VIII.
Then furies rise! the battle raves!
And rends the skies, and warms the waves!
And calls a tempest from the peaceful deep,
In spite of Nature, spite of Jove,
While all serene, and hush'd above,
Tumultuous winds in azure chambers sleep.
A thousand deaths the bursting bomb
Hurls from her disembowel'd womb;
Chain'd, glowing globes, in dread alliance join'd,
Ked-wing'd by strong sulphureous blasts,
Sweep in black whirlwinds, men and masts,
And leave sing'd, naked, blood-drown'd decks behind.
Iwarf laurels rise in tented fields;
The wreath immortal Ocean yields;
There War's whole sting is shot, whole fire is spent,
Whole glory blooms. How pale, how tame,
How lambent, is Bellona's flame!
llow her s'orm; languish on the Continent! 60
From the dread front of ancient War
Less terror frown'd; her sithed car,
Her castled elephant, and batt'ring beam,
Stoop to those engines which deny
Superior terrors to the sky,
And beast their clouds, their thunder, and their flame.
XII.
The flame, the thunder, and the cloud,
The night by day, the sea of blood,
Hosts whirl'd in air, the yell of sinking throngs,
The graveless dead, an ocean warm'd,
'A firmament by morials storm'd,
To patient Britain's angry brow belongs.
XHI.
Or do I dream? or do I rave?
Or see I Vulcan's sooty cave,
Where Jove's red bolts the giant-brothers frame?
Those swarthy gods of toil, and heat,
Loud peals on mountains anvils beat,
And panting tempests rouse the roaring flame.
XIV.
Ye sons of Ætna! hear my call:
Unfinish'd let those baubles fall,
Yon' shield of Mars, Minerva's helmet blue:
Your strokes suspend, ye brawny Throng!
Charm'd by the magic of my song
Drop the feign'd thunder, and attempt the true.
Begin; and, first take rapid flight, *
Fierce flame, and clouds of thickest night,
And ghastly terror, paler than the dead;
Then borrow from the North his roar,
Mix groans, and deaths; one phial pour
* Alluding to Virgil's description of thunder,
Vill. Then furies rise! the battle ravés And rends the skies, and warms t And calls a tempest from the peac In spite of Nature, spite of Jove, While all serene, and hush'd abov Tumultuous winds in azure cham
A thousand deaths the bursting bor
Hurls from her disembowel'd womb
Chain'd, glowing globes, in dread a
Ked-wing'd by strong sulphureous b
Sweep in black whirlwinds, men and
And leave sing'd, naked, blood-drown'
Lwarf laurels rise in tented fields;
The wreath immortal Ocean yields;
There War's whole sting is shot, whole
Whole glory blooms. How pale, how
How lambent, is Bellona's flame!
low her storm; languish on the Contine
From the dread front of ancient War
Less terror frown'd; her sithed car,
Her castled elephant, and batt'ring beam,
Stoop to those engines which deny
Superior terrors to the sky,
And boast their clouds, their thunder, and ih
Of wrong'd Britannia's wrath; and it is made;
Gaul starts and trembles---at your dreadful trade.
ODE THE SECOND.
In wbicb is the Sailor's prayer before engagement.
So form'd the bolt ordain'd to break
Gaul's haughty plan, and Bourbon shake,
If Britain's crimes support not Britain's foes,
And edge their swords. O Pow'r Divine!
If bless'd by thee the bold design,
Embattled hosts a single arm o'erthrows.
Ye warlike Dead! who fell of old
In Britain's cause, by fame enroll'd
In deathless annal! deathless deeds inspire ;
From oozy beds, for Britain's sake,
Awake, illustrious Chiefs I awake,
And kindle in your sons paternal fire.
The day commission'd from above,
Our worth to weigb, our hearts to prove,
If war's full shock too feeble to sustain,
Or firm to stand its final blow,
When vital streams of blood shall now,
And turn to crimson the discolour'd main;
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