Driven on from place to place. And he had heard 645 650 Then spake the sage Penelope again : "Go, call him hither, that he may relate His story in my presence. Let these men, As it may please them, sitting at our gates Or in our halls, amuse themselves, for light Are they of heart. Unwasted in their homes Lie their possessions, and their bread and wine Are only for their servants, while themselves Frequent our palace, day by day, and slay Our beeves and sheep and fatling goats, and feast, And drink abundantly the dark red wine, And all with lavish waste. No man is here, Such as Ulysses was, to drive away This pest from our abode. Should he return To his own land, he and his son would take Swift vengeance on the men who do him wrong." She ended. Suddenly Telemachus 655 660 Sneezed loudly, so that all the palace rang; 665 Death and the Fates. This further let me say, And thou remember it; if what he tells Be true, I will bestow on him a change Of fair attire, a tunic and a cloak." 670 She spake, the swineherd went, and, drawing near Ulysses, said to him in winged words : "Stranger and father, sage Penelope, 675 The mother of the prince, hath sent for thee. Ulysses, much-enduring man, replied : The daughter of Icarius. Well I knew Till sunset in her rooms, though strong her wish 681 685 690 695 To hear my history. Of her husband then, 700 He spake; the swineherd went, and as he crossed The threshold of Penelope she said : "Thou bringst him not, Eumæus? What may be The wanderer's scruple? Fear of some one here? 705 Or in a palace is he filled with awe? To be a bashful beggar is most hard." 714 715 And thus, Eumæus, thou didst answer her: "Rightly he speaks, and just as one would think Who shuns the encounter of disorderly men. He prays that thou wilt wait till set of sun; And better were it for thyself, O queen, To speak with him and hear his words alone." Then spake discreet Penelope again : Whoe'er may be the stranger, not unwise He seems; for nowhere among men are done Such deeds of wrong and outrage as by these." She spake, and the good swineherd, having told The lady all, went forth among the crowd Of suitors, drawing near Telemachus, And bowed his head beside him that none else Might hear, and said to him in winged words: --"I go, my friend, to tend the swine and guard What there thou hast, thy sustenance and mine. The charge of what is here belongs to thee. H 720 725 Be thy first care to save thyself, and watch 730 He spake; the swineherd sat him down again 735 Upon his polished seat, and satisfied His appetite and thirst with food and wine. Then he departed to his herd, and left The palace and the court before it thronged 740 And joined the dance; for evening now was come. BOOK XVIII. `HERE came a common beggar, wont to ask THE Alms through the town of Ithaca, well known For greediness of stomach, gluttonous And a wine-bibber, but of little strength And courage, though he seemed of powerful mould. ; His mother gave him, but the young men called To go on errands, as a messenger, When he was ordered. Coming now, he thought To drive Ulysses out of his own house, ΤΟ And railed at him, and said in winged words: "Hence with thee! leave the porch, old man, at once, Lest thou be taken by the foot and dragged Ulysses, the sagacious, frowned and said: The gods bestow To blows, lest, aged as I am, thou rouse A quiet day for me, since thou, I trust, The beggar Irus angrily rejoined: 15 25 30 35 |