ODE

To the Right Hon. WILLIAM PITT.

By W. MASON, M.A.

"Give not the Mitre now!

"Lest base-tongued ENVY, squinting at my brow, "Cry, Lo! the price for CAVENDISH betray'd!'"

"But in good time nor that, O PITT! forget,

"Nor my more early service yet unpaid,

"My puffs on CHATHAM in his offspring's aid,

"Nor what this loyal Ode shall add to swell the debt."

MY OWN TRANSLATION.

I.

"Tis now the TENTH of APRIL; yet the wind In frigid fetters doth each blossom bind;

No silver buds her rural throne emboss;

No violets blue from her green lap she throws*;

O lack-a-daisy! not a daisy blows,

And (ere she has them) FLORA weeps their loss. Hoar frost, with bailiff's grizly hue,

At Winter's suit, arrests the dew;

No Cuckow wakes her drowsy.mate:

His harp then shall a Parson strum,

When other Blackbirds all are dumb,

When neither Starlings, Daws, nor Magpies prate?

* Improved from Milton.

CC

II.

He shall: for what the sullen Spring denies,
The orient beam of virtuous youth supplies :
That moral dawn be his inspiring flame.
Beyond the dancing radiance of the East,
Thy glory, son of CHATHAM! fires his breast;
And, proud to celebrate thy vernal fame,
Hark! from his lyre the strain ascends,
Which but to Freedom's fav'rite friends
That lyre disdains to sound.

Hark and approve, as did thy sire*,

The lays which once with kindred fire

His muse in Attic mood made MONA's oaks rebounds

III.

Long silent since, save when, in KEPPEL's name,
Detraction, murd'ring BRITAIN'S naval fame,
Rous'd into sounds of scorn th' indignant string t.

But now, replenish'd with a richer theme,
The vase of harmony shall pour its stream,
Fann'd by free Fancy's rainbow-tinctur'd wing.
Thy country too shall hail the song,
Her echoing heart the notes prolong;
While they alone with envy sight,

Whose rancour to thy parent dead

Aim'd, ere his funeral rites were paid,

With vain vindictive rage to starve his progeny.

*The poem of Caractacus was read in MS. by the late Earl of Chatham, who honoured it with an approbation which the author is here proud to record.

+ See Ode to the Naval Officers of Great Britain, written 1779. See the motto from Pindar.

II.

He shall: for what the sulky Spring denies,
An annual butt of sugar'd SACK supplies;

That beverage sweet be his inspiring flame.
Cloth'd in the radiant influence of the East,
Thy glory, son of CHATHAM! fires his breast;
And swift to adulate thy vernal fame,
Hark! from his lyre a strain is heard,
In hopes, ere long, to be preferr'd,
To sit in state 'midst mitred peers.
Hark and approve, as did thy sire,
The lays which, nodding by the fire,
To gentle slumbers sooth'd his listening ears:

III.

Long silent since, save when, on t'other side,
In KEPPEL's praise to little purpose tried,

I rous'd to well-feign'd scorn th' indignant string.
But now, replete with a more hopeful theme,
The o'erflowing ink-bottle shall pour its stream,
Through quills by Dulness pluck'd from gosling's
downy wing.

ST. JAMES's too shall hail the song,
Her echoing walls the notes prolong,
Whilst they alone with sorrow sigh,
Whose reverence, for thy parent dead
Now bids them hang their drooping head,
And weep, to mark the conduct of his
progeny.

IV.

From earth and these the Muse averts her view,
To meet, in yonder sea of ether blue,

A beam to which the blaze of noon is pale:
In purpling circles now the glory spreads,
A host of angels now unveil their heads,

While Heav'n's own music triumphs on the gale.
Ah! see, two white-rob'd seraphs lead
Thy father's venerable shade;

He bends from yonder cloud of gold,
While they, the ministers of light,

Bear from his breast a mantle bright,

And with the heav'n-wove robe thy youthful limbs enfold.

VÁ

"Receive this mystic gift, my son!" he cries;
"And, for so wills the Sov'reign of the skies,
"With this receive, at ALBION's anxious hour,
"A double portion of my patriot zeal,

"Active to spread the fire it dar'd to feel

66 Through raptur'd senates, and with awful pow'r "From the full fountain of the tongue

"To call the rapid tide along,

"Till a whole nation caught the flame. "So on thy sire shall Heav'n bestow

"A blessing TULLY fail'd to know,

"And redolent in thee diffuse thy father's fame.

VI.

"Nor thou, ingenuous boy! that fame despise "Which lives and spreads abroad in Heav'n's pure eyes,

IV.

From these the courtly Muse averts her eye,
To meet with genuine unaffected joy

A scene that passes in the Closet's gloom;
In whitening circles the dim glory spreads,
Bedchamber Lords unveil their powder'd heads,
And Tory triumphs sound throughout the room:
Ah! see two Jannisaries lead

Illustrious BUTE'S thrice-honour'd shade;
Behind yon curtain did he stand,

3

Whilst they (which Whigs with horror mark)
Bear from his cloak a lantern dark,

And trust the hallow'd engine to thy youthful hand.

V.

"Receive this mystic gift, brave boy," he cries;
"6 And, if so please the Sovereign of the skies,
"With this receive, at GEORGE's anxious hour,
"A double portion of my Tory zeal,

"Active to spread the fire it dar'd to feel,

"Through venal senates, and with boundless pow'r, "From the full fountain of thy tongue,

"To roll a tide of words along,

"Till a whole nation is deceiv'd.

"So shall thy early labours gain

"A blessing BUTE could ne'er attain;

In fact, a Courtier be, yet Patriot be believ❜d.

VI.

"Nor thou, presumptuous imp! that fame disown, "Which draws its splendour from a monarch's throne,