As bold Mirmillo the grey Dawn defcries,
Arm'd Cap-a-pe, where Honour calls, he flies;
And finds the Legions planted at their Poft;
Where Querpo in his Armour fhone the most:
His Shield was wrought, if we may credit Fame,
By Mulciber, the Mayor of Bromingham:
A Foliage of diffembled Senna Leaves,

Grav'd round its Brim, the wond'ring Sight deceives:
Embofs'd upon its field, a Battel ftood

Of Leeches, fpouting Hemorrhoidal Blood:
The Artift too exprefs'd the folemn State
Of grave Phyficians, at a Confult met;
About each Sympton how they difagree;
And how unanimous in Cafe of Fee.
And whilft one Affaffin another plies
With ftarch'd Civilities, the Patient dies.
Beneath this blazing Orb bright Querpo fhone,
Himself an Atlas, and his Shield a Moon:
A Peftle, for his Truncheon, led the Van;
And his high Helmet was a Clofe-ftool Pan:
His Creft an Ibis, brandifhing her Beak,
And winding in loofe Folds her fpiral Neck.
This when the young Querpoides beheld,
His Face in Nurfes Breaft the Boy conceal'd;
Then peep'd; and with th' effulgent Helm would play:
But, as the Monsfter gap'd, he'd fhrink away. Garth.
A trufty Coat of Mail to me he fent,

Thrice chain'd with Gold, for Ufe and Ornament. Dr. Virg.
A Coat of Mail, which brave Demoleus wore,

In War for his Defence, for Ornament in Peace:
Rich was the Gift, and glorious to behold;

But yet fo pond'rous with its Plates of Gold,

(Virg.

That fcarce two Servants could fuftain the Weight. Dryd. The Coat of Mail was wrought with Plates of Gold,

And Chains of Iron link'd its treble Fold;

Both to adorn in Arms, and to defend. Laud. Virg.
Light Demi-Lances from afar they throw,

Faften'd with Leathern Thongs to gaul the Foe:
Short crooked Swords in clofer Fight they wear;
And on their warding Arm light Bucklers bear. Dryd. Virg.
The Heroe arms in hafte: his Hands infold
His Thighs with Cuiffes of refulgent Gold:
Inflam'd to fight, and rufhing to the Field,
That Hand fuftaining the celestial Shield.

This gripes the Lance, and with fuch Vigour shakes,
That to the Reft the beamy Weapon quakes. Dryd. Virg.

His

His vig'rous Limbs had dazling Armour on,
And round his Head his polifh'd Helmet fhone:
His conqu'ring Sword hung down with awful Grace,
And Scars of Honour feam'd his manly Face."
His warlike Hand grip'd his Vulcanian Shield,
With rare Devices pourtray'd on the Field:
With martial State he ftrides along the Room,
And thakes at ev'ry Step his lofty Plume.

Blac. Pr. Arth

His Helm of polifh'd Steel, brac'd round his Head,
Did o'er the Field a glorious Terrour spread:
Bright Stones and high-rais'd Needle-work adorn
The fhining Belt, across his Shoulders worn:
His fatal Sword, the Bane of Gothick Pride,

With fearful Grace hung by his warlike Side. Blac. K. Arth.
Prince Arthur rofe, and arm'd himself for Fight:

Pieces with filver Studs his Legs incas'd;

And Plates of Gold his warlike Thighs embrac'd.
Then on his Head he lac'd his burnish'd Helm;
Whence flafhing Brightnefs did the Sight o'erwhelm:
Like fome celeftial Orb, his blazing Shield
Darted amazing Luftre thro' the Field:
And next he girded to his martial Side

His faithful Sword fo oft in Battel try'd..

His

Thus arm'd, the Hero mounts his thund'ring Steed:
With his ftrong Arm he grip'd his trembling Spear:
very Friends, tho' pleas'd, yet feem'd to fear:
And, as he fpur'd his Courfer, and advanc'd,
Unfuff'rable Splendour from his Armour glanc'd:
As glorious Michael, when the Foe alarms
The blissful Realms, clad in celeftial Arms;
Bright as the Sun, leads forth th' Angelick Hoft;
To chafe th' Invaders from the Heav'nly Coast:
In fuch illuftrious Arms the Prince was feen;

His warlike Grace was fuch, and fuch his Godlike Mien.
(Blac. P. Arth,
With his strong Arm he grafp'd his fpacious Shield;
Where a fierce Dragon guarded all the Field:

So bright it blaz'd, the Metal, when it came
Red from the Forge, did fcarce more fiercely flame.
Then his long Spear he grip'd, which fhone from far
Bright, as if pointed with a Morning Star.

Such fearful Splendour from his Armour glanc'd! Bl. K. Arth.
His Arms caft round a Splendour, quick as Lightning,
Bright as the rifing Flames, or orient Sun. Broome Hom

ARMY.

To Morrow's Dawn fhall cover all your Plain; Bright Arms (hall flash upon you from afar;

(p. 1. A Wood of Lances, and a moving War. Dryd. C. of Gran. The dreadful Plains an Iron Harvest yield And polifh'd Steel glares fiercely thro' the Field. Laud. Virg. We ken them from afar: The fetting Sun

Plays on their fhining Arms and burnifh'd Helmets,
And covers all the Field with Gleams of Fire.

Add, Cato.
The dreadful Plains with glaring Armour fhine. Laud, Vir.
As when the Northern Wind impetuous drives
Thick Flakes of Snow, that whiten the bright Air:
So look'd the fhining Breaft-plates, Shields and Casks,
And Spears:

The Blaze to Heav'n extended, and the Earth
Smil'd with new Glory, clad in fimiling Brafs,

(Hem, Under the trampling Troops and Steeds tefounding. Oldifw. Now all the Field refounds with loud Alarms:

Each Army does for bloody Toil prepare,

And draw their Troops out to renew the War:
The thund'ring Courfers shake the trampled Ground,
And warlike Clamours from the Hills rebound;

Amidst the Plain the rapid Chariots fly,

And with thick Clouds of Duft annoy the Sky. Blac. P. Arth Their various Arms afford a pleafing Sight;

A peaceful Train they feem, in Peace prepar'd for Fight.
Betwixt the Ranks the proud Commanders ride,

Glitt'ring with Gold, and Vefts in Purple dy'd. Dryd. Virg.
Like Fields of Corn their armed Squadrons ftand,
As thick and numberless they hide the Land. Cowl, David.
As from a hollow Rock are feen to iffue
Legions of Bees, follow'd by other Legions;
Flying in Clufters on the vernal Flow'rs;
Some here, fome there, inceffantly difperfing:
So from all Sides the Troops in Shoals advance,
Haft'ning along in numberless Platoons. Ozel. Hom.
As in the Meads of Alia, on Cayfter's Banks,
Innumerable Flocks of wild Geefe, Cranes, or Swans,
Are feen to light upon the Earth with Cries,
Which make the Meadows ring again.
Some fettling e're the reft are half-way down;
Sa did the Squadrons and Battalions move
From out their Camp:

The Earth groan'd horribly beneath the Feet
Of Men and Horfes.

They

They stood upon Scamander's fpacious Meadows,

As num❜rous as the Leaves and Flow'rs of Spring. Ozel. Hom. They fate to view the Army in the Midit,

Pleas'd with the fine Appearance of the Troops,

Whofe Shields and Helmets, and refplendent Spears,
Reflected Horrour thro' the glitt'ring Plains.

As when the Eaftern Blafts rowze the calm Ocean,
And roul the Waves in Ranks, with Light and Shade
Cafting alternate Horrours: So the Trojan,

And Grecian Hoft appear'd in dreadful Order. Ozel. Hom.
Not thicker Billows bear the Lybian Main,

When pale Orion fets in wintry Rain;

Not thicker Harvefts on rich Hermus rife,

Or Lycian Fields, when Phoebus burns the Skies;
Than ftand thefe Troops: their Bucklers ring around;

Their Trampling turns the Turf, and fhakes the folid Ground.

Dryd. Virg.

A Cloud of Foot fucceeds, and fills the Fields
With Swords, and pointed Spears, and clatt'ring Shields.
Dryd. Virg.

Hail to the Sun! from whofe returning Light
The chearful Soldiers Arms new Luftre take;
To deck the Pomp of Battel, O, my Friends,
Was ever fuch a glorious Face of War?
See, from this Height, how all Galatia's Plains
With Nations numberlefs are cover'd o'er;
Who, like a Deluge, hide the Face of Earth,
And leave no Object in the vast Horizon,
But glitt'ring Arms and Skies.

Rowe Tamerl.
Behold the Saxon Grofs begins to move:
Their Infantry embattel'd, fquare and close,
March firmly on to fill the middle Space,
Cover'd by their advancing Cavalry:

By Heav'n, 'tis beauteous Horrour. Dryd. K. Arth.
As when the Wolves have chas'd a Stag.

And flain him on the Mountains; gorg'd with Blood,
They form a Troop, and to the Springs repair

To quench their Heat: Then from their fparkling Eyes
Emit fresh Flames, the Marks of inward Fury:
In fuch Array, all eager for the Fight,
Embattel'd by their Chief, the Troops affembled.
Their Ranks they clos'd,

And wedg'd each other in: As when the Builder
Cements the fitted Stones, compact and folid,
Defeative against Winds and Storms: So clofe
The firm Battalions knit themfelves together;
And, joining Shield to Shield, Helmet to Helmer,

D 2

(Hom. Oldifw.

And

And Man to Man, one warlike Body form'd:

So thick they flood, their Plumes each other met,

And, like a Foreft, wav'd before the Wind. Oldifw. Hom.
Their fwarthy Hofts would darken all the Plain,
Doubling the native Horrours of the War,
And making Death more grim.

Add. Cato. Spoken
of an Army of Negroes.
As when fome Shepherd from a Rock's high Profpect
Spies a thick Vapour forming from the Deep,
And driv'n by boift'rous Zephyr tow'ards the Shore;
Blacker than Night the Cloud at Distance feems,
And brings a furious Tempeft in its Womb;
The Shepherd at the Sight is froze with Fear,
And to fome (helt'ring Cave compels his Flock
So look'd thefe thick Battalions as they mov'd,

(Hom.

Clad in brown Arms, and bristling with their Pikes. `Ozel. Clufter'd like Flies, that hover in the Spring

Around a Pail, that foams with fnowy Milk. Oldisw. Hom. Now from the Hills th' embattel'd Saxon fwarms,

And covers all the Plain with hoftile Arms:

As when the great Commanders Orders give
To quit the ftraight Dominions of their Hive:
The Bees pour out a num'rous Colony,

From their fweet Cells; the bufy Youth on high
Wheel in the Air, and darken all the Sky:
While brazen Pans charm and compofe their Heat,
In fome tall neighb'ring Tree they fix their Seat:
Thither th' unnumber'd Vulgar ftrait refort;

And cluft'ring Crowds furround their Monarch's Court:
So thick the Saxons on the Field appear,

Foll'wing their Leaders with an endless Reer,
As, when the Sea grown black, the hazy Sky
And rifing Winds foretel a Tempeft nigh,
Th' experienc'd Mariners, with hafty Care,
Furl their fpread Sails, and for a Storm prepare:
Strait, in the black Horizon, to the Skies
The dusky Billows threat'ning Heads arife;
Th'unnumber'd Troops upon each other throng,
And with a gloomy Afpect march along:
Advancing, they their boundless Front extend
O'er all the Main, and fearful Wreck portend:
The Saxon Hoft thus in its March appears;

And, where it came, thick Groves of briftling Spears,
Broad Ir'n Backs, and Breaft plates, brazen Shields,
Mail-Coats,and burnifh'd Helms o'erfpread the Fields:
Chariots of War in Clouds of Duft advance,

And, toffing up their Foam, the thund'ring Courfers prance.