THE Conflagration OF LONDON: POETICALLY DELINEATED.
AND Directed to the most Noble and DESERƲING CITIZEN Sir J. L. Knight and Baronet.
Ʋt Pictura Poesis. Horat.
LONDON, Printed for Sa. Gellibrand 1667.
The Conflagration of London, Poetically delineated; And directed to the most Noble, and Deserving Citizen, Sir J. L. Knight and Baronet.
‘Poetry's Painting, Horat.’
What ayls the Poet? what unwonted Fire
Thus on a sudden doth his breast inspire?
'Tis thine, O London; From thy Funeral Ʋrn
Those flames take birth, that do thy Poet burn.
Aetna is my Parnassus; and a Cup 5
Of liquid Fire, Vesuvius belcheth up,
My sacred Spring; To give my Passions vent,
I need no other Muse, then th' Argument.
Your favour, Sir, my Muse and I implore,
(Friend to the Poet, to the Muses more;)10
'Tis your Concern. Those neighbour-flames, I sing,
That Divine Mercy to remembrance bring,
Which those small Reliques, where a part you have,
So lately snatcht from a great City's Grave.
Scarce hath the City clear'd Infectious Heats 15
Scarce yet her Pulse to healthful Measures beats;
When (loe!) a sorer Fever her befalls:
A fatal Fire, conceiv'd in private walls,
Nurs'd by contempt, at last grows past Arrest;
Desies all Aids, and scorns to be supprest. 20
Conflagratio Londinensis Poetice depicta: Patricioque Nobilissimo, Doctissimoque, J. L. Eq. Aur. Inscripta.
‘Ut Pictura Poesis. Horat.’
HAec nova quae rabies Vati? Quis carminis aestus
Jamdudum insueta populatur pect or a flamma?
Nempe, tua (Urbs nostrae quondam clarissima Gentis)
Funera deflentes, cognato carpimur Igne.
Aetna mihi Parnassus; & hausto plena Vesevo 5
Mens furit; & totis Incendia mista medullis
Concipit; In Musam mihi sufficit Argumentum.
Tu modo (Vir dilecte mihi, dilecte Camoenis)
Ʋs{que} fave, dum magna absolvimus ausa minores;
Nam tua res agitur. Tot proxima Busta canentes, 10
Te monitum Officii volumus, parvas{que} furentis
Relliquias Ignis, (tantae tantilla ruinae
Fragmenta,) aeterno dignas ut Numine grates
Reddatis; vobis, quo, flamma, jubente, pepercit.
Nondum tota, (diu lethali noxia Tabo,)15
Desaevit Pestis; nondum rediviva salutem
Senserat; (ecce!) novam cumulata strage ruinam
Urbs patitur. Parvus, contemptu{que} auctior, Ignis,
Grassatur late; vastamque per omnia cladem
Spargit; inaccesso bacchatus ubi{que} furore. 20
Heaven's bellows blow the Coals, and every where
Toss wanton Fire-balls dancing in the air.
The liquid Pitch in flaming clowds doth fly,
And scatters clammy Lightnings in the sky:
The scared Citizens, with trembling, gaze, 25
To watch the downfal of the hovering blaze;
Till, where least fear'd, it lights, and fatal showers
Through Chimney-tops into their dwellings powers.
Buckets and Pumps they now for service press;
The service hot, and dubious the success:30
They drain the Thames, and from the broken Lead
Divert those streams which private dwellings fed.
Each Street a Brook becomes, each Damme a Pond;
Cask knockt o' th' head, and noblest Juices, tunn'd
Not for these uses, now to these assign'd: 35
The sober stream with sprightly Nectar joyn'd,
Great Engines on the thirsty Flame did shed,
But what the one did quench, the other fed:
The unctuous liquors with the Foe conspire,
And drunken Vulcan vomits fiercer Fire. 40
Who dwelt together, now together burn;
And houses mixt, to mixed Ashes turn.
What was the Nurse of Trade, becomes its Fate;
And neigbourhood doth now depopulate.
The flame's augmented by the houses crowd, 45
Its hunger still encreasing by its food.
The Mower strikes not more destructive stroaks,
When from the Field he polls her golden locks:
Then doth the flaming Sythe deal fatal blows,
Whiles streets on swathes its keener fury throws. 50
Quinetiam accensos animavit follibus ignes
Eurus, in aethereo volvens Incendia caelo.
Ʋundi{que} sulphureae librantur in Aëre nubes;
Huc, illuc, ventoraptae, casu{que} minaces,
Pinguia longinquo dispergunt fulgura tractu; 25
Deinde cadunt, summisque ardent fastigia tect is.
Irriguisque simul perfundunt Ignibus aedes,
Flamma tenax piceis quascun{que} amplectitnr Ulnis.
Dum tamen est Undis visus superabilis Hostis,
Flumine certatum est. Ʋbertim affunditur Humor; 30
Hauritur situlis Thamisis; caeduntur ubi{que}
Qui privata prius subierunt Tecta Canales:
Vicatim ruit unda, objecto{que} aggere stagnat.
Quinetiam, effract is vacuantur Dolia fundis,
Egeritur{que} liquor non hos servatus in usus. 35
Sobria Nympha fluit generoso mista Lyaeo;
Pugnantes{que} simul jaculatur Machina fluctus,
Extinctura sitim Vulcani; at victa Lyaeo
Lympha fuit, donec nimio perfusus Jaccho,
Ebrius evomuit duplicatos Mulciber Ignes. 40
Jam{que} ardent junctae vicinis aestibus aedes;
Exitio est habitare simul; commercia vitae
Mutua quod dederat, spargit contagia Fati:
Nam{que} novi augentur conferta strage furores;
Congesta{que} fames Vulcani crescit ab offa. 45
Ʋt{que} simul densus prosternit Meslor aristas;
Auratis{que} comis spoliatum undat agellum:
Sic acies vastam rutilans demessuit Ʋrbem;
Faecundam flammae segetem, qua densior ulla
Haud fuit in terris Phoebo sub utro{que} locatis. 50
Now water's useless: and the next intent,
Is by great ruines, greater to prevent.
By Hooks and Mines, next houses levell'd lie,
In hope, the flames may for meer hunger die.
But all in vain: Those ruines prove a stile 55
O're which the fire strides to the standing Pile.
Yea, where its actual contact is deny'd,
Like mischiefs from inflamed air betide.
Here, ruinous cracks; there, doleful shreeks do sound,
And those, that danger should unite, confound. 60
False fears suggested, common Aids distract;
While each his Cabin voids, the Vessel's wrackt:
Their emptied houses to the flames they yield;
And change the City for the open field.
So have I seen, when with a fatal spade 65
The Gard'ner doth an Emmet-hill invade:
How busie crowds with laden shoulders, wander,
Some this, some that way, here some, others yonder;
Their brood and goods removing in a trice,
They know not whither: onely this advice 70
They jointly take, to leave their ruin'd Cell;
And seek new Homes, where they may safer dwell.
Thus, scatter'd Citizens trudg up and down,
Some, charg'd with others goods, some with their own;
Th' uncertain crowd with various motion reels, 75
And following feet oppress preceding heels.
The poor man's pack is light, as is his foot,
The rich man's load his slower pace doth suit.
The Porter makes his Markets in the wrack;
A friend, or foe, as he bestows his Pack. 80
Flumineam dum spernit Opem Vulcanius Hostis:
Hinc Uncis, illinc, nitrato pulvere, Cives,
Proxima grassanti subvertunt tecta ruinae;
Praeripiunt{que} avidis obnoxia pabula flammis.
Incassum. Prostrata etenim per rudera scandens 55
Ignea Tempestas, distantes contigit aedes.
Quin, nec jam contactu opus est: longe{que} remota
Aestibus assiduis ignitus corripit Aer.
Cuncta fragore strepunt, circumsonat undi{que} Terror;
Dissonus auditur clamor; falsi{que} timores, 60
Dissociant junctas ad certa pericula vires;
Dum sibi quis{que} cavet, cumulantur publica Damna.
Diripit ipsa suos incondita Turba Penates;
Direptam{que} fugit, quaqua patet exitus, Urbem;
Vix ausi quicquam nisi aperto credere coelo. 65
Haud aliter Fossor, terram versante ligone,
Si formicarum fortasse invaserit aedes;
Densa cohors, hinc, inde, humeris discurrit onustis:
Momento egeritur faetusque, & parva supellex,
Quo tamen, incertum est: unum hoc commune videtur 70
Concilium Genti, temerata relinquere tecta,
Eversa{que} novas patria sibi quaerere sedes.
Moesta per intact as palatur Turba plateas,
Sarcinulis onerata suis pars, pars alienis.
Truditur hic veniente prior, trudit{que} priorem, 75
In{que} vicem confusa cohors urgetur, & urget:
Hic, velox parvo properat sub pondere pauper:
Praegrandi tardus nimium gemit ille sub auro:
Bajulus in partem praedae discurrit; & ipsas
Queis venit auxilio, velut hostis, diripit aedes. 80
And happy now's the mean estate! The higher
Affords but richer prey to thievs and fire.
The rates of Portage with the danger rise;
Sometimes, Half valew's thought but equal Price:
And sometimes, half's too short: Justice gives odds 85
To him that stakes a life against my goods.
Now range the flames, like Travellers in peace,
Where success hopeless is, endeavours cease:
The Battel's given for lost; and former checks
The Victor into hotter vengeance vex. 90
O're flowing eyes their flaming Homes bewail,
But Tears cannot, where Floods would not avail:
So th' helpless Bird about her plundred nest,
Chatters and flutters, fain she would arrest
Her Fate; but over-match'd, takes the next tree, 95
And there bemoans the wrack she's forc'd to see.
Here Caesar comes, with buckets in his eyes,
And Father in his Heart. Come, come, he cryes,
Let's make one onset more. The scatter'd Troops
At his word rally, and retrieve their Hopes: 100
The Rebel Flames, they say, felt Charles was there;
And sneaking back, grew tamer then they were:
So that, no doubt, were fates to be defeated
By Man, the City's Fate had then retreated.
But Loyalty befriends the Flames. Their own 105
Dangers neglected, thine affrights. Alone,
Alone, dear Sir, let's fall, they cry'd alowd,
And hazard not three Kingdoms in a crowd.
Long may King Charles survive his Cities Fate,
His life, and all our hopes bear equal Date: 110
Esse inopem quando{que} juvat! Quo quis{que} minora
Possidet, hoc minor est flammae furum{que} rapina.
Nec non vecturae pretium, crescente periclo,
Crescit; & (in spoliuni intentus) sua Portitor ipse
Pondera, cum Dominis pacto partitur iniquo. 85
Justa tamen quando{que} petit, discrimina vitae
Qui subit, & semesa rapit sua praemia flammis.
Jam data pax Igni. Nullo prohibente, vagatur.
Desperata salus, conatus reddit inertes;
Auxilium omne malis lassum succumbit; & aestus 90
Repressi toties, nec victi, saevior Ira est.
Spectant attoniti sua tecta ruentia Cives,
Et fundunt lacrimas; lacrimis nec posse domari
Spes est, diluvium quos vix extingueret, Ignes.
Si [...] puero rapiente tuos, Philomela, penates, 95
Qua licet, accedis, ramo{que} innixa propinquo,
Voce strepis, sed voce nequis tua sistere Damna.
Subsidio mox Caesar adest, operam{que} remissam
Excitat; ut{que} Patrem Patriae, (poscente periclo,)
Induerat totis, exuto Rege, medullis: 100
Sic monitis, precibus, lacrymis, cessantibus instat,
Ignis uti Carolum sentiret adesse rebellis.
Nec dubium, humanis si posset viribus ultra
Obsisti Fatis, habitura ibi Fata regressum.
Immemor ipsa sui, tua jam, (Rex chare) pericla 105
Urbs metuit. Quoties dubiae committere Turbae
Dilectum vetuere caput; solisque perire
Ʋt per Te liceat, petierunt, Carole, Cives?
Vive diu, dixere, Parens, nostris{que} superstes
Funeribus, superes Pylii tria saecla Tyranni; 110
Flames can't undo us, whiles the King's secure;
He lost, though sav'd from flames, we must be poor.
Thus did the pious Trojan venture rather
All's Treasure to the City's wrack than's Father!
His subjects Love forc'd Caesar to withdraw: 115
More griev'd to leave the Loyalty he saw.
Next princely York, with sweat and dirt besmear'd,
(More glorious thus, then in his Robes) appear'd.
He, Neptune-like, his watry Realm doth raise;
And's noble Arm the spit-flood Engine sways:120
That baffled, next, his Thundering Canons spew
An armed Blaze, with Flames Flames to subdue;
But whom the conquer'd Dutch and French did fly,
These Foes, ('twas out of's Element,) defie.
All help at last grows helpless, but the Last. 125
That too, they try. To Churches, now (in hast)
Some fly for shelter, ne're were there before;
Others to mourn, they ne're shall see 'em more.
The flames even them, with th' owners leave, surprize,
Nor was't then sacrilege, but Sacrifice. 130
That reverend Fabrick, which the world admir'd,
Amongst a crowd of lesser note, is fir'd.
Its cloud-surmounting Steeple flame'd so high,
That threat'ned Heavens ne're fear'd a flame so nigh.
Yea, some beholders thought 'twas more then fear'd, 135
Whiles falling sparks like falling Stars appear'd.
The Fates themselves, burnt Monuments intomb'd;
Their Alabaster melts: and (what's presum'd
Beyond Art's power) Marble's fusile grown;
The sacred Reliques of the Dead are thrown 140
Cede modo, & nostris spem Regni subtrahe Fatis.
Te salvo, Columen rerum, nos nulla ruina
Funditus evertet; Tibi siquis casus iniquus
Obtigerit, flamma quamvis parcente, ruemus.
Sic pius eduxit, Troja flragrante, Parentem 115
Aeneas, animam{que} opibus tot praetulit unam!
Victa est Majestas pietate; dolens{que} recedit,
Et magis inde dolens, ubi sic se vidit amari.
Tu simul Eboracensis ades, sudore, luto{que}
Sordidus, at Tyrio minus aspectabilis Ostro:120
Poscis aquas, iterum{que} cies (tua Regna) profundum;
Undivoma at{que} tua contorta est Machina dextra.
Te{que} salutares bombarda armata jubente,
Evomuit flammas, at{que} Ignes Igne fugavit.
Quas timuere tamen Batavi Galli{que} feroces, 125
Non timet Ignipotens accensas Mulciber Iras.
Ultima plebs tandem sensit conanima frustra
Intendi: & votis Numen (quae sola supersunt)
Sollicitat; votis sed inexorabile Numen.
Dum delubra petunt, ardent delubra; nec ipsis 130
Sacrilega Omnipotens Incendia depulit Aris.
Te{que} stupor Mundi, Moles Paulina, tuam{que}
Pyramidem, summo ferientem vertice Nubes,
Corripiunt Ignes avidi, & caelo inde minantur;
Nec timuere unquam propiores sidera flammas. 135
Quinetiam, similes referunt labentibus astris
Culmine ab excelso visas cecidisse favillas.
Ipsa{que} succensis tumulantur Fata sepulcris:
Effluit in flammas Alabastrum; ipsum{que} (quod Arte
Posse negant fieri) fit casu fusile Marmor. 140
Out of their Tombs; and by a means unthought,
Are, with their Tombs, from Dust to Ashes brought.
[At building Pauls,] in the late Proverbs sense,
Henceforth, I doubt, may Prophesie commence:
And after-times for what of thee they know, 145
Shall more to th' Pencil, then the Trowel owe.
Oft, unawares, doth man's presaging mind
Sent future harms! sure, Dugdale, that inclin'd
Thy too Prophetick Genius, to prevent
The Fate of that illustrious monument, 150
Which, what it was, (sith 'twas not long to be)
Had scarce been long knowable, but for Thee.
Write Dugdale, with thy Founders, Pauls, and more:
Immortal made by him; by none, before.
With sacred Flames a learned Blaze doth rise:155
(For Twins, they say, Twin-Fates do oft surprize)
The labours of the teeming Press and Brain,
(An off-spring Ages can't restore again)
One Howr destroys: St. Faiths betrusted Cell,
(For publick Faith it was) turn'd Infidel. 160
So Phoebus ne're for Phaeton did mourn,
As now he did; the Sisters Nine did burn
Their golden Tresses in the richer Fire;
And mourning-blacks did Palla's Court attire;
Tear-flouds foul'd Helicon; your Poets wit 165
Runs Muddy, (Sir) with this short sip of it.
The common Fate, the Royal Change doth share,
Babel of Tongues; the Ʋniverses Fair;
Where both Poles daily met, and what between
The vast extent of both the Poles is seen; 170
Quinetiam, excelso delapsa cacumine moles
Corpora nudavit Tumulis expressa; suis quae
Cum Tumulis siunt, jam, plusquam nomine, Busta.
Jamdudum reparanda Domus, jam tota ruinis
Succumbis, nullo deinceps reparabilis aevo. 145
Sed nec tota peris; quam poster a sentiet aetas
Dugdaliis nuper descriptam vivere chartis.
O, Quoties praesaga mali Mens nostra futuri est,
Nec tamen agnoscit! Certe, haec te, Dugdale, Vates
Praemonuit, memori sculptam mandare Tabellae 150
Illustrem hanc Aedem, quae (tam cito nulla futura)
Qualis erat, posthac, nisi per te, ignota futura est.
Divisam famam cum Fundatore, proinde,
Tu Descriptor habes; nisi quod tua Gloria major,
Qui facis aeternam, quam struxerat ille caducam. 155
Nec non (fertur enim sociari Fata Gemellis,)
Augentur sacri, doctis Ardoribus ignes.
Innumeros{que} simul cerebri, praeli{que} labores,
(Aetatum prolem) in cineres brevis Hora resoluit.
Gaza fuit penso contra pretiosior Auro 160
Deposita ad Sanctae Fidei, sed (rara reperta est
Publica Sancta Fides) inimicis prodita Flammis.
Te, Phaëthonteis minus indoluisse ruinis,
Phaebe, ferunt; scissos{que} rogos auxere sorores
Crine novem; atrata funus sect ante Minerva; 165
Turbatur lacrimis Helicon; non pura Poetae
Vena exinde fluit, caenoso è fonte bibenti.
In partem trahitur Regalis Bursa ruinae,
Linguarum Babel, & Mundi Mercatus; utrum{que}
Quottidie complexa Polum, quod{que} inter utrum{que} est, 170
The Kingdoms's Marble Chronicle. To thee,
(Great Prince) it shew'd thy Royal Pedegree,
For three times nine Descents. Thy Next, the best;
Dislodg'd by Rebels, by thee, repossest:
Now, with the Church he bugg'd, in Ruines lies, 175
But hopes, by second Charles, a second Rise.
By Him, you stood, his Name's and Vertue's Heir,
The make-Peace Act your gracious Hand did bear,
Draught of that Mind, which in your Royal Breast
The Image of th' Eternal Mind exprest; 180
In whom, Oblivion vertue is, and who
(As you) by Pardons Treason doth subdue.
For Rebels, whom despair with courage armes,
A safe retreat into subjection charmes.
Whence, though the Marble, and the paint be not, 185
Charles living, th' Amnesty 'll ne're be forgot.
Gresham the Kings survives. The grateful flame
The Founder spar'd, that would not spare the Frame.
The watry Region scapes not. Conquering flames
Owe an ill Turn unto their Foe, the Thames. 190
Scullers, and Oars, now, Westward Ho! all cry'd,
Nor had they leisure to expect a Tide.
From the Lee-shoar the Ships in haste retire;
The Wind was thought a milder Foe, then Fire.
The River shrinks, and from the threatning Heats 195
Now to the spring, now to the Sea, retreats.
An Envoy-wave dispatcht to Thetis Court,
Implores her Help. Which granted, to the Port
She march'd; but when she saw the flames, she fled,
2 [...]0 And under water hid her frighted Head.
Marmoreum Regni Chronicon; serie{que} vetusta
Exhibuit quondam proavos tibi, CAROLE, Reges.
Optimus a dextris steterat Tibi. Sede revulsum
Restituisse redux Piet as tua gestit avita,
Et reduci charis Ecclesia fulsit in Ulnis; 175
Nunc jacet, expectat{que} iterum, Te dante, reponi.
Proximus Ipse Patri fueras; quem Nominis Hares,
Exprimis & virtute pari. Diploma tenebat
Pacificum pacata Manus; Mentem{que} benignam
Exhibuit, Menti similem per cuncta meanti, 180
Subjectum cui mira tenet clementia Mundum.
Haec quo{que} laus vestra est; Non vi domuisse rebelles,
Sed sceleri temere admisso prebendo receptum.
Frustra igitur, Vulcane furens, in Marmora saevis;
Dum manet (& maneat) quem Muta expressit I mago, 185
Et retinet Carolus descriptam in Marmore mentem.
Septem habuit supra bis denos nobilis Ordo [...]
Sceptrigeros, flammae praedam; dum Regibus ipsis
Ʋnicus a grato stat Conditor Igne superstes.
Sed ne{que} grassantem prohibent victricibus regna; 190
Nam{que} memor Pugnae, pergit victricibus Armis
Mulciber in Portus, inimicis{que} imminet Undis.
Omniae confestim solvunt retinacula Puppes
Permissae Ventis: ea visa est lenior Ira.
Decrescit Thamisis; motu{que} reciproca, Fontes 195
Nunc petit, Oceanum versus nunc territa tendit.
Nuncius aequoream Fluctus praemissus ad Aulam
Sollicitat Thetin; a fundo Thetis excitat imo
Auxilia; & montes praeruptos volvit aquarum;
Sed simulac vidit majores Fluctibus Ignes, 200
Whiles heated waves thus on themselves recoyl,
The Deep, without a Metaphor, doth boyl.
The scaly Troops scarce safe at bottom were;
The daring Foes chas'd, and attaqu'd 'em there.
The Fishermen, ne're made so strange a draught; 205
'Tis thought, the Fish were parboyl'd, that they caught.
Four days did Phoebus set, but made no night:
A brighter blaze supply'd his baffled light.
And all that while, the City wak'd: what sense
Of weakness call'd for, danger frighted thence. 210
'Till the fift Sun ascending from the East,
With joy, beheld the Emulous Fire supprest.
Whether, because the Suburbs, where it stay'd,
Were less with crowded buildings overlay'd:
Or their brick Edifices stopp'd it there:215
Or that the Flames, so spread, more feeble were,
(As boggs hasht into Gutters, soon are dry'd:)
Or that the wind had spit out's Lungs, and dy'd,
Is doubted. Out of doubt, at God's arrest,
The all-devouring flames themselves confest 220
Conquer'd, and yielded to receive again
Their former (now too long rejected) chain.
The Fire is out. But dismal marks are seen,
To tell succeeding Ages where't hath been.
The Fate of old Troy did new Troy betide, 225
Its doubtful Pedigree's thus justifi'd.
The City now is the once-Cities Tomb,
A sceleton of fleshless bones become.
Its venerable Ruines have the Name
Of what it was, but little else the same: 230
Consternata suis fugiens caput abdidit undis.
Aestuat interea, quo non assueverat, aestu,
Flumen; & ima petens (vix imo tuta profundo)
Squamigera insolitos miratur Turba calores.
Retia{que} in tepido Piscator gurgite tendens, 205
Educit tepido tepefactum gurgite piscem.
Quatriduum sine Nocte agitur; Nam sole fugato
Prorogat us{que} Diem, superat{que} Vicarius Ardor.
Quatriduum insomnes peragunt; suasere soporem
Exhaustae lassis vires, vetuere peric'la. 210
Quintus ubi Eois Titan emerserat undis,
Aemula jam tandem visa est decrescere Flamma.
Seu, quoniam, media quo longius itur ab Urbe,
Rarior occurrit, spatio{que} remotior, aedes;
Coctilis & paries surgit, non commodus Igni:215
Sive (quod in sulcos divisis accidit Undis)
Sparsus in extremas partes elanguit aestus:
Sive Euri furor, exhausto pulmone, resedit:
Sive aliud (Coelo certe miserante,) repressit
Vulcani rabiem: tandem se fassa domari, 220
Induit excussas vastatrix flamma catenas.
Magna tamen tantae remanent vestigia stragis
Ʋs{que} vel ad seros forsan mansura Nepotes.
Troja nova est jam Troja vetus; dum{que} omina replet
Nominis, & tantae fatis aequata Parenti, 225
Occidit; inde fidem dubiis natalibus addit.
Urbs Augusta sibi incubuit, sibi facta sepulchrum;
Carnibus ossa exuta jacent, sceleton{que} venusti
Corporis ostentant, ipsa venerabile Clade.
Et velut in Tumulis cassorum lumine Regum 230
As in Kings Monuments, their Ashes bear
Titles and Scutcheons, which the Kings did wear.
Its greatest part without the walls bestow'd;
London's not now within, but gone abroad.
Grief cramps my heart; nor doth my Muse suffice 235
To the last Act of London's Tragedies.
Let those impregnate Fancies, which the view
Of that disaster fill'd, this Theme pursue:
Meer Fame, I know, dull Notions must infuse;
Yet wish not such a sight, t' enrich my Muse. 240
In brief, (for tir'd Accountants close with Greats)
Know; Churches, Publick Halls, and Princely Seats,
Schools, Hospitals; and what brave Piles so e're,
For State, or Ʋse, our Ancestors did rear,
Lye raz'd: with what was rais'd by later Times, 245
To eternize their Vertues, or their Crimes.
All Europe mourns at London's Funerals.
Yea, our suspected Foes (if true, or false,
Day 'll bring to light) like solemn Grief declare.
We, (sith we wish 'em innocent) not dare 250
To charge 'em with a guilt, they thus disclaim.
And yet, if time shall hidden fraud proclaim,
Resolve to lash 'em. Our just Muse bestows
Bays on the Valiant, Rods on treacherous Foes.
Nil, quod erat, praeter cineres, & Nomina restat:
Nomen habent cineres; Urbs vix reperitur in Urbe:
Exulat (heu!) exclusasuis pars maxima muris.
Plura loqui dolor ipse vetat: ne{que} sufficit ultra
Melpomene aequalem mihi tanta ad funera versum. 35
Vos, quibus ista oculis subjecta fidelibus, alta
Mente reposta sedet, Musam{que} impraegnat Imago,
Scribite. Nam{que} audita mihi, non visa, canenti
(Nec vellem vidisse tamen) sterilescat oportet
Ingenium, specie nequaquam compare fultum. 240
Nec mihi propositum est, numerum superantia damna
Exigere ad numeros, (generatim dicere lasso
Sufficiat:) Fumant Musaea, Palatia, Templa,
Hospitia: & quicquid sumptu spectabile, & usu,
Antiqua extruxit Pietas; & quicquid avitis 245
Magnifici adjecit pietas, luxusve Nepotum.
Indolet interea nostris Europa ruinis.
Quin & suspectus tanti modo criminis Hostis
Ingemit, aut saltem cupit ingemuisse videri.
Nos, neque, quae voluisse negant, objecta probamus: 250
Sed ne{que} (si volvenda dies, quae vera Tenebris
Eruit, indiciis fraudem nudabit apertis;)
Parcemus: cumulare simul benefacta parati
Laudibus; & malefacta notis proscindere justis.
THE AUTHOR TO THE GRAVER, Ʋpon occasion of a Draught of London in Flames, designed to have been prefixed as a Frontispice to the Poem, but forborn upon second thoughts.
HOld Graver hold, in vain thou doest engage
To crowd the Poem into th' Title Page;
Thy Picture much beneath thy Project falls,
Though thou present us flames and tottering Walls:
If that be all, thy Title thou'lt belye;
The Scene's the least part of the Tragedy.
Canst thou delineate shrieks, and doleful cryes,
That rent the Clouds, and pierc'd the melting Skies?
Can thy Lines reach to accent Babels voices,
Or, give the Eccho to confused Noyses?
Canst thou express the bawlings of a Crowd,
Wherein none's heard, 'cause every one is lowd?
And the extortion, thefts, and cozening Feats
Of Porters, Carters, Watermen, and Cheats?
Canst thou describe the sounds of tuneless Bells,
Whose awkward Musick tolls their Steeples knells?
The cracks of tumbling Houses; and the greeting▪
Of tottering Roofs, and battering Canons meeting?
Canst thou to view expose the hissing streams
Of melted Metals, checkt with quenching streams!
Or, draw the Medley of compounded smells,
Forc'd, some from fragrant, some from nasty Cells?
Canst reach the Horrours of distemper'd Minds,
Where ghastly fear with woful grief combines;
A grief, that Mourning from Amazement borrows,
Whiles Tears are stifled by profounder sorrows?
Or, th' Hurry which distracted Fancies fills,
Where, thought stabs thought; and project, project kills:
Where, what to save's in doubt, till all be lost,
And slow Resolves by speedy Fates are cross'd!
Canst draw the Misers Passions, while he laggs
In midst of flames, hugging his darling Baggs;
Whom, loth to lose, and loth to give, divide,
Neer sacrific'd to what he deifi'd?
Or a just Love 'twixt equal Children parted,
When, one must be preferr'd, th' other deserted:
Or, whilest both goods, and Childrens danger scares
The Mothers bowels, and the Fathers cares!
Or, labouring throws, and Births precipitate,
Where the Fright's Midwife, and the Nurse is Fate!
If all these miss'd in thy Picture are,
Not th' hundredth part of Londons Woes is there.
Hold then: For old Plays fashion pleaseth not,
Wherein, the Prologue onely told the Plot.
Yet, (now I think on't) somewhat thou may'st do
To stead the Stationer, and Poem too.
The Book is sometimes turn'd for th' Baby-Letter;
And sorry Cuts help Ballads off the better.
In Chawcer, since his Language grew so stale,
Each Picture speaks more English, then its Tale.
And in Saints Legends Romanists believe
The Cut's do best edification give.
Perhaps thou may'st too, better Readers draw
To greet a Muse, till now, they never saw.
For oft the Bush directs us to the Wine,
And men know where the Sight is, by the Sign.
Go on, for once then. But thy Next shall be
A Nobler Draught, if thou'lt be rul'd by me.
Take my Directions, and I'll shew thee how
To act th' Engraver, and the Poet too.
Conceit Troy's Flames, and those that Nero made
To symbolize with the sad Tune he play'd.
Or those, He made, whose Name did
Brennus
Burning bear,When Jove, and Rome to Geese obliged were.
With those that laid Jerusalem in Dust;
And those of forreign Vulcans, ta'ne on Trust
From Travellers; t' impregnate thy Design,
And make thy lines more to resemble mine.
Then, from some Ghostly Father get a spell
To view the Cave (they say) joynes next to Hell;
From that Original thy Fancy fill,
(For, that's pure fancy,) and go, try thy skill.
And lastly, antedate the General Fire
In thought: and thy Invention thence inspire.
Thus arm'd; take Londons Situation right;
And spread a Mantle o're 't of blackest Night;
Take Lights and shades from its Blaze. Lookers on
Were satisfied, it might supply the Sun.
Nex, place instead of th' often changing Dame,
A black Clowd, big with sheets of oylie Flame;
Ruffled by Eurus, puffing out of th' East
Aetnean Vapours from's incensed Breast:
Let them drop melted stars, toss'd up and down
To scatter Ruines through the scared Town;
Out of the Skies (to shew from whence it came)
Stretch out an Hand, arm'd with a Rod of Flame:
Bound with a scrowl; which let this Motto fill,
LONDON Amend: His Hand is stretcht out still.
Let Flames on March, a mile in Front appear,
Brought up, with ruines smoth'ring in the Rear.
Before, express me Paul's as yet entire,
Its leaden Roof, weeping for fear o'th' Fire.
Some dwellings charg'd by the Van Heats, let smoak:
Let others stand forlorn, t' expect the shock.
On tops of some, thick Clouds with Buckets arm
For Charge, but flying at the next Alar'm.
Let ruining hooks others exposed, shake;
And gaping Chasmes let warlike Engines make.
Express me Roofs blown up into the Air;
And Flames they fly beneath, let meet 'em there.
Next, draw a reeking Thames, and Barges flying
With scorched Sayls, and stifled Fishes dying.
This done: A Jesuit cut▪ 'ith' view o'th' whole,
At Faux's Bo-peep in some lurking Hole;
Laughing in's sleeve: and let this be the Mot,
Ha! This hits better then the Powder Plot!
For close: At top of Pauls let be exprest
A melting Phoenix in a flaming Nest.
Hope will expound the Embleme; though I fear
Few hope, 'twill soon be verified there.
In summe: If any wish this Draught annext,
Say, This Edition sold, it may i'th' next.
FINIS.