University of Virginia Library

Yov triple-treble, thrice three Nimphes Diuine,
Inspire this weake capacitie of mine,
Oh let me quaffe of your Pegasian bowle,
That I may write of Weather Faire and Fowle.
That to the life, my lynes may heere informe,
Description of a Calme, and then a Storme:
Giue me that power that my vnlearned Verse,
The Readers apprehension so may peirce,
That though the Weather be exceeding faire,
They may suppose a fowle and troublous Ayre.
And when they come to reade tempestous lines,
Then though the winde sleepe, and Hiperion shines,
Yet let them thinke Heauens Axletree doth cracke,
And Atlas throwes his burden from his backe.
I wish my Verse should such Impression strike,
That what men Read off, they should thinke the like.
For apprehension must be quicke and yare,
Imagination must be heere, and there,
For if a Tempest be but smoothly read,
It shewes the Readers Iudgement dull and dead.
Or else to seeme to make the Welkin split,
In thundring out a Calme shewes want of wit.
Gainst Heau'n bread Poesie 'tis the worst offence,
To haue it hack'd, and read with sencelesse sence.

Then first I will describe Faire weather, chearefull,
To make Fowle weather after seeme more fearefull.
Vpon an Euening when Apolloes beames
Declinde vnto the occidentall streames,
As of the day he tooke his kinde adiew,
The Clowdes, vermillion, purple, red, and blewe,
Put on the radient liueries of the Sunne,
(As quickly lost, as they were lightly wonne.)
To th'under world in hast he tooke his flight,
And left th'Horizon all in darknesse dight:
Yet as he stoopt he glaunc'd his glorious eye,
And staind the Welkin with a Crimson dye,
Which did betoken, (as old sawes doe say)
An Euening red, foretels a chearefull day.
Sweete Philomella, gainst a thorne did sing,
Exclaiming gainst the lustfull Thracian King,
Whilst Progne in the Chimneys top doth keepe
And for her selfe-borne selfe-slaine sonne doth weepe,
Madge-howlet whooting cuts the empty skyes,
The light she flees, and in the night she flyes.
Bright Cinthia rises from her watry bed,
And shewes her pale fac'd siluer horned head:
Belighted and attended from her porch
With many an hundred thousand, thousand torch.
She light doth runne, and as she runnes doth light,
The vniuersall Arch of pitchie night.
Husht silence, (mortall foe to women kinde,
In snoring sleepe did liuing sences binde,
That (but for Rowting, and for drawing breath)
It seem'd that all-deuouring grisly death)
Without respect of person, Sex, or Lawes,
Had grasp'd the world in his insatiate pawes.
At last the Cocke proclaim'd the daies approach,
And Titan call'd for his Diurnall Coach.
He kist Aurora, and she blushing red,
Ashamed, hid her shame fac'd Maidenhead.
Pale Luna is obscur'd, her race is runne,
Her light's extinguisht by the flaming Sunne.
The bucksome day, roab'd in a silken Calme,
With Zephers downy breath, as sweete as balme
Perfum'd the vausty verge of the whole world,
When golden Sol his glistring beames had hurld,
And guilded tops of proud Clowd-kissing hils,
And all the world with radient brightnesse fils.
Faire Flora had embrodered ore the field,
Whose various colours, various sents did yeild.
The gentle winde amongst the leaues did whiske,
The Goats did skip, the pretty Lambes did friske.
The brookes did warble, birds did sweetly sing,
With ioy to entertaine the gladsome Spring.
Like heards of Kids the Porposes gan leape,
The Seales and Scollopendraes, on a heape
Doe vault and caper in such actiue sort,
That Neptune tooke delight to see the sport.
The Mountaine Whale, in his wide yawning chaps,
Made shoales of smaller fishes fragment scraps,
To fill his endles, bowndleffe, greedie gut,
(For multitudes of littles hardly glut
Th'unbottom'd gorge of gaping thirst for more,
That pines in plentie, starues in midst of store)
Sterne Nereus slept, rap'd in a pleasant dumpe,
Whilst Triton pip'd leuoltoes with his Trumpe.
Old Occeanus nimbly skipt and praunc'd,
And turne-coate Proteus with faire Thetis daunc'd.
The scaly Dolphins mounted on the waues,
And sportiue Sturgeons one another laues.
The Seahorse did curuet, and kicke, and fling,
And without rider, mounts and runnes the ring.
Yea all the watry squadrons tooke delight,
To see the Sea so still, the day so bright.
Was neuer gentler Calme on Neptunes face,
All Elements in friendly sort embrace,
As if in loue they were combin'd together,
To giue poore mortall creatures pleasant weather.

Bvt what is't that continues permament,
That bydes belowe the spacious firmament
Not any thing at all. Our sweet with sowre
Is mixt and paine our pleasures doo deuoure.
The pleasant fowntaines toads and aspacks breeds,
In fairest fields are most contagious weeds.
A minuts Ioy, foreruns a month of trobles,
And vnder calmest Sea a tempest bubles.
We (in a merry humor) Ankers wayd,
And in a trice our winged sails displaid,
And with a fresh and friendly welcome gale,
Into the Maine amaine we mainely saile.
Our stedfast course, right North North East we keepe,
We sound and sound the Sea ten fathome deepe.
We had not saild aboue a league or twaine,
But Eolus began to mount the Maine
Of Neptunes Monarchy, and with a troope
Of full mouth'd winds, that made great oakes to stoope.
With Ceders, Pines, and tall well-rooted Elmes,
And topsie turuie lofty towres ore'whelmes.
Resplendent Phœbus hid his glorious light,
And day inuellop'd in a Roabe of night
Attir'd the world in a blacke mourning gowne,
As all things had bin turned vpside downe.
Ioues lightning flames, and dire amazing flashing,
At whom the Sea-God hils of water dashing,
Against the Heau'ns did seeme in rage t'aspire,
T'extinguish Ioues Celestial dreadfull fire.
The spungy Clowds gainst one another crusht,
And bursting, violent floods of Raine out gusht.
Orion glar'd like a tempestuous Comet,
Whilst Skyes, and Seas, did fire and water vomet.
The ratling Thunder through the Ayre did rumble,
As if Heau'ns frame into the Sea would tumble:
Whole gusts of Sea ascends and fronts the Raine,
And stormes of rain in fury fals againe,
As if the Clowd contending water stroue,
Great Neptune from his Palace to remoue.
Big blustring Eoll blew confounding breath,
And thunders dreadfull larums, threatned death.
Downe powres whole floods of Raine and driu'ling sleete,
As if Heau'n, Eath, and Sea had ment to meete
In desperate opposition, to expire
The World, and vnto Chaos backe retire.
The rowling ruthlesse Billowes rage and rore,
And batter'd fiercely gainst the rocky shore:
Who by the rugged Crags repulsed back,
With repercussiue anger threats our wracke.
Thus whilst the Wind and Seas contending gods,
In rough robustious furie were at ods,
Our beaten Barke, tost like a forcelesse feather
Twixt windes and waues, now hither and now thither,
The top-mast sometimes tilting at the Moone,
And being vp so soone, doth fall as soone,
With such precipitating low descent,
As if to Hels blacke Kingdome downe she went.
The vncontroled Hipperborean blasts
Teares all to tatters, tacklings, sailes and masts.
And boystrus gusts of Eurus breath did hizze,
And mongst our shrowds and Cordage wildly whizze.
Our Ship no Rudder, or no steerage feeles,
But like a Drunkard to and fro she reeles,
Vnmanag'd, guidlesse, vp and downe she wallowed,
And of the foaming waues lookes to be swallowed.
Midst darknes, lightning, thunder, sleete, and raine,
Remorceles winds, and mercie-wanting Maine,
Amazement, horror, dread, from each mans face,
Had chac'd away lifes blood, and in the place
Was blacke dispaire, with haire heau'd vp vpright,
With Ashy visage, and with sad affright,
As if grim death with his all-murdring Dart,
Had ayming bin at each mans bloodles heart.
. . . . es the Bote-swaine, lower, the top-saile lower,
Then up aloft runnes scrambling three or fower,
But yet for all their hurly burly hast,
Ere they got vp, downe tumbles Saile and Mast.
Veare the maine sheate there, then the Maister cride,
Let rise the foretacke on the larboord side.
Take in the foresaile, yare good fellowes, yare,
Aluffe healme there, ware no more beware.
Sacere South-South-East there I say ware no more,
Wee are in danger of the Leeward shore.
Cleere your maine brace, let goe the hollin there,
Porte porte the healme hard, Romer, come no neere.
Then with a whiffe the winde amaine doth puffe,
And then our Maister cride aluffe, aluffe,
Clap hard the helme a Lee, yea, yea, done, done,
Downe, downe alowe into the hold quicke, runne.
The maine bend crackes, the plankes and timbers breake,
Pump bullies, Carpenters quicke, stop the leake.
Well pumpt my hearts of gold, who saies amends,
The carefull Maister thus his throat he rends,
Contending gainst the winde and weathers force,
Till he with gaping and with toyle growes hoarce.
But since the Thund'rers high imperious bride,
Against Æneas had her anger tride,
(Excepting this) a Storme so full of rage,
Was neuer seene or heard in any age.

Bvt when our losse of liues we most expected,
Then pow'rfull pow'r of pow'rs vs all protected,
The windes grew gentle that had blowne so stiffe,
Sterne Eurus hyed him Eastward with a whiffe,
And rugged Boreas, Northward trudg'd a pace,
Hamidious Auster, to the South did trace.
Sweete breathing Zephirus cride Westward hoe,
Thus homeward all the furious windes did goe,
And as they scud they swept th'uneven Maine
From gusts, and flawes, and leaues it smooth and plaine.
Like as the grasse in field, some short, some long,
Some greene, some dead, with witherd flowers among,
Vnequally in height some high some lowe,
Vntil, the Mower equall all doth mowe,
Where long and short cut downe together lies,
And as it liues so it together dyes.
Wherewith the sithe (all sharpe and barbing keene)
The lab'rer shaues all euen, plaine and cleene.
So are the billowes, blew, and greene, and white,
By the winds home retreat all shauen quite.
That Neptunes angry browe, look'd milde and euen,
For Stormes and flawes before the windes were driuen.
Or as a measure fild with Oates or Rye
Vnstrooke and heap'd doth lye confusedly,
Till at one stroake the Meater strikes it plaine,
And makes the measure equall with the graine:
So at one blow, the blowing of each winde,
Stooke Stormes before them, and left Calmes behinde,
That as bright Tytan in his Course did passe,
He made the Sea his amomours looking glasse.
And as himselfe had of himselfe a sight,
His shadow seem'd t'eclips his substance quite,
That he amazed ran, and ran amaz'd.
And gaz'd and wink'd, and wink'd againe and gaz'd,
That as Narsissus dyed by his owne error
So Titan was intangled in this mirror.
Vntill at last a curled woolsacke clowd
His glorious substance from his shade did shrowde
Great Neptune to his Court descended deepe,
And layd his head in Thetis lap to sleepe.
We presently let no aduantage slip,
But nimbly we rerig'd our vnrig'd shippe,
Our Courses, Bonnets, Drablers, Masts, and all
With speede we merily to mending fall,
And by Heau'ns fauour, and our willing paine,
Into the wished hau'n we gaine a chaine.
Wheare at an Anker we in safetie ride,
Secur'd from stormes and tempests, winde, and tide.