Malice (who, disappointed of her end,
Whether to work the bane of foe or friend,
Preys on herself, and driven to the stake,
Gives virtue that revenge she scorns to take)
Had killed thee, tottering on life's utmost verge,
Had Wilkes and Liberty escaped thy scourge.
"When that great charter which our fathers bought
With their best blood, was into question brought;
When big with ruin, o'er each English head,
Vile Slavery hung suspended by a thread;