We press, we gore; till once the summit gain'd,
Painfully panting; there we breathe a while;
Then, like a foaming torrent, pouring down
Precipitant, we smoke along the vale.
Happy the man who with unrivall'd speed
Can pass his fellows, and with pleasure view
The struggling pack; how in the rapid course
Alternate they preside, and jostling push
To guide the dubious scent; how giddy youth
Oft babbling errs, by wiser age reprov d;
How, niggard of his strength, the wise old hound
Hangs in the rear, till some important point
Rouse all his diligence, or till the chase
Sinking he finds: then to the head he springs
With thirst of glory fir'd, and wins the prize.
Huntsman, take heed; they stop in full career.
Yon crowding flocks, that at a distance gaze,
Have haply foil'd the turf. See! that old hound,
How busily he works, but dares not trust
His doubtful sense; draw yet a wider ring.
Hark! now again the chorus fills. As bells
Sally'd a while, at once their peal renew,
And high in air the tuneful thunder rolls.
See, how they toss, with animated rage
Recovering all they lost!-That eager haste
Some doubling wile foreshows.-Ah! yet once more
They're check'd,-hold back with speed-on either

hand

They flourish round-ev'n yet persist-'Tis right,
Away they spring; the rustling stubbles bend
Beneath the driving storm. Now the poor Chase
Begins to flag, to her last shifts redue'd.
From brake to brake she flies, and visits all

།

Her well-known haunts, where once she rang'd secure,
With love and plenty blest. See! there she goes,
She reels along, and by her gait betrays
Her inward weakness. See, how black she looks!
The sweat that clogs th'obstructed pores, scarce leaves
A languid scent. And now in open view
See, see, she flies! each eager hound exerts
His utmost speed, and stretches every nerve,
How quick she turns their gaping jaws eludes,
And yet a moment lives; till, round enclos'd
By all the greedy pack, with 'ufant screams
She yields her breath, and there reluctant dies.
So when the furious Bacchnals assail'd
Threician Orpheus, poor ill-fated bard!
Loud was the cry; hill, weeds, and Hebrus banks,
Return'd their clamorous rage; distress'd he dies,
Shifting from place to place, but flies in vain;
For eager they pursue, till panting, faint,
By noisy multitudes o'erpower'd, he sinks
To the relentless crowd a bleeding prey.

་

The huntsman now, a deep incision inade,
Shakes out with hands impure, and dashes down
Her reeking entrails and yer quivering heart.
These claim t pack, the body perquisite
For all their toils. Stretch'd on the ground she lies
A mangled corse; in her dim glaring eyes
Cold Death exuits, and stifea e erv Imb.
Aw'd by the threatening whip, the ions hounds
Around her bay; or at their mast as foot,
Each happy favourite court is kind applause,
With humble adulation cowering low.

All now is joy. With ebook full-clowa they wind
Her solemn dize, while the to.l-opping pack
The concert swe 1, and hills and dates return
The sadly-pleasing sounds, Thats the poor hare,
A puny, dastard animal, but vers'd

In subtle wiles, diverts the youthful train.
But if thy proud, aspiring soul disdains
So mean a prey, delighted with the pomp,
Magnificence, and grandeur of the chase;
Hear what the Muse from faithful records sings.
Why on the banks of Gemna, Indian stream,
Line within line, rise the pavilions proud,
Ti cir silken streamers waving in the wind?
Why neighs the warrior horse? From tent to tent,
Why press in crouds the buzzing multitude?
Why shines the polish'd helin, and pointed lance,
Thus way and that far beaming o'er the plain?
Nor Visapour 1 or Golconda rebel;
No: the great Sophy, with his numerous host,
Lays waste the provinces; nor glory fires
To rob and to destroy, beneath the name
And specious guise of war.
Canis Aurengzebe to arms.

A nobler cause No cities sack'd,

No mother's to ars, no helpless orphan's cries,
No violated leagues, with sharp remorse
Shall sting the conscious victor: but mankind
Shall hail him good and just. For 'tis on beasts
He draws his vengeful sword! on beasts of prey
Full-fed with human gore. See, see, he comes!
Imperial Dehli, opening wide her gates,
Pours out her thronging legions, bright in arms,
And all the pomp of war. Before them sound
Clarions and trumpets, breathing martial airs,
And bold defiance. High upon his throne,
Borne on the back of his proud elephant,
Sits the great chief of Tamur's glorious race:
Sublime he sits, amid the radiant blaze
Of gems and gold. Omrahs about him crowd,
And rein th' Arabian steed, and watch bis nod:
And potent rajahs, who themselves preside
Wer realms of wide extent; but here submiss
Their homage pay, alternate kings and slaves.
Next these, with prying eunuchs girt around,
The fair sultanes of bis court: a troop
Of chosen beauties, but with care conceal'd
From each intrusive eye; one look is death.
Ah cruel castern law! (had kings a power
But equal to their wild tyrannie will)
To rob us of the Sun's all chearing ray,
Were less severe. The vulgar close the march,
Slaves and artificers; and Debli mourns
Her empty and depopulated streets.
Now at the can arriv'd, with stern review,
Through groves or spears, from le to file he darts
This sharp experia ''d eye; their order marks,
Fach in his station ran_`d, exact and firm,
Till in the boundless line his sight is lost.
Not greater maltitudes in arms appear'd
On these extended plains, when Auton's son
With mighty Porus in dread battle join'd,
The vassal world tt prize. Nor was that host
More au ierons of old, which the great king 1
Pour'd out on Greece from all th' unpeopled East,
That bridg'd tuc Hell spont from shore to shore,
And drank the rivers dry. Mean while in troops
The busy hunter-trun înck out the ground,
A wide circumference, fall many a league
In com as round; wools, rivers, hills, and plains,
Large provinces; enough to atly
Ambition's highest ain, could reason bound
Mar's erz, will. Now sit in close divan
The mighty chicls of this prodigious host,

1 Xerxes.

He from the throne high-eminent presides,
Gives out his mandates proud, laws of the chase,
From ancient records drawn. With reverence low,
And prostrate at his feet, the chiefs receive
His irreversible decrees, from which
To vary is to die. Then his brave bands
Each to his station leads; encamping round,
Till the wide circle is completely form'd.
Where decent order reigns, what these command,
Those execute with speed, and punctual care,
In all the strictest discipline of war:
As if some watchful foe, with bold insult,
Hung lowering o'er their camp. The high resolve,
That flies on wings through all th' encircling line,
Each motion steers, and animates the whole.
So by the Sun's attractive power control'd,
The planets in their spheres roll round his orb:
On all he shines, and rules the great machine.

Ere yet the morn dispels the fleeting mists,
The signal given by the loud trumpet's voice,
Now high in air th' imperial standard waves,
Emblazon'd rich with gold, and glittering gems,
And like a sheet of fire, through the dun gloom
Streaming meteorous. The soldiers' shouts,
And all the brazen instruments of war,
With mutual clamour, and united din,

Fill the large concave. While from camp to camp
They catch the varied sounds, floating in air,
Round all the wide circumference, tigers fell
Shrink at the noise, deep in his gloomy den
The lion starts, and morsels yet unchew'd
Drop from his trembling jaws. Now all at once
Onward they march embattled, to the sound
Of martial harmony; fifes, cornets, drums,
That rouze the sleepy soul to arms, and bold
Heroic deeds. In parties here and there
Detach'd o'er hill and dale, the hunters range
Inquisitive; strong dogs, that match in fight
The boldest brute, around their masters wait,
A faithful guard. No haunt unsearch'd, they drive
From every covert, and from every den,
The lurking savages. Incessant shouts
Re-echo through the woods, and kindling fires
Gleam from the mountain tops; the forest seems
One mingling blaze: like flocks of sheep they fly
Before the flaming brand: fierce lions, pards,
Boars, tigers, bears and wolves; a dreadful crew
Of grim blood-thirsty foes; growling along,
They stalk indignant; but fierce vengeance still
Hangs pealing on their rear, and pointed spears
Present immediate death. Soon as the Night
Wrapt in her sable veil forbids the chase,
They pitch their tents, in even ranks, around
The circling camp. The guards are plac'd, and fires
At proper distances ascending rise,

And paint th' horizon with their ruddy light.
So round some island's shore of large extent,
Amid the gloomy horrours of the night,
The billows breaking on the pointed rocks,
Seem all one flame, and the bright circuit wide
Appears a bulwark of surrounding fire.

What dreadful howlings, and what hideous roar,
Disturb those peaceful shades! where erst the bird
That glads the night had cheer'd the listening groves
With sweet complainings. Through the silent gloom
Oft they the guards assail; as oft repell'd
They fly reluctant, with hot boiling rage
Stung to the quick, and mad with wild despair.
Thus day by day they still the chase renew,
VOL. XI.

At night encamp; till now in streighter bounds
The circle lessens, and the beasts perceive
The wall that hems them in on every side.
And now their fury bursts, and knows no mean;
From man they turn, and point their ill-judg'd rage
Against their fellow-brutes. With teeth and claws
The civil war begins; grappling they tear.
Lions on tigers prey, and bears on wolves:
Horrible discord! till the crowd behind
Shouting pursue, and part the bloody fray.
At once their wrath subsides; tame as the lamb
The lion hangs his head, the furious pard,
Cow'd and subdued, flies from the face of man,
Nor bears one glance of his commanding eye.
So abject is a tyrant in distress!

At last, within the narrow plain confin'd,
A listed field, mark'd out for bloody deeds,
An amphitheatre more glorious far
[heaps,
Than ancient Rome could boast, they crowd in
Dismay'd, and quite appall'd. In meet array,
Sheath'd in refulgent arms, a noble band
Advance; great lords of high imperial blood,
Early resolv'd t' assert their royal race,

And prove by glorious deeds their valour's growth
Mature, ere yet the callow down has spread
Its curling shade. On bold Arabian steeds
With decent pride they sit, that fearless hear
The lion's dreadful roar; and down the rock
Swift-shooting plunge, or o'er the mountain's ridge
Stretching along, the greedy tiger leave,
Panting behind. On foot their faithful slaves
With javelins arm'd attend; each watchful eye
Fix'd on his youthful care, for him alone
He fears, and, to redeem his life, unmov'd
Would lose his own. The mighty Aurengzebe,
From his high-elevated throne, beholds
His blooming race; revolving in his mind
What once he was, in his gay spring of life,
When vigour strung his nerves. Parental joy
Melts in his eye, and flushes in his cheek.
Now the loud trumpet sounds a charge. The shouts
Of eager hosts, through all the circling line,
And the wild howlings of the beasts within
Rend wide the welkin; flights of arrows, wing'd
With death, and javelins lanch'd from every arm,
Gali sore the brutal bands, with many a wound
Gor'd through and through. Despair at last pre-
When fainting Nature shrinks, and rouses all [vails,
Their drooping courage. Swell'd with furious rage,
Their eyes dart fire; and on the youthful band
They rush implacable. They their broad shields
Quick interpose; on each devoted head
Their flaming falchions, as the bolts of Jove,
Descend unerring. Prostrate on the ground
The grinning monsters lie, and their foul gore
Defiles the verdant plain. Nor idle stand

The trusty slaves; with pointed spears they pierce
Through their tough hides; or at their gaping
An easier passage find. The king of brutes [mouths
In broken roarings breathes his last; the bear
Grumbles in death; nor can his spotted skin,
Though sleek it shine, with varied beauties gay,
Save the proud pard from unrelenting fate.
The battle bleeds, grim Slaughter strides along,
Glutting her greedy jaws, grins o'er her prey:
Men, horses, dogs, fierce beasts of every kind,
A strange promiscuous carnage, drench'd in blood,
And heaps on heaps amass'd. What yet remain
Alive, with vain assault contend to break

M

Th' impenetrable line. Others, whom fear
Inspires with self-preserving wiles, beneath
The bodies of the slain for shelter creep.
Aghast they fly, or hide their heads dispers'd. {work
And now perchance (had Heaven but pleas'd) the
Of death had been compleat; and Aurengzebe
By one dread frown extinguish'd half their race.
When lo! the bright sultanas of his court
Appear, and to his ravish'd eyes display
Those charms but rarely to the day reveal'd.

Lowly they bend, and humbly sue, to save
The vanquish'd host. What mortal can deny
When suppliant Beauty begs? At his command,
Opening to right and left, the well-train'd troops
Leave a large void for their retreating foes.
Away they fly, on wings of fear upborn,
To seek on distant hills their late abodes.

Ye proud oppressors, whose vain hearts exult In wantonness of power, 'gainst the brute race, Fierce robbers like yourselves, a guiltless war Wage uncontrol'd: here quench your thirst blood;

But learn from Aurengzebe to spar. mankind.

BOOK III.

THE ARGUMENT.

Of king Edgar, and his imposing a tribute of wolves' heads upon the kings of Wales: from hence a transition to fox-hunting, which is described in all its parts. Censure of an over numerous pack. Of the several engines to destroy foxes and other wild beasts. The steel-trap described, and the manner of using it. Description of the pitfall for the lion; and another for the elephant. The ancient way of hunting the tiger with a mirror. The Arabian manner of hunting the wild boar. Description of the royal stag-chase at Windsor Forest. Concludes with an address to his Majesty, and an eulogy upon mercy.

1

IN Albion's isle, when glorious Edgar reign'd,
He, wisely provident, from her white cliffs
Lanch'd half her forests, and with numerous fleets
Cover'd his wide domain: there proudly rode
Lord of the deep, the great prerogative
Of British monarchs. Each invader bold,
Dane and Norwegian, at a distance gaz'd,
And, disappointed, guash'd his teeth in vain.
He scour'd the seas, and to remotest shores
With swelling sails the trembling corsair fled.
Rich commerce flourish'd; and with busy oars
Dash'd the resounding surge. Nor less at land
His royal cares; wise, potent, gracious prince
His subjects from their cruel foes he say'd,
And from rapacious savages their flocks : [paid
Cambria's proud kings (though with reluctance)
Their tributary wolves; head after head,
In full account, till the woods yield no more,
And all the ravenous race extinct is lost.
In fertile pastures, more securely graz'd
The social troops; and soon their large increase
With curling fleeces whiten'd all the plains.
But yet, alas! the wily fox remain'd,
A scotle, pilfering foe, prowling around
In midnight shades, and wakeful to destroy.
In the full fold, the poor defenceless lamb,
Seiz'd by his guileful arts, with sweet warm blood
Supplies a rich repast. The mournful ewe,

The conscious villain. See! he skulks along,
Sleek at the shepherd's cost, and plump with meals
Purloin'd. So thrive the wicked here below.
Though high his brush he bear, though tipt with
It gaily shine; yet ere the Sun declin'd [white
Shall rue his fate revers'd, and at his heels
Recal the shades of night, the pamper'd rogue
Behold the just avenger, swift to seize
His forfeit head, and thirsting for his blood. [hearts

Heavens! what melodious strains! how beat our
Big with tumultuous joy! the loaded gales
From wood to wood, through every dark recess
Breathe harmony; and as the tempest drives
The forest thunders, and the mountains shake.
The chorus swells; less various, and less sweet,
The trilling notes, when in those very groves,
The feather'd choristers salute the Spring,
And every bush in concert joins; or when
The master's hand, in modulated air,
Bids the loud organ breathe, and all the powers
Of music in one instrument combine,
An universal minstrelsy. And now

In vain each earth he tries, the doors are barr'd Impregnable, nor is the covert safe;

He pants for purer air. Hark! what loud shouts
Re-echo through the groves! he breaks away.
Shrill horns proclaim his flight. Each straggling
hound

Strains o'er the lawn to reach the distant pack.
'Tis triumph all and joy. Now, my brave youths,
Now give a loose to the clean generous steed;
Flourish the whip, nor spare the galling spur;
But, in the madness of delight, forget
Your fears. Far o'er the rocky hills we range,
And dangerous our course; but in the brave
True courage never fails. In vain the stream
In foaming eddies whirls; in vain the ditch
Wide-gaping threatens death. The craggy steep,
Where the poor dizzy shepherd crawls with care,
And clings to every twig, gives us no pain;
But down we sweep, as stoops the falcon bold
To pounce his prey. Then up th' opponent hill,

[Chase

By the swift motion slung, we mount aloft: So ships in winter-seas now sliding sink Adown the steepy wave, then toss'd on high Ride on the billows, and defy the storm. What lengths we pass! where will the wandering Lead us bewilder'd! smooth as swallows skim The new-shorn mead, and far more swift, we fly. See my brave pack; how to the head they press, Jostling in close array, then more diffuse Obliquely wheel, while from their opening mouths The volled thunder breaks. So when the cranes Their annual voyage steer, with wanton wing Their figure oft they change, and their loud clang From cloud to cloud rebounds. How far behind The hunter-crew, wide-straggling o'er the plain! The panting courser now with trembling nerves Begins to reel; urg d by the goring spur, Makes many a faint effort: he snorts, he foams, The big round drops run trickling down his sides, With sweat and blood distain'd. Look back and view The strange confusion of the vale below, Where sour vexation reigns; see yon poor jade! In vain th' impatient rider frets and swears; With galling spurs harrows his mangled sides; He can no more: his stiff unpliant limbs Rooted in earth, unmov'd and fix'd he stands, For every cruel curse returns a groan, And sobs, and faints, and dies. Who without grief Can view that pamper'd steed, his master's joy, His minion, and his daily care, well cloath'd, Well fed with every nicer cate; no cost, No labour spar'd; who, when the flying Chase Broke from the copse, without a rival led The numerous train: now a sad spectacle Of pride brought low, and humbl'd insolence, Drove like a pannier'd ass, and scourg'd along. While these, with loosen'd reins and dangling heels, Hang on their reeling palfreys, that scarce bear Their weights: another in the treacherous bog Lies floundering half ingulph'd.

thoughts

What biting

[height

Torment th' abandon'd crew! Old age laments
His vigour spent: the tall, plump, brawny youth
Curses his cumberous bulk; and envies now
The short pygmean race, he whilom kenn'd
With proud insulting leer. A chosen few
Alone the sport enjoy, nor droop beneath
Their pleasing toils. Here, huntsman, from this
Observe yon birds of prey; if I can judge,
'Tis there the villain lurks: they hover round
And claim him as their own. Was I not right?
See! there he creeps along; his brush he drags,
And sweeps the mire impure; from his wide jaws
His tongue unmoisten'd hangs; symptoms too sure
Of sudden death. Ha! yet he flies, nor yields
To black despair. But one loose more, and all
His wiles are vain. Hark! through yon village now
The rattling clamour rings. The barns, the cots,
And leafless elms return the joyous sounds.
Through every homestall, and through every yard,
His midnight walks, panting, forlorn, he flies;
Through every hole he sneaks, through every jakes
Plunging he wades besmear'd, and fondly hopes
In a superior stench to lose his own :

But, faithful to the track, th' unerring hounds
With peals of echoing venge ince close pursue.
And now distress'd, no sheltering covert near,
Into the hen-roost creeps, whose walls with gore
Distain'd attest his guilt. There, villain, there

Expect thy fate deserv'd. And soon from thence
The pack inquisitive, with clamour loud,
Drag out their trembling prize; and on his blood
With greedy transport feast. In bolder notes
Each sounding horn proclaims the felon dead :
And all th' assembled village shouts for joy.
The farmer, who beholds his mortal foe
Stretch'd at his feet, applauds the glorious deed,
And grateful calls us to a short repast:
In the full glass the liquid amber smiles,
Our native product; and his good old mate
With choicest viands heaps the liberal board,
To crown our triumphs, and reward our toils.

Here must th' instructive Muse (but with respect)
Censure that numerous pack, that crowd of state,
With which the vain profusion of the great
Covers the lawn, and shakes the trembling copse.
Pompous encumbrance! A magnificence
Useless, vexatious! For the wiiy fox,
Safe in th' increasing number of his foes,
Kens well the great advantage: slinks behind,
And slyly creeps through the same beaten track,
And hunts them step by step: then views, escap'd,
With inward extasy, the panting throng

In their own footsteps puzzled, foil'd, and lost.
So when proud eastern kings summon to arms
Their gaudy legions, from far distant climes
They flock in crowds, unpeopling half a world :
But when the day of battle calls them forth
To charge the well-train d foe, a band compact
Of chosen veterans; they press blindly on,
In heaps confus'd by their own weapons fall,
A smoaking carnage scatter'd o'er the plain.

Nor hounds alone this noxious brood destroy:
The plunder'd warrener full many a wile
Devises to entrap his greedy foe,

Fat with nocturnal spoils. At close of day,
With silence drags his trail; then from the ground
Pares thin the close-graz'd turf, there with nice
Covers the latent death, with curious springs [hand
Prepar'd to fly at once, whene'er the tread
Of man or beast unwarily shall press
The yielding surface. By th' indented steel
With gripe tenacious held, the felon grins,
And struggles, but in vain: yet oft 'tis known,
When every art has fail'd, the captive fox
Has shar'd the wounded joint, and with a limb
Compounded for his life. But, if perchance
In the deep pitfall plung'd, there's no escape;
But unrepricv'd he dies, and bleach'd in air,
The jest of clowns, his reeking carcass hangs.

Of these are various kinds; not even the king
Of brutes evades this deep devouring grave:
But, by the wily African betray'd,
Heedless of fate, within its gaping jaws
Expires indignant. When the orient beam
With blushes paints the dawn; and all the race
Carnivorous, with blood full-gorg'd, retire
Into their darksom cells, there satiate snore

O'er dripping offals, and the mangled limbs
Of men and beasts; the painful forester
Climbs the high hills, whose prond aspiring tops
With the tali cedar crown'd, and taper fir,
Assul the clouds. There 'mong the craggy rocks,
And thickets intricate, trembling he views
His footsteps in the sand; the dismal road
And avenue to Death. Hither he calls
His watchful bands; and low into the ground
A pit they sink, full many a fathom deep.