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.”
He spake, and made the hawser of a ship Fast to a lofty shaft; the other end He wound about the kitchen vault. So high He stretched it that the feet of none who hung On it might touch the ground. As when a flock Of broad-winged thrushes or wild pigeons strike A net within a thicket, as they seek Their perch, and find unwelcome durance there, So hung the women, with their heads a-row, And cords about their necks, that they might die A miserable death. A little while, And but a little, quivered their loose feet In air. They led Melanthius from the hall And through the porch, cut off his nose and ears, Wrenched out the parts of shame, a bloody meal For dogs, and in their anger from the trunk Lopped hands and feet. Then having duly washed Their feet and hands, they came into the hall, And to Ulysses; they had done their work. And then to the dear nurse Ulysses said:—
“Bring sulphur, dame, the cure of noxious air, And fire, that I may purge the hall with smoke; And go, and bid Penelope come down, With her attendant women, and command That all the handmaids of the household come.”