And heaven, that feem'd regardless of our fate,
For France and Spain did miracles create,
Such mortal quarrels to compofe in peace
As nature bred, and intereft did increase.
We figh'd to hear the fair Iberian bride
Muft grow a lily to the lily's fide,
While our cross ftars deny'd us Charles's bed,
Whom our first flames and virgin love did wed.
For his long abfence church and state did groan;
Madness the pulpit, faction feiz'd the throne:
Experienc'd age in deep defpair was loft,
To fee the rebel thrive, the loyal croft:
Youth that with joys had unacquainted been,
Envy'd grey hairs that once good days had feen:
We thought our fires, not with their own content,
Had ere we came to age our portion spent.
Nor could our nobles hope their bold attempt
Who ruin'd crowns would coronets, exempt:
For when by their designing leaders taught
To ftrike at power which for themselves they
fought,

[free,

The vulgar, gull'd into rebellion, arm'd;
Their blood to action by the prize was warm'd.
The facred purple then and scarlet gown,
Like fanguine dye, to elephants was fhewn.
Thus when the bold Typhoeus fcal'd the sky,
And forc'd great Jove from his own heaven to fly,
(What king, what crown, from treafon's reach is
If Jove and heaven can violated be?)
The leffer gods, that fhar'd his profperous state,
All fuffer'd in the exil'd Thunderer's fate.
The rabble now fuch freedom did enjoy,
As winds at fea, that use it to destroy:
Blind as the Cyclop, and as wild as he,
They own'd a lawless favage liberty,
Like that our painted ancestors fo priz'd,
Ere empire's arts their breasts had civiliz'd.
How great were then our Charles's woes, who thus
Was forc'd to fuffer for himself and us!
He, tofs'd by fate, and hurry'd up and down,
Heir to his father's forrows, with his crown,
Could tafte no fweets of youth's defired age;
Bu: found his life too true a pilgrimage.
Unconquer'd yet in that forlorn cftate,
His manly courage overcame his fate.
His wounds he took, like Romans, on his breast,
Which by his virtue were with laurels dreft.
As fouls reach heaven while yet in bodies pent,
So did he live above his banishment.
That fun, which we beheld with cozen'd eyes
Within the water, mov'd along the fkies.
How eafy 'tis, when destiny proves kind,
With full-fpread fails to run before the wind!
Bat thofe that 'gainst ftiff gales laveering go,
Must be at once refolv'd and skilful too.
He would not, like foft Otho, hope prevent,
But ftay'd and fuffer'd fortune to repent.
Thele virtues Galba in a stranger fought,
And Pilo to adopted empire brought.
How fhall I then my doubtful thoughts exprefs,
That muft his fufferings both regret and blefs?
For when his early valour Heaven had croft;
And all at Worc'iter but the honour loft;
Forc'd into exile from his rightful throne,
He made all countries where he came his own;

And, viewing monarchs' fecret arts of sway,
A royal factor for his kingdoms lay,
Thus banish'd David spent abroad his time,
When to be God's anointed was his crime;
And when reftor'd, made his proud neighbours ruc
Thofe choice remarks he from his travels drew.
Nor is he only by afflictions fhown

To conquer other realms, but rule his own:
Recovering hardly what he loft before,
His right endears it much; his purchase more.
Inur'd to fuffer ere he came to reign,
No rafh procedure will his actions stain :
To bufinefs ripen'd by digeftive thought,
His future rule is into method brought :
As they, who firft proportion understand,
With easy practice reach a master's hand.
Well might the ancient poets then confer
On night the honour'd name of Counseller,
Since, ftruck with rays of profperous fortune blind,
We light alone in dark afflictions find.
In fuch adverfities to fcepters train'd,
The name of Great his famous grandfire gain'd:
Who yet a king alone in name and right,
With hunger, cold, and angry Jove did fight;
Shock'd by a covenanting league's vast powers,
As holy and as catholic as our's:

'Till fortune's fruitlefs fpite had made it known,
Her blows not shook but riveted his throne.
Some lazy ages, loft in fleep and cafe,
No action leave to bufy chronicles:
Such, whofe fupine felicity but makes
In story chasms, in epocha mistakes;

O'er whom time gently fhakes his wings of down
"Till with his filent fickle they are mown.
Such is not Charles's too too active age,
Which, govern'd by the wild diftemper'd rage
Of fome black ftar infecting all the fkies,
Made him at his own coft like Adam wise,
Tremble ye nations, which fecure before,
Laugh'd at thofe arms that 'gainst ourselves we
bore

Rouz'd by the lafh of his own ftubborn tail,
Our lion now will foreign foes affail.
With alga who the facred altar ftrews?
To all the fea gods Charles an offering owes:
A bull to thee, Portunus, fhall be flain,
A lamb to you, ye tempefts of the main :
For thofe loud ftorms that did against him roar,
Have caft his fhipwreck'd veffel on the shore.
Yet as wife artifts mix their colours fo,
That by degrees they from each other go;
Black steals unheeded from the neighbouring white,
Without offending the well-cozen'd fight:
So on us ftole our bleffed change; while we
Th' effect did feel, but fcarce the manner fee.
Frofts that conftrain the ground, and birth deny
To flowers that in its womb expecting lie,
Do feldom their ufurping power withdraw,
But raging floods purfue their hafty thaw.
Our thaw was mild, the cold not chas'd away,
But loft in kindly heat of lengthen'd day.
Heaven would no bargain for its bleflings drive,
But what we could not pay for, freely give.
The Prince of peace would like himfelf confer
A gift unhop'd, without the price of war :

Yet, as he knew his bleffing's worth, took care,
That we fhould know it by repeated prayer;
Which storm'd the fkies, and ravifh'd Charles from
As heaven itself is took by violence. [thence,
Booth's forward valour only ferv'd to fhow,
He durft that duty pay we all did owe:
'Th' attempt was fair; but heaven's prefixed hour
Not come fo. like the watchful traveller
That by the moon's mistaken light did rife,
Lay down again, and clos'd his weary eyes.
'Twas Monk, whom Providence defign'd to loofe
Thofe real bonds falfe freedom did impofe.
The bleffed faints, that watch'd this turning fcene,
Did from their ftars with joyful wonder lean,
To fee fmall clues draw vafteft weights along,
Not in their bulk but in their order ftrong.
Thus pencils can by one flight touch restore
Smiles to that changed face that wept before.
With each fuch fond chimeras we pursue,
As fancy frames for fancy to fubdue :
But when ourfelves to action we berake,
It fhuns the mint like gold that chemists make.
How hard was then his task! at once to be
What in the body naturally we fee?
Man's archite& diftin&ly did ordain
The charge of muscles, nerves, and of the brain,
Through viewlefs conduits fpirits to difpenfe;
The fprings of motion from the feat of fenfe.
'Twas not the hafty product of a day,
But the well-ripen'd fruit of wife delay.
He, like a patient angler, ere he strook,
Would let him play a while upon the hook.
Our healthful food the ftomach labours thus,
At first embracing what it ftraight deth crush.
Wife leaches will not vain receipts obtrude,
While growing pains pronounce the humourscrude:
Deaf to complaints they wait upon the ill,
Till fome fafe crifis authorize their skill.
Nor could his acts too clofe a vizard wear,
To 'icape their eyes whom guilt had taught to fear,
And guard with caution that polluted neft,
Whence Legion twice before was difpoffeft:
Once facred houfe; which wlten they cuter'd in,
They thought the place could fanctify a fin;
Like those that vainly hop'd kind heaven would
wink,

While to excefs on martyrs' tombs they drink.
And as devouter Turks first warn their fouls
To part, before they talle forbidden bowls :
So thefe, when their black crimes they went about,
First timely charm'd their ufelefs confcience out.
Religion's name against itfelt was made;
The fhadow ferv'd the fubftance to invade;
Like zealous millions, they did care pretend
Of fouls in thew, but made the gold their en..
Th' incenfed powers beheld with fcorn from high
And heaven fo far diftant from the fky, ground,
Which durit, with horfes hoofs that beat the
And martial brafs, bely the thunder's found.
'I was hence at length juft vengeance thought it fit
To speed their ruin by their impious wit.
Thus Sforza, curs'd with a too tertile brain,
Loft by his wiles the power his wit did gain.
Henceforth their fougue muft fpend at leffer rate,
Than in its flanies to wrap a nation's fate,

Suffer'd to live, they are like Helots fet,
A virtuous fhame within us to beget.
For by example most we finn'd before,
And glafs-like clearness mix'd with frailty bore,
But fince reform'd by what we did amifs,
We by our fufferings learn to prize our blifs:
Like early lovers, whofe unpractis'd hearts
Were long the may-game of malicious arts,
When once they find their jealoufies were vain,
With double heat renew their fires again.
'Twas this produc'd the joy that hurry'd o'er
Such fwarnis of English to the neighbouring fhore,
To fetch that prize, by which Batavia made
So rich amends for our impoverish'd trade.
Oh had you feen from Schevelin's barren fhore,
(Crowded with troops, and barren now no more,)
Afflicted Holland to his farewell bring
True, forrow, Holland to regret a king!
While waiting him his royal fleet did ride,
And willing winds to their lower'd fails deny'd.
The wavering ftreamers, flags, and fandards out,
The merry feamen's rude but chearful fhout;
And laft the cannons voice that fhook the fkies,)
And, as it fares in sudden ecftafies,
At once bereft us both of ears and eyes.
The Nafeby, now no longer England's fhame,
But better to be loft in Charles's name,
(Like fome unequal bride in nobler fheets)
Receives her lord: the joyful London meets
The princely York, himself alone a freight;
The Swift-fure groans beneath great Gloster's
weight:

Secure as when the halcyon breeds, with thefe,
He that was born to drown might crofs the feas,
Heaven could not own a Providence, and take
The wealth three nations ventur'd at a flake.
The fame indulgence Charles's voyage blefs'd,
Which in his right had miracles confefs'd.
The winds that never moderation knew,
Afraid to blow too much, too faintly blew;
Or, out of breath with joy, could not enlarge
Their ftraighten'd lungs, or confcious of their
The British Amphytrite, smooth and clear, [charge,
In richer azure never did appear;

Proud her returning prince to entertain
With the fubmitted fafces of the main.

AND welcome now, great monarch, to your own; Behold th' approaching clifts of Albion : It is no longer motion cheats your view, As you meet it, the land approacheth you. The land returns, and, in the white it wears, The marks of penitence and forrow bears. But you, whofe goodness your descent doth fhew, Your heavenly parentage and earthly too; By that fame miildness, which your father's crown Before did ravifh, fhall fecure your own. Not tied to rules of policy, you find Revenge lefs fweet than a forgiving mind. Thus, when th' Almighty would to Mofes give A fight of all he could behold and live; A voice before his entry did proclaim Long-fuffering, goodnefs, mercy, in his name. Your power to justice doth fubmit your caufe, Your goodness only is above the laws;

4

Whafe rigid letter, while pronounc'd by you,
Is fofter made. So winds that tempefts brew,
When through Arabian groves they take their
flight,

Made wanton with rich odours, lofe their spite.
And as those lees, that troubled it, refine
The agitated foul of generous wine:
So tears of joy, for your returning, fpilt;
Work out, and expiate our former guilt.
Methinks I fee those crouds on Dover's strand,
Who, in their hafte to welcome you to land,
Chok'd up the beach with their still-growing store,
And made a wilder torrent on the shore :
While, fpurr'd with eager thoughts of paft delight,
Thofe, who had feen you, court a fecond fight;
Preventing ftill your steps, and making haste
To meet you often wherefoe'er you past.
How fhall I fpeak of that triumphant day,
When you renew'd th' expiring pomp of May!
(A month that owns an interest in your name:
You and the flowers are its peculiar claim.)
That ftar, that at your birth fhone out fo bright,
It ftain'd the duller fun's meridian light,
Did once again its potent fires renew,
Guiding our eyes to find and worship you.
And now Time's whiter feries is begun,
Which in foft centuries fhall smoothly run:
Those clouds, that overcast your morn, shall fly,
Difpell'd to fartheft corners of the fky.

Our nation with united intereft blest,
Not now content to poize, fhall fway the reft.
Abroad your empire shall no limits know,
But, like the fea, in boundless circles flow.
Your much-lov'd fleet fhall, with a wide command,
Befiege the petty monarchs of the land:
And as old Time his offspring fwallow'd down,
Our ocean in its depths all feas fhall drown.
Their wealthy trade from pirates' rapine free,
Our merchants fhall no more adventurers be:
Nor in the fartheft Eaft thofe dangers fear,
Which humble Holland must diffemble here.
Spain to your gift alone her Indies owes;
For what the powerful takes not he bestows;
And France, that did an exile's prefence fear,
May justly apprehend you ftill too near.
At home the hateful names of parties cease,
And factious fouls are wearied into peace.
The difcontented now are only they,
Whofe crimes before did your juft caufe betray:
Of those your edicts fome reclaim from fin,
But most your life and bleft example win.
Oh happy prince, whom heaven hath taught the
By paying vows to have more vows to pay!
Oh happy age! Oh times like those alone,
By fate referv'd for great Augustus' throne!
When the joint growth of arms and arts foreshew
The world a monarch, and that monarch you.

[way

Is that wild deluge where the world was drown'd,
When life and fin one common tomb had found,
The first small profpect of a rifing hill
With various notes of joy the ark did fill:
Yet when that flood in its own depths was
drown'd,

It left behind it false and slippery ground;
And the more folemn pomp was ftill deferr'd,
Till new-born nature in fresh looks appear'd.
Thus, royal fir, to see you landed here,
Was caufe enough of triumph for a year:
Nor would your care thofe glorious joys repeat,
Till they at once might be fecure and great:

MY LORD,

WEILE flattering crouds officiously appear
To give themselves, not you, an happy year;
And by the greatness of their prelents prove
How much they hope, but not how well they love;
The Muses, who your early courtship boast,
Though now your flames are with their beauty loft,
Yet watch their time, that, if you have forgot
They were your miftreffes, the world may not:
Decay'd by time and wars, they only prove
Their former beauty by your former love;
And now prefent, as ancient ladies do,
That courted long, at length are forc'd to woo.
For fill they lock on you with fuch kind eyes,
As thofe that fee the church's fovereign rife;
From their own order chofe, in whole high state,
They think themfelves the fecond choice of fate.
When our great monarch into exile went,
Wit and religion fuffer'd banishment.

Taus once, when Troy was wrap'd in fire and ímoke,

The helpless gods their burning fhrines forfook;
They with the vanquifh'd prince and party go,
And leave their temples empty to the foe.
At kngth the Mufcs ftand, restor❜d again
To that great charge which nature did ordain;
And their lov'd Druids feem reviv'd by fate,
While you difpenfe the laws, and guide the state.
The nation's foul, our monarch, does difpenfe,
Through you, to us, his vital influence;
You are the channel, where those spirits flow,
And work them higher, as to us they go.
loopen profpect nothing bounds our eye,
Until the earth feems join'd unto the sky:
So in this hemifphere our utmost view
Is only bounded by our king and you;
Our fight is limited where you are join'd,
And beyond that no farther heaven can find.
So well your virtues do with his agree,
That, though your orbs of different greatness be,
Yet both are for cach other's ufe difpos'd,
His to inclofe, and yours to be inclos'd.

When difincumber'd from these arms she wore.
Heaven would our royal master fhould exceed
Moft in that virtue, which we most did need;
And his mild father (who too late did find
All mercy vain but what with pwer was join'd)
His fatal goodness left to fitter times,

Not to increase, but to absolve our crimes :
But when the heir of this vaft treasure knew
How large a legacy was left to you

(Too great for any object to retain),
He wifely ty'd it to the crown again :

Yet, paffing through your hands, it gathers more, As ftreams, through mines, bear tincture of their While empiric politicians ufe deceit,

[ore,

Hide what they give, and cure but by a cheat;
You boldly fhew that skill which they pretend,
And work by means as noble as your end:
Which should you veil, we might unwind the clue,
As men do nature, till we came to you.
And as the Indies were not found, before
Thofe rich perfumes, which, from the happy fhore,
The winds upon their balmy wings convey'd,
Whofe guilty fweetnefs first their world betray'd;
So by your counfels we are brought to view
A rich and undifcover'd world in you.
By you our monarch does that fame affure,
Which kings must have, or cannot live fecure