AN ELEGIE Vpon the most deplorable death of Prince Henry Eldest sonne to the King of Bohemia: Who vpon the 9 th of Ianuary last passing to Harlem, most vnfortunately perished.
ETernall Teares, Griefes, that shall never end,
With murmures utter'd in lamenting verse;
Sad accents, and such lines that forth may send
Sounds, such as Widdowes houle about the hearse
Of their dead Husbands; words whose force may bend
Relentlesse hearts, and flinty bowels pearce:
Come to my plaints, bring Characters of woe,
That endlesse griefe, unvalued losse may show.
Me thinkes my hand as with a Fever shakes,
Which when I to the trembling leafe apply,
More ghastly white then earst, for griefe it quakes,
And seemes with us to have a Sympathie:
But willingly this mournfull dye it takes
Badge of our passions, sorrowes liverie,
Which as it drops from my unstedfast penne,
Seemes to lament the generall losse of men,
In this young Prince most likely to revive
The glorious Triumphs of his an
[...]strie;
This floure of youth, in whom did Nature strive
With Education for the victorie:
Each seeming Conqueresse, so they both did thrive,
And grew so soone to such an excellencie,
Whom angry Fortune scarcely taught to feare,
Nor hopes vaine breath aloft could ever beare.
Drench't in the Sea, lest the enamourd Earth
Love-burnt might chance to prove
Trinacrias losse,
And from her burning Entrals send a breath
Like that which comes from
Aetnas sulph'ry fosse;
Or lest a floure should from his Vrne have birth
That might have power, the power of Fate to crosse:
And like th' immortall Nectar of the skye,
Enfranchize men to immortalitie.
Batavia, rather should thy shores downe fall,
And the fierce waues their ancient Lordship fill;
Rather should time backe summon and recall
The bloody Actors in thy former ill:
Rather in former seates should Fate install
Proud Austria,
D'Alva, Parma, Longeville
In this revenge backe to reduce a flood,
And make where once was Sea, a Sea of blood.
What profits it though
Nereus did resigne
Some of his Kingdome to the Continent,
When he his generall forces did combine,
And froth-immantled all in rage he went
Against that straight which
Albion did confine,
Which with his boystrous fury downe he rent;
And broke that
Isthmus that did joyne before
Our chalkie cliffes vnto the
Belgicke shore?
If like a cruell Lord he doth demand
Such chiefe, such duties for the unnaturall soile;
And doth exact a due for barren sand
Of greater worth then was the richest spoile
His waues could ever gaine, or the bright strand
Of the faire East, sought with so dangerous toyle,
Did ever vie against the Sun, or gold
Pactolus streames, or
Tagus sands enfold.
Rather should brav'd
Iberia keepe the Ore
Brought from the ransackt
Indias wealthy ground;
Better our ioyes were disanull'd before
Report did ever such a prize resound,
Rather should
Holland backe againe restore
The riches in that conquerd fleet she found,
Then that it more should hurt when it was gain'd,
Then had it in our enemies hand remain'd.
Thus by our gaine we lost, our joy's our woe,
So th' angry heavens our hopes still countermand,
Our Conquest proves our fatall overthrow;
The Nerves of warre bring weaknesse to our Land,
Thus while we most do rise, most downe we goe,
Ever residing on the tottering sand
Of expectation, which each blast doth crosse,
And every gale can turne to greater losse.
High Providence, could humane wit but sound
The deepe abyssus of thy mysteries:
How soon should we on Heav'n our Comfort ground
Not on conjectures, possibilities,
Which then most vaine, when trusted most are found
But broken reedes are all our policies.
The Heauen's will have our hearts, and take away
Those things the soonst that cause them most to stray.
Thus both our
Henries soone away did goe,
Showne to the earth, not suffered to remaine,
Now in the Heaven, more bright then ere did show
Proud
Cyllarus riders o're the liquid plaine
Of the vast Oceans Empire, Fa
[...]es bestow
On them by turnes to shine upon the maine,
Ours both together glister, joyntly live
To Heaven and Earth their light at once they give.
Did Silver footed Thetis cause thee dye,
In thee the
Pelian stemme to contemplate,
Or Pallas wearie of Virginitie,
T'enjoy thy love compact with envious Fate,
To bring thee up above the golden skie:
She worth thy love, thou worthy such a mate,
And leade thee up, sith all the world denide
A match for her like thee, thee such a bride!
Or did those Heroes that in Paradice
Enjoy those sweets th'inamel'd plaines doe yeeld;
Or masking in their Robes of greatest prize,
In gentle rankes passe o're the flowry field:
Where every Vale, each mount, each fall, each rise,
With thousand kinds of rarities is fild:
Where noiselesse floods doe branch the youthfull mead,
Birds sweetly dumbe aeternall silence lead;
As hence secure of Fate they cast their eyes
(Their eyes all seeing, passing all they see)
In this sweete Prince they view those qualities
That brought their soules to such felicitie,
When envying us, they with the Fates devise
To bring him, (worthy of their company)
Which as they found him, took him straight away:
Their strong desires admitting no delay.
Arion, thou hadst power to charme with string
A fish to beare thee safe vnto the shore:
Could not thy plaints (sweet Prince) have power to bring
Something amidst the waues to passe thee o're
Whose voyce was better Musicke? Did what bore
So sweet a burden feare abandoning,
And with the traytrous winds and ayre agree
To keepe thee still, to deale so cruelly.
Enjoy sweet Spirit thine aeternall rest,
Our losse, not thine, is cause of this our woe;
Above the golden spheares live ever blest,
Possesse the Crowne the Heavens on thee bestow,
In stead of earthly diadem; possest
By glorious Saints, so maist thou euer show
Thy light, not set a fained Starre in skie,
But plac't a Saint in greater dignitie.
This most hopeful young Prince passing with his Father, and some few Attendants to Harlem to viewe the Plate-fleete lately surprised by the Hollander, being in a small Passageboat, was ouer-set with a ship of greater burden from Amsterdam. His Father, with two or three Followers were saued by entring ropes cast out of the greater ship, which takt instantly about for their reliefe. The Prince himselfe labouring to saue his life, attained some height vpon the mast of the small vessel that was sunke, where calling for succour, & none comming to his aide, he was for some space heard crying: from which part of the ship the next morning they took him starued and frozen to death, whose corpes his Father brought to the Court the day following, being for the circumstance of his death, as well as for his hopefull parts infinitely lamented.
FINIS.
R. ABBEY.
LONDON, Printed for Richard Roystore. 1629.