Page:Virgil's Pastorals, Georgics and Aeneis - Dryden (1709) - volume 1.pdf/351

And mighty Phocæ, never seen before
In shallow Streams, are stranded on the Shore.
The Viper dead, within her Hole is found:810
Defenceless was the shelter of the ground.
The water-Snake, whom Fish and Paddocks fed,
With staring Scales lies poison'd in his Bed:
To Birds their Native Heav'ns contagious prove,
From Clouds they fall, and leave their Souls above.815
Besides, to change their Pasture 'tis in vain:
Or trust to Physick; Physick is their Bane.
The Learned Leaches in despair depart:
And shake their Heads, desponding of their Art.
Tisiphone, let loose from under ground,820
Majestically pale, now treads the round:
Before her drives Diseases, and affright;$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$
And every moment rises to the sight:
Aspiring to the Skies; encroaching on the light.
The Rivers and their Banks, and Hills around,825
With lowings, and with dying Bleats resound.
At length, she strikes an Universal Blow;
To Death at once whole Herds of Cattle go:
Sheep, Oxen, Horses fall; and, heap'd on high,
The diff'ring Species in Confusion lye.830
Till warn'd by frequent ills, the way they found,
To lodge their loathsom Carrion under ground.
For, useless to the Currier were their Hides:
Nor cou'd their tainted Flesh with Ocean Tides