XXXII. "Full many a people,—let the fates attest
Of great Æneas, and his hand of might,
Ne'er pledged in vain, our bravest and our best—
Full many a tribe, though lowly be our plight,
Have sought with ours their fortunes to unite.
Fate bade us seek your country and her King.
Hither, where Dardanus first saw the light,
Apollo back the Dardan race would bring,		280
To Tuscan Tiber's banks and pure Numicius' spring.
XXXIII. "These gifts Æneas to our charge commends,
Poor relics saved from Ilion, but a sign
Of ancient greatness, and the gifts of friends.
See, from this golden goblet at the shrine
His sire Anchises poured the sacred wine;
Clad in these robes sat Priam, when of old
The laws he ministered. These robes are thine,
This sceptre, this embroidered vest,—behold,		289
'Twas wrought by Trojan dames,—this diadem of gold."
XXXIV. Mute sat and motionless, with looks bent down,
Latinus; but his restless eyes confessed
His musings. Not the sceptre nor the gown
Of purple moved him, but his pensive breast
Dwelt on his daughter's marriage, till he guessed
The meaning of old Faunus. This was he,
His destined heir, the bridegroom and the guest,
Whose glorious progeny, by Fate's decree,		298
The Latin throne should share, and rule from sea to sea.
XXXV. "Heaven prosper," joyfully he cried, "our deed,
And heaven's own augury. Your wish shall stand;
I take the gifts. Yours, Trojans, all ye need—
The wealth of Troy, the fatness of the land,—
Nought shall ye lack from King Latinus' hand.
Let but Æneas, if he longs so fain
To claim our friendship, and a home demand,
Come here, nor fear to greet us. Not in vain		307
'Twixt monarchs stands the peace, which plighted hands ordain.
XXXVI. "Let now this message to your King be given.
'A child, the daughter of my heart, is mine,
Whom neither frequent prodigies from heaven,
Nor voices uttered from my father's shrine,
Permit with one of Latin birth to join.
Strange sons—so Latin oracles conspire—
Shall come, whose offspring shall exalt our line.
Thy King the bridegroom whom the Fates require		316
I deem, and, if in aught I read the truth, desire.'"
XXXVII. So speaks Latinus, and with kindly care
Choice steeds selects. Three hundred of the best
Stand in his lofty stables, sleek and fair;
And forth in order for each Teucrian guest
His servants led them, at their King's behest.
Rich housings, wrought in many a purple fold,
And broidered rugs adorn them; o'er each breast
Hang golden poitrels, glorious to behold.		325
Each champs with foaming mouth a chain of glittering gold.
XXXVIII. A car he orders for the Dardan sire,
And twin-yoked coursers of ethereal seed,
Whose snorting nostrils breathe the flames of fire.
Half-mortal, half-immortal was each steed,
The bastard birth of that celestial breed,
Which cunning Circe from a mortal mare
Raised to her sire the Sun-god. So with speed
The mounted Trojans to their prince repair,		334
Pleased with the gifts and words, for peaceful news they bear.

XXXIX. Lo! from Inachian Argos through the skies
Jove's consort her avenging flight pursues,
And far off, from Pachynus, as she flies
O'er Sicily, beholds the Dardan crews
And great Æneas, gladdening at the news.
The rising settlement, the new-tilled shore,
The ships deserted for the land she views,
And shaking her imperial brows, and sore		343
With anguish, from her breast these wrathful words doth pour:
XL. "Ah, hateful race! Ah, Phrygian fates abhorred!
What, fell they not on the Sigean plain?
Must captives be twice captured? Have the sword
And flames of Troy avenged me but in vain?
Have foes and fire found passage for the slain?
Sooth, then, my godhead sleepeth, and that hand
Is tired of hate, which whilom o'er the main
Dared chase these outcasts and their paths withstand,		352
Where'er the deep sea rolled, far from their native land!