The new-years-gift being a paraphrase on a fable in Æsop to his honoured friend John Matthew, Esq. This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription B09592 of text R180910 in the English Short Title Catalog (Wing N797CA). 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. This text has not been fully proofread Approx. 7 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 3 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. EarlyPrint Project Evanston,IL, Notre Dame, IN, St. Louis, MO 2018 B09592 Wing N797CA ESTC R180910 61297105 ocm 61297105 180634 2240872235

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 Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 2, no. B09592) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 180634) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English Books, 1641-1700 ; 2838:7) The new-years-gift being a paraphrase on a fable in Æsop to his honoured friend John Matthew, Esq. Matthews, John. [2], 2 p. Printed for the author, London : 1690. In verse. Imperfect: pages cropped with slight loss of print. Reproduction of original in: Bodleian Library. eng Poetry, English -- Early works to 1800. Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1689-1702 -- Poetry. eebo The New-Years-gift: being a paraphrase on a fable in Æsop· To his honoured friend John Mathew, Esq; [no entry] 1690 4 899 1 0 0 0 2 0 233.59 F The rate of 233.59 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the F category of texts with 100 or more defects per 10,000 words. 2010-03 Assigned for keying and markup 2010-04 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2010-05 Sampled and proofread 2010-05 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2011-06 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

THE New-Years-GIFT : BEING A PARAPHRASE ON A FABLE IN AESOP .

TO HIS HONOURED FRIEND John Mathew , Esq

LONDON : Printed for the Author , in the Year 1690.

THE New-Years-GIFT : BEING A PARAPHRASE ON A Fable in AESOP , &c. IN Times when Brutes cou'd well express their Mind , And Froggs did Commonwealths a Burden find , They jointly did Petition Greatest Jove , To send them down a Ruler from above ; This Ruler must be KING . For weary quite With their Intestine Jealousies , and Spite , They One desir'd , to whom they All might stand , And pay Obedience to his Just Command . " WE thy poor Creatures bred in Watery Mud , " And nothing equal dread unto a Flood ; " Of nothing under thy Great Seat more fond , " Than to preserve our great and famous Pond : " Weary'd with Fears and Jealousies at home , " And fearful what from other parts may come , " Our Envy , Discontent , and Fears to heal , " Do frankly now resign our Commonweal ; " Beseech Thy Majesty to send that Thing " So Sacred , called Thine Anointed King : " That under Thy Vice-gerents Godly Pow'r , " We may both Him Obey , and Thee Adore . JOVE nodded ; and no sooner heard a KING , But sent down presently one on the Wing ; Who swiftly to his New-Born-Empire flew , And had Allegiance from the Watery Crew ; But in short time , this Stately Thing thought good , Instead of Ruling well , to make 'em Food , Bit 'em , and prick'd 'em , with Prerogative Bill , And sorely Wounded those he did not Kill . Weary of Him , they then again do fly , To the Almighty Aid of the most High . " Behold , we at the Footstool of thy Throne " Again lye prostrate , here to make our moan ! " 〈…〉 King we did desire " One that devoures his Subjects , Head-strong , Fierce , " Doth with his Bill our lanker Bodies pierce ; " He never Dines , or scarce will ever Sup , " But one or other of us He eats up ; " We now beseech for One of Temper mild , " Rather than Tyrant , send us down a Child , " Whom we may Tutor , till his Age shall be " Beyond the Age of a Minority . JOVE heard , and strait dispatcht unto the Crowd A KING , whose Vertuous mind might make 'em proud Of Temper mild , and of a gentle Soul , That knew not how , or wou'd not them controul . He made a hideous noise at the first fall , And , with his Heavy Presence , dasht 'em all , Until the Watery Smile , that after came , Made up the Breach , and mended much the same . At length they gather heart , and , as if lame , They hopping to their New-rais'd-Soveraign came , Admir'd his Gravity , and gentle mind , And for the present Time no fault cou'd find ; Blinded with the Severities before Had gall'd their Souls , and made their Bodies sore . Thus , dazled with the lustre of the Ray That makes the brightest Shine of Summers day , The Eye returns into the Houfe half blind , And sees no more before it , than behind ; The Mighty Beam obstructs the organ so , It nothing more , or less , can see , or know . But , once too much brings but a seeming Night , It only Snuffs , and not puts out the light . At last , perceiving that he did not move , The wiser Froggs somewhat withdrew their love ; Suspect his Gravity was something more , Than what they had some thoughts of heretofore . Some held it fit to make approach more near , Others said plain , This King we do not fear ; And some to hop upon him did assay , But under that , and croaking , still he lay . Then they again th' Almighty Jove address ; " The King before , they said , we must confess , " Was more than King , and this we find is less . " Rouze him from off his slumber by thy call , " A Drowzy Prince is next to none at all : " Vouchsafe the Spirit of Ruling to reveal , " Or give him Grace to love a Commonweal ! MORAL . Good God! How various is the mind of Mob ? This day Hosannah , and the next a Bob. On the New Year 1690. WElcom , sweet Janus ! With thy double face , A Janus different from the Romish Race ; And tho' thy Temple now does open stand , To shut it up a Saviour may Command ; Peace may sit on the fierce Bellona's seat , And make this year , in all respects , Compleat . Welcom , two Faces ! Looking both that way No Janus ever did , before this day .