From home, inglorious, and I was not told
Of his departure. Ye too, worthless crew!
Ye took no thought, not one of you, to call
Me from my sleep, although ye must have known
Full well when he embarked in his black ship.
And if it had been told me that he planned

This voyage, then, impatient as he was
To sail, he would have certainly remained,
Or else have left me in these halls a corpse.
And now let one of my attendants call
The aged Dolius, whom, when first I came
To this abode, my father gave to me

To be my servant, and who has in charge

My orchards. Let him haste and take his place Beside Laertes, and to him declare

All that has happened, that he may devise

Some fitting remedy, or go among

The people, to deplore the dark designs
Of those who now are plotting to destroy
The heir of great Ulysses and his own."

925

930

935

940

Then Eurycleia, the beloved nurse, Answered: "Dear lady, slay me with the sword, 945 Or leave me here alive; I will conceal

Nothing that has been done or said. I gave

All that he asked, both bread and delicate wine,

And took a solemn oath, which he required,

To tell thee naught of this till twelve days passed, 950 Or till thou shouldst thyself inquire and hear

Of his departure, that those lovely cheeks

955

Might not be stained with tears. Now bathe and put
Fresh garments on, and to the upper rooms
Ascending, with thy handmaids offer prayer
To Pallas, daughter of the god who bears
The ægis. She will then protect thy son,
Even from death. Grieve not the aged man,
Already much afflicted. Sure I am

The lineage of Arcesius has not lost
The favor of the gods, but some one yet
Surviving will possess its lofty halls
And its rich acres, stretching far away."

960

She spake; the queen repressed her grief, and held
Her eyes from tears. She took the bath and put 965
Fresh garments on, and, to the upper rooms
Ascending with her maidens, heaped with cakes
A canister, and prayed to Pallas thus :-
"Daughter invincible of Jupiter
The Ægis-bearer, hear me. If within
Thy courts the wise Ulysses ever burned

Fat thighs of beeves or sheep, remember it,
And rescue my dear son, and bring to naught
The wicked plots of the proud suitor-crew."

970

She spake, and wept aloud. The goddess heard 975 Her prayer. Meantime the suitors filled with noise The shadowy palace-halls, and there were some Among that throng of arrogant youths who said : — "Truly the queen, whom we have wooed so long, Prepares for marriage; little does she know The bloody death we destine for her son."

980

So spake they, unaware of what was done Elsewhere. Antinoüs then stood forth and said :

"Good friends, I warn you all that ye refrain From boasts like these, lest some one should re

port

Your words within. Now let us silently

Rise up, and all conspire to put in act

The counsel all so heartily approve."

985

990

He spake, and chose a crew of twenty men, The bravest. To the seaside and the ship They went, and down to the deep water drew The ship, and put the mast and sails on board, And fitted duly to their leathern rings The oars, and spread the white sail overhead. Their nimble-handed servants brought them arms, 995 And there they moored the galley, went on board, And supped and waited for the evening star.

Now in the upper chamber the chaste queen,
Penelope, lay fasting; food or wine

She had not tasted, and her thoughts were still. 1000
Fixed on her blameless son. Would he escape
The threatened death, or perish by the hands
Of the insolent suitors? As a lion's thoughts,
When, midst a crowd of men, he sees with dread
The hostile circle slowly closing round,
Such were her thoughts, when balmy sleep at length
Came creeping over her as on her couch

She lay reclined, her limbs relaxed in rest.

Now Pallas framed a new device; she called

VOL. I.

5

G

1003

A phantom up, in aspect like the dame
Iphthima, whom Eumelus had espoused
In Pheræ, daughter of the high-souled chief
Icarius. Her she sent into the halls

Of great Ulysses, that she might beguile
The sorrowful Penelope from tears

And lamentations. By the thong that held
The bolt she slid into the royal bower

And standing by her head bespake the queen :"Penelope, afflicted as thou art,

Art thou asleep? The ever-blessed gods
Permit thee not to grieve and weep; thy son,
Who has not sinned against them, shall return.”
And then discreet Penelope replied,

1010

1015

1020

Still sweetly slumbering at the Gate of Dreams : —

'Why, sister, art thou here, who ne'er before 1025 Hast come to me? The home is far away

In which thou dwellest. Thou exhortest me

To cease from grieving, and to lay aside

The painful thoughts that crowd into my mind,
And torture me who have already lost

A noble-minded, lion-hearted spouse,

One eminent among Achaia's sons

1030

1035

For every virtue, and whose fame was spread
Through Hellas and through Argos. Now my son,
My best beloved, goes to sea, - a boy,
Unused to hardships, and unskilled to deal
With strangers. More I sorrow for his sake
Than for his father's. I am filled with fear,

And tremble lest he suffer wrong from those
Among whom he has gone, or on the deep,
Where he has enemies who lie in wait

To slay him ere he reach his home again."
And then the shadowy image spake again :—
"Be of good courage; let not fear o'ercome
Thy spirit, for there goes with him a guide
Such as all others would desire to have
Beside them ever, trusting in her power, -
Pallas Athene, and she looks on thee
With pity. From her presence I am sent,
Her messenger, declaring this to thee."

Again discreet Penelope replied :—
"If then thou be a goddess and hast heard
A goddess speak these words, declare, I pray,
Of that ill-fated one, if yet he live

And look upon the sun, or else have died

And passed to the abodes beneath the earth."

1040

1045

1050

1055

Once more the shadowy image spake: "Of him Will I say nothing, whether living yet

Or dead; no time is this for idle words."

She said, and from the chamber glided forth
Beside the bolt, and mingled with the winds.
Then quickly from her couch of sleep arose
The daughter of Icarius, for her heart
Was glad, so plainly had the dream conveyed
Its message in the stillness of the night.

Meanwhile the suitors on their ocean-path

Went in their galley, plotting cruelly

1060

1065