University of Virginia Library

Search this document 
State Tracts

Containing Many Necessary Observations and Reflections on the State of our Affairs at Home and Abroad; With some Secret Memoirs. By the Author of the Examiner [i.e. William Oldisworth]

collapse sectionI. 
collapse section 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
collapse section 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Britain's Palladium;
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


193

Britain's Palladium;

OR, My Lord Bolingbroke's Welcome from France.

Et thure & fidibus Juvat
Placare, & vituli sanguine debito
Custodes Numidæ Deos.
Hor. lib. 1. Ode 36. ------ ad Pomponium Numidium
Ob cujus ex Hispania redditum gaudio exultat.

What Noise is this, that interrupts my Sleep?
What ecchoing Shouts rise from the briny Deep?
Neptune a solemn Festival prepares,
And Peace thro' all his flowing Orb declares:
That dreadful Trident which he us'd to shake,
Make Earth's Foundations, and Jove's Palace quake,
Now, by his Side on ouzy Couch reclin'd,
Gives a smooth Surface and a gentle Wind:
Innumerable Tritons lead the Way,
And crouds of Nereids round his Chariot play.

194

The ancient Sea-Gods with attention wait,
To learn, what's now the last result of Fate.
What earthly Monarch Neptune does decree
Alone; his great Vicegerent of the Sea.
By an auspicious Gale, Britania's Fleet
On Gallia's Coast this shining Triumph met;
These Pomps Divine their mortal Sense surprize,
Loud to the Ear, and dazling to the Eyes:
Whilst scaly Tritons, with their Shells, proclaim
The Names that must survive to future Fame;
And Nymphs their Diadems of Pearl prepare
For Monarchs who, to purchase Peace, make War:
Then Neptune his majestick Silence broke,
And to the trembling Sailors mildly spoke:
Throughout the World Britania's Flag display,
'Tis I command, that all the Globe obey:
Let British Streamers wave their Heads on high,
And dread no Foe beneath Jove's azure Sky;
The rest let Nereus tell ------
If I have Truth, says Nereus, and foresee
The intricate Designs of Destiny:

195

I that have view'd whatever Fleets have rode
With sharpen'd Keels, to cut the yielding Flood:
I that could weigh the Fates of Greece and Rome,
Phœnician Wealth, and Carthaginian Doom,
Must surely know what, in the Womb of Time,
Was fore-ordain'd for Britain's happy Clime;
How Wars upon the watry Realms shall cease,
And ANNA give the World a glorious Peace:
Restore the Spicy Traffick of the East,
And stretch her Empire to the distant West:
Her Fleets descry Aurora's purple Bed,
And Phœbus Steeds after their Labours fed.
The Southern Coasts, to Britain scarcely known,
Shall grow as hospitable as their own:
No Monsters shall be feign'd to guard their Store,
When British Trade secures their golden Ore:
The fleecy Product of the Cotswold Field
Shall equal what Peruvian Mountains yield:
Iron shall there, intrinsick Value show,
And by Vulcanian Art more precious grow.
BRITANIA's Royal Fishery shall be
Improv'd by a kind Guardian Deity:

196

That mighty Task to Glaucus we assign,
Of more importance than the richest Mine;
He shall direct them how to strike the Whale,
How to avoid the Danger, when prevail;
What Treasure lies upon the frozen Coast
Not yet explor'd, nor negligently lost.
In vast Acadia's Plains, new Theme for Fame,
Towns shall be built, sacred to ANNA's Name;
The Silver Firr and lofty Pines shall rise
From Britain's own united Colonies;
Which to the Mast shall Canvas Wings afford,
And Pitch, to strengthen the unfaithful Board;
Norway may then her Naval Stores with-hold,
And proudly starve for want of British Gold.
O happy Isle! to such Advantage plac'd,
That all the World is by thy Counsels grac'd;
Thy Nation's Genius, with industrious Arts,
Renders thee lovely to remotest Parts.
ELIZA first the sable Scene withdrew,
And to the ancient World display'd the New.

197

When Burleigh at the Helm of State was seen,
The truest Subject to the greatest QUEEN:
The Indians, from the Spanish Yoke made free,
Bless'd the Effects of English Liberty;
Drake, round the World, his Sov'reign's Honour spread,
Thro' Straights and Gulphs immense, her Fame convey'd;
Nor rests Enquiry here; his curious Eye
Descries new Constellations in the Sky,
In which vast space, ambitious Mariners
Might place their Names on high, and chuse their Stars.
Rawleigh, with hopes of new Discoveries fir'd,
And all the Depths of human Wit inspir'd,
Rov'd o'er the Western World, in search of Fame,
Adding fresh Glory to Eliza's Name;
Subdu'd new Empires, that will Records be
Immortal of a Queen's Virginity.

(Virginia)


But think not Albion that thy Sons decay,
Or that thy Princes have less Power to sway;
Whatever in Eliza's Reign was seen,
With a re-doubled Vigour springs again:

198

Imperial ANNA shall the Seas controul,
And spread her Naval Laws from Pole to Pole:
Nor think Her Conduct, or Her Counsels less
In Arts of War, or Treaties for a Peace;
In thrifty Management of Britain's Wealth,
Imbezzel'd lately, or purloin'd by Stealth:
No Nation can fear Want, or dread Surprize,
Where Oxford's Prudence, Burleigh's Loss supplies;
On him the Publick most securely leans,
To ease the Burthen of the best of Queens:
On him the Merchants fix their longing Eyes,
When War shall cease, and British Commerce rise.
Alcides Strength, and Atlas firmer Mind,
To narrow Streights of Europe were confin'd.
The British Sailors, from their Royal 'Change,
May find a nobler Liberty to range.
Oxford shall be their Pole-Star to the South,
And there reward the Efforts of their Youth:
Whence, thro' his Conduct, Traffick shall encrease,
Ev'n to those Seas which take their Name from Peace.
PEACE is the Sound must glad the Briton's Ears
But see! the Noble Bolingbroke appears;

199

Gesture compos'd, and Looks serene declare
The approaching Issue of a doubtful War.
Now my Cerulean Race safe in the deep,
Shall hear no Canons roar, disturb their Sleep;
But smoothest Tides, and the most Halcion Gales
Shall, to their Port, direct Britania's Sails.
Ye Tritons, Sons of Gods! 'tis my Command,
That you see Bolingbroke in safety Land;
Your concave Shells for softest Notes prepare,
Whilst Eccho shall repeat the gentlest Air;
The River-Gods shall there, your Triumphs meet,
And in old Ocean mixt, your Hero greet;
Thames shall stand wondring, Isis shall rejoice,
And both in tuneful Numbers raise their Voice.
The rapid Medway, and the fertile Trent,
In swiftest Streams confess their true Content.
Avon and Severn shall in Raptures join,
And Fame convey them, to the Northern Tine:
Tweed then no more the Britons shall divide,
But Peace and Plenty flow on either side;
Triumphs proclaim, and Mirth and jovial Feasts,
And all the World invite for welcome Guests.

200

Faction, that thro' the Land so fatal spread,
No more shall dare to raise her Hydra's Head;
But all her Votaries, in silence mourn,
The happiness of Bolingbroke's return;
Far from the common Pitch, he shall arise,
With great Designs, to dazzle Envy's Eyes;
Search deep to know, of Whiggish Plots the source,
Their ever-turning Schemes, and restless Course.
Who shall hereafter, British Annals read,
But will reflect, with Wonder, on this Deed.
How artfully his Conduct overcame
A stubborn Race, and quench'd a raging Flame;
Retriev'd the Britons from unruly Fate,
And overthrew the Phaetons of State:
These wise Exploits thro' Gallia's Nation ran,
And fir'd their Souls, to see the wond'rous Man:
The aged Counsellors, without surprize,
Found Wit and Prudence sparkling in his Eyes;
Wisdom that was not gain'd in course of Years,
Or Reverence owing to his hoary Hairs,
But struck by force of Genius; such as drove
The Goddess Pallas from the Brain of Jove.

201

The Youth of France, with Pleasure, look'd to see
His graceful Mien, and beauteous Symetry:
The Virgins ran, as to unusual Show,
When he to Paris came, and Fountainbleau;
Viewing the blooming Minister desir'd,
And still the more they gaz'd, the more admir'd.
Nor did the Court, that best true Grandeur knows,
Their Sentiments, by lesser Facts disclose,
By common Pomp, or ceremonious Train,
Seen heretofore, or to be seen again;
But they devis'd new Honours, yet unknown,
Or paid to any Subject of a Crown.
The Gallick King, in Age and Counsels Wise,
Sated with War, and weary of disguise,
With open Arms salutes the British Peer,
And gladly owns his Prince and Character.
As Hermes from the Throne of Jove descends,
With grateful Errand, to Heav'ns choicest Friends:
As Iris from the Bed of Juno flies,
To bear her Queens Commands thro' yielding Skies,
Whilst o'er her Wings fresh Beams of Glory flow,
And blended Colours paint her wond'rous Bow;

202

So Bolingbroke appears in Louis Sight,
With Message Heavenly, and with equal Light,
Dispels all Clouds of Doubt, and Fear of Wars,
And in his Mistress's Name for Peace declares:
Accents Divine! which the Great King receives
With the same Grace, that mighty ANNA gives.
Let others boast of Blood, the Spoil of Foes,
Rapine and Murder, and of endless Woes,
Detested Pomp! and Trophies gain'd from far,
With spangled Ensigns, streaming in the Air:
Count how they made Bavarian Subjects feel
The rage of Fire, and edge of hardned Steel:
Fatal Effects of foul insatiate Pride,
That deal their Wounds alike on either side:
No Limit's set to their ambitious Ends,
For who bounds them, no longer can be Friends.
By different Methods Bolingbroke shall raise
His growing Honours, and immortal Praise.
He fir'd with Glory, and the publick Good,
Betwixt the People and their Danger stood;
Arm'd with convincing Truths he did appear,
And all he said was sparkling, bright and clear.

203

The list'ning Senate, with attention heard,
And some admir'd, while others trembling fear'd;
Not from the Tropes of formal Eloquence,
But Demosthenick Strength, and weight of Sense:
Such as fond Oxford to her Son supply'd,
Design'd her Own, as well as Britain's Pride.
Who less beholden to the ancient Strains,
Might shew a Nobler Blood in English Veins:
Out-do whatever Divine Homer sung
Of Nestor's Counsels, or Ulysses Tongue.
Oh! all ye Nymphs, whilst Time and Youth allow,
Prepare the Rose and Lilly for his Brow.
Much he has done, but still has more in View;
To ANNA's Interest, and his Country true.
More I could Prophecy, but must refrain,
Such Truths would make another Mortal Vain.
 

Annapolis.