Page:Aeneid (Conington 1866).djvu/55

Rh But I, I cannot brook with ease

Junonian hospitalities;

Nor, where our fortunes hinge and turn,

Can she long rest in unconcern.

Fain would I first ensnare the dame,

And wrap her leaguered heart in flame.

So, ere she change by power malign,

Æneas' love shall bind her mine.

Such triumph how thou mayst achieve,

The issue of my thought receive.

To Sidon's town the princely heir,

The darling motive of my care,

Sets out at summons of his sire,

With presents, saved from flood and fire.

Him, in the bands of slumber tied,

In high Cythera I will hide,

Or blest Idalia, safe and far,

Lest he perceive the plot, or mar.

Thou for one night supply his room,

Thyself a boy, the boy assume;

That when the queen, with rapture glowing,

While boards blaze rich, and wine is flowing,

Shall make thee nestle in her breast,

And to thy lips her lips are prest,

The stealthy plague thou mayst inspire,

And thrill her with contagious fire.

Young Love obeyed, his plumage stripped,

And, laughing, like Iulus tripped.

But Venus on her grandson strows

The dewy softness of repose,

And laps him in her robe, and bears

To tall Idalia's fragrant airs,

Where soft amaracus receives

And gently curtains him with leaves: