At length arriv'd with the revolving night, The chofen hour appointed for his flight: He bids his friends prevent the feaman's roar, And still the deafening clamours on the shore; No trumpets may the watch by hours renew, Nor founding fignals call aboard the crew. The heavenly Maid her course had almost run, And Libra waited on the rifing fun;
When hush'd in filence deep they leave the land: No loud-mouth'd voices call with hoarfe command, To heave the flooky anchors from the fand. Lowly the careful master's orders past, To brace the yards, and rear the lofty maft; Silent they spread the fails, and cables haul, Nor to their mates for aid tumultuous call. The chief himself to fortune breath'd a prayer, At length to take him to her kinder care; That swiftly he might pafs the liquid deep, And lofe the land which the forbad to keep. Hardly the boon his niggard fate allow'd, Unwillingly the murmuring feas were plow'd; The foamy furrows roar'd beneath his prow, And founding to the fhore alarm'd the foe. Straight through the town their swift purfuit they fped, (For wide her gates the faithlefs city spread) Along the winding port they took their way, But griev'd to find the fleet had gain'd the fea, Cæfar with rage the leffening fails defcries, And thinks the conqueft mean, though Pompey flies. 1094
A narrow pafs the horned mole divides, Narrow as that where Euripus' ftrong tides Beat on Euboean Chalcis' rocky fides: Here two tall fhips become the victor's prey Juft in the ftrait they ftuck; the foes belay; The crooked grappling's fteely hold they caft, Then drag them to the hoftile fhore with hafte. Here civil flaughter first the fea profanes, And purple Nereus blush'd in guilty stains. The reft pursue their courfe before the wind, Thefe of the rear-moft only left behind. So when the Pagafæan Argo bore The Grecian heroes, to the Colchian fhore; Earth her Cyanean islands floating fent, The bold adventurers paffage to prevent ; But the fam'd bark a fragment only loft, While fwiftly o'er the dangerous gulf she croft : Thundering the mountains met, and shook the main,, But move no more, fince that attempt was vain. Now through night's fhade the early dawning broke, And changing fkies the coming fun bespoke;
As yet the morn was drest in dusky white, Nor purpled o'er the east with ruddy light; At length the Pleiads fading beams gave way, And dull Bootes languifh'd into, day; Each larger star withdrew his fainting head, And Lucifer from ftronger Phœbus fled; When Pompey, from Hefperia's hoftile fhore Efcaping, for the azure Offin bore.
O hero, happy once, once ftil'd the Great! What turns prevail in thy uncertain fate ↓
How art thou chang'd fince fovereign of the main, Thy natives cover'd o'er the liquid plain ! When the fierce pirates fled before thy prow, Where-ever waves could waft, or winds could blow! But fortune is grown weary of thee now. With thee, thy fons, and tender wife, prepare The toils of war and banishment to bear; And holy houshold-gods thy forrows fhare. And yet a mighty exile fhalt thou go, While nations follow to partake thy woe. Far lies the land in which thou art decreed, Unjustly, by a villain's hand to bleed. Nor think the gods a death so distant doom, To rob thy ashes of an urn in Rome; But fortune favourably remov'd the crime, And forc'd the guilt on Egypt's curfed clime ;
The pitying powers to Italy were good,
And fav'd her from the stain of Pompey's blood.
The Third Book begins with the relation of Pompey's dream in his voyage from Italy. Cæfar, who had. driven him from thence, after fending Curio to provide corn in Sicily, returns to Rome: there difdaining the fingle oppofition of L. Metellus, then tribune of the people, he breaks open the Temple of Saturn, and feizes on the public treafure. Then follows an account of the feveral different nations that took part with Pompey. From Rome Cæfar paffes into Gaul, where the Maffilians, who were inclinable to Pompey, fend an embaffy to propofe a neutrality; this Cæfar refufes, and befieges the town. But meeting with more difficulties than he expected, he leaves C. Trebonius his lieutenant before Maffilia, and marches himself into Spain, appointing at the fame time D. Brutus, Admiral of a navy which he had built and fitted out with great expedition. The Maffilians likewife fend out their fleet, but are engaged and beaten at sea by Brutus.
HROUGH the mid ocean now the navy fails,
Their yielding canvas stretch'd by southern gales. Each to the vaft Ionian turns his eye,
Where feas and fkies the profpect wide fupply: But Pompey backward ever bent his look, Nor to the laft his native coaft forfook. His watery eyes the leffening objects mourn, And parting fhores that never shall return;
Still the lov'd land attentive they pursue, Till the tall hills are veil'd in cloudy blue, Till all is loft in air, and vanish'd from his view. At length the weary chieftain funk to reft, And creeping flumbers footh'd his anxious breast: When, lo! in that short moment of repofe, His Julia's fhade a dreadful vifion rofe; Through gaping earth her ghaftly head the rear'd, And by the light of livid flames appear'd. Thy impious arms (the cry'd) my peace infeft, And drive me from the manfions of the bleft: No more Elyfium's happy fields I know, Dragg'd to the guilty Stygian fhades below: I faw the Fury's horrid hands prepare New rage, new flames to kindle up thy war. The fire no longer trufts his fingle boat, But navies on the joylefs river float. Capacious hell complains for want of room,
And feeks new plagues for multitudes to come. Her nimble hands each fatal fister plies,
The fifters scarcely to the task fuffice.
When thou wert mine, what laurels crown'd thy head!
Now thou haft chang'd thy fortune with thy bed.
In an ill hour thy fecond choice was made,
To flaughter thou, like Craffus, art betray'd.. Death is the dower Cornelia's love affords,
Ruin ftill waits upon her potent lords:
While yet my afhes glow'd, fhe took my place,
And came a harlot to thy loose embrace.
But let her partner of thy warfare go,
Let her by land and fea thy labours know;
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