Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/424

406 Their bloody lashes brandishing, And smoking torches half consumed. A sickly pallor overspreads Their bloated cheeks; and dusky robes Of death begird their hollow loins. The gloomy night with fearsome cries Resounds, and to my startled eyes Dread sights appear: there lie the bones Of that huge giant, far outstretched, Upon a slimy marsh's brink All white and rotting. Now I see That old man, wan with suffering, Forget awhile the mocking waves, Forget his burning thirst, to grieve For this disaster hovering About his house; But Dardanus exults to see His foeman's baleful destiny.

Band: Now has her rage prophetic spent itself, And fall'n away; like some devoted bull, Which sinks with tottering knees before the shrine Beneath the sacrificial axe's stroke. Let us support her ere she faint and fall. But see, our Agamemnon comes at last To greet his gods, with bay of victory crowned; And, all in festal garb, with glad accord. His consort welcomes her returning lord.

Agamemnon: At last in safety am I home returned. Oh, hail, belovéd land! I bring thee spoil From many barbarous tribes; and Troy at length, So long the mistress of the haughty east, Submits herself as suppliant to thee. But see, Cassandra faints, and trembling falls With nerveless form. Ye slaves with speed uplift her; Revive her drooping spirits with the chill