Then let thy mother
wed whom she will; and if these men still beset thee, thou must devise
means to slay them, either by guile or openly. Thou art now a man, and
must play a man's part. Hast thou not heard of the fame which Orestes
won, when he slew the murderer of his sire? Be thou valiant, even as
he; tall thou art, and fair, and shouldst be a stout man of thy hands.
But 'tis time for me to be going; my ship awaits me in the harbour,
and my comrades will be tired of waiting for me."
"Stay yet awhile," answered Telemachus, "until thou hast refreshed
thyself with the bath; and I will give thee a costly gift to bear with
thee as a memorial of thy visit." But even as he spoke Mentes rose
from his seat and, gliding like a shadow through the sunlit doorway,
disappeared. Telemachus followed, in wonder and displeasure; but no
trace of the strange visitor was to be seen. Looking upward he saw a
great sea-eagle winging his way towards the shore; and a voice seemed
to whisper in his ear: "No mortal was thy guest, but the great goddess
Athene, daughter of Zeus, and ever thy father's true comrade and
faithful ally."
III
With a strange elation of spirits Telemachus returned to the hall, and
sat down among the suitors. Hitherto he had shown a certain weakness
and indecision of character, natural in a young lad, who had grown up
without the strong guiding hand of a father, and who, since the first
dawn of his manhood, had been surrounded by a host of subtle foes.
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