Metamorphoses (Books I-XIV)
The Story of Ceyx and Alcyone
11:571 These prodigies affect the pious prince,
11:572 But more perplex'd with those that happen'd since,
11:573 He purposes to seek the Clarian God,
11:574 Avoiding Delphi, his more fam'd abode,
11:575 Since Phlegyan robbers made unsafe the road.
11:576 Yet could he not from her he lov'd so well,
11:577 The fatal voyage, he resolv'd, conceal;
11:578 But when she saw her lord prepar'd to part,
11:579 A deadly cold ran shiv'ring to her heart;
11:580 Her faded cheeks are chang'd to boxen hue,
11:581 And in her eyes the tears are ever new.
11:582 She thrice essay'd to speak; her accents hung,
11:583 And falt'ring dy'd unfinish'd on her tongue,
11:584 And vanish'd into sighs: with long delay
11:585 Her voice return'd, and found the wonted way.
11:586 Tell me, my lord, she said, what fault unknown
11:587 Thy once belov'd Alcyone has done?
11:588 Whither, ah, whither, is thy kindness gone!
11:589 Can Ceyx then sustain to leave his wife,
11:590 And unconcern'd forsake the sweets of life?
11:591 What can thy mind to this long journey move?
11:592 Or need'st thou absence to renew thy love?
11:593 Yet, if thou go'st by land, tho' grief possess
11:594 My soul ev'n then, my fears will be the less.
11:595 But ah! be warn'd to shun the watry way,
11:596 The face is frightful of the stormy sea:
11:597 For late I saw a-drift disjointed planks,
11:598 And empty tombs erected on the banks.
11:599 Nor let false hopes to trust betray thy mind,
11:600 Because my sire in caves constrains the wind,
11:601 Can with a breath their clam'rous rage appease,
11:602 They fear his whistle, and forsake the seas:
11:603 Not so; for once indulg'd, they sweep the main;
11:604 Deaf to the call, or hearing, hear in vain;
11:605 But bent on mischief bear the waves before,
11:606 And not content with seas, insult the shore,
11:607 When ocean, air, and Earth, at once ingage,
11:608 And rooted forests fly before their rage:
11:609 At once the clashing clouds to battel move,
11:610 And lightnings run across the fields above:
11:611 I know them well, and mark'd their rude comport,
11:612 While yet a child within my father's court:
11:613 In times of tempest they command alone,
11:614 And he but sits precarious on the throne:
11:615 The more I know, the more my fears augment;
11:616 And fears are oft prophetick of th' event.
11:617 But if not fears, or reasons will prevail,
11:618 If Fate has fix'd thee obstinate to sail,
11:619 Go not without thy wife, but let me bear
11:620 My part of danger with an equal share,
11:621 And present, what I suffer only fear:
11:622 Then o'er the bounding billows shall we fly,
11:623 Secure to live together, or to die.
11:624 These reasons mov'd her warlike husband's heart,
11:625 But still he held his purpose to depart:
11:626 For as he lov'd her equal to his life,
11:627 He would not to the seas expose his wife;
11:628 Nor could be wrought his voyage to refrain,
11:629 But sought by arguments to sooth her pain:
11:630 Nor these avail'd; at length he lights on one,
11:631 With which so difficult a cause he won:
11:632 My love, so short an absence cease to fear,
11:633 For by my father's holy flame I swear,
11:634 Before two moons their orb with light adorn,
11:635 If Heav'n allow me life, I will return.
11:636 This promise of so short a stay prevails;
11:637 He soon equips the ship, supplies the sails,
11:638 And gives the word to launch; she trembling views
11:639 This pomp of death, and parting tears renews:
11:640 Last with a kiss, she took a long farewel,
11:641 Sigh'd with a sad presage, and swooning fell:
11:642 While Ceyx seeks delays, the lusty crew,
11:643 Rais'd on their banks, their oars in order drew
11:644 To their broad breasts, the ship with fury flew.
11:645 The queen recover'd, rears her humid eyes,
11:646 And first her husband on the poop espies,
11:647 Shaking his hand at distance on the main;
11:648 She took the sign, and shook her hand again.
11:649 Still as the ground recedes, contracts her view
11:650 With sharpen'd sight, 'till she no longer knew
11:651 The much-lov'd face; that comfort lost supplies
11:652 With less, and with the galley feeds her eyes;
11:653 The galley born from view by rising gales,
11:654 She follow'd with her sight the flying sails:
11:655 When ev'n the flying sails were seen no more,
11:656 Forsaken of all sight she left the shore.
11:657 Then on her bridal bed her body throws,
11:658 And sought in sleep her wearied eyes to close:
11:659 Her husband's pillow, and the widow'd part
11:660 Which once he press'd, renew'd the former smart.
11:661 And now a breeze from shoar began to blow,
11:662 The sailors ship their oars, and cease to row;
11:663 Then hoist their yards a-trip, and all their sails
11:664 Let fall, to court the wind, and catch the gales:
11:665 By this the vessel half her course had run,
11:666 Both shoars were lost to sight, when at the close
11:667 Of day a stiffer gale at east arose:
11:668 The sea grew white, the rouling waves from far,
11:669 Like heralds, first denounce the watry war.
11:670 This seen, the master soon began to cry,
11:671 Strike, strike the top-sail; let the main-sheet fly,
11:672 And furl your sails: the winds repel the sound,
11:673 And in the speaker's mouth the speech is drown'd.
11:674 Yet of their own accord, as danger taught
11:675 Each in his way, officiously they wrought;
11:676 Some stow their oars, or stop the leaky sides,
11:677 Another bolder, yet the yard bestrides,
11:678 And folds the sails; a fourth with labour laves
11:679 Th' intruding seas, and waves ejects on waves.
11:680 In this confusion while their work they ply,
11:681 The winds augment the winter of the sky,
11:682 And wage intestine wars; the suff'ring seas
11:683 Are toss'd, and mingled, as their tyrants please.
11:684 The master would command, but in despair
11:685 Of safety, stands amaz'd with stupid care,
11:686 Nor what to bid, or what forbid he knows,
11:687 Th' ungovern'd tempest to such fury grows:
11:688 Vain is his force, and vainer is his skill;
11:689 With such a concourse comes the flood of ill;
11:690 The cries of men are mix'd with rattling shrowds;
11:691 Seas dash on seas, and clouds encounter clouds:
11:692 At once from east to west, from pole to pole,
11:693 The forky lightnings flash, the roaring thunders roul.
11:694 Now waves on waves ascending scale the skies,
11:695 And in the fires above the water fries:
11:696 When yellow sands are sifted from below,
11:697 The glittering billows give a golden show:
11:698 And when the fouler bottom spews the black
11:699 The Stygian dye the tainted waters take:
11:700 Then frothy white appear the flatted seas,
11:701 And change their colour, changing their disease,
11:702 Like various fits the Trachin vessel finds,
11:703 And now sublime, she rides upon the winds;
11:704 As from a lofty summit looks from high,
11:705 And from the clouds beholds the nether sky;
11:706 Now from the depth of Hell they lift their sight,
11:707 And at a distance see superior light;
11:708 The lashing billows make a loud report,
11:709 And beat her sides, as batt'ring rams a fort:
11:710 Or as a lion bounding in his way,
11:711 With force augmented, bears against his prey,
11:712 Sidelong to seize; or unapal'd with fear,
11:713 Springs on the toils, and rushes on the spear:
11:714 So seas impell'd by winds, with added pow'r
11:715 Assault the sides, and o'er the hatches tow'r.
11:716 The planks (their pitchy cov'ring wash'd away)
11:717 Now yield; and now a yawning breach display:
11:718 The roaring waters with a hostile tide
11:719 Rush through the ruins of her gaping side.
11:720 Mean-time in sheets of rain the sky descends,
11:721 And ocean swell'd with waters upwards tends;
11:722 One rising, falling one, the Heav'ns and sea
11:723 Meet at their confines, in the middle way:
11:724 The sails are drunk with show'rs, and drop with rain,
11:725 Sweet waters mingle with the briny main.
11:726 No star appears to lend his friendly light;
11:727 Darkness, and tempest make a double night;
11:728 But flashing fires disclose the deep by turns,
11:729 And while the lightnings blaze, the water burns.
11:730 Now all the waves their scatter'd force unite,
11:731 And as a soldier foremost in the fight,
11:732 Makes way for others, and an host alone
11:733 Still presses on, and urging gains the town;
11:734 So while th' invading billows come a-breast,
11:735 The hero tenth advanc'd before the rest,
11:736 Sweeps all before him with impetuous sway,
11:737 And from the walls descends upon the prey;
11:738 Part following enter, part remain without,
11:739 With envy hear their fellows' conqu'ring shout,
11:740 And mount on others' backs, in hopes to share
11:741 The city, thus become the seat of war.
11:742 An universal cry resounds aloud,
11:743 The sailors run in heaps, a helpless crowd;
11:744 Art fails, and courage falls, no succour near;
11:745 As many waves, as many deaths appear.
11:746 One weeps, and yet despairs of late relief;
11:747 One cannot weep, his fears congeal his grief,
11:748 But stupid, with dry eyes expects his fate:
11:749 One with loud shrieks laments his lost estate,
11:750 And calls those happy whom their fun'rals wait.
11:751 This wretch with pray'rs and vows the Gods implores,
11:752 And ev'n the skies he cannot see, adores.
11:753 That other on his friends his thoughts bestows,
11:754 His careful father, and his faithful spouse.
11:755 The covetous worldling in his anxious mind,
11:756 Thinks only on the wealth he left behind.
11:757 All Ceyx his Alcyone employs,
11:758 For her he grieves, yet in her absence joys:
11:759 His wife he wishes, and would still be near,
11:760 Not her with him, but wishes him with her:
11:761 Now with last looks he seeks his native shoar,
11:762 Which Fate has destin'd him to see no more;
11:763 He sought, but in the dark tempestuous night
11:764 He knew not whither to direct his sight.
11:765 So whirl the seas, such darkness blinds the sky,
11:766 That the black night receives a deeper dye.
11:767 The giddy ship ran round; the tempest tore
11:768 Her mast, and over-board the rudder bore.
11:769 One billow mounts, and with a scornful brow,
11:770 Proud of her conquest gain'd, insults the waves below;
11:771 Nor lighter falls, than if some giant tore
11:772 Pindus and Athos with the freight they bore,
11:773 And toss'd on seas; press'd with the pond'rous blow,
11:774 Down sinks the ship within th' abyss below:
11:775 Down with the vessel sink into the main
11:776 The many, never more to rise again.
11:777 Some few on scatter'd planks, with fruitless care,
11:778 Lay hold, and swim; but while they swim, despair.
11:779 Ev'n he who late a scepter did command,
11:780 Now grasps a floating fragment in his hand;
11:781 And while he struggles on the stormy main,
11:782 Invokes his father, and his wife's, in vain.
11:783 But yet his consort is his greatest care,
11:784 Alcyone he names amidst his pray'r;
11:785 Names as a charm against the waves and wind;
11:786 Most in his mouth, and ever in his mind.
11:787 Tir'd with his toil, all hopes of safety past,
11:788 From pray'rs to wishes he descends at last;
11:789 That his dead body, wafted to the sands,
11:790 Might have its burial from her friendly hands,
11:791 As oft as he can catch a gulp of air,
11:792 And peep above the seas, he names the fair;
11:793 And ev'n when plung'd beneath, on her he raves,
11:794 Murm'ring Alcyone below the waves:
11:795 At last a falling billow stops his breath,
11:796 Breaks o'er his head, and whelms him underneath.
11:797 That night, his heav'nly form obscur'd with tears,
11:798 And since he was forbid to leave the skies,
11:799 He muffled with a cloud his mournful eyes.
11:800 Mean-time Alcyone (his fate unknown)
11:801 Computes how many nights he had been gone.
11:802 Observes the waining moon with hourly view,
11:803 Numbers her age, and wishes for a new;
11:804 Against the promis'd time provides with care,
11:805 And hastens in the woof the robes he was to wear:
11:806 And for her self employs another loom,
11:807 New-dress'd to meet her lord returning home,
11:808 Flatt'ring her heart with joys, that never were to come:
11:809 She fum'd the temples with an od'rous flame,
11:810 And oft before the sacred altars came,
11:811 To pray for him, who was an empty name.
11:812 All Pow'rs implor'd, but far above the rest
11:813 To Juno she her pious vows address'd,
11:814 Her much-lov'd lord from perils to protect,
11:815 And safe o'er seas his voyage to direct:
11:816 Then pray'd, that she might still possess his heart,
11:817 And no pretending rival share a part;
11:818 This last petition heard of all her pray'r,
11:819 The rest, dispers'd by winds, were lost in air.
11:820 But she, the Goddess of the nuptial bed,
11:821 Tir'd with her vain devotions for the dead,
11:822 Resolv'd the tainted hand should be repell'd,
11:823 Which incense offer'd, and her altar held:
11:824 Then Iris thus bespoke: Thou faithful maid,
11:825 By whom thy queen's commands are well convey'd,
11:826 Haste to the house of sleep, and bid the God
11:827 Who rules the night by visions with a nod,
11:828 Prepare a dream, in figure, and in form
11:829 Resembling him, who perish'd in the storm;
11:830 This form before Alcyone present,
11:831 To make her certain of the sad event.
11:832 Indu'd with robes of various hue she flies,
11:833 And flying draws an arch (a segment of the skies):
11:834 Then leaves her bending bow, and from the steep
11:835 Descends, to search the silent house of sleep.
Metamorphoses (Books I-XIV)
The Story of Ceyx and Alcyone
11:571 These prodigies affect the pious prince,
11:572 But more perplex'd with those that happen'd since,
11:573 He purposes to seek the Clarian God,
11:574 Avoiding Delphi, his more fam'd abode,
11:575 Since Phlegyan robbers made unsafe the road.
11:576 Yet could he not from her he lov'd so well,
11:577 The fatal voyage, he resolv'd, conceal;
11:578 But when she saw her lord prepar'd to part,
11:579 A deadly cold ran shiv'ring to her heart;
11:580 Her faded cheeks are chang'd to boxen hue,
11:581 And in her eyes the tears are ever new.
11:582 She thrice essay'd to speak; her accents hung,
11:583 And falt'ring dy'd unfinish'd on her tongue,
11:584 And vanish'd into sighs: with long delay
11:585 Her voice return'd, and found the wonted way.
11:586 Tell me, my lord, she said, what fault unknown
11:587 Thy once belov'd Alcyone has done?
11:588 Whither, ah, whither, is thy kindness gone!
11:589 Can Ceyx then sustain to leave his wife,
11:590 And unconcern'd forsake the sweets of life?
11:591 What can thy mind to this long journey move?
11:592 Or need'st thou absence to renew thy love?
11:593 Yet, if thou go'st by land, tho' grief possess
11:594 My soul ev'n then, my fears will be the less.
11:595 But ah! be warn'd to shun the watry way,
11:596 The face is frightful of the stormy sea:
11:597 For late I saw a-drift disjointed planks,
11:598 And empty tombs erected on the banks.
11:599 Nor let false hopes to trust betray thy mind,
11:600 Because my sire in caves constrains the wind,
11:601 Can with a breath their clam'rous rage appease,
11:602 They fear his whistle, and forsake the seas:
11:603 Not so; for once indulg'd, they sweep the main;
11:604 Deaf to the call, or hearing, hear in vain;
11:605 But bent on mischief bear the waves before,
11:606 And not content with seas, insult the shore,
11:607 When ocean, air, and Earth, at once ingage,
11:608 And rooted forests fly before their rage:
11:609 At once the clashing clouds to battel move,
11:610 And lightnings run across the fields above:
11:611 I know them well, and mark'd their rude comport,
11:612 While yet a child within my father's court:
11:613 In times of tempest they command alone,
11:614 And he but sits precarious on the throne:
11:615 The more I know, the more my fears augment;
11:616 And fears are oft prophetick of th' event.
11:617 But if not fears, or reasons will prevail,
11:618 If Fate has fix'd thee obstinate to sail,
11:619 Go not without thy wife, but let me bear
11:620 My part of danger with an equal share,
11:621 And present, what I suffer only fear:
11:622 Then o'er the bounding billows shall we fly,
11:623 Secure to live together, or to die.
11:624 These reasons mov'd her warlike husband's heart,
11:625 But still he held his purpose to depart:
11:626 For as he lov'd her equal to his life,
11:627 He would not to the seas expose his wife;
11:628 Nor could be wrought his voyage to refrain,
11:629 But sought by arguments to sooth her pain:
11:630 Nor these avail'd; at length he lights on one,
11:631 With which so difficult a cause he won:
11:632 My love, so short an absence cease to fear,
11:633 For by my father's holy flame I swear,
11:634 Before two moons their orb with light adorn,
11:635 If Heav'n allow me life, I will return.
11:636 This promise of so short a stay prevails;
11:637 He soon equips the ship, supplies the sails,
11:638 And gives the word to launch; she trembling views
11:639 This pomp of death, and parting tears renews:
11:640 Last with a kiss, she took a long farewel,
11:641 Sigh'd with a sad presage, and swooning fell:
11:642 While Ceyx seeks delays, the lusty crew,
11:643 Rais'd on their banks, their oars in order drew
11:644 To their broad breasts, the ship with fury flew.
11:645 The queen recover'd, rears her humid eyes,
11:646 And first her husband on the poop espies,
11:647 Shaking his hand at distance on the main;
11:648 She took the sign, and shook her hand again.
11:649 Still as the ground recedes, contracts her view
11:650 With sharpen'd sight, 'till she no longer knew
11:651 The much-lov'd face; that comfort lost supplies
11:652 With less, and with the galley feeds her eyes;
11:653 The galley born from view by rising gales,
11:654 She follow'd with her sight the flying sails:
11:655 When ev'n the flying sails were seen no more,
11:656 Forsaken of all sight she left the shore.
11:657 Then on her bridal bed her body throws,
11:658 And sought in sleep her wearied eyes to close:
11:659 Her husband's pillow, and the widow'd part
11:660 Which once he press'd, renew'd the former smart.
11:661 And now a breeze from shoar began to blow,
11:662 The sailors ship their oars, and cease to row;
11:663 Then hoist their yards a-trip, and all their sails
11:664 Let fall, to court the wind, and catch the gales:
11:665 By this the vessel half her course had run,
11:666 Both shoars were lost to sight, when at the close
11:667 Of day a stiffer gale at east arose:
11:668 The sea grew white, the rouling waves from far,
11:669 Like heralds, first denounce the watry war.
11:670 This seen, the master soon began to cry,
11:671 Strike, strike the top-sail; let the main-sheet fly,
11:672 And furl your sails: the winds repel the sound,
11:673 And in the speaker's mouth the speech is drown'd.
11:674 Yet of their own accord, as danger taught
11:675 Each in his way, officiously they wrought;
11:676 Some stow their oars, or stop the leaky sides,
11:677 Another bolder, yet the yard bestrides,
11:678 And folds the sails; a fourth with labour laves
11:679 Th' intruding seas, and waves ejects on waves.
11:680 In this confusion while their work they ply,
11:681 The winds augment the winter of the sky,
11:682 And wage intestine wars; the suff'ring seas
11:683 Are toss'd, and mingled, as their tyrants please.
11:684 The master would command, but in despair
11:685 Of safety, stands amaz'd with stupid care,
11:686 Nor what to bid, or what forbid he knows,
11:687 Th' ungovern'd tempest to such fury grows:
11:688 Vain is his force, and vainer is his skill;
11:689 With such a concourse comes the flood of ill;
11:690 The cries of men are mix'd with rattling shrowds;
11:691 Seas dash on seas, and clouds encounter clouds:
11:692 At once from east to west, from pole to pole,
11:693 The forky lightnings flash, the roaring thunders roul.
11:694 Now waves on waves ascending scale the skies,
11:695 And in the fires above the water fries:
11:696 When yellow sands are sifted from below,
11:697 The glittering billows give a golden show:
11:698 And when the fouler bottom spews the black
11:699 The Stygian dye the tainted waters take:
11:700 Then frothy white appear the flatted seas,
11:701 And change their colour, changing their disease,
11:702 Like various fits the Trachin vessel finds,
11:703 And now sublime, she rides upon the winds;
11:704 As from a lofty summit looks from high,
11:705 And from the clouds beholds the nether sky;
11:706 Now from the depth of Hell they lift their sight,
11:707 And at a distance see superior light;
11:708 The lashing billows make a loud report,
11:709 And beat her sides, as batt'ring rams a fort:
11:710 Or as a lion bounding in his way,
11:711 With force augmented, bears against his prey,
11:712 Sidelong to seize; or unapal'd with fear,
11:713 Springs on the toils, and rushes on the spear:
11:714 So seas impell'd by winds, with added pow'r
11:715 Assault the sides, and o'er the hatches tow'r.
11:716 The planks (their pitchy cov'ring wash'd away)
11:717 Now yield; and now a yawning breach display:
11:718 The roaring waters with a hostile tide
11:719 Rush through the ruins of her gaping side.
11:720 Mean-time in sheets of rain the sky descends,
11:721 And ocean swell'd with waters upwards tends;
11:722 One rising, falling one, the Heav'ns and sea
11:723 Meet at their confines, in the middle way:
11:724 The sails are drunk with show'rs, and drop with rain,
11:725 Sweet waters mingle with the briny main.
11:726 No star appears to lend his friendly light;
11:727 Darkness, and tempest make a double night;
11:728 But flashing fires disclose the deep by turns,
11:729 And while the lightnings blaze, the water burns.
11:730 Now all the waves their scatter'd force unite,
11:731 And as a soldier foremost in the fight,
11:732 Makes way for others, and an host alone
11:733 Still presses on, and urging gains the town;
11:734 So while th' invading billows come a-breast,
11:735 The hero tenth advanc'd before the rest,
11:736 Sweeps all before him with impetuous sway,
11:737 And from the walls descends upon the prey;
11:738 Part following enter, part remain without,
11:739 With envy hear their fellows' conqu'ring shout,
11:740 And mount on others' backs, in hopes to share
11:741 The city, thus become the seat of war.
11:742 An universal cry resounds aloud,
11:743 The sailors run in heaps, a helpless crowd;
11:744 Art fails, and courage falls, no succour near;
11:745 As many waves, as many deaths appear.
11:746 One weeps, and yet despairs of late relief;
11:747 One cannot weep, his fears congeal his grief,
11:748 But stupid, with dry eyes expects his fate:
11:749 One with loud shrieks laments his lost estate,
11:750 And calls those happy whom their fun'rals wait.
11:751 This wretch with pray'rs and vows the Gods implores,
11:752 And ev'n the skies he cannot see, adores.
11:753 That other on his friends his thoughts bestows,
11:754 His careful father, and his faithful spouse.
11:755 The covetous worldling in his anxious mind,
11:756 Thinks only on the wealth he left behind.
11:757 All Ceyx his Alcyone employs,
11:758 For her he grieves, yet in her absence joys:
11:759 His wife he wishes, and would still be near,
11:760 Not her with him, but wishes him with her:
11:761 Now with last looks he seeks his native shoar,
11:762 Which Fate has destin'd him to see no more;
11:763 He sought, but in the dark tempestuous night
11:764 He knew not whither to direct his sight.
11:765 So whirl the seas, such darkness blinds the sky,
11:766 That the black night receives a deeper dye.
11:767 The giddy ship ran round; the tempest tore
11:768 Her mast, and over-board the rudder bore.
11:769 One billow mounts, and with a scornful brow,
11:770 Proud of her conquest gain'd, insults the waves below;
11:771 Nor lighter falls, than if some giant tore
11:772 Pindus and Athos with the freight they bore,
11:773 And toss'd on seas; press'd with the pond'rous blow,
11:774 Down sinks the ship within th' abyss below:
11:775 Down with the vessel sink into the main
11:776 The many, never more to rise again.
11:777 Some few on scatter'd planks, with fruitless care,
11:778 Lay hold, and swim; but while they swim, despair.
11:779 Ev'n he who late a scepter did command,
11:780 Now grasps a floating fragment in his hand;
11:781 And while he struggles on the stormy main,
11:782 Invokes his father, and his wife's, in vain.
11:783 But yet his consort is his greatest care,
11:784 Alcyone he names amidst his pray'r;
11:785 Names as a charm against the waves and wind;
11:786 Most in his mouth, and ever in his mind.
11:787 Tir'd with his toil, all hopes of safety past,
11:788 From pray'rs to wishes he descends at last;
11:789 That his dead body, wafted to the sands,
11:790 Might have its burial from her friendly hands,
11:791 As oft as he can catch a gulp of air,
11:792 And peep above the seas, he names the fair;
11:793 And ev'n when plung'd beneath, on her he raves,
11:794 Murm'ring Alcyone below the waves:
11:795 At last a falling billow stops his breath,
11:796 Breaks o'er his head, and whelms him underneath.
11:797 That night, his heav'nly form obscur'd with tears,
11:798 And since he was forbid to leave the skies,
11:799 He muffled with a cloud his mournful eyes.
11:800 Mean-time Alcyone (his fate unknown)
11:801 Computes how many nights he had been gone.
11:802 Observes the waining moon with hourly view,
11:803 Numbers her age, and wishes for a new;
11:804 Against the promis'd time provides with care,
11:805 And hastens in the woof the robes he was to wear:
11:806 And for her self employs another loom,
11:807 New-dress'd to meet her lord returning home,
11:808 Flatt'ring her heart with joys, that never were to come:
11:809 She fum'd the temples with an od'rous flame,
11:810 And oft before the sacred altars came,
11:811 To pray for him, who was an empty name.
11:812 All Pow'rs implor'd, but far above the rest
11:813 To Juno she her pious vows address'd,
11:814 Her much-lov'd lord from perils to protect,
11:815 And safe o'er seas his voyage to direct:
11:816 Then pray'd, that she might still possess his heart,
11:817 And no pretending rival share a part;
11:818 This last petition heard of all her pray'r,
11:819 The rest, dispers'd by winds, were lost in air.
11:820 But she, the Goddess of the nuptial bed,
11:821 Tir'd with her vain devotions for the dead,
11:822 Resolv'd the tainted hand should be repell'd,
11:823 Which incense offer'd, and her altar held:
11:824 Then Iris thus bespoke: Thou faithful maid,
11:825 By whom thy queen's commands are well convey'd,
11:826 Haste to the house of sleep, and bid the God
11:827 Who rules the night by visions with a nod,
11:828 Prepare a dream, in figure, and in form
11:829 Resembling him, who perish'd in the storm;
11:830 This form before Alcyone present,
11:831 To make her certain of the sad event.
11:832 Indu'd with robes of various hue she flies,
11:833 And flying draws an arch (a segment of the skies):
11:834 Then leaves her bending bow, and from the steep
11:835 Descends, to search the silent house of sleep.