Page:Tragedies of Sophocles (Plumptre 1878).djvu/329

Rh They go who track all evil deeds of guile,

The hounds whom none escape;

And lo! my soul's dream doth not tarry long,

Floating in wild suspense;

For now beneath the roof-tree he has passed,

The avenger of the dead,

Treading with subtle feet,

E'en to his father's high ancestral halls,

And in his hands bears slaughter newly edged;

And Hermes, Maia's son,

Hiding their counsel, leads them to the goal,

Leads on, and tarries not.

Elec. Now, dearest friends, the men stand there within,

And do their deed. But hush: in silence wait.

Chor. How is 't ? What do they?

Elec. She prepares an urn

For sepulture, and those two stand hard by.

Chor. Why did'st thou rush without?

Elec. To stand on guard,

That so Ægisthos, if he home return,

May not escape our notice.

Clytem. [Within.] Woe! oh, woe!

Ο house bereaved of friends,

And full of them that slay!

Elec. A cry goes up within; friends, hear ye not?

Chor. I heard what none should hear, ah misery!

And shuddered listening.

Clytem. [Within.] Ah me! Ah me! Woe, Woe!

Ægisthos, where art thou?

Elec. Ha! List again,

I hear a bitter cry.