TAKE a city once founded on Victory's field,
Where Philip's great son compell'd Porus to yield;
A chieftan of Thebes, for his valour renown'd,
Who fell like a Mercer with victory crown'd;
The Norman who seiz'd on Britannia's domains,
Defeated her king, and assumed the reins;
The name that the monarchs of Peru once bore,
Whom their subjects rever'd, and as Gods did adore;
The subtle young Theban, who quickly disclos'd
The perplexing enigma that Sphinx had propos'd;
The King who, when Israel's wife monarch was dead,
Assum'd the tiara, and reign'd in his stead;
And a river in Asia, where splendidly rise
The walls of fair Tesslis, that rear to the skies.

The initials of these will discover the name
Of a rich growing town, not unnotic'd by Fame;
By whose walls the bold Hudson with majesty pours,
And floats down the wealth that enriches its shores;
Where Commerce rolls on, with her thousand loud wheels,
And Trade a bright harvest of affluence yields.
There steals not a tide, nor ere whispers a gale,
But wafts in her harbour the white floating sail,
Which conveys the fair gifts that kind nature imparts,
And all the bright treasures produc'd by the arts.

Hail! daughter of Commerce, Columbia's fair pride,
Where Freedom, and Science, and Friendship reside;
Where kind Hospitality opens the door,
And welcomes the stranger that visits her shore;
Where Philanthropy warms and ennobles the heart,
And Charity hastens her aid to impart:
Where Knowledge and Wisdom their empire maintain,
And Beauty and Virtue triumphantly reign.

The sons of the East, where proud tyrants oppress,
Shall here find a refuge secure from distress;
Inspir'd by fair Freedom, their aid they shall lend,
Her turrets to rear, and her walls to extend.

What transports extatic the bosom assail,
When Fancy uplifts dark Futurity's veil,
And views this fair regent encircling more ground
Than Babylon's turrets did ever surround;
See Art and fair Science new wonders unfold,
Magnificent temples emblazon'd with gold;
Sees myriads of freemen exult in her streets,
And her bay and her rivers all cover'd with fleets!

Old Carthage and Tyre, the proud Queens of the main,
Shall here find a Queen that will rival their fame,
Whose fleets seas now traverse, and hear oceans roar,
Which Tyre, Rome, and Carthage, ne'er dar'd to explore.

As years shall increase, so her glory shall rise!
Her fame and her praise shall resound to the skies,
'Till ages on ages revolving are past,
'Till the joys of Millenium no longer shall last,
'Till the unballanc'd spheres from their orbits shall run,
And with flames all envelop'd rush into the sun!
Sept. 13, 1791.                                      A.B.

The style of this rebus is so like Henry's. It appears immediately before one that is signed R and, in a latter issue, A.B. also appears on the topic of some people's preference for oxen over horses for plowing. This topic also shows up in a humor piece authored by Henry seven months earlier on the rewards due to a successful horse thief.

Going only by style, this could well be by Henry.

Repetition:
    "Where Freedom"  "where kind Hospitality"  "Where Philanthropy"  "Where Knowledge"
    "Freedom, and Science, and Friendship"
    "Her turrets to rear, and her walls to extend"
    "See Art and fair Science"  "Sees myriads of freemen"
    "her bay and her rivers"  "Her fame and her praise"
    "ages on ages"
    "'Till ages on ages"  "'Till the joys of Millennium"  "'Till the unballanc'd spheres"

Variety of line openings:
    Verb, prepositional phrase, noun, conjunctrion, adverbial phrase
Variety of line endings:
    prepositional phrase, noun, verb, adverbial phrase
Significant vocabulary matfching Henry's:
    discover,  Columbia's,   fair Freedom
Use of rhymes that appear in poems by Henry:
    field = yield,  rise = skies,  name = Fame,  heart = impart
Sloppiness of rhymes:
    main = fame

See also:
    Nine Sisters Rebus
    Queen of Love Rebus
    Deity Rebus
    Apollo Rebus
    Hero Rebus
    War Rebus
    Sages Rebus