A Metrical History of England :: :: University of Virginia Library

A Metrical History of England

Or, Recollections, in Rhyme, Of some of the most prominent Features in our National Chronology, from the Landing of Julius Caesar to the Commencement of the Regency, in 1812. In Two Volumes ... By Thomas Dibdin

Dibdin, Thomas (1771-1841)

II.

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AIR.

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AIR.

TO “ANACREON IN HEAVEN.”

To William in Belgia, far over the sea,
A few sons of Freedom preferr'd a petition,
That he their deliv'rer and sov'reign wou'd be;
When this answer arrived, without let or condition:
By your laws to abide,
Shall be my first pride,
While I lend you my name and my consort's beside,
With the Sham'rock, the Thistle, and Rose, to entwine
Sweet emblems of Union round Liberty's shrine.

The news over Albion immediately flew,
When Judge Jefferies pretended to give himself airs;
If those traitors are suffered their scheme to pursue,
Myself and some more may sneak down the back stairs.

162

No longer fierce Kirk
Can proceed with his work,
To shoot, stab, and strangle folks, just like a Turk,
If William and Mary are suffered to twine
The emblems of Union round Liberty's shrine.

If Roman nos'd Billy once strikes up his drum,
We must sound a retreat in return, I'm afraid;
Each brow-beating Big Wig, like me, must be dumb,
And pack'd Juries pack off in defection of trade.
But tho' we withdraw,
Yet Mister Nassau
May dread the whole force of an Action at Law;
Prerogative's vengeance shall teach him to twine
His emblems of Union round Liberty's shrine.

Bishop Burnet got up, to his liturgy true,
And vow'd with King William he'd cheerfully join;
Too long, said the Prelate, a bigotted crew
Have ruled, to Old England's disaster and mine.

163

Nassau who delights
In peace, tho' he fights,
Will redress our sad wrongs with a good Bill of Rights;
With the Laurel, the Olive, and Myrtle he'll twine
The emblems of Union round Liberty's shrine.

164

Then Jefferies be silent, for faith you had need,
Since you and your colleagues committed those crimes
Which sullied your master, caused thousands to bleed,
And call'd for an Orange to cool those hot times;
Like his mind we suppose,
His Majesty's nose
Truly Roman, his creed tho' is tout antre chose,
As you'll find when he gloriously comes to entwine
The emblems of Union with Liberty's shrine.

One fifth of November, a gunpowder plot
Went off 'ere its sting it had pow'r to display;
Our fifth of November will ne'er be forgot,
When freedom her ensign unfurl'd in Torbay;
“Nolumus mutari,”
Our laws ne'er shall vary,
Cried Britons, when welcoming William and Mary,
Who landed the Olive and Myrtle to twine,
With emblems of Union round Liberty's shrine.

165

Then ne'er may the fruit of that landing be lost,
And long may Britannia with gratitude own,
The views of her enemies ne'er were so crost,
As when William and Mary ascended the throne.
May the throne long endure,
And it's virtues ensure
That union which only these realms can secure,
While the Sham'rock, the Rose, and the Thistle, entwine,
Peace, Commerce, and Plenty, round Liberty's shrine.

The system of assassination was a very favorite one in James's Reign. Bishop Burnet, if the Author of this Rhyming History understands his principles from reading his Memoirs of his times, seems to have acted with manly and pious sincerity with respect to his religious tenets; for which, although he left a country, where he refused dishonorable preferment, with the King's permission, he was legally, or rather illegally proceeded against. And when the States of Holland, where he married and was naturalized, refused to give him up, his life was threatened, and agents employed to take it; of which, among other friendly and authentic notices, he received the following, from Captain Barter, a gentleman of unquestioned honor and reputation, whose father was at that time Steward to the Duke of Ormond:

Hague, 14th March, 1688.

“Dear Sir,

“Though I have no acquaintance with you, yet the esteem I have for your character, and the benefit I have received by your works, obliges me to tell you the proceedings against you in England. I happened the other day to go into the Secretary's Office, where I saw an order for three thousand pounds, to be paid the person that shall destroy you. I could hardly believe my eyes that I saw the paper, it seemed so strange to me. This I communicated in private to my Lord Ossory, who told me it was true, for he had it from Prince George. My Lord desired me to be private in the thing 'till I came to Holland, and then, if I pleased, to tell you of it: Sir, I am your friend, and my advice to you is, to take an especial care of yourself, for no doubt but that great sum will meet with a mercenary hand. Sir, you shall never want a friend where I am.”