One month, three days, and half-an-hour, Judith held the sov❜reign pow'r: wondrous beautiful her face, but so weak and small her wit that she to govern was unfit, and so Susanna took her place. But when Isabella came, arm'd with a resistless flame,

and th' artillery of her eye, whilst she proudly march'd about, greater conquests to find out,

she beat out Susan by the bye. But in her place I then obey'd black-ey'd Bess, her viceroy maid, to whom ensu'd a vacancy. Thousand worst passions then possess'd the interregnum of my breast. Bless me from such an anarchy !

Gentle Henrietta then,

and a third Mary, next began;
then Joan, and Jane, and Audria;
and then a pretty Thomasine,
and then another Catharine,

and then a long et cætera.

But should I now to you relate
the strength and riches of their state,
the powder, patches, and the pins,
the ribands, jewels, and the rings,
the lace, the paint, and warlike things,
that make up all their magazines:

if I should tell the politic arts
to take and keep men's hearts,
the letters, embassies, and spies,

the frowns, and smiles, and flatteries,
the quarrels, tears, and perjuries,
numberless, nameless mysteries!
And all the little lime-twigs laid
by Mach'avel the waitingmaid;
I more voluminous should grow
(chiefly if I like them should tell,
all change of weathers that befell)
than Hollingshed or Stow.

But I will briefer with them be,
since few of them were long with me,
an higher and nobler strain
my present emperess does claim,
Heleonora! first o' th' name,

whom God grant long to reign.

HYMN TO LIGHT.

First-born of Chaos, who so fair didst come from the old Negro's darksome womb! which when it saw the lovely child, the melancholy mass put on kind looks and smil'd. Thou tide of glory, which no rest dost know,

but ever ebb and ever flow!

thou golden show'r of a true Jove!

[love!

who does in thee descend, and heav'n to earth make Hail! active Nature's watchful life and health!

her joy, her ornament, and wealth !

hail to thy husband, Heat, and thee! [groom he! thou the world's beauteous bride, the lusty brideSay, from what golden quivers of the sky do all thy winged arrows fly?

Swiftness and Power by birth are thine; [divine. from thy great Sire they came, thy Sire, the Word

Tis, I believe, this archery to shew,
that so much cost in colours thou,
and skill in painting dost bestow
upon thy ancient arms, the gaudy heav'nly bow.
Swift as light thoughts their empty career run,
thy race is finish'd when begun;

let a post-angel start with thee,

and thou the goal of earth shalt reach as soon as he. Thou in the moon's bright chariot, proud and gay, dost thy bright wood of stars survey,

and all the year dost with thee bring, of thousand flow'ry lights, thine own nocturnal spring. Thou Scythian-like, dost round thy lands above the Sun's gilt tent for ever move,

and still as thou in pomp dost go, the shining pageants of the world attend thy show. Nor amidst all these triumphs dost thou scorn the humble glow-worms to adorn, and with those living spangles gild,

(O greatness without pride!) the bushes of the field. Night, and her ugly subjects thou dost fright, and Sleep, the lazy owl of Night,

asham'd and fearful to appear,

[phere.

they screen their horrid shapes with the black hemis

With them there hastes, and wildly takes th' alarm, of painted dreams a busy swarm;

at the first op'ning of thine eye

the various clusters break, the antic atoms fly,

The guilty serpents, and obscener beasts,

creep conscious to their secret rests:

nature to thee does rev'rence pay,

ill omens and ill sights removes out of thy way.

At thy appearance, Grief itself is said

to shake his wings, and rouse his head;
and cloudy Care has often took

a gentle beamy smile reflected from thy look.
At thy appearance, Fear itself grows bold;
thy sunshine melts away his cold:
encourag'd at the sight of thee,

to the cheek colour comes, and firmness to the knee. Ev'n Lust, the master of a harden'd face, blushes if thou be'st in the place;

to Darkness' curtains he retires, in sympathizing night he rolls his smoky fires. When, Goddess! thou lift'st up thy waken'd head out of the morning's purple bed,

thy choir of birds about thee play, and all the joyful world salutes the rising day.

The ghosts, and monster sp'rits, that did presume a body's priv'lege to assume,

vanish again invisibly,

and bodies gain again their visibility.

All the world's brav'ry, that delights our eyes, is but thy sev'ral liveries;

thou the rich dye on them bestow'st,

thy nimble pencil paints this landscape as thou go'st. A crimson garment in the rose thou wear'st; a crown of studded gold thou bear'st;

the virgin lilies, in their white,

are clad but with the lawn of almost naked light.

The violet, Spring's little infant, stands girt in thy purple swaddling bands •

on the fair tulip thou dost dote;

thou cloth'st it in a gay and party-colour'd coat. With flame condens'd thou dost the jewels fix, and solid colours in it mix:

Flora herself envies to see

flow'rs fairer than her own, and durable as she.

Ah! Goddess! would thou couldst thy hand withhold, and be less liberal to gold;

didst thou less value to it give,

[lieve!

of how much care, alas! migh'st thou poor man re

To me the sun is more delightful far,

and all fair days much fairer are;

but few, ah! wondrous few there be who do not gold prefer, O Goddess! ev'n to thee. Through the soft ways of heav'n, and air, and sea, which open all their pores to thee,

like a clear river thou dost glide,

[nels slide.

and with thy living stream through the close chanBut where firm bodies thy free course oppose, gently thy source the land o'erflows;

takes there possession, and does make, of colours mingled light, a thick and standing lake. But the vast ocean of unbounded day in th' empyrean heav'n does stay; thy rivers, lakes, and springs below,

[flow.

from thence took first their rise, thither at last must

ON THE DEATH OF MR. WILLIAM HARVEY. "Immodicis brevis est ætas, et rara senectus." Mart.

It was a dismal, and a fearful night,

scarce could the morn drive on th' unwilling light,