Moonlight, a Poem: with Several Copies of Verses/Lines on the Victory of Captain Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke
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LINES
ON THE VICTORY OF
CAPTAIN SIR PHILIP BOWES VERE BROKE, BARONET,
OVER THE CHESAPEAKE, IN THE AMERICAN SEAS.
Now had our Fleet, that, on the angry Main,
Despite of France, of Holland, and of Spain,
The Flag of England in full Triumph bore,
Been wreck'd at last upon the Western Shore.
Despite of France, of Holland, and of Spain,
The Flag of England in full Triumph bore,
Been wreck'd at last upon the Western Shore.
Columbia's flag was fatal to our pride;
And We, that had the polish'd World defied,
Supreme in Courage, and in nautick Skill,
Were doom'd to know from petty Traitors ill.
And We, that had the polish'd World defied,
Supreme in Courage, and in nautick Skill,
Were doom'd to know from petty Traitors ill.
The sad Reverses of inconstant Fate
Could not o'ercome our Courage with their Weight;
But England felt this, as a fatal blow,
To strike her Colours to so mean a Foe.
Could not o'ercome our Courage with their Weight;
But England felt this, as a fatal blow,
To strike her Colours to so mean a Foe.
A Foe, that swims about the Wat'ry World,
Wherever Jove hath his bright Thunder hurl'd,
To pick by carriage on the doubtful Main
Our Island's refuse, and her thievish gain.
Wherever Jove hath his bright Thunder hurl'd,
To pick by carriage on the doubtful Main
Our Island's refuse, and her thievish gain.
Long time she doubted, and long time forbore
To face the Thunder of the Lion's Roar:
But bribes from France, what courage could not do,
To war committed her rebellious crew.
To face the Thunder of the Lion's Roar:
But bribes from France, what courage could not do,
To war committed her rebellious crew.
Then the poor Senate, in their broken style,
Began the Queen of Nations to revile;
And Billingsgate, by Western wit made more,
Fill'd all the echoes of their knavish shore.
Began the Queen of Nations to revile;
And Billingsgate, by Western wit made more,
Fill'd all the echoes of their knavish shore.
The Jails were open'd, and their cunning plann'd
A gen'ral search and rummage through the land,
That all the knaves, that in her bosom slept,
Like flocks of locusts, to their ships were swept.
A gen'ral search and rummage through the land,
That all the knaves, that in her bosom slept,
Like flocks of locusts, to their ships were swept.
Then their four Frigates, long laid up in mud,
Were slowly dragg'd to the unwelcome flood;
That, once a year, with trumpets passed o'er,
To scare the Dolphins, and dismay the Moor.
Were slowly dragg'd to the unwelcome flood;
That, once a year, with trumpets passed o'er,
To scare the Dolphins, and dismay the Moor.
But now the Citizens the change shall know
Between a turban'd, and a Christian foe;
And Commodores, that brav'd it at Algiers,
Shall skulk in Ocean, lest we crop their ears.
Between a turban'd, and a Christian foe;
And Commodores, that brav'd it at Algiers,
Shall skulk in Ocean, lest we crop their ears.
Their souls being little, their occasions much,
And no relief from Frenchman, or from Dutch;
With their fat dollars they our men o'er-reach,
And taint their faith with their Satanick speech.
And no relief from Frenchman, or from Dutch;
With their fat dollars they our men o'er-reach,
And taint their faith with their Satanick speech.
Some, that for debt were in their jails confin'd,
And some, for crime that left our shores behind,
Some weak, some mad, from their allegiance fell,
To find, that Treason is a mental Hell.
And some, for crime that left our shores behind,
Some weak, some mad, from their allegiance fell,
To find, that Treason is a mental Hell.
And well it was America did so,
The only hope of safety she could know;
For, let what will be, thus our fate is spun—
'Tis but by England, England is undone.
The only hope of safety she could know;
For, let what will be, thus our fate is spun—
'Tis but by England, England is undone.
In mere despair with these their Tops they fill,
And triumph o'er us by their force and skill:
The Cannon, pointed by those English minds,
Awhile dispers'd Our Glory to the winds.
And triumph o'er us by their force and skill:
The Cannon, pointed by those English minds,
Awhile dispers'd Our Glory to the winds.
Then their few ships were of so vast a size,
That scarce our decks could to their port-holes rise;
We fought in flame, while they securely stood,
And swept our decks into the briny flood.
That scarce our decks could to their port-holes rise;
We fought in flame, while they securely stood,
And swept our decks into the briny flood.
Oh! what brave spirits in the deep were lost,
Their Friends', their Country's, and their Nature's boast!
Who smil'd in Death, and, to their Country true,
Found all their Wounds were for their Fame too few!
Their Friends', their Country's, and their Nature's boast!
Who smil'd in Death, and, to their Country true,
Found all their Wounds were for their Fame too few!
But Broke reveng'd them by his noble deed,
And in the Shannon taught his foes to bleed:
Columbia, gazing on the adverse shore,
Beheld her glory and her cause no more.
And in the Shannon taught his foes to bleed:
Columbia, gazing on the adverse shore,
Beheld her glory and her cause no more.
Now, joyous light throughout our Nation burns,
While he in laurels o'er the Sea returns:
And, taught by Broke, Britannia now may view
What her brave Suffolk[1] to her foes can do.
While he in laurels o'er the Sea returns:
And, taught by Broke, Britannia now may view
What her brave Suffolk[1] to her foes can do.
Our gracious Master, with a sweet reward,
Has shown his faith was grateful to his Lord[2]:
And, brave himself as is the crystal light,
Has cloth'd with honour his courageous Knight.
Has shown his faith was grateful to his Lord[2]:
And, brave himself as is the crystal light,
Has cloth'd with honour his courageous Knight.
November 19th, 1813.