Grac'd and fupported; thus a genial foil Diffufing vigour though the infant oak, Affords it ftrength to flourish, till at last It's lofty head, in verdant honours clad, It rears amidst the proudest of the grove.
Yet here th' eternal fates thy last retreat Deny, a mightier nation they prepare
For thy reception; fufferers alike.
By th' unremitted infolence of pow'r
From reign to reign, nor less than Belgium known For bold contention oft on crimson fields,
In free-tongu'd fenates oft with nervous laws To circumfcribe, or conquering to depofe Their fcepter'd tyrants: Albion, fea-embrac'd, The joy of freedom, dread of treach'rous kings, The deftin'd miftrefs of the fubject main,
And arbitress of Europe, now demands Thy prefence, goddess. It was now the time, Ere yet perfidious Cromwell dar'd profane The facred fenate, and with impious feet Tread on the pow'rs of magiftrates and laws, While ev'ry arm was chill'd with cold amaze, Nor one in all that dauntless train was found To pierce the ruffian's heart; and now thy name Was heard in thunder through th' affrighted fhores Of pale Iberia, of fubmiffive Gaul,
And Tagus, trembling to his utmost fource.
O ever faithful, vigilant, and brave, Thou bold afferter of Britannia's fame, Unconquerable Blake: propitious Heav'n At this great æra, and the fage decree * Of Albion's fenate, perfecting at once, What by Eliza † was fo well begun,
† Queen Elizabeth was the first of our princes, who gave any confiderable en couragement to trade.
So deeply founded, to this favour'd shore The goddess drew, where grateful the bestow'd Th' unbounded empire of her father's floods, And chofe thee, London, for her chief abode, Pleas'd with the filver Thames, it's gentle fream, And smiling banks, it's joy-diffufing hills,
Which clad with fplendour, and with beauty grac'd, O'erlook his lucid bofom; pleas'd with thee, Thou nurse of arts, and thy induftrious race; Pleas'd with their candid manners, with their free Sagacious converse, to enquiry led,
And zeal for knowledge: hence the op'ning mind Refigns it's errors, and unfeals the eye Of blind Opinion; Merit hence is heard Amidft it's blushes, dawning arts arife,
The gloomy clouds, which ignorance or fear Spread o'er the paths of Virtue, are dispell'd,
Servility retires, and ev'ry heart
With publick cares is warm'd; thy merchants hence,
Illuftrious city, thou doft raise to fame.
How many names of glory mayft thou trace
From earliest annals down to Barnard's* times!
And O! if like that eloquence divine,
Which forth for Commerce, for Britannia's rights, And her infulted majefty he pour'd,
These humble measures flow'd, then too thy walls Might undifgrac'd refound thy poet's name, Who now, all-fearful to thy praise, attunes His lyre, and pays his grateful fong to thee, Thy votary, O Commerce! Gracious Pow'r, Continue ftill to hear my vows, and bless My honourable industry, which courts No other smile but thine; for thou alone Canft wealth bestow with independence crown'd.
Nor yet exclude contemplative repofe,
But to my dwelling grant the folemn calm Of learned leifure, never to reject
The vifitation of the tuneful Maids,
Who feldom deign to leave their facred haunts, And grace a mortal manfion; thou divide With them my labours; pleafure I refign, And, all devoted to my midnight lamp,
E'en now, when Albion, o'er the foaming breast Of groaning Tethys fpreads it's threat'ning fleets, I grafp the founding fhell, prepar'd to fing That hero's valour, who fhall beft confound His injur'd country's foes; e'en now I feel Celestial fires defcending on my breast,
Which prompt thy daring fuppliant to explore, Why, though deriv'd from Neptune, though rever'à Among the nations, by the gods endow'd,
Thou never yet from eldest times haft found One permanent abode; why oft expell'd
Thy favour'd feats, from clime to clime haft borne Thy wand'ring steps; why London late hath feen (Thy lov'd, thy laft retreat) defponding Care O'ercloud thy brow: O liften, while the Mufe, Th' immortal progeny of Jove, unfolds The fatal caufe. What time in Nyfa's cave Th' ethereal train, in honour to thy fire, Shower'd on thy birth their blended gifts, the pow'r Of war was abfent; hence, unblefs'd by Mars, Thy fons relinquifh'd arms, on other arts Intent, and ftill to mercenary hands
The fword entrufting, vainly deem'd, that wealth Could purchase lafting fafety, and protect Unwarlike Freedom; hence the Alps in vain. Were pafs'd, their long impenetrable fnows And dreary torrents; fwol'n with Roman dead,
Aftonifh'd Trebia * overflow'd it's banks In vain, and deep-dy'd Trafimenus roll'd It's crimson waters; Canna's fignal day The fame alone of great Amilcar's fon Enlarg'd, while still undisciplin'd, dismay'd, Her head commercial Carthage bow'd at laft To military Rome; th' unalter'd will Of Heaven in ev'ry climate hath ordain'd, And ev'ry age, that empire fhall attend The sword, and steel shall ever conquer gold, Then from thy fuff'rings learn; th' aufpicious hour Now fmiles; our wary magistrates have arm'd Our hands; thou, goddess, animate our breasts To caft inglorious indolence afide,
That once again, in bright battalions rang'd, Our thousands and ten thousands may be seen Their country's only rampart, and the dread Of wild Ambition. Mark the Swedish hind; He, on his native foil should danger lour Soon from the entrails of the dusky mine Would rife to arms; and other fields and chiefs, With Helfingburgh † and Steinboch foon would share The admiration of the northern world: Helvetia's hills behold; th' aërial feat Of long-fupported Liberty, who thence, Securely refting on her faithful shield,
The warrior's corfelet flaming on her breast,
Looks down with fcorn on fpacious realms, which groan In fervitude around her; and, her fword
With dauntless fkill high brandishing, defies
Trebia, Trafimenus Lacus, and Cannæ, famous for the victories gained by Annibal over the Romans.
Helfingburgh, a small town in Schonen, celebrated for the victory which Count Steinboch gained over the Danes, with an army for the most part compofed of Swedish peasants, who had never seen an enemy before: it is remarkable, that the defeated troops were as compleat a body of regular forces as any in all Europe.
The Auftrian eagle, and imperious Gaul. And O could thofe ill-fated fhades arife;: Whofe valiant ranks along th' enfanguin'd duft Of Newbury lay crouded, they could tell, How their long-matchlefs cavalry, so oft O'er hills of flain by ardent Rupert led, Whofe dreaded ftandard Victory had wav'd, Till then triumphant, there with noblest blood From their gor'd fquadrons dy'd the reftive fpear Of London's firm militia, and refign'd The well-disputed field; then, goddess, fay, Shall we be now more timid, when behold
The black'ning ftorm now gathers round our heads, And England's angry genius founds to arms? For thee, remember, is the banner spread; The naval tower, to vindicate thy rights,
Will fweep the curling foam: the thund'ring bomb Will roar, and startle in the deepest grots
Old Nereus' daughters; with combuftion ftor'd For thee our dire volcanos of the main, Impregnated with horror, foon will pour Their flaming ruin round each hoftile fleet. Thou then, great goddefs, fummon all thy powers, Arm all thy fons, thy vaffals, ev'ry heart Inflame; and you, ye fear-difclaiming race, Ye mariners of Britain, chofen train Of Liberty and Commerce, now no more Secrete your gen'rous valour; hear the call
* The London train'd bands, and auxiliary regiments, (of whofe inexperience of danger, or any kind of fervice, beyond the eafy practice of their poftures in the Artillery Ground, had till then too cheap an estimation) behaved themfelves to wonder; and were, in truth, the preservation of that army that day; for they stood as a bulwark and rampire to defend the reft; and when their wings of horfe were scattered and difperfed, kept their ground fo fteadily, that though Prince Rupert himself led up the choice horse to charge them, and endured the ftorm of fmall fhot, he could make no impreffion on their ftand of pikes, but was forced to wheel about.-Clarendon, book 7. p. 347.
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