 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
34
The Thames Frozen.
Where gentle Thames, in murmuring Streams did flow
Hills rise of Ice, and Mountains stand of Snow
The Nymph, who late, with Sculler, wafted o'er,
To Cupid's Arbours, and the am'rous Shore,
Ogling from Wave to Wave, from Coast to Coast
And proudly sailing, like a First-rate Toast:
Or she, who scattering Darts, around, commands
The Oars to make Spring-Garden's happy Lands;
Her Face her Fortune, and her Fare her Store,
Trusting to secret Arts to furnish more;
Now Scot-free roves, but would, to make her Way
In warmer Weather, double Taxes pay.
Hills rise of Ice, and Mountains stand of Snow
The Nymph, who late, with Sculler, wafted o'er,
To Cupid's Arbours, and the am'rous Shore,
Ogling from Wave to Wave, from Coast to Coast
And proudly sailing, like a First-rate Toast:
Or she, who scattering Darts, around, commands
The Oars to make Spring-Garden's happy Lands;
Her Face her Fortune, and her Fare her Store,
Trusting to secret Arts to furnish more;
Now Scot-free roves, but would, to make her Way
In warmer Weather, double Taxes pay.
35
The bulky Vessel, whose large, convex Side,
Braves the sublimest Surges of the Tide,
Proud with its spreading Sails, and Length of Oar,
Stretching and heard, at once, from Shore to Shore,
Neglected lies, an useless Heap of Wood,
Where, once, in Beauty and Repute, it stood.
Braves the sublimest Surges of the Tide,
Proud with its spreading Sails, and Length of Oar,
Stretching and heard, at once, from Shore to Shore,
Neglected lies, an useless Heap of Wood,
Where, once, in Beauty and Repute, it stood.
Here soft, balsamick Ale, there Rhenish flows;
Here Bohea-Tea, and there Tobacco grows:
In one Place you may meet good Cheshire Cheese;
And in another, Whitest Brentford Pease.
Here is King George's Picture, there Queen Ann's;
Now nut-brown Beer in Cups, and now in Cans.
One sells an Oxford-Dram, as good as can be,
Another offers General Pepper's Brandy.
Here Bohea-Tea, and there Tobacco grows:
In one Place you may meet good Cheshire Cheese;
And in another, Whitest Brentford Pease.
Here is King George's Picture, there Queen Ann's;
Now nut-brown Beer in Cups, and now in Cans.
One sells an Oxford-Dram, as good as can be,
Another offers General Pepper's Brandy.
The Sculler, who, not long since, pull'd for Life,
And tugg'd to merit or maintain a Wife;
His Boat a Booth; now fixes his Abode
In the proud Billow, where, so late, he row'd;
Content, with Cap in Hand, to beg and flatter;
He knows, the sawcy Freedoms of the Water,
In Icy Seasons are no Jesting Matter.
And tugg'd to merit or maintain a Wife;
His Boat a Booth; now fixes his Abode
In the proud Billow, where, so late, he row'd;
36
He knows, the sawcy Freedoms of the Water,
In Icy Seasons are no Jesting Matter.
Lo! there a sleek Venetian Envoy walks,
And there an Alderman, more proudly, stalks;
There goes the French Ambassador; that's He:
And there is Honest 'Squire and Captain Lee.
Here's Rue St. Jaque, and yonder is the Strand;
In this Place Noyer plies; that's Lintott's Stand.
And there an Alderman, more proudly, stalks;
There goes the French Ambassador; that's He:
And there is Honest 'Squire and Captain Lee.
Here's Rue St. Jaque, and yonder is the Strand;
In this Place Noyer plies; that's Lintott's Stand.
But who's here shining on the frigid Thames?
Stop, stop, ye amorous Souls, I'll tell their Name
The first is Sunderland, O matchless Face!
From Marlb'rough is deriv'd that blooming Grace,
With which she warms this happy, frozen Place.
The next is Balladine, like Lilies fair;
Lapelle the next, each youthful Lover's Care.
Stop, stop, ye amorous Souls, I'll tell their Name
The first is Sunderland, O matchless Face!
From Marlb'rough is deriv'd that blooming Grace,
With which she warms this happy, frozen Place.
The next is Balladine, like Lilies fair;
Lapelle the next, each youthful Lover's Care.
37
Thou! beauteous River Thames, whose standing Tide,
Equals the Glories of thy flowing Pride!
The City, yea, the World's transferr'd to Thee;
Fix'd as the Land, and richer than the Sea.
The various Metals Nature does produce,
Or Art improve, for Ornament, or Use,
From the Earth's deepest Bowels brought, are made
To shine on Thee, and carry on the Trade.
Guilleaum, renown'd for making Silver pass
Thro' various Forms, and Sparks, as fam'd for Brass;
And T---, 'tween God and Gold who ne'er stood Neuter,
And trusty Nicholson, who lives by Pewter;
Over their Doors, affix'd their well known Names,
And wrote, beneath, Remov'd into the Thames.
The wealthy Banker, who ne'er view'd the Sea,
To Ports most distant, dates his Bills from Thee:
While all the Silks and Sattens of the East,
Stream, gawdy, up and down thy frozen Waste.
Equals the Glories of thy flowing Pride!
The City, yea, the World's transferr'd to Thee;
Fix'd as the Land, and richer than the Sea.
The various Metals Nature does produce,
Or Art improve, for Ornament, or Use,
From the Earth's deepest Bowels brought, are made
To shine on Thee, and carry on the Trade.
Guilleaum, renown'd for making Silver pass
Thro' various Forms, and Sparks, as fam'd for Brass;
And T---, 'tween God and Gold who ne'er stood Neuter,
And trusty Nicholson, who lives by Pewter;
Over their Doors, affix'd their well known Names,
And wrote, beneath, Remov'd into the Thames.
The wealthy Banker, who ne'er view'd the Sea,
To Ports most distant, dates his Bills from Thee:
While all the Silks and Sattens of the East,
Stream, gawdy, up and down thy frozen Waste.
38
But, Oh! remember, when a kinder Sun
Shall loose thee from thy Shore, and bid thee run,
To let each distant Stream and Nation know
The Blessings of the Land thro' which you flow.
Tell 'em, That all Things smile on George's Reign,
And Liberty her Temple rears again:
The Vertuous meet Reward, the Bad Disgrace;
And Joy and Triumph dwell in ev'ry Face.
Shall loose thee from thy Shore, and bid thee run,
To let each distant Stream and Nation know
The Blessings of the Land thro' which you flow.
Tell 'em, That all Things smile on George's Reign,
And Liberty her Temple rears again:
The Vertuous meet Reward, the Bad Disgrace;
And Joy and Triumph dwell in ev'ry Face.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |