 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
135
THE PRISONS OPEN'D:
A POEM, occasioned by the Glorious Proceedings of the Committee of the House of Commons, appointed to enquire into the State of the GOALS of this Kingdom, in the Year 1728.
------ Facilis descensus Averni;
Noctes atque dies patet atri janua Ditis:
Sed revocare gradum, Superasque evadere ad auras,
Hoc opus, hic labor est. Pauci quos æquus amavit
Jupiter, aut ardens evexit ad æthera virtus,
Diis geniti, potuêre. ------
VIRG.
Noctes atque dies patet atri janua Ditis:
Sed revocare gradum, Superasque evadere ad auras,
Hoc opus, hic labor est. Pauci quos æquus amavit
Jupiter, aut ardens evexit ad æthera virtus,
Diis geniti, potuêre. ------
VIRG.
136
Humbly Inscribed to
- JAMES OGLETORPE, Esq. Chairman.
- Lord Visc. Percival.
- Sir Th. Lowther, Bar.
- Sir H. Howarth Bar.
- Robert Byng, Esq.
- Charles Selwyn, Esq.
- Erasmus Philips, Esq.
- Stam. Brooksbank, Esq.
- John La Roche, Esq.
- Charles Withers, Esq.
- John Crosse, Esq.
- Velters Cornwall, Esq.
- Robert Huckes, Esq.
- Sir R. Clifton, Kt. of the Bar.
- Sir Archibald Grant, Bar.
- Mr. Alderman Parsons,
- Edward Vernon, Esq.
- John Campbel, Esq.
- Rogers Holland, Esq.
- James Tuffnel, Esq.
- Th. Lewis Esq. of Radnor.
- Robert More, Esq.
- John Norris, Esq.
- Edward Hughes, Esq.
- Thomas Towers, Esq.
- Sir Abraham Elton, Bar.
137
Let Arms and Warriors other Poets fire,
Or Love's sweet Anguish tune the softer Lyre;
I sing of Pris'ners freed, and Guilt pursu'd
With gen'rous Ardour by the Great and Good.
O Thou from whom that gen'rous Ardour came,
(A Heat far nobler than Poetick Flame,)
Father of Goodness! hear, and teach my Lays
That best that darling Attribute to praise;
Make list'ning Crowds detest tyrannick Wrong,
And learn the Love of Mercy from my Song;
Make Patriots' Fame with fairest Lustre shine,
And raise their Glory, by exalting Thine.
Or Love's sweet Anguish tune the softer Lyre;
I sing of Pris'ners freed, and Guilt pursu'd
With gen'rous Ardour by the Great and Good.
O Thou from whom that gen'rous Ardour came,
(A Heat far nobler than Poetick Flame,)
Father of Goodness! hear, and teach my Lays
That best that darling Attribute to praise;
Make list'ning Crowds detest tyrannick Wrong,
And learn the Love of Mercy from my Song;
Make Patriots' Fame with fairest Lustre shine,
And raise their Glory, by exalting Thine.
What various Paths unhappy Mortals tread,
Which down to Dungeons and to Tortures lead!
In Goal a few secure their ill-got Store,
By Vices many fall, by Folly more.
The flatter'd Heir in short-liv'd Pomp behold,
How flush'd with Youth, and Wine, and Love, and Gold!
All Arts, all Baits unnumber'd Tempters try,
Friendship's endearing Form, and Beauty's Eye.
Manors are lost, tho' petty Stakes are won,
And garter'd Sharpers urge his Ruin on.
By pity some, a glorious Fault! have fail'd,
A Friend supported, or a Father bail'd:
Some perish void of Error and Offence,
Cast headlong by resistless Providence:
Orphans, who Frauds of Guardians cannot shun,
Clients by legal Labyrinths undone:
The Trader strictly just, yet overthrown
By others' Crimes, and Losses not his own.
Nor more Redress the breaking Merchant finds
From Spanish Seisures, than from adverse Winds.
Lo! countless Swarms the dire Abode receives,
Thick as in Autumn drop the sapless Leaves,
Whom State Deceit and South-Sea Plunder drain'd
Which like a gen'ral Deluge swept the Land:
Whom Publick Faith could no Protection lend,
Seeming, and only seeming, to defend.
Which down to Dungeons and to Tortures lead!
In Goal a few secure their ill-got Store,
By Vices many fall, by Folly more.
The flatter'd Heir in short-liv'd Pomp behold,
How flush'd with Youth, and Wine, and Love, and Gold!
All Arts, all Baits unnumber'd Tempters try,
Friendship's endearing Form, and Beauty's Eye.
Manors are lost, tho' petty Stakes are won,
And garter'd Sharpers urge his Ruin on.
By pity some, a glorious Fault! have fail'd,
A Friend supported, or a Father bail'd:
138
Cast headlong by resistless Providence:
Orphans, who Frauds of Guardians cannot shun,
Clients by legal Labyrinths undone:
The Trader strictly just, yet overthrown
By others' Crimes, and Losses not his own.
Nor more Redress the breaking Merchant finds
From Spanish Seisures, than from adverse Winds.
Lo! countless Swarms the dire Abode receives,
Thick as in Autumn drop the sapless Leaves,
Whom State Deceit and South-Sea Plunder drain'd
Which like a gen'ral Deluge swept the Land:
Whom Publick Faith could no Protection lend,
Seeming, and only seeming, to defend.
When Wretches, stripp'd of Fortune's Gifts, repair
To the dark Dome of temporal Despair,
Fast by the Prison-Gates with sleepless Eyes
Sits griping never-sated Avarice;
To him th' Admitted fine for being poor,
And ope with Gold th' inhospitable Door;
Compell'd, since Laws and Goalers so ordain,
To pay for Misery, and to bribe for Pain:
To gain th' Asylum of the Fleet they strive,
The Privilege to be entomb'd alive.
So, as the Pagan fabling Poets tell,
Was Charon fee'd for wafting Souls to Hell:
To pass the Lake thick-thronging Ghosts desire,
To Torments most condemn'd, and penal Fire;
As if Alecto's Snakes they long'd to feel,
Or Tityus' Vulture, or Ixion's Wheel.
The Goal, (sad Emblem of flagitious Times,
Revenging Virtues, and rewarding Crimes,)
Sees only Villains thrive, by Ruin great,
Who owe to Guilt the Splendour of their State;
Who plac'd by Fraud and Wealth from Justice free,
In Ease or Pomp enjoy Captivity;
Who sure Escape by massy Gold can force,
While Wardens share the Wealth of Creditors.
Or those who basely join t' afflict the Good,
Comrades of Theft, and Instruments of Blood;
Whose well-feign'd Worth the Merchant's Trust deceives,
And stocks with monthly Spoils the Den of Thieves:
Who, as Superiors dictate, Witness bear,
To Riot, Murder, nay to Treason swear;
Who Aid to worst Barbarities afford,
Relentless Hell-hounds worthy of their Lord;
Who Drink to burning Fever's Thirst deny,
And see the Famish'd swoon with stony Eye;
Permit not Pris'ners ev'n on Alms to feed,
But snatch from starving Mouths the scanty Bread.
These, these alone, from H*****s met Regard,
And these the Favours of a B******e shar'd;
While Wrath avoidless fell on all beside,
With utmost Fury of despotick Pride.
So fam'd Procrustes old, (if Bards may dare
A less with greater Tyrants to compare,)
Offers his formidable Bed to all,
And racks the dwarfish Guest, and lops the tall:
Those only from the Couch unhurt arise,
Whose Stature answers to the Robber's Size.
To the dark Dome of temporal Despair,
Fast by the Prison-Gates with sleepless Eyes
Sits griping never-sated Avarice;
To him th' Admitted fine for being poor,
And ope with Gold th' inhospitable Door;
Compell'd, since Laws and Goalers so ordain,
To pay for Misery, and to bribe for Pain:
To gain th' Asylum of the Fleet they strive,
The Privilege to be entomb'd alive.
So, as the Pagan fabling Poets tell,
Was Charon fee'd for wafting Souls to Hell:
To pass the Lake thick-thronging Ghosts desire,
To Torments most condemn'd, and penal Fire;
As if Alecto's Snakes they long'd to feel,
Or Tityus' Vulture, or Ixion's Wheel.
139
Revenging Virtues, and rewarding Crimes,)
Sees only Villains thrive, by Ruin great,
Who owe to Guilt the Splendour of their State;
Who plac'd by Fraud and Wealth from Justice free,
In Ease or Pomp enjoy Captivity;
Who sure Escape by massy Gold can force,
While Wardens share the Wealth of Creditors.
Or those who basely join t' afflict the Good,
Comrades of Theft, and Instruments of Blood;
Whose well-feign'd Worth the Merchant's Trust deceives,
And stocks with monthly Spoils the Den of Thieves:
Who, as Superiors dictate, Witness bear,
To Riot, Murder, nay to Treason swear;
Who Aid to worst Barbarities afford,
Relentless Hell-hounds worthy of their Lord;
Who Drink to burning Fever's Thirst deny,
And see the Famish'd swoon with stony Eye;
Permit not Pris'ners ev'n on Alms to feed,
But snatch from starving Mouths the scanty Bread.
These, these alone, from H*****s met Regard,
And these the Favours of a B******e shar'd;
While Wrath avoidless fell on all beside,
With utmost Fury of despotick Pride.
So fam'd Procrustes old, (if Bards may dare
A less with greater Tyrants to compare,)
Offers his formidable Bed to all,
And racks the dwarfish Guest, and lops the tall:
140
Whose Stature answers to the Robber's Size.
The Fleet's stern King, circled with Guards like these
Each helpless Subject robs, and strips, and fleas;
Incarnate Fiends for torturing Shackles call,
Except the Captive yields them—more than all:
In Prison within Prison stak'd he lies,
And Keepers under Keepers tyrannize:
With weighty Fetters gall'd the Suff'rers groan,
Or close-scru'd Rivets crack the solid Bone;
Their only Bed dank Earth unpav'd and bare,
Their only Cov'ring is the Chains they wear:
Debar'd from chearful Morn, and human Sight,
In lonely restless and enduring Night:
The strongest Health unsinew'd by Disease,
And Famine wasting Life by slow degrees:
Piece-meal alive they rot, long doom'd to bear
The pestilential foul imprison'd Air;
Unless the friendly Fumes on Reason prey,
And kind Distraction take their Sense away.
But each black View of horrible Restraint,
What Verse can number, and what Pencil paint
Dire Scenes! which H*****s and his B*******e know,
Where ghastly Spectres utter Tales of Woe!
As if the Pris'ners were condemn'd to dwell
With Pains, with Darkness, and with Fiends of Hell.
No smallest Glimpse of distant Hope they see,
Oh! lowest Depth of human Misery!
When wish'd-for Death's Approach shews Quiet nigh,
The Soul just flutt'ring is forbid to fly:
When seeming kind, the curst Tormentors strive
To keep departing Anguish still alive.
So when the Long-rob'd Murderers of Rome,
Inquisitors, a Wretch to Tortures doom,
They heal the Limbs, which can no more endure,
Less cruel when they rack, than when they cure;
That Nature spent, Recruits of Strength may gain
For fresh Distortion, and repeated Pain.
When wild Despair, impatient of its Woes,
By fond Self-Murder would suborn Repose;
Life destroy'd unmov'd the Keeper sees,
And only mourns his Loss of Bribes and Fees.
Here, tho' his barb'rous Rigours find an End,
Farther will pow'rful Avarice extend;
Like the Grand Turk, he pleases to declare
Himself, of all that die, the gen'ral Heir:
What ev'ry Vassal leaves, he speaks his own,
But yields no Portion to the Wife or Son.
No Plaints can reach the Courts, or timely Art
Prevents their sinking to the Hearer's Heart.
Had not a Price in spotless Glory shin'd,
But Justice had been deaf as well as blind:
To Laws, no Priviledge Redress could give,
For Subjects' Right, nor King's Prerogative;
Not Acts of Grace, 'till Heav'n's appointed Hour
To dart just Vengeance on tyrannick Pow'r:
Not God's Vicegerents broke the Iron Chain,
Ev'n Anne herself was merciful in vain;
Not Sov'reign Smiles the Prison Gates unfold,
Without large Tributes of extorted Gold.
So Purgatory's Realm the Pope obeys,
The Founder He, and Warden of the Place!
There Souls are feign'd fierce Flames to undergo,
Intense, as everlasting Burnings glow;
Tho' Christ had clear'd their Guilt, they long remain
Pardon'd and Pris'ners to infernal Pain;
No charitable Pontiff turns the Keys,
'Till priestly Goalers have secur'd their Fees.
Is our's the Land where Peace and Freedom smile
What wrathful Influence curst our Age and Isle,
Monsters of boundless Avarice to see,
Unblushing Fraud, unsated Cruelty!
Here B******e breaths as yet the vital Air!
Here partial Great ones conscious H****s spare!
Yet, Britain, cease thy Captives' Woes to mourn,
To break their Chains, see Oglethorpe was born!
Vernon, whose steady Truth no Threats can bend!
And Hughes, the Sailor's never-failing Friend!
Towers, whose rich Youth can Ease and Pleasure fly
And Percival, renown'd for Piety!
Cornewall, to aid the Friendless never slow,
Whose gen'rous Breast still melts at others' Woe!
These dare the Tyrants long secure oppose;
Thus gracious Heav'n its Benefits bestows,
The Antidote is found there where the Poison grows.
Each helpless Subject robs, and strips, and fleas;
Incarnate Fiends for torturing Shackles call,
Except the Captive yields them—more than all:
In Prison within Prison stak'd he lies,
And Keepers under Keepers tyrannize:
With weighty Fetters gall'd the Suff'rers groan,
Or close-scru'd Rivets crack the solid Bone;
Their only Bed dank Earth unpav'd and bare,
Their only Cov'ring is the Chains they wear:
Debar'd from chearful Morn, and human Sight,
In lonely restless and enduring Night:
The strongest Health unsinew'd by Disease,
And Famine wasting Life by slow degrees:
Piece-meal alive they rot, long doom'd to bear
The pestilential foul imprison'd Air;
Unless the friendly Fumes on Reason prey,
And kind Distraction take their Sense away.
But each black View of horrible Restraint,
What Verse can number, and what Pencil paint
Dire Scenes! which H*****s and his B*******e know,
Where ghastly Spectres utter Tales of Woe!
As if the Pris'ners were condemn'd to dwell
With Pains, with Darkness, and with Fiends of Hell.
No smallest Glimpse of distant Hope they see,
Oh! lowest Depth of human Misery!
When wish'd-for Death's Approach shews Quiet nigh,
The Soul just flutt'ring is forbid to fly:
141
To keep departing Anguish still alive.
So when the Long-rob'd Murderers of Rome,
Inquisitors, a Wretch to Tortures doom,
They heal the Limbs, which can no more endure,
Less cruel when they rack, than when they cure;
That Nature spent, Recruits of Strength may gain
For fresh Distortion, and repeated Pain.
When wild Despair, impatient of its Woes,
By fond Self-Murder would suborn Repose;
Life destroy'd unmov'd the Keeper sees,
And only mourns his Loss of Bribes and Fees.
Here, tho' his barb'rous Rigours find an End,
Farther will pow'rful Avarice extend;
Like the Grand Turk, he pleases to declare
Himself, of all that die, the gen'ral Heir:
What ev'ry Vassal leaves, he speaks his own,
But yields no Portion to the Wife or Son.
No Plaints can reach the Courts, or timely Art
Prevents their sinking to the Hearer's Heart.
Had not a Price in spotless Glory shin'd,
But Justice had been deaf as well as blind:
To Laws, no Priviledge Redress could give,
For Subjects' Right, nor King's Prerogative;
Not Acts of Grace, 'till Heav'n's appointed Hour
To dart just Vengeance on tyrannick Pow'r:
Not God's Vicegerents broke the Iron Chain,
Ev'n Anne herself was merciful in vain;
Not Sov'reign Smiles the Prison Gates unfold,
Without large Tributes of extorted Gold.
142
The Founder He, and Warden of the Place!
There Souls are feign'd fierce Flames to undergo,
Intense, as everlasting Burnings glow;
Tho' Christ had clear'd their Guilt, they long remain
Pardon'd and Pris'ners to infernal Pain;
No charitable Pontiff turns the Keys,
'Till priestly Goalers have secur'd their Fees.
Is our's the Land where Peace and Freedom smile
What wrathful Influence curst our Age and Isle,
Monsters of boundless Avarice to see,
Unblushing Fraud, unsated Cruelty!
Here B******e breaths as yet the vital Air!
Here partial Great ones conscious H****s spare!
Yet, Britain, cease thy Captives' Woes to mourn,
To break their Chains, see Oglethorpe was born!
Vernon, whose steady Truth no Threats can bend!
And Hughes, the Sailor's never-failing Friend!
Towers, whose rich Youth can Ease and Pleasure fly
And Percival, renown'd for Piety!
Cornewall, to aid the Friendless never slow,
Whose gen'rous Breast still melts at others' Woe!
These dare the Tyrants long secure oppose;
Thus gracious Heav'n its Benefits bestows,
The Antidote is found there where the Poison grows.
These, and the rest for ardent Goodness fam'd,
Unnam'd, tho' greatly worthy to be nam'd,
Who seek to merit Praise, but not receive;
(May those I name as easily forgive!)
Who fear not to relieve th' Afflicted, rise
Girt with false Friends, and real Enemies.
Numbers at first with Scorn their Fervour view,
And smile in secret at the active few,
Faint-hearted or designing Murmurs sound,
And whisper 'Tis impossible around:
And Craft, by publick Clamours overborn,
When Tides of Justice grew too strong to turn,
Boasted its Aim by specious vain Pretence
T' elude their Strength, and mock their Diligence.
Short Boast! all Dangers to their Courage bow,
And where appears the vaunted Cunning now?
So was Alcides sent to dang'rous War,
(If false with real Labours we compare.)
The dreaded Youth that Monsters might devour.
Thus sly Eurystheus us'd his fatal Pow'r;
But saw with Conquest crown'd the gallant Boy,
And rais'd the Fame he purpos'd to destroy.
Unnam'd, tho' greatly worthy to be nam'd,
Who seek to merit Praise, but not receive;
(May those I name as easily forgive!)
143
Girt with false Friends, and real Enemies.
Numbers at first with Scorn their Fervour view,
And smile in secret at the active few,
Faint-hearted or designing Murmurs sound,
And whisper 'Tis impossible around:
And Craft, by publick Clamours overborn,
When Tides of Justice grew too strong to turn,
Boasted its Aim by specious vain Pretence
T' elude their Strength, and mock their Diligence.
Short Boast! all Dangers to their Courage bow,
And where appears the vaunted Cunning now?
So was Alcides sent to dang'rous War,
(If false with real Labours we compare.)
The dreaded Youth that Monsters might devour.
Thus sly Eurystheus us'd his fatal Pow'r;
But saw with Conquest crown'd the gallant Boy,
And rais'd the Fame he purpos'd to destroy.
The glorious Few, by bounteous Heav'n ordain'd
To loose the Fetters of a Nation chain'd,
Urge their appointed Toil with utmost speed,
Almost proportion'd to the Wretches' Need:
No By-design retards the destin'd Race,
They plead no stated Business of a Place;
No Thoughts of meaner Ends their Souls detain,
Of soothing Pleasure, or of sordid Gain:
Soon as the Fleet receives each welcome Guest,
Joy long-forgotten cheers the faintest Breast;
Pain at their Presence stops the rising Sigh,
And languid Famine opes her hollow Eye;
Horror flies thence, They once appearing there,
And the worst Torment of the Goal, Despair.
So at th' Almighty's Nod with rapid Wings,
Forth from the Throne a Guardian Angel springs,
Through Space immense, quick as the Morning Ray
To succour Earth distress'd he shoots away,
Bids Peter rise, from Bonds and Keepers free,
And looks the Pris'ner into Liberty.
To loose the Fetters of a Nation chain'd,
Urge their appointed Toil with utmost speed,
Almost proportion'd to the Wretches' Need:
No By-design retards the destin'd Race,
They plead no stated Business of a Place;
No Thoughts of meaner Ends their Souls detain,
Of soothing Pleasure, or of sordid Gain:
Soon as the Fleet receives each welcome Guest,
Joy long-forgotten cheers the faintest Breast;
Pain at their Presence stops the rising Sigh,
And languid Famine opes her hollow Eye;
144
And the worst Torment of the Goal, Despair.
So at th' Almighty's Nod with rapid Wings,
Forth from the Throne a Guardian Angel springs,
Through Space immense, quick as the Morning Ray
To succour Earth distress'd he shoots away,
Bids Peter rise, from Bonds and Keepers free,
And looks the Pris'ner into Liberty.
Fear'd, honour'd, lov'd, long may the Patriots stand
Support and Honour of their native Land!
Warm without Rage, without Vain-glory brave,
Firm to protect, and obstinate to save!
Whom no false Scents deceive, no Searches tire;
Resistless to revenge, as to enquire!
He, who for injur'd Right dares strongly plead,
The Prisoners' Council, earnest tho' unfeed;
To guard the Weak, who scorns the Mighty's Frown
Despising no Man's Danger, but his own;
In Camps his Courage as in Senates try'd,
Daunts with severe Rebuff the Sons of Pride.
Oh that his Soul with healthier Limbs were join'd
A Body less unequal to his Mind!
He, who to H****n's, Crimes eternal Foe,
When wav'ring Numbers would Connivance show,
Shall ill-got Wealth secure the Robber? cry'd;
And singly stedfast, turn'd the rapid Tide:
'Till Impudence itself asham'd gave way,
And Bribery yielded, blushing to gainsay.
The Man, who wisely studious not to lose
His Heav'n, the only Interest he pursues,
Points to his Offspring the celestial way;
Who hundreds feasted on that happy Day,
Which saw from conquer'd Death the Saviour rise;
Alms giv'n for Christ, accepted Sacrifice!
The Man who toil'd, the vicious Poor t' amend,
Foe to Intemperance, as to Need a Friend;
To punish starving Sots, our Nation's Shame,
And snatch the Firebrands from the liquid Flame;
To save them from the snare of low Estate,
And raise their Minds, but not intoxicate:
The Youth, whose dextrous and impartial Skill,
As diligent in Good, as Knaves in Ill,
Unfolds the knotty Mazes of the Laws,
And strictly faithful to the righteous Cause,
Baffles each Quirk, each Subterfuge of Wrong,
Of Lawyers' double Heart and double Tongue.
And He, who, cautious lest design'd Delay
For Guilt's Escape should yield an easy Way,
Obtain'd Augusta's Civil Powers' Decree,
That Law for once might side with Equity;
Full Space for just accusing might allow,
Nor Teacher H*****s leave his Scholar now.
And others, tho' unmention'd, not unknown,
Who justly glory in their Conduct shown;
Who stand each Shock, each Stratagem defeat,
Superior to the Bribe and to the Threat;
And H*****s half his Thousands well might spare,
Could half his Thousands make a Coward there.
Support and Honour of their native Land!
Warm without Rage, without Vain-glory brave,
Firm to protect, and obstinate to save!
Whom no false Scents deceive, no Searches tire;
Resistless to revenge, as to enquire!
He, who for injur'd Right dares strongly plead,
The Prisoners' Council, earnest tho' unfeed;
To guard the Weak, who scorns the Mighty's Frown
Despising no Man's Danger, but his own;
In Camps his Courage as in Senates try'd,
Daunts with severe Rebuff the Sons of Pride.
Oh that his Soul with healthier Limbs were join'd
A Body less unequal to his Mind!
He, who to H****n's, Crimes eternal Foe,
When wav'ring Numbers would Connivance show,
Shall ill-got Wealth secure the Robber? cry'd;
And singly stedfast, turn'd the rapid Tide:
'Till Impudence itself asham'd gave way,
And Bribery yielded, blushing to gainsay.
The Man, who wisely studious not to lose
His Heav'n, the only Interest he pursues,
145
Who hundreds feasted on that happy Day,
Which saw from conquer'd Death the Saviour rise;
Alms giv'n for Christ, accepted Sacrifice!
The Man who toil'd, the vicious Poor t' amend,
Foe to Intemperance, as to Need a Friend;
To punish starving Sots, our Nation's Shame,
And snatch the Firebrands from the liquid Flame;
To save them from the snare of low Estate,
And raise their Minds, but not intoxicate:
The Youth, whose dextrous and impartial Skill,
As diligent in Good, as Knaves in Ill,
Unfolds the knotty Mazes of the Laws,
And strictly faithful to the righteous Cause,
Baffles each Quirk, each Subterfuge of Wrong,
Of Lawyers' double Heart and double Tongue.
And He, who, cautious lest design'd Delay
For Guilt's Escape should yield an easy Way,
Obtain'd Augusta's Civil Powers' Decree,
That Law for once might side with Equity;
Full Space for just accusing might allow,
Nor Teacher H*****s leave his Scholar now.
And others, tho' unmention'd, not unknown,
Who justly glory in their Conduct shown;
Who stand each Shock, each Stratagem defeat,
Superior to the Bribe and to the Threat;
And H*****s half his Thousands well might spare,
Could half his Thousands make a Coward there.
Yet noblest Acts as Fury some esteem,
For what so good but Satan can blaspheme?
'Tis Fury all, to dry the Captive's Tears,
To heal his Sickness, and prevent his Fears:
Fury! for Orphans' Diligence t' employ,
And make the mournful Widow weep for Joy:
Fury! the Wrongs past Sufferance to redress,
While Crowds transported their Deliv'rers bless:
Fury! the Poor and Friendless to regard,
Without mean Prospect of a base Reward;
Life, Freedom, Health, and Gladness to bestow,
The only Fury Statesmen never know.
For what so good but Satan can blaspheme?
146
To heal his Sickness, and prevent his Fears:
Fury! for Orphans' Diligence t' employ,
And make the mournful Widow weep for Joy:
Fury! the Wrongs past Sufferance to redress,
While Crowds transported their Deliv'rers bless:
Fury! the Poor and Friendless to regard,
Without mean Prospect of a base Reward;
Life, Freedom, Health, and Gladness to bestow,
The only Fury Statesmen never know.
When Villains first beheld the Tempest lour,
They sneer'd and trusted to the Screen of Pow'r;
Numbers t' avoid the dire Example bent,
Lest righteous Vengeance grow to Precedent;
And Gifts, which fiercest Anger oft appease,
And secret Friends, and secret Services.
No Pangs of Conscience struck the harden'd Mind,
To God's Right-hand and heav'nly Justice blind.
But when their boasted Engines nought avail'd,
And Gold itself, oppos'd by Virtue, fail'd;
Sudden, Alas! their groundless Quiet flies,
Unusual Doubts, and fatal Bodings rise,
Lest Wrath divine might flagrant Guilt pursue,
And who suborn false Witness die by true.
Conscious of ill-us'd Pow'r and publick Hate,
Then other Tyrants fear'd approaching Fate;
An universal Groan the Prisons gave,
And Newgate trembled thro' her inmost Cave,
Lest farther Searches farther Crimes reveal,
Which Arts infernal labour to conceal;
Lest Pity's Eye those Regions should explore,
Where Beams of Mercy never reach'd before;
Unwelcome Light on darkest Dungeons throw,
And ev'ry latent Depth of Horror show.
So, as inventive Homer's Fiction taught,
Earth-shaking Neptune for the Grecians fought;
The solid Ground quak'd to the Centre down,
The King of Shades leap'd frighted from his Throne,
Lest Earth should cleave, and Hell appear in Light,
Display'd to mortal and immortal Sight:
Drear dreadful Realms, rul'd by a Tyrant Lord,
By Man detested, and by Heav'n abhor'd!
They sneer'd and trusted to the Screen of Pow'r;
Numbers t' avoid the dire Example bent,
Lest righteous Vengeance grow to Precedent;
And Gifts, which fiercest Anger oft appease,
And secret Friends, and secret Services.
No Pangs of Conscience struck the harden'd Mind,
To God's Right-hand and heav'nly Justice blind.
But when their boasted Engines nought avail'd,
And Gold itself, oppos'd by Virtue, fail'd;
Sudden, Alas! their groundless Quiet flies,
Unusual Doubts, and fatal Bodings rise,
Lest Wrath divine might flagrant Guilt pursue,
And who suborn false Witness die by true.
Conscious of ill-us'd Pow'r and publick Hate,
Then other Tyrants fear'd approaching Fate;
An universal Groan the Prisons gave,
And Newgate trembled thro' her inmost Cave,
Lest farther Searches farther Crimes reveal,
Which Arts infernal labour to conceal;
147
Where Beams of Mercy never reach'd before;
Unwelcome Light on darkest Dungeons throw,
And ev'ry latent Depth of Horror show.
So, as inventive Homer's Fiction taught,
Earth-shaking Neptune for the Grecians fought;
The solid Ground quak'd to the Centre down,
The King of Shades leap'd frighted from his Throne,
Lest Earth should cleave, and Hell appear in Light,
Display'd to mortal and immortal Sight:
Drear dreadful Realms, rul'd by a Tyrant Lord,
By Man detested, and by Heav'n abhor'd!
Here real Pow'r Divine its Pleasure shows,
And God's Right-hand what Mortal can oppose!
Or aw'd by Mercy issuing from the Throne,
Or borne by popular Compassion down,
The wordy Fool, renown'd for Flourish long,
Suspends th' unmeaning Torrent of his Tongue;
The Friend to Knav'ry plays a publick part,
His Head o'er-bearing his corrupted Heart;
Compell'd his darling Int'rest to discard,
And speed the Motion he would fain retard:
The self-admiring Politician joins,
Spight of his open Mocks and secret Mines,
Forc'd tho' reluctant, to dissemble Good,
And share the Action he in vain withstood.
So, when from Heav'n increas'd by sudden Show'rs
The Stream swift-rolling down the Mountain pours,
A Tree's declining Trunk, which Years divide
Half from its rooted Strength, obstructs the Tide,
The rapid Course unable long to bar,
Or stem the Violence of the wat'ry War,
It yields, by Mother Earth sustain'd no more,
And swells the Torrent which it stop'd before.
And God's Right-hand what Mortal can oppose!
Or aw'd by Mercy issuing from the Throne,
Or borne by popular Compassion down,
The wordy Fool, renown'd for Flourish long,
Suspends th' unmeaning Torrent of his Tongue;
The Friend to Knav'ry plays a publick part,
His Head o'er-bearing his corrupted Heart;
Compell'd his darling Int'rest to discard,
And speed the Motion he would fain retard:
The self-admiring Politician joins,
Spight of his open Mocks and secret Mines,
Forc'd tho' reluctant, to dissemble Good,
And share the Action he in vain withstood.
So, when from Heav'n increas'd by sudden Show'rs
The Stream swift-rolling down the Mountain pours,
A Tree's declining Trunk, which Years divide
Half from its rooted Strength, obstructs the Tide,
148
Or stem the Violence of the wat'ry War,
It yields, by Mother Earth sustain'd no more,
And swells the Torrent which it stop'd before.
Proceed, disinterested Few, proceed;
Heal ev'ry Wound, and succour ev'ry Need:
Let all Britannia's Misery be redrest,
Cite ev'ry Tyrant to the righteous Test;
The Test which Innocence can never fear,
Candid tho' strict, impartial tho' severe.
No artful Guesses there to Proofs advance,
Help'd by dark dubious distant Circumstance:
Nor Bribes, nor Threats, nor hinting Prompters there
Inform the wav'ring Witness how to swear.
Go on! let none your ardent Zeal withstand,
And show'r diffusive Mercies o'er the Land;
That Heav'n by You may bless our happy Isle,
And e'en the Tradesman and the Merchant smile;
While Crowds unchain'd Your Fame with Shouts declare,
Restor'd to vital Light, and vital Air.
So sudden this Deliv'rance which they meet,
Their Grief so hopeless and their Joy so great,
Scarce to the Change they yet can credit give,
Scarce are they yet persuaded that they live!
So when th' Archangel gives the fated Sign,
(If Human Joys we liken to Divine)
The Summons universal Nature hears,
Nor pleads Prescription of six thousand Years;
Not everlasting Hills their Dead retain,
Not deep Abysses of th' unfathom'd Main;
The sleeping Saints look up with joyful Eyes,
And quick'ning at the sacred Trump, arise;
Their Pains all pass'd, their Transport to succeed,
Immortal Lives in endless bloom they lead,
From Death's tyrannick Chain, and Earth's dark Prison freed.
Heal ev'ry Wound, and succour ev'ry Need:
Let all Britannia's Misery be redrest,
Cite ev'ry Tyrant to the righteous Test;
The Test which Innocence can never fear,
Candid tho' strict, impartial tho' severe.
No artful Guesses there to Proofs advance,
Help'd by dark dubious distant Circumstance:
Nor Bribes, nor Threats, nor hinting Prompters there
Inform the wav'ring Witness how to swear.
Go on! let none your ardent Zeal withstand,
And show'r diffusive Mercies o'er the Land;
That Heav'n by You may bless our happy Isle,
And e'en the Tradesman and the Merchant smile;
While Crowds unchain'd Your Fame with Shouts declare,
Restor'd to vital Light, and vital Air.
So sudden this Deliv'rance which they meet,
Their Grief so hopeless and their Joy so great,
Scarce to the Change they yet can credit give,
Scarce are they yet persuaded that they live!
So when th' Archangel gives the fated Sign,
(If Human Joys we liken to Divine)
The Summons universal Nature hears,
Nor pleads Prescription of six thousand Years;
Not everlasting Hills their Dead retain,
Not deep Abysses of th' unfathom'd Main;
149
And quick'ning at the sacred Trump, arise;
Their Pains all pass'd, their Transport to succeed,
Immortal Lives in endless bloom they lead,
From Death's tyrannick Chain, and Earth's dark Prison freed.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |