Trifles ... with several others, not more Considerable. The second edition. By R. Dodsley |
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| 3. | CANTO THE THIRD. |
 | Trifles |  |
134
CANTO THE THIRD.
ARGUMENT.
Of hay-making. A method of preserving hay from being mow-burnt, or taking fire. Of harvest, and the harvest-home. The praises of England with regard to its various products. Apples. Hops. Hemp. Flax. Coals. Fuller's-earth. Stone. Lead. Tin. Iron. Dyer's Herbs. Esculents. Medicinals. Transitions from the cultivation of the earth to the care of sheep, cattle and horses. Of feeding sheep. Of their diseases. Sheep-shearing. Of improving the breed. Of the dairy and its products. Of horses. The draught-horse—road-horse—hunter—race-horse —and war-horse. Concluding with an address to the Prince to prefer the arts of Peace to those of War.
While thus at ease, beneath embellish'd shades,
We rove delighted; lo! the ripening mead
Calls forth the labouring hinds. In slanting rows,
With still-approaching step, and level'd stroke
The early mower, bending o'er his scythe,
Lays low the slender grass; emblem of Man,
Falling beneath the ruthless hand of Time.
Then follows blithe, equipt with fork and rake,
In light array, the train of nymphs and swains.
Wide o'er the field, their labour seeming sport,
They toss the withering herbage. Light it flies,
Borne on the wings of Zephyr; whose soft gale,
Now while th' ascending sun's bright beam exhales
The grateful sweetness of the new-mown hay,
Breathing refreshment, fans the toiling swain.
And soon, the jocund dale and echoing hill
Resound with merriment. The simple jest,
The village tale of scandal, and the taunts
Of rude unpolish'd wit, raise sudden bursts
Of laughter from beneath the spreading oak,
Where thrown at ease, and shelter'd from the sun,
The plain repast, and wholesome bev'rage cheer
Their spirits. Light as air they spring, renew'd,
To social labour: soon the ponderous wain
Moves slowly onwards with its fragrant load,
And swells the barn capacious: or, to crown
Their toil, large tapering pyramids they build,
The magazines of Plenty, to ensure
From Winter's want the flocks, and lowing herds.
We rove delighted; lo! the ripening mead
Calls forth the labouring hinds. In slanting rows,
With still-approaching step, and level'd stroke
135
Lays low the slender grass; emblem of Man,
Falling beneath the ruthless hand of Time.
Then follows blithe, equipt with fork and rake,
In light array, the train of nymphs and swains.
Wide o'er the field, their labour seeming sport,
They toss the withering herbage. Light it flies,
Borne on the wings of Zephyr; whose soft gale,
Now while th' ascending sun's bright beam exhales
The grateful sweetness of the new-mown hay,
Breathing refreshment, fans the toiling swain.
And soon, the jocund dale and echoing hill
Resound with merriment. The simple jest,
The village tale of scandal, and the taunts
Of rude unpolish'd wit, raise sudden bursts
Of laughter from beneath the spreading oak,
Where thrown at ease, and shelter'd from the sun,
The plain repast, and wholesome bev'rage cheer
Their spirits. Light as air they spring, renew'd,
To social labour: soon the ponderous wain
Moves slowly onwards with its fragrant load,
And swells the barn capacious: or, to crown
Their toil, large tapering pyramids they build,
The magazines of Plenty, to ensure
From Winter's want the flocks, and lowing herds.
But do the threatning clouds precipitate
Thy work, and hurry to the field thy team,
Ere the sun's heat, or penetrating wind,
Hath drawn its moisture from the fading grass?
Or hath the bursting shower thy labours drench'd
With sudden innundation? Ah, with care
Accumulate thy load, or in the mow,
Or on the rising rick. The smother'd damps,
Fermenting, glow within; and latent sparks
At length ingender'd, kindle by degrees,
Till, wide and wider spreading, they admit
The fatal blast, which instantly consumes,
In flames resistless, thy collected store.
This dire disaster to avoid, prepare
A hollow basket, or the concave round
Of some capacious vessel; to its sides
Affix a triple cord: then let the swains,
Full in the center of thy purpos'd heap,
Place the obtrusive barrier; raising still
As they advance, by its united bands,
The wide machine. Thus leaving in the midst
An empty space, the cooling air draws in,
And from the flame, or from offensive taints
Pernicious to thy cattle, saves their food.
Thy work, and hurry to the field thy team,
Ere the sun's heat, or penetrating wind,
Hath drawn its moisture from the fading grass?
Or hath the bursting shower thy labours drench'd
With sudden innundation? Ah, with care
Accumulate thy load, or in the mow,
136
Fermenting, glow within; and latent sparks
At length ingender'd, kindle by degrees,
Till, wide and wider spreading, they admit
The fatal blast, which instantly consumes,
In flames resistless, thy collected store.
This dire disaster to avoid, prepare
A hollow basket, or the concave round
Of some capacious vessel; to its sides
Affix a triple cord: then let the swains,
Full in the center of thy purpos'd heap,
Place the obtrusive barrier; raising still
As they advance, by its united bands,
The wide machine. Thus leaving in the midst
An empty space, the cooling air draws in,
And from the flame, or from offensive taints
Pernicious to thy cattle, saves their food.
And now the ruler of the golden day,
From the fierce Lion glows with heat intense;
While Ceres on the ripening field looks down
In smiles benign. Now with enraptur'd eye,
The end of all his toil, and its reward,
The Farmer views. Ah, gracious Heaven! attend
His fervent prayer: restrain the tempest's rage,
The dreadful blight disarm; nor in one blast
The products of the labouring year destroy!
Yet vain is Heaven's indulgence; for when now
In ready ranks th' impatient reapers stand,
Arm'd with the scythe or sickle:—echoes shrill
Of winding horns, the shouts and hallowings loud
Of huntsmen, and the cry of opening hounds,
Float in the gale melodious, but invade
His frighted sense with dread. Near and more near
Th' unwelcome sounds approach; and sudden o'er
His fence the tall stag bounds: in close pursuit
The hunter train, on many a noble steed,
Undaunted follow; while the eager pack
Burst unresisted thro' the yielding hedge.
In vain, unheard, the wretched hind exclaims:
The ruin of his crop in vain laments:
Deaf to his cries, they traverse the ripe field
In cruel exultation; trampling down
Beneath their feet, in one short moment's sport,
The peace, the comfort of his future year.
Unfeeling Wealth! ah, when wilt thou forbear
Thy insults, thy injustice to the Poor?
When taste the bliss of nursing in thy breast
The sweet sensations of Humanity?
From the fierce Lion glows with heat intense;
While Ceres on the ripening field looks down
In smiles benign. Now with enraptur'd eye,
The end of all his toil, and its reward,
The Farmer views. Ah, gracious Heaven! attend
His fervent prayer: restrain the tempest's rage,
The dreadful blight disarm; nor in one blast
The products of the labouring year destroy!
Yet vain is Heaven's indulgence; for when now
In ready ranks th' impatient reapers stand,
Arm'd with the scythe or sickle:—echoes shrill
Of winding horns, the shouts and hallowings loud
Of huntsmen, and the cry of opening hounds,
Float in the gale melodious, but invade
137
Th' unwelcome sounds approach; and sudden o'er
His fence the tall stag bounds: in close pursuit
The hunter train, on many a noble steed,
Undaunted follow; while the eager pack
Burst unresisted thro' the yielding hedge.
In vain, unheard, the wretched hind exclaims:
The ruin of his crop in vain laments:
Deaf to his cries, they traverse the ripe field
In cruel exultation; trampling down
Beneath their feet, in one short moment's sport,
The peace, the comfort of his future year.
Unfeeling Wealth! ah, when wilt thou forbear
Thy insults, thy injustice to the Poor?
When taste the bliss of nursing in thy breast
The sweet sensations of Humanity?
Yet all are not destroyers: some unspoil'd
By Fortune, still preserve a feeling heart.
And see the yellow fields, with labourers spread,
Resign their treasures to the reaper's hand.
Here stands in comely order on the plain,
And cluster'd sheafs, the king of golden corn,
Unbearded Wheat, support of human life:
There rises in round heaps the maltster's hope,
Grain which the reaper's care sollicits best
By tempting promises of potent beer,
The joy, the meed of thirst-creating toil:
The poor man's clammy fare the sickle reaps;
The steed's light provender obeys the scythe.
Labour and mirth united, glow beneath
The mid-day sun; the laughing hinds rejoice;
Their master's heart is open'd, and his eye
Looks with indulgence on the gleaning Poor,
At length, adorn'd with boughs and garlands gay,
Nods the last load along the shouting field.
Now to the God of Harvest in a song
The grateful Farmer pays accepted thanks,
With joy unfeign'd: while to his ravish'd ear
The gratulations of assisting swains
Are music. His exulting soul expands:
He presses every aiding hand; he bids
The plenteous feast, beneath some spreading tree,
Load the large board; and circulates the bowl,
The copious bowl, unmeasur'd, unrestrain'd,
A free libation to th' immortal Gods,
Who crown with plenty the prolific soil.
By Fortune, still preserve a feeling heart.
And see the yellow fields, with labourers spread,
Resign their treasures to the reaper's hand.
Here stands in comely order on the plain,
And cluster'd sheafs, the king of golden corn,
Unbearded Wheat, support of human life:
There rises in round heaps the maltster's hope,
Grain which the reaper's care sollicits best
By tempting promises of potent beer,
The joy, the meed of thirst-creating toil:
The poor man's clammy fare the sickle reaps;
The steed's light provender obeys the scythe.
138
The mid-day sun; the laughing hinds rejoice;
Their master's heart is open'd, and his eye
Looks with indulgence on the gleaning Poor,
At length, adorn'd with boughs and garlands gay,
Nods the last load along the shouting field.
Now to the God of Harvest in a song
The grateful Farmer pays accepted thanks,
With joy unfeign'd: while to his ravish'd ear
The gratulations of assisting swains
Are music. His exulting soul expands:
He presses every aiding hand; he bids
The plenteous feast, beneath some spreading tree,
Load the large board; and circulates the bowl,
The copious bowl, unmeasur'd, unrestrain'd,
A free libation to th' immortal Gods,
Who crown with plenty the prolific soil.
Hail, favour'd Island! happy Region, hail!
Whose temperate skies, mild air, and genial dews,
Enrich the fertile glebe; blessing thy sons
With various products, to the life of Man
Indulgent. Thine Pomona's choicest gift,
The tasteful apple, rich with racy juice,
Theme of thy envy'd song, Silurian bard;
Affording to the swains, in sparkling cups,
Delicious bev'rage. Thine, on Cantium's hills,
The flow'ry hop, whose tendrils climbing round
The tall aspiring pole, bear their light heads
Aloft, in pendant clusters; which in Malt's
Fermenting tuns infus'd, to mellow age
Preserves the potent draught. Thine too the plant,
To whose tough stringy stalks thy num'rous fleets
Owe their strong cordage: with her sister stem,
Her fairer sister, whence Minerva's tribe,
T' enfold in softness Beauty's lovely limbs,
Present their woven texture: and from whence,
A second birth, grows the Papyrean leaf,
A tablet firm, on which the Painter-bard
Delineates thought, and to the wondering eye
Embodies vocal air, and groups the sound.
Whose temperate skies, mild air, and genial dews,
Enrich the fertile glebe; blessing thy sons
With various products, to the life of Man
Indulgent. Thine Pomona's choicest gift,
The tasteful apple, rich with racy juice,
Theme of thy envy'd song, Silurian bard;
Affording to the swains, in sparkling cups,
Delicious bev'rage. Thine, on Cantium's hills,
The flow'ry hop, whose tendrils climbing round
The tall aspiring pole, bear their light heads
Aloft, in pendant clusters; which in Malt's
Fermenting tuns infus'd, to mellow age
Preserves the potent draught. Thine too the plant,
To whose tough stringy stalks thy num'rous fleets
139
Her fairer sister, whence Minerva's tribe,
T' enfold in softness Beauty's lovely limbs,
Present their woven texture: and from whence,
A second birth, grows the Papyrean leaf,
A tablet firm, on which the Painter-bard
Delineates thought, and to the wondering eye
Embodies vocal air, and groups the sound.
With various blessings teems thy fruitful womb.
Lo! from the depth of many a yawning mine,
Thy fossil treasures rise. Thy blazing hearts,
From deep sulphureous pits, consumeless stores
Of fuel boast. Thy oil-imbibing earth,
The fuller's mill assisting, safe defies
All foreign rivals in the clothier's art.
The builder's stone thy numerous quarries hide;
With lime, its close concomitant. The hills,
The barren hills of Derby's wildest Peak,
In lead abound; soft, fusile, malleable;
Whose ample sheets thy venerable domes,
From rough inclement storms of wind and rain,
In safety clothe. Devonia's ancient mines,
Whose treasures tempted first Phœnicia's sons
To court thy commerce, still exhaustless, yield
The valued ore, from whence, Britannia, Thou
Thine honour'd
name deriv'st. Nor want'st thou store
Of that all-useful metal, the support
Of ev'ry art mechanic. Hence arise
In Dean's large forest numerous glowing kilns,
The rough rude ore calcining; whence convey'd
To the fierce furnace, its intenser heat
Melts the hard mass; which flows, an iron stream,
On sandy beds below: and stiffening there,
A ponderous lump, but to the hammer tam'd,
Takes from the forge, in bars, its final form.
Lo! from the depth of many a yawning mine,
Thy fossil treasures rise. Thy blazing hearts,
From deep sulphureous pits, consumeless stores
Of fuel boast. Thy oil-imbibing earth,
The fuller's mill assisting, safe defies
All foreign rivals in the clothier's art.
The builder's stone thy numerous quarries hide;
With lime, its close concomitant. The hills,
The barren hills of Derby's wildest Peak,
In lead abound; soft, fusile, malleable;
Whose ample sheets thy venerable domes,
From rough inclement storms of wind and rain,
In safety clothe. Devonia's ancient mines,
Whose treasures tempted first Phœnicia's sons
To court thy commerce, still exhaustless, yield
The valued ore, from whence, Britannia, Thou
140
Of that all-useful metal, the support
Of ev'ry art mechanic. Hence arise
In Dean's large forest numerous glowing kilns,
The rough rude ore calcining; whence convey'd
To the fierce furnace, its intenser heat
Melts the hard mass; which flows, an iron stream,
On sandy beds below: and stiffening there,
A ponderous lump, but to the hammer tam'd,
Takes from the forge, in bars, its final form.
But the glad Muse, from subterranean caves
Emerging, views with wonder and delight,
What numerous products still remain unsung.
With fish abound thy streams; thy sheltering woods
To fowl give friendly covert; and thy plains
The cloven-footed race, in various herds,
Range undisturb'd. Fair Flora's sweetest buds
Blow on thy beauteous bosom; and her fruits
Pomona pours in plenty on thy lap.
Emerging, views with wonder and delight,
What numerous products still remain unsung.
With fish abound thy streams; thy sheltering woods
To fowl give friendly covert; and thy plains
The cloven-footed race, in various herds,
Range undisturb'd. Fair Flora's sweetest buds
Blow on thy beauteous bosom; and her fruits
Pomona pours in plenty on thy lap.
Thou to the dyer's tinging cauldron giv'st
The yellow-staining weed, luteola;
The glastum brown, with which thy naked sons
In ancient time their hardy limbs distain'd;
Nor the rich rubia does thine hand withold.
The yellow-staining weed, luteola;
The glastum brown, with which thy naked sons
141
Nor the rich rubia does thine hand withold.
Grateful and salutary spring the plants
Which crown thy numerous gardens, and invite
To Health and Temperance, in the simple meal,
Unstain'd with murder, undefil'd with blood,
Unpoison'd with rich sauces, to provoke
Th' unwilling appetite to gluttony.
For this, the bulbous esculents their roots
With sweetness fill; for this, with cooling juice
The green herb spreads its leaves; and opening buds,
And flowers, and seeds, with various flavours tempt
Th' ensanguin'd palate from its savage feast.
Which crown thy numerous gardens, and invite
To Health and Temperance, in the simple meal,
Unstain'd with murder, undefil'd with blood,
Unpoison'd with rich sauces, to provoke
Th' unwilling appetite to gluttony.
For this, the bulbous esculents their roots
With sweetness fill; for this, with cooling juice
The green herb spreads its leaves; and opening buds,
And flowers, and seeds, with various flavours tempt
Th' ensanguin'd palate from its savage feast.
Nor hath the God of Physick and of Day
Forgot to shed kind influence on thy plants
Medicinal. Lo! from his beaming rays
Their various energies to every herb
Imparted flow. He the salubrious leaf
Of cordial sage, the purple-flowering head
Of fragrant lavendar, enlivening mint,
Valerian's fetid smell, endows benign
With their cephalic virtues. He the root
Of broad angelica, and tufted flower
Of creeping chamomile, impregnates deep
With powers carminative. In every brake
Wormwood and centaury, their bitter juice,
To aid Digestion's sickly powes, refine.
The smooth althæa its balsamic wave
Indulgent pours. Eryngo's strengthening root
Surrounds thy sea-girt isle, restorative,
Fair queen of Love, to thy enfeebled sons.
Hypericum, beneath each shelt'ring bush,
Its healing virtue modestly conceals.
Thy friendly soil to liquorice imparts
Its dulcet moisture, whence the labouring lungs
Of panting Asthma find a sure relief.
The scarlet poppy, on thy painted fields,
Bows his somniferous head, inviting soon
To peaceful slumber the disorder'd mind.
Lo, from thy baum's exhilarating leaf,
The moping fiend, black Melancholy, flies;
And burning Febris, with its lenient flood
Cools her hot entrails; or embathes her limbs
In sudorific streams, that cleansing flow
From saffron's friendly spring. Thou too can'st boast
The blessed thistle, whose rejective power
Relieves the loaded viscera; and to thee
The rose, the violet their emollient leaves
On every bush, on every bank, display.
Forgot to shed kind influence on thy plants
Medicinal. Lo! from his beaming rays
Their various energies to every herb
Imparted flow. He the salubrious leaf
Of cordial sage, the purple-flowering head
Of fragrant lavendar, enlivening mint,
Valerian's fetid smell, endows benign
With their cephalic virtues. He the root
Of broad angelica, and tufted flower
Of creeping chamomile, impregnates deep
With powers carminative. In every brake
142
To aid Digestion's sickly powes, refine.
The smooth althæa its balsamic wave
Indulgent pours. Eryngo's strengthening root
Surrounds thy sea-girt isle, restorative,
Fair queen of Love, to thy enfeebled sons.
Hypericum, beneath each shelt'ring bush,
Its healing virtue modestly conceals.
Thy friendly soil to liquorice imparts
Its dulcet moisture, whence the labouring lungs
Of panting Asthma find a sure relief.
The scarlet poppy, on thy painted fields,
Bows his somniferous head, inviting soon
To peaceful slumber the disorder'd mind.
Lo, from thy baum's exhilarating leaf,
The moping fiend, black Melancholy, flies;
And burning Febris, with its lenient flood
Cools her hot entrails; or embathes her limbs
In sudorific streams, that cleansing flow
From saffron's friendly spring. Thou too can'st boast
The blessed thistle, whose rejective power
Relieves the loaded viscera; and to thee
The rose, the violet their emollient leaves
On every bush, on every bank, display.
These are thy products, fair Britannia, these
The copious blessings, which thy envy'd sons,
Divided and distinguish'd from the world,
Secure and free, beneath just laws, enjoy.
Nor dread the ravage of destructive War;
Nor black Contagion's pestilential breath;
Nor rending Earth's convulsions,—fields, flocks, towns,
Swallow'd abrupt, in Ruin's frightful jaws;
Nor worse, far worse than all, the iron hand
Of lawless power, stretch'd o'er precarious wealth,
Lands, liberty, and life, the wanton prey
Of its enormous, unresisted gripe.
The copious blessings, which thy envy'd sons,
Divided and distinguish'd from the world,
Secure and free, beneath just laws, enjoy.
143
Nor black Contagion's pestilential breath;
Nor rending Earth's convulsions,—fields, flocks, towns,
Swallow'd abrupt, in Ruin's frightful jaws;
Nor worse, far worse than all, the iron hand
Of lawless power, stretch'd o'er precarious wealth,
Lands, liberty, and life, the wanton prey
Of its enormous, unresisted gripe.
But further now in Vegetation's paths,
Thro' cultur'd fields, and woods, and waving crops,
The weary'd Muse forbears to wind her walk.
To flocks and herds her future strains aspire,
And let the listening hinds instructed hear
The closing precepts of her labour'd song.
Thro' cultur'd fields, and woods, and waving crops,
The weary'd Muse forbears to wind her walk.
To flocks and herds her future strains aspire,
And let the listening hinds instructed hear
The closing precepts of her labour'd song.
Lo! on the side of yonder slanting hill,
Beneath a spreading oak's broad foliage, sits
The shepherd swain, and patient by his side
His watchful dog; while round the nibbling flocks
Spread their white fleeces o'er the verdant slope,
A landscape pleasing to the painter's eye.
Mark his maternal care. The tender race,
Of heat impatient, as of pinching cold
Afraid, he shelters from the rising sun,
Beneath the mountain's western side; and when
The evening beam shoots eastward, turning seeks
Th' alternate umbrage. Now to the sweetest food
Of fallow fields he leads, and nightly folds,
T' enrich th' exhausted soil: defending safe
From murd'rous thieves, and from the prowling fox,
Their helpless innocence. His skilful eye
Studious explores the latent ills which prey
Upon the bleating nation. The foul mange
Infectious, their impatient foot, by oft
Repeated scratchings, will betray. This calls
For his immediate aid, the spreading taint
To stop. Tobacco, in the briny wave
Infus'd, affords a wash of sovereign use
To heal the dire disease. The wriggling tail
Sure indication gives, that, bred beneath,
Devouring vermin lurk: these, or with dust
Or deaden'd lime besprinkled thick, fall off
In smother'd crowds. Diseases numerous
Assault the harmless race; but chief the Fiend
Which taints with rotteness their inward frame,
And sweeps them from the plain in putrid heaps,
A nuisance to the smell. This, this demands
His watchful care. If he perceives the fleece
In patches lost; if the dejected eye
Looks pale and languid; if the rosy gums
Change to a yellow foulness; and the breath,
Panting and short, emits a sickly stench;
Warn'd by the fatal symptoms, he removes
To rising grounds and dry, the tainted flock;
The best expedient to restore that health
Which the full pasture, or the low damp moor
Endanger'd. But if bare and barren hills,
Or dry and sandy plains, too far remov'd,
Deny their aid; he speedily prepares
Rue's bitter juce, with brine and brimstone mixt,
A powerful remedy; which from an horn
Injected, stops the dangerous malady.
Beneath a spreading oak's broad foliage, sits
The shepherd swain, and patient by his side
His watchful dog; while round the nibbling flocks
Spread their white fleeces o'er the verdant slope,
A landscape pleasing to the painter's eye.
Mark his maternal care. The tender race,
Of heat impatient, as of pinching cold
Afraid, he shelters from the rising sun,
Beneath the mountain's western side; and when
The evening beam shoots eastward, turning seeks
Th' alternate umbrage. Now to the sweetest food
Of fallow fields he leads, and nightly folds,
T' enrich th' exhausted soil: defending safe
From murd'rous thieves, and from the prowling fox,
Their helpless innocence. His skilful eye
Studious explores the latent ills which prey
145
Infectious, their impatient foot, by oft
Repeated scratchings, will betray. This calls
For his immediate aid, the spreading taint
To stop. Tobacco, in the briny wave
Infus'd, affords a wash of sovereign use
To heal the dire disease. The wriggling tail
Sure indication gives, that, bred beneath,
Devouring vermin lurk: these, or with dust
Or deaden'd lime besprinkled thick, fall off
In smother'd crowds. Diseases numerous
Assault the harmless race; but chief the Fiend
Which taints with rotteness their inward frame,
And sweeps them from the plain in putrid heaps,
A nuisance to the smell. This, this demands
His watchful care. If he perceives the fleece
In patches lost; if the dejected eye
Looks pale and languid; if the rosy gums
Change to a yellow foulness; and the breath,
Panting and short, emits a sickly stench;
Warn'd by the fatal symptoms, he removes
To rising grounds and dry, the tainted flock;
The best expedient to restore that health
Which the full pasture, or the low damp moor
Endanger'd. But if bare and barren hills,
Or dry and sandy plains, too far remov'd,
Deny their aid; he speedily prepares
Rue's bitter juce, with brine and brimstone mixt,
A powerful remedy; which from an horn
Injected, stops the dangerous malady.
Refulgent Summer now his hot domain
Hath carry'd to the tropic, and begins
His backward journey. Now beneath the sun
Mellowing their fleeces for th' impending shears,
The woolly people in full cloathing sweat:
When the smooth current of a limpid brook
The shepherd seeks, and plunging in its waves
The frighted innocents, their whitening robes
In the clear stream grow pure. Emerging hence,
On litter'd straw the bleating flocks recline;
Till glowing heat shall dry, and breathing dews
Perspiring soft, again thro' all the fleece
Diffuse their oily fatness. Then the swain
Prepares th' elastic shears, and gently down
The patient creature lays; divesting soon
Its lighten'd limbs of their encumbering load.
Hath carry'd to the tropic, and begins
145
Mellowing their fleeces for th' impending shears,
The woolly people in full cloathing sweat:
When the smooth current of a limpid brook
The shepherd seeks, and plunging in its waves
The frighted innocents, their whitening robes
In the clear stream grow pure. Emerging hence,
On litter'd straw the bleating flocks recline;
Till glowing heat shall dry, and breathing dews
Perspiring soft, again thro' all the fleece
Diffuse their oily fatness. Then the swain
Prepares th' elastic shears, and gently down
The patient creature lays; divesting soon
Its lighten'd limbs of their encumbering load.
O more than mines of gold, than diamonds far
More precious, more important is the fleece!
This, this the solid base on which the sons
Of Commerce build, exalted to the sky,
The structure of their grandeur, wealth, and power!
Hence in the earliest childhood of her state,
Ere yet her merchants spread the British sail,
To earth descending in a radiant cloud,
Britannia seiz'd th' invaluable spoil.
To Ocean's verge exulting swift she flew;
There, on the bosom of the bounding wave,
Rais'd on her pearly car, fair Commerce rode
Sublime, the goddess of the watry world,
On every coast, in every clime ador'd.
High waving in her hand the woolly prize,
Britannia hail'd and beckon'd to her shore
The Power benign. Invited by the Fleece,
From whence her penetrating eyes foresaw
What mighty honours to her name should rise,
She beam'd a gracious smile. Th' obedient winds,
Rein'd by her hand, conducted to the beach
Her sumptuous car. But more convenient place
The muse shall find, to sing the friendly league,
Which here commenc'd, to Time's remotest age,
Shall bear the glory of the British sail.
More precious, more important is the fleece!
This, this the solid base on which the sons
Of Commerce build, exalted to the sky,
The structure of their grandeur, wealth, and power!
Hence in the earliest childhood of her state,
Ere yet her merchants spread the British sail,
To earth descending in a radiant cloud,
Britannia seiz'd th' invaluable spoil.
To Ocean's verge exulting swift she flew;
There, on the bosom of the bounding wave,
Rais'd on her pearly car, fair Commerce rode
Sublime, the goddess of the watry world,
On every coast, in every clime ador'd.
High waving in her hand the woolly prize,
Britannia hail'd and beckon'd to her shore
The Power benign. Invited by the Fleece,
From whence her penetrating eyes foresaw
146
She beam'd a gracious smile. Th' obedient winds,
Rein'd by her hand, conducted to the beach
Her sumptuous car. But more convenient place
The muse shall find, to sing the friendly league,
Which here commenc'd, to Time's remotest age,
Shall bear the glory of the British sail.
Cautious and fearful, some in early spring
Recruit their flocks; as then the wintry storms
Their tender frame hath prov'd. But he whose aim
Ambitious should aspire to mend the breed,
In fruitful Autumn stocks the bleating field
With buxom ewes, that, to their soft desires
Indulgent, he may give the noblest rams.
Yet not too early to the genial sport
Invite the modest ewe; let Michael's feast
Commemorate the deed; lest the cold hand
Of Winter pinch too hard the new-yean'd lamb.
Recruit their flocks; as then the wintry storms
Their tender frame hath prov'd. But he whose aim
Ambitious should aspire to mend the breed,
In fruitful Autumn stocks the bleating field
With buxom ewes, that, to their soft desires
Indulgent, he may give the noblest rams.
Yet not too early to the genial sport
Invite the modest ewe; let Michael's feast
Commemorate the deed; lest the cold hand
Of Winter pinch too hard the new-yean'd lamb.
How nice, how delicate appears his choice,
When fixing on the sire to raise his flock?
His shape, his marks, how curious he surveys?
His body large and deep, his buttocks broad
Give indication of internal strength:
Be short his legs, yet active; small his head;
So shall Lucina's pains less pungent prove,
And less the hazard of the teeming ewe:
Long be his tail, and large his wool-grown ear;
Thick, shining, white, his fleece; his hazel eye
Large, bold, and cheerful; and his horns, if horns
You chuse, not strait, but curving round and round
On either side his head. These the sole arms
His inoffensive mildness bears; not made
For shedding blood, nor hostile war: yet these,
When love, all-powerful, swells his breast, and pours
Into his heart new courage, these he aims,
With meditated fury at his foe.
When fixing on the sire to raise his flock?
His shape, his marks, how curious he surveys?
His body large and deep, his buttocks broad
Give indication of internal strength:
Be short his legs, yet active; small his head;
So shall Lucina's pains less pungent prove,
And less the hazard of the teeming ewe:
Long be his tail, and large his wool-grown ear;
Thick, shining, white, his fleece; his hazel eye
Large, bold, and cheerful; and his horns, if horns
You chuse, not strait, but curving round and round
On either side his head. These the sole arms
147
For shedding blood, nor hostile war: yet these,
When love, all-powerful, swells his breast, and pours
Into his heart new courage, these he aims,
With meditated fury at his foe.
In glowing colours, here the tempted Muse
Might paint the rushing conflict, when provok'd,
The rival rams, opposing front to front,
Spring forth with desperate madness to the fight.
But as deter'd by the superior Bard,
Whose steps, at aweful distance, I revere,
Nor dare to tread; so by the thundering strife
Of his majestic fathers of the herd,
My feebler combatants appall'd retreat.
Might paint the rushing conflict, when provok'd,
The rival rams, opposing front to front,
Spring forth with desperate madness to the fight.
But as deter'd by the superior Bard,
Whose steps, at aweful distance, I revere,
Nor dare to tread; so by the thundering strife
Of his majestic fathers of the herd,
My feebler combatants appall'd retreat.
At leisure now, O let me once again,
Once, ere I leave the cultivated fields,
My favourite Patty, in her dairy's pride,
Revisit; and the generous steeds which grace
The pastures of her swain, well-pleas'd, survey.
The lowing kine, see, at their 'custom'd hour,
Wait the returning pail. The rosy maid,
Crouching beneath their side, in copious streams
Exhausts the swelling udder. Vessels large
And broad, by the sweet hand of Neatness clean'd,
Mean-while, in decent order rang'd appear,
The milky treasure, strain'd thro' filtering lawn,
Intended to receive. At early day,
Sweet slumber shaken from her opening lids,
My lovely Patty to her dairy hies:
There from the surface of expanded bowls
She skims the floating cream, and to her churn
Commits the rich consistence; nor disdains,
Though soft her hand, tho' delicate her frame,
To urge the rural toil; fond to obtain
The country-housewife's humble name and praise.
Continu'd agitation separates soon
The unctuous particles; with gentler strokes
And artful, soon they coalesce: at length,
Cool water pouring from the limpid spring
Into a smooth-glaz'd vessel, deep and wide,
She gathers the loose fragments to an heap;
Which in the cleansing wave well-wrought, and press'd
To one consistent golden mass, receives
The sprinkled seasoning, and of patts, or pounds,
The fair impression, the neat shape assumes.
Once, ere I leave the cultivated fields,
My favourite Patty, in her dairy's pride,
Revisit; and the generous steeds which grace
The pastures of her swain, well-pleas'd, survey.
The lowing kine, see, at their 'custom'd hour,
Wait the returning pail. The rosy maid,
Crouching beneath their side, in copious streams
Exhausts the swelling udder. Vessels large
And broad, by the sweet hand of Neatness clean'd,
Mean-while, in decent order rang'd appear,
The milky treasure, strain'd thro' filtering lawn,
Intended to receive. At early day,
Sweet slumber shaken from her opening lids,
My lovely Patty to her dairy hies:
There from the surface of expanded bowls
She skims the floating cream, and to her churn
148
Though soft her hand, tho' delicate her frame,
To urge the rural toil; fond to obtain
The country-housewife's humble name and praise.
Continu'd agitation separates soon
The unctuous particles; with gentler strokes
And artful, soon they coalesce: at length,
Cool water pouring from the limpid spring
Into a smooth-glaz'd vessel, deep and wide,
She gathers the loose fragments to an heap;
Which in the cleansing wave well-wrought, and press'd
To one consistent golden mass, receives
The sprinkled seasoning, and of patts, or pounds,
The fair impression, the neat shape assumes.
Is cheese her care? Warm from the teat she pours
The milky flood. An acid juice infus'd,
From the dry'd stomach drawn of suckling calf,
Coagulates the whole. Immediate now
Her spreading hands bear down the gathering curd,
Which hard and harder grows; till, clear and thin,
The green whey rises separate. Happy swains!
O how I envy ye the luscious draught,
The soft salubrious beverage! To a vat,
The size and fashion which her taste approves,
She bears the snow-white heaps, her future cheese;
And the strong press establishes its form.
The milky flood. An acid juice infus'd,
From the dry'd stomach drawn of suckling calf,
Coagulates the whole. Immediate now
Her spreading hands bear down the gathering curd,
Which hard and harder grows; till, clear and thin,
The green whey rises separate. Happy swains!
O how I envy ye the luscious draught,
The soft salubrious beverage! To a vat,
The size and fashion which her taste approves,
She bears the snow-white heaps, her future cheese;
And the strong press establishes its form.
But nicer cates, her dairy's boasted fare,
The jelly'd cream, or custard, daintiest food,
Or cheesecake, or the cooling syllabub,
For Thyrsis she prepares; who from the field
Returning, with the kiss of love sincere,
Salutes her rosy lip. A tender look,
Meantime, and chearful smiles, his welcome speak:
Down to their frugal board Contentment sits,
And calls it feasting. Prattling infants dear
Engage their fond regard, and closer tye
The band of nuptial love. They, happy, feel
Each other's bliss, and both in different spheres
Employ'd, nor seek nor wish that cheating charm,
Variety, which idlers to their aid
Call in, to make the length of lazy life
Drag on less heavily. Domestic cares,
Her children and her dairy, well divide
Th' appropriated hours, and duty makes
Employment pleasure. He, delighted, gives
Each busy season of the rolling year,
To raise, to feed, t'improve the generous horse;
And fit for various use his strength or speed.
The jelly'd cream, or custard, daintiest food,
Or cheesecake, or the cooling syllabub,
For Thyrsis she prepares; who from the field
Returning, with the kiss of love sincere,
149
Meantime, and chearful smiles, his welcome speak:
Down to their frugal board Contentment sits,
And calls it feasting. Prattling infants dear
Engage their fond regard, and closer tye
The band of nuptial love. They, happy, feel
Each other's bliss, and both in different spheres
Employ'd, nor seek nor wish that cheating charm,
Variety, which idlers to their aid
Call in, to make the length of lazy life
Drag on less heavily. Domestic cares,
Her children and her dairy, well divide
Th' appropriated hours, and duty makes
Employment pleasure. He, delighted, gives
Each busy season of the rolling year,
To raise, to feed, t'improve the generous horse;
And fit for various use his strength or speed.
Dull, patient, heavy, of large limbs robust,
Whom neither beauty marks, nor spirits fire;
Him, to the servile toil of dragging slow
The burthen'd carriage; or to drudge beneath
A ponderous load impos'd, his justice dooms.
Yet, straining in th' enormous cars which crowd
Thy bustling streets, Augusta, queen of trade,
What noble beasts are seen? sweating beneath
Their toil, and trembling at the driver's whip,
Urg'd with malicious fury on the parts
Where feeling lives most sensible of pain.
Fell tyrants, hold! forbear your hell-born rage!
See ye not every sinew, every nerve
Stretch'd even to bursting? Villains!—but the Muse,
Quick from the savage ruffians turns her eye
Frowning indignant. Steeds of hardier kind,
And cool tho' spritely, to the travel'd road
He destines; sure of foot, of steady pace,
Active, and persevering, uncompel'd,
The tedious length of many a beaten mile.
Whom neither beauty marks, nor spirits fire;
Him, to the servile toil of dragging slow
The burthen'd carriage; or to drudge beneath
A ponderous load impos'd, his justice dooms.
Yet, straining in th' enormous cars which crowd
Thy bustling streets, Augusta, queen of trade,
What noble beasts are seen? sweating beneath
Their toil, and trembling at the driver's whip,
Urg'd with malicious fury on the parts
Where feeling lives most sensible of pain.
Fell tyrants, hold! forbear your hell-born rage!
See ye not every sinew, every nerve
Stretch'd even to bursting? Villains!—but the Muse,
Quick from the savage ruffians turns her eye
150
And cool tho' spritely, to the travel'd road
He destines; sure of foot, of steady pace,
Active, and persevering, uncompel'd,
The tedious length of many a beaten mile.
But not alone to these inferior tribes
Th' ambitious swain confines his generous breed.
Hark! in his fields, when now the distant sounds
Of winding horns, and dogs, and huntsmen's shout,
Awake the sense, his kindling hunter neighs:
Quick start his ears erect, his beating heart
Exults, his light limbs bound, he bears aloft,
Rais'd by tumultuous joy, his tossing head;
And all impatient for the well-known sport,
Leaps the tall fence, and listening to the cry,
Pursues with voluntary speed the chace.
See! o'er the plain he sweeps, nor hedge nor ditch
Obstructs his eager flight; nor straining hills,
Nor headlong steeps deter the vigorous steed:
Till join'd at length, associate of the sport,
He mingles with the train, stops as they stop,
Pursues as they pursue, and all the wild
Enlivening raptures of the field enjoys.
Th' ambitious swain confines his generous breed.
Hark! in his fields, when now the distant sounds
Of winding horns, and dogs, and huntsmen's shout,
Awake the sense, his kindling hunter neighs:
Quick start his ears erect, his beating heart
Exults, his light limbs bound, he bears aloft,
Rais'd by tumultuous joy, his tossing head;
And all impatient for the well-known sport,
Leaps the tall fence, and listening to the cry,
Pursues with voluntary speed the chace.
See! o'er the plain he sweeps, nor hedge nor ditch
Obstructs his eager flight; nor straining hills,
Nor headlong steeps deter the vigorous steed:
Till join'd at length, associate of the sport,
He mingles with the train, stops as they stop,
Pursues as they pursue, and all the wild
Enlivening raptures of the field enjoys.
Easy in motion, perfect in his form,
His boasted lineage drawn from steeds of blood,
He the fleet courser too, exulting shews,
And points with pride his beauties. Neatly set
His lively head, and glowing in his eye
True spirit lives. His nostril wide, inhales
With ease the ambient air. His body firm
And round, upright his joints, his horny hoofs
Small, shining, light; and large his ample reach.
His limbs, tho' slender, brac'd with sinewy strength,
Declare his winged speed. His temper mild,
Yet high his mettled heart. Hence in the race,
All emulous, he hears the clashing whips;
He feels the animating shouts; exerts
With eagerness his utmost powers; and strains,
And springs, and flies, to reach the destin'd goal.
His boasted lineage drawn from steeds of blood,
He the fleet courser too, exulting shews,
And points with pride his beauties. Neatly set
His lively head, and glowing in his eye
True spirit lives. His nostril wide, inhales
With ease the ambient air. His body firm
And round, upright his joints, his horny hoofs
151
His limbs, tho' slender, brac'd with sinewy strength,
Declare his winged speed. His temper mild,
Yet high his mettled heart. Hence in the race,
All emulous, he hears the clashing whips;
He feels the animating shouts; exerts
With eagerness his utmost powers; and strains,
And springs, and flies, to reach the destin'd goal.
But lo! the boast, the glory of his stalls,
His warrior steed appears. What comely pride
What dignity, what grace, attend on all
His motions? See! exulting in his strength,
He paws the ground impatient. On his brow
Courage enthroned sits, and animates
His fearless eye. He bends his arched crest,
His mane loose-flowing, ruffles in the wind,
Cloathing his chest with fury. Proud, he snorts,
Champs on the foaming bit, and prancing high,
Disdainful seems to tread the sordid earth.
Yet hears he and obeys his master's voice,
All gentleness: and feels, with conscious pride,
His dappled neck clap'd with a cheering hand.
But when the battle's martial sounds invade
His ear, when drums and trumpets loud proclaim
The rushing onset; when thick smoke, when fire
Bursts thundering from the cannon's aweful mouth;
Then all inspir'd he kindles into flame!
Intrepid, neighs aloud; and, panting, seems
Impatient to express his swelling joys
Unutterable. On Danger's brink he stands,
And mocks at Fear. Then springing with delight,
Plunges into the wild confusion. Terror flies
Before his dreadful front; and in his rear
Destruction marks her bloody progress. Such,
Such was the steed Thou, Cumberland, bestrod'st,
When black Rebellion fell beneath thy hand,
Rome and her papal tyranny subdu'd,
On great Culloden's memorable field.
Such thine, unconquer'd Marlborough, when the throne
Of Lewis totter'd, and thy glittering steel
On Blenheim's plain immortal trophies reap'd,
And such, O Prince! great patron of my theme,
Should e'er insidious France again presume
On Europe's freedom, such, tho' all averse
To slaughtering war, thy country shall present
To bear her Hero to the martial plain,
Arm'd with the sword of justice. Other cause
Ne'er shall Ambition's sophistry perswade
Thine honour to espouse. Britannia's peace;
Her sacred rights; her just, her equal laws;
These, these alone, to cherish or defend,
Shall raise thy youthful arm, and wake to war,
To dreadful war, the British Lion's rage.
His warrior steed appears. What comely pride
What dignity, what grace, attend on all
His motions? See! exulting in his strength,
He paws the ground impatient. On his brow
Courage enthroned sits, and animates
His fearless eye. He bends his arched crest,
His mane loose-flowing, ruffles in the wind,
Cloathing his chest with fury. Proud, he snorts,
Champs on the foaming bit, and prancing high,
Disdainful seems to tread the sordid earth.
Yet hears he and obeys his master's voice,
All gentleness: and feels, with conscious pride,
His dappled neck clap'd with a cheering hand.
But when the battle's martial sounds invade
His ear, when drums and trumpets loud proclaim
The rushing onset; when thick smoke, when fire
Bursts thundering from the cannon's aweful mouth;
Then all inspir'd he kindles into flame!
Intrepid, neighs aloud; and, panting, seems
Impatient to express his swelling joys
Unutterable. On Danger's brink he stands,
And mocks at Fear. Then springing with delight,
Plunges into the wild confusion. Terror flies
152
Destruction marks her bloody progress. Such,
Such was the steed Thou, Cumberland, bestrod'st,
When black Rebellion fell beneath thy hand,
Rome and her papal tyranny subdu'd,
On great Culloden's memorable field.
Such thine, unconquer'd Marlborough, when the throne
Of Lewis totter'd, and thy glittering steel
On Blenheim's plain immortal trophies reap'd,
And such, O Prince! great patron of my theme,
Should e'er insidious France again presume
On Europe's freedom, such, tho' all averse
To slaughtering war, thy country shall present
To bear her Hero to the martial plain,
Arm'd with the sword of justice. Other cause
Ne'er shall Ambition's sophistry perswade
Thine honour to espouse. Britannia's peace;
Her sacred rights; her just, her equal laws;
These, these alone, to cherish or defend,
Shall raise thy youthful arm, and wake to war,
To dreadful war, the British Lion's rage.
But milder stars on thy illustrious birth
Their kindest influence shed. Beneath the smile
Of thy indulgence, the protected Arts
Lifting their graceful heads; her envy'd sail
Fair Commerce spreading to remotest climes;
And Plenty rising from th' encourag'd Plough;
Shall feed, enrich, adorn, the happy land.
Their kindest influence shed. Beneath the smile
Of thy indulgence, the protected Arts
Lifting their graceful heads; her envy'd sail
Fair Commerce spreading to remotest climes;
And Plenty rising from th' encourag'd Plough;
Shall feed, enrich, adorn, the happy land.
Rye, on which is made a coarse clammy kind of bread, used by the poorer people in many parts of England, on account of its cheapness.
The leaf of the Egyptian plant, Papyrus, was anciently used for writing upon; from whence is derived the present name of our material called Paper.
Fuller's earth is found in no other country; and as it is of so great a use in the manufacturing of cloth, the exportation of it is prohibited. Dr. Woodward says this fossil is of more value to England than the mines of Peru would be.
The learned antiquary, Bochart, is of opinion, that the Phœnicians, coming to buy tin in the island of Albion, gave it the name of Barat-Anac, that is, the Land or Country of Tin: which being soften'd by the Greeks into Britannia, was adopted by the Romans. This etymology seems to be confirm'd by the Grecians calling the isles of Scilly, Cassiterides, which signifies in Greek, the same as Barat-Anac in Phœnician. Rapin.
Madder, which is used by the dyers for making the most solid and richest red; and as Mortimer observes, was thought so valuable in King Charles the First's time, that it was made a Patent Commodity. But the cultivation of it hath since been so strangely neglected, that we now purchase from the Dutch the greatest part of what we use, to the amount, as Mr. Millar, in his Gardener's Dictionary says he hath been inform'd, of near thirty thousand pounds a year.
| Trifles | |