Dido. Eneas, pardon me; for I forgot That young Ascanius lay with me this night; Love made me jealous: but, to make amends, Wear the imperial crown of Libya,

[Giving him her crown and sceptre. Sway thou the Punic sceptre in my stead, And punish me, Eneas, for this crime.

En. This kiss shall be fair Dido's punishment. Dido. O, how a crown becomes Eneas' head! Stay here, Æneas, and command as king.

En. How vain am I to wear this diadem,

And bear this golden sceptre in my hand!
A burgonet* of steel, and not a crown,
A sword, and not a sceptre, fits Æneas.

Dido. O, keep them still, and let me gaze my fill!

Now looks Æneas like immortal Jove:
O, where is Ganymede, to hold his cup,
And Mercury, to fly for what he calls?
Ten thousand Cupids hover in the air,
And fan it in Æneas' lovely face!

O, that the clouds were here wherein thou fled'st,+

That thou and I unseen might sport ourselves! Heaven, envious of our joys, is waxen pale; And when we whisper, then the stars fall down, To be partakers of our honey talk.

En. O Dido, patroness of all our lives, When I leave thee, death be my punishment! Swell, raging seas! frown, wayward Destinies! Blow, winds! threaten, ye rocks and sandy

shelves!

This is the harbour that Æneas seeks:
Let's see what tempests can annoy me now.
Dido. Not all the world can take thee from
mine arms.

Æneas may command as many Moors
As in the sea are little water-drops:
And

now, to make experience of my love,—
Fair sister Anna, lead my lover forth,
And, seated on my jennet, let him ride,
As Dido's husband, through the Punic streets;
And will § my guard, with Mauritanian darts
To wait upon him as their sovereign lord.

* burgonet] i. e. helmet.

+ fled'st] Old ed. "fleest."-An allusion, I suppose, to the incident mentioned in the fifth book of the Iliad: when Venus, having carried off Æneas from the fury of Diomede, was pursued and wounded by the latter,—

She, shrieking, from her arms cast down her son,
And Phoebus, in impenetrable clouds

Him hiding, lest the spear of some brave Greek
Should pierce his bosom, caught him far away."
Cowper's Translation.

Heaven] Old ed. "Heauens." § will] i. e. desire.

Anna. What if the citizens repine thereat? Dido. Those that dislike what Dido gives in

charge,

Command my guard to slay for their offence.
Shall vulgar peasants storm at what I do?
The ground is mine that gives them sustenance,
The air wherein they breathe, the water, fire,
All that they have, their lands, their goods, their
lives;

And I, the goddess of all these, command
Eneas ride as Carthaginian king.

Ach. Eneas, for his parentage, deserves
As large a kingdom as is Libya.

En. Ay, and, unless the Destinies be false, I shall be planted in as rich a land.

Dido. Speak of no other land; this land is

thine;

Dido is thine, henceforth I'll call thee lord.—
Do as I bid thee, sister; lead the way;

And from a turret I'll behold my love.

En. Then here in me shall flourish Priam's race;

And thou and I, Achates, for revenge

For Troy, for Priam, for his fifty sons,
Our kinsmen's lives* and thousand guiltless
souls,

Will lead an host against the hateful Greeks,
And fire proud Lacedæmon o'er their heads.

[Exeunt all except DIDO and Carthaginian Lords.
Dido. Speaks not Eneas like a conqueror?
O blessed tempests that did drive him in!
O happy sand that made him run aground!
Henceforth you shall be our + Carthage gods.
Ay, but it may be, he will leave my love,
And seek a foreign land call'd Italy:
O, that I had a charm to keep the winds
Within the closure of a golden ball;
Or that the Tyrrhene sea were in mine armis,
That he might suffer shipwreck on my breast,
As oft as he attempts to hoist up sail!

I must prevent him; wishing will not serve.—
Go bid my nurse take young Ascanius,
And bear him in the country to her house;
Eneas will not go without his son;
Yet, lest he should, for I am full of fear,
Bring me his oars, his tackling, and his sails.

(Exit First Lard

What if I sink his ships? O, he will frown!
Better he frown than I should die for grief.
I cannot see him frown; it may not be :
Armies of foes resolv'd to win this town,
Or impious traitors vow'd to have my life,

• lives] Old ed. "loues."

t be our] Qy. “be 'mong our "?

Affright me not; only Eneas' frown

Is that which terrifies poor Dido's heart:
Not bloody spears, appearing in the air,
Presage the downfall of my empery,
Nor blazing comets threaten Dido's death;
It is Æneas' frown that ends my days.
If he forsake me not, I never die;
For in his looks I see eternity,

And he'll make me immortal with a kiss.

Re-enter First Lord, with Attendants carrying tackling, &c. First Lord. Your nurse is gone with young

Ascanius;

And here's Eneas' tackling, oars, and sails.

Dido. Are these the sails that, in despite of me,
Pack'd with the winds to bear Æneas hence?
I'll hang ye in the chamber where I lie;
Drive, if you can, my house to Italy:
I'll set the casement open, that the winds
May enter in, and once again conspire
Against the life of me, poor Carthage queen:
But, though yet go, he stays in Carthage still;
And let rich Carthage fleet ‡ upon the seas,
So I may have Æneas in mine arms.

Is this the wood that grew in Carthage plains,
And would be toiling in the watery billows,
To rob their mistress of her Trojan guest?
O cursed tree, hadst thou but wit or sense,
To measure how I prize Æneas' love,

Thou wouldst have leapt from out the sailors' hands,

And told me that Eneas meant to go!
And yet I blame thee not; thou art but wood.
The water, which our poets term a nymph,
Why did it suffer thee to touch her breast,
And shrunk not back, knowing my love was
there?

The water is an element, no nymph.
Why should I blame Æneas for his flight?
O Dido, blame not him, but break his oars!
These were the instruments that launch'd him
forth.

There's not so much as this base tackling too,
But dares to heap up sorrow to my heart:
Was it not you that hoisèd up these sails?
Why burst § you not, and they fell in the seas?
For this will Dido tie ye full of knots,
And shear ye all asunder with her hands:

Pack'd] i. e. insidiously conspired. tye] Old ed. "he."

fleet] i. e. float.

§ burst] i. e. broke.

I have an orchard that hath store of plums,
Brown almonds, services,† ripe figs, and dates,
Dewberries, apples, yellow oranges;

A garden where are bee-hives full of honey,
Musk-roses, and a thousand sort of flowers;
And in the midst doth run a silver stream,
Where thou shalt see the red-gill'd fishes leap,
White swans, and many lovely water-fowls.
Now speak, Ascanius, will you go or no?

Cup. Come, come, I'll go. How far hence is your house?

Nurse. But hereby, child; we shall get thither straight.

Cup. Nurse, I am weary; will you carry me? Nurse. Ay, so you'll dwell with me, and call

me mother.

Cup. So you'll love me, I care not if I do. Nurse. That I might live to see this boy a man! How prettily he laughs! Go,‡ you wag! You'll be a twigger when you come to age.Say Dido what she will, I am not old; I'll be no more a widow; I am young; I'll have a husband, or else a lover. Cup. A husband, and no teeth!

Nurse. O, what mean I to have such foolish thoughts?

Foolish is love, a toy.-O sacred love!
If there be any heaven in earth, 'tis love,
Especially in women of your years.—
Blush, blush for shame! why shouldst thou think
of love?

A grave, and not a lover, fits thy age.—

Enter Nurse, &c.] Scene, the country.

+ services] See the quotation from Miller in Todd's Johnson's Dict. in v. Service, example 19.

Go] "Read", says J. M. (Gent. Magazine for Jan. 1841), 'Go, go.'"

Enter ENEAS, with a paper in his hand, drawing the platform of the city; ACHATES, SERGESTUS, CLOANTHUS, and ILIONEUS.

En. Triumph, my mates! our travels are at end:

Here will Æneas build a statelier Troy
Than that which grim Atrides overthrew.
Carthage shall vaunt her petty walls no more;
For I will grace them with a fairer frame,
And clad her in a crystal livery,
Wherein the day may evermore delight;
From golden India Ganges will I fetch,

Whose wealthy streams may wait upon her towers,
And triple-wise entrench her round about;
The sun from Egypt shall rich odours bring,
Wherewith his burning beams (like labouring
bees

That load their thighs with Hybla's honey-spoils§)
Shall here unburden their exhalèd sweets,
And plant our pleasant suburbs with their || fumes.
Ach. What length or breadth shall this brave
town contain?

En. Not past four thousand paces at the most. Ili. But what shall it be call'd? Troy, as before?

En. That have I not determin'd with myself. Clo. Let it be term'd Enea, by your name. Serg. Rather Ascania, by your little son. En. Nay, I will have it called Anchisaon, Of my old father's name.

Enter HERMES with ASCANIUS.

Her. Æneas, stay; Jove's herald bids thee stay.

En. Whom do I see? Jove's wingèd messenger! Welcome to Carthage' new-erected town.

* Enter Eneas, &c.] Scene, an apartment in Dido's palace.

+ platform] i. e. ground-plan.

clad) i. e. clothe. So Sir John Harington; "Yet sure she doth, with damned Core and Dathan, But feed and clad a synagogue of Sathan."

Epigrams, B. i. Ep. 88 [89], ed. folio. § honey-spoils] Old ed. "honeys spoyles." their] Old ed. "her."

Her. Why, cousin, stand you building cities here,

And beautifying the empire of this queen,
While Italy is clean out of thy mind?
Too-too forgetful of thine own affairs,
Why wilt thou so betray thy son's good hap?
The king of gods sent me from highest heaven,
To sound this angry message in thine ears.
Vain man, what monarchy expect'st thou here?
Or with what thought sleep'st thou in Libya-
shore?

If that all glory hath forsaken thee,

And thou despise the praise of such attempts,
Yet think upon Ascanius' prophecy,

And young Iulus' more than thousand years,
Whom I have brought from Ida, where he slept,
And bore young Cupid unto Cyprus' isle.

En. This was my mother that beguil'd the

queen,

And made me take my brother for my son:
No marvel, Dido, though thou be in love,
That daily dandlest Cupid in thy arms.-
Welcome, sweet child: where hast thou been
this long?

Asc. Eating sweet comfits with Queen Dido's maid,

Who ever since hath lull'd me in her arms.

En. Sergestus, bear him hence unto our ships, Lest Dido, spying him, keep him for a pledge. [Brit SERGESTUS with ASCANIUS.

Her. Spend'st thou thy time about this little boy,

And giv'st not ear unto the charge I bring?

I tell thee, thou must straight to Italy,

Or else abide the wrath of frowning Jove. [Exit.
En. How should I put into the raging deep,
Who have no sails nor tackling for my ships!
What, would the gods have me, Deucalion-like,
Float up and down where'er the billows drive!
Though she repair'd my fleet and gave me ships,
Yet hath she ta'en away my oars and masts,
And left me neither sail nor stern aboard.

⚫stern] i. e. rudder.

Enter IARBAS.

Iar. How now, Eneas! sad! what mean these dumps?

En. Iarbas, I am clean besides myself; Jove hath heap'd on me such a desperate charge, Which neither art nor reason may achieve, Nor I devise by what means to contrive.

Iar. As how, I pray? may I entreat you tell? En. With speed he bids me sail to Italy, Whenas* I want both rigging for my fleet, And also furniture for these my men.

En. Not from my heart, for I can hardly go; And yet I may not stay. Dido, farewell.

Dido. Farewell! is this the 'mends for Dido's love?

*

Do Trojans use to quit their lovers thus?
Fare well may Dido, so Æneas stay;

I die, if my Æneas say farewell.

En. Then let me go, and never say farewell: Let me go; farewell [none]: I must from hence. Dido. These words are poison to poor Dido's soul:

O, speak like my Eneas, like my love!

looks,

For I will furnish thee with such supplies.

Let some of those thy followers go with me,

And they shall have what thing soe'er thou need'st.
En. Thanks, good Iarbas, for thy friendly aid:
Achates and the rest shall wait on thee,
Whilst I rest thankful for this courtesy.

[Exeunt all except ENEAS.

Now will I haste unto Lavinian shore,
And raise a new foundation to old Troy.
Witness the gods, and witness heaven and earth,
How loath I am to leave these Libyan bounds,
But that eternal Jupiter commands !

Enter DIDO.

Dido. I fear I saw Æneas' little son Led by Achates † to the Trojan fleet. If it be so, his father means to fly :But here he is; now, Dido, try thy wit.

[Aside.

Eneas, wherefore go thy men aboard?
Why are thy ships new-rigg'd? or to what end,
Launch'd from the haven, lie they in the road?
Pardon me, though I ask; love makes me ask.

En. O, pardon me, if I resolve thee why!
Eneas will not feign with his dear love.
I must from hence: this day, swift Mercury,
When I was laying a platform for these walls,
Sent from his father Jove, appear'd to me,
And in his name rebuk'd me bitterly
For lingering here, neglecting Italy.

Dido. But yet Æneas will not leave his love.
En. I am commanded by immortal Jove

To leave this town and pass to Italy;
And therefore must of force.

Dido. These words proceed not from Æneas' heart.

Whenas] i. e. When

↑ Achates] Qy. "Sergestus"? see p. 270, sec. col. resolve] i. e. satisfy, inform.

been

When Dido's beauty chain'd+ thine eyes to her.
Am I less fair than when thou saw'st me first?
O, then, Æneas, 'tis for grief of thee!
Say thou wilt stay in Carthage with thy queen,
And Dido's beauty will return again.
Eneas, say,
how canst thou take thy leave?
Wilt thou kiss Dido? O, thy lips have sworn
To stay with Dido! canst thou take her hand?
Thy hand and mine have plighted mutual faith;
Therefore, unkind Eneas, must thou say,
"Then let me go, and never say farewell"?

En. O queen of Carthage, wert thou ugly-black,
Eneas could not choose but hold thee dear!
Yet must he not gainsay the gods' behest.
Dido. The gods ! what gods be those that seck
my death?

Wherein have I offended Jupiter,

That he should take Æneas from mine arms?
O, no! the gods weigh not what lovers do:
It is Æneas calls Eneas hence;
And woful Dido, by these blubber'd cheeks,
By this right hand, and by our spousal rites,
Desires Æneas to remain with her;

Si bene quid § de te merui, fuit aut tibi quidquam
Dulce meum, miserere domus labentis, et istam,
Oro, si quis adhuc || precibus locus, exue mentem.

En. Desine meque¶ tuis incendere teque querelis; Italiam non sponte sequor.

Dido. Hast thou forgot how many neighbour

For being entangled by a stranger's looks! So thou wouldst prove as true as Paris did,

sack'd,

And I be call'd a second Helena !

Had I a son by thee, the grief were less,

That I might see Eneas in his face :

Now if thou go'st, what canst thou leave behind,

But rather will augment than ease my woe? En. In vain, my love, thou spend'st thy fainting breath:

If words might move me, I were overcome.
Dido. And wilt thou not be mov'd with Dido's
words?

Thy mother was no goddess, perjur'd man,
Nor Dardanus the author of thy stock;
But thou art sprung from Scythian Caucasus,
And tigers of Hyrcania gave thee suck.—
Ah, foolish Dido, to forbear this long! *—
Wast thou not wreck'd upon this Libyan shore,
And cam'st to Dido like a fisher swain?
Repair'd not I thy ships, made thee a king,
And all thy needy followers noblemen?
O serpent, that came creeping from the shore,
And I for pity harbour'd in my bosom,
Wilt thou now slay me with thy venom'd sting,
And hiss at Dido for preserving thee?
Go, go, and spare not; seek out Italy:
I hope that that which love forbids me do,
The rocks and sea-gulfs will perform at large,
And thou shalt perish in the billows' ways,
To whom poor Dido doth bequeath revenge:
Ay, traitor! and the waves shall cast thee up,
Where thou and false Achates first set foot;
Which if it chance, I'll give ye burial,
And weep upon your lifeless carcasses,
Though thou nor he will pity me a whit.

Why star'st thou in my face? If thou wilt stay,

Leap in mine arms; mine arms are open wide;
If not, turn from me, and I'll turn from thee;
For though thou hast the heart to say farewell,
I have not power to stay thee. [Exit ENEAS.
Is he gone?

Ay, but he'll come again; he cannot go;
He loves me too-too well to serve me so:
Yet he that in my sight would not relent,
Will, being absent, be obdurate still.
By this, is he got to the water-side;
And, see, the sailors take him by the hand;

this long] Altered by one of the modern editors to "thus long "': but compare, "Where hast thou been this long?" p. 270, sec. col.

Enter ANNA.

Anna. What means my sister, thus to rave and cry?

Dido. O Anna, my Eneas is aboard,
And, leaving me, will sail to Italy!

Once didst thou go, and he came back again:
Now bring him back, and thou shalt be a queen,
And I will live a private life with him.
Anna. Wicked Eneas!

Dido. Call him not wicked, sister: speak him fair,

And look upon him with a mermaid's eye;
Tell him, I never vow'd at Aulis' gulf
The desolation of his native Troy,
Nor sent a thousand ships unto the walls,
Nor ever violated faith to him;
Request him gently, Anna, to return:
I crave but this, he stay a tide or two,
That I may learn to bear it patiently;
If he depart thus suddenly, I die.
Run, Anna, run; stay not to answer me.
Anna. I go, fair sister: heavens grant good
success!
[Exit.

Enter Nurse.

Nurse. O Dido, your little son Ascanius Is gone! he lay with me last night,

And in the morning he was stoln from me :

I think, some fairies have beguiled me.

Dido. O cursed hag and false dissembling

wretch,

That slay'st me with thy harsh and hellish tale!
Thou for some petty gift hast let him go,
And I am thus deluded of my boy.-
Away with her to prison presently,

Enter Attendants.

Trait'ress too keend* and cursed sorceress ! Nurse. I know not what you mean by treason, I; I am as true as any one of yours.

Dido. Away with her! suffer her not to speak. [Exit Nurse with Attendants My sister comes: I like not her sad looks.

Re-enter ANNA.

Anna. Before I came, Eneas was aboard, And, spying me, hois'd up the sails amain;

* keend] i. e., I suppose, kenned, known, manifest (the modern editors print "keen").