Lives of Alcyone

though Mizar never ceased to regret Alcyon’ s banishment, and
presented several petitions to have him recalled.
Alcyone felt that he had been badly treated, especially as the
country house to which he was banished was an unhealthy and
malarious place. His son caught a bad fever here and was ill for a
long time. He finally recovered, but was never really strong again, as
the disease had left a weakness of the chest. Alcyone and Irene
always blamed Mizar and Thetis for this, and Irene at least bore a
grudge against the latter for it, and never ceased to think of it
secretly.
Four years later, in the year 594, King Kshattranjas died, and
Bimbisars came to the throne. Alcyone, who had known him well
when he was a young prince, immediately applied to be restored to
favour. The new King at once granted this, so Alcyone was once
more put in charge of his share of the temple, returned to his town
house, and took his original position. There was then a great scene
between the two cousins, and Mizar for the first time came to know
some of the things which his wife had said and done, and they
shocked him terribly. The feeling between families was somewhat
softened for the time, and Alcyone permitted Mizar and his wife to
continue to live with them in the town house. Though the ladies were
still to some extent distrustful of one another, and even Alcyone
could not quite forget that Thetis had been instrumental in procuring
the banishment which led to the ill-health of his son.
Thetis , however, was still dissatisfied, and continued to try
secretly all sorts of plans for the purpose of securing the succession
for her own son in place of Alcyone’ s. She hoped that the latter
would die but as he did not oblige her, she formed a scheme to kill