Helen of Troy by Andrew Lang
page 20 of 130 (15%)
page 20 of 130 (15%)
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Threading the coppice 'neath a starless sky,
When, lo! the very Queen of Goddesses, In golden beauty gleaming wondrously, Even she that hath the Heaven for canopy, And in the arms of mighty Zeus doth sleep, - And then for dread methought that I must die, But Hera called me with soft voice and deep: L. "'Paris, give me the prize, and thou shalt reign O'er many lordly peoples, far and wide, From them that till the black and crumbling plain, Where the sweet waters of Aegyptus glide, To those that on the Northern marches ride, And the Ceteians, and the blameless men That round the rising-place of Morn abide, And all the dwellers in the Asian fen. LI. "'And I will love fair Ilios as I love Argos and rich Mycenae, that doth hoard Deep wealth; and I will make thee king above A hundred peoples; men shall call thee lord In tongues thou know'st not; thou shalt be adored With sacrifice, as are the Gods divine, If only thou wilt speak a little word, And say the prize of loveliness is mine.' |
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