Lives of Alcyone

seemed more than ever desirous to remove by any means all
possible rivals. Still uneasy about Alcyone , she made various plots
against her, and especially made an effort to murder her second
son. Hector, by night by her own hand; but through a mistake she
stabbed the daughter Rigel instead, and escaped without being
recognised. Though Alcyone suspected her.
This attempt having failed, Alastor brought an accusation of
plotting against Alcyone, and contrived to manufacture sufficient
evidence to get her driven away from the city with her son. Alcyone
knew that not only her present misfortunes, but also the death of her
daughter, were directly attributable to Alastor , and therefore felt
great resentment against her directly attributable to Alastor, and
therefore felt great resentment against her, and vowed in a moment
of anger to be revenged upon her some day. Being exiled in this
way she lived in great poverty in a neighbouring State, earning a
living for herself and her son by making and selling sweet-meats.
Some years passed in this way, Alcyone all the while
harbouring bitter feelings against Alastor. Cancer presently died,
and his wife succeeded in getting her pretended son crowned, but
he proved dissolute and unmanageable. Among other evil deeds he
outraged a girl, Thetis, who was his own sister, though he did not
know it. His real mother, Hesperia, in anger betrayed his origin. The
queen-dowager, of course, denied it, and had Hesperia poisoned,
but the rumour had spread and found general acceptance.
There was much murmuring and rebellion among the people,
and the story eventually reached the ears of Mars, the Suzerain at
Sravasthi, who came down in person to investigate the case and
found ample proof of the charge, whereupon he deposed the