 | Poems, dramatic and miscellaneous |  |
SCENE III.
DON JUAN DE PADILLA and DON FRANCIS.Francis.
Alas! my lord, an unexpected blow!
But thou'rt prepar'd for all that fate can do,
Too great to fear—too good to be dismay'd.
Don Juan.
So well I know the shifting tide of life,
I'm not appall'd whene'er its ebb runs off,
And leaves man shallow'd on the oozy strand.
138
Tordesilas is seiz'd—the queen betray'd—
Don Pedro fled, and join'd the emperor's troops.
Don Juan
No genuine faith, or patriotic worth,
Had ere a place in his corrupted breast.
Had ere a place in his corrupted breast.
While justice holds the golden scales aloft,
And weighs our glorious cause with equal hand,
And bids each valiant chief support her claim,
Needless the aid of Pedro's dastard arm.
And weighs our glorious cause with equal hand,
And bids each valiant chief support her claim,
Needless the aid of Pedro's dastard arm.
Francis.
High heav'n in wrath supports the royal cause,
And gives success o'er Charles's foreign foes;
E'en Solyman the great, fatigu'd with war,
Of Mustapha afraid, sighs to return
To Roxalana's captivating charms,
Agrees a truce, and leaves th' Hungarian plains.
Don Juan.
Resentful, brave, and nurs'd in valour's school,
Francis still waits him at the Pavian gate.
Francis.
The king of France, whose evil stars combine
To give his rival empire o'er the world,
Has lost a battle at the Pavian gate,
And languishes a prisoner to Charles.
Don Juan.
Hah!—is Francis made the fickle sport of fortune?
A ruder game the wanton never play'd,
To strip the wreaths, and blast a monarch's fame.
Must Gallia's generous, brave and valiant king,
Do homage for his crown at Charles's feet?
A ruder game the wanton never play'd,
To strip the wreaths, and blast a monarch's fame.
Must Gallia's generous, brave and valiant king,
Do homage for his crown at Charles's feet?
If victory declares on freedom's side,
My arm shall aid in all his just demands.
My arm shall aid in all his just demands.
139
Ere Ferdinand had seiz'd the neighbouring crowns,
He form'd a system to enslave mankind:
But Charles improves on his despotic plan;
Yet one campaign, one signal victory gain'd,
May shake the tyrant from his triple throne.
And once again, o'er the European world,
Relight the torch by tyranny obscur'd.
He form'd a system to enslave mankind:
But Charles improves on his despotic plan;
Yet one campaign, one signal victory gain'd,
May shake the tyrant from his triple throne.
And once again, o'er the European world,
Relight the torch by tyranny obscur'd.
But if his cruel sword at last prevails,
Europe will bleed from Tagus to the Scheld,
Beneath his barb'rous persecuting race.
We then must strike one bold decisive blow;
The rights of man were rescu'd by the sword,
From Nimrod down to Cæsar or to Charles—
Haste on this moment and rejoin the troops.
Europe will bleed from Tagus to the Scheld,
Beneath his barb'rous persecuting race.
We then must strike one bold decisive blow;
The rights of man were rescu'd by the sword,
From Nimrod down to Cæsar or to Charles—
Haste on this moment and rejoin the troops.
Francis.
At freedom's pedestal I've laid my hopes,
The brightest boon of life—my promis'd bride—
My lov'd Louisa's charms;—to be her lord,
I would not riot in her arms a slave.
[Exit Francis.
| Poems, dramatic and miscellaneous | |