Forgotten, and all terror that may be
Defied,—no past is mine, no future: look at me.”
—Browning.
STORY.
A PATHETIC LEGEND.
“Such notes as warbled to the string
Drew iron tears down Pluto’s cheek
And made Hell grant what Love did seek.”
Orpheus and his beloved wife, Eurydice, were constant companions, but one day Eurydice trod upon a poisonous snake, was bitten on the foot, and soon died. Her spirit was borne into Hades by Mercury. The husband, left desolate, boldly made his way into the land of shadows, presented himself before the throne of Pluto and Proserpine, and, with the aid of his lyre, persuaded them to again unite the thread of Eurydice’s life.
“Hell consented
To hear the Poet’s prayer;