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BOOK II.

DIDACTIC,
DIDACTIC, DESCRIPTIVE, &c.

What prudence can prevent madnefs, the worst
Of maladies? Terrific peft! that blafts
The huntsman's hopes, and defolation (preads
Thro' all th'unpeopled kennel unreftrain'd,
More fatal than th'envenom'd vipers bite,
Or that Apulian fpider's pois'nous fting,
Heal'd by the pleafing antidote of founds.
When Sirius reigns, andthe fun's parching beams
Bake the dry-gaping furface, vifit thou,
Each ev'n and morn, with quick obfervant eye,
Thy panting pack. If, in dark fullen mood,
The glouting hound refufe his wonted meal,
Retiring clofe to fome obfcure retreat,
Gloomy, difconfolate, with speed remove
The poor infectious wretch, and in ftrong chains
Bind him fufpected. Thus that dire difeafe
Which art can't cure, wife caution may prevent.

But this neglected, foon expect a change,
A difmal change, confufion, frenzy, death h;
Or in fome dark recefs the fenfelefs brute
Sits fadly pining; deep melancholy
And black defpair upon his clouded brow
Hang lowring; from his half-op'ning jaws '
The clammy venom and infectious froth
Diftilling fall; and from his lungs, inflam'd,
Malignant vapours taint the ambient air,
Breathing perdition; his dim eyes are glaz'd,
He droops his penfive head; his trembling limbs
No more fupport his weight; abject he lies,
Dumb, fpiritlefs, benumb'd; till Death at laft,
Gracious, attends, and kindly brings relief.

Or if outrageous grown, behold, alas!
A yet more dreadful fcene; his glaring eyes
Redden with fury; like fome angry boar
Churning he foams, and on his back erect
His pointed briftles rife; his tail incurv'd
He drops, and with harsh broken howlings rends
The poifon-tainted air; with rough hoarfe voice
Inceffant bays, and fnuffs th'infectious breeze;
This way and that he stares aghaft, and starts
At his own fhade, jealous, as if he deem'd
The world his foes. If haply t'ward the ftream
He caft his roving eye, cold horror chills
His foul; averse he flies, trembling appall'd;
Now frantic to the kennel's utmost verge
Raving he runs, and deals destruction round :
The pack fly diverfe; for whate'er he meets,
Vengeful he bites, and ev'ry bite is death.
If now perchance thro' the weak fence efcap'd,
Far up the wind he roves, with open mouth
Inhales the cooling breeze, nor man nor beaft
He fpares, implacable. The hunter-horse,
Once kind affociate of his fylvan toils
(Who haply now without the kennel's mound
Crops the rank mead, and, lift'ning, hears with joy
The cheering cry that morn and eve falutes
His raptur'd fenfe) a wretched victim falls.
Unhappy quadruped! no more, alas!
Shall thy fond mafter with his voice applaud
Thy gentleness, thy fpeed; or with his hand
Stroke thy foft dappled fides, as he each day
Vifits thy ftall, well pleas'd: no more fhalt thou
With fprightly neighings, to the winding horn
And the loud op'ning pack in concert join'd,

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325

Glad his proud heart; for, oh! the fecret wound
Rankling inflames! he bites the ground, and dies!
Hence to the village with pernicious hafte
Baleful he bends his courfe: the village flies,
Alarm'd; the tender mother in her arms
Hugs clofe the trembling babe; the doors are
barr'd,

And flying curs, by native inftinct taught,
Shun the contagious bane: the ruftic bands
Hurry to arms, the rude militia feize
Whate'er at hand they find; clubs, forks, or guns,
From ev'ry quarter charge the furious foe,
In wild diforder and uncouth array;
Igor'd,
Till now, with wounds on wounds opprefs'd and
At one fhort pois'nous gafp he breathes his laft.
Hence to the kennel, Mufe! return and view,
With heavy heart, that hofpital of woe,
Where Horror ftalks at large! infatiate Death
Sits growling o'er his prey; each hour prefents
A diffrent fcene of ruin and diftrefs.

How bufy art thou, Fate! and how fevere
Thy pointed wrath! the dying and the dead
Promifcuous lie; o'er thefe the living fight
In one eternal broil, not confcious why,
Nor yet with whom. Sodrunkards, in their cups,
Spare not their friends while fenfelefs fquabble
reigns.

all

Huntfinan, it much behoves thee to avoid
The perilous debate. Ah, roufe up
Thy vigilance, and tread the treach'rous ground
With careful step. Thy fires unquench'd preferve,
As crft the vettal flame; the pointed steel
In the hot embers hide; and if furpris'd
Thou feel'ft the deadly bite, quick urge it home
Into the recent fore, and cauterize

The wound: fpare not thy fleth, nor dread th
Vulcan fhall fave when Efculapius fails. [eveat:

Here should the knowing Mute recount the

means

To ftop this growing plague: and here, alas!
Each hand prefents a fov'reign cure, and boafts,
Infallibility; but boasts in vain.

On this depend, each to his fep'rate feat
Confine, in fetters bound; give each his mess
Apart, his range in open air; and then
If deadly fymptoms to thy grief appear,
Devote the wretch, and let him greatly fall,
A gen'rous victim for the public weal.

Sing, philofophic Mufe! the dire effects
Of this contagious bite on hapless man.
The ruftic fwains, by long tradition taught
Of leaches old, as foon as they perceive
The bite imprefs'd, to the fea-coafts repair.
Plung'd in the briny flood, th'unhappy youth
Now journeys home fecure, but foon fhall with
The feas as yet had cover'd him beneath
The foaming furge, full many a fathom deep.
A fate more difmal, and fuperior ills,
Hang o'er his head devoted. When the moon,
Clofing her monthly round, returns again

To glad the night, or when full orb'd the fhines
High in the vault of Heav'n, the lurking peft
Begins the dire affault. The pois'nous foam,
Thro' the deep wound inftill'd with hoftile rage,
And

Y 3

And all its fiery particles faline,
Invades th'arterial fluid, whofe red waves
Tempestuous heave, and, their cohesion broke,
Fermenting boil; inteftine war enfues,
And arder to confusion turns embroil'd.
Now the diftended veffels fcarce contain
The wild uproar, but prefs each weaker part,
Unable to refift: the tender brain
And ftomach fuffer moft: convulfions fhake
His trembling nerves, and wand'ring pungent
pains
Pinch fore the fleepless wretch: his flutt'ring pulfe
Oft intermits: penfive and fad, he mourns
His cruel fate, and to his weeping friends
Laments in vain: to hafty anger prone,
Refents each flight offence, walks with quick ftep,
And wildly ftares: at laft, with boundlefs fway
The tyrant frenzy reigns: for as the dog
(Whose fatal bite convey'd th’infectious bane)
Raving he foams, and howls, and barks, and bites.
Like agitations in his boiling blood
Prefent like fpecies to his troubled mind,
His nature and his actions all canine.
So (as old Homer fung) the affociates wild
Of wand'ring Ithacus, by Circe's charms
To fwine transform'd, ran grunting thro' the
Dreadful example to a wicked world! [groves.
See there diftrefs'd he lies! parch'd up with thirst,
But dares not drink; till now at last his foul,
Trembling, efcapes, her noifome dungeon leaves,
And to fome purer region wings away.

One labour yet remains, celeftial Maid!
Another element demands thy fong.
No more o'er craggy fteeps, thro' coverts thick
With pointed thorn, and briers intricate,
Urge on with horn and voice the painful pack,
But fkim with wanton wing th'irriguous vale,
Where winding ftreams amid the Row'ry meads
Perpetual glide along, and undermine
The cavern'd banks, by the tenacious roots
Of hoary willows arch'd, gloomy retreat
Of the bright fcaly kind, where they at will
On the green wat'ry reed, there pasture, graze,
Suck the moift foil, or flumber at their cafe,
Rock'd by the rettlefs brook that draws aflope
Its humid train, and laves their dark abodes.
Where rages not oppreffion? where, alas!
Is innocence fecure? Rapine and Spoil
Hauntev'n the loweft deeps; feas have their sharks,
Rivers and ponds enclofe the rav'nous pike;
He in his turn becomes a prey; on hin
Th'amphibious otter feafts. Juft is his fate
Deferv'd: but tyrants know no bounds;
fpears,

nor

That brittle on his back, defend the perch
From his wide greedy jaws; nor burnith'd mail
The yellow carp; nor all his arts can fave
Th'infinuating eel, that hides his head
Beneath the flimy mud; nor yet efcapes
The crimfon-fpotted trout, the river's pride,
And beauty of the ftream. Without remorse
This midnight pillager, ranging around,
Infatiate, fwallows all. The owner mourns
Th'unpeopled rivulet, and gladly hears,

The huntfman's early call, and feca with joy

The jovial crew, that march'd upon its banks
In gay parade, with bearded lances arm'd.

This fubtle fpoiler, of the beaver kind,
Far off perhaps, where ancient alders shade
The deep ftill pool, within fome hollow trunk
Contrives his wicker couch, whence he furveys
His long purlieu, lord of the stream, and all
The finny fhoals his own. But you, brave youths!
Difpute the felon's claim; try ev'ry root,
And ev'ry reedy bank; encourage all
The bufy fpreading pack, that fearless plunge
Into the flood, and cross the rapid ftream.
Bid rocks and caves, and each refounding fhore
Proclaim your bold defiance; loudly raise
Each cheering voice, till distant hills repeat
The triumphs of the vale. On the foft fand
See there his feal imprefs'd! and on that bank
Behold the glitt'ring fpoils, half-eaten fish,
Scales, fins, and bones, the leavings of his feaft
Ah! on that yielding fag-bed, fee once more
His feal I view. O'er yon dank rushy marsh
The fly goofe-footed prowler bends his course,
And feeks the diftant fhallows. Huntsman! bring
Thy eager pack, and trail him to his couch.
Hark! the loud peal begins, the clam'rous joy,
The gallant chiding, loads the trembling air.

Ye Naiads fair! who o'er thefe floods prefide,
Raife up your dripping heads above the wave,
And hear our melody. Th'harmonious notes
Float with the ftream, and ev'ry winding creek
And hollow rock, that o'er the dimpling flood
Nods pendant, ftill improve from fhore to fhore
Our fweet reiterated joys. What fhouts!
What clamour loud! what gay heart-cheering
founds

Urge thro' the breathing brafs their mazy way!
Not quires of Tritons glad with fprightlier ftrains
The dancing billows, when proud Neptune rides
In triumph o'er the deep. How greedily
They fnuff the fifhy fteam that to each blade
Rank-fcenting clings! See! how the morning
dews
[drop
They fweep, that from their feet befprinkling
Difpers'd, and leave a track oblique behind.
Now on firm land they range; then in the flood
They plunge tumultuous, or thro' reedy pools,
Ruffling, they work their way: no holt efcapes
Their curious fearch. With quick fenfations now
The fuming vapour ftings; flutter their hearts,
And joy redoubled burits from ev'ry mouth
In louder tymphonies. Yon hollow trunk,
That with its hoary head incurv'd falutes
The paffing wave, must be the tyrant's fort,
And dread abode. How thefe impatient climb,
While others at the root inceffant bay!
They put him down. Sec, there he dives along!
Th'afcending bubbles mark his gloomy way.
Quick fix the nets, and cut off his retreat
Into the fhelt'ring deeps. Ah! there he vents!
The pack plunge headlong, and protended fpears
Menace deftruction, while the troubled furge
Indignant foams, and all the fcaly kind,
Affrighted, hide their heads. Wild tumult reigns,
And loud uproar, Ah! there once more he

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See! that bold hound has feiz'd him! down they
Together loft, but foon fhall he repent [únk,
His rafh affault. See! there efcap'd, he flies,
Half-drown'd, and clambers up the flipp'ry bank,
With ouze and blood diftain'd. Of all the brutes,
Whether by nature form'd, or by long ufe,
This artful diver beft can bear the want
Of vital air. Unequal is the fight
Beneath the whelming element; yet there
He lives not long, but refpiration needs
At proper intervals. Again he vents;
Again the crowd attack. That fpear has pierc'd
His neck; the crimfon waves confefs the wound.
Fix'd is the bearded lance, unwelcome guest,
Where'er he flies; with him it finks beneath,
With him it mounts, fure guide to ev'ry foe.
Inly he groans; nor can his tender wound
Bear the cold ftream. Lo! to yon fedgy bank
He creeps difconfolate: his num'rous foes
Surround him, hounds and men. Pierc'd thro'
and thro',

On pointed fpears they lift him high in air;
Wriggling he hangs, and grins, and bites in vain.
Bid the loud horns, in gaily-warbling strains,
Proclaim the felon's fate. He dies, he dies!
Rejoice, ye fcaly tribes! and leaping dance
Above the wave, in fign of liberty
Reftor'd; the cruel tyrant is no more.
Rejoice, fecure and blefs'd, did not as yet
Remain fome of your own rapacious kind,
And man, fierce man! with all his various wiles.
O happy, if ve knew your happy state,
Ye rangers of the fields! whom Nature's boon
Cheers with her fimiles, and ev'ry clement
Confpires to blefs. What if no heroes frown
From marble pedestals, nor Raphael's works,
Nor Titian's lively tints adorn our walls;
Yet thefe the meaneft of us may behold,
And at another's coft may feaft at will
Our wond'ring eyes: what can the owner more?
But vain, alas! is wealth not grac'd with pow'r.
The flow'ry landfcape and the gilded dome,
And viftas op'ning to the weary'd eye,
Thro' all his wide domain; the planted grove,
The fhrubby wilderness, with its gay choir
Of warbling birds, can't lull to foft repofe
Th'ambitious wretch, whofe difcontented foul
Is harrow'd day and night: he mourns, he pines,
Until his prince's favour makes him great.
See, there he comes, th'exalted idol comes!
The circle's forin'd, and all his fawning flaves
Devoutly bow to earth; from ev'ry mouth
The naufcous flatt'ry flows, which he returns
With promifes that die as foon as born.
Vile intercourfe! where Virtue has no place.
Frown but the monarch, and his glories fade;
He mingles with the throng, outcast, undone,
The pageant of a day; without one friend
To footh his tortur'd mind; all, all are fled;
For tho' they bafk'd in his meridian ray,
The infects vanifh as his beams decline.

Not fuch our friends; for here no dark defign, No wicked int'reft, bribes the venal heart;

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But inclination to our bofoms leads,
And weds them there for life; our fecial cups
Sinile as we finile; open and unreferv'd,
'We fpeak our inmoft fouls; goed-humour, mirth,
Soft complaifance, and wit from malice free,
Smooth ev'ry brow, and glow on ev'ry cheek.
O happiacfs fincere what wretch would groan
Beneath the galling load of pow'r, or walk
Upon the flipp'ry pavements of the great,
Who thus could reign, unenvy'd and fecure?
Ye guardian Pow'rs! who make mankind
your care,

Give me to know wife nature's hidden depths,
Trace each myfterious caufe, with judgment read
Th'expanded volume, and fubmifs adore
That great creative Will, who at a word
Spoke forth the wond'rous fcene. But if my foul,
To this grofs clay confin'd, flutters on earth
With lefs ambitious wing, unfkill'd to range
From orb to orb, where Newton leads the way,
And view with piercing eyes the grand machine,
Worlds above worlds; fubfervient to his voice
Who, veil'd in clouded majefty, alone
Gives light to all, bids the great fyftem move,
And changeful feafons in their turns advance,
Unmov'd, unchang'd, himfelf; yet this at leaft
Grant me, propitious, an inglorious life,
Calm and ferene, nor loft in falfe purfuits
Of wealth or honours; but enough to raise
My drooping friends, preventing modeft want,
That dares not afk; and if, to crown my joys,
Ye grant me health, that, ruddy in my checks,
Blooms in my life's decline, fields, woods, and
ftreams,

Each tow'ring hill, each humble vale below,
Shall hear my cheering voice; my hounds fhall

wake

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You who the fwects of rural life have known,
Defpife th'ungrateful hurry of the town;
In Windfor groves your eafy hours employ,
And, undisturb'd, yourfelf and Mufe enjoy.
Thames liftens to thy ftrains, and filent flows,
And no rude wind thro' ruftling ofiers blows;
While all his wond'ring nymphs around thee
throng,

To hear the Syrens warble in thy fong.

But I, who ne'er was bless'd by Fortune's hand, Nor brighten'd ploughfhares in paternal land, Long in the noify town have been immur'd, Refpir'd its finoke, and all its cares endur'd; Where news and politics divide mankind, And schemes of ftate involve th'uncafy mind;

* This Poem received many material corrections from the Author after it was first published.

Y 4

Faction

Faction embroils the world; and ev'ry tongue
Is mov'd by flatt'ry, or with fcandal hung:
Friendship, for fylvan fhades, the palace flies,
Where all muft yield to Int'reft's dearer tics;
Each rival Machiavel with envy burns,
And Honefty fortakes them all by turns;
While calumny upon cach party's thrown;
Which both promote, and both alike difown.
Fatigu'd at laft, a calm retreat I chofe, [pofe,
And footh'd my harraf'd mind with fweet re-
Where fields, and fhades, and the refreshing
clime,

Infpire the tylvan fong, and prompt my rhyme.
My Mufe thall rove through flow'ry meads and
plains,

And deck with Rural Sports her native strains,
And the fame road ambitioufly purfue,
Frequented by the Mantuan Swain and You.
'Tis not that rural sports alone invite,
But all the grateful country breathes delight;
Here blocming Health exerts her gentle reign,
And ftrings the finews of th'induftrious swain.
Soon as the morning lark falutes the day,
Through dewy fields I take my frequent way,
Where I behold the farmer's early care
In the revolving labours of the year.

When the freth Spring in all her ftate is crown'd,
And high luxuriant grafs o'erfpreads the ground,
The labour'r with a bending fcythe is feen,
Shaving the furface of the waving green;
Of all her native pride difrobes the land,
And meads lays wafte before his fweeping hand;
While with the mounting fun the meadow glows,
The fading herbage round he loofely throws:
But, if fome fign portend a lafting fhow'r,
Th'experienc'd fwain forcfees the coming hour;
His fun-burnt hands the featt'ring fork forfake,
And ruddy damfels ply the faving rake;
In rifing hills the fragrant harveft grows,
And fpreads along the field in equal rows.
Now when the height of heav'n bright Pho-
bus gains,

And level rays cleave wide the thirty plains,
When heifers feck the fhade and cooling lake,
And in the middle pathway bafks the fnake,'
O lead me, guar me from the fultry hours;
Hide me, ye forefts, in your clofest bow'ts,
Where the tall oak his fpreading arms entwines,
And with the beach a mutual thade combines;
Where flows the murm'ring brook, inviting
dreams;

Where bord'ring hazel overhangs the ftreams,
Whofe rolling current, winding round and round,
With frequent falls makes all the wood refound;
Upon the molly couch my limbs I caft,
And e'en at noon the fweets of ev'ning tafte.
Here I perufe the Mantuan's Georgic firains,
And learn the labours of Italian fwains;
In ev'ry page I fee new landicapes rise,
And all Hefperia opeus to my eyes;
I wander o'er the various rural toil,
And know the nature of each diff'rent foil:
This waving field is gilded o'er with corn;
That, fpreading trees with bluthing fruit adorn:

Here I furvey the purple vintage grow,
Climb round the poles, and rife in graceful row =
Now I behold the fteed curvet and bound,
And paw with reftlefs hoof the finoking ground:
The dew-lap'd bull now chafes along the plain,
While burning love ferments in ev'ry vein;
His well-arm'd front against his rival aims,
And by the dint of war his mistress claims:
The careful infect 'midft his works I view,
Now from the flow'rs exhauft the fragrant dew
With golden treafures load his little thighs,
And fteer his diftant journey thro' the ikies;
Some against hoftile drones the hive defend,
Others with fweets the waxen cells diftend:
Each in the toil his deftin'd office bears,
And in the little bulk a mighty foul appears.
Or when the ploughman leaves the task of day,
And trudging homeward whittles on the way;
When the big-udder'd cows with patience ftand,
Waiting the ftrokings of the damfel's hand;
No warbling cheers the woods; the feather'd choir,
To court kind flumbers, to the fprays retire;
When no rude gale difturbs the ilceping trees,
Nor afpen-leaves confefs the gentleft breeze;
Engag'd in thought, to Neptune's bounds I stray,
To take my farewell of the parting day,
Far in the deep the fun his glory hides,
A ftreak of gold the fea and sky divides:
The purple clouds their amber linings show,
And, edg'd with flame, rolls ev'ry wave below;
Here penfive I behold the fading light,
And o'er the distant billow lofe my fight.

Now Night in filent ftate begins to rife,
And twinkling orbs beftrow th'uncloudy skies;
Her borrow'd luftre growing Cynthia lends,
And on the main a glitt'ring path extends;
Millions of worlds hang in the fpacious air,
Which round their funs their annual circles steer;
Sweet contemplation elevates my fenfe,
While I furvey the works of Providence.
O could the Mufe in loftier ftrains rehearse
The glorious Author of the universe,
Who reins the winds, gives the vaft ocean bounds,
And circumfcribes the floating worlds their
rounds,

My foul fhould overflow in fongs of praise,
And my Creator's name infpire my lays!

As in fucceffive courfe the feafons roll,
So circling pleafures recreate the foul.
When genial fpring a living warmth bestows,
And o'er the year her verdant mantle throws,
No fwelling inundation hides the grounds,
But chryftal currents glide within their bounds;
The finny brood their wonted haunts forfake,
Float in the fun, and fkim along the lake:
With frequent leap they range the thallow
ftreams;

Their filver coats reflect their dazzling beams.
Now let the fisherman his toils prepare,
And arm himself with ev'ry wat'ry fnare;
His hooks, his lines, perufe with careful eye,
Increase his tackle, and his rod re-tye.

When floating clouds their spongy fleeces drain,
Troubling the ftreams with fwift defcending rain;
And

And waters, tumbling down the mountain's fide, | He shakes the boughs that on the margin grow,
Bear the loofe foil into the fwelling tide;
Then, foon as vernal gales begin to rife,
And drive the liquid burthen thro' the skies,
The fisher to the neighb'ring current speeds,
Whose rapid furface purks unknown to weeds:
Upon a rifing border of the brook

He fits him down, and ties the treach'rous hook;
Now expectation cheers his eager thought,
His bofom glows with treafures yet uncaught;
Before his eyes a banquet feems to stand,
Where ev'ry guest applauds his fkilful hand.

Far from the ftream the twisted hair he throws,
Which down the murm'ring current gently flows;
When, if or chance or hunger's pow'rful sway
Directs the roving trout this fatal way,
He greedily fucks in the twining bait,
And tugs and nibbles the fallacious meat:
Now, happy fisherman, now twitch the line!
How thy rod bends! behold the prize is thine!
Caft on the bank, he dies with gafping pains,
And trickling blood his filver mail diftains.

You must not ev'ry worm promifcuous ufe;
Judgment will tell the proper bait to chufe:
The worm that draws a long immod❜rate fize
The trout abhors, and the rank morfel flies;
And, if too finall, the naked fraud's in fight,
And fear forbids, while hunger does invite.
Thofe baits will beft reward the fisher's pains,
Whofe polish'd tails a fhining yellow ftains:
Cleanfe them from filth, to give a tempting glofs,
Cherish the fully'd reptile race with mofs;
Amid the verdant bed they twine, they toil,
And from their bodies wipe their native foil.
But, when the fun difplays his glorious beams,
And thallow rivers flow with filver ftreams,
Then the deceit the fcaly breed furvey,
Bafk in the fun, and look into the day:
You now a more delufive art muft try,
And tempt their hunger with the curious fly.
To frame the little animal, provide
All the gay hues that wait on female pride:
Let nature guide thee; fometimes golden wire
The fhining bellies of the fly require;
The peacock's plumes thy tackle must not fail,
Nor the dear purchase of the fable's tail.
Each gaudy bird some slender tribute brings,
And lends the growing infect proper wings:
Silks of all colours must their aid impart,
And ev'ry fur promote the fisher's art.
So the gay lady, with expenfive care,
Borrows the pride of land, of fea, and air;
Furs, pearls, and plumes, the glitt'ring thing
difplays,

Dazzles our eyes, and eafy hearts betrays.

Mark well the various feafons of the year,
How the fucceeding infect race appear;
In this revolving moon one colour reigns,
Which in the next the fickle trout difdains.
Oft have I feen a fkilful angler try
The various colours of the treach'rous fly;
When he with fruitless pain had fkinm'd the
brook,

And the coy fish rejects the skipping hook,

Which o'er the ftream a waving forest throw;
When if an infect fall (his certain guide)
He gently takes him from the whirling tide;
Examines well his form with curious
eyes,
His gaudy veft, his wings, his horns, and fize;
Then round his hook the chofen fur he winds,
And on the back a fpeckled feather binds;
So just the colours fhine thro' ev'ry part,
That Nature feems again to live in Art.
Let not thy wary step advance too near,
While all thy hope hangs on a fingle hair;
The new-form'd infect on the water moves,
The fpeckled trout the curious fnare approves ;
Upon the curling furface let it glide,
With natʼral motion from thy hand supply'd;
Against the stream now gently let it play,
Now in the rapid eddy roll away.

The fcaly fhoals float by, and, fciz'd with fear,
Behold their fellows toft in thinner air;
But foon they leap, and catch the fwimming bait,
Plunge on the hook, and thare an equal fate.

When a brisk gale against the current blows,
And all the wat'ry plain in wrinkles flows,
Then let the fisherman his art repeat,
Where bubbling eddies favour the deceit,
If an enormous falmon chance to fpy
The wanton errors of the floating fly,
He lifts his filver gills above the flood,
And greedily fucks in th'unfaithful food;
Then downward plunges with the fraudful prey,
And bears with joy the little fpoil away :
Soon in finart pain he feels the dire mistake,
Lathes the wave, and beats the foamy lake;
With fudden rage he now aloft appears,
And in his eye convulfive anguish bears;
And now again, impatient of the wound,
He rolls and wreathes his thining body round;
Then headlong fhoots beneath the dashing tide;
The trembling fins the boiling wave divide.
Now hope exalts the fisher's beating heart;
Now he turns pale, and fears his dubious art;
He views the tumbling fifth with longing eyes,
While the line ftretches with th'unwieldy prize;
Each motion humours with his steady hands,
And one flight hair the mighty bulk commands:
Till, tir'd at laft, defpoil'd of all his ftrength,
The game athwart the ftream unfolds his length.
He now, with pleafure, views the gafping prize
Gnath his fharp teeth, and roll his blood-fhot eyes;
Then draws him to the fhore, with artful care,
And lifts his noftrils in the fick'ning air:
Upon the burthen'd ftream he floating lies,
Stretches his quiv'ring fins, and, gasping, dies.

Would you preferve a num'rous finny race?
Let your fierce dogs the rav'nous otter chace
(Th'amphibious monster ranges all the fhores,
Darts thro' the waves, and ev'ry haunt explores);
Or let the gin his roving fteps betray,
And fave from hoftile jaws the fcaly prey.

I never wander where the bord'ring reeds
O'erlook the muddy ftream, whofe tangling weeds
Perplex the fisher; I nor chufe to bear
The thievifh nightly net, nor barbed spear;

Nor

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