No, Martin there in winter shall abide. 3

5 A village.



172 THE HIXD AND PANTHER. Pari 3.

High on an oak, which never leaf shall bear,
He brcath'd his last, expos'd to open air;
And there his corpse, unbless'd, is hanging still
To show the change of winds with his prophetic
bill."
The patience of the Hind did almost fail,
For well she mark'd the malice of the tale;
Which ribbald art their church to Luther owes; "1
In malice it began, by malice grows; [rose: S-
He sow'd the serpent's teeth, an iron harvest 3
But most in Martin's character and fate, "1

She saw her slander'd sous, the Panther's hate, >
The people's rage, the persecuting state: J

Then said, " I take the' advice in friendly part ;
You clear your conscience, or at least your heart :
Perhaps you fail'd in your foreseeing skill,
For swallows are unlucky birds to kill :
As for my sons, the family is bless'd.
Whose every child is equal to the rest :
No church refomi'd can boast a blameless line ;
Such Martins build in yours, and more than mine;
Or else on old fanatic author*" lies.
Who summ'd their scandals up by centuries.
But through your parable I plainly see
The bloody laws, the crowd's barbarity;
The sunshine that offends the purblind sight :
Had some their wishes, it would soon be night.
Mistake me not, the charge concerns not you;
Your sons are malecontents, but yet are true.
As far as non-resistance makes 'em so;
But that's a word of neutral sense you know,

6 John White, called ' Century White,' from having pub-
lished a tract, entitled " The first Century t)f scundaluiis
loialignant Priests," &.c.



Pari 3. THE HIND AND PANTHER. 173

A passive term, which no relief will bring,
But trims betwixt a rebel and a king."

" Rest well assar'd, (the Pardelis reply'd) ^
My sons would all support the regal side; f

Though Heaven forbid the cause by battle should 4^
be tried." J

The Matron answer'd with a loud Amen,
And thus pursued her argument again: —
" If, as you say, and as I hope no less, '\

Your sons will practise what yourselves pro- f
fess J i

What angry power prevents our present peace? ^
The Lion, studious of our common good.
Desires (and kings' desires are ill withstood)
To join our nations in a lasting love; "^

The bars betwixt are easy to remove, ^

For sanguinary laws were never made above. -^
If you condemn that prince of tyranny,
Whose mandate forc'd your Gallic friends to fly.
Make not a worse example of your own; ^

Or cease to rail at causeless rigour shown, ^

And let the guiltless person throw the stone. J
His blunted sword your sufferiiig brotherhood
Have seldom felt; he stops it short of blood:
But you have ground the persecuting knife,
And set it to a razor-edge on life.
Curs'd be the wit which cruelty refines,
Or to his father's rod the scorpion's joins;
Your finger is more gross than the great mo-
narch's loins.
But you, perhaps, remove that bloody note,
And stick it on the first reformer's coat.
Oh, let their crime in long oblivion sleep:
Twas theirs indeed to make, 'tis yours to keep»



I



174 THE HIND AND PANTHER. Part 3.

Unjust, or just, is all the question now;
'Tis plain that, not repealing, you alloM%

" To name the Test would put you in a rage ;
You charge not that on any former age,
But smile to think how innocent you stand,
Arm'd by a weapon put into your hand ;
Yet still remember that you wield a sword
Forg'd by your foes against your sovereign lord ;
Design'd to hew the' imperial cedar down,
Defraud succession, and dis-heir the crown.
To' abhor the makers, and their laws approve,
Is to hate traitors, and the treason love.
What means it else, which now your children say,
We made it not, nor will we take away?

" Suppose some great oppressor had, by slight -\
Of law, disseis'd your brother of his right, v
Your common sire surrendering in a fright ; >
Would you to that unrighteous title stand,
Left by the villain's will to heir the land ?
More just was Judas, who his Saviour sold; "^
The sacrilegious bribe he could not hold, [gold. >â– 
Nor hang in peace, before he render'd back the 3
What more could you have done than now you do.
Had Gates and Bedloe, and their plot been true''
Some specious reasons for those wrongs were

found ;
Their dire magicians threw their mists around
And wise men walk'd as on enchanted ground
But now when time has made the'imposture plain
(Late though he folio w'd Truth, andlirapi
her train) [i

What new delusion charms your cheated
The painted harlot might awhile bewitch,
But why the hag uncas'd, and all obscene with itch?



]




Part 3. THE HIND AND PANTHER. 17J

" The first reformers were a modest race;
Our peers possess'd in peace their native place;
And when rebellious arms o'erturn'd the state,
They sufFer'd only in the common fate :
But now the sovereign mounts the regal chair,
And mitred seats are full, yet David's bench is
Your answer is, they were not dispossest; [bare.
They need but rub their metal on the Test,
To prove their ore ; 'twere well if gold alone
Were touch'd and tried on your discerning stone;
But that unfaithful Test unsound will pass,
The dross of atheists, and sectarian brass ;
As if the' experiment were made to hold
For base production, and reject the gold.
Thus men ungodded may to places rise.
And sects may be preferr'd without disguise :
No danger to the church or state from these;
The Papist only has his writ of Ease.
No gainful office gives him the pretence
To grind the subject, or defraud the prince.
Wrong conscience, or no conscience, may deserve
To thrive, but ours alone is privileg'd to starve.

" Still thank yourselves, you cry ; your noble
We banish not, but they forsake the place ; [race.
Our doors are open ; — true, but ere they come,
You toss your 'censing Test, and fume the room ;
As if 'twere Toby's rival to expel.
And fright the fiend who could not bear the smell."

To this the Panther sharply had replied ; ^
But, having gain'd a verdict on her side, v

She wisely gave the loser leave to chide ; j

Well satisfied to have the but and peace, -\

And for the plaintiff's cause she car'd the less, v
Because she sued in formd pauperis ; J



176 THE HIND AND PANTHER. Part 3.

Yet thought it decent something should be said,
For secret guilt by silence is betray'd ;
So neither granted all, nor much denied,
But answer'd with a yawning kind of pride :

" Methinks such terms of proffer'd peace you
As once jEneas to the' Italian king : [bring,

By long possession all the land is mine; ~\

You strangers come with your intruding line, v
To share my sceptre, which you call — to join, j
You plead, like him, an ancient pedigree.
And claim a peaceful seat by fate's decree.
In ready pomp your sacrificer stands.
To' unite the Trojan and the Latin bands.
And, that the league more firmly may be tied,
Demand the fair Lavinia for your bride.
Thus plausibly you veil the" intended wrong,
But still you bring your exil'd gods along ;
And \yll endeavour, in succeeding space,
Those household-puppets on our hearths to place.
Perhaps some barbarous laws have been preferr'd ;
I spake against the Test, but was not heard ;
These to rescind, and peerage to restore, -^

My gracious sovereign would my vote implore; \
I owe him much, but owe my conscience more." j

" Conscience is then your plea (replied the Dame)
Which, well inform'd, will ever be the same :
But yours is much of the camelion hue,
To change the dye with every distant view.
AVhen first the Lion sat with awful sway.
Your conscience taught your duty to obey ;
He might have had your statutes and your Test;
No conscience but of subjects was profess'd.
He found your temper, and no farther tried,
But on that broken reed your church relied.



}



Part 3, THE HIND AND PANTHER. 177

In vain the sects essay'd their utmost art,
With offer'd treasure to espouse their part ;
Their treasures were a bribe too mean to move

his heart :

But when by long experience you had prov'd
How far he could forgive, how well he lov'dj
A goodness that excell'd his godlike race,
And only short of Heaven's unbounded grace;
A flood of mercy that o'erflow'd our isle.
Calm in the rise, and fruitful as the Nile ;
Forgetting whence your Egypt was supplied,
You thought your sovereign bound to send the
Nor upward look'd on that immortal spring, [tide ;
But vainly deem'd — he durst not be a king :
Then Conscience, unrestrained by fear, began
To stretch her limits, and extend the span ;
Did his indulgence as her gift dispose,
And make a wise alliance with her foes.
Can Conscience own the' associating name,
And raise no blushes to conceal her shame?
For sure she has been thought a bashful dame
But if the cause by battle should be tried, -\

You grant she must espouse the regal side : ^
O Proteus Conscience, never to be tied ! j

What Phcebus from the tripod shall disclose
Which are, in last resort, your friends or foes ?
Homer, who learn'd the language of the sky,
The seeming Gordian knot would soon untie ;
Immortal powers the term of Conscience know,
But Interest is her name with men below."

" Conscience or Interest be't, or both in one,
(The Panther answer'd in a surly tone)
The first commands me to maintain the crown,
The last forbids to throw ray barriers down.



J



178 THE HIND AND PANTHER. Purt 3.

Our penal laws no sons of yours admit,
Our Test excludes your tribe from benefit.
These are my banks your ocean to withstand,
' Which, proudly rising, overlooks the land;
And, once let in, with unresisted sway
Would sweep the pastors and their flocks away.
Think not my judgment leads me to comply
With laws unjust, but hard necessity ;
Imperious need, which cannot be withstood.
Makes ill authentic, for a greater good.
* Possess your soul with patience,' and attend;
A more auspicious planet may ascend ;
Good fortune may present some happier time,
With means to cancel my unwilling crime ;
(Unwilling, witness all ye Powers above!)
To mend my errors, and redeem your love:
That little space you safely may allow ;
Your all-dispensing power protects you now."

" Hold, (said the Hind) 'tis needless to explain ;
You would postpone me to another reign;
Till when you are content to be unjust ;
Your part is to possess, and mine to trust :
A fair exchange propos'd of future chance,
For present profit and inheritance.
Few words will serve to finish our dispute ;
Who will not now repeal would persecute.
To ripen green revenge your hopes attend,
Wishing that happier planet would ascend.
For shame, let Conscience be your plea no>.
more : /

To will hereafter, proves she might before; i
But she's a bawd to Gain, and holds the door. )

" Your care about your banks, infers a fear
Of threatening floods, and inundations near;



Part 3. THE HI.\D AND PANTHER. l79

If SO, a just reprise would only be

Of what the land usurp'd upon the sea ;

And all your jealousies but serve to show

Your ground is, like your neighbour-nation, low.

To' intrench in what you grant unrighteous laws,

Is to distrust the justice of your cause;

And argues that the true religion lies

In those weak adversaries you despise.

Tyrannic force is that which least you fear ;

The sound is frightful in a Christians ear :

Avert it. Heaven ! nor let that plague be sent

To us from the dispeopled continent.

" But piety commands me to refrain;
Those prayers are needless in this monarch's reign.
Behold ! how he protects your friends oppress'd, -x
Receives the banish'd, succours the distress'd: \
Behold, for you may read an honest open breast, j
He stands in day-light, and disdains to hide -\
An act to which by honour he is tied, v

A generous, laudable, and kingly pride. j

Your Test he would repeal, his peers restore ;
This when he says he means, he means no more."

" Well, (said the Panther) I believe him just
And yet "

" And yet, 'tis but because you must ;
You would be trusted, but you would not trust
The Hind thus briefly ; and disdain'd to' enlarge
On power of kings, and their superior charge,
As Heaven's trustees before the people's choice ; -x
Though sure the Panther did not much rejoice \
To hear those echoes given of her once loyal voice, j

The matron woo'd her kindness to the last.
But could not win ; her hour of grace was past :



:]



180 THE IIINU AND PANTHER. Part 3.

Whom, thus persisting, when she could not bring
To leave the Wolf, and to believe her king,
She gave her up, and fairly wish'd her joy
Of her late treaty with her new ally ;
Which well she hop'd would more successful prove
Than was the Pigeon's and the Buzzard's love.
The Panther ask'd "what concord there could be
Betwixt two kinds whose natures disagree ?"
The Dame replied ; " 'Tis sung in every street.
The common chat of gossips when they meet ;
But, since unheard by you, 'tis worth your while
To take a wholesome tale, though told in homely
style.

" A plain good man, whose name is understood^,
(So few deserve the name of plain and good,)
Of three fair lineal lordships stood possess'd,
And liv'd, as reason was, upon the best.
Inur'd to hardships from his early youth,
Much had he done, and sufFer'd, for his truth;
At land, and sea, in many a doubtful fight,
Was never known a more adventurous knight,
Who oftener drew his sword, and always for the
right.

" As Fortune would, (his fortune came, though
He took possession of his just estate; [late)

Nor rack'd his tenants with increase of rent.
Nor liv'd too sparing, nor too largely spent;
But overlook'd his hinds ; their pay was just,
And ready, for he scorn'd to go on trust :
Slow to resolve, but in performance quick ;
So true, that he was awkward at a trick :

7 Janies the Second.



}



lie. 3



Parts. THE HIND AND PANTHER. I8l

For little souls on little shifts rely,

And cowards arts of mean expedients try :

The noble mind will dare do any thing but lie.

False friends, his deadliest foes, could find noway,

But shows of honest bluntness to betray;

That unsuspected plainness he believ'd ;

He look'd into hihiself, and was deceiv'd.

Some lucky planet, sure, attends his birth,

Or Heaven would make a miracle on earth ;

For prosperous honesty is seldom seen

To bear so dead a weight, ind yet to win.

It looks as Fate with Nature's law would strive,

To show plain dealing once an age may thrive j

And, when so tough a frame she could not bend,

Exceeded her commission to befriend.

" This grateful man, as Heaven increas'd his
Gave God again, and daily fed his poor : [store,
His house with all convenience was purvey'd ;
he fouD
pray'd'

And in that sacred place his beauteous wife
Employ'd her happiest hours of holy life.

" Nor did their alms extend to those alone
Whom common faith more strictly made their own ;
A sort of Doves^ were hous'd too near their hall,
Who cross the proverb, and abound with gall.
Though some, 'tis true, are passively inclin'd,
The greater part degenerate from their kind ;
Voracious birds, that hotly bill and breed,
And largely drink, because on salt they feed.

8 The Catholic chapel in Whitehall.
* The LoHdoQ clergy of the Chnrch of England. ^
VOL. II. N



:}



182 THE HIND AND PANTHER. Part

Small gain from them their boimteous owner

draws;
Yet bound by promise, he supports their cause,
As corporations privileg'd by laws.

" That house, which harbour to their kind affords,
Was built long since, God knows, for better birds ;
But, fluttering there, they nestle near the throne, ~\
And lodge in habitations not their own,. ^

By their high crops and corny gizzards known. 3
Like harpies they could scent a plenteous board ;
Then, to be sure, they never fail'd their lord :
The rest was form, and bare attendance paid;
They drunk, and eat, and grudgingly obey'd :
The more they fed, they raven'd still for more ;
They drain'd from Dan, and left Beersheba poor.
All this they had by law, and none repin'd;
The preference was but due to Levi's kind ;
But when some lay-preferment fell by chance.
The Gounuands made it their inheritance.
When once possess'd, they never quit their claim,
For then 'tis sanctified to Heaven's high name;
And, hallow'd thus, they cannot give consent
The giftshould be profan'd by worldly management.

" Their flesh was never to the table serv'd,
Though 'tis not thence inferr'd the birds were starv'd;
But that their master did not like the food,
As rank, and breeding melancholy blood:
Nor did it with his gracious nature suit,
E'en though they were not Doves, to persecute:
Yet he refus'd (nor could they take offence)
Their glutton-kind should teach him abstinence :
Nor consecrated grain their wheat he thought,
Which, new from treading, in their bills they
brought;



Part 3. THE HIND AND PANTHER. 183

But left his hinds each in his private power,
That those who like the bran might leave the

flour.
He for himself, and not for others, chose,
Nor would he be impos'd on, nor impose;
But in their faces his devotion paid, -j

And sacrifice with solemn rights was made, v
And sacred incense on his altars laid. 3

Besides these jolly birds, whose crops impure
Repaid their commons with their salt-manure,
Another farm he had behind his house,
Not overstock'd, but barely for his use;
Wherein his poor domestic poultry fed'",
And from his pious hands receiv'd their bread.
Our pamper'd Pigeons, with malignant eyes.
Beheld these inmates and their nurseries:
Though hard their fare, at evening and at morn,
(A cruise of water, and an ear of corn,)
Yet still they grudg'd that modicum, and thought
A sheaf in every single grain was brought.
Fain would they filch that little food away.
While unrestrain'd those happy gluttons prey;
And much they griev'd to see so nigh their hall
The bird that warn'd St. Peter of his fall;
That he should raise his mitred crest on high.
And clap his wings, and call his family
To sacred rites, and vex the' ethereal powers,
With midnight matins at uncivil hours;
Nay more, his quiet neighbours should molest.
Just in the sweetness of their morning rest :
Beast of a bird, supinely when he might
Lie snug and sleep, to rise before the light !
What if his dull forefathers us'd that cry.
Could he not let a bad example die?

10 The Catholic clergy, supported by King James II.



rfled; ->.

"' I

t pray ^



184 THE HIND AND PANTHER. Part 3.

The world was fall'n into an easier way;
This age knew better than to fast and pray :
Good sense in sacred worship would appear
So to begin, as they might end the year:
Such feats in former times had wrought the falls
Of crowing Chanticleers in cloister'd walls.
Expell'd for this, and for their lands they fled :
And sister Partlet, with her hooded head'
Was hooted hence, because she would not

a-bed.

The way to win the restifF world to God,
Was to lay by the disciplining rod,
Unnatural fasts, and foreign forms of prayer;
Religion frights us with a mien severe.
'Tis prudence to reform her into ease,
And put her in undress, to make her please :
A lively faith will bear aloft the mind,
And leave the luggage of good works behind.

" Such doctrines in the Pigeon-house were taught ;
You need not ask how wondrously they wrought;
But sure the common cry was all for these
Whose life and precepts both encourag'd ease:
Yet fearing those alluring baits might fail.
And holy deeds o'er all their arts prevail,
(For Vice, though frontless, and of harden'd face,
Is daunted at the sight of awful grace)
An hideous figure of their foes they drew.
Nor lines, nor looks, nor shades, nor colours true ;
And this grotesque design expos'd to public view.
One would have thought it some Egyptian piece,
With garden-gods, and barking deities,
More thick than Ptolemy has stuck the
All so perverse a draught, so far unlike,
It was no libel where it meant to strike
11 Nims.



n piece, -^

skies. 3



;j



Part 3. THE HIND AND PANTHER. 185

Yet still the daubing pleas'd, and great and small
To view the monster crowded Pigeon-hall :
There Chanticleer was drawn upon his knees,
Adoring shrines, and stocks of sainted trees ;
And by him, a mis-shapen, ugly race ;
The curse of God was seen on every face :
No Holland emblem could that malice mend.
But still the worse they look, the fitter for a fiend.

" The master of the farm, displeas'd to find
So much of rancour in so mild a kind,
Inquir'd into the cause, and came to know
The passive church had struck the foremost blow:
With groundless fears, and jealousies possest,
As if this troublesome intruding guest
Would drive the birds of Venus^^ from their nest
A deed his in-born equity abhorr'd, [his word.
But Interestwill not trust,though God should plight

" A law, the source of many future harms,
Had banish'd all the poultry from the farms,
With loss of life, if any should be found
To crow or peck on this forbidden ground.
That bloody statute ^^ chiefly was design'd
For Chanticleer the white, of clergy kind;
But after-malice did not long forget
The lay that wore the robe and coronet'*.
For them, for their inferiors and allies.
Their foes a deadly Shibboleth devise ;
By which unrighteously it was decreed.
That none to trust or profit should succeed,
Who would not swallow first a poisonous wickt
weed ;

12 The Doves.

13 Of high treason, against priests saying mass in England.
!■» The Roman Catholic nobility.



:edr



186 THE HIND AND PANTHER. Part 3.

Or that'^ to which old Socrates was curst,
Or henbane-juice, to swell them till they burst.

" The patron, as in reason, thought it hard \
To see this inquisition in his yard, [barr'd. ^
By which the sovereign was of subjects' use de- j
All gentle means he tried, which might withdravr
The' effects of so unnatural a law ;
But still the Dove-house obstinately stood,
Deaf to their own and to their neighbours' good;
And, which was worse, if any worse could be,
Repented of their boasted loyalty :
Now made the champions of a cruel cause.
And drunk with fumes of popular applause ;
For those whom God to ruin has design'd.
He fits for fate, and first destroys their mind.

" New doubts, indeed, they daily strove to raise,
Suggested dangers, interpos'd delays.
And emissary Pigeons had in store.
Such as the Meccan Prophet us'd of yore,
To whisper counsels in their patron's ear.
And veil'd their false advice with zealous fear.
The master smil'd to see "em work in vain
To w ear him out, and make an idle reign :
He saw, but suffer'd their protractive arts.
And strove by mildness to reduce their hearts ;
But they abus'd that grace to make allies, -^

And fondly closd with former enemies ; [wise. \
For fools are doubly fools, endeavouring to be j

*' After a grave consult what course were best.
One, more mature in folly than the rest.
Stood up, and told them, with his head aside,
' That desperate cures must be to desperate ills
applied ;

15 Hemlock.



I'urt 5. THE HIND AND PANTHER. iSf

And, therefore, since their main impending fear
Was from the' increasing race of Chanticleer,
Some potent bird of prey they ought to find,
A foe profess'd to him and all his kind ;
Some haggard Hawk, who had her eyry ni^,
Well pounc'd to fasten, and well wing'd to fly;
One they might tmst, their common wrongs to

wreak ;
The Musquet and the Coystrel were too weak,
Too fierce the Falcon j but, above the rest.
The noble Buzzard ever pleas'd me best j
Of small renown, 'tis true ; for, not to lie,
We call him but a Hawk — by courtesy :
I know he hates the Pigeon-house and farm.
And more, in time of war has done us harm ;
But all his hate on trivial points depends;
Give up our forms, and we shall soon befriends;
For Pigeons' flesh he seems not much to care,
Craram'd chickens are a more delicious fare.
On this high potentate, without delay,
I wish you would confer the sovereign-sway ;
Petition him to' accept the government,
And let a splendid embassy be sent.'

" This pithy speech prevail'd, and all agreed,
Old enmities forgot, the Buzzard should suc-
ceed.
*' Their welcome suit was granted, soon as heard.
His lodgings furnish'd, and a train prepar'd.
With B's upon their breast, appointed for his
guard.

, He came, and, crown'd with great solemnity,
* God save King Buzzard!' was the general cry

" A portly prince, and goodly to the sight,
He seem'd a son of Anach for his height ;



}



183 THE HIND AND PANTHER. Part 3.

Like those Avhora statnie did to crowns prefer,

Black-brow'd and bluff, like Homer's Jupiter;

Broad-back'd, and brawny-built, for love's deliglit,

A prophet form'd, to make a female proselyte.

A theologue more by need, than genial bent ;

By breeding sharp, by nature confident.