He by such Epitaphs as this shall live.
Here York's great Metropolitan is laid,
60Who God's Anointed, and His Church, betrayed.
On I. W. A. B. of York. (1647.) This vigorous onslaught on the trimmer John Williams, Archbishop of York, who began public life as a tool of Buckingham's and ended it as a kind of tolerated half-deserter to the Parliament, was turned out by the 'Vindicators' in 1677. There may, however, have been reasons for this, other than certain spuriousness. Williams, though driven to doubtful conduct by his enmity with Laud, never called himself anything but a Royalist, was imprisoned as such, and is said to have died of grief (perhaps of compunction) at the King's execution. Also both Lake and Drake were Yorkshire men. The piece is vigorous, if not quite Clevelandish in the presence of some enjambment, and the absence of extravagant conceit.
2 falleris] In advancing the general observation that 'twy-natured is no nature'.
10 whatever] Perhaps we should read 'whatsoe'er'.
15 'garb' 1653.
16 A parody of course on Prynne's Histrio-mastix.
21 'he' = Proteus. Williams went right over.
23 Williams was very popular with his fellow provincials. He took refuge in Wales when the war broke out, and was made a sort of mediator by the Welsh after Naseby.