XXXIII.

The son who, twice three months on th' ocean tost, Prepar'd to tell what he had pass'd before,

130

Now sees in English ships the Holland coast,
And parents' arms in vain stretch'd from the shore.

XXXIV.

This careful husband had been long away,

Whom his chaste wife and little children mourn;
Who on their fingers learn'd to tell the day
On which their father promis'd to return.

XXXV.

Such are the proud designs of humankind,
And so we suffer shipwreck ev'ry where!
Alas! what port can such a pilot find,

Who in the night of fate must blindly steer?

XXXVI.

The undistinguish'd seeds of good and ill
Heav'n in his bosom from our knowledge hides,
And draws them in contempt of human skill,
Which oft' for friends mistaken foes provides.

XXXVII.

Let Munster's prelate ever be accurst,

In whom we seek the German faith in vain:
Alas! that he should teach the English first,
That fraud and av'rice in the church could reign.

140

Such are, &c.] From Petronius; "Si bene calculun ponas, ubique fit naufragium."

The German faith.] Tacitus saith of them, "Nullos mortalium fide * aut armis, ante Germanos esse."

XXXVIII.

Happy, who never trust a stranger's will,
Whose friendship's in his int'rest understood!
Since money giv'n but tempts him to be ill,
When pow'r is too remote to make him good.

XXXIX.

Till now alone the mighty nations strove;

The rest at gaze without the lists did stand:

150

And threat'ning France, plac'd like a painted Jove, Kept idle thunder in his lifted hand.

XL.

That eunuch-guardian of rich Holland's trade,
Who envies us what he wants pow'r t' enjoy;
Whose noiseful valour does no foe invade,
And weak assistance will his friends destroy

XLI.

Offended that we fought without his leave,
He takes this time his secret hate to show;
Which Charles does with a mind so calm receive,
As one that neither seeks nor shuns his foe.

XLII.

With France, to aid the Dutch, the Danes unite;
France as their tyrant, Denmark as their slave:
But when with one three nations join to fight,
They silently confess that one more brave.

XLIII.

Lewis had chas'd the English from his shore;
But Charles the French as subjects does invite;

160

170

Would Heav'n for each some Solomon restore,
Who by their mercy may decide their right.

XLIV.

Were subjects so but only by their choice,
And not from birth did forc'd dominion take,
Our prince alone would have the public voice,
And all his neighbours' realms would deserts make.

XLV.

He without fear a dang'rous war pursues,
Which without rashness he began before.
As honour made him first the danger chuse,
So still he makes it good on virtue's score.

The doubled charge his subjects' love supplies,
Who in that bounty to themselves are kind :..
So glad Egyptians see their Nilus rise,

And in his plenty their abundance find.

XLVII.

With equal pow'r he does two chiefs create,
Two such, as each seem'd worthiest when alone;
Each able to sustain a nation's fate,

Since both had found a greater in their own.

XLVIII.

Both great in courage, conduct, and in fame,
Yet neither envious of the other's praise;
Their duty, faith, and int'rest to the same,
Like mighty partners equally they raise.

180

190

XLIX.

The Prince long time had courted Fortune's love,
But once possess'd did absolutely reign:

Thus with their Amazons the heroes strove,
And conquer'd first those beauties they would gain.

L.

The Duke beheld, like Scipio, with disdain,

That Carthage, which he ruin'd, rise once more,
And shook aloft the fasces of the main,

To fright those slaves with what they felt before. 200

LI.

Together to the wat'ry camp they haste,

Whom matrons passing to their children show:
Infants' first vows for them to Heav'n are cast,
And future people + bless them as they go.

LII.

With them 'no riotous pomp, nor Asian train,
T' infect a navy with their gaudy fears;
To make slow fights, and victories but vain,
But war, severely, like itself, appears.

LII.

Diffusive of themselves, where'er they pass,
They make that warmth in others they expect:
Their valour works like bodies on a glass,
And does its image on their men project.

210

+ Future people.] Examina infantium futurusque populus.' Plin. Jun. in Paneg. ad Traj.

LIV.

Our fleet divides, and straight the Dutch appear,
In number, and a fam'd commander bold;
The narrow seas can scarce their navy bear,
Or crowded vessels can their soldiers hold.

LV.

The Duke, less num'rous, but in courage more,
On wings of all the winds to combat flies:
His murd'ring guns a loud defiance roar,

And bloody crosses on his flag-staffs rise.

LVI.

Both furl their sails, and strip them for the fight;
Their folded sheets dismiss the useless air:

Th' Elian plains could boast no nobler fight,
When struggling champions did their bodies bare.

LVII.

Borne each by other in a distant line,

The sea-built forts in dreadful order move;
So vast the noise, as if not fleets did join,

But lands unfix'd, † and floating nations strove.

LVIII.

220

Now pass'd, on either side they nimbly tack;
Both strive to intercept and guide the wind,

230

And in its eye more closely they come back
To finish all the deaths they left behind.

Lands unfix'd.] From Virgil. Ciedas inare revulsas Cycladas, &c

Volume 1.

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