ye
satisfied with your victory, thou and thy son, that ye have vanquished,
the two of you, one woman? Well I knew that thou fearedst lest this
Carthage should harm thy favorite. But why should there be war between us?
Thou hast what thou seekest. Let us make alliance. Let Dido obey a
Phrygian husband, and bring the men of Tyre as her dowry."

But Venus knew that she spake with ill intent, to the end that the men of
Troy should not reign in the land of Italy. Nevertheless she dissembled
with her tongue, and spake: "Who would not rather have peace with thee
than war? Only I doubt whether this thing shall be to the pleasure of
Jupiter. This thou must learn, seeing that thou art his wife, and where
thou leadest I will follow."

So the two, taking counsel together, ordered things in this wise. The next
day a great hunting was prepared. For as soon as ever the sun was risen
upon the earth, the youth of the city assembled, with nets and hunting
spears and dogs that ran by scent. And the princes of Carthage waited for
the queen at the palace door, where her horse stood champing the bit, with
trappings of purple and gold. And after a while she came forth, with many
following her. And she had upon her a Sidonian mantle, with a border
wrought with divers colors; of gold was her quiver, and of gold the knot
of her hair, and of gold the clasp to her mantle. AEneas likewise came
forth, beautiful as is Apollo when he leaveth Lydia and the stream of
Xanthus, coming to Delos, and hath about his hair a wreath of bay-leaves
and a circlet of gold. So fair was AEneas to see. And when the hunters came
to the hills they found great store of goats and stags, which they chased.
And of all the company Ascanius was the foremost, thinking scorn of such
hunting, and wishing that a wild boar or a lion out of the hills would
come forth to be his prey.

And now befell a great storm, with much thunder and hail, from which the
hunters sought shelter. But AEneas and the queen, being left of all their
company, came together to the same cave. And there they plighted their
troth one to the other. Nor did the queen after that make secret of her
love, but called AEneas her husband.

Straightway went Rumor and told these things through the cities of Libya.
Now Rumor, men say, is the youngest daughter of Earth, a marvelous
creature, moving very swiftly with feet and wings, and having many
feathers upon her, and under every feather an eye and a tongue and a m