Forbid the fires our shipping to deface,
Receive th' unhappy fugitives to grace,
And spare the remnant of a pious race!
We come not with design of wasteful prey,
To drive the country, force the swains away:
Nor such our strength, nor such is our desire;
The vanquish'd dare not to such thoughts aspire.
A land there is, Hesperia named of old-
The soil is fruitful and the men are bold-

745

Th' Enotrians held it once-by common fame, 750
Now call'd Italia, from the leader's name
To that sweet region was our voyage bent,
When winds, and ev'ry warring element,
Disturb'd our course, and, far from sight of land,
Cast our torn vessels on the moving sand.
The sea came on: the south, with mighty roar,
Dispersed and dash'd the rest upon the rocky shore.
Those few you see escaped the storm, and fear,
Unless you interpose, a shipwreck here.

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What men, what monsters, what inhuman race, 760
What laws, what barb'rous customs of the place,
Shut up a desert shore to drowning men,
And drive us to the cruel seas again!

If our hard fortune no compassion draws,
Nor hospitable rights, nor human laws,
The gods are just, and will revenge our cause.
Æneas was our prince-a juster lord,
Or nobler warrior, never drew a sword-
Observant of the right, religious of his word.
If yet he lives, and draws this vital air,
Nor we, his friends, of safety shall despair,
Nor you, great queen, these offices repent,
Which he will equal, and perhaps augment.
We want not cities, nor Sicilian coasts,
Where King Acestes Trojan lineage boasts.
Permit our ships a shelter on your shores,
Refitted from your woods with planks and oars,
That, if our prince be safe, we may renew
Our destined course, and Italy pursue.

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But if, O best of men! the Fates ordain
That thou art swallow'd in the Libyan main,
And if our young Iulus be no more,

Dismiss our navy from your friendly shore,
That we to good Acestes may return,

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And with our friends our common losses mourn." 785
Thus spoke Ilioneus; the Trojan crew
With cries and clamours his request renew.
The modest queen awhile, with downcast eyes,
Ponder'd the speech, then briefly thus replies:
"Trojans! dismiss your fears: my cruel fate,
And doubts attending an unsettled state,
Force me to guard my coast from foreign foes.
Who has not heard the story of your woes,
The name and fortune of your native place,
The fame and valour of the Phrygian race?
We Tyrians are not so devoid of sense,
Nor so remote from Phœbus' influence,
Whether to Latian shores your course is bent,
Or, driv'n by tempests from your first intent,
You seek the good Acestes' government;
Your men shall be received, your fleet repair'd,
And sail with ships of convoy for your guard:
Or, would you stay, and join your friendly pow'rs
To raise and to defend the Tyrian tow'rs,
My wealth, my city, and myself are yours.
And would to heav'n the storm you felt would bring
On Carthaginian coasts your wand'ring king!
My people shall, by my command, explore
The ports and creeks of ev'ry winding shore,
And towns, and wilds, and shady woods, in quest 810
Of so renown'd and so desired a guest."

Raised in his mind the Trojan hero stood,
And long'd to break from out his ambient cloud:
Achates found it, and thus urged his way:

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"From whence, O goddess-born, this long delay? 815
What more can you desire, your welcome sure,
Your fleet in safety, and your friends secure?
One only wants; and him we saw in vain
Oppose the storm, and swallow'd in the main.

Orontes in his fate our forfeit paid:

The rest agrees with what your mother said."
Scarce had he spoken when the cloud gave way,
The mists flew upward, and dissolved in day.
The Trojan chief appear'd in open sight,
August in visage, and serenely bright.

His mother goddess, with her hands divine,

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Had form'd his curling locks, and made his temples

shine,

And giv'n his rolling eyes a sparkling grace,
And breathed a youthful vigour on his face;
Like polish'd iv'ry, beauteous to behold,
Or Parian marble, when enchased in gold:
Thus radiant from the circling cloud he broke ;
And thus with manly modesty he spoke :

830

"He whom you seek am I; by tempests toss'd,
And saved from shipwreck on your Libyan coast; 835
Presenting, gracious queen, before your throne,
A prince that owes his life to you alone.
Fair majesty! the refuge and redress

840

Of those whom fate pursues, and wants oppress!
You, who your pious offices employ
To save the relics of abandon'd Troy ;
Receive the shipwreck'd on your friendly shore,
With hospitable rites relieve the poor;
Associate in your town a wand'ring train,
And strangers in your palace entertain.
What thanks can wretched fugitives return,
Who, scatter'd through the world, in exile mourn?
The gods (if gods to goodness are inclined-
If acts of mercy touch their heav'nly mind)

845

And, more than all the gods, your gen'rous heart, 850
Conscious of worth, requite its own desert!
In you this age is happy, and this earth;
And parents more than mortal gave you birth.
While rolling rivers into seas shall run,

And round the space of heav'n the radiant sun; 855
While trees the mountain-tops with shades supply,
Your honour, name, and praise, shall never die.

Whate'er abode my fortune has assign'd,'
Your image shall be present in my mind."
Thus having said, he turn'd with pious haste,
And joyful his expecting friends embraced:
With his right hand Ilioneus he graced,
Serestus with the left; then to his breast
Cloanthus and the noble Gyas press'd;
And so by turns descended to the rest.

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The Tyrian queen stood fix'd upon his face, Pleased with his motions, ravish'd with his grace; Admired his fortunes, more admired the man; Then recollected stood; and thus began: "What fate, O goddess-born! what angry pow'rs Have cast you shipwreck'd on our barren shores ? Are you the great Æneas, known to fame, Who from celestial seed your lineage claim? The same Æneas, whom fair Venus bore To famed Anchises on th' Idæan shore? It calls into my mind, though then a child, When Teucer came, from Salamis exiled, And sought my father's aid, to be reetored: My father Belus then with fire and sword Invaded Cyprus, made the region bare, And, conqu❜ring, finish'd the successful war. From him the Trojan siege I understood, The Grecian chiefs, and your illustrious blood. Your foe himself the Dardan valour praised, And his own ancestry from Trojans raised. Enter, my noble guest! and you shall find, If not a costly welcome, yet a kind: For I myself, like you, have been distress'd, Till heav'n afforded me this place of rest. Like you, an alien in a land unknown, I learn to pity woes so like my own." She said, and to the palace led her guest, Then offer'd incense, and proclaim'd a feast. › Nor yet less careful for her absent friends, Twice ten fat oxen to the ships she sends:

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Besides a hundred boars, a hundred lambs,
With bleating cries, attend their milky dams:
And jars of gen'rous wine, and spacious bowls,
She gives, to cheer the sailors' drooping souls.
Now purple hangings clothe the palace walls, 900
And sumptuous feasts are made in splendid halls:
On Tyrian carpets, richly wrought, they dine;
With loads of massy plate the sideboards shine,
And antique vases, all of gold emboss'd
(The gold itself inferior to the cost

Of curious work), where on the sides were seen
The fights and figures of illustrious men,
From their first founder to the present queen.
The good Æneas, whose paternal care
Iulus' absence could no longer bear,
Despatch'd Achates to the ships in haste,
To give a glad relation of the past,

And, fraught with precious gifts, to bring the boy,
Snatch'd from the ruins of unhappy Troy-

A robe of tissue, stiff with golden wire;

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An upper vest, once Helen's rich attire,

From Argos by the famed adultress brought,

With golden flow'rs and winding foliage wrought

Her mother Leda's present, when she came
To ruin Troy, and set the world on flame;
The sceptre Priam's eldest daughter bore,
Her orient necklace, and the crown she wore
Of double texture, glorious to behold;
One order set with gems, and one with gold.
Instructed thus, the wise Achates goes,
And, in his diligence, his duty shows.

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But Venus, anxious for her son's affairs, New counsels tries, and new designs prepares: That Cupid should assume the shape and face Of sweet Ascanius, and the sprightly grace; Should bring the presents, in her nephew's stead, And in Eliza's veins the gentle poison shed: For much she fear'd the Tyrians, double-tongued, And knew the town to Juno's care belong'd.

930