Page:Ovid's Metamorphoses (Vol. 2) - tr Garth, Dryden, et. al. (1727).djvu/136

For the quick Eye may thro' the liquid Wave
A firm unweedy level Beach perceive.
A Grove of fragrant Myrtle near it grows,
Whose Boughs, tho' thick, a beauteous Grot disclose;
The well-wrought Fabrick, to discerning Eyes,
Rather by Art than Nature seems to rise,
A bridled Dolphin oft fair Thetis bore
To this her lov'd Retreat, her fav'rite Shore.
Here Peleus seiz'd her, slumbring while she lay,
And urg'd his Suit with all that Love could say:
But when he found her obstinately coy,
Resolv'd to force her, and command the Joy;
The Nymph, o'erpower'd, to Art for Succour flies,
And various Shapes the eager Youth surprize:
A Bird she seems, but plies her Wings in vain,
His Hands the fleeting Substance still detain:
A branchy Tree high in the Air she grew;
About its Bark his nimble Arms he threw:
A Tyger next she glares with flaming Eyes;
The frighten'd Lover quits his Hold, and flies:
The Sea-Gods he with sacred Rites adores,
Then a Libation on the Ocean pours;
While the fat Entrails crackle in the Fire,
And Sheets of Smoak in sweet Perfume aspire;
Till Proteus rising from his oozy Bed,
Thus to the poor desponding Lover said:
No more in anxious Thoughts your Mind employ;
For yet you shall possess the dear expected Joy.
You must once more th' unwary Nymph surprize,
As in her cooly Grot she slumbring lies;
Then bind her fast with unrelenting Hands,
And strain her tender Limbs with knotted Bands.
Still hold her under ev'ry different Shape,
Till tir'd she tries no longer to escape.
Thus he: Then sunk beneath the grassy Flood,
And broken Accents flutter'd, where he stood.

Bright