THE BOOK WAS DRENCHED - OUDL Home

From the land of shadows,
From the gates of Hades.
For he raised the dead
Ere the Zeus-driven shaft
Slew him with thunder fire. . . .
But now
What hope can I hold for her life?
LEADER (chanting)
The King has fulfilled
Every rite;
The altars of all the Gods
Drip with the blood of slain beasts:
Nothing, nothing avails.
(From the women's quarters in the left wing of the
Palace comes a woman in tears. She is not a slave,
but one of the personal attendants on the Queen.)
But now from the house comes one of her women servants, all in
tears. What now shall I learn? (To the weeping Servant) It is well
to weep when our lords are in sorrow—but tell us, we would know,
is ?he alive, is she dead?
SERVANT
You may say she is both alive and dead.
LEADER
How can the same man be dead and yet behold the light?
SERVANT
She gasps, she is on the verge of death.
LEADER
Ah, unhappy man! For such a husband what loss is such a wife!
SERVANT
The King will not know his loss until he suffers it.
LEADER
Then there is no hope that her life may be saved?
SERVANT
The fated day constrains her.
LEADER
Are all things befitting prepared for her?