_Amphitr.:_ The child, in terror of his father's face, Died ere he felt the blow. 'Twas fear that snatched His spirit forth. Now 'gainst his trembling wife, His mighty club is raised--her bones are crushed, Her head is stricken from the mangled trunk 1025 And may no more be seen. [_To himself._] O stubborn age, Too long enduring, canst thou bide this sight? But if thy grief is irksome, death is near. [_To_ Hercules.] Impale me on thy darts; that club of thine, With blood of monsters smeared, raise to my death. Come, slay me who am falsely called thy sire, 1030 And so remove this blot upon thy name, That I no longer may thy fame obscure. _Theseus:_ Why shouldst thou wantonly provoke thy death, Old man? Why this mad haste to die? Away, And hide. From this one crime spare Hercules. [_Enter_ Hercules.] _Hercules:_ 'Tis well; the household of the shameless king 1035 Is utterly destroyed. To thee, O wife Of mighty Jove, this promised sacrifice Have I performed; my vows I've gladly paid; And other victims shall thine Argos give. _Amphitr.:_ Thou hast not yet enough atonement made, O son. Complete the sacrifice. Behold, 1040 A victim at the altar stands, and waits, With willing neck, thy hand. I offer here My life, and eagerly; I seek to die. Slay me. [Hercules _appears to be fainting_.] But what is this? His eye's keen glance Cannot maintain its gaze; grief dims his sight; And do I see the hands of Hercules A-tremble? Now his eyelids fall in sleep, His head sinks down upon his weary breast, 1045 His knees give way, and down upon the earth His whole great body falls; as when some ash Is felled in forest glades, or when some cliff Falls down and makes a harbor in the sea. [_To_ Hercules.] Dost thou yet live? Or has thy furious rage, Which sent thy friends to death, slain thee as well? [_He examines the prostrate body._] He slumbers; this his measured breathing proves. 1050 Let him have time for rest, that heavy sleep May break his madness' force, and so relieve His troubled heart. [_To attendants._] Ye slaves, his arms remove, Lest, waking, he again his madness prove. * * * * *