Page:The Works of Abraham Cowley - volume 1 (ed. Aikin) (1806).djvu/227

And, if it seem'd ridiculous to grieve
Because our friends are newly come from sea,
Though ne'er so fair and calm it be;
What would all sober men believe,
If they should hear us sighing say,
"Balcarres, who but th'other day
$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$"Did all our love and our respect command;
"At whose great parts we all amaz'd did stand;
"Is from a storm, alas! cast suddenly on land?"

If you will say-Few persons upon earth
Did, more than he, deserve to have
A life exempt from fortune and the grave;
Whether you look upon his birth
And ancestors, whose fame 's so widely spread-
But ancestors, alas! who long ago are dead-
Or whether you consider more
The vast increase, as sure you ought,
Of honour by his labour bought,
And added to the former store:
All I can answer, is, That I allow
The privilege you plead for; and avow
That, as he well deserv'd, he doth enjoy it now.

Though God, for great and righteous ends,
Which his unerring Providence intends
Erroneous mankind should not understand,
Would not permit Balcarres' hand
(That once with so much industry and art
Had clos'd the gaping wounds of every part)