M'Fingal: : a modern epic poem, in four cantos.

LIBRARY

UNIVW517T Of

University of California • Berkeley

JOHN TBTTMBUJLL ES

M'F I N G A L:

A MODERN

EPIC POEM,

I N

FOUR CANTOS.

BY JOHN TRUMBULL,

EMBELLISHED

WITH NINE COPPER PLATES;

DESIGNED AND ENGRAVED BY E.

THE FIRST EDITION WITH PLATES,
AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.

Ergo non fatis eft rifu diducere rlclum
Auditoris : et eftquaedam tamem hie quoque virtus,
Eft brevitate opus m currat fententia, ncu fe
impediat verbis laffas onerantibus aures.
Et fermone opus eft modo trifti, faepe jocofo,
Defendente vicem modo Rheroris, atque Poetac,
Interdum urbani, parcentis viribus atque
Extrnnantis eas confulio. Ridicuium acri
Fortius et melius magnas pkrurRqu- fecat res.

Horat. Lib. i. Sat. 10.

N E W - Y O R K :

PRINTED BY JOHN BUEL, No. 132. FLY-MARKET,
M, DCC, XCV.

EDITORS PREFACE

TO THE AMERICAN EDITION,
WITH PLATES.

1 HE following Poem was firft publifh-
ed in 1782, in the ftate of Connecticut,
Jwhere thfc Author was born, and received
his education, and where he now rendes.
It has pafled through feveral impreffions
in this country, and Great-Brit ain, and
has obtained univerfal celebrity.

In 1792 a fplendid edition of it appear
ed in London, with explanatojy notes.
So far as thefe notes contain fafts, and
ferve to elucidate paffages, which would
be otherwife obfcure, they are retaincri

IV EDITORS PREFACE.

in this edition : But as that London edi
tion was publifhed to anfwer the purpofes
of a party, and the Editor has taken the
liberty to mifreprefent the views of the
Author, the preface and fuch of the notes
as wTere inferted for that purpofe, are
here omitted.. This is done at the re-
queit of the author, with whofe permiffi-
on, this edition is offered to the Ameri
can public.

The delign of the Poem will bed ap
pear from its general tenor. The Au
thor, at the time the. oppofition of Ame
rica to the unjuft claims of the Britim
Parliament, was maturing into fyftem, liv
ed in Bofton with one of the principal
projeftors of American Independence. He
efpoufed the caufe of his country, and
became intimately acquainted with the
tranfadions of the early revolutionifls, and
all the meafures of the Britifh agents, to
counter-act • the oppofition. This appears
by a number of Anecdotes, very humor-
oufly related, in the courfe of the Poem.

EDITORS PREFACE. v

That the Author is a warm friend of
American Independence, is obvious, frtfm
the whole tenor of the work ; and the
principal fcope of the Poem feems to have
been, to ridicule the claims of the Bri-
tifh Parliament, atid the meafures purfued
to enforce thofe claims. At the fame
time, the abfurdities and mifconduft of his
own countrymen have not efcaped his no
tice.

The Author is no friend to monarchy,
nor ariflocracy ; nor is he a raving de
mocrat. He is a friend of republican go
vernment, and rational liberty — that liber
ty which is fecured by juft laws, and a
fteady adminiftration of juftice. But it is
not true that the Poem was written with
the fole view to ridicule anyparticular form
of government.

The fcene of the Poem is laid in MafTa-
chufetts, where the Revolution originated.
The time is in 1775. M'FiNGAL the
hero, is defignedto reprefent the tory fac-

Vi EDITORS PREFACE.

tion in general : and Ho N OKI us, the

whigs.

It is unnecefiary to fay any thing of the
merit of the Poem. This is univerfally
acknowledged ; and the Poem will conti
nue to be read and admired, while true
tafte and fcience adorn the civilized world.
The Philofopher in his clofet, the travel
ler on his voyage, and the man of bufi-
nefs at his fire-fide, will always find
M'FiNGAL, an inftruftive friend, and a
pleafant compan on.

The Editors have taken particular pains,
to render this edition, worthy of public
patronage. The explanatory notes will
give this impreffion a great advantage
over any American edition. Indeed with
out them, many paffages alluding to lo
cal cuftoms, or defcriptive of local tranfac-
tions, could not be underftood by a great
proportion of readers.

But the Plates added to this edition,
are an improvement on all former ones,

EDITORS PREFACE* VH

and cannot fail to give it a decided pre
ference.

In every refpeft the Editors flatter them-*
felves, the elegance of- the work will do
juftice to this admired Poem; and they
confide in the liberality of their country
men, to give due encouragement to this
fpecimen of American genius and induftry.

THE Notes in this Edition marked with in
verted Commas, were inferted by the Author
in the firft Edition ; thofe that are not fb
marked, are principally extra&ed and altered
from a London Edition, Printed in the Year
1792.

M< F I N G A L:

CANTO FIRST.

The Town-Meeting, A. M,

W

HEN Yankies*, Ikill'd in martial rule,,
Firft put the Britifh troops to fchool ;
Inftrudted them in warlike trade,
And new manoeuvres of parade ;
The true war-dance of Yankey-reels,
And manual exercife of heels ;
Made them give up, like faints complete,
The arm of flefh, and truft the feet,

Yankiss, a tewi formerly of derifion, but now merely
dfdiftindion, given to the people of the four Eaftern Statei.

B

2 Mf F I N G A L. CANTO I,

And work, like Chriftians undiflembling,
Salvation our, by fear and trembling j
Taught Percy fafhionable races,
And modern modes of Chevy-chafes* :
From Boflon, in his bed array,
Great 'Squire, M'Fingal, took his way,
And, grac'd with enfigns of renown,
Steer'd homeward to his native town.

His high defcent our heralcL trace
To f Oman's famed Fingalian race ;
For tho* their name fome part may lack,
Old Fingal fpelt it with a Mac ;
Which great MTherfon, with fubmiflioiu
We hope will add the next edition.

His fathers flouriuYd in the Highlands
Of Scotia's fog-benighted iflands ;
\Vhence gain'd.our 'Squire two gifts by right5
Rebellion and the Second-fight.
Of thefe the firft, in ancient days,
Had gain'd the noblefl palms of praife,

* Lord Percy commanded the party that wasfirft oppofedby
the Americans at Lexington, Th's illufion to the family-renown
of Chevy-Chace arofe from the precipitate manner of his quit
ting the fieui of battle, and returning to Bofton.

i " See Fingal, an ancient Epic Poem, publifhed as the work
of Offian, a Caledonian Bard, of the third century, by James
M'Pherfoa, a Scotch miniiteiial fcribbler,"

CANTO I. Mc F I N G A L. 3

'Gainft Kings flood forth, and many a crown'd head

With terror of its might confounded j

Till rofe a King with potent charm

His foes by goodnefs to difarm j ,

Whom ev'ry Scot and Jacobite

Strait fell in love with — at firft fight ;

Whofe gracious fpeech, with aid o£ penfions,

Hufh'd down all murmers of diiTentions,

And with the found of potent metal,

Brought all their bluft' ring fwarms to fettle 5

Who rain'd his minifterial mannas,

Till loud Sedition fung Hofannas ;

The good Lords-Bifhops and the Kirk

United in^the public-work;

Rebellion from the northern regions.

With Bute and Mansfield (wore allegiance,

And allcombin'd to raz^ as ruiifance,

Of church and (late, the conftitutions ;

Pull down the empire en whole ruins

They meant to edify their new ones ;

E,nflave the American wildernene?,

And tear the provinces in pieces.

For thefe our 'Squire, among the valant'ft,

Ernploy'd his time and tools and talents -9

And in their caufe, with manly zeal,

Us'd his firil virtue to rebel ;

And found this new rebellion pleafing

As his old king dcilroying trcalbn,

B 2

4 Mc F I N G A L CANTO I,

Nor lefs avail'd his optic fleight,
And Scotifh gift of fecond-fight.
No ancient fybil, fam'd in rhyme,
Saw deeper in the womb of time ;
No block in old Dodona's grove>
Could ever more orac'lar prove.
Nor only faw he all that was,
But much that never came to pafs ;
Whereby all Prophets far out-went he,,
Tho' former days produc'd a plenty :
For any man with half an eye,
What ftands before him may efpy'j
But optics lharp it needs, I ween,
To fee what is not to be feen. ^

As in the days of ancient fame
Prophets and poets were the fame,
And all the praife that poets gain
Is»but for what th' invent and feign:
So gain'd our 'Squire his fame by feeing
Such things as never would have being.
Whence he for oracles was grown
The very * tripod of his town.
Gazettes no fooner rofe a lye in,
But ftrait he fellvto prophefying ;
Made dreadful flaughter in his courfe,
Overthrew provincials, foot and horfe ;

* «' The Tripod was a facred three-legged flool, from which
the ancient prielts uttered their oracles/'

CANTO r. M'FINGAL. 5

Brought armies o'er by fudden pfeffings,
Of Hanoverians, Swils and Heffians 5
Feafted with blood his Scotiih clan,
And hang'd all rebels to a man ;
Divided their eftates and pelf,
And took a goodly lhare himfelP.
All this, with fpirit energetic,
He did by fecond-fight prophetic.

Thus ftor'd with intellectual riches,
Skill'd was our 'Squire in making fpeeches,
Where ftrength of brains united centers
With ftrength of lungs furpafiing Stentor's*
But as fome mufkets fo contrive it,
As oft to mifs the mark they drive at,
And tho* well aim'd at duck or plover,
Bear wide, and kick their owners over :
So far'd our 'Squire, whofe reas'ning toil
Would often on himfelf recoil,
And fo much injur'd more his fide,
The ftronger arguments he apply'd ;
As old war elephants, difmay'd,
Trode down the troops they came to aid,

* This prophecy, like fome of the prayers of Homer's he
roes, was but half accornplifhed. The ti no<veria*'s, &c.
indeed, came over, and much were they Jeajltd wiVA blotJi
but the hanging cfall tie Rebels, and tke dividing their ejlctcs,
remain unfulfilled. Thir, however, cannot be the fault of
our Hero, but rather the Hritifo Minifter, who lift off the wav
feefore the work VMS completed,

6 M'FINGAL. CANTO r.

And hurt their own fide more in battle
Than lefs and ordinary cattle.
Yet at town-meetings ev'ry chief
Pinn'd faith on great M'Fingal's fleeve,
And, as he motioned all by rote
Rais'd fympathetic hands to vote.

The town, our Hero's fcene of action,.
Had long been torn by feuds of fadlion;
And as each party's ftrength prevails,
It turn'd up difPrent heads or tails ;
With conftant ratt'iing, in a trice
Show'd various fides, as oft as dice :
As that fam'd weaver, * wife t' Ul)fT s,
By night each day's- work pick'd in pieces ;
And tho' Ihe ftoutly did beflir her,
Its finifhing was ne'er the nearer :
So did this town with ftedfaft zeal
Weave cob- webs for the public weal,
Which when completed, or before,
A lecond vote in pieces tore.
They- met, made fpeeches full long-winded.,
Refolv'd, proteftcd, and refcinded;
Addreffes fign'd, then chofe Committees,
To flop all drinking of Bohea-teas f$

* Homer's Odyfley

•t One of the fubjefts of difpute, which brought on the war,
was a tax laid upon tea, on its importation into the then

Co-

CANTO I. MCF t NG A L~ $

With winds of dodlrine veer'd about,

And turn'd all Whig-Committees out.

Meanwhile our Hero, as their head,,

In pomp the tory faction kd,

Still following, as the 'Squire fhould pleafc,

Succefiive on, like files of geefe.

And now the town was fummon'd, greeting,
To grand parading of town-meeting \
A (how, that ftrangers might appall,
As Rome's grave fenate did the Gaul.
High o'er the rout, on pulpit-flairs f,
Like den of thieves in houfe ofpray'rs
(That houfe, which loth a rule to break,
Serv'd Heav'n but one day in the week,
Open the reft for all fupplies
Of news and politics and lies,)
Stood forth the conftable, and bore
His ftaff, like Merc'ry's wand of yore,
Wav'd potent round, the peace to keep,
As that laid dead men's fouls to fleep.

Colonies. And, therefore, one of the weapons of oppofi-
Von, made ufe of by the people, was a univerfal agree
ment, not ti drink any Tea until the tax fiould be taken
of. The Committees, here referred to, were called
Committees of Saft'i ; part of their bufinefs was to watch over
the execution of the voluntary regulations made by the people
in the feveral towns.

+ In country-towns the town-meeting is generally held in
the Church.

g MCFINGAL. CANTO

Above, and near th' Hermetic ftaff,
The * moderator's upper half,
In grandeur o'er the cufhion bow'd,
Like Sol half-feen behind a cloud.
Beneath flood voters of all colours,
Whigs, tories, orators, and bawlers.
With ev'ry tongue in either faction,
Prepared like minute- menf, for action ;
Where truth and falfehood, wrong and right,
Draw all their legions out to fight ;
With equal uproar, fcarcely rave
Oppofing winds in .ZEolus' cave ;
Such Dialogues, with earned face,
Held never Balaam with his afs.

With daring zeal and courage bled
Honorius firft the crowd addrefs'cl ;
When now our 'Squire, returning late,
Arriv'd to aid the grand debate,
With ftrange four faces fat him down,
While thus the orator went on:

* Moderator is the name commonly given to the chairman
or Speaker of the town-meeting. He is here feated in the
pulpit.

f Minute-men were that part of the militia of our country
who, being drafted and enrolled by themfelves, were prepared
to march at a minutes warning, where ever the public fafety
required.

SANTO I, Mc F I N G A L,

<c — For ages bled, thus Britain rofe,
The terror of encircling foes -,
Her heroes rul'd the bloody plain ;
Her conqu'ring flandard aw'd the main ;
The different palms her triumphs grace.
Of arms in war, of arts in peace :
Unharrafs'd by maternal care,
Each riling pro vi nee flour ifh'd fair;
Whofe various wealth with lib'ral hand,
By faro'er-paid the parent-land.
But tho' fo bright her fun might fhine,
'Twas quickly hafling to decline,
With feeble rays, too weak t' afTuage,
The damps, that chill the eve of age."

cc For dates, like men, are doom'd as well
Th' infirmities of age to feel;
And from their different forms of empire,
Are feiz'd with every deep diftemper.
Some dates high fevers have made head in>
Which nought could cure but copious bleeding ^
While others have grown dull and dozy,
Or fix'd in helplefs idiocy ;
Or turn'd demoniacs to belabour
Each peaceful habitant and neighbor -3
Or vex'd with hypocondriac fits,
Have broke their drength and lod their wits."

IO M< F I N G A L, CANTO I,

cc Thus now while hoary years prevail,
Good Mother Britain feem'd to fail ;
Her back bent, crippled with the weight
Of age arid debts and cares of ftate :
For debts fhe ow'd, and thofe fo large
Th^t twice her wealth could not difcharge ;
And now 'twas thought fo high they'd grown,
Sh^'d break, and come upon the town* j
Her arms, of nations once the dread,
S! e fcarce could lift above her head ;
Her deafen'd ears ('twas all their hope)
The final trump perhaps might x>pe,
So long they'd been in flupid mood,
Shut to the hearing of all good ;
Grim Death had put her in his fcroll,
Down on to the execution roll ;
And Gallic crows, as flie grew weaker,
Began to whet their beaks to pick her.
And now, her pow'rs decaying faft,
Her grand climacVric had fhepaft,
And juft like all old women elfe,
Fell in the vapours much by fpells.
Strange whimfies on her fancy flruck,
And gave her brain a difmal fhock ;

* 70 come upon the totem, that is to become a public charge*
This remark will ferve to explain many other allufioni to town*
rcgulatioas in the courfc of this Poem.

€AMTO I. Mc T I N G A L.

Her mem'ry fails, her judgment ends ;
She quite forgot her neareft friends ;
Loft all her former fenfe-and knowledge,
And fitted fafl for Beth'lem college:
Of all the pow'rs fhe once retain'd,
Conceit and pride alone remained.
As eve when falling was fo modeft
To fancy fhe fhould grow a .goddefs ;
As madmen, draw who long have flept on,
Will flile them, Jupiter, or Neptune :
So Britain, 'midft her airs fo flighty,
Now took a whim to be almighty ;
Urg'd oa to defp'rate heights of frenzy,
Affirm'd her own Omnipotency* ;
Would rather ruin all her race,
Than 'bate Supremacy an ace ;
Affum'd all rights divine, as grown
The church's head, like good pope Joan :
Swore all the world fhould bow and fkip
To her almighty Goodyfhip ;
Anath'matiz'd each unbeliever,
And vow'd to live and rule for ever.
Her fervants humor'd every whim,
And own'd at once, her power fupreme,
Her follies pleas'd in aU their ftages,

the aft, declaring that the King and Parliament had
fe a right to bind the colonies in all cnft:

12 M'FINGAL. CANTO i

For fake of legacies and wages ;

In ^Stephens Chafpel then in (late too

Set up her Golden calf to pray to,

Proclaimed its pow'r and right divine.

And caird for worfhip at its fhrine,

And for poor Heretics to burn us

Bade North prepare his fiery furnace ;

Struck bargains with the Romifh churches

Infallibility to purchafe ;

Set wide for Popery the door,

Made friends with Babel's fcarlet whore,

Join'd both the matrons firm in clan •,

No fifters made a better fpan.

No wonder then, e'er this was over,

That Ihe ihould make her children fuffer,

She firft without pretence of i eafon,

Claim'd right whatever we had to fcize on 5

And with determined refolution,

To put her claims, in execution,

Sent fire and fword, and call'd it, Lenity,

Starv'd us, and chriften'd it, Humanity.

For fhe, her cafe grown defperater,

Miftook the plaineft things in nature ;

Had loft all ufe of eyes or wits ;

Took flav'ry for the Bill of Rights 5

Trembled at whigs and deem'd them foes,

And f:opp'd at loyalty her nofe 5

<< * The Parliament-Houfe is called by that rarcc,"

CANTO I. Mc F I N G A L. I J

Stil'd her own children, brats and caitiffs,
And knew not us from th* Indian natives/'

" What tho* with fupplicating prayer
We begg'd our lives and goods ihe'd fpare;
Not vainer vows, with fillier call,
Elijah's prophets rais'd to Baal ;
A worfhipp'd flock, of god, or goddefs,
Had better heard and underftood us.
So once Egyptians at the Nile
Ador'd their guardian Crocodile,
Who heard them firft with kindefl ear,
And ate them to reward their pray'r -,
And could he talk, as kings can do,
Had made as gracious fpeeches too."

cc Thus fpite of pray'rs her fchemes purfuing,
She ftill went on to work our ruin -y
Annuird our charters of releafes,
And tore our title-deeds in pieces ;
Then fign'd her warrants of eje&ion,
And gallows rais'd to ftretch our necks on :
And on thefe errands fent in rage,
Her bailiff, and her hangman, Gage*,

* General Gage, commander in chief of the king's troops in
North America, was appointed in 1773 governor and vice ad
miral of Maflachufetts, in the room of Hutchinfon, who had
been the moft aftive agent of the Miniiler, in fomenting the dif-
putes which brought on the war.

The character and conduft of Gage is defcribed with great
juftice in the fubfequent part of this fpcech of Honorius.

14 Mc F I N S A L. CANTO I,

And at his heels, like dogs to bait us,
Difpatch'd her Poffe Comitafus."

<c No ftate e'er chofe a fitter perfon,
To carry fuch a fijly farce on.
As Heathen gods in ancient days
Received at fecond-hand their praife,
Stood imag'd forth in (tones and ftocks,
And deified in barber's blocks ;
So Gage was chofe to reprefent
Th* omnipotence of parliament.
And as old heroes gain'd; by fhifts,
From gods, as poets tell,, their giftsa
Our Gen'ral, as his actions fhow
Gain'd like affiftance from below,
By Satan grac'd with full fupplies,
From all his magazine of lies.
Yet could his practice ne'er impart
The wit, to tell a lie with art.
Thofe lies alone are formidable,
Where artful truth is mixt with fable ;
But Gage has bungled oft fo vilely,
No foul could credit lies fo filly ;
Outwent all faith, and ftrctchjd beyond
Credulity's extremeft end.
Whence plain it feems, tho' Satan once
O'erlookM with Icorn each brainlefs dunce,
And blundYmg brutes in Eden (hunning,
Chofe out the ferpent for his cunnings

CANTO I. M'FINGAU If

Of late he is not half fo nice,

Nor pick'd affiflants, 'caufe they're wife.

For had he ftood upon perfe&ion,

His prefent friends had loft th' ele&ion,

And far'd as hard in the proceeding,

As owls and affes did in Eden."

" Yet fools are often dang'rous enemies,
As meaneft reptiles are moft venomous ;
Nor e'er could Gage, by craft or prowefs,
Have done a whit more mifchief to us,
Since he began th' unnatural war,
The tvork his mafters fent him for."

" And are there in this free-born land
Among curfelves, a venal bane],
A daftard race, who long have fold
Their fouls and confciences for gold;
Who wifh to flab their country's vitals,
If they might heir furviving titles ;
With joy behold our mifchief brewing,
Infult and triumph in our ruin ?
Priefts, who if Satan fhould fit down
To make a Bible of his own,
Would gladly for the fake of mitres,
Turn hisinfpir'd and facred writers;
Lawyers, who fhould he wifli to prove,
His title t' his old feat above,
Would, if his caufe he'd give'em fees in,

j6 Mc F I N 0 A L. €ANT© I.

Bring writs of Entry fur diffefm,

Plead for him boldly at the fefiion,

And hope to put him in poflefTion ;

Merchants, who for his kindly aid,

Would make him partner in their trade',

Hang out their figns with goodly fhow,

Infcrib'd with « Belzelub and Co"

And judges who would lift his pages,

For proper liveries and wages -,

And who, as humbly cringe and bow,

To all his mortal fervants now.

There are, and fhame with pointing geftures,

Marks out th' AddrefTers and Protefters* :

Whom following down the ftream of Fate,

Contempts ineffable await,

And public infamy forlorn,

Dread hate and everlafting fcorn."

As thus he fpake, our 'Squire McFingal
Gave to his partizans a fignal.
Not quicker roll'd the waves to land,
When Mofes wav'd his potent wand,
Nor with more uproar, than the Tories
Set up a gen'ral rout in chorus ;

* The ADDRESSERS were thofe who addrefled General Gage
with expreffions of gratitude and attachment, on his arrival with
a fleet and army to fubdue the colonies. The PROTESTERS
were thofe who protefted againft the meafures of the firft COB-
grefs, and the general refolutionsof the country.

TOWN" T W&

CANTO I. U( F I N G A L. 17

Laugh'd, hifs'd, hem'd, murmur'd, groaned, and
Honorius now could fcarce be heard, [jeer'dj

Our Mufe amid th' increafing roar,

Could not diftinguifh ons word more:

Tho' fhe fat by, in firm record

To take in fhort hand ev'ry word ;

As ancient Mufes wont, to whom

Old bards for depositions come -,

Who muft have writ 'em ; for how elfe

Could they each fpeech verbatim tell 's ?

And tho' fome readers of romances

Are apt to ftrain their tortur'd fances,

And doubt when lovers all alone

Their fad foliloquies do groan,

Grieve many a page with no one near 'em,

And naught but rocks and groves to hear 'em,

What fprite infernal could have tattled

And told the authors all they prattled ; *

Whence fome weak minds have made objection,

That what they fcribbled muft be fiction ;

'Tis falfe* for while the lovers fpoke,

The Mufe was by with table book ;

And, left fome blunder might enfue,

Echoftood clerk, and kept the cue.

And tho' the fpeech ben't worth a groat,

As ufual, 'tisn't the author's fault,

D

I 3 Mc F I N G A L. CANTO I.

But error merely of the prater.

Who fhould have talk'd to th' purpofe betters

Which full excufe, my critic-brothers,

May help me out as well as others ;

And 'tis defign'd, tho' here it lurk,

To ferve as preface to this work.

So let it be — for now our 'Squire

No longer could contain his ire ;

And riling 'midft applauding Tories,

Thus vented wrath upon Honorius.

Quoth he, tc 'Tis wond'rous what ftrange fluff

Your W7higs-heads are compounded of;

Which force of logic cannot pierce
Nor fyllogiftic carte &? tierce*
Nor weight cf fcripture or of reaibn,
Suffice to make the leaft imprefHon.
Noc heeding what ye rais'd conteil on,
Ye prate, and beg or (teal the queftion ;
And when your bonded arguings fail,
Strait leave all reas-'ning off, to rail.
Have not our High-Church Clergy made it
Appear from fciiptures, which ye credit,
That right divine from heaven, was lent,
To kings, that is, the Parliament,
Their fubjects to opprefs and teaze,
And ferve the Devil when they pleafe ?
Did they not write, and pray, and preach,
And torture all the parts of fpeech ;

CANTO I. Mc FIN GAL. 15

About Rebellion make a pother,

From one end of the land to th' other ?

And yet gain'd fewer pros'lyte Whigs,

Than old * St. Anth'ny 'mongft the pigs j

And chang'd not half fo many vicious

As Auftin, when he preach'd to fifties ;

Who throng'd to hear, the legend tells,

Were edified and wagg'd their tails ;

But fcarce you'd prove it, if you tried,

That e'er one whig was edified,

Have ye not heard from f Parfoa Walter

Much dire prefage of many a halter?

What warnings had ye of your duty

From our old Rev'rend j-Sam. Auchmuty ?

From priefts of all degrees and metres,

TJ our f^g-ead man poor *Perfon Peters ? /

Have not our Cooper and our Seabury

Sung hymns, like Barak and old Deborah ;

* " The ftories of St. Anthony anrf his pig, and St. Auftin's
preaching to fifhes, are told in the Poplfh legends."

i *' High-Church Clergymen, one at Bofton, and one at
New York."

*" Peters, a Tory-Clergyman in Connecticut, who after
making himfelf detellahie by his inimical conduct, abfconded
from the contempt, rather than the vengeance of his countrymen^
and fled to England to make complaints a^ainll that colony,1
Cooper, a writer, poet, and fatyrilt of the fame ftamp, Prefidenf
of the college at New- York j Seabury, a clergyman of thefam-'
Province,"

2O Mc F I N G A L. CANTO I,

Prov'd all intrigues to fet you free,
Rebellion 'gainft the pow'rs that be ;
Brought over many afcripture text
That us'd to wink at rebel feels ;
Coax'd wayward ones to favor regents,
Or paraphras'd them to obedience ;
Prov'd ev'ry king, ev'n thofc confeft
Horns of th' Apocalyptic beaft,
And fprouting from its noddles feven,
Ordain'd, as bilhops are, by Heaven,
(For reafons fim'lar we are told,
That Tophet was^ordain'd of old $)
By this lay-ord' nation valid
Becomes all fanclirled and hallow'd,
Takes patent out when Heav'n has fign'd it3
And flarts up ftrait the Lord's anointed ?
Like extreme unction, that can cleanfe
Each penitent from deadly fins,
Make them run glib, when oil'd by pried,
The heavenly road like wheels new greas'd.
Serve them like fhoeball, for defences
'Gainft wear and tear of conferences :
So king's anointment cleans betimes,
Like fuller's earth, all fpots of crimes -,
For future knav'ries gives commiflions,
Like Papifts finning under licence.
For heaven ordain'd the origin,
Divin-es declare, of pain and fin $

CANTO I. M* F I N G A L.

t

Prove fuch great good they both have done us,

Kind mercy 'twas they came upon us :

For without pain and fin and folly

Man ne'er were bled, or wife, or holy ;

And we fhould *thank the Lord,, 'tis fo,

As authors grave wrote long ago.

Now Heav'n its ifTues never brings

Without the means, andthefe are kings ;

And he who blames when they announce ills,

Would counteract the eternal counfels.

As when the Jews, a murm'ring race,

By confrant grumblings fell from grace,

Heav'n taught them ftrfb to know their diftance

By famine, flav'ry, and Philiftines ;

When thefe could no repentance bring,

In wrath it fent them lad asking,

So nineteen, 'tis believ'd, in twenty

Of modern kings for plagues arefcntye;

Nor can your cavillers pretend",

But that they anfwerwell their end.

*Tis yours to yield to their command,

As rods in Providence's hand -,

And if it means to fend you pain,

You turn your nofes up in vain :

Your only wiy's in peace to bear it,

And make neceflity a merit.

* " Sej the Modern Metaphyfical Divinity.

22 Mc F I N G A L. CANTO I,

Hence fure perdition muft await
The man who rifes 'gainfl the (late,
Who meets at once the damning fentence.
Without one loop-hole for repentance -,
E'en tho* he gain'd the royal fee,
And rank among the powers that be :
For hell is theirs, the Scripture (hows.
Whoe'er the powers that be oppofe,
And all thofe pow'rs (I am clear that 'tis fo)
Are damn'd forever, ex afficio."

Cf Thus far our Clergy ; but 'tis true,
We lack'd not earthly reas'ners too.
Had I the *Poet's brazen lungs
As found-board to his hundred tongues,
I could not half the fcribblers rnufcer
That fwarm'd round Rivington j- in clufler -,
Afiemblies, Councilmen, forfooth ;
Brufh, Cooper, Wilkins, Chandler, Booth,
Yet all their arguments and fap'cnce,
You did not value at three half-pence.
Did not our Maffachufettenfis J
For your conviction ftrain his fenfes ?

* " Virgil's .Eneid, 6th book, line 6 25."

+ The Editor of the Royal Gazette in New- York ; a paper
which anfwered very well to its title, it being filled with thofe
impofitions and falfehoods, which are deemed neceiTiry to the
fupport of Royalty, in any country where printing is tolerated.

J 'See acourfe of effays, under the fignature oi Maflkhufetten-fis/

CANT;O i. MC F i N G A L, 23

Scrawl every moment he could fpare,
From cards and barbers and the fair;
Show clear as fun in noon-day heavens*
You did not feel a fingle grievance ;
Demonftrate all your oppofition
Sprung from the * eggs of foul fedition ;
Swear he had feen the neflfhe laid in,
And knew how long fhe had been fitting ;
Could tell exact what ftrength of heat is
Requh 'd to hatch her out Committees ;
What fhapes they take, and how much longer's
The fpace before they grow t' a Congrefs ?
New white- wafh'd Hutchinfon , and varnilh'd
Our Gage who'd got a little tarnidi'd ;
Made 'em new mafks, in time no doubt,
For Hutchinfon's was quite worn out;
And while he muddled all his head,
You did not heed a word he faid.
Did notourgrave j- Judge Sewallhit
The fummit of news paper wit ?

* " Committees of Correfpondence are the fouleft and moft
venomous ferpent, that ever iffued from the eggs of fedition,"
&c. . Maflachufettenfis.

f <f Attorney-General of Maflachufetts-Bay, a Judge of Ad
miralty, Gage's chief Advertifer and Proclamation-maker,
author of a farce called the Americans Rouzed, and of a great
variety of effays on the Minifterial fide, in the Bofton news
papers."

£4 MCFINGAL. CANTO I,

Fill'd every leaf of ev'ry paper*

Of Mills, and Hicks, and Mother Draper:

Drew proclamations, works of ±oil,

In true fublime, of fcare-crow ftyle ;

Wrote farces too, 'gainft Sons of Freedom,

All for your good, and none would read 'em ;

Denounced damnation on their frenzy,

Who died in Whig-impenitency •,

Affirm'd that Heav'n would lend us aid,

As all our Tory writers faid ;

And calculated fo its kindnefs,

fie told the moment when it join'd us.
" 'Twas then belike, Honorius cried,

When you the public fall defied,

Refus'cl to Heav'n to raife a prayer.
Becaufe you'd no connections there :
And (ince with rev'rend hearts and faces,
To Governors you'd made addrefles,
In them who made you Tories, feeing
You liv'd and mov'd and had your being ;
Your humble vows you would not breathe
Topow'rs you'd no acquaintance with."

" As for your fafts, replied our 'Squire,
What circumftance could fafts require ?
We kept them not, but 'twas no crime ;
We held them merely lofs of time.

CANTO I. Mc F I N G A L. 25

For what advantage firm and lafting,

Pray, did you ever get by fading?

And what the gains that can arifc

From vows and ofPrings to the fkies;

Will Heav'n reward with pofts and fees,

Or fend us Tea, as Confignees*,

Give penfions, fal'ries, places, bribes,

Or chufe us judges, clerks, or fcribes,

Has it commiffions in its gift,

Or cafh to ferve us at a life ?

Are acts of Parliament there made,

To carry on the Placeman's trade ?

Or has it pafs'd a fingle bill

To let us plunder whom we will ?

And look our lift of Placemen all over •,

Did Heav'n appoint our chief judge Oliver,

Fill that high bench with ignoramus ;

Or has its councils by mandamus ?

Who made that wit of f water gruel,

A Judge of Admiralty, Sewall ?

And were they not mere earthly flruggles,

That rais'd up Murray, fay, and Ruggles ?

* Alluding to the famous cargo of tea, which was funk in
Bolton Harbor, the Confignees of which were the tools of
General Gage.

t " A proper emblem of his genius".

E

26 M€W INGAL. CANTO I,

Did Heav'n fend down, our pains to med'cine,
That old fimplicity of Edfon j
Or by election pick out from us,
That MarMeld blund'rer Nat. Ray Thomas :
Or had it any hand in ferving
A Loring' Pepp'rell, Browne, or Erving ?'*
" Yet we've fome faints, the very thing,
We'll put againft the beft you'll bring.
For, can the ftrongeft fancy paint
Than Hutchinfon a greater faint ?
Was there aparfon us'd to pray
At times more reg'lar, twice a day ;
As folks exact have dinners got,
Whether they've apetitesor not ?
Was there a zealot more alarming
'Gainft puplic vice to hold forth fermon,
Or fix'd at church, whofe inward motion
Roli'd up his eyes with more devotion ?
What Puritan could ever pray
In Godlier tone, than Treasurer * Gray,
Or at town-meetings fpeechify'ng,
Could utter more melodious whine,
Andlhuthis eyes and vent his moan,
Like owl affiifted in the fun ?

* •" Treafurer of MafTachufetts-Bay, and one of the Manda
mus Council."

CANTO I. Mf F I N G A L. £7

Who once lent home his canting rival,
Lord Dartmouth's felf, might out-be-drivel."

" Have you forgot, Honorius cried,
How your prime faint the truth defied *,
Affirm5 d he never wrote a line,
Your chartered rights to undermine;
When his own letters then were by,
That prov'd his mefiage all a lie ?
How many promifes he feal'd
To get the oppreffive a6h repcal'd ;
Yet once arrived on England's fhore,
Set on the Premier to pafs no more ?
But thefe are no defects, we grant,
In a right loyal Tory faint,
Whofe Godlike virtues muft with eafe
Atone fuch venal crimes as thefe :
Or ye perhaps in Scripture fpy
A new Commandment, " Thou {halt lie ;"
And if 't be fo (as who can tell ?)
There's no one fure ye keep fo well.'*

" Quoth he, For lies and promife breaking
Ye need not be in fuch a taking,
For tying is, we know and teach,
The higheft privilege of fpeech -,

* The deteftion of falfhood in Governor Hutchinfon, here
alluded to, is a curious little hiltory. It is told at large in trhe
Rimembrancer, publilhcd by Almon, V, I,

28 Mc F I N G A L CANTO I.

The univerfal Magna Charta,

To which all human race is party ;

Whence children firft, as David fays,

Lay claim to Jt in their earlieil days 5

The only flratagem in war

Our Gen'rals have occafion for $

The only freedom of the prefs

Our politicians need in peace :

And 'tis afhameyou wifh t' abridge us

Of theie our darling privileges.

Thank Heav'n, your fhot have mik'd their aim,

For lying is no fin, or fharne."

*c As men laft wills may change again,
Tho' drpwn in name of God, Amen ;
Befure they muft have much the more,
O'erpromifes as great a pow'r,
Which, made in hade, with fmall inflection,
So much the more will need correction $
And when they've rarelefs fpoke, or penn'd'em*
Have right to look *em o'er and mend 'em j
Revife their vows, or change the text,
By way of codicil annex'd,
Turn out a pronvfe, that was bafe,
And put a better in its place.
So Gage, of late agreed, you know,
To let the Bofion people go 5

CANTO I, MCFINGAL. 29

Yet when he faw, 'gainft troops thatbrav'd him,
They were the only guards that fav'd him,
Kept off that Satan of a Putnamt,
From breaking in to maul and mutt'n him :
He'd too much wit luch leagues t' obferve,
Andlhut them in again to ftarve."

"So Mofes writes, when female Jews
Made oaths and vows unfit for ufe,
Their parents then might fet them free
From that confc'entious tyranny :
And fhall men feel that fpir'tual bondage
Forever, when they grow beyond age ;
Nor have pow'r their own oaths to change ?
I think the tale were very flrange.
Shall vows but bind the ftout and ftrong,
And let go women weak and young,
As nets enclofe the larger crew,
And let the fmaller fry creep thro* ?
Befides, the Whigs have all been fet on,
The Tories to affright and threaten,
Till Gage amidfl his trembling fits,
Has hardly kept him in his wits 5

*r General Putnam of Connecticut, who had gained great
reputation, as a Partizan officer, in the war before laft, came
forward with aftivity in the beginning of the war of indepen
dence; but his age and infirmities obliged him foon to quit
the field.

3<> Mf FIN GAL. CANTO I.

And tho' he fpeak with art and fineffe,
*Tis faid beneath durejs per minas.
For we're in peril of our fouls
From feathers, tar, and lib'rty-poles :
And vows extorted are not binding
In law, and fo not worth the minding.
For we have in this hurly-burly
Sent off our conferences on furlow :
Thrown our religion o'er in form,
Our fhip to lighten in the ftorm.
Nor need we blufh your Whigs before j
If we've no virtue, youVe no more."

" Yet black with fins, would ftain a mitre,
Rail ye at crimes by ten tints whiter ?
And ftufPd with choler atrabilious,
Infult us here for peccadilloes ?
While all your vices run fo high
That mercy fcarce could find fupply :
While, fhould you offer to repent,
You'd need more fading days than Lent,
More groans than haunted church-yard vallics,
And more cofifeflions than broad-alleys*.
I'll fhow you all at fitter time,
Th' extent and greatnefs of your crime,

* Alluding to church-dicipline, where a perfon is obliged to
ftand in the ileof the church, called the broad-alley, name the
offence of which he has been guilty, and aik pardon of his
brethren,

CANTO 1. MCFINGAL. 3!

And here demonftrate to your face,
Your want of virtue, as of grace,
Evinc'd from topics old and recent :
But thus much muft fuffice at prefent,
To th* after portion of the day,
I leave what more remains to fay ;
When I've good hope you'll all appear,
More fitted and prepared to hear,
And griev'dfor all your vile demeanour :
But now *tis time t' adjourn for dinner."

END OF THE FIRST CANTO.

M'F I N G A L:

CANTO SECOND.

The Town-Meeting, P. M.

T

HE Sun, who never Hops to dine,
Two hours had pafs'd the mid-way line ;
And, driving at his ufual rate,
Lafh'd on his downward car of ftate ;
And now expired the fhort vacation,
And dinner done in epic fafhion •,
While all the crew beneath the trees,
Eat pocket-pies or bread and cheefe i
Nor fhall we, like old Homer, care
To verfify the bill of fare.
For now each party, feafted well,
Throng'd in, like fheep, at found of bell,
With equal fpirit took their places ;
And meeting op'd \\ith three Oh yefles :

E

34 Mf F I N G A L. CANTO II.

When firft the daring Whigs t' oppofe.
Again the great M4'Fingal rofe,
Stretch 'd magiftcrial arm amain,
And thus affum'd th' accufing ftrain.

" Ye Whigs attend, and hear, affrighted,
The crimes whereof ye iland indidedj
The fins and folly pafl all compafs,
That prove you guilty, or non compos* *-*\&&Mv\
I leave the verdict to your fenfes,
And Jury of your confciences ;
Which tho' they're neither good nor true,
Mud yet convict you and your crew,
Ungrateful fons ! a factious band,
That rife againft your parent-land !
Ye viper race, that burft in ilrife,
The welcome womb that gave you life,
Tear with fharp fangs, and forked tongue,
Th' indulgent bowels, whence you fpr-ung,;
And fcorn the debt of obligation,
You juftly owe the Britilh nation,
Which fmce you cannot pay, your crew
Affect to fwear 'twas never due.

" Did not the deeds of England's Primate*
Firft drive your fathers to this climate,

* The perfecu tions of the Englifli Church under Archbifhop
Laud, are well known to have been the caufe of the peopliȣ
of New- England.

CANTO II. Mc F I N G A L. 35

Whom jails, and fines, and ev'ry ill
Forc'd to their good againil their will ?
Ye owe to their obliging temper
The peopling your new-fangled empire^
While every Britilri ad and canon
Stood forth, you caujafine qua non*
Did they not fend you charters o'er,
And give you lands you own'd before,
Permit you all to fpill your blood,
And drive out heathen where you could ;
On thefe mild terms, that, conqueft won,
The realm you gain'd fhould be their own?^
Or when of late, attacked by thofe,
Whom her connexion made your foesf,
Did they no t then, diftreft in war,
Send Gen'rals to your help from far,
Whofe aid you own'd in terms lefs haughty,
And thankfully overpaid your quota ?
Say, at what period did they grudge
To fend you Governor or Judge,

t The war of 177?, between the Engiim and the FrencH
was doubtlefs excited by circumftances foreign to the intercfts
of the colonies which now form the United States. The colo
nies, however, paid more than their proportion of the expence,
and the balance was repaid by the Britifli government, after the
war..

36 Mc F I N G A L. CANTO I ft

With all their miffionary crew*,
To teach you law and gofpel too ?
Brought o'er all felons in the nation,
To help you on in population,
Propos'd their Bifhops to furrender,
And made their Priefts a legal tender,"
Who only a(k'd, infurplice clad,
The fimple tythe of all you had :
And now to keep all knaves in awe,
Have fent their troops t* eftablifh law,
And with gunpowder, fire, and ball,
Reform your people one and all.
Yet, when their infolence and pride
Have anger'd all the world befide,
When fear and want at once invade,
Can you refufe to lend them aid 5
And rather rifque your heads in fight,
Than gratefully throw in your mite ?
Can they for debts make fatisfaction,
Should they" difpofe their realm by auction ;
And fell off Britain's goods and land ail
To France and Spain by inch of candle ?
Shall good king George, with want oppreft,
Infert his name in bankrupt lift,

* The Miflionaries were clergymen, ordained by the Bifhopof
London, and fettled in America. Thofe in the Northern Co
lonies were generally attached to the Royal caufe.

CANTO II. Mc F I N G A L.

And fhut up fliop, like failing merchant,
That fears the bailiffs fhould make fearch in't 5
With poverty ihall princes ftrive,
And nobles lack whereon to live ?
Have they not wreck'd their whole inventions,
To feed their brats on pofts and penfions,
Made e'en Scotch friends with taxes groan,
And pick'd poor Ireland to the bone j
Yet have on hand, as well deferving,
Ten thoufand baflards left for ftarving ?
And can you now, with confcience clear,
Refufe them an afylum here,
Or not maintain in manner fitting
v Thefe genuine fons of Mother Britain ?
T* evade thefe crimes of blacked grain,
You prate of Liberty in vain,
And ftrive to hide your vile defigns,
With terms abftrufe, like fchool-divines.

" Your boafted patriotifm is fcarce,
Your country's love is but a farce :
And after all the proofs you bring,
We Tories know there's no fuch thing j
Our Englifh writers of great fame
Prove public virtue but a name.
Hath not * Dalrymple fhow'd in print,
And * Jphnfon too, there's nothing in't ?

* " Miniflerial Penfioners."

3& Mc F I N G A L. CANTO I

Produced you demonftration ample,
From other's and their own example,
That felf is ftill, in either faction,
The only principle of a&ion ;
The loadftone, whofe attra&ing tether
Keeps the politic world together :
And, fpiteof all your double-dealing,
We Tories know 'tis fo, by feeling.

" Who heeds your babbling of tranfmitting
Freedom to brats of your begetting,
Or will proceed as tho' there were a tie,, s Jo
Or obligation to pofterity ?
We get 'em, bear 5em, breed and nurfe ;
What has poft'rity done for us,
That we, left they theif rights fhould lofe,
Should truft our necks to gripe of noofe ?

"And who believes you will not run ?
You're cowards, evVy mother's fon ;
And fhould you offer to deny,
We've witnefles to prove it by.
Attend th' opinion firft, as referee,
Of your old Gen'ral, flout Sir Jeffery, •' '
Whofwore that with five thoufandfoot
He'd rout you all, and, in purfuit,
Run thro* the land as eafily,
As camel thro' a needle's eye.
Did not the valiant Col'nel Grant
Againft your courage make his llant,

6ANTO II. M< F I N C A t»

Affirm your univerfal failure

In ev'ry principle of valour,

And fwear no fcamp'rers e'er could match you,

So fwift, a bullet fcarce could catch you ?

And will ye not confefs in this,

A judge mod competent he is,

Well fkill'd on runnings to decide,

As whathimfelfhas often tried ?

'Twould not, methinks, be labor loft,

If you'd fit down and count the coft ;

And e're you call your Yankies out,

Firfl think what work you Ve fet about.

Have ye not rouz'd, his force to try on,

That grim old beaft, the Britifh Lion?

And know you not that at a fup

He's large enough to eat you up ?

Have you furvey'd his jaws beneath,

Drawn inventories of his teeth,

Or have you weigh'd in even balance

His flrength and magnitude of talons ?

His roar would turn your boafts to fear,

As eafily as four fmall-beer,

And make your feet from dreadful fray,

By native inflincl:, run away.

Britain, depend on't, will take on her

T' afTert her dignity and honor,

And e're fhe'd lofe your lhare of pelf,

Deflroy your country, and herfelf.

4O Mc F I N G A L. CANTO II.

For has not North declared they fight
To gain fubftantial rev'nue by't,
Denied he'd ever deign to treat,
'Till on your knees, and at his feet ?
And feel you not a trifling ague,
From Van's Delenda eft Carthago* f
For this, now Britain has come to't,
Think you fhe has not means to do't ?
Has fhe not fet to work all engines
To fpirit up the native Indians,
Send on your backs a favage band,
With each a hatchet in his hand,
T'amufe themfelves with fcalping knives,
And butcher children and your wives ;
That fhe may boaft again with vanity,
Her Englifh national humanity ?
(For now in its primaeval fenfe,
This term, human* ty, comprehends
All things of which, on this fide hell*
The human mind is capable ;
And thus Yis well, by writers fage,
Applied to Britain and to Gage.)
And on this work to raife allies
She fenther duplicate of Guys,

* Alluding, as is fuppofcd, to afpeechin the Britifh Parlia
ment, in which " delenda eft Carthago" was applied to Amer
ica,

CANTO II. M* F I N G A L. 4!

To drive at different parts at once, on
Her ftout Guy Carleton and Guy Johnibnj
To each of whom, to fend again ye
Old Guy of Warwick were a ninny ;
Tho' the dun cow he fell'd in war,
Thefe kill-cows are his betters far.

" And has fhe not aflay'd her notes,
To rouze your flaves to cut your throats,
Sent o'er ambaffadors with guineas,
To bribe your blacks in Carolinas ?
And has not Gage, her mifFionary,
Turn'd many an Afric (lave t' a Tory,
And made th' American Bifhop's fee grow3
By many a new-converted Negro ?
As friends to gov'rment did not he
Their flaves at Bofton late let free ?
Enlift them all in black parade,
Set off with regimental red ?
And were they not accounted then
Among his very braved men ?
And when fuch means fhe ftoops to
Think you flie is. nou wide awake ?
As Eliphaz' good man in Job,
Own'd num'rous allies thro1 the globe;
Had brought the * (lones along the ftreet
To ratify a covenant meet,

* The ftones, and all the elements with thee
Shall ratify a ftrift confed'racy ;

Wild

42 Mf FIN GAL. CANTO II.

And ev'ry bead from lice to lions,
To join in league of drift alliance :
Has £he not cring'd, in fpite of pride,
For like affidance, far and wide ?
Was there a creature fo defpis'd,
Its aid fhe has not fought and priz'd ?
Till all this formidable league rofe
Of Indians, Britifh troops, and Negroes,,
And can you break thefe triple bands
By all your workmanfhip or hands ?"

cc Sir, quoth Honorius, we prefume
You guefs from pad feats, what's to come,
And from the mighty deeds of Gage,
Foretell how fierce the war he'll wage.
You, doubtlefs, recollected here
The annals of his firft great year :
While wearying out the Tones' patience^
He fpent his breath in proclamations ;
While all his mighty noife and vapour
Was us'd in wrangling upon paper ;
And boaded military fits
Cios'd in the draining of his wits j
While troops in Bofton commons plac'd,
Laid nought but quires of paper wafte;
While ftrokes alternate ftunn'd the nation,
Pro ted, addrefs, and proclamation;

Wild heads their favage temper (hall forget,
And for a firm alliance with thee treat : &c.

BLACKMORE'S PARAPHRASE OF joi.

CANTO n. MC F i N G AL. 43

And fpeech met fpeech, fib clafh'd with fib,
.And Gage flill anfwered fquib for fquib.

" Tho' this not all his time was loft on,
He fortified the town of Bofton -9
Built breaft-works that might lend affiftance
To keep the patriots at a diftance ;
(For howfoe'er the rogues might feoff,
He lik'd them beft the fartheft off ;)
Of mighty ufe and help to aid
His courage when he felt affraid ;
And whence right off in manful flation,
He'd boldly pop his proclamation.
Our hearts muft in our bofoms freeze
At fuch heroic deeds as thefe."

cc Vain, quoth our 'Squire, you'll find to fneer
At Gage's firfl triumphant year ;
For providence, difpos'd to teaze us,
Can ufe what inftruments it pleafes.
To pay a tax at Peter's wi(h,
His chief cafhier \pas once a Fifh ;
An Afs, in Balaam's fad difafter,
Turn'd orator, and fav'd his mafter ;
A goofe plac'd fentry on his ftation
Preferv'd old Rome from defolation 5
An Englifh bifhop's* Cur of late
Difclos'd rebellions 'gainft the ftate ;
So Frogs croak'd Pharaoh to repentance,

And lice rcvers'd the threatening fentence :
*<{ See Biiliop Atterbury's trial."

44 Mc F I N G A L. CANTO II.

And Heaven can ruin you at pleafure,
By our fcorn'd Gage, as well as Casfar.
Yet did our hero in thefe days
Pick up fome laurel- wreathes of praife.
And as the flatuary of Seville
Made his crack'd faint an excellent devil •,
So tho' our war few triumphs brings,
We gain'd great fame in other things.
Did not our troops fhow much difcerning,
And (kill your various arts in learning ?
Outwent they not each native noodle
By far, in playing Yankey Doodle * -,
Which, as 'twas your New-England tune,
,'Twas marvellous they took fo foon ?
And ere the year was fully thro*
Did not they learn to foot it too ;
And fuch a dance as ne'er was known,
For twenty miles on end led down ? j-
Was there a Yankey trick you knew,
They did not play as well as you ?

* YANKEY-DOODLE, as M'Fingal here relates, was a native
Air of New-England, and was often played in derifion by the
Britifh troops, particularly on their march to Lexington. Af
terwards the captive army of Burgoync was obliged to march
to this tune in the ceremony of piling their armes, at Saratoga.
Jn the courfe of the war it became a favorite air of Liberty, like
theprefent CA IRA ol'France. It is remarkable that after the
taking of the BafHIe, and before the introduction of CA IRA,
the Paris guards played YANKEY-DOODLE.

t This is Lord Percy's modern Chevy-chace ; in which his
lordfhip and his army were chafed from Concord to Bofton.

CANTO II. Mc F I N G A L. 45

Did they not lay their heads together,
And gain your art to tar and feather,
When Col'nel Nefbitt thro' the town
In triumph bore the country-clown ?
Oh, what a glorious work to fing
The vet'ran troops of Britain's king.
Advent'ilng for th* heroic laurel,
With bag of feathers and tar-barrel !
To paint the cart where culprits ride,
And Nefbitt marching at its fide *,

*In the winter of 1774 and 1775, 'he BritiQiarmy had been flimti-
lated by their officers and the Tories, to an ardent defire to fee hofti-
tities commence. But the infligators wifhing the Americans to be
the aggreffoM, ufed the following ftratagem to compleat their purpofe.

On the full of Mby, 1775, the king's ftandard was to be erected
at Worcefter, fifty miles from Boflon, when Lieutenant Colonel
Nefbitt immortalized himfelfby executing this plan to promote the
quarrel, and give the army an opportunity of their dcfired revenge.

A foldier, according to his d regions, fold an old rufty mufket to
a countryman for three dollars, who brought veeetahles to market.
This could be no crime in the market-man, who had an undoubted
fight to purchafe, and bear arms. He was, notwithflanding, immedi
ately feized by Nefbitt, and conveyed to the guard-houle, wheie he
Was confined all night. Early the next morning they ft ripped him
naked, covere him with warm tar, and then with feathers, and
conducted him to the north end of the town, then to the fouth end,
and as far ;<s Liberty-Tree, where they difmifled the man, through
fear of the people, (who by this time had collected in large numbers,)
and made a retreat to their barracks.

The party confifted of about thirty grenadiers of the 47th regiment
with fixed bayonets, so drums and fifes playing the rogue's march,
headed by Nefbitt 'Mth a drawn fword.

The magidrates of the town waited on General Gage with a com
plaint of this outrage ; he pretended difapprobation ; but took no fteps
to cenfure the conduct of Nefbitt, or to do juftice to the man who had
fufTered the violence,

46 Mc F I N G A L* CANTO Jit,

Great executioner and proud,
Like hangman high on Holborn road i
And o'er the bright triumphal car
The waving enfigns of the war !
As when a triumph Rome decreed,
For great Calig'la's valiant deed,
Who had fubdu'd the Britifh feas,c
By gathering cockles from their bafe ;
In pompous car the conqu'ror bore
His captivM fcallops from the Ihore,
Ovations gain'd his crabs for fetching,
And mighty feats of oyfler-catching :
O'er Yankies thus the war begun,
They tarr'd and triumphed over one ;
And fought and boafted thro* the feafon*
With might as great, and equal reafon.
cc Yet thus tho fldllM in vi&'ry toils,
They boaft, not unexpert in wiles.
For gain'd they not an equal fame in
The art of fecrecy and fcheming ;
In ftratagems fhow'd mighty force,
And moderniz'd the Trojan horfr j
Play'd o'er again thofe tricks Ulyflcan
In their fanVd Salem-expedition ?
For as that horfe, the Poets tell ye,
Bore Grecian armies in his belly -,
Till, their full reck'ning run, with joy
Their Sinon midwif'd them in Troy 5

CANTO IT. JM* FIN GAL* 47

So in one fhip was Leflie bold
Cramm'd with three hundred men inhold^
Equip'd for enterprize and fail,
Like Jonas ftow'd in womb of whale*
To Marblehead, in depth of night,
The cautious veffel wing'd her flight.
And now the fabbath's filent day
Call'd all your Yankies off to pray ;
Remov'd each prying jealous neighbour,
The fcheme and vefifel fell in labor ;
Forth from its hollow womb pour'd haft'ly
The Myrmidons of Col'nel Leflie :
Not thicker o'er the blacken5 d ftrand
The * Frogs* detachment rufh'd to land,
Equipp'd by onfet or furprife
To ftorm th' entrenchment of the Mice.
Thro' Salem ftrait without delay,
The bold battalion took its way,
March'd o'er a bridge in open fight
Of fev'ral Yankies armM for fight,
Then without lofs of time, or men,
Veer'd round for Bofton back again ;
And found fo well their projects thrive,
That ev'ry foul got home alive.

cc Thus Gage's arms did fortune blefss
With triumph, fafety, and fuccefs :
But mercy is, without difpute,
His firft and darling attribute;

* "_ See Hornet's Battle of the Frogs and Mice.*?

4$ MCFIKGAL. CANTO It*

So great, it far outwent and conquer'd

His military fkill at Concord.

There when the war he chofe to wage

Shone the benevolence of Gage ;

Sent troops to that ill-omen'd place

On errands mere of fpecial grace,

And all the work he chofe them for

Was to "|" prevent a civil war :

And for that purpofe he projected

The only certain way t' effect it,

To take your powder, (lores, and arms,

And all your means of doing harms :

As prudent folks takes knives away,

Left children cut themfelves at play,

And yet, tho* this was all his fcheme,

This war you ftill will charge on him ;

And tho' he oft has fwore, and faid it,

Stick clofe to facts, and give no credit.

Think you, he wifh'd you'd brave and beard him ?

Why, 'twas the very thing that fcar'd him.

He'd rather you fhould all have run,

Than ftay'd to fire a fingle gun.

And for the civil war you lament,

Faith, you yourfelves muft take the blame in't j

For had you then, as he intended,

Giv*n up your arms, it muft have ended*

Sinre that's no wa#, each mortal knows,

Where one fide only gives the blows,

i *' See Gage's anfwcr to Governor Trumbull.'*

CANTO II. Mc F I N G A L.

And th' other bears 'em j on refle&ion
The moft you*!! call it, is corre&ion .
Nor could the contefl have gone higher,
If you had ne'er returned the fire ;
But when you fhot, and not before,
It then commenc'd a civil war.
Elfe Gage, to end this controverfy,
Had but corrected you in mercy :
Whom mother Britain, old and wife,
Sent o'er the Coi'mes to chaflife :
Command obedience on their peril
Of minifterial whip and ferule $
And fince they ne'er could come of age,
Govern'd and tutor'dthem by Gage.
Still more, that this was all their errand,
The army's conduct makes apparent.
What tho' at Lexington you can fay
They kill'd a few they did not fancy,
At Concord then, with manful popping,
Difcharg'd a round, the ball to open ?
Yet when they faw your rebel-rout
Deterrnin'd ftill to hold it out ;
Did not they fhow their love to peace.
And wifh, that difcord ftrait may ceafe,
Demonftrate, and by proofs uncommon,
Their orders were to injure no man $

H

50 M* F I N G A L. CANTO II.

For did not ev'ry-Reg'lar run*
As foon as e'er you fir'd a gun :
Take the firft (hot you fent them greeting,
As meant their fignal for retreating j
And fearful if they ftaid to fport,
You might by accident be hurt,
Convey themfelves with fpeed away
Full twenty miles in half a day; ,
Race till their legs were grown fo weary,
They'd fcarce fufBce their weight to carry ?
Whence Gage extols, from gen'ral hearfy,
The j-great activ'ty of Lord Piercy j
Whofe brave example led them on,
And fpirited the troops to run ;
And nnw m iy bu aft at royal levees
A Yanky-chace worth forty Chevy s.
Yet you as vile as-they were kind,
Puifu'd like tygers, ftill behind,
Fir'd on them at your will, and fhut
The town> as tho' you'd ftarve them out 5
And with J parade prepoft'rous hedg'd
Afred to hold them there befieg'd ;

* In the ancient wars in America, the term REGULAR, was
applied toBiitifh troops.to diftinguifh them from the Provincials,
or new levies of the country. At the.coirmencement of the late
war, the fame terns of difttnftion were ufej.

•f " Too much prsife c?<;mot be given to Lord Piercy, for his

remarkable activity through the whole day."

Cage's Account of Lexington Battk.
t <( And with a pfepofferojfS parade of military arrangement

they affed to hold the army K-.fiCged."

Gage's la/I grand Frcdamation*

CANTO II. Mc FIN GAL.

(Tho* Gage, whom proclamations call

Your Gov'nor and Vice-Admiral,

Whofe pow'r gubernatorial flill

Extends as far as Bunker's Hill ;

Whofe admiralty reaches clever,

Near half a mile up Myftic river,

Whofe naval force commands the feas,

Can run away whene'er he pleafe,-)

Scar'd troops of Tories into town,

And burnt their hay and houfes down,

And menac'd Gage, unlefs he'd flee,

To drive him headlong to the fea ;

As once, to faithlefs Jews a fign,

The de'd turn'd hog-reeve, did the fwinc.
cc But now your triumphs all are o'er •,

For fee from Britain's angry fhore

With mighty hofts of valour join

Her Howe, her Clinton, and Burgoyne.

As comets thro' the affrighted Ikies

Pour baleful ruin, as they rife j

As ./Etna with infernal roar

In conflagation fweepsthe fhore;

Or as *Abijah White, when lent

Our Marfhfield friends to reprefent ;

Himfelf while dread array involves,

Commiffions, pi/lols, fwords, refolves,

*'* He was a reprefentative of Marfhfield, and employed to carry
their famous town-refolves to Bofton. He armed himfelf in a
ridiculous military array, as another Hud ibras, pretending he
was afraid he fliould be robbed of "them."

52 Me F I N G A L, CANTO II,

In awful pomp defcending down,

Bore terror on the faftious town :

Not with lefs glory and affright,

Parade thefe Gen'rals forth to fight.

No more each Reg'lar * Col'nel runs

From whizzing beetles, as air-guns,

Thinks horn-bugs bullets, or thro' fears

Mufkitoes takes for mulketeers ;

Nor Tcapes, as tho* you gain'd allies

From Belzebub's whole hoft of flies.

No bug their warlike heart appalls •,

They better know the found of balls,

I hear the din of battle bray,

The trump of horror marks its way.

I fee after the fack of cities,

The gallows ftrung with Whig-committees ;

Your Moderators tric'd, like vermin,

And gate-pofts grac'd with heads of Chairman;

Your Gen'rals for wave-offerings hanging,

And ladders throng'd with Priefls haranguing.

"What pill'ries glad the Tories' eyes

With patriot-ears for facrifice!

What whipping-pods your chofen race

Admit fuccefTive in embrace,

* This was a faft. Some Britifn officers, foon after Gage's
arrivalat Bofton, walking on Bacon-Hill after funfet, were af
frighted by noifes in the air (fuppofed to be the flying of bugs
and beetles) which they took to be the found of bullets, and left
the hill with great precipitation : Concerning which they wrote
terrible accounts to England of their being (hot at with air-
guns, as appeared by one or two letters, extra&s from which
were publifhed in the En^liih papers,"

CANTO II. MCFINGAL. 53

While each bears off his crimes, alack !
Like Bunyan's pilgrim, on his back !
Where then, when Tories fcarce get clear,
Shall Whigs and Congrefles appear ?
What rocks and mountains fhall you call
To wrap you over with their fall,
And fave your heads in thefe fad weathers,
From fire and fword, and tar and feathers !
For lo, with Britifh troops, tar-bright,
Again our Nefbitt heaves in fight !
He comes, he comes, your lines to ftorm,
And rigg your troops in uniform !
To meet fuch heroes, will ye brag,
With fury arm'd and feather- bag ;
Who weild their miffile pitch and tar,
With engines new in Britifh war ?

" Lo, where our mighty navy brings
Deftruftion on her canvas wings ;
While thro* the deeps her potent thunder
Shall found th' alarm to rob and plunder I
As Phoebus firft, fo Homer fpeaks,
When he march'd out t' attack the Greeks,
'Gainft mules fent forth his arrows fatal,
And flew th' auxiliaries, their cattle ;
So where our fhips fhall ftretch the keel,
What conquered oxen fliall they fteal !
What heroes rifing from the deep
Invade your marfhall'd hofls of fheep !
Difperfe whole troops of horfe, and preffing
cows furrender at difcretion 5

54 Mc F I N G A L CANTO II.

Attack your hens, like Alexanders,

And reg'ments rout of geefe and ganders ;

Or where united arms combine

Lead captive many a herd of fwine !

Then rufh in dreadful fury down

To fire on ev'ry fea-port town ;

Difplay their glory and their wits,

Fright unarm'd children into fits,

And ftoutly from th' unequal fray,

Make many a woman run away !

And can ye doubt whene'er we pleafe

Our chiefs fhall boaft fuch deeds as thefe ?

Have we not chiefs, tranfcending far

The old fam'd thunderbolts of war ;

Beyond the brave romantic fighters,

Stil'dfwords of death by novel-writers ?

Nor in romancing ages e'er rofe

So terrible a tier of heroes,

From Gage, what flafhes fright the waves !

How loud a blunderbufs is Graves* !

How Newport dreads the bluft'ring fallies,

That thunder from our pop-gun, Wallace^ !

While noife in formidable drains

Spouts from his thimble-full of brains !

I fee you fink with aw'ci furprize !

I fee our Tory-brethren rife !

* Admiral Graves and Captain Wallace lay before the town
of Newport a long time, and by their " Deeds above heroic/*
merited all the praifes that the difcerning M'Fingal has here
beftowed upon them.

CANTO II. Mf FIN GAL. 55

And as the feft'ries Sandimanianf,

Our friends, defcribe their wifli'd Millennium 5

Tell how the world in ev'ry region

At once fhallown their true religion;

For Heav'n with plagues of awful dread

Shall knock all heretics o'th' head ;

And then their church the meek in Ipiric,

The earth, as promised fhall inherit,

From the dead wicked, as heirs-male,

And next remainder-men in tail :

Such ruin fhall the Whigs opprefs !

Such fpoils our Tory friends fhall blefs !

While confiscation at command

Shall fialk in horror thro' the land,

Shall give your Whig eftates away,

And call our brethren into play.

"And can ye doubt orlcruple more,
Thefe things are near you at the door ?
Behold ! for tho' to reas'ning blind,
Signs of the times ye fure might mind,
And view impending fate as plain
As ^e'd foretell a fhow'r of rain.

" Hath not Heav'n warn'd you what mud enfue,
And providence declared againft y£>u ;
Flung forth its dire portents of war,
By *(lgns and beacons in the air ;

t The religious feet of Sandimanians, have fingular ideas of the
Millennium. Their political religion during the Revolution was
Toryifm.

•' * Such ftor:es of prodigies were at that time induftriouflf pro
pagated among the Tory-party in various parts of New-Eng
land, to terrify and intimidate the fuperftmous.'*

56 MCFINGAL. CANTO II.

Alarm'd old women all around

By fearful noifes under ground ;

While earth for many dozen leagues

Groan'd with her difmal load of Whigs !

Was there a meteor far and wide

But mufter'd on the Tory-fide ?

Aftar malign that has not bent

Its afpect for the Parliament,

Foreboding your defeat and mifery ;

As once they fought againft old Sifera ?

Was there a cloud that fpread the ikies,

But bore our armies of allies ?

While dreadful hofts of fire flood forth

'Mid baleful glimm'rings from the North* 5

Which plainly fhows which part they join'd,

For North's the minifter, ye mind j

Whence oft your quibblers in gazettes

On Northern Hafts have ftrain'd their wits j

And think ye not the clouds no how

To make the pun as well as you ?

Did there arife an apparition,

But grinn'd forth ruin to fedition ?

A death-watch, but has join'd ourleagues^

And click'd deftruction to the Whigs ?

Heard ye not, when the wind was fair,

At night our or' tors in the air,

* It is faid to be a faft, that in America, about the commence
ment of the war, the aurora bortalis appeared more frequently
than ufual, and aflumed more fmgular appearances.

CANTO II. MCFINGAL, 57

That loud as admiralty-libel,

Read awful chapters from the bible,

And death and Deviltry denounced,

And told you how you'd foon be trounc'd ?

I fee, to join our conquering fide

Heav'n, earth, and hell at once allied !

See from your overthrow and end

The Tories paradife afcend ;

Like that new world that claims its ftation

Beyond the final conflagration !

I fee the day that lots your fhare

In utter darknefs and defpair ;

The day of joy when North, our Lord,

His faithful fav'rites fliall reward !

No Tory then fhall fet before him

Small wifh of 'Squire, or Juftice Quorum -,

But 'fore his unmiftaken eyes

See Lordfhips, poils and penfions rife.

Awake to gladnefs then, ye Tories,

Th' unbounded profpect lies before us !

The pow'r difplay'd in Gage's banners

Shall cut Amer'can lands to manors,

And o'er our happy conquer'd ground

Difpenfe eftates and titles round.

Behold, the world will flare at new fets

Of home made -earls in Mafiachufetts ;

Admire, array M in ducal taficls,

Your Ol'vers, Hutchinfons, and
* See Hutchinfon's and Oliver's letters.

j

58 MCFINGAL. CANTO II,

See, join'd in minifterial work,

His grace of Albany and York !

What Lordfhips from each carv'd eftate,

On our New-York AfTembly wait !

What tilled fjauncys, Gales and Billops ;

Lord Bhifh, Lord Wilkins and Lord Phillips !

In wide-fleev'd pomp of godly guife,

What folemn rows of bifhops rife !

Aloft a card'naPs hat is fpread

O'er punfter J Cooper's rev'rend head !

InVardell, that poetic zealot,

I view a lawn-bedizen'd prelate !

While mitres fall, as 'tis their duty,

On heads of Chandler and Auchmuty !

Knights, vifcounts, barons, {hall ye meet,

As thick as pavements in the ftreet !

Ev'n I, pei haps, Heav'n fpeed my claim,

Shall fix a Sir before my name.

For titles all our foreheads ache ;

For what bleft changes can they make !

Place rev'rcnce, grace and excellence

Where neither claim'd the leaft pretence ;

Transform by patent's magic words

Men, likdl Devils, into Lords j

•fr Members of the minifterial majority, in the New- York Af-
fernbly ; Wilkins, a noted writer.

J Prcfident Cooper is a notorious punfter ; Vardell, author of
fome poetical fatires on the Sons of Liberty in New- York, and
royal profeflbr in king's college; Chandler and Auchmuty High-*
church and Tory writers of the clerical order.

CANTO II. Mc F I N G A L.

Whence commoners, to peers tranflated,
Are juflly faid to be created !
Now where commifTioners ye faw
Shall boards of nobles deal you law !
Long rob'd comptrollers judge your rights,
And tide-waiters ilart up in knights !
While Whigs fubdu'd in flavifh awe,
Our wood fhajl hew, our water draw,
And blefs that mildnefs, when pad hope,
Which fav'd their necks from noofe of rope.
For as to gain aiTiftance we
Defign their negroes to fet free ;
For Whigs, when we enough fhall bang 'em,
Perhaps 'tis better not to hang 'cm ;
Except their chiefs -, the vulgar knaves
Will do more good preferv'd for (laves. "

Cf 'Tis well, Honorius cried, your fchemc
Has painted out a pretty dream.
We can't confute your fecond fight ;
We Ihall be flaves and you a knight :
Thefe things muft come : but I divine
They'll come not in your day, or mine.
But oh, my friends, my brethren, hear,
And turn for once th' attentive ear.
Ye fee how prompt to aid our woes,
The tender mercies of our foes -y
Ye fee with what unvaried rancour
Still for our blood their minions hanker,
Nor aught can fate their mad ambition,
From us; Dut death, or worfe, fubmifTion.

60 Mc F I N G A L. CANTO II.

Shall thefe then riot in our fpoil,
Reap the glad harveft of our toil,
Rife from their country's ruin proud,
And roll their chariot wheels in blood ?
And can ye deep while high outfpread
Hangs defolation o'er your head ?
See Gage with inaufpicious flar
Has op'd the gates of civil war;
When dreams of gore from freemen (lain,
Encrimfon'd Concord's fatal plain ;
Whofe warning voice, with awful found,
Still cries like Abel's, from the ground,
And heav'n attentive to its call,
Shall doom the proud opprefibr's fall."
<c Rife then, ere ruin fwift furprize,
To vidtory, to vengeance rife !
Hark how the diftant din alarms!
The echoing trumpet breathes, to arms ;
From provinces, remote afar,
The fons of glory rouze to war ;
'Tis freedom calls ; th' enraptur'd found
The Apalachian hills rebound ;
The Georgian fhores her voice (hall hear,
And flart from lethargies of fear.
From the parch'd zone, with glowing ray,
Where pours the fun intenfer day,
To fhores where icy waters roll,
And tremble to the dufky pole,
Infpir'd by freedom's heav'nly charms,
United nations wake to arms.

CANTO ii, M'FINGAL. 61

The ftar of conqueft lights their way,
And guides their vengeance on their prey-
Yes, tho' tyrannic force oppofe,
Still fhall they triumph o'er their foes,
Till Heav'n the happy land lhall blefs,
With fafety, liberty, and peace."

" And ye whofe fouls of daftard mould,
Start at the brav'ry of the bold •,
To love your country who pretend,
Yet want all fpirit to defend ;
Who feel your fancies fo prolific,
Engend'ring vifion'd whims terrific,
O'er-run with horrors of coercion,
Fire, blood, and thunder in reverfion,
King's ftandards, piU'ries, confiscations,
And Gage's fcare-crow proclamations,
With all the trumpery of fear ;
Hear bullets • whizzing in your rear ;
Who fcarce could rouze, if caught in fray,
Prefence of mind to run away 5
See nought but halters rife to view
In all your dreams (and dreams are true;)
And while thefe phantom's haunt your brains,
Bow down the willing neck to chains.
Heav'ns ! are ye fons of fires fo great,
Imonortal in the fields of fate,
Who brav'd all deaths by land or fea,
Who bled who conquer'd to be free !
Hence ! coward fouls, the worft difgracc
Of our forefathers' valliant race;

62 M'FINGAL. CANTO n,

Hie homeward from the glorious field;
There turn the wheel, the diftaff wield ;
Act what ye are, nor dare to (lain
The warrior's arms with touch profane :
There beg your more heroic wives
To guard your children and your lives ;
Beneath their aprons find a fcreen,
Nor dare to mingle more with men."

" As thus he faid, the Tories' anger
Could now reftrain itfelf no longer,
Who tried before by many a freak, or
Infulting noife to flop the fpeaker ;
Swung th' unoil'd hinge of each pew-door;
Their feet kept ihuffling on the floor:
Made their difapprobation known
By many a murmer. hum, and groan,
That to his fpeech fupplied the place
Of counterpart in thorough-bafe :
As bag- pipes, while the tune they breathe,
Still drone and grumble underneath;
Or as the fam'd Demofthenes
Harangu'd the rumbling of the feas,
Held forth with eloquence full grave
To audience loud of wind and wave ;
And had a (liller congregation
Than Tories are to hear th' oration.
But now the ftorm grew high and louder,
As nearer thund'rings of a cloud are,
And ev'ry foul with heart and voice
Supplied his quota of the noife ;

CANTO II. McfrNGAL. 6

Each lift'ning ear was fet on torture

Each Tory bcll'wing out, to order :

And fome, with* tongue not low or weak,

Were clam' ring fafl, for leave to fpeak ;

The moderator, with great vi'lence,

The cufhion thiimp'd with cc Silence ! filencc !"

The conftable to ev'ry prater

Bawl'd out, "Pray hear the moderator ;"

Some calFd the vote, and fome, in turn,

Were fcreaming high <c Adjourn, adjourn."

Not chaos heard fuch jars and clafhes

When all the erments fought for places.

Each bludgeon foon for blows was tim'd ;

Each fifl flood ready cock'd and prim'd 5

The florm each momemt louder grew 5

Hisfword the great McFingal drew,

Prepar'd in either chance to lhare,

To keep the peace, or aid the war.

Nor lack'd they each poetic being,

Whom bards alone arc fkill'd in feeing ;

Plum'd Victory flood perch'd on high,

Upon the pulpit- canopy,

To join, as is her cuftom tried,

Like Indians, on the ftrongeft fide;

The Deflinies with fhears and Diftaff,

Drew near, their threads of life to twill off;

The Furies 'gan to feafl on blows,

And broken heads or bloody nofe 5

When on a fudden, from without,

Arofe a loud terrific fhout;

64 M* F I N G A L. CANTO lit

And ftrait the people all at once heard

Of tongues an univerfal concert ;

Like .ZEfop's times, as fable runs,

When ev'ry creature talk'd at once ;

Or like the variegated gabble

That craz'd the carpenters of Babel.

Each party foon forgot the quarrel,

And let the other go on parole ;

Eager to know what fearful matter

Had conjur'd up fuch gen'ral clatter ;

And left the church in thin array,

As tho' it had been lecture-day.

Our 'Squire M'Fingal ftraightway beckon'd

The conftable to ftand his fecond,

And fallied forth with afpect fierce

The croud afTembled to difperfe.

The moderator, out of view

Beneath a bench, had lain perdue ;

Peep'd up his head to view the fray,

Beheld the wranglers run away,

And, left alone, with folemn face,

Adjourn'd them without time or place.

OF CANTO SECOND.

M ' F I N G A L

C A N f O THIRD.

The Liberty-Pole.

NOW arm'd with minifterial ire,
Fierce Tallied forth our loyal >Squire>
And on his finding fleps attends,
His defperate clan of Tory friends ;
When fudden met his angry eye,
A pole afcending thro' the fky,
Which numerous throngs of Whiggifh race
Were raifmg in the market-place ;
Not higher fchool-boys kites afpire,
Or royal maft or country fpire,
Like fpears at Brobdignagian tilting,
Or Satan's walking-ftaff in Milton 5
And 6n its top the flag unfurl'd,
Wav'd triumph o'er the prcflrate world^

K

66 M c F I N G A L. CANTO III,

Infcrib'd with incontinent types

Of liberty and thirteen flrifes.

Beneath, the croud, without delay,

The dedication- rights eflay,

And gladly pay in ancient fafhion,

The ceremonies of libation ;

While brifkly to each patriot lip

Walks eager round th* infpiring flip :f

Delicious draught, whofe pow'ra inherit

The quinteflence of public fpirit !

Which whofo tailes, perceives his mind

To nobler politics refin'd,

Or rous'd for martial controverfy,

As from transforming cups of Circe ;

Or warm'd with Homer's ne&ar'd liquor,

That fiJFd the veins of gods with ichor,

At hand for new fupplies in ftore,

The tavern opes its friendly door,

Whence to and fro the waiters run,

Like bucket-men, at fires in town.

Then with three fhouts that tore the (ky,

'Tis confecrate to Liberty ;

To guard it from th' attacks of Tories,

A grand committee cull'd of four is,

Who, foremoft on the patriot fpot,

Had brought the flip and paid the fhot.

t flip is a liquor compofed of beer, rum, and fugar.

CANTO III. MCFINGAL. 6j

By this, M'Fingal, with his train,
Advanced upon th' adjacent plain,
And fierce, with loyal rage pofiefs'd,
Pour'd forth the zeal that fir'd his breaft.
" What mad-brain'd rebel gave commifTion,
To raifc this May-pole of fedition !
Like Babel reared by bawling throngs,
With like confuflon too of tongues,
To point at Heav'n, and fummon down
The thunders of the Britifh crown ?
Say, will this paltry pole fecure
Your forfeit heads from Gage's pow'r ?
Attacked by heroes brave and crafty,
Is this to ftand your ark of fafety ?
Or driv'n by Scottifh laird and laddie,
Think ye to reft beneath its fhaddow ?
When bombs, like fiery ferpents, fly,
And balls move hifling thro' the fky,
Will this vile pole, devote to freedom,
Save like the Jewifti pole in Edom,
Or like the brazen fnake of Mofes,
Cure your crack'd fkulls and batter'd nofes ?
Ye dupes to ev'ry factious rogue,
Or tavern-prating demagogue,
Whofe tongue but rings, with found more full,
On th' empty drumhead of his fkull -3
Behold you not what noify fools
Ufe you, worfe fimpletons, for tools ?

68 M< F I N G A L. CANTO III

For Liberty in your own by-fenfe

Is but for crimes a patent licence j

To break of law th' Egyptian yoke,

And throw the world in common flock.

Reduce all grievances and ills

To Magna Charta of your wills,

Efbablifh cheats and frauds and nonfenfe,

Fram'd by 'the model of your confcience,

Cry juftice down, as out of faftiion,

And fix its fcale of depreciation*,

Defy all creditors to trouble ye,

And pafs new years of Jewifh jubilee ;

Drive judges out like Aaron's calves,

By jurifdi&ion of white flaves,

And make the bar and bench and fteeple,

Submit t* our fov'reign Lord, the People ;

AfTure each knave his whole aflets^,

By gen'ral amnefty of debts ;

By plunder rife to pow'r and glory.

And brand all property as Tory ;

Expofe all wares to lawful feizures

Of mobbers and monopolizers -,

Break heads and windows and the peace,

For your own int'reft and increafe ;

* Alluding to the depreciation of the continental paper-money.
The declining value of this Currency was afcertained and declared
by Congrefs, in what was called a fc.aU of depredation. See more
of this fub;eft in the laft Canto,

CANTO III. Mf F I N G A L. 6$

Difpute and pray and fight and groan,
For public good and mean your own;
Prevent the laws, by fierce attacks.
From quitting fcores upon your backs,
Lay your old dread, the gallows, low,
And feize the flocks your ancient foe \
And turn them as convenient engines
To wreak your patriotic vengeance ;
While all, your claims who underftand,
Confefs they're in the owner's hand:
And when by clamors and confufions,
Your freedom's grown a public nuifance,
Cry, Liberty, with pow'rful yearning,
As he does, firey whofe houfe is burning,
Tho' he already has much more,
Than he can find occafion for,
While ev'ry dunce, that turns the plains,
Tho' bankrupt in eftate and brains,
By this new light transform'd to traitor,
Forfakes his plow, to turn dictator,
Starts an haranguing chief of Whigs,
And drags you by the ears like pigs.
All blufter arm'd with factious licence, >
Transform'd at once to politicians ;
Each leather-apron'd clown, grown wife,
Prefents his forward face t' advife,
And tatter'd legiflators meet
From ev'ry work-fhop thro' the ftreet 5

yO Mc F I N G A L CANTO III-

t

His goofe the t ay lor finds new ufe in,

To patch and turn the conftitution ;

The Blackfmith comes with (ledge and grate,

To iron-bind the wheels of (late;

The quack forbears his patient's foufe,

To purge the Council and the Houfe;

The tinker quits his moulds and doxies,

To caft affembly men at proxies.

From dunghills deep of fable hue,

Your dirt-bred patriots fpring to view,

To wealth and pow'r and penfion rife,

Like new wing'd maggots chang'd to flies;

And fluttering round in proud parade,

Strut in the robe or gay cockade.

See *Ar — d quits, for ways more certain,

His bankrupt perj'ries for his fortune >

Brews rum no longer in his ftore,

Jocky and fkipper now no more ;

Forfakes his warehoufes and docks,

And writs of (lander for the pox,

And, purg'd by patriotifm from (hame,

Grows Gen'ral of the fore mod name.

*t * Ar—d's perjuries at the time of his pretended bankruptcy,
which was the firft rife of his fortune ; and his curious lawfuit againft
a brother-flapper, who had charged him with having caught the above
mentioned difeafe, by his connexion with a certain African princefs in
the Weft-Indies, with its humorous iflue, are matters, not 1 believe fo
generally known, as the other circumftances of his public and private
chara&er."

I
CANTO in. M'FINGAL* 71

* Hiatus.

For in this ferment of the ftream,
The dregs have work'd up to the brim,
And by the rule of topfy-turvys,
The fkum ftands fwelling on the furface.
You've caus'd your pyramid t' afcend,
And fet it on the little end;
Like Hudibras, your empire's made,
Whofe crupper had o'er-top'd his head ;
You've pufh'd and turnM the whole world up-
Side down, and got yourfelves a-top:
While all the great ones of your ftate;
Are cruih'd beneath the pop'lar weight;
Nor can you boaft this prefent hour,
The fhadow of the form of pow'r.
For what's your Congrefs f, or its end ?
A power t* advife and recommend ;
To call for troops, adjuft your quotas
And yet no foul is bound to notice;
To pawn your faith to th' utmoft limit,
But cannot bind you to redeem it,

« • M'Fingal having here Jnferted the names and characters oF fc-
vcral great men, whom the public have not yet fully detected, it is
thought propei to omit fundry paragraphs of his fpeech in the prefent
edition.'*

t The author here, in a true drain of patriotic cenfure, pointed out
the principle defefts in the firft federal Conftitution of the United
States j all which have been fince removed in the New Conftitution,
eflablifhed in the year 1789. So that the prophecy below, You'll
ne'er have fenfe enough to mend it, mud be ranked among the ether
fage blunders of his fecond-fighted hero.

72- MCF IN/GAL. I -CANTO III.

And when in want, no more in them lies,
Than begging of your State- AfTemblies ;
Can utter oracles of dread,
Like Friar Bacon's brazen head ;
But fhould a faction e'er difpute 'em,
Has ne'er an arm to execute 'em.
As tho' you chofe fupreme dictators,
And put them under confervators ;
You've but purfu'd the felf-fame way,
With Shakefpeare's Trinclo in the play,
" You fhall be viceroys, here, 'tis true,
But we'll be viceroys over you."
What wild confufion hence muft enfue,
Tho' common danger yet cements you j
So fome wreck'd vefTel, all in fhatters,
Is held up by furrounding waters,
But ftranded, when the preffure ceafes.
Falls, by its rottennefs, to pieces.
And fall it muft — if wars were ended,
You'll ne'er have fenfe enough to mend it ;
But creeping on with low intrigues
Like vermin of an hundred legs,
Will find as fhort a life affign'd
As all things elfe of reptile kind.
Your Commonwealth's a common harlot,
The property of ev'ry varlet,
Which now in tafte and full employ,
All forts admire, as all enjoy;
But foon a batter'd ftrumpet grown,
You'll curfe and drum her out of town.

CANTO III. Mc FIN GAL. 73

Such is the government you chofe,
For this you bade the world be foes,
For this, fo mark'd for difiblution,
You fcorn the Britifh conftitution ;
That conftitution, form'd by fages.
The wonder of all modern ages :
Which owns no failure in reality,
Except corruption and venality 5
And only proves the adage juft,
That bed things fpoil'd, corrupt to word t
So man, fupreme in mortal ftatiori,
And mighty lord of this creation,
When once his corfe is dead as herring,
Becomes the mod x)ffenfive carrion,
And fooner breeds the plague, 'tis found,
Than all beads rotting 'bove the ground*
Yet for this government, to difmay us,
You've call'd up Anarchy from phaos,
With all the followers of her fchool,
Uproar and Rage and wild Mifrule;
For whom this rout of Whigs didracted
And ravings dire of ev'ry cracked head $
Thefe new-caft legiflative engines
Of country-mufters and conventions,
Committees vile of correfpondencq,
And mobs, whofe tricks have aim oft undone 'sj
While reafon fails to check your courfe,
And loyalty's kick'd out of doors,

L

74 M f F I N G A L. CANTO III.

And folly, like inviting landlord,

Hoifls on your poles her royal ftandard.

While the king's friends in doleful dumps,

Have worn their courage to the ftumps,

And leaving George in fad difafter,

Moft finfully deny their mailer. •

What furies rag'd, when you in fea,

In lhape of Indians drown'd the tea*,

When your gay fparks, fatigu'd to watch it,

Affumed the moggifon and hatchet,

With wampum'd blankets hid their laces,

And, like their fweet-hearts, primed their faces:

While not a Red-coat dar'd oppofe,

And fcarce a Tory fhow'd his nofe ;

While Hutchinfon for fure retreat,

Manoeuvred to his country feat, -

And thence affrighted in the fuds,

Stole off bare-headed thro' the woods!

Have you not rous'd your mobs to join,

And make Mandamus-men refign,

Call'd forth each duffil-drefs'd curmudgeon,

With dirty trowfers and white bludgeon,

Forc'd all our Councils thro* the land*

To yield their necks to your command ;

While palenefs marks their late difgraces

Thro' all their rueful length effaces ?

* The perfons who defiroyed the cargo of tea, above referred to,
were difguifed in the habit of Indians,

CANTO III. Mc F I N G A L. 75

Have you not caus'd as woeful work

In loyal city of New- York *,

When all the rabble well cockadcd,

In triumph "thro* the ilreets paraded ;

And mobb'd the Tories, fcar'd their fpoufes,

And ranfaek'd all the cuftom-houfes,

Made fuch a tumult, blufler, jarring,

That 'mid the clalh of tempefts warring,

Smith's weathercock, with veers forlorn,f

Could hardly tell which way to turn ;

Burnt effigies of th' Higher Powers,

Contriv'd in planetary hours,

As witches, with clay- images,

Deftroy or torture whom they pleafe ;

'Till fir'd with rage, th* ungrateful club

Spar'd not your befl friend, Belzebub,

O'er-look'd his favours, and forgot

The rev'rence due t' his cloven foot -,

And in the lelf-fame furnace frying,

Burn'd him, and North, and Bute, and TryonJ -

* There were fo many influential Tories in New- York, that
they at firft obtained a vote in favor of the A&s of Parliament,
and againft the proceedings of the firfl Congrefs.

t William Smith, formerly a lawyer in New- York.

J Tryon, being now dead, is ptobably forgot. The reader
muft know that he was governor of New -York, and a Britifh
general during the war. He had the glcry of burning the
towns of Fairfield and Norwalk, and of iffuing many proclanr-
tions. The other perfonages that make up this iiaHe. of fjii,
Bute, Bekebub, and North, are ftill living, «nd '.hcrefoie v,\ss:t
no explanation.

76 Mc F I N G A L. CANTO III.

Did you not in as vile and ih allow way,

Fright our poor Philadelphia!!, § Galloway,

Your Congrefs when the daring ribald

Belied, berated, and befcribbled ?

What ropes and halters did you fend,

Terrific emblems of his end,

Till, leaft he'd hang in more than effigy,

Fled in a fog the trembling refugee ?

Now rifing in progrefiion fatal,

Have you not ventured to give battle ?

"When treafon chac'd our heroes troubled,

With rufty gun and leathern doublet,

Turn'd all (lone-walls, and groves, and bufhes,

To batt'ries armed with blunderbufles,

And with deep wounds, that: fate portend,

Gaul'd many a Reg'lar's latter end,

Drove them to Bofton as in jail,

Confin'd without main-prize or bail.

Were not thefe deeds enough betimes,

To heap the meafure of your crimes,

But .in this loyal town and dwelling,

You raife thefe enfigns of rebellion ?

'Tis done ; fair Mercy fhuts her door;

And Vengeance now fnall deep no more $

Rife then, my friends, in terror rife,

And wipe this fcandal from the ikies !

^ Galloway began by being a flaming patriot. He is one of
the few men, who proved a traitor to his country, wrote sgainft
it, and ran away»

CANTO III. MfFINGAL. 77

You'll fee their Dagon, tho' well jointed,
Will fink before the Lord's anointed,
And like old Jericho's proud wall,
Before our ram's horns proftrate fall."

This faid our 'Squire, yet undifmay'd,
Call'd forth the Conftable to aid,
And bade him read in nearer ftation,
The riot -act and proclamation * ;
Who, now advancing tow'rd the ring,
Began, tc Our fov'reign Lord the King" — •
When thoufand clam'rous tongues he hears,
And clubs, and ftones aflail his ears ;
To fly was vain, to fight was idle,
By foes encompafs'd in the middle -9
In ftratagem his aid he found,
And fell right craftily to ground;
Then crept to feek an hiding place,
'Twas all he could, beneath a brace;
Where foon the conqu'ring crew efpied him,
And where he lurk'd, they caught and tied him,

At once with refolution fatal, <«

Both Whigs and Tories rufh'd to battle ;
Inftead of weapons, either band
Seiz'd on fuch arms, as came to hand.

* faading the Riot- aft has the fame miraculous effeft in Ame
rica as in England: it may convert any colle&ion of men into
a riot, and is the tremendous prologue to any tragedy that may
from ^he exercifc of Martial Law,

78 M< F I N G A L CANTO III.

And as fam'd * Ovid paints th' adventures

Of wrangling Lapithse and Centaurs,

Who at their feaft, by Bacchus led,

Threw bottles at each other's head,

And thefe arms failing in their fcuffles,

Attack'd with hand-irons, tongs, and (hovels :

So clubs and billets, (laves and ftones

Met fierce, encountering every fconce,

And cover'd o'er with knobs and pains

Each void receptacle for brains \

Their clamours rend the hills around,

And earth rebellows with the found ;

And many a groan increased the din

From broken nofe and batter'd (hin.

MTingal, rifmg at the word,

Drew forth his old militia fword ;

Thrice cried, " King George," as erft in diftrefs

Romancing heroes did their miftrefs,

And, brandi filing the blade in air,

Struck terror thro' th* oppofing war.

The Whigs unfafe within the wind

Of fuch commotion (hrunk behind.

With whirling (lecl around addrefs'd,

Fierce thro* their thickeft throng he prelVd,

(Who roird on either fide in arch,

Like Red-fea waves in Ifrael's march)

And like a meteor milling through.

Struck on their pole a vengeful blow.

<( * Ovid's Mrtamorphofrs, Book xli.'*

CANTO III. Mc F I N G A L. 75

Around, the Whigs, of clubs and ftones
Difcharg'd whole vollies in platoons,
That o'er in whittling terror fly,
But not a foe dares venture nigh.
And now, perhaps, with conqueft crown'd,
Our 'Squire had fell'd their pole to ground j
Had not fome Pow'r, a Whig at heart,
Defcended down and took their part,
(Whether 'twere Pallas, Mars, or Iris,
'Tis fcarce worth while to make enquiries,)
Who at the nick of time alarming,
Afium'd the graver form of Chairman;
Addrefs'd a Whig, in ev'ry fcene
The ftouteft wreftler on the green,
And pointed where the fpade was found*
Late us'd to fix the pole in ground,
And urg'd with equal arms and might
To dare our 'Squire to fingle fight f.
The Whig thus arm'd, untaught to yield,
Advanc'd tremendous to the field $
Nor did McFingal fhun the foe,
But flood to brave the defp'rate blow $
While all the party gaz'd fufpended,
To fee the deadly combat; ended.

" f The learned reader will readily obfcrve the allufions in this
fcene to the fingle combat of Paris and Menelaus in Homer,
JEneas and Turnus in Virgil, and Michael and Satan in Milton,"

80 M'flNGAL. CANTO III,

And Jove in equal balance weigh'd
The fword againft the brandifh'd fpade,
He weigh'd ; but lighter than a dream,
The fword flew up and kick'd the beam.
Our 'Squire on tiptoe rifmg fair,
Lifts high a noble ftroke in air.
Which hung not, but like dreadful engines
Defcendcd on the foe in vengeance.
But ah ! in danger with difhonour,
The fword perfidious fails its owner ;
That fword, which oft had ftood its ground
By huge train-bands encompafs'd round*,
Or on the bench, with blade right loyal,
Had won the day at many a trial,
Of flones and clubs had brav'd th' alarms,
Shrunk from thefe new Vulcanian arms.
The fpade fo temper'd from the fledge,
Nor keen nor folid harm'd its edge,
Now met it from his arm of might
Defcending with deep force to finite;
The blade fhapM fhort— - and from his hand
With ruft embrown'd the glitt'ring fand.
Swift turn'd MTingal at the view,
And calPd for aid th' attendant crew,
In vain ; the Tories all had run,
When fcarce the fight was well begun 5

* A train band is a Captain's company in the MiKtia*

THE

8 1 M'FINGALo CANTO I Jl

Their fetting wigs he faw decreased,
Far in th' horizon tow'rd the weft.
Amaz'd he view'd the fhamcful fight,
And faw no refuge but in flight :
But age unweiidy check'd his pace,
Tho* fear had wing'd his flying race j
For not a trifling prize at (lake ;
No lefs than great M'Fingal's back.
With legs and arms he work'd his courfe,
Like rider that outgoes his horfe,
And labour'd hard to get away, as
Old Satan * ftruggling on thro' Chaos :
Till, looking back, he fpied in rear
The fpade arm'd chief advanced too near.
Then ftoppM and feiz'd a {tone that lay,
An antient land-mark near the way;
Nor fhall we, as old Bards have done,
Affirm it weigh'd an hundred ton ;
But fuch a ftone as at a fhift
A modern might fuffice to lift.
Since men, to credit their enigmas,
Are dwindled down to dwarfs and pigmies 3
And giants, exil'd with their cronies,
To Brobdingnags and Patagonies.
But while our hero turn'd him round,
And ftoop'd to raife it from the ground*

r< In Milton.

M

$2 Mc FIN GAL. CANTO III.

The deadly fpade difcharg'd a blow

Tremendous on his rear below :

His bent knee fail'd, and void of ftrength,

Stretch'd on the ground his manly length ;

Like antient oak o'er-turn'd he lay,

Or tow'rs to tempefts fall'n a prey,

And more things elfe — but all men know 'em*

If flightly vers'd in Epic Poem.

At once the crew, at this fad crifis,

Fall on, and bind him ere he rifes,

And with loud Ihouts, and joyful foul,

Conduct him prisoner to the pole.

When now the mob in lucky hour,
Had got their enemies in their pow'r,
They firft proceed, by wife command,
To take the conftable in hand.
Then from the pole's fublimeft top
They fpeeded to letdown the rope,
At once its other end in hade bind,
And make it fad upon his waiftband,
Till, like the earth, as ftretch'd on tenter,
He hung felf balanced on his center.
Then upwards, all hands hoifting fail,
They fwung him, like a keg of ale j
Till to the pinnacle fo fair,
He rofe like meteor in the air:

CANTO III. MeFINGAL. 8j

As * Socrates of old at firft did

To aid philofophy get hoifted,

And found his thoughts flow ftrangely cle&r,

Swing in a bafket in mid air:

Our culprit thus, in purer fky,

With like advantage raiAl his eye;

And looking forth in profpect wide

His Tory errors clearly fpied,

And from his elevated ftation,

With bawling voice began addreflmg.

cc Good gentlemen, and friends, and kin,

For HeavVs fake hear, if not for mine !

I here renounce the Pope, the Turks,

The King, the Devil, and all their works 5

And will, fet me but once at eafe,

Turn Whig or Chriftian, what you pleafe ;

And always mind your laws as juftly ;

Should I live long; as old Methus'lah •,

Pll never join with Britifh rage,

Nor help Lord North, or Gen'ral Gage^

Nor lift my gun in future fights,

Nor take away your charter'd rights;

Nor overcome your new-raised levies,

Deftroy your towns, nor burn your navies ;

Nor cut your poles down while I've breath,

Tho* rais'd more thick than hatchel teeth :

t " Socrates is rcprefented in Ariftophanes'>s Comedy of the Clouds,
is hoiited in a bafket to aid con temp lalion."

4 M ? F IN G A L. CANTO I I I,

But leave king George and all his elves
To do their conquering work themfelves.'*

This laid, they lower 'd him down in ftate,
Spiead at all points, like falling cat;
But took a vote fiift on the queflion,
That theVd accept this full confefllon,
And to their fellowfhip and favour*
ReOore him on his good behaviour.

Njt fo, our 'Squire fubmits to rulej
But ftood heroic as a mule.
c* You'll find it all in vain, quoth he*
To play your rebel ti icks on me.
All punifhmtnts the world can render,
Se:ve only to provoke th* offender;
1 he will's confirm'd by treatment horrid,
As hides grow harder when they're curriM
No man e'er felt the haker draw2
Wiih good opinion of the law ;
Or held in method orthodox
His love of juftice in the Mocks ;
Or fail'd to lofe by fherifPs fliears
At once his loyalty and ears.
Wave you made Murray look lefs big,
Or fmoak'd old Williams to a Whig?
Did our mobbM * Oliver quit his Ration,
Or heed his vows of refignation ?

* This h (be « Chief -Judge Oliver" of the fi.ft Canto, in w'hofc
the fag'acicus M'Fingal perceives lhat Heaven had r«>

The TOKTS

CANTO III. MCFINGAL. 8$

Has Hivington t> in dread of ftripes,
Ceas'd lying fince you (tole his types ?
And can you think my faith will alter,
By tarring, whipping, or the halter ?
I'll ftand the worft; for recompence
I trtift King George and Providence.
And when, our conqueft gain'd, I comea
Array'd in law and terror, home,
You'll rue this inaufpicious morn,
And curfe the day you e'er were born,
In Job's high ftyle of imprecations,
With all his plagues, without his patience."

hand. One ground of the quarrel between the Britifh government
and the people of Maflacbufrtts, was the aft by which the Judges of
the Colony were rendered independent of the Colony Jbr their fala-
ry, as well as for their places ; which was contrary to ancient ufage.
WTien the people felt thefe particular afts of oppteffion from a power
three thoufand miles diftant, their only method of redrcfs was, to
prevent any perfon from accepting an office, or from exercifing its
functions, under fuch an aft. This expedient had been fuccefsful in
the cafe of the Stamp-aft a few years before j and the people now ap
plied to Judge Oliver, requefting him to refign an office, the new ar
rangement of which fo manifeflly (truck at the foundation of thsir li
berty. The Judge promifed to refign his place; but afterwards claim
ed that " highejl privilege 9/fpeech^ which M'Fingal has fo well vin
dicate i in favour of General Gage.

t Here again is an old acquaintance of the firft Canto. His paper,
entitled The. Royal Gazette, had, by a ftrange combination of circum-
ftances, obtained the name, through all the country, of The Lying Ga~
$etts- It was on this account that the people at a certain time fent a
committee to takeaway hi< types. But this meafure was as incffe&ual
as thole that were ufcd with Murray, Williams, Oliver, &c.

SS M'FINGAL, CANTO xus

Like fleet-bound trees in wintry fkieSj

Or Lapland idol carv'd in ice.

And now the feather-bag difplay'd,

Is wav'd in triumph o'er his head,

And fpread him o'er with feathers miflive,

And down, upon the tar adheiive :

Not Maia's fon, with wings for ears,

Such plumes around his vifage wears;

Nor Milton's fix-wing'd angel gathers,

Such Superfluity of feathers.

Till all com pleat appears our 'Squire

Like Gorgon or Chimera dire ;

Nor more could boaft on * Plato's plan

To rank amid the race of man,

Or prove his claim to human nature,

As a two-legg'd, unfeather'd creature*

Then on the two-wheel'd car of ftate>
They rais'd our grand Duumvirate.
And as at Rome a like committee.
That found an owl within their city*
With folemn rites and fad procefllons,
At ev'ry ihrine perform'd luflrations *9
And left infedlion fhould abound,
From prodigy with face fo round,
All Rome attends him thro* the flreet,
In triumph to his cou n try - feat ;

" * Alluding to Plato's famous definition of Man, * Mtad
Upes, implumis."

Tke PRO CE S

CANTO III. M'FINGAL. $>

With like devotion all the choir
Paraded round our feather'd 'Squire ;
In front the martial mufic comes
Of horns and fiddles, fifes and drums*
With jingling found of carriage bells*
And treble creak of rufted wheels 5
Behind, the crowd in lengthen'd row,
With grave proceflion clos'd the fhow;
And at fit periods ev'ry throat
Combined in univerfal Ihoutj
And hail'd great Liberty in chorus,
Or bawl'd, Confufion to the Tories.
Not louder ftorm the welkin braves,
From clamors of confli&ing waves ;
Lefs dire in Lybian wilds the noife
When rav'ning lions lift their voice ;
Or triumphs at town-meetings made;
On pafling votes to reg'late trade *.

Thus having borne them round the town>
Lad at the pole they fet them down,
And tow'rd the tavern take their way,
To end in mirth the feftal day.

And now the Mob, difpers'd and gone,
Left 'Squire and Conftable alone.

* Such votes were frequently pa lied at Town meetings; the
object of which was, to prevent the augmentation of prices en
the neceflanes of life, and thus to obviate the effects of the de
preciation of the paper- money.

N'

93 Mf F I N G A L. CANTO

The Conftable, in rueful cafe,

Lean'd fad and folemn o'er a brace,

And fad befide him, cheek by jowl,

Stuck 'Squire M'Fingal 'gainft the pole5

Glu'd by the tar, t* his rear applied,

Like barnacle on vefTel's fide :

But tho' his body lack'd phyfician,

His fpirit was in worfe condition.

He found his fears of whips and ropes,

By many a drachm out-weigh'd his hopes, ^

As men in gaol without main-prize,

View ev'ry thing with other eyes ;

And all goes wrong in church and ftate^

Seen thro' perfpeclive of the grate :

So now McFingaPs fecond-fight

Beheld all things in different light ;

His vifual nerve, well purg'd with tar,

Saw all the coming fcenes of war.

As his prophetic foul grew ftronger,

He found he could hold in no longer i

Firft from the pole, as fierce he fhook3

His wig from pitchy durance broke,

His mouth unglu'd, his feathers flutter 'd,

His tarr'd (kirts crack'd, and thus he utter'd :

" Ah, Mr. Conflable, in vain

We ftrive 'gainft wind, and tide, and rain !

Behold my doom ! this feather'd omen

Portends what difmal times are coming^

CANTO III. MCFINGAL»

Now future fcenes before my eyes,
And fecond-fighted forms arife ;
I hear a voice that calls away,
And cries the Whigs will win the day 3
My beck'ning Genius gives command.
And bids us fly the fatal land;
Where, changing name and conflitution5
Rebellion turns to Revolution,
While Loyalty, opprefs'd in tears,
Stands trembling for his neck and ears.
Go, fummon all our brethren greeting,
To mufter at our ufual meeting.
There my prophetic voice fhall warn 'em.,
Of all things future that concern 'em,
And fcenes difclofe, on which, my friend,
Their conduct and their lives depend :
There I — but firfl 'tis more of ufe,

. From this vile pole to fet me loofe \

Then go with cautious ileps and fteady,
While I fleer home and make all ready."

OF CANTO THIRD.

T OlOTEANJDEM QNI1TM,

M'F I N G A L

CANTO FOURTH,

The

NOW night came down, and rofe full foon
That patronefs of rogues, the Moon,
Beneath whofe kind, protecting ray,
Wolves, brute and human, prowl for prey.
The honeft world all fnored in chorus>
While owls, and ghoils, and thieves and Tories*
Whom erft the mid-day fun had aw'd,
Crept from their lurking holes abroad.
On cautious hinges, flow and (tiller
Wide ope'd the great M'Fingal's

* Panditur inteiia domns omnipotentis

Conciliumq ; vocat Divum pater atq ; homintim rea
Sidcieara in fodem." Lib, 10.

o

94 M(£ I N G A L. CANTO IV,

Where, Hint from prying eyes in clutter,
The Tory Pandemonium mufter.
Their chiefs all fitting round defcry'd are>
On kegs of ale, and feats of ciders
When firft M'Fingal, dimly feen,
Rofe folemn from the turnip-bin.
Nor yet his *form had wholly loft
The orig'nal,brightnefs it could boaft,
Nor lefs appear'd than Juflice Quorum,
In feather'd majefty before 'em.
Adown his tar-ftreak'd vifage clear
Fell glifiening faft th* indignant tear,
And thus his voice, in mournful wife,
Purfu'd the prologue of his fighs :

" Brethren and friends, the glorious band
Of loyalty in rebel land !
It was not thus you've feen me fitting
Returned in triumph from town-meeting,
When bluil'ring Whigs were put to ftand,
And votes obey'd my guiding hand,
And new commiflions pleas'd my eyes ;
Bled days, but, ah, no more to rife !
Alas ! againft my better light
And optics fure of fecond-fight,
My flubborn foul, in error ftrong,
Had faith in Hutchinfbn too long.

" * — —His form had not yet loft
All i!8 original brightnefs, r:or appear'd
Lefs thau Archangel ruin'd.*

CANTO IV. IvIcFINGAL. £5

See what brave' trophies ftill we bring

From all our battles for the king ;

And yet thefe plagues, now pad before us,

Are but our entering-wedg,e of fbrrows.

I fee, in glooms tempefr.uous, ftand

The cloud impending o'er the land ;

That cloud, which ftill beyond their hopes

Serves all our orators with tropes,

Which tho' from our own vapors fed,

Shall point its thunders on our head !

I fee the Mob, beflipp'd in taverns,

Hunt us, like wolves, thro' wilds and caverns !

What dungeons rife t' alarm our fears!

What horfe-whips whittle round our ears !

Tar, yet in embryo in the pine,

Shall run, on Tories backs to friine;

Trees rooted fair in groves of fallows

Are growing for our future gallows ;

And geefe unhatch'd, when pluck'd in fray,

Shall rue the feath'ring of that day.

For me, before thefe fatal days,

I mean to fly th* accurfed place,

And follow omens, which of late

Have warn'd me of impending fate j

Yet pafs'd unnotic'cl o'er my view,

Till fad conviction prov'd them true ;

As prophecies of beft intent,

Are only heeded in the event:-

g5 Mf F I N O A L. CANTO !V,

For late in vifions of the night
The gallows ftood before my fight ;
I faw its ladder heav'd on end ;
I faw the deadly rope defcend ;
And in its noofe, that wav'ring fwang,
Friend * Malcolm hung or feem'd to hang.
How changed from him, who bold as lion.
Stood Aid-de-Camp to Governor Tryon,
Made rebels vanifh once, like witches,
And fav'd his life, but dropp'd his breeches,
I fcarce had made a fearful bow,
And trembling afk'd him, " How d'ye do ?M
When lifting up his eyes fo wide,
His eyes alone, his hands were tied;
With feeble voice, as fpirits ufe,
Now almoft choak'd with gripe of noofe;
cc Ah, * fly, my friend ! he cri'd ; efcape !
And keep yonrfelf from this fad fcrape;

tl * Malcolm was a Scotchman, Aid to Governor Tryon in
his expedition againft the Regulators in North' Carolina, where,
an the engagement, he met with the accident of the breeches
here alluded to. He was afterwards an under- officer of the
cufloms in Boflon, where becoming obnoxious, he was tarred,
feathered, and half-hanged by the mob, about the year 1774*
After this he was neglected and avoided by his own party, and
thinking his merits and fuffeiings unrewarded, appeared equally
malevolent againir. Whigs and Tories."

" The pretences of the Highlanders to prophecy by fecond-
fight are too \vell known to r.eed an explanation.''

'* * There i" ?n this fcene, a general allufion to the appearance
and fpeech of Hc-£u>i's ghofi, in ihefecond book of the /Eneio./'

CANTO IV. M/F-I-NOAL. 97

Enough you've talk'd, and writ, and plann'd ;

The Whigs have got the upper hand.

Dame Fortune's wheel has turn'd fo fhort,

It plung'd us fairly in the dirt 5

Could mortal arm our fears have ended,

This arm (and fliook it) had defended.

But longer now 'tis vain to (lay ;

See e'en the Reg'lars run away :

Wait not till things grow defperater,

For hanging is no laughing matter :

This might your grandfires5 fortunes tell you on,

Who both were hang'd the laft rebellion 5

Adventure then no longer flay,

But call your friends and run away.

For Jo, thro* deepeft glooms of night

I come to aid thy fecond fight,

Difclofe the plagues that round us wait

And wake the dark decreees of Fate ;

Afcend this ladder, whence unfurl'd

The curtain opes of t' other world,

For here new worlds their fcenes unfold,

Seen from this back-door of the old f .

As when tineas rifqu'd his life,

Like Orpheus venturing for his wife,

And bore in fliow his mortal carcafc,

Thro* realms of Erebus and Orcus,

t That the gallows is the lack-door leading from ihis to the
other world, is a perfe&ly new idea in Epic Poetry ;

9$ MCFINGAL. CANTO IV.

Then in the happy fields Elyfian,

Saw all his embryon fons in vifion :

As, fhown by great archangel, Michael,

Old Adam faw the world's whole fequel,

And from the mount's extended fpace,

The rifing fortunes of his race -,

So from this flage fliak thou behold,

The war its coming fcenes unfold,

Rais'd by my arm to meet thine eye ;

My Adam, thou, thine Angel, I.

But firft my pow'r for viiions * bright,

Muft cleanfe from clouds thy mental fight,

Remove die dim fuffufions fpread,

Which bribes and fal'ries there have bred -,

And, from the well of Bute, infufe

Three genuine drops of Highland dews,

To purge, like euphrafy and rue,

Thine eyes, for much thou had to view.

cc Now, freed from Tory darknefs, raife
Thy head, and fpy the coming days ;
For lo, before our fecond-fight,
The Continent afcends in light ;
From north to fouth, what gathering fwarms,
Increafe the pride of rebel arms !
Thro' ev'ry State our legions brave.
Speed gallant marches to the grave,

the hjnt might have been taken from the rear-trumpet of Farno
in Hudibras.
««* See Milton's Paradife Loft, Book n."

CANTO IV* MCFINGAL. 09

Of battling Whigs the frequent prize,
While rebel trophies flain the ikies.
Behold, o'er northern realms afar #,
Extend the kindling flames of war I
See fam'd St. John's and Montreal,
DoomM by Montgom'ry's arm to fall!
Where Hudfon with majeftic fway,
Thro' hills difparted plows his way ;
Fate fpreads on Bemus' Heights alarms,
And pours definition on our arms ;
There Bennington's enfanguin'd plain,
And Stony-Point the prize of Wayne.
Behold near DeF ware's icy roar.
Where morning dawns on Trenton's fhorc,

* Nothing lefs than the whole Hiftory of the American Waf
would be fufficient, completely to' Uluftrate the merits of this
fingle paragraph. Malcolm, the gallows-taught prophet, in pre
paring the mind of M'Fingal to contemplate, with proper in-'
telligence, the various fcenes that are to rife fucceffively to view
in the courfe of the Vifion, glances over the Continent, and
mentions in this paffage the principal fcenes of action, from the
expedition into Canada in 1775, to the captute of Lord Corn-
v/allis in 1781. The concluding part of his fpeech is therefore a
kind of argument to this whole book of Vifioa ; in which the
fame objecls are unfolded at large with their attendant circum-
flanccsj in order that they may make a proper imprelTion on the
eJevated mind of the great M'Fingal; It is thus that our Poef,
Like Homer, in his Iliad, fdzes all occafions to do honour to his
principal bero. By fuppofing him already poiTefled of all natural
and political knowledge that could be obtained by mortal itudy
and experience, he makes him, like Achilles, capable of receiv
ing inftruclion only by the agency of a fuper-tenef^ial power. The
advifers of Achilles defcenckd from the fkies, that of M'Fingal is
mounted towards the (kies»

1OO MCFINGAL. CAtfTO IV«

While Hefiians fpread their Chriftmas feafts,
Rufh rude thefe uninvited guefts ;
Nor aught avail, to Whigs a prize,
Their martial whifkers* grifly fize.
On Princeton plains our heroes yield,
And fpread in flight the vanquifh'd field,
While fear to Mawhood's heels puts on
Wings, wide as worn by Maia's fon.
Behold the Pennfylvanian fhore,
Enrich'd with flreams of Britifh gore 5
Where many a vet'ran chief in bed
Of honour refts his flumb'ring head,
And in foft vales in land of foes,
Their wearied virtue finds repofe.
See plund'ring Dunmore's negro band
Fly headlong from Virginia's ftrand ;
And far on fouthern hills, our coufins,
The Scotch McDonalds, fall by dozens j
Or where King's Mountain lifts its head,
Our ruin'd bands in triumph led !
Behold o'er Tarleton's bluftring train,
The Rebels ftretch the captive chain!
Afar near Eutaw's fatal fp rings
Defcending Vi&'ry fpreads her wings!
Thro' all the land in various chace,
We hunt the rainbow of fuccefs ;
In vain ! their Chief, fuperior ftill;
Eludes our force with Fabian fkill$

IV. M'FINGAL, IOI

Or fwift defcending by furprize,
Like Pruffia's eagle fweeps the prize."

cc I look'd, nor yet, oppreft with fears,
Gave credit to my eyes or ears,
But held the views an empty dream,
On Berkely's immaterial fcheme;
And pond'ring fad with troubled bread
At length my rifmg doubts exprefs'd.

cc Ah, whither, thus by rebels fmitten,
Is fled th* omnipotence of Britain,
Or fail'd his ufual guard to keep,
Gone traunting or faU'n afleep * \
As Baal his prophets left confounded,
And bawling vot'ries gauYd and wounded ?
Did not, retired to bow'rs Elyfian,
Great Mars leave with her his commifTiona
And Neptune erft, in treaty free,
Give up dominion o'er the fca ?
Elfe where's the faith of fam'd orations,
Addrefs, debate, and proclamations,
Or courtly fermon, laureat ode>
And ballads on the wat'ry God ;

* " Cry alond : for he is god; either he is talking, Or KG Ja
puifuing, or he is in a journey, or paradventure he Jleepcth. — And
they cried aloud, and cut themfelves after their manner with knives
and lancets. " i Kings, chap, xviii. The other original fubjecla
alluded to in the fubfequent part of this fpecch, may be found by the
cu:ious reader in the various and immortal \votks ir.enticned by the}
poet iit the text.

P

MCFINGAL. CANTO IV*

With whofe high drains great George enriches

His eloquence of gracious fpeeches ?

Not faithful to our Highland eyes,

Thefe deadly forms of vifion rife ;

But fure fome Whig-infpiring fprite

Now palms delufion on our fight,

I'd fcarcely truft a tale fo vain,

Should revelation prompt the drain,

Or OlTians ghoft the fcenes rehearfe,

In all the melody of * Erfe."

cc Too long, quoth Malcolm, with confufion,
You've dwelt already in delufion,
As Sceptics, of all fools the chief,
Hold faith in creeds of unbelief.
I come to draw thy veil afide
Of error, prejudice, and pride.
Fools love deception, but the wife
Prefer fad truths to pleafing lies.
For know thofe hopes ean ne'er fucceed
That truft on Britain's breaking reed.
For weak'ning long from bad to worfe,
By fatal atrophy of purfe,
She feels at length with trembling heart,
Her foes have fpund her mortal part.
As faniZd Achilles, dipt by Thetis
In Styx, as fung in antient ditties,

<c * Eifc, the aacient Scottifli language, in which Offian wro&F
Tii<; poems.1'

CANTO IV. MCFINGAL. IOJ

Grew all cafe-harden'd o'er like fteel,

Invulnerable, fave his heel,

And laugh'd at Iwords and fpears, as fquibs,

And all difeafes, but the kibes;

Yet met at laft his fatal wound,

By Paris' arrow nail'd to th' ground :

So Britain's boafted ftrength deferts,

In thefe her empire's utmoft fkirts,

Remov'd beyond her fierce impreftlons,

And atmofphere of omniprefence $

Nor to thefe fhores remoter ends,

Her dwarf omnipotence extends :

Whence in this turn of things fo ftrange,

•*Tis time our principles to change.

For vain that boafted faith, which gathers

No perquifite, but tar and feathers,

No pay, but Whig's infulting malice,

And no promotion but the gallows.

I've long enough flood firm and fteady,

Half-hang'd for loyalty already :

And could I fave my neck and pelf,

I'd turn a flaming whig myielf,

And quit this caufe, snd conrfe, and calling,

Like rats that fly from houfe that's falling.

But fince, obnoxious here to Fate,

This faving wiidom comes too late,

Our nobleft hopes already croft,

Our fal'ries gone, our tides loft,

IO4 M c F I N G A L, CANTO I'V.

DoonYd to worfc fufPiings from the mob,
Than Satan's furg'ries ufed on Job ;
What more remains but now with fleight,
What's left of us to fave by flight ?

a Now raife thine eyes ; for vifions true
Again afcending wait thy view."
I look'd > and clad in early light,
The fpires of Bofton rofe to fight;
The morn o'er eaflern hills afar,
Illumin'd the varying fcenes of war.
Great Howe had long fmce in the lap
Of JLoring taken out his nap,
And with the fun's afcending ray,
The cuckold came to take his pay.
When all th' encircling hills around,
With inftantaneous breaft-works crown'd,
With pointed thunders met his light,
By magic rear'd the former night.
Each fummit far, as eye commands,
Shone peopled with rebellious bands.
Aloft their tow'ring heroes rife,
As Titans erft aflail'd the fkies,
Leagu'd with fuperior force to prove^
The fcepter'd hand of Britilh Jove.
Mounds, pil'd on hills, afcended fair
With batt'ries plac'd in middle air,
That, rais'd like angry clouds on
Seem'd like th* artill'ry of the fky,

CANTO IV. Mc FIN GAL. 105

And huiTd their fiery bolts amain,

In thunder on the trembling plain.

I faw along the proftrate ftrand,

Our baffl'd Gen'rals quit the land,

And, fwift as frighted mermaids, flee,

T' our boafled element, the fea!

Refign that long contefted ihore,

Again the prize of rebel-power,

And tow'rd their town- of refuge fly,

Like convid Jews, condemn'd to die.

Then tow'rd the north, I ttirn'd my eyes,

Where Saratoga's height arife,

And faw our chofen vet'ran band,

Defcend in terror o'er the land >

T' oppofe their fury of alarms

•Saw all New-England wake to arms,

And ev'ry Yanky> full of mettle,

Swarm forth, like bees at found of kettle.

Not Rome, when Tarquin rape'd Lucretia,

Saw wilder muft'ring of militia.

Thro* all the woods and plains of fight,

What mortal battles fill'd my fight,

While Britifh corfes ftrew'd the fhore,

And Hudfon ting'd his dreams with gore !

What tongue can tell the difmal day,

Or paint the party- colour'd fray ;

When yeomen left their fields afar,

To plow the crimfon plains of war -a

IO6 Mf F I N G A L CANTO IV.

When zeal to fwords transform'd their fhares,
And turned their pruning-hooks to fpears,
Changed tailor's geefe to guns and ball,
And ftretch'd to pikes the cooler's awl;
While hunters fierce, like mighty Nimrod,
Made on our troops a daring inroad j
And leveling fquint on barrel round,
Brought our beau-officers to ground ;
While rifle-frocks fent Gen'rals cap'ring,
And redcoats fhrunk from leathern apron>
And epaulette and gorget run
From whinyard brown and rufty gun :
While fun-burnt whigs in high command,
Rulh furious on our frighted band,
And ancient beards and hoary hair,
Like meteors ftream in troubled air.
With locks unfhorne not Samfon more
Made ufelefs all the fhow of war,
Nor fought with afTes jaw for rarity,
With more fuccefs or fingularity.
I faw our vet'ran thoufands yield
And pile their mufkets on the field,
And peafant guards, in rueful plight,
March off* our captur'd bands from fight ;
While ev'ry rebel-fife in play,
To Yanky-doodle tun'd its lay,
And like the mufic of the fpheres,
Mellifluous footh'd their vanquifh'd ears.

IV. M c F I N O A L. 107

"Alas, faid I, what baleful ftar,
Sheds fatal -influence on the war,
And who that chofen Chief of fame,
That heads this grand parade of fhame?

cc There fee how Fate, great Malcolm cried^
Strikes with its bolts the tow'rs of pride.
Behold that martial Macaroni,
Compound of Phoebus and Bellona,
With warlike fword and fing-fong lay,
Equipped alike for feafl or fray,
Where equal wit and valour join ;
This, this is he, the fam'd Burgoync :
Who pawn'd his honor and commiffion,
To coax the • Patriots to fubmiflion,
By fongs and balls fecure obedience,
And dance the ladies to allegiance.
Oft his camp mufes he'll parade,
At Bofton in the grand blockade,
And well invok'd with punch of arrack,
Hold converfe fweet in tent or barrack,
Infpir'd in more heroic fafhion,
Both by his theme and fituation ;
While Farce and Proclamation grand,
Rife fair beneath his plaftic hand.
For genius fwells more ftrong and clear
When clofe confin'd, like bottl'd beer :
So Prior's wit gain'd greater
By infpiration of the tow'rj

IC8 MCFINGAL. CANTO IV.

And Raleigh, faft in prifon hurl'd,

Wrote all the Hift'ry of the World :

So Wilkes grew, while in goal he lay,

More patriotic ev'ry day,

But found his zeal, when not confin'd,

Soon fink below the freezing point,

And public fpirit, once fo fair,

Evaporate in open air.

But thou, great favorite of Venus,

By no fuch luck (hall cramp thy genius *

Thy friendly ftars till wars fhall ceafe,

Shall ward th' ill fortune of releafe,

And hold thee fad in bonds not feeble,

In good condition frill to fcribble.

Such merit Fate lhall fhield from firing,

Bomb, carcafe, langridge, and cold iron,

Nor trufts thy doubly laurelPd head,

To rude afTaults of flying lead.

Hence in this Saratogue retreat,

For pure good fortune thou'lt be beat ;

Not taken oft, released or refcu'd,

Pafs for fmall change, like fimple Prefcott*$

But captur'd there, as Fates befall,

Shall ftand thy hand for't, once for all.

Then raife thy daring thoughts fublime,

And dip thy conqu'ring pen in rhyme,

* General P.-efcott was taken and exchanged feveral times dur
ing the war.

CANTO IV. Mc F I N G A L.

And changing war for puns and jokes,

Write new Blockades and Maids of Oaks. 3*"

This faid, he turn'd, and faw the tale
Had dy'd my trembling cheeks with pale j
Then, pitying, in a milder vein
Purfu'd the viiionary flrain.

<c Too much, perhaps, hath pair/d your views
Of vift'ries gain'd by rebel crews -,
Now fee the deeds, not fmall nor fcanty,
Of Britifli Valour and Human'ty ;
And learn from this aufpicious fight,
How England's fons and friends can fight5
In what dread fcenes their courage grows>
And how they conquer all their foes."

I look'd %nd faw in wintry Ikies
Our fpacious prifon- walls arife,
Where Britons all their captives taming*
Plied them with fcourging, cold, and famine $
Reduc*d to life's concluding ftages,
By noxious food and plagues contagious*
Aloft the mighty f Loring ilood5
And thrived, like J Vampyre, on their blood \

" * The Maid of the Oaks and the Blockade ofBofton, are farces
-—the firft acknowledged by General Burgoyne, the other generally
afcribed to him."

t Loring was a Refugee from Bofton, made commifiary of prifo«
rers by General Howe. The confurnmate cruelties praftifcd on the
American prifoners under Loring's adminiftration nun oft exceed the
ordinary powers of human invention. If a fimpie fta:ement offa6h

Mf FIN GAL. CANTO IV.

And counting all his gains arifing,

Dfalt daily rations out of poifon.

Amid the dead that croud the fcene,

The moving fkeletons were feen.

At hand our troops in vaunting (trains*

Infuhed ail their wants and pains,

And turn'd on all the dying tribe,

The bitter taunt and feornful gibe :

And Britiii officers of might,

Triumphant at the joyful fight,

O'er foes difarm'd with courage daring,

Exhaufted all their tropes of fwearing.

Around all ftain'd with rebel blood,

JJke Milton's lazar-houfe it flood, ,

Where grim Defpair attended nurfe,

And Death was Governor of the houfe.

Amaz'd, I cried, " Is this the way,

That Britifh Valor wins the day ?"

relative to this bufinefs were properly drawn up and authenticated, it
would furnim the friends of humanity with new images of horror in
contemplating the ravages of war; efpecially a war that obtains the
name of rebellion, and is tarried on at a diflance from the eye of the
nation. The conduft of the Turks in putting all prifoners to death is
certainly much more rational and humane, than that of the Britifh

, army For the three firft years of the American war, or till after the
capture of Burgoync,, We except from this general obfervation, the
cor.dtift of Lord Dorchefler in Canada; he a£led on the common
pi inciples of war, as now praftifed in Europe.

" t The notion of Vaffipyres is a fuperftition, that has greatly pre.
v.'iiled in many pans of Europe. They pretend it is a dead body,

1 which rifes out of its grave in the nightj and fucks the blood of the

CANTO IV. Mc FIN GAL. lit

More had I faid, in drains unwelcome,
Till interrupted thus by Malcolm :
cc Blame not, 'quoth he, but learn the reafon
Of this new mode of conquering treafon.
3Tis but a wife, politic plan,
To root out all the rebel-clan ;
(For furely treafon ne'er can thrive,
Where not a foul is left alive :)
A fcheme, all other chiefs to furpafs,
And do the effectual work to purpofe,
For war itfelf is nothing further,
But th* art and myftery of murther,
And who mod methods has effay'd,
Is the beft General of the trade,
And {lands Death's Plenipotentiary,
To conquer, poifon, (larve, and bury.
This Howe well knew, and thus began,
(Defpiflng Carleton's coaxing plan,
Who kept his prisoners well and merry,
And dealt them food like Comrnifiar/,
And by paroles and ranfoms vain,
Difmifs'd them all to fight again :)
Whence his firfl captives, with great fpirit,
He tied up for his troops to fire * at
And hop'd they'd learn, on foes thus taken,
To aim at rebels without fhaking.

" * This was done openly and without cenfure by the troops
under Howe's command in many inftances, on his fit ft conquelt of
Long-Ifland,"

112 M c F I N G A L. CANTO

Then, wife in ftratagem he plann'd

The fure deft ruction of the land,

Turn'd famine, ficknefs, and defpair,

To ufeful enginry of war,

Inftead of cannon, mufket, mortar,

Us'd peililence, and death, and torture,

Sent forth the fin all-pox, and the greater,

To thin the land of ev'ry traitor,

And order'd out with like endeavor.,

Detachments of the prifon-fever ;

Spread defolation o'er their head,

And plagues in Providence's ilead,

Perform'd with equal fldll and beauty,

Th' avenging angel's tour of duty,

Brought all the elements to join,

And ftars t' aflift the great defign ;

As once in league with Kifhon's brook,

Fam'd Ifrael's foes they fought and took.

Then proud to raife a glorious name,

And em'lous of his country's fame,

He bade thefe prifon-walls arife,

Like temple tow'ring to jhe ikies,

Where Britifh Clemency renown'd,

Might fix her feat on facred ground -s

(That virtue, as each herald faith,

Of whole blood kin to Punic Faith ;)

Where all her God-like pow'rs unveiling,

CANTO IV. MCFINGAL.

She finds a grateful fhrine to dwell in.
Then, at this altar for her honour,
Chofe this High-prieft to wait upon her,
Wh6 with juft rites, in ancient guifes,
Prefents thefe human facrifices;
Great Loring, fam'd above all laymen,
A proper Prieil for Lybian Ammon,
Who, while Howe's gift his brows adorns,
Had match'd that deity in horns.
Here ev'ry day her votaries tell,
She more devours than thj idol Bel ;
And thirds more rav'noufly for gore,
Than any worfhip'd Power before.
That ancient Heathen Godhead, Moloch,
Oft ftay'd his ftomach with a bullock,
Or if his morning rage you'd check firft,
One child fuffic'd him for a.breakfaft.
But Britifh Clemency, with zeal,
Devours her hundreds at a meal;
Right well by Nat'ralifts defined,
A Being of carniv'rous kind :
So erft * Gargantau pleas'd his palate,
And eat his pilgrims up for fallad.
Not bleil with maw lefs ceremonious.
The wide-mouth'd whale that, fwallow'cl Joi
Like earthquake gapes, to death devote,
That open fepulchre, her throat ;

" * Set Rabelais'sHiaory of the Giant Garc:,-ua,"

114 Mc FIN- GAL. CANTO IVv

The grave, or barren womb you'd fluff,

And fooner bring to cry^ enough j

Or fatten up to fair condition,

The lean-fiefti'd kine of Pharaoh's vifion.

" Behold her temple where it (lands
Erect by fam'd Britannic hands •,
'Th the Black-hole of Indian ftruclure,
New-built with Englifh architecture,
On plan, 'tis faid, contriv'd and wrote,
By Clive, before he cut his 'throat ;
Who ere he took himfelf in hand,
Was her High-pried in Nabob-land :
And when with conquering glory crown'd,
He'd well enflay'd the nation round,
With pitying heart the gen'rous chief,
(Since (lav'ry's worfe than lofs of life,)
Bade defolation circle far,
And famine end the work of war ;
Thus loosed their chains, and for their merits,
Difmifs them free to worlds of fpirits ;
Whence they with gratitude and praife,
Return'd * tf attend his latter days,
And hov'ring round his reftlefs bed,
Spread nightly vifions o'er his head.

" Now turn, he cried, to nobler fights,
And mark the prowefs of our fights :

"* Clive in the latter years of his life conceived himfelf perpet
ually haunted by -heghofts of thofe, who were the vi&ims of hisBii-
tifti humanity in the Eaft- Indies."

CANTO IV. M 'FIN GAL.

Behold like whelps of Britifli Lion,
The warriors, Clinton, Vaughan, and Try on,
March forth with patriotic joy,
To ravifli, plunder, burn, deftroy.
Great Gen'rals, foremoft in the nation,
The journeymen of Defolation !
Like Samfon's foxes each aflails,
Let loofe with firebrands in their tails,
And fpreads deftruction more forlorn,
Than they did in Philiftine corn.
And fee in flames their triumphs rife,
Illuming all the nether fkies,
A nd flreaming, like a new Aurora,
The weftern hemifphere with glory I
What towns, in afhes laid, confefs
Thefe heroes' prowefs and fuccefs !
What blacken'd walls, or burning fane,
For trophies fpread the ruin'd plain !
What females, caught in evil hour,
By force fubmit to Britifli power,
Or plunder'd Negroes in difafter
Confefs King George their lord and mafter !
What crimfon corfes drew their way
Till fmoaking carnage dims the clay !
Along the fhore, for fnre reduction,
They wield their befom of deftruction.
Great Homer likens, in his Ilias,
ii To dog-ftar bright the fierce Achilles ;

M'FINGAL. CANTO IV.

But ne'er beheld in red proceffion,
Three dog-ftars rife in conftellation 5
Or faw in glooms of ev'ning mifty,
Such figns of fiery triplicity,
Which far beyond the comet's tail,
Portend deftru&ion where they fail.
Oh ! had Great-Britain's god-like fhore,
Produced but ten fuch heroes more.
They'd fpar'd the pains, and held the flation
Of this world's final conflagration,
Which, when its time comes, at a fland,
Would find its work all done t' its hand !

<c Yet tho' gay hopes our eyes may blels ;
Indignant fate forbids fuccefs ;
Like morning dreams our conqueft flies, v
Difpers'd before the dawn arife."

Here Malcolm paused ; when, pond'ring long,
Grief thus gave utt'rance to my tongue.
<c Where fhrink in fear our friends difmay'd,
And all the Tories' promised aid ?
Can none amid thefe fierce alarms
Affift the pow'r of royal arms ?"
<c In vain, he cried, our king depends,
On promised aid of Tory-friends.
When our own efforts want fuccefs,
Friends ever fail as fears increafe.
As leaves, in blooming verdure wove,

CANTO IV. MCFINGAL. II?

In warmth of fumtner cloath the grove,

But when autumnal frofts arife,

Leave bare their trunk, to wintry fkies i

So while your pow'r can aid their ends,

You ne*er can need ten thoufand friends,

But, once in want by foes difmay'd,

May advertife them ftol'n or ftray'd.

Thus, ere Great-Britain's flrength grew flack,

She gain'd that aid, ftie did not lack>

But now in dread, imploring pity,

All hear unmov'd her dorrous ditty 5

Allegiance wand'ring turns aftray,

And faith grows dim for lack of pay*

In vain fhe tries by new inventions,

Fear, falfhood, flatt'ry, threats, and pennons*

Or fends Commifs'ners with credentials*

Of promifes and penitentials.

As, for his fare o'er Styx of old,

* The pafiage that here follows is to be explained thus : In the year
1778, after the war had been raging tbjree years, and the capture o£
Burgoyne's army was known in England, the Britifli government con*
eluded to give up all the objects for which the conteft had been begun.
It'accordingly pafled an aft repealing all the a£bof which the Ameri
cans complained, provided we would re-fcind our declaration of Inde
pendence, and continue to be their colonies. The Miniftry then fent
over three Commiffioners, Mr. Johnftone, Mr. Eden, and Lord Car-
lifle. Thefe commiffioners began their operations, and fioiftied them
by attempting to bribe individuals among the members of the States,
and of the army. This bait appears to have caught nobody but Arnold.
Thepetttccatfdpolitition, here mentioned, is a woman of Philadelphia,
(and a Lady of confiderable diftir.cYion) thiough whofe agency they
offered a bribe tojofeph Head, Governor of Pcnnfylvania,

R

I 1 8 M c F I N G A L. CANTO IV,

The Trojan dole the bough of gold,
And, left grim Cerb'rus fhould make head,
StufPd both his fobs with * gingerbread -,
Behold at Britain's utmoft fhifts,
Comes Johnftone, loaded with like gifts,
To venture thro' the whiggifli tribe,
To cuddle, wheedle, coax, and bribe.
Enter their lands, and on his journey,
PofTefiion take, as King's Attorney,
Buy all the vafials to protecl him,
And bribe the tenants not t' eject him ;
And call, to aid his defp'rate miflion,
His petticoated politician,
While Venus, join'd to* affift the farce,
Strolls forth ambaffador for Mars.
In vain he drives, (for while he lingers,
Thefe maftifts bite his offering fingers,)

Nor buys for George and realms infernal,

One fpaniel, but the mongrel Arnold.

'Twere vain to paint in viGon'd fhow,

The mighty nothings done by Howe ;

What towns he takes in mortal fray,

As ftations, whence to run away ;

What conquefts gain'd in battles warm,

To us no aid, to them no harm ;

For dill thj event alike is fatal,

Whate'er fuccefs attend the battle,

* Medicatam frugibus ofFam. /5: neid, lib. vi. 410,

CANTO iv. M'FINGAL. 119

If he gain viftory, or lofe it,
Who ne'er had fkill enough to life it -,
And better 'twere, at their expence,
T* have drubb'd him into common fenfe,
And wak'd by bailings on his rear,
Th' activity, tho* but of fear,
By flow advance his arms prevail,
Like emblematic march of fnail ;
That, be Millenium nigh or far,
'Twould long before him end the war.
From York to Philadelphian ground,
He fweeps the mighty flourifh round,
WheeFd circ'lar by exccntric ftars,
Like racing boys at Prifon-bars *,
Who take the adverfe crew in whole,
By running round the opp'fite goal ;
Works wide the traverfe of his courfe,
Like Ihip in ftorms' oppofing force,
Like mill-horfe, circling in his race,
Advances not a fingle pace,
And leaves no trophies of reduction,
Save that of canker-worms, deftruction.
Thus, having long both countries curft,
He quits them, as he found them fir ft,
Steers home difgrac'd, of little worth,
To join Burgoyne, and rail at North.

* Prifon-bars is a kind of juvenile conteft fufficiently defcribed
here. How far our author is juftifiable in com paring to it the oper
ations of General Howe in America is left to be determined by thofe
military men who know the biilory of his manoeuvres.

120 M'FINGAL. CANTO iv.

cc Now raife thine eyes, and view with pleafure,
The triumphs of his fam'd fucceffor."
I look'd, and now by magic lore,
Faint rofe to view the Jerley fliore;
But dimly feen, in glooms array'd,
For Night had pour'd her fable fhade,
And ev'ry ftar, with glimm'rings pale>
Was muffled deep in ev'ning veil :
Scarce vifible in dufky night,
Advancing Red-coats * rofe to fight j
The lengthen'd train, in gleaming rows,
Stole filent from their flumb'ring foes,
Slow mov'd the baggage, and the train,
Like fnails, crept noifelefs o'er the plain $
No trembling foldier dar'd to fpeak,
And not a wheel prefum'd to creak.
f My looks my new furprize confefs'd,
Till by great Malcolm thus addref'd :
e( Spend not thy wits in vain refearches ;
'Tis one of Clinton's moon-light marches.
From Philadelphia now retreating,
To fave his anxious troops a beating,
With hafty ftride he flies in vain,
His rear attack'd on Monmouth plain :
With various chance the mortal fray
Is lengthened to the clofe of day,
When his tir'd bands, o'ermatch'd in fighta
Are refcu*d by defcending night,

* Red Coats, a term for Brltifh troops,

THE

CANTO iv. M'FINGAL. 121

He forms his camp with vain parade,
Till evening fpreads the world with iriade,
Then Hill, like fome endangered fpark,
Steals off on tiptoe in the dark ;
Yet writes his king, in boafting tone,
How grand he march'd by light of moon *.
I fee him, but thou can'ft not ; proud
He leads in front the trembling crowd,
And wifely knows, if danger's near,
'Twill fall the heavieft on his- rear.

I

Go on great Gen'ral^or regard
The feoffs of ev'ry fcribbling bard,
Who fing how Gods that fatal night
Aided by miracles your flight,
As once they us'd, in Homer's day,
To help weak heroes run away;
Tell how the hours at awful trial,
Went back, as erft on Ahaz' dial,
While Britifh Joftiua flay'd the moon,
On Monmouth plains, for Ajalon :
Heed not their fneers and gibes fo arch,
Becaufe fhe fet before your march.
A fmall miftake, your meaning right,
You take her influence for her light;
Her influence, which fhall be your guide,
And o'er your Gen'ralfhip prefidc.

* The circumflance of Gen. Clinton's official difpatches, giving
an at count of his marching from Monmouth by moonlight, furnifhed
a fubjeft of fome pleafantry in America; where it was known that
the moon bad fet two hours before the march began.

M'FINGAL. CANTO iv.

Hence ftill lhall teem your empty fkull,
With vift'ries when the moon's at full,
Which by tranfition yet more flrange,
Wane to defeats before the change;
Hence all your movements, all your notions,
%Shall fleer by like excentric motions,
Eclips'd in many a fatal crilis,
And dimm'd when Wafliington arifes*
And fee how fate herfelf turn traitor.
Inverts the ancient courfe of nature,
And changes manners, tempers, climes,
To fuit the genius of the times.
See Bourbon forms his gen'rous plan,
Firft guardian of the rights of man,
And prompt in firm alliance joins,
To aid the Rebels proud defigns.
Behold from realms of eaftern day,
His fails innum'rous fhape their way,
In warlike line the billows fweep,
And roll the thunders of the deep.
See, low in equino6tial fkies,
The Weftern Iflands fall their prize.
See Bfitilh flags o'ermatch*d in might,
Put all their faith in inflant flight ;
Or broken fquadrons from th' affray,
Drag flow their wounded hulks away.
Behold his chiefs in daring fets,
D'Eftaings, DeGrafles, and Fayettes,

CANTO IV. Mc FIN GAL. I2J

Spread thro' our camps their dread alarms,

And fwell the fears of rebel-arms.

Yet, ere our empire fink in night,

One gleam of hope fhall ftrike the fight;

As lamps that fail of oil and fire,

Collect one glimmering to expire.

And lo where fouthern fliores extend,

Behold our union'd hofts defcend,

Where Charleftown views, with varying beams,

Her turrets gild th' encircling dreams.

There by fuperior might compell'd,

Behold their gallant Lincoln yield *,

Nor aught the wreaths avail him now,

Pluck'd from Burgoyne's imperious brow.

See, furious from the vanquifh'd ftrand,

Cornwallis leads his mighty band !

The fouthern realms and Georgian fliore

Submit, and own the victor's pow'r.

Lo, funk before his wafting way,

The Carolinas fall his pray !

In vain embattl'd hofts of foes

Effay in warring ftrife t* oppofe.

See, ihrinking from his conqu'ring eye,

The rebel legions fall or fly ;

* General Lincoln was fecond in command in the army of General
Gates, during the campaign of 1777, which ended in the capture of
General Burgoyne; He is an officer of great reputation. He after
wards commanded the army in South^Carolina, and was taken prifo-
ner with the garrifon of Charlcflownin 1780.

I 24 M * F I N G A L. CANTO IV*

JjLnd, with'ring in thefe torrid Ikies,

'the northern laurel fades and dies*.

With rapid force he leads his band

To fair Virginia's fated ftrand,

Triumphant eyes the travelFd zone,

And boafts the fouthern realms his own.

Nor yet this hero's glories bright

Blaze only in the fields of fight ;

Not Howe's human'ty more deferving,

In gifts of hanging, and of ftarving ;

Not Arnold plunders more tobacco,

Or fleals more negroes for Jamaica f ;

Scarce Rodney's felf, among th' Euftatians,

Infults fo well the laws of nations;

Ev'n Tryon's fame grows dim, and mourning,

He yields the laurel crown of burning.

I fee with rapture and furprize,

New triumphs fparkling in thine eyes ;

But view, where now renew'd in might,

Again the rebels dare the fight."

I look'd, and far in fouthern fkies,
Saw Greene, their fecond hope, arife,

* This refers to the fortune of General Gates, who after having
conquered General Burgoyne in the North, was defeated by Lord
Cormvallis in the South.

t Arnold, in year 1781, having been converted to thecaufeof G.
Britain, commanded a detachment of their army in Virginia ; where
he plundered many cargoes of negroes and of tobacco, and fcntthemto
Jamaica for his own account. How far the Lords Rodney and Corn-
wallis might have excelled him in this kind of heroic achievements,
time will perhaps never difcover.

CANTO IV. M'FINGAL.

And with his fmall but 'gallant band,
Invade the Carolinian land,
As winds in ftormy circles whiiTd
Rufh billowing o'er the darken'd world,
And, where their wailing fury roves,
Succefllve fweep th' aftonifli'd groves.
Thus where he pours the rapid fight.
Our boafted conquefts fmk in night,
And wide o'er all th' extended field,
Our forts refign, our armies yield,
Till, now regain' d the vanquifh'd land,
He lifts his ftandard on the ftrand.

Again to fair Virginia's coaft,
I turn'd and view'd the Britifh hoft,
Where Chefapeak's wide waters lave
Her fhores, and join th' Atlantic wave.
There fam'd Cornwallis tow'ring rofe,
And fcorn'd fecure his diftant foes ;
His bands the haughty rampart raife,
And bid the royal ftandard blaze.
When lo, where ocean's bounds extend^
I faw the Gallic fails afcend,
With fav'ring breezes flem their way,
And croud with fhips the fpacious bay.
Lo, Wafhington, from northern ihores3
O'er many a region, wheels his force,
And Rochambeau, with legions bright^
Defcends in terrors to the fight,

126 MCFINGAL. CANTO IV.

Not fvvifter cleaves his rapid way,
The eagle cow'ring o'er his prey,
Or knights in fam'd romance that fly
On fairy pinions thro* the fky.
Amaz'd the Briton's ftartl'd pride,
Sees ruin wake on ev'ry fide ;
And, all his troops to fate confign'd,
By inftantaneous ftroke Burgoyn,d.
Not Cadmus view'd with more furprize^
From earth embattl'd armies rife,
When, by fuperior'pow'r impelled,
He fow'd with dragon's teeth the field.
Here Gallic troops in terror ftand,
There rufh in arms the Rebel band;
Nor hope remains from mortal fight,
Or that laft Britifh refuge, flight.
I faw, with looks downcaft and grave,
The Chief emerging from his f cave,
(Where, chac'd like hare in mighty round,
His hunters earth'd him firft in ground,)
And, doom'd by Fate to rebel fway,
Yield all his captur'd hofts a prey.

There, while I view'd the vanquifh'd town3
Thus with a figh my friend went on :
" Behold'ft thou not that band forlorn,
Likt flaves in Roman triumphs borne ;
Their faces lengthening with their fears,
And cheeks diftain'd with ftreams of tears,

" t Alluding to the well-known fa£l of Cornwallis's taking ap
his refidence in a cave, during the licgeof York-Town,'1

CANTO IV. Mc F I N G A L. 127

Like dramatis ferfon* fage,

Equipt to act on Tyburn's flage.

Lo thefe are they, who, lurM by follies,

Left all and followed great Cornwallis ;

True to their King, with firm devotion,

For confcience fake and hop'd promotion,

Expectant of the promised glories,

And new Millennial ftate of Tories.

Alas ! in vain, all doubts forgetting,

They tried th' omnipotence of Britain ;

But found her arm, once ftrong and brave,

So fhorten'd now fhe cannot fave.

Not more aghaft departed fouls,

Who riflc'd their fate on Popifh bulls,

And find St. Peter at the wicket

Refufe to counterfign their ticket,

When driv'n to purgatory back,

With all their pardons in their pack :

Than Tories muft'ring at their flations
On faith of royal proclamations.
As Pagan Chiefs at ev'ry crifis,
Confirmed their leagues by facrifices,
And herds of beafts to all their deities,
Oblations fell at clofe of treaties :
Cornwallis thus, in ancient fafhion,
Concludes his league of capitulation,
And victims, due to Rebel- glories,
Gives this fin off'ring up of Tories.

128 M'FINGAL. CANTO ir.

See where, relieved from fad embargo,
Steer off confign'd a recreant cargo,
Like old fcape -goats to roam in pain,
Mark'd like their great fore-runner, Cain.
The reft, now doom'd by Britifh leagues,
To juftice of refentful Whigs,
Hold worthlcfs lives on tenure ill,
Of tenancy at Rebel-will,
While hov'ring o'er their forfeit perfons.
The gallows waits his fure reverfions.

" Thou too, M'Fingal, ere that day,
Shalt tafte the terrors of th' affray.
See o'er thee hangs in angry fkies,
Where Whiggifh conftellations rife,
And while plebeian figns afcend,
Their mob-infpiring afpects bend,
That baleful Star, whofe * horrid hair
Shakes forth the plagues of down and tar!
I fee the pole, that rears on high
Its flag terrific thro* the fky ;
The Mob beneath prepared t' attack,
And tar predeftin'd for thy back !
Ah ! quit, my friend, this dang'rous home,,
Nor wait the darker fcencs to come ;
For know that Fate's aufpicious door,
Once fhut to flight, is op'd no more,

•' * From his horrid hair

Shakes peftilencc and war." MiLTON.

CANTO IV. MCFINGAL,

Nor wears its hinge by various flations,
Like Mercy's door in proclamations.*

" But left thou paufe, or doubt to fly,
To ftranger vifions turn thine eye :
Each cloud that dimm'd thy mental ray,
And all the mortal mifts decay ;
See more than human Pow'rs befriend,
And lo, their hoftile forms afcend !
See tow'ring o'er th' extended ftrand,
The Genius of the weftern land,
In vengeance arm'd, his fword aflumes,
And ftands, like Tories, dreft in plumes..
See o'er yon Council feat with pride,
How Freedom fpreads her banners wide !
There Patriotifm with torch addrefs'd,
To fire with zeal each daring breaft !
While all the Virtues in their band,,
Efcape from yon unfriendly land,
Defert their ancient Britifh flation,
Poffeft with rage of emigration.
Honour, his bufmefs at a (land,
For fear of ftarving quits the land ;

* The door of mercy is now open, and the door of untrcy zo
were phrafes fo often ufed in the proclamations of the Britifh Gene
rals in America, that our Poet feems to fear that the hinge of that
door will be worn out. A general collection of thcfe proclamations,
or an abridgement of them comprifed in a few volumes, would form
a curious fyftem of rhetorical ta&ics ; which might be of great
utility to the French emigrant princes, and to thofe potentates of
Europe, who are going to fubdue the fpirk ef Liberty in France.

130 »1CFINGAL CANTO IV.

And Juftice, long difgraced at Court, had
By Mansfield's fentence been tranfported.
Vift'ry and Fame attend their way,
Tho* Britain wifh their longer ftay,
Care not what George or North would be at,
Nor heed their writs of ne exeat ;
But, fir'd with love of colonizing,
Quit the fall'n empire for the rifing."

I look'd, and faw, with horror fmitten>
Thefe hoftile pow'rs averfe to Britain.
When lo, an awful fpectre rofe,
With languid palenefs on his brows ;
Wan dropfies fwell'd his form beneath ;
Andic'dhis bloated cheeks with deaths
His tatter'd robe expofed him bare*
To ev'ry blaft of ruder air ;
On two weak crutches propt he ftood>
That bent at ev'ry ftep he trod>
Gilt titles grac*d their fides fo flender,
One, " Regulation," t'other, " Tender >"
His bread-plate grav'd with various dates,
fc The faith of all th* United States :M
Before him went his fun'ral pall,
His grave flood dug to wait his fall,
I darted, and aghad I cry'd,
«« What means this fpecbre at their fide ?
What danger from a Pow'r fo vain,
And why he joins that fplendid train ?"

CANTO iv. M'FINGAL.

<c Alas, great Malcolm cry'd, experience
Might teach you not to truft appearance.
Here (lands, as dreft by fierce Bellona,
The ghoft of Continental Money,
Of dame Neaflity defcended,
With whom Credulity engender'd.
Tho' born 'with conftitution frail,
And feeble ftrength that foon mud fail;
Yet ftrangely vers'd in magic lore,
And gifted with transforming pow'r,
His (kill the wealth Peruvian joins
With diamonds of Brazilian mines.
As erft Jove fell by fubtle wiles
On Danae's apron thro' the tiles,
In fhow'rs of gold : his potent hand
Shall fhed like fhow'rs thro' all the land.
Lefs great the magic art was reckon'd,
Of tallies call by Charles the Second,
Or Law's fam'd Miffifippi fchemes,
Or all the wealth of South-fea dreams.
For he of all the world alone
Owns the long-fought Philos'pher's Stone,,
Pveftores the fab'ious times to view,
And proves the tale of Midas true.
O'er heaps of rags he waves his wand,,
All turn to gold at his command,
Provide for prefent wants and future^
Raife armies* victual, clothe, accoutre*

k'FINGAL. CANTO IV*

Adjourn our conquefts by efibigne,

Check Howe's advance, and take Burgoyne,

Then make all days of payment vain,

And turns all back to rags again.

In vain great Howe {hall play his part,

To ape and counterfeit his art $

In vain fhall Clinton, more belated,

A conj'rer turn to imitate it -,

With like ill luck and pow'r as narrow,

They'll fare, like for'cers of old Pharaoh,

Who tho' the art they underftood

Of turning rivers into blood,

And caus'd their frogs and friakes t'exift,

That with fome merit croak'd and hifs'd,

Yet ne'er, by ev'ry quaint device,

Could frame the true Mofaic lice. f

He for the Whigs his arts fhall try,

Their firft, and long their fole ally ;

A patriot firm, while breath he draws,

He'll periih in his country's caufe ;

And when his magic labours ceafe,

Lie bury'd in eternal peace.

cc Now view the fcenes in future hours*

^**4 -T-

That wait the fam'd European Pow'rs.
See where yon chalky cliffs arife,
The hill's of Britain ftrike your eyes :
Its fmaii extenfion long fupply'd
By vafb immenfity of pride j

CANTO IV. MCFINGAL.

So ftnall, that had it found a ftation
In this new world at firil creation,
Or were by Juftice doom'd to fuffer,
And for its crimes tranfported over,
We'd find full room for't in Lake Erie, or
That larger water-pond, Superior*,
Where North, on- margin taking Hand,
Would not be able to fpy land.
No more, elate with pow'r at eafe
She deals her infuks round the feasj
See, dwindling from her height amain,
What piles of ruin fpread the plain -,
With mouldering hulks her ports are fill'd^
And brambles- clothe the cultur'd field !
See on her cliffs her Genius lies,
His handkerchief at- , both his eyes,
With many a deep-drawn figh and groan,
To mourn -her • ruin and his own!
W'hile joyous Holland, France, and Spain*
With conquering navies jule the main,

* This fuppoHtion, fo far as it refpefts Lake Superior, is ndt
exaggerated. That Lake is 2200 miles in circumference. It is fup-
pofed by fome, that in this palfage the Author/ meant to ridi
cule the misfortune of Lord North, in the lofs of his fight. But
as this Poem was written and publilhcd, word for word, as in
this edition, feveral years before that misfortune happened, the Au
thor muft be innocent of the leaft ciefign upon any thing more
than mental blindnefs. There is no allufion to any other eyes in
his lordfhip, than the eyes of his iinderflanding, which were fiippo-
fed, by fome people at that time to be wonderoufiy dim ; cfpecial-
Jy Vr-hen confidered as belonging to the Argus ot *a great nation.

T

ct 54 M c F I N G 'A*l~ /CANTO IV.

And Rr-fSaii bannersy wide unfurl'd,
Spread commerce round the eaftern world.
And fee .(tight hateful and tormenting)
Th* Amer'can empire, proud and vaunting,
From anarchy fliall change her crafts,
And fix her po\v'r on firmer bafis ;
To glory, wealth, and fame afcend,
Her commerce rife, her realms extend $
Where now the^ panther guards his den,
Her defert forefts fvvarm with men,'
Her cities, towTS and columns rife,
And dazzfirig temples meet the fkies 5
Her pines defcendirig to the main,
In triumph fpread the wat'ry plain ;
Ride inland fakes with fav'ring gales,
And cioud her ports with whit'ning fails s
Till 'to the fkirts of weftern day,
The peopl'd regions own her fvvavv"
Tflus - far McFingal told hJ3 tale,
When tlttfntfVing fhoUts' his ears afTaily !
And fir ait a , Tory that flood centry,
Aghad, rufh'd headlong^ down the entry.
And with wild outcry, like magician,
Diipers'd the refidue of vifion :
For how the Whigs intelPgenCe found
Of Tories mudVing under ground.
And with rude bangs and loud uproar^
thunder furious. 3t the door*

t - Vff M f F I N G A L. 13J

'us put .out,- each Tq.y calls
lo cover himl on cellar walls,"
Creeps in each box,- or bin, or tul},
To hide his head from wrath. of mob,
Or lurks, where cabbages in row
Adorn'd the fide with verdant fhow ;
M'Fingal deem'd it vain to flay,
And rifk his bones in fccond fray ;
But chofe a grand retreat from foes,
In litVal fenfe, beneath their nofe.
The window then, which none elfe knew,
He foftly open'd and crept thro',
And crawling flow in deadly fear,
By movements, wif$ made good his rear.
Then, fcorning all the fame of martyr,
For Bofton took his fwifc departure ;
Nor dar'd look back on fatal fpot,
More than die family of Lot.
Not North, in more diflrefs'd condition,
Out- voted firft by Oppofition :
Nor good King George when that dire phantom
Of Independence comes to haunt him,
Which hov'ring round by night and day,
Not all his conj'rers yet can lay.
His friends, ailembrd for his fake,
He wifely left in pawn, at flake,
To tarring feath'ring, kicks, and drubs
OF furious, difoppointed mobs,

M CF T N G AL.

CANTO

And with their forfeit hides to pay

For him, their leader crept away.

So when wife Noah fummon'd greeting

All animals to gen'ral meeting ;

From ev'ry fide the members fent

All kinds of beads to reprefent ;

Eich from the flood took care t* embark,

And fave hi§ carcafe in the ark 5

But as it fares in (late and church.

Left his conflituents in the lurch.

FINIS,