---

“Upon the D. of B.”1

Make haste I pray, launch out your shipps with speed,

Our noble Duke had never greater need

Of sodaine succour, And those Vessells must

Bee his maine help; For there’s his onely trust.

Alas! our English Navie is too poor2

5

To serve his turn alone; hee must have more:

Nyne more brave barques3 besides will help him well,

And make him shew more hideous then hell:

For thither sure his Voyage next will be,

Better for England then the Ile of Ree.4

10

The Furies,5 that can like himself dissemble,

Will either feare indeed, or seeme to tremble,

To heare a thunder then theirs one Note higher

And see even hell it selfe ore-spitt with fire.

O Lucifer,6 thou must resigne thy crown;

15

For thou shall meet a Duke will put thee downe.

Hee hath a sinne, besides the deadly seaven,7

More then e’er hell found out, to make them eaven;

For which (O hell-hounds) if you doe not grant

Him place, you will for ever want

20

Your greatest consort. Let there bee a dearth

Of fire in hell, as there is heere in Earth,

Only through him,8 And soe noe doubt there shall

If hee once come to bee your Admirall.9

But why should I perswade you to bestow

25

The place and honour on him, that you owe?

His Highness shall commaund it, And his Port

O’er-sway the greatest Noble in your court.

Hee shalbee King there, Sitt in the Kings Throne,

Or ells commaund the King; and thats all one.

30

Nor shall the Theefe free favours there inheritt

By any guift of yours, but by his meritt.

Alas, poore Feinds, I grieve at your disgraces;

For you must lose your Offices and places;

And doe the best in all your powers to doe

35

Hee will have all, and that too little too.

But why should this bee knowne in hell? perchance

The Furies would denie him Entrance,

And Pluto,10 fearing to bee overcome

At his owne weapon, not afford him roome

40

In his best Pallace. And shall mortall Men

Bee troubled with his countenance agen?

Noe. Divells take your due: For, if there bee

One you can claim in all the world, Its hee.

---

Source. BL MS Sloane 826, fols. 185v-186v

Other known sources. Hell’s Hurlie-Burlie 6; Bodleian MS Malone 23, p. 201; PRO SP 16/114/68

Pi29

Quick links to other poems within this section

Select page here P0. Introduction Pi1. lett Charles & george Pi2. Sith number with thy Pi3. Thy numerous name Pi4. Anagram of George Pi5. A yere of wonder Pi6. The Shepheards struck Pi7. Thus Buck-in-game Pi8. England was sick Pi9. Lord, what are wee Pi10. Beehold this Obsequie Pi11. This little Grave Pi12. The pale horse Pi13. Here lies Leachery Pi14. Here lyes great George Pi15. Great Buckingham’s Pi16. Pride lies heere Pi17. Fortunes darling Pi18. Heere lies a gratious Pi19. Had our great duke Pi20. Great potent Duke Pi21. And art thou dead! Pi22. Pale death, with Iron Pi23. Great Gorge, and art Pi24. Thou that on topp Pi25. What once was said Pi26. If good mens graces Pi27. Great Duke, which art Pi28. At Portsmouth Duke Pi29. Make haste I pray Pi30. No sooner had the Pi31. Great Duke, Although Pi32. Away, away, great George Pi33. My honour, favour, life Pi34. I that my countrey Pi35. Mother / My humble Pi36. The Argument is cold Pi37. Ye gastly Spiritts Pii1. Anagram on John Felton Pii2. Anagram on John Felton Pii3. Felton, awake Pii4. The heavens approve Pii5. Some say the Duke Pii6. The Duke is dead Pii7. Why: is our Age Pii8. Immortall Man of glorie Pii9. I mmortal man of glory Pii10. Enjoy thy Bondage Pii11. Sir, I your servant Pii12. You auntient Lawes Pii13. Feare not brave Pii14. Sorrow and Joy Pii15. Heere uninterr’d Pii16. Here uninterd suspends Pii17. Wants hee a grave Pii18. Is Felton dead? Pii19. Here Lyes the bonnes Pii20. Awake, sad Brittaine Piii1. M alignant characters Piii2. Heere lyes the best Piii3. Dearling off Kings Piii4. You braveing spiritts Piii5. I did not flatter thee Piii6. Yee snarling Satyrs Piii7. Heere lyes thy Urne Piii8. Sooner I may some Piii9. Yet weere Bidentalls Piii10. Reader stand still Piii11. Our countrie Merry Piii12. Honor, worth, greatnes Piii13. What! shall I say now Piii14. Who ever lov’d man Piii15. When Poets use to Piii16. Might Teares Revive Piii17. Death come thy selfe Piii18. Hee that can reade Piii19. Nourishd with sighs Piii20. When in the brazen Piii21. Reader when these Piii22. Noe Poets triviall rage

¹   D. of B.: Duke of Buckingham. <back>

²   our English Navie is too poor: allusion to Buckingham’s alleged corruption and mismanagement of naval affairs as Lord Admiral. <back>

³   barques: ships. <back>

⁴   Ile of Ree: Buckingham commanded the costly and disastrous 1627 military expedition to the Ile de Ré (see Section O). <back>

⁵   The Furies: the three avenging goddesses who dwelt beneath Hades, the classical realm of the dead, and inflicted punishments on the damned. <back>

⁶   Lucifer: Satan, the ruler of hell. <back>

⁷   the deadly seaven: the seven deadly sins are pride, wrath, envy, lust, avarice, gluttony and sloth. <back>

⁸   Let there bee...Only through him: allusion to the dangerous shortage of gunpowder in England. The 1628 parliamentary Remonstance against Buckingham included a section on the shortage, which it described as “a strange improvidence (we think your Majesty will rather call it treachery)” (Proceedings in Parliament, 1628 4.315). <back>

⁹   Admirall: Buckingham was Lord Admiral of England. <back>

¹⁰   Pluto: ruler of Hades. <back>