Page 291 - the-odyssey

and beckoned him to come and sit beside him; so he looked
about and saw a seat lying near where the carver sat serving
out their portions to the suitors; he picked it up, brought it
to Telemachus’s table, and sat down opposite him. Then the
servant brought him his portion, and gave him bread from
the bread-basket.
Immediately afterwards Ulysses came inside, looking
like a poor miserable old beggar, leaning on his staff and
with his clothes all in rags. He sat down upon the threshold
of ash-wood just inside the doors leading from the outer to
the inner court, and against a bearing-post of cypress-wood
which the carpenter had skilfully planed, and had made to
join truly with rule and line. Telemachus took a whole loaf
from the bread-basket, with as much meat as he could hold
in his two hands, and said to Eumaeus, ‘Take this to the
stranger, and tell him to go the round of the suitors, and beg
from them; a beggar must not be shamefaced.’
So Eumaeus went up to him and said, ‘Stranger, Telema-
chus sends you this, and says you are to go the round of the
suitors begging, for beggars must not be shamefaced.’
Ulysses answered, ‘May King Jove grant all happiness to
Telemachus, and fulfil the desire of his heart.’
Then with both hands he took what Telemachus had
sent him, and laid it on the dirty old wallet at his feet. He
went on eating it while the bard was singing, and had just
finished his dinner as he left off. The suitors applauded the
bard, whereon Minerva went up to Ulysses and prompted
him to beg pieces of bread from each one of the suitors, that
he might see what kind of people they were, and tell the

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