A match for Hercules. Round him they fly In circles wide; and each in pa.s.sing sends His feathered death into his brawny sides.
But perilous the attempt. For if the steed Haply too near approach; or the loose earth _330 His footing fail; the watchful angry beast The advantage spies; and at one sidelong glance Rips up his groin. Wounded, he rears aloft, And plunging, from his back the rider hurls Precipitant; then bleeding spurns the ground, And drags his reeking entrails o"er the plain.
Meanwhile the surly monster trots along, But with unequal speed; for still they wound, Swift-wheeling in the s.p.a.cious ring. A wood Of darts upon his back he bears; adown _340 His tortured sides, the crimson torrents roll From many a gaping font. And now at last Staggering he falls, in blood and foam expires.
But whither roves my devious Muse, intent On antique tales, while yet the royal stag Unsung remains? Tread with respectful awe Windsor"s green glades; where Denham, tuneful bard, Charmed once the listening dryads, with his song Sublimely sweet. Oh! grant me, sacred shade, To glean submiss what thy full sickle leaves.
_350 The morning sun that gilds with trembling rays Windsor"s high towers, beholds the courtly train Mount for the chase, nor views in all his course A scene so gay: heroic, n.o.ble youths, In arts and arms renowned, and lovely nymphs The fairest of this isle, where Beauty dwells Delighted, and deserts her Paphian grove For our more favoured shades: in proud parade These shine magnificent, and press around The royal happy pair. Great in themselves, _360 They smile superior; of external show Regardless, while their inbred virtues give A l.u.s.tre to their power, and grace their court With real splendours, far above the pomp Of eastern kings, in all their tinsel pride.
Like troops of Amazons, the female band Prance round their cars, not in refulgent arms As those of old; unskilled to wield the sword, Or bend the bow, these kill with surer aim.
The royal offspring, fairest of the fair, _370 Lead on the splendid train. Anna, more bright Than summer suns, or as the lightning keen, With irresistible effulgence armed, Fires every heart. He must be more than man, Who unconcerned can bear the piercing ray.
Amelia, milder than the blushing dawn, With sweet engaging air, but equal power, Insensibly subdues, and in soft chains Her willing captives leads. Ill.u.s.trious maids, Ever triumphant! whose victorious charms, _380 Without the needless aid of high descent, Had awed mankind, and taught the world"s great lords To bow and sue for grace. But who is he Fresh as a rose-bud newly blown, and fair As opening lilies; on whom every eye With joy and admiration dwells? See, see, He reins his docile barb with manly grace.
Is it Adonis for the chase arrayed?
Or Britain"s second hope? Hail, blooming youth![9]
May all your virtues with your years improve, _390 Till in consumate worth, you shine the pride Of these our days, and to succeeding times A bright example. As his guard of mutes On the great sultan wait, with eyes deject And fixed on earth, no voice, no sound is heard Within the wide serail, but all is hushed, And awful silence reigns; thus stand the pack Mute and unmoved, and cowering low to earth, While pa.s.s the glittering court, and royal pair: So disciplined those hounds, and so reserved, _400 Whose honour "tis to glad the hearts of kings.
But soon the winding horn, and huntsman"s voice, Let loose the general chorus; far around Joy spreads its wings, and the gay morning smiles.
Unharboured now the royal stag forsakes His wonted lair; he shakes his dappled sides, And tosses high his beamy head, the copse Beneath his antlers bends. What doubling shifts He tries! not more the wily hare; in these Would still persist, did not the full-mouthed pack _410 With dreadful concert thunder in his rear.
The woods reply, the hunter"s cheering shouts Float through the glades, and the wide forest rings.
How merrily they chant! their nostrils deep Inhale the grateful steam. Such is the cry, And such the harmonious din, the soldier deems The battle kindling, and the statesman grave Forgets his weighty cares; each age, each s.e.x In the wild transport joins; luxuriant joy, And pleasure in excess, sparkling exult _420 On every brow, and revel unrestrained.
How happy art thou, man, when thou "rt no more Thyself! when all the pangs that grind thy soul, In rapture and in sweet oblivion lost, Yield a short interval, and ease from pain!
See the swift courser strains, his shining hoofs Securely beat the solid ground. Who now The dangerous pitfall fears, with tangling heath High-overgrown? Or who the quivering bog Soft yielding to the step? All now is plain, _430 Plain as the strand sea-laved, that stretches far Beneath the rocky sh.o.r.e. Glades crossing glades The forest opens to our wondering view: Such was the king"s command. Let tyrants fierce Lay waste the world; his the more glorious part To check their pride; and when the brazen voice Of war is hushed (as erst victorious Rome) To employ his stationed legions in the works Of peace; to smoothe the rugged wilderness, To drain the stagnate fen, to raise the slope _440 Depending road, and to make gay the face Of nature, with the embellishments of art.
How melts my beating heart! as I behold Each lovely nymph our island"s boast and pride, Push on the generous steed, that strokes along O"er rough, o"er smooth, nor heeds the steepy hill, Nor falters in the extended vale below: Their garments loosely waving in the wind, And all the flush of beauty in their cheeks!
While at their sides their pensive lovers wait, _450 Direct their dubious course; now chilled with fear Solicitous, and now with love inflamed.
Oh! grant, indulgent Heaven, no rising storm May darken with black wings, this glorious scene!
Should some malignant power thus damp our joys, Vain were the gloomy cave, such as of old Betrayed to lawless love the Tyrian queen.
For Britain"s virtuous nymphs are chaste as fair, Spotless, unblamed, with equal triumph reign In the dun gloom, as in the blaze of day.
_460 Now the blown stag, through woods, bogs, roads, and streams Has measured half the forest; but alas!
He flies in vain, he flies not from his fears.
Though far he cast the lingering pack behind, His haggard fancy still with horror views The fell destroyer; still the fatal cry Insults his ears, and wounds his trembling heart.
So the poor fury-haunted wretch (his hands In guiltless blood distained) still seems to hear
The dying shrieks; and the pale threatening ghost _470 Moves as he moves, and as he flies pursues.
See here his slot; up yon green hill he climbs, Pants on its brow a while, sadly looks back On his pursuers, covering all the plain; But wrung with anguish, bears not long the sight, Shoots down the steep, and sweats along the vale: There mingles with the herd, where once he reigned Proud monarch of the groves, whose clashing beam
His rivals awed, and whose exalted power Was still rewarded with successful love.
_480 But the base herd have learned the ways of men, Averse they fly, or with rebellious aim Chase him from thence: needless their impious deed, The huntsman knows him by a thousand marks, Black, and embossed; nor are his hounds deceived; Too well distinguish these, and never leave Their once devoted foe; familiar grows His scent, and strong their appet.i.te to kill.
Again he flies, and with redoubled speed Skims o"er the lawn; still the tenacious crew _490 Hang on the track, aloud demand their prey, And push him many a league. If haply then Too far escaped, and the gay courtly train Behind are cast, the huntsman"s clanging whip Stops full their bold career; pa.s.sive they stand, Unmoved, an humble, an obsequious crowd, As if by stern Medusa gazed to stones.
So at their general"s voice whole armies halt In full pursuit, and check their thirst of blood.
Soon at the king"s command, like hasty streams _500 Dammed up a while, they foam, and pour along With fresh-recruited might. The stag, who hoped His foes were lost, now once more hears astunned The dreadful din; he shivers every limb, He starts, he bounds; each bush presents a foe.
Pressed by the fresh relay, no pause allowed, Breathless, and faint, he falters in his pace, And lifts his weary limbs with pain, that scarce Sustain their load! he pants, he sobs appalled; Drops down his heavy head to earth, beneath _510 His c.u.mbrous beams oppressed. But if perchance Some prying eye surprise him; soon he rears Erect his towering front, bounds o"er the lawn With ill-dissembled vigour, to amuse The knowing forester; who inly smiles
At his weak shifts, and unavailing frauds.
So midnight tapers waste their last remains, Shine forth a while, and as they blaze expire.
From wood to wood redoubling thunders roll, And bellow through the vales; the moving storm _520 Thickens amain, and loud triumphant shouts, And horns shrill-warbling in each glade, prelude To his approaching fate. And now in view With hobbling gait, and high, exerts amazed What strength is left: to the last dregs of life Reduced, his spirits fail, on every side Hemmed in, besieged; not the least opening left To gleaming hope, the unhappy"s last reserve.
Where shall he turn? or whither fly? Despair Gives courage to the weak. Resolved to die, _530 He fears no more, but rushes on his foes, And deals his deaths around; beneath his feet These grovelling lie, those by his antlers gored Defile the ensanguined plain. Ah! see distressed He stands at bay against yon knotty trunk, That covers well his rear, his front presents An host of foes. Oh! shun, ye n.o.ble train, The rude encounter, and believe your lives Your country"s due alone. As now aloof They wing around, he finds his soul upraised _540 To dare some great exploit; he charges home Upon the broken pack, that on each side Fly diverse; then as o"er the turf he strains, He vents the cooling stream, and up the breeze Urges his course with eager violence: Then takes the soil, and plunges in the flood Precipitant; down the mid-stream he wafts Along, till (like a ship distressed, that runs Into some winding creek) close to the verge Of a small island, for his weary feet _550 Sure anchorage he finds, there skulks immersed.
His nose alone above the wave draws in The vital air; all else beneath the flood Concealed, and lost, deceives each prying eye Of man or brute. In vain the crowding pack Draw on the margin of the stream, or cut The liquid wave with oary feet, that move In equal time. The gliding waters leave No trace behind, and his contracted pores But sparingly perspire: the huntsman strains _560 His labouring lungs, and puffs his cheeks in vain; At length a blood-hound bold, studious to kill, And exquisite of sense, winds him from far; Headlong he leaps into the flood, his mouth Loud opening spends amain, and his wide throat Swells every note with joy; then fearless dives Beneath the wave, hangs on his haunch, and wounds The unhappy brute, that flounders in the stream, Sorely distressed, and struggling strives to mount The steepy sh.o.r.e. Haply once more escaped, _570 Again he stands at bay, amid the groves Of willows, bending low their downy heads.
Outrageous transport fires the greedy pack; These swim the deep, and those crawl up with pain The slippery bank, while others on firm land Engage; the stag repels each bold a.s.sault, Maintains his post, and wounds for wounds returns.
As when some wily corsair boards a ship Full-freighted, or from Afric"s golden coasts, Or India"s wealthy strand, his b.l.o.o.d.y crew _580 Upon her deck he slings; these in the deep Drop short, and swim to reach her steepy sides, And clinging, climb aloft; while those on board Urge on the work of fate; the master bold, Pressed to his last retreat, bravely resolves To sink his wealth beneath the whelming wave, His wealth, his foes, nor unrevenged to die.
So fares it with the stag: so he resolves To plunge at once into the flood below, Himself, his foes in one deep gulf immersed.
_590 Ere yet he executes this dire intent, In wild disorder once more views the light; Beneath a weight of woe, he groans distressed: The tears run trickling down his hairy cheeks; He weeps, nor weeps in vain. The king beholds His wretched plight, and tenderness innate Moves his great soul. Soon at his high command Rebuked, the disappointed, hungry pack Retire submiss, and grumbling quit their prey.
Great Prince! from thee, what may thy subjects hope; _600 So kind, and so beneficent to brutes?
O mercy, heavenly born! Sweet attribute!
Thou great, thou best prerogative of power!
Justice may guard the throne, but joined with thee, On rocks of adamant it stands secure, And braves the storm beneath; soon as thy smiles Gild the rough deep, the foaming waves subside, And all the noisy tumult sinks in peace.
BOOK IV.
THE ARGUMENT.
Of the necessity of destroying some beasts, and preserving others for the use of man.--Of breeding of hounds; the season for this business.--The choice of the dog, of great moment.--Of the litter of whelps.--Number to be reared.--Of setting them out to their several walks.--Care to be taken to prevent their hunting too soon.--Of entering the whelps.--Of breaking them from running at sheep.-Of the diseases of hounds.-Of their age.--Of madness; two sorts of it described, the dumb, and outrageous madness: its dreadful effects.--Burning of the wound recommended as preventing all ill consequences.--The infectious hounds to be separated, and fed apart.--The vanity of trusting to the many infallible cures for this malady.--The dismal effects of the biting of a mad dog, upon man, described.
--Description of the otter hunting.--The conclusion.
Whate"er of earth is formed, to earth returns Dissolved: the various objects we behold, Plants, animals, this whole material ma.s.s, Are ever changing, ever new. The soul Of man alone, that particle divine, Escapes the wreck of worlds, when all things fail.
Hence great the distance "twixt the beasts that perish, And G.o.d"s bright image, man"s immortal race.
The brute creation are his property, Subservient to his will, and for him made.
_10 As hurtful these he kills, as useful those Preserves; their sole and arbitrary king.
Should he not kill, as erst the Samian sage Taught unadvised, and Indian Brahmins now As vainly preach; the teeming ravenous brutes Might fill the scanty s.p.a.ce of this terrene, Enc.u.mbering all the globe: should not his care Improve his growing stock, their kinds might fail, Man might once more on roots, and acorns, feed, And through the deserts range, shivering, forlorn, _20 Quite dest.i.tute of every solace dear, And every smiling gaiety of life.
The prudent huntsman, therefore, will supply, With annual large recruits, his broken pack, And propagate their kind. As from the root Fresh scions still spring forth, and daily yield New blooming honours to the parent-tree; Far shall his pack be famed, far sought his breed, And princes at their tables feast those hounds His hand presents, an acceptable boon.
_30 Ere yet the Sun through the bright Ram has urged His steepy course, or mother Earth unbound Her frozen bosom to the western gale; When feathered troops, their social leagues dissolved, Select their mates, and on the leafless elm The noisy rook builds high her wicker nest; Mark well the wanton females of thy pack, That curl their taper tails, and frisking court Their pyebald mates enamoured; their red eyes Flash fires impure; nor rest, nor food they take, _40 Goaded by furious love. In separate cells Confine them now, lest b.l.o.o.d.y civil wars Annoy thy peaceful state. If left at large, The growling rivals in dread battle join, And rude encounter. On Scamander"s streams Heroes of old with far less fury fought, For the bright Spartan dame, their valour"s prize.
Mangled and torn thy favourite hounds shall lie, Stretched on the ground; thy kennel shall appear A field of blood: like some unhappy town _50 In civil broils confused, while Discord shakes Her b.l.o.o.d.y scourge aloft, fierce parties rage, Staining their impious hands in mutual death.
And still the best beloved, and bravest fall: Such are the dire effects of lawless love.
Huntsman! these ills by timely prudent care Prevent: for every longing dame select Some happy paramour; to him alone In leagues connubial join. Consider well His lineage; what his fathers did of old, _60 Chiefs of the pack, and first to climb the rock, Or plunge into the deep, or thread the brake With thorns sharp-pointed, plashed, and briers inwoven.
Observe with care his shape, sort, colour, size.
Nor will sagacious huntsmen less regard His inward habits: the vain babbler shun, Ever loquacious, ever in the wrong.
His foolish offspring shall offend thy ears With false alarms, and loud impertinence.
Nor less the shifting cur avoid, that breaks _70 Illusive from the pack; to the next hedge Devious he strays, there every mews he tries: If haply then he cross the steaming scent, Away he flies vain-glorious; and exults As of the pack supreme, and in his speed And strength unrivalled. Lo! cast far behind His vexed a.s.sociates pant, and labouring strain To climb the steep ascent. Soon as they reach The insulting boaster, his false courage fails, Behind he lags, doomed to the fatal noose, _80 His master"s hate, and scorn of all the field.
What can from such be hoped, but a base brood Of coward curs, a frantic, vagrant race?
When now the third revolving moon appears, With sharpened horns, above the horizon"s brink; Without Lucina"s aid, expect thy hopes Are amply crowned; short pangs produce to light The smoking litter; crawling, helpless, blind, Nature their guide, they seek the pouting teat That plenteous streams. Soon as the tender dam _90 Has formed them with her tongue, with pleasure view The marks of their renowned progenitors, Sure pledge of triumphs yet to come. All these Select with joy; but to the merciless flood Expose the dwindling refuse, nor o"erload The indulgent mother. If thy heart relent, Unwilling to destroy, a nurse provide, And to the foster-parent give the care Of thy superfluous brood; she"ll cherish kind The alien offspring; pleased thou shalt behold _100 Her tenderness, and hospitable love.
If frolic now, and playful they desert Their gloomy cell, and on the verdant turf With nerves improved, pursue the mimic chase, Coursing around; unto thy choicest friends Commit thy valued prize: the rustic dames Shall at thy kennel wait, and in their laps Receive thy growing hopes, with many a kiss Caress, and dignify their little charge With some great t.i.tle, and resounding name _110 Of high import. But cautious here observe To check their youthful ardour, nor permit The unexperienced younker, immature, Alone to range the woods, or haunt the brakes Where dodging conies sport: his nerves unstrung, And strength unequal; the laborious chase Shall stint his growth, and his rash forward youth Contract such vicious habits, as thy care And late correction never shall reclaim.
When to full strength arrived, mature and bold, _120 Conduct them to the field; not all at once But as thy cooler prudence shall direct, Select a few, and form them by degrees To stricter discipline. With these consort The stanch and steady sages of thy pack, By long experience versed in all the wiles, And subtle doublings of the various chase.
Easy the lesson of the youthful train, When instinct prompts, and when example guides.
If the too forward younker at the head _130 Press boldly on, in wanton sportive mood, Correct his haste, and let him feel abashed The ruling whip. But if he stoop behind In wary modest guise, to his own nose Confiding sure; give him full scope to work His winding way, and with thy voice applaud His patience, and his care; soon shalt thou view The hopeful pupil leader of his tribe, And all the listening pack attend his call.
Oft lead them forth where wanton lambkins play, _140 And bleating dams with jealous eyes observe Their tender care. If at the crowding flock He bay presumptuous, or with eager haste Pursue them scattered o"er the verdant plain; In the foul fact attached, to the strong ram Tie fast the rash offender. See! at first His horned companion, fearful, and amazed, Shall drag him trembling o"er the rugged ground; Then with his load fatigued, shall turn a-head, And with his curled hard front incessant peal _150 The panting wretch; till breathless and astunned, Stretched on the turf he lie. Then spare not thou The twining whip, but ply his bleeding sides Lash after lash, and with thy threatening voice, Harsh-echoing from the hills, inculcate loud His vile offence. Sooner shall trembling doves Escaped the hawk"s sharp talons, in mid air, a.s.sail their dangerous foe, than he once more Disturb the peaceful flocks. In tender age Thus youth is trained; as curious artists bend _160 The taper, pliant twig; or potters form Their soft and ductile clay to various shapes.
Nor is"t enough to breed; but to preserve Must be the huntsman"s care. The stanch old hounds Guides of thy pack, though but in number few, Are yet of great account; shall oft untie The Gordian knot, when reason at a stand Puzzling is lost, and all thy art is vain.
O"er clogging fallows, o"er dry plastered roads, O"er floated meads, o"er plains with flocks distained _170 Rank-scenting, these must lead the dubious way.
As party-chiefs in senates who preside, With pleaded reason and with well turned speech Conduct the staring mult.i.tude; so these Direct the pack, who with joint cry approve, And loudly boast discoveries not their own.
Unnumbered accidents, and various ills, Attend thy pack, hang hovering o"er their heads, And point the way that leads to Death"s dark cave.
Short is their span; few at the date arrive Of ancient Argus in old Homer"s song _180 So highly honoured: kind, sagacious brute!
Not even Minerva"s wisdom could conceal Thy much-loved master from thy nicer sense.
Dying, his lord he owned, viewed him all o"er With eager eyes, then closed those eyes, well pleased.
Of lesser ills the Muse declines to sing, Nor stoops so low; of these each groom can tell The proper remedy. But oh! what care!
What prudence can prevent madness, the worst Of maladies? Terrific pest! that blasts _190 The huntsman"s hopes, and desolation spreads Through all the unpeopled kennel unrestrained.
More fatal than the envenomed viper"s bite; Or that Apulian[10] spider"s poisonous sting, Healed by the pleasing antidote of sounds.
When Sirius reigns, and the sun"s parching beams Bake the dry gaping surface, visit thou Each even and morn, with quick observant eye, Thy panting pack. If in dark sullen mood, The gloating hound refuse his wonted meal, _200 Retiring to some close, obscure retreat, Gloomy, disconsolate: with speed remove The poor infectious wretch, and in strong chains Bind him suspected. Thus that dire disease Which art can"t cure, wise caution may prevent.
But this neglected, soon expect a change, A dismal change, confusion, frenzy, death.
Or in some dark recess the senseless brute Sits sadly pining: deep melancholy, And black despair, upon his clouded brow _210 Hang lowering; from his half-opening jaws The clammy venom, and infectious froth, Distilling fall; and from his lungs inflamed, Malignant vapours taint the ambient air, Breathing perdition: his dim eyes are glazed, He droops his pensive head, his trembling limbs No more support his weight; abject he lies, Dumb, spiritless, benumbed; till death at last Gracious attends, and kindly brings relief.
Or if outrageous grown, behold alas!
_220 A yet more dreadful scene; his glaring eye Redden with fury, like some angry boar Churning he foams; and on his back erect His pointed bristles rise; his tail incurved He drops, and with harsh broken bowlings rends The poison-tainted air, with rough hoa.r.s.e voice Incessant bays; and snuff"s the infectious breeze; This way and that he stares aghast, and starts At his own shade; jealous, as if he deemed The world his foes. If haply toward the stream _230 He cast his roving eye, cold horror chills His soul; averse he flies, trembling, appalled.
Now frantic to the kennel"s utmost verge Raving he runs, and deals destruction round.
The pack fly diverse; for whate"er he meets Vengeful he bites, and every bite is death.