Virgins and youths bend em❜lous, piling high Then groans the wine-press, then with measur'd step Flows redolent, and through deep channels pour'd, Dilates the goat-skin with its ruddy stream. Of brawling chorus, such as thy wild rout, Seek we the peasant's cot; its humble roof Had fled from man, ne'er rear'd a simpler hut. 430 435 440 445 Touches th' impending eaves; the mud-brick wall, 450 Cleft into hole and cranny, lattic'd o’er, Admits a dubious light; the roof is ridg'd With lay'rs of stone, worn smooth by wint'ry streams, Within, large wicker jars of corn, and skins 455 Of winter, and against the whiten'd wall, And snatch their scanty meal; unwholesome bread 465 Hard fare-yet such as form'd their ancestors To daring feats, and steel'd their breasts to meet The shock of battle on their country's shores. No more of peaceful scenes, of vales which sleep 470 In mountain shadow, of transparent streams Gurgling o'er golden beds of sand, and lawns Vocal with shepherd's song, we now must change Long passes, winding underneath the gloom 475 480 485 Clasp'd on their burnish'd helmets, pois'd their spears, And mark'd the lightning of her eye, to guide The storm of battle on th' invading host. Stern were her sons-Upon Eurotas' bank, Where black Taÿgetus o'er cliff and peak 490 Waves his dark pines, and spreads his glist'ning snows, • Nemorum noctem. GRAY. P |