THOUGHTS UPON KUNTINd". I29 



Madness, thou dreadful malady, what shall I say to 

 thee; or what preservative shall I find against thy enve- 

 nomed fang !' — Somerville, who declines writing of lesser 

 ills-, is not silent on the subjed of this. 



** Of lesser Ills the muse declines to singi 



Nor stoops so low ; of these each groom can tell 



The proper remedy." 



I wish this worthy gentleman, to whom we have already 

 been so much obliged, had been less sparing of his in- 

 strudions ; since it is possible that grooms may not have all 

 the knowledge he supposes them to have, and their masters 

 may stand in need of it. No man, I believe, wall com- 

 plain of being too well informed ; nor is any knowledge 

 Unnecessary which is likely to be put in practice. The 

 executive part is fully sufficient to trust in a groom's 

 hands. Somerville's advice on the subje6t of madness is 

 Worth your notice : 



** When Sirius reigns, and the sun's parching beams 

 Bake the dry gaping surface, visit thou 

 Each ev'n and morn, with quick observant eye, 

 Thy panting pack. If in dark sullen mood 

 The gloutihg hoiind refuse his wonted meal. 

 Retiring to some close, obscure retreat^ 



