He spake, and from his anvil-block arose, A mighty bulk; his weak legs under him, Halting, moved painfully. He laid apart His bellows from the fire, and gathered up The scattered implements with which he wrought, And locked them in a silver chest, and wiped With a moist sponge his face and both his hands, Stout neck and hairy chest. He then put on His tunic, took his massive regal wand Into his hand, and, tottering, sallied forth. Two golden statues, like in form and look To living maidens, aided with firm gait The monarch’s steps. And mind was in their breasts, And they had speech and strength, and from the gods Had learned becoming arts. Beside their lord They walked and tended him. As he drew near, Halting, to Thetis on the shining throne, He took the goddess by the hand and said:—
“What cause, O Thetis of the flowing robe, Honored and dear, has brought thee to our home? Not often com’st thou hither. Freely say Whatever lies upon thy mind. My heart Commands me to obey, if it be aught That can be done and may be done by me.”
And Thetis answered, with a gush of tears: “O Vulcan! Of the goddesses who dwell Upon Olympus, is there one who bears Such bitter sorrows as Saturnian Jove Inflicts on me, distressed above them all? Me, of the ocean deities, he forced To take a mortal husband—Peleus, son Of Aeacus—and to his bed I came Unwillingly. Within his palace-halls, Worn with a late old age, my husband lies. Now I have other woes; for when a son Was granted me, and I had brought him forth And reared him, flourishing like a young plant, A sapling in a fertile field, and great Among the heroes—thus maturely trained, I sent him with his beaked ships to Troy, To combat with her sons; but never more Will it be mine to welcome him returned Home to the halls of Peleus. While to me He lives, and sees the sunshine, he endures Affliction, nor can I, though at his side, Aid him in aught. The maiden whom the Greeks Decreed him as his prize, the king of men, Atrides, took away, and grief for her Consumes his heart. The Trojans keep the Greeks Beleaguered by their ships, nor suffer