Than I again must clasp them, and depart

Upon some foolish errand. But today

The errand is not foolish. Never yet With greater joy did I obey the sum

mons

That sends me earthward. I will fly so swiftly

That my caduceus in the whistling air Shall make a sound like the Pandæan pipes,

Cheating the shepherds; for to-day I
go,
Commissioned by high- thundering
Zeus, to lead

A maiden to Prometheus, in his tower, And by my cunning arguments persuade him

To marry her. What mischief lies concealed

In this design I know not; but I know Who thinks of marrying hath already taken

One step upon the road to penitence. Such embassies delight me. Forth I

launch

On the sustaining air, nor fear to fall Like Icarus, nor swerve aside like him Who drove amiss Hyperion's fiery steeds.

I sink, I fly! The yielding element Folds itself round about me like an arm, And holds me as a mother holds her child.