Page:Ovid's Metamorphoses (Vol. 1) - tr Garth, Dryden, et. al. (1727).djvu/168

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92
Ovid's Metamorphoses
Book 3.

"And, heedless of the Fraud, for Naxos stand.
"They whisper oft, and beckon with the Hand,
"And give me Signs, all anxious for their Prey,
"To tack about, and steer another Way.
"Then let some other to my Post succeed,
"Said I, I'm guiltless of so foul a Deed.
"What, says Ethalion, must the Ship's whole Crew
"Follow your Humour, and depend on you?
"And strait himself he seated at the Prore,
"And tack'd about, and sought another Shore.
"The beauteous Youth now found himself betray'd,
"And from the Deck the rising Waves survey'd,
"And seem'd to weep, and as he wept he said;
"And do you thus my easy Faith beguile?
"Thus do you bear me to my native Isle?
"Will such a Multitude of Men employ
"Their Strength against a weak defenceless Boy?
"In vain did I the God-like Youth deplore,
"The more I begg'd, they thwarted me the more.
"And now by all the Gods in Heav'n that hear
"This solemn Oath, by Bacchus self, I swear,
"The mighty Miracle that did ensue,
"Although it seems beyond Belief, is true.
"The Vessel, fix'd and rooted in the Flood,
"Unmov'd by all the beating Billows stood.
"In vain the Mariners would plow the Main
"With Sails unfurl'd, and strike their Oars in vain;
"Around their Oars a twining Ivy cleaves,
"And climbs the Mast, and hides the Cords in Leaves:
"The Sails are cover'd with a chearful Green,
"And Berries in the fruitful Canvase seen.
"Amidst the Waves a sudden Forest rears
"Its verdant Head, and a new Spring appears.
"The God we now behold with open'd Eyes;
"A Herd of spotted Panthers round him lyes

"In