When all rites of religion were duly paid, they
roasted the flesh, and served it on wooden platters. Odysseus was
honoured by Eumaeus with a choice portion of the loin.
When they had finished, night came on, dark and stormy, with furious
gusts of rain and wind. Just as they were about to retire to rest,
Odysseus, who seldom spoke without a purpose, turned to his kind host
and said: "Eumaeus, the good wine has loosened my tongue, and moved me
to tell thee a story of long ago, when these withered limbs were in
their lusty prime, and my heart burned with the fire of youth. Then I
was chosen with Menelaus and Odysseus to lead an ambush under the
walls of Troy. With a picked company we took up our position in a
marshy place, and lay down in our armour among the rushes. It was a
bitter night, with snow and frost, and our shields were soon coated
with ice. Now it chanced that I had left my cloak in the camp, and
while the others lay warm in their thick woollen mantles, I was
perishing with cold. At last I could bear it no longer, so I nudged
Odysseus, who was lying next to me, with my elbow, and said to him:
'Son of Laertes, the cold is killing me. I came in my folly without a
cloak, and I can never hold out until dawn in this cruel frost.' And
he, ever ready of wit as he was, instantly contrived means to relieve
me. Whispering to me to keep counsel he rose on his elbow, and called
to the others, saying: 'Comrades, I have been warned in a dream that
our numbers are too weak for the task which has been laid upon us.
Pages:
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174