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John Wolcott
Peter Pindar
1738-1819
 1787? | John Wolcot [Peter Pindar], A Moral Reflection on the Preceding Elegy [The Royal Bullocks] in Vol 2 of The Works of Peter Pindar (London, 1812; Digitized by Google, 2007) [First Edition of Works, (London, 1797); Poems possibly published as early as 1787 in Poems on Various Subjects (London, 1787)].
A Moral Reflection on the Preceeding Elegy [The Royal Bullocks]
How can the eye, in Nature's softness drest,
So harden'd, see the different tribes around;
Behold the grazing Cattle all so blest,
And Lambkins mingling sport with sweetest sound;
Then glistening, in a strain of triumph cry,
"Your throats, young Gentlefolks, will soon be cut:
You, sweet Miss Lamb, most speedily shall die;
Soon on the spit you, Master Calf, be put!"
How can the tongue, amid the mingled noise
Of Goose, Duck, Turkey, Pigeon, Cock, and Hen,
Exclaim, "Aye, aye, good Fowls, your cackling joys
Soon cease, to fill with mirth the mouths of men?"
I cannot meet the Lambkin's asking eye,
Pat her soft neck, and fill her mouth with food,
Then say, "Ere evening cometh, thou shalt die,
And drench the knives of Butchers with thy blood."
I cannot fling with liberal hand the grain,
And tell the feather'd race so blest around,
"For me, ere night, you feel of death the pain;
With broken necks you flutter on the ground."
How vile! "Go, Creatures of th' Almighty's Hand;
Enjoy the fruits that bounteous Nature yields;
Graze at your ease along the sunny land,
Skim the free air, and search the fruitful fields.
"Go, and be happy in your mutual loves;
No violence shall shake your shelter'd home:
'Tis life and liberty shall glad my groves;
The cry of Murder shall not damn my dome."
Thus should I say, were mine a house and land:
And lo, to me a parent should you fly;
And run and lick, and peck with love, my hand,
And crowd around me with a fearless eye.
And you, O wild Inhabitants of Air,
To bless, and to be blest, at Peter's call,
Invited by his kindness, should repair;
Chirp on his roof, and hop amidst his hall.
No School-boy's hand should dare your nests invade,
And bear to close captivity your young:
Pleased would I see them fluttering from the shade,
And to my window call the Sons of Song.
And you, O Natives of the Flood, should play
Unhurt admit your crystal realms, and sleep:
No Hook should tear you from your loves away;
No Net surrounding form its fatal sweep.
Pleased should I gaze upon your gliding throng,
To sport invited by the summer beam;
Now moving in most solemn march along;
Now darting, leaping, from the dimpled stream.
How far more grateful to the soul the joy,
Thus cheerful, like a set of Friends, to treat ye,
Than, like the bloated Epicure, to cry,
"Zounds, what rare dinners! Gods, how could I eat ye!"
1787? | John Wolcot [Peter Pindar], Ballade To a Fish of the Brooke in Vol 5 of The Works of Peter Pindar (London, 1812; Digitized by Google, 2007) [First Edition of Works, (London, 1797); Poems possibly published as early as 1787 in Poems on Various Subjects (London, 1787)].
Ballade to a Fish of the Brooke
Why flyest thou away, with fear?
Trust me, there's nought of danger near;
I have no wicked hooke,
All cover'd with a snaring bait,
Alas ! to tempt thee to thy fate,
And dragge thee from the brooke.
O harmless Tenant of the Flood,
I do not wish to spill thy blood;
For Nature unto thee
Perchance hath given a tender wife,
And children dear, to charme thy life,
As she hath done for me.
Enjoy thy streame, O harmless Fish!
And when an Angler, for his dish,
Through gluttony's vile sin,
Attempts, a wretch, to pull thee out;
God give thee strength, O gentle Trout,
To pull the raskall in!
1804 | In The Beauties of English Poetry, Selected from the Most Esteemed Authors (London, 1820); Online at Google Books, John Wolcot [Peter Pindar], includes the Rev. Richard Jago's poem "The Blackbirds".
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