Page:Aeneid (Conington 1866).djvu/297

Rh With measured cadence each and all

The giant hammers rise and fall:

The griping pincers, deftly plied,

Turn the rough ore from side to side.

While thus in distant caves the sire

Bestirs the brethren of the fire,

The gracious dawn, the vocal bird

Beneath his eaves at daybreak heard

Bid old Evander rise:

A linen tunic he indues,

And round his feet Tyrrhenian shoes

In rustic fashion ties:

A sword he fastens to his side,

And wears for scarf a panther's hide.

Two watch-dogs from the palace gate

Come forth, and on their master wait.

So, mindful of his plighted word,

He seeks his guest, the Trojan lord.

Æneas too with willing feet

As early moves his host to meet.

Achates on his chief attends:

Beside Evander walks his son:

Each, guest and host, his hand extends:

They sit them down, and talk as friends,

When thus the king begun:

'Great chief of Troy, whose safety shows

That Ilium still survives her foes,

Albeit a mighty name be ours,

Yet scanty are our martial powers;

Here Tiber bounds us, there the din

Of Rutule warfare hems us in:

Strong succour ne'ertheless I bring,

Great nations, rich with many a king:

By chance they stand before our gate:

You join us at the call of fate.