Volume Iii Part 111 (1/2)

O'er the thin Soil, with silent Joy he spies Transplanted Woods, and borrow'd Verdure rise; Where every Meadow won with Toil and Blood, From haughty Tyrants, and the raging Flood, With Fruits and Flowers the careful Hind supplies, And cloathes the Marshes in a rich Disguise.

Such Wealth for frugal Hands doth Heaven decree, And such thy Gifts, Celestial Liberty!

Through stately Towns, and many a fertile Plain, The Pomp advances to the neighbouring Main.

Whole Nations crowd around with joyful Cries, And view the Heroe with insatiate Eyes.

In_ Haga's _Towers he waits, 'till Eastern Gales Propitious rise to swell the_ British _Sails.

Hither the Fame of_ England's _Monarch brings The Vows and Friends.h.i.+ps of the neighb'ring Kings; Mature in Wisdom, his extensive Mind Takes in the blended Int'rests of Mankind, The World's great Patriot. Calm thy anxious Breast, Secure in him_, O Europe _take thy Rest; Henceforth thy Kingdoms shall remain confined By Rocks or Streams, the Mounds which Heav'n design'd: The_ Alps _their new-made Monarch shall restrain, Nor shall thy Hills_, Pirene, _rise in vain

But see! to_ Britain's _Isle the Squadrons stand, And leave the sinking Towers, and lessening Land, The Royal Bark bounds o'er the floating Plain, Breaks thro' the Billows, and divides the Main, O'er the vast Deep, Great Monarch, dart thine Eyes, A watry Prospect bounded by the Skies: Ten thousand Vessels, from ten thousand Sh.o.r.es, Bring Gums and Gold, and either_ India's _Stores: Behold the Tributes hastening to thy Throne, And see the wide Horizon all thy own.

Still is it thine; tho' now the cheerful Crew Hail_ Albion's _Cliffs, just whitening to the View.

Before the Wind with swelling Sails they ride, Till_ Thames _receives them in his opening Tide.

The Monarch hears the thundering Peals around, From trembling Woods and ecchoing Hills rebound, Nor misses yet, amid the deafening Train, The Roarings of the hoa.r.s.e-resounding Main.

As in the Flood he sails, from either Side He views his Kingdom in its rural Pride; A various Scene the wide-spread Landskip yields, O'er rich Enclosures and luxuriant Fields: A lowing Herd each fertile Pasture fills, And distant Flocks stray o'er a thousand Hills.

Fair_ Greenwich _hid in Woods, with new Delight, (Shade above Shade) now rises to the Sight: His Woods ordain'd to visit every Sh.o.r.e, And guard the Island which they graced before.

The Sun now rowling down the Western Way, A Blaze of Fires renews the fading Day; Unnumbered Barks the Regal Barge infold, Brightening the Twilight with its beamy Gold; Less thick the finny Shoals, a countless Fry, Before the Whale or kingly Dolphin fly.

In one vast Shout he seeks the crowded Strand, And in a Peal of Thunder gains the Land.

Welcome, great Stranger, to our longing Eyes, Oh! King desir'd, adopted_ Albion _cries.

For thee the East breath'd out a prosperous Breeze, Bright were the Suns, and gently swell'd the Seas.

Thy Presence did each doubtful Heart compose, And Factions wonder'd that they once were Foes; That joyful Day they lost each Hostile Name, The same their Aspect, and their Voice the same.

So two fair Twins, whose Features were design'd At one soft Moment in the Mother's Mind, Show each the other with reflected Grace, And the same Beauties bloom in either Face; The puzzled Strangers which is which enquire, Delusion grateful to the smiling Sire.

From that fair Hill, where h.o.a.ry Sages boast To name the Stars, and count the heavenly Host, By the next Dawn doth great_ Augusta _rise, Proud Town! the n.o.blest Scene beneath the Skies.

O'er_ Thames _her thousand Spires their l.u.s.tre shed, And a vast Navy hides his ample Bed, A floating Forest. From the distant Strand A Line of Golden Carrs strikes o'er the Land_: Britannia's _Peers in Pomp and rich Array, Before their King, triumphant, lead the Way.

Far as the Eye can reach, the gawdy Train, A bright Procession, s.h.i.+nes along the Plain.

So haply through the Heav'n's wide pathless Ways A Comet draws a long-extended Blaze; From East to West [burns through [2]] th' ethereal Frame, And half Heav'n's Convex glitters with the Flame.

Now to the Regal Towers securely brought, He plans_ Britannia's _Glories in his Thought; Resumes the delegated Pow'r he gave, Rewards the Faithful and restores the Brave.