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112 themselves, where the sound of their grief may not increase the panic.

In obedience to the king's command, the band of maidens begin their prayers afresh. The first tones are soft and feminine, and exhibit, in their expressions of fear, that delicate perception of a particular phase of emotion and wonderful command of words for its description, which, even in this early period, distinguishes the Greek writers. "Care and fear," the maiden says, "keep all rest from my heart; pressing on my inmost soul comes a crowd of anxieties, that kindles there a burning dread."

Half familiarly they argue with the gods. "Where will ye find," they say, "a better home?" If the city is taken, it will be because the gods have left it,