"What are thy tidings, though I tremble to hear them?"
"We are come bringing all that remaineth of him in this urn."
And when Electra saw it she cried that they should give the urn into her hands; and Orestes bade them do so. And she took it and said, "O Orestes, that wast dearer to me than all men else, how different is this coming of thine to that which I had hoped! Lovely wert thou when I sent thee from this house, and now I hold thee in my hands and thou art naught. Would to the G.o.ds thou hadst died that day when thy father was slain; for now thou art dead, an exile, and in the land of strangers, and I paid thee no office of kindness nor took thy ashes from the funeral fire; but this did strangers for thee, and now thou comest a handful of ashes in a little urn. Woe is me for the wasted pains of nurture and the toil wherewith out of a willing heart I tended thee! For thy mother loved thee not more than I, nor was any one but I thy nurse.
And now all this hath departed. My father is dead, and thou art dead, and my enemies laugh me to scorn, and thy mother that is no mother is mad with joy. Let me die with thee, for "tis the dead alone whom I see to be quit of pain."
But while she so spake Orestes was much troubled in heart and knew not what to do. But at the last he said, "Is this the Princess Electra whom I see?"
And she answered, "Even so, and very ill she fareth."
Then he looked upon her again and said to himself, "What a n.o.ble lady is this, and in what unG.o.dly fashion hath she been afflicted!"
And when Electra would know why he was so troubled, he said, "It paineth me to see thee excelling all women in sorrow."
"Nay," she said, "thou seest but a small part of my sorrows."
"Hast thou, then, yet worse to bear than these?"
"Yea, for I live with them that are murderers."
"Whom sayest thou they murdered?"
"They murdered my father--and I am constrained to serve them."
"Who constraineth thee?"
"A mother that is no mother."
"And is there none that can help thee?"
"None, for him that was my helper thou bringest in this urn. But why pitiest thou me as doth no other man? Art thou, perchance, a kinsman?"
"Put down this urn and I will tell thee."
"Nay, stranger, take this not from me, for it holds all that is dearest to me."
"Speak not such idle words: thy sorrow is without cause."
"Sayest thou "without cause" when my brother is dead?"
"Thou dost ill to speak thus of thy brother."
"Doth the dead then think so lightly of me?"
"No man thinketh lightly of thee; yet with these ashes thou hast no concern."
"How so, if this is the body of my Orestes?"
"Here is no true body, only one that is feigned."
"Unhappy man! where, then, is his tomb?"
"He hath none--what need hath the living of a tomb?"
"Liveth he, then?"
"Yea, if I am alive."
"Art thou, then, he?"
"Yea; look at this my father"s seal, and say whether I speak truly."
And when she saw the seal, she knew that it was her father"s, and that this stranger was indeed Orestes. And she cried aloud for joy, and embraced him. Then, after the two had talked together for a very brief s.p.a.ce, Orestes said, "Tell me not how ill thy mother hath done, nor how aegisthus hath wasted the substance of my house; but rather instruct me in this: shall I do this thing secretly or openly? Take heed also lest thy mother see thee bear a joyful face, and so take warning."
And Electra made answer, "As for this present, know that aegisthus is absent, and that the Queen is alone. Therefore do as thou deemest best.
And as for me, be sure that I shall not cease from tears; for the old sorrow is inveterate in me; and also, now that I have seen thee, I weep for joy."
But while they talked together came the old man in haste, and rebuked them that they so spent the time; and to Orestes he said that no one knew him who he was, but that all deemed him dead, and that he must make haste and do the deed; for that now the Queen was alone, nor was there any man in the palace.
And Orestes, having prayed to the G.o.ds, and especially to Apollo, who indeed had bidden him do this work, went into the palace. And at the first Electra went with him, but afterwards hastened out, to keep watch, lest perchance King aegisthus should return. So she and the woman waited without and listened. And after a while there came a cry, "O my son, my son, have pity on thy mother." And Electra said, "Aye, but thou hadst no pity on him, or on the father that begat him." And then again a cry, "Woe is me! I am smitten." And Electra said, "Smite, if thou canst, a double blow." And then the voice came a third time, "I am smitten again." But Electra made reply, "Would that aegisthus were smitten with thee!" After this Orestes came forth, with his sword dripping with blood. And when the women asked him how it fared in the palace, he answered, "All is well, if only Apollo hath spoken the thing that is true."
But as he spake King aegisthus came back, asking, "Where be these strangers from Phocis that are come, telling how Prince Orestes hath come by his death in a chariot race?"
And Electra made answer that they were within. Then aegisthus cried, "Open the gates, and let all men of Argos and of Mycenae see the body; and if perchance any man hath been lifted up with vain hopes, let him look upon Orestes that he is dead, and so submit himself to me."
Then the gate was opened, and there appeared a dead body, lying covered with a sheet. And aegisthus said, "Take the covering from off his face; for he is my kinsman, and should not miss due mourning from me."
But Orestes answered, "Take it thyself; for this dead body is thine, not mine."
Then said aegisthus, "Thou speakest well: if the Queen be within the palace, bid her come."
And Orestes said, "She is near thee; look not elsewhere." And when aegisthus lifted the covering, lo! it was the Queen who lay dead. Then he knew the whole matter, and turned to the stranger saying, "Thou must be Orestes."
""Tis even so," cried Orestes. "And now go into the palace."
"But why slayest thou me in darkness, if this deed be just?"
"I slay thee where thou didst slay him that is dead."
So he drave him before him into the palace, and slew him there. Thus the blood of King Agamemnon was avenged.
THE STORY OF THE FURIES, OR THE LOOSING OF ORESTES.
The gift of prophecy Earth had at the first, and after her Themis; and after her Phoebe, who was of the race of the t.i.tans, and Phoebe gave it to Apollo--who is also called Phoebus--at his birth. Now Apollo had a great temple and famous upon the hill of Delphi, to which men were wont to resort from all the earth, seeking counsel and knowledge of the things that should come to pa.s.s hereafter. And it came to pa.s.s on a day that the priestess--for the temple was served by a woman, whom men called Pythia--when she went into the shrine, after her custom, in the morning, saw therein a dreadful sight. For by the very seat of the G.o.d there sat a man, a suppliant, whose hands were dripping with blood, and he bare a b.l.o.o.d.y sword, and on his head there was a garland of olive leaves, cunningly twined with snow-white wool. And behind there sat a strange company of women sleeping, if indeed they could be called women, that were more hideous than the Gorgons, on which if a man looks he is turned to stone, or the Harpies, of which they say that they have the faces of women and the bodies of vultures. Now this man was Orestes, and the blood that was upon his hands was the blood of his mother Clytaemnestra, whom he slew, taking vengeance for his father King Agamemnon, and the women were the Furies, who pursue them that shed the blood of kindred, and torment them even unto death. But the priestess when she saw this sight fell down for fear and crawled forth from the temple. And when she was gone there appeared Apollo himself. Now Apollo had counselled Orestes that he should slay his mother, and so avenge his father"s blood that had been shed. And now he spake, saying, "Fear not, I will not betray thee, but will keep to thee to the end. But now thou must flee from this place; and know that these, the hateful ones, with whom neither G.o.d nor man nor beast consorts, will pursue thee both over the sea and over the land; but do thou not grow weary or faint, but haste to the city of Pallas, and sit in the temple of the G.o.ddess, throwing thy arms about the image, and there will I contrive that which shall loose thee from this guilt."