The smell-feast Afer, trauailes to the Burse[104]
Twice euery day, the newest[105] newes to heare;
Which, when he hath no money in his purse,
To rich mens tables he doth often beare:
He tells how Gronigen[106] is taken in,[107]
By the braue conduct of illustrious Vere,[108]
And how the Spanish forces Brest would win,
But that they doe victorious Norris feare.
No sooner is a ship at sea surpris'd,
But straight he learnes the news, and doth disclose it:
No sooner hath the Turk a plot deuis'd
To conquer[109] Christendom, but straight he knows it:[110]
Faire written in a scrowle he hath the names
Of all the widdows which the Plague hath made;
And persons, times, and places still he frames,
To euery tale, the better to perswade:
We call him Fame, for that the wide-mouth slaue
Will eate as fast as he will utter lies;
For Fame is said an hundred mouths to haue,
And he eates more than would fiue score suffice.
[Footnote 104: Bourse, = Exchange. G.]
[Footnote 105: 1st edition and Isham and MS. 'flying.' G.]
[Footnote 106: Groningen. G.]
[Footnote 107: Conquered and added to or 'taken in' with other
conquests. G.]
[Footnote 108: To the truly 'illustrious' VERE--one of the
noblest of England's earlier generals--DR. RICHARD SIBBES
dedicated his 'Soul's Conflict' in very loving words to him and his
Lady. See my edition of SIBBES _in loco_. G.]
[Footnote 109: Isham once more badly 'conquerie.' G.]
[Footnote 110: This couplet is given by Mr. Dyce from the MS.: the
Isham has it. G.]