rs it there and then, though dogs and youths set
upon him. Even thus was Menelaus glad when his eyes caught sight of
Alexandrus, for he deemed that now he should be revenged. He sprang,
therefore, from his chariot, clad in his suit of armour.

Alexandrus quailed as he saw Menelaus come forward, and shrank in fear
of his life under cover of his men. As one who starts back affrighted,
trembling and pale, when he comes suddenly upon a serpent in some
mountain glade, even so did Alexandrus plunge into the throng of Trojan
warriors, terror-stricken at the sight of the son of Atreus.

Then Hector upbraided him. "Paris," said he, "evil-hearted Paris, fair
to see, but woman-mad, and false of tongue, would that you had never
been born, or that you had died unwed. Better so, than live to be
disgraced and looked askance at. Will not the Achaeans mock at us and
say that we have sent one to champion us who is fair to see but who has
neither wit nor courage? Did you not, such as you are, get your
following together and sail beyond the seas? Did you not from your a
far country carry off a lovely woman wedded among a people of
warriors--to bring sorrow upon your father, your city, and your whole
country, but joy to your enemies, and hang-dog shamefacedness to
yourself? And now can you not dare face Menelaus and learn what manner
of man he is whose wife you have stolen? Where indeed would be your
lyre and your love-tricks, your comely locks and your fair favour, when
you were lying in the dust before him? The Trojans are a weak-kneed
people, or ere this you would have had a shirt of stones for the wrongs
you have done them."

And Alexandrus answered, "Hector, your rebuke is just. You are hard as
the axe which a shipwright wields at his work, and cleaves the timber
to his liking. As the axe in his hand, so keen is the edge of your
scorn. Still, taunt me not with the gifts that golden Venus has given
me; they are precious; let not a man disdain them, for the gods give
them where they are minded, and none can have them for the asking. If
you would have me do battle with Menelaus, bid the Trojans and Achaeans
take their seats, while he and I fight in their midst for Helen and all
her wealth. Let him who shall be victorious and prove to be the better
man take the woman and all she has, to bear them to his home, but let
the rest swear to a solemn covenant of peace whereby you Trojans shall
stay here in Troy, while the others go home to Argo