Spots against spots with rage improving glow; The royal offspring, fairest of the fair,
Another pard his bristly whiskers curls,

Lead on the splendid train. Anna, more bright
Grins as he grins, fierce-menacing, and wide Than summer suns, or as the lightning keen,
Distends his opening paws; himself against With irresistible effulgence arm’d,
Himself opposed, and with dread vengeance arm’d. Fires every heart. He must be more than man,
The huntsman, now secure, with fatal aim Who unconcern'd can bear the piercing ray.
Directs the pointed spear, by which transfix'd Amelia, milder than the blushing dawn,
He dies, and with him dies the rival shade. With sweet engaging air, but equal power,
Thus man innumerous engines forms, t'assail Insensibly subdues, and in soft chains
The savage kind; but most the docile horse, Her willing captives leads. Illustrious maids,
Swift and confederate with man, annoys

Ever triumphant! whose victorious charms, His brethren of the plains; without whose aid Without the needless aid of high descent, The hunter's arts are vain, unskill'd to wage Had aw'd mankind, and taught the world's great With the more active brutes an equal war.

lords But borne by him, without the well-train'd pack, To bow and sue for grace. But who is he Man dares his foe, on wings of wind secure. Fresh as a rose-bud newly blown, and fair

Him the fierce Arab mounts, and, with his troop As opening lilies; on whom every eye or bold compeers, ranges the deserts wild; With joy and admiration dwells ? See, see, Where, by the magnet's aid, the traveller He reins his docile barb with manly grace. Steers his untrodden course ; yet oft on land Is it Adonis for the chase array'd ? Is wreck'd, in the high-rolling waves of sand Or Britain's second hope? Hail, blooming youth! Immerst and lost. While these intrepid bands, May all your virtues with your years improve, Safe in their horses' speed, outfly the storm, (prey, Till in consummate worth, you shine the pride And scouring round, make men and beasts their of these our days, and to succeeding times The grisly boar is singled from his herd,

A bright example. As his guard of mutes As large as that in Erimanthian woods,

On the great sultan wait, with eyes deject, A match for Hercules. Round him they fly And fix'd on earth, no voice, no sound is heard In circles wide; and each in passing sends

Within the wide serail, but all is hush'd, His feather'd death into his brawny sides.

And awful silence reigns ; thus stand the pack But perilous th' attempt. For if the steed Mute and unmov'd, and cowering low to earth, Haply too near approach; or the loose earth While pass the glittering court, and royal pair: His footing fail, the watchful angry beast

So disciplin'd those hounds, and so reserv'd, Th' advantage spies; and at one sidelong glance Whose honor 'tis to glad the hearts of kings. Rips up his groin. Wounded, he rears aloft, But soon the winding horn, and huntsman's voice, And, plunging. from his back the rider hurls Let loose the general chorus ; far around Precipitant; then bleeding spurns the ground, Joy spreads its wings, and the gay morning smiles And drags his reeking entrails o'er the plain.

Unharbor'd now the royal stag forsakes Meanwhile the surly monster trots along,

His wonted lair; he shakes his dappled sides, But with unequal speed; for still they wound, And tosses high his beamy head; the copse Swifi-wheeling in the spacious ring. A wood Beneath his antlers bends. What doubling shifts Of darts upon his back he bears; adown

He tries ! not more the wily hare; in these His tortur'd sides, the crimson torrents roll Would still persist, did not the full-mouth'd pack From many a gaping font. And now at last With dreadful concert thunder in his rear. Staggering he falls, in blood and foam expires. The woods reply, the hunter's cheering shouts

But whither roves my devious Muse, intent Float through the glades, and the wide forest rings On antique tales? while yet the royal stag How merrily they chant! their nostrils deep Unsung remains. Tread with respectful awe [bard, Inhale the grateful steam.

Such is the cry, Windsor's green glades; where Denham, tuneful And such the harmonious din, the soldier deems Charm'd once the listening Dryads, with his song The battle kindling, and the statesman grave Sublimely sweet. O! grant me, sacred shade, Forgets his weighty cares; each age, each sex, To glean submiss what thy full sickle leaves. In the wild transport joins; luxuriant joy,

The morning Sun, that gilds with trembling rays And pleasure in excess, sparkling exult Windsor's high towers, beholds the courily train On every brow, and revel unrestrain'd. Mount for the chase, nor views in all his course How happy art thou, man, when thou 'rt no more A scene so gay; heroic, noble youths,

Thyself! when all the pangs that grind thy soul, In arts and arms renown'd, and lovely nymphs In rapture and in sweet oblivion lost, The fairest of this isle, where Beauty dwells

Yield a short interval and ease from pain! Delighted, and deserts her Paphian grove

See the swift courser strains, his shining hoofs For our more favor'd shades : in proud parade Securely beat the solid ground. Who now These shine magnificent, and press around The dangerous pitfall fears, with tangling heath The royal happy pair. Great in themselves, High-overgrown? or who the quivering bog They smile superior; of external show

Soft-yielding to the step? All now is plain, Regardless, while their inbred virtues give Plain as the strand sea-lav'd, that stretches far A lustre to their power, and grace their court Beneath the rocky shore. Glades crossing glades, With real splendors, far above the pomp

The forest opens to our wondering view: Of Eastern kings, in all their tinsel pride. Such was the king's command. Let tyrants fierce Like troops of Amazons, the female band

Lay waste the world ; his the more glorious part Prance round their cars, not in refulgent arms To check their pride; and when the brazen voice As those of old ; unskill'd to wield the sword, Of war is hush'd (as erst victorious Rome) Or bend the bow, these kill with surer aim. IT' employ his station'd legions in the work

Of peace; to smooth the rugged wilderness, And lists his weary limbs with pain, that scarce
To drain the stagnate fen, to raise the slope Sustain their load: he pants, he sobs appallid !
Depending road, and to make gay the face Drops down his heavy head to earth, beneath
Of Nature, with th' embellishments of Art. His cumbrous beams oppress'd. But if perchance

How melts my beating heart! as I behold Some prying eye surprise him; soon he rears
Each lovely nymph, our island's boast and pride, Erect his towering front, bounds o'er the lawn
Push on the generous steed, that strokes along With ill-dissembled vigor, to amuse
O'er rough, o'er smooth, nor heeds the steepy hill, The knowing forester; who inly smiles
Nor fallers in th' extended vale below:

At his weak shifts and unavailing frauds. Their garments loosely waving in the wind, So midnight tapers waste their last remains, And all the flush of beauty in their cheeks! Shine forth awhile, and as they blaze expire. While at their sides their pensive lovers wait, From wood to wood redoubling thunders roll, Direct their dubious course ; now chill'd with fear And bellow through the vales; the moving storm Solicitious, and now with love inflam'd.

Thickens amain, and loud triumphant shouts, 0! grant, indulgent Heaven, no rising storm And horns shrill-warbling in each glade, prelude May darken with black wings this glorious scene! To his approaching fate. And now in view Should some malignant power thus damp our joys, With hobbling gait, and high, exerts amaz'd Vain were the gloomy cave, such as of old What strength is left: to the last dregs of life Betray'd to lawless love the Tyrian queen.

Reduc'd, his spirits fail, on every side For Britain's virtuous nymphs are chaste as fair, Hemm'd in, besieg'd; not the least opening left Spotless, unblam'd, with equal triumph reign To gleaming hope, th' unhappy's last reserve. In the dun gloom, as in the blaze of day.

Where shall he turn? or whither fly? Despair Now the blown stag, through woods, bogs, roads, Gives courage to the weak. Resolv'd lo die, and streams

He fears no more, but rushes on his foes, llas measur'd half the forest; but alas !

And deals his deaths around; beneath his feet He flies in vain, he flies not from his fears. These grovelling lie, those by his antlers gor'd Though far he cast the lingering pack behind, Defile th' ensanguin'd plain. Ah! see distress'd His haggard fancy still with horror views He stands at bay against yon knotty trunk, The fell destroyer; still the fatal cry

That covers well his rear, his front presents Insults his ears, and wounds his trembling heart. An host of foes. O! shun, ye noble train, So the poor fury-haunted wretch (his hands The rude encounter, and believe your lives In guiltless blood distain'd) still seems to hear Your country's due alone. As now aloof The dying shrieks; and the pale threatening ghost They wing around, he finds his soul uprais'd, Moves as he moves, and as he flies, pursues. To dare some great exploit; he charges home See here his slot; up yon green hill he climbs, Upon the broken pack, that on each side Pants on its brow awhile, sadly looks back Fly diverse ; then as o'er the turf he strains, On his pursuers, covering all the plain;

He vents the cooling stream, and up the breeze But wrung with anguish, bears not long the sight, Urges his course with equal violence : Shoots down the sleep, and sweats along the vale. Then takes the soil, and plunges in the flood There mingles with the herd, where once he reign's Precipitant ; down the mid-stream he walls Proud monarch of the groves, whose clashing beam Along, till (like a ship distress’d, that runs His rivals aw'd, and whose exalted power Into some winding creek) close to the verge Was still rewarded with successful love.

Of a small island, for his weary feet But the base herd have learn'd the ways of men, Sure anchorage he finds, there skulks immers’d. Averse they fly, or with rebellious aim

His nose alone above the wave draws in Chase him from thence: needless their impious deed, The vital air; all else beneath the flood The huntsman knows him by a thousand marks, Conceal'd, and lost, deceives each prying eye Black, and imbost; nor are his hounds deceiv'd; Of man or brute. In vain the crowding pack Too well distinguish these, and never leave Draw on the margin of the stream, or cut Their once devoted foe; familiar grows

The liquid wave with oary feet, that move His scent, and strong their appetite to kill. In equal time. The gliding waters leave Again he flies, and with redoubled speed

No trace behind, and his contracted pores Skims o'er the lawn ; still the tenacious crew But sparingly perspire: the huntsman strains Hang on the track, aloud demand their prey, His laboring lungs, and puffs his cheeks in vain : And push him many a league. If haply then At length a blood-hound bold, studious to kill, Too far escap'd, and the gay courtly train And exquisite of sense, winds him from far; Behind are cast, the huntsman's clanging whip Headlong he leaps into the flood, his mouth Stops full their bold career; passive they stand, Loud opening spends amain, and his wide throat Unmov'd, an humble, an obsequious crowd, Swells every note with joy; then fearless dives As if by stern Medusa gazd to stones.

Beneath the wave, hangs on his haunch, and wounds So at their general's voice whole armies halt Th’ unhappy brute, that flounders in the stream In full pursuit, and check their thirst of blood. Sorely distress'd, and struggling strives to mount Soon at the king's command, like hasty streams The steepy shore. Haply once more escap'd, Damm’d up awhile, they foam, and pour along Again he stands at bay, amid the groves With fresh recruited might. The stag, who hop'd of willows, bending low their downy heads. His foes were lost, now once more hears astunn'd Outrageous transport fires the greedy pack ; The dreadful din; he shivers every limb,

These swim the deep, and those crawl up with pain He starts, he bounds, each bush presents a foe. The slippery bank, while others on firm land Press'd by the fresh relay, no pause allow'd, Engage; the stag repels each bold assault, Breathless, and faint, he falters in his pace, Maintains his post, and wounds for wounds returns

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1

As when some wily corsair boards a ship

Should he not kill, as erst the Samian sage
Full-freighted, or from Afric's golden coasts, Taught unadvis'd, and Indian brachmans now
Or India's wealthy strand, his bloody crew As vainly preach; the teeming ravenous brutes
Upon her deck he slings; these in the deep Might fill the scanty space of this terrene,
Drop short, and swim to reach her steepy sides, Encumbering all the globe : should not his care
And clinging climb aloft; while those on board Improve his growing stock, their kinds might fail;
Urge on the work of Fate ; the master bold, Man might once more on roots and acorns feed,
Press'd to his last retreat, bravely resolves And through the deserts range, shivering, forlorn,
To sink his wealth beneath the whelming wave, Quite destitute of every solace dear,
His wealth, his foes, por unreveng'd to die. And every smiling gaiety of life.
So fares it with the stag : so he resolves

The prudent huntsman therefore will supply
To plunge at once into the flood below,

With annual large recruits his broken pack,
Himself, his foes, in one deep gulf immers’d. And propagate their kind; as from the root
Ere yet he executes this dire intent,

Fresh scions still spring forth and daily yield
In wild disorder once more views the light; New blooming honors to the parent-tree.
Beneath a weight of woe he groans distress'd, Far shall his pack be fam’d, far sought his breed,
The lears run trickling down his hairy cheeks ; And princes at their tables feast those hounds
He weeps, nor weeps in vain. The king beholds His hand presents, an acceptable boon.
His wretched plight, and tenderness innate

Ere yet the Sun through the bright Ram has urg'd
Moves his great soul. Soon at his high command His steepy course, or mother Earth unbound
Rebuk'd, the disappointed, hungry pack

Her fro bosom to the Western gale ;
Retire submiss, and grumbling quit their prey. When feather'd troops, their social leagues dissolv'd,
Great Prince! from thee what may thy subjects Select their mates, and on the leafless elm
hope ;

The noisy rook builds high her wicker nest,
So kind, and so beneficent to brutes!

Mark well the wanton females of thy pack, O Mercy, heavenly born! sweet auribute !

That curl their ta per tales, and frisking court Thou great, thou best prerogative of power! Their piebald mates enamourd; their red eyes Justice may guard the throne, but, join'd with thee, Flash fires impure; nor rest nor food they take, On rocks of adamant it stands secure,

Goaded by furious love. In separate cells And braves the storm beneath: soon as thy smiles Confine them now, lest bloody civil wars Gild the rough deep, the foaming waves subside, Annoy thy peaceful state. If left at large, And all the noisy tumult sinks in peace.

The growling rivals in dread battle join,

And rude encounter ; on Scamander's streams

Heroes of old with far less fury fought
Book IV.

For the bright Spartan dame, their valor's prize.
Mangled and torn thy favorite hounds shall lie,

Stretch'd on the ground; thy kennel shall appear
Argument.

A field of blood : like some unhappy town

In civil broils confus'd, while Discord shakes of the necessity of destroying some beasts, and pre- Her bloody scourge aloft, fierce parties rage,

serving others for the use of man. Of breeding Staining their impious hands in mutual death ;
of hounds; the season for this business. The And still the best belov'd, and bravest fall :
choice of the dog, of great moment. of the Such are the dire effects of lawless love.
litter of whelps. Of the number to be reared. Huntsman! these ills by timely prudent care
Of setting them out to their several walks. Care Prevent: for every longing dame select
to be taken to prevent their hunting too soon. Some happy paramour; to him alone
of entering the whelps. Of breaking them from In leagues connubial join. Consider well
running at sheep. of the diseases of hounds. His lineage ; what his fathers did of old,
Of their age. Of madness; two sorts of it de-Chiefs of the pack, and first to climb the rock,
scribed, the dumb and outrageous madness : its Or plunge into the deep, or thread the brake
dreadful effects. Burning of the wound recom- With thorn sharp-pointed, plash’d, and briers in-
mended as preventing all ill consequences. The
infectious hounds to be separated, and fed apart. Observe with care his shape, sort, color, size.
The vanity of trusting to the many infallible Nor will sagacious huntsmen less regard
cures for this malady. The dismal effects of the His inward habits: the vain babbler shun,
biting of a mad dog, upon man, described. De-Ever loquacious, ever in the wrong.
scription of the otter hunting. The conclusion. His foolish offspring shall offend thy ears

With false alarms, and loud impertinence.
WHATE'ER of earth is form’d, to earth returns Nor less the shifting cur avoid, that breaks
Dissolv'd : the various objects we behold,

Illusive from the pack; to the next hedge Plants, animals, this whole material mass,

Devious he strays, there every muse he tries : Are ever changing, ever new. The soul

If haply then he cross the steaming scent, Of man alone, that particle divine,

Away he flies vain-glorious; and exults
Escapes the wreck of worlds, when all things fail. As of the pack supreme, and in his speed
Hence great the distance'twixt the beasts that perish, And strength unrivall’d. Lo! cast far behind,
And God's bright image, man's immortal race. His vex'd associates pant, and laboring strain
The brute creation are his property,

To climb the steep ascent. Soon as they reach
Subservient to his will, and for him made. Th'insulting boaster, his false courage fails,
As hurtful these he kills, as useful those

Behind he lags, doom'd to the fatal noose,
Preserves; their sole and arbitrary king.

His master's hate, and scorn of all the field.

Woven ;

What can from such be hop'd, but a base brood The panting wretch ; till, breathless and astunn'd Of coward curs, a frantic, vagrant race?

Stretch'd on the turf he lie. Then spare not thou When now the third revolving Moon appears, The twining whip, but ply his bleeding sides With sharpen'd horns, above th' horizon's brink, Lash after lash, and with thy threatening voice, Without Lucina's aid, expect thy hopes

Harsh-echoing from the hills, inculcate loud Are amply crown'd; short pangs produce to light His vile offence. Sooner shall trembling doves The smoking litter; crawling, helpless, blind, Escap'd the hawk's sharp talons, in mid air, Nature their guide, they seek the pouting teat Assail their dangerous foe, than he once more That plenteous streams. Soon as the tender dam Disturb the peaceful flocks.

tender age Has form’d them with her tongue, with pleasure Thus youth is train'd; as curious artists bend view

The taper pliant twig, or potters form The marks of their renown'd progenitors, Their soft and ductile clay to various shapes. Sure pledge of triumphs yet to come. All these Nor is 't enough to breed; but to preserve, Select with joy; but to the merciless flood Must be the huntsman's care. The staunch old Expose the dwindling refuse, nor o'erload

hounds, Th'indulgent mother. If thy heart relent, Guides of thy pack, though but in number few, Unwilling to destroy, a nurse provide,

Are yet of great account; shall oft untie And to the foster-parent give the care

The Gordian knot, when reason at a stand of thy superfluous brood ; she'll cherish kind Puzzling is lost, and all thy art is vain. The alien offspring; pleas'd thou shalt behold O'er clogging fallows, o'er dry plaster'd roads, Her tenderness, and hospitable love.

O'er floated meads, o'er plains with flocks distain'd If frolic now and playful they desert

Rank-scenting, these must lead the dubious, Their gloomy cell, and on the verdant turf, As party-chiefs in senates who preside, With nerves improv'd, pursue the mimic chase, With pleaded reason and with well-turn'd speech, Coursing around; unto the choicest friends Conduct the staring multitude ; so these Commit thy valued prize : the rustic dames Direct the pack, who with joint cry approve, Shall at thy kennel wait, and in their laps And loudly boast discoveries not their own. Receive thy growing hopes, with many a kiss Unnumber'd accidents, and various ills, Caress, and dignify their little charge

Attend thy pack, hang hovering o'er their heads, With some great title, and resounding name And point the way that leads to Death's dark of high import. But cautious here observe

cave. To check their youthful ardor, nor permit

Short is their span; few at the date arrive The unexperienc'd younker, immature,

Of ancient Argus, in old Homer's song Alone to range the woods, or haunt the brakes So highly honor'd: kind, sagacious brute ! Where dodging conies sport; his nerves unstrung, Not ev'n Minerva's wisdom could conceal And strength unequal; the laborious chase Thy much-lov'd master from thy nicer sense. Shall stint his growth, and his rash forward youth Dying his lord he own'd, view'd him all o'er Contract such vicious habits, as thy care

With eager eyes, then clos'd those eyes, well pleas'd. And lale correction never shall reclaim.

Of lesser ills the Muse declines to sing, When to full strength arriv'd, mature and bold, Nor stoops so low; of these each groom can tell Conduct them to the field ; not all at once, The proper remedy. But O! what care, But as thy cooler prudence shall direct,

What prudence, can prevent madness, the worst Select a few, and form them by degrees

Of maladies ? Terrific pest! that blasts To stricter discipline. With these consort The huntsman's hopes, and desolation spreads The staunch and steady sages of thy pack, Through all th’unpeopled kennel unrestrain'd, By long experience vers'd in all the wiles More fatal than th' envenom'd viper's bite; And subtle doublings of the various Chase. Or that Apulian spider's poisonous sling, Easy the lesson of the youthful train

Heal'd by the pleasing antidote of sounds. When instinct prompts, and when example guides. When Sirius reigns, and the Sun's parching beams If the too forward younker at the head

Bake the dry gaping surface, visit thou Press boldly on in wanton sportive mood,

Each ev'n and morn, with quick observant eye, Correct his haste, and let him feel abash'd Thy panting pack. If, in dark sullen mood, The ruling whip. But if he stoop behind The glouting hound refuse his wonted meal, In wary modest guise, to his own nose

Retiring to some close, obscure retreat, Confiding sure ; give him full scope to work Gloomy, disconsolate ; with speed remove His winding way, and with thy voice applaud The poor infectious wretch, and in strong chains His patience, and his care: soon shalt thou view Bind him suspected. Thus that dire disease The hopeful pupil leader of his tribe,

Which art can't cure, wise caution may prevent. And all the listening pack attend his call.

But, this neglected, soon expect a change,
Oft lead them forth where wanton lambkins play, A dismal change, confusion, frenzy, death.
And bleating dams with jealous eyes observe Or in some dark recess the senseless brute
Their tender care. If at the crowding flock Sits sadly pining; deep melancholy,
He bay presumptuous, or with eager haste And black despair, upon his clouded brow
Pursue them scatter'd o'er the verdant plain, Hang lowering; from his half-opening jaws
In the foul fact attach'd, to the strong ram The clammy venom, and infectious froih,
Tie fast the rash offender. See! at first

Distilling fall; and from his lungs inflam'd,
His horn'd companion, fearful and amaz'd, Malignant vapors taint the ambient air,
Shall drag him trembling o'er the rugged ground; Breathing peruition ; his dim eyes are glaz’d,
Then, with his load fatigu'd, shall turn ahead, He droops his pensive head, his trembling limbs
And with his curl'd hard front incessant peal No more support his weight; abject he lies,

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Dumb, spiritless, benumb’d; till Death at last The wound ; spare not thy flesh, nor dread th'event:
Gracious attends, and kindly brings relief. Vulcan shall save when Æsculapius fails.
Or, if outrageous grown, behold, alas !

Here should the knowing Muse recount the means
A yet more dreadful scene; his glaring eyes To stop this growing plague. And here, alas!
Redden with fury, like some angry boar

Each hand presents a sovereign cure, and boasts
Churning he foams; and on his back erect Infallibility, but boasts in vain.
His pointed bristles rise ; his tail incurvid On this depend, each to his separate seat
He drops, and with harsh broken howlings rends Confine, in fetters bound ; give each his mess
The poison-tainted air; with rough hoarse voice Apart, his range in open air; and then
Incessant bays, and snuffs the infectious breeze ; If deadly symptoms to thy grief appear,
This way and that he stares aghast, and starts Devote the wretch, and let him greatly fall,
At his own shade : jealous, as if he deem'd A generous victim for the public weal.
The world his foes. If haply towards the stream Sing, philosophic Muse, the dire effects
He cast his roving eye, cold horror chills

Of this contagious bite on hapless man.
His soul; averse he flies, trembling, appallid. The rustic swains, by long tradition taught
Now frantic to the kennel's utmost verge

Of leeches old, as soon as they perceive
Raving he runs, and deals destruction round. The bite impress'd, to the sea-coasts repair.
The pack fly diverse ; for whate'er he meets Plung’d in the briny flood, th' unhappy youth
Vengeful he bites, and every bite is death.

Now journeys home secure; but soon shall wish
If now perchance through the weak fence escap'a The seas as yet had cover'd him beneath
Far up the wind he roves, with open mouth The foaming surge, full many a faihom deep.
Inhales the cooling breeze; nor man, nor beast, A fate more dismal, and superior ils,
He spares implacable. The hunter-horse, Hang o'er his head devoted. When the Moon,
Once kind associate of his sylvan toils,

Closing her monthly round, returns again
(Who haply now without the kennel's mound To glad the night; or when full-orb'd she shines
Crops the rank mead, and listening hears with joy High in the vault of Heaven; the lurking pest
The cheering cry, that morn and eve salutes Begins the dire assault. The poisonous foam
His raptur'd sense,) a wretched victim falls. Through the deep wound instill’d with hostile rage,
Unhappy quadruped! no more, alas !

And all its fiery particles saline,
Shall thy fond master with his voice applaud Invades th' arterial fluid: whose red waves
Thy gentleness, thy speed; or with his hand Tempestuous heave, and their cohesion broke,
Stroke thy soft dappled sides, as he each day Fermenting boil ; intestine war ensues,
Visits thy stall, well pleas'd ; no more shalt thou And order to confusion turns embroil'd.
With sprightly neighings, to the winding horn, Now the distended vessels scarce contain
And the loud opening pack in concert join'd, The wild uproar, but press each weaker part
Glad his proud heart. For oh! the secret wound Unable to resist: the tender brain
Rankling inflames, he bites the ground, and dies ! And stomach suffer most; convulsions shake
Hence w the village with pernicious haste His trembling nerves, and wandering pungent pains
Baleful he bends his course : the village flies Pinch sore the sleepless wretch; his fluttering pulse
Alarm'd; the tender mother in her arms

Oft intermits; pensive, and sad, he mourns
Hugs close the trembling babe; the doors are barr’d, His cruel fate, and to his weeping friends
And flying curs, by native instinct taught, Laments in vain; to hasty anger prone,
Shun the contagious bane ; the rustic bands Resents each slight offence, walks with quick step,
Hurry to arms, the rude militia seize

And wildly stares; at last with boundless sway
Whate'er at hand they find ; clubs, forks, or guns, The tyrant frenzy reigns : for as the dog
From every quarter charge the furious foe, (Whose fatal bite convey'd th' infectious bane)
In wild disorder, and uncouth array:

Raving he foams, and howls, and barks, and bites;
Till, now with wounds on wounds oppress'd and Like agitations in his boiling blood
gord,

Present like species to his troubled mind; At one short poisonous gasp he breathes his last. His nature and his actions all canine.

Hence to the kennel, Muse, return, and view So (as old Homer sung) th' associates wild
With heavy heart that hospital of woe;

Of wandering Ithacus, by Circe's charms (groves,
Where Horror stalks at large! insatiate Death To swine transform’d, ran grunting through the
Sits growling o'er his prey: each hour presents Dreadful example to a wicked world!
A different scene of ruin and distress.

See there distress'd he lies! parch'd up with thirst,
How busy art thou, Fate! and how severe But dares not drink. Till now at last his soul
Thy pointed wrath! the dying and the dead Trembling escapes, her noisome dungeon leaves,
Promiscuous lie; o'er these the living fight And to some purer region wings away.
In one eternal broil; not conscious why

One labor yet remains, celestial Maid!
Nor yet with whom. So drunkards, in their cups, Another element demands thy song.
Spare not their friends, while senseless squabble No more o'er craggy steep, through coverts thick
reigns.

With pointed thorn, and briers intricate,
Huntsman! it much behoves thee to avoid Urge on with horn and voice the painful pack:
The perilous debate! Ah! rouse up all

But skim with wanton wing the irriguous vale,
Thy vigilance, and tread the treacherous ground Where winding streams amid the flowery meads
With careful step. Thy fires unquench'd preserve, Perpetual glide along; and undermine
As erst the vestal flames; the pointed steel The cavern'd banks, by the tenacious roots
In the hot embers hide ; and if surpris'd

Of hoary willows arch'd ; gloomy retreat
Thou feel'st the deadly bite, quick urge it home Of the bright scaly kind ; where they at will
Into the recent sore, and cauterize

On the green watery reed their pasture graze,