when the days of his fighting were done.'"'Son of Atreus,' he answered, 'why ask me? You had better notknow what I can tell you, for your eyes will surely fill when you haveheard my story. Many of those about whom you ask are dead and gone,but many still remain, and only two of the chief men among theAchaeans perished during their return home. As for what happened onthe field of battle- you were there yourself. A third Achaean leaderis still at sea, alive, but hindered from returning. Ajax was wrecked,for Neptune drove him on to the great rocks of Gyrae; nevertheless, helet him get safe out of the water, and in spite of all Minerva'shatred he would have escaped death, if he had not ruined himself byboasting. He said the gods could not drown him even though they hadtried to do so, and when Neptune heard this large talk, he seizedhis trident in his two brawny hands, and split the rock of Gyrae intwo pieces. The base remained where it was, but the part on which Ajaxwas sitting fell headlong into the sea and carried Ajax with it; so hedrank salt water and was drowned."'Your brother and his ships escaped, for Juno protected him, butwhen he was just about to reach the high promontory of Malea, he wascaught by a heavy gale which carried him out to sea again sorelyagainst his will, and drove him to the foreland where Thyestes used todwell, but where Aegisthus was then living. By and by, however, itseemed as though he was to return safely after all, for the godsbacked the wind into its old quarter and they reached home; whereonAgamemnon kissed his native soil, and shed tears of joy at findinghimself in his own country."'Now there was a watchman whom Aegisthus kept always on thewatch, and to whom he had promised two talents of gold. This man hadbeen looking out for a whole year to make sure that Agamemnon didnot give him the slip and prepare war; when, therefore, this man sawAgamemnon go by, he went and told Aegisthus who at once began to lay aplot for him. He picked twenty of his bravest warriors and placed themin ambuscade on one side the cloister, while on the opposite side heprepared a banquet. Then he sent his chariots and horsemen toAgamemnon, and invited him to the feast, but he meant foul play. Hegot him there, all unsuspicious of the doom that was awaiting him, andkilled him when the banquet was over as though he were butchering anox in the shambles; not one of Agamemnon's followers was left alive,nor yet one of Aegisthus', but they were all killed there in thecloisters.'"Thus spoke Proteus, and I was broken hearted as I heard him. Isat down upon the sands and wept; I felt as though I could no longerbear to live nor look upon the light of the sun. Presently, when I hadhad my fill of weeping and writhing upon the ground, the old man ofthe sea said, 'Son of Atreus, do not waste any more time in cryingso bitterly; it can do no manner of good; find your way home as fastas ever you can, for Aegisthus be still alive, and even though Oresteshas beforehand with you in kilting him, you may yet come in for hisfuneral.'"On this I took comfort in spite of all my sorrow, and said, 'Iknow, then, about these two; tell me, therefore, about the third manof whom you spoke; is he still alive, but at sea, and unable to gethome? or is he dead? Tell me, no matter how much it may grieve me.'"'The third man,' he answered, 'is Ulysses who dwells in Ithaca. Ican see him in an island sorrowing bitterly in the house of thenymph Calypso, who is keeping him prisoner, and he cannot reach hishome for he has no ships nor sailors to take him over the sea. Asfor your own end, Menelaus, you shall not die in Argos, but the godswill take you to the Elysian plain, which is at the ends of the world.There fair-haired Rhadamanthus reigns, and men lead an easier lifethan any where else in the world, for in Elysium there falls not rain,nor hail, nor snow, but Oceanus breathes ever with a West wind thatsings softly from the sea, and gives fresh life to all men. Thiswill happen to you because you have married Helen, and are Jove'sson-in-law.'"As he spoke he dived under the waves, whereon I turned back tothe ships with my companions, and my heart was clouded with care asI went along. When we reached the ships we got supper ready, for nightwas falling, and camped down upon the beach. When the child ofmorning, rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, we drew our ships into thewater, and put our masts and sails within them; then we went onboard ourselves, took our seats on the benches, and smote the grey seawith our oars. I again stationed my ships in the heaven-fed streamof Egypt, and offered hecatombs that were full and sufficient. WhenI had thus appeased heaven's anger, I raised a barrow to the memory ofAgamemnon that his name might live for ever, after which I had a quickpassage home, for the gods sent me a fair wind."And now for yourself- stay here some ten or twelve days longer, andI will then speed you on your way. I will make you a noble presentof a chariot and three horses. I will also give you a beautifulchalice that so long as you live you may think of me whenever you makea drink-offering to the immortal gods.""Son of Atreus," replied Telemachus, "do not press me to staylonger; I should be contented to remain with you for another twelvemonths; I find your conversation so delightful that I should neveronce wish myself at home with my parents; but my crew whom I have leftat Pylos are already impatient, and you are detaining me from them. Asfor any present you may be disposed to make me, I had rather that itshould he a piece of plate. I will take no horses back with me toIthaca, but will leave them to adorn your own stables, for you havemuch flat ground in your kingdom where lotus thrives, as alsomeadowsweet and wheat and barley, and oats with their white andspreading ears; whereas in Ithaca we have neither open fields norracecourses, and the country is more fit for goats than horses, andI like it the better for that. None of our islands have much levelground, suitable for horses, and Ithaca least of all."Menelaus smiled and took Telemachus's hand within his own. "What yousay," said he, "shows that you come of good family. I both can, andwill, make this exchange for you, by giving you the finest and mostprecious piece of plate in all my house. It is a mixing-bowl byVulcan's own hand, of pure silver, except the rim, which is inlaidwith gold. Phaedimus, king of the Sidonians, gave it me in thecourse of a visit which I paid him when I returned thither on myhomeward journey. I will make you a present of it."Thus did they converse [and guests kept coming to the king'shouse. They brought sheep and wine, while their wives had put up breadfor them to take with them; so they were busy cooking their dinners inthe courts].Meanwhile the suitors were throwing discs or aiming with spears at amark on the levelled ground in front of Ulysses' house, and werebehaving with all their old insolence. Antinous and Eurymachus, whowere their ringleaders and much the foremost among them all, weresitting together when Noemon son of Phronius came up and said toAntinous,"Have we any idea, Antinous, on what day Telemachus returns fromPylos? He has a ship of mine, and I want it, to cross over to Elis:I have twelve brood mares there with yearling mule foals by their sidenot yet broken in, and I want to bring one of them over here and breakhim."They were astounded when they heard this, for they had made surethat Telemachus had not gone to the city of Neleus. They thought hewas only away somewhere on the farms, and was with the sheep, orwith the swineherd; so Antinous said, "When did he go? Tell metruly, and what young men did he take with him? Were they freemen orhis own bondsmen- for he might manage that too? Tell me also, didyou let him have the ship of your own free will because he askedyou, or did he take it without yourleave?""I lent it him," answered Noemon, "what else could I do when a manof his position said he was in a difficulty, and asked me to obligehim? I could not possibly refuse. As for those who went with himthey were the best young men we have, and I saw Mentor go on boardas captain- or some god who was exactly like him. I cannotunderstand it, for I saw Mentor here myself yesterday morning, and yethe was then setting out for Pylos."Noemon then went back to his father's house, but Antinous andEurymachus were very angry. They told the others to leave off playing,and to come and sit down along with themselves. When they came,Antinous son of Eupeithes spoke in anger. His heart was black withrage, and his eyes flashed fire as he said:"Good heavens, this voyage of Telemachus is a very serious matter;we had made sure that it would come to nothing, but the young fellowhas got away in spite of us, and with a picked crew too. He will begiving us trouble presently; may Jove take him before he is fullgrown. Find me a ship, therefore, with a crew of twenty men, and Iwill lie in wait for him in the straits between Ithaca and Samos; hewill then rue the day that he set out to try and get news of hisfather."Thus did he speak, and the others applauded his saying; they thenall of them went inside the buildings.It was not long ere Penelope came to know what the suitors wereplotting; for a man servant, Medon, overheard them from outside theouter court as they were laying their schemes within, and went to tellhis mistress. As he crossed the threshold of her room Penelope said:"Medon, what have the suitors sent you here for? Is it to tell themaids to leave their master's business and cook dinner for them? Iwish they may neither woo nor dine henceforward, neither here noranywhere else, but let this be the very last time, for the waste youall make of my son's estate. Did not your fathers tell you when youwere children how good Ulysses had been to them- never doinganything high-handed, nor speaking harshly to anybody? Kings may saythings sometimes, and they may take a fancy to one man and dislikeanother, but Ulysses never did an unjust thing by anybody- which showswhat bad hearts you have, and that there is no such thing as gratitudeleft in this world."Then Medon said, "I wish, Madam, that this were all; but they areplotting something much more dreadful now- may heaven frustratetheir design. They are going to try and murder Telemachus as he iscoming home from Pylos and Lacedaemon, where he has been to get newsof his father."Then Penelope's heart sank within her, and for a long time she wasspeechless; her eyes filled with tears, and she could find noutterance. At last, however, she said, "Why did my son leave me?What business had he to go sailing off in ships that make long voyagesover the ocean like sea-horses? Does he want to die without leavingany one behind him to keep up his name?""I do not know," answered Medon, "whether some god set him on to it,or whether he went on his own impulse to see if he could find out ifhis father was dead, or alive and on his way home."Then he went downstairs again, leaving Penelope in an agony ofgrief. There were plenty of seats in the house, but she. had noheart for sitting on any one of them; she could only fling herselfon the floor of her own room and cry; whereon all the maids in thehouse, both old and young, gathered round her and began to cry too,till at last in a transport of sorrow she exclaimed,"My dears, heaven has been pleased to try me with more afflictionthan any other woman of my age and country. First I lost my braveand lion-hearted husband, who had every good quality under heaven, andwhose name was great over all Hellas and middle Argos, and now mydarling son is at the mercy of the winds and waves, without myhaving heard one word about his leaving home. You hussies, there wasnot one of you would so much as think of giving me a call out of my