UNderstanding how deservedly you are numbred among the Virtuoso's of the Age, I have been emboldened upon that account, to single you out for the Per­son whom I should certify of the most signall occurrences which have hap­pened lately in this place; Perhaps this sheet or two may prove troublesome to the perusers of Books in generall, and something uncivill towards you in particular; why, if they do, yet as to the first the admira­blenesse of their Subject-matter will abundantly excuse them, which was the cause of their comeing forth at all; and as to the second, your Fame will shelter them under her ca­pacious wings, which was the cause of their comeing thus Superscrib'd: The truth is, when I found how acceptable the Ragguagli di Parnasso (publish't by my predecessor) was to the ingenious part of mankind, mee thoughts I could not but do the present and future generation a very great injury should I have concealed what now I hope may [Page 4] have the good fortune to passe through your hands far­ther into the World: Know therefore, Sir, that yesterday morning His Majesty Apollo discarded a Theologo of great note, who was discovered to have been first a Tre­mulist, then a Lacu-Lemanian, then a Theïst, next an Arnheimian, and now last of all a compleat Orthodoxo only for fashion sake; Three dayes before that he had cashier'd Mercurio Europaeo his Gazett-writer for pub­lishing that for true, which was not so, neither was it at all like to be so, viz: that at the great solemnity of the Coronation of your invincible Archon CHARLES the II, the Prior of St Trinity took his place as Alderman of the great City: This morning the Embassadours from Al­maine, whose errand hither was to be informed what those Fires, Crosses, Turbants, which they had seen at home in the aire might portend, received this Answer in His Ma­jesties name from the Procurator of the Oracle, Presbitery is better than Independency, Episcopacy is better than Presbytery, but Quakerisme is better than Trentisme: Just now at Dinner-time this present day, being (if I cal­culate aright) your first of May, there was much joy all o­ver the Court by reason of a certa [...]n great benefit which is shortly to redownd upon the whole Ʋniverse as Apollo out of his certain fore-knowledge of things told a near Favorite; the particulars are not known, but it is to bee by a Marriage betwixt two Mighty Princes both living neare the Atlantick: Our Agents abroad send us not much news, by reason of the late happy Generall peace in Europe; only from what we have by private intelli­gence, wee hope shortly to see from the double top of our Sacred Hill the Christian Princes of the West joyne for­ces again [...]t their common Mahumetan enemy upon a better account than the determination of a blind Councell at Cler­mont, that so by the help of their successefull armes our proud Ottoman oppressors power may be abated, and he no more [Page 5] raise armies able to besiedge Austria; it being more than time for us to be freed from his Tyranny, and date our let­ters not from the Flight of an Impostor, but from the come­ing of the true Prophet: In order to the improvement of Learning his Majesty has referr'd the care of new Experi­mentall Philosophy to the honourable R.B. his Hermeticall Esquire R:H, and the rest of the Right Knowing Verula­mians; of Platonicall Philosophy to H. M; of ingenuous writings to J. H. Esquire; And as for Poëtry (to omit the rest at present) he resolves to be himselfe still the vigilant o­verseer thereof, and to keep it up in its height; and he has already made good progresse in his designe by well impro­ving so sublime a Theme offered as your Aprill 22 and 23; for, being informed of the almost unutterable glory of those two days, of the Magnificent processe of that sacred person to his Throne, and his more magnificent seating there-on, hee presently summon'd all the Poëtts, told 'um what he had heard, required them to exercise every one their severall Fancys on so extraordinary a subject, and appointed Fam. Strada Master of the Ceremonies; but the silly, whymsicall Jesuite was under a firme resolution not to accept of any place either of profit or honour out of I know not what strange conceit, for fear (forsooth) lest he should be taken by some Virtuoso's for a Fanatick; where-upon his Majesty him­selfe without any demur undertook that charge and beckoned to Homer to lead; where-at the noble Greek immediately stood forth, and exprest himselfe to this effect,

Which Apollo himselfe partly out of respect to his First-born sonne, and partly to honour the English tongue, was pleased taking upon him the person of Homer thus to translate,

Next Virgil was call'd upon to say something in relation to the present affaires of the renowned Westerne Isle, who so quickly took the summons that e'r any of the company were aware hee was in the middle of a verse, and thus (as to what we could hear) hee begann,

With how great applause this was received I shall not rehearse; Apollo (to continue my bare Relation) thought none so fit to render the divine Maro into English as the Au­thor of the Heroical Epistles, M. D; him therefore by a beck he designed to that office, who thus performed it,

The Esquire had no sooner done but up stood Ovid, and very well understanding himselfe to be the next to Virgill both in ability and renowne, as also plainly foreseeing how ill it would bee resented if he should be silent in such a case prevented the invitation, and of his hwn accord sweetly smi­led out these insuing lines,

What he expressed in Latine was as elegantly rendered into English by Mr Sands, in this manner;

Martiall was under a clowd at this time, and Apollo made a demurr whether he should be imployed or not; but for fear of discouraging his grand Epigrammatist whom such a slight would quite undoe, and a little time might chance to reform, he set him on worke, and this was the whole almost of what he produce't;

There wanted a fit person to be imployed in the transla­tion of Martiall, but for want of a better Sylvester did him thus into English,

The Latine Poëtts having pretty well playd their parts, his Majesty and the whole company lookt all stedfastly now up­on Du Bartas, now upon T. Tasso, which was a sufficient [Page 14] signe what was expected from those two, hereupon they both stood forth, but instead of falling to the businesse in hand en­terr'd into a dispute concerning their precedency one before the other, and appeal'd to Apollo which side of the Moun­taine was the more fertile soile for witts, and whither had more right to begin first the French-man or the Italian; his Majesty bade them both sit downe again for the present, and come again for judgement an 100 years hence; then turn­ing towards the English Poëtts, he thought to have brought old Jeffery upon the stage, but considering how little diffe­rence there is both as to matter and stile between him and Spencer, he pitch't upon the last, who entertain'd us with this Dialogue betwixt one Thenot an honest Shepheard and one Hobbinol a Fanatick Goatheard.

Next Quarles succeeded, and knowing his excellency to lye in Illustration of Emblemes spake to the present purpose by way of allusion to the frontispeice of that Sacred piece, which wee have here written in Letters of Gold, [...], Which I reckon would be in vain to describe, see­ing there are none who have seen any thing but they have seen that; thus the ingenuous Gentleman descanted upon it,

In the next place there were presented to his Majesty di­verse Coronation Poëms, (as they were called,) to the num­ber of 17, 16 whereof wereof were never look't into, Apol­lo having enough and too too much of the first, a Tetrastick whereof be pleased to take in the Authors own words,

And from thence judge how justly the inditer there-of and his brethren were honourably dismist each of them with a wreath of Absinthium Umbelliferum tenuisolium, and a nosegay of Atriplex ollida:

These Pamphletteers being departed, his Majesty by way of divertisement cursorily perused an Heroïck Poëm intitled CAROLEIS, which was written by a Virtuoso of your own nation, (some say a Theologo) but came hither to beg an Im­primatur; I may not send you a compleat copy thereof untill it be Licensed, but (if your patience be not quite tired out) you may take a tast of the whole in these few Stanza's:

His Majesty having given his verdict of and commands a­bout this Heroïck Poëm laid it by, and desired the Virtuo­so which brought him the joyfull news, and had not yet left the Court, to conclude the day, who recollecting such thoughts as he had in the street before, in the Abby at, and at home af­ter the Coronation putt them all into this following Ode.

You may a little wonder at the length of the Ode, but the Author being a native of England his Apology is made to his hand; whom when Loyalty had suffered to make an end, Apollo arose from his seat, and thanked him and all the rest in a pitthy speech, where-in he shewed himselfe as much the Lord of Oratory as he is own'd to be of Poëtry, and then dismist the assembly: So, Sir, craveing pardon for the trou­ble [Page 26] I shall have put you to by that time you are come thus farr in the perusall of these papers, and presuming upon the graunt, I make hast to subscribe my selfe,