Classic Poem

R ENOCK , L ACO .

If, Muse, thou would'st the best of Monarchs praise,
With Brunswicks Name exalt thy humble Lays;
But if the best of Subjects be thy Care,
For H ARRINGTON thy rural Notes prepare.
— And Thou , propitious to the Poet's Pains,
While weightier Themes thy needful Ear detains,
Intent on generous Cares for Britain 's Weal,
And G EORGE , with Smiles, approves thy foremost Zeal,
Cou'd but the Youth in equal Strains pursue
Verse to thy Fame and to thy Virtues due.
Thou, generous Patron of the tuneful Throng,
Shouldst shine applauded in heroic Song.
Yet if the Muse this humbler Labour grace,
That sings of Rivers and the wat'ry Race ,
Tho' unattempted Themes the Strains pursue,
Untry'd the Subject , and the Manners new,
This lowly Verse thy Name shall long adorn,
And in thy Praise to future Times be born.

The Sun had half his annual Course attain'd,
And Summer in her Height of Splendour reign'd;
Young Lambs did now th' accustom'd Teat refuse,
And for the foodful Grass forsook their Ewes ;
Their earliest Blush the ripening Fruit reveal'd,
And yellow Corn began to spread the Field;
When two Companion-Swains by Night arose
Fresh from their leafy Beds , and short Repose,
To angle till the Sun's returning Beams,
In pleasant Shades, near Anton 's silver Streams.

'Twas the deep Twilight of the sultry Eve ,
When the blith Youths the silent Village leave.
Onward they haste, and pass with due Regard
The haunted Hedge-row-Elms , and drear Churchyard .
The dolesome Chimes from the age-mould'ring Tow'r ,
With slow, hoarse Din , rung out the MidnighThour ;
While with loud Chat , and many a cheerful Lay ,
They labour'd to beguile the lonely Way ;
'Till the close-flowing-Stream their Roam repress'd,
When Renock , thus, his wistful Friend address'd.

Haste, Laco , while the MidnighThour depends:
See how the rising Moon our Toil befriends.
Now Weazels from the lowly Thatch resort,
And on the quiet Hearth the Crickets sport;
Unseemly Toads now flock from Caves beneath,
And in rank Fenns the poyson'd Vapour breath.
In solitary Stalls the Night-Fly sings,
And Beetles course the Air with heavy Wings:
Deep in the Solace of the Gloom they play,
A Race obscure, and fearful of the Day .
While Silence to our sportive Task persuades,
And kindly Night conceals with favouring Shades,
Name, if thou lift, thy peaceful Stand to chuse;
Why the fiThour shou'd we delay to use?

Lac. ] Lo! Renock , where the wand'ring Current leads
Its bending Course along th' indented Meads,
Where scaly Shoals the sporting Eddies fill;
Here let thy practis'd Angle prove thy Skill.

Ren. ] Or shall we, Laco , since the clouding Moon
Denies to cheer the still nocturnal Noon ;
Shall we, till Morn, beneath yon bowery Yews ,
Avoid the Midnight Blasts, and harmful Dews?

Lac. ] Yon neighb'ring Oak , that o'er the Current bends,
From Midnight Blasts, and harmful Dews defends:
There rather (since you spreading Shades require)
Let us to tend our watchful Sport retire.

Ren. ] Ah! heedless Boy! 'twas thither Dira stray'd,
By raging Love, and black Despair convey'd,
When on the fatal Boughs the slighted Fair
At once surrender'd up her Life and Care .
Now nightly there her restless Ghost complains,
By Anglers oft descry'd, and watching Swains .
Hear, Colly barks! and when the Bandogs bark,
Some Ghost they see, or Goblin of the Dark ;
For there the Fairy Train are often seen
To dance at Curfew o'er the Moon-lov'd Green.
Deep in the baleful Shade the Glow-worm gleams,
And breaks the sullen Gloom with cheerless Beams:
The Screech-Owl too, is heard o'er lonely Grounds,
Scream from the luckless Tree , with boading Sounds.

Lac. ] Here then beneath the hedgy-Covert rest,
Nor farther roaming dangerously request,
Lest Fawns , that haunt the dunny Woods by Night,
With hideous Yell, or glaring Forms affright;
Or wand'ring Fires , that o'er the Marshes stray,
Thro' Boggs , and moory Fenns , misguide our Way.

Ren. ] Content. — Lo here the winding Streams retreat
Nor can we wish a more delightful Seat:
Behind , these Alders from the Weather screen,
Before , the Lawn presents its lengthen'd Scene.
Close on that Side trills soft the emptying Brook,
While this, fresh Woods , and sloping Hills o'erlook:
Thick over-head the Rose and Woodbine meet,
Uniting Shade to Shade , and Sweet to Sweet .
The Pea , and bloomy Bean , their Odours yield,
And new-mown-Hay perfumes the fragrant Field ;
Here too the Nightingale delights the Meads ,
And Grashoppers chirp shrill amid the Reeds ;
And from the Pin-fold , here, the bleating Sheep ,
Cheer the still Twilight , and divert from Sleep.

Lac. ] Pleasing by early Morn the bleating Flocks,
The Currents murmur down the distant Rocks,
The Gale's Perfume, the Echo's mimic Sound,
The Night-bird's Song, and Low of Kine around;
In hollow Banks the Hum of must'ring Bees.
And Zephyrs whisp'ring soft, amid the Trees.

Ren. ] Coy Maid! lost lovely Sweet! ah, you can rest,
While I still wake with cruel Cares opprest.
Blest Pow'r of Sleep! her Eye-lids gently close,
Melt her soft Dreams with Renock 's dying Woes!

Lac. ] Here, where the turning Streams more slowly stray,
Mark! the grown Trout on watch for nightly Prey ,
Scarce hid he lies, th' expected Prize to seize,
Rous'd, if the Flood but dimples with a Breeze.

Ren. ] Dear as the Heart you break! O teach thy Swain
Like thee to vanquish , or like thee disdain!
Fond Wish! ah no, our Fates have doom'd above
She ne'er should yield, — nor I desist from Love.

Lac. ] Rest Frogs! nor venture from your Holds to rove,
He reigns the Terror of the watry Drove:
Sink, happy Bait! — O prove a fatal Lure,
'Tis done, — your wily Murd'rer is secure.

Ren. ] Happy, ye Ecls ! who ne'er Love 's Torment know!
And Carp , blest Kind! exempt from amorous War ;
Ye Pike , a happy Race! who all subdue,
No fond Desires are e'er endur'd by you.
Ah, like the Tyrant Pow'r by whom I die!
And too alike to me th' unhappy Fry .

Lac. ] Hark! the shrill Cock , the rising Morn proclaims,
And calls aloud to Field his feathery Dames :
The mounting Lark begins her warbling Song,
And general Notes employ the airy Throng .
And, see! the Sun reveals a glimm'ring Ray,
And streaks the bright'ning Clouds with Gleams of Day,
All Nature seems reviving at his Sight,
And, smiling, wakes to hail his amber Light.
Now sparkling Dew-drops glister on the Grain ,
And cooly Breezes fan the healthsome Plain ;
The Plow-Boy , o'er the Furrows , whistles blithe,
And in the Mead the Mower whets his Scythe ;
Shrill Horns alarm the Sportsman from his Dream,
And the Bells tinkle on the new-yok'd Team.
— And now a cloudy Paleness dims the Skies,
And floating Mists from steaming Rivers rise:
See! the blew Fogs bespread the fenny Ground,
And fill the chilly Air with Damps unsound;
A sultry Noon the danky Vapour shews,
And Evening plenteous of refreshing Dews.

Ren. ] No Seasons please when Griefs the Mind o'er-power,
Griefs gloom alike the Morn and MidnighThour, —
Damp fall the piercing Mists, a chilling Air!
'Till cheer'd by milder Skies, thy Sports forbear;
'Till from the Banks recedes th' unhealthy Dew. —
At Eve, more blithe, our Pastimes we'll renew.