Page:The Dramas of Aeschylus (Swanwick).djvu/201

Rh Did Loxias forbid me to approach.

And let all Argive men, in after time,

Bear witness for me how these woes were wrought;

Living, an exile from this land I roam;

Leaving behind, when dead, these fateful words.

Noble thy deed, then yoke not now thy mouth

To bodeful speech, nor vent ill-omened words,

Since thou, with lucky stroke lopping the head

From serpent twain, all Argos' state hast freed.

Ah! ah! ye handmaids, Gorgon-like they come,

Vested in sable stoles, their locks entwined

With clustering snakes. No longer may I bide.

Dearest of mortals to thy father, say,

What fancies scare thee? Hold, yield not to fear.

To me no woe-engendered fancies these;

Too well I know my mother's vengeful hounds.

Still reeking is the blood upon thy hand,

Hence is it that distraction smites thy brain.