tendency of all excess is evil, and some professions necessarily engender it. Lord Chesterfield, disgusted with life, morosely declared his resolution, "to sleep in the carriage during the remainder of his journey:" the Duke of Athol, gorged with wealth, was thirty years a lunatic. Many have even felt disease, a boon, and a deliverance from worse cares. There is a crook in each one's lot, and here the wisest man is he, who bears the curse under which, we all live, with most equanimity, and, like Samson, to use a metaphor, extracts honey out of the carcase of the lion!
THE MAN, THE CAT, THE DOG, AND THE FLY.
HAIL, happy land! whose fertile grounds
The liquid fence of Neptune bounds;
By bounteous Nature set apart,
The seat of Industry and Art.
O Britain! chosen port of trade,
May luxury ne'er thy sons invade!
May never minister (intent
His private treasures to augment)
Corrupt thy state!1 If jealous foes
Thy rights of commerce dare oppose,
Shall not thy fleets their rapine awe?
Who is't prescribes the ocean law?
Whenever neighbouring states contend,
'Tis thine to be the general friend,
What is't who rules in other lands? 2
On trade alone thy glory stands:
That benefit is unconfined,
Diffusing good among mankind:
That first gave lustre to thy reigns,
And scatter'd plenty o'er thy plains:
"Tis that alone thy wealth supplies,
And draws all Europe's envious eyes.
Be commerce, then, thy sole design-
Keep that, and all the world is thine.
When naval traffic ploughs the main,
Who shares not in the merchant's gain?
"Tis that supports the regal state,
And makes the farmer's heart elate:
The numerous flocks that clothe the land
Can scarce supply the loom's demand;
Prolific culture glads the fields,
And the bare heath, a harvest yields.
Nature expects mankind should share
The duties of the public care.
Who's born for sloth? 3 To some we find
The ploughshare's annual toil assign'd;
(1) If the former fables be just, this apostrophe is very much like " shutting the stable door after the horse is stolen." It is, of course, like the expression, "happy land," employed before-a poetic fiction!
(2) This line, clearly, refers to a time when, the name of England, was respected, abroad. (3) Barrow.
Some at the sounding anvil glow;
Some the swift-sliding shuttle throw;
Some, studious of the wind and tide,
From pole to pole, our commerce guide;
Some (taught by industry) impart
With hands and feet, the works of art;
While some, of genius more refined,
With head and tongue, assist mankind:
Each aiming at one common end,
Proves to the whole, a needful friend.
Thus, born each other's useful aid,
By turns, are obligations paid.
The monarch, when his table's spread,
Is to the clown, obliged for bread;
And when in all his glory, drest,
Owes to the loom, his royal vest.
Do not the mason's toil and care,
Protect him from th' inclement air?
Does not the cutler's art supply
The ornament, that guards his thigh?
All these, in duty to the throne,
Their common obligations, own.
"Tis he (his own and people's cause)
Protects their properties and laws:
Thus they their honest toil employ,
And with content, the fruits enjoy.
In every rank, or great or small,
"Tis industry supports us all.
The animals, by want oppress'd,
To man their services address'd;
While each pursued their selfish good,
They hunger'd for precarious food:
Their hours with anxious cares were vext,
One day they fed, and starved the next.
They saw that plenty, sure and rife,
Was found alone in social life;
That mutual industry profess'd,
The various wants of man, redress'd.
The Cat, half-famished, lean, and weak,
Demands the privilege to speak.
"Well, Puss," says Man, "and what can you
To benefit the public, do?"
The Cat replies: "These teeth, these claws,
With vigilance shall serve the cause.
The mouse, destroy'd by my pursuit,
No longer shall your feasts pollute;
Nor rats, from nightly ambuscade,
With wasteful teeth, your stores invade."
"I grant," says Man, "to general use
Your parts and talents may conduce;
For rats and mice purloin our grain,
And threshers whirl the flail, in vain :
Thus shall the Cat, a foe to spoil,
Protect the farmer's honest toil."
Then turning to the Dog, he cried,
"Well, Sir, be next your merits tried."
"Sir," says the Dog, "by self-applause
We seem to own a friendless cause.
Ask those who know me, if distrust
E'er found me treacherous or unjust?
Did I e'er faith or friendship break? 1
Ask all those creatures, let them speak.
(1) Gay pronounced this word "brèak," no doubt with the provincialism of his county.
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