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LAODAMIA.

LAODAMIA.

'WITH sacrifice, before the rising morn
Perform'd, my slaughter'd lord have I required;
And in thick darkness, amid shades forlorn,
Him of the eternal gods have I desired :
Celestial pity I again implore;

Restore him to my sight, great Jove, restore !'

So speaking, and with fervent love endow'd

With faith, the suppliant heavenward lifts her hands; While, like the sun emerging from a cloud,

Her countenance brightens and her eye expands,
Her bosom heaves and spreads, her stature grows,
And she expects the issue in repose.

O terror! what hath she perceived? O joy!
What doth she look on- whom doth she behold?
Her hero slain upon the beach of Troy?

His vital presence

It is

his corporeal mould?

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'tis he!

- if sense deceive her not And a god leads him -wingèd Mercury !

Mild Hermes spake, and touch'd her with his wand That calms all fear: 'Such grace hath crown'd thy prayer,

Laodamia, that at Jove's command

Thy husband walks the paths of upper air:

He comes to tarry with thee three hours' space;
Accept the gift; behold him face to face!"

Forth sprang the impassion'd queen her lord to clasp ;
Again that consummation she essay'd;
But unsubstantial form eludes her grasp.

As often as that eager grasp was made.

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The phantom parts but parts to reunite,
And reassume his place before her sight.

'Protesilaus, lo! thy guide is gone!

Confirm, I pray, the vision with thy voice:
This is our palace, — yonder is thy throne;
Speak, and the floor thou tread'st on will rejoice.
Not to appal me have the gods bestow'd
This precious boon, · and bless'd a sad abode.'

'Great Jove, Laodamia, doth not leave
His gifts imperfect: Spectre though I be,
I am not sent to scare thee or deceive,
But in reward of thy fidelity.

And something also did my worth obtain ;
For fearless virtue bringeth boundless gain.

'Thou know'st, the Delphic oracle foretold
That the first Greek who touched the Trojan strand
Should die; but me the threat did not withhold :
A generous cause a victim did demand;
And forth I lept upon the sandy plain;
A self-devoted chief-by Hector slain.'

Supreme of heroes, - bravest, noblest, best!
Thy matchless courage I bewail no more,
That then, when tens of thousands were depress'd
By doubt, propell'd thee to the fatal shore;
Thou found'st—and I forgive thee

here thou art

A nobler counsellor than my poor heart.

'But thou, though capable of sternest deed,
Wert kind as resolute, and good as brave;
And He, whose power restores thee, hath decreed
That thou shouldst cheat the malice of the grave;
Redundant are thy locks, thy lips as fair

As when their breath enrich'd Thessalian air.

'No spectre greets

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Come, blooming hero, place thee by my side!
Give, on this well-known couch, one nuptial kiss
To me, this day a second time thy bride!'

Jove frown'd in heaven: the conscious Parcæ threw
Upon those roseate lips a Stygian hue.

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