The Transformation of the Naiads



8:808 Theseus mean-while acquitting well his share
8:809 In the bold chace confed'rate like a war,
8:810 To Athens' lofty tow'rs his march ordain'd,
8:811 By Pallas lov'd, and where Erectheus reign'd.
8:812 But Achelous stop'd him on the way,
8:813 By rains a deluge, and constrain'd his stay.

8:814 O fam'd for glorious deeds, and great by blood,
8:815 Rest here, says he, nor trust the rapid flood;
8:816 It solid oaks has from its margin tore,
8:817 And rocky fragments down its current bore,
8:818 The murmur hoarse, and terrible the roar.
8:819 Oft have I seen herds with their shelt'ring fold
8:820 Forc'd from the banks, and in the torrent roul'd;
8:821 Nor strength the bulky steer from ruin freed,
8:822 Nor matchless swiftness sav'd the racing steed.
8:823 In cataracts when the dissolving snow
8:824 Falls from the hills, and floods the plains below;
8:825 Toss'd by the eddies with a giddy round,
8:826 Strong youths are in the sucking whirlpools drown'd.
8:827 'Tis best with me in safety to abide,
8:828 'Till usual bounds restrain the ebbing tide,
8:829 And the low waters in their channel glide.

8:830 Theseus perswaded, in compliance bow'd:
8:831 So kind an offer, and advice so good,
8:832 O Achelous, cannot be refus'd;
8:833 I'll use them both, said he; and both he us'd.

8:834 The grot he enter'd, pumice built the hall,
8:835 And tophi made the rustick of the wall;
8:836 The floor, soft moss, an humid carpet spread,
8:837 And various shells the chequer'd roof inlaid.
8:838 'Twas now the hour when the declining sun
8:839 Two thirds had of his daily journey run;
8:840 At the spread table Theseus took his place,
8:841 Next his companions in the daring chace;
8:842 Perithous here, there elder Lelex lay,
8:843 His locks betraying age with sprinkled grey.
8:844 Acharnia's river-God dispos'd the rest,
8:845 Grac'd with the equal honour of the feast,
8:846 Elate with joy, and proud of such a guest.
8:847 The nymphs were waiters, and with naked feet
8:848 In order serv'd the courses of the meat.
8:849 The banquet done, delicious wine they brought,
8:850 Of one transparent gem the cup was wrought.

8:851 Then the great heroe of this gallant train,
8:852 Surveying far the prospect of the main:
8:853 What is that land, says he, the waves embrace?
8:854 (And with his finger pointed at the place);
8:855 Is it one parted isle which stands alone?
8:856 How nam'd? and yet methinks it seems not one.
8:857 To whom the watry God made this reply;
8:858 'Tis not one isle, but five; distinct they lye;
8:859 'Tis distance which deceives the cheated eye.
8:860 But that Diana's act may seem less strange,
8:861 These once proud Naiads were, before their change.
8:862 'Twas on a day more solemn than the rest,
8:863 Ten bullocks slain, a sacrificial feast:
8:864 The rural Gods of all the region near
8:865 They bid to dance, and taste the hallow'd cheer.
8:866 Me they forgot: affronted with the slight,
8:867 My rage, and stream swell'd to the greatest height;
8:868 And with the torrent of my flooding store,
8:869 Large woods from woods, and fields from fields I tore.
8:870 The guilty nymphs, oh! then, remembring me,
8:871 I, with their country, wash'd into the sea;
8:872 And joining waters with the social main,
8:873 Rent the gross land, and split the firm champagne.
8:874 Since, the Echinades, remote from shore
8:875 Are view'd as many isles, as nymphs before.