WITH THE FOLLOWING POEM OF
PALAMON AND ARCITE,
THE bard who first adorn'd our native tongue,
Tun'd to his British lyre this ancient song;
Which Homer might, without a blush, rehearse,
And leaves a doubtful palm in Virgil's verse:
He match'd their beauties, where they most excel;
Of love sung better and of arms, as well.
Vouchsafe, illustrious Ormond, to behold
What power
the charms of beauty had of old;
Nor wonder if such deeds of arms were done,
Inspir'd by two fair eyes that sparkled like your
If Chaucer by the best idea wrought, And poets can divine each other's thought, The fairest nymph before his eyes he set ; And, then, the fairest was Plantagenet ; Who three contending princes made their prize, And rul'd the rival nations with her eyes: Who left immortal trophies of her fame, And to the noblest order gave the name. Like her, of equal kindred to the throne, You keep her conquests, and extend your own: 20
As when the stars in their ethereal race,
At length have roll'd around the liquid space,
At certain periods they resume their place,
From the same point of heaven their course ad
And move in measures of their former dance;
Thus, afrer length of ages, She returns,
Restor'd in You, and the same place adorns ;
Or You perform her office in the sphere,
Born of her blood, and make a new platonic year.
O true Plantagenet! O race divine!
(For beauty, still, is fatal * to the line,)
Had Chaucer liv'd that angel-face to view,
Sure he had drawn his Emily from you;
'Or had you liv'd to judge the doubtful right,
Your noble Palamon had been the knight;
And conquering Theseus from his side had sent
Your generous lord, to guide the Theban govern-
Time shall accomplish that; and I shall see A Palamon in him, in you an Emily.
Already have the Fates your path prepar'd; 40 And sure presage, your future sway declar'd: When westward, like the sun, you took your way, And from benighted Britain bore the day; Blue Triton gave the signal from the shore; The ready Nereids heard, and swam before To smooth the seas; a soft Etesian gale But just inspir'd, and gently swell'd the sail;
*The Editor would read fated, i. e. decreed by fate.
Portunus 'took his turn, whose ample hand
Heav'd up his lighten'd keel, and sunk the sand,
And steer'd the sacred vessel safe to land.
50
The land, if not restrain'd, had met your way,
Projected out a neck, and jutted to the sea.
Hibernia, prostrate at your feet, ador'd
In you, the pledge of her expected lord;
Due to her isle; a venerable name;
(His father and his grandsire known to fame :)
Aw'd by that house, accustom'd to command,
The sturdy Kerns in due subjection stand;
Nor bear the reigns in any foreign hand.
At your approach, they crouded to the port; 60
And, scarcely landed, you create a court:
As Ormond's harbinger, to you they run;
For Venus is the promise of the sun.
The waste of civil wars-their towns destroy'd— Pales unhonour'd-Ceres unemploy'd
Were, all, forgot; and one triumphant day
Wip'd all the the tears of three campaigns away.
Blood, rapines, massacres, were cheaply bought;
So mighty recompense your beauty brought.
As when the dove returning bore the mark
Of earth restor❜d to the long labouring ark,
The relicks of mankind, secure of rest,
Ope'd every window to receive the guest,
And the fair bearer of the message
blest;
So, when you came, with loud repeated cries,
The nation took an omen from your eyes;
And God advanc'd his rainbow in the skies,
To sign inviolable peace restor❜d;
The saints, with solemn shouts, proclaim'd the new accord.
When, at your second coming, you appear,
(For I foretel that millenary year,)
The sharpen'd share shall vex the soil no more,
But earth unbidden shall produce her store;
The land shall laugh; the circling ocean, smile;
And heaven's indulgence, bless the holy isle.
Heaven, from all ages, has reserv'd, for you,
That happy clime which venom never knew ;
Or if it had been there, your eyes alone
Have power to chase all poison, but their own.
Now in this interval, which fate has cast Betwixt your future glories, and your past, This pause of pow'r, 'tis Ireland's hour to mourn: While England celebrates your safe return; By which you seem the seasons to command, And bring our summers back to their forsaken land.
The vanquish'd isle our leisure must attend, Till the fair blessing we vouchase to send; Nor can we spare you long, though often we may lend.
The dove was twice employ'd abroad, before
The world was dry'd, and she return'd no more.
Nor dare we trust so soft a messenger, 101
New from her sickness, to that northern air;
Rest here a while your lustre to restore,
That they may see you, as you shone before;
For yet, th' eclipse not wholly past, you wade Through some remains, and dimness of a shade.
A subject, in his prince, may claim a right, Nor suffer him, with strength impair'd, to fight; Till force returns, his ardor we restrain,
And curb his warlike wish to cross the main. 110
Now past the danger, let the learn'd begin
Th' inquiry-where disease could enter in?
How those malignant atoms forc'd their way?
What in the faultless frame they found to make
their prey?
Where every element was weigh'd so well,
That heaven alone, who mix'd the mass, could
Which of the four ingredients could rebel;
And where, imprison'd in so sweet a cage,
A soul might well be pleas'd to pass an age.
And yet the fine materials made it weak; 120
Porcelain, by being pure, is apt to break :
E'en to your breast the sickness durst aspire;
And, forc'd from that fair temple to retire,
Profanely set the holy place on fire.
In vain your lord like young Vespasian mourn'd, When the fierce flames the sanctuary burn'd: And I prepar'd to pay in verses rude
A most detested act of gratitude :
Ev'n this had been your elegy, which now
Is offer'd for your health, the table of my vow.
Your angel sure our Morley's mind inspir'd,
To find the remedy your ill requir'd ;
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