Stole the young prince thro’ unfrequented groves,
To gaze with listless eyes on lonely streams.
All, wondering, marked the change,
None dared to question; he had no fond father. 188 |
Now, in the thick of this his altered mood,
Arrived the envoys of the Scythian king.
Reluctant audience found,
And spoke to ears displeased their sovereign’s message. 192 |
‘Omartes greets Zariades the Mede:
Between the realms of both there rolls a river
Inviolate to the Scyth,
Free to no keels but those the Scythian charters: 196 |
Yet have thy subjects outraged oft its waves.
And pirate foray on our northern banks
Ravaged the flocks and herds,
Till Scythian riders ask “Why sleeps the Ruler?” 200 |
‘Still, loth to fan the sparks which leap to flame
Reddening the nations, from the breath of kings;
We have not sought thy throne
With tales of injury or appeals to justice; 204 |
‘But searching in our inmost heart to find
The gentlest bond wherewith to link our realms,
Make scyth and Mede akin,
By household ties their royal chiefs uniting, 208 |
We strip our crown of its most precious gem,
Proffering to thee our child Argiope:
So let the Median Queen
Be the mild guardian of the Scythian river. 211 |
Lifting his brow, replied Zariades:
Great rivers are the highways of the world:
The Tanais laves my shores;
For those who dwell upon my shores I claim it. 216 |