How Were They Slain?

5She ended, and her mistress, overjoyed,
Sprang from her couch, embraced the aged dame,
And wept, and said to her in winged words: —

6“Tell me, dear nurse, and truly, if indeed
Odysseus have returned as you have said.
How smote he those proud suitors? —he alone,
And they so many, gathered in the hall.”

7And thus the well-beloved nurse replied:
“I saw it not, nor knew of it. I heard
Only the moanings of the slain, while we
The maids, affrighted, sat in a recess
Of that well-vaulted chamber; the firm doors
Closed us all in, until at length your son,
Sent by his father, called me forth. I found
Odysseus standing midst the dead that lay
Heaped on each other, everywhere along
The solid pavement. You would have rejoiced
To see him like a lion with the stains
Of slaughter on him. Now the suitors lie
Before the portals of the palace-court,
And he has kindled a great fire, and steeps
In smoke the noble hall. He bade me come
To call you. Follow me, that you may give
Your hearts to gladness —for you have endured
Great sorrows both, and your long-cherished hope
Is now fulfilled. He has returned alive
To his dear home, and finds you and his son
Yet in his palace, and has terribly
Avenged himself upon the guilty men
Who under his own roof have done him wrong.”