A HORSE OR A NEW-YEARES-GIFT To the Right worthy, and worshipful Sr. PHILIP BALFOUR, Knight.  
Colonel of a Scottish Regiment in the service of the High and Mighty Lords the State's General of the United Provinces.  
BY G. LAWDER   depiction of a horse 
AT MIDDELBURGH, Printed by JAMES FIERENS, Bookseller at the sign of the GLOBE, in the Gift-street. Anno 1646.   

A HORSE  

AMid the crowd of clients, that doth choack  
The thronged streets, and temples, with the smoke  
Of love and incense, where true zeal doth burn  
In happy wishes, for the years return;  
Whilst each his Patron humbly doth present  
Due homage, in some gift or compliment:  
Roused from sad silence, dark, and drowsy shade:  
My bashful Muse comes blushing forth, afraid,  
And shames to be surprised at such a time;  
(When so much Reason should awake her rhyme)  
That Noble BALFOUR should no token find  
Of LAUDER'S love, respect, and honest mind:  
But whilst her grief in wand'ring thoughts doth stray  
To find a present for this Holy day;  
On flowery Peleon, fair Thessalia's pride,  
In single choice she nimbly doth bestride  
A prancing Steed, and backwards bends her course  
To give him for a New-yeares-gift, this HORSE.   

What could my wish in all the world have found,  
Brave BALFOUR, worthier of my duties bound,  
Or your acceptance, than what here I bring?  
The noblest Creature, next to man, their king:  
The warlike Courser whose high courage warms,  
When trumpets sound, and drums do beat alarms;  
The battle's strength, in whose Heroic breast,  
True valour harbours, and true love doth rest.  
The noblest Patme in the fairest feature  
And justly Sovereign of the speechless creature.   

The HORSE is full of wonder and delight,  
The sweetest object that presents the sight;  
And would you have his qualities descried,  
The GOD of Hosts, and Israel's Armies guide  
When with his Servant JOB, 
job. 39.22.  he held discourse  
Told him the rare perfections of the ●ORSE;  
" His Crest is clothed with thunder: None can make  
" His sinewy limbs like grasshoppers to quake:  
" His flouting nostrils breathe a fearful smoack:  
" The valley trembles, at his hoofs hard stroack:  
" He glories in his strength; And trampling goes  
" To meet the squadrons of his armed foes:  
" He scorneth fear, and is no whit afraid;  
" Nor turns about at sight of brandished blade;  
" The quiver rattleth in his raised ears:  
" He slights the glance of glistering shields and spears:  
" His fierceness, rage doth swallow up the ground:  
" And he disdains the trumpets auwfull sound:  
" He neighs and curbets at the trumpets noise;  
" And smells the war a fare: Heares the loud voice  
" Of thundering Captains; And the shouts and cries  
" Of Soldiers, and shoots lightning from his eyes.   

The generous HORSE hath a great Sympathy  
With his proud Rider, and can presently  
Conceive his meaning, when He finds him stir  
The reins, or raise his rod, or wag his spur;  
As if his mouth and flanks had eyes and ears  
To hear and see his riders dumb desires;  
Or that his limbs were members of that head  
Whose hand and fancy doth his motions lead;  
What greater pleasure, then to see him go  
Puffing sideways turning to and fro?  
His Head and body, or a gallop strike  
With Majesty and measure raised alike,  
Or when he finds the reins more free, to fly  
More swift than Parthian shaft, outrun the eye  
Until his speed have left behind the plain  
And he come bravely foaming home again.  
Then with a sense of honour, as it were  
Puffd up, he proudly casts, now here, now there  
His flaming eyes, and chafes his clattering bit,  
As if he would say something but for it,  
But when he's armed for fight; And on his head  
A lofty pannach wafting plumes do spread:  
What Curbetts, and what capriolls he makes,  
What volts? with whose sad weight the centre shakes:  
With what disdain he strikes and scrapes the ground?  
Whilst neighing loud he makes the fields resound,  
And in a noble fury seems to plain  
The kerbing reins his courage should restrain:  
His rage inflames, and breathing fire and smoke  
He caper's, kicks, and doth himself provoak;  
Turns round, and rises over end, to see  
With froathing mouth, a fare the Enemy.   

This noble creature since the world began  
Hath been the darling, and delight of Man;  
And for his worth more Princes love hath won  
Then all the rest together, He alone:  
So much that when I name him, I protest  
I blush, and grieve to call him but a beast.   

The wise and valiant CIMON, whom proud Greece  
So much doth boast of, thought it no disgrace  
To lay his HORSE beside himself, and have  
Close by his tomb his Horses joining grave.   

Great ALEXANDER, who the earth o'er ran,  
And greedy wished more world's for him to won,  
Did found a City in his conquest's course  
In honour of Bucephalus his HORSE.   

Brave Julius CAESAR, Rome's triumphant God,  
Whose conquests o'er his country's freedom road?  
And reft by force the crown to prove Her course  
So much esteemed dear loved his Horse,  
That in his temple where the people bowed  
To worship him, his HORSE in marble stood.   

Mild ANTONIN, whose wise and happy Reign  
A pattern yet for Princes doth remain:  
So loved the HORSE, that he with cost did mould  
And cast his Statue into purest gold.  
And VERUS buried in the Vatican  
A HORSE with all the honours due to Man.   

CALIGULA, though otherways a beast  
Did oft invite his Horse to be his guest,  
Drunk healths unto him, decked him with his cloak  
And would have made him CONSUL, had he spoke.  
Yea when he wronged the Priesthood, and would take  
That place, he did his HORSE his Colleague make.   

NERO, that ne'er loved Creature, young nor old,  
Even scarce himself; his HORSE so dear did hold  
That clad in purple, he must wear the Gown  
As SENATOR, and walk abroad the town:  
And his fine wanton wench SABINA would  
Her HORSE have shod with none but shoes of gold.   

The HORSE is often cause of victory,  
And in the battle fighteth furiously;  
He bites and strikes, and beats whole squadrons down  
Rides o'er the ranks, till all be quite o'erthrown;  
And will not hear the sound of the retreat,  
But follows those that fly, and are defeat.   

The HORSE was fatal unto famous TROY  
Which ten years lingering siege could not annoy;  
And those white steeds ANCHISESES first did see  
Upon the long sought shore of ITALY,  
Portended war; the land could not be won,  
But with hard blows, by his tossed wand'ring Son.   

A HORSE discovered him that should be king 
Herod. lib. 3.   
When Persia's wise men forth their Peers did bring  
Without the City gate well mounted all:  
And he whose HORSE first neighed; (it was said) should fall  
The Crown by lot; which Darius did obtain,  
And by that means came o'er the Land to reign.   

The HORSE, War's Symbol, is alive, or dead,  
As well was seen in CARTHAGE, by the Head  
Of one was found, when first fair Dido founded  
That Town; and with strong walls the Port surrounded.  
For Rome ne'er found a folk more hard to daunt  
And Hannibal of Canna's field could vaunt.   

The HORSE for speed and strength so fare excels  
All other Creatures made for service else;  
That even th' Apostles sometime are compared  
To HORSES, for their toil & travel hard:  
As when the 
* Zechariah. 1.6.  Prophet in the vale of Night  
Among the Myrtles saw that vision bright:  
" A Man that sat upon a HORSE was red  
" And others speckled more behind him stood  
" He asked what they were, and it was said  
" Those whom the Lord his messengers had made  
" To walk abroad the earth, and show his will  
" Though all the world in wickedness sat still.   

What greater mark of true magnificence  
To show the state and puissance of a Prince;  
Then in the choice and number of his HORSE?  
Which prove his power, and do proclaim his force.  
The Mirror & the Map of Majesty.  
Great SALOMON, whose glory reached the sky;  
In nothing more his royal pomp maintained  
Then forty thousand HORSE he entertained.   

The HORSE may for his Courage justly claim  
A share in honours, and surviving fame,  
With all those worthies that the world admires  
Those valiant wand'ring Knights, and sturdy Squires  
For had not He, as forward been as they  
Where should we find our Chivalry to day.   

St. Georg himself, but for his HORSE I fear,  
Had never killed the Dragon with his spear;  
But he hath his reward, and fares no worse  
Than his proud Rider; honoured as a Horse.   

The HORSE alone is worth a world of creatures;  
Whose several service, suits but with their natures,  
he's fit for all things, and you cannot choose  
A work becomes him wrong; or wants his use  
In peace and war for profit and for pleasure  
He is the Prince and Peasant's choicest treasure.   

Though Fables in fine tires have truth disguised  
And tell us tales of Monsters, Men devised,  
As that the Centaurs were half HOSRE, half Man:  
The Moral's good, and from this ground began:  
There dwelled a people, on mount Pelions side  
Who first broke Horses, and were seen to ride,  
Their simple neighbours thought both Man & horse  
Had been but One, and feared their mighty force  
(As of late years, the savage Indians thought  
When Cortes first from Spain, his horsemen brought:  
For when they fought on foot they feared no evil  
But durst not stand against that Spanish Devil.)  
From thence the Poets feigned that pretty tale  
To show that strength and reason still prevail:  
And therefore feigned Chiron to be One  
That did instruct fair Thetis warlike Son:  
The better in that fiction to express  
Those parts required in him that's put to dress  
A Prince's youth, whose wise & deep discourse  
To manly Reason joins the strength of HORSE.   

But soft my Muse, it is too much I fear  
Stop here thy course: and hold in full career  
The gentle HORSE should not be spurred too sore;  
Nor must thou wrong his patience any more,  
The gentle HORSE should not be spurred too sore;  
Nor must thou wrong his patience any more,  
That daings to hear thy harsh, and ill-timed song  
The Day is holy; hold thy prattling tongue.   

Behold Brave BALFOUR, with what confidence  
I kindly beg your favour will dispense  
With this plain freedom: and accept my love  
In this poor token, though a toy it prove:  
The Gods of old were pleased with poorest things  
And petty flowers are presents for great Kings.  
What here I offer, if it please your eye,  
My wish is full, my verse to Heaven will fly.   

And I shall reach PARNASSUS sacred source  
On this Pegasian COLT, my Flying HORSE.   SUNT ARTIBUS ARMA DECORI.