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Poetlcae propofitum aut duplex, aut ex duobus alterum, v\ilgo ftatuitur ; nimirum aut Prodefle, aut Delegare, aut etiam Utrumque. Mallem equidem Utilitstem folummodo, quafi ultimum ejus finem, ftatulflent; Deledationem vero, quad rationem & viam, per quam ad iftum finem unice perveniret; ita ut judicaretur Prodeffe Deledando. LowTH, De Sacra Poefi Hebraeorum. LONDON: PRINTED FOR T. CADELL JUN. AND W. DAVIES, IN THE STRAND. 1799, ?R nil TO THE Rev. WILLIAM MASON, OF JSrONy rORKSHIRE, THE FOLLOWING POEMS ARE INSCRIBED BY HIS OBLIGED AND AFFECTIONATE FRIEND, THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. JL HE fcenes and Incidents noticed In the fubfequent Poems are fuch, with fome exceptions, Introduced by way of contraft, as occur in the Forefts of Great Britain. The Author has endeavoured to delineate them with fuch a degree of particularity as might mark the charaderiftic features of each ; and to avoid on the one hand florid and indeterminate defcrlptlon, and on the other, that minutenefs of detail which would be fear eel y Intelligible to perfons not accuftomed ftudioufly to examine the face of nature, and might prove tedious even to accurate obfervers. He has alfo had in view another objed: which he willingly avows ; namely, to in- culcate, on every fit occafion, thofe moral VI PREFACE. truths, which the contemplation of the works of God in the natural world fug- gefts, and that reverence and love for the great Creator which it is adapted to infpire. He trufts therefore that, not only when occupied in a profelTed enquiry into human duties, but alfo when engaged in compofmg the following pages, he has been employed in his proper vocation. And he would gladly hope that the pre- fent performance may tend to infufe into the minds of perfons who delight in na- tural fcenery, and efpecially of the young, thofe momentous principles, the influence of which, whether he follcits attention in profe or in verfe, he is chiefly anxious to promote. YoxALL Lodge, December 2, 1795. CONTENTS. Page WALK THE FIRST. SPRING - - I WALK THE SECOND. SUMMER NOON - 27 WALK THE THIRD. SUMMER MOONLIGHT 4I WALK THE FOURTH, AUTUMN " " 57 WALK THE FIFTH. WINTER SNOW • S^ WALK THE SIXTH. WINTER FROST - 9^ WALK THE FIRST. ARGUMENT. An ancient Poet's Comparifon of the fuppofed Non-exlftence of Man after Death with the vernal Revival of the Vegetable World — Tb.e Leflbn which O'jght to have been deduced from that Revival— /appearance of a Foreftin May — Foreft Trees— The Angler — Forefl Flowers — Analogy between the Diverfity of Vegetable Produftions and the Diverfity of Human Talents — Foreft Birds — Addrefs to Parents— Deer— Cattle from the Highlands of Scotland, and their attendant Herdfman — Bene- fits of tlie Union of England and Scotland— The Herdfman's Hiftory — Fall of Timber — Charcoal-burners — Nature pro- vides for the Succertion of Trees — Comparative Freedom of Foreft Trees, and of Trees taken under tl^e more immediate Control of Man — This Subjed illiiftrated by a Comparifon between the State of the People of Great Britain and that of the Hindoos— Duty of the former towards the latter. WALKS IN A FOREST. WALK THE FIRST. SPRING. u 1 HE meaneft * herb we trample In the field, " Or in the garden nurture, when its leaf " In Autumn dies, forebodes another Spring, " And from fhort flumber wakes to life again. ** Man wakes no more ! Man, peerlefs, valiant, wife, ** Once chillM by death, fleeps hopelefs in the duft, " A long, unbroken, never-ending fleep !" At, at, Tat ijLxKaxa.1 ^iv sttccv Kctlac xcx,7iov oXuvlui^ H Ta )(\u}^x az7^\vxy to t' iV^aXiq aXov avr.QoVf A|M.jM.e; ^ ot fAsyccT^Q., y.oci KX^ZB^otf n croCpoi uvcpc';, Qirr^'jc r.'^Jia ^xvoj^icj avxjtook ev p^Oovt xot^a Efao^E? ev [AsiAoi jjixxpoii, ciliffj.'-Aci, vny^Oov vtr\fjV» MoscKus, in Epitaph. Bion, WALKS IN A FOREST. Such was thy plaint, untutor'd bard, when May, As now, the lawns reviv'd ! 'Twas thine to rove Darkling, ere yet * from Death's reludtant fhade. In cloudlefs majefty, the Son of God Sprang glorious ; while HelFs Ruler, he who late. With frantic feoffs of triumph, to his powers Pointed the fad proceffion as it moved From Calvary to the yet unclofed tomb. Viewed the grave yield its Conqueror j and aghaft, ShunnM, in the deepeft midnight of his realms. The wrath of earth's and heaven's Almighty Lord. Said the defponding lay, " Man wakes no more :" O blind ! who read'ft not in the teeming foil, The frefhening meadow, and the burfting wood, A nobler leffon ! — He, who fpake the word. And the fun rofe from Chaos, while the abyfs From the new fires with fhuddering furge recoil'd ; He, at whofe voice the moon's nodurnal beam, And ftarry legions, on the admiring earth Rain'd luftre ; He, whofe providence the change Of day and night and feafons crown'd with food * Mofchus flouiifhtd about two hundrtd year? before the Chrif- tii'.n str&» SPRING. And health and peace proclaimM j bade Nature's hand Point to the fcenes of dinn futurity. He on a world, in Gentile darknefs loft. Pitying look'd down ; He to bewilder'd man Bade Spring, with annual admonition, hold Her emblematic taper ; not with light Potent each fhade of doubt and fear to chafe, ' Yet friendly through the gloom to guide his way, 'Till the dawn crimfonM, and the impatient Eaft, Shouting for joy, the Day-ftar^s advent hail'd. That ftar has rifen, and with a glow that Ihames The fun's meridian fplendor, has illumed The diftant wonders of eternity. Yet may this fylvan wild, from winter's grafp Now refcued, bid the foul, on loftieft hopes Mufmg elate, anticipate the hour * When, at the Archangel's voice, the flumbering duft Shall wake, nor earth nor fea withhold its dead ; * " Vide quam in folatium noftri refurredionem futuram omnis natura meditetur. Sol demergit & nafcitur; aftra labuntur &redeuntj flores occidunt & revivifcuntj poft fenium arbufta frondefcuntj femina non nifi corriipta revirefcunt. Ita corpus in feculo, ut arbores in hiberno occultant virorem ariditate mentita. Quid feftinas ut cruda adhuc hyeme revivifcat & redeat ? Expec- tandum nobis etiam corporis ver eft." — Minvcius Felix. 2 3 WALKS IS A FOREST. When ftarting at the crafh of biirlUng tombs, Of maufoleums rent, and pyramids Heaved from their bafe, the tyrant of the grave, Propt on his broken fceptre, while the crown Falls from his head, beholds his prifon-houfe Emptied of all its habitants ; beholds Mortal in immortality abforb'd. Corruptible in incorruption loft. How fwells the enraptured bofom, while the eye Wanders unfated with delight from (hade To fhade, from grove to thicket, from near groups To yon primaeval woods with darkening fweep Retiring ; and with bsauty fees the whole Kindle, and glow with renovated Hfe ! For now, at Spring's reanimating call, Each native of the foreft, from the trunk Towering and huge down to the tangled bufh, Its own peculiar charader refumes. Chief of the fylvan realms, its verdant wreath With tender olive ftain'd the oak protrudes. Proud of a fhelter'd monarch, proud to lend A chaplet ftill to Britiih loyalty. Even yet with ruddy fpoils from autumn won Loaded, the beech its lengthenM buds untwines. Its knotted bloom fecured, the afh puts forth SPRING. The winged leaf : the hawthorn wraps its boughs In fnowy mantle : from the vivid greens That fhine around, the holly, winter's pride, Recedes abafh'd : the willow, in yon vale, Its filver lining to the breeze upturns ; And ruftling afpens fhiver by the brook ; While the unfullied dream, from April fhowers Refined, each fparkling pebble fhews that decks The bottom ; and each fcaly habitant Quick glancing in the fhallows, or in queft Of plunder' ilowly failing in the deep. There oft at eve, by fhadowing alders veil'd From keen- eyed trouts, fix'd where the fable flood Mantled with foam, with twifted roots o'erhung. Portends a giant prey, the angler drops His fly in quivering circles on the pool Fluttering with mimic wings ; then, while his hand Trembles with hope, beholds, ill-omen'd fight. That tells of dire misfortune ! fradlured lines Dependent, or in complicated folds Linking the tangled boughs that fweep the ftream, And rife and fall with every paffing wave. Beneath the fylvan canopy, the ground Glitters with flowery dyes : the primrofe, firfl; In molfy deli returning Spring to greet ; B4 WALKS IN A FOREST. Pilewort, that o'er her roots of old renown Expands the radiance of her ftarry bloom : Arum, that in a mantling hood conceals Her fanguine club, and fpreads her fpotted leaf Arm'd with keen tortures for the unwary tongue : Anemone *, now robed in virgin white, Now blufhlng with faint crimfon : fraudful fpurge f , That feeks in beauty's garb her fnares to hide. In milky ftream her poifon veils, her ftem In ruddy mantle wraps, and from a zone Of dulky foliage elevates more bright Her creft of gold : forrel J, that hangs her cups, Ere their frail form and ftreaky veins decay. O'er her pale verdure, till parental care Inclines the fliortening ftems, and to the fhade Of clofmg leaves her infant race withdraws : Orchis § with crowded pyramids the bank ♦ Wood anemone. Anemone nemorofa Linn. ■f "Wood fpurge. Euphorbia amygdaloides Linn. X Wood forreh Oxalis acetofa Linn. This plant, as foon as its petals have fallen ofF, thrufts its feed-veflels, with a motion in appearance almoft voluntary, under the contiguous leaves j the foot-ftalk, which till then had been ftraight, bending itfelf back in a (harp angle, and thus bringing down its charge to the fhelter provided by nature. § Orchis mafcula Linn. Wood orchis. SPRING. Purpling : the harebell, as with grief depreft, Bowing her fragrance : and the fcentlefs plant *, That with the violet's borrowM form and hue The unfkilful wanderer in the Ihade deceives. In fize, in form, in texture, and in ufe, How various are the tribes whofe verdure warms And decorates the earth ! Some from the wild Untrack'd by foot of man, from mountain glens, And rifted precipices darting, urge Aloft their tapering boles and knotted flrength, Deftined with fleets to fpread the main, or build Engines, whofe ponderous and convulfive llrokes Thundering fliallrock the ground. Withpenfile boughs Some droopo'er willowy ftreams, and yield their growth For humbler fervice. Some in graffy pile And flowery broidure clad, with fragrance cheer, With food fuftain, the animated world. Yet all one forming hand, one fource fupreme. Own mid diftindlions infinite, one Lord, Boundlefs in might, in wifdom, and in love ; And as his eye with vivifying beam Smiles, or the golden flood of life withdraws. Dog^s violet* Viola canina Linn. lO WALKS IN A FOREST. Flourifh or fade. Plans of concordant aim Speak the fame Author. Mark the varied dower Of talents given to men. Thefe trace the laws That bind the planet to its orb, and heave The billowy tide. The helm of empire thofe Rule, in the ftorm ferene ; or poife the fcales Of juftice ; or when mad ambition feoffs The facred league, nor recks the landmark, hurl The long-fufpended thunderbolt of war. Some in tranflucent narrative recall Paft ages, or in vifionary fong Heroic worth pourtray. Inventive, fome Call art the paths of life with needful aid To fmooth, or grace with ornament. Some ply The fpade and ploughfhare, fkilful to foreknow What beft each foil may yield. Vain of his powers, Thee, the great Giver, thee. Parent of good, Man overlooks or fcorns. Thy feveral gifts, Harmonious though diffimilar, all confpire To fwell the fum of general blifs, all work Thy glory ; all well pleafmg In thy fight, Who bad'ft the children of the duft perform Each his peculiar office, and combln'd Tn one vail family with fraternal lo%-e. Lend mutual aid, and praife their common God. SPRING. II While thus the imprifon'd leaves and waking flowers Burfl: from their tombs, the birds that lurk'd unfeen Amid the hybernal Ihade, in bufy tribes Pour their forgotten multitudes, and catch New life, new rapture, from the fmile of Spring. The oak's dark canopy, the mofs-grown thorns. Flutter with hurried pinions, and refound With notes that fuit a foreft ; fome perchance, Rude fmgly, yet with fweeter notes combin'd, In unifon harmonious ; notes that fpeak. In language vocal to the liftening wood. The fears and hopes, the griefs and joys, that heave The feather'd bread. Proud of coerulean ftains From heaven's unfullied arch purloin'd, the jay Screams hoarfe. With fhrill and oft-repeated cry. Her angular courfe, alternate rife and fall. The woodpecker prolongs ; then to the trunk Clofe clinging, with unwearied beak aifails The hollow bark ; through every cell the ftrokes Roll the dire echoes that from wintry fleep Awake her infed prey ; the alarmed tribes Start from each chink that bores the mouldering ftem : Their fcatter'd flight with lengthening tongue the foe Purfues ; joy liftens on her verdant plumes, And brighter fcarlet fparkles on her creft. From bough to bough the reftlefs magpie roves, 12 WALKS IN A FOREST. And chatters as fhe flies. In fober brown Dreft, but with nature's tendereft pencil touch'd. The w^ryneck her monotonous complaint Continues ; harbinger * of her who, doom'd Never the fympathetic joy to know That warms the mother cowering o'er her young> A ftranger robs, and to that ftranger's love Her Qgg commits unnatural : the nurfe, Unwitting of the change, her neftling feeds With toil augmented ; its portentous throat Wondering ilie views with ceafelefs hunger gape. Starts at the glare of its capacious eyes. Its giant bulk, and wings of hues unknown. Meanwhile the little fongfters, prompt to cheer Their mates clofe brooding in the brake below. Strain their fhrill throats ; or, with parental care. From twig to twig their timid offspring lead ; Teach them to feize the unwary gnat, to poife Their pinions, in fliort flights their ftrength to prove, And venturous truft the bofom of the air. * The Welfh confider this bird as the forerunner or fervant of the cuckoo, and call it gwas y gog, or the cuckoo's attendant. The Swedes regard it in the fame light. Pennant's Brie. Zool. 4th edit. vol. i, p. 238. In the midland counties of England, the conimon people call it the cuckoo's maiden. Spring, O ye ! whofe knees a youthful progeny climbs, While mirth, the fruit of innocence and love, Dimples their cheeks, and fhuts their laughing eyes. Think on your charge ! Faft as the expanding mind Imbibes the lefTon, from her fount above Bid Truth in ampler ftream infufe her lore. Leave not, in vernal dawn when life invokes Your culturing hand, the vacant field a prey To weeds quick fprouting : plant with earlieft care The feeds you moft defire fhould fill the foil ; And nurfe, with zeal proportioned to its worth, Each rifing produce. Teach your infant race. That 'tis not theirs, like fongfters of the grove. Born but to fport and flutter for a day. To dote on vain and tranfitory joys. Teach them the harder nobler taik decreed To prove the fons of Adam. Teach them love Supreme of God, and, next to God, of man. Teach them 'tis theirs, in arduous confli<5l ranged 'Gainft Sin and Powers of darknefs, to make known Their firm allegiance to the King of Kings. Teach them, though weak, to triumph in the ftrength Omnipotence, fpectator of the war, At fupplication's cry delights to yield The faithful combatant ; while Heaven fpreads wide I^ WALKS IN A FOREST. Her glories, and difplays the victor's crown, A crown eternal ; and beneath, Hell yawns Infatiate, thunders through each quivering gulf. And heaves her floods of ever-during fire. Nor want thefe lawns that terminate the woods Their tenants. O'er the gorfe the fportive deer Vault with elaftic bound, and fweep the plain In mock purfuit. Pour'd from the neighbouring farms. O'er their new^ realms, with broad inquiring gaze. The wide-fpread cattle ftray. Behold yon herd Dragging, as worn with toil, the heavy ftep. Or ftretch'd innumerous in recumbent eafe : Mark the unguarded front, the (lender limb, The tawny ear, the fable-veiled fide. From Scotian hills they come. There were they wont To pick from rocky chinks the blade, and crop The fiiplefs twigs of heath ; there, fchool'd in arts Taught by neccflity, with docile feet Uplifted and again defcending quick. The ftubborn furze they bruifed, and of its arms. Pungent in vain, defpoiFd their wintry fare : Or in the ftormy Hebrides forlorn, Rufh'd duly from the moor, fcenting afar * * See Pennant's Voyage to the Hebrides, 4to. 1774? P* 3°^ » and Lightfoot's Flora Scotica, vol. ii. p. 906. SPRING. The ebbing tide ; and prowling on the fand. And o'er the flippery ftones, with weeds marine And ocean's refufe famine's rage repell'd. Now to gay funs and fields of plenty brought, Their driver quits them ; he who, deck'd in plaid And plumed bonnet, had their fteps purfued, While flocking children gaz'd and wonder'd loud. All the long tedious march ; and ftill, when fnow^ers Beat fleety, round his limbs regardlefs WTapt His chequer'd covering ; and when crofs the road A bright rill hurried, from the knapfack drew His bow^l and oaten flour, and frugal mix'd The food delicious to his palate braced By labour, and by luxury unpall'd. How bleft thy counfels. Policy, infpir'd By Wifdom, Juftice, Mercy ! At thy nod, Contiguous kingdoms, once by rival aims And favage feuds disjoin'd, and mutual wrong, Like kindred drops of living filver blend In one congenial mafs. Their bordering plains No more with piles of flaughter'd warriors heap'd, Invaders and invaded, nor illum'd By midnight gleams from hamlets waked by Ihout Of dire incurfion fpreading flames and death. Smile grateful. Mouldering on its craggy bafe. l6 WALKS IN A FOREST. Its ufelefs towers unvifited by man. Years of alarm, of conflid, and of woe The caftellated manfion fcarce records. O'er the rude florms that vexM a jarring ifle Her veil oblivion draws : refentment, hate, In fjlence with the buried warrior deep. Hence with a fifter*s love, her wealth, her arts, Albion to Thule's utmoft beach, to feas That round Hebridian cliffs rebellow, yields Unfparing. Hence yon herdfman, he whofe fires Trod not on Englifh ground but fire and blood And rapine mark'd their fteps, from Thule's beach And Hebrid cliffs the pledge of concord bears, And pours o*er Mercian * vales the annual joy. Far other toils his early youth engag'd, "When with unequal hands the huge clymore f * The ancient kingdom of Mercia comprehended ftventeen of the middle counties of England. f The great two-handed hroad-fword of the Highlanders, ufed from ancient times down to the battle of Killicrankie ; and pro- bably of the fame kind with the " ingentes gladii," which Tacitus dtfcribes the Caledonians as employing at the battle of the Gram- pian Hills. The target was commonly ufed in conjundion with it. See Pennant's Voyage to the Hebrides, 4to. 1774, P* ^89> 290 j and his Tour in Scotland, 410. 3d edit. p. 191 j and Part 2d, 4to. 1776, Additions at the end, p. a8. SPRING. 17 Staggering he ftrove to whirl, and fcarce upheld The target's weight. Oft have 1 feen his fears. And often have I liften'd to his tale. Him uninform'd attachment to his chief, That chief mifguided loyalty, arranged Beneath Rebellion's ftandard. At thy frown, Infulted Albion, on Culloden's plain Each frantic hope expired ! With terror wing'd, Through pathlefs folitudes the chieftain fled The hot purfuit ; together fled the youth Breathlefs and pale, nor reck'd the throbbing wound. Long were the hours, O Morvern ! ere thy beach. Way-worn, with tottering fpeed they trod, and gazed Impatient for the bark, ordain'd to plow Thy unfrequented billows, if mifchance Should blight their enterprife : as he who, ftretch'd Sleeplefs and tofling on his feverifli bed, Pants for the dawn, and to the adverfe wall Still turns his wearied fight, eager to catch The firft pale ray that mitigates the gloom, And tells of twilight's birth. Four tedious days Each formlefs fpeck, that on the horizon's verge Hover'd obfcure, with ftraining eyes they watch'd From morn to lateft eve ; whether the moon Bade ocean his recoiling floods abforb. Or hurl'd the deluge on the expeding fhore. l8 WALKS IN A FOREST. The fifih morn rofe : a bark drew nigh ! the chief. High on a rock projecting o'er the deep^ The appointed fignal waved. — At once the cliffs Rebellowing fhook.— The foes, who on his track With vengeful wile had hung, noted their prey, And launch'd the murderous bullet. Prone he fell j And o'er his head the reddening furges clofed. Fear-ftruck, and forrowing for his haplefs lord. The youth from flaughter fled : the adverfe band Perceived him not. O'er many a houfelefs moor, And bog beneath his footfteps quivering wide, And craggy height he wander'd, till he gain'd The piny fdreft that o'er Jurna's * deeps Flung its black horrors ; while amid the gloom Gray rocks their glittering fummits rear'd, and dalli'd From precipice to precipice, through clouds Of fparkling mill the headlong torrent flione. There in a cavern, from whofe beetling roof The native fir fhot pillaiMike to heaven, And lightly waving in the wind the birch Stream'd its long branches, he found refuge. Mod * Loch Jurn, a falt-water loch on the weftern coaft of Inver- nefs-ftiire, penetrating many miles inland, and furrounded by mountains and pine-forefts of Alpine magnificence. See Pennant'* Voyage to the Hebrides, p. 34*, 343. SPRING. 19 Supplied his couch, decaying boughs his fire. With fylvan berries, and thy tuberous root, Cormeille *, by Famine's delving hand explored, * The Heath- pea, Orobus tuberofus Linn. ; called Cormeille, or Carmele, in the Highlands. *' Among other vegetables, we have in great plenty' in the *< htaths and v\'oods the following berries ; wild rafps, wild ftraw- ** berries, blueberries, burberries, uva urfi, &c. And we have *' one root I cannot but take notice of, which v/e call Carmele. *' Jt is a root that grows in heaths and birch woods to the bignefs *' of a large nut, and fometimes four or five roots are joined by *' fibrts ; it bears a green flalk, and a fmall red flower. Dio, *' fpeaking of the Caledonians, fays, Certum dbi genus parant ad ** omnia j quern fi ceperint, quantum ejl umu% faba magmtudo^ m'lmme ** cjurh-e aut fit'ire jolent. Caefar, de Bell. Civ. lib. 3tio, writes that *' Valerius's foldiers found a root called Chara, quod admijium laEJe *' multam inopiam h'vahat \ id ad fimilitudinem punh efficiebant. lam ** inclined lo think that our Carmele (that is, fwect root) is Dio's *' Qbi genusy and Csefar's Chara. I have often feen it dried, and " kept for journies through hills, where no provifions could be " had. I have llkevvife feen it pounded and infufed; and when *' yeft or barm is put to it, it ferments, and makes a liquor more ** agreeable and wholefome than mead. It grows fo plentifully, *' that a cart-load of it can eafily be gathered ; and the drink of *Mt is very balfamic." Mr. Shaw's Account of Elgin. Pennant's Tour in Scotland, p. 292. " The Highlanders have a great efteem for the tubercles of the *' roots of the Cormeille j they dry and chew them, in general to «' give a better relifh to their liquor : they alfo affirm them to be " good againft moft diforders of the thorax, and that by the ufe ♦' of them they are enabled to repel hunger and thirfl for a long C 2 20 WALKS IN A FOREST. His ftrength exhaufted he renew'd. And oft With fliaft uncouth, while envious falcons fcream'd, Floating in air, and from the mountain's brow The indignant eagle mark'd him, he transfix'd The roe *, bounding in vain ; and fnowy hare f Changeful ; and from the pine's high top brought down The giant grous J:, while boaftful he difplay'd ** time. In Breadalbane and Rofsfhlre, they fom-times bruife and *' fteep them in water, and make an agreeable fermented liquor ** with them. They have a fweet tafte, fomething like tlie roots " of liquorice j and when boiled, we are told, are well flavoured *' and nutritive, and in times of fcarcity have ferved as a fubftitute " for bread." Lightfoot's Flora Scotica, vol. i. p. 3S9. * Roes are mentioned by Mr. Pennant as common inhabitants of the Scotch pine forefts, from the banks of Loch Lomond to the entrance into Caithnefs. When the ground is covered with fnow, tliey broufe on the extreme branches of the pine and juniper. Pennant's Tour, p. 54. Eagles and falcons alfo frequent the fame fcenes. f Tlie Alpine Hare; of which Mr. Pennant (Tour, p. 84) fays, that it inhabits the fummits of the higheft hills, is lefs than the common hare, and, when purfued, feeks fhelter as foon as pof- fible under ftones. During fummer its predominant colour is grey. About September it begins to aflume a fnowy whitenefs ; and be- comes entirely white, except about the edges and tips of the ears. In April it refumcs its grey coat. J The Capercalze, called alfo Auercalze, Capercally, and Cock of the Wood, and occafionally from its great fize the Horfe of the Woods, as it fometimes weighs fifteen pounds, is the largeft of the grous fpecies. It inhabits pine forefts, and perches on the top of SPRING. 21 His bread of varying green, and crow'd, and clapp'd His gloffy wings. Oft, peering round with eye That fear'd the glance of human eye to meet, Beneath the cliff, where many a fragment rude Skirted the ebbing lake, at eve he roam'd ; Sprang on the feaguU fluttering in the fnare His art had woven ; from their caverns drew The fhell-clad race, or feiz'd the finny prize Left floundering in the ftiallows. Peace meanwhile Brighten'd the land, and Jufl:ice through the depths Of glens and woods proclaimed the fated fword. He heard, and joyful fought his much-loved home. A deeper tinge imbrowns the wild ; yon hill With bridling terror heaves ; the foreft quakes ; Through every glade portentous echoes roll. Heard ye not Britain's voice ? Her oaks mature. To brave the fliock of elements, the might Of Gaul, fhe fummons ; bids them guard her peace very tall trees, and feeds on the extreme fhoots. The colour of the bread is green, refembling that of the peacock, Pennant's Tour in Scotland, p. 198 and 293; and do. part 2d, 4to, 1776, p, 23, 24. In the fpring, this bird is accuftomed to take its ftation on a high tree, clapping its wings, and crowing with a loud and fhrill voice. It may then be approached with the utmoft eafe by the fowkr. See Pennant's Britifli Zoology, 4th edit, vol, i. p. 264, and p. 266, note, c 3 22 WALKS IN A FOREST. With tributary aid, and round her ifle Build on the feas an adamantine wall. Pierce we the dells. The folitude refounds With bufy life. The uplifted axe, urged deep By finewy arms, while the well-planted feet Keep firm each mufcle of the draining back, Delves the refifting trunk ; from every ftroke Wide fly the fragments. Now the affailants paufe, Breathlefs and faint ; now, to determined rage By mutual exhortation fired, return Pierce to the charge. The fylvan monarch groans, And fhakes his leafy crown prefageful. Hark ! That blow was fatal. From his bafe disjoined, While from his furious fweep the victors fly, He falls ; loud founds the fhock ; his fplinter'd arms Craih ; the hills tremble ; ruin fpreads the ground. So, Youth of Pella, by thy vengeful arm Caft from her throne when mitred Perfia fell, Earth, ocean, fliook : fnapt from their parent flock, Her hundred provinces in fragments huge Spread Empire's ruin o'er the aftonilh'd Eaft. Now this, now that way draAvn the harfli faw grates. Severing the mighty limbs. Thofe ftrip the bark ; In heaps thefe build it. Thofe the feebler boughs Hew to fit lengths ; thefe in well-order'd tiers Arrange them, fedulous the pile to form, SPRING, 23 Where fmother'd heat fhall drink the fap, and change The green to footy charcoal. Near its fide Yon children deep in earth their yielding poles, Ribs of the temporary cabin, fix With tops united : thefe with pliant fhoots Wattled, his wigwam as the Indian weaves In tranfiitlantic fhade, or cloth'd with turf, The funimer hut on Snowdon's wind}'- brow As Cambrian herdfmen rear, from dews of eve And noontide funs the clamorous train fhall guard, While the flow-kindling mafs they tend, and watch To ope in time frefh inlets for the breeze. And pierce new chimnies for the imprifon'd fmoke. Thus eager in the fylvan toil unite Brifk youth and flurdy manhood ; each abforb'd In his own tafk, nor confcious that the arm Of induflry, plied hard for daily bread, Plants the foundations of a kingdom's power. And props the fplendid fabric of the ftate. Soon the peel'd trunk, reft of its branched head. Seized by thy grafp. Mechanic Art, fhall quit Its native lawn ; while the tired oxen pant, And the wain groans beneath the ponderous load. So fade the chieftains of the wood ; their plac§ Knows them no more ; the defolated blank Gapes, and admits the long -excluded day. C4 24 WALKS IN A FOREST. Yet fhall contiguous faplings through the void Puili their fwift growth ; and with columnar Hems Mounting through ether, and with ample fpread Darkening the plain, Ihall emulate their fires. Thus when the ftatefman and the warrior fall, Dejeded Albion mourns. Ere long a race, With memory of paternal virtue warm'd, Pleads in the fenate, conquers in the field ; And while approving heaven the purpofe crowns. Upholds the reign of freedom and of law, Of focial order and domeftic peace. All hail, free forefters ! I hail you free, Though at the call of Man, Vicegerent Lord Of earth, your heads in homage bow. For man Regards your rights, nor haraffes the wild With needlefs interference. There his hand Controls you not : while yet he fpares the tree, He fpares its freedom ; leaves the trunk to fhoot As nature prompts the kind ; nor drains the boughs To forms uncouth, nor trims with plaftic fheers, And calls the havock beauty. Think on thofe. Your kindred, whom the taftelefs tyrant fhapes At his own will ; and dooms their living ftems To fervice more degrading than his pile Of roots and logs and refufe brufhwood knows. Think on the yew, that fix'd in lucklefs hour SPRING. 25 Its growth befide his dwelling. See its ere (I Lopt to a flump, Its horizontal range Curtail'd ; while from the mutilated (lock Pillars and pyramids and ftatues rife, Giants and dwarfs. Behold the tortured box. Now frown, a bear ; now grin, an ape ; now feign A peacock's pride, and In eternal green Still ftrut, ftili fpread its unrelenting tail. Mark, happy forefters, your brethren's ftiame. And triumph In your liberty ! And ye, Britons, ye fons of freedom, turn your eyes To climes that Ganges floats with ftreams of gold : In links of fteel where fuperftltlon binds The unfufpedling native ; to his caft Tethers him ; cramps his powers ; condemns to ply With joylefs hands the trade his fires have plied With joylefs hands for centuries ; profcrlbes All hope of change, all profpedl to o'erleap Or burft her barriers, to the ikies upraifed. And ftedfaft as the chambers of the grave. Behold, and blefs the Power who gave your lot In Freedom's land, where Genius unconfined Purfues his favourite path ; where Science warms Each latent energy of foul ; and Truth Heaven-born her only radiance pours abroad. And O ! for India's wretched fons ye deem 26 WALKS IN A FOREST. Your fubjetfls, yet, even yet, at length fulfil A mafter's charge. Ye have a Mafter too, Throned In the {kies, and watchful to avenge Neglefted duty. With perfuafive lore, Not force, but truth perfuafive, loofe the chains They ignorantly prize ; bid them be free To aa as men ; teach them alike to fcorn The fenfelefs image and the wily prieft, Bow to the fceptre of impartial law, And hail the dawn of evangelic day. WJLK THE SECOND. ARGUMENT. A Summer Noon contrafted with a Summer Morning — Burners of Fern — Great Conflagrations occafioned by Fern Fires- Story cf a Cottager — A Forefl Pool — Horfes and Cattle col- led^ed by it— Village boy come in fcarch of his Mafter's Cattle — Hazy EfFeft of Noon on remote Woods— Dil^nt View of a Church — Refledtions— A Foreft, though without the charadcriftic Grandeur and Beauty of Mountains, of Rocks, of Lakes, or of Sea-fhores, has Grandeur and Beauty of its own. WALK THE SECOND. SUMMER. NOON. The folftlce rages: Nature fmks opprefl Beneath the fultry glow. Hide me, ye woods. Hide In your Ihades Impenetrable ; waft A breeze reviving from your Inmoft depths ; While your tall trunks between 1 gaze abroad On the parch'd world, or watch the trooping deer Safe In the covert from the fcorching ray. What though with lifted ears to every found They turn ? They fly not me ; no murderous tube Gleams in my hand : but far aloof they fliun Him, whofe green vefture and infidlous gait Mark him their authorized deftroyer. Few And Ihort the hours fmce from its height the lark Sang the firft carol to approaching morn. And broke the twilight (lumber of the grove : Yet that brief interval the clime has changed 3^ WALKS IN A FOPvEST, From temperate zone to torrid. Scatter'd clouds, With orient blufh empurpled, half obfcured The afcending orb of light ; gray mifts, effufed O'er the wide lawn, and from the wooded hill Dim through their fkirts difcern'd retiring flow, His labouring beams jcftraiu'd ; yon reverend oaks, Fronting the eaft, acrofs the illumined vale Stretch'd their long fhadows ; dewy fpanglcs gemm'd The grafs ; o'er thymy banks and opening flowers On gelid wings a gale of fragrance mov'd. Now from the burning firmament the fun Each cloud has driven ; with univerfal light Blazing, the earth repels the dazzled eye. Save where a lonely fpot of fliade lies clofe Beneath fome maffy tree, or woods extend Their dark recefles ; the faint traveller's ftep On the tann'd plain Aides printlefs, as when froft Has glazed the downward path ; no wondering breeze The hufli'd aerial ocean moves ; and fierce As when through Indian flcies it rages, heat Cleaves the parch'd earth, anddrains the ebbing ftream. Yet cannot heat's meridian rage deter The cottage-matron from her annual toil. On that rough bank Jbehold her, bent to re^p The full-grown fern, her harveft, and prepare Her afliy balls of purifying fame. SUMMER. NOON. 3I Lo, yon bare fpot flie deftlnes for the hearth ; Now flrikes the fteel, the tinder covers light With withered leaves and dry ; now (loops to fan The glimmering fparks, and motionlefs remains, Watching the infant flame from fide to fide Run through the thin materials. Round her flray Children or grandchildren, a cheerful train, Difperfed among the bufhes ; earnell each To execute the talk her nod affigns, Half fport, half labour, fit for early youth. One plies the hook, the rake another trails ; Another, daggering, bears the verdant load Uplifted In his arms ; another haftes Her apron's burthen to difcharge. Each ftep A(5llve and prompt obedience quickens, zeal Infpired by love ; the temper of the foul Which to the parent moft endears the child. The chrlftian to his God. Well-pleafed the dame Receives their tribute ; part fhe heaps afide in ftore for night, the embers to preferve From quenching dews ; part on the kindled pile Adroit fhe fprlnkles ; duly with her fork Then opes the fmklng ftrata to admit Currents of needful air ; at every gale The enllven'd mafs glows bright, and crackles loud. Puffing from numerous chinks the fmoke unfolds 32 WALKS IN A FOREST. Its wreathed volumes ; not as when, condenfed By evening's gelid atmofphere, It creeps Below the hill, and draws along the ground Its lengthening train, and fpreading as it rolls, Melts in blue vapour ; but afpiring fhoots Its growth columnar, and difplays adu- lts broad and dulky head, to pilgrim's eye As view'd o'er Salem's plain the palm afcends. Hence fhall the matron in the diftant town With lifted hands her fnowy flax admire. And fcorn the produce of Hibernian looms. Oft from thefe fires malignant fparks adrift Borne by the wind ; or thrown by ruftic hands With inward purpofe that the foil, from bafe And noxious vegetation freed, may yield Salubrious pafture to the grazing herd ; Seize the dead grafs, the furzy brake invade. Kindle the matted brufhwood, and from hill To hill the fudden conflagration pour. Woe to the mighty oak that on the plain Grown old in folitary grandeur, meets The fiery deluge in its courfe : the blaze Round the root rattles, climbs the finged trunk. Devours the leaves, and o'er the topmoft bough Its fmoke ftaln'd canopy triumphant rears. Thus when with dizzy heads and armed hands SUMMER. NOON. $$. The unbridled multitude the tafk afTiimes To deanfe from ftains and mould to happier form A ftate's well-order 'd frame, if time or craft Some nuifance to the public weal has raifed, The caufe that moved or feem'd to move the florm. It fmks unpitied : but the infatiate blaft Still rages, Uproar thunders, Havock ftalks Fearlefs ; Law, Empire falls ; the reverend pile By hoary wifdom plann'd, by patriot ftrength Uprear'd, by patriot blood cemented, falls Headlong, and frantic myriads fhout for joy. Wider and wider o'er the blacken'd wafte Her burning tide Deftru6lion rolls. From deep Roufed by the unaccuftom'd found, the fox Starts, hftens quick, the fcent of fire inhales Appall'd, and ruflies forth : the heath-cock wakes, And fprings in terror through the fervid air. Meanwhile the clouds dark rifing from the fpoil The neighbouring hamlets with familiar gaze View unalarm'd : but at the clofe of day. The horizon red with fettled glow, and oft With fpiry flalhes gleaming, fills with awe Trads far remote ; and to the boding mind The pi<5lure holds of harvefts reap'd in vain. Of ravaged farms, and villages deftroy'd. And are thefe terrors vain ? Behold yon (pot D 34 WALKS IN A FOREST. Beneath the Hoping covert, where the eye Along the ditch yet faintly to be traced, And edged with interrupted mounds of earth By mouldering time but half worn down, purfues The fence that once exifled ; while within. The fmoother furface and the livelier green The cultivating hand of man record. There by the fhelter'd vale a peafant youth Attracted, fought his cot to rear ; nor fought Hopelefs : the indulgent lord of the domain Nodded aflent. Swift rofe the humble wall. And fwift the flraw-clad roof. Thither ere long The happy bridegroom led the maid whofe charms Had won his heart. Soon his induftrious fpade Reclaim'd a corner from the wafte : in vain The lofty-vaulting deer, the fearching hare, His wattled hedge affail'd. The garden fpread Its herbs falubrious, gay with mingled flowers. Crocus and fnowdrop, tulip brought from far, Violet now blue, now white, and primrofe drawn From neighbouring thicket. Rolling feafons nurfei "^iis orchard's vernal fragrance, and weighed low The boughs far gleaming with autumnal gold. Oft when the plain before the rulhing North In fnowy waves moved wild, his chimney's fmoke, WhirPd rapid in blue eddies, to his door SUMMER. NOON. 35 The wilder'd traveller led. The peafant grafp'd His oaken ftafF, and wading through the drift, Pointed the buried road ; or to his fire Convey'd the Ihivering ftranger, and renew'd The crackling blaze, while from her fecret ftore His partner cuU'd the hofpitable meal. Thus glided on the peaceful years, till age Sprinkled their locks with filver : fcarce had grief E'er clogg'd the wing of time, fave when their child, An only daughter, o'er her hufband's grave Mourn'd ceafelefs, and by wafting anguifh bow^'d, Soon follow'd him ; yet left two orphan babes The ancient pair to footh. Their prattling mirth Cheer'd the long winter-eve, and added joy To blifsful fummer. One unhappy night. The grandHre, who had mark'd the neighbouring hill By kindled furze illumed o'erpower the moon. From unrefrelhing fleep with fudden ftart Woke gafping : fuffocating vapour denfe The cottage fill'd. Scarce confcious, he fprang forth Untainted air to breathe. He turn'd, and faw The fiercely voUied fparks, the pillar'd fire, Burft from the thatch. Inward he rufh'd to fave What more than life he lovM. At once the roof Sunk; higher tower'd the flame ; wife, hufband, babes. One ruin whelm'd j one' grave their bones received. D 2 $6 WALKS IN A FOREST. Behold yon pool, by unexhaufted fprings Still nurtured, draw the multitudes that graze The plains adjacent ! On the bank worn bare, And printed with ten thoufand fteps, the colts In fhifting groups combine ; or, to the brink Defcending, dip their pafterns in the wave. Bolder the horned tribes, or lefs of heat And teafmg infeds patient, far from fliore Immerge their chefts ; and while the hungry fwarm Now foars aloof, now refolute defcends, Lafh their tormented fides ; and, (lamping quick And oft, the muddy fluid fcatter round. Fix'd many an hour, till milder fkies recall Defire of long forgotten food, they ftand Each in its place ; fave when fome wearied bead The preffure of the crowd no longer brooks. Or in mere vagrant mood her ftation quits Reftlefs ; or fome intruder, from afar Flying o'er hill and plain the gadbee's fting, (For ftill the dreaded hum fhe hears, and fliakes The air with iterated lowings,) fpies The wat'ry gleam. With wildly-tofllng head. And tail proje<5led far, and maddening gait. She plunges in, and breaks the ranks, and fpreads Confufion, till conftrain'd at length fhe (lops, Wedged in the throng. Beneath a neighbouring bufh, SUMMER. NOON. 37 Poor ilielter from the potent ray, reclines The ruftic boy, to count his mafter's herd Sent from yon hamlet ; left feme ftraggler, feized By fharp and fudden malady, fhould pine Untended in the wood ; or, refolute To crop forbidden pafture, overleap The well-plafn'd fence, and roam the diftant field. Panting, bareheaded, and with out-ftretch'd arms He deeps ; and dreams of winter's frofty gale, Of funlefs thickets, rills with breezy courfe, Morn's dewy frefhnefs, and cool reft at eve. So when in flumber the poor exile feeks A paufe from woe, delufive fancy's hand Prefents each objed of his fond defire. He reads the joyful fummons to return ; Beholds the bark prepared, the fwelling fail ; Hears the impatient feamen murmur ; grafps The pendent rope exulting ; climbs the deck ; Skims o'er the wave, and hails his native fhore," From the whole furface of the tepid earth. But moft from rivers rippling fwift, and pools, And trickling fprings, and oozy fwamps exhaled, A vapoury fteam floats, with the loaded air Yet uncombined ; and undulating ftill And ever twinkling, o*er the diftant woods. Sheds a blue haze, aad dims their Ihadowy forms. 38 ^VALKS IN A FOREST. Where through the tufted coverts of the grove That opening glade defcends, and leads the eye To fcenes beyond the foreft's bound removed, How nobly mid the fading landfcape (lands Yon * fane pre-eminent ! It warms my heart. When through the wide-fpread provinces I ftray Of this fair realm, to view the {lender fpire And maffy tower from deep-embowering (hades Oft rifmg in the vale, or on the fide Of gently-floping hills, or, loftier placed. Crowning the wooded eminence. It looks As though we own'd a God, adored his power. Revered his wifdom, loved his mercy ; deem'd He claims the empire of this lower world, And marks the deeds of Its Inhabitants. It looks as though we deemM he fills all fpace Prefent throughout ; and bends from heaven's high throne, With ear attentive to the poor man*s prayer. It looks as though we fhrunk not from the thought Of that laft manfion (laft as far as earth Detains us) where, In folemn filence laid, Our duft (hall (lumber, till a voice, like that Which, fpeaking by the aftonifh'd f prophet's mouth, * Lichfield Cathedral. f Ezeklel, chap, xxxvil. SUMMER. NOON. 39 Roufed the dry bones that ftrew'd the ample vale To fudden life, fliali call the unnumbered dead, Primaeval Adam with his lateft fons, From every clime before their Judge's face To ftand, and hear their everlafting doom. God clothes his works with beauty. What tho* here He has not wrapped in clouds the mountain's head Magnificent, nor piled the fradured rock ; Nor delved the ftony cavern ftretching wide Its unfupported roof; nor down the fteep Pour'd the rude cataradt ; nor bid the lake Expand its lucid mirror to the fun ; Nor ocean's billowy furges wafh the bafe Of promontories, whofe white cliffs, with fowl Swarming of every feabprn tribe, refound With countlefs wings, and never-wearied cries ; Yet has his hand the intermingling charms Of hill and valley, lawn, and winding dell. In rich exuberance fpread ; yet has his hand Hung thefe wild banks with fylvan majefty. D4 WALK THE THIRD. ARGUMENT. A Summer Evening defcribed — Moon rifes — Stars and Planets— Addrefs to tlum — Noaurnal Birds in purfuit of Infeds — The Siibjeft illuftrared by the annual Migration of Herrings — Wild- Cat — "Weafel dcftroyinga Leveret— An Evening in an African Foreft — Deer-Stealer— His Method of proceeding defcribed— Purfuit of him by the Keepers — Addrefs to the Votaries of Luxury — The Turtle — EfFeds of the Luxury of the Wealthy on the Morals and Fate of the Foreft Peafant. WALK THE THIRD. SUMMER. MOONLIGHT. 1 HE glow of eve is faded. Scarce the Wed Retains a pale memorial of tlie beams That fired it, v/hen the horizontal clouds. With purple dyes and fiflures edged with gold, Streak'd the calm ether; while through fparkling haze The faint hills glimmer'd, fainter as their chain Approached the fount of brightnefs, fainter ftill Where funk the parting orb, and with the (ky In undiftinguifhable fplendor joinM. Frowning on yonder eminence, the oak Stretch'd his wild arms, and with contrafting gloom Athwart the blaze his fable fhadows flung. Milder, ftill milder, the fubfiding glow Spared the pain'd eyeball, and with fober rays Quench'd in the gathering dufk refrefh'd the fight : As when remembrance of a buried friend 44 WALKS IN A FOREST. No longer with intenfity of grief Harrows the foul ; but, mellow'd down by time. From fadnefs to compofure fooths the breaft, Sacred compofure, near allied to joy. Soon o'er the hill the yellow-tindured moon Rofe through the twilight, and with flanting ray Gilded the topmoft boughs ; while all the vale And all Its floping boundaries lay wrapt In fliade unvaried. Now with lelTening orb And filver afpect climbing, through the leaves And thinner fpray a tremulous gleam fhe throws, Chequering the moffy path beneath our feet. Round her the ftars and planetary balls With cloudlefs lullre burn ; not ranged in heaven With mere defign a twinkling aid to yield To the late-wandering flranger, nor ordain'd To rule our deftinies, as craft averr'd, And ignorance believed ; thy power, thy love. Parent of all, they fpeak : they tell of worlds Innumerable, warm'd by other funs. And peopled with innumerable hofls Of beings, wondrous all, nor lefs than man Work of thy hand, and children of thy care ! Ye fparkling ifles of light that ftud the fea Of empyrean ether 1 Ye abodes Of unknown myriads, fpirits, or in bands SUMMER. — MOONLIGHT. 4$ Held of corporeal frame ! Fain would my foul, Athirft for knowledge unreveal'd to man, Queftion your habitants, and fain would hear A voice refponfive from your diftant bourn. Tell, tell me who pofTefs your radiant climes ; What are their forms, their faculties, their hopes. Their fears, if fubjeft or to hope or fear ? What fond purfuits, what animating toils, Diverfify exiftence with delight ? Rove they In courfe aerial unconfined From fphere to fphere, with interchange of joy Heightening their mutual blifs ; or dwell they fixM, Each in his native folitary orb, Unconfcious of the lot of neighbouring worlds ? What homage, what returns of grateful love Yield they to Him who made them ? Stand they fad In undecaying bleffednefs, fecure From riik of lofs : or tread they yet the flage Of perilous probation ? Hath Sin won Conquefts through difobedience o'er thofe hofts ? In your bright regions yawns the gate of Death ? Falls he, who falls, for ever ? — Power fupretne ! Pardon the afpiring thoughts that would prefume To pierce the veil which Ihrowds from mortal eye The wonders of thy realms 1 Enough, to know That thou art Lord ! Thy univerfal love 46 WALKS IN A FOREST. Pervades Creation ; on each living form Showers down its proper happinefs ; and, when guilt Wakes thy reludant vengeance, ftays the bolt Of wrath, and pales its mitigated fire ! While with their heads beneath their ruffled plumes Conceal'd, the birds that fported during day, Reft in thefe iheltering buflies, at whofe roots The vivid worm her nightly fpark illumes ; And couching in that brake, the timorous deer Slumbers forgetful of each paft alarm ; The tribes of evening ifTue from their cells. To animate the dulk. Heard ye the owl Hoot to her mate refponfive ? 'Twas not fhe Whom floating on white pinions near his barn The farmer views well pleafed, and bids his boy Porbear her neft ; but ihe whoj clothM in robe Of unobtrufive brown, regardlefs flies Moufe-haunted cornftacks, and the threfher^s floor. And prowls for plunder in the lonely wood. On leathern wing in changeful jerks the bat Flittingv and twittering fhrill and weak, renews The wonted chace. Nor is the chace in vain. For ever and anon the beetle dull Smites us with fudden ftroke, flopping at once Its heavy hum : while moths of frze and form And motion various, flutter by, with plumes SUMMER.— MOONLIGHT. 4^ Lefs gorgeous, not lefs delicate, than theirs Whofe painted wings the noontide flowers adorn. Hark ! from yon quivering branch your direft foe, Infers of night, Its whirring note prolongs *, Loud as the found of bufy maiden's wheel : Then with expanded beak, and throat enlarged Even to its utmoft ftretch, its cuftomed food Purfues voracious. Thus from Zembla's deep On warmer climes when herring armies f pour » The goatfucker. *' This bird agrees with the fwallow tribe in *' food, and in the manner of taking it ; differs in the time of *' jM-eying, flying only by night; fo with fome juflice may be <* called a nodurnal fwallow. It feeds on moths, gnats, dorrs, or " chaffers ; from which Charlton calls it a Dorr-hawk ; its food *< being entirely that fpecies of beetle during the month of July. a — Scopoli fe^ms to credit the report of its fucking the teats *' of goats J an error delivered down from the days of Ariflotie. " Its notes are moft fingular; the loudefl: fo much refembles that *' of a large fpinning-wheel, that the Welch call this bird aderyn " y droell, or the wheel-bird. It begins its fong moft pundtuall)' " on the clofe of day, fitting ufually on a bare bough. The noife ** is fo very violent, as to give a fenfible vibration to any littltt <* building it chances to alight on, and emit this fpecies of note." Pennant's Britifli Zoology, vol. i. p. 416, 417. See alfo White's Naturalift's Calendar, p. 79. f The winter habitation of the herrings is the fea within th» Arctic circle. " This mighty army," fays Mr. Pennant (Britifh Zoology, 4th ed. vol. iii- p. 336, 337), *' begins to put itfelf in ** motion in the fprins. We diftinguiih this v^ body by that name j /J.8 WALKS IN A FOREST. The living tide of plenty ; to the fun With gold and green and azure many a league When ocean glitters like a field of gems, Gay as the bow of heaven, and burns by night In every billow with phofphoric fire ; Their march innumerous foes attend. Behold, In light-wing'd fquadrons, gulls of every name. Screaming difcordant, o'er the furface hang, And ceafelefs ftoop for prey. Lo ! gannets huge *' for the word herring is derived from the German heer^ an army, to •' exprefs their numbers. It is divided into dlftind columns of five <« or fix miles in length, and three or four in breadth." The fame r.uthor, in his Tour in Scotland, 1772, 2d ed. p. 373, 374, obferves further: " In a fine day, when the fifh appear near the furface, ** they exhibit an amazing brilliancy of colours. All the various ** corufcations that dart from the diamond, fapphire, and emerald, « enrich their track; but during night, if they play on the fur- ** face, the fea appears on fire, luminous as the brighteft phof- *' phorus — The figns of the arrival of the herrings are flocks of ** gulls, which catch up the fifli while they fkim on the furface ; <* and of gannets, which plunge and bring them up from confi- *' derable depths. Codfifh, haddocks, and dogfifli follow the ** herrings in vaft multitudes ; whales, pollacks, and porpoifes ** are added to the number of their foes: thefe follow in droves j << the whales deliberately, opening their vaft mouths, taking them *< in by hundreds. Thefe monfters keep on the outfide ; for the " body of the phalanx of herrings ia fo thick as to be impene- *' trable." SUMMER, MOOXLIGHT. 4^/ And ofpreys *, plunging from their cloudy height With leaden fall precipitate, the waves Cleave with deep-dafhing bread, and labouring rife. Talons and beak o'erloaded : while beneath Monfters marine with fanguine inroad gore The loofer files ; and, floating vaft, the whale Infatiate lops the impenetrable hoft. Unbars his mighty jaws, clofe-crowded troops Ingulfs at once, and clafps the gates of death. Frefti from its den, yon hollow trunk, behold The wild-cat, deadlieft of the favage tribes That roam in Britifli foreft ; v/ont on high To feize the rapid fquirrel, or by guile Pluck from her neft the unfufpeaing dove. Or to the ground defcending thin the race That bores the fandy warren. Thus from fea To fea, from fhore to fhore, athirft for fpoil, ♦ " The ofprey feeds chiefly on fifli, taking them in the fame ** manner as the fea- eagle does, by precipitating iifelf on them — *' The Itahans compare the violent defcent of this bird on its prey " to the fall of lead into water, and call it auguifta pwuKibina, the *' leaden-cagle." Brit. Zool. 4th edit. vol. i. p. 275. The fea- eagle is thus finely charad^erifed by Pliny: ** Supereft halicectos, *' clarilTima oculorum acie, librans ex alto fsfcy vifoque in mari ** pifce, pra-ceps in eum mens, & difcuffis peftore aquis rapiens.'* On the fimilar habits of the gannet, fee Brit. Zool. vol. ii. p. 617, £ 50 WALKS IN A FORFST. The pirate fteers ; now chafes o'er the wave The merchantman in ever-changing courfe Tacking in vain ; now lands the midnight crew Havock and flame through fome defencelefs town To fpread ; now, braving noon's indignant eye, Sacks the lone village : fcatter'd o*er the plains To every wind, the fhepherds pant ; and oft Snatching a glance reverted, mark the fmoke And fiery gleam that tell the tale of woe. See from his cave beneath the brambly bank The fox glide forth, fcenting the feather'd prey Perch'd at the neighbouring cottage. Creeping flow The weafel, and in filence, through the fern Steals on the dozing leveret. From her feat She ftarts, and bears away the aflailant fix'd Faft to her neck, and from the flowing vein Sucking the vital current. Lo, fhe falls. The puny murderer flinks into the brake From the drainM carcafs, fated with the blood. Amid the nightly prowlers of thy wilds, Britain, man walks ferene : in all their tribes None found to bid him tremble, none to aim Talon or fang againft their rightful lord. O wretched he, whom Senegambian fhades Inclcfe at eve ! He, while a vault of flame Smote on his brow, and fcorch'd his gafping throat, SUMMER. MOONLIGHT, Day after day through fandy oceans toll'd. Where deathlike filence brooded o^er the wafte. And boundlefs fpace feem'd but a larger grave : No fign that ever foot the burning earth Had tracked, or life inhaled the vapoury fire, Save when fome earners bleaching ribs he paft. Or corfe of long-lofl; pilgrim parch'd to ftone. If to a bordering foreft, vi^hen the fun Kindles the weft, his weary courfe drav/ nigli ; Soon as the orb its laft red crefcent dips, At once the lion's defert-fhaking roar. The gaunt hyena's ffiriek, the panther's growl, And yells of every tone that breathes difmay Strain'd from unnumber'd throats athirft for blood. Join dlffonant : with ferpcnt hifs the gloom Quivers : the herded elephants advance With thundering fliock, and through oppofing woods Crufli their wide way. Now the brief twilight fades ; In agony he fhudders ; through the dufk Sees fiery eyeballs glare ; and hears the rout Of countlefs antelopes, than tropic ftorms More fleet, ruih headlong from the gripe of death ; Hears famifh'd monfters panting in the chace, And cries and groans proclaim the arrefted flight Of vidini after victim. Stretch'd on earth, Each limb with icy dread convulfed, he lies^ E 2 52 WALKS IN A FOREST. Lies powerlefs, hopelefs : and with vain regret Sighs for the horrors of the fervid noon, Where deathhke filence brooded o'er the wild. And boundlefs fpace feemM but a larger grave ; Where late the camel's bleaching ribs he paft. And coife of long-loft pilgrim parch'd to ftone. wretch, whom noon (hall never light again ! Wliy riilh'd that horfeman with impetuous courfe Acrofs the glade, ftill looking back ? Why (hook The foreft with the deep-toned bloodhound's roar ? 1 know his deeds. Ere long on yonder plain Again fhall we behold him : though he ftrive His chafers to miflead, and round thefe banks Artful his circuit takes, there will he feek The outlet of the wild. This day at noon With ftaff and halter in his hand he ftray'd As watchful of the grazing tribes ; and feem'd An herdfman bent his wandering colt to find. And from the fcanty common lead him home To more abundant pafture. Other thoughts Lay lurking in his breaft. From prying gaze Within the hollow lining of his coat Cover'd, the muflcet by malignant art For depredation form'd, in feparate lengths Disjointed, as mufician parts his flute, He bore. With never-erring Ikill, the fruit SUMMER. MOONLIGHT. 53 Mature of long experience, in the crowd The well-fed buck he mark'd ; fmgling at once The viaim, as each herb of flavour choice With fapient nofe oft fliifting o'er the plain He cropp'd, unconfcious of impending fate. PerchM on the fummit of the blafted oak Tlie raven eyed him (often had fhe traced His purpofe), and in filence ominous Waited her ofFal portion of the prey. Meanwhile, a {hot delufive, in the wood At diftance due by fly confederate fired, Alarmed the keeper's ear. Inftant he urged From glade to glade the vain purfuit, and left The endangered fpot unguarded. The fafe hour The plunderer feized ; the tube with fpeed refl:ored To native fliape he charged, levell'd his aim, And drew the trigger. Clang'd the fteel, and flafli'd Deftrudlion. Swift he dragg'd the bleeding fpoil. And plung'd the quivering limbs and branched crefl Deep in the brake, and fled. Bold he return'd. When twilight lent to guilt her dubious veil, At eve, prepared his booty to convey To diftant mart, where pamper'd luxury With indifcriminate rage her dainties buys, Regardlefs whence they come, or how procured. But long, as when impatient nelllings peep, ^3 54 WALKS IN A FOREST, Wide gaping, o'er their walls of mofs, and chide Clamorous their dam whom fearch of food delays ; Long with inquiring ftomach llialt thou wait, O difappointed Alderman ! and drive To ftill the cravings of the mighty ^oid With meaner prey, while fympathetic dread Suggefts the terrors thy purveyor feels ! For, roufed by fudden tramplings, ere the load Is packed, acrofs his fteed the deer he throws. And mounts in hafte. For now their nightly round The keepers hold ; and foon the ranging dogs Sagacious note the deed, and touch the place Of ilaughter. With loud roar they tell the talc ; And over hill and lawn fcenting the blood, By jolting agitation liquefied, At intervals ftill dropping from the wound. Through all his bends the frighted robber chafe. Mark where they come : eager behind them fweep Their matters. From our fight lo all are loft, Purfuers and piufued. Crofs we this knoll, And meet them as they circle round the fkirts Of that impenetrable wood. There flies The caitiff! Nearer, nearer ftill, the foes Hang ardent on his fteps. And now his form Shouting they recognize, and fiercer drive Their fteeds. For long fufpicious had they guefsM SUMMER. MOONLIGHT. 55 His fecret wiles ; and oft at dead of night His cottage had they fought, and, arm*d with force Of legal claim and juft authority, Entrance demanded, and with patient toil Explored each dark recefs, anxious to meet Proofs of his rapine : but his wary fraud Had baffled all their projedls. Now his reign Is clofed. Hard preft he drops the deer : the bait His foes retards not ; on himfelf they pour Their utmofl fpeed. Mark, his overlaboured horfe Fails headlong ; from its back unhurt he fprings, And plies his nimble feet, and hopes efcape. In vain : the foreft fhakes him from its woods Indignant, and bids roufe its {lumbering holls To view their flres avenged. The keepers grafp Ends his vain ftruggles ; while the baying hounds Leap round him, and, with rage and triumph flufh'd, Scarce from his quivering limbs their fangs refrain. Ye fons of luxury, direr foe to man Than fword or peftilential vapour, blufh And tremble as this tale of truth ye read, Blufh for your fliame, and tremble for your guilt I Be it enough that earth's remotefl bounds, That polar fhores and equIno(5tial waves Pay tribute to your board : be It enough That at your beck In ftifling dungeon pent, ^4 56 ^ALKS IV A FOREST. Like Guinea's injured fons, o'er feas unknown Wafted with pain the familh'd turtle v/eeps Its miferable voyage ; at your beck Stretch'd out for butchery feels its fheily mail Rent from the flefli, of agonifing life Tenacious, while each mangled fragment heaves. And crawling fibres quiver on the floor. Spare yet the innocence of forefts, fpare The untutored peafant ; lure him not to flight The majefl:y of law. — Have ye then fped, Searched out his weaknefs, and with fraudful gold Sapp'd his integrity ? Lo, train'd by crime To crime, ere long he aims at nobler fpoil ; Plunders the fold, drives off the unguarded flieed, Arrefts the traveller, writhes the midnight lock, With murderous hand the couch of fleep invades ; Till, wearied by the deeds ye firfl: infpired. Avenging juftice fweeps him from the earth. WALK THE FOURTH. ARGUMENT. Addrefs to Autumn— An Autumnal Morning — Fieldfares — Ad- drefs to them — Appearance of a Foreft in Autumn fuperlor to its Effect either in Spring or in Summer — Landfcape- Painters invited to ftudy Chaftenefs and Harmony of colouring, and Breadth and Proportion of Light and Shade, in Forefts — Illuf- tration of the latter Subjedt from the Eruption of a Volcano — Autumnal Harmony of Nature further exemplified — The Woodcock— Deer waiting for falling Acorns — The Golden- crefted Wren— Cottagers collecting Fuel — An old Oak blown down — Contraft of wooded Kills ntar at Hand, in Sunftiine, with a flat Diftance in deep Shadow — The Heron — A diftant Shower — Dovedale — Tutbury Caftle — Mary Queen of Scots — John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaftcr— The Minftrel — The Love of Forelts natural to Man — Mode in which furviving Friends have praifed departed Genius — Praife of Forefls— Author of the Talk — Autumn originally unknown— Eteriul Spring fhali refume her Reign. WALK rHE FOURTH. AUTUMN. Autumn, I hail ihy fteps ! On yonder knoll Thou ftandeft ; not as in Trinacrian fields. Thy crown a wheaten wreath, thy robe embofs'd With golden fickles, jocund thou furvey'ft The reaper train ; not as on Gallic hills, Thy brow with vine-leaves mantled, thy attire Purple with clufters, and its verge with fruit From the pale olive broider'd, thou art wont To meet the peafant at his early toil ; But clad as beft becomes a fylvan lord. An oaken chaplet, wuth refplendent hues By thy own pencil warmM, and gemm'd with knots Of woodland berries, twines thy auburn hair. Broad pictured on thy many-coloured veft. Shade beyond fiiade, a mimic forcfl; glows, With birds innumerous throng'd. Part foar aloft, 6o WALKS IN A FOREST. Plowing in Heady line their tracklefs way, Mix'd with the clouds, as fcenting from afar The vernal gale : their comrades ope their wings In adt to follow. Part with languid air And folded plumes, as from a toilfome flight Yet unrecruited, from the topmoft boughs Explore the glades unknown ; or, by the call Of hunger long unfatisfied aroufed. Pluck the rich harveft of the fruitful wood. On yonder knoll thou paufeft ! O'er the groves As flowly waves thy hand, a deeper tinge Of flains ethereal, brightening every green. Follows its courfe. But when thy lifted arm Swift as in anger moves, the fhuddering woods, Smit with eledtric horror, prone to earth Their withering glories pour : the rifmg blaft Groans as it whirls the fylvan deluge wide, And hills and plains in leafy billows roll. Long on thy progrefs, Autumn, fhall my feet Attend obedient 1 O'er the unclouded fky. The foreft world of fliade, the gleamy vales. And funny lawns, and dreams in hazy light Glittering, when thy peculiar ftlllnefs reigns. As nature kept a fabbath ; when the leaf Shed from the aerial fpray fcarce quivering drops Through the lull'd atmofphere, be mine to hail AUTUMN. 6l Thy noon's unruffled calm. And when thy winds Prefageful, ere the brooding ftorms advance, Sweep through the upper air ; be mine at eve To climb yon deep, and wandering in its groves, Groves yet umbrageous, liften while the gale, Unfelt by me, founds in their fhadowy tops. As through a diftant region borne, and feems To tell the converfe of another world. And when thy tempefts darken earth and heaven. And lafti the {training wood ; when eddying wild, Denfe as the fnow-flakes which the unwearied North Shakes on the buried cliffs of Labrador, The flood of leaves defcends ; then be it mine Beneath the fafeguard of a clofe retreat To mark thy vengeful arm, and hear thy fhout Impatient on the bands of Winter call To hafte and feize the defolated year. Mild is thy brow this morn. A gentle frofl Spangles with icy dew the grafs. The rime Floats thin diffufed in air ; not as condenfed By wintry vapour Its impervious fog Blots out the neighbouring covert, every tvrig Thickening with feathery filver, and the locks Of peafant wilder'd in the dazzling gloom ; But twinkling in the fun its lucid veil Softens each harder outline, and apace 62 WALKS IN A FOREST. Before the afcending radiance melts away. Where in the hollow footfteps of the herd The fhower's cool reliques ftagnate, cryftal fhoots Start from the fides ; and interfering oft. And linkM in union, while the bibulous earth Still from beneath the liquid prop withdraws, Hang their white network gliftening o'er the void. Lo ! on yon branch, w^hofe naked fpray o'ertops The oak's ftill clufiering fhade, the fieldfares fit Torpid and motionlefs, yet peering round Sufpicious of deceit. At our approach They mount, and, loudly chattering from on high, Bid the wild woods of human guile beware. Ye ftrangers *, banilh'd from your native glades, Where tyrant Froft with Famine leagued proclaims, ** Who lingers, dies ;" with many a viik ye gain The privilege to breath our fofter air. And glean our fylvan berries. O'er the breadth Of ocean from relentlefs fkies, from waftes By winter petrified, from forefts whelm'd Beneath their glittering load, ye come to alk * Fieldfares migrate hither in autumn from the northern parts of Europe, being forced thence by the exceflive rigour of the feafon in thofe regions. See Pennant's Briti(h Zoology, vol. i. p. 304. AUTUMN. 63 A tranfient hofpitality. Nor force Nor fraud ye meditate : yet, roiifed at once By the firft murmur of your diftant wings. The kite, the buzzard, and each hooked beak And griping talon thirlleth for your blood. The fchoolboy, from his irkfome toil fet free. Proud of the gun now firft poffefsM, on you The firft rude effort of deftruclion tries. He marks your ftatlon, fteals beneath the fhade. Scarce dares with long-fufpended ftep to prefs The ground, left leaves Ihould ruftle ; trembles, pants, With hope, and fear ; his difconcerted aim Renews ; with faltering hand the trigger draws. And at the fudden thunder ftarts difmay'd. Even the dull fuftic as he plods along By hedgerow fide, or in the foreft roves, Obferves you, as ye pick your fcanty food, And whirls the dangerous pebble. What can guard. Ye unoffending helplefs vifitants. From fnares and death your perfecuted tribes ? He, who upholds the archangels : He, who marks With omniprefent eye the fmalleft form That lives, with arm omnipotent fuftalns : He, who infpired your flight from fnovv-clad w^aftes To happier fhores unknown ; and from the depths Of fm and mifery for defponding man 64 WALKS IN A FOREST. Has paved a path in mercy, and with voice Of love divine bids the repentant foul Rife heir of heaven, nor dread the gulph of death. How richly varied is the fcene ! In vain Spring with her emerald verdure, and the tints Of bloom from every tree and fhrub and herb Breathing its odour ; Summer's hand in vain, Thickening with greens mature the wood, with wreaths Of pendent woodbine linking bufli to bufh. And fcattering o'er the bank her blofibm'd furze Ardent with gold, would emulate the charms Of waning Autumn. What though one brief night Of premature feverity, one blaft Whirling the fleety hail, would ftrip the boughs. As peftilence the crowded city thins ? What though already on yon windy brow The lime and afh with unrefifting fear Their ftation have deferted ? Unfubdued Tlie mighty foreft rifes, and difplays His radiant files. Seize we the prefent hour. And view the fleeting glories ere they fade. Mark the nice harmony which blends the whole In one congenial mafs, brilliant, yet chafte. With every dye that ftains the withering leaf Glowing, yet not difcordant. Hither come, AUTUMN. 65 Ye fons of imitative art *, who hang The fi6lIons of your pencils on our walls, And call them landfcapes : where incongruous hues Seem their conftrain'd vicinity to mourn ; Where gaudy green with gaudy yellow vies. And blues and reds with adverfe afpeft glare. Here deign to learn from nature. Hither come. Ye fons of imitative art, who fpot With unconneded and unnumber'd lights Your motley canvas ; where the eye in vain Longs for a refting-place, and vainly drives To trace the dim defign, mid dazzling fpecks And univerfal glitter undefcried. Here deign to learn from nature : here, though late, Learn the peculiar majefty which crowns The foreft, when the flowly paffing clouds Triple f preponderance of fhadow fpread, * It is fcarcely nectffary to fay that the following lines refer only to the works of fome particular palnttrs, and are by no means in- tended to convey indifcriminate cenfure. f The painters nnoft (killed in the management of light gene- rally allow not above one quarter of the pidlure for the lights, in- cluding in this portion both the principal and fecondary lights} another quarter is as dark as poflible ; the remaining half in middle tint. Sir JoHiua Reynolds's Notes on Mr. Mafon's Tranflation of Dufrefnoy's Art of Painting, p. 98. 66 WALKS IN A FOREST. And feparate * the broad colledled lights With correfponding gloom ; whether, beneath Thefe oaks, that o'er the darkened foreground hang, The illumined valley fhines, the pa (luring deer; Or yon recefs Admits the fronting ray Between its dulky barriers ; or a gleam, Stretch'd o'er the tufted furface of the woods, Deepens the blacknefs of contiguous fhade. Thus with the rays of noon v;hen Etna blends Hei* vollied flame, nor with contrafting depth Of fmoke and fulphurous fleam the glare furrounds, Scarce feen, fcarce fear'd, the fickly blaze expires. Wouldft thou furvey her terrors ? Wait the hour, When from her caves projected Stygian clouds * In the grouping of lights there fliould be a fuperiorlty of one over the reft j they fhould be feparated, and varied in their fhapes ; and there (hculd not be lefs than three lights. The fecondary lights ought, for the fake of harmony and union, to be of nearly equal brightnefs, though not of equal magnitude, with the prin- cipal Sir J. Reynolds's Notes on Dufrefnoy, p. 96. Yet neither any one of thefe fecondary lights, nor all of them together, muft come into any degree of competition with the principal rriafs of light. Sir J. Reynolds's Seven Difcourfes, p. 106. The highell finifhing is labour in vain, unlefs at the fame time there be pre- ferved a breadth of light and fhadow — the fligiueft {ketch, where this breadth is prcferved, will have effedt. Notes on Dufrefnoy, p. 99. AUTUMN. 6y IncefTant rife, and air, earth, fea involve In more than midnight gloom. Then mark the burft Of fplendor from the glowing crater ftart To heaven ; behold the eledric flafh oblique * Break through tlie darknefs ; view the exploded rocks f Trail their long light ; prone down the mountain's fide Watch the red deluge o'er the works of man, Hamlet and city, mead and cultured plain. With indifcriminate deftrudion roll'd, * Sir William Hamilton, in his Obfervations on Mount Etna, Vcfuvius, and other Volcaftos, mentions tliis phenomenon as a conftant attendant on great eruptions. " Small aflies fell all day ** at Naples. They ifTued from the crater of the Volcano, and <« formed a vaft column as black as the mountain itfelf, fo that «« the fhadow of it was marked out on the furface of the fea. <' Continued fiafhes of forked or zigzag lightning fliot from this *' black column." Ed. zd, p. 37. See aifo p. 38, 39, and the note, and p. 46. 85. ** I find ia all the accounts of great erup- *' tions mention made of this fort of lightning, which is diftin- ** guiflied here by the name of Fcrilli." lb. p. 164. ■f *' I have feen ftones of an enormous fize fliot up to a great *' height from Vefuvius. In 1767 a folid flone, meafuring twelve ** feet in height and forty-five in circumference, was thrown a *' quarter of a mile from the crater." Sir AVilliam Hamilton's Obfervations, p. 49, note. He adds that " the eruption of 1767 ** was very n>ild in comparifon with fome others." F 2 68 WALKS IN A FOREST. Plunge headlong into ocean. Ocean's waves, Loud hiffing, from the invading fires recoil * ; Catania's bulwarks rock; with tottering creft Thy towers, pale Syracufe, the conflict hear ; And Rhegium fhudders at the refluent tide. Nature, in all her works harmonious, blends * The Eail of Winchelfea, In his account of the eruption of Mount Etna in 1669, quoted by Sir William Hamilton, (Obferva* tions, p. 6G,)defcribes the ftream of lava flowing upon the moun- tain as fifteen miles in length, and feven in breadth. ** It may be *' termed," he proceeds, " an inundation of fire, cinders, and *' burning ftones, burning with that rage as to advance into the <' fea fix hundred yards, and that to a mile in breadth ; v/hich I *' faw. And that which did augment my admiration was to fee *« in tiie fea this matter like ragged rocks burning in four fathom *' water, two fathoms higher than the fea irftlf j fome parts liquid, ** and throwing off the flones about it; which like a cruft of a << vaft bignefs, and red hot, fell into the fea every moment in *' forne place or other, caufing a great and horrible noife, fmoke, *' and hiffing in the fea." During the eruption of Mount Vefuvius in June and July 1794, the lava ran from the fide of the mountain in a torrent half a mile wide, and from twelve to forty feet high, through the middle of the town of Torre del Greco: deflroying the houfcs and vineyards in its progrefs, and forming a new promontory twenty- four feet high, and extending fix hundred and twenty-fix feet into the fea. See Sir W. Hamilton's account of this eruption delivered to the Royal Society. AUTUMN. 69 Extremes with foft gradation, and with tints Kindred throughout her changeful robe adorns. Bounds yon unbroken wood the level plain ? Light groups detached and folitary trees Unite them. Weave yon bufhes o'er the hill Uninterrupted thickets ? Furzy brakes Afpire to meet them. Spreads the furzy brake ? With varying breadth the intruding greenfward winds. And the rude mafs with velvet m.aze divides. And lo, even now, when with autumnal gold She decks the lofty branch, on every twig Of humbler growth the many-colour'd fruit Mindful fhe hangs. With fcarlet crown the briar Glitters : the thorn its ruddy clufters bend : Scarce can the floe fuftain its purple load, Not yet from tafte auflere, puckering the lip And difappointed tongue, by froft reclaimed 5 While from the prickly Ihoots pp.le bryony. Twined round the oft encircled ftem, fufpends Its lucid berries : rich in gloffy balls. Privet's dark fpikes with trembling luftre gleam. What though yon holly's cold unaltered green. That tDak embofoming, with contraft harlh Had met the fplendid foil that glows above ? Cindured with reddening zones, the fertile fpray, F3 WALKS IN A FOREST. Like Indian maiden girt with coral beads *, Blends with the fylvan monarch's gorgeous robe Tints that his gorgeous robe will not difdain. Nor lefs the ground its hues accordant joins, With faded leaves beftrewn, and floating wings Of ruflet fern o'erfhadowM, whence upftarts The woodcock : fhe who in Norweofian dell, Or birchen glade Lapponian, near the fwamp Suck'd from the ipongy foil the prey, to cheer Her tawny young ; till Winter's icy car, On Summer's ftep clofe f prefling, from his realm Warn'd her, and earth her probing beak repell'd. As when the gunner, in his ftubbly way Paufmg his arms afrelh to prime, fufpends The lifted flalk, and turns his ready ear, If to her brood the long-loll partridge call : Or as, when midnight flills the Atlantic wave, The pilot, if a found that feems to tell Of diftant breakers float upon the breeze. Stands motionlefs in deep attention loft : Beneaith yon oak why liftening paufe the deer ? * " The villas with which London ftands begirt, ** Like a fwarth Indian with his belt of beads." Cowpei f Spring and Autumn are hardly known to the Laplanders.- Scheffti's Hiftory of Lapland, p. 6i. AUTUMN. 71 They wait the falling acorn. Hark ! it leaps From the bare bank. Obedient to the found At once they turn, and feize it ; then refume Their patient Hand, and wifli the rifmg gale. Aloft in mazy courfe the golden wren * Sports on the boughs ; fhe who her {lender form Vaunting, and radiant creft, half dares to vie With thofe gay wanderers f , whofe effulgent wings ; With infeift hum flill flutter o'er the pride Of Indiau gardens, while the hollow tongue Explores the flower, and drains the honied juice. Now chiller evenings and the near approach Of winter from the anxious cottage draw Yon group in fearch of fuel. Youthful hands Gather the fcatter'd flicks ; or wield the pole * The golden- crefted wren is tlie leaft of Britifh birds. It may readily be diftinguifhed, not only by its fize, but by the beautiful fcarlet mark on the head, bounded on each fide by a yellow line. It frequents woods, and is found principally on oak trees. Though fo fmall a bird, it endures our winters. Pennant's Britifh Zoology, vol. i. p. 379, 380. f " Humming-birds fubfill on the nedar or fweet juice of flowers— they never fettle on a flower during the adtion of ex- trafling the juice j but flutter continually like bees, moving their wings very quick, and making a humming noife, whence their name." Latham's Synopfis of Birds, p. 770. On the flrudture of the tongue of the humming-bird, fee ibid. p. 745. F4 72 WALKS IN A FOREST. Arm'd with light fickle, and the mouldering bough Pluck down with tiptoe efforts oft renew!d : While the dead flump that fturdy peafant hews ; Or, looking watchful round left prying eyes Obferve him, from the oak by tempefts torn Rends off the fhiver'd ruin with its load Of leafy fpray. Backward he throws his weight, And tugs with iron grafp : in vain the branch Recoils with ftart elaftic, and in vain Still by tough fplinters to the trunk adheres. Meantime yon boy in wanton mifchief tears The ivy twifted in contortions rude Round the tall maple, and the ftem divides With ftroke malicious. Soon the verdant mafs, RobbM of its wonted nutriment, fhall fade. Yet {hall the lifelefs tendrils ftlU maintain Their grafp ; and, deaf to Spring's reviving call. To May's bright greens a dufky foil oppofe. Stranger, who gazeft on its tangled bower, Where oft the owl, impatient of the blaze Pour'd from meridian ardours, dozed in gloom Impenetrable, then with frighted wing Long time heard labouring in the deep recefs Broke forth, when clamorous children faunter'd by ; Mourn'ft thou its ruln'd honours ? Hither turn, And mari where, never more to vernal funs AUTUMN. 73 And fliowers refponfive, proftrate on the earth A nobler ruin lies, yon oak, the boaft Of unrecorded centuries. With hound And horn when Tudor through thefe coverts urged His game, the monarch oft in mid purfuit Stopped fliort ; and to his nobles wondering round Pointed this mighty trunk, with royal praife Dwelt on its growth majeftic, and forgot, Enraptured with its Ihade, the flying deer. Ages rolled on ; and ftill its awful creft In fhadowy fliate above the fore ft rofe : And ftill the traveller with admiring gaze Hail'd from afar the fovereign cf the wood. But Time, the foe who never knew defpair, Who crufh'd proud Troy, who cleft thy bulwarks^ Rome, And fees with fcorn the pilgrim fearch in vain The fpot where Babel ftood, his ftorms array'd, Summon'd his mildews from the venom'd Eaft, Breathed his green damps, the giant fabric Ihook, Curtail'd its boughs, its leafy honours thinn'd. And mined its inmoft heart. Yet long it met The war, fore bruifed but dauntlefs ; and its arms, ShiverM and bleach'd, as in defiance rear'd. Frowning with femblance of primaeval ftrength. 74 WALKS IN A FOREST. Till, as a ftate by flow corruption fapp'd. Whence one by one the cankering peft withdraws Each buttrefs of its grandeur, at the root Decay'd It totter'd. The autumnal blaft Snapped the few flender firings that fix'd the Ihell, Sad remnant of the ponderous trunk. The craih Earth heard, and fliudder'd ; mindful of the hour Foredoomed ere time began, when all her pomp, The boaft of nature and the pride of art, Shall fmk for ever ; when herfelf fliall hear The knell that calls her to her fiery grave. Drink the laft glimmerings of the expiring fun, Clofe her laft round, and fill her place no more. How forcible the contraft ! Light and gloom. Beauty and grandeur with contending powers Heighten the landfcape ! On the tufted heads Of thefe fteep woods, that hurry down the flope With headlong plunge eager to meet the vale, A flood of radiance refts, with brighter hues Bids Autumn glow, and tells each break that marks The indented furface : while, as mighty fleets From Indian fliore deep-laden ftretch their wings Athwart the fliadowy main, yon low-hung clouds O'er hamlets faint, and dim-difcover'd meads, And village towers above the encircling trees AUTUMN. 7i? Peering obfcure, in pomp of darknefs float. And lurid purple chills the expanfe beneath. There, where in curves now loft, now traced again, A wandering luftre, as from rippling ftreams Refle6led, plays ambiguous, oft the heron, Pofted in Dove's rich meads, with patient guile And pale gray plumes with watery blue fuffufed Stands like a fhadow : then with out-ftretch'd neck. While near with fidelong gait the fowler creeps, RIfes, and, fteering to the diftant fen, Shrieks from on high, and flaps her folemn wing. Hence northward to yon ridgy heights the eye Glances at large. Lo their magnetic tops Have feized the paffing cloud : the torrent rain Smokes on their deluged fides. The fliower drives on : Hill after hill fuccefTive difappears Before the encroaching vapour. Loft awhile. They mingle with the ftcy : now far behind Gradual emerge, obfcurely through the rear Of the fpent ftorm difcern*d ; now glimmer faint With watery beams ; now through the freftien'd air Swell on the fight, and laugh in cloudlefs day. There, mid disjointed chlFs and tranquil fhades. Low in his native dale, with ftream as pure As melts from Alpine fnows Dove laves his rocks 76 WALKS IN A FOREST. Wild as by magic planted, yet with grace * Of fymmetry arranged ; now foaming darts Along the flony channel, tufted ifles Now circles, now with glafTy furface calm Refle<5ls the impending glories of his hills. There Contemplation at the fall of eve, By gurgling waters luU'd, with downcaft gaze Pores on each infect form, that fkims the deep, Each grafTy blade, that vibrates in the ftream : Then the green flopes, the craggy barrier views. And fylvan gloom fequefter'd : then to heaven Lifts an adoring glance, and thinks on Thee, Maker of all that lives, of all that, void Of life, with beauty charms, with grandeur awes. Dims with admiring gratitude the eye, With holy rapture fwells the kindiing heart. Or turn we fouthward, where on yonder clifF Dove, o'er thy ampler wave projecting fhine * ** From the defcrlptlon given of Dovedale, even by men of ** tafte, we had conceived it to be a fcene rather of curiofity than ** of beauty. We fuppofed the rocks were formed into the moft ** fantaftic Ihapcs ; and expected to fee a gigantic difplay of all ** the conic feftlons. But we were agreeably deceived. The ** whole compofition is chafte, and pidurefquely beautiful, in a ** high degree." Mr. Gilpin's Obfervations on the Mountains and Lakes of Cumberland, &c. vol. ii. p. 22, S. AUTUMN. 77 Thofe Ivy-mantled towers * ; towers once with fighs Sadden'd of captive Mary, jocund once With minllrelly, when Lancailer convened The throng of barons in his feftive hall. Stretch'd in her cell with pallid cheek the Queen, And tears faft dropping from her beamlefs eyes, Wore the long months of grief. With anguilh faiut If ever the freih gale flie fought to breathe ; The fullen portal thundering as it clofed. The huge portcullis rulhing from above, The frowning battlement and guarded wall, Prefcribed her limits. Through the ftony chink. Wont on the near approaching foe to pour The arrowy ftorm, on ihefe wild banks fhe gazed : While Fancy, minifter of woe, with hand Officious to her view prefented ftill Gay troops of foreft deer unprifon'd airs Inhaling, and as frolic fport infpired, Bounding unfettered. To new dungeon toft From dungeon, her unpitying rival's ear With fruitlefs prayer Ihe plied. The cold excufe, The taunt, the ftudied filence of negled, * Tutbury Callle, once the prifon of Mary Queen of Scets; and in earlier times tlic refidence of John of Gaunc. -78 WALKS IN A FOREST. Silence than cold evafion and than taunt More keen, fhe bore : yet dreams of brighter hours Still cheriili'd ; and ftill hoped, and hoped in vain, To burft the chains which envious hate had twined ; Till Freedom on the fable fcaffold's height Stood hand in hand with all-fubduing Death, To end her bondage. Other fcenes the bard Crov/n'd with high harpings ; when unnumber'd lights Illumed the fretted roof, the pendent arms That deck'd the wall ; and glowing through the rows Of adverfe windows, where the cryftal plain Art's richeft tracery fpread, proclaimed afar The princely feaft of Lancafter. He rofe : Mirth ceafed her tumult ; every found was huftiM ; All from their feats bent forward. Age and youth. Warriors, and gorgeous dames enraptured heard The tale of antient years, the tale of arms In glorious caufe triumphant : then allured To fadder themes, with mifty eyeballs learn'd Of 3^ouths before an aged parent's face In their firft onfet {lain ; or from the fword Of hoftile Inroad while on foamy fteeds They bore the plighted objcfls of their love. Headlong from midnight precipices hurl'd, Or plunged in tracklefs bogs, abforb'd, and loft. AUTUMN« 79 Oft as his lord, to grace the feflal day, When knighthood's champions on the lifted field Should cotlch in emulous career the lance. Bade him the fong prepare ; thefe fylvan depths, Thefe glades at early dawn he pierced, and hung Even on yon oak his lyre : then mufmg ftray'd ; Then vocal tried the meditated lay. And fwept the ftrings ; while echo fwelPd the chords Of harmony divine, and flocking deer, Thoughtlefs of food, in liftening wonder gazed. Man loves the foreft. To the general flame My breaft is not a ftranger. I could rove At morn, at noon, at eve, by lunar ray, In each returning feafon, through your fliades, Ye reverend woods ! could vifit every dell, Each hill, each breezy lawn, each wandering brook. And bid the world admire ; and when at laft The fong were clofed, each magic fpot again Could feek, and tell again of all its charms. But let me check the partial ftrain, nor fwell With indifcriminate and trivial praife The long defcription ; left attending youth And virgin innocence outwearied loathe The injudicious rapture, and contemn What elfe had touch 'd the heart. When Genius dies (I fpeak what Albion knows), furviving friends. 8o WALKS IN A FOREST. ' Eager his bright perfedions to difplay To the laft atom, echo through the land All that he ever did, or ever faid, Or ever thought ; recount the coats he wore. Who made his wig, who ferved him with rappee ; Whether 'twas March, or April, when he told The ilory of the pig that crof:iM the lane. And tripp'd the ill-fated huckfter in the mire ; Whether he cream'd his teacup firll, or when 'Twas fiU'd and fugar'd ; whether trout or pike. Veal or boil'd chicken, pleafed his palate moft. Then for his writings — fearch each delk and drawer. Sweep his portfolio, publilh every fcrap And demi-fcrap he penn'd ; beg, borrow. Ileal Each line he fcribbled, letter, note, or card, To order fhoes, to countermand a hat, To bid his fervant bottle off the ale. To make inquiries of a neighbour's cold. Or aik his company to fupper. Thus, Eools ! with fuch vile and crumbling tralh they build The pedeftal, on which at length they rear Their huge CololTus, that beneath his weight *Tis crufh'd and ground ; and leaves himi dropt aflant. Scarce raifed above the height of common men. I would not praife you thus, ye foreft wilds ! With warm yet fober tints, with pencil true AUTUMN. Si To juft difcrimination, yet averfe To load the overlaboured canvas, I would paint Your choicer fcenes. O could I wake the lyre Like him *, who, lingering on the banks of Oufe, To nature faithful, and to nature's King, Purfues the nobleft of poetic aims. That only aim which gives the poet's lay A title to the meed of genuine praife 5 Who, blending f In his fong with honeft art The faithful monitor's and poet's care. Seeks to delight that he may mend mankind. And while he captivates exalt the foul ! He fweeps the lyre : one hand excites the ftringSj Whence ftarts each glowing image that prefcnts Perfe6t as life the charms that deck the face Of earth ; the other, with fymphonious touch, Roufes the moral chords that fwell the heart, And lift it to its God. O were my notes. Ye woodlands, with his facred fervour warm'd. Sweet as his mufic ; to the Have whom pride Tortures, whom avarice goads, or third of power Long days and lleeplefs nights hath fcorch'd ; to her Whom dragg'd in triumph at his chariot wheels * Cowper. f See Cowper's Poems, edit. 4th, voL i. p. 179, near the top. G ?2 WALKS IN A FOREST. Imperious Diflipation whirls through life. And hurries from the nurfery to the grave Without one interval of thought, or time To afk, ** Who placed me here ; why was I form'd ; " What Ihall I be hereafter?" I would fpeak The calm that ftills your wilds, their gueft o'erfpreads DifFufive, creeps along the confcious frame. Bids paufe each artery, ftays each adive limb. Each rebel paffion chains, and through the foul Breathes holy peace and univerfal love. For fmce the globe firft roU'd, in every land Your fnades, ye forefts, the deluded heart To heavenly meditation ftill have call'd ; And every fong, that glorified your God, Have heard with eager gladnefs. Ye with joy, Frefh from his Maker's hand when man arofe. Saw him in wondering homage kneel ; ye bade Your yet unpraclifed echoes fwell the found High as the Eternal's throne, when grateful praifc Firft broke the filence of the new-born world. Ye, when with bloody arm infuriate Rome, Pagan or Papal, from the haunts of men Chafed the firm band whom truth forbade to yield, Crouch to her priefts, and worlliip at her nod : Ye fcreen'd their flight, with hofpitable gloom Shelter'd their arguilli, and with mingling boughs» AUTUMN. 83 Vocal to prayer, a fylvan fane fuppiied. O yet, even yet, your facred influence breathe. Oft as I tread your leaf-ftrewn paths ; to reft Lull each tumultuous wifh ; with reverent awe My heart infpire ; and, as your ftately growth Purfues its heaven-direded aim, exalt My thoughts from earth, and point them to the fkies ! Man loves the foreft. Since in Eden's groves His fire, yet innocent, enraptured view'd ** Infuperable height of loftieft fhade *, ** Cedar, and pine, and fir, and branching palm, ** A fylvan fcene," man has the foreft loved. Thofe groves no autumn knew : eternal fpring With all the bleffings of the varied year In rich profufion crown'd them. But when Death Seized on his prey, falPn man, Deftrudlion ftretch'd Acrofs the woods her fceptre. With the axe She fells them : with the tempefl by the roots Headlong uptears them : with the fcythe of Time She lays them low : and yearly o'er their boughs Flings as in fcorn a many-colour'd robe ; Then ftrips the tranfient pomp, and feoffs the wilJs Naked and chill'd in emblematic death. • Milton's Paradifc Loft, book iv. line 138—140. G 2 ^^ WALKS IN A FOREST. Yet fliall unfading Spring her fway refume la that new promifed earth, promifed by voice Of power unbounded and unfailing truth ; Where by no fm to defolation doom'd, For fni Ihall not be there, no ftorms annoy'J, No violence ravaged, no decay impair'd, Thy works, great God, for fuch thy will, fhall Hand Firm through the ages of eternity ! WALK THE FIFTH. G3 ARGUMENT. PrognoAIcs of Snow — Man ignorantly repines at Its Fall — A Traveller — apprehends a Storm, and previo'jfly arms himfelf to encounter it — is caught by it on the middle of a Foreft —The Storm at Jengtli ceafes — Addrefs to thofe who are ilruggling with Difficulties in Life — Patient Hope exemplified. WALK THE FIFTH. WINTER.. SNOW. At length the fnows defcend. Her axis thrice The earth has circled, fmce the northern blafl: Grew keener, veering eaftward; and v/hlle froil With richeft blue the arch ethereal dyed. Incumbent on the gray horizon's verge A fettled gloom has hung. This morn, when firll Above the fummit of yon oak the fun With tardy gleam arofe, a fleecy ftiower Tinging with thin-fpread white the frozen brook, The bareworn track, and clofe-depaftured plain, Accompanied his courfe. Ere long he chafed The congregated vapour ; yet, while noon Glow'd with his radiance, from fome half-form*d cloud, Whofe filmy veil by carelefs eyes unfeen Dinim'd, yetfcarce dimm'd, the azure vault of heaven, C4 8B WALKS IN A FOREST. Defcending oft the folltary flake Foretold the fecret purpofe of the ikies. Now mid-day warmth declines : denfe haze obfcures The turbid atmofphere : the clouds advance, Not as the vehicles of rain, difpofed In feparate mafles, and of varying hue ; Not as the manfions of rebounding hail, Lurid and dark ; nor thofe where thunder dwells, Of vvildefl: forms, fcowling with purple dyes, And 'gainft the nether ftreams of air propell'd By their own currents ; but of afpe(5l dun, Of texture uniform, and blending quick In one unbroken furface, onward move In firm array, and load the rifmg gale. Athwart the whole expanfe of air they flretch Their dulky mantle. Louder, louder ftill. Now paufmg, now with hollow fwell prolonged. The wind exalts his voice ; and fweeping wild Claps o'er the founding earth his fnowy wings, And drives through heaven the horizontal ftorm. On the fad whitening world impatient man Gazes repining ; and already views The plough with forked handles through the drift Projecling in the unfinlfli'd furrow ruft ; The oxen doom'd to floth ; the rapid waftc Of hayftack leflening duly morn and eve. WINTER.— SNOW. 8^ Nor thinks that Heaven, oft klndeft when with figus Of wrath It lowers, fends forth the loaded blall With merciful commiffion ; bids the fnows Brood genial o'er the glebe, from blighting frofl Shield infant harveft, and the ftiffen'd joints Of beaft and wearied hind prepare by reft. Salubrious though conftrain'd, for future toil. While thus the echoing tempeft beats abroad. Beneath the Impervious covert of this wood Of antient hollies, whofe umbrageous heads The gufts of Autunm have in vain affaii'd. Range we fecure, and view the diftant fcene. Mark on that road, whofe unobftrucled courfc With long white line the unburled furze divides. Yon folitary horfeman urge his way. He, not unmindful of the brooding ftorm. Ere yet by flrong necedity compeil'd Of preffing occupation he exchanged The blazing hearth, the firm-compacled roof. For naked forefts and uncertain fkies. With wife precaution arm'd himfelf to meet The Winter's utmoft rage. In filken folds Twice round his neck the handkerchief he twined. His legs he cafed in boots of mighty fize, And ftrength experienced oft ; warm'd through and through WALKS IN A FOREST. In chimney-corner ; and with glofly face Prepared defcending torrents to repel, As roll the round drops from the filvery leaf Of rain-befprinkled colewort, or the plumes Of feagull fporting in the broken wave. Then o'er his limbs the ftout great-coat he drew. With collar raifed aloft, and threefold cape Sweep below fweep in wide concentric curves Low down his back dependent; on his bread The folds he crofs'd, and in its deftin'd hole Each draining button fix'd : erecT: he dood, Like huge portmanteau on its end uprear'd, Fearlefs he falHed forth ; nor yet difdain'd The heartening draught from tankard capp'd with foam, By hod officious to the horfeblock borne With deady hand, and eloquently praifed ; While hngering on the dep his eye he turn'd To every wind, and mark'd the embattled clouds Ranging their fquadrons in the fullen Ead. How fares he now ? Caught on the middle wade, Where no deep wood its hofpitable gloom Extends ; no friendly thicket bids him cower Beneath its tangled roof; no lonely tree Prompts him to feek its leeward fide, and cleave^ Ered and into narrowed fpace compred, WINTER. SNOW. 9I To the bare trunk, if haply it may ward The driving tempeft ; with bewilder'd hafte Onward he comes. ** Hither dired thy fpeed ; " This fheltering grove — " He hears not ! Mark his head Oblique, prefented to the ftorm ; his hand, Envelop'd deep beneath the inverted cufF, Strives to confine, with many a fruitlefs grafp, His ever flapping hat ; the cold drench'd glove Clings round the imprifon'd fingers. O'er his knees His coat's broad flcirt, fcanty now proved too late. He pulls and pulls impatient, muttering wrath At pilfering tailors. Baffled and perplexM, With joints benumb'd and aching, fcarce he holds The rein, fcarce guides the deed with breathlefs toil O'erpowerM, and fhrinking fideways from the biaft. Behold that fleed, with icy mane, and head Deprefs'd, and quivering ears now forward bent, Now backward fwiftly thrown, and offering ftill Their convex penthoufe to the lliifting gale ; Behold that fteed, on indurated balls Of fnow upraifed, like fchoolboy rear'd on ftilts. Labour unbalanced : the fallacious prop, Now this, now that, breaks Ihort : with fudden jerk He fmks, half falling ; and recovering quick On legs of length unequal reels along. 92 WALKS IN A FOREST. Scarce on his feat can clinging knees fuflain The trembh'ng rider : while the fnow upheaves In drifts athwart his courfe proje(5ted broad ; Or o*er the uncovered gravel rattling fweeps^ Caught up in fudden eddies, and aloft, Like fmoke, In fuffocating volumes whirPd. The road he quits unwary, wandering wide O'er the bleak wafte, mid brufliwood wrapt In fnow^ Down rough declivities and fradured banks, Through miry plafhes, cavities unfeen. And bogs of treacherous furface ; till afar From all that meets his recolleflion borne, Difmay'd by hazards fcarce efcaped, and dread Of heavier perils Imminent, he ftands Difmounted, and aghaft. Now Evening draws Her gathering ftiades around ; the tempeft fierce Drives fiercer. ChilPd within him finks his heart, Panting with quick vibrations. The wild blaft AppalPd he hears, thinks on his wife and babes, And doubts if ever he ftiall fee them more. But comfort Is at hand ; the fkles have fpent In that lafl gufl their fury. From the weft The fetting fun with horizontal gleam Cleaves the denfe clouds ; and through the golden breach Strikes the fcathe