THE HARE WHO ABANDONED HIS FRIENDS.
A FABLE, IMITATED FROM GAY.
Erratum-line 26, for Heir, read Hare.
[From the Morning Chronicle, March 9.]
A HARE, who, by his pleasing life,
Spite of their usual course of strife,
Had for his friends contriv'd to gain
The noblest beasts that walk the plain;
Who'd erst brought o'er, his side to take,
The Elephant of pow'rful make,
And had receiv'd in many a fray
Protection from the Lion Grey;
Who'd been allied, in peace and battle,
With two of the old Scottish Cattle;
Was by the Ostrich brave caress'd,
And the young Fox's love possess'd:
Chancing one morn abroad to stray,
Met a foul Jackal in his way;
This brute of old, himself had thrust
Into the Elephant's high trust,
Gain of the Fox's kindness made,
And base his confidence betray'd.
With endless appetite endued,
He'd rake the foulest dung for food;
And though to all notorious made,
Unblushing plied his dirty trade;
Plunder'd the weaker all day long,
Pimp'd, lied, and cheated for the strong.
In vain would he have sought to share
The love and friendship of the Heir;
But that, assistant by his side,
A female Swan display'd her pride;
Who yet had ne'er been known to wander
From her old mate, a stiff-neck'd Gander.
Quick glow'd the Hare with love most fervent,
And swore himself her willing servant.
His aid the Jackal slily lends,
To drive away his ancient friends;
Who well he knew would never bear
His friendship to disgrace the Hare;
And sought all means to make him known
To brutes with hearts just like his own.
And now, our Hare's ferocious foes,
The Gallic Huntsmen's cries arose,
And he must seek from friends the pow'r
To meet them in the trying hour.
Where should he turn, what course pursue?
The strength of his old Friends, he knew,
Was with much greater safety fraught,
Than all the tricks his new ones taught;
But would they to his fav'rites bend,
Or call the filthy Jackal Friend ?
He spoke them thus: "Ye've been, 't is tra
My faithful Friends my lifetime through;
But I've acquir'd, within this year,
Others who now are much more dear;
Who, nothing caring what might 'tide,
All my desires have gratified,
Have fed me with the choicest dishes,
And bid me never stint my wishes;
And, while I revell'd free from cares,
Ne'er plagued me 'bout my own affairs.
Nay, more; what binds me most their slave,
They to this brave old Badger gave,
Who long has serv'd me with attention,
A den, to which he'd no pretension.
This Weasel takes my fancy most,
And him I wish to rule the roast,
A keen, sly brute, was nurs'd 'mong lawyers;
But trusted then by few employers,
With private interests to deal,
Retir'd to guide the public weal;
And is determin'd, come what will,
Ruin and shame! to do so still.
Here are some more of monstrous merit,
The Otter, naval brute of spirit,
A Teller,' most exact of all,
The fish that to his net may fall.
166: THE HARE WHO ABANDONED HIS FRIENDS.
These Monkey's too my friendship hold,
The short-legg'd Cinque Baboon, who bold
In foreign wars erst wish'd to roam;
The tall, dull Ape who rules at home.'
The heavy ram-fac'd Ourang Outang,
And the wigg'd Boggo good at doubting,
All these, as friends, I wish to give ye,
With Jambo here, who keeps the Privy.'
"Now, my old Friends, if some of you,
(Those Jackal likes,) will leave the crew
Of beasts with whom you've wont to herd,
And all you've heretofore preferr'd,
All the opinions that you 've borne,
And all the solemn vows you've sworn,
(Which difficult you cannot call,
For with great ease I've done it all,)
To these dear Brutes will servile bow,
Whom you've abus'd and scoff'd till now;
Gladly shall I receive in truth
Some, whom I've lov'd from early youth;
For they will then associates be
Quite fit for my new Friends and me."
The noble Beasts their noses clos'd
As he produc'd each Friend propos'd,
Some words refusing deign'd to say,
And then majestic stalk'd away.
But with them then were seen to move
The old Scotch cattle nam'd above,
The Bedford Stag, the lofty steed
Of Rockingham's high-blooded breed,
The Royal Spaniel, Devon Hart,
And Buck's Rhinoceros, depart.
The Fox and Wolf-dog swell'd the train,
With all that's noble on the plain.
The Hare surpris'd, with vain essay,
The stately Ostrich tried to stay;
Who oft had, free from sickly throes,
The iron borne of many foes:
The Hare to him rich favours threw,
Offer'd to deck his wings with blue,
If he the schemes would only back all,
Of the sly Weasel and foul Jackal.
Rejected here, he tried to staunch
The anger of the Lion blanch.
But both their high disdain express'd,
And proudly left him with the rest.
None stay'd behind of all the crew,
Except a hungry Rat or two.
"Well," said the Hare, "go, Weasel! see
For other Friends for you and me."
(For the brave Goat, I should have said,
Had down the Hare's employment laid
And sorely did the Weasel need
Some beast of wisdom to succeed.).
The Hare and Weasel then, 't is said,
To an old Ass applied for aid,
Who erst had held a high position,
But now was only a Physician;
Who to a herd prescrib'd their rules
Of a few Donkies and some Mules.
These liv'd as friends through ev'ry weather,
And always us'd to graze together.
Whether it was the proud old Ass
Demanded too much hay and grass;
Whether (for he had seen some fail)
He thought the whole concern was frail ▷
Or whether such association
He thought might blot the reputation
He long had held for plain stupidity,
With stains of int'rest and cupidity;
Grave Doctor Donkey would not heal
The wounds that pain'd the common weal,
Till he himself receiv'd a plaster
To save his Donkies from disaster.
1: With better luck and foresight keener
They sought the smiling smooth Hyena,
A brute, whose visage kind and gay
Seem'd only made for peace and play,
Who erst beguil'd with pleasing sounds
A pack of Erin's gallant hounds.
Woe to the wretch who trusts too much,
Or puts himself within his clutch!
No beast more ready could be chosen,
In truth he was the Jackal's cousin.
Thus doth the ill-befriended Hare
To guide the noble tribe prepare,
Thus, Gaul's fierce hunters close at hand,
He hopes their onset to withstand,
And o'er his fancied pride exults,
That ev'ry worthy beast insults.
If any now my moral wish,
'Tis this When Otters watch our fish ;
Successful when the Weasel begs
The trust to guard our golden eggs;
When the unmask'd Hyena tends
The care to make and keep our friends ;
In Monkeys' hands when Folly puts
Edg'd tools to play with, 'stead of nuts ;
When the foul Jackal's rav’nous maw
Is by no Lion kept in awe,
The Hare in short for succour goes
To brutes who've been his bitt'rest foes ;-
It needs no second-sight to trace
The future curses of the race.
And may our Hare (so shall he thrive)
Think of them, ere their truth arrive!
[From the General Evening Post, March 10.]
Y last letter, which appeared in your Paper of Saturday, went to establish two positions; the one, that Economy is necessary; the other, that it is very difficult: and I promised to transmit to you the result of my own experience in the matter, with the humble hope that those complaints may be in som degree suppressed, the causes of which we can in n degree remove.
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