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HERO AND LEANDER.
The Argument of the Fifth Sestyad.
Day doubles her accustom'd date,
As loth the night, incens'd by fate,
Should wrack our lovers; Hero's plight,
Longs for Leander, and the night:
Which, ere her thirsty wish recovers,
She sends for two betrothed lovers,
And marries them, that, with their crew
Their sports and ceremonies due,
She covertly might celebrate,
With secret joy, her own estate.
She makes a feast, at which appears
The wild nymph Teras[1], that still bears
An ivory lute, tells ominous tales,
And sings at solemn festivals.
- ↑ τέρας, portentum.
