Imperial Bard! if while my humble strain br Thy precepts sung to Albion's warlike train, br Her critic ear approving caught the sound, br And favoring smiles my finish'd labor crown'd, br Her plaudits to thy glowing verse belong br But faintly imaged in my ruder song. br Then as the Muse to thee assiduous pays br This honest tribute of Britannia's praise, br Though Fame has cull'd from Phœbus' sacred tree br The Poet's and the Victor's wreath for thee, br And History shall twine around thy brow br Eternal crowns of her unfading bough, br Forgive the officious zeal that interweaves br This transient blossom with thy Laurel Leaves.