Twice, since the war was kindled, has it try'd
The victor's rage, and twice has chang'd its side;
As oft whole armies, with the prize o'erjoy'd
Have the long summer on its walls employ'd.
Hither our mighty chief his arms directs,
Hence future triumphs from the war expects;
And tho' the dog-star had its course begun
Carries his arms still nearer to the sun :
Fixt on the glorious action, he forgets
The change of seasons, and increase of heats:
No toils are painful that can danger show,
No climes unlovely, that contain a foe.

The roving Gaul, to his own bounds restrain'd,
Learns to encamp within his native land,
But soon as the victorious host he spies,

From hill to hill, from stream to stream he flies:
Such dire impressions in his heart remain
Of Marlbrô's sword, and Hocstet's fatal plain :
In vain Britannia's mighty chief besets
Their shady coverts, and obscure retreats
They fly the conqueror's approaching fame,
That bears the force of armies in his name.

Austria's young monarch,' whose imperial sway
Sceptres and thrones are destin'd to obey,
Whose boasted ancestry so high extends
That in the pagan gods his lineage ends,
Comes from afar, in gratitude to own

The great supporter of his father's throne :

of the fortresses of the Germanic confederation. The works were constructed by Vauban.-G.

1 Austria's young monarch. Joseph, King of the Romans, son of the

Emperor Leopold. He joined the army before Landau.-G,

VOL. I.-9

What tides of glory' to his bosom ran,
Clasp'd in th' embraces of the god-like man!
How were his eyes with pleasing wonder fixt
To see such fire with so much sweetness mixt,
Such easy greatness, such a graceful port,
So turn'd and finish'd for the camp or court!
Achilles thus 2 was form'd with ev'ry grace,
And Nireus shone but in the second place;
Thus the great father of almighty Rome
(Divinely flusht with an immortal bloom
That Cytherea's fragrant breath bestow'd)
In all the charms of his bright mother glow'd.

The royal youth by Marlbrô's presence charm'd,
Taught by his counsels, by his actions warm'd,
On Landau with redoubled fury falls,
Discharges all his thunder on its walls,
O'er mines and caves of death provokes the fight,
And learns to conquer in the hero's sight.

The British chief, for mighty toils renown'd,
Increas'd in titles, and with conquests crown'd,
To Belgian coasts3 his tedious march renews
And the long windings of the Rhine pursues,
Clearing its borders from usurping foes,

And blest by rescu'd nations as he goes.

1 What tides of glory. Another striking illustration of the facility with which great writers can write nonsense, when they feel obliged to say something without knowing exactly what.-G.

2 Achilles thus. "When Addison, having celebrated the beauty of Marlborough's person, tells us that 'Achilles thus was formed with every grace,' here is no simile, but a mere exemplification."-Johnson. This is a compliment which history will not dispute. While serving under Turenne, he had been known as the 'bel Anglais,' an expression fully justified by Kneller's portrait.-G.

9 To Belgian coasts. This march enabled Marlborough to establish his winter-quarters on the Moselle, "which," he says in a letter to the Lord

Treves fears no more,1 freed from its dire alarms;
And Traerbach feels the terror of his arms,2
Seated on rocks her proud foundations shake
shake
While Marlbrô' presses to the bold attack,
Plants all his batt'ries, bids his cannon roar,
And shows how Landau might have fall'n before.
Scar'd at his near approach, great Louis fears
Vengeance reserv'd for his declining years,
Forgets his thirst of universal sway,
And scarce can teach his subjects to obey;
His arms he finds on vain attempts employ'd,
Th' ambitious projects for his race destroy'd,
The work of ages sunk in one campaign,
And lives of millions sacrific'd in vain.

3

Such are th' effects of ANNA's royal cares /
By her, Britannia, great in foreign wars
Ranges through nations, wheresoe'er disjoin'd
Without the wonted aid of sea and wind,

By her th' unfetter'd Ister's states are free,
And taste the sweets of English liberty;

Treasurer Godolphin, “will give France as much uneasiness as any thing that has been done this summer."-G.

1

1 Treves fears no more. The French garrison of 300 men, on hearing of Marlborough's approach, abandoned the fort which commanded the town.-G.

2 Traerbach feels the terror of his arms. There is some exaggeration in this account of the siege of Traerbach. The French garrison consisted of only 600 men, and the siege was conducted by the Prince of Hesse.-G. 3 The work of ages sunk in one campaign. A gross exaggeration; for, though Louis XIV. was defeated, humbled, and reduced to the greatest straits, the great conquests of his reign, Franche-Comté, Flanders, and Alsace still remain untouched.-G.

4

* Ranges through nations, &c. If this had been said after Fulton, it would probably be supposed to mean that Britannia ranged through nations by means of steamboats. As it stands, it must be taken for a somewhat circuitous way of saying that her armies marched wherever they chose.-G.

But who can tell the joys of those that lie
Beneath the constant influence of her eye!
Whilst in diffusive show'rs her bounties fall
Like heaven's indulgence, and descend on all,
Secure the happy, succour the distrest,

Make ev'ry subject glad, and a whole people blest.

Thus wou'd I fain Britannia's wars rehearse,

In the smooth records of a faithful verse;
That, if such numbers can o'er time prevail,
May tell posterity the wond'rous tale.

When actions, a unadorn'd,' are faint and weak,
Cities and countries must be taught to speak;
Gods may descend in factions from the skies,
And rivers from their oozy beds arise;
Fiction may deck the truth with spurious rays,
And round the hero cast a borrow'd blaze.
Marlbrô's exploits appear divinely bright,
And proudly shine in their own native light;
Rais'd of themselves, their genuine charms they boast,
And those who paint 'em truest praise 'em most. 2

1 When actions unadorned, &c. Voltaire in the "Discours préliminaire to his poem on the battle of Fontenoi, justifies his limited use of fictitious personages, by the example of Addison. "C'était ce que sentait M. Addison, bon poëte et critique judicieux. Il employa dans son poëme, qui a immortalisé la campagne de Hochstadt, beaucoup moins de fictions qu'on ne s'en est permis dans le Poëme de Fontenoi. Il savait que le duc de Marlborough et le prince Eugène se seraient très peu souciés de voir des dieux où il était question des grandes actions des hommes; il savait qu'on rélève par l'invention, les exploits de l'antiquité, et qu'on court risque d'affaiblir ceux des modernes par de froides allégories; il a fait mieux, il a intéressé l'Europe entière à son action."-Voltaire, Œuvres v.-11, p. 164.

2 "He best can paint them who shall feel them most."-Eloîsa to Abelard.

a When actions, &c. An apology, gracefully enough made for the prosaic plan of this poem: for though the author's invention had not supplied him with a better, his true taste could not but tell him, this was defective.

MISCELLANEOUS POEMS.