Page:The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer (IA iliadodysseyofho02home).pdf/377

Book XVI. The mariners with whom he here arrived? For, that on foot he found us not, is sure. To whom Eumæus, thou didst thus reply. I will with truth answer thee, O my son! He boasts him sprung from ancestry renown'd In spacious Crete, and hath the cities seen Of various lands, by fate ordain'd to roam. Ev'n now, from a Thesprotian ship escaped, He reach'd my cottage—but he is thy own; I yield him to thee; treat him as thou wilt; He is thy suppliant, and depends on thee. Then thus, Telemachus, discrete, replied. Thy words, Eumæus, pain my very soul. For what security can I afford To any in my house? myself am young, Nor yet of strength sufficient to repel An offer'd insult, and my mother's mind In doubtful balance hangs, if, still with me An inmate, she shall manage my concerns, Attentive only to her absent Lord And her own good report, or shall espouse The noblest of her wooers, and the best Entitled by the splendour of his gifts. But I will give him, since I find him lodg'd A guest beneath thy roof, tunic and cloak, Sword double-edged, and sandals for his feet, With convoy to the country of his choice. Still, if it please thee, keep him here thy guest,