On
the
Report
of
a
WOODEN
BRIDGE
to
be
built
at
Westminster
.
By
the
Same
.
BY
Rufus'
hall
,
where
Thames
polluted
flows
,
Provok'd
,
the
Genius
of
the
river
rose
,
And
thus
exclaim'd
—
"
Have
I
,
ye
British
swains
,
"
Have
I
,
for
ages
,
lav'd
your
fertile
plains
?
"
Given
herds
,
and
flocks
,
and
villages
increase
,
"
And
fed
a
richer
than
the
Golden
Fleece
?
"
Have
I
,
ye
merchants
,
with
each
swelling
tide
,
"
Pour'd
Afric's
treasure
in
,
and
India's
pride
?
"
Lent
you
the
fruit
of
every
nation's
toil
?
"
Made
every
climate
your's
,
and
every
soil
?
"
Yet
pilfer'd
from
the
poor
,
by
gaming
base
,
"
Yet
must
a
Wooden
Bridge
my
waves
disgrace
?
"
Tell
not
to
foreign
streams
the
shameful
tale
,
"
And
be
it
publish'd
in
no
Gallic
vale
.
"
He
said
;
—
and
plunging
to
his
crystal
dome
,
White
o'er
his
head
the
circling
waters
foam
.