Page:The Chace - Somervile (1735).djvu/48

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28
THE CHACE.
Book II.
Each slacken'd Sinew fails; they pant, they foam;
Then o'er the Lawn he bounds, o'er the high Hills
Stretches secure, and leaves the scatter'd Crowd
To puzzle in the distant Vale below.

'Tis Instinct that directs the jealous Hare 15
To chuse her soft Abode: With Step revers'd
She forms the doubling Maze; then, e'er the Morn
Peeps thro' the Clouds, leaps to her close Recess.

As wand'ring Shepherds on th' Arabian Plains
No settled Residence observe, but shift 20
Their moving Camp, now, on some cooler Hill
With Cedars crown'd, court the refreshing Breeze;
And then, below, where trickling Streams distill
From some penurious Source, their Thirst allay,
And feed their fainting Flocks: So the wise Hares 25
Oft quit their Seats, lest some more curious Eye

Shou'd