unwonted ardour glow'd,
_50
Nor could Diana's shape conceal the god.
The virgin did whate'er a virgin could;
(Sure Juno must have pardoned, had she view'd;)
With all her might against his force she strove;
But how can mortal maids contend with Jove!
Possessed at length of what his heart desired,
Back to his heavens the exulting god retired.
The lovely huntress, rising from the grass,
With downcast eyes, and with a blushing face
By shame confounded, and by fear dismay'd,
_60
Flew from the covert of the guilty shade,
And almost, in the tumult of her mind,
Left her forgotten bow and shafts behind.
But now Diana, with a sprightly train
Of quivered virgins, bounding over the plain,
Called to the nymph; the nymph began to fear
A second fraud, a Jove disguised in her;
But, when she saw the sister nymphs, suppress'd
Her rising fears, and mingled with the rest.
How in the look does conscious guilt appear!
_70
Slowly she moved, and loitered in the rear;
Nor slightly tripped, nor by the goddess ran,
As once she used, the foremost of the train.
Her looks were flushed, and sullen was her mien,
That sure the virgin goddess (had she been
Aught but a virgin) must the guilt have seen.
'Tis said the nymphs saw all, and guessed aright:
And now the moon had nine times lost her light,
When Dian, fainting in the mid-day beams,
Found a cool covert, and refreshing streams
_80
That in soft murmurs through the forest flow'd,
And a smooth bed of shining gravel show'd.
A covert so obscure, and streams so clear,
The goddess praised: 'And now no spies are near,
Let's strip, my gentle maids, and wash,' she cries.
Pleased with the motion, every maid complies;
Only the blushing huntress stood confused,
And formed delays, and her delays excused;
In vain excused; her fellows round her press'd,
And the reluctant nymph by force undress'd.
_90
The naked huntress all her shame reveal'd,
In vain her hands the pregnant womb conceal'd;
'Begone!' the goddess cries with stern disdain,
'Begone! nor dare the hallowed stream to stain:'
She fled, for ever banished from the train.
This Juno heard, who long had watched her time
To punish the detested rival's crime:
The time was come; for, to enrage her more,
A lovely boy the teeming rival bore.
The goddess cast a furious look, and cried,
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'It is enough! I'm fully satisfied!
Thi