I say no more than hath been said in Danté’s
Verse, and by Solomon and by Cervantes;
IV
By Swift, by Machiavel, by Rochefoucault,
By Fénélon, by Luther, and by Plato;581
By Tillotson, and Wesley, and Rousseau,
Who knew this life was not worth a potato.
’Tis not their fault, nor mine, if this be so—
For my part, I pretend not to be Cato,
Nor even Diogenes.—We live and die,
But which is best, you know no more than I.
V
Socrates said, our only knowledge was582
“To know that nothing could be known;” a pleasant
Science enough, which levels to an ass
Each man of wisdom, future, past, or present.
Newton (that proverb of the mind), alas!
Declared, with all his grand discoveries recent,
That he himself felt only “like a youth
Picking up shells by the great ocean—Truth.”583584
VI
Ecclesiastes said, “that all is vanity”—
Most modern preachers say the same, or show it
By their examples of true Christianity:
In short, all know, or very soon may know it;
And in this scene of all-confessed inanity,
By Saint, by Sage, by Preacher, and by Poet,
Must I restrain me, through the fear of strife,
From holding up the nothingness of Life?585
VII
Dogs, or men!—for I flatter you586 in saying
That ye are dogs—your betters far—ye may
Read, or read not, what I am now essaying
To show ye what ye are in every way.
As little as the moon stops for the baying
Of wolves, will the bright Muse withdraw one ray
From out her skies—then howl your idle wrath!
While she still silvers o’er your gloomy path.
VIII
“Fierce loves and faithless wars”—I am not sure
If this be the right reading—’tis no matter;
The fact’s about the same, I am secure;
I sing them both, and am about to batter
A town which did a famous siege endure,
And was beleaguered both by land and water
By Souvaroff,587 or Anglicè Suwarrow,
Who loved blood as an alderman loves marrow.
IX
The fortress is called Ismail, and is placed
Upon the Danube’s left branch and left bank,588
With buildings in the Oriental taste,
But still a fortress of the foremost rank,
Or was at least, unless ’tis since defaced,
Which with your conquerors is a common prank:
It stands some eighty versts from the high sea,
And measures round of toises thousands three.589
X
Within the extent of this fortification
A borough is comprised along the height
Upon the left, which from its loftier station
Commands the city, and upon its site
A Greek had raised around this elevation
A quantity of palisades upright,
So placed as to impede the fire of those
Who held the place, and to assist the foe’s.590
XI
This circumstance may serve to give a notion
Of the high talents of this new Vauban:
But the town ditch below was deep as Ocean,
The rampart higher than you’d wish to hang:
But then there was a great want of precaution
(Prithee, excuse this engineering slang),
Nor work advanced, nor covered way was there,591
To hint, at least, “Here is no thoroughfare.”
XII
But a stone bastion, with a narrow gorge,
And walls as thick as most skulls born as yet;
Two batteries, cap-à-pie, as our St. George,
Casemated592 one, and t’ other “a barbette,”593
Of Danube’s bank took formidable charge;
While two-and-twenty cannon duly set
Rose over the town’s right side, in bristling tier,
Forty feet high, upon a cavalier.594
XIII
But from the river the town’s open quite,
Because the Turks could never be persuaded
A Russian vessel e’er would heave in sight;595
And such their creed was till they were invaded,
When it grew rather late to set things right:
But as the Danube could not well be waded,
They looked upon the Muscovite flotilla,
And only shouted, “Allah!” and “Bis Millah!”
XIV
The Russians now were ready to attack;
But oh, ye goddesses of War and Glory!
How shall I spell the name of each Cossacque
Who were immortal, could one tell their story?
Alas! what to their memory can lack?
Achilles’ self was not more grim and gory
Than thousands of this new and polished nation,
Whose names want nothing but—pronunciation.
XV
Still I’ll record a few, if but to increase
Our euphony: there was Strongenoff, and Strokonoff,
Meknop, Serge Lwow, Arséniew of modern Greece,
And Tschitsshakoff, and Roguenoff, and Chokenoff,596
And others of twelve consonants apiece;
And more might be found out, if I could poke enough
Into gazettes; but Fame (capricious strumpet),
It seems, has got an ear as well as trumpet,
XVI
And cannot tune those discords of narration,597
Which may be names at Moscow, into rhyme;
Yet there were several worth commemoration,
As e’er was virgin of a nuptial chime;
Soft words, too, fitted for the peroration
Of Londonderry drawling against time,
Ending in “ischskin,” “ousckin,” “iffskchy,” “ouski,”
Of whom we can insert but Rousamouski,598
XVII
Scherematoff and Chrematoff, Koklophti,
Koclobski, Kourakin, and Mouskin Pouskin,
All proper men of weapons, as e’er scoffed high599
Against a foe, or ran a sabre through skin:
Little cared they for Muhammad or Mufti,
Unless to make their kettle-drums a new skin
Out of their hides, if parchment had grown dear,
And no more handy substitute been near.
XVIII
Then there were foreigners of much renown,
Of various nations, and all volunteers;
Not fighting for their country or its crown,
But wishing to be one day brigadiers;
Also to have the sacking of a town;—
A pleasant thing to young men at their years.
’Mongst them were several Englishmen of pith,
Sixteen called Thomson, and nineteen named Smith.
XIX
Jack Thomson and Bill Thomson;—all the rest
Had been called “Jemmy,” after the great bard;
I don’t know whether they had arms or crest,
But such a godfather’s as good a card.
Three of the Smiths were Peters; but the best
Amongst
