Next, curious to explore, I wander'd where Our injur'd countrymen imprison'd are, Some closely coop'd in the unwelcome town; Some in dark dungeons held ignobly down; Gage holds them there, and all recess denies, For 'tis in these the coward's safety lies; Were these once out, how would our troops consign Each licens'd robber to the gulphy brine, Or drive them foaming to the ships for aid, To beg of stormy Greaves to cannonade, And midnight vengeance point, like Vandeput, Voiding his hell-hounds to their devilish glut. A deed like that the muse must blush to name, And bids me stamp a coward on thy fame; Rage, ruffian, rage, nor lay thy thunder down, 'Till all our Tories howl and flee the town. What is a Tory? Heavens and earth reveal! What strange blind monster does that name conceal? There! there he stands--for Augury prepare, Come lay his heart and inmost entrails bare, I, by the forelock, seize the Stygian hound; You bind his arms and bind the dragon down. Surgeon, attend with thy dissecting knife, Aim well the stroke that damps the springs of life, Extract his fangs, dislodge his teeth of prey, Clap in your pincers, and then tear away.-- Soldier, stand by, the monster may resist. You draw your back-sword, and I'll draw my fist. Lo! mixt with air his worthless ghost has fled; Surgeon, his paleness speaks the monster dead; Part, part the sutures of his brazen scull, Hard as a rock, impenetrably dull. Hold out his brain, and let his brethren see That tortoise brain, no larger than a pea-- Come, rake his entrails, whet thy knife again, Let's see what evils threat the next campaign, If ministerial force shall prove too great, Or if the Congress save their mighty freight: See on his breast, deep grav'd with iron pen, "Passive obedience to the worst of men." There to his lights direct thy searching eyes, "Slavery I love, and freedom I despise." View next his heart, his midriff just above, "To my own country I'll a traitor prove." Hard by his throat, for utterance meant, I spy, "I'll fight for tyrants and their ministry." His crowded guts unnumber'd scrawls contain, The scandal of our country and the bane; His bleeding entrails shew some great design, Which shall abortive prove, as I divine; But, freedom lost, nor danger do I see, If we can only with ourselves agree. How like St. George, invincible I stand, This home bred dragon stretch'd beneath my hand! Here may he lie, and let no traveller dare The grass green hillock o'er his carcase rear, Or heap up piles of monumental stones, To shield from Phoebus and the stars his bones. This feat perform'd, I girt my magic gown, And march'd, unlicens'd, from the guarded town. To our fam'd camp I held my eager course, Curious to view the courage and the force Of those, whose hearts are flush'd with freedom's flame, Who yet stand foremost in the field of fame,