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Faint from despair, when hope and vigour fail,
If, hast'ning to their aid, appears a sail;
With force renew'd their weary limbs they strain,
And climb the slipp'ry ridges of the main.
So joy'd the Spartans to repulse the foe;
With hope restor'd, their gen'rous bosoms glow:
While Thebes, suspended 'midst her conquest,
stands;

And feels a sudden check through all her bands.
Leophron only, far before the rest,
Tydides waited with a dauntless breast.
Firm and unaw'd the hardy warrior stood;
Like some fierce boar amid his native wood,
When armed swains his gloomy haunts invade,
And trace his footsteps through the lonely shade;
Resolv'd he hears approach the hostile sound,
Grinds his white teeth, and threat'ning glares
around:

So stood Leophron trusting in his might,
And shook his armour, eager for the fight.
Tydides saw; and, springing from his car,
Thus brav'd the hero, as he rush'd to war:
"O son unhappy, of a sire accurst!
The plague of all, and fated to the worst!
The injuries of Greece demand thy breath;
See, in my hand, the instrument of death.
Hlegialus's ghost shall less deplore

His fate untimely on the Stygian shore,
When banish'd from the light, your shade shall
To mingle with the dark infernal gloom." [come
Tydides thus and Creon's son replies:
"Your fear in vain, by boasting, you disguise;
Such vulgar art a novice oft confounds,

To scenes of battle new and martial sounds;
Though lost on me, who dwell amid alarms,
And never met a greater yet in arms."

Thus as the warrior spoke, his lance with care
He aim'd, and sent it hissing through the air.
On Diomed's broad shield the weapon fell;
Loud rung the echoing brass with stunning knell:
But the strong orb, by Vulcan's labour bound,
Repell'd, and sent it blunted to the ground.
Tydides next his pond'rous jav'lin threw :
With force impell'd, it brighten'd as it flew;
And pierc'd the border of the Theban shield,
Where, wreath'd around, a serpent guards the
field;

Through the close mail an easy passage found,
And mark'd his thigh, in passing, with a wound.
Now in close fight the angry chiefs engage;
Like two fell griffins rous'd to equal rage;
Pois'd on their rolling trains they fiercely rise,
With blood-bespotted crests and burning eyes;
With poison fraught they aim their deadly stings,
Clasp their sharp fangs, and mix their rattling
wings.

In combat thus, the ardent warriors clos'd,
With shield to shield, and foot to foot oppos'd.
First at his foe Leophron aim'd a stroke;
But, on his polish'd casque, the falchion broke:
From the smooth steel the shiver'd weapon

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Nor stopp'd Tydides to despoil the slain;
The warrior goddess led him cross the plain,
Towards the grove where great Atrides lay;
Th' immortal spear she stretch'd, and mark'd the
way.

Thither amid surrounding foes they haste; Who shun'd them, still retreating, as they pass'd: And ent'ring found the Spartan hero laid

On the greensward, beneath the bow'ring shade.
The guard secure, lay stretch'd upon the ground;
Their shields resign'd, their lances pitch'd
One only near a winding riv'let stood, [around:
Which turn'd its wandring current through the
wood;

His helmet fill'd with both his hands he rear'd,
In act to drink; when in the grove appear'd
Th' Etolian prince. His armour's fiery blaze
The dark recess illumin'd with its rays.
Amaz'd the Theban stood; and, from his hand,
The helmet slipp'd, and roll'd upon the sand.
Not more afraid the wond'ring swain descries,
'Midst night's thick gloom, a flaming meteor

rise;

Sent by the furies, as he deems, to sow
Death and diseases on the Earth below. [cry'd.
"Tydides comes!" with fault'ring voice he
And straight to flight bis willing limbs apply'd.
With sudden dread surpris'd the guards retire;
As shepherd swains avoid a lion's ire,
Who roams the heights and plains, from famine
bold,

The stall to ravage or assault the fold.

Now, lifeless as he lay, the martial maid
Atrides, with a pitying eye, survey'd ;
And, with her spear revers'd, the hero shook!
The touch divine his iron slumber broke:
As when his drowsy mate the shepherd swain
Stirs with his crook, and calls him to the plain;
When in the east he sees the morning rise,
And redd'ning o'er his head the colour'd skies.
When from the ground his head the hero rais'd,
In full divinity the goddess blaz'd ;

Her left, reveal'd, the dreadful ægis rears, -
Whose ample field the snaky Gorgon bears;
Th' immortal lance stood flaming in the right,
Which scatters and confounds the ranks of fight.
Speechless the chiefs remain'd; amazement

strong,

In mute suspence and silence, held them long.
And thus the goddess: "Atreus' son! arise,
Confess the partial favour of the skies.
For thee I leave the thund'rer's lofty seat,
To wake thee slumb'ring on the verge of fate.
To you let Diomed his arms resign;
Unequal were your force to govern mine;
His stronger arm shall bear this pond'rous shield;
His better hand the weighty jav'lin wield.
Arise! be sudden, for your foes draw near;
Assur'd to conquer when the gods appear."

The goddess thus; and, mixing with the wind,
Left in a heap her shining arms behind
Upon the field; with loud harmonious peal,
Th' immortal buckler rung, and golden mail.
And thus Atrides, rising from the ground :
"In this approv'd is hoar tradition found
i
That oft, descending from th' ethereal tow`ss,
To mix with mortals, come the heav'nly pow'rs:
But ne'er till now I saw a god appear,
Or more than human voice did ever hear,

Do you, my friend, assume these arms divine;
The mortal and inferior shall be mine."
Atrides thus; and Diomed reply'd:
"To Heav'n obedience must not be deny'd;
Else you yourself th' immortal arms should
wield,

And I with these attend you on the field.
But of the pow'rs above, whose sov'reign sway
The fates of men and mortal things obey,
Pallas, with surest vengeance, still pursues
Such as obedience to her will refuse." [bound,
He said; and straight his shining arms un-
The casque,the mail, the buckler's weighty round;
With secret joy th immortal helmet took :
High on its crest the waving plumage shook.
This whosoever wears, his sharpen'd eyes
All dangers mock of ambush and surprise;
Their ray unquench'd, the midnight shade di-
vides;

No cunning covers, and no darkness hides.
The breast-plate next he takes, whose matchless

art

Firm courage fixes in the bounding heart;
The rage of war unmov'd the wearer braves,
And rides serene amid the stormy waves:
The glitt'ring mail a starry baldric bound,
His arm sustain'd the buckler's weighty round;
Impenetrably strong, its orb can bear

And turn, like softest lead, the pointed spear;
Nor yields to aught, in Earth or Heav'n above,
But the dread thunder of almighty Jove.
Th' immortal spear the hero last did wield,
Which fixes conquest, and decides a field;
Nor strength nor numbers can its rage withstand,
Sent by a mortal or immortal hand.

Thus arm'd to meet the foc Tydides mov'd,
And glory'd conscious of his might improv'd;
Like the proud steed rejoicing in his force,
When the shrill trumpet wakes him to

course;

the

Fierce and impatient of restraint, he strains
With stiffen'd neck against the galling reins.
Taller he seem'd; as when the morning spread,
With golden lustre, crowns some mountain's
bead

In early spring; when, from the meads below,
A wreath of vapours binds his rocky brow;
In cloudy volumes settling as they rise,
They lift the lofty prospect to the skies:
So in immortal arins the chief appear'd,
His stature broad display'd, and higher rear'd.

Now from the field approaching to the grove,
Embattl'd thick, the Theban warriors move;
Slowly they move, as swains with doubtful steps
Approach the thicket where a lion sleeps.
Tydides saw; and, rushing from the shade,
The Spartan call'd, and to the combat led.
Unaw'd the hero met the hostile band;
Nor could united force his rage withstand.
They wheel'd aloof; as when a dragon springs
From his dark den, and rears his pointed wings
Against approaching swains, when summer burns,
And the fresh lakes to parched deserts turns ;
They fly dispers'd, nor tempt his fatal ire,
His wrath-swoln neck and eyes of living fire;
So fled the Thebans, nor escap'd by flight.
Amid their squadrons, like a faulcon light,
The hero sprung; who, stooping from the skies,
Tue feather'd race disperses as he flies.

Still from his hand th' immortal weapon flew;
And ev'ry flight an armed warrior slew.
Andremon first, beneath his mighty hand,
Of life bereft, lay stretch'd upon the sand.
Pherecydes gigantic press'd the plain;
And valiant fereus sunk amid the slain.
Warriors to these of vulgar names succeed;
And all his path is mark'd with heaps of dead.
As when some woodman, by incessant strokes,
Bestrews a mountain with its falling oaks;
Fells the thick planes, the hawthorn's flow'ry
shade,

The poplar fair by passing currents fed,
The laurel with unfading verdure crown'd;
Heaps roll'd on heaps, the forest sinks around:
So spreads the slaughter as the chief proceeds;
At ev'ry stroke an armed warrior bleeds.
Atrides combats by the hero's side,
To share his glory and the toil divide:
Unmov'd amidst the hostile ranks they go;
Before them far retreats the routed foe.

And now the Spartan host appear'd in sight,
By toil subdu'd and ling'ring in the fight.
Their valiant leader saw, and rais'd his voice,
Loud as the silver trumpet's martial noise,
With hopes of victory his bands to cheer;
It swiftly flew the distant Spartans hear
With glad surprise. Polyctes thus addrest,
And rous'd the languid valour of the rest.
"Myceneans! Spartans! taught to seek renown
From dangers greatly brav'd, and battles won ;
With sorrow and regret I see you yield,
And Thebes victorious drive you from the field.
Atrides calls us; to his aid repair:

No foe subdues you but your own despair.
He yet survives, beset with hostile bands,
And, from your valour, present aid demands."
He said. The rigour of the shock returns;
The slaughter rages, and the combat burns.
As when a reaping train their sickles wield,
Where yellow harvest loads some fruitful field;
The master's heart, with secret joy, o'erflows;
He prompts the work, and counts the length'ning

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blood.

Elpenor first lay lifeless on the plain,
By stern Plexippus with a jav'lin slain,
A grief to Thebes. Euryalus the bold,
Rich in his flocks and rich in sums of gold,
Beneath the arm of Aristæus fell;

Loud rung his silver arms with echoing knell:
And like some flow'r, whose painted foliage fair
With fragrant breath perfumes the vernal air,
If the rude scythe its tender root invades,
It falls dishonour'd and its lustre fades.
Thus fell Euryalus; whose matchless grace,
In youth's full bloom, surpass'd the human race;
For Cynthius only could with him compare,
In comely features, shape, and flowing hair.

Now o'er the fields the rage of war is spread;
And heaps on heaps ascend the hills of dead.
Ranks meeting ranks oppose with equal rage:
As when the north and stormy south engage,
Beneath their strife the troubled ocean roars;
And rushing waves o'erwhelm the rocky shores;
So rag`d the figh; when bursting from a crowd
Of thick oposing foes, the princes stood

Between the hosts. And thus th' Etolian lord:
Spartans! behold your valiant chief restor'd;
Ye owe his safety to Minerva's care;
Let hecatombs your gratitude declare,

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Soon as from Thebes you reach your native ground,

Where flocks and herds for sacrifice abound; ́
Now fight and conquer; let this signal day
Your tedious toils, with victory, repay;
And, for Hegialus, let thousands dead
With ample vengeance gratify his shade."
As thus the hero spoke, the warriors heard,
And hope rekindling throngh the host appear'd;
With joyful shouts they rent the trembling air,
And bless'd the gods, and own'd Minerva's care.
Now, tow'ring in the midst, Atrides stood,

And call'd his warriors to the fight aldud:
As mariners with joy the Sun descry,
Ascending, in his course, the eastern sky;
Who all night long, by angry tempests tost,
Shunn'd with incessant toil some faithless coast;
So to his wishing friends Atrides came;
Their danger such before, their joy the same.
Again the rigour of the shock returns ;
The slaughter rages and the combat burns;
With thirst of vengeance ev'ry bosom glows.
Tydides leads, and rushes on his foes;
Around his head a ray of light'ning shone
From the smooth helmet and the glitt'ring cone;
Like that by ight which streams with fiery
glare,

When some red meteor glides along the air,
Sent by the angry gods with tainted breath,
To sow the seeds of pestilence and death:
From look to look infectious terrour spreads;
And ev'ry wretch th'impending vengeance dreads.
Before the chief the Theban bands retire,
As shepherd swains avoid the lion's ire.
Clytander only by the fates impell'd,
Oppos'd him single and disdain'd to yield;
Lycaon's sou; deceiv'd by glory's charms,
Superior night he brav'd and matchless arms.
Nor was his brother present by his side,
To share the danger and the toil div.de ;
Himself a youth, and yet by time unsteel'd,
Single he met Tydides in the field.
Against th' immortal shield his lance he flung,
Whose hollow orb with deaf'ning clangour rung:
The tow'rs of Thebes re-echo'd to the sound ;
The spear repuls'd feli blunted on the ground.
Tydides next th' immortal jav'lin threw ;
With force impell'd, it brighten'd as it flew;
And pierc'd the Theban helmet near the cone;
Behind his ear the starting weapon shone.
Supine the warrior fell, his spirit fled,
And mix'd with heroes in th' Elysian shade.
To spoil the slain the ardent victor flew:
First from the wound the fixed lance he drew,
The he met loos'd, the costly mail unbound,
And shining shield with sculptur'd figures
crown'd.

These spoils the hero, in his grateful mind,
A present for the genhous youth design'd;
Who still in perilous battle sought his side,
And proffer'd late his warlike steeds to guide.
Fatal the gift, the cause of future woe!
But good and ill th' immortals only know.
The armour to a vulgar hand consign'd,
Ayam the hero, switter than the wind,

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To combat rush'd.

But, from his throne above
Declin'd, the all-surveying eye of Jove
His progress mark'd. The herald pow'r, who brings
His sov'reign mandates on immortal wings,
He thus address'd: "To yonder sphere descend;
Bid Phoebus straight his ev'ning charge attend:
For, with reverted eye, he views the war,
And checks the progress of his downward car.
Let him not linger in th' ethereal way,
But lash his steeds, and straight conclude the day;
For, if the gods descend not to her aid,
Or ev'ning interpose with friendly shade,
Thebes now must perish: and the doom of fate,
Anticipated, have an earlier date

Than fate ordains; for, like devouring flame,
Tydides threatens all the 'I heban name;
Immortal arms his native force improve,
Conferr'd by Pallas, partial in her love.
These to retrieve must be your next essay;
Win them by art, and hither straight convey:
For man with man an equal war shall wage,
Nor with immortal weapons arm his rage."

He said. And Maia's son, with speed, addrest

His flight to Phobus hov'ring in the west.
Upon a cloud his winged feet he stay'd;
And thus the mandates of his sire convey'd.
"Ruler of light let now thy car descend,
And silent night her peaceful shade extend,
Else Thebes must perish; and the doom of fate,
Anticipated, have an earlier date

Than fate decrees: for, like devouring flame,
Tydides threatens all the Theban name;
Immortal arms his native force improve,
Conferr'd by Pallas, partial in her love."

The son of Maia thus. The god obey'd;
The sounding lash upon his steeds he lay'd.
Swift to the goal with winged feet they flew ;
The night ascending as the day withdrew,

To Thebes the herald next pursu'd his way Shot like a meteor with the setting ray. Behind Tydides in the fight he stay'd; And on his head the potent sceptre lay'd; Whose magic pow'r on waking sense prevails; Or, in profoundest sleep, the eye unseals; The struggling ghost unbinds from mortal clay, And drives it down the dark Tartarean way. Subdu'd the hero stood by pow'rful charms, Till Hermes stript him of th' immortal arms; And, mounting to the starry roofs above, Dispos'd them in the armoury of Jove. And, recollected, thus Tydides spoke : "Whate'er they give, th' immortals may reI own their favour; that, of mortal line The first, I wore a panoply divine. But if the day were lengthen'd to my will, With light to point my jav'lin where to kill, Thebes now should perish; but the morning ray Shall finish what the ev'ning shades delay.

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And now the night began her silent reign; Ascending, from the deep, th' ethereal plain ; O'er both the hosts she stretch'd her ample shade, Their conflict to suspend: the hosts obey'd. The field no more a noisy scene appears, With steeds and chariots throng`d, and glitt'ring

spears;

Put still and silent: like the hoary deep,
When, in their caves, the angry tempests sleep,

Peaceful and smooth it spreads from shore to
shore,
[fore:
Where storms had rag'd and billows swell'd be-
Such seem'd the field; the martial clangors
cease;

And war tumultuous lulls itself to peace.

THE

EPIGONIAD.

BOOK IV.

AND now the princes of the Theban state
In council sat, assembled in the gate,
Where rows of marble pillars bound the space,
To judgment sacred in the days of peace.
And Creon thus, with public cares oppress'd
And private griefs, the senators address'd.
"Princes of Thebes, and valiant aids from far,
Our firm associates in the works of war,
Heroes, attend! I shall not now propose
To supplicate, for peace, our haughty foes;
No peace can grow, no friendship e'er be found,
When mutual hate has torn so wide a wound.
Yet for a truce of seven days space I plead,
And fun'ral obsequies to grace the dead.
Nor were it just, that they, who greatly fall
From rage of foes to guard their native wall,
Should want the honours which their merits
claim,

Sepulchral rites deny'd and fun'ral flame."

Thus as he spoke, parental grief supprest
His voice, and swell'd within his lab'ring breast.
Silent amidst th' assembled peers he stands,
And wipes his falling tears with trembling hands;
For great Leophron, once his country's boast,
The glory and the bulwark of her host,
Pie c'd by a foe and lifeless on the plain,
Lay drench'd in gore and mix'd with vulgar slain:
Silent he stood; the Theban lords around
His grief partake, in streams of sorrow drown'd;
Till sage Palantes rose, and to the rest,
The monarch seconding, his words addrest.
"Princes! renown'd for wisdom and for might,
Rever'd in council and approv'd in fight;
What Creon moves the laws themselves require,
With obsequies to grace and fun'ral fire
Each warrior, who in battle bravely falls
From rage of foes to guard his native walls.
If all approve, and none will sure withstand
What Creon counsels and the laws command,
Charg'd with the truce, Apollo's priest shall go
To offer and conclude it with the foe.
His silver hairs a mild respect may claim,
And great Apollo's ever honor'd name."

The rest assent. The venerable man,
Slow from his seat arising, thus began:
"Princes of Thebes! and thou, whose sov'reign
hand

Sways the dread sceptre of supreme command;
Though well I might this perilous task refuse,
And plead my feeble age a just excuse;
Yet nothing shall restrain me, for I go,
Pleas'd with the pious charge, to meet the foe.
Willing I go; our bleeding warriors claim
Sepulchral honours and the fun'ral flame.
If all approve, let Clytophon attend;
With just success our labours thus shall end:
VOL. XVI.

For sure no Theban boasts an equal skill,
With pleasing words, to bend the fixed will."

Sooth'd with the friendly praise, the hero said,
"No self-regard shall hold me or dissuade;
The pious charge my inmost thoughts approve."
He said; and slow thro' yielding crowds they
move;

While Thebes on ev'ry side assembled stands,
And supplicates the gods with lifted hands:
"O grant that wrathful enemies may spare
These rev'rend heads; nor wrong the silver hair!"
And now they pass'd the lofty gates, and came
Where slow Ismenus winds his gentle stream;
Amphion's grove they pass'd, whose umbrage
His rural tomb defends on ev'ry side.
[wide
The scene of fight they reach'd, and spacious
fields
[shields.
With mangled slaughter heap'd, and spears and
Under their feet the hollow bucklers sound;
And splinter'd falchions glitter on the ground.
And now the stations of the camp appear,
Far as a shaft can wound the flying deer.
Thither, amid the wrecks of war, they go
With silent steps; and scape the watchful foe.
Now full in view before the guards they stand;
The priest displays his ensigns in his hand,
The laurel wreath, the gold bespangled rod
With stars adorn'd, the symbols of the god.

He thus began: "Ye Argive warriors, hear!
A peaceful message to your tents we bear:
A truce is ask'd, till the revolving Sun,
Seven times from east to west his journey run,
Again ascends; and from the ocean's streams,
Crowns the green mountains with his golden
That mutually secure, with pious care, [beams:
Both hosts funereal honours may prepare

For ev'ry hero, whom the rage of fight
Has swept to darkness and the shores of night."
Thus, as he spoke, the list'ning warriors heard
With approbation, and the priest rever'd.
The chief of Salamis, their leader, went
Himself to guide them to the royal tent;
Which shone conspicuous; through the shades
of night

Its spacious portal pour'd a stream of light.
Thither conducted by the chief, they found
The king of men with all his peers around,
On thrones with purple spread each royal guest
In order sat, and shar'd the genial feast.
Silent they enter'd. From his chair of state,
Full in the midst opposed to the gate,
The monarch saw; and rising thus exprest
The gen'rous dictates of his royal breast.

"My guests, approach! no enemy is near ;
This roof protects you, straight forget your fear.
Ev'n though from yon devoted walls you come,
For vengeance mark'd by fate's eternal doom;
Here in my tent, with safety, you shall rest,
And with the princes, share the genial feast.
You freely then your message may propose,
When round the board the cheering vintage
flows;

Which sooths impatience, and the open'd ear,
With favour and attention, bends to hear."

The hero thus. Apollo's priest replies:
"Humane thy manners, and thy words are wise;
With thee the noblest gifts the gods have plac'd,
And pow'r supreme with equal wisdom grac'd;

L

Though oft, by parts, for others they ordain,
The arts of sway, the privilege to reign;
In thee their partial favour has combin'd
The highest fortune with the greatest.mind."
As thus the sage reply'd, the princely band
By turns presented each his friendly hand,
The sign of peace. For each a splendid throne,
Where fring'd with gold the purple covring
shone,

The ready waiters, by command, prepar'd;
There sat the envoys and the banquet shar'd.
On ev'ry side the sparkling vintage flows,
The momentary cure of human woes.
The rage of thirst and hunger thus suppress'd,
To Nestor turning Clytophon address'd.

"Illustrious chief! an honour now I'll claim,
Which not to publish, sure, would merit blame.
Your father's guest, I was; by fortune led,
When from Trinacria's desert shores I fled
With ills beset: but, in his friendly land,
His gen'rous heart I prov'd and lib'ral hand.
A grateful mind excites me to reveal
His sov'reign bounty, and attempt a tale
Of dear remembrance. But the fond design,
Prudence dissenting, warns me to decline;
For when to public cares your thoughts you bend,
A private story mingled must offend."

The artful Theban thus. The chief reply'd, Whose sov'reign mandates all the host obey'd. "My honour'd guest! proceed; nor aught conceal Which gratitude enjoins you to reveal : For gen'rous deeds, imprudently supprest, Lie unapplauded in the grateful breast: And now the feast, short interval of care, To vocal symphony unbends the ear; Or sweet discourse, which to the soul conveys Sublimer joys than music's tuneful lays." The monarch thus, The prudent sage suppress'd

His inward joy, and thus the peers address'd: Each chief he strove to gain, but Nestor most, Whose wisdom sway'd the councils of the host. "Confed'rate kings! and thou whose sov'reign hand

Sways the dread sceptre of supreme command,
Attend and hearken! since you seek to know,
The sad beginnings of a life of woe.

In Rhodes my father once dominion claim'd,
Orsilochus, for deeds of valour fam'd.
The Sporades his sov'reign sceptre own'd,
And Carpathus with waving forests crown'd.
His youngest hope I was, and scarce had seen
The tenth returning summer clothe the green,
When pirates snatch'd me from my native land:
While with my infant equals on the strand
I play'd, of harm secure, and from the deep
With pleasure saw approach the fatal ship;
Pleas'd with the whiteness of the sails we stood,
And the red streamers shining on the flood;
And fearless saw the hostile galley land,
Where from the hills a current seeks the strand.
They climb'd the rocky beach, and far around,
Intent on spoil and rapine, view'd the ground;
If any herd were near, or fleecy store,
Or lonely mansion on the winding shore.
My young companions straight their fear obey.
I, bold and unsuspecting, dar'd to stay.
Me straight they seiz'd; and doom'd to servile
A wretched captive in a foreign soil.

[toil

Struggling in vain, they bore me down the bay,
Where, anchor'd near the beach, their vessel lay $
And plac'd me on the deck. With bitter cries,
To speeding gales I saw the canvass rise;
The boundless ocean far before me spread;
And from my reach the shores at distance fled.
All day I wept; but when the setting light
Retir'd, and yielded to the shades of night,
Sleep stole upon my grief with soft surprise,
Which care ne'er banish'd long from infant eyes.
"Nine days we sail'd; the tenth returning ray
Show'd us Trinacria rising in our way,
Far in the west; where, with his ev'ning beams,
The Sun descending gilds the ocean's streams.
Thither the sailors ply, and blindly run
On hidden dangers which they ought to shun;
For whom the gods distinguish by their hate,
They first confound and then resign to fate.
All day we sail'd; and with the ev'ning hour,
Which calls the shepherd to his rural bow'r,
Approach'd the shore. The forests on the land
We mark'd, and rivers op'ning from the strand.
Then gladness touch'd my heart; the first I knew
Since fate had mix'd me with that lawless crew:
With joy I saw the rising shores appear;
And hop'd to find some kind deliv'rer near;
Some gen'rous lord, to whom I might relate,
Low bending at his knees, my wretched fate.
Vain was the hope; the Cyclopes ne'er know
Compassion, nor to melt at human woe.

"Near on the left, and where the parted tides A promontory's rocky height divides,

A bay they found; and on the fatal strand
Descending, fix'd their vessel to the land.
The valleys straight and mountains they explore,
And the long windings of the desert shore;
And find, of sheep and goats, a mingled flock,
Under the shelter of a cavern'd rock.
The largest and the best the pirate band
Seiz'd, and prepar'd a banquet on the strand.
With joy they feasted; while the goblet, crown'd
With Mithymnean vintage, flow'd around.
Of harm secure they sat; and void of fear
To mirth resign'd; nor knew destruction near.
"Amid them there I meditating sat;
Some god inspir'd me, or the pow'r of fate,
To 'scape their hated hands: and soon I found
The wish'd occasion; when along the ground,
Each where he sat, the ruffians lay supine,
With sleep oppress'd and sense-subduing wine;
Softly I rose, and to a lofty grove,
Which shaded all the mountain tops above,
Ascending, in a rocky cavern lay,
Till darkness fled before the morning ray.
Then from above I saw the pirate band,
In parties, roaming o'er the desert strand;
The mountain goats they drove and fleecy store,
From all the pastures, crowded to the shore.
Me too by name they call'd; and oft, in vain,
Explor'd each grove and thicket on the plain;
While from above I saw, with careless eye,
Them searching round and list'ning for reply.
Some to the ship the bleating spoil convey'd;
While others to prepare a banquet stay'd,
And call'd their mates: to share with full repast
With mirth they came, nor knew it was their
last.

"Then from the rocky summit where I lay, A flock appear'd descending to the bay;

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