The Infernal Marriage | Page 6

man, a living man, has entered your kingdom, unknown and
unnoticed,' said Lachesis.
'By my sceptre, is it true?' said the astonished King. 'Is he seized?'
'The extraordinary mortal baffles our efforts,' said Lachesis. 'He bears

with him a lyre, the charmed gift of Apollo, and so seducing are his
strains that in vain our guards advance to arrest his course; they
immediately begin dancing, and he easily eludes their efforts. The
general confusion is indescribable. All business is at a standstill: Ixion
rests upon his wheel; old Sisyphus sits down on his mountain, and his
stone has fallen with a terrible plash into Acheron. In short, unless we
are energetic, we are on the eve of a revolution.'
'His purpose?'
'He seeks yourself and--her Majesty,' added Lachesis, with a sneer.
'Immediately announce that we will receive him.'
The unexpected guest was not slow in acknowledging the royal
summons. A hasty treaty was drawn up; he was to enter the palace
unmolested, on condition that he ceased playing his lyre. The Fates and
the Furies exchanged significant glances as his approach was
announced.
The man, the live man, who had committed the unprecedented crime of
entering Hell without a licence, and the previous deposit of his soul as
security for the good behaviour of his body, stood before the surprised
and indignant Court of Hades. Tall and graceful in stature, and crowned
with laurels, Proserpine was glad to observe that the man, who was
evidently famous, was also good-looking.
'Thy purpose, mortal?' inquired Pluto, with awful majesty.
'Mercy!' answered the stranger in a voice of exquisite melody, and
sufficiently embarrassed to render him interesting.
'What is mercy?' inquired the Fates and the Furies.
'Speak, stranger, without fear,' said Proserpine. 'Thy name?'
'Is Orpheus; but a few days back the too happy husband of the
enchanting Eurydice. Alas! dread King, and thou too, beautiful and

benignant partner of his throne, I won her by my lyre, and by my lyre I
would redeem her. Know, then, that in the very glow of our gratified
passion a serpent crept under the flowers on which we reposed, and by
a fatal sting summoned my adored to the shades. Why did it not also
summon me? I will not say why should I not have been the victim in
her stead; for I feel too keenly that the doom of Eurydice would not
have been less forlorn, had she been the wretched being who had been
spared to life. O King! they whispered on earth that thou too hadst
yielded thy heart to the charms of love. Pluto, they whispered, is no
longer stern: Pluto also feels the all-subduing influence of beauty.
Dread monarch, by the self-same passion that rages in our breasts alike,
I implore thy mercy. Thou hast risen from the couch of love, the arm of
thy adored has pressed upon thy heart, her honied lips have clung with
rapture to thine, still echo in thy ears all the enchanting phrases of her
idolatry. Then, by the memory of these, by all the higher and ineffable
joys to which these lead, King of Hades, spare me, oh! spare me,
Eurydice!'
Proserpine threw her arms round the neck of her husband, and, hiding
her face in his breast, wept.
'Rash mortal, you demand that which is not in the power of Pluto to
concede,' said Lachesis.
'I have heard much of treason since my entrance into Hades,' replied
Orpheus, 'and this sounds like it.'
'Mortal!' exclaimed Clotho, with contempt.
'Nor is it in your power to return, sir,' said Tisiphone, shaking her whip.
'We have accounts to settle with you,' said Megæra.
'Spare her, spare her,' murmured Proserpine to her lover.
'King of Hades!' said Lachesis, with much dignity, 'I hold a responsible
office in your realm, and I claim the constitutional privilege of your
attention. I protest against the undue influence of the Queen. She is a

power unknown in our constitution, and an irresponsible agent that I
will not recognise. Let her go back to the drawing-room, where all will
bow to her.'
'Hag!' exclaimed Proserpine. 'King of Hades, I, too, can appeal to you.
Have I accepted your crown to be insulted by your subjects?'
'A subject, may it please your Majesty, who has duties as strictly
defined by our infernal constitution as those of your royal spouse;
duties, too, which, let me tell you, madam, I and my order are resolved
to perform.'
'Gods of Olympus!' cried Proserpine. 'Is this to be a Queen?'
'Before we proceed further in this discussion,' said Lachesis, 'I must
move an inquiry into the conduct of his Excellency the Governor of the
Gates. I move, then, that Cerberus be summoned.
Pluto started, and the blood rose to his dark cheek. 'I have not yet had