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O Poet! thou hadst been discreeter,

Hanging the Monarch's hat so high; If thou hadst dubb'd thy star a meteor, That did but blaze, and rove, and die.

XIII.

To animate the doubtful fight,

Namur in vain expects that ray:
In vain France hopes, the sickly light
Should shine near William's fuller day:
It knows Versailles, its proper station;
Nor cares for any foreign sphere:
Where you see Boileau's constellation,
Be sure no danger can be near.

XIV.

The French had gather'd all their force;
And William met them in their way:
Yet off they brush'd, both foot and horse.
What has friend Boileau left to say?
When his high Muse is bent upon't,

To sing her king-that great commander,
Or on the shores of Hellespont,

Or in the valleys near Scamander ;
Would it not spoil his noble task,
If any foolish Phrygian there is,
Impertinent enough to ask,

How far Namur may be from Paris.

XV.

Two stanzas more before we end,

Of death, pikes, rocks, arms, bricks, and fire:

180

140

150

Son gouverneur qui se trouble
S'enfuit sous son dernier mur.
Déjà jusques à ses portes
Je voy monter nos cohortes,
La flame & le fer en main :
Et sur les monceaux de piques,

De corps morts, de rocs, de briques,
S'ouvrir un large chemin.

XVI.

C'en est fait. Je viens d'entendre
Sur ces rochers éperdus

Battre un signal pour se rendre:
Le feu-cesse. Ils sont rendus.
Dépouillez votre arrogance,
Fiers ennemis de la France,
Et desormais gracieux,
Allez à Liege, à Bruxelles,
Porter les humbles nouvelles
De Namur pris à vos yeux.

150

160

Leave them behind you, honest friend;
And with your countrymen retire.
Your ode is spoilt; Namur is freed;
For Dixmuyd something yet is due:
So good Count Guiscard may proceed; *
But Boufflers, Sir, one word with you-

XVI.

160

"Tis done. In sight of these commanders,
Who neither fight, nor raise the siege,
The foes of France march safe through Flanders;
Divide to Bruxelles, or to Liege.

Send, Fame, this news to Trianon,

That Boufflers may new honours gain :
He the same play by land has shown,
As Tourville did upon the main,†
Yet is the marshal made a peer!
O William, may thy arms advance;
That he may lose Dinant next year,
And so be constable of France.

170

Count Guiscard was commander of the town of Namur. Marshal Boufflers of the castle there.

+ M. de Tourville was commander of the French squadron which engaged Admiral Russell in 1692, off La Hogue.

PRESENTED TO THE KING,

AT HIS ARRIVAL IN HOLLAND, AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF THE CONSPIRACY,* MDCXCVI.

Serus in cœlum redeas; diuque
Lætus intersis populo Quirini:

Neve te nostris vitiis iniquum

Tollat

Ocyor aura

HOR. ad Augustum.

E careful angels, whom eternal Fate
Ordains, on earth and human acts to

wait;

Who turn with secret power this rest-
less ball,

And bid predestin'd empires rise and fall:
Your sacred aid religious monarchs own,
When first they merit, then ascend the throne:
But tyrants dread ye, lest your just decree
Transfer the power, and set the people free.
See rescu'd Britain at your altars bow;
And hear her hymns your happy care avow:
That still her axes and her rods support
The judge's frown, and grace the awful court;
That Law with all her pompous terror stands,

10

This conspiracy is generally called the Assassination Plot. Sir John Fenwick was executed for being concerned in it.

21

To wrest the dagger from the traitor's hands;
And rigid justice reads the fatal word,
Poises the balance first, then draws the sword.
Britain her safety to your guidance owns,
That she can sep'rate parricides from sons;
That, impious rage disarm'd, she lives and reigns,
Her freedom kept by him, who broke her chains.
And thou, great minister, above the rest
Of guardian spirits, be thou for ever blest;
Thou, who of old wert sent to Israel's court,
With secret aid great David's strong support;
To mock the frantic rage of cruel Saul,
And strike the useless javelin to the wall.
Thy later care o'er William's temples held,
On Boyne's propitious banks, the heav'nly shield;
When power divine did sovereign right declare,
And cannons mark'd whom they were bid to spare.
Still, blessed angel, be thy care the same!
Be William's life untouch'd, as is his fame!
Let him own thine, as Britain owns his hand :
Save thou the king, as he has sav'd the land!
We angels' forms in pious monarchs view
We reverence William; for he acts like you;
Like
you, commission'd to chastise and bless,
He must avenge the world, and give it peace.

Indulgent Fate our potent prayer receives;
And still Britannia smiles, and William lives.
The hero dear to earth, by heav'n belov'd,
By troubles must be vex'd, by dangers prov'd:
His foes must aid to make his fame complete,
And fix his throne secure on their defeat.

31

40

So, though with sudden rage the tempest comes; Though the winds roar, and though the water foams,

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