Page:Suppliant Maidens (Morshead) 1883.djvu/61

Rh

No force shall bear away the maiden band.

Firmly this word upon the temple wall

Is by a rivet clenched, and shall abide:

Not upon wax inscribed and delible,

Nor upon parchment sealed and stored away.—

Lo, thou hast heard our free mouths speak their will:

Out from our presence—tarry not, but go!

Have then thy will, that new war come on thee.

Strength and success be on the young men's side!

Know that here also ye shall find young men,

Unsodden with the juices oozed from corn.

But ye, O maids, with your attendants true,

Pass hence with trust into the fencèd town,

Ringed with a wide confine of guarding towers.

Therein are many dwellings for such guests

As the State honours; there myself am housed

Within a palace neither scant nor strait.

There dwell ye, if ye will to lodge at ease

In halls well-thronged: yet, if your soul prefer,

Dwell ye secluded in a separate home.

Choose ye and cull, from these our proffered gifts,