Hero and Leander | Page 4

cast her,
And thus bespake him: "Gentle
youth, forbear
To touch the sacred garments which I wear.
Upon a
rock and underneath a hill
Far from the town (where all is whist and
still,
Save that the sea, playing on yellow sand,
Sends forth a
rattling murmur to the land,
Whose sound allures the golden
Morpheus
In silence of the night to visit us)
My turret stands and
there, God knows, I play.
With Venus' swans and sparrows all the day.

A dwarfish beldam bears me company,
That hops about the
chamber where I lie,
And spends the night (that might be better spent)

In vain discourse and apish merriment.
Come thither." As she
spake this, her tongue tripped,
For unawares "come thither" from her
slipped.
And suddenly her former colour changed,
And here and
there her eyes through anger ranged.
And like a planet, moving
several ways,
At one self instant she, poor soul, assays,
Loving, not
to love at all, and every part
Strove to resist the motions of her heart.

And hands so pure, so innocent, nay, such
As might have made
heaven stoop to have a touch,
Did she uphold to Venus, and again

Vowed spotless chastity, but all in vain.
Cupid beats down her
prayers with his wings,
Her vows above the empty air he flings,
All
deep enraged, his sinewy bow he bent,
And shot a shaft that burning
from him went,
Wherewith she strooken, looked so dolefully,
As
made love sigh to see his tyranny.
And as she wept her tears to pearl
he turned,
And wound them on his arm and for her mourned.
Then
towards the palace of the destinies
Laden with languishment and grief
he flies,
And to those stern nymphs humbly made request
Both
might enjoy each other, and be blest.

But with a ghastly dreadful
countenance,
Threatening a thousand deaths at every glance,
They
answered Love, nor would vouchsafe so much
As one poor word,
their hate to him was such.
Hearken a while and I will tell you why.

Heaven's winged herald, Jove-borne Mercury,
The selfsame day
that he asleep had laid
Enchanted Argus, spied a country maid

Whose careless hair instead of pearl t'adorn it
Glistered with dew, as

one that seemed to scorn it;
Her breath as fragrant as the morning
rose,
Her mind pure, and her tongue untaught to gloze.
Yet proud
she was (for lofty pride that dwells
In towered courts is oft in
shepherds' cells.)
And too too well the fair vermilion knew,
And
silver tincture of her cheeks, that drew
The love of every swain. On
her this god
Enamoured was, and with his snaky rod
Did charm her
nimble feet, and made her stay,
The while upon a hillock down he lay

And sweetly on his pipe began to play,
And with smooth speech
her fancy to assay,
Till in his twining arms he locked her fast
And
then he wooed with kisses; and at last,
As shepherds do, her on the
ground he laid
And, tumbling in the grass, he often strayed
Beyond
the bounds of shame, in being bold
To eye those parts which no eye
should behold.
And, like an insolent commanding lover
Boasting
his parentage, would needs discover
The way to new Elysium, but
she,
Whose only dower was her chastity,
Having striv'n in vain was
now about to cry
And crave the help of shepherds that were nigh.

Herewith he stayed his fury, and began
To give her leave to rise.
Away she ran;
After went Mercury who used such cunning
As she,
to hear his tale, left off her running.
Maids are not won by brutish
force and might,
But speeches full of pleasure, and delight.
And,
knowing Hermes courted her, was glad
That she such loveliness and
beauty had
As could provoke his liking, yet was mute
And neither
would deny nor grant his suit.
Still vowed he love. She, wanting no
excuse
To feed him with delays, as women use,
Or thirsting after
immortality,--
All women are ambitious naturally--
Imposed upon
her lover such a task
As he ought not perform nor yet she ask.
A
draught of flowing nectar she requested,
Wherewith the king of gods
and men is feasted.
He, ready to accomplish what she willed,
Stole
some from Hebe (Hebe Jove's cup filled)
And gave it to his simple
rustic love.
Which being known (as what is hid from Jove?)
He inly
stormed and waxed more furious
Than for the fire filched by
Prometheus,
And thrusts him down from heaven. He, wandering here,

In mournful terms, with sad and heavy cheer,
Complained to Cupid.

Cupid for his sake,
To be revenged on Jove did undertake.
And
those on whom heaven, earth, and hell relies,
I mean the adamantine
Destinies,
He wounds with love, and forced them equally
To dote
upon deceitful Mercury.
They offered him the deadly fatal knife

That shears the slender threads of human life.
At his fair feathered
feet the engines laid
Which th' earth from ugly Chaos' den upweighed.

These he regarded not but did entreat
That Jove, usurper of his
father's seat,
Might presently be banished into hell,
And aged
Saturn in Olympus dwell.
They granted what he craved, and once
again
Saturn and Ops began their golden reign.
Murder, rape, war,
lust, and treachery,
Were with Jove closed in Stygian empery.
But
long this blessed time continued not.
As soon as he his wished
purpose got
He reckless of his promise did despise
The love