The Complete Poetical Works, vol 3 | Page 5

Round every crook
Of the ample
cavern, for his kine, Apollo
Looked sharp; and when he saw them not,
he took _320 The glittering key, and opened three great hollow

Recesses in the rock--where many a nook
Was filled with the sweet
food immortals swallow,

And mighty heaps of silver and of gold

Were piled within--a wonder to behold! _325

42.
And white and silver robes, all overwrought
With cunning
workmanship of tracery sweet--
Except among the Gods there can be
nought
In the wide world to be compared with it.
Latona's offspring,
after having sought _330 His herds in every corner, thus did greet

Great Hermes:--'Little cradled rogue, declare
Of my illustrious heifers,
where they are!
43.
'Speak quickly! or a quarrel between us
Must rise, and the event
will be, that I _335 Shall hurl you into dismal Tartarus,
In fiery
gloom to dwell eternally;
Nor shall your father nor your mother loose

The bars of that black dungeon--utterly
You shall be cast out from
the light of day, _340 To rule the ghosts of men, unblessed as they.
44.
To whom thus Hermes slily answered:--'Son
Of great Latona,
what a speech is this!
Why come you here to ask me what is done

With the wild oxen which it seems you miss? _345 I have not seen
them, nor from any one
Have heard a word of the whole business;

If you should promise an immense reward,
I could not tell more than
you now have heard.
45.
'An ox-stealer should be both tall and strong, _350 And I am but a
little new-born thing,
Who, yet at least, can think of nothing wrong:--

My business is to suck, and sleep, and fling
The cradle-clothes
about me all day long,--
Or half asleep, hear my sweet mother sing,
_355 And to be washed in water clean and warm,
And hushed and
kissed and kept secure from harm.
46.
'O, let not e'er this quarrel be averred!
The astounded Gods
would laugh at you, if e'er
You should allege a story so absurd _360
As that a new-born infant forth could fare
Out of his home after a
savage herd.
I was born yesterday--my small feet are
Too tender for
the roads so hard and rough:--
And if you think that this is not enough,
_365
47.
I swear a great oath, by my father's head,
That I stole not your
cows, and that I know
Of no one else, who might, or could, or did.--


Whatever things cows are, I do not know,
For I have only heard the
name.'--This said _370 He winked as fast as could be, and his brow


Was wrinkled, and a whistle loud gave he,
Like one who hears some
strange absurdity.
48.
Apollo gently smiled and said:--'Ay, ay,--
You cunning little
rascal, you will bore _375 Many a rich man's house, and your array

Of thieves will lay their siege before his door,
Silent as night, in night;
and many a day
In the wild glens rough shepherds will deplore
That
you or yours, having an appetite, _380 Met with their cattle, comrade
of the night!
49.
'And this among the Gods shall be your gift,
To be considered
as the lord of those
Who swindle, house-break, sheep-steal, and
shop-lift;--
But now if you would not your last sleep doze; _385
Crawl out!'--Thus saying, Phoebus did uplift
The subtle infant in his
swaddling clothes,
And in his arms, according to his wont,
A
scheme devised the illustrious Argiphont.
50.
...
And sneezed and shuddered--Phoebus on the grass _390 Him threw,
and whilst all that he had designed
He did perform--eager although to pass,
Apollo darted from his mighty mind
Towards the subtle babe the following scoff:--
'Do not imagine this will get you off, _395
51.
'You little swaddled child of Jove and May!
And seized
him:--'By this omen I shall trace
My noble herds, and you shall lead
the way.'--
Cyllenian Hermes from the grassy place,
Like one in
earnest haste to get away, _400 Rose, and with hands lifted towards his
face
Round both his ears up from his shoulders drew
His swaddling
clothes, and--'What mean you to do
52.
'With me, you unkind God?'--said Mercury:
'Is it about these
cows you tease me so? _405 I wish the race of cows were perished!--I

Stole not your cows--I do not even know
What things cows are.
Alas! I well may sigh
That since I came into this world of woe,
I
should have ever heard the name of one-- _410 But I appeal to the

Saturnian's throne.'
53.
Thus Phoebus and the vagrant Mercury
Talked without coming
to an explanation,
With adverse purpose. As for Phoebus, he

Sought not revenge, but only information, _415 And Hermes tried with
lies and roguery
To cheat Apollo.--But when no evasion

Served--for the cunning one his match had found--
He paced on first
over the sandy ground.
54.
He of the Silver Bow the child of Jove _420 Followed behind, till to
their heavenly Sire
Came both his children, beautiful as Love,
And from his equal balance did require
A judgement in the cause wherein they strove.
O'er odorous Olympus and its snows _425 A murmuring tumult as they
came arose,--
55.
And from the