"And seek a bride—for few can find
The sea a mistress to their mind."—Ed. 1786.
TO THE AMERICANS[101]
On the Rumoured Approach of the Hessian Forces,
Waldeckers, &c. (Published 1775)
The blast of death! the infernal guns prepare—
"Rise with the storm and all its dangers share."
Occasioned by General Gage's Proclamation that the Provinces were
in a state of Rebellion, and out of the King's protection.[102]
Rebels you are—the British champion[103] cries—
Truth, stand thou forth!—and tell the wretch, He lies:—
Rebels!—and see this mock imperial lord
Already threats these rebels with the cord.[104]
The hour draws nigh, the glass is almost run,
When truth will shine, and ruffians[105] be undone;
When this base miscreant[106] will forbear to sneer,
And curse his taunts and bitter insults here.[107]
If to controul the cunning of a knave,
Freedom respect, and scorn the name of slave;
If to protest against a tyrant's laws,
And arm for vengeance in a righteous cause,
Be deemed Rebellion—'tis a harmless thing:
This bug-bear name, like death, has lost its sting.
Americans! at freedom's fane adore!
But trust to Britain, and her flag,[108] no more;
The generous genius of their isle has fled,
And left a mere impostor in his stead.
If conquered, rebels (their Scotch records show),[109]
Receive no mercy from the parent [A]foe;[110]
Nay, even the grave, that friendly haunt of peace,
(Where Nature gives the woes of man to cease,)
Vengeance will search—and buried corpses there
Be raised, to feast the vultures of the air—
Be hanged on gibbets, such a war they wage—
Such are the devils that swell our souls with rage![111]
If Britain conquers, help us, heaven, to fly:
Lend us your wings, ye ravens of the sky;—
If Britain conquers—we exist no more;
These lands will redden with their children's gore,
Who, turned to slaves, their fruitless toils will moan,
Toils in these fields that once they called their own!
To arms! to arms! and let the murdering sword
Decide who best deserves the hangman's cord:
Nor think the hills of Canada too bleak
When desperate Freedom is the prize you seek;
For that, the call of honour bids you go
O'er frozen lakes and mountains wrapt in snow:[112]
No toils should daunt the nervous and the bold,
They scorn all heat or wave-congealing cold.
Haste!—to your tents in iron fetters bring
These slaves, that serve a tyrant and a king;[113]
So just, so virtuous is your cause, I say,
Hell must prevail if Britain gains the day.
[A] After the battle of Culloden: See Smollett's History of England.—Freneau's note.
[101] The first trace that I can find of this poem is in the Oct. 18, 1775, issue of Anderson's Constitutional Gazette, where it has the title, "Reflections on Gage's Letter to Gen. Washington of Aug. 13." It was published in the 1786 edition with the title, "On the Conqueror of America shut up in Boston. Published in New York, August 1775." The 1795 edition changed the title to "The Misnomer." I have followed the title and text of the 1809 edition.