ELECTRA
That she will see my face lit up with smiles;
My hatred of her is too deep engrained.
Moreover, since thy coming I have wept,
Wept for pure joy and still must weep to see
The dead alive, on one day dead and living.
It works me strangely; if my sire appeared
In bodily presence, I should now believe it
No mocking phantom but his living self.
Thus far no common fate hath guided thee;
So lead me as thou wilt, for left alone
I had myself achieved of two things one,
A noble living or a noble death.
Orestes
Hush, hush! I hear a stir within the house
As if one issued forth.
Electra (to Orestes and Pylades)
Pass in, good sirs,
Ye are sure of welcome; they within will not
Reject your gift, though bitter it may prove.
Enter Aged Servant.
Aged Servant
Fools! madmen! are ye weary of your lives,
Or are your natural wits too dull to see
That ye are standing, not upon the brink,
But in the midst of mortal jeopardy?
Nay, had I not kept watch this weary while,
Here at the door, your plot had slipped inside
Ere ye yourselves had entered. As it is,
My watchfulness has fended this mishap.
Now that your wordy eloquence has an end,
And your insatiate cries of joy, go in.
