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A07556
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Londons miserie, the countryes crueltie with Gods mercie. Explained by remarkeable obseruations of each of them, during this last visitation. VVritten by Richard Milton.
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Milton, Richard.
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1625
(1625)
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STC 17939; ESTC S112778
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18,491
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41
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Londons Miserie THE Countryes Crueltie WITH GODS MERCIE Explained by remarkeable obseruations of each of them during this last Visitation VVritten by Richard Milton LONDON Printed by Nicholas Okes. 1625. To his deere and louing Vnkle Maister Richard Gough of the Citty of Hereford Gentleman GOOD SIR HAuing composed these few lines ensuing by way of obseruation of this present Visitation being an Eye-witnesse thereof Doe humbly present the same to your view If there be ought shall giue you content I haue my desire Accept my poore Labors I pray you So shall I not onely thinke it and time well spent but shall further be encouraged to imploy the same hereafter as occasion shall be offered So with my prayers to the Almighty for the health and prosperitie of you and yours I remaine till death Your Louing Kinseman Richard Milton Londons Miserie The Countreys Cruelty with Gods Mercy NO farre fetcht Story brought from Forraigne land Or such like matters doe I take in hand No loue sicke Sonnet or sweete roundelayes No Epigrams or such like pleasing toyes Nor doe I write the deedes of Martiall men That haue bin done the place time where and when This I referre vnto some other men To paint and set forth with their fluent pen Whilst I with sighing doe most sadly sing The fearefull iudgements of the Heauenly King That in his wrath by his most heauy hand Puts to amazement this most sinnefull Land A taske too hard for me whose slender skill Is farre vnfit although Gods knowes my will Be very good for matter it befits The industrious penning of more curious wits My wit is meane God knowes I vnderstand But little and for mee to take in hand This worthy worke I might presume too much To meddle with for answere vnto such Shall so oppose me this poore simple skill I here haue showne is meant by me no ill In any kind but onely for to shewe The good affection I oâ— duty owe Vnto this City where I haue my being Whose great calamities I daily seeing Makes me breake forth and with a grieued soule Her miserable state for to condole Amongst the rest should I not be vnkinde As not to shew griefe where such cause I finde In th'ighest manner to a place I loue so As none in earth more dearer surely no But in this Action wil be so farre bold Not fearing what I write shal be controld ANd first to thee Lord doe I humbly bow For pardon for our sinnes whose angry brow Still Frownes as if no mercy thou wilt haue Vpon this City but will send to Graue All the inhabitants within a little space Oh be not angry still affoord vs grace For to repent and stay thine angry hand For who thy powerfull iudgements can withstand Lord we haue sinned and haue done amisse Wherefore thine anger fiercely kindled is Vpon this City vengeance thou hast powr'd And we like sheepe to slaughter are deuour'd Our sinnes forgiue behold our watrie eyes Our grieuous grones our lamentable cryes Long haue we fighed but thou hast not heard Oft haue we prayed but thou hast not spar'd As if euen with our prayers thou wer't offended As if thy iudgements neuer would be ended Faintnesse possesseth all our vitall parts Our courage failes vs daunted are our hearts In this extremity whether shall we flye But vnto thee oh God prostrate we lye Before thy Throne of grace and with bleeding wound And sobbing sighes our miseries we sound Do we not know Lord thou didst fend thy Sonne To paie a ransome for our deedes mis-done Euen from the Heauens where thou sies aboue So deare the life of sinners thou didst loue And when by our transgression mankind all Were subiect to thy wrath fast bound and thrall And we beleeue Lord helpe our vnbeleefe For of the same thou art our stay and chiefe Prop and vpholder we beleeue I say For on so sure a ground safe build we may VVhat thou hast promisde in thy sacred Word VVhat thou hast vowed oh most gracious Lord That thou the death of sinners not desirest But rather life to them for thou requirest That of their sinnefull liues they would amend And so gaine mercie where they did offend VVith patience therefore we attend thy will Not doubting but thy words thou wilt fulfill T Is not vnknowne to many a Forraine Nation The beautie of London and the scituation The strength the wealth and multitude of men It did containe at such good time as when God was at peace with vs the Famous Sparkes Of sweete inuention and the learned Clarkes VVorthy Diuines and Phisitions store Attournes Counsellors and pen-men more I thinke then need is there the reuerend Iudges Gaue many a sentence at which ill men grudges For there the Courts of justice haue bin kept Where many a Client hath full sorely wept The cause is knowne to God what shall I say That to this City in some sort I may Express good will there 't was the liberall Arts Did chieflie flourish men of excellent parts Did there abide as being the very Spring That to their Studies sweete refresh did bring There liu'd our King also his noble Peeres To whom the Lord grant life and many yeares Of happinesse on earth fame and renowne And in the end an euerlasting Crowne Of glorie there his Subiects at commaund In multitude were like vnto the sand That on the Sea shore Sea men vse to see VVhen waues are past and waters calmed be The seuerall sorts of Trades-men and of Arts The seuerall merchandize from Forraine parts The multitude of rich and wealthy men I am not able to expresse with pen And though for foure yeares past it so fell out That many Trades-men here were in great doubt They should haue bin vndone for trading fail'd And so long time their hearts were cold and quaild Yet the late marriage of our Royall King VVe thought a setling to this Realme would bring In such a wise that now our feare was past And well was he that did hold out till last That all men so with doings should abound That worke-men for our worke would nere be found Oh God how of our hopes we are deceiued And of our long expected ioyes bereaued How thou our foolish wisdome sets at nought And euen our selues vnto destruction brought Vaine is the helpe of man also are vayne The imagination of a mortall braine Oh London London thou didst feele the Rod But neuer rightly lookt vp to thy God That strook thee with it when thou feltst the smart Euen at the first then with a grieued heart Thou of thy grieuous sinnes shouldst haue repented And so Gods angry Iudgements haue preuented This was neglected and O most vnkinde Gods former benefits imprint in minde Thou didsts not doe for assuredly Before thy wickednesse to him did cry For heauie vengeance he was wondrous kinde To thee and thou didst many fauours finde From him we are apt to forget God wot Or if we doe remember we beare not
Then did the Lord begin to lay his hand And plainly shewd he 'd giue vs vnderstand That he was angry with vs at the first Small quaintity there dy'd Death did not thirst As now it doth a dozen or a score We thought it much soone after forty more Or such like number to the ground were sent But hardly any misse of those that went Time slides away our glasse doth daily runne And God will finish what he had begunne For shortly after in the Bills are spide About a hundred of the sicknesse dyde And yet at that time I remember well There 's very few of vs could rightly tell Whether the sicknesse were the plague or no So willingly we would haue had it so The Searchers now brought into question be For that poore aged folkes they could not see Gods handy-worke t was thought that they did wrong To many people thus did we prolong Our miseries aduice was taken then Of Phisicke Doctors all held worthy men And such as for their skill did much surpasse The meaner sort they told vs that whereas Those that from vs this sicknesse did deuide Had caught a spotted feuer and so dyde THus the Almightie though he hath and can Produce strange wonders by the Arte of man Neuerthelesse when he thinkes good he will Confound the wisedome and the learned skill Of mortall Creatures and vs plainly shew He can send iudgments that they shall not know How to preuent with all their arte or skill If we rebell and not his will fulfill THE Former Searchers now are in hard case They are reprou'd some forc't to loose their place And now with cheerefull hearts we doe agree The former doubt but a mistake might bee Yet still alas the sicknesse doth increase And therefore of our feares we do not cease Those that they now appoint are bound with oath Vpon their consciences to tell the troth That neither for reward or filthy seare Or else for any fauour that they beare Vnto the persons that are so infected Should stop their iudgments now to be expected THeir charge receiu'd away now do they hie And to their businesse do they looke more nigh Daies quickly go the nights likewise full fast And very sudainly a weeke is past And now we lookt to be resolued well And who but searchers could vs betrer tell The questions askt and then they told their mind That certainly the places which they find So visited so farre as they could see No other sicknes then the plague should be The reason now of this afore-said doubt As I haue heard by experience is found out That as the plague beginneth with the yeare So do the markes thereof at first appeare Much like the spotted Feuer as time goes on And yeare vpon his backe puts age vppon The markes do alter to another hue Leauing the red and then is turn'd to blew VVE studdy now and often cast about And call to mind what heretofore fell out Vpon the Death of any Souerainge Prince Or in Successors raigne hath hapned since There 's many of vs doe remember yet It was so late we can it not forget When first King Iames came here this Crowne to sway How many by the plague were caught away And now the most of vs perswaded be That such a scknesse we againe shall see But being come vnto the month of Iune It sings to vs a sad and mournesfull tune For now we thinke the sicknesse will not cease Because we find it weekly doth increase Orders are now prescribde and best inuention That we can vse or finde out for preuention The doores of sicke are shut and Dogs be kild T is better they should goe then we be fild With noysome smells a reason some doth tell That brings the sicknesse with vs here to dwell It to auoid houses and streetes we wash And many a paile of water downe we pash Before our doores the place of those infected We warily auoyd though we respected The visited before their sicknesse came Yet now to see them would redound much blame Vnto vs all the neighbours they would scare vs And hearing it few of them would come neere vs For so to doe can we tell what may chance To vs or ours so farre for to aduance Or venture out our selues them to come neare Pray blame vs not we iustly may forbeare Thus did we feare at first but time growes on That which before we could not build vppon Trinity Terme was for that time put off Causes of suite in Law were driuen off Till longer time they that came many a mile VVith griefe returne stay heere but little while That hoped to haue seene some happy end Oâ— their long Suites now vainely doe they spend Both time and money London they forsake And many a long and wearie steppe they make Before they come vnto their wisht desire To see the smoake that issues from the fire Of their owne Chymneys and to preuent Danger of infection the Parliament That euer commonly with vs did sit Do now forbeare and thinke it farre more fit That kept it should be in some other place The City Oxford 't was that had the grace Of that assembly there they time did spend No doubtfull carefull for to make an end Of that they had in hand statutes are acted And in a booke together are compacted For publique good there let them rest a while Whilst we goe forwards in our homelie stile To tell you truely what did come to passe To moneth next following which cald Iuly was Each weeke with longing we desire to see VVhither the bills increast or lessened be But where the figures set for hundreds were Now thousands three and more there do appeare By hundreds three foure score fiue in number Due time it is for vs to leaue of slumber And generally with one voyce and accord We gin to weigh the iudgments of the Lord And seeke to him our helper and our guide That we of mercie may not be denide In this affliction call to minde our sinne VVith humble praiers and fasting we beginne That so we may appease Gods angrie hand The onely way his iudgements to withstand Wherein assuredlie we did doe well VVe knew the gracious goodnes which befell To Niniue and other Cities noe Which else had bin destroyd had't not bin so They had repented this right godly thing First was commended by our noble King Thereby he shew'd that he a Father was Vnto this Citie and what came to passe He tooke to heart alas what better loue Or friend for friendship can we further prooue Then at such times as we afflicted be That they are moou'd our miseries to see And do their best endeauors to be briefe Vse all the arte they can for our reliefe In this renowned King great commendation We must ascribe welfare and preseruation Of vs and ours was dailie in thy minde As by thy prouident care we did it finde Should we vnthankfull be it were most vild And we hereafter