To some new strain when he adapts the lyre,
Or the dumb lute refits with vocal wire,
Relaxes, strains, and draws them to and fro;
So the great master drew the mighty bow:
And drew with ease. One hand aloft display'd
The bending horn, and one the string essay'd.
From his essaying hand the string let fly
Twang'd short and sharp like the shrill swallow's
A general horror ran through all the race,
Sunk was each heart, and pale was every face.
Signs from above ensued: the unfolding sky
In lightning burst; Jove thunder'd from on high.
Fired at the call of heaven's almighty lord,
He snatch'd the shaft that glitter'd on the board : 455
(Fast by, the rest lay sleeping in the sheath,
But soon to fly, the messengers of death.)
Now sitting as he was, the cord he drew, Through every ringlet levelling his view; Then notch'd the shaft, released, and gave it wing; The whizzing arrow vanish'd from the string, Sung on direct, and threaded every ring. The solid gate its fury scarcely bounds; Pierced through and through, the solid gate resounds. Then to the prince: "Nor have I wrought thee
Nor err'd this hand unfaithful to its aim;
Nor prov'd the toil too hard; nor have I lost
That ancient vigour, once my pride and boast.
Ill I deserved these haughty peers' disdain;
Now let them comfort their dejected train,
In sweet repast their present hour employ,
Nor wait till evening for the genial joy:
Then to the lute's soft voice prolong the night;
Music, the banquet's most refined delight."
He said, then gave a nod; and at the word
Telemachus girds on his shining sword.
Fast by his father's side he takes his stand:
The beamy javelin lightens in his hand.
The Death of the Suitors.
ULYSSES begins the slaughter of the suitors by the death of Antinous-He declares himself, and lets fly his arrows at the rest-Telemachus assists, and brings arms for his father, himself, Eumæus, and Philætius-Melanthius does the same for the wooers-Minerva encourages Ulysses in the shape of Mentor-The suitors are all slain, only Medon and Themius are spared-Melanthius and the unfaithful servants are executed -The rest acknowledge their master with all demonstrations of joy.
THEN fierce the hero o'er the threshold strode;
Stripp'd of his rags, he blazed out like a god.
Full in their face the lifted bow he bore,
And quiver'd deaths, a formidable store;
Before his feet the rattling shower he threw,
And thus, terrific, to the suitor crew :
"One venturous game this hand has won to-day,
Another, princes, yet remains to play ;
Another mark our arrow must attain.
Phœbus, assist! nor be the labour vain."
Swift as the word the parting arrow sings, And bears thy fate, Antinous, on its wings: Wretch that he was, of unprophetic soul! High in his hands he rear'd the golden bowl! Ev'n then to drain it lengthen'd out his breath; Changed to the deep, the bitter draught of death : For fate who fear'd amid a feastful band? And fate to numbers, by a single hand? Full through his throat Ulysses' weapon pass'd, And pierced the neck, He falls, and breathes his last.
The tumbling goblet the wide floor o'erflows,
A stream of gore burst spouting from his nose ;
Grim in convulsive agonies he sprawls :
Before him spurn'd the loaded table falls,
And spreads the pavement with a mingled flood 25
Of floating meats, and wine, and human blood.
Amazed, confounded, as they saw him fall,
Up rose the throng tumultuous round the hall;
O'er all the dome they cast a haggard eye,
Each look'd for arms: in vain; no arms were nigh.
"Aim'st thou at princes?" all amazed they said; 31
"Thy last of games unhappy hast thou play'd;
Thy erring shaft has made our bravest bleed,
And death, unlucky guest, attends thy deed:
Vultures shall tear thee." Thus incensed they
While each to chance ascribed the wondrous stroke:
Blind as they were: for death ev'n now invades
His destined prey, and wraps them all in shades.
Then, grimly frowning, with a dreadful look,
That wither'd all their hearts, Ulysses spoke:
"Dogs, ye have had your day! ye fear'd no more
Ulysses vengeful from the Trojan shore;
While, to your lust and spoil a guardless prey,
Our house, our wealth, our helpless handmaids lay:
Not so content, with bolder phrensy fired,
Ev'n to our bed presumptuous you aspired:
Laws or divine or human fail'd to move,
Or shame of men, or dread of gods above;
Heedless alike of infamy or praise,
Or Fame's eternal voice in future days:
The hour of vengeance, wretches, now is come;
Impending fate is yours, and instant doom.”
Thus dreadful he. Confused the suitors stood, From their pale cheeks recedes the flying blood : Trembling they sought their guilty heads to hide, 55 Alone the bold Eurymachus replied:
"If, as thy words import," he thus began, "Ulysses lives, and thou the mighty man,
Great are thy wrongs, and much hast thou sustain'd
In thy spoil'd palace, and exhausted land;
The cause and author of those guilty deeds,
Lo! at thy feet unjust Antinous bleeds.
Not love, but wild ambition was his guide;
To slay thy son, thy kingdoms to divide;
These were his aims; but juster Jove denied.
Since cold in death the offender lies, oh spare
Thy suppliant people, and receive their prayer!
Brass, gold, and treasures shall the spoil defray,
Two hundred oxen every prince shall pay:
The waste of years refunded in a day.
Till then thy wrath is just." Ulysses burn'd
With high disdain, and sternly thus return'd :
"All, all the treasures that enrich'd our throne
Before your rapines, join'd with all your own,
If offer'd, vainly should for mercy call;
'Tis you that offer, and I scorn them all;
Your blood is my demand, your lives the prize,
Till pale as yonder wretch each suitor lies.
Hence with those coward terms; or fight or fly;
This choice is left you, to resist or die :
And die I trust ye shall." He sternly spoke:
With guilty fears the pale assembly shook.
Alone Eurymachus exhorts the train:
"Yon archer, comrades, will not shoot in vain;
But from the threshold shall his darts be sped,
(Whoe'er he be,) till every prince lie dead!
Be mindful of yourselves, draw forth your swords,
And to his shafts obtend these ample boards:
(So need compels.) Then, all united strive
The bold invader from his post to drive;
The city roused shall to our rescue haste,
And this mad archer soon have shot his last."
Swift as he spoke, he drew his traitor sword,
And like a lion rush'd against his lord;
The wary chief the rushing foe repress'd,
Who met the point and forced it in his breast :
His falling hand deserts the lifted sword,
And prone he falls extended o'er the board!
Before him wide, in mix'd effusion roll
The untasted viands, and the jovial bowl.
Full through his liver pass'd the mortal wound,
With dying rage his forehead beats the ground;
He spurn'd the seat with fury as he fell,
And the fierce soul to darkness dived, ed, and hell.
Next bold Amphinomus his arms extends
To force the pass; the godlike man defends.
Thy spear, Telemachus, prevents the attack,
The brazen weapon driving through his back,
Thence through his breast its bloody passage tore;
Flat falls he thundering on the marble floor,
And his crush'd forehead marks the stone with gore.
He left his javelin in the dead, for fear
The long encumbrance of the weighty spear
To the fierce foe advantage might afford,
To rush between and use the shorten'd sword.
With speedy ardour to his sire he flies,
And, "Arm, great father! arm," in haste he cries.
"Lo hence I run for other arms to wield,
For missile javelins, and for helm and shield;
Fast by our side let either faithful swain
In arms attend us, and their part sustain."
"Haste, and return," Ulysses made reply,
"While yet the auxiliar shafts this hand supply;
Lest thus alone, encounter'd by a host,
Driven from the gate, the important pass be lost."
With speed Telemachus obeys, and flies
Where piled in heaps the royal armour lies:
Four brazen helmets, eight refulgent spears,
And four broad bucklers to his sire he bears:
At once in brazen panoply they shone,
At once each servant braced his armour on;
Around their king a faithful guard they stand,
While yet each shaft flew deathful from his hand :
Chief after chief expired at every wound,
And swell'd the bleeding mountain on the ground.
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