"The God of flaves!" said they," how can he be "More pow'rful than their master's deity?"

And down they cast their rods,

54

And mutter'd fecret founds that charm the fervile

The evil spirits their charms obey,

Lgods.

And in a fubtle cloud they fnatch the rods away,

And ferpents in their place the airy jugglers lay :
Serpents in Egypt's monftrous land

Were ready ftill at hand,

60

And all at th' Old Serpent's first command:

And they, too, gap'd, and they, too, hiss'd,

And they their threat'ning tails did twist;

But straight on both the Hebrew-ferpent flew, Broke both their active backs, and both it flew, 65 And both aimoft at once devour'd;

So much was overpow'r'd

By God's miraculous creation

His fervants Nature's flightly-wrought and feeble ge

V.

On the fam'd bank the prophets flood,

[neration.

70

Touch'd with their rod, and wounded all the flood; Flood now no more, but a long vein of putrid blood : The helpless fish were found

In their strange current drown'd;

The herbs and trees wash'd by the mortal tide 75
About it blufh'd and dy'd:

Th' amazed crocodiles made hafte to ground;
From their vath trunks the dropping gore they spied,

Thought it their own,and dreadfully aloud they cried:

Nor all thy priests, nor thou

Oh, King! couldft ever show

80

From whence thy wand'ring Nile begins his courfe;
Of this new Nile thou feeft the facred fource,
And as thy land that does o'erflow,

Take heed left this do fo.

What plague more just could on thy waters fall?
The Hebrew infants' murder ftains them all.

The kind, inftructing punishment, enjoy;

85

Whom the Red river cannot mend, the Red-fea fhall

VI.

The river yet gave one instruction more,

[destroy. 90

And from the rotting fish and unconcocted gore,
Which was but water jufl before,

A loathfome hoft was quickly made, [country'invade.
That fcal'd the banks, and with loud noife did all the

As Nilus when he quits his facred bed,

(But like a friend he vifits all the land With welcome prefents in his hand)

95

So did this living tide the fields o'erfpread.

In vain th' alarmed country tries

To kill their noisome enemies,

ICO

From th' unexhaufted fource ftill new recruits arife:

Nor does the earth these greedy troops suffice;

'The towns and houses they poffefs,

The temples and the palaces,

Nor Pharaoh nor his gods they fear,

105

Both their importune croakings hear:

Unfatiate yet, they mount up high'r,

Where never fun-born frog durst to aspire,

And in the filken beds their flimy members place,
A luxury unknown before to all the watʼry race. 110
VII.

The water thus her wonders did produce,

But both were to no ufe:

As yet the Sorcerers' mimick power ferv'd for excufe.
Try what the earth will do, said God, and, lo!
They stroke the earth a fertile blow,

And all the duft did ftraight to stir begin,

115

One would have thought some sudden wind it had But, lo! 't was nimble Life was got within! [been; And all the little fprings did move,

And ev'ry duft did an arm'd vermine prove,

Of an unknown and new-created kind,

120

Such as the magick gods could neither make or find. The wretched fhameful foe allow'd no reft

Either to man or beaft;

Not Pharaoh from th' unquiet plague could be, 125 With all his change of raiments, free;

The devils themfelves confefs'd

This was God's hand; and 't was but just

To punish thus man's pride, to punish duft with duft.

Lo! the third element does his plagues prepare, 130
And fwarming clouds of infe&- fill the air;
With fullen noife they take their flight,

And march in bodies infinite;

In vain 't is day above, 'tis still beneath them night.
Of harmful flies the nations numberless

Compos'd this mighty army's fpacious boast ;
Of different manners, different languages,
And different habits, too, they wore,

135

And different arms they bore;

And fome, like Scythians, liv'd on blood,

140

And fome on green, and fome on flow'ry food,

And Accaron, the airy prince, led on this various hoft. Houfes fecure not men; the populous ill

Did all the houfes fill:

The country all around,

145

Did with the cries of tortur'd cattle found;
About the fields enrag'd they flew,

And wish'd the plague that was t'enfue.

IX.

From poisonous stars a mortal influence came, (The mingled malice of their flame)

150

A fkilful angel did th' ingredients take,

And with just hands the fad composure make,
And over all the land did the full vial shake.

Thirft, giddinefs, faintness, and putrid heats,
And pining pains, and fhivering fweats,
On all the cattle, all the beasts, did fall;
With deform'd death the country's cover'd all.
The labouring ox drops down before the plough;
The crowned victims to the altar led

155

With the once-ravishing smell of all his dappled mi→

The starving sheep refufe to feed,

[ftreffes.

They bleet their innocent fouls out into air;

The faithful dogs lie gafping by them there;

Th' astonisli'd shepherd weeps, and breaks his tune

x.

Thus did the beafts for man's rebellion die,

[ful reed.

170

God did on man a gentler medicine try,
And a disease for phyfick did apply.

Warm afhes from the furnace Mofes took,

The Sorcerers did with wonder on him look,
And fmil'd at th' unaccustom'd fpeli

Which no Egyptian rituals tell.

He flings the pregnant afhes thro' the air,

And fpeaks a mighty pray'r,

175

Both which the minift'ring winds around all Egypt As gentle western blafts, with downy wings [bear. Hatching the tender springs,

To th' unborn buds with vital whispers say,

Ye living Buds why do ye stay?

181

The passionate buds break thro' the bark their way;

So wherefoe'er this tainted wind but blew,

Swelling pains and ulcers grew;

Volume 11.

185