The battle of the Nile, a poem by William Sotheby |
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TO EARL SPENCER, FIRST LORD COMMISSIONER OF THE ADMIRALTY, &c.
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 | The battle of the Nile, a poem |  |
TO EARL SPENCER, FIRST LORD COMMISSIONER OF THE ADMIRALTY, &c.
SPENCER! were mine the pow'r, by lofty lays,Guerdon of high desert, to lift thy name
On the proud column of recording fame,
I, to bold notes, that swell the song of praise,
Had tun'd the lyre—th' immortal meed be thine,
That Freedom wreaths the patriot's brow around!—
For at thy country's call, thou, foremost found,
Did'st leave the groves where science wont to twine
Thy chaplet richly grac'd with classic flowers—
Yet, Britain claims thy care:—yet firmly guide
Her fleets to conquest born on every tide—
So shall fair Peace, with Glory in her train,
Woo thee to Althorp's tranquil haunts again,
And Victory's naval crown adorn the muses' bowr's!
| The battle of the Nile, a poem | |