226 The Poets and Natiire. 



The vagrant cur is acceptable as an incident ; the stranger 

 animal from another herd is welcome ; the calf a god-send 

 to " milky-mother "verse. But "the breeze "! What anima- 

 tion it at once imparts to the scene. "Teasing fly-time" ! 

 At ordinary times the herds are going to pasture or coming 

 back, eating or reposing. They chew the cud and get 

 milked. The heifer's bell tinkles drowsily at times. A 

 cow in the lane says " Moo." But the life is dull, say what 

 you will ; and if it had not been for " the fly that pricks the 

 gadding neate," I cannot imagine what some of our poets 

 would have done for pastoral verse. No set of cows, let 

 them be ever so variegated in colour, could well be sung of 

 more than once if they only grazed and lay down. As a 

 touch of spring in a rural poem, the " placid beeves," " un- 

 worried in the meads," are admirable once in a way and for 

 all ; and " the calm pleasures of the pasturing herds " com- 

 plete the vernal scene very handsomely if not recurring too 

 frequently. 



" The cattle are grazing, 

 Their heads never raising ; 

 There are forty feeding like one." 



But when summer comes "the breeze-fly" comes with it, 

 and great is the relief of poets. " Good-bye to the balm, of 

 palpable and breathing calm." The herds are now " restless." 

 They rush from their tormentors into the water, and 

 " standing knee-deep, scare off with sudden head reversed 

 the insect swarm," or "fly with tufted tail erect to the 

 shade," " scampering madly." The whole field is astir with 

 swinging tails. Never still, the herd offers a perpetual suc- 

 cession of incidents to the poets, a kaleidoscope of cattle. 

 Feeding becomes a running fight with gad-flies, and even 

 he tranquil milking episode a skirmish 



' ' Even at the close of day 

 Unruly cows with marked impatience stay, 

 And vainly striving to escape their foes, 

 The pail kick o'er." Bloonifield. 



