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The figur'd ftreams in waves of filver roll'd,
And on their banks Augufta rofe in gold.
Around his throne the fea-born brothers ftood, 335
Who fwell with tributary urns his flood;
First the fam'd authors of his ancient name,
The winding Ifis and the fruitful Tame :
The Kennet fwift, for filver eels renown'd;
The Loddon flow, with verdant alders crown'd;
Cole, whose dark streams his flow'ry islands lave;
And chalky Wey, that rolls a milky wave:
The blue, tranfparent Vandalis appears;

The gulphy Lee his fedgy treffes rears;

339

And fullen Mole, that hides his diving flood; 345 And filent Darent, ftain'd with Danish blood.

349

High in the midft, upon his urn reclin'd, (His fea-green mantle waving with the wind) The God appear'd: he turn'd his azure eyes Where Windfor-domes and pompous turrets rife ; Then bow'd and spoke; the winds forget to roar, And the hufh'd waves glide foftly to the fhore. Hail, facred Peace! hail long-expected days, That Thames's glory to the stars shall raise ! Tho' Tyber's ftreams immortal Rome behold, 355 Tho' foaming Hermus fwells with tides of gold, From heav'n itself tho' fev'n-fold Nilus flows, And harvests on a hundred realms bestows; These now no more shall be the Muse's themes, Loft in my fame, as in the fea their streams.

360

Let

Let Volga's banks with iron fquadrons fhine,
And groves of lances glitter on the Rhine,
Let barb'rous Ganges arm a fervile train;
Be mine the bleffings of a peaceful reign.

No more my fons fhall die with British blood 365
Red Iber's fands, or Ifter's foaming flood:
Safe on my fhore each unmolefted fwain
Shall tend the flocks, or reap the bearded grain;
The fhady empire fhall retain no trace

Of war or blood, but in the fylvan chace;

370 The trumpet fleep, while chearful horns are blown, And arms employ'd on birds and beafts alone. Behold! th' afcending Villa's on my fide, Project long fhadows o'er the crystal tide, Behold! Augufta's glitt'ring fpires increase, And Temple's rife, the beauteous works of Peace. I fee, I fee, where two fair cities bend. Their ample bow, a new Whitehall afcend!

375

There mighty Nations fhall enquire their doom," The World's great Oracle in times to come; 380 There Kings fhall fue, and fuppliant States be seen Once more to bend before a BRITISH QUEEN. Thy trees, fair Windfor! now fhall leave their woods,

And half thy forefts rufh into thy floods,

VER. 376 And Temples rife,] The fifty new Churches. P. „AS VARIATIONS.

VER. 361. Originally thus in the MS.

Let Venice boaft her Tow'rs amidft the Main,
Where the rough Adrian fwells and roars in vain ;
Here not a Town, but fpacious Realm shall have
A fure foundation on the rolling wave.

VOL. I.

F

Bear

Bear Britain's thunder, and her Crofs difplay, 385 To the bright regions of the rifing day;

Tempt icy feas, where fcarce the waters roll,

Where clearer flames glow round the frozen Pole; Or under fouthern skies exalt their fails,

Led by new stars, and borne by spicy gales!

For me the balm fhall bleed, and amber flow,

The coral redden, and the ruby glow,

The pearly shell its lucid globe infold,
And Phoebus warm the rip'ning ore to gold.

390

394

The time fhall come, when free as feas or wind
Unbounded Thames fhall flow for all mankind,
Whole nations enter with each fwelling tide,
And feas but join the regions they divide;
Earth's diftant ends our glory shall behold,
And the new world launch forth to feek the old.
Then fhips of uncouth form fhall ftem the tide,
And feather'd people croud my wealthy fide,

399

And

VER. 388. Where clearer flames glow round the frozen Pole.] The Poet is here recommending the advantages of commerce, and therefore the extremities of heat and cold are not reprefented in a forbidding manner: as again, Or under fouthern skies exalt their fails, Led by new ftars, and borne by Spicy gales.

But in the Dunciad, where the mischief of Dulness is defcribed, they are painted in all their inclemencies,

See round the Poles where keener Spangles fhine,
Where Spices Smoke beneath the burning line.

VER. 396. Unbounded Thames, etc.] A wish that Lonmay be made a FREE PORT. P.

don

VARIATIONS.

VER. 383, etc. were originally thus,

Now fhall our fleets the bloody Crofs difplay

To the rich regions of the rifing day,

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And naked youths and painted chiefs admire
Our fpeech, our colour, and our ftrange attire!
Oh stretch thy reign, fair Peace! from shore to shore,
'Till Conqueft cease, and Slav'ry be no more; 406
'Till the freed Indians in their native groves
Reap their own fruits, and woo their fable loves,
Peru once more a race of Kings behold,
And other Mexico's be roof'd with gold.
Exil'd by thee from earth to deepest hell,

410

In brazen bonds, fhall barb'rous Discord dwell;
Gigantic Pride, pale Terror, gloomy Care,
And mad Ambition fhall attend her there :
There purple Vengeance bath'd in gore retires, 415
Her weapons blunted, and extinct her fires:
There hateful Envy her own snakes shall feel,
And Perfecution mourn her broken wheel:
There Faction roar, Rebellion bite her chain,
And gasping Furies thirst for blood in vain.

420

Here cease thy flight, nor with unhallow'd lays Touch the fair fame of Albion's golden days: The thoughts of Gods let GRANVILLE's verse recite, And bring the scenes of op'ning fate to light. My humble Mufe, in unambitious strains Paints the green forefts and the flow'ry plains,

F 2

VARIATIONS.

425

Where

Or thofe green ifles, where headlong Titan steeps
His hiffing axle in th' Atlantic deeps";

Tempt icy feas, etc.

VER. 421.

P.

IMITATIONS:

Quo, Mufa, tendis ? define pervicax
Referre fermones Deorum et
Magna modis tenuare parvis.

Hor.

Where Peace defcending bids her olives spring,
And scatters bleffings from her dove-like wing.
Ev'n I more fweetly pass my careless days,
Pleas'd in the filent shade with empty praife; 43°
Enough for me, that to the lift'ning fwains

First in these fields I fung the fylvan strains.

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