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A VOYAGE TO BOSTON. A POEM.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man,
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in your ears,
Then imitate the action of the Tyger,
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.
SHAKESPEARE.
By the AUTHOR of AMERICAN LIBERTY, a Poem: General Gage's SOLILOQUY, &c.
PHILADELPHIA: SOLD BY WILLIAM WOODHOUSE, IN FRONT-STREET. M.DCC.LXXV.
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ARGUMENT.
INTRODUCTORY reflections. A traveller undertakes a voyage to Boston: arrives in a river of Massachusetts: has there a sight of the native Genius of North-America, who presents him with a mantle, and acquaints him with its virtue of rendering the wearer invisible: desires him to visit the town in that state, and remark the transactions there. Accordingly he arrives at General Gage's mansion, where are several other ministerial tools sitting in council. The striking familiarity of Gage's temper and conduct to that of Hernando Cortez. Some account of Cortez. and his horrid devastations in Mexico, &c. The traveller enters their junto, and gives an account of the chief members of it, viz. General Gage. Admiral Greaves, General Burgoyne, Lord Percy▪ General Howe, Capt. Wallace, and a numerous fry of dependents and needy favourites waiting for posts and estates in America, as soon as they shall have compelled us to resign our liberties: General Gage's surprize at their several defeats in New-England and questions his leaders thereupon. Lord Percy's answer: Greave's reply to that nobleman: Gage's raillery upon Percy for his nimble retreat on April 19 1775. Percy's defence of his conduct on that day▪ and the reason of his activity; and desires them to forget Lexington for the present and [Page iv] turn their eyes to their late loss at Bunker's Hill. General Howe's speech concerning that action. Burgoyne's harrangue, with his invectives against Colonel Grant, who "pledged himself for the general cowardice of all America:" Gage's brief reply; and communicates his intention of purloining cattle from the islands, and plans that right honourable exploit: but being overcome with sleep dismisses his counsellors: The cutting down the Liberty Tree in Boston, and untimely end of one of the wretches employed in that sneaking affair: Distresses of the imprisoned citizens in Boston: Dissection of a Tory: The traveller leaves Boston, and visits the Provincial Camp; meets the Genius of America again on the way and resigns the mantle, whereby he again becomes visible; arrives at the camp: View of the Rifle-men, Virginians, &c. Speech of an American Soldier; his determined resolution, which is that of all America, to defend our rights and privileges: Grief that he must fight against our own nation: Mention of Carleton and Johnson; concludes with a melancholly recital of our present distractions, and sincere hope of reconciliation with Great-Britain, before a wicked ministry render it too late: Conclusion.
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A POEM, &c.
HOW curs'd the man whom fate's unhappy doom
Confines, unluckly, to his native home,
How doubly curs'd by cross-grain'd stars is he,
Whom fate ties down, tho' struggling to be free!
Heaven gave to man this vast extended round,
No climes confine him and no oceans bound;
Heaven gave him forest, mountain▪ vale and plain,
And bade him vanquish, if he could, the main:
Then miser hoard and heap thy riches still,
View the sun rise above thy well known hill,
Vile as the swine enjoy thy gloomy den,
Sweat in the compass of a squalid pen,
'Till sick of life▪ on terms with death agree,
And leave thy fortune, not thy heart to me.
So mus'd the bard who this rough verse indites,
Asserting freedom, and his country's rights:
Nor mus'd in vain; the fruitful musings brought
To practice what in theory he thought;
And gave desire, a keen desire to roam
A hundred or two hundred leagues from home.
Where should he go? The eastern hills reply,
Come, pensive traveller, with thy tearful eye,
Come, and fair Boston from our summit see,
No city sits so widow-like as she;
Her trading navies spread their sails no more,
Remotest nations cease to seek her shore,
[Page 6]Deep are her weeds—in darkest sable clad,
O come and view the Queen of all that's sad,
Long are her nights, that yield no chearful sound,
Like endless nights in tombs below the ground,
Low burns her lamp before th' insulting rout;
See, the lamp dies, and every light goes out!
O Britain come, and, if you can, relent
This rage, that better might on Spain be spent.
Touch'd with the mountain's melancholy prayer
(Perhaps a mountain or Dame Fancy there)
Could I refuse, since mutual grief endears,
To seek New Albion's Lady all in tears?
But doubts perplexing hover'd o'er my mind,
Whether to chuse the aid of horse or wind;
That suits the best with bards of place and state,
This must us needy Rhymers compensate,
Since Jove his ancient bounty has deny'd,
And grants no modern Pegasus to ride.
Dark was the night, the winds tempestuous roar'd
From western skies, and warn'd us all aboard;
Spread were the sails, the nimble vessel flies
O'er Neptune's bosom and reflected skies;
Nor halt I here to tell you how she roves
O'er Tython's chambers and his coral groves.
Let some prose wand'rer long-sun journals keep,
I haste me, like the vessel o'er the deep;
Nor tire you with descriptions of the coast,
New mountains gain'd or hills in aether lost,—
The muse can only hint at scenes like these,
Not stop to spend her poem in their praise:
Three days we cut the brine with steady prore,
The fourth beheld us on New Albion's shore.
Guard me, ye heavens, shield this defenceless head,
While travelling o'er these sanguine plains of dead;
[Page 7]Nor only me, may heaven defend us all
From the harsh rigour of King George's ball.
Far in the depth of an aspiring wood,
Where roll'd its waves a silver winding flood,
Our weary vessel urg'd its darksome way,
And safely anchor'd in a shady bay.
Landing, I left the weather beaten crew,
And pensive rov'd as home-sick travellers do;
When all at once before my wand'ring eyes,
The Genius of the river seem'd to rise;
Tall and erect, untaught by years to bow,
But not a smile relax'd his clouded brow:
His swarthy features vengeful deeds forebode,
Terror march'd on before him as he trode,
His ratling quiver at his shoulder hung,
His pointed spear and glitt'ring helmit rung,
The tall oaks trembled at the warlike shade,
When thus the Genius of the water said:
"O curious stranger, come from far to see,
What grieves us all, but none so much as me!
The free-born Genius of the woods am I,
Who scorn to dwell in lands of slavery;
I, tho' unseen, command the heart to dare,
And spread the soul of freedom thro' the air,
That each may taste and value if he can,
This sovereign good that constitutes the man:
Here, in the center of tyrannic sway,
I spread my spirit and forbid dismay,
To every bosom dart my influence round,
Like the sun beams that fructify the ground;
But waft a timorous and ignoble breath
Where conscience, conscience bids them shrink at death.
[Page 8]"O stranger, led by Heaven's supreme decree,
Go, view the dire effects of tyranny,
Strait to the town direct thy fated way,
But heark attentive, listen and obey,
I to thy care commit this magic vest,
To guard thee 'midst yon' spires a viewless guest;
Whene'er its wreathy folds thy limbs embrace,
No mortal eye thy roving step shall trace,
Unseen as ghosts that quit the clay below,
Yet seeing all securely thou shalt go.
There watch the motions of the hostile lines,
Observe their counsels, search their deep designs;
Trace all their schemes, the lawless strength survey
Of licens'd robbers howling for their prey."
So spoke the Genius of the shaded wave.
And then the vest of wond'rous virtue gave,
Which scarce my limbs enwrapt, when I began
To move as ne'er before did mortal man,
Light as the air, as free as winds I stray'd,
Pierc'd firmest rocks and walls for prisons made,
Soar'd high, nor ask'd the feeble aid of art,
And trac'd all secrets but the human heart.
Then to the town I held my hasty course,
To Boston's town subdu'd by lawless force;
Close by a centinel I took my stride,
The wretch ne'er saw me tho' I graz'd his side:
But for my vest, what pains had been my lot,
What gibes, what sneers, reproaches, and what not?
Or in their place the robbers had constrained
To turn a Tory, which my heart disdained.
Now stalk'd I on towards the dome of state,
Where Gage resides our western Potentate,
[Page 9]A second * Cortez sent by heaven's command,
To murder, rage, and ravage o'er our land;
A very Cortez—what's the difference?
He wants his courage and he wants his sense,
E'en Cortez would our tyrant's part disdain;
That murder'd strangers; this his countrymen;
In all the rest resemblance so exact,
No glass Venetian could more true reflect.
In all their rest, congenial souls combin'd,
The scourge, the curse and scandal of our kind.
Cortez was sent by Spain's black brotherhood,
Whose faith is murder▪ whose religion blood;
Sent▪ unprovok'd, with his Iberian train,
To fat the soil with millions of the slain:
Poor Mexico! arouse thy sanguine head.
Peru, disclose thy hosts of murder'd dead!
Let your vast plains all white with human bones,
That bleeding lie, and ask sepulchral stones,
Force a dumb voice and echo to the sky,
The blasting curse of papal tyranny;
And let your rocks, and let your hills proclaim,
That Gage and Cortez' errand is the same.
Say then what cause this murd'rous hand restrains?
The want of power is made the monster's chains,
The streams of blood his heart foredooms to spill,
Is but a dying serpent's rage to kill:
What power shall drive this serpent from our shore,
This scorpion swoln with carnage, death, and gore?
[Page 10]Twelve was the hour,—infernal darkness reign'd,
Low hung the clouds, the stars their light restrain'd:
High in the dome a dire assembly sat,
A stupid council on affairs of state;
To their dim lamps I urg'd my fearless way,
And marching 'twixt their guards without delay,
Step'd boldly in, and safely veil'd from view,
Stood in the center of the black-guard crew.
First. Gage was there—a mimic chair of state,
Receiv'd the honour of his honour's weight;
This man of straw, the regal purple bound,
But dullness▪ deepest dullness, hover'd round.
Next Greaves, who wields the trident of the sea,
The tall arch-captain of artillery,
All gloomy sat, mumbling of flame and fire,
Balls, cannon, ships and all their damn'd attire;
Well pleas'd to live in everlasting hum,
But senseless as the echo of a drum.
Hard by, Burgoyne, his ample chair supplies,
And seem'd to meditate in studious guise,
As if again to grant the world to see,
Long, dull, dry letters writ to Gen'ral Lee,
Huge scrawls of words, thro' endless circuits drawn
Unmeanning as the errand he's upon;
His arm and pen of equal strength we call,
This kills with dullness, just like that with ball.
Lord Percy seem'd to snore— O conscious muse,
This ill-tim'd snoring to the Peer excuse,
Tir'd was the Hero of his toilsome day,
Full fifteen miles he fled a tedious way—
How should he then the dews of Somnus shun?
Perhaps not us'd to walk, much less to run.
Red-fac'd as Sol descending to repose,
Reclin'd the furious Captain of the Rose;
[Page 11]Skill'd to direct his cannonading shot,
No Turkish rover half so murd'ring hot;
Pleas'd with base vengeance on defenceless towns,
His forked tongue hiss'd nothing else but, Zounds!
In Fame's proud temple aiming for a niche,
'Mongst those who find it at the cannon's breech.
Howe, vex'd to see his army's fatal doom,
Ceas'd to beseech the skies for elbow room, *
(How could the skies refuse the pious man,
When half the pray'r was blood! and death! and damn!)
He curs'd the brainless minister that plann'd
His sleeveless errand to a distant land;
But, aw'd by Gage, his bursting wrath recoil'd,
And in his inmost bosom doubly boil'd.
These, chief of all the Pandemonian crew,
Exalted sat▪ the rest a pension'd few,
A sample of the multitude that wait,
In dreams of Indian gold and Indian state;
North's friends down swarming (so our monarch wills)
Hungry as hell from Caledonian hills;
Whose endless numbers if you bid me tell,
Ill count the atoms of this globe as well:
Knights, Captains, 'Squires a secondary band,
Held at small wages till they gain the land.
Flock'd pensive round; black spleen assail'd the crowd▪
Black as the horrors of a wintry cloud,
And made them doubt, for doubts had place to grow,
Whether they were invincible or no.
Gage starts, rebounding from his ample seat,
Swears thrice, and cries—"Ye furies are we beat?
[Page 12]Thrice are we drubb'd?—pray gentles let me know,
Whether it be the fault of fate or you?"
He ceas'd, and anger flash'd from both his eyes,
While Percy to his query thus replies.—
"Let gods and men attest the words I say,
Our soldiers flinch'd not from the dubious fray.
Had each a head of temper'd steel possest,
A heart of brass, and admantine breast,
More courage ne'er had urg'd them to the fray,
More true-born valour made them scorn dismay."
"Whoe'er, said Greaves, their cowardice denies,
Or Lord, or Knight, or 'Squire, I say he lies:
How could the wretches help but marching on,
When at their backs your swords were ready drawn,
To pierce the man that flinch'd a single pace,
From all hell's light'ning blazing in his face?
Death on my life! My Lord, had I been there,
I'd sent New-England's army thro' the air,
Wrench'd their black hearts from this infernal brood,
And turn'd their streams to Oliverian blood,
Henceforth let Britain deem her men but toys,
Gods! to be conquer'd thus by country boys!—
Why, if your men had had a mind to sup,
They might have eat this play-thing army up;
Five thousand to five hundred thus to yield,
And fourteen hundred stretch'd upon the field,
O shame to Britain and the British name,
Shame damps my heart, and I must die with shame."
"Indeed," cries Gage, "'tis twice we have been beat,
You have the knack. Lord Percy, to retreat,
The death you 'scap'd my very blood congeals,
Heaven grant me too, so swift a pair of heels;
[Page 13]In Chevy-Chace, as doubtless you have read,
Lord Percy would have sooner dy'd than fled,
Behold the virtues of your house decay,
Ah how unlike the Percy of that day!"
So spoke the Hero in disdainful guise
To the gay Peer—the brilliant Peer replies,
"When once the soul has reach'd old Styx's shore,
My prayer book says, it shall return no more,
When once old Charon hoists his sable sail,
And his boat swims before the lazy gale.
Farewell to all that pleas'd the man above,
Farewell to feats of arms and joys of love,
Farewell Quadrille▪ that helps out life's short span,
Farewell to wine▪ that cheers the heart of man,
Farewell my steeds that stretch across the plain,
More swift than navies bounding o'er the main,
All, all farewell—the pensive shade must go
Where dull Medusa turns to stone below,
And Belus' maids eternal labours ply,
To drench the cask that stays for ever dry.
Since then▪ this truth is by mankind confess'd,
That ev'ry Lord must yet be Pluto's guest,
Since e'en Great George must in his turn give place,
And leave his coursers starting for the race,
How blest is he, how prudent is the man,
Who keeps aloof from Styx—while yet he can,
One well aimed ball can make us all no more
Than leaky vessels on that leeward shore
But why, my friends, these hard reflections still
On Lexington affairs—'Tis Bunker's Hill—
O fatal hill, thy ghastly sight restrains
My once warm blood▪ and chills it in my veins!
May no gay flowers or vernal blooming tree,
Scent thy vile air or shade the face of thee!
[Page 14]May no sweet grass adorn thy hateful crest,
That nodded o'er Britannia's troops distrest!
Or if it does, may some destructive gale.
The green leaf wither, and the grass turn pale;
All moisture to your breast may heaven deny,
And God and man detest you just as I —
'Tis Bunker's Hill this night has fix'd us here;
Pray query him who led your armies there;
Nor dare my courage into question call.
Or blame Lord Percy for the fault of all."
Howe chanc'd to nod, while fluent Percy spoke,
But as his Lordship ceas'd, his honor 'woke,
(Like those whom sermons into sleep betray)
Then rubb'd his eyes▪ and thus was heard to say:
"Shall those who never ventur'd from the town,
Or their ship sides, now pull our conduct down?
We fought our best, so God my honor save,
No British soldiers ever fought more brave;
Resolv'd I led them to the hostile lines,
From this day fam'd, where'er great Phoebus shines,
Firm at their head I took my bloody stand,
Marching to death and slaughter sword in hand,
'Till met the strength of each opposing force,
Like blazing-stars in their etherial course
That all on fire with rapid swiftness fly,
Then clash and shake the concave of the sky.
Twice we gave way, twice shunn'd the infernal rout,
And twice you would have cry'd all hell's broke out.
They fought like those who press for death's embrace,
And laugh the grizly monarch in the face.
Putnam's brave troops your honor would have swore,
Had robb'd the clouds of half their sulph'rous store,
[Page 15]Call'd thunder down whence Jove his vengeance spreads,
And drove it mix'd with lightning on our heads!
What tho' Cop's-hill its black artillery play'd,
Clouding the plains in worse than Stygian shade;
Tho' floating batteries rais'd their dismal roar,
Tho' all the navy bellow'd from the shore,
They roar'd in vain, death claim'd from them no share.
But helpless▪ spent their force in empty air.
Alas! what scenes of slaughter I beheld▪
What sudden carnage flush'd the glutted field!
Heaven gave the foe to thin my warlike train,
For not a musket was discharg'd in vain;
Yes that short hour▪ while heaven forbore to smile,
Made many widows in Britannia's isle,
And shewing all what power supreme can do,
Gave many orphans to those widows too.
But Gage arouse▪ come lift thy languid head,
Full fifty foes we pack'd off to the dead:
Who feeling death, from their hot posts, withdrew,
And Warren with the discontented crew—
Blest be the hand that laid his head so low,
Not fifty common deaths could please me so—
But to be short, so quick our men came in,
The hostile army was so very thin;
We fix'd our bay'nets and resum'd the fray.
Then forc'd their lines and made the dogs give way."
Next rose Burgoyne and rais'd his brazen voice,
And cry'd. "We have no reason to rejoice.
Warren is dead — in that we all agree,
Not fate itself is half so fix'd as he;
But my suspecting heart bids me foredoom,
A thousand Warrens rising in his room—
[Page 16]Heaven knows I left my native country's air,
In full belief of things that never were,
Deceiv'd by Grant, I've sail'd thus far in vain,
And like a fool may now sail back again—
Grant call'd them cowards—curse the stupid ass,
Their sides are iron and their hearts are brass—
Cowards he said, and lest that should not do,
He pawn'd his oath and swore that they were so:
O were he here, I'd make him change his note,
Disgorge his lie or cut the rascal's throat.
But Captains, Generals, hear me and attend,
Say shall we home for other succours send?
Shall other navies cross the stormy main?
They may— but what shall awe the pride of Spain?
Shall mighty George to make his law obey'd,
Transport ten thousand Russians to our aid?
That ally'd empire countless shoals may pour,
Numerous as sands that form the ocean shore,
But policy commands my heart to fear,
They'll turn their arms against us when they're here,
Come let's agree, for something must be done,
E're autumn flies and winter hastens on,
When pinching cold our navy binds in ice,
You'll find 'tis then too late to take advice."
The clock strikes three—Gage smote upon his breast,
And cry'd, "What fate determines must be best,
But now attend, a counsel I impart,
Which long has laid the heaviest at my heart—
Three weeks, ye gods, nay three long years it seems,
I've eat no fresh provision, but in dreams,
In sleep, choice dishes to my eyes repair—
Waking I gape and chew the empty air—
[Page 17]Say is it just that I who rule these bands,
Should live on husks like rakes in foreign lands?
Come let us hold a council e'er we sleep,
Some consultation how to filch their sheep,
On neighbouring isles unnumbered cattle stray,
Fat beeves and sheep an undefended prey;
These are fit victims for my noon-day dish,
These▪ if the Gods would act as I would wish,
In one short week shall glad your hearts and mine,
On mutton we will sup, on beef we'll dine."
Shouts of applause re-echo'd thro' the hall,
And what pleas'd one, as surely pleas'd them all:
Wallace was nam'd to execute the plan.
And thus sheep-stealing pleas'd them to a man.
Now slumbers stole upon the chieftain's eye,
His powder'd fore top nodded from on high,
His lids just op'd. to find how matters were—
"Dissolve he said. and so dissolv'd ye are."
Then downward sunk to dullest slumbers deep,
And in his arms embrac'd the powers of sleep.
In Boston's southern end there stands a tree,
Long sacred held to darling Liberty,
It's branching arms with verdant leaves were crown'd,
Imparting shade and grateful coolness round:
To its fam'd trunk, invisible as air,
I from the sleepy council did repair,
And at its root, fair Freedom's shrine, I paid
My warmest vows▪ and blest the virtuous shade.
Now shin'd the gay fac'd sun with morning light,
All Nature joy'd exulting at the sight,
When swift as wind, to vent their base-born rage,
The Tory Williams * and the Butcher Gage.,
[Page 18]Rush'd to the tree, a nameless number near,
Tories and Negroes following in the rear—
Each, ax in hand, attack'd the honour'd tree,
Swearing eternal war with Liberty;
Nor ceas'd their strokes, 'till each repeated wound
Tumbled its honours headlong to the ground;
But e'er it fell, not mindless of its wrong,
Aveng'd it took one destin'd head along.
A Tory soldier on its topmost limb—
The Genius of the shade look'd stern at him,
And mark'd him out that self same hour to dine,
Where unsnuff'd lamps burn low at Pluto's shrine,
Then tripp'd his feet from off their cautious stand.
Pale turn'd the wretch—he spread each helpless hand,
But spread in vain, with headlong force he fell,
Nor stopp'd descending 'till he stopp'd in Hell.
Next, curious to explore, I wander'd where
Our injur'd countrymen imprison'd are,
Some closely coop'd in the unwelcome town;
Some in dark dungeons held ignobly down;
Gage holds them there, and all recess denies,
For 'tis in these the coward's safety lies:
Were these once out. how would our troops consign
Each licens'd robber to the gulphy brine,
Or drive them foaming to the ships for aid,
To beg of stormy Greaves to cannonade,
And midnight vengeance point, like Vandeput,
Voiding his hell-hounds of their devilish glut.
A deed like that the muse must blush to name,
And bids me stamp a coward on thy fame;
Rage ruffian rage, nor lay thy thunder down,
'Till all our Tories howl and flee the town.
[Page 19]What is a Tory? Heavens and earth reveal!
What strange blind monster does that name conceal?
There! there he stands—for Augury prepare,
Come lay his heart and inmost entrails bare,
I, by the forelock seize the Stygian hound;
You bind his arms and bind the dragon down.
Surgeon attend with thy dissecting knife,
Aim well the stroke that damps the springs of life
Extract his fangs, dislodge his teeth of prey,
Clap in your pincers, and then tear away.—
Soldier stand by, the monster may resist,
You draw your back-sword, and I'll draw my fist.
Lo! mixt with air his worthless ghost has fled,
Surgeon, his paleness speaks the monster dead;
Part, part the futures of his brazen scull,
Hard as a rock, impenetrably dull.
Hold out his brain, and let his brethren see,
That tortoise brain, no larger than a pea—
Come rake his entrails, whet thy knife again,
Let's see what evils threat the next campaign,
If ministerial force shall prove too great,
Or if the Congress save their mighty freight:
See on his breast▪ deep 'grav'd with iron pen,
"Passive obedience to the worst of men."
There to his lights direct thy searching eyes,
"Slavery I love, and freedom I despise."
View next his heart, his midriff just above,
"To my own country I'll a traitor prove."
Hard by his throat, for utterance meant, I spy,
"I'll fight for tyrants and their ministry."
His crowded guts unnumber'd scrawls contain,
The scandal of our country and the bane:
His bleeding entrails shew some great design,
Which shall abortive prove, as I divine.
[Page 20]But, freedom lost, nor danger do I see,
If we can only with ourselves agree.
How like St. George invincible I stand,
This home bred dragon stretch'd beneath my hand!
Here may he lie, and let no traveller dare
The grass green hillock o'er his carcase rear,
Or heap up piles of monumental stones,
To shield from Phoebus and the stars his bones.
This feat perform'd, I girt my magic gown,
And march'd, unlicens'd, from the guarded town.
To our fam'd camp I held my eager course,
Curious to view the courage and the force
Of those, whose hearts are flush'd with freedom's flame,
Who yet stand foremost in the field of fame,
And deeply griev'd with their departing laws,
Arm in conviction of a righteous cause.
But e'er I reach'd the great encampment's bound,
The friendly Genius on the way I found,
Graceful he smil'd, his azure locks he shook,
While from his lips these flowing accents broke:
"O mortal! guided by the fates and me,
To view what thousands wish in vain to see;
Now to my care the magic vest restore,
Chearful return to what thou wast before,
I to the shades this wond'rous mantle bear,
And hang it safe in Fancy's temple there;
Nor let its loss provoke thee to repine,
The vest was Jove's, the will to lend it mine."
So said the God, and blending with the light,
I walk'd conspicuous and reveal'd to sight,
No more impervious to the human view,
But seeing all, and seen by others too.
Now throngs on throngs on ev'ry side surround,
Beneath the burthen groans the heaving ground,
[Page 21]Those fam'd afar to drive the deadly shot,
With truest level to the central spot;
Those whom Virginia's vast dominion sends,
From her chaste streams and intervening lands,
And those who conscious of their country's claim,
From Pennsylvania's happy climate came.
These▪ and ten thousand more were scatter'd round
In black battalions on the tented ground,
Prepar'd whene'er the trumpets iron roar,
Should summon forth to all the woes of war,
To hear with joy the loud alarming call,
And rush perhaps to their own funeral.
Just in the center of the camp arose
An elm, whose shade invited to repose,
Thither I rov'd, and at the cool retreat,
A brave tho' rough-cast, soldier chanc'd to meet:
No fop in arms▪ no feather on his head,
No glittering toys the manly warrior had,
His auburne face the least employ'd his care,
He left it to the females to be fair;
And tho't the men, whom shining trifles sway,
But pageant soldiers for a sun-shine day.
Marking my pensive step, his hand he laid
On his hard breast, and thus the warrior said:
"Stranger observe, behold these warlike fields,
Mark well the ills that civil discord yields:
No crimes of our's this vengeful doom require,
Our city ravag'd and our towns on fire,
Troops pour'd on troops to Britain's lasting shame,
That threaten all with universal flame:
These are the kings, the monarchs of the sea,
Exerting power in lawless tyranny,
These hot for power, and burning for command,
Would rule the ocean and subject the land;
[Page 22]But while this arm the strength of man retains,
While true-born courage revels through my veins,
I'll spill my blood yon' hostile force to quell,
And lawless power by lawful strength repel;
This rough, black cannon shall our cause defend,
This black, rough cannon is my truest friend.
This arm'd with vengeance, belching death afar,
Confus'd their thousands marching to the war:
Yet deeply griev'd the tears bedew my eyes,
For this the greatest of calamities.
That our keen weapons meant for other ends,
Should spend their rage on Britons once our friends;
But Liberty!—no price hast thou below,
And e'en a Briton's life for thee must go.
Come then, my weapons, rise in Freedom's aid,
Her steps attend and be her call obey'd;
Let Carleton arm his antichristian might,
And sprinkle holy-water 'ere he fight,
And let him have, to shield his limbs from hurt.†
Don Quixote's sword, that valiant knight of Spain,
Which now may grace a madman's side again,
St. Bernard's hose,† and lest we give too few,
John Faustus' cap, and Satan's cloven shoe;
(These precious relicks may defend their backs.
And good Guy Johnson should, I think, go snacks)
Nay let him ere the clashing armies cope,
Procure a pardon from his friend the Pope,
That if his soul should be dislodg'd from hence,
Heaven may with all his scarlet sins dispense,
And place him safe beyond the reach of ball,
Where Abrah'm's bosom may be had for all.
[Page 23]Some powerful cause disarms my heart of fear.
And bids me bring some future battle near.
When crowds of dead shall veil the ghastful plain,
And mighty Lords like Percy, fly again;
When every pulse with treble force shall beat
And each exert his valour to retreat.
And each shall wish his stature may be made,
Long as it seems at Sol's descending shade:
So tallest trees that tour toward the skies,
From simple acorns take their humble rise.
To see from death their boasted valour shrink,
And basely fly, has sometimes made me think,
The true great heart is often found remote
From the gay trappings of a scarlet coat.
Stranger▪ in pity lend one pensive sigh,
For all that dy'd and all that yet may die,
If wars intestine long their rage retain,
This land must turn a wilderness again.
While civil discord plumes her snaky head,
What streams of human gore must yet be shed,
With sanguine floods shall Mystick's waves be dy'd,
And ting'd▪ the ocean, with her purple tide,
Enough— The prospect fills my heart with woe;
Back to the heart my freezing spirits flow,
No more remains; no more than this, that all
Must fight like Romans, or like Romans fall:
O heaven born peace, renew thy wonted charms,
Where Neptune westward spreads his aged arms.
To hostile lands return an honour'd guest,
And bless our crimson shore among the rest;
'Till then may heaven assert our injur'd claims,
And second every stroke Columbia aims.
Direct our counsels and our leaders sway,
Confound our foes and fill them with dismay,
[Page 24]So shall past years, those happy years, return,
And war's red lamp in Boston cease to burn:
Hear and attest the warmest wish I bring,
God save the Congress and reform the King!
Long May Britannia rule our hearts again,
Rule as she rul'd in George the Second's reign;
May ages hence her growing empire see,
And she be glorious, but ourselves be free,
In that just scale an equal balance hold,
And grant these climes a second age of gold."
He ceas'd, and now the sun's declining beam
With fainter radiance shot a trembling gleam.
The thickening stars proclaim'd the day expir'd,
And to their tented mansions all retir'd.
FINIS.