Page:The Chace - Somervile (1735).djvu/23

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
Bool I.
THE CHACE.
3
To wrest the Balance from thy equal Hand;
Thy Hunter-Train, in chearful Green array'd, 25
(A Band undaunted, and inur'd to Toils,)
Shall compass thee around, dye at thy Feet,
Or hew thy Passage thro' th' embattled Foe,
And clear thy Way to Fame; inspir'd by thee
The nobler Chace of Glory shall pursue 30
Thro' Fire, and Smoke, and Blood, and Fields of Death.

Nature, in her Productions slow, aspires
By just Degrees to reach Perfection's Height:
So mimick Art works leisurely, 'till Time
Improve the Piece, or wise Experience give 35
The proper Finishing. When Nimrod bold,
That mighty Hunter, first made War on Beasts,
And stain'd the Wood-land Green with purple Dye,
New, and unpolish'd was the Huntsman's Art;

No