Gleam from the mountain tops; the forest seems
One mingling blaze: like flocks of theep they Дy,
Before the flaming brand: fierce lions, pards,
Boars, tigers, bears and wolves; a dreadful crew
Of grim blood-thirfty foes: growling along.
They talk indignant; but fierce vengeance still
Hangs pealing on their rear, and pointed fpears
Prefent immediate death. Soon as the night
Wrapt in her fable veil forbids the chace, 415
They pitch their tents, in even ranks, around
The circling camp. The guards are plac'd, and fires
At proper dittances afcending rife,

And paint th' horizon with their ruddy light.
So round fome ifland's fhore of large extent, 420
Amid the gloomy horrors of the night,
The billows breaking on the pointed rocks,
Seem all one flame, and the bright circuit wide
Appears a bulwark of furrounding fire.
What dreadful howlings, and what hideous roar,
Dikurb thofe peaceful thades! where erit the bird
That glads the night had chear'd the listening groves
With fweet complainings. Throu h the filent gloom
Oft they the guards affail; as oft repell'd
They fly reluctant, with hot boiling rage
Stung to the quick, and mad with wild despair.
Thus day by day they ftill the chace renew,
At night encamp; till now in freighter bounds
The circle leffens, and the beafts perceive
The wall that hems them in on every fide. 435
And now their fury bursts, and knows no mean;
From man they turn, and point their ill-judged

rage

430

440

Against their fellow-brutes. With teeth and claws
The civil war begins; grappling they tear.
Lions on tigers prey, and bears on wolves:
Horrible difcord! till the crowd behind
Shouting purfug, and part the bloody fray.
At once their wrath fubfides; tame as the lamb
The lion hangs his head, the furious pard,
Cow'd and fubdued, flies from the face ofman, 445
Nor bears one glance of his commanding eye.
So abject is a tyrant in diftrefs!

At last, within the narrow plain confin'd,
A lifted field, mark'd out for bloody deeds,
An amphitheatre more glorious far

450

Than ancient Rome could boat, they crowd in heaps.

455.

Difmay'd, and quite appall'd. In meet array
Sheath'd in refulgent arms, a noble band
Advance: great lords of high imperial blood,
Early refolv'd t' affert their royal race,
And prove by glorious deeds their valour's growth
Mature, ere yet the callow down has fpread
Its curling fhade. On bold Arabian steeds
With decent pride they fit, that fearless hear
The lion's dreadful roar; and down the rock 460
Swift-fhooting plunge, or o'er the mountain's'
ridge

Stretching along, the greedy tiger leave
Panting behind. On foot their faithful flaves
With javelins arm'd attend; each watchful eye
Fix'd on his youthful care, for him alone
He fears, and, to redeem his life, unmov'd
Would lofe his own, The mighty Aurengzebe,

465

|

From his high-elevated throne, beholds
His blooming race; revolving in his mind
What once he was, in his gay fpring of life. 470
When vigout ftrung his nerves. Parental joy
Melts in his eye, and fiufhes in his check.
Now the loud trumpet founds a charge. The
fhouts

Of eager hots, through all the circling line,.
And the wild howlings of the beafts within 475
Rend wide the welkin, flights of arrows wing'd
With death, and javelius launch'd from every arm,
Call fore the brutal bands, with many a wound
Gor'd through and through. Despair at last pre-
vails,

When fainting nature shrinks, and roufes all 480 Their drooping courage. Swell'd with furious rage,

Their eyes dart fire; and on the youthful band
They rush implacable. They their broad fhields
Quick interpofe; on each devoted head
Their flaming falchions, as the holts of Jove, 485
Defcend unerring. Proftrate on the ground
The grining monsters lie, and their foul gore
Defiles the verdant plain. Nor idle ftand
The truly flaves; with pointed fpears they pierce
Through their tough hides; or at their gaping

mouths

495

An eafir paffage find. The king of brutes
In broken roarings breathes his laft; the bear
Grumbles in death; nor can his spotted skin,
Though leek it fhine, with varied beauties gay,
Save the proud pard from unrelenting fate.
The battle bleeds, grim Slaughter ftrides along,
Glutting her greedy jaws, grins o er her prey.
Men, hot fes, dogs. fierce beafts of every kind,
Aftrange prom feuous carnage, drench'd in blood,
And heaps on heaps amals'd. What yet remain
Alive, with vain affault contend to break
Th' impenetrable line. Others, whom fear
Infpires with felf-preferving wiles, beneath
The bodies of the flain for fhelter creep.
Aghaft they fly, or hide their heads difpers'd. 505
And now perchance had Heaven but pleas'd) the
work

510

Of death had been compleat; and Aurengzebe
By one dread frown extinguifh'd half their race.
When lo! the bright fultanas of his court
Appear, and to his ravifh'd eyes difplay
Thole charms but rarely to the day reveal'd.
Lowly thy bend, and humbly fue, to fave
The vanquifi'd hoft. What mortal can deny
When fuppliant beauty begs? At his command,
Opening to right and left, the well-train'd troops
Leave a large void for their retreating foes.
Away they fly, on wings of fear upborn,
To feck on diftant hills their late abodes.

Ye proud oppreffors, whofe vain hearts exult
In wantonnels of power, 'gainst the brute race, 520
Fierce robbers like yourfelves, a guiltles war
Wage uncontroll'd: here quench your thirit of
blood;

But learn from Aurengzebe to spare mankind.

BOOK

BOOK III.

THE ARGUMENT.

Of King Edgar, and his impofing a tribute of wolves heads upon the kings of Wales; from hence a tranfition to fox-hunting, which is defcribed in all its parts Cenfure of an over-numerous pack. Of the feveral engines to destroy foxes and other wild beafts. The feel-trap defcribed, and the manner of using it. Defcription of the pitfall for the lion; and another for the elephant. The ancient way of hunting the tiger with a mirror. The Arabian manner of hunting the wild boar. Defcription of the royal ftag-chace at Windfor l'oreft. Concludes with an addrefs to his Majesty, and an eulogy

upon mercy.

IN Albion's ife, when glorious Edgar reign'd,

5

He, wifely provident, from her white cliffs Launch'd half her forefts, and with numerous fleets Cover'd his wide domain: there proudly rode Lord of the deep, the great prerogative Of British monarchs. Each invader bold, Dane and Norwegian, at a distance gaz'd, And, difappointed, gnafh'd his teeth in vain. He fcour'd the feas, and to remotest shores With fwelling fails the trembling corfair fled. Rich commerce flourish'd; and with busy oars Dash'd the refounding furge. Nor less at land His royal cares: wife, potent, gracious prince! His fubjects from their cruel foes he fav'd, And from rapacious favages their flocks: Cambria's proud kings (though with reluctance) paid

10

15

20

25

Their tributary wolves; head after head,
In full account, till the woods yield no more,
And all the ravenous race extinct is loft.
In fertile paftures, more fecurely graz'd
The focial troops; and foon their large increase
With curling fleeces whiten'd all the plains.
But yet, alas! the 'wily fox remain'd,
A fubtle, pilfering foe, prowling around
In midnight fhades, and wakeful to destroy.
In the full fold, the poor defenceless lamb,
Seiz'd by his guileful arts, with sweet warmblood
Supplies a rich repast. The mournful ewe,
Her dearest treafure loft, through the dun night
Wanders perplex'd, and darkling bleats in vain. 30
While in th' adjacent bush, poor Philomel,
(Herfelf a parent once, till wanton churls
Defpoil'd her neft) joins in her loud laments,
With fweeter notes, and more melodious woe."

40

For these nocturnal thieves, huntsman, prepare Thy fharpeft vengeance. Oh! how glorious 'tis To right th' appressed, and bring the felon vilę To juft difgrace! Ere yet the morning peep, Or ftars retire from the first blush of day, With thy far-echoing voice alarm thy pack, And roufe thy bold compeers. Then to the copfe, Thick with entangling grafs, or prickly furze, With filence lead thy many-coloured hounds, In all their beauty's ride. See! how they range Dispers'd, how busily this way, and that, They cross, examining with curious nose, Each likely haunt. Hark! on the drag I hear

45

Their doubtful notes, preluding to a cry
More nobly full, and fwell'd with every mouth.
Prefs to their ftandard; hither all repair,
As fraggling armies, at the trumpet's voice,
Rustling, and full of hope; now driven on heaps
And hurry through the woods; with hasty step
They pufh, they ftrive; while from his kennel
fneaks
The confcious villain. See! he skulks along, 55
Sleek at the fhepherd's cot, and plump with
meals

Purloin'd. So thrive the wicked here below.

Though high his bruth he bear, though tipt with

white

It gaily fhine! yet ere the fun declin'd
Recal the fhades of night, the pamper'd rogue 60
Shall rue his fate revers'd; and at his heels
Behold the juft avenger, fwift to feize
His forfeit head, and thirsting for his blood.
Heavens! what melodious strains! how best
our hearts,

65

Big with tumultuous joy! the loaded gales
Breathe harmony; and as the tempeft drives
From wood to wood, through every dark recefs
The foreft thunders, and the mountains shake.
The chorus fwells; lefs various, and less sweet,
The trilling notes, when in thofe very groves, 70
The feather'd choristers falute the spring.
And every bush in concert joins; or when
The master's hand, in modulated air,
Bids the loud organ breathe, and all the powers
Of mufick in one inftrument combine,
An univerfal minstrelly. And now

In vain each earth he tries, the doors are barr'd
Impregnable, nor is the covert fafe;

75

He pants for purer air. Hark! what loud fhouts
Re-echo through the groves! he breaks away. 80 al
Shrill horns proclaim his flight. Each straggling

bound

Strains o'er the lawn to reach the distant pack.
'Tis triumph all and joy. Now, my brave youths,
Now give a loofe to the clean generous fteed;
Flourish the whip, nor fpare the galling fpur; 85
But, in the madnefs of delight, forget

90

Your fears. Far o'er the rocky hills we range,
And dangerous our courfe; but in the brave
True courage never fails. In vain the stream
In foaming eddies whirls; in vain the ditch
Wide-gaping threatens death. The craggy steep,
Where the poor dizzy fhepherd crawls with care,
And clings to every twig, gives us no pain;
But down we fweep, as tloops the falcon bold
To pounce his prey. Then up th' opponent hill,95
By the swift motion flung, we mount aloft:
So fhips in winter-feas now fliding fink
Adown the steepy wave, then tofs'd on high
Ride on the billows, and defy the ftorm.

What lengths we pafs! where will the wandering chace

Lead us bewilder'd! fmooth as fwallows fkim
The new-fhorn mead, and far more swift, we fly.
See my brave pack; how to the head they preis,
Joftling in clofe array, then more diffufe
Obliquely wheel, while from their opening mouths
The vollied thunder breaks, So when the cranes

The

Their annual voyage fteer, with wanton wing Their figure oft they change, and their loud clang Frem: cloud to cloud rebounds. How far behind The hunter-crew, wide straggling o'er the plain! The panting courfer now with trembling nerves Begins to feel; urg'd by the goring spur,

Makes many a faint effort: he fnorts, he forms, The big round drops run trickling down his fides, With fweat and blood distain'd. Look back and view

The frange confufion of the vale below
Where four vexation reigns; fee yon poor jade,
In vain th' impatient rider frets and swears;
With galling fpurs harrows his mangled fides;
He can no more: his ftiff unpliant limbs
Rooted in earth, unmov'd and fix'd he stands,
For every cruel curfe returns a groan,
And fobs, and faints, and dies. Who without grief
Can view that pamper'd fteed, his master's joy,
His minion, and his daily care, well cloath'd, 125
Well fed with every nicer cate; no coft,
No labour fpar'd; who, when the flying chace
Broke from the copfe, without a rival led
The numerous train: now a fad fpectacle
Of pride brought low, and humble innocence, 130
Drove like a pannier'd afs, and fcourg'd along.
While thefe, with loofer'd reins and dangling heels,
Hang on their recling palfreys, that fearce bear
Their weights; another in the treacherous bug
Lies floundering half ingulph'd. What biting
thoughts

Torment the abandon'd crew! Old age laments
His vigour spent: the tall, plump, brawny youth

140

Curfes his cunaberous bulk! and cavies now
The fhort pygmean race, he whilom kenn'd
With proud infulting leer. A chofen few
Alone the fport enjoy, nor droop beneath
Their pleafing toils. Here, huntfman, from this
height

Obferve yon birds of prey; if I can judge,
'Tis there the villain lurks: they hover round
And claim him as their own. Was I not right? 145
See! there he creeps along; his brush he drags,
And sweeps the mire impure; from his wide jaws
His tongue unmoiften'd hangs; fymptoms too fure
Of fudden death. Ha! yet he flies, nor yields
To black defpair But one loofe morc, and all 150
His wiles are vain. Hark! through yon village now
The rattling clamour rings. The barns, the cots,
And leafelefs elms return the joyous founds.
Through every homeftall, and through every yard,
His midnight walks, panting, forlorn, he flies; 155
Through every hole he fneaks, through every jakes
Plunging he wades befmear'd, and fondly hopes
In a fuperior tench to lose his own:

But, faithful to the track, th' unerring hounds
With peals of echoing vengeance clofe purfue. 160
And now diftrefs'd, no fheltering covert near,
Into the hen-rooft creeps, whose walls with gore
Diftain'd atteft his guilt. There, villain, there
Expect thy fate deferv'd. And foon from thence
The pack inquifitive, with clamour loud, 165
Drag out their trembling prize; and on his blood
With greedy tranfport feast. In bolder notes
Each founding horn proclaims the felon dead :

fpect)

Cenfure that numerous pack, that crowd of ftate,
With which the vain profufion of the great
Covers the lawn, and thakes the trembling cople.
Pompous incumbrance! a magnificence
Ufelefs, vexatious! For the wily fox,
Safe in th' increasing number of his foes,
Kens weil the great advantage: flinks behind,
And flyly creeps through the fame beaten track,
And hunts them ftep by step: then views, escap'd,
With inward extafy, the panting throng

In their own footsteps puzzled, foil'd and loft.
So when proud Eaftern kings fummon to arms
Their gaudy legions, from far diftant climes 190
They flock in crowds, unpeopling half a world:
But when the day of battle calls them forth
To charge the well-train`d foe, a band compact
Of chofen veterans; they prefs blindly on,
In heaps confus'd, by their own weapons fall 195
A fmoking carnage scatter'd o'er the plain.

Nor hounds alone this noxious brood dearoy:
The plunder'd warrener full many a wile
Fat with nocturnal fpoils. At clofe of day, 200
Devises to entrap his greedy foe,
With filence drags his trail; then from the ground
Pares thin the close-graz'd turf; there with nice
hand

205

Covers the latent death, with curious fprings
Prepar'd to fly at once, whene'er the tread
Of man or beaft unwarily all press
The yielding furface. By th' indented fcel
And ftruggles, but in vain: yet oft 'tis known,
With gripe tenacious held, the felon grins,
When every art has fail'd, the captive fox
Has fhar'd the wounded joint, and with a limb 210
Compounded for his life. But, if perchance
In the deep pitfall plung'd, there's no efcane;
But unrepriev'd he dies, and beach in air.
The jet of clowns, bis reeling carcass hangs,

Of thefe are various kinds; not even the king
Of brutes evades this deep-devouring grave;
But, by the wily African betray'd,
Heedlefs of fate, within its gaping jaws
Expires indignant. When the orient beam
With blushes paints the dawn; and all the race 229
Carnivorous, with blood full-gorg'd, retire
Into their darkfome cells, their fatiate Inore
O'er dripping offals, and the mangled limbs
Of men and beafts; the painful forester
Climbs the high hills, whofe proud aspiring tops
With the tall cedar crown'd, and taper fir,
Affail the clouds. There 'mong the craggy rocks,
And thickets intricate, trembling he views
His footsteps in the fand; the dismal road
And avenue to death. Hith he calls