Classic Poem

Rendered into English Verse. Inscrib'd to the Honourable the Governour

Let other Pens th' ungrateful News declare,
The dire Effects of Northern Civil War;
How furious Men by fatal Madness led,
Pull'd down devoted Vengeance on their Head.
Whilst we thy Care, O Spotswood , sing thy Toil,
Which bore thee far into a foreign Soil.
Urge thee to quit soft Ease and grateful Home,
O'er Mountains high and rapid Streams to roam;
And thro' thick Woods impervious to the Sun,
To poisonous Snakes and Monsters only known.
Tell (Goddess Muse) for thy all pow'rful Art
Is only equal to the Godlike Part;
What lonesome Fields, and unfrequented Floods,
Spotswood did pass thro' dark and desert Woods;
Whilst he, intent upon Virginia 's Good,
O'er Hills and Dales the noble Task persu'd;
Up steepest Mountains in his Course did run,
Whose Tops were 'bove the Clouds, and Rivals to the Moon,
Contemn'd the Length and Danger of the Way.
So he might farther stretch his Royal Master 's Sway.
Happy Virginia ! wouldst thou prize thy Friend,
Who labour'd thus thy Borders to extend;
Encourag'd thee to Arts, train'd thee to Arms;
And guarded thee from more than foreign Harms:
Nor were his Thoughts to these alone confin'd,
But higher Cares imploy'd his Christian Mind.
For having read in God's Prophetic Page,
In after-times should come a glorious Age,
In which all Nations should agree as One;
Be all one Flock, of one Religion.
" O Prospect sweet! he cries, hail happy Days!
When thus the Sun of Peace shall cast his rays?;
When his bless'd Influence shall the Globe controul,
And his Messias reign from Pole to Pole. "
Unwearied are his Pains, unshaken is his Mind,
To spread this Good to all of Adam's Kind:
In this, ambitious of eternal Fame,
T'advance his Sov'reigns and his Saviour's Name
That GEORGE's Fame may thro' the World be read,
And CHRIST's and Britain 's Cross in faithless Nations spread.
Now then, the Hero for his March prepares,
And t'wards the Indian Parts his Course he steers:
And thus begins to move by GOD's Command;
As once did Joshua to the Promis'd Land.
All Things and Places full of GOD appear,
And both his Goodness and his Power declare:
And all his Creatures his Commands fulfil
And act by his Express, or his permissive Will.
This Expedition was design'd to trace
A Way to some yet undiscover'd Place;
And barb'rous savage Nations to subdue,
Which neither antient Greece or Rome e'er knew;
Or else Virginia's Borders to secure
And fix the Bounds of his deputed Power:
These, Day and Night, the Regent's Studies are.
And his Virginia is his constant Care.
And now the Day was come, when his Command
To distant Climes led on a chosen Band;
All Things conspire to favour the Design,
And lucky Omens with their Wishes joyn.
First then, he pass'd the antient Planters Seats,
Whilst each Plantation from his View retreats;
The winding Road thro' thickest Forest leads,
(Whose Trees tow'rds Heaven shoot up their lofty Heads)
And brings him to the Banks declining Side,
Where Rapidanna rowls his hasty Tyde;
Whose Current's fiercer than the Tiber 's was,
When he with headstrong Course his Bounds did pass,
O'erthrew the Rock where Vesta 's Temple stood,
And mixt the sacred Structure with the Mud.
Kind Nature dreading such Effects as these,
(Whose all-wise Author all Events foresees)
The like in future Ages to prevent,
Cut deep his Banks, and made a steep Ascent,
With rocky Cliffs his Waters did restrain,
Lest overcharg'd with sudden Snow or Rain,
He might o'erflow, and drown the Neighb'ring Plain.
Crossing this Stream, he to Germanna came,
Which from new German Planters takes its Name,
Here taught to dig, by his auspicious Hand
They prov'd the teeming Pregnance of the Land;
For being search'd, the fertile Earth gave Signs
That her Womb swell'd with Gold and Silver Mines:
This Ground, if faithful, may in Time out-do
Potosi, Mexico , and fam'd Peru .
When he from hence a hundred Miles had pass'd
T'wards George 's Hill a wishful Eye he cast;
This Mountain taller than the rest appears,
As to the Sky his stately Front he rears;
Which Spotswood , mindful of his Sov'reign's Fame,
Grac'd with the Title of his Royal Name,
As proud Olympus 'bove the Hills does rise,
And nearer views the Starry Pole and Skies;
So much thy Mountain upwards does aspire,
And o'er the Highest thrusts his Shoulders higher;
As Thou, Great GEORGE , the Monarchs dost surpass,
In vertuous Deeds familiar to thy Race.
The steady Spotswood thither bends his Way,
Altho' thro' roughest pathless Woods it lay;
No Sign of Culture wears the desert Ground;
No Print of humane Footsteps to be found:
When streight the Sky is taken from his Sight,
And Sylvan Shades obstruct the Mid-day Light:
Yet on he goes, and does a Passage force;
Thro' Dens of Wolves and Bears he clears his Course.
Each Swamp is fill'd with Broods of horrid Snakes,
And savage Beasts lie lurking in the Brakes.
Unmov'd he hears the howling Wolfs shrill Voice,
And slights the roaring Bears more frightful Noise.
Here Snakes, like Python , of a monstrous Size,
With brandish'd Tongues dart out a spiteful Hiss;
With twirling Tails these Serpents coil'd, prepare,
(And with their Rattles beat the Alarm) for War;
And bid the wary Traveller retreat,
Or arm'd expect a deadly Foe to meet.
A Weapon on each Willow's to be found,
Which plenteous grow in Vale and swampy Ground;
One stroke of which the Monster's Blood will spill;
Whose mortal Venom with a Touch does kill.
Yet arn't these Woods without their proper Grace;
The verdant Earth here shews a cheerful Face.
This fruitful Soil with richest Grass is crown'd,
And various Flow'rs adorn the gawdy Ground:
(Neglecting Order) Nature plants this Land,
And strews her Riches with a lavish Hand;
With Fruit her Bounty cloaths each well-deck'd Bush,
The luscious Cherries on the Branches blush.
Here silken Mulb'ries load the bending Boughs,
And there the cluster'd Grape luxuriant grows.
Here Currants, Peaches, Strawb'ries, Nature tends;
And other Dainties to the Hero lends.
This, to the pleas'd Spectator, seems the Seat
Where rural Ceres makes her own Retreat;
Or else the Birth-place of the Jolly God ,
Or where Pomona makes her chief Abode.
These Things, as Spotswood and his Train admire,
Towards Mount-George their March conveys them nigher:
At length they reach the Bottom, and look up,
And nearer view its long-sought airy Top.
Spotswood had long pursu'd it with his Eye;
But as he follow'd, still it seem'd to fly:
His Haste was fruitless, like Apollo's Chace,
When Daphne shun'd the am'rous Gods embrace.
Now they ascend and up that Mountain go,
Which looks with Scorn upon the World below.
Hard Labour! thus to climb so near the Skies;
But Strength and Honour, Courage fresh supplies:
Hopes of rare Sights, do strong Desires excite;
And so they gain the Mountains utmost Height.
Here are no Woods to intercept the Sight,
And form at Noon an antidated Night:
But freely now they breathe a purer Air,
The cloudless Sky is all serene and fair,
The Sun and Moon by Turns in Pomp appear.
Here Spotswood stood, and looking from this Height,
The beauteous Landskip charm'd his ravish'd Sight,
Much pleas'd to see thro' Woods the Rivers stray,
And long the Vales in wanton Mazes play.
The Hero smil'd, and thus express'd his Thought:
" Had th' antient Poets known this pleasant Spot,
They here had plac'd their great Apollo's Shrine,
Or else the Title of the tuneful Nine
Had always made it sacred and divine:
But since an higher Honour it does claim,
Forever let it bear the mighty GEORGE 's Name. "
He spoke, then all their joint Assent declare
By joyful Shouts that rend the nitrous Air.
Another Mountain meets their downward Sight;
Tho' lower far than this, yet next in height.
As there thou stoodst in Power, so next in Fame,
Let thine, O Spotswood! be its future Name.
Descending, many Fountains they descry,
That largest Rivers plenteously supply:
O'er Roots, o'er Rocks, a rapid Course they gain,
And in the Vales become a liquid Plain:
'Mongst verdant Trees, the Streams look bright and gay,
As in the Skies appears the Milky Way .
Here spangled Snakes, and Fish divert their Sight,
Which, as they swim, reflect a glitt'ring Light,
(Like Stars that twinkle in a frosty Night.)
Whose various Sorts and Numbers to rehearse,
Would tire the Muse , and pass the Bounds of Verse.
But then, to paint the Joys this Prospect Breeds
From shady Groves, green Banks, and flow'ry Meads,
And all the Beauties that this Par'dice yields,
Be it His Task, who knows th' Elysian Fields.
After the Hero pass'd the gentle Flood
Thro' which directly went their mirey Road
Regardful of his Charge, he pausing stood:
He thought, and soon resolved without Delay,
Homewards to make his retrogressive Way,
Having for GEORGE , his King, Possession took,
And cut his Name in Ultramontane Rock.
Obeying then the Dictates of his Mind,
He streight return'd, and left this Scene behind;
When he, like Hercules in former Days,
Had made two Mountains, Pillars of his Praise.