Thy way with flow'rs, and as the Royal Youth
Passing they view, admire, and sigh in vain ;
While crowded theatres, too fontily proud
Of their exotic minstrels and shrill pipes,
The price of manhood, hail thee with a song,
And airs soft warbling; my hoarse-sounding horn
Invites thee to the Chace, the sport of kings;
Image of war without its guilt. The Muse
Aloft on wing shall soar, conduct with care
Thy foaming courser o'er the steepy rock,
Or on the river bank receive thee safe.
Light bounding o'er the wave from shore to shore,
Be thou our great protector, gracious Youth:
And if, in future times, some envious prince,
Careless of right, and guileful, should invade
Thy Britain's commerce, or should strive in vain
To wrest the balance from thy equal hand,
Thy hunter-train, in cheerful green array'd
(A band undaunted, and iner'd to toils),
Shall compass thee around, die at thy feet.
Or hew thy passage thro' th' embattled foe,-
And clear thy way to fame: inspir'd by thee,
The nobler chace of glory shall pursue
Thro' fire, and smoke, and blood, and fields of
death.

Nature in her productions slow, aspires
By just degrees to reach perfection's height;
So mimic Art works leisurely, till Time
Improve the piece, or wise Experience give
The proper finishing. When Nimrod bold,
That mighty hunter! first made war on beasts,
And stain'd the woodland green with purple dye,
New and unpolish'd was the huntsuian's art;
No stated rule, his wanton will his guide.
With clubs and stones, rude implements of war!
He arm'd his savage bands, a multitude
Untrain'd: of twining osiers formi'd, they pitch
Their artless toils, then range the desart hills,
And scour the plains below: the trembling herd
Start at th' unusual sound, and clam'rous shout
Unheard before; surpris'd, alas! to find [lord,
Man now their foe, whom erst they deemed their
But mild and gentle, and by whom as yet
Secure they graz'd. Death stretches o'er the plain
Wide wasting, and grim Slaughter, redwithblood,
Urg'd on by hunger keen, they wound, they kill;
Their rage licentious knows no bound; at last,
Encumber'd with their spoils, joyful they bear
Upon their shoulders broad the bleeding prey.
Part on their altars smokes, a sacrifice Thand
To that all-gracious Pow'r whose bounteous
Supports his wide creation; what remains,
On living coals they broil, inelegant
Of taste, nor skill'd as yet in nicer arts
Of pamper'd luxury. Devotion pure,
And strong necessity, thus first began
The chace of beasts; tho' bloody was the deed,
Yet without guilt: for the green herb alone
Unequal to sustain man's lab'ring race,
Now ev'ry moving thing that liv'd on earth
Was granted him for food. So just is Heav'n,
To give us in proportion to our wants.

Or chance or industry in after times
Some few improvements made, but short as yet
Of due perfection. In this isle remote
Our painted ancestors were slow to learn:
To arms devote, in the politer arts
Nor skill'd norstudious; till from Neustria's coasts
Victorious William to more decent rules
Subdued our Saxon fathers, taught to speak
The proper dialect, with horn and voice
To cheer the busyhound, whose well-known cry
His list'ning peers approve with joint acclaim."
From him successive huntsmen learn'd to join
In bloody social leagues the multitude
Dispers'd, to size, to sort their various tribes;
To rear, feed, hunt, and discipline the pack.

Hail, happy Britain; highly favor'd isle,
And Heaven's peculiar care! to thee 'tis given
To train the sprightly steed, more fleet than those
Begot by winds, or the celestial breed
That bore the great Pelides thro' the press
Of heroes arm'd, and broke their crowded ranks,
Which proudly neighing, with the sun begins
Cheerful his course, and, ere his beams decline,
Has measured half thy surface unfatigued.
In thee alone, fair land of Liberty!
Is bred the perfect hound, in scent and speed
As yet unrivall'd, while in other climes
Their virtue fails, a weak degen'rate race.
In vain malignant steams and winter fogs
Load the dull air, and hover round our coasts;
The huntsman; ever gay, robust, and bold,
Defies the noxious vapor, and confides
In this delightful exercise to raise
His drooping head, and cheer his heart with joy.
Yevig rous youths! by smiling Fortune blest
With large demesnes, hereditary wealth,
Heap'd copious by your wise forefathers' care,
Hear and attend! while I the means reveal
T'enjoy these pleasures, for the weak too strong,
Too costly for the poor: to rein the steed
Swift stretching o'er the plain, to cheer the pack
Op'ning in concerts of harmonious joy,
But breathing death. What tho' the gripe severe
Of brazen-fisted Time, and slow Disease.
Creeping thro' ev'ry vein, and nerve unstrung,
Afflict my shatter'd frame, undaunted still,
Fix'd as a mountain-ash that braves the bolts
Of angry Jove, tho' blasted, yet unfallen;
Still can my soul in Fancy's mirror view
Deeds glorious once, recal the joyous scene
In all its splendors deck'd, o'er the full bowl
Recount my triumphs past, urge others on
With hand and voice, and point the windingway;
Pleas'd with that social sweet garrulity,
The poor disbanded veteran's sole delight.

First let the kennel be the huntsman's care,
Upon soine little eminence erect,
And fronting to the ruddy lawn; its courts
On either hand wide op'ning to receive [shines,
The sun's all-cheering beams, when mild he
And gilds the mountain tops: for much the pack
(Rous'd from their dark alcoves) delight to stretch
Gen. chap. ix. ver. 3.

And

And bask in his invigorating ray.
Warn'd by the streaming light, and merry lark,
Forth rush the jolly clan; with tuneful throats
They carol loud, and in grand chorus join'd-
Salute the new-born day: for not alone
The vegetable world, but men and brutes
Own his reviving influence, and joy

At his approach. Fountain of Light! if chance
Some envious cloud veil thy refulgent brow,
In vain the Muses' aid; untonch'd, unstrung,
Lies my mute harp, and thy desponding bard
Sits darkly musing o'er the unfinish'd lay.

Let no Corinthian pillars prop the dome;
A vain expence, on charitable deeds
Better dispos'd, to clothe the tatter'd wretch
Who shrinks beneath the blast, to feed the poor
Pinch'd with afflictive want. For use, not state,
Gracefully plain, let each apartment rise.
O'er all let cleanliness preside, no scraps
Bestrew the pavement, and no half-pick'd bones
To kindle fierce debate, or to disgust
That nicer sense on which the sportsman's hope
And all its future triumphs must depend.
Soon as the growling pack with eager joy
Have lapp'd their smoking viands, morn or eve,
From the full cistern lead the ductile streams,
To wash thy court well pay'dnor spare thy pains;
For much to health will cleanliness avail.
Seek'st thou for hounds to climb the rocky steep,
And brush th' entangled covert, whose nicescent
O'er greasy fallows and frequented roads
Can pick the dubious way? Banish far off
Each noisome stench; let no offensive smell
Invade thy wide inclosure, but admit
The nitrous air and purifying breeze.

Water and shade no less demand thy care.
In a large square th' adjacent field inclose;
There plant, in equal ranks, the spreading elm
Or fragrant lime; most happy thy design,
If at the bottom of thy spacious court
A large canal, fed by the crystal brook,
From its transparent bosom shall reflect
Thy downward structure and inverted grove.
Here, when the sun's too potent gleams annoy
The crowded kennel; and the drooping pack,
Restless and faint, loll their unmoisten'd tongues,
And drop their feeble tails; to cooler shades
Lead forth the panting tribes: soon shalt thou find
The cordial breeze their fainting hearts revive:
Tumultuous soon they plunge into the stream,
There lave their reeking sides; with greedy joy
Gulp down the flying wave; this way and that
From shore to shore they swim, while clamor loud
And wild uproar torment the troubled flood:
Then on the sunny bank they roll and stretch
Their dripping limbs, or else in wanton rings
Coursing around, pursuing and pursued,
The merry multitude disporting play.

But here with watchful and observant eye
Attend their frolics, which too often end
In bloody broils and death. High o'er thy head
Waye thy resounding whip, and with a voice
Fierce menacing o'er-rule the stern debate,
And quench their kindling rage: for oft, in sport

Begun, combat ensues: growling they snarl,
Then, on their haunches rear'd, rampant they seise
Each others' throats; with teeth and claws in gore
Besincar'd, they wound, theytear,tillontheground
Panting, half dead, the conquer'd champion lies:
Then sudden all the base ignoble crowd,
Loud-clam'ring, seisethehelpless, worriedwretch,
And, thirsting for his blood, drag different ways
His mangl'd carcass on th' ensanguin'd plain.
O beasts of pity void! t' oppress the weak,
To point your vengeance at the friendless head,
And with one mutual cry insult the fallen!
Emblem too just of man's degenerate race.

Others apart, by native instinct led,
Knowing instructor! 'mong the ranker grass
Cull each salubrious plant, with bitter juice
Concoctive stor'd, and potent to allay
Each vicious ferment. Thus the hand divine
Of Providence, beneficent and kind
To all his creatures, for the brutes prescribes
A ready remedy, and is himself
Their great physician. Now grown stiff with age
And many a painful chace, the wise old hound,
Regardless of the frolic pack, attends
His master's side, or slumbers at his ease
Beneath the bending shade: there many a ring
Runs o'er in dreams; now on the doubtful soil
Puzzles perplex'd, or doubles intricate,
Cautious unfolds; then wing'd with all his speed
Bounds o'er the lawn to seise his panting prey,
And in imperfect whimp'ring speaks his joy.

A diff'rent hound for ev'ry diff'rent chace
Select with judgement; nor the tim'rous hare
O'ermatch'd destroy, but leave that vile offence
To the mean murd'rous coursing crew, intent
On blood and spoil. O, blast their hopes, just
And all their painful drudgeries repay [Heav'n!
With disappointment and severe remorse;
But husband thou thy pleasures, and give scope
To all her subtle play. By nature led,

A thousand shifts she tries: t' unravel these
Th' industrious beagle twists his waving tail,
Thro' all her labyrinths pursues, and rings
Her doleful knell. See there with count'nance
blithe,

And with a courtly grin, the fawning hound
Salutes the cow'ring; his wide op'ning nose
Upwards he curls: and his large sloe-black eyes
Melt in soft blandishments and humbled joy:
His glossy skin, or yellow pied, or blue,'
In lights or shades by Nature's pencil drawn,
Reflects the various tints; his ears and legs,
Fleck'd here and there, in gay enamell'd pride
Rival the speckled pard; his rush-grown tail
O'er his broad back bends in an ample arch:
On shoulders clean upright and firm he stands :
His round cat-foot, straight hams, and wide-
spread thighs,

And his low dropping chest, confess his speed,
His strength, his wind, or on the steepy hill
Or far extended plain; in ev'ry part
So well-proportion'd, that the nicer skill
Of Phidas himself can't blame thy choice:
Of such compose thy pack. But here a mean

Bb

Observe,

Th' arch felon * was of old, who by the tail
Drew back his lowing prize: in vain his wiles,
In vain the shelter of the cov'ring rock,
In vain the sooty cloud and ruddy flames
That issued from his mouth: for soon he paid
His forfeit life; a debt how justly due
To wrong'd Alcides and avenging Heav'n!
Veil'd in the shades of night they ford the stream,
Then prowling far and near, whate'er they seise
Beconies their prey; nor flocks nor herds are safe,
Nor stalls protect the steer, nor strongbarr'ddoors
Secure the fav'rite horse. Soon as the morn
Reveals his wrongs, with ghastly visage wan
The plunder'd owner stands, and from his lips
A thousand thronging curses burst their way:
He calls his stout allies, and in a line
His faithful hound he leads, then with a voice

:

Of ranker weeds each stomach-healing plant
Curious they crop, sick, spiritless, forlorn.
These inauspicious days on other cares
Employ thy precious hours; th' improving friend
With open arms embrace, and from his lips
Glean science, season'd with good-natur'd wit
But if th' inclement skies and angry Jove
Forbid the pleasing intercourse, thy books
Invite thy ready hand; each sacred page
Rich with the wise remarks of heroes old.
Converse familiar with the illustrious dead;
With great examples of old Greece or Romie
Enlarge thy free-born heart, and bless kind
That Britain yet enjoys dear Liberty. [Heaven
That balm of life, that sweetest blessing, cheap
Tho'purchas'd with our blood. Well-bred, polite,
Credit thy calling. See! how mean, how low,
The bookless saunt'ring youth, proud of the
That dignifies his cap, his flourish'd belt, [skut
And rusty couples jingling by his side!
Be thou of other mould; and know that such
Transporting pleasures were by heaven ordain'd
Wisdom's relief, and Virtue's great reward.

BOOK II.

THE ARGUMENT.

Their moving camp; now on some cooler hill,
With cedars crown'd, court therefreshing breeze;
And then below, where trickling streams distil
From some penurious source, their thirst allay,
And feed their fainting flocks: so the wise hares
Oft quit their seats, lest some more curious eye
Should mark their haunts, and by dark treche-
rous wiles

Plot their destruction; or perchance in hopes
Of plenteous forage, near the ranker mead
Or inatted blade wary and close they sit.
When spring shines forth, season of love and joy,
In the moist marsh, 'mong beds of rushes hid,
They cool their boiling blood. When summer

suns

Bake the cleft earth, to thick wide-waving fields Ofcorn full grown they lead their helpless young; But when autumnal torrents and fierce rains Deluge the vale, in the dry crumbling bank Their forms they delve, and cautiously avoid The dripping covert: yet when winter's cold Theirlimbsbenumbs, thither with speed return'd, In the long grass they sculk, or shrinking creep Among the wither'd leaves: thus changing still As fancy prompts them, or as food invites. But ev'ry season carefully observ'd, Th' inconstant winds, the fickle element, Of the power of instinct in brutes. Two remark- His subtle, various game, nor wastes in vain The wise experienc'd huntsman soon may find able instances in the hunting of the rocbuck, His tedious hours, till his impatient hounds, and in the hare going to seat in the morning. With disappointment vex'd, cach springing lark Of the variety of seats or forms of the hare, Babbling pursue, far scatter'd o'er the fields. according to the changes of the season, weather, Now golden Autuma from her open lap or wind. Description of the hare-hunting in Herfragrantbounteousshow'rs; thefieldsareshorn: all its parts, interspersed with rules to be ob- Inwardly smiling the proud farmer views served by those who follow that chace. Tran-The rising pyramids that grace his yard, sition to the Asiatic way of hunting, particu- Andcounts his large increase: his barus are stor'd; larly the magnificent manner of the Great And groaning staddles bend beneath their load. Mogul, and other Tartarian princes, taken All now is free as air, and the gay pack from Monsieur Bernier, and the History of In the rough bristly stubbles range unblan'd. Gengiskan the Great. Concludes with a short No widow's tears o'erflow, no secret curse reproof of tyrants and oppressors of mankind. Swells in the farmer's breast, which his pale lips NOR will it less delight th' attentive sage, Trembling conceal by his fierce landlord'aw'd; Tobserve that instinct which unerring guides But courteous now he levels ev'ry fence, The brutal race, which mimics reason's lore, Joins in the common cry, and haloos loud, And oft transcends. Heaven-taught, the roe-Charm'd with the rattling thunder of the field. buck swift O bear ine, some kind pow'r invisible ! Loiters at ease before the driving pack, To that extended lawn, where the gay court And mocks their vain persuit, nor far he flics: View the swift racers stretching to the goal; But checks his ardor, till the steaming scent Gaines more renown'd, and a far noble train, That freshens on the blade provokes their rage.Than proud Elean fields could boast of old ;' Urg'd to their speed, his weak deluded foes Oh were a Theban lyre not wanting here, Soon flag fatigu'd; strain'd to excess, each nerve, And Pindar's voice, to do their merit right! Each slacken'd sinew, fails: they pant, they Or to those spacious plains where the strain'deye, In the wide prospect lost, beholds at last Sarum's proud spire, that o'er the hills ascends, And pierces thro' the clouds: or to thy downs, Fair Cotswold! where the well-breath'd beagle climbs

foam : [hills Then o'er the lawn he bounds, o'er the high Stretches secure, and leaves the scatter'd crowd To puzzle in the distant vale below.

"Tis instinct that directs the jealous hare To choose her soft abode. With step revers'd She forms the doubling maze; then, ere the morn ceps thro' the clouds, leaps to her close recess. As wandering shepherds on th' Arabian plains No settled residence observe, but shift