Page:Paradise lost by Milton, John.djvu/37

Dropt from the zenith, like a falling star,
On Lemnos, the Ægæan isle. Thus they relate,
Erring, for he with this rebellious rout
Fell long before: nor aught availed him now
To have built in Heaven high towers, nor did he 'scape
By all his engines, but was headlong sent750
With his industrious crew to build in Hell.
Meanwhile the winged haralds, by command
Of sovran power, with awful ceremony
And trumpet's sound, throughout the host proclaim
A solemn council forthwith to be held
At Pandemonium, the high capital
Of Satan and his peers. Their summons called,
From every band and squared regiment,
By place or choice the worthiest; they anon
With hundreds and with thousands trooping came
Attended. All access was thronged, the gates761
And porches wide, but chief the spacious hall—
Though like a covered field, where champions bold
Wont ride in armed, and, at the Soldan's chair,
Defied the best of Panim chivalry
To mortal combat, or career with lance—
Thick swarmed, both on the ground and in the air,