(Strange to relate!) from young Iulus' head
A lambent flame arose, which gently spread
Around his brows, and on his temples fed.
Amazed, with running water we prepare

930

To quench the sacred fire, and slake his hair;
But old Anchises, versed in omens, rear'd
His hands to heav'n, and this request preferr'd;
'If any vows, almighty Jove, can bend

935

Thy will-if piety can pray'rs commend

Confirm the glad presage which thou art pleased to

send.'

Scarce had he said, when, on our left, we hear

940

A peal of rattling thunder roll in air:
There shot a streaming lamp along the sky,
Which on the winged lightning seem'd to fly;
From o'er the roof the blaze began to move,
And, trailing, vanish'd in th' Idæan grove.
It swept a path in heav'n, and shone a guide,
Then in a steaming stench of sulphur died.
The good old man with suppliant hands implored
The gods' protection, and their star adored.
'Now, now,' said he, my son, no more delay;
I yield, I follow where heav'n shows the way.
Keep (0 my country gods!) our dwelling-place,
And guard this relic of the Trojan race,
This tender child!-These omens are your own ;
And you can yet restore the ruin'd town.
At least accomplish what your signs foreshow:
I stand resign'd, and am prepared to go.'
He said. The crackling flames appear on high,
And driving sparkles dance along the sky.
With Vulcan's rage the rising winds conspire,
And near our palace roll the flood of fire.

Haste, my dear father! ('tis no time to wait) And load my shoulders with a willing freight.

945

950

955

960

Whate'er befalls, your life shall be my care:
One death, or one deliv'rance, we will share.
My hand shall lead our little son; and you,
My faithful consort, shall our steps pursue.
Next, you, my servants, heed my strict commands:
Without the walls a ruin'd temple stands,
To Ceres hallow'd once: a cypress nigh
Shoots up her venerable head on high,

965

970

By long religion kept: there bend your feet;
And in divided parties let us meet.
Our country gods, the relics, and the bands,
Hold you, my father, in your guiltless hands:
In me 'tis impious, holy things to bear,
Red as I am with slaughter, new from war,
Till in some living stream I cleanse the guilt
Of dire debate, and blood in battle spilt.'
Thus ord'ring all that prudence could provide,
I clothe my shoulders with a lion's hide,

975

980

And yellow spoils; then, on my bending back,

The welcome load of my dear father take;
While on my better hand Ascanius hung,
And with unequal paces tripp'd along.
Creüsa kept behind: by choice we stray
Through ev'ry dark and ev'ry devious way.
I, who so bold and dauntless, just before,
The Grecian darts and shock of lances bore,
At ev'ry shadow now am seized with fear;
Not for myself, but for the charge I bear ;
Till, near the ruin'd gate arrived at last,
Secure, and deeming all the danger past,
A frightful noise of trampling feet we hear.

985

990

My father, looking through the shades with fear, 995 Cried out, 'Haste, haste, my son! the foes are

nigh:

Their swords and shining armor I descry.'

Some hostile god, for some unknown offence,
Had sure bereft my mind of better sense;

For, while through winding ways I took my flight,
And sought the shelter of the gloomy night,
Alas! I lost Creüsa: hard to tell

1001

If by her fatal destiny she fell,

Or weary sate, or wander'd with affright;
But she was lost for ever to my sight.

1005

I knew not, or reflected, till I meet

My friends at Ceres' now deserted seat.

We met: not one was wanting: only she

Deceived her friends, her son, and wretched me.

What mad expressions did my tongue refuse?
Whom did I not of gods or men accuse?

1010

This was the fatal blow, that pain'd me more
Than all I felt from ruin'd Troy before.
Stung with my loss, and raving with despair,
Abandoning my now forgotten care,
Of counsel, comfort, and of hope, bereft,
My sire, my son, my country gods, I left.

1015

In shining armor once again I sheathe

My limbs, not feeling wounds, nor fearing death.
Then headlong to the burning walls I run,

1020

And seek the danger I was forced to shun.

I tread my former tracks, through night explore

Each passage, ev'ry street I cross'd before.
All things were full of horror and affright,
And dreadful ev'n the silence of the night.
Then to my father's house I make repair,

1025

With some small glimpse of hope to find her there.
Instead of her, the cruel Greeks I met:
The house was fill'd with foes, with flames beset.*
Driv'n on the wings of winds, whole sheets of fire,
Through air transported, to the roofs aspire.

1031

From thence to Priam's palace I resort,

And search the citadel, and desert court.

Then, unobserved, I pass by Juno's church:

A guard of Grecians had possess'd the porch: 1035 There Phoenix and Ulysses watch the prey;

And thither all the wealth of Troy convey—

The spoils which they from ransack'd houses brought,
And golden bowls from burning altars caught,
The tables of the gods, the purple vests,
The people's treasure, and the pomp of priests.
A rank of wretched youths, with pinion'd hands,
And captive matrons, in long order stands.
Then, with ungovern'd madness, I proclaim,
Through all the silent streets, Creüsa's name :
Creüsa still I call: at length she hears,

1040

1045

And sudden, through the shades of night, appears―
Appears, no more Creüsa, nor my wife,
But a pale spectre, larger than the life.

Aghast, astonish'd, and struck dumb with fear, 1050
I stood like bristles rose my stiffen'd hair.
Then thus the ghost began to soothe my grief:
'Nor tears, nor cries, can give the dead relief.
Desist, my much-loved lord, t' indulge your pain:
You bear no more than what the gods ordain.
My fates permit me not from hence to fly;
Nor he, the great controller of the sky.

1055

Long wand'ring ways for you the pow'rs decree-
On land hard labors, and a length of sea.
Then, after many painful years are past,

1060

On Latium's happy shore you shall be cast,

Where gentle Tiber from his bed beholds
The flow'ry meadows, and the feeding folds.

There end your toils; and there your fates provide
A quiet kingdom, and a royal bride;

1065

There Fortune shall the Trojan line restore;
And you for lost Creüsa weep no more.

Fear not that I shall watch, with servile shame,
Th' imperious looks of some proud Grecian dame,
Or, stooping to the victor's lust, disgrace
My goddess-mother, or my royal race.
And now, farewell! the parent of the gods
Restrains my fleeting soul in her abodes.
I trust our common issue to your care.'
She said, and gliding pass'd unseen in air.
I strove to speak: but horror tied my tongue;
And thrice about her neck my arms
And, thrice deceived, on vain embraces hung.
Light as an empty dream at break of day,
Or, as a blast of wind, she rush'd away.

I flung,

Thus having pass'd the night in fruitless pain,

I to my longing friends return again.
Amazed th' augmented number to behold,

1070

1075

1080

Of men and matrons mix'd, of young and old-
A wretched exiled crew together brought,
With arms appointed, and with treasure fraught,
Resolved, and willing, under my command,
To run all hazards both of sea and land.
The morn began, from Ida, to display

1085

Her rosy cheeks; and Phosphor led the day:

1090

Before the gates the Grecians took their post,

And all pretence of late relief was lost.
I yield to Fate, unwillingly retire,

And, loaded, up the hill convey my sire.

1094

END OF VOL. I.