Page:The poetical works of Matthew Arnold, 1897.djvu/415

Rh He bow'd his head, and deeply groan'd, and died.

Till then we all seem'd stone, but then a cry

Broke from the Dorian lords; forward they rush'd

To circle the prince round—when suddenly

Laias in arms sprang to his nephew's side,

Crying: O ye Messenians, will ye leave

The son to perish as ye left the sire?

And from that moment I saw nothing clear;

For from all sides a deluge, as it seem'd

Burst o'er the altar and the Dorian lords,

Of holiday-clad citizens transform'd

To armed warriors;—I heard vengeful cries,

I heard the clash of weapons; then I saw

The Dorians lying dead, thy son hail'd king.

And, truly, one who sees, what seem'd so strong,

The power of this tyrant and his lords,

Melt like a passing smoke, a nightly dream,

At one bold word, one enterprising blow—

Might ask, why we endured their yoke so long;

But that we know how every perilous feat

Of daring, easy as it seems when done,

Is easy at no moment but the right.

THE CHORUS.

Thou speakest well; but here, to give our eyes

Authentic proof of what thou tell'st our ears,

The conquerors, with the King's dead body, come.

LAIAS.

Sister, from this day forth thou art no more

The widow of a husband unavenged,