XXIX,

The laft fair inftance thou must give,
Whence Naffau's virtue can be try'd ;
And fhew the world, that thou canst live
Intrepid, as thy confort dy'd ;

XXX.

Thy virtue, whofe refiftlefs force
No dire event could ever ftay,
Muft carry on its deftin'd courfe;
Though death and envy ftop the way.
XXXI.

For Britain's fake, for Belgia's, live :
Pierc'd by their grief, forget thy own;
New toils endure, new conqueft give,

And bring them eafe, though thou haft none,
XXXII.

Vanquish again; though the be gone,
Whofe garland crown'd the victor's hair:
And reign, though fhe has left the throne,
Who made thy glory worth thy care.

Breath'd to her king an ufelefs prayer:

Fond Belgia never did implore,

While William turn'd averfe his ear.
XXXIV.

But, fhould the weeping hero now
Relentless to their wifhes prove;
Should he recall, with pleafing woe,
The object of his grief and love;
VOL. I.

G

XXXV. Her

XXXV.

Her face with thousand beauties bleft,
Her mind with thousand virtues ftor'd,
Her power with boundless joy confeft,
Her perfon only not ador'd :

XXXVI.

Yet ought his forrow to be checkt;
Yet ought his paffions to abate;
If the great mourner would reflect,
Her glory in her death compleat.
XXXVII.

She was inftructed to command,
Great king, by long obeying thee;
Her fcepter, guided by thy hand,
Preferv'd the ifles, and rul'd the fea.
XXXVIII.

But oh! 'twas little, that her life
O'er earth and water bears thy fame :
In death, 'twas worthy William's wife,
Amidft the ftars to fix his name.
XXXIX.

Beyond where matter moves, or place
Receives its forms, thy virtues roll;

From Mary's glory, angels trace
The beauty of her partner's foul.
XL.

Wife Fate, which does its heaven decree

To heroes, when they yield their breath, Haftens thy triumph. Half of thee

Is deify'd before thy death.

XLI. Alone

XLI.

Alone to thy renown 'tis given,

Unbounded through all worlds to go: While fhe, great Saint, rejoices Heaven; And thou fuftain'st the orb below.

In IMITATION of ANACREON.

LET them cenfure: what care I?

The herd of critics I defy. Let the wretches know, I write, Regardless of their grace or spite. No, no the fair, the gay, the Govern the numbers of my fong; All that they approve is fweet; And all is fenfe that they repeat.

young,

Bid the warbling Nine retire ; Venus, ftring thy fervant's lyre: Love fhall be my endless theme; Pleasure shall triumph over Fame : And, when these maxims I decline, Apollo, may thy fate be mine! May I grafp at empty praise;

And lofe the nymph, to gain the bays!

Sur la Prife de N A MUR,

par les Armes du Roi, l'Année 1692.

Par Monfieur BOILEAU DESPREAUX.

Q

I.

UELLE docte & fainte yvreffe
Aujourd'hui me fait la loi ?

Chaftes Nymphes du Permeffe,
N'eft-ce pas vous que je voi?
Accourez, troupe fçavante :
Des fons que ma lyre enfante
Ces arbres font rejoüis :
Marquez en bien la cadence :
Et vous, vents, faites filence:
Je vais parler de Louis.

II.

Dans fes chanfons immortelles,
Comme un aigle audacieux,
Pindare étendant fes aifles,
Fuit loin des vulgaires yeux.
Mais, ô ma fidele lyre,
Si, dans l'ardeur qui m'infpire,
Tu peus fuivre mes tranfports;

Les chênes des monts de Thrace.
N'ont rien oui, que n'efface
La douceur de tes accords.

III. Eft-ce

AN

ENGLISH

BALLAD,

On the Taking of NAMUR by the KING of

GREAT BRITAIN, 1695.

"Dulce eft defipere in loco."

I. and. II.

SOME folks are drunk, yet do not know it:

So might not Bacchus give you law?

Was it a Mufe, O lofty Poet,

Or Virgin of St, Cyr, you faw?

Why all this fury? what's the matter,

That oaks must come from Thrace to dance?
Must stupid ftocks be taught to flatter ?

And is there no fuch wood in France?
Why muft the winds all hold their tongue?
If they a little breath should raise,
Would that have (poil'd the Poet's fong,
Or puff'd away the Monarch's praise ?

Pindar, that eagle, mounts the skies,
While Virtue leads the noble way:
Too like a vulture Boileau flies,

Where fordid Intereft fhews the prey.
When once the Poet's honour ceases,
From reafon far his transports rove:
And Boileau, for eight hundred pieces,
Makes Louis take the wall of Jove.