ple as the chieftain of
Argos lay dead before them; but deeper still and more bitter was the
grief of Perseus for the deed which he had unwittingly done, and he
said, "O Zeus, I have striven to keep my hands clean and to deal
truly, and a hard recompense hast thou given me."

So they went back mourning to Argos, but although he strove heartily
to rule his people well, the grief of Perseus could not be lessened
while he remained in the house of Akrisios. So he sent a messenger to
his kinsman, Megapenthes, who ruled at Tiryns, and said, "Come thou
and rule in Argos, and I will go and dwell among thy people." So
Perseus dwelt at Tiryns, and the men of the city rejoiced that he had
come to rule over them. Thus the months and years went quickly by, as
Perseus strove with all his might to make his people happy and to
guard them against their enemies. At his bidding, the Cyclopes came
from the far-off Lykian land, and built the mighty walls which gird
the city round about; and they helped him to build yet another city,
which grew in after-times to be even greater and mightier than Tiryns.
So rose the walls of Mykenae, and there, too, the people loved and
honored Perseus for his just dealing more than for all the deeds which
he had done with the sword of Hermes. At last the time came when the
hero must rest from his long toil, but as they looked on his face,
bright and beautiful even in death, the minstrels said, "We shall hear
his voice no more, but the name of Perseus shall never die."

KEPHALOS AND PROKRIS.

Of all the maidens in the land of Attica none was so beautiful as
Prokris, the daughter of King Erechtheus. She was the delight of her
father's heart, not so much for her beauty as for her goodness and
her gentleness. The sight of her fair face and the sound of her happy
voice brought gladness to all who saw and heard her. Every one stopped
to listen to the songs which she sang as she sat working busily at the
loom, and the maidens who dwelt with her were glad when the hour came
to go with Prokris and wash their clothes or draw water from the
fountain. Then, when all her tasks were ended, she would roam over
hill and valley, into every nook and dell. There was no spot in all
the land where Prokris had not been. She lay down to rest in the top
of the highest hills, or by the side of the stream where it murmured
among the rocks far down in the woody glen. So passed her days away;
and while all loved her and rejoiced t