Society, and that faps and worms the bafe
Of th' edifice that policy has rais'd,
Swarms in all quarters; meets the eye, the ear,
And fuffocates the breath at ev'ry turn.
Profufion breeds them; and the cause itself
Of that calamitous mifchief has been found :
Found, too, where moft offenfive, in the fkirts
Of the rob'd pedagogue! Elfe, let th' arraign'd
Stand up unconfcious, and refute the charge.
So when the Jewish leader ftretch'd his arm,
And wav'd his rod divine, a race obfcene,
Spawn'd in the muddy beds of Nile, came forth,
Polluting Egypt: gardens, fields, and plains,
Were cover'd with the peft; the streets were fill'd;
The croaking nuisance lurk'd in ev'ry nook;
Nor palaces, nor even chambers, 'scap'd;
And the land ftank-fo num'rous was the fry.
ARGUMENT OF THE THIRD BOOK.
Self-recollection, and reproof.—Addrefs to domeftic happ nefs.—Some account of myself.-The vanity of ma of their purfuits who are reputed wife.-Juftificati of my cenfures.-Divine illumination necessary to t most expert philofopher.-The queflion, What is truth anfwered by other queflions.-Domeftic happiness a dreffed again.-Few lovers of the country.— My tar bare.-Occupations of a retired gentleman in his ga den.-Pruning.-Framing.-Greenhouse.—Sowing flower-feeds.-The country preferable to the town ev in the winter.-Reasons why it is deferted at that fe fon.-Ruinous effects of gaming and of expensive in provement.-Book concludes with an apostrophe to th metropolis.
As one, who, long in thickets and in brakes
Entangled, winds now this way and now that
His devious courfe uncertain, feeking home;
Or, having long in miry ways been foil'd
And fore difcomfited, from flough to flough
"unging, and half-defpairing of efcape;
f chance at length he find a green-fward Smooth And faithful to the foot, his fpirits rife,
He chirrups brisk his ear-erecting steed,
And winds his way with pleasure and with eafe; o I, defigning other themes, and call'd adorn the SOFA with eulogium due,
o tell its flumbers, and to paint its dreams
Have rambled wide. In country, city, feat
Of academic fame (howe'er deferv'd),
Long held, and scarcely difengag'd at last.
But now, with pleasant pace, a cleanlier road
I mean to tread. 1 feel myself at large,
Courageous and refresh'd for future toil.
If toil await me, or if dangers new.
Since pulpits fail, and founding boards reflect
Most part an empty ineffectual found,
What chance that I, to fame fo little known,
Nor converfant with men or manners much,
Should fpeak to purpose, or with better hope
Crack the fatiric thong? 'Twere wiser far
For me enamour'd of fequefter'd scenes,
And charm'd with rural beauty, to repose,
Where chance may throw me, beneath elm or vine,
My languid limbs, when fummer fears the plains;
Or, when rough winter rages, on the foft
And fhelter'd Sofa, while the nitrous air
Feeds a blue flame, and makes a cheerful hearth;
There, undisturb'd by folly, and appriz'd
How great the danger of disturbing her,
To mufe in filence, or at least confine
Remarks that gall fo many, to the few
My partners in retreat. Difguft conceal'd
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