Poems, dramatic and miscellaneous

Freedom may weep, and tyranny prevail,
And stubborn patriots either frown, or rail;
Let them of grave economy talk loud,
Prate prudent measures to the list'ning crowd;
With all the rhetoric of ancient schools,
Despise the mode, and fashion's modish fools;
Or shew fair liberty, who us'd to smile,
The guardian goddess of Britannia's isle,
In sable weeds, anticipate the blow,
Aim'd at Columbia by her royal foe;
And mark the period when inglorious kings
Deal round the curses that a Churchill sings.

But what's the anguish of whole towns in tears,
Or trembling cities groaning out their fears?
The state may totter on proud ruin's brink,
The sword be brandish'd, or the bark may sink;
Yet shall Clarissa check her wanton pride,
And lay her female ornaments aside?
Quit all the shining pomp, the gay parade,
The costly trappings that adorn the maid?
What! all the aid of foreign looms refuse!
(As beds of tulips strip'd of richest hues,
Or the sweet bloom that's nip'd by sudden frost,
Clarissa reigns no more a favorite toast.
For what is virtue, or the winning grace,
Of soft good humour, playing round the face;

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Or what those modest antiquated charms,
That lur'd a Brutus to a Portia's arms;
Or all the hidden beauties of the mind,
Compar'd with gauze, and tassels well combin'd?

This mighty theme produc'd a long debate,
On the best plan to save a sinking state;
The oratorial fair, as they inclin'd,
Freely discuss'd, and frankly spake their mind.

Lamira wish'd that freedom might succeed,
But to such terms what female ere agreed?
To British marts forbidden to repair,
(Where ev'ry lux'ry tempts the blooming fair,)
Equals the rigour of those ancient times
When Pharaoh, harden'd as a G--- in crimes,
Plagu'd Israel's race, and tax'd them by a law,
Demanding brick, when destitute of straw;
Miraculously led from Egypt's port,
They lov'd the fashions of the tyrant's court;
Sigh'd for the leeks, and waters of the Nile,
As we for gewgaws from Britannia's isle;
That haughty isle, whose mercenary hand,
Spreads wide confusion round this fertile land,
Destroys the concord, and breaks down the shrine,
By virtue rear'd, to harmony divine.

Prudentia sigh'd—shall all our country mourn,
A powerful despot's low'ring, haughty frown,
Whose hostile mandates, sent from venal courts,
Rob the fair vintage, and blockade our ports;
While troops of guards are planted on each plain,
Whose crimes contagious, youth and beauty stain?
Fierce rancour blazen'd on each breast's display'd,
And for a crest, a gorgon's snaky head.

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The good, the wise, the prudent, and the gay,
Mingle their tears, and sighs for sighs repay;
Deep anxious thought each gen'rous bosom fills,
How to avert the dread approaching ills;
Let us resolve on a small sacrifice,
And in the pride of Roman matrons rise;
Good as Cornelia, or a Pompey's wife,
We'll quit the useless vanities of life.
Amidst loud discord, sadness, and dismay,
Hope spread her wing, and flit across the away:
Thanks to the sex, by heavenly hand design'd,
Either to bless, or ruin all mankind.

A sharp debate ensu'd on wrong and right,
A little warm, 'tis true, yet all unite,
At once to end the great politic strife,
And yield up all but real wants of life.

But does Helvidius, vigilant and wise,
Call for a schedule, that may all comprise?
'Tis so contracted, that a Spartan sage,
Will sure applaud th' economizing age.

But if ye doubt, an inventory clear,
Of all she needs, Lamira offers here;
Nor does she fear a rigid Cato's frown,
When she lays by the rich embroider'd gown,
And modestly compounds for just enough—
Perhaps, some dozens of more slighty stuff;
With lawns and lustrings—blond, and mecklin laces,
Fringes and jewels, fans and tweezer cases;
Gay cloaks and hats, of every shape and size,
Scarfs, cardinals, and ribbons of all dyes;
With ruffles stamp'd, and aprons of tambour,
Tippets and handkerchiefs, at least, three score;

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With finest muslins that fair India boasts,
And the choice herbage from Chinesan coasts;
(But while the fragrant hyson leaf regales,
Who'll wear the homespun produce of the vales?
For if 'twould save the nation from the curse
Of standing troops; or, name a plague still worse,
Few can this choice delicious draught give up,
Though all Medea's poisons fill the cup.)
Add feathers, furs, rich sattins, and ducapes,
And head dresses in pyramidial shapes;
Side boards of plate, and porcelain profuse,
With fifty ditto's that the ladies use;
If my poor treach'rous memory has miss'd,
Ingenious T---l shall complete the list.
So week Lamira, and her wants so few,
Who can refuse?—they're but the sex's due.

In youth, indeed, an antiquated page,
Taught us the threatenings of an Hebrew sage
'Gainst wimples, mantles, curls, and crisping pins,
But rank not these among our modern sins:
For when our manners are well understood,
What in the scale is stomacher or hood?

'Tis true, we love the courtly mein and air,
The pride of dress, and all the debonair;
Yet Clara quits the more dress'd negligee,
And substitutes the careless polanee;
Until some fair one from Britannia's court,
Some jaunty dress, or newer taste import;
This sweet temptation could not be withstood,
Though for the purchase's paid her father's blood;
Though loss of freedom were the costly price,
Or flaming comets sweep the angry skies;

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Or earthquakes rattle, or volcanoes roar;
Indulge this trifle, and she asks no more:
Can the stern patriot Clara's suit deny?
'Tis beauty asks, and reason must comply.

But while the sex round folly's vortex play,
Say, if their lords are wiser far than they;
Few manly bosoms feel a nobler flame,
Some cog the dye, and others win the game;
Trace their meanders to their tainted source,
What's the grand pole star that directs their course?
Perhaps revenge, or some less glaring vice,
Their bold ambition, or their avarice,
Or vanity unmeaning, throws the bowl;
'Till pride and passion urge the narrow soul,
To claim the honours of that heavenly flame,
That warms the breast, and crowns the patriot's name.

But though your wives in fripperies are dress'd,
And public virtue is the minion's jest,
America has many a worthy name,
Who shall, hereafter, grace the rolls of fame.
Her good Cornelias, and her Arrias fair,
Who, death, in its most hideous forms, can dare,
Rather than live vain fickle fortune's sport,
Amidst the panders of a tyrant's court;
With a long list of gen'rous, worthy men,
Who spurn the yoke, and servitude disdain;
Who nobly struggle in a vicious age,
To stem the torrent of despotic rage;
Who leagu'd, in solemn covenant unite,
And by the manes of good Hampden plight,
That while the surges lash Britannia's shore,
Or wild Ni'gara's cataracts shall roar,
And Heaven looks down, and sanctifies the deed,
They'll fight for freedom, and for virtue bleed.

University of Virginia Library

To the Hon. J. WINTHROP, Esq.

Who, on the American Determination, in 1774, to suspend all Commerce with Britain, (except for the real Necessaries of life) requested a poetical List of the Articles the Ladies might comprise under that Head.