rule according to right, then I will obey him; but not
otherwise. And now, since thy daughter was brought to this place under
pretence of giving her to me as my bride, I will see that she shall not
be slain, neither shall any one dare take her from me."

On the following day, while Agamemnon sat grief-stricken in his tent,
the maiden came before him carrying the child Orestes in her arms; and
she cast herself upon her knees at his feet, and caressing his hands,
she thus besought him:

"Would, dear father, that I had the voice of Orpheus, to whom even the
rocks did listen! then I would persuade thee. O father! I am thy
child. I was the first to call thee 'Father,' and the first to whom
thou saidst 'My child.'"

The father turned his face away, and wept; he could not speak for
sadness. Then the maiden went on: "O father, hear me! thou to whom my
voice was once so sweet that thou wouldst waken me to hear my prattle.
And when I was older grown, then thou wouldst say to me, 'Some day, my
birdling, thou shalt have a nest of thy own, a home of which thou shalt
be the mistress.' And I did answer, 'Yes, dear father, and when thou
art old I will care for thee, and pay thee with all my heart for the
kindness thou dost show me.' But now thou hast forgotten it all, and
art ready to slay my young life."

A deep groan burst from the lips of the mighty king, but he spoke not a
word. Then, after a deathlike silence broken only by the deep
breathings of father and child, Iphigenia spoke again: "My father, can
there be any prayer more pure and more persuasive than that of a maiden
for her father's welfare? And when, the cruel knife shall strike me
down, thou wilt have one daughter less to pray for thee." A shudder
shook the frame of Agamemnon, but he answered not a word.

At that moment Achilles entered. He had come in haste from the tents
beside the shore, and he spoke in hurried, anxious accents.

"Behold," said he, "a great tumult has arisen in the camp; for Calchas
has given out among the men that you refuse to do what Artemis has
bidden, and that hence these delays and troubles have arisen. And the
rude soldiers are crying out against you, and declaring that the maiden
must die. When I would have stayed their anger, they took up stones to
stone me--my own warriors among the rest. And now they are making
ready to move upon your tent, threatening to sacrifice you also with
your daughter. But I will fight for you to