Thus arm'd they went.The noble Trojans wait Their issuing forth, and follow to the gate With prayers and vows.Above the rest appears Ascanius, manly far beyond his years, And messages committed to their care, Which all in winds were lost, and flitting air.
The trenches first they pass'd; then took their way Where their proud foes in pitch'd pavilions lay;To many fatal, ere themselves were slain.
They found the careless host dispers'd upon the plain, Who, gorg'd, and drunk with wine, supinely snore.
Unharness'd chariots stand along the shore:
Amidst the wheels and reins, the goblet by, A medley of debauch and war, they lie.
Observing Nisus shew'd his friend the sight:
"Behold a conquest gain'd without a fight.
Occasion offers, and I stand prepar'd;
There lies our way; be thou upon the guard, And look around, while I securely go, And hew a passage thro' the sleeping foe."Softly he spoke; then striding took his way, With his drawn sword, where haughty Rhamnes lay;His head rais'd high on tapestry beneath, And heaving from his breast, he drew his breath;A king and prophet, by King Turnus lov'd:
But fate by prescience cannot be remov'd.
Him and his sleeping slaves he slew; then spies Where Remus, with his rich retinue, lies.
His armor-bearer first, and next he kills His charioteer, intrench'd betwixt the wheels And his lov'd horses; last invades their lord;Full on his neck he drives the fatal sword:
The gasping head flies off; a purple flood Flows from the trunk, that welters in the blood, Which, by the spurning heels dispers'd around, The bed besprinkles and bedews the ground.
Lamus the bold, and Lamyrus the strong, He slew, and then Serranus fair and young.
From dice and wine the youth retir'd to rest, And puff'd the fumy god from out his breast:
Ev'n then he dreamt of drink and lucky play-More lucky, had it lasted till the day.
The famish'd lion thus, with hunger bold, O'erleaps the fences of the nightly fold, And tears the peaceful flocks: with silent awe Trembling they lie, and pant beneath his paw.
Nor with less rage Euryalus employs The wrathful sword, or fewer foes destroys;But on th' ignoble crowd his fury flew;
He Fadus, Hebesus, and Rhoetus slew.
Oppress'd with heavy sleep the former fell, But Rhoetus wakeful, and observing all:
Behind a spacious jar he slink'd for fear;The fatal iron found and reach'd him there;For, as he rose, it pierc'd his naked side, And, reeking, thence return'd in crimson dyed.
The wound pours out a stream of wine and blood;The purple soul comes floating in the flood.
Now, where Messapus quarter'd, they arrive.
The fires were fainting there, and just alive;The warrior-horses, tied in order, fed.
Nisus observ'd the discipline, and said:
"Our eager thirst of blood may both betray;And see the scatter'd streaks of dawning day, Foe to nocturnal thefts.No more, my friend;Here let our glutted execution end.
A lane thro' slaughter'd bodies we have made."The bold Euryalus, tho' loth, obey'd.
Of arms, and arras, and of plate, they find A precious load; but these they leave behind.
Yet, fond of gaudy spoils, the boy would stay To make the rich caparison his prey, Which on the steed of conquer'd Rhamnes lay.
Nor did his eyes less longingly behold The girdle-belt, with nails of burnish'd gold.
This present Caedicus the rich bestow'd On Remulus, when friendship first they vow'd, And, absent, join'd in hospitable ties:
He, dying, to his heir bequeath'd the prize;Till, by the conqu'ring Ardean troops oppress'd, He fell; and they the glorious gift possess'd.
These glitt'ring spoils (now made the victor's gain)He to his body suits, but suits in vain:
Messapus' helm he finds among the rest, And laces on, and wears the waving crest.
Proud of their conquest, prouder of their prey, They leave the camp, and take the ready way.
But far they had not pass'd, before they spied Three hundred horse, with Volscens for their guide.
The queen a legion to King Turnus sent;
But the swift horse the slower foot prevent, And now, advancing, sought the leader's tent.
They saw the pair; for, thro' the doubtful shade, His shining helm Euryalus betray'd, On which the moon with full reflection play'd.
"'T is not for naught," cried Volscens from the crowd, "These men go there;" then rais'd his voice aloud:
"Stand! stand! why thus in arms? And whither bent?
From whence, to whom, and on what errand sent?"Silent they scud away, and haste their flight To neighb'ring woods, and trust themselves to night.
The speedy horse all passages belay, And spur their smoking steeds to cross their way, And watch each entrance of the winding wood.
Black was the forest: thick with beech it stood, Horrid with fern, and intricate with thorn;Few paths of human feet, or tracks of beasts, were worn.
The darkness of the shades, his heavy prey, And fear, misled the younger from his way.
But Nisus hit the turns with happier haste, And, thoughtless of his friend, the forest pass'd, And Alban plains, from Alba's name so call'd, Where King Latinus then his oxen stall'd;Till, turning at the length, he stood his ground, And miss'd his friend, and cast his eyes around:
"Ah wretch!" he cried, "where have I left behind Th' unhappy youth? where shall I hope to find?
Or what way take?" Again he ventures back, And treads the mazes of his former track.
He winds the wood, and, list'ning, hears the noise Of tramping coursers, and the riders' voice.
The sound approach'd; and suddenly he view'd The foes inclosing, and his friend pursued, Forelaid and taken, while he strove in vain The shelter of the friendly shades to gain.
What should he next attempt? what arms employ, What fruitless force, to free the captive boy?
Or desperate should he rush and lose his life, With odds oppress'd, in such unequal strife?
Resolv'd at length, his pointed spear he shook;And, casting on the moon a mournful look:
"Guardian of groves, and goddess of the night, Fair queen," he said, "direct my dart aright.
