The Works of John Hall-Stevenson ... Corrected and Enlarged. With Several Original Poems, Now First Printed, and Explanatory Notes. In Three Volumes |
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ODE. |
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 | The Works of John Hall-Stevenson |  |
48
ODE.
Full long to laughter-loving fancy wed,
A foe to nought but treachery and art,
Though mirthful folly ever claim'd my head,
My friends and country always had my heart.
A foe to nought but treachery and art,
Though mirthful folly ever claim'd my head,
My friends and country always had my heart.
Erato, void of true celestial fire,
For thee, weak maid, my feelings are too strong:
Clio, for once, will animate my lyre,
And let my country have one virtuous song.
For thee, weak maid, my feelings are too strong:
Clio, for once, will animate my lyre,
And let my country have one virtuous song.
Whilst wretched Albion for ages mourns
Her conquering sons like laurel'd victims slain;
O could I write, upon their sacred urns,
A verse as lasting as Britannia's pain!
Her conquering sons like laurel'd victims slain;
O could I write, upon their sacred urns,
A verse as lasting as Britannia's pain!
Blush, blush, to read how injur'd Braddock
fought;
Braddock in whom were ever found ally'd,
The soldier's ardour with the chieftain's thought,
The stoic's fortitude, without his pride.
Braddock in whom were ever found ally'd,
The soldier's ardour with the chieftain's thought,
The stoic's fortitude, without his pride.
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Unmindful of the hero's dying prayer,
Heaven struck a dreadful and avenging blow;
A blow that wrung from England in despair,
Those bitter tears that flow'd for Wolfe and Howe .
Heaven struck a dreadful and avenging blow;
A blow that wrung from England in despair,
Those bitter tears that flow'd for Wolfe and Howe .
Congenial spirits, each a self-form'd chief,
Each great as any chief in ancient lore,
Born to extend her glory and her grief,
Beyond what Britain ever knew before.
Each great as any chief in ancient lore,
Born to extend her glory and her grief,
Beyond what Britain ever knew before.
Valiant in arms, courteous and gay in peace,
See Williams snatch'd to an untimely tomb!
With every art and elegance of Græce,
And all the energy of patriot Rome.
See Williams snatch'd to an untimely tomb!
With every art and elegance of Græce,
And all the energy of patriot Rome.
And Armytage
, alas! in blooming youth,
Left undistinguish'd in a hostile grave,
Whom neither plighted love, nor candid truth,
Nor spirited integrity could save.
Left undistinguish'd in a hostile grave,
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Nor spirited integrity could save.
Lo! tow'ring Downe
, impatient of repose,
Borne on immortal Fame's impetuous wing,
Falls in the midst of Britain's fiercest foes,
And blasts the wreath design'd him by his king.
Borne on immortal Fame's impetuous wing,
Falls in the midst of Britain's fiercest foes,
And blasts the wreath design'd him by his king.
Learn, Britons, from your king, on worth to smile,
Or heaven may still have greater ills in store:
Brunswick's fair race may cease to bless your isle,
And liberty forsake her native shore.
Or heaven may still have greater ills in store:
Brunswick's fair race may cease to bless your isle,
And liberty forsake her native shore.
Sir William Peer Williams, killed at Bellisle, in the year 1761. See an epitaph on him in Gray's Works.
Sir John Armytage, member of parliament for York, killed at St. Cas, in September, 1758, a young gentleman of large fortune and great expectation.
Lord Viscount Downe of the kingdom of Ireland. He died Dec. 26, 1760, of the wounds he received at Campen, in Germany. He was one of the knights of the shire for the county of York, lieutenant colonel of the 25th regiment of foot, and colonel of the southern battalion of the Yorkshire West Riding militia.
| The Works of John Hall-Stevenson | |