to light thee into bed to me Yet could not shine until they were inspir'd By the same flames by which my heart was fir'd Come then lye down do thou withdraw thy light They 'l be to please us a perpetual night Sol shall be Cupid blind and thou his mother And as we 've marr'd one Sun we 'l get another XXXI A New-years-gift THe season now requires a Man should send Some worthy present to his worthier Friend And I though poor in purse do wear a heart That is ambitious to perform a part In celebration of this new-born day And having nothing to present I 'll pray This year may be to me as well as you So much more blest then t'other as more new And in it so much happiness abound To turn us all to good yet not turn round And may the Sun that now begins t' appear I' th Horizon to usher in the year Melt all those fatuous Vapours whose false light Purblinds the World and leads them from the right And may our Sol like that rise once again Mounted triumphant in a prosperous raign May all those Phâ—tons that spite o' th crown Would guide his Chariot tumble head-long down So shall the Land with happiness be crown'd When men turn right and only years turn round XXXII On the Queens going beyond Seâ— WHen on the watry World our glorious Queen Gan to be toss'd as on the land sh ' had been The joyful waters did begin t' aspire And would trans-element themselves to fire And ever since it has been hard to swear Whether the Earth or Water highest were The late scorn'd Sea will now it self prefer Bearing the best that earth could boast of Her When first she lanch'd th' ambitious â—aves no more Would kiss the lips of their oft-washed shore But with united motion all did rise To bear the ship that her to kiss the skies The ship like Noah's ark did float about And kept the waters that would enter out For were the world redrown'd what good has been In it in her Epitomiz'd is seen The sturdy billows if they did arise Were check'd by th' power of her Majestick eyes When ever any to rebel appears For grief it did dissolve it self to tears The moving compass had forgot to stir Instead o' th North-pole pointed still at her At which the Pilot wondering he spies Two North-poles culminant at once her eyes No marvel then the compass pointed thither For her magnetick soul draws all things with her The Ocean scorn'd Neptune's tridentine sway And would no more a King but Queen obey Nay Neptune thought she had a Venus been Sprung from the frothy Sea to be his Queen And whispering Zephyrus if he did stir 'T was not to blow but to suck breath from her The Mariners when e'r she breathed thought That precious Amber 'bout the ship did float Widdow Arabia did begin to grieve To see a Phaenix on the waters live The Semi-lunar Dolphin having seen Her face would straight salute her as the Queen The amorous Syrens did altogether throng Hoping t' entice her to them by a song Her brow as though command were written there Did more sway them then all their voyces her The little fishes met and did rejoyce Dancing to th' musick of the Syrens voyce All in their several postures strove t' express How much her presence would their mansions bless All praying her to stay but all in vain At length though loth they landed her again The shoar's a Paradise where she was driven And but her Charles lack'd her it had been Heaven XXXIII Upon his Mare stoln by a Trooper In 1644. WHy let her go I 'll vex my self no more Lest my heart break as did my stable door 'T was but a Mare if she be gone she 's gone 'T is not a Mare that I do stand upon Now by this Cross I am so temperate grown I 'll bridle nature since my mare is gone I have a little learning and less wit That wealth is sure no thief can pilfer it Riches they say have wings my Mare had so For though she had legs yet she could hardly go But thieves and fate have such a strong command To make those go which have no feet to stand She was well skill'd in writing Elegies And every mile writes Here my Rider lies Now since I 've ne'r a beast to ride upon Wou'd I might never go my verse shall run I 'll mount on Pegasus for he 's so poor From thief or true-man one may ride secure I would not rack invention for a curse To plague the Thief for fear I make him worse I would not have him hang'd for that would be Sufficient for the law but not for me In charity I wish him no more pain But to restore me home my Mare again And ' cause I would not have good customes alter I wish who has the Mare may have the Halter XXXIV Upon riding on a tyred Horse 'T Was hot and our Olympick Charioter Limbeck'd the body of the Traveller Which to prevent I like the Sun did go He was on horse back I on horse-back too So on we go to view the desolation Of that half-plague to our distressed Nation But my Horse was so superstitious grown He would fall down and worship every stone Nay he in reverence to each holy place Was often seen to fall upon his face And had I been inclin'd to Popishness I needed have no other cross but this Within a mile or two without command Do what I could this Jade would make a stand I prais'd him thinking glory were a spur To prick him on all would not make him stir All worldly things do post away we know But yet my Horse would neither run nor go What everlasting Creature should this be That all things are less permanent then he So long I kick'd the people did suppose The arm-less man had beat a drum with 's toes But though a march or an alar'm I beat The sensless Horse took all for a retreat The peoples jeers mov'd me to no remorse No more then all my kicks did move my Horse Had Phaetons horses been as mine is They Needed no reyns they 'ld never run away I wish'd for old Copernicus to prove That while we both stood still the Earth would move Oh for an Earthquake that the hills might meet To bring us home though we mov'd not our feet All would not do I was constrain'd to be The bringer up of a Foot Company But now in what a woful case were I If like our Troopers I were put to flie I wish all cowards if that be too much Half of our Hosemen which I 'll swear are such In the next fight when they begin to flee They may be plagu'd with a tyr'd Horse like me XXXV To his Friend I. B. THou thinkst that I to thee am fully known Yet thou 'lt not think how powerful I am grown I can work miracles and when I do Think on thy worth
is true but how If I know more then Socrates did know He knew one thing that he did nothing know I know two things that I know nought nor thou XXIII On Time OUr joyful years do pass too soon away A minutes grief seems an eternal day XXIV On a blind and lame Beggar HOw happily fate hath together joyn'd Two feeble men one lame and t' other blindâ— The blind Man bears the lame the lame supplies By his direction t' other's want of eyes See what the iron power of need can do It makes the blind to see the lame to go XXV On a Spartan Lady A Spartan Lady bravely stew her son Because she saw him from the battail run Thou canst not be quoth she a Spartan known Unless thy valiant mind declare thee one XXVI On Philip of Macedon JOve shut the gates of heav'n for Philip sayes He 'l enter it since earth and sea obeys His powerful scepter there is left no room On earth for him he must to heaven come XXVII The Answer I Will not though I may shut heaven gates Nor do I care for Philip or his threats If Earth and Sea his scepter do obey The way to Heaven 's too narrow Hell 's his way XXVIII Frugality USe thy Estate as if thou 'ldst dye to day Yet spare thy Estate as if thou 'ldst live for ay He 's truly wise who whe'r he spend or spare Observes the mean and does extreams forbear XXIX On two Wives I Blame him not who having one wife had Another seeks the last was good or bad If good he hopes there are of such good store If bad he hopes he shall haue such no more XXX On a Murtherer A Flying Murtherer lay beneath a wall That was all ruinous and like to fall An Angel to him did in 's sleep appear Bad him be gone and lodge some other where No sooner gone but down the wall straight fell Then he thanks God that he escap'd so well The Angel said Dost think I like thy deed Because from this destruction I thee freed Sins of this nature never scape my curse Thou' rt saved from this death to meet a worse XXXI On a Fisherman A Fisher while he angled in a brook A dead mans skull by chance hung on his hook The pious man in pity did it take To bury it a Grave with 's hand did make And as he digg'd found gold Thus to good men Good turns with good turns are repay'd agen XXXII On a burnt Ship UNhappy Ship that must by flames expire And having scap'd by waters fall by fire The Step-dame Sea hath safely landed Thee Thy mother Earth's more treacherous then she XXXIII Aliter I That ere while of waters was afraid For lack of waters am by fire destroy'd You waves whom late I curst I now implore Then I 'd too much and now I long for more XXXIV On a Covetous Man THou that art counted rich I count thee poor Use only shews our wealth we have no more Then what we use what we keep for our heirs We cannot say 't is our goods for 't is theirs XXXV On Hermocrates HErmocrates made 's will when sickness came And made himself Exec'tor of the same Then he began to count how much 't would cost To th' Doctor and himself for the health he 'd lost But when he saw to how much it did come He 'ld rather dye then give so great a sum So to keep 's wealth and to save charges dies His Heirs do mourn in Sack and braveries XXXVI On a poor and sick Man WHen age and sickness did upon me seise Of age none could of want none would me ease With palsy'd limbs I to my grave did go And there did end my want and sickness too The lawes of fate preposterously were plac'd I found my grave at first my death at last XXXVII On a Hare A Hare unsafe by land leap'd into th' main Flying land-dogs was by a sea-dog slain Poor worm flies she to Earth to Sea to Skie Each hath a dog and she by dogs must dye XXXVIII On Balaams Asse THe Prophet Balaam wondred heretofore An Asse could speak and now there 's none speak more XXXIX Upon Democritus and Heraclitus WEep Heraclitus it fits the age where in Nothing but filth nothing but sorrow's seen And laugh Democritus laugh while thou list Nothing but folly nought but vain thou seest This alwaies weeps that still remains in gladness Yet both endure one labour both on sadness Now need requires since all the World is mad A thousand laughing and a thousand sad 'T is time the World turn'd madness is so sore T' Anticera the grass to Hellebore XL. Out of Catullus MY Mistress saith she 'll marry none but me Though Jove himself should force her unto it But Womens words unto their lovers be So firm they may in wind or waves be writ XLI On an Astronomer that tryed by rules of Art to find whether he were a Cuckold STar-gazing fool thou from the signs would'st see And Planets face what thy wives dealings be She does her works below where Sun ne'r pries And though she 's light she mounts not to the skies ' Cause she 's kept down by men if in the sphear Thou Venus see thou think'st thy wife is there And if the Bull or Aries thou dost see Thou think'st they are reflections of thee Fool keep at home when thou abroad dost go In imitation her legs do so too And when thou gazest in the skies to know Her works she does even what she please below XLII On Geneva's Arms. GEneva bears the Eagle and the Key The Empires this and that the Papacy If th' Emperour's Eagle and the Pope agen Resume his Key where is thy Empire then XLIII To a sad Widow WHile widdow'd wife for thy drown'd husband thou Dost with perpetual tears thy cheeks bedew Eterniz'd in three graves his happy shade In water twice and once in Earth is laid XLIV On a bribed Judge TWo parties had a difference and the cause Did come to be decided by the Laws The bribing Plaintiff did the Judge present With a new Coach T'other with same intent Gives him two Horses each with like design To make the Judge to his own side incline The cause being try'd the Plantiffs overthrown O Coach quoth he thou art the wrong way gone The Judge reply'd It cannot but be so For where his Horses draw your Coach must go XLV To a jealous Husband IN vain thou shutt'st thy doors by day in vain Windows by night thy wifes lust to refrain For if a Woman only chaste will be In watch and ward she has no chastity XLVI On proud Rome SHut up ye Gods the gates of Heaven above And do thou keep thy heavenly Castle Jove Now sea and Land are subject unto Rome Only to Heaven they 've yet a path to come XLVII Against Mourning MEn justly prayse the Thracians who do mourn When children from their mothers womb are born But dead they think
for neither Be we round be we square We are happier than they 're Whose dignity works their ruin He that well the bowl rears Can baffle his cares And a fig for death or undoing SONG V. The Trâ—oper 1. COme come let us drink 'T is in vain to think Like fools on grief or sadness Let our money fly And our sorrows die All worldly care is madness But Sack and good cheer Will in spite of our fear Inspire our souls with gladness 2. Let the greedy clowns That do live like hounds That know neither bound nor measure Lament each loss For their wealth is their cross Whose delight is in their treasure But we that have none Will usetheirs as our own And spend it at our pleasure 3. Troul about the bowl The delight of my soul And to my hand commend it A fig for chink 'T was made to buy drink Before that we go we 'l end it When we 've spent our store The land will yield us more And jovially we will spend it SONG VI. The Good-fellow 1. STay stay shut the gate T' other quart faith it is not so late As you 're thinking Those Stars which you see In this hemisphere be But the studs in your cheeks by your drinking The Sun is gone to tipple all night in the sea boyes Tomorrow he 'l blush that he 's paler then we boyes Drink wine give him water 't is sack makes us the boyes 2. Fill fill up the glass To the next merry Lad let it pass Come away w'it Come set foot to foot And but give your minds to 't 'T is heretical six that doth slay wit No helicon like to the juice of the Vine is For Phaebus had never had wit or diviness Had his face not been bow-dy'd as thine his and mine is 3. Drink drink off your bowls We 'l enrich both our heads and our souls With Canary A carbuncled face Saves a tedious race For the Indies about us we carry Then hang up good faces we 'l drink till our noses Give freedome to speak what our fancy disposes Beneath whose protection is under the Roses 4. This this must go round Off your hats till that the pavement be crown'd With your beavers A red-coated face Frights a Sergeant at mace And the Constable trembles to shivers In state march our faces like those of the Quâ—rum When the Wenches fall down the vulgar adore 'um And our noses like Link-boyes run shining before ' um An Addition by M. C. Esquire 5. Call call honest Will Hang a long and tedious bill It disgraces When our Rubies appear We justly may swear That the reckoning is true by our faces Let the Bar-boy go sleep the drawers leave roaring Our looks wil account without them had we more in When each pimple that rises will save a quart scoring SONG VII The Mock-Song by T. J. 1. HOld hold quaffe no more But restore If you can what you 've lost by your drinking Three Kingdoms and Crowns With their Cities and Towns While the King and his progeny's sinking The studs in your cheeks have obscur'd his star boyes Your drinking mischarriages in the late war boyes Have brought his prerogative now to the bar boyes 2. Throw throw down the glass He 's an Ass That extracts all his worth from Canâ—ry That valour will shrink That 's only good in drink 'T was the cup made the camp to miscarry You thought in the world there 's no power could tame ye You tippled and whor'd till the foe overcame ye Gods nigs and ne'r stir Sir has vanquish'd God damm me 3. Fly fly from the Coast Or you 're lost And the water will run where the drink went From hence you must slink If you have no chink 'T is the course of the royal Delinquent You love to see Beer-bowls turn'd over the thumb well well You like three fair Gamesters four Dice a Drum But you 'd as lief see the Devil as Fairfax or Cromwel 4. Drink drink not the round You 'l be drown'd In the source of your sack and your sonnets Try once more your fate For the King against the State And go barter your beavers for bennets You see how they 're charm'd by the Kingdoms inchanters And therefore pack hence to Virginia for planters For an Act and two Redcoats will rout all the ranters SONG VIII The Answer 1. STay stay prate no more Lest thy brain like thy purse run ' th score Though thou strain'st it Those are Traytors in grain That of sack do complain And rail by 'ts own power against it Those Kingdoms and Crowns which your poetry pities Are faln by the pride and hypocrisie of Cities And not by those brains that love sack good dities The K. and his progeny had kept 'um from sinking Had they had no worse foes then the Lads that love drinking We that tipple ha' no leisure for plotting or thinking 2. He he is an Asse That doth throw down himself with a glass Of Canary He that 's quiet will think Much the better of drink ' Cause the cups made the camp to miscarry you lie You whore though we tipple and there my friend Your sports did determine in the month before July There 's less fraud in plain dam me then your sly by my truly 'T is Sack makes our blouds both the purer warmer We need not your priest or the feminine charmer For a bowl of Canary's a whole suite of armour 3. Hold hold not so fast Tipple on for there is no such hast To be going We drowning may fear But your end will be there Where there is neither swiming nor rowing We were Gamesters alike and our stakes were both down boyes But Fortune did favour you being her own boyes And who would not venture a cast for a crown boyes Since we wear the right colours he the worst of our foes is That goes to traduce us and fondly supposes That Cromwel is an enemy to Sack and red noses 4. Then then quaffe it round No deceit in a brimmer is found Here 's no swearing Beer and Ale makes you prate Of the Kirk and the State Wanting other discourse worth the hearing This strumpets your Muses to ballad or flatter Or rail and your betters with froth to bespaâ—ter And your talk 's all diurnals and Gunpowder matter But we while old Sack does divinely inspire us Are active to do what our Rulers require us And attempt such exploits as the world shall admire us SONG IX The Levellers Rant Written in 1648. TO the Hall to the hall For justice we call On the King and his pow'rful adherents friends Who still have endeavoured but we work their ends 'T is we will pull down what e're is above us And make them to fear us that never did love us We 'l level the proud and make every degree To our Royalty bow the knee 'T is no less then treason ' Gainst freedom and Reason For our brethren to be higher
inrich our selves and state By keeping the wicked under We must preserve Mecannicks now To Lecturize and pray By them the Gospel is advanc'd The clean contrary way And though the King be much misled By that malignant crew He 'l find us honest and at last Give all of us our due For we do wisely plot and plot Rebellion to destroy He sees we stand for peace and truth The clean contrary way The publick faith shall save our souls And good out-works together And ships shall save our lives that stay Only for wind and weather But when our faith and works fall down And all our hopes decay Our Acts will bear us up to heaven The clean contrary way X. Written in 1648. COme let us be merry Drink Claret and Sherry And cast away care and sorrow He 's a fool that takes thought for to morrow Why should we be droopers To save it for Troopers Let 's spend our own And when all is gone That they can have none Then the Roundheads and Cavies agree 2. Then fall to your drinking And leave of this shrinking Let Square-heads and Round-heads go quarrel We have no other foe but the barrel These cares and disasters Shall ne'r be our Masters English and Scot Doth both love a pot Though they say they do not Here the Roundheads and Cavies agree 3. A man that is armed With liquor is charmed And proof against strength and cunning He scorns the base humour of running Our â—rains are the quicker When season'd with liquor Let 's drink and sing Here 's a health to our King And I wish in this thing Both the Roundheads and Cavies agree 4. A pox of this fighting I take no delighting In killing of men and plunder A Gun affrights me like a thunder If we can Live quiet With good drink and diet We wont come nigh Where the bullets do fly In fearing to die Both the Roundheads and Cavies agree 5. Twixt Square-head and Round-head The Land is confounded They care not for fight or battle But to plunder our goods and cattle When ere they come to us Their chiefest hate Is at our Estate And in sharing of that Both the Roundheads and Cavies agree 6. In swearing and lying In cowardly flying In whering in cheating in stealing They agree in all damnable dealing He 's a fool and a widgeon That thinks they 've Religion For Law and right Are o're rul'd by might But when they should fight Then the Roundheads and Cavies agree 7. Then while we have treasure Let 's spare for no pleasure He 's a fool that has wealth and won't spend it But keeps it for Troopers to end it When we 've nothing to leave 'um Then we shall deceive 'um If all would be Of such humours as we We should suddenly see Both the Roundheads and Cavies agree XI The Scots Curanto Written in 1645. COme come away to the English wars A fig for our Hills and Valleys 'T was we did begin and will lengthen their jarrs We 'l gain by their loss and follyes Let the Nations By invasions Break through our barrs They can get little good by their salleys 2. Though Irish and English entred be The State is become our Debtor Let them have our Land if their own may be free And the Scot will at length be a getter If they crave it Let them have it What care we We would fain change our Land for a better 3. Long have we longed for the English Land But we 're hindred still by disasters But now is their time when they can't withstand But are their own Countreys wasters If we venter We may enter By command And at last we shall grow to be Masters 4. When at the first we began to rebel Though they did not before regard us How the name of a Scot did the English quell Which formerly have out-dar'd us For our coming And returning They pay'd us well And royally did reward us 5. The better to bring our ends about We must plead for a Reformation And tickle the minds of the giddy-brain'd rout With the hopes of an innovation They will love us And approve us Without doubt If we bring in an alteration 6. Down with the Bishops and their train The Surplice and Common-prayers Then will we not have a King remain But we 'l be the Realms surveyers So by little And a little We shall gain All the Kingdom without gain-sayers 7. And when at the last we have conquer'd the King And beaten away the Caveliers The Parliament next must the same ditty sing And thus we will set the Realm by the ears By their jarring And their warring We will bring Their estates to be ours which they think to be theirs 8. And thus when among us the Kingdom is shar'd And the people are all made beggars like we A Scot will be as good as an English Leard O! what an unity this will be As we gain it We 'l retain it By the sweard And the English shall say bonny blew cap for me XII Written in 1643. THough Oxford be yielded Reading be taken I 'll put in for quarter at thy Maiden-head There while I 'm insconsed my Standards unshaken Lie thou in my arms and I in thy bed Let the young zâ—lots march with their wenches Mounting their tools to edifie trenches While thou and I do make it our pleasure To dig in thy Mine for the purest Treasure Where no body else shall plunder but I. And when we together in battail do joyn We scorn to wear arms but what are our own Strike thou at my body and I 'll thrust at thine By nakedness best the truth is made known Cannons may roar and bullets keep flying While we are in Battail we never fear dying Isaac and 's wenches are busie a digging But all our delight is in japping and jigging And no body else shall plunder but I. And when at the last our bodies are weary We 'l straight to the Taverns our strength to recruit Where when we 've refresht our hearts with Canary We shall be the fitter again to go to 't We 'll tipple and drink untill we do stagger For then is the time for Souldiers to swagger Thus night and day we 'l thump it and knock it And when we 've no money then look to your pocket For no body else shall plunder but I. XIII A New Ballad 1. A Ballad a Ballad a new one and true And such are seldom seen He that wont write Ballads and sing 'um too Has neither Wit nor Spleen For a man may be furnished with so much matter That he need not lie or rail or flatter 'T will run from his tongue as easie as water And as swiftly though not so clean 2. To see how the times are twirled about Would make a dog laugh 't is true But to see those turn with 'um that had the Rumpgout Would make a cat to spew Those Knaves that have lived upon sequestration And sucked the bloud of