Nor any least tumultuous breath;

Calm was his life, and quiet was his death. 295 Soft as those gentle whispers were,

In which the Almighty did appear;

By the still voice the prophet knew him there.

That peace which made thy prosperous reign to

shine,

That peace thou leavest to thy imperial line, 290 That peace, oh happy shade, be ever thine!

X.

For all those joys thy restoration brought,
For all the miracles it wrought,

For all the healing balm thy mercy pour'd
Into a nation's bleeding wound,

And care that after kept it sound,

For numerous blessings yearly shower'd,
And property with plenty crown'd;

For freedom, still maintain'd alive,

295

Freedom, which in no other land will thrive, 300 Freedom, an English subject's sole prerogative, Without whose charms e'en peace would be

But a dull quiet slavery:

For these, and more, accept our pious praise; 'Tis all the subsidy

The present age can raise,

305

V. 288. By the still voice] Alluding to 1 Kings, xix. 12. 'And after the fire a still small voice.' See also the marginal reading of Job, iv. 6. 'I heard a still voice, saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God?' T.

The rest is charg'd on late posterity.
Posterity is charg'd the more,
Because the large abounding store,

To them and to their heirs, is still entail'd by

thee.

Succession of a long descent

Which chastely in the channels ran,

310

And from our demigods began,

Equal almost to time in its extent,

Through hazards numberless and great,

315

Thou hast deriv'd this mighty blessing down,

And fix'd the fairest gem that decks the imperial

crown:

Not faction, when it shook thy regal seat,

Not senates, insolently loud,

Those echoes of a thoughtless crowd,

Not foreign or domestic treachery,

Could warp thy soul to their unjust decree.
So much thy foes thy manly mind mistook,
Who judg'd it by the mildness of thy look:
Like a well temper'd sword it bent at will;
But kept the native toughness of the steel.

XI.

Be true, O Clio, to thy hero's name !
But draw him strictly so,

820

325

That all who view the piece may know;
He needs no trappings of fictitious fame:
The load's too weighty: thou may'st choose
Some parts of praise, and some refuse:

330

Write, that his annals may be thought more lavish than the muse.

In scanty truth thou hast confin'd
The virtues of a royal mind,

Forgiving, bounteous, humble, just, and kind:

His conversation, wit, and parts,

His knowledge in the noblest useful arts,
Were such, dead authors could not give;
But habitudes of those who live;
Who, lighting him, did greater lights receive:
He drain'd from all, and all they knew;
His apprehension quick, his judgment true:
That the most learn'd, with shame, confess
His knowledge more, his reading only less.

XII.

Amidst the peaceful triumphs of his reign,
What wonder if the kindly beams he shed
Reviv'd the drooping arts again,

If science rais'd her head,

And soft humanity that from rebellion fled.
Our isle, indeed, too fruitful was before;

But all uncultivated lay

Out of the solar walk and heaven's high way;

With rank Geneva weeds run o'er,

335

340

345

350

And cockle, at the best, amidst the corn it bore:

The royal husbandman appear'd,

And plough'd, and sow'd, and till'd,

The thorns he rooted out, the rubbish clear'd,

And blest the obedient field.

When straight a double harvest rose;
Such as the swarthy Indian mows;
Or happier climates near the line,

360

Or paradise manur'd, and dress'd by hands divine.

XIII.

As when the new-born phoenix takes his way,
His rich paternal regions to survey,

Of airy choristers a numerous train
Attend his wondrous progress o'er the plain;
So, rising from his father's urn,

So glorious did our Charles return;
The officious muses came along,

365

370

A gay harmonious quire, like angels ever young: The muse that mourns him now his happy tri

umph sung.

E'en they could thrive in this auspicious reign: And such a plenteous crop they bore

Of purest and well winnow'd grain,

As Britain never knew before.

375

Though little was their hire, and light their gain, Yet somewhat to their share he threw ;

Fed from his hand they sung and flew,

Like birds of paradise that liv'd on morning dew.
Oh never let their lays his name forget!
The pension of a prince's praise is great.
Live then, thou great encourager of arts,
Live ever in our thankful hearts;
Live blest above, almost invok'd below;
Live and receive this pious vow,

385

Our patron once, our guardian angel now.
Thou Fabius of a sinking state,

Who didst by wise delays divert her fate,

When faction like a tempest rose,

In death's most hideous form,

Then art to rage thou didst oppose,

To weather out the storm:

Not quitting thy supreme command,

390

Thou held'st the rudder with a steady hand,
Till safely on the shore the bark did land:

The bark that all our blessings brought,

395

Charg'd with thyself and James, a doubly royal fraught.

XIV.

Oh frail estate of human things,

And slippery hopes below!

Now to our cost your emptiness we know,

For 'tis a lesson dearly bought,

Assurance here is never to be sought.

400

He toil'd, he gain'd, but liv'd not to enjoy.
What mists of Providence are these

Through which we cannot see!

So saints, by supernatural power set free,
Are left at last in martyrdom to die;

410