Should haply on ill-fated shoulder lay
Of debtor, straight his body, to the touch
Obsequious, (as whilom knights were wont)
To some enchanted castle is convey'd,
Where gates impregnable and coercive chains
In durance strict detain him, till, in form
Of Money, Pallas sets the captive free.
Beware, ye Debtors! when ye walk, beware,
Be circumspect; oft with insidious ken
This caitiff eyes your steps aloof, and oft
Lies perdue in a nook or gloomy cave,
Prompt to enchant some inadvertent wretch
With his unhallow'd touch. So, poets sing,
Grimalkin, to domestic vermin sworn
An everlasting foe, with watchful eye
Lies nightly brooding o'er a chinky gap,
Protending her fell claws, to thoughtless mice
Sure ruin; so her disembowell'd web
Arachne in a hall or kitchen spreads,
Obvious to vagrant flies; she secret stands
Within her woven cell; the humming prey,
Regardless of their fate, rush on the toils
Inextricable, nor will aught avail
Their arts or arms, or shapes of lovely hue :
The wasp insidious and the buzzing drone,
And butterfly, proud of expanded wings
Distinct with gold, entangled in her snares,
Useless resistance make: with eager strides
She towering flies to her expected spoils ;
Then, with envenom'd jaws the vital blood
Drinks of reluctant foes, and to her cave
Their bulky carcasses triumphant drags.
So pass my days; but when nocturnal shades
This world envelope, and the' inclement air

Persuades men to repel benumming frosts
With pleasant wines, and crackling blaze of wood;
Me, lonely sitting, nor the glimmering light
Of make-weight candle, nor the joyous talk
Of loving friend delights; distress'd, forlorn,
Amidst the horrors of the tedious night

Darkling I sigh, and feed with dismal thoughts
My anxious mind; or sometimes mournful verse
Indite, and sing of groves and myrtle shades,
Or desperate lady near a purling stream,
Or lover pendent on a willow-tree.
Meanwhile, I labour with eternal drought,
And restless wish, and rave; my parched throat
Finds no relief, nor heavy eyes repose;

But if a slumber haply does invade
My weary limbs, my fancy 's still awake,
Thoughtful of drink, and eager, in a dream
Tipples imaginary pots of ale

In vain awake, I find the settled thirst
Still gnawing, and the pleasant phantom curse.
Thus do I live, from pleasure quite debarred,
Nor taste the fruits that the sun's genial rays
Mature, John-apple, nor the downy peach,
Nor walnut in rough-furrow'd coat secure,
Nor medlar, fruit delicious in decay;
Afflictions great! yet greater still remain.
My galligaskins, that have long withstood
The winter's fury and encroaching frosts,
By time subdued (what will not time subdue !)
An horrid chasm disclose, with orifice
Wide, discontinuous; at which the winds
Eurus and Auster, and the dreadful force
Of Boreas, that congeals the Cronian waves,
Tumultuous enter, with dire chilling blasts

Portending agues. Thus a well-fraught ship
Long sail'd secure, or through the' Ægean deep
Or the Ionian, till cruising near

The Lilybean shore, with hideous crush
On Scylla or Charybdis, (dangerous rocks!)
She strikes rebounding, whence the shatter'd oak
So fierce a shock unable to withstand

Admits the sea; in at the gaping side

The crowding waves gush with impetuous rage
Resistless, overwhelming: horrors seize
The mariners; death in their eyes appears;
They stare, they rave, they pump, they swear, they

pray :

(Vain efforts!) still the battering waves rush in Implacable, till, deluged by the foam, The ship sinks foundering in the vast abyss.

BLENHEIM.

FROM low and abject themes the grovelling Muse
Now mounts aërial, to sing of arms

Triumphant, and emblaze the martial acts
Of Britain's hero: may the verse not sink
Beneath his merits, but detain a while

Thy ear, O Harley'! (though thy country's weal
Depends on thee, though mighty Anne requires
Thy hourly counsels) since with every art
Thyself adorn'd, the mean essays of youth
Thou wilt not damp, but guide, wherever found,
The willing genius to the Muses' seat,

Therefore thee first and last the Muse shall sing.

1 This poem was inscribed to the Right Hon. Robert Harley, 1705, then Speaker of the Honourable House of Commons and Secretary of State.

Long had the Gallic monarch uncontroll'd Enlarged his borders, and of human force Opponent slightly thought, in heart elate, As erst Sesostris (proud Egyptian king, That monarchs harness'd to his chariot yoked, (Base servitude!) and his dethroned compeers Lash'd furious, they in sullen majesty Drew the uneasy load) nor less he aim'd At universal sway; for William's arm Could nought avail, however famed in war, Nor armies leagued, that diversly assay'd To curb his power enormous; like an oak That stands secure, though all the winds employ Their ceaseless roar, and only sheds its leaves, Or mast, which the revolving spring restores; So stood he, and alone; alone defied The European thrones combined, and still Had set at nought their machinations vain, But that great Anne, weighing the' events of war Momentous, in her prudent heart thee chose, Thee, Churchill! to direct in nice extremes Her banner'd legions. Now their pristine worth The Britons recollect, and gladly change Sweet native home for unaccustom'd air And other climes, where different food and soil Portend distempers: over dank and dry They journey toilsome, unfatigued with length Of march, unstruck with horror at the sight Of Alpine ridges bleak, high-stretching hills, All white with summer snows. They go beyond The trace of English steps, where, scarce the sound Of Henry's arms arrived; such strength of heart Thy conduct and example gives: nor small Encouragement. Godolphin, wise and just,

Equal in merit, honour, and success,
To Burleigh, (fortunate alike to serve
The best of queens) he, of the royal store
Splendidly frugal, sits whole nights devoid
Of sweet repose, industrious to procure
The soldier's ease; to regions far remote
His care extends, and to the British host
Makes ravaged countries plenteous as their own.
And now, O Churchill! at thy wish'd approach
The Germans, hopeless of success, forlorn,
With many an inroad gored, their drooping cheer
New animated rouse. Not more rejoice
The miserable race of men, that live

Benighted half the year, benummed with frosts
Perpetual, and rough Boreas' keenest breath,
Under the polar Bear, inclement sky!
When first the sun with new-born light removes
The long-incumbent gloom: gladly to thee
Heroic laurell'd Eugene yields the prime,
Nor thinks it diminution to be rank'd
In military honour next, although

His deadly hand shook the Turchestan throne
Accursed, and proved in far-divided lands
Victorious. On thy powerful sword alone
Germania and the Belgic coast relies,

[Anne

Won from the' encroaching sea: that sword great Fix'd not in vain on thy puissant side

When thee she' enroll'd her garter'd knights among,
Illustrating the noble list: her hand

Assures good omens, and Saint George's worth
Enkindles like desire of high exploits.
Immediate sieges, and the tire of war,
Roll in thy eager mind: thy plumy crest