Father and lawgiver! Imperial Master of Heaven! The rebellion in Olympus is over. The usurper has fallen under the weight of his own presumption, lower than the lowest chasms of Hades, chained for all eternity by the fetters of his own insolence and madness. It is not needful for you, Zeus, to punish or to be clement. Under the inevitable rebound of his impious frenzy, himself has sealed his doom for ever and ever. It is now for the Father of Heaven, and these his children, to resume their immortality and to regain their incomparable abodes. Be it my reward for the joyous labour of bringing the good news, to be the first to kiss these awful and eternal feet. [IRIS _flings herself before_ ZEUS _in adoration, and folds her wings about her face. As she touches him, his deity blazes forth from him. When_ IRIS _rises again, she glances round at the Gods with gratified astonishment, for all of them have become brilliant and young_.] ZEUS. Lead the way, Iris. This is no longer a place for us. Lead on and we will follow. Lead on, that we may resume our immortality. [IRIS _flies down to the sea, and_ ZEUS _descends the steps. He is followed by all the other deities._] CIRCE. Were we really happy among these trees? I can scarcely credit it, they seem so common and so frail. NIKE. Ha, my palm and my laurel and my wings. How can I have breathed without them for an hour? APHRODITE [_to_ EROS]. Shall we recollect this little episode when we walk up the golden street presently to our houses? EROS. I cannot think so, mother. That refinement of memory of which Phoebus was speaking will seem the most ridiculous of illusions there. PHOEBUS. Yes; to cultivate illusion, to live in the past, to resuscitate experience, may be the amusements of mortality, but they mean nothing now to us. When Selene re-enters her orb, she will not disquiet herself about the disorders of its interregnum. PALLAS [_hastily reascending_]. I have left Pandora's jewel behind me. I must fetch it. HERMES [_the last to descend_]. Let me confess that I took it from you. One of the barbarians was weeping, and I wished, I cannot tell why, to see her smile. I gave your jewel to her. PALLAS. It is of no moment. It would be an inconspicuous ornament in that blaze of the heart's beauty to which the white ships are about to carry us. HERMES. Come, then, Pallas, and let us linger here no more. [_They descend and disappear._] THE END. Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. London & Edinburgh * * * * * Transcriber's Note Variant spellings in this ebook have been retained to match the original document. The use of an ae-ligature in the name 'Hephaestus' has been regularized. The oe-ligature is represented by 'oe' in the text version of this ebook, and retains the oe-ligature in the HTML version. Ellipses have been regularized.