THE COURT OF NEPTUNE.
A Poem.
ADDRESS'D To the Right Honourable CHARLES MONTAGUE Esq.
BY JOHN HUGHES.
LONDON, Printed for Jacob Tonson, at Gray's-Inn Gate in Gray's-Inn Lane. 1700.
THE COURT OF NEPTUNE.
A Poem.
BEgin, Celestial Muse! a tuneful Strain,
Of
Albion's Prince conducted o'er the Main;
Of Courts conceal'd in Waves, and
Neptune's wat'ry Reign!
Sing, from beneath, how the Green Deity
Rose to the Sov'reign of the
British Sea;
To Pow'r confess'd the Triple Mace resign'd,
O'er-rul'd the Floods, and charg'd the Rebel Wind;
Secur'd his Passage homeward, and restor'd
Safe to the loveli'st Isle, the best-lov'd Lord.
The generous Name of
Montague has long
Been fam'd in Verse, and grac'd the Poet's Song;
In Verse himself can happy Wonders do,
The best of Patrons, and of Poets too.
[Page 2] Amidst the skilful Quire that court his Ear,
If he vouchsafe these ruder Lays to hear,
His bright Example, while to him I sing,
Shall raise my feeble Flight, and mount me on the Wing.
On
Albion's Eastern Coast, an
Harwich.
ancient TownO'erlooks the Sea, to Mariners well known;
Where the swift
The River
Stoure, that runs between
Suffolk and
Essex.
Stourus ends his Snaky Train,And pays his Wat'ry Tribute to the Main:
Stourus, whose Stream, prolifick as it glides,
Two Fertile Counties in its Course divides,
And rolls to Sea-ward with a Lover's Pace:
There beauteous
Orwell meets his fond Embrace;
They mix their amorous Streams, the briny Tide
Receives em joyn'd; their crooked Shores provide
A spacious Bay within, for Anchor'd Ships to ride.
Here, on the Margin of the rolling Flood,
Divinely Fair, like Sea-born
Venus, stood
Britannia's Genius, in a Robe array'd
Of broider'd Arms, and Heraldry display'd:
A Crown of Cities charg'd her graceful Brows;
In waving Curls her Hair luxuriant flows;
Coelestial Glories in her Eyes are seen;
Her Stature tall, Majestick is her Mien.
With such a Presence, thro' th' adoring Skies,
Shines the Great Parent of the Deities;
Such Tow'ry Honours on her Temples rise,
When drawn by Lions, she proceeds in State:
Trains of Attendant-Gods around her Chariot wait;
The Mother-Goddess, with superiour Grace,
Surveys, and numbers o'er her bright Immortal Race.
While thus the lovely Genius hovers o'er
The Water's Brink, and from the sandy Shore
[Page 3] Beholds th' alternate Billows fall and rise,
(By Turns they sink below, by Turns they mount the Skies.)
And must, she said,—
Then paus'd, and drew a Sigh of anxious Love;
Must my dear Lord this faithless Ocean prove?
Escap'd the Chance of War, and Fraud of Foes,
Wilt thou to warning Waves thy sacred Life expose?
Why am I thus divided by the Sea,
From all the World, and all the World in thee?
Cou'd Sighs and Tears the Rage of Tempests bind,
With Tears I'd bribe the Seas, with Sighs the Wind.
Soft sighing Gales thy Canvas shou
[...]d inspire;
But hence ye boistrous Storms! far hence retire,
To inland Woods, there your mad Pow'rs appease,
And scour the dusty Plains, or strip the Forrest Trees,
Or lodg'd in hollow Rocks, profoundly sleep,
And rest from the loud Labours of the Deep!
Why shou'd I fear?—if Heroes be the Care
Of Heav'n above, and Heav'n inclines to Pray'r,
Thou sail'st secure; my Sons with lifted Eyes,
And pious Vows, for thee have gain'd the Skies.
Come then my much-lov'd Lord! No more th'Alarms
Of wastful War require thee from my Arms.
Thy Sword gives plenteous Peace, but without thee,
Peace has no Charms, and Plenty's Poverty.
At length enjoy, for whom you've fought, the Queen
Of Islands, Bright, majestick, and serene!
Unveil'd from Clouds, which did her Form disguise,
And hid a thousand Beauties from thy Eyes.
A thousand Treasures unsurvey'd invite,
Their Lord to various Scenes of new Delight.
Come see the Dow'r I brought! My spacious Downs,
My numerous Counties, and my ancient Towns.
[Page 4] Landskips of rising Mountains, shaggy Woods,
Green Vallies, smiling Meadows, silver Floods,
And Plains with lowing Herds enrich'd around,
The Hills with Flocks, the Flocks with Fleeces crown'd;
All these with native Wealth thy Pow'r maintain,
And bloom with Blessings of thy easie Reign.
Haste, hoist thy Sails! and thro' the foamy Brine,
Rush to my Arms! henceforth be wholly mine;
After Nine toilsome Years, let warlike Labour cease,
And flourish now secure in the soft Arts of Peace!
She said; th'entreated Winds her Accents bore,
And wing'd the Message to the
Belgick Shore.
The pious Heroe heard, nor cou'd delay
To meet the lovely Voice, that summon'd him away;
The lovely Voice, whose soft complaining Charms
Before had call'd the Succour of his Arms,
Nor call'd in vain; when fir'd with generous Rage
T'oppose the Fury of a barbarous Age,
Like
Jove with awful Thunder in his Hand,
Thro' Storms and Fleets at Sea, and Foes at Land
He urg'd his daring Way; before his Sight
On Silver Wings bright Glory took her Flight,
And left to guide his Course long shining Tracks of Light.
And now once more embarqu'd, propitious Gales
Blow fresh from Shore, and fill his hollow Sails.
As when the golden God that rules the Day
Drives down his flaming Chariot to the Sea,
And leaves the Nations here involv'd in Night,
To distant Regions he transports his Light;
So
William's Rays by turns two Nations cheer,
And when he sets to them, he rises here.
Forsaken
Belgia, e're the Ship withdrew,
Shed generous Tears, and breath'd this soft Adieu.
Since Empire calls thee, and a glorious Throne,
Thy People's weighty Int'rests, and thy own;
(Tho' strugling Love wou'd fain perswade thy Stay)
Go, where thy better Fortune leads the Way!
Mean while my Loss allows me to complain,
And wish—ah no! that partial Wish were vain.
Tho' honour'd
Crete had nurs'd the thundring God,
Crete was not always blest with his Abode;
Nor was it fit that
William's Godlike Mind,
For Nations born, shou'd be to One confin'd.
This only grant, since I must ask no more,
Revisit once again your Native Shore!
That Hope my Sorrows shall beguile, and thou
My happy Rival! wilt that Hope allow;
'Tis all th'Enjoyment Fate has left me now.
So may'st thou, fair
Britannia! ever be
Firm to thy Sov'reign's Love, and his to thee!
While widow'd I—there rising Sighs repress'd
Her fainting Voice, and stifl'd in the rest.
Now while the bounding Vessel drives before
The gusty Gales, and leaves the less'ning Shore,
Behold the parting Clouds to Distance fly!
And Golden Glories pouring from on high
New dress the Day, and cheer th'enlightn'd Sky.
One shooting Beam, like Lightning doubly bright,
Darts on the Midle Main its streaming Light.
Lo!
William's Guardian Angel there descends;
To
Neptune's Court his heavenly Message tends.
In Arms coelestial how he shines afar,
Like
Pallas marching to th'awaken'd War!
[Page 6] His Left Hand gripes a spacious Orb of Shield
With thousand intercepted Dangers fill'd,
And Deaths of various Kind; his right displays
A temper'd Blade that spreads a formidable Blaze.
He strikes the Waves, th'obsequious Waves obey,
And opening in a Gulph disclose the downward Way.
O Muse! by thee conducted down, I dare
The Secrets of the Watry World declare,
For Nothing scapes thy View; to thee 'tis giv'n,
To range the Space of Earth, and Seas and Heav'n,
Descry a thousand Forms, conceal'd from mortal Sight,
And in immortal Verse to give the Visions Light.
A Rock there lies, in Depth of Sea profound,
About its Clefts rich Beds of Pearl abound,
Where sportful Nature, covering her Retreat
With flowing Waters, holds her secret Seat.
In Woods of Coral intricate she strays,
And wreaths the Shells of Fish a thousand various ways,
And animates the Spawn of all her finny Race.
Th'unnumber'd Species of the fertile Tide
In Shoals around their mighty Mother glide.
From out the Rock's wide Caverns deep below
The rushing Ocean rises to its Flow,
And ebbing here retires; within its sides
In roomy Caves the God of Seas resides.
Pillars unhewn of living Stone bear high
His vaulted Courts; in Storms the Billows fly
O're th'ecchoing Roof, like Thunder thro' the Skies,
And warn the Ruler of the Floods to rise,
And check the raving Winds, and the swoln Waves chastise.
Rich Spoils, by plundring Tempests hither born,
An Universe of Wealth, the Palace Rooms adorn.
[Page 7] Before its Entrance broken Wrecks are seen
In Heaps deform'd, a melancholy Scene.
But far within, upon a mossy Throne,
With washy Ooze, and Samphire overgrown,
The Sea-green King his forky Scepter rears;
Awful his Aspect, numerous are his Years.
A Pearly Crown circles his Brows Divine;
His Beard and dewy Hair shed trickling Drops of Brine.
The River-Gods, his numerous Progeny,
On Beds of Rushes round their Parent lye.
Here
Danube and the
Rhine; Nile's secret Source
Dwells here conceal'd, hence
Tiber takes his Course.
Hence rapid
Rhodanus his Current pours,
And issuing from his Urn Majestick
Padus roars;
And
Alpheus seeks with silent Pace the lov'd
Sicilian Shores.
But chief in Honour,
Neptune's darling Son,
The beauteous
Thames, lies nearest to his Throne.
Nor thou, fair
Boyne! shalt pass unmention'd by,
Already sung in Strains that ne'er shall die.
These, and a thousand more, whose winding Trains
Seek various Lands, the wealthy Sire maintains;
Each Day the fluid Portions he divides,
And fills their craving Urns with fresh recruited Tides.
But not alike; for oft his partial Care
Bestows on some a disproportion'd Share;
From whence their swelling Currents o'er-supply'd,
Thro' delug'd Fields in noisie Triumph ride.
The God was just preparing to renew
His daily Task, when sudden in his View
Appear'd the Guardian Pow'r, all dazling Bright,
And entring, flash'd the Caves with Beamy Light.
The glorious Form, and knew his Martial Mien;
In Throngs th' admiring
Nereids round him press'd,
And
Tritons crowd to view the Heavenly Guest.
Then thus advancing, he his Will explains,
O mighty Sovereign of the Liquid Plains!
Haste, to the Surface of the Deep repair,
This Solemn Day requires thy Presence there,
To rule the Storms, the rising Waves restrain,
And shake thy Scepter o'er the govern'd Main.
By breathing Gales on thy Dominions driv'n,
To thee Three Kingdoms Hopes in Charge are giv'n,
The Glory of the World, and Best-belov'd of Heav'n.
Behold him figur'd here!—he said, and held
Refulgent to his View, the Guardian Shield.
On the rich Mould, inwrought with Skill Divine,
Great
Williams Wars in splendid Sculpture shine.
Here, how his saving Pow'r was first display'd,
And
Holland rescu'd by his Youthful Aid;
When kindling in his Soul, the Martial Flame
Broke fiercely out, preluding future Fame,
And round the Frontiers dealt avenging Fire;
Swift from the hot Pursuit the blasted Foes retire.
Then Battels, Sieges, Camps are grav'd afar,
And the long Progress of the dreadful War.
Above the rest,
Seneffe's immortal Fight,
In larger Figures, offer'd to the Sight,
With Martial Terror charms, and gives a fierce Delight.
Here the Confederate Troops are forc'd to yield,
Driv'n by unequal Numbers thro' the Field:
With his bright Sword young
Nassau there withstands
Their Flight, with Pray'rs and Blows he urges his Commands,
Upbraids their fainting Force, and boldly throws
Himself the first amidst the wondring Foes.
[Page 9] What dare not Men, by such a Gen'ral led?
Rallying with Shouts, their
Heroe at their Head,
Fir'd with new Rage, asham'd they once did fly,
Resolv'd to conquer now, or resolute to die,
Thro' trampl'd Heaps of Slain they rush to Victory.
Earth trembles at the Charge; Death, Blood, and Prey
Insatiate riot all the murd'rous Day;
Nor peaceful Night it self their Fury can allay,
Till the pale Moon, that sickens at the Sight,
Retires behind a Cloud, to blind the bloody Fight.
Again, the Shield in Savage Prospect shows
An ancient
St. Dennis
near Mons.
Abby, which rough Woods inclose;And Precipices vast abruptly rise,
Where, safe encamp'd, proud
Luxemburgh defies
All open Violence, or close Surprize.
But see! a second
Hannibal from far
Up the steep Height conducts th' entangl'd War.
Brave
Ossory, attended with the Pride
Of
English Valour, charges by his Side.
Inclos'd, they fight; the Forests shine around
With flashing Fires, the thunder'd Hills rebound,
And the shock'd Country wide beneath rebellows to the Sound.
Forc'd from their Holds, at length they haste their Flight;
Rich Tents, and Stores of War, the Victor's Toils requite.
Then Peace ensues; and in a shining Train
The Friendly Chiefs assemble on the Plain.
An ardent Zeal the
Gallick General warms,
To see the Youth that kindl'd such Alarms;
Wondring, he views; secure the Soldiers press
Round their late Dread, and the glad Treaty bless.
Next, on the broad Circumference is wrought
The Nine Years War for lov'd
Britannia fought,
[Page 10] The Cause the same: Fair
Liberty betray'd,
And banish'd
Justice, fly to him for Aid.
Here sailing Ships are drawn, the crowded Strand,
And Heav'ns Avenger hasting to the Land.
Oppression, Fraud, Confusion, and Affright,
Fierce Fiends, that ravag'd in the gloomy Night
Of Lawless Pow'r, defeated, fly before his dazling Light.
So to th' eclipsing Moon, by the still Side
Of some 'lone Thicket, rev'lling Haggs provide
Dire Charms, that threat the sleeping Neighbourhood,
And quaff, with Magick mix'd, vast Bowls of Humane Blood;
But when the Dawn reveals the Purple East,
They vanish sullen from th' unfinish'd Feast.
Here joyful Crowds Triumphal Arches rear
To their Deliv'rer's Praise, glad Senates there
In splendid Pomp the Regal State confer.
Hibernia's Fields new Triumphs then supply;
The Rival Kings in Arms the Fate of Empire try.
See where the
Boyne two Warring Hosts divides,
And rolls between the Fight his interposing Tides!
In vain—Hills, Forests, Streams, must all give place
When
William leads, and Victory's the Chase.
Thou saw'st him,
Boyne! when thy charg'd Waters bore
The swimming Coursers to th' opposing Shore,
And round thy Banks thou heard'st the murd'ring
Cannons rore.
What more than Mortal Bravery inspir'd
The daring Troops, by his Example fir'd!
Thou saw'st their wondrous Deeds; to
Neptune's Court
Thy flying Waves convey'd the swift Report,
And Red with Slaughter, to their Father show'd
Streams not their own, and a discolour'd Flood.
Here, on th' Aetherial Mould, hurl'd from afar,
Exploded Ball had mark'd a dinted Scar.
'Twas destin'd thus; for when all glowing Red
The Angel took it from the Forge, he said,
This Part be left unfated from the Foe!
And scarce escap'd, once let the
Heroe know
How much to my Protection he shall owe.
Yet from the batterd Shield the Ball shall bound,
And on his Arm inflict a Scarlet Wound.
Elsewhere, behold
Namure's proud Turrets rise,
Majestick to the Sight, advancing to the Skies!
The
Meuse and
Sambre here united flow,
Nature's Defence against th' invading Foe:
Industrious Art her Strength of Walls supplies;
Before the Town the
British Army lies.
The Works are mann'd; with Fury they contend;
These thunder from the Plains, those from the Walls defend.
Red Globes of Fire from bellowing Engines fly,
And lead a sweeping Blaze, like Comets, thro' the Sky.
The kindl'd Region glows; with deaf'ning Sound
They burst, their Iron Entrails hurl'd around
Strow with thick-scatter'd Deaths the Crimson Ground.
See where the Genius of the War appears,
Nor shuns the Labour, nor the Danger fears!
In Clouds of sulph'rous Smoke he shines more bright,
For Glory round him waits with Beams of living Light.
At length the widen'd Gates a Conquest own,
And to his Arms resign th' abandon'd Town.
Here, from the Field return'd, with Olive crown'd,
Applauding Throngs their welcome Prince surround:
Bright Honours in his glorious Entry shine,
And Peace restor'd concludes the Great Design.
Long o'er the Figur'd Work, with vast Surprize,
Admiring
Neptune roll'd his ravish'd Eyes;
Then rising from his Throne, thus call'd aloud:
Ye lovely Daughters of the briny Flood!
Haste, comb your Silver Locks, and streight prepare
To fill my Train, and gaze in upper Air.
This Day Majestick Glories you shall see;
Come all ye Watry Pow'rs, who under me
Your little Tridents weild, and rule the boisterous Sea!
What God, that views the Triumphs here display'd,
Can to such Worth refuse his Heavenly Aid?
He said no more,—but bade two
Tritons sound
Their crooked Shells, to spread the Summons round.
Thro' the wide Caves the Blast is heard afar;
With speed two more provide his Azure Car,
A Concave Shell; two the finn'd Coursers join;
All wait officious round, and own th' accustom'd Sign.
The God ascends; his better Hand sustains
The three-fork'd Spear, his Left directs the Reins.
Thro' breaking Waves the Chariot mounts him high,
Before its thundring Course the frothy Waters fly;
He gains the Surface; on his either Side
The bright Attendants, rang'd with comely Pride,
Advance in just Array, and grace the pompous Tide.
Mean while
Britannia's King conspicuous stood,
And from his Deck survey'd the boundless Flood.
Smooth was the glassie Scene, the Sun beheld
His Face unclouded in the liquid Field.
The gazing
Nereids in a shining Train
Inclose the Ruler of the
British Main,
And sweetly sing; suspended Winds forbear
Their loud Complaints, the soothing Lay to hear.
[Page 13] Hail, Sacred Charge! they cry; the Beauties We
Of
Neptune's Court, are come t'attend on thee,
Accept our offer'd Aid! thy potent Sway,
Unbounded by the Land, these watry Realms obey,
And We thy Subject-Pow'rs our duteous Homage pay.
See
Neptune's Self, inferiour in Command,
Presents his Trident to thy honour'd Hand!
They said; the Sire approach'd with Awe profound;
The Rite perform'd, their Shells the
Tritons sound;
Swell'd with the shrill Alarm, the joyful Billows bound.
Now from the Shore
Britannia first descries
White Sails afar; then bulky Vessels rise
Nearer to View; her beating Heart foretells
The pleasing News, and eager Transport feels.
Safe to her Arms Imperial
Neptune bears
Th' entrusted Charge, then diving, disappears.
FINIS.