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Large expectation, he disposes neat

At meafur'd distances, that air and fun,

Admitted freely, may afford their aid,
And ventilate and warm the fwelling buds.
Hence fummer has her riches, autumn hence,
And hence ev'n winter fills his wither'd hand
With blushing fruits, and plenty not his own *.
Fair recompenfe of labour well beftow'd,

And wife precaution, which a clime fo rude
Makes needful still, whose spring is but the child
Of churlish winter, in her froward moods
Discov'ring much the temper of her fire.

For oft, as if in her the ftream of mild
Maternal nature had revers'd its course,
She brings her infants forth with many fimiles,
But once deliver'd, kills them with a frown.
He therefore, timely warn'd, himself supplies
Her want of care, fcreening and keeping warm

The plenteous bloom, that no rough blaft may fweep

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His garlands from the boughs. Again, as oft
As the fun peeps and vernal airs breathe mild,
The fence withdrawn, he gives them ev'ry beam,
And spreads his hopes before the blaze of day.

To raife the prickly and green-coated gourd,
So grateful to the palate, and when rare
So coveted, elfe bafe and difefteem'd-
Food for the vulgar merely-is an art
That toiling ages have but just matur'd,
And at this moment unaffay'd in fong.

Yet gnats have had, and frogs and mice, long fince,
Their eulogy; thofe fang the Mantuan bard,

And these the Grecian, in ennobling strains;

And in thy numbers, Phillips, fhines for aye

The folitary fhilling. Pardon then,

Ye fage difpenfers of poetic fame!

Th' ambition of one meaner far, whofe pow'rs,
Prefuming an attempt not lefs fublime,

Pant for the praise of dreffing to the taste

Of

Of critic appetite, no fordid fare,...

A cucumber, while coftly yet and scarce.

The stable yields a ftercoraceous heap,
Impregnated with quick fermenting falts,
And potent to refift the freezing blaft:
For ere the beech and elm have caft their leaf
Deciduous, when now November dark

Checks vegetation in the torpid plant
Expos'd to his cold breath, the task begins..
Warily therefore, and with prudent heed,
He feeks a favor'd fpot; that where he builds
Th' agglomerated pile, his frame may front
The fun's meridian disk, and at the back
Enjoy close shelter, wall, or reeds, or hedge
Impervious to the wind. First he bids fpread
Dry fern or litter'd hay, that may imbibe
Th' afcending damps; then leifurely impofe,
And lightly, fhaking it with agile hand
From the full fork, the faturated straw.

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What longest binds the closeft, forms fecure
The shapely fide, that as it rifes takes,
By just degrees, an overhanging breadth,
Shelt'ring the base with its projected eaves,
Th' uplifted frame, compact at ev'ry joint,
And overlaid with clear translucent glass,
He fettles next upon the floping mount,
Whose sharp declivity shoots off fecure
From the dafh'd pans the deluge as it falls.
He shuts it close, and the first labor ends.
Thrice must the vòluble and restless earth

Spin round upon her axle, ere the warmth,
Slow gathering in the midft, through the square mafs
Diffus'd, attain the furface: when, behold!

A peftilent and most corrofive steam,

Like a grofs fog Boeotian, rifing fast,
And fast condens'd upon the dewy fash,
Afks egrefs; which obtain'd, the overcharg'd
And drench'd confervatory breathes abroad,
In volumes wheeling flow, the vapor dank,

And purified, rejoices to have loft

Its foul inhabitant. But to affuage
Th' impatient fervor which it first conceives.
Within its reeking bofom, threat'ning death
To his young hopes, requires discreet delay.
Experience, flow preceptrefs, teaching oft
The way to glory by miscarriage foul,

Must prompt him, and admonish how to catch
Th' aufpicious moment, when the temper'd heat,
Friendly to vital motion, may afford

Soft fomentation, and invite the feed.

The feed, felected wifely, plump, and smooth,
And gloffy, he commits to pots of size
Diminutive, well fill'd with well-prepar'd

And fruitful foil, that has been treasur'd long,
And drank no moisture from the dripping clouds ;
Thefe, on the warm and genial earth that hides
The smoking manure, and o'erspreads it all,
He places lightly, and as time fubdues
The rage of fermentation, plunges deep

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