And these indulge their want, and those their woe,
And here the tears, and there the goblets flow.
By many fuch I have been warn'd; but chief
By one Ætolian robb'd of all belief,
Whose hap it was to this our roof to roam,
For murder banish'd from his native home.
He swore, Ulyffes on the coaft of Crete
Staid but a feason to refit his fleet;
A few revolving months fhould waft him o'er,
Fraught with bold warriours, and a boundless store.
O thou! whom age has taught to understand,
And Heaven has guided with a favouring hand!
On God or mortal to obtrude a lie
Forbear, and dread to flatter as to die.
Not for fuch ends my house and heart are free,
But dear refpect to Jove, and charity.
And why, O fwain of unbelieving mind!
(Thus quick reply'd the wifeft of mankind)
Doubt you my oath ? yet more my faith to try,
A folemn compact let us ratify,
And witness every Power that rules the sky!
If here Ulyffes from his labours rest,
Be then my prize a tunic and a vest;
And, where my hopes invite me, ftraight transport
In fafety to Dulichium's friendly court.
But, if he greets not thy defiring eye,
Hurl me from yon' dread precipice on high;
The due reward of fraud and perjury.
Doubtlefs, O guest! great laud and praise were mine (Reply'd the fwain for spotless faith divine)
If, after focial rites and gifts bestow'd,
I ftain'd my hospitable hearth with blood,
How would the Gods my righteous toils fucceed,
And blefs the hand that made a ftranger bleed?
No more th' approaching hours of filent night
First claim refection, then to rek invite ;
Beneath our humble cottage let us hafte,
And here, unenvy'd, rural dainties taste.
Thus commun'd thefe; while to their lowly dome The full-fed fwine return'd with evening home; Compell'd, reluctant, to the several sties,
With din obftreperous, and ungrateful cries.
Then to the flaves-Now from the herd the best
Select, in honour of our foreign guest:
With him let us the genial banquet fhare,
For great and many are the griefs we bear;
While those who from our labours heap their board,
Blafpheme their feeder, and forget their lord.
Thus fpeaking, with dispatchful hand he took
A weighty ax, and cleft the folid oak;
This on the earth he pil'd; a boar full fed,
Of five years age, before the pile was led :
The fwain, whom acts of piety delight,
Obfervant of the Gods, begins the rite;
Firft fhears the forehead of the bristly boar,
And fuppliant ftands, invoking every Power
To fpeed Ulyffes to his native fhore.
A knotty stake then aiming at his head,
Down dropp'd he groaning, and the spirit fled.
The fcorching flames climb round on every fide:
Then the fing d members they with skill divide;
On thefe, in rolls of fat involv'd with art,
The choiceft morfels lay from every part.
Some in the flames, beftrow'd with flour, they threw :
Some cut in fragments, from the forks they drew ;
Thefe while on feveral tables they difpofe,
As priest himself the blameless ruftick rose;
Expert the deftin'd victim to dif-part
In seven just portions, pure of hand and heart.
One facred to the Nymphs apart they lay;
Another to the winged fon of May:
The rural tribe in common fhare the reft,
The king the chine, the honour of the feaft,
Who fate delighted at his fervant's board;
The faithful fervant joy'd his unknown lord.
Oh! be thou dear (Ulyffes cry'd) to Jove,
As well thou claim'ft a grateful ftranger's love!
Be then thy thanks (the bounteous fwain reply'd) Enjoyment of the good the Gods provide.
From God's own hand defcend our joys and woes;
Thefe he decrees, and he but fuffers thofe :
All power is his, and whatfoe'er he wills,
The will itself, omnipotent, fulfills.
This faid, the firft-fruits to the Gods he gave;
Then pour'd of offer'd wine the fable wave :
In great Ulyffes' hand he plac'd the bowl,
He fate, and fweet refection chear'd his foul.
The bread from cannifters Mefaulius gave,
(Eumæus' proper treasure bought this flave,
And led from Taphos, to attend his board,
A fervant added to his abfent lord)
His task it was the wheaten loaves to lay,
And from the banquet take the bowls away.
And now the rage of hunger was reprefs'd,
And each betakes him to his couch to rest.
Now came the night, and darkness cover'd o'er 510
The face of things; the winds began to roar ;
The driving ftorm the watery weft-wind pours,
And Jove defcends in deluges of showers.
Studious of reft and warmth, Ulyffes lies,
Foreseeing from the first the storm would rife;
In mere neceffity of coat and cloak,
With artful preface to his hoft he spoke :
Hear me, my friends! who this good banquet grace; 'Tis fweet to play the fool in time and place,
And wine can of their wits the wife beguile,
Make the fage frolic, and the serious smile,
The grave in merry measures frifk about,
And many a long-repented word bring out.
Since to be talkative I now commence,
Let wit caft off the fullen yoke of sense.
Once I was ftrong (would Heaven restore those days!)
And with my betters claim'd a share of praise.
Ulyffes, Menelaus, led forth a band,
And join'd me with them ('twas their own command); A deathful ambush for the foe to lay,
Beneath Troy's walls by night we took our way:
There, clad in arms, along the marshes spread,
We made the ofier-fringed bank our bed.
Full foon th' inclemency of Heaven I feel,
Nor had these shoulders covering but of steel.
Sharp blew the north; fnow whitening all the fields
Froze with the blaft, and gathering glaz'd our fhields.
There all but I, well fenc'd with cloak and veft,
Lay cover'd by their ample fhields at reft.
Fool that I was! I left behind my own;
The skill of weather and of winds unknown,
And trusted to my coat and fhield alone!
When now was wasted more than half the night,
And the ftars faded at approaching light;
Sudden I jogg'd Ulyffes, who was laid
Faft by my fide, and fhivering thus I faid:
Here longer in this field I cannot lie;
The winter pinches, and with cold I die,
And die afham'd (O wisest of mankind)
The only fool who left his cloak behind.
He thought, and anfwer'd: hardly waking yet,
Sprung in his mind the momentary wit
(That wit, which or in council, or in fight,
Still met th'emergence, and determin'd right).
Hush thee, he cry'd, (soft whispering in my ear) . 555
Speak not a word, left
any
And then (fupporting on his arm his head)
Hear me, companions! (thus aloud he faid)
Methinks too distant from the fleet we lie:
Ev'n now a vifion ftood before my eye,
And sure the warning vision was from high:
Let from among us some swift courier rife,
Hafte to the general, and demand fupplies.
Upstarted Thoas straight, Andræmon's fon,
Nimbly he rofe, and cast his garment down;
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