CXXII.

The wind he shares, while half their fleet offends
His open fide, and high above him fhows:
Upon the rest at pleasure he defcends,

And, doubly harm'd, he double harms bestows.
CXXIII.

Behind, the Gen'ral mends his weary pace,
And fullenly to his revenge he fails :
*So glides fome trodden ferpent on the grafs,
And long behind his wounded volume trails.
CXXIV.

Th' increasing found is borne to either shore,
And for their fstakes the throwing nations fear:
Their paffions double with the cannons roar,

And with warm wishes each man combats there.
CXXV.

Ply'd thick and close as when the fight begun,
Their huge unwieldy navy wastes away:
So ficken weaning moons too near the fun,
And blunt their crefcents on the edge of day.
CXXVI.

And now reduc'd on equal terms to fight,
Their fhips like wafted patrimonies show ;
Where the thin fcatt'ring trees admit the light,
And fhun each other's fhadows as they grow.

* So glides, &c.

From Virgil. Quum medii nexus extremaeque agmina

caudae

Solvuntur; tardofque trahit finus ulti

mus orbes.

CXXVII.

The warlike prince had fever'd from the rest
Two giant fhips, the pride of all the main ;
Which, with his one, fo vigorously he press'd,
And flew fo home, they could not rise again.
CXXVIII.

Already batter'd, by his lee they lay,

In vain upon the paffing winds they call:
The paffing winds thro' their torn canvass play,
And flagging fails on heartless failors fall.
CXXIX.

Their open'd fides receive a gloomy light,
Dreadful as day let into fhades below:

Without, grim death rides barefac'd in their sight,
And urges ent'ring billows as they flow.
CXXX.

When one dire fhot, the last they could fupply,
Close by the board the prince's main-maft bore;
All three, now helpless, by each other lie,

And this offends not, and thofe fear no more.
CXXXI.

So have I feen fome fearful hare maintain
A course, till tir'd before the dog she lay;
Who, ftretch'd behind her, pants upon the plain,
Past pow'r to kill, as the to get away.
CXXXII.

With his loll'd tongue he faintly licks his prey;
His warm breath blows her flix up as the lies;
She, trembling, creeps upon the ground away,
And looks back to him with befeeching eyes.

E

CXXXIII.

The prince unjustly does his ftars accufe,

Which hinder'd him to push his fortune on;
For what they to his courage did refuse,
By mortal valour never must be done.
CXXXIV.

This lucky hour the wife Batavian takes,

And warns his tatter'd fleet to follow home:
Proud to have fo got off with equal stakes,

* Where 'twas a triumph not to be o'ercome.
CXXXV.

The General's force as kept alive by flight,

Now not oppos'd, no longer can pursue: Lafting till heav'n had done his courage right; When he had conquer'd, he his weakness knew. CXXXVI.

He cafts a frown on the departing foe,

And fighs to fee him quit the watery field:

His ftern fix'd eyes no fatisfaction show,

For all the glories which the fight did yield.
CXXXVII.

Though, as when fiends did miracles avow,

He ftands confefs'd even by the boaftful Dutch:

He only does his conqueft difavow,

And thinks too little what they found too much.
CXXXVIII.

Return'd, he with the fleet refolv'd to stay;
No tender thoughts of home his heart divide:

*From Horace, Quos opimus Fallere et effugere eft triumphus.

Domestic joys and cares he puts away;

For realms are houfholds which the great must guide.
CXXXIX.

As thofe, who unripe veins in mines explore,
On the rich bed again the warm turf lay,
Till time digefts the yet imperfec. ore,

And know it will be gold another day:
CXL.

So looks our Monarch on this early fight,
Th' effay, and rudiments of great

fuccefs:

Which all-maturing time must bring to light,

While he, like heav'n, does each day's labour blefs.
CXLI.

Heav'n ended not the first or second day,

Yet each was perfect to the work defign'd: God and kings work, when they their works furvey, A paffive aptnefs in all fubjects find.

CXLII.

* In burden'd veffels, firft, with speedy care,

His plenteous ftores do feafon'd timber fend;
Thither the brawny carpenters repair,

And, as the furgeons of maim'd ships, attend.
CXLIII.

With cord and canvafs from rich Hamburgh fent,
His navies molted wings he imps once more:
Tall Norway fir their masts in battle spent,

And English oak sprung leaks and planks restore.
CXLIV.

All hands employ'd † the royal work grows warm:
Like lab'ring bees on a long fummer's day,

* His Majesty repairs the fleet.

+ "Fervet opus:" The fame fimilitude in Virgil.

Some found the trumpet for the reft to fwarm,
And fome on bells of tafted lilies play.
CXLV.

With glewy wax fome new foundations lay

Of virgin-combs which from the roof are hung:
Some arm'd within doors upon duty stay,
Or tend the fick, or educate the young.
CXLVI.

So here, fome pick out bullets from the fides,
Some drive old okum through each feam and rift:
Their left hand does calking iron guide,

The rattling mallet with the right they lift.
CXLVII

With boiling pitch another near at hand

(From friendly Sweden brought) the feams inftops:
Which well laid o'er the falt fea waves withstand,
And shakes them from the rifing beak in drops.
CXLVIII.

Some the gall'd ropes with dawby marling bind,
Or fear-cloth mafts with ftrong tarpawling coats:
To try new shrouds one mounts into the wind,
And one, below, their ease or stiffness notes.
CXLIX.

Our careful Monarch ftands in perfon by,

His new-caft cannons firmness to explore:
The ftrength of big-corn'd powder loves to try,
And ball and cartrige forts for every bore.
CL.

Each day brings fresh fupplies of arms and men,
And fhips which all laft winter were abroad;

And fuch as fitted fince the fight had been,

Or new from ftocks were fallen into the road..