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The nuptial banquet, and his fair espous'd
With violation menac'd. But the eye
Of Amarantha mark'd th' unequal fight;
Her poniard drawn, the only succour left,
She holds intrepid, resolute on death,

No second thraldom; when th' auspicious sight
Of Caria's queen revives her fainting hopes.
Stern Artemisia, rapid on the call
Of vigilant Aronces, now approach'd

In awful tone the Caspians: "Sheath your blades,
Ye fierce in look, not courage, or this arm
(Her falchion here she waves) shall hide these streets
With your vile carrion. Despicable herd
Of rebels, led by what presumptuous fiend
Dare you invade a fortress of your king,
Ev'n in my presence, he perhaps in sight?"
They hear; they pause. Enclosed by thick'ning
In multitude confiding, urg'd by lust, [guards,
Which lends a courage new, Argestes fell,
Inciting loud his ruffians to persist,
Strikes her indignant eye. What wrath, what hopes
Of just, of long-sought vengeance swell her breast!
As when the mother of a lion brood,
From wonted chase returning, sees a wolf
Or treach'rous tiger stealing towards her den,
Who in her absence would securely prey
On her defenceless whelps, her eyeballs roll
In fire, she rushes on th' insidious foe
With fangs resistless; he contends in vain,
His chest she rends asunder, and his heart
Devours unsated; so incens'd the queen,
Begirt by Carians terrible in war,
To each barbarian terrible who saw
Their high exploits on Salaminian waves,
Rush'd on Argestes; Melibus brave
March'd by her side a second, whom the god
Of arms might rank among his foremost sons.
The Caspians shrunk; by desperation bold,
The satrap spurr'd his courser on the queen,
And whirl'd a javelin shiv'ring on her shield;
She on the forehead smote the restiff horse,
Who, rearing, hurl'd his rider to the ground,
Then points her dreadful weapon tow'rds the breast
Of her detested foe, intent to pierce
The trait'rous heart. This invocation first
She solemn utters: "Manes of the brave!
Whom he devoted on the Malian fields
Unpitied victims of his hate to me,

To you, my subjects, this malignant head
I immolate. Hence, satrap, once the chief
In pow'r and state, in vice and falsehood chief,
Seek Rhadamanthus; tell him, while he frowns
On his tribunal, Themis to my hand

Her sword resign'd to cut thy treason short."

Her vengeance levels now the mortal blow,
When dignity restrains her. "Rise," she said,
"Thou criminal, unworthy by this arm
To die; preserve him, Carians, to abide
The ignominous lot, by justice doom'd
To common villains. Melibœus, change
Thy name; I clasp thee Haliartus now,
My brother, prov'd by gallant deeds; at least
No evidence but virtue I require
For nobler union than congenial birth,
By friendship's sacred ties to call thee mine."

She scarce had finish'd, when a second troop
Of horsemen through the southern portal spread
New terrour. In their front a splendid chief,
Who wears a regal circle; round he casts
A searching eye, impatient soon beholds

Bright Amarantha, where she stands beset
By Caspians, strangers to their leader's fate,
Persisting still in pertinacious strife
Against Aronces, and her mauly sire;
Then swift as sulph'rous ether, when its flame
Divides a knotted oak or cleaves a tow'r,
Flies on the ruffians: "Do ye lift," he cries,
"Your hands profane against the destin'd queen
Of Macedon?" a carnage wide he spreads
Beneath his trampling steed and pond'rous blade.
Dismounting victor, he unclasps his helm,
Her dear betroth'd to Amarantha shows
In Alexander, Macedonia's king.
Ne'er yet so comely, so endearing look'd
A lover; rescu'd from barbarian spoil
She meets his arms, while Timon weeps in joy.
With Melibus, from a stage of blood,
The Carian queen approach'd, while thus the king
His fervent soul was opening: Oh! my love,
My Amarantha! my affianc'd love!

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I feel, but cannot paint, my sorrows past,
My present joys. The day, the appointed day
To solemnize our nuptial rites was nigh,

I left my kingdom, flew to Delphi's walls;
Thou wast not there. What horrour, when I heard
Thou wast a captive! by what barb'rous hand
None could inform me; thence from march to march
I track'd the Persians; tidings of thy fate
No tongue could teil; through Attica I rang'd,
Bootia, Phocis, Doris; Locris still

Was left to search. Disconsolate I join'd
The royal camp last ev'ning; there I heard
Of Mithridates by thy virtue slain;
At Thebes, of curs'd Argestes, who had held
Thee pris'ner there; of thy departure thence
With kind Sandauce to Nicæa's fort;
But further told, that base Argestes led
The Caspian horse forerunners of the host;
Alarm'd, my troop I gather'd, I pursu'd,
Am come to save thee, nor one hour withhold
The full protection of my nuptial hand."

Th' illustrious virgin answer'd in a sigh:
"O Alexander, I am thine, thou mine
By sacred vows; yet thou a foe to Greece!"
Then Artemisia: "Noble maid, I praise
That zeal for Greece, thy country; but forbear
At this momentous crisis to combine
Thy preservation with a public care;
Thou need'st protection both of rank and pow'r.
Few can resist the lustre of thy form,
Which, left unguarded through the lawless course
Of war, might light in others, less deprav'd
Than foul Argestes and his barb'rous son,
New flames to burst in violence again."

She ceases; Timon ratifies her words.
A mother's office now the queen performs
In preparation for connubial rites;
Nor old Aronces, nor th' acknowledg'd beir
Of Lygdamis, are slow. With human blood
Impure, the streets are cleans'd, the slain remov'd;
Flow'rs pluck'd for chaplets, nuptial torches burn,
The altars smoke with odours, sternest hearts
Grow mild, Bellona's furies sleep forgot,
Her fifes and clarions soften to delight
The ear of Hymen; joy concludes the day.

BOOK IX.

Sort rose the morn, and still; the azure flood
In gentle volumes, undisturb'd with tides,

But heav'd by zephyrs, glaz'd the pebbled shore;
When Caria's princess, visiting the beach
With Haliartus, and her son belov'd,

Her bosom thus disclos'd: "O brother! friend
In danger tried, not yet are Asia's woes
Complete; to Greece new trophies I forbode.
Oh! soon transported o'er these hostile waves,
May Artemisia rest her wearied head

At length in peace, and thou, so late redeem'd,
With her partake the blessing! Ah! thy looks
Reject the proffer-yet some rev'rence bear
To Artemisia, some fraternal love.

How shall I plead? will haughty Greece admit
Thee to her honours, thee in humblest state,
Though meriting the highest, known so long?
Halicarnassus, an illustrious town,
Among her noblest citizens will rank
The son avow'd of Lygdamis. O cast

A kindred eye on this my orphan boy!
Who must become his guardian, who supply
My care, should Fate precipitate my doom?"
Tears down the beard of Haliartus flow'd,
Afflicted, though determin'd. On his hand
Leander hung; the captivating mien
Of Melibreus had at once allur'd
The tender youth to entertain belief
In old Aronces, when he first proclaim'd
The swain true son of Lygdamis. These words
From Haliartus broke: " Thy birth, thy name,
Thy virtues, queen, I rev'rence; of thy blood
Acknowledg'd, more ennobled in thy praise,
I feel my elevation; but thy ear

Approving lend. Three suns are now elaps'd
Since gen'rous Medon, by a faithful mouth,
Convey'd his promise to redeem my head,
Exchang'd for splendid captives, by his arm
In fight acquir'd; I hourly watch to hail
His peaceful mast, perhaps yon distant keel
Contains his person. To forsake this friend,
Whose kindness bless'd my former humble state,
Friend of my childhood, youth, and ripen'd years,
Would be an act, O thou of purest fame,
To plunge thy brother in the lowest depth
Of human baseness, baseness of the mind,
Thy long-lost brother, found, too soon a stain
To Lygdamis and thee." Concluding here,
He eyes the vessel bounding to the port,
With branches green of olive on her head,
Her poop, and mast; the Carian sailors hail
The fair, pacific signal. On the beach
The warrior leaps, when Haliartus cries,
"I see my patron!" with expanded arms
Flies to embrace him. Medon stops, and speaks:
"In splendid mail is Melibus cas'd?

66

Are these not Persian standards flying round?
Art thou enroll'd an enemy to Greece?"
"No," interpos'd the queen, "behold him free,
To thee, to Greece unchang'd, in arms my gift;
He is my brother, brother to the queen

Of Caria." Medon here: "Immortal pow'rs!
Do I survey the wonder of her sex,
That heroine of Asia, who alone,
While now the fate of empire balanc'd hangs,
Contributes virtue to the Persian scale?
My friend to such a sister I resign."

"Ah! never, never," Haliartus cried,
"Shalt thou resign me; nor th' Oilean house
Will I forsake; in that belov'd abode
I was too happy for aspiring thoughts.
First to redeem thy Locris I devote

These arms; will perish there before thy foes,
If such my fate; if victor in thy ranks,
Hang in thy mansion my reposing shield,
There make my home. Yet often will I court
Thy welcome, princess, on the Carian shore
To worship still thy virtue, on thy son
Still pour the blessings of parental love."

The Carian queen subjoins: "I must approve, To such clear honour yield; bring Timon, call The king; time presses, we must all depart; A sacred Delphian too from bondage freed Thou shalt receive, O Medon." Swift the chief To disembark his captives gave command; Five was their number; one beyond the rest In stature tower'd, his armour was unspoil'd, Though rich in burnish'd gold, emboss'd with gems Of starry light; his dignity and form The victors rev'renc'd. Medon to the queen :

"These Aristides, at my efforts pleas'd, Gave to my choice from numbers; an exchange For Melibous and the Delphian priest These I design'd; my friends thy bounty frees; Take these unransom'd from a grateful hand."

"O lib'ral man!" the Carian princess here:
"Thou dost produce Masistius; virtuous lord!
How will Mardonius in thy sight rejoice,
How lift his hopes!" To her Masistius bow'd,
To Medon spake: "O Grecian! if a thought
To die thy debtor could debase my soul,

I should deserve till death all human woes.
Demand, obtain; to Asia I am dear,
Lov'd by Mardonius, honour'd by the king,
I cannot ask what either would refuse
To him who gave me liberty and life."
"Thou canst," rejoins the chief, "obtain a grace
To me of precious worth, to Xerxes none;
Nor golden stores nor gems attract my eye;
I have a sister, dearer than the mines
Of Ind, or wealth of Susa, who resides
A priestess pure, on that Œtæan ridge
Which overlooks Thermopyle, her name
Melissa; there an ancient fane is plac'd,
No splendid seat oracular, enrich'd
By proud donations, but a mossy pile,
Where ev'ry Grecian hath from age to age
Ador'd the Muses. Lift thy hand to swear,
Thou wilt implore of Xerxes a decree,
Irrevocable like a Median law,
Forbidding all to climb that holy crag."
To him Masistius: "Not the Delian isle,
By Persians held inviolate of old,
Shall boast of safety like Melissa's hill;
For my performance, lo! I lift my hand
To Horomazes. Thou, return'd, salute
Athenian Aristides in my name;

From me, his captive in that direful hour
Of carnage round Psyttalia's bloody strand,
Say, that my thankful tongue will never cease
Extolling his beneficence and thine.

To him far more than liberty and life

I owe; in bondage precious were the hours,
With him the hours of converse, who enlarg'd,
Illum'd my heart and mind; his captive freed,
I go a wiser, and a better man."

Now with his consort, Macedonia's king
And Timon were in sight; a sad ning look
Fair Amarantha mute on Timon fix'd,
On her the father: "We must part," he said,
Alas! too many of thy father's days
Captivity hath wasted, sorrow more

Deploring thee, my child, while other Greeks,
Erecting brilliant trophies, have obtain❜d
Eternal praise. Thee, Amarantha, found,
Thee wedded, happy in thy choice and mine,
I quit, my tarnish'd honours to retrieve."

She then: "In him, a husband, I avow
Felicity unstain'd; in him, ally
To Persia's tyrant, I am left unbless'd.
Malignant fortune still pursues thy child;
Before me holds a consort and a sire
In adverse ranks contending." He rejoins:

"I know thee, daughter, like the manliest Greek The wrongs of Greece resenting, but thy heart Keep in subjection to a tender spouse

Of constancy approv'd, whose house with mine,
From eldest times, by mutual tokens pass'd,
In sacred hospitality is link'd.

Thy pow'r of beauty never for thyself
Employ, be all compliance; use that charm,
As kind occasion whispers, in behalf

Of Greece alone; by counsel sweetly breath'd,
Diffuse remembrance of his Grecian blood
Through Alexander's heart." While these con-

verse

Apart, the keels are lanch'd; now all embark;
Aboard his vessel Medon leads the son
Of Lygdamis with Timon; on her own
Imperial deck th' attentive queen dispos'd
The Macedonian with his beauteous bride,
And Persians freed by Medon, chief of these
Masistius merits her peculiar care;
Confin'd, Argestes trembles at his doom
From Xerxes' ire. Along thy rocky verge,
Thermopylæ, with sails and shrouds relax'd,
Smooth glide the Carian gallies through a calm,
Which o'er the Malian surface sleeps unmov'd,
Unless by measur'd strokes of sounding oars,
Or foam-besilver'd prows. A royal guard,
Preceding Xerxes, through that dreaded pass
Were then advancing, not in order'd pomp,
As on his march to Athens; now behind
The regal chariot panic fear impell'd
On its encumber'd wheels disorder'd throngs,
As if Leonidas had ris'n and shook
The snaky shield of Gorgon, or his sword,
Stain'd with Psyttalian havoc, o'er their heads
The living arm of Aristides wav'd.
On sight of Eta, Caria's queen relates
To her illustrious passengers the deeds
Which signaliz'd that rock, nor leaves untold
The fate of Teribazus, nor the wound
Of Ariana, victims both to love.

Now, where Spercheos from his spumy jaws
A tribute large delivers to the bay,
They land; Mardonius, passing tow'rds a tent
Magnificent, erected for the king,
Arriv'd but newly, on his way perceives
Masistius; transport locks his tongue; he flies,
Hangs on his friend, unutterable joy

His tears alone discover. More compos'd,
Though not less cordial, with a close embrace,
First spake the late redeem'd: "Receive thy friend,
Whom, wreck'd and captive on Psyttalia's isle,
An Attic leader, Aristides nam'd,
Restores unspoil'd, unransom'd, undisgrac'd!”-
Mardonius quick: "Thy unexpected sight,
By an Athenian all unsought restor❜d,
Presages all the good my warmest hopes
Could e'er suggest; the omen I enjoy;

For this shall Athens, to my friendship won,

Possess her laws, her freedom, with increase
Of rich dominion." Artemisia then :

"Behold, the king of Macedon, his wife
In Amarantha." Wond'ring at her form,
Exclaims the Persian hero; "Of one crime
I now acquit Argestes and his son;
What ice of virtue could resist that face!"

Again the queen: "For other crimes my ship
Detains Argestes; him before the king
To charge, immediate audience we demand."
Mardonius guides them to the royal tent.
With half his chiefs the monarch anxious sat,
His swift departure by the break of dawn
Arranging. Amarantha, in her shape
A deity, among them sudden spreads
A blaze of beauty, like the Sun at noon
In dazzling state amidst an ether blue
Of torrid climates: admiration loud
Wounds her offended ear. She thus began:

"What you admire, ye Persians, O that Heav'n Had ne'er conferr'd! the cause of woe to me, Of guilt in others; then a maiden hand Had ne'er been dipp'd in slaughter, nor these eyes Survey'd the pavement of Nicæa strewn With subjects made rebellious by my fate, Thy subjects, monarch. With a Caspian troop Argestes forc'd thy castle me to seize, Th' affianc'd bride of Macedonia's king, Me, to Sandauce giv'n a royal boon, Me, then in freedom by the gracious will Of thy imperial sister. Help, unhop'd, From Artemisia, from my husband came; Me they preserv'd, Argestes pris'ner bring To undergo thy justice." Caria's queen With Macedon's indignant prince confirm This accusation. On his own retreat Secure to Susa, Xerxes all intent, Turns to Mardonius: "Thou be judge," he said; "Take to thyself the forfeits of this crime."

"The king commands his servant shall be judge," Mardonius answer'd; "chief among my foes Hath been Argestes, therefore must not die By my decree. Let Cyra, fort remote On laxartes, hide his banish'd head; That care to Artemisia I commit; His satrapy, his treasure, and domain, To Artamanes, his remaining son, Thy meritorious vassal, I ordain.”

This judgment pass'd, a murmur nigh the tent, Denouncing an ambassador, is heard; Ambassador of Sparta. Soon appears The manly frame of Aemnestus bold, Surpassing all his countrymen in arms, An Ephorus in office, function high; Whose jealous vigilance imprison'd kings Unjust, or impious, or assuming pow'r Unwarranted by laws. No train attends; He asks for Xerxes, when Mardonius stern:

"Before the future sov❜reign of the world, With princes round him, single dost thou bring An embassy from Sparta?" "Spartans hold One man with one sufficient in discourse," Cry'd Aemnestus. Xerxes interpos'd:

"Reveal thy errand, stranger." He reply'd. "Admonish'd by an oracle, the state Of Lacedæmon, and the race divine There dwelling, sprung from Hercules, demand Of thee atonement for a slaughter'd king, Leonidas, whom multitude oppress'd,

While he defended Greece; whate'er thou giv'st

I will accept." The monarch to his cheek
A shew of laughter calls; awhile is mute;
Then, breaking silence, to Mardonius points.
"They shall receive th' atonement they deserve
From him: thou hear'st, Mardonius." Then, with
looks

Of scorn and menace: "Yes," the Spartan said,
"Thee I accept my victim to appease
Leonidas;" disdainful then his foot
He turns away, nor fears th' unnumber'd guard.
Meantime the royal progeny is brought
To Artemisia; urgent time requires,
Their father's fears the embarkation press
For Ephesus that night. Them down the beach
Mardonius follows, and the Carian queen
In secret thus addresses: " Didst thou mark
That Spartan's threat'ning words and haughty mien?
An oracle suggested this demand,
Strange and mysterious. On the martial field
Him I can single from Laconian ranks,
Audacious challenger! but something more
Behind the veil of Destiny may lurk
Unseen by me." "Mardonius," she replied;
Look only where no mystery can lurk,
On ev'ry manly duty; nothing dark
O'ershades the track of Virtue; plain her path;
But Superstition chosen for a guide,
Misleads the best and wisest.

Think no more
Of this, an object like that passing cloud
Before the Moon, who shortly will unfold
Her wonted brightness. Prudent thy design
To gain th' Athenians; to that noble race
Be large in proffers, in performance true;
Purchase but their neutrality, thy sword
Will, in despite of oracles, reduce

The rest of Greece." This utter'd, she embarks.

He seeks his tent, and finds Masistius there, Whose honour, mindful of a promise pledg'd, Requests protection for Melissa's fane.

Him in his arms the son of Gobrias clasp'd,
Thus fervent answ'ring: "Xerxes will renew
His rapid march to morrow; pow'r supreme
He leaves with me, which instant shall be urg'd
To render firm the promise of my friend.
Now lend thy counsel on the copious roll
Of Asia's host; assist me to select
The thirty myriads giv'n to my command."
They sat till day-spring; then the camp is
mov'd;

Then Amarantha, from her husband's tent
Ascends a car, and traverses the vale,
By fluent crystal of Spercheos lav'd,
To join Sandauce. On her way she meets
Artuchus, guardian of the Persian fair;
The satrap gazes, Courtesy entranc'd
Forgets awhile her function. Thus, at length,
He greets the queen: "Fair stranger, who dost rise
A second day-spring to th' astonish'd eye,
Accept my service; whither tends thy course?
Whom dost thou seek? and gracious tell thy name."
In rosy blushes, like Aurora still,
She graceful thus: "Of Macedonia's king
I am th' espous'd; my patroness I seek,
Sandauce, issue of th' imperial house."

Artuchus answer'd: "Yesternoon beheld
Her languid steps approach this vale of woe.
Thou, beauteous princess, to Sandauce known,
Thou must have heard of Ariana's fate;
Sandauce now is mourning at her tomb,
A grave preparing for Autarctus slain.

Mayst thou suspend despair! Not distant flows
The Fount of Sorrow, so we styl'd the place,
Frequented oft by Ariana's grief;
There oft her head disconsolate she hung
To feed incessant anguish, ne'er disclos'd
Unless in sighing whispers to the stream;
Her last abode is there. The myrtles shed
Their odours round, the virgin roses bloom;
I there have caus'd a monument to rise,
That passing strangers may her name revere,
And weep her fortune; from her early grave
May learn, how Heav'n is jealous of its boons,
Not long to flourish, where they most excel.
A marble mansion new erected nigh
Her faithful slaves inhabit; who attune
To thrilling lutes a daily fun'ral song.".
He leads, he stops. On gently-moving air
Sweet measures glide; this melancholy dirge,
To melting chords, by sorrow touch'd, is heard.
Cropp'd is the rose of beauty in her bud,
Bright virtue's purest mansion is defac'd;
Like Mithra's beams her silken tresses shone
In lustre gentle as a vernal morn;
Her eye reveal'd the beauties of her mind;
The slave, the captive, in her light rejoic'd.

"Lament, ye daughters of Choaspes, wail, Ye Cissian maids, your paragon is lost!

"Once like the fresh-blown lily in the vale, In Susa fair, in radiancy of bloom

Like summer glowing, till consuming love
Deform'd her graces; then her hue she chang'd
To lilies pining in decay, but kept

The smile of kindness on her wasted cheek.
"Lament, ye daughters of Choaspes, wail,
Ye Cissian maids, your paragon is lost!

"O ray of wisdom, eye of virtue, form'd
To spread superior light, the dazzling brand
Of love malign obscur'd thy eagle sight;
Thy vital flames are vanish'd, ours remain,
As lamps to endless mourning in thy tomb,
Till we rejoin thee in a land of bliss.

"Lament, ye daughters of Choaspes, wail, Ye Cissian maids, your paragon is lost!"

The song concludes. Sandauce from a bank
Of turf uprises, resting on her slaves;
A pallid visage, and a fainting step,
She brings before the sepulchre, and spake:
"O Ariana! listen from thy tomb,

To me in woe thy sister, as in blood!
By diff'rent fortunes both were doom'd to waste
An early bloom in sorrow; O admit
Autarctus first a neighbour to thy clay,
Me next, who feel my vital thread unwind.
O Heav'n! my humble spirit would submit
To thy afflicting hand-but ev'ry fount
Of health is dry'd; my frame enfeebled sinks
Beneath its trial. When the inhuman priest
Condemn'd my children to his cruel knife,
The freezing sheers of Fate that moment cut
My heartstrings; never have they heal'd again;
Decay'd and wither'd in the flower of life,
My strength deserts my patience: tender friends
Provide another grave."" For whom?" bursts

forth

Emathia's queen, and threw her clasping arms
Around the princess; whose discolour'd hue
In warm affection flushes at the sight
Of Amarantha, as a languid rose,
Shrunk by the rigour of nocturnal frosts,
Awhile reviving at the tepid rays

Of wintry Phœbus, glows. "For me," she sigh'd, † Of ruddy fruitage; now the loaden vine
"For me, that bed of endless rest is made.
Com'st thou, neglectful of thy nuptial bliss,
To poor Sandauce's burial! soon the hour,
When of the Sun these sickly eyes must take
Their last farewell, may call thy friendly hand
To close their curtains in eternal night!"

These words the Grecian fair, in sorrow try'd,
In constancy unshaken, swift return'd:

"Thou shalt not die, avoid this mournful spot,
Thou hast accomplish'd all thy duty here;
Let other duties, wak'ning in thy breast,
Strive with despair; transported in my arms,
To Alexander's capital resort.

Thou shalt not die; returning bealth, allur'd
By Amarantha's love and tender care,
Again shall bless her patroness, renew
Her youth in bloom, in vigour, ne'er to leave
Her infants doubly orphans." At their name
The princess faints, too sensitive a plant,
Which on the lightest touch contracts the leaves,
And seems to wither in the fold of death.
Her lovely weight Artnchus to his tent
Conveys; a litter gentle, as it moves,
Receives her soon; her children by her side,
In Macedonian chariots are dispos'd,
Her female slaves and eunuchs.
Emathia's prince to guard his matchless bride;
In arms coinplete, resembling Mars, he rules
The fiery courser. Artamanes swift

Now appears

This royal mandate to Artuchus bears:

"The king, O satrap, hath begun his march;
Delay not thine with all thy precious charge."
To Artamanes then, the Grecian queen :
"Let me request thee in Sandauce's name
To visit yonder fount, of sorrow call'd,
There see th' unfinish'd obsequies perform'd,
To great Autarctus due. Her languid head
With me awhile at Egæ will repose,
My consort's royal seat; and, gentle youth,
If justice whisper to thy feeling heart,
That well I sav'd my innocence and fame,
Thou wilt be welcome to the Ægæan hall."
This said, she mounts her chariot; not unpleas'd,
He to accomplish her command proceeds.

Artuchus now conducts the female train,
Unhappy victims of ambition! These,
A prey to famine, to congealing blasts
From cold Olympus, from Bisaltic hills,
And Rhodope, snow-vested, were condemn'd,
With that innumerable host in flight
Unform'd, unfurnish'd, scatter'd, to partake
Of miseries surpassing Nature's help.

On Earth's unwholsome lap their tender limbs
To couch, to feed on grass, on bitter leaves,
On noisome bark of trees, and swell the scene
Between Spercheos and the distant shores
Of Hellespontine Sestos: real scene
Of death, beyond the massacre denounc'd
By that stern angel in the prophet's dream,
When were assembled ev'ry fowl of prey
From all the regions of the peopled air,
At Heavn's dread call, to banquet on the flesh
Of princes, captains, and of mighty men.

BOOK X.

Now is the season, when Vertumnus leads

Pomona's glowing charms through ripen'd groves

Invites the gath'ring hand, which treasures joy
For hoary Winter in his turn to smile.
An eastern course before autumnal gales
To Ephesus the Carian gallies bend;
While Medon coasts by Locris, and deplores
Her state of thraldom. Thrice Aurora shows
Her placid face; devourer of mankind,
The sea, curls lightly in fallacious calms;
To Medon then the wary master thus:

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My chief, the dang'rous equinox is near,
Whose stormy breath each prudent sailor shuns,
Secure in harbour; turbulent these straits
Between Euboea and the Locrian shore;
Fate lurks in eddies, threatens from the rocks;
The continent is hostile; we must stretch
Across the passage to Euboea's isle,
There wait in safety till the season rude
Its wonted violence hath spent." The chief
Replies: "An island, Atalanté nam'd,
Possess'd by Locrians, rises in thy view;
There first thy shelter seek; perhaps the foe
Hath left that fragment of my native state
Yet undestroy'd." Th' obedient rudder guides,
The oars impel the well-directed keel
Safe through an inlet op'ning to a cove
Fenc'd round by rising land. At once the sight,
Caught by a lucid aperture of rock,
Strays up the island; whence a living stream,
Profuse and swift beneath a native arch,
Repels encumb'ring sands. A slender skiff,
Lanch'd from the ship, pervades the sounding vault;
With his companions Medon bounds ashore,
Addressing Timon: "Delphian guest, these steps,
Rude hewn, attain the summit of this rock;
Thence o'er the island may our wary ken,
By some sure sign, discover if we tread
A friendly soil, or hostile." They ascend.
The topmost peak was chisell'd to display
Marine Palæmon, colossean form,
In art not specious. Melicertes once,
Him Ino, flying from th' infuriate sword
Of Athamas her husband, down a cliff,
Distracted mother with herself immers'd
In ocean's salt-abyss. Their mortal state
Neptunian pity to immortal chang'd;
From Ino she became Leucothea, chief
Among the nymphs of Tethys; he that god
Benign, presiding o'er the tranquil port,
Palamon, yielding refuge to the toils
Of mariners sea-worn. One mighty palm
Lean'd on a rudder, high the other held
A globe of light, far shooting through the dark,
In rays auspicious to nocturnal keels,
Which plough the vex'd Euripus. Fair below,
Her cap of verdure Atalanté spreads,
Small as a region, as a pasture large,
In gentle hollows vary'd, gentle swells,
All intersected by unnumber'd tufts
Of trees fruit-laden. Bord'ring on the straits,
Rich Locris, wide Boeotia, lift their woods,
Their hills by Ceres lov'd, and cities fam'd;
Here Opus, there Tanagra; Delium shows
Her proud Phoebean edifice, her port
Capacious Aulis, whence a thousand barks
With Agamemnon sail'd; a lengthen'd range
Eubœa's rival opulence oppos'd,

Queen of that frith; superb the structures rise
Of Oreus, Chalcis, and the ruins vast

Of sad Eretria, by Darius crush'd.

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