THE APOTHEOSIS Of the Most Serene and Illustrious Monarch CHARLS the II.
VVith an humble Address to His Most Sacred Majesty King JAMES the II.
And a POEM to the Queen Dowager.
By JOSHUA BARNES, M.A. Fellow of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge.
As they were Printed among the Cambridge Poems: And now, (for the Excellency and Loyalty of them) by the command of an Honourable Friend of the Authors, (but without his Privity) Reprinted.
Anno Domini MDCLXXXV.
THE APOTHEOSIS OF THE Most SERENE and Most Illustrious Monarch CHARLES the II. &c.
I.
OH! who to Mighty CHARLES His Name
Shall rear a Stately never-fading
Frame;
Such as His own Immortal
Worth requires,
To Vye with Long-liv'd
Time, and kiss th'E'thereal
Fires?
Oh! who shall for that God-like
Monarch raise
Poetick
Obelisks unto His Praise,
Firm as His
Soul, and
Glorious, as His peaceful Days?
Fancy, the
Architect, must now be here.—
Truth, History, Description, are the best
For such a work; the
Shop, my Lab'ring
Breast:
But what vast
Quarries of strong
Verse appear!
Solid
Marble, furrow'd
deep,
With pointed
Words; Words that will keep
His
Fame alive, although His
Body sleep!
Sincerity and
Sense Cement the
Frame,
And bind the
Junctures fast,
Temper'd with
Tears, that from My
Loyal sorrow came:
Rude, Indigested
Grief doth polish all at last.
On the firm
Basis of my
Heart
I have rear'd this Funeral
Pile;
Tho' the
Basis shakes the while,
Tho'
Confusion play Her part;
Yet even
Confusion here expresses wondrous
Art.
II.
Now from the Lofty
Spire behold!
The Sacred
Eagle, with an
Urne of
Gold,
Proud of the Noble
Burthen, flies
Tow'rd CHARLES His Native
Skies!
'Tis CHARLES His Generous
Soul, He bears away;
To increase the Number of the
Gods above:
Where
He shall view perpetual
Day,
And Drink full
Bowls of
Bliss, and Feast on endless
Love.
The
Royal Martyr in a Silver
Cloud
Drawn through the
Shining Ayr,
With Milky
Horses in a Golden
Chair;
Met His
Sons Spirit, and
welcom'd Him aloud,
Commending all His Pious
Care,
His wondrous
Clemency and
Wisdom Great,
Wherewith so long
He had sustain'd so
vast an
Empires weight;
"My
Son, My CHARLES, My
Heir in all that's
Good,
"As well, as in My
Name and in my
Blood,
"Now
welcom to these Blisful
Bowers;
"VVhere endless
Joys rain down in never-ceasing
Showers!
"Bless'd be that
Providence, that fix'd Thee on
"My once too-long Usurped
Throne;
"That did thy Sacred
Head Protect,
"From Trayt'rous
Plots of every discontented
Sect;
"And nourish'd in Thy Royal
Breast
"That Gracious
Soul, that Love to
Peace and
Rest,
"VVhich
Hell reveres, and
Heavenly-Minds respect▪
"Now since Thou'st Conquer'd all that boyst'rous Rage
"Of Fiery
Zeal, and Calm'd the troubled Age;
"'Tis time to enter these
Rewarding Gates,
"And leave thy BROTHER to fulfil His Happier
Fates.
"But say, say, how does that Our other
Son,
The
Heir of all Thy
Virtnes and Thy
Throne,
"My JAMES, even then a
Hopeful Boy,
VVhen I exchang'd a Crown of
Thorns for Everlasting
Joy?
III.
To whom the Second CHARLES reply'd,
VVith Calm
Serenity upon His
Brow,
Glorious as
Heroes newly
Deify'd,
And
Great as His Great
FATHER now;
Three times
He made a lowly
Bow,
And said, (the
Chariot slowly went along
Returning tow'rd th'
Angelick throng,
VVho made a shining
Lane, and bow'd and List'ned to His
Song)
"
Father, I've left th' Illustrious JAMES
below,
"Laden with
Triumphs and His
Peoples Love;
"Full of such
Bliss as Mortal
Regions know
"Except that sad
Alloy, which My
Decease did move:
"As I
Ascended through the
Neither-Air,
"I heard the welcom
Shouts of loving
Subjects ring,
"VVhile
Officers with Zealous
Voice declare,
"My Royal
Brother their Most Gracious
King.
"But
Hee, (for
Souls can take the softest
Voice)
"Bemoan'd the
Unsought Burthen of a
Crown:
"I heard him
sigh and say,
He never could rejoyce;
Till
He come up to
Heaven to
Me; or I to
Him go down.
"But after all My
Labours, Toyls and
Cares,
"For
Six and
Thirty teadious, rowling
Years,
"Methinks (and surely not amiss)
"The
shortest stay,
"On this side (tho' in sight of)
Bliss
"Is too too long
delay.
"To
Heavens High
Care and JAMES His we resign
"Our
Earthly Realms, and hast to those that
shine
"VVith un-extinguish'd
Day, and flow with Joys
Divine.
IV.
Now th'
Azure Gates of
Bliss expanded wide,
Receive the Glorious
Cavalcade;
Angels, like
Lacquyes, running on each side:
And wondrous
Tunes on
David's Lyre were play'd.
And parallel 'tween
CHARLES and
DAVID made,
In rapt'rous, strange,
Angelick Verse,
Too
strong and
High for
Mortals to rehearse!
Go! Blessed
CHARLES, receive those
Entertains,
VVorthy thy
Self, in Noble
Heavenly strains.
We, low and weak and
grovelling on the
Ground
Will
strive however to
advance a
sound,
That shall address to living
JAMES His
Ear;
And sure (for
He's like
CHARLES)
He will vouchsafe to
hear.
ADDRESS TO THE KING.
"GReat
JAMES! whose worth portends so vast a
Good;
"That even thy
Brother's loss is hardly understood,
"May all the
Glories of Thine
House and
Race
"Shine round Thy Sacred
Head, and kiss thy Royal
Face!
"And while their
Mercies Thou do'st
Imitate;
"May all their
Thunder on Thine
Anger wait!
"May all
adore Thy
Smile and
Dread Thee too;
"And those be forc'd, who
choose not thus to
do;
"May all thy
Parents and Thy
Brothers Fame,
"And
Years Extend Thy
Days, and
CROWN Thy
Name!
"May all Their
Virtues in Thy
Bosome meet;
"And all Their
Treasures Couch beneath Thy
Feet!
"May all their
Guardian-Angels round Thee stand;
"And all their
Blessings wait on Thy Command!
"And may'st Thou leave (when Thy long
Life's resign'd)
"Such matchless
Sons, as Thy Great
Father left behind!
Joshua Barns, M. A. Fellow of
Emmanuel Colledge.
TO THE Queen Dowager.
MAdam, whose
Mercies are so
boundless known,
That
justly they were match'd with
CHARLES His own;
The
sole Good
Queen, Worthy so good a Lord,
Who only
equal'd, whom all else
Ador'd:
Gladly to
You our
Muse would
comfort bring:
But ah! what
Comfort after such a
King?
VVe'ld Piously
Condole, and lend relief
VVith Loyal
Art to Your Exub'tant
Grief:
But ah! we're drown'd in
Tears, as well as You!
In
CHARLES His
Death all
Englands VVidow'd too.
You lost an
Husband and the best that e're
Did th' Honourable
Chains of
Wedlock wear:
Tis true, and sure Your
Grief we must allow:
But we're concern'd, Great
Queen, as deep as
You!
For
We the
Best of worthyest
Kings have lost!
No tender
Father could like
Mercies boast!
No
Heart can Fathom, and no
Tongue relate
Those
Blessings that on
CHARLES His
Reign did wait!
But oh! I've done: For, while to mind I call
His God-like
Worth: The Tears like
Rivers, fall
From Your Bright
Eyes, half languish'd now with
Cares,
Shaded with
Grief and almost quench'd in Tears!
Oh! who'ld not
melt, to see such Charming woe:
Majestick
Sorrows in so sad a
Show!
But ah! with
You we cannot
Sympathis
CHARLES fills our
Hearts, and flow
[...]
[...] at our
Eyes:
Nor can
We lend one
Tear, Great
Queen
[...]
You;
Nor can we to our
Grief one
sigh allow:
CHARLES has engrost our
Tears; and all we have,
Flow in one groaning
Torrent tow'rd His
Grave!
Yet when upon Your
Woes we cast an
Eye:
Tears fall more quick, and
Sobs do beat more high:
Compassion strives t' exalt Our
Grief the more,
But surely That was at the
heigth before.
Yet, Royal
Widow, this poor service take,
That tho' opprest with
Griefs, no Tongue can speak,
We yet at last desire more SORROW
for YOUR SAKE:
Joshua Barnes M. A. Fellow of
Emmanuel Colledge in
Cambridge.