And still the bloody field frequent,
Familiar in each leader's tent;
Or whether, as the learn'd contend,
You from the neighbouring Gaul descend,
Or from Parthenope the proud,
Where numberless thy votaries crowd;
Whether thy great forefathers came
From realms that bear Vesputio's name,
For so conjectures would obtrude,
And from thy painted skin conclude;
Whether, as Epicurus shows,
The world from jostling seeds arose,
Which mingling with prolific strife
In Chaos, kindled into life;
So your production was the same,
And from contending atoms came.
Thy fair indulgent mother crown'd
Thy head with sparkling rubies round;
Beneath thy decent steps, the road
Is all with precious jewels strow'd;
The bird of Pallas knows his post,
Thee to attend where'er thou go'st.
Byzantians boast that on the clod
Where once their Sultan's horse hath trod,
Grows neither grass, nor shrub, nor tree;
The same thy subjects boast of thee.
The greatest lord, when you appear,
Will deign your livery to wear,
In all the various colours seen
Of red and yellow, blue and green.
With half a word, when you require
The man of business must retire.
The haughty minister of state
With trembling must thy leisure wait.
And while his fate is in thy hands,
The business of the nation stands.
Thou darest the greatest prince attack,
Canst hourly set him on the rack,
And, as an instance of thy power,
Enclose him in a wooden tower:
With pungent pains on every side,
So Regulus in torments died.
From thee our youth all virtues learn,
Dangers with prudence to discern ;
And well thy scholars are endued
With temperance and with fortitude,
With patience, which all ills supports,
And secrecy, the art of courts.
The glittering beau could hardly tell, Without your aid, to read or spell; But having long conversed with you, Knows how to write a billet-doux.
With what delight, methinks, I trace Your blood in every noble race! In whom thy features, shape, and mien, Are to the life distinctly seen.
The Britons, once a savage kind, By you were brighten'd and refined, Descendants of the barbarous Huns, With limbs robust, and voice that stuns ; But you have moulded them afresh, Removed the tough superfluous flesh, Taught them to modulate their tongues, And speak without the help of lungs.
Proteus on you bestow'd the boon To change your visage like the moon ; You sometimes half a face produce, Keep the' other half for private use,
How fam'd thy conduct in the fight
With Hermes, son of Pleias bright!
Out-number'd, half encompass'd round,
You strove for every inch of ground;
Then by a soldierly retreat
Retired to your imperial seat.
The victor, when your steps he traced,
Found all the realms before him waste:
You o'er the high triumphal arch
Pontific made your glorious march;
The wondrous arch behind you fell,
And left a chasm profound as hell.
You, in your capitol secured,
A siege as long as Troy endured.
NEW-YEAR'S GIFT FOR BEC'.
RETURNING Janus now prepares,
For Bec, a new supply of cares,
Sent in a bag to Doctor Swift,
Who thus displays the New-year's Gift.
First, this large parcel brings you tidings
Of our good Dean's eternal chidings;
Of Nelly's pertness, Robin's leasings,
And Sheridan's perpetual teasings.
This box is cramm'd on every side
With Stella's magisterial pride.
Behold a cage with sparrows fill'd,
First to be fondled, then be kill'd.
1 Mrs. Rebecca Dingley, Stella's friend and companion.
Now to this hamper I invite you,
With six imagined cares to fright you.
Here in this bundle Janus sends
Concerns by thousands for your
friends;
And here's a pair of leathern pokes
To hold your cares for other folks.
Here from this barrel you may broach
A peck of troubles for a coach.
This ball of wax your ears will darken;
Still to be curious never hearken:
Lest you the town may have less trouble in,
Bring all your Quilca cares to Dublin,
For which he sends this empty sack,
And so take all upon your back.
ON WOOD THE PATENTEE'S IRISH HALFPence.
As when the squire and tinker, Wood,
Gravely consulting Ireland's good,
Together mingled in a mass
Smith's dust and copper, lead and brass;
The mixture thus, by chemic art,
United close in every part,
In fillets roll'd, or cut in pieces,
Appear'd like one continued species,
And by the forming engine struck,
On all the same impression stuck:
2 A country house of Dr. Sheridan's.
So, to confound this hated coin,
All parties and religions join;
Whigs, Tories, Trimmers, Hanoverians,
Quakers, Conformists, Presbyterians,
Scotch, Irish, English, French, unite,
With equal interest, equal spite;
Together mingled in a lump,
Do all in one opinion jump,
And every one begins to find
The same impression on his mind.
A strange event! whom gold incites
To blood and quarrels, brass unites;
So, goldsmiths say, the coarsest stuff
Will serve for solder well enough;
So by the kettle's loud alarm
The bees are gather'd to a swarm;
So by the brazen trumpet's bluster
Troops of all tongues and nations muster;
And so the Harp of Ireland brings
Whole crowds about its brazen strings.
There is a chain let down from Jove,
But fasten'd to his throne above,
So strong, that from the lower end
They say all human things depend:
This chain, as ancient poets hold,
When Jove was young, was made of gold.
Prometheus once this chain purloin'd,
Dissolved, and into money coin'd,
Then whips me on a chain of brass,
(Venus was bribed to let it pass.)
Now while this brazen chain prevail'd,
Jove saw that all devotion fail'd;
No temple to his godship raised,
No sacrifice on altars blazed;
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