By figs and grapes." She pauses; while around
His eye, delighted, roves, in more delight
Soon to the spot returning, where she stood
A deity in semblance, o'er the place
Presiding awful, as Minerva wise,

August like Juno, like Diana pure,

But not more pure than fair. The beauteous lake,
The pines wide-branching, falls of water clear,
The multifarious glow on Flora's lap
Lose all attraction, as her gracious lips
Resume their tale." In solitude remote
Here I have dwelt contemplative, serene.
Oft through the rocks responsive to my lyre,
Oft to th' Amphictyons in assembly full,
When at this shrine their annual vows they pay,
In measur'd declamation I repeat

The praise of Greece, her liberty and laws.
From me the hinds, who tend their wand'ring goats
In these rude purlieus, modulate their pipes
To smoother cadence. Justice from my tongue
Dissentions calm, which ev'n in deserts rend
Th' unquiet heart of man. Now furious war
My careful thoughts engages, which delight
To help the free, th' oppressor to confound.
Thy feet auspicious fortune hither brings.
In thee a noble messenger I find.
Go, in these words Leonidas address.
Melissa, priestess of the tuneful Nine,
By their behests invites thy honour'd feet
To her divine abode. Thee, first of Greeks,
To conference of high import she calls."

Th' obedient Thespian down the holy cave
Returns. His swiftness suddenly prevents
His friend's impatience, who salutes him thus.
"Let thy adventure be hereafter told.
Look yonder. Fresh battalions from the camp
File through the Phocian barrier to construct
Another phalanx, moving tow'r of war,
Which scorns the strength of Asia. Let us arm;
That, ready station'd in the glorious van,
We may secure permission from the king
There to continue, and renew the fight."

That instant brings Megistias near the grot. To Sparta's phalanx his paternal hand Was leading Menalippus. Not unheard By Dithyrambus in their slow approach, The father warns a young and lib'ral mind. "Sprung from a distant boundary of Greece, A foreigner in Sparta, cherish'd there, Instructed, honour'd, nor unworthy held To fight for Lacedæmon in her line Of discipline and valour, lo! my son, The hour is come to prove thy gen'rous heart: That in thy hand, not ill-entrusted, shine The spear and buckler to maintain the cause Of thy protectress. Let thy mind recall Leonidas. On yonder bulwark plac'd, He overlooks the battle; he discerns The bold and fearful. May the gods I serve, Grant me to hear Leonidas approve My son! No other boon my age implores." The augur paus'd. The animated cheek Of Menalippus glows. His eager look Demands the fight. This struck the tender sire, Who then with moisten'd eyes. "Remember too, A father sees thy danger. Oh! my child; To me thy honour, as to thee, is dear; Yet court not death. By ev'ry filial tie, By all my fondness, all my cares I sue! Amid the conflict, or the warm pursuit

Still by the wise Dieneces abide.

His prudent valour knows th' unerring paths
Of glory. He admits thee to his side.
He will direct thy ardour. Go"-They part.
Megistias, turning, is accosted thus
By Dithyrambus. "Venerable seer,
So may that son, whose merit I esteem,
Whose precious head in peril I would die
To guard, return in triumph to thy breast,
As thou deliver'st to Laconia's king
A high and solemn message.
The line is forming, from th' embattled field
I must not stray, uncall'd. A sacred charge
Through hallow'd lips will best approach the
king."

While anew

The Acarnanian in suspense remains
And silence. Dithyrambus quick relates
Melissa's words, describes the holy grot,
Then quits th' instructed augur, and attends
Diomedon's loud call. That fervid chief
Was reassuming his distinguish'd arms,
Which, as a splendid recompense, he bore
From grateful Athens, for achievements bold;
When he with brave Miltiades redeem'd
Her domes from Asian flames. The sculptur'd helm
Enclos'd his manly temples. From on high
A four-fold plumage nodded; while beneath
A golden dragon with effulgent scales,
Itself the crest, shot terrour. On his arm
He brac'd his buckler. Bord'ring on the rim,
Gorgonian serpents twin'd. Within, the form
Of Pallas, martial goddess, was emboss'd.
Low, as her feet, the graceful tunic flow'd.
Betwixt two griffins on her helmet sat

A sphynx with wings expanded; while the face
Of dire Medusa on her breast-plate frown'd.
One hand supports a javelin, which confounds
The pride of kings. The other leads along

A blooming virgin, Victory, whose brow
A wreath encircles. Laurels she presents;
But from her shoulders all her plumes were shorn,
In favour'd Athens ever now to rest.

This dread of Asia on his mighty arm

Diomedon uprear'd. He snatch'd his lance,

Then spake to Dithyrambus. "See, my friend,
Alone of all the Grecians, who sustain'd

The former onset, inexhausted stand
Platea's sons. They well may keep the field,
Who with unslacken'd nerves endur'd that day,
Which saw ten myriads of barbarians driv'n
Back to their ships, and Athens left secure.
Charge in our line. Amid the foremost rank
Thy valour shall be plac'd to share command,
And ev'ry honour with Platæa's chief."

He said no more, but tow'rds the Grecian vap
Impetuous, ardent strode. Nor slow behind
The pride of Thespia, Dithyrambus mov’d`
Like youthful Hermes in celestial arms;
When lightly graceful with his feather'd feet
Along Scamander's flow'ry verge he pass'd
To aid th' incens'd divinities of Greece
Against the Phrygian tow'rs. Their eager haste
Soon brings the heroes to th' embattling ranks,
Whom thus the brave Diomedon exhorts.

"Not to contend, but vanquish, are ye come, Here in the blood of fugitives your spears Shall, unoppos'd, be stain'd. My valiant friends, But chief, ye men of Sparta, view that space, Where from the Malian gulf more distant rise | Th' Œtæan rocks, and less confine the straits,

There if we range, extending wide our front,
An ampler scope to havoc will be giv'n."

To him Dieneces. "Platæan friend,
Well dost thou counsel. On that widening ground
Close to the mountain place thy vet'ran files.
Proportion'd numbers from thy right shall stretch
Quite to the shore in phalanx deep like thine.
The Spartans wedg'd in this contracted part
Will I contain. Behind me Alpheus waits.
With lighter bodies. Further back the line
Of Locris forms a strong reserve." He said.
The diffrent bands, confiding in his skill,
Move on successive. The Platæans first
Against the hill are station'd. In their van
Is Dithyrambus rank'd. Triumphant joy
Distends their bosoms, sparkles in their eyes.

"Bless'd be the great Diomedon," they shout, "Who brings another hero to our line. Hail! Dithyrambus. Hail! illustrious youth. Had tender age permitted, thou hadst gain'd An early palm at Marathon." His post

He takes. His gladness blushes on his cheek
Amid the foremost rank. Around him crowd
The long-try'd warriors. Their unnumber'd scars
Discov'ring, they in ample phrase recount
Their various dangers. He their wounds surveys
In veneration, nor disdains to hear
The oft-repeated tale. From Sparta's king
Return'd, the gracious Agis these address'd.

"Leonidas salutes Platæa's chief

And Dithyrambus. To your swords he grants
A further effort with Platæa's band,
If yet by toil unconquer'd-but I see,
That all, unyielding, court the promis'd fight.
Hail! glorious veterans. This signal day
May your victorious arms augment the wreaths
Around your venerable heads, and grace
Thermopyla with Marathonian fame."
Meantime advance

This said, he hastens back.

The Mantinean, Diophantus brave,

Then Hegesander, Tegea's dauntless chief,
Who near Diomedon in equal range

Erect their standards. Next the Thebans form.
Alemæon, bold Eupalamus succeed

With their Corinthian and Phliasian bands.
Last on the Malian shore Mycena's youth
Aristobulus draws. From Eta's side
Down to the bay in well-connected length
Each gleaming rank contains a hundred spears,
While twenty bucklers ev'ry file condense.
A sure support, Dieneces behind

Arrays the Spartans. Godlike Agis here,
There Menalippus by their leader stand
Two bulwarks. Breathing ardour in the rear,
The words of Alpheus fan the growing flame
Of expectation through his light-arm'd force;
While Polydorus present in his thoughts
To vengeance sharpens his indignant soul.

No foe is seen. No distant shout is heard.
This pause of action Dithyrambus chose.
The solemn scene on Eta to his friend
He open'd large; portray'd Melissa's form,
Reveal'd her mandate; when Platæa's chief.
"Such elevation of a female mind
Bespeaks Melissa worthy to obtain
The conference she asks. This wondrous dame
Amid her hymns conceives some lofty thought
To make these slaves, who loiter in their camp,
Dread ev'n our women. But, my gentle friend,
Say, Dithyrambus, whom the liquid spell

Of song enchants, should Í reproach the gods,
Who form'd me cold to music's pleasing pow'r?
Or should I thank them, that the soft'ning charm
Of sound or numbers ne'er dissolv'd my soul?
Yet I confess thy valour breaks that charm
Which may enrapture, not unman thy breast."
To whom his friend. "Doth he, whose lays record
The woes of Priam, and the Grecian fame,
Doth he dissolve thy spirit? Yet he flows
In all the sweetness harmony can breathe."
"No, by the gods," Diomedon rejoins.
"I feel that mighty Muse. I see the car
Of fierce Achilles, see th' encumber'd wheels
O'er heroes driv'n, and clotted with their gore.
Another too demands my soul's esteem,
Brave Eschylus of Athens. I have seen
His Muse begirt by furies, while she swell'd
Her tragic numbers. Him in equal rage
His country's foes o'erwhelming I beheld
At Marathon. If Phoebus would diffuse
Such fire through ev'ry bard, the tuneful band
Might in themselves find heroes for their songs.
But, son of Harmatides, lift thine eye

To yonder point, remotest in the bay.
Those seeming clouds, which o'er the billows fleet
Successive round the jutting land, are sails.

Th' Athenian pendant hastens to salute
Leonidas. O Eschylus, my friend,
First in the train of Phoebus and of Mars,
Be thou on board! Swift-bounding o'er the waves,
Come and be witness to heroic deeds!
Brace thy strong harp with loftier-sounding chords
To celebrate this battle! Fall, who may;
But if they fall with honour, let their names
Round festive goblets in thy numbers ring,
And joy, not grief, accompany the song."
Conversing thus, their courage they beguil'd,
Which else, impatient of inactive hours,
At long-suspended glory bad repin'd.

LEONIDAS. BOOK VII.

THE ARGUMENT.

Megistias delivers Melissa's message to Leonidas. Medon, her brother, conducts him to the temple. She furnishes Leonidas with the means of executing a design he had premeditated to annoy the enemy. They are joined by a body of mariners under the command of Eschylus, a celebrated poet and warrior among the Athenians. Leonidas takes the necessary measures; and, observing from a summit of ta the motions of the Persian army, expects another attack: this is renewed with great violence by Hyperanthes, Abrocomes, and the principal Persian leaders at the head of some chosen troops.

MEGISTIAS, urging to unwonted speed
His aged steps, by Dithyrambus charg'd
With sage Melissa's words, had now rejoin'd
The king of Lacedæmon. At his side
Was Maron posted, watchful to receive
His high injunctions. In the rear they stood
Behind two thousand Locrians, deep-array'd

By warlike Medon, from Oïleus sprung.
Leonidas to them his anxious mind

Was thus disclosing. "Medon, Maron, hear.
From this low rampart my exploring eye
But half commands the action, yet hath mark'd
Enough for caution. Yon barbarian camp,
Iminense, exhaustless, deluging the ground
With myriads, still o'erflowing, may consume
By endless numbers and unceasing toil

The Grecian strength. Not marble is our flesh,
Nor adamant our sinews. Sylvan pow'rs,
Who dwell on (Eta, your superior aid
We must solicit. Your stupendous cliffs
In those loose rocks, and branchless trunks, contain
More fell annoyance than the arm of man."

He ended; when Megistias. "Virtuous king,
Melissa, priestess of the tuneful Nine,
By their behests invites thy honour'd feet
To her chaste dwelling, seated on that hill.
To conference of high import she calls
Thee, first of Grecians." Medon interpos'd.

"She is my sister. Justice rules her ways With piety and wisdom. To her voice The nations round give ear. The Muses breathe Their inspiration through her spotless soul, Which borders on divinity. She calls On thee. O truly styl'd the first of Greeks, Regard her call. Yon cliff's projecting head To thy discernment will afford a scope More full, more certain; thence thy skilful eye Will best direct the fight." Melissa's sire Was ever present to the king in thought, Who thus to Medon. "Lead, Oïleus' son. Before the daughter of Oïleus place My willing feet." They hasten to the cave. Megistias, Maron follow. Through the rock Leonidas, ascending to the fane,

Rose like the god of Morning from the cell Of Night, when, shedding cheerfulness and day On hill and vale emblaz'd with dewy gems, He gladdens Nature. Lacedæmon's king, Majestically graceful and serene, Dispels the rigour in that solemn seat Of holy sequestration. On the face Of pensive-ey'd Religion rapture glows In admiration of the godlike man. Advanc'd Melissa. He her proffer'd hand In hue, in purity like snow, receiv'd. A heav'n-illumin'd dignity of look On him she fix'd. Rever'd by all, she spake. "Hail! chief of men, selected by the gods For purer fame than Hercules acquir'd. This hour allows no pause." She leads the king With Medon, Maron, and Megistias down A slope, declining to the mossy verge, Which terminates the mountain. While they pass, She thus proceeds. "These marble masses view, Which lie dispers'd around you. They were hewn From yonder quarry. Note those pond'rous beams, The sylvan offspring of that hill. With these At my request th' Amphictyons from their seat Of gen'ral council piously decreed To raise a dome, the ornament of Greece.

He to accomplish, what thy wisdom plans,
Hath amplest means supply'd. Go, Medon, bring
The thousand peasants from th' Oilean vale
Detach'd. Their leader Melibus bring.

Fly, Maron. Ev'ry instrument provide
To fell the trees, to drag the massy beams,
To lift the broad-hewn fragments.". -"Are not
these

For sacred use reserv'd?" Megistias said.
"Can these be wielded by the hand of Mars
Without pollution?" In a solemn tone
The priestess answer'd. "Rev'rend man, who bearst
Pontific wreaths, and thou, great captain, hear.
Forbear to think, that my unprompted inind,
Calm and sequester'd in religion's peace,
Could have devis'd a stratagem of war;
Or, unpermitted, could resign to Mars
These rich materials, gather'd to restore
In strength and splendour yon decrepit walls,
And that time-shaken roof. Rejecting sleep,

Last night I lay contriving swift revenge
On these barbarians, whose career profane
O'erturns the Grecian temples, and devotes
Their holy bow'rs to flames. I left my couch,
Long ere the Sun his orient gates unbarr'd.
Beneath yon beach my pensive head reclin'd.
The rivulets, the fountains, warbling round,
Attracted slumber. In a dream I saw
Calliopé. Her sisters, all with harps,
Were rang'd around her; as their Parian forms
Show in the temple. Dost thou sleep?' she said;
'Melissa, dost thou sleep? The barb'rous host
Approaches Greece. The first of Grecians comes
By death to vanquish. Priestess, let him burl
These marble heaps, these consecrated beams,
Our fane itself, to crush the impious ranks,
The hero summon to our sacred hill.
Reveal the promis'd succour.
All is due

To liberty against a tyrant's pride.'
She struck her shell. In concert full reply'd
The sister lyres. Leonidas they sung

In ev'ry note and dialect yet known,

In measures new, in language yet to come."

Down that declivity, half-rooted, bent,
Inviting human force-Then look below.
There lies Thermopylæ.”—“ I see,” exclaims
The high-conceiving hero. "I recall

Thy father's words and forecast. He presag'd,
I should not find his daughter's counsel vain.

What should uphold my resolution firm.
My country's laws I never would survive."
Mov'd at his words, reflecting on his fate,
She had relax'd her dignity of mind,
Had sunk in sadness; but her brother's helm
Before her beams. Relumining her night,
He through the cave like Hesperus ascends,
Th' Oilean hinds conducting to achieve
The enterprise she counsels. Now her ear
Is pierc'd by notes, shrill sounding from the vault.
Up starts a diff'rent band, alert and light,
Athenian sailors. Long and sep'rate files
Of lusty shoulders, eas'd by union, bear
Thick, well-compacted cables, wont to heave
The restiff anchor. To a naval pipe,
As if one soul invigorated all,

And all compos'd one body, they had trod
In equal paces, mazy, yet unbroke
Throughout their passage. So the spinal strength
Of some portentous serpent, whom the heats
Of Libya breed, indissolubly knit,

But flexible, across the sandy plain,
Or up the mountain draws his spotted length,
Or where a winding excavation leads
Through rocks abrupt and wild. Of stature large,
In arms which show'd simplicity of strength,
No decoration of redundant art,

With sable horse-hair, floating down his back,
A warrior moves behind. Compos'd in gait,
Austerely grave and thoughtful, on his shield
The democratic majesty he bore

Of Athens. Carv'd in emblematic brass,
Her image stood with Pallas by her side,
And trampled under each victorious foot
A regal crown, one Persian, one usurp'd
By her own tyrants, on the well-fought plain
Of Marathon confounded. He commands
These future guardians of their country's weal,
Of gen'ral Greece the bulwarks. Their high deeds
From Artemisium, from th' empurpled shores
Of Salamis renown shall echo wide;
Shall tell posterity in latest times,
That naval fortitude controls the world.
Swift Maron, following, brings a vig'rous band
Of Helots. Ev'ry instrument they wield
To delve, to hew, to heave; and active last
Bounds Melibæus, vigilant to urge
The tardy forward. To Laconia's king
Advanc'd th' Athenian leader, and began.
"Thou godlike ruler of Eurotas, hail!
Thee by my voice Themistocles salutes,
The admiral of Athens. I conduct

By public choice the squadron of my tribe,
And Eschylus am call'd. Our chief bath giv'n
Three days to glory on Eubœa's coast,
Whose promontories almost rise to meet
Thy ken from Eta's cliffs. This morning saw
The worsted foe, from Artemisium driv'n,
Leave their disabled ships, and floating wrecks,
For Grecian trophies. When the fight was clos'd,
I was detach'd to bring th' auspicious news,
To bid thee welcome. Fortunate my keel
Hath swiftly borne me. Joyful I concur
In thy attempt. Appris'd by yonder chiefs,
Who met me landing, instant from the ships
A thousand gallant mariners I drew,
Who till the setting Sun shall lend their toil."
"Themistocles and thou accept my heart,"
Leonidas reply'd, and closely strain'd
The brave, the learn'd Athenian to his breast.

"To envy is ignoble, to admire
Th' activity of Athens will become

A king of Sparta, who like thee condemn'd
His country's sloth. But Sparta now is arm'd.
Thou shalt commend. Behold me station'd here
To watch the wild vicissitudes of war,
Direct the course of slaughter. To this post
By that superior woman I was call'd.

By long protracted fight lest fainting Greece
Should yield, outnumber'd, my enlighten'd soul
Through her, whom Heav'n enlightens, hath devis'd
To whelm the num'rous, persevering foe

In hideous death, and signalize the day
With horrours new to war. The Muses prompt
The bright achievement. Lo! from Athens smiles
Minerva too. Her swift, auspicious aid

In thee we find, and these, an ancient race,
By her and Neptune cherish'd." Straight he meets
The gallant train, majestic with his arms
Outstretch'd, in this applauding strain he spake.

"O lib'ral people, earliest arm'd to shield
Not your own Athens more than gen'ral Greece,
You best deserve her gratitude. Her praise
Will rank you foremost on the rolls of Fame."

They hear, they gaze, revering and rever'd.
Fresh numbers muster, rushing from the hills,
The thickets round. Melissa, pointing, spake.
"I am their leader. Natives of the hills
Are these, the rural worshippers of Pan,
Who breathes an ardour through their humble minds
To join you warriors. Vassals these, not mine,
But of the Muses, and their hallow'd laws
Administer'd by me. Their patient hands
Make culture smile, where Nature seems to chide;
Nor wanting my instructions, or my pray❜rs,
Fertility they scatter by their toil
Around this aged temple's wild domain.
Is Melibæus here! Thou fence secure
To old Oïleus from the cares of time,
Thrice art thou welcome. Useful, wise, belov❜d,
Where'er thou sojournest, on Œta known,
As oft the bounty of a father's love
Thou on Melissa's solitude dost pour,
Be thou director of these mountain hinds."
Th' important labour to inspiring airs
From flutes and harps in symphony with hymns
Of holy virgins, ardent all perform,

In bands divided under diff'rent chiefs.
Huge timbers, blocks of marble, to remove
They first attempted; then assembled stones
Loose in their beds, and wither'd trunks, uptorn
By tempests; next dismember'd from the rock
Broad, rugged fragments; from the mountains hew'd
Their venerable firs, and aged oaks,
Which, of their branches by the lightning bar'd,
Presented still against the blasting flame
Their hoary pride unshaken. These the Greeks,
But chief th' Athenian mariners, to force
Uniting skill, with massy leavers heave,
With strong-knit cables drag: till, now dispos'd,
Where great Leonidas appoints, the piles
Nod o'er the straits. This new and sudden scene
Might lift imagination to belief,

That Orpheus and Amphion from their beds
Of ever-blooming asphodel had heard
The Muses call; had brought their fabled harps,
At whose mellifluent charm once more the trees
Had burst their fibrous bands, and marbles leap'd
In rapid motion from the quarry's womb,
That day to follow harmony in aid

Of gen'rous valour. Fancy might discern
Cerulean Tethys, from her coral grot
Emerging, seated on her pearly car,
With Nereids floating on the surge below,
To view in wonder from the Malian bay
The attic sons of Neptune; who forsook
Their wooden walls to range th' Etœan crags,
To read the forests, and disjoin the rocks.
Meantime a hundred sheep are slain. Their limbs
From burning piles fume grateful. Bounty spreads
A decent board. Simplicity attends.
Then spake the priestess. "Long-enduring chiefs,
Your efforts, now accomplish'd, may admit
Refection due to this hard-labour'd train,
Due to yourselves." Her hospitable smile
Wins her well-chosen guests, Laconia's king,
Her brother, Maron, Eschylus divine
With Acarnania's priest. Her first commands
To Melibocus sedulous and blithe
Distribute plenty through the toiling crowd,
Then, skreen'd beneath close umbrage of an-oak,
Each care-divested chief the banquet shares.

Cool breezes, whisp'ring, flutter in the leaves,
Whose verdure, pendent in an arch, repel
The west'ring Sun's hot glare. Favonius bland
His breath impregnates with exhaling sweets
From flow'ry beds, whose scented clusters deck
The gleaming pool in view. Fast by, a brook
In limpid lapses over native steps
Attunes his cadence to sonorous strings,
And liquid accents of Melissa's maids.
The floating air in melody respires.
A rapture mingles in the calin repast.
Uprises Eschylus. A goblet full

He grasps.

"To those divinities, who dwell
In yonder temple, this libation first,
To thee, benignant hostess, next I pour,
Then to thy fame, Leonidas." He said.

His breast, with growing heat distended, prompts
His eager hand, to whose expressive sign
One of the virgins cedes her sacred lyre.
Their choral song complacency restrains.
The soul of music, bursting from his touch,
At once gives birth to sentiment sublime.

"O Hercules and Perseus," he began,
"Star-spangled twins of Leda, and the rest
Of Jove's immediate seed, your splendid acts
Mankind protected, while the race was rude;
While o'er the Earth's unciviliz'd extent
The savage monster, and the ruffian sway'd,
More savage still. No policy nor laws
Had fram'd societies. By single strength
A single ruffian, or a monster fell.
The legislator rose. Three lights in Greece,
Lycurgus, Solon, and Zaleucus, blaz'd.
Then, substituting wisdom, Jove, profuse
Of his own blood no longer, gave us more
In discipline and manners, which can form
A hero like Leonidas, than all
The god-begotten progeny before.
The pupils next of Solon claim the Muse.
Sound your hoarse conchs, ye Tritons. You beheld
The Atlantean shape of Slaughter wade
Through your astonish'd deeps, his purple arm
Uplifting high before th' Athenian line.
You saw bright Conquest riding on the gale
Which swell'd their sails; saw Terrour at their helms
To guide their brazen beaks on Asia's pride.
Her adamantine grapple from their decks
Fate threw, and ruin on the hostile fleet

Inextricably fasten'd. Sound, ye nymphs
Of Eta's mountains, of her woods and streams,
Who hourly witness to Melissa's worth,
Ye Oreads, Dryads, Naiads, sound her praise.
Proclaim Zaleucus by his daughter grac'd
Like Solon and Lycurgus by their sons."

Laconia's hero and the priestess bow'd Their foreheads grateful to the bard sublime. She, rising, takes the word. "More sweet thy lyre To friendship's ear, than terrible to foes Thy spear in battle, though the keenest point Which ever pierc'd barbarians. Close we here The song and banquet. Hark! a distant din From Asia's camp requires immediate care."

She leads. Along the rocky verge they pass. In calm delight Leonidas surveys All in the order which he last assign'd; As o'er Thermopyla beneath he cast A wary look. The mountain's furthest crag Now reach'd, Melissa to the king began.

"Observe that space below, dispers'd in dales, In hollows, winding through dissever'd rocks. The slender outlet, skreen'd by yonder shrubs, Leads to the pass. There stately to my view The martial queen of Caria yester Sun, Descending, show'd. Her loudly I reprov'd. But she, devoted to the Persian king, In ambush there preserv'd his flying host. She last retreated; but, retreating, prov'd Her valour equal to a better cause. Again I see the heroine approach."

Megistias then. "I see a powerful arm, Sustaining firm the large, emblazon'd shield, Which, fashion'd first in Caria, we have learn'd To imitate in Greece. Sublime her port Bespeaks a mighty spirit. Priestess, look. An act of piety she now performs, Directing those, perhaps her Carian band, To bear dead brethren from the bloody field. Among the horsemen an exalted form Like Demaratus strikes my searching eye. To me, recalling his transcendant rank In Sparta once, he seems a languid sun, Which dimly sinks in exhalations dark, Enveloping his radiance." While he spake, Intent on martial duty Medon views The dang'rous thicket; Lacedæmon's chief, Around the region his consid'rate eye Extending, marks each movement of the foe.

Th' imperial Persian from his lofty car
Had in the morning's early conflict seen
His vanquish'd army pouring from the straits
Back to their tents, and o'er his camp dispers'd
In consternation; as a river bursts
Impetuous from his fountain, then, enlarg'd,
Spreads a dead surface o'er some level marsh.
Th' astonish'd king thrice started from his seat;
Shame, fear, and indignation rent his breast;
As ruin irresistible were near

To overwhelm his millions. "Haste," he call'd
To Hyperanthes, "haste and meet the Greeks.
Their daring rage, their insolence repel.
From such dishonour vindicate our name."

His royal brother through th' extensive camp
Obedient mov'd. Deliberate and brave,
Each active prince from ev'ry tent remote,
The hardiest troops he summon'd. Caria's queen,
To Hyperanthes bound by firm esteem
Of worth, unrivall'd in the Persian court,
In solemn pace was now returning slow