THE Double Descent.
A POEM.
This Hour's the very Crisis of your Fate,
Your Good or Ill, your Infamy or Fame,
And all the Colour of your Life depends
On this Important
NOW —
Dryden's Spanish Fryer,
Act. 4.
LONDON, Printed for John Dunton at the Raven in the Poultrey. 1692.
THE Double Descent, A POEM.
I.
TIs so — I feel the warm Poetick Fire
Glow in my Breast, and vig'rous Thoughts Inspire,
In flowing Dress I see the
Muse descend
And by her Smiles assures me that she will
For Thoughts as yet unborn, some kind assistance lend.
[Page 4] But tell me
Muse, what shall I sing?
What Subject shall my empty Pages fill?
To what New Measures shall I touch the String
Of Great
Apollo's charming Lyre?
II.
In Love's
soft Numbers I was never skill'd,
Nor Am'rous
Odes or
Stanza's wrote;
To rugged
Satyr I am more inclin'd,
But I am now forbid the Thought,
And must some other Subject find:
But as of old great
Archimedes mind
Was with some Mathematick Raptures fill'd,
When he cry'd out
'tis found, 'tis found, so I
The
Lofty Subject now Descry,
I must in
Lines Prophetick tell the Story
Of
Albion's great, and
William's greater Glory.
III.
Ungrateful We — have we the Time forgot,
When Laws and Liberties were trampled on?
And
England's brightest Glory gone?
When
Romish Wolves unboundedly did rove
Through every Field, through every Grove,
And filly Sheep became their Lot;
When all our Hopes to lowest Ebb were brought,
The Great
Nassau, that Son of Fame,
Like mighty
Belgick Lyon came
And quickly chas'd these Rav'nous Beasts of Prey
From
Albion's happy Clifts away,
Dispell'd the Mists of night, and show'd us perfect day.
IV.
Nor stopt he there, but bravely ventures on,
In parts abroad to gain a
Victor's Crown,
Great Minds in this, like heav'nly Bodies are,
Which move about the Sphere,
[Page 6] They ne're stand still — alas! our little
Isle,
Enough of Laurel could not show,
To grace and to adorn his manly brow,
He must to Forreign Parts for
Triumphs goe,
And on the
Rhine, the
Sambre and
Moselle,
Erect large Trophies to his mighty Name,
Which shall remain as Deathless as his Fame.
V.
One mighty
Work is yet undone,
A
Work in
Embrio and not yet begun;
What, did I say the Platform was not laid,
That
English Arms might
France Invade?
You are to blame, my
over hasty Muse,
If his quick piercing Judgment you accuse;
For know long since in
Nassau's hidden thought,
The great Design, the glorious Scheme is wrought,
And
France is Conquer'd e're the Battle fought:
For tho his Princely Thoughts have been observ'd
To be like Night all secret and reserv'd,
[Page 7] Yet when in Action they themselves display,
What was like darkness hid, is active as the day.
VI.
It is Resolv'd — nor shall thy Fate, O
France!
Resist his Vow, nor all thy mighty Force,
So much all
Europe's and the World's discourse;
No, tho' from
Flanders all thy Troops advance,
Or thy New Conquests should disgorge and spew
From ragged Walls their starv'd and tatter'd Crew,
To make a formidable band,
Which will like Locusts overspread the Land;
All this, and more than this will never doe:
Thy Fate is certain, and thy Doom is seal'd,
Nor will the
Saints, which to thy aid
Thou hast in vain so often Pray'd,
Hear thy Complaints, or smallest Succours yield,
With Incense tho' his Altars smoke,
In vain
St. Denis you invoke,
And what must still increase thy fears,
Tho' once his Head he lost, he now has lost his Ears.
VII.
Methinks I see the mighty
Soul of War,
The Fortunate, the brave
Nassau,
Born to teach Tyrants Martial Law,
Sitting at Helm of a rich
Naval Carr,
By Moderns styl'd a
Man of War,
Whilst pressing Waves o're one another croud,
Striving who first should bear the precious Load,
And the blew
Triton's Trumpets sound
From shore to shore on either side rebound:
See in a lofty Charriot drawn,
Neptune the Regent of the Sea,
His Looks all gay as when on Mornings dawn,
He stole from
Thetis kind embrace;
See him give up the Badge of Majesty,
His
Trident with Prostration low,
To great
Nassau, as rightly judging he
Was than himself more fitter for the place,
And how to govern did much better know.
VIII.
See on the
Coast of Normandy,
Upon the Beach and on the Sand,
The gaping Troops all wond'ring stand,
Of rabble rout a mghty Hoast,
Could they but fight as well as they can boast:
But by perpetual Slavery
Their minds so spiritless are grown,
Don Quixot who with lifeless Puppets fought,
Not sooner could a Victory obtain,
Than could of Men a handful o're this mighty Train.
Alas, their Souls are not their own,
Their all is for a trifle bought,
And they've exchang'd their Liberty
For welcome Bonds, and doubly welcome Poverty.
IX.
So look'd the silly
Indians, when they saw
The
Spansh Fleet approach their shore;
The Ships they fancied Monsters all,
And thought they liv'd because they heard 'em roar;
But what amazement did it draw,
When from their sides they saw an
Army crawl,
Some prostrate on their Knees did fall,
But thousands durst not longer stay,
But swift as Wind ran hastily away.
X.
The
French with
Indians may compare,
If not in Folly, yet at least in Fear;
The Common sort are of a Race,
So poor, so spiritless and base,
That they the Dignity of Man disgrace,
[Page 11] Freedom and Slavery with them,
Are understood to be the same.
But there are yet some
quick, discerning few,
Who know the Price of Liberty,
And out of Duty, not of Blindness true,
Yet Wish and Pray against the Tyranny:
These often have with passionate regret
Observ
[...]d their Countrey's sinking state,
And mourn'd and wisht that Heav'n would send
Some kind Deliv'rer for their Friend:
Of a
Descent when these shall hear,
Tho they may Counterfeit a Fear,
Yet inwardly rejoyce and sing,
Since by
Britana's fate they plainly see,
Nassau's great Aim is Liberty;
To knock their Fetters off, and set them free,
And them from
Aegypt to a Land of
Canaan bring.
XI.
He Lands, the mighty
Hero Lands, when strait the Air
Is fill'd with shouts of Joy and shouts of Fear:
His Troops well Disciplin'd like
one Man seem,
And all resolve to stand and fall with him:
Of a Resistance some faint shew is made,
But all as if they view'd
Medusa's Head,
Are Charm'd — As was
Britania heretofore,
When some time since he Landed on her shore:
He soon the mighty difference quickly shew'd,
Between the cruel, and the just and good,
His business was to Save and not Invade.
XII.
Swift as the Lightning, flyes the News to Court,
A sad, a terrible Report,
For long Debates they have no time to spare,
[Page 15] No
Spanish Councils they desire,
Their Votes, must like their humours be, as quick as Fire;
Scarce can they in their Seats be warm,
But comes another fresh Alarm,
That the
Arrear Ban did not stay
One Brush, but tack't about and ran away,
And that some thousands of the better sort,
In Troops did hourly to the Foe Resort,
Which like a furious Torrent gust along,
And nothing stopt it in its way,
But that it would without delay,
Down to the very Gates of
Paris throng.
XIII.
This News their looks with consternation fills,
With thousand doubts and fears Opprest,
A hurricane arises in the Breast
Of mighty
Lewis, who with passion swells:
And am I then so despicable grown?
(
Says he) and these disorders too so near the Throne;
Must all my hopes be ruin'd by a Man,
Who is at best but Nature's smallest span;
[Page 16] I thought no Head on Earth had equall'd mine,
But he does all my Councels undermine,
Sees through the dark recesses of my Soul;
Ob
Louis! best of Friends and Counsellers,
Who to my Int'rest didst devote thy Hours;
What made the angry Fates to snatch thee hence?
Thou man of deep Intrigue, thou man of mighty Sence;
With ease thou threatning Dangers didst controul,
And by unparallell'd disguise and artifice,
Spoil all the Measures of my Enemies.
Say,
my best Friends, what Methods shall I take?
As yet unknown, a mighty Fund to raise,
I've try'd a thousand several ways;
Ten thousand places I have lately Sold,
Made
Coblers Gentlemen, for Gold;
And if a greater Sum they cou'd advance,
Equal 'em with the
Peers of France;
This I have done, but when I think the whole
Is now in Danger, how it wracks my thought?
And I am into wild confusion brought; One
[Page 17] One way, as yet, is unessay'd,
The
Cloisters Plunder, and the
Church Invade;
Shall useless Plate upon their Altars lye,
While
Lewis has an Enemy?
Tho Poverty they all profess,
Yet have they Riches in such store,
The great
Mogul has scarcely more.
I'le bring their Worship to an humble dress,
And the
Religious, Poor shall be,
Not in Profession, but reallity,
But Pardon,
Holy Church, this rude address,
Mothers, their Sons should Succour in distress.
XIV.
Now leave we them in diff'rent projects warm,
Distracted, just like Sailers in a Storm;
Now here, now there, from
Prow to
Poop they run,
And all their Work each minute but begun,
To view the Progress of his Arms,
Who Mankind with his Virtues Charms,
In more than
Roman Triumph while he Rides,
He their low Adoration Chides;
[Page 18] Tells them, he came to Save and to Protect,
To Heav'n they only should allow Respect,
The influencing Cause of such a good Effect,
Yet they their Acclamations give not o're,
But still they more forbid, they shout the more;
So when
our Saviour heretofore,
By power Miraculous did Heal
A Man, and charg'd him to Conceal
The secret, and to no man tell his Name;
Tho he returns of Gratitude did pay,
Yet could not that command obey,
But over all
Judea spread his glorious Fame.
XV.
To men in
Greenland, who a long half year
Have not of Light the least appearance seen;
The Sun more wellcome cannot be;
To
Criminanls Reprieves, to
Captives Liberty,
Not half so grateful do appear
As great
Nassau's Descent, —who long has been
The Obstacle of
Europes Tyranny:
Through mighty
Cities see him pass,
While
num'rous crouds his
Chariot-wheels attend
And all applaud and all commend;
[Page 19] With herbs and flowers the Virgins strue the ways,
And think enough his worth they cannot praise;
Nay, the
Religious of each
Order strive
Who in most studied
Panegricks shall
The largest Praises to his Virtue give;
Tho his Religion they dislike,
Yet his Great Actions, and his Name,
Ecchoed through all the world by Fame.
Their Minds with mighty Veneration strike;
The
Aged with their
Crutches crawl,
And
Bedrid Man before he dies,
Is willing for to bless his Eyes,
With sight of him who Gives to
Europe Law,
And little Babes are taught to Lisp
Nassau.
XVI.
So when the Great
Deliverer of Old,
Moses, the Meek, the Just and Bold,
To
Israel Tribes his Large
Commission show,
Prov'd by his Wonder-working Rod,
They all with awful Reverence bow'd;
But when he led them through the Sea,
With
Manna fed them, and by mighty stroke
Fetch'd Water from the hardned Rock;
Their wonder came almost t'Idolatry;
[Page 20] There then were
Murmurers a few,
As
Korah, Dathan, and his
Crew:
And they a Dismal
Exit met:
Yet on the
Gallick Shore there's scarcely one,
But who approves the Business done;
Yet if there should be some, who with Regret
Their Countrey's
New-gain'd Freedom see,
And wish Returns of Slavery,
May they meet
Dathan and
Abiram's Fate.
XVII.
News of Revolts come every hour to Court,
Which did
Adullam's Cave resemble,
For those who made Oppression but their sport,
Or did with guilt and horror Tremble,
To that as to a Sanctuary fly;
Who would a Twig to drowning Man deny?
Few Noblemen, but those whose weighty crimes
Had rend'red them the Odium of the times,
Appear— What course shall mighty
Lewis take,
Since his great Friends him and his cause forsake;
He sees the Clouds grow black, and further spread,
And fears the Storm will break upon his Head:
[Page 21] Where shall he go, or whether shall he fly?
To what Dark corner of the Earth,
Famous for giving
Tyrants Birth,
Retire, and in confusion sigh and die?
Tho
Mother Church does Prodigals receive,
Yet his Repentance she can ne're believe,
Who daily sends to
Infidels Relief,
Equals the
Turbant, with the
Coul,
Thinks
Christianity endures no loss,
If the
Half-Moon stand rival with the
Cross;
Let him, like
Cain in antient times,
Guilty of more Nefarious crimes,
Than e're his were, through Deserts roul,
Since his Oppressions, Cruelties,
Were infinitely more than his;
Cain was condemn'd for shedding filial Blood,
He spilt a drop, but this has caus'd a Flood.
XVIII.
He comes, the
Conquerour comes,
Nasau the brave,
To Gates of
Paris, infamously known,
[Page 22] For Blood and Massacres once done,
From both of which, was Born, that place to save,
Where from all parts Addresses come,
Not such as heretofore were made,
When
Lives and Fortunes solemnly were laid
At
Princes Foot—And all was Masquerade,
All show, and just to nothing came the Sum;
But grateful Sence of what they owe
To his all Powerful Arms, since now,
Too sensibly they taste and see
The Fruits of wellcome Liberty,
With such surprize, as one born blind surveys,
After his cure, the Sun's bright rays;
They see the
Halcyon Days appear,
And Peace and Plenty once more flourish there:
If after all these mighty Wonders done,
The great
Nassau accepts the
Crown,
By double Title now his own,
How greatly 'twill his Fame advance,
When not in complement alone,
But in reallity he's known
To be the Just, the only
King of
France!
(19)
Leave, leave, a while, my
Muse, the Dazling Sight
Of
Nassau's Glory,— to survey,
A noisy, vain, imaginary Scene;
For such a Project is no more,
A
French Descent upon the
English Shore;
The Quarrel is maintain'd with just such Odds,
As when the
Gyants fought with
Gods:
I view, methinks, with Pity and Delight,
The foolish trifling vain Essay,
And see the Phantoms vanish quite away,
As do the Figures in the
Fairy Queen.
(20)
Behold, upon the
Brittish Waves appears,
(Some few Mens Hopes, but no Man's Fears;)
A
Gallick Fleet, which calls the yielding Stream,
[Page 22] As if she proudly came to claim,
By Force, the
English Diadem.
Ah, foolish
France! how plainly shall we see,
How silly thy Pretences be,
To aim at
Universal Monarchy?
See how the very Elements conspire;
And Winds, and Waves in
closest League,
Combine to frustrate thy Desire;
To mar thy whole Design, and spoil the
Grand Intreague.
(21)
But should we grant by Magick Spells,
By Exorcisms, or something else,
Thy
Priests should charm the very Waves to Peace,
And make the Winds their noisy Blusters cease:
(For what great Wonders can't they do,
Who make their God, and eat him too?)
Should with calm Breezes, and a merry Gale,
Thy whole (but not invincible)
Armada sail,
With so much Pleasure and Delight,
As if it came to Triumph, not to Fight;
[Page 23] Yet on fair
Albion's Shores, by Heaven's Command,
Whole Troops of
Guardian Angels stand;
Who with a Look can drive thee from the Shore,
Cause thee to make more shameful a Retreat,
Than
Spanish Fleet in
Eighty Eight;
When to the
Brittish Coast its threatning Face it bore.
(22)
But should they Land! —and that's a grand Suppose;
What then will be their Fate, Who knows?
If Causes by Effects we guess,
To
Delphick Oracles we need not go,
Of this
Descent th' Event we know;
And without
Magick tell the whole Success;
So quick a Slaughter would be made
Of those, who durst our Shoar invade,
One Man would scarce be left alive,
(Who by good Luck did all the rest survive,)
VVith Sorrow, Passion, and Regret,
In
France, to tell his Fellow-Soldier's Fate.
(23)
The
FRENCH—Altho' indeed no Terrour lye
In the VVord
French, yet there's a strange,
And almost unaccountable Antipathy,
Against 'em does in
English Bosoms range;
Should
Goths and
Vandals, Turks and
Saracens,
People who make it still their Trade,
Their Neighbours Kingdoms to invade;
Or a strange Nation come we know not whence,
These might perhaps much more increase our Fear,
VVhen their tall Ships upon our Coast appear;
But not our Rage by half so much incense,
Not Fire and Water more Aversion bear,
Than lyes between the
English and
Monsieur.
(24)
Suppose they should through Clouds of Fire and Smoke,
Sent from our
Fleet—those
thundring Sons of Oak,
[Page 25] Rush through, and make a bold Attempt to Land,
Not only Horse and Foot, a numerous Band,
Their proud usurping Force would quell;
But
Women, ignorant in Arms,
Dreadless of Dangers, and of Harms,
VVith Kitchen-weapons,
Spit and
Fork,
VVould do a deal of
Murth'ring VVork:
If these the Enemy repel,
'Tis fit they should the Glory share,
And each as Badge of Honour wear,
Close by her Side a
French-man's Nose or Ear.
(26)
Had the
Descent (so much the Town's Discourse)
Intended been for any Land but ours,
VVhat Consternation would it not create?
VVhat great
Convulsions in the State?
VVhereas altho' the threatning Danger's near,
No Face puts on the
Livery of Fear.
[Page 26] Gay are our Days, and pleasant all our Hours,
Plenty and Pleasure all our Care;
But Preparations yet are made,
The Foe to welcome, if he should invade;
For 'tis a Truth on Record still,
And own'd by all the
Sons of Sence,
'Tis lawful to use Self-defence,
Let
Non-Resistance Sparks say what they will.
(26)
But yet before fair
Albion they invade,
Specious Pretences must be made;
INVADE US!—no, the VVord they scorn,
They were for nobler Projects born;
They only come to save our Land
From being by the
Dutch trapann'd,
To set a Prince once more upon the Throne,
By Subjects Villanies undone,
On a right
Basis our Religion settle,
And separate the Dross from
Loyal Metal;
[Page 27] Law, Right and Justice to restore;
With twenty other fine Pretences more.
(27)
Blest Regulators of a blessed Cause,
When
French Dragoons shall give to
England Laws;
What sort of Creatures are there in the Nation,
Who wish and pray for such a
Reformation?
In that Enquiry goe not yet too far,
For in this Town a numerous Croud there are,
Wretches impatient of their Liberty;
Who, tho' they all might live at ease,
Are utter Enemies to Peace,
And long for
Wooden Shoes and Slavery;
To utter Ruine would their Country bring,
To Re-instate an
Idol-King;
And when with Flames they see the Nation burn,
Not drop a Tear, or Sigh and mourn;
But
Nero-like, tune up their Harps and sing:
[Page 28] With them all sober Reason's
Stuff;
But they are now grown Satyr-proof,
And all their Mind's impregnable like warlike Buff.
(28)
But leaving them to Racks of Hope and Fear,
To be succeeded by a wild Despair:
See, see my Muse, the lowring Cloud,
Which threatned Storms of Fire and Blood,
Quite vanquish'd from our Hemisphere;
From every side loud Acclamations ring
Long live the warlike King, and beauteous Queen:
Soft charming Musick fills the Air,
Now calm, unruffled, and serene
Musick which chears the list'ning Ear,
Whilst
Guardian Angels in a Quire,
Whom Love and Reverence inspire,
In a full Anthem
Albion's Paises sing.
FINIS.