Page:Ovid's Metamorphoses (Vol. 1) - tr Garth, Dryden, et. al. (1727).djvu/205

She acted in her full Extent of Pow'r,
And bath'd her Face with a fresh, silent Show'r.
But by degrees in Innocence grown bold,
Her Name, her Country, and her Birth she told:
And how she suffer'd for her Mother's Pride,
Who with the Nereids once in Beauty vy'd.
Part yet untold, the Seas began to roar,
And mounting Billows tumbled to the Shore.
Above the Waves a Monster rais'd his Head,
His Body o'er the Deep was widely spread:
Onward he flounc'd; aloud the Virgin cries;$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$
Each Parent to her Shrieks in Shrieks replies,
But she had deepest Cause to rend the Skies.
Weeping, to her they cling; no Sign appears
Of Help, they only lend their helpless Tears.
Too long you vent your Sorrows, Perseus said,
Short is the Hour, and swift the time of Aid.
In me the Son of thund'ring Jove behold,
Got in a kindly Show'r of fruitful Gold.
Medusa's Snaky Head is now my Prey,
And thro' the Clouds I boldly wing my Way.
If such Desert be worthy of Esteem,
Add, if your Daughter I from Death redeem,
Shall she be mine? Shall it not then be thought,
A Bride, so lovely, was too cheaply bought?
For her my Arms I willingly employ,
If I may Beauties, which I save, enjoy.
The Parents eagerly the Terms embrace,
For who would slight such Terms in such a Case?
Nor her alone they promise, but beside,
The Dowry of a Kingdom with the Bride.
As well-rigg'd Gallies, which Slaves sweating, row
With their sharp Beaks the whiten'd Ocean plough;
So when the Monster mov'd, still at his Back
The furrow'd Waters left a foamy Track.

Now