Ulysses, the sagacious, answered thus: “Wake her not yet, but go and summon all The women who have wrought these shameful deeds.”
He spake; the matron through the palace went To seek the women, and to bid them come. Meanwhile, Ulysses called Telemachus, The herdsman and the swineherd to his side, And thus commanded them with winged words:—
“Begin to carry forth the dead, and call The women to your aid; and next make clean, With water and with thirsty sponges, all The sumptuous thrones and tables. When ye thus Have put the hall in order, lead away The serving-maids, and in the space between The kitchen vault and solid outer wall Smite them with your long swords till they give up The ghost, and lose the memory evermore Of secret meetings with the suitor-train.”
He spake; the women came, lamenting loud With many tears, and carried forth the dead, Leaning upon each other as they went, And placed them underneath the portico Of the walled court. Ulysses gave command, Hastening their task, as all unwillingly They bore the corpses forth. With water next, And thirsty sponges in their hands, they cleansed The sumptuous thrones and tables. Then the prince, Telemachus, with shovels cleared the floor, The herdsman and the swineherd aiding him, And made the women bear the rubbish forth. And now when all within was once again In seemly order, they led forth the maids From that fair pile into the space between The kitchen vault and solid outer wall, A narrow space from which was no escape, And thus discreet Telemachus began:—
“I will not take away these creatures’ lives By a pure death—these who so long have heaped Reproaches on my mother’s head and mine, And played the wanton with the suitor-crew.”