To vary, is to die. Then his brave bands
Each to his station leads; encamping round,
Till the wide circle is compleatly form'd.
Where decent order reigns, what these command,
Thofe execute with speed, and punctual care;
In all the ftricteft discipline of war:
As if fome watchful foe, with bold infult,
Hung lowering o'er their camp. The high refolve
That flies on wings through all th' encircling line,
Each motion fteers, and animates the whole.
So by the fun's attractive power controll'd,
The planets in their spheres roll round his orb:
On all he fhines, and rules the great machine.
Ere yet the morn difpels the fleeting mists, The fignal given by the loud trumpet's voice, Now high in air th' imperial standard waves, Emblazon'd rich with gold, and glittering gems; 385 And like a fheet of fire, through the dun gloom Streaming meteorous. The foldiers' fhouts,
And all the brazen inftruments of war,
With mutual clamour, and united din,
Fill the large concave. While from camp to camp 390
They catch the varied sounds, floating in air,
Round all the wide circumference, tigers fell
Shrink at the noise, deep in his gloomy den
The lion starts, and morfels yet unchew'd
Drop from his trembling jaws. Now all at once
Onward they march embattled, to the found
Of martial harmony; fifes, cornets, drums,
That rouse the sleepy foul to arms, and bold
Heroic deeds. In parties here and there
Detach'd o'er hill and dale, the hunters range
Inquifitive; ftrong dogs, that match in fight
The boldeft brute, around their masters wait,
A faithful guard. No haunt unsearch'd, they drive
From every covert, and from every den,
The lurking favages. Inceffant fhouts
Re-echo through the woods, and kindling fires
Gleam from the mountain tops; the forest seems
One mingling blaze: like flocks of sheep they fly
Before the flaming brand: fierce lions, pards,
Boars, tigers, bears, and wolves; a dreadful crew
Of grim blood-thirfty foes; growling along,
They stalk indignant; but fierce vengeance ftill
Hangs pealing on their rear, and pointed fpears
Present immediate death. Soon as the night
Wrapt in her fable veil forbids the chace,
They pitch their tents, in even ranks, around
The circling camp. The guards are plac'd, and fires distances afcending rise,
And paint th' horizon with their ruddy light.
So round fome ifland's fhore of large extent,
Amid the gloomy horrors of the night,
The billows breaking on the pointed rocks,
Seem all one flame, and the bright circuit wide
Appears a bulwark of furrounding fire.
What dreadful howlings, and what hideous roar, Disturb thofe peaceful shades! where erft the bird That glads the night had chear'd the listening groves With fweet complainings. Through the filent gloom
Oft they the guards affail; as oft repell'd
They fly reluctant, with hot-boiling rage
Stung to the quick, and mad with wild despair.
Thus day by day they still the chace renew,
At night encamp; till now in ftreighter bounds
The circle leffens, and the beafts perceive
The wall that hems them in on every side.
And now their fury bursts, and knows no mean ;
From man they turn, and point their ill-judg'd rage
Against their fellow brutes. With teeth and claws
The civil war begins; grappling they tear.
Lions on tigers prey, and bears on wolves:
Horrible difcord! till the crowd behind
Shouting purfue, and part the bloody fray.
At once their wrath fubfides; tame as the lamb
The lion hangs his head, the furious pard,
Cow'd and fubdued, flies from the face of man,
Nor bears one glance of his commanding eye,
So abject is a tyrant in distress !
At last, within the narrow plain confin'd,
A lifted field, mark'd out for bloody deeds,
An amphitheatre more glorious far
Than ancient Rome could boast, they crowd in heaps,
Difmay'd, and quite appall'd. In meet array
Sheath'd in refulgent arms, a noble band
Advance; great lords of high imperial blood,
Early refolv'd t' affert their royal race,
And
prove by glorious deeds their valour's growth
Mature, ere yet the callow down has spread
Its curling fhade. On bold Arabian steeds
With decent pride they fit, that fearless hear
The lion's dreadful roar; and down the rock
Swift-fhooting plunge, or o'er the mountain's ridge
Stretching along, the greedy tiger leave
Panting behind. On foot their faithful flaves
With javelins arm'd attend; each watchful eye
Fix'd on his youthful care, for him alone
He fears, and, to redeem his life, unmov'd
Would lofe his own.
From his high-elevated throne, beholds
His blooming race; revolving in his mind
What once he was, in his gay fpring of life,
When vigour strung his nerves. Parental joy
Melts in his eye, and flushes in his cheek.
Now the loud trumpet sounds a charge. The shouts
Of eager hofts, through all the circling line,
And the wild howlings of the beasts within
Rend wide the welkin, flights of arrows, wing'd
With death, and javelins launch'd from every arm,
Gall fore the brutal bands, with many a wound
Gor'd through and through. Defpair at last prevails,
When fainting nature shrinks, and rouses all 480
Their drooping courage. Swell'd with furious rage,
Their eyes dart fire; and on the youthful band
They rufh implacable. They their broad shields
Quick interpofe; on each devoted head
Their flaming falchions, as the bolts of Jove,
Defcend unerring. Proftrate on the ground
The grinning monfters lie, and their foul gore
Defiles the verdant plain. Nor idle stand
The trufty flaves; with pointed fpears the pierce
Through their tough hides; or at their gaping mouths
An easier paffage find. The king of brutes
In broken roarings breathes his last; the bear
Grumbles in death; nor can his fpotted skin,
Though fleek it shine, with varied beauties gay,
Save the proud pard from unrelenting fate.
The battle bleeds, grim Slaughter strides along,
Glutting her greedy jaws, grins o'er her prey.
Men, horfes, dogs, fierce beasts of every kind,
A strange promifcuous carnage, drench'd in blood,
And heaps on heaps amafs'd. What yet remain
Alive, with vain assault contend to break
Th' impenetrable line. Others, whom fear
Inspires with felf-preferving wiles, beneath
The bodies of the flain for shelter creep.
Aghaft they fly, or hide their heads difpers'd.
And now perchance (had Heaven but pleas'd) the work
Of death had been compleat; and Aurengzebe
By one dread frown extinguish'd half their race.
When lo! the bright fultanas of his court
Appear, and to his ravifh'd eyes difplay
Those charms but rarely to the day reveal'd.
Lowly they bend, and humbly fue, to fave
The vanquish'd hoft. What mortal can deny
When fuppliant beauty begs? At his command,
Opening to right and left, the well-train'd troops 515
Leave a large void for their retreating foes.
Away they fly, on wings of fear upborn,
To feek on diftant hills their late abodes.
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