Therefore love war, and have of wounds thy fill, while I in peace do walk unto the mill.

 

A Dialogue betwixt a Horse of War and a Mill Horse
wherein the Content and Safety of a Humble and Painful Life
is preferred above all the Noise, the Tumults and Trophies of the War.

Full of Harmless Mirth and Variety.

London
Printed by Bernard Alsop
and published according to order
1643

A Discourse between the Cavalier's War Horse and the Countryman's Mill Horse.

Cavalier's Horse

Well met olf Mill Horse, or indeed an Ass,
I must instruct thee before we do pass
How to live bravely; look on me and view
My bridle and my saddle fair and new;
War doth exalt me, and by it I get
Honour, whilte that my pictire is set
Cut out in brass, while on my back I bear
Some noble earl or valiant Cavalier.
Come therefore to the wars, and do not still
Subject thyself to bear sacks to the mill.

Mill Horse

Despise me not, thou Cavalier's war horse,
For though to live I take an idle course,
Yet for the commonwealth I always stand,
And am employ'd for it, though I'm nam'd
A Mill Horse, I am free and seem not under
Malignants that do towns and houses plunder,
Transported on thy back, while thou must be
Half-guilty of their wrong and injury.

Thou fight for the King against the laws,
Against religion, Parliament and all,
And lest the Pope and Bishops down should fall.
Thou are expos'd to battle, but no thanks
Thou has at all when thou do break the ranks
Of our stout musketeers, whose bullets fly
In showers, as in the fight at Newbury,
And force thee to retreat with woulds, or lame, 
To this the glory of thy halting fame.
Whereof thou do so brag? Beside thy fault
Of fighting for them who have always fought
Against the commonwealth is such a sin
That does stick closer to thee than thy skin.

What though upon my back I carry sacks?
Thy meat is plundered out of barns and stacks;
While thou do feed on stolen oats and hay,
The wronged farmers curse the strength away
Of all they diet, often wishing that
Diseases may consume thy ill-got fat.

Therefore, recant and never more appear
In field a champion of the Cavalier;
Let not his spur nor false fame prick thee on
To fight in unjust wars as thou has done.

Cavalier's Horse

Fame is not that I am at, but the known
Right of the King; the trumpet that is blown
Unto the battle does not give me more
Courage than what I had in him before,
As if we did partake of more than sense
And far exceeded man's intelligence,
In stooping unto Kings, and do prove thus
Ourselves descended from Bucephalus,
That horse who did no loyal duty lack
But kneeling down received on his back
Great Alexander, while men kick and fling
Against the power of so good a king
As time has blessed us with; O let this force
A change in thee, who are a dull mill horse.
Thou are no Papist being without merit,
Nor zealous Brownist, for thou do want spirit.
But with a halter tied to block or pale
Do penance, while thy master drinks his ale
In some poor village; such a poor thing are thou,
Who gentry scorn, bear till thy ribs do bow
Burdens of corn or meal, while that kings are
My royal masters both in preace and war.

Mill Horse

Boast not of happy fortune, since time brings
A change to settled states and greatest kings.
England was happy, peace and plenty too
Did make their rich abode here, but now view
The alteration; war has brought in woe,
And sad destruction does this land o'erflow.
Now thou are proud, but if this war in peace
Shoud end, thy high ambition would then cease;
Thy strength and courage would find no regard,
Thy plundering service should get no reward;
Although in war thou trample down and kill
Thy foe, in age thou shall bear sacks to mill,
As I do now, and when thy skin is grizzle
Groan underneath thy burden, fart and fizzle
Like an old horse, a soldier of the King's.

Ill-employ'd valour sad repentance brings;
When thou are lame, and wounded in a fight
Not knowing whether thou do wrong or right, 
Or what is the true ground of this sad war
Where King and subjects both engaged are;
Both do pretend the justness of their cause,
One for religion, liberty and laws
Does stand, while that the King does strive again
His right and due prerogative to maintain;
The King keeps close to this, while subkects be
Grown mad to eclipse the son of majesty
By enterprising differences; how can thou judge
Where the fault is? Both at each other grudge.

I know that this discourse is far too high
For us, yet now to talk of majesty; 
In boldest manner is a common thing,
While every cobbler will condemn a king,
And be so politick in their discourse,
Yet know no more than I, a poor mill horse,
Who for the commonwealth do stand and go,
Would every commonwaelth's man did do so.

Cavalier's Horse

Mill Horse, in this thy space and speech agree,
Both wanting spirit dul and tedious be;
The King and commonwealth are vexed themes
Write on by many; prithee think on beans
And oats well ground, what need have thou to care
How the deplored commonwealth does fare?
For policy this rule in mind does keep:
Laugh when thou have made others grieve and weep.
What care we how the state of things do go?
While thou are well, let others feel the woe.
If I have store of provender, I care not;
Let Cavaliers still plunder on and spare not.
When Ockingham was burned, I stood by,
And like rich widows wept at ne'r an eye;
When the town burned, a fellow said in leather,
He lov'd to see a good fire in cold weather; 
And with the simple clown I do say still,
If I do well, I care not who does ill.

For with the Cavaliers I keep one course,
And have no more religion than a horse.
I not for the liberty, not laws,
Not privilege of subjects, not the cause;
Let us stand well affected to good oats,
While that the ship of state and kingdom floats
On bloody waves; the satved rack shall be
Crammed with hay, a commonwealth to me. 

Mill Horse

Alas I pity thee, though great War Horse,
Who are like Cavaliers without remorse;
The sad affliction which the kingdom feels,
Regarding not, thou casts it at thy heels,
And so do prove that horses have no brain,
Or if they have, they little wit contain.
Unto the kingdom's tale  thy prick-ears lend
Whose grief I will describe, and right defend.

Cavalier's Horse

Thou defend right; thy right to the high way
Is lost, as sure as thou do live by hay.
In telling of a tale without all doubt,
Thou needs must stumble, and will soon run out
Of breath and sense, good Mill Horse, therefore prithee
Leave tales; there are too many tales already
That weekly fly with more lies without fail
Than there be hairs within a horse's tail,
And if the writers angrey be, I wish
You would the Cavalier's Horse' arse both kiss,
Not as the miller thy back does kiss with whip,
But as a lover does his mistress' lip;
For know the Cavalier's warlike horse
Scorns vulgar jades, and bids them kiss his arse.

Mill Horse

Thou pamper'd jade that lives by plundered oats,
My skin's as god as thine and worth ten groats;
Though slow of foot, I come of a good kind
Of racers, gotten by the boisterous wind
When the mare turn'd her backside in the mouth
Of Boreas; being northern-bred, not south,
The miller's horse before the wars began
Would take the way of lord or gentleman,
And when peace shall the Malignants keep in awe,
I shall see thee in coach or dungcart draw.

Cavalier's Horse

I scorn thy motion. After this sad war,
Perhaps I may draw in some coach or car,
And which does grieve me; Cavaliers most highborn
I may be forced to draw on to Tiburn.
In time of peace, my blood shall not be spilt, 
But like to noble beer shall run at tilt;
In peace I serve for triumphs; more than that,
I shall be made a bishop and grow fat.
As Archey said, when bishops rul'd 'twas worse,
That had no more religion than a horse;
But thou shall wear thyself out, and be still
An everlasting drudge unto some mill.

Mill Horse

No matter. I will spend my life and health
Both for my country and the commonwealth,
And it is prince-like (if well understood)
To be ill-spoken if for doing good.
And if a horse may show his good intent,
Some asses rail thus at the Parliament;
Scorn is a burden laid on good men still,
Which they must bear, as I do sacks to ill.
But thou delights to hear trumpets rattle,
An animal rushing into lawless battle;
If thou could think of those are slain and dead,
Thy skin would blush, and all thy hairs look red
With blood of men. But I do wish for peace,
On that condition dogs might eat thy flesh. 
Then should the mill horse meal both fetch and bring,
Towns brew good ale, and drink healths to the King.

Cavalier's Horse

Base Mill Horse, have I broke my bridle where
I was tied by my master Cavalier
To come and prattle with thee, and do thou
Wish dogs might eat my flesh? I scorn thee now.
My angry sense a great desire now feels
To kick thee into manners with my heels.
But for the present, I will curb my will,
If thou will tell me some news of the mill.

Mill Horse

If thou will tell me news from camp and court,
I'll tell thee mill-news that shall make thee sport.

Cavalier's Horse

If country news thou will relate and show me,
Halters of love shall bind me fast unto thee.

Mill Horse

It chanced that I carried a young maid
To mill, and was to stumble much afraid;
She rode in handsome manner on my back,
And seem'd more heavy than the long meal sack
On which she sat. When she alighted, I
Perceiv'd her belly was grown plump and high;
I carried many others, and all were
Gotten with child still by the Cavalier, 
So that this news for truth I may set down:
There's scarce a maid left in a market town.
A woman old with muffler on her chin
Did tell the miller she had plundered been
Thrice by the Cavaliers, and they had taken
Her featherbeds, her brass and all her bacon,
And eke her daughter Bridget that should wed
Clod's son, was plundered of her maidenhead.
Besides I hear your Cavaliers do still
Drink sack like water that runs from the mill;
We hear of Irish rebels coming over,
Which was a plot that I dare not discover, 
And that the Malignant army of the King
Into this land blind Popery would bring.

Cavalier Horse

Peace, peace, I see thou do know nothing now,
Thy fleering jests I cannot well allow,
And there are Mercuries abraod that will
Tell better news than a horse of the mill.
But I will answer thee, and tell thee thus
Thou liest as bad as e'er did Aulicus,
Who though he writ court-news, I'll tell you what,
He'll lie as fast as both of us can trot.
You tell of maidens that have been beguiled
And by the Cavaliers are got with child,
And have not thou when thou was fat and idle
Often times broke thy halter and thy bridle
And rambled over hedge and ditch to come
Unto some mare whom thou has quickly won
To thy desire, and leaped her in the place
Of dull mill horses to beget a race?
While that the Cavaliers, when they do fall
to work, will get a race of soldiers all,
It has been news whereat I would have smiled,
If the maids had not the Cavaliers with child.

Mill Horse

I ramble over hedge; thou means indeed
The Cavaliers, who were compell'd with speed
Both over hedge and ditch away to fly
When they were lately beat at Newbury.
The proverb to be true is prov'd by thee,
That servants like unto their masters be; 
Those plundering devils on thy back do ride
Have fill'd thee with a pamper'd spirit of pride.
Thou has eaten so much Popish oats
That in thy belly thou has got three Popes. 
Thy great-grandfather of that race did come
That bore Pope Joan in triumph throgh Rome; 
I bear to mill of corn a plump long sack,
Thou carries a great Pluto on thy back,
Or Cavalier, and who can then abide thee
When that Malignant fools and knaves do ride thee
From town to town, and plunder where they come?
The country is by Cavaliers undone.
And these thy masters are who fight and kill
And seek the blood of Protestants to spill;
For thus the news abroad does always run
That the King's forces are in horse most strong,
Whereby it does appear the Warhorse are 
Guilty of bloodshed in this cruel war.
And yet the Cavalier's horse, as I hear, 
Ar Kenton Field beshit themselves for fear,
And the Cavaliers being kill'd, they run about
The field to seek another master out.
Therefore love war, and have of wounds thy fill,
While I in peace do walk unto the mill;
I will be always true unto myself, 
And love the kingdom and the commonwealth.

Cavalier's Horse

Mill Horse, because thou show thy railing wits,
I'll give thee a round answer with some kicks
Which I'll bestow upon thee, but I'm undone;
Yonder my master Cavalier does come
To fetch me back, and yonder too I see
The Miller coming for to take up thee.
If thou like noy my discourse very well,
Mill Horse, take up my tail, and so farewell.