Rhymes

Songs & Rhymes

(These works by Paine are grouped together under one chapter, it contains the following;

Title|Page|
The Death of General Wolfe|323|
Farmer Short’s Dog Porter: A Tale|325|
The Monk and the Jew|331|
The Snowdrop and the Critic|334|
Liberty Tree|337|
An Address to Lord Howe|338|
Impromptu on Batchelor’s Hall|341|
The Boston Patriotic Song|341|
Hail Great Republic|346|
Columbia|347|
From the Castle in the Air, to the Little Corner of the World|350|
To Sir Robert Smyth|352|
Lines Extempore|353|
Impromptu on a Long-Nosed Friend|354|
Contentment; or, If You Please , Confession.|355|
The Strange Story of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram|357|
A Commentary on the Eastern Wise Men|360|
||

(Gary Edwards 21.10.01)

[begin page 323]

The Death Of General Wolfe( This song was written at the time of Wolfe's death, and is said to have been sung at the Headstrong Club, in Lewes, England. In several editions it is said to have been printed in The Gentleman’s Magazine.   Such is not the fact.   It first appeared in Paine's Pennsylvania Magazine, March, 1775, with the music.   It is the earliest composition of Paine which has been preserved.)

        In a mouldering cave where the wretched retreat,
        Britannia sat wasted with care;
        She mourned for her Wolfe, and exclaim'd against fate
        And gave herself up to despair.
        The walls of her cell she had sculptured around
        With the feats of her favorite son;
        And even the dust, as it lay on the ground,
        Was engraved with the deeds he had done.
       
        The sire of the Gods, from his crystalline throne,
        Beheld the disconsolate dame,
        And moved with her tears, he sent Mercury down,
        And these were the tidings that came:
        "Britannia forbear, not a sigh nor a tear
        For thy Wolfe so deservedly loved,
        Your tears shall be changed into triumphs of joy,
        For thy Wolfe is not dead...