22
THE CHACE.
Book I.
Shou'd some more curious Sportsman here enquire,
Whence this Sagacity, this wond'rous Pow'r,
Of tracing Step by Step, or Man or Brute?
What Guide invisible points out their Way,
O'er the dank Marsh, bleak Hill, and sandy Plain?
The courteous Muse shall the dark Cause reveal.
The Blood that from the Heart incessant rolls
In many a crimson Tide, then here and there
In smaller Rills disparted, as it flows
Propell'd, the ferous Particles evade 345
Thro' th' open Pores, and with the ambient Air
Entangling mix. As fuming Vapours rise,
And hang upon the gently purling Brook,
There by th'incumbent Atmosphere compress'd.
The panting Chace grows warmer as he flies, 350
And thro' the Net-work of the Skin perspires;
Whence this Sagacity, this wond'rous Pow'r,
Of tracing Step by Step, or Man or Brute?
What Guide invisible points out their Way,
O'er the dank Marsh, bleak Hill, and sandy Plain?
The courteous Muse shall the dark Cause reveal.
The Blood that from the Heart incessant rolls
In many a crimson Tide, then here and there
In smaller Rills disparted, as it flows
Propell'd, the ferous Particles evade 345
Thro' th' open Pores, and with the ambient Air
Entangling mix. As fuming Vapours rise,
And hang upon the gently purling Brook,
There by th'incumbent Atmosphere compress'd.
The panting Chace grows warmer as he flies, 350
And thro' the Net-work of the Skin perspires;
Leaves
