By bounteous Nature fet apart,

This feat of industry and art.

O Britain, chofen port of trade,
May lux'ry ne'er thy fons invade !.
May never minifter (intent

His private treasures to augment)
Corrupt thy ftate. If jealous foes
Thy rights of commerce dare oppose,
Shall not thy fleets their rapine awe?
Who is't prefcribes the ocean law?
Whenever neighb'ring ftates contend,
'Tis thine to be the gen'ral friend.
What is't, who rules in other lands?
On trade alone thy glory ftands.
That benefit is unconfin'd,
Diffufing good among mankind,
That first gave luftre to thy reigns,
And fcatter'd plenty o'er the plains:
'Tis that alone thy wealth fupplies,
And draws all Europe's envious eyes.
Be commerce then thy fole design;
Keep that, and all the world is thine.
When naval traffic ploughs the main,
Who fhares not in the merchant's gain?
" is that fupports the regal ftate,
And makes the farmer's heart elate;
The num'rous flocks that clothe the land,
Can fcarce fupply the loom's demand;
Prolific culture glads the fields,

And the bare heath a harveft yields.
Nature expects mankind should share
The duties of the public care.

Who's born for floth? To fome we find
The ploughshare's annual toil affign'd;
Some at the founding anvil glow,
Some the swift-fliding fhuttle throw;
Some, ftudious of the wind and tide,
From pole to pole our commerce guide;

$ 2

Some,

Some, taught by induftry, impart
With hands and feet the works of art;
While fome, of genius more refin'd,
With head and tongue affift mankind:
Each, aiming at one common end,
Proves to the world a needful friend.
Thus, born each other's ufeful aid,
By turns are obligations paid.

The monarch, when his table's spread,
Is to the clown oblig'd for bread;
And when in all his glory dreft,
Owes to the loom his royal veft:
Do not the mafon's toil and care
Protect him from the inclement air;
Does not the cutler's art fupply
The ornament that guards his thigh?
All thefe, in duty to the throne,
Their common obligations own.
"Tis he, his own and people's caufe,
Protects their properties and laws:
Thus they their honeft toil employ,
And with content the fruits enjoy;
In every rank, or great or fmall,
I is induftry fupports us all.
The animals, by want oppreft,
To man their fervices addreft:
While each purfu'd their felfifh good,
They hunger'd for precarious food;

Their hours with anxious cares were vext,

One day they fed, and starv'd the next:
They faw that plenty, fure and rife,
Was found alone in focial life;

That mutual industry profest

The various wants of man redrest.

The Cat, half-famifh'd, lean and weak, Demands the privilege to fpeak.

Well, Pufs, fays Man, and what can you To benefit the public do?

The

The Cat replies: Thefe teeth, these claws,
With vigilance fhall ferve the cause.
The mouse, deftroy'd by my purfuit,
No longer fhall your feafts pollute;
Nor rats, from nightly ambuscade,
With wafteful teeth your ftores invade.
I grant, fays Man, to gen'ral ufe
Your parts and talents may conduce;
For rats and mice purloin our grain,
And threshers whirl the flail in vain :
Thus fhall the Cat, a foe to spoil,
Protect the farmer's honeft toil.

Then, turning to the Dog, he cry'd,
Well, Sir, be next your merits try'd.
Sir, fays the Dog, by felf-applaufe
We feem to own a friendlefs caufe.
Afk those who know me, if distrust
E'er found me treach'rous or unjuft.
Did I e'er faith or friendship break?
Afk all those creatures; let them fpeak.
My vigilance and trufty zeal,

Perhaps might ferve the public weal;
Might not your flocks in fafety feed,
Were I to guard the fleecy breed?
Did I the nightly watches keep,
Could thieves invade you while you fleep?
The Man replies: 'Tis juft and right,
Rewards fuch fervice fhould requite.
So rare, in property, we find

Truft uncorrupt among mankind;
That, taken in a public view,
The firft diftinction is your due.
Such merits all reward tranfcend;
Be then my comrade and my friend.
Addreffing now the Fly. From you.
What public fervice can accrue?

From me! the flutt'ring infect faid;
I thought you knew me better bred,

Sir, I'm a gentleman. Is't fit,
That I to industry submit?
Let mean mechanics, to be fed,
By bus'nefs earn ignoble bread:
Loft in excess of daily joys,

No thought, no care, my life annoys."
At noon, the lady's matin hour,
I fip the tea's delicious flower?
On cates luxuriously I dine,
And drink the fragrance of the vine.
Studious of elegance and eafe,
Myfelf alone I feek to please.

The Man his pert conceit derides,
And thus the useless coxcomb chides:

Hence, from that peach, that downy feat,
No idle fool deferves to eat.

Could you have fapp'd the blushing rind,
And on that pulp ambrofial din'd,

Had not fome hand, with skill and toil,
To raise the tree, prepar'd the foil?
Confider, fot, what would enfue,

Were all fuch worthlefs things as you:
You'd foon be forc'd, by hunger ftung,
To make your dirty meals on dung,
On which fuch defpicable need,
Unpity'd, is reduc'd to feed.
Befides, vain, felfith infect, learn,
If you can right and wrong difcern)
That he who with induftrious zeal,
Contributes to the public weal,
By adding to the common good,
His own hath rightly understood.

So faying, with a fudden blow,
He laid the noxious vagrant low:
Crush'd in his luxury and pride,
The fpunger on the public dy'd.

LX. The

LX. The JACKALL, LEOPARD, and other BEASTS.
To a MODERN POLITICIAN.

GRANT corruption fways mankind,
That int'reft too perverts the mind ;
That bribes have blinded common sense,
Foil'd reafon, truth, and eloquence:
I grant you too, our prefent crimes
Can equal those of former times.
Against plain facts fhall I engage,
To vindicate our righteous age?
I know, that in a modern fift,
Bribes in full energy fubfift:
Since then these arguments prevail,
And itching palms are ftill fo frail,
Hence Politicians, you fuggeft,

Should drive the nail that goes the beft;
That it fhews parts and penetration,
To ply men with the right temptation.
To this I humbly muft diffent,
Premifing, no reflection's meant.

Does juftice, or the client's fenfe,
Teach lawyer's either fide's defence?
The fee gives eloquence its fpirit;
That only is the client's merit.
Does art, wit, wifdom, or addrefs,
Obtain the proftitute's carefs?
The guinea, as in other trades,
From every hand alike perfuades.
Man, fcripture fays, is prone to evil:
But does that vindicate the Devil?
Befides, the more mankind are prone,
The lefs the Devil's parts are fhewn.
Corruption's not of modern date;
It hath been try'd in every flate:
Great knaves of old their power have fenc'd
By places, penfions, bribes, difpens'd ;

By