The Swans welcome to His Royall Highness the Duke. Or, Some remarks upon that note-worthy passage, mention'd in the True Domestick Intelligence, dated Octob. 14. 1679. concerning a company of swans, more than ordinary gathered together, at his Royall Highnes's landing.

Dux bonis omnibus appellans. THE Swans Welcome To His Royall Highneſs The DUKE. OR, Some Remarks upon that Note-worthy Paſſage, mention'd in the True Domeſtick Intelligence, Dated Octob. 14. 1679. concerning a Company of Swans, more than ordinary gathered together, at his Royall Highneſ's Landing.

I Hope my Flagellum Mercurii Antiducalis hath given the World ſome ſatisfaction, as to my Day-Fatality, ſo much carp'd at by Romes Packet, Septemb. 5.) as alſo by the Touch of the Times: I ſhall onely ſay, That even the pure ſincere Cloak-party themſelves have taken notice of the Fatality of Days; (for page 367. of the Memoires of the Lives and Actions of James and William Dukes of Hamilton, ſays, That the Rout of Duke Hamilton's Army was received with great joy by the Kirk-Party in Scotland, who Religiouſly obſerved, That the Diviſion of the Duke's Army (which was its ruine) was upon the 17. of Auguſt, which was the day on which the Covenant was made, thence called by ſome, St. Covenants Day.

But to my preſent matter.

I conclude my Decastiſh, in the Fatality, with this Engliſh Verſion,

Great Duke, rejoice in this your day of Birth; And may ſuch Omens still increaſe your mirth.

Since which Compoſition (which was Anno 1677.) ſome kind Omens have befall'n his R. H. as the 3. of March's Delications, with (though derided by the Time Toucher) St. Felix day, (29 Day) obſerved by the Publiſher of the Royal Effigies, and ſince recited by me in my late Flagellum.

And St. Lucie's day, memorably obſerved by the two eminent Brethren St. Marſhes, in the Birth of Henry le Grand, King of France, ſufficiently excuſe, allow, and protect; the words are theſe, He was born the 13 Octob. St. Lucies day, as if by a good Augury to be the Light and Ornament of the Princes of his time: A Day remarkable for the Winter Solstice, and esteem'd the most happy point of all Nativities. Thus they.

2. The accident of the Swans accoſting the Duke at his Landing.

That Birds, ſome are Male-ominous, ſome Bene-ominous, (ill or well boding) Authors give many inſtances, and I am able my ſelf to particulariſe; I will onely mention three or four.

Charles (from his ſtature called the Little, a man of admirable Courage and Conduct) King of Jeruſalem and Hungaria, and many other Provinces, had at his Coronation ſeveral ill Omens; amongſt many others, a multitude of Crows ſeated themſelves upon the Royal Palace; and immediately after his Coronation, he was traiterouſly and miſerably maſſacred. See the fore-recited Authors, in their Genealogick Hiſtory of the Houſe of France.

Ovid, lib. 5. of his Metam. in his ſtory of Aſcalaphus, terms the Owl, Ignavus Bubo dirum mortalibus Omen. Lib. 6. he calls it, Prophanus Bubo; and ſays, It ſate upon the Bride-bed of Tereus and Progne, fore-boding the unluckineſs of the Marriage. And *Portents of Caeſars. lib. 15. he terms it, Stygius Bubo.

Triſtia mille locis Stygius ſedit omnia Bubo.

Look the Book of Martyrs, (ſub. H. 5.) and you find the Pourtraict of the Council of Conſtance, and the ill-ominous Owl that appeared there, prodigiouſly preſaging the Depoſition of Pope John 24. But ſee Camerarius, p. 244. who elegantly relates the ſtory, and highly praiſes the excellent Qualifications of the Pope.

Mellificium Historicum ſays, Two Eagles ſate upon the Palace-top a whole day, when Alexander the Great was born, which the Sooth-ſayers averr'd to portend the double Empire of Europe and Aſia.

But let us ſee what Authors ſay of the candid Swan; all eſteem him for a Bird-Royal, and oftentimes in Coats and Creſts, we meet him either Crown'd, or Coronally Collar'd: And he was the Badge of ſeveral great Engliſh Princes, of which, anon.

Mr. Guillim (but indeed Dr. Barkham, as Mr. Fuller avers in his Worthies) ſays, He is a Bird of great Beauty, and Strength alſo; and this is reported of him, That he uſes not his ſtrength to prey or tyrannize over any other Fowl, but onely to be revenged of ſuch as offer him wrong; in which caſe, ſays Aristotle, he often vanquiſhes the Eagle.

Pierius ſays, He ſignifies purity of mind; nay, Apollo himſelf.

Now in antient time he was conſecrated to Apollo, Apollo ſignifying nothing elſe but the Sun, which is Oculus & Luſae Mundi, Gen. 1.16, 17, 18. Apollo is ſometimes called Liber Pater, a Liberal Father, (the Latin word bears that ſenſe as well as others) and that is confirmed, Deut. 33.14. Aſtrologers termed him, Rex Planetarum, and ſays, He gives Rule, Riches, and Honour, (is Significator of Emperors, Kings, Princes, &c.) The Swan is the Bird of the Sun, and alſo of his Royal Highneſs.

Martianus ſays, Shipmen take it for good luck, if in peril of Shipwrack they meet Swans. I hope the attendance of theſe Swans (the matter in hand) forebodes his R. H. happy deliverance from all his ſtormy, tempeſtuous, vexatious troubles.

Let us ſee what brave Princes have uſed this happy Bird (commended by St. Ambroſe) for their Cognizance.

Firſt, Edward 3. (a brave Prince as ever was, and concern'd in the Auſpicious Fate of 14 Octob.) uſed it a Tournament, being embroider'd on his Shield and Surcoats with this Motto.

Hay, hay, the Wyth Swan,Mr. Aſhmole his Gartel, 185. By Gods Soul I am thy Man.

2. Thomas of Woodſtock, Duke of Gloucester, uſed it continually. John Gower, that famous Poet, much bewails the murder of that excellent Prince; Cygnus de corde Benignus, oftentimes giving him the Epithet of Swan. See Weaver, 638.

A Swan, with a Coronet about his Neck, was one of the Supporters to King Hen. 4. (as Mr. Sandford in his Gen. History, 258.) A Prince of ſingular Valour and Clemency; for he refuſed not the Duels with Tho. Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, (ſee Stow, anno 1378.) And ſecondly, He pardon'd Owen Glendowrdy, that had ſo damnably plagu'd him; (ſee Stow, anno 1401, 1402. Bis. 1403, 1404, 1405, &c.) at the requeſt only of David Holbeach Eſq that was but a Servant of his own, and formerly Acquaintance of the ſaid Owens, (ibid. 1404.

Certainly he was an admirable Prince, by that wiſe and honeſt Advice he gave his Son upon his Death bed, (as R. Brook, p. 27.) viz. to miniſter the Laws indifferently, to eaſe the oppreſſed, to beware of Flatterers, not to defer Juſtice, nor to be ſparing of Mercy. Puniſh (quoth he) the Oppreſſors of thy People, ſo ſhalt thou obtain favour of God, and love of thy Subjects, who whilst they have wealth, ſo long ſhalt thou have obedience, but being made poor by Oppreſſions, will be ever ready for Rebellion. But let me not forget, that before he came to be King, the Swan was his Badge, and was imbroider'd upon his Capariſons, when he entred the Liſt aforeſaid, againſt the famous Duke his Adverſary, (as a Mss. given to the Heralds Office, by Sir William Dugd. Garter.

The Seat of Cicely Nevill, Dutcheſs of York, (a little Woman, but famous among our Writers for her great Spirit) was ſuppotted by a Swan; (ſee Mr. Sandford Laur. Herate, p. 352.) She was Mother to Edw. 4. and Rich. 3. as alſo to George, Duke of Clarence, (Princes of great Valour and Wit.) She ſaw firſt her Husband and third Son ſlain: Secondly, She ſaw the two Princes her Grand-children, murder'd by their own Uncle, and her Son: Thirdly, She ſaw her ſaid Son alſo ſlain. Yet bearing all theſe Grievances with a moſt even and invincible mind, ſhe lived to the 11th. of Hen. 7. admirably making good—Mala ſunt ſuperanda ferendo.

And ſuch as theſe were the Princes of the Swan.

There was an Order of Knight-hood of the Swan in Cleveland, (as ſays Savine) who alſo affirms, the Princes of that Houſe, have ever born that beautiful and generous Bird for their Deviſe, Creſt and Supporters.

I need make but little Comment upon what hath been ſaid. I have hinted before the generous Nature of the Swan, being like that of the heroick Lion; and he cannot but be the Duke's Bird. My advice is,

Deſistant Ranae torvum irritare Leonem. The Lion is by nature kind, though bold, If that the Beaſts themſelves in duty hold. Cygnus de Corde Benignus.

Ovid, lib. 2. tells us, That Cycnus, King of Liguria, grieving for his Kinſman Phaeton, was turned into a Swan, a Royal Bird then. And he deſcribes his Nature thus,

Stagna petit, patuloſ que lacus, ignem que peroſus. Quae colat elegit contraria flumina flammis. Rivers and ſpreading lakes are his delight, Which are to flames and fires quite oppoſite.

This Great Duke hath been Lord High Admiral of Arragon, and alſo of England, (Maximus Marinus Maria petens) hath had great Command upon the vaſt Lake of the World, (viz. the Sea.)

He hath been Immenſi Tremor Oceani, Aſhm. p. 119. (as Sir Tho. Higgens, in his Excellent Ode, which henceforth I ſhall call Swan-Song, (imitating Leland.)

And as to that damned Reflexion, impos'd upon the World by a late Knave, (Septemb. 5. Rome's Packet) this Poet, by a divine praevious inſpiration, long ſince hath foretold the contrary. And the divine Providence will in due time, (as in the caſe of Joſeph and Suſanna) confound the Faces of impudent and ſeditious Detractors.

A latter Motto (of King Charles of Bleſſed Memory) as upon his Royal Pourtraicture in his Book, and in ſeveral Churches may appear, was Clariorè Tenebris.

Even ſo his moſt Illuſtrious Son, ètenebroſis Calumniarum Cimmeriis, clariſſimus, puriſſimus, ac Columba innocentiſſimus (ad instar Cygni candidiſſimus) olim orietur.

Out of the black and dark Sullies of ignominious Calumniations he ſhall ariſe, clear as the Sun, innocent as the Dove, white as the candid Swan.

In my Flagellum Mercurii Antiducalis, I mention'd the evil Spirit that we read of, Judges 9. And I now add, his R. H. condition at preſent is like the Kingly David's (ſo much celebrated by the excellent Marqueſs Virgilio Malvezzi) 1 Sam. chap. 30. verſ. 6. The people, &c. But he comforts himſelf in the Lord his God, Acquieſcat & videbit ſalutem Domini, Iſa. 52.10.

Flebile principium melior fortuna ſequetur. Ovid, lib. 7. fab. 10.

Since I had finiſht this, I heard of the Artillery's ſolemn and cordial Invitation to his R. H. to congratulate his happy Return.—The Duke was uſher'd into the World with Medals, intimating the very Circumſtance—Mille Cohortes, (ſee Mr. Sandford, p. 562.)

Neither am I now ſuch an impertinent Wizzard, as Rome's Packet, Sept. 5. would make me; for I aver'd the Duke's Return would be accompanied with Joy and Feaſting.

And it ſeems the Artillery Cohort begins it.

Great Duke, Thee ſafely home return'd we ſee, Feaſtings and gladſom Healths intended be. The Military Band make firſt their fair Addreſs, The Senators and Citizens muſt do no leſs. Their Swans have ſhewn them what they ought to do, They are Apollo's Birds, their love is true.

In my Fatality, I would have mention'd the good Omen of the Medal and Motto, (for I have it in my Notes) but I was afraid the capricious, malicious, Anti-Monarchical Crew, would have made malevolent Reflexions upon it, as tending to a ſtanding Army, and gladiatory Government.

But providentially the ſuſpicious Invitation intervening, I become bold and daring to publiſh it.

FINIS.