Her young lord more than all the other maids,
And she had nursed him in his tender years.
He opened now the chamber door and sat
Upon the couch, put his soft tunic off
And placed it in the prudent matron's hands.
She folded it and smoothed it, hung it near
To that fair bed, and, going quickly forth,
Pulled at the silver ring to close the door,
And drew the thong that moved the fastening bolt.
He, lapped in the soft fleeces, all night long.
Thought of the voyage Pallas had ordained.
OW when the Morning, child of Dawn, appeared,
The dear son of Ulysses left his bed
And put his garments on. His trenchant sword
He hung upon his shoulders, and made fast
His shapely sandals to his shining feet,
And issued from his chamber like a god.
At once he bade the clear-voiced heralds call
The long-haired Greeks to council. They obeyed;
Quickly the chiefs assembled, and when all
Were at the appointed place, Telemachus
Went to the council, bearing in his hand
A brazen spear, yet went he not alone.
Two swift dogs followed him, while Pallas shed
A heavenly beauty over him, and all
Admired him as he came. He took the seat 15
Of his great father, and the aged men
Made way for him. And then Ægyptius spake,—
A hero bowed with age, who much had seen
And known. His son, the warlike Antiphus,
Went with the great Ulysses in his fleet
To courser-breeding Troy, and afterward
The cruel Cyclops, in the vaulted cave,
Slew him for his last meal.
There were, and one of these, Eurynomus,
Was of the suitor train; the others took
Charge of their father's acres.
Had he forgotten his lost son or ceased
To grieve for him, and as he spoke he wept.
Hear, men of Ithaca, what I shall say. No council, no assembly, have we held
Since great Ulysses in his roomy ships
Departed from our isle. Who now is he
That summons us? On which of our young men
Or elders presses this necessity?
Is it belike that one of you has heard
Of an approaching foe, and can declare
The tidings clearly? Or would he propose
And urge some other matter which concerns
The public weal? A just and generous mind
I deem is his, and 't is my hope that Jove
Will bring to pass the good at which he aims."
As thus he spake Ulysses' son rejoiced In his auspicious words, nor longer kept His seat, but, yielding to an inward force,
Rose midst them all to speak, while in his hand 45 Pisenor, the sagacious counsellor
And herald, placed the sceptre. Then he turned To the old man, Ægyptius, speaking thus:
"O aged man, not far from thee is he
Who called this council, as thou soon shalt know. 50
Mine chiefly is the trouble; I have brought
No news of an approaching foe, which I
Was first to hear, and would declare to all,
Nor urge I other matters which concern
The public weal; my own necessity —
The evil that has fallen on my house-
Constrains me; it is twofold. First, that I
Have lost an excellent father, who was king
Among you, and ruled o'er you with a sway
As gentle as a father's. Greater yet
Is the next evil, and will soon o'erthrow
My house and waste my substance utterly.
Suitors, the sons of those who, in our isle,
Hold the chief rank, importunately press
Round my unwilling mother. They disdain
To ask her of Icarius, that the king
Her father may endow her, and bestow
His daughter on the man who best may gain
His favor, but with every day they come
Into our palace, sacrificing here
Oxen and sheep and fatling goats, and hold
High festival, and drink the purple wine
Unstinted, with unbounded waste; for here
Is no man like Ulysses to repel
The mischief from my house.
As he was, to resist the wrong.
For weaklings, immature in valor, yet
If I had but the power, assuredly
I would resist, for by these men are done
Insufferable things, nor does my house
Perish with honor. Ye yourselves should feel
Shame at these doings; ye should dread reproach
From those who dwell around us, and should fear
The offended gods, lest they repay these crimes
With vengeance. I beseech you, O my friends, 85
Both by Olympian Jove, and her by whom
Councils of men are summoned and dissolved, -
The goddess Themis, - that ye all refrain,
And leave me to my grief alone, unless
Ulysses, my great father, may have done
Wrong in his anger to the gallant Greeks,
Which ye, by prompting men to acts like these,
Seek to avenge on me.
Far better 't were,
Should ye yourselves destroy our goods and slay
Our herds, since, were it so, there might in time
Be some requital. We, from street to street,
Would plead continually for recompense,
Till all should be restored. But now ye heap
Upon me wrongs for which is no redress."
Thus angrily he spake, and dashed to earth The sceptre, shedding tears. The people felt Compassion; all were silent for a space,
And there was none who dared with railing words Answer Telemachus, save one alone,
Antinoüs, who arose and thus replied : —
"Telemachus, thou youth of braggart speech And boundless in abuse, what hast thou said To our dishonor? Thou wouldst fix on us
The blame is not with us,
The Achaian suitors; 't is thy mother's fault,
Skilled as she is in crafty shifts. 'Tis now
Already the third year, and soon will be
The fourth, since she began to cozen us.
She gives us all to hope, and sends fair words.
To each by message, yet in her own mind
This shrewd device
She planned; she laid upon the loom a web,
Delicate, wide, and vast in length, and said
Thus to us all: 'Young princes, who are come
To woo me, since Ulysses is no more,
urge me not, I pray,
To marriage, till I finish in the loom
That so my threads may not be spun in vain
A funeral vesture for the hero-chief
Laertes, when his fatal hour shall come
With death's long sleep. Else some Achaian dame Might blame me, should I leave without a shroud Him who in life possessed such ample wealth!'
|