Would keep him still depending on the crowd; That kingly power, thus ebbing out, might be Drawn to the dregs of a democracy. Him he attempts with studied arts to please, And sheds his venom in such words as these. Auspicious prince, at whose nativity Some royal planet ruled the southern sky; Thy longing country's darling and desire; Their cloudy pillar and their guardian fire; Their second Moses, whose extended wand Divides[244] the seas, and shews the promised land; Whose dawning day, in every distant age, Has exercised the sacred prophet's rage; The people's prayer, the glad diviner's theme, The young men's vision, and the old men's dream! Thee, Saviour, thee the nation's vows confess, And, never satisfied with seeing, bless; Swift unbespoken pomps thy steps proclaim, And stammering babes are taught to lisp thy name. How long wilt thou the general joy detain, Starve and defraud the people of thy reign; Content ingloriously to pass thy days, Like one of virtue's fools that feed on praise; 'Till thy fresh glories, which now shine so bright, Grow stale, and tarnish with our daily sight? Believe me, royal youth, thy fruit must be Or gathered ripe, or rot upon the tree. Heaven has to all allotted, soon or late, Some lucky revolution of their fate; Whose motions if we watch and guide with skill, (For human good depends on human will,) Our fortune rolls as from a smooth descent, And from the first impression takes the bent; But, if unseized, she glides away like wind, And leaves repenting folly far behind. Now, now she meets you with a glorious prize, And spreads her locks before you as she flies. Had thus old David, from whose loins you spring, Not dared, when fortune called him, to be king, At Gath[245] an exile he might still remain, And heaven's anointing oil had been in vain. Let his successful youth your hopes engage; But shun the example of declining age: Behold him setting in his western skies, The shadows lengthening as the vapours rise. He is not now, as when, on Jordan's[246] sand, } The joyful people thronged to see him land, } Covering the beach and blackening all the strand; } But, like the prince of angels, from his height Comes tumbling downward with diminished light; Betrayed by one poor plot to public scorn, Our only blessing since his curst return; Those heaps of people which one sheaf did bind, Blown off and scattered by a puff of wind. What strength can he to your designs oppose, Naked of friends, and round beset with foes? If Pharaoh's[247] doubtful succour he should use, A foreign aid would more incense the Jews; Proud Egypt[248] would dissembled friendship bring; Foment the war, but not support the king: Nor would the royal party e'er unite