SCENE I.
ELECTRA.
I am forbid to enter here; oppressed
With fears, in vain I lift these hands to heaven:
Iphisa comes not; but behold the gates
Are opened: ha! she’s here, I tremble.
SCENE II.
ELECTRA, IPHISA.
ELECTRA.
Say,
My dear Iphisa, what have I to hope,
Will Clytemnæstra dare to be a mother?
Has she the power, has she the will to make us
Some poor amends for all the cruel evils
She has inflicted on us? Could she e’er —
But she’s a slave to guilt, and to Ægisthus:
I am prepared to hear the worst; O speak,
Say, all is past, and we must die.
IPHISA.
I hope,
And yet I fear: Ægisthus hath received
Some dark suggestions, but is doubtful still,
Whether Orestes is his prisoner here,
And Clytemnæstra never named her son:
She seems to feel a mother’s fondness for him,
And, pierced with anguish, trembles for his life:
She struggles with herself, and fears alike
To speak or to be silent; strives to soothe
The tyrant’s rage, and save them from his vengeance:
But should Orestes once be known, he dies.
ELECTRA.
O cruel thought! perhaps when I implored
My barbarous mother I destroyed Orestes;
Her grief will but enrage the fierce Ægisthus;
Nature is ever fatal here: I dread
Her silence, and yet would not have her speak;
Danger is on every side: but say, Iphisa,
What hath Pammenes done?
IPHISA.
His feeble age
Seems strengthened by misfortune, and our dangers
But breathe new spirit o’er his ardent zeal
To serve our cause; he animates our friends
With double vigor; even the servile throng,
That cringe around the tyrant’s throne, begin
To murmur at the name of great Orestes:
Veterans, who served beneath the father, burn
With honest ardor to support the son:
Such power have justice and the sacred laws
O’er mortal minds, howe’er by vice corrupted.
ELECTRA.
O that Electra could inflame their souls
With glowing virtue, breathe her own fierce spirit
Into their timid hearts, and animate
Their cold resentment! would I had but known,
Ere he arrived on this detested shore,
That my Orestes lived! or that Pammenes
Had further urged —
SCENE III.
ÆGISTHUS, CLYTEMNÆSTRA, ELECTRA, IPHISA, Guards.
ÆGISTHUS.
Guards, seize that hoary traitor,
And let him be confronted with those strangers
Whom I have doomed to death; he is their friend,
And confidant, the accomplice in their crimes:
How dreadful was the snare which they had laid!
O, Claytemnæstra, ‘tis the cursed Orestes,
It must be he; do not deceive thyself,
Do not defend him: O, I see it all,
It is too plain: alas! this urn contains
The ashes of my son: the murderers brought
This fatal present to his weeping father.
CLYTEMNÆSTRA.
Canst thou believe —
ÆGISTHUS.
I can; I must rely
On the sworn hatred ‘twixt the unhappy children
Of Atreus and Thyestes; must believe
The time, the place, the rage of fierce Electra,
Iphisa’s tears, your undeserved compassion,
Your ill-timed pity for these base assassins;
Orestes lives, and I have lost my son;
But I have caught him in the toils; whiche’er
It be, for yet I know not, I’ll be just,
I’ll sacrifice the murderer to my son,
And to his mother.
CLYTEMNÆSTRA.
Horrid sacrifice!
I must not see it.
ÆGISTHUS.
Horrible to thee?
CLYTEMNÆSTRA.
O yes; already blood enough hath flowed
In this sad scene of slaughter: O ‘tis time
To end the woes of Pelops’ hapless race:
If after all it should not be Orestes,
Wouldst thou, on dark suspicion’s vague report,
Murder the innocent? and if it be
Indeed my son, my lord, I must defend him,
Must gain his pardon at thy hands, or perish.
ÆGISTHUS.
I cannot, dare not yield to thy request;
For thy own sake I dare not; thy fond pity
May be thy ruin; all that melts thy heart
To soft compassion, sharpens mine to rage
And fierce resentment: one of them I know
Must be Orestes, therefore both shall die;
I ought not even to hesitate a moment:
Guards, do your office.
IPHISA.
O, my lord, behold me
Low at your feet; must all our hapless race
Thus humbly bend, thus supplicate in vain?
Electra, kneel with me, embrace his knees,
Thy pride destroys us.
ELECTRA.
Can I stoop so low?
Shall I bring foul disgrace on thee, my brother,
And ignominy, and shame? it shocks my soul;
But I will suffer all to save Orestes.
[Turning to Ægisthus.
It thou wilt save him, here I promise thee,
(Not to forget my father’s murder, that
I never can, but) in respectful silence
To pay thee homage, still to live with thee
A willing slave, let but my brother live.
ÆGISTHUS.
Thy brother dies, and thou shalt live a slave;
My vengeance is complete: thy pride is humbled,
And sues in vain.
CLYTEMNÆSTRA.
Ægisthus, ‘tis too much,
To trample thus on the unhappy race
Of him who was thy master once; away,
Spite of thy rage, I will defend my son;
Deaf as thou art to a fond sister’s prayers,
A mother’s may prevail: O think, my lord,
Think on thy happy state, above the reach
Of adverse fortune no, Orestes ne’er
Can hurt thee, and Electra bends submissive
Beneath thy power, Iphisa at thy feet;
Can nothing move thee? I have gone too far
Already with thee in the paths of guilt,
And offered up a dreadful sacrifice.
Thinkest thou I’ll yield thee up my purest blood
To glut thy rage? Am I forever doomed
To take a murderous husband to my arms?
At Aulis one a lovely daughter slew,
The other threatens to destroy my son
Before my eyes, close to his father’s tomb:
O rather let this fatal diadem,
Hateful to Greece, and to myself a load
Of misery, fall with me, and be no more
Remembered! O Ægisthus, well thou knowest,
I loved thee, ‘tis amongst my blackest crimes,
And stands the foremost; but I love my children,
And will defend them; against thy arm upraised
To shed their blood will lift my vengeful hand,
And blast thy purpose: tremble, for thou knowest me:
The bands are sacred that united us,
Thy interest is most dear to Clytemnæstra:
Remember still, Orestes is my son,
And fear his mother.
ELECTRA.
You surpass my hopes.
Surely a heart like thine could ne’er be guilty;
Go on, my honored mother, and avenge
Your children, and your husband.
ÆGISTHUS.
Slave, thou fillest
The measure of thy crimes: gods! shall Ægisthus
Withhold his vengeance for a woman’s cries,
For Agamemnon’s widow, and her children?
Unhappy queen! say, whom dost thou accuse?
Whom dost thou plead for? hear me and obey.
Away with them to instant death.
SCENE IV.
ÆGISTHUS, CLYTEMNÆSTRA, ELECTRA, IPHISA, DYMAS.
DYMAS.
My lord?
ÆGISTHUS.
Thou seemest disordered: what has happened? Speak.
DYMAS.
Orestes is discovered.
IPHISA.
Ha! where is he?
CLYTEMNÆSTRA.
My son!
ELECTRA.
My brother?
ÆGISTHUS.
Have you punished him
As he deserves?
DYMAS.
My lord, as yet he lives.
ÆGISTHUS.
And wherefore were my orders disobeyed?
DYMAS.
His friend and fellow-captive, Pylades,
Pointed him out, and to the soldiers showed
Great Agamemnon’s son; they seemed much moved;
I dread the consequence.
ÆGISTHUS.
I must prevent it,
For they shall die: who dares not to revenge me
Shall feel my justice: Dymas, follow me:
Stay thou and guard his sisters; I defy
The blood of Agamemnon: from the father
Of Plisthenes, and great Thyestes’ son,
What mortal, or what god, shall save Orestes?
SCENE V.
CLYTEMNÆSTRA, ELECTRA, IPHISA.
IPHISA.
Fear not, but follow him; Electra, speak,
Exhort our friends, and animate their zeal.
ELECTRA.
[To Clytemnæstra.
O, in the name of powerful nature, now
Complete thy noble work; conduct us, fly —
CLYTEMNÆSTRA.
You must not hence, the guards will not permit it:
Stay here, my children, and rely on me,
On a fond mother, and a tender wife:
I will perform the double task, and take
Orestes and Ægisthus to my care.
SCENE VI.
ELECTRA, IPHISA.
IPHISA.
Alas! the avenging god pursues us still;
Though she defends Orestes, still Ægisthus
Is at her heart; perhaps the tender cries
Of pity and remorse shall naught avail
Against the tyrant; he is proud, revengeful,
Implacable, and furious; who shall save
If he condemns? we must submit, and die.
ELECTRA.
O that before my death I had not fallen
So low as to entreat him, to belie
My honest heart, and supplicate the tyrant!
Despair and horror sink me to the tomb
With infamy and shame; my vain endeavors
To save Orestes but urge on his fate.
Where are these boasted friends Pammenes talked of,
Who, with fell rancor, and determined hate,
Pursued Ægisthus? Where those vengeful gods
Who hid Orestes from my sight, upraised
His righteous arm, and promised to support him?
Where are ye now, infernal goddesses,
Daughters of night, ye who so lately shook
Your dreadful torches here? all nature once
United seemed to guard and to protect us,
But all desert us now, all court Ægisthus,
And men and gods, and heaven and hell betray me.
SCENE VII.
ELECTRA, PYLADES, IPHISA.
ELECTRA.
What sayest thou, Pylades? the deed is done?
PYLADES.
It is: Electra’s free, and heaven obeyed.
ELECTRA.
How?
PYLADES.
Yes, Orestes reigns: he sent me hither.
IPHISA.
Just gods!
ELECTRA.
Orestes! is it possible!
I faint, I die with joy.
PYLADES.
Orestes lives,
And has avenged the blood of innocence.
ELECTRA.
What wondrous power hath wrought this strange event.
PYLADES.
His father’s name, Electra’s, and his own;
His valor, and his virtue; our misfortunes,
Justice, and pity; and the power that pleads
In human hearts for wretchedness like thine.
Pammenes, by the tyrant’s order bound,
Was led with us to death; in weeping crowds
The people followed, and deplored our fate:
I saw their rage was equal to their fears,
But the guards watched them closely: then Orestes
Cried, “Strike, ye slaves, and sacrifice the last
Of Argos’ kings; ye dare not.” When he spoke,
On his fair front such native majesty
And royal lustre shone, we almost thought
Great Agamemnon’s spirit from the tomb
Had risen, and came once more to bless mankind.
I spoke, and friendship’s happy voice prevailed;
The people rose, the soldiers stood aghast,
And dropped the uplifted falchions from their hands;
The crowd encircled us, and desperate love,
With friendship joined, fought nobly for Orestes;
The joyful people bore him off in triumph:
Ægisthus flew to seize his destined prey,
And in the slave he meant to punish, found
A conqueror: pleased I saw his humbled pride;
His friends deserted, and his guards betrayed him:
The insulting people triumphed in his fall.
O glorious day! O all discerning justice!
Ægisthus wears the chains that bound Orestes;
The queen alone attends, protects, and saves him
From the mad crowd, that press tumultuous on,
Big with revenge, and thirsting for his blood;
While Clytemnæstra holds him in her arms,
And shields him from their rage, implores Orestes
To save her husband: he respects her still,
Fulfils the duties of a son and brother:
Safe from the foe you will behold him soon
Triumphant here, a conqueror and a king.
IPHISA.
Let us away, to greet the loved Orestes,
And comfort our afflicted mother.
ELECTRA.
Gods!
What unexpected bliss! O Pylades,
Thou best of friends, thou kind protector, haste,
Let us begone.
PYLADES.
[To his attendants.
Take off those shameful bonds;
[They take off her chains.
Fall from her hands, ye chains, for they were made
To wield a sceptre.
SCENE VIII.
ELECTRA, IPHISA, PYLADES, PAMMENES.
ELECTRA.
O Pammenes, where,
Where is my Orestes, my deliverer?
Why comes he not?
PAMMENES.
This is a dreadful moment,
And full of terror, for his father’s spirit
Demands a sacrifice, and justice waits
To pay it, so hath heaven decreed: this tomb
Must be the altar where the victim’s blood
Shall soon be shed; that sacred duty done,
He will attend thee; but thou must not see
A sight so terrible: thou knowest the laws
Of Argos suffer not thy spotless hands
To join with her ere the appointed time.
IPHISA.
But say, Pammenes, what of Clytemnæstra,
How acts she in this dreadful crisis?
PAMMENES.
Vainly
She deprecates the wrath of fierce Orestes,
And strives to save Ægisthus; kneels for pardon,
And craves that boon she never will obtain:
Meantime the furies, deaf to her entreaties,
And thirsting for the cruel murderer’s blood,
Throng round Orestes, and demand his life.
IPHISA.
O may this day of terror be a day
Of pardon and forgiveness; may it finish
The cruel woes of our unhappy race!
Hark, Pylades, Electra, heard ye not
A dreadful groan?
ELECTRA.
My mother’s sure.
PAMMENES.
‘Tis she.
CLYTEMNÆSTRA.
[Behind the scenes.
O spare me!
IPHISA.
Heaven!
CLYTEMNÆSTRA.
[Behind the scenes.
My son!
ELECTRA.
He kills Ægisthus.
O hear her not, Orestes, but go on,
Revenge, revenge, dissolve the horrid tie,
And sacrifice the murderer in her arms:
Strike deep.
CLYTEMNÆSTRA.
My son! O, thou hast slain thy mother.
PYLADES.
O cruel fate!
IPHISA.
O guilt!
ELECTRA.
O wretched brother!
Crimes punish crimes; forever be this day
Lamented by us!
SCENE IX.
ORESTES.
[Enters.
Open wide, thou earth,
And swallow me: O Clytemnæstra, Atreus,
And Tantalus, I come, I follow you
To Erebus, a partner in your crimes,
To share your tortures.
ELECTRA.
O what hast thou done?
ORESTES.
She strove to save him, and I smote them both —
I can no more —
ELECTRA.
She fell then by thy hand!
O dreadful stroke! and couldst thou —
ORESTES.
‘Twas not I;
‘Twas not Orestes; some malignant power
Guided my hand, the hateful instrument
Of heaven’s eternal wrath: Orestes lives
But to be wretched; banished from my country,
When my dear father fell, my mother slain,
And by my hand; an exile from the world,
Bereft of parents, country, fortune, friends,
Now must I wander: all is lost to me:
O thou bright orb, thou ever glorious sun,
Shocked at our crimes, and Atreus’s horried feast,
Thou didst withdraw thy beams, and yet thou shinest
On me! O wherefore in eternal night
Dost thou not bury all? O tyrant gods,
Merciless powers, who punished me for guilt
Yourselves commanded, O for what new crime
Am I reserved? speak — ye pronounce the name
Of Tauris, there I’ll seek the murderous priestess,
Who offers blood alone to the angry gods,
To gods less cruel, less unjust than you.
ELECTRA.
Stay, and conjure their justice and their hate.
PYLADES.
Where’er the gods may lead, thy Pylades
Shall follow still, and friendship triumph o’er
The woes of mortals, and the wrath of heaven.
End of the Fifth and Last Act.