Couldst act the patriot hero's part, Ev'n while it languish'd in the pangs of death. As once the Decii certain death defy'd, Thus like those heroes didst thou greatly fall, Long as Quebec shall rear aloft her head, Long as Laurentius in his spacious bed, This is followed by two patriotic hymns, composed for, and sung on days of national thanksgiving, "by desire of the preacher on his text." The author also tries his hand on French verse, and gives La Lamentation de Louis sur les victoires des Anglois. A.D. MDCCLX. This is followed by Loyal Tears shed over Royal Dust, an elegy on George II. Also, "on the Liberty of the Press to Mr. F —, printer, at New York, A.D. MDCCLXII." With other verses on incidents of the war, and two Latin paraphrases of the lament of David over Absalom, and the fight with Goliath. In 1791, Dr. Prime published Columbia's Glory, or British Pride Humbled; a Poem on the American Revolution: some part of it being a parody on an ode entitled Britain's Glory, or Gallic Pride Humbled; composed on the capture of Quebec, A.D. 1759, by Benjamin Young Prime, M.D. In a brief preface, he speaks of his former publication in London, in 1764, and of the requests of his friends made to him to compose a parody upon it in honor of the American revolution. The plan expanded to a composition of 1441 lines, occupied with a review of the events of the war, a eulogy of the friends and denunciation of the enemies of the country. It was ready for publication at the close of the war, but, as the author informs us, in consequence of a seven years' absence from the city, his affairs had become somewhat deranged, and as no printer could be found to execute the work on any but cash terms, he postponed publishing for a few years. We extract a portion of a panegyric upon Washington: O Washington! thou dear, illustrious chief! The soldier's glory and thy country's pride! Through the dire contest, and her sweet relief From the Virginia Gazette, May 2, 1766. Sure never was picture drawn more to the life Or affectionate husband more fond of his wife, Than America copies and loves Britain's sons, Who, conscious of Freedom, are bold as great guns. "Hearts of Oak are we still, for we're sons of those Men, Who always are ready, steady, boys, steady, To fight for their freedom again and again." Tho' we feast and grow fat on America's soil, Yet we own ourselves subjects of Britain's fair isle; And who's so absurd to deny us the name? Since true British blood flows in every vein. "Hearts of Oak, &c." Then cheer up, my lads, to your country be firm, Like kings of the ocean, we'll weather each storm; Integrity calls out, fair liberty, see, Waves her Flag o'er our heads and her words are be free. "Hearts of Oak, &c." To King George, as true subjects, we loyal bow down, But hope we may call Magna Charta our own. "Hearts of Oak, &c." Poor Esau his birth-right gave up for a bribe, those men, Who fear not the ocean, brave roarings of cannon, To stop all oppression, again and again. On our brow while we laurel-crown'd Liberty wear, What Englishmen ought we Americans dare; Though tempests and terrors around us we see, Bribes nor fears can prevail o'er the hearts that are free. "Hearts of Oak are we still, for we're sons of those men Who always are ready, stendy, boys, steady, With Loyalty, Liberty let us entwine, Our blood shall for both flow as free as our wine; Let us set an example, what all men should be, And a Toast give the World, "Here's to those dare be free. "Hearts of Oak, &c." The next we present was published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle, July 4, 1768. It was one of the earliest lyrics of the Revolution, and, by an advertisement in Hugh Gaine's Gazette, appears to have been published with the music to which it was set. It has been ascribed to Mrs. Mercy Warren ;* but it was written by John Dickinson, assisted by Arthur Lee.t A SONG. To the Tune of "Hearts of Oak," &c. Come, join hand in hand, brave Americans all, And rouse your bold hearts at fair Liberty's call; No tyrannous act shall suppress your just claim, Or stain with dishonour America's name. In freedom we're born, and in freedom we'll live! Our purses are ready Steady, friends, steady; Not as slaves, but as freemen our money we'll give. Our worthy forefathers (let's give them a cheer) Their generous bosoms all dangers despised, The tree their own hands had to Liberty rear'd, For our children shall gather the fruits of our pain." How sweet are the labours that freemen endure, Swarms of placemen and pensionerst soon will appear, Like locusts deforming the charms of the year; Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all, All ages shall speak with amaze and applause This bumper I crown for our sovereign's health, A tory parody of this song appeared in the Supplement Extraordinary to the Boston Gazette of Monday, September 26, 1768: We are indebted for this and the previous song to a very valuable collection of cuttings from "American and English newspapers, illustrating the history of our country from 1660 to 1840, formed by the antiquary William Upcott, in the pos session of the New York Historical Society. Let tyrants and minions presume to despise, Encroach on our rights and make freedom their prize; The fruits of their rapine they never shall keepTho' vengeance may nod, yet how short is her sleep. Chorus. The tree which proud Haman for Mordecai rear'd, Our wives and our babes still protected, shall know Ye insolent tyrants, who wish to enthrall, Chorus. When opprest and reproach'd, our king we implore, Not the glitter of arms, nor the dread of a fray, All ages shall speak with amaze and applause, Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all, A song to the same tune was composed in New York, in honor of some of the leaders of opinion in that day, a portion of whom afterwards figured on the royalist side. It appeared in the New York Journal, January 26, 1769. A SONG. Come, cheer up, my lads, like a true British band, In the cause of our country who join heart and hand; Fair Freedom invites-she cries out-" Agree! Hearts of oak are we all, To give them our voices again and again. See! their unblushing chieftain! perverter of laws! First-the worth of good Cruger let's crown with applause, Who has join'd us again in fair Liberty's cause— And weeps that she finds not a blot in his fame. To Jauncey, my souls, let your praises resound! With health and success may his goodness be crown'd: May the cup of his joy never cease to run o'er- What Briton, undaunted, that pants to be free, 66 you here! Whose head is approved, and whose heart is sincere." Hearts of oak, &c. For worth and for truth, and good nature renown'd, Huzza! for the patriots whose virtue is tried- The planting of the first liberty pole in the country in The Fields at New York, in that portion of the present Park between the west end of the City Hall and Broadway, by the Sons of Liberty, and the struggle which ensued between that energetic band and the government troops, during which the pole was cut down, again set up, again felled, and finally hooped and otherwise protected with iron, seems to have excited the attention of some Tory versifier, who perpetrated a burlesque cantata, a copy of which is preserved in its original form of four folio pages, printed in large type, in the collection of broadsides made by Du Simitière, now in the possession of the Library Company of Philadelphia. A MS. note by that antiquary on the copy, informs us that "this paper was found under the front door of a great many houses in New York on the morning of the fifth of March, 1770." The Procession with the Standard of Faction : a Cantata, opens with a few lines of RECITATIVE. "Twas on the morn when Virtue wept to see BALLAD LITERATURE Pr then sings, Of all the men in our town, There's none like S*** the Lr. Recitative. Brave, honest George, of genuine British mould, We give this song entire, for its minute description of the liberty-pole. Air "Derry-down.” Come listen, good neighbours of every degree, Its bottom, so artfully fix'd under ground, The vane, mark'd with freedom, may put us in mind, Then away, ye pretenders to freedom, away, sever, And, huzzah for King George and our country for Derry down, &c. This curious production has never, to our knowledge, been reprinted or noticed. Our extracts are from Du Simitière's copy, the only one we have met with. The burning of the armed schooner Gaspee in the waters of Rhode Island, one of the earliest instances of resistance to British authority, gave rise to a ballad at the time which has a genuine flavor of the popular feeling. The passage of history to which it refers is thus related by Bancroft. The time was June, 1772. "Inhabitants of Providence, in Rhode Island, had in the last March, complained to the Deputy Governor of the conduct of Lieutenant Dudingston, Commander of the Gaspee, who obstructed their vessels and boats, without showing any evidence of his authority. Hopkins, the Chief Justice, on being consulted, gave the opinion, that any person who should come into the Colony and without arins, exercise any authority by force of showing his commission to the Governor, and if a Custom House officer, without being sworn into his office, was guilty of a trespass, if not piracy.' The Governor, therefore, sent a sheriff on board the Gaspee, to ascertain by what orders the Lieutenant acted; and Dudingston referred the subThe Admiral answered ject to the Admiral. from Boston: The Lieutenant, Sir, has done his 'duty. I shall give the King's officers directions, that they send every man taken in molesting them to me. As sure as the people of Newport attempt to rescue any vessel, and any of them are taken, I will hang them as pirates.' Dudingston seconded the insolence of his superior officer, insulted the inhabitants, plundered the islands of sheep and hogs, cut down trees, fired at market boats, detained vessels without a colorable pretext, and made illegal seizures of goods of which the recovery cost more than they were worth. "On the ninth of June, the Providence Packet was returning to Providence, and proud of its speed, went gayly on, heedless of the Gaspee. Dudingston gave chase. The tide being at flood, the Packet ventured near shore; the Gaspee confidently followed; and drawing more water ran aground on Nauquit, a little below Pautuxet. The following night a party of men in six or seven boats, led by John Brown and Joseph Brown of Providence, and Simeon Potter of Bristol, boarded the stranded schooner, after a scuffle in which Dudingston was wounded, took and landed its crew, and then set it on fire."* The author of the old ballad is unknown: NEW SONG CALLED THE GASPEE.T Sometimes they'd weigh, and give them chase, But what they would let some shot fly. Bancroft's United States, vi. 416, 417. + From Sketches of Newport and its Vicinity, published by John S. Taylor, New York, 1842, pp. 156-2. Which did provoke to high degree It was not long, ere it fell out That William Duddingston, so stout, Because, as people do assert, Did chase the sloop called the Hannah, The news of it flew that very day, Soon made this stout coxcomb surrender- Then set the men upon the land One thousand more, he says he'll spare Likewise one hundred pound per man, We have next to present three out of several scraps of verse on the exciting topic of tea. The first is from the New Hampshire Gazette of July 22, 1774; the second from the Pennsylvania Journal of September 14, in the same year; the third is also from a newspaper of about the same period: IV. Forbid it, Heaven, let us be wise, Nor ever let a thought arise, V. Since we so great a plenty have, VI. When we survey the breathless corpse, For crawling worms a sweet resort, VII. Noxious effluvia sending out VIII. To view the same enroll'd in TEA, IX. Some of it tinctur'd with the filth Of carcases embalm'd; Taste of this herb then if thou wilt, Sure me it cannot charm. Σ. Adieu, away, O TEA begone, VIRGINIA BANISHING TEA, By a Lady. Begone, pernicious baneful tea, And venal men their birth-right sell; This great good cause we will defend; Nor bribe, nor Gage, nor North's decree, Shall make us at his feet to bend.” From Anglia's ancient sons we came, Those heroes who for freedom fought; In Freedom's cause we'll match their fame, Our king we love, but North we hate, If death's our doom, we'll brave our fate, A LADY'S ADIEU TO HER TEA-TABLE. Farewell the tea-board, with its gaudy equipage |