t with all speed to tell his master. Forthwith AEgisthus 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.

III

We must now return to Ithaca, and see what reception was preparing for
Telemachus when he came back from his adventurous journey. Two or
three days after he left Ithaca the suitors were gathered before the
doors of Odysseu