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1794.2
To My Country
"A. B."
The Gentleman's Magazine, LXIV (February 1794), pp. 163-164
The Bees and the Wasps.
The vernal Sun's enliv'ning ray
To labour cheer'd a hive
of bees;
Their patient toil, from day to day,
The prize of industry
atchieves. [sic]
In vain bleak Winter scoul'd upon his throne;
Their cells were fill'd, their summer's task was done.
In full satiety they liv'd;
Their king beneficent
in mind;
No want perplex'd, no anguish griev'd,
But peace and plenty were
conjoin'd.
In revelry they sipp'd the luscious store;
On in sweet slumbers pass'd the winter o'er.
How bless'd a government so mild!
But lasting bliss is not
on earth;
Fell faction and rebellion wild,
Receive from pamper'd
lux'ry birth.
Indulgence, sloth, and brooding spleen malign,
The happy hive to wretched strife consign.
An upstart bee first shew'd his sting,
And humming discontent
began—
"Shall we, my friends, support a king,
"Who owes his title to
our clan?
"Behold his size, his awful regal state—
"His growth expands from our laborious fate.
"Shall we submit to royal pride;
"Obey his mandate, view
his scorn?—
"To arms, my friends: for war provide,
"To free equality we're
born.
"Let hostile swarms provoke the civil strife,
And bee with bee contend for death or life."
But, mark! sedate, the wisest bee
Surrounds the throne with
noble ire;
The lawless throng shout liberty,
And to their vaunting
chief retire.
The vaunting chief persuades the rebel throng
T'assail the monarch, whether right or wrong.
Nor parent tie or kindred claim,
When host join host, regard;
Each combatant to kill or maim,
Sedition's glory and reward.
The father, son and brother, strew the ground,
And death insatiate heaps the bloody mound.
At length the wasps, a murd'ring crew,
The rebel-bees to join
invite;
The fierce invaders quickly slew,
And stole the honey with
delight;
Pretended friends t'espouse the rebel cause,
Entic'd by plunder, and to give new laws.
The silly bees too late perceiv'd
Their treasure rifled
by false friends,
And, oh! by Faction's glare deceiv'd,
Destruction o'er the hive
impends.
In loyal union 'gainst the wasps combine;
Respect their king, and patriots patriots join.
The factious crowd now wait their doom;
The humbled chieftian
prostrate falls;
Gaunt civil war for peace makes room,
And the drain'd hive for
justice calls,
Rebellion's guilt is punish'd; but the smart
Reaches too deep, and strikes the kingdom's heart.