Angling Sports In Nine Piscatory Eclogues. A New Attempt To introduce a more pleasing Variety and Mixture of Subjects and Characters into Pastoral. On the Plan of its primitive Rules and Manners. Suited to the Entertainment of Retirement, and the Lovers of Nature in rural Scenes. With an Essay in Defence of this Undertaking. By Moses Browne. The Third Edition, Corrected, and very much improved |
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| I. |
| II. | ECLOGUE II. NIGHT-FISHING: |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
 | Angling Sports |  |
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ECLOGUE II. NIGHT-FISHING:
OR, THE NOCTURNAL.
To the Right Hon. William Earl of Harrington, One of his Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State.
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THE ARGUMENT.
TWO Youths agree to spend a Summer's Night in Angling.—Their setting out at Midnight described, with the gloomy Occurrences peculiar to the solemn twilight Season.—The Melancholy of the Time and Place excite in one some tender Complaints, which his Companion interrupts by discourse of his sport, and Description of the Morning's breaking, that ends their Recreation.
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If, Muse, thou would'st the best of Monarchs praise,
With Brunswick's name exalt thy humble lays;
But if the best of subjects be thy care,
For Harrington thy rural notes prepare.
With Brunswick's name exalt thy humble lays;
But if the best of subjects be thy care,
For Harrington thy rural notes prepare.
And thou, propitious to the poet's pains,
While weightier themes thy needful ear detains,
Intent on gen'rous cares for Britain's weal,
And George approves with smiles thy foremost zeal,
Cou'd but the youth in equal strains pursue
Verse to thy fame and to thy virtues due,
Thou, gen'rous patron of the tuneful throng,
Had shone applauded in heroic song—
Rude tho' the lay—may, haply, this appear
Not disappointed of thy fav'ring ear.
While weightier themes thy needful ear detains,
Intent on gen'rous cares for Britain's weal,
And George approves with smiles thy foremost zeal,
Cou'd but the youth in equal strains pursue
Verse to thy fame and to thy virtues due,
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Had shone applauded in heroic song—
Rude tho' the lay—may, haply, this appear
Not disappointed of thy fav'ring ear.
The sun had half his annual course attain'd,
And summer in her height of splendour reign'd;
Young lambs did now th' accustom'd teat refuse,
And for the foodful grass forsook their ewes;
Their earliest blush the rip'ning fruit reveal'd,
And yellow corn began to spread the field,
When two companion-swains by night arose,
Rous'd from their leafy beds and short repose,
To angle till the sun's returning beams,
In pleasant shades by Avon's silver streams.
And summer in her height of splendour reign'd;
Young lambs did now th' accustom'd teat refuse,
And for the foodful grass forsook their ewes;
Their earliest blush the rip'ning fruit reveal'd,
And yellow corn began to spread the field,
When two companion-swains by night arose,
Rous'd from their leafy beds and short repose,
To angle till the sun's returning beams,
In pleasant shades by Avon's silver streams.
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'Twas the dead twilight of the sultry eve,
When the fresh youths the silent village leave;
Onward they haste, and pass with due regard
The haunted hedge-row elms and drear church-yard.
The dolesome chimes from the age-mould'ring tow'r,
With slow, hoarse din rung out the midnight hour,
While with loud chat and many a chearful lay,
They labour'd to beguile the lonely way;
Till the close-flowing stream their roam repress'd,
When Renock thus his wistful friend address'd.
RENOCK.When the fresh youths the silent village leave;
Onward they haste, and pass with due regard
The haunted hedge-row elms and drear church-yard.
The dolesome chimes from the age-mould'ring tow'r,
With slow, hoarse din rung out the midnight hour,
While with loud chat and many a chearful lay,
They labour'd to beguile the lonely way;
Till the close-flowing stream their roam repress'd,
When Renock thus his wistful friend address'd.
Haste, Laco, while the midnight hour depends,
See how the rising Moon our toil befriends.
Now weazels from the lowly thatch resort,
And on the quiet hearth the crickets sport;
Unseemly toads now flock from caves beneath,
And in rank fenns the poison'd vapours breathe;
In solitary stalls the night-fly sings,
And beetles course the air with heavy wings
Deep in the solace of the gloom they play,
A race obscure and fearful of the day.
While silence to our sportive task persuades,
And kindly night conceals with favouring shades;
Name, if thou list, thy peaceful stand to chuse,
Why the fit hour shou'd we delay to use?
See how the rising Moon our toil befriends.
Now weazels from the lowly thatch resort,
And on the quiet hearth the crickets sport;
Unseemly toads now flock from caves beneath,
And in rank fenns the poison'd vapours breathe;
In solitary stalls the night-fly sings,
And beetles course the air with heavy wings
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A race obscure and fearful of the day.
While silence to our sportive task persuades,
And kindly night conceals with favouring shades;
Name, if thou list, thy peaceful stand to chuse,
Why the fit hour shou'd we delay to use?
LACO.
Lo! Renock, where the wand'ring current leads
Its bending course along th' indented meads,
Where scaly shoals the sporting eddies fill,
Here let thy practis'd angle prove thy skill.
Its bending course along th' indented meads,
Where scaly shoals the sporting eddies fill,
Here let thy practis'd angle prove thy skill.
RENOCK.
Or shall we, Laco, since the clouding Moon
Denies to chear the still nocturnal noon,
Shall we till morn, beneath yon bow'ry yews,
Avoid the midnight blasts and harmful dews?
Denies to chear the still nocturnal noon,
Shall we till morn, beneath yon bow'ry yews,
Avoid the midnight blasts and harmful dews?
LACO.
Yon neighb'ring oak that o'er the current bends,
From midnight blasts and harmful dews defends.
There rather (since you spreading shades require)
Let us to tend our watchful sport retire.
From midnight blasts and harmful dews defends.
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Let us to tend our watchful sport retire.
RENOCK.
Ah! heedless boy! 'twas thither Dirce stray'd,
By raging love and black despair convey'd,
When on the fatal boughs the slighted Fair,
At once surrender'd up her life and care.
—Now nightly there her restless ghost complains,
By Anglers oft descry'd, and watching Swains;
Hear, Colly barks! and when the barn-dogs bark,
Some ghost they see, or goblin of the dark:
For there the fairy train are often seen
To dance at curfew o'er the moon-lov'd green;
Deep in the baleful shade the glow-worm gleams,
And breaks the sullen gloom with chearless beams;
The screech-owl too is heard o'er lonely grounds,
Scream from the luckless tree with boding sounds.
By raging love and black despair convey'd,
When on the fatal boughs the slighted Fair,
At once surrender'd up her life and care.
—Now nightly there her restless ghost complains,
By Anglers oft descry'd, and watching Swains;
Hear, Colly barks! and when the barn-dogs bark,
Some ghost they see, or goblin of the dark:
For there the fairy train are often seen
To dance at curfew o'er the moon-lov'd green;
Deep in the baleful shade the glow-worm gleams,
And breaks the sullen gloom with chearless beams;
The screech-owl too is heard o'er lonely grounds,
Scream from the luckless tree with boding sounds.
LACO.
Here then beneath the hedgy covert rest,
Nor farther roaming dangerously request;
Lest fawns that haunt the dunny woods by night,
With hideous yell or glaring forms affright;
Or wand'ring fires that o'er the marshes stray,
Thro' bogs and moory fens misguide our way.
Nor farther roaming dangerously request;
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With hideous yell or glaring forms affright;
Or wand'ring fires that o'er the marshes stray,
Thro' bogs and moory fens misguide our way.
RENOCK.
Content—Lo! here the winding streams retreat,
Nor can we wish a more delightful seat.
Behind, these alders from the weather screen,
Before, the lawn presents its lengthen'd scene;
Close on that side trills soft the emptying brook,
While this fresh woods and sloping hills o'erlook;
Thick over head the rose and woodbine meet,
Uniting shade to shade, and sweet to sweet;
The pea and bloomy bean their odours yield,
And new-mown hay perfumes the fragrant field;
Here too the nightingale delights the meads,
And grashoppers chirp shrill amid the reeds;
And from the pin-fold here the bleating sheep,
Chear the still twilight and divert from sleep.
Nor can we wish a more delightful seat.
Behind, these alders from the weather screen,
Before, the lawn presents its lengthen'd scene;
Close on that side trills soft the emptying brook,
While this fresh woods and sloping hills o'erlook;
Thick over head the rose and woodbine meet,
Uniting shade to shade, and sweet to sweet;
The pea and bloomy bean their odours yield,
And new-mown hay perfumes the fragrant field;
Here too the nightingale delights the meads,
And grashoppers chirp shrill amid the reeds;
And from the pin-fold here the bleating sheep,
Chear the still twilight and divert from sleep.
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Pleasing by early morn the bleating flocks,
The currents murmur down the distant rocks,
The gale's perfume, the echo's mimic sound,
The night-bird's song, and low of kine around;
In hollow banks the hum of must'ring bees,
And zephyrs whisp'ring soft amid the trees.
The currents murmur down the distant rocks,
The gale's perfume, the echo's mimic sound,
The night-bird's song, and low of kine around;
In hollow banks the hum of must'ring bees,
And zephyrs whisp'ring soft amid the trees.
RENOCK.
Coy Maid! lost lovely Sweet! ah, you can rest,
While I still wake with cruel cares opprest:
Blest pow'r of Sleep, her eye-lids gently close,
Melt her soft dreams with Renock's dying woes.
While I still wake with cruel cares opprest:
Blest pow'r of Sleep, her eye-lids gently close,
Melt her soft dreams with Renock's dying woes.
LACO.
Here where the turning streams more slowly stray,
Mark the grown trout, on watch for nightly prey;
Scarce hid he lies th' expected prize to seize,
Rous'd if the flood but dimples with a breeze.
Mark the grown trout, on watch for nightly prey;
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Rous'd if the flood but dimples with a breeze.
RENOCK.
Dear as the heart you break, oh! teach thy swain,
Like thee to vanquish, or like thee disdain:
Fond wish—Ah, no! our Fates have doom'd above,
She ne'er should yield, nor I desist from love.
Like thee to vanquish, or like thee disdain:
Fond wish—Ah, no! our Fates have doom'd above,
She ne'er should yield, nor I desist from love.
LACO.
Rest, frogs, nor venture from your holds to rove,
He reigns the terror of the wat'ry drove.
Sink, happy bait! O prove a fatal lure;
'Tis done—Your wily murd'rer is secure.
He reigns the terror of the wat'ry drove.
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'Tis done—Your wily murd'rer is secure.
RENOCK.
Happy, ye eels, who ne'er love's torment know,
And carp, blest kind, exempt from am'rous woe;
Ye pike, a happy race, who all subdue,
No fond desires are e'er endur'd by you.
Ah! like the tyrant pow'r, by whom I die,
And too alike to me th' unhappy fry.
And carp, blest kind, exempt from am'rous woe;
Ye pike, a happy race, who all subdue,
No fond desires are e'er endur'd by you.
Ah! like the tyrant pow'r, by whom I die,
And too alike to me th' unhappy fry.
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In Love's false fires, like one be-whisp'd away,
Nor sport he heeds—nor lists to ought I say—
Nor sport he heeds—nor lists to ought I say—
RENOCK.
Yet ere thy exile, destin'd far to roam,
Quits thy lov'd charms, his heart's delightful home;
Ere I must see no more that face divine,
Nor those dear eyes! ah me, the light of mine;
Once let my sight on the sweet objects dwell!
Once let me whisp'ring breathe a sad farewel!
While in short murmurs, in convulsive starts,
Thy poor lost wand'rer his distress imparts—
The love, thy rigour still deny'd to bless,
The pangs, thy heart refuses to redress.
Ere my wild words shall lose thy distant ear,
Ere thy least glimpse shall to my eyes appear,
While their dim orbs the dying mists bedew,
Take my last sigh, that parts with life—in you.
Quits thy lov'd charms, his heart's delightful home;
Ere I must see no more that face divine,
Nor those dear eyes! ah me, the light of mine;
Once let my sight on the sweet objects dwell!
Once let me whisp'ring breathe a sad farewel!
While in short murmurs, in convulsive starts,
Thy poor lost wand'rer his distress imparts—
The love, thy rigour still deny'd to bless,
The pangs, thy heart refuses to redress.
Ere my wild words shall lose thy distant ear,
Ere thy least glimpse shall to my eyes appear,
While their dim orbs the dying mists bedew,
Take my last sigh, that parts with life—in you.
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Hark! the shrill cock the rising morn proclaims,
And calls aloud to field his feath'ry dames;
The mounting lark begins her warbling song,
And gen'ral notes employ the airy throng.
And see! the sun reveals a glimm'ring ray,
And streaks the bright'ning clouds with gleams of day;
All nature seems reviving at his sight,
And smiling wakes to hail his amber light:
Now sparkling dew-drops glister on the grain,
And coolly breezes fan the healthsome plain.
“The plow-boy o'er the furrows whistles blithe,
“And in the mead the mower whets his scythe.”
Shrill horns alarm the sportsman from his dream,
And the bells tinkle on the new-yok'd team.
—And now a cloudy paleness dims the skies,
And floating mists from steaming rivers rise.
See! the blue fogs bespread the fenny ground,
And fill the chilly air with damps unsound;
A sultry noon the danky vapour shews,
And evening plenteous of refreshing dews.
And calls aloud to field his feath'ry dames;
The mounting lark begins her warbling song,
And gen'ral notes employ the airy throng.
And see! the sun reveals a glimm'ring ray,
And streaks the bright'ning clouds with gleams of day;
All nature seems reviving at his sight,
And smiling wakes to hail his amber light:
Now sparkling dew-drops glister on the grain,
And coolly breezes fan the healthsome plain.
“The plow-boy o'er the furrows whistles blithe,
“And in the mead the mower whets his scythe.”
Shrill horns alarm the sportsman from his dream,
And the bells tinkle on the new-yok'd team.
—And now a cloudy paleness dims the skies,
And floating mists from steaming rivers rise.
See! the blue fogs bespread the fenny ground,
And fill the chilly air with damps unsound;
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And evening plenteous of refreshing dews.
RENOCK.
No seasons please when griefs the mind o'erpow'r,
Griefs gloom alike the morn and midnight hour.
Damp fall the piercing mists, a chilling air;
'Till chear'd by milder skies thy sports forbear,
'Till from the banks exhales th' unhealthy dew;
At eve more blythe our pastimes we'll renew.
Griefs gloom alike the morn and midnight hour.
Damp fall the piercing mists, a chilling air;
'Till chear'd by milder skies thy sports forbear,
'Till from the banks exhales th' unhealthy dew;
At eve more blythe our pastimes we'll renew.
| Angling Sports | |