ides, the filthy fwine will oft invade irm enclosure, and with delving fnout ooted foreft undermine: forthwith

o thy furious mastiff; bid him vex

noxious herd, and print upon

their ears

memorial of their past offence.

405

410

e flagrant Procyon will not fail to bring efhoals of flow houfe-bearing fnails, that creep the ripe fruitage, paring flimy tracks

e fleek rinds, and unpreft Cider drink.

97. Priapus

pus, a heathen Deity, was held by the Ancients to be the guarof vineyards and gardens, where a ridiculous and obscene figure of as commonly placed, and ferved as a fcare-crow.

II. — flagrant Procyon]

FLAGRANTIS atrax hora caniculæ,

HOR. L. III. Ode. xiii.

G 2

No

No art averts this peft; on thee it lies

415

With morning and with ev'ning hand to rid
The preying reptiles; nor, if wife, wilt thou
Decline this labor, which itself rewards
With pleafing gain, whilft the warm limbec draws
Salubrious waters from the nocent brood.

420

Myriads of wafps now also clustering hang,
And drain a spurious honey from thy groves,
Their winter food; tho' oft repuls'd, again
They rally, undismay'd: but fraud with ease
Enfnares the noifome fwarms; let ev'ry bough 425
Bear frequent vials, pregnant with the dregs
Of Moyle, or Mum, or Treacle's viscous juice ;
They, by th' alluring odor drawn, in haste
Fly to the dulcet cates, and crowding fip

Their palatable bane; joyful thou❜lt see
The clammy furface all o'er-ftrown with tribes
Of greedy infects, that with fruitless toil
Flap filmy pennons oft, to extricate

Their feet, in liquid fhackles bound, till death
Bereave them of their worthlefs fouls.

Waits luxury and lawless love of gain.

430

Such doom

436

420.

whilst the warm limbec draws

Salubrious waters from the nocent brood.]

Water diftill'd from fnails was a fashionable medicine in the laft

century; and was thought particularly good in confumptions.

Howe'er

Howe'er thou may'st forbid external force,
Intestine evils will prevail. Damp airs,
And rainy winters, to the centre pierce
Of firmest fruits, and by unfeen decay
The proper relish vitiate; then the Grub
Oft, unobferv'd, invades the vital core,
Pernicious tenant, and her fecret cave
Enlarges hourly, preying on the pulp,

45

440

Ceafelefs; meanwhile the apple's outward form 445
Delectable the witlefs fwain beguiles,

Till, with a writhen mouth and spattering noise,
He taftes the bitter morfel, and rejects

Difrelifh'd; not with lefs furprise, than when
Embattled troops with flowing banners pass

445. -meanwhile the apple's outward form,
Delectable the witless fwain beguiles,

'Till, with a writhen mouth and spatt'ring noise,
He taftes the bitter morfel, and rejects

Difrelifh'd; not with less furprise, than when

Embattled troops, &c. &c.

450

Our Poet here refumes fomething of the burlefque ftile of the Splendid Shilling, in defcribing the ridiculous circumftance of any perfon's eagerly eating a fair-looking apple, that is grub-eaten within. He has, indeed, been much cenfured by judicious Critics, for frequently debafing his Poem with paffages bordering on burlesque, and for introducing many images that excite laughter, and are contrary to the majefty of the Didactic Muse. This defcription and fimile have been particularly arraigned in this refpect. Yet in the first he may be traced to a paffage in the PARADISE LOST, where Milton, alfo fomewhat ludicroufly, defcribes the fallen Angels greedily attempting to eat fruit fimilar to that of the forbidden tree, which feemed to fpring up before them, and chewing only duft and bitter afhes.

they, fondly thinking to allay Their appetite with guft, instead of fruit

Chew'd

Through flowery meads delighted, nor distrust
The fmiling furface, whilft the cavern'd ground,
With grain incentive stor'd, by fudden blaze
Bursts fatal, and involves the hopes of war
In fiery whirls; full of victorious thoughts,
Torn and difmember'd, they aloft expire.
Now turn thine eye to view Alcinous' groves,

Chew'd bitter ashes, which th' offended taste

455

WITH SPATTERING NOISE REJECTED: oft they affay'd,
Hunger and thirft conftraining, drug'd as oft,

With hatefulleft DISRELISH WRITH'D THEIR JAWS
With foot and cinders fill'd;

457.

Alcinous' groves.]

P. L. x. 564.

Homer's defcription of the garden of Alcinous is curious, as giving us an idea of the gardens of the Ancients. In this place it is fufficient to exhibit it in the harmonious verfification of Mr. Pope, with whom it was probably a favourite paffage, as he felected it from the other parts of Homer's works, and published a translation of it, in the Guardian, before he attempted the rest.

Close to the gates a fpacious garden lies,
From ftorms defended and inclement fkies.
Four acres was th' allotted space of ground,
Fenc'd with a green enclosure all around;
Tall thriving trees confefs'd the fruitful mold,
The redd'ning apples ripen here to gold.
Here the blue fig with lufcious juice o'erflows,
With deeper red the full pomegranate glows;
The branch here bends beneath the weighty pear,
And verdant olives flourish round the year.
The balmy fpirit of the western gale
Eternal breathes on fruits untaught to fail:
Each dropping pear a following pear fupplies,
On apples apples, figs on figs arife:

The fame mild feafon gives the blooms to blow,
The buds to harden, and the fruits to grow.
Here order'd vines in equal ranks appear,
With all th' united labors of the year;

Some to unload the fertile branches run,

Some dry the black ning clusters in the fun,

Others

The pride of the Phæacian ifle, from whence,
Sailing the spaces of the boundless deep,

To Ariconium precious fruits arriv'd;

47

460

The Pippin burnish'd o'er with gold, the Moyle Of sweetest honey'd taste, the fair Permain Temper'd, like comelieft nymph, with red and white. Salopian acres flourish with a growth

Peculiar, ftyl'd the Ottley; be thou first

Others to tread the liquid harvest join,
The groaning preffes foam with floods of wine.
Here are the vines in early flowers defcry'd,
Here grapes difcolor'd on the funny fide,
And there in autumn's richest purple dy’d.
Beds of all various herbs, for ever green,
In beauteous order terminate the fcene.

Two plenteous fountains the whole profpect crown'd;
This thro' the garden leads its ftreams around,
Vifits each plant, and waters all the ground:
While that in pipes beneath the palace flows,
And thence its current on the town bestows;
To various ufe their various ftreams they bring,
The people one, and one fupplies the king.

465

}

The Phæacia of the Ancients, is an island in the Gulf of Venice. It was afterwards called Corcyra; it is now Corfu, and is fubject to the dominion of the Venetians. It retains fome of its characteristic features in Homer's days. The foil is very fertile, and produces oil, wine, and moft excellent fruits.

464. Salopian acres flourish with a growth

Peculiar, ftil'd the Ottley.

-]

Adam Ottley Efq. of Pitchford, within a few miles of Shrewsbury, was cotemporary with our Author at Oxford, being then Gentleman Commoner of Baliol College. He was of the fame political principles with Philips, and was one of his particular friends.The family of Ottley is among the oldeft families in Shropshire, and was originally of Ottley near Ellesmere, but came into poffeffion of the estate at Pitchford, in the year 1472.

The Ottley Apple is not much known in Shropshire at prefent, but feveral trees of it are preferved in the garden at Pitchford.

This