grasp him, caught nothing but the fleeting air. And now, dying a second
time, she did not at all complain of her husband; for why should she
complain of being beloved? And now she pronounced the last farewell,
which scarcely did he catch with his ears; and again was she hurried
back to the same place.

No otherwise was Orpheus amazed at this twofold death of his wife, than
he who, trembling, beheld the three necks[4] of the dog, the middle one
supporting chains; whom fear did not forsake, before his former nature
{deserted him}, as stone gathered over his body: and {than} Olenus,[5]
who took on himself the crime {of another}, and was willing to appear
guilty; and {than} thou, unhappy Lethaea, confiding in thy beauty;
breasts, once most united, now rocks, which the watery Ida supports. The
ferryman drove him away entreating, and, in vain, desiring again to
cross {the stream}. Still, for seven days, in squalid guise[6] did he
sit on the banks without the gifts of Ceres. Vexation, and sorrow of
mind, and tears were his sustenance. Complaining that the Deities of
Erebus[7] were cruel, he betook himself to lofty Rhodope, and Haemus,[8]
buffeted by the North winds. The third Titan had {now} ended the year
bounded by the Fishes of the ocean;[9] and Orpheus had avoided all
intercourse with woman, either because it had ended in misfortune to
him, or because he had given a promise {to that effect}. Yet a passion
possessed many a female to unite herself to the bard, {and} many a one
grieved when repulsed. He also was the {first} adviser of the people of
Thrace to transfer their affections to tender youths; and, on this side
of manhood, to enjoy the short spring of life, and its early flowers.

[Footnote 1: _Saffron-coloured._--Ver. 1. This was in order to be
dressed in a colour similar to that of the 'flammeum,' which was a
veil of a bright yellow colour, worn by the bride. This custom
prevailed among the Romans, among whom the shoes worn by the bride
were of the same colour with the veil.]

[Footnote 2: _Ciconians._--Ver. 2. These were a people of Thrace,
near the river Hebrus and the Bistonian Lake.]

[Footnote 3: _Laying aside._--Ver. 19. 'Falsi positis ambagibus
oris,' is rendered by Clarke, 'Laying aside all the long-winded
fetches of a false tongue.']

[Footnote 4: _The three necks._--Ver. 65. There was a story among
the ancients, that when Cerberus was dragged by Hercules