In ranks on either side the' assembly cast,
Bow'd down, and did obeisance as he past.
To him enthron'd (for whispering she had seen
Close at his knees the silver-footed queen,
Daughter of him, who low beneath the tides
Aged and hoary in the deep resides)
Big with invectives Juno silence broke,
And thus opprobrious her resentments spoke:
'False Jove! what goddess whispering did I see?
O fond of counsels still conceal'd from me!
To me, neglected, thou wilt ne'er impart
One single thought of thy close-cover'd heart.'
To whom the sire of gods and men replied:
'Strive not to find what I decree to hide;
Laborious were the search, and vain the strife,
Vain ev'n for thee, my sister and my wife.
The thoughts and counsels proper to declare,
Nor god nor mortal shall before thee share;
But what my secret wisdom shall ordain,
Think not to reach, for know the thought were vain.' ‘Dread Saturn's son! why so severe ? (replies The goddess of the large majestic eyes.)
Thy own dark thoughts at pleasure hide or show;
Ne'er have I ask'd, nor now aspire to know.
Nor yet my fears are vain, nor came unseen
To thy high throne the silver-footed queen,
Daughter of him who low beneath the tides,
Aged and hoary, in the deep resides.
Thy nod assures me she was not denied,
And Greece must perish for a madman's pride.'
To whom the god whose hand the tempest forms, Drives clouds on clouds, and blackens heav'n with storms,
Thus wrathful answer'd: 'Dost thou still complain?
Perplex'd for ever, and perplex'd in vain ;
Shouldst thou disclose the dark event to come,
How wilt thou stop the' irrevocable doom?
This serves the more to sharpen my disdain,
And woes foreseen but lengthen out thy pain.
Be silent then; dispute not my command,
Nor tempt the force of this superior hand,
Lest all the gods around thee leagued, engage
In vain to shield thee from my kindled rage.'
Mute and abash'd, she sat without reply,
And downward turn'd her large majestic eye,
Nor further durst the' offended sire provoke:
The gods around him trembled as he spoke ;
When Vulcan, for his mother sore distrest,
Turn'd orator, and thus his speech addrest:
'Hard is our fate, if men of mortal line
Stir up debate among the powers divine,
If things on earth disturb the blest abodes,
And mar the' ambrosial banquet of the gods!
Then let my mother once be rul'd by me,
Though much more wise than I pretend to be:
Let me advise her silent to obey,
And due submission to our father pay,
Nor force again his gloomy rage to rise
Ill-tim'd, and damp the revels of the skies;
For should he toss her from the' Olympian hill,
Who could resist the mighty monarch's will?
Then thou to love the Thunderer reconcile,
And tempt him kindly on us all to smile.'
He said; and in his tottering hands upbore
A double goblet, fill'd and foaming o'er.
'Sit down, dear mother! with a heart content,
Nor urge a more disgraceful punishment;
Which if great Jove inflict, poor I dismay'd
Must stand aloof, nor dare to give thee aid.
Great Jove shall reign for ever uncontroll'd:
Remember when I took thy part of old,
Caught by the heel he swung me round on high,
And headlong hurl❜d me from the' ethereal sky :
From morn to noon I fell, from noon to night,
Till pitch'd on Lemnos, a most piteous sight?
The Sintiants hardly could my breath recall,
Giddy and gasping, with the dreadful fall.'
She smil❜d; and, smiling, her white arm display'd
To reach the bowl her awkward son convey'd:
From right to left the generous bowl he crown'd,
And dealt the rosy nectar fairly round.
The gods laugh'd out, unweary'd as they spied
The busy skinker hop from side to side.
Thus feasting to the full, they pass'd away
In blissful banquets all the livelong day;
Nor wanted melody: with heavenly art
The Muses sung; each Muse perform'd her part,
Alternate warbling, while the golden lyre
Touch'd by Apollo led the vocal choir.
The sun at length declin'd, when every guest
Sought his bright palace and withdrew to rest.
Each had his palace on the' Olympian hill,
A masterpiece of Vulcan's matchless skill.
Ev'n he, the god who heaven's great sceptre sways,
And frowns amid the lightning's dreadful blaze;
His bed of state ascending lay compos'd;
His eyes a sweet refreshing slumber clos'd;
And at his side, all glorious to behold,
Was Juno, lodg'd in her alcove of gold.
N 2
WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOENIX.
LAVISH of wit, and bold, appear the lines
Where Claudian's genius in the Phoenix shines;
A thousand ways each brilliant point is turn'd,
And the gay poem like its theme adorn'd.
A tale more strange ne'er grac'd the poet's art,
Nor e'er did fiction play so wild a part.
Each fabled charm in matchless Celia meets,
The heavenly colours and ambrosial sweets;
Her virgin bosom chaster fires supplies,
And beams more piercing guard her kindred eyes; O'erflowing wit imagin'd wonder drew,
But fertile fancy ne'er can reach the true.
Now buds your youth, your cheeks their bloom disclose,
The' untainted lily and unfolding rose;
Ease in your mien, and sweetness in your face,
You speak a siren and you move a grace;
Nor time shall urge these beauties to decay,
While virtue gives what years shall steal away.
The fair whose youth can boast the worth of age,
In age shall with the charms of youth engage;
In every change still lovely, still the same,
A fairer Phoenix in a purer flame.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PHENIX.
IN utmost ocean lies a lovely isle
Where spring still blooms and greens for ever smile,
Which sees the Sun put on his first array,
And hears his panting steeds bring on the day,
When from the deep they rush with rapid force,
And whirl aloft to run their glorious course,
When first appear the ruddy streaks of light,
And glimmering beams dispel the parting night.
In these soft shades, unprest by human feet,
The happy Phoenix keeps his balmy seat;
Far from the world disjoin'd, he reigns alone,
Alike the empire and its king unknown:
A godlike bird! whose endless round of years
Outlasts the stars, and tires the circling spheres.
Not us'd like vulgar birds to eat his fill,
Or drink the crystal of the murmuring rill,
But fed with warmth from Titan's purer ray,
And slak'd by streams which eastern seas convey;
Still he renews his life in these abodes,
Contemns the power of fate and mates the gods.
His fiery eyes shoot forth a glittering ray,
And round his head ten thousand glories play;
High on his crest a star, celestial bright,
Divides the darkness with its piercing light;
His legs are stain'd with purple's lively die,
His azure wings the fleeting winds outfly;
Soft plumes of cheerful blue his limbs infold,
Enrich'd with spangles and bedropt with gold.
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