1795.18
For the Tomahawk.
Song, by Della Crusca,
On Lord Howe, And the Action of the First of June.[1]
"R. M."
The Tomahawk (October 29, 1795)

Tune—Kate of Aberdeen.

HOWE! pride of my poetic page,
Skim'd o'er the silver sea;
From GALLIA gain'd th' Eolian gage,
And wreath'd our LIBERTY!

The grass-green main wax'd white with ire,
Then foaming froth'd serene!
When pinchbeck morn, with saffron fire,
Display'd a civic scene!

Life's red port lav'd from ANGLIA's veins;
And NEPTUNE'S hills were steep'd
In claret gore, by GALLIC rains,
Which the REPUBLIC weep'd!

But had MARS' tears not trill'd in tides,
Erst now our sight had seen
The GUILLOTINE, with ghastly glides,
From here to ABERDEEN!

Notes

1. The poem is a parody of the type written by Robert Merry (1755-1798), the leader of the Della Cruscan School.