Sottish Silenus
To Phœbus the genius
Was fent by dame Venus, a fong to prepare,
In phrafe nicely coin'd,
And verfe quite refin'd,
How the ftates divine hunted the hare.
Stars quite tir'd with pastimes Olympical,
Stars and planets which beautiful shone,
Could no longer endure that men only shall
Swim in pleasures, and they but look on;
Round about horned
Lucina they fwarmed,
And her informed how minded they were,
Each god and goddefs,
To take human bodies,
As lords and ladies, to follow the hare.
Chafte Diana applauded the motion,
While pale Proferpina fat in her place,
To light the welkin, and govern the ocean,
While fhe conducted her nephews in chace;
By her example,
Their father to trample,
The earth old and ample, they foon leave the air;
Neptune the water,
And wine Liber Pater,
And Mars the laughter, to follow the hare.
Light god Cupid was mounted on Pegasus,
Borrow'd of the Mufes with kiffes and pray'rs;
Strong Alcides, upon cloudy Caucafus,
Mounts a centaur, which proudly him bears;
Poftilion of the fky,
Light-heel'd Mercury
Made his courfer fly, fleet as the air;
While tuneful Apollo
The kennel did follow,
And hoop and hollow, boys, after the hare.
Drown'd Narciffus from his metamorphofis,
Rous'd by Echo, new manhood did take;
Snoring Somnus upftarted from Cimmeris,
Before for a thousand years he did not wake;
There was club-footed
And Pan promoted on Corydons mare;
Proud Pallas pouted,
Loud Eolus fhouted,
And Momus flouted, yet follow'd the hare.
Hymen ufhers the lady Aftræa,
The jeft took hold of Latona the cold;
Ceres the brown, with bright Cytherea ;
Thetis the wanton, Bellona the bold;
Shame-fac'd Aurora,
With witty Pandora,
And Maia with Flora did company bear;
But Juno was stated
Too high to be mated,
Although the hated not hunting the hare.
Three brown bowls to th' Olympical rector,
The Troy-born boy presents on his knee;
Jove to Phoebus caroufes in nectar,
And Phoebus to Hermes, and Hermes to me.
Wherewith infused,
In language unused, their sports to declare:
Till the houfe of Jove
Like the spheres did move :
Health to those that love hunting the hare.
ARK! hark! jolly fportsmen, awhile to my tale, To pay your attention I'm fure it can't fail : 'Tis of lads, and of horfes, and dogs that ne'er tire, O'er ftone walls and hedges, though dale, bog, and briar: A pack of fuch hounds, and a set of such men "Tis a fhrewd chance if ever you meet with again; Had Nimrod, the mightiest of hunters, been there, 'Fore gad he'd have shook like an afpen, for fear.
In feventeen hundred, and forty and four,
The fifth of December, I think 'twas no more,
At five in the morning, by moft of the clocks,
We rode from Kilruddery in fearch of a fox;
The Laughlinstown landlord, the bold Owen Bray,
And fquire Adair fure was with us that day;
Joe Debbil, Hal Prefton, that huntsman fo ftout,
Dick Holmes, a few others, and fo we fet out.
We caft off our hounds for an hour or more,
When Wanton set up a most tuneable roar;
Hark to Wanton! cried Joe, and the reft were not flack,
For Wanton's no trifler esteem'd in the pack;
Old Bonny and Collier came readily in,
And every hound join'd in the musical din;
Had Diana been there she'd been pleas'd to the life,
And one of the lads got a goddess to wife.
Ten minutes past nine was the time of the day,
When Reynard broke cover, and this was his play:
As ftrong from Killegar as though he could fear none,
Away he brush'd round by the house of Kilternan ;
To Carrickmines thence, and to Cherrywood then,
Steep Shankhill he climb'd, and to Ballyman-glen;
Bray-common he crofs'd, leap'd lord Angleseys wall,
And feem'd to fay, Little 1 value you
He ran Bushes-grove, up to Carberry-Burns,
Joe Debbil, Hal Preston kept leading by turns:
The earth it was open, but he was fo ftout,
Though he might have got in, yet he chofe to keep out:
To Malpas' high hills was the way then he flew;
At Dalkeystone-common we had him in view;
He drove on, by Bullock, through Shrubglanagery,
And fo on to Mountown, where Laury grew weary.
Through Rochestown wood like an arrow he pass'd,
And came to the fteep hills of Dalkey at laft;
There gallantly plung'd himfelf into the fea,
And faid in his heart, Sure none dare follow me:
But foon, to his coft, he perceiv'd that no bounds,
Could ftop the pursuit of such staunch mettled hounds;
His policy here did not ferve him a rush,
Five couple of tartars were hard at his brush.
To recover the shore then again was his drift,
But, ere he could reach to the top of the clift,
He found both of speed and of cunning a lack,
Being way-laid and kill'd by the rest of the pack.
At his death there were present the lads I have fung,
Save Laury, who, riding a garron, was flung.
Thus ended, at length, a moft delicate chase,
That held us five hours and ten minutes space.
We return'd to Kilrudderys plentiful board,
Where dwells Hofpitality, Truth, and my lord;
We talk'd o'er the chafe, and we toafted the health
Of the man that ne'er varied for places or wealth.
Owen Bray balk'd a leap, fays Hal Prefton, 'twas odd;
'Twas fhameful, cries Jack, by the great living God:
Says Preston, I halloo'd, Get on, though you fall;
Or I'll leap over you, your blind gelding and all.
Each glafs was adapted to freedom and fport,
For party affairs we confign'd to the court:
Thus we finish'd the rest of the day, and the night,
In gay flowing bumpers and focial delight;
Then, till the next meeting, bid farewell each brother,
For fome they went one way, and fome went another :
As Phoebus befriended our earlier roam,
So Luna took care in conducting us home.
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