Crowd the vaft court. With hollow tone,
A voice thus thunder'd from the throne:
This night our minifter we name,
Let every fervant fpeak his claim;
Merit fhall bear this ebon wand."
All, at the word, ftretch'd forth their hand.
Fever, with burning heat poffeft,
Advanc'd, and for the wand addreft.
to the weekly bills appeal,
Let thofe exprefs my fervent zeal,
On every flight occafion near,
With violence I perfevere.
Next Gout appears with himping pace,
Pleads how he fhifts from place to place;
From head to foot how fwift he flies,
"And every joint and finew plies;
Still working when he feems fuppreft,
A moft tenacious ftubborn gueft.
Ahaggard fpectre from the crew
Crawls forth, and thus afferts his due:
"Tis I who taint the sweetest joy,
And in the fhape of Love destroy :
My thanks, funk eyes, and noseless face,
Prove my pretenfion to the place."
Stone urg'd his ever-growing force;
And, next, Confumption's meagre corfe,
With feeble voice, that fcarce was heard,
Broke with fhort coughs, his fuit preferr'a :
"Let none object my lingering way,
Í gain, like Fabius, by delay;
Fatigue and weaken every foe
By long attack, fecure, though flow."
Plague reprefents his rapid power,
Who thinn'd a nation in an hour.
All fpoke their claim, and hop'd the wand.
Now expectation huth'd the hand wand.
When thus the Monarch from the throne:
Merit was ever modeft known.
What, no Phyficiau fpeak his right!
None here! but fees their toils requite.
Let then Intemperance take the wand,
Who fills with gold their zealous hand.
You, Fever, Gout, and all the rest,
(Whom wary men, as foes, deteft)
Forego your claim; no more prefend;
Intemperance is esteem'd a friend;
He thares their mirth, their focial joys,
And as a courted guest destroys,
The charge on him must justly fall,
Who finds employment for you all."
THE GARDENER AND THE HOC.
GARDENER, of peculiar tafte, On a young Hog his favour plac'd, Who fed not with the common herd; His tray was to the hall preferr'd.
He wallow'd underneath the board,
Or in his master's chamber fnor'd,
Who fondly ftroak'd him every day,
And taught him all the Puppy's play.
Where'er he went, the granting friend
Ne'er fail'd his pleasure to attend.
As on a time the loving pair-
Walk'd forth to tend the garden's care,
The Mafter thus addrefs'd the Swine:
My houfe, my garden, all is thine."
On turnips feaft whene'er you pleafe,
And riot in my beans and peafe;"
If the potatoe's tafte delights,.
Or the red carrot's sweet invites,"
Indulge thy morn and evening hours;
But let due care regard my flowers :
My tulips are my garden's pride:
What vaft expence thofe beds fupply'd !"
The Hog by chance one morning roam'd,
Where with new ale the veffels foam'd:
He faunches now the fteaming grains,
Now with full fwill the liquor drains.
Intoxicating fumes arife;
He reels, he rolls his winking eyes;
Then staggering through the garden fcours,
And treads down painted ranks of flowers.
With delving fnout he turns the foil,
And cools his palate with the fpoil.
The Mafter came, the ruin fpy'd;
"Villain! fufpend thy rage, he cry'd.
VOL. II.
Haft thou, thou most ungrateful fot,
My charge, my only charge, forgot?
What, all my flowers!" No more he said,
But gaz'd, and figh'd, and hung his head.
The Hog with ftuttering fpeech returns :
Explain, Sir, why your anger burns.
See there, untouch'd, your tulips ftrown,
For I devour'd the roots alone."
At this the Gardener's paffion grows;
From oaths and threats he fell to blows.
The ftubborn brute the blows fuftains,
Affaults his leg, and tears the veins.
"Ah! foolish Swain! too late you
That ftyes were for fuch friends defign'd!"
Homeward he limps with painful pace,
Reflecting thus on paft difgrace:
"Who cherishes a brutal mate,
Shall mourn the folly foon or late."
HETHER on earth, in air, or main,
Sure every thing alive is vain!
Does not the Hawk all fowls furvey,
As deftin'd only for his prey?
And do not tyrants, prouder things,
Think men were born for flaves to kings?
When the Crab views the pearly strands, Or Tagus, bright with golden fands,
Or crawls befide the coral grove,
And hears the ocean roll above,
"Nature is too profufe, fays he,
Who gave all these to pleasure me !"
When bordering pinks and roses bloom,
And every garden breathes perfume;
When peaches glow with funny dyes,
Like Laura's cheek when blushes tife;
When with huge figs the branches bend,
When clusters from the vine depend;
The Snail looks round on flower and tree,
And cries,
"All thefe were made for me?"
"What dignity's in human nature!"
Says Man, the moft conceited creature,
As from a cliff he caft his eye,
And view'd the fea and arched fky.
The fun was funk beneath the main;
The moon and all the starry train
Hung the vast vault of Heaven. The Man
His contemplation thus began
"When I behold this glorious fhow,
And the wide watery world below,
The fcaly people of the main,
The beafts that range the wood or plain,
The wing'd inhabitants of air,
The day, the night, the various year;
And know all thefe by Heaven defign'd
As gifts to pleasure human-kind;
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