XXXI.

The Moslem, too, had lost both ships and men;
But when they saw the enemy retire,

Their Delhis (1) mann'd some boats, and sail'd again,
And gall'd the Russians with a heavy fire,
And tried to make a landing on the main;

But here the effect fell short of their desire :
Count Damas drove them back into the water
Pell-mell, and with a whole gazette of slaughter. (2)

XXXII.

"If" (says the historian here) "I could report
All that the Russians did upon this day,
I think that several volumes would fall short,
And I should still have many things to say;" (3)
And so he says no more—but pays his court

To some distinguish'd strangers in that fray; The Prince de Ligne, and Langeron, and Damas, Names great as any that the roll of Fame has. (4)

(1) Properly madmen: a species of troops who, in the Turkish army, act as the forlorn hope."- D'HERBELOT.]

(2) "Les Turcs perdirent beaucoup de monde et plusieurs vaisseaux : à peine la retraite des Russes fut-elle remarquée, que les plus braves d'entre les ennemis se jetèrent dans de petites barques et essayèrent une descente : le Comte de Damas les mit en fuite, et leur tua plusieurs officiers et grand nombre de soldats."- Hist. de la N. R. p. 204.]

(3) ["On ne tarirait pas si on voulait rapporter tout ce que les Russes firent de mémorable dans cette journée; pour conter les hauts faits d'armes, pour particulariser toutes les actions d'éclat, il faudrait composer des volumes."- Ibid. p. 204.]

(4) "Parmi les étrangers, le Prince de Ligne se distingua de manière à mériter l'estime générale; de vrais chevaliers Français, attirés par l'amour de la gloire, se montrèrent dignes d'elle: les plus marquans étaient le jeune Duc de Richelieu, les Comtes de Langeron et de Damas." — Ibid. p. 204.]

XXXIII.

This being the case, may show us what Fame is: For out of these three "preux Chevaliers,” how Many of common readers give a guess

That such existed? (and they may live now For aught we know.) Renown's all hit or miss;

There's fortune even in fame, we must allow. 'Tis true, the Memoirs (1) of the Prince de Ligne (2) Have half withdrawn from him oblivion's screen.

XXXIV.

But here are men who fought in gallant actions
As gallantly as ever heroes fought,

But buried in the heap of such transactions

Their names are rarely found, nor often sought. Thus even good fame may suffer sad contractions, And is extinguish'd sooner than she ought: Of all our modern battles, I will bet

You can't repeat nine names from each Gazette.

XXXV.

In short, this last attack, though rich in glory,
Show'd that somewhere, somehow, there was a fault,
And Admiral Ribas (known in Russian story)
Most strongly recommended an assault;

(1) [" Letters and Reflections of the Austrian Field-Marshal, Charles Joseph, Prince de Ligné, edited by the Baroness de Staël-Holstein," 2 vols. 1809.]

(2) [Charles Joseph, Comte de Ligne, was born at Brussels. Being, in 1782, sent by the Emperor Joseph II. on a mission to Catherine, he became a great favourite with her. She appointed him field-marshal, and gave him an estate in the Crimea. In 1788, he was sent to assist Potemkin at the siege of Oczakoff. He died in 1814.]

In which he was opposed by young and hoary, (1)
Which made a long debate; but I must halt,
For if I wrote down every warrior's speech,
I doubt few readers e'er would mount the breach.

XXXVI.

There was a man, if that he was a man,

Not that his manhood could be call'd in question, For had he not been Hercules, his span

Had been as short in youth as indigestion Made his last illness, when, all worn and wan, He died beneath a tree, as much unblest on The soil of the green province he had wasted, As e'er was locust on the land it blasted.

XXXVII.

This was Potemkin (2)—a great thing in days
When homicide and harlotry made great;
If stars and titles could entail long praise,
His glory might half equal his estate.

(1) "L'Amiral Ribas déclara, en plein conseil, que ce n'était qu'en donnant l'assaut qu'on obtiendrait la place: cet avis parut hardi; on lui opposa mille raisons, auxquelles il répondit par de meilleures."- Hist. de la N. R. p. 205.]

(2) [The following character of Prince Potemkin is from the pen of Count Ségur, who lived in habits of intimacy with him:-" In his person were collected the most opposite defects and advantages of every kind. He was avaricious and ostentatious, despotic and obliging, politic and confiding, licentious and superstitious, bold and timid, ambitious and indiscreet; lavish of his bounties to his relations, his mistresses, and his favourites, yet frequently paying neither his household nor his creditors. His consequence always depended on a woman, and he was always unfaithful to her. Nothing could equal the activity of his mind, nor the indolence of his body. No dangers could appal his courage; no difficulties force him to abandon his projects. But the success of an enterprise always brought on disgust

This fellow, being six foot high, could raise
A kind of phantasy proportionate

In the then sovereign of the Russian people,
Who measured men as you would do a steeple.

XXXVIII.

While things were in abeyance, Ribas sent
A courier to the prince, and he succeeded
In ordering matters after his own bent;

I cannot tell the way in which he pleaded,
But shortly he had cause to be content.

In the mean time, the batteries proceeded, And fourscore cannon on the Danube's border Were briskly fired and answer'd in due order.(1)

Every thing with him was desultory; business, pleasure, temper, courage His presence was a restraint on every company. He was morose to all that stood in awe of him, and caressed all such as accosted him with familiarity. None had read less than he; few people were better informed. One while he formed the project of becoming Duke of Courland; at another he thought of bestowing on himself the crown of Poland. He frequently gave intimation of an intention to make himself a bishop, or even a simple monk. He built a superb palace, and wanted to fell it before it was finished. In his youth he had pleased Catherine by the ardour of his passion, by his valour, and by his masculine beauty. Become the rival of Orloff, he performed for his sovereign whatever the most romantic passion could inspire. He put out an eye, to free it from a blemish which diminished his beauty. Banished by his rival, he ran to meet death in battle, and returned with glory. He died in 1791, at the age of fifty-two."]

(1) [" Ce projet, remis à un autre jour, éprouva encore les plus grandes difficultés; le courage de Ribas les surmonta: il ne s'agissait que de déterminer le Prince Potiemkin; il y réussit. Tandis qu'il se démenait pour l'exécution de projet agréé, on construisait de nouvelles batteries; on comptait, le 12 Decembre, quatre-vingts pièces de canon sur le bord du Danube, et cette journée se passa en vives canonnades. - Histoire de la Nouvelle Russie, tom. ii. p. 205.]

XXXIX.

But on the thirteenth, when already part

Of the troops were embark'd, the siege to raise, A courier on the spur inspired new heart

Into all panters for newspaper praise, As well as dilettanti in war's art,

By his despatches couch'd in pithy phrase ; Announcing the appointment of that lover of Battles to the command, Field-Marshal Souvaroff. (1)

XL.

The letter of the prince to the same marshal
Was worthy of a Spartan, had the cause

Been one to which a good heart could be partial—
Defence of freedom, country, or of laws;

But as it was mere lust of power to o'er-arch all
With its proud brow, it merits slight applause,
Save for its style, which said, all in a trice,
"You will take Ismail at whatever price." (2)

XLI.

"Let there be light! said God, and there was light!" "Let there be blood !" says man, and there's a sea! The fiat of this spoil'd child of the Night (For Day ne'er saw his merits) could decree

(1) [" Mais le 13e, une partie des troupes était embarquée; on allait lever le siège: un courrier arrive; ce courrier annonce, de la part du Prince, que le Maréchal Souwarow va prendre le commandement des forces réunies sous Ismaël.". — Hist. de la N. R. p. 205.]

(2) ["La lettre du Prince Potiemkin à Souwarow est très-courte; elle peint le caractère de ces deux personnages. La voici dans toute sa teneur : 'Vous prendrez Ismaël à quel prix que ce soit!'"- Ibid. p. 205.]