His conquest by his piety restrain'd, And o'er himself the last great triumph gain'd. No longer shall their wretched zeal adore Spirits that hurt, and godheads that devour: In valour that preserv'd, and power that blest. 410 Through the large convex of the azure sky Till ardent prayer averts the public woe: O Janus! would intreated Fate conspire 420 Above, that sun should cease his way to go, Urges all that e'er was born: 430 Snatch'd from her arms, Britannia once must mourn Let them retard the threaten'd day! 440 Add lasting age, adorn'd and crown'd with peace: Long let this growing era bless his sway: To bear the hero through his father's sky, ; 450 Rever'd by men, and dear to Jove. To triumph over vanquish'd night, 460 AN ODE. INSCRIBED TO THE MEMORY OF THE HONOURABLE COLONEL GEORGE VILLIERS,* DROWNED IN THE RIVER PIAVA, IN THE COUNTRY OF FRIULI, MDCCIII. IN IMITATION OF HORACE, ODE 28, LIB. I. Te maris et terræ numeroque carentis arenæ AY, dearest Villiers, poor departed friend, (Since fleeting life thus suddenly must end) Say, what did all thy busy hopes avail, That anxious thou from pole to pole didst sail; Ere on thy chin the springing beard began Colonel George Villiers was in the marine service. When this accident happened to him he was accompanied by William Courtenay, Esq., son of Sir William Courtenay, a captain in his regiment, and both shared the same fate. They had been out on an excursion to see the country. 10 To spread a doubtful down, and promise man? Alike must every state, and every age For neither William's power, nor Mary's charms, Young Churchill* fell, as life began to bloom: 20 30 John Churchill, Marquis of Blandford, only son of John, Duke of Marlborough by Sarah his duchess. He died 10th March, 1702, aged 16, and was buried in King's College chapel, Cambridge. Francis Newport, Earl of Bradford. He died 19th September, 1708. Mæcenas, Sackville, Socrates, and Hyde: And in their various turns the sons must tread With all the births and deaths he had in store, 40 Some from the stranded vessel force their way; Fearful of Fate, they meet it in the sea: Some who escape the fury of the wave, Sicken on earth, and sink into a grave: In journeys or at home, in war or peace, By hardships many, many fall by ease. Each changing season does its poison bring, Rheums chill the winter, agues blast the spring: 50 * John Asgyll, Esq. a lawyer of some eminence, but more remarkable for the very extraordinary publication here alluded to. He was a member of the English parliament for Bramber in Sussex. In the year 1700 he published a treatise, entitled, "An argument proving that according to the covenant of eternal life revealed in the scriptures, man may be translated hence into that eternal life without passing through death, although the human nature of Christ Himself could not be thus translated till He had passed through death." Being involved in many perplexing law suits, and much reduced in his circumstances, the House of Commons made this pamphlet a pretence for expelling him in September, 1707. His affairs afterwards continued to grow worse, and he passed the remainder of his life in the rules of the King's Bench, or Fleet. He died within the former on the 10th of November 1738, when he was con siderably above fourscore years of age. |