THE TASK.

BOOK I.

ARGUMENT OF THE FIRST BOOK.

Historical deduction of seats, from the stool to the Sofa.-A School-boy's ramble.-A walk in the country. The scene described.-Rural sounds as well as sights delightful.-Another walk.-Mistake concerning the charms of solitude corrected.Colonnades commended.-Alcove, and the view from it.-The wilderness.-The grove.—The thresher.— The necessity and the benefits of exercise.-The works of nature superior to, and in some instances inimitable by, art.—The wearisomeness of what is commonly called a life of pleasure.-Change of scene sometimes expedient.-A common described, und the character of crazy Kate introduced.-Gipsies.-The blessings of civilized life.-That state most favourable to virtue.-The South Sea islanders compassionated, but chiefly Omai.-His present state of mind supposed.—Civilized life friendly to virtue, but not great cities.-Great cities, and London in particular, allowed their due praise, but censured.-Fete champêtre.-The book concludes with a reflection on the fatal effects of dissipation und effeminacy upon our public measures.

THE TASK.

BOOK I.

THE SOFA.

I SING the Sofa. I who lately sang
Truth, Hope, and Charity*, and touch'd with awe
The solemn chords, and with a trembling hand,
Escap'd with pain from that advent'rous flight,
Now seek repose upon an humbler theme;
The theme though humble, yet august and proud
Th' occasion-for the Fair commands the song.

Time was, when clothing sumptuous or for use, Save their own painted skins, our sires had none. As yet black breeches were not; satin smooth,

Or velvet soft, or plush with shaggy pile:
Ths hardy chief upon the rugged rock
Wash'd by the sea, or on the grav❜lly bank
Thrown up by wintry torrents roaring loud,
Fearless of wrong, repos'd his weary strength.
Those barb'rous ages past, succeeded next
The birthday of Invention; weak at first,
Dull in design, and clumsy to perform.
Joint-stools were then created; on three legs
Upborne they stood. Three legs upholding firm
A massy slab, in fashion square or round.
On such a stool immortal Alfred sat,

And sway'd the sceptre of his infant realms:
And such in ancient halls and mansions drear
May still be seen; but perforated sore,

And drill'd in holes, the solid oak is found,

By worms voracious eating through and through.

At length a generation more refin'd

Improv'd the simple plan; made three legs four,
Gave them a twisted form vermicular,

And o'er the seat, with plenteous wadding stuff'd,
Induc'd a splendid cover, green and blue,
Yellow and red, of tapestry richly wrought

And woven close, or needlework sublime.

There might ye see the piony spread wide,
The full-blown rose, the shepherd and his lass,
Lapdog and lambkin with black staring eyes,
And parrots with twin cherries in their beak.

Now came the cane from India smooth and bright With Nature's varnish; sever'd into stripes, That interlac'd each other, these supplied Of texture firm a lattice-work, that brac'd The new machine, and it became a chair. But restless was the chair; the back erect Distress'd the weary loins, that felt no ease; The slipp'ry seat betray'd the sliding part,

That press'd it, and the feet hung dangling down, Anxious in vain to find the distant floor.

These for the rich; the rest whom Fate had plac'd In modest mediocrity, content

With base materials, sat on well-tann'd hides,

Obdurate and unyielding, glassy smooth,
With here and there a tuft of crimson yarn,
Or scarlet crewel, in the cushion fix'd,

If cushion might be call'd, what harder seem'd
Than the firm oak, of which the frame was form'd.