Page:The Works of Alexander Pope (1717).djvu/368
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332
The FIRST BOOK of
Lo hapless Tydeus, whose ill-fated hand
Had slain his brother, leaves his native land,
And seiz'd with horror, in the shades of night,
Thro' the thick desarts headlong urg'd his flight:
Now by the fury of the tempests driv'n
He seeks a shelter from th' inclement heav'n,
Till led by fate, the Theban's steps he treads,
And to fair Argos' open court succeeds.
When thus the chiefs from diff'rent lands resort:
T'Adrastus realms, and hospitable court,
The King surveys his guests with curious eyes,
And views their arms and habit with surprize.
A lion's yellow skin the Theban wears,
Horrid his mane, and rough with curling hairs;
Such once employ'd Alcides' youthful toils,
E're yet adorn'd with Nemea's dreadful spoils.
A boar's stiff hide, of Calydonian breed,
Oenides' manly shoulders overspread,
Oblique his tusks, erect his bristles stood,
Alive, the pride and terror of the wood.
Had slain his brother, leaves his native land,
And seiz'd with horror, in the shades of night,
Thro' the thick desarts headlong urg'd his flight:
Now by the fury of the tempests driv'n
He seeks a shelter from th' inclement heav'n,
Till led by fate, the Theban's steps he treads,
And to fair Argos' open court succeeds.
When thus the chiefs from diff'rent lands resort:
T'Adrastus realms, and hospitable court,
The King surveys his guests with curious eyes,
And views their arms and habit with surprize.
A lion's yellow skin the Theban wears,
Horrid his mane, and rough with curling hairs;
Such once employ'd Alcides' youthful toils,
E're yet adorn'd with Nemea's dreadful spoils.
A boar's stiff hide, of Calydonian breed,
Oenides' manly shoulders overspread,
Oblique his tusks, erect his bristles stood,
Alive, the pride and terror of the wood.
Struck