Proud Prussia's double bird of prey Tame as a spatch cock, slunk away; While-just like France herself, when she Proclaims how great her naval skill is Poor Louis' drowning fleur-de-lys Imagin'd themselves water-lilies.
And not alone rooms, ceilings, shelves, But still more fatal execution The Great Legitimates themselves Seem'd in a state of dissolution. The' indignant Czar- when just about To issue a sublime Ukase, "Whereas all light must be kept out". Dissolv'd to nothing in its blaze. Next Prussia took his turn to melt, And, while his lips illustrious felt The influence of this southern air, Some word, like "Constitution "— long Congeal'd in frosty silence there -- Came slowly thawing from his tongue. While Louis, lapsing by degrees, And sighing out a faint adieu To truffles, salmis, toasted cheese And smoking fondus, quickly grew, Himself, into a fondu too;— Or like that goodly King they make Of sugar for a Twelfth-night cake, When, in some urchin's mouth, alas, It melts into a shapeless mass!
In short, I scarce could count a minute, Ere the bright dome, and all within it, Kings, Fiddlers, Emperors, all were gone And nothing now was seen or heard But the bright river, rushing on, Happy as an enfranchis'd bird, And prouder of that natural ray, Shining along its chainless way More proudly happy thus to glide In simple grandeur to the sea, Than when, in sparkling fetters tied, 'Twas deck'd with all that kingly pride Could bring to light its slavery!
Such is my dream — and, I confess, I tremble at its awfulness.
That Spanish dance-that southern beam- But I say nothing- there's my dream And Madame Krudener, the she-prophet, May make just what she pleases of it.
WHERE Kings have been by mob-elections Rais'd to the Throne, 'tis strange to see What different and what odd perfections Men have requir'd in Royalty.
Some, liking monarchs large and plumpy,
Have chos'n their Sovereigns by the weight;- Some wish'd them tall, some thought your dumpy, Dutch-built, the true Legitimate.'
The Easterns in a Prince, 'tis said, Prefer what's call'd a jolter-head: The' Egyptians wer'n't at all particular, So that their Kings had not red hair- This fault not even the greatest stickler For the blood royal well could bear. A thousand more such illustrations Might be adduc'd from various nations. But, 'mong the many tales they tell us,
Touching the' acquir'd or natural right Which some men have to rule their fellows, There's one, which I shall here recite:-
Of course, if any knave had hinted
That the King's nose was turned awry, Or that the Queen (God bless her!) squinted- The judges doom'd that knave to die.
But rarely things like this occurred,
The people to their King were duteous, And took it, on his Royal word,
That they were frights, and He was beauteous.
The Goths had a law to choose always a short, thick man for 2" In a Prince a jolter-head is invaluable." ir King.-MUNSTER, Cosmog. lib. iii. p. 164.
I saw the' expectant nations stand, To catch the coming flame in turn;
I saw, from ready hand to hand,
The clear, though struggling, glory burn. And, oh, their joy, as it came near,
"Twas, in itself, a joy to see; While Fancy whisper'd in my ear, "That torch they pass is Liberty!"
And, each, as she receiv'd the flame, Lighted her altar with its ray; Then, smiling, to the next who came, Speeded it on its sparkling way.
From ALBION first, whose ancient shrine Was furnish'd with the fire already, COLUMBIA caught the boon divine, And lit a flame, like Albion's, steady.
The splendid gift then GALLIA took, And, like a wild Bacchante, raising The brand aloft, its sparkles shook,
As she would set the world a-blazing!
Thus kindling wild, so fierce and high Her altar blaz'd into the air, That ALBION, to that fire too nigh,
Shrunk back, and shudder'd at its glare!
Next, SPAIN, so new was light to her, Leap'd at the torch - but, ere the spark That fell upon her shrine could stir, 'Twas quench'd-and all again was dark.
Yet, no-not quench'd — a treasure, worth So much to mortals, rarely dies: Again her living light look'd forth, And shone, a beacon, in all eyes.
Who next receiv'd the flame? alas,
Unworthy NAPLES - shame of shames, That ever through such hands should pass That brightest of all earthly flames!
Scarce had her fingers touch'd the torch, When, frighted by the sparks it shed, Nor waiting even to feel the scorch, She dropp'd it to the earth- and fled.
And fall'n it might have long remain'd!
But GREECE, who saw her moment now, Caught up the prize, though prostrate, stain'd, And wav'd it round her beauteous brow.
And Fancy bade me mark where, o'er Her altar, as its flame ascended, Fair, laurell'd spirits seem'd to soar, Who thus in song their voices blended :
"Shine, shine for ever, glorious Flame, "Divinest gift of Gods to men! "From GREECE thy earliest splendour came, "To GREECE thy ray returns again, "Take, Freedom, take thy radiant round, "When dimm'd, revive, when lost, return, "Till not a shrine through earth be found, “On which thy glories shall not burn!"
Of all that, to the sage's survey, This world presents of topsy-turvy,
There's nought so much disturbs one's patience, As little minds in lofty stations,
"Tis like that sort of painful wonder, Which slender columns, labouring under Enormous arches, give beholders; ·
Or those poor Caryatides,
Condemn'd to smile and stand at ease, With a whole house upon their shoulders.
If, as in some few royal cases, Small minds are born into such places- If they are there, by Right Divine, Or any such sufficient reason. Why Heav'n forbid we should repine! To wish it otherwise were treason; Nay, ev'n to see it in a vision, Would be what lawyers call misprision.
No, no-it isn't right-line Kings, (Those sovereign lords in leading-strings Who, from their birth, are Faith-Defenders,) That move my wrath - 'tis your pretenders, Your mushroom rulers, sons of earth, Who- not, like t' others, bores by birth, Establish'd gratiâ Dei blockheads, Born with three Kingdoms in their pockets- Yet, with a brass that nothing stops,
Push up into the loftiest stations, And, though too dull to manage shops, Presume, the dolts, to manage nations!
Your *s, your *s dare, Untrain'd as are their minds, to set them To any business, any where,
At any time that fools will let them.
But leave we here these upstart things- My business is, just now, with Kings; To whom, and to their right-line glory, I dedicate the following story.
THE wise men of Egypt were secret as dummies; And, ev'n when they most condescended to teach, They pack'd up their meaning, as they did their mummies,
In so many wrappers, 'twas out of one's reach.
They were also, good people much given to KingsFond of craft and of crocodiles, monkeys and mystery;
"The moment any religion becomes national, or established, its purity must certainly be lost, because it is then impossible to keep it unconnected with men's interests; and, if connected, it must inevitably be perverted by them."-SOAME JENYNS. THUS did SOAME JENYNS-though a Tory, A Lord of Trade and the Plantations; Feel how Religion's simple glory
Is stain'd by State associations.
When CATHERINE, ere she crush'd the Poles, Appeal'd to the benign Divinity; Then cut them up in protocols, Made fractions of their very souls 2-
All in the name of the bless'd Trinity; Or when her grandson, ALEXANDER, That mighty Northern salamander," Whose icy touch, felt all about, Puts every fire of Freedom out—
But blue-bottle flies were their best belov'd things-When he, too, winds up his Ukases As will partly appear in this very short history.
A Scythian philosopher (nephew, they say, To that other great traveller, young Anacharsis), Stept into a temple at Memphis one day,
To have a short peep at their mystical farces. He saw a brisk blue-bottle Fly on an altar, Made much of, and worshipp'd, as something
With God and the Panagia's praises- When he, of royal Saints the type,
In holy water dips the sponge, With which, at one imperial wipe,
He would all human rights expunge; When Louis (whom as King, and eater, Some name Dix-huit and some Des-huitres,) Calls down" St. Louis' God" to witness
The right, humanity, and fitness Of sending eighty thousand Solons,
Sages, with muskets and lac'd coats, To cram instruction, nolens volens, Down the poor struggling Spaniards' throats- I can't help thinking, (though to Kings
I must, of course, like other men, bow,) That when a Christian monarch brings
Religion's name to gloss these things
Such blasphemy out-Benbows Benbow!' Or-not so far for facts to roam, Having a few much nearer home – When we see Churchmen, who, if ask'd, 'Must Ireland's slaves be tith'd, and task'd, "And driv'n like Negroes or Croäts,
"That you may roll in wealth and bliss?" Look from beneath their shovel hats
With all due pomp, and answer "Yes!" But then, if question'd, "Shall the brand "Intolerance flings throughout that land,—
Shall the fierce strife now taught to grow "Betwixt her palaces and hovels,
"Be ever quench'd?"-from the same shovels Look grandly forth, and answer “No.”—
3 The salamander is supposed to have the power of extinguishing fire by its natural coldness and moisture.
4 A well known publisher of irreligious books.
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