Poor as a snake, and ever vile
Shall his condition be,
Who to the men of royal style
Neglects to bend the knee.
He, with the herd of little note,
May starve on bread and cheese,
And soon shall be without a coat
Or sent to pay jail-fees.
ODE II[132]
To the Frigate Constitution
"A ship carpenter being once asked, what sort of ships are the safest, he answered, those which are hauled up on dry land."
Madam!—Stay where you are,
'Tis better, sure, by far
Than venturing on an element of danger,
Where heavy seas and stormy gales
May wreck your hulk and rend your sails,
Or Europe's black-guards treat you like a stranger,
When first you stuck upon your ways
(Where half New England came to gaze)
We antifederals thought it something odd
That where all art had been display'd,
And even the builder deem'd a little god,
He had your ways not better laid.
Omens, indeed, are now exploded,
But you have something dismal boded:
Say—must the navy-system go to rack,
And things advance at such a rate
That every wisely govern'd state
Will hold the author of the scheme a quack.