A Poem on the condemnation of William Viscount Stafford

A Poem on the condemnation of William Viscount Stafford

Table of contents

POEM ON THE CONDEMNATION OF William Viſcount Stafford.

§

POEM[?] ON THE CONDEMNATION OF William Viſcount Stafford.

[Page]

‘Fantane Religio potuit ſuadere Malorum.’

Aid me, Apollo, lay aſide thy Lyre,

With Numbers high, yet ſad, my Muſe inſpire;

In moving ſtrains, aſſiſt me to repeat

A Noble's fall, (would he were Good as Great!)

Oh Stafford! Stafford! how could'ſt thou, when Death

Led in by Time, ſtood waiting for thy Breath;

By ſuch ignoble ways and Methods ſtrive,

To cut off thoſe few Years thou had'ſt to live:

Alas! what Bliſs couldſt thou expect to come,

(O're-preſs'd with Age) when Nature's powerful doom,

Had left thee nought to hope for but a Tomb.

Why ſhould'ſt thou then in ſuch a horrid Cauſe,

Turn Traytor to Divine and Humane Laws?

Ah! how could'ſt thou, thou, ſo unnatural be

To him who was ſo good, ſo kind to thee?

How could'ſt thou plot 'gainſt ſuch a King as he?

One who had heap'd ſuch Honours on thy Head,

And yet could'ſt thou, ingrateful, wiſh him Dead,

Not onely wiſh him ſo, but in that ſtrife,

To act a part that was to take his Life;

Yet, 'cauſe thy Blood from noble ſprings doth flow,

Would Error and not Malice made thee ſo!

Would thou wert over-reach'd, that ſo the ſin

Might be leſs thine then theirs that drew thee in:

Fain would I think it were with thee, as they,

An Ignis Fatuns leads out o'th' way:

Too credulous they follow the falſe Light,

And bleſs themſelves for ſuch a Guide i'th Night,

And think where e're it leads they'r ſtill i'th right.

And yet at laſt, (with toyl and trouble croſt,)

They feel the Pain, but find the Labour loſt:

They ſee the flatt'ring Light o'th ſudden gone,

And they to their Diſpair are left alone

In Fens, or Brakes, or Floods, to make their moan.

So thou O're-ſway'd by'th Pious-ſeeming Wits,

Of Hells chief Agents, (Juggling Jeſuits)

(By ſpecious Arguments, and pious fraud,

Such as Romes Pandemonium does applaud)

Wer't in that Helliſh Brood drawn in to be

An Actor in that Diſmal Tragedy,

That boldly aim'd at Sacred Majeſty;

But Heaven ſtep'd in and ſav'd the tottering Throne,

(Juſt when it could be ſav'd by Heaven alone)

And all the Plots of Rome and Hell were known.

All did I ſay! Ah! no; yet ſuch, ſo Vile,

So baſe, ſo dire, were found in Albions Iſle?

As Scithia (where the Sun dares ſcarce appear,

Where Horrid Winter broods,) would bluſh to hear;

That thoſe whom Heaven had plac'd ſo near the Crown

With Impious Hands ſhould ſtrive to pull it down.

Unhappy State of Monarchs, who do good,

Even to thoſe that ſtrive to ſhed their Blood,

And they not know it, but with gentle breath,

Speak thoſe foul Serpents fair that plot their Death.

Ah! Stafford! how couldſt thou ſo baſe become?

(So falſe to England! to be True to ROME?)

How couldſt thou Plot his Death who always ſtrove

Not to Command, but fairly win thy Love?

Ah! how couldſt thou ſo baſe and Treacherous prove!

Couldſt thou think Heaven aſleep at ſuch a time?

Or could'ſt believe it did approve thy Crime?

Or to ſuch Treaſons would Succeſs have given?

Ah! no; a King's the Subſtitute of Heaven,

And Angels are his Guard.

The Gyants ſo of Old wag'd War with JOVE,

Striving by Arms, to win the Seats Above:

Though Bold, yet vainly, in th' Attempt they fell,

And for their hop'd of Heaven, were plung'd in Hell.

The Dreadful Thunder ruin'd their Deſigns,

And in their torments Heavens juſt vengeance ſhines.

Conſider this, Oh! Stafford, and Repent,

Uſe well that little time that Heaven hath lent;

That little time, (for long it cannot be,

E're thou muſt enter Vaſt Eternity.)

Oh! uſe it well, let it to Tears be given,

Be Penitent, and make thy peace with Heaven;

That when the fatal ſtroke ſhall end thy Days,

Its Mercy and Juſtice may have equal Praiſe.

FINIS.

§

LONDON, Printed for T. Benskin, in Green's Rents, near Fleet-Bridge.

Information about this book

Title statement

A Poem on the condemnation of William Viscount Stafford

Edition statement

1680

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2009-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A55247

ID [STC]

Wing P2689

ID [STC]

ESTC R8470

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

13736203

ID [OCLC]

ocm 13736203

ID [VID]

101622

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Series

Early English books online.

Notes

(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A55247)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 101622)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 847:4)

Source

— A Poem on the condemnation of William Viscount Stafford,

Extent

1 sheet ([1] p.)

Printed for T. Benskin ...,. London :: [1680]. (Date of publication from Wing.) (Reproduction of original in Huntington Library.)

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