-Against Ill-luck all cunning forefight fails;
Whether we fleep or wake, it naught avaik.

--Nor fear, from upright sentence, wrong.

Laftly, his elegant Dialect, which alone might prove him the eldest born of Spencer, and our only true Arcadian. I should think it proper for the feveral writers of Paftoral, to confine themselves to their feveral Counties. Spencer seems to have been of this opinion: for he hath laid the scene of one of his Paftorals in Wales; where with all the fimplicity natural to that part of our island, one shepherd bids the other good morrow, in an unufual and elegant manner :

Diggon Davy, I bid hur God-day:
Or Diggon hur is, or I miffay,

Diggon answers:

Hur was hur, while it was day-light; But now bur is a moft wretched wight, etc. But the most beautiful example of this kind that I ever met with, is in a very valuable piece which I chanced to find among fome old manuscripts, entituled, A Paftoral Ballad: which I think, for its nature and fimplicity, may (notwithstanding the modesty of the title) be allowed a perfect Pastoral. It is compofed in the Somersetshire dialect, and the names fuch as are proper to the country people. It may obferved as a further beauty of this Paftoral, the words Nymph, Dryad,

Naiad, Fawn, Cupid, or Satyr, are not once mentioned throughout the whole. I fhall make no apology for inserting fome few lines of this excellent piece. Cicily breaks thus into the fubject, as fhe is going a milking:

b

Cicily. Rager, go vetch tha Kee, or else tha Zun Will quite be go, bevore c'have half a don.

Roger. Thou shouldst not ax ma tweece, but I've a bee To dreve our bull to bull tha Parson's Kee.

It is to be observed, that this whole dialogue is formed upon the paffion of Jealoufy; and his mentioning the Parfon's Kine naturally revives the jealoufy of the fhepherdefs Cicily, which she expreffes as follows:

Cicily. Ab Rager, Rager, ches was zore avraid,

When in yon Vield you kiss'd the Parfon's maid:
Is this the love that once to me you zed,
When from the Wake thou brought'st me gin-
ger-bread?

Roger. Cicily, thou charg'ft me valse,--I'll zwear to thee,

Tha Parfon's maid is still a maid for me.

In which answer of his, are expressed at once that Spirit of Religion, and that Innocence of the

That is, the Kine or Cows.

Golden age, so neceffary to be observed by all writers of Paftoral.

At the conclufion of this piece, the author reconciles the Lovers, and ends the Eclogue the moft fimply in the world:

So Rager parted vor to vetch tha Kee,
And vor her bucket in went Cicily.

I am loth to show my fondness for antiquity fo far as to prefer this ancient British author to our prefent English Writers of Paftoral; but I cannot avoid making this obvious remark, that Philips hath hit into the fame road with this old Weft Country Bard of ours.

After all that hath been faid, I hope none can think it any injustice to Mr. Pope that I forebore to mention him as a Paftoral writer; fince, upon the whole, he is of the fame clafs with Mofchus and Bion, whom we have excluded that rank and of whofe Eclogues, as well as fome of Virgil's, it may be faid, that (according to the description we have given of this fort of poetry) they are by no means Paftorals, but fomething better.

No. 61.

May 21, 1713.

Primoque a caede ferarum

Incaluiffe putem maculatum fanguine ferrum. OVID.

I

Cannot think it extravagant to imagine, that mankind are no lefs, in proportion, accountable for the ill use of their dominion over creatures of the lower rank of beings, than for the exercise of tyranny over their own Species. The more entirely the inferior creation is fubmitted to our power, the more answerable we should seem for our mismanagement of it; and the rather, as the condition of nature renders these creatures incapable of receiving any recompence in another life for their ill treatment in this.

very

'Tis obfervable of those noxious animals, which have qualities moft powerful to injure us, that they naturally avoid mankind, and never hurt us unless provoked, or neceffitated by hunger. Man, on the other hand, feeks out and pursues even the most inoffenfive animals, on purpose to perfecute and destroy them.

Montaigne thinks it fome reflection upon human nature itself, that few people take delight in seeing beasts carefs or play together, but almost every one is pleafed to fee them lacerate and worry one another. I am forry this temper is become

almost a distinguishing character of our own nation, from the obfervation which is made by foreigners of our beloved paftimes, Bear-baiting, Cock-fighting, and the like. We should find it hard to vindicate the destroying of any thing that - has life, meerly out of wantonness; yet in this principle our children are bred up, and one of the first pleasures we allow them, is the licence of inflicting pain upon poor animals: almost as soon as we are sensible what life is ourselves, we make it our sport to take it from other creatures. I cannot but believe a very good use might be made of the fancy which children have for birds and infects. Mr. Locke takes notice of a mother who permitted them to her children, but rewarded or punished them as they treated them well or ill. This was no other than entering them betimes into a daily exercise of humanity, and improving their very diverfion to a virtue.

I fancy too, fome advantage might be taken of the common notion, that 'tis ominous or unlucky, to deftroy fome forts of birds, as Swallows and Martins. This opinion might poffibly arise from the confidence thefe birds feem to put in us by building under our roofs, fo that it is a kind of violation of the laws of hofpitality to murder them. As for Robin-red-breafts in particular, 'tis not improbable they owe their fecurity to the old ballad of The Children in the Wood. However it be, I don't know, I fay, why this prejudice, well ¡m