Nor now Heaven's flaming minister delays; He heard with transport, and with speed obeys: Air organiz'd his casual limbs compos'd, Attemp'ring radiance round his essence clos'd; A human form the dazzling shape display'd, But in the majesty of Heav'n array'd; While youth smil'd o'er him with celestial grace, And beamy ringlets wanton'd round his face.
He spread for flight his many-tinctur'd wings, And light from Heaven's high firmament he springs: All feather'd as the darting shaft he flies,
"Ye warriors! Heaven clected, to restore The sacred faith of him those Heavens adore; Preserv'd for this through many a fearful day, The foreign climate, and the deadly fray, Well may ye rush, thus arm'd, upon the foe, And fight secure where Heaven averts the blow. Nor vain I deem the purchase of your toil, The vanquish'd province, and the glorious spoil; Since trophies through reforming nations rise, And bear Christ's name triumphant to the skies. "But not for this we left our native place,
Each social sweet for distant battle chang'd, And wand'ring, through the faithless ocean rang'd:
Cuts the bright steep, and cleaves the yielding skies, The known endearment, and the chaste embrace;
Divides the sphere of many a shining star;
And sends the coming glory from afar;
Then stands on Lebanon reveal'd to view,
And shakes his plumes bedropp'd with morning
Now half appear'd the horizontal Sun, [dew.
And west, and east, with equal glory shone;
There shed his evening, here his morning ray,
And gave to diff'rent worlds dividual day-
When wing'd from Lebanon's aspiring head,
The angelic message to Tortosa sped,
What time the duke his orizons address'd,
And breath'd to Heav'n the rapture of his breast:
In usher'd graceful with the morning beam,
A brighter morn the dazzling angel came;
And placid, to the much admiring man,
The bright, the social intellect began.
"Attend, thou favour'd of Supreme Decree!
Thus sends the Deity, and sends to thee-
In Bulloign's breast what kindling zeal should glow,
What fires impel him forceful on the foe?
When Sion calls, when list'ning Heav'n commands,
And consecrates her cause in Godfrey's hands,
"T is thine to vindicate her just complaints,
To strike the shackles from her captive saints;
"T is thine to summon ev'ry christian peer,
Reprove the tardy, and the valiant cheer;
Their gen'ral thou, superior in thy sway-
God so appoints, and mortals must obey."
He ceas'd; and less'ning from the hero's view, Back to his native Heav'n the brightness flew; Nor Godfrey yet supports excess of light, New to the shape, and dizzy'd at the sight; Not the wide blaze his darkling eye sustains, And chillness thrill'd unwonted through his veins. But soon he calls the vision to his mind, And ponders on the glorious charge assign'd; Fresh to his soul the high behest returns, And with redoubled zeal his bosom burns: Nor yet, that Heav'n preferr'd its warrior saint, Did pride dilate him, or ambition taint; But through Almighty will, his will aspires, As the spark mounts amid the kindling fires. Straight where they lay, each chieftain he invites; Now mild requires, and now by mandate cites : Dispatch'd around his posting envoys fly, And prayers are mix'd with counsels to comply. Persuasive here, the gallant soul he charms; But here provokes, and here impels to arms; Here blows the slumb'ring virtue to a flame, And breathes throughout the noble thirst of fame. Such Godfrey's conduct, nor his conduct vain; Each comes, attended by his warlike train: Tortosa but a scant reception yields, And tented armies throng the neighb'ring fields. All awful, to consult the peers repair; Save Boemond, each majestic fills his chair; When graceful, to the senate Godfrey rose, And deep the stream of elocution flows.
For this, an end unequal to your arms,
Nor bleeds the combat, nor the conquest charms;
Nor such the prize your matchless labours claim,
Barbarian kingdoms, and ignoble fame.
"Was not the scope of our united powers
To scale the steep of Sion's hallow'd towers?
High o'er her walls to force resistless way?
Deep on her dungeons pour the long-lost day?
To lift oppression from her house of pain,
Snap the vile yoke, and burst the pagan chain?
Restore to piety her sacred seat,
And build for virtue a secure retreat;
Where each devoted pilgrim might repair,
And Christ receive the tributary prayer?
" Where triumph stands, defeated of its aim,
How vain the victory! how fruitless fame!
While still the wish'd achievement turns aside,
And conquest flows, but with a diff'rent tide.
For wherefore is the might of Europe arm'd,
Asia invaded, and the world alarm'd,
If ruin be alone the victor's praise,
And states subverted, while we meant to raise?
"Frail is the strength of sublunary things,
The pomp of titles, and the pride of kings;
Nor such the hope a faithful few may boast,
Hemm'd in by nations, and a barb'rous coast;
Our country distant, fickle Greece untry'd,
Nor aught but Heav'n to combat on our side.
"True, we have fought, nor have we fought in
vain-
Proud Antioch won, and hostile armies slain!
But these, achiev'd by many a wondrous way,
Show God still guides the fortune of the day;
Then if we seek or conquest, or applause,
Through means averse to his victorions cause,
The pride of triumph, and the thirst of fame,
In death shall vanish, or be quench'd in shame.
"Ah! never may our arms such issue find,
Nor we rebel ingrate, while Heav'n is kind;
But still conform'd to the divine behest,
Be the great period, as commencement, bless'd!
Then, then, while time, while ev'ry pass is ours,
And prompt occasion chides our ling'ring powers,
Quick let us rise, toss high the spacious mound,
And circling gird Jerusalem around.
"For me, ye princes! hear what I presage→
Be witness Heav'n! and ev'ry future age!
Now is the conquering crisis mark'd by fate;
Now is the time to give the world a date,
The time to consecrate your deeds to fame,
To bless your arms, or ever blast your name:
But once elaps'd, though panting to regain,
Vain are our hopes, our labours wake in vain;
Each Sun shall set, a witness to our woe,
And Egypt succour the recruiting foe."
Reflect thick lightnings, and return the day.
Superior the observant Godfrey stands,
Orders the field, and marshals all the bands;
Directs the moving legions from on high,
And rules a host with his experienc'd eye.
te ceas'd; a solemn whisp'ring fill'd the pause, | Whose burnish'd mail, with flitting lustre gay,
And the whole senate murmur'd deep applause :
When Peter, sage and ven'rable man,
Slow rising, to the circling chiefs began.
(Though distant from the war and world retir'd,
Prime author, he the distant war inspir'd;
Which once in act, he issu'd from his cell,
And thus promotes what he commenc'd so well.)
"With transport I survey the truth express'd
Warm in each eye, and big in ev'ry breast;
When Bulloign speaks it with prevailing charms,
No task remains but to enforce with arms:
Yet pardon one reflection still behind,
A weight long since incumbent o'er my mind.
"Where friendships are by light suspicions cool'd,
And rulers are themselves by passions rul'd,
Incongruous orders issu'd by the great,
Sedition pregnant in the lower state;
Occasions opportune are ever lost,
And ev'ry good and glorious end is cross'd:
Ill does it seem, when discord thus attaints
The cause of christians, and a host of saints;
A host, whom breach eternal must divide,
While various minds in various powers preside.
"The mutual weal divided pow'r withstands, Nor Justice holds her scale with various hands; Corruption ev'ry partial view attends,
And the torn state each selfish member rends.
Not so has Nature, in the frame of man,
Drawn the true scheme of each politic plan;
Gave various parts to form one beauteous whole,
And gave a head in prudence to control;
Like ruler should ye choose, could I advise,
And form your own, as Nature's conduct, wise."
He said, when, mantling from each hero's breast,
Ambition mounts in ev'ry eye express'd:
But soon a beam, emissive from above,
Say thou, my soul, with gifts divinely bless'd,
And all thy treasures of a conscious breast!
What chiefs conspicuous then adorn'd the plain,
Their ancient glory, and attending train?
So may'st thou recollect the spoils of age,
And from oblivion snatch the future page:
To thee old Time shall ev'ry trophy yield,
And all the pristine honours of the field,
Transplanted fair on each immortal line,
And ev'ry ear, in ev'ry age, be thine.
First came the Gauls, Clothario at their head,
Whom Hugo late, unhappy warrior, led:
Where four fair streams an ample nation fold,
And Gallia's isle with soft embraces hold,
He in the front of levy'd numbers shone,
Prime of their host, and brother of the throne;
But early death suppress'd the vital flame,
Secure of Heav'n, and still surviving fame.
Nor now the troops an equal leader scorn,
Great as the first, though not of princes born:
A thousand arm'd, sedate they move along,
In weighty mail indissolubly strong;
Attend their chief with boasted ensigns gay,
And the proud arms of ancient France display.
To these, each clasp'd within his steely case,
Alike in stature, and in martial grace,
From celtic Gaul a kindred band succeeds,
A thousand warriors on a thousand steeds;
Normania's Robert in the van presides,
And the clos'd files with native sceptre guides.
Two prelates next their dreaded arms unite,
Shed mental day, and touch'd the heart with love; Renown'd for piety, as fam'd in fight;
Gave jealous rage to know divine control,
And rul'd the tempest rising in the soul.
Calm reason the recoiling tumult sways;
The sage's speech attentive judgment weighs;
To merit ev'ry partial view expands,
And Godfrey! Godfrey! ev'ry voice demands.
His will, they vote, their future test of right,
His leading arm their ensign to the fight,
Their Atlas fit to bear th' incumbent weight,
The trust of empire, and the task of state;
Submiss, to him they yield unrival'd sway,
And willing princes, late his peers, obey.
The consult ended, and the royal name
Was borne wide wafted on the wings of fame;
The news a thousand busy tongues impart,
Cheer ev'ry brow, and gladden ev'ry heart.
For not unconscious was the warlike crowd,
Of worth to ev'ry vulgar eye avow'd;
Approving throngs their Godfrey's presence greet,
Cha m'd to his sight, or prostrate at his feet,
Proclaim their monarch with united voice,
And loudly consecrate the public choice.
He mild returns, while corresponding grace
Speaks from his mien, and answers in his face;
Then bids his host prepare their bright array,
And light with early arms th' ensuing day.
The ruddy Sun, now orient, chas'd the dawn,
Shot o'er the sea, and reach'd the dewy lawn;
Up with the morn arose the ready train,
Each seiz'd his arms, and issu'd on the plain.
The driving squadrons fill the spacious coast;
Wide wave the banners of the various host,
Great Ademare with standards richly spread,
And William reverend at his people's head;
Great William, chief amid four hundred known,
From Orange and the deep meander'd Rhone;
Like dangers Ademare from Poget sought,
And in the front of equal numbers fought.
Awful in arms, in ministry divine,
Rever'd alike, in lawn or mail they shine;
Their docile troops with bold example teach,
And fearless combat for the faith they preach.
Then Baldwin o'er his powers appear'd supreme,
From Bouillon seated on the silver Seme,
Chief of the bands whom late duke Godfrey led,
Now chief of chiefs, and of their host the head.
Carinto o'er four hundred next presides,
With valour fires them, and with wisdom guides;
But thrice that number mightier Baldwin leads,
And arm'd and haughty in the van precedes.
To these ensue, amid the beaten fields,
Whom Guelpho governs, and whom Suabia yields;
Guelpho, with merit, as with fortune crown'd,
And greatly e'en among the great renown'd:
The princely house of Est, and Roman sire,
Their offspring's emulating acts inspire;
But distant, he his native country sway'd,
And where the chief was born the soil obey'd.
Two neighb'ring floods his bounded realms contain,
The rising Danaw, and the circling Rhene,
Maternal heritage, with plenty bless'd,
By Rhetians erst, and northern Sweves possess'd
With nations added by his conq'ring sword,
Carinthian too confess'd the Guelphian lord;
A race addicted much to free delights,
To social joys, and hospitable rites,
While o'er their huts the wintry tempests pass,
Warm'd by the genial fire and sparkling glass:
Five thousand hence the sage commander drew,
A cheerful, faithful, and intrepid crew;
Sad chance of war, the greater number slain,
To mirth no longer wakeful, press the plain.
The Belgi next, in helm and pol sh'd mail,
Their snowy limbs and flaxen ringlets veil;
Whose narrow realms unbounded wealth contain,
Hemm'd in by France, Almania, and the main.
Where the Moselle and blended Rhine extend,
Wide o'er the banks their weighty harvests bend:
A people valiant, and inur'd to toil,
Domestic industry, and fore ga spoil.
With these appear, dispos'd in armed files,
The subject powers of their associate isles;
Who w th steep mounds repair those dang'rous shores,
Where the breach threatens, and the tempest roars;
Where the proud flood disdains inferior prey,
And o'er a nation pours the headlong sea.
Beneath another Robert all unite,
A thousand arm'd, and eager for the fight,
They pass, and to the British squadrons yield
The next succession of the moving field.
But the e, superior to the Belgi shone,
Array'd by William, Albion's younger son;
From their broad backs their graceful weapons flow,
The swift wing'd quiver, and the twanging bow:
With them, Hibernia sends her sons to war,
Hibernia, neighbour of the northern star,
Where her bleak hills and hoary woods aspire,
And less'ning from the distant world retire.
Then Tancred caught the eye with heedless grace,
Strength in his arm, and beauty in his face:
Of all that valiant, that unnumber'd host,
Rinaldo might superior prowess boast;
Of worth untainted, fearless in the fight,
And else, unmatch'd, in glory, as in might.
One sole default his nobler ardour chain'd,
While love amid his strength of virtues reign'd,
Caught from a glance of momentary charms,
And nurs'd wi h anguish in the din of arms.
So fame relates, on that triumphant day,
When Persians fell an undistinguish'd prey,
Far from his host the slaughter Tancred led,
And singly follow'd where the foremost fled;
Till feverish, and fatigu'd, he sought repose,
And to his wish a rural arbour rose,
Where a cool stream, beneath the whisp'ring shade,
With pendent flow'rs, and quiv'ring willows play'd;
Thither he turn'd, but, with unwary thought,
Soon lost the sweets of that repose he sought.
By the clear stream unlook'd for perils lay,
In all the charms of virgin beauty gay;
Her body arm'd with Amazonian grace,
But obvious all the dangers of her face:
His captive step the warrior stopp'd amaz'd,
Sigh'd as he look'd, and trembled while he gaz'd;
His eyes ran o'er the maid, with hasty art
Thence drew her form, and fix'd it in his heart.
But soon alarm'd the beauteous Pagan rose;
With lovely threats her kindling visage glows;
She brac'd her helm, and fierce the hero view'd,
In act to combat whom her charms subdu'd.
His troops approach'd; the virgin fled like wind,
But hop'd in vain to leave the chief behind:
The place, the person, present to his view,
The nymph still flies, and still his thoughts pursue;
Within his eyes the loved ideas roll,
Heave in his heart, and sicken in his soul.
Hence o'er his cheek distemper'd anguish spread,
Prey'd on his strength, and on his beauty fed;
Despair lay sad, but silent in his breast,
And sighs alone the length'ning woe express'd.
Proud to attend Campan a's valiant bands,
Eight hundred horse await the chief's commands;
Campania, bless'd with all the bloom of health,
A seat of pleasures, and a fund of wealth,
Where the rich odours breathe along ber vales,
And feed old ocean with the fragrant gales.
Behind, two hundred hardy warriors came,
The only warriors of the Grecian name: [field,
Light arm'd, and swift, they range th' embatt!'d
Nor poise the lance, nor bear the pond'rous shield;
But in close fight, or distant skirmish, know
The dextrous falchion, and the bending bow.
Spare were their steeds, and slender their repast,
But b'ithe and agile as an eastern blast;
Untir'd, and practis'd to the nimble rein,
They stop, and turn, and dart along the plain :
Thus borne, the riders confidently go,
Deface the battle, and fatigue the foe;
Expert, to charge, to traverse, and to fly,
Pursu'd they combat, and the conquerors die.
Tatino points their progress o'er the fields,
He the sole chief the Grecian empire yields;
Inglorious Greece! in indolence profound
Repos'd, while arm'd contention rang'd around:
"But now the sad equivalent is paid;
Left by the cause you once refus'd to aid,
The haughty Pagan lords it o'er your plains,
And wakes the shameful lethargy with chains."
To close the rear the bold adventurers came,
The last in order, though the first in fame;
A troop of heroes, Europe's proudest boast,
And the dire terrour of the Asian host!
Whate'er through t'mes of high memorial rung,
By prose recorded, or by poet's sung,
Achievements valorous, and knights renown'd,
In chivalry, or antique fable found-
Transferr'd to these, may real credence find,
And sum th' excellence of human kind.
Though each might claim, as of peculiar right,
To lead a host, and rule the ranks of fight,
Dudon that high pre-eminence demands,
By joint assent of the advent'rous bands.
Where Aufidus first rolls an infant wave,
l'his chief of chiefs Hesperian Conza gave:
Sage were his words, and hoary was his head,
To constant toil, and early battle bred;
Yet ever was his boiling courage young,
And his try'd nerve to vivid action strung;
His bosom nobly trench'd with many a scar,
Old to the field, the father of the war
Amid the prime of those illustrious peers
Eustatio, Bulloign's youngest son appears;
Great was his challenge of peculiar fame,
But more through his imperia! brother's name.
With him, Gernando, heir of Norway, rides,
And in his pomp of vaunted title prides:
Nor less distinguish'd, in the peerless train,
Rode the fam'd Roger, and bold Engerlane;
Gentonio and Rambaldo, far renown'd;
And the twin Gerrards with like honours crown'd.
Nor here Obizo, or Ubaldo there,
With Rosmond Lancaster's redoubted heir,
Consign'd to latest annals shall accuse,
| The mute neglect of our injurious Muse;
Nor brave Achilles, Sforza, Palameed,
Well worthy praise for many a worthy deed;
From Lombardy the valiant brethren came,
To form the great triumvirate of fame.
With these rode Otton, who, in single fight,
Won the dire trophy of the Paynim knight,
High on whose helm a naked infant lay,
Curl'd by a snake voracious o'er the prey.
The like memorial Guaschar, Raphe, demand,
Who boldly join the voluntary band;
To Eberard and Guernier too belong,
The force and fame of an immortal song;
And the two Guidos equal honours claim,
Alike in glory and alike in name.
But you, bright pair! shall ever foremost shine; Shall still survive, to deck the mournful lineGildippe, in thy dearer Edward blest; And Edward, only in thy cares distress'd! Too fond the knot which wedded faith supplies, When mutual merit holds what beauty ties ! One life inspir'd them, nor could death divide; They fought together, and together died.
Ah Love, all subtle tutor, thou can'st teach What, uninstructive else, the world might preach; Give the soft sex to loathe inglorious rest, String the weak arm, and steel the snowy breast! You brac'd the fair-one's helm, her corselet tied, And gave the guardian to her Edward's side Thus on they pass'd, inseparably pair'd ; · For him she battled, and for her he fear'd: By each, for each alone, was life desir'd; And, wounded in the other, each expir'd.
Last in the rear of that embattled train,
Shone the young comet of the glitt'ring plain,
Rinaldo-in whose fair, majestic face,
Soft beauty sweeten'd ev'ry martial grace:
The youth impatient of his manly prime,
Fled from his years, and stripp'd the speed of time;
Proud on his arm the force of battle lay,
And round his snowy limbs the Graces play.
This chief, by Adige on the winding shore,
Sophia, spouse to great Bertoldo, bore:
But soon Matilda takes their infant heir,
Caresses fondly, and conduets with care;
To early honour fires his growing youth,
The thirst of glory, and the love of truth;
When to his ears the warlike tidings came,
And sent the stripling to the fields of fame.
Five summers thrice had bloom'd around his head,
When to the wond'ring camp the warrior fled:
Alone he past, all eager on his way,
And reach'd the shore, and cross'd the Egean sea;
Then sped along by many an unknown coast,
And mix'd exulting with the Christian host.
And now three years were spent amid alarms,
Since first the princely fugitive took arms,
When manhood early dawning from within,
Shed the smooth down to deck his ivory chin.
The horsemen past, the num'rous foot succeed,
And trace the marches of the bounding steed;
But these, Tolosa's monarch, Raimond heads,
And in the front majestically treads:
From the proud cliffs of Pyrenean hills,
From lucid Garonne, and the neighbouring rills,
Wide o'er a placid climate stretch'd his reign,
And eastward overlook'd the midland-main.
Four thousand vet'rans hence the hero drew,
Who all the arts of various battle knew:
Compos'd they march, to ev'ry toil address'd;
But he, their bulwark, tow'rs before the rest.
VOL XVII.
Five thousand Stephen from Ambasia brings, And Tours, and shelving Blesæ, seat of kings, Where Loire the too delicious region laves, And cities float reflected o'er the waves; Impatient, hence, of discipline or toil, They caught the native softness of the soil: Yet the fair troops, in martial semblance arm'd, With show of lively preparation charm'd; Their valour as the lightly flaming fire, Furious they charge, and fainting soon retire. Alcasto then stepp'd forth with haughty pace; Fierce was his mien, and menacing his face: Where o'er the clouds the steepy Alps extend, Six thousand from Helvetia's tow'rs attend; In shining mail their temper'd ploughshares glance, Spread in the shield, and pointed in the lance; While the right arm, that rul'd the flocks so late, Now threats the mighty, and insults the great.
Last, in the papal standard, they display The triple crown, and apostolic key; Sev'n thousand valiant Romans march behind, And great Camillo had the charge assign'd The moving cuishes, and their corselets bright, Exchange quick lightnings, and fatigue the sight: Elate in hope, and cheer'd amid alarms, They bless the cause that calls the world to arms; So to revive, and vindicate the fame, That once, unrival'd, mark'd the Roman name.
Now, summ'd to view, the invincible array Stands on the plain, and brightens in the day: The general calls-obsequious to the sound, His peers approach, and range attentive round; When Bulloign his imperial will express'd, And thus reveal'd the counsels of his breast.
"Soon as the next succeeding morn shall rise, And dawning purple streak the eastern skies, Prepar'd, and arm'd with best appointed speed, Be ev'ry warrior, and be ev'ry steed;
For then we mean to visit Salem's tow'rs,
By secret march, and swift invading pow'rs:
The mighty crisis to the combat calls,
And the foe trembles in her sacred walls."
Bold was the hope his ardent words inspire;
As the plied fan provokes the slumb'ring fire,
Impatient they regret the ling'ring night,
Fierce for the day, and for the promis'd fight.
But other cares hold Godfrey from repose,
Nor tastes the chief those transports he bestows:
Yet deep he held the secret of his breast,
From ev'ry ear and ev'ry eye suppress'd.
Small cause of joy his late advices bringHow Lybia, arm'd beneath the Memphian king, From Damiata, eastward in the way To Gaza, on the Syrian frontiers lay. Innumerous there such warriors he unites, As force made confident or fame excites; Nor Godfrey hopes advances can be slow, From so inveterate, so renown'd a foe: How best to frustrate or oppose, he seeks; And to his legate, trusty Henry, speaks.
"Go, speed thee, Henry-spread the flying sail, Cut the green wave, and catch the favouring gale; Nor give indulgence to the labouring oar, Till the crook'd keel divides the Grecian shore. There should arrive, as private seals impart, From one who knows not the deceiving art, The royal Dane, for matchless force renown'd, As with the grace of every virtue crown'd; Zeal sends the northern youth its warmest ray, And glory wings him to the toilsome way, B b
From the cold circle, and the polar star,
The friend and brave companion of the war.
"But, for I know the Greekish monarch's heart,
Stor'd with old wiles, and well dissembled art,
I fear lest he divert the princely youth,
And wrest his purpose from the paths of truth;
Or other specious enterprise persuade,
And rob our armies of the promis'd aid.
But you, my messenger and faithful friend,
Dispose his journey to its destin'd end;
Alike his honour and our arms shall need
His utmost forces, and his swiftest speed.
"Nor you return, but to the Grecian sue For aids, by previous obligation due, Such aids as with his kingly compact stands; And more than compact-what the cause demands."
The guardian chief thus wakeful shuns repose, While in his care ten thousand eye-lids close: The herald, speeding to the breezy shore, The seals of trust and royal greeting bore; And late, the duke, from every task reclin'd, Gave to his couch the labours of his mind.
And now the night embalm'd in early dew,
Slow ebbing, from the paler dawn withdrew;
Aurora on the purpling ocean rose;
The reddening east with warmer lustre glows;
His previous beam the solar brightness shed,
And from the wave uprais'd his peerless head-
While through the camp loud echoing clarions ring;
Rous'd to the note, the sprightly soldiers spring;
Their ears delighted drink the warlike sounds,
And every heart with answering motion bounds.
So joys the peasant on the sultry plain,
When thunders roll, the messengers of rain.
With quick impatience every bosom glows;
Apt to their limbs, the wonted armours close:
Each conscious soldier on his chief attends,
And o'er the plain the ranging host extends:
The banners stream, redundant to the wind;
All move, as rul'd by one informing mind;
While high towards Heaven, the Cross in triumph
spread,
Waves from the van, and blazes at their head.
Now up the steep of Heaven the cloudless Sun,
Fresh in his pomp of rising splendour shone-
He strikes the squadrons with a trembling light;
The flash gleams restless, and rejects the sight:
All ether flames, and sparkles round the host,
And the wide glory fires the distant coast;
The coursers neigh, the clanging arms resound,
And deafening hills return the din around.
Meanwhile the chief, great guardian of his train,
Renders all slights of lurking ambush vain:
He sends the light-arm'd horse detach'd before,
To scour the woodland and the winding shore;
The pioneers with previous labours go,
Pull down the lofty, and supply the low,
Unfold the strait, detect the covert way,
And give large travel to the wide array.
Not the rude onsets of encountering foes,
Soon scatter'd, could the impervious march oppose;
Not the proud rampart, and the steepy mound,
The guarded battlement, and trench profound-
In vain by thickets, rocks, and hills, withstood,
The rising forest, and the rushing flood!
So when the Po, imperial torrent, swells,
No power resists him, and no force repels:
Deep from the root the sylvan shade he heaves,
The ruin rolls ingulf'd within his waves;
He foams, he roars, he bounds along the plain,
And bears his prey triumphant to the main.
Meantime, the king of Tripoli, alarm'd,
Mann'd every hold, and every man he arm'd;
But still restrain'd his pow'rs, his wealth suppress'd,
And rul'd the wrath rebellious in his breast;
With specious gifts, and ill dissembled cheer,
Beneath feign'd friendship he disguis'd his fear;
Sign'd ev'ry term that Godfrey would impose,
And gave wide progress to his potent foes.
Where, south from Salem, Seir's hills arise,
And eastward range, incumbent o'er the skies,
Promiscuous pours a numerous troop of friends,
And, joyful, every sex and age descends :
Large gifts, the tribute of their love, they bring
To the great chief, of Christian armies king;
They view the wondrous man with strange delight,
Press to his touch, and dwell upon his sight;
Through ways well known conduct his journey'd host,
And point his passage o'er the hostile coast.
Still toward the deep, the windings they explore, On sea-beat shallows, and the sanded shore; Off to the right the ships of burden ride, And plough the surge that murmurs at their side. Convenient here, the flying barge from far Imports the various implements of war; Replete from Scios, and the Greekish isles, All autumn in the copious navy smiles; While luscious Crete her generous juice bestows, And to the host the purple vintage flows.
From Britain, Belgia, and the Gallic bays, From Venice, native of the circling seas; The gulf of Genoa, and Tuscan shores, And where Sicilia piles her naval stores; Ships, barks, and gallies, cut the midland-main, And join in arms, a complicated train. For here no Pagan to the driving gale, With daring hand unfurls his timorous sail; Unrival'd round, the huge armada rides, And with a forest veils the nether tides; Beneath the load, indignant, Ocean swells, The vessel labours, and the surge rebels.
Wing'd from the circling world the fleet unites; One wish informs them, and one cause invites: Their murmuring keels divide the side-long coast, With large provision to the landed host; [shore, Then lanch'd, they shout, and scour the winding Hoist every sail, and ply with every oar; All bound, where Christ the dear ablution shed, And, for a sinful world, a sinless victim bled.
Fame flies through Sion with preceding sound, And hastes to spread the fearful news around; The pow'rs, the names, the numbers, all she sums "See, see," she cries, "the dreaded victor comes! His steps a troop of matchless heroes wait, Known to the field, the delegates of fate: Fear ye, whose short enduring power detains The sacred city, and her saints in chains! He comes; and on his conquering weapon brings Death to her foes, and terrour to her kings !" Those ills, that present we might learn to bear, In prospect spread, and magnify by fear; The phantom realiz'd in fancy's eye, Is greater ill than all those ills we fly. With busy face, and ever listening ear, Restless they run to learn, but dread to hear; Throughout the city and adjacent plains, Tumultuous haste, distrust, and rumour reigns; While in her old malicious tyrant's soul, Black thoughts and hoary machinations roll.
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