Who in their greatest cost And wish them not reply, And when they doe reply, Tell Fortune of her blindnesse ; Tell Friendship of vnkindnesse; Tell Justice of delay: And if they will reply, Tell Arts they haue no soundnesse, Tell Schooles they want profoundnesse, Deserues no lesse than stabbing; MY PILGRIMAGE. GIUE me my scallop-shell of quiet, My gowne of glory, hope's true gage; Over the silver mountains, The bowle of bliss, And drink mine everlasting fill My soule will be adry before, AN EPITAPH. (Said to have been written the night before his Execution.) EUEN such is Time, which takes on trust Our youth, and ioyes, and all we haue, And payes us but with age and dust, Which in the dark and silent graue, When we have wandred all our wayes, Shuts up the story of our dayes; And from which earth, and graue, and dust, The Lord shall raise me up, I trust. XXI. ABRAHAM FRAUNCE. PSALM LXXII. GOD, th' æternal God, noe doubt is good to the godly, Giuing grace to the pure, and mercy to Israel holy: And yet, alas! my feete, my faynte feet gan to be slyding, And I was almost gone and fall'n to a dangerous error. For my soul did grudg, my hart consumed in an ger, And myne eyes disdayng'd, when I saw that such men abounded With wealth, health, and joy, whose myndes with myschif abounded, Theyr body stowt and strong, theyr lyms still lyuely apearing, Neyther feare any panges of death, nor feele any sicknes: Some still mourne, they laughe: some lyue unfortunate euer, They for ioy doe triumphe, and taste aduersity neuer; Which makes them with pryde, with scornful pryde to be chayned, And with blood-thirsting disdaigne as a roabe to be cou'red. * Tush! say they, can God from the highest heauens to the lowest Earth vouchsaulf, thinck you, those prince-like eyes be bowing? 'Tis but a vaine conceipt of fooles to be fondly referring Euery jesting trick and trifling toy to the Thundrer : For loe these be the men whoe rule and reign with aboundance; These, and who but these? Why then, what meane I to lift up Cleane handes and pure hart to the heu'ns? what meane I to offer Praise and thanksgeuing to the Lord? what meane I to suffer Such plagues with patience? Yea, and almost had I spoken Euen as they did speake, which thought noe God to be guyding. But soe should I, alas! haue iudged thy folk to be luckless, Thy sons forsaken, thy saints vnworthily haples. Thus did I thinck and muse, and search what might be the matter: But yet I could not, alas! conceaue so hidden a woonder, Vntil I left myself, and all my thoughts did abandon, And to thy sacred place, to thy sanctuary, lastly repayred. There did I see, O Lord, these men's vnfortunate endings; Endings mute, and fit for their vngodly beginnings. Then did I see how they did stand in slippery places, |