Begin, my Mufe, from Jove derive thy fong,
Thy fong of right does first to Jove belong :
For thou thyfelf art of celeftial feed,

Nor dare a fire inferior boaft the breed.

When first the frame of this vaft ball was made,
And Jove with joy the finish'd work furvey'd;
Viciffitude of things, of men and states,

Their rife and fall were deftin'd by the Fates.
Then Time had firft a name; by firm decree
Appointed lord of all futurity,

Within whofe ample bofom fates repofe
Causes of things, and fecret feeds inclofe,
Which, ripening there, fhall one day gain a birth,
And force a paffage through the teeming earth.
To him they give to rule the fpacious light,
And bound the yet unparted day and night;
To wing the hours that whirl the rolling sphere,
To fhift the feafons, and conduct the year,
Duration of dominion and of power
To him prefcribe, and fix each fated hour.
This mighty rule to Time the Fates ordain,
But yet to hard conditions bind his reign;
For every beauteous birth he brings to light,
(How good foe'er and grateful in his fight,)
He muft again to native earth restore,

And all his race with iron teeth devour.
Nor good nor great fhall 'fcape his hungry maw,
But bleeding Nature prove the rigid law.

Not yet the loofen'd earth aloft was flung,
Or pois'd amid the skies in balance hung;

Nor yet did golden fires the fun adorn,
Or borrow'd luftre filver Cynthia's horn;
Nor yet had Time commiffion to begin,
Or fate the many twisted web to fpin;
When all the heavenly host assembled came
To view the world yet refting on its frame ;
Eager they prefs, to fee the fire difmifs,
And roll the globe along the vast abyfs.

When deep revolving thoughts the god retain,
Which for a space fufpend the promis'd fcene,
Once more his eyes on Time intentive look,
Again infpect Fate's univerfal book.
Abroad the wondrous volume he difplays,

And prefent views the deeds of future days.

A beauteous fcene adorns the foremost page,
Where Nature's bloom prefents the golden age.
The golden leaf to filver foon refigns,

And fair the fheet, but yet more faintly, fhines.
Of bafer brafs, the next denotes the times.
An impious page deform'd with deadly crimes.
The fourth yet wears a worfe and browner face,
And adds to gloomy days an iron race.

He turns the book, and every age reviews,
Then all the kingly line his eye pursues:
The first of men, and lords of earth design'd,
Who under him should govern human-kind.
Of future heroes, there, the lives he reads,
In fearch of glory fpent, and godlike deeds;
Who empires found, and goodly cities build,
And favage men compel to leave the field.

All

All this he faw, and all he faw approv'd;
When lo! but thence a narrow space remov'd,

And hungry Time has all the scene defac'd,
The kings deftroy'd, and laid the kingdoms waste :
Together all in common ruins lie,

And but anon and ev'n the ruins die.

Th' Almighty, inly touch'd, compaffion found,
To fee great actions in oblivion drown'd;
And forward fearch'd the roll, to find if Fate
Had no referve to fpare the good and great.
Bright in his view the Trojan heroes shine,
And Ilian structures rais'd by hands divine;
But Ilium foon in native duft is laid,

And all her boasted pile a ruin made :

Nor

great Æneas can her fall withstand,
But flies, to fave his gods, to foreign land.
The Roman race fucceed the Dardan state,
And firft, and fecond Cæfar, godlike great.
Still on to after-days his eyes defcend,
And rifing heroes ftill the fearch attend.
Proceeding thus, he many empires pafs'd;
When fair Britannia fix'd his fight at last.

Above the waves fhe lifts her filver head,
And looks a Venus born from Ocean's bed.
For rolling years, her happy fortunes fmile,
And fates propitious blefs the beauteous ifle
To worlds remote fhe wide extends her reign,
And wields the trident of the stormy main.
Thus on the base of empire firm she stands,
While bright Eliza rules the willing lands,

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But foon a lowering fky comes on apace,
And fate revers'd fhews an ill-omen'd face.
The void of heaven a gloomy horror fills ;
And cloudy veils involve her fhining hills;
Of greatnefs pafs'd no footsteps fhe retains,
Sunk in a series of inglorious reigns.

She feels the change, and deep regrets the fhame
Of honours loft, and her diminish'd name:
Conscious, the feeks from day to fhrowd her head,"
And glad would shrink beneath her oozy bed.
Thus far, the facred leaves Britannia's woes
In fhady draughts and dusky lines disclose.
Th' enfuing fcene revolves a martial age,
And ardent colours gild the glowing page.
Behold! of radiant light an orb arife,
Which, kindling day, reftores the darken'd skies
And fee! on feas the beamy ball defcends,
And now its courfe to fair Britannia bends:
Along the foamy main the billows bear
The floating fire, and waft the shining sphere.
Hail, happy omen! Hail, aufpicious fight!
Thou glorious guide to yet a greater light.
For fee a prince, whom dazzling arms array,
Purfuing closely, plows the watery way,
Tracing the glory through the flaming fea.

Britannia, rife; awake, O fairest isle,
From iron fleep; again thy fortunes fimile.
Once more look up, the mighty man behold,
Whofe reign renews the former age of gold.

The

The Fates at length the blissful web have spun,
And bid it round in endless circles run.
Again fhall diftant lands confefs thy sway,
Again the watery world thy rule obey;
Again thy martial fons fhall thirst for fame,"
And win in foreign fields a deathlefs name;
For William's genius every foul inspires,
And warms the frozen youth with warlike fires.
Already, fee, the hoftile troops retreat,

And feem forewarn'd of their impending fate.
Already routed foes his fury feel,

And fly the force of his unerring fteel.

The haughty Gaul, who well, till now, might boaft
A matchlefs fword and unrefifted hoft,
At his foreseen approach the field forfakes;
His cities tremble, and his empire fhakes.
His towering enfigns long had aw'd the plain,
And fleets audaciously ufurp'd the main ;
A gathering ftorm he feem'd, which from afar
Teem'd with a deluge of destructive war,
Till William's ftronger genius foar'd above,
And down the skies the daring tempeft drove.
So from the radiant fun retires the night,
And western clouds fhot through with orient light.
So when th' affuming god, whom forms obey,
To all the warring winds at once gives way,
The frantic brethren ravage all around,
And rocks, and woods, and fhores, their rage
Incumbent o'er the main, at length they fweep
The liquid plains, and raise the peaceful deep.

refound;

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