Classic Poem

THE Argument .

This Duke of Suffolke, W ILLIAM , to advance
A Lady, long belov'd of him in France,
His Mistris , M ARGARET , that Duke R AYNERS Child ,
Himselfe who of Jerusalem instyl'd
The King: this P OOLE , his Darling to preferre ,
Betwixt young H ENRY , nam'd the sixt, and her ,
Concludes a Marriage; and her Syre to gaine,
Gives up the Towne of Mauns, Anjou, and Main,
To R AYNER for her: for which lawlesse fact ,
The Peeres him five yeeres Banishment enact;
When for his latest farewell of the Queene,
These two Epistles passe them two betweene.

In my disgrace (deare Queene) rest thy Content,
And M ARGARETS health from S UFFOLKS Banishment:
Five yeres exile were not an houre to me,
But that so soone I must depart from thee;
Where thou not present, it is ever Night,
All be exil'd, that live not in thy sight.
Those Savages which worship the Sunnes rise,
Would hate their God, if they beheld thine Eyes;
The Worlds great Light, might'st thou be seene abroad,
Would at our Noone-stead ever make aboad,
And force the poore Antipodes to mourne,
Fearing lest he would never more returne.
Wer't not for thee, it were my great'st Exile,
To live within this Sea-inviron'd Ile.
 P OOLES Courage brookes not limiting in Bands,
But that (great Queene) thy Sov'raigntie commands:
Our Faulcons kind cannot the Cage indure,
Nor Buzzard-like doth stoope to ev'ry Lure;
Their mounting Brood in open Ayre doth rove,
Nor will with Crowes be coup'd within a Grove.
 We all doe breathe upon this Earthly Ball,
Likewise one Heav'n incompasseth us all,
“No Banishment can be to him assign'd,
“Who doth retaine a true-resolved Mind.
“Man in himselfe a little World doth beare,
“His Soule the Monarch, ever ruling there:
“Where-ever then his Body doth remaine,
“He is a King, that in himselfe doth raigne;
“And never feareth Fortunes hot'st Alarmes,
“That beares against her Patience for his Armes.
This was the meane proud W ARWICKE did invent,
To my disgrace, at Leister Parlement,
That onely I, by yeelding up of Maine ,
Should cause the losse of fertile Aquitaine ,
With the base vulgar sort to winne him fame,
To be the Heire of good Duke H UMPHREYES Name;
And so by Treason spotting my pure Blood,
Make this a meane to rayse the N EVILS Brood.
With S ALSBURY , his vile ambitious Sire,
In Y ORKES sterne Brest kindling long hidden fire;
By C LARENCE Title working to supplant
The Eagle Ayrie of great J OHN of Gaunt:
And to this end did my Exile conclude,
Thereby to please the rascall Multitude;
Urg'd by these envious Lords to spend their breath,
Crying revenge for the Protectors death;
That since the old decrepit Duke is dead,
By me, of force, he must be murthered.
 If they would know who rob'd him of his Life,
Let him call home Dame E LINOR , his Wife,
Who with a Taper walked in a Sheet,
To light her shame at Noone through London Street;
And let her bring her Necromanticke Booke,
That foule Hag J ORDAN , H UN , & B ULLENBROOKE ,
And let them call the Spirits from Hell againe,
To know how H UMPHREY dy'd, and who shall raigne.
 For twentie yeeres, and have I serv'd in France ,
Against great C ARLES , and Bastard O RLEANCE ,
And seene the slaughter of a World of Men,
Victorious now, as hardly conquer'd then?
And have I seene Vernoyla's batfull Fields,
Strew'd with ten thousand Helmes, ten thousand Shields,
Where famous B EDFORD did our fortune trie,
Or France , or England , for the Victorie?
The sad investing of so many Townes,
Scor'd on my Brest in honourable Wounds;
When M OUNTACUTE , and T ALBOT of much Name,
Under my Ensigne both first wonne their Fame:
In Heat and Cold all these have I indur'd,
To rowze the French , within their Walls immur'd;
Through all my Life, these Perils have I past,
And now to feare a Banishment at last?
 Thou know'st how I (thy Beautie to advance)
For thee, refus'd the Infanta of France ,
Brake the Contract Duke H UMPHREY first did make
'Twixt H ENRY and the Princesse A RMINACKE :
Onely that here thy presence I might gaine,
I gave Duke R AYNER , Anjou, Mauns , and Maine ;
Thy peerelesse Beautie for a Dower to bring,
As of it selfe sufficient for a King:
And from Aumerle withdrew my Warlike Pow'rs,
And came my selfe in person first to Tours ,
Th' Embassadours for Truce to entertaine,
From Belgia, Denmarke, Hungarie , and Spaine:
And to the King relating of thy storie,
My Tongue flow'd with such plenteous Oratorie,
As the report by speaking did indite,
Begetting still more ravishing delight.
And when my Speech did cease (as telling all)
My Looke shew'd more, that was Angelicall;
And when I breath'd againe, and pawsed next,
I left mine Eyes dilating on the Text:
Then comming of thy Modestie to tell,
In Musickes Numbers my Voyce rose and fell;
And when I came to paint thy glorious stile,
My speech in greater Cadences to file,
By true descent to weare the Diadem
Of Naples, Cicill , and Jerusalem ,
As from the Gods thou didst derive thy Birth,
If those of Heaven could mix with these of Earth;
Gracing each Title that I did recite,
With some mellifluous pleasing Epithite:
Nor left him not, till he for love was sicke,
Beholding thee in my sweet Rhetoricke.
 A Fifteenes Taxe in France I freely spent,
In Triumphs, at thy Nuptiall Tournament;
And solemniz'd thy Marriage in a Gowne,
Valu'd at more then was thy Fathers Crowne;
And onely striving how to honour thee,
Gave to my King what thy love gave to mee.
Judge if his kindnesse have not power to move,
Who for his loves sake gave away his love.
 Had he, which once the Prize to Greece did bring,
(Of whom, th'old Poets long agoe did sing)
Seene thee for England but imbark'd at Deepe ,
Would over-boord have cast his golden Sheepe,
As too unworthy Ballast to be thought,
To pester roome, with such perfection fraught.
The brinie Seas, which saw the Ship infold thee,
Would vault up to the Hatches, to behold thee,
And falling backe, themselves in thronging smother,
Breaking for griefe, envying one another:
When the proud Barke, for joy thy steps to feele,
Scorn'd that the Brack should kisse her furrowing Keele,
And trick'd in all her Flags, her selfe she braves,
Cap'ring for joy upon the silver Waves;
When like a Bull from the Phenician Strand,
J OVE with E UROPA rushing from the Land,
Upon the Bosome of the Maine doth scud,
And with his Swannish Brest cleaving the Floud,
Tow'rd the faire Fields, upon the other side,
Beareth A GENORS joy, Phenicia's pride:
All heavenly Beauties joyne themselves in one,
To shew their glorie in thine Eye alone;
Which, when it turneth that celestiall Ball,
A thousand sweet starres rise, a thousand fall.
 Who justly saith, mine, Banishment to bee,
When onely France for my recourse is free?
To view the Plaines, where I have seene so oft
Englands victorious Engines rays'd aloft;
When this shall be a comfort in my way,
To see the place, where I may boldly say,
Here mightie B EDFORD forth the Vaward led,
Here T ALBOT charg'd, and here the Frenchmen fled,
Here with our Archers valiant S CALES did lye,
Here stood the Tents of famous W ILLOUGHBY ,
Here M OUNTACUTE rang'd his unconquer'd Band,
Here march'd we out, and here we made a stand.
 What should we sit to mourne and grieve all day,
For that which Time doth eas'ly take away?
What Fortune hurts, let Suff'rance onely heale,
“No wisedome with Extremities to deale.
To know our selves to come of humane Birth,
These sad Afflictions crosse us here on Earth.
A punishment from the eternall Law,
To make us still of Heav'n to stand in awe.
“In vaine we prize that at so deare a rate,
“Whose long'st assurance beare's a Minutes date.
“Why should we idly talke of our Intent,
“When Heav'ns Decree no Counsell can prevent?
“When our fore-sight not possibly can shunne
“That which the Fates determine shall be done.
H ENRY hath Power, and may my Life depose,
Mine Honour's mine, that none hath power to lose.
 Then be as cheerefull (beautious Royall Queene)
As in the Court of France we oft have beene;
As when arriv'd in Porchesters faire Road,
(Where, for our comming, H ENRY made aboad)
When in mine Armes I brought thee safe to Land,
And gave my Love to H ENRIES Royall Hand:
The happie Houres we passed with the King
At faire South-hampton , long in banqueting;
With such content as lodg'd in H ENRIES Brest,
When he to London brought thee from the West,
Through golden Cheape , when he in Pompe did ride
To Westminster , to entertaine his Bride.