Classic Poem

I GREET thee freely, whatsoe'er thou art
My Mind exciting as thou thrill'st my Heart!
Is it The M USE whose Influence I greet,
Whose cheering Influence makes lone hours so sweet?
Art Thou the Muse? Ah no! all Fiction she,
Celestial T RUTH ! I seize the Theme from Thee!
Be thou the Guardian of my lay firm maid,
And through thy brilliant fields thy Votary aid!
Yet, Goddess, in thy train be found the Fair,
With brilliant pinions and refulgent hair —
Imagination! may She charm each View,
Aid, without changing, decorate the true!
Thus graced, amidst thy scenes detain me long,
Controul my verse! and vindicate my song!
Acre! how brilliant in the Eastern Clime,
Through Earth's long hist'ry, thy Fate's still sublime!
In elder time when I SRAEL broke the Law,
Thy lofty C ARMEL'S frown struck guilt with Awe!
When Christian Light from Heaven illumed around,
The place whereon thou stand'st was Holy Ground!
E'en in dark ages thou art seen to shine,
" As rapt Crusaders 'neath thy walls combine.
— Now! thou'rt The Chosen from the Nations round,
To gallic Rapine the allotted bound!
Here shalt thou stop, The Sacred Fiat said!
Th' Apostate failed, his dreaded Legions bled,
Acre! 'twas thine to bid The Victor fear,
To turn him midst the flush of his Career!"
He, who all Asia caused to view with Awe
Th' approach of France's Revolution War,
Back through the reeking country passed, in flight,
He lately marched o'er in triumphant fight;
Thine A CRE was the check, the Deed was thine
Throughout this Hemisphere ordain'd to shine.
The means how small, when scann'd the mighty end!
Slight numbers back from thee whole Legions send,
But, these were English — they were English Tars,
Kings of the Sea, and Gods in Syria's Wars!
The Conqueror of Italy! dread name
Bestowed upon the Chief by Gallic Fame,
Returned from Roman Tiber's classic shores
To where the S EINE its muddy confluence pours.
— The T IBER ! what though, in poetic song,
It, Ages, rolled a dazzling flood along,
Though Roman Minstrels struck the sounding Lyre,
And caught beneath its Sun poetic fire,
Yet will the turbid S EINE obscure its name
Or roll an equal tide, and gain an equal Fame!
Wonders burst daily o'er its sluggish wave,
And fresh anomalies scared Reason brave,
Anterior lights assist no more her eye,
And modern Facts her grave Deductions fly;
Hist'ry, all Wonder! will the acts engrave,
That freed a Nation, and its Sons enslave!
From conquering plains, which Caesar had acquired,
The Warrior Bonaparte to Gaul retired.
In the french Capital his arms were piled,
Whilst trophied Festivals the hours beguiled.
By the bright Glory he had gained inflamed,
New Bays, new Trophies, his rapt Fancy framed!
To fruitful Egypt flew rapacious thought,
Where Rome had conquer'd, and where Greece had fought.
The Council caught the plan, a fleet decreed,
Quick to their station distant vessels speed
In cautious Flight! France, trembling at the helm,
Her ships intrudes on England's buoyant Realm!
Whose N AVAL C ITIES belt Earth's monstrous round,
And lift their Spires wherever Ocean's found.
O England! give thy Science, Strength, to these,
The Earth is thine whilst Mistress of the Seas;
Bid floating forests seek thy mighty Docks,
Tear ductile metal from thy Native rocks,
From thy Waste Lands let all thy Cables grow,
And their rough sinews midst your Ocean throw,
Scorn France! their Wiles, their diplomatic Arts,
Thy Navy breaks their Spells, thy Navy daunts their Hearts!
Not to be rash, success to render sure
The Chief resolved new Labours to endure.
The warrior's Haste he to the Sage could yield,
In Council slow — an Arrow in the Field!
To midnight lamps his anxious hours resigned,
Campaigns and battles share his active mind.
Whilst Paris danced, or in the Tribune roared,
He round him called a Literary Horde,
From breathing forms Philosophy he sought,
Nor deemed he could by Dead alone be taught,
Living or dead his judgment knew to prize,
The fops of learning and the really wise.
Ancients and moderns he alike perused,
Devouring all th' o'erlabour'd press diffused,
On Syria's Citadels, and Egypt's plains,
The route of Philip's Son, and Antony's campaigns.
Thus, when towards the Sea his forces drew,
Bidding t'exhausted Europe cheered adieu,
Charts, Maps, and Travels, fate-fraught waggons bore,
And plans of Forts he doomed to threat no more!
Sçavans and Soldiers were filed off by Troops,
Here Printers marched, there volume-writing Groups!
What could impede a Scheme so wisely planned?
Soldiers Philosophers war's flame together fann'd.
Historic Maid! descend not thou to smile!
Nor steal thy Sister's light, sarcastic stile;
Resume thy air chastised! thy sober mien,
And move with serious dignity serene;
Let grave Composure mark thy steady pace,
And glide around thee with a matron Grace.
Born midst a stranger race, a stranger tongue,
He guides not those to fight 'mongst whom he sprung,
Not kin with those, for whom he Empire claims,
No Patriot Flame gives Sanction to his aims,
Ambition solely in his heart doth rage
Ambition! known of late but in th' historic page.
— The flower of every band the General chose,
Fresh from the flush of Victory they rose,
Their brows wore Triumph, Menace in their tread,
And all seem'd Conquerors — by a Conqueror led,
Fame for his Herald, by his troops adored,
He leads them at his Will, resistless Lord!
Forth from Toulon's wide Bay the Pilots steer,
Their Fleet brings graceful out its lengthening rear.
Strait through the watery Empire to the East
They onward press, their fervid hopes encreased.
— Allured by Prey, the Spoiler's squadron veer'd!
True to such signal, helms obedient steer'd;
Th' horizon's edge a doubtful Object gave,
Now almost clear, now hidden by the wave;
Too soon! rose M ALTA 'thwart the billowy storm,
Her Marble Cities and her beauteous form.
Fear many a breast with deepest terror smote,
As round the coast encreasing Pendants float.
Short though acute the struggle that ensued;
Her rocks of snowy hue, with blood imbued,
Soon saw pollute the ground the baneful Tree,
In mockery named — The Tree of Liberty!
Inbred the Enemies of Malta's Land!
As the french prows approach'd her peaceful strand
In her mad towns Sedition raised its arm,
And Revolution sounded the alarm.
Less conquered than received the Island fell,
For now no more! her Knights with Courage swell,
Afric's stern sons, no more, their thunders tame,
Nor Asia bends before their awful name!
From Malta loos'd, the spoil-heap'd fleet proceeds,
To greater objects, to more daring deeds.
The favouring winds within their canvass play,
Their wishes winds and waves alike obey.
No hurricane deforms the Ocean's glass,
It spreads its plain more level as they pass,
The softest Zephyrs through the cordage sing,
And flutter midst their flags with gentle wing,
Like those which heretofore on Egypt's coast,
With the calm aether those still regions boast,
Swell'd Cleopatra's sails, Circean Queen,
Whilst the lost Antony disgraced the scene.
A new Italian Hero parts the waves,
And Egypt's coast his hostile vessel braves.
He springs upon her land with hasty feet,
WhilsTher low shores his Soldiers' voices greet.
His haughty War-horse, mounted on the strand,
As conscious of his burthen pawes the sand
In earnest Eagerness, as though by Fame
He too were touch'd, and felt a kindred flame.
With modern Afric Scipio rears his chest,
And, bearing Fate to Nations, shows his eager Zest.
Four times ten thousand did the ranks contain
Whose feet smote Egypt from the frothy Main.
— Ill fated Egypt! o'er thy hallowed land
Why ever hangs some grasping Tyrant's hand?
Primeval Source of Science and of Art,
Why thus, for ever, riots in thy heart
Some Ruffian's dagger, or some Conqueror's Lance,
Fiercehordes from Desarts fiercer hordes from France!
Queen of the South! thy cluster'd Mountains pour,
From forth thy Caverns, Floods in richest store,
Nile's Sacred Stream they seek, whose magic lave
Bids Harvests travel in its spreading wave.
The sands drink deep, and blush with healthful glow,
As through thick slime sweet bowers and groves quick grow,
The stranger streams each thirsty root embrace,
And to the Desart's edge send Shade and Grace,
Mount up each russet stem, its buds unfold,
Its silver blossoms, and its Orbs of gold,
With dulcet acid swell the Lemon's sides,
And through high Myrtles force the emerald tides,
Ascend with syphon powers the giant Palm,
To Roses otto give, and gum to Balm.
In vain fair S HEBA ! vain thy glutted Nile
Bade Egypt flourish, and her Delta smile,
Worse Pests than Locusts spread around thy fields,
Swarm o'er the fruits thy sultry climate yields;
Thy Orange-Woods, thy Citrons swell in vain,
Or swell, invading legions to sustain!
Thy humid fields of pearly rice thick sown,
By the fierce Sun and burning Dog Star grown,
The plunging hoofs of Cavalry surprise,
And as they pour along the Summer dies!
What Sieges stay'd them, and what Cities fell,
Of Arab Battles, triumphs, flights, you'll tell
Poets of wider range! I leave to you
The noble meed of Nelson's Victory too.
My Muse avoids the flight; for, one who saw
This highest boast of England's naval war
On th' actual scene prepares to guide Truth's beam,
Imagination ne'er had reach'd the Theme!
— The Towers of Ptolemais command my Muse,
Where peaceful vallies vainly War refuse,
Where the hoarse Trumpet's blast is heard from far,
Compelling Syria to defensive war.
The Tigers of the war, blood flush'd, proceed,
And Syria's conquest boldly is decreed;
In fury passing o'er the scorching land,
They risk each ill of deadly orient sand,
The Serpents of the Desart hiss in vain,
Nor red Simooms with Pestilence restrain.
But, ere they came — Recording Fame! the day
Is beam'd for ever with thy brightest ray!
Brave S IDNEY S MITH the rescued Syrians saw,
Sent forth by England to resist the war.
With Floating Citadels to flank the Coast,
And give it Ramparts with his naval host.
From Heaven they seem'd, fraught with courageous fire,
The Syrians, whom with ardour they inspire,
Rise into Heroes as the Britons tread
And in their paths th' inciting Laurel spread!
Their holdings scarcely had the anchors found,
Within th' unsteady Haven's rocky ground,
Ere at M OUNT C ARMEL'S base, whose slope descends
Where Acre's river with the wide sea blends,
The foe's presumptuous Transports steady move
And fearless o'er the Syrian ocean rove!
With haughty stripes triumphantly unfurled,
They! flash defiance o'er the watery world.
Important moment! on the raptured glance
Of watchful Britons swiftly they advance.
Instant the Tigre weighs, her powerful guns
Arrest the veering fleet that prudent runs,
Seven captured vessels, in old Acre's Bay,
Seem but a summer eve's light sportive play.
But serious now was found their glorious freight,
Vast Mortars, Carronades of monstrous weight,
To batter Acre's towers the vessels bore,
And implements of war profuse in store!
Whilst shouts of Welcome through the Fortress ring,
To Acre blindly its Defence they bring,
As slow ascended o'er Mount Carmel's height
Deep shadows stealing on departing light.
Ah! Sacred Mists did once the Mount surround,
To Israel proving — their True God was found!
B AAL'S mad priests their Idol vainly prayed
For Fire to burn the sacrifice they made;
E LIJAH then, the Idol Priests disgraced,
His Sacrifice on I SRAEL'S Altar placed,
Th' attendants bade pour o'er each quivering part,
The frowning head and palpitating heart
The drenching water; " Pour again! he cried,
Be every vessel copiously supplied,
Fill yet your urns, let every space below
Drink the full tide, till every trench o'erflow! "
For fire from Heaven the Prophet breathed a prayer,
Down swiftly darting through the tranquil air
Pale sheets of light upon the Altar came
And all was instant wrapt in dazzling flame!
The burning water fed the sacred fire,
The pure flames nursed as fiercely they aspire.
The silvery vapours, which profusely flowed,
Spread o'er the mount and all its Groves enclosed,
Samaria's King and warring chariots veil'd,
And trembling Israel's awe-struck sons conceal'd!
As Baal's priests, in dread of Judah's God,
In vain sought flight from his avenging rod,
Its eyes to Heaven repenting Israel turn'd,
As still the vapours mount — the Holy Altar burn'd!
Now Constellations hung their chains of light,
Shedding o'er Acre's towers sweet Eastern Night!
The air was hush'd as came the Lunar Queen,
The Silence giving Interest to the scene.
Fresh dews condensed to form her brilliant car,
And seemed a fabrick of pellucid spar,
As, gliding on in graceful sweep, she view'd
The beauteous gems that o'er her path were strewed!
The balmy slumbers that around her glide,
To Syrian pillows sent, now gently hied,
With sweet compulsion made each eye-lid close,
And spread around the spells of deep repose.
Yet, sounds of Triumph seemed to tingle still,
And every ear, night's sweet enchantment! fill,
Giving to Sleep itself a thrilling zest,
Cheering the Soul without suspending Rest.
Thus passed the hours Night's soothing Queen bestowed,
Till through the air, the tints of Morning flowed,
And, morning's counterfeit though late she seemed,
The Moon that shone so sweetly scarcely gleamed
The Warriors sprang to meet the florid ray,
And martial greetings hailed th' approaching day.
From Syria's mountains rush'd th' impending foe,
And famine spread o'er ripen'd vales below.
Grown mad in massacre, with carnage red,
More than War's horrors riot as they tread.
The General civilized of Tuscan fields
Here scenes displayed barbarian warfare yields.
— Heroic, wicked, wondrous, gifted man!
We vainly Hist'ry for thy Equal scan.
Yet, still ungifted! Thetis flew to lave
Her Godlike Son in th' indurating wave,
Yet fatal imperfection still was found
A peccant want t' invite the mortal wound,
The fatal want made useless all she'd done
Almost immortal gifts were lost upon her son!
Thee Nature fail'd too when she formed thy soul,
Almost Perfection seems the lustrous whole,
Still thy great Powers and Passions but betray,
Religion, heaven-sent regent, is debarred her sway!
— Surrender'd J AFFA hoped war's horror's cease,
Three days her sons had rest and all seem'd Peace,
But oh! their Foes they had opposed in fight —
Omnipotence itself bestowed the Right!
The Right to man to guard his Laws and Land
From fierce Invasion's desolating hand,
The Charities of life to save from wreck,
The State from Chaos at a Stranger's beck!
As Nations first were formed the Right began,
The loftiest Duty e'er imposed on man!
For this, in thousands, all unarmed, convened,
Surrounded, murder'd, every foe a Fiend,
Almost the Butcheries of Paris rise
Before astonish'd Asia's tortured eyes!
Vaunting such acts! they sent dread threats before!
Blood-stain'd Report the tragic story bore,
On trembling wing, throughout the coast the vales,
All horror struck who hear the brutal tales!
Each human ill close crowding in their train,
They came! They swept across the arid plain,
And, winding up an insulated Mound,
Their Camp hung sudden on its rising ground.
The chosen hill had Ocean in its view,
Whose Zephyrs, o'er its slope, salubrious flew.
They here reposed t'escape the torrid glow,
Incautious of the Ills that lurked below!
They scarcely marked the Lines, and framed each street
And saw the Hexagon in form complete,
Ere England's ships wore round, with galling fire,
And made th' astonish'd Corsican retire!
His vast Marquee, with long drawn suite, is down,
The Lines all lost as moves the Canvass Town,
Quick as from crowds who fill Messina's Bay
Morgana's air-drawn Cities flit away.
The Seamen, shouting, hail th' Invaders' Speed!
And Laugh, and Wit Marine, their rout succeed.
A hill more distant the Besiegers scale,
Which misty rose enormous o'er the dale,
Thence their high Camp attracts th' uplifted eye,
To Acre seeming — threat'ning from the Sky!
The open'd Gates the Gallic Chief demands
He finds sustain'd, by firm and haughty bands!
Achmet Pashaw, though worn by oft told years,
Bore up, superior to an old man's fears.
— The Siege begins, in all its horrid form,
War darts its lightnings and awakes the Storm.
Untir'd, the Echoes of its thunders roar,
Bound and rebound incessant round the shore;
Load the meek Zephyrs of the humid Vale,
Seize the strong pinions of the Mountain Gale,
The tale of blood to peaceful regions bear,
And give e'en Safety's couch the thrill of Fear!
Close to the Beach the captured boats were moor'd
And o'er the Foe their traitor Cannon roar'd.
Well aim'd, each bore upon the Gallic flank,
Destruction proving by a prostrate rank.
Thus on themselves their own dread thunders fall,
And France destroys her Sons at Acre's Wall!
Now, skilful Engineers displayed the skill
They gained in Schools Vauban's dread Volumes fill,
And, undermining, deep sunk path-ways formed
Whilst, o'er their heads, the Battlements were stormed;
Beneath the town they work'd a dreary way,
And threat'ning seeds of future earthquakes lay.
— If Gnomes there were, lulled in primeval rest
They but in dark Security were blest;
From the young hour in which their Earth arose,
From midst Confusion and chaotic throes,
Abhorred the Gaudy Dazzler of the Sky
Who bids his glaring beams through Æther fly.
The ray the Mole would only Twilight deem,
To them would mid-day bursts of Splendor seem,
Such Floods of Glory would o'erwhelm their Sight
Their nerves all deaden'd by Excess of Light!
But now, when real Twilight glimmer'd through,
Of flame so dread they must have fled the view,
The thick Earth pierced as swift as quick wing'd thought,
And in her central domes her deepest shadows sought!
There, by the Diamond's beam, their Sports indulged,
Or where the Ruby mellow gleams divulged,
Sigh'd o'er the wretched fate which Mortals know,
Condemn'd t' endure the torturous Day-beam's glow!
In Silence dread the Miners onwards lurk,
Now sinking deep, now horizont'ly work;
Still more remote, from faintest light they go,
Till, distant star! its scintillations flow —
When, unexpected Visions start around!
Still England's Warriors! meet them midst the ground,
Burst with their glittering arms upon their sight,
And pour fierce Radiance through the realms of Night!
Thus, foil'd by Counterworks, th' Invaders fly,
But many there, entombed for ever lie.
The shouting English through each turn pursue,
And trace the Labyrinth, their foes their clue.
The Labyrinth of Death it well were named,
For there the savage Battle raged untamed,
In a new scite its horrid rites were given,
Remote from man, and seen alone by Heaven!
In Darkness now, their swords dread duties know
And round and round their random edges flow,
Athwart the night they meet they hit they clash,
Thrust follows thrust and ruddy sparkles flash,
Till, British followers close upon their rear,
In forced retreat the French unearth'd appear.
Thus varying Battle filled each anxious day
Near the calm Ides of gently breathing May.
Sweet Month so mild, so young, so fair to view,
Full deck'd in Flowers, in Scents, and sparkling dew,
Why thus thy violated Groves prophaned,
Why hath the early year such wrongs sustained!
Th'astonish'd Foes to Camp driven back each night,
Still each new morn wake raging for the fight!
With Nerves restored reseek the stubborn field
Which steady Bravery refused to yield,
Which yet presumptuously the arms withstands
That hurled Destruction o'er so many Lands.
Unnerved at length, their conquest they delay
And midst their camp inert and sullen stray,
Plan future means, and future Ruin swear
To those whose Crime is — Self-defence they dare!
Now, in the East, a furious Tempest grew
Whose force no power withstood, it raging flew,
Swiftly descended through the misty air,
Stripped in its passage every forest bare,
To Ocean fiercely onwards hurrying drives
And midst the mighty waters frantic dives,
Heaps up the billows to an Alpine height,
And instant sinks them with destructive might.
Unrudder'd ships are fiercely whirl'd around,
Now high they mount, now plunging sink profound,
In Acre's rocky Bay no Anchor holds,
On deck each Cable's coil'd, in hurried folds,
Far from the shore the English Captain's driven!
To the fierce sea his fleet, undaunted, given.
The French return, hope now unmatch'd their strength,
Acre! they cry, thy Doom is seal'd at length!
Whilst o'er The Deep thy bold Protectors go
We seize the moment for decisive blow!
On, now elate, they rush towards the Towers,
Revived Revenge with doubled malice lours;
But, those within are now with Lessons fraught,
Acquired by courage, or which life has bought,
No Trophy's lost, no haughty standards fall,
Still burnish'd Crescents gleam along the wall!
It seem'd that British fire, so well they fought,
Ran through their veins! for oft they boldly sought,
Without the Gate, the Gauls upon the plain,
And higher martial skill each added day attain.
Are War-stores driven to Sea? Meanwhile, in lieu,
Their active courage quickly finds out new.
By fury nerved, upraised aloft they throw
Huge ponderous masses to o'erwhelm the foe.
The neighbouring Mounts their marble contentsyield,
The rough-hewn masses bound along the field,
Nor harmless bound, each wounding bursts along,
Nor falls unaim'd upon the shrinking throng
Through the cleft air, which hoarse and murmuring sings
And round the flying death-bolts sighing clings.
Why, Acre thus surround with blood drench'd plain!
Why France thus go the distant Globe to stain!
Misguided France! why not content to sway
Where Sciences and Arts their reign display?
Be satiate with thy share, so large, of rule,
No more Ambition's ever ready tool,
Thy " Tiger Heart " subdue! Spare, spare, thy race
No longer Earth destroy — in future be its Grace!