But in the chase of that devouring wolf On thee relies Themistocles for help, Undaunted chief of Trozen." He replies: "Should I withhold it, by th' immortal gods, The titles both of soldier and of friend Were mine no longer." Ariphilia then, Sweet as a vernal flow'r in early prime, A Grace in manner, Hebè in her form:
"Say, gentle sage, of Delphi's rev'rend priest, Of Haliartus, and Oïleus' son,
Kind guests of mine, no tidings dost thou bear?" He answers: "Them in Atalantè's isle The turbulent Euripus yet confines; They soon, fair matron, to thy lord and mine Will add their strength, and level from its base The tyrant's hold." Amid this converse sweet The warrior-poet Eschylus appears, A grateful visitant to all. He spake :
"Fair dame, admit me, introducing men Who saw thy gallant consort yester morn Erecting trophies; men themselves renown'd, Oïlean Medon, and Apollo's priest Long lost, whom I, unknowing of their fate, Have clasp'd in transport, as Laertes' son, When he review'd his metamorphos'd friends In Circe's island to their pristine forms Uprising by her charms." Timothea glad Salutes the ent'ring heroes, Medon known Before, Leonteus, Delphi's holy seer With Artemisia's brother, strangers all, But of deportment to command regard.
Then spake the Locrian: "First of matrons, hail!
On Salaminian sands we parted last. I have been long in Atalantè's isle Sequester'd; but, determin'd to attend
The fun'ral honours which the morning pays To brave Athenians slain, an hour serene To cross the strait Euripus I embrac'd For Chalcis. There thy consort fresh I found In gather'd palms from Demonax, o'erthrown That day in battle. Hear the glorious tale, Which from Themistocles himself I learn'd. He, well-inform'd, the chiefs in either host Distinctly told, their history, their names, Their birth, and deeds, on Hyacinthus most, As most esteem'd, enlarg'd. That hapless youth Was husband to Cleora; daughter she Of Demonax was poison'd by her sire. Survey this tablet, which before my sight Thy hero took, with readiness of skill Delineating the fight. Show this,' he said, To my Timothea, friendly thou explain. This part is Chalcis, this a champaign wide; Here flows the sea, there winds a quarry dark.' "Conceive a river by impetuous floods O'erswol'n, and spread irregular, and wild, Beyond its bounds; tumultuous thus the foes At first appear'd. Expecting to surprise, Themselves surpris'd at unexpected bands, Through open'd portals issuing to the plain, Are forc'd, dishearten'd by a toilsome march, To range their numbers for immediate fight. The wary son of Neocles suspends
Th' attack, till bursting drifts of southern clouds Bent on the faces of his harass'd foes A storm of blinding sleet; then rushes down In three deep columns. Of th' Orean line The right, which Mindarus conducting wheels Along the sea's flat margin, sore is gall'd
By unremitted show'rs from bows and slings On well-rang'd vessels. Lamachus commands The left. Nearchus from the quarry pours An ambush'd force, and breaks the hostile flank. Compact of vet'rans, cull'd from ev'ry state, That wedge of war, whose bristly front display'd Athenian spears and Spartan mingling beams, (Themistocles the leader) slow but sure Bears down the centre. At a second breach The line gives way to Cleon, at a third To swift Carystians. Not a life is spar'd By wrong'd, incens'd Eretrians, not a life By Hyacinthus, boiling with revenge For his Cleora; while her cruel sire Exerts a desp'rate valour to revive Hope in an army spiritless by toil, By sudden onset broken, at the name And sight of thy Themistocles abash'd. The rout is gen'ral. In the bloody chase Five thousand slain the conquerors despoil. Thy husband, prudent in success, preserves Two thousand heads, all Persian, to redeem Eretrian captives from the tyrant's bonds. He, thus defeated, not subdu'd, retir'd To Oreus. Pow'rful remnants of his host He draws within her circuit; furnish'd well From boundless treasure, threatens there to hold A firm defence, till, summon'd by the spring, Mardonius quit Thessalia, and employ The whole confederated pow'r of Greece." "That threat Themistocles will render vain," Exults Timothea; "he unfinish'd leaves No toil begun." Again the Locrian chief: "Now my first duty is discharg'd; the next To Ariphilia from her guest is due. O soft in virtue, elegantly fair, Cleander's favour'd paranymph retains Thy hospitable kindness ever dear; Thine too, my gallant host, by Neptune bless'd In his own priestess, and with brightest fame On his own floods adorn'd." The pleasing hours All spend in mutual gratulation sweet, Till for the morn's solemnity they part.
Below th' Ægalean mountain, where the king Of humbled Asia on his golden throne Was seated late, spectator of his shame
At Salamis, a level space extends
To Neptune's border. Green Psittalia there Full opposite exhibits, high and large, A new erected trophy. Twenty masts Appear, the tallest of Phoenician pines, In circular position. Round their base Are massive anchors, rudders, yards, and oars, Irregularly pil'd, with beaks of brass, And naval sculpture from barbarian sterns, Stupendous by confusion. Crested helms Above, bright mail, habergeons scal'd in gold, Aud figur'd shields along the spiry wood Up to th' aërial heads in order wind, Tremendous emblems of gigantic Mars. Spears, bristling through the intervals, uprear Their points obliquely; gilded staves project Embroider'd colours; darts and arrows hang In glitt'ring clusters. On the topmost height Th' imperial standard broad, from Asia won, Blaz'd in the Sun, and floated in the wind. Of smooth Pentelic marble on the beach, Where flow'd the brine of Salamis, a tomb Insculptur'd rose. Achievements of that day When Asia's navy fell, in swelling forms
Fill'd on three sides the monument. The fourth, Unfinish'd, open'd to th' interior grave.
Now, through Minerva's populace, who kept Religious silence, first white-vested maids, Who from the strand of Salamis had seen The patriots slain, their sepulchre approach With wreaths and garlands; then of chosen youths A troop, whose valour had the fight surviv'd. The younger matrons, husbands ripe in age, Nor less in fame, succeed. Of either sex The elders follow. Kindred of the dead Come next, their wives, their children. Urns, which The sacred ashes, are in open cars Discover'd. One close chariot is reserv'd
For them, whose bodies fate from search conceal'd. Last Aristides, in his civil robe, Attracts the gazing multitude; his wheels, Myronides, Xanthippus, Cimon great, Aminias, Eschylus, and ev'ry chief
For prowess known attend. Around the tomb Are plac'd the children; roses in the bud Entwine their brows; their little grasp upholds Green sprigs of myrtle; well instructed, all Refrain from weeping o'er paternal dust, Deposited by glory in the grave. A high tribunal Aristides mounts; Near him, on ev'ry side, are seats assign'd To strangers held in honour. Medon there, Leonteus, Timon, and the brother known Of Caria's queen, Cleander, numbers more From states ennobled in their names are seen. The godlike man uprises; on the tomb His eyes he fixes first; their lustre mild He then diffuses o'er th' assembly vast, Where not a tongue is heard, nor gesture seen. So through unclouded skies the argent lamp Of Dian visits with her light benign
A surface broad of water, where no breeze Excites a swell, nor sighs among the reeds. "Your fathers, wise and lib'ral," he began, "Appointed public obsequies to all Who die in battle for the public good, Ye men of Athens. Not a groan, or tear Must violate their ashes. These have gain'd What all should envy; these, by virtuous death, The height of human excellence have reach'd, Have found the surest path to endless joy With demigods and heroes in those fields, Which tyrants ne'er can enter to molest The blissful region; but are far remov'd To realms of horrour, and from righteous Jove Endure the pains they merit from mankind. There, if retaining, as they surely must, The memory of things belov'd on Earth, It will enhance their happiness to know Their offspring cherish'd, and their wives rever'd By grateful Athens, whom their glorious fall Exalts, whose daughters they preserv'd from shame, Whose sons from bonds. This bliss benignant Jove, Who loves the patriot, never can withhold From them, who little would deserve that name, Unless those sweetest charities they feel, Paternal cares, and conjugal esteem, The props of public and domestic weal. Them to defend, Athenians, to maintain Iuviolate your altars, tombs, and laws, Let contemplation of the present rites Give principle new strength. Behold a foc, Who hath profan'd your ancestors in dust. Lo on a cross Leonidas affix'd,
His patriot bones expos'd to bleaching winds By that barbarian, Xerxes. Tyrants fell, Obtuse of mind, illiberal, the brutes Of human nature, can devise and act Barbarities like these. But such a foe Leagues Heav'n against him. Nemesis will join With Grecian Mars, and all her furies plant His foot on Asia's boundaries, to shake An impious tyrant on his native throne. Then of the patriot dead, whose swords prepar'd Your way to glory, and achiev'd their own, This recent tomb, when dress'd in eastern spoils, Will best delight their manes, and proclaim To gods and men your gratitude and arms."
He paus'd. Egalcos echo'd to the sound Of acclamation; Salamis reply'd. But as the Sun, when casual clouds before His intercepted light have pass'd away, Renews his splendour, so the righteous man In eloquence and counsel thus again Breaks forth: " Xanthippus, in the gales of spring, To brave the coast barbaric you decree; While, on Boeotia's plains, your phalanx meets Mardonian ranks. Now hear of wondrous acts To you unknown, unpromis'd, just perform'd By an Athenian. Winter hath not slept Inactive; your Themistocles hath rous'd That sluggish season by the clang of war; A force creating by his matchless art, He hath o'erthrown fierce Demonax, and coop'd Within his fort. Delib'rate swift, my friends, How to assist your hero: Justice calls On ev'ry tongue ingenuous so to style Themistocles; who wants but slender help. Your skill, Athenians, in surmounting walls Excels in Greece. Select experienc'd bands; An instantaneous effort may o'erwhelm Beneath the ruins of his last retreat Euboea's scourge, whose prevalence might shut That granary of Athens, and transfer To Asia's num'rous camp your needful stores." All in applauding admiration hear Disinterested virtue, which exalts
A rival's merit. But thy gen'rous breast, To all superior in sensation, high, Divine Timothea, entertains a warmth Of grateful rapture in thy lord's behalf, Which shines confess'd. Sicinus, at her side, Condemns his lord, who nothing would request Of Aristides; him, who grants unask'd, His soul adores. Aminias, rising, spake; A fearless warrior, brother to the bard, Like him sincere, less polish'd, learn'd and wise, By right intention more than conduct sway'd: "Who can for all deliberate so well, As Aristides singly? Let us fight; But with sole pow'r of counsel and command, Throughout this war's duration, by a law Invest him uncontrollable." Up starts The interrupting patriot, nor permits The people's confidence in him to grow
In wild excess: "Ne'er yet th' almighty Sire Created man of purity to hold
A trust like this. Athenians, mark my words;
I am your legal military chief;
If your immediate safety should require
An use of pow'r, unwarranted by laws,
I will exert it, not accept as law;
The censure or acquittal of my act With you shall rest. At present I advise,
That from Phaleron, Eschylus transport Two thousand skilful vet'rans. Him the seed Of Neocles approves; not less in arms Than arts excelling, him your warriors prize. Them, ere two monthly periods of the Sun, You cannot want. Thick verdure must invest The meadows, earth her foodful stores mature, Before Mardonius can his numbers lead From Thessaly remote. Ere then, my friends, Themistocles will conquer, and erect Cecropia's standard on Orëan walls; Your timely aid he timely will restore To fill the army of united Greece."
The gen'ral voice assents, and all retire, While to her home Timothea brings her guests. To her Sicinus prudent: "Not an hour, Till I rejoin thy consort, should be lost." She then: "Most faithful, from my arm receive This bracelet rich in gems, barbaric spoil; Bear this to Chalcis, to Acanthè give; Say, how I prize her elevated mind, Enabling my Themistocles to quell The hateful breed of tyrants. Further say, The man engaging her connubial hand I should esteem the favourite of gods. Stay; Haliartus shall the present bear. Thou to my lord a messenger of love Shalt go, Sicinus; words to thee I leave;
My heart thou know'st. One fervent wish impart, That he in private, as in public ties, With Aristides may at last unite.” So spake the first of women. Træezen's chief Subjoin'd: "Sicinus, wait till morn; embark With these our friends of Atalantè's isle Aboard my squadron; soon will southern gales My succour waft, and jointly we proclaim Brave Eschylus to follow. Let us greet Him, who our valour into action calls For ev'ry chief to envy; him to clasp My bosom pants, a hero, who surmounts The sloth of winter while so many brave Hang up their weapons." Ariphilia heard, Sat mute and sad. To her Timothea thus: "We, who are wives of soldiers, will remain Together, cheerful watch for tidings dear Of their achievements, and rejoice at home."
THREE days transport Cleander and his friends; Timoxenus admits such welcome guests, Who brings new succours. From Chalcidic walls Th' Athenian chief was absent. With a pace Unstable yet, a calm, but languid mien, To grace her father's board Acanthè leaves Her chamber; pale, but fragrant as the rose, Which bears the hue of lilies, she descends. Her soon the Carian, mindful of his charge, Thus with Timothea's salution greets:
"A costly bracelet, from her beauteous arm Th' espous'd of great Themistocles unclasp'd On my departure, and in words like these, Of gracious tone, deliver'd to my care: Bear this to Chalcis, to Acanthè give; Say how I prize her elevated mind, Enabling my Themistocles to quell
The hateful breed of tyrants. Further say,
The man engaging her connubial hand I should esteem the favourite of gods'."
Timoxenus is pleas'd; Acanthè's cheeks A burning blush of perturbation feel. Not soon recov'ring from a start of thought At the first mention of Timothea's name, She took, she kiss'd the present, and disguis'd Her conscious trouble under busy care To fix the bracelet in its lovely seat.
The guests are plac'd around; her presence charms
The banquet. Though the lustre of her eyes Grief had eclips'd and sickness, though her mouth Had lost the ruby tinct and pleasing flow, By melancholy silence long confin'd, Her gestures speak the graces of her soul.
Trazene's captain, lively as the lark Whose trill preludes to Nature's various voice, Begins discourse: "Perhaps, accomplish'd fair, Thou dost not know the messenger, who brought Timothea's present, Haliartus styl'd;
Ile is deriv'd from Lygdamis, a name Ionia boasts. His daughter, Caria's queen, Fam'd Arteinisia, heroine of Mars, Calls Haliartus brother; but from Greece Could never alienate his truth. His sword From violation, in his first essay Against barbarian multitudes, preserv'd Bright Amarantha, consort to the king Of Macedon, more noble. in her sire, Who sits beside thee, Timon, Delphi's priest." Then Medon: "How unwilling do I check Our social converse. Generous host, no tongue Can duly praise thy hospitable roof;
Yet we must leave its pleasures; time forbids Our longer stay. Two thousand Locrian spears, Three hundred Delphians Atalantè holds; Them schylus arriving will expect
To find in Chalcis."-" Gladly shall I hail," Timoxenus rejoins, your quick return,
To guard these walls. Themistocles is march'd To conquer Ega, rather to redeem
Her state aggriev'd, which courts his guardian Sicinus here: "Illustrious men, farewell;
In Ægæ soon Themistocles shall know
Of your arrival." Instant he began,
All night pursu'd his course, and saw the morn Shine on that city yielded to his lord. To him Sicinus counts the pow'rful aids Expected, large of Aristides speaks, Large of Timothea; in a rapt'rous style Dwells on her wish for amity to bind The two Cecropian heroes. Glad replies Themistocles: "On every new event She rises lovelier, more endear'd; her worth Shall meliorate her husband. I obey, Content on this wide universe to see Myself the second, Aristides first; For still he tow'rs above me. Cleander, Medon, were already come, That Eschylus was coming? All their force I want, Sicinus; listen to my tale.
"Last night an ancient personage, unknown, In length of beard most awful, not unlike Tisander, ask'd an audience, and obtain'd My private ear. Themistocles,' he said, If I deliver tidings, which import Thy present safety, and thy future weal, I shall exact thy promise in the name Of all the gods and goddesses to ware
Inquiry, whence I come, or who I am. First know, that Mindarus, the Persian chief In Oreus, newly for Thessalia's coast Enbark'd, whose neighb'ring Pagasæan cape Looks on Eubœa. He this day return'd, And reinforcement from Mardonius brought, Ten thousand spears. Thessalia hath supply'd Three thousand more. An army huge defends Ta' Orean circuit. Further be inform'd, That sev'n Geræstian homicides are sworn To thy destruction. By their secret wiles The house of rich Timoxenus was fir'd; Them in the field hereafter, all combin'd Against thy head, their sable arms will show ; The hideous impress on their shields is Death. Farewell, thou hero; if my parting step Thou trace, farewell for ever; else be sure Again to see me in thy greatest need.'
"In mystery, Sicinus, not of Heav'n, But human art, immers'd is some event,
Which mocks my utmost fathom; but my course Is plain. In fruitless search I waste no thought, Who, as my servant, smiling Fortune use, Nor yet am hers, Sicinus, when she frowns. Now mark: one passage winds among the hills Encircling Oreus. When the vanquish'd foe Her bulwarks sought for shelter, I detach'd Eretrian Cleon, Hyacinthus brave, And with Carystian bands Nicanor staid, Who unoppos'd the strong defile secur'd; There shall my banner, strengthen'd by the youth Of Egæ, soon be planted; there shall wait, Till each auxiliar, thou hast nam'd, arrive, Then pour on Demonax the storm of war. Let Træezen's squadron and th' Athenian ride Before his port, Cleander have the charge. Speed back to Chalcis; publish these resolves."
They part. Not long Themistocles delay'd To gain the mountains; nor three days were pass'd When brave Nearchus; Haliartus bold; Th' illustrious brothers of Oïlean race, Great Eschylus and Timon, with their bands Arriv'd, and join'd him at the strong defile Which now contain'd his whole collected force. Thence he descended on a morning fair, First of that month, which frequent sees the Sun Through vernal show'rs, distill'd from tepid clouds, Diffuse prolific beams o'er moisten'd Earth To dress her lap, exuberant and fresh, With flow'rs and verdure. Terrible the bands Succeeding bands expatiate o'er the fields. So when an earthquake rives a mountain's side, Where stagnant water, gather'd and confin'd Within a deep vacuity of rock,
For centuries hath slept, releas'd the floods In roaring cataracts impetuous fall; They roll before them shepherds and their flocks, Herds and their keepers; cottage, fold, and stall, Promiscuous ruins floating on the stream, Are borne to plains remote. Now Oreus lifts Her stately tow'rs in sight. Three myriads arm'd Before the walls hath Demonax arrang'd In proud defiance. So, at first o'erthrown, Antæus huge, uprising in his might Fresh and redoubled by his parent earth, Return'd to combat with Alcmena's seed.
Wide stretch'd th' Orëan van; the wary son Of Neocles to equal that extent Spread his inferior number. By a front, Not depth of line, the tyrant he deceiv'd;
But of Athenian veterans he form'd
A square battalion, which the martial bard Rang'd on the sea-beat verge; the other wing Is Medon's charge, where thirty shields in file Compose the Locrian column. Ere the word Is giv'n for onset, thus his wonted guard Themistocles addresses: "If a troop In sable cuirass, and with shields impress'd By Death's grim figure, at my head should aim, Let them assail me; be it then your care, Postponing other duty, to surround, To seize and bear them captives from the fight." He march'd; himself the cent'ral phalanx led; The floating crimson of his plumage known, Minerva's bird his crest, whose terrours shook The bloody field of Chalcis, soon proclaim Themistocles. Now targets clash with shields; Barbarian sabres with Cecropian swords, Euboean spears with spears in sudden shock, Bellona mingles. Medon first o'erthrew Thessalia's line, his temp'rate mind was stung By indignation; Timon bath'd his lance In their perfidious blood; Leonteus gor'd Their dissipated ranks. A chosen troop To their assistance Lamachus advanc'd; Him Haliartus met; his sinewy arm, Which could have quell'd Lycaon, first of wolves, The Erymanthian, or Ætolian boar, Smote to the ground the miscreant's bulk deform'd, Whose band, recoiling, leave the victor space To drag him captive. Rout and carnage sweep That shatter'd wing before th' Oïlean swords; Not with less vigour Eschylus o'erturn'd The other. Mindarus in vain oppos'd Undaunted efforts. Pallas seem'd to fire Her own Athenians; Neptune, in the shape Of Eschylus, seem'd landed from his conch To war, as once on Troy's Sigæan strand; Or to have arm'd the warrior-poet's grasp With that strong weapon, which can rock the Earth. Not in the centre suddenly prevail'd Themistocles; the sev'n Gerestians, leagu'd By Hell, combining their assassin points Against the hero, for awhile delay'd His progress; firmly their united blows His shield receiv'd. So Hercules endur'd The sev'n-fold stroke of Hydra; but the zeal Of lolaus to assist that god
In his tremendous labour, was surpass'd By each Athenian, each Laconian guard, Who never left Themistocles. They watch'd The fav'ring moment; with a hundred spears They hedg'd the traitors round, forbade escape, Clasp'd and convey'd them living from the field.
Still Demonax resists; while near him tow'rs Ariobarzanes, moving rock of war
In weight and stature. Of Euboeans, forc'd By savage pow'r to battle, numbers low'r Surrend'ring banners, some to Cleon, some To humble Styra's well-conducted sword, And thine, sad youth, awhile by glory taught To strive with anguish, and suspend despair, Cleora's husband. Mindarus appears, Who warns the tyrant timely to retreat, Ere quite envelop'd by the wheeling files Of Eschylus and Medon. Lo! in front, More dang'rous still, amid selected ranks, Themistocles. The monster gnash'd his teeth; His impious voice, with execrations hoarse, Assail'd the heav'nly thrones; his buckler firm
He grasp'd, receding to the Orëan wall; Where, under vaulted sheets of missive arms Whirl'd on his fierce pursuers, through the gates He rush'd to shelter. Thus a mighty boar, Of Calydonian strength, long held at bay, The hunter's point evading, and the fangs Of stanchest hounds, with undiminish'd ire Red in his eyes, and foaming from his jaws, Impetuous plunges in accustom'd woods.
Th' Athenian chief, who sees th' incessant storms Of darts and arrows from the rampart's height, Retreats; but swift his numbers, now enlarg'd By yielding thousands of Eubœan race, Distributes round th' invested town to guard Each avenue and station. From the sea Cleander threatens. In his evening tent
The gen'ral views the captives; frowns condemn The sev'n Geræstians to their former chains. The hero smiles on Lamachus, the prize Of Haliartus, and familiar thus:
"Again, my Tyrian trafficker in slaves, I greet thee: son of Lygdamis, what praise To thy distinguish'd efforts is not due? This precious head to my disposal yield." He then proceeds to Lamachus apart:
"Now take thy freedom, villain; to my use See thou employ it, else expect to die. Your land, remember, and your sea are mine; Soon on the head of Demonax this arm Shall dash yon bulwarks; what I speak is fate. Thou hast thy option, go. Sicinus hear; This man is free; conduct him through the camp." Now from his friends sequester'd, on a couch, Which never care disturbs, he slept till dawn, When, rous'd by heralds from the town, again The leaders he conven'd. Before them came Arbactus, fierce barbarian, who began:
"Themistocles of Athens, in the name Of Mindarus the Persian, I defy Thy arm to combat in the listed field; The same defiance to thy boldest chiefs Ariobarzanes sends. If you prevail, The royal host shall quit Eubœa's isle, Which shall submit to Xerxes if you fall." Up Hyacinthus, Haliartus, start Indignant. First the young Carystian spake : "Are they so gross in ignorance, to hope Themistocles will stoop to single fight With twice-o'erthrown barbarians, who, unsafe Behind a rampart, tremble at his pow'r? But if the Persian Mindarus would try A Grecian's single valour, O permit,
Themistocles, thy soldier to assert
The Grecian fame." The friend of Medon next: "The same permission I implore, O chief, Invincible thyself; that all this host May witness my fidelity to Greece.
Themistocles subjoins: "Barbarian, go, Provide thy champions; ours thou seest prepar'd For honour, not decision of the doom Reserv'd for Demonax; whose final lot Lies in my breast alone." The herald back To Oreus speeds. The prudent chief pursues: "My Hyacinthus, all thy wrongs I feel; But, if resentment can afford the grace I ask thee, lend to policy thy arm: Take Mindarus thy captive. From thy proofs Of might and firmness, Haliartus brave, My wish is lifted high in hope to see Ariobarzanes gasping at thy feet."
He rises. Straight embattled on the plain, His army shows a formidable gleam To Demonax. Still num'rous for defence Barbarian warriors, and Thessalian, throng The battlements of Oreus. Through the gates, In solemn pace and slow, a herald train Precede their champions. Heralds from the camp Produce th' illustrious Haliartus clad In richest arms, the gift of Caria's queen; A twig of slend'rest laurel, twisted round A shepherd's crook, in portraiture adorn'd His modest buckler. Grim his foe advanc'd In mail blood-colour'd, with a targe of gold, Ariobarzanes. Hyacinthus next Appears in tried habiliments of war, Which on his dearest patron Mars had seen In Marathonian fields. A plumage black, Denoting grief, he carries; on his shield A female image, and the form of Death, Who blasts her graces. Mindarus approach'd In armour studded bright with orient gems; His buckler too a shape of beauty pale, Stretch'd on a fun'ral pyre, exhibits sad; Of pearl her limbs, of rubics were the flames. Ere they engage, the Persian warrior thus:
"Since my encounter, whether through disdain Or policy I know not, is refus'd
By your commander, not through fear I know, Do thou in courtesy disclose thy name, Thy rank in Grecian armies. May'st thou prove In lustre such as Mindarus would choose To be th' opponent of a satrap's arm."
"Then tremble, satrap, at my name, the name Of Hyacinthus," fierce the youth returns; "Cleora's husband, whom thy barb'rous love Hath wrong'd, whom hell-born Demonax hath damn'd
To ever-during torment, shakes this lance, By vengeance pointed and invet'rate hate." "Young man," rejoins the Persian,
I drop a pitying tear, while thou dost wrong Me clear of wrong to thee. No barb'rous love Was mine; unconscious of your nuptial tie, Till she confess'd it to her savage sire, My flame was holy; not a thought impure To violate a right could taint my breast. But that I lov'd her, Hyacinthus, sure He, who her dear perfections knew so well, Must wave his wonder; that her fate o'erwhelms My spirit, never to revive, I feel;
That my disastrous passion caus'd her doom,
Blame both our fortunes, not my guiltless heart.
yet thy anguish can a moment look
Compassionate on me-but I forgive
Unjust reproaches from a grief like thine,
Which should, which must exceed my own, my own Exceeding after thine all other woe.
Now Hyacinthus melted, but observ'd, That during this sad interview the spear Of Haliartus at his feet had laid Ariobarzanes dead. Heart-stung by shame At his inaction, with so many chiefs, With such an army, and the godlike son Of Neocles spectators, he begins
The fight, but recollects that friend's request. The Persian more effeminate desponds
At past defeats, and present grief renew'd, Whose weight, though lighter, he less firmly bore, Than did the hardy Greek his heavier share
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