Hither she was wafted by Zephyr in a sea-shell, which served as a chariot,
and received on the shore by the Seasons, daughters of Jupiter and Themis.
[Illustration]
She was soon after carried to heaven, where all the gods admired her
beauty, and all the goddesses became jealous of her personal charms.
Jupiter even attempted to gain her affections, but Venus refused, and the
god, to fulfil her destiny, gave her in marriage to Vulcan, the most ugly
and deformed of the Gods. This {67} marriage did not prevent the goddess of
love from gratifying her inclinations, and her conduct frequently tended to
cast dishonour on her husband. Her love for Mars is perhaps the most
notorious on account of the disgrace which accompanied it, while her great
partiality for Adonis, induced her to abandon her seat in Olympus. This
mortal, who was fond of the chase, was often cautioned by his mistress not
to hunt wild beasts, fearful of his being killed in the attempt; this
advice he however slighted, and at last received a mortal wound from a wild
boar which he had speared; and great was the misery evinced by Venus at his
loss.
"Over one shoulder doth she hang her head;
Dumbly she passions, frantickly she doteth,
She thinks he could not die, he is not dead;
Her voice is stopped, her joints forget to bow,
Her eyes are mad, that they have wept till now.
* * * * * *
"She looks upon his lips, and they are pale;
She takes him by the hand, that is cold;
She whispers in his ears a heavy tale,
As if they heard the woeful words she told:
She lifts the coffer-lids that close his eyes,
Where, lo! two lamps, burnt out, in darkness lies."