On the Descent upon England, Written at the Desire of a Favourite Thomas Paine Alexander Huber Editor Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Broad Street Oxford OX1 3BG UK
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive
Taylor Institution Library St Giles' Oxford OX1 3NA UK info@eighteenthcenturypoetry.org https://www.eighteenthcenturypoetry.org/
Oxford This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Cleary, Scott M., ed. Claeys, Gregory, gen. ed. Thomas Paine Collected Writings. Vol. II. Part 2: Poetry. Princeton Princeton UP 2026 pp. []-[]. 5 Volumes.

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On the Descent upon England , Written at the Desire of a Favourite
Criel near Chantilly 21st Florial 6th year .

Breakfasting one morning at Criel ( it was the 21 Florial ) at the house of Madame Gibert , a most amiable friend and companion , the conversation turned on the Descent upon England , and upon my going with it , and she asked me to make her a song in English as a keep-sake . At Dinner I gave her following .

On the Descent upon England written at the desire of a Favourite .

1 Blow soft ye Breezes o’er the wave , Soft as the thoughts that Love inspires , And safely bear , to Angleterre , The Fleet that takes my heart’s desires . Ye gentle Fates , if such there be , Who watch o’er human hopes and fears ; O ! land it safe and let me see The friends that share my anxious cares . 2 The World in Tumult long has liv’d A Stranger to the Voice of Peace , And longer still will it be griev’d , Till Britain’s Crimes be made to cease . Look round the Globe from East to West , Or cast a glance from Pole to Pole ’Tis Britain bars the world from rest , ’Tis Britain harrows up the Soul . 3 See Afric’s wretched offspring torn From all the human heart holds dear , See Millions doomed in Chains to Mourn , Unpitied even , by a Tear . See Asia and her fertile plains Where once the Bramin dwells serene , Now , ravaged by the thirst for gain , Till Famine ends the dismal scene . 4 It is to bind the Tyrants hands , To give the tortured world repose , That France sends forth her chosen bands To meet her friends , or seek her foes . ’Tis then , and not till then , that we , A better world may hope to view , ’Tis then that man will happy be , And nations Love as I love you .