BOOK III.

THE ARGUMENT.

Of King Edgar and his imposing a tribute of wolves' heads upon the kings of Wales: from hence a transition to fox-hunting, which is described in all its parts.--Censure of an over-numerous pack.--Of the several engines to destroy foxes, and other wild beasts.--The steel-trap described, and the manner of using it.--Description of the pitfall for the lion; and another for the elephant.--The ancient way of hunting the tiger with a mirror.--The Arabian manner of hunting the wild boar.--Description of the royal stag-chase at Windsor Forest.--Concludes with an address to his Majesty, and an eulogy upon mercy.

In Albion's isle when glorious Edgar reigned, He wisely provident, from her white cliffs Launched half her forests, and with numerous fleets Covered his wide domain: there proudly rode Lord of the deep, the great prerogative Of British monarchs. Each invader bold, Dane and Norwegian, at a distance gazed, And disappointed, gnashed his teeth in vain. He scoured the seas, and to remotest shores With swelling sails the trembling corsair fled. _10 Rich commerce flourished; and with busy oars Dashed the resounding surge. Nor less at land His royal cares; wise, potent, gracious prince! His subjects from their cruel foes he saved, And from rapacious savages their flocks. Cambria's proud kings (though with reluctance) paid Their tributary wolves; head after head, In full account, till the woods yield no more, And all the ravenous race extinct is lost. In fertile pastures, more securely grazed _20 The social troops; and soon their large increase With curling fleeces whitened all the plains. But yet, alas! the wily fox remained, A subtle, pilfering foe, prowling around 24 In midnight shades, and wakeful to destroy. In the full fold, the poor defenceless lamb, Seized by his guileful arts, with sweet warm blood Supplies a rich repast. The mournful ewe, Her dearest treasure lost, through the dun night Wanders perplexed, and darkling bleats in vain: _30 While in the adjacent bush, poor Philomel, (Herself a parent once, till wanton churls Despoiled her nest) joins in her loud laments, With sweeter notes, and more melodious woe. For these nocturnal thieves, huntsman, prepare Thy sharpest vengeance. Oh! how glorious 'tis To right the oppressed, and bring the felon vile To just disgrace! Ere yet the morning peep, Or stars retire from the first blush of day, With thy far-echoing voice alarm thy pack, _40 And rouse thy bold compeers. Then to the copse, Thick with entangling grass, or prickly furze, With silence lead thy many-coloured hounds, In all their beauty's pride. See! how they range Dispersed, how busily this way and that, They cross, examining with curious nose Each likely haunt. Hark! on the drag I hear Their doubtful notes, preluding to a cry More nobly full, and swelled with every mouth. As straggling armies at the trumpet's voice, _50 Press to their standard; hither all repair, And hurry through the woods; with hasty step Bustling, and full of hope; now driven on heaps They push, they strive; while from his kennel sneaks The conscious villain. See! he skulks along, Sleek at the shepherd's cost, and plump with meals Purloined. So thrive the wicked here below. Though high his brush he bear, though tipped with white It gaily shine; yet ere the sun declined Recall the shades of night, the pampered rogue _60 Shall rue his fate reversed; and at his heels Behold the just avenger, swift to seize His forfeit head, and thirsting for his blood. Heavens! what melodious strains! how beat our hearts Big with tumultuous joy! the loaded gales Breathe harmony; and as the tempest drives From wood to wood, through every dark recess The forest thunders, and the mountains shake. The chorus swells; less various, and less sweet The trilling notes, when in those very groves, _70 The feathered choristers salute the spring, And every bush in concert joins; or when The master's hand, in modulated air, Bids the loud organ breathe, and all the powers Of music in one instrument combine, An universal minstrelsy. And now In vain each earth he tries, the doors are barred Impregnable, nor is the covert safe; He pants for purer air. Hark! what loud shouts Re-echo through the groves! he breaks away, _80 Shrill horns proclaim his flight. Each straggling hound Strains o'er the lawn to reach the distant pack. 'Tis triumph all and joy. Now, my brave youths, Now give a loose to the clean generous steed; Flourish the whip, nor spare the galling spur; But in the madness of delight, forget Your fears. Far o'er the rocky hills we range, And dangerous our course; but in the brave True courage never fails. In vain the stream In foaming eddies whirls; in vain the ditch _90 Wide-gaping threatens death. The craggy steep Where the poor dizzy shepherd crawls with care, And clings to every twig, gives us no pain; But down we sweep, as stoops the falcon bold To pounce his prey. Then up the opponent hill, By the swift motion slung, we mount aloft: So ships in winter-seas now sliding sink Adown the steepy wave, then tossed on high Ride on the billows, and defy the storm. What lengths we pass! where will the wandering chase _100 Lead us bewildered! smooth as the swallows skim The new-shorn mead, and far more swift we fly. See my brave pack! how to the head they press, Jostling in close array; then more diffuse Obliquely wheel, while from their opening mouths The vollied thunder breaks. So when the cranes Their annual voyage steer, with wanton wing Their figure oft they change, and their loud clang From cloud to cloud rebounds. How far behind The hunter-crew, wide straggling o'er the plain! _110 The panting courser now with trembling nerves Begins to reel; urged by the goring spur, Makes many a faint effort: he snorts, he foams, The big round drops run trickling down his sides, With sweat and blood distained. Look back and view The strange confusion of the vale below, Where sour vexation reigns; see yon poor jade, In vain the impatient rider frets and swears, With galling spurs harrows his mangled sides; He can no more: his stiff unpliant limbs _120 Rooted in earth, unmoved and fixed he stands, For every cruel curse returns a groan, And sobs, and faints, and dies. Who without grief Can view that pampered steed, his master's joy, His minion, and his daily care, well clothed, Well fed with every nicer cate; no cost, No labour spared; who, when the flying chase Broke from the copse, without a rival led The numerous train: now a sad spectacle Of pride brought low, and humbled insolence, _130 Drove like a panniered ass, and scourged along. While these with loosened reins, and dangling heels, Hang on their reeling palfreys, that scarce bear Their weights; another in the treacherous bog Lies floundering half engulfed. What biting thoughts Torment the abandoned crew! Old age laments His vigour spent: the tall, plump, brawny youth Curses his cumbrous bulk; and envies now The short Pygmean race, he whilom kenn'd With proud insulting leer. A chosen few _140 Alone the sport enjoy, nor droop beneath Their pleasing toils. Here, huntsman, from this height Observe yon birds of prey; if I can judge, 'Tis there the villain lurks; they hover round And claim him as their own. Was I not right? See! there he creeps along; his brush he drags, And sweeps the mire impure; from his wide jaws His tongue unmoistened hangs; symptoms too sure Of sudden death. Ha! yet he flies, nor yields To black despair. But one loose more, and all _150 His wiles are vain. Hark! through yon village now The rattling clamour rings. The barns, the cots And leafless elms return the joyous sounds. Through every homestall, and through every yard, His midnight walks, panting, forlorn, he flies; Through every hole he sneaks, through every jakes Plunging he wades besmeared, and fondly hopes In a superior stench to lose his own: But faithful to the track, the unerring hounds With peals of echoing vengeance close pursue. _160 And now distressed, no sheltering covert near, Into the hen-roost creeps, whose walls with gore Distained attest his guilt. There, villain, there Expect thy fate deserved. And soon from thence The pack inquisitive, with clamour loud, Drag out their trembling prize; and on his blood With greedy transport feast. In bolder notes Each sounding horn proclaims the felon dead: And all the assembled village shouts for joy. The farmer who beholds his mortal foe _170 Stretched at his feet, applauds the glorious deed, And grateful calls us to a short repast! In the full glass the liquid amber smiles, Our native product. And his good old mate With choicest viands heaps the liberal board, To crown our triumphs, and reward our toils. Here must the instructive Muse (but with respect) Censure that numerous pack, that crowd of state, With which the vain profusion of the great Covers the lawn, and shakes the trembling copse. _180 Pompous incumbrance! A magnificence Useless, vexatious! For the wily fox, Safe in the increasing number of his foes, Kens well the great advantage: slinks behind And slily creeps through the same beaten track, And hunts them step by step; then views escaped With inward ecstasy, the panting throng In their own footsteps puzzled, foiled and lost. So when proud Eastern kings summon to arms Their gaudy legions, from far distant climes _190 They flock in crowds, unpeopling half a world: But when the day of battle calls them forth To charge the well-trained foe, a band compact Of chosen veterans; they press blindly on, In heaps confused, by their own weapons fall, A smoking carnage scattered o'er the plain. Nor hounds alone this noxious brood destroy: The plundered warrener full many a wile Devises to entrap his greedy foe, Fat with nocturnal spoils. At close of day, _200 With silence drags his trail; then from the ground Pares thin the close-grazed turf, there with nice hand Covers the latent death, with curious springs Prepared to fly at once, whene'er the tread Of man or beast unwarily shall press The yielding surface. By the indented steel With gripe tenacious held, the felon grins, And struggles, but in vain: yet oft 'tis known, When every art has failed, the captive fox Has shared the wounded joint, and with a limb _210 Compounded for his life. But if perchance In the deep pitfall plunged, there's no escape; But unreprieved he dies, and bleached in air The jest of clowns, his reeking carcase hangs. Of these are various kinds; not even the king Of brutes evades this deep devouring grave: But by the wily African betrayed, Heedless of fate, within its gaping jaws Expires indignant. When the orient beam With blushes paints the dawn; and all the race _220 Carnivorous, with blood full-gorged, retire Into their darksome cells, there satiate snore O'er dripping offals, and the mangled limbs Of men and beasts; the painful forester 224 Climbs the high hills, whose proud aspiring tops, With the tall cedar crowned, and taper fir, Assail the clouds. There 'mong the craggy rocks, And thickets intricate, trembling he views His footsteps in the sand; the dismal road And avenue to death. Hither he calls _230 His watchful bands; and low into the ground A pit they sink, full many a fathom deep. Then in the midst a column high is reared, The butt of some fair tree; upon whose top A lamb is placed, just ravished from his dam. And next a wall they build, with stones and earth Encircling round, and hiding from all view The dreadful precipice. Now when the shades Of night hang lowering o'er the mountain's brow; And hunger keen, and pungent thirst of blood, _240 Rouse up the slothful beast, he shakes his sides, Slow-rising from his lair, and stretches wide His ravenous jaws, with recent gore distained. The forests tremble, as he roars aloud, Impatient to destroy. O'erjoyed he hears The bleating innocent, that claims in vain The shepherd's care, and seeks with piteous moan The foodful teat; himself, alas! designed Another's meal. For now the greedy brute Winds him from far; and leaping o'er the mound _250 To seize his trembling prey, headlong is plunged Into the deep abyss. Prostrate he lies Astunned and impotent. Ah! what avail Thine eye-balls flashing fire, thy length of tail, That lashes thy broad sides, thy jaws besmeared With blood and offals crude, thy shaggy mane The terror of the woods, thy stately port, And bulk enormous, since by stratagem Thy strength is foiled? Unequal is the strife, When sovereign reason combats brutal rage. _260 On distant Ethiopia's sun-burnt coasts, The black inhabitants a pitfall frame, But of a different kind, and different use. With slender poles the wide capacious mouth, And hurdles slight, they close; o'er these is spread A floor of verdant turf, with all its flowers Smiling delusive, and from strictest search Concealing the deep grave that yawns below. Then boughs of trees they cut, with tempting fruit Of various kinds surcharged; the downy peach, _270 The clustering vine, and of bright golden rind The fragrant orange. Soon as evening gray Advances slow, besprinkling all around With kind refreshing dews the thirsty glebe, The stately elephant from the close shade With step majestic strides, eager to taste The cooler breeze, that from the sea-beat shore Delightful breathes, or in the limpid stream To lave his panting sides; joyous he scents The rich repast, unweeting of the death _280 That lurks within. And soon he sporting breaks The brittle boughs, and greedily devours The fruit delicious. Ah! too dearly bought; The price is life. For now the treacherous turf Trembling gives way; and the unwieldy beast Self-sinking, drops into the dark profound. So when dilated vapours, struggling heave The incumbent earth; if chance the caverned ground Shrinking subside, and the thin surface yield, Down sinks at once the ponderous dome, engulfed _290 With all its towers. Subtle, delusive man! How various are thy wiles! artful to kill Thy savage foes, a dull unthinking race! Fierce from his lair, springs forth the speckled pard, Thirsting for blood, and eager to destroy; The huntsman flies, but to his flight alone Confides not: at convenient distance fixed, A polished mirror stops in full career The furious brute: he there his image views; Spots against spots with rage improving glow; _300 Another pard his bristly whiskers curls, Grins as he grins, fierce-menacing, and wide Distends his opening jaws; himself against Himself opposed, and with dread vengeance armed. The huntsman now secure, with fatal aim Directs the pointed spear, by which transfixed He dies, and with him dies the rival shade. Thus man innumerous engines forms, to assail The savage kind: but most the docile horse, Swift and confederate with man, annoys _310 His brethren of the plains; without whose aid The hunter's arts are vain, unskilled to wage With the more active brutes an equal war. But borne by him, without the well-trained pack, Man dares his foe, on wings of wind secure. Him the fierce Arab mounts, and with his troop Of bold compeers, ranges the deserts wild, Where by the magnet's aid, the traveller Steers his untrodden course; yet oft on land Is wrecked, in the high-rolling waves of sand _320 Immersed and lost; while these intrepid bands, Safe in their horses' speed, out-fly the storm, And scouring round, make men and beasts their prey. The grisly boar is singled from his herd As large as that in Erimanthian woods. A match for Hercules. Round him they fly In circles wide; and each in passing sends His feathered death into his brawny sides. But perilous the attempt. For if the steed Haply too near approach; or the loose earth _330 His footing fail; the watchful angry beast The advantage spies; and at one sidelong glance Rips up his groin. Wounded, he rears aloft, And plunging, from his back the rider hurls Precipitant; then bleeding spurns the ground, And drags his reeking entrails o'er the plain. Meanwhile the surly monster trots along, But with unequal speed; for still they wound, Swift-wheeling in the spacious ring. A wood Of darts upon his back he bears; adown _340 His tortured sides, the crimson torrents roll From many a gaping font. And now at last Staggering he falls, in blood and foam expires. But whither roves my devious Muse, intent On antique tales, while yet the royal stag Unsung remains? Tread with respectful awe Windsor's green glades; where Denham, tuneful bard, Charmed once the listening dryads, with his song Sublimely sweet. Oh! grant me, sacred shade, To glean submiss what thy full sickle leaves. _350 The morning sun that gilds with trembling rays Windsor's high towers, beholds the courtly train Mount for the chase, nor views in all his course A scene so gay: heroic, noble youths, In arts and arms renowned, and lovely nymphs The fairest of this isle, where Beauty dwells Delighted, and deserts her Paphian grove For our more favoured shades: in proud parade These shine magnificent, and press around The royal happy pair. Great in themselves, _360 They smile superior; of external show Regardless, while their inbred virtues give A lustre to their power, and grace their court With real splendours, far above the pomp Of eastern kings, in all their tinsel pride. Like troops of Amazons, the female band Prance round their cars, not in refulgent arms As those of old; unskilled to wield the sword, Or bend the bow, these kill with surer aim. The royal offspring, fairest of the fair, _370 Lead on the splendid train. Anna, more bright Than summer suns, or as the lightning keen, With irresistible effulgence armed, Fires every heart. He must be more than man, Who unconcerned can bear the piercing ray. Amelia, milder than the blushing dawn, With sweet engaging air, but equal power, Insensibly subdues, and in soft chains Her willing captives leads. Illustrious maids, Ever triumphant! whose victorious charms, _380 Without the needless aid of high descent, Had awed mankind, and taught the world's great lords To bow and sue for grace. But who is he Fresh as a rose-bud newly blown, and fair As opening lilies; on whom every eye With joy and admiration dwells? See, see, He reins his docile barb with manly grace. Is it Adonis for the chase arrayed? Or Britain's second hope? Hail, blooming youth![9] May all your virtues with your years improve, _390 Till in consumate worth, you shine the pride Of these our days, and to succeeding times A bright example. As his guard of mutes On the great sultan wait, with eyes deject And fixed on earth, no voice, no sound is heard Within the wide serail, but all is hushed, And awful silence reigns; thus stand the pack Mute and unmoved, and cowering low to earth, While pass the glittering court, and royal pair: So disciplined those hounds, and so reserved, _400 Whose honour 'tis to glad the hearts of kings. But soon the winding horn, and huntsman's voice, Let loose the general chorus; far around Joy spreads its wings, and the gay morning smiles. Unharboured now the royal stag forsakes His wonted lair; he shakes his dappled sides, And tosses high his beamy head, the copse Beneath his antlers bends. What doubling shifts He tries! not more the wily hare; in these Would still persist, did not the full-mouthed pack _410 With dreadful concert thunder in his rear. The woods reply, the hunter's cheering shouts Float through the glades, and the wide forest rings. How merrily they chant! their nostrils deep Inhale the grateful steam. Such is the cry, And such the harmonious din, the soldier deems The battle kindling, and the statesman grave Forgets his weighty cares; each age, each sex In the wild transport joins; luxuriant joy, And pleasure in excess, sparkling exult _420 On every brow, and revel unrestrained. How happy art thou, man, when thou 'rt no more Thyself! when all the pangs that grind thy soul, In rapture and in sweet oblivion lost, Yield a short interval, and ease from pain! See the swift courser strains, his shining hoofs Securely beat the solid ground. Who now The dangerous pitfall fears, with tangling heath High-overgrown? Or who the quivering bog Soft yielding to the step? All now is plain, _430 Plain as the strand sea-laved, that stretches far Beneath the rocky shore. Glades crossing glades The forest opens to our wondering view: Such was the king's command. Let tyrants fierce Lay waste the world; his the more glorious part To check their pride; and when the brazen voice Of war is hushed (as erst victorious Rome) To employ his stationed legions in the works Of peace; to smoothe the rugged wilderness, To drain the stagnate fen, to raise the slope _440 Depending road, and to make gay the face Of nature, with the embellishments of art. How melts my beating heart! as I behold Each lovely nymph our island's boast and pride, Push on the generous steed, that strokes along O'er rough, o'er smooth, nor heeds the steepy hill, Nor falters in the extended vale below: Their garments loosely waving in the wind, And all the flush of beauty in their cheeks! While at their sides their pensive lovers wait, _450 Direct their dubious course; now chilled with fear Solicitous, and now with love inflamed. Oh! grant, indulgent Heaven, no rising storm May darken with black wings, this glorious scene! Should some malignant power thus damp our joys, Vain were the gloomy cave, such as of old Betrayed to lawless love the Tyrian queen. For Britain's virtuous nymphs are chaste as fair, Spotless, unblamed, with equal triumph reign In the dun gloom, as in the blaze of day. _460 Now the blown stag, through woods, bogs, roads, and streams Has measured half the forest; but alas! He flies in vain, he flies not from his fears. Though far he cast the lingering pack behind, His haggard fancy still with horror views The fell destroyer; still the fatal cry Insults his ears, and wounds his trembling heart. So the poor fury-haunted wretch (his hands In guiltless blood distained) still seems to hear

The dying shrieks; and the pale threatening ghost _470 Moves as he moves, and as he flies pursues. See here his slot; up yon green hill he climbs, Pants on its brow a while, sadly looks back On his pursuers, covering all the plain; But wrung with anguish, bears not long the sight, Shoots down the steep, and sweats along the vale: There mingles with the herd, where once he reigned Proud monarch of the groves, whose clashing beam

His rivals awed, and whose exalted power Was still rewarded with successful love. _480 But the base herd have learned the ways of men, Averse they fly, or with rebellious aim Chase him from thence: needless their impious deed, The huntsman knows him by a thousand marks, Black, and embossed; nor are his hounds deceived; Too well distinguish these, and never leave Their once devoted foe; familiar grows His scent, and strong their appetite to kill. Again he flies, and with redoubled speed Skims o'er the lawn; still the tenacious crew _490 Hang on the track, aloud demand their prey, And push him many a league. If haply then Too far escaped, and the gay courtly train Behind are cast, the huntsman's clanging whip Stops full their bold career; passive they stand, Unmoved, an humble, an obsequious crowd, As if by stern Medusa gazed to stones. So at their general's voice whole armies halt In full pursuit, and check their thirst of blood. Soon at the king's command, like hasty streams _500 Dammed up a while, they foam, and pour along With fresh-recruited might. The stag, who hoped His foes were lost, now once more hears astunned The dreadful din; he shivers every limb, He starts, he bounds; each bush presents a foe. Pressed by the fresh relay, no pause allowed, Breathless, and faint, he falters in his pace, And lifts his weary limbs with pain, that scarce Sustain their load! he pants, he sobs appalled; Drops down his heavy head to earth, beneath _510 His cumbrous beams oppressed. But if perchance Some prying eye surprise him; soon he rears Erect his towering front, bounds o'er the lawn With ill-dissembled vigour, to amuse The knowing forester; who inly smiles

At his weak shifts, and unavailing frauds. So midnight tapers waste their last remains, Shine forth a while, and as they blaze expire. From wood to wood redoubling thunders roll, And bellow through the vales; the moving storm _520 Thickens amain, and loud triumphant shouts, And horns shrill-warbling in each glade, prelude To his approaching fate. And now in view With hobbling gait, and high, exerts amazed What strength is left: to the last dregs of life Reduced, his spirits fail, on every side Hemmed in, besieged; not the least opening left To gleaming hope, the unhappy's last reserve. Where shall he turn? or whither fly? Despair Gives courage to the weak. Resolved to die, _530 He fears no more, but rushes on his foes, And deals his deaths around; beneath his feet These grovelling lie, those by his antlers gored Defile the ensanguined plain. Ah! see distressed He stands at bay against yon knotty trunk, That covers well his rear, his front presents An host of foes. Oh! shun, ye noble train, The rude encounter, and believe your lives Your country's due alone. As now aloof They wing around, he finds his soul upraised _540 To dare some great exploit; he charges home Upon the broken pack, that on each side Fly diverse; then as o'er the turf he strains, He vents the cooling stream, and up the breeze Urges his course with eager violence: Then takes the soil, and plunges in the flood Precipitant; down the mid-stream he wafts Along, till (like a ship distressed, that runs Into some winding creek) close to the verge Of a small island, for his weary feet _550 Sure anchorage he finds, there skulks immersed. His nose alone above the wave draws in The vital air; all else beneath the flood Concealed, and lost, deceives each prying eye Of man or brute. In vain the crowding pack Draw on the margin of the stream, or cut The liquid wave with oary feet, that move In equal time. The gliding waters leave No trace behind, and his contracted pores But sparingly perspire: the huntsman strains _560 His labouring lungs, and puffs his cheeks in vain; At length a blood-hound bold, studious to kill, And exquisite of sense, winds him from far; Headlong he leaps into the flood, his mouth Loud opening spends amain, and his wide throat Swells every note with joy; then fearless dives Beneath the wave, hangs on his haunch, and wounds The unhappy brute, that flounders in the stream, Sorely distressed, and struggling strives to mount The steepy shore. Haply once more escaped, _570 Again he stands at bay, amid the groves Of willows, bending low their downy heads. Outrageous transport fires the greedy pack; These swim the deep, and those crawl up with pain The slippery bank, while others on firm land Engage; the stag repels each bold assault, Maintains his post, and wounds for wounds returns. As when some wily corsair boards a ship Full-freighted, or from Afric's golden coasts, Or India's wealthy strand, his bloody crew _580 Upon her deck he slings; these in the deep Drop short, and swim to reach her steepy sides, And clinging, climb aloft; while those on board Urge on the work of fate; the master bold, Pressed to his last retreat, bravely resolves To sink his wealth beneath the whelming wave, His wealth, his foes, nor unrevenged to die. So fares it with the stag: so he resolves To plunge at once into the flood below, Himself, his foes in one deep gulf immersed. _590 Ere yet he executes this dire intent, In wild disorder once more views the light; Beneath a weight of woe, he groans distressed: The tears run trickling down his hairy cheeks; He weeps, nor weeps in vain. The king beholds His wretched plight, and tenderness innate Moves his great soul. Soon at his high command Rebuked, the disappointed, hungry pack Retire submiss, and grumbling quit their prey. Great Prince! from thee, what may thy subjects hope; _600 So kind, and so beneficent to brutes? O mercy, heavenly born! Sweet attribute! Thou great, thou best prerogative of power! Justice may guard the throne, but joined with thee, On rocks of adamant it stands secure, And braves the storm beneath; soon as thy smiles Gild the rough deep, the foaming waves subside, And all the noisy tumult sinks in peace.