POEMS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS Being the Result of Idle HOURS To please the Desire of some FRIENDS Written by J. T. Esq A Jove Principium LONDON Printed in the Year MDCC TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE Sir ROBERT SOVTHWELL The AUTHOR wisheth all Present and Future Happyness SIR THE manifold undeserved Favours I have received from your Hands being altogether a Stranger to you have laid an eternal Obligation on me And I being uncapable of making any return of Gratitude at so great a Distance besides the acknowledgement of Your Courtesies I have made bold to present you with the Perusul of a few Essays of a dull Fancy and my idle Hours The Subjects treated on tho' not handled with that Judgment and Fancy that an abler Pen would have done however some of them may serve to intimate that true Office of a Friend which is to mind the eternal good of his Friend Which unquestionably Sir is the utmost bent of Your Thoughts However I do hope Sir you will set a good Construction on this presumption of Mine and axcept of these as a faint Acknowledgment of Your unmerited Favours from him who will ever remain SIR Your Real and Faithful Friend and Servant I. T. This Book of Poems lent to J. W and return'd with these following Lines GO Learned Muse go back to him again Whose Verse is Witty Grave Jacose and plain If I could Feast thee with becoming Chear Thou should'st be welcome and stay longer here But tell thy Master tho' I cannot send The like to him yet I can his commend Thou art an Eden grac'd with many a Bower A Bee extracting Honey from each Flower Arm'd with a Sting yet careful to offend None but the Atheist who is no Man's Friend Whom yet thou dost not take delight to Wound But only search his Sore to make him Sound Brisk as a Rural Nymph and all as Fair In desent Garbs thy Trops and Figures are In thee the Graces naked I espy But nought offensive to a Virgins Eye Nought like the Geer our mincing Females show In the Belcony of their staring Brow But what all Love and Covet Tooth and Nail Like a fair Beauty cover'd with a Veil Obscenity if I the Truth can hit Is but the Flyblow of a rotten Wit The Foreskin of a Fancy rude and base To its own Shame cast in the Readers Face The Inwards of a Pockyfied Thought Vp thro' the Mouth by Salivation brought Civility inverted and the A se Of Poesie turned up in leprous Verse To such vile Stuff their Muse who prostitute Are Runagado's to their own repute But thy Euterpe taketh care to hush What e're might tempt a modest Face to blush Dear Sir keep on as nobly you begin To hate low Vice and lash unmanly Sin How precious is good Husbandry of Time When Vertue is the Poets Anti-Rhyme When he delights to sow a gallant Strife Between his Pen and emulating Life I 'le be your Pupil Sir and strive to Chuse Each blessed Vertue praised by your Muse If she commend the Meek and Gall-less Dove I 'le fly to meet her on the Wings of Love If pure Affections in a body Chast To clasp her Beauty I will run as fast If Justice Mercy Temperance my Soul With hers Cemented shall compose one Whole How blessed is that Musick when two Parts Strike Concord in an Vnison of Hearts 'T is Heaven below to do like those above And Hell on Earth in foretast not to Love Truth Sung in Anthems is the Angels Food And to forget ill turns a God-like Good But why does my dry Muse thus toyl in vain This Subject better suites your richer Strain Yet when we meet within those blest abodes Which Poets stile the Palace of their Gods When the great Judge shall come to punish that Which guilty Felix hearing trembled at 'T will add one Gem the more to your bright Crown If any Grace you teach be made my own To me no less Addition will accrew If 1 in ought that 's brave can pleasure you When each to others Soul is a Divine Both like the Stars in Heaven clear will Shine POEMS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS c. The Character of a Theist OF Mankinds several Inquisitions Divines Statists or Polititians Lawyers Astronomers Physicians He 's the Philosopher that truly can Find the Original and End of Man When he doth Causes most truly Consult And searcheth into Mistery's most occult Shall find that this is the truest result That some first Cause of all Things there must be And who but the great God alone is he Primary supernatural Being Who did make All-Hearing and All-Seeing And gave to All their created Being With Intellects suitable to his own That they his Omnipotence all should own And dread his Power by whom the Angels fell From their exalted State as low as Hell And by their Example learn to Control Th' inordinate Appetites of the Soul And strive to practice that pure Law Divine Which blessed God on Mount Sinai made shine With that most pure and perfect Law of Love Which that spotless Gall-less glorious Dove Reveal'd on Earth as 't is in Hea'vn above He scorns for this World's Profit or Pleasure To quit so Inestimable a Treasure For being truly written in his Heart From it he never will swerve or depart Till he comes to that happy blessed Place Where ravishing Glory shall swallow up Grace Thus the Character of the Theist ends The happiest of Mortals best of Friends The Character of an Atheist OF all Dissemblers Villaines and of Rogues That ever wore Goloshoos Boots or Brogues Th' Endellion Devil bears the mark alone The greatest Villain made of Flesh and Bone Malice and Envy and all Sin beside Most of all Lust Covetousness and Pride Do still perplex and agitate his Soul Which empty is of what should it controul Honesty Friendship and Marriage Ties Are look'd on by him but as Fooleries Fit only to hinder all Native Liberties Who is always Plotting Deceit and Guile When he intends to kill begins to Smile The truest Embleme of the Crocodile This cunning Serpent so like the Devil Designing nought but Mischief and Evil When fairest shoes he makes and most pretence 'T is but on purpose to delude the Sense Which when he'th seduc'd and caus'd to believe He designs more Mischief than Satan did to Eve O mighty Atheist with thee there 's no dispute Deceit 's thy Essence Cunning thy Attribute Interest is thy God if thou hast any But I do fear that is but one of many For Heathens use to Worship more than one they say But thou hast not learn'd to any how to pray To Decypher thee rightly if that I cou'd A White Witch full of Evil yet thought good For when thou 'st a mind to do any Evil Thou appearest an Angel as did the Devil Whose deluding Subtilties Frauds and Deceits Thou imitatests so well with all his Cheats Thou lackest nothing but his Badge the Teats But thy Description all Verse doth
clear Intellectual Mind In Virtue having out-run his ancient Race In Heaven he hath got an everlasting Place On W. S. of M. Esq HAD I the Poets Rapture or their Rage I 'de sing the Praises of venerable Age. Where Reason Justice Piety did dwell Whose End and Aim was always to do well Who being guided by Divine fore-sight He did always lead his own Life aright Free from Error or Romish Superstition He erected in himself an Inquisition And Temperance was his chief Physician Blind Cant and Phanaticism he did hate And was a chief Pillor in Church and State Publick Imploys he had a great many And did discharge them all as well as any Judge he was of the whole Admiralty Likewise Vice-Warden of the Stannery Deputy-Lieutenant and Colonel Both which he discharged exceeding well He was true Conservator of the Peace From Business and Duty he never did cease His Religion was true and Authentick And as ancient as the Atlantick And his Family was great and Antique His Praises to write what Pen is able Whose great Virtues were unimitable And all his whole Life most admirable But now having bidden his Friends good night God hath given him everlasting Light On the B. of E. HAIL all renowned and blest Patriot Who addest lustre to them thee begot Whose Charity extends o'er the large Globe And giveth glory to the Lords bright Robe Whose Virtues like thy capatious mind Are free and liberal unconfin'd Which have preferved thee when in Tower Gainst Arbitrary and lawless Power Thy Fame then the Cannons much louder roars It reacheth from Native to Foreign Shoars It cannot be heghtned by slight Poetry Nor by the Title of Lord Trelawny Which hath already reach'd the Sky Where thy great love and friendship doth extend Like our greatest and universal Friend Who will Crown the Mitre at this Worlds end On Sir R. S. FRiendships darling loves delight Virtues choice Of all thou hast the universal Voice Others friendships are to their Friends confin'd Thine's capatious as thy boundless Mind And is extended to all humane kind All the four great Virtues Cardinal In thy inlarged Soul are Centrical Thy Character most truly to compleat Thou' rt the extract of all that 's Good and Great On the E. of R. SAddle bold Pegasus and all his Race My Muse may find out Honours resting Place And now she hath fetch'd her full career And hath now travailed both far and near She'th found it at home in a peerless Peer Honour Love Friendship Affability With the true extract of Gentility Whose Vertues are far more honourable Than Or or Argent Vert. Gules or Sable I 'm sure my Muse delights not in Fable Whose Religion in reality Which will sure when he leaves Mortality Cause him in Heaven above for to dwell My tardy Muse endeavours to bode well My resty Pegasus begins to bound And faine would cast my Muse on Cornish ground And having thrown of both bridle and dock Would very willingly lye nigh the Rock On N. B. DULL slumbring Muse awake thy self upraise And sing the pleasures of thy youthful Days When at Oxford where the blest Muses ring Whence Knowledge and all Sciences do spring Where my lovely Dame and I have spent Many happy Hours to our sweet content Where we were both destined from our Birth To taste the Fruits of Paradise on Earth Innocently we did enjoy our Love Like little Children or the gall-less Dove Never were I between thy pretty Leggs Where lyes conceal'd sweet Muskadine and Eggs And where would stoop the greatest Beglerbegs Your House in Castreet History did adorn We have often perused with Mrs. Horn. Then in a Boat strewed with green Rushes We have gone to hear the warbling Thrushes Who were out done by thy melodious strains Who charmest the Academick and the Swains And all whose blood 's not child in their old Veins 'T was at the pretty pleasures of a Wake That first I did of th' happyness pertake And was more lucky than Sir Francis Drake When he new Worlds to us did discover I was so very fortunate a Lover My genious over thee will hover Till we shoot the Gulph to Heaven or Hell I never shall forget kind Madam Nell And bless my Stars and Exeter Colledge That gave me of thee the happy Knowledge On Madam B. welcome into the Country THe brave Cornish Muses Deserve no excuses For not bidding you welcome hither For inspired from above With Poetry and Love They should do it all together For your Mind so serene Like to the Queen of Spain Is free from all turbulent Passion With Verse a whole Fleet They ought you to greet Even as I do in some Fashion Your Religion is plain And runs in the old Vein And is not at all Superstitious Your Life is most devout Like to a Martyr stout And is not at all Fictitious Your Example will teach What in vain others Preach To perswade us to abstain from Sin So without any loss You 'l refine our thick Dross And give us your fined Gold for our Tin Could my slow Muse fly And Soar to the Sky And see the beautiful Nymphs of Fame Astrea nor Celia Nor lovely Cosmelia Have not so Celestial a Name As Eliza Second best Amongst the wondrous rest Of fair and conquering Woman kind That Man that doth not see Divinity through thee Is not only dark but blind May we still you enjoy Without e're being coy Till you part from Sister and Brother And for better for worse Without any remorse You follow the steps of your Mother You 're Welcome to our Parts With all our whole Hearts And may nothing our Friendship sever Till in Heaven above With blest Peace and true Love We all meet where we shall part never On the Dasie quasi Days Eye It opens and shuts with the Sun ALtho' we lye open all the long Day And in the pleasant Sun-shine bask and play The darksome Night will come in which we must Close our pale Heads and turn to Earth and Dust On a Dasie THE Dasie the bright Queen of all the Feilds Which so much Pleasure and contentment yieds When that she doth every where bespread Her Eye pleasing beauteous Coverled Upon the which each loving longing Swain Of Cloris and Phillis doth still complain Unkind and fickle Souls who always prove Deaf to the Men that do them mostly love But to the Men sond and lovingly blind That unto them are most severe unkind Like Men in Feavers that do burn and rave And what doth injure them do mostly crave Upon such beauteous and flowry Banks There are play'd many gay youthful pranks Where some Lovers prove more tender hearted Who from their Swains are not soon parted Untill in the height of Loves fiercest rage They do get of themselves the true Image Which doth survive them in th' next Age. Then falling into sleep they forget quite The approaches of the following Night But in folded Arms together do lye Being o're
without alteration Not to be byassed by a whole Nation All just Quarrels to allow and maintain As long as any blood is left in a vein He seeks for Succour of none but God alone Who slew a thousand Men with an Asses bone On Temperance AJug and Cup of a bright Ruby Rock In a Field of Silver nothing can shock She ruleth herself with discretion Being never taken in transgression Staying our courage in unlawful things A Virtue fit for Noble-men and Kings Guiding all things in Order and Degree Qualifying the heats of thee and me Keeps alway the mean both in word and deed And hath no cause to Vomit Purge or Bleed Temperance abstaineth from things unlawful And alway is Obedient and awful Despiseth this World desireth Heaven Which to the Temperate Man is givén On the Free-School at Fowey COme all you learned Athenian Ghosts Of whom the Ancients did make their boasts Me with your Pythagorean Souls inspire That I mayn't be untuneful in your Quoire Teach me to Consecrate this happy place To every Muse and to every Grace That of your Sons may be perpetual race Let me the beauty of this Fabrick tell May true learning in it for ever dwell And may it all other Schools far excel Yet none of her Sisters will I dispraise But she should wear the Lawrel and the Bays And now I should forget my A B C Should I forget to speak in praise of thee Most Famous and truly learned Mr. Weeks Who might pass for one of the Native Greeks Who hath brought School-learning to perfection By mending her Beauty and Complection And hath made her lovers enjoy her more In three Months time than a whole year before Abreviating those pedantick Rules That make School-Boys but understanding Mules A method yet unknown to other Schools Thy patience all follies doth wink at Nil tam dificile est quod non Solertia vincat Thou canst correct without the severe rod Having of learning's rules the true method This if any doubts let him be advis'd By the Grammars thou hast epitomis'd And now all you Neighbours that dwell around That are not in Gulph of Ignorance drown'd Would you have your Children instructed well Would you have them with honest folks to dwell Foy School doth carry the largest bell On J. M. of T. Esquire TO Sing the praises of vertuous Men I want the skill of Shadwell or of Ben. But with that slender Poetry I have I 'le mind his Memory and pay his Grave His Youthful years were spent at Court Where the accomplish'd Nobles do resort Where he his swift time did not idly spend But was always most useful to his friend He did the King and his great Court adorn And Vâ—â—e and Flattery did hate and scorn Likewise that Hellish crime Rebellion And was an honour to Endellion For when vile Rebels struck off England's head All Peace and Happiness from England sled And each his Sword in 's Brothers bowells shed He then did espouse the Loyal party And was in that Cause Zealous and hearty Fighting for 's King true Liberty and Laws Nay for God and his good righteous Cause And before most famous Plimouth's great Town He purchased much Honour and Renown But when God's omnipotence destroy'd that Boar That his Vineyard had so much spoil'd and tore And brought our Good King to his home in Peace All fearful Wars and Bloodsheds then did cease Our friend return'd to his Country-Seat No way aspiring to be vainly great He spent his after time in tranquility Living decent not beyond ability He loved true Friendship and reality With good House-keeping and Hospitality He loved his Children and his dear Wife He lived in true Concord free from strife And injoyed a long and prosp'rous Life But who can avoid common destiny It being ordain'd for all once to die So we will leave our Friend in rest to lye Desiring Relations would cease to cry On J. V. of T. Esquire COme all you chiming Poets here lament My slow Muse will not ' bate you one per Cent. But doth implore and doth invoake you all To Celebrate this mournful Funeral And with your sounding Voice and Musick try To stop the Current of this mighty cry And sing out aloud for yours the trust is How equally he held the Ballance Justice And what Fortitude he shew'd in God's Cause By maintaining true Religious Laws What temperance he used in his life Th' elements of 's body were ne're in strise All actions he weigh'd and then did them choose And prudence in them all he still did use To keep ill company was very loath And it did grate his Ears to hear an Oath Virtue was not his task but his free choice For which he hath the universal voice Should I relate his Alms and house keeping I should set the Neighbourhood all a weeping His Religion soar'd to the highest pitch That our Gospel precepts do us teach For he not only loved his Friend but Foe Yet never gave any reason to be so And no Man's Charity can higher flow Should I tell all can be said of our Friend My Verse like to Writing would never end Therefore next I 'll give account of his Wives Omitting the Character of their Lives Of the first he might have reason to vaunt Being the present Bishop Trelawney's Aunt The Second was the Family of Glauvill A Woman full of Virtue free from ill Which would tempt the digression of my quill But all that I now of her shall relate She left many love Pledges to her Mate The last Woman he for his Consort chose Was Speccot Nichol's Widow of Penvose Surviving her since that he did remain A mournful Widower free from all stain Setting forth God's glory for which he was born Being fully ripe like a shock of Corn God hath gather'd him his Garner t' adorn Sent to him while living SIR I Hope you 'll take no Fancy or Conceit At this unpresidented uncompleat For I know you are so well Learned and well Bred To know you 'll live among the Immortal Dead Yet I hope you will stand it like a first Rate And anticipate your Destiny and Fate He that dyes dayly ne'er dies soon nor ' late Which I wish extended to the longest date In the mean time accept this poor slender Verse Which will want room upon your large mournful Herse On the Election at F. LOng have we in Peace and Happiness dwelt And ne'er the dismal Effects of discord felt When all our Interests were linked in one And none of us were single or alone When each our Minds revealed to other As confident as Brother to Brother Then was no difference in Elections Our Neighbours then had our Affections But now Discord hath made seperation Foreign we are as Nation to Nation I wish we would be better advised And all of us become Naturalized Laying aside all Circumvention Let the Publick Good be our pretention For which let 's have a real Intention And set an
produc'd the same On Time mispent TOO long have I my Time imployed In Pleasures which have only cloyed Which Constitution have destroyed Too long have I imployed the same To seek Applause tho' but a Name And got thereby most real blame Too long indeed my Time hath been Imploy'd in Vanity and Sin Which to redeem its time begin Assist me then Almighty Power That I to thee aloft may tower Assist me with thy mighty Spirit That I may most truly Inherit My blessed Saviours pious Merit Which will Rival me with mighty Kings Nay to transcend all earthly Things 'T will make me like to the blest Saints above So pure holy and so full of Love My Thoughts 't will to their Center raise Make me sing thy glorious Praise When there shall be no longer Days On Lifes uncertainty IN a dull melancholly Posture lying Thinking of living thinking of dying And of our slippery Minutes slying Thinking of Courts and the Grandure of Kings And of all other sublunary Things I found Man Lord of all the Creation To whom all is in subordination Was made and destined soon for to dye Considering farther the reason why I found he was ordained to live again And still his happy Being to retain In ravishing Pleasure or endless Pain Why then do we our slying time beslow In following those sading Things below Why do we not with better Husbandry Prepare for the Circle of Eternity By shaking off those weighty Clogs of Sin With ev'ry hindrance and every Ginn Then shall we shew our selves most truly wise Making Earth the Basis to mount the Skies On Happiness ALl Court Happiness yet know not where it dwells Whether in fair Palaces or homely Cells We grope in dark thinking to find it here It being by truest search found elsewhere Our Senses being Judges fallible And therefore such not juice that 's alible The young Man spends his short time and leasure To find it out in vain Sport and Pleasure And in the height of his simplicity Thinketh that the chiefest felicity The middle aged Man courts Honour and Fame Altho' it be nought but an empty Name And spends his fleeting time in getting Wealth Altho' it be sometimes by fraud and stealth By damning Soul Body and loosing Health The ag'd Man in his grave melancholly Of all these Things having seen the folly Thinks it Happiness to be counted Wise Altho' he never sought beyond the Skies Until one of his Feet be in the Grave Then cryeth out with Peter O Lord save By which we may most infallibly know Our happiness lyeth not here below The whole World when it would appear most kind Is not able to satisfie our Mind Which sheweth it in all reallity Of higher Extract than Mortality Which we must leave and all Things else below Before our full Happiness we shall know When if our Parts have been but Acted well In peaceful bliss we shall forever dwell On the Parture of a Friend WHen Friends do part it is but civil tho' They take their leave before that they do go The Poet thinks it fit to send his Muse To bear the Embassy of his excuse Whose mind is fraught with most real good will As it was yesterday so it is still And thus it doth drop from his quill Consider your time is still a slying As well as of living think on dying For of grim Death there is no defying Nor of Heaven and Hell no denying The former pleasures being so immease They infinitely exceed that of Sense The pains of t'other so intollerable That to suffer them no one is able Let those things make us to mind our duty And not to prize our Humane Beauty Which fadeth like unto the fair Flower Nay often withereth within an Hour But let us with our utmost Husbandry Prepare our selves for an Eternity It 's enough our time hath hitherto been Imploy'd in vanity and ugly Sin For which our time is little to repent Altho' the remainder were on it wholly lent Consider this while you have grace and time And think it not an empty piece of Rhyme Consider it with your utmost thinking And go not to destruction winking And learn to see the Wood from the Trees And to suck the Honey and leave the Bees So you will have Reason to bless your Friend Who wisheth you well in 'th World without end On Pleasure PLeasure the tickling Itch of those that know No greater Joys than those that are below Bewitching Cyren with whose charming Song We are enticed to our ruine along Deluding Crocodile with whose false Bears We are led into a thousand busy Snares Tho' most real Evil but seeming good Because by few Men thou art understood Being like to the Bee whose honyed thigh Carryeth a painful Sting very nigh That thou Tarantula dost sting to death And causest Men to laugh away their Breath Thou Judas like dost kiss and then betray All those thou meetest in thy cos'ning way Yet fond and foolish Man will not beware Of thy deluding Gins and cursed Snare But will be deceiv'd by thy Chimick Gold Thou fool'st him young and damnest him when old On Wisedome WIsedome the gift of blessed Jehove Which keep'st us all in unity and love By which we learn to Steer our earthly Course And following thee right find no remorse All other Things being compar'd to thee Like Atomes to the Universe they be By thee we rightly know from whence we came Who swerveth from thee never wanteth blame By thee we know we shall forever live By thee we know God's read'ness to forgive Our Sins and Trespasses tho' ne'er so great If we do not them too often repeat And weary out his good Spirit of Grace Which in our hearts would fain have resting Place 'T is by this Wisdome rightly understood we come to learn and know our greatest good God's great Mercy reveal'd to flesh and blood For when all the Race of perverse Mankind Were instead of clear Seeing made stark Blind By wicked Adams rebellious Fall By which he forfeited his Life and all His present and future Happiness and bliss Which was prepared both for him and his It pleased the great and eternal Wise To visit the Earth as well as the Skies The Sun of Righteousness on all did rise Since God show'd so great Condescention Exceeding our Sense or Apprehension Let us not frustrate his blessed Intention But learn and obey his blest command Duty to practice as well as understand Duty and Happiness being the same Altho' understood by a diverse Name For would we attain to eternal Bliss Following Duty we shall never miss The Atheist on the Tolleration NOW we have certain hope by this late Liberty All Church-Men and Church-Goverment for to defie With all their odd paraphrasing Divines Which so often do harrass us with their pert Lines And with their thund'ring Anathama's from Pulpit Oh their impertinent Divinity dull Wit Who do think for to fright us with the foolish prate Of Heaven and