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Thou, the golden chaplet fair

Braiding 'mid thy clustering hair,

To thy native haunts repair,

Thy name that gave;

Thou, whose brow the vine-lees stain,

Thou, to whom on star-lit plain

'Evoe!' sing the frenzied train,—

Bacchus the brave!

With thy torch of pine defy

(Hated by the powers on high)

War's unhallowed deity:

Haste thee to save!"—(A.)

Then Œdipus addresses the Chorus, as representing the people of Thebes; and to the audience, who knew the story well, every word in his speech must have sounded like the bitterest irony, as they listened to the speaker unconsciously invoking upon his own head a curse as solemn and emphatic as that of Kehama.

He speaks as one of themselves—a citizen to citizens—"a stranger to the tale, a stranger to the deed." Should the murderer confess at once, banishment shall be his only punishment. Should any give a clue to his discovery, the informant shall have a reward and thanks. But if, after this gracious offer, the criminal or accomplice hold their peace—

All things conspire, continues Œdipus, to make