Thus shall the horse be our Palladium deem'd.
But see the soldiers move toward the strand.

[Exeunt.

SCENE IV. A hall in the palace of PRIAM.

A Council.

PRIAM, DEIFOBOS, ENEAS, &c.

Pri. So far you are agreed. The ling'ring war
But drains the kingdom of its noblest blood,
And turns the hue of our prosperity

Into the sickly wanness of decay.

Æneas speaks not?

En.

Oft with effort vain

Have I essay'd to rouse the public heart,

And give it sense of danger; but, alas!

Like some sad mariner, who long has strove,
With foaming waves and winds and clouded skies,
To steer his vessel from a fatal coast,

Seen by the setting sun hoar on the lea,

I sink dejected in my hopeless toil.

Deif, Have not the insolent, th' obdurate foes,
Sworn to the world that they would root us out,
And shall we talk of treaty and of terms?

We know the danger, but the remedy,
The med'cine that will renovate the state,
Is what we want.

En.

Purge from the commonwealth

The selfish foul which deadens every heart;

The mercenary crave.-O never yet
Stood that state firm to an assailing foe,

When public zeal was kindled by the touch

Of private greed, and bloated wealth obtain'd
The homage that should wait

upon renown.
Nay, look not askingly at one another,
But search your breasts, and tell us how it is
That all the flame of glory fades in Troy ?--
Yes our maternal Troy is deadly sick,
And yellow meagreness preys on her bloom;
Her eye grows heavy and her vision dim :-
Too true it is--for in her bosom bred,

The hideous cancer of corruption rots;
And those embracing arms, with which she took
The injur'd nations to her fost'ring breast,

Are feebly lifted in her own defence.

[Shouts are heard.]

Pri. Whence come these tumults of unusual joy? [Enter ACHATES.]

Ach. The watchmeu, posted on the southern wall,

Say that the gallies of the foe are launch'd,

And through the general camp appear the stir

And busy signs of hurrying departure.

Pri. The Gods of Ilion have with fate prevail'd!

Let our contentious councils here break up,

And with the joyous and exulting throng,

Let us our grateful sacrifices pay.

[Exeunt.

SCENE V. A Garden.

HECUBA and CASSANDRA.

Cass. My heart misgives, and in the general joy
Lies low and heavy. To the shouting throng
My fancy hears a dismal voice reply,

Like the gaunt echo of a hollow tomb.-
As I have sometimes seen, or thought I saw,
Death-like anatomy amidst the smiles
Of virgin beauty in its rosiest flush,

Methinks this chorus of intemperate joy,

Has notes sepulchral, dread and ominous.

Hec. My sweet Cassandra, leave these sad conceits;

Quit this sequester'd haunt; awhile forego

Thy midnight vigils, lest the constant zeal
Of holy piety, too oft indulged,

With frenzy touch thy rapt religious mind.
O ye great Gods, forgive me if I sin !
Forgive the trespass of a mother's care!

Cass. Would I were dead and quietly inurn'd,
Or could dispel these waking dreams of woe.
They rise to vision like the brood of sleep,
And like the nightmare hold my thoughts entranc'd.

[Enter PRIAM and DEIFOBOS.]

Pri. Unhappy child, can nothing bring thee cheer? Cass. O ye steru deities! whose dooming frown Falls black and dreadful on our ancient state, Since ye have spar'd this good old king so long,

Withhold your vengeance till his day be done.
Deif. Restrain, Cassandra, this fantastic mind:
Partake the general joy, and share the feast,
Nor scorn the favor of the bounteous Gods:
They give the banquet, and bestow the sense
To relish pleasure; why wilt thou convert
The festal hour to sorrow and lamenting?
Cass.

The festal hour! the festal hour of death!
O can maternal Hecuba forget

The staunch destruction that pursues her race,
And smile at pageants, which, like wicked spells,
Allure to ruin irretrievable!

Hec. Alas, alas, my child! thou wak'st, with more Than mortal speech, the mother in my breast.

Pri. Forbear, Cassandra. How thy wayward taunts Renew the anguish of thy mother's sorrow!

Ah me! what demon hath possess'd thee now?
Why dost thou gaze at me with eyes so wild?
What frantic fancy heaves thy lab'ring breast?
Lift not thy hands so madly to the Gods.
Is she distracted? Speak, Cassandra, speak!
Deif. Hear, dismal maniac, hear thy royal sire.
Pri. She is, alas, to her sad father's voice
As deafly dead, as to his weeping eyes
The corpse-like paleness of her face appears.
See'st thou not how thy mother stands amaz'd,
Wringing with misery her hands for thee!
Cassandra, dear Cassandra, look on us.

Hec. Alas! alas! dearest Cassandra, speak!
What image of imagin'd horror drives

The hue of life from thy dejected cheek?

Deif. Her pale lips redden, and the fearful toil Of the rapt spirit that so strain'd her frame

Pri. Deif.

Hec.

She beckons !

Hush!

She speaks.

Cass. The sign, the doing, and the deed, are one.
The trees are pregnant, and shall bring forth men.
An unbegotten steed stands in the stall.

His iron bowels bursting turn to swords,

That wreathe themselves in fires. Then all is done-
The rest is obsequy and sacrifice.

Pri. Ah me! Cassandra, wherefore speak'st thou this?
What dire phantasma breeds these ravel'd thoughts?
Cass. The shepherd, as he guards by night his fold,
Hears from afar the skir of havoc spread;

The earth shoots meteors; on the tow'rs of Troy
Destruction, perching, flaps her wings of flame;
The seaman sees a day at midnight dawn,
Which turns the azure ocean bloody red;
The wolves on Rhodope's dark ridges howl,
Craving the carnage that they shall not share ;
And hungry vultures, backward flutt'ring, scream,
Scar'd by the burning from their destin'd prey.
Hec. What hideous fancy fascinates her mind!
Cassandra! O my sweet Cassandra, cease!—
That which thou look'st upon is as a dream,
An unsubstantial vapor of the brain.

Cass. [To HEC.] I see the shadows of Jove's ministers: His wrath burns after, and throws them before.

Pri. These Pythian raptures must not be endur'd. Cass. Away, old man. What do'st thou with that robe? Put off the crown from thy devoted head : Trail'd and dishonor'd in the clotted mire Shall be these sacred and anointed locks, Which but the regal gold hath ever touch'd. The jav❜lin devious from thy palsied hand