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 |
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HOUSE of STUART.
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 | A Metrical History of England |  |
172
HOUSE of STUART.
174
“Henceforth, she said, in each returning year,
“One stem the Thistle and the Rose shall bear;
“The Thistle's lasting grace, thou, O my Rose, shall be,
“The warlike Thistle's arm a sure defence to thee.”
Rowe.
“One stem the Thistle and the Rose shall bear;
“The Thistle's lasting grace, thou, O my Rose, shall be,
“The warlike Thistle's arm a sure defence to thee.”
Rowe.
“Great Anna claims the song, no brighter name
“Adorns the list of never-dying fame;
“No fairer soul was ever form'd above;
“None e'er was more the grateful nation's love,
“Nor lov'd the nation more.”
Parnell.
“Adorns the list of never-dying fame;
“No fairer soul was ever form'd above;
“None e'er was more the grateful nation's love,
“Nor lov'd the nation more.”
Parnell.
“Ye active streams! where'er your waters flow,
“Let distant climes and furthest nations know
“What ye from Thames and Danube have been taught,
“How Anne commanded, and how Marlbro' fought.”
Prior.
“Let distant climes and furthest nations know
“What ye from Thames and Danube have been taught,
“How Anne commanded, and how Marlbro' fought.”
Prior.
“Next to the Thunderer let Anna stand,
“In piety supreme as in command;
“Famed for victorious arms and generous aid,
“Young Austria's refuge, and fierce Bourbon's dread.
Lansdown.
“In piety supreme as in command;
“Famed for victorious arms and generous aid,
“Young Austria's refuge, and fierce Bourbon's dread.
Lansdown.
ANNE.
“A Lady lived in former days,
“That well deserv'd the utmost praise;
“For greatness, birth, and justice famed,
“And every virtue could be named.”
So of the Queen sung Doctor King,
And thus on many a lyric wing
Her praises soar; while, to speak her due,
Who most commended, said most true.
“That well deserv'd the utmost praise;
“For greatness, birth, and justice famed,
“And every virtue could be named.”
175
And thus on many a lyric wing
Her praises soar; while, to speak her due,
Who most commended, said most true.
King William's plan of continental war,
The Queen and Commons, after stout debate,
Resolve to second; hence that blazing star,
Ruling of each campaign the fate,
Bright Marlbro' rose, whose very name
Half won the day where'er it came;
Victorious still his banners flew,
And on his helm spontaneous laurels grew;
Imperial sov'reigns woo'd his worth,
And graced the chief of British birth
With principality; while Churchill's brow
By Anne with ducal circle bound,
Bade Envy's self submissive bow,
And hail desert with genuine honor crown'd.
At Donawert and Ramilies
He thrash'd the French with skill and ease;
At Oud'nard and Malplaquet beat 'em,
At Blenheim bravely did defeat 'em,
And in each place he chanced to meet 'em.
Or Mildenheim or Marlbro' call'd,
His presence still the foe appal'd,
While grateful friends shall long revere,
Churchill to patriot memory dear.
So in our days, Rodrigo's chief,
Ordain'd for sinking Spain's relief,
For Britain's joy and Erin's fame,
Born to acquire a Marlbro's name;
Or by Iberian Dukedom praised,
Or Lusitanian honors raised;
Great Torres Vedras thy paternal throne,
Attaches honor to thy name alone,
And proudly calls a Wellin ton it's own!
The Queen and Commons, after stout debate,
Resolve to second; hence that blazing star,
Ruling of each campaign the fate,
Bright Marlbro' rose, whose very name
Half won the day where'er it came;
Victorious still his banners flew,
And on his helm spontaneous laurels grew;
Imperial sov'reigns woo'd his worth,
And graced the chief of British birth
With principality; while Churchill's brow
By Anne with ducal circle bound,
Bade Envy's self submissive bow,
And hail desert with genuine honor crown'd.
At Donawert and Ramilies
He thrash'd the French with skill and ease;
At Oud'nard and Malplaquet beat 'em,
At Blenheim bravely did defeat 'em,
And in each place he chanced to meet 'em.
176
His presence still the foe appal'd,
While grateful friends shall long revere,
Churchill to patriot memory dear.
So in our days, Rodrigo's chief,
Ordain'd for sinking Spain's relief,
For Britain's joy and Erin's fame,
Born to acquire a Marlbro's name;
Or by Iberian Dukedom praised,
Or Lusitanian honors raised;
Great Torres Vedras thy paternal throne,
Attaches honor to thy name alone,
And proudly calls a Wellin ton it's own!
“Come gi's a sang, the lady cried,
“And lay aw' yer disputes aside;
“What nonsense 'tis for folk to chide,
“For what's been done before 'em,
“Let Whig and Tory aye agree,”
But Whig and Tory, friends, d'ye see,
Wou'd not agree, and fierce began
Their quarrels in the reign of Anne,
Tho' of their origin we have some doubts,
They surely were a sort of Ins and Outs;
(Whate'er their designations may denote,
Remember, reader, I'm no party minion).
Tories for strict episcopacy vote,
The Whigs for greater freedom of opinion:
And it was said, in prose, by Doctor Swift,
(Who had been known to give each side a lift,)
Of Church and State who dearest deems
Should carefully avoid extremes;
Nor, for the former's sake, engage
With Whiggish violence or rage;
Nor less, for State's well-founded glory,
Avoid the overweening Tory.
“And lay aw' yer disputes aside;
“What nonsense 'tis for folk to chide,
“For what's been done before 'em,
“Let Whig and Tory aye agree,”
But Whig and Tory, friends, d'ye see,
Wou'd not agree, and fierce began
Their quarrels in the reign of Anne,
177
They surely were a sort of Ins and Outs;
(Whate'er their designations may denote,
Remember, reader, I'm no party minion).
Tories for strict episcopacy vote,
The Whigs for greater freedom of opinion:
And it was said, in prose, by Doctor Swift,
(Who had been known to give each side a lift,)
Of Church and State who dearest deems
Should carefully avoid extremes;
Nor, for the former's sake, engage
With Whiggish violence or rage;
Nor less, for State's well-founded glory,
Avoid the overweening Tory.
Whether they right or wrong have been
Their party jars perplexed the Queen;
Who still most equitably tried
An honest course 'twixt either side.
North and South Britain now become one land,
And Union join each Scotch and English hand.
Hail Caledonia! sister true,
Long may thine Abercrombies, good as brave,
Long may thy Duncans teach that foe to sue
Who envious of Erin, us, and you,
Dispute our triple right to rule the wave.
France tries, without effect, the war to bring
To Albion's guarded shores; the gallant Byng
Puts the Pretender's fleet to rapid flight,
And James the Third deserts his self-named right.
Their party jars perplexed the Queen;
Who still most equitably tried
An honest course 'twixt either side.
North and South Britain now become one land,
And Union join each Scotch and English hand.
Hail Caledonia! sister true,
Long may thine Abercrombies, good as brave,
Long may thy Duncans teach that foe to sue
Who envious of Erin, us, and you,
178
France tries, without effect, the war to bring
To Albion's guarded shores; the gallant Byng
Puts the Pretender's fleet to rapid flight,
And James the Third deserts his self-named right.
Mourn'd, lov'd, esteem'd, the “royal Dane,”
Our sov'reign's consort, pays great nature's debt,
The heaviest sorrow of a well-spent reign,
Was Anne's keen, unaffected, deep regret.
Our sov'reign's consort, pays great nature's debt,
The heaviest sorrow of a well-spent reign,
Was Anne's keen, unaffected, deep regret.
Now sateless war, with fire terrific, rages;
And Guiscard, now, a Gallic wight, engages
To snatch by dire assasination
Great Harley's life; due execration
Attends his well-prevented plan,
And, victim of his treason, falls the man.
Anxious that Discord's voice should cease,
The Queen attends to proffei'd peace;
Churchill dissents, and, strange to say,
Stripp'd of his honours in a day,
Th' unconquer'd, conquering foe of France;
His country's glory, and her friend,
Beholds adversity, with years advance,
And, strangely doom'd to fade away
With most unmerited neglect,
By those deserted he could once protect,
In imbecility awaits his end!
And Guiscard, now, a Gallic wight, engages
To snatch by dire assasination
Great Harley's life; due execration
Attends his well-prevented plan,
And, victim of his treason, falls the man.
Anxious that Discord's voice should cease,
The Queen attends to proffei'd peace;
Churchill dissents, and, strange to say,
Stripp'd of his honours in a day,
179
His country's glory, and her friend,
Beholds adversity, with years advance,
And, strangely doom'd to fade away
With most unmerited neglect,
By those deserted he could once protect,
In imbecility awaits his end!
Peace, sign'd at Utrecht, gives the nation rest,
And peace we idlers always think is best;
Anne's ministers, to their disgrace,
With ill-bred warmth, before her face,
Assail each other.—Pens of old
Say, grief that parties shou'd prevail;
'Ere yet her years were fully told,
Shorten'd her being, and, of course, my tale.
Two sons, four daughters, prematurely died;
And Brunswick's Line our hope and pride,
(Long may it flourish good and great!)
Succeeded to the vacant state.
No reign than Anne's in war more justly crown'd,
No reign for learning justly more renown'd;
Elizabeth, a Shakespeare own'd:
Charles could a Milton boast;
But Anne saw Newton high enthroned,
Amid the heavenly host!
Anne, who with reason had been vain,
Had Newton only graced her reign:
But names like Burnett, Tilloston,
With Atterbury, Clarendon,
Swift, Addison, and Bolingbroke,
With Boyle, might envy well provoke.
And tho' succeeding monarchs knew
Their worth, yet at this time they grew,
Nurtured by freedom as by taste,
While, no less vigorous than chaste,
Each Muse finds ev'ry succeeding age
Proud to admire and imitate her page!
And peace we idlers always think is best;
Anne's ministers, to their disgrace,
With ill-bred warmth, before her face,
Assail each other.—Pens of old
Say, grief that parties shou'd prevail;
'Ere yet her years were fully told,
Shorten'd her being, and, of course, my tale.
Two sons, four daughters, prematurely died;
And Brunswick's Line our hope and pride,
(Long may it flourish good and great!)
Succeeded to the vacant state.
No reign than Anne's in war more justly crown'd,
No reign for learning justly more renown'd;
Elizabeth, a Shakespeare own'd:
Charles could a Milton boast;
But Anne saw Newton high enthroned,
Amid the heavenly host!
180
Had Newton only graced her reign:
But names like Burnett, Tilloston,
With Atterbury, Clarendon,
Swift, Addison, and Bolingbroke,
With Boyle, might envy well provoke.
And tho' succeeding monarchs knew
Their worth, yet at this time they grew,
Nurtured by freedom as by taste,
While, no less vigorous than chaste,
Each Muse finds ev'ry succeeding age
Proud to admire and imitate her page!
| A Metrical History of England | |