SOLDIER
Our quest is finished, and thy prey, O King,
Caught; for the chase was swift, and this wild thing
Most tame; yet never flinched, nor thought to flee,
But held both hands out unresistingly--
No change, no blanching of the wine-red cheek.
He waited while we came, and bade us wreak
All thy decree; yea, laughed, and made my best
Easy, till I for very shame confessed
And said: "O stranger, not of mine own will
I bind thee, but his bidding to fulfil
Who sent me."

And those prisoned Maids withal
Whom thou didst seize and bind within the wall
Of thy great dungeon, they are fled, O King.
Free in the woods, a-dance and glorying
To Bromios. Of their own impulse fell
To earth, men say, fetter and manacle,
And bars slid back untouched of mortal hand
Yea, full of many wonders to thy land
Is this man come.... Howbeit, it lies with thee!

PENTHEUS
Ye are mad!--Unhand him. Howso swift he be,
My toils are round him and he shall not fly.
[_The guards loose the arms of_ DIONYSUS; PENTHEUS _studies him for a
while in silence then speaks jeeringly._ DIONYSUS _remains gentle
and unafraid._]
Marry, a fair shape for a woman's eye,