Untouch'd, unknown, to any Muse before;
She, from the noble precipices thrown,
Comes rushing with uncommon ruin down.
Glorious attempt! unhappy fate!

The song too daring, and the theme too great!
Yet rather thus she wills to die,

Than in continued annals live, to sing
A second hero, or a vulgar king;
And with ignoble safety fly

In sight of earth, along a middle sky.

To Janus' altars, and the numerous throng,
That round his mystic temple press,
For William's life, and Albion's peace,
Ambitious Muse reduce the roving song.
Janus, cast thy forward eye

Future, into great Rhea's pregnant womb;
Where young ideas brooding lie,

And tender images of things to come:
Till by thy high commands releas'd,
Till by thy hand in proper atoms dress'd,
In decent order they advance to light;
Yet then too swiftly fleet by human sight;
And meditate too soon their everlasting flight.

Nor beaks of ships in naval triumph borne, Nor standards from the hostile ramparts torn. Nor trophies brought from battles won, Nor oaken wreath, nor mural crown,

Can any future honours give

To the victorious monarch's name:
The plenitude of William's fame
Can no accumulated stores receive.
Shut then, auspicious god, thy sacred gate,
And make us happy, as our king is great.
Be kind, and with a milder hand,
Closing the volume of the finish'd age,
(Though noble, 'twas an iron page)
A more delightful leaf expand,

Free from alarms, and fierce Bellona's rage:
Bid the great months begin their joyful round,
By Flora some, and some by Ceres crown'd;
Teach the glad hours to scatter as they fly,
Soft quiet, gentle love, and endless joy:
Lead forth the years for peace and plenty fam'd,
From Saturn's rule, and better metal nam'd,

Secure by William's care let Britain stand;
Nor dread the bold invader's hand:
From adverse shores in safety let her hear
Foreign calamity, and distant war;

Of which let her, great Heaven, no portion bear!
Betwixt the nations let her hold the scale,

And as she wills, let either part prevail :
Let her glad valleys smile with wavy corn:
Let fleecy flocks her rising hills adorn:
Around her coast let strong defence be spread :
Let fair abundance on her breast be shed:

And heavenly sweets bloom round the goddess' head.

Where the white towers and ancient roofs did stand,
Remains of 'Wolsey's, or great Henry's hand,
To age now yielding, or devour'd by flame,
Let a young phoenix raise her towering head ;
Her wings with lengthen'd honour let her spread!
And by her greatness shew her builder's fame :
August and open, as the hero's mind,
Be her capacious courts design'd:
Let every sacred pillar bear

Trophies of arms, and monuments of war.
The king shall there in Parian marble breathe,
His shoulder bleeding fresh: and at his feet
Disarm'd shall lie the threatening Death:
(For so was saving Jove's decree complete.)
Behind, that angel shall be plac'd, whose shield
Sav'd Europe in the blow repell❜d:

On the firm basis, from his oozy bed,
Boyne shall raise his laurell'd head;
And his immortal stream be known,
Artfully waving through the wounded stone.

And thou, imperial Windsor, stand enlarg'd,
With all the monarch's trophies charg'd:
Thou, the fair Heaven, that dost the stars inclose,

1 Whitehall, once belonging to the Archbishop of York. It was taken from Cardinal Wolsey by Henry the 8th, who made great improvements therein, and converted it into a royal palace. In 1698 the whole of it, except the Banqueting House, was destroyed by fire, and hath not since been rebuilt.

Which William's bosom wears, or hand bestows On the great champions who support his throne, And virtues nearest to his own.

Round Ormond's knee, thou tiest the mystic string,
That makes the knight companion to the king.
From glorious camps return'd, and foreign fields,
Bowing before thy sainted warrior's shrine,
Fast by his great forefather's coats, and shields
Blazon'd from Bohun's, or from Butler's line,
He hangs his arms; nor fears those arms should shine
With an unequal ray; or that his deed

With paler glory should recede,
Eclips'd by theirs, or lessen'd by the fame
E'en of his own maternal Nassau's name.

Thou smiling see'st great Dorset's worth confest,
The ray distinguishing the patriot's breast:
Born to protect and love, to help and please;
Sovereign of wit, and ornament of peace.
O! long as breath informs this fleeting frame,
Ne'er let me pass in silence Dorset's name;
Ne'er cease to mention the continued debt
Which the great patron only would forget,
And duty, long as life, must study to acquit.

Renown'd in thy records shall Ca'ndish stand,
Asserting legal power, and just command:
To the great house thy favour shall be shown,
The father's star transmissive to the son.

From thee the Talbot's and the Seymour's race Inform'd, their sire's immortal steps shall trace: Happy, may their sons receive

The bright reward, which thou alone canst give.

And if a god these lucky numbers guide;
If sure Apollo o'er the verse preside;
Jersey, belov'd by all (for all must feel

The influence of a form and mind,

Where comely grace and constant virtue dwell, Like mingled streams, more forcible when join'd)— Jersey shall at thy altars stand;

Shall there receive the azure band,

That fairest mark of favour and of fame,
Familiar to the Villiers' name.

Science to raise, and knowledge to enlarge,
Be our great master's future charge;

To write his own memoirs, and leave his heirs
High schemes of government, and plans of wars;
By fair rewards our noble youth to raise

To emulous merit, and to thirst of praise;
To lead them out from ease ere opening dawn,
Through the thick forest and the distant lawn,
Where the fleet stag employs their ardent care,
And chases give them images of war.
To teach them vigilance by false alarms;
Inure them in feign'd camps to real arms;
Practise them now to curb the turning steed,
Mocking the foe; now to his rapid speed