Book XIV

Now from the fresh soft lap and twilight bower
Of her still mother flew the gentle Queen
Of Shade, with light airs compass’d, and a shower
Of starlight dews, pure, precious, and serene;
And, shaking o’er the universal scene
The humid border of her veil, impearl’d
With honey-balm the flowers and forests green:
While the sweet zephyrs their still wings unfurl’d,
And fann’d to dulcet sleep and peace th’ o’erwearied world.

Each busy thought of rude disturbing day
In sweet oblivious quietude was drown’d:
But He, whose wisdom heaven and earth doth sway,
Yet kept his ruling watch, insphered and crown’d
With ceaseless light; and from heaven’s starry round
Casting on Godfrey the ecstatic beam
Of his mild eye, to him in sleep profound,
By silent precept of a mission’d. dream,
Of his Almighty Mind reveal’d the will supreme.

In the rich Orient, near the valves of gold
Whence the Sun sallies, turns a crystalline
Clear gate, whose doors in harmony unfold,
Ere pale the planets and the day-beams shine:
’Tis thence the glorious dreams which the Divine
In grace to pure and holy spirits sends,
Issuing fly forth; from that pictorial shrine
This dream to pious Godfrey now descends,
And o’er his placid face its radiant wings extends.

Nor dream nor gifted vision e’er portray’d
Such beautiful or lively forms, as here
To Godfrey’s fancy this, which now display’d
Of heaven and of its stars the secrets clear;
As in the mirror of a glassy sphere,
All was at once presented to his sight
That in them is; he seem’d, in swift career,
Caught up to an expanse of perfect white,
Adorn’d with thousand flames that gave a golden light.

Here, as the moving spheres, the vast blue sky,
The lights, and the rich music he admires,
Lo, to his side a winged knight draws nigh,
With sunbeams crown’d, and circumfused with fires I
And in a voice to which the clearest choirs
And perfect marriage of sweet sounds below,
Breathed out from beauteous lips or golden wires,
Would be but discord, said: “Canst thou bestow
No smile, or dost thou not thy once-loved Hugo know?”

To which the Duke replied; “That aspect new,
Which like the glowing sun so brightly shines,
Has dazzled so mine intellectual view,
That it can ill recall its ancient lines:”
And saying this, to greet him he inclines;
Thrice with a fond affectionate embrace
Around his neck his loving arms he twines;
And thrice th’ encircled form and radiant face
Fly like a summer cloud, or shade the sunbeams chase.

Prince Hugo smiled; “And think not, as of old,”
He said, “that earthly robes my limbs invest;
My naked spirit here dost thou behold,
A simple shape; I dwell, a glorious guest,
In this th’ illumined City of the Bless’d:
This is the temple of our God, th’ abode
Of his true knights; and here thou too shalt rest:”
“Ah, when?” he cried; “if aught in me this mode
Of bliss obstruct, loose now, O loose th’ encumb’ring load!”

“Soon!” replied Hugo; “soon in glory thou
Shalt gather’d be to our triumphant band;
But many a laurel first must grace thy brow,
Much blood be shed by thy victorious hand;
The Pagan armies yet thou must withstand,
And from their grasp by many a toilsome deed
Wresting the sceptre of the Holy Land,
Fix the Frank empire; then, it is decreed,
That to thy gentle rule thy brother shall succeed.

“But now look round more fixedly; behold —
To quicken for the skies thy pure desires,
These lucid halls and starry orbs of gold,
Which, whirling round, th’ Eternal Mind inspires!
Observe the beauty of those siren choirs
Of seraphs; hear th’ angelical sweet strains,
In concord sung to their celestial lyres;
Next view,” he said, and pointed to the plain
Of earth, below, “what yon terrestrial globe contains.

“Think of your earthly titles and designs;
With what a vile reward is virtue crown’d!
Mark what a little ring your pride confines!
What naked deserts your vain glories bound!
Earth like an island the blue sea flows round.
-Now, call’d the Mighty Deep from coast to coast,
Now, the vast Ocean; to that pompous sound
Naught corresponds, to auth’rize such a boast —
Tis but a shallow pool, a narrow marsh at most”

The Spirit said: and he his sight let fall
On earth, and smiled with a serene disdain,
Shrunk to a point, seas, streams, and mountains tail
He sees, remote, but here distinguished plain;
And much he wonder’d that weak man should strain
At shades and mists, that swim before his eyes,
And chase those radiant bubbles of the brain —
Capricious Fame, and Power, that, follow’d, flies,
Nor heed th’ inviting voice that calls him to the skies.

Wherefore he answer’d: “Since not yet thy God
Is pleased to call me from this cage of clay,
Which path of life is safest to be trod
Mid Earth’s erroneous windings, deign to say.”
Hugo replied; “The least fallacious way
To happiness, indeed th’ alone sure track,
Is that thou walkest; turn not then astray;
Alone I would advise thee, be not slack
From his far exile now to call Rinaldo back.

“For, as by Providence divine to thee
The golden sceptre, the supreme command
Of that adventure is consign’d, so he
As sov’reign agent of thy schemes, must stand
Assistant to the task: the first and grand
Office is thine; the second the Most High
Concedes to him; he is the army’s hand,
And thou the head, — none other can supply
His place, not e’en thyself, thy state does this deny.

“He, he alone has license to cut down
The forest guarded by such magic art;
From him thy troops, despairing of the town
From the deserters they have seen depart,
On flight themselves debating, shall take heart,
And, nerved with livelier strength by the mere sight
Of one so valiant, fresh for conquest start;
The bulwarks he shall shatter, scale their height,
And the vast Memphian hosts o’erpower in mortal fight.”

He ceased, and Godfrey answer’d; “His return
Would be most grateful to my feelings; thou,
Who every secret purpose dost discern,
Know’st if I love him, as I here avow;
But say, what offers must I make him? how
Sooth his vex’d spirit? where my heralds send?
Wilt thou that I for his recall allow
Courtship, or use command? declare, blest friend,
How I to make this suit may fitly condescend.”

“God,” in reply th’ angelic spirit said,
“Who with such high regards thy rank has graced,
Wills, that to thee all reverence yet be paid
By those who under thy command are placed;
Show thou not then facility nor haste;
Make no request; for, haply, this would lead
To scorn, and thus thy dignity, debased,
Might fall into contempt; but ask’d, concede
And yield, when first thy knights shall for forgiveness plead.

“Guelph shall petition thee (by God inspired)
T’ absolve the headstrong youth of that offence,
To which intemp’rate wrath his spirit fired,
That he to honor may return; dispense
Thy grace; and though in loosest indolence
And love intoxicate, he now reclines
On a far foreign shore, doubt not but thence
He will return, ere many a morning shines,
Apt for thy pressing needs and difficult designs.

“Your Hermit Peter, to whose piercing sight
Heaven of its secrets gives perception clear,
Shall thy sent messengers direct aright,
Where certain tidings they of him shall hear;
The sage to whose abode their ship must steer,
Will show the arts and methods they must use”
To free, and home conduct the wand’ring peer;
Thus Heaven at length shall, partial to thy views,
Beneath the sacred Cross each errant chief reduce.

“Farewell! yet ere I end, hear one brief thing,
Which will, I know, delight thy noble mind;
Your blood shall mix, and from that union spring
A glorious issue, dear to all mankind!”
He said; and like a cloud before the wind,
Or azure mist upon the mountain’s crest
By the hot shining of the sun refined,
Vanish’d away; sleep fled, and left his breast
With wonder and deep joy confusedly possess’d.

His eyes he opes, and sees the Orient blaze
With the high-risen Aurora; from repose
He starts, in iron robes his limbs arrays,
And o’er his back the purple mantle throws;
Then takes his seat; for, soon as morning glows,
To his pavilion throng the knights of state,
In customary council to expose
Their sentiments, and of the war debate;
Thither they all were met, and round in silence sate.

Then Guelph arose, full of the new design
Which had his mind inspired, and drawing near,
To Godfrey thus made suit; “O, Prince benign,
What I propose receive with favoring ear!
I come to ask, with all thy nobles here,
Grace for a crime, and, if it must be said,
A crime yet recent; whence it may appear,
Perchance, that my request is hasty made,
In an untimely hour, ere yet maturely weigh’d.

“But when I think that to a Prince so mild
My suit is proffer’d, and for whose brave sake,
That, too, the intercessor is not vilde
Nor mean of rank, I cannot choose but take
The prayer for granted, which will surely make
All happy, and obtain deserved applause;
Recall Rinaldo! I my honor stake
That he his blood will, in the common cause.
Shed to redeem his fault, and satisfy the laws.

“What daring hand but his those haunted bowers,
So fear’d, shall e’er successfully assail?
Who, of a firmer heart, more vig’rous powers,
May hope the risks of death to countervail?
Thou shalt behold him o’er yon towers prevail,
Shatter the wall, Beat down the brazen door,
And singly, before all, the rampart scale:
Restore him to the camp, kind Sire, restore!
Its hope, its heart, its hand! by Jesu I implore!

“To me a nephew, to thyself restore
An agent, prompt for each sublime attack;
Leave him not sunk in slumber, I implore, —
To glory, to himself, invite him back;
Let him but follow the triumphal track
Of thy bless’d flag, the world shall witness be
Of his improvement; he shall not be slack
To do illustrious deeds, beholding thee,
Rank’d beneath thy command, fulfilling thy decree!”

Thus sued the high-born Guelpho, and the rest
With partial murmurs the request improved;
Godfrey, as though revolving in his breast
A thing before unthought of, as behooved,
Paused, and made answer: “Can I but be moved
To grace and mercy, when you all are bent
To press me? your petition stands approved;
Let rigor yield, — what you with one consent
Desire, shall be my law: I yield, and am content.

“Let the brave youth return, but let him rein
Henceforth his rage more wisely; and take heed,
That the high hopes our armies entertain
Of his maturing years, be match’d indeed
By equal actions; — now, my lord, proceed, —
’Tis fit the wand’rer be recall’d by thee;
Return he will, I trust, with willing speed;
Choose then the messengers, and o’er the sea
Or sands direct them where you judge the knight to be.”

He ceased, and thus the warrior Dane: “I pray
To be the man commission’d; I shall slight
All danger, doubt, or distance of the way,
So I may give this sword to whom of right
It henceforth must belong:” the Danish knight
Was resolute of heart, and brave of hand;
The offer thus gave Guelpho much delight:
“Thy wish,” said he, “is mine; and with thee bland
Ubaldo, sage and sure, the mission will demand.”

Ubald in early lifetime had survey’d
Much of the world, in various realms had been;
From frozen zones to where palmettoes shade
The sultry Ethiop, had most nations seen;
Their rites observed, and with perception keen
Learn’d at whatever port his bark might touch,
To imitate the language, mode, and mien
Of the rude native; thus, his parts were such,
That, in his court retain’d, Lord Guelpho loved him much.

These were the knights appointed to recall
The noble fugitive; and Guelph ordain’d,
That they should shape their journey to the hall
Where Bohemond in kingly splendor reign’d;
For that the warrior there was entertain’d,
By public fame had through the host been spread,
And as a certain fact was still maintain’d:
The Hermit, knowing they were much misled,
Amidst them enter’d now, and interposing said: —

“In following, Signior, the fallacious breath
Of public rumor, you pursue a guide
Headstrong and treacherous, which, if not to death,
From the right path will lead your steps aside:
No! give your pinnace o’er the sea to glide;
To Ascalon’s near shores your sails commend;
Where a swift stream rebuts the salt sea-tide,
A hermit you will meet, my trusty friend,
Of your intent forewarn’d, — to all his words attend.

“Much from the foresight of his own clear mind,
Much of your voyage has he learn’d from me;
Wise as he is, the Senior you will find
As much distinguish’d for his courtesy,
His affable discourse, and manners free.”
Instructed thus, no more did Charles inquire,
Nor Ubald more; but, as a fix’d decree,
Obey’d those accents, which celestial fire
Was, as they surely knew, accustom’d to inspire.

They bid adieu; impatience spurs them on, —
Without delay they launch, and drive before
The willing wind direct for Ascalon,
Where the blue ocean breaks against the shore:
Scarce had they caught the hoarse and hollow roar
Of breakers on the coast, than they beheld
Th’ anticipated stream its waters pour
Into the sea, by recent torrents swell’d,
And o’er its rocky banks with headlong force impell’d.

High o’er its banks the unrestricted flood,
Swift as a flying shaft, its waters roll’d;
While in confusion and suspense they stood,
A Sire appear’d, right venerably old,
Crown’d with beech-leaves; long robes his limbs enfold
Of whitest grain, — he shook a charming-rod —
The surge grew calm; and, curious to behold,
With unwet feet, in only sandals shod,
He on the waters walk’d, and tow’rd the vessel trod.

As o’er the Rhine when winter its broad tide
Has in smooth chains of solid silver bound,
The village girls in crowds securely glide,
With long swift strokes, in many a playful round;
So on these orient waves, though neither sound,
Nor crystallized to ice, this ancient man
Walk’d to the deck on which in awe profound
The knights stood fix’d, stood stupified to scan
This singular, strange sight; he came, and thus began:

“O friends, a perilous and painful quest
You urge, and much in need of guidance stand!
The knight you seek, far in the golden West
Lies on a wild, unknown, and Gentile strand:
Much, O how much for you remains on hand
To dare and do! what coasts must you not clear,
What spacious seas, and what long tracts of land!
Beyond the limits of our eastern sphere,
You must your search extend, your winged pinnace steer I.

“Yet scorn not first to view the hidden cell
Which I my secret hermitage have made;
Momentous things you there shall hear me tell,
Most requisite for you to know;” — he said,
And made the waves yield passage; they obey’d, —
Murmuring sweet music, they receded swift;
And, here and there dividing, high o’erhead
Hung curling, like some proud and beetling clift,
That o’er the ruining deep is seen its brows to lift.

He took them by the hand, and led them down
The river’s depth beneath the roaring main,
By such pale light, as through some forest brown
Streams from the yellow moon, when in her wane;
They see the spacious caverns that contain
The weight of waters which above-ground break
So freely forth; that in one lucid vein
Burst in clear springs, or, more expansive, make
The broad smooth-sliding stream, slight pool, or sheeted lake.

The cisterns there whence Ganges takes his course,
Po, and renown’d Hydaspes, strike their eye;
Don, Euphrates, and Tanais; nor its source
Mysterious does the Nile to them deny;
More deep, a river flowing brightly by
O’er beds of living sulphur they behold,
Brimm’d with quicksilver; these the sun on high
Ripens, refines, and in their secret mould
Binds in resplendent veins of silver, zinc, or gold.

And the rich flood did all its banks instar
With precious stones, enchanting to the sight;
Which, like bright lamps, illumined wide and far
The den’s black gloom with luxury of light:
There, in blue lustre, shone the sapphire bright,
Heaven’s native tint; the jacinth glister’d mild;
Flamed the fine ruby, flash’d the diamond white,
In virgin state, on sparkling opals piled,
And, gay with cheerful green, the lovely emerald smil’d.

In dumb amazement the two warriors pass’d,
And all their thoughts to these strange scenes applied!
Said not a word! Ubaldo spake at last,
And thus in falt’ring speech address’d his guide:
“O Father, say where now we are! this tide —
Where does it flow? thine own estate explain;
Do I behold aright? or is this pride
And prodigality of wealth a vain
Illusion? scarce I know, such wonder wraps my brain.”

“You,” he replied, “are in the spacious womb
Of earth, the general mother! not e’en ye
Could ever thus have pierced into the gloom
Of her rich bowels, unless brought by me:
I lead you to my home, which you will see
Illumed with curious light, a splendid place —
I was by birth a Pagan; but, set free
From Pagan sin, regenerate grown by grace,
I was baptized, and now Christ’s holy rule embrace.

“Think not my magic wonders wrought by aid
Of Stygian angels summon’d up from hell;
Scorn’d and accursed by those who have essay’d
Her gloomy Dives and Afrits to compel,
By fumes or voices, talisman or spell! —
But by perception of the secret powers
Of mineral springs, in nature’s inmost cell,
Of herbs, in curtain of her greenwood bowers,
And of the moving stars, on mountain-tops and towers.

“For in these caves mid glooms and shadows brown,
Far from the sun, not always I abide;
But oft on sacred Carmel’s flowery crown,
And oft on odorous Lebanon reside;
There without veil I see the planets glide;
Notice each aspect; chronicle each phase
Of Mars and Venus; every star beside,
That, swift or slow, of kind or froward rays,
Revolves and shines in heaven, is naked to my gaze.

“Beneath my feet I view, or rare or dense,
The clouds, now dark, now beautiful in show;
Of rains and dews the generation; whence,
Thwart or direct, the winds and tempests blow;
How lightnings kindle, why they dart below
In orb’d or writhen rays; so near I scan
The fireball, comet, and the show’ry bow
Wove in Heaven’s loom, that I at length began,
Puff’d up with pride, myself to fancy more than man.

“So overweening of myself, that now
I thought my powers could compass or command
Knowledge of all above, around, below,
That sprang to birth from God’s creative hand!
But when your Hermit, visiting this strand,
From sin my soul, from error purged my mind,
He taught my thoughts to soar, my views t’ expand,
And I perceived how little and confined
They of themselves had been, how vain, how weak, how blind!

‘I saw how, like night-owls at rise of sun,
Our minds with Truth’s first rays are stupified;
Smiled at the futile webs my folly spun;
Scorn’d my vain-glory, and renounced my pride;
But still my genius, as he wish’d, applied
To the deep arts and philosophic quest
In which I joy’d before, but, purified
And changed from what I was, with nobler zest;
Ruled by the Seer on whom implicitly I rest; —

“My guide and lord! what his sagacious wit
Points out, I execute; he not disdains
Now to my poor direction to commit
Works that might grace himself, — from servile chains
To free th’ unconquer’d knight whom sloth detains
By strong enchantment in a witch’s hold,
Where amorous Revel high misrule maintains;
Long for your coming have I look’d, of old
By the prophetic Seer in signs to me foretold.”

While with this tale the knights he entertain’d,
They reach’d his dwelling; large it was and fair;
Shaped like a grot, and in itself contain’d
Galleries, and rooms, and spacious halls; whate’er
Of wild or precious, beautiful or rare,
Earth breeds in her rich veins, shone forth to view:
Nor one romantic ornament was there,
That from arranging art its glory drew,
But, form’d in Nature’s freaks, in native wildness grew.

Nor fail’d there pages, numberless, untold,
To serve the guests with ready active haste;
Nor fail’d there urns of crystal, pearl, and gold,
On stands magnificent of silver placed,
Heap’d high with whatsoe’er might please the taste:
And when with meats and wines their appetite
Was satisfied, rich fruits the table graced;
And the sage spoke; “’Tis time that I invite
To what will be, methinks, of more refined delight.

“Armida’s deeds, her purposes, her guile,
And secret snares in part to you are known;
How to your camp she came, and by what wile
She charm’d and led your warriors to her lone
Enchanted fortress; how they then were thrown
By their false hostess into chains, and lay
Long time, their am’rous follies to atone;
Till, sent with thousand guards to Gaza, they
Were by Rinaldo freed; — mark well what now I say.

“Things yet unknown to you do I declare,
Strange, but most true; when the fair witch perceived
That the rich prey it took such toil to snare,
Was rescued from her grasp, she storm’d, she grieved;
Stamp’d, and in anger scarce to be conceived,
That her designs should be so clearly cross’d,
Burst forth; ‘Let not the wretch be so deceived,
As to suppose the pris’ners I have lost,
Are to be repossess’d without revenge or cost!

“If he has set them free, he in their place
Shall suffer ling’ring misery, hopeless thrall:
Nor shall this serve; the dues of my disgrace
Shall on the whole cursed Camp in vengeance fall!’
And, raving thus, she in her heart of gall
Framed what I now disclose to you, a sleight
The most malignant and refined of all;
She came where young Rinaldo had in fight
Her warriors late subdued, or massacred outright.

“Rinaldo there had thrown his arms aside,
And in a Turkish suit himself disguised;
Thinking perchance that he should safer ride,
In an array less known and signalized:
Th’ Enchantress came; his arms she recognised;
A headless figure in them cased, and threw
Upon a brook’s green banks, where, she surmised,
It would be sure to meet the Christians’ view,
When to the shaded stream for waters fresh they drew.

“Nor was their coming hard to be foreseen;
For she a thousand spies on all sides sent,
Who every day brought tidings to their queen
Of the far Camp, who came, return’d, or went;
Oft too her dext’rous spirits would present,
After long talk with them in hall or grot,
Familiar picturings of each fresh event;
And thus the corse she cast in such a spot,
As best subserved her aim, and deep insidious plot.

“Near, the most shrewd of her deceitful train
She slyly placed, in shepherd’s weeds array ’d;
And, what he was to do, to say, to feign,
Taught in all points, and was in all obey’d;
He, seized while hurrying from the forest shade,
Spoke with your soldiers, and among them sow’d
Seeds of suspicion; which, maturing, sway’d
The Camp to discord, till rebellion show’d
Fearless her face abroad, and fires intestine glow’d —

“For, as she plann’d, all thought Rinaldo dead,
By Godfrey slain, his error to atone;
Albeit indeed their vague suspicions fled.
When the first beams of truth prevailing shone:
Thus with a craft peculiarly her own,
Armida wove her wiles; the second well
Chimed with the first, as will be seen anon;
The sequel of her scheme I now shall tell,
How she Rinaldo chased, and what from thence befell.

“O’er hill and dale Armida watch’d the youth,
Till now his steps the swift Orontes stay’d,
Where the clear stream its waters parting smooth,
Soon to rejoin, a flowery island made:
Here on the banks, under the greenwood shade,
A sculptured column might the Prince behold,
Near which a little shallop floating play’d;
The marble white, its workmanship, and mould,
As he admired, he read in words engraved of gold: —

“‘O thou, whoe’er thou art, whom sweet self-will,
Or chance, or idlesse to this region guides!
No greater wonder in design or skill
Can the world show, than that this islet hides;
Pass o’er and see!’ Enticed, he soon divides
The boat’s gilt chain, and, so divinely smile
Those summer waters, o’er them tilting rides;
But as the skiff was slight, he leaves the while
His knights ashore, and seeks alone th’ inviting isle.

“Landing, he looks around; yet nothing sees
To claim his curious sight but waters sheen,
Rocks, mossy grots, dells, fountains, flowers, and trees,
So that he deems his fancy to have been
Mock’d by the marble; yet the place, the scene,
Were such as might enchant the rudest minds;
So down he sits on banks of pleasant green,
Disarms his face, and sweet refreshment finds
In the cool fanning breath of odoriferous winds.

“Meanwhile the river gurgles with a sound
New to his ear, and thither calls his sight;
One placid billow in the midst whirl’d round,
And sudden sank, then rose to greater height;
From which peep’d forth, with golden tresses bright,
A virgin’s beauteous face — her neck — her breast —
Then her two lily paps of purest white,
Their budded nipples rosily express’d; —
While whisp’ring billows flung their silver round the rest.

“So on the midnight stage some water-maid,
Or fairy-queen slow rises from the floor;
And though no Siren, but a painted shade,
Yet all the fascinating grace she bore
Of those same treach’rous Sisters, that of yore.
Haunted the smooth sunshiny waters nigh
The Tuscan coast; as bright a bloom she wore;
As musical her voice, her smile as shy;
And thus aloud she sang, enchanting air and sky.

“‘O happy youths, whom Spring with roses sweet
Robes and adorns! let not false glory’s ray,
Nor virtue’s smooth insidious beauty cheat
Your tender minds, and lead your steps astray;
Who crops the lily ere it fades away,
Who follows pleasure, he alone is sage!
Press then the purple grape of life — be gay —
This Nature bids, and will you warfare wage
With her divine decrees, nor fear the frowns of age?

“‘Fools! to fling from you, without taste or care,
The brief enjoyments of your passing prime;
Names without object, idols all of air,
Are the vain toys to which you warriors climb:
The fame which charms with such a golden chime
Proud heroes’ hearts, the glories that persuade,
Are but an echo in the ear of Time, —
A dream, a shade, the shadow of a shade;
With the bright rainbow born, they swift as rainbows fade.

“‘But let your tranquil souls with all sweet things
Your happy senses cheer, while fresh and fair;
Past woes forget; nor with the anxious wings
Of expectation speed the steps of care:
Heed not if thunders roll, or lightnings glare;
Let the storm threaten as it will, rejoice!
With languor rest, with rest enjoyment share;
This is Elysium, this true Wisdom’s choice,
This Nature’s self requires, — slight not her charming!

“So sings the Phantom, and her soft sweet tune
To settling sleep allures his heavy eyes;
Sense after sense dissolves in gentle swoon;
From limb to limb lethargic sweetness flies;
Till he of death the passive picture lies,
Nor e’en the bellowing thunder now could break
The magic trance; when this Armida spies,
She, issuing swift and silent as the snake,
From her close ambush runs, her sworn revenge to take.

“But on his face when she had gazed awhile,
And saw how placidly he breathed, how sweet
A light seem’d e’en in his closed eyes to smile,
(Ah, were they open, what were her conceit!)
She paused in doubt, and near him took her seat;
The more she gazed, the more fond pity sprung
To her stern heart; till, of all angry heat
Charm’d, o’er the boy, those greens and flowers among,
With loving, lovely eyes, Narcissus-like she hung.

“The living heat-dews that impearl’d his face,
She with her veil wiped tenderly away;
And, to cool more the fervors of the place,
Her turban took, and fann’d him as he lay;
And call’d the mild winds of the west, to play
Round the rich cheeks that so divinely glow;
Mark but the change! Love’s intellectual ray
Has from her savage bosom thaw’d the snow,
And to the kindest friend transform’d the sternest foe.

“With bluebells, lilies, woodbines, and wild roses,
That flower’d in thousands through those pleasant plains,
She next with admirable skill composes
Garlands, festoons, and odoriferous chains,
Which round his neck, and arms, and feet she strains
Tightly yet tenderly; and o’er his eyes
While sleep her shadowy government maintains,
Bears upon tiptoe the imprison’d prize
To her enchanted car, and, mounting, cuts the skies.

“Not now to rich Damascus does she fly,
Nor where her castle crests th’ Asphaltine tide;
But, jealous of a pledge so dear, and shy
Of her new passion, betwixt shame and pride,
In the Atlantic sea resolves to hide,
Where rarely mortal oar was known to comb,
Or ne’er, green Neptune’s curling waves; there, wide
Of all mankind, she singles for her home
A little Isle, round which the billows loneliest foam.

“One of a cluster to which Fortune lends
Her name, th’ Elysian fields of old renown;
There she a mountain’s lofty peak ascends,
Unpeopled, shady, shagg’d with forests brown;
Whose sides, by power of magic, half way down
She heaps with slippery ice, and frost, and snow,
But sunshiny and verdant leaves the crown
With orange woods and myrtles, — speaks — and lo!
Rich from the bordering lake a palace rises slow.

“Here in perpetual May her virgin sweets
She yields him, lapp’d in amorous wild delight;
From that far palace, from those secret seats,
Your task must be to disenthral the knight;
To brave, encounter with, and put to flight
The guards her tim’rous jealousy has set,
To keep the marble hall and shaded height;
Nor shall you need or guide or gondolet,
Nor added arms divine, th’ adventure to abet.

“A damsel, old in years though young in show,
When from the stream we issue, you will find,
With long rich tresses curling round her brow,
And garments beauteous as the bird of Ind;
She, through the ocean, swifter than the wind
Or wing of eagles, shall direct your track,
And leave the lightning in her flight behind;
Nor will you find her as a guide less slack,
Or less secure of trust, to speed you safely back.

“At the hill’s foot whereon the Sorceress reigns,
Bulls bellow, hydras roar, and serpents hiss,
Revengeful lions rear their frightful manes,
And bears and panthers ope the grim abyss
Of their devouring jaws; shake then but this
My fascinating wand, and at the sound
They will recede, or crouch your feet to kiss:
But on the summit of that guarded ground
More fearful perils lurk, — and subtler charms abound.

“For there a fountain plays, whose dancing, pure,
And smiling rills the gazer’s thirst excite,
Yet the cool crystals but to harm allure, —
Strange poison lurks within its waves of light;
One little draught the soul inebriates quite,
Mounts to the brain, and to the wit supplies
A host of gay ideas; till delight
Starts into voice, shrill peals of laughter rise,
Mirth overpowers the man, he laughs, and laughing dies.

“Turn then, O turn your lips away with dread;
Scorn the false wave that to such ills persuades;
Be not allured by wines or viands spread
By fountain sides, or under green arcades;
Let no fond gestures of lascivious maids —
The smile that flatters, or the tune that calls
To amorous blandishments in myrtle shades,
Move the fine pulse; each glance, each word that falls,
Leave for the ivory gates, and tread th’ interior halls.

“Within, a maze of circling corridors
Verge and diverge a thousand winding ways;
But of its various galleries, walks, and doors,
A lucid plan this little chart displays,
To guide your steps: in centre of the maze,
A spacious garden flings its fragrance round,
Where not a light leaf shakes, or zephyr strays,
But breathes out love; here, on the fresh green ground,
In his fair lady’s lap the warrior will be found.

“But when th’ Enchantress quits her darling’s side,
And elsewhere turns her footsteps from the place,
Then, with the diamond shield which I provide,
Step forth, and so present it for a space,
That he may start at his reflected face,
His wanton weeds and ornaments survey;
The sight whereof, and sense of his disgrace,
Shall make him blush, and without vain delay
From his unworthy love indignant break away.

“Enough! it were superfluous to say more,
Than that to-morrow you may hence proceed;
And when your pleasant voyage ends, explore
The secret paths that to the lovers lead,
With safe success and all convenient speed;
For neither shall the powers of sorcery
Your voyage hinder or your plans impede;
Nor, (so superior will your guidance be,)
Shall the fair witch have skill your coming to foresee.

“Nor less securely from her fairy halls
Shall you depart and wend your homeward way;
But now the midnight hour to slumber calls,
And we must be abroad by break of day.”
This said, he rose; and, ushering them the way,
His wond’ring guests to their apartments brought;
And leaving them to slumber’s peaceful sway,
In reveries of glad and solemn thought,
His own nocturnal couch the good old Hermit sought.