Therefore with fluttering soul she trembled sore and, her head darkly mantled in her veil, close-following trod she in her husband's steps, with cheek shame-crimsoned, like the Queen of Love, what time the Heaven-abiders saw her clasped in Ares' arms, shaming in sight of all the marriage-bed, trapped in the myriad-meshed toils of Hephaestus: tangled there she lay in agony of shame, while thronged around the Blessed, and there stood Hephaestus' self: for fearful it is for wives to be beheld by husbands' eyes doing the deed of shame. Her heart beat hard with sore misgiving, lest, as to the ships she passed, the Achaeans might mishandle her. But Helen raised no lamentation: shame sat on her dark-blue eyes, and cast its flush over her lovely cheeks. As when with white-tusked swine the herdmen drive their younglings from the hill-pens to the plain as winter closeth in, and evermore each answereth each with mingled plaintive cries so moaned Troy's daughters by their foes enslaved, handmaid and queen made one in thraldom's lot. Here, there, uprose from these the wild lament, the woeful-mingling cries of mother and babe. Each hero led a wailing Trojan woman to his ship. And aye she deeply groaned for thraldom's day that trapped her vainly loth. The tears poured from her eyes as water from a spring trembled her limbs, fear-frenzied was her heart rent were her hoary tresses and besprent with ashes of the hearth, cast by her hands when she saw Priam slain and Troy aflame. Cassandra heavenly-fair was haled the prize of Agamemnon: to Achilles' son Andromache had fallen: Hecuba Odysseus dragged unto his ship. Amidst of these Menelaus led his wife forth of the burning city, having wrought a mighty triumph - joy and shame were his. Troy's daughters therewithal in scattered bands they haled down seaward - virgins yet unwed, and new-made brides, and matrons silver-haired, and mothers from whose bosoms foes had torn babes for the last time closing lips on breasts. Like river-torrents seemed they, that sweep down, ny rain, floods swelled, in thunder from the hills, and seaward hurl tall trees and whatsoe'er grows on the mountains, mingled with the wreck of shattered cliff and crag so the long lines of Danaans who had wasted Troy with fire seemed, streaming with her plunder to the ships. And now the Argives spoiled fair-fenced Troy, and took her boundless treasures for a prey. Then rose from Ocean Dawn the golden-throned up to the heavens night into Chaos sank. The Returns THE FALL OF TROY BOOK 14, TRANSLATED BY A.
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