is not this a sight to fill you with wonder, and upset your hopes?HecubaAh me! it is the corpse of my son Polydorus I behold, whom the Thracian man was keeping safe for me in his halls. Alas! this is the end of all; my life is over. chanting O my son, my son,alas! I now begin the laments, a frantic strain I learned just now from some avenging fiend.Maid-servantWhat! so you knew your son’s fate, poor lady?HecubaI cannot, cannot credit this fresh sight I see.chantingOne woe succeeds to another; no day will ever pass without groans and tears.Chorus LeaderAlas! poor lady, our sufferings are cruel indeed.

HecubachantingO my son, child of a luckless mother,what was the manner of your death? by what fate do you lie here? by whose hands?Maid-servantI do not know. I found him on the sea-shore.