Bacchus Festival, OR, A NEW MEDLEY BEING A Musical Representation at the Entertainment of his EXCELLENCY THE Lord General Monck.At VINTNERS-HALL, April 12. 1660.
Bacchus enters attended by four Drawers, a
French-man, Spaniard, German, and
Greek.
ROuze then my soul, from that dull sottish Lethargy
thou late didst lye;
Call home thy spirits, let this Genial day
Be sacrific'd in mirth; Let full and crowned Bowls
proclaim our jovial souls, slavery;
And let us cast all pining cares away:
Since thou brave
GEORGE hast us redeem'd from sleepie
hast ruin'd those
who were our foes,
And scorn'd our Deity.
Sure there must something in thee be which is divine:
since thou hast thus
restored us,
And water turn'd to wine.
Those flegmatick, yet frantick rascals which of late
did rend the State,
And with their small-beer Heresies confound
Our peace and wellfare; are by thee, thy Countries friend
brought to deserved end;
And now the Nations hopes are almost crown'd.
This justly may our after ages all convince,
that he who slights
God
Bacchus rites,
—Turns Traitor to his Prince.
But he must a good Patriot be, who will his veins replenish
with Cyprian black,
or golden Sack,
Or the rein-searching Rhenish.
Come then my jolly Boies, this
Hero here present
with our gifts sent,
Or from the Gallick, or Iberian shore:
That so unto our utmost power we may show
the praise we owe
In our own sphere; since we can do no more.
For Sir, both gods and men will freely now confess
you have our Laws,
our Faith, our Cause
—Restor'd to happiness.
There yet remains behind one truly grateful thing,
which is that you
give
Cesar h's due,
—And help us to our King,
FRENCHMAN
Speaks.
By God
Bacchus order I here you present
with a Cup of
Apollo's own Nectar;
'Tis the drink of the gods, and I dare lay you ods
'Twill make you most bravely conjecture
What the Nation greedily longs for,
and to what its thoughts are thus bent;
That you would restore, and we may have once more,
our King and Parliament.
Chorus
Here's the white or the red, take both as your due,
For our blood and our brains we must both owe to you.
SPANIARD.
Stand by fond foolish
Monsieur, let me come,
Who am the onely man in Christendome.
As for your Countrey-men, they're antick,
Their Wine's for nothing but to make men frantick.
But Sir, you may be sure this G-ass contains
What will inspire you with
Aetherial strains.
Chorus,
'Tis good Canary onely makes men sing,
And truly stand for Countrey, God and King.
GERMAN.
Nay then amongst the rest,
Let me present a Test
Both of my Wine and Soul,
Which freely in this Bowl
I hear do dedicate,
And that you may it rate
At its due worth, and so
Its virtues truly know.
Chorus,
'Twill purge out all infections Blood, and render
You still more strong to be the States Defender.
GREEK.
To this is that alone which now must ease
This nation of its luke-warm disease,
Recruit our vitals, and new propagate
A lasting peace between our Church and State.
This Sir, will free us from the poysonous raint,
Lurks in the faint heart of our wall-ey'd saint.
Chorus
'Twill make us freely to rejoice and pray,
To see our
Charles's Coronation Day.