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Show I i A Co!Let1ion, of tlje FelecitieJ, o[fbieen Elizabeth. 1 feen abwad; But as one' fii.ued, and confident; Alld that was I . n1·1 ndfull of her E!Cape from Danger, tben of the Danger lt mote :J< c .... fi d f ll... • (elf, {be was. ~onfrant, to her 1ormer t;u omes, an ami· on~.urthermore, it is worth otH labour, to confider.. t~e Nature of the Timrs in which {he Raigned. For there ate fome TzfJJes, fo B~rbarou. r,~nd Jgnor.mt, that it is no greater mat_ter, to govern Peop!~~ then to govern a Flocft ~f sheep. But. thts ff!!!een, . fe~l upon Times, offingul~r Learmng, ~nd Suffipe~cy ~ In whrcb, It was no t p OJnu: bk, to be eminent, wtthouAt adm. trahh le En. dowm.f :.rn/ t~ of wit.andaR.areTcmperofVcrtue. ~atn,t eRatgneJo homen'). are ·For the moft part,obfcured by tbcu Husbands: Upon whom> all ~·heir Praifes, and worthy ACts, ~o reflect.: As for thofe, that ontinuc unmar-ried it is they that Jmpropnate,the whole glory, ~r.cl me1 ir, to themf~\ves. And this was the peculiar Glory of this rrinccjfe; That {he had no Props, or Sup~ort~,of her Govern· ment, but tho(e, that were, of her own making. She had no Bro-. ther, the son of her Mother; No Vncb.je_; None other of the Royall Bloud and Linage')that might ~e r artnr.r 1~ her Care.r:~and ~n Vpholdcr of the Reg alL Dignity. ~~d as for thofe, whom £he ralfed to Ho- OIJr file euried fuch a ddcreet Hand over them, and fo enter~ ha~ged her FavourF as they all !hived in Emulation, and Defire, to p1eafe her be~:and fue her felt remained' in all r~hings,a~ Abfo!ute rrincejfe. Ch1ldl~!fe fbe was, and left no Iflue bch1~d ~er, which was the Cafe of many, of the mofi: fortunate Jrmce~ ,_Alexander the Great, julius C£flfr, Trajan, and others. And thts ts a Cafe that hath been often controverte~, and argued, on both Goes '5 Whileft fome hold., ~he want of children, to be a Dimimzti- 011 of our Hrlpp.'nej{e; A) J!f It fhould be an EO: ate, more then H um~ n to be happy both in our own Perfons, and in our DefcetJdants ~ But others, do account, the wan I of children, as an Addrtirm to Ea)·th!y Happinef!e; In as much, as that HappineJ!e, may be faid,te . be compleat, over whk~ Fort1me hath no Power, when we are gone: Which, if we leave child~en, can~ot be. She had al fo many Olltwttrd G1 ftJ of Na:ure. A t~ll Statnre; A I comely and ftrait Ma~_ing; An extraordinary MaJeftJ of Ajpdl'I joyned with a Sweetn1Je; A moil Happy, an~ Conftant, Heauhfulnejfe of Body. Unto which I may ad~, that tn t~e full Pojjejfion, 'both of her L in:mJ, and spirits, unt11l her lafr S1ckndfe; ( Having received no Blo~ from Fortune, Nor petay from OldAge;~ ilie obtained that, whtch Aug1tjlu.r Cttjar,fo tmp~>rtunately pra~ed for; An cajie a11d undijlempered pajfage, 011t ufthzs VVorld. Whic~ alfo is reported of Antoninus Fius,that Excellent Emperour; Whofe Death, had the Refemblance, of {orne foft, and pleafing Sbtmber. So in g}_tteen Elizabeths Dtfeafe,there was no ghafrly, or fearfull A_ccident; -No Idlenejje of Brain; Nothing unaccufromed to Matttn j I generall: S~e wa~ not tranfported, eit~er with ~dire of Life, or Tedioufnefie of Stckne!fe, or extremity of Patn; She ~ad no/ gnevou~ , j _ _! ColleClion, of tbe Felicitie.J, of 0!_een Elizabcrh. g~·ievous, ?r uncomely, Symptomes; B~t- ~tllth-fng s were of that lund, as did rather thew,the Frailt11 of Nature then a Deordination or Reproac h o f I.t . For fome few D.a/ yes befo'J e her Decttb bcmg' much pined, with the extream Drough;, of her Body, and t hole (Jares, thal accorn pany a Crown:., And not wonte.J to rc frdh her Self, with Vf/i1ze, or any Liberal1 Dlet; f11e was fi;·ook with a Torp~ur, and Frigidity in her Nerves:, Notwithfianding which is rare In fu.ch DijetJ.fes, file retained both her ~peecb, and J!Jcmory, an.d Motton though but fio Nand weak, even to the end. And in th1sCafe, fnecontinued, but afew dayes; So as itcannot be called? !he Laft (ltl ~f her Life, but the Firfl flep tb her Death. Fo~ as 1t Is_, a Mtferaole Condai~n, ~o fee rhe Facuhie~, of our · ~ody,. buned before us; And to 1urvtve long after them; So it 1s a Faue,_ and Natu:all, Conc]uflon of cur Life, when rhe Scn(es, are, by little and lJttle, layd aileep that the Diffolution of the whole, fhould immediatly follow. , I wi~l ~dde on; T~ing more, to make n p, the full Mea(ure~ of her Feltctty: which Is, that !he was not only mofl: Happy in her own Per_} on, but in the Abilities, and vertues of her ser'v.x~ts and Mi11iji:ers For fhe was ferved ~y fuch Perfonr, as, I fuppof~ this Ifland never brought forth the like, before her Times.Now when God~eareth a love to Kings, no doubt, he raif~th up, the Spirits, of Wife Servants, as a concurrent B1dfing. There are two fai~e ljfoes., of her Happin~ffe, born to her, fihce her Death; I conceive, not lefie Glonous and Eminent then thofe fhe en joyed a live. The one of her s11/cejjour ;· The o~her of her Jt:iemory • . For fhe hathgotten fuch a Surcejjour, who although for ~Is ~afculme Vertue.r,. and Blejfing of Poflerity, and Addition of Terntorzes, he may be faid, to exceed her Greatn<:ile, and femewhat to obfcure .it; Notwithftanding,he is mofi zealous of her Name, a~d Glory? And dot~ even give, a Perpetuity to he'r A tis; Confi~en_ng both Jn t~e Chmce of tne Pcrfons, and in the orders, & Injittut10ns ufthe Kmgdome,he hath departed fo Jittle from her. So ~ s,a Son could hardly fu~ceed a Father, with lefie Noife, or In no vat!on.As for her Memory,Jt hath gotten fu ch Lif:-,in the Mouths, and Hearts, of .Men, as t ~at, Envy being put out by her Death, a~d her Fam~ l~g_hted, I cannot fays whether the Felicity of her Life, or the F elzc1ty of her Mem~ry) be the greater. For if (perhaps) there fly abroad, any factious Fames, of Her rai(ed either by J?ifconte~ted . Per(o1u , or fuch, as al·e averfe in Religion; (wh1ch notwtthfrand 1ng d are now fcarce lbewtheir Faces and are every where cryed down;) The fame, are neithet true) nei ther ~an t~ey be J<?ng !iv'd. ~~d for thi~ caufe efpecially: I1ave I made thE Collethon,(fuch as It Js,) touchmg her Felicity, and the Marks of Gods ~avour tow~rds Her; That no maliC1ous Perfim, fboul? dare totnterpofea curJe~ whereGodhathgivenaBle.f/lng. N~w tf any Man, ~all a Hedge that againfr me, which was once fatd to C£far; We fee what we may admire, bnt we would fain fee what Bb 2 we |
