New flames are feen to sparkle in her eyes,
And on her blooming cheek fresh roses rise;
The pleafing paffion heightens each bright hue,
And seems to touch the finish'd piece anew,
Improves what nature's bounteous hand had given,
And mends the fairest workmanship of heaven.
Nor joy like this in courts is only found,
But fpreads to all the grateful people round;
Laborious hinds inur'd to rural toil,
To tend the flocks and turn the mellow foil,
In homely guise their honeft hearts exprefs,
And blefs the warrior who protects the peace,
Who keeps the foe aloof' and drives afar
The dreadful ravage of the wafting war.
No rude destroyer cuts the ripening crop,
Prevents the harvest, and deludes their hope;
No helpless wretches fly with wild amaze,
Look weeping back, and fee their dwellings blaze; 345
The victor's chain no mournful captives know,
Nor hear the threats of the infulting foe,
But Freedom laughs, the fruitful fields abound,
The chearful voice of mirth is heard to found,
And Plenty doles her various bounties round,
The humble village, and the wealthy town,
Confenting join their happiness to own :
What heaven and Anna's gentleft reign afford,
All is fecur'd by Marlborough's conquering fword.
O facred, ever honour'd name! O thou!
That wert our greatest William once below!
What place foe'er thy virtues now poffefs
Near the bright fource of everlasting blifs,
Where-e'er exalted to etherial height,
Radiant with stars, thou tread'st the fields of light, 360
Thy feats divine, thy heaven a-while forfake,
And deign the Britons' triumph to partake.
Nor art thou chang'd, but ftill thou shalt delight
To hear the fortune of the glorious fight,
How fail'd oppreffion, and prevail'd the right.
What once below, fuch ftill thy pleasures are,
Europe and Liberty are still thy care;
Thy great, thy generous, pure, immortal mind
Is ever to the public good inclin’d,
Is ftill the tyrant's foe, and patron of mankind.
Behold where Marlborough, thy laft beft gift,
At parting to thy native Belgia left,
Succeeds to all thy kind paternal cares,
Thy watchful counfels, and laborious wars;
Like thee, afpires by virtue to renown,
Fights to fecure an empire not his own,
Reaps only toil himself, and gives away a crown.
At length thy prayer, O pious prince! is heard, 380
Heaven has at length in its own cause appear'd
At length Ramillia's field atones for all
The faithlefs breaches of the perjur'd Gaul;
At length a better age to man decreed,
With truth, with peace, and justice, fhall fucceed;
Fall'n are the proud, and the griev'd world is freed.
One triumph yet, my Muse, remains behind,
Another vengeance yet the Gaul shall find;
On Lombard plains, beyond his Alpine hills,
Louis the force of hoftile Britain feels :
Swift to her friends distress'd her fuccours fly,
And diftant wars her wealthy fons supply:
From flow unactive courts, they grieve to hear
Eugene, a name to every Briton dear,
By tedious languishing delays is held
Repining, and impatient, from the field:
While factious statesmen riot in excess,
And lazy priests whole provinces poffefs,
Of unregarded wants the brave complain,
And the ftarv'd foldier fues for bread in vain;
At once with generous indignation warm,
Britain the treasure fends, and bids the hero arm,
Straight eager to the field, he speeds away,
There vows the victor Gaul fhall dear repay
The fpoils of Calcinato's fatal day :
Chear'd by the presence of the chief they love,
Once more their fate the warriors long to prove ;
Reviv'd each foldier lifts his drooping head,
Forgets his wounds, and calls him on to lead;
Again their crefts the German eagles rear,
Stretch their broad wings, and fan the Latian air;
Greedy for battle and the prey they call,
And point great Eugene's thunder on the Gaul.
The chief commands, and foon in dread array
Onwards the moving legions urge their way;
With hardy marches and fuccessful hafte,
O'er every barrier fortunate they pass'd,
Which nature or the skilful foe had plac'd.
The foe in vain with Gallic arts attends,
To mark which way
leader bends,
Vainly in war's myfterious rules is wife,
Lurks where tall woods and thickeft coverts rife,
And meanly hopes a conqueft from furprize.
Now with fwift horse the plain around them beats,
And oft advances, and as oft retreats;
Now fix'd to wait the coming force, he seems,
Secur'd by steepy banks and rapid streams;
While river-gods in vain exhaust their store;
From plenteous urns the gushing torrents pour,
Rife o'er their utmost margins to the plain,
And strive to stay the warrior's haste in vain ;
Alike they pafs the plain and clofer wood,
Explore the ford, and tempt the fwelling flood,
Unshaken still pursue the stedfaft course,
And where they want their way, they find it or they force..
But anxious thoughts Savoy's great Prince infeft,
And roll ill-boding in his careful breast;
Oft he revolves the ruins of the great,
And fadly thinks on loft Bavaria's fate,
The hapless mark of fortune's cruel sport,
An exile, meanly forc'd to beg fupport
From the flow bounties of a foreign court..
Forc'd from his lov'd Turin, his last retreat,
His glory once and empire's ancient feat,
He fees from far where wide destructions spread,
And fiery fhowers the goodly town invade,
Then turns to mourn in vain his ruin'd state,
And curfe the unrelenting tyrant's hate.
But great Eugene prevents his every fear,
He had refoly'd it, and he would be there;
Not danger, toil, the tedious weary way,
Nor all the Gallic powers his promis'd aid delay.
Like truth itself unknowing how to fail,
He fcorn'd to doubt, and knew he must prevail.
Thus ever certain does the fun appear,
Bound by the law of Jove's eternal year;
Thus conftant to his courfe fets out at morn,
Round the wide world in twice twelve hours is born,
And to a moment keeps his fix'd return.
Straight to the town the heroes turn their care,
Their friendly fuccour for thebrave prepare,
And on the foe united bend the war.
O'er the steep trench and ramparts guarded height,
At once they rush, and drive the rapid flight;
With idle arms the Gallic legions feem
To ftem the rage of the refiftless stream;
At once it bears them down, at once they yield,
Headlong are pufh'd and fwept along the field;
Refiftance ceafes, and 'tis war no more,
At once the vanquish'd own the victor's power;
Throughout the field, where-e'er they turn their fight,
'Tis all or conqueft or inglorious flight;
Swift to their refcued friends their joys they bear,
With life and liberty at once they chear,
And fave them in the moment of defpair.
So timely to the aid of finking Rome,
With active hafte did great Camillus come:
So to the Capitol he forc'd his
So from the proud Barbarians fnatch'd his prey,
And fav'd his country in one fignal day.
|