 | London |  |
LONDON:
OR, THE PROGRESS OF COMMERCE.
1
The Argument.
The following poem represents Commerce as the child of
Neptune, and born on the coast of Libya in an island,
celebrated in fabulous antiquity for its fruitfulness and
plenty during the first uncultivated ages, whence the
new divinity is supposed to convey these blessings round
the world. Her birth is attended by many of the Gods,
who endow her with their several gifts: among the
rest Apollo appoints her to be the inventress of letters;
Sir Isaac Newton's opinion being here alluded to, that
merchandize gave rise to this wonderful discovery.
Commerce is then described as making her first appearance
to the world among the Phœnicians, the earliest
people, who exercis'd an extensive trade. From thence
she proceeds to visit other parts of the globe, and endeavours
to erect her principal empire at Carthage, situated
in Libya, the country assign'd for her nativity. Upon
the destruction of that city she again removes from
place to place; but at length, allured by the vigour and
singular resolution of the Dutch in throwing off the
Spanish yoke, she takes up her residence with that indefatigable
people. Lastly, by the good laws, which have
been made from time to time for the encouragement of
trade among us, especially by the act of navigation,
which has transferred a great part of the Dutch traffick
to ourselves, she is suppos'd on our invitation to
choose England for her chief abode, more particularly
London, our principal emporium, as well as capital
city. And upon this occasion an enquiry is made, how it
has come to pass, that, notwithstanding the great wealth
and power attending Commerce, the course of trade
should so often have shifted its seat; and the means,
conceived most effectual to fix this wanderer here, are
pointed out.
2
3
Ye northern blasts, and
Eurus, wont to sweep
With rudest pinions o'er the furrow'd waves,
Awhile suspend your violence, and waft
From sandy Weser, and the broad-mouth'd Elb
My freighted vessels to the destin'd shore,
Safe o'er th' unruffled main; let ev'ry thought,
Which may disquiet, and alarm my breast,
Be absent now; that, dispossess'd of care,
And free from ev'ry tumult of the mind,
With each disturbing passion hush'd to peace,
I may pour all my spirit on the theme,
Which opens now before me, and demands
The loftiest strain. The eagle, when he tow'rs
Beyond the clouds, the fleecy robes of heav'n,
Disdains all objects but the golden sun,
Full on th' effulgent orb directs his eye,
And sails exulting through the blaze of day;
So, while her wing attempts the boldest flight,
Selecting thee, unrival'd source of praise,
Bright ornament of Europe, Albion's pride,
Fair seat of wealth and freedom, thee my Muse
Shall celebrate, O London: thee she hails,
Thou lov'd abode of Commerce, last retreat,
Whence she contemplates with a tranquil mind
Her various wandrings from the fated hour,
That she abandon'd her maternal clime;
Neptunian Commerce, whom Phœnicé bore,
Illustrious nymph, that nam'd the fertile plains,
Along the sounding main extended far,
Which flow'ry Carmel with its sweets perfumes,
And with its cedars Libanus o'ershades:
Her from the bottom of the watry world,
As once she stood, in radiant beauties grac'd,
To mark the heaving tide, the piercing eye
Of Neptune view'd enamour'd: from the deep
The god ascending rushes to the beach,
And clasps th' affrighted virgin. From that day
Soon as the paly regent of the night
Nine times her monthly progress had renew'd
Through heav'n's illumin'd vault, Phœnicé, led
By shame, once more the sea-worn margin sought,
There pac'd with painful steps the barren sands,
A solitary mourner, and, the surge,
Which gently roll'd beside her, now no more
With placid eyes beholding, thus exclaim'd.
With rudest pinions o'er the furrow'd waves,
Awhile suspend your violence, and waft
From sandy Weser, and the broad-mouth'd Elb
My freighted vessels to the destin'd shore,
Safe o'er th' unruffled main; let ev'ry thought,
Which may disquiet, and alarm my breast,
Be absent now; that, dispossess'd of care,
And free from ev'ry tumult of the mind,
With each disturbing passion hush'd to peace,
I may pour all my spirit on the theme,
Which opens now before me, and demands
The loftiest strain. The eagle, when he tow'rs
4
Disdains all objects but the golden sun,
Full on th' effulgent orb directs his eye,
And sails exulting through the blaze of day;
So, while her wing attempts the boldest flight,
Selecting thee, unrival'd source of praise,
Bright ornament of Europe, Albion's pride,
Fair seat of wealth and freedom, thee my Muse
Shall celebrate, O London: thee she hails,
Thou lov'd abode of Commerce, last retreat,
Whence she contemplates with a tranquil mind
Her various wandrings from the fated hour,
That she abandon'd her maternal clime;
Neptunian Commerce, whom Phœnicé bore,
Illustrious nymph, that nam'd the fertile plains,
Along the sounding main extended far,
Which flow'ry Carmel with its sweets perfumes,
And with its cedars Libanus o'ershades:
Her from the bottom of the watry world,
As once she stood, in radiant beauties grac'd,
To mark the heaving tide, the piercing eye
Of Neptune view'd enamour'd: from the deep
The god ascending rushes to the beach,
And clasps th' affrighted virgin. From that day
5
Nine times her monthly progress had renew'd
Through heav'n's illumin'd vault, Phœnicé, led
By shame, once more the sea-worn margin sought,
There pac'd with painful steps the barren sands,
A solitary mourner, and, the surge,
Which gently roll'd beside her, now no more
With placid eyes beholding, thus exclaim'd.
Ye fragrant shrubs, and cedars' lofty shade,
Which crown my native hills, ye spreading palms,
That rise majestic on these fruitful meads,
With you, who gave the lost Phœnicé birth,
And you, who bear th' endearing name of friends,
Once faithful partners of my chaster hours,
Farewel! To thee, perfidious God, I come,
Bent down with pain and anguish on thy sands,
I come thy suppliant; death is all, I crave;
Bid thy devouring waves inwrap my head,
And to the bottom whelm my cares and shame!
Which crown my native hills, ye spreading palms,
That rise majestic on these fruitful meads,
With you, who gave the lost Phœnicé birth,
And you, who bear th' endearing name of friends,
Once faithful partners of my chaster hours,
Farewel! To thee, perfidious God, I come,
Bent down with pain and anguish on thy sands,
I come thy suppliant; death is all, I crave;
Bid thy devouring waves inwrap my head,
And to the bottom whelm my cares and shame!
She ceas'd, when sudden from th' unclosing deep
A crystal car emerg'd, with glitt'ring shells,
Call'd from their oozy beds by Tethys' train,
And blushing coral deck'd, whose ruddy glow
Mix'd with the watry lustre of the pearl.
A smiling band of sea-born nymphs attend,
Who from the shore with gentle hands convey
The fear-subdu'd Phœnicé, and along
The lucid chariot place. As there with dread
All mute, and struggling with her painful throes
She lay, the winds by Neptune's high command
Were silent round her; not a Zephyr dar'd
To wanton o'er the cedar's branching top,
Nor on the plain the stately palm was seen
To wave its graceful verdure; o'er the main
No undulation broke the smooth expanse,
But all was hush'd and motionless around,
All but the lightly sliding car, impell'd
Along the level azure by the strength
Of active Tritons, rivalling in speed
The rapid meteor, whose sulphureous train
Glides o'er the brow of darkness, and appears
The livid ruins of a falling star.
A crystal car emerg'd, with glitt'ring shells,
Call'd from their oozy beds by Tethys' train,
6
Mix'd with the watry lustre of the pearl.
A smiling band of sea-born nymphs attend,
Who from the shore with gentle hands convey
The fear-subdu'd Phœnicé, and along
The lucid chariot place. As there with dread
All mute, and struggling with her painful throes
She lay, the winds by Neptune's high command
Were silent round her; not a Zephyr dar'd
To wanton o'er the cedar's branching top,
Nor on the plain the stately palm was seen
To wave its graceful verdure; o'er the main
No undulation broke the smooth expanse,
But all was hush'd and motionless around,
All but the lightly sliding car, impell'd
Along the level azure by the strength
Of active Tritons, rivalling in speed
The rapid meteor, whose sulphureous train
Glides o'er the brow of darkness, and appears
The livid ruins of a falling star.
Beneath the Lybian skies a blissful isle,
By Triton's floods encircled, Nysa lay.
Here youthful Nature wanton'd in delights,
And here the guardians of the bounteous horn,
While it was now the infancy of time,
Nor yet th' uncultivated globe had learn'd
To smile, Eucarpé, Dapsiléa dwelt,
With all the nymphs, whose secret care had nurs'd
The eldest Bacchus. From the flow'ry shore
A turf-clad valley opens, and along
Its verdure mild the willing feet allures;
While on its sloping sides ascends the pride
Of hoary groves, high-arching o'er the vale
With day-rejecting gloom. The solemn shade
Half round a spacious lawn at length expands,
Clos'd by a tow'ring cliff, whose forehead glows
With azure, purple, and ten thousand dyes,
From its resplendent fragments beaming round;
Nor less irradiate colours from beneath
On ev'ry side an ample grot reflects,
As down the perforated rock the sun
Pours his meridian blaze; rever'd abode
Of Nysa's nymphs, with ev'ry plant attir'd,
That wears undying green, refresh'd with rills
From ever-living fountains, and enrich'd
With all Pomona's bloom: unfading flow'rs
Glow on the mead, and spicy shrubs perfume
With inexhausted sweets the cooling gale,
Which breathes incessant there; while ev'ry bird
Of tuneful note his gay or plaintive song
Blends with the warble of meandring streams,
Which o'er their pebbled channels murm'ring lave
The fruit-invested hills, that rise around.
The gentle Nereids to this calm recess
Phœnicé bear; nor Dapsiléa bland,
Nor good Eucarpé, studious to obey
Great Neptune's will, their hospitable care
Refuse; nor long Lucina is invok'd.
Soon as the wondrous infant sprung to day,
Earth rock'd around; with all their nodding woods,
And streams reverting to their troubled source,
The mountains shook; while Lybia's neighb'ring God,
My sterious Ammon from his hollow cell
With deep-resounding accent thus to heav'n,
To earth, and sea the mighty birth proclaim'd.
By Triton's floods encircled, Nysa lay.
7
And here the guardians of the bounteous horn,
While it was now the infancy of time,
Nor yet th' uncultivated globe had learn'd
To smile, Eucarpé, Dapsiléa dwelt,
With all the nymphs, whose secret care had nurs'd
The eldest Bacchus. From the flow'ry shore
A turf-clad valley opens, and along
Its verdure mild the willing feet allures;
While on its sloping sides ascends the pride
Of hoary groves, high-arching o'er the vale
With day-rejecting gloom. The solemn shade
Half round a spacious lawn at length expands,
Clos'd by a tow'ring cliff, whose forehead glows
With azure, purple, and ten thousand dyes,
From its resplendent fragments beaming round;
Nor less irradiate colours from beneath
On ev'ry side an ample grot reflects,
As down the perforated rock the sun
Pours his meridian blaze; rever'd abode
Of Nysa's nymphs, with ev'ry plant attir'd,
That wears undying green, refresh'd with rills
8
With all Pomona's bloom: unfading flow'rs
Glow on the mead, and spicy shrubs perfume
With inexhausted sweets the cooling gale,
Which breathes incessant there; while ev'ry bird
Of tuneful note his gay or plaintive song
Blends with the warble of meandring streams,
Which o'er their pebbled channels murm'ring lave
The fruit-invested hills, that rise around.
The gentle Nereids to this calm recess
Phœnicé bear; nor Dapsiléa bland,
Nor good Eucarpé, studious to obey
Great Neptune's will, their hospitable care
Refuse; nor long Lucina is invok'd.
Soon as the wondrous infant sprung to day,
Earth rock'd around; with all their nodding woods,
And streams reverting to their troubled source,
The mountains shook; while Lybia's neighb'ring God,
My sterious Ammon from his hollow cell
With deep-resounding accent thus to heav'n,
To earth, and sea the mighty birth proclaim'd.
A New-born pow'r behold! whom fate hath call'd
The Gods' imperfect labour to complete,
This wide creation. She in lonely sands
Shall bid the tow'r-encircled city rise,
The barren sea shall people, and the wilds
Of dreary nature shall with plenty cloath;
She shall enlighten man's unletter'd race,
And with endearing intercourse unite
Remotest nations, scorch'd by sultry suns,
Or freezing near the snow-encrusted pole:
Where'er the joyous vine disdains to grow,
The fruitful olive, or the golden ear;
Her hand divine with interposing aid
To ev'ry climate shall the gifts supply
Of Ceres, Bacchus, and th'Athenian maid:
The graces, joys, emoluments of life
From her exhaustless bounty all shall flow.
The Gods' imperfect labour to complete,
9
Shall bid the tow'r-encircled city rise,
The barren sea shall people, and the wilds
Of dreary nature shall with plenty cloath;
She shall enlighten man's unletter'd race,
And with endearing intercourse unite
Remotest nations, scorch'd by sultry suns,
Or freezing near the snow-encrusted pole:
Where'er the joyous vine disdains to grow,
The fruitful olive, or the golden ear;
Her hand divine with interposing aid
To ev'ry climate shall the gifts supply
Of Ceres, Bacchus, and th'Athenian maid:
The graces, joys, emoluments of life
From her exhaustless bounty all shall flow.
The heav'nly prophet ceas'd. Olympus heard.
Streight from their star-bespangled thrones descend
On blooming Nysa a celestial band
The ocean's lord to honour in his child;
When o'er his offspring smiling thus began
The trident-ruler. Commerce be thy name:
To thee I give the empire of the main.
From where the morning breathes its eastern gale,
To th' undiscover'd limits of the west,
From chilling Boreas to extremest South
Thy sire's obsequious billows shall extend
Thy universal reign. Minerva next
With wisdom bless'd her, Mercury with art,
The Lemnian God with industry, and last
Majestic Phœbus, o'er the infant long
In contemplation pausing, thus declar'd
From his enraptur'd lip his matchless boon.
Streight from their star-bespangled thrones descend
On blooming Nysa a celestial band
The ocean's lord to honour in his child;
When o'er his offspring smiling thus began
The trident-ruler. Commerce be thy name:
10
From where the morning breathes its eastern gale,
To th' undiscover'd limits of the west,
From chilling Boreas to extremest South
Thy sire's obsequious billows shall extend
Thy universal reign. Minerva next
With wisdom bless'd her, Mercury with art,
The Lemnian God with industry, and last
Majestic Phœbus, o'er the infant long
In contemplation pausing, thus declar'd
From his enraptur'd lip his matchless boon.
Thee with divine invention I endow,
That secret wonder, goddess, to disclose,
By which the wise, the virtuous, and the brave,
The heav'n-taught poet, and exploring sage
Shall pass recorded to the verge of time.
That secret wonder, goddess, to disclose,
By which the wise, the virtuous, and the brave,
The heav'n-taught poet, and exploring sage
Shall pass recorded to the verge of time.
Her years of childhood now were number'd o'er,
When to her mother's natal soil repair'd
The new divinity, whose parting step
Her sacred nurses follow'd, ever now
To her alone inseparably join'd;
Then first deserting their Nyseïan Shore
To spread their hoarded blessings round the world;
Who with them bore the inexhausted horn
Of ever-smiling plenty. Thus adorn'd,
Attended thus, great Goddess, thou beganst
Thy all-enlivening progress o'er the globe
Then rude and joyless, destin'd to repair
The various ills, which earliest ages ru'd
rom one, like thee, distinguish'd by the gists
Of heav'n, Pandora, whose pernicious hand
From the dire vase releas'd th' imprison'd woes.
When to her mother's natal soil repair'd
The new divinity, whose parting step
Her sacred nurses follow'd, ever now
To her alone inseparably join'd;
11
To spread their hoarded blessings round the world;
Who with them bore the inexhausted horn
Of ever-smiling plenty. Thus adorn'd,
Attended thus, great Goddess, thou beganst
Thy all-enlivening progress o'er the globe
Then rude and joyless, destin'd to repair
The various ills, which earliest ages ru'd
rom one, like thee, distinguish'd by the gists
Of heav'n, Pandora, whose pernicious hand
From the dire vase releas'd th' imprison'd woes.
Thou, gracious Commerce, from his cheerless caves
In horrid rocks, and solitary woods,
The helpless wand'rer man forlorn and wild
Didst charm to sweet society; didst cast
The deep foundations, where the future pride
Of mightiest cities rose; and o'er the main
Before the wond'ring Nereids didst present
The surge-dividing keel, and stately mast,
Whose canvass wings, distending with the gale,
The bold Phœnician through Alcides' straits
To northern Albion's tin-embowel'd fields,
And oft beneath the sea-obscuring brow
Of cloud-envelop'd Teneriff convey'd.
Next in sagacious thought th' ethereal plains
Thou trodst, exploring each propitious star
The danger-braving mariner to guide;
Then all the latent and mysterious pow'rs
Of number didst unravel; last to crown
Thy bounties, Goddess, thy unrival'd toils
For man, still arging thy inventive mind,
Thou gav'st him letters; there imparting all,
Which lifts th' ennobled spirit near to heav'n,
Laws, learning, wisdom, nature's works reveal'd
By godlike sages, all Minerva's arts,
Apollo's music, and th' eternal voice
Of Virtue, sounding from th' historic roll,
The philosophic page, and poet's song.
In horrid rocks, and solitary woods,
The helpless wand'rer man forlorn and wild
Didst charm to sweet society; didst cast
The deep foundations, where the future pride
Of mightiest cities rose; and o'er the main
Before the wond'ring Nereids didst present
The surge-dividing keel, and stately mast,
Whose canvass wings, distending with the gale,
The bold Phœnician through Alcides' straits
To northern Albion's tin-embowel'd fields,
And oft beneath the sea-obscuring brow
12
Next in sagacious thought th' ethereal plains
Thou trodst, exploring each propitious star
The danger-braving mariner to guide;
Then all the latent and mysterious pow'rs
Of number didst unravel; last to crown
Thy bounties, Goddess, thy unrival'd toils
For man, still arging thy inventive mind,
Thou gav'st him letters; there imparting all,
Which lifts th' ennobled spirit near to heav'n,
Laws, learning, wisdom, nature's works reveal'd
By godlike sages, all Minerva's arts,
Apollo's music, and th' eternal voice
Of Virtue, sounding from th' historic roll,
The philosophic page, and poet's song.
Now solitude and silence from the shores
Retreat on pathless mountains to reside,
Barbarity is polish'd, infant arts
Bloom in the desart, and benignant peace
With hospitality begin to sooth
Unsocial rapine, and the thirst of blood;
As, from his tumid urn when Nilus spreads
His genial tides abroad, the favour'd soil,
That joins his fruitful border, first imbibes
The kindly stream; anon the bounteous God
His waves extends, embracing Ægypt round,
Dwells on the teeming champain, and endows
The sleeping grain with vigour to attire
In one bright harvest all the Pharian plains:
Thus, when Pygmalion from Phœnician Tyre
Had banish'd freedom, with disdainful steps
Indignant Commerce, turning from the walls,
Herself had rais'd, her welcome sway enlarg'd
Among the nations, spreading round the globe
The fruits of all its climes; Cecropian oil,
The Thracian vintage, and Panchaian gums,
Arabia's spices, and the golden grain,
Which old Osiris to his Ægypt gave,
And Ceres to Sicania. Thou didst raise
Th' Ionian name, O Commerce, thou the domes
Of sumptuous Corinth, and the ample round
Of Syracuse didst people.—All the wealth
Now thou assemblest from Iberia's mines,
And golden-channel'd Tagus, all the spoils
From fair Trinacria wasted, all the pow'rs
Of conquer'd Afric's tributary realms
To six thy empire on the Lybian verge,
Thy native tract; the nymphs of Nysa hail
Thy glad return, and echoing joy resounds
O'er Triton's sacred waters, but in vain:
The irreversible decrees of heav'n
To far more northern regions had ordain'd
Thy lasting seat; in vain th' imperial port
Receives the gather'd riches of the world;
In vain whole climates bow beneath its rule;
Behold the toil of centuries to Rome
Its glories yields, and mould'ring leaves no trace
Of its deep-rooted greatness: thou with tears
From thy extinguish'd Carthage didst retire,
And these thy perish'd honours long deplore.
What though rich Gades, what though polish'd Rhodes,
With Alexandria, Ægypt's splendid mart,
The learn'd Massylians, and Ligurian tow'rs,
What though the potent Hanseatic league,
And Venice, mistress of the Grecian isles,
With all th' Ægean floods, awhile might sooth
The sad remembrance; what though, led through climes
And seas unknown, with thee th' advent'rous sons
Of Tagus pass'd the stormy cape, which braves
The huge Arlantic; what though Antwerp grew
Beneath thy smiles, and thou propitious there
Didst show'r thy blessings with unsparing hands:
Still on thy grief-indented heart impress'd
The great Amilcar's valour, still the deeds
Of Asdrubal and Mago, still the loss
Of thy unequal'd Annibal remain'd:
Till from the sandy mouths of echoing Rhine,
And sounding margin of the Scheld and Maese,
With sudden roar the angry voice of war
Alarm'd thy languor; wonder turn'd thy eye,
Lo! in bright arms a bold militia stood,
Arrang'd for battle: from afar thou saw'st
The snowy ridge of Apennine, the fields
Of wide Calabria, and Pyrene's hills,
The Guadiana, and the Duro's banks,
And rapid Ebro gath'ring all their pow'rs
To crush this daring populace. The pride
Of fiercest kings with more inflam'd revenge
Ne'er menac'd freedom; nor since dauntless Greece,
And Rome's stern offspring none hath e'er surpass'd
The bold Batavian in his glorious toil
For liberty, or death. At once the thought
Of long-lamented Carthage flies thy breast,
And ardent, Goddess, thou dost speed to save
The gen'rous people. Not the vernal show'rs,
Distilling copious from the morning clouds,
Descend more kindly on the tender flow'r,
New-born and op'ning on the lap of spring,
Than on this rising state thy cheering smile,
And animating presence; while on Spain,
Prophetic thus, thy indignation broke.
Retreat on pathless mountains to reside,
Barbarity is polish'd, infant arts
Bloom in the desart, and benignant peace
With hospitality begin to sooth
Unsocial rapine, and the thirst of blood;
13
His genial tides abroad, the favour'd soil,
That joins his fruitful border, first imbibes
The kindly stream; anon the bounteous God
His waves extends, embracing Ægypt round,
Dwells on the teeming champain, and endows
The sleeping grain with vigour to attire
In one bright harvest all the Pharian plains:
Thus, when Pygmalion from Phœnician Tyre
Had banish'd freedom, with disdainful steps
Indignant Commerce, turning from the walls,
Herself had rais'd, her welcome sway enlarg'd
Among the nations, spreading round the globe
The fruits of all its climes; Cecropian oil,
The Thracian vintage, and Panchaian gums,
Arabia's spices, and the golden grain,
Which old Osiris to his Ægypt gave,
And Ceres to Sicania. Thou didst raise
Th' Ionian name, O Commerce, thou the domes
Of sumptuous Corinth, and the ample round
Of Syracuse didst people.—All the wealth
Now thou assemblest from Iberia's mines,
14
From fair Trinacria wasted, all the pow'rs
Of conquer'd Afric's tributary realms
To six thy empire on the Lybian verge,
Thy native tract; the nymphs of Nysa hail
Thy glad return, and echoing joy resounds
O'er Triton's sacred waters, but in vain:
The irreversible decrees of heav'n
To far more northern regions had ordain'd
Thy lasting seat; in vain th' imperial port
Receives the gather'd riches of the world;
In vain whole climates bow beneath its rule;
Behold the toil of centuries to Rome
Its glories yields, and mould'ring leaves no trace
Of its deep-rooted greatness: thou with tears
From thy extinguish'd Carthage didst retire,
And these thy perish'd honours long deplore.
What though rich Gades, what though polish'd Rhodes,
With Alexandria, Ægypt's splendid mart,
The learn'd Massylians, and Ligurian tow'rs,
What though the potent Hanseatic league,
15
With all th' Ægean floods, awhile might sooth
The sad remembrance; what though, led through climes
And seas unknown, with thee th' advent'rous sons
Of Tagus pass'd the stormy cape, which braves
The huge Arlantic; what though Antwerp grew
Beneath thy smiles, and thou propitious there
Didst show'r thy blessings with unsparing hands:
Still on thy grief-indented heart impress'd
The great Amilcar's valour, still the deeds
Of Asdrubal and Mago, still the loss
Of thy unequal'd Annibal remain'd:
Till from the sandy mouths of echoing Rhine,
And sounding margin of the Scheld and Maese,
With sudden roar the angry voice of war
Alarm'd thy languor; wonder turn'd thy eye,
Lo! in bright arms a bold militia stood,
Arrang'd for battle: from afar thou saw'st
The snowy ridge of Apennine, the fields
Of wide Calabria, and Pyrene's hills,
The Guadiana, and the Duro's banks,
And rapid Ebro gath'ring all their pow'rs
To crush this daring populace. The pride
16
Ne'er menac'd freedom; nor since dauntless Greece,
And Rome's stern offspring none hath e'er surpass'd
The bold Batavian in his glorious toil
For liberty, or death. At once the thought
Of long-lamented Carthage flies thy breast,
And ardent, Goddess, thou dost speed to save
The gen'rous people. Not the vernal show'rs,
Distilling copious from the morning clouds,
Descend more kindly on the tender flow'r,
New-born and op'ning on the lap of spring,
Than on this rising state thy cheering smile,
And animating presence; while on Spain,
Prophetic thus, thy indignation broke.
Insatiate race! the shame of polish'd lands!
Disgrace of Europe! for inhuman deeds
And insolence renown'd! what demon led
Thee first to plough the undiscover'd surge,
Which lav'd an hidden world? whose malice taught
Thee first to taint with rapine, and with rage,
With more than savage thirst of blood the arts,
By me for gentlest intercourse ordain'd,
For mutual aids, and hospitable ties
From shore to shore? Or, that pernicious hour,
Was Heav'n disgusted with its wondrous works,
That to thy fell exterminating hand
Th'immense Peruvian empire it resign'd,
And all, which lordly Montezeuma sway'd?
And com'st thou, strengthen'd with the shining stores
Of that gold-teeming hemisphere, to waste
The smiling fields of Europe, and extend
Thy bloody shackles o'er these happy seats
Of liberty? Presumptuous nation, learn,
From this dire period shall thy glories fade,
Thy slaughter'd youth shall fatten Belgium's sands,
And Victory against her Albion's cliffs
Shall see the blood-empurpled ocean dash
Thy weltring hosts, and stain the chalky shore:
Ev'n those, whom now thy impious pride would bind
In servile chains, hereafter shall support
Thy weaken'd throne; when Heav'n's afflicting hand
Of all thy pow'r despoils thee, when alone
Of all, which e'er hath signaliz'd thy name,
Thy insolence and cruelty remain.
Disgrace of Europe! for inhuman deeds
And insolence renown'd! what demon led
Thee first to plough the undiscover'd surge,
Which lav'd an hidden world? whose malice taught
Thee first to taint with rapine, and with rage,
With more than savage thirst of blood the arts,
By me for gentlest intercourse ordain'd,
17
From shore to shore? Or, that pernicious hour,
Was Heav'n disgusted with its wondrous works,
That to thy fell exterminating hand
Th'immense Peruvian empire it resign'd,
And all, which lordly Montezeuma sway'd?
And com'st thou, strengthen'd with the shining stores
Of that gold-teeming hemisphere, to waste
The smiling fields of Europe, and extend
Thy bloody shackles o'er these happy seats
Of liberty? Presumptuous nation, learn,
From this dire period shall thy glories fade,
Thy slaughter'd youth shall fatten Belgium's sands,
And Victory against her Albion's cliffs
Shall see the blood-empurpled ocean dash
Thy weltring hosts, and stain the chalky shore:
Ev'n those, whom now thy impious pride would bind
In servile chains, hereafter shall support
Thy weaken'd throne; when Heav'n's afflicting hand
Of all thy pow'r despoils thee, when alone
Of all, which e'er hath signaliz'd thy name,
Thy insolence and cruelty remain.
18
Thus with her clouded visage, wrapt in frowns,
The Goddess threaten'd, and the daring train
Of her untam'd militia, torn with wounds,
Despising fortune, from repeated foils
More fierce, and braving famine's keenest rage,
At length through deluges of blood she led
To envied greatness; ev'n while clam'rous Mars
With loudest clangor bade his trumpet shake
The Belgian champain, she their standard rear'd
On tributary Java, and the shores
Of huge Borneo; thou, Sumatra, heard'st
Her naval thunder, Ceylon's trembling sons
Their fragrant stores of cinnamon resign'd,
And odour-breathing Ternate and Tidore
Their spicy groves: and O whatever coast
The Belgians trace, where'er their pow'r is spread,
To hoary Zembla, or to Indian suns,
Still thither be extended thy renown,
O William, pride of Orange, and ador'd
Thy virtues, which disdaining life, or wealth,
Or empire, whether in thy dawn of youth,
Thy glorious noon of manhood, or the night,
The Goddess threaten'd, and the daring train
Of her untam'd militia, torn with wounds,
Despising fortune, from repeated foils
More fierce, and braving famine's keenest rage,
At length through deluges of blood she led
To envied greatness; ev'n while clam'rous Mars
With loudest clangor bade his trumpet shake
The Belgian champain, she their standard rear'd
On tributary Java, and the shores
Of huge Borneo; thou, Sumatra, heard'st
Her naval thunder, Ceylon's trembling sons
Their fragrant stores of cinnamon resign'd,
And odour-breathing Ternate and Tidore
Their spicy groves: and O whatever coast
The Belgians trace, where'er their pow'r is spread,
To hoary Zembla, or to Indian suns,
Still thither be extended thy renown,
O William, pride of Orange, and ador'd
Thy virtues, which disdaining life, or wealth,
Or empire, whether in thy dawn of youth,
Thy glorious noon of manhood, or the night,
19
The fatal night of death, no other care
Besides the public own'd: and dear to fame
Be thou, harmonious Douza; ev'ry muse
Your laurel strow around this hero's urn,
Whom fond Minerva grac'd with all her arts,
Alike in letters and in arms to shine,
A dauntless warriour, and a learned bard.
Him Spain's surrounding host for slaughter mark'd,
With massacre yet reeking from the streets
Of blood-stain'd Harlem; he on Leyden's tow'rs
With famine his companion, wan, subdu'd
In outward form, with patient virtue stood
Superior to despair; the heav'nly Nine
His suff'ring soul with great examples cheer'd
Of memorable bards, by Mars adorn'd
With wreaths of fame, Oeagrus' tuneful son,
Who with melodious praise to noblest deeds
Charm'd the Iölchian heroes, and himself
Their danger shar'd, Tyrtæus, who reviv'd
With animating verse the Spartan hopes,
Brave Æschylus and Sophocles, around
Whose sacred brows the tragic ivy twin'd,
Mix'd with the warrior's laurel; all surpass'd
By Douza's valour: and the gen'rous toil,
His and his country's labours soon receiv'd
Their high reward, when fav'ring Commerce rais'd
Th' invincible Batavians, till, rever'd
Among the mightiest, on the brightest roll
Of Fame they shone, by splendid wealth and pow'r
Grac'd and supported; thus a genial soil
Diffusing vigour through the infant oak,
Affords it strength to flourish, till at last
Its losty head, in verdant honours clad,
It rears amidst the proudest of the grove.
Besides the public own'd: and dear to fame
Be thou, harmonious Douza; ev'ry muse
Your laurel strow around this hero's urn,
Whom fond Minerva grac'd with all her arts,
Alike in letters and in arms to shine,
A dauntless warriour, and a learned bard.
Him Spain's surrounding host for slaughter mark'd,
With massacre yet reeking from the streets
Of blood-stain'd Harlem; he on Leyden's tow'rs
With famine his companion, wan, subdu'd
In outward form, with patient virtue stood
Superior to despair; the heav'nly Nine
His suff'ring soul with great examples cheer'd
Of memorable bards, by Mars adorn'd
With wreaths of fame, Oeagrus' tuneful son,
Who with melodious praise to noblest deeds
Charm'd the Iölchian heroes, and himself
Their danger shar'd, Tyrtæus, who reviv'd
20
Brave Æschylus and Sophocles, around
Whose sacred brows the tragic ivy twin'd,
Mix'd with the warrior's laurel; all surpass'd
By Douza's valour: and the gen'rous toil,
His and his country's labours soon receiv'd
Their high reward, when fav'ring Commerce rais'd
Th' invincible Batavians, till, rever'd
Among the mightiest, on the brightest roll
Of Fame they shone, by splendid wealth and pow'r
Grac'd and supported; thus a genial soil
Diffusing vigour through the infant oak,
Affords it strength to flourish, till at last
Its losty head, in verdant honours clad,
It rears amidst the proudest of the grove.
Yet here th' eternal Fates thy last retreat
Deny, a mightier nation they prepare
For thy reception, sufferers alike
By th' unremitted insolence of pow'r
From reign to reign, nor less than Belgium known
For bold contention oft on crimson fields,
In free-tongu'd senates oft with nervous laws
To circumscribe, or conqu'ring to depose
Their sceptred tyrants: Albion sea-embrac'd,
The joy of Freedom, dread of treach'rous kings,
The destin'd mistress of the subject main,
And arbitress of Europe, now demands
Thy presence, Goddess. It was now the time,
Ere yet perfidious Cromwel dar'd profane
The sacred senate, and with impious feet
Tread on the pow'rs of magistrates and laws,
While ev'ry arm was chill'd with cold amaze,
Nor one in all that dauntless train was found
To pierce the ruffian's heart; and now thy name
Was heard in thunder through th' affrighted shores
Of pale Iberia, of submissive Gaul,
And Tagus, trembling to his utmost source,
O ever faithful, vigilant, and brave,
Thou bold asserter of Britannia's fame,
Unconquerable Blake: propitious heav'n
At this great æra, and the sage decree
Of Albion's senate, perfecting at once,
What by Eliza was so well begun,
So deeply founded, to this favour'd shore
The Goddess drew, where grateful she bestow'd
Th' unbounded empire of her father's floods,
And chose thee, London, for her chief abode,
Pleas'd with the silver Thames, its gentle stream,
And smiling banks, its joy-diffusing hills,
Which, clad with splendour, and with beauty grac'd,
O'erlook his lucid bosom; pleas'd with thee,
Thou nurse of arts, and thy industrious race;
Pleas'd with their candid manners, with their free
Sagacious converse, to enquiry led,
And zeal for knowledge; hence the opening mind
Resigns its errours, and unseals the eye
Of blind opinion; merit hence is heard
Amidst its blushes, dawning arts arise,
The gloomy clouds, which ignorance or fear
Spread o'er the paths of virtue, are dispell'd,
Servility retires, and ev'ry heart
With public cares is warm'd; thy merchants hence,
Illustrious city, thou dost raise to fame:
How many names of glory may'st thou trace
From earliest annals down to Barnard's times!
And, O! if like that eloquence divine,
Which forth for Commerce, for Britannia's rights,
And her insulted majesty he pour'd,
These humble measures flow'd, then too thy walls
Might undisgrac'd resound thy poet's name,
Who now all fearful to thy praise attunes
His lyre, and pays his grateful Song to thee,
Thy votary, O Commerce! Gracious pow'r!
Continue still to hear my vows, and bless
My honourable industry, which courts
No other smile but thine; for thou alone
Can'st wealth bestow with independence crown'd:
Nor yet exclude contemplative repose,
But to my dwelling grant the solemn calm
Of learned leisure, never to reject
The visitation of the tuneful maids,
Who seldom deign to leave their sacred haunts,
And grace a mortal mansion; thou divide
With them my labours; pleasure I resign,
And, all devoted to my midnight lamp,
Ev'n now, when Albion o'er the foamy breast
Of groaning Tethys spreads its threat'ning fleets,
I grasp the sounding shell, prepar'd to sing
That hero's valour, who shall best confound
His injur'd country's foes: ev'n now I feel
Celestial fires descending on my breast,
Which prompt thy daring suppliant to explore,
Why, though deriv'd from Neptune, though rever'd
Among the nations, by the Gods endow'd,
Thou never yet from eldest times hast found
One permanent abode, why, oft expell'd
Thy favour'd seats, from clime to clime hast borne
Thy wand'ring steps, why London late hath seen
(Thy lov'd, thy last retreat) desponding eare
O'ercloud thy brow: O listen, while the Muse,
Th' immortal progeny of Jove, unfolds
The fatal cause. What Time in Nysa's cave
Th' ethereal train in honour to thy sire
Show'r'd on thy birth their blended gifts, the pow'r
Of war was absent; hence, unbless'd by Mars,
Thy sons relinquish'd arms, on other arts
Intent, and still to mercenary hands
The sword entrusting, vainly deem'd, that wealth
Could purchase lasting safety, and protect
Unwarlike freedom; hence the Alps in vain
Were pass'd, their long-impenetrable snows
And dreary torrents; swoln with Roman dead,
Astonish'd Trebia overflow'd its banks
In vain, and deep-dy'd Trasimenus roll'd
Its crimson waters; Cannæ's signal day
The fame alone of great Amilcar's son
Enlarg'd, while still undisciplin'd, dismay'd,
Her head commercial Carthage bow'd at last
To military Rome: th' unalter'd will
Of heav'n in ev'ry climate hath ordain'd,
And ev'ry age, that empire shall attend
The sword, and steel shall ever conquer gold.
Then from thy suff'rings learn; th' auspicious hour
Now smiles; our wary magistrates have arm'd
Our hands; thou, Goddess, animate our breasts
To cast inglorious indolence aside,
That once again, in bright battalions rang'd,
Our thousands and ten thousands may be seen
Their country's only rampart, and the dread
Of wild ambition. Mark the Swedish hind;
He, on his native soil should danger lour,
Soon from the entrails of the dusky mine
Would rise to arms; and other fields and chiefs
With Helsingburg and Steinboch soon would share
The admiration of the northern world:
Helvetia's hills behold, th' aërial seat
Of long-supported Liberty, who thence,
Securely resting on her faithful shield,
The warrior's corselet flaming on her breast,
Looks down with scorn on spacious realms, which groan
In servitude around her, and, her sword
With dauntless skill high-brandishing, defies
The Austrian eagle, and imperious Gaul:
And O could those ill-fated shades arise,
Whose valiant ranks along th' ensanguin'd dust
Of Newbury lay crouded, they could tell,
How their long-matchless cavalry, so oft
O'er hills of slain by ardent Rupert led,
Whose dreaded standard victory had wav'd,
Till then triumphant, there with noblest blood
From their gor'd squadrons dy'd the restive spear
Of London's firm militia, and resign'd
The well-disputed field: then, Goodess, say,
Shall we be now more timid, when behold,
The blackning storm now gathers round our heads,
And England's angry genius sounds to arms?
For thee, remember, is the banner spread,
The naval tow'r to vindicate thy rights
Will sweep the curling foam, the thund'ring bomb
Will roar, and startle in their deepest grots
Old Nereus' daughters, with combustion stor'd
For thee our dire volcano's of the main,
Impregnated with horrour, soon will pour
Their flaming ruin round each hostile fleet;
Thou then, great Goddess, summon all thy pow'rs,
Arm all thy sons, thy vassals, ev'ry heart
Inflame: and you, ye fear-disclaiming race,
Ye mariners of Britain, chosen train
Of Liberty and Commerce, now no more
Secrete your gen'rous valour; hear the call
Of injur'd Albion; to her foes present
Those daring bosoms, which alike disdain
The death disploding cannon, and the rage
Of warring tempests, mingling in their strife
The seas and clouds: though long, in silence hush'd,
Hath slept the British thunder; though the pride
Of weak Iberia hath forgot the roar;
Soon shall her ancient terrours be recall'd,
When your victorious shouts affright her shores:
None now ignobly will your warmth restrain,
Nor hazard more indignant valour's curse,
Their country's wrath, and Time's eternal scorn;
Then bid the furies of Bellona wake,
And silver-mantled Peace with welcome steps
Anon shall visit your triumphant isle.
And that perpetual safety may possess
Our joyous fields, thou, genius, who presid'st
O'er this illustrious city, teach her sons
To wield the noble instruments of war;
And let the great example soon extend
Through ev'ry province, till Britannia sees
Her docile millions fill the martial plain.
Then, whatsoe'er our terrours now suggest
Of desolation and th' invading sword,
Though with his massy trident Neptune heav'd
A new-born isthmus from the British deep,
And to its parent continent rejoin'd
Our chalky shore; though Mahomet could league
His pow'rful crescent with the hostile Gaul,
And that new Cyrus of the conquer'd east,
Who now in trembling vassalage unites
The Ganges and Euphrates, could advance
With his auxiliar host; our warlike youth
With equal numbers, and with keener zeal
For children, parents, friends, for England fir'd,
Her fertile glebe, her wealthy towns, her laws,
Her liberty, her honour, should sustain
The dreadful onset, and resistless break
Th' immense array: thus ev'n the lightest thought
E'er to invade Britannia's calm repose
Must die the moment, that auspicious Mars
Her sons shall bless with discipline and arms;
That exil'd race, in superstition nurs'd,
The servile pupils of tyrannic Rome,
With distant gaze despairing shall behold
The guarded splendors of Britannia's crown;
Still from their abdicated sway estrang'd,
With all th' attendance on despotic thrones,
Priests, ignorance, and bonds; with watchful step
Gigantic Terrour, striding round our coast,
Shall shake his gorgon ægis, and the hearts
Deny, a mightier nation they prepare
For thy reception, sufferers alike
By th' unremitted insolence of pow'r
From reign to reign, nor less than Belgium known
For bold contention oft on crimson fields,
21
To circumscribe, or conqu'ring to depose
Their sceptred tyrants: Albion sea-embrac'd,
The joy of Freedom, dread of treach'rous kings,
The destin'd mistress of the subject main,
And arbitress of Europe, now demands
Thy presence, Goddess. It was now the time,
Ere yet perfidious Cromwel dar'd profane
The sacred senate, and with impious feet
Tread on the pow'rs of magistrates and laws,
While ev'ry arm was chill'd with cold amaze,
Nor one in all that dauntless train was found
To pierce the ruffian's heart; and now thy name
Was heard in thunder through th' affrighted shores
Of pale Iberia, of submissive Gaul,
And Tagus, trembling to his utmost source,
O ever faithful, vigilant, and brave,
Thou bold asserter of Britannia's fame,
Unconquerable Blake: propitious heav'n
At this great æra, and the sage decree
Of Albion's senate, perfecting at once,
What by Eliza was so well begun,
22
The Goddess drew, where grateful she bestow'd
Th' unbounded empire of her father's floods,
And chose thee, London, for her chief abode,
Pleas'd with the silver Thames, its gentle stream,
And smiling banks, its joy-diffusing hills,
Which, clad with splendour, and with beauty grac'd,
O'erlook his lucid bosom; pleas'd with thee,
Thou nurse of arts, and thy industrious race;
Pleas'd with their candid manners, with their free
Sagacious converse, to enquiry led,
And zeal for knowledge; hence the opening mind
Resigns its errours, and unseals the eye
Of blind opinion; merit hence is heard
Amidst its blushes, dawning arts arise,
The gloomy clouds, which ignorance or fear
Spread o'er the paths of virtue, are dispell'd,
Servility retires, and ev'ry heart
With public cares is warm'd; thy merchants hence,
Illustrious city, thou dost raise to fame:
How many names of glory may'st thou trace
From earliest annals down to Barnard's times!
And, O! if like that eloquence divine,
Which forth for Commerce, for Britannia's rights,
23
These humble measures flow'd, then too thy walls
Might undisgrac'd resound thy poet's name,
Who now all fearful to thy praise attunes
His lyre, and pays his grateful Song to thee,
Thy votary, O Commerce! Gracious pow'r!
Continue still to hear my vows, and bless
My honourable industry, which courts
No other smile but thine; for thou alone
Can'st wealth bestow with independence crown'd:
Nor yet exclude contemplative repose,
But to my dwelling grant the solemn calm
Of learned leisure, never to reject
The visitation of the tuneful maids,
Who seldom deign to leave their sacred haunts,
And grace a mortal mansion; thou divide
With them my labours; pleasure I resign,
And, all devoted to my midnight lamp,
Ev'n now, when Albion o'er the foamy breast
Of groaning Tethys spreads its threat'ning fleets,
I grasp the sounding shell, prepar'd to sing
That hero's valour, who shall best confound
His injur'd country's foes: ev'n now I feel
Celestial fires descending on my breast,
24
Why, though deriv'd from Neptune, though rever'd
Among the nations, by the Gods endow'd,
Thou never yet from eldest times hast found
One permanent abode, why, oft expell'd
Thy favour'd seats, from clime to clime hast borne
Thy wand'ring steps, why London late hath seen
(Thy lov'd, thy last retreat) desponding eare
O'ercloud thy brow: O listen, while the Muse,
Th' immortal progeny of Jove, unfolds
The fatal cause. What Time in Nysa's cave
Th' ethereal train in honour to thy sire
Show'r'd on thy birth their blended gifts, the pow'r
Of war was absent; hence, unbless'd by Mars,
Thy sons relinquish'd arms, on other arts
Intent, and still to mercenary hands
The sword entrusting, vainly deem'd, that wealth
Could purchase lasting safety, and protect
Unwarlike freedom; hence the Alps in vain
Were pass'd, their long-impenetrable snows
And dreary torrents; swoln with Roman dead,
Astonish'd Trebia overflow'd its banks
25
Its crimson waters; Cannæ's signal day
The fame alone of great Amilcar's son
Enlarg'd, while still undisciplin'd, dismay'd,
Her head commercial Carthage bow'd at last
To military Rome: th' unalter'd will
Of heav'n in ev'ry climate hath ordain'd,
And ev'ry age, that empire shall attend
The sword, and steel shall ever conquer gold.
Then from thy suff'rings learn; th' auspicious hour
Now smiles; our wary magistrates have arm'd
Our hands; thou, Goddess, animate our breasts
To cast inglorious indolence aside,
That once again, in bright battalions rang'd,
Our thousands and ten thousands may be seen
Their country's only rampart, and the dread
Of wild ambition. Mark the Swedish hind;
He, on his native soil should danger lour,
Soon from the entrails of the dusky mine
Would rise to arms; and other fields and chiefs
With Helsingburg and Steinboch soon would share
26
Helvetia's hills behold, th' aërial seat
Of long-supported Liberty, who thence,
Securely resting on her faithful shield,
The warrior's corselet flaming on her breast,
Looks down with scorn on spacious realms, which groan
In servitude around her, and, her sword
With dauntless skill high-brandishing, defies
The Austrian eagle, and imperious Gaul:
And O could those ill-fated shades arise,
Whose valiant ranks along th' ensanguin'd dust
Of Newbury lay crouded, they could tell,
How their long-matchless cavalry, so oft
O'er hills of slain by ardent Rupert led,
Whose dreaded standard victory had wav'd,
Till then triumphant, there with noblest blood
From their gor'd squadrons dy'd the restive spear
Of London's firm militia, and resign'd
27
Shall we be now more timid, when behold,
The blackning storm now gathers round our heads,
And England's angry genius sounds to arms?
For thee, remember, is the banner spread,
The naval tow'r to vindicate thy rights
Will sweep the curling foam, the thund'ring bomb
Will roar, and startle in their deepest grots
Old Nereus' daughters, with combustion stor'd
For thee our dire volcano's of the main,
Impregnated with horrour, soon will pour
Their flaming ruin round each hostile fleet;
Thou then, great Goddess, summon all thy pow'rs,
Arm all thy sons, thy vassals, ev'ry heart
Inflame: and you, ye fear-disclaiming race,
Ye mariners of Britain, chosen train
Of Liberty and Commerce, now no more
Secrete your gen'rous valour; hear the call
Of injur'd Albion; to her foes present
Those daring bosoms, which alike disdain
The death disploding cannon, and the rage
Of warring tempests, mingling in their strife
The seas and clouds: though long, in silence hush'd,
Hath slept the British thunder; though the pride
28
Soon shall her ancient terrours be recall'd,
When your victorious shouts affright her shores:
None now ignobly will your warmth restrain,
Nor hazard more indignant valour's curse,
Their country's wrath, and Time's eternal scorn;
Then bid the furies of Bellona wake,
And silver-mantled Peace with welcome steps
Anon shall visit your triumphant isle.
And that perpetual safety may possess
Our joyous fields, thou, genius, who presid'st
O'er this illustrious city, teach her sons
To wield the noble instruments of war;
And let the great example soon extend
Through ev'ry province, till Britannia sees
Her docile millions fill the martial plain.
Then, whatsoe'er our terrours now suggest
Of desolation and th' invading sword,
Though with his massy trident Neptune heav'd
A new-born isthmus from the British deep,
And to its parent continent rejoin'd
Our chalky shore; though Mahomet could league
His pow'rful crescent with the hostile Gaul,
And that new Cyrus of the conquer'd east,
29
The Ganges and Euphrates, could advance
With his auxiliar host; our warlike youth
With equal numbers, and with keener zeal
For children, parents, friends, for England fir'd,
Her fertile glebe, her wealthy towns, her laws,
Her liberty, her honour, should sustain
The dreadful onset, and resistless break
Th' immense array: thus ev'n the lightest thought
E'er to invade Britannia's calm repose
Must die the moment, that auspicious Mars
Her sons shall bless with discipline and arms;
That exil'd race, in superstition nurs'd,
The servile pupils of tyrannic Rome,
With distant gaze despairing shall behold
The guarded splendors of Britannia's crown;
Still from their abdicated sway estrang'd,
With all th' attendance on despotic thrones,
Priests, ignorance, and bonds; with watchful step
Gigantic Terrour, striding round our coast,
Shall shake his gorgon ægis, and the hearts
30
Of proudest kings appal; to other shores
Our angry fleets, when insolence and wrongs
To arms awaken our vindictive pow'r,
Shall bear the hideous waste of ruthless war;
But liberty, security, and fame
Shall dwell for ever on our chosen plains.
Our angry fleets, when insolence and wrongs
To arms awaken our vindictive pow'r,
Shall bear the hideous waste of ruthless war;
But liberty, security, and fame
Shall dwell for ever on our chosen plains.
FINIS
Here the opinion of Sir Isaac Newton is follow'd, that letters were first invented amongst the trading parts of the world.
Marseilles, a Grecian colony, the most civiliz'd, as well as the greatest trading city of ancient Gaul.
He was assassinated at Delf. His dying words were, Lord have mercy upon this people. See Grot. de Bell. Belg.
Janus Douza, a famous poet, and the most learned man of his time. He commanded in Leyden, when it was so obstinately besieg'd by the Spaniards in 1570. See Meursii Athrn. Bat.
When the Spartans were greatly distress'd in the Messenian war, they applied to the Athenians for a general, who sent them the poet Tyrtæus.
Æschylus, one of the most ancient tragic poets, who signaliz'd himself in the battles of Marathon and Salamis.
Helsingburg, a small town in Schonen, celebrated for the victory, which Count Steinboch gain'd over the Danes with an army, for the most part composed of Swedish peasants, who had never seen an enemy before; it is remarkable, that the defeated troops were as complete a body of regular forces, as any in all Europe.
The London train'd bands, and auxiliary regiments (of whose inexperience of danger, or any kind of service, beyond the easy practice of their postures in the artillery garden, men had till then too cheap an estimation) behav'd themselves to wonder; and were, in truth, the preservation of that army that day. For they stood as a bulwark and rampire to defend the rest; and when their wings of horse were scatter'd and dispers'd, kept their ground so steadily, that though prince Rupert himself led up the choice horse to charge them, and endur'd their storm of small shot, he could make no impression on their stand of pikes; but was forc'd to wheel about. Clarend. book 7. pag.347.
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