be his meed, and hell profound!
Curs'd be the wretch, the fire of heaven who stole,
And with ambition first debauch'd the soul!
What woes, Prometheus,[333] walk the frighten'd earth!
To what dread slaughter has thy pride giv'n birth!
On proud Ambition's pleasing gales upborne,
One boasts to guide the chariot of the morn;
And one on treach'rous pinions soaring high,[334]
O'er ocean's waves dar'd sail the liquid sky:
Dash'd from their height they mourn'd their blighted aim;
One gives a river, one a sea the name!
Alas! the poor reward of that gay meteor, fame!
Yet, such the fury of the mortal race,
Though fame's fair promise ends in foul disgrace,
Though conquest still the victor's hope betrays,
The prize a shadow, or a rainbow-blaze,
Yet, still through fire and raging seas they run
To catch the gilded shade, and sink undone!"

END OF THE FOURTH BOOK.

BOOK V.

THE ARGUMENT.

Departure of the expedition under the command of VASCO DE GAMA (A.D.
1497). Mountains of Portugal, Cintra, Morocco. Madeira; the burning
shores of the Desert of Zanhagan; passage of the Tropic; cold waters of
the dark river Senegal. San Jago; pass the rocky coasts of Sierra Leone,
the island of St. Thomas, the kingdom of Congo, watered by the great
river Zaire. They cross the line and behold the magnificent
constellation of the Southern Cross, not visible in the northern
hemisphere. After a voyage of five months, with continued storms, they
arrive in the latitude of the Cape. Apparition of Adamastor, the giant
of the Cape of Storms. His prophecy. The King of Melinda confirms, by
the tradition of his people, the weird story of the Cape-giant told him
by GAMA. Narrative of the voyage continued; arrival of the expedition at
the Port of Good Promise; pass by the ports of Mozambique and Mombas,
and arrive at Melinda.

While on the beach the hoary father stood,
And spoke the murmurs of the multitude,
We spread the canvas to the rising gales,
The gentle winds distend the snowy sails.
As from our dear-lov'd native shore we fly
Our votive shouts, redoubled, rend the sky;
"Success, success!" far echoes o'er the tide,
While our broad hulks the foamy waves divide.
From Leo[335] now, the lordly star of day,
Intensely blazing, shot his fiercest ray;
When, slowly gliding from our wishful eyes,
The Lusian mountains mingled with t