Descensus Astraeae Peele, George This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A09222 of text S2840 in the English Short Title Catalog (STC 19532). Textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. The text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with MorphAdorner. The annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). Textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. Martin Mueller Incompletely or incorrectly transcribed words were reviewed and in many cases fixed by Nayoon Ahn This text has not been fully proofread EarlyPrint Project Evanston IL, Notre Dame IN, St.Louis, Washington MO 2017 Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License A09222.xml Descensus astrææ the device of a l'ageant [sic] borne before M. William Web, lord maior of the citie of London on the day he tooke his oath, beeing the 29. of October. 1591 : wherevnto is annexed a speech deliuered by one cladlike a sea nymph ... to the lord maior, at the time he tooke barge to go to Westminster / done by G. Peele ... Peele, George, 1556-1596. 5 600dpi TIFF G4 page images University of Michigan, Digital Library Production Service Ann Arbor, Michigan 2003 January (TCP phase 1) 25225692 STC (2nd ed.) 19532. 27894 A09222 2240914684

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 Descensus astrææ the device of a l'ageant [sic] borne before M. William Web, lord maior of the citie of London on the day he tooke his oath, beeing the 29. of October. 1591 : wherevnto is annexed a speech deliuered by one cladlike a sea nymph ... to the lord maior, at the time he tooke barge to go to Westminster / done by G. Peele ... Peele, George, 1556-1596. Printed for William Wright, [S.l.] : [1591] 1591

In verse.

Date of publication suggested by STC (2nd ed.).

Signatures: A4.

Reproduction of original in the Guildhall Library (London, England)

 Web, William, -- Sir. A09222 shc Descensus Astraeae Peele, George Nayoon Ahn 1591 play entertainment shc no A09222 S2840 (STC 19532). 10 1439 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 A This text has no known defects that were recorded as gap elements at the time of transcription. Incorporated ~ 10,000 textual changes made to the SHC corpus by Hannah Bredar, Kate Needham, and Lydia Zoells between April and July 2015 during visits, separately or together, to the Bodleian, Folger and Houghton Libraries as well as the Rare Book Libraries at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago

Descensus Astraeae . THE DEVICE of a l'ageant , borne before M. William Web , Lord Maior of the Citie of London on the day he tooke his oath , beeing the 29. of October . 1591 . Wherevnto is annexed A Speech deliuered by one clad like a Sea Nymph , who presented a Pinesse on the water brauely rigd and mand , to the Lord Maior , at the time he tooke Barge to go to Westminster .

Done by G. Peele Maister of Arts in Oxford .

Printed for William Wright .

The Presenters Speech . SEE louely Lords , and you my Lord behold How Time hath turnd his restles wheele about And made the siluer moone : & heauens bright eie Gallop the Zodiacke and end the yere Whose reuolution now begets a new The daies that haue created and confirmd A worthie Gouernor for Londons good , To vnderbeare vnder his Soueraignes swaie Vnpartiall Iustice beame , and weau'd a Web For your content , and her command in all , You Citizens of this Metapolis Whose honor and whose oath to gratulate Lordings behold what Emblem I present . Astraea daughter of the immortall Ioue , Great Ioue defender of this antient towne , Descended of the Troian Brutus line : Ofspring of that couragious conquering king . Whose pure renown , hath pierced the worlds large eares , In golden scrolls , rowling about the heauens Celestiall sacred Nymph , that tendes her flocke With watchfull eyes , and keep this fount in peace : Garded with Graces , and with gratious traines , Vertues diuine , and giftes incomparable . Nor lets blind superstitious ignorance , Corrupt so pure a spring : O happie times That do beget such calme and quiet daies , Where sheep & shepheard breath in such content . Honor attendes hir throne , in hir bright eies Sits Maiestie : Vertue , and Stedfastnesse Possesse hir hart , sweete mercy swaies hir sword . Her champion armed with resolution , Sits at her feete to chastise Malecontentes , That threat hir honors wracke . And Time & Kinde Produce hir yeares to make them numberlesse While Fortune for hir seruice and hir sake , With golden hands doth strengthen and enrich The Web that they for faire Astraea weaue . Long may she liue , long may she gouerne vs In peace triumphant , fortunate in warres Our faire Astraea , our Pandora faire , Our faire Eliza , or Zabeta faire . Sweet Cynthias darling , beauteous Cyprias peere As deere to England and true English heartes , As Pompey to the Citizens of Rome : As mercifull as Caesar in his might . As mightie as the Macedonian king , Or Troian Hector , terror to the Greekes . Goddesse liue long , whose honors we aduance , Srengthen thy neighbours , propagate thine owne : Guide well thy helme , lay thine annointed hand To build the temple of triumphant Trueth , That while thy subiects draw their peace from thee , Thy friends with ayd of armes may succor'd be . Astraea with hir sheephook on the top of the pageant . Feed on my flocke among the gladsome greene Where heauenly Nectar flowes aboue the banckes . Such pastures are not common to be seene , Pay to immortall Ioue immortall thankes : For what is good fro heauens hie throne doth fall . And heauens great Architect be praised for all . Superstition . A Friar sitting by the fountaine . Stirre Priest , and with thy beades poyson this spring , I tell thee all is banefull that I bring . Ignorance . A Priest . It is in vaine hir eye keepes me in awe , Whose heart is purely fixed on the law : The holy law , and bootlesse we contend , While this chast nimph , this fountain doth defend , Euphrosyne . Whilom when Saturnes golden raigne did cease , and yron age had kindled cruel warres : Enuie in wrath , perturbing common peace , engendring cancred hate and bloudy iarres : Lo then Olympus king , the thundring Ioue , raught hence this gracious nymph Astraea faire , Now once againe he sends hir from aboue , descended through the sweete transparent aire : And heere she sits in beautie fresh and sheene , Shadowing the person of a peerelesse Queene . Aglaia . A peerelesse Queene , a Royall princely dame , Enrold in register of eternall fame . Thalia . The Graces through their balme about hir sacred head , Whose gouernment hir realms true happines hath bred . Charitie . That happinesse continue in her land , Great Israels God , spiing of all heauenly peace : And let thine angels in her reskew stand , With hir liues wane done Englands ioyes decrease O let hir princely daies neuer haue fine , Whose vertues are immortall and deuine . Hope . Such vertues as her throne do beautifie , And make hir honors mount and skale the skie . Faith . Where hope of hir eternall blisse doth rest , Conceaued in hir sweete & sacred brest . Honor . With radiant beames , reflecting on the earth , Euen from the snowie browes of Albion , Beyond the vtmost verge of Christendome , As bright as is the burning lampe of heauen , Shineth my mistresse honor , in whose fame The heathen carrols sing and all admire , From Icy Tanais to the seuenfold Nyle , Her glorie that commands this Westerne I le . Champion . In whose defence my colours I aduaunce , And girt me with my sword , and shake my lance : These Brittish Lions rampant in this field , That neuer learned in battails rage to yeeld : Breath terror to the proud aspiring foe , Ranging the world commanding where they go . Therefore in vaine this misproud Malecontent , Threatens hir state whose harms the heauens preuent Sit safe sweet Nymph among thy harmlesse sheep , Thy sacred person angels haue in keep . 1. Malecontent . What meaneth this , I striue and cannot strike , She is preserued by myracle belike : If so then , wherefore threaten we in vaine , That Queene , whose cause the gracious heauens maintain . 2. Malecontent . No maruell then although we faint and quaile , For mightie is the truth and will preuaile . In the hinder part of the Pageant did sit a Child , representing Nature , holding in her hand a distaffe , & spinning a Web , which passed through the hand of Fortune and was wheeled vp by Time , who spake as followeth . Time . Thus while my wheele with euer turning gyres , At heauens hie heast serues earthly mens desires , I wind the Web that kinde so well beginnes : While Fortune doth enrich what Nature spinnes .
A speech on the water deliuered in the morning at my Lord Maiors going to Westminster . List gentle Lords , and bubling streame be still And whistling windes your angrie murmur cease Let Thetis Nymph vnfold the goddesse hest : Behold imbarckt thus brauely as you see , Laden with treasure and with precious ore From where in Tellus veynes the parching sunne , Doth gold and glittering munerals create , Are come these strangers louingly inflamde To gratulate to you my louely Lord . This gladsome day wherein your honors spring . And by the barre that thwarts this siluer streame , Euen to the beauteous verge of Troynouant That deckes this Thamesis on eyther side , Thus farre these friendes haue pierced , & all by me ; Salute your honour and your companie . Thrice worthy Praetor of this auntient towne . The morter of these walles tempered in peace , Yet holdes the building sure , as are the sprigges Wouen from the spreading roote in knottie boxe . Labour fayre Lord as other Maiors of yore To beutifie this citie with desertes . So wish these friendly strangers , man by man Passe with aduisement to receiue thy oth : Keepe it inuiolate for thy soueraignes hope , Vertues pure mirror , Londons great mistresse , Vnsheath the sword committed to thy swaie , With mercifull regard of euery cause . So go in peace happie by sea and land , Guided by grace , and heauens immortall hand . FINIS .
Machine-generated castlist A09222-ignorance 1 A09222-UNASSIGNED 1 A09222-presenter 1 A09222-euphrosyne 1 A09222-honor 1 A09222-faith 1 A09222-charity 1 A09222-aglaia 1 A09222-superstition 1 A09222-champion 1 A09222-hope 1 A09222-time 1 A09222-astraea 1 A09222- 1 A09222-thalia 1
Textual Notes

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Gree●es Macedonian king , Or Troian Hector , terror to the Greekes .