 | The Sugar-Cane |  |
BOOK I.
2
ARGUMENT.
Subject proposed. Invocation and address. What soils the Cane grows best in. The grey light earth. Praise of St. Christopher. The red brick mould. Praise of Jamaica, and of Christopher Columbus. The black soil mixed with clay and gravel. Praise of Barbadoes, Nevis, and Mountserrat. Composts may improve other soils. Advantages and disadvantages of a level plantation. Of a mountain-estate. Of a midland one. Advantages of proper cultivation. Of fallowing. Of compost. Of leaving the Woura, and penning cattle on the distant Cane-pieces. Whether yams improve the soil. Whether dung should be buried in each hole, or scattered over the piece. Cane-lands may be holed at any time. The ridges should be open to the trade-wind. The beauty of holing regularly by a line. Alternate holing, and the wheel-plough recommended to trial. When to plant. Wet weather the best. Rain often falls in the West-Indies, almost without any previous signs. The signs of rainy weather. Of fogs round the high mountains. Planting described. Begin to plant mountain-land in July: the low ground in November, and the subsequent months, till May. The advantage of changing tops in planting. Whether the Moon has any influence over the Cane-plant. What quantity of mountain and of low Cane-land may be annually planted. The last Cane-piece should be cut off before the end of July. Of hedges. Of stone inclosures. Myrtle hedges recommended. Whether trees breed the blast. The character of a good planter. Of weeding. Of moulding. Of stripping.
3
What soil the Cane affects; what care demands;
Beneath what signs to plant; what ills await;
How the hot nectar best to christallize;
And Afric's sable progeny to treat:
A Muse, that long hath wander'd in the groves
Of myrtle-indolence, attempts to sing.
Beneath what signs to plant; what ills await;
How the hot nectar best to christallize;
And Afric's sable progeny to treat:
A Muse, that long hath wander'd in the groves
Of myrtle-indolence, attempts to sing.
Spirit of Inspiration, that did'st lead
Th' Ascrean Poet to the sacred Mount,
And taught'st him all the precepts of the swain;
Descend from Heaven, and guide my trembling steps
To Fame's eternal Dome, where Maro reigns;
Where pastoral Dyer, where Pomona's Bard,
And Smart and Sommerville in varying strains,
Their sylvan lore convey: O may I join
This choral band, and from their precepts learn
To deck my theme, which though to song unknown,
Is most momentous to my Country's weal!
Th' Ascrean Poet to the sacred Mount,
And taught'st him all the precepts of the swain;
Descend from Heaven, and guide my trembling steps
To Fame's eternal Dome, where Maro reigns;
Where pastoral Dyer, where Pomona's Bard,
And Smart and Sommerville in varying strains,
4
This choral band, and from their precepts learn
To deck my theme, which though to song unknown,
Is most momentous to my Country's weal!
So shall my numbers win the Public ear;
And not displease Aurelius; him to whom,
Imperial George, the monarch of the main,
Hath given to wield the scepter of those isles,
Where first the Muse beheld the spiry Cane,
Supreme of plants, rich subject of my song.
And not displease Aurelius; him to whom,
Imperial George, the monarch of the main,
Hath given to wield the scepter of those isles,
Where first the Muse beheld the spiry Cane,
Supreme of plants, rich subject of my song.
5
Where'er the clouds relent in frequent rains,
And the Sun fiercely darts his Tropic beam,
The Cane will joint, ungenial tho' the soil.
But would'st thou see huge casks, in order due,
Roll'd numerous on the Bay, all fully fraught
With strong-grain'd muscovado, silvery-grey,
Joy of the planter; and if happy Fate
Permit a choice: avoid the rocky slope,
The clay-cold bottom, and the sandy beach.
But let thy biting ax with ceaseless stroke
The wild red cedar, the tough locust fell:
Nor let his nectar, nor his silken pods,
The sweet-smell'd cassia, or vast ceiba save.
Yet spare the guava, yet the guaiac spare;
A wholesome food the ripened guava yields,
Boast of the housewife; while the guaiac grows
A sovereign antidote, in wood, bark, gum,
To cause the lame his useless crutch forego,
And dry the sources of corrupted love.
Nor let thy bright impatient flames destroy
The golden shaddoc, the forbidden fruit,
The white acajou, and rich sabbaca:
For, where these trees their leafy banners raise
Aloft in air, a grey deep earth abounds,
Fat, light; yet, when it feels the wounding hoe,
Rising in clods, which ripening suns and rain
Resolve to crumbles, yet not pulverize:
In this the soul of vegetation wakes,
Pleas'd at the planter's call, to burst on day.
And the Sun fiercely darts his Tropic beam,
The Cane will joint, ungenial tho' the soil.
But would'st thou see huge casks, in order due,
6
With strong-grain'd muscovado, silvery-grey,
Joy of the planter; and if happy Fate
Permit a choice: avoid the rocky slope,
The clay-cold bottom, and the sandy beach.
But let thy biting ax with ceaseless stroke
The wild red cedar, the tough locust fell:
7
The sweet-smell'd cassia, or vast ceiba save.
Yet spare the guava, yet the guaiac spare;
A wholesome food the ripened guava yields,
Boast of the housewife; while the guaiac grows
A sovereign antidote, in wood, bark, gum,
To cause the lame his useless crutch forego,
And dry the sources of corrupted love.
Nor let thy bright impatient flames destroy
8
The white acajou, and rich sabbaca:
For, where these trees their leafy banners raise
Aloft in air, a grey deep earth abounds,
Fat, light; yet, when it feels the wounding hoe,
Rising in clods, which ripening suns and rain
Resolve to crumbles, yet not pulverize:
In this the soul of vegetation wakes,
Pleas'd at the planter's call, to burst on day.
Thrice happy he, to whom such fields are given!
For him the Cane with little labour grows;
'Spite of the dog-star, shoots long yellow joints;
Concocts rich juice, tho' deluges descend.
What if an after-offspring it reject?
This land, for many a crop, will feed his mills;
Disdain supplies, nor ask from compost aid.
For him the Cane with little labour grows;
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Concocts rich juice, tho' deluges descend.
What if an after-offspring it reject?
This land, for many a crop, will feed his mills;
Disdain supplies, nor ask from compost aid.
Such, green St. Christopher, thy happy soil!—
Not Grecian Tempé, where Arcadian Pan,
Knit with the Graces, tun'd his silvan pipe,
While mute Attention hush'd each charmed rill;
Not purple Enna, whose irriguous lap,
Strow'd with each fruit of taste, each flower of smell,
Sicilian Proserpine, delighted, sought;
Can vie, blest Isle, with thee.—Tho' no soft sound
Of pastoral stop thine echoes e'er awak'd;
Nor raptured poet, lost in holy trance,
Thy streams arrested with enchanting song:
Yet virgins, far more beautiful than she
Whom Pluto ravish'd, and more chaste, are thine:
Yet probity, from principle, not fear,
Actuates thy sons, bold, hospitable, free:
Yet a fertility, unknown of old,
To other climes denied, adorns thy hills;
Thy vales, thy dells adorns.—O might my strain
As far transcend the immortal songs of Greece,
As thou the partial subject of their praise!
Thy fame should float familiar thro' the world;
Each plant should own thy Cane her lawful lord;
Nor should old Time, song stops the flight of Time,
Obscure thy lustre with his shadowy wing.
Not Grecian Tempé, where Arcadian Pan,
10
While mute Attention hush'd each charmed rill;
Not purple Enna, whose irriguous lap,
11
Sicilian Proserpine, delighted, sought;
Can vie, blest Isle, with thee.—Tho' no soft sound
Of pastoral stop thine echoes e'er awak'd;
Nor raptured poet, lost in holy trance,
Thy streams arrested with enchanting song:
Yet virgins, far more beautiful than she
Whom Pluto ravish'd, and more chaste, are thine:
Yet probity, from principle, not fear,
Actuates thy sons, bold, hospitable, free:
Yet a fertility, unknown of old,
To other climes denied, adorns thy hills;
Thy vales, thy dells adorns.—O might my strain
As far transcend the immortal songs of Greece,
As thou the partial subject of their praise!
Thy fame should float familiar thro' the world;
Each plant should own thy Cane her lawful lord;
Nor should old Time, song stops the flight of Time,
Obscure thy lustre with his shadowy wing.
Scarce less impregnated, with every power
Of vegetation, is the red brick-mould,
That lies on marly beds.—The renter, this
Can scarce exhaust; how happy for the heir!
Of vegetation, is the red brick-mould,
That lies on marly beds.—The renter, this
Can scarce exhaust; how happy for the heir!
12
Such the glad soil, from whence Jamaica's sons
Derive their opulence: thrice fertile land,
“The pride, the glory of the sea-girt isles,
“Which, like to rich and various gems, inlay
“The unadorned bosom of the deep,”
Which first Columbus' daring keel explor'd.
Derive their opulence: thrice fertile land,
“The pride, the glory of the sea-girt isles,
“Which, like to rich and various gems, inlay
“The unadorned bosom of the deep,”
Which first Columbus' daring keel explor'd.
Daughters of Heaven, with reverential awe,
Pause at that godlike name; for not your flights
Of happiest fancy, can outsoar his fame.
Pause at that godlike name; for not your flights
Of happiest fancy, can outsoar his fame.
Columbus, boast of science, boast of man!
Yet, by the great, the learned, and the wise,
Long held a visionary; who, like thee,
Could brook their scorn; wait seven long years at court,
A selfish, sullen, dilatory court;
Yet never from thy purpos'd plan decline?
No God, no Hero, of poetic times,
In Truth's fair annals, may compare with thee!
Each passion, weakness of mankind, thou knew'st,
Thine own concealing; firmest base of power:
Rich in expedients; what most adverse seem'd,
And least expected, most advanc'd thine aim.
What storms, what monsters, what new forms of death,
In a vast ocean, never cut by keel,
And where the magnet first its aid declin'd;
Alone, unterrified, didst thou not view?
Wise Legislator, had the Iberian King
Thy plan adopted, murder had not drench'd
In blood vast kingdoms; nor had hell-born Zeal,
And hell-born Avarice, his arms disgrac'd.
Yet, for a world, discover'd and subdu'd,
What meed had'st thou? With toil, disease, worn out,
Thine age was spent solliciting the Prince,
To whom thou gav'st the sceptre of that world.
Yet, blessed spirit, where inthron'd thou sit'st,
Chief 'mid the friends of man, repine not thou:
Dear to the Nine, thy glory shall remain
While winged Commerce either ocean ploughs;
While its lov'd pole the magnet coyly shuns;
While weeps the guaiac, and while joints the Cane.
Yet, by the great, the learned, and the wise,
Long held a visionary; who, like thee,
Could brook their scorn; wait seven long years at court,
A selfish, sullen, dilatory court;
Yet never from thy purpos'd plan decline?
No God, no Hero, of poetic times,
In Truth's fair annals, may compare with thee!
Each passion, weakness of mankind, thou knew'st,
Thine own concealing; firmest base of power:
Rich in expedients; what most adverse seem'd,
And least expected, most advanc'd thine aim.
What storms, what monsters, what new forms of death,
In a vast ocean, never cut by keel,
13
Alone, unterrified, didst thou not view?
Wise Legislator, had the Iberian King
Thy plan adopted, murder had not drench'd
In blood vast kingdoms; nor had hell-born Zeal,
And hell-born Avarice, his arms disgrac'd.
Yet, for a world, discover'd and subdu'd,
What meed had'st thou? With toil, disease, worn out,
14
To whom thou gav'st the sceptre of that world.
Yet, blessed spirit, where inthron'd thou sit'st,
Chief 'mid the friends of man, repine not thou:
Dear to the Nine, thy glory shall remain
While winged Commerce either ocean ploughs;
While its lov'd pole the magnet coyly shuns;
While weeps the guaiac, and while joints the Cane.
Shall the Muse celebrate the dark deep mould,
With clay or gravel mix'd?—This soil the Cane
With partial fondness loves; and oft surveys
Its progeny with wonder.—Such rich veins
Are plenteous scatter'd o'er the Sugar-isles:
But chief that land, to which the bearded fig,
Prince of the forest, gave Barbadoes name:
Chief Nevis, justly for its hot baths fam'd:
And breezy Mountserrat, whose wonderous springs
Change, like Medusa's head, whate'er they touch,
To stony hardness; boast this fertile glebe.
With clay or gravel mix'd?—This soil the Cane
With partial fondness loves; and oft surveys
Its progeny with wonder.—Such rich veins
Are plenteous scatter'd o'er the Sugar-isles:
But chief that land, to which the bearded fig,
15
Chief Nevis, justly for its hot baths fam'd:
And breezy Mountserrat, whose wonderous springs
16
To stony hardness; boast this fertile glebe.
Tho' such the soils the Antillean Cane
Supremely loves; yet other soils abound,
Which art may tutor to obtain its smile.
Say, shall the experienc'd Muse that art recite?
How sand will fertilize stiff barren clay?
How clay unites the light, the porous mould,
Sport of each breeze? And how the torpid nymph
Of the rank pool, so noisome to the smell,
May be solicited, by wily ways,
To draw her humid train, and, prattling, run
Down the reviving slopes? Or shall she say
What glebes ungrateful to each other art,
Their genial treasures ope to fire alone?
Record the different composts; which the cold
To plastic gladness warm? The torrid, which
By soothing coolness win? The sharp saline,
Which best subdue? Which mollify the sour?
Supremely loves; yet other soils abound,
Which art may tutor to obtain its smile.
Say, shall the experienc'd Muse that art recite?
How sand will fertilize stiff barren clay?
How clay unites the light, the porous mould,
Sport of each breeze? And how the torpid nymph
Of the rank pool, so noisome to the smell,
May be solicited, by wily ways,
To draw her humid train, and, prattling, run
Down the reviving slopes? Or shall she say
What glebes ungrateful to each other art,
Their genial treasures ope to fire alone?
Record the different composts; which the cold
To plastic gladness warm? The torrid, which
By soothing coolness win? The sharp saline,
Which best subdue? Which mollify the sour?
17
To thee, if Fate low level land assign,
Slightly cohering, and of sable hue,
Far from the hill; be parsimony thine.
For tho' this year when constant showers descend;
The speeding gale, thy sturdy numerous stock,
Scarcely suffice to grind thy mighty Canes:
Yet thou, with rueful eye, for many a year,
Shalt view thy plants burnt by the torch of day;
Hear their parch'd wan blades rustle in the air;
While their black sugars, doughy to the feel,
Will not ev'n pay the labour of thy swains.
Slightly cohering, and of sable hue,
Far from the hill; be parsimony thine.
For tho' this year when constant showers descend;
The speeding gale, thy sturdy numerous stock,
Scarcely suffice to grind thy mighty Canes:
Yet thou, with rueful eye, for many a year,
Shalt view thy plants burnt by the torch of day;
Hear their parch'd wan blades rustle in the air;
While their black sugars, doughy to the feel,
Will not ev'n pay the labour of thy swains.
Or, if the mountain be thy happier lot,
Let prudent foresight still thy coffers guard.
For tho' the clouds relent in nightly rain,
Tho' thy rank Canes wave lofty in the gale:
Yet will the arrow, ornament of woe,
(Such monarchs oft-times give) their jointing stint;
Yet will winds lodge them, ravening rats destroy,
Or troops of monkeys thy rich harvest steal.
The earth must also wheel around the sun,
And half perform that circuit; ere the bill
Mow down thy sugars: and tho' all thy mills,
Crackling, o'erflow with a redundant juice;
Poor tastes the liquor; coction long demands,
And highest temper, ere it saccharize;
A meagre produce. Such is Virtue's meed,
Alas, too oft in these degenerate days.
Thy cattle likewise, as they drag the wain,
Charg'd from the beach; in spite of whips and shouts,
Will stop, will pant, will sink beneath the load;
A better fate deserving.—
Besides, thy land itself is insecure:
For oft the glebe, and all its waving load,
Will journey, forc'd off by the mining rain;
And, with its faithless burden, disarrange
Thy neighbour's vale. So Markley-hill of old,
As sung thy bard, Pomona, (in these isles
Yet unador'd;) with all its spreading trees,
Full fraught with apples, chang'd its lofty site.
Let prudent foresight still thy coffers guard.
For tho' the clouds relent in nightly rain,
Tho' thy rank Canes wave lofty in the gale:
Yet will the arrow, ornament of woe,
(Such monarchs oft-times give) their jointing stint;
Yet will winds lodge them, ravening rats destroy,
Or troops of monkeys thy rich harvest steal.
The earth must also wheel around the sun,
And half perform that circuit; ere the bill
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Crackling, o'erflow with a redundant juice;
Poor tastes the liquor; coction long demands,
And highest temper, ere it saccharize;
A meagre produce. Such is Virtue's meed,
Alas, too oft in these degenerate days.
Thy cattle likewise, as they drag the wain,
Charg'd from the beach; in spite of whips and shouts,
Will stop, will pant, will sink beneath the load;
A better fate deserving.—
Besides, thy land itself is insecure:
For oft the glebe, and all its waving load,
Will journey, forc'd off by the mining rain;
And, with its faithless burden, disarrange
Thy neighbour's vale. So Markley-hill of old,
As sung thy bard, Pomona, (in these isles
Yet unador'd;) with all its spreading trees,
Full fraught with apples, chang'd its lofty site.
But, as in life, the golden mean is best;
So happiest he whose green plantation lies
Nor from the hill too far, nor from the shore.
So happiest he whose green plantation lies
Nor from the hill too far, nor from the shore.
19
Planter, if thou with wonder wouldst survey
Redundant harvests, load thy willing soil;
Let sun and rain mature thy deep-hoed land,
And old fat dung co-operate with these.
Be this great truth still present to thy mind;
The half well-cultur'd far exceeds the whole,
Which lust of gain, unconscious of its end,
Ungrateful vexes with unceasing toil.
Redundant harvests, load thy willing soil;
Let sun and rain mature thy deep-hoed land,
And old fat dung co-operate with these.
Be this great truth still present to thy mind;
The half well-cultur'd far exceeds the whole,
Which lust of gain, unconscious of its end,
Ungrateful vexes with unceasing toil.
As, not indulg'd, the richest lands grow poor;
And Liamuiga may, in future times,
If too much urg'd, her barrenness bewail:
So cultivation, on the shallowest soil,
O'erspread with rocky cliffs, will bid the Cane,
With spiry pomp, all bountifully rise.
Thus Britain's flag, should discipline relent,
'Spite of the native courage of her sons,
Would to the lily strike: ah, very far,
Far be that woful day: the lily then
Will rule wide ocean with resistless sway;
And to old Gallia's haughty shore transport
The lessening crops of these delicious isles.
And Liamuiga may, in future times,
If too much urg'd, her barrenness bewail:
So cultivation, on the shallowest soil,
O'erspread with rocky cliffs, will bid the Cane,
With spiry pomp, all bountifully rise.
Thus Britain's flag, should discipline relent,
'Spite of the native courage of her sons,
Would to the lily strike: ah, very far,
Far be that woful day: the lily then
Will rule wide ocean with resistless sway;
And to old Gallia's haughty shore transport
The lessening crops of these delicious isles.
20
Of composts shall the Muse descend to sing,
Nor soil her heavenly plumes? The sacred Muse
Nought sordid deems, but what is base; nought fair
Unless true Virtue stamp it with her seal.
Then, Planter, wouldst thou double thine estate;
Never, ah never, be asham'd to tread
Thy dung-heaps, where the refuse of thy mills,
With all the ashes, all thy coppers yield,
With weeds, mould, dung, and stale, a compost form,
Of force to fertilize the poorest soil.
Nor soil her heavenly plumes? The sacred Muse
Nought sordid deems, but what is base; nought fair
Unless true Virtue stamp it with her seal.
Then, Planter, wouldst thou double thine estate;
Never, ah never, be asham'd to tread
Thy dung-heaps, where the refuse of thy mills,
With all the ashes, all thy coppers yield,
With weeds, mould, dung, and stale, a compost form,
Of force to fertilize the poorest soil.
But, planter, if thy lands lie far remote
And of access are difficult; on these,
Leave the Cane's sapless foliage; and with pens
Wattled, (like those the Muse hath oft-times seen
When frolic fancy led her youthful steps,
In green Dorchestria's plains), the whole inclose:
There well thy stock with provender supply;
The well-fed stock will soon that food repay.
And of access are difficult; on these,
Leave the Cane's sapless foliage; and with pens
Wattled, (like those the Muse hath oft-times seen
When frolic fancy led her youthful steps,
In green Dorchestria's plains), the whole inclose:
There well thy stock with provender supply;
The well-fed stock will soon that food repay.
Some of the skilful teach, and some deny,
That yams improve the soil. In meagre lands,
'Tis known the yam will ne'er to bigness swell;
And from each mould the vegetable tribes,
However frugal, nutriment derive:
Yet may their sheltering vines, their dropping leaves,
Their roots dividing the tenacious glebe,
More than refund the sustenance they draw.
That yams improve the soil. In meagre lands,
21
And from each mould the vegetable tribes,
However frugal, nutriment derive:
Yet may their sheltering vines, their dropping leaves,
Their roots dividing the tenacious glebe,
More than refund the sustenance they draw.
Whether the fattening compost, in each hole,
'Tis best to throw; or, on the surface spread;
Is undetermin'd: Trials must decide.
Unless kind rains and fostering dews descend,
To melt the compost's fertilizing salts;
A stinted plant, deceitful of thy hopes,
Will from those beds slow spring where hot dung lies:
But, if 'tis scatter'd generously o'er all,
The Cane will better bear the solar blaze;
Less rain demand; and, by repeated crops,
Thy land improv'd, its gratitude will show.
'Tis best to throw; or, on the surface spread;
Is undetermin'd: Trials must decide.
Unless kind rains and fostering dews descend,
To melt the compost's fertilizing salts;
A stinted plant, deceitful of thy hopes,
Will from those beds slow spring where hot dung lies:
But, if 'tis scatter'd generously o'er all,
The Cane will better bear the solar blaze;
Less rain demand; and, by repeated crops,
Thy land improv'd, its gratitude will show.
Enough of composts, Muse; of soils, enough:
When best to dig, and when inhume the Cane;
A task how arduous! next demands thy song.
When best to dig, and when inhume the Cane;
A task how arduous! next demands thy song.
22
It not imports beneath what sign thy hoes
The deep trough sink, and ridge alternate raise:
If this from washes guard thy gemmy tops;
And that arrest the moisture these require.
The deep trough sink, and ridge alternate raise:
If this from washes guard thy gemmy tops;
And that arrest the moisture these require.
Yet, should the site of thine estate permit,
Let the trade-wind thy ridges ventilate;
So shall a greener, loftier Cane arise,
And richest nectar in thy coppers foam.
Let the trade-wind thy ridges ventilate;
So shall a greener, loftier Cane arise,
And richest nectar in thy coppers foam.
As art transforms the savage face of things,
And order captivates the harmonious mind;
Let not thy Blacks irregularly hoe:
But, aided by the line, consult the site
Of thy demesnes; and beautify the whole.
So when a monarch rushes to the war,
To drive invasion from his frighted realm;
Some delegated chief the frontier views,
And to each squadron, and brigade, assigns
Their order'd station: Soon the tented field
Brigade and squadron, whiten on the sight;
And fill spectators with an awful joy.
And order captivates the harmonious mind;
Let not thy Blacks irregularly hoe:
But, aided by the line, consult the site
Of thy demesnes; and beautify the whole.
So when a monarch rushes to the war,
To drive invasion from his frighted realm;
Some delegated chief the frontier views,
And to each squadron, and brigade, assigns
Their order'd station: Soon the tented field
23
And fill spectators with an awful joy.
Planter, improvement is the child of time;
What your sires knew not, ye their offspring know:
But hath your art receiv'd Perfection's stamp?
Thou can'st not say.—Unprejudic'd, then learn
Of ancient modes to doubt, and new to try:
And if Philosophy, with Wisdom, deign
Thee to enlighten with their useful lore;
Fair Fame and riches will reward thy toil.
What your sires knew not, ye their offspring know:
But hath your art receiv'd Perfection's stamp?
Thou can'st not say.—Unprejudic'd, then learn
Of ancient modes to doubt, and new to try:
And if Philosophy, with Wisdom, deign
Thee to enlighten with their useful lore;
Fair Fame and riches will reward thy toil.
Then say, ye swains, whom wealth and fame inspire,
Might not the plough, that rolls on rapid wheels,
Save no small labour to the hoe-arm'd gang?
Might not the culture taught the British hinds,
By Ceres' son, unfailing crops secure;
Tho' neither dung nor fallowing lent their aid?
Might not the plough, that rolls on rapid wheels,
Save no small labour to the hoe-arm'd gang?
Might not the culture taught the British hinds,
By Ceres' son, unfailing crops secure;
Tho' neither dung nor fallowing lent their aid?
The cultur'd land recalls the devious Muse;
Propitious to the planter be the call:
For much, my friend, it thee imports to know
The meetest season to commit thy tops,
With best advantage, to the well-dug mould.
The task how difficult, to cull the best
From thwarting sentiments; and best adorn
What Wisdom chuses, in poetic garb!
Yet, Inspiration, come: the theme unsung,
Whence never poet cropt one bloomy wreath;
Its vast importance to my native land,
Whose sweet idea rushes on my mind,
And makes me 'mid this paradise repine;
Urge me to pluck, from Fancy's soaring wing,
A plume to deck Experience hoary brow.
Propitious to the planter be the call:
For much, my friend, it thee imports to know
The meetest season to commit thy tops,
With best advantage, to the well-dug mould.
24
From thwarting sentiments; and best adorn
What Wisdom chuses, in poetic garb!
Yet, Inspiration, come: the theme unsung,
Whence never poet cropt one bloomy wreath;
Its vast importance to my native land,
Whose sweet idea rushes on my mind,
And makes me 'mid this paradise repine;
Urge me to pluck, from Fancy's soaring wing,
A plume to deck Experience hoary brow.
Attend.—The son of Time and Truth declares;
Unless the low-hung clouds drop fatness down,
No bunching plants of vivid green will spring,
In goodly ranks, to fill the planter's eye.
Let then Sagacity, with curious ken,
Remark the various signs of future rain.
The signs of rain, the Mantuan Bard hath sung
In loftiest numbers; friendly to thy swains,
Once fertile Italy: but other marks
Portend the approaching shower, in these hot climes.
Unless the low-hung clouds drop fatness down,
No bunching plants of vivid green will spring,
In goodly ranks, to fill the planter's eye.
Let then Sagacity, with curious ken,
Remark the various signs of future rain.
The signs of rain, the Mantuan Bard hath sung
In loftiest numbers; friendly to thy swains,
Once fertile Italy: but other marks
Portend the approaching shower, in these hot climes.
Short sudden rains, from Ocean's ruffled bed,
Driven by some momentary squalls, will oft
With frequent heavy bubbling drops, down-fall;
While yet the Sun, in cloudless lustre, shines:
And draw their humid train o'er half the isle.
Unhappy he! who journeys then from home,
No shade to screen him. His untimely fate
His wife, his babes, his friends, will soon deplore;
Unless hot wines, dry cloaths, and friction's aid,
His fleeting spirits stay. Yet not even these,
Nor all Apollo's arts, will always bribe
The insidious tyrant death, thrice tyrant here:
Else good Amyntor, him the graces lov'd,
Wisdom caress'd, and Themis call'd her own,
Had liv'd by all admir'd, had now perus'd
“These lines, with all the malice of a friend.”
Driven by some momentary squalls, will oft
With frequent heavy bubbling drops, down-fall;
25
And draw their humid train o'er half the isle.
Unhappy he! who journeys then from home,
No shade to screen him. His untimely fate
His wife, his babes, his friends, will soon deplore;
Unless hot wines, dry cloaths, and friction's aid,
His fleeting spirits stay. Yet not even these,
Nor all Apollo's arts, will always bribe
The insidious tyrant death, thrice tyrant here:
Else good Amyntor, him the graces lov'd,
Wisdom caress'd, and Themis call'd her own,
Had liv'd by all admir'd, had now perus'd
“These lines, with all the malice of a friend.”
Yet future rains the careful may foretell:
Mosquitos; sand-flies, seek the shelter'd roof,
And with fell rage the stranger-guest assail,
Nor spare the sportive child; from their retreats
Cockroaches crawl displeasingly abroad:
These, without pity, let thy slaves destroy;
(Like Harpies, they defile whate'er they touch:)
While those, the smother of combustion quells.
The speckled lizard to its hole retreats,
And black crabs travel from the mountain down;
Thy ducks their feathers prune; thy doves return,
In faithful flocks, and, on the neighbouring roof,
Perch frequent; where, with pleas'd attention, they
Behold the deepening congregated clouds,
With sadness, blot the azure vault of heaven.
Mosquitos; sand-flies, seek the shelter'd roof,
26
Nor spare the sportive child; from their retreats
Cockroaches crawl displeasingly abroad:
These, without pity, let thy slaves destroy;
(Like Harpies, they defile whate'er they touch:)
While those, the smother of combustion quells.
The speckled lizard to its hole retreats,
27
Thy ducks their feathers prune; thy doves return,
In faithful flocks, and, on the neighbouring roof,
Perch frequent; where, with pleas'd attention, they
Behold the deepening congregated clouds,
With sadness, blot the azure vault of heaven.
Now, while the shower depends, and rattle loud
Your doors and windows, haste ye housewives, place
Your spouts and pails; ye Negroes, seek the shade,
Save those who open with the ready hoe
The enriching water-course: for, see, the drops,
Which fell with slight aspersion, now descend
In streams continuous on the laughing land.
The coyest Naiads quit their rocky caves,
And, with delight, run brawling to the main;
While those, who love still visible to glad
The thirsty plains from never-ceasing urns,
Assume more awful majesty, and pour,
With force resistless, down the channel'd rocks.
The rocks, or split, or hurried from their base,
With trees, are whirl'd impetuous to the sea:
Fluctuates the forest; the torn mountains roar:
The main itself recoils for many a league,
While its green face is chang'd to sordid brown.
A grateful freshness every sense pervades;
While beats the heart with unaccustom'd joy:
Her stores fugacious Memory now recalls;
And Fancy prunes her wings for loftiest flights.
The mute creation share the enlivening hour;
Bounds the brisk kid, and wanton plays the lamb.
The drooping plants revive; ten thousand blooms,
Which, with their fragrant scents, perfume the air,
Burst into being; while the Canes put on
Glad Nature's liveliest robe, the vivid green.
Your doors and windows, haste ye housewives, place
Your spouts and pails; ye Negroes, seek the shade,
Save those who open with the ready hoe
The enriching water-course: for, see, the drops,
28
In streams continuous on the laughing land.
The coyest Naiads quit their rocky caves,
And, with delight, run brawling to the main;
While those, who love still visible to glad
The thirsty plains from never-ceasing urns,
Assume more awful majesty, and pour,
With force resistless, down the channel'd rocks.
The rocks, or split, or hurried from their base,
With trees, are whirl'd impetuous to the sea:
Fluctuates the forest; the torn mountains roar:
The main itself recoils for many a league,
While its green face is chang'd to sordid brown.
A grateful freshness every sense pervades;
While beats the heart with unaccustom'd joy:
Her stores fugacious Memory now recalls;
And Fancy prunes her wings for loftiest flights.
The mute creation share the enlivening hour;
Bounds the brisk kid, and wanton plays the lamb.
The drooping plants revive; ten thousand blooms,
Which, with their fragrant scents, perfume the air,
Burst into being; while the Canes put on
Glad Nature's liveliest robe, the vivid green.
29
But chief, let fix'd Attention cast his eye
On the capt mountain, whose high rocky verge
The wild fig canopies, (vast woodland king,
Beneath thy branching shade a banner'd host
May lie in ambush!) and whose shaggy sides,
Trees shade, of endless green, enormous size,
Wondrous in shape, to botany unknown,
Old as the deluge:—There, in secret haunts,
The watery spirits ope their liquid court;
There, with the wood-nymphs, link'd in festal band,
(Soft airs and Phoebus wing them to their arms)
Hold amorous dalliance. Ah, may none profane,
With fire, or steel, their mystic privacy:
For there their fluent offspring first see day,
Coy infants sporting; silver-footed dew
To bathe by night thy sprouts in genial balm;
The green-stol'd Naiad of the tinkling rill,
Whose brow the fern-tree shades; the power of rain
To glad the thirsty soil on which, arrang'd,
The gemmy summits of the Cane await
Thy Negroe-train, (in linen lightly wrapt,)
Who now that painted Iris girds the sky,
(Aerial arch, which Fancy loves to stride!)
Disperse, all-jocund, o'er the long-hoed land.
On the capt mountain, whose high rocky verge
The wild fig canopies, (vast woodland king,
Beneath thy branching shade a banner'd host
May lie in ambush!) and whose shaggy sides,
Trees shade, of endless green, enormous size,
Wondrous in shape, to botany unknown,
Old as the deluge:—There, in secret haunts,
The watery spirits ope their liquid court;
There, with the wood-nymphs, link'd in festal band,
(Soft airs and Phoebus wing them to their arms)
Hold amorous dalliance. Ah, may none profane,
With fire, or steel, their mystic privacy:
For there their fluent offspring first see day,
Coy infants sporting; silver-footed dew
To bathe by night thy sprouts in genial balm;
The green-stol'd Naiad of the tinkling rill,
Whose brow the fern-tree shades; the power of rain
30
The gemmy summits of the Cane await
Thy Negroe-train, (in linen lightly wrapt,)
Who now that painted Iris girds the sky,
(Aerial arch, which Fancy loves to stride!)
Disperse, all-jocund, o'er the long-hoed land.
The bundles some untie; the withered leaves,
Others strip artful off, and careful lay,
Twice one junk, distant in the amplest bed:
O'er these, with hasty hoe, some lightly spread
The mounded interval; and smooth the trench:
Well-pleas'd, the master-swain reviews their toil;
And rolls, in fancy, many a full-fraught cask.
So, when the shield was forg'd for Peleus' Son;
The swarthy Cyclops shar'd the important task:
With bellows, some reviv'd the seeds of fire;
Some, gold, and brass, and steel, together fus'd
In the vast furnace; while a chosen few,
In equal measures lifting their bare arms,
Inform the mass; and, hissing in the wave,
Temper the glowing orb: their sire beholds,
Amaz'd, the wonders of his fusile art.
Others strip artful off, and careful lay,
Twice one junk, distant in the amplest bed:
O'er these, with hasty hoe, some lightly spread
The mounded interval; and smooth the trench:
Well-pleas'd, the master-swain reviews their toil;
And rolls, in fancy, many a full-fraught cask.
So, when the shield was forg'd for Peleus' Son;
The swarthy Cyclops shar'd the important task:
With bellows, some reviv'd the seeds of fire;
Some, gold, and brass, and steel, together fus'd
In the vast furnace; while a chosen few,
In equal measures lifting their bare arms,
Inform the mass; and, hissing in the wave,
Temper the glowing orb: their sire beholds,
Amaz'd, the wonders of his fusile art.
31
While Procyon reigns yet fervid in the sky;
While yet the fiery Sun in Leo rides;
And the Sun's child, the mail'd anana, yields
His regal apple to the ravish'd taste;
And thou green avocato, charm of sense,
Thy ripened marrow liberally bestow'st;
Begin the distant mountain-land to plant:
So shall thy Canes defy November's cold,
Ungenial to the upland young; so best,
Unstinted by the arrow's deadening power,
Long yellow joints shall flow with generous juice.
While yet the fiery Sun in Leo rides;
And the Sun's child, the mail'd anana, yields
His regal apple to the ravish'd taste;
And thou green avocato, charm of sense,
Thy ripened marrow liberally bestow'st;
Begin the distant mountain-land to plant:
So shall thy Canes defy November's cold,
Ungenial to the upland young; so best,
Unstinted by the arrow's deadening power,
Long yellow joints shall flow with generous juice.
But, till the lemon, orange, and the lime,
Amid their verdant umbrage, countless glow
With fragrant fruit of vegetable gold;
'Till yellow plantanes bend the unstain'd bough
With crooked clusters, prodigally full;
'Till Capricorn command the cloudy sky;
And moist Aquarius melt in daily showers,
Friend to the Cane-isles; trust not thou thy tops,
Thy future riches, to the low-land plain:
And if kind Heaven, in pity to thy prayers,
Shed genial influence; as the earth absolves
Her annual circuit, thy rich ripened Canes
Shall load thy waggons, mules, and Negroe-train.
Amid their verdant umbrage, countless glow
With fragrant fruit of vegetable gold;
'Till yellow plantanes bend the unstain'd bough
With crooked clusters, prodigally full;
'Till Capricorn command the cloudy sky;
And moist Aquarius melt in daily showers,
32
Thy future riches, to the low-land plain:
And if kind Heaven, in pity to thy prayers,
Shed genial influence; as the earth absolves
Her annual circuit, thy rich ripened Canes
Shall load thy waggons, mules, and Negroe-train.
But chief thee, Planter, it imports to mark
(Whether thou breathe the mountain's humid air,
Or pant with heat continual on the plain;)
What months relent, and which from rain are free.
(Whether thou breathe the mountain's humid air,
Or pant with heat continual on the plain;)
What months relent, and which from rain are free.
In different islands of the ocean-stream,
Even in the different parts of the same isle,
The seasons vary; yet attention soon
Will give thee each variety to know.
This once observ'd; at such a time inhume
Thy plants, that, when they joint, (important age,
Like youth just stepping into life) the clouds
May constantly bedew them: so shall they
Avoid those ails, which else their manhood kill.
Even in the different parts of the same isle,
The seasons vary; yet attention soon
Will give thee each variety to know.
This once observ'd; at such a time inhume
Thy plants, that, when they joint, (important age,
Like youth just stepping into life) the clouds
May constantly bedew them: so shall they
Avoid those ails, which else their manhood kill.
Six times the changeful moon must blunt her horns,
And fill with borrowed light her silvery urn;
Ere thy tops, trusted to the mountain-land,
Commence their jointing: but four moons suffice
To bring to puberty the low-land Cane.
And fill with borrowed light her silvery urn;
33
Commence their jointing: but four moons suffice
To bring to puberty the low-land Cane.
In plants, in beasts, in man's imperial race,
An alien mixture meliorates the breed;
Hence Canes, that sickened dwarfish on the plain,
Will shoot with giant-vigour on the hill.
Thus all depends on all; so God ordains.
Then let not man for little selfish ends,
(Britain, remember this important truth;)
Presume the principle to counteract
Of universal love; for God is love,
And wide creation shares alike his care.
An alien mixture meliorates the breed;
Hence Canes, that sickened dwarfish on the plain,
Will shoot with giant-vigour on the hill.
Thus all depends on all; so God ordains.
Then let not man for little selfish ends,
(Britain, remember this important truth;)
Presume the principle to counteract
Of universal love; for God is love,
And wide creation shares alike his care.
'Tis said by some, and not unletter'd they,
That chief the Planter, if he wealth desire,
Should note the phases of the fickle moon.
On thee, sweet empress of the night, depend
The tides; stern Neptune pays his court to thee;
The winds, obedient at thy bidding shift,
And tempests rise or fall; even lordly man,
Thine energy controls.—Not so the Cane;
The Cane its independency may boast,
Tho' some less noble plants thine influence own.
That chief the Planter, if he wealth desire,
Should note the phases of the fickle moon.
On thee, sweet empress of the night, depend
The tides; stern Neptune pays his court to thee;
The winds, obedient at thy bidding shift,
And tempests rise or fall; even lordly man,
Thine energy controls.—Not so the Cane;
The Cane its independency may boast,
Tho' some less noble plants thine influence own.
34
Of mountain-lands oeconomy permits
A third, in Canes of mighty growth to rise:
But, in the low-land plain, the half will yield
Tho' not so lofty, yet a richer Cane,
For many a crop; if seasons glad the soil.
A third, in Canes of mighty growth to rise:
But, in the low-land plain, the half will yield
Tho' not so lofty, yet a richer Cane,
For many a crop; if seasons glad the soil.
While rolls the Sun from Aries to the Bull,
And till the Virgin his hot beams inflame;
The Cane, with richest, most redundant juice,
Thy spacious coppers fills. Then manage so,
By planting in succession; that thy crops
The wondering daughters of the main may waft
To Britain's shore, ere Libra weigh the year:
So shall thy merchant chearful credit grant,
And well-earn'd opulence thy cares repay.
And till the Virgin his hot beams inflame;
The Cane, with richest, most redundant juice,
Thy spacious coppers fills. Then manage so,
By planting in succession; that thy crops
The wondering daughters of the main may waft
To Britain's shore, ere Libra weigh the year:
So shall thy merchant chearful credit grant,
And well-earn'd opulence thy cares repay.
Thy fields thus planted; to secure the Canes
From the Goat's baneful tooth; the churning boar;
From thieves; from fire or casual or design'd;
Unfailing herbage to thy toiling herds
Would'st thou afford; and the spectators charm
With beauteous prospects: let the frequent hedge
Thy green plantation, regular, divide.
From the Goat's baneful tooth; the churning boar;
From thieves; from fire or casual or design'd;
Unfailing herbage to thy toiling herds
Would'st thou afford; and the spectators charm
With beauteous prospects: let the frequent hedge
Thy green plantation, regular, divide.
35
With limes, with lemons, let thy fences glow,
Grateful to sense; now children of this clime:
And here and there let oranges erect
Their shapely beauties, and perfume the sky.
Nor less delightful blooms the logwood-hedge,
Whose wood to coction yields a precious balm,
Specific in the flux: Endemial ail,
Much cause have I to weep thy fatal sway.—
But God is just, and man must not repine.
Nor shall the ricinus unnoted pass;
Yet, if the cholic's deathful pangs thou dread'st,
Taste not its luscious nut. The acassee,
With which the sons of Jewry, stiff-neck'd race,
Conjecture says, our God-Messiah crown'd;
Soon shoots a thick impenetrable fence,
Whose scent perfumes the night and morning sky,
Tho' baneful be its root. The privet too,
Whose white flowers rival the first drifts of snow
On Grampia's piny hills; (O might the muse
Tread, flush'd with health, the Grampian hills again!)
Emblem of innocence shall grace my song.
Boast of the shrubby tribe, carnation fair,
Nor thou repine, tho' late the muse record
Thy bloomy honours. Tipt with burnish'd gold,
And with imperial purple crested high,
More gorgeous than the train of Juno's bird,
Thy bloomy honours oft the curious muse
Hath seen transported: seen the humming bird,
Whose burnish'd neck bright glows with verdant gold;
Least of the winged vagrants of the sky,
Yet dauntless as the strong-pounc'd bird of Jove;
With fluttering vehemence attack thy cups,
To rob them of their nectar's luscious store.
Grateful to sense; now children of this clime:
And here and there let oranges erect
Their shapely beauties, and perfume the sky.
Nor less delightful blooms the logwood-hedge,
Whose wood to coction yields a precious balm,
Specific in the flux: Endemial ail,
Much cause have I to weep thy fatal sway.—
But God is just, and man must not repine.
Nor shall the ricinus unnoted pass;
36
Taste not its luscious nut. The acassee,
With which the sons of Jewry, stiff-neck'd race,
Conjecture says, our God-Messiah crown'd;
Soon shoots a thick impenetrable fence,
Whose scent perfumes the night and morning sky,
Tho' baneful be its root. The privet too,
Whose white flowers rival the first drifts of snow
On Grampia's piny hills; (O might the muse
Tread, flush'd with health, the Grampian hills again!)
Emblem of innocence shall grace my song.
Boast of the shrubby tribe, carnation fair,
Nor thou repine, tho' late the muse record
37
And with imperial purple crested high,
More gorgeous than the train of Juno's bird,
Thy bloomy honours oft the curious muse
Hath seen transported: seen the humming bird,
Whose burnish'd neck bright glows with verdant gold;
Least of the winged vagrants of the sky,
Yet dauntless as the strong-pounc'd bird of Jove;
With fluttering vehemence attack thy cups,
To rob them of their nectar's luscious store.
But if with stones thy meagre lands are spread;
Be these collected, they will pay thy toil:
And let Vitruvius, aided by the line,
Fence thy plantations with a thick-built wall.
On this lay cuttings of the prickly pear;
They soon a formidable fence will shoot:
Wild liquorice here its red beads loves to hang,
Whilst scandent blossoms, yellow, purple, blue,
Unhurt, wind round its shield-like leaf and spears.
Nor is its fruit inelegant of taste,
Tho' more its colour charms the ravish'd eye;
Vermeil, as youthful beauty's roseat hue;
As thine, fair Christobelle: ah, when will fate,
That long hath scowl'd relentless on the bard,
Give him some small plantation to inclose,
Which he may call his own? Not wealth he craves,
But independance: yet if thou, sweet maid,
In health and virtue bloom; tho' worse betide,
Thy smile will smoothe adversity's rough brow.
Be these collected, they will pay thy toil:
And let Vitruvius, aided by the line,
Fence thy plantations with a thick-built wall.
On this lay cuttings of the prickly pear;
38
Wild liquorice here its red beads loves to hang,
Whilst scandent blossoms, yellow, purple, blue,
Unhurt, wind round its shield-like leaf and spears.
Nor is its fruit inelegant of taste,
Tho' more its colour charms the ravish'd eye;
Vermeil, as youthful beauty's roseat hue;
As thine, fair Christobelle: ah, when will fate,
That long hath scowl'd relentless on the bard,
Give him some small plantation to inclose,
Which he may call his own? Not wealth he craves,
39
In health and virtue bloom; tho' worse betide,
Thy smile will smoothe adversity's rough brow.
In Italy's green bounds, the myrtle shoots
A fragrant fence, and blossoms in the sun.
Here, on the rockiest verge of these blest isles,
With little care, the plant of love would grow.
Then to the citron join the plant of love,
And with their scent and shade enrich your isles.
A fragrant fence, and blossoms in the sun.
Here, on the rockiest verge of these blest isles,
With little care, the plant of love would grow.
Then to the citron join the plant of love,
And with their scent and shade enrich your isles.
Yet some pretend, and not unspecious they,
The wood-nymphs foster the contagious blast.
Foes to the Dryads, they remorseless fell
Each shrub of shade, each tree of spreading root,
That woo the first glad fannings of the breeze.
Far from the muse be such inhuman thoughts;
Far better recks she of the woodland tribes,
Earth's eldest birth, and earth's best ornament.
Ask him, whom rude necessity compels
To dare the noontide fervor, in this clime,
Ah, most intensely hot; how much he longs
For cooling vast impenetrable shade?
The muse, alas, th' experienc'd muse can tell:
Oft hath she travell'd, while solstitial beams,
Shot yellow deaths on the devoted land;
Oft, oft hath she their ill-judg'd avarice blam'd,
Who, to the stranger, to their slaves and herds,
Denied this best of joys, the breezy shade.
And are there none, whom generous pity warms,
Friends to the woodland reign; whom shades delight?
Who, round their green domains, plant hedge-row trees;
And with cool cedars, screen the public way?
Yes, good Montano; friend of man was he:
Him persecution, virtue's deadliest foe,
Drove, a lorn exile, from his native shore;
From his green hills, where many a fleecy flock,
Where many a heifer cropt their wholesome food;
And many a swain, obedient to his rule,
Him their lov'd master, their protector, own'd.
Yet, from that paradise, to Indian wilds,
To tropic suns, to fell barbaric hinds,
A poor outcast, an alien, did he roam;
His wife, the partner of his better hours,
And one sweet infant, chear'd his dismal way.
Unus'd to labour; yet the orient sun,
Yet western Phœbus, saw him wield the hoe.
At first a garden all his wants supplied,
(For Temperance sat chearful at his board,)
With yams, cassada, and the food of strength,
Thrice-wholesome tanies: while a neighbouring dell,
(Which nature to the soursop had resign'd,)
With ginger, and with Raleigh's pungent plant,
Gave wealth; and gold bought better land and slaves.
Heaven bless'd his labour: now the cotton-shrub,
Grac'd with broad yellow flowers, unhurt by worms,
O'er many an acre shed its whitest down:
The power of rain, in genial moisture bath'd
His cacao-walk, which teem'd with marrowy pods;
His coffee bath'd, that glow'd with berries, red
As Danae's lip, or, Theodosia, thine,
Yet countless as the pebbles on the shore;
Oft, while drought kill'd his impious neighbour's grove.
In time, a numerous gang of sturdy slaves,
Well-fed, well-cloath'd, all emulous to gain
Their master's smile, who treated them like men;
Blacken'd his Cane-lands: which with vast increase,
Beyond the wish of avarice, paid his toil.
No cramps, with sudden death, surpriz'd his mules;
No glander-pest his airy stables thinn'd:
And, if disorder seiz'd his Negroe-train,
Celsus was call'd, and pining Illness flew.
His gate stood wide to all; but chief the poor,
The unfriended stranger, and the sickly, shar'd
His prompt munificence: No surly dog,
Nor surlier Ethiop, their approach debarr'd.
The Muse, that pays this tribute to his fame,
Oft hath escap'd the sun's meridian blaze,
Beneath yon tamarind-vista, which his hands
Planted; and which, impervious to the sun,
His latter days beheld.—One noon he sat
Beneath its breezy shade, what time the sun
His sultry vengeance from the Lion pour'd;
And calmly thus his eldest hope addrest.
The wood-nymphs foster the contagious blast.
Foes to the Dryads, they remorseless fell
Each shrub of shade, each tree of spreading root,
That woo the first glad fannings of the breeze.
Far from the muse be such inhuman thoughts;
Far better recks she of the woodland tribes,
Earth's eldest birth, and earth's best ornament.
Ask him, whom rude necessity compels
To dare the noontide fervor, in this clime,
Ah, most intensely hot; how much he longs
40
The muse, alas, th' experienc'd muse can tell:
Oft hath she travell'd, while solstitial beams,
Shot yellow deaths on the devoted land;
Oft, oft hath she their ill-judg'd avarice blam'd,
Who, to the stranger, to their slaves and herds,
Denied this best of joys, the breezy shade.
And are there none, whom generous pity warms,
Friends to the woodland reign; whom shades delight?
Who, round their green domains, plant hedge-row trees;
And with cool cedars, screen the public way?
Yes, good Montano; friend of man was he:
Him persecution, virtue's deadliest foe,
Drove, a lorn exile, from his native shore;
From his green hills, where many a fleecy flock,
Where many a heifer cropt their wholesome food;
And many a swain, obedient to his rule,
Him their lov'd master, their protector, own'd.
Yet, from that paradise, to Indian wilds,
41
A poor outcast, an alien, did he roam;
His wife, the partner of his better hours,
And one sweet infant, chear'd his dismal way.
Unus'd to labour; yet the orient sun,
Yet western Phœbus, saw him wield the hoe.
At first a garden all his wants supplied,
(For Temperance sat chearful at his board,)
With yams, cassada, and the food of strength,
Thrice-wholesome tanies: while a neighbouring dell,
42
With ginger, and with Raleigh's pungent plant,
Gave wealth; and gold bought better land and slaves.
Heaven bless'd his labour: now the cotton-shrub,
Grac'd with broad yellow flowers, unhurt by worms,
O'er many an acre shed its whitest down:
The power of rain, in genial moisture bath'd
His cacao-walk, which teem'd with marrowy pods;
43
As Danae's lip, or, Theodosia, thine,
Yet countless as the pebbles on the shore;
Oft, while drought kill'd his impious neighbour's grove.
In time, a numerous gang of sturdy slaves,
44
Their master's smile, who treated them like men;
Blacken'd his Cane-lands: which with vast increase,
Beyond the wish of avarice, paid his toil.
No cramps, with sudden death, surpriz'd his mules;
No glander-pest his airy stables thinn'd:
And, if disorder seiz'd his Negroe-train,
Celsus was call'd, and pining Illness flew.
His gate stood wide to all; but chief the poor,
The unfriended stranger, and the sickly, shar'd
His prompt munificence: No surly dog,
Nor surlier Ethiop, their approach debarr'd.
The Muse, that pays this tribute to his fame,
Oft hath escap'd the sun's meridian blaze,
Beneath yon tamarind-vista, which his hands
45
His latter days beheld.—One noon he sat
Beneath its breezy shade, what time the sun
His sultry vengeance from the Lion pour'd;
And calmly thus his eldest hope addrest.
“Be pious, be industrious, be humane;
“From proud oppression guard the labouring hind.
“Whate'er their creed, God is the Sire of man,
“His image they; then dare not thou, my son,
“To bar the gates of mercy on mankind.
“Your foes forgive, for merit must make foes;
“And in each virtue far surpass your sire.
“Your means are ample, Heaven a heart bestow!
“So health and peace shall be your portion here;
“And yon bright sky, to which my soul aspires,
“Shall bless you with eternity of joy.”
“From proud oppression guard the labouring hind.
“Whate'er their creed, God is the Sire of man,
“His image they; then dare not thou, my son,
“To bar the gates of mercy on mankind.
“Your foes forgive, for merit must make foes;
“And in each virtue far surpass your sire.
“Your means are ample, Heaven a heart bestow!
“So health and peace shall be your portion here;
“And yon bright sky, to which my soul aspires,
“Shall bless you with eternity of joy.”
46
He spoke, and ere the swift-wing'd zumbadore
The mountain-desert startl'd with his hum;
Ere fire-flies trimm'd their vital lamps; and ere
Dun Evening trod on rapid Twilight's heel:
His knell was rung;—
And all the Cane-lands wept their father lost.
The mountain-desert startl'd with his hum;
Ere fire-flies trimm'd their vital lamps; and ere
Dun Evening trod on rapid Twilight's heel:
His knell was rung;—
And all the Cane-lands wept their father lost.
Muse, yet awhile indulge my rapid course;
And I'll unharness, soon, the foaming steeds.
And I'll unharness, soon, the foaming steeds.
If Jove descend, propitious to thy vows,
In frequent floods of rain; successive crops
Of weeds will spring. Nor venture to repine,
Tho' oft their toil thy little gang renew;
Their toil tenfold the melting heavens repay:
For soon thy plants will magnitude acquire,
To crush all undergrowth; before the sun,
The planets thus withdraw their puny fires.
And tho' untutor'd, then, thy Canes will shoot:
Care meliorates their growth. The trenches fill
With their collateral mold; as in a town
Which foes have long beleaguer'd, unawares
A strong detachment sallies from each gate,
And levels all the labours of the plain.
In frequent floods of rain; successive crops
Of weeds will spring. Nor venture to repine,
Tho' oft their toil thy little gang renew;
Their toil tenfold the melting heavens repay:
For soon thy plants will magnitude acquire,
47
The planets thus withdraw their puny fires.
And tho' untutor'd, then, thy Canes will shoot:
Care meliorates their growth. The trenches fill
With their collateral mold; as in a town
Which foes have long beleaguer'd, unawares
A strong detachment sallies from each gate,
And levels all the labours of the plain.
And now thy Cane's first blades their verdure lose,
And hang their idle heads. Be these stript off;
So shall fresh sportive airs their joints embrace,
And by their dalliance give the sap to rise.
But, O beware, let no unskilful hand
The vivid foliage tear: Their channel'd spouts,
Well-pleas'd, the watery nutriment convey,
With filial duty, to the thirsty stem;
And, spreading wide their reverential arms,
Defend their parent from solstitial skies.
And hang their idle heads. Be these stript off;
So shall fresh sportive airs their joints embrace,
And by their dalliance give the sap to rise.
But, O beware, let no unskilful hand
The vivid foliage tear: Their channel'd spouts,
Well-pleas'd, the watery nutriment convey,
With filial duty, to the thirsty stem;
And, spreading wide their reverential arms,
Defend their parent from solstitial skies.
The End of Book I.
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