering Nature bring fo faire a birth 
 Into the world, which world vnworthy was, 
 
 to haue two mirrors and to let them paffe. 
 But time, vnthankfull time, too foone forgot 
 
 the Gem fhe had, as if fhe had it not. 
 Soild in the luftre, luftre it had none, 
 
 depriu'd of Fame, when her renowne was gone, 
 For Parents breathleffe were, and with their birth, 
 
 by times fucceffion were interr'd in earth. 
 \w felfe-fame earth for they defir'd to haue, (graue 
 
 their childrens 59 hearfe their vrne, their comely 
 Which hauing got, men neuer did adore, 
 
 their facred hearfe as they had done before. 
 For leffe were they efteem'd, fo from that time, 
 
 nere any louer came vnto their Jhrine. 
 Yet to this day, their pi6lures doe remaine, 
 
 in Marble wrought, defcribing euery vaine. 
 Ech ruby blufh, mix'd with a crimfon die, 
 
 with Thysbes fmile decolour'd wantonly. 
 With face defac'd by times iniurious frowne, 
 
 hath fhown more beauty the my Mufe hath fhown. 
 
 The 
 
The true Louers-knot. 327 
 
 The an/were of Hipolitus vnto 
 Phaedra. 
 
 The Argument. 
 
 Hippolitus fon to Thefeus, by the Amazo Hippolite, 
 folicited by his Jlep mother Phedra to fenfuality, 
 feekes by all meanes to repreffe her inordinate luji by 
 exemplifying the worth, refolution, and magnanimity 
 of his father & her hufband Thefeus : as alfo aggra- 
 uating the foulenes of the faft fhe intended producing 
 reafons to diffwade her from profecuting her purpofe 
 any further : as more particularly the fcandall of the 
 world, which of necefjity would enfue vpon committing 
 of a fa5l fo deteflable to the fupreame deitie, fo exorbi- 
 tant to the law of nature. Next he propoudeth the ine- 
 uitable reuenge of the Gods aboue, who could not fuf- 
 fer fuch impieties to paffe with imptmity : but would 
 chaftife incefluous actions with the exqtdfitefi punifh- 
 ments they referue for any delinquent : concluding 
 his Epiftle more emphatically: affuring her if fhe would 
 not defift from her Idfciuious intendments, Thefeus 
 fhould be acqttainted with her entirefi thoughts, who 
 in no wife could brooke her infatiable dejires, bttt ere 
 long would expiate the guilt of her fin with thefacri- 
 fice of her blood. 
 
 Y4 The 
 
328 
 
 The Epiftle of Hyppolitus 
 vnto Phedra. 
 
 IF modeft lines fend out a modeft fmile, 
 and thofe immodeft vows you dedicate 
 Vnto my youth ; youths frailty to beguile, 
 
 my vertuous bloffoms to extenuate, 
 What fhould I write ? or in what tempred ftile 
 
 fhould I defcribe the ruine of my ftate ? 
 Since vertue is my centre^ truth the /cope, 
 At which I aime the leuell of my hope ? 
 
 I will not call you wanton, but you feeme 
 
 too too refpe6lles of your glorious fame, 
 That once in Greet for bewty deem'd a Queene, 
 
 fhould now grow careleffe to eclipfe the fame. 
 O better fruits fhould in that groue be feene, 
 
 then to negle6l the glory of your name. 
 Minos efteemed was more pure, more iuft, 
 
 then to expofe his houfe to fhamefull Iuft. 
 
 Turne to yonrfpoufe my father y and obferue 
 his worth, his merits^ and difclaime your vow. 
 
 See 
 
The true-loMer§ knot. 329 
 
 See what refpe6l your Thejlus doth deferue, ^ 
 
 who confecrates his loue & life to you : 
 
 Then I am fure you will be loth to fwerue 
 from your allegeance, which is Thefeus dew. 
 
 He thinkes him bleft in you, O doe not then 
 impaire the bleffmg of fuch bleffed men. 
 
 But if you will diftaine vivy fathers bed, 
 
 make it a brothel proftitute to fmne, 
 Reft well affur'd He neuer heare it faid, 
 
 that I his fonne that leudneffe did begin, 
 To prime \ht prime rofe, or to fee it fade 
 
 within his bed where I haue nourifh'd been, 
 For ill it would befeeme both him and me, 
 
 that his gray headjhould weare my liiierie. 
 
 Let not the glory of your ancient houfe 
 
 attainted be, or dazed by your fhaine : 
 For after ages would fpeake worfe of vs, 
 
 and this our fhame would euermore remaine : 
 Which could not chufe but grow pernicious 
 
 to the renowme your Thefeus did attaine. 
 That he who many monfhers vanquifhed, 
 
 fhould let a monfler Hue within his bed. 
 
 Employ thofe thoughts fo wantonly inclin'd 
 toth' comfort oi yom: fpoufe, let him receaue 
 
 Th' elixir of your loue anew refin'd 
 
 your loues the haruefi which your Lord doth craue : 
 
 Then keepe not from him that which is affigned. 
 
 By 
 
330 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 by powers fupernall for his worth to haue : 
 Adore no fhrine but his, let mine alone, 
 I am his image, he and I are one. 
 
 How ill would it befeeme diftafhfull youth, 
 
 to wrong the winter of his reuerend age : 
 Whom (if not graceleffe) would it not moue to 'ruth ? 
 
 to foile his bed, Whofe nie-fpent Pilgrimage 
 Craues pitty hy prefcription, grac'd by truth, 
 
 and vertues colours, making fame his page, 
 To follow euery a6lion with her breath, 
 
 to giue him life when feaz'd vppon by death. 
 
 Looke at the trophies Creffa doth poffeffe, 
 
 times monumentall chara6lers of worth. 
 And you fhall fee his fpoiles deferue no lefle, 
 
 then adoration deifid on earth. 
 Since euery a6l proclaimes his mightineffe, 
 
 as if defcended from loues diuine breath. 
 His wars, his conqueft, each expreffe his merit, 
 
 indude with more then Adamantine fpirit. 
 
 Leaue of inuiting your Hyppolitus 
 
 to fefbiue banquets, of incefluous meeting. 
 Well loues he Phcedra, better Thefeus, 
 
 then to wrong age with fuch licentious greeting. 
 To make his owne to be moft trecherous. 
 
 the fowreft taft from him that feemd his fweeting. 
 In working fhame 'gainft him who firft fuftained 
 
 far more for me then in me is contained. 
 
 Much 
 
The true-louers knot. 331 
 
 Much do I wonder how you fhould concelue, 
 
 fuch a fufpicious thought of my negle6l, 
 Vnto vay fathers age ? or how you haue, 
 
 grounded the reafons of your fowle fufpe6t ? 
 That I his childey my childehood fhould depraue, 
 
 affe6ling that which loue cannot effe6l, (wot,) 
 
 Which loathed pleafures, loath'd they are (God 
 
 to vfe thofe fports which Nature fancieth not. 
 
 Thefe ^^pajlimes which I follow yeelde content 
 
 without repentance : heere's no Parents fhame, 
 No worlds Rumor : dangers imminent, 
 
 haue no repofe mongft thefe : admired fame 
 Followes the Court, and places eminent, 
 
 each feeking how they might dilate their name. 
 But I refpe6lleffe of Fames admiration, 
 
 reape the content of harmeleffe recreation. 
 
 Heere fteepy clifts, and heauen-afpiring Hilles, 
 
 Yeeld a fweet aier to relifh my delight, (deftills 
 
 There pleafant fprings, from whence fweet ftreames 
 
 to quench my thirft : and when the glomie night, 
 Shuts vp the raies of Phoebus, reft we ftill 
 
 till rofie check'd Aurora fhew her light. 
 Then we addreffe vs to our fports againe. 
 
 For where we take delight there is no paine. 
 
 Then pardon me, (if pardon I may aske) 
 
 that knowes no other pleafure then is heere, 
 That neuer tooke vpon me any taske, 
 
 but 
 
332 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 but the purfuing of the harmleffe Deere. 
 I need not fhame, my blufh requires no mafke, 
 
 I haue no obie6ls of affe6lion neere, 
 But the true fplendor of a Natiue face, 
 
 not mix'd with colours to augment her grace. 
 
 If Ariadne defolate, forlorne, 
 
 fhould heare of your intendments : what would fhe 
 Reply, but ieaft, that he who had forfworne 
 
 thofe folemne vowes which fhould obferued be, 
 Hath well deferu'd to weare his wantons home, 
 
 that dedicates her felfe to luxurie. 
 O fie for fhame, let fhame repreffe that finne, 
 
 which not reprefs'd will fhame both you and him. 
 
 How glad would Ariadur heare of this, 
 
 who refts deie6led, rob'd of that fame Gem, 
 Which you refpe6l not : ftie conceiu'd a bliffe 
 
 in his fweet fmile, whofe fweetneffe did regaine 
 Her much prifd loue, h^r /pels explan'd no leffe ; 
 
 In the fubduing him, who more had flaine, 
 Then any monfter, that in Crete was bred ; 
 
 yet by her Art was foone difcomfited. 
 
 But fhe ! vnhappy fhe, as Backus would, 
 
 depriu'd of him, for whom fuch panels fhe tooke, 
 
 In Chios left, neere after to behold 
 
 her darling Thefeus, who (you know) forfooke 
 
 Her much diftrefs'd diftreffes did enfold 
 
 the very manjion pitch'd on 62 kigh to looke, 
 
 At 
 
The true-Louers knot. 333 
 
 At that vnhappy place where Tkejitcs left her, 
 whofe abfent fteps all comfort had bereft her. 
 
 Then you that are preferr'd before her loue, 
 
 fet not at fale the treafure you poffeffe, 
 Let Ariadiies exile fomething moue 
 
 that fickle minde of yours, whofe wantonneffe, 
 Seemes more tranfparant in that you approue 
 
 more of my loue, then of his excellence. 
 Whofe beautious outfide's faire, but you may finde, 
 
 a farre more beauteous iiijide of his minde. 
 
 Conjlant he is, witneffe Peritheus^ 
 
 whofe two combined hearts fo well vnited, 
 Haue eterniz'd the loue of Thefeus : 
 
 MirroiLT of meiiy that men fhould be exiled, 
 To paffe fuch fhelfes of perrils dangerous, 
 
 With fight of poore Proferpina delighted : 
 Whom to exempt with Pluto, they remaine, 
 
 the one imprifon'd clofe, the other flaine. 
 
 Yet could not Pltcto barr his eies from teares, 
 
 which he pourd out each morne vpon the hearfe, 
 Of his deare friend, loue after death appeares, 
 
 which like an Ecco earths abyffe did pierce, 
 Opprefs'd with woe, furmifes of vaine feares, 
 
 Maugre the furie, of thofe Ftiries fierce. 
 And Fiends below, which could not him furprife 
 
 with daftard feare : ^'^Brane Spirits feare defpife. 
 
 O 
 
334 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 O doe not then expofe his vertuous age, 
 
 to fuch difhonour adde no difcontent 
 Vnto his outworne ftrength, lejft you enrage 
 
 his patient fpirit aboue his element. 
 Doe not corrupt your honour nor engage, 
 
 the glory of your birth fo eminent. 
 Scandalls are foone engendred fooner bred, 
 
 then after-times can make extinguifhed. 
 
 Doe not degrade your Tkefetis from his 
 
 Which he enioies, conceiuing more delight. 
 In that he hath this little of his owne, 
 
 reaping contented harbour on the night, 
 Then th' husband man to reape what he hath fowne, 
 
 or the poore Turtle, in her Turtles fight. 
 Beleeue me Queene, more doth your prefence pleafe 
 
 Your Thefeus heart, then any one of thefe. 
 
 If you would haue Hippolitus to loue, 
 
 Loue aged Thefeus for Hippolitus fake ; 
 For by thofe heauenly powers that raigne aboue, 
 
 more comfort fhall Hyppolitus partake 
 By that afFe6lion, then Idalias groue, 
 
 ere reap'd in Venus when he did awake. 
 And rous'd from fdent flumber to returne, 
 
 vnto her Birds which for their Queen did mourn. 
 
 Alas, faire queene, why fhould you thus affault, 
 the vnprouided fortreffe of mine hart ; 
 
 O' 
 
The true- Louers knot, 335 
 
 Or why fhould you your colours thus exalt, 
 
 difplaying ruine to my chiefefl part, 
 And vnder ground as in fome fecret vault 
 
 laying your fhot, intending to fubuert, 
 The Bulwarke which fupports my (lender being, 
 
 to raze my Fort and put my friends to fleeing. 
 
 T\\.Qfort which I poffeffe is my pure heart, 
 
 my friends the vertues which doe keepe my fort, 
 T\\QjirJi in all my dolours beares a part, 
 
 Xh^fecond in difhreffe do make refort, 
 To arme my foule againft inuafions dart 
 
 vpon their foe, their furie to retort. 
 Were 't not a pittie then to fee that fall. 
 
 which doth fuftaine my felfe my meanes and all } 
 
 But fure you fee in va^fome fhew of pleafure, 
 
 and gladly would haue me expreffe my thought, 
 Obie6ling to my fenfes time and leafure, 
 
 feldome are fuch delights fo lightly bought. 
 High is the price of fuch a precious treafiire, 
 
 and well deferues it to be throughly fought : 
 But I reply that pleafure lafts not long 
 
 that tis vfurp't by force, and ta7ie by wrong. 
 
 I loue no bitter fweets immixd with gall, 
 
 whofe fharp repentance drowns the pleafure paft, 
 
 A pure vnfpotted foule, whofe ^^Brafen wall 
 can hold out battrie and wil euer lafh 
 
 That feare no ruine, no declining fall, 
 
 Soil'd 
 
336 Loues Labyrinth, or 
 
 foilde with no blemifh of her mindes diftafte, 
 But fraught with wealth, thrice happy in her wealth 
 feeding on free delights, not got by ftelth. 
 
 What is that pleafure, where attendeth fearCy 
 
 As faith-infringers doe : who violate 
 The faith they owe : whereby it doth appeare, 
 
 they reft refpe6lleffe of their future ftate. 
 Preferring lufh before their Spoufals deare, 
 
 their fhame with fhameleffe A6ls to aggrauate : 
 O none God wot : no pleafure can be there, 
 
 where there is nought but a6lions of defpaire. 
 
 O let thofe hefts inuiolable ftand, 
 
 which heauens aboue confirme, and let them be 
 As Chara6lreSy writ by dame Natures hand 
 
 to eleuate our fenfes purity : 
 Proceeding from the immortall powers command, 
 
 to confummate our Hues integrity. 
 That loue's well fquared by an equall line. 
 
 whofe ground-worke is grounded on the lawes di- 
 
 (uine 
 
 But if thefe motiues cannot caution you, 
 
 not to adulterife your Nuptiall bed. 
 Be you affur'd to Thefeus I will fhew 
 
 thofe indigefted humors which are bred, 
 By your vnfetled thoughts which doe renew 
 
 an heape of paffions in your troubled head. 
 All which concording make that difcord true. 
 
 i 
 
 No faith more faithleffe then the Faith of you. 
 
 Your 
 
Hypolitus to PhcEcira. 337 
 
 Your brittle fexe, fo brittle is your mould, 
 
 you cannot long be free from alteration : 
 Grounds \i^x foundation on no certaine hold, 
 
 but toft with fundrie gufts of times mutation, 
 Expos'd to fhame and to confufion fold, 
 
 infringing loue to purchafe recreation. 
 Which we by nature do accompt a fhame, 
 
 to fet them light that haue efteemed them. 
 
 Vertues furprifer, chajiities depriuer^ 
 
 fower of difcord, refuge to the zvorfi, 
 Forge of ambition enmities coiitriuer : 
 
 an hatefidl monfter^ vipers birth accurft, 
 FriendfJiips diffoluer^firnplefoides deceiur^ 
 
 which from perdition had her birth-right firfi. 
 The foile and f ale of honour fooneft fJiowen, 
 
 where me7t affe6l all pleafure faue their ozvne. 
 
 And what be thofe but vaine, vnfauourie ioyes, 
 
 whofe fruits vnfeas'ned yeeld but fmall delight, 
 When comforts are conuerted to annoies, 
 
 the beauty of our day obfcur'd by night, 
 And that we iudg'd for ferious feeme as toies, 
 
 which haue eclips'd the glory of their light : 
 And then reuoluing what we did admire 
 
 let fall our hopes, to greater things afpire. 
 
 O be afham'd to blemifh that faire Roote, 
 which had deriuall from the powers aboue, 
 Z 
 
 Staine 
 
33^ Hypolitus to Phcedra. 
 
 Staine not your bed with your polluted foot, 
 loue him alone whom you are bound to loue, 
 
 Giue no occafion to your Spoufe to doubt 
 of your licentious paffion, but remoue, 
 
 Both guilt and guilts, fiifpicion, whofe bright eyes, 
 lealoufe of nought your fecret'ft councels fpies. 
 
 Will you for any pleafure lofe refpe6l, 
 
 of all your kindred that attend your fame. 
 Which once furpriz'd by infamies fufpe6l, 
 
 will call your a6ls auginenters of their fhame ? 
 O doe not fo : let not your luft effeft, 
 
 the ruine of that houfe from whence you came : 
 But as your glorie doth furpaffe the reft, 
 
 fo in your heart let virtue build her neft. 
 
 Vaine is ih.^ flower, foone fading, foone forgot, 
 
 which you do pamper to your ouerthrow, 
 Time will be, when thofe beautious corps fhall rot, 
 
 their poore remainder to the earth beftowe; 
 Then you fhall be as if you flourifh'd not 
 
 plac'd in earths centre, Stigian lake belowe. 
 Where Minos iudgement giues of euery fm, 
 
 that thofe are guiltie may remaine with him. 
 
 He was your father, yet his equitie, 
 will not permit his Phcedra to tranfgreffe : 
 
 His lawes haue no exception, puritie 
 onely exempted is, whofe eminence 
 
 Was 
 
Hypolitus to PhcBdra, 339 
 
 Was firft ordain'd to raigne eternally, 
 
 in the Elijian fields loues refidence ; 
 Then chufe which two yoicpleafe, whether yott'le dtvel, 
 
 in heauen with loue, or with your Sire in hell. 
 
 Ere6l your thoughts depreffed downe belowe, 
 
 and let them foare vnto an higher pitch 
 Then terrene pleafures, let that beauteous fhow 
 
 of outward colours your affe6lion teach (flowe 
 
 To tafte the Spring of fweetes, from whence doth 
 
 fuch mines of treafiire, as will more enrich 
 The Ars'nall oiyo\xx minde then vaine delight, 
 
 which lopped is before it come to height 
 
 Recall to minde Ixions punifhment, 
 
 fee in a mirror what his folly got,. 
 Who whil'ft he foar'd aboue his element, 
 
 kindly receiv'd of loue, himfelfe forgot : 
 And as a ftreame which runs too violent, 
 
 paffmg his bounds and limits, knoweth not 
 How foone that flowe fhall haue a fudden fall, 
 
 whofe boundleffe current kept no mene at all. 
 
 So did Ixion who in felfe-conceit 
 
 of his proportion did afpire too high, 
 Affefting Iitno which did ruinate, 
 
 the manfion of his Priftine dignitie, 
 Dafling that fun which fhone fo bright of late, 
 
 for with a clowde deceived engendred he 
 
 Z 2 The 
 
340 Hypolitus to Phcedra. 
 
 The Centaurs varied formes, which being bred, 
 to Pelion came, where they inhabited. 
 
 O then confine affe6lion with the bound, 
 
 of vertues honour, giuing her the place 
 In euery a6lion, making reafons ground 
 
 the ftrong foundation, Time cannot deface. 
 With beautious faire contexture clofed round, 
 
 a correfpondence twixt the minde and face : 
 The one renown'd by th' others puritie, 
 
 as if both made to make one vnity. 
 
 Shall Hymens temple be defac'd by you, 
 
 Her facred hefts by your inconftancy : 
 O be affur'd the gods will punifh you, 
 
 imbranding fhame in yonr pojieritie, 
 To breake your faith and wrong a friend fo true, 
 
 vnder pretence of mere fimplicitie : 
 Leue Yertws /kadowe, and your felfe betake, 
 
 to loue the fhadow for ih.Q fubjiance fake. 
 
 What vertues did your maiden yeeres attend t 
 
 white was your roabe but whiter was your mind, 
 When all your a6lions did to vertue tend ; 
 
 Each fence her proper fun6lion had affign'd, 
 Vertues foundation had perfe6lions end, (finde, 
 
 youth mix'd with grace : rare was't your like to 
 But now your luftre foil'd by fhameleffe fmning, 
 
 argues your end farre worfe then your begining. 
 
 Crete 
 
Hypolitus to PhcBdra. 341 
 
 Crete made renown'd hy fathers memory, 
 
 fhal't be extinguifh'd by the daughter's fhame ? 
 Times auntient browe records his eqtdtie. 
 
 for time-impartialijiers merit fame, 
 Proude was the earth to haue fuch men as he : 
 
 earth feem'd by him to change her earthly name. 
 For nere did fame with truth fo neerely meete, 
 
 as when your aged father gouern'd Crete. 
 
 O then be daughter to fo good a father, 
 
 be his Hfes pattern, fhew from whence you fprang, 
 Seeke to reuiue his glorie tropheis rather, 
 
 then by your fhame to fee them ouerthrowne, 
 Some fruitful! bloffomes from his vertues gather : 
 
 fo may you make your fathers fame your owne : 
 Crete was fit flamed oft by others fall. 
 
 but fJte s fujlain' d by Phaedra inojl of all. 
 
 How will this trumpe of glorie make your mind 
 
 too low deie6led, feeke an other port 
 Then that you aime at now : where you fhall finde, 
 
 more perfe6l folace when you make refort 
 Vnto \htfJirine of Vertue, that's refined 
 
 with pureft colours, where the ftrongeft /(?r/ 
 That could be built by Nature or by Art, 
 
 conferues the facred treafure of the heart 
 
 O time deceing youth abufing time, 
 making her ftale to obie6ls of delight, 
 
 Z 3 Seeing 
 
342 Hypolitus to Phcedra. 
 
 Seeing the bejl will to the worjl decline : (light, 
 
 Night-owle, whofe works dare not approach the 
 
 Prophaning that which was before diuine, 
 
 Truth's great'ft opponent, vertues fecond fight, 
 
 Whofe minde bewitching vanities ensnare, 
 ourcaptiv'd reafon with 2. feeming faire. 
 
 More fhould I write, but that I loath to write 
 
 of fuch a fubie6l whofe lafciuious foyle. 
 Makes my poore lines afham'd of fuch delights. 
 
 That Parents birth, JJioidd Parents bed defile. 
 Or to play falfe when he is out of fight : ' 
 
 diftrufting nought fhould I his truft beguile ? 
 O ceafe to loue Hue to aduance your fame, 
 
 freeing your Bed and me from Parents fhame. 
 
 Yours if yonr owne : Btit being not your owne, 
 / will not reope what other men haue fowne. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
43 
 
 OH-O 
 
 To the vnder/landi7ig Reader, 
 
 FOr your better diredlion I haue re- 
 duced thefe enfuing notes Alpha- 
 bettically, with an apt relation to 
 each particular included in the Poeme, 
 which may minifter no leffe Grace to the 
 inuention, then delight to your rea- 
 ding. 
 
 ^^^ A lamina infula eft Atheniejis^ quam Telamon gu- 
 O bernajfe dicituVy vitibus et myrtetis eiufq. generis 
 arboribiis vejlita. vid. Plutarch. 
 
 ^ Flume7i maxime omniu^n inclytum, &c. Flumen e 
 Niphati monte origine^n ducens, et Babiloniam celer- 
 rimo ctirfu fecans^ ifi rubrum mare prolabitiir. 
 
 c Alueum mutaffe fertur ibid. &c. 
 
 ^ In perfonam amatoru^n. 
 
 ^ Zeuxis viice viuis coloribus depi^lce. &c. vid. Plu- 
 tarch, in Apoth. 
 
 ^ Riphcei inontes Arcadice^ qui afperrimis verticibus 
 fubnixi ftmt. vid, Ccef. commen. 
 
 RuphcBi 
 
344 
 
 g Lyiiceiis & Argos incredibili perfpicacia luminum 
 prcediti. 
 
 ^ Coniux Orpkei, quce per deferta loca currens, vt 
 Arijlceum, earn immodejle nimis fequentem^ euitaret, a 
 ferpente venenata infe6la exiremam diem obijt, earn ve- 
 re legimtis^ a Plutone raptmn effe, etfub imperio fuo mi- 
 ferrimam vitam traitfegiffe, vid. Ouid. et Senec. Trag. 
 Her. Fu. 
 
 ^ Homer, in Iliad, vid: fuper hunc locum. Calabr. 
 in quar. lib. de fupple. 
 
 "^ Turture Jic Turtur iungit amanda fuo. poet. 
 
 ^ Timon pater Thisbis qui ingete^n Thefauri molem 
 in Area recondidiffe arbitratur^ eiufque afpe6lu mirum, 
 in modum dele6labatur. vid fab. in Ouid. Metam. 
 
 ^ Naphtha bituminis genus quod afperfione aquce ve- 
 hementius excefluat. Teflat. Plinio. 
 
 " Loue is more vehement depriued of her obie(5l. 
 
 ° Stellam, Veneris appellat Hojnerus "EaTrepov. 
 
 P Vid Lucan. et pallin, de fid : nominibus. 
 
 ^ Res eft imperiofa timor. 
 
 ^ Sordities, irce, nummorum copia m,ira^ his natura 
 fenis tribus eft infe6la venenis. 
 
 ^ Vnde Veftales virgines candidis flolis indutas effe 
 legimus in Aulo. Gell. in no6l. Att. 
 
 * Sublimi ftemmate du5lus. 
 
 ^ Namji vis apte nubere^ nube pari, Ouid. 
 
 ^ Succin6lis humeris fcuto. 
 
 y Vid. Plinium in natur. hifi. & Arifi. de Natur. 
 animal. 
 
 Quos 
 
 1 
 
345 
 
 Qiws Ji Argus feruetf qui occulatus totus fuit. Plaut. 
 in A u hilar. 
 
 ^ Hippodamia Jilia oenomai quam Pelops celeritate 
 cur/us obtinebat. 
 
 1 Pelopid : hu7neri : prouerb. 
 
 2 Diana. 
 
 3 Lujlra ferarum. Virg. 
 
 4 No6lis opaco car dine fulgebant Jiella. 
 
 5 Campi Elyjij. 
 
 6 Nemejis vltionis dea. 
 
 7 Pegafus alatus equus, a quo Hypocrene originem 
 duxit. 
 
 8 O quicunque fub hac habit atis rupe hones, &c. O^ 
 uid. in Metam. 
 
 9 Vna duos (inquit) nox perdit amantes, Ouid. 
 
 10 Sed timidi eji opt are necem : ibid. 
 
 11 Myrtus Vener., &€. 
 
 12 Progne Philomela, & Itys. 
 
 1 3 Ter. ht vpupam. Rex fueram fie crijla probat : fed 
 fordida vita i7nmundam e tanto culmine fecit aueniy 
 
 Campan. in Ter. 
 
 ^^ Exegi monumentum cere peremtius : marmore du- 
 rius, eboreferenius, vid. Eleg. Flac. et Propert. 
 
 1 5 jEgle Aretufa, & Hefperitufa Atlant : filicBy qucB 
 hortum Hefperice aureis pomis refertiffiniuin ope ferpen- 
 tis perpetuam vigiliam feruantis tenebant, quain poflea 
 Hercules inter emit, vid. ope : Her : in Seit : Trag. 
 
 1 6 Arbor niueis pulcherrima pomis Ardua 
 
 Morus erat : Ibid. ^7 Corticis exiguce, nigrique colo- 
 ris Ebenus, &c. de natura gagatis : vid. Plin. 
 
 Poflquam, 
 
346 
 
 1 8 Pojiquam vejiem cognouit, et eiufdem. Ouid. 
 i9 In tumulwn Nini, allocutio. 
 
 20 Vifcera plus quam marmorea. 
 
 21 Purpurea vela, leniorem aurain trahentia, &c. 
 
 22 Homer in Iliad, vid. Calab. in deliquijs fuper hunc 
 locum. 
 
 23 Fluminis vt cecinit littore cicnus, obit. 
 
 24 Gagates qucB mojiumeta excolere folebat non tarn 
 ob eximicB natures proprietates, quam politcs et exaratce 
 Formce elegantias vfurpata. vid. Plin. in Natur. hifto. 
 
 25 Batia, fepulchrum Hi, quod in Ilio erigebatur et in 
 Troiano bello folenni honor e effici legimus. vid. Horn. ib. 
 
 26 &)z;o9, honos. 
 
 27 Et mihi fortis in vnum h(EC manus ejl : et a^nor, 
 &c. Ouid, ibid. 
 
 28 Quoq. magis tegitur tanto magis cejluat ignis. 
 
 29 In parentes ncertia. 3o Vt /up. vid. eleg. Mart. 
 
 3i Volat irreuocabile verbum. ^2 Pyra folennis vid. 
 Funer. antiq. in Gell. et al. 33 Rofa qtice redolet, cre- 
 fcit cum fphta qucB punget. 34 Et fugit ad falices, & fe 
 cupit ante videri. Virg. 35 Vid Virg. in 1°. lib. Georg. 
 de Irrigatione, &c. 36 a Poetical fiction. 37 loues reply. 
 
 38 Vid. Hefiod de general, deor. de natal. Hercid. et 
 
 Plau. in Amphitruo pol me hand pcenitet ; Scilicet 
 
 boni dimidium mihi diuidere cum loue. 
 
 39 Etforor et coniux, &c. Virg. in ^nead. 1°. lib. 
 
 40 No6le fomniat, quce vigilans voluit. Terent. 
 
 4i Ofcula libauit natce. Virg. ^2 Idas filius Apharei 
 qui celeritate equorum incredibili, Marpeffam egregia 
 forma puelld corripuit. vid. Ouid. ^3 Horat. in i. lib. 
 
 Ratione 
 
347 
 
 44 Ratione veritm a falfo difcemiimis, qumn a Natiira 
 nobis infitain kabemtis wid. Cic. i.lib. offi. 45 Qii^cb lato 
 cidmine Bicjlimi occiilif, arbujlis teneris intexit opacis. 
 vide Proper. 46 Xu quce rainis arbor iniferabile corpus^ 
 nunc tegis vnius inox & te^tcra diwruin. Ouid. Metam. 
 47 Qiti viret in folijs venit e radicibus humor ^ et patncin 
 in natos abeunt cum Jiemmate mores. 48 Vhiit pojl fime- 
 ra virtus, &c. 49 yid. Apoth. rom. apud Plutarch. 
 
 5o Et germina gemmis effulfere fuis, fragrantia 
 
 pafcua veris prcemia difficndunt, noua fert noua femina. 
 Terra. 5i O quam difficile ejl crimen no prodere vidtu ? 
 
 52 Ceffit poji fimera liuor. vid. Apoth. Plut. de Aefchin. 
 et Demofth. inimicit. et de obitu Demofb. 
 
 53 Ingentia terrce antra replere folent currentia foJtte 
 perenni, &c. 54 Mare '^nittit amara, &c. 55 Vetus 
 vietus veternofus mujlellino colore. TerentitLS. 
 
 56 De Oliua refert Plinius, quod poji initi foederis focie- 
 tatem, ramos eius arboris Fetialis gejiare folebat, cuius 
 hidicio pads fpecimina proferebantur, vid. in Philip, 
 comm. de Bell. Neapol. Oliuce ramos pads indicia cir- 
 cumferre folebant ij, cum quibus coditiones pads confir- 
 matcefimt. &c. 57 Recipit populos vrna citatos. Senec. 
 58 Babilon nunc vero Bagadeth appellata^ a Nhnrode 
 extruebatur, & a Semiramide extendebatur. In Euphra- 
 tem Flu : amsemif : fita : vid : Geo-graph. comen. 59 Qtiia 
 offa parentum eorum rogis immifcebantur. 
 6o Minotaure. ^i Afcendo : vires animus dabat aeque 
 ita late ^quora profpeclu metior alta meo. Ouid. in op. 
 Ariad. The/. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
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 NATURES EMB ASSIE : 
 
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 or Philomels Tears, &c. 
 
 BY 
 
 R. BRATHWAITE. 
 
 The " Shepheards Tales " are so graceful and melodious, 
 and are so full of allusions to old customs, sports, and the 
 
 1 
 
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Limited Reprints. 
 
 actual details of the country life of the period — the England 
 of the time of Shakespeare — that it is very surprising the 
 whole book has not been reprinted before. "Philomels 
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 have been included to make the book perfect. 
 
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 and has grown to be very scarce and dear : one of our fore- 
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 believe it readily found a purchaser at that price. 
 
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 Probably no old English work so abounds with colloqui- 
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 remarks of Erasmus upon the same. It is well printed on 
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LIMITED REP:RINTS. 
 
 BOOKS FOR A SHAKESPEAREAN LIBRARY. 
 
 NATURES EMBASSIE: 
 
 Divine and Morall Satyres : Shepheards Tales, both parts : 
 Omphale : Odes, or Philomels Tears, &c. 
 
 BY 
 
 R. BRATHWAITE. 
 
 The "Shepheards Tales" are so graceful and melodious, so full 
 of allusions to old customs, sports, and the actual details of the 
 country life of the period — the England of the time of Shakespeare 
 — that it is very surprising the whole book has not been reprinted 
 before. " Philomels Tears " are among the most charming Odes 
 of the period. 
 
 The original has long been in great request with Collectors, 
 and has grown to be very scarce and dear : one of our foremost 
 booksellers lately catalogued a copy without the very scarce first 
 part of the " Shepheards Tales " at ;^io, and I believe it readily 
 found a purchaser at that price. 
 
 The present Reprint contains the whole of the various parts 
 published under the general titles of "Natures Embassie," " Shep- 
 heards Tales," &c., and is a literal Reprint, all the peculiarities 
 of spelling being carefully preserved. The amusing title-page, 
 and the old-style head and tail pieces, initial letters, &c, have all 
 been facsimiled or imitated. 
 
 Four hundred copies only on Small Paper at I05. 6d., 50 on Large Paper at 
 I Guinea. Every copy numbered and signedi. 
 
 " Mr. Roberts has expended on the book all the wealth of his experienced 
 taste ; and type, paper, and binding- are all most winning." — Academy. 
 
 " There is a pleasant flavour of the old times in this volume ; and much 
 opportunity of adding to a dictionary of quotations. The whole is creditable 
 in the highest degree to Mr. Roberts." — Notes and Queries. 
 
 "The present volume is a literal reprint of a series of poems dated 162 1, and 
 " printed for Richard Whitaker, London." Among these Poems the "Odes " 
 were reprinted in 181 1;, at the Lee Priory Press, by the late SirEgerton Brydges. 
 The impression was limited to eighty copies. That editor's remarks may very 
 well apply to the present reissue: "Readers of narrow curiosity may think 
 such revivals of forgotten poetry useless, and the superficial may deem them 
 dull. The highly cultivated and candid mind will judge of them far other- 
 wise. The volume is printed by Mv. Roberts in his wonted style of elegance." — 
 Bookseller. 
 
" For the Precisian that d^res hardly loofce, 
 (Because th' art pure forsooth) on any bookc 
 Saue Homilies, and such as tend to th'good 
 Of thee, and of thy zealous brother-hood: 
 Know my Time-noting lines ayme not at thee, 
 For thou art too too curious for mee. 
 I will not taxe that man that's wont to slay 
 " His Cat for killing mise-on th' Sabboth day : 
 No ; know my resolution it is thus, 
 I'de rather be thy foe then be thy pus : " — Strappado, p. 109. 
 
 A Strappado for the 
 Diuell. 
 
 BY 
 
 R. BRATHWAITE. 
 
 With an Introduction by the Rev. J. W. Ebsworth, M.A., 
 
 Editor of the Bagford Ballads, Drolleries of the 
 
 Restoration, &c. 
 
 Elegantly printed on Antique Ribbed Paper, page for page, 
 and line for line from the Original ; the Old Ornaments and 
 Head-pieces have been facsimiled. Only 300 on Small Paper at 
 I2S. 6d., and ^o on Large Paper at 2\s. 
 
 This book is full of quaint allusions. It illustrates the Times 
 by innumerable jocular quips and cranks, proverbs, and a detailed 
 record of contemporary customs, so that every Shakespearean 
 student may rejoice at now being able to have a literal reprint 
 for about as many shillings as they would have to pay pounds for 
 a good copy of the original ; which was pubhshed in 16 15, when 
 Beaumont and Shakespeare had reached their last year, but 
 while most of the other great dramatists were at their best. It 
 exemplifies that robust and boisterous vivacity, suited to men of 
 adventurous spirit and hardihood at the time of England's greatest 
 intellectual vigour. 
 
 Opinions of the Press. 
 
 " The perseverance with which contemporary Elizabethan literature is studied 
 in these times for such incidental light as can be thrown upon the plays of 
 Shakespeare by allusions to customs and manners of the time, has brought 
 into a certain degree of note the writings of Richard Brathwaite, till lately 
 known only to curious scholars. We lately noticed a verbatim reproduction of 
 " Nature's Embassie," handsomely printed by Mr. Roberts of Boston, in Lincoln- 
 shire ; and we have now to record the appearance of a companion volume, in 
 
which the original edition of Brathwaite's curious poem, " A Strappado for the 
 Devil," is reproduced by the same publisher in the same careful way. To the 
 Shakespearean student this powerful satire is of peculiar interest ; but its intrinsic 
 merits, its wit and fancy and power of rhymical expression, would alone fully 
 justify the pains bestowed upon it by the learned editor, Mr. Ebsworth, who 
 contributes an interesting introduction. The volume also comprises the shorter 
 satires and the collection entitled ** Love's Labyrinth," originally published in 
 1615, These editions are all strictly liraited in number.'' — Daily News, Sep. 
 i6th, 1878. 
 
 *' In addition to his value as an original author, Brathwaite has a value quite 
 distinct, or he could not have found the favour he has found with certain com- 
 petent scholars. He is of considerable use for the illustrations he furnishes of 
 contemporary literature: many a Shakespearean phrase and allusion, for instance, 
 have light thrown upon them from his pages ; and, secondly, he is of con- 
 siderable interest as a representative man. The characteristics of the late 
 Elizabethan or Jacobean age show clear in him. He threw himself into the 
 life of his time with a wild enthusiasm. "A ma(| world, my masters ; " and 
 Brathwaite was at home in it. . . . We have in Brathwaite a man of a curiously 
 mixed nature, or rather — for that description would apply to us all — a man who 
 displays his mixedness with a curious frankness and fullness. We see him in 
 his cups ; we see him at his prayers. A strange figure this, now reeling, now 
 kneeling. Do not let us doubt his sincerity : he drinks with zest; he prays with 
 all earnestness. He is a vehement, impulsive man, who must still be talking, 
 still unbosoming himself, still giving voice to the passion of the moment. Al- 
 ways hating Puritanism — it had no heartier enemy — he struggles to be religious 
 and to recommend religiousness in what he thought a more liberal spirit than 
 the Puritanic ; yet in the midst of his aspirations and efforts there would intrude 
 at times far other thoughts, and all of a sudden theparaphrastof " The Psalms 
 of David the King and Prpphet and of other holy prophets " is busy conjugating 
 his favourite verb : — 
 
 " Sat est, verbum declinavi, 
 Titubo — titubas — titubavi." 
 
 The Psalms of David and the songs of Anacreon, he can sing them both con 
 
 amore, this versatile gentleman Brathwaite has always some vivacity and 
 
 vigour ; he is never utterly dull ; now and then he writes with true force and 
 dignity, and he furnishes here many of those illustrations of contemporary life 
 and literature which we have mentioned as giving value to his works. He 
 quotes " a horse, a kingdom for a horse," from Richard III. ; and " Halloa ye 
 pampered Jades," from TamherLaine the Great, second part. Here is an early 
 reference to Cervantes' famous romance : — 
 
 "If I had lived but in Don Quixote's time, 
 His Rozinant had been of little worth ; 
 For mine was bred within a colder clime, 
 And can endure the motion of the earth 
 With greater patience ; nor will he repine 
 At any provender, so mild is he. 
 How many men want his humility ! " 
 
 Certainly the student, whatever may be said of the " general reader," will find 
 this volume repay perusal." — Academy, Nov. 2nd, 1878. 
 
 " Mr. Roberts is an enthusiast of a kind rare in England, an enthusiast for 
 the production of finely-printed books. It would not seem to have much ante- 
 cedent probability that the place where these volumes of Brathwaite, and the 
 Apophthegmes of Erasmus, and Mr. Pickering's lately-published Coleridge 
 
should see the light would be the Strait Margate in Boston, the narrow street of 
 the dull Lincolnshire town whose existence seems to be summed up in two 
 things, its church and its corn -wharves. But there is no law in these matters, 
 and nothing appears to prevent good things from coming out of Boston. 
 Nature^s Emhassie denotes the message sent by Nature "to this age for her 
 Reformation" — by Nature before she was degenerate and " adorned with un- 
 naturaUzed ornaments, which nature never apparelled her with " : — 
 
 "Doth not thy habite shew thy wanton mind, '" 
 
 Forward to all things but to vertuous life : 
 Passing those bounds which Nature hath assign'd, 
 
 'Twixt Art and Nature by commencing strife ? 
 I tell thee. Nature sends me to represse 
 Thy foolish toyes, thy inbred wantonnesse." 
 
 It is strange to find a Jacobean Englishman thus anticipating Jean Jacques* 
 .... Of the satires themselves it is curious to note how much the best are those 
 in which the writer has real examples before his eyes or a pointed story to tell. 
 Clytemnestra, Tereus, and P^lynices are chronicled in the dreariest fashion ; but 
 it is a different thing when we come to Hypocrisie and Brathwaite's pet aversion, 
 the Puritan :— 
 
 " Claudius is pure, abjuring prophane things, 
 Nor will he companie with wickednesse ; 
 He hates the source whence leud affection springs, 
 He'll not consent with deeds of naughtinesse ; 
 Yet he will deale, so none do see his sinne. 
 Yea though heavens eyes he cares not looke on him* 
 
 He will not speake unto a maid in th' streete, 
 Lest his repute should fall into decay ; 
 Yet if they two in private chance to meete 
 He in a pure embrace will bid her stay. 
 Saying : I will instruct thee prettie Nan, 
 How thou shalt be a formal Puritan." 
 
 And so on, in lines of which the vigour is evidently the fruit of strong feeling. 
 Any one who wishes to understand Brathwaite need go no further than these 
 books ; and indeed we venture to hope that Mr. Ebsworth was saying what he 
 wished rather than what he intended when he wrote, " The first duty now is to 
 reprint Brathwaite's various works with scrupulous fidelity." Surely these two, 
 with Mr. Hazlitt's re-issue of Haslewood's edition of Barnahee, are enough. ' 
 
 . . . One of Brathwaite's best poems, and one that really could not be spared 
 on account of its references to his contemporaries, Wither, Browne, Ben Jonson, 
 and others, is his Epistle to the Poetasters of Brittaine.'''' — Saturday Review, 
 Jan. 25th, 1879. 
 
 " The only work of Brathwaite which is known outside the small circle of 
 students of early literature is the ' Barnabae Itinerarium,' which, thanks to its 
 subject, to the pains of Haslewood, and to the praise of Leigh Hunt, has passed 
 through several editions. A reprint literal in all respects, even to the preserva- 
 tion of all pecularities of spelling and blunders in the Latin and Greek marginal 
 notes, of some of his rarest poetical tracts is a distinct boon to a certain set of 
 readers, to whom the majority of Brathwaite's works are quite inaccessible. . . . 
 We are glad to have the opportunity of access to his work, and are thankful for 
 this handsome and attractive edition. The entire reprint is limited to 350 copies. 
 The prefatory matter is ample and accurate." — Athenceum, Aug. 17th, 1878. 
 
 ROBERT ROBERTS, BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE* 
 
 ■ - '■ - "7 U 
 
i?.'."-