He faid. A Goofe, who diftant ftood,
Harangu'd apart the cackling brood.
Whene'er I hear a knave commend,
He bids me fhun his worthy friend.
What praife! what mighty commendation !
But 'twas a Fox who fpoke th' oration.
Foxes this government may prize,
As gentle, plentiful, and wife;
If they enjoy these fweets, 'tis plain,
We Geefe muft feel a tyrant reign.
What havock now fhall thin our race,
When every petty clerk in place,
To prove his tafte, and feem polite,
Will feed on Geefe both noon and night.
1X. The LADY and the WASP.
HAT whispers must the Beauty bear!
What hourly nonfenfe haunts her ear!
Where'er her eyes difpenfe their charms,
Impertinence around her fwarms.
Did not the tender nonfenfe ftrike,
Contempt and fcorn might look diflike,
Forbidding airs might thin the place;
The flightest flap a fly can chace;
But who can drive the num'rous breed?
Chace one, another will fucceed.
Who knows a fool, must know his brother;
One fop will recommend another;
And with this plague fhe's rightly curs'd,
Because the liften'd to the first.
As Doris, at her toilette's duty,
Sat meditating on her beauty,
She now was penfive, now was gay,
And loll'd the fultry hours away.
As thus in indolence fhe lies,
A giddy Wafp around her flies,
He now advances, now retires,
Now to her neck and cheek afpires;
Her fan in vain defends her charms,
Swift he returns, again alarms;
For by repulfe he bolder grew,
Perch'd on her lip, and fipt the dew.
She frowns, the frets. Good God, fhe cries,
Protect me from these teazing flies!
Of all the plagues that Heav'n hath fent,
A Wafp is most impertinent.
The hov'ring infect thus complain'd:
Am I then flighted, fcorn'd, disdain'd ?
Can fuch offence your anger wake?
'Twas beauty caus'd the bold mistake.
Thofe cherry lips that breathe perfume,
That check fo ripe with youthful bloom,
Made me with ftrong defire purfue-
The faireft peach that ever grew.
Strike him not, Jenny, Doris cries,
Nor murder Wafps, like vulgar flies,
For tho' he's frec, (to do him right)
The creature's civil and polite,
In extafies away he pofts,
Where'er he came the favour boats;
Brags how her sweeteft tea he fips,
And fhews the fugar on his lips.
The hint alarm'd the forward crew;
Sure of fuccefs, away they flew :
They fhare the dainties of the day,
Round her with mufic airy play;
And now they flutter, now they reft,
Now foar again, and fkim her breast.
Nor were they banifh'd, 'till the found
That Wafps have ftings, and felt the wound.
The BULL and the MASTIFF.
EEK you to train your favourite boy?
Each caution, ev'ry care employ;
And 'ere you venture to confide,
Let his preceptor's heart be try'd;
Weigh well his manners, life, and fcope,
On thefe depend thy future hope.
As on a time, in peaceful reign,
A Bull enjoy'd the flow'ry plain,
A Maftiff pafs'd; inflam'd with ire,
His eye-balls fhot indignant fire;
He foam'd, he rag'd with thirft of blood;
Spurning the ground the monarch stood,
And roar'd aloud: Sufpend the fight!
In a whole fkin go fleep to-night;
Or tell me, 'ere the battle rage,
What wrongs provoke thee to engage?
Is it ambition fires thy breaft,
Or avarice, that ne'er can reft?
From thefe alone unjustly fprings
The world-deftroying wrath of kings.
The furly Maftiff thus returns,
Within my bofom glory buri,
Like heroes of eternal name,
Whom Poets fing, I fight for fame:
The butcher's fpirit-ftirring mind
To daily war my youth inclin'd;
He train'd me to heroic deed;
Taught me to conquer, or to bleed.
Curs'd Dog, the Bull reply'd, no more
I wonder at thy thirft of gore;
For thou (beneath a butcher train'd,
Whole hands with cruelty are ftain'd,
His daily murders in thy view)
Muft, like thy tutor, blood pursue.
Take then thy fate. With goring wound,
At once he lifts him from the ground,
Aloft the fprawling hero flies,
Mangled he falls, he howls, and dies.
L 2
XI. The ELEPHANT and the BOOKSELLER.
HE man who with undaunted toils
Sails unknown feas to unknown foils,
With various wonders feafts his fight:
What ftranger wonders does he write!
We read, and in defcription view
Creatures which Adam never knew;
For, when we rifque no contradicton,
It prompts the tongue to deal in fiction.
Thofe things that startle me or you,
I grant are ftrange, yet may be true.
Who doubts that Elephants are found,
For fcience and for fenfe renown'd;
Borri records their ftrength of parts,
Extent of thought, and fkill of arts;
How they perform the law's decrees,
And fave the ftate the hangman's fees;
And how by travel understand
The language of another land.
Let thofe, who queftion this report,
To Pliny's ancient page refort.
How learn'd was that fagacious breed!
Who now, like them, the Greek can read?
As one of thefe, in days of yore,
Rummag'd a fhop of learning o'er,
Not like our modern dealers, minding
Only the margin's breadth and binding,
A book his curious eye detains,
Where with exacteft care and pains,
Were every beaft and bird pourtray'd,
That e'er the fearch of man furvey'd;
Their natures and their powers were writ
With all the pride of human wit:
The page he with attention fprçad,
And thus remark'd on what he read ;-
Man with ftrong reafon is endow'd,
A Beaft fcarce inftinct is allow'd:
But let this author's worth be try'd,
'Tis plain that neither was his guide.
Can he difcern the different natures,
And weigh the power of other creatures,
Who by that partial work hath fhown
He knows fo little of his own?
How falfely is the fpaniel drawn!
Did Man from him firft learn to fawn?
A dog proficient in the trade!
He the chief flatt'rer Nature made?
Go, Man, the ways of courts difcern,
You'll find a fpaniel ftill might learn.
How can the fox's theft and plunder
Provoke his cenfure, or his wonder?
From courtiers' tricks, and lawyers' arts,
The fox might well improve his parts.
The lion, wolf, and tyger's brood,
He curfes for their thirft of blood;
But is not man to man a prey:
?
Beasts kill for hunger, men for pay.
The Bookfeller, who heard him fpeak,
And faw him turn a page of Greek,
Thought what a genius have I found?
Then thus addrefs'd with bow profound:-
Learn'd Sir, if you'd employ your pen
Against the fenfelefs fons of men,
Or write the hiftory of Siam,
No man is better pay than I am;
Or, fince you're learn'd in Greek, let's fee
Something against the Trinity.
When wrinkling with a fneer his trunk,
Friend, quoth the Elephant, you're drunk;
E'en keep your money and be wife,
Leave man on man to criticise;
For that you ne'er can want a pen
Among the fenfelefs fons of men;
They unprovok'd will court the fray,
Envy's a fharper fpur than pay;
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