And faint thou not nor fail before the time,
O'er this toil brooding; hie to Pallas city;
As suppliant her ancient image clasp.
There having judges of thy cause, and words 80
Of suasive power, some means we shall devise
For evermore to free thee from these toils;
For at my bidding was thy mother slain.
Orestes.
Apollo lord, justice full well thou knowest;
Since then thou knowest, learn to practise it.
Of good success thy might is warranty.
Apollo.
Remember, nor let fear unnerve thy mind.
[To Hermes.
But thou, true brother mine, blood of my sire,
Hermes, protect him;—faithful to thy name,
Be thou his escort, shepherding this man, 90
My suppliant; for Zeus himself reveres
The sacred right of outlaws, which to mortals
From thy safe convoy cometh. Fortune's boon.
[Ghost of Clytemnestra appears behind Apollo. She is arrayed in her robe of state, sombre and shadow-like. Her breast is bare, and the bloody wound visible near the neck.]
Ghost.
Sleep on! Ho there! what need of sleepers here?
But I by you, among the other dead,
Dishonoured thus, from them the keenest taunts,
For his sake whom I slew, must needs endure.
In deep disgrace I wander;—this I tell you,
