No tracks of beasts, or signs of men we found,
But smoky volumes rolling from the ground.
Two with our herald thither we command,
With speed to learn what men possess'd the land.
They went, and kept the wheel's smooth beaten
road
Which to the city drew the mountain wood;
When lo! they met, beside a crystal spring,
The daughter of Antiphates the king;
She to Artacia's silver streams came down
(Artacia's streams alone supply the town):
The damsel they approach, and ask'd what race
The people were? who monarch of the place?
With joy the maid th' unwary strangers heard, 125
And shew'd them where the royal dome appear'd.
They went; but as they ent'ring saw the queen
Of size enormous, and terrific mien,
(Not yielding to some bulky mountain's height)
A sudden horror struck their aching sight.
Swift at her call her husband scour'd away
To wreak his hunger on the destin❜d prey:
One for his food the raging glutton slew,
But two rush'd out, and to the navy flew.
Balk'd of his prey, the yelling monster flies,
And fills the city with his hideous cries;
A ghastly band of giants hear the roar,
And pouring down the mountains, crowd the shore. Fragments they rend from off the craggy brow, And dash the ruins on the ships below:
The crackling vessels burst; hoarse groans arise,
And mingled horrors echo to the skies;
The men, like fish, they stuck upon the flood,
And cram'd their filthy throats with human food.
Whilst thus their fury rages at the bay,
My sword our cables cut, I call'd to weigh;
And charg'd my men, as they from fate would fly, Each nerve to strain, each bending oar to ply. The sailors catch the word, their oars they seize, And sweep with equal strokes the smoky seas; Clear of the rocks th' impatient vessel flies; 151 Whilst in the port each wretch encumber'd dies. With earnest haste my frighted sailors press, While kindling transports glow'd at our success; But the sad fate that did our friends destroy 155 Cool'd ev'ry breast, and damp'd the rising joy.
Now dropp'd our anchors in th' Ææan bay, Where Circe dwelt, the daughter of the day; Her mother Persè, of old Ocean's strain :
Thus from the sun descended, and the main; 160
(From the same lineage stern Eætes came,
The far-fam'd brother of th' enchantress dame)
Goddess, and queen, to whom the pow'rs belong
Of dreadful magic, and commanding song.
Some god directing, to this peaceful bay 165
Silent we came, and melancholy lay,
And now the third succeeding morning shone.
I climb'd a cliff with spear and sword in hand,
Whose ridge o'erlook'd a shady length of land;
To learn if aught of mortal works appear,
Or cheerful voice of mortal strike the ear?
From the high point I mark'd, in distant view,
A stream of curling smoke, ascending blue,
And spiry tops, the tufted trees above,
Of Circe's palace bosom'd in the grove.
Thither to haste, the region to explore,
Was first my thought: but speeding back to shore I deem'd it best to visit first my crew,
And send out spies the dubious coast to view. 180
As down the hill I solitary go,
Some pow'r divine who pities human woe
Sent a tall stag, descending from the wood,
To cool his fervour in the crystal flood;
Luxuriant on the wave-worn bank he lay, 185
Stretch'd forth, and panting in the sunny ray.
I launch'd my spear, and with a sudden wound
Transpierc'd his back, and fix'd him to the ground.
He falls, and mourns his fate with human cries:
Through the wide wound the vital spirit flies. 190
I drew, and casting on the river side
The bloody spear, his gather'd feet I ty'd
With twining osiers which the bank supply'd.
An ell in length the pliant wisp I weav'd,
And the huge body on my shoulders heav'd: 195
Then leaning on the spear with both my hands,
Upbore my load, and press'd the sinking sands
With weighty steps, till at the ship I threw
The welcome burden, and bespoke my crew: 199
Cheer up, my
friends! it is not yet our fate
To glide with ghosts through Pluto's gloomy gate.
Food in the desert land, behold! is giv'n,
Live, and enjoy the providence of heav'n.
The joyful crew survey his mighty size, And on the future banquet feast their eyes, As huge in length extended lay the beast; Then wash their hands, and hasten to the feast. There, till the setting sun roll'd down the light, They sat indulging in the genial rite.
When ev'ning rose, and darkness cover'd o'er 210
The face of things, we slept along the shore.
But when the rosy morning warm'd the east,
My men I summon'd, and these words addrest
Followers and friends; attend what I propose:
Ye sad companions of Ulysses' woes!
We know not here what land before us lies,
Or to what quarter now we turn our eyes,
Or where the sun shall set, or where shall rise.
Here let us think (if thinking be not vain)
If any counsel, any hope remain.
Alas! from yonder promontory's brow,
I view'd the coast, a région flat and low;
An isle encircled with the boundless flood;
A length of thickets, and entangled wood.
Some smoke I saw amid the forest rise,
And all around it only seas and skies!
With broken hearts my sad companions stood, Mindful of Cyclops and his human food, And horrid Læstrigons, the men of blood. Presaging tears apace began to rain; But tears in mortal miseries are vain. In equal parts I straight divide my band, And name a chief each party to command
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