Page:The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer (IA iliadodysseyofho02home).pdf/170

162 Shalt on thy bed repose, they with their oars Shall brush the placid flood, till thou arrive At home, or at what place soe'er thou would'st, Though far more distant than Eubœa lies, Remotest isle from us, by the report Of ours, who saw it when they thither bore Golden-hair'd Rhadamanthus o'er the Deep, To visit earth-born Tityus. To that isle They went; they reach'd it, and they brought him thence Back to Phæacia, in one day, with ease. Thou also shalt be taught what ships I boast Unmatch'd in swiftness, and how far my crews Excel, upturning with their oars the brine. He ceas'd; Ulysses toil-inur'd his words Exulting heard, and, praying, thus replied. Eternal Father! may the King perform His whole kind promise! grant him in all lands A never-dying name, and grant to me To visit safe my native shores again! Thus they conferr'd; and now Areta bade Her fair attendants dress a fleecy couch Under the portico, with purple rugs Resplendent, and with arras spread beneath, And over all with cloaks of shaggy pile. Forth went the maidens, bearing each a torch, And, as she bade, prepared in haste a couch Of depth commodious, then, returning, gave Ulysses welcome summons to repose.