AN IMITATION OF THE PROPHECY OF
FROM HORACE. BOOK III. ODE XXV.
"Dicam infigne, recens, adhuc
"Indictum ore alio non fecus in jugis "Ex fomnis ftupet Euias
"Hebrum profpiciens, & nive candidam "Thracen, ac pede barbaro
“ Lustratam Rhodopen.”
S Mar his round one morning took,
(Whom fome call earl, and fome call duke)
And his new brethren of the blade,
Shivering with fear and froft, survey'd,
On Perth's bleak hills he chanc'd to fpy
An aged wizard fix foot high,
With bristled hair and visage blighted,
Wall-ey'd, bare-haunch'd, and fecond-fighted.
The grizly fage in thought profound
Beheld the chief with back fo round,
Then roll'd his eye-balls to and fro
O'er his paternal hills of snow,
And into these tremendous speeches
Broke forth the prophet without breeches.
Into what ills betray'd, by thee,
This ancient kingdom do I fee!
Her realms un-peopled and forlorn!
Wae's me! that ever thou wert born!
Proud English loons (our clans o'ercome)
On Scottish pads fhall amble home;
J fee them dreft in bonnets blue
(The fpoils of thy rebellious crew);
I fee the target cast away,
And chequer'd plaid become their prey,
The chequer'd plaid to make a gown
For many a lafs in London town.
In vain thy hungry mountaineers
Come forth in all thy warlike geers,
The fhield, the piftol, durk, and dagger,
In which they daily wont to fwagger,
And oft have fally'd out to pillage
The hen-roofts of fome peacefull village,
Or, while their neighbours were asleep,
Have carry'd off a low-land fheep,
What boots thy high-born host of beggars,
Mac-leans, Mac-kenzies, and Mac-gregors,
With popish cut-throats, perjur'd ruffians,
And Forster's troop of raggamuffins ?
In vain thy lads around thee bandy,
Inflam'd with bag-pipe and with brandy.
Doth not bold Sutherland the trufty,
With heart fo true, and voice fo rusty,
(A loyal foul) thy troops affright,
While hoarfely he demands the fight?
Doft thou not generous Ilay dread,
The braveft hand, the wifeft head?
Undaunted doft thou hear th' alarms
Of hoary Athol sheath'd in arms?
Douglas, who draws his lineage down
From Thanes and Peers of high renown,
Fiery, and young, and uncontrol'd,
With knights, and fquires, and barons bold,
(His noble houfhold-band) advances,
And on the milk-white courfer prances.
Thee Forfar to the combat dares,
Grown fwarthy in Iberian wars:
And Monroe, kindled into rage,
Sourly defies thee to engage;
He'll rout thy foot, though ne'er so many,
And horfe to boot-if thou hadst any.
But fee Argyll, with watchful eyes,
Lodg'd in his deep entrenchments lies!
Couch'd like a lion in thy way,
He waits to spring upon his prey ;
While, like a herd of timorous deer,
Thy army shakes and pants with fear,
Led by their doughty general's skill,
From frith to frith, from hill to hill.
Is thus thy haughty promise paid
That to the Chevalier was made,
When thou didst oaths and duty barter,
For dukedom, generalihip, and garter ?
Three moons thy Jemmy fhall command,
With Highland sceptre in his hand,
Too good for his pretended birth,
-Then down shall fall the king of Perth. 'Tis fo decreed: for George fhall reign, And traitors be forfworn in vain.
Heaven fhall for ever on him smile,
And bless him ftill with an Argyll.
While thou, pursued by vengeful foes,
Condemn'd to barren rocks and fnows,
And hinder'd passing Inverlocky,
Shall burn thy clan, and curse poor Jocky.
FROM A LADY IN ENGLAND TO A GENTLEMAN AT AVIGNON.
10 thee, dear rover, and thy vanquish'd friends,
Though much you suffer, think I fuffer more,
Worfe than an exile on my native fhore.
Companions in your master's flight you roam,
Unenvy'd by your haughty foes at home;
For ever near the royal outlaw's fide
You fhare his fortunes, and his hopes divide,
On glorious schemes, and thoughts of empire dwell,
And with imaginary titles swell.
Say, for thou know'ft I own his facred line,
The paffive doctrine, and the right divine,
Say, what new fuccours does the chief prepare?
The ftrength of armies? or the force of prayer?
Does he from heaven or earth his hopes derive ?
From faints departed, or from priests alive?
Nor faints nor priests can Brunswick's troops withstand,
And beads drop useless through the zealot's hand;
Heaven to our vows may future kingdoms owe,
But skill and courage win the crowns below.
Ere to thy cause, and thee, my heart inclin'd,
Or love to party had seduc'd my mind,
In female joys I took a dull delight,
Slept all the morn, and punted half the night:
But now, with fears and public cares possest,
The church, the church, for ever breaks
The poftboy on my pillow I explore,
And fift the news of every foreign shore,
Studious to find new friends, and new allies;
What armies march from Sweden in disguise;
How Spain prepares her banners to unfold,
And Rome deals out her bleffings, and her gold
Then o'er the map my finger, taught to stray,
Cross many a region marks the winding way;
From fea to fea, from realm to realm I rove,
And grow a meer geographer by love:
But ftill Avignon, and the pleasing coast
That holds thee banish'd, claims my care the most:
Oft on the well-known fpot I fix my eyes,
And span the distance that between us lies.
Let not our James, though foil'd in arms, despair, Whilft on his fide he reckons half the fair: In Britain's lovely ifle a shining throng War in his caufe, a thousand beauties ftrong. Th' unthinking victors vainly boast their powers; Be theirs the musket, while the tongue is ours. We reafon with fuch fluency and fire, The beaux we baffle, and the learned tire,
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