530

Ah me! when, o'er a length of waters toft, Thefe eyes at laft behold th' unhop'd for coaft, 525 No port receives me from the angry main, But the loud deeps demand me back again. Above, sharp rocks forbid accefs; around, Roar the wild wave; beneath is fea profound! No footing fure affords the faithless sand, To ftem too rapid, and too deep to stand. If here I enter, my efforts are in vain, Dafh'd on the cliffs, or heav'd into the main ; Or round the island if my course I bend, Where the ports open, or the shores descend, Back to the feas the rolling furge may sweep, And bury all my hopes beneath the deep. Or fome enormous whale the God may fend, (For many fuch on Amphitrite attend) Too well the turns of mortal chance I know, And hate relentless of my heavenly foe. While thus he thought, a monftrous wave up. The chief, and dash'd him on the craggy shore: Torn was his skin, nor had the ribs been whole, But inftant Pal'as enter'd in his foul.

535

540 (bore

545

550

560

Close to the cliff with both his hands he clung,
And fuck adherent, and fufpended hung; [fweep
Till the huge furge roll'd off: then, backward
The refluent tides, and plunge him in the deep.
As when the Polypus, from forth his cave
Torn with full force, reluctant beats the wave;
His ragged claws are ftuck with ftones and fands:
So the rough rock had fhagg'd Ulyffes' hands.
And now had perifh'd, whelm'd beneath the main,
Th' unhappy man: ev'n Fate had been in vain :
But all-fubduing Pallas lent her power,
And prudence fav'd him in the needful hour.
Beyond the beating furge his courfe he bore,
(A wider circle, but in fight of shore)
With longing eyes, obferving, to survey
Some smooth afcent, or fafe fequefter'd bay.
Between the parting rocks at length he 'spy'd
A falling ftream with gentler waters glide;
Where to the feas the shelving fhore declin'd,
And form'd a bay impervious to the wind.
To this calm port the glad Ulyffes preft,
And hail'd the river, and its God addreft:
Whoe'er thou art, before whose stream unknown
I bend, a fuppliant at thy watery throne,
Hear, azure king nor let me fly in vain
To thee from Neptune and the raging main.
Heaven hears and pities hapless men like me,
For facred ev'n to Gods is mifery :
Let then thy waters give the weary reft,
And fave a fuppliant, and a man distrest.

565

570

575

He pray'd, and ftraight the gentle ftream fubfides, Detains the rufhing current of his tides, Before the wanderer fmooths the watery way, And foft receives him from the rolling fea. That moment, fainting as he touch'd the shore, 580 He dropt his finewy arms: his knees no more

585

Perform'd their office, or his weight upheld:
His fwoln heart heav'd; his bloated body fwell'd;
From mouth and nofe the briny torrent ran ;
And loft in laffitude lay all the man,
Depriv'd of voice, of motion, and of breath;
The foul scarce waking in the arms of death.
Soon as warm life its wonted office found,
The mindful chief Leucothea's scarf unbound;
Obfervant of her word, he turn'd afide
His head, and caft it on the rolling tide.
Behind him far, upon the purple waves
The waters waft it, and the nymph receives.
Now parting from the stream, Ulyffes found
A moffy bank, with pliant rufhes crown'd!
595
The bank he prefs'd, and gently kifs'd the ground;
Where on the flowery herb as foft he lay,
Thus to his foul the fage began to fay-:

590

What will ye next ordain, ye Powers on high?
And yet, ah! yet, what Fates are we to try? 600
Here by the ftream, if I the night out-wear,
Thus spent already, how shall nature bear
The dews defcending, and nocturnal air ;
Or chilly vapours breathing from the flood
When morning rife ?-If I take the wood,
And in thick shelter of innumerous boughs
Enjoy the comfort gently fleep allows;
Though fenc'd from cold, and though my toil be
paft,

What favage beafts may wander in the waste ;
Perhaps I yet may fall a bloody prey
To prowling bears, or lions in the way.

605

610

610

Thus long debating in himself he flood: At length he took the paffage to the wood, Whofe fhady horrors on a rifing brow Wav'd high, and frown'd upon the ftream below. There grew two olives, closest of the grove, With roots entwin'd, and branches interwove; Alike their leaves, but not alike they smil'd With fifter fruits; one fertile, one was wild. Nor here the fun's meridian rays had power, Nor wind fharp-piercing, nor the rushing shower; The verdant arch so close its texture kept : Beneath this covert great Ulyffes crept. Of gather'd leaves an ample bed he made (Thick frown by tempest through the bowery shade); 625 Where three at least might winter's cold defy, Though Boreas rag'd along th' inclement sky. This ftore, with joy the the patient hero found, And, funk amidit them, heap'd the leaves around. As fome poor peafant, fated to refide Remote from neighbours in a forest wide, Studious to fave what human wants require, In embers heap'd, preferves the feeds of fire: Hid in dry foliage thus Ulyffes lies, Till Pallas pour'd soft slumbers on his eyes; And golden dreams (the gift of fweet repofe) Lull'd all his cares, and banish'd all his woes.

630

635

W

HILE thus the weary wanderer funk to reft,
And peaceful flumbers calm'dhis anxious braaft
The Martial Maid from heaven's aerial height
Swift to Phæacia wing'd her rapid flight.
In elder times the foft Phæacian tram
In eafe poffeft the wide Hyperian plain;
Till the Cyclopean race in arms arose,
A lawless nation of Gigantic fes:
Then great Naufithous from Hyperia far,
Through feas retreating from the found of war,
The recreant nation to fair Scheria led,
Where never fcience rear'd her laurel'd head:
There, round his tribes a ftrength of wall he rais'd:
To heaven the glittering domes and temples blaz'd:
Juft to his realms, he parted grounds from grounds,
And fhar'd the lands, and gave the lands their
bounds.

Now in the filent grave the monarch lay,
And wife Alcinous held the regal fway.

20

To his high palace through the fields of air The Goddess fhot; Ulyffes was er care. There as the night in filence roil'd away, A heaven of charms divine Nauficaa lay Through the thick gloom the fhining portals blaze; Two nymphs the portals guard, each nymph a Grace.

:

25

30

35

Light as the viewless air the Warrior-Maid
Glides thro' the valves, and hovers round her head;
A favourite virgin's blooming form she took,
From Dymas fprung, and thus the vision spoke
Oh indolent to waste thy hours away!
And sleep'st thou careless of the bridal day?
Thy fpoufal ornament neglected lies;
Arife, prepare the bridal train, arife!
A juft applaufe the cares of drefs impart,
And give foft tranfport to a parent's heart.
Hafte, to the limpid ftream direct thy way,
When the gay morn unveils her fmiling ray:
Hafte to the ftream! Companion of thy care,
Lo, I thy steps attend, thy labours share.
Virgin, awake! the marriage hour is nigh,
See! from their thrones thy kindred monarchs
The royal car at early dawn obtain,
And order mules obedient to the rein;
For rough the way, and diftant rolls the wave,
Where their fair vefts Phæacian virgins lave.
In pomp ride forth; for pomp becomes the great, 45
And majesty derives a grace from state.

Then to the palaces of heaven the fails,
Incumbent on the wings of wafting gales:

[figh!

65

70

80

Will my dread fire his car regardful deign, And may his child the royal ear obtain? Say, with thy garments shall I bend my way, Where through the vales the mazy waters fray? A dignity of dress adorns the great, And kings draw luftre from the robe of state. Five fons thou haft; three wait the bridal day, 75 And fpotlefs robes become the young and gay. So when with praife amid the dance they fhine, By these my cares adorn'd, that praife is mine. Thus fhe: but blushes ill-reftrain'd betray Her thoughts intentive on the bridal day': The confcious fire the dawning blush furvey'd, And fmiling thus bespoke the blooming maid: My child, my darling joy, the car receive; That, and whate'er our daughter afks, we give. Swift at the royal nod th' attending train The car prepare, the mules inceffant rein. The blooming virgin with dispatchful cares Tunicks, and stoles, and robes imperial, bears. The queen, affiduous, to her train affigns The fumptuous viands, and the flavorous wiues. go The train prepare a cruife of curious mould, A cruife of fragrance, form'd of burnish'd gold; Odour divine! whofe foft refreshing ftreams Sleek the fmooth fkin, and scent the fewy limbs.

85

Now mounting the gay feat, the filken reins g Shine in her hand: along the founding mlains Swift fly the mulcs: nor rode the nymph done;' Around, a bevy of bright damfels fhone.

They feek the cifterns where Phæacian dames-
Wash their fair garments in the limpid ftreams; 100
Where, gathering into depth from falling rills;
The lucid wave a spacious bason fills.
The mules unharnefs'd range beside the main,
Or crop the verdant herbage of the plain.

105

[joice.

120

Then emulous the royal robes they lave, And plunge the vestures in the cleanfing wave; (The vestures cleans'd o'erfpread the shelly fand, Their fnowy luftre whitens all the strand :) Then with a fhort repast relieve their toil, And o'er their limbs diffufe ambrofial oil; And, while the robes imbibe the folar ray, O'er the green mead the fporting virgins play (Their fhining veils unbound). Along the fkies Tof, and retoft, the ball inceffant flies. They fport, they feaft; Nausicaa lifts her voice, 115 And, warbling fweet, makes earth and heaven reAs when o'er Erymanth Diana roves, Or wide Taygetus' refounding groves; A fylvan train the huntress queen furrounds, Her rattling quiver from her shoulder founds: Fierce in the Iport, along the mountain's brow They bay the boar, or chafe the bounding roe: High o'er the lawn with more majestic pace, Above the nymphs fhe treads with stately grace; Diftinguifh'd excellence the Goddess proves; Esults Latona, as the virgin moves. With equal grace Nauficaa trod the plain, And fhone transcendant o'er the beauteous train. Mean time (the care and favourite of the skies) Wrapt in embowering fhade, Ulyffes lies, His woes forgot! but Pallas now addreft To break the bands of all-compofing reft. Forth from her fnowy hand Nausicaa threw The various ball; the ball erroneous flew, And fwam the ftream: loud fhrieks the virgin train,

125

130

170

Urg'd on by want, and recent from the ftorms;
The brackish ooze his manly face deforms.
Wide o'er the fhore with many a piercing cry 163
To rocks, to caves, the frighted virgins fly:
All but the nymph: the nymph stood fix'd alone,
By Pallas arm'd with boldness not her own.
Mean time in dubious thought the king awaits,
And, felf-confidering, as he stands, debates;
Distant his mournful story to declare,
Or proftrate at her knee addrefs the prayer.
But fearful to offend, by Wifdom sway'd,
At awful diftance he accofts the maid:
If from the tkies a Goddess, or if earth
(Imperial virgin) boaft thy glorious birth,
To thee I bend! if in that bright disguise
Thou vifit earth, a daughter of the skies,
Hail, Dian, hail! the huntress of the groves
So fhines majeftic, and so stately moves,
So breathes an air divine! But if thy race
Be mortal, and this earth thy native place,
Bleft is the father from whofe loins you fprung
Bleft is the mother at whose breast you hung,
Bleft are the brethren who thy blood divide, 185
To fuch a miracle of charms ally'd:

Joyful they fee applauding princes gaze,

175

180

When ftately in the dance you fwim th' harmo

nious maze.

195

135

And the loud fhriek redoubles from the main.
Wak'd by the fhrilling found, Ulyffes rofe,
And, to the deaf woods wailing, breath'd his woes :
Ah me! on what inhofpitable coaft,
Or what new region, is Ulyffes tost?
Poffeft by wild barbarians fierce in arms;
Or men, whose bofom tender pity warms?
What founds are these that gather from the
[bowers,
The voice of nymphs that haunt the fylvan
The fair-hair'd Dryads of the fhady wood; 145
Or azure daughters of the filver flood;
Or human voicé? but, iffuing from the fhades,
Why ceafe I ftraight to learn what found invades ?
Then, where the grove with leaves umbrageous
bends,

fhores :

[flows;

200

[foe,

210

215

Twice ten tempeftuous nights I roll'd, refign'd 201
To roaring billows, and the warring wind;
Heaven bade the deep to fpare! but Heaven, my
Spares only to inflict fome mightier woe!
Inur'd to care, to death in all its forms;
Outcaft Irove, familiar with the forms!
Once more I view the face of human-kind :
Oh, let foft pity touch thy generous mind!
Unconscious of what air I breathe, I ftand
Naked, defeucclefs, on a foreign land.
Propitious to my wants a veft fupply
To guard the wretched from th' inclement fky:
So may the Gods, who heaven and earth control,
Crown the chafte wishes of thy virtuous foul,
On thy foft hours their choiceft bleffings fhed;
Bleft with a husband be thy bridal bed:
Bleft be the husband with a blooming race,
And lafting union crown your blissful days.
The Gods, when they fupremely blefs, bestow
Firm union on their favourites below:
Then envy grieves, with inly pining hate;
The good exult, and Heaven is in our state.

220

225

To whom the nymph: O franger, cease thy Wife is thy foul, but man is born to bear: [care;

360

365

There wait embower'd, while I afcend alone
To great Alcinous on his royal throne.
Arriv'd, advance impatient of delay,
And to the lofty palace bend thy way:
The lofty palace overlooks the town,
From every dome by pomp fuperior known;
A child may point the way. With carneft gait
Seek thou the queen along the rooms of state;
Her royal hand a wonderous work designs,
Around a circle of bright damfels fhines,
Part twist the threads, and part the wood difpofe,
While with the purple orb the spindle glows.
High on a throne, amid the Scherian powers,
My royal father shares the genial hours:
But to the queen thy mournful tale disclose,
With the prevailing eloquence of woes:
So fhalt thou view with joy thy natal fhore,
Though mountains rife between, and oceans roar.
She added not, but waving as fhe wheel'd
The filver fcourge, it glitter'd o'er the field:

370

375

With skill the virgin guides th' embroider'&

380

rein, Slow rolls the car before the attending train. Now whirling down the heavens, the golden day Shot through the wettern clouds a dewy ray; The grove they reach, where from the facred shade, To Pallas thus the penfive hero pray'd:

Daughter of Jove! whofe arms in thunder wield

Th' avenging bold, and shake the dreadful shield;
Forfook by thee, in vain I fought thy aid

When booming billows clos'd above my head:
Attend, unconquer'd Maid! accord my vows,
Bid the great hear, and pitying heal my woes. 390
This heard Minerva, but forbore to fly

(By Neptune aw'd) apparent from the sky:
Stern God! who rang'd with vengeance unte-
ftrain'd,

Till great Ulyffes hail'd his native land.

With ready love her brothers gathering round,
Receiv'd the vestures, and the mules unbound.
She feeks the bridal bower: a matron there
The rifing fire fupplies with busy care,
Whofe charms in youth the father's heart inflam'd,
Now worn with age, Eurymedufa nam'd:
The captive dame Phæacian rovers bore,
Snatch'd from Epirus, her sweet native fhore,
(A grateful prize) and in her bloom bestow'd
On good Alcinous, honour'd as a God:
Nurfe of Nauficaa from her infant years,
And tender fecond to a mother's cares.

Now from the facred thicket where he lay,
To town Ulyffes took the winding way.
Propitious Pallas, to fecure her care,
Around him fpread a veil of thicken'd air;
To fhun th' encounter of the vulgar crowd,
Infulting ftill, inquifitive and loud.

When near the fam'd Phæacian walls he drew,
The beauteous city opening to his view,
His ftep a virgin met, and stood before:
A polish'd urn the feening virgin bore,

35

40

45

25

And facred moves along the crowded space, Unfeen of all the rude Phæacian race.

50