[62], 46, [2], 82, [6], 103, [1], 215, [1], 29, [1], 194pp. With an engraved portrait frontispiece. ESTC R30277, Wing C6656.

[Bound with:] COWLEY, Abraham. The Second Part of the works of Mr. abraham cowley... London. Printed by Mary Clark, for Charles Harper, 1682. Fourth edition. 143, [7], 149-223pp, [1]. ESTC R224230, Wing C6664.

12mo. Contemporary blind-ruled calf. Heavily rubbed. Pastedowns sprung, several gatherings protruding from text-block, scattered spotting.

Abraham Cowley (1618-1667), English poet and royalist agent. Achieving remarkable poetic success in his youth, Cowley's life was somewhat interrupted by the tumultuous 1640s. An avowed royalist, after his eviction from Trinity College, Cambridge, he pinned his fortunes to the King's cause. Following the court to Paris after defeat at Marston Moor, Cowley served as a secretary and agent to Queen Henrietta Maria's court-in-exile from 1644-54, a position terminated only by his arrest during a mission to England. The first collected edition of Cowley's poetry, arranged following his release from Cromwell's custody, appeared in 1656 and contained his Mistress, Pindarique Odes and epic life of King David, Davideis, in addition to an extensive selection of miscellaneous early verse. Subsequent printings, as here, appearing after the Restoration, would include his 'A Discourse by way of Vision, Concerning the Government of Oliver Cromwell', a meditation spurred by the death of the reviled Protector.