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