Cornwallis first, their late all-conquering lord, Bears to the victor chief his conquer'd sword, Presents the burnisht hilt, and yields with pain The gift of kings, here brandisht long in vain. Then bow their hundred banners, trailing far Their wearied wings from all the skirts of war. Battalion'd infantry and squadron'd horse Dash the silk tassel and the golden torse; Flags from the forts and ensigns from the fleet Roll in the dust, and at Columbia's feet Prostrate the pride of thrones; they firm the base Of Freedom's temple, while her arms they grace. Here Albion's crimson Cross the soil o'erspreads, Her Lion crouches and her Thistle fades; Indignant Erin rues her trampled Lyre, Brunswick's pale Steed forgets his foamy fire, Proud Hessia's Castle lies in dust o'erthrown, And venal Anspach quits her broken Crown. Long trains of wheel'd artillery shade the shore, Quench their blue matches and forget to roar; Along the encumber'd plain, thick planted rise High stacks of muskets glittering to the skies, Numerous and vast. As when the toiling swains Heap their whole harvest on the stubbly plains, Gerb after gerb the bearded shock expands, Shocks, ranged in rows, hill high the burden'd lands; The joyous master numbers all the piles, And o'er his well-earn'd crop complacent smiles: Such growing heaps this iron harvest yield, So tread the victors this their final field. Triumphant Washington, with brow serene, Regards unmoved the exhilarating scene, Weighs in his balanced thought the silent grief That sinks the bosom of the fallen chief. With all the joy that laurel crowns bestow, A world reconquer'd and a vanquished foe. Thus thro extremes of life, in every state, Shines the clear soul, beyond all fortune great; While smaller minds, the dupes of fickle chance, Slight woes o'erwhelm and sudden joys entrance. So the full sun, thro all the changing sky, Nor blasts nor overpowers the naked eye; Tho transient splendors, borrowed from his light, Glance on the mirror and destroy the sight. He bids brave Lincoln guide with modest air The last glad triumph of the finish'd war; Who sees, once more, two armies shade one plain, The mighty victors and the captive train. Book VIII. Argument. Hymn to Peace. Eulogy on the heroes slain in the war; in which the Author finds occasion to mention his Brother. Address to the patriots who have survived the conflict; exhorting them to preserve liberty they have established. The danger of losing it by inattention illustrated in the rape of the Golden Fleece. Freedom succeeding to Despotism in the moral world, like Order succeeding to Chaos in the physical world. Atlas, the guardian Genius of Africa, denounces to Hesper the crimes of his people in the slavery of the Afripans. The Author addresses his countrymen on that subject, and on the principles of their government.