ntimely fate,
forgot her love for her son, and prayed that her Acarnanian kinsmen
might prevail against him. Upon the hard earth she knelt: she beat the
ground with her hands, and heaped the dust about her; and, weeping
bitter tears, she called upon Hades to avenge her of Meleager. And
even as she prayed, the pitiless Furies, wandering amid the darkness,
heard her cries, and came, obedient to her wishes.

"When Meleager heard that his mother had turned against him, he
withdrew in sorrow to his own house, and sought comfort and peace with
his wife, fair Cleopatra; and he would not lead his warriors any more
to battle against the Acarnanians. Then the enemy besieged the city: a
fearful tumult rose about the gates; the high towers were assaulted,
and everywhere the Calydonians were driven back dismayed and beaten.

"With uplifted hands and tearful eyes, King Oineus and the elders of
the city came to Meleager, and besought him to take the field again.
Rich gifts they offered him. They bade him choose for his own the most
fertile farm in Calydon--at the least fifty acres, half for tillage and
half for vines; but he would not listen to them.

"The din of battle thickened outside the gates; the towers shook with
the thundering blows of the besiegers. Old Oineus with trembling limbs
climbed up the stairway to his son's secluded chamber, and, weeping,
prayed him to come down and save the city from fire and pillage. Still
he kept silent, and went not. His sisters came, and his most trusted
friends. 'Come, Meleager,' they prayed, 'forget thy grief, and think
only of our great need. Aid thy people, or we shall all perish!'

"None of these prayers moved him. The gates were beaten down; the
enemy was within the walls; the tide of battle shook the very tower
where Meleager sat; the doom of Calydon seemed to be sealed. Then came
the fair Cleopatra, and knelt before her husband, and besought him to
withhold no longer the aid which he alone could give. 'O Meleager,'
she sobbed, 'none but thou can save us. Wilt thou sit still, and see
the city laid in ashes, thy dearest friends slaughtered, and thy wife
and sweet babes dragged from their homes and sold into cruel slavery?'

"Then Meleager rose and girded on his armor. To the streets he
hastened, shouting his well-known battle cry. Eagerly and hopefully
did the Calydonian warriors rally around him. Fiercely did they meet
the foe. Terrible was the bloodshed. Back from