Poems (Sewell)/To the Author of an Elegy on Captain Cooke
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TO THE AUTHOR OF ANELEGYONCAPTAIN COOKE.
O Thou! whoe'er thou art—Oh Bard divine!
May heav'nly pow'rs prolong the Poet's breath,
When noble Justice animates his line,
And rescues Virtue from the shades of Death!
May heav'nly pow'rs prolong the Poet's breath,
When noble Justice animates his line,
And rescues Virtue from the shades of Death!
For thee, oh Cooke! tho' fir'd by gen'rous zeal—
Ah why did savage climes employ thy care;
To find that death, a noble heart shall feel!—
To find the weapon of destruction there?
Ah why did savage climes employ thy care;
To find that death, a noble heart shall feel!—
To find the weapon of destruction there?
Ingratitude!—Thou keen corrosive pow'r!
To set the mind from gen'rous bondage free;
Whene'er thy hand appoints the bloody hour—
From Death the Hero shrinks not, but from Thee!
To set the mind from gen'rous bondage free;
Whene'er thy hand appoints the bloody hour—
From Death the Hero shrinks not, but from Thee!
Yet—if that Spirit, in its glorious height,
From rig'rous Justice shall assert its due—
Behold! that Muse, which glows with all its light,
And gives thee Fame, shall give thee Vengeance too!
From rig'rous Justice shall assert its due—
Behold! that Muse, which glows with all its light,
And gives thee Fame, shall give thee Vengeance too!