The father, Anchises, was too old to walk with the
speed required, and Aeneas took him upon his shoulders. Thus
burdened, leading his son and followed by his wife, he made the
best of his way out of the burning city; but, in the confusion,
his wife was swept away and lost.
On arriving at the place of rendezvous, numerous fugitives, of
both sexes, were found, who put themselves under the guidance of
Aeneas. Some months were spent in preparation, and at length they
embarked. They first landed on the neighboring shores of Thrace,
and were preparing to build a city, but Aeneas was deterred by a
prodigy. Preparing to offer sacrifice, he tore some twigs from one
of the bushes. To his dismay the wounded part dropped blood. When
he repeated the act a voice from the ground cried out to him,
"Spare me, Aeneas; I am your kinsman, Polydore, here murdered with
many arrows, from which a bush has grown, nourished with my
blood." These words recalled to the recollection of Aeneas that
Polydore was a young prince of Troy, whom his father had sent with
ample treasures to the neighboring land of Thrace, to be there
brought up, at a distance from the horrors of war. The king to
whom he was sent had murdered him and seized his treasures. Aeneas
and his companions, considering the land accursed by the stain of
such a crime, hastened away.
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