Pearson as yet disdain'd to yield, But scarce his secret fears conceal'd, And thus was heard to cry-- "With hell, not mortals, I contend; "What art thou--human, or a fiend, "That dost my force defy?
"Return, my lads, the fight renew!" So call'd bold Pearson to his crew; But call'd, alas! in vain; Some on the decks lay maim'd and dead; Some to their deep recesses fled, And more were bury'd in the main.[44]
Distress'd, forsaken, and alone, He haul'd his tatter'd standard down, And yielded to his gallant foe; Bold _Pallas_ soon the _Countess_ took, Thus both their haughty colours struck, Confessing what the brave can do.
But, Jones, too dearly didst thou buy These ships possest so gloriously, Too many deaths disgrac'd the fray: Thy barque that bore the conquering flame, That the proud Briton overcame, Even she forsook thee on thy way;
For when the morn began to shine, Fatal to her, the ocean brine Pour'd through each spacious wound; Quick in the deep she disappear'd, But Jones to friendly Belgia steer'd, With conquest and with glory crown'd.
Go on, great man, to daunt the foe, And bid the haughty Britons know They to our Thirteen Stars shall bend; The Stars that veil'd in dark attire, Long glimmer'd with a feeble fire, But radiant now ascend;
Bend to the Stars that flaming rise In western, not in eastern, skies, Fair Freedom's reign restor'd. So when the Magi, come from far, Beheld the God-attending Star, They trembled and ador'd.
[42] This was the first poem contributed by Freneau to the _Freeman's Journal_. It appeared August 8, 1781. The exploit of Jones is too well known to need further comment; it took place September 23, 1779. The text follows the edition of 1786.
[43] "Overwhelming half below."--_Ed. 1795._
[44] "And hosts were shrouded in the main."--_Ed. 1795._
To the Commander-in-Chief, Officers, and Soldiers of the American Army