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To the QUEEN's most Excellent MAJESTY.

1.
MADAM,
1 PErmit me at Your Royal Feet to lay
2 This humble Off'ring of a trembling Muse;
3 Permit me there to pay
4 This Tribute to transcendent Merit due;
5 To that transcendent Merit which conspicuous is in You.
6 Bold is th' Address, and the Presumption high!
7 But she all meaner Objects does refuse,
8 To this vast height will fly,
9 And hopes Your Goodness will th' ambitious Flight excuse.
10 I strove a while her Ardor to conceal,
11 Unseen it burnt within my Breast;
12 But now impetuous grows, and will it self reveal;
13 'Tis much too strong to be supprest.
14 What was at first but Warmth, now to a Flame do's rise,
15 On you she gazes with admiring Eyes,
16 And ev'ry lower Object does despise:
17 Pardon her Transports, since from Zeal they spring,
18 And give her Leave of You to sing;
19 Of You, the noblest Theme that she can chuse,
20 Of You, who're with Ten thousand Graces fraught,
21 Of You, who far exceed the widest Bounds of Thought:
22 In whom as to their Centre Lines are drawn,
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23 All those bright Qualities in one combine,
24 Which did till now with scatter'd Glory shine;
25 Appear'd till now but in their Dawn:
26 You're the Meridian Splendor of Your Line;
27 And on Your Sex entail a lasting Fame;
28 We shall be ever proud of Your illustrious Name.
2.
29 Long may You reign, long fill the British Throne,
30 And make the haughty Gallick Foe our English Valor own:
31 Assert the Rights of Your Imperial Crown,
32 And vie with ancient Heroes for Renown:
33 Tread in his Steps whom Fate has snatch'd away,
34 Like him the Terror of Your Arms display;
35 But longer, longer much Your happy Subjects sway,
36 His mighty Acts cou'd not the Victor save,
37 Those Conquests he had gain'd
38 Cou'd not preserve his Life:
39 Death to his vast Designs a Period gave,
40 Sent him amidst his Triumphs to the Grave:
41 For You he fought, for You he Wreaths obtain'd,
42 For You he strove to humble France:
43 For You has been the Toil, for You the Strife,
44 For You the Battels he has won,
45 The wondrous things which he has done:
46 To him there nothing now remains,
47 But empty Fame, that mean Reward for all his Pains.
48 Heav'n brought him here Your Grandeur to advance,
49 That was the kind Design of Fate,
50 And took him hence when he had aggrandiz'd Your State.
51 To You he all his Trophies yields,
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52 To You the dusty Honours of the bloody Fields:
53 He at Your Feet lays all his Lawrels down.
54 And adds his great Atchievements to the Glories of Your Crown.
3.
55 If Poets may to Prophesie pretend,
56 If they're allow'd to pry,
57 Into the hidden Secrets of Futurity,
58 They dare presage, You will Your Pow'r extend,
59 And spite of Salic Laws, the Gallick Throne ascend:
60 For You that noble Task's assign'd,
61 'Tis You are born Mankind to free,
62 From arbitrary Sway, and hateful Tyranny:
63 You, none but You, are for that Work design'd;
64 We no where cou'd a fitter Champion find:
65 Go on great Heroin, and exalt Your Name,
66 Go fearless on in the bright Tracks of Fame:
67 When Beauty leads, and Virtue shows the Way,
68 The Men will soon with joyful hast obey,
69 None then will shew a greater Zeal than they:
70 They for Your Service with a noble Pride
71 Will all Your Enemies defie,
72 Will all their Vain Efforts deride,
73 And strive who first for You shall die;
74 Who first th' ambition'd Honour have,
75 Who first lie down in the contested Grave.
4.
76 Where You reside, may Pleasures still abound,
77 May blooming Joys disperse themselves around,
78 And may there nothing there but soft Delights be found:
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79 Still may Your Subjects make Your Bliss their Care,
80 Contending Parties in Your Cause unite:
81 No more within our British Sphere
82 May threatning Clouds appear,
83 Or deafning Storms affright,
84 But all be calm, and all be bright;
85 Bright as those Virtues which adorn Your Mind,
86 Those Virtues, which we no where else can in Perfection find,
87 May Heav'n indulgent to Your Wishes prove,
88 And make You still chief Object of its Love:
89 Bless You with all the Favours it can give,
90 And let You in a num'rous Off-spring live;
91 An Off-spring worthy of Your Princely Line,
92 Great as Your Merit, like Your self Divine.
5.
93 My pious Pray'rs have quick Acceptance found,
94 Propitious Omens Heaven is pleas'd to send,
95 Pleas'd Nature does this glorious Change approve;
96 On You she seems t'attend
97 Commission'd from Above:
98 Each Hour of Your auspicious Reign,
99 Has been with wondrous Blessings crown'd;
100 The Sun restores his Heat again,
101 Again restores reviving Rays,
102 Again we're blest with radiant Days:
103 No noxious Vapors now dare rise,
104 No Streams of Earth pollute the Skies,
105 Back to their gloomy Source each darkning Atom flies:
106 A balmy Swetness fills the Air,
107 Health and Pleasure revel there;
108 The Flow'rs rise beauteous from the Ground,
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109 And spread their fragrant Odors round;
110 The Trees prepare
111 Their verdant Crowns to wear;
112 Amidst their Boughs soft Zephyrs play:
113 And in low whisp'ring Murmurs their glad Homage pay:
114 The warbling Birds resound Your Praise,
115 And welcom You with cheerful Lays:
116 Joy does in every Face appear,
117 In ev'ry Face is seen to smile;
118 A Joy till now to us unknown,
119 A Joy which You cou'd give alone;
120 You to Your Subjects are more dear,
121 To us the happy Natives of this Isle,
122 Than Life, and all the Pleasures we possess below,
123 All, all the gay Delights Your Albion can bestow,
124 Which rich in You, and Your immortal Fame,
125 The Title now of Fortunate may claim,
126 And justly be allow'd to glory in so great a Name.

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Title (in Source Edition): To the QUEEN's most Excellent MAJESTY.
Author: Lady Mary Chudleigh
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Genres: address

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Chudleigh, Mary Lee, 1656-1710. Poems on several occasions. Together with the Song of the three children paraphras'd. By the Lady Chudleigh. London: Printed by W.B. for Bernard Lintott at the Middle Temple Gate in Fleetstreet, 1703, pp. 41-45. [16],125,[17],73,[1]p.; 8⁰. (ESTC T97275) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [(OC) 280 j.452].)

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Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. This ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.