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This little seed is the great instrument
To shew the power of God Omnipotent,
Whereby the glorious Gospel of his Son,
Millions misled souls hath from Satan won.
Those that knew no God in the times of yore,
Now they their great Creator do adore.
And many that did think they did do well
To give themselves a sacrifice to Hell,
And served the Devil with the inhumane slaughters,
Of their unhappy hapless sons and daughters,
Now they the remnant of their lives do frame
To praise their Makers and Redeemers name.
Witness Virginia; witness many mo,
Witness our selves few hundred years ago,
When in Religion, and in barbarous natures,
We were poor wretched misbelieving creatures.
How had Gods Preachers sailed to sundry coasts,
To instruct men how to know the Lord of Hosts?
But for the Sails which he with wind doth fill.
As Servants to accomplish his great will.
But leaving this high supernatural strain,
I'll talk of Hempseed in a lower vain.
How should we have gold, silver, gems, or jewels,
Wine, oil, spice, rice, and divers sorts of fouls:
Food for the belly, clothing for the back,
Sile, Satin, Velvet, any thing we lack,
To serve necessities? How should we get
Such sorts of plenteous fish, but with the net?
The Smelt, Roach, Salmon, Flounder and the Dace,
Would in fresh rivers keep their dwelling place.
The Ling, Cod, Herring, Sturgeon, such as these
Would live and die in their own native Seas.
Without this seed the Whale could not be caught,
Whereby our oils are out of Greenland brought.
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Nay weren't not for the net made of this seed,
Men could not catch a Sprat whereon to feed.
Besides, it liberally each where bestows
A living upon thousands where it grows;
As beaters, Spinners, Weavers, and a crew
Of haltermakers which could scarce live true,
But for the employment which this little grain
Doth use them in, and pays them for their pain.
The Rope makers, the Net makers, and all
Would be trade slain, for their trade would fall.
Besides, what multitudes of Fishers are
In every Sea-town, numbers past compare,
Whilest they their servants, children, and their wives
From Hempseeed get their living all their lives.
The Fish-mongers would quickly go to wrack,
The lack of this seed would be their great lack,
And being now rich, and in good reputation,
They would have neither Hall nor Corporation.
And all that they could buy, or sell, or barter,
Would scarce be worth a Gubbin once a quarter.
The mounting Lark, that seems so high to fly,
until she seems no greater then a Fly;
And to the flaming Sun doth chirp and prate,
Doth in the net come to her ending date.
My neighbor Woodcock, buzzard and the Gull,
And Philip Sparrow all most plentiful.
All sorts of fair fowl, or the foulest fowl,
From the degree of the Eagle to the Owl,
Are with ingenuous gins, grins, nets and snares
For mans relief oft taken unawares:
Deers, Hares, and Conies would too much abound,
And over-run the bearing breeding bound,
And Weasels, Polcats, Wildcats, Stoats and such
Like spoiling Vermin, would annoy men much,
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But for toils, hays, for traps, for snares and grins,
Which brings vs food, and profit by their skins.
No Plowman lives beneath the azure Cope,
But for his plough or cart must use the rope:
No Hostler lives in ours, or other Lands,
But makes the halters Horses falling bands.
Bells would hang dead within the lofty steeple
And never call to Church forgetful people,
Mute like a bagpipe, that hath lost his bag,
Except the Bell ropes made the clappers wag.
It were an endless task to go about it,
To reckon those that cannot live without it.
Alas what would our silken Mercers be?
What could they do (sweet Hempseed) but for thee?
Rash, Taffeta, Paropa, and Novato,
Shagg, Fillizetta, Damask and Mockado,
No Velvets, Piles, two Piles, pile and half Pile,
No Plush, or Grograines could adorn this isle,
No cloth of silver, Gold, or Tissue, here:
Philip and Cheiny never would appear
Within our bounds, nor any Flanders-serge
Could ever come within our Kingdoms verge:
Should Mercers want these things with divers more
Their trade were nothing or else very poor.
This seed doth help the Grocer every season,
Or else his wisdom could not yield a reason ;
He could not long be Currant in his state,
And (scarcely worth a fig) would end his Date.
For Cloves his credit would be cloven quick,
Nor from the loaf or lump, his lips could lick:
No Nutmegs, Liquors, or biting grains,
Or Almonds for a Parrot, were his gains,
Sans Ginger weakly he would run his Race,
And Poultry Mace, would put down Indian Mace:
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And he unable (through his want of self)
To pepper us, or yet to prune himself.
The Draper of his wealth would much be shorted.
But that our clothes and curtsy's are transported,
Our cottons, penistones, frizadoes, baze,
Our sundry sorts of frizes, blacks and grays.
And linen Drapers but for transportation,
Could hardly Canvase out their occupation.
Hempseed doth yield or else it doth allow
Lawn, Cambrick, Holland Canvas, Callico,
Normandy, Hambrough, strong poledauis, Lockram.
And to make up the Rhyme (with reason) Buckram.
The Goldsmiths trade would totter and unsettle,
And he could be a man of no good mettle,
Were't not for Sails and Ropes that Ships do rig,
That bring gold, silver, many a Sow and Pig;
Which makes them by an admirable skill
To live by that which many a Horse doth kill,
Which is the Fashions; for continually
They sell the fashion, but they seldom buy.
And brave wine Merchants, little were your gain,
By Mallegoes, Canaries Sack from Spain,
Sweet Elegant, and the concocted Cute,
Hollock and Tent would be of small repute;
Your Bastards their own Fathers would forget,
Nor they our Gossips lips no more would wet.
The wind no Muskadine could hither bandy,
Or sprightfull Malmesey out of fruitful Candy.
Liatica or Corsica could not
From their own bearing breeding bounds be got.
Peter-se-mea, or head strong Charnico,
Sherry, nor Rob-o-Dauy here could flow.
The French Frontiniack, Claret, Red nor White,
Graves nor High-Country could our hearts delight.
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No Gascoygne, Orleance, or the Chrystal Sherrant
Nor Rhenish from the Rheine would be apparent.
Thus Hempseed, with these wines, our land doth spread
Which if we want, wine Merchants trades were dead.
The Vintners trade were hardly worth a rush
Unable to hang up a sign, or bush;
And weren't not for this small forgotten grain
Their conjuring at midnight would be vain.
Anon, anon, would be forgotten soon,
And he might score a pudding in the Moon,
But not a pint of Claret in the Sun,
Because the empty hogshead could not run.
His blushing lattice would look pale and wan,
Nor could he long be a well liquored man:
No more could all his regiments of pots
Affright men daily, with scores, bills, and shots.
The Tailors trade would hardly get them bread
If Hempseed did not furnish them with thread;
And though it be a terror to most thieves
Yet it this occupation never grieves,
They love it, black, brown, yellow, green, red, blue,
Which is a sign, that Tailors must be true:
The worthy Company, of warm lined Skinners
Would in short space be miserable sinners
If Hempseed did not oft supply their boxes
With Russian Sables, Minivers and Foxes :
With Bears, & Badgers; and rare powdered Ermines,
And with the skins of divers beasts and Vermin's.
The Haberdasher of small ware, would be
In a small time, a man of small degree:
If Hempseed did not help him by the great,
Small would his gains be, to buy clothes or meat.
Then might his wares be rightly termed small
Which would by either few or none at all.
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And Dyers though you do no colors fear,
'Tis Hempseed that doth you to riches rear,
Woad, Madder, Indico, and Cutcheneale,
Brazil, and Logwood, and abundant deal
Of drugs, which did they not your wants supply,
You could not live, because you could not die.
Apothecaries were not worth a pin,
If Hempseed did not bring their comings in;
Oils, unguents, Syrups, Minerals, and Balms,
(All Natures treasures, and the Almighties almes,)
Emplasters, Simples, Compounds, sundry drugs
With Necromantic names like fearful Bugs,
Fumes, Vomits, purges, that both cures, and kills,
Extractions, conserves, preserves, potions, pills,
Elixirs, simples, compounds, distillations,
Gums in abundance, brought from foreign nations.
And all or most of these forenamed things
Help, health, preservatives; and riches brings.
There's many a Gallant dallying with a Drab,
Hath got the Spanish pip, or Naples scab,
The Galliæ Morbus or the Scottish fleas,
Or English Pox, for all's but one disease.
And though they were perfumed with Civet hot
Yet wanting these things they would stink and rot,
With growths, Consumption's, Palsies, Lethargies,
With apoplexies, quinzies, plurisies,
Cramps, cataracts, the tear-throat cough and tisick
From which, to health men are restored by physic,
Agves, quotidian, quarantine, tertian (fever), or
The leprosy, which all men do abhor.
The stone, strangury, botches, biles, or blaines,
Head-aches, cankers, swimming of the brains,
Ruptures, Herniation or Carnosa,
Or the Eolian hernia ventosa.
