II

Early next morning Telemachus found his host sitting by his bedside;

and as soon as he was dressed Menelaus led him to a quiet place, and

inquired the reason of his coming. He listened with attention while

Telemachus explained the purpose of his visit; but when he heard of

the suitors, and their riot and waste, he was filled with indignation.

"What!" he cried, "would these dastards fill the seat and wed the wife

of that mighty man? Their lot shall be the lot of a pair of fawns,

left by the mother hind in a lion's lair. The hind goes forth to

pasture, and in her absence the lion returns, and devours them where

they lie. Even so shall Odysseus return, and bring swift destruction

on the whole crew.

"But thou hast asked me what I know of the fortunes of Odysseus, since

he departed from Troy; and verily I will tell thee all that I have

heard, without turning aside in my tale. I must go back to the time

when I lay wind-bound with my ships in a little island off the mouth

of the Nile. The island is called Pharos, and it is distant a day's

voyage from the river's mouth. I had lain there twenty days, and still

not a breath of air ruffled the glassy surface of the sea. All our

stores were consumed, and we had nothing to eat but the fish which my

men caught with rudely fashioned hooks and lines. One day I left my

men busy with their angling, and wandered away along the shore, full

of sad thoughts, and wondering how all this would end. Suddenly I

heard a light footstep on the pebbles, and there stepped forth from

behind a tall rock a young maiden in white, flowing robes. Full of

dread I saw her coming towards me; for I knew that she was no mortal

woman. But her look was gracious, and her voice was sweet; so I took

courage as she said: 'Who art thou, stranger, and why lingerest thou

with thy company in this desert place? I am Eidothea, daughter of

Proteus, the ancient one of the sea; and I am ready to help thee, if

thou wilt tell me thy need.'

"Then I told her how I had been kept an unwilling captive on the

island, and begged her to let me know what power I had offended, that

he might be appeased by sacrifice, and suffer the wind to blow. 'There

is one who can tell thee all that thou desirest to know,' answered

she. 'Yea, Proteus, my father, will show thee how to win thy path

across the watery waste. No secrets are hidden from him, neither on

earth nor in the sea; and he can tell thee all that hath befallen in

thy house in the long years of thine absence. Now hearken, and I will

tell thee how thou mayest wring from him all his secrets. Every day at

noon he comes forth from the sea, and lays him down to sleep in a

rocky cave; and about him are couched his herd of seals. I will bring

thee to the place in the early morning, and set thee in ambush to

await his coming. Choose three of the stoutest of thy men to aid thee

in the adventure, and as soon as thou seest him asleep rush upon him

and hold him fast. He will struggle hard, and take a hundred different

shapes; but loose him not until he return to his own form, and then

will he reveal to thee all that he has to tell.'

"So saying, the goddess disappeared beneath the waves. Next morning I

went with three picked men to the appointed place, and soon Eidothea

arrived, bearing four hides of seals, freshly flayed. Then she

hollowed out four pits in the sand for us to lie in, and clothed us in

the skins, and couched us together. Now that bed had like to have been

our last, for we were stifled by the dreadful stench of the seabred

seals. But the goddess saw our distress, and found a remedy; for she

brought ambrosia and set it beneath our nostrils, and that heavenly

perfume overpowered the noisome stench.

"So all the morning we lay and wafted patiently, and at noon the seals

came up out of the sea and lay down in order on the sand. Last of all

came Proteus, and counted his herd, reckoning us among their number,

with no suspicion of guile. We waited until he was fast asleep, and

then we rushed from our ambush and seized him hand and foot. Long and

hard was the struggle, and many the shapes which he took. First he

became a bearded lion, then a snake, then a leopard, then a huge boar;

after these he turned into running water and a tall, leafy tree. But

we only held him the more firmly, and at last he grew weary and spake

to me in his own shape: 'What wouldst thou have, son of Atreus, and

who has taught thee to outwit me and take me captive by craft?'

"'Thou knowest my need,' I answered; 'why dost thou waste thy words?

Tell me rather how I may find release from my present strait'

"'Hear, then,' said he: 'thou hast forgotten thy duty to Zeus and the

other gods. Not a victim bled, not a prayer was offered, when thou

didst embark on this voyage. Go back to Egypt, to the holy waters of

Nile, and there pay thy vows, and offer a great sacrifice to their

offended deity; thus, and thus only, canst thou win thy return to

thine own country and thy stately home.'

"When I heard this my heart was broken within me, to think of that

long and perilous path across the misty deep. Nevertheless I consented

to take that journey, for I saw no other way of escape. And after I

had promised to obey him, I began to inquire further of the fate of

Nestor and the rest, whom I left behind me on my way home.

"''Tis a grievous story that thou requirest of me,' said Proteus, 'and

thou shalt have little joy in the hearing. Many have been taken and

many left. Two only perished in returning, and one is still living, a

prisoner of the sea. Ajax has paid his debt to Athene, whose shrine he

polluted; and this was the manner of his death: when his vessel was

shattered by that great tempest, he himself escaped to a rock, for

Poseidon came to his aid. But even the peril which he had just escaped

could not subdue his haughtiness and his pride, and he uttered an

impious vaunt, boasting that in despite of heaven he had escaped a

watery grave. Then Poseidon was wroth, and smote the rock with his

trident, and that half of the rock on which Ajax was sitting fell into

the sea, bearing him with it. So he died, when he had drunk the brine.

"'Now harden thy heart, and learn how thy brother Agamemnon fell.

After a long and stormy voyage he at length brought his shattered

vessels safe into harbour, and set foot on his native soil at Argos.

With tears of joy and thankfulness he fell on his knees and kissed the

sod, trusting that now his sorrows were passed. Now there was a

watchman whom Ægisthus had posted on a high place commanding the sea

to look out for Agamemnon's return. A whole year he watched, for he

had been promised a great reward. And when he saw the king's face he

went with all speed to tell his master. Forthwith Ægisthus prepared an

ambush of twenty armed men; these he kept in hiding at the back of the

hall, while he ordered his servants to prepare a great banquet. Then

he went to meet Agamemnon with horses and with chariots, and brought

him to his house, and made good cheer. And when he had feasted him he

smote and slew him, as a man slaughters an ox in his stall.'

"At that tale of horror I fell upon the sand, weeping bitterly, for I

had no desire to live any longer or look on the light of the sun. Long

I lay mourning, as one who had lost all hope, but at last Proteus

checked the torrent of my passion, and bade me take thought of my own

homecoming. 'This is no time,' he said, 'to melt away in womanish

grief. Haste thee to take vengeance, if so be that Orestes hath not

forestalled thee, and slain his father's murderer.'

"Somewhat comforted by these words, I took courage to ask who was the

man of whom he had spoken as a prisoner of the sea. 'It is the son of

Laertes,' answered Proteus, 'Odysseus, whose home is in Ithaca. I

myself saw him on an island, in the house of the nymph Calypso; and

sore he wept because he could not leave the goddess, who holds him in

thrall, and will not suffer him to return to his country.'

"Lastly, he told me concerning my own fate. 'Thou, Menelaus,' he said,

'art exempt from the common lot of men, because thou art the husband

of Helen, and she is a daughter of Zeus. Therefore it is not appointed

for thee to die, but when thine hour is come the gods shall convey

thee to the Elysian fields, where dwell the elect spirits in

everlasting blessedness. There falls not snow nor rain, there blows no

rude blast, but the fresh cool breath of the west comes softly from

Ocean to refresh them that dwell in that happy clime.'"

Thus happily ended the story of the Spartan prince's wanderings. And

when he had finished, he pressed Telemachus to prolong his visit; but

that prudent youth declined the invitation, pleading the necessity of

a speedy return to Ithaca, that he might keep an eye on the doings of

the suitors. Menelaus was compelled to allow the justice of his plea,

and accordingly all things were made ready for a speedy departure.