diff options
| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:32:42 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:32:42 -0700 |
| commit | 5cbdd0394acb3e5ce4ad4296a73397d29edd0aac (patch) | |
| tree | b1e6d367e7e895f8bf5fd55e9b5ded0169d52796 | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 9092-8.txt | 3600 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 9092-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 70549 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 9092.txt | 3600 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 9092.zip | bin | 0 -> 70523 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/7farm10.txt | 3569 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/7farm10.zip | bin | 0 -> 70829 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/8farm10.txt | 3569 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/8farm10.zip | bin | 0 -> 70845 bytes |
11 files changed, 14354 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/9092-8.txt b/9092-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..54eb874 --- /dev/null +++ b/9092-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3600 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Farmer's Boy, by Robert Bloomfield + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Farmer's Boy + A Rural Poem + +Author: Robert Bloomfield + +Posting Date: October 15, 2012 [EBook #9092] +Release Date: October, 2005 +First Posted: September 4, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FARMER'S BOY *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Charles Bidwell and Distributed +Proofreaders + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration] + + + THE FARMER'S BOY; + + A RURAL POEM. + + By ROBERT BLOOMFIELD. + + +"A SHEPHERD'S BOY ... HE SEEKS NO BETTER NAME." + + +The Third Edition + +LONDON: +Printed for Vernor and Hood, Poultry +and sold by T.C. Rickman, 7, Upper Mary-Le-Bone-Street; +Ingram, and Dingle, Bury; Booth, Norwich; Hill, Edinburgh; +Archer, and Dugdale, Dublin. + +MDCCC + + + +A sonnet has come to my hands, the production,--and nearly the first +poetical Production,--of a very young Lady. I have not the Author's +consent to publish it: and there is no time to ask it. But I cannot omit +adding such a flower to the Wreath of Glory of my Friend. I have therefore +ventured to publish it without waiting permission; with one or two slight +alterations. + +C. L. + +25 Aug. 1800. + + + +TO THE AUTHOR OF +THE FARMER'S BOY. + +I. + +_If wealth, if honour, at command were mine, + And every boast Ambition could desire, +The pompous Gifts, sweet Bard, I would resign + For the aft Music of thy tuneful Lyre,_ + +II. + +_Which speaks the soul awake to every charm + That Nature open'd from thy humble cot: +Speaks powers chill Indigence could not disarm; + Proof to Humanity's severest lot._ + +III. + +_Thou Friend to Nature, and of Man the Friend; + Of every generous and benignant cause; +The accents of thy glowing worth, unfeign'd, + Live in the cadence of each feeling pause. +Here thought, alternate, in the noble Plan +Admires the POET, and reveres the Man._ + +25 Aug. 1800. + + + + +PREFACE + +Having the satisfaction of introducing to the Public this very pleasing +and characteristic POEM, the FARMER'S BOY, I think it will be agreeable to +preface it with a short Account of the manner in which it came into my +hands: and, which will be much more interesting to every Reader, a little +History of the Author, which has been communicated to me by his Brother, +and which I shall very nearly transcribe as it lies before me. + +In _November_ last year [Footnote: This was written in 1799.] I receiv'd a +MS. which I was requested to read, and to give my opinion of it. It had +before been shewn to some persons in _London_: whose indifference toward +it may probably be explain'd when it is consider'd that it came to their +hands under no circumstances of adventitious recommendation. With some a +person must be rich, or titled, or fashionable as a literary name, or at +least fashionable in some respect, good or bad, before any thing which he +can offer will be thought worthy of notice. + +I had been a little accustom'd to the effect of prejudices: and I was +determin'd to judge, in the only just and reasonable way, of the Work, by +the Work itself. + +At first I confess, seeing it divided into the four Seasons, I had to +encounter a prepossession not very advantageous to any writer: that the +Author was treading in a path already so admirably trod by THOMSON; and +might be adding one more to an attempt already so often, but so +injudiciously and unhappily made, of transmuting that noble Poem from +Blank Verse into Rhime; ... from its own pure native Gold into an alloyed +Metal of incomparably less splendor, permanence, and worth. + +I had soon, however, the pleasure of finding myself reliev'd from that +apprehension: and of discovering, that, although the delineation of RURAL +SCENERY naturally branches itself into these divisions, there was little +else except the General Qualities of a musical ear, flowing numbers, +Feeling, Piety, poetic Imagery and Animation, a taste for the picturesque, +a true sense of the natural and pathetic, force of thought, and liveliness +of imagination, which were in common between Thomson and this Author. And +these are qualities which whoever has the eye, the heart, the awakened and +surrounding intellect, and the diviner sense of the Poet, which alone can +deserve the name, must possess. + +But, with these general Characters of true Poetry, "_The Farmer's Boy_" +has, as I have said, a character of its own. It is discriminated as much +as the circumstances and habits, and situation, and ideas consequently +associated, which are so widely diverse in the two Authors, could make it +different. Simplicity, sweetness, a natural tenderness, that _molle atque +facetum_ which HORACE celebrates in the Eclogues of VIRGIL, will be found +to belong to it. + +I intend some farther and more particular CRITICAL REMARKS on this +charming Performance. But I now pass to the Account of the Author himself, +as given me by his Brother:... a Man to whom also I was entirely a +stranger:... but whose Candor, good Sense, and brotherly Affection, appear +in this Narrative; and of the justness of whose Understanding, and the +Goodness of his Heart, I have had many Proofs, in consequence of a +correspondence with him on different occasions which have since arisen, +when this had made me acquainted with him, and interested me in his +behalf. + +In writing to me, Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD, who is a Shoemaker also, as his +Brother, and lives at BURY, thus expresses himself. + +"As I spent five years with the Author, from the time he was thirteen +years and a half old [Footnote: This by farther recollection has since +been discover'd and stated by Mr. G. and Mr. R. BLOOMFIELD not to be quite +exact. See p. viii. C. L.] till he was turned of eighteen, the most +interesting time of life (I mean the time that instruction is acquir'd, if +acquir'd at all), I think I am able to give a better account of him than +any one can, or than he can of himself: for his Modesty would not let him +speak of his Temper, Disposition, or Morals." + +"ROBERT was the younger Child of GEORGE BLOOMFIELD, a _Taylor_, at +HONINGTON. [Footnote: This Village is between _Euston_ and _Troston_, and +about eight miles N E. of _Bury_. L.] His Father died when he was an +infant under a year old. [Footnote: Our Author was born, as his Mother has +obligingly informed me, 3 _Dec_. 1766. L.] His Mother [Footnote: +ELIZABETH, Daughter of ROBERT MANBY. Vide Note at the end of this +Preface.] was a Schoolmistress, and instructed her own Children with the +others. He thus learn'd to read as soon as he learn'd to speak." + +"Though the Mother was left a Widow with six small Children, yet with the +help of Friends she manag'd to give each of them a little schooling." + +"ROBERT was accordingly sent to Mr. RODWELL, [Footnote: This respectable +Man is senior Clerk to the Magistrates of the Hundred of BLACKBOURN, in +which Honington is situated, and has conducted himself with great +propriety in this and other public employments. L.] of Ixworth, to be +improved in _Writing_: but he did not go to that School more than two or +three months, nor was ever sent to any other; his Mother again marrying +when ROBERT was about seven years old." + +"By her second Husband, JOHN GLOVER, she had another Family." + +"When _Robert_ was not above _eleven_ years old, the late Mr. W. AUSTIN, +of SAPISTON, [Footnote: This little Village adjoins to HONINGTON. L.] took +him. And though it is customary for Farmers to pay such Boys only 1s. 6d. +per week, yet he generously took him into the house. This reliev'd his +Mother of any other expence than only of finding him a few things to wear: +and this was more than she well knew how to do." + +"She wrote therefore," Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD continues, "to me and my Brother +NAT (then in London), to assist her; mentioning that he, ROBERT, was so +small of his age that Mr. AUSTIN said he was not likely to be able to get +his living by hard labour." + +Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD on this inform'd his Mother that, if she would let him +take the Boy with him, he would take him, and teach him to make shoes: and +NAT promis'd to clothe him. The Mother, upon this offer, took coach and +came to LONDON, to Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD, with the Boy: for she said, she +never should have been happy if she had not put him herself into his +hands. + +"She charg'd me," he adds, "_as I valued a Mothers Blessing, to watch over +him, to set good Examples for him, and never to forget that he had lost +his Father_." I religiously confine myself to Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD'S own +words; and think I should wrong all the parties concern'd if in mentioning +this pathetic and successful Admonition, I were to use any other. He came +from Mr. AUSTIN'S 29 _June_ 1781. [Footnote: This date of his coming to +Town is added by Mr. BLOOMFIELD himself since the first Edition.] + +Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD then lived at Mr. _Simm's_, No. 7, _Pitcher's-court, +Bell-alley, Coleman-street_. "It is customary," he continues, "in such +houses as are let to poor people in _London_, to have light Garrets fit +for Mechanics to work in. In the Garret, where we had two turn-up Beds, +and five of us worked, I received little ROBERT." + +"As we were all single Men, Lodgers at a Shilling per week each, oar beds +were coarse, and all things far from being clean and snug, like what +_Robert_ had left at SAPISTON. _Robert_ was our man, to fetch all things +to hand. At Noon he fetch'd our Dinners from the Cook's Shop: and any one +of our fellow workmen that wanted to have any thing fetched in, would send +him, and assist in his work and teach him, for a recompense for his +trouble." + +"Every day when the Boy from the Public-house came for the pewter pots, +and to hear what Porter was wanted, he always brought the yesterday's +_Newspaper_. [Footnote: There was then, neither as a resource for the +exigencies of finance, nor as a Principle of supposed Policy, that unhappy +Check which prevails now on the circulation of _Newspapers_, and other +means of _popular_ Information. L.] The _reading_ of the Paper we had been +us'd to take by turns; but after _Robert_ came, he mostly read for us,... +because his time was of least value." + +"He frequently met with words that he was unacquainted with: of this he +often complain'd. I one day happen'd at a Book-stall to see a small +Dictionary, which had been very ill us'd. I bought it for him for 4d. By +the help of this he in little time could read and comprehend the long and +beautiful speeches of BURKE, FOX, or NORTH. + +"One Sunday, after an whole day's stroll in the country, we by accident +went into a dissenting _Meeting-house_ in the _Old Jewry_, where a +Gentleman was lecturing. This Man fill'd _Robert_ with astonishment. The +House was amazingly crowded with the most genteel people; and though we +were forc'd to stand still in the aisle, and were much press'd, yet +_Robert_ always quicken'd his steps to get into the Town on a Sunday +evening soon enough to attend this Lecture. + +"The Preacher lived somewhere at the West End of the Town ... his name was +FAWCET. His language," says Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD, "was just such as the +_Rambler_ is written in; his Action like a person acting a Tragedy; his +Discourse rational, and free from the Cant of Methodism. + +"Of him _Robert_ learn'd to accent what he call'd _hard_ words; and +otherwise improv'd himself; and gain'd the most enlarg'd notions of +PROVIDENCE. + +"He went sometimes with me to a _Debating Society_ +[Footnote: It is another of the Constitutional Refinements of these times +to have fetter'd, and as to every valuable purpose, silenc'd, these +Debating Societies. They were at least, to say the lowest of them, far +better amusements than drunkenness, gambling, or fighting. They were no +useless Schools to some of our very celebrated Speakers at the Bar and in +Parliament: and, what is of infinitely more importance, they contributed +to the diffusion of Political Knowledge and Public Sentiment. L.] +at _Coachmaker's-hall_, but not often; and a few times to _Covent-garden +Theatre_. These are all the opportunities he ever had to learn from Public +Speakers. As to _Books_, he had to wade through two or three Folios: an +_History of England, British Traveller_, and a _Geography_. But he always +read them as a task, or to oblige us who bought them. And as they came in +sixpenny numbers weekly, he had about as many hours to read as other boys +spend in play." + +"I at that time," proceeds his Brother, "read the _London Magazine_; and +in that work about two sheets were set apart for a _Review ... Robert_ +seem'd always eager to read this Review. Here he could see what the +Literary Men were doing, and learn how to judge of the merits of the Works +that came out. And I observ'd that he always looked at the _Poet's +Corner_. And one day he repeated a _Song_ which he compos'd to an old +tune. I was much surpris'd that a boy of sixteen [Footnote: He was +probably 17; as appears on the statement from the Author himself. See N. +to p. xvii.] should make so smooth verses: so I persuaded him to try +whether the Editor of our Paper would give them a place in _Poet's +Corner_. And he succeeded, and they were printed. And as I forget his +other early productions, I shall copy this." + + + THE MILK-MAID, ON THE FIRST OF MAY. + +Hail, MAY! lovely MAY! how replenish'd my pails! + The young Dawn overspreads the East streak'd with gold! +My glad heart beats time to the laugh of the Vales, + And COLIN'S voice rings through the woods from the fold. + +The Wood to the Mountain submissively bends, + Whose blue misty summits first glow with the sun! +See thence a gay train by the wild rill descends + To join the glad sports:... hark! the tumult's begun. + +Be cloudless, ye skies!... Be my Colin but there, + Not the dew-spangled bents on the wide level Dale, +Nor Morning's first blush can more lovely appear + Than his looks, since my wishes I could not conceal. + +Swift down the mad dance, while blest health prompts to move, + We'll count joys to come, and exchange Vows of truth; +And haply when Age cools the transports of Love, + Decry, like good folks, the vain pleasures of youth. + +No, no; the remembrance shall ever be dear! + At no time LOVE with INNOCENCE ceases to charm: +It is transport in Youth ... and it smiles through the tear, + When they feel, in their children, its first soft alarm. + +The Writer of this Preface doubts whether he has been successful in adding +the last Stanza to this beautiful and simply expressive song. But he +imagin'd that some thought of this kind was in the mind of the Author: and +he was willing to endeavour to express it. The Breast which has felt Love, +justly shrinks from the idea of its total extinction, as from annihilation +itself. And there is even an high social and moral use in that order of +Providence which exalts Sensations into tender and benign Passions; those +Passions into habitual Affections yet more tender; and raises from those +Affections _Virtues_ the most permanent, the most necessary and +beneficent, and the most endearing: thus expanding the sentiment into all +the Charities of domestic and social Life. + +"I remember," says Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD, continuing his Narrative, "a little +piece which he called the Sailor's Return: [Footnote: It is much to be +wished that this may be discovered. L.] in which he tried to describe the +feelings of an honest _Tar_, who, after a long absence, saw his dear +native Village first rising into view. This too obtain'd a place in the +Poet's Corner." + +"And as he was so young," his brother proceeds, "it shews some Genius in +him, and some Industry, to have acquir'd so much knowledge of the use of +words in so little time. Indeed at this time myself and my fellow workmen +in the Garret began to get instructions from him, though not more than +sixteen years old." [Footnote: What simple magnanimity and benevolence in +this Remark. L.] + +"About this time there came a Man to lodge at our Lodgings that was +troubled with fits. ROBERT was so much hurt to see this poor creature +drawn into such frightful forms, and to hear his horrid screams, that I +was forced to leave the Lodging. We went to _Blue Hart-court, Bell-alley_. +In our new Garret we found a singular character, _James Kay_, a native of +_Dundee_. He was a middle-aged man, of a good understanding, and yet a +furious _Calvinist_. He had many Books, ... and some which he did not +value: such as the SEASONS, PARADISE LOST, and some _Novels_. These Books +he lent to ROBERT; who spent all his leisure hours in reading the +_Seasons_, which he was now capable of reading. I never heard him give so +much praise to any Book as to that." + +"I think it was in the year 1784 that the Question came to be decided +between the _journeymen Shoemakers_; whether those who had learn'd without +serving an _Apprenticeship_ could follow the Trade." + +[Footnote: That is _as journeymen_: for there was no question that they +could not as _Masters_ on their _own_ account. That a person may work as a +_journeyman_ without having served an apprenticeship, had already been +determined, T. 9. G. 3. _Beach v. Turner_. Burr. Mansf. 2449. A person +also who has not served an Apprenticeship may be a partner, contributing +money, or advice and attention to the accounts and general concerns of the +Trade, provided that he does not actually exercise the Trade, and that the +acting partner has served. Vide _Reynolds_ v. _Chase_, M. 30. G. 2. Burr. +Mansf. 2. 1 Burn. J.P. Apprent. § 12. L.] + +"The Man by whom _Robert_ and I were employ'd, Mr. Chamberlayne, of +_Cheapside_, took an active part against the lawful journeymen; and even +went so far as to pay off every man that worked for him that had joined +their Clubs. This so exasperated the men, that their acting Committee soon +looked for _unlawful men_ (as they called them) among _Chamberlayne's_ +workmen." + +They found out little _Robert_, and threatened to prosecute _Chamlerlayne_ +for employing him, and to prosecute his Brother, Mr. _G. Bloomfield_, for +teaching him. Chamberlayne requested of the Brother to go on and bring it +to a Trial; for that he would defend it; and that neither _George_ nor +_Robert_ should be hurt. + +In the mean time _George_ was much insulted for having refus'd to join +upon this occasion those who call'd themselves, exclusively, the _Lawful +Crafts_. _George_, who says he was never famed for patience, (it is not +indeed so much as might be sometimes wish'd, very often the lot of strong +and acute minds to possess largely of this virtue,) took his pen, and +address'd a Letter to one of the most active of their Committee-men (a man +of very bad character). In this, after stating that he took _Robert_ at +his Mother's request, he made free as well with the private character of +this man as with the views of the Committee. "This," says _George_, "was +very foolish; for it made things worse: but I felt too much to refrain." + +What connects this episodical circumstance with the character of our +Author follows in his brother's words. + +"_Robert_ naturally fond of Peace, and fearful for my personal safety, +begg'd to be suffer'd to retire from the storm." + +"He came home; and Mr. AUSTIN kindly bade him take his house for his home +till he could return to me. And here, with his mind glowing with the fine +Descriptions of rural scenery which he found in THOMSON'S SEASONS, he +again retrac'd the very fields where first he began to think. Here, free +from the smoke,[Footnote: But one word is altered in this Description; +which reminds one of the + _Omitte mirari beatae + Fumum et opes_ Strepitumque Romae. L.] +the noise, the contention of the city, he imbibed that Love of rural +Simplicity and rural Innocence, which fitted him, in a great degree, to be +the writer of such a thing as the _Farmer's Boy_." + +"Here he liv'd two Months:... at length, as the dispute in the trade +still remain'd undecided, Mr. DUDBRIDGE offer'd to take _Robert_ +Apprentice, to secure him, at all events, from any consequences of the +Litigation." + +He was bound by Mr. _Ingram_, of _Bell-alley_, to Mr. _John Dudbridge_. +His Brother _George_ paid five shillings for _Robert_, by way of form, as +a premium. Dudbridge was their Landlord, and a _Freeman_ of the _City_ of +_London_. He acted most honourably, and took no advantage of the power +which the Indentures gave him. _George Bloomfield_ staid with _Robert_ +till he found he could work as expertly as his self. + +Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD adds, "When I left London he was turned of eighteen; +[Footnote: This should seem to require correction by setting the Age +forward according to the Dates above stated. C.L.] and much of my +happiness since has arisen from a constant correspondence which I have +held with him." + +"After I left him, he studied _Music_, and was a good player on the +_Violin_." + +"But as my Brother _Nat_ had married a _Woolwich_ woman, it happen'd that +_Robert_ took a fancy to MARY-ANNE CHURCH, a comely young woman of that +town, whose Father is a boat-builder in the Government yard there. He +married 12th Dec. 1790."[Footnote: This Date from the Author. C.L.] "Soon +after he married, _Robert_ told me, in a Letter, that 'he had sold his +Fiddle and got a Wife.' Like most poor men, he got a wife first, and had +to get household-stuff afterward. It took him some years to get out of +ready furnished Lodgings. At length, by hard working, &c. he acquired a +Bed of his own, and hired the room up one pair of stairs at 14, +_Bell-alley, Coleman-street_. The Landlord kindly gave him leave to sit +and work in the light _Garret_, two pair of stairs higher." + +"In _this_ Garret, amid six or seven other workmen, his active Mind +employ'd itself in composing _the Farmer's Boy_." + +"In my correspondence I have seen several _poetical_ effusions of his; all +of them of a good moral tendency; but which he very likely would think do +him little credit: on that account I have not preserv'd them." + +"ROBERT is a _Ladies Shoemaker_, and works for DAVIES, _Lombard-street_. +He is of a slender make; of about 5 F. 4 I. high; very _dark_ +complexion.... His MOTHER, who is a very religions member of the _Church +of England_, took all the pains she could in his infancy to make him +pious: and as his Reason expanded, his love of God and Man increas'd with +it. I never knew his fellow for mildness of temper and Goodness of +Disposition. And since I left him, universally is he prais'd by those who +know him best, for the best of Husbands, an indulgent Father, and quiet +Neighbour. He is between thirty-three and four years old,[Footnote: +Corrected from the above Date, p. vi, to his present Age, May 1800. C. L.] +and has three Children;" two Daughters and a Son.[Footnote: Added from the +information of Mr. R. BLOOMFIELD. _Hannah_, born 25 _Oct_. 1791. _Mary +Anne_, 6 _Sept_. 1793. _Charles_, 15 _Sept_. 1798.] + +Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD concludes this clear, affectionate, and interesting +Narrative, by a very kind Address to the Writer of this Preface. But, +pleas'd as I am with the good opinion of a Man like him, I must not take +praise to myself for not having neglected or suppress'd such a Work when +it came into my hands. And I have no farther merit than that of seeing +what it was impossible for an unprejudiced Mind not to see, and of doing +what it was impossible not to do. + +But I join with him cordially in his prayer, "that GOD, _the Giver of +thought_, may, as mental light spreads, raise up many who will turn a +listening ear, and will not despise + + "_The short and simple annals of the Poor_." + +Very few words will complete what remains to be added. + +Struck with the Work, but not less struck with the remark, which is become +a proverb, of the Roman Satirist, that "_it is not easy_ +[Footnote: + Haud facile emergunt quorum virtutibus obstat + Res angusta domi.] +for those to emerge to notice whose circumstances obscure the observation +of their Merits," I sent it to a Friend,[Footnote: This Friend, THOMAS +HILL, Esq. I hope will forgive my mentioning him without asking his +consent.] whom I knew to be above these prejudices: and who has deserv'd, +and is deserving, well of the public, in many other instances, by his +attention to Literature and the elegant Arts. He immediately express'd an +high satisfaction in it; and communicated it to the Publishers. They +adopted it upon terms honorable to themselves, and satisfactory to the +Author, and to me in his behalf. They have publish'd it in a manner which +speaks abundantly for itself; both as to the typographical accuracy and +beauty, and the good taste and execution of the Ornaments in Wood. + +My part has been this, and it has been a very pleasing one: to revise the +MS. making occasionally corrections with respect to Orthography, and +sometimes in the grammatical construction. The corrections, in point of +Grammar, reduce themselves almost wholly to a circumstance of provincial +usage, which even well educated persons in _Suffolk_ and _Norfolk_ do not +wholly avoid; and which may be said, as to general custom, to have become +in these Counties almost an established Dialect:... that of adopting the +plural for the singular termination of verbs, so as to exclude the _s_. +But not a line is added or substantially alter'd through the whole poem. I +have requested the MS. to be preserv'd for the satisfaction of those who +may wish to be satisfied on this head. + +The _Proofs_ have gone through my hands. It has been printed slowly: +because most carefully: as it deserv'd to be printed. + +I have no doubt of its Reception with the Public: I have none of its going +down to Posterity with honor; which is not always the Fate of productions +which are popular in their day. + +Thus much I know:... that the Author, with a spirit amiable at all times, +and which would have been rever'd by Antiquity, seems far less interested +concerning any Fame or Advantage he may derive from it to himself, than in +the pleasure of giving a printed Copy of it, as a tribute of duty and +affection, to his MOTHER; in whose pleasure, if it succeeds, his filial +heart places the gratification of which it is most desirous. It is much to +be a POET, such as he will be found:... it is more to be such a MAN. + +CAPEL LOFFT. + +TROSTON, n. BURY, SUFFOLK. + +12 Dec. 1799. + + +ELIZABETH MANBY, the Mother of the Author of this POEM, was sister to +the wife of Mr. WILLIAM AUSTIN. I had written to Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD to +request the name, before Marriage, of his Mother. This gain'd me an +Answer, which I have great pleasure in adding. + +"The late Mr. AUSTIN'S wife was a Manby (my Mother's sister). And it may +seem strange that, in the FARMER'S BOY, _Giles_ no where calls him +_Uncle_, but _Master_.... The treatment that my Brother _Robert_ +experienced from Mr. _Austin_ did not differ in any respect from the +treatment that all the Servant Boys experienc'd who lived with him. Mr. +_Austin_ was Father of fourteen Children by my Aunt (he never had any +other wife). He left a decent provision for the five Children that +surviv'd him: so that it could not be expected he should have any thing to +give to poor Relations. And I don't see a possibility of making a +difference between GILES and the Boys that were not related to +Mr._Austin_: for he treated all his Servants exactly as he did his Sons. +They all work'd hard; all liv'd well. The DUKE had not a better Man Tenant +to him than the late Mr. _Austin_. I saw numbers of the Husbandmen in +tears when he was buried. He was beloved by all who knew him. But I +imagine _Robert_ thought that when he was speaking of Benevolence that was +universal, he had no occasion to mention the accidental circumstance of +his being related to the Good Man of whom he sung." + + +SUPPLEMENT + +I have mention'd in the Preface "THE SAILOR'S RETURN", from an intimation +by Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD. From the Author himself, Mr. ROBERT BLOOMFIELD, I am +oblig'd with what part he can recollect of this SONG, which I was desirous +to recover. It was written shortly after the PEACE with AMERICA and +FRANCE. Probably some time in the _Spring_ of 1784. The Author thinks the +Title of it was "THE SOLDIER'S RETURN," and that it was occasion'd by the +arrival of some Regiments of British Soldiers from remote parts of the +Globe. + +He says, "I have endeavour'd to bring it back to my mind: but can only +remember the following; which is not the beginning nor the finish." + + Round LYBIA'S south point, where from toils so late freed, + Sweet Hope cheer'd my soul as we clear'd the rough sea; + I strove midst the Tars to improve the ship's speed; + Nor thought I of aught but ANNA and THEE. + + Here comes the dear Girl! comes with kind arms extended + To welcome me!... limbs numb'd with age fain would move. + My cheek feels the offspring of rapture warm blended, + With answering drops:... this the meed of chaste Love! + + Rouse the Fire-- + + * * * * * + +I think every Reader will be of opinion that it is indeed desirable the +whole Song, of which this is a Fragment, should be recover'd. It will +probably be found (according to the recollection of the Author) either in +the _General Advertiser, Gazetteer_, or _Courant_. From these specimens, +and some I have since had the pleasure to see in MS. Mr. BLOOMFIELD +appears fully to possess the simple, yet elegant, pathetic, and animated +flow of Composition, the sweetness of Diction, Thought, and Numbers, which +the SONG or BALLAD in their best character require. + +I now quote a little Fragment in _blank verse_ from the same Letter: with +a slight correction in a place or two where the distribution or mechanism +of the lines was not exact. + +SUBJECT. _An Harvest Scene: describing Gleaners return'd from the Field_. + + --Welcome the Cot's +Warm walls!... thrice welcome Rest, by toil endear'd; +Each hard bed softening, healing every care. +Sleep on, ye gentle souls ... +Unapprehensive of the midnight thief! +Or if bereft of all with pain acquir'd, +Your fall, with theirs compar'd who sink from affluence, +With hands unus'd to toil, and minds unus'd +To bend, how little felt! how soon repair'd! + +The ear of the Author seems as sweetly attun'd to verse without as with +Rhime: though his less practice has given him proportionally less +exactness. + +It reminds one of the simple, tender, and flowing melody of the blank +verse of ROWE: or of some of the affecting passages in the _Paradise +Regain'd_ of MILTON. + +Sweetness, pastoral Content, the innocent and benevolent heart "_with a +little pleas'd,_" breathe indeed through the Poems, and in the manners and +conversation, of the Author of THE FARMER'S BOY. + +When the _Spirit_ of CHRISTIANITY declares "_blessed are the meek,_" every +heart which considers what meekness is, feels the truth of that +blessedness. It may smooth the way, and prevent impediments, which a +different temper raises to temporal felicity: it certainly assures that +Heaven which is _within_: and is a pledge and anticipation of the Heaven +hereafter. + +It is pleasing to think on a remark of Mr. GEO. BLOOMFIELD concerning his +Brother when he first went to LONDON. "I have him in my mind's eye a +little Boy; not bigger than Boys generally are at twelve years old. When I +met him and his Mother at the Inn, [Footnote: In Bishopsgate-street.] he +strutted before us, dress'd just as he came from keeping Sheep, Hogs, +&c.... his shoes fill'd full of stumps in the heels. He looking about him, +slip'd up ... his nails were unus'd to a flat pavement. I remember viewing +him as he scamper'd up ... how small he was. Little thought, that little +fatherless Boy would be one day known and esteem'd by the most learned, +the most respected, the wisest and the best men of the Kingdom." + +The brotherly overflowing of the heart in this passage I felt when I read +the Letter (dated 27 _March_ last), and cannot deny to others the pleasure +of feeling it. + +And those who have shewn themselves the FRIENDS of the FARMER'S BOY must +excuse me if I mention some of them whose liberal and zealous attention +had excited those feelings in the heart of his Brother, and have fill'd +his with sentiments of thankfulness. The Duke of GRAFTON has every way +shewn himself attentive to the Genius, the Worth, of Mr. BLOOMFIELD. He +has essentially added to his comforts. His R. H. the Duke of YORK, by +Capt. BUNBURY, has made a liberal present, as an acknowledgment of the +pleasure receiv'd from the perusal of his excellent Poem. This attention +of his R. H. liberal and amiable in itself, has been the cause of like +liberality in others. It suggested to Dr. DRAKE, and other Gentlemen at +HADLEIGH, the idea of a local subscription of a Guinea each in that Town +and Neighbourhood. This has been carried into effect by himself and eleven +other Friends, who may be said in this instance to sustain, in a manner, +the honorable function of a kind of LITERARY JURY. The Names who have +given this testimony of their high esteem to the character of Mr. +BLOOMFIELD, and of the pleasure they have received from the perusal of his +Poem, are: + +THOMAS SHERLOCKE GOOCH, Esq. +Major POCKLINGTON, +Dr. GIBBONS, M.D. +The Rev. J. PLAMPIN, +The Rev. T. KNOTTESFORD, +The Rev. R. PRITCHETT, +ABRAHAM REEVE, Esq. +GEO. ARCHER, Esq. +J. MILLS, Esq. +Mrs. TRAIL, +Mrs. LEAKE, +NATHAN DRAKE, M.D. + +I have transcribed the names in the order in which they were transmitted +to me. With a large proportion of those who have thus stood forth the +Friends of Genius and Worth I have the pleasure of being acquainted. It +gives me much satisfaction to mention this notice: welcome to the Author +as a Gift; and far more so as a testimony of good opinion unexpectedly +offer'd. Several instances of similar attention to the disproportion +between the circumstances of the Author and the excellence of his poetical +Talents and moral Qualities have spontaneously manifested themselves from +different quarters. Those, as the separate act of individuals, I have not +particularized otherwise than by this general acknowledgment: though many +such have been mention'd to me by the Author. This, as a collective act, I +hope I may be allow'd the gratification of thus noticing. + +Sir CHARLES BUNBURY has warmly expressed his approbation of the Poem; as +not only excellent for a Farmer's Boy, but such as would do honour to any +person, whatever his education: and he also has much contributed to make +it early and advantageously known. Mr. GREEN of IPSWICH has spoken of it +as a charming composition: reflecting, in a very natural and vivid manner, +the series of interesting images which touch'd the sensibility of a young, +an artless, but a most intelligent observer of Nature; plac'd in a +situation highly favourable to observation, though in fact not often +productive of it. That Originality in such a subject is invaluable: and +that this Poem appears to him (I know few men so qualified to judge on +such a point) throughout original. And literary characters who have earnt +to themselves much of true Praise by their own Productions, Mr. DYER and +Dr. DRAKE of HADLEIGH, have given full and appropriate encomium to the +excellence both in Plan and Execution, of this admirable RURAL PORM. My +Friend Mr. BLACK of _Woodbridge_, has notic'd it in a very pleasing and +characteristic Letter address'd to me in verse. I believe I shall not be +just to the FARMER's BOY if I omit to notice that the Taste and Genius of +Mrs. OPIE, born to do honour to every department of the Fine Arts, have +given her an high sentiment of its merits. And a LADY at BURY, whom I wish +I were permitted to name, has most truly characteriz'd it by remarking, +that "the descriptions of Country scenes, occupations, customs, and +manners, are as natural as possible: and that the justness, virtue, and +tenderness of the sentiments are to be equally admired." Were I to name +all the Friends and Admirers of the POEM and of the simple and amiable +manners and character of the AUTHOR, I should name, I believe, nearly +every person in this Island whom I respect, esteem, and admire. + +It would be highly gratifying to me could I now transcribe those +testimonies to which I have generally referr'd:... but I abstain here +from this: and the rather, as I believe Mr. DYER will probably soon +express, in a Publication of his own, his sentiments on this Work; and as +Dr. DRAKE, I know, has been so struck with it as to intend to appropriate +to an investigation of its peculiar merit the concluding part of an +enlarg'd Edition of his LITERARY HOURS.[Footnote: This has been since +excellently perform'd by him. See the APPENDIX.] + +The mention already made of the FARMER'S BOY in the NEW LONDON REVIEW and +in the MONTHLY MIRROR I have seen with pleasure. I rejoice in that Fame +which is just to living Merit, and waits not for the Tomb to present the +tardy and then unvalued Wreath: I rejoice in the sense express'd not only +of his Genius, but of his pure, benevolent, amiable Virtue, his +affectionate Veneration to the DEITY, and his good Will to all.... +Obscurity and Adversity have not broken; Fame and Prosperity, I am +persuaded, will not corrupt him. + +I cannot deny myself the satisfaction of mentioning that, after an absence +of twelve years, the Author of the Farmer's Boy has revisited his native +Plains. That he has seen his Mother in health and spirits: seen her with a +joy to both which even his own most expressive and pathetic language would +imperfectly describe.... Seen other near, affectionate, and belov'd +Relatives: review'd, with the feelings of a truly poetic and benevolent +Mind, the haunts of his youth; the Woods and Vales, the Cot, the Field and +the Tree, which even recollected after so many years and at a distance, +had awaken'd in such a manner the energies of his Heart and Intellect, and +had inspir'd strains which will never cease to be repeated with pleasure +and admiration. That he has been receiv'd at BURY with an emulous desire +of his society; and certainly with the greatest reason. I rejoice that I +at length have been made personally acquainted with him: that I have seen +him here, and at his Mother's, and at Bury: that I have discours'd with +him; that we have made our rural walks together: that I have heard him +read some of those Poems which are not yet printed; but which when they +shall be so, will support fully and extend the Fame he has acquir'd. +Though I have spent, occasionally, much of my life among persons worthy of +Admiration and of Esteem, I can recollect few days so interesting and so +valuable to me as these. + +C.L. + +TROSTON, 25 May, 1800. + +What I have said in prose, p. ix of this Preface, is charmingly expressed +in the language of the Muses by Mr. COLLIER, in his Miscellaneous Poems +lately publish'd. + +O where on earth can he a pleasure find + Whose heart th' extatic sweets of Love has known, +When in the jarring chaos of his mind + The gentle God no longer holds his throne! + + + +ON REVISITING THE PLACE OF MY NATIVITY. + +Though Winter's frowns had damp'd the beaming eye, +Through Twelve successive Summers heav'd the sigh, +The unaccomplish'd wish was still the same; +Till May in new and sudden glories came! +My heart was rous'd; and Fancy on the wing, +Thus heard the language of enchanting Spring:-- + +'Come to thy native groves and fruitful fields! +Thou know'st the fragrance that the wild-flow'r yields; +Inhale the Breeze that bends the purple bud, +And plays along the margin of the Wood. +I've cloth'd them all; the very Woods where thou +In infancy learn'd'st praise from every bough. +Would'st thou behold again the vernal day? +My reign is short;--this instant come away: +Ere Philomel shall silent meet the morn; +She hails the green, but not the rip'ning corn. +Come, ere the pastures lose their yellow flow'rs: +Come now; with heart as jocund as the hours.' + +Who could resist the call?--that, Giles had done, +Nor heard the Birds, nor seen the rising Sun; +Had not Benevolence, with cheering ray, +And Greatness stoop'd, indulgent to display +Praise which does surely not to Giles belong, +But to the objects that inspir'd his song. +Immediate pleasure from those praises flow'd: +Remoter bliss within his bosom glow'd! +Now tasted all:--for I have heard and seen +The long-remember'd voice, the church, the green;-- +And oft by Friendship's gentle hand been led +Where many an hospitable board was spread. +These would I name,... but each, and all can feel +What the full heart would willingly reveal: +Nor needs be told; that at each season's birth, +Still the enamell'd, or the scorching Earth +Gave, as each morn or weary night would come, +Ideal sweetness to my distant home:-- +Ideal now no more;--for, to my view +Spring's promise rose, how admirably true!! +The early chorus of the cheerful Grove, +Gave point to Gratitude; and fire to Love. +O Memory! shield me from the World's poor strife; +And give those scenes thine everlasting life! + +ROB. BLOOMFIELD. + +LONDON, MAY 30, 1800. + + + +SPRING. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Invocation, &c. Seed time. Harrowing. Morning walks. Milking. The Dairy. +Suffolk Cheese. Spring coming forth. Sheep fond of changing. Lambs at +play. The Butcher, &c._ + +[Illustration] + + + + SPRING + +I. + +O come, blest Spirit! whatsoe'er thou art, +Thou rushing warmth that hover'st round my heart, +Sweet inmate, hail! thou source of sterling joy, +That poverty itself cannot destroy, +Be thou my Muse; and faithful still to me, +Retrace the paths of wild obscurity. +No deeds of arms my humble lines rehearse, +No _Alpine_ wonders thunder through my verse, +The roaring cataract, the snow-topt hill, +Inspiring awe, till breath itself stands still: +Nature's sublimer scenes ne'er charm'd mine eyes, +Nor Science led me through the boundless skies; +From meaner objects far my raptures flow: +O point these raptures! bid my bosom glow! +And lead my soul to ecstasies of praise +For all the blessings of my infant days! +Bear me through regions where gay Fancy dwells; +But mould to Truth's fair form what Memory tells. + +Live, trifling incidents, and grace my song, +That to the humblest menial belong: +To him whose drudgery unheeded goes, +His joys unreckon'd as his cares or woes; +Though joys and cares in every path are sown, +And youthful minds have feelings of their own, +Quick springing sorrows, transient as the dew, +Delights from trifles, trifles ever, new. +'Twas thus with GILES: meek, fatherless, and poor: +Labour his portion, but he felt no more; +No stripes, no tyranny his steps pursu'd; +His life was constant, cheerful, servitude: +Strange to the world, he wore a bashful look, +The fields his study, Nature was his book; +And, as revolving SEASONS chang'd the scene +From heat to cold, tempestuous to serene, +Though every change still varied his employ, +Yet each new duty brought its share of joy. + +Where noble GRAFTON spreads his rich domains, +Round _Euston's_ water'd vale, and sloping plains, +Where woods and groves in solemn grandeur rise, +Where the kite brooding unmolested flies; +The woodcock and the painted pheasant race, +And sculking foxes, destin'd for the chace; +There Giles, untaught and unrepining, stray'd +Thro' every copse, and grove, and winding glade; +There his first thoughts to Nature's charms inclin'd, +That stamps devotion on th' inquiring mind. +A little farm his generous Master till'd, +Who with peculiar grace his station fill'd; +By deeds of hospitality endear'd, +Serv'd from affection, for his worth rever'd; +A happy offspring blest his plenteous board, +His fields were fruitful, and his harm well stor'd, +And fourscore ewes he fed, a sturdy team, +And lowing kine that grazed beside the stream: +Unceasing industry he kept in view; +And never lack'd a job for Giles to do. + +FLED now the sullen murmurs of the North, +The splendid raiment of the SPRING peeps forth; +Her universal green, and the clear sky, +Delight still more and more the gazing eye. +Wide o'er the fields, in rising moisture strong, +Shoots up the simple flower, or creeps along +The mellow'd soil; imbibing fairer hues +Or sweets from frequent showers and evening dews; +That summon from its shed the slumb'ring ploughs, +While health impregnates every breeze that blows. +No wheels support the diving pointed share; +No groaning ox is doom'd to labour there; +No helpmates teach the docile steed his road; +(Alike unknown the plow-boy and the goad;) +But, unassisted through each toilsome day, +With smiling brow the plowman cleaves his way, +Draws his fresh parallels, and wid'ning still, +Treads slow the heavy dale, or climbs the hill: +Strong on the wing his busy followers play, +Where writhing earth-worms meet th' unwelcome day; +Till all is chang'd, and hill and level down +Assume a livery of sober brown: +Again disturb'd, when Giles with wearying strides +From ridge to ridge the ponderous harrow guides; +His heels deep sinking every step he goes, +Till dirt usurp the empire of his shoes. +Welcome green headland! firm beneath his feet; +Welcome the friendly bank's refreshing seat; +There, warm with toil, his panting horses browse +Their shelt'ring canopy of pendent boughs; +Till rest, delicious, chase each transient pain, +And new-born vigour swell in every vein. +Hour after hour, and day to day succeeds; +Till every clod and deep-drawn furrow spreads +To crumbling mould; a level surface clear, +And strew'd with corn to crown the rising year; +And o'er the whole Giles once transverse again, +In earth's moist bosom buries up the grain. +The work is done; no more to man is given; +The grateful farmer trusts the rest to Heaven. +Yet oft with anxious heart he looks around, +And marks the first green blade that breaks the ground; + +[Illustration: a gate] + +In fancy sees his trembling oats uprun, +His tufted barley yellow with the sun; +Sees clouds propitious shed their timely store, +And all his harvest gather'd round his door. +But still unsafe the big swoln grain below, +A fav'rite morsel with the Rook and Crow; +From field to field the flock increasing goes; +To level crops most formidable foes: +Their danger well the wary plunderers know, +And place a watch on some conspicuous bough; +Yet oft the sculking gunner by surprise +Will scatter death amongst them as they rise. +These, hung in triumph round the spacious field, +At best will but a short-lived terror yield: +Nor guards of property; (not penal law, +But harmless riflemen of rags and straw); +Familiariz'd to these, they boldly rove, +Nor heed such centinels that never move. +Let then your birds lie prostrate on the earth, +In dying posture, and with wings stretch'd forth; +Shift them at eve or morn from place to place, +And death shall terrify the pilfering race; +In the mid air, while circling round and round, +They call their lifeless comrades from the ground; +With quick'ning wing, and notes of loud alarm, +Warn the whole flock to shun the' impending harm. + +This task had _Giles_, in fields remote from home: +Oft has he wish'd the rosy morn to come. +Yet never fam'd was he nor foremost found +To break the seal of sleep; his sleep was sound: +But when at day-break summon'd from his bed, +Light as the lark that carol'd o'er his head, +His sandy way deep-worn by hasty showers, +O'er-arch'd with oaks that form'd fantastic bow'rs, +Waving aloft their tow'ring branches proud, +In borrow'd tinges from the eastern cloud, +(Whence inspiration, pure as ever flow'd, +And genuine transport in his bosom glow'd) +His own shrill matin join'd the various notes +Of Nature's music, from a thousand throats: +The blackbird strove with emulation sweet, +And Echo answer'd from her close retreat; +The sporting white-throat on some twig's end borne, +Pour'd hymns to freedom and the rising morn; +Stopt in her song perchance the starting thrush +Shook a white shower from the black-thorn bush, +Where dew-drops thick as early blossoms hung, +And trembled as the minstrel sweetly sung. +Across his path, in either grove to hide, +The timid rabbit scouted by his side; +Or bold cock-pheasant stalk'd along the road, +Whose gold and purple tints alternate glow'd. +But groves no farther fenc'd the devious way; +A wide-extended heath before him lay, +Where on the grass the stagnant shower had run, +And shone a mirror to the rising sun, +(Thus doubly seen) lighting a distant wood, +Giving new life to each expanding bud; +Effacing quick the dewy foot-marks found, +Where prowling Reynard trod his nightly round; +To shun whose thefts 'twas Giles's evening care, +His feather'd victims to suspend in air, +High on the bough that nodded o'er his head, +And thus each morn to strew the field with dead. + +His simple errand done, he homeward hies; +Another instantly its place supplies. +The clatt'ring dairy-maid immers'd in steam, +Singing and scrubbing midst her milk and cream, +Bawls out, "_Go fetch the cows_:..." he hears no more; +For pigs, and ducks, and turkies, throng the door, +And sitting hens, for constant war prepar'd; +A concert strange to that which late he heard. +Straight to the meadow then he whistling goes; +With well-known halloo calls his lazy cows: +Down the rich pasture heedlessly they graze, +Or hear the summon with an idle gaze; +For well they know the cow-yard yields no more +Its tempting fragrance, nor its wint'ry store. +Reluctance marks their steps, sedate and slow; +The right of conquest all the law they know: +Subordinate they one by one succeed; +And one among them always takes the lead, +Is ever foremost, wheresoe'er they stray; +Allow'd precedence, undisputed sway; +With jealous pride her station is maintain'd, +For many a broil that post of honour gain'd. +At home, the yard affords a grateful scene; +For Spring makes e'en a miry cow-yard clean. +Thence from its chalky bed behold convey'd +The rich manure that drenching winter made, +Which pil'd near home, grows green with many a weed, +A promis'd nutriment for Autumn's seed. +Forth comes the Maid, and like the morning smiles; +The Mistress too, and follow'd close by Giles. +A friendly tripod forms their humble seat, +With pails bright scour'd, and delicately sweet. +Where shadowing elms obstruct the morning ray, +Begins their work, begins the simple lay; +The full-charg'd udder yields its willing streams, +While _Mary_ sings some lover's amorous dreams; +And crouching Giles beneath a neighbouring tree +Tugs o'er his pail, and chants with equal glee; +Whose hat with tatter'd brim, of nap so bare, +From the cow's side purloins a coat of hair, +A mottled ensign of his harmless trade, +An unambitious, peaceable cockade. +As unambitious too that cheerful aid +The mistress yields beside her rosy maid; + +[Illustration: maid with a cow] + +With joy she views her plenteous reeking store, +And bears a brimmer to the dairy door; +Her cows dismiss'd, the luscious mead to roam, +Till ere again recall them loaded home. +And now the DAIRY claims her choicest care, +And half her household find employment there: +Slow rolls the churn, its load of clogging cream +At once foregoes its quality and name; +From knotty particles first floating wide +Congealing butter's dash'd from side to side; +Streams of new milk thro' flowing coolers stray, +And snow-white curd abounds, and wholesome whey. +Due north th' unglazed windows, cold and clear, +For warming sunbeams are unwelcome here. +Brisk goes the work beneath each busy hand, +And _Giles_ must trudge, whoever gives command; +A _Gibeonite_, that serves them all by turns: +He drains the pump, from him the faggot burns; +From him the noisy hogs demand their food; +While at his heels run many a chirping brood, +Or down his path in expectation stand, +With equal claims upon his strewing hand. +Thus wastes the morn, till each with pleasure sees +The bustle o'er, and press'd the new-made cheese. + +Unrivall'd stands thy country CHEESE, O _Giles!_ +Whose very name alone engenders smiles; +Whose fame abroad by every tongue is spoke, +The well-known butt of many a flinty joke, +That pass like current coin the nation through; +And, ah! experience proves the satire true. +Provision's grave, thou ever craving mart, +Dependant, huge Metropolis! where Art +Her pouring thousands stows in breathless rooms, +Midst pois'nous smokes and steams, and rattling looms; +Where Grandeur revels in unbounded stores; +Restraint, a slighted stranger at their doors! + +[Illustration: man pouring feed into a trough] + +Thou, like a whirlpool, drain'st the countries round, +Till London market, London price, resound +Through every town, round every passing load, +And dairy produce throngs the eastern road: +Delicious veal, and butter, every hour, +From Essex lowlands, and the banks of Stour; +And further far, where numerous herds repose, +From Orwell's brink, from Weveny, or Ouse. +Hence Suffolk dairy-wives run mad for cream, +And leave their milk with nothing but its name; +Its name derision and reproach pursue, +And strangers tell of "three times skimm'd sky-blue." +To cheese converted, what can be its boast? +What, but the common virtues of a post! +If drought o'ertake it faster than the knife, +Most fair it bids for stubborn length of life, +And, like the oaken shelf whereon 'tis laid, +Mocks the weak efforts of the bending blade; +Or in the hog-trough rests in perfect spite, +Too big to swallow, and too hard to bite. +Inglorious victory! Ye Cheshire meads, +Or Severn's flow'ry dales, where plenty treads, +Was your rich milk to suffer wrongs like these, +Farewell your pride! farewell renowned cheese! +The skimmer dread, whose ravages alone +Thus turn the mead's sweet nectar into stone. + +NEGLECTED now the early _daisy_ lies: +Nor thou, pale _primrose_, bloom'st the only prize: +Advancing SPRING profusely spreads abroad +Flow'rs of all hues, with sweetest fragrance stor'd; +Where'er she treads, LOVE gladdens every plain, +_Delight_ on tiptoe bears her lucid train; +Sweet _Hope_ with conscious brow before her flies, +Anticipating wealth from Summer skies; +All Nature feels her renovating sway; +The sheep-fed pasture, and the meadow gay; +And trees, and shrubs, no longer budding seen, +Display the new-grown branch of lighter green; +On airy downs the shepherd idling lies, +And sees to-morrow in the marbled skies. +Here then, my soul, thy darling theme pursue, +For every day was Giles a SHEPHERD too. + +Small was his charge: no wilds had they to roam; +But bright enclosures circling round their home. +Nor yellow-blossom'd furze, nor stubborn thorn, +The heath's rough produce, had their fleeces torn: +Yet ever roving, ever seeking thee, +Enchanting spirit, dear Variety! +O happy tenants, prisoners of a day! +Releas'd to ease, to pleasure, and to play; +Indulg'd through every field by turns to range, +And taste them all in one continual change. +For though luxuriant their grassy food, +Sheep long confin'd but loathe the present good; +Bleating around the homeward gate they meet, +And starve, and pine, with plenty at their feet. +Loos'd from the winding lane, a joyful throng, +See, o'er yon pasture how they pour along! +_Giles_ round their boundaries takes his usual stroll; +Sees every pass secur'd, and fences whole; +High fences, proud to charm the gazing eye, +Where many a nestling first assays to fly; +Where blows the woodbine, faintly streak'd with red, +And rests on every bough its tender head; +Round the young ash its twining branches meet, +Or crown the hawthorn with its odours sweet. + +Say, ye that know, ye who have felt and seen, +_Spring's_ morning smiles, and soul-enliv'ning green, +Say, did you give the thrilling transport way? +Did your eye brighten, when young lambs at play +Leap'd o'er your path with animated pride, +Or gaz'd in merry clusters by your side? +Ye who can smile, to wisdom no disgrace, +At the arch meaning of a kitten's face; +If spotless innocence, and infant mirth, +Excites to praise, or gives reflection birth; +In shades like these pursue your fav'rite joy, +Midst Nature's revels, sports that never cloy. + +A few begin a short but vigorous race, +And indolence abash'd soon flies the place; +Thus challeng'd forth, see thither one by one, +From every side assembling playmates run; +A thousand wily antics mark their stay, +A starting crowd, impatient of delay. +Like the fond dove from fearful prison freed, +Each seems to say, "Come, let us try our speed;" +Away they scour, impetuous, ardent, strong, +The green turf trembling as they bound along; +Adown the slope, then up the hillock climb, +Where every molehill is a bed of thyme; +There panting stop; yet scarcely can refrain; +A bird, a leaf, will set them off again: +Or, if a gale with strength unusual blow, +Scatt'ring the wild-briar roses into snow, +Their little limbs increasing efforts try, +Like the torn flower the fair assemblage fly. +Ah, fallen rose! sad emblem of their doom; +Frail as thyself, they perish while they bloom! +Though unoffending innocence may plead, +Though frantic ewes may mourn the savage deed, +Their shepherd comes, a messenger of blood, +And drives them bleating from their sports and food. +Care loads his brow, and pity wrings his heart, +For lo, the murd'ring BUTCHER with his cart +Demands the firstlings of his flock to die, +And makes a sport of life and liberty! +His gay companions _Giles_ beholds no more; +Clos'd are their eyes, their fleeces drench'd in gore; +Nor can Compassion, with her softest notes, +Withhold the knife that plunges through their throats. + +Down, indignation! hence, ideas foul! +Away the shocking image from my soul! +Let kindlier visitants attend my way, +Beneath approaching _Summer's_ fervid ray; +Nor thankless glooms obtrude, nor cares annoy, +Whilst the sweet theme is _universal joy_. + + + +SUMMER. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Turnip sowing. Wheat ripening. Sparrows. Insects. The sky-lark. Reaping, +&c. Harvest-field, Dairy-maid, &c. Labours of the barn. The gander. Night; +a thunder storm. Harvest-home. Reflections, &c._ + + +[Illustration] + + + + SUMMER. + +II. + +THE FARMER'S life displays in every part +A moral lesson to the sensual heart. +Though in the lap of Plenty, thoughtful still, +He looks beyond the present good or ill; +Nor estimates alone one blessing's worth, +From changeful seasons, or capricious earth; +But views the future with the present hours, +And looks for failures as he looks for show'ers; +For casual as for certain want prepares, +And round his yard the reeking haystack rears; +Or clover, blossom'd lovely to the sight, +His team's rich store through many a wint'ry night. +What tho' abundance round his dwelling spreads, +Though ever moist his self-improving meads +Supply his dairy with a copious flood, +And seem to promise unexhausted food; +That promise fails, when buried deep in snow, +And vegetative juices cease to flow. +For this, his plough turns up the destin'd lands, +Whence stormy Winter draws its full demands; +For this, the seed minutely small he sows, +Whence, sound and sweet, the hardy turnip grows. +But how unlike to APRIL'S closing days! +High climbs the Sun, and darts his pow'rful rays; +Whitens the fresh-drawn mould, and pierces through +The cumb'rous clods that tumble round the plough. +O'er heaven's bright azure hence with joyful eyes +The Farmer sees dark clouds assembling rise; +Borne o'er his fields a heavy torrent falls, +And strikes the earth in hasty driving squalls. +"_Right welcome down, ye precious drops_," he cries; +But soon, too soon, the partial blessing flies. +"_Boy, bring thy harrows, try how deep the rain +Has forc'd its way_." He comes, but comes in vain; +Dry dust beneath the bubbling surface lurks, +And mocks his pains the more, the more he works: +Still midst huge clods he plunges on forlorn, +That laugh his harrows and the shower to scorn. +E'en thus the living clod, the stubborn fool, +Resists the stormy lectures of the school, +Till tried with gentler means, the dunce to please, +His head imbibes right reason by degrees; +As when from eve till morning's wakeful hour, +Light, constant rain, evinces secret pow'r, +And ere the day resume its wonted smiles, +Presents a cheerful easy task for _Giles_. +Down with a touch the mellow'd soil is laid, +And yon tall crop next claims his timely aid; +Thither well pleas'd he hies, assur'd to find +Wild trackless haunts, and objects to his mind. + +Shot up from broad rank blades that droop below, +The nodding WHEAT-EAR forms a graceful bow, +With milky kernels starting full, weigh'd down, +Ere yet the sun hath ting'd its head with brown; +Whilst thousands in a flock, for ever gay, +Loud chirping _sparrows_ welcome on the day, +And from the mazes of the leafy thorn +Drop one by one upon the bending corn. +Giles with a pole assails their close retreats, +And round the grass-grown dewy border beats, +On either side completely overspread, +Here branches bend, there corn o'ertops his head. +Green covert, hail! for through the varying year +No hours so sweet, no scene to him so dear. + +[Illustration] + +Here _Wisdom's_ placid eye delighted sees +His frequent intervals of lonely ease, +And with one ray his infant soul inspires, +Just kindling there her never-dying fires, +Whence solitude derives peculiar charms, +And heaven-directed thought his bosom warms. +Just where the parting bough's light shadows play, +Scarce in the shade, nor in the scorching day, +Stretch'd on the turf he lies, a peopled bed, +Where swarming insects creep around his head. +The small dust-colour'd beetle climbs with pain +O'er the smooth plantain-leaf, a spacious plain! +Thence higher still, by countless steps convey'd, +He gains the summit of a shiv'ring blade, +And flirts his filmy wings, and looks around, +Exulting in his distance from the ground. +The tender speckled moth here dancing seen, +The vaulting grasshopper of glossy green, +And all prolific _Summer's_ sporting train, +Their little lives by various pow'rs sustain. +But what can unassisted vision do? +What, but recoil where most it would pursue; +His patient gaze but finish with a sigh, +When musing waking speaks the _sky-lark_ nigh! +Just starting from the corn she cheerly sings, +And trusts with conscious pride her downy wings; +Still louder breathes, and in the face of day +Mounts up, and calls on _Giles_ to mark her way. +Close to his eyes his hat he instant bends, +And forms a friendly telescope, that lends +Just aid enough to dull the glaring light, +And place the wand'ring bird before his sight; +Yet oft beneath a cloud she sweeps along, +Lost for awhile, yet pours her varied song: +He views the spot, and as the cloud moves by, +Again she stretches up the clear blue sky; + + [Illustration] + +Her form, her motion, undistinguish'd quite, +Save when she wheels direct from shade to light: +The flutt'ring songstress a mere speck became, +Like fancy's floating bubbles in a dream; +He sees her yet, but yielding to repose, +Unwittingly his jaded eyelids close. +Delicious sleep! From sleep who could forbear, +With no more guilt than _Giles_, and no more care? +Peace o'er his slumbers waves her guardian wing, +Nor conscience once disturbs him with a sting; +He wakes refresh'd from every trivial pain, +And takes his pole and brushes round again. + +Its dark-green hue, its sicklier tints all fail, +And rip'ening harvest rustles in the gale. +A glorious sight, if glory dwells below, +Where Heaven's munificence makes all the show, +O'er every field and golden prospect found, +That glads the ploughman's Sunday morning's round, +When on some eminence he takes his stand, +To judge the smiling produce of the land. +Here Vanity slinks back, her head to hide: +What is there here to flatter human pride? +The tow'ring fabric, or the dome's loud roar, +And stedfast columns, may astonish more, +Where the charm'd gazer long delighted stays, +Yet trac'd but to the _architect_ the praise; +Whilst here, the veriest clown that treads the sod, +Without one scruple gives the praise to GOD; +And twofold joys possess his raptur'd mind, +From gratitude and admiration join'd. + +Here, midst the boldest triumphs of her worth, +NATURE herself invites the REAPERS forth; +Dares the keen sickle from its twelvemonth's rest, +And gives that ardour which in every breast +From infancy to age alike appears, +When the first sheaf its plumy top uprears. + +[Illustration] + +No rake takes here what Heaven to all bestows-- +Children of want, for you the bounty flows! +And every cottage from the plenteous store +Receives a burden nightly at its door. + +Hark! where the sweeping scythe now rips along: +Each sturdy Mower emulous and strong; +Whose writhing form meridian heat defies, +Bends o'er his work, and every sinew tries; +Prostrates the waving treasure at his feet, +But spares the rising clover, short and sweet. +Come, HEALTH! come, _Jollity!_ light-footed, come; +Here hold your revels, and make this your home. +Each heart awaits and hails you as its own; +Each moisten'd brow, that scorns to wear a frown: +Th' unpeopled dwelling mourns its tenants stray'd; +E'en the domestic laughing dairy maid +Hies to the FIELD, the general toil to share. +Meanwhile the FARMER quits his elbow-chair, +His cool brick-floor, his pitcher, and his ease, +And braves the sultry beams, and gladly sees +His gates thrown open, and his team abroad, +The ready group attendant on his word, +To turn the swarth, the quiv'ring load to rear, +Or ply the busy rake, the land to clear. +Summer's light garb itself now cumb'rous grown, +Each his thin doublet in the shade throws down; +Where oft the mastiff sculks with half-shut eye, +And rouses at the stranger passing by; +Whilst unrestrain'd the social converse flows, +And every breast Love's powerful impulse knows, +And rival wits with more than rustic grace +Confess the presence of a pretty face. + +For, lo! encircled there, the lovely MAID, +In youth's own bloom and native smiles array'd; +Her hat awry, divested of her gown, +Her creaking stays of leather, stout and brown;... + +[Illustration] + +Invidious barrier! why art thou so high, +When the slight covering of her neck slips by, +There half revealing to the eager sight +Her full, ripe bosom, exquisitely white? +In many a local tale of harmless mirth, +And many a jest of momentary birth, +She bears a part, and as she stops to speak, +Strokes back the ringlets from her glowing cheek. + +Now noon gone by, and four declining hours, +The weary limbs relax their boasted pow'rs; +Thirst rages strong, the fainting spirits fail, +And ask the sov'reign cordial, home-brew'd ale: +Beneath some shelt'ring heap of yellow corn +Rests the hoop'd keg, and friendly cooling horn, +That mocks alike the goblet's brittle frame, +Its costlier potions, and its nobler name. +To _Mary_ first the brimming draught is given +By toil made welcome as the dews of heaven, +And never lip that press'd its homely edge +Had kinder blessings or a heartier pledge. + +Of wholesome viands here a banquet smiles, +A common cheer for all;... e'en humble _Giles_, +Who joys his trivial services to yield +Amidst the fragrance of the open field; +Oft doom'd in suffocating heat to bear +The cobweb'd barn's impure and dusty air; +To ride in murky state the panting steed, +Destin'd aloft th' unloaded grain to tread, +Where, in his path as heaps on heaps are thrown, +He rears, and plunges the loose mountain down: +Laborious task! with what delight when done +Both horse and rider greet th' unclouded sun! + +Yet by th' unclouded sun are hourly bred +The bold assailants that surround thine head, +Poor patient _Ball!_ and with insulting wing +Roar in thine ears, and dart the piercing sting: +In thy behalf the crest-wav'd boughs avail +More than thy short-clipt remnant of a tail, +A moving mockery, a useless name, +A living proof of cruelty and shame. +Shame to the man, whatever fame he bore, +Who took from thee what man can ne'er restore, +Thy weapon of defence, thy chiefest good, +When swarming flies contending suck thy blood. +Nor thine alone the suff'ring, thine the care, +The fretful _Ewe_ bemoans an equal share; +Tormented into sores, her head she hides, +Or angry brushes from her new-shorn sides. +Pen'd in the yard, e'en now at closing day +Unruly _Cows_ with mark'd impatience stay, +And vainly striving to escape their foes, +The pail kick down; a piteous current flows. + +Is't not enough that plagues like these molest? +Must still another foe annoy their rest? +He comes, the pest and terror of the yard, +His full-fledg'd progeny's imperious guard; +The GANDER;... spiteful, insolent, and bold, +At the colt's footlock takes his daring hold: +There, serpent-like, escapes a dreadful blow; +And straight attacks a poor defenceless cow: +Each booby goose th' unworthy strife enjoys, +And hails his prowess with redoubled noise. +Then back he stalks, of self-importance full, +Seizes the shaggy foretop of the bull, +Till whirl'd aloft he falls; a timely check, +Enough to dislocate his worthless neck: +For lo! of old, he boasts an honour'd wound; +Behold that broken wing that trails the ground! +Thus fools and bravoes kindred pranks pursue; +As savage quite, and oft as fatal too. +Happy the man that foils an envious elf, +Using the darts of spleen to serve himself. +As when by turns the strolling _Swine_ engage +The utmost efforts of the bully's rage, +Whose nibbling warfare on the grunter's side +Is welcome pleasure to his oristly hide; +Gently he stoops, or strecht at ease along, +Enjoys the insults of the gabbling throng, +That march exulting round his fallen head, +As human victors trample on their dead. + +Still TWILIGHT, welcome! Rest, how sweet art thou! +Now eve o'erhangs the western cloud's thick brow: +The far-stretch'd curtain of retiring light, +With fiery treasures fraught; that on the sight +Flash from its bulging sides, where darkness lours, +In Fancy's eye, a chain of mould'ring tow'rs; +Or craggy coasts just rising into view, +Midst jav'lins dire, and darts of streaming blue. + +Anon tir'd labourers bless their shelt'ring home, +When MIDNIGHT, and the frightful TEMPEST come. +The Farmer wakes, and sees with silent dread +The angry shafts of Heaven gleam round his bed; +The bursting cloud reiterated roars, +Shakes his straw roof, and jars his bolted doors: +The slow-wing'd storm along the troubled skies +Spreads its dark course; the wind begins to rise; +And full-leaf'd elms, his dwelling's shade by day, +With mimic thunder give its fury way: +Sounds in his chimney top a doleful peal, +Midst pouring rain, or gusts of rattling hail; +With tenfold danger low the tempest bends, +And quick and strong the sulph'urous flame descends: +The fright'ned mastiff from his kennel flies, +And cringes at the door with piteous cries.... + +Where now's the trifler? where the child of pride? +These are the moments when the heart is try'd! +Nor lives the man with conscience e'er so clear, +But feels a solemn, reverential fear; +Feels too a joy relieve his aching breast, +When the spent storm hath howl'd itself to rest. +Still, welcome beats the long continued show'r, +And sleep protracted, comes with double pow'r; +Calm dreams of bliss bring on the morning sun, +For every barn is fill'd, and HARVEST _done_! + +Now, ere sweet SUMMER bids its long adieu, +And winds blow keen where late the blossom grew, +The bustling day and jovial night must come, +The long accustom'd feast of HARVEST-HOME. +No blood-stain'd victory, in story bright, +Can give the philosophic mind delight; +No triumph please while rage and death destroy: +Reflection sickens at the monstrous joy. +And where the joy, if rightly understood, +Like cheerful praise for universal good? +The soul nor check nor doubtful anguish knows, +But free and pure the grateful current flows. + +Behold the sound oak table's massy frame +Bestride the kitchen floor! the careful dame +And gen'rous host invite their friends around, +While all that clear'd the crop, or till'd the ground, +Are guests by right of custom:... old and young; +And many a neighbouring yeoman join the throng, +With artizans that lent their dext'rous aid, +When o'er each field the flaming sun-beams play'd,-- + +Yet Plenty reigns, and from her boundless hoard, +Though not one jelly trembles on the board, +Supplies the feast with all that sense can crave; +With all that made our great forefathers brave, +Ere the cloy'd palate countless flavours try'd, +And cooks had Nature's judgment set aside. +With thanks to Heaven, and tales of rustic lore, +The mansion echoes when the banquet's o'er; +A wider circle spreads, and smiles abound, +As quick the frothing horn performs its round; +Care's mortal foe; that sprightly joys imparts +To cheer the frame and elevate their hearts. +Here, fresh and brown, the hazel's produce lies +In tempting heaps, and peals of laughter rise, +And crackling Music, with the frequent _Song_, +Unheeded bear the midnight hour along. + +Here once a year Distinction low'rs its crest, +The master, servant, and the merry guest, +Are equal all; and round the happy ring +The reaper's eyes exulting glances fling, +And, warm'd with gratitude, he quits his place, +With sun-burnt hands and ale-enliven'd face, +Refills the jug his honour'd host to tend, +To serve at once the master and the friend; +Proud thus to meet his smiles, to share his tale, +His nuts, his conversation, and his ale. + +Such were the days, ... of days long past I sing, +When Pride gave place to mirth without a sting; +Ere tyrant customs strength sufficient bore +To violate the feelings of the poor; +To leave them distanc'd in the mad'ning race, +Where'er Refinement shews its hated face: +Nor causeless hated;... 'tis the peasant's curse, +That hourly makes his wretched station worse; +Destroys life's intercourse; the social plan +That rank to rank cements, as man to man: +Wealth flows around him, fashion lordly reigns; +Yet poverty is his, and mental pains. + +Methinks I hear the mourner thus impart +The stifled murmurs of his wounded heart: +'Whence comes this change, ungracious, irksome, cold? +'Whence the new grandeur that mine eyes behold? +'The wid'ning distance which I daily see, +'Has Wealth done this?... then wealth's a foe to me; +'Foe to our rights; that leaves a pow'rful few +'The paths of emulation to pursue:... +'For emulation stoops to us no more: +'The hope of humble industry is o'er; +'The blameless hope, the cheering sweet presage +'Of future comforts for declining age. +'Can my sons share from this paternal hand +'The profits with the labours of the land? +'No; tho' indulgent Heaven its blessing deigns, +'Where's the small farm to suit my scanty means? +'Content, the Poet sings, with us resides; +'In lonely cots like mine the damsel hides; +'And will he then in raptur'd visions tell +'That sweet Content with Want can ever dwell? +'A barley loaf, 'tis true, my table crowns, +'That fast diminishing in lusty rounds, +'Stops Nature's cravings; yet her sighs will flow +'From knowing this,... that once it was not so. +'Our annual feast, when Earth her plenty yields, +'When crown'd with boughs the last load quits the fields, +'The aspect still of ancient joy puts on; +'The aspect only, with the substance gone: +'The self-same Horn is still at our command, +'But serves none now but the plebeian hand: +'For _home-brew'd Ale_, neglected and debas'd, +'Is quite discarded from the realms of taste. +'Where unaffected Freedom charm'd the soul, +'The separate table and the costly bowl, +'Cool as the blast that checks the budding Spring, +'A mockery of gladness round them fling. +'For oft the Farmer, ere his heart approves, +'Yields up the custom which he dearly loves: +'Refinement forces on him like a tide; +'Bold innovations down its current ride, +'That bear no peace beneath their shewy dress, +'Nor add one tittle to his happiness. +'His guests selected; rank's punctilios known; +'What trouble waits upon a casual frown! +'Restraint's foul manacles his pleasures maim; +'Selected guests selected phrases claim: +'Nor reigns that joy when hand in hand they join +'That good old Master felt in shaking mine. +'HEAVEN bless his memory! bless his honour'd name! +'(The poor will speak his lasting worthy fame:) +'To souls fair-purpos'd strength and guidance give; +'In pity to us still let goodness live: +'Let labour have its due! my cot shall be +'From chilling want and guilty murmurs free: +'Let labour have its due;... then peace is mine, +'And never, never shall my heart repine.' + + + + +AUTUMN. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Acorns. Hogs in the wood. Wheat-sowing. The Church. Village girls. +The mad girl. The bird-boy's hut. Disappointments; reflections, &c. +Euston-hall. Fox-hunting. Old Trouncer. Long nights. A welcome to Winter._ + + +[Illustration] + + + + AUTUMN. + + +III. + +Again, the year's _decline_, midst storms and floods, +The thund'ring chase, the yellow fading woods, +Invite my song; that fain would boldly tell +Of upland coverts, and the echoing dell, +By turns resounding loud, at eve and morn +The swineherd's halloo, or the huntsman's horn. + +No more the fields with scatter'd grain supply +The restless wand'ring tenants of the STY; +From oak to oak they run with eager haste, +And wrangling share the first delicious taste +Of fallen ACORNS; yet but thinly found +Till the strong gale have shook them to the ground. +It comes; and roaring woods obedient wave: +Their home well pleas'd the joint adventurers leave: +The trudging sow leads forth her numerous young, +Playful, and white, and clean, the briars among, +Till briars and thorns increasing, fence them round, +Where last year's mould'ring leaves bestrew the ground, +And o'er their heads, loud lash'd by furious squalls, +Bright from their cups the rattling treasure falls; +Hot thirsty food; whence doubly sweet and cool +The welcome margin of some rush-grown pool, +The wild duck's lonely haunt, whose jealous eye +Guards every point; who sits prepar'd to fly, +On the calm bosom of her little lake, +Too closely screen'd for ruffian winds to shake; +And as the bold intruders press around, +At once she starts, and rises with a bound: +With bristles rais'd the sudden noise they hear, +And ludicrously wild, and wing'd with fear, +The herd decamp with more than swinish speed, +And snorting dash thro' sedge, and rush, and reed: +Through tangling thickets headlong on they go, +Then stop, and listen for their fancied foe; +The hindmost still the growing panic spreads, +Repeated fright the first alarm succeeds, +Till Folly's wages, wounds and thorns, they reap: +Yet glorying in their fortunate escape, +Their groundless terrors by degrees soon cease, +And Night's dark reign restores their wonted peace. +For now the gale subsides, and from each bough +The roosting pheasant's short but frequent crow +Invites to rest; and huddling side by side, +The herd in closest ambush seek to hide; +Seek some warm slope with shagged moss o'erspread, +Dry'd leaves their copious covering and their bed. +In vain may _Giles_, thro' gath'ring glooms that fall, +And solemn silence, urge his piercing call: +Whole days and nights they tarry midst their store, +Nor quit the woods till oaks can yield no more. + +Beyond bleak _Winter's_ rage, beyond the _Spring_ +That rolling Earth's unvarying course will bring, +Who tills the ground looks on with mental eye, +And sees next _Summer's_ sheaves and cloudless sky; +And even now, whilst Nature's beauty dies, +Deposits SEED, and bids new harvests rise; +Seed well prepar'd, and warm'd with glowing lime, +'Gainst earth-bred grubs, and cold, and lapse of time: +For searching frosts and various ills invade, +Whilst wint'ry months depress the springing blade. +The plough moves heavily, and strong the soil, +And clogging harrows with augmented toil +Dive deep: and clinging mixes with the mould +A fat'ning treasure from the nightly fold, +And all the cow-yard's highly valu'd store, +That late bestrew'd the blacken'd surface o'er. +No idling hours are here, when Fancy trims +Her dancing taper over outstretch'd limbs, +And in her thousand thousand colours drest, +Plays round the grassy couch of noontide rest: +Here GILES for hours of indolence atones +With strong exertion, and with weary bones, +And knows no leisure; till the distant chime +Of Sabbath bells he hears at sermon time, +That down the brook sound sweetly in the gale, +Or strike the rising hill, or skim the dale. + +Nor his alone the sweets of ease to taste: +Kind rest extends to all;... save one poor beast, +That true to time and pace, is doom'd to plod, +To bring the Pastor to the HOUSE of GOD: +Mean structure; where no bones of heroes lie! +The rude inelegance of poverty +Reigns here alone: else why that roof of straw? +Those narrow windows with the frequent flaw? +O'er whose low cells the dock and mallow spread, +And rampant nettles lift the spiry head, +Whilst from the hollows of the tower on high +The grey-cap'd daws in saucy legions fly. + +Round these lone walls assembling neighbours meet, +And tread departed friends beneath their feet; +And new-brier'd graves, that prompt the secret sigh, +Shew each the spot where he himself must lie. +Midst timely greetings village news goes round, +Of crops late shorn, or crops that deck the ground; +Experienc'd ploughmen in the circle join; +While sturdy boys, in feats of strength to shine, +With pride elate their young associates brave +To jump from hollow-sounding grave to grave; +Then close consulting, each his talent lends +To plan fresh sports when tedious service ends. +Hither at times, with cheerfulness of soul, +Sweet _village Maids_ from neighbouring hamlets stroll, +That like the light-heel'd does o'er lawns that rove, +Look shyly curious; rip'ning into love; +For love's their errand: hence the tints that glow +On either cheek, an heighten'd lustre know: +When, conscious of their charms, e'en Age looks sly, +And rapture beams from Youth's observant eye. + +THE PRIDE of such a party, Nature's pride, +Was lovely POLL;[Footnote: MARY RAYNER, of Ixworth Thorp.] who innocently +try'd, +With hat of airy shape and ribbons gay, +Love to inspire, and stand in Hymen's way: +But, ere her _twentieth_ Summer could expand, +Or youth was render'd happy with her hand, +Her mind's serenity was lost and gone, +Her eye grew languid, and she wept alone; +Yet causeless seem'd her grief; for quick restrain'd, +Mirth follow'd loud, or indignation reign'd: +Whims wild and simple led her from her home, +The heath, the common, or the fields to roam: +Terror and joy alternate rul'd her hours; +Now blithe she sung, and gather'd useless flow'rs; +Now pluck'd a tender twig from every bough, +To whip the hov'ring demons from her brow. +Ill-fated Maid! thy guiding spark is fled, +And lasting wretchedness awaits thy bed ... +Thy bed of straw! for mark, where even now +O'er their lost child afflicted parents bow; +Their woe she knows not, but perversely coy, +Inverted customs yield her sullen joy; +Her midnight meals in secresy she takes, +Low mutt'ring to the moon, that rising breaks +Through night's dark gloom:... oh how much more forlorn +_Her_ night, that knows of no returning dawn!... + +[Illustration:] + +Slow from the threshold, once her infant seat, +O'er the cold earth she crawls to her retreat; +Quitting the cot's warm walls unhous'd to lie, +Or share the swine's impure and narrow sty; +The damp night air her shiv'ring limbs assails; +In dreams she moans, and fancied wrongs bewails. +When morning wakes, none earlier rous'd than she, +When pendent drops fall glitt'ring from the tree; +But nought her rayless melancholy cheers, +Or sooths her breast, or stops her streaming tears. +Her matted locks unornamented flow; +Clasping her knees, and waving to and fro;... +Her head bow'd down, her faded cheek to hide;... +A piteous mourner by the pathway side. +Some tufted molehill through the livelong day +She calls her throne; there weeps her life away: +And oft the gaily passing stranger stays +His well-tim'd step, and takes a silent gaze, +Till sympathetic drops unbidden start, +And pangs quick springing muster round his heart; +And soft he treads with other gazers round, +And fain would catch her sorrow's plaintive sound: +One word alone is all that strikes the ear, +One short, pathetic, simple word,... "_Oh dear!_" +A thousand times repeated to the wind, +That wafts the sigh, but leaves the pang behind! +For ever of the proffer'd parley shy, +She hears the' unwelcome foot advancing nigh; +Nor quite unconscious of her wretched plight, +Gives one sad look, and hurries out of sight.... + +Fair promis'd sunbeams of terrestrial bliss, +Health's gallant hopes,... and are ye sunk to this? +For in life's road though thorns abundant grow, +There still are joys poor Poll can never know; +Joys which the gay companions of her prime +Sip, as they drift along the stream of time; +At eve to hear beside their tranquil home +The lifted latch, that speaks the lover come: +_That_ love matur'd, next playful on the knee +To press the velvet lip of infancy; +To stay the tottering step, the features trace;... +Inestimable sweets of social peace! + +O THOU, who bidst the vernal juices rise! +Thou, on whose blasts autumnal foliage flies! +Let Peace ne'er leave me, nor my heart grow cold, +Whilst life and sanity are mine to hold. + +Shorn of their flow'rs that shed th' untreasur'd seed, +The withering pasture, and the fading mead, +Less tempting grown, diminish more and more, +The dairy's pride; sweet Summer's flowing store. +New cares succeed, and gentle duties press, +Where the fire-side, a school of tenderness, +Revives the languid chirp, and warms the blood +Of cold-nipt weaklings of the latter brood, +That from the shell just bursting into day, +Through yard or pond pursue their vent'rous way. + +Far weightier cares and wider scenes expand; +What devastation marks the new-sown land! +"From hungry woodland foes go, _Giles_, and guard +The rising wheat; ensure its great reward: +A future sustenance, a Summer's pride, +Demand thy vigilance: then be it try'd: +Exert thy voice, and wield thy shotless gun: +Go, tarry there from morn till setting sun." + +Keen blows the blast, or ceaseless rain descends; +The half-stript hedge a sorry shelter lends. +O for a HOVEL, e'er so small or low, +Whose roof, repelling winds and early snow, +Might bring home's comforts fresh before his eyes! +No sooner thought, than see the structure rise, +In some sequester'd nook, embank'd around, +Sods for its walls, and straw in burdens bound: + +[Illustration] + +Dried fuel hoarded is his richest store, +And circling smoke obscures his little door; +Whence creeping forth, to duty's call he yields, +And strolls the Crusoe of the lonely fields. +On whitethorns tow'ring, and the leafless rose, +A frost-nipt feast in bright vermilion glows: +Where clust'ring sloes in glossy order rise, +He crops the loaded branch; a cumb'rous prize; +And o'er the flame the sputt'ring fruit he rests, +Placing green sods to seat his coming guests; +His guests by promise; playmates young and gay:... +BUT AH! _fresh pastimes_ lure their steps away! +He sweeps his hearth, and homeward looks in vain, +Till feeling _Disappointment's_ cruel pain, +His fairy revels are exchang'd for rage, +His banquet marr'd, grown dull his hermitage. +The field becomes his prison, till on high +Benighted birds to shades and coverts fly. +Midst air, health, daylight, can he prisoner be? +If fields are prisons, where is Liberty? +Here still she dwells, and here her votaries stroll; +But disappointed hope untunes the soul: +Restraints unfelt whilst hours of rapture flow, +When troubles press, to chains and barriers grow. +Look then from trivial up to greater woes; +From the poor bird-boy with his roasted sloes, +To where the dungeon'd mourner heaves the sigh; +Where not one cheering sun-beam meets his eye. +Though ineffectual pity thine may be, +No wealth, no pow'r, to set the captive free; +Though _only_ to thy ravish'd _sight_ is given +The golden path that HOWARD trod to heaven; +Thy slights can make the wretched more forlorn, +And deeper drive affliction's barbed thorn. +Say not, "I'll come and cheer thy gloomy cell +With news of dearest friends; how good, how well: +I'll be a joyful herald to thine heart:" +Then fail, and play the worthless trifler's part, +To sip flat pleasures from thy glass's brim, +And waste the precious hour that's due to him. +In mercy spare the base unmanly blow: +Where can he turn, to whom complain of you? +Back to past joys in vain his thoughts may stray; +Trace and retrace the beaten worn-out way, +The rankling injury will pierce his breast, +And curses on thee break his midnight rest. + +Bereft of song, and ever cheering green, +The soft endearments of the Summer scene, +New harmony pervades the solemn wood, +Dear to the soul, and healthful to the blood: +For bold exertion follows on the sound +Of distant sportsmen, and the chiding hound; +First heard from kennel bursting, mad with joy, +Where smiling EUSTON boasts her good FITZROY, +Lord of pure alms, and gifts that wide extend; +The farmer's patron, and the poor man's friend: +Whose mansion glitt'ring with the eastern ray, +Whose elevated temple, points the way, +O'er slopes and lawns, the park's extensive pride, +To where the victims of the chace reside, +Ingulf'd in earth, in conscious safety warm, +Till lo! a plot portends their coming harm. + +In earliest hours of dark unhooded morn, +Ere yet one rosy cloud bespeaks the dawn, +Whilst far abroad THE FOX pursues his prey, +He's doom'd to risk the perils of the day, +From his strong hold block'd out; perhaps to bleed, +Or owe his life to fortune or to speed. +For now the pack, impatient rushing on, +Range through the darkest coverts one by one; +Trace every spot; whilst down each noble glade +That guides the eye beneath a changeful shade, +The loit'ring sportsman feels th' instinctive flame, +And checks his steed to mark the springing game. +Midst intersecting cuts and winding ways +The huntsman cheers his dogs, and anxious strays +Where every narrow riding, even shorn, +Gives back the echo of his mellow horn: +Till fresh and lightsome, every power untried, +The starting fugitive leaps by his side, +His lifted finger to his ear he plies, +And the view halloo bids a chorus rise +Of dogs quick-mouth'd, and shouts that mingle loud, +As bursting thunder rolls from cloud to cloud. +With ears erect, and chest of vigorous mould, +O'er ditch, o'er fence, unconquerably bold, +The shining courser lengthens every bound, +And his strong foot-locks suck the moisten'd ground, +As from the confines of the wood they pour, +And joyous villages partake the roar. +O'er heath far stretch'd, or down, or valley low. +The stiff-limb'd peasant, glorying in the show, +Pursues in vain; where youth itself soon tires, +Spite of the transports that the chace inspires; +For who unmounted long can charm the eye, +Or hear the music of the leading cry? + +Poor faithful TROUNCER! thou canst lead no more; +All thy fatigues and all thy triumphs o'er! +Triumphs of worth, whose honorary fame +Was still to follow true the hunted game; +Beneath enormous oaks, Britannia's boast, +In thick impenetrable coverts lost, +When the warm pack in fault'ring silence stood, +Thine was the note that rous'd the list'ning wood, +Rekindling every joy with tenfold force, +Through all the mazes of the tainted course. +Still foremost thou the dashing stream to cross, +And tempt along the animated horse; +Foremost o'er fen or level mead to pass, +And sweep the show'ring dew-drops from the grass; +Then bright emerging from the mist below +To climb the woodland hill's exulting brow. + +Pride of thy race! with worth far less than thine, +Full many human leaders daily shine! +Less faith, less constancy, less gen'rous zeal!... +Then no disgrace mine humble verse shall feel; +Where not one lying line to riches bows, +Or poison'd sentiment from rancour flows; +Nor flowers are strewn around Ambition's car:... +An honest dog's a nobler theme by far. +Each sportsman heard the tidings with a sigh, +When Death's cold touch had stopt his tuneful cry; +And though high deeds, and fair exalted praise, +In memory liv'd, and flow'd in rustic lays, +Short was the strain of monumental woe: +"_Foxes, rejoice! here buried lies your foe.[A]_" +[Footnote A: Inscribed on a stone in Euston Park wall.] + +In safety hous'd, throughout NIGHT'S _length'ning_ reign, +The Cock sends forth a loud and piercing strain; +More frequent, as the glooms of midnight flee, +And hours roll round, that brought him liberty, +When Summer's early dawn, mild, clear, and bright, +Chas'd quick away the transitory night:... +Hours now in darkness veil'd; yet loud the scream +Of Geese impatient for the playful stream; +And all the feather'd tribe imprison'd raise +Their morning notes of inharmonious praise; +And many a clamorous Hen and cockrel gay, +When daylight slowly through the fog breaks way, +Fly wantonly abroad: but ah, how soon +The shades of twilight follow hazy noon, +Short'ning the busy day!... day that slides by +Amidst th' unfinish'd toils of HUSBANDRY; +Toils still each morn resum'd with double care, +To meet the icy terrors of the year; +To meet the threats of _Boreas_ undismay'd, +And _Winter's_ gathering frowns and hoary head. + +THEN welcome, COLD; welcome, ye _snowy_ nights! +Heaven midst your rage shall mingle pure delights, +And confidence of hope the soul sustain, +While devastation sweeps along the plain: +Nor shall the child of poverty despair, +But bless THE POWER that rules the _changing year_; +Assur'd,... tho' horrors round his cottage reign,... +That _Spring_ will come, and Nature smile again. + + + +WINTER. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Tenderness to cattle. Frozen turnips. The cow-yard. Night. +The farm-house. Fire-side. Farmer's advice and instruction. Nightly cares +of the stable. Dobbin. The post-horse. Sheep-stealing dogs. Walks +occasioned thereby. The ghost. Lamb time. Returning Spring. Conclusion._ + + +[Illustration] + + + + WINTER. + + +IV. + +With kindred pleasures mov'd, and cares opprest, +Sharing alike our weariness and rest; +Who lives the daily partner of our hours, +Thro' every change of heat, and frost, and show'rs; +Partakes our cheerful meals, partaking first +In mutual labour and in mutual thirst; +The kindly intercourse will ever prove +A bond of amity and social love. +To more than man this generous warmth extends, +And oft the team and shiv'ring herd befriends; +Tender solicitude the bosom fills, +And Pity executes what Reason wills: +Youth learns compassion's tale from every tongue, +And flies to aid the helpless and the young; + +When now, unsparing as the scourge of war, +Blasts follow blasts, and groves dismantled roar, +Around their home the storm-pinch'd CATTLE lows, +No nourishment in frozen pastures grows; +Yet frozen pastures every morn resound +With fair abundance thund'ring to the ground. +For though on hoary twigs no buds peep out, +And e'en the hardy bramble cease to sprout, +Beneath dread WINTER'S level sheets of snow +The sweet nutritious _Turnip_ deigns to grow. +Till now imperious want and wide-spread dearth +Bid Labour claim her treasures from the earth. +On GILES, and such as Giles, the labour falls, +To strew the frequent load where hunger calls. +On driving gales sharp hail indignant flies, +And sleet, more irksome still, assails his eyes; +Snow clogs his feet; or if no snow is seen, +The field with all its juicy store to screen, +Deep goes the frost, till every root is found +A rolling mass of ice upon the ground. +No tender ewe can break her nightly fast, +Nor heifer strong begin the cold repast, +Till _Giles_ with pond'rous beetle foremost go, +And scatt'ring splinters fly at every blow; +When pressing round him, eager for the prize, +From their mixt breath warm exhalations rise. + +If now in beaded rows drops deck the spray, +While _Phoebus_ grants a momentary ray, +Let but a cloud's broad shadow intervene, +And stiffen'd into gems the drops are seen; +And down the furrow'd oak's broad southern side +Streams of dissolving rime no longer glide. + +THOUGH NIGHT approaching bids for rest prepare, +Still the flail echoes through the frosty air, +Nor stops till deepest shades of darkness come, +Sending at length the weary laborer home. +From him, with bed and nightly food supplied, +Throughout the yard, hous'd round on every side, +Deep-plunging Cows their rustling feast enjoy, +And snatch sweet mouthfuls from the passing boy, +Who moves unseen beneath his trailing load, +Fills the tall racks, and leaves a scatter'd road; +Where oft the swine from ambush warm and dry +Bolt out, and scamper headlong to their sty, +When _Giles_ with well-known voice, already there, +Deigns them a portion of his evening care. + +_Him_, though the cold may pierce, and storms molest, +Succeeding hours shall cheer with warmth and rest: + +[Illustration] + +Gladness to spread, and raise the grateful smile, +He hurls the faggot bursting from the pile, +And many a log and rifted trunk conveys, +To heap the fire, and to extend the blaze +That quiv'ring strong through every opening flies, +Whilst smoaky columns unobstructed rise. +For the rude architect, unknown to fame, +(Nor symmetry nor elegance his aim) +Who spread his floors of solid oak on high, +On beams rough-hewn, from age to age that lie, +Bade his _wide Fabric_ unimpair'd sustain +_Pomona's_ store, and cheese, and golden grain; +Bade from its central base, capacious laid, +The well-wrought chimney rear its lofty head; +Where since hath many a savoury ham been stor'd, +And tempests howl'd, and Christmas gambols roar'd. + +FLAT on the _hearth_ the glowing embers lie, +And flames reflected dance in every eye: +There the long billet, forc'd at last to bend, +While frothing sap gushes at either end, +Throws round its welcome heat:... the ploughman smiles, +And oft the joke runs hard on sheepish _Giles_, +Who sits joint tenant of the corner-stool, +The converse sharing, though in duty's school; +For now attentively 'tis his to hear +Interrogations from the Master's chair. + +'LEFT ye your bleating charge, when daylight fled, +'Near where the hay-stack lifts its snowy head? +'Whose fence of bushy furze, so close and warm, +'May stop the slanting bullets of the storm. +'For, hark! it blows; a dark and dismal night: +'Heaven guide the traveller's fearful steps aright! +'Now from the woods, mistrustful and sharp-ey'd, +'The _Fox_ in silent darkness seems to glide, +'Stealing around us, list'ning as he goes, +'If chance the Cock or stamm'ring cockerel crows, +'Or Goose, or nodding Duck, should darkling cry, +'As if appriz'd of lurking danger nigh: +'Destruction waits them, _Giles_, if e'er you fail +'To bolt their doors against the driving gale. +'Strew'd you (still mindful of the unshelter'd head) +'Burdens of straw, the cattle's welcome bed? +'Thine heart should feel, what thou may'st hourly see, +'_That duty's basis is humanity._ +'Of pain's unsavoury cup tho' thou may'st taste, +'(The wrath of Winter from the bleak north-east,) +'Thine utmost suff'rings in the coldest day +'A period terminates, and joys repay. +'Perhaps e'en now, while here those joys we boast, +'Full many a bark rides down the neighb'ring coast, +'Where the high northern waves tremendous roar, +'Drove down by blasts from _Norway's_ icy shore. +'The _Sea-boy_ there, less fortunate than thou, +'Feels all thy pains in all the gusts that blow; +'His freezing hands now drench'd, now dry, by turns; +'Now lost, now seen, the distant light that burns, +'On some tall cliff uprais'd, a flaming guide, +'That throws its friendly radiance o'er the tide. +'His labours cease not with declining day, +'But toils and perils mark his watry way; +'And whilst in peaceful dreams secure _we_ lie, +'The ruthless whirlwinds rage along the sky, +'Round his head whistling;... and shall thou repine, +'While this protecting roof still shelters thine?' + +Mild, as the vernal show'r, his words prevail, +And aid the moral precept of his tale: +His wond'ring hearers learn, and ever keep +These first ideas of the restless deep; +And, as the opening mind a circuit tries, +Present felicities in value rise. +Increasing pleasures every hour they find, +The warmth more precious, and the shelter kind; +Warmth that long reigning bids the eyelids close, +As through the blood its balmy influence goes, +When the cheer'd heart forgets fatigues and cares, +And drowsiness alone dominion bears. + +Sweet then the ploughman's slumbers, hale and young, +When the last topic dies upon his tongue; +Sweet then the bliss his transient dreams inspire, +Till chilblains wake him, or the snapping fire: + +He starts, and ever thoughtful of his team, +Along the glitt'ring snow a feeble gleam +Shoots from his lantern, as he yawning goes +To add fresh comforts to their night's repose; +Diffusing fragrance as their food he moves +And pats the jolly sides of those he loves. +Thus full replenish'd, perfect ease possest, +From night till morn alternate food and rest, +No rightful cheer withheld, no sleep debar'd, +Their each day's labour brings its sure reward. +Yet when from plough or lumb'ring cart set free, +They taste awhile the sweets of liberty: +E'en sober _Dobbin_ lifts his clumsy heels +And kicks, disdainful of the dirty wheels; +But soon, his frolic ended, yields again +To trudge the road, and wear the clinking chain. + +Short-sighted DOBBIN!... thou canst only see +The trivial hardships that _encompass_ thee: +Thy chains were freedom, and thy toils repose, +Could the poor _post-horse_ tell thee all his woes; +Shew thee his bleeding shoulders, and unfold +The dreadful anguish he endures for gold: +Hir'd at each call of business, lust, or rage, +That prompt the trav'eller on from stage to stage. +Still on _his_ strength depends their boasted speed; +For them his limbs grow weak, his bare ribs bleed; +And though he groaning quickens at command, +Their extra shilling in the rider's hand +Becomes his bitter scourge:... 'tis _he_ must feel +The double efforts of the lash and steel; +Till when, up hill, the destin'd inn he gains, +And trembling under complicated pains, +Prone from his nostrils, darting on the ground, +His breath emitted floats in clouds around: +Drops chase each other down his chest and sides, +And spatter'd mud his native colour hides: +Thro' his swoln veins the boiling torrent flows, +And every nerve a separate torture knows. +His harness loos'd, he welcomes eager-eyed +The pail's full draught that quivers by his side; +And joys to see the well-known stable door, +As the starv'd mariner the friendly shore. + +Ah, well for him if here his suff'rings ceas'd, +And ample hours of rest his pains appeas'd! +But rous'd again, and sternly bade to rise, +And shake refreshing slumber from his eyes, +Ere his exhausted spirits can return, +Or through his frame reviving ardour burn, +Come forth he must, tho' limping, maim'd, and sore; +He hears the whip; the chaise is at the door:... +The collar tightens, and again he feels +His half-heal'd wounds inflam'd; again the wheels +With tiresome sameness in his ears resound, +O'er blinding dust, or miles of flinty ground. +Thus nightly robb'd, and injur'd day by day, +His piece-meal murd'rers wear his life away. + +What say'st thou, _Dobbin?_ what though hounds await +With open jaws the moment of thy fate, +No better fate attends _his_ public race; +His life is misery, and his end disgrace. +Then freely bear thy burden to the mill; +Obey but one short law,... thy driver's will. +Affection, to thy memory ever true, +Shall boast of mighty loads that _Dobbin_ drew; +And back to childhood shall the mind with pride +Recount thy gentleness in many a ride +To pond, or field, or village fair, when thou +Held'st high thy braided mane and comely brow; +And oft the Tale shall rise to homely fame +Upon thy gen'rous spirit and thy name. + +Though faithful to a proverb, we regard +The midnight chieftain of the farmer's yard, +Beneath whose guardianship all hearts rejoice, +Woke by the echo of his hollow voice; +Yet as the Hound may fault'ring quit the pack, +Snuff the foul scent, and hasten yelping back; +And e'en the docile Pointer know disgrace, +Thwarting the gen'ral instinct of his race; +E'en so the MASTIFF, or the meaner Cur, +At times will from the path of duty err, +(A pattern of fidelity by day; +By night a _murderer_, lurking for his prey); +And round the pastures or the fold will creep, +And, coward-like, attack the peaceful _sheep_: +Alone the wanton mischief he pursues, +Alone in reeking blood his jaws imbrues; +Chasing amain his fright'ned victims round, +Till death in wild confusion strews the ground; +Then wearied out, to kennel sneaks away, +And licks his guilty paws till break of day. + +The deed discover'd, and the news once spread, +Vengeance hangs o'er the unknown culprit's head: +And careful _Shepherds_ extra hours bestow +In patient _watchings_ for the common foe; +A foe most dreaded now, when rest and peace +Should wait the season of the flock's increase. + +In part these nightly terrors to dispel, +GILES, ere he sleeps, his little Flock must tell. +From the fire-side with many a shrug he hies, +Glad if the full-orb'd Moon salute his eyes, +And through the unbroken stillness of the night +Shed on his path her beams of cheering light. +With saunt'ring step he climbs the distant stile, +Whilst all around him wears a placid smile; +There views the white-rob'd clouds in clusters driv'n, +And all the glorious pageantry of heav'n. +Low, on the utmost bound'ry of the sight, +The rising vapours catch the silver light; +Thence Fancy measures, as they parting fly, +Which first will throw its shadow on the eye, +Passing the source of light; and thence away, +Succeeded quick by brighter still than they. +For yet above these wafted clouds are seen +(In a remoter sky, still more serene,) +Others, detach'd in ranges through the air, +Spotless as snow, and countless as they're fair; +Scatter'd immensely wide from east to west, +The beauteous 'semblance of a _Flock_ at rest. +These, to the raptur'd mind, aloud proclaim +Their MIGHTY SHEPHERD'S everlasting Name. + +Whilst thus the loit'rer's utmost stretch of soul +Climbs the still clouds, or passes those that roll, +And loos'd _Imagination_ soaring goes +High o'er his home, and all his little woes, +TIME glides away; neglected Duty calls: +At once from plains of light to earth he falls, +And down a narrow lane, well known by day, +With all his speed pursues his sounding way, +In thought still half absorb'd, and chill'd with cold; +When, lo! an object frightful to behold; +A grisly SPECTRE, cloth'd in silver-gray, +Around whose feet the waving shadows play, +Stands in his path!... He stops, and not a breath +Heaves from his heart, that sinks almost to death. +Loud the owl halloos o'er his head unseen; +All else is silent, dismally serene: +Some prompt ejaculation, whisper'd low, +Yet bears him up against the threat'ning foe; +And thus poor Giles, though half inclin'd to fly, +Mutters his doubts, and strains his stedfast eye. +''Tis not my crimes thou com'st here to reprove; +'No murders stain my soul, no perjur'd love: +'If thou'rt indeed what here thou seem'st to be, +'Thy dreadful mission cannot reach to me. +'By parents taught still to mistrust mine eyes, +'Still to approach each object of surprise +'Lest Fancy's formful visions should deceive +'In moon-light paths, or glooms of falling eve, +'This then's the moment when my heart should try +'To scan thy motionless deformity; +'But oh, the fearful task! yet well I know +'An aged ash, with many a spreading bough, +'(Beneath whose leaves I've found a Summer's bow'r, +'Beneath whose trunk I've weather'd many a show'r,) +'Stands singly down this solitary way, +'But far beyond where now my footsteps stay. +'Tis true, thus far I've come with heedless haste; +'No reck'ning kept, no passing objects trac'd:... +'And can I then have reach'd that very tree? +'Or is its reverend form assum'd by thee?' +The happy thought alleviates his pain: +He creeps another step; then stops again; +Till slowly, as his noiseless feet draw near, +Its perfect lineaments at once appear; +Its crown of shiv'ring ivy whispering peace, +And its white bark that fronts the moon's pale face. +Now, whilst his blood mounts upward, now he knows +The solid gain that from conviction flows; +And strengthen'd Confidence shall hence fulfill +(With conscious Innocence more valued still) +The dreariest task that winter nights can bring, +By church-yard dark, or grove, or fairy ring; +Still buoying up the timid mind of youth, +Till loit'ring Reason hoists the scale of Truth. +With these blest guardians _Giles_ his course pursues, +Till numbering his heavy-sided ewes, +Surrounding stillness tranquilize his breast, +And shape the dreams that wait his hours of rest. + +As when retreating tempests we behold, +Whose skirts at length the azure sky unfold, +And full of murmurings and mingled wrath, +Slowly unshroud the smiling face of earth, +Bringing the bosom joy: so WINTER flies!... +And see the Source of Life and Light uprise! +A height'ning arch o'er southern hills he bends; +Warm on the cheek the slanting beam descends, +And gives the reeking mead a brighter hue, +And draws the modest _primrose_ bud to view. +Yet frosts succeed, and winds impetuous rush, +And hail-storms rattle thro' the budding bush; +And night-fall'n LAMBS require the shepherd's care, +And teeming EWES, that still their burdens bear; +Beneath whose sides tomorrow's dawn may see +The milk-white strangers bow the trembling knee; +At whose first birth the pow'rful instinct's seen +That fills with champions the daisied green: +For ewes that stood aloof with fearful eye, +With stamping foot now men and dogs defy, +And obstinately faithful to their young, +Guard their first steps to join the bleating throng. + +But casualties and death from damps and cold +Will still attend the well-conducted fold: +Her tender offspring dead, the dam aloud +Calls, and runs wild amidst the unconscious crowd: +And orphan'd sucklings raise the piteous cry; +No wool to warm them, no defenders nigh. +And must her streaming milk then flow in vain? +Must unregarded innocence complain? +No;... ere this strong solicitude subside, +Maternal fondness may be fresh apply'd, +And the adopted stripling still may find +A parent most assiduously kind. +For this he's doom'd awhile disguis'd to range, +(For fraud or force must work the wish'd-for change;) +For this his predecessor's skin he wears, +Till cheated into tenderness and cares, +The unsuspecting dam, contented grown, +Cherish and guard the fondling as her own. + +Thus all by turns to fair perfection rise; +Thus twins are parted to increase their size: +Thus instinct yields as interest points the way, +Till the bright flock, augmenting every day, +On sunny hills and vales of springing flow'rs +With ceaseless clamour greet the vernal hours. + +The humbler _Shepherd_ here with joy beholds +The approv'd economy of crowded folds, +And, in his small contracted round of cares, +Adjusts the practice of each hint he hears: +For Boys with emulation learn to glow, +And boast their pastures, and their healthful show +Of well-grown Lambs, the glory of the Spring; +And field to field in competition bring. + +E'en GILES, for all his cares and watchings past, +And all his contests with the wintry blast, +Claims a full share of that sweet praise bestow'd +By gazing neighbours, when along the road, +Or village green, his curly-coated throng +Suspends the chorus of the spinner's song; +When Admiration's unaffected grace +Lisps from the tongue, and beams in every face: +Delightful moments!... Sunshine, Health, and Joy, +Play round, and cheer the elevated Boy! +'_Another_ SPRING!' his heart exulting cries; +'_Another_ YEAR! with promis'd blessings rise!... +'ETERNAL POWER! from whom those blessings flow, +'Teach me still more to wonder, more to know: +'_Seed-time_ and _Harvest_ let me see again; +'Wander the _leaf-strewn_ wood, _frozen_ plain: +'Let the first Flower, corn-waving Field, Plain, Tree, +'Here round my home, still lift my soul to THEE; +'And let me ever, midst thy bounties, raise +'An humble note of thankfulness and praise!'-- + +APRIL 22, 1798. + + + + NOTES + + +_A fav'rite morsel with the Rook, &c._ P. 9, l. 104. + +In these verses, which have much of picturesque, there is a severe charge +against _Rooks and Crows_, as very formidable depredators; and their +destruction, as such, seems to be recommended. Such was the prevalent +opinion some years back. It is less general now: and I am sure the +humanity of the Author, and his benevolence to Animals in general, will +dispose him to rejoice in whatever plea can be offered in stay of +execution of this sentence. And yet more so, if it shall appear that +ROOKS, at least, deserve not only mercy, but _protection_ and +_encouragement_ from the Farmer. + +I shall quote a passage from BEWICK'S interesting HISTORY of BIRDS: the +narrative part of which is often as full of information as the +embellishments cut in wood are beautiful.... It is this. + +Speaking of Birds of the PIE-KIND in general, he says "Birds of this kind +[Footnote: P. 63] are found in every part of the known world, from +Greenland to the Cape of Good Hope. In many respects they may be said to +be of singular benefit to mankind: principally by destroying great +quantities of noxious insects, worms, and reptiles. ROOKS, in particular, +are fond of the erucae of the _hedge-chaffer_, or chesnut _brown beetle_: +for which they search with indefatigable pains. These insects," he adds in +a note, "appear in hot weather in formidable numbers: disrobing the fields +and trees of their verdure, blossoms, and fruit; spreading desolation and +destruction wherever they go.... They appeared in great numbers in IRELAND +during a hot summer, and committed great ravages. In the year 1747 whole +meadows and corn-fields were destroyed by them in SUFFOLK. The decrease of +Rookeries in that County was thought to be the occasion of it. The many +Rookeries with us is in some measure the reason why we have so few of +these destructive animals."[Footnote: Wallis's History of Northumberland.] + +"Rooks," he subjoins, "are often accus'd of feeding on the corn just after +it has been sown, and various contrivances have been made both to kill and +frighten them away; but, in our estimation, the advantages deriv'd from +the destruction which they make among grubs, earth-worms, and noxious +insects of various kinds, will greatly overpay the injury done to the +future harvest by the small quantity of corn they may destroy in searching +after their favourite food." [Footnote: Mr. Bewick does not seem to have +been quite aware that much of this mischief, as I have been informed by a +sensible neighboring Farmer and Tenant, is done in the grub-state of the +chaffer by biting through the _roots_ of grass, &c. A latent, and +imperceptibly, but rapidly spreading mischief, against which the _rooks_ +and birds of similar instinct are, in a manner, the sole protection. C. +L.] + +"In general they are sagacious, active, and faithful to each other. They +live in pairs; and their mutual attachment is constant. They are a +clamorous race: mostly build in trees, and form a kind of society in which +there appears something like a regular government. A Centinel watches for +the general safety, and gives notice on the appearance of danger." + +Under the Title, "ROOKS," (p. 71) Mr. BEWICK repeats his observations on +the useful property of this Bird. + +I confess myself solicitous for their safety and kind treatment. +We have two which were lam'd by being blown down in a storm (a calamity +which destroys great numbers almost every spring). One of them is +perfectly domesticated. The other is yet more remarkable; since although +enjoying his natural liberty completely, he recognizes, even in his +flights at a distance from the house, his adoptive home, his human +friends, and early protectors. + +The ROOK is certainly a very beautiful and very sensible Bird; very +confiding, and very much attach'd. It will give me a pleasure, in which I +doubt not that the Author of this delightful Poem will partake, if any +thing here said shall avail them with the Farmer; and especially with the +SUFFOLK FARMER. + +C. L. + + + +_Destroys life's intercourse; the social plan._ P. 46, l. 341. + + +"Allowing for the imperfect state of sublunary happiness, which is +comparative at best, there are not, perhaps, many nations existing whose +situation is so desirable; where the means of subsistence are so easy, and +the wants of the people so few. The evident distinction of ranks, which +subsists at _Otaheite_, does not so materially affect the felicity of the +nation as we might have supposed. The simplicity of their whole life +contributes to soften the appearance of distinctions, and to reduce them +to a level. Where the climate and the custom of the country do not +absolutely require a perfec: garment; where it is easy at every step to +gather as many plants as form not only a decent, but likewise a customary +covering; and where all the necessaries of life are within the reach of +every individual, at the expence of a trifling labour; ambition and envy +must in a great measure be unknown. It is true, the highest classes of +people possess some dainty articles, such as pork, fish, fowl, and cloth, +almost exclusively; but the desire of indulging the appetite in a few +trifling luxuries can at most render individuals, and not whole nations, +unhappy. Absolute want occasions the miseries of the lower class in some +civiliz'd states, and is the result of the unbounded voluptuousness of +their superiors. At _Otaheite_ there is not, in general, that disparity +between the highest and the meanest man, that subsists in England between +a reputable tradesman and a labourer. The affection of the Otaheitans for +their chiefs, which they never fail'd to express upon all occasions, gave +us great reason to suppose that they consider themselves as one family, +and respect their eldest borm in the persons of their chiefs. The lowest +man in the nation speaks as freely with his king as with his equal, and +has the pleasure of seeing him as often as he likes. The king, at times, +amuses himself with the occupations of his subjects; and not yet deprav'd +by false notions of empty state, he often paddles his own canoe, without +considering such an employment derogatory to his dignity. How long such an +happy equality may last is uncertain: and how much the introduction of +foreign luxuries may hasten its dissolution cannot be too frequently +repeated to Europeans. If the knowledge of a few individuals can only be +acquired at such a price as the happiness of nations, it were better for +the discoverers and the discovered that the _South Sea_ had still remain'd +unknown to _Europe_ and its restless inhabitants." + +REFLECTIONS ON OTAHEITE: Cook's second Voyage. + + + +APPENDIX + +When the FIRST EDITION of this POEM appear'd in March last, I intimated a +design of accompanying it with some CEITICAL REMARKS. With that design +various Engagements have since greatly interfer'd. From one of the most +laborious and constant of those, that of the office of a Justice of the +Peace for the County of Suffolk, I am now discharg'd. Why those who are in +power have done this, they have not explain'd: and it being an office from +which any one who holds it is removable at _pleasure_, they are not call'd +to explain. Had it been for Crime or Misconduct as a Magistrate, of course +Trial and Conviction should have preceded my Removal. As it is, I feel, as +I have publicly declar'd, no shame in the removal. I have held an office +honorable because extensively useful; because unprofitable and burthensome +to the individual; because independently and conscientiously exercis'd, +with a devotion, such as it requir'd, of my time, my thoughts, and my best +faculties, daily to its discharge. My Collegues,--and they are and have +been, during a course of seventeen years, those of them who now act, and +those who are dead or absent, men with whom to have acted was indeed +satisfactory and pleasant,--my late Collegues part with me, and I with +them, regrettingly. Our reciprocal Esteem is not lessen'd by this +abruption of our official intercourse. And as every man who feels what +Society is, ought to determine to be serviceable to the Public, my removal +from this office neither weakens the determination, nor probably will be +found to have impair'd the means of effecting it. I am therefore well +content;--as I ought to be. I sought not the office. I have never sought +any. It solicited my acceptance; unask'd and unexpected. I owe my +appointment to the Duke of GRAFTON, very soon after I came to reside in +this County. He was then _Lord Lieutenant_. I have not yielded that +appointment to disgust; though there were those who were not sparing in +their endeavours to disgust me with it: I have not relinquished it to suit +my convenience; though in times like these an office of no little expence, +and which shut me out from sources of professional emolument, was to me +certainly not convenient: I have not consulted my ease or health by a +voluntary retirement. I am remov'd, I am superseded, I am struck out from +an office of incredible and hourly increasing anxiety. Circumstances like +this are not new. They have repeatedly taken place in relation to very +high offices; and the Public remembers men to whom they have happen'd +whose internal dignity and worth is above any official dignity. Had I felt +that I _merited_ to be remov'd, I should not have thought myself a fit +Editor of the FARMER'S BOY; a Poem which breathes every where modest +independence, benevolence, innocence, and virtue. As it is, I think myself +no way less fit than ever for any laudable and becoming employ. And I have +accordingly announc'd my intention of resuming my profession as a +BARRISTER. In the mean time, the leisure which has thus been thrown to me +may properly and usefully be devoted to the Remarks which I had before +meditated; and for which I had in some measure pledg'd myself to the +PUBLIC. + +The FIRST of these will naturally be that which relates to the _manner_ +and circumstances of the Composition. There is such proof in it of Genius +disregarding difficulty, and of powers of retention and arrangement, that +it will be believ'd I could not overpass it: and that it would have been +stated at the first if it had been then in my power to state it. + +I now lay it before the Public in the words of Mr. SWAN: who in a Letter +address'd to me in _The Ladies Museum_ of this Month, after congratulating +me on my "successful efforts," (and with such a Production to propose to +public Attention how could they be unsuccessful?) "in rescuing from +oblivion a Poem, which for the harmony of its numbers, the beauty of its +imagery, originality of thought, elegance and chasteness of diction, +(every circumstance consider'd,) stands unrivall'd in the Annals of +English Literature, and will descend to Posterity with increasing +celebrity," states the _motive_ on which he writes: (a motive well +meriting a Letter and a public statement:) "to throw light upon the manner +of the composition of the Farmer's Boy; which appears to him (and most +justly) no inconsiderable addition to the well-earn'd laurels of the +Author." + +For the pleasure of the view which it includes of the character and +manners of Mr. BLOOMFIELD, I shall, with the Author of this interesting +Letter, go beyond the mere fact; and give his narration of the cause and +manner of the _Discovery_, as well at the Discovery itself. + +Mr. SWAN thus expresses himself: + +"From the pleasure I receiv'd in reading the FARMER'S BOY, and from some +strange coincidences in the early part of Mr. Bloomfield's life with my +own, I was naturally enough anxious to become acquainted with the Author. +For this purpose I obtain'd his address, and found him ... the modest, the +unambitious person you describe; wondering at the praise and admiration +with which his Poem has been receiv'd; whose utmost ambition was to have +presented a fair copy to his aged Mother, as a pledge of filial affection, +and a picture of his juvenile avocations. So unexpected was the fame of +his production, that the whole of his good fortune appears to him as a +dream."--'I had no more idea,' says he, 'to be sent for by the Duke of +Grafton, and be so kindly and generously treated, than of the hour I shall +die.' + +"I gave him," Mr. SWAN continues, "my card of address, an invitation to my +house, and a sincere profession of friendship; if, among his numerous +admirers, and noble and royal patrons, the latter was worthy of +acceptance." + +"Last Sunday afternoon [Footnote: The Letter is dated 12 July, 1800.] I +was highly pleas'd with his company, and gratified and entertain'd with +his conversation.--Sir, he is all ... nay, more than you have describ'd." + +"Among other subjects of conversation respecting the _Farmer's Boy_, I +wish'd to be inform'd of his manner of composition. I enquir'd, as he +compos'd it in a garret, amid the bustle and noise of six or seven fellow +workmen, whether he us'd a slate; or wrote it on paper with a pencil, or +pen and ink. But what was my surprize when told that he had us'd +neither.--My business, during the greatest part of my life having led me +into the line of litterary pursuits, and made me acquainted with litterary +men, I am, consequently, pretty well inform'd of the methods us'd by +authors for the retention of their productions. We are told, if my +recollection is just, that Milton took his Daughters as his amanuenses; +that Savage, when his poverty precluded him the conveniency of pen, ink, +and paper, us'd to study in the streets, and go into shops to record the +productions of his fertile genius; that Pope, when on visits at Lord +Bolingbroke's, us'd to ring up the servants at any hour in the night for +pen and ink, to write any thought that struck his lively and wakeful +imagination; that Dr. Blacklock, though blind, had the happy faculty of +writing down, in a very legible hand, the chaste and elegant productions +of his Muse." + +"With these and many other methods of composition we are acquainted; but +that of a great part of _the Farmer's Boy_ stands, in my opinion, first on +the List of Litterary [Footnote: I have ventur'd to restore litterary to +that mode of spelling, with the double _t_, which the Analogy of our +language seems to require. L.] Phaenomena.--Sir, Mr. Bloomfield, either +from the contracted state of his pecuniary resources to purchase Paper, or +from other reasons, compos'd the latter part of his _Autumn_ and the whole +of his _Winter_ in his head, without committing one line to paper.--This +cannot fail to surprize the Litterary World: who are well acquainted with +the treacherousness of memory, and how soon the most happy ideas, for want +of sufficient quickness in noting down, are lost in the rapidity of +thought." + +"But this is not all.--He went still a step farther.--He not only compos'd +and committed that part of the work to his retentive memory, but he +corrected it all in his head. And, as he said, when it was thus +prepar'd,... _I had nothing to do but to write it down_." + +"By this new and wonderful mode of composition he studied and completed +his Farmer's Boy in a garret; among six or seven workmen, without their +ever suspecting any thing of the matter." + +"Sir, this to me was both new and wonderful: and induc'd me rather to +communicate the information to you through the medium of the Press than by +writing; that it may meet the eye of many, who will be equally struck and +pleas'd with the novelty of the idea as myself." + +I have on this part of the subject, only, after quoting thus much at +present from the Letter of Mr. SWAN, to add, that I entirely agree with +him, I believe, as to the force, clearness, and comprehensiveness of +intellect manifested by this experiment, and its success. + +I now pass to part of what has been fully and excellently said by Dr. +DRAKE of HADLEIGH, while investigating the merits of this astonishing +Rural Poem. + +In a Letter from HADLEIGH [Footnote: 9 March, 1800.] Dr. DRAKE had given +me this distinct and vivid representation of his general idea of the Poem. + +"I have read THE FARMER'S BOY with a mixture of astonishment and delight. +There is a pathetic simplicity in his sentiments and descriptions that +does honour to his head and heart." + +"His copies from Nature are truly original and faithful, and are touched +with the hand of a Master.... His versification occasionally displays an +energy and harmony which might decorate even the pages of a DARWIN." + +"The general characteristics of his Style, however, are sweetness and +ease. In short, I have no hesitation in declaring, that I think it, as a +Rural and descriptive Poem, superior to any production since the days of +THOMSON." + +"It wants no reference to its Author's uneducated poverty to render its +excellence the more striking; they are such as would confer durable Fame +on the first and most polish'd Poet in the Kingdom." + +I shall now take the liberty of extracting part of the CRITIQUE which Dr. +DRAKE, agreeably to his intimation to me, has made of the FARMER'S BOY in +his LITTERARY HOURS.[Footnote: Vol. II, Ess. xxxix, p. 444.] + +"From the pleasing duty of describing such a 'character' (meaning the +personal character of Mr. BLOOMFIELD) let us now turn our attention to +the species of composition of which his Poem is so perfect a specimen. It +has been observ'd in my sixteenth number that PASTORAL POETRY in this +country, with very few exceptions, has exhibited a tame and servile +adherence to classical imagery and costume; at the same time totally +overlooking that profusion of picturesque beauty, and that originality of +manner and peculiarity of employment, which our climate and our rustics +every where present." + +"A few Authors were mention'd in that Essay as having judiciously deviated +from the customary plan: to these may now be added the name of +_Boomfield_; the _Farmers Boy_, though not assuming the form of an +Eclogue, being peculiarly and exclusively, throughout, a _pastoral +Composition_; not like the Poem of _Thomson_, taking a wide excursion +through all the phenomena of the _Seasons_, but nearly limited to the +rural _occupation_ and business of the fields, the dairy, and the farm +yard." + +"As with these employments, however, the vicissitudes of the Year are +immediately and necessarily connected, Mr. Bloomfield has, with propriety, +divided his Poem into _Four_ Books, affixing to those Books the Titles of +the Seasons." + +"Such indeed are the merits of this Work, that in true _pastoral_ imagery +and simplicity I do not think any production can be put in competition +with it since the days of Theocritus." [Footnote: I have heard that the +opinion of no less a Judge than Dr. WATSON, Bishop of LLANDAFF, is by no +means short of the encomium implied in this comparison, high and ample as +it is. L.] + +"To that charming simplicity which particularizes the Grecian, are added +the individuality, [Footnote: Much of these qualities indeed is certainly +in _Theocritus_ also. L.] fidelity, and boldness of description, which +render Thomson so interesting to the lovers of Nature." + +"GESNER possesses the most engaging sentiment, and the most refin'd +simplicity of manners; but he wants that rustic wildness and naïveté in +delineation characteristic of the Sicilian, and of the composition before +us." + +"WARNER and DRAYTON have much to recommend them: but they are very +unequal; and are devoid of the _sweet and pensive morality_ which pervade +almost every page of _the Farmers Boy_; nor can they establish any +pretensions to that fecundity in painting the oeconomy of rural life, +which this Poem, drawn from actual experience, so richly displays." + +"It is astonishing indeed what various and striking circumstances, +peculiar to the occupation of the _British Farmer_, and which are adapted +to all the purposes of the _pastoral_ Muse, had escaped our Poets, +previous to the publication of Mr. _Bloomfield's_ Work." + +"Those who are partial to the _Country_;--and where is the man of Genius +who feels not a delight approaching to ecstasy from the contemplation of +its scenery, and the happiness which its cultivation diffuses?--those who +have paid attention to the process of husbandry, and who view its +occurrences with interest; who are at the same time alive to all the +minutiae of the animal and vegetable creation; who mark + + '_How Nature paints for colours, how the Bee + Sits on the bloom, extracting liquid sweet_,' + +will derive from the study of this Poem a gratification the most permanent +and pure." + +Though I have thus largely extracted I cannot omit transferring hither the +ANALYSIS of the Poem, as given by Dr. Drake. + +"The _first_ Book, intitled _Spring_, opens with an appropriate +invocation. A transition is then made to the artless character of _Giles_, +the _Farmer's Boy_; after which the scene near _Euston_ in Suffolk is +describ'd, and an amiable portrait of Mr. _Austin_, immediately follows. + +"Seed-time, harrowing, the devastation of the rooks,[Footnote: I will not +say much: but I was glad to see since the second Edition of this Poem the +cause of the Rooks had again been advocated, in the _Newcastle Chronicle_. +L.] wood-scenery, the melody of birds, cows milking, and the operations of +the dairy, occupy the chief part of this Season: which is clos'd by a +beautiful Personification of the Spring and her attendants, and an +admirable delineation of the sportive pleasures of the young Lambs." + +"The _second_ Book, or _Summer_, commences with a characteristic sketch of +the prudent yet benevolent Farmer. The genial influence of the rain is +then welcom'd; to which succeeds a most delicious picture of a green and +woody covert with all its insect tribe. The ascension of the sky-lark, the +peaceful repose of _Giles_, a view of the ripening harvest, with some +moral reflections on Nature and her great Creator, are introduc'd: +follow'd by animated descriptions of reaping, gleaning, the honest +exultation of the Farmer, the beauty of the Country Girl, and the +wholesome refreshment of the field. Animals teazed by insects, the cruelty +of docking horses, the insolence of the gander, the apathy of the swine, +are drawn in a striking manner: and the Book concludes with masterly +pictures of a twilight repose, a midnight storm of thunder and lightning, +and views of the ancient and present mode of celebrating Harvest-home." + +"The _third_ Book, _Autumn_, is introduc'd with a delineation of forest +scenery, and pigs fattening on fallen acorns. Sketches of wild ducks and +their haunts, of hogs settling to repose in a wood, and of wheat sowing, +succeed. The sound of village bells suggests a most pleasing digression: +of which the church and its pastor, the rustic amusements of a Sunday, the +Village Maids, and a most pathetic description of a distracted Female, are +the prominent features. Returning to rural business, _Giles_ is drawn +guarding the rising wheat from birds:--his little hut, with his +preparation for the reception of his playmates, their treachery and his +disappointment, are conceiv'd and colour'd in an exquisite style. +Fox-hunting, the Fox-hound's epitaph, the long autumnal evenings, a +description of domestic fowl, and a welcome to the snowy nights of Winter, +form the concluding topics of this Season." + +"The _fourth_ Book, under the appellation of _Winter_, is usher'd in by +some humane injunctions for the treatment of storm-pinch'd cattle. The +frozen turnips are broken for them: and the cowyard at night is describ'd. +The conviviality of a Christmas evening, and the conversation round the +fire, with the admonitions from the Master's chair, are depicted in a +manner truly pleasing. The _Sea Boy_ and the _Farmers Boy_ are contrasted +with much effect: and the ploughman feeding his horses at night, with the +comparison between the cart-horse and post-horse, have great merit. The +mastiff turn'd sheep-biter is next delineated; succeeded by a description +of a moon-light night, and the appearance of a spectre." + +"The counting of the Sheep in the fold, and the adopted Lambs, are +beautiful paintings: and with the Triumph of GILES on the conclusion of +the Year, and his Address to the DEITY, the Book and Poem close." + +"Such are the Materials of which THE FARMER'S BOY is constructed. Several +of the topics, it will be perceiv'd, are new to Poetry; and of those which +are in their _title_ familiar to the readers of our descriptive Bards, it +will be found that the imagery and adjunctive circumstances are original, +and the effort of a mind practis'd in the rare art of selecting and +combining the most striking and picturesque features of an object." + +Dr. Drake after this well accounts for the poetic singularity that the +Poetry of _Thomson_ should have past through a mind so enthusiastically +enamor'd of it, without impairing the originality of its character, when +exercis'd on a subject so much leading to imitation. This he explains, and +justly, by the vivid impressions on a most sensible and powerful +imagination in his earliest youth, anterior to the study of any Poet. + +Dr. Drake expresses his astonishment at the VERSIFICATION and DICTION of +this Poem. And says most truly, "I am well aware that smooth and flowing +lines are of easy purchase, and the property of almost every poetaster of +the day: but the versification of Mr. _Bloomfield_ is of another +character; it displays beauties of the most positive kind, and those +witcheries of expression which are only to be acquir'd by the united +efforts of Genius and Study." + +"The _general_ characteristics of his versification are facility and +sweetness; that ease which is, in fact, the result of unremitted labour, +and one of the most valuable acquisitions of litterature. It displays +occasionally likewise a vigour and a brilliancy of polish that might +endure comparison with the high-wrought texture of the Muse of DARWIN. +From the nature of his subject, however, this splendid mode of decoration +could be us'd but with a sparing hand: and it is not one of his least +merits that his diction and harmony should so admirably correspond with +the scene which he has chosen." + +"To excel," Dr. DRAKE continues, "in rural IMAGERY, it is necessary that +the Poet should diligently study Nature for himself; and not peruse her as +is but too common, '_through the spectacles of Books_' [Footnote: The +happy illustration of DRYDEN in his admirable character of SHAKESPERE.] +He should trace her in all her windings, in her deepest recesses, in all +her varied forms. It was thus that LUCRETIUS and VIRGIL, that THOMSON and +COWPER were enabled to unfold their scenery with such distinctness and +truth: and on this plan, while wandering through his native fields, +attentive to '_each rural sight, each rural sound_,' has Mr. BLOOMFIELD +built his charming Poem." + +"It is a Work which proves how inexhaustible the features of the World we +inhabit: how from objects which the mass of mankind is daily accustom'd to +pass with indifference and neglect. GENIUS can still produce pictures the +most fascinating, and of the most interesting tendency. For it is not to +_imagery_ alone, though such as here depicted might ensure the meed of +Fame, that the Farmer's Boy will owe its value with us and with posterity. +A _Morality_ the most _pathetic_ and pure, the feelings of a heart alive +to all the tenderest duties of humanity and religion, consecrate its +glowing landscapes, and shed an interest over them, a spirit of devotion, +that calm and rational delight which the goodness and greatness of the +Creator ought ever to inspire." + +Dr. DRAKE confirms, by copious and very judicious _Extracts_ from the +various parts of the Poem, as they offer themselves to critical selection, +in accompanying the Farmer's Boy through the Circle of his year, the +Judgment which he has form'd with so much ability, taste, and feeling, and +has to agreeably express'd, of the Merits of our ENGLISH GEORGIC. And he +speaks in his _third_ and last Essay on it thus: + +"From the review we have now taken of THE FARMER'S BOY, it will be +evident, I think, that owing to its harmony and sweetness of +versification, its benevolence of sentiment, and originality of imagery, +it is entitled to rank very high in the class of descriptive and +_pastoral_ Poetry." + +He concludes with an highly animated and feeling anticipation of that +public attention to the Poem and to its Author, merited in every view, and +which already has manifested itself in such an extent. + +I understand there is a Paper on "_The Farmer's Boy_" in a Work lately +publish'd by Dr. ANDERSON; and assuredly from its subject well entitled to +attention, as well as from the abilities and public spirit of its +Editor;--AGRICULTURAL RECREATIONS. Where indeed with more appropriate +Honor could such a Poem be notic'd? + +In the _Critical Remarks_ I intended I find myself so much agreeing in +sentiment with Dr. Drake that I shall attempt little more than merely to +offer some few observations. One of these relates to the _coincidences_ of +thought and manner in the Farmer's Boy with other writings. These, as +would previously be expected from what has been said, are extremely few +indeed. And almost all that are particularly of moment in appreciating the +poetical excellences of the Work are most truly _coincidences_, and cannot +be otherwise consider'd. + +For the first of these which I shall mention I am indebted to WILLIAM +SMITH, Esq. of BURY, who had largely his share of Public Admiration, when +he sustain'd for many years with great skill and judgment, and great +natural advantages, almost every character of our Drama which had been +eminently favor'd by either Muse; and who now enjoys retirement with +honor and merited esteem. + +He mention'd to me in conversation, and since by Letter, a passage very +closely resembling one in the IDYLLIA of AUSONIUS. It is this in _Spring_. + + Like the torn flower the fair assemblage fly. + Ah, fallen _Rose_! sad emblem of their doom; + Frail as thyself, _they perish while they bloom_! I.v. 388-40. + +The passage to which Mr. Smith referr'd me is this. (It is not in my +Edition of _Ausonius_; but he sent me a Copy.) + + "Conquerimur, Natura, brevis quod Gratia florum est; + Ostentara oculis illico dona rapis. + Quam longa una dies aetas tarn longa rosarum, + Ques _pubescentes juncta senecta pressit_." + +ID. xiv. + +I am favor'd with a Translation made by Mr. SMITH in his very early days. +And hope that as a brother _Etonian_ he allows me to quote it. + + Nature, we grieve that thou giv'st flowers so gay, + Then snatchest Gifts thou shew'st so swift away. + A Day's a Rose's Life.--_How quickly meet_, + Sweet Flower, _thy Blossom and thy Winding sheet_! + +In the _Procession_ of SPRING there is a fine series of allegorical +Images. + + Advancing SPRING profusely spreads abroad + _Flowers of kinds, with sweetest fragrance stor'd_: + Where she treads LOVE gladdens every plain; + _Delight_ on tip-toe beats her lucid train; + Sweet _Hope_ with conscious brow _before_ her flies, + Anticipating wealth from summer skies. + +I. v. 271--6. + +Compare now this of LUCRETIUS. + + It VER et VENUS et Veneris _praenuntius ante_ + Prunatus _graditur_ Zephyrus vestigia propter. + FLORA quibus mater praespergens, ante viai + Cuncta coloribus egregiis et odoribus opplet. + +DE NAT. RES. L. V. v. 736-9. +Ed. Brindley 1749. + + There SPRING, and VENUS, and her Harbinger, + Near to her moves the winged Zephyrus, + For whom maternal FLORA strews the way + _With Flowers of every charming scent and hue_. + +Or in the very words of BLOOMFIELD, + + Flowers of all hues with sweetest fragrance stor'd. + +_Hope_ here occupies the place of _Zephyrus_. DELIGHT on tip-toe +supporting the _lucid_ train of _Spring_,--the image and attitude so full +of life and beauty,--is our Poet's own. And what Poet, what _Painter_, +would not have been proud of it? + +In another passage, + + The splendid raiment of the Spring peeps forth + Her universal Green-- + +This of Lucretius will be found to have much similitude: + + Camposque per omnes + Florida fulserunt viridami prata colore. + +782, 3. + + _O'er every plain + The flowery meadows beam with verdant hue._ + +And that exceedingly fine verse, + + _All Nature feels her venorating sway_, + +calls to mind the ever-memorable exordium of the _Roman_ Poet. + +If we admire the imitative force of this line in the epic majesty of +Virgilian numbers, + + Quadrupedante putrem sonitu qualit ungula campum: + + _Shakes the resounding hoof the trembling plain:_ + +shall we not admire the imitative harmony of this; attun'd certainly with +not less felicity to the sweetness of the pastoral reed, + + _The green turf trembling as they bound along._ + +The pause on the first syllable of the verse has been an admir'd beauty in +Homer and Milton. + + + [Greek: Nux ech d'espchsen enchos.] II. + + And over them triumphant Death his dart + Shook, but delay'd to strike. P.L. + +We have this beauty,--coinciding with the best examples, though underiv'd +from them,--in a cadence of most pathetic softness. + + Joys which the gay companions of her prime + Sip, as they drift along the stream of time. + +III. v. 169, 70. + +The beautiful Description of the Swine and Pigs feeding on fallen Acorns +reminds me of a most picturesque one, not now at hand, in GILPIN on +_Forest Scenery_. + +The turn of this thought, + + Say not, I'll come and cheer thy gloomy cell. + +III. v. 241, &c. + +I believe is from Scripture. Prov. iii. 28. And so I think certainly is +that, + + 'Till Folly's wages, wounds and thorns, they reap. + +III. 37. + +But the most remarkable of all, and where I had no expectation of finding +a similitude, is in near the close of the _Winter_. + + Far yet above these wafted clouds are seen + (In a remoter sky yet more serene) + Others, detach'd in ranges through the air, + Spotless as snow, and countless as they're fair; + Scatter'd immensely wide from east to west, + _The beauteous semblance of a Flock at rest_. + +IV. 255--60. + +In HERCULES the LION-SLAYER there is this passage: + + ........ Tad epaeluthe piona maela, + Ech soianaes anionia mei aulia ie saechsie, + Ayiar epeiia soes, mala muriai, akkai ep allais + Erchomenai phainonth, osei NEPHE HYDATOENTA + 'Hossat' en thrano eisi elaunomena prolepose + Aee Noloioio ziae ae Thraekos Boreao. + Ton meni thlis arithmos en aeeri ginei ionion, + Oui anusis lisa gar ie meia proloioi chulindei + Is anemth, iade i alla chorusselai authis ep allois + Toss aiei melopisthe zoon epi zthcholi aeei. + Pan dar eneplaesthae pedion, pasaile cheleuthai, + Aaeidos erchomenaes. + +HAERAKL. LEONTOPH. + +Idyll. Theocrito adscriptum. Brunckii Analect. I. 360. + + ........ On came the comely sheep, + From feed returning to their pens and fold. + And these the _Kine_, in multitudes, succeed; + One on the other rising to the eye; + As watery CLOUDS which in the Heavens are seen, + Driven by the south or Thracian _Boreas, + And, numberless, along the sky they glide:_ + Nor cease; so many doth the powerful Blast + Speed foremost, and so many, fleece on fleece, + Successive rise, reflecting varied light + So still the herds of Kine successive drew + A far extended line: and fill'd the plain, + And all the pathways, with the coming troop. + + * * * * * + +I may possibly enlarge these Remarks in a future Edition. At present I am +happy to be stopt here, by so good a cause as the urgency of the +Publishers to complete a Third Edition; they informing me that the second +is entirely out of print. But it is pleasant to see these Coincidences +with CLASSIC POETS of other days and Nations in a CLASSIC of our own, of +the best School: + + "_The fields his study, Nature was his book_." + +C.L. + +TROSTON, 22 Aug. 1800. + + +THE END. + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Farmer's Boy, by Robert Bloomfield + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FARMER'S BOY *** + +***** This file should be named 9092-8.txt or 9092-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/9/0/9/9092/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Charles Bidwell and Distributed +Proofreaders + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at + www.gutenberg.org/license. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 +North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email +contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the +Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/9092-8.zip b/9092-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b30bd75 --- /dev/null +++ b/9092-8.zip diff --git a/9092.txt b/9092.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6bdaa0b --- /dev/null +++ b/9092.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3600 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Farmer's Boy, by Robert Bloomfield + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Farmer's Boy + A Rural Poem + +Author: Robert Bloomfield + +Posting Date: October 15, 2012 [EBook #9092] +Release Date: October, 2005 +First Posted: September 4, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FARMER'S BOY *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Charles Bidwell and Distributed +Proofreaders + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration] + + + THE FARMER'S BOY; + + A RURAL POEM. + + By ROBERT BLOOMFIELD. + + +"A SHEPHERD'S BOY ... HE SEEKS NO BETTER NAME." + + +The Third Edition + +LONDON: +Printed for Vernor and Hood, Poultry +and sold by T.C. Rickman, 7, Upper Mary-Le-Bone-Street; +Ingram, and Dingle, Bury; Booth, Norwich; Hill, Edinburgh; +Archer, and Dugdale, Dublin. + +MDCCC + + + +A sonnet has come to my hands, the production,--and nearly the first +poetical Production,--of a very young Lady. I have not the Author's +consent to publish it: and there is no time to ask it. But I cannot omit +adding such a flower to the Wreath of Glory of my Friend. I have therefore +ventured to publish it without waiting permission; with one or two slight +alterations. + +C. L. + +25 Aug. 1800. + + + +TO THE AUTHOR OF +THE FARMER'S BOY. + +I. + +_If wealth, if honour, at command were mine, + And every boast Ambition could desire, +The pompous Gifts, sweet Bard, I would resign + For the aft Music of thy tuneful Lyre,_ + +II. + +_Which speaks the soul awake to every charm + That Nature open'd from thy humble cot: +Speaks powers chill Indigence could not disarm; + Proof to Humanity's severest lot._ + +III. + +_Thou Friend to Nature, and of Man the Friend; + Of every generous and benignant cause; +The accents of thy glowing worth, unfeign'd, + Live in the cadence of each feeling pause. +Here thought, alternate, in the noble Plan +Admires the POET, and reveres the Man._ + +25 Aug. 1800. + + + + +PREFACE + +Having the satisfaction of introducing to the Public this very pleasing +and characteristic POEM, the FARMER'S BOY, I think it will be agreeable to +preface it with a short Account of the manner in which it came into my +hands: and, which will be much more interesting to every Reader, a little +History of the Author, which has been communicated to me by his Brother, +and which I shall very nearly transcribe as it lies before me. + +In _November_ last year [Footnote: This was written in 1799.] I receiv'd a +MS. which I was requested to read, and to give my opinion of it. It had +before been shewn to some persons in _London_: whose indifference toward +it may probably be explain'd when it is consider'd that it came to their +hands under no circumstances of adventitious recommendation. With some a +person must be rich, or titled, or fashionable as a literary name, or at +least fashionable in some respect, good or bad, before any thing which he +can offer will be thought worthy of notice. + +I had been a little accustom'd to the effect of prejudices: and I was +determin'd to judge, in the only just and reasonable way, of the Work, by +the Work itself. + +At first I confess, seeing it divided into the four Seasons, I had to +encounter a prepossession not very advantageous to any writer: that the +Author was treading in a path already so admirably trod by THOMSON; and +might be adding one more to an attempt already so often, but so +injudiciously and unhappily made, of transmuting that noble Poem from +Blank Verse into Rhime; ... from its own pure native Gold into an alloyed +Metal of incomparably less splendor, permanence, and worth. + +I had soon, however, the pleasure of finding myself reliev'd from that +apprehension: and of discovering, that, although the delineation of RURAL +SCENERY naturally branches itself into these divisions, there was little +else except the General Qualities of a musical ear, flowing numbers, +Feeling, Piety, poetic Imagery and Animation, a taste for the picturesque, +a true sense of the natural and pathetic, force of thought, and liveliness +of imagination, which were in common between Thomson and this Author. And +these are qualities which whoever has the eye, the heart, the awakened and +surrounding intellect, and the diviner sense of the Poet, which alone can +deserve the name, must possess. + +But, with these general Characters of true Poetry, "_The Farmer's Boy_" +has, as I have said, a character of its own. It is discriminated as much +as the circumstances and habits, and situation, and ideas consequently +associated, which are so widely diverse in the two Authors, could make it +different. Simplicity, sweetness, a natural tenderness, that _molle atque +facetum_ which HORACE celebrates in the Eclogues of VIRGIL, will be found +to belong to it. + +I intend some farther and more particular CRITICAL REMARKS on this +charming Performance. But I now pass to the Account of the Author himself, +as given me by his Brother:... a Man to whom also I was entirely a +stranger:... but whose Candor, good Sense, and brotherly Affection, appear +in this Narrative; and of the justness of whose Understanding, and the +Goodness of his Heart, I have had many Proofs, in consequence of a +correspondence with him on different occasions which have since arisen, +when this had made me acquainted with him, and interested me in his +behalf. + +In writing to me, Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD, who is a Shoemaker also, as his +Brother, and lives at BURY, thus expresses himself. + +"As I spent five years with the Author, from the time he was thirteen +years and a half old [Footnote: This by farther recollection has since +been discover'd and stated by Mr. G. and Mr. R. BLOOMFIELD not to be quite +exact. See p. viii. C. L.] till he was turned of eighteen, the most +interesting time of life (I mean the time that instruction is acquir'd, if +acquir'd at all), I think I am able to give a better account of him than +any one can, or than he can of himself: for his Modesty would not let him +speak of his Temper, Disposition, or Morals." + +"ROBERT was the younger Child of GEORGE BLOOMFIELD, a _Taylor_, at +HONINGTON. [Footnote: This Village is between _Euston_ and _Troston_, and +about eight miles N E. of _Bury_. L.] His Father died when he was an +infant under a year old. [Footnote: Our Author was born, as his Mother has +obligingly informed me, 3 _Dec_. 1766. L.] His Mother [Footnote: +ELIZABETH, Daughter of ROBERT MANBY. Vide Note at the end of this +Preface.] was a Schoolmistress, and instructed her own Children with the +others. He thus learn'd to read as soon as he learn'd to speak." + +"Though the Mother was left a Widow with six small Children, yet with the +help of Friends she manag'd to give each of them a little schooling." + +"ROBERT was accordingly sent to Mr. RODWELL, [Footnote: This respectable +Man is senior Clerk to the Magistrates of the Hundred of BLACKBOURN, in +which Honington is situated, and has conducted himself with great +propriety in this and other public employments. L.] of Ixworth, to be +improved in _Writing_: but he did not go to that School more than two or +three months, nor was ever sent to any other; his Mother again marrying +when ROBERT was about seven years old." + +"By her second Husband, JOHN GLOVER, she had another Family." + +"When _Robert_ was not above _eleven_ years old, the late Mr. W. AUSTIN, +of SAPISTON, [Footnote: This little Village adjoins to HONINGTON. L.] took +him. And though it is customary for Farmers to pay such Boys only 1s. 6d. +per week, yet he generously took him into the house. This reliev'd his +Mother of any other expence than only of finding him a few things to wear: +and this was more than she well knew how to do." + +"She wrote therefore," Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD continues, "to me and my Brother +NAT (then in London), to assist her; mentioning that he, ROBERT, was so +small of his age that Mr. AUSTIN said he was not likely to be able to get +his living by hard labour." + +Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD on this inform'd his Mother that, if she would let him +take the Boy with him, he would take him, and teach him to make shoes: and +NAT promis'd to clothe him. The Mother, upon this offer, took coach and +came to LONDON, to Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD, with the Boy: for she said, she +never should have been happy if she had not put him herself into his +hands. + +"She charg'd me," he adds, "_as I valued a Mothers Blessing, to watch over +him, to set good Examples for him, and never to forget that he had lost +his Father_." I religiously confine myself to Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD'S own +words; and think I should wrong all the parties concern'd if in mentioning +this pathetic and successful Admonition, I were to use any other. He came +from Mr. AUSTIN'S 29 _June_ 1781. [Footnote: This date of his coming to +Town is added by Mr. BLOOMFIELD himself since the first Edition.] + +Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD then lived at Mr. _Simm's_, No. 7, _Pitcher's-court, +Bell-alley, Coleman-street_. "It is customary," he continues, "in such +houses as are let to poor people in _London_, to have light Garrets fit +for Mechanics to work in. In the Garret, where we had two turn-up Beds, +and five of us worked, I received little ROBERT." + +"As we were all single Men, Lodgers at a Shilling per week each, oar beds +were coarse, and all things far from being clean and snug, like what +_Robert_ had left at SAPISTON. _Robert_ was our man, to fetch all things +to hand. At Noon he fetch'd our Dinners from the Cook's Shop: and any one +of our fellow workmen that wanted to have any thing fetched in, would send +him, and assist in his work and teach him, for a recompense for his +trouble." + +"Every day when the Boy from the Public-house came for the pewter pots, +and to hear what Porter was wanted, he always brought the yesterday's +_Newspaper_. [Footnote: There was then, neither as a resource for the +exigencies of finance, nor as a Principle of supposed Policy, that unhappy +Check which prevails now on the circulation of _Newspapers_, and other +means of _popular_ Information. L.] The _reading_ of the Paper we had been +us'd to take by turns; but after _Robert_ came, he mostly read for us,... +because his time was of least value." + +"He frequently met with words that he was unacquainted with: of this he +often complain'd. I one day happen'd at a Book-stall to see a small +Dictionary, which had been very ill us'd. I bought it for him for 4d. By +the help of this he in little time could read and comprehend the long and +beautiful speeches of BURKE, FOX, or NORTH. + +"One Sunday, after an whole day's stroll in the country, we by accident +went into a dissenting _Meeting-house_ in the _Old Jewry_, where a +Gentleman was lecturing. This Man fill'd _Robert_ with astonishment. The +House was amazingly crowded with the most genteel people; and though we +were forc'd to stand still in the aisle, and were much press'd, yet +_Robert_ always quicken'd his steps to get into the Town on a Sunday +evening soon enough to attend this Lecture. + +"The Preacher lived somewhere at the West End of the Town ... his name was +FAWCET. His language," says Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD, "was just such as the +_Rambler_ is written in; his Action like a person acting a Tragedy; his +Discourse rational, and free from the Cant of Methodism. + +"Of him _Robert_ learn'd to accent what he call'd _hard_ words; and +otherwise improv'd himself; and gain'd the most enlarg'd notions of +PROVIDENCE. + +"He went sometimes with me to a _Debating Society_ +[Footnote: It is another of the Constitutional Refinements of these times +to have fetter'd, and as to every valuable purpose, silenc'd, these +Debating Societies. They were at least, to say the lowest of them, far +better amusements than drunkenness, gambling, or fighting. They were no +useless Schools to some of our very celebrated Speakers at the Bar and in +Parliament: and, what is of infinitely more importance, they contributed +to the diffusion of Political Knowledge and Public Sentiment. L.] +at _Coachmaker's-hall_, but not often; and a few times to _Covent-garden +Theatre_. These are all the opportunities he ever had to learn from Public +Speakers. As to _Books_, he had to wade through two or three Folios: an +_History of England, British Traveller_, and a _Geography_. But he always +read them as a task, or to oblige us who bought them. And as they came in +sixpenny numbers weekly, he had about as many hours to read as other boys +spend in play." + +"I at that time," proceeds his Brother, "read the _London Magazine_; and +in that work about two sheets were set apart for a _Review ... Robert_ +seem'd always eager to read this Review. Here he could see what the +Literary Men were doing, and learn how to judge of the merits of the Works +that came out. And I observ'd that he always looked at the _Poet's +Corner_. And one day he repeated a _Song_ which he compos'd to an old +tune. I was much surpris'd that a boy of sixteen [Footnote: He was +probably 17; as appears on the statement from the Author himself. See N. +to p. xvii.] should make so smooth verses: so I persuaded him to try +whether the Editor of our Paper would give them a place in _Poet's +Corner_. And he succeeded, and they were printed. And as I forget his +other early productions, I shall copy this." + + + THE MILK-MAID, ON THE FIRST OF MAY. + +Hail, MAY! lovely MAY! how replenish'd my pails! + The young Dawn overspreads the East streak'd with gold! +My glad heart beats time to the laugh of the Vales, + And COLIN'S voice rings through the woods from the fold. + +The Wood to the Mountain submissively bends, + Whose blue misty summits first glow with the sun! +See thence a gay train by the wild rill descends + To join the glad sports:... hark! the tumult's begun. + +Be cloudless, ye skies!... Be my Colin but there, + Not the dew-spangled bents on the wide level Dale, +Nor Morning's first blush can more lovely appear + Than his looks, since my wishes I could not conceal. + +Swift down the mad dance, while blest health prompts to move, + We'll count joys to come, and exchange Vows of truth; +And haply when Age cools the transports of Love, + Decry, like good folks, the vain pleasures of youth. + +No, no; the remembrance shall ever be dear! + At no time LOVE with INNOCENCE ceases to charm: +It is transport in Youth ... and it smiles through the tear, + When they feel, in their children, its first soft alarm. + +The Writer of this Preface doubts whether he has been successful in adding +the last Stanza to this beautiful and simply expressive song. But he +imagin'd that some thought of this kind was in the mind of the Author: and +he was willing to endeavour to express it. The Breast which has felt Love, +justly shrinks from the idea of its total extinction, as from annihilation +itself. And there is even an high social and moral use in that order of +Providence which exalts Sensations into tender and benign Passions; those +Passions into habitual Affections yet more tender; and raises from those +Affections _Virtues_ the most permanent, the most necessary and +beneficent, and the most endearing: thus expanding the sentiment into all +the Charities of domestic and social Life. + +"I remember," says Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD, continuing his Narrative, "a little +piece which he called the Sailor's Return: [Footnote: It is much to be +wished that this may be discovered. L.] in which he tried to describe the +feelings of an honest _Tar_, who, after a long absence, saw his dear +native Village first rising into view. This too obtain'd a place in the +Poet's Corner." + +"And as he was so young," his brother proceeds, "it shews some Genius in +him, and some Industry, to have acquir'd so much knowledge of the use of +words in so little time. Indeed at this time myself and my fellow workmen +in the Garret began to get instructions from him, though not more than +sixteen years old." [Footnote: What simple magnanimity and benevolence in +this Remark. L.] + +"About this time there came a Man to lodge at our Lodgings that was +troubled with fits. ROBERT was so much hurt to see this poor creature +drawn into such frightful forms, and to hear his horrid screams, that I +was forced to leave the Lodging. We went to _Blue Hart-court, Bell-alley_. +In our new Garret we found a singular character, _James Kay_, a native of +_Dundee_. He was a middle-aged man, of a good understanding, and yet a +furious _Calvinist_. He had many Books, ... and some which he did not +value: such as the SEASONS, PARADISE LOST, and some _Novels_. These Books +he lent to ROBERT; who spent all his leisure hours in reading the +_Seasons_, which he was now capable of reading. I never heard him give so +much praise to any Book as to that." + +"I think it was in the year 1784 that the Question came to be decided +between the _journeymen Shoemakers_; whether those who had learn'd without +serving an _Apprenticeship_ could follow the Trade." + +[Footnote: That is _as journeymen_: for there was no question that they +could not as _Masters_ on their _own_ account. That a person may work as a +_journeyman_ without having served an apprenticeship, had already been +determined, T. 9. G. 3. _Beach v. Turner_. Burr. Mansf. 2449. A person +also who has not served an Apprenticeship may be a partner, contributing +money, or advice and attention to the accounts and general concerns of the +Trade, provided that he does not actually exercise the Trade, and that the +acting partner has served. Vide _Reynolds_ v. _Chase_, M. 30. G. 2. Burr. +Mansf. 2. 1 Burn. J.P. Apprent. Sec. 12. L.] + +"The Man by whom _Robert_ and I were employ'd, Mr. Chamberlayne, of +_Cheapside_, took an active part against the lawful journeymen; and even +went so far as to pay off every man that worked for him that had joined +their Clubs. This so exasperated the men, that their acting Committee soon +looked for _unlawful men_ (as they called them) among _Chamberlayne's_ +workmen." + +They found out little _Robert_, and threatened to prosecute _Chamlerlayne_ +for employing him, and to prosecute his Brother, Mr. _G. Bloomfield_, for +teaching him. Chamberlayne requested of the Brother to go on and bring it +to a Trial; for that he would defend it; and that neither _George_ nor +_Robert_ should be hurt. + +In the mean time _George_ was much insulted for having refus'd to join +upon this occasion those who call'd themselves, exclusively, the _Lawful +Crafts_. _George_, who says he was never famed for patience, (it is not +indeed so much as might be sometimes wish'd, very often the lot of strong +and acute minds to possess largely of this virtue,) took his pen, and +address'd a Letter to one of the most active of their Committee-men (a man +of very bad character). In this, after stating that he took _Robert_ at +his Mother's request, he made free as well with the private character of +this man as with the views of the Committee. "This," says _George_, "was +very foolish; for it made things worse: but I felt too much to refrain." + +What connects this episodical circumstance with the character of our +Author follows in his brother's words. + +"_Robert_ naturally fond of Peace, and fearful for my personal safety, +begg'd to be suffer'd to retire from the storm." + +"He came home; and Mr. AUSTIN kindly bade him take his house for his home +till he could return to me. And here, with his mind glowing with the fine +Descriptions of rural scenery which he found in THOMSON'S SEASONS, he +again retrac'd the very fields where first he began to think. Here, free +from the smoke,[Footnote: But one word is altered in this Description; +which reminds one of the + _Omitte mirari beatae + Fumum et opes_ Strepitumque Romae. L.] +the noise, the contention of the city, he imbibed that Love of rural +Simplicity and rural Innocence, which fitted him, in a great degree, to be +the writer of such a thing as the _Farmer's Boy_." + +"Here he liv'd two Months:... at length, as the dispute in the trade +still remain'd undecided, Mr. DUDBRIDGE offer'd to take _Robert_ +Apprentice, to secure him, at all events, from any consequences of the +Litigation." + +He was bound by Mr. _Ingram_, of _Bell-alley_, to Mr. _John Dudbridge_. +His Brother _George_ paid five shillings for _Robert_, by way of form, as +a premium. Dudbridge was their Landlord, and a _Freeman_ of the _City_ of +_London_. He acted most honourably, and took no advantage of the power +which the Indentures gave him. _George Bloomfield_ staid with _Robert_ +till he found he could work as expertly as his self. + +Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD adds, "When I left London he was turned of eighteen; +[Footnote: This should seem to require correction by setting the Age +forward according to the Dates above stated. C.L.] and much of my +happiness since has arisen from a constant correspondence which I have +held with him." + +"After I left him, he studied _Music_, and was a good player on the +_Violin_." + +"But as my Brother _Nat_ had married a _Woolwich_ woman, it happen'd that +_Robert_ took a fancy to MARY-ANNE CHURCH, a comely young woman of that +town, whose Father is a boat-builder in the Government yard there. He +married 12th Dec. 1790."[Footnote: This Date from the Author. C.L.] "Soon +after he married, _Robert_ told me, in a Letter, that 'he had sold his +Fiddle and got a Wife.' Like most poor men, he got a wife first, and had +to get household-stuff afterward. It took him some years to get out of +ready furnished Lodgings. At length, by hard working, &c. he acquired a +Bed of his own, and hired the room up one pair of stairs at 14, +_Bell-alley, Coleman-street_. The Landlord kindly gave him leave to sit +and work in the light _Garret_, two pair of stairs higher." + +"In _this_ Garret, amid six or seven other workmen, his active Mind +employ'd itself in composing _the Farmer's Boy_." + +"In my correspondence I have seen several _poetical_ effusions of his; all +of them of a good moral tendency; but which he very likely would think do +him little credit: on that account I have not preserv'd them." + +"ROBERT is a _Ladies Shoemaker_, and works for DAVIES, _Lombard-street_. +He is of a slender make; of about 5 F. 4 I. high; very _dark_ +complexion.... His MOTHER, who is a very religions member of the _Church +of England_, took all the pains she could in his infancy to make him +pious: and as his Reason expanded, his love of God and Man increas'd with +it. I never knew his fellow for mildness of temper and Goodness of +Disposition. And since I left him, universally is he prais'd by those who +know him best, for the best of Husbands, an indulgent Father, and quiet +Neighbour. He is between thirty-three and four years old,[Footnote: +Corrected from the above Date, p. vi, to his present Age, May 1800. C. L.] +and has three Children;" two Daughters and a Son.[Footnote: Added from the +information of Mr. R. BLOOMFIELD. _Hannah_, born 25 _Oct_. 1791. _Mary +Anne_, 6 _Sept_. 1793. _Charles_, 15 _Sept_. 1798.] + +Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD concludes this clear, affectionate, and interesting +Narrative, by a very kind Address to the Writer of this Preface. But, +pleas'd as I am with the good opinion of a Man like him, I must not take +praise to myself for not having neglected or suppress'd such a Work when +it came into my hands. And I have no farther merit than that of seeing +what it was impossible for an unprejudiced Mind not to see, and of doing +what it was impossible not to do. + +But I join with him cordially in his prayer, "that GOD, _the Giver of +thought_, may, as mental light spreads, raise up many who will turn a +listening ear, and will not despise + + "_The short and simple annals of the Poor_." + +Very few words will complete what remains to be added. + +Struck with the Work, but not less struck with the remark, which is become +a proverb, of the Roman Satirist, that "_it is not easy_ +[Footnote: + Haud facile emergunt quorum virtutibus obstat + Res angusta domi.] +for those to emerge to notice whose circumstances obscure the observation +of their Merits," I sent it to a Friend,[Footnote: This Friend, THOMAS +HILL, Esq. I hope will forgive my mentioning him without asking his +consent.] whom I knew to be above these prejudices: and who has deserv'd, +and is deserving, well of the public, in many other instances, by his +attention to Literature and the elegant Arts. He immediately express'd an +high satisfaction in it; and communicated it to the Publishers. They +adopted it upon terms honorable to themselves, and satisfactory to the +Author, and to me in his behalf. They have publish'd it in a manner which +speaks abundantly for itself; both as to the typographical accuracy and +beauty, and the good taste and execution of the Ornaments in Wood. + +My part has been this, and it has been a very pleasing one: to revise the +MS. making occasionally corrections with respect to Orthography, and +sometimes in the grammatical construction. The corrections, in point of +Grammar, reduce themselves almost wholly to a circumstance of provincial +usage, which even well educated persons in _Suffolk_ and _Norfolk_ do not +wholly avoid; and which may be said, as to general custom, to have become +in these Counties almost an established Dialect:... that of adopting the +plural for the singular termination of verbs, so as to exclude the _s_. +But not a line is added or substantially alter'd through the whole poem. I +have requested the MS. to be preserv'd for the satisfaction of those who +may wish to be satisfied on this head. + +The _Proofs_ have gone through my hands. It has been printed slowly: +because most carefully: as it deserv'd to be printed. + +I have no doubt of its Reception with the Public: I have none of its going +down to Posterity with honor; which is not always the Fate of productions +which are popular in their day. + +Thus much I know:... that the Author, with a spirit amiable at all times, +and which would have been rever'd by Antiquity, seems far less interested +concerning any Fame or Advantage he may derive from it to himself, than in +the pleasure of giving a printed Copy of it, as a tribute of duty and +affection, to his MOTHER; in whose pleasure, if it succeeds, his filial +heart places the gratification of which it is most desirous. It is much to +be a POET, such as he will be found:... it is more to be such a MAN. + +CAPEL LOFFT. + +TROSTON, n. BURY, SUFFOLK. + +12 Dec. 1799. + + +ELIZABETH MANBY, the Mother of the Author of this POEM, was sister to +the wife of Mr. WILLIAM AUSTIN. I had written to Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD to +request the name, before Marriage, of his Mother. This gain'd me an +Answer, which I have great pleasure in adding. + +"The late Mr. AUSTIN'S wife was a Manby (my Mother's sister). And it may +seem strange that, in the FARMER'S BOY, _Giles_ no where calls him +_Uncle_, but _Master_.... The treatment that my Brother _Robert_ +experienced from Mr. _Austin_ did not differ in any respect from the +treatment that all the Servant Boys experienc'd who lived with him. Mr. +_Austin_ was Father of fourteen Children by my Aunt (he never had any +other wife). He left a decent provision for the five Children that +surviv'd him: so that it could not be expected he should have any thing to +give to poor Relations. And I don't see a possibility of making a +difference between GILES and the Boys that were not related to +Mr._Austin_: for he treated all his Servants exactly as he did his Sons. +They all work'd hard; all liv'd well. The DUKE had not a better Man Tenant +to him than the late Mr. _Austin_. I saw numbers of the Husbandmen in +tears when he was buried. He was beloved by all who knew him. But I +imagine _Robert_ thought that when he was speaking of Benevolence that was +universal, he had no occasion to mention the accidental circumstance of +his being related to the Good Man of whom he sung." + + +SUPPLEMENT + +I have mention'd in the Preface "THE SAILOR'S RETURN", from an intimation +by Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD. From the Author himself, Mr. ROBERT BLOOMFIELD, I am +oblig'd with what part he can recollect of this SONG, which I was desirous +to recover. It was written shortly after the PEACE with AMERICA and +FRANCE. Probably some time in the _Spring_ of 1784. The Author thinks the +Title of it was "THE SOLDIER'S RETURN," and that it was occasion'd by the +arrival of some Regiments of British Soldiers from remote parts of the +Globe. + +He says, "I have endeavour'd to bring it back to my mind: but can only +remember the following; which is not the beginning nor the finish." + + Round LYBIA'S south point, where from toils so late freed, + Sweet Hope cheer'd my soul as we clear'd the rough sea; + I strove midst the Tars to improve the ship's speed; + Nor thought I of aught but ANNA and THEE. + + Here comes the dear Girl! comes with kind arms extended + To welcome me!... limbs numb'd with age fain would move. + My cheek feels the offspring of rapture warm blended, + With answering drops:... this the meed of chaste Love! + + Rouse the Fire-- + + * * * * * + +I think every Reader will be of opinion that it is indeed desirable the +whole Song, of which this is a Fragment, should be recover'd. It will +probably be found (according to the recollection of the Author) either in +the _General Advertiser, Gazetteer_, or _Courant_. From these specimens, +and some I have since had the pleasure to see in MS. Mr. BLOOMFIELD +appears fully to possess the simple, yet elegant, pathetic, and animated +flow of Composition, the sweetness of Diction, Thought, and Numbers, which +the SONG or BALLAD in their best character require. + +I now quote a little Fragment in _blank verse_ from the same Letter: with +a slight correction in a place or two where the distribution or mechanism +of the lines was not exact. + +SUBJECT. _An Harvest Scene: describing Gleaners return'd from the Field_. + + --Welcome the Cot's +Warm walls!... thrice welcome Rest, by toil endear'd; +Each hard bed softening, healing every care. +Sleep on, ye gentle souls ... +Unapprehensive of the midnight thief! +Or if bereft of all with pain acquir'd, +Your fall, with theirs compar'd who sink from affluence, +With hands unus'd to toil, and minds unus'd +To bend, how little felt! how soon repair'd! + +The ear of the Author seems as sweetly attun'd to verse without as with +Rhime: though his less practice has given him proportionally less +exactness. + +It reminds one of the simple, tender, and flowing melody of the blank +verse of ROWE: or of some of the affecting passages in the _Paradise +Regain'd_ of MILTON. + +Sweetness, pastoral Content, the innocent and benevolent heart "_with a +little pleas'd,_" breathe indeed through the Poems, and in the manners and +conversation, of the Author of THE FARMER'S BOY. + +When the _Spirit_ of CHRISTIANITY declares "_blessed are the meek,_" every +heart which considers what meekness is, feels the truth of that +blessedness. It may smooth the way, and prevent impediments, which a +different temper raises to temporal felicity: it certainly assures that +Heaven which is _within_: and is a pledge and anticipation of the Heaven +hereafter. + +It is pleasing to think on a remark of Mr. GEO. BLOOMFIELD concerning his +Brother when he first went to LONDON. "I have him in my mind's eye a +little Boy; not bigger than Boys generally are at twelve years old. When I +met him and his Mother at the Inn, [Footnote: In Bishopsgate-street.] he +strutted before us, dress'd just as he came from keeping Sheep, Hogs, +&c.... his shoes fill'd full of stumps in the heels. He looking about him, +slip'd up ... his nails were unus'd to a flat pavement. I remember viewing +him as he scamper'd up ... how small he was. Little thought, that little +fatherless Boy would be one day known and esteem'd by the most learned, +the most respected, the wisest and the best men of the Kingdom." + +The brotherly overflowing of the heart in this passage I felt when I read +the Letter (dated 27 _March_ last), and cannot deny to others the pleasure +of feeling it. + +And those who have shewn themselves the FRIENDS of the FARMER'S BOY must +excuse me if I mention some of them whose liberal and zealous attention +had excited those feelings in the heart of his Brother, and have fill'd +his with sentiments of thankfulness. The Duke of GRAFTON has every way +shewn himself attentive to the Genius, the Worth, of Mr. BLOOMFIELD. He +has essentially added to his comforts. His R. H. the Duke of YORK, by +Capt. BUNBURY, has made a liberal present, as an acknowledgment of the +pleasure receiv'd from the perusal of his excellent Poem. This attention +of his R. H. liberal and amiable in itself, has been the cause of like +liberality in others. It suggested to Dr. DRAKE, and other Gentlemen at +HADLEIGH, the idea of a local subscription of a Guinea each in that Town +and Neighbourhood. This has been carried into effect by himself and eleven +other Friends, who may be said in this instance to sustain, in a manner, +the honorable function of a kind of LITERARY JURY. The Names who have +given this testimony of their high esteem to the character of Mr. +BLOOMFIELD, and of the pleasure they have received from the perusal of his +Poem, are: + +THOMAS SHERLOCKE GOOCH, Esq. +Major POCKLINGTON, +Dr. GIBBONS, M.D. +The Rev. J. PLAMPIN, +The Rev. T. KNOTTESFORD, +The Rev. R. PRITCHETT, +ABRAHAM REEVE, Esq. +GEO. ARCHER, Esq. +J. MILLS, Esq. +Mrs. TRAIL, +Mrs. LEAKE, +NATHAN DRAKE, M.D. + +I have transcribed the names in the order in which they were transmitted +to me. With a large proportion of those who have thus stood forth the +Friends of Genius and Worth I have the pleasure of being acquainted. It +gives me much satisfaction to mention this notice: welcome to the Author +as a Gift; and far more so as a testimony of good opinion unexpectedly +offer'd. Several instances of similar attention to the disproportion +between the circumstances of the Author and the excellence of his poetical +Talents and moral Qualities have spontaneously manifested themselves from +different quarters. Those, as the separate act of individuals, I have not +particularized otherwise than by this general acknowledgment: though many +such have been mention'd to me by the Author. This, as a collective act, I +hope I may be allow'd the gratification of thus noticing. + +Sir CHARLES BUNBURY has warmly expressed his approbation of the Poem; as +not only excellent for a Farmer's Boy, but such as would do honour to any +person, whatever his education: and he also has much contributed to make +it early and advantageously known. Mr. GREEN of IPSWICH has spoken of it +as a charming composition: reflecting, in a very natural and vivid manner, +the series of interesting images which touch'd the sensibility of a young, +an artless, but a most intelligent observer of Nature; plac'd in a +situation highly favourable to observation, though in fact not often +productive of it. That Originality in such a subject is invaluable: and +that this Poem appears to him (I know few men so qualified to judge on +such a point) throughout original. And literary characters who have earnt +to themselves much of true Praise by their own Productions, Mr. DYER and +Dr. DRAKE of HADLEIGH, have given full and appropriate encomium to the +excellence both in Plan and Execution, of this admirable RURAL PORM. My +Friend Mr. BLACK of _Woodbridge_, has notic'd it in a very pleasing and +characteristic Letter address'd to me in verse. I believe I shall not be +just to the FARMER's BOY if I omit to notice that the Taste and Genius of +Mrs. OPIE, born to do honour to every department of the Fine Arts, have +given her an high sentiment of its merits. And a LADY at BURY, whom I wish +I were permitted to name, has most truly characteriz'd it by remarking, +that "the descriptions of Country scenes, occupations, customs, and +manners, are as natural as possible: and that the justness, virtue, and +tenderness of the sentiments are to be equally admired." Were I to name +all the Friends and Admirers of the POEM and of the simple and amiable +manners and character of the AUTHOR, I should name, I believe, nearly +every person in this Island whom I respect, esteem, and admire. + +It would be highly gratifying to me could I now transcribe those +testimonies to which I have generally referr'd:... but I abstain here +from this: and the rather, as I believe Mr. DYER will probably soon +express, in a Publication of his own, his sentiments on this Work; and as +Dr. DRAKE, I know, has been so struck with it as to intend to appropriate +to an investigation of its peculiar merit the concluding part of an +enlarg'd Edition of his LITERARY HOURS.[Footnote: This has been since +excellently perform'd by him. See the APPENDIX.] + +The mention already made of the FARMER'S BOY in the NEW LONDON REVIEW and +in the MONTHLY MIRROR I have seen with pleasure. I rejoice in that Fame +which is just to living Merit, and waits not for the Tomb to present the +tardy and then unvalued Wreath: I rejoice in the sense express'd not only +of his Genius, but of his pure, benevolent, amiable Virtue, his +affectionate Veneration to the DEITY, and his good Will to all.... +Obscurity and Adversity have not broken; Fame and Prosperity, I am +persuaded, will not corrupt him. + +I cannot deny myself the satisfaction of mentioning that, after an absence +of twelve years, the Author of the Farmer's Boy has revisited his native +Plains. That he has seen his Mother in health and spirits: seen her with a +joy to both which even his own most expressive and pathetic language would +imperfectly describe.... Seen other near, affectionate, and belov'd +Relatives: review'd, with the feelings of a truly poetic and benevolent +Mind, the haunts of his youth; the Woods and Vales, the Cot, the Field and +the Tree, which even recollected after so many years and at a distance, +had awaken'd in such a manner the energies of his Heart and Intellect, and +had inspir'd strains which will never cease to be repeated with pleasure +and admiration. That he has been receiv'd at BURY with an emulous desire +of his society; and certainly with the greatest reason. I rejoice that I +at length have been made personally acquainted with him: that I have seen +him here, and at his Mother's, and at Bury: that I have discours'd with +him; that we have made our rural walks together: that I have heard him +read some of those Poems which are not yet printed; but which when they +shall be so, will support fully and extend the Fame he has acquir'd. +Though I have spent, occasionally, much of my life among persons worthy of +Admiration and of Esteem, I can recollect few days so interesting and so +valuable to me as these. + +C.L. + +TROSTON, 25 May, 1800. + +What I have said in prose, p. ix of this Preface, is charmingly expressed +in the language of the Muses by Mr. COLLIER, in his Miscellaneous Poems +lately publish'd. + +O where on earth can he a pleasure find + Whose heart th' extatic sweets of Love has known, +When in the jarring chaos of his mind + The gentle God no longer holds his throne! + + + +ON REVISITING THE PLACE OF MY NATIVITY. + +Though Winter's frowns had damp'd the beaming eye, +Through Twelve successive Summers heav'd the sigh, +The unaccomplish'd wish was still the same; +Till May in new and sudden glories came! +My heart was rous'd; and Fancy on the wing, +Thus heard the language of enchanting Spring:-- + +'Come to thy native groves and fruitful fields! +Thou know'st the fragrance that the wild-flow'r yields; +Inhale the Breeze that bends the purple bud, +And plays along the margin of the Wood. +I've cloth'd them all; the very Woods where thou +In infancy learn'd'st praise from every bough. +Would'st thou behold again the vernal day? +My reign is short;--this instant come away: +Ere Philomel shall silent meet the morn; +She hails the green, but not the rip'ning corn. +Come, ere the pastures lose their yellow flow'rs: +Come now; with heart as jocund as the hours.' + +Who could resist the call?--that, Giles had done, +Nor heard the Birds, nor seen the rising Sun; +Had not Benevolence, with cheering ray, +And Greatness stoop'd, indulgent to display +Praise which does surely not to Giles belong, +But to the objects that inspir'd his song. +Immediate pleasure from those praises flow'd: +Remoter bliss within his bosom glow'd! +Now tasted all:--for I have heard and seen +The long-remember'd voice, the church, the green;-- +And oft by Friendship's gentle hand been led +Where many an hospitable board was spread. +These would I name,... but each, and all can feel +What the full heart would willingly reveal: +Nor needs be told; that at each season's birth, +Still the enamell'd, or the scorching Earth +Gave, as each morn or weary night would come, +Ideal sweetness to my distant home:-- +Ideal now no more;--for, to my view +Spring's promise rose, how admirably true!! +The early chorus of the cheerful Grove, +Gave point to Gratitude; and fire to Love. +O Memory! shield me from the World's poor strife; +And give those scenes thine everlasting life! + +ROB. BLOOMFIELD. + +LONDON, MAY 30, 1800. + + + +SPRING. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Invocation, &c. Seed time. Harrowing. Morning walks. Milking. The Dairy. +Suffolk Cheese. Spring coming forth. Sheep fond of changing. Lambs at +play. The Butcher, &c._ + +[Illustration] + + + + SPRING + +I. + +O come, blest Spirit! whatsoe'er thou art, +Thou rushing warmth that hover'st round my heart, +Sweet inmate, hail! thou source of sterling joy, +That poverty itself cannot destroy, +Be thou my Muse; and faithful still to me, +Retrace the paths of wild obscurity. +No deeds of arms my humble lines rehearse, +No _Alpine_ wonders thunder through my verse, +The roaring cataract, the snow-topt hill, +Inspiring awe, till breath itself stands still: +Nature's sublimer scenes ne'er charm'd mine eyes, +Nor Science led me through the boundless skies; +From meaner objects far my raptures flow: +O point these raptures! bid my bosom glow! +And lead my soul to ecstasies of praise +For all the blessings of my infant days! +Bear me through regions where gay Fancy dwells; +But mould to Truth's fair form what Memory tells. + +Live, trifling incidents, and grace my song, +That to the humblest menial belong: +To him whose drudgery unheeded goes, +His joys unreckon'd as his cares or woes; +Though joys and cares in every path are sown, +And youthful minds have feelings of their own, +Quick springing sorrows, transient as the dew, +Delights from trifles, trifles ever, new. +'Twas thus with GILES: meek, fatherless, and poor: +Labour his portion, but he felt no more; +No stripes, no tyranny his steps pursu'd; +His life was constant, cheerful, servitude: +Strange to the world, he wore a bashful look, +The fields his study, Nature was his book; +And, as revolving SEASONS chang'd the scene +From heat to cold, tempestuous to serene, +Though every change still varied his employ, +Yet each new duty brought its share of joy. + +Where noble GRAFTON spreads his rich domains, +Round _Euston's_ water'd vale, and sloping plains, +Where woods and groves in solemn grandeur rise, +Where the kite brooding unmolested flies; +The woodcock and the painted pheasant race, +And sculking foxes, destin'd for the chace; +There Giles, untaught and unrepining, stray'd +Thro' every copse, and grove, and winding glade; +There his first thoughts to Nature's charms inclin'd, +That stamps devotion on th' inquiring mind. +A little farm his generous Master till'd, +Who with peculiar grace his station fill'd; +By deeds of hospitality endear'd, +Serv'd from affection, for his worth rever'd; +A happy offspring blest his plenteous board, +His fields were fruitful, and his harm well stor'd, +And fourscore ewes he fed, a sturdy team, +And lowing kine that grazed beside the stream: +Unceasing industry he kept in view; +And never lack'd a job for Giles to do. + +FLED now the sullen murmurs of the North, +The splendid raiment of the SPRING peeps forth; +Her universal green, and the clear sky, +Delight still more and more the gazing eye. +Wide o'er the fields, in rising moisture strong, +Shoots up the simple flower, or creeps along +The mellow'd soil; imbibing fairer hues +Or sweets from frequent showers and evening dews; +That summon from its shed the slumb'ring ploughs, +While health impregnates every breeze that blows. +No wheels support the diving pointed share; +No groaning ox is doom'd to labour there; +No helpmates teach the docile steed his road; +(Alike unknown the plow-boy and the goad;) +But, unassisted through each toilsome day, +With smiling brow the plowman cleaves his way, +Draws his fresh parallels, and wid'ning still, +Treads slow the heavy dale, or climbs the hill: +Strong on the wing his busy followers play, +Where writhing earth-worms meet th' unwelcome day; +Till all is chang'd, and hill and level down +Assume a livery of sober brown: +Again disturb'd, when Giles with wearying strides +From ridge to ridge the ponderous harrow guides; +His heels deep sinking every step he goes, +Till dirt usurp the empire of his shoes. +Welcome green headland! firm beneath his feet; +Welcome the friendly bank's refreshing seat; +There, warm with toil, his panting horses browse +Their shelt'ring canopy of pendent boughs; +Till rest, delicious, chase each transient pain, +And new-born vigour swell in every vein. +Hour after hour, and day to day succeeds; +Till every clod and deep-drawn furrow spreads +To crumbling mould; a level surface clear, +And strew'd with corn to crown the rising year; +And o'er the whole Giles once transverse again, +In earth's moist bosom buries up the grain. +The work is done; no more to man is given; +The grateful farmer trusts the rest to Heaven. +Yet oft with anxious heart he looks around, +And marks the first green blade that breaks the ground; + +[Illustration: a gate] + +In fancy sees his trembling oats uprun, +His tufted barley yellow with the sun; +Sees clouds propitious shed their timely store, +And all his harvest gather'd round his door. +But still unsafe the big swoln grain below, +A fav'rite morsel with the Rook and Crow; +From field to field the flock increasing goes; +To level crops most formidable foes: +Their danger well the wary plunderers know, +And place a watch on some conspicuous bough; +Yet oft the sculking gunner by surprise +Will scatter death amongst them as they rise. +These, hung in triumph round the spacious field, +At best will but a short-lived terror yield: +Nor guards of property; (not penal law, +But harmless riflemen of rags and straw); +Familiariz'd to these, they boldly rove, +Nor heed such centinels that never move. +Let then your birds lie prostrate on the earth, +In dying posture, and with wings stretch'd forth; +Shift them at eve or morn from place to place, +And death shall terrify the pilfering race; +In the mid air, while circling round and round, +They call their lifeless comrades from the ground; +With quick'ning wing, and notes of loud alarm, +Warn the whole flock to shun the' impending harm. + +This task had _Giles_, in fields remote from home: +Oft has he wish'd the rosy morn to come. +Yet never fam'd was he nor foremost found +To break the seal of sleep; his sleep was sound: +But when at day-break summon'd from his bed, +Light as the lark that carol'd o'er his head, +His sandy way deep-worn by hasty showers, +O'er-arch'd with oaks that form'd fantastic bow'rs, +Waving aloft their tow'ring branches proud, +In borrow'd tinges from the eastern cloud, +(Whence inspiration, pure as ever flow'd, +And genuine transport in his bosom glow'd) +His own shrill matin join'd the various notes +Of Nature's music, from a thousand throats: +The blackbird strove with emulation sweet, +And Echo answer'd from her close retreat; +The sporting white-throat on some twig's end borne, +Pour'd hymns to freedom and the rising morn; +Stopt in her song perchance the starting thrush +Shook a white shower from the black-thorn bush, +Where dew-drops thick as early blossoms hung, +And trembled as the minstrel sweetly sung. +Across his path, in either grove to hide, +The timid rabbit scouted by his side; +Or bold cock-pheasant stalk'd along the road, +Whose gold and purple tints alternate glow'd. +But groves no farther fenc'd the devious way; +A wide-extended heath before him lay, +Where on the grass the stagnant shower had run, +And shone a mirror to the rising sun, +(Thus doubly seen) lighting a distant wood, +Giving new life to each expanding bud; +Effacing quick the dewy foot-marks found, +Where prowling Reynard trod his nightly round; +To shun whose thefts 'twas Giles's evening care, +His feather'd victims to suspend in air, +High on the bough that nodded o'er his head, +And thus each morn to strew the field with dead. + +His simple errand done, he homeward hies; +Another instantly its place supplies. +The clatt'ring dairy-maid immers'd in steam, +Singing and scrubbing midst her milk and cream, +Bawls out, "_Go fetch the cows_:..." he hears no more; +For pigs, and ducks, and turkies, throng the door, +And sitting hens, for constant war prepar'd; +A concert strange to that which late he heard. +Straight to the meadow then he whistling goes; +With well-known halloo calls his lazy cows: +Down the rich pasture heedlessly they graze, +Or hear the summon with an idle gaze; +For well they know the cow-yard yields no more +Its tempting fragrance, nor its wint'ry store. +Reluctance marks their steps, sedate and slow; +The right of conquest all the law they know: +Subordinate they one by one succeed; +And one among them always takes the lead, +Is ever foremost, wheresoe'er they stray; +Allow'd precedence, undisputed sway; +With jealous pride her station is maintain'd, +For many a broil that post of honour gain'd. +At home, the yard affords a grateful scene; +For Spring makes e'en a miry cow-yard clean. +Thence from its chalky bed behold convey'd +The rich manure that drenching winter made, +Which pil'd near home, grows green with many a weed, +A promis'd nutriment for Autumn's seed. +Forth comes the Maid, and like the morning smiles; +The Mistress too, and follow'd close by Giles. +A friendly tripod forms their humble seat, +With pails bright scour'd, and delicately sweet. +Where shadowing elms obstruct the morning ray, +Begins their work, begins the simple lay; +The full-charg'd udder yields its willing streams, +While _Mary_ sings some lover's amorous dreams; +And crouching Giles beneath a neighbouring tree +Tugs o'er his pail, and chants with equal glee; +Whose hat with tatter'd brim, of nap so bare, +From the cow's side purloins a coat of hair, +A mottled ensign of his harmless trade, +An unambitious, peaceable cockade. +As unambitious too that cheerful aid +The mistress yields beside her rosy maid; + +[Illustration: maid with a cow] + +With joy she views her plenteous reeking store, +And bears a brimmer to the dairy door; +Her cows dismiss'd, the luscious mead to roam, +Till ere again recall them loaded home. +And now the DAIRY claims her choicest care, +And half her household find employment there: +Slow rolls the churn, its load of clogging cream +At once foregoes its quality and name; +From knotty particles first floating wide +Congealing butter's dash'd from side to side; +Streams of new milk thro' flowing coolers stray, +And snow-white curd abounds, and wholesome whey. +Due north th' unglazed windows, cold and clear, +For warming sunbeams are unwelcome here. +Brisk goes the work beneath each busy hand, +And _Giles_ must trudge, whoever gives command; +A _Gibeonite_, that serves them all by turns: +He drains the pump, from him the faggot burns; +From him the noisy hogs demand their food; +While at his heels run many a chirping brood, +Or down his path in expectation stand, +With equal claims upon his strewing hand. +Thus wastes the morn, till each with pleasure sees +The bustle o'er, and press'd the new-made cheese. + +Unrivall'd stands thy country CHEESE, O _Giles!_ +Whose very name alone engenders smiles; +Whose fame abroad by every tongue is spoke, +The well-known butt of many a flinty joke, +That pass like current coin the nation through; +And, ah! experience proves the satire true. +Provision's grave, thou ever craving mart, +Dependant, huge Metropolis! where Art +Her pouring thousands stows in breathless rooms, +Midst pois'nous smokes and steams, and rattling looms; +Where Grandeur revels in unbounded stores; +Restraint, a slighted stranger at their doors! + +[Illustration: man pouring feed into a trough] + +Thou, like a whirlpool, drain'st the countries round, +Till London market, London price, resound +Through every town, round every passing load, +And dairy produce throngs the eastern road: +Delicious veal, and butter, every hour, +From Essex lowlands, and the banks of Stour; +And further far, where numerous herds repose, +From Orwell's brink, from Weveny, or Ouse. +Hence Suffolk dairy-wives run mad for cream, +And leave their milk with nothing but its name; +Its name derision and reproach pursue, +And strangers tell of "three times skimm'd sky-blue." +To cheese converted, what can be its boast? +What, but the common virtues of a post! +If drought o'ertake it faster than the knife, +Most fair it bids for stubborn length of life, +And, like the oaken shelf whereon 'tis laid, +Mocks the weak efforts of the bending blade; +Or in the hog-trough rests in perfect spite, +Too big to swallow, and too hard to bite. +Inglorious victory! Ye Cheshire meads, +Or Severn's flow'ry dales, where plenty treads, +Was your rich milk to suffer wrongs like these, +Farewell your pride! farewell renowned cheese! +The skimmer dread, whose ravages alone +Thus turn the mead's sweet nectar into stone. + +NEGLECTED now the early _daisy_ lies: +Nor thou, pale _primrose_, bloom'st the only prize: +Advancing SPRING profusely spreads abroad +Flow'rs of all hues, with sweetest fragrance stor'd; +Where'er she treads, LOVE gladdens every plain, +_Delight_ on tiptoe bears her lucid train; +Sweet _Hope_ with conscious brow before her flies, +Anticipating wealth from Summer skies; +All Nature feels her renovating sway; +The sheep-fed pasture, and the meadow gay; +And trees, and shrubs, no longer budding seen, +Display the new-grown branch of lighter green; +On airy downs the shepherd idling lies, +And sees to-morrow in the marbled skies. +Here then, my soul, thy darling theme pursue, +For every day was Giles a SHEPHERD too. + +Small was his charge: no wilds had they to roam; +But bright enclosures circling round their home. +Nor yellow-blossom'd furze, nor stubborn thorn, +The heath's rough produce, had their fleeces torn: +Yet ever roving, ever seeking thee, +Enchanting spirit, dear Variety! +O happy tenants, prisoners of a day! +Releas'd to ease, to pleasure, and to play; +Indulg'd through every field by turns to range, +And taste them all in one continual change. +For though luxuriant their grassy food, +Sheep long confin'd but loathe the present good; +Bleating around the homeward gate they meet, +And starve, and pine, with plenty at their feet. +Loos'd from the winding lane, a joyful throng, +See, o'er yon pasture how they pour along! +_Giles_ round their boundaries takes his usual stroll; +Sees every pass secur'd, and fences whole; +High fences, proud to charm the gazing eye, +Where many a nestling first assays to fly; +Where blows the woodbine, faintly streak'd with red, +And rests on every bough its tender head; +Round the young ash its twining branches meet, +Or crown the hawthorn with its odours sweet. + +Say, ye that know, ye who have felt and seen, +_Spring's_ morning smiles, and soul-enliv'ning green, +Say, did you give the thrilling transport way? +Did your eye brighten, when young lambs at play +Leap'd o'er your path with animated pride, +Or gaz'd in merry clusters by your side? +Ye who can smile, to wisdom no disgrace, +At the arch meaning of a kitten's face; +If spotless innocence, and infant mirth, +Excites to praise, or gives reflection birth; +In shades like these pursue your fav'rite joy, +Midst Nature's revels, sports that never cloy. + +A few begin a short but vigorous race, +And indolence abash'd soon flies the place; +Thus challeng'd forth, see thither one by one, +From every side assembling playmates run; +A thousand wily antics mark their stay, +A starting crowd, impatient of delay. +Like the fond dove from fearful prison freed, +Each seems to say, "Come, let us try our speed;" +Away they scour, impetuous, ardent, strong, +The green turf trembling as they bound along; +Adown the slope, then up the hillock climb, +Where every molehill is a bed of thyme; +There panting stop; yet scarcely can refrain; +A bird, a leaf, will set them off again: +Or, if a gale with strength unusual blow, +Scatt'ring the wild-briar roses into snow, +Their little limbs increasing efforts try, +Like the torn flower the fair assemblage fly. +Ah, fallen rose! sad emblem of their doom; +Frail as thyself, they perish while they bloom! +Though unoffending innocence may plead, +Though frantic ewes may mourn the savage deed, +Their shepherd comes, a messenger of blood, +And drives them bleating from their sports and food. +Care loads his brow, and pity wrings his heart, +For lo, the murd'ring BUTCHER with his cart +Demands the firstlings of his flock to die, +And makes a sport of life and liberty! +His gay companions _Giles_ beholds no more; +Clos'd are their eyes, their fleeces drench'd in gore; +Nor can Compassion, with her softest notes, +Withhold the knife that plunges through their throats. + +Down, indignation! hence, ideas foul! +Away the shocking image from my soul! +Let kindlier visitants attend my way, +Beneath approaching _Summer's_ fervid ray; +Nor thankless glooms obtrude, nor cares annoy, +Whilst the sweet theme is _universal joy_. + + + +SUMMER. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Turnip sowing. Wheat ripening. Sparrows. Insects. The sky-lark. Reaping, +&c. Harvest-field, Dairy-maid, &c. Labours of the barn. The gander. Night; +a thunder storm. Harvest-home. Reflections, &c._ + + +[Illustration] + + + + SUMMER. + +II. + +THE FARMER'S life displays in every part +A moral lesson to the sensual heart. +Though in the lap of Plenty, thoughtful still, +He looks beyond the present good or ill; +Nor estimates alone one blessing's worth, +From changeful seasons, or capricious earth; +But views the future with the present hours, +And looks for failures as he looks for show'ers; +For casual as for certain want prepares, +And round his yard the reeking haystack rears; +Or clover, blossom'd lovely to the sight, +His team's rich store through many a wint'ry night. +What tho' abundance round his dwelling spreads, +Though ever moist his self-improving meads +Supply his dairy with a copious flood, +And seem to promise unexhausted food; +That promise fails, when buried deep in snow, +And vegetative juices cease to flow. +For this, his plough turns up the destin'd lands, +Whence stormy Winter draws its full demands; +For this, the seed minutely small he sows, +Whence, sound and sweet, the hardy turnip grows. +But how unlike to APRIL'S closing days! +High climbs the Sun, and darts his pow'rful rays; +Whitens the fresh-drawn mould, and pierces through +The cumb'rous clods that tumble round the plough. +O'er heaven's bright azure hence with joyful eyes +The Farmer sees dark clouds assembling rise; +Borne o'er his fields a heavy torrent falls, +And strikes the earth in hasty driving squalls. +"_Right welcome down, ye precious drops_," he cries; +But soon, too soon, the partial blessing flies. +"_Boy, bring thy harrows, try how deep the rain +Has forc'd its way_." He comes, but comes in vain; +Dry dust beneath the bubbling surface lurks, +And mocks his pains the more, the more he works: +Still midst huge clods he plunges on forlorn, +That laugh his harrows and the shower to scorn. +E'en thus the living clod, the stubborn fool, +Resists the stormy lectures of the school, +Till tried with gentler means, the dunce to please, +His head imbibes right reason by degrees; +As when from eve till morning's wakeful hour, +Light, constant rain, evinces secret pow'r, +And ere the day resume its wonted smiles, +Presents a cheerful easy task for _Giles_. +Down with a touch the mellow'd soil is laid, +And yon tall crop next claims his timely aid; +Thither well pleas'd he hies, assur'd to find +Wild trackless haunts, and objects to his mind. + +Shot up from broad rank blades that droop below, +The nodding WHEAT-EAR forms a graceful bow, +With milky kernels starting full, weigh'd down, +Ere yet the sun hath ting'd its head with brown; +Whilst thousands in a flock, for ever gay, +Loud chirping _sparrows_ welcome on the day, +And from the mazes of the leafy thorn +Drop one by one upon the bending corn. +Giles with a pole assails their close retreats, +And round the grass-grown dewy border beats, +On either side completely overspread, +Here branches bend, there corn o'ertops his head. +Green covert, hail! for through the varying year +No hours so sweet, no scene to him so dear. + +[Illustration] + +Here _Wisdom's_ placid eye delighted sees +His frequent intervals of lonely ease, +And with one ray his infant soul inspires, +Just kindling there her never-dying fires, +Whence solitude derives peculiar charms, +And heaven-directed thought his bosom warms. +Just where the parting bough's light shadows play, +Scarce in the shade, nor in the scorching day, +Stretch'd on the turf he lies, a peopled bed, +Where swarming insects creep around his head. +The small dust-colour'd beetle climbs with pain +O'er the smooth plantain-leaf, a spacious plain! +Thence higher still, by countless steps convey'd, +He gains the summit of a shiv'ring blade, +And flirts his filmy wings, and looks around, +Exulting in his distance from the ground. +The tender speckled moth here dancing seen, +The vaulting grasshopper of glossy green, +And all prolific _Summer's_ sporting train, +Their little lives by various pow'rs sustain. +But what can unassisted vision do? +What, but recoil where most it would pursue; +His patient gaze but finish with a sigh, +When musing waking speaks the _sky-lark_ nigh! +Just starting from the corn she cheerly sings, +And trusts with conscious pride her downy wings; +Still louder breathes, and in the face of day +Mounts up, and calls on _Giles_ to mark her way. +Close to his eyes his hat he instant bends, +And forms a friendly telescope, that lends +Just aid enough to dull the glaring light, +And place the wand'ring bird before his sight; +Yet oft beneath a cloud she sweeps along, +Lost for awhile, yet pours her varied song: +He views the spot, and as the cloud moves by, +Again she stretches up the clear blue sky; + + [Illustration] + +Her form, her motion, undistinguish'd quite, +Save when she wheels direct from shade to light: +The flutt'ring songstress a mere speck became, +Like fancy's floating bubbles in a dream; +He sees her yet, but yielding to repose, +Unwittingly his jaded eyelids close. +Delicious sleep! From sleep who could forbear, +With no more guilt than _Giles_, and no more care? +Peace o'er his slumbers waves her guardian wing, +Nor conscience once disturbs him with a sting; +He wakes refresh'd from every trivial pain, +And takes his pole and brushes round again. + +Its dark-green hue, its sicklier tints all fail, +And rip'ening harvest rustles in the gale. +A glorious sight, if glory dwells below, +Where Heaven's munificence makes all the show, +O'er every field and golden prospect found, +That glads the ploughman's Sunday morning's round, +When on some eminence he takes his stand, +To judge the smiling produce of the land. +Here Vanity slinks back, her head to hide: +What is there here to flatter human pride? +The tow'ring fabric, or the dome's loud roar, +And stedfast columns, may astonish more, +Where the charm'd gazer long delighted stays, +Yet trac'd but to the _architect_ the praise; +Whilst here, the veriest clown that treads the sod, +Without one scruple gives the praise to GOD; +And twofold joys possess his raptur'd mind, +From gratitude and admiration join'd. + +Here, midst the boldest triumphs of her worth, +NATURE herself invites the REAPERS forth; +Dares the keen sickle from its twelvemonth's rest, +And gives that ardour which in every breast +From infancy to age alike appears, +When the first sheaf its plumy top uprears. + +[Illustration] + +No rake takes here what Heaven to all bestows-- +Children of want, for you the bounty flows! +And every cottage from the plenteous store +Receives a burden nightly at its door. + +Hark! where the sweeping scythe now rips along: +Each sturdy Mower emulous and strong; +Whose writhing form meridian heat defies, +Bends o'er his work, and every sinew tries; +Prostrates the waving treasure at his feet, +But spares the rising clover, short and sweet. +Come, HEALTH! come, _Jollity!_ light-footed, come; +Here hold your revels, and make this your home. +Each heart awaits and hails you as its own; +Each moisten'd brow, that scorns to wear a frown: +Th' unpeopled dwelling mourns its tenants stray'd; +E'en the domestic laughing dairy maid +Hies to the FIELD, the general toil to share. +Meanwhile the FARMER quits his elbow-chair, +His cool brick-floor, his pitcher, and his ease, +And braves the sultry beams, and gladly sees +His gates thrown open, and his team abroad, +The ready group attendant on his word, +To turn the swarth, the quiv'ring load to rear, +Or ply the busy rake, the land to clear. +Summer's light garb itself now cumb'rous grown, +Each his thin doublet in the shade throws down; +Where oft the mastiff sculks with half-shut eye, +And rouses at the stranger passing by; +Whilst unrestrain'd the social converse flows, +And every breast Love's powerful impulse knows, +And rival wits with more than rustic grace +Confess the presence of a pretty face. + +For, lo! encircled there, the lovely MAID, +In youth's own bloom and native smiles array'd; +Her hat awry, divested of her gown, +Her creaking stays of leather, stout and brown;... + +[Illustration] + +Invidious barrier! why art thou so high, +When the slight covering of her neck slips by, +There half revealing to the eager sight +Her full, ripe bosom, exquisitely white? +In many a local tale of harmless mirth, +And many a jest of momentary birth, +She bears a part, and as she stops to speak, +Strokes back the ringlets from her glowing cheek. + +Now noon gone by, and four declining hours, +The weary limbs relax their boasted pow'rs; +Thirst rages strong, the fainting spirits fail, +And ask the sov'reign cordial, home-brew'd ale: +Beneath some shelt'ring heap of yellow corn +Rests the hoop'd keg, and friendly cooling horn, +That mocks alike the goblet's brittle frame, +Its costlier potions, and its nobler name. +To _Mary_ first the brimming draught is given +By toil made welcome as the dews of heaven, +And never lip that press'd its homely edge +Had kinder blessings or a heartier pledge. + +Of wholesome viands here a banquet smiles, +A common cheer for all;... e'en humble _Giles_, +Who joys his trivial services to yield +Amidst the fragrance of the open field; +Oft doom'd in suffocating heat to bear +The cobweb'd barn's impure and dusty air; +To ride in murky state the panting steed, +Destin'd aloft th' unloaded grain to tread, +Where, in his path as heaps on heaps are thrown, +He rears, and plunges the loose mountain down: +Laborious task! with what delight when done +Both horse and rider greet th' unclouded sun! + +Yet by th' unclouded sun are hourly bred +The bold assailants that surround thine head, +Poor patient _Ball!_ and with insulting wing +Roar in thine ears, and dart the piercing sting: +In thy behalf the crest-wav'd boughs avail +More than thy short-clipt remnant of a tail, +A moving mockery, a useless name, +A living proof of cruelty and shame. +Shame to the man, whatever fame he bore, +Who took from thee what man can ne'er restore, +Thy weapon of defence, thy chiefest good, +When swarming flies contending suck thy blood. +Nor thine alone the suff'ring, thine the care, +The fretful _Ewe_ bemoans an equal share; +Tormented into sores, her head she hides, +Or angry brushes from her new-shorn sides. +Pen'd in the yard, e'en now at closing day +Unruly _Cows_ with mark'd impatience stay, +And vainly striving to escape their foes, +The pail kick down; a piteous current flows. + +Is't not enough that plagues like these molest? +Must still another foe annoy their rest? +He comes, the pest and terror of the yard, +His full-fledg'd progeny's imperious guard; +The GANDER;... spiteful, insolent, and bold, +At the colt's footlock takes his daring hold: +There, serpent-like, escapes a dreadful blow; +And straight attacks a poor defenceless cow: +Each booby goose th' unworthy strife enjoys, +And hails his prowess with redoubled noise. +Then back he stalks, of self-importance full, +Seizes the shaggy foretop of the bull, +Till whirl'd aloft he falls; a timely check, +Enough to dislocate his worthless neck: +For lo! of old, he boasts an honour'd wound; +Behold that broken wing that trails the ground! +Thus fools and bravoes kindred pranks pursue; +As savage quite, and oft as fatal too. +Happy the man that foils an envious elf, +Using the darts of spleen to serve himself. +As when by turns the strolling _Swine_ engage +The utmost efforts of the bully's rage, +Whose nibbling warfare on the grunter's side +Is welcome pleasure to his oristly hide; +Gently he stoops, or strecht at ease along, +Enjoys the insults of the gabbling throng, +That march exulting round his fallen head, +As human victors trample on their dead. + +Still TWILIGHT, welcome! Rest, how sweet art thou! +Now eve o'erhangs the western cloud's thick brow: +The far-stretch'd curtain of retiring light, +With fiery treasures fraught; that on the sight +Flash from its bulging sides, where darkness lours, +In Fancy's eye, a chain of mould'ring tow'rs; +Or craggy coasts just rising into view, +Midst jav'lins dire, and darts of streaming blue. + +Anon tir'd labourers bless their shelt'ring home, +When MIDNIGHT, and the frightful TEMPEST come. +The Farmer wakes, and sees with silent dread +The angry shafts of Heaven gleam round his bed; +The bursting cloud reiterated roars, +Shakes his straw roof, and jars his bolted doors: +The slow-wing'd storm along the troubled skies +Spreads its dark course; the wind begins to rise; +And full-leaf'd elms, his dwelling's shade by day, +With mimic thunder give its fury way: +Sounds in his chimney top a doleful peal, +Midst pouring rain, or gusts of rattling hail; +With tenfold danger low the tempest bends, +And quick and strong the sulph'urous flame descends: +The fright'ned mastiff from his kennel flies, +And cringes at the door with piteous cries.... + +Where now's the trifler? where the child of pride? +These are the moments when the heart is try'd! +Nor lives the man with conscience e'er so clear, +But feels a solemn, reverential fear; +Feels too a joy relieve his aching breast, +When the spent storm hath howl'd itself to rest. +Still, welcome beats the long continued show'r, +And sleep protracted, comes with double pow'r; +Calm dreams of bliss bring on the morning sun, +For every barn is fill'd, and HARVEST _done_! + +Now, ere sweet SUMMER bids its long adieu, +And winds blow keen where late the blossom grew, +The bustling day and jovial night must come, +The long accustom'd feast of HARVEST-HOME. +No blood-stain'd victory, in story bright, +Can give the philosophic mind delight; +No triumph please while rage and death destroy: +Reflection sickens at the monstrous joy. +And where the joy, if rightly understood, +Like cheerful praise for universal good? +The soul nor check nor doubtful anguish knows, +But free and pure the grateful current flows. + +Behold the sound oak table's massy frame +Bestride the kitchen floor! the careful dame +And gen'rous host invite their friends around, +While all that clear'd the crop, or till'd the ground, +Are guests by right of custom:... old and young; +And many a neighbouring yeoman join the throng, +With artizans that lent their dext'rous aid, +When o'er each field the flaming sun-beams play'd,-- + +Yet Plenty reigns, and from her boundless hoard, +Though not one jelly trembles on the board, +Supplies the feast with all that sense can crave; +With all that made our great forefathers brave, +Ere the cloy'd palate countless flavours try'd, +And cooks had Nature's judgment set aside. +With thanks to Heaven, and tales of rustic lore, +The mansion echoes when the banquet's o'er; +A wider circle spreads, and smiles abound, +As quick the frothing horn performs its round; +Care's mortal foe; that sprightly joys imparts +To cheer the frame and elevate their hearts. +Here, fresh and brown, the hazel's produce lies +In tempting heaps, and peals of laughter rise, +And crackling Music, with the frequent _Song_, +Unheeded bear the midnight hour along. + +Here once a year Distinction low'rs its crest, +The master, servant, and the merry guest, +Are equal all; and round the happy ring +The reaper's eyes exulting glances fling, +And, warm'd with gratitude, he quits his place, +With sun-burnt hands and ale-enliven'd face, +Refills the jug his honour'd host to tend, +To serve at once the master and the friend; +Proud thus to meet his smiles, to share his tale, +His nuts, his conversation, and his ale. + +Such were the days, ... of days long past I sing, +When Pride gave place to mirth without a sting; +Ere tyrant customs strength sufficient bore +To violate the feelings of the poor; +To leave them distanc'd in the mad'ning race, +Where'er Refinement shews its hated face: +Nor causeless hated;... 'tis the peasant's curse, +That hourly makes his wretched station worse; +Destroys life's intercourse; the social plan +That rank to rank cements, as man to man: +Wealth flows around him, fashion lordly reigns; +Yet poverty is his, and mental pains. + +Methinks I hear the mourner thus impart +The stifled murmurs of his wounded heart: +'Whence comes this change, ungracious, irksome, cold? +'Whence the new grandeur that mine eyes behold? +'The wid'ning distance which I daily see, +'Has Wealth done this?... then wealth's a foe to me; +'Foe to our rights; that leaves a pow'rful few +'The paths of emulation to pursue:... +'For emulation stoops to us no more: +'The hope of humble industry is o'er; +'The blameless hope, the cheering sweet presage +'Of future comforts for declining age. +'Can my sons share from this paternal hand +'The profits with the labours of the land? +'No; tho' indulgent Heaven its blessing deigns, +'Where's the small farm to suit my scanty means? +'Content, the Poet sings, with us resides; +'In lonely cots like mine the damsel hides; +'And will he then in raptur'd visions tell +'That sweet Content with Want can ever dwell? +'A barley loaf, 'tis true, my table crowns, +'That fast diminishing in lusty rounds, +'Stops Nature's cravings; yet her sighs will flow +'From knowing this,... that once it was not so. +'Our annual feast, when Earth her plenty yields, +'When crown'd with boughs the last load quits the fields, +'The aspect still of ancient joy puts on; +'The aspect only, with the substance gone: +'The self-same Horn is still at our command, +'But serves none now but the plebeian hand: +'For _home-brew'd Ale_, neglected and debas'd, +'Is quite discarded from the realms of taste. +'Where unaffected Freedom charm'd the soul, +'The separate table and the costly bowl, +'Cool as the blast that checks the budding Spring, +'A mockery of gladness round them fling. +'For oft the Farmer, ere his heart approves, +'Yields up the custom which he dearly loves: +'Refinement forces on him like a tide; +'Bold innovations down its current ride, +'That bear no peace beneath their shewy dress, +'Nor add one tittle to his happiness. +'His guests selected; rank's punctilios known; +'What trouble waits upon a casual frown! +'Restraint's foul manacles his pleasures maim; +'Selected guests selected phrases claim: +'Nor reigns that joy when hand in hand they join +'That good old Master felt in shaking mine. +'HEAVEN bless his memory! bless his honour'd name! +'(The poor will speak his lasting worthy fame:) +'To souls fair-purpos'd strength and guidance give; +'In pity to us still let goodness live: +'Let labour have its due! my cot shall be +'From chilling want and guilty murmurs free: +'Let labour have its due;... then peace is mine, +'And never, never shall my heart repine.' + + + + +AUTUMN. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Acorns. Hogs in the wood. Wheat-sowing. The Church. Village girls. +The mad girl. The bird-boy's hut. Disappointments; reflections, &c. +Euston-hall. Fox-hunting. Old Trouncer. Long nights. A welcome to Winter._ + + +[Illustration] + + + + AUTUMN. + + +III. + +Again, the year's _decline_, midst storms and floods, +The thund'ring chase, the yellow fading woods, +Invite my song; that fain would boldly tell +Of upland coverts, and the echoing dell, +By turns resounding loud, at eve and morn +The swineherd's halloo, or the huntsman's horn. + +No more the fields with scatter'd grain supply +The restless wand'ring tenants of the STY; +From oak to oak they run with eager haste, +And wrangling share the first delicious taste +Of fallen ACORNS; yet but thinly found +Till the strong gale have shook them to the ground. +It comes; and roaring woods obedient wave: +Their home well pleas'd the joint adventurers leave: +The trudging sow leads forth her numerous young, +Playful, and white, and clean, the briars among, +Till briars and thorns increasing, fence them round, +Where last year's mould'ring leaves bestrew the ground, +And o'er their heads, loud lash'd by furious squalls, +Bright from their cups the rattling treasure falls; +Hot thirsty food; whence doubly sweet and cool +The welcome margin of some rush-grown pool, +The wild duck's lonely haunt, whose jealous eye +Guards every point; who sits prepar'd to fly, +On the calm bosom of her little lake, +Too closely screen'd for ruffian winds to shake; +And as the bold intruders press around, +At once she starts, and rises with a bound: +With bristles rais'd the sudden noise they hear, +And ludicrously wild, and wing'd with fear, +The herd decamp with more than swinish speed, +And snorting dash thro' sedge, and rush, and reed: +Through tangling thickets headlong on they go, +Then stop, and listen for their fancied foe; +The hindmost still the growing panic spreads, +Repeated fright the first alarm succeeds, +Till Folly's wages, wounds and thorns, they reap: +Yet glorying in their fortunate escape, +Their groundless terrors by degrees soon cease, +And Night's dark reign restores their wonted peace. +For now the gale subsides, and from each bough +The roosting pheasant's short but frequent crow +Invites to rest; and huddling side by side, +The herd in closest ambush seek to hide; +Seek some warm slope with shagged moss o'erspread, +Dry'd leaves their copious covering and their bed. +In vain may _Giles_, thro' gath'ring glooms that fall, +And solemn silence, urge his piercing call: +Whole days and nights they tarry midst their store, +Nor quit the woods till oaks can yield no more. + +Beyond bleak _Winter's_ rage, beyond the _Spring_ +That rolling Earth's unvarying course will bring, +Who tills the ground looks on with mental eye, +And sees next _Summer's_ sheaves and cloudless sky; +And even now, whilst Nature's beauty dies, +Deposits SEED, and bids new harvests rise; +Seed well prepar'd, and warm'd with glowing lime, +'Gainst earth-bred grubs, and cold, and lapse of time: +For searching frosts and various ills invade, +Whilst wint'ry months depress the springing blade. +The plough moves heavily, and strong the soil, +And clogging harrows with augmented toil +Dive deep: and clinging mixes with the mould +A fat'ning treasure from the nightly fold, +And all the cow-yard's highly valu'd store, +That late bestrew'd the blacken'd surface o'er. +No idling hours are here, when Fancy trims +Her dancing taper over outstretch'd limbs, +And in her thousand thousand colours drest, +Plays round the grassy couch of noontide rest: +Here GILES for hours of indolence atones +With strong exertion, and with weary bones, +And knows no leisure; till the distant chime +Of Sabbath bells he hears at sermon time, +That down the brook sound sweetly in the gale, +Or strike the rising hill, or skim the dale. + +Nor his alone the sweets of ease to taste: +Kind rest extends to all;... save one poor beast, +That true to time and pace, is doom'd to plod, +To bring the Pastor to the HOUSE of GOD: +Mean structure; where no bones of heroes lie! +The rude inelegance of poverty +Reigns here alone: else why that roof of straw? +Those narrow windows with the frequent flaw? +O'er whose low cells the dock and mallow spread, +And rampant nettles lift the spiry head, +Whilst from the hollows of the tower on high +The grey-cap'd daws in saucy legions fly. + +Round these lone walls assembling neighbours meet, +And tread departed friends beneath their feet; +And new-brier'd graves, that prompt the secret sigh, +Shew each the spot where he himself must lie. +Midst timely greetings village news goes round, +Of crops late shorn, or crops that deck the ground; +Experienc'd ploughmen in the circle join; +While sturdy boys, in feats of strength to shine, +With pride elate their young associates brave +To jump from hollow-sounding grave to grave; +Then close consulting, each his talent lends +To plan fresh sports when tedious service ends. +Hither at times, with cheerfulness of soul, +Sweet _village Maids_ from neighbouring hamlets stroll, +That like the light-heel'd does o'er lawns that rove, +Look shyly curious; rip'ning into love; +For love's their errand: hence the tints that glow +On either cheek, an heighten'd lustre know: +When, conscious of their charms, e'en Age looks sly, +And rapture beams from Youth's observant eye. + +THE PRIDE of such a party, Nature's pride, +Was lovely POLL;[Footnote: MARY RAYNER, of Ixworth Thorp.] who innocently +try'd, +With hat of airy shape and ribbons gay, +Love to inspire, and stand in Hymen's way: +But, ere her _twentieth_ Summer could expand, +Or youth was render'd happy with her hand, +Her mind's serenity was lost and gone, +Her eye grew languid, and she wept alone; +Yet causeless seem'd her grief; for quick restrain'd, +Mirth follow'd loud, or indignation reign'd: +Whims wild and simple led her from her home, +The heath, the common, or the fields to roam: +Terror and joy alternate rul'd her hours; +Now blithe she sung, and gather'd useless flow'rs; +Now pluck'd a tender twig from every bough, +To whip the hov'ring demons from her brow. +Ill-fated Maid! thy guiding spark is fled, +And lasting wretchedness awaits thy bed ... +Thy bed of straw! for mark, where even now +O'er their lost child afflicted parents bow; +Their woe she knows not, but perversely coy, +Inverted customs yield her sullen joy; +Her midnight meals in secresy she takes, +Low mutt'ring to the moon, that rising breaks +Through night's dark gloom:... oh how much more forlorn +_Her_ night, that knows of no returning dawn!... + +[Illustration:] + +Slow from the threshold, once her infant seat, +O'er the cold earth she crawls to her retreat; +Quitting the cot's warm walls unhous'd to lie, +Or share the swine's impure and narrow sty; +The damp night air her shiv'ring limbs assails; +In dreams she moans, and fancied wrongs bewails. +When morning wakes, none earlier rous'd than she, +When pendent drops fall glitt'ring from the tree; +But nought her rayless melancholy cheers, +Or sooths her breast, or stops her streaming tears. +Her matted locks unornamented flow; +Clasping her knees, and waving to and fro;... +Her head bow'd down, her faded cheek to hide;... +A piteous mourner by the pathway side. +Some tufted molehill through the livelong day +She calls her throne; there weeps her life away: +And oft the gaily passing stranger stays +His well-tim'd step, and takes a silent gaze, +Till sympathetic drops unbidden start, +And pangs quick springing muster round his heart; +And soft he treads with other gazers round, +And fain would catch her sorrow's plaintive sound: +One word alone is all that strikes the ear, +One short, pathetic, simple word,... "_Oh dear!_" +A thousand times repeated to the wind, +That wafts the sigh, but leaves the pang behind! +For ever of the proffer'd parley shy, +She hears the' unwelcome foot advancing nigh; +Nor quite unconscious of her wretched plight, +Gives one sad look, and hurries out of sight.... + +Fair promis'd sunbeams of terrestrial bliss, +Health's gallant hopes,... and are ye sunk to this? +For in life's road though thorns abundant grow, +There still are joys poor Poll can never know; +Joys which the gay companions of her prime +Sip, as they drift along the stream of time; +At eve to hear beside their tranquil home +The lifted latch, that speaks the lover come: +_That_ love matur'd, next playful on the knee +To press the velvet lip of infancy; +To stay the tottering step, the features trace;... +Inestimable sweets of social peace! + +O THOU, who bidst the vernal juices rise! +Thou, on whose blasts autumnal foliage flies! +Let Peace ne'er leave me, nor my heart grow cold, +Whilst life and sanity are mine to hold. + +Shorn of their flow'rs that shed th' untreasur'd seed, +The withering pasture, and the fading mead, +Less tempting grown, diminish more and more, +The dairy's pride; sweet Summer's flowing store. +New cares succeed, and gentle duties press, +Where the fire-side, a school of tenderness, +Revives the languid chirp, and warms the blood +Of cold-nipt weaklings of the latter brood, +That from the shell just bursting into day, +Through yard or pond pursue their vent'rous way. + +Far weightier cares and wider scenes expand; +What devastation marks the new-sown land! +"From hungry woodland foes go, _Giles_, and guard +The rising wheat; ensure its great reward: +A future sustenance, a Summer's pride, +Demand thy vigilance: then be it try'd: +Exert thy voice, and wield thy shotless gun: +Go, tarry there from morn till setting sun." + +Keen blows the blast, or ceaseless rain descends; +The half-stript hedge a sorry shelter lends. +O for a HOVEL, e'er so small or low, +Whose roof, repelling winds and early snow, +Might bring home's comforts fresh before his eyes! +No sooner thought, than see the structure rise, +In some sequester'd nook, embank'd around, +Sods for its walls, and straw in burdens bound: + +[Illustration] + +Dried fuel hoarded is his richest store, +And circling smoke obscures his little door; +Whence creeping forth, to duty's call he yields, +And strolls the Crusoe of the lonely fields. +On whitethorns tow'ring, and the leafless rose, +A frost-nipt feast in bright vermilion glows: +Where clust'ring sloes in glossy order rise, +He crops the loaded branch; a cumb'rous prize; +And o'er the flame the sputt'ring fruit he rests, +Placing green sods to seat his coming guests; +His guests by promise; playmates young and gay:... +BUT AH! _fresh pastimes_ lure their steps away! +He sweeps his hearth, and homeward looks in vain, +Till feeling _Disappointment's_ cruel pain, +His fairy revels are exchang'd for rage, +His banquet marr'd, grown dull his hermitage. +The field becomes his prison, till on high +Benighted birds to shades and coverts fly. +Midst air, health, daylight, can he prisoner be? +If fields are prisons, where is Liberty? +Here still she dwells, and here her votaries stroll; +But disappointed hope untunes the soul: +Restraints unfelt whilst hours of rapture flow, +When troubles press, to chains and barriers grow. +Look then from trivial up to greater woes; +From the poor bird-boy with his roasted sloes, +To where the dungeon'd mourner heaves the sigh; +Where not one cheering sun-beam meets his eye. +Though ineffectual pity thine may be, +No wealth, no pow'r, to set the captive free; +Though _only_ to thy ravish'd _sight_ is given +The golden path that HOWARD trod to heaven; +Thy slights can make the wretched more forlorn, +And deeper drive affliction's barbed thorn. +Say not, "I'll come and cheer thy gloomy cell +With news of dearest friends; how good, how well: +I'll be a joyful herald to thine heart:" +Then fail, and play the worthless trifler's part, +To sip flat pleasures from thy glass's brim, +And waste the precious hour that's due to him. +In mercy spare the base unmanly blow: +Where can he turn, to whom complain of you? +Back to past joys in vain his thoughts may stray; +Trace and retrace the beaten worn-out way, +The rankling injury will pierce his breast, +And curses on thee break his midnight rest. + +Bereft of song, and ever cheering green, +The soft endearments of the Summer scene, +New harmony pervades the solemn wood, +Dear to the soul, and healthful to the blood: +For bold exertion follows on the sound +Of distant sportsmen, and the chiding hound; +First heard from kennel bursting, mad with joy, +Where smiling EUSTON boasts her good FITZROY, +Lord of pure alms, and gifts that wide extend; +The farmer's patron, and the poor man's friend: +Whose mansion glitt'ring with the eastern ray, +Whose elevated temple, points the way, +O'er slopes and lawns, the park's extensive pride, +To where the victims of the chace reside, +Ingulf'd in earth, in conscious safety warm, +Till lo! a plot portends their coming harm. + +In earliest hours of dark unhooded morn, +Ere yet one rosy cloud bespeaks the dawn, +Whilst far abroad THE FOX pursues his prey, +He's doom'd to risk the perils of the day, +From his strong hold block'd out; perhaps to bleed, +Or owe his life to fortune or to speed. +For now the pack, impatient rushing on, +Range through the darkest coverts one by one; +Trace every spot; whilst down each noble glade +That guides the eye beneath a changeful shade, +The loit'ring sportsman feels th' instinctive flame, +And checks his steed to mark the springing game. +Midst intersecting cuts and winding ways +The huntsman cheers his dogs, and anxious strays +Where every narrow riding, even shorn, +Gives back the echo of his mellow horn: +Till fresh and lightsome, every power untried, +The starting fugitive leaps by his side, +His lifted finger to his ear he plies, +And the view halloo bids a chorus rise +Of dogs quick-mouth'd, and shouts that mingle loud, +As bursting thunder rolls from cloud to cloud. +With ears erect, and chest of vigorous mould, +O'er ditch, o'er fence, unconquerably bold, +The shining courser lengthens every bound, +And his strong foot-locks suck the moisten'd ground, +As from the confines of the wood they pour, +And joyous villages partake the roar. +O'er heath far stretch'd, or down, or valley low. +The stiff-limb'd peasant, glorying in the show, +Pursues in vain; where youth itself soon tires, +Spite of the transports that the chace inspires; +For who unmounted long can charm the eye, +Or hear the music of the leading cry? + +Poor faithful TROUNCER! thou canst lead no more; +All thy fatigues and all thy triumphs o'er! +Triumphs of worth, whose honorary fame +Was still to follow true the hunted game; +Beneath enormous oaks, Britannia's boast, +In thick impenetrable coverts lost, +When the warm pack in fault'ring silence stood, +Thine was the note that rous'd the list'ning wood, +Rekindling every joy with tenfold force, +Through all the mazes of the tainted course. +Still foremost thou the dashing stream to cross, +And tempt along the animated horse; +Foremost o'er fen or level mead to pass, +And sweep the show'ring dew-drops from the grass; +Then bright emerging from the mist below +To climb the woodland hill's exulting brow. + +Pride of thy race! with worth far less than thine, +Full many human leaders daily shine! +Less faith, less constancy, less gen'rous zeal!... +Then no disgrace mine humble verse shall feel; +Where not one lying line to riches bows, +Or poison'd sentiment from rancour flows; +Nor flowers are strewn around Ambition's car:... +An honest dog's a nobler theme by far. +Each sportsman heard the tidings with a sigh, +When Death's cold touch had stopt his tuneful cry; +And though high deeds, and fair exalted praise, +In memory liv'd, and flow'd in rustic lays, +Short was the strain of monumental woe: +"_Foxes, rejoice! here buried lies your foe.[A]_" +[Footnote A: Inscribed on a stone in Euston Park wall.] + +In safety hous'd, throughout NIGHT'S _length'ning_ reign, +The Cock sends forth a loud and piercing strain; +More frequent, as the glooms of midnight flee, +And hours roll round, that brought him liberty, +When Summer's early dawn, mild, clear, and bright, +Chas'd quick away the transitory night:... +Hours now in darkness veil'd; yet loud the scream +Of Geese impatient for the playful stream; +And all the feather'd tribe imprison'd raise +Their morning notes of inharmonious praise; +And many a clamorous Hen and cockrel gay, +When daylight slowly through the fog breaks way, +Fly wantonly abroad: but ah, how soon +The shades of twilight follow hazy noon, +Short'ning the busy day!... day that slides by +Amidst th' unfinish'd toils of HUSBANDRY; +Toils still each morn resum'd with double care, +To meet the icy terrors of the year; +To meet the threats of _Boreas_ undismay'd, +And _Winter's_ gathering frowns and hoary head. + +THEN welcome, COLD; welcome, ye _snowy_ nights! +Heaven midst your rage shall mingle pure delights, +And confidence of hope the soul sustain, +While devastation sweeps along the plain: +Nor shall the child of poverty despair, +But bless THE POWER that rules the _changing year_; +Assur'd,... tho' horrors round his cottage reign,... +That _Spring_ will come, and Nature smile again. + + + +WINTER. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Tenderness to cattle. Frozen turnips. The cow-yard. Night. +The farm-house. Fire-side. Farmer's advice and instruction. Nightly cares +of the stable. Dobbin. The post-horse. Sheep-stealing dogs. Walks +occasioned thereby. The ghost. Lamb time. Returning Spring. Conclusion._ + + +[Illustration] + + + + WINTER. + + +IV. + +With kindred pleasures mov'd, and cares opprest, +Sharing alike our weariness and rest; +Who lives the daily partner of our hours, +Thro' every change of heat, and frost, and show'rs; +Partakes our cheerful meals, partaking first +In mutual labour and in mutual thirst; +The kindly intercourse will ever prove +A bond of amity and social love. +To more than man this generous warmth extends, +And oft the team and shiv'ring herd befriends; +Tender solicitude the bosom fills, +And Pity executes what Reason wills: +Youth learns compassion's tale from every tongue, +And flies to aid the helpless and the young; + +When now, unsparing as the scourge of war, +Blasts follow blasts, and groves dismantled roar, +Around their home the storm-pinch'd CATTLE lows, +No nourishment in frozen pastures grows; +Yet frozen pastures every morn resound +With fair abundance thund'ring to the ground. +For though on hoary twigs no buds peep out, +And e'en the hardy bramble cease to sprout, +Beneath dread WINTER'S level sheets of snow +The sweet nutritious _Turnip_ deigns to grow. +Till now imperious want and wide-spread dearth +Bid Labour claim her treasures from the earth. +On GILES, and such as Giles, the labour falls, +To strew the frequent load where hunger calls. +On driving gales sharp hail indignant flies, +And sleet, more irksome still, assails his eyes; +Snow clogs his feet; or if no snow is seen, +The field with all its juicy store to screen, +Deep goes the frost, till every root is found +A rolling mass of ice upon the ground. +No tender ewe can break her nightly fast, +Nor heifer strong begin the cold repast, +Till _Giles_ with pond'rous beetle foremost go, +And scatt'ring splinters fly at every blow; +When pressing round him, eager for the prize, +From their mixt breath warm exhalations rise. + +If now in beaded rows drops deck the spray, +While _Phoebus_ grants a momentary ray, +Let but a cloud's broad shadow intervene, +And stiffen'd into gems the drops are seen; +And down the furrow'd oak's broad southern side +Streams of dissolving rime no longer glide. + +THOUGH NIGHT approaching bids for rest prepare, +Still the flail echoes through the frosty air, +Nor stops till deepest shades of darkness come, +Sending at length the weary laborer home. +From him, with bed and nightly food supplied, +Throughout the yard, hous'd round on every side, +Deep-plunging Cows their rustling feast enjoy, +And snatch sweet mouthfuls from the passing boy, +Who moves unseen beneath his trailing load, +Fills the tall racks, and leaves a scatter'd road; +Where oft the swine from ambush warm and dry +Bolt out, and scamper headlong to their sty, +When _Giles_ with well-known voice, already there, +Deigns them a portion of his evening care. + +_Him_, though the cold may pierce, and storms molest, +Succeeding hours shall cheer with warmth and rest: + +[Illustration] + +Gladness to spread, and raise the grateful smile, +He hurls the faggot bursting from the pile, +And many a log and rifted trunk conveys, +To heap the fire, and to extend the blaze +That quiv'ring strong through every opening flies, +Whilst smoaky columns unobstructed rise. +For the rude architect, unknown to fame, +(Nor symmetry nor elegance his aim) +Who spread his floors of solid oak on high, +On beams rough-hewn, from age to age that lie, +Bade his _wide Fabric_ unimpair'd sustain +_Pomona's_ store, and cheese, and golden grain; +Bade from its central base, capacious laid, +The well-wrought chimney rear its lofty head; +Where since hath many a savoury ham been stor'd, +And tempests howl'd, and Christmas gambols roar'd. + +FLAT on the _hearth_ the glowing embers lie, +And flames reflected dance in every eye: +There the long billet, forc'd at last to bend, +While frothing sap gushes at either end, +Throws round its welcome heat:... the ploughman smiles, +And oft the joke runs hard on sheepish _Giles_, +Who sits joint tenant of the corner-stool, +The converse sharing, though in duty's school; +For now attentively 'tis his to hear +Interrogations from the Master's chair. + +'LEFT ye your bleating charge, when daylight fled, +'Near where the hay-stack lifts its snowy head? +'Whose fence of bushy furze, so close and warm, +'May stop the slanting bullets of the storm. +'For, hark! it blows; a dark and dismal night: +'Heaven guide the traveller's fearful steps aright! +'Now from the woods, mistrustful and sharp-ey'd, +'The _Fox_ in silent darkness seems to glide, +'Stealing around us, list'ning as he goes, +'If chance the Cock or stamm'ring cockerel crows, +'Or Goose, or nodding Duck, should darkling cry, +'As if appriz'd of lurking danger nigh: +'Destruction waits them, _Giles_, if e'er you fail +'To bolt their doors against the driving gale. +'Strew'd you (still mindful of the unshelter'd head) +'Burdens of straw, the cattle's welcome bed? +'Thine heart should feel, what thou may'st hourly see, +'_That duty's basis is humanity._ +'Of pain's unsavoury cup tho' thou may'st taste, +'(The wrath of Winter from the bleak north-east,) +'Thine utmost suff'rings in the coldest day +'A period terminates, and joys repay. +'Perhaps e'en now, while here those joys we boast, +'Full many a bark rides down the neighb'ring coast, +'Where the high northern waves tremendous roar, +'Drove down by blasts from _Norway's_ icy shore. +'The _Sea-boy_ there, less fortunate than thou, +'Feels all thy pains in all the gusts that blow; +'His freezing hands now drench'd, now dry, by turns; +'Now lost, now seen, the distant light that burns, +'On some tall cliff uprais'd, a flaming guide, +'That throws its friendly radiance o'er the tide. +'His labours cease not with declining day, +'But toils and perils mark his watry way; +'And whilst in peaceful dreams secure _we_ lie, +'The ruthless whirlwinds rage along the sky, +'Round his head whistling;... and shall thou repine, +'While this protecting roof still shelters thine?' + +Mild, as the vernal show'r, his words prevail, +And aid the moral precept of his tale: +His wond'ring hearers learn, and ever keep +These first ideas of the restless deep; +And, as the opening mind a circuit tries, +Present felicities in value rise. +Increasing pleasures every hour they find, +The warmth more precious, and the shelter kind; +Warmth that long reigning bids the eyelids close, +As through the blood its balmy influence goes, +When the cheer'd heart forgets fatigues and cares, +And drowsiness alone dominion bears. + +Sweet then the ploughman's slumbers, hale and young, +When the last topic dies upon his tongue; +Sweet then the bliss his transient dreams inspire, +Till chilblains wake him, or the snapping fire: + +He starts, and ever thoughtful of his team, +Along the glitt'ring snow a feeble gleam +Shoots from his lantern, as he yawning goes +To add fresh comforts to their night's repose; +Diffusing fragrance as their food he moves +And pats the jolly sides of those he loves. +Thus full replenish'd, perfect ease possest, +From night till morn alternate food and rest, +No rightful cheer withheld, no sleep debar'd, +Their each day's labour brings its sure reward. +Yet when from plough or lumb'ring cart set free, +They taste awhile the sweets of liberty: +E'en sober _Dobbin_ lifts his clumsy heels +And kicks, disdainful of the dirty wheels; +But soon, his frolic ended, yields again +To trudge the road, and wear the clinking chain. + +Short-sighted DOBBIN!... thou canst only see +The trivial hardships that _encompass_ thee: +Thy chains were freedom, and thy toils repose, +Could the poor _post-horse_ tell thee all his woes; +Shew thee his bleeding shoulders, and unfold +The dreadful anguish he endures for gold: +Hir'd at each call of business, lust, or rage, +That prompt the trav'eller on from stage to stage. +Still on _his_ strength depends their boasted speed; +For them his limbs grow weak, his bare ribs bleed; +And though he groaning quickens at command, +Their extra shilling in the rider's hand +Becomes his bitter scourge:... 'tis _he_ must feel +The double efforts of the lash and steel; +Till when, up hill, the destin'd inn he gains, +And trembling under complicated pains, +Prone from his nostrils, darting on the ground, +His breath emitted floats in clouds around: +Drops chase each other down his chest and sides, +And spatter'd mud his native colour hides: +Thro' his swoln veins the boiling torrent flows, +And every nerve a separate torture knows. +His harness loos'd, he welcomes eager-eyed +The pail's full draught that quivers by his side; +And joys to see the well-known stable door, +As the starv'd mariner the friendly shore. + +Ah, well for him if here his suff'rings ceas'd, +And ample hours of rest his pains appeas'd! +But rous'd again, and sternly bade to rise, +And shake refreshing slumber from his eyes, +Ere his exhausted spirits can return, +Or through his frame reviving ardour burn, +Come forth he must, tho' limping, maim'd, and sore; +He hears the whip; the chaise is at the door:... +The collar tightens, and again he feels +His half-heal'd wounds inflam'd; again the wheels +With tiresome sameness in his ears resound, +O'er blinding dust, or miles of flinty ground. +Thus nightly robb'd, and injur'd day by day, +His piece-meal murd'rers wear his life away. + +What say'st thou, _Dobbin?_ what though hounds await +With open jaws the moment of thy fate, +No better fate attends _his_ public race; +His life is misery, and his end disgrace. +Then freely bear thy burden to the mill; +Obey but one short law,... thy driver's will. +Affection, to thy memory ever true, +Shall boast of mighty loads that _Dobbin_ drew; +And back to childhood shall the mind with pride +Recount thy gentleness in many a ride +To pond, or field, or village fair, when thou +Held'st high thy braided mane and comely brow; +And oft the Tale shall rise to homely fame +Upon thy gen'rous spirit and thy name. + +Though faithful to a proverb, we regard +The midnight chieftain of the farmer's yard, +Beneath whose guardianship all hearts rejoice, +Woke by the echo of his hollow voice; +Yet as the Hound may fault'ring quit the pack, +Snuff the foul scent, and hasten yelping back; +And e'en the docile Pointer know disgrace, +Thwarting the gen'ral instinct of his race; +E'en so the MASTIFF, or the meaner Cur, +At times will from the path of duty err, +(A pattern of fidelity by day; +By night a _murderer_, lurking for his prey); +And round the pastures or the fold will creep, +And, coward-like, attack the peaceful _sheep_: +Alone the wanton mischief he pursues, +Alone in reeking blood his jaws imbrues; +Chasing amain his fright'ned victims round, +Till death in wild confusion strews the ground; +Then wearied out, to kennel sneaks away, +And licks his guilty paws till break of day. + +The deed discover'd, and the news once spread, +Vengeance hangs o'er the unknown culprit's head: +And careful _Shepherds_ extra hours bestow +In patient _watchings_ for the common foe; +A foe most dreaded now, when rest and peace +Should wait the season of the flock's increase. + +In part these nightly terrors to dispel, +GILES, ere he sleeps, his little Flock must tell. +From the fire-side with many a shrug he hies, +Glad if the full-orb'd Moon salute his eyes, +And through the unbroken stillness of the night +Shed on his path her beams of cheering light. +With saunt'ring step he climbs the distant stile, +Whilst all around him wears a placid smile; +There views the white-rob'd clouds in clusters driv'n, +And all the glorious pageantry of heav'n. +Low, on the utmost bound'ry of the sight, +The rising vapours catch the silver light; +Thence Fancy measures, as they parting fly, +Which first will throw its shadow on the eye, +Passing the source of light; and thence away, +Succeeded quick by brighter still than they. +For yet above these wafted clouds are seen +(In a remoter sky, still more serene,) +Others, detach'd in ranges through the air, +Spotless as snow, and countless as they're fair; +Scatter'd immensely wide from east to west, +The beauteous 'semblance of a _Flock_ at rest. +These, to the raptur'd mind, aloud proclaim +Their MIGHTY SHEPHERD'S everlasting Name. + +Whilst thus the loit'rer's utmost stretch of soul +Climbs the still clouds, or passes those that roll, +And loos'd _Imagination_ soaring goes +High o'er his home, and all his little woes, +TIME glides away; neglected Duty calls: +At once from plains of light to earth he falls, +And down a narrow lane, well known by day, +With all his speed pursues his sounding way, +In thought still half absorb'd, and chill'd with cold; +When, lo! an object frightful to behold; +A grisly SPECTRE, cloth'd in silver-gray, +Around whose feet the waving shadows play, +Stands in his path!... He stops, and not a breath +Heaves from his heart, that sinks almost to death. +Loud the owl halloos o'er his head unseen; +All else is silent, dismally serene: +Some prompt ejaculation, whisper'd low, +Yet bears him up against the threat'ning foe; +And thus poor Giles, though half inclin'd to fly, +Mutters his doubts, and strains his stedfast eye. +''Tis not my crimes thou com'st here to reprove; +'No murders stain my soul, no perjur'd love: +'If thou'rt indeed what here thou seem'st to be, +'Thy dreadful mission cannot reach to me. +'By parents taught still to mistrust mine eyes, +'Still to approach each object of surprise +'Lest Fancy's formful visions should deceive +'In moon-light paths, or glooms of falling eve, +'This then's the moment when my heart should try +'To scan thy motionless deformity; +'But oh, the fearful task! yet well I know +'An aged ash, with many a spreading bough, +'(Beneath whose leaves I've found a Summer's bow'r, +'Beneath whose trunk I've weather'd many a show'r,) +'Stands singly down this solitary way, +'But far beyond where now my footsteps stay. +'Tis true, thus far I've come with heedless haste; +'No reck'ning kept, no passing objects trac'd:... +'And can I then have reach'd that very tree? +'Or is its reverend form assum'd by thee?' +The happy thought alleviates his pain: +He creeps another step; then stops again; +Till slowly, as his noiseless feet draw near, +Its perfect lineaments at once appear; +Its crown of shiv'ring ivy whispering peace, +And its white bark that fronts the moon's pale face. +Now, whilst his blood mounts upward, now he knows +The solid gain that from conviction flows; +And strengthen'd Confidence shall hence fulfill +(With conscious Innocence more valued still) +The dreariest task that winter nights can bring, +By church-yard dark, or grove, or fairy ring; +Still buoying up the timid mind of youth, +Till loit'ring Reason hoists the scale of Truth. +With these blest guardians _Giles_ his course pursues, +Till numbering his heavy-sided ewes, +Surrounding stillness tranquilize his breast, +And shape the dreams that wait his hours of rest. + +As when retreating tempests we behold, +Whose skirts at length the azure sky unfold, +And full of murmurings and mingled wrath, +Slowly unshroud the smiling face of earth, +Bringing the bosom joy: so WINTER flies!... +And see the Source of Life and Light uprise! +A height'ning arch o'er southern hills he bends; +Warm on the cheek the slanting beam descends, +And gives the reeking mead a brighter hue, +And draws the modest _primrose_ bud to view. +Yet frosts succeed, and winds impetuous rush, +And hail-storms rattle thro' the budding bush; +And night-fall'n LAMBS require the shepherd's care, +And teeming EWES, that still their burdens bear; +Beneath whose sides tomorrow's dawn may see +The milk-white strangers bow the trembling knee; +At whose first birth the pow'rful instinct's seen +That fills with champions the daisied green: +For ewes that stood aloof with fearful eye, +With stamping foot now men and dogs defy, +And obstinately faithful to their young, +Guard their first steps to join the bleating throng. + +But casualties and death from damps and cold +Will still attend the well-conducted fold: +Her tender offspring dead, the dam aloud +Calls, and runs wild amidst the unconscious crowd: +And orphan'd sucklings raise the piteous cry; +No wool to warm them, no defenders nigh. +And must her streaming milk then flow in vain? +Must unregarded innocence complain? +No;... ere this strong solicitude subside, +Maternal fondness may be fresh apply'd, +And the adopted stripling still may find +A parent most assiduously kind. +For this he's doom'd awhile disguis'd to range, +(For fraud or force must work the wish'd-for change;) +For this his predecessor's skin he wears, +Till cheated into tenderness and cares, +The unsuspecting dam, contented grown, +Cherish and guard the fondling as her own. + +Thus all by turns to fair perfection rise; +Thus twins are parted to increase their size: +Thus instinct yields as interest points the way, +Till the bright flock, augmenting every day, +On sunny hills and vales of springing flow'rs +With ceaseless clamour greet the vernal hours. + +The humbler _Shepherd_ here with joy beholds +The approv'd economy of crowded folds, +And, in his small contracted round of cares, +Adjusts the practice of each hint he hears: +For Boys with emulation learn to glow, +And boast their pastures, and their healthful show +Of well-grown Lambs, the glory of the Spring; +And field to field in competition bring. + +E'en GILES, for all his cares and watchings past, +And all his contests with the wintry blast, +Claims a full share of that sweet praise bestow'd +By gazing neighbours, when along the road, +Or village green, his curly-coated throng +Suspends the chorus of the spinner's song; +When Admiration's unaffected grace +Lisps from the tongue, and beams in every face: +Delightful moments!... Sunshine, Health, and Joy, +Play round, and cheer the elevated Boy! +'_Another_ SPRING!' his heart exulting cries; +'_Another_ YEAR! with promis'd blessings rise!... +'ETERNAL POWER! from whom those blessings flow, +'Teach me still more to wonder, more to know: +'_Seed-time_ and _Harvest_ let me see again; +'Wander the _leaf-strewn_ wood, _frozen_ plain: +'Let the first Flower, corn-waving Field, Plain, Tree, +'Here round my home, still lift my soul to THEE; +'And let me ever, midst thy bounties, raise +'An humble note of thankfulness and praise!'-- + +APRIL 22, 1798. + + + + NOTES + + +_A fav'rite morsel with the Rook, &c._ P. 9, l. 104. + +In these verses, which have much of picturesque, there is a severe charge +against _Rooks and Crows_, as very formidable depredators; and their +destruction, as such, seems to be recommended. Such was the prevalent +opinion some years back. It is less general now: and I am sure the +humanity of the Author, and his benevolence to Animals in general, will +dispose him to rejoice in whatever plea can be offered in stay of +execution of this sentence. And yet more so, if it shall appear that +ROOKS, at least, deserve not only mercy, but _protection_ and +_encouragement_ from the Farmer. + +I shall quote a passage from BEWICK'S interesting HISTORY of BIRDS: the +narrative part of which is often as full of information as the +embellishments cut in wood are beautiful.... It is this. + +Speaking of Birds of the PIE-KIND in general, he says "Birds of this kind +[Footnote: P. 63] are found in every part of the known world, from +Greenland to the Cape of Good Hope. In many respects they may be said to +be of singular benefit to mankind: principally by destroying great +quantities of noxious insects, worms, and reptiles. ROOKS, in particular, +are fond of the erucae of the _hedge-chaffer_, or chesnut _brown beetle_: +for which they search with indefatigable pains. These insects," he adds in +a note, "appear in hot weather in formidable numbers: disrobing the fields +and trees of their verdure, blossoms, and fruit; spreading desolation and +destruction wherever they go.... They appeared in great numbers in IRELAND +during a hot summer, and committed great ravages. In the year 1747 whole +meadows and corn-fields were destroyed by them in SUFFOLK. The decrease of +Rookeries in that County was thought to be the occasion of it. The many +Rookeries with us is in some measure the reason why we have so few of +these destructive animals."[Footnote: Wallis's History of Northumberland.] + +"Rooks," he subjoins, "are often accus'd of feeding on the corn just after +it has been sown, and various contrivances have been made both to kill and +frighten them away; but, in our estimation, the advantages deriv'd from +the destruction which they make among grubs, earth-worms, and noxious +insects of various kinds, will greatly overpay the injury done to the +future harvest by the small quantity of corn they may destroy in searching +after their favourite food." [Footnote: Mr. Bewick does not seem to have +been quite aware that much of this mischief, as I have been informed by a +sensible neighboring Farmer and Tenant, is done in the grub-state of the +chaffer by biting through the _roots_ of grass, &c. A latent, and +imperceptibly, but rapidly spreading mischief, against which the _rooks_ +and birds of similar instinct are, in a manner, the sole protection. C. +L.] + +"In general they are sagacious, active, and faithful to each other. They +live in pairs; and their mutual attachment is constant. They are a +clamorous race: mostly build in trees, and form a kind of society in which +there appears something like a regular government. A Centinel watches for +the general safety, and gives notice on the appearance of danger." + +Under the Title, "ROOKS," (p. 71) Mr. BEWICK repeats his observations on +the useful property of this Bird. + +I confess myself solicitous for their safety and kind treatment. +We have two which were lam'd by being blown down in a storm (a calamity +which destroys great numbers almost every spring). One of them is +perfectly domesticated. The other is yet more remarkable; since although +enjoying his natural liberty completely, he recognizes, even in his +flights at a distance from the house, his adoptive home, his human +friends, and early protectors. + +The ROOK is certainly a very beautiful and very sensible Bird; very +confiding, and very much attach'd. It will give me a pleasure, in which I +doubt not that the Author of this delightful Poem will partake, if any +thing here said shall avail them with the Farmer; and especially with the +SUFFOLK FARMER. + +C. L. + + + +_Destroys life's intercourse; the social plan._ P. 46, l. 341. + + +"Allowing for the imperfect state of sublunary happiness, which is +comparative at best, there are not, perhaps, many nations existing whose +situation is so desirable; where the means of subsistence are so easy, and +the wants of the people so few. The evident distinction of ranks, which +subsists at _Otaheite_, does not so materially affect the felicity of the +nation as we might have supposed. The simplicity of their whole life +contributes to soften the appearance of distinctions, and to reduce them +to a level. Where the climate and the custom of the country do not +absolutely require a perfec: garment; where it is easy at every step to +gather as many plants as form not only a decent, but likewise a customary +covering; and where all the necessaries of life are within the reach of +every individual, at the expence of a trifling labour; ambition and envy +must in a great measure be unknown. It is true, the highest classes of +people possess some dainty articles, such as pork, fish, fowl, and cloth, +almost exclusively; but the desire of indulging the appetite in a few +trifling luxuries can at most render individuals, and not whole nations, +unhappy. Absolute want occasions the miseries of the lower class in some +civiliz'd states, and is the result of the unbounded voluptuousness of +their superiors. At _Otaheite_ there is not, in general, that disparity +between the highest and the meanest man, that subsists in England between +a reputable tradesman and a labourer. The affection of the Otaheitans for +their chiefs, which they never fail'd to express upon all occasions, gave +us great reason to suppose that they consider themselves as one family, +and respect their eldest borm in the persons of their chiefs. The lowest +man in the nation speaks as freely with his king as with his equal, and +has the pleasure of seeing him as often as he likes. The king, at times, +amuses himself with the occupations of his subjects; and not yet deprav'd +by false notions of empty state, he often paddles his own canoe, without +considering such an employment derogatory to his dignity. How long such an +happy equality may last is uncertain: and how much the introduction of +foreign luxuries may hasten its dissolution cannot be too frequently +repeated to Europeans. If the knowledge of a few individuals can only be +acquired at such a price as the happiness of nations, it were better for +the discoverers and the discovered that the _South Sea_ had still remain'd +unknown to _Europe_ and its restless inhabitants." + +REFLECTIONS ON OTAHEITE: Cook's second Voyage. + + + +APPENDIX + +When the FIRST EDITION of this POEM appear'd in March last, I intimated a +design of accompanying it with some CEITICAL REMARKS. With that design +various Engagements have since greatly interfer'd. From one of the most +laborious and constant of those, that of the office of a Justice of the +Peace for the County of Suffolk, I am now discharg'd. Why those who are in +power have done this, they have not explain'd: and it being an office from +which any one who holds it is removable at _pleasure_, they are not call'd +to explain. Had it been for Crime or Misconduct as a Magistrate, of course +Trial and Conviction should have preceded my Removal. As it is, I feel, as +I have publicly declar'd, no shame in the removal. I have held an office +honorable because extensively useful; because unprofitable and burthensome +to the individual; because independently and conscientiously exercis'd, +with a devotion, such as it requir'd, of my time, my thoughts, and my best +faculties, daily to its discharge. My Collegues,--and they are and have +been, during a course of seventeen years, those of them who now act, and +those who are dead or absent, men with whom to have acted was indeed +satisfactory and pleasant,--my late Collegues part with me, and I with +them, regrettingly. Our reciprocal Esteem is not lessen'd by this +abruption of our official intercourse. And as every man who feels what +Society is, ought to determine to be serviceable to the Public, my removal +from this office neither weakens the determination, nor probably will be +found to have impair'd the means of effecting it. I am therefore well +content;--as I ought to be. I sought not the office. I have never sought +any. It solicited my acceptance; unask'd and unexpected. I owe my +appointment to the Duke of GRAFTON, very soon after I came to reside in +this County. He was then _Lord Lieutenant_. I have not yielded that +appointment to disgust; though there were those who were not sparing in +their endeavours to disgust me with it: I have not relinquished it to suit +my convenience; though in times like these an office of no little expence, +and which shut me out from sources of professional emolument, was to me +certainly not convenient: I have not consulted my ease or health by a +voluntary retirement. I am remov'd, I am superseded, I am struck out from +an office of incredible and hourly increasing anxiety. Circumstances like +this are not new. They have repeatedly taken place in relation to very +high offices; and the Public remembers men to whom they have happen'd +whose internal dignity and worth is above any official dignity. Had I felt +that I _merited_ to be remov'd, I should not have thought myself a fit +Editor of the FARMER'S BOY; a Poem which breathes every where modest +independence, benevolence, innocence, and virtue. As it is, I think myself +no way less fit than ever for any laudable and becoming employ. And I have +accordingly announc'd my intention of resuming my profession as a +BARRISTER. In the mean time, the leisure which has thus been thrown to me +may properly and usefully be devoted to the Remarks which I had before +meditated; and for which I had in some measure pledg'd myself to the +PUBLIC. + +The FIRST of these will naturally be that which relates to the _manner_ +and circumstances of the Composition. There is such proof in it of Genius +disregarding difficulty, and of powers of retention and arrangement, that +it will be believ'd I could not overpass it: and that it would have been +stated at the first if it had been then in my power to state it. + +I now lay it before the Public in the words of Mr. SWAN: who in a Letter +address'd to me in _The Ladies Museum_ of this Month, after congratulating +me on my "successful efforts," (and with such a Production to propose to +public Attention how could they be unsuccessful?) "in rescuing from +oblivion a Poem, which for the harmony of its numbers, the beauty of its +imagery, originality of thought, elegance and chasteness of diction, +(every circumstance consider'd,) stands unrivall'd in the Annals of +English Literature, and will descend to Posterity with increasing +celebrity," states the _motive_ on which he writes: (a motive well +meriting a Letter and a public statement:) "to throw light upon the manner +of the composition of the Farmer's Boy; which appears to him (and most +justly) no inconsiderable addition to the well-earn'd laurels of the +Author." + +For the pleasure of the view which it includes of the character and +manners of Mr. BLOOMFIELD, I shall, with the Author of this interesting +Letter, go beyond the mere fact; and give his narration of the cause and +manner of the _Discovery_, as well at the Discovery itself. + +Mr. SWAN thus expresses himself: + +"From the pleasure I receiv'd in reading the FARMER'S BOY, and from some +strange coincidences in the early part of Mr. Bloomfield's life with my +own, I was naturally enough anxious to become acquainted with the Author. +For this purpose I obtain'd his address, and found him ... the modest, the +unambitious person you describe; wondering at the praise and admiration +with which his Poem has been receiv'd; whose utmost ambition was to have +presented a fair copy to his aged Mother, as a pledge of filial affection, +and a picture of his juvenile avocations. So unexpected was the fame of +his production, that the whole of his good fortune appears to him as a +dream."--'I had no more idea,' says he, 'to be sent for by the Duke of +Grafton, and be so kindly and generously treated, than of the hour I shall +die.' + +"I gave him," Mr. SWAN continues, "my card of address, an invitation to my +house, and a sincere profession of friendship; if, among his numerous +admirers, and noble and royal patrons, the latter was worthy of +acceptance." + +"Last Sunday afternoon [Footnote: The Letter is dated 12 July, 1800.] I +was highly pleas'd with his company, and gratified and entertain'd with +his conversation.--Sir, he is all ... nay, more than you have describ'd." + +"Among other subjects of conversation respecting the _Farmer's Boy_, I +wish'd to be inform'd of his manner of composition. I enquir'd, as he +compos'd it in a garret, amid the bustle and noise of six or seven fellow +workmen, whether he us'd a slate; or wrote it on paper with a pencil, or +pen and ink. But what was my surprize when told that he had us'd +neither.--My business, during the greatest part of my life having led me +into the line of litterary pursuits, and made me acquainted with litterary +men, I am, consequently, pretty well inform'd of the methods us'd by +authors for the retention of their productions. We are told, if my +recollection is just, that Milton took his Daughters as his amanuenses; +that Savage, when his poverty precluded him the conveniency of pen, ink, +and paper, us'd to study in the streets, and go into shops to record the +productions of his fertile genius; that Pope, when on visits at Lord +Bolingbroke's, us'd to ring up the servants at any hour in the night for +pen and ink, to write any thought that struck his lively and wakeful +imagination; that Dr. Blacklock, though blind, had the happy faculty of +writing down, in a very legible hand, the chaste and elegant productions +of his Muse." + +"With these and many other methods of composition we are acquainted; but +that of a great part of _the Farmer's Boy_ stands, in my opinion, first on +the List of Litterary [Footnote: I have ventur'd to restore litterary to +that mode of spelling, with the double _t_, which the Analogy of our +language seems to require. L.] Phaenomena.--Sir, Mr. Bloomfield, either +from the contracted state of his pecuniary resources to purchase Paper, or +from other reasons, compos'd the latter part of his _Autumn_ and the whole +of his _Winter_ in his head, without committing one line to paper.--This +cannot fail to surprize the Litterary World: who are well acquainted with +the treacherousness of memory, and how soon the most happy ideas, for want +of sufficient quickness in noting down, are lost in the rapidity of +thought." + +"But this is not all.--He went still a step farther.--He not only compos'd +and committed that part of the work to his retentive memory, but he +corrected it all in his head. And, as he said, when it was thus +prepar'd,... _I had nothing to do but to write it down_." + +"By this new and wonderful mode of composition he studied and completed +his Farmer's Boy in a garret; among six or seven workmen, without their +ever suspecting any thing of the matter." + +"Sir, this to me was both new and wonderful: and induc'd me rather to +communicate the information to you through the medium of the Press than by +writing; that it may meet the eye of many, who will be equally struck and +pleas'd with the novelty of the idea as myself." + +I have on this part of the subject, only, after quoting thus much at +present from the Letter of Mr. SWAN, to add, that I entirely agree with +him, I believe, as to the force, clearness, and comprehensiveness of +intellect manifested by this experiment, and its success. + +I now pass to part of what has been fully and excellently said by Dr. +DRAKE of HADLEIGH, while investigating the merits of this astonishing +Rural Poem. + +In a Letter from HADLEIGH [Footnote: 9 March, 1800.] Dr. DRAKE had given +me this distinct and vivid representation of his general idea of the Poem. + +"I have read THE FARMER'S BOY with a mixture of astonishment and delight. +There is a pathetic simplicity in his sentiments and descriptions that +does honour to his head and heart." + +"His copies from Nature are truly original and faithful, and are touched +with the hand of a Master.... His versification occasionally displays an +energy and harmony which might decorate even the pages of a DARWIN." + +"The general characteristics of his Style, however, are sweetness and +ease. In short, I have no hesitation in declaring, that I think it, as a +Rural and descriptive Poem, superior to any production since the days of +THOMSON." + +"It wants no reference to its Author's uneducated poverty to render its +excellence the more striking; they are such as would confer durable Fame +on the first and most polish'd Poet in the Kingdom." + +I shall now take the liberty of extracting part of the CRITIQUE which Dr. +DRAKE, agreeably to his intimation to me, has made of the FARMER'S BOY in +his LITTERARY HOURS.[Footnote: Vol. II, Ess. xxxix, p. 444.] + +"From the pleasing duty of describing such a 'character' (meaning the +personal character of Mr. BLOOMFIELD) let us now turn our attention to +the species of composition of which his Poem is so perfect a specimen. It +has been observ'd in my sixteenth number that PASTORAL POETRY in this +country, with very few exceptions, has exhibited a tame and servile +adherence to classical imagery and costume; at the same time totally +overlooking that profusion of picturesque beauty, and that originality of +manner and peculiarity of employment, which our climate and our rustics +every where present." + +"A few Authors were mention'd in that Essay as having judiciously deviated +from the customary plan: to these may now be added the name of +_Boomfield_; the _Farmers Boy_, though not assuming the form of an +Eclogue, being peculiarly and exclusively, throughout, a _pastoral +Composition_; not like the Poem of _Thomson_, taking a wide excursion +through all the phenomena of the _Seasons_, but nearly limited to the +rural _occupation_ and business of the fields, the dairy, and the farm +yard." + +"As with these employments, however, the vicissitudes of the Year are +immediately and necessarily connected, Mr. Bloomfield has, with propriety, +divided his Poem into _Four_ Books, affixing to those Books the Titles of +the Seasons." + +"Such indeed are the merits of this Work, that in true _pastoral_ imagery +and simplicity I do not think any production can be put in competition +with it since the days of Theocritus." [Footnote: I have heard that the +opinion of no less a Judge than Dr. WATSON, Bishop of LLANDAFF, is by no +means short of the encomium implied in this comparison, high and ample as +it is. L.] + +"To that charming simplicity which particularizes the Grecian, are added +the individuality, [Footnote: Much of these qualities indeed is certainly +in _Theocritus_ also. L.] fidelity, and boldness of description, which +render Thomson so interesting to the lovers of Nature." + +"GESNER possesses the most engaging sentiment, and the most refin'd +simplicity of manners; but he wants that rustic wildness and naivete in +delineation characteristic of the Sicilian, and of the composition before +us." + +"WARNER and DRAYTON have much to recommend them: but they are very +unequal; and are devoid of the _sweet and pensive morality_ which pervade +almost every page of _the Farmers Boy_; nor can they establish any +pretensions to that fecundity in painting the oeconomy of rural life, +which this Poem, drawn from actual experience, so richly displays." + +"It is astonishing indeed what various and striking circumstances, +peculiar to the occupation of the _British Farmer_, and which are adapted +to all the purposes of the _pastoral_ Muse, had escaped our Poets, +previous to the publication of Mr. _Bloomfield's_ Work." + +"Those who are partial to the _Country_;--and where is the man of Genius +who feels not a delight approaching to ecstasy from the contemplation of +its scenery, and the happiness which its cultivation diffuses?--those who +have paid attention to the process of husbandry, and who view its +occurrences with interest; who are at the same time alive to all the +minutiae of the animal and vegetable creation; who mark + + '_How Nature paints for colours, how the Bee + Sits on the bloom, extracting liquid sweet_,' + +will derive from the study of this Poem a gratification the most permanent +and pure." + +Though I have thus largely extracted I cannot omit transferring hither the +ANALYSIS of the Poem, as given by Dr. Drake. + +"The _first_ Book, intitled _Spring_, opens with an appropriate +invocation. A transition is then made to the artless character of _Giles_, +the _Farmer's Boy_; after which the scene near _Euston_ in Suffolk is +describ'd, and an amiable portrait of Mr. _Austin_, immediately follows. + +"Seed-time, harrowing, the devastation of the rooks,[Footnote: I will not +say much: but I was glad to see since the second Edition of this Poem the +cause of the Rooks had again been advocated, in the _Newcastle Chronicle_. +L.] wood-scenery, the melody of birds, cows milking, and the operations of +the dairy, occupy the chief part of this Season: which is clos'd by a +beautiful Personification of the Spring and her attendants, and an +admirable delineation of the sportive pleasures of the young Lambs." + +"The _second_ Book, or _Summer_, commences with a characteristic sketch of +the prudent yet benevolent Farmer. The genial influence of the rain is +then welcom'd; to which succeeds a most delicious picture of a green and +woody covert with all its insect tribe. The ascension of the sky-lark, the +peaceful repose of _Giles_, a view of the ripening harvest, with some +moral reflections on Nature and her great Creator, are introduc'd: +follow'd by animated descriptions of reaping, gleaning, the honest +exultation of the Farmer, the beauty of the Country Girl, and the +wholesome refreshment of the field. Animals teazed by insects, the cruelty +of docking horses, the insolence of the gander, the apathy of the swine, +are drawn in a striking manner: and the Book concludes with masterly +pictures of a twilight repose, a midnight storm of thunder and lightning, +and views of the ancient and present mode of celebrating Harvest-home." + +"The _third_ Book, _Autumn_, is introduc'd with a delineation of forest +scenery, and pigs fattening on fallen acorns. Sketches of wild ducks and +their haunts, of hogs settling to repose in a wood, and of wheat sowing, +succeed. The sound of village bells suggests a most pleasing digression: +of which the church and its pastor, the rustic amusements of a Sunday, the +Village Maids, and a most pathetic description of a distracted Female, are +the prominent features. Returning to rural business, _Giles_ is drawn +guarding the rising wheat from birds:--his little hut, with his +preparation for the reception of his playmates, their treachery and his +disappointment, are conceiv'd and colour'd in an exquisite style. +Fox-hunting, the Fox-hound's epitaph, the long autumnal evenings, a +description of domestic fowl, and a welcome to the snowy nights of Winter, +form the concluding topics of this Season." + +"The _fourth_ Book, under the appellation of _Winter_, is usher'd in by +some humane injunctions for the treatment of storm-pinch'd cattle. The +frozen turnips are broken for them: and the cowyard at night is describ'd. +The conviviality of a Christmas evening, and the conversation round the +fire, with the admonitions from the Master's chair, are depicted in a +manner truly pleasing. The _Sea Boy_ and the _Farmers Boy_ are contrasted +with much effect: and the ploughman feeding his horses at night, with the +comparison between the cart-horse and post-horse, have great merit. The +mastiff turn'd sheep-biter is next delineated; succeeded by a description +of a moon-light night, and the appearance of a spectre." + +"The counting of the Sheep in the fold, and the adopted Lambs, are +beautiful paintings: and with the Triumph of GILES on the conclusion of +the Year, and his Address to the DEITY, the Book and Poem close." + +"Such are the Materials of which THE FARMER'S BOY is constructed. Several +of the topics, it will be perceiv'd, are new to Poetry; and of those which +are in their _title_ familiar to the readers of our descriptive Bards, it +will be found that the imagery and adjunctive circumstances are original, +and the effort of a mind practis'd in the rare art of selecting and +combining the most striking and picturesque features of an object." + +Dr. Drake after this well accounts for the poetic singularity that the +Poetry of _Thomson_ should have past through a mind so enthusiastically +enamor'd of it, without impairing the originality of its character, when +exercis'd on a subject so much leading to imitation. This he explains, and +justly, by the vivid impressions on a most sensible and powerful +imagination in his earliest youth, anterior to the study of any Poet. + +Dr. Drake expresses his astonishment at the VERSIFICATION and DICTION of +this Poem. And says most truly, "I am well aware that smooth and flowing +lines are of easy purchase, and the property of almost every poetaster of +the day: but the versification of Mr. _Bloomfield_ is of another +character; it displays beauties of the most positive kind, and those +witcheries of expression which are only to be acquir'd by the united +efforts of Genius and Study." + +"The _general_ characteristics of his versification are facility and +sweetness; that ease which is, in fact, the result of unremitted labour, +and one of the most valuable acquisitions of litterature. It displays +occasionally likewise a vigour and a brilliancy of polish that might +endure comparison with the high-wrought texture of the Muse of DARWIN. +From the nature of his subject, however, this splendid mode of decoration +could be us'd but with a sparing hand: and it is not one of his least +merits that his diction and harmony should so admirably correspond with +the scene which he has chosen." + +"To excel," Dr. DRAKE continues, "in rural IMAGERY, it is necessary that +the Poet should diligently study Nature for himself; and not peruse her as +is but too common, '_through the spectacles of Books_' [Footnote: The +happy illustration of DRYDEN in his admirable character of SHAKESPERE.] +He should trace her in all her windings, in her deepest recesses, in all +her varied forms. It was thus that LUCRETIUS and VIRGIL, that THOMSON and +COWPER were enabled to unfold their scenery with such distinctness and +truth: and on this plan, while wandering through his native fields, +attentive to '_each rural sight, each rural sound_,' has Mr. BLOOMFIELD +built his charming Poem." + +"It is a Work which proves how inexhaustible the features of the World we +inhabit: how from objects which the mass of mankind is daily accustom'd to +pass with indifference and neglect. GENIUS can still produce pictures the +most fascinating, and of the most interesting tendency. For it is not to +_imagery_ alone, though such as here depicted might ensure the meed of +Fame, that the Farmer's Boy will owe its value with us and with posterity. +A _Morality_ the most _pathetic_ and pure, the feelings of a heart alive +to all the tenderest duties of humanity and religion, consecrate its +glowing landscapes, and shed an interest over them, a spirit of devotion, +that calm and rational delight which the goodness and greatness of the +Creator ought ever to inspire." + +Dr. DRAKE confirms, by copious and very judicious _Extracts_ from the +various parts of the Poem, as they offer themselves to critical selection, +in accompanying the Farmer's Boy through the Circle of his year, the +Judgment which he has form'd with so much ability, taste, and feeling, and +has to agreeably express'd, of the Merits of our ENGLISH GEORGIC. And he +speaks in his _third_ and last Essay on it thus: + +"From the review we have now taken of THE FARMER'S BOY, it will be +evident, I think, that owing to its harmony and sweetness of +versification, its benevolence of sentiment, and originality of imagery, +it is entitled to rank very high in the class of descriptive and +_pastoral_ Poetry." + +He concludes with an highly animated and feeling anticipation of that +public attention to the Poem and to its Author, merited in every view, and +which already has manifested itself in such an extent. + +I understand there is a Paper on "_The Farmer's Boy_" in a Work lately +publish'd by Dr. ANDERSON; and assuredly from its subject well entitled to +attention, as well as from the abilities and public spirit of its +Editor;--AGRICULTURAL RECREATIONS. Where indeed with more appropriate +Honor could such a Poem be notic'd? + +In the _Critical Remarks_ I intended I find myself so much agreeing in +sentiment with Dr. Drake that I shall attempt little more than merely to +offer some few observations. One of these relates to the _coincidences_ of +thought and manner in the Farmer's Boy with other writings. These, as +would previously be expected from what has been said, are extremely few +indeed. And almost all that are particularly of moment in appreciating the +poetical excellences of the Work are most truly _coincidences_, and cannot +be otherwise consider'd. + +For the first of these which I shall mention I am indebted to WILLIAM +SMITH, Esq. of BURY, who had largely his share of Public Admiration, when +he sustain'd for many years with great skill and judgment, and great +natural advantages, almost every character of our Drama which had been +eminently favor'd by either Muse; and who now enjoys retirement with +honor and merited esteem. + +He mention'd to me in conversation, and since by Letter, a passage very +closely resembling one in the IDYLLIA of AUSONIUS. It is this in _Spring_. + + Like the torn flower the fair assemblage fly. + Ah, fallen _Rose_! sad emblem of their doom; + Frail as thyself, _they perish while they bloom_! I.v. 388-40. + +The passage to which Mr. Smith referr'd me is this. (It is not in my +Edition of _Ausonius_; but he sent me a Copy.) + + "Conquerimur, Natura, brevis quod Gratia florum est; + Ostentara oculis illico dona rapis. + Quam longa una dies aetas tarn longa rosarum, + Ques _pubescentes juncta senecta pressit_." + +ID. xiv. + +I am favor'd with a Translation made by Mr. SMITH in his very early days. +And hope that as a brother _Etonian_ he allows me to quote it. + + Nature, we grieve that thou giv'st flowers so gay, + Then snatchest Gifts thou shew'st so swift away. + A Day's a Rose's Life.--_How quickly meet_, + Sweet Flower, _thy Blossom and thy Winding sheet_! + +In the _Procession_ of SPRING there is a fine series of allegorical +Images. + + Advancing SPRING profusely spreads abroad + _Flowers of kinds, with sweetest fragrance stor'd_: + Where she treads LOVE gladdens every plain; + _Delight_ on tip-toe beats her lucid train; + Sweet _Hope_ with conscious brow _before_ her flies, + Anticipating wealth from summer skies. + +I. v. 271--6. + +Compare now this of LUCRETIUS. + + It VER et VENUS et Veneris _praenuntius ante_ + Prunatus _graditur_ Zephyrus vestigia propter. + FLORA quibus mater praespergens, ante viai + Cuncta coloribus egregiis et odoribus opplet. + +DE NAT. RES. L. V. v. 736-9. +Ed. Brindley 1749. + + There SPRING, and VENUS, and her Harbinger, + Near to her moves the winged Zephyrus, + For whom maternal FLORA strews the way + _With Flowers of every charming scent and hue_. + +Or in the very words of BLOOMFIELD, + + Flowers of all hues with sweetest fragrance stor'd. + +_Hope_ here occupies the place of _Zephyrus_. DELIGHT on tip-toe +supporting the _lucid_ train of _Spring_,--the image and attitude so full +of life and beauty,--is our Poet's own. And what Poet, what _Painter_, +would not have been proud of it? + +In another passage, + + The splendid raiment of the Spring peeps forth + Her universal Green-- + +This of Lucretius will be found to have much similitude: + + Camposque per omnes + Florida fulserunt viridami prata colore. + +782, 3. + + _O'er every plain + The flowery meadows beam with verdant hue._ + +And that exceedingly fine verse, + + _All Nature feels her venorating sway_, + +calls to mind the ever-memorable exordium of the _Roman_ Poet. + +If we admire the imitative force of this line in the epic majesty of +Virgilian numbers, + + Quadrupedante putrem sonitu qualit ungula campum: + + _Shakes the resounding hoof the trembling plain:_ + +shall we not admire the imitative harmony of this; attun'd certainly with +not less felicity to the sweetness of the pastoral reed, + + _The green turf trembling as they bound along._ + +The pause on the first syllable of the verse has been an admir'd beauty in +Homer and Milton. + + + [Greek: Nux ech d'espchsen enchos.] II. + + And over them triumphant Death his dart + Shook, but delay'd to strike. P.L. + +We have this beauty,--coinciding with the best examples, though underiv'd +from them,--in a cadence of most pathetic softness. + + Joys which the gay companions of her prime + Sip, as they drift along the stream of time. + +III. v. 169, 70. + +The beautiful Description of the Swine and Pigs feeding on fallen Acorns +reminds me of a most picturesque one, not now at hand, in GILPIN on +_Forest Scenery_. + +The turn of this thought, + + Say not, I'll come and cheer thy gloomy cell. + +III. v. 241, &c. + +I believe is from Scripture. Prov. iii. 28. And so I think certainly is +that, + + 'Till Folly's wages, wounds and thorns, they reap. + +III. 37. + +But the most remarkable of all, and where I had no expectation of finding +a similitude, is in near the close of the _Winter_. + + Far yet above these wafted clouds are seen + (In a remoter sky yet more serene) + Others, detach'd in ranges through the air, + Spotless as snow, and countless as they're fair; + Scatter'd immensely wide from east to west, + _The beauteous semblance of a Flock at rest_. + +IV. 255--60. + +In HERCULES the LION-SLAYER there is this passage: + + ........ Tad epaeluthe piona maela, + Ech soianaes anionia mei aulia ie saechsie, + Ayiar epeiia soes, mala muriai, akkai ep allais + Erchomenai phainonth, osei NEPHE HYDATOENTA + 'Hossat' en thrano eisi elaunomena prolepose + Aee Noloioio ziae ae Thraekos Boreao. + Ton meni thlis arithmos en aeeri ginei ionion, + Oui anusis lisa gar ie meia proloioi chulindei + Is anemth, iade i alla chorusselai authis ep allois + Toss aiei melopisthe zoon epi zthcholi aeei. + Pan dar eneplaesthae pedion, pasaile cheleuthai, + Aaeidos erchomenaes. + +HAERAKL. LEONTOPH. + +Idyll. Theocrito adscriptum. Brunckii Analect. I. 360. + + ........ On came the comely sheep, + From feed returning to their pens and fold. + And these the _Kine_, in multitudes, succeed; + One on the other rising to the eye; + As watery CLOUDS which in the Heavens are seen, + Driven by the south or Thracian _Boreas, + And, numberless, along the sky they glide:_ + Nor cease; so many doth the powerful Blast + Speed foremost, and so many, fleece on fleece, + Successive rise, reflecting varied light + So still the herds of Kine successive drew + A far extended line: and fill'd the plain, + And all the pathways, with the coming troop. + + * * * * * + +I may possibly enlarge these Remarks in a future Edition. At present I am +happy to be stopt here, by so good a cause as the urgency of the +Publishers to complete a Third Edition; they informing me that the second +is entirely out of print. But it is pleasant to see these Coincidences +with CLASSIC POETS of other days and Nations in a CLASSIC of our own, of +the best School: + + "_The fields his study, Nature was his book_." + +C.L. + +TROSTON, 22 Aug. 1800. + + +THE END. + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Farmer's Boy, by Robert Bloomfield + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FARMER'S BOY *** + +***** This file should be named 9092.txt or 9092.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/9/0/9/9092/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Charles Bidwell and Distributed +Proofreaders + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at + www.gutenberg.org/license. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 +North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email +contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the +Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/9092.zip b/9092.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b9d8b87 --- /dev/null +++ b/9092.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1a0947d --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #9092 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9092) diff --git a/old/7farm10.txt b/old/7farm10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7e7c83f --- /dev/null +++ b/old/7farm10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3569 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Farmer's Boy, by Robert Bloomfield + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The Farmer's Boy + A Rural Poem + +Author: Robert Bloomfield + +Release Date: October, 2005 [EBook #9092] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on September 4, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FARMER'S BOY *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Charles Bidwell and Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +[Illustration] + + + THE FARMER'S BOY; + + A RURAL POEM. + + By ROBERT BLOOMFIELD. + + +"A SHEPHERD'S BOY ... HE SEEKS NO BETTER NAME." + + +The Third Edition + +LONDON: +Printed for Vernor and Hood, Poultry +and sold by T.C. Rickman, 7, Upper Mary-Le-Bone-Street; +Ingram, and Dingle, Bury; Booth, Norwich; Hill, Edinburgh; +Archer, and Dugdale, Dublin. + +MDCCC + + + +A sonnet has come to my hands, the production,--and nearly the first +poetical Production,--of a very young Lady. I have not the Author's +consent to publish it: and there is no time to ask it. But I cannot omit +adding such a flower to the Wreath of Glory of my Friend. I have therefore +ventured to publish it without waiting permission; with one or two slight +alterations. + +C. L. + +25 Aug. 1800. + + + +TO THE AUTHOR OF +THE FARMER'S BOY. + +I. + +_If wealth, if honour, at command were mine, + And every boast Ambition could desire, +The pompous Gifts, sweet Bard, I would resign + For the aft Music of thy tuneful Lyre,_ + +II. + +_Which speaks the soul awake to every charm + That Nature open'd from thy humble cot: +Speaks powers chill Indigence could not disarm; + Proof to Humanity's severest lot._ + +III. + +_Thou Friend to Nature, and of Man the Friend; + Of every generous and benignant cause; +The accents of thy glowing worth, unfeign'd, + Live in the cadence of each feeling pause. +Here thought, alternate, in the noble Plan +Admires the POET, and reveres the Man._ + +25 Aug. 1800. + + + + +PREFACE + +Having the satisfaction of introducing to the Public this very pleasing +and characteristic POEM, the FARMER'S BOY, I think it will be agreeable to +preface it with a short Account of the manner in which it came into my +hands: and, which will be much more interesting to every Reader, a little +History of the Author, which has been communicated to me by his Brother, +and which I shall very nearly transcribe as it lies before me. + +In _November_ last year [Footnote: This was written in 1799.] I receiv'd a +MS. which I was requested to read, and to give my opinion of it. It had +before been shewn to some persons in _London_: whose indifference toward +it may probably be explain'd when it is consider'd that it came to their +hands under no circumstances of adventitious recommendation. With some a +person must be rich, or titled, or fashionable as a literary name, or at +least fashionable in some respect, good or bad, before any thing which he +can offer will be thought worthy of notice. + +I had been a little accustom'd to the effect of prejudices: and I was +determin'd to judge, in the only just and reasonable way, of the Work, by +the Work itself. + +At first I confess, seeing it divided into the four Seasons, I had to +encounter a prepossession not very advantageous to any writer: that the +Author was treading in a path already so admirably trod by THOMSON; and +might be adding one more to an attempt already so often, but so +injudiciously and unhappily made, of transmuting that noble Poem from +Blank Verse into Rhime; ... from its own pure native Gold into an alloyed +Metal of incomparably less splendor, permanence, and worth. + +I had soon, however, the pleasure of finding myself reliev'd from that +apprehension: and of discovering, that, although the delineation of RURAL +SCENERY naturally branches itself into these divisions, there was little +else except the General Qualities of a musical ear, flowing numbers, +Feeling, Piety, poetic Imagery and Animation, a taste for the picturesque, +a true sense of the natural and pathetic, force of thought, and liveliness +of imagination, which were in common between Thomson and this Author. And +these are qualities which whoever has the eye, the heart, the awakened and +surrounding intellect, and the diviner sense of the Poet, which alone can +deserve the name, must possess. + +But, with these general Characters of true Poetry, "_The Farmer's Boy_" +has, as I have said, a character of its own. It is discriminated as much +as the circumstances and habits, and situation, and ideas consequently +associated, which are so widely diverse in the two Authors, could make it +different. Simplicity, sweetness, a natural tenderness, that _molle atque +facetum_ which HORACE celebrates in the Eclogues of VIRGIL, will be found +to belong to it. + +I intend some farther and more particular CRITICAL REMARKS on this +charming Performance. But I now pass to the Account of the Author himself, +as given me by his Brother:... a Man to whom also I was entirely a +stranger:... but whose Candor, good Sense, and brotherly Affection, appear +in this Narrative; and of the justness of whose Understanding, and the +Goodness of his Heart, I have had many Proofs, in consequence of a +correspondence with him on different occasions which have since arisen, +when this had made me acquainted with him, and interested me in his +behalf. + +In writing to me, Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD, who is a Shoemaker also, as his +Brother, and lives at BURY, thus expresses himself. + +"As I spent five years with the Author, from the time he was thirteen +years and a half old [Footnote: This by farther recollection has since +been discover'd and stated by Mr. G. and Mr. R. BLOOMFIELD not to be quite +exact. See p. viii. C. L.] till he was turned of eighteen, the most +interesting time of life (I mean the time that instruction is acquir'd, if +acquir'd at all), I think I am able to give a better account of him than +any one can, or than he can of himself: for his Modesty would not let him +speak of his Temper, Disposition, or Morals." + +"ROBERT was the younger Child of GEORGE BLOOMFIELD, a _Taylor_, at +HONINGTON. [Footnote: This Village is between _Euston_ and _Troston_, and +about eight miles N E. of _Bury_. L.] His Father died when he was an +infant under a year old. [Footnote: Our Author was born, as his Mother has +obligingly informed me, 3 _Dec_. 1766. L.] His Mother [Footnote: +ELIZABETH, Daughter of ROBERT MANBY. Vide Note at the end of this +Preface.] was a Schoolmistress, and instructed her own Children with the +others. He thus learn'd to read as soon as he learn'd to speak." + +"Though the Mother was left a Widow with six small Children, yet with the +help of Friends she manag'd to give each of them a little schooling." + +"ROBERT was accordingly sent to Mr. RODWELL, [Footnote: This respectable +Man is senior Clerk to the Magistrates of the Hundred of BLACKBOURN, in +which Honington is situated, and has conducted himself with great +propriety in this and other public employments. L.] of Ixworth, to be +improved in _Writing_: but he did not go to that School more than two or +three months, nor was ever sent to any other; his Mother again marrying +when ROBERT was about seven years old." + +"By her second Husband, JOHN GLOVER, she had another Family." + +"When _Robert_ was not above _eleven_ years old, the late Mr. W. AUSTIN, +of SAPISTON, [Footnote: This little Village adjoins to HONINGTON. L.] took +him. And though it is customary for Farmers to pay such Boys only 1s. 6d. +per week, yet he generously took him into the house. This reliev'd his +Mother of any other expence than only of finding him a few things to wear: +and this was more than she well knew how to do." + +"She wrote therefore," Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD continues, "to me and my Brother +NAT (then in London), to assist her; mentioning that he, ROBERT, was so +small of his age that Mr. AUSTIN said he was not likely to be able to get +his living by hard labour." + +Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD on this inform'd his Mother that, if she would let him +take the Boy with him, he would take him, and teach him to make shoes: and +NAT promis'd to clothe him. The Mother, upon this offer, took coach and +came to LONDON, to Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD, with the Boy: for she said, she +never should have been happy if she had not put him herself into his +hands. + +"She charg'd me," he adds, "_as I valued a Mothers Blessing, to watch over +him, to set good Examples for him, and never to forget that he had lost +his Father_." I religiously confine myself to Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD'S own +words; and think I should wrong all the parties concern'd if in mentioning +this pathetic and successful Admonition, I were to use any other. He came +from Mr. AUSTIN'S 29 _June_ 1781. [Footnote: This date of his coming to +Town is added by Mr. BLOOMFIELD himself since the first Edition.] + +Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD then lived at Mr. _Simm's_, No. 7, _Pitcher's-court, +Bell-alley, Coleman-street_. "It is customary," he continues, "in such +houses as are let to poor people in _London_, to have light Garrets fit +for Mechanics to work in. In the Garret, where we had two turn-up Beds, +and five of us worked, I received little ROBERT." + +"As we were all single Men, Lodgers at a Shilling per week each, oar beds +were coarse, and all things far from being clean and snug, like what +_Robert_ had left at SAPISTON. _Robert_ was our man, to fetch all things +to hand. At Noon he fetch'd our Dinners from the Cook's Shop: and any one +of our fellow workmen that wanted to have any thing fetched in, would send +him, and assist in his work and teach him, for a recompense for his +trouble." + +"Every day when the Boy from the Public-house came for the pewter pots, +and to hear what Porter was wanted, he always brought the yesterday's +_Newspaper_. [Footnote: There was then, neither as a resource for the +exigencies of finance, nor as a Principle of supposed Policy, that unhappy +Check which prevails now on the circulation of _Newspapers_, and other +means of _popular_ Information. L.] The _reading_ of the Paper we had been +us'd to take by turns; but after _Robert_ came, he mostly read for us,... +because his time was of least value." + +"He frequently met with words that he was unacquainted with: of this he +often complain'd. I one day happen'd at a Book-stall to see a small +Dictionary, which had been very ill us'd. I bought it for him for 4d. By +the help of this he in little time could read and comprehend the long and +beautiful speeches of BURKE, FOX, or NORTH. + +"One Sunday, after an whole day's stroll in the country, we by accident +went into a dissenting _Meeting-house_ in the _Old Jewry_, where a +Gentleman was lecturing. This Man fill'd _Robert_ with astonishment. The +House was amazingly crowded with the most genteel people; and though we +were forc'd to stand still in the aisle, and were much press'd, yet +_Robert_ always quicken'd his steps to get into the Town on a Sunday +evening soon enough to attend this Lecture. + +"The Preacher lived somewhere at the West End of the Town ... his name was +FAWCET. His language," says Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD, "was just such as the +_Rambler_ is written in; his Action like a person acting a Tragedy; his +Discourse rational, and free from the Cant of Methodism. + +"Of him _Robert_ learn'd to accent what he call'd _hard_ words; and +otherwise improv'd himself; and gain'd the most enlarg'd notions of +PROVIDENCE. + +"He went sometimes with me to a _Debating Society_ +[Footnote: It is another of the Constitutional Refinements of these times +to have fetter'd, and as to every valuable purpose, silenc'd, these +Debating Societies. They were at least, to say the lowest of them, far +better amusements than drunkenness, gambling, or fighting. They were no +useless Schools to some of our very celebrated Speakers at the Bar and in +Parliament: and, what is of infinitely more importance, they contributed +to the diffusion of Political Knowledge and Public Sentiment. L.] +at _Coachmaker's-hall_, but not often; and a few times to _Covent-garden +Theatre_. These are all the opportunities he ever had to learn from Public +Speakers. As to _Books_, he had to wade through two or three Folios: an +_History of England, British Traveller_, and a _Geography_. But he always +read them as a task, or to oblige us who bought them. And as they came in +sixpenny numbers weekly, he had about as many hours to read as other boys +spend in play." + +"I at that time," proceeds his Brother, "read the _London Magazine_; and +in that work about two sheets were set apart for a _Review ... Robert_ +seem'd always eager to read this Review. Here he could see what the +Literary Men were doing, and learn how to judge of the merits of the Works +that came out. And I observ'd that he always looked at the _Poet's +Corner_. And one day he repeated a _Song_ which he compos'd to an old +tune. I was much surpris'd that a boy of sixteen [Footnote: He was +probably 17; as appears on the statement from the Author himself. See N. +to p. xvii.] should make so smooth verses: so I persuaded him to try +whether the Editor of our Paper would give them a place in _Poet's +Corner_. And he succeeded, and they were printed. And as I forget his +other early productions, I shall copy this." + + + THE MILK-MAID, ON THE FIRST OF MAY. + +Hail, MAY! lovely MAY! how replenish'd my pails! + The young Dawn overspreads the East streak'd with gold! +My glad heart beats time to the laugh of the Vales, + And COLIN'S voice rings through the woods from the fold. + +The Wood to the Mountain submissively bends, + Whose blue misty summits first glow with the sun! +See thence a gay train by the wild rill descends + To join the glad sports:... hark! the tumult's begun. + +Be cloudless, ye skies!... Be my Colin but there, + Not the dew-spangled bents on the wide level Dale, +Nor Morning's first blush can more lovely appear + Than his looks, since my wishes I could not conceal. + +Swift down the mad dance, while blest health prompts to move, + We'll count joys to come, and exchange Vows of truth; +And haply when Age cools the transports of Love, + Decry, like good folks, the vain pleasures of youth. + +No, no; the remembrance shall ever be dear! + At no time LOVE with INNOCENCE ceases to charm: +It is transport in Youth ... and it smiles through the tear, + When they feel, in their children, its first soft alarm. + +The Writer of this Preface doubts whether he has been successful in adding +the last Stanza to this beautiful and simply expressive song. But he +imagin'd that some thought of this kind was in the mind of the Author: and +he was willing to endeavour to express it. The Breast which has felt Love, +justly shrinks from the idea of its total extinction, as from annihilation +itself. And there is even an high social and moral use in that order of +Providence which exalts Sensations into tender and benign Passions; those +Passions into habitual Affections yet more tender; and raises from those +Affections _Virtues_ the most permanent, the most necessary and +beneficent, and the most endearing: thus expanding the sentiment into all +the Charities of domestic and social Life. + +"I remember," says Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD, continuing his Narrative, "a little +piece which he called the Sailor's Return: [Footnote: It is much to be +wished that this may be discovered. L.] in which he tried to describe the +feelings of an honest _Tar_, who, after a long absence, saw his dear +native Village first rising into view. This too obtain'd a place in the +Poet's Corner." + +"And as he was so young," his brother proceeds, "it shews some Genius in +him, and some Industry, to have acquir'd so much knowledge of the use of +words in so little time. Indeed at this time myself and my fellow workmen +in the Garret began to get instructions from him, though not more than +sixteen years old." [Footnote: What simple magnanimity and benevolence in +this Remark. L.] + +"About this time there came a Man to lodge at our Lodgings that was +troubled with fits. ROBERT was so much hurt to see this poor creature +drawn into such frightful forms, and to hear his horrid screams, that I +was forced to leave the Lodging. We went to _Blue Hart-court, Bell-alley_. +In our new Garret we found a singular character, _James Kay_, a native of +_Dundee_. He was a middle-aged man, of a good understanding, and yet a +furious _Calvinist_. He had many Books, ... and some which he did not +value: such as the SEASONS, PARADISE LOST, and some _Novels_. These Books +he lent to ROBERT; who spent all his leisure hours in reading the +_Seasons_, which he was now capable of reading. I never heard him give so +much praise to any Book as to that." + +"I think it was in the year 1784 that the Question came to be decided +between the _journeymen Shoemakers_; whether those who had learn'd without +serving an _Apprenticeship_ could follow the Trade." + +[Footnote: That is _as journeymen_: for there was no question that they +could not as _Masters_ on their _own_ account. That a person may work as a +_journeyman_ without having served an apprenticeship, had already been +determined, T. 9. G. 3. _Beach v. Turner_. Burr. Mansf. 2449. A person +also who has not served an Apprenticeship may be a partner, contributing +money, or advice and attention to the accounts and general concerns of the +Trade, provided that he does not actually exercise the Trade, and that the +acting partner has served. Vide _Reynolds_ v. _Chase_, M. 30. G. 2. Burr. +Mansf. 2. 1 Burn. J.P. Apprent. Sec. 12. L.] + +"The Man by whom _Robert_ and I were employ'd, Mr. Chamberlayne, of +_Cheapside_, took an active part against the lawful journeymen; and even +went so far as to pay off every man that worked for him that had joined +their Clubs. This so exasperated the men, that their acting Committee soon +looked for _unlawful men_ (as they called them) among _Chamberlayne's_ +workmen." + +They found out little _Robert_, and threatened to prosecute _Chamlerlayne_ +for employing him, and to prosecute his Brother, Mr. _G. Bloomfield_, for +teaching him. Chamberlayne requested of the Brother to go on and bring it +to a Trial; for that he would defend it; and that neither _George_ nor +_Robert_ should be hurt. + +In the mean time _George_ was much insulted for having refus'd to join +upon this occasion those who call'd themselves, exclusively, the _Lawful +Crafts_. _George_, who says he was never famed for patience, (it is not +indeed so much as might be sometimes wish'd, very often the lot of strong +and acute minds to possess largely of this virtue,) took his pen, and +address'd a Letter to one of the most active of their Committee-men (a man +of very bad character). In this, after stating that he took _Robert_ at +his Mother's request, he made free as well with the private character of +this man as with the views of the Committee. "This," says _George_, "was +very foolish; for it made things worse: but I felt too much to refrain." + +What connects this episodical circumstance with the character of our +Author follows in his brother's words. + +"_Robert_ naturally fond of Peace, and fearful for my personal safety, +begg'd to be suffer'd to retire from the storm." + +"He came home; and Mr. AUSTIN kindly bade him take his house for his home +till he could return to me. And here, with his mind glowing with the fine +Descriptions of rural scenery which he found in THOMSON'S SEASONS, he +again retrac'd the very fields where first he began to think. Here, free +from the smoke,[Footnote: But one word is altered in this Description; +which reminds one of the + _Omitte mirari beatae + Fumum et opes_ Strepitumque Romae. L.] +the noise, the contention of the city, he imbibed that Love of rural +Simplicity and rural Innocence, which fitted him, in a great degree, to be +the writer of such a thing as the _Farmer's Boy_." + +"Here he liv'd two Months:... at length, as the dispute in the trade +still remain'd undecided, Mr. DUDBRIDGE offer'd to take _Robert_ +Apprentice, to secure him, at all events, from any consequences of the +Litigation." + +He was bound by Mr. _Ingram_, of _Bell-alley_, to Mr. _John Dudbridge_. +His Brother _George_ paid five shillings for _Robert_, by way of form, as +a premium. Dudbridge was their Landlord, and a _Freeman_ of the _City_ of +_London_. He acted most honourably, and took no advantage of the power +which the Indentures gave him. _George Bloomfield_ staid with _Robert_ +till he found he could work as expertly as his self. + +Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD adds, "When I left London he was turned of eighteen; +[Footnote: This should seem to require correction by setting the Age +forward according to the Dates above stated. C.L.] and much of my +happiness since has arisen from a constant correspondence which I have +held with him." + +"After I left him, he studied _Music_, and was a good player on the +_Violin_." + +"But as my Brother _Nat_ had married a _Woolwich_ woman, it happen'd that +_Robert_ took a fancy to MARY-ANNE CHURCH, a comely young woman of that +town, whose Father is a boat-builder in the Government yard there. He +married 12th Dec. 1790."[Footnote: This Date from the Author. C.L.] "Soon +after he married, _Robert_ told me, in a Letter, that 'he had sold his +Fiddle and got a Wife.' Like most poor men, he got a wife first, and had +to get household-stuff afterward. It took him some years to get out of +ready furnished Lodgings. At length, by hard working, &c. he acquired a +Bed of his own, and hired the room up one pair of stairs at 14, _Bell- +alley, Coleman-street_. The Landlord kindly gave him leave to sit and work +in the light _Garret_, two pair of stairs higher." + +"In _this_ Garret, amid six or seven other workmen, his active Mind +employ'd itself in composing _the Farmer's Boy_." + +"In my correspondence I have seen several _poetical_ effusions of his; all +of them of a good moral tendency; but which he very likely would think do +him little credit: on that account I have not preserv'd them." + +"ROBERT is a _Ladies Shoemaker_, and works for DAVIES, _Lombard-street_. +He is of a slender make; of about 5 F. 4 I. high; very _dark_ +complexion.... His MOTHER, who is a very religions member of the _Church +of England_, took all the pains she could in his infancy to make him +pious: and as his Reason expanded, his love of God and Man increas'd with +it. I never knew his fellow for mildness of temper and Goodness of +Disposition. And since I left him, universally is he prais'd by those who +know him best, for the best of Husbands, an indulgent Father, and quiet +Neighbour. He is between thirty-three and four years old,[Footnote: +Corrected from the above Date, p. vi, to his present Age, May 1800. C. L.] +and has three Children;" two Daughters and a Son.[Footnote: Added from the +information of Mr. R. BLOOMFIELD. _Hannah_, born 25 _Oct_. 1791. _Mary +Anne_, 6 _Sept_. 1793. _Charles_, 15 _Sept_. 1798.] + +Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD concludes this clear, affectionate, and interesting +Narrative, by a very kind Address to the Writer of this Preface. But, +pleas'd as I am with the good opinion of a Man like him, I must not take +praise to myself for not having neglected or suppress'd such a Work when +it came into my hands. And I have no farther merit than that of seeing +what it was impossible for an unprejudiced Mind not to see, and of doing +what it was impossible not to do. + +But I join with him cordially in his prayer, "that GOD, _the Giver of +thought_, may, as mental light spreads, raise up many who will turn a +listening ear, and will not despise + + "_The short and simple annals of the Poor_." + +Very few words will complete what remains to be added. + +Struck with the Work, but not less struck with the remark, which is become +a proverb, of the Roman Satirist, that "_it is not easy_ +[Footnote: + Haud facile emergunt quorum virtutibus obstat + Res angusta domi.] +for those to emerge to notice whose circumstances obscure the observation +of their Merits," I sent it to a Friend,[Footnote: This Friend, THOMAS +HILL, Esq. I hope will forgive my mentioning him without asking his +consent.] whom I knew to be above these prejudices: and who has deserv'd, +and is deserving, well of the public, in many other instances, by his +attention to Literature and the elegant Arts. He immediately express'd an +high satisfaction in it; and communicated it to the Publishers. They +adopted it upon terms honorable to themselves, and satisfactory to the +Author, and to me in his behalf. They have publish'd it in a manner which +speaks abundantly for itself; both as to the typographical accuracy and +beauty, and the good taste and execution of the Ornaments in Wood. + +My part has been this, and it has been a very pleasing one: to revise the +MS. making occasionally corrections with respect to Orthography, and +sometimes in the grammatical construction. The corrections, in point of +Grammar, reduce themselves almost wholly to a circumstance of provincial +usage, which even well educated persons in _Suffolk_ and _Norfolk_ do not +wholly avoid; and which may be said, as to general custom, to have become +in these Counties almost an established Dialect:... that of adopting the +plural for the singular termination of verbs, so as to exclude the _s_. +But not a line is added or substantially alter'd through the whole poem. I +have requested the MS. to be preserv'd for the satisfaction of those who +may wish to be satisfied on this head. + +The _Proofs_ have gone through my hands. It has been printed slowly: +because most carefully: as it deserv'd to be printed. + +I have no doubt of its Reception with the Public: I have none of its going +down to Posterity with honor; which is not always the Fate of productions +which are popular in their day. + +Thus much I know:... that the Author, with a spirit amiable at all times, +and which would have been rever'd by Antiquity, seems far less interested +concerning any Fame or Advantage he may derive from it to himself, than in +the pleasure of giving a printed Copy of it, as a tribute of duty and +affection, to his MOTHER; in whose pleasure, if it succeeds, his filial +heart places the gratification of which it is most desirous. It is much to +be a POET, such as he will be found:... it is more to be such a MAN. + +CAPEL LOFFT. + +TROSTON, n. BURY, SUFFOLK. + +12 Dec. 1799. + + +ELIZABETH MANBY, the Mother of the Author of this POEM, was sister to +the wife of Mr. WILLIAM AUSTIN. I had written to Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD to +request the name, before Marriage, of his Mother. This gain'd me an +Answer, which I have great pleasure in adding. + +"The late Mr. AUSTIN'S wife was a Manby (my Mother's sister). And it may +seem strange that, in the FARMER'S BOY, _Giles_ no where calls him +_Uncle_, but _Master_.... The treatment that my Brother _Robert_ +experienced from Mr. _Austin_ did not differ in any respect from the +treatment that all the Servant Boys experienc'd who lived with him. Mr. +_Austin_ was Father of fourteen Children by my Aunt (he never had any +other wife). He left a decent provision for the five Children that +surviv'd him: so that it could not be expected he should have any thing to +give to poor Relations. And I don't see a possibility of making a +difference between GILES and the Boys that were not related to +Mr._Austin_: for he treated all his Servants exactly as he did his Sons. +They all work'd hard; all liv'd well. The DUKE had not a better Man Tenant +to him than the late Mr. _Austin_. I saw numbers of the Husbandmen in +tears when he was buried. He was beloved by all who knew him. But I +imagine _Robert_ thought that when he was speaking of Benevolence that was +universal, he had no occasion to mention the accidental circumstance of +his being related to the Good Man of whom he sung." + + +SUPPLEMENT + +I have mention'd in the Preface "THE SAILOR'S RETURN", from an intimation +by Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD. From the Author himself, Mr. ROBERT BLOOMFIELD, I am +oblig'd with what part he can recollect of this SONG, which I was desirous +to recover. It was written shortly after the PEACE with AMERICA and +FRANCE. Probably some time in the _Spring_ of 1784. The Author thinks the +Title of it was "THE SOLDIER'S RETURN," and that it was occasion'd by the +arrival of some Regiments of British Soldiers from remote parts of the +Globe. + +He says, "I have endeavour'd to bring it back to my mind: but can only +remember the following; which is not the beginning nor the finish." + + Round LYBIA'S south point, where from toils so late freed, + Sweet Hope cheer'd my soul as we clear'd the rough sea; + I strove midst the Tars to improve the ship's speed; + Nor thought I of aught but ANNA and THEE. + + Here comes the dear Girl! comes with kind arms extended + To welcome me!... limbs numb'd with age fain would move. + My cheek feels the offspring of rapture warm blended, + With answering drops:... this the meed of chaste Love! + + Rouse the Fire-- + + * * * * * + +I think every Reader will be of opinion that it is indeed desirable the +whole Song, of which this is a Fragment, should be recover'd. It will +probably be found (according to the recollection of the Author) either in +the _General Advertiser, Gazetteer_, or _Courant_. From these specimens, +and some I have since had the pleasure to see in MS. Mr. BLOOMFIELD +appears fully to possess the simple, yet elegant, pathetic, and animated +flow of Composition, the sweetness of Diction, Thought, and Numbers, which +the SONG or BALLAD in their best character require. + +I now quote a little Fragment in _blank verse_ from the same Letter: with +a slight correction in a place or two where the distribution or mechanism +of the lines was not exact. + +SUBJECT. _An Harvest Scene: describing Gleaners return'd from the Field_. + + --Welcome the Cot's +Warm walls!... thrice welcome Rest, by toil endear'd; +Each hard bed softening, healing every care. +Sleep on, ye gentle souls ... +Unapprehensive of the midnight thief! +Or if bereft of all with pain acquir'd, +Your fall, with theirs compar'd who sink from affluence, +With hands unus'd to toil, and minds unus'd +To bend, how little felt! how soon repair'd! + +The ear of the Author seems as sweetly attun'd to verse without as with +Rhime: though his less practice has given him proportionally less +exactness. + +It reminds one of the simple, tender, and flowing melody of the blank +verse of ROWE: or of some of the affecting passages in the _Paradise +Regain'd_ of MILTON. + +Sweetness, pastoral Content, the innocent and benevolent heart "_with a +little pleas'd,_" breathe indeed through the Poems, and in the manners and +conversation, of the Author of THE FARMER'S BOY. + +When the _Spirit_ of CHRISTIANITY declares "_blessed are the meek,_" every +heart which considers what meekness is, feels the truth of that +blessedness. It may smooth the way, and prevent impediments, which a +different temper raises to temporal felicity: it certainly assures that +Heaven which is _within_: and is a pledge and anticipation of the Heaven +hereafter. + +It is pleasing to think on a remark of Mr. GEO. BLOOMFIELD concerning his +Brother when he first went to LONDON. "I have him in my mind's eye a +little Boy; not bigger than Boys generally are at twelve years old. When I +met him and his Mother at the Inn, [Footnote: In Bishopsgate-street.] he +strutted before us, dress'd just as he came from keeping Sheep, Hogs, +&c.... his shoes fill'd full of stumps in the heels. He looking about him, +slip'd up ... his nails were unus'd to a flat pavement. I remember viewing +him as he scamper'd up ... how small he was. Little thought, that little +fatherless Boy would be one day known and esteem'd by the most learned, +the most respected, the wisest and the best men of the Kingdom." + +The brotherly overflowing of the heart in this passage I felt when I read +the Letter (dated 27 _March_ last), and cannot deny to others the pleasure +of feeling it. + +And those who have shewn themselves the FRIENDS of the FARMER'S BOY must +excuse me if I mention some of them whose liberal and zealous attention +had excited those feelings in the heart of his Brother, and have fill'd +his with sentiments of thankfulness. The Duke of GRAFTON has every way +shewn himself attentive to the Genius, the Worth, of Mr. BLOOMFIELD. He +has essentially added to his comforts. His R. H. the Duke of YORK, by +Capt. BUNBURY, has made a liberal present, as an acknowledgment of the +pleasure receiv'd from the perusal of his excellent Poem. This attention +of his R. H. liberal and amiable in itself, has been the cause of like +liberality in others. It suggested to Dr. DRAKE, and other Gentlemen at +HADLEIGH, the idea of a local subscription of a Guinea each in that Town +and Neighbourhood. This has been carried into effect by himself and eleven +other Friends, who may be said in this instance to sustain, in a manner, +the honorable function of a kind of LITERARY JURY. The Names who have +given this testimony of their high esteem to the character of Mr. +BLOOMFIELD, and of the pleasure they have received from the perusal of his +Poem, are: + +THOMAS SHERLOCKE GOOCH, Esq. +Major POCKLINGTON, +Dr. GIBBONS, M.D. +The Rev. J. PLAMPIN, +The Rev. T. KNOTTESFORD, +The Rev. R. PRITCHETT, +ABRAHAM REEVE, Esq. +GEO. ARCHER, Esq. +J. MILLS, Esq. +Mrs. TRAIL, +Mrs. LEAKE, +NATHAN DRAKE, M.D. + +I have transcribed the names in the order in which they were transmitted +to me. With a large proportion of those who have thus stood forth the +Friends of Genius and Worth I have the pleasure of being acquainted. It +gives me much satisfaction to mention this notice: welcome to the Author +as a Gift; and far more so as a testimony of good opinion unexpectedly +offer'd. Several instances of similar attention to the disproportion +between the circumstances of the Author and the excellence of his poetical +Talents and moral Qualities have spontaneously manifested themselves from +different quarters. Those, as the separate act of individuals, I have not +particularized otherwise than by this general acknowledgment: though many +such have been mention'd to me by the Author. This, as a collective act, I +hope I may be allow'd the gratification of thus noticing. + +Sir CHARLES BUNBURY has warmly expressed his approbation of the Poem; as +not only excellent for a Farmer's Boy, but such as would do honour to any +person, whatever his education: and he also has much contributed to make +it early and advantageously known. Mr. GREEN of IPSWICH has spoken of it +as a charming composition: reflecting, in a very natural and vivid manner, +the series of interesting images which touch'd the sensibility of a young, +an artless, but a most intelligent observer of Nature; plac'd in a +situation highly favourable to observation, though in fact not often +productive of it. That Originality in such a subject is invaluable: and +that this Poem appears to him (I know few men so qualified to judge on +such a point) throughout original. And literary characters who have earnt +to themselves much of true Praise by their own Productions, Mr. DYER and +Dr. DRAKE of HADLEIGH, have given full and appropriate encomium to the +excellence both in Plan and Execution, of this admirable RURAL PORM. My +Friend Mr. BLACK of _Woodbridge_, has notic'd it in a very pleasing and +characteristic Letter address'd to me in verse. I believe I shall not be +just to the FARMER's BOY if I omit to notice that the Taste and Genius of +Mrs. OPIE, born to do honour to every department of the Fine Arts, have +given her an high sentiment of its merits. And a LADY at BURY, whom I wish +I were permitted to name, has most truly characteriz'd it by remarking, +that "the descriptions of Country scenes, occupations, customs, and +manners, are as natural as possible: and that the justness, virtue, and +tenderness of the sentiments are to be equally admired." Were I to name +all the Friends and Admirers of the POEM and of the simple and amiable +manners and character of the AUTHOR, I should name, I believe, nearly +every person in this Island whom I respect, esteem, and admire. + +It would be highly gratifying to me could I now transcribe those +testimonies to which I have generally referr'd:... but I abstain here +from this: and the rather, as I believe Mr. DYER will probably soon +express, in a Publication of his own, his sentiments on this Work; and as +Dr. DRAKE, I know, has been so struck with it as to intend to appropriate +to an investigation of its peculiar merit the concluding part of an +enlarg'd Edition of his LITERARY HOURS.[Footnote: This has been since +excellently perform'd by him. See the APPENDIX.] + +The mention already made of the FARMER'S BOY in the NEW LONDON REVIEW and +in the MONTHLY MIRROR I have seen with pleasure. I rejoice in that Fame +which is just to living Merit, and waits not for the Tomb to present the +tardy and then unvalued Wreath: I rejoice in the sense express'd not only +of his Genius, but of his pure, benevolent, amiable Virtue, his +affectionate Veneration to the DEITY, and his good Will to all.... +Obscurity and Adversity have not broken; Fame and Prosperity, I am +persuaded, will not corrupt him. + +I cannot deny myself the satisfaction of mentioning that, after an absence +of twelve years, the Author of the Farmer's Boy has revisited his native +Plains. That he has seen his Mother in health and spirits: seen her with a +joy to both which even his own most expressive and pathetic language would +imperfectly describe.... Seen other near, affectionate, and belov'd +Relatives: review'd, with the feelings of a truly poetic and benevolent +Mind, the haunts of his youth; the Woods and Vales, the Cot, the Field and +the Tree, which even recollected after so many years and at a distance, +had awaken'd in such a manner the energies of his Heart and Intellect, and +had inspir'd strains which will never cease to be repeated with pleasure +and admiration. That he has been receiv'd at BURY with an emulous desire +of his society; and certainly with the greatest reason. I rejoice that I +at length have been made personally acquainted with him: that I have seen +him here, and at his Mother's, and at Bury: that I have discours'd with +him; that we have made our rural walks together: that I have heard him +read some of those Poems which are not yet printed; but which when they +shall be so, will support fully and extend the Fame he has acquir'd. +Though I have spent, occasionally, much of my life among persons worthy of +Admiration and of Esteem, I can recollect few days so interesting and so +valuable to me as these. + +C.L. + +TROSTON, 25 May, 1800. + +What I have said in prose, p. ix of this Preface, is charmingly expressed +in the language of the Muses by Mr. COLLIER, in his Miscellaneous Poems +lately publish'd. + +O where on earth can he a pleasure find + Whose heart th' extatic sweets of Love has known, +When in the jarring chaos of his mind + The gentle God no longer holds his throne! + + + +ON REVISITING THE PLACE OF MY NATIVITY. + +Though Winter's frowns had damp'd the beaming eye, +Through Twelve successive Summers heav'd the sigh, +The unaccomplish'd wish was still the same; +Till May in new and sudden glories came! +My heart was rous'd; and Fancy on the wing, +Thus heard the language of enchanting Spring:-- + +'Come to thy native groves and fruitful fields! +Thou know'st the fragrance that the wild-flow'r yields; +Inhale the Breeze that bends the purple bud, +And plays along the margin of the Wood. +I've cloth'd them all; the very Woods where thou +In infancy learn'd'st praise from every bough. +Would'st thou behold again the vernal day? +My reign is short;--this instant come away: +Ere Philomel shall silent meet the morn; +She hails the green, but not the rip'ning corn. +Come, ere the pastures lose their yellow flow'rs: +Come now; with heart as jocund as the hours.' + +Who could resist the call?--that, Giles had done, +Nor heard the Birds, nor seen the rising Sun; +Had not Benevolence, with cheering ray, +And Greatness stoop'd, indulgent to display +Praise which does surely not to Giles belong, +But to the objects that inspir'd his song. +Immediate pleasure from those praises flow'd: +Remoter bliss within his bosom glow'd! +Now tasted all:--for I have heard and seen +The long-remember'd voice, the church, the green;-- +And oft by Friendship's gentle hand been led +Where many an hospitable board was spread. +These would I name,... but each, and all can feel +What the full heart would willingly reveal: +Nor needs be told; that at each season's birth, +Still the enamell'd, or the scorching Earth +Gave, as each morn or weary night would come, +Ideal sweetness to my distant home:-- +Ideal now no more;--for, to my view +Spring's promise rose, how admirably true!! +The early chorus of the cheerful Grove, +Gave point to Gratitude; and fire to Love. +O Memory! shield me from the World's poor strife; +And give those scenes thine everlasting life! + +ROB. BLOOMFIELD. + +LONDON, MAY 30, 1800. + + + +SPRING. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Invocation, &c. Seed time. Harrowing. Morning walks. Milking. The Dairy. +Suffolk Cheese. Spring coming forth. Sheep fond of changing. Lambs at +play. The Butcher, &c._ + +[Illustration] + + + + SPRING + +I. + +O come, blest Spirit! whatsoe'er thou art, +Thou rushing warmth that hover'st round my heart, +Sweet inmate, hail! thou source of sterling joy, +That poverty itself cannot destroy, +Be thou my Muse; and faithful still to me, +Retrace the paths of wild obscurity. +No deeds of arms my humble lines rehearse, +No _Alpine_ wonders thunder through my verse, +The roaring cataract, the snow-topt hill, +Inspiring awe, till breath itself stands still: +Nature's sublimer scenes ne'er charm'd mine eyes, +Nor Science led me through the boundless skies; +From meaner objects far my raptures flow: +O point these raptures! bid my bosom glow! +And lead my soul to ecstasies of praise +For all the blessings of my infant days! +Bear me through regions where gay Fancy dwells; +But mould to Truth's fair form what Memory tells. + +Live, trifling incidents, and grace my song, +That to the humblest menial belong: +To him whose drudgery unheeded goes, +His joys unreckon'd as his cares or woes; +Though joys and cares in every path are sown, +And youthful minds have feelings of their own, +Quick springing sorrows, transient as the dew, +Delights from trifles, trifles ever, new. +'Twas thus with GILES: meek, fatherless, and poor: +Labour his portion, but he felt no more; +No stripes, no tyranny his steps pursu'd; +His life was constant, cheerful, servitude: +Strange to the world, he wore a bashful look, +The fields his study, Nature was his book; +And, as revolving SEASONS chang'd the scene +From heat to cold, tempestuous to serene, +Though every change still varied his employ, +Yet each new duty brought its share of joy. + +Where noble GRAFTON spreads his rich domains, +Round _Euston's_ water'd vale, and sloping plains, +Where woods and groves in solemn grandeur rise, +Where the kite brooding unmolested flies; +The woodcock and the painted pheasant race, +And sculking foxes, destin'd for the chace; +There Giles, untaught and unrepining, stray'd +Thro' every copse, and grove, and winding glade; +There his first thoughts to Nature's charms inclin'd, +That stamps devotion on th' inquiring mind. +A little farm his generous Master till'd, +Who with peculiar grace his station fill'd; +By deeds of hospitality endear'd, +Serv'd from affection, for his worth rever'd; +A happy offspring blest his plenteous board, +His fields were fruitful, and his harm well stor'd, +And fourscore ewes he fed, a sturdy team, +And lowing kine that grazed beside the stream: +Unceasing industry he kept in view; +And never lack'd a job for Giles to do. + +FLED now the sullen murmurs of the North, +The splendid raiment of the SPRING peeps forth; +Her universal green, and the clear sky, +Delight still more and more the gazing eye. +Wide o'er the fields, in rising moisture strong, +Shoots up the simple flower, or creeps along +The mellow'd soil; imbibing fairer hues +Or sweets from frequent showers and evening dews; +That summon from its shed the slumb'ring ploughs, +While health impregnates every breeze that blows. +No wheels support the diving pointed share; +No groaning ox is doom'd to labour there; +No helpmates teach the docile steed his road; +(Alike unknown the plow-boy and the goad;) +But, unassisted through each toilsome day, +With smiling brow the plowman cleaves his way, +Draws his fresh parallels, and wid'ning still, +Treads slow the heavy dale, or climbs the hill: +Strong on the wing his busy followers play, +Where writhing earth-worms meet th' unwelcome day; +Till all is chang'd, and hill and level down +Assume a livery of sober brown: +Again disturb'd, when Giles with wearying strides +From ridge to ridge the ponderous harrow guides; +His heels deep sinking every step he goes, +Till dirt usurp the empire of his shoes. +Welcome green headland! firm beneath his feet; +Welcome the friendly bank's refreshing seat; +There, warm with toil, his panting horses browse +Their shelt'ring canopy of pendent boughs; +Till rest, delicious, chase each transient pain, +And new-born vigour swell in every vein. +Hour after hour, and day to day succeeds; +Till every clod and deep-drawn furrow spreads +To crumbling mould; a level surface clear, +And strew'd with corn to crown the rising year; +And o'er the whole Giles once transverse again, +In earth's moist bosom buries up the grain. +The work is done; no more to man is given; +The grateful farmer trusts the rest to Heaven. +Yet oft with anxious heart he looks around, +And marks the first green blade that breaks the ground; + +[Illustration: a gate] + +In fancy sees his trembling oats uprun, +His tufted barley yellow with the sun; +Sees clouds propitious shed their timely store, +And all his harvest gather'd round his door. +But still unsafe the big swoln grain below, +A fav'rite morsel with the Rook and Crow; +From field to field the flock increasing goes; +To level crops most formidable foes: +Their danger well the wary plunderers know, +And place a watch on some conspicuous bough; +Yet oft the sculking gunner by surprise +Will scatter death amongst them as they rise. +These, hung in triumph round the spacious field, +At best will but a short-lived terror yield: +Nor guards of property; (not penal law, +But harmless riflemen of rags and straw); +Familiariz'd to these, they boldly rove, +Nor heed such centinels that never move. +Let then your birds lie prostrate on the earth, +In dying posture, and with wings stretch'd forth; +Shift them at eve or morn from place to place, +And death shall terrify the pilfering race; +In the mid air, while circling round and round, +They call their lifeless comrades from the ground; +With quick'ning wing, and notes of loud alarm, +Warn the whole flock to shun the' impending harm. + +This task had _Giles_, in fields remote from home: +Oft has he wish'd the rosy morn to come. +Yet never fam'd was he nor foremost found +To break the seal of sleep; his sleep was sound: +But when at day-break summon'd from his bed, +Light as the lark that carol'd o'er his head, +His sandy way deep-worn by hasty showers, +O'er-arch'd with oaks that form'd fantastic bow'rs, +Waving aloft their tow'ring branches proud, +In borrow'd tinges from the eastern cloud, +(Whence inspiration, pure as ever flow'd, +And genuine transport in his bosom glow'd) +His own shrill matin join'd the various notes +Of Nature's music, from a thousand throats: +The blackbird strove with emulation sweet, +And Echo answer'd from her close retreat; +The sporting white-throat on some twig's end borne, +Pour'd hymns to freedom and the rising morn; +Stopt in her song perchance the starting thrush +Shook a white shower from the black-thorn bush, +Where dew-drops thick as early blossoms hung, +And trembled as the minstrel sweetly sung. +Across his path, in either grove to hide, +The timid rabbit scouted by his side; +Or bold cock-pheasant stalk'd along the road, +Whose gold and purple tints alternate glow'd. +But groves no farther fenc'd the devious way; +A wide-extended heath before him lay, +Where on the grass the stagnant shower had run, +And shone a mirror to the rising sun, +(Thus doubly seen) lighting a distant wood, +Giving new life to each expanding bud; +Effacing quick the dewy foot-marks found, +Where prowling Reynard trod his nightly round; +To shun whose thefts 'twas Giles's evening care, +His feather'd victims to suspend in air, +High on the bough that nodded o'er his head, +And thus each morn to strew the field with dead. + +His simple errand done, he homeward hies; +Another instantly its place supplies. +The clatt'ring dairy-maid immers'd in steam, +Singing and scrubbing midst her milk and cream, +Bawls out, "_Go fetch the cows_:..." he hears no more; +For pigs, and ducks, and turkies, throng the door, +And sitting hens, for constant war prepar'd; +A concert strange to that which late he heard. +Straight to the meadow then he whistling goes; +With well-known halloo calls his lazy cows: +Down the rich pasture heedlessly they graze, +Or hear the summon with an idle gaze; +For well they know the cow-yard yields no more +Its tempting fragrance, nor its wint'ry store. +Reluctance marks their steps, sedate and slow; +The right of conquest all the law they know: +Subordinate they one by one succeed; +And one among them always takes the lead, +Is ever foremost, wheresoe'er they stray; +Allow'd precedence, undisputed sway; +With jealous pride her station is maintain'd, +For many a broil that post of honour gain'd. +At home, the yard affords a grateful scene; +For Spring makes e'en a miry cow-yard clean. +Thence from its chalky bed behold convey'd +The rich manure that drenching winter made, +Which pil'd near home, grows green with many a weed, +A promis'd nutriment for Autumn's seed. +Forth comes the Maid, and like the morning smiles; +The Mistress too, and follow'd close by Giles. +A friendly tripod forms their humble seat, +With pails bright scour'd, and delicately sweet. +Where shadowing elms obstruct the morning ray, +Begins their work, begins the simple lay; +The full-charg'd udder yields its willing streams, +While _Mary_ sings some lover's amorous dreams; +And crouching Giles beneath a neighbouring tree +Tugs o'er his pail, and chants with equal glee; +Whose hat with tatter'd brim, of nap so bare, +From the cow's side purloins a coat of hair, +A mottled ensign of his harmless trade, +An unambitious, peaceable cockade. +As unambitious too that cheerful aid +The mistress yields beside her rosy maid; + +[Illustration: maid with a cow] + +With joy she views her plenteous reeking store, +And bears a brimmer to the dairy door; +Her cows dismiss'd, the luscious mead to roam, +Till ere again recall them loaded home. +And now the DAIRY claims her choicest care, +And half her household find employment there: +Slow rolls the churn, its load of clogging cream +At once foregoes its quality and name; +From knotty particles first floating wide +Congealing butter's dash'd from side to side; +Streams of new milk thro' flowing coolers stray, +And snow-white curd abounds, and wholesome whey. +Due north th' unglazed windows, cold and clear, +For warming sunbeams are unwelcome here. +Brisk goes the work beneath each busy hand, +And _Giles_ must trudge, whoever gives command; +A _Gibeonite_, that serves them all by turns: +He drains the pump, from him the faggot burns; +From him the noisy hogs demand their food; +While at his heels run many a chirping brood, +Or down his path in expectation stand, +With equal claims upon his strewing hand. +Thus wastes the morn, till each with pleasure sees +The bustle o'er, and press'd the new-made cheese. + +Unrivall'd stands thy country CHEESE, O _Giles!_ +Whose very name alone engenders smiles; +Whose fame abroad by every tongue is spoke, +The well-known butt of many a flinty joke, +That pass like current coin the nation through; +And, ah! experience proves the satire true. +Provision's grave, thou ever craving mart, +Dependant, huge Metropolis! where Art +Her pouring thousands stows in breathless rooms, +Midst pois'nous smokes and steams, and rattling looms; +Where Grandeur revels in unbounded stores; +Restraint, a slighted stranger at their doors! + +[Illustration: man pouring feed into a trough] + +Thou, like a whirlpool, drain'st the countries round, +Till London market, London price, resound +Through every town, round every passing load, +And dairy produce throngs the eastern road: +Delicious veal, and butter, every hour, +From Essex lowlands, and the banks of Stour; +And further far, where numerous herds repose, +From Orwell's brink, from Weveny, or Ouse. +Hence Suffolk dairy-wives run mad for cream, +And leave their milk with nothing but its name; +Its name derision and reproach pursue, +And strangers tell of "three times skimm'd sky-blue." +To cheese converted, what can be its boast? +What, but the common virtues of a post! +If drought o'ertake it faster than the knife, +Most fair it bids for stubborn length of life, +And, like the oaken shelf whereon 'tis laid, +Mocks the weak efforts of the bending blade; +Or in the hog-trough rests in perfect spite, +Too big to swallow, and too hard to bite. +Inglorious victory! Ye Cheshire meads, +Or Severn's flow'ry dales, where plenty treads, +Was your rich milk to suffer wrongs like these, +Farewell your pride! farewell renowned cheese! +The skimmer dread, whose ravages alone +Thus turn the mead's sweet nectar into stone. + +NEGLECTED now the early _daisy_ lies: +Nor thou, pale _primrose_, bloom'st the only prize: +Advancing SPRING profusely spreads abroad +Flow'rs of all hues, with sweetest fragrance stor'd; +Where'er she treads, LOVE gladdens every plain, +_Delight_ on tiptoe bears her lucid train; +Sweet _Hope_ with conscious brow before her flies, +Anticipating wealth from Summer skies; +All Nature feels her renovating sway; +The sheep-fed pasture, and the meadow gay; +And trees, and shrubs, no longer budding seen, +Display the new-grown branch of lighter green; +On airy downs the shepherd idling lies, +And sees to-morrow in the marbled skies. +Here then, my soul, thy darling theme pursue, +For every day was Giles a SHEPHERD too. + +Small was his charge: no wilds had they to roam; +But bright enclosures circling round their home. +Nor yellow-blossom'd furze, nor stubborn thorn, +The heath's rough produce, had their fleeces torn: +Yet ever roving, ever seeking thee, +Enchanting spirit, dear Variety! +O happy tenants, prisoners of a day! +Releas'd to ease, to pleasure, and to play; +Indulg'd through every field by turns to range, +And taste them all in one continual change. +For though luxuriant their grassy food, +Sheep long confin'd but loathe the present good; +Bleating around the homeward gate they meet, +And starve, and pine, with plenty at their feet. +Loos'd from the winding lane, a joyful throng, +See, o'er yon pasture how they pour along! +_Giles_ round their boundaries takes his usual stroll; +Sees every pass secur'd, and fences whole; +High fences, proud to charm the gazing eye, +Where many a nestling first assays to fly; +Where blows the woodbine, faintly streak'd with red, +And rests on every bough its tender head; +Round the young ash its twining branches meet, +Or crown the hawthorn with its odours sweet. + +Say, ye that know, ye who have felt and seen, +_Spring's_ morning smiles, and soul-enliv'ning green, +Say, did you give the thrilling transport way? +Did your eye brighten, when young lambs at play +Leap'd o'er your path with animated pride, +Or gaz'd in merry clusters by your side? +Ye who can smile, to wisdom no disgrace, +At the arch meaning of a kitten's face; +If spotless innocence, and infant mirth, +Excites to praise, or gives reflection birth; +In shades like these pursue your fav'rite joy, +Midst Nature's revels, sports that never cloy. + +A few begin a short but vigorous race, +And indolence abash'd soon flies the place; +Thus challeng'd forth, see thither one by one, +From every side assembling playmates run; +A thousand wily antics mark their stay, +A starting crowd, impatient of delay. +Like the fond dove from fearful prison freed, +Each seems to say, "Come, let us try our speed;" +Away they scour, impetuous, ardent, strong, +The green turf trembling as they bound along; +Adown the slope, then up the hillock climb, +Where every molehill is a bed of thyme; +There panting stop; yet scarcely can refrain; +A bird, a leaf, will set them off again: +Or, if a gale with strength unusual blow, +Scatt'ring the wild-briar roses into snow, +Their little limbs increasing efforts try, +Like the torn flower the fair assemblage fly. +Ah, fallen rose! sad emblem of their doom; +Frail as thyself, they perish while they bloom! +Though unoffending innocence may plead, +Though frantic ewes may mourn the savage deed, +Their shepherd comes, a messenger of blood, +And drives them bleating from their sports and food. +Care loads his brow, and pity wrings his heart, +For lo, the murd'ring BUTCHER with his cart +Demands the firstlings of his flock to die, +And makes a sport of life and liberty! +His gay companions _Giles_ beholds no more; +Clos'd are their eyes, their fleeces drench'd in gore; +Nor can Compassion, with her softest notes, +Withhold the knife that plunges through their throats. + +Down, indignation! hence, ideas foul! +Away the shocking image from my soul! +Let kindlier visitants attend my way, +Beneath approaching _Summer's_ fervid ray; +Nor thankless glooms obtrude, nor cares annoy, +Whilst the sweet theme is _universal joy_. + + + +SUMMER. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Turnip sowing. Wheat ripening. Sparrows. Insects. The sky-lark. Reaping, +&c. Harvest-field, Dairy-maid, &c. Labours of the barn. The gander. Night; +a thunder storm. Harvest-home. Reflections, &c._ + + +[Illustration] + + + + SUMMER. + +II. + +THE FARMER'S life displays in every part +A moral lesson to the sensual heart. +Though in the lap of Plenty, thoughtful still, +He looks beyond the present good or ill; +Nor estimates alone one blessing's worth, +From changeful seasons, or capricious earth; +But views the future with the present hours, +And looks for failures as he looks for show'ers; +For casual as for certain want prepares, +And round his yard the reeking haystack rears; +Or clover, blossom'd lovely to the sight, +His team's rich store through many a wint'ry night. +What tho' abundance round his dwelling spreads, +Though ever moist his self-improving meads +Supply his dairy with a copious flood, +And seem to promise unexhausted food; +That promise fails, when buried deep in snow, +And vegetative juices cease to flow. +For this, his plough turns up the destin'd lands, +Whence stormy Winter draws its full demands; +For this, the seed minutely small he sows, +Whence, sound and sweet, the hardy turnip grows. +But how unlike to APRIL'S closing days! +High climbs the Sun, and darts his pow'rful rays; +Whitens the fresh-drawn mould, and pierces through +The cumb'rous clods that tumble round the plough. +O'er heaven's bright azure hence with joyful eyes +The Farmer sees dark clouds assembling rise; +Borne o'er his fields a heavy torrent falls, +And strikes the earth in hasty driving squalls. +"_Right welcome down, ye precious drops_," he cries; +But soon, too soon, the partial blessing flies. +"_Boy, bring thy harrows, try how deep the rain +Has forc'd its way_." He comes, but comes in vain; +Dry dust beneath the bubbling surface lurks, +And mocks his pains the more, the more he works: +Still midst huge clods he plunges on forlorn, +That laugh his harrows and the shower to scorn. +E'en thus the living clod, the stubborn fool, +Resists the stormy lectures of the school, +Till tried with gentler means, the dunce to please, +His head imbibes right reason by degrees; +As when from eve till morning's wakeful hour, +Light, constant rain, evinces secret pow'r, +And ere the day resume its wonted smiles, +Presents a cheerful easy task for _Giles_. +Down with a touch the mellow'd soil is laid, +And yon tall crop next claims his timely aid; +Thither well pleas'd he hies, assur'd to find +Wild trackless haunts, and objects to his mind. + +Shot up from broad rank blades that droop below, +The nodding WHEAT-EAR forms a graceful bow, +With milky kernels starting full, weigh'd down, +Ere yet the sun hath ting'd its head with brown; +Whilst thousands in a flock, for ever gay, +Loud chirping _sparrows_ welcome on the day, +And from the mazes of the leafy thorn +Drop one by one upon the bending corn. +Giles with a pole assails their close retreats, +And round the grass-grown dewy border beats, +On either side completely overspread, +Here branches bend, there corn o'ertops his head. +Green covert, hail! for through the varying year +No hours so sweet, no scene to him so dear. + +[Illustration] + +Here _Wisdom's_ placid eye delighted sees +His frequent intervals of lonely ease, +And with one ray his infant soul inspires, +Just kindling there her never-dying fires, +Whence solitude derives peculiar charms, +And heaven-directed thought his bosom warms. +Just where the parting bough's light shadows play, +Scarce in the shade, nor in the scorching day, +Stretch'd on the turf he lies, a peopled bed, +Where swarming insects creep around his head. +The small dust-colour'd beetle climbs with pain +O'er the smooth plantain-leaf, a spacious plain! +Thence higher still, by countless steps convey'd, +He gains the summit of a shiv'ring blade, +And flirts his filmy wings, and looks around, +Exulting in his distance from the ground. +The tender speckled moth here dancing seen, +The vaulting grasshopper of glossy green, +And all prolific _Summer's_ sporting train, +Their little lives by various pow'rs sustain. +But what can unassisted vision do? +What, but recoil where most it would pursue; +His patient gaze but finish with a sigh, +When musing waking speaks the _sky-lark_ nigh! +Just starting from the corn she cheerly sings, +And trusts with conscious pride her downy wings; +Still louder breathes, and in the face of day +Mounts up, and calls on _Giles_ to mark her way. +Close to his eyes his hat he instant bends, +And forms a friendly telescope, that lends +Just aid enough to dull the glaring light, +And place the wand'ring bird before his sight; +Yet oft beneath a cloud she sweeps along, +Lost for awhile, yet pours her varied song: +He views the spot, and as the cloud moves by, +Again she stretches up the clear blue sky; + + [Illustration] + +Her form, her motion, undistinguish'd quite, +Save when she wheels direct from shade to light: +The flutt'ring songstress a mere speck became, +Like fancy's floating bubbles in a dream; +He sees her yet, but yielding to repose, +Unwittingly his jaded eyelids close. +Delicious sleep! From sleep who could forbear, +With no more guilt than _Giles_, and no more care? +Peace o'er his slumbers waves her guardian wing, +Nor conscience once disturbs him with a sting; +He wakes refresh'd from every trivial pain, +And takes his pole and brushes round again. + +Its dark-green hue, its sicklier tints all fail, +And rip'ening harvest rustles in the gale. +A glorious sight, if glory dwells below, +Where Heaven's munificence makes all the show, +O'er every field and golden prospect found, +That glads the ploughman's Sunday morning's round, +When on some eminence he takes his stand, +To judge the smiling produce of the land. +Here Vanity slinks back, her head to hide: +What is there here to flatter human pride? +The tow'ring fabric, or the dome's loud roar, +And stedfast columns, may astonish more, +Where the charm'd gazer long delighted stays, +Yet trac'd but to the _architect_ the praise; +Whilst here, the veriest clown that treads the sod, +Without one scruple gives the praise to GOD; +And twofold joys possess his raptur'd mind, +From gratitude and admiration join'd. + +Here, midst the boldest triumphs of her worth, +NATURE herself invites the REAPERS forth; +Dares the keen sickle from its twelvemonth's rest, +And gives that ardour which in every breast +From infancy to age alike appears, +When the first sheaf its plumy top uprears. + +[Illustration] + +No rake takes here what Heaven to all bestows-- +Children of want, for you the bounty flows! +And every cottage from the plenteous store +Receives a burden nightly at its door. + +Hark! where the sweeping scythe now rips along: +Each sturdy Mower emulous and strong; +Whose writhing form meridian heat defies, +Bends o'er his work, and every sinew tries; +Prostrates the waving treasure at his feet, +But spares the rising clover, short and sweet. +Come, HEALTH! come, _Jollity!_ light-footed, come; +Here hold your revels, and make this your home. +Each heart awaits and hails you as its own; +Each moisten'd brow, that scorns to wear a frown: +Th' unpeopled dwelling mourns its tenants stray'd; +E'en the domestic laughing dairy maid +Hies to the FIELD, the general toil to share. +Meanwhile the FARMER quits his elbow-chair, +His cool brick-floor, his pitcher, and his ease, +And braves the sultry beams, and gladly sees +His gates thrown open, and his team abroad, +The ready group attendant on his word, +To turn the swarth, the quiv'ring load to rear, +Or ply the busy rake, the land to clear. +Summer's light garb itself now cumb'rous grown, +Each his thin doublet in the shade throws down; +Where oft the mastiff sculks with half-shut eye, +And rouses at the stranger passing by; +Whilst unrestrain'd the social converse flows, +And every breast Love's powerful impulse knows, +And rival wits with more than rustic grace +Confess the presence of a pretty face. + +For, lo! encircled there, the lovely MAID, +In youth's own bloom and native smiles array'd; +Her hat awry, divested of her gown, +Her creaking stays of leather, stout and brown;... + +[Illustration] + +Invidious barrier! why art thou so high, +When the slight covering of her neck slips by, +There half revealing to the eager sight +Her full, ripe bosom, exquisitely white? +In many a local tale of harmless mirth, +And many a jest of momentary birth, +She bears a part, and as she stops to speak, +Strokes back the ringlets from her glowing cheek. + +Now noon gone by, and four declining hours, +The weary limbs relax their boasted pow'rs; +Thirst rages strong, the fainting spirits fail, +And ask the sov'reign cordial, home-brew'd ale: +Beneath some shelt'ring heap of yellow corn +Rests the hoop'd keg, and friendly cooling horn, +That mocks alike the goblet's brittle frame, +Its costlier potions, and its nobler name. +To _Mary_ first the brimming draught is given +By toil made welcome as the dews of heaven, +And never lip that press'd its homely edge +Had kinder blessings or a heartier pledge. + +Of wholesome viands here a banquet smiles, +A common cheer for all;... e'en humble _Giles_, +Who joys his trivial services to yield +Amidst the fragrance of the open field; +Oft doom'd in suffocating heat to bear +The cobweb'd barn's impure and dusty air; +To ride in murky state the panting steed, +Destin'd aloft th' unloaded grain to tread, +Where, in his path as heaps on heaps are thrown, +He rears, and plunges the loose mountain down: +Laborious task! with what delight when done +Both horse and rider greet th' unclouded sun! + +Yet by th' unclouded sun are hourly bred +The bold assailants that surround thine head, +Poor patient _Ball!_ and with insulting wing +Roar in thine ears, and dart the piercing sting: +In thy behalf the crest-wav'd boughs avail +More than thy short-clipt remnant of a tail, +A moving mockery, a useless name, +A living proof of cruelty and shame. +Shame to the man, whatever fame he bore, +Who took from thee what man can ne'er restore, +Thy weapon of defence, thy chiefest good, +When swarming flies contending suck thy blood. +Nor thine alone the suff'ring, thine the care, +The fretful _Ewe_ bemoans an equal share; +Tormented into sores, her head she hides, +Or angry brushes from her new-shorn sides. +Pen'd in the yard, e'en now at closing day +Unruly _Cows_ with mark'd impatience stay, +And vainly striving to escape their foes, +The pail kick down; a piteous current flows. + +Is't not enough that plagues like these molest? +Must still another foe annoy their rest? +He comes, the pest and terror of the yard, +His full-fledg'd progeny's imperious guard; +The GANDER;... spiteful, insolent, and bold, +At the colt's footlock takes his daring hold: +There, serpent-like, escapes a dreadful blow; +And straight attacks a poor defenceless cow: +Each booby goose th' unworthy strife enjoys, +And hails his prowess with redoubled noise. +Then back he stalks, of self-importance full, +Seizes the shaggy foretop of the bull, +Till whirl'd aloft he falls; a timely check, +Enough to dislocate his worthless neck: +For lo! of old, he boasts an honour'd wound; +Behold that broken wing that trails the ground! +Thus fools and bravoes kindred pranks pursue; +As savage quite, and oft as fatal too. +Happy the man that foils an envious elf, +Using the darts of spleen to serve himself. +As when by turns the strolling _Swine_ engage +The utmost efforts of the bully's rage, +Whose nibbling warfare on the grunter's side +Is welcome pleasure to his oristly hide; +Gently he stoops, or strecht at ease along, +Enjoys the insults of the gabbling throng, +That march exulting round his fallen head, +As human victors trample on their dead. + +Still TWILIGHT, welcome! Rest, how sweet art thou! +Now eve o'erhangs the western cloud's thick brow: +The far-stretch'd curtain of retiring light, +With fiery treasures fraught; that on the sight +Flash from its bulging sides, where darkness lours, +In Fancy's eye, a chain of mould'ring tow'rs; +Or craggy coasts just rising into view, +Midst jav'lins dire, and darts of streaming blue. + +Anon tir'd labourers bless their shelt'ring home, +When MIDNIGHT, and the frightful TEMPEST come. +The Farmer wakes, and sees with silent dread +The angry shafts of Heaven gleam round his bed; +The bursting cloud reiterated roars, +Shakes his straw roof, and jars his bolted doors: +The slow-wing'd storm along the troubled skies +Spreads its dark course; the wind begins to rise; +And full-leaf'd elms, his dwelling's shade by day, +With mimic thunder give its fury way: +Sounds in his chimney top a doleful peal, +Midst pouring rain, or gusts of rattling hail; +With tenfold danger low the tempest bends, +And quick and strong the sulph'urous flame descends: +The fright'ned mastiff from his kennel flies, +And cringes at the door with piteous cries.... + +Where now's the trifler? where the child of pride? +These are the moments when the heart is try'd! +Nor lives the man with conscience e'er so clear, +But feels a solemn, reverential fear; +Feels too a joy relieve his aching breast, +When the spent storm hath howl'd itself to rest. +Still, welcome beats the long continued show'r, +And sleep protracted, comes with double pow'r; +Calm dreams of bliss bring on the morning sun, +For every barn is fill'd, and HARVEST _done_! + +Now, ere sweet SUMMER bids its long adieu, +And winds blow keen where late the blossom grew, +The bustling day and jovial night must come, +The long accustom'd feast of HARVEST-HOME. +No blood-stain'd victory, in story bright, +Can give the philosophic mind delight; +No triumph please while rage and death destroy: +Reflection sickens at the monstrous joy. +And where the joy, if rightly understood, +Like cheerful praise for universal good? +The soul nor check nor doubtful anguish knows, +But free and pure the grateful current flows. + +Behold the sound oak table's massy frame +Bestride the kitchen floor! the careful dame +And gen'rous host invite their friends around, +While all that clear'd the crop, or till'd the ground, +Are guests by right of custom:... old and young; +And many a neighbouring yeoman join the throng, +With artizans that lent their dext'rous aid, +When o'er each field the flaming sun-beams play'd,-- + +Yet Plenty reigns, and from her boundless hoard, +Though not one jelly trembles on the board, +Supplies the feast with all that sense can crave; +With all that made our great forefathers brave, +Ere the cloy'd palate countless flavours try'd, +And cooks had Nature's judgment set aside. +With thanks to Heaven, and tales of rustic lore, +The mansion echoes when the banquet's o'er; +A wider circle spreads, and smiles abound, +As quick the frothing horn performs its round; +Care's mortal foe; that sprightly joys imparts +To cheer the frame and elevate their hearts. +Here, fresh and brown, the hazel's produce lies +In tempting heaps, and peals of laughter rise, +And crackling Music, with the frequent _Song_, +Unheeded bear the midnight hour along. + +Here once a year Distinction low'rs its crest, +The master, servant, and the merry guest, +Are equal all; and round the happy ring +The reaper's eyes exulting glances fling, +And, warm'd with gratitude, he quits his place, +With sun-burnt hands and ale-enliven'd face, +Refills the jug his honour'd host to tend, +To serve at once the master and the friend; +Proud thus to meet his smiles, to share his tale, +His nuts, his conversation, and his ale. + +Such were the days, ... of days long past I sing, +When Pride gave place to mirth without a sting; +Ere tyrant customs strength sufficient bore +To violate the feelings of the poor; +To leave them distanc'd in the mad'ning race, +Where'er Refinement shews its hated face: +Nor causeless hated;... 'tis the peasant's curse, +That hourly makes his wretched station worse; +Destroys life's intercourse; the social plan +That rank to rank cements, as man to man: +Wealth flows around him, fashion lordly reigns; +Yet poverty is his, and mental pains. + +Methinks I hear the mourner thus impart +The stifled murmurs of his wounded heart: +'Whence comes this change, ungracious, irksome, cold? +'Whence the new grandeur that mine eyes behold? +'The wid'ning distance which I daily see, +'Has Wealth done this?... then wealth's a foe to me; +'Foe to our rights; that leaves a pow'rful few +'The paths of emulation to pursue:... +'For emulation stoops to us no more: +'The hope of humble industry is o'er; +'The blameless hope, the cheering sweet presage +'Of future comforts for declining age. +'Can my sons share from this paternal hand +'The profits with the labours of the land? +'No; tho' indulgent Heaven its blessing deigns, +'Where's the small farm to suit my scanty means? +'Content, the Poet sings, with us resides; +'In lonely cots like mine the damsel hides; +'And will he then in raptur'd visions tell +'That sweet Content with Want can ever dwell? +'A barley loaf, 'tis true, my table crowns, +'That fast diminishing in lusty rounds, +'Stops Nature's cravings; yet her sighs will flow +'From knowing this,... that once it was not so. +'Our annual feast, when Earth her plenty yields, +'When crown'd with boughs the last load quits the fields, +'The aspect still of ancient joy puts on; +'The aspect only, with the substance gone: +'The self-same Horn is still at our command, +'But serves none now but the plebeian hand: +'For _home-brew'd Ale_, neglected and debas'd, +'Is quite discarded from the realms of taste. +'Where unaffected Freedom charm'd the soul, +'The separate table and the costly bowl, +'Cool as the blast that checks the budding Spring, +'A mockery of gladness round them fling. +'For oft the Farmer, ere his heart approves, +'Yields up the custom which he dearly loves: +'Refinement forces on him like a tide; +'Bold innovations down its current ride, +'That bear no peace beneath their shewy dress, +'Nor add one tittle to his happiness. +'His guests selected; rank's punctilios known; +'What trouble waits upon a casual frown! +'Restraint's foul manacles his pleasures maim; +'Selected guests selected phrases claim: +'Nor reigns that joy when hand in hand they join +'That good old Master felt in shaking mine. +'HEAVEN bless his memory! bless his honour'd name! +'(The poor will speak his lasting worthy fame:) +'To souls fair-purpos'd strength and guidance give; +'In pity to us still let goodness live: +'Let labour have its due! my cot shall be +'From chilling want and guilty murmurs free: +'Let labour have its due;... then peace is mine, +'And never, never shall my heart repine.' + + + + +AUTUMN. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Acorns. Hogs in the wood. Wheat-sowing. The Church. Village girls. +The mad girl. The bird-boy's hut. Disappointments; reflections, &c. +Euston-hall. Fox-hunting. Old Trouncer. Long nights. A welcome to Winter._ + + +[Illustration] + + + + AUTUMN. + + +III. + +Again, the year's _decline_, midst storms and floods, +The thund'ring chase, the yellow fading woods, +Invite my song; that fain would boldly tell +Of upland coverts, and the echoing dell, +By turns resounding loud, at eve and morn +The swineherd's halloo, or the huntsman's horn. + +No more the fields with scatter'd grain supply +The restless wand'ring tenants of the STY; +From oak to oak they run with eager haste, +And wrangling share the first delicious taste +Of fallen ACORNS; yet but thinly found +Till the strong gale have shook them to the ground. +It comes; and roaring woods obedient wave: +Their home well pleas'd the joint adventurers leave: +The trudging sow leads forth her numerous young, +Playful, and white, and clean, the briars among, +Till briars and thorns increasing, fence them round, +Where last year's mould'ring leaves bestrew the ground, +And o'er their heads, loud lash'd by furious squalls, +Bright from their cups the rattling treasure falls; +Hot thirsty food; whence doubly sweet and cool +The welcome margin of some rush-grown pool, +The wild duck's lonely haunt, whose jealous eye +Guards every point; who sits prepar'd to fly, +On the calm bosom of her little lake, +Too closely screen'd for ruffian winds to shake; +And as the bold intruders press around, +At once she starts, and rises with a bound: +With bristles rais'd the sudden noise they hear, +And ludicrously wild, and wing'd with fear, +The herd decamp with more than swinish speed, +And snorting dash thro' sedge, and rush, and reed: +Through tangling thickets headlong on they go, +Then stop, and listen for their fancied foe; +The hindmost still the growing panic spreads, +Repeated fright the first alarm succeeds, +Till Folly's wages, wounds and thorns, they reap: +Yet glorying in their fortunate escape, +Their groundless terrors by degrees soon cease, +And Night's dark reign restores their wonted peace. +For now the gale subsides, and from each bough +The roosting pheasant's short but frequent crow +Invites to rest; and huddling side by side, +The herd in closest ambush seek to hide; +Seek some warm slope with shagged moss o'erspread, +Dry'd leaves their copious covering and their bed. +In vain may _Giles_, thro' gath'ring glooms that fall, +And solemn silence, urge his piercing call: +Whole days and nights they tarry midst their store, +Nor quit the woods till oaks can yield no more. + +Beyond bleak _Winter's_ rage, beyond the _Spring_ +That rolling Earth's unvarying course will bring, +Who tills the ground looks on with mental eye, +And sees next _Summer's_ sheaves and cloudless sky; +And even now, whilst Nature's beauty dies, +Deposits SEED, and bids new harvests rise; +Seed well prepar'd, and warm'd with glowing lime, +'Gainst earth-bred grubs, and cold, and lapse of time: +For searching frosts and various ills invade, +Whilst wint'ry months depress the springing blade. +The plough moves heavily, and strong the soil, +And clogging harrows with augmented toil +Dive deep: and clinging mixes with the mould +A fat'ning treasure from the nightly fold, +And all the cow-yard's highly valu'd store, +That late bestrew'd the blacken'd surface o'er. +No idling hours are here, when Fancy trims +Her dancing taper over outstretch'd limbs, +And in her thousand thousand colours drest, +Plays round the grassy couch of noontide rest: +Here GILES for hours of indolence atones +With strong exertion, and with weary bones, +And knows no leisure; till the distant chime +Of Sabbath bells he hears at sermon time, +That down the brook sound sweetly in the gale, +Or strike the rising hill, or skim the dale. + +Nor his alone the sweets of ease to taste: +Kind rest extends to all;... save one poor beast, +That true to time and pace, is doom'd to plod, +To bring the Pastor to the HOUSE of GOD: +Mean structure; where no bones of heroes lie! +The rude inelegance of poverty +Reigns here alone: else why that roof of straw? +Those narrow windows with the frequent flaw? +O'er whose low cells the dock and mallow spread, +And rampant nettles lift the spiry head, +Whilst from the hollows of the tower on high +The grey-cap'd daws in saucy legions fly. + +Round these lone walls assembling neighbours meet, +And tread departed friends beneath their feet; +And new-brier'd graves, that prompt the secret sigh, +Shew each the spot where he himself must lie. +Midst timely greetings village news goes round, +Of crops late shorn, or crops that deck the ground; +Experienc'd ploughmen in the circle join; +While sturdy boys, in feats of strength to shine, +With pride elate their young associates brave +To jump from hollow-sounding grave to grave; +Then close consulting, each his talent lends +To plan fresh sports when tedious service ends. +Hither at times, with cheerfulness of soul, +Sweet _village Maids_ from neighbouring hamlets stroll, +That like the light-heel'd does o'er lawns that rove, +Look shyly curious; rip'ning into love; +For love's their errand: hence the tints that glow +On either cheek, an heighten'd lustre know: +When, conscious of their charms, e'en Age looks sly, +And rapture beams from Youth's observant eye. + +THE PRIDE of such a party, Nature's pride, +Was lovely POLL;[Footnote: MARY RAYNER, of Ixworth Thorp.] who innocently +try'd, +With hat of airy shape and ribbons gay, +Love to inspire, and stand in Hymen's way: +But, ere her _twentieth_ Summer could expand, +Or youth was render'd happy with her hand, +Her mind's serenity was lost and gone, +Her eye grew languid, and she wept alone; +Yet causeless seem'd her grief; for quick restrain'd, +Mirth follow'd loud, or indignation reign'd: +Whims wild and simple led her from her home, +The heath, the common, or the fields to roam: +Terror and joy alternate rul'd her hours; +Now blithe she sung, and gather'd useless flow'rs; +Now pluck'd a tender twig from every bough, +To whip the hov'ring demons from her brow. +Ill-fated Maid! thy guiding spark is fled, +And lasting wretchedness awaits thy bed ... +Thy bed of straw! for mark, where even now +O'er their lost child afflicted parents bow; +Their woe she knows not, but perversely coy, +Inverted customs yield her sullen joy; +Her midnight meals in secresy she takes, +Low mutt'ring to the moon, that rising breaks +Through night's dark gloom:... oh how much more forlorn +_Her_ night, that knows of no returning dawn!... + +[Illustration:] + +Slow from the threshold, once her infant seat, +O'er the cold earth she crawls to her retreat; +Quitting the cot's warm walls unhous'd to lie, +Or share the swine's impure and narrow sty; +The damp night air her shiv'ring limbs assails; +In dreams she moans, and fancied wrongs bewails. +When morning wakes, none earlier rous'd than she, +When pendent drops fall glitt'ring from the tree; +But nought her rayless melancholy cheers, +Or sooths her breast, or stops her streaming tears. +Her matted locks unornamented flow; +Clasping her knees, and waving to and fro;... +Her head bow'd down, her faded cheek to hide;... +A piteous mourner by the pathway side. +Some tufted molehill through the livelong day +She calls her throne; there weeps her life away: +And oft the gaily passing stranger stays +His well-tim'd step, and takes a silent gaze, +Till sympathetic drops unbidden start, +And pangs quick springing muster round his heart; +And soft he treads with other gazers round, +And fain would catch her sorrow's plaintive sound: +One word alone is all that strikes the ear, +One short, pathetic, simple word,... "_Oh dear!_" +A thousand times repeated to the wind, +That wafts the sigh, but leaves the pang behind! +For ever of the proffer'd parley shy, +She hears the' unwelcome foot advancing nigh; +Nor quite unconscious of her wretched plight, +Gives one sad look, and hurries out of sight.... + +Fair promis'd sunbeams of terrestrial bliss, +Health's gallant hopes,... and are ye sunk to this? +For in life's road though thorns abundant grow, +There still are joys poor Poll can never know; +Joys which the gay companions of her prime +Sip, as they drift along the stream of time; +At eve to hear beside their tranquil home +The lifted latch, that speaks the lover come: +_That_ love matur'd, next playful on the knee +To press the velvet lip of infancy; +To stay the tottering step, the features trace;... +Inestimable sweets of social peace! + +O THOU, who bidst the vernal juices rise! +Thou, on whose blasts autumnal foliage flies! +Let Peace ne'er leave me, nor my heart grow cold, +Whilst life and sanity are mine to hold. + +Shorn of their flow'rs that shed th' untreasur'd seed, +The withering pasture, and the fading mead, +Less tempting grown, diminish more and more, +The dairy's pride; sweet Summer's flowing store. +New cares succeed, and gentle duties press, +Where the fire-side, a school of tenderness, +Revives the languid chirp, and warms the blood +Of cold-nipt weaklings of the latter brood, +That from the shell just bursting into day, +Through yard or pond pursue their vent'rous way. + +Far weightier cares and wider scenes expand; +What devastation marks the new-sown land! +"From hungry woodland foes go, _Giles_, and guard +The rising wheat; ensure its great reward: +A future sustenance, a Summer's pride, +Demand thy vigilance: then be it try'd: +Exert thy voice, and wield thy shotless gun: +Go, tarry there from morn till setting sun." + +Keen blows the blast, or ceaseless rain descends; +The half-stript hedge a sorry shelter lends. +O for a HOVEL, e'er so small or low, +Whose roof, repelling winds and early snow, +Might bring home's comforts fresh before his eyes! +No sooner thought, than see the structure rise, +In some sequester'd nook, embank'd around, +Sods for its walls, and straw in burdens bound: + +[Illustration] + +Dried fuel hoarded is his richest store, +And circling smoke obscures his little door; +Whence creeping forth, to duty's call he yields, +And strolls the Crusoe of the lonely fields. +On whitethorns tow'ring, and the leafless rose, +A frost-nipt feast in bright vermilion glows: +Where clust'ring sloes in glossy order rise, +He crops the loaded branch; a cumb'rous prize; +And o'er the flame the sputt'ring fruit he rests, +Placing green sods to seat his coming guests; +His guests by promise; playmates young and gay:... +BUT AH! _fresh pastimes_ lure their steps away! +He sweeps his hearth, and homeward looks in vain, +Till feeling _Disappointment's_ cruel pain, +His fairy revels are exchang'd for rage, +His banquet marr'd, grown dull his hermitage. +The field becomes his prison, till on high +Benighted birds to shades and coverts fly. +Midst air, health, daylight, can he prisoner be? +If fields are prisons, where is Liberty? +Here still she dwells, and here her votaries stroll; +But disappointed hope untunes the soul: +Restraints unfelt whilst hours of rapture flow, +When troubles press, to chains and barriers grow. +Look then from trivial up to greater woes; +From the poor bird-boy with his roasted sloes, +To where the dungeon'd mourner heaves the sigh; +Where not one cheering sun-beam meets his eye. +Though ineffectual pity thine may be, +No wealth, no pow'r, to set the captive free; +Though _only_ to thy ravish'd _sight_ is given +The golden path that HOWARD trod to heaven; +Thy slights can make the wretched more forlorn, +And deeper drive affliction's barbed thorn. +Say not, "I'll come and cheer thy gloomy cell +With news of dearest friends; how good, how well: +I'll be a joyful herald to thine heart:" +Then fail, and play the worthless trifler's part, +To sip flat pleasures from thy glass's brim, +And waste the precious hour that's due to him. +In mercy spare the base unmanly blow: +Where can he turn, to whom complain of you? +Back to past joys in vain his thoughts may stray; +Trace and retrace the beaten worn-out way, +The rankling injury will pierce his breast, +And curses on thee break his midnight rest. + +Bereft of song, and ever cheering green, +The soft endearments of the Summer scene, +New harmony pervades the solemn wood, +Dear to the soul, and healthful to the blood: +For bold exertion follows on the sound +Of distant sportsmen, and the chiding hound; +First heard from kennel bursting, mad with joy, +Where smiling EUSTON boasts her good FITZROY, +Lord of pure alms, and gifts that wide extend; +The farmer's patron, and the poor man's friend: +Whose mansion glitt'ring with the eastern ray, +Whose elevated temple, points the way, +O'er slopes and lawns, the park's extensive pride, +To where the victims of the chace reside, +Ingulf'd in earth, in conscious safety warm, +Till lo! a plot portends their coming harm. + +In earliest hours of dark unhooded morn, +Ere yet one rosy cloud bespeaks the dawn, +Whilst far abroad THE FOX pursues his prey, +He's doom'd to risk the perils of the day, +From his strong hold block'd out; perhaps to bleed, +Or owe his life to fortune or to speed. +For now the pack, impatient rushing on, +Range through the darkest coverts one by one; +Trace every spot; whilst down each noble glade +That guides the eye beneath a changeful shade, +The loit'ring sportsman feels th' instinctive flame, +And checks his steed to mark the springing game. +Midst intersecting cuts and winding ways +The huntsman cheers his dogs, and anxious strays +Where every narrow riding, even shorn, +Gives back the echo of his mellow horn: +Till fresh and lightsome, every power untried, +The starting fugitive leaps by his side, +His lifted finger to his ear he plies, +And the view halloo bids a chorus rise +Of dogs quick-mouth'd, and shouts that mingle loud, +As bursting thunder rolls from cloud to cloud. +With ears erect, and chest of vigorous mould, +O'er ditch, o'er fence, unconquerably bold, +The shining courser lengthens every bound, +And his strong foot-locks suck the moisten'd ground, +As from the confines of the wood they pour, +And joyous villages partake the roar. +O'er heath far stretch'd, or down, or valley low. +The stiff-limb'd peasant, glorying in the show, +Pursues in vain; where youth itself soon tires, +Spite of the transports that the chace inspires; +For who unmounted long can charm the eye, +Or hear the music of the leading cry? + +Poor faithful TROUNCER! thou canst lead no more; +All thy fatigues and all thy triumphs o'er! +Triumphs of worth, whose honorary fame +Was still to follow true the hunted game; +Beneath enormous oaks, Britannia's boast, +In thick impenetrable coverts lost, +When the warm pack in fault'ring silence stood, +Thine was the note that rous'd the list'ning wood, +Rekindling every joy with tenfold force, +Through all the mazes of the tainted course. +Still foremost thou the dashing stream to cross, +And tempt along the animated horse; +Foremost o'er fen or level mead to pass, +And sweep the show'ring dew-drops from the grass; +Then bright emerging from the mist below +To climb the woodland hill's exulting brow. + +Pride of thy race! with worth far less than thine, +Full many human leaders daily shine! +Less faith, less constancy, less gen'rous zeal!... +Then no disgrace mine humble verse shall feel; +Where not one lying line to riches bows, +Or poison'd sentiment from rancour flows; +Nor flowers are strewn around Ambition's car:... +An honest dog's a nobler theme by far. +Each sportsman heard the tidings with a sigh, +When Death's cold touch had stopt his tuneful cry; +And though high deeds, and fair exalted praise, +In memory liv'd, and flow'd in rustic lays, +Short was the strain of monumental woe: +"_Foxes, rejoice! here buried lies your foe.[A]_" +[Footnote A: Inscribed on a stone in Euston Park wall.] + +In safety hous'd, throughout NIGHT'S _length'ning_ reign, +The Cock sends forth a loud and piercing strain; +More frequent, as the glooms of midnight flee, +And hours roll round, that brought him liberty, +When Summer's early dawn, mild, clear, and bright, +Chas'd quick away the transitory night:... +Hours now in darkness veil'd; yet loud the scream +Of Geese impatient for the playful stream; +And all the feather'd tribe imprison'd raise +Their morning notes of inharmonious praise; +And many a clamorous Hen and cockrel gay, +When daylight slowly through the fog breaks way, +Fly wantonly abroad: but ah, how soon +The shades of twilight follow hazy noon, +Short'ning the busy day!... day that slides by +Amidst th' unfinish'd toils of HUSBANDRY; +Toils still each morn resum'd with double care, +To meet the icy terrors of the year; +To meet the threats of _Boreas_ undismay'd, +And _Winter's_ gathering frowns and hoary head. + +THEN welcome, COLD; welcome, ye _snowy_ nights! +Heaven midst your rage shall mingle pure delights, +And confidence of hope the soul sustain, +While devastation sweeps along the plain: +Nor shall the child of poverty despair, +But bless THE POWER that rules the _changing year_; +Assur'd,... tho' horrors round his cottage reign,... +That _Spring_ will come, and Nature smile again. + + + +WINTER. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Tenderness to cattle. Frozen turnips. The cow-yard. Night. +The farm-house. Fire-side. Farmer's advice and instruction. Nightly cares +of the stable. Dobbin. The post-horse. Sheep-stealing dogs. Walks +occasioned thereby. The ghost. Lamb time. Returning Spring. Conclusion._ + + +[Illustration] + + + + WINTER. + + +IV. + +With kindred pleasures mov'd, and cares opprest, +Sharing alike our weariness and rest; +Who lives the daily partner of our hours, +Thro' every change of heat, and frost, and show'rs; +Partakes our cheerful meals, partaking first +In mutual labour and in mutual thirst; +The kindly intercourse will ever prove +A bond of amity and social love. +To more than man this generous warmth extends, +And oft the team and shiv'ring herd befriends; +Tender solicitude the bosom fills, +And Pity executes what Reason wills: +Youth learns compassion's tale from every tongue, +And flies to aid the helpless and the young; + +When now, unsparing as the scourge of war, +Blasts follow blasts, and groves dismantled roar, +Around their home the storm-pinch'd CATTLE lows, +No nourishment in frozen pastures grows; +Yet frozen pastures every morn resound +With fair abundance thund'ring to the ground. +For though on hoary twigs no buds peep out, +And e'en the hardy bramble cease to sprout, +Beneath dread WINTER'S level sheets of snow +The sweet nutritious _Turnip_ deigns to grow. +Till now imperious want and wide-spread dearth +Bid Labour claim her treasures from the earth. +On GILES, and such as Giles, the labour falls, +To strew the frequent load where hunger calls. +On driving gales sharp hail indignant flies, +And sleet, more irksome still, assails his eyes; +Snow clogs his feet; or if no snow is seen, +The field with all its juicy store to screen, +Deep goes the frost, till every root is found +A rolling mass of ice upon the ground. +No tender ewe can break her nightly fast, +Nor heifer strong begin the cold repast, +Till _Giles_ with pond'rous beetle foremost go, +And scatt'ring splinters fly at every blow; +When pressing round him, eager for the prize, +From their mixt breath warm exhalations rise. + +If now in beaded rows drops deck the spray, +While _Phoebus_ grants a momentary ray, +Let but a cloud's broad shadow intervene, +And stiffen'd into gems the drops are seen; +And down the furrow'd oak's broad southern side +Streams of dissolving rime no longer glide. + +THOUGH NIGHT approaching bids for rest prepare, +Still the flail echoes through the frosty air, +Nor stops till deepest shades of darkness come, +Sending at length the weary laborer home. +From him, with bed and nightly food supplied, +Throughout the yard, hous'd round on every side, +Deep-plunging Cows their rustling feast enjoy, +And snatch sweet mouthfuls from the passing boy, +Who moves unseen beneath his trailing load, +Fills the tall racks, and leaves a scatter'd road; +Where oft the swine from ambush warm and dry +Bolt out, and scamper headlong to their sty, +When _Giles_ with well-known voice, already there, +Deigns them a portion of his evening care. + +_Him_, though the cold may pierce, and storms molest, +Succeeding hours shall cheer with warmth and rest: + +[Illustration] + +Gladness to spread, and raise the grateful smile, +He hurls the faggot bursting from the pile, +And many a log and rifted trunk conveys, +To heap the fire, and to extend the blaze +That quiv'ring strong through every opening flies, +Whilst smoaky columns unobstructed rise. +For the rude architect, unknown to fame, +(Nor symmetry nor elegance his aim) +Who spread his floors of solid oak on high, +On beams rough-hewn, from age to age that lie, +Bade his _wide Fabric_ unimpair'd sustain +_Pomona's_ store, and cheese, and golden grain; +Bade from its central base, capacious laid, +The well-wrought chimney rear its lofty head; +Where since hath many a savoury ham been stor'd, +And tempests howl'd, and Christmas gambols roar'd. + +FLAT on the _hearth_ the glowing embers lie, +And flames reflected dance in every eye: +There the long billet, forc'd at last to bend, +While frothing sap gushes at either end, +Throws round its welcome heat:... the ploughman smiles, +And oft the joke runs hard on sheepish _Giles_, +Who sits joint tenant of the corner-stool, +The converse sharing, though in duty's school; +For now attentively 'tis his to hear +Interrogations from the Master's chair. + +'LEFT ye your bleating charge, when daylight fled, +'Near where the hay-stack lifts its snowy head? +'Whose fence of bushy furze, so close and warm, +'May stop the slanting bullets of the storm. +'For, hark! it blows; a dark and dismal night: +'Heaven guide the traveller's fearful steps aright! +'Now from the woods, mistrustful and sharp-ey'd, +'The _Fox_ in silent darkness seems to glide, +'Stealing around us, list'ning as he goes, +'If chance the Cock or stamm'ring cockerel crows, +'Or Goose, or nodding Duck, should darkling cry, +'As if appriz'd of lurking danger nigh: +'Destruction waits them, _Giles_, if e'er you fail +'To bolt their doors against the driving gale. +'Strew'd you (still mindful of the unshelter'd head) +'Burdens of straw, the cattle's welcome bed? +'Thine heart should feel, what thou may'st hourly see, +'_That duty's basis is humanity._ +'Of pain's unsavoury cup tho' thou may'st taste, +'(The wrath of Winter from the bleak north-east,) +'Thine utmost suff'rings in the coldest day +'A period terminates, and joys repay. +'Perhaps e'en now, while here those joys we boast, +'Full many a bark rides down the neighb'ring coast, +'Where the high northern waves tremendous roar, +'Drove down by blasts from _Norway's_ icy shore. +'The _Sea-boy_ there, less fortunate than thou, +'Feels all thy pains in all the gusts that blow; +'His freezing hands now drench'd, now dry, by turns; +'Now lost, now seen, the distant light that burns, +'On some tall cliff uprais'd, a flaming guide, +'That throws its friendly radiance o'er the tide. +'His labours cease not with declining day, +'But toils and perils mark his watry way; +'And whilst in peaceful dreams secure _we_ lie, +'The ruthless whirlwinds rage along the sky, +'Round his head whistling;... and shall thou repine, +'While this protecting roof still shelters thine?' + +Mild, as the vernal show'r, his words prevail, +And aid the moral precept of his tale: +His wond'ring hearers learn, and ever keep +These first ideas of the restless deep; +And, as the opening mind a circuit tries, +Present felicities in value rise. +Increasing pleasures every hour they find, +The warmth more precious, and the shelter kind; +Warmth that long reigning bids the eyelids close, +As through the blood its balmy influence goes, +When the cheer'd heart forgets fatigues and cares, +And drowsiness alone dominion bears. + +Sweet then the ploughman's slumbers, hale and young, +When the last topic dies upon his tongue; +Sweet then the bliss his transient dreams inspire, +Till chilblains wake him, or the snapping fire: + +He starts, and ever thoughtful of his team, +Along the glitt'ring snow a feeble gleam +Shoots from his lantern, as he yawning goes +To add fresh comforts to their night's repose; +Diffusing fragrance as their food he moves +And pats the jolly sides of those he loves. +Thus full replenish'd, perfect ease possest, +From night till morn alternate food and rest, +No rightful cheer withheld, no sleep debar'd, +Their each day's labour brings its sure reward. +Yet when from plough or lumb'ring cart set free, +They taste awhile the sweets of liberty: +E'en sober _Dobbin_ lifts his clumsy heels +And kicks, disdainful of the dirty wheels; +But soon, his frolic ended, yields again +To trudge the road, and wear the clinking chain. + +Short-sighted DOBBIN!... thou canst only see +The trivial hardships that _encompass_ thee: +Thy chains were freedom, and thy toils repose, +Could the poor _post-horse_ tell thee all his woes; +Shew thee his bleeding shoulders, and unfold +The dreadful anguish he endures for gold: +Hir'd at each call of business, lust, or rage, +That prompt the trav'eller on from stage to stage. +Still on _his_ strength depends their boasted speed; +For them his limbs grow weak, his bare ribs bleed; +And though he groaning quickens at command, +Their extra shilling in the rider's hand +Becomes his bitter scourge:... 'tis _he_ must feel +The double efforts of the lash and steel; +Till when, up hill, the destin'd inn he gains, +And trembling under complicated pains, +Prone from his nostrils, darting on the ground, +His breath emitted floats in clouds around: +Drops chase each other down his chest and sides, +And spatter'd mud his native colour hides: +Thro' his swoln veins the boiling torrent flows, +And every nerve a separate torture knows. +His harness loos'd, he welcomes eager-eyed +The pail's full draught that quivers by his side; +And joys to see the well-known stable door, +As the starv'd mariner the friendly shore. + +Ah, well for him if here his suff'rings ceas'd, +And ample hours of rest his pains appeas'd! +But rous'd again, and sternly bade to rise, +And shake refreshing slumber from his eyes, +Ere his exhausted spirits can return, +Or through his frame reviving ardour burn, +Come forth he must, tho' limping, maim'd, and sore; +He hears the whip; the chaise is at the door:... +The collar tightens, and again he feels +His half-heal'd wounds inflam'd; again the wheels +With tiresome sameness in his ears resound, +O'er blinding dust, or miles of flinty ground. +Thus nightly robb'd, and injur'd day by day, +His piece-meal murd'rers wear his life away. + +What say'st thou, _Dobbin?_ what though hounds await +With open jaws the moment of thy fate, +No better fate attends _his_ public race; +His life is misery, and his end disgrace. +Then freely bear thy burden to the mill; +Obey but one short law,... thy driver's will. +Affection, to thy memory ever true, +Shall boast of mighty loads that _Dobbin_ drew; +And back to childhood shall the mind with pride +Recount thy gentleness in many a ride +To pond, or field, or village fair, when thou +Held'st high thy braided mane and comely brow; +And oft the Tale shall rise to homely fame +Upon thy gen'rous spirit and thy name. + +Though faithful to a proverb, we regard +The midnight chieftain of the farmer's yard, +Beneath whose guardianship all hearts rejoice, +Woke by the echo of his hollow voice; +Yet as the Hound may fault'ring quit the pack, +Snuff the foul scent, and hasten yelping back; +And e'en the docile Pointer know disgrace, +Thwarting the gen'ral instinct of his race; +E'en so the MASTIFF, or the meaner Cur, +At times will from the path of duty err, +(A pattern of fidelity by day; +By night a _murderer_, lurking for his prey); +And round the pastures or the fold will creep, +And, coward-like, attack the peaceful _sheep_: +Alone the wanton mischief he pursues, +Alone in reeking blood his jaws imbrues; +Chasing amain his fright'ned victims round, +Till death in wild confusion strews the ground; +Then wearied out, to kennel sneaks away, +And licks his guilty paws till break of day. + +The deed discover'd, and the news once spread, +Vengeance hangs o'er the unknown culprit's head: +And careful _Shepherds_ extra hours bestow +In patient _watchings_ for the common foe; +A foe most dreaded now, when rest and peace +Should wait the season of the flock's increase. + +In part these nightly terrors to dispel, +GILES, ere he sleeps, his little Flock must tell. +From the fire-side with many a shrug he hies, +Glad if the full-orb'd Moon salute his eyes, +And through the unbroken stillness of the night +Shed on his path her beams of cheering light. +With saunt'ring step he climbs the distant stile, +Whilst all around him wears a placid smile; +There views the white-rob'd clouds in clusters driv'n, +And all the glorious pageantry of heav'n. +Low, on the utmost bound'ry of the sight, +The rising vapours catch the silver light; +Thence Fancy measures, as they parting fly, +Which first will throw its shadow on the eye, +Passing the source of light; and thence away, +Succeeded quick by brighter still than they. +For yet above these wafted clouds are seen +(In a remoter sky, still more serene,) +Others, detach'd in ranges through the air, +Spotless as snow, and countless as they're fair; +Scatter'd immensely wide from east to west, +The beauteous 'semblance of a _Flock_ at rest. +These, to the raptur'd mind, aloud proclaim +Their MIGHTY SHEPHERD'S everlasting Name. + +Whilst thus the loit'rer's utmost stretch of soul +Climbs the still clouds, or passes those that roll, +And loos'd _Imagination_ soaring goes +High o'er his home, and all his little woes, +TIME glides away; neglected Duty calls: +At once from plains of light to earth he falls, +And down a narrow lane, well known by day, +With all his speed pursues his sounding way, +In thought still half absorb'd, and chill'd with cold; +When, lo! an object frightful to behold; +A grisly SPECTRE, cloth'd in silver-gray, +Around whose feet the waving shadows play, +Stands in his path!... He stops, and not a breath +Heaves from his heart, that sinks almost to death. +Loud the owl halloos o'er his head unseen; +All else is silent, dismally serene: +Some prompt ejaculation, whisper'd low, +Yet bears him up against the threat'ning foe; +And thus poor Giles, though half inclin'd to fly, +Mutters his doubts, and strains his stedfast eye. +''Tis not my crimes thou com'st here to reprove; +'No murders stain my soul, no perjur'd love: +'If thou'rt indeed what here thou seem'st to be, +'Thy dreadful mission cannot reach to me. +'By parents taught still to mistrust mine eyes, +'Still to approach each object of surprise +'Lest Fancy's formful visions should deceive +'In moon-light paths, or glooms of falling eve, +'This then's the moment when my heart should try +'To scan thy motionless deformity; +'But oh, the fearful task! yet well I know +'An aged ash, with many a spreading bough, +'(Beneath whose leaves I've found a Summer's bow'r, +'Beneath whose trunk I've weather'd many a show'r,) +'Stands singly down this solitary way, +'But far beyond where now my footsteps stay. +'Tis true, thus far I've come with heedless haste; +'No reck'ning kept, no passing objects trac'd:... +'And can I then have reach'd that very tree? +'Or is its reverend form assum'd by thee?' +The happy thought alleviates his pain: +He creeps another step; then stops again; +Till slowly, as his noiseless feet draw near, +Its perfect lineaments at once appear; +Its crown of shiv'ring ivy whispering peace, +And its white bark that fronts the moon's pale face. +Now, whilst his blood mounts upward, now he knows +The solid gain that from conviction flows; +And strengthen'd Confidence shall hence fulfill +(With conscious Innocence more valued still) +The dreariest task that winter nights can bring, +By church-yard dark, or grove, or fairy ring; +Still buoying up the timid mind of youth, +Till loit'ring Reason hoists the scale of Truth. +With these blest guardians _Giles_ his course pursues, +Till numbering his heavy-sided ewes, +Surrounding stillness tranquilize his breast, +And shape the dreams that wait his hours of rest. + +As when retreating tempests we behold, +Whose skirts at length the azure sky unfold, +And full of murmurings and mingled wrath, +Slowly unshroud the smiling face of earth, +Bringing the bosom joy: so WINTER flies!... +And see the Source of Life and Light uprise! +A height'ning arch o'er southern hills he bends; +Warm on the cheek the slanting beam descends, +And gives the reeking mead a brighter hue, +And draws the modest _primrose_ bud to view. +Yet frosts succeed, and winds impetuous rush, +And hail-storms rattle thro' the budding bush; +And night-fall'n LAMBS require the shepherd's care, +And teeming EWES, that still their burdens bear; +Beneath whose sides tomorrow's dawn may see +The milk-white strangers bow the trembling knee; +At whose first birth the pow'rful instinct's seen +That fills with champions the daisied green: +For ewes that stood aloof with fearful eye, +With stamping foot now men and dogs defy, +And obstinately faithful to their young, +Guard their first steps to join the bleating throng. + +But casualties and death from damps and cold +Will still attend the well-conducted fold: +Her tender offspring dead, the dam aloud +Calls, and runs wild amidst the unconscious crowd: +And orphan'd sucklings raise the piteous cry; +No wool to warm them, no defenders nigh. +And must her streaming milk then flow in vain? +Must unregarded innocence complain? +No;... ere this strong solicitude subside, +Maternal fondness may be fresh apply'd, +And the adopted stripling still may find +A parent most assiduously kind. +For this he's doom'd awhile disguis'd to range, +(For fraud or force must work the wish'd-for change;) +For this his predecessor's skin he wears, +Till cheated into tenderness and cares, +The unsuspecting dam, contented grown, +Cherish and guard the fondling as her own. + +Thus all by turns to fair perfection rise; +Thus twins are parted to increase their size: +Thus instinct yields as interest points the way, +Till the bright flock, augmenting every day, +On sunny hills and vales of springing flow'rs +With ceaseless clamour greet the vernal hours. + +The humbler _Shepherd_ here with joy beholds +The approv'd economy of crowded folds, +And, in his small contracted round of cares, +Adjusts the practice of each hint he hears: +For Boys with emulation learn to glow, +And boast their pastures, and their healthful show +Of well-grown Lambs, the glory of the Spring; +And field to field in competition bring. + +E'en GILES, for all his cares and watchings past, +And all his contests with the wintry blast, +Claims a full share of that sweet praise bestow'd +By gazing neighbours, when along the road, +Or village green, his curly-coated throng +Suspends the chorus of the spinner's song; +When Admiration's unaffected grace +Lisps from the tongue, and beams in every face: +Delightful moments!... Sunshine, Health, and Joy, +Play round, and cheer the elevated Boy! +'_Another_ SPRING!' his heart exulting cries; +'_Another_ YEAR! with promis'd blessings rise!... +'ETERNAL POWER! from whom those blessings flow, +'Teach me still more to wonder, more to know: +'_Seed-time_ and _Harvest_ let me see again; +'Wander the _leaf-strewn_ wood, _frozen_ plain: +'Let the first Flower, corn-waving Field, Plain, Tree, +'Here round my home, still lift my soul to THEE; +'And let me ever, midst thy bounties, raise +'An humble note of thankfulness and praise!'-- + +APRIL 22, 1798. + + + + NOTES + + +_A fav'rite morsel with the Rook, &c._ P. 9, l. 104. + +In these verses, which have much of picturesque, there is a severe charge +against _Rooks and Crows_, as very formidable depredators; and their +destruction, as such, seems to be recommended. Such was the prevalent +opinion some years back. It is less general now: and I am sure the +humanity of the Author, and his benevolence to Animals in general, will +dispose him to rejoice in whatever plea can be offered in stay of +execution of this sentence. And yet more so, if it shall appear that +ROOKS, at least, deserve not only mercy, but _protection_ and +_encouragement_ from the Farmer. + +I shall quote a passage from BEWICK'S interesting HISTORY of BIRDS: the +narrative part of which is often as full of information as the +embellishments cut in wood are beautiful.... It is this. + +Speaking of Birds of the PIE-KIND in general, he says "Birds of this kind +[Footnote: P. 63] are found in every part of the known world, from +Greenland to the Cape of Good Hope. In many respects they may be said to +be of singular benefit to mankind: principally by destroying great +quantities of noxious insects, worms, and reptiles. ROOKS, in particular, +are fond of the erucae of the _hedge-chaffer_, or chesnut _brown beetle_: +for which they search with indefatigable pains. These insects," he adds in +a note, "appear in hot weather in formidable numbers: disrobing the fields +and trees of their verdure, blossoms, and fruit; spreading desolation and +destruction wherever they go.... They appeared in great numbers in IRELAND +during a hot summer, and committed great ravages. In the year 1747 whole +meadows and corn-fields were destroyed by them in SUFFOLK. The decrease of +Rookeries in that County was thought to be the occasion of it. The many +Rookeries with us is in some measure the reason why we have so few of +these destructive animals."[Footnote: Wallis's History of Northumberland.] + +"Rooks," he subjoins, "are often accus'd of feeding on the corn just after +it has been sown, and various contrivances have been made both to kill and +frighten them away; but, in our estimation, the advantages deriv'd from +the destruction which they make among grubs, earth-worms, and noxious +insects of various kinds, will greatly overpay the injury done to the +future harvest by the small quantity of corn they may destroy in searching +after their favourite food." [Footnote: Mr. Bewick does not seem to have +been quite aware that much of this mischief, as I have been informed by a +sensible neighboring Farmer and Tenant, is done in the grub-state of the +chaffer by biting through the _roots_ of grass, &c. A latent, and +imperceptibly, but rapidly spreading mischief, against which the _rooks_ +and birds of similar instinct are, in a manner, the sole protection. C. +L.] + +"In general they are sagacious, active, and faithful to each other. They +live in pairs; and their mutual attachment is constant. They are a +clamorous race: mostly build in trees, and form a kind of society in which +there appears something like a regular government. A Centinel watches for +the general safety, and gives notice on the appearance of danger." + +Under the Title, "ROOKS," (p. 71) Mr. BEWICK repeats his observations on +the useful property of this Bird. + +I confess myself solicitous for their safety and kind treatment. +We have two which were lam'd by being blown down in a storm (a calamity +which destroys great numbers almost every spring). One of them is +perfectly domesticated. The other is yet more remarkable; since although +enjoying his natural liberty completely, he recognizes, even in his +flights at a distance from the house, his adoptive home, his human +friends, and early protectors. + +The ROOK is certainly a very beautiful and very sensible Bird; very +confiding, and very much attach'd. It will give me a pleasure, in which I +doubt not that the Author of this delightful Poem will partake, if any +thing here said shall avail them with the Farmer; and especially with the +SUFFOLK FARMER. + +C. L. + + + +_Destroys life's intercourse; the social plan._ P. 46, l. 341. + + +"Allowing for the imperfect state of sublunary happiness, which is +comparative at best, there are not, perhaps, many nations existing whose +situation is so desirable; where the means of subsistence are so easy, and +the wants of the people so few. The evident distinction of ranks, which +subsists at _Otaheite_, does not so materially affect the felicity of the +nation as we might have supposed. The simplicity of their whole life +contributes to soften the appearance of distinctions, and to reduce them +to a level. Where the climate and the custom of the country do not +absolutely require a perfec: garment; where it is easy at every step to +gather as many plants as form not only a decent, but likewise a customary +covering; and where all the necessaries of life are within the reach of +every individual, at the expence of a trifling labour; ambition and envy +must in a great measure be unknown. It is true, the highest classes of +people possess some dainty articles, such as pork, fish, fowl, and cloth, +almost exclusively; but the desire of indulging the appetite in a few +trifling luxuries can at most render individuals, and not whole nations, +unhappy. Absolute want occasions the miseries of the lower class in some +civiliz'd states, and is the result of the unbounded voluptuousness of +their superiors. At _Otaheite_ there is not, in general, that disparity +between the highest and the meanest man, that subsists in England between +a reputable tradesman and a labourer. The affection of the Otaheitans for +their chiefs, which they never fail'd to express upon all occasions, gave +us great reason to suppose that they consider themselves as one family, +and respect their eldest borm in the persons of their chiefs. The lowest +man in the nation speaks as freely with his king as with his equal, and +has the pleasure of seeing him as often as he likes. The king, at times, +amuses himself with the occupations of his subjects; and not yet deprav'd +by false notions of empty state, he often paddles his own canoe, without +considering such an employment derogatory to his dignity. How long such an +happy equality may last is uncertain: and how much the introduction of +foreign luxuries may hasten its dissolution cannot be too frequently +repeated to Europeans. If the knowledge of a few individuals can only be +acquired at such a price as the happiness of nations, it were better for +the discoverers and the discovered that the _South Sea_ had still remain'd +unknown to _Europe_ and its restless inhabitants." + +REFLECTIONS ON OTAHEITE: Cook's second Voyage. + + + +APPENDIX + +When the FIRST EDITION of this POEM appear'd in March last, I intimated a +design of accompanying it with some CEITICAL REMARKS. With that design +various Engagements have since greatly interfer'd. From one of the most +laborious and constant of those, that of the office of a Justice of the +Peace for the County of Suffolk, I am now discharg'd. Why those who are in +power have done this, they have not explain'd: and it being an office from +which any one who holds it is removable at _pleasure_, they are not call'd +to explain. Had it been for Crime or Misconduct as a Magistrate, of course +Trial and Conviction should have preceded my Removal. As it is, I feel, as +I have publicly declar'd, no shame in the removal. I have held an office +honorable because extensively useful; because unprofitable and burthensome +to the individual; because independently and conscientiously exercis'd, +with a devotion, such as it requir'd, of my time, my thoughts, and my best +faculties, daily to its discharge. My Collegues,--and they are and have +been, during a course of seventeen years, those of them who now act, and +those who are dead or absent, men with whom to have acted was indeed +satisfactory and pleasant,--my late Collegues part with me, and I with +them, regrettingly. Our reciprocal Esteem is not lessen'd by this +abruption of our official intercourse. And as every man who feels what +Society is, ought to determine to be serviceable to the Public, my removal +from this office neither weakens the determination, nor probably will be +found to have impair'd the means of effecting it. I am therefore well +content;--as I ought to be. I sought not the office. I have never sought +any. It solicited my acceptance; unask'd and unexpected. I owe my +appointment to the Duke of GRAFTON, very soon after I came to reside in +this County. He was then _Lord Lieutenant_. I have not yielded that +appointment to disgust; though there were those who were not sparing in +their endeavours to disgust me with it: I have not relinquished it to suit +my convenience; though in times like these an office of no little expence, +and which shut me out from sources of professional emolument, was to me +certainly not convenient: I have not consulted my ease or health by a +voluntary retirement. I am remov'd, I am superseded, I am struck out from +an office of incredible and hourly increasing anxiety. Circumstances like +this are not new. They have repeatedly taken place in relation to very +high offices; and the Public remembers men to whom they have happen'd +whose internal dignity and worth is above any official dignity. Had I felt +that I _merited_ to be remov'd, I should not have thought myself a fit +Editor of the FARMER'S BOY; a Poem which breathes every where modest +independence, benevolence, innocence, and virtue. As it is, I think myself +no way less fit than ever for any laudable and becoming employ. And I have +accordingly announc'd my intention of resuming my profession as a +BARRISTER. In the mean time, the leisure which has thus been thrown to me +may properly and usefully be devoted to the Remarks which I had before +meditated; and for which I had in some measure pledg'd myself to the +PUBLIC. + +The FIRST of these will naturally be that which relates to the _manner_ +and circumstances of the Composition. There is such proof in it of Genius +disregarding difficulty, and of powers of retention and arrangement, that +it will be believ'd I could not overpass it: and that it would have been +stated at the first if it had been then in my power to state it. + +I now lay it before the Public in the words of Mr. SWAN: who in a Letter +address'd to me in _The Ladies Museum_ of this Month, after congratulating +me on my "successful efforts," (and with such a Production to propose to +public Attention how could they be unsuccessful?) "in rescuing from +oblivion a Poem, which for the harmony of its numbers, the beauty of its +imagery, originality of thought, elegance and chasteness of diction, +(every circumstance consider'd,) stands unrivall'd in the Annals of +English Literature, and will descend to Posterity with increasing +celebrity," states the _motive_ on which he writes: (a motive well +meriting a Letter and a public statement:) "to throw light upon the manner +of the composition of the Farmer's Boy; which appears to him (and most +justly) no inconsiderable addition to the well-earn'd laurels of the +Author." + +For the pleasure of the view which it includes of the character and +manners of Mr. BLOOMFIELD, I shall, with the Author of this interesting +Letter, go beyond the mere fact; and give his narration of the cause and +manner of the _Discovery_, as well at the Discovery itself. + +Mr. SWAN thus expresses himself: + +"From the pleasure I receiv'd in reading the FARMER'S BOY, and from some +strange coincidences in the early part of Mr. Bloomfield's life with my +own, I was naturally enough anxious to become acquainted with the Author. +For this purpose I obtain'd his address, and found him ... the modest, the +unambitious person you describe; wondering at the praise and admiration +with which his Poem has been receiv'd; whose utmost ambition was to have +presented a fair copy to his aged Mother, as a pledge of filial affection, +and a picture of his juvenile avocations. So unexpected was the fame of +his production, that the whole of his good fortune appears to him as a +dream."--'I had no more idea,' says he, 'to be sent for by the Duke of +Grafton, and be so kindly and generously treated, than of the hour I shall +die.' + +"I gave him," Mr. SWAN continues, "my card of address, an invitation to my +house, and a sincere profession of friendship; if, among his numerous +admirers, and noble and royal patrons, the latter was worthy of +acceptance." + +"Last Sunday afternoon [Footnote: The Letter is dated 12 July, 1800.] I +was highly pleas'd with his company, and gratified and entertain'd with +his conversation.--Sir, he is all ... nay, more than you have describ'd." + +"Among other subjects of conversation respecting the _Farmer's Boy_, I +wish'd to be inform'd of his manner of composition. I enquir'd, as he +compos'd it in a garret, amid the bustle and noise of six or seven fellow +workmen, whether he us'd a slate; or wrote it on paper with a pencil, or +pen and ink. But what was my surprize when told that he had us'd +neither.--My business, during the greatest part of my life having led me +into the line of litterary pursuits, and made me acquainted with litterary +men, I am, consequently, pretty well inform'd of the methods us'd by +authors for the retention of their productions. We are told, if my +recollection is just, that Milton took his Daughters as his amanuenses; +that Savage, when his poverty precluded him the conveniency of pen, ink, +and paper, us'd to study in the streets, and go into shops to record the +productions of his fertile genius; that Pope, when on visits at Lord +Bolingbroke's, us'd to ring up the servants at any hour in the night for +pen and ink, to write any thought that struck his lively and wakeful +imagination; that Dr. Blacklock, though blind, had the happy faculty of +writing down, in a very legible hand, the chaste and elegant productions +of his Muse." + +"With these and many other methods of composition we are acquainted; but +that of a great part of _the Farmer's Boy_ stands, in my opinion, first on +the List of Litterary [Footnote: I have ventur'd to restore litterary to +that mode of spelling, with the double _t_, which the Analogy of our +language seems to require. L.] Phaenomena.--Sir, Mr. Bloomfield, either +from the contracted state of his pecuniary resources to purchase Paper, or +from other reasons, compos'd the latter part of his _Autumn_ and the whole +of his _Winter_ in his head, without committing one line to paper.--This +cannot fail to surprize the Litterary World: who are well acquainted with +the treacherousness of memory, and how soon the most happy ideas, for want +of sufficient quickness in noting down, are lost in the rapidity of +thought." + +"But this is not all.--He went still a step farther.--He not only compos'd +and committed that part of the work to his retentive memory, but he +corrected it all in his head. And, as he said, when it was thus +prepar'd,... _I had nothing to do but to write it down_." + +"By this new and wonderful mode of composition he studied and completed +his Farmer's Boy in a garret; among six or seven workmen, without their +ever suspecting any thing of the matter." + +"Sir, this to me was both new and wonderful: and induc'd me rather to +communicate the information to you through the medium of the Press than by +writing; that it may meet the eye of many, who will be equally struck and +pleas'd with the novelty of the idea as myself." + +I have on this part of the subject, only, after quoting thus much at +present from the Letter of Mr. SWAN, to add, that I entirely agree with +him, I believe, as to the force, clearness, and comprehensiveness of +intellect manifested by this experiment, and its success. + +I now pass to part of what has been fully and excellently said by Dr. +DRAKE of HADLEIGH, while investigating the merits of this astonishing +Rural Poem. + +In a Letter from HADLEIGH [Footnote: 9 March, 1800.] Dr. DRAKE had given +me this distinct and vivid representation of his general idea of the Poem. + +"I have read THE FARMER'S BOY with a mixture of astonishment and delight. +There is a pathetic simplicity in his sentiments and descriptions that +does honour to his head and heart." + +"His copies from Nature are truly original and faithful, and are touched +with the hand of a Master.... His versification occasionally displays an +energy and harmony which might decorate even the pages of a DARWIN." + +"The general characteristics of his Style, however, are sweetness and +ease. In short, I have no hesitation in declaring, that I think it, as a +Rural and descriptive Poem, superior to any production since the days of +THOMSON." + +"It wants no reference to its Author's uneducated poverty to render its +excellence the more striking; they are such as would confer durable Fame +on the first and most polish'd Poet in the Kingdom." + +I shall now take the liberty of extracting part of the CRITIQUE which Dr. +DRAKE, agreeably to his intimation to me, has made of the FARMER'S BOY in +his LITTERARY HOURS.[Footnote: Vol. II, Ess. xxxix, p. 444.] + +"From the pleasing duty of describing such a 'character' (meaning the +personal character of Mr. BLOOMFIELD) let us now turn our attention to +the species of composition of which his Poem is so perfect a specimen. It +has been observ'd in my sixteenth number that PASTORAL POETRY in this +country, with very few exceptions, has exhibited a tame and servile +adherence to classical imagery and costume; at the same time totally +overlooking that profusion of picturesque beauty, and that originality of +manner and peculiarity of employment, which our climate and our rustics +every where present." + +"A few Authors were mention'd in that Essay as having judiciously deviated +from the customary plan: to these may now be added the name of +_Boomfield_; the _Farmers Boy_, though not assuming the form of an +Eclogue, being peculiarly and exclusively, throughout, a _pastoral +Composition_; not like the Poem of _Thomson_, taking a wide excursion +through all the phenomena of the _Seasons_, but nearly limited to the +rural _occupation_ and business of the fields, the dairy, and the farm +yard." + +"As with these employments, however, the vicissitudes of the Year are +immediately and necessarily connected, Mr. Bloomfield has, with propriety, +divided his Poem into _Four_ Books, affixing to those Books the Titles of +the Seasons." + +"Such indeed are the merits of this Work, that in true _pastoral_ imagery +and simplicity I do not think any production can be put in competition +with it since the days of Theocritus." [Footnote: I have heard that the +opinion of no less a Judge than Dr. WATSON, Bishop of LLANDAFF, is by no +means short of the encomium implied in this comparison, high and ample as +it is. L.] + +"To that charming simplicity which particularizes the Grecian, are added +the individuality, [Footnote: Much of these qualities indeed is certainly +in _Theocritus_ also. L.] fidelity, and boldness of description, which +render Thomson so interesting to the lovers of Nature." + +"GESNER possesses the most engaging sentiment, and the most refin'd +simplicity of manners; but he wants that rustic wildness and naivete in +delineation characteristic of the Sicilian, and of the composition before +us." + +"WARNER and DRAYTON have much to recommend them: but they are very +unequal; and are devoid of the _sweet and pensive morality_ which pervade +almost every page of _the Farmers Boy_; nor can they establish any +pretensions to that fecundity in painting the oeconomy of rural life, +which this Poem, drawn from actual experience, so richly displays." + +"It is astonishing indeed what various and striking circumstances, +peculiar to the occupation of the _British Farmer_, and which are adapted +to all the purposes of the _pastoral_ Muse, had escaped our Poets, +previous to the publication of Mr. _Bloomfield's_ Work." + +"Those who are partial to the _Country_;--and where is the man of Genius +who feels not a delight approaching to ecstasy from the contemplation of +its scenery, and the happiness which its cultivation diffuses?--those who +have paid attention to the process of husbandry, and who view its +occurrences with interest; who are at the same time alive to all the +minutiae of the animal and vegetable creation; who mark + + '_How Nature paints for colours, how the Bee + Sits on the bloom, extracting liquid sweet_,' + +will derive from the study of this Poem a gratification the most permanent +and pure." + +Though I have thus largely extracted I cannot omit transferring hither the +ANALYSIS of the Poem, as given by Dr. Drake. + +"The _first_ Book, intitled _Spring_, opens with an appropriate +invocation. A transition is then made to the artless character of _Giles_, +the _Farmer's Boy_; after which the scene near _Euston_ in Suffolk is +describ'd, and an amiable portrait of Mr. _Austin_, immediately follows. + +"Seed-time, harrowing, the devastation of the rooks,[Footnote: I will not +say much: but I was glad to see since the second Edition of this Poem the +cause of the Rooks had again been advocated, in the _Newcastle Chronicle_. +L.] wood-scenery, the melody of birds, cows milking, and the operations of +the dairy, occupy the chief part of this Season: which is clos'd by a +beautiful Personification of the Spring and her attendants, and an +admirable delineation of the sportive pleasures of the young Lambs." + +"The _second_ Book, or _Summer_, commences with a characteristic sketch of +the prudent yet benevolent Farmer. The genial influence of the rain is +then welcom'd; to which succeeds a most delicious picture of a green and +woody covert with all its insect tribe. The ascension of the sky-lark, the +peaceful repose of _Giles_, a view of the ripening harvest, with some +moral reflections on Nature and her great Creator, are introduc'd: +follow'd by animated descriptions of reaping, gleaning, the honest +exultation of the Farmer, the beauty of the Country Girl, and the +wholesome refreshment of the field. Animals teazed by insects, the cruelty +of docking horses, the insolence of the gander, the apathy of the swine, +are drawn in a striking manner: and the Book concludes with masterly +pictures of a twilight repose, a midnight storm of thunder and lightning, +and views of the ancient and present mode of celebrating Harvest-home." + +"The _third_ Book, _Autumn_, is introduc'd with a delineation of forest +scenery, and pigs fattening on fallen acorns. Sketches of wild ducks and +their haunts, of hogs settling to repose in a wood, and of wheat sowing, +succeed. The sound of village bells suggests a most pleasing digression: +of which the church and its pastor, the rustic amusements of a Sunday, the +Village Maids, and a most pathetic description of a distracted Female, are +the prominent features. Returning to rural business, _Giles_ is drawn +guarding the rising wheat from birds:--his little hut, with his +preparation for the reception of his playmates, their treachery and his +disappointment, are conceiv'd and colour'd in an exquisite style. +Fox-hunting, the Fox-hound's epitaph, the long autumnal evenings, a +description of domestic fowl, and a welcome to the snowy nights of Winter, +form the concluding topics of this Season." + +"The _fourth_ Book, under the appellation of _Winter_, is usher'd in by +some humane injunctions for the treatment of storm-pinch'd cattle. The +frozen turnips are broken for them: and the cowyard at night is describ'd. +The conviviality of a Christmas evening, and the conversation round the +fire, with the admonitions from the Master's chair, are depicted in a +manner truly pleasing. The _Sea Boy_ and the _Farmers Boy_ are contrasted +with much effect: and the ploughman feeding his horses at night, with the +comparison between the cart-horse and post-horse, have great merit. The +mastiff turn'd sheep-biter is next delineated; succeeded by a description +of a moon-light night, and the appearance of a spectre." + +"The counting of the Sheep in the fold, and the adopted Lambs, are +beautiful paintings: and with the Triumph of GILES on the conclusion of +the Year, and his Address to the DEITY, the Book and Poem close." + +"Such are the Materials of which THE FARMER'S BOY is constructed. Several +of the topics, it will be perceiv'd, are new to Poetry; and of those which +are in their _title_ familiar to the readers of our descriptive Bards, it +will be found that the imagery and adjunctive circumstances are original, +and the effort of a mind practis'd in the rare art of selecting and +combining the most striking and picturesque features of an object." + +Dr. Drake after this well accounts for the poetic singularity that the +Poetry of _Thomson_ should have past through a mind so enthusiastically +enamor'd of it, without impairing the originality of its character, when +exercis'd on a subject so much leading to imitation. This he explains, and +justly, by the vivid impressions on a most sensible and powerful +imagination in his earliest youth, anterior to the study of any Poet. + +Dr. Drake expresses his astonishment at the VERSIFICATION and DICTION of +this Poem. And says most truly, "I am well aware that smooth and flowing +lines are of easy purchase, and the property of almost every poetaster of +the day: but the versification of Mr. _Bloomfield_ is of another +character; it displays beauties of the most positive kind, and those +witcheries of expression which are only to be acquir'd by the united +efforts of Genius and Study." + +"The _general_ characteristics of his versification are facility and +sweetness; that ease which is, in fact, the result of unremitted labour, +and one of the most valuable acquisitions of litterature. It displays +occasionally likewise a vigour and a brilliancy of polish that might +endure comparison with the high-wrought texture of the Muse of DARWIN. +From the nature of his subject, however, this splendid mode of decoration +could be us'd but with a sparing hand: and it is not one of his least +merits that his diction and harmony should so admirably correspond with +the scene which he has chosen." + +"To excel," Dr. DRAKE continues, "in rural IMAGERY, it is necessary that +the Poet should diligently study Nature for himself; and not peruse her as +is but too common, '_through the spectacles of Books_' [Footnote: The +happy illustration of DRYDEN in his admirable character of SHAKESPERE.] +He should trace her in all her windings, in her deepest recesses, in all +her varied forms. It was thus that LUCRETIUS and VIRGIL, that THOMSON and +COWPER were enabled to unfold their scenery with such distinctness and +truth: and on this plan, while wandering through his native fields, +attentive to '_each rural sight, each rural sound_,' has Mr. BLOOMFIELD +built his charming Poem." + +"It is a Work which proves how inexhaustible the features of the World we +inhabit: how from objects which the mass of mankind is daily accustom'd to +pass with indifference and neglect. GENIUS can still produce pictures the +most fascinating, and of the most interesting tendency. For it is not to +_imagery_ alone, though such as here depicted might ensure the meed of +Fame, that the Farmer's Boy will owe its value with us and with posterity. +A _Morality_ the most _pathetic_ and pure, the feelings of a heart alive +to all the tenderest duties of humanity and religion, consecrate its +glowing landscapes, and shed an interest over them, a spirit of devotion, +that calm and rational delight which the goodness and greatness of the +Creator ought ever to inspire." + +Dr. DRAKE confirms, by copious and very judicious _Extracts_ from the +various parts of the Poem, as they offer themselves to critical selection, +in accompanying the Farmer's Boy through the Circle of his year, the +Judgment which he has form'd with so much ability, taste, and feeling, and +has to agreeably express'd, of the Merits of our ENGLISH GEORGIC. And he +speaks in his _third_ and last Essay on it thus: + +"From the review we have now taken of THE FARMER'S BOY, it will be +evident, I think, that owing to its harmony and sweetness of +versification, its benevolence of sentiment, and originality of imagery, +it is entitled to rank very high in the class of descriptive and +_pastoral_ Poetry." + +He concludes with an highly animated and feeling anticipation of that +public attention to the Poem and to its Author, merited in every view, and +which already has manifested itself in such an extent. + +I understand there is a Paper on "_The Farmer's Boy_" in a Work lately +publish'd by Dr. ANDERSON; and assuredly from its subject well entitled to +attention, as well as from the abilities and public spirit of its +Editor;--AGRICULTURAL RECREATIONS. Where indeed with more appropriate +Honor could such a Poem be notic'd? + +In the _Critical Remarks_ I intended I find myself so much agreeing in +sentiment with Dr. Drake that I shall attempt little more than merely to +offer some few observations. One of these relates to the _coincidences_ of +thought and manner in the Farmer's Boy with other writings. These, as +would previously be expected from what has been said, are extremely few +indeed. And almost all that are particularly of moment in appreciating the +poetical excellences of the Work are most truly _coincidences_, and cannot +be otherwise consider'd. + +For the first of these which I shall mention I am indebted to WILLIAM +SMITH, Esq. of BURY, who had largely his share of Public Admiration, when +he sustain'd for many years with great skill and judgment, and great +natural advantages, almost every character of our Drama which had been +eminently favor'd by either Muse; and who now enjoys retirement with +honor and merited esteem. + +He mention'd to me in conversation, and since by Letter, a passage very +closely resembling one in the IDYLLIA of AUSONIUS. It is this in _Spring_. + + Like the torn flower the fair assemblage fly. + Ah, fallen _Rose_! sad emblem of their doom; + Frail as thyself, _they perish while they bloom_! I.v. 388-40. + +The passage to which Mr. Smith referr'd me is this. (It is not in my +Edition of _Ausonius_; but he sent me a Copy.) + + "Conquerimur, Natura, brevis quod Gratia florum est; + Ostentara oculis illico dona rapis. + Quam longa una dies aetas tarn longa rosarum, + Ques _pubescentes juncta senecta pressit_." + +ID. xiv. + +I am favor'd with a Translation made by Mr. SMITH in his very early days. +And hope that as a brother _Etonian_ he allows me to quote it. + + Nature, we grieve that thou giv'st flowers so gay, + Then snatchest Gifts thou shew'st so swift away. + A Day's a Rose's Life.--_How quickly meet_, + Sweet Flower, _thy Blossom and thy Winding sheet_! + +In the _Procession_ of SPRING there is a fine series of allegorical +Images. + + Advancing SPRING profusely spreads abroad + _Flowers of kinds, with sweetest fragrance stor'd_: + Where she treads LOVE gladdens every plain; + _Delight_ on tip-toe beats her lucid train; + Sweet _Hope_ with conscious brow _before_ her flies, + Anticipating wealth from summer skies. + +I. v. 271--6. + +Compare now this of LUCRETIUS. + + It VER et VENUS et Veneris _praenuntius ante_ + Prunatus _graditur_ Zephyrus vestigia propter. + FLORA quibus mater praespergens, ante viai + Cuncta coloribus egregiis et odoribus opplet. + +DE NAT. RES. L. V. v. 736-9. +Ed. Brindley 1749. + + There SPRING, and VENUS, and her Harbinger, + Near to her moves the winged Zephyrus, + For whom maternal FLORA strews the way + _With Flowers of every charming scent and hue_. + +Or in the very words of BLOOMFIELD, + + Flowers of all hues with sweetest fragrance stor'd. + +_Hope_ here occupies the place of _Zephyrus_. DELIGHT on tip-toe +supporting the _lucid_ train of _Spring_,--the image and attitude so full +of life and beauty,--is our Poet's own. And what Poet, what _Painter_, +would not have been proud of it? + +In another passage, + + The splendid raiment of the Spring peeps forth + Her universal Green-- + +This of Lucretius will be found to have much similitude: + + Camposque per omnes + Florida fulserunt viridami prata colore. + +782, 3. + + _O'er every plain + The flowery meadows beam with verdant hue._ + +And that exceedingly fine verse, + + _All Nature feels her venorating sway_, + +calls to mind the ever-memorable exordium of the _Roman_ Poet. + +If we admire the imitative force of this line in the epic majesty of +Virgilian numbers, + + Quadrupedante putrem sonitu qualit ungula campum: + + _Shakes the resounding hoof the trembling plain:_ + +shall we not admire the imitative harmony of this; attun'd certainly with +not less felicity to the sweetness of the pastoral reed, + + _The green turf trembling as they bound along._ + +The pause on the first syllable of the verse has been an admir'd beauty in +Homer and Milton. + + + [Greek: Nux ech d'espchsen enchos.] II. + + And over them triumphant Death his dart + Shook, but delay'd to strike. P.L. + +We have this beauty,--coinciding with the best examples, though underiv'd +from them,--in a cadence of most pathetic softness. + + Joys which the gay companions of her prime + Sip, as they drift along the stream of time. + +III. v. 169, 70. + +The beautiful Description of the Swine and Pigs feeding on fallen Acorns +reminds me of a most picturesque one, not now at hand, in GILPIN on +_Forest Scenery_. + +The turn of this thought, + + Say not, I'll come and cheer thy gloomy cell. + +III. v. 241, &c. + +I believe is from Scripture. Prov. iii. 28. And so I think certainly is +that, + + 'Till Folly's wages, wounds and thorns, they reap. + +III. 37. + +But the most remarkable of all, and where I had no expectation of finding +a similitude, is in near the close of the _Winter_. + + Far yet above these wafted clouds are seen + (In a remoter sky yet more serene) + Others, detach'd in ranges through the air, + Spotless as snow, and countless as they're fair; + Scatter'd immensely wide from east to west, + _The beauteous semblance of a Flock at rest_. + +IV. 255--60. + +In HERCULES the LION-SLAYER there is this passage: + + ........ Tad epaeluthe piona maela, + Ech soianaes anionia mei aulia ie saechsie, + Ayiar epeiia soes, mala muriai, akkai ep allais + Erchomenai phainonth, osei NEPHE HYDATOENTA + 'Hossat' en thrano eisi elaunomena prolepose + Aee Noloioio ziae ae Thraekos Boreao. + Ton meni thlis arithmos en aeeri ginei ionion, + Oui anusis lisa gar ie meia proloioi chulindei + Is anemth, iade i alla chorusselai authis ep allois + Toss aiei melopisthe zoon epi zthcholi aeei. + Pan dar eneplaesthae pedion, pasaile cheleuthai, + Aaeidos erchomenaes. + +HAERAKL. LEONTOPH. + +Idyll. Theocrito adscriptum. Brunckii Analect. I. 360. + + ........ On came the comely sheep, + From feed returning to their pens and fold. + And these the _Kine_, in multitudes, succeed; + One on the other rising to the eye; + As watery CLOUDS which in the Heavens are seen, + Driven by the south or Thracian _Boreas, + And, numberless, along the sky they glide:_ + Nor cease; so many doth the powerful Blast + Speed foremost, and so many, fleece on fleece, + Successive rise, reflecting varied light + So still the herds of Kine successive drew + A far extended line: and fill'd the plain, + And all the pathways, with the coming troop. + + * * * * * + +I may possibly enlarge these Remarks in a future Edition. At present I am +happy to be stopt here, by so good a cause as the urgency of the +Publishers to complete a Third Edition; they informing me that the second +is entirely out of print. But it is pleasant to see these Coincidences +with CLASSIC POETS of other days and Nations in a CLASSIC of our own, of +the best School: + + "_The fields his study, Nature was his book_." + +C.L. + +TROSTON, 22 Aug. 1800. + + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Farmer's Boy, by Robert Bloomfield + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FARMER'S BOY *** + +This file should be named 7farm10.txt or 7farm10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 7farm11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 7farm10a.txt + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Charles Bidwell and Distributed Proofreaders + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we usually do not +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +We are now trying to release all our eBooks one year in advance +of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. +Please be encouraged to tell us about any error or corrections, +even years after the official publication date. + +Please note neither this listing nor its contents are final til +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg eBooks is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A +preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment +and editing by those who wish to do so. + +Most people start at our Web sites at: +http://gutenberg.net or +http://promo.net/pg + +These Web sites include award-winning information about Project +Gutenberg, including how to donate, how to help produce our new +eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter (free!). + + +Those of you who want to download any eBook before announcement +can get to them as follows, and just download by date. This is +also a good way to get them instantly upon announcement, as the +indexes our cataloguers produce obviously take a while after an +announcement goes out in the Project Gutenberg Newsletter. + +http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext03 or +ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext03 + +Or /etext02, 01, 00, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90 + +Just search by the first five letters of the filename you want, +as it appears in our Newsletters. + + +Information about Project Gutenberg (one page) + +We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work. The +time it takes us, a rather conservative estimate, is fifty hours +to get any eBook selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright +searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc. Our +projected audience is one hundred million readers. If the value +per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2 +million dollars per hour in 2002 as we release over 100 new text +files per month: 1240 more eBooks in 2001 for a total of 4000+ +We are already on our way to trying for 2000 more eBooks in 2002 +If they reach just 1-2% of the world's population then the total +will reach over half a trillion eBooks given away by year's end. + +The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away 1 Trillion eBooks! +This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers, +which is only about 4% of the present number of computer users. + +Here is the briefest record of our progress (* means estimated): + +eBooks Year Month + + 1 1971 July + 10 1991 January + 100 1994 January + 1000 1997 August + 1500 1998 October + 2000 1999 December + 2500 2000 December + 3000 2001 November + 4000 2001 October/November + 6000 2002 December* + 9000 2003 November* +10000 2004 January* + + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been created +to secure a future for Project Gutenberg into the next millennium. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +As of February, 2002, contributions are being solicited from people +and organizations in: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, +Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, +Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, +Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New +Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, +Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South +Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West +Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. + +We have filed in all 50 states now, but these are the only ones +that have responded. + +As the requirements for other states are met, additions to this list +will be made and fund raising will begin in the additional states. +Please feel free to ask to check the status of your state. + +In answer to various questions we have received on this: + +We are constantly working on finishing the paperwork to legally +request donations in all 50 states. If your state is not listed and +you would like to know if we have added it since the list you have, +just ask. + +While we cannot solicit donations from people in states where we are +not yet registered, we know of no prohibition against accepting +donations from donors in these states who approach us with an offer to +donate. + +International donations are accepted, but we don't know ANYTHING about +how to make them tax-deductible, or even if they CAN be made +deductible, and don't have the staff to handle it even if there are +ways. + +Donations by check or money order may be sent to: + +Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +PMB 113 +1739 University Ave. +Oxford, MS 38655-4109 + +Contact us if you want to arrange for a wire transfer or payment +method other than by check or money order. + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been approved by +the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization with EIN +[Employee Identification Number] 64-622154. Donations are +tax-deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law. As fund-raising +requirements for other states are met, additions to this list will be +made and fund-raising will begin in the additional states. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +You can get up to date donation information online at: + +http://www.gutenberg.net/donation.html + + +*** + +If you can't reach Project Gutenberg, +you can always email directly to: + +Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com> + +Prof. Hart will answer or forward your message. + +We would prefer to send you information by email. + + +**The Legal Small Print** + + +(Three Pages) + +***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS**START*** +Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers. +They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with +your copy of this eBook, even if you got it for free from +someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our +fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement +disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how +you may distribute copies of this eBook if you want to. + +*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS EBOOK +By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +eBook, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept +this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive +a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this eBook by +sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person +you got it from. If you received this eBook on a physical +medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request. + +ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM EBOOKS +This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBooks, +is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart +through the Project Gutenberg Association (the "Project"). +Among other things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright +on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and +distribute it in the United States without permission and +without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth +below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this eBook +under the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark. + +Please do not use the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark to market +any commercial products without permission. + +To create these eBooks, the Project expends considerable +efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain +works. Despite these efforts, the Project's eBooks and any +medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other +things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged +disk or other eBook medium, a computer virus, or computer +codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. + +LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES +But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below, +[1] Michael Hart and the Foundation (and any other party you may +receive this eBook from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook) disclaims +all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including +legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR +UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, +INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE +OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE +POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. + +If you discover a Defect in this eBook within 90 days of +receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) +you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that +time to the person you received it from. If you received it +on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and +such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement +copy. If you received it electronically, such person may +choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to +receive it electronically. + +THIS EBOOK IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS +TO THE EBOOK OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A +PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + +Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or +the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the +above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you +may have other legal rights. + +INDEMNITY +You will indemnify and hold Michael Hart, the Foundation, +and its trustees and agents, and any volunteers associated +with the production and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm +texts harmless, from all liability, cost and expense, including +legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the +following that you do or cause: [1] distribution of this eBook, +[2] alteration, modification, or addition to the eBook, +or [3] any Defect. + +DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm" +You may distribute copies of this eBook electronically, or by +disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this +"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg, +or: + +[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this + requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the + eBook or this "small print!" statement. You may however, + if you wish, distribute this eBook in machine readable + binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form, + including any form resulting from conversion by word + processing or hypertext software, but only so long as + *EITHER*: + + [*] The eBook, when displayed, is clearly readable, and + does *not* contain characters other than those + intended by the author of the work, although tilde + (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may + be used to convey punctuation intended by the + author, and additional characters may be used to + indicate hypertext links; OR + + [*] The eBook may be readily converted by the reader at + no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent + form by the program that displays the eBook (as is + the case, for instance, with most word processors); + OR + + [*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at + no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the + eBook in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC + or other equivalent proprietary form). + +[2] Honor the eBook refund and replacement provisions of this + "Small Print!" statement. + +[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Foundation of 20% of the + gross profits you derive calculated using the method you + already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation" + the 60 days following each date you prepare (or were + legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent + periodic) tax return. Please contact us beforehand to + let us know your plans and to work out the details. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +Project Gutenberg is dedicated to increasing the number of +public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed +in machine readable form. + +The Project gratefully accepts contributions of money, time, +public domain materials, or royalty free copyright licenses. +Money should be paid to the: +"Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +If you are interested in contributing scanning equipment or +software or other items, please contact Michael Hart at: +hart@pobox.com + +[Portions of this eBook's header and trailer may be reprinted only +when distributed free of all fees. Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 by +Michael S. Hart. Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be +used in any sales of Project Gutenberg eBooks or other materials be +they hardware or software or any other related product without +express permission.] + +*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS*Ver.02/11/02*END* + diff --git a/old/7farm10.zip b/old/7farm10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..bef4215 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/7farm10.zip diff --git a/old/8farm10.txt b/old/8farm10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4a9a5d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/8farm10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3569 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Farmer's Boy, by Robert Bloomfield + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The Farmer's Boy + A Rural Poem + +Author: Robert Bloomfield + +Release Date: October, 2005 [EBook #9092] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on September 4, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FARMER'S BOY *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Charles Bidwell and Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +[Illustration] + + + THE FARMER'S BOY; + + A RURAL POEM. + + By ROBERT BLOOMFIELD. + + +"A SHEPHERD'S BOY ... HE SEEKS NO BETTER NAME." + + +The Third Edition + +LONDON: +Printed for Vernor and Hood, Poultry +and sold by T.C. Rickman, 7, Upper Mary-Le-Bone-Street; +Ingram, and Dingle, Bury; Booth, Norwich; Hill, Edinburgh; +Archer, and Dugdale, Dublin. + +MDCCC + + + +A sonnet has come to my hands, the production,--and nearly the first +poetical Production,--of a very young Lady. I have not the Author's +consent to publish it: and there is no time to ask it. But I cannot omit +adding such a flower to the Wreath of Glory of my Friend. I have therefore +ventured to publish it without waiting permission; with one or two slight +alterations. + +C. L. + +25 Aug. 1800. + + + +TO THE AUTHOR OF +THE FARMER'S BOY. + +I. + +_If wealth, if honour, at command were mine, + And every boast Ambition could desire, +The pompous Gifts, sweet Bard, I would resign + For the aft Music of thy tuneful Lyre,_ + +II. + +_Which speaks the soul awake to every charm + That Nature open'd from thy humble cot: +Speaks powers chill Indigence could not disarm; + Proof to Humanity's severest lot._ + +III. + +_Thou Friend to Nature, and of Man the Friend; + Of every generous and benignant cause; +The accents of thy glowing worth, unfeign'd, + Live in the cadence of each feeling pause. +Here thought, alternate, in the noble Plan +Admires the POET, and reveres the Man._ + +25 Aug. 1800. + + + + +PREFACE + +Having the satisfaction of introducing to the Public this very pleasing +and characteristic POEM, the FARMER'S BOY, I think it will be agreeable to +preface it with a short Account of the manner in which it came into my +hands: and, which will be much more interesting to every Reader, a little +History of the Author, which has been communicated to me by his Brother, +and which I shall very nearly transcribe as it lies before me. + +In _November_ last year [Footnote: This was written in 1799.] I receiv'd a +MS. which I was requested to read, and to give my opinion of it. It had +before been shewn to some persons in _London_: whose indifference toward +it may probably be explain'd when it is consider'd that it came to their +hands under no circumstances of adventitious recommendation. With some a +person must be rich, or titled, or fashionable as a literary name, or at +least fashionable in some respect, good or bad, before any thing which he +can offer will be thought worthy of notice. + +I had been a little accustom'd to the effect of prejudices: and I was +determin'd to judge, in the only just and reasonable way, of the Work, by +the Work itself. + +At first I confess, seeing it divided into the four Seasons, I had to +encounter a prepossession not very advantageous to any writer: that the +Author was treading in a path already so admirably trod by THOMSON; and +might be adding one more to an attempt already so often, but so +injudiciously and unhappily made, of transmuting that noble Poem from +Blank Verse into Rhime; ... from its own pure native Gold into an alloyed +Metal of incomparably less splendor, permanence, and worth. + +I had soon, however, the pleasure of finding myself reliev'd from that +apprehension: and of discovering, that, although the delineation of RURAL +SCENERY naturally branches itself into these divisions, there was little +else except the General Qualities of a musical ear, flowing numbers, +Feeling, Piety, poetic Imagery and Animation, a taste for the picturesque, +a true sense of the natural and pathetic, force of thought, and liveliness +of imagination, which were in common between Thomson and this Author. And +these are qualities which whoever has the eye, the heart, the awakened and +surrounding intellect, and the diviner sense of the Poet, which alone can +deserve the name, must possess. + +But, with these general Characters of true Poetry, "_The Farmer's Boy_" +has, as I have said, a character of its own. It is discriminated as much +as the circumstances and habits, and situation, and ideas consequently +associated, which are so widely diverse in the two Authors, could make it +different. Simplicity, sweetness, a natural tenderness, that _molle atque +facetum_ which HORACE celebrates in the Eclogues of VIRGIL, will be found +to belong to it. + +I intend some farther and more particular CRITICAL REMARKS on this +charming Performance. But I now pass to the Account of the Author himself, +as given me by his Brother:... a Man to whom also I was entirely a +stranger:... but whose Candor, good Sense, and brotherly Affection, appear +in this Narrative; and of the justness of whose Understanding, and the +Goodness of his Heart, I have had many Proofs, in consequence of a +correspondence with him on different occasions which have since arisen, +when this had made me acquainted with him, and interested me in his +behalf. + +In writing to me, Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD, who is a Shoemaker also, as his +Brother, and lives at BURY, thus expresses himself. + +"As I spent five years with the Author, from the time he was thirteen +years and a half old [Footnote: This by farther recollection has since +been discover'd and stated by Mr. G. and Mr. R. BLOOMFIELD not to be quite +exact. See p. viii. C. L.] till he was turned of eighteen, the most +interesting time of life (I mean the time that instruction is acquir'd, if +acquir'd at all), I think I am able to give a better account of him than +any one can, or than he can of himself: for his Modesty would not let him +speak of his Temper, Disposition, or Morals." + +"ROBERT was the younger Child of GEORGE BLOOMFIELD, a _Taylor_, at +HONINGTON. [Footnote: This Village is between _Euston_ and _Troston_, and +about eight miles N E. of _Bury_. L.] His Father died when he was an +infant under a year old. [Footnote: Our Author was born, as his Mother has +obligingly informed me, 3 _Dec_. 1766. L.] His Mother [Footnote: +ELIZABETH, Daughter of ROBERT MANBY. Vide Note at the end of this +Preface.] was a Schoolmistress, and instructed her own Children with the +others. He thus learn'd to read as soon as he learn'd to speak." + +"Though the Mother was left a Widow with six small Children, yet with the +help of Friends she manag'd to give each of them a little schooling." + +"ROBERT was accordingly sent to Mr. RODWELL, [Footnote: This respectable +Man is senior Clerk to the Magistrates of the Hundred of BLACKBOURN, in +which Honington is situated, and has conducted himself with great +propriety in this and other public employments. L.] of Ixworth, to be +improved in _Writing_: but he did not go to that School more than two or +three months, nor was ever sent to any other; his Mother again marrying +when ROBERT was about seven years old." + +"By her second Husband, JOHN GLOVER, she had another Family." + +"When _Robert_ was not above _eleven_ years old, the late Mr. W. AUSTIN, +of SAPISTON, [Footnote: This little Village adjoins to HONINGTON. L.] took +him. And though it is customary for Farmers to pay such Boys only 1s. 6d. +per week, yet he generously took him into the house. This reliev'd his +Mother of any other expence than only of finding him a few things to wear: +and this was more than she well knew how to do." + +"She wrote therefore," Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD continues, "to me and my Brother +NAT (then in London), to assist her; mentioning that he, ROBERT, was so +small of his age that Mr. AUSTIN said he was not likely to be able to get +his living by hard labour." + +Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD on this inform'd his Mother that, if she would let him +take the Boy with him, he would take him, and teach him to make shoes: and +NAT promis'd to clothe him. The Mother, upon this offer, took coach and +came to LONDON, to Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD, with the Boy: for she said, she +never should have been happy if she had not put him herself into his +hands. + +"She charg'd me," he adds, "_as I valued a Mothers Blessing, to watch over +him, to set good Examples for him, and never to forget that he had lost +his Father_." I religiously confine myself to Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD'S own +words; and think I should wrong all the parties concern'd if in mentioning +this pathetic and successful Admonition, I were to use any other. He came +from Mr. AUSTIN'S 29 _June_ 1781. [Footnote: This date of his coming to +Town is added by Mr. BLOOMFIELD himself since the first Edition.] + +Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD then lived at Mr. _Simm's_, No. 7, _Pitcher's-court, +Bell-alley, Coleman-street_. "It is customary," he continues, "in such +houses as are let to poor people in _London_, to have light Garrets fit +for Mechanics to work in. In the Garret, where we had two turn-up Beds, +and five of us worked, I received little ROBERT." + +"As we were all single Men, Lodgers at a Shilling per week each, oar beds +were coarse, and all things far from being clean and snug, like what +_Robert_ had left at SAPISTON. _Robert_ was our man, to fetch all things +to hand. At Noon he fetch'd our Dinners from the Cook's Shop: and any one +of our fellow workmen that wanted to have any thing fetched in, would send +him, and assist in his work and teach him, for a recompense for his +trouble." + +"Every day when the Boy from the Public-house came for the pewter pots, +and to hear what Porter was wanted, he always brought the yesterday's +_Newspaper_. [Footnote: There was then, neither as a resource for the +exigencies of finance, nor as a Principle of supposed Policy, that unhappy +Check which prevails now on the circulation of _Newspapers_, and other +means of _popular_ Information. L.] The _reading_ of the Paper we had been +us'd to take by turns; but after _Robert_ came, he mostly read for us,... +because his time was of least value." + +"He frequently met with words that he was unacquainted with: of this he +often complain'd. I one day happen'd at a Book-stall to see a small +Dictionary, which had been very ill us'd. I bought it for him for 4d. By +the help of this he in little time could read and comprehend the long and +beautiful speeches of BURKE, FOX, or NORTH. + +"One Sunday, after an whole day's stroll in the country, we by accident +went into a dissenting _Meeting-house_ in the _Old Jewry_, where a +Gentleman was lecturing. This Man fill'd _Robert_ with astonishment. The +House was amazingly crowded with the most genteel people; and though we +were forc'd to stand still in the aisle, and were much press'd, yet +_Robert_ always quicken'd his steps to get into the Town on a Sunday +evening soon enough to attend this Lecture. + +"The Preacher lived somewhere at the West End of the Town ... his name was +FAWCET. His language," says Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD, "was just such as the +_Rambler_ is written in; his Action like a person acting a Tragedy; his +Discourse rational, and free from the Cant of Methodism. + +"Of him _Robert_ learn'd to accent what he call'd _hard_ words; and +otherwise improv'd himself; and gain'd the most enlarg'd notions of +PROVIDENCE. + +"He went sometimes with me to a _Debating Society_ +[Footnote: It is another of the Constitutional Refinements of these times +to have fetter'd, and as to every valuable purpose, silenc'd, these +Debating Societies. They were at least, to say the lowest of them, far +better amusements than drunkenness, gambling, or fighting. They were no +useless Schools to some of our very celebrated Speakers at the Bar and in +Parliament: and, what is of infinitely more importance, they contributed +to the diffusion of Political Knowledge and Public Sentiment. L.] +at _Coachmaker's-hall_, but not often; and a few times to _Covent-garden +Theatre_. These are all the opportunities he ever had to learn from Public +Speakers. As to _Books_, he had to wade through two or three Folios: an +_History of England, British Traveller_, and a _Geography_. But he always +read them as a task, or to oblige us who bought them. And as they came in +sixpenny numbers weekly, he had about as many hours to read as other boys +spend in play." + +"I at that time," proceeds his Brother, "read the _London Magazine_; and +in that work about two sheets were set apart for a _Review ... Robert_ +seem'd always eager to read this Review. Here he could see what the +Literary Men were doing, and learn how to judge of the merits of the Works +that came out. And I observ'd that he always looked at the _Poet's +Corner_. And one day he repeated a _Song_ which he compos'd to an old +tune. I was much surpris'd that a boy of sixteen [Footnote: He was +probably 17; as appears on the statement from the Author himself. See N. +to p. xvii.] should make so smooth verses: so I persuaded him to try +whether the Editor of our Paper would give them a place in _Poet's +Corner_. And he succeeded, and they were printed. And as I forget his +other early productions, I shall copy this." + + + THE MILK-MAID, ON THE FIRST OF MAY. + +Hail, MAY! lovely MAY! how replenish'd my pails! + The young Dawn overspreads the East streak'd with gold! +My glad heart beats time to the laugh of the Vales, + And COLIN'S voice rings through the woods from the fold. + +The Wood to the Mountain submissively bends, + Whose blue misty summits first glow with the sun! +See thence a gay train by the wild rill descends + To join the glad sports:... hark! the tumult's begun. + +Be cloudless, ye skies!... Be my Colin but there, + Not the dew-spangled bents on the wide level Dale, +Nor Morning's first blush can more lovely appear + Than his looks, since my wishes I could not conceal. + +Swift down the mad dance, while blest health prompts to move, + We'll count joys to come, and exchange Vows of truth; +And haply when Age cools the transports of Love, + Decry, like good folks, the vain pleasures of youth. + +No, no; the remembrance shall ever be dear! + At no time LOVE with INNOCENCE ceases to charm: +It is transport in Youth ... and it smiles through the tear, + When they feel, in their children, its first soft alarm. + +The Writer of this Preface doubts whether he has been successful in adding +the last Stanza to this beautiful and simply expressive song. But he +imagin'd that some thought of this kind was in the mind of the Author: and +he was willing to endeavour to express it. The Breast which has felt Love, +justly shrinks from the idea of its total extinction, as from annihilation +itself. And there is even an high social and moral use in that order of +Providence which exalts Sensations into tender and benign Passions; those +Passions into habitual Affections yet more tender; and raises from those +Affections _Virtues_ the most permanent, the most necessary and +beneficent, and the most endearing: thus expanding the sentiment into all +the Charities of domestic and social Life. + +"I remember," says Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD, continuing his Narrative, "a little +piece which he called the Sailor's Return: [Footnote: It is much to be +wished that this may be discovered. L.] in which he tried to describe the +feelings of an honest _Tar_, who, after a long absence, saw his dear +native Village first rising into view. This too obtain'd a place in the +Poet's Corner." + +"And as he was so young," his brother proceeds, "it shews some Genius in +him, and some Industry, to have acquir'd so much knowledge of the use of +words in so little time. Indeed at this time myself and my fellow workmen +in the Garret began to get instructions from him, though not more than +sixteen years old." [Footnote: What simple magnanimity and benevolence in +this Remark. L.] + +"About this time there came a Man to lodge at our Lodgings that was +troubled with fits. ROBERT was so much hurt to see this poor creature +drawn into such frightful forms, and to hear his horrid screams, that I +was forced to leave the Lodging. We went to _Blue Hart-court, Bell-alley_. +In our new Garret we found a singular character, _James Kay_, a native of +_Dundee_. He was a middle-aged man, of a good understanding, and yet a +furious _Calvinist_. He had many Books, ... and some which he did not +value: such as the SEASONS, PARADISE LOST, and some _Novels_. These Books +he lent to ROBERT; who spent all his leisure hours in reading the +_Seasons_, which he was now capable of reading. I never heard him give so +much praise to any Book as to that." + +"I think it was in the year 1784 that the Question came to be decided +between the _journeymen Shoemakers_; whether those who had learn'd without +serving an _Apprenticeship_ could follow the Trade." + +[Footnote: That is _as journeymen_: for there was no question that they +could not as _Masters_ on their _own_ account. That a person may work as a +_journeyman_ without having served an apprenticeship, had already been +determined, T. 9. G. 3. _Beach v. Turner_. Burr. Mansf. 2449. A person +also who has not served an Apprenticeship may be a partner, contributing +money, or advice and attention to the accounts and general concerns of the +Trade, provided that he does not actually exercise the Trade, and that the +acting partner has served. Vide _Reynolds_ v. _Chase_, M. 30. G. 2. Burr. +Mansf. 2. 1 Burn. J.P. Apprent. § 12. L.] + +"The Man by whom _Robert_ and I were employ'd, Mr. Chamberlayne, of +_Cheapside_, took an active part against the lawful journeymen; and even +went so far as to pay off every man that worked for him that had joined +their Clubs. This so exasperated the men, that their acting Committee soon +looked for _unlawful men_ (as they called them) among _Chamberlayne's_ +workmen." + +They found out little _Robert_, and threatened to prosecute _Chamlerlayne_ +for employing him, and to prosecute his Brother, Mr. _G. Bloomfield_, for +teaching him. Chamberlayne requested of the Brother to go on and bring it +to a Trial; for that he would defend it; and that neither _George_ nor +_Robert_ should be hurt. + +In the mean time _George_ was much insulted for having refus'd to join +upon this occasion those who call'd themselves, exclusively, the _Lawful +Crafts_. _George_, who says he was never famed for patience, (it is not +indeed so much as might be sometimes wish'd, very often the lot of strong +and acute minds to possess largely of this virtue,) took his pen, and +address'd a Letter to one of the most active of their Committee-men (a man +of very bad character). In this, after stating that he took _Robert_ at +his Mother's request, he made free as well with the private character of +this man as with the views of the Committee. "This," says _George_, "was +very foolish; for it made things worse: but I felt too much to refrain." + +What connects this episodical circumstance with the character of our +Author follows in his brother's words. + +"_Robert_ naturally fond of Peace, and fearful for my personal safety, +begg'd to be suffer'd to retire from the storm." + +"He came home; and Mr. AUSTIN kindly bade him take his house for his home +till he could return to me. And here, with his mind glowing with the fine +Descriptions of rural scenery which he found in THOMSON'S SEASONS, he +again retrac'd the very fields where first he began to think. Here, free +from the smoke,[Footnote: But one word is altered in this Description; +which reminds one of the + _Omitte mirari beatae + Fumum et opes_ Strepitumque Romae. L.] +the noise, the contention of the city, he imbibed that Love of rural +Simplicity and rural Innocence, which fitted him, in a great degree, to be +the writer of such a thing as the _Farmer's Boy_." + +"Here he liv'd two Months:... at length, as the dispute in the trade +still remain'd undecided, Mr. DUDBRIDGE offer'd to take _Robert_ +Apprentice, to secure him, at all events, from any consequences of the +Litigation." + +He was bound by Mr. _Ingram_, of _Bell-alley_, to Mr. _John Dudbridge_. +His Brother _George_ paid five shillings for _Robert_, by way of form, as +a premium. Dudbridge was their Landlord, and a _Freeman_ of the _City_ of +_London_. He acted most honourably, and took no advantage of the power +which the Indentures gave him. _George Bloomfield_ staid with _Robert_ +till he found he could work as expertly as his self. + +Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD adds, "When I left London he was turned of eighteen; +[Footnote: This should seem to require correction by setting the Age +forward according to the Dates above stated. C.L.] and much of my +happiness since has arisen from a constant correspondence which I have +held with him." + +"After I left him, he studied _Music_, and was a good player on the +_Violin_." + +"But as my Brother _Nat_ had married a _Woolwich_ woman, it happen'd that +_Robert_ took a fancy to MARY-ANNE CHURCH, a comely young woman of that +town, whose Father is a boat-builder in the Government yard there. He +married 12th Dec. 1790."[Footnote: This Date from the Author. C.L.] "Soon +after he married, _Robert_ told me, in a Letter, that 'he had sold his +Fiddle and got a Wife.' Like most poor men, he got a wife first, and had +to get household-stuff afterward. It took him some years to get out of +ready furnished Lodgings. At length, by hard working, &c. he acquired a +Bed of his own, and hired the room up one pair of stairs at 14, _Bell- +alley, Coleman-street_. The Landlord kindly gave him leave to sit and work +in the light _Garret_, two pair of stairs higher." + +"In _this_ Garret, amid six or seven other workmen, his active Mind +employ'd itself in composing _the Farmer's Boy_." + +"In my correspondence I have seen several _poetical_ effusions of his; all +of them of a good moral tendency; but which he very likely would think do +him little credit: on that account I have not preserv'd them." + +"ROBERT is a _Ladies Shoemaker_, and works for DAVIES, _Lombard-street_. +He is of a slender make; of about 5 F. 4 I. high; very _dark_ +complexion.... His MOTHER, who is a very religions member of the _Church +of England_, took all the pains she could in his infancy to make him +pious: and as his Reason expanded, his love of God and Man increas'd with +it. I never knew his fellow for mildness of temper and Goodness of +Disposition. And since I left him, universally is he prais'd by those who +know him best, for the best of Husbands, an indulgent Father, and quiet +Neighbour. He is between thirty-three and four years old,[Footnote: +Corrected from the above Date, p. vi, to his present Age, May 1800. C. L.] +and has three Children;" two Daughters and a Son.[Footnote: Added from the +information of Mr. R. BLOOMFIELD. _Hannah_, born 25 _Oct_. 1791. _Mary +Anne_, 6 _Sept_. 1793. _Charles_, 15 _Sept_. 1798.] + +Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD concludes this clear, affectionate, and interesting +Narrative, by a very kind Address to the Writer of this Preface. But, +pleas'd as I am with the good opinion of a Man like him, I must not take +praise to myself for not having neglected or suppress'd such a Work when +it came into my hands. And I have no farther merit than that of seeing +what it was impossible for an unprejudiced Mind not to see, and of doing +what it was impossible not to do. + +But I join with him cordially in his prayer, "that GOD, _the Giver of +thought_, may, as mental light spreads, raise up many who will turn a +listening ear, and will not despise + + "_The short and simple annals of the Poor_." + +Very few words will complete what remains to be added. + +Struck with the Work, but not less struck with the remark, which is become +a proverb, of the Roman Satirist, that "_it is not easy_ +[Footnote: + Haud facile emergunt quorum virtutibus obstat + Res angusta domi.] +for those to emerge to notice whose circumstances obscure the observation +of their Merits," I sent it to a Friend,[Footnote: This Friend, THOMAS +HILL, Esq. I hope will forgive my mentioning him without asking his +consent.] whom I knew to be above these prejudices: and who has deserv'd, +and is deserving, well of the public, in many other instances, by his +attention to Literature and the elegant Arts. He immediately express'd an +high satisfaction in it; and communicated it to the Publishers. They +adopted it upon terms honorable to themselves, and satisfactory to the +Author, and to me in his behalf. They have publish'd it in a manner which +speaks abundantly for itself; both as to the typographical accuracy and +beauty, and the good taste and execution of the Ornaments in Wood. + +My part has been this, and it has been a very pleasing one: to revise the +MS. making occasionally corrections with respect to Orthography, and +sometimes in the grammatical construction. The corrections, in point of +Grammar, reduce themselves almost wholly to a circumstance of provincial +usage, which even well educated persons in _Suffolk_ and _Norfolk_ do not +wholly avoid; and which may be said, as to general custom, to have become +in these Counties almost an established Dialect:... that of adopting the +plural for the singular termination of verbs, so as to exclude the _s_. +But not a line is added or substantially alter'd through the whole poem. I +have requested the MS. to be preserv'd for the satisfaction of those who +may wish to be satisfied on this head. + +The _Proofs_ have gone through my hands. It has been printed slowly: +because most carefully: as it deserv'd to be printed. + +I have no doubt of its Reception with the Public: I have none of its going +down to Posterity with honor; which is not always the Fate of productions +which are popular in their day. + +Thus much I know:... that the Author, with a spirit amiable at all times, +and which would have been rever'd by Antiquity, seems far less interested +concerning any Fame or Advantage he may derive from it to himself, than in +the pleasure of giving a printed Copy of it, as a tribute of duty and +affection, to his MOTHER; in whose pleasure, if it succeeds, his filial +heart places the gratification of which it is most desirous. It is much to +be a POET, such as he will be found:... it is more to be such a MAN. + +CAPEL LOFFT. + +TROSTON, n. BURY, SUFFOLK. + +12 Dec. 1799. + + +ELIZABETH MANBY, the Mother of the Author of this POEM, was sister to +the wife of Mr. WILLIAM AUSTIN. I had written to Mr. GEORGE BLOOMFIELD to +request the name, before Marriage, of his Mother. This gain'd me an +Answer, which I have great pleasure in adding. + +"The late Mr. AUSTIN'S wife was a Manby (my Mother's sister). And it may +seem strange that, in the FARMER'S BOY, _Giles_ no where calls him +_Uncle_, but _Master_.... The treatment that my Brother _Robert_ +experienced from Mr. _Austin_ did not differ in any respect from the +treatment that all the Servant Boys experienc'd who lived with him. Mr. +_Austin_ was Father of fourteen Children by my Aunt (he never had any +other wife). He left a decent provision for the five Children that +surviv'd him: so that it could not be expected he should have any thing to +give to poor Relations. And I don't see a possibility of making a +difference between GILES and the Boys that were not related to +Mr._Austin_: for he treated all his Servants exactly as he did his Sons. +They all work'd hard; all liv'd well. The DUKE had not a better Man Tenant +to him than the late Mr. _Austin_. I saw numbers of the Husbandmen in +tears when he was buried. He was beloved by all who knew him. But I +imagine _Robert_ thought that when he was speaking of Benevolence that was +universal, he had no occasion to mention the accidental circumstance of +his being related to the Good Man of whom he sung." + + +SUPPLEMENT + +I have mention'd in the Preface "THE SAILOR'S RETURN", from an intimation +by Mr. G. BLOOMFIELD. From the Author himself, Mr. ROBERT BLOOMFIELD, I am +oblig'd with what part he can recollect of this SONG, which I was desirous +to recover. It was written shortly after the PEACE with AMERICA and +FRANCE. Probably some time in the _Spring_ of 1784. The Author thinks the +Title of it was "THE SOLDIER'S RETURN," and that it was occasion'd by the +arrival of some Regiments of British Soldiers from remote parts of the +Globe. + +He says, "I have endeavour'd to bring it back to my mind: but can only +remember the following; which is not the beginning nor the finish." + + Round LYBIA'S south point, where from toils so late freed, + Sweet Hope cheer'd my soul as we clear'd the rough sea; + I strove midst the Tars to improve the ship's speed; + Nor thought I of aught but ANNA and THEE. + + Here comes the dear Girl! comes with kind arms extended + To welcome me!... limbs numb'd with age fain would move. + My cheek feels the offspring of rapture warm blended, + With answering drops:... this the meed of chaste Love! + + Rouse the Fire-- + + * * * * * + +I think every Reader will be of opinion that it is indeed desirable the +whole Song, of which this is a Fragment, should be recover'd. It will +probably be found (according to the recollection of the Author) either in +the _General Advertiser, Gazetteer_, or _Courant_. From these specimens, +and some I have since had the pleasure to see in MS. Mr. BLOOMFIELD +appears fully to possess the simple, yet elegant, pathetic, and animated +flow of Composition, the sweetness of Diction, Thought, and Numbers, which +the SONG or BALLAD in their best character require. + +I now quote a little Fragment in _blank verse_ from the same Letter: with +a slight correction in a place or two where the distribution or mechanism +of the lines was not exact. + +SUBJECT. _An Harvest Scene: describing Gleaners return'd from the Field_. + + --Welcome the Cot's +Warm walls!... thrice welcome Rest, by toil endear'd; +Each hard bed softening, healing every care. +Sleep on, ye gentle souls ... +Unapprehensive of the midnight thief! +Or if bereft of all with pain acquir'd, +Your fall, with theirs compar'd who sink from affluence, +With hands unus'd to toil, and minds unus'd +To bend, how little felt! how soon repair'd! + +The ear of the Author seems as sweetly attun'd to verse without as with +Rhime: though his less practice has given him proportionally less +exactness. + +It reminds one of the simple, tender, and flowing melody of the blank +verse of ROWE: or of some of the affecting passages in the _Paradise +Regain'd_ of MILTON. + +Sweetness, pastoral Content, the innocent and benevolent heart "_with a +little pleas'd,_" breathe indeed through the Poems, and in the manners and +conversation, of the Author of THE FARMER'S BOY. + +When the _Spirit_ of CHRISTIANITY declares "_blessed are the meek,_" every +heart which considers what meekness is, feels the truth of that +blessedness. It may smooth the way, and prevent impediments, which a +different temper raises to temporal felicity: it certainly assures that +Heaven which is _within_: and is a pledge and anticipation of the Heaven +hereafter. + +It is pleasing to think on a remark of Mr. GEO. BLOOMFIELD concerning his +Brother when he first went to LONDON. "I have him in my mind's eye a +little Boy; not bigger than Boys generally are at twelve years old. When I +met him and his Mother at the Inn, [Footnote: In Bishopsgate-street.] he +strutted before us, dress'd just as he came from keeping Sheep, Hogs, +&c.... his shoes fill'd full of stumps in the heels. He looking about him, +slip'd up ... his nails were unus'd to a flat pavement. I remember viewing +him as he scamper'd up ... how small he was. Little thought, that little +fatherless Boy would be one day known and esteem'd by the most learned, +the most respected, the wisest and the best men of the Kingdom." + +The brotherly overflowing of the heart in this passage I felt when I read +the Letter (dated 27 _March_ last), and cannot deny to others the pleasure +of feeling it. + +And those who have shewn themselves the FRIENDS of the FARMER'S BOY must +excuse me if I mention some of them whose liberal and zealous attention +had excited those feelings in the heart of his Brother, and have fill'd +his with sentiments of thankfulness. The Duke of GRAFTON has every way +shewn himself attentive to the Genius, the Worth, of Mr. BLOOMFIELD. He +has essentially added to his comforts. His R. H. the Duke of YORK, by +Capt. BUNBURY, has made a liberal present, as an acknowledgment of the +pleasure receiv'd from the perusal of his excellent Poem. This attention +of his R. H. liberal and amiable in itself, has been the cause of like +liberality in others. It suggested to Dr. DRAKE, and other Gentlemen at +HADLEIGH, the idea of a local subscription of a Guinea each in that Town +and Neighbourhood. This has been carried into effect by himself and eleven +other Friends, who may be said in this instance to sustain, in a manner, +the honorable function of a kind of LITERARY JURY. The Names who have +given this testimony of their high esteem to the character of Mr. +BLOOMFIELD, and of the pleasure they have received from the perusal of his +Poem, are: + +THOMAS SHERLOCKE GOOCH, Esq. +Major POCKLINGTON, +Dr. GIBBONS, M.D. +The Rev. J. PLAMPIN, +The Rev. T. KNOTTESFORD, +The Rev. R. PRITCHETT, +ABRAHAM REEVE, Esq. +GEO. ARCHER, Esq. +J. MILLS, Esq. +Mrs. TRAIL, +Mrs. LEAKE, +NATHAN DRAKE, M.D. + +I have transcribed the names in the order in which they were transmitted +to me. With a large proportion of those who have thus stood forth the +Friends of Genius and Worth I have the pleasure of being acquainted. It +gives me much satisfaction to mention this notice: welcome to the Author +as a Gift; and far more so as a testimony of good opinion unexpectedly +offer'd. Several instances of similar attention to the disproportion +between the circumstances of the Author and the excellence of his poetical +Talents and moral Qualities have spontaneously manifested themselves from +different quarters. Those, as the separate act of individuals, I have not +particularized otherwise than by this general acknowledgment: though many +such have been mention'd to me by the Author. This, as a collective act, I +hope I may be allow'd the gratification of thus noticing. + +Sir CHARLES BUNBURY has warmly expressed his approbation of the Poem; as +not only excellent for a Farmer's Boy, but such as would do honour to any +person, whatever his education: and he also has much contributed to make +it early and advantageously known. Mr. GREEN of IPSWICH has spoken of it +as a charming composition: reflecting, in a very natural and vivid manner, +the series of interesting images which touch'd the sensibility of a young, +an artless, but a most intelligent observer of Nature; plac'd in a +situation highly favourable to observation, though in fact not often +productive of it. That Originality in such a subject is invaluable: and +that this Poem appears to him (I know few men so qualified to judge on +such a point) throughout original. And literary characters who have earnt +to themselves much of true Praise by their own Productions, Mr. DYER and +Dr. DRAKE of HADLEIGH, have given full and appropriate encomium to the +excellence both in Plan and Execution, of this admirable RURAL PORM. My +Friend Mr. BLACK of _Woodbridge_, has notic'd it in a very pleasing and +characteristic Letter address'd to me in verse. I believe I shall not be +just to the FARMER's BOY if I omit to notice that the Taste and Genius of +Mrs. OPIE, born to do honour to every department of the Fine Arts, have +given her an high sentiment of its merits. And a LADY at BURY, whom I wish +I were permitted to name, has most truly characteriz'd it by remarking, +that "the descriptions of Country scenes, occupations, customs, and +manners, are as natural as possible: and that the justness, virtue, and +tenderness of the sentiments are to be equally admired." Were I to name +all the Friends and Admirers of the POEM and of the simple and amiable +manners and character of the AUTHOR, I should name, I believe, nearly +every person in this Island whom I respect, esteem, and admire. + +It would be highly gratifying to me could I now transcribe those +testimonies to which I have generally referr'd:... but I abstain here +from this: and the rather, as I believe Mr. DYER will probably soon +express, in a Publication of his own, his sentiments on this Work; and as +Dr. DRAKE, I know, has been so struck with it as to intend to appropriate +to an investigation of its peculiar merit the concluding part of an +enlarg'd Edition of his LITERARY HOURS.[Footnote: This has been since +excellently perform'd by him. See the APPENDIX.] + +The mention already made of the FARMER'S BOY in the NEW LONDON REVIEW and +in the MONTHLY MIRROR I have seen with pleasure. I rejoice in that Fame +which is just to living Merit, and waits not for the Tomb to present the +tardy and then unvalued Wreath: I rejoice in the sense express'd not only +of his Genius, but of his pure, benevolent, amiable Virtue, his +affectionate Veneration to the DEITY, and his good Will to all.... +Obscurity and Adversity have not broken; Fame and Prosperity, I am +persuaded, will not corrupt him. + +I cannot deny myself the satisfaction of mentioning that, after an absence +of twelve years, the Author of the Farmer's Boy has revisited his native +Plains. That he has seen his Mother in health and spirits: seen her with a +joy to both which even his own most expressive and pathetic language would +imperfectly describe.... Seen other near, affectionate, and belov'd +Relatives: review'd, with the feelings of a truly poetic and benevolent +Mind, the haunts of his youth; the Woods and Vales, the Cot, the Field and +the Tree, which even recollected after so many years and at a distance, +had awaken'd in such a manner the energies of his Heart and Intellect, and +had inspir'd strains which will never cease to be repeated with pleasure +and admiration. That he has been receiv'd at BURY with an emulous desire +of his society; and certainly with the greatest reason. I rejoice that I +at length have been made personally acquainted with him: that I have seen +him here, and at his Mother's, and at Bury: that I have discours'd with +him; that we have made our rural walks together: that I have heard him +read some of those Poems which are not yet printed; but which when they +shall be so, will support fully and extend the Fame he has acquir'd. +Though I have spent, occasionally, much of my life among persons worthy of +Admiration and of Esteem, I can recollect few days so interesting and so +valuable to me as these. + +C.L. + +TROSTON, 25 May, 1800. + +What I have said in prose, p. ix of this Preface, is charmingly expressed +in the language of the Muses by Mr. COLLIER, in his Miscellaneous Poems +lately publish'd. + +O where on earth can he a pleasure find + Whose heart th' extatic sweets of Love has known, +When in the jarring chaos of his mind + The gentle God no longer holds his throne! + + + +ON REVISITING THE PLACE OF MY NATIVITY. + +Though Winter's frowns had damp'd the beaming eye, +Through Twelve successive Summers heav'd the sigh, +The unaccomplish'd wish was still the same; +Till May in new and sudden glories came! +My heart was rous'd; and Fancy on the wing, +Thus heard the language of enchanting Spring:-- + +'Come to thy native groves and fruitful fields! +Thou know'st the fragrance that the wild-flow'r yields; +Inhale the Breeze that bends the purple bud, +And plays along the margin of the Wood. +I've cloth'd them all; the very Woods where thou +In infancy learn'd'st praise from every bough. +Would'st thou behold again the vernal day? +My reign is short;--this instant come away: +Ere Philomel shall silent meet the morn; +She hails the green, but not the rip'ning corn. +Come, ere the pastures lose their yellow flow'rs: +Come now; with heart as jocund as the hours.' + +Who could resist the call?--that, Giles had done, +Nor heard the Birds, nor seen the rising Sun; +Had not Benevolence, with cheering ray, +And Greatness stoop'd, indulgent to display +Praise which does surely not to Giles belong, +But to the objects that inspir'd his song. +Immediate pleasure from those praises flow'd: +Remoter bliss within his bosom glow'd! +Now tasted all:--for I have heard and seen +The long-remember'd voice, the church, the green;-- +And oft by Friendship's gentle hand been led +Where many an hospitable board was spread. +These would I name,... but each, and all can feel +What the full heart would willingly reveal: +Nor needs be told; that at each season's birth, +Still the enamell'd, or the scorching Earth +Gave, as each morn or weary night would come, +Ideal sweetness to my distant home:-- +Ideal now no more;--for, to my view +Spring's promise rose, how admirably true!! +The early chorus of the cheerful Grove, +Gave point to Gratitude; and fire to Love. +O Memory! shield me from the World's poor strife; +And give those scenes thine everlasting life! + +ROB. BLOOMFIELD. + +LONDON, MAY 30, 1800. + + + +SPRING. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Invocation, &c. Seed time. Harrowing. Morning walks. Milking. The Dairy. +Suffolk Cheese. Spring coming forth. Sheep fond of changing. Lambs at +play. The Butcher, &c._ + +[Illustration] + + + + SPRING + +I. + +O come, blest Spirit! whatsoe'er thou art, +Thou rushing warmth that hover'st round my heart, +Sweet inmate, hail! thou source of sterling joy, +That poverty itself cannot destroy, +Be thou my Muse; and faithful still to me, +Retrace the paths of wild obscurity. +No deeds of arms my humble lines rehearse, +No _Alpine_ wonders thunder through my verse, +The roaring cataract, the snow-topt hill, +Inspiring awe, till breath itself stands still: +Nature's sublimer scenes ne'er charm'd mine eyes, +Nor Science led me through the boundless skies; +From meaner objects far my raptures flow: +O point these raptures! bid my bosom glow! +And lead my soul to ecstasies of praise +For all the blessings of my infant days! +Bear me through regions where gay Fancy dwells; +But mould to Truth's fair form what Memory tells. + +Live, trifling incidents, and grace my song, +That to the humblest menial belong: +To him whose drudgery unheeded goes, +His joys unreckon'd as his cares or woes; +Though joys and cares in every path are sown, +And youthful minds have feelings of their own, +Quick springing sorrows, transient as the dew, +Delights from trifles, trifles ever, new. +'Twas thus with GILES: meek, fatherless, and poor: +Labour his portion, but he felt no more; +No stripes, no tyranny his steps pursu'd; +His life was constant, cheerful, servitude: +Strange to the world, he wore a bashful look, +The fields his study, Nature was his book; +And, as revolving SEASONS chang'd the scene +From heat to cold, tempestuous to serene, +Though every change still varied his employ, +Yet each new duty brought its share of joy. + +Where noble GRAFTON spreads his rich domains, +Round _Euston's_ water'd vale, and sloping plains, +Where woods and groves in solemn grandeur rise, +Where the kite brooding unmolested flies; +The woodcock and the painted pheasant race, +And sculking foxes, destin'd for the chace; +There Giles, untaught and unrepining, stray'd +Thro' every copse, and grove, and winding glade; +There his first thoughts to Nature's charms inclin'd, +That stamps devotion on th' inquiring mind. +A little farm his generous Master till'd, +Who with peculiar grace his station fill'd; +By deeds of hospitality endear'd, +Serv'd from affection, for his worth rever'd; +A happy offspring blest his plenteous board, +His fields were fruitful, and his harm well stor'd, +And fourscore ewes he fed, a sturdy team, +And lowing kine that grazed beside the stream: +Unceasing industry he kept in view; +And never lack'd a job for Giles to do. + +FLED now the sullen murmurs of the North, +The splendid raiment of the SPRING peeps forth; +Her universal green, and the clear sky, +Delight still more and more the gazing eye. +Wide o'er the fields, in rising moisture strong, +Shoots up the simple flower, or creeps along +The mellow'd soil; imbibing fairer hues +Or sweets from frequent showers and evening dews; +That summon from its shed the slumb'ring ploughs, +While health impregnates every breeze that blows. +No wheels support the diving pointed share; +No groaning ox is doom'd to labour there; +No helpmates teach the docile steed his road; +(Alike unknown the plow-boy and the goad;) +But, unassisted through each toilsome day, +With smiling brow the plowman cleaves his way, +Draws his fresh parallels, and wid'ning still, +Treads slow the heavy dale, or climbs the hill: +Strong on the wing his busy followers play, +Where writhing earth-worms meet th' unwelcome day; +Till all is chang'd, and hill and level down +Assume a livery of sober brown: +Again disturb'd, when Giles with wearying strides +From ridge to ridge the ponderous harrow guides; +His heels deep sinking every step he goes, +Till dirt usurp the empire of his shoes. +Welcome green headland! firm beneath his feet; +Welcome the friendly bank's refreshing seat; +There, warm with toil, his panting horses browse +Their shelt'ring canopy of pendent boughs; +Till rest, delicious, chase each transient pain, +And new-born vigour swell in every vein. +Hour after hour, and day to day succeeds; +Till every clod and deep-drawn furrow spreads +To crumbling mould; a level surface clear, +And strew'd with corn to crown the rising year; +And o'er the whole Giles once transverse again, +In earth's moist bosom buries up the grain. +The work is done; no more to man is given; +The grateful farmer trusts the rest to Heaven. +Yet oft with anxious heart he looks around, +And marks the first green blade that breaks the ground; + +[Illustration: a gate] + +In fancy sees his trembling oats uprun, +His tufted barley yellow with the sun; +Sees clouds propitious shed their timely store, +And all his harvest gather'd round his door. +But still unsafe the big swoln grain below, +A fav'rite morsel with the Rook and Crow; +From field to field the flock increasing goes; +To level crops most formidable foes: +Their danger well the wary plunderers know, +And place a watch on some conspicuous bough; +Yet oft the sculking gunner by surprise +Will scatter death amongst them as they rise. +These, hung in triumph round the spacious field, +At best will but a short-lived terror yield: +Nor guards of property; (not penal law, +But harmless riflemen of rags and straw); +Familiariz'd to these, they boldly rove, +Nor heed such centinels that never move. +Let then your birds lie prostrate on the earth, +In dying posture, and with wings stretch'd forth; +Shift them at eve or morn from place to place, +And death shall terrify the pilfering race; +In the mid air, while circling round and round, +They call their lifeless comrades from the ground; +With quick'ning wing, and notes of loud alarm, +Warn the whole flock to shun the' impending harm. + +This task had _Giles_, in fields remote from home: +Oft has he wish'd the rosy morn to come. +Yet never fam'd was he nor foremost found +To break the seal of sleep; his sleep was sound: +But when at day-break summon'd from his bed, +Light as the lark that carol'd o'er his head, +His sandy way deep-worn by hasty showers, +O'er-arch'd with oaks that form'd fantastic bow'rs, +Waving aloft their tow'ring branches proud, +In borrow'd tinges from the eastern cloud, +(Whence inspiration, pure as ever flow'd, +And genuine transport in his bosom glow'd) +His own shrill matin join'd the various notes +Of Nature's music, from a thousand throats: +The blackbird strove with emulation sweet, +And Echo answer'd from her close retreat; +The sporting white-throat on some twig's end borne, +Pour'd hymns to freedom and the rising morn; +Stopt in her song perchance the starting thrush +Shook a white shower from the black-thorn bush, +Where dew-drops thick as early blossoms hung, +And trembled as the minstrel sweetly sung. +Across his path, in either grove to hide, +The timid rabbit scouted by his side; +Or bold cock-pheasant stalk'd along the road, +Whose gold and purple tints alternate glow'd. +But groves no farther fenc'd the devious way; +A wide-extended heath before him lay, +Where on the grass the stagnant shower had run, +And shone a mirror to the rising sun, +(Thus doubly seen) lighting a distant wood, +Giving new life to each expanding bud; +Effacing quick the dewy foot-marks found, +Where prowling Reynard trod his nightly round; +To shun whose thefts 'twas Giles's evening care, +His feather'd victims to suspend in air, +High on the bough that nodded o'er his head, +And thus each morn to strew the field with dead. + +His simple errand done, he homeward hies; +Another instantly its place supplies. +The clatt'ring dairy-maid immers'd in steam, +Singing and scrubbing midst her milk and cream, +Bawls out, "_Go fetch the cows_:..." he hears no more; +For pigs, and ducks, and turkies, throng the door, +And sitting hens, for constant war prepar'd; +A concert strange to that which late he heard. +Straight to the meadow then he whistling goes; +With well-known halloo calls his lazy cows: +Down the rich pasture heedlessly they graze, +Or hear the summon with an idle gaze; +For well they know the cow-yard yields no more +Its tempting fragrance, nor its wint'ry store. +Reluctance marks their steps, sedate and slow; +The right of conquest all the law they know: +Subordinate they one by one succeed; +And one among them always takes the lead, +Is ever foremost, wheresoe'er they stray; +Allow'd precedence, undisputed sway; +With jealous pride her station is maintain'd, +For many a broil that post of honour gain'd. +At home, the yard affords a grateful scene; +For Spring makes e'en a miry cow-yard clean. +Thence from its chalky bed behold convey'd +The rich manure that drenching winter made, +Which pil'd near home, grows green with many a weed, +A promis'd nutriment for Autumn's seed. +Forth comes the Maid, and like the morning smiles; +The Mistress too, and follow'd close by Giles. +A friendly tripod forms their humble seat, +With pails bright scour'd, and delicately sweet. +Where shadowing elms obstruct the morning ray, +Begins their work, begins the simple lay; +The full-charg'd udder yields its willing streams, +While _Mary_ sings some lover's amorous dreams; +And crouching Giles beneath a neighbouring tree +Tugs o'er his pail, and chants with equal glee; +Whose hat with tatter'd brim, of nap so bare, +From the cow's side purloins a coat of hair, +A mottled ensign of his harmless trade, +An unambitious, peaceable cockade. +As unambitious too that cheerful aid +The mistress yields beside her rosy maid; + +[Illustration: maid with a cow] + +With joy she views her plenteous reeking store, +And bears a brimmer to the dairy door; +Her cows dismiss'd, the luscious mead to roam, +Till ere again recall them loaded home. +And now the DAIRY claims her choicest care, +And half her household find employment there: +Slow rolls the churn, its load of clogging cream +At once foregoes its quality and name; +From knotty particles first floating wide +Congealing butter's dash'd from side to side; +Streams of new milk thro' flowing coolers stray, +And snow-white curd abounds, and wholesome whey. +Due north th' unglazed windows, cold and clear, +For warming sunbeams are unwelcome here. +Brisk goes the work beneath each busy hand, +And _Giles_ must trudge, whoever gives command; +A _Gibeonite_, that serves them all by turns: +He drains the pump, from him the faggot burns; +From him the noisy hogs demand their food; +While at his heels run many a chirping brood, +Or down his path in expectation stand, +With equal claims upon his strewing hand. +Thus wastes the morn, till each with pleasure sees +The bustle o'er, and press'd the new-made cheese. + +Unrivall'd stands thy country CHEESE, O _Giles!_ +Whose very name alone engenders smiles; +Whose fame abroad by every tongue is spoke, +The well-known butt of many a flinty joke, +That pass like current coin the nation through; +And, ah! experience proves the satire true. +Provision's grave, thou ever craving mart, +Dependant, huge Metropolis! where Art +Her pouring thousands stows in breathless rooms, +Midst pois'nous smokes and steams, and rattling looms; +Where Grandeur revels in unbounded stores; +Restraint, a slighted stranger at their doors! + +[Illustration: man pouring feed into a trough] + +Thou, like a whirlpool, drain'st the countries round, +Till London market, London price, resound +Through every town, round every passing load, +And dairy produce throngs the eastern road: +Delicious veal, and butter, every hour, +From Essex lowlands, and the banks of Stour; +And further far, where numerous herds repose, +From Orwell's brink, from Weveny, or Ouse. +Hence Suffolk dairy-wives run mad for cream, +And leave their milk with nothing but its name; +Its name derision and reproach pursue, +And strangers tell of "three times skimm'd sky-blue." +To cheese converted, what can be its boast? +What, but the common virtues of a post! +If drought o'ertake it faster than the knife, +Most fair it bids for stubborn length of life, +And, like the oaken shelf whereon 'tis laid, +Mocks the weak efforts of the bending blade; +Or in the hog-trough rests in perfect spite, +Too big to swallow, and too hard to bite. +Inglorious victory! Ye Cheshire meads, +Or Severn's flow'ry dales, where plenty treads, +Was your rich milk to suffer wrongs like these, +Farewell your pride! farewell renowned cheese! +The skimmer dread, whose ravages alone +Thus turn the mead's sweet nectar into stone. + +NEGLECTED now the early _daisy_ lies: +Nor thou, pale _primrose_, bloom'st the only prize: +Advancing SPRING profusely spreads abroad +Flow'rs of all hues, with sweetest fragrance stor'd; +Where'er she treads, LOVE gladdens every plain, +_Delight_ on tiptoe bears her lucid train; +Sweet _Hope_ with conscious brow before her flies, +Anticipating wealth from Summer skies; +All Nature feels her renovating sway; +The sheep-fed pasture, and the meadow gay; +And trees, and shrubs, no longer budding seen, +Display the new-grown branch of lighter green; +On airy downs the shepherd idling lies, +And sees to-morrow in the marbled skies. +Here then, my soul, thy darling theme pursue, +For every day was Giles a SHEPHERD too. + +Small was his charge: no wilds had they to roam; +But bright enclosures circling round their home. +Nor yellow-blossom'd furze, nor stubborn thorn, +The heath's rough produce, had their fleeces torn: +Yet ever roving, ever seeking thee, +Enchanting spirit, dear Variety! +O happy tenants, prisoners of a day! +Releas'd to ease, to pleasure, and to play; +Indulg'd through every field by turns to range, +And taste them all in one continual change. +For though luxuriant their grassy food, +Sheep long confin'd but loathe the present good; +Bleating around the homeward gate they meet, +And starve, and pine, with plenty at their feet. +Loos'd from the winding lane, a joyful throng, +See, o'er yon pasture how they pour along! +_Giles_ round their boundaries takes his usual stroll; +Sees every pass secur'd, and fences whole; +High fences, proud to charm the gazing eye, +Where many a nestling first assays to fly; +Where blows the woodbine, faintly streak'd with red, +And rests on every bough its tender head; +Round the young ash its twining branches meet, +Or crown the hawthorn with its odours sweet. + +Say, ye that know, ye who have felt and seen, +_Spring's_ morning smiles, and soul-enliv'ning green, +Say, did you give the thrilling transport way? +Did your eye brighten, when young lambs at play +Leap'd o'er your path with animated pride, +Or gaz'd in merry clusters by your side? +Ye who can smile, to wisdom no disgrace, +At the arch meaning of a kitten's face; +If spotless innocence, and infant mirth, +Excites to praise, or gives reflection birth; +In shades like these pursue your fav'rite joy, +Midst Nature's revels, sports that never cloy. + +A few begin a short but vigorous race, +And indolence abash'd soon flies the place; +Thus challeng'd forth, see thither one by one, +From every side assembling playmates run; +A thousand wily antics mark their stay, +A starting crowd, impatient of delay. +Like the fond dove from fearful prison freed, +Each seems to say, "Come, let us try our speed;" +Away they scour, impetuous, ardent, strong, +The green turf trembling as they bound along; +Adown the slope, then up the hillock climb, +Where every molehill is a bed of thyme; +There panting stop; yet scarcely can refrain; +A bird, a leaf, will set them off again: +Or, if a gale with strength unusual blow, +Scatt'ring the wild-briar roses into snow, +Their little limbs increasing efforts try, +Like the torn flower the fair assemblage fly. +Ah, fallen rose! sad emblem of their doom; +Frail as thyself, they perish while they bloom! +Though unoffending innocence may plead, +Though frantic ewes may mourn the savage deed, +Their shepherd comes, a messenger of blood, +And drives them bleating from their sports and food. +Care loads his brow, and pity wrings his heart, +For lo, the murd'ring BUTCHER with his cart +Demands the firstlings of his flock to die, +And makes a sport of life and liberty! +His gay companions _Giles_ beholds no more; +Clos'd are their eyes, their fleeces drench'd in gore; +Nor can Compassion, with her softest notes, +Withhold the knife that plunges through their throats. + +Down, indignation! hence, ideas foul! +Away the shocking image from my soul! +Let kindlier visitants attend my way, +Beneath approaching _Summer's_ fervid ray; +Nor thankless glooms obtrude, nor cares annoy, +Whilst the sweet theme is _universal joy_. + + + +SUMMER. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Turnip sowing. Wheat ripening. Sparrows. Insects. The sky-lark. Reaping, +&c. Harvest-field, Dairy-maid, &c. Labours of the barn. The gander. Night; +a thunder storm. Harvest-home. Reflections, &c._ + + +[Illustration] + + + + SUMMER. + +II. + +THE FARMER'S life displays in every part +A moral lesson to the sensual heart. +Though in the lap of Plenty, thoughtful still, +He looks beyond the present good or ill; +Nor estimates alone one blessing's worth, +From changeful seasons, or capricious earth; +But views the future with the present hours, +And looks for failures as he looks for show'ers; +For casual as for certain want prepares, +And round his yard the reeking haystack rears; +Or clover, blossom'd lovely to the sight, +His team's rich store through many a wint'ry night. +What tho' abundance round his dwelling spreads, +Though ever moist his self-improving meads +Supply his dairy with a copious flood, +And seem to promise unexhausted food; +That promise fails, when buried deep in snow, +And vegetative juices cease to flow. +For this, his plough turns up the destin'd lands, +Whence stormy Winter draws its full demands; +For this, the seed minutely small he sows, +Whence, sound and sweet, the hardy turnip grows. +But how unlike to APRIL'S closing days! +High climbs the Sun, and darts his pow'rful rays; +Whitens the fresh-drawn mould, and pierces through +The cumb'rous clods that tumble round the plough. +O'er heaven's bright azure hence with joyful eyes +The Farmer sees dark clouds assembling rise; +Borne o'er his fields a heavy torrent falls, +And strikes the earth in hasty driving squalls. +"_Right welcome down, ye precious drops_," he cries; +But soon, too soon, the partial blessing flies. +"_Boy, bring thy harrows, try how deep the rain +Has forc'd its way_." He comes, but comes in vain; +Dry dust beneath the bubbling surface lurks, +And mocks his pains the more, the more he works: +Still midst huge clods he plunges on forlorn, +That laugh his harrows and the shower to scorn. +E'en thus the living clod, the stubborn fool, +Resists the stormy lectures of the school, +Till tried with gentler means, the dunce to please, +His head imbibes right reason by degrees; +As when from eve till morning's wakeful hour, +Light, constant rain, evinces secret pow'r, +And ere the day resume its wonted smiles, +Presents a cheerful easy task for _Giles_. +Down with a touch the mellow'd soil is laid, +And yon tall crop next claims his timely aid; +Thither well pleas'd he hies, assur'd to find +Wild trackless haunts, and objects to his mind. + +Shot up from broad rank blades that droop below, +The nodding WHEAT-EAR forms a graceful bow, +With milky kernels starting full, weigh'd down, +Ere yet the sun hath ting'd its head with brown; +Whilst thousands in a flock, for ever gay, +Loud chirping _sparrows_ welcome on the day, +And from the mazes of the leafy thorn +Drop one by one upon the bending corn. +Giles with a pole assails their close retreats, +And round the grass-grown dewy border beats, +On either side completely overspread, +Here branches bend, there corn o'ertops his head. +Green covert, hail! for through the varying year +No hours so sweet, no scene to him so dear. + +[Illustration] + +Here _Wisdom's_ placid eye delighted sees +His frequent intervals of lonely ease, +And with one ray his infant soul inspires, +Just kindling there her never-dying fires, +Whence solitude derives peculiar charms, +And heaven-directed thought his bosom warms. +Just where the parting bough's light shadows play, +Scarce in the shade, nor in the scorching day, +Stretch'd on the turf he lies, a peopled bed, +Where swarming insects creep around his head. +The small dust-colour'd beetle climbs with pain +O'er the smooth plantain-leaf, a spacious plain! +Thence higher still, by countless steps convey'd, +He gains the summit of a shiv'ring blade, +And flirts his filmy wings, and looks around, +Exulting in his distance from the ground. +The tender speckled moth here dancing seen, +The vaulting grasshopper of glossy green, +And all prolific _Summer's_ sporting train, +Their little lives by various pow'rs sustain. +But what can unassisted vision do? +What, but recoil where most it would pursue; +His patient gaze but finish with a sigh, +When musing waking speaks the _sky-lark_ nigh! +Just starting from the corn she cheerly sings, +And trusts with conscious pride her downy wings; +Still louder breathes, and in the face of day +Mounts up, and calls on _Giles_ to mark her way. +Close to his eyes his hat he instant bends, +And forms a friendly telescope, that lends +Just aid enough to dull the glaring light, +And place the wand'ring bird before his sight; +Yet oft beneath a cloud she sweeps along, +Lost for awhile, yet pours her varied song: +He views the spot, and as the cloud moves by, +Again she stretches up the clear blue sky; + + [Illustration] + +Her form, her motion, undistinguish'd quite, +Save when she wheels direct from shade to light: +The flutt'ring songstress a mere speck became, +Like fancy's floating bubbles in a dream; +He sees her yet, but yielding to repose, +Unwittingly his jaded eyelids close. +Delicious sleep! From sleep who could forbear, +With no more guilt than _Giles_, and no more care? +Peace o'er his slumbers waves her guardian wing, +Nor conscience once disturbs him with a sting; +He wakes refresh'd from every trivial pain, +And takes his pole and brushes round again. + +Its dark-green hue, its sicklier tints all fail, +And rip'ening harvest rustles in the gale. +A glorious sight, if glory dwells below, +Where Heaven's munificence makes all the show, +O'er every field and golden prospect found, +That glads the ploughman's Sunday morning's round, +When on some eminence he takes his stand, +To judge the smiling produce of the land. +Here Vanity slinks back, her head to hide: +What is there here to flatter human pride? +The tow'ring fabric, or the dome's loud roar, +And stedfast columns, may astonish more, +Where the charm'd gazer long delighted stays, +Yet trac'd but to the _architect_ the praise; +Whilst here, the veriest clown that treads the sod, +Without one scruple gives the praise to GOD; +And twofold joys possess his raptur'd mind, +From gratitude and admiration join'd. + +Here, midst the boldest triumphs of her worth, +NATURE herself invites the REAPERS forth; +Dares the keen sickle from its twelvemonth's rest, +And gives that ardour which in every breast +From infancy to age alike appears, +When the first sheaf its plumy top uprears. + +[Illustration] + +No rake takes here what Heaven to all bestows-- +Children of want, for you the bounty flows! +And every cottage from the plenteous store +Receives a burden nightly at its door. + +Hark! where the sweeping scythe now rips along: +Each sturdy Mower emulous and strong; +Whose writhing form meridian heat defies, +Bends o'er his work, and every sinew tries; +Prostrates the waving treasure at his feet, +But spares the rising clover, short and sweet. +Come, HEALTH! come, _Jollity!_ light-footed, come; +Here hold your revels, and make this your home. +Each heart awaits and hails you as its own; +Each moisten'd brow, that scorns to wear a frown: +Th' unpeopled dwelling mourns its tenants stray'd; +E'en the domestic laughing dairy maid +Hies to the FIELD, the general toil to share. +Meanwhile the FARMER quits his elbow-chair, +His cool brick-floor, his pitcher, and his ease, +And braves the sultry beams, and gladly sees +His gates thrown open, and his team abroad, +The ready group attendant on his word, +To turn the swarth, the quiv'ring load to rear, +Or ply the busy rake, the land to clear. +Summer's light garb itself now cumb'rous grown, +Each his thin doublet in the shade throws down; +Where oft the mastiff sculks with half-shut eye, +And rouses at the stranger passing by; +Whilst unrestrain'd the social converse flows, +And every breast Love's powerful impulse knows, +And rival wits with more than rustic grace +Confess the presence of a pretty face. + +For, lo! encircled there, the lovely MAID, +In youth's own bloom and native smiles array'd; +Her hat awry, divested of her gown, +Her creaking stays of leather, stout and brown;... + +[Illustration] + +Invidious barrier! why art thou so high, +When the slight covering of her neck slips by, +There half revealing to the eager sight +Her full, ripe bosom, exquisitely white? +In many a local tale of harmless mirth, +And many a jest of momentary birth, +She bears a part, and as she stops to speak, +Strokes back the ringlets from her glowing cheek. + +Now noon gone by, and four declining hours, +The weary limbs relax their boasted pow'rs; +Thirst rages strong, the fainting spirits fail, +And ask the sov'reign cordial, home-brew'd ale: +Beneath some shelt'ring heap of yellow corn +Rests the hoop'd keg, and friendly cooling horn, +That mocks alike the goblet's brittle frame, +Its costlier potions, and its nobler name. +To _Mary_ first the brimming draught is given +By toil made welcome as the dews of heaven, +And never lip that press'd its homely edge +Had kinder blessings or a heartier pledge. + +Of wholesome viands here a banquet smiles, +A common cheer for all;... e'en humble _Giles_, +Who joys his trivial services to yield +Amidst the fragrance of the open field; +Oft doom'd in suffocating heat to bear +The cobweb'd barn's impure and dusty air; +To ride in murky state the panting steed, +Destin'd aloft th' unloaded grain to tread, +Where, in his path as heaps on heaps are thrown, +He rears, and plunges the loose mountain down: +Laborious task! with what delight when done +Both horse and rider greet th' unclouded sun! + +Yet by th' unclouded sun are hourly bred +The bold assailants that surround thine head, +Poor patient _Ball!_ and with insulting wing +Roar in thine ears, and dart the piercing sting: +In thy behalf the crest-wav'd boughs avail +More than thy short-clipt remnant of a tail, +A moving mockery, a useless name, +A living proof of cruelty and shame. +Shame to the man, whatever fame he bore, +Who took from thee what man can ne'er restore, +Thy weapon of defence, thy chiefest good, +When swarming flies contending suck thy blood. +Nor thine alone the suff'ring, thine the care, +The fretful _Ewe_ bemoans an equal share; +Tormented into sores, her head she hides, +Or angry brushes from her new-shorn sides. +Pen'd in the yard, e'en now at closing day +Unruly _Cows_ with mark'd impatience stay, +And vainly striving to escape their foes, +The pail kick down; a piteous current flows. + +Is't not enough that plagues like these molest? +Must still another foe annoy their rest? +He comes, the pest and terror of the yard, +His full-fledg'd progeny's imperious guard; +The GANDER;... spiteful, insolent, and bold, +At the colt's footlock takes his daring hold: +There, serpent-like, escapes a dreadful blow; +And straight attacks a poor defenceless cow: +Each booby goose th' unworthy strife enjoys, +And hails his prowess with redoubled noise. +Then back he stalks, of self-importance full, +Seizes the shaggy foretop of the bull, +Till whirl'd aloft he falls; a timely check, +Enough to dislocate his worthless neck: +For lo! of old, he boasts an honour'd wound; +Behold that broken wing that trails the ground! +Thus fools and bravoes kindred pranks pursue; +As savage quite, and oft as fatal too. +Happy the man that foils an envious elf, +Using the darts of spleen to serve himself. +As when by turns the strolling _Swine_ engage +The utmost efforts of the bully's rage, +Whose nibbling warfare on the grunter's side +Is welcome pleasure to his oristly hide; +Gently he stoops, or strecht at ease along, +Enjoys the insults of the gabbling throng, +That march exulting round his fallen head, +As human victors trample on their dead. + +Still TWILIGHT, welcome! Rest, how sweet art thou! +Now eve o'erhangs the western cloud's thick brow: +The far-stretch'd curtain of retiring light, +With fiery treasures fraught; that on the sight +Flash from its bulging sides, where darkness lours, +In Fancy's eye, a chain of mould'ring tow'rs; +Or craggy coasts just rising into view, +Midst jav'lins dire, and darts of streaming blue. + +Anon tir'd labourers bless their shelt'ring home, +When MIDNIGHT, and the frightful TEMPEST come. +The Farmer wakes, and sees with silent dread +The angry shafts of Heaven gleam round his bed; +The bursting cloud reiterated roars, +Shakes his straw roof, and jars his bolted doors: +The slow-wing'd storm along the troubled skies +Spreads its dark course; the wind begins to rise; +And full-leaf'd elms, his dwelling's shade by day, +With mimic thunder give its fury way: +Sounds in his chimney top a doleful peal, +Midst pouring rain, or gusts of rattling hail; +With tenfold danger low the tempest bends, +And quick and strong the sulph'urous flame descends: +The fright'ned mastiff from his kennel flies, +And cringes at the door with piteous cries.... + +Where now's the trifler? where the child of pride? +These are the moments when the heart is try'd! +Nor lives the man with conscience e'er so clear, +But feels a solemn, reverential fear; +Feels too a joy relieve his aching breast, +When the spent storm hath howl'd itself to rest. +Still, welcome beats the long continued show'r, +And sleep protracted, comes with double pow'r; +Calm dreams of bliss bring on the morning sun, +For every barn is fill'd, and HARVEST _done_! + +Now, ere sweet SUMMER bids its long adieu, +And winds blow keen where late the blossom grew, +The bustling day and jovial night must come, +The long accustom'd feast of HARVEST-HOME. +No blood-stain'd victory, in story bright, +Can give the philosophic mind delight; +No triumph please while rage and death destroy: +Reflection sickens at the monstrous joy. +And where the joy, if rightly understood, +Like cheerful praise for universal good? +The soul nor check nor doubtful anguish knows, +But free and pure the grateful current flows. + +Behold the sound oak table's massy frame +Bestride the kitchen floor! the careful dame +And gen'rous host invite their friends around, +While all that clear'd the crop, or till'd the ground, +Are guests by right of custom:... old and young; +And many a neighbouring yeoman join the throng, +With artizans that lent their dext'rous aid, +When o'er each field the flaming sun-beams play'd,-- + +Yet Plenty reigns, and from her boundless hoard, +Though not one jelly trembles on the board, +Supplies the feast with all that sense can crave; +With all that made our great forefathers brave, +Ere the cloy'd palate countless flavours try'd, +And cooks had Nature's judgment set aside. +With thanks to Heaven, and tales of rustic lore, +The mansion echoes when the banquet's o'er; +A wider circle spreads, and smiles abound, +As quick the frothing horn performs its round; +Care's mortal foe; that sprightly joys imparts +To cheer the frame and elevate their hearts. +Here, fresh and brown, the hazel's produce lies +In tempting heaps, and peals of laughter rise, +And crackling Music, with the frequent _Song_, +Unheeded bear the midnight hour along. + +Here once a year Distinction low'rs its crest, +The master, servant, and the merry guest, +Are equal all; and round the happy ring +The reaper's eyes exulting glances fling, +And, warm'd with gratitude, he quits his place, +With sun-burnt hands and ale-enliven'd face, +Refills the jug his honour'd host to tend, +To serve at once the master and the friend; +Proud thus to meet his smiles, to share his tale, +His nuts, his conversation, and his ale. + +Such were the days, ... of days long past I sing, +When Pride gave place to mirth without a sting; +Ere tyrant customs strength sufficient bore +To violate the feelings of the poor; +To leave them distanc'd in the mad'ning race, +Where'er Refinement shews its hated face: +Nor causeless hated;... 'tis the peasant's curse, +That hourly makes his wretched station worse; +Destroys life's intercourse; the social plan +That rank to rank cements, as man to man: +Wealth flows around him, fashion lordly reigns; +Yet poverty is his, and mental pains. + +Methinks I hear the mourner thus impart +The stifled murmurs of his wounded heart: +'Whence comes this change, ungracious, irksome, cold? +'Whence the new grandeur that mine eyes behold? +'The wid'ning distance which I daily see, +'Has Wealth done this?... then wealth's a foe to me; +'Foe to our rights; that leaves a pow'rful few +'The paths of emulation to pursue:... +'For emulation stoops to us no more: +'The hope of humble industry is o'er; +'The blameless hope, the cheering sweet presage +'Of future comforts for declining age. +'Can my sons share from this paternal hand +'The profits with the labours of the land? +'No; tho' indulgent Heaven its blessing deigns, +'Where's the small farm to suit my scanty means? +'Content, the Poet sings, with us resides; +'In lonely cots like mine the damsel hides; +'And will he then in raptur'd visions tell +'That sweet Content with Want can ever dwell? +'A barley loaf, 'tis true, my table crowns, +'That fast diminishing in lusty rounds, +'Stops Nature's cravings; yet her sighs will flow +'From knowing this,... that once it was not so. +'Our annual feast, when Earth her plenty yields, +'When crown'd with boughs the last load quits the fields, +'The aspect still of ancient joy puts on; +'The aspect only, with the substance gone: +'The self-same Horn is still at our command, +'But serves none now but the plebeian hand: +'For _home-brew'd Ale_, neglected and debas'd, +'Is quite discarded from the realms of taste. +'Where unaffected Freedom charm'd the soul, +'The separate table and the costly bowl, +'Cool as the blast that checks the budding Spring, +'A mockery of gladness round them fling. +'For oft the Farmer, ere his heart approves, +'Yields up the custom which he dearly loves: +'Refinement forces on him like a tide; +'Bold innovations down its current ride, +'That bear no peace beneath their shewy dress, +'Nor add one tittle to his happiness. +'His guests selected; rank's punctilios known; +'What trouble waits upon a casual frown! +'Restraint's foul manacles his pleasures maim; +'Selected guests selected phrases claim: +'Nor reigns that joy when hand in hand they join +'That good old Master felt in shaking mine. +'HEAVEN bless his memory! bless his honour'd name! +'(The poor will speak his lasting worthy fame:) +'To souls fair-purpos'd strength and guidance give; +'In pity to us still let goodness live: +'Let labour have its due! my cot shall be +'From chilling want and guilty murmurs free: +'Let labour have its due;... then peace is mine, +'And never, never shall my heart repine.' + + + + +AUTUMN. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Acorns. Hogs in the wood. Wheat-sowing. The Church. Village girls. +The mad girl. The bird-boy's hut. Disappointments; reflections, &c. +Euston-hall. Fox-hunting. Old Trouncer. Long nights. A welcome to Winter._ + + +[Illustration] + + + + AUTUMN. + + +III. + +Again, the year's _decline_, midst storms and floods, +The thund'ring chase, the yellow fading woods, +Invite my song; that fain would boldly tell +Of upland coverts, and the echoing dell, +By turns resounding loud, at eve and morn +The swineherd's halloo, or the huntsman's horn. + +No more the fields with scatter'd grain supply +The restless wand'ring tenants of the STY; +From oak to oak they run with eager haste, +And wrangling share the first delicious taste +Of fallen ACORNS; yet but thinly found +Till the strong gale have shook them to the ground. +It comes; and roaring woods obedient wave: +Their home well pleas'd the joint adventurers leave: +The trudging sow leads forth her numerous young, +Playful, and white, and clean, the briars among, +Till briars and thorns increasing, fence them round, +Where last year's mould'ring leaves bestrew the ground, +And o'er their heads, loud lash'd by furious squalls, +Bright from their cups the rattling treasure falls; +Hot thirsty food; whence doubly sweet and cool +The welcome margin of some rush-grown pool, +The wild duck's lonely haunt, whose jealous eye +Guards every point; who sits prepar'd to fly, +On the calm bosom of her little lake, +Too closely screen'd for ruffian winds to shake; +And as the bold intruders press around, +At once she starts, and rises with a bound: +With bristles rais'd the sudden noise they hear, +And ludicrously wild, and wing'd with fear, +The herd decamp with more than swinish speed, +And snorting dash thro' sedge, and rush, and reed: +Through tangling thickets headlong on they go, +Then stop, and listen for their fancied foe; +The hindmost still the growing panic spreads, +Repeated fright the first alarm succeeds, +Till Folly's wages, wounds and thorns, they reap: +Yet glorying in their fortunate escape, +Their groundless terrors by degrees soon cease, +And Night's dark reign restores their wonted peace. +For now the gale subsides, and from each bough +The roosting pheasant's short but frequent crow +Invites to rest; and huddling side by side, +The herd in closest ambush seek to hide; +Seek some warm slope with shagged moss o'erspread, +Dry'd leaves their copious covering and their bed. +In vain may _Giles_, thro' gath'ring glooms that fall, +And solemn silence, urge his piercing call: +Whole days and nights they tarry midst their store, +Nor quit the woods till oaks can yield no more. + +Beyond bleak _Winter's_ rage, beyond the _Spring_ +That rolling Earth's unvarying course will bring, +Who tills the ground looks on with mental eye, +And sees next _Summer's_ sheaves and cloudless sky; +And even now, whilst Nature's beauty dies, +Deposits SEED, and bids new harvests rise; +Seed well prepar'd, and warm'd with glowing lime, +'Gainst earth-bred grubs, and cold, and lapse of time: +For searching frosts and various ills invade, +Whilst wint'ry months depress the springing blade. +The plough moves heavily, and strong the soil, +And clogging harrows with augmented toil +Dive deep: and clinging mixes with the mould +A fat'ning treasure from the nightly fold, +And all the cow-yard's highly valu'd store, +That late bestrew'd the blacken'd surface o'er. +No idling hours are here, when Fancy trims +Her dancing taper over outstretch'd limbs, +And in her thousand thousand colours drest, +Plays round the grassy couch of noontide rest: +Here GILES for hours of indolence atones +With strong exertion, and with weary bones, +And knows no leisure; till the distant chime +Of Sabbath bells he hears at sermon time, +That down the brook sound sweetly in the gale, +Or strike the rising hill, or skim the dale. + +Nor his alone the sweets of ease to taste: +Kind rest extends to all;... save one poor beast, +That true to time and pace, is doom'd to plod, +To bring the Pastor to the HOUSE of GOD: +Mean structure; where no bones of heroes lie! +The rude inelegance of poverty +Reigns here alone: else why that roof of straw? +Those narrow windows with the frequent flaw? +O'er whose low cells the dock and mallow spread, +And rampant nettles lift the spiry head, +Whilst from the hollows of the tower on high +The grey-cap'd daws in saucy legions fly. + +Round these lone walls assembling neighbours meet, +And tread departed friends beneath their feet; +And new-brier'd graves, that prompt the secret sigh, +Shew each the spot where he himself must lie. +Midst timely greetings village news goes round, +Of crops late shorn, or crops that deck the ground; +Experienc'd ploughmen in the circle join; +While sturdy boys, in feats of strength to shine, +With pride elate their young associates brave +To jump from hollow-sounding grave to grave; +Then close consulting, each his talent lends +To plan fresh sports when tedious service ends. +Hither at times, with cheerfulness of soul, +Sweet _village Maids_ from neighbouring hamlets stroll, +That like the light-heel'd does o'er lawns that rove, +Look shyly curious; rip'ning into love; +For love's their errand: hence the tints that glow +On either cheek, an heighten'd lustre know: +When, conscious of their charms, e'en Age looks sly, +And rapture beams from Youth's observant eye. + +THE PRIDE of such a party, Nature's pride, +Was lovely POLL;[Footnote: MARY RAYNER, of Ixworth Thorp.] who innocently +try'd, +With hat of airy shape and ribbons gay, +Love to inspire, and stand in Hymen's way: +But, ere her _twentieth_ Summer could expand, +Or youth was render'd happy with her hand, +Her mind's serenity was lost and gone, +Her eye grew languid, and she wept alone; +Yet causeless seem'd her grief; for quick restrain'd, +Mirth follow'd loud, or indignation reign'd: +Whims wild and simple led her from her home, +The heath, the common, or the fields to roam: +Terror and joy alternate rul'd her hours; +Now blithe she sung, and gather'd useless flow'rs; +Now pluck'd a tender twig from every bough, +To whip the hov'ring demons from her brow. +Ill-fated Maid! thy guiding spark is fled, +And lasting wretchedness awaits thy bed ... +Thy bed of straw! for mark, where even now +O'er their lost child afflicted parents bow; +Their woe she knows not, but perversely coy, +Inverted customs yield her sullen joy; +Her midnight meals in secresy she takes, +Low mutt'ring to the moon, that rising breaks +Through night's dark gloom:... oh how much more forlorn +_Her_ night, that knows of no returning dawn!... + +[Illustration:] + +Slow from the threshold, once her infant seat, +O'er the cold earth she crawls to her retreat; +Quitting the cot's warm walls unhous'd to lie, +Or share the swine's impure and narrow sty; +The damp night air her shiv'ring limbs assails; +In dreams she moans, and fancied wrongs bewails. +When morning wakes, none earlier rous'd than she, +When pendent drops fall glitt'ring from the tree; +But nought her rayless melancholy cheers, +Or sooths her breast, or stops her streaming tears. +Her matted locks unornamented flow; +Clasping her knees, and waving to and fro;... +Her head bow'd down, her faded cheek to hide;... +A piteous mourner by the pathway side. +Some tufted molehill through the livelong day +She calls her throne; there weeps her life away: +And oft the gaily passing stranger stays +His well-tim'd step, and takes a silent gaze, +Till sympathetic drops unbidden start, +And pangs quick springing muster round his heart; +And soft he treads with other gazers round, +And fain would catch her sorrow's plaintive sound: +One word alone is all that strikes the ear, +One short, pathetic, simple word,... "_Oh dear!_" +A thousand times repeated to the wind, +That wafts the sigh, but leaves the pang behind! +For ever of the proffer'd parley shy, +She hears the' unwelcome foot advancing nigh; +Nor quite unconscious of her wretched plight, +Gives one sad look, and hurries out of sight.... + +Fair promis'd sunbeams of terrestrial bliss, +Health's gallant hopes,... and are ye sunk to this? +For in life's road though thorns abundant grow, +There still are joys poor Poll can never know; +Joys which the gay companions of her prime +Sip, as they drift along the stream of time; +At eve to hear beside their tranquil home +The lifted latch, that speaks the lover come: +_That_ love matur'd, next playful on the knee +To press the velvet lip of infancy; +To stay the tottering step, the features trace;... +Inestimable sweets of social peace! + +O THOU, who bidst the vernal juices rise! +Thou, on whose blasts autumnal foliage flies! +Let Peace ne'er leave me, nor my heart grow cold, +Whilst life and sanity are mine to hold. + +Shorn of their flow'rs that shed th' untreasur'd seed, +The withering pasture, and the fading mead, +Less tempting grown, diminish more and more, +The dairy's pride; sweet Summer's flowing store. +New cares succeed, and gentle duties press, +Where the fire-side, a school of tenderness, +Revives the languid chirp, and warms the blood +Of cold-nipt weaklings of the latter brood, +That from the shell just bursting into day, +Through yard or pond pursue their vent'rous way. + +Far weightier cares and wider scenes expand; +What devastation marks the new-sown land! +"From hungry woodland foes go, _Giles_, and guard +The rising wheat; ensure its great reward: +A future sustenance, a Summer's pride, +Demand thy vigilance: then be it try'd: +Exert thy voice, and wield thy shotless gun: +Go, tarry there from morn till setting sun." + +Keen blows the blast, or ceaseless rain descends; +The half-stript hedge a sorry shelter lends. +O for a HOVEL, e'er so small or low, +Whose roof, repelling winds and early snow, +Might bring home's comforts fresh before his eyes! +No sooner thought, than see the structure rise, +In some sequester'd nook, embank'd around, +Sods for its walls, and straw in burdens bound: + +[Illustration] + +Dried fuel hoarded is his richest store, +And circling smoke obscures his little door; +Whence creeping forth, to duty's call he yields, +And strolls the Crusoe of the lonely fields. +On whitethorns tow'ring, and the leafless rose, +A frost-nipt feast in bright vermilion glows: +Where clust'ring sloes in glossy order rise, +He crops the loaded branch; a cumb'rous prize; +And o'er the flame the sputt'ring fruit he rests, +Placing green sods to seat his coming guests; +His guests by promise; playmates young and gay:... +BUT AH! _fresh pastimes_ lure their steps away! +He sweeps his hearth, and homeward looks in vain, +Till feeling _Disappointment's_ cruel pain, +His fairy revels are exchang'd for rage, +His banquet marr'd, grown dull his hermitage. +The field becomes his prison, till on high +Benighted birds to shades and coverts fly. +Midst air, health, daylight, can he prisoner be? +If fields are prisons, where is Liberty? +Here still she dwells, and here her votaries stroll; +But disappointed hope untunes the soul: +Restraints unfelt whilst hours of rapture flow, +When troubles press, to chains and barriers grow. +Look then from trivial up to greater woes; +From the poor bird-boy with his roasted sloes, +To where the dungeon'd mourner heaves the sigh; +Where not one cheering sun-beam meets his eye. +Though ineffectual pity thine may be, +No wealth, no pow'r, to set the captive free; +Though _only_ to thy ravish'd _sight_ is given +The golden path that HOWARD trod to heaven; +Thy slights can make the wretched more forlorn, +And deeper drive affliction's barbed thorn. +Say not, "I'll come and cheer thy gloomy cell +With news of dearest friends; how good, how well: +I'll be a joyful herald to thine heart:" +Then fail, and play the worthless trifler's part, +To sip flat pleasures from thy glass's brim, +And waste the precious hour that's due to him. +In mercy spare the base unmanly blow: +Where can he turn, to whom complain of you? +Back to past joys in vain his thoughts may stray; +Trace and retrace the beaten worn-out way, +The rankling injury will pierce his breast, +And curses on thee break his midnight rest. + +Bereft of song, and ever cheering green, +The soft endearments of the Summer scene, +New harmony pervades the solemn wood, +Dear to the soul, and healthful to the blood: +For bold exertion follows on the sound +Of distant sportsmen, and the chiding hound; +First heard from kennel bursting, mad with joy, +Where smiling EUSTON boasts her good FITZROY, +Lord of pure alms, and gifts that wide extend; +The farmer's patron, and the poor man's friend: +Whose mansion glitt'ring with the eastern ray, +Whose elevated temple, points the way, +O'er slopes and lawns, the park's extensive pride, +To where the victims of the chace reside, +Ingulf'd in earth, in conscious safety warm, +Till lo! a plot portends their coming harm. + +In earliest hours of dark unhooded morn, +Ere yet one rosy cloud bespeaks the dawn, +Whilst far abroad THE FOX pursues his prey, +He's doom'd to risk the perils of the day, +From his strong hold block'd out; perhaps to bleed, +Or owe his life to fortune or to speed. +For now the pack, impatient rushing on, +Range through the darkest coverts one by one; +Trace every spot; whilst down each noble glade +That guides the eye beneath a changeful shade, +The loit'ring sportsman feels th' instinctive flame, +And checks his steed to mark the springing game. +Midst intersecting cuts and winding ways +The huntsman cheers his dogs, and anxious strays +Where every narrow riding, even shorn, +Gives back the echo of his mellow horn: +Till fresh and lightsome, every power untried, +The starting fugitive leaps by his side, +His lifted finger to his ear he plies, +And the view halloo bids a chorus rise +Of dogs quick-mouth'd, and shouts that mingle loud, +As bursting thunder rolls from cloud to cloud. +With ears erect, and chest of vigorous mould, +O'er ditch, o'er fence, unconquerably bold, +The shining courser lengthens every bound, +And his strong foot-locks suck the moisten'd ground, +As from the confines of the wood they pour, +And joyous villages partake the roar. +O'er heath far stretch'd, or down, or valley low. +The stiff-limb'd peasant, glorying in the show, +Pursues in vain; where youth itself soon tires, +Spite of the transports that the chace inspires; +For who unmounted long can charm the eye, +Or hear the music of the leading cry? + +Poor faithful TROUNCER! thou canst lead no more; +All thy fatigues and all thy triumphs o'er! +Triumphs of worth, whose honorary fame +Was still to follow true the hunted game; +Beneath enormous oaks, Britannia's boast, +In thick impenetrable coverts lost, +When the warm pack in fault'ring silence stood, +Thine was the note that rous'd the list'ning wood, +Rekindling every joy with tenfold force, +Through all the mazes of the tainted course. +Still foremost thou the dashing stream to cross, +And tempt along the animated horse; +Foremost o'er fen or level mead to pass, +And sweep the show'ring dew-drops from the grass; +Then bright emerging from the mist below +To climb the woodland hill's exulting brow. + +Pride of thy race! with worth far less than thine, +Full many human leaders daily shine! +Less faith, less constancy, less gen'rous zeal!... +Then no disgrace mine humble verse shall feel; +Where not one lying line to riches bows, +Or poison'd sentiment from rancour flows; +Nor flowers are strewn around Ambition's car:... +An honest dog's a nobler theme by far. +Each sportsman heard the tidings with a sigh, +When Death's cold touch had stopt his tuneful cry; +And though high deeds, and fair exalted praise, +In memory liv'd, and flow'd in rustic lays, +Short was the strain of monumental woe: +"_Foxes, rejoice! here buried lies your foe.[A]_" +[Footnote A: Inscribed on a stone in Euston Park wall.] + +In safety hous'd, throughout NIGHT'S _length'ning_ reign, +The Cock sends forth a loud and piercing strain; +More frequent, as the glooms of midnight flee, +And hours roll round, that brought him liberty, +When Summer's early dawn, mild, clear, and bright, +Chas'd quick away the transitory night:... +Hours now in darkness veil'd; yet loud the scream +Of Geese impatient for the playful stream; +And all the feather'd tribe imprison'd raise +Their morning notes of inharmonious praise; +And many a clamorous Hen and cockrel gay, +When daylight slowly through the fog breaks way, +Fly wantonly abroad: but ah, how soon +The shades of twilight follow hazy noon, +Short'ning the busy day!... day that slides by +Amidst th' unfinish'd toils of HUSBANDRY; +Toils still each morn resum'd with double care, +To meet the icy terrors of the year; +To meet the threats of _Boreas_ undismay'd, +And _Winter's_ gathering frowns and hoary head. + +THEN welcome, COLD; welcome, ye _snowy_ nights! +Heaven midst your rage shall mingle pure delights, +And confidence of hope the soul sustain, +While devastation sweeps along the plain: +Nor shall the child of poverty despair, +But bless THE POWER that rules the _changing year_; +Assur'd,... tho' horrors round his cottage reign,... +That _Spring_ will come, and Nature smile again. + + + +WINTER. + +ARGUMENT. + +_Tenderness to cattle. Frozen turnips. The cow-yard. Night. +The farm-house. Fire-side. Farmer's advice and instruction. Nightly cares +of the stable. Dobbin. The post-horse. Sheep-stealing dogs. Walks +occasioned thereby. The ghost. Lamb time. Returning Spring. Conclusion._ + + +[Illustration] + + + + WINTER. + + +IV. + +With kindred pleasures mov'd, and cares opprest, +Sharing alike our weariness and rest; +Who lives the daily partner of our hours, +Thro' every change of heat, and frost, and show'rs; +Partakes our cheerful meals, partaking first +In mutual labour and in mutual thirst; +The kindly intercourse will ever prove +A bond of amity and social love. +To more than man this generous warmth extends, +And oft the team and shiv'ring herd befriends; +Tender solicitude the bosom fills, +And Pity executes what Reason wills: +Youth learns compassion's tale from every tongue, +And flies to aid the helpless and the young; + +When now, unsparing as the scourge of war, +Blasts follow blasts, and groves dismantled roar, +Around their home the storm-pinch'd CATTLE lows, +No nourishment in frozen pastures grows; +Yet frozen pastures every morn resound +With fair abundance thund'ring to the ground. +For though on hoary twigs no buds peep out, +And e'en the hardy bramble cease to sprout, +Beneath dread WINTER'S level sheets of snow +The sweet nutritious _Turnip_ deigns to grow. +Till now imperious want and wide-spread dearth +Bid Labour claim her treasures from the earth. +On GILES, and such as Giles, the labour falls, +To strew the frequent load where hunger calls. +On driving gales sharp hail indignant flies, +And sleet, more irksome still, assails his eyes; +Snow clogs his feet; or if no snow is seen, +The field with all its juicy store to screen, +Deep goes the frost, till every root is found +A rolling mass of ice upon the ground. +No tender ewe can break her nightly fast, +Nor heifer strong begin the cold repast, +Till _Giles_ with pond'rous beetle foremost go, +And scatt'ring splinters fly at every blow; +When pressing round him, eager for the prize, +From their mixt breath warm exhalations rise. + +If now in beaded rows drops deck the spray, +While _Phoebus_ grants a momentary ray, +Let but a cloud's broad shadow intervene, +And stiffen'd into gems the drops are seen; +And down the furrow'd oak's broad southern side +Streams of dissolving rime no longer glide. + +THOUGH NIGHT approaching bids for rest prepare, +Still the flail echoes through the frosty air, +Nor stops till deepest shades of darkness come, +Sending at length the weary laborer home. +From him, with bed and nightly food supplied, +Throughout the yard, hous'd round on every side, +Deep-plunging Cows their rustling feast enjoy, +And snatch sweet mouthfuls from the passing boy, +Who moves unseen beneath his trailing load, +Fills the tall racks, and leaves a scatter'd road; +Where oft the swine from ambush warm and dry +Bolt out, and scamper headlong to their sty, +When _Giles_ with well-known voice, already there, +Deigns them a portion of his evening care. + +_Him_, though the cold may pierce, and storms molest, +Succeeding hours shall cheer with warmth and rest: + +[Illustration] + +Gladness to spread, and raise the grateful smile, +He hurls the faggot bursting from the pile, +And many a log and rifted trunk conveys, +To heap the fire, and to extend the blaze +That quiv'ring strong through every opening flies, +Whilst smoaky columns unobstructed rise. +For the rude architect, unknown to fame, +(Nor symmetry nor elegance his aim) +Who spread his floors of solid oak on high, +On beams rough-hewn, from age to age that lie, +Bade his _wide Fabric_ unimpair'd sustain +_Pomona's_ store, and cheese, and golden grain; +Bade from its central base, capacious laid, +The well-wrought chimney rear its lofty head; +Where since hath many a savoury ham been stor'd, +And tempests howl'd, and Christmas gambols roar'd. + +FLAT on the _hearth_ the glowing embers lie, +And flames reflected dance in every eye: +There the long billet, forc'd at last to bend, +While frothing sap gushes at either end, +Throws round its welcome heat:... the ploughman smiles, +And oft the joke runs hard on sheepish _Giles_, +Who sits joint tenant of the corner-stool, +The converse sharing, though in duty's school; +For now attentively 'tis his to hear +Interrogations from the Master's chair. + +'LEFT ye your bleating charge, when daylight fled, +'Near where the hay-stack lifts its snowy head? +'Whose fence of bushy furze, so close and warm, +'May stop the slanting bullets of the storm. +'For, hark! it blows; a dark and dismal night: +'Heaven guide the traveller's fearful steps aright! +'Now from the woods, mistrustful and sharp-ey'd, +'The _Fox_ in silent darkness seems to glide, +'Stealing around us, list'ning as he goes, +'If chance the Cock or stamm'ring cockerel crows, +'Or Goose, or nodding Duck, should darkling cry, +'As if appriz'd of lurking danger nigh: +'Destruction waits them, _Giles_, if e'er you fail +'To bolt their doors against the driving gale. +'Strew'd you (still mindful of the unshelter'd head) +'Burdens of straw, the cattle's welcome bed? +'Thine heart should feel, what thou may'st hourly see, +'_That duty's basis is humanity._ +'Of pain's unsavoury cup tho' thou may'st taste, +'(The wrath of Winter from the bleak north-east,) +'Thine utmost suff'rings in the coldest day +'A period terminates, and joys repay. +'Perhaps e'en now, while here those joys we boast, +'Full many a bark rides down the neighb'ring coast, +'Where the high northern waves tremendous roar, +'Drove down by blasts from _Norway's_ icy shore. +'The _Sea-boy_ there, less fortunate than thou, +'Feels all thy pains in all the gusts that blow; +'His freezing hands now drench'd, now dry, by turns; +'Now lost, now seen, the distant light that burns, +'On some tall cliff uprais'd, a flaming guide, +'That throws its friendly radiance o'er the tide. +'His labours cease not with declining day, +'But toils and perils mark his watry way; +'And whilst in peaceful dreams secure _we_ lie, +'The ruthless whirlwinds rage along the sky, +'Round his head whistling;... and shall thou repine, +'While this protecting roof still shelters thine?' + +Mild, as the vernal show'r, his words prevail, +And aid the moral precept of his tale: +His wond'ring hearers learn, and ever keep +These first ideas of the restless deep; +And, as the opening mind a circuit tries, +Present felicities in value rise. +Increasing pleasures every hour they find, +The warmth more precious, and the shelter kind; +Warmth that long reigning bids the eyelids close, +As through the blood its balmy influence goes, +When the cheer'd heart forgets fatigues and cares, +And drowsiness alone dominion bears. + +Sweet then the ploughman's slumbers, hale and young, +When the last topic dies upon his tongue; +Sweet then the bliss his transient dreams inspire, +Till chilblains wake him, or the snapping fire: + +He starts, and ever thoughtful of his team, +Along the glitt'ring snow a feeble gleam +Shoots from his lantern, as he yawning goes +To add fresh comforts to their night's repose; +Diffusing fragrance as their food he moves +And pats the jolly sides of those he loves. +Thus full replenish'd, perfect ease possest, +From night till morn alternate food and rest, +No rightful cheer withheld, no sleep debar'd, +Their each day's labour brings its sure reward. +Yet when from plough or lumb'ring cart set free, +They taste awhile the sweets of liberty: +E'en sober _Dobbin_ lifts his clumsy heels +And kicks, disdainful of the dirty wheels; +But soon, his frolic ended, yields again +To trudge the road, and wear the clinking chain. + +Short-sighted DOBBIN!... thou canst only see +The trivial hardships that _encompass_ thee: +Thy chains were freedom, and thy toils repose, +Could the poor _post-horse_ tell thee all his woes; +Shew thee his bleeding shoulders, and unfold +The dreadful anguish he endures for gold: +Hir'd at each call of business, lust, or rage, +That prompt the trav'eller on from stage to stage. +Still on _his_ strength depends their boasted speed; +For them his limbs grow weak, his bare ribs bleed; +And though he groaning quickens at command, +Their extra shilling in the rider's hand +Becomes his bitter scourge:... 'tis _he_ must feel +The double efforts of the lash and steel; +Till when, up hill, the destin'd inn he gains, +And trembling under complicated pains, +Prone from his nostrils, darting on the ground, +His breath emitted floats in clouds around: +Drops chase each other down his chest and sides, +And spatter'd mud his native colour hides: +Thro' his swoln veins the boiling torrent flows, +And every nerve a separate torture knows. +His harness loos'd, he welcomes eager-eyed +The pail's full draught that quivers by his side; +And joys to see the well-known stable door, +As the starv'd mariner the friendly shore. + +Ah, well for him if here his suff'rings ceas'd, +And ample hours of rest his pains appeas'd! +But rous'd again, and sternly bade to rise, +And shake refreshing slumber from his eyes, +Ere his exhausted spirits can return, +Or through his frame reviving ardour burn, +Come forth he must, tho' limping, maim'd, and sore; +He hears the whip; the chaise is at the door:... +The collar tightens, and again he feels +His half-heal'd wounds inflam'd; again the wheels +With tiresome sameness in his ears resound, +O'er blinding dust, or miles of flinty ground. +Thus nightly robb'd, and injur'd day by day, +His piece-meal murd'rers wear his life away. + +What say'st thou, _Dobbin?_ what though hounds await +With open jaws the moment of thy fate, +No better fate attends _his_ public race; +His life is misery, and his end disgrace. +Then freely bear thy burden to the mill; +Obey but one short law,... thy driver's will. +Affection, to thy memory ever true, +Shall boast of mighty loads that _Dobbin_ drew; +And back to childhood shall the mind with pride +Recount thy gentleness in many a ride +To pond, or field, or village fair, when thou +Held'st high thy braided mane and comely brow; +And oft the Tale shall rise to homely fame +Upon thy gen'rous spirit and thy name. + +Though faithful to a proverb, we regard +The midnight chieftain of the farmer's yard, +Beneath whose guardianship all hearts rejoice, +Woke by the echo of his hollow voice; +Yet as the Hound may fault'ring quit the pack, +Snuff the foul scent, and hasten yelping back; +And e'en the docile Pointer know disgrace, +Thwarting the gen'ral instinct of his race; +E'en so the MASTIFF, or the meaner Cur, +At times will from the path of duty err, +(A pattern of fidelity by day; +By night a _murderer_, lurking for his prey); +And round the pastures or the fold will creep, +And, coward-like, attack the peaceful _sheep_: +Alone the wanton mischief he pursues, +Alone in reeking blood his jaws imbrues; +Chasing amain his fright'ned victims round, +Till death in wild confusion strews the ground; +Then wearied out, to kennel sneaks away, +And licks his guilty paws till break of day. + +The deed discover'd, and the news once spread, +Vengeance hangs o'er the unknown culprit's head: +And careful _Shepherds_ extra hours bestow +In patient _watchings_ for the common foe; +A foe most dreaded now, when rest and peace +Should wait the season of the flock's increase. + +In part these nightly terrors to dispel, +GILES, ere he sleeps, his little Flock must tell. +From the fire-side with many a shrug he hies, +Glad if the full-orb'd Moon salute his eyes, +And through the unbroken stillness of the night +Shed on his path her beams of cheering light. +With saunt'ring step he climbs the distant stile, +Whilst all around him wears a placid smile; +There views the white-rob'd clouds in clusters driv'n, +And all the glorious pageantry of heav'n. +Low, on the utmost bound'ry of the sight, +The rising vapours catch the silver light; +Thence Fancy measures, as they parting fly, +Which first will throw its shadow on the eye, +Passing the source of light; and thence away, +Succeeded quick by brighter still than they. +For yet above these wafted clouds are seen +(In a remoter sky, still more serene,) +Others, detach'd in ranges through the air, +Spotless as snow, and countless as they're fair; +Scatter'd immensely wide from east to west, +The beauteous 'semblance of a _Flock_ at rest. +These, to the raptur'd mind, aloud proclaim +Their MIGHTY SHEPHERD'S everlasting Name. + +Whilst thus the loit'rer's utmost stretch of soul +Climbs the still clouds, or passes those that roll, +And loos'd _Imagination_ soaring goes +High o'er his home, and all his little woes, +TIME glides away; neglected Duty calls: +At once from plains of light to earth he falls, +And down a narrow lane, well known by day, +With all his speed pursues his sounding way, +In thought still half absorb'd, and chill'd with cold; +When, lo! an object frightful to behold; +A grisly SPECTRE, cloth'd in silver-gray, +Around whose feet the waving shadows play, +Stands in his path!... He stops, and not a breath +Heaves from his heart, that sinks almost to death. +Loud the owl halloos o'er his head unseen; +All else is silent, dismally serene: +Some prompt ejaculation, whisper'd low, +Yet bears him up against the threat'ning foe; +And thus poor Giles, though half inclin'd to fly, +Mutters his doubts, and strains his stedfast eye. +''Tis not my crimes thou com'st here to reprove; +'No murders stain my soul, no perjur'd love: +'If thou'rt indeed what here thou seem'st to be, +'Thy dreadful mission cannot reach to me. +'By parents taught still to mistrust mine eyes, +'Still to approach each object of surprise +'Lest Fancy's formful visions should deceive +'In moon-light paths, or glooms of falling eve, +'This then's the moment when my heart should try +'To scan thy motionless deformity; +'But oh, the fearful task! yet well I know +'An aged ash, with many a spreading bough, +'(Beneath whose leaves I've found a Summer's bow'r, +'Beneath whose trunk I've weather'd many a show'r,) +'Stands singly down this solitary way, +'But far beyond where now my footsteps stay. +'Tis true, thus far I've come with heedless haste; +'No reck'ning kept, no passing objects trac'd:... +'And can I then have reach'd that very tree? +'Or is its reverend form assum'd by thee?' +The happy thought alleviates his pain: +He creeps another step; then stops again; +Till slowly, as his noiseless feet draw near, +Its perfect lineaments at once appear; +Its crown of shiv'ring ivy whispering peace, +And its white bark that fronts the moon's pale face. +Now, whilst his blood mounts upward, now he knows +The solid gain that from conviction flows; +And strengthen'd Confidence shall hence fulfill +(With conscious Innocence more valued still) +The dreariest task that winter nights can bring, +By church-yard dark, or grove, or fairy ring; +Still buoying up the timid mind of youth, +Till loit'ring Reason hoists the scale of Truth. +With these blest guardians _Giles_ his course pursues, +Till numbering his heavy-sided ewes, +Surrounding stillness tranquilize his breast, +And shape the dreams that wait his hours of rest. + +As when retreating tempests we behold, +Whose skirts at length the azure sky unfold, +And full of murmurings and mingled wrath, +Slowly unshroud the smiling face of earth, +Bringing the bosom joy: so WINTER flies!... +And see the Source of Life and Light uprise! +A height'ning arch o'er southern hills he bends; +Warm on the cheek the slanting beam descends, +And gives the reeking mead a brighter hue, +And draws the modest _primrose_ bud to view. +Yet frosts succeed, and winds impetuous rush, +And hail-storms rattle thro' the budding bush; +And night-fall'n LAMBS require the shepherd's care, +And teeming EWES, that still their burdens bear; +Beneath whose sides tomorrow's dawn may see +The milk-white strangers bow the trembling knee; +At whose first birth the pow'rful instinct's seen +That fills with champions the daisied green: +For ewes that stood aloof with fearful eye, +With stamping foot now men and dogs defy, +And obstinately faithful to their young, +Guard their first steps to join the bleating throng. + +But casualties and death from damps and cold +Will still attend the well-conducted fold: +Her tender offspring dead, the dam aloud +Calls, and runs wild amidst the unconscious crowd: +And orphan'd sucklings raise the piteous cry; +No wool to warm them, no defenders nigh. +And must her streaming milk then flow in vain? +Must unregarded innocence complain? +No;... ere this strong solicitude subside, +Maternal fondness may be fresh apply'd, +And the adopted stripling still may find +A parent most assiduously kind. +For this he's doom'd awhile disguis'd to range, +(For fraud or force must work the wish'd-for change;) +For this his predecessor's skin he wears, +Till cheated into tenderness and cares, +The unsuspecting dam, contented grown, +Cherish and guard the fondling as her own. + +Thus all by turns to fair perfection rise; +Thus twins are parted to increase their size: +Thus instinct yields as interest points the way, +Till the bright flock, augmenting every day, +On sunny hills and vales of springing flow'rs +With ceaseless clamour greet the vernal hours. + +The humbler _Shepherd_ here with joy beholds +The approv'd economy of crowded folds, +And, in his small contracted round of cares, +Adjusts the practice of each hint he hears: +For Boys with emulation learn to glow, +And boast their pastures, and their healthful show +Of well-grown Lambs, the glory of the Spring; +And field to field in competition bring. + +E'en GILES, for all his cares and watchings past, +And all his contests with the wintry blast, +Claims a full share of that sweet praise bestow'd +By gazing neighbours, when along the road, +Or village green, his curly-coated throng +Suspends the chorus of the spinner's song; +When Admiration's unaffected grace +Lisps from the tongue, and beams in every face: +Delightful moments!... Sunshine, Health, and Joy, +Play round, and cheer the elevated Boy! +'_Another_ SPRING!' his heart exulting cries; +'_Another_ YEAR! with promis'd blessings rise!... +'ETERNAL POWER! from whom those blessings flow, +'Teach me still more to wonder, more to know: +'_Seed-time_ and _Harvest_ let me see again; +'Wander the _leaf-strewn_ wood, _frozen_ plain: +'Let the first Flower, corn-waving Field, Plain, Tree, +'Here round my home, still lift my soul to THEE; +'And let me ever, midst thy bounties, raise +'An humble note of thankfulness and praise!'-- + +APRIL 22, 1798. + + + + NOTES + + +_A fav'rite morsel with the Rook, &c._ P. 9, l. 104. + +In these verses, which have much of picturesque, there is a severe charge +against _Rooks and Crows_, as very formidable depredators; and their +destruction, as such, seems to be recommended. Such was the prevalent +opinion some years back. It is less general now: and I am sure the +humanity of the Author, and his benevolence to Animals in general, will +dispose him to rejoice in whatever plea can be offered in stay of +execution of this sentence. And yet more so, if it shall appear that +ROOKS, at least, deserve not only mercy, but _protection_ and +_encouragement_ from the Farmer. + +I shall quote a passage from BEWICK'S interesting HISTORY of BIRDS: the +narrative part of which is often as full of information as the +embellishments cut in wood are beautiful.... It is this. + +Speaking of Birds of the PIE-KIND in general, he says "Birds of this kind +[Footnote: P. 63] are found in every part of the known world, from +Greenland to the Cape of Good Hope. In many respects they may be said to +be of singular benefit to mankind: principally by destroying great +quantities of noxious insects, worms, and reptiles. ROOKS, in particular, +are fond of the erucae of the _hedge-chaffer_, or chesnut _brown beetle_: +for which they search with indefatigable pains. These insects," he adds in +a note, "appear in hot weather in formidable numbers: disrobing the fields +and trees of their verdure, blossoms, and fruit; spreading desolation and +destruction wherever they go.... They appeared in great numbers in IRELAND +during a hot summer, and committed great ravages. In the year 1747 whole +meadows and corn-fields were destroyed by them in SUFFOLK. The decrease of +Rookeries in that County was thought to be the occasion of it. The many +Rookeries with us is in some measure the reason why we have so few of +these destructive animals."[Footnote: Wallis's History of Northumberland.] + +"Rooks," he subjoins, "are often accus'd of feeding on the corn just after +it has been sown, and various contrivances have been made both to kill and +frighten them away; but, in our estimation, the advantages deriv'd from +the destruction which they make among grubs, earth-worms, and noxious +insects of various kinds, will greatly overpay the injury done to the +future harvest by the small quantity of corn they may destroy in searching +after their favourite food." [Footnote: Mr. Bewick does not seem to have +been quite aware that much of this mischief, as I have been informed by a +sensible neighboring Farmer and Tenant, is done in the grub-state of the +chaffer by biting through the _roots_ of grass, &c. A latent, and +imperceptibly, but rapidly spreading mischief, against which the _rooks_ +and birds of similar instinct are, in a manner, the sole protection. C. +L.] + +"In general they are sagacious, active, and faithful to each other. They +live in pairs; and their mutual attachment is constant. They are a +clamorous race: mostly build in trees, and form a kind of society in which +there appears something like a regular government. A Centinel watches for +the general safety, and gives notice on the appearance of danger." + +Under the Title, "ROOKS," (p. 71) Mr. BEWICK repeats his observations on +the useful property of this Bird. + +I confess myself solicitous for their safety and kind treatment. +We have two which were lam'd by being blown down in a storm (a calamity +which destroys great numbers almost every spring). One of them is +perfectly domesticated. The other is yet more remarkable; since although +enjoying his natural liberty completely, he recognizes, even in his +flights at a distance from the house, his adoptive home, his human +friends, and early protectors. + +The ROOK is certainly a very beautiful and very sensible Bird; very +confiding, and very much attach'd. It will give me a pleasure, in which I +doubt not that the Author of this delightful Poem will partake, if any +thing here said shall avail them with the Farmer; and especially with the +SUFFOLK FARMER. + +C. L. + + + +_Destroys life's intercourse; the social plan._ P. 46, l. 341. + + +"Allowing for the imperfect state of sublunary happiness, which is +comparative at best, there are not, perhaps, many nations existing whose +situation is so desirable; where the means of subsistence are so easy, and +the wants of the people so few. The evident distinction of ranks, which +subsists at _Otaheite_, does not so materially affect the felicity of the +nation as we might have supposed. The simplicity of their whole life +contributes to soften the appearance of distinctions, and to reduce them +to a level. Where the climate and the custom of the country do not +absolutely require a perfec: garment; where it is easy at every step to +gather as many plants as form not only a decent, but likewise a customary +covering; and where all the necessaries of life are within the reach of +every individual, at the expence of a trifling labour; ambition and envy +must in a great measure be unknown. It is true, the highest classes of +people possess some dainty articles, such as pork, fish, fowl, and cloth, +almost exclusively; but the desire of indulging the appetite in a few +trifling luxuries can at most render individuals, and not whole nations, +unhappy. Absolute want occasions the miseries of the lower class in some +civiliz'd states, and is the result of the unbounded voluptuousness of +their superiors. At _Otaheite_ there is not, in general, that disparity +between the highest and the meanest man, that subsists in England between +a reputable tradesman and a labourer. The affection of the Otaheitans for +their chiefs, which they never fail'd to express upon all occasions, gave +us great reason to suppose that they consider themselves as one family, +and respect their eldest borm in the persons of their chiefs. The lowest +man in the nation speaks as freely with his king as with his equal, and +has the pleasure of seeing him as often as he likes. The king, at times, +amuses himself with the occupations of his subjects; and not yet deprav'd +by false notions of empty state, he often paddles his own canoe, without +considering such an employment derogatory to his dignity. How long such an +happy equality may last is uncertain: and how much the introduction of +foreign luxuries may hasten its dissolution cannot be too frequently +repeated to Europeans. If the knowledge of a few individuals can only be +acquired at such a price as the happiness of nations, it were better for +the discoverers and the discovered that the _South Sea_ had still remain'd +unknown to _Europe_ and its restless inhabitants." + +REFLECTIONS ON OTAHEITE: Cook's second Voyage. + + + +APPENDIX + +When the FIRST EDITION of this POEM appear'd in March last, I intimated a +design of accompanying it with some CEITICAL REMARKS. With that design +various Engagements have since greatly interfer'd. From one of the most +laborious and constant of those, that of the office of a Justice of the +Peace for the County of Suffolk, I am now discharg'd. Why those who are in +power have done this, they have not explain'd: and it being an office from +which any one who holds it is removable at _pleasure_, they are not call'd +to explain. Had it been for Crime or Misconduct as a Magistrate, of course +Trial and Conviction should have preceded my Removal. As it is, I feel, as +I have publicly declar'd, no shame in the removal. I have held an office +honorable because extensively useful; because unprofitable and burthensome +to the individual; because independently and conscientiously exercis'd, +with a devotion, such as it requir'd, of my time, my thoughts, and my best +faculties, daily to its discharge. My Collegues,--and they are and have +been, during a course of seventeen years, those of them who now act, and +those who are dead or absent, men with whom to have acted was indeed +satisfactory and pleasant,--my late Collegues part with me, and I with +them, regrettingly. Our reciprocal Esteem is not lessen'd by this +abruption of our official intercourse. And as every man who feels what +Society is, ought to determine to be serviceable to the Public, my removal +from this office neither weakens the determination, nor probably will be +found to have impair'd the means of effecting it. I am therefore well +content;--as I ought to be. I sought not the office. I have never sought +any. It solicited my acceptance; unask'd and unexpected. I owe my +appointment to the Duke of GRAFTON, very soon after I came to reside in +this County. He was then _Lord Lieutenant_. I have not yielded that +appointment to disgust; though there were those who were not sparing in +their endeavours to disgust me with it: I have not relinquished it to suit +my convenience; though in times like these an office of no little expence, +and which shut me out from sources of professional emolument, was to me +certainly not convenient: I have not consulted my ease or health by a +voluntary retirement. I am remov'd, I am superseded, I am struck out from +an office of incredible and hourly increasing anxiety. Circumstances like +this are not new. They have repeatedly taken place in relation to very +high offices; and the Public remembers men to whom they have happen'd +whose internal dignity and worth is above any official dignity. Had I felt +that I _merited_ to be remov'd, I should not have thought myself a fit +Editor of the FARMER'S BOY; a Poem which breathes every where modest +independence, benevolence, innocence, and virtue. As it is, I think myself +no way less fit than ever for any laudable and becoming employ. And I have +accordingly announc'd my intention of resuming my profession as a +BARRISTER. In the mean time, the leisure which has thus been thrown to me +may properly and usefully be devoted to the Remarks which I had before +meditated; and for which I had in some measure pledg'd myself to the +PUBLIC. + +The FIRST of these will naturally be that which relates to the _manner_ +and circumstances of the Composition. There is such proof in it of Genius +disregarding difficulty, and of powers of retention and arrangement, that +it will be believ'd I could not overpass it: and that it would have been +stated at the first if it had been then in my power to state it. + +I now lay it before the Public in the words of Mr. SWAN: who in a Letter +address'd to me in _The Ladies Museum_ of this Month, after congratulating +me on my "successful efforts," (and with such a Production to propose to +public Attention how could they be unsuccessful?) "in rescuing from +oblivion a Poem, which for the harmony of its numbers, the beauty of its +imagery, originality of thought, elegance and chasteness of diction, +(every circumstance consider'd,) stands unrivall'd in the Annals of +English Literature, and will descend to Posterity with increasing +celebrity," states the _motive_ on which he writes: (a motive well +meriting a Letter and a public statement:) "to throw light upon the manner +of the composition of the Farmer's Boy; which appears to him (and most +justly) no inconsiderable addition to the well-earn'd laurels of the +Author." + +For the pleasure of the view which it includes of the character and +manners of Mr. BLOOMFIELD, I shall, with the Author of this interesting +Letter, go beyond the mere fact; and give his narration of the cause and +manner of the _Discovery_, as well at the Discovery itself. + +Mr. SWAN thus expresses himself: + +"From the pleasure I receiv'd in reading the FARMER'S BOY, and from some +strange coincidences in the early part of Mr. Bloomfield's life with my +own, I was naturally enough anxious to become acquainted with the Author. +For this purpose I obtain'd his address, and found him ... the modest, the +unambitious person you describe; wondering at the praise and admiration +with which his Poem has been receiv'd; whose utmost ambition was to have +presented a fair copy to his aged Mother, as a pledge of filial affection, +and a picture of his juvenile avocations. So unexpected was the fame of +his production, that the whole of his good fortune appears to him as a +dream."--'I had no more idea,' says he, 'to be sent for by the Duke of +Grafton, and be so kindly and generously treated, than of the hour I shall +die.' + +"I gave him," Mr. SWAN continues, "my card of address, an invitation to my +house, and a sincere profession of friendship; if, among his numerous +admirers, and noble and royal patrons, the latter was worthy of +acceptance." + +"Last Sunday afternoon [Footnote: The Letter is dated 12 July, 1800.] I +was highly pleas'd with his company, and gratified and entertain'd with +his conversation.--Sir, he is all ... nay, more than you have describ'd." + +"Among other subjects of conversation respecting the _Farmer's Boy_, I +wish'd to be inform'd of his manner of composition. I enquir'd, as he +compos'd it in a garret, amid the bustle and noise of six or seven fellow +workmen, whether he us'd a slate; or wrote it on paper with a pencil, or +pen and ink. But what was my surprize when told that he had us'd +neither.--My business, during the greatest part of my life having led me +into the line of litterary pursuits, and made me acquainted with litterary +men, I am, consequently, pretty well inform'd of the methods us'd by +authors for the retention of their productions. We are told, if my +recollection is just, that Milton took his Daughters as his amanuenses; +that Savage, when his poverty precluded him the conveniency of pen, ink, +and paper, us'd to study in the streets, and go into shops to record the +productions of his fertile genius; that Pope, when on visits at Lord +Bolingbroke's, us'd to ring up the servants at any hour in the night for +pen and ink, to write any thought that struck his lively and wakeful +imagination; that Dr. Blacklock, though blind, had the happy faculty of +writing down, in a very legible hand, the chaste and elegant productions +of his Muse." + +"With these and many other methods of composition we are acquainted; but +that of a great part of _the Farmer's Boy_ stands, in my opinion, first on +the List of Litterary [Footnote: I have ventur'd to restore litterary to +that mode of spelling, with the double _t_, which the Analogy of our +language seems to require. L.] Phaenomena.--Sir, Mr. Bloomfield, either +from the contracted state of his pecuniary resources to purchase Paper, or +from other reasons, compos'd the latter part of his _Autumn_ and the whole +of his _Winter_ in his head, without committing one line to paper.--This +cannot fail to surprize the Litterary World: who are well acquainted with +the treacherousness of memory, and how soon the most happy ideas, for want +of sufficient quickness in noting down, are lost in the rapidity of +thought." + +"But this is not all.--He went still a step farther.--He not only compos'd +and committed that part of the work to his retentive memory, but he +corrected it all in his head. And, as he said, when it was thus +prepar'd,... _I had nothing to do but to write it down_." + +"By this new and wonderful mode of composition he studied and completed +his Farmer's Boy in a garret; among six or seven workmen, without their +ever suspecting any thing of the matter." + +"Sir, this to me was both new and wonderful: and induc'd me rather to +communicate the information to you through the medium of the Press than by +writing; that it may meet the eye of many, who will be equally struck and +pleas'd with the novelty of the idea as myself." + +I have on this part of the subject, only, after quoting thus much at +present from the Letter of Mr. SWAN, to add, that I entirely agree with +him, I believe, as to the force, clearness, and comprehensiveness of +intellect manifested by this experiment, and its success. + +I now pass to part of what has been fully and excellently said by Dr. +DRAKE of HADLEIGH, while investigating the merits of this astonishing +Rural Poem. + +In a Letter from HADLEIGH [Footnote: 9 March, 1800.] Dr. DRAKE had given +me this distinct and vivid representation of his general idea of the Poem. + +"I have read THE FARMER'S BOY with a mixture of astonishment and delight. +There is a pathetic simplicity in his sentiments and descriptions that +does honour to his head and heart." + +"His copies from Nature are truly original and faithful, and are touched +with the hand of a Master.... His versification occasionally displays an +energy and harmony which might decorate even the pages of a DARWIN." + +"The general characteristics of his Style, however, are sweetness and +ease. In short, I have no hesitation in declaring, that I think it, as a +Rural and descriptive Poem, superior to any production since the days of +THOMSON." + +"It wants no reference to its Author's uneducated poverty to render its +excellence the more striking; they are such as would confer durable Fame +on the first and most polish'd Poet in the Kingdom." + +I shall now take the liberty of extracting part of the CRITIQUE which Dr. +DRAKE, agreeably to his intimation to me, has made of the FARMER'S BOY in +his LITTERARY HOURS.[Footnote: Vol. II, Ess. xxxix, p. 444.] + +"From the pleasing duty of describing such a 'character' (meaning the +personal character of Mr. BLOOMFIELD) let us now turn our attention to +the species of composition of which his Poem is so perfect a specimen. It +has been observ'd in my sixteenth number that PASTORAL POETRY in this +country, with very few exceptions, has exhibited a tame and servile +adherence to classical imagery and costume; at the same time totally +overlooking that profusion of picturesque beauty, and that originality of +manner and peculiarity of employment, which our climate and our rustics +every where present." + +"A few Authors were mention'd in that Essay as having judiciously deviated +from the customary plan: to these may now be added the name of +_Boomfield_; the _Farmers Boy_, though not assuming the form of an +Eclogue, being peculiarly and exclusively, throughout, a _pastoral +Composition_; not like the Poem of _Thomson_, taking a wide excursion +through all the phenomena of the _Seasons_, but nearly limited to the +rural _occupation_ and business of the fields, the dairy, and the farm +yard." + +"As with these employments, however, the vicissitudes of the Year are +immediately and necessarily connected, Mr. Bloomfield has, with propriety, +divided his Poem into _Four_ Books, affixing to those Books the Titles of +the Seasons." + +"Such indeed are the merits of this Work, that in true _pastoral_ imagery +and simplicity I do not think any production can be put in competition +with it since the days of Theocritus." [Footnote: I have heard that the +opinion of no less a Judge than Dr. WATSON, Bishop of LLANDAFF, is by no +means short of the encomium implied in this comparison, high and ample as +it is. L.] + +"To that charming simplicity which particularizes the Grecian, are added +the individuality, [Footnote: Much of these qualities indeed is certainly +in _Theocritus_ also. L.] fidelity, and boldness of description, which +render Thomson so interesting to the lovers of Nature." + +"GESNER possesses the most engaging sentiment, and the most refin'd +simplicity of manners; but he wants that rustic wildness and naïveté in +delineation characteristic of the Sicilian, and of the composition before +us." + +"WARNER and DRAYTON have much to recommend them: but they are very +unequal; and are devoid of the _sweet and pensive morality_ which pervade +almost every page of _the Farmers Boy_; nor can they establish any +pretensions to that fecundity in painting the oeconomy of rural life, +which this Poem, drawn from actual experience, so richly displays." + +"It is astonishing indeed what various and striking circumstances, +peculiar to the occupation of the _British Farmer_, and which are adapted +to all the purposes of the _pastoral_ Muse, had escaped our Poets, +previous to the publication of Mr. _Bloomfield's_ Work." + +"Those who are partial to the _Country_;--and where is the man of Genius +who feels not a delight approaching to ecstasy from the contemplation of +its scenery, and the happiness which its cultivation diffuses?--those who +have paid attention to the process of husbandry, and who view its +occurrences with interest; who are at the same time alive to all the +minutiae of the animal and vegetable creation; who mark + + '_How Nature paints for colours, how the Bee + Sits on the bloom, extracting liquid sweet_,' + +will derive from the study of this Poem a gratification the most permanent +and pure." + +Though I have thus largely extracted I cannot omit transferring hither the +ANALYSIS of the Poem, as given by Dr. Drake. + +"The _first_ Book, intitled _Spring_, opens with an appropriate +invocation. A transition is then made to the artless character of _Giles_, +the _Farmer's Boy_; after which the scene near _Euston_ in Suffolk is +describ'd, and an amiable portrait of Mr. _Austin_, immediately follows. + +"Seed-time, harrowing, the devastation of the rooks,[Footnote: I will not +say much: but I was glad to see since the second Edition of this Poem the +cause of the Rooks had again been advocated, in the _Newcastle Chronicle_. +L.] wood-scenery, the melody of birds, cows milking, and the operations of +the dairy, occupy the chief part of this Season: which is clos'd by a +beautiful Personification of the Spring and her attendants, and an +admirable delineation of the sportive pleasures of the young Lambs." + +"The _second_ Book, or _Summer_, commences with a characteristic sketch of +the prudent yet benevolent Farmer. The genial influence of the rain is +then welcom'd; to which succeeds a most delicious picture of a green and +woody covert with all its insect tribe. The ascension of the sky-lark, the +peaceful repose of _Giles_, a view of the ripening harvest, with some +moral reflections on Nature and her great Creator, are introduc'd: +follow'd by animated descriptions of reaping, gleaning, the honest +exultation of the Farmer, the beauty of the Country Girl, and the +wholesome refreshment of the field. Animals teazed by insects, the cruelty +of docking horses, the insolence of the gander, the apathy of the swine, +are drawn in a striking manner: and the Book concludes with masterly +pictures of a twilight repose, a midnight storm of thunder and lightning, +and views of the ancient and present mode of celebrating Harvest-home." + +"The _third_ Book, _Autumn_, is introduc'd with a delineation of forest +scenery, and pigs fattening on fallen acorns. Sketches of wild ducks and +their haunts, of hogs settling to repose in a wood, and of wheat sowing, +succeed. The sound of village bells suggests a most pleasing digression: +of which the church and its pastor, the rustic amusements of a Sunday, the +Village Maids, and a most pathetic description of a distracted Female, are +the prominent features. Returning to rural business, _Giles_ is drawn +guarding the rising wheat from birds:--his little hut, with his +preparation for the reception of his playmates, their treachery and his +disappointment, are conceiv'd and colour'd in an exquisite style. +Fox-hunting, the Fox-hound's epitaph, the long autumnal evenings, a +description of domestic fowl, and a welcome to the snowy nights of Winter, +form the concluding topics of this Season." + +"The _fourth_ Book, under the appellation of _Winter_, is usher'd in by +some humane injunctions for the treatment of storm-pinch'd cattle. The +frozen turnips are broken for them: and the cowyard at night is describ'd. +The conviviality of a Christmas evening, and the conversation round the +fire, with the admonitions from the Master's chair, are depicted in a +manner truly pleasing. The _Sea Boy_ and the _Farmers Boy_ are contrasted +with much effect: and the ploughman feeding his horses at night, with the +comparison between the cart-horse and post-horse, have great merit. The +mastiff turn'd sheep-biter is next delineated; succeeded by a description +of a moon-light night, and the appearance of a spectre." + +"The counting of the Sheep in the fold, and the adopted Lambs, are +beautiful paintings: and with the Triumph of GILES on the conclusion of +the Year, and his Address to the DEITY, the Book and Poem close." + +"Such are the Materials of which THE FARMER'S BOY is constructed. Several +of the topics, it will be perceiv'd, are new to Poetry; and of those which +are in their _title_ familiar to the readers of our descriptive Bards, it +will be found that the imagery and adjunctive circumstances are original, +and the effort of a mind practis'd in the rare art of selecting and +combining the most striking and picturesque features of an object." + +Dr. Drake after this well accounts for the poetic singularity that the +Poetry of _Thomson_ should have past through a mind so enthusiastically +enamor'd of it, without impairing the originality of its character, when +exercis'd on a subject so much leading to imitation. This he explains, and +justly, by the vivid impressions on a most sensible and powerful +imagination in his earliest youth, anterior to the study of any Poet. + +Dr. Drake expresses his astonishment at the VERSIFICATION and DICTION of +this Poem. And says most truly, "I am well aware that smooth and flowing +lines are of easy purchase, and the property of almost every poetaster of +the day: but the versification of Mr. _Bloomfield_ is of another +character; it displays beauties of the most positive kind, and those +witcheries of expression which are only to be acquir'd by the united +efforts of Genius and Study." + +"The _general_ characteristics of his versification are facility and +sweetness; that ease which is, in fact, the result of unremitted labour, +and one of the most valuable acquisitions of litterature. It displays +occasionally likewise a vigour and a brilliancy of polish that might +endure comparison with the high-wrought texture of the Muse of DARWIN. +From the nature of his subject, however, this splendid mode of decoration +could be us'd but with a sparing hand: and it is not one of his least +merits that his diction and harmony should so admirably correspond with +the scene which he has chosen." + +"To excel," Dr. DRAKE continues, "in rural IMAGERY, it is necessary that +the Poet should diligently study Nature for himself; and not peruse her as +is but too common, '_through the spectacles of Books_' [Footnote: The +happy illustration of DRYDEN in his admirable character of SHAKESPERE.] +He should trace her in all her windings, in her deepest recesses, in all +her varied forms. It was thus that LUCRETIUS and VIRGIL, that THOMSON and +COWPER were enabled to unfold their scenery with such distinctness and +truth: and on this plan, while wandering through his native fields, +attentive to '_each rural sight, each rural sound_,' has Mr. BLOOMFIELD +built his charming Poem." + +"It is a Work which proves how inexhaustible the features of the World we +inhabit: how from objects which the mass of mankind is daily accustom'd to +pass with indifference and neglect. GENIUS can still produce pictures the +most fascinating, and of the most interesting tendency. For it is not to +_imagery_ alone, though such as here depicted might ensure the meed of +Fame, that the Farmer's Boy will owe its value with us and with posterity. +A _Morality_ the most _pathetic_ and pure, the feelings of a heart alive +to all the tenderest duties of humanity and religion, consecrate its +glowing landscapes, and shed an interest over them, a spirit of devotion, +that calm and rational delight which the goodness and greatness of the +Creator ought ever to inspire." + +Dr. DRAKE confirms, by copious and very judicious _Extracts_ from the +various parts of the Poem, as they offer themselves to critical selection, +in accompanying the Farmer's Boy through the Circle of his year, the +Judgment which he has form'd with so much ability, taste, and feeling, and +has to agreeably express'd, of the Merits of our ENGLISH GEORGIC. And he +speaks in his _third_ and last Essay on it thus: + +"From the review we have now taken of THE FARMER'S BOY, it will be +evident, I think, that owing to its harmony and sweetness of +versification, its benevolence of sentiment, and originality of imagery, +it is entitled to rank very high in the class of descriptive and +_pastoral_ Poetry." + +He concludes with an highly animated and feeling anticipation of that +public attention to the Poem and to its Author, merited in every view, and +which already has manifested itself in such an extent. + +I understand there is a Paper on "_The Farmer's Boy_" in a Work lately +publish'd by Dr. ANDERSON; and assuredly from its subject well entitled to +attention, as well as from the abilities and public spirit of its +Editor;--AGRICULTURAL RECREATIONS. Where indeed with more appropriate +Honor could such a Poem be notic'd? + +In the _Critical Remarks_ I intended I find myself so much agreeing in +sentiment with Dr. Drake that I shall attempt little more than merely to +offer some few observations. One of these relates to the _coincidences_ of +thought and manner in the Farmer's Boy with other writings. These, as +would previously be expected from what has been said, are extremely few +indeed. And almost all that are particularly of moment in appreciating the +poetical excellences of the Work are most truly _coincidences_, and cannot +be otherwise consider'd. + +For the first of these which I shall mention I am indebted to WILLIAM +SMITH, Esq. of BURY, who had largely his share of Public Admiration, when +he sustain'd for many years with great skill and judgment, and great +natural advantages, almost every character of our Drama which had been +eminently favor'd by either Muse; and who now enjoys retirement with +honor and merited esteem. + +He mention'd to me in conversation, and since by Letter, a passage very +closely resembling one in the IDYLLIA of AUSONIUS. It is this in _Spring_. + + Like the torn flower the fair assemblage fly. + Ah, fallen _Rose_! sad emblem of their doom; + Frail as thyself, _they perish while they bloom_! I.v. 388-40. + +The passage to which Mr. Smith referr'd me is this. (It is not in my +Edition of _Ausonius_; but he sent me a Copy.) + + "Conquerimur, Natura, brevis quod Gratia florum est; + Ostentara oculis illico dona rapis. + Quam longa una dies aetas tarn longa rosarum, + Ques _pubescentes juncta senecta pressit_." + +ID. xiv. + +I am favor'd with a Translation made by Mr. SMITH in his very early days. +And hope that as a brother _Etonian_ he allows me to quote it. + + Nature, we grieve that thou giv'st flowers so gay, + Then snatchest Gifts thou shew'st so swift away. + A Day's a Rose's Life.--_How quickly meet_, + Sweet Flower, _thy Blossom and thy Winding sheet_! + +In the _Procession_ of SPRING there is a fine series of allegorical +Images. + + Advancing SPRING profusely spreads abroad + _Flowers of kinds, with sweetest fragrance stor'd_: + Where she treads LOVE gladdens every plain; + _Delight_ on tip-toe beats her lucid train; + Sweet _Hope_ with conscious brow _before_ her flies, + Anticipating wealth from summer skies. + +I. v. 271--6. + +Compare now this of LUCRETIUS. + + It VER et VENUS et Veneris _praenuntius ante_ + Prunatus _graditur_ Zephyrus vestigia propter. + FLORA quibus mater praespergens, ante viai + Cuncta coloribus egregiis et odoribus opplet. + +DE NAT. RES. L. V. v. 736-9. +Ed. Brindley 1749. + + There SPRING, and VENUS, and her Harbinger, + Near to her moves the winged Zephyrus, + For whom maternal FLORA strews the way + _With Flowers of every charming scent and hue_. + +Or in the very words of BLOOMFIELD, + + Flowers of all hues with sweetest fragrance stor'd. + +_Hope_ here occupies the place of _Zephyrus_. DELIGHT on tip-toe +supporting the _lucid_ train of _Spring_,--the image and attitude so full +of life and beauty,--is our Poet's own. And what Poet, what _Painter_, +would not have been proud of it? + +In another passage, + + The splendid raiment of the Spring peeps forth + Her universal Green-- + +This of Lucretius will be found to have much similitude: + + Camposque per omnes + Florida fulserunt viridami prata colore. + +782, 3. + + _O'er every plain + The flowery meadows beam with verdant hue._ + +And that exceedingly fine verse, + + _All Nature feels her venorating sway_, + +calls to mind the ever-memorable exordium of the _Roman_ Poet. + +If we admire the imitative force of this line in the epic majesty of +Virgilian numbers, + + Quadrupedante putrem sonitu qualit ungula campum: + + _Shakes the resounding hoof the trembling plain:_ + +shall we not admire the imitative harmony of this; attun'd certainly with +not less felicity to the sweetness of the pastoral reed, + + _The green turf trembling as they bound along._ + +The pause on the first syllable of the verse has been an admir'd beauty in +Homer and Milton. + + + [Greek: Nux ech d'espchsen enchos.] II. + + And over them triumphant Death his dart + Shook, but delay'd to strike. P.L. + +We have this beauty,--coinciding with the best examples, though underiv'd +from them,--in a cadence of most pathetic softness. + + Joys which the gay companions of her prime + Sip, as they drift along the stream of time. + +III. v. 169, 70. + +The beautiful Description of the Swine and Pigs feeding on fallen Acorns +reminds me of a most picturesque one, not now at hand, in GILPIN on +_Forest Scenery_. + +The turn of this thought, + + Say not, I'll come and cheer thy gloomy cell. + +III. v. 241, &c. + +I believe is from Scripture. Prov. iii. 28. And so I think certainly is +that, + + 'Till Folly's wages, wounds and thorns, they reap. + +III. 37. + +But the most remarkable of all, and where I had no expectation of finding +a similitude, is in near the close of the _Winter_. + + Far yet above these wafted clouds are seen + (In a remoter sky yet more serene) + Others, detach'd in ranges through the air, + Spotless as snow, and countless as they're fair; + Scatter'd immensely wide from east to west, + _The beauteous semblance of a Flock at rest_. + +IV. 255--60. + +In HERCULES the LION-SLAYER there is this passage: + + ........ Tad epaeluthe piona maela, + Ech soianaes anionia mei aulia ie saechsie, + Ayiar epeiia soes, mala muriai, akkai ep allais + Erchomenai phainonth, osei NEPHE HYDATOENTA + 'Hossat' en thrano eisi elaunomena prolepose + Aee Noloioio ziae ae Thraekos Boreao. + Ton meni thlis arithmos en aeeri ginei ionion, + Oui anusis lisa gar ie meia proloioi chulindei + Is anemth, iade i alla chorusselai authis ep allois + Toss aiei melopisthe zoon epi zthcholi aeei. + Pan dar eneplaesthae pedion, pasaile cheleuthai, + Aaeidos erchomenaes. + +HAERAKL. LEONTOPH. + +Idyll. Theocrito adscriptum. Brunckii Analect. I. 360. + + ........ On came the comely sheep, + From feed returning to their pens and fold. + And these the _Kine_, in multitudes, succeed; + One on the other rising to the eye; + As watery CLOUDS which in the Heavens are seen, + Driven by the south or Thracian _Boreas, + And, numberless, along the sky they glide:_ + Nor cease; so many doth the powerful Blast + Speed foremost, and so many, fleece on fleece, + Successive rise, reflecting varied light + So still the herds of Kine successive drew + A far extended line: and fill'd the plain, + And all the pathways, with the coming troop. + + * * * * * + +I may possibly enlarge these Remarks in a future Edition. At present I am +happy to be stopt here, by so good a cause as the urgency of the +Publishers to complete a Third Edition; they informing me that the second +is entirely out of print. But it is pleasant to see these Coincidences +with CLASSIC POETS of other days and Nations in a CLASSIC of our own, of +the best School: + + "_The fields his study, Nature was his book_." + +C.L. + +TROSTON, 22 Aug. 1800. + + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Farmer's Boy, by Robert Bloomfield + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FARMER'S BOY *** + +This file should be named 8farm10.txt or 8farm10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 8farm11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 8farm10a.txt + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Charles Bidwell and Distributed Proofreaders + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we usually do not +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +We are now trying to release all our eBooks one year in advance +of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. +Please be encouraged to tell us about any error or corrections, +even years after the official publication date. + +Please note neither this listing nor its contents are final til +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg eBooks is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A +preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment +and editing by those who wish to do so. + +Most people start at our Web sites at: +http://gutenberg.net or +http://promo.net/pg + +These Web sites include award-winning information about Project +Gutenberg, including how to donate, how to help produce our new +eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter (free!). + + +Those of you who want to download any eBook before announcement +can get to them as follows, and just download by date. This is +also a good way to get them instantly upon announcement, as the +indexes our cataloguers produce obviously take a while after an +announcement goes out in the Project Gutenberg Newsletter. + +http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext03 or +ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext03 + +Or /etext02, 01, 00, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90 + +Just search by the first five letters of the filename you want, +as it appears in our Newsletters. + + +Information about Project Gutenberg (one page) + +We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work. The +time it takes us, a rather conservative estimate, is fifty hours +to get any eBook selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright +searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc. Our +projected audience is one hundred million readers. If the value +per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2 +million dollars per hour in 2002 as we release over 100 new text +files per month: 1240 more eBooks in 2001 for a total of 4000+ +We are already on our way to trying for 2000 more eBooks in 2002 +If they reach just 1-2% of the world's population then the total +will reach over half a trillion eBooks given away by year's end. + +The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away 1 Trillion eBooks! +This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers, +which is only about 4% of the present number of computer users. + +Here is the briefest record of our progress (* means estimated): + +eBooks Year Month + + 1 1971 July + 10 1991 January + 100 1994 January + 1000 1997 August + 1500 1998 October + 2000 1999 December + 2500 2000 December + 3000 2001 November + 4000 2001 October/November + 6000 2002 December* + 9000 2003 November* +10000 2004 January* + + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been created +to secure a future for Project Gutenberg into the next millennium. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +As of February, 2002, contributions are being solicited from people +and organizations in: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, +Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, +Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, +Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New +Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, +Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South +Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West +Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. + +We have filed in all 50 states now, but these are the only ones +that have responded. + +As the requirements for other states are met, additions to this list +will be made and fund raising will begin in the additional states. +Please feel free to ask to check the status of your state. + +In answer to various questions we have received on this: + +We are constantly working on finishing the paperwork to legally +request donations in all 50 states. If your state is not listed and +you would like to know if we have added it since the list you have, +just ask. + +While we cannot solicit donations from people in states where we are +not yet registered, we know of no prohibition against accepting +donations from donors in these states who approach us with an offer to +donate. + +International donations are accepted, but we don't know ANYTHING about +how to make them tax-deductible, or even if they CAN be made +deductible, and don't have the staff to handle it even if there are +ways. + +Donations by check or money order may be sent to: + +Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +PMB 113 +1739 University Ave. +Oxford, MS 38655-4109 + +Contact us if you want to arrange for a wire transfer or payment +method other than by check or money order. + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been approved by +the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization with EIN +[Employee Identification Number] 64-622154. Donations are +tax-deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law. As fund-raising +requirements for other states are met, additions to this list will be +made and fund-raising will begin in the additional states. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +You can get up to date donation information online at: + +http://www.gutenberg.net/donation.html + + +*** + +If you can't reach Project Gutenberg, +you can always email directly to: + +Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com> + +Prof. Hart will answer or forward your message. + +We would prefer to send you information by email. + + +**The Legal Small Print** + + +(Three Pages) + +***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS**START*** +Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers. +They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with +your copy of this eBook, even if you got it for free from +someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our +fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement +disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how +you may distribute copies of this eBook if you want to. + +*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS EBOOK +By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +eBook, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept +this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive +a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this eBook by +sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person +you got it from. If you received this eBook on a physical +medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request. + +ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM EBOOKS +This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBooks, +is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart +through the Project Gutenberg Association (the "Project"). +Among other things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright +on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and +distribute it in the United States without permission and +without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth +below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this eBook +under the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark. + +Please do not use the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark to market +any commercial products without permission. + +To create these eBooks, the Project expends considerable +efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain +works. Despite these efforts, the Project's eBooks and any +medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other +things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged +disk or other eBook medium, a computer virus, or computer +codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. + +LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES +But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below, +[1] Michael Hart and the Foundation (and any other party you may +receive this eBook from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook) disclaims +all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including +legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR +UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, +INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE +OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE +POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. + +If you discover a Defect in this eBook within 90 days of +receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) +you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that +time to the person you received it from. If you received it +on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and +such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement +copy. If you received it electronically, such person may +choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to +receive it electronically. + +THIS EBOOK IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS +TO THE EBOOK OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A +PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + +Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or +the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the +above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you +may have other legal rights. + +INDEMNITY +You will indemnify and hold Michael Hart, the Foundation, +and its trustees and agents, and any volunteers associated +with the production and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm +texts harmless, from all liability, cost and expense, including +legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the +following that you do or cause: [1] distribution of this eBook, +[2] alteration, modification, or addition to the eBook, +or [3] any Defect. + +DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm" +You may distribute copies of this eBook electronically, or by +disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this +"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg, +or: + +[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this + requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the + eBook or this "small print!" statement. You may however, + if you wish, distribute this eBook in machine readable + binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form, + including any form resulting from conversion by word + processing or hypertext software, but only so long as + *EITHER*: + + [*] The eBook, when displayed, is clearly readable, and + does *not* contain characters other than those + intended by the author of the work, although tilde + (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may + be used to convey punctuation intended by the + author, and additional characters may be used to + indicate hypertext links; OR + + [*] The eBook may be readily converted by the reader at + no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent + form by the program that displays the eBook (as is + the case, for instance, with most word processors); + OR + + [*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at + no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the + eBook in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC + or other equivalent proprietary form). + +[2] Honor the eBook refund and replacement provisions of this + "Small Print!" statement. + +[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Foundation of 20% of the + gross profits you derive calculated using the method you + already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation" + the 60 days following each date you prepare (or were + legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent + periodic) tax return. Please contact us beforehand to + let us know your plans and to work out the details. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +Project Gutenberg is dedicated to increasing the number of +public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed +in machine readable form. + +The Project gratefully accepts contributions of money, time, +public domain materials, or royalty free copyright licenses. +Money should be paid to the: +"Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +If you are interested in contributing scanning equipment or +software or other items, please contact Michael Hart at: +hart@pobox.com + +[Portions of this eBook's header and trailer may be reprinted only +when distributed free of all fees. Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 by +Michael S. Hart. Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be +used in any sales of Project Gutenberg eBooks or other materials be +they hardware or software or any other related product without +express permission.] + +*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS*Ver.02/11/02*END* + diff --git a/old/8farm10.zip b/old/8farm10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4b91ae9 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/8farm10.zip |