The imperial epistle from Kien Long, Emperor of China, to George the Third, King of Great Britain &c. &c. &c. In the year 1794. Transmitted from the Emperor, and presented to His Britannic Majesty by his excellency the Right Honourable George Earl MacCartney of the Kingdom of Ireland, K. B. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Emperor of China in the years 1792, 1793, and 1794. Translated into English verse from the original Chinese poetry. With notes by various persons of eminence and distinction, and by the translator [i.e. T. J. Mathias]. Second edition |
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 | The imperial epistle from Kien Long, Emperor of China, to George the Third, King of Great Britain |  |
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THE IMPERIAL EPISTLE FROM KIEN LONG, EMPEROR OF CHINA, TO GEORGE THE THIRD, KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, &c. &c. &c. IN 1794.
Translated into English Verse from the original Chinese Poetry.
Friend of the Muse,
by every muse rever'd,
In Europe honour'd and by India fear'd,
Around whose throne, in freedom's chosen land,
In stern defence a guardian people stand,
Who feel for Britain, feel their sacred cause,
Thy just prerogative and equal laws;
Hear, Brunswick, thy Imperial Brother's song,
Firm on the base of friendship deep and strong,
E'en in my eightieth winter fancy-free,
I build the rhyme to Royalty and Thee.
In Europe honour'd and by India fear'd,
2
In stern defence a guardian people stand,
Who feel for Britain, feel their sacred cause,
Thy just prerogative and equal laws;
Hear, Brunswick, thy Imperial Brother's song,
Firm on the base of friendship deep and strong,
E'en in my eightieth winter fancy-free,
I build the rhyme to Royalty and Thee.
Here nightly by the moon, her quick'ning beams
I court reclin'd, and call Sidonian dreams,
While minstrels breathe around diviner airs,
A poet's rapture sooths a monarch's cares:
All pomp of words my sober years decline,
Simplicity and truth illume my line,
Soft as the tints Meihòa's foliage spreads,
And fragrant as the perfume Fo-sai sheds.
I court reclin'd, and call Sidonian dreams,
While minstrels breathe around diviner airs,
A poet's rapture sooths a monarch's cares:
All pomp of words my sober years decline,
Simplicity and truth illume my line,
Soft as the tints Meihòa's foliage spreads,
And fragrant as the perfume Fo-sai sheds.
3
Thanks to the power, whose well-fraught vessels bore
Thy lov'd Macartney to my friendly shore,
Whose various talents strength and grace impart
To blameless life and singleness of heart:
He came; but with no prodigies on high;
As once, beneath the frore Siberian sky,
When sent in Britain's happier hour to prove
Imperial Catherine's policy and love,
Cœlestial Venus mark'd th'auspicious way
In dusky passage o'er the orb of day.
Thy lov'd Macartney to my friendly shore,
Whose various talents strength and grace impart
To blameless life and singleness of heart:
He came; but with no prodigies on high;
As once, beneath the frore Siberian sky,
When sent in Britain's happier hour to prove
Imperial Catherine's policy and love,
Cœlestial Venus mark'd th'auspicious way
In dusky passage o'er the orb of day.
When such thy ministers that round me tend,
A willing ear to Albion's wish I lend.
Long has her trident aw'd the subject main,
Nor e'er unfurl'd her swelling sails in vain;
Ne'er did her voice in idle thunder speak,
But crush'd the haughty, and upheld the weak.
By Thee inspir'd, her fame unspotted stood,
No taint of avarice and no guilt of blood;
Beneficent and mild from pole to pole
Commerce was taught through mercy's tides to roll,
To pour each cultivated blessing wide,
To give new motives to a nation's pride,
And blend with artful, but harmonious strife,
The law of int'rest with the light of life.
Such course thou bad'st th'immortal Sailor run,
Who made discovery where he saw no sun;
Contending nations own'd their common trust,
And France, (for then her Louis liv'd) was just:
Now other climes and other groves among
While loud lament is heard or plaintive song,
To Him let China's monarch fondly turn,
And twine the wreath round Cook's barbaric urn.
A willing ear to Albion's wish I lend.
Long has her trident aw'd the subject main,
Nor e'er unfurl'd her swelling sails in vain;
Ne'er did her voice in idle thunder speak,
But crush'd the haughty, and upheld the weak.
4
No taint of avarice and no guilt of blood;
Beneficent and mild from pole to pole
Commerce was taught through mercy's tides to roll,
To pour each cultivated blessing wide,
To give new motives to a nation's pride,
And blend with artful, but harmonious strife,
The law of int'rest with the light of life.
Such course thou bad'st th'immortal Sailor run,
Who made discovery where he saw no sun;
Contending nations own'd their common trust,
And France, (for then her Louis liv'd) was just:
Now other climes and other groves among
While loud lament is heard or plaintive song,
To Him let China's monarch fondly turn,
And twine the wreath round Cook's barbaric urn.
While such thy views, while such thy righteous aim,
Her proud pre-eminence shall Albion claim,
And meaner jealousies and tricks of state
Yield to whate'er is good, whate'er is great.
Her proud pre-eminence shall Albion claim,
And meaner jealousies and tricks of state
Yield to whate'er is good, whate'er is great.
But oh, what phrase of love may best befit,
How most may China's sovereign grace thy Pitt?
Arch-chemic minister! his prime decree
Refresh'd thy land with Commutation-Tea;
Wholesome and pure the beverage chears the sight,
By strange filtration thro' earth, air, and light.
Great minister! whose fame may well engage
The prose of Lauderdale and all his rage;
And yet untouch'd by Him, with Roman claim
Who left the shadow of a mighty name.
See how the sick'ning stars in Portland's train
Fade one by one from Opposition's plain,
As forth his chosen charms the Enchanter flings,
Ribbands and vice-roys, earls, and garter'd strings.
How most may China's sovereign grace thy Pitt?
Arch-chemic minister! his prime decree
Refresh'd thy land with Commutation-Tea;
5
By strange filtration thro' earth, air, and light.
Great minister! whose fame may well engage
The prose of Lauderdale and all his rage;
And yet untouch'd by Him, with Roman claim
Who left the shadow of a mighty name.
See how the sick'ning stars in Portland's train
Fade one by one from Opposition's plain,
As forth his chosen charms the Enchanter flings,
Ribbands and vice-roys, earls, and garter'd strings.
Oh, that my longing eye Pitt's form might greet,
Triumphant borne through Pekin's crowded street,
In boots of silk and sattin's trailing length,
Choulah supreme! my kingdom's grace and strength:
Around his waist I'd bind to solemn view
The scarf of yellow's proud imperial hue,
Where, broider'd bold, thy lion's golden might
With China's five-claw'd dragon should unite;
Rubies should on his cap transparent glow,
And peacock's plumes adown his vesture flow:
Loungers with lengthen'd nails should march before,
And to the nine add one black whisker more;
Then should the bust of virtuous Lin-fou shine,
Lin-fou, who lives in my immortal line:
Next in high portraiture, or bold relief,
Should gleam the image of each British chief,
Of all who swell the sails, or guide the helm,
Hope of thy land, or glories of thy realm;
While trophies of the wise, the just, the brave,
In orient hues and banner'd pomp should wave.
Triumphant borne through Pekin's crowded street,
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Choulah supreme! my kingdom's grace and strength:
Around his waist I'd bind to solemn view
The scarf of yellow's proud imperial hue,
Where, broider'd bold, thy lion's golden might
With China's five-claw'd dragon should unite;
Rubies should on his cap transparent glow,
And peacock's plumes adown his vesture flow:
7
And to the nine add one black whisker more;
Then should the bust of virtuous Lin-fou shine,
Lin-fou, who lives in my immortal line:
Next in high portraiture, or bold relief,
Should gleam the image of each British chief,
Of all who swell the sails, or guide the helm,
Hope of thy land, or glories of thy realm;
While trophies of the wise, the just, the brave,
In orient hues and banner'd pomp should wave.
First o'er thy ocean with terrific frown,
Victorious grac'd with England's rostral crown,
The scourge of vaunting France, unshaken Howe,
With Fabian firmness and unruffled brow.
Then be the form of great Cornwallis seen,
Sedate, experienc'd, valiant, and serene;
Depicted in the tablet stand below
The filial hostage and imperial foe:
Beyond Mysore he thunder'd: the dread sound
Appall'd, and circumscrib'd the tyrant's bound.
Next, with sad registers of treasur'd lore,
Financial scrolls, and many an Indian crore,
Burnish'd in breathing bronze, behold him pass,
Fearless, who knows alone no change, Dundas.
Victorious grac'd with England's rostral crown,
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With Fabian firmness and unruffled brow.
Then be the form of great Cornwallis seen,
Sedate, experienc'd, valiant, and serene;
Depicted in the tablet stand below
The filial hostage and imperial foe:
Beyond Mysore he thunder'd: the dread sound
Appall'd, and circumscrib'd the tyrant's bound.
Next, with sad registers of treasur'd lore,
Financial scrolls, and many an Indian crore,
Burnish'd in breathing bronze, behold him pass,
Fearless, who knows alone no change, Dundas.
He comes, the motley wonder of the time,
Moulded in nature's and in fancy's prime,
Form'd, like Lucullus, for the wordy war,
To shake the stage, the senate, or the bar;
Whose wit a people's plaudits could secure
For gamesters, rakes, and brothellers impure,
Could tear from youth the dread of public shame,
Drive from their lips e'en virtue's very name,
And train an easy nation to allow
A public bankrupt with a graceful bow;
A stage-man Portland never would respect,
But with Athenian dignity reject;
No cabinet for Sheridan, no trust,
While England in her statesmen dares be just.
Moulded in nature's and in fancy's prime,
Form'd, like Lucullus, for the wordy war,
To shake the stage, the senate, or the bar;
Whose wit a people's plaudits could secure
For gamesters, rakes, and brothellers impure,
Could tear from youth the dread of public shame,
Drive from their lips e'en virtue's very name,
And train an easy nation to allow
A public bankrupt with a graceful bow;
9
But with Athenian dignity reject;
No cabinet for Sheridan, no trust,
While England in her statesmen dares be just.
10
He too, who kindled at a holier flame
His wit, his learning, and superior fame;
Onward with more than Tully's force he prest,
With more than all, but Tully's judgment, blest;
High truth and large discourse with wisdom fraught,
Not better heard in Tusculum, he taught:
In every realm of every science found,
Plain are his steps in all—but Græcian ground.
A temple last he rear'd by art divine,
And plac'd his Cæsar in the central shrine;
High priest himself, but not with olive crown'd,
His forehead was with martial fillets bound;
Within some feeble pillars here and there,
And idle ornaments for want of care,
But marble still the column and the dome,
Wrought from those quarries which he found at home;
Immortal, though unfinish'd, is the work:
Why name the architect? who knows not Burke?
His wit, his learning, and superior fame;
Onward with more than Tully's force he prest,
With more than all, but Tully's judgment, blest;
High truth and large discourse with wisdom fraught,
Not better heard in Tusculum, he taught:
In every realm of every science found,
Plain are his steps in all—but Græcian ground.
A temple last he rear'd by art divine,
And plac'd his Cæsar in the central shrine;
High priest himself, but not with olive crown'd,
His forehead was with martial fillets bound;
Within some feeble pillars here and there,
And idle ornaments for want of care,
But marble still the column and the dome,
Wrought from those quarries which he found at home;
Immortal, though unfinish'd, is the work:
Why name the architect? who knows not Burke?
11
Next Wyndham, fearless thund'ring from his car,
Pitt's new Tyrtæus, breathes the blast of war;
With parts a splendid station to adorn,
He braves the taunt of democratic scorn,
With eloquence and strength, his country's friend,
To think and act, and what he thinks, defend.
Pitt's new Tyrtæus, breathes the blast of war;
With parts a splendid station to adorn,
He braves the taunt of democratic scorn,
With eloquence and strength, his country's friend,
To think and act, and what he thinks, defend.
And veering Loughborough, whose unquiet mind
Found late that joy ambition scarce can find:
He came, though not in Latium to repose,
But burn in conflict with a nation's foes,
Yet still, though thron'd in Thurlow's rightful place,
His words want weight which never wanted grace.
Found late that joy ambition scarce can find:
He came, though not in Latium to repose,
But burn in conflict with a nation's foes,
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His words want weight which never wanted grace.
Lo, the grave Grenville, with a patriot's end
Who dar'd to sink the rival in the friend;
Content could leave the Commons and the Chair
To breathe with Lords a more convenient air.
There too, upon Hibernia's sainted green,
Should Buckingham, without his boots, be seen;
Mark how the citizens suspend in state
His leathern trophies on the Castle gate.
Who dar'd to sink the rival in the friend;
Content could leave the Commons and the Chair
To breathe with Lords a more convenient air.
There too, upon Hibernia's sainted green,
Should Buckingham, without his boots, be seen;
13
His leathern trophies on the Castle gate.
Then He, whom e'en fraternal worth could fail,
The plume-pluckt Chatham with a raven's tail;
And garter'd Richmond, whose unblason'd shield
Proves honour to œconomy should yield;
And Malagrida, with his wily leer,
Sense that misleads, but words that charm the ear.
The plume-pluckt Chatham with a raven's tail;
And garter'd Richmond, whose unblason'd shield
Proves honour to œconomy should yield;
And Malagrida, with his wily leer,
Sense that misleads, but words that charm the ear.
Fresh from Hermippus and his doctrine brisk,
In saffron sock old Cardigan should frisk,
With Ailesb'ry, graceful in his walking-dress,
And Dorset, prompt the lively dame to bless:
And there, insatiate yet with folly's sport,
That polish'd sin-worn fragment of the court,
The shade of Queensb'ry should with Clermont meet,
Ogling and hobbling down St. James's street.
But mark the courteous philanthropic form
Of Leeds, sagacious of each brooding storm;
Of wit well manner'd, skill'd at once to please,
Resign with candour, and dissent with ease;
Though wary, bold and manly is his part,
And England's honour ever at his heart.
In saffron sock old Cardigan should frisk,
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And Dorset, prompt the lively dame to bless:
And there, insatiate yet with folly's sport,
That polish'd sin-worn fragment of the court,
The shade of Queensb'ry should with Clermont meet,
Ogling and hobbling down St. James's street.
But mark the courteous philanthropic form
Of Leeds, sagacious of each brooding storm;
Of wit well manner'd, skill'd at once to please,
Resign with candour, and dissent with ease;
Though wary, bold and manly is his part,
And England's honour ever at his heart.
Then should thy sacred Orators appear;
Horsley in front, while Watson in the rear
The chemic dews of peace around him flings,
A pluvial prelate, from his lawny wings:
And hapless he, whose sad unworthy tale
Is heard in Winchester's opprobrious vale;
Forc'd by a fierce, luxurious, gambling wife,
From all the hallow'd dignities of life,
His high-paid duties, and his sacred home,
Exil'd in lewd Italian climes to roam;
Now
while thy Sion in desponding strain
Invokes the Fathers from her inmost fane;
Why slumbers thy Arch-Pontiff? on that shore
Who from embodied dulness rouses Moore?
And, while the pillars of thy temples bow,
Why circles not the mitre Paley's brow?
Horsley in front, while Watson in the rear
The chemic dews of peace around him flings,
A pluvial prelate, from his lawny wings:
And hapless he, whose sad unworthy tale
Is heard in Winchester's opprobrious vale;
15
From all the hallow'd dignities of life,
His high-paid duties, and his sacred home,
Exil'd in lewd Italian climes to roam;
16
Invokes the Fathers from her inmost fane;
Why slumbers thy Arch-Pontiff? on that shore
Who from embodied dulness rouses Moore?
And, while the pillars of thy temples bow,
Why circles not the mitre Paley's brow?
Next see the learned Parr, in judgment weak,
Who first lampoon'd a minister in Greek;
By merit rais'd above his buff compeers
In shag and title, “Master of the Bears;”
He marks the den, whence 'mid the bestial herds
The unfrock'd Grammarian hurls his redwing'd words;
And mourns, transfix'd by the prelatic spear,
Expiring Priestley on his western bier.
Who first lampoon'd a minister in Greek;
By merit rais'd above his buff compeers
In shag and title, “Master of the Bears;”
17
The unfrock'd Grammarian hurls his redwing'd words;
And mourns, transfix'd by the prelatic spear,
Expiring Priestley on his western bier.
Then Bedford, late by public views inspir'd,
Cool at New-market, nor at hazard fir'd;
Oeconomy the order of his day,
In lease, in love, in building, or in play:
Revers'd see now the youthful statesman start,
Splendor and greatness beating at his heart,
Full to the goal he pants for dubious fame,
And slights the virtuous honours of his name.
Cool at New-market, nor at hazard fir'd;
Oeconomy the order of his day,
In lease, in love, in building, or in play:
18
Splendor and greatness beating at his heart,
Full to the goal he pants for dubious fame,
And slights the virtuous honours of his name.
Next feeble Portland, whom Pitt call'd to share
A forc'd alliance and distracted care:
Fitzwilliam too!—but fate conceals the page:
Hibernian policy and Romish rage,
Hot from the hell of Loyola, may rise
With discord starting to unmeasur'd size,
Struck with unhallow'd phrenzy to divide
A sister land from Britain's guardian side:
Pause, while ye may, yet friendly chiefs! the care,
The cause, the blood, are one: forbear, forbear.
A forc'd alliance and distracted care:
Fitzwilliam too!—but fate conceals the page:
Hibernian policy and Romish rage,
Hot from the hell of Loyola, may rise
With discord starting to unmeasur'd size,
Struck with unhallow'd phrenzy to divide
A sister land from Britain's guardian side:
Pause, while ye may, yet friendly chiefs! the care,
The cause, the blood, are one: forbear, forbear.
19
In Anglo-Russic bronze should Fox come forth;
I'd spare the blushes of degraded worth:
Oh had he ever to himself been true,
Nor chang'd the pristine patriot for the new,
Discretion had repress'd Burke's headlong rage,
And England wanted one immortal page.
I'd spare the blushes of degraded worth:
Oh had he ever to himself been true,
Nor chang'd the pristine patriot for the new,
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And England wanted one immortal page.
Mark disappointed Thurlow's scowling mien;
Happy—had Pepper Arden never been;
Him shall the wool-sack, him the Chancery mourn,
And Thurlow, Thurlow every bench return.
With candid Scott, impassion'd, but serene,
Lo, where appears Macdonald's polish'd mien;
And angry Kenyon, from state-troubles turn'd,
Just, and in all, but graceful learning, learn'd:
And the Bar-pleader, whom mobs call divine,
Known by the symbols of I, me, and mine:
With the boy-candidates for public praise,
The Whitbreads, Cannings, Lambtons, Jenkys, Greys,
All, from the promise of whose rising ray
England expects a brighter, steadier day.
Happy—had Pepper Arden never been;
Him shall the wool-sack, him the Chancery mourn,
And Thurlow, Thurlow every bench return.
With candid Scott, impassion'd, but serene,
Lo, where appears Macdonald's polish'd mien;
21
Just, and in all, but graceful learning, learn'd:
And the Bar-pleader, whom mobs call divine,
Known by the symbols of I, me, and mine:
22
The Whitbreads, Cannings, Lambtons, Jenkys, Greys,
All, from the promise of whose rising ray
England expects a brighter, steadier day.
But last, in regal grandeur once erect,
Now in wan splendor and with eyes deject,
Hastings, that great, that injur'd, dubious name,
The glory of thy India, or the shame;
Through truth, through lies, through eloquence, through pride,
Borne down in Burke's unnavigable tide.
How fades the laurel on that haughty brow
Jove's thunder spar'd! who made the nations bow,
While in his grasp, by fame and honour grac'd,
Britain thy delegated sceptre plac'd:
State-victim now, deluded while secure,
Flesh'd for the altar, and for Pitt mature;
Though vers'd in every wile, he learn'd too late
That love in ministers is secret hate:
For him, thus humbled in Impeachment's weeds,
To tardy justice England bends and pleads.
Now in wan splendor and with eyes deject,
Hastings, that great, that injur'd, dubious name,
The glory of thy India, or the shame;
Through truth, through lies, through eloquence, through pride,
Borne down in Burke's unnavigable tide.
How fades the laurel on that haughty brow
Jove's thunder spar'd! who made the nations bow,
While in his grasp, by fame and honour grac'd,
Britain thy delegated sceptre plac'd:
State-victim now, deluded while secure,
Flesh'd for the altar, and for Pitt mature;
Though vers'd in every wile, he learn'd too late
That love in ministers is secret hate:
For him, thus humbled in Impeachment's weeds,
To tardy justice England bends and pleads.
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While thus they pass, my Mandarins should bend,
And to my throne Pitt's palanquin attend;
Trumpets of Outong-chu his praise unfold,
And steely crescents gleam in semblance bold;
With repercussive notes from impulse strong
Air thunders, rolls the drum, and groans the Gong;
Flambeaux of odorous wood, and lanterns bright
In eastern prodigality of light;
The cluster'd radiance of the fields above,
And pictur'd planets in their orders move,
Seraphic emblems! and in azure car
Thy Herschel pointing to his Georgian Star:
For Pitt the portals of the south expand,
And on my marble he alone should stand,
While from the mountain of the agate seal
His titled worth my Jasper should reveal;
Then, as in natal splendor, should be brought
The chequer'd vest by learned fingers wrought;
While with slow-pacing steps in gorgeous rows
The solemn pomp my sons of science close;
Their heads aloft my elephants should toss,
Morton cry, Morgu, and Sir Clement, Boss;
The full Tartarian chorus sounding far,
Hail, minister of peace—but not of war!
And to my throne Pitt's palanquin attend;
Trumpets of Outong-chu his praise unfold,
And steely crescents gleam in semblance bold;
With repercussive notes from impulse strong
Air thunders, rolls the drum, and groans the Gong;
Flambeaux of odorous wood, and lanterns bright
In eastern prodigality of light;
The cluster'd radiance of the fields above,
And pictur'd planets in their orders move,
24
Thy Herschel pointing to his Georgian Star:
For Pitt the portals of the south expand,
And on my marble he alone should stand,
While from the mountain of the agate seal
His titled worth my Jasper should reveal;
Then, as in natal splendor, should be brought
The chequer'd vest by learned fingers wrought;
25
The solemn pomp my sons of science close;
Their heads aloft my elephants should toss,
Morton cry, Morgu, and Sir Clement, Boss;
The full Tartarian chorus sounding far,
Hail, minister of peace—but not of war!
Ah me! too fondly does my fancy dream:
Pitt hears not; and would slight the imperial theme,
Though all my wealth Macartney's voice should speak,
Or learn'd Sir George in chinese or in greek,
Or Chet-qua's self, admir'd by beau and belle,
Chet-qua, whom all the world knew passing well;
Ne'er shall my eyes behold in Tartar gown
The chosen Minister of England's crown.
Pitt hears not; and would slight the imperial theme,
Though all my wealth Macartney's voice should speak,
Or learn'd Sir George in chinese or in greek,
Or Chet-qua's self, admir'd by beau and belle,
Chet-qua, whom all the world knew passing well;
26
The chosen Minister of England's crown.
I hail thy favour'd Island, that can boast,
Foster'd by Thee, those arts which Athens lost:
Apelles in thy Reynolds shall revive,
And in a Bacon great Lysippus live:
Thine too the poet's care; nor Cowper's strain,
Nor Scotland's Doric Minstrel sounds in vain;
But chief that care shall Johnson's virtue prove,
Led by the day-star beaming from above.
A nation's taste to rouse and to refine,
Handel by Thee was rais'd to strength divine;
The monumental marble breath'd: from high
His wond'ring spirit stoop'd, and own'd the harmony.
Such the instruction, such the grace, secur'd
By balanc'd rights, and policy matur'd.
Foster'd by Thee, those arts which Athens lost:
Apelles in thy Reynolds shall revive,
And in a Bacon great Lysippus live:
Thine too the poet's care; nor Cowper's strain,
Nor Scotland's Doric Minstrel sounds in vain;
But chief that care shall Johnson's virtue prove,
Led by the day-star beaming from above.
A nation's taste to rouse and to refine,
Handel by Thee was rais'd to strength divine;
27
His wond'ring spirit stoop'd, and own'd the harmony.
Such the instruction, such the grace, secur'd
By balanc'd rights, and policy matur'd.
While I, reclin'd on Camusathkin down,
Careless forget the labours of my crown;
Or chance some playful Vice-roy's doom deplore,
Hurl'd by dread Venus to the fated shore;
For gravest Mandarins, in hours of joy,
Here oft with tittering pleasure-misses toy,
Charter'd unquestion'd libertines of love,
Heirs in expectance of the myrtle grove;
With them in lunar halls and odorous bow'rs,
Voluptuous, shun the blaze of sultry hours,
Skill'd with light spells of wantonness to chase
The murky Man-chew from the enchanted space:
For them I frame, whom trifles best may please,
A smile of softness or a sonnet's ease;
Not as for Thee, with more than Theban fire,
Sustain the weight of my imperial lyre.
Careless forget the labours of my crown;
Or chance some playful Vice-roy's doom deplore,
Hurl'd by dread Venus to the fated shore;
For gravest Mandarins, in hours of joy,
Here oft with tittering pleasure-misses toy,
Charter'd unquestion'd libertines of love,
Heirs in expectance of the myrtle grove;
With them in lunar halls and odorous bow'rs,
Voluptuous, shun the blaze of sultry hours,
Skill'd with light spells of wantonness to chase
The murky Man-chew from the enchanted space:
28
A smile of softness or a sonnet's ease;
Not as for Thee, with more than Theban fire,
Sustain the weight of my imperial lyre.
Thee last I trace with reverence, and survey
The awful wonders of thy various day;
Thy nation's darling still! though Scotland's star
Shed brief malignant heat, and scorch'd afar,
Till proudly rising on the vantage ground
Great Chatham stood, and shook the realms around:
Prophet of future fate! his potent word
Thy people o'er the vast Atlantic heard,
And as the winds his voice ill-omen'd bore,
Methought the sceptre sunk—to rise no more.
The awful wonders of thy various day;
Thy nation's darling still! though Scotland's star
Shed brief malignant heat, and scorch'd afar,
Till proudly rising on the vantage ground
Great Chatham stood, and shook the realms around:
Prophet of future fate! his potent word
Thy people o'er the vast Atlantic heard,
And as the winds his voice ill-omen'd bore,
Methought the sceptre sunk—to rise no more.
Close we that scene: for other scenes are near;
Darkness, and discontent, distrust, and fear,
And brooding policy in novel forms
Call o'er the deep of empire clouds and storms.
And wild those storms would rend Britannia's field,
Should patriot bands the rod of faction wield,
While law, religion, property they seize,
And senates tremble at their own decrees.
Sweeping with Reformation's iron sway,
They'd crush each hand that scrupled to obey,
From splendor's robe each proud distinction wipe,
And place a barren bauble in thy gripe:
Then mitred fathers, and the ermin'd peer,
And ancestry, and all to honour dear,
The fond well-earn'd rewards of ancient worth,
All, spirits disembodied, leave the earth:
These are state-blots which, in their dread intent,
Should be ras'd out in their first parliament.
For each empiric, quacks of state or church,
Now hate all truth, but truths of grand research;
They round their phrase with studied nothings, call
Sophistic pomp, and meaner minds appall,
Then unawares the strong conclusion draw,
The master of the Prince is master of the Law.
Darkness, and discontent, distrust, and fear,
And brooding policy in novel forms
Call o'er the deep of empire clouds and storms.
And wild those storms would rend Britannia's field,
Should patriot bands the rod of faction wield,
While law, religion, property they seize,
And senates tremble at their own decrees.
Sweeping with Reformation's iron sway,
They'd crush each hand that scrupled to obey,
From splendor's robe each proud distinction wipe,
And place a barren bauble in thy gripe:
29
And ancestry, and all to honour dear,
The fond well-earn'd rewards of ancient worth,
All, spirits disembodied, leave the earth:
These are state-blots which, in their dread intent,
Should be ras'd out in their first parliament.
For each empiric, quacks of state or church,
Now hate all truth, but truths of grand research;
They round their phrase with studied nothings, call
Sophistic pomp, and meaner minds appall,
Then unawares the strong conclusion draw,
The master of the Prince is master of the Law.
Nor Thou, in fancied strength too safely wise,
Their base-born dark original despise.
Whence draws the Sun dire vapour? whence conspire
The thundrous tempest, and the lightning's fire?
From lake, and lazy pool, and weeds obscene,
The abode of putrid pestilence unclean,
The Elemental fury from afar
Collects and scatters wide æthereal war,
Ranging without confine, without controll;
E'en heav'ns own firmament oft seems to roll,
And from the fated momentaneous shock
Eternal impress marks the riven rock;
The arch of majesty, the temple's dome,
The pillar'd hall, the peasant's low-rooft home,
Alike in undistinguish'd ruin fall,
And shapeless desolation equals all.
Their base-born dark original despise.
Whence draws the Sun dire vapour? whence conspire
The thundrous tempest, and the lightning's fire?
From lake, and lazy pool, and weeds obscene,
The abode of putrid pestilence unclean,
The Elemental fury from afar
Collects and scatters wide æthereal war,
Ranging without confine, without controll;
E'en heav'ns own firmament oft seems to roll,
And from the fated momentaneous shock
Eternal impress marks the riven rock;
The arch of majesty, the temple's dome,
The pillar'd hall, the peasant's low-rooft home,
30
And shapeless desolation equals all.
Through Europe's bounds, 'tis her devoted age,
Fires from within and central thunders rage.
On Gallia's shores I mark the unhallow'd pow'r,
Her godless regents feel the madd'ning hour,
Dread architects of ruin and of crime,
In revolution's permanence sublime,
And cruel nonsense! o'er th'astonish'd world
The flag of dire equality unfurl'd,
Drizzling with blood of millions streams in air,
The scroll, fraternal freedom, death, despair
They pass: nor Rhine nor Rubicon they know:
Torrents may roar or tranquil streams may flow,
In unappall'd protrusion on they burst,
All nations cursing, by all nations curst.
Lo, Belgium yields to unresisted fate;
Within her ministers of terror wait:
Nature with rod petrific smites the land,
And binds the floods in adamantine band,
Till Gallia's Chief in right of William sways,
And Freedom, once with life-drops bought, obeys.
See where dismember'd trembling Spain resigns
Golconda's radiance, and Potosi's mines:
The pillars of The Eternal City bow,
And the tiara from the Pontiff's brow
Drops to the dust: no more in Peter's fane
The Consistorial Brotherhood shall reign:
Yet see; the turban nods by factions torn;
A length'ning, sad, and sullen sound is borne
Around Sophia's hallow'd conscious walls,
Mutt'ring the doom denounc'd: her crescent falls:
Still view, in western climes Death's palest horse
With pestilence and slaughter marks his course,
While dusky tribes, with more than maniac rage
Rending their brazen bonds, in war engage;
For France still burns to make, with dire intent,
Hell and this world one realm, one continent!
Fires from within and central thunders rage.
On Gallia's shores I mark the unhallow'd pow'r,
Her godless regents feel the madd'ning hour,
Dread architects of ruin and of crime,
In revolution's permanence sublime,
And cruel nonsense! o'er th'astonish'd world
The flag of dire equality unfurl'd,
Drizzling with blood of millions streams in air,
The scroll, fraternal freedom, death, despair
They pass: nor Rhine nor Rubicon they know:
Torrents may roar or tranquil streams may flow,
In unappall'd protrusion on they burst,
All nations cursing, by all nations curst.
Lo, Belgium yields to unresisted fate;
Within her ministers of terror wait:
Nature with rod petrific smites the land,
And binds the floods in adamantine band,
Till Gallia's Chief in right of William sways,
And Freedom, once with life-drops bought, obeys.
31
Golconda's radiance, and Potosi's mines:
The pillars of The Eternal City bow,
And the tiara from the Pontiff's brow
Drops to the dust: no more in Peter's fane
The Consistorial Brotherhood shall reign:
Yet see; the turban nods by factions torn;
A length'ning, sad, and sullen sound is borne
Around Sophia's hallow'd conscious walls,
Mutt'ring the doom denounc'd: her crescent falls:
Still view, in western climes Death's palest horse
With pestilence and slaughter marks his course,
While dusky tribes, with more than maniac rage
Rending their brazen bonds, in war engage;
For France still burns to make, with dire intent,
Hell and this world one realm, one continent!
Yet once attend, great Brunswick; nor in vain
Hear thy Imperial Brother's closing strain.
Thee from thy people may no thought divide,
The statesman's rashness, or Reformer's pride;
Reason and her fond visions still distrust;
What, but experience, makes a kingdom just?
Fix'd on her ancient base let England rest;
And public danger arm the public breast;
On British sense depend. On foreign fame
To proud Versailles the fatal stranger came,
New laws, new policy, new truth to tell,
And by new maxims the vast fabric fell.
Hear thy Imperial Brother's closing strain.
Thee from thy people may no thought divide,
The statesman's rashness, or Reformer's pride;
Reason and her fond visions still distrust;
What, but experience, makes a kingdom just?
Fix'd on her ancient base let England rest;
And public danger arm the public breast;
32
To proud Versailles the fatal stranger came,
New laws, new policy, new truth to tell,
And by new maxims the vast fabric fell.
Oh, should thy nation slight her just alarms,
Nor Gallic truths dread more than Gallic arms,
Thy diadem must fade; the Tyrian die
Sink in the scarlet of democracy;
All dignities of brighter times will fail;
No wisdom o'er the midnight lamp grow pale,
But knowledge, fancy, genius, all retire,
And faint and death-struck learning will expire:
Look round the land, there nothing shall be found
But swords to guard, and ploughs to till the ground.
Nor Gallic truths dread more than Gallic arms,
Thy diadem must fade; the Tyrian die
Sink in the scarlet of democracy;
All dignities of brighter times will fail;
No wisdom o'er the midnight lamp grow pale,
But knowledge, fancy, genius, all retire,
And faint and death-struck learning will expire:
Look round the land, there nothing shall be found
But swords to guard, and ploughs to till the ground.
Though now awhile beneath the afflictive rod
Supernal Power may bid thy Albion nod,
Humbled in due prostration may she bend,
And her far-fam'd beneficence extend:
Then, all her ancient energies erect,
Strength from herself and from her God expect,
And on her rocky ramparts bold, alone
Maintain her laws, and vindicate thy throne.
Supernal Power may bid thy Albion nod,
Humbled in due prostration may she bend,
And her far-fam'd beneficence extend:
Then, all her ancient energies erect,
Strength from herself and from her God expect,
And on her rocky ramparts bold, alone
Maintain her laws, and vindicate thy throne.
FINIS.
The institution of the Academy for painting and sculpture, the patronage of poetical and learned merit in Cowper, Beattie, the late Dr. Johnson and other writers of eminence whom it is unnecessary to mention, and the restoration of national taste for the sublime of music, by his persevering and undeviating regard for Handel, are fully sufficient to entitle his present majesty George III. “The Friend of the Muse.”—The Emperor notices this in a future part of his Epistle. Note by the Translator.
Templum de marmore ponam;
In medio mihi Cæsar erit, templumque tenebit.
Virg. Georg. l. 3.
In medio mihi Cæsar erit, templumque tenebit.
Virg. Georg. l. 3.
The emperor considers Mr. Burke's three treatises on French affairs, entitled, “Reflections on the Revolution in France; a Letter to a member of the National Assembly, and his Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs,” under the allegory of a Temple.
Note by the Translator.The translator has improperly rendered the Emperor's original Chinese word Too-paa-josh, a vale, which my researches in that language enable me to interpret a sacred eminence, or hill or temple. He is certainly wrong, and the Emperor was right.— My duty in the long absence of my bishop on the Continent, which the Emperor cannot mark in too strong terms at such a time and for such a cause, (though the bishop is a man of private worth and amiable character) requires a few observations from me. It is notorious to this whole kingdom that the ministry, from the best motives of mercy, humanity and toleration, originally fitted up the K's House at Winchester as an asylum for the Emigrant Priests. It is as notorious, that it is now something more than an asylum; it is a sacred college; it is the head-quarters of the catholic cause in this country, a seminary where near one Thousand Romish Priests are publickly maintained, where ordinations, conversions, instructions, and all the business of their dark divan are held, and which water all their schools old and new. I should think the following words framed for the occasion, if Milton had not written them:
“Not content“With their audacious neighbourhood; they build
“Their temple, right against the temple of God,
“On the opprobrious Hill.”
P.L. b. 1. See Milton's Account of Moloch at large.
It is a public cause of consideration: we know what the Emperor did with the Jesuit Missionaries in China, when they became troublesome. They should, if possible, be sent out of our country; if that cannot yet be, they should be instantly dispersed. History informs us what Ulysses was; it is the part of government to guard against what he may again be; and to see that Troy may stand and the citadel of Priam and of Protestantism may remain. I speak for the publick; and I speak with the expectation of being publickly heard.
Note communicated (ex officio) by the Rev. Newton Ogle D.D. Dean of Winchester in 1795.N. B. This note was written by the Dean of Winchester in 1795, and there are now stronger and more powerful reasons for attending to his public remonstrance. It is well known that the whole collection of these priests now consists of not above one third (if so much) of the original emigrants; the remainder being now supplied with boy-priests, (little superior to acolythes) who are not emigrants, pert and insolent to the members of our established church, without the least gratitude for the unequalled and inconsiderate protection which they receive from the state. Besides this, nunneries and monasteries are openly and avowedly rising in different parts of the kingdom, and these Romish conies, burrowing into the heart of it, will shortly be found to be no feeble folk. We discover in these members of the Romish church the same principles with their ancestors, the same spirit, the same dark intrigues, the same intolerance, the same immortal and unquenchable hatred of Protestant heresy, the same insinuating or domineering manner (as the occasion may require) in the priests and spiritual guides, the same love of the sacred sulphur at their hearts, the same assertions of their original rights and inheritance in this land—in short, Viscera magnarum domuum, dominique futuri, if Mr. Pitt and the ministry will not attend to the Dean's words which, beyond all controversy, are true.
Note added by the Translator in 1796.Horne Tooke.—In August 1771, The Divine wrote thus of himself; “Monument I shall have none; but over my grave it will be said, in Junius's own words, Horne's situation did not correspond with his intentions.” Junius's Letters. After his acquittal from the charge of high treason in 1794, Mr. Horne Tooke felt that he had lived to be his own Commentator. Note by the Translator
| The imperial epistle from Kien Long, Emperor of China, to George the Third, King of Great Britain | |