Page:Paradise lost by Milton, John.djvu/295

Rh O much deceived, much failing, hapless Eve, Of thy presumed return! event perverse! Thou never from that hour in Paradise Roundest either sweet repast, or sound repose; Such ambush, hid among sweetflowers and shades, Waited, with hellish rancour imminent, To intercept thy way, or send thee back Despoiled of innocence, of faith, of bliss. For now, and since first break of dawn, the Fiend, Mere serpent in appearance, forth was come; And on his quest where likeliest he might find The only two of mankind, but in them The whole included race, his purposed prey. In bower and field he sought, where any tuft Of grove or garden-plot more pleasant lay, Their tendance or plantation for delight; By fountain or by shady rivulet He sought them both, but wished his hap might find Eve separate; he wished, but not with hope Of what so seldom chanced, when to his wiswish [sic] Beyond his hope, Eve separate he spies, Veiled in a cloud of fragrance, where she stood, Half-spied, so thick the roses bushing round About her glowed, oft stooping to support Each flower of slender stalk, whose head, though gay Carnation, purple, azure, or specked with gold,