Telemachus questions Eurycleia

13She spoke; the omen of the woman’s words
And Zeus’ loud thunder pleased Odysseus well;
And now he deemed he should avenge himself
Upon the guilty ones. The other maids
Of that fair palace of Odysseus woke
And came together, and upon the hearth
Kindled a steady fire. Telemachus
Rose from his bed in presence like a god,
Put on his garments, hung his trenchant sword
Upon his shoulder, tied to his fair feet
The shapely sandals, took his massive spear
Tipped with sharp brass, and, stopping as he reached
The threshold, spoke to Eurycleia thus: —

14“Dear nurse, have you with honor fed and lodged
Our guest, or have you suffered him to find
A lodging where he might, without your care?
Discerning as she is, my mother pays
High honor to the worse among her guests,
And sends the nobler man unhonored hence.”

15And thus the prudent Eurycleia said:
“My child, blame not your mother; she deserves
No blame. The stranger sat and drank his wine,
All that he would, and said, when pressed to eat,
That he desired no more. And when he thought
Of sleep, she bade her maidens spread his couch;
But he refused a bed and rugs, like one
Inured to misery, and beneath the porch
Slept on an undressed bull’s hide and the skins
Of sheep, and over him we cast a cloak.”