Page:Lag's elegy, or, The prince of darkness (1).pdf/8

( 8 ) And ruin'd many a family, For nought but none-conformity: Of hirelings they wou'd not hear, Their purſe he puniſh'd moſt ſevere; He made the ſouth of Scotland feel His gripping claws were made of ſteel They were ſo crooked, hard and ſharp, They pierc'd men's ſubſtance to the heart; The king's commission while he did bear, Men loſt their conſcience, life or gear. But Charles too ſoon him diſcarded, Yet I his kindneſs well rewarded; And this I hope he'll not deny, Since now he lives as well as I. Fletcher, my friend, be was the firſt, As advocate who did inſiſt<br /d> Againſt the WqigsWhigs [sic] in the king’s name,<br /d> To bring them to an open ſhame;<br /d> Charles, my son, did him inſtall,<br /d> To bring theſe rebels under thral,<br /d> Who ſtill for Covenants were pleading.<br /d> To juſtify their old proceeding:<br /d> He labour'd very earneſtly<br /d> To pleaſe his ſovereign and me,<br /d> By rooting out vile Preſbytery;<br /d> And planting noble Prelacy;<br /d> By baniſhing ſome far away.<br /d> That us'd my dictates to gainſay;<br /d> By ſumptuous fines making them poor,<br /d> That never could my yoke endure;<br /d> By ſhutting up in priſon ſtrong<br /d> Theſe men who did my intereſt wrong;<br /d> And thirſting for the blood of them<br /d> Who did my government contemn: