That didst forsake thy throne and sphere,
To be an humble pris'ner here;
And for a perch of her soft hand
Resign the royal woods' command.
How often wouldst thou shoot heav'n's arc,
Then mount thyself into a lark;
And after our short faint eyes call,
When now a fly, now nought at all;
Then stoop so swift unto our sense,
As thou wert sent intelligence.
Free beauteous slave, thy happy feet In silver fetters vervails meet,
And trample on that noble wrist
The gods have kneel'd in vain t' have kiss'd:
But gaze not, bold deceived spy,
Too much o'th' lustre of her eye;
The sun, thou dost out-stare, alas!
Winks at the glory of her face.
Be safe then in thy velvet helm,
Her looks are calms that do o'erwhelm ;
Than the Arabian bird more blest,
Chafe in the spicery of her breast,
And loose you in her breath, a wind
Sours the delicious gales of Ind.
But now a quill from thine own wing I pluck, thy lofty fate to sing;
Whilst we behold the various fight,
With mingled pleasure and affright,
The humbler hinds do fall to pray'r,
As when an army's seen i'th' air,
And the prophetic spaniels run,
And howl thy epicedium.
The heron mounted doth appear On his own Peg'sus a lanceer,
And seems on earth, when he doth hut, A proper halberdier on foot:
Secure i'th' moor, about to sup,
The dogs have beat his quarters up.
And now he takes the open air,
Draws up his wings with tactic care;
Whilst th' expert falcon swift doth climb,
In subtle mazes serpentine;
And to advantage closely twin'd
She gets the upper sky and wind,
Where she dissembles to invade,
And lies a pol'tic ambuscade.
The hedg'd-in heron, whom the foe
Awaits above, and dogs below,
In his fortification lies,
And makes him ready for surprise;
When roused with a shrill alarm,
Was shouted from beneath, they arm.
The falcon charges at first view
With her brigade of talons; through
Whose shoots the wary heron beat,
With a well counterwheel'd retreat.
But the bold gen'ral never lost,
Hath won again her airy post;
Who wild in this affront, now fries,
Then gives a volley of her eyes.
The desp❜rate heron now contracts,
In one design all former facts;
Noble he is resolv'd to fall
His, and his en'my's funeral,
And (to be rid of her) to die
A public martyr of the sky.
When now he turns his last to wreak The palisadoes of his beak;
The raging foe impatient
Rack'd with revenge, and fury rent,
Swift as the thunderbolt he strikes,
Too sure upon the stand of pikes,
There she his naked breast doth hit
And on the case of rapiers's split.
But ev'n in her expiring pangs
The heron's pounc'd within her fangs,
And so above she stoops to rise
A trophy and a sacrifice;
Whilst her own bells in the sad fall
Ring out the double funeral.
Ah, victory! unhap’ly won,
Weeping and red is set the sun,
Whilst the whole field floats in one tear,
And all the height doth mourning wear:
Close hooded all thy kindred come
To pay their vows upon thy tomb;
The hobby and the musket too,
Do march to take their last adieu.
The lanner and the lanneret, Thy colours bear as banneret; The goshawk and her tercel rous'd, With tears attend thee as new bous'd; All these are in their dark array Led by the various herald-jay.
But thy eternal name shall live Whilst quills from ashes fame reprieve, Whilst open stands renown's wide door, And wings are left on which to soar; Doctor Robin, the prelate Pie, And the poetic swan shall die, Only to sing thy elegy.
Love made in the first Age.
In the nativity of time,
Chloris! it was not thought a crime
In direct Hebrew for to woo;
Now we make love, as all on fire,
Ring retrograde our loud desire,
And court in English backward too.
Thrice happy was that golden age, When compliment was constru'd rage, And fine words in the centre hid; When cursed no stain'd no maid's bliss, And all discourse was summ'd in yes, And nought forbad, but to forbid.
Love then unstinted, love did sip,
And cherries pluck'd fresh from the lip,
On cheeks and roses free he fed;
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