Virginia Argus

FOR THE VIRGINIA ARGUS.
PATRIOTIC ODES FOR THE YEAR 1808
ODE IV.
TO THE ANGLO-FEDERALISTS.

Ye worthy friends of Britain! 'tis said
That ye again are looking up to power;
That ye are must'ring all your forces dread;
And lo! the perilous storm begins to lower?
In secret ye have met, a dark divan,
And form'd committees who in secret meet;
Thus have ye organized a subtle plan,
Throughout the states the Demos to defeat.
Such are your sanguine hopes; but much I fear,
Those hopes will vanish into empty smoke.
Already have ye labor'd many a year;
And still (as oft as form'd) your bubbles broke!
Long have ye plotted, printed, puff'd and lied,
And us'd all arts, which Satan's aid supplied;
Your arch-foe Jefferson to overcome :
But, while ye strive to mount, ye backward fall;
The People will not listen while ye bawl;
Nor will they follow when ye beat the drum.
In Massachusetts ye have done great things :
Gain'd a majority by rare finesse!
Yet even from this no solid comfort springs;
That short liv'd triumph cannot fix success
Methinks, while there ye strut, and fume, and boast
That for a little while ye rule the roas,
(Ah! soon to sink before the Sov'reign PEOPLE)
I see the frog who with the ox in size
By swelling strove, or Dwarf ambitious rise,
On tip-toe, struggling hard to match a steeple!
Great were your hopes from little Aaron BuRR;
And yet in vain was all his mighty stir.
'Tis true you sav'd him from th' insulted laws :
Yet his escape but little serv'd your cause.
Could he indeed a diadem have won,
The federal reign of glory, had begun,
Your "second Bonaparte" then
With dukedoms had adorn'd his chosen men;
The mines of Mexico had given them gold;
And Burr had given them titles grand!
In splendor then each lordly fed had roll'd :
Princes and chiefs, and rulers of the land.
Alas! these golden hopes, too sweet to last,
Were fleeting as the morning's airy dream :
The cunning democrats your projects blast,
And still, alas! their party is supreme.
"Choice spirits" cannot reign, nor "best of blood"
Who scorn'd "the dull pursuits of civil life:"
Here must they "veg ete" with sons of mud:
Forbid to mingle in the glorious strife.
"The spirit-stirring drum, ear-piercing fife,
Pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war,"
All now are lost! and (what they most abhor)
This vile EMBARGO cramps their energies!
Ye quondam friends of order then arise!
Put on your strength ;--one powerful effort make,
And by that effort ye may win the day.
Now is the time the citadel to take
Could but its sentinels the gates betray.
'Tis true their honesty is such,
To bribe them you may strive in vain;
And such their wisdom, that not much
Your artful tricks from theirs will gain.
Your only chance is discord to excite ;
That, while they quarrel, you the gates may reach.
Divide and conquer then! yourselves unite,
And stick together close as any beech:
While they dispute for Clinton or Monroe,
And hush each other to the fatal blow
So thro' the world your victory may ring,
And Demos bow to Cotesworth or to King.