[Page 163]
[Illustration]

FABLE [48] XLVIII.

The Gardener and the Hog.

1 A Gard'ner, of peculiar taste,
2 On a young Hog his favour plac'd,
3 Who fed not with the common herd,
4 His tray was to the hall preferr'd,
5 He wallow'd underneath the board,
6 Or in his master's chamber snor'd,
[Page 164]
7 Who fondly stroak'd him ev'ry day,
8 And taught him all the puppy's play;
9 Where'er he went, the grunting friend
10 Ne'er fail'd his pleasure to attend.
11 As on a time, the loving pair
12 Walk'd forth to tend the garden's care,
13 The master thus addrest the swine.
14 My house, my garden, all is thine:
15 On turnips feast whene'er you please,
16 And riot in my beans and pease,
17 If the potatoe's taste delights,
18 Or the red carrot's sweet invites,
19 Indulge thy morn and evening hours,
20 But let due care regard my flowers;
21 My tulips are my garden's pride.
22 What vast expence those beds supply'd!
23 The Hog by chance one morning roam'd
24 Where with new ale the vessels foam'd;
25 He munches now the steaming grains,
26 Now with full swill the liquor drains;
[Page 165]
27 Intoxicating fumes arise,
28 He reels, he rolls his winking eyes,
29 Then stagg'ring through the garden scowers,
30 And treads down painted ranks of flowers,
31 With delving snout he turns the soil,
32 And cools his palate with the spoil.
33 The Master came, the ruin spy'd.
34 Villain, suspend thy rage, he cry'd:
35 Hast thou, thou most ungrateful sot,
36 My charge, my only charge forgot?
37 What, all my flowers! No more he said,
38 But gaz'd, and sigh'd, and hung his head.
39 The Hog with stutt'ring speech returns.
40 Explain, Sir, why your anger burns;
41 See there, untouch'd your tulips strown,
42 For I devour'd the roots alone!
43 At this, the Gard'ner's passion grows;
44 From oaths and threats he fell to blows;
45 The stubborn brute the blows sustains,
46 Assaults his leg and tears the veins.
[Page 166]
47 Ah, foolish swain, too late you find
48 That sties were for such friends design'd!
49 Homeward he limps with painful pace,
50 Reflecting thus on past disgrace;
51 Who cherishes a brutal mate
52 Shall mourn the folly soon or late.

Text

  • TEI/XML [chunk] (XML - 101K / ZIP - 11K) / ECPA schema (RNC - 357K / ZIP - 73K)
  • Plain text [excluding paratexts] (TXT - 2.0K / ZIP - 1.2K)

About this text

Title (in Source Edition): FABLE [48] XLVIII. The Gardener and the Hog.
Author: John Gay
Themes: animals
Genres: fable

Text view / Document view

Source edition

Gay, John, 1685-1732. FABLES. By Mr. GAY. London: Printed for J. Tonson and J. Watts, MDCCXXVII., 1727, pp. 163-166. [14],173,[1]p.: ill.; 4°. (ESTC T13818)

Editorial principles

Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. This ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

Other works by John Gay