The following is headed by the emblem of a man in a cage, with the text, 'Bring my soul out of prison,' Ps. cxlii. 7: My soul is like a bird; my flesh the cage, With sacred wine, and sacramental bread. From sense she climbs to faith; where for a season From sense to hope; then hops from hope to doubt : Great Lord of souls, to whom shall prisoners fly The sorrows that it brought, and feltst them too.1 My last quotation is from some verses under a hieroglyphic of a closed lantern; one of the patristic quotations is from St. Bernard: 'If thou be one of the foolish virgins, the congregation is necessary for thee; if thou be one of the wise virgins, thou art necessary for the congregation.' Was man—the highest masterpiece of Nature, The curious abstract of the whole creation, My God, my light is dark enough at lightest, Increase her flame, and give her strength to shine: 'Tis frail at best: 'tis dim enough at brightest, But 'tis her glory to be foiled by Thine.2 1 Quarles' Emblems, Divine and Moral, v. 10. 2 Id. viii. 5. Alexander Rosse, one of Charles the First's chaplains, a good and learned man, wrote among many other books one entitled Mel Heliconium, or Poetical Honey Gathered out of the Weeds of Parnassus, published in 1646, 'the fruit of some sequestered hours from his divinity exercises.' It is a quaint book; his plan being to take, as a sort of text, some mythological story, and then to explain as a spiritual allegory what he calls 'the mysteries' of it. Each allegory is concluded with some appropriate verses. Thus he symbolises from the story of Atlas, who was turned into a mountain by Perseus, son of Jupiter, because he refused to lodge him : Go to my soul, the doors unlock ! O suffer not to go from hence Refuse not, then, to entertain So great a guest, who would so fain Again, Chiron was skilled in astronomy, music, and physic. Even so the Christian must be contemplative, and have his thoughts in heaven; music must be in his heart, good words in his mouth, good deeds in his actions. Chiron was wounded in the foot by Hercules, and endured it without murmur. Patient suffering is a part of Christianity. But Chiron entreated Jupiter, who placed him among the stars, with a sacrifice in his hand, and an altar before him. Even so affliction mortifies the flesh, and makes the Christian meet for heaven. To gaze upon night's sparkling eyes, Must have his curing hands also, And feet which may endure God's blow And voice of melody. 1 Mel Heliconium, by Alex. Rosse, His Majestie's Chaplein in Ordinary, 1646, p. 45. Our hands must work salvation, Our tongues must praise God's actions, For sin must wounded be. I will before my Altar stand, With sacrifices in my hand, And thus to God will pray : Give me the head of knowledge, and The following stanzas are part of a longer poem than the rest, founded upon the story of Fortuna, daughter of Oceanus. They appear to me worthy to rank high in any record of the sacred poetry of our older writers : But as the fire refines the gold, Revives the fire; and as in frost And as the palm lifts up his crest The just, makes not their faith to fail Who shine, burn, sparkle, fructify As gold, fire, stars, and the palm-tree. I'd rather have a blustering gale 'Than lie becalméd in the main, My wishéd port; O let the blast 1 Mel Heliconium, p. 94. That tree is strong and firmly fixed With frequent storms, which when they blow, Take stronger hold; O, if I were Strong as this tree my storms to bear! With Jacob if He make thee lame, Lord, if this be Thy Providence, How I may patiently drink up Which Thy Son drank; help me to bear There is a pathetic interest in the aspirations which conclude the book, written as they were at the outbreak of the civil troubles : And let the good ship ride Called Charity, securely on the main ; Her to the Cape of Good Hope; let her gain Thy word, and with the helm of discipline And let the pole-star of Thy truth be seen; The man of Thy right hand Let not true Love with her two sisters fly; So in it still let all be one! 1 The poems of Patrick Carey were first published by Sir Walter Scott from a single MS. bearing the date 1651. His verses show that he was a lawyer, a supporter of the Royalist party, and a High Churchman, or possibly a Roman Catholic. The following are from his Triolets: All those joys which caught my mind To be bubbles, full of wind: 1 Mel Heliconium, p. 154. 2 Id. 176. |