The Probationary Odes of Jonathan Pindar, Esq A cousin of Peter's, and candidate for the post of Poet Laureat to the C. U. S. In two parts |
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ODE VI.
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 | The Probationary Odes of Jonathan Pindar, Esq |  |
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ODE VI.
COUSIN JONATHAN TO COUSIN PETER.
Aut agitur res in scenis, aut acta refertur.
Hor.
Hor.
Bard of the tuneful Lyre, hight Cousin
Peter!
By just hereditary claim
Heir to the Theban Bard's immortal Fame
For lofty metre,
Refuse not to a younger Brother's line
Some portion of thine heritage divine.
By just hereditary claim
Heir to the Theban Bard's immortal Fame
For lofty metre,
Refuse not to a younger Brother's line
Some portion of thine heritage divine.
Thou over sea-girt Britain's tuneful isle,
Like him, on sounding pinions borne,
Sailest supreme:—Whilst on a rock, forlorn,
I sit the while,
In wonder lost at thy stupendous height,
Nor dare on feeble wing pursue thy flight.
Like him, on sounding pinions borne,
Sailest supreme:—Whilst on a rock, forlorn,
I sit the while,
In wonder lost at thy stupendous height,
Nor dare on feeble wing pursue thy flight.
Would'st thou but from thy Zenith deign to stoop,
This infant region to survey,
Which scarcely thrice has seen its natal day,
Thou 'dst spy a Group
Of Pictures, worthy of thine exhibition
In thy next Lyric Odes Academician .
This infant region to survey,
Which scarcely thrice has seen its natal day,
Thou 'dst spy a Group
Of Pictures, worthy of thine exhibition
In thy next Lyric Odes Academician .
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I 'd shew thee young Ambition, like an Eagle,
With stedfast eye the sun surveying,
His talons stretching, and his plumes essaying;
On pinions regal
Mounting, he soars aloft above the stars
And hurls Jove's thunderbolts about our ears.
With stedfast eye the sun surveying,
His talons stretching, and his plumes essaying;
On pinions regal
Mounting, he soars aloft above the stars
And hurls Jove's thunderbolts about our ears.
I 'd shew thee Liberty hoodwink'd, and standing
Upon the trap-door of a dungeon,
And mighty Atlas, with a royal truncheon,
His slaves commanding
To drop the platform underneath her feet,
And *** prepar'd his orders to compleat.
Upon the trap-door of a dungeon,
And mighty Atlas, with a royal truncheon,
His slaves commanding
To drop the platform underneath her feet,
And *** prepar'd his orders to compleat.
I 'd shew thee that fame Atlas in Convention,
Hammering, like any Tinman for his bread,
To hammer out a crown for Cæsar's head ;
With sly intention,
Cæsar no more, to make the crown his own
And bury Liberty beneath his Throne.
Hammering, like any Tinman for his bread,
To hammer out a crown for Cæsar's head ;
With sly intention,
Cæsar no more, to make the crown his own
And bury Liberty beneath his Throne.
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I 'd shew HIM to thee with a crucible,
Large as an oilman's jar, and busy grown
As alch'mist seeking the philos'pher's stone,
Now found reducible
From rags and paper cram'd into the pot,
Yielding a ton of gold upon the spot.
Large as an oilman's jar, and busy grown
As alch'mist seeking the philos'pher's stone,
Now found reducible
From rags and paper cram'd into the pot,
Yielding a ton of gold upon the spot.
I 'd shew our fed'ral Constitution torn
Like a French Ensign in a naval battle,
By that same Atlas and his venal cattle,
Laughing to scorn
Each cobweb net for conscience it contains,
Fetters of pen and ink, and parchment chains.
Like a French Ensign in a naval battle,
By that same Atlas and his venal cattle,
Laughing to scorn
Each cobweb net for conscience it contains,
Fetters of pen and ink, and parchment chains.
Again I 'd shew HIM to thee writing speeches
For Messieurs S * ms, and Co. to speak ,
Like puppets which their master's nonsense squeak;
Which surely teaches
That Representatives, if made of wood,
Might do less harm—and haply, not less good.
For Messieurs S * ms, and Co. to speak ,
Like puppets which their master's nonsense squeak;
Which surely teaches
That Representatives, if made of wood,
Might do less harm—and haply, not less good.
I 'd shew HIM to thee like a strolling play'r,
Slipping, one part dispatch'd, behind the scene,
Still prompting those that on the stage remain;
He'll soon prepare
Some other character to represent,
An Emperor, or King, or President .
Slipping, one part dispatch'd, behind the scene,
Still prompting those that on the stage remain;
He'll soon prepare
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An Emperor, or King, or President .
I' d shew thee worth superior led,
As Dunstan led the Devil, by the nose,
Blinded by spells and charms, (an ample dose
To turn the head
Of that fam'd chief who Circe's charms withstood)
Prepar'd by Speculation's hellish brood.
As Dunstan led the Devil, by the nose,
Blinded by spells and charms, (an ample dose
To turn the head
Of that fam'd chief who Circe's charms withstood)
Prepar'd by Speculation's hellish brood.
I 'd shew those Imps of Darkness, hov'ring round,
Like Bats; or Vultures o'er a field of blood;
Sucking, like Vampires , their infernal food
From many a wound:
Still mangling in the dark their wretched prey,
They shun the odious light, and treach'rous day.
Like Bats; or Vultures o'er a field of blood;
Sucking, like Vampires , their infernal food
From many a wound:
Still mangling in the dark their wretched prey,
They shun the odious light, and treach'rous day.
Where so many strive for pre-eminence, it would have been injurious to name one only; and the line would not admit of more.
It is not improbable that when Mark Anthony offered to place a crown on Cæsar's head, he expected to have succeeded him in the possession of it. The ATTEMPT made in the Convention bears a strong resemblance to that incident. That it did not succeed, is perhaps to be attributed only to that immaculate patriotism, which the Roman Cæsar never felt, and the American never ceased to feel.
Some of the most eloquent speeches delivered in Congress are said to have been prepared by this versatile genius.
| The Probationary Odes of Jonathan Pindar, Esq | |