Well-nigh arrived, nor shall his country long
Want him. I swear it with a solemn oath.
First Jove be witness, King and Lord of all!
Next these domestic Gods of the renown'd
Ulysses, in whose royal house I sit, 380
That thou shalt see my saying all fulfill'd.
Ulysses shall this self-same year return,
This self-same month, ere yet the next begin.
Him answer'd then Penelope discrete.
Grant heav'n, my guest, that this good word of thine 385
Fail not! then, soon shalt thou such bounty share
And friendship at my hands, that, at first sight,
Whoe'er shall meet thee shall pronounce thee blest.
But ah! my soul forebodes how it will prove;
Neither Ulysses will return, nor thou 390
Receive safe conduct hence; for we have here
None, such as once Ulysses was, to rule
His household with authority, and to send
With honourable convoy to his home
The worthy guest, or to regale him here. 395
Give him the bath, my maidens; spread his couch
With linen soft, with fleecy [1]gaberdines
And rugs of splendid hue, that he may lie
Waiting, well-warm'd, the golden morn's return.
Attend him also at the peep of day 400
With bath and unction, that, his seat resumed
- ↑ A gaberdine is a shaggy cloak of coarse but warm materials. Such always make part of Homer’s bed-furniture.
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