O my Admetus!
In the opening of the third act, Alcestis enters, with her son Eumeles, and her daughter, to complete the sacrifice by dying at the feet of Proserpine’s statue. The following scene ensues between her and Admetus.
Alc. Here, O my faithful handmaids! at the feet
Of Proserpine’s dread image spread my couch;
For I myself e’en now must offer here
The victim she requires. And you, meanwhile,
My children! seek your sire. Behold him there,
Sad, silent, and alone. But through his veins
Health’s genial current flows once more, as free
As in his brightest days: and he shall live—