He came once, of old,
Up thro' the city throng,
Foam on his lips, a-cold,
Huddled in rags that hung
Covering just the sword
Hid in his mantle's pleat;
His face grimed and scored,
A priest of wandering feet,
Who begged his bread in the street.
Many and evil things
He cast on the brother kings
Like one long hurt, who nurseth anger sore;
Would that a curse, yea, would
The uttermost wrath of God
Had held those feet from walking Ilion's shore!
DIVERS GUARDS (_talking_).
Odysseus or another, 'tis the guard
Will weep for this. Aye, Hector will be hard.--
What will he say?--He will suspect.--Suspect?
What evil? What should make you fear?-- [vv. 725-737]
'Twas we that left a passage clear.--
A passage?--Yea, for these men's way,
Who came by night into the lines unchecked.
[_A sound of moaning outside in the darkness, which has been
heard during the last few lines, now grows into articulate
words._
VOICE.
Woe, woe!
The burden of the wrath of fate!
GUARDS.
Ha, listen! Wait.
Crouch on the ground; it may be yet
Our man is drawing to the net.
VOICE.
Woe, woe!
The burden of the hills of Thrace!
LEADER.
An ally? None of Hellene race.
VOICE.
Woe, woe!
Yea, woe to me and woe to thee,
My master! Once to set thine eye
On Ilion the accurst, and die!
LEADER (_calling aloud_).
Ho there! What ally passes? The dim night
Blurreth mine eyes; I cannot see thee right.
VOICE. [vv. 738-756]
Ho, some one of the Trojan name!
Where sleeps your king beneath his shield,
Hector? What marshal of the field
Will hear our tale . . . the men who came
And struck us and were gone; and we,
We woke and there was nought to see,
But our own misery.
LEADER.
I cannot hear him right; it sounds as if
The Thracians were surprised or in some grief.
[_There enters a wounded man, walking with difficulty; he is the
Thracian Charioteer who came with_ RHESUS.
THRACIAN.
The army lost and the king slain,
Stabbed in the dark! Ah, pain! pain!
This deep raw wound . . . Oh, let me die
By thy side, Master, by thy side!
In shame together let us lie
Who came to save, and failed and died.
LEADER.
This needs no surmise: 'tis disaster plain
That comes. He speaketh of some ally slain.
THRACIAN.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account