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Society, and that saps and worms the base
Of th' edifice that policy has rais'd,
Swarms in all quarters; meets the eye, the ear,
And fuffocates the breath at ev'ry turn.

Profufion breeds them; and the cause itself
Of that calamitous mischief has been found:
Found, too, where most offenfive, in the skirts
Of the rob'd pedagogue! Else, let th' arraign'd
Stand up unconscious, and refute the charge.
So, when the Jewish leader stretch'd his arm,
And wav'd his rod divine, a race obscene,
Spawn'd in the muddy beds of Nile, came forth,
Polluting Ægypt: gardens, fields, and plains,
Were cover'd with the pest; the streets were fill'd;
The croaking nuisance lurk'd in ev'ry nook;
Nor palaces, nor even chambers, 'scap'd;
And the land stank-so num'rous was the fry.

THE TASK.

BOOK III.

ARGUMENT OF THE THIRD BOOK.

Sef-recollection and reproof.-Address to domeftic bappiness. -Some account of myself. The vanity of many of their pursuits who are reputed wife. -Juftification of my cenfures. Divine illumination necessary to the most expert philosopher. The question, What is truth? answered by other questions. Domestic happiness addressfed again. Few lovers of the country. -My tame bare. Occupations of a retired gentleman in his garden-Pruning.-Framing.-Greenhouse. - Sorving of flower feeds. The country preferable to the town even in the winter.-Reasons why it is deferted at that season-Ruinous effects of gaming, and of expensive improvement.-Book concludes with an apostrophe to the metropolis.

THE TASK.

一樓

BOOK III.

THE GARDEN.

As one who, long in thickets and in brakes
Entangled, winds now this way and now that
His devious course uncertain, seeking home;
Or, having long in miry ways been foil'd
And fore discomfited, from flough to flough
Plunging and half despairing of escape;
If chance at length he find a greensward smooth
And faithful to the foot, his spirits rise,
He chirrups brisk his ear-erecting steed,
And winds his way with pleasure and with ease;
So I, designing other themes, and call'd
T' adorn the Sofa with eulogium due,
To tell its slumbers, and to paint its dreams,

Have rambled wide. In country, city, feat
Of academic fame (howe'er deserv'd),
Long held, and scarcely disengag'd at last.
But now, with pleasant pace, a cleanlier road

I mean to tread. I feel myself at large,
Courageous and refresh'd for future toil,
If toil await me, or if dangers new.

Since pulpits fail, and founding boards reflect
Most part an empty ineffectual sound,
What chance that I, to fame so little known,
Nor conversant with men or manners much,
Should speak to purpose, or with better hope
Crack the fatiric thong? 'Twere wiser far
For me, enamour'd of sequester'd scenes,
And charm'd with rural beauty, to repofe,
Where chance may throw me, beneath elm or vine,
My languid limbs, when fummer sears the plains;
Or, when rough winter rages, on the soft
And shelter'd Sofa, while the nitrous air
Feeds a blue flame, and makes a cheerful hearth;
There, undisturb'd by folly, and appriz'd
How great the danger of disturbing her,
To muse in filence, or at least confine
Remarks that gall so many to the few
My partners in retreat. Disgust conceal'd

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