Helen: Though mighty grief is ne'er by reason swayed,

And oft the very comrades of its woe,

Unreasoning, hates; yet can I bear to stand905

And plead my cause before a hostile judge,

For I have suffered heavier ills than these.

Behold, Andromache doth Hector mourn,

And Hecuba her Priam; each may claim

The public sympathy; but Helena

Alone must weep for Paris secretly.

Is slavery's yoke so heavy and so hard910