Poems on Several Occasions :: :: University of Virginia Library

O'er all the Banks the Waters broke,
And delug'd quite the fruitful Plain;
Strong Damms cou'd scarce resist the Shock,
And Mounds were rear'd, but rear'd in vain.

VI

As Clouds obscure Meridian Rays,
Merit became the common Jest:
Fortune look'd kind on knavish Ways,
And Blockheads have succeeded best.

VII

They, who, at Distance, saw the Scene,
And mark'd what foreign Sharpers won,
Fear'd Conquests might be made again,
Or we, by Civil War undone.

255

VIII

The Nobles, who with Rabble join'd,
To gather in the golden Show'r,
Are whelm'd alike in Grief of Mind,
Alike most miserably Poor.

IX

His private Suff'rings who can bear?
Or what the publick Loss retrieve?
Whom shall we beg our Cries to hear?
What Pow'r our ruin'd State will save?

X

In vain, we look to neighbouring Lands—
They labour in the like Distress;
Or mock our Mis'ry, since our Hands
Have wrought the Woes, our Tongues confess.

256

XI

Kind Heav'n, whom will thy Pity send
To lift Britannia's drooping Head?
What living Patriot can defend?
Or wilt thou raise one from the Dead?

XII

Ye Ministers of State awake,
And prove the Virtues you possess:
'Tis Yours to act for Britain's Sake,
And all our Grievances redress.

XIII

O S---, thou favour'd Peer!
Thy Honesty and Pow'r exert:
Now is the Time thy Fame to clear,
And show you have our Weal at Heart.

257

XIV

S---e, renown'd in Peace and War!
Adorn'd with ev'ry liberal Art!
More, if you can, your self endear,
By acting, now, a Patriot's Part.

XV

N---le, here, your Interest try:
You cannot too officious prove:
With Fortune raise your Honour high,
And win, by Merit, lasting Love.

XVI

O P---r, Oracle of Law,
Convince us of the Skill you boast,
And from the Depths of Ruin, draw
Our publick Credit, ere 'tis lost.

258

XVII

A---e, thou dear, distinguish'd Chief,
Whose Sword was never drawn in vain,
Whose Counsel can afford Relief,
The Ballance of our State maintain.

XVIII

Britannia's Case, at Home, O S---r,
Regard, and sure Assistance send,
If yet, from Europe's grand Affair,
You can your godlike Thoughts unbend.

XIX

Thy Patriot-Zeal, and Conduct, now
When Matters at a Crisis stand,
In future Management, bestow,
O W---e, for a groaning Land.

259

XX

But ah! in vain, we look below,
And Aid from mortal Hands implore;
To Pow'r superior we must go,
That, only, can our Bliss restore.

XXI

When shall Britannia see again
Her Monarch come renown'd from far,
Whose Absence aggravates her Pain,
In whom her Hopes all center'd are?

XXII

Let ne'er succeeding Times record,
Or neighbouring Pow'rs in Triumph boast,
That G---e, like an unfaithful Lord,
In G---y, his B---n lost.

260

XXIII

O Wales, Augustus of our Days,
Vouchsafe to cast an Eye abroad,
And, by the Brightness of your Rays,
Assert your Self a second God,

XXIV

While your great Sire prolongs his Stay
At Courts, less worthy present Care,
The People, you was born to sway,
To you address their ardent Pray'r.

XXV

Be it your Glory, to confound
The Foes of Royalty, and Peace:
Make publick Credit yet renown'd,
Our Trade revive, our Murmuring cease.

261

XXVI

O when, beneath Augustus' Wing,
Shall Sister-Arts illustrious rise?
When shall the sacred Muses sing,
In British, as in Roman, Skies.