The Meuse and Sambre here united flow,
Nature's defence against th' invading foe:
Industrious Art her strength of walls supplies:
Before the town the British army lies.

The works are mann'd; with fury they contend;
These thunder from the plains, those from the walls
defend.

Red globes of fire from bellowing engines fly,

And lead a sweeping blaze, like comets, thro' the sky.
The kindled region glows; with deafening sound
They burst; their iron entrails, hurl'd around,
Strow with thick-scatter'd deaths the crimson
ground.

See, where the Genius of the war appears,
Nor shuns the labour, nor the danger fears!
In clouds of sulphurous smoke he shines more bright,
For Glory round him waits, with beams of living light.
At length the widen'd gates a conquest own,
And to his arms resign the yielding town.

Here, from the field return'd, with olive crown'd,
Applauding throngs their welcome prince surround:
Bright honours in his glorious entry shine,
And peace restor'd concludes the great design.

[sea!

Long o'er the figur'd work, with vast surprise,
Admiring Neptune roll'd his ravish'd eyes;
Then, rising from his throne, thus call'd aloud;
"Ye lovely daughters of the briny flood!
Haste, comb your silver locks, and straight prepare
To fill my train, and gaze in upper air.
This day, majestic glories you shall see;
Come, all ye watery powers, who under me
Your little tridents wield, and rule the boisterous
What god, that views the triumphs here display'd,
Can to such worth refuse his heavenly aid?"
He said no more-but bade two Tritons sound
Their crooked shells, to spread the summons round.
Through the wide caves the blast is heard afar;
With speed two more provide his azure car,
A concave shell; two the finn'd coursers join:
All wait officious round, and own th' accustom'd
[sign;
The god ascends; his better hand sustains
The three-fork'd spear, his left directs the reins.
Through breaking waves, the chariot mounts him
high;

Before its thundering course, the frothy waters fly;
He gains the surface; on his either side,

The bright attendants, rang'd with comely pride,
Advance in just array, and grace the pompous tide.
Meanwhile Britannia's king conspicuous stood,
And, from his deck, survey'd the boundless flood.
Smooth was the glassy scene, the Sun beheld
His face unclouded in the liquid field.
The gazing Nereids, in a shining train,
Enclose the ruler of the British main,
And sweetly sing; suspended winds forbear
Their loud complaints, the soothing lay to hear.
Hail, sacred charge," they cry; "the beauties we
Of Neptune's court, are come t' attend on thee;
Accept our offer'd aid! thy potent sway,
Unbounded by the land, these watery realms obey;
And we, thy subject-powers, our duteous homage
See Neptune's self, inferior in command,
Presents his trident to thy honour'd hand!"
They said; the sire approach'd with awe pro-
found;

[pay.

The rite perform'd, their shells the Tritons sound;
Swell'd with the shrill alarm, the joyful billows

bound.

Now, from the shore, Britannia first descries White sails afar; then bulky vessels rise,

CHARLES DUKE OF SOMERSET.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR CRACE,

THOUGH the great loss we suffered in the death of
the king has been so happily supplied by her
majesty's accession to the throne, and her late co-
ronation justly filled the hearts of her subjects with
joy: yet so glorious a reign as the last will always
be remembered with admiration by all good and
wise men; and your grace has given sufficient
It can never
proofs, that you are of that number.
therefore be thought too late to offer a just tribute
to his late majesty's memory, and to that of his
great ancestors, a race so illustriously distinguish-
ed in Europe; though this indeed might sooner
have been attempted, but for many interruptions,
too inconsiderable for your grace's notice.

How

I have performed is humbly submitted to your
grace's judgment, and to the judgment of all those
gentlemen who are used to entertain themselves
But if, through the au-
with writings of this sort.
thor's want of genius, the poem itself should be
thought inconsiderable, I am sure it will have some
distinction from the great names it celebrates, and
And to whom
the great patron it is inscribed to.
should the praises of eminent virtue be addressed,
but to such as are possessed of great virtues them-
selves? To whom can I better present the chief
characters of a noble and ancient family, than to
your grace, whose family is so ancient and so noble?
And here I am proud to acknowledge, that some of
my relations have been honoured with marks of
favour from your grace's illustrious ancestors. This
I confess has long given me the ambition of offer-
ing my duty to your grace; but chiefly that valu-
able character your grace has obtained among all
worthy persons. I have not room to enlarge here,
nor is there any need of it on a subject so well
known as your grace's merits. Therefore I con-
Iclude with my humble request, that your grace
would favour this ode with your acceptance, and do
me the honour of believing, that, among the crowd
of your admirers, there is not one who is more
passionately or sincerely so, than
your grace's most humble,
and most obedient servant,
JOHN HUGHES.

THE HOUSE OF NASSAU,

GODDESS of numbers, and of thoughts sublime!
Celestial Muse! whose tuneful song

Can fix heroic acts, that glide along

Down the vast sea of ever-wasting Time,

By the vile hand of a bold ruffian fell.
No more th' ungrateful prospect let us leave!
And, in his room, behold arise,

Bright as th' immortal twins that grace the skies,
A noble pair', his absence to retrieve!

In these the hero's soul survives,
And William doubly in his offspring lives.

Maurice, for martial greatness, far
His father's glorious fame exceeds:
Henry alone can match his brother's deeds;
Both were, like Scipio's sons, the thunderbolts of war.
None e'er, than Maurice, better knew,
Camps, sieges, battles, to ordain;
None e'er, than Henry, fiercer did pursue
The flying foe, or earlier conquests gain.
For scarce sixteen revolving years he told,
When, eager for the fight, and bold,
Inflam'd by Glory's sprightly charms,
His brother brought him to the field;
Taught his young hand the truncheon well to wield,
And practis'd him betimes to arins.

Let Flandrian Newport tell of wonders wrought
Before her walls, that memorable day,
When the victorious youths in concert fought,
And matchless valour did display!
How, ere the battle join'd, they strove
With emulous honour, and with mutual love;
How Maurice, touch'd with tender care
Of Henry's safety, begg'd him to remove;
Henry refus'd his blooming youth to spare,

But with his much-lov'd Maurice vow'd to prove
Th' extremes of war, and equal dangers share.
O generous strife! and worthy such a pair!
How dear did Albert this contention pay!

Witness the floods of streaming gore;
Witness the trampled heaps, that chok'd the plain,
And stopp'd the victors in their way;
Witness the neighbouring sea, and sandy shore,
Drunk with the purple life of twice three thousand
slain!

Fortune, that on her wheel capricious stands,
And waves her painted wings, inconstant, proud,
Hood-wink'd, and shaking from her hands
Promiscuous gifts among the crowd,
Restless of place, and still prepar'd for flight,
Was constant here, and seem'd restor❜d to sight:
Won by their merit, and resolv'd to bless
The happy brothers with a long success-
Maurice, the first resign'd to fate:
The youngest had a longer date,
And liv'd the space appointed to complete
The great republic, rais'd so high before;
Finish'd by him, the stately fabric bore
Its lofty top aspiring to the sky:

In vain the winds and rains around it beat;
In vain, below, the waves tempestuous roar,
They dash themselves, and break, and backward fly,
Dispers'd and murmuring at his feet.

Insulting Spáin the fruitless strife gives o'er,
And claims dominion there no more.

Then Henry, ripe for inmortality,

His flight to Heaven eternal springs,

[wings.

And, o'er his quiet grave, Peace spreads her downy

His son, a second William, fills his place,
And climbs to manhood with so swift a pace,

Maurice and Henry.

As if he knew, he had not long to stay:
Such young Marcellus was, the hopeful grace
Of ancient Rome, but quickly snatch'd away.
Breda beheld th' adventurous boy,
His tender limbs in shining armour dress'd,
Where, with his father, the hot siege he press'd.

His father saw, with pleasing joy, [press'd.
His own reflected worth, and youthful charms ex-
But, when his country breath'd from war's alarms,
His martial virtues lay obscure;
Nor could a warrior, form'd for arms,

Th' inglorious rest endure;
But sicken'd soon, and sudden dy'd,
And left in tears his pregnant bride,
His bride, the daughter of Britannia's king;
Nor saw th' auspicious pledge of nuptial love,
Which from that happy marriage was to spring,
But with his great fore-fathers gain'd a blissful seat
above.

Here pause, my Muse! and wind up higher
The strings of thy Pindaric lyre!
Then with bold strains the lofty song pursue;
And bid Britannia once again review

The numerous worthies of the line.
See, like immortals, how they shine!
Each life a history alone!

And last, to crown the great design,
Look forward, and behold them all in one'
Look, but spare thy fruitless tears-
'Tis thy own William next appears.
Advance, celestial form! let Britain see
Th' accomplish'd glory of thy race in thee!
So, when some splendid triumph was to come,
In long procession through the streets of Rome,
The crowd beheld, with vast surprise,
The glittering train in awful order move,
To the bright temple of Feretrian Jove,
And trophies borne along.employ'd their dazzled
But when the laurel'd emperor, mounted high
Above the rest, appear'd to sight,

[eyes:

In his proud car of victory,
Shining with rays excessive bright,
He put the long preceding pomp to flight;
Their wonder could no higher rise,

With joy they throng his chariot wheels, and rend
with shouts the skies.

To thee, great prince! to thy extensive mind,
Not by thy country's narrow bounds confin'd,
The Fates an ample scene afford;

And injur'd nations claim the succour of thy sword.
No respite to thy toils is given,

Till thou ascend thy native Heaven:
One Hydra-head cut off, still more abound,
And twins sprout up to fill the wound.

So endless is the task that heroes find

To tame the monster Vice, and to reform mankind
For this, Alcides heretofore,

And mighty Theseus, travell'd o'er
Vast tracts of sea and land, and slew
Wild beasts and serpents gorg'd with human prcy :
From stony dens fierce lurking robbers drew,

And bid the cheerful traveller pass on his peaceful

18

Thou, like Alcides, early didst begin,

And ev'n a child didst laurels win.
Two snaky plagues around his cradle twin'd,
Sent by the jealous wife of Jove,

In speckled wreaths of Death they strove,
The mighty babe to bind :

And twisted Faction, in thy infancy,

Darted her forked tongue at thee.

But, as Jove's offspring slew his hissing foes;
So thou, descended from a line

Of patriots no less divine,

Didst quench the brutal rage of those,
Who durst thy dawning worth oppose.

The viper Spite, crush'd by thy virtue, shed
Its yellow juice, and at thy feet lay dead.
Thus, like the Sun, did thy great Genius rise,
With clouds around his sacred head,

Yet soon dispell'd the dropping mists, and gilded all
the skies.

Great Julius, who with generous envy view'd
The statue of brave Philip's braver son,
And wept to think what such a youth subdued,
While, more in age, himself had yet so little done,
Had wept much more, if he had liv'd to see
The glorious deeds achiev'd by thee;
To see thee, at a beardless age,
Stand arm'd against th' invader's rage,
And bravely fighting for thy country's liberty;
While he inglorious laurels sought,
And not to save his country fought;
While he-O stain upon the greatest name,
That e'er before was known to fame!
When Rome, his awful mother, did demand
The sword from his unruly hand,

The sword she gave before,

Enrag'd, he spurn'd at her command,

Had not Britannia's chief withstood
The threaten'd deluge, and repell'd,
To its forsaken banks, th' unwilling flood,
And in his hand the scales of balanc'd kingdoms held.
Well was this mighty trust repos'd in thee,
Whose faithful soul, from private interest free,
(Interests which vulgar princes know)
O'er all its passions sat exalted high,
As Teneriff's top enjoys a purer sky,
And sees the moving clouds at distance fly below.
Whoe'er thy warlike annals reads,
Behold reviv'd our valiant Edward's deeds.
Great Edward and his glorious son1
Will own themselves in thee outdone,
Though Crecy's desperate fight eternal honours won.
Though the fifth Henry too dues claim
A shining place among Britannia's kings,
And Agincourt has rais'd his lofty name;
Yet the loud voice o fever-living Fame
Of thee more numerous triumphs sings.
But, though no chief contends with thee,
In all the long records of history,

Thy own great deeds together strive,
Which shall the fairest light derive,
On thy immortal memory;
Whether Seneff's amazing field
To celebrated Mons shall yield;

Or both give place to more amazing Boyne;
Or if Namur's well-cover'd siege must all the rest
outshine!

While in Hibernia's fields the labouring swain
Shall pass the plough o'er skulls of warriors slain,
And turn up bones, and broken spears,
Amaz'd, he'll show his fellows of the plain,
The reliques of victorious years;

Hurl'd at her breast the impious steel, and bath'd it in And tell, how swift thy arms that kingdom did re

her gore.

Far other battles thou hast won,

Thy standard still the public good:
Lavish of thine, to save thy people's blood:
And when the hardy task of war was done,
With what a mild well-temper'd mind,
(A mind unknown to Rome's ambitious son)
Thy powerful armies were resign'd;
This victory o'er thyself was more,
Than all thy conquests gain'd before:
"Twas more than Philip's son could do,
When for new worlds the madman cry'd;
Nor in his own wild breast had spy'd
Towers of ambition, hills of boundless pride,
Too great for armies to subdue.

O savage lust of arbitrary sway!
Insatiate fury, which in man we find,
In barbarous man, to prey upon his kind,
And make the world, enslav'd, his vicious will obey!
How has this fiend, Ambition, long defac'd
Heaven's works, and laid the fair creation waste!
Ask silver Rhine, with springing rushes crown'd,
As to the sea his waters flow,
Where are the numerous cities now,
That once he saw, his honour'd banks around?
Scarce are their silent ruins found;

But, in th' ensuing age,

Trampled into common ground,

[ing rage.

Will hide the horrid monuments of Gaul's destroy-
All Europe too had shar'd this wretched fate,

And mourn'd her heavy woes too late,

Flandria, a longer witness to thy glory,
With wonder too repeats thy story;
How oft the foes thy lifted sword have seen
In the hot battle, when it bled

[gain.

At all its open veins, and oft have fled,
As if their evil genius thou hadst been:
How, when the blooming Spring began t' appear,
And with new life restor'd the year,
Confederate princes us'd to cry;

"Call Britain's king-the sprightly trumpet sound,
And spread the joyful summons round!
Call Britain's king, and Victory!"

So when the flower of Greece, to battle led
In Beauty's cause, just vengeance swore
Upon the foul adulterer's head,

That from her royal lord the ravish'd Helen bore,
The Grecian chiefs, of mighty fame,
Impatient for the son of Thetis wait:
At last the son of Thetis came;

Troy shook her nodding towers, and mourn'd th' im-
pending fate.

O sacred Peace! goddess serene!
Adorn'd with robes of spotless white,
Fairer than silver floods of light!
How short has thy mild empire been!
When pregnant Time brought forth this new-born
At first we saw thee gently smile
[age,
On the young birth, and thy sweet voice awhile
Sung a soft charm to martial rage:

! Edward III. and the Black Prince.