Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A SPEECH THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SPOKEN BY THE KING ..., by PHILIP FRENEAU


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A SPEECH THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SPOKEN BY THE KING ..., by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: My lords, I can hardly from weeping refrain
Last Line: Let us conquer -- or go to the devil together.
Subject(s): American Revolution; George Iii, King Of England (1738-1820)


MY lords, I can hardly from weeping refrain,
When I think of this year, and its cursed campaign;
But still it is folly to whine and to grieve,
For things will yet alter, I hope and believe.

Of the four southern States we again are bereaved,
They were just in our grasp (or I'm sadly deceived):
There are wizzards and witches that dwell in those lands
For the moment we gain them, they slip from our hands.

Our prospects, at present, most gloomy appear;
Cornwallis returns, with a flea in his ear,
Sir Henry is sick of his station, we know --
And Amherst, though pressed, is unwilling to go.

The HERO that steered for the cape of Good Hope
With Monsieur Suffrein was unable to cope --
Many months are elapsed, yet his task is to do --
To conquer the Cape, and to conquer Peru:

When his squadron at Portsmouth he went to equip,
He promised great things from his FIFTY-GUN SHIP;
But, let him alone -- while he knows which is which,
He'll not be so ready to " die in a ditch."

This session, I thought to have told you thus much,
"A treaty concluded, and peace with the Dutch" --
But, as stubborn as ever, they vapour and brag,
And sail by my nose with the Prussian flag.

The empress refuses to join on our side,
As yet with the Indians we're only allyed:
(Though such an alliance is rather improper,
We English are white, but their colour is copper.)

The Irish, I fear, have some mischief in view;
They ever have been a most troublesome crew --
If a truce or a treaty hereafter be made,
They shall pay very dear for their present free trade.

Dame Fortune, I think, has our standard forsaken,
For Tobago, they say, by Frenchmen is taken:
Minorca's besieged and as for Gibraltar,
By Jove, if it's taken I'll take to the halter.

It makes me so wroth, I could scold like Xantippe
When I think of our losses along Missisippi --
And see in the Indies that horrible Hyder
His conquests extending still wider, and wider.

'Twixt Washington, Hyder, Don Galvez, De Grasse,
By my soul, we are brought to a very fine pass --
When we've reason to hope new battles are won,
A packet arrives -- and an army's undone! --

In the midst of this scene of dismay and distress,
What is best to be done, is not easy to guess,
For things may go wrong though we plan them aright,
And blows they must look for, whose trade is to fight.

In regard to the Rebels, it is my decree
That dependent on Britain they ever shall be;
Or I've captains and hosts, that will fly at my nod
And slaughter them all -- by the blessing of God.

But if they succeed, as they're likely to do,
Our neighb ours must part with their colonies too;
Let them laugh and be merry, and make us their jest,
When La Plata revolts, we will laugh with the rest --

'Tis true that the journey to castle St. Juan
Was a project that brought the projectors to ruin;
But still, my dear lords, I would have you reflect,
Who nothing do venture can nothing expect.

If the Commons agree to afford me new treasures,
My sentence once more is for vigorous measures:
Accustomed so long to head winds and bad weather,
Let us conquer -- or go to the devil together.





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