University of Virginia Library

Behold the Youth just now set free
On Land, immur'd again at Sea;
Stow'd with his Cargo in the Hold,
In quest of other Worlds for Gold.
He who so late regal'd at ease,
On Oleos, Soups, and Fricassees;
Drank with the Witty, and the Gay,
Sparkling Champaign, and rich Tokay;
Now breaks his Fast with Suffolk Cheese,
And bursts at Noon with Pork and Pease;
Instead of Wine, content to sip,
With noisy Tarrs, their nauseous Flip:
Their Breath with chaw'd Mundungus sweet,
Their Jests more fulsome than their Meat.
While Thunder rolls, and Storms arise,
He snoring in his Hammock lies;
In Golden Dreams enjoys the Night,
And counts his Bags with vast Delight.
Mountains of Gold erect his Throne,
Each precious Gem is now his own;
Kind Jove descends in golden Sleet,
Pactolus murmurs at his Feet;
The Sea gives up its hoarded Store,
Possessing all, he covets more.
O Gold! attractive Gold! in vain
Honour and Conscience wou'd restrain
Thy boundless universal Reign.
To thee each stubborn Virtue bends,
The Man oblig'd betrays his Friends;
The Patriot quits his Country's Cause,
And sells her Liberty and Laws:
The Pious Prude's no longer nice,
And ev'n Lawn Sleeves can flatter Vice.
At thy too absolute Command,
Thy Zealots ransack Sea, and Land:
Where'er thy Beams their Pow'r display,
The swarming Insects haste away,
To basque in thy refulgent Ray.

Now the bold Crew with prosp'rous Wind,
Leave the retreating Land behind;
Fearless they quit their native Shore,
And Albion's Cliffs are seen no more.
Then on the wide Atlantick born,
Their Rigging, and their Tackle torn;
Danger in various Shapes appears,
Sudden Alarms, and shiv'ring Fears.
Here, might some copious Bard dilate,
And show fierce Neptune drawn in state;
While Guards of Tritons clear his way,
And Nereids round his Chariot play;
Then bid the stormy Boreas rise,
And forky Light'ning cleave the Skies;
The Ship nigh found'ring in the Deep,
Or bounding o'er the ridgy Steep:
Describe the Monsters of the Main,
The Phocæ, and their finny Train,
Tornado's, Hurricanes, and Rain,
Spouts, Shoals, and Rocks of dreadful size,
And Pyrates lurking for their Prize;
Amazing Miracles rehearse,
And turn all Dampier into Verse.
My negligent, and humble Muse,
Less ambitious Aims pursues;
Content with more familiar Phrase,
Nor deals in such embroider'd Lays;
Pleas'd if my Rhime just Measure keeps,
And stretch'd at ease my Reader sleeps.
Hibernian Matrons thus of old,
Their soporifick Storys told;
To sleep in vain the Patient strove,
Perplex'd with Business, cross'd in Love;
'Till soothing Tales becalm'd his Breast,
And lull'd his troubled Soul to rest.
Suffice it only to recite,
They drank all Day, they snor'd all Night:
And after many Moons were past,
They made the wish'd-for Shores at last.
Frank with his Cargo in his Hand,
Leap'd joyful on the Golden Strand;
Open'd his Toyshop in the Port,
Trinkets of various Size, and Sort;
Bracelets, and Combs, Bodkins, and Tweezers,
Bath-mettle Rings, and Knives, and Scissers;
And in one lucky Day got more
Than Bubble-Boy in half a score.
For Fortune now no longer coy,
Smile'd on her darling fav'rite Boy;
No longer from his Arms retir'd,
But gave him all his Heart desir'd.
Ah! thoughtless Youth! in time beware,
And shun the treach'rous Harlot's Snare;
The wiser Savages behold,
Who truck not Liberty for Gold;
Proof against all her subtil Wiles,
Regardless of her Frowns, or Smiles;
If frugal Nature wants Supplies,
The Lance, or Dart, unerring flies:
The Mountain Boar their Prey descends,
Or the fat Kid regales their Friends;
The jocund Tribe, from Sun to Sun,
Feast on the Prize their Valour won.
Cease, babbling Muse, thy vain Advice,
'Tis thrown away on Avarice:
Bid hungry Lions quit their Prey,
Or Streams that down the Mountains stray,
Divert their Course, return again,
And climb the Steep from whence they came.

Unblest with his ill-gotten Store,
Th' insatiate Youth still craves for more;
To Counsel deaf, t'Examples blind,
Scrapes up whatever he can find.
Now Master of a Vessel grown,
With all the glitt'ring Fraight his own,
To Fortune still he makes his Court,
And coasts along from Port to Port.
Each rolling Tide brings fresh Supplies,
And Heaps on Heaps delight his Eyes.
Thro' Panama's delicious Bay,
The loaded Vessel ploughs her way;
With the rich Fraight oppress'd, she sails,
And summons all the friendly Gales.
Frank on her Deck triumphant stood,
And view'd the calm transparent Flood:
Let Book-learn'd Sots (said he) adore
Th' aspiring Hills that grace thy Shore;
Thy verdant Isles, the Groves that bow
Their nodding Heads, and shade thy Brow;
Thy Face serene, thy gentle Breast,
Where Sirens sing, and Halcyons rest:
Propitious Flood! on me bestow,
The Treasures of thy Depths below;
Which long in thy dark Womb have slept,
From Age to Age securely kept.
Scarce had he spoke, when, strange Surprize!
Th' indignant Waves in Mountains rise,
And Hurricanes invade the Skies;
The Ship against the Shoals was struck,
And in a thousand Pieces broke;
But one poor trusty Plank, to save
Its Owner from the wat'ry Grave:
On this he mounts, is cast on shore,
Half dead, a Bankrupt, as before:
Spiritless, fainting, and alone,
On the bare Beach he makes his Moan.
Then climbs the ragged Rocks, t'explore,
If ought was driving to the Shore,
The poor Remains of all his Store:
With greedy Diligence prepar'd
To save whate'er the Waves had spar'd.
But, oh! the Wretch expects in vain
Compassion from the furious Main;
Men, Goods, are sunk. Mad with Despair
He beat his Breast, he tore his Hair:
Then leaning o'er the craggy Steep,
Look'd down into the boiling Deep;
Almost resolv'd to cast himself,
And perish with his dear, dear Pelf.