Go, tell the world, your tender heart cou'd give
Death to the princefs, by whofe care you live.
At this a deadly pale her cheeks o’erspread,
Cold trembling seiz'd her limbs, her spirits fled;
She funk into his arms: the prince was mov'd,
Felt all her griefs, for ftill he greatly lov'd.
He figh'd, he wish'd he could forget his throne,
Confine his thoughts, and live for her alone;
But glory fhot him deep, the venom'd dart
Was fix'd within, and rankled at his heart;
He cou'd not hide its wounds, but pin'd away.
Like a fick flow'r, and languifh'd in decay.
An age no longer like a month appears,
But ev'ry month becomes a hundred years.
Felicity was griey'd, and cou'd not bear
A scene so chang'd, a fight of fo much care.
She told him with a look of cold difdain,
And seeming ease, as women well can feign,
He might depart at will; a milder air
Wou'd mend his health; he was no pris'ner there;
She kept him not, and with'd he ne'er might find
Cause to regret the place he left behind;
Which once he lov'd, and where he still muft own,
He had at least some little pleasure known.
If these prophetic words awhile destroy
His peace, the former ballance it in joy.
He thank'd her for her kind concern, but chofe
To quit the place, the reft let heav'n difpofe.
For Fate, on mischiefs bent, perverts the will,
And first infatuates whom it means to kill.
Aurora now, not, as she wont to rife,
gay attire ting'd with a thoufand dies, But fober-fad in folemn flate appears,
Clad in a dusky veil bedew'd with tears.
Thick mantling clouds beneath her chariot spread,
A faded wreath hangs drooping from her head.
The fick❜ning fun emits a feeble ray,
Half drown'd in fogs, and ftruggling into day.
Some black event the threat'ning skies foretel.
Porfenna rofe to take his last farewel.
A curious veft the mournful princess brought,
And armour by the Lemnian artist wrought;
A fhining lance with fecret virtue ftor'd,
And of refiftlefs force a magic fword;
Caparisons and gems of wond'rous price,
And loaded him with gifts and good advice;
But chief she gave, and what he most wou'd need,
The fleetest of her stud, a flying steed.
The swift Grifippo, faid th' afflicted fair,
(Such was the courfer's name) with speed fhall bear,
And place you fafely in your native air;
Affift against the foe, with matchless might
Ravage the field, and turn the doubtful fight;
With care protect you till the danger cease,
Your trust in war, your ornament in peace.
But this, I warn, beware; whate'er shall lay
To intercept your courfe, or tempt your stay,
Quit not your faddle, nor your speed abate,
Till fafely landed at your palace gate.
On this alone depends your weal or woe;
Such is the will of Fate, and fo the Gods foreshew.
He in the fofteft terms repaid her love,
And vow'd, nor age; nor abfence shou'd remove
His conftant faith, and fure fhe cou'd not blame
A fhort divorce due to his injur'd fame.
The debt discharg’d, then shou'd her foldier come
Gay from the field, and flufh'd with conqueft, home;
With equal ardour her affection meet,
And lay his laurels at his mistrefs' feet.
He ceas'd, and fighing took a kind adieu ;
Then urg'd his fteed; the fierce Grifippo flew;
With rapid force outftripp'd the lagging wind,
And left the blissful fhores, and weeping fair behind;
Now o'er the feas purfued his airy flight,
Now fcower'd the plains, and climb'd the mountain's height.
Thus driving on at speed the prince had run
Near half his courfe, when, with the fetting fun,
As thro' a lonely lane he chanc'd to ride,
With rocks and bushes fenc'd on either fide,
He spied a waggon full of wings, that lay
Bioke and o'erturn'd across the narrow way.
The helpless driver on the dirty road
Lay struggling, crufh'd beneath th' incumbent load.
Never in human shape was feen before
A wight fo pale, fo feeble, and fo poor.
Comparisons of age would do him wrong,
For Neftor's felf, if plac'd by him, were young.
His limbs were naked all, and worn fo thin,
The bones feem'd ftarting thro' the parchment fkin,
His
eyes
half drown'd in rheum, his accents weak,
Bald was his head, and furrow'd was his cheek.
The conscious steed stopp'd fhort in deadly fright,
And back recoiling ftretch'd his wings for flight.
When thus the wretch with fupplicating tone,
And rueful face, began his piteous moan,
And, as he spake, the tears ran trickling down.
O gentle youth, if pity e'er inclin'd
Thy foul to gen'rous deeds, if e'er thy mind
Was touch'd with soft distress, extend thy care
To fave an old man's life, and ease the load I bear.
So may propitious heav'n your journey speed,
Prolong your days, and all your vows fucceed.
Mov'd with the pray'r the kind Porfenna ftaid,
Too nobly-minded to refufe his aid,
And, prudence yielding to superior grief,
Leap'd from his fteed, and ran to his relief;
Remov'd the weight, and gave the pris'ner breath,
Juft choak'd, and gafping on the verge of death.
'Then reach'd his hand, when lightly with a bound
The grizly spectre vaulting from the ground,
Seiz'd him with fudden gripe, th' astonish'd prince
Stood horror-ftruck, and thoughtlefs of defence.
O king of Ruffia, with a thund'ring found
Bellow'd the ghaftly fiend, at length thou'rt found.
Receive the ruler of mankind, and know,
My name is Time, thy ever-dreaded foe.
These feet are founder'd, and the wings you fee
Worn to the pinions in pursuit of thee;
Thro' all the world in vain for ages fought,
But Fate has doom'd thee now, and thou art caught.
Then round his neck his arms he nimbly caft,
And feiz'd him by the throat, and grasp'd him fast;
Till forc'd at length the foul forfook its seat,
And the pale breathless corfe fell bleeding at his feet.
Scarce had the curfed fpoiler left his prey,
When, fo it chanc'd, young Zephyr pass'd that way;
Too late his prefence to affift his friend,
A fad, but helpless witness of his end.
He chafes, and fans, and strives in vain to cure
His ftreaming wounds; the work was done too fure,
Now lightly with a foft embrace uprears
The lifeless load, and bathes it in his tears;
Then to the blissful feats with speed conveys,
And graceful on the moffy carpet lays
With decent care, close by the fountain's fide,
Where first the princefs had her phoenix spied.
There with fweet flow'rs his lovely limbs he ftrew'd,
And gave a parting kifs, and fighs and tears bestow'd.
VOL. VI.
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