A PANEGYRIC TO HIS HIGHNESS THE DUKE of YORK ON HIS SEA-FIGHT WITH THE DUTCH June 3d 1665. By the Honourable EDWARD HOWARD LONDON Printed for Henry Herringman at the Anchor on the Lower Walk of the New-Exchange 1666. A PANEGYRIC To his Highness The Duke of York ON His Sea-fight with the Dutch June 3. 1665. ILLustrious Prince while your great Deeds outdo All that the Muse can fain or World knows true Your Panygericks must be such a Theme As makes Fame Poet and Truth seem a Dream What age had such a Chief that Sea and Land Rivals in Glories from your brave Command While Earth that wondered at your Worth before Fears that your Prowess gives the Sea now more Had any Blood but yours or Prince's Name Spread through the Universe so bright a Fame Our happy boast must then have turned to be A glorious dread of such a Gallantry And beaten Dutch whose yielding Valours find Your Royal Conduct Victory inclined Might then their drowsy hopes revive again And slight our fury on the angry Main But while they see that you there challenge Fate To fight must make 'em more unfortunate Lepanto now no more shall Sea-fights boast Though so much Ottoman glory there was lost Or tell what Donne of Austria then achieved Or brave Villerio for famed Venice did Since in your Deeds we Empires so outdo As Princes ne'er can hope to Rival you Or State so bold to send a Fleet to Sea To dare your Conduct such another day Who from your steady Virtue dread to meet Power more resistless than your Conquering Fleet. How then shall vanquished Dutch  hope to show Valour enough for a more Signal blow While your High Prowess proves it is their Doom Not to attempt enough to be o'ercome Will not Heroics Spain repine to see You on their Rebels get this victory When all its Power and Indian Treasure too Could scarce a Ship much less their Fleet subdue As this great Monarch's Sceptre on the Main Sunk to reduce his Rebel's Power again And late with pity we beheld our Coast A Witness of his Navies glory lost How was our former Charles provoked to see That rough Contest in his Sovereignty Whose Name and Rule like great Augustus' days Taught the World Meekness and gave Calms to Seas Yet on the Main permitted these to fight To leave our King the glory of his Might Which from your Conquest unconfined extends And Seas makes Empires where the World has ends That hence aspiring Spain in ours must see More than an Universal Monarchy And beg a Conduct from Great CHARLES and You To use that world his Arms did first subdue Though now obliged by Heaven to confess His mighty Rebels tamed from Your Success Leaving their Crimes too powerful for his Throne To meet a Fate from Heaven and You alone Thus while Your Glories rumour at this rate Your Conquest proves Divinity has Fate Since we from it have more than cause to bless Heaven for our Loss as well as Your Success A Loss so small as Victory ne'er knew Such great Achievements and Death win so few Though sent from Cannon's mouths to force its way Trembled to act the Furies of this day While it opposed our Cause and Your Defence Both so obliging of Omnipotence But as some stately Oak that Heaven designs To check the rudeness of impetuous winds Ventures his growth and glory to bestow Safety and grace on humbler Trees below So did Your Virtues in this furious day The wonder of our Loves themselves display While all the force of these our Belgic Foes Does less Your Fleet than Your own Ship oppose Like Pirates that for one rich Vessels Prise Venture their own to sink its Sacrifice Thus having swelled their Sails their Guns did ply Whose noise like Thunder seemed to wound the Sky While Yours with louder Fury these repress And dumb their Cannons threatening their Success And so the Lion which disdains Contests When menaced with Assaults of vulgar Beasts First awes 'em with his Voice but if such dare Contemn his Rule and proudly bid him fear Then by the Wounds he gives they prove his Might And find it was their Crime to dare his Fight And thus did you contend while these assail But Fortune something will for them prevail She that with Virtue still maintains debate And with its brave Achievements scatters Fate Acts now a part above her sin and pride Else how could Cannons kill so near Your Side Or snatch such Worthies by a fatal blow Protected by Your Love and Conduct too Ah wretched Dutch to be obliged by Fate Which on their ruin it must expiate And Elements opposed at once conspire That Opdam sinks and yet consumes with Fire No Bullet from Your Guns but finds a way To Naval Glory and each gets his day This sinks a Ship and this bids th' other fly While waves assault their wounds that stay to die Thus for Your sake the angry Main devours And Neptune with Your Prowess joins his Powers Some swim to Rocks and there lament their State Whose greedy Pride they now deplore to late Others on limbs of Vessels steer alone And to the merciless Sea as hapless moan Repining since that perish now they must They can't like other Mortals turn to dust But in this liquid Element consume Where Nature ne'er intended Grave or Tomb. While You these Shipwrecked Enemies survey As brave in pity as you won the day Wishing their Valours had their Lives reprieved Or by Your Mercy more overcome had lived And now the watery Host that glide the Main Begin to fight which shall devour the slain Fish against Fish in fierce Battalions meet And pour out waves like Thunder from Your Fleet Vast Whales draw up their monstrous Bodies here There slimy Monsters yet unknown appear Inflamed in this cold Element to strive Which on the dead shall now most mighty live Some Shoals of Men in their vast Bodies pour And waves enough to store new Seas devour Mingled with blood food to their thirstful rage Which others with revengeful draughts assuage And these through vaster jaws thus swelled convey That Fish die drowned as well as Men that day What were your Crimes O Dntch provoked a Foe So Great and Good as is our King and You Whose Influence can Winds and Seas assuage And but incensed commands the Ocean's rage Thus having fatally now proved their Might Heaven they implore for winds to speed their flight But they so gently breathed as Dutch must say The Air was pleased to see You win this day And next their utmost toils and arts they try To steer a flight but fear to fight and fly Wishing that Courage and famed Parthian skill As Romans proved could them pursuing kill While they to obscure Shores direct their course Like routed Armies that must hide their force Some sink on Sands or Rocky dangers meet To scape the greater Terror of your Fleet Which now in glorious triumph you survey Acting both Prince and Pilot this rough day So great Aeneas as Fame and Maro tell Could guide his course though Pallinurus fell Each Militant with beams of Grace you know And had your Crastinus like Caesar too But far more famed since your success began As Princely Rupert fought and led the Van. A Name so glorious as Fate must confess He still grew greater while she meant him less And in our Crowns defence still acted so As boldest Rebels feared unconquered too Thinking their guilt could ne'er supported be Unless his Death had been their Victory Whose virtues even transcend their former Claim Since now in his he shares your valour's Fame And thus our matchless Monarch did complete All brave attempts his Cause and Crown speaks Great While Fate unconquered he or'ecame despair And taught bold Fortune from himself to fear How will his Crown in glory hence increase That through the Main gives Subject's Trade and Peace Which as his Empire o'er the world does raise So Crowns your Prowess with eternal Praise FINIS LICENCED April 23. 1666. Roger L' estrange