dark grotto, sacred to the nymphs Called Naiads—a wide-vaulted cave where once Thou earnest oft with chosen hecatombs, An offering to the nymphs—and here thou seest The mountain Neritus with all his woods.”
So spake the goddess, and dispersed the mist, And all the scene appeared. Ulysses saw Well pleased, rejoicing in his own dear land, And, stooping, kissed the bountiful earth, and raised His hands, and thus addressed the nymphs in prayer:—
“Nymphs, Naiads, born to Jove, I did not hope To be with you again. With cheerful prayers I now salute you. We shall bring you soon Our offerings, as of yore, if graciously Jove’s daughter, huntress-queen, shall grant me yet To live, and bless my well-beloved son.”
And then the goddess, blue-eyed Pallas, said: “Be of good cheer, and let no anxious thought Disturb thy mind. Let us bestir ourselves To hide away the treasures thou hast brought Within this hallowed grot in some recess Where they may lie in safety; afterward Will we