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.

196

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

Nods horrible; with more terrific port

Thou walk’st, and seem'st already in the fight.
What spoils, what conquests then did Albion hope
From thy achievements! yet thou hast surpass'd
Her boldest vows, exceeded what thy foes
Could fear or fancy. They, in multitude
Superior, fed their thoughts with prospect vain
Of victory and rapine, reckoning what

From ransom'd captives would accrue. Thus one
Jovial his mate bespoke: 'O Friend! observe
How gay with all the' accoutrements of war
The Britons come; with gold well-fraught they
Thus far, our prey, and tempt us to subdue [come
Their recreant force; how will their bodies stripped
Enrich the victors, while the vultures sate

Their maws with full repast!'—Another, warm'd
With high ambition, and conceit of prowess
Inherent, arrogantly thus presumed:

What if this sword, full often drench'd in blood Of base antagonists, with grinding edge Should now cleave sheer the execrable head Of Churchill met in arms! or if this hand, Soon as his army disarray'd 'gins swerve, Should stay him flying, with retentive gripe Confounded and appall'd! No trivial price Should set him free, nor small should be my praise To lead him shackled, and exposed to scorn Of gathering crowds, the Britons' boasted chief.'

Thus they in sportive mood their empty taunts And menaces express'd; nor could their prince In arms, vain Tallard, from opprobrious speech Refrain. Why halt ye thus, ye Britons! why Decline the war? shall a morass forbid

You easy march? Advance; we'll bridge a way
Safe of access.' Imprudent thus to' invite

A furious lion to his folds! That boast
He ill abides; captived, in other plight
He soon revisits Britany, that once
Resplendent came, with stretch'd retinue girt
And pompous pageantry. O hapless fate,
If any arm but Churchill's had prevail'd!
No need such boasts, or exprobrations false
Of cowardice. The military mound

The British files transcend, in evil hour
For their proud foes, that fondly braved their fate.
And now on either side the trumpets blew,
Signal of onset, resolution firm

Inspiring, and pernicious love of war.

The adverse fronts in rueful conflict meet,
Collecting all their might, for on the' event
Decisive of this bloody day depends
The fate of kingdoms. With less vehemence
The great competitors for Rome engaged,
Cæsar and Pompey, on Pharsalian plains,
Where stern Bellona, with one final stroke,
Adjudged the empire of this globe to one.
Here the Bavarian duke his brigades leads,
Gallant in arms, and gaudy to behold,
Bold Champion! brandishing his Noric blade,
Best-temper'd steel, successless proved in field.
Next Tallard, with his Celtic infantry

Presumptuous comes. Here Churchill, not so
To vaunt as fight, his hardy cohorts joins [prompt
With Eugene's German force. Now from each van
The brazen instruments of death discharge
Horrible flames, and turbid streaming clouds
Of smoke sulphureous; intermix'd with these