touched him, making him again Old, and clad sordidly in beggar’s weeds, Lest that the swineherd, knowing at a look His master, might not keep the knowledge locked In his own breast, but, hastening forth, betray The secret to the chaste Penelope.
Then to the swineherd said Telemachus: “Noble Eumaeus, welcome; what reports Are in the town? Have those large-minded men, The suitors, left their ambush and returned, Or are they waiting yet for me to pass?”
And thus, Eumaeus, thou didst make reply: “Of that, indeed, I never thought to ask, In going through the town. My only care Was to return, as soon as I had given My message, with such speed as I could make. I met a messenger, a herald sent By thy companions, who was first to tell Thy mother of thy safe return. Yet this I know, for I beheld it with my eyes. When outside of the city, where the hill Of Hermes stands, I saw a gallant barque Entering the port, and carrying many men. Heavy it was with shields and two-edged spears; ’Twas they, I thought, and yet I cannot tell.”
He spake; Telemachus the valiant looked Upon his father with a smile unmarked By good Eumaeus. When their task was done, And the board spread, they feasted. No one lacked His portion of the common meal. Their thirst And hunger satisfied, they laid them down To rest, and so received the gift of sleep.