Occasional Poems Translations, Fables, Tales, &c. By William Somervile |
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| II. |
FABLE V. |
| IX. |
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| XI. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
 | Occasional Poems |  |
172
FABLE V.
The Dog and the Bear.
------ Delirant Reges, plectuntur Achivi,
Seditione, Dolis, Scelere, atq; Libidine & Irâ
Iliacos intramuros, peccatur, & extra.
Hor.
Seditione, Dolis, Scelere, atq; Libidine & Irâ
Iliacos intramuros, peccatur, & extra.
Hor.
Towser
of right Hockleian Sire,
A Dog of Mettle, and of Fire,
With Ursin grim, an errant Bear,
Maintain'd a long and dubious War:
Oft Ursin on his Back was tost,
And Towser many a Collop lost;
Capricious Fortune would declare,
Now for the Dog, then for the Bear.
Thus having try'd their Courage fairly,
Brave Ursin first desir'd a Parly;
Stout Combatant (quoth he) whose Might
I've felt in many a bloody Fight,
Tell me the cause of all this pother?
And why we worry one another?
That's a moot Point, the Cur reply'd,
Our Masters only can decide,
While thee and I our Hearts-Blood spill,
They prudently their Pockets fill;
Halloo us on with all their might,
To turn a Penny by the Fight.
If that's the case, return'd the Bear,
'Tis time at last to end the War;
Thou keep thy Teeth, and I my Claws,
To combat in a nobler Cause;
Sleep in a whole Skin, I advise,
And let them bleed, who gain the Prize.
A Dog of Mettle, and of Fire,
With Ursin grim, an errant Bear,
Maintain'd a long and dubious War:
Oft Ursin on his Back was tost,
And Towser many a Collop lost;
Capricious Fortune would declare,
Now for the Dog, then for the Bear.
Thus having try'd their Courage fairly,
Brave Ursin first desir'd a Parly;
173
I've felt in many a bloody Fight,
Tell me the cause of all this pother?
And why we worry one another?
That's a moot Point, the Cur reply'd,
Our Masters only can decide,
While thee and I our Hearts-Blood spill,
They prudently their Pockets fill;
Halloo us on with all their might,
To turn a Penny by the Fight.
If that's the case, return'd the Bear,
'Tis time at last to end the War;
Thou keep thy Teeth, and I my Claws,
To combat in a nobler Cause;
Sleep in a whole Skin, I advise,
And let them bleed, who gain the Prize.
MORAL.
Parties enrag'd on one another fall,The Butcher and the Bear-ward pocket all.
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