I » N Hayley Occasional stanzas ,-.,:y"' ■ r ■ ■ t: OCCASIONAL STANZAS, WRITTEN AT THE REQ^UEST OP THE REVOLUTION SOCIETY, AND RECITED ON THEIR ANNIVERSARY, NOVEMBER 4, I788, TO WHICH IS ADDED, QUEEN MARY TO KING WILLIAM, DURING HIS CAMPAIGN IN IRELAND, 1690; A POETICAL EPISTLE. By WILLIAM H A Y L E Y, Esq^ LONDON: PRINTED FOR T. C A DELL, IN THE STRAND. M. DCC. LXXXVIII. [price two shillings.] CntcitD at Stationers !DalL KOLi Ta Tten^oLyiiiVOL SKsmig ^ib^iyj koli T^OTraia Keyri. No- p/sTg Toivvv ravTei OLVOL^r,vcx.i 78; Tr^oyopug vfjLo^v ax, ivct TOLs Toov uvaQsvTm oL^erccg. Demosthenes, pro Rhodiorum Llbertate. OCCASIONAL PR H% STANZAS, &c. I. 1 "\ E A R is the face of cloudlefs night, ^-^ And dear each radiant ftarry guide, To men whom fcience and renown invite To fteer the venturous bark thro' feas untried ; So dear to every generous race The luftre beaming from their fires, Whofe diftant deeds 'tis ecftacy to trace, Whofe fame, re-echoing from unnumber'd lyres, Grows with increajling time, and every age infpires. B II. Amid 853603 [ 2 ] II. Amid wild nature's rudeft reign, That dauntlefs Cook's keen eye furvey'd. The veriefl: favage of the Southern main The debt of jufl: commemoration paid; He fung of buried Chiefs, in whom Young valour might a model fee : Britain ! blcft ifle, where fecial virtues bloom, Refled: what honours muft be due from thee To thofe who knew thee brave, and taught thee to be free. III. Is it an art of curious care To guard the rights deriv'd from God ? And will not Valour's native impulfe tear From Tyranny's weak grafp Oppreffion's rod ? Thus ardent youth, perchance, may afk : But patient toil from age to age, When Fortitude and Wifdom plied the ta/k. The toil of many a chief and many a fage, Secur'd not Freedom's Fane from Superftition's rage. IV. In C 3 J IV, 111 vain the Barons bravely fix'd The ground-work of that glorious Fane ; In vain, when Faith, with Papal art unmix'd. Shed Heav'n's pure radiance on this fair domain, Th' enlighten'd fpirits of our ifle, True heirs of Freedom's ancient race, With ardour added to her ftately pile Columns of clearer vein and firmer grace ; The dome their virtue dcck'd was fhaken to its bafe. V. Recall'd by an apoftate King, The fiends, long banifli'd hence, return, To poifon Liberty's life-feeding fpring. And taint the ftream of Truth's celeftial urn : The bafeft of the hellifh horde, Barbarity, with pride afiumes From fainting Juftice her polluted fword ; While Superftition, mad with Fortune's fumes, Shakes on the darken'd throne her blood diftilling plumes. B 2 VI. O'er- C 4 3 VI. O'crwhelm'd where mod her bounty fmil'd, Aftonifh'd Freedom gnfp'd for breath, And her funk voice was feeble as a child In its firft ftrugglc with untimely death ; But the fafe infant's vital found To the fond parent loft in fear, Left haply new-imparted life be drown'd, Is not more welcome, more fublimely dear, Than Freedom's fuppliant voice to Virtue's generous car. VII. For Britain, and for human kind, To raife the proftrate form of Law, Attentive Virtue held her feat, enftirin'd In thy unconquerable foul, Nassau ! Heroes, by victory more careft, The fiery bolts of war have hurl'd, And conquerors have liv'd of earth the peft ; But Glory's felf, from all her flags unfurl'd. Counts not a name like thine a blefting to the world. VIII. De- [ 5 ] viir. Deprefs'd, difhonour'd, wrong'd, enthrali'd, Withering in fhame's foul-blighting fliade, To thee our deeply-fuffering Country call'd, As innocence to Heaven, fecure of aid : For well fhe knew thy fpirit's force. Which, firm as a defenfive tower. Checking outrageous devaflation's courfe. Stood, in thy Nation's dark defpairing hour. The champion of Diftrefs, the fcourge of lawlefs power. IX. Pureft of princely names ! unfway'd By bafe ambition's fordid fprings. In thee the refcued world was richly paid For the opprcflive crimes of prouder kin'>-s : The Gallic defpot, in his dreams Of wide unlimited controul, Tho' flattery, rich in fancy's magic beams, Blazon'd him high on Glory's gorgeous roll. Sunk into dim eclipfe beneath thy brighter foul. X. As [ 6 ] X. As. in the Teas, where fultry air The wildly-tortuous wave impels, Hideous, and hoftile to the feaman's prnycr, The watery column of perdition fwells: Yet haply a corrective power The vcx'd and maddening waters feel ; Tho' in their fpiral force Fate feems to lower, The mafs, portentous to the vefTel's weal, Diffolves at the approach of fcience-pointcd fteel. XI. So, rais'd by Bigotry's hot breath. And pregnant with unnumber'd woes, With every form of danger and of death. Here the ftrange bulk of Tyranny arofe ; And fo, when Freedom's darken'd ifle The baleful prodigy deplor'd. So, brave Nassau I this fudden upftart pile, This public mifery's tempeftuous hoard, Difpers'd before the point of thy preferving fword. XII. Science, [ 7 ] XII. Science, Religion, every power Friendly to earth and true to Heaven, Exulted in the bleft and bloodlefs hour, When Freedom's fceptre to thy fway was given : The probity that rul'd thy heart, And taught the fearful to rejoice. Scorning to awe with force or lure with art. Left refcu'd Liberty's reviving voice To fix in free debate the fovereign of her choice. - XIII. Confcious of all a monarch's care. And firm his duties to fulfil, Thy generous fpirit, with a guardian's air, Recelv'd the gift of her unbiafs'd will : By Freedom crown'd, for her thy life, That never fear'd the ftorms of Fate, Was freely ftak'd in peril's diftant ftrife, When, arm'd with Gallic war's prefumptuous weight, The recreant James reclaim'd his abdicated ftate. XIV. The [ s ] XIV. The Boync's proud banks \vith triumph ring, With founds that tell to every land, That Freedom, happy in her chofcn king, Truftcd her battle to no feeble hand : Nor vidlory's fhouts, that round thee rofc, Nor flying terror's fuppliant call, Prais'd thee, Nassau I like pagans from thy foes, When France, who heard of one infldious ball *, Indulg'd a coward's joy on thy imagin'd fall. * William had no fooncr arrived, than he rode along the fide of the river, in the fight of both armies, to make his obfervacions upon the field, which ■was next day to determine James's fate and his own. The enemy having obferved him fit down upon the ground while he was vvriting notes of what he had obferved, fen c into a field oppofite to him two field-pieces, concealed in their centre, and had orders to drop the cannon unperceivcd behind a hedge as they marched along. Thefe guns were deliberately aimed at his horfes, and when he mounted, were difcliarged ; the balls killed feveral of his followers, and one of them wounded himfelf in the flioulder : a fhout from the Irifli camp rent the (kies ; a report that he was killed inftantly flew through Ireland, and in an incredible fhort fj^ace of time reached Paris. The guns of the Baftile were fired, the city was illuminated, and all mea congratulated each othtrr as upon the greatcfl of victories. Dalrymple, Vol. I. p. 436. XV. While [ 9 1 XV. While bleeding on lerne's (hore, England, thy brave Deliverer fought, What various doubts thy anxious bofom tore ! With what juft fears was every moment fraught I But, to preferve thee from difmay, He left a Regent pure and bright ; And, like the abfent ruler of the day, That his foft delegate might chear the fight, Fill'd her benignant foul with his refle<5ted light. XVI. Mary, fweet partner of his throne. So truly to his fpirit join'd. With mutual aid your mingled virtues fKonc, Like focial talents in one perfect mind ; To thee, whom, with thy martial Lord, Heaven form'd to gild our darkefl days, May tender Truth flrikc Honour's tuneful chord. As long as Freedom to her friends fhall raife Her high heroic hymn of heart-fuggefted praife. C XVIL And XVII. And O I while crown'd with filvery clifts, Symbols of her commercial reign, Britain her fair imperial prefence lifts Above the billows of the fubjec^ main ; So long, array'd in Honour's robe, May Freedom hail each favourite name, Who taught this fpeck of earth to awe the globe ; So long may Glory, in her fongs, proclaim The Champions of our Rights, the Founders of our Fame. XVIIT. Whether, in Fortune's evil hour. They fhar'd the martyr'd Russell's fall ; Or call'd, like Ca'ndish, to heroic power, And faw felicity fucceed the call ; Still, Britain, blefs, through every age, Each ardent friend of equal laws. And moft the generous Chief, and perfect Sage, Nassau and Somers, who, in Freedom's caufe, Toil'd to befriend mankind, unbrib'd by their applaufe. XIX. That [ " ] XIX. That tranfient honour might be gain'd, How oft, by Falfehood's fubtle vow, Has thy pure name, O Freedom ! been profan'd, Tho' Heaven abhors not falfehood more than thou I — Thro' every clime thy feet have trod, In this abufe thy power we fee j Mifcreants who injur'd man, and mock'd their God, The flaves of Hell, affecting to be free, Have ever loudly feign'd a reverence for thee. XX. Be known to unfufpeding youth, Both by thy fruits, and by thy fource ; Thy parents. Fortitude and Heavenly Truth ! Thy offspring, Safety, Honour, Wealth, and Force !— A century has now confirm'd The bleflings that in thee we find ; Then, Freedom I be this feafon ever term'd Thy Jubilee, where no illufions blind, But juftly-founded joy invigorates the mind. C 2 XXI. Britain ! [ 12 ] XXI. Britain ! dear parent, if to thee My voice, unftain'd by fervile art. Pays reverence due, and, proud to hail thee free. Pours the true fervour of a filial heart ; If thou haft ever ruPd my lyre, Thus let thy infpiration run ; Let each who hears it, catching Patriot fire. Prize, above all by flavifh intereft won, The bleiBng to be prov'd thy undegenerate fon. QUEEN QUEEN MARY T O KING WILLIAM, DURING HIS CAMPAIGN IN IRELAND^ 169O, A POETICAL EPISTLE. ADVERTISEMENT. A HE following Poem was written feveral years ago, and arofc from the recent publication of the Queen's original and inoft: intcrefting letters, which Sir John Dalrymplc inferted in the Appendix to his Memoirs of Great Britain. The number of thefe letters amounts to thirty-feven ; they exhibit the charadler of this admirable woman in the moft: affedting point of view, and fully juflify all the praife that has been iiiven to the tendernefs of her heart and tha dienitv of her mind. The Poem, which is but a kind of echo to her genuine Ccn.'^ timents, had been thrown afide, with many other verfes which the author has kept in privacy, from the fear of trefpaffing too frequently on the indulgence of the public j but he has been induced to print it with the preceding Stanzas, from the idea that it may find favour in the fight of thofe who love to dwell, at this particular feafon, on the great charadlers which it attempts to delineate. [ 15 ] Q^UEEN MARY T O KING WILLIAM. /^ N C E more reliev'd, by midnight's welcome hour,. From all the bufy train of anxious power. My foul, O William ! from their bondage free, Joys in that freedom, and is flown to thee 5 Like the poor Martyr in religion's caufe. Who, if the hand of Perfecution paufe. With Love devout, with warmth of Prayer intenfej^, Strains every thought, and each recovering fenfe,. Humbly to afk new fpirit fiom his God, To bear each future pang of torture's rod :. I To [ i6 ] To tlice I bentl, my fuccour and my pride, Whofc love fuftalns me, and whofc counfcls guide. While War, that turns from hence his tide of blood, Bears thy great fpirit on his fwclling flood, Eager to end, regard lefs of thy life, The wafting ftorm ol fanguinary ftrife ; While compafs'd round with growing fears I ftand. The trembling Guardian of this troubled land ; While robb'd of thee, whofe animating flffht Turns doubt to joy, and terror to delight, 3 feel, inftead of thy protecting care, •Fear for thy life — the worft of fears to bear — • O ! may thy letters, Minifters of Peace, Bid my vain terror for thy fafety ceafe ; O ! let them frequent, fraught with love, impart Thy noble fpirit to this weaker heart. Which yet, too confcious of its failing power, Strains every nerve, in each oppreffive hour, To keep thy precious eftimation ftill ; Eager to find and happy to fulfil, (Since from that fource alone mj pleafurcs Tpring) The dcareft: wifhes of my diftant King, In [ 17 ] , In thefe hard fccnes, O! give me to rejoice In the kind fanftion of thy partial voice ; O ! grant my foul its honeft pride to raife, On the ftrcng bafis of my William's praifc : From that alone my little ftrength I draw, Thy fmile my glory, and thy will my lavi^. Think how this bofom at thy fignet glows, Which I in agony of hafte unclofe I How to thy letter my fond eyes I glne, Till tears of tranfport intercept their view ! Then to my heart thofe vital lines are preft, Which breathe new b.ing thro' my fainting breaft, In which thy foul, from human fears refin'd, (The brighteft copy of th' Almighty mind) Yet kindly melts with reconciling care, In generous pity of the load I bear. Alas ! the burden of th' unbalanc'd ftate Sinks my faint foul with its increafing weight ; 'Tis hard to keep the helm with this frail form. While men of fterner fpirit dread the ftorm : Too weak this trembling liand that helm to guide, When fmiling ocean fpreads his fmootheft tide ; D Think [.8 1 Think then uhat agony my bofom rends, When tlie fky darkens, when the ftorm dcfccnds j Wlien each great effort of the crew is croft, And frantic terror cries, " The vcfTcrs h)ft I" Yet, yet, I mount thefe cruel waves above, Buoy'd up by duty and fupcrior love ; Tho' icy terror freeze my female heart, Thy Confort yet fuftains her trying part ; Ilcr features yet her Country's fears beguile, Cafl: o'er their doubts a confidential fmilc. Bid them the firmnefs of tl;iis bofom Hiare, And boaft of courage — which I feel not there. Dear, native Britain, noble, generous Land, Proud of that refcue which thy virtue plann'd ; As yet but half redeem'd, I mourn thy doom. To fee thy glories fhakcn in their bloom ; To fee proud France with fatal power fufpend Thy great redemption and its peaceful end ; While He, whofc faving hand thy laws proclaim, (Whofe fight is fafety, whofe protecflion fame) By [ '9 ] By diflant {laughter from thy Ihores debarr'd, MufI: leave tliy honour to To weak a guard ; Who, tho' her foul thy facred rights revere, Is ftill a feeble Being, born to fear. E'en thofc, O William ! whom thy care aflign'd To footh my terror and to {liield my mind. Forget the wcaknefs of my fofter fex, With doubts alarm me, with difTenfions vex ; And flievv, difcolour'd by their dark furmife, Tremendous profpeds to thefe aching eyes. Yet think not tamely I this brcaft reiign To Fear's fuggeftions, fo remote from thine: No i when th' infernal fpirit of Defpair Would feize my heart, and fix his fetters there, I ftrive that circle from his power to free, And break his baleful fpells by naming Thee : Thofe fcencE, more dreadful, I recall to view In which my Hero's infant glory grew, Wlicn trembling Holland firfl: with tranfport faw The flern atchievments of her young Nassau :' I fee the moment when her proflrate fhore Heard, all in vain, her guardian waters roar, D 2 Above [ " ] Above thofc bulwarks faw her fate advance, Her (hame, her ruin, in the hoPt of France ; When all her fons would o'er tir Atlantic flv, A.nd bear their Freedom to a brighter ^^y^ Leaving thofe feats, their fatliers forni'd ot yore. In ocean buried, and their name no more : When thus of every human aid bereft, E'en then thy Valour faid — it flill was X^t^^y To bid defpotic Defolation ftrike, And fall with Freedom on her lateft dyke ! E'en then I fee Thee, undifmay'd, oppofc The rifmg deluge of thy Country's foes, OpprefTion's torrent ftem v/ith nobler force, And bid her flood roll backward to its fource ;. See refcued millions on thy triumph wait. And hail thee Saviour of a finking ftate ! While this bright image of thy rifing fame Warms my fond heart, and animates my frame. My melting foul thus pours, with warmth like thine,. Its adorations to the Throne Divine : — Thou God of Juftice, whofe fuflaining power Has watch'd my William from his natal hour, O ! flnce [ 21 ] O ! fince thy mercy mark'd him at his birth The juft Avenger of the groaning earth — Since thy decrees, to ftiike the world with awe, Have rais'd him Guardian of thy pureft law, While injur'd nations, in thy fervant blefl:, Revive, and fee their wrongs by him redreR — Complete thy mercies, and fuftain him ftill,. I'he glorious Agent of thy gracious will ! And O! fince, blefl: with his connubial care, 'Tis mine the fortunes of his life to fhare ; Since thy unqueftionable mandates place My weaknefs in a fcene that afks thy grace, ! let that grace with kind profufion flow. And teach this bofom with new life to glow ; Heal every cruel wound of nature there. And bid my heart, a ftranger to defpair, While the ftorm rages, like the frighted Dove, Reft in the facred ark of William's love ! — Thus rapt in ■foiitude, in prayer retir'd, 1 find that fuccour which my foul requir'd ; Peace, in foft viflons, bids me figh no more, A.nd brings her olive-wreath, unftain'd with gore. But [ " ] Tut all ! in wun tlicfc flattering vifions rife, Far other fcenes falute my waking eyes ; 3\'cn now, when Sleep, benignant Power, would flicd His healing opiate on Afiliclion's head, Cur citizens terrific vigils keep. And iind that Tourville's name has murderM flcep : England, difiionour'd by her guardian fleet. With fhamc, with anger, feels her bofom beat ; Our city's growing fears, by rumour nurfl:, Kifc into folly, into frenzy burft; And frantic Fancy fees lier captive fpires Sink in the bbze of Tourville's fpreading fires. But fear, O William 1 in my heart giv^es place To keen fcnfations of this deep difgrace ; Warm'd in thy bofom, I from thence have caught Some little portion of thy glorious thought. Of Honour's fpirit, Freedom's holy flame, Contempt of cowardice, and fcorn of fliame ! Unhappy England ! v/ho hafl: mourn'd in vain. Thy coaH: diflionour'd by this naval fl:ain ; May thy white cliff's, that tinge the filv'ry flood, Behold the fl:ain eflac'd in Gallic blood! And [ 23 ] And thou, proud veffel of fliipendous mould, Emblazing ocean with thy breadth of gold, Thou France's naval pride, Imperial Sun*, Swift o'er thy flirouds may flames of veno-eance run 1 Thy boafted bulk may Englifh thunders rend, And thy pale ftrcamers to the deep defcend ! May Britons fee, while fhouts of joy they raife, Thy gorgeous fabric in their lightnings blaze ; And, blazing, fhed on their illumin'd fhore. Glories more bright than it eclips'd before ! My bofom thus with love of England fraucrht. My fpirits mount in that ennobling thought ; Tho' a juft God may check our erring pride, 1 flill, O William 1 in his care confide : Life, fafety, peace, from this idea fprings, That thou art Soldier to the King of Kings ; ThcLt thy great adions make his mercies known, Thy fame his glory, and thy caufe his own 1 — But fliould that God, a guilty world to awe, His chofen V/arrior from its aid withdraw; * The name of Tourville's Ihip, at that time the fineft in the world. Should [ H ] Should lie — But licncc, diftra