n them, a mere burthen on the ground.
Witness the other also, who upstarts 460
A prophet suddenly. Take my advice;
I counsel wisely; send them both on board
Some gallant bark to Sicily for sale;
Thus shall they somewhat profit thee at last.
So spake the suitors, whom Telemachus
Heard unconcern'd, and, silent, look'd and look'd
Toward his father, watching still the time
When he should punish that licentious throng.
Meantime, Icarius' daughter, who had placed
Her splendid seat opposite, heard distinct 470
Their taunting speeches. They, with noisy mirth,
Feasted deliciously, for they had slain
Many a fat victim; but a sadder feast
Than, soon, the Goddess and the warrior Chief
Should furnish for them, none shall ever share.
Of which their crimes had furnish'd first the cause.

FOOTNOTES:

[88] That is, how shall I escape the vengeance of their kindred?

[89] Aedon, Cleothera, Merope.

[90] +muelon andron+.

[91] The new moon.

[92] He is often called--+pater andron te theon te+.

[93] Household Gods who presided over the hearth.

[94] A smile of displeasure.

[95] Who had sought refuge in the ship of Telemachus when he left Sparta,
and came with him to Ithaca.

BOOK XXI

ARGUMENT

Penelope proposes to the suitors a contest with the bow, herself the
prize. They prove unable to bend the bow; when Ulysses having with some
difficulty possessed himself of it, manages it with the utmost ease, and
dispatches his arrow through twelve rings erected for the trial.

Minerva, now, Goddess caerulean-eyed,
Prompted Icarius' daughter, the discrete
Penelope, with bow and rings to prove
Her suitors in Ulysses' courts, a game
Terrible in conclusion to them all.
First, taking in her hand the brazen key
Well-forged, and fitted with an iv'ry grasp,
Attended by the women of her train
She sought her inmost chamber, the recess
In which she kept the treasures of her Lord, 10
His brass, his gold, and steel elaborate.
Here lay his stubborn bow, and quiver fill'd
With num'rous shafts, a fatal store. That bow
He had received and quiver from the hand
Of godlike Iphitus Eurytides,
Whom, in Messenia,[96] in the house he met
Of brave Orsilochus. Ulysses came
Demanding payment of arrearage due
From all that