VERSES Humbly presented to the KING At His Arrival in HOLLAND: After the DISCOVERY Of the late horrid CONSPIRACY Against His most Sacred Person. Matthew Prior 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. R21156 A55913 Prior, Matthew, 1664-1721. Verses humbly presented to the King at his arrival in Holland after the discovery of the late horrid conspiracy against His most Sacred Person / by Mr. Prior. London Printed for Jacob Tonson ... 1696 pp. []-[]. [6] p.

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VERSES Humbly presented to the KING At His Arrival in HOLLAND : After the DISCOVERY Of the late horrid CONSPIRACY Against His most Sacred Person . YE careful Angels whom eternal Fate Ordains on Earth and humane Acts to wait ; Who turn with secret Power this restless Ball ; And bid determin'd Empires rise and fall : Your sacred Aid religious Princes own When first they merit , then ascend the Throne : But Tyrants dread you , lest your just Decree Transfer the Power , and set the People free . See rescu'd BRITAIN , at your Altars bow , And hear her hymns your happy care avow . That yet her Axes and her Rods support Her Judges hand , and grace her awful Court , Where Law with all her pompous terrour stands To wrest the Dagger from the Traitours hands , Where rigid Justice reads the fatal Word , Poises the Ballance first , then draws the Sword . To your blest guidance She her safety owns , That she can sep'rate Parricides from Sons , And boldly give those Criminals their doom , Who would , like Nero , rip their Parents womb : That , Death and Hell disarm'd , She lives and reigns , Her freedom Kept by Him who broke her chains . And thou , blest Guardian , destin'd to defend That Sacred Life on which all ours depend : Thou sure , whose charge of old was Israel's Court , When sent from Heav'n great David's strong support , Thy arm unseen eluded cruel Saul , And struck the useless Javelin to the Wall . Thy later care o'er WILLIAM'S Temples held On Boyn's propitious Banks the heav'nly Shield , When EUROPE pale betwixt two Armies stood , And trembling BRITAIN doubted to be good , Till Miracles did WILLIAM'S right declare , And Cannons mark't whom they were bid to spare . Still , blessed Angel , be thy care the same , Be WILLIAM'S Life untouch'd as is his Fame : Let Him own Thine as BRITAIN owns his Hand ; And save the King , as He has sav'd the Land . We Angels forms in pious Monarchs view , We reverence WILLIAM , for He acts like You ; Like You commission'd to chastize and bless , He must avenge the World , and give it Peace . Our Prayers are heard , new Miracles are shown , The Powers that rescu'd will preserve the Throne : The Hero dear to Earth , by Heav'n belov'd , By troubles must be vex't , by dangers prov'd ; His Foes must contribute to make Him great , And fix his Glory sure on their defeat . So tho' with sudden rage the Tempest comes , Tho' the Winds roar , and tho' the Water foams , Fair BRITAIN on the angry Sea looks down , And smiling sees Her Rebel Subject frown ; Heav'n in assaulting Her confirms her power , The Waves but whiten Her triumphant Shore ; In vain they would advance , in vain retreat , Broken they dash and perish at Her feet . 'Tis done , once more thro' BRITAIN's joyful Sea Her glorious Monarch plows his Prosp'rous way , Arm'd with those Fleets who have in thunder said To distant Worlds , whose Empire they obey'd : He lands , and sees united Nations stand , Their parts of Glory dealt by His command , Their glowing Brests with fresh Ideas fir'd , How WILLIAM conquer'd , and how FRANCE retir'd , When fixt as Fate he stood in Namurs Field , Till Rocks and Floods and Fire were taught to yield , Till Flanders freed the Hero's arm confest , But trembled for the Courage which she blest . He comes ; pale GALLIA dreads his Arms a-far , And bent on Parricide refuses War , But 'well she knows his Vengeance n'er will tread Those Paths of horrour which her guilt has led . The Trumpets Sounds shall tell the arming Foe When WILLIAM meditates the noble Blow , Before the foremost Troops in open fight The Hero's arm shall prove the Monarchs right . 'Tis done , and EUROPE freed must own his hand , Whilst THAMES shall flow , or BRITAINS Empire stand .