Upon King William's passing the Boyn, &c. Elizabeth Rowe (née Singer) Alexander Huber Editor Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
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Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive
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Oxford This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. R7317 A57734 Rowe, Elizabeth Singer, 1674-1737. Poems on several occasions. Written by Philomela. London Printed for John Dunton at the Raven in Jewen-street 1696 pp. 30-33. [24],72,69,[11]p.; 8⁰

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Upon King William's passing the Boyn , &c. WHat mighty genious thus excites my Breast With flames too great to manage or resist ; And prompts my humbler Muse at once to Sing , ( Unequal Task ) the Hero and the King . Oh were the potent inspiration less ! I might find words its Raptures to express ; But now I neither can its force controul , Nor paint the great Ideas of my Soul : Even so the Priests Inspir'd , left half the Mind Of the unutterable God behind . Too soft's my Voice the Hero to express ; Or , like himself , the War-like Prince to dress ; Or , speak him Acting in the dreadful Field , As Brave Exploits as e'r the Sun beheld ; ( Secure , and Threatning as a Martial God , Among the thickest of his Foes he Rode ; And , like an Angry Torrent forc't his way Through all the Horrors that in Ambush lay : ) Or at the Boyne describe him as he stood Resolv'd , upon the edges of the Flood : On , on , Great William ; for no Breast but Thine , Was ever urg'd with such a Bold Design : Indulge the Motions of this Sacred Heat ; For none but thee can weild a thought so great . He's lanch'd , he's lanch'd ; the foremost from the Shore ; The Noblest Weight that e'r the River Bore . To smooth their Streams , the smiling Naides hast ; And , Rising , did him Homage as he pass'd : And all the shapes of Death and Horror — No more — ah stay — though in a cause so good ; 'Tis pitty to expend that Sacred Blood . Why wilt thou thus the boldest Dangers seek , And foremost through the Hostile Squadrons break ? Why wilt thou thus so bravely venture all ? Oh , where's unhappy Albion , should'st thou fall ? Keep near him still , you kind AEthereal Powers ; That Guard him , and are pleas'd , the Task is yours . All the Ill Fate that threatens him oppose ; Confound the Forces of his Foreign Foes , And Treacherous Friends less generous then those ; May Heaven success to all his Actions give , And long , and long , and long , let WILLIAM live :