Part 22 (2/2)
[Sidenote: Anchises' escape.]
AEneas rushed home and bade his father prepare to leave Troy; but Anchises obstinately refused to leave his post, until he saw a bright flame hover for a moment above his grandson's head, which sign he interpreted as an omen that his race should endure. He no longer resisted; and, as he was too weak to walk, AEneas bade him hold the Lares and Penates, and, taking him on his back, carried him off, while with one hand he led his little son, and bade Creusa closely follow him.
”'Come, mount my shoulders, dear my sire: Such load my strength shall never tire. Now, whether fortune smiles or lowers, One risk, one safety shall be ours. My son shall journey at my side, My wife her steps by mine shall guide, At distance safe.'”
Virgil (Conington's tr.).
[Sidenote: Creusa's ghost.]
A trysting place near a ruined temple had already been appointed for his servants, and thither AEneas turned his steps. When he arrived there, he found many awaiting him, and counted them carefully to make sure none were missing. All were there except Creusa, his beloved young wife; and he retraced his steps with anxious haste, hoping to find her still alive. But on the threshold of his once happy home he met her disembodied spirit, and heard her bid him seek the banks of the Tiber, where a beautiful young bride would comfort him for her loss. This speech ended, Creusa's ghost vanished, and AEneas sadly returned to the ruined temple, where he found many fugitives ready to follow him wherever he went, and eager to obey his every command. Their preparations for departure were speedily completed, the sails unfurled, and the little exiled band soon lost sight of the sh.o.r.es of Troy.
”Weeping I quit the port, the sh.o.r.e, The plains where Ilium stood before, And homeless launch upon the main, Son, friends, and home G.o.ds in my train.”
Virgil (Conington's tr.).
[Sidenote: Arrival in Thrace.]
Although they had escaped from burning Troy and the swords of the Greeks, their trials had only just begun. After many days' sailing, they landed in Thrace, viewed the country, decided to settle there, and began to trace the foundations of a new city, which they decided to call the AEneadae, in honor of their leader.
Their next care was to offer a sacrifice to the G.o.ds; but when AEneas, with due ceremony, cut down a sapling, he was startled to see blood flow from its severed stem. At the same time a mysterious voice was heard, bidding him forbear, for his former friend Polydorus, sent to Thrace to conceal some treasures, had been murdered there by an avaricious king, and this grove of trees had sprouted from the spear handles driven into his unhappy breast.
[Sidenote: Delos and Crete.]
After paying the customary funeral rites to appease the soul of his unfortunate friend, AEneas easily prevailed upon his followers to leave these inhospitable sh.o.r.es and seek another resting place. They rowed over the briny deep until they came to Delos, where they stopped to consult the oracle, who bade them seek the cradle of their race, and settle there.
”'Stout Dardan hearts, the realm of earth Where first your nation sprang to birth, That realm shall now receive you back: Go, seek your ancient mother's track. There shall AEneas' house, renewed For ages, rule a world subdued.'”
Virgil (Conington's tr.).
This obscure command left them uncertain what course to pursue, until the aged Anchises remembered that one of his ancestors, Teucer, had once reigned in Crete. Thither they sailed, and hoped to settle; but a terrible pestilence came upon them, and decimated their already spa.r.s.e ranks.
[Sidenote: AEneas' vision.]
One night AEneas had a vision, in which his household G.o.ds bade him seek the Italian or Hesperian sh.o.r.es; and when, on waking, he imparted this advice to Anchises, the latter remembered a long-forgotten prophecy of Ca.s.sandra, purporting that they would settle there, and also that Darda.n.u.s, their first progenitor, was reported to have come from thence.
”There is a land, by Greece of old Surnamed Hesperia, rich its mold, Its children brave and free: Oenotrians were its settlers: fame Now gives the race its leader's name, And calls it Italy. Here Darda.n.u.s was born, our king, And old Iasius, whence we spring: Here our authentic seat.”
Virgil (Conington's tr.).
[Sidenote: Celaeno, the Harpy.]
Ere many days AEneas and his trusty followers were once more afloat, and forced to battle with fierce storms sent by Juno to hinder their advance. Exhausted, they landed on the Strophades Islands, where they proposed to recruit their strength by a hearty meal; but no sooner was their table spread, than the meats were devoured and destroyed by the loathsome Harpies. A terrible prophecy uttered by Celaeno, one of these monsters,--half woman and half bird,--made them embark again in great haste, and row on until they came to Epirus, where they again effected a landing. In this country they met the sorrowing Andromache, Hector's widow, the slave of King Helenus, who entertained them royally and sent them on their way again, with many kindly cautions to beware of the Cyclopes and avoid Charybdis and Scylla by circ.u.mnavigating the whole island of Sicily.
[Sidenote: Rescue of Achemenides.]
This advice was duly followed by AEneas, who, while rounding one of the promontories of the island, saw and rescued Achemenides, one of Ulysses' companions, accidentally left behind when they escaped from the rage of Polyphemus, the Cyclops. This giant now came down to the sh.o.r.e, and was regarded with unconcealed horror by the Trojans, who rowed away in haste. Soon after, AEneas moored his s.h.i.+ps in the harbors of Sicania and Drepanum, and while there lost his aged father Anchises.
”There I lose my stay in every care, My sire Anchises!”
Virgil (Conington's tr.).
Juno, in the mean while, had not been idle, and gloated over the dangers she had forced the unhappy Trojans to encounter during the seven years which had already elapsed since they first sailed from Troy. She was not yet weary of persecuting them, however; and as soon as she saw them once more afloat, she hurried off to AEolus, and bade him let loose his fiercest children, and scatter the fleet by a terrible storm.
”'O AEolus! since the Sire of all Has made the wind obey thy call To raise or lay the foam, A race I hate now plows the sea, Transporting Troy to Italy And home G.o.ds reft of home: Lash thou thy winds, their s.h.i.+ps submerge, Or toss them weltering o'er the surge.'”
Virgil (Conington's tr.).
[Sidenote: The tempest.]
This request was immediately granted. The vessels, tossed hither and thither, lost sight of each other. Some were stranded, some sank, and still the tempest raged on with unabated fury, and death stared the unhappy Trojans in the face. The commotion on the deep finally aroused Neptune, who came to the surface just in time to see all the misfortunes which had overwhelmed AEneas. He imperiously sent the winds away, and lent a helping hand to float the stranded s.h.i.+ps once more.
”'Back to your master instant flee, And tell him, not to him but me The imperial trident of the sea Fell by the lot's award.'”
Virgil (Conington's tr.).
The Trojans, grateful for his timely aid, and rea.s.sured by the calm which now reigned supreme, steered for the nearest port, where they anch.o.r.ed their seven vessels, all that now remained of their once large fleet.
[Sidenote: Arrival in Libya.]
AEneas and Achates, his faithful friend, immediately set out to view the land, and ere long encountered Venus, disguised as a mortal, who informed them that they had landed upon the Libyan coast, which was under the sway of Dido, a fugitive from Tyre. Dido's husband, Sychaeus, King of Tyre, the possessor of untold riches, had been murdered by Pygmalion, his brother-in-law; but the queen was kept in complete ignorance of this crime, until visited in a dream by the shade of Sychaeus, which bade her fly with his treasures, whose place of concealment she alone knew.
Dido obeyed the ghost's commands, and, accompanied by a number of faithful subjects, landed on the Libyan coast, where she entreated the inhabitants to sell her as much land as an ox-hide would inclose. This seemingly modest request was immediately granted; but the Libyans regretted their compliance when they saw the ox-hide cut up into tiny strips, which inclosed a considerable tract of land, the site of Dido's beautiful capital, Carthage.
[Sidenote: AEneas and Dido.]
Thither Venus advised her son to proceed and claim the queen's protection. AEneas and Achates obediently hastened onward, and entered the town unseen, for Venus had enveloped them both in a mist. Their attention was first attracted by the festive appearance of the people a.s.sembled together, and by the beauty of the queen, giving audience to some of their companions, who had miraculously escaped from the waves.
These men spoke to the queen of their renowned chief, whose fame had already reached her ear; and she gladly promised to send out a search party to discover him, and aid him if necessary.
”'I will send And search the coast from end to end, If haply, wandering up and down, He bide in woodland or in town.'”
Virgil (Conington's tr.).
At these gracious words, AEneas stepped forward, the mist vanished, and he stood before the queen in all his manly beauty.
Dido then led her guests to the banquet hall, where they recounted their adventures by land and sea, while partaking of the viands and wines set before them. At this feast, Cupid, at Venus' request, a.s.sumed the face and form of Iulus, AEneas' young son, and, reclining on the queen's bosom, secretly thrust one of his darts into her heart, and made her fall in love with AEneas.
[Ill.u.s.tration: AENEAS AT THE COURT OF DIDO.--Guerin.]
Day after day now pa.s.sed in revelry and pleasure, and still AEneas lingered by Dido's side, forgetful of the new kingdom he was destined to found. One whole year pa.s.sed thus; and the G.o.ds, impatient of delay, finally sent Mercury to remind AEneas of his duty.
To avoid Dido's tears and recriminations, the hero kept his preparations for departure a complete secret, and finally set sail while she was wrapt in slumber. When she awoke and looked out of her palace window, it was only to see the last vessel sink beneath the horizon.
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