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From all their dens the one-ey'd race repair,
From rifted rocks and mountains bleak in air.
All haste assembled, at his well-known roar,
Inquire the cause, and crowd the cavern-door.
"What hurts thee, Polypheme? what strange
affright

Thus breaks our slumbers, and disturbs the night?
Does any mortal in th' unguarded hour
Of sleep oppress thee, or by fraud or power?
Or thieves insidious the fair flock surprise ??
Thus they: the Cyclop from his den replies :

No ease, no pleasure, my sad heart received, While such a monster as vile Noman lives.' rock

"The giant spoke, and through the hollow

Dismiss'd the ram, the father of the flock.
No sooner freed, and through th' enclosure pasty
First I release myself, my fellows last:
Fat sheep and goats in throngs we drive before,
And reach our vessel on the winding shore.
With joy the sailors view their friends return'd,
And hail us living whom as dead they mourn'd.

""Friends, Noman kills me; Noman in the hour Big tears of transport stand in every eye:

Of sleep, oppresses me with fraudful power.'

If no man hurt thee, but the hand divine Inflict disease, it fits thee to resign: To Jove or to thy father Neptune pray, The brethren cry'd, and instant strode away.

"Joy touch'd my secret soul and conscious heart,

I check their fondness, and command to fly.
Aboard in haste they heave the wealthy sheep,
And snatch their oars, and rush into the deep.
"Now off at sca, and from the shallows clear,
As far as human voice could reach the car:
With taunts the distant giant I accost:
Hear me, O Cyclop! hear, ungracious host!
'Twas on no coward, no ignoble slave,
Thou meditat'st thy meal in yonder cave;

round:

At last, the stone removing from the gate, With hands extended in the midst he sate:

Doom'd to inflict: the instrument of Jove. Thy barbarous breach of hospitable bands, The god, the god revenges by my hands.'

"The words the Cyclop's burning rage provokes From the tall hill he rends a pointed rock, High o'er the billows flew the massy load, And near the ship came thundering on the food. It almost brush'd the helm, and fell before: The whole sea shook, and refluent beat the

Pleas'd with th' effect of conduct and of art. Meantime the Cyclop, raging with his wound,

Spreads his wide arms, and searches round and But one, the vengeance fated from above

And search'd each passing sheep, and felt it o'er,
Secure to seize us ere we reach'd the door
(Such as his shallow wit he deem'd was mine):
But secret I revolv'd the deep design;

'Twas for our lives my labouring bosom wrought; Fach scheme I turn'd, and sharpen'd every thought; This way and that I cast to save my friends,

Till one resolve my varying counsel ends.

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Strong were the rams, with native purple fair, Well fed, and largest of the fleecy care. These three and three, with osier bands we ty'd (The twining bands the Cyclop's bed supply'd) The midmost bore a man: the outward two Secur'd each side: so bound we all the crew. One ram remain'd, the leader of the flock; In his deep fleece my grasping hands I lock, And fast beneath, in woolly curls invove, I cling implicit, and confide in Jove. When rosy morning glimmer'd o'er the dales, He drove to pasture all the lusty males: The ewes still folded, with distended thighs Unmilk'd, lay bleating in distressful cries. But heedless of those cares, with anguish stung, He felt their fleeces as they pass'd along, (Fool that he was) and let them safely go, All unsuspecting of their freight below.

"The master ram at last approach'd the gate, Charg'd with his wool, and with Ulysses' fate. Him while he past the monster blind bespoke: What makes my ram the lag of all the flock? First thou wert wont to crop the flowery mead, First to the field and river's bank to lead, And first with stately step at evening hour Thy fleecy fellows usher to their bower. Now far the last, with pensive pace and slow Thou mov'st, as conscious of thy master's woe! Seest thou these lids that now unfold in vain? (The deed of Noman and his wicked train!) Oh! didst thou feel for thy afflicted lord, And would but fate the power of speech afford, Soon might'st thou tell me, where in secret here The dastard lurks, all trembling with his fear: Swung round and round, and dash'd from rock to

rock,

His batter'd brains should on the pavement smoke,

shore.

The long concussion on the heaving tide
Roll'd back the vessel to the island's side:
Again I shov'd her off, our fate to fly,
Each nerve we stretch, and every oar we ply.
Just 'scap'd impending death, when now again
We twice as far bad furrow'd back the inain,
Once more I rais'd my voice; my friends afraid
With mild entreaties my design dissuade,

What boots the godless giant to provoke,
Whose arms may sink us at a single stroke?
Already, when the dreadful rock he threw,
Old Ocean shook, and back his surges flew,
Thy sounding voice directs his aim again;
The rock o'erwhelms us, and we 'scap'd in vain."

"But I, of mind elate, and scorning fear, Thus with new taunts insult the monster's ear. 'Cyclop! if any, pitying thy disgrace, Ask who disfigur'd thus that eyeless face? Say 'twas Ulysses, 'twas his deed, declare, Lacrtes' son, of Ithaca the fair; Ulysses, far in fighting fields renown'd, Before whose arm Troy tumbled to the ground." "Th' astonish'd savage with a roar replies: 'O Heavens! O faith of ancient prophecies! This, Telemus Eurymedes foretold, (The mighty seer who on these hills grew old; Skill'd the dark fates of mortals to declare, And learn'd in all wing'd omens of the air) Long since he menac'd, such was fate's command; And nam'd Ulysses as the dostin'd hand. I deem'd some godlike giant to behold, Or lofty hero, haughty, brave, and bold; Not this weak pigmy-wretch, of mean design, Who not by strength subdued me, but by wine. But come, accept our gifts, and join to pray Great Neptune's blessing on the watery way: For his I am, and I the lineage own: Th' immortal father no less boasts the son.

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His power can heal me, and re-light my eye :
And only his, of all the gods on high."

""Oh! could this arm' (I thus aloud rejoin'd)
'From that vast bulk dislodge thy bloody mind,
And send thee howling to the realms of night!
As sure, as Neptune cannot give thee sight.'
"Thus 1: while raging he repeats his cries,
With hands uplifted to the starry skies:
'Hear me, O Neptune! thou whose arms are hurl'd
From shore to shore, and gird the solid world.
If thine I am, nor thou my birth disown,
And if th' unhappy Cyclop be thy son;
Let not Ulysses breathe his native air,
Laertes' son, of Ithaca the fair.

If to review his country be his fate,

Be it through toils and sufferings long and late;
His lost companions let him first deplore;

Some vessel, not his own, transport him o'er;
And when at home from foreign sufferings freed,
More near and deep, domestic woes succeed!'
"With imprecations thus he fill'd the air,
And angry Neptune heard th' unrighteous prayer.
A larger rock then heaving from the plain,
He whirl'd it round: it sung across the main:
It fell, and brush'd the stern: the billows roar,
Shake at the weight, and refluent beat the shore.
With all our force we kept aloof to sea,

And gain'd the island where our vessels lay.

Our sight the whole collected navy cheer'd,

209

proceed to the island of Circe. Eurylochus is sent first with some companions, all which except Eurylochus, are transformed into swine. Ulysses then undertakes the adventure, and, by the help of Mercury, who gives him the herb moly, overcomes the enchantress, and procures the restoration of his men. year's stay with her, he prepares at her instigation for his voyage to the infernal shades.

After a

"Ar length we reach'd Æolia's sea-girt shore
Where great Hippotades the sceptre bore,
A floating isle! High rais'd by toil divine,
Strong walls of brass the rocky coast confine.
Six blooming youths, in private grandeur bred,
And six fair daughters grac'd the royal bed:
These sons their sisters wed, and all remain
Their parents' pride, and pleasure of their reign.
All day they feast, all day the bowls flow round,
And joy and music through the isle resound:
At night each pair on splendid carpets lay,
And crown'd with love the pleasures of the day.
This happy port affords our wandering fleet
A month's reception, and a safe retreat.
Full oft the monarch urg'd me to relate
The fall of Ilion, and the Grecian fate;
Full oft I told: at length for parting mov'd;
The king with mighty gifts my suit approv'd.

Who, waiting long, by turns had hop'd and fear'd. The adverse winds in leathern bags he brac'd,

There disembarking on the green sea-side,

We land our cattle, and the spoil divide:
Of these due shares to every sailor fall;

The master ram was voted mine by all:

And him (the guardian of Ulysses' fate)
With pious mind to Heaven I consecrate.
But the great god, whose thunder rends the skies,
Averse, beholds the smoking sacrifice;
And sees me wandering still from coast to coast,
And all my vessels, all my people, lost!
While thoughtless we indulge the genial rite,
As plenteous cates and flowing bowls invite;
Till evening Phœbus roll'd away the light:
Stretch'd on the shore in careless ease we rest,
Till ruddy morning purpled o'er the east;
Then from their anchors all our ships unbind,
And mount the decks, and call the willing wind.
Now, rang'd in order on our banks, we sweep
With hasty strokes the hoarse resounding deep;
Blind to the future, pensive with our fears,
Olad for the living, for the dead in tears."

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Firsts arrives at the island of Æolus, who gives him prosperous wine island of Holus, who gives hes in a bag, winds, and encloses the adverse they are driven back achis companionise untyings

they sail

to the Lestrigons, where they lose

Compress'd their force, and lock'd each struggling

blast:

For him the mighty sire of gods assign'd
The tempest's lord, the tyrant of the wind;
His word alone the listening storms obey,
To smooth the deep, or swell the foamy sea.
These in my hollow ship the monarch hung,
Securely fetter'd by a silver thong;
But Zephyrus exempt, with friendly gales
He charg'd to fill, and guide the swelling sails:
Rare gift! but oh, what gift to fools avails!
"Nine prosperous days we ply'd the labouring

oar;

The tenth presents our welcome native shore:
The hills display the beacon's friendly light,
And rising mountains gain upon our sight.
Then first my eyes, by watchful toils opprest,
Comply'd to take the balmy gifts of rest;
Then first my hands did from the rudder part
(So much the love of home possess'd my heart);
When, lo! on board a fond debate arose;
What rare device those vessels might enclose?
What sum, what prize from Æolus I brought?
Whilst to his neighbour each express'd his thought::
"Say, whence, ye gods, contending nations strive
Who most shall please, who most our hero give?
Long have his coffers groan'd with Trojan spoils;
Whilst we, the wretched partners of his toils,
Reproach'd by want, our fruitless labours mourn
And only rich in barren fame return.

Now Æolus, ye see, augments his store :

But come, my friends, these mystic gifts explore."
They said: and (oh curst fate) the thongs unbound:
The gushing tempest sweeps the ocean round;

Snatch'd in the whirl, the hurry'd navy flew
that ocean widen'd, and the shores withdrew.
Rous'd from my fatal sleep, I long debate:
If still to live, or desperate plunge to fate;
Thus, doubting, prostrate on the deck 1

lay,

seren ships and where lose all the coward thoughts of death gave way.

VOL XIX

P

" Meanwhile our vessels plough the liquid plain, | With joy the maid th' unwary strangers heard,
And soon the known Æolian coast regain,
Our groans the rocks remurmur'd to the main.
We leap'd on shore, and with a scanty feast
Our thirst and hunger hastily repress'd;
That done, two chosen heralds straight attend
Our second progress to my royal friend:
And him amidst his jovial sons we found;
The banquet steaming, and the goblets crown'd:
There humbly stopp'd with conscious shame and

awe,

Nor nearer than the gate presum'd to draw.
But soon his sons their well-known guest descry'd,
And, starting from their couches, loudly cry'd :
Ulysses here! what demon could'st thou meet
To thwart thy passage, and repel thy fleet?
Wast thou not furnish'd by our choicest care
For Greece, for home, and all thy soul held dear!"
Thus they in silence long my fate I mourn'd,
At length these words with accent low return'd:
'Me, lock'd in sleep, my faithless crew bereft
Of all the blessings of your godlike gift!
But grant, oh grant, our loss we may retrieve!
A favour you, and you alone, can give.'

"Thus I with art to move their pity try'd, And touch'd the youths; but their stern sire

reply'd:

* Vile wretch, begone! this instant I command
Thy fleet accurs'd to leave our hallow'd land.
His baneful suit pollutes these bless'd abodes,
Whose fate proclaims him hateful to the gods.'

"Thus fierce he said: we sighing went our way,
And with desponding hearts put off to sea.
The sailors, spent with toils, their folly mourn,
But mourn in vain; no prospect of return.
Six days and nights a doubtful course we steer,
The next proud Lamos' stately towers appear,
And Læstrigonia's gates arise distinct in air.
The shepherd, quitting here at night the plain,
Calls, to succeed his cares, the watchful swain;
But he that scorns the chains of sleep to wear,
And adds the herdsman's to the shepherd's care,
So near the pastures, and so short the way,
His double toils may claim a double pay,
And join the labours of the night and day.

"Within a long recess a bay there lies,
Edg'd round with cliffs, high pointing to the skies:
The jutting shores that swell on either side
Contract its mouth, and break the rushing tide.
Our eager sailors seize the fair retreat,
And bound within the port their crowded fleet;
For here retir'd the sinking billows sleep,
And smiling calmness silver'd o'er the deep.
I only in the bay refus'd to moor,

And fix'd, without, my halsers to the shore. [brow
"From thence we elimb'd a point, whose airy

Commands the prospect of the plains below:
No tracts 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'd, and ask'd what race
The people were? who monarch of the place?

And show'd them where the royal dome appear'd.
They went; but, as they entering saw the queen
Of size enormous, and terrific mien,
(Not yielding to some bulky mountain's height)
A sudden borrour struck their aking 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 horrours echo to the skies;
The men, like fish, they stuck upon the flood,
And cramın'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 fiy,
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;
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

Cool'd every 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
(From the same lineage stern Fætes came,
The far-fam'd brother of th' enchantress dame);
Goddess, and queen, to whom the powers belong
Of dreadful magic, and commanding song.
Some god directing, to this peaceful bay
Silent we came, and melancholy lay,
Spent and o'erwatch'd. Two days and nights
roll'd on,

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.
As down the hill I solitary go,
Some power 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,
Stretch'd forth, and panting in the sunny ray.
I lanch'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 dies.
I drew, and casting on the river's side
The bloody spear, his gather'd feet, Lty'd
With twining osiers, which the bank supplied.

:

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An ell in length the pliant whisp I weav'd,
And the huge body on my shoulders heav'd:
Then, leaning on my spear with both my hands,
Up-bore my load, and press'd the sinking sands
With weighty steps, till at the ship I threw
The welcome burthen, and bespoke my crew:
"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 given;
Live, and enjoy the providence of Heaven.'
"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 sate indulging in the genial rite.
When evening rose, and darkness covered o'er
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 region flat and low;
An isle encircled with the boundless flood,
A length of thickets, and entangled wood.
Some smoke I saw anid the forests rise,

And all around it only seas and skies!'

Mindful of Cyclop and his human food,

"The goddess, rising, asks her guests to stay,
Who blindly follow where she leads the way.
Furylochus alone, of all the band,
Suspecting fraud, more prudently remain'd.
On thrones around with downy coverings grac'd,
With semblance fair, th' unhappy men she plac'd.
Milk newly press'd, the sacred flour of wheat,
And honey fresh, and Pramnian wines the treat:
But venom'd was the bread, and mix'd the bowl,
With drugs of force to darken all the soul:
Soon in the luscious feast themselves they lost,
And drank oblivion of their native coast.
Instant her circling wand the goddess waves,
To hogs transforms them, and the sty receives.
No more was seen the human form divine;
Head, face, and members, bristle into swine:
Still curs'd with sense, their minds remain alone,
And their own voice affrights them when they
groan.

Meanwhile the goddess in disdain bestows
The mast and acorn, brutal food! and strows
The fruits of cornel, as their feast, around;
Now prone and groveling on unsavory grotund.
"Eurylochus, with pensive steps and slow,

Aghast returns; the messenger of woe,
And bitter fate. To speak he made essay,
In vain essay'd, nor would his tongue obey,
His swelling heart deny'd the words their way:
But speaking tears the want of words supply,
And the full soul bursts copious from his eye.
Affrighted, anxious for our fellows' fates,
We press to hear what sadly he relates:

""We went, Ulysses! (such was thy command)

"With broken hearts my sad companions stood, Through the lone thicket and the desert land.

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;
I led the one, and of the other side
Appointed brave Eurylochus the guide.
Then in the brazen helm the lots we throw,
And Fortune casts Eurylochus to go.
He march'd, with twice eleven in his train:
Pensive they march, and pensive we remain.
"The palace in a woody vale they found,
High rais'd of stone, a shaded space around:
Where mountain wolves and brindled lions roan,
(By magic tam'd) familiar to the dome.
With gentle blandishment our men they meet,
And wag their tails, and fawning lick their feet.
As from some feast a man returning late,
His faithful dogs all meet him at the gate,
Rejoicing round, some morsel to receive
(Such as the good man ever us'd to give).
Domestic thus the grisly beasts drew near;
They gaze with wonder, not unmix'd with fear.
Now on the threshold of the dome they stood,
And heard a voice resounding through the wood:
Plac'd at her loom within, the goddess sung;
The vaulted roofs and solid pavement rung.
O'er the fair web the rising figures shine,
Immortal labour! worthy hands divine.
Polites to the rest the question mov'd
(å gallant leader, and a man I lov'd):

What voice celestial, chanting to the loom
(Or nymph, or goddess) echoes from the room?
Say, shall we seek access? With that they call;
And wide unfold the portals of the hall.

A palace in a woody vale we found
Brown with dark forests, and with shades around.
A voice celestial echoed from the dome,
Or nymph, or goddess, chanting to the loom.
Access we sought, nor was access denied:
Radiant she came; the portals open'd wide :
The goddess mild invites the guests to stay:
They blindly follow where she leads the way.
I only wait behind, of all the train;
I waited long, and ey'd the doors in vain :
The rest are vanish'd, none repass'd the gate;
And not a man appears to tell their fate.'

"I heard, and instant o'er my shoulders flung
The belt, in which my weighty falchion hung
(A beamy blade); then seiz'd the bended bow,
And bade him guide the way, resolv'd to go.
He, prostrate falling, with both hands embrac'd
My knees, and, weeping, thus his suit address'd:

""O king! belov'd of Jove! thy servant spare,
And ah, thyself, the rash attempt forbear!
Never, alas! thou never shalt return,
Or see the wretched, for whose loss we mourn.
With what remains from certain ruin fly,
And save the few not fated yet to die.'

" I answer'd stern: 'Inglorious then remain,
Here feast and loiter, and desert thy train.
Alone, unfriended, will I tempt my way;
The laws of fate compel, and I obey.'

"This said, and scornful turning from the shore
My haughty step, I stalk'd the valley o'er :
Till now approaching nigh the magic bower,
Where dwelt th' enchantress skill'd in herbs of
A form divine forth issued from the wood, [power.
(Immortal Hermes with the golden rod)
In human semblance. On his bloomy face

Youth smil'd celestial, with each opening grace.

He seiz'd my hand, and gracious thus began:
Ab! whither roam'st thou, much-enduring man?
Oh, blind to fate! what led thy steps to rove
The horrid mazes of this magic grove!

Fach friend you seek in you enclosure lies,
All lost their form, and habitants of sties.
Think'st thou by wit to model their escape?
Sooner shalt thou, a stranger to thy shape,
Fall prone their equal: first thy danger know,
Then take the antidote the gods bestow.
The plant I give, through all the direful bower
Shall guard thee, and avert the evil hour.
Now hear her wicked arts. Before thy eyes
The bowl shall sparkle, and the banquet rise;
'Take this, nor from the faithless feast abstain,
For temper'd drugs and poisons shall be vain.
Soon as she strikes er wand, and gives the word,
Draw forth and brandish thy refulgent sword,
And menace death those menaces shall move
Her alter'd mind to blandishment and love,
Nor shun the blessing proffer'd to thy arms,
Ascend her bed, and taste celestial charms :
So shall thy tedious toils a respite find,
And thy lost friends return to human-kind.
But swear her first by those dread oaths that tie
The powers below, the blessed in the sky;
Lest to thee naked secret fraud be meant,
Or magic bind thee cold and impotent.'

[drew,

"Thus, while he spoke, the sovereign plant he
Where on th' all-bearing Earth unmark'd it grew,
And show'd its nature and its wondrous power:
Black was the root, but milky-white the flower;
Moly the name, to mortals hard to find,
But all is easy to th' etherial kind.

This Hermes gave; then, gliding off the glade,
Shot to Olympus from the woodland shade.

"While, full of thought, revolving fates to come,
I speed my passage to th' enchanted dome:
Arriv'd, before the lofty gates I stay'd;
The lofty gates the goddess wide display'd:
She leads before, and to the feast invites:
I follow sadly to the magic rites.
Radiant with starry studs, a silver seat
Receiv'd my limbs; a footstool eas'd my feet.
She mix'd the potion, fraudulent of soul;
The poison mantled in the golden bowl.
I took, and quaffd it, confident in Heaven:
Then wav'd the wand, and then the word was given.
'Hence to thy fellows!" (dreadful she began)
Go, be a beast!'-I heard, and yet was man.
"Then sudden whirling, like a waving flame,
My beamy falchion, I assault the dame.
Struck with unusual fear, she trembling cries,
She faints, she falls; she lifts her weeping eyes.
""What art thou? say! from whence, from whom
you came?

Oh, more than human! tell thy race, thy name.
Amazing strength these poisons to sustain!
Nor mortal thou, nor mortal is thy brain.
Or art thou he? the man to come (foretold
By Hermes powerful with the wand of gold)
The man from Troy, who wander'd ocean round;
The man for wisdom's various arts renown'd,
Ulysses? Oh, thy threatening fury cease,

Sheath thy bright sword, and join our hands in

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1

Beneath thy charms when my companions groan,
Transform'd to beasts, with accents not their own.
O thou of fraudful heart! shall I be led
To share thy feast-rites, or ascend thy bed:
That, all unarm'd, thy vengeance may have vent,
And magic bind me, cold and impotent!
Celestial as thou art, yet stand denied;
Or swear that oath by which the gods are tied,
Swear, in thy soul no latent frauds remain,
Swear by the vow which never can be vain.'

[led

"The goddess swore: then seiz'd my hand, and
To the sweet transports of the genial bed.
Ministrant to their queen, with busy care
Four faithful handmaids the soft rites prepare;
Nymphs sprung from fountains, or from shady
Or the fair offspring of the sacred floods. (woods,
One o'er the couches painted carpets threw,
Whose purple lustre glow'd against the view:
White linen lay beneath. Another plac'd
The silver stands with golden flaskets grac'd:
With dulcet beverage this the beaker crown'd,
Fair in the midst, with gilded cups around:
That in the tripod o'er the kindled pile
The water pours; the bubbling waters boil:
An ample vase receives the sinoking wave;
And, in the bath prepar'd, my limbs Ilave:
Reviving sweets repair the mind's decay,
And take the painful sense of toil away.
A vest and tunic o'er me next she threw,
Fresh from the bath, and dropping balmy dew;
Then led and plac'd me on the sovereign seat,
With carpets spread; a footstool at my feet.
The golden ewer a nymph obsequious brings,
Replenish'd from the cool translucent springs:
With copious water the bright vase supplies
A silver laver of capacious size.

I wash'd. The table in fair order spread,
They heap the glittering canisters with bread:
Viands of various kinds allure the taste,
Of choicest sort and savour, rich repast!
Circe in vain invites the feast to share;
Absent I ponder, and absorb in care:
While scenes of woe rose anxious in my breast,
The queen beheld me, and those words addrest :
Why sits Ulysses silent and apart,
Some hoard of grief close-harbour'd at bis heart?
Untouch'd before thee stand the cates divine,
And unregarded laughs the rosy wine.
Can yet a doubt or any dread remain,
When sworn that oath which never can be vain?"

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"I answer'd: Goddess! human is thy breast, By justice sway'd, by tender pity prest: Ill fits it me, whose friends are sunk to beasts, To quaff thy bowls, or riot in thy feasts. Me would'st thou please? for then thy cares emAnd them to me restore, and me to joy.'

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"With that she parted: in her potent hand She bore the virtue of the magic wand. Then hastening to the sties, set wide the door, Urg'd forth, and drove the bristly herd before; Unwieldy, out they rush'd with general cry, Enormous beasts dishonest to the eye. Now touch'd by counter charms, they change again, And stand majestic, and recali'd to men. Those hairs, of late that bristled every part, Fall off, miraculous effect of art! Till all the form in full proportion rise, More young, more large, more graceful to my eyes. They saw, they knew me, and with eager pace Clung to their master in a long embrace:

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