Page:House of Atreus 2nd ed (1889).djvu/81

Rh How oft the famine-stricken field

Is saved by God's large gift, the new year's yield!

But blood of man once spilled,

Once at his feet shed forth, and darkening the plain,—

Nor chant nor charm can call it back again.

So Zeus hath willed:

Else had he spared the leech Asclepius, skilled

To bring man from the dead: the hand divine

Did smite himself with death—a warning and a sign.

Ah me! if Fate, ordained of old,

Held not the will of gods constrained, controlled,

Helpless to us-ward, and apart—

Swifter than speech my heart

Had poured its presage out!

Now, fretting, chafing in the dark of doubt,

'Tis hopeless to unfold

Truth, from fear's tangled skein; and, yearning to proclaim

Its thought, my soul is prophecy and flame.

Get thee within thou too, Cassandra, go!

For Zeus to thee in gracious mercy grants

To share the sprinklings of the lustral bowl,

Beside the altar of his guardianship,

Slave among many slaves. What, haughty still?

Step from the car; Alcmena's son, 'tis said,

Was sold perforce and bore the yoke of old.

Ay, hard it is, but, if such fate befal,

'Tis a fair chance to serve within a home

Of ancient wealth and power. An upstart lord,