Classic Poem

Les deux cousins

Hail, my little cousin-german, hail!
Exiled hither, still I dare address thee:
Kindly Fortune doth for thee prevail;
Newly born, her smile did surely bless thee
Fair my natals also were and proud;
'Tis a fact no Frenchman will deny;
Kings before my cradle lowly bowed —
At Vienna ne'ertheless am I!
Rocked was I by those, who now for thee
Fulsome verses, odes, and songs indite;
Like confectioners, they're sure to be
Partisans of each baptismal rite
Water, when thy Christian soul they lave,
Shall a common, worldly stream supply;
Mine was brought for me from Jordan's wave —
At Vienna ne'ertheless am I!
Judges and dishonored peers, who now
Wondrous things about thy prospects say,
Did in my time solemnly avow,
That the Bees should on the Lilies prey
Ay! amongst the nobles, who aver
All plebeian virtue is a lie,
Did my nurse find some to flatter her —
At Vienna ne'ertheless am I!
I reposed upon a bed of laurels —
Thee the purple doth alone enwrap:
I with sceptres played, instead of corals —
Wore a crown, instead of padded cap.
Treacherous substitute! a single slip
Threw the Pope himself, all crownless, by:
But our prelates served me with the lip —
At Vienna ne'ertheless am I!
For the Marshals — I can scarcely deem,
They will clear the path thou may'st pursue;
Honor's sacred star for them, 'twould seem,
Still is dearer than the Cordon Bleu .
For his fortunes and for mine, my sire
Did on their devotedness rely:
They their pledges surely kept entire —
At Vienna ne'ertheless am I!
Whilst thou growest up, beside the throne,
Whilst I vegetate, debarred of power,
Those confounded courtiers disown;
Bid them recollect my natal hour.
Say to them, " I, too, the turn may share;
Let my cousin's fate remembered be:
You to him did once allegiance swear —
At Vienna ne'ertheless is he! "