Dear as the faith thy loyal heart hath sworn A FRAGMENT OF A POEM ON HUNTING. 65 70 66 Dona cano divum, lætas venantibus artes, GRATIUS. HORSES and hounds, their care, their various race, ΙΟ Let me, chafte queen of Woods! thy aid obtain, And teach while thus their arts and arms we fing 15 The groves to echo and the vales to ring! 20 Thy care be first the various gifts to trace, The lucklefs prey how treach'rous tumblers gain, To scent, to view, to turn, and boldly kill, 30 His fellows' vain alarms rejects with fcorn, Trace the fly felon thro' the tainted dew; 35 Some hounds of manners vile, (nor lefs we find Of fops in hounds than in the reas'ning kind) 49 Puff'd with conceit run gadding o'er the plain, A faunt'ring tribe! may fuch my foes difgrace! 45 50 Doft thou in hounds aspire to deathless fame? Learn well their lineage and their ancient stem. Each tribe with joy old ruftick heralds trace, And fing the chofen worthies of their race; How his fire's features in the fon were spy'd When Di was made the vig'rous Ringwood's bride. Lefs fure thick lips the fate of Austria doom, Or eagle noses rul'd almighty Rome. 55 Good fhape to various kinds old bards confine; First count the fands, thedrops where oceans flow, Such be the dog I charge thou meanst to train; His back is crooked and his belly plain, 70 75 Of fillet ftretch'd, and huge of haunch behind, 85 The matron bitch whose womb fhall beft produce The hopes and fortune of th' illustrious houfe, Deriv'd from noble but from foreign feed, For various nature loathes inceft'ous breed, Is like the fire throughout; nor yet difplease Large flanks and ribs, to give the teemer ease. In fpring let loose thy pairs; then all things prove The ftings of pleasure and the pangs of love; Ethereal Jove then glads with genial show'rs Earth's mightywomb,and ftrews her lap with flow'rs; Hence juices mount, and buds embolden'd try More kindly breezes and a fofter sky. Kind Venus revels. Hark! on ev'ry bough 90 95 In lulling ftrains the feather'd warblers woo; Fell tigers foften in th' infectious flames, Great Love pervades the deep; to please his mate 105 All Nature fmiles. Come now, nor fear, my Love! To tafle the odours of the woodbine grove, To pafs the ev'ning glooms in harmless play, And sweetly fwearing languish life away. An altar bound with recent flow'rs I rear To thee, best season of the various year! All hail! fuch days in beauteous order ran So fwift, fo fweet, when first the world began, In Eden's bow'rs when man's great fire aflign'd The names and natures of the brutal kind; Then lamb and lion friendly walk'd their round, And hares undaunted lick'd the fondling hound; Wondrous to tell! but when with luckiefs hand 115 Our daring mother broke the fole command, Then Want and Envy brought their meagre train, Then Wrath came down and Death had leave to reign; Hence foxes earth'd, and wolves abhorr'd the day, And hungry churls enfnar'd the nightly prey; Rude arts at first, but witty Want refin'd 120 The huntfman's wiles, and Famine form'd the mind. Bold Nimrod firft the lion's trophies wore, The panther bound, and lane'd the brifling boar: |