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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 | A Metrical History of England |  |
The Gallic chief, with fury in his eye,
Beholds the British flag triumphant fly;
And, pow'rless to revenge great Nelson's deed,
The turban'd victims of his anger bleed;
And more of des lation had profaned
The sacred land and Jaffa's conduits stained,
But that another Briton barr'd his way,
Cross'd his fell purposes from day to day;
And where, of yore, in a less holy cause,
Fierce Cœur-de-Lion gave the battle laws;
In modern day did Sydney shake the tower
And pinnacle of Napoleon's power:
Who, conscious that his fortune still must yield
When such opponents met him in the field,
Bravely resolved (the Moniteur would say)
To 'tempt the ocean, rather than to stay.
Beholds the British flag triumphant fly;
And, pow'rless to revenge great Nelson's deed,
The turban'd victims of his anger bleed;
And more of des lation had profaned
The sacred land and Jaffa's conduits stained,
But that another Briton barr'd his way,
Cross'd his fell purposes from day to day;
And where, of yore, in a less holy cause,
Fierce Cœur-de-Lion gave the battle laws;
In modern day did Sydney shake the tower
And pinnacle of Napoleon's power:
269
When such opponents met him in the field,
Bravely resolved (the Moniteur would say)
To 'tempt the ocean, rather than to stay.
Nelson's victory seemed to deprive the French of all succour from the Continent; and the Turks, being reinforced by a small body of English, under the command of Sir Sydney Smith, the French were subjected to innumerable distresses and defeats, when an unexpected scheme was put in execution by Bonaparte, which was no other than that of making his escape from Egypt.
| A Metrical History of England | |