Of fovereign power to make men wife;
For, dropt in blear thick-fighted eyes,
They 'd make them fee in darkest night,
Like owls, though purblind in the light.
By help of thefe (as he profeft)
He had First Matter feen undreft:
He took her naked, all alone,
Before one rag of form was on.
The Chaos, too, he had descry'd,
And feen quite through, or else he ly'd;
Not that of Pafteboard, which men fhew
For groats, at fair of Barthol'mew;
But its great grandfire, firft o' th' name,
Whence that and Reformation came,
Both coufin-germans, and right able
T' inveigle and draw in the rabble:
But Reformation was, fome fay,
O' th' younger house to Puppet-play.
He could foretel whats'ever was
By confequence to come to pass :

555

560

565

570

As

Ver. 573.] The rebellious clergy would in their prayers pretend to foretel things, to encourage people in their rebellion. I meet with the following inftance in the prayers of Mr. George Swathe, minister of Denham in Suffolk: "O my good Lord God, I praise thee "for difcovering the last week, in the day-time, a vi"fion, that there were two great armies about York, "one of the malignant party about the King, the

other party Parliament and profeffors; and the bet"ter fide fhould have help from Heaven against the

"worst;

As death of great men, alterations,

575

Difeafes, battles, inundations :

All this without th' eclipfe of th' fun,

Like Knights o' th' Post, and falfely charge

Upon themselves what others forge;

As if they were confenting to

585

All mifchiefs in the world men do:

Or, like the devil, did tempt and sway 'em
To rogueries, and then betray 'em.
They '11 fearch a planet's houfe, to know
Who broke and robb'd a house below;

590 Examine

"worft; about, or at which inftant of time, we heard "the foldiers at York had raifed up a fconce against

Hull, intending to plant fifteen pieces against Hull; "against which fort Sir John Hotham, Keeper of "Hull, by a garrifon, difcharged four great ordnance, " and broke down their fconce, and killed divers Ca"valiers in it.-Lord, I praife thee for difcovering this "victory, at the inftant of time that it was done, to

my wife, which did then presently confirm her droop"ing heart, which the last week had been dejected "three or four days, and no arguments could comfort "her against the dangerous times approaching; but "when he had prayed to be established in faith in thee, "then prefently thou didst, by this vifion, ftrongly

poffefs her foul that thine and our enemies should be "overcome."

Examine Venus, and the Moon,

Who ftole a thimble or a spoon;
And though they nothing will confefs,
Yet by their very looks can guefs,
And tell what guilty afpect bodes,
Who ftole, and who receiv'd the goods :
They'll queftion Mars, and, by his look,
Detect who 'twas that nimm'd a cloke;
Make Mercury confefs, and 'peach
Those thieves which he himself did teach.

595

600

They'll find, i' th' phyfiognomies

O' th' planets, all men's deftinies;

Like him that took the doctor's bill,
And swallow'd it instead o' th' pill,
Caft the nativity o' th' queftion,
And from pofitions to be gueft on,
As fure as if they knew the moment

605

Of Native's birth, tell what will come on't.
They'll feel the pulfes of the stars,
To find out agues, coughs, catarrhs,
And tell what crifis does divine
The rot in sheep, or mange in fwine;
In men, what gives or cures the itch,

What makes them cuckolds, poor or rich;
What gains or lofes, hangs or faves;

What makes men great, what fools or knaves :

But not what wife, for only' of those

The ftars (they fay) cannot difpofe,

610

61.5

No more than can the aftrologians :

There they fay right, and like true Trojans.

620

This Ralpho knew, and therefore took
The other course, of which we spoke.

Thus was th' accomplish'd Squire endued

With gifts and knowledge perilous shrewd :

Never did trufty fquire with knight,

625

Or knight with fquire, e'er jump more right.

Atchievements fo refolv'd and bold,.
We should, as learned poets use,
Invoke th' affiftance of fome Mufe;
However critics count it fillier
Than jugglers talking to familiar;.
We think 'tis no great matter which,
They 're all alike, yet we shall pitch
On one that fits our purpose most,
Whom therefore thus do we accost.

Thou that with ale, or viler liquors,

Didst inspire Withers, Pryn, and Vickars,
And force them, though it was in spite
Of Nature, and their stars, to write;
Who (as we find in fullen writs,

And cross-grain'd works of modern wits)

640

6455

6'50

With

With vanity, opinion, want,
The wonder of the ignorant,
The praises of the author, penn'd
B' himself, or wit-insuring friend;
The itch of picture in the front,
With bays and wicked rhyme upon 't,
All that is left o' th' Forked hill
To make men fcribble without skill;
Canft make a poet, fpite of Fate,
And teach all people to translate,
Though out of languages in which
They understand no part of speech;
Affift me but this once, I' mplore,
And I fhall trouble thee no more.

In western clime there is a town,

655

660

665

To thofe that dwell therein well known,

Therefore there needs no more be faid here,

We unto them refer our reader;

For brevity is very good,

When w' are, or are not understood.

670

To this town people did repair

On days of market or of fair,

And

Ver. 665.] Brentford, which is eight miles west from London, is here probably meant, as may be gathered from Part II. Cant. iii. Ver. 995, &c. where he tells the Knight what befel him there :

And though you overcame the Bear,
The dogs beat you at Brentford fair,
Where sturdy butchers broke your noddle.