Untrained; of twining osiers formed, they pitch Their artless toils, then range the desert hills, And scour the plains below; the trembling herd Start at the unusual sound, and clamorous shout Unheard before; surprised alas! to find Man now their foe, whom erst they deemed their lord, But mild and gentle, and by whom as yet Secure they grazed. Death stretches o'er the plain _50 Wide-wasting, and grim slaughter red with blood: Urged on by hunger keen, they wound, they kill, Their rage licentious knows no bound; at last Incumbered with their spoils, joyful they bear Upon their shoulders broad, the bleeding prey. Part on their altars smokes a sacrifice To that all-gracious Power, whose bounteous hand Supports his wide creation; what remains On living coals they broil, inelegant Of taste, nor skilled as yet in nicer arts _60 Of pampered luxury. Devotion pure, And strong necessity, thus first began The chase of beasts: though bloody was the deed, Yet without guilt. For the green herb alone Unequal to sustain man's labouring race, Now every moving thing that lived on earth Was granted him for food. So just is Heaven, To give us in proportion to our wants. Or chance or industry in after-times Some few improvements made, but short as yet _70 Of due perfection. In this isle remote Our painted ancestors were slow to learn, To arms devote, of the politer arts Nor skilled nor studious; till from Neustria's[3] coasts Victorious William, to more decent rules Subdued our Saxon fathers, taught to speak The proper dialect, with horn and voice To cheer the busy hound, whose well-known cry His listening peers approve with joint acclaim. From him successive huntsmen learned to join _80 In bloody social leagues, the multitude Dispersed, to size, to sort their various tribes, To rear, feed, hunt, and discipline the pack. Hail, happy Britain! highly-favoured isle, And Heaven's peculiar care! To thee 'tis given To train the sprightly steed, more fleet than those Begot by winds, or the celestial breed That bore the great Pelides through the press Of heroes armed, and broke their crowded ranks; Which proudly neighing, with the sun begins _90 Cheerful his course; and ere his beams decline, Has measured half thy surface unfatigued. In thee alone, fair land of liberty! Is bred the perfect hound, in scent and speed As yet unrivalled, while in other climes Their virtue fails, a weak degenerate race. In vain malignant steams, and winter fogs Load the dull air, and hover round our coasts, The huntsman ever gay, robust, and bold, Defies the noxious vapour, and confides _100 In this delightful exercise, to raise His drooping head and cheer his heart with joy. Ye vigorous youths, by smiling Fortune blest With large demesnes, hereditary wealth, Heaped copious by your wise forefathers' care, Hear and attend! while I the means reveal