'Twas in the middle of the night my ruin came, in the hour when sleep steals sweetly o'er the eyes after the feast is done. My husband, the music o'er, and the sacrifice that sets the dance afoot now ended, was lying in our bridal-chamber, his spear hung on a peg;with never a thought of the sailor-throng encamped upon the Trojan shores;strophe 2and I was braiding my tresses 'neath a tight-drawn snood before my golden mirror's countless rays, that I might lay me down to rest; when lo! through the city rose a din, and a cry went ringing down the streets of Troy, "Ye sons of Hellas, when, oh! when will ye sack the citadel of Ilium, and seek your homes?"antistrophe 2Up sprang I from my bed, with only a mantle about me, like Dorian maid, and sought in vain, ah me! to station myself at the holy hearth of Artemis; for, after seeing my husband slain, I was hurried away o'er the broad sea; with many a backward look at my city, when the ship began her homeward voyage and parted me from Ilium's strand; till alas! for very grief I fainted,epodecursing Helen the sister of the Dioscuri, and Paris the baleful shepherd of Ida; for 'twas their marriage, which was no marriage but a curse by some demon sent, that robbed me of my country and drove me from my home. Oh! may the sea's salt flood neer carry her home again; and may she never set foot in her father's halls!
(HECUBA comes out of the tent as POLYMESTOR, his children and guards enter.)POLYMESTORMy dear friend Priam, and thou no less, Hecuba, I weep to see thee and thy city thus, and thy daughter lately slain. Alas! there is naught to be relied on; fair fame is insecure, nor is there any guarantee that weal will not be turned to woe. For the gods confound our fortunes, tossing them to and fro, and introduce confusion, that our perplexity may make us worship them. But what boots it to bemoan these things, when it brings one no nearer to heading the trouble?
If thou art blaming me at all for my absence, stay a moment; I was away in the very heart of Thrace when thou wast brought hither; but on my return, just as I was starting from my home for the same purpose, thy maid fell in with me, and gave me thy message, which brought me here at once.
HECUBA
Polymestor, I am holden in such wretched plight that I blush to meet thine eye; for my present evil case makes me ashamed to face thee who didst see me in happier days, and I cannot look on thee with unfaltering gaze. Do not then think it ill-will on my part, Polymestor; there is another cause as well, I mean the custom which forbids women to meet men's gaze.
POLYMESTOR
No wonder, surely. But what need hast thou of me? Why didst send for me to come hither from my house?
HECUBA
I wish to tell thee and thy children a private matter of my own;prithee, bid thy attendants withdraw from the tent.
POLYMESTOR (to his Attendants)
Retire; this desert spot is safe enough. (The guards go out; to HECUBA) Thou art my friend, and this Achaean host is well-disposed to me. But thou must tell me how prosperity is to succour its unlucky friends; for ready am I to do so.
HECUBA
First tell me of the child Polydorus, whom thou art keeping in thy halls, received from me and his father; is he yet alive? The rest will I ask thee after that.
POLYMESTOR
Yes, thou still hast a share in fortune there.
HECUBA
Well said, dear friend! how worthy of thee!
POLYMESTOR
What next wouldst learn of me?
HECUBA
Hath he any recollection of me his mother?
POLYMESTOR
Aye, he was longing to steal away hither to thee.
HECUBA
Is the gold safe, which he brought with him from Troy?
POLYMESTOR
Safe under lock and key in my halls.
HECUBA
There keep it, but covet not thy neighbour's goods.
POLYMESTOR
Not I; God grant me luck of what I have, lady!
HECUBA
Dost know what I wish to say to thee and thy children?
POLYMESTOR
Not yet; thy words maybe will declare it.
HECUBA
May it grow as dear to thee as thou now art to me!
POLYMESTOR
What is it that I and my children are to learn?
HECUBA
There be ancient vaults filled full of gold by Priam's line.
POLYMESTOR
Is it this thou wouldst tell thy son?
HECUBA
Yes, by thy lips, for thou art a righteous man.
POLYMESTOR
What need then of these children's presence?
HECUBA
'Tis better they should know it, in case of thy death.
POLYMESTOR.
True; 'tis also the wiser way.
HECUBA
Well, dost thou know where stands the shrine of Trojan Athena?
POLYMESTOR
Is the gold there? what is there to mark it?
HECUBA
A black rock rising above the ground.
POLYMESTOR
Is there aught else thou wouldst tell me about the place?
HECUBA
I wish to keep safe the treasure I brought from Troy.
POLYMESTOR
Where can it be? inside thy dress, or hast thou it hidden?
HECUBA
'Tis safe amid a heap of spoils within these tents.
POLYMESTOR
Where? This is the station built by the Achaeans to surround their fleet.
HECUBA
The captive women have huts of their own.
POLYMESTOR
It is safe to enter? are there no men about?
HECUBA
There are no Achaeans within; we are alone. Enter then the tent, for the Argives are eager to set sail from Troy for home; and, when thou hast accomplished all that is appointed thee, thou shalt return with thy children to that bourn where thou hast lodged my son.
(HECUBA leads POLYMESTOR and his children into the tent.)CHORUS (chanting)Not yet hast thou paid the penalty, but maybe thou yet wilt;like one who slips and falls into the surge with no haven near, so shalt thou lose thy own life for the life thou hast taken. For where the rights of justice and the law of heaven are one, there is ruin fraught with death and doom. Thy hopes of this journey shall cheat thee, for it hath led thee, unhappy wretch! to the halls of death; and to no warrior's hand shalt thou resign thy life.
POLYMESTOR (within the tent)
O horror! I am blinded of the light of my eyes, ah me!
LEADER OF THE CHORUS
Heard ye, friends, that Thracian's cry of woe?
POLYMESTOR (within)
O horror! horror! my children! O the cruel blow.
LEADER
Friends, new ills are brought to pass in yonder tent.
POLYMESTOR (within)
