_Leader of the Chor._ Wake, wake, I say; wake her, as I wake thee. Dost slumber? Rise, I say, and shake off sleep. Let's see if this our prelude be in vain. {134} _The Furies start up and (still on the roller-stage) perform a Fury Dance for Prelude in three short Strophes and Antistrophes._ Our prey is gone! Apollo, ever known as a robber-god, has now delivered a matricide from his due doom. Even in my dreams a feeling of reproach stung me as a whip. Such are the doings of these 'younger gods.' See Earth's Central Shrine is stained with blood, and Apollo has taken sides with a mortal against a god; but though the god may vex them, the culprit shall not escape. {169} _Apollo, re-appearing from the Inner Shrine, threatens the Furies with his bow_. He bids them leave his sacred precincts and seek scenes more fitted to them. There where heads upon the scaffold lie, And eyes are gouged and throats of men are cut, Where men are maimed and stoned to death, and groan With bitter wailing 'neath the spine impaled. A stichomuthic contest ensues; the Furies reproach Apollo with taking the part of a matricide. He urges she had first slain her husband--they retort that husband is not kin, to which Apollo pleads the sanctity of the marriage tie; this authorized by the great example of Zeus and Hera, with its special patroness Cypris, this "assigned by Fate and guided by the Right is more than any oath." Neither party will give way; Apollo appeals to Pallas as Umpire, the Furies declare they will never desist from the pursuit. {225} CHANGE OF SCENE _By the turning of the periacti and other mechanical changes the scene is shifted to the familiar Acropolis of Athens itself, the open Central Doors being arranged to represent the Porch of the Temple of 'Athene, Guardian of the City.' Enter by Distance side-door Orestes, who advances to the Centre and clasps the Statue of Pallas._ {226} _Orestes_ has come as suppliant, but no longer with the stain of blood on his hands; that during his long wanderings has been by due rites washed away. _Suddenly by the same door the Furies enter upon the Stage, their faces to the ground and tracking Orestes' steps._ {235}