THE GOAT's

A

BEARD.

FABL E.

"Propria quæ maribus

"Fœmineo generi tribuuntur. LILLY'S GRAM.

LIB. IV. FAB. 14.

CAPELLE ET HIRCI.

ARBAM Capellæ quum impetrâffent ab Jove,
Hirci mœrentes indignari cœperant,

Quod dignitatem fœminæ æquâffent fuam ;
"Sinite, inquit, illis gloriâ vanâ frui,
"Et ufurpare veftri ornatum muneris :
"Pares dum non fint veftræ fortitudini."

Hoc argumentum monet ut fuftineas tibį
Habitu effe fimiles, qui fint virtute impares.

The purport of the above Fable is this. When the She-Goats had, by their intreaties, obtained of Jupiter the privilege of having Beards as well as the Males, the He-Goats grew angry; and complained, that he had degraded their dignity by admitting the females to equal honours with themselves.

To which the God replied, That if they would take care to preferve the real and effential advantages which their fex gave them over the other, they would have no reason to be diffatisfied with letting them participate in what was merely ornamental.

IN

N eight terfe lines has Phædrus told
(So frugal were the bards of old)
A tale of goats; and clos'd with grace
Plan, moral, all, in that short space.
Alas, that ancient moralist

Knew nothing of the flender twist
Which Italy, and France, have taught
To later times to fpin the thought.
They are our masters now, and we
Obfequious to their high decree,
Whate'er the claffic critics fay,
Will tell it in a modern way.

'Twas fomewhere on the hills, which lie
"Twixt Rome and Naples' fofter clime,
(They can't escape the traveller's eye,
Nor need their names be told in rhyme)
A herd of goats, each fhining morn,
Midft fcraggy myrtle, pointed thorn,
Quick glancing to the fun difplay'd
Their fpotted fides, and pierc'd the shade.
Their goat-herds ftill, like thofe of old,
Pipe to the stragglers of the fold.

'Twas there-and there (no matter when) With Virgil's leave, we place the scene.

For

For fcarcely can we think his fwains
Dealt much in goats on Mantua's plains;
Much less could e'er his fhepherds dream
Of pendant rocks on Mincio's ftream.
From Naples his enliven'd thought
Its fondeft, beft ideas caught.
Theocritus perhaps befide

Some kind embellishments fupply'd,
And poets are not common men-
Who talks of goats in Ely fen!

'Twas there, on one important day, It chanc'd the he-goats were away, The ladies of the colony

Had form'd a female coterie ;

And, as they browz'd the cliffs among,
Exerted all their power of tongue.
Of eafe and freedom much they spoke,
Enfranchis'd from the hufband's yoke;
How bright the fun, how foft the air,
The Trefoil flowers were sweeter far,
While thus alone they might debate
The hardships of the married ftate.
Encourag'd by the quick'ning flame
Which spread, and caught from dame to dame,
A matron, fager than the reft,

The fair enthufiafts thus addrefs'd:

"Ladies, I joy to fee, what I

"Have felt, and fmother'd with a figh, Should touch at length the general breaft, "And honeft nature ftand confest.

66 Queens as we are, we see our power "Ufurp'd, and daily finking lower.

Why do our lords and mafters reign. "Sole monarchs o'er their fubject train ? "What stamp has nature given their line, "What mark to prove their right divine "To lead at will the paffive herd? "—It can be nothing but their beard. "Obferve our fhapes, our winning airs, "Our spots more elegant than theirs ; "With equal eafe, with equal speed

"We swim the brook, or skim the mead; "Climb the tall cliff, where wild thyme grows, "On pinnacles undaunted browze,

Hang fearless o'er th' impetuous ftream, "And skip from crag to crag like them. "Why are they then to us preferr'd? "It can be nothing but their beard. "Then let us to great Jove prepare "A facrifice and folemn prayer, "That he would graciously relieve "Our deep diftrefs, and kindly give "The all we want to make us fhine Joint Empreffes by right divine." A general murmur of applaufe Attends the fpeech. The common caufe Glows in each breast, and all defy The bonds of Salique tyranny. The mild, the timorous grow bold; And, as they faunter to the fold,

Ev'n kids, with voices fcarcely heard,
Lifp out," "Tis nothing but the beard."

Agreed. And now with fecret care

The due luftrations they prepare :
And having mark'd a facred field,
Of horns a spacious altar build;
Then from the fragrant herbs that grow
On craggy cliff, or mountain's brow,
They cull the sweets: and stuff the pile
With * Tragopogon's downy fpoil,
And gums of † Tragacanth to raise
The bickering flame, and speed the blaze.
But chief the flower beyond compare,
The flaunting Woodbine revell❜d there,
Sacred to goats; and bore their name
'Till botanifts of modern fame
New-fangled titles chofe to give
To almost all the plants that live.
Of thefe a hallow'd heap they place
With all the fkill of female grace;
Then fpread the fprigs to catch the air,
And light them with the brushy hair
Pluck'd flily from their husbands' chins,
In feeming sport, when love begins.

*Tragopogon] A plant called in English, the Goat's Beari.

Tragacanth] The Goat's Thorn. The gums of this plant are

ufed in medicine.

Woodbine] The Caprifolium, or Goat's Leaf of the ancients and of Tournefort. Linnæus ranks it under the genus of Lonicera, as he does the Tragacanth under that of Astragalus,

"Hear,