ngeance. That he has not been unheard is proved by the
appearance of two eagles, which peck out the eyes of some of the
spectators. This is interpreted by an old man as an omen of Ulysses'
speedy return, and he admonishes all present to prove faithful, lest
they incur a master's wrath.

The assembly having dispersed, Telemachus hastens down to the shore,
where Minerva visits him in the guise of his tutor Mentor, and
instructs him to arrange for secret departure. Telemachus, therefore,
returns to the palace, where the suitors are preparing a new feast.
Refusing to join their revels, he seeks his old nurse Eurycleia, to
whom he entrusts the provisioning of his vessel, bidding her if
possible conceal his departure from Penelope for twelve days.
Meantime, in the guise of Telemachus, Minerva scours the town to
secure skilful oarsmen, and at sunset has a vessel ready to sail.
Then, returning to the palace, she enchains the senses of the suitors
in such deep slumber that Telemachus effects his, departure unseen,
and embarking with Mentor sets sail, his vessel speeding smoothly over
the waves all night.

_Book III._ At sunrise Telemachus reaches Pylos and finds Nestor and
his friends offering a sacrifice on the shore. Joining the
feasters,--who gather by fifties around tables groaning beneath the
weight of nine oxen apiece,--Telemachus makes known his name and
errand. In return, Nestor mentions the deaths of Patroclus and
Achilles, the taking of Troy, and the Greeks' departure from its
shores. He adds that, the gods having decreed they should not reach
home without sore trials, half the army lingered behind with Agamemnon
to offer propitiatory sacrifices, while the rest sailed on. Among
these were Nestor and Ulysses, but, while the former pressed on and
reached home, the latter, turning back to pacify the gods, was seen no
more! Since his return, Nestor has been saddened by the death of
Agamemnon, slain on his arrival at Mycenae by his faithless wife
Clytemnestra and her lover Aegistheus. His brother, Menelaus, more
fortunate, has recently reached home, having been long delayed in
Egypt by contrary winds.

While Nestor recounts these tales, day declines, so he invites
Telemachus to his palace for the night, promising to send him on the
morrow to Sparta, where he can question Menelaus himself. Although
Mentor urges Telemachus to accept this invitation, he declares he must
return to the ship, and vanishes in the shape of a bi