He belched in my face. I spat in his; but my eyes shone with such fury that he dared not lay violent hands on me. Trying to belch again, he vomited half a pint of wine and some gobbets of undigested meat. "And what of this?" I asked, pointing in disgust at the befouled threshold.
"You may keep that," he hiccuped. "Write it off the account."
Back I went to the throne chamber, where my mother sat at the loom with her usual imperturbability. "Nausicaa, my dear," she said, "I wish you would go up to comfort Ctimene. She was at her window listening to Phemius's song, and when he described how Odysseus sat, chin on knees, in his desolate island, staring at the unbroken horizon, she broke down and began to tear her hair and scratch her cheeks. Now she is convinced that a similar fate has overtaken Laodamas, and talks of commissioning a ship to visit all the known desert islands, from Troy to Tartessus, in the hope of finding him."
"Tell me, Mother, do you think that something serious can have happened to Uncle Mentor?"
"Why, no! Obviously he has been held up on the Aegesta road to prevent him from provoking a quarrel between the two town councils. He is now perhaps a prisoner in Eurymachus's house—not fettered, nor exposed to indignities, merely detained—for fear that he may lose his temper and rouse the loyalists to armed resistance. Your uncle Mentor is a patient man, but everyone knows that when he sees himself unable to consult the elders of Aegesta, his anger will break out as fiercely and twice as murderously as that of an impatient man like your dear father. Yes, Daughter, I realize the awkwardness of the situation, yet our enemies seem in no hurry to bring matters to a head. They propose to bleed and humiliate us first. By the way, though I see no reason why you, as the excuse for their presence here, should treat them otherwise than as thieves and interlopers, I have advised Clytoneus not to draw his sword against any of them nor insult them directly. It is difficult, I know, for a boy of spirit to keep his hand from the pommel, but once he draws, he is lost: they will claim to have killed him in self-defence. Be patient: the Gods are protecting us. Now, please, go to Ctimene."
I did what I could for my wretched sister-in-law, saying that when Laodamas returned, he would be disappointed to find her so thin and pale, with torn cheeks and black-rimmed eyes. "It will look like a confession that you were in the wrong that night," I suggested cunningly. "Whereas, if he finds you plump, merry, and dry-eyed, he will respect you for it and avoid provoking you again. For I cannot think that his adventures away from home have been altogether pleasant."
Delighted by this new point of view, she embraced me convulsively. "So you have changed your opinion and agree that he put himself in the wrong?" she asked.
"I decline to take sides in a dispute between husband and wife, the more so when they are members of my immediate family," I answered. "But it is quite clear that he did not understand you, even after so many months of marriage."
This contented her, and I refrained from adding that I understood Ctimene all too well myself. I knew her to be lazy, small-minded, and hysterical; and had just been telling Clytoneus that her only use in this world would have been to breed children—and then make them over to my mother for bringing up properly—had she been capable of conception, which it seemed she was not. I heartily wished her back on Bucinna, even for a brief visit; we had trouble enough on our hands without her perpetual whining.
Clytoneus told me that the Drepanan Council had consented to meet—a good sign in a way, though he could scarcely hope them to give him any satisfaction—the venue being, as usual, the Temple of Poseidon, a large, whitewashed wooden building with carved columns. The benches of the Council Hall are polished stone, and frescoes on the walls depict the principal scenes of our national history: from the birth of Aegestus to the foundation of Drepanum. In a smoky inner shrine stands Poseidon's figwood statue: his face painted cinnabar red, his body first lacquered and then sprinkled with the blue dust of powdered lapis lazuli, his hands gilded. He holds a double axe and wears a long grey wig. Outside are the Courts of Justice, where my father spends a great deal of his day settling litigious cases, and generally comes late home for dinner, cross and tired.
Some forty councillors of all ages had gathered, when Clytoneus, in the ragged clothes of a suppliant and displaying an olive branch, entered and sat down on the bench nearest the door. The president of the Council was Aegyptius the Phocaean, a man more than eighty years old. As a child he had witnessed the building of this temple, and we thought him a good friend of our house, though one of his three grandsons was among my suitors. He welcomed Clytoneus with a vague smile. "Why, my boy," he said, "this must be the only time in our annals that so young a prince has convened the Council; but the action is perfectly in order, and I salute your civic spirit. Perhaps you bring us good news of your venturesome brother Laodamas? Or has our glorious King cut short his voyage and turned his helm about, as an eagle returns to his eyrie after a daring flight into the eye of the sun? No? There is little joy in your face, I fear, and you are dressed as a suppliant. Well, then, you must intend to raise some other matter of public concern. Whatever it may be, my dear Prince, I pray that the Gods will grant your heart's desire."
Clytoneus left his seat and strode into the middle of the Council. Peisenor, the town herald, who claimed descent from the God Hermes, handed him a white rod as a token that he might plead without interruption; whereupon Clytoneus bowed his respects to the Elders and began speaking in a loud, shrill voice.
"Venerable lord Aegyptius, tried ally of our royal house," he said, "I shall not waste your time with what poor eloquence I may possess. My business is a public one only if you consent to make it so, which is my plea, and explains these ragged clothes and this olive branch. A double affliction has fallen upon us, and of the first, at least, you have shown yourself sympathetically aware. My father, the King, has sailed to Sandy Pylus in the hope of establishing the whereabouts of my brother Laodamas, who vanished mysteriously a year ago. As though this were not anxiety enough, a gang of idle young men have taken advantage of the King's absence to pester my sister Nausicaa with unwelcome attentions, and to insult the Regent, Lord Mentor. They arrived yesterday in a great jostling mob, and refusing to take no for an answer, or to accept the simple fare hospitably set before them as unexpected visitors, slaughtered our bullocks, hogs and wethers, helped themselves to our wine, spent a riotous afternoon in our banqueting court, and blundered away at nightfall without even clearing up their spilt wine and vomit. Now my uncle Mentor has also disappeared while driving to Aegesta; where he proposed to consult the city fathers on a legal point arising from the decision reached by this honourable Council two days ago. It is my view that he has been detained against his will by a member, or members, of this very Council."
"My dear boy, can you prove any of these wild allegations?" asked Aegyptius. "Are you seriously suggesting that your uncle Mentor has been abducted and kept in confinement by one of us? What I have heard of last night's banquet is altogether different. My valued colleagues Antinous and Eurymachus—for both of whom you should entertain the highest respect, since the King himself accepted them as your sister's suitors, and conferred unusual privileges upon them—have explained the whole circumstances to me. They declare that your royal father wept tears of sorrow when he said good-bye, kissing them repeatedly and begging them to make free of his table while he was away. 'According to ancient Aegadean custom,' he said, 'I am leaving my dear brother-in-law Mentor to arrange for Princess Nausicaa's marriage. Nor will I hamper his liberty of choice by favouring any one suitor above the rest, even you two distinguished noblemen. So let the eligible bachelors of Drepanum, Eryx, Aegesta, Halicyae, and of all lesser settlements in my domain, come courting at the Palace; there to eat and drink of the best until one of them is chosen, I hope speedily. Whatever Mentor decides, I approve in advance.'"
"My lord Aegyptius," Clytoneus protested, "if my father indeed addressed those words to the persons you mention, he certainly spoke in a very different sense to my revered mother, my chaste sister, my noble uncle Mentor, and my unworthy self. He advised us to be frugal in his absence, to entertain no more than decency required, and to postpone all important decisions."
"Ah, but where a man leaves conflicting orders, it is the last of these that counts in law! And here we have two witnesses ready to swear that he changed his mind before the ship weighed anchor."
Clytoneus felt like a young boar trapped in a net, while the hounds bay about him and the huntsmen close in with their shining boar spears. Yet he lost neither his courtesy nor his courage. "May I suggest, my lord Aegyptius," he said, "that these men have failed to honour your venerable grey hairs and deceived you shamelessly? My uncle Mentor, for whose disappearance you offer no explanation, my revered mother, my sister and my sister-in-law were all present when the King sailed. None of us saw him take my lords Antinous and Eurymachus aside to kiss them and whisper in their ears. Nor can anyone else have done so, since both noblemen absented themselves conspicuously from the weeping throng on the quay. Oh, that my father were with us once more! This is an intolerable outrage to the dignity of the Crown, which you, my lords, should resent not only as reflecting upon yourselves, his trusted councillors, but as being nothing short of a universal scandal. Have you no fear of divine vengeance when this case comes to the notice of the Olympians? I hereby adjure you in the name of Almighty Zeus and his aunt, the Goddess Themis, who assembles and dissolves councils throughout the civilized world, to intervene in this affair and take cognizance of the truth! If this Council as a body were responsible for the depredations, as it has been for denying my uncle Mentor the regency, I should feel far more at ease. The case would demand a public settlement; nor would you fail in the end to pay compensation, because we should appeal to the Elyman Assembly, and itemize every loss and damage. As it is, we are subject to private marauders, who appear in irresistible force and, though the ringleaders happen to be members of this honourable Council, belong to no organization which we can sue. Forgive my natural bitterness!"
He burst into tears, and the white rod rattled to the floor.
Most of the Council were plainly touched, and a murmur of condolence arose, but no one ventured to speak until Antinous strode forward and picked up the rod.
"Clytoneus, my congratulations!" said he. "You are a born rhetorician, and it is a pity that your cause is bad and based on mere spite; your pretended grief has deceived some of my tenderhearted colleagues. Is ours the blame if your sister obstinately refuses to disclose her preference for one or other of us suitors? She cannot even dare complain that too small a choice has been offered her. Lord Mentor himself, sick of the whole business, and unable to imbue her with a sense of duty, has sailed to his own island of Hiera, swearing to stay there until she makes the decision expected of her. Tell me the truth, Clytoneus: did the Princess Nausicaa not promise your revered mother to choose a husband as soon as she had completed that purple wedding robe? And is it not a fact that for every three pictures which she embroidered, at the slowest possible rate, she unpicked two; and presently ceased work altogether?"
Clytoneus sprang up, shouting: "From whom have you culled this domestic information, my lord Antinous? Was it from Eurymachus? And did Eurymachus get it from dark-eyed Melantho in the boathouse?"
Cries of "Oh! Oh!" were raised, and all eyes were fixed on Eurymachus, who felt obliged to take the floor. "I have no idea who this dark-eyed Melantho may be," he said blandly, "unless, as her name suggests, she is a daughter of your cattlemaster Melantheus. He, certainly, was the source of the information which, as you guessed, I passed on to my colleagues here. But nothing was said about a boathouse. Does his daughter perhaps patch sails?"
Aegyptius then called Clytoneus to order, warning him that while Antinous held the rod he was entitled to speak without interruption.
Clytoneus apologized, and Antinous went on: "My lord, pray show indulgence to this young man, who is still ignorant of procedure and whose self-control is no stronger than his memory for facts. Let me repeat that we suitors visited the Palace at the King's direct invitation, and that we propose to come every day until the Princess Nausicaa gives her long-awaited answer—though it must necessarily disappoint one hundred and eleven of the one hundred and twelve. She had better not, in effect, try our patience further, nor presume on the remarkable gifts which the Goddess Athene has showered on her: such as beauty, intelligence, skill in handicraft, and an extraordinary knack of getting her own way, despite the opposition of her kinsfolk. No priestess in legend outshines her in these respects: not Tyro, Poseidon's bride, nor Zeus's bride Alcmene. Nevertheless, this remarkably clever girl has overreached herself: so long as she fobs us off with 'one day soon,' we shall continue to enjoy the hospitality promised by her father when he kissed Eurymachus and me good-bye; which will mean great and needless expense."
Clytoneus beckoned for the rod and, having by now regained full control of his feelings, spoke slowly and quietly: "It is not my sister alone who refuses a forced marriage; it is also my mother, the Queen, whom I am bound to obey in such matters as this, and who can claim to be better informed of the King's intentions than anyone else in Drepanum; and my uncle Mentor, the Regent, whose attitude Antinous has misrepresented; lastly myself. We all find the conspiracy outrageous and will not be imposed upon. I beg you, my lords, to register our view in your memories, so that my father can be acquainted with it on his return: namely, that the action of my sister's pretended suitors—some of them wicked, some greedy, some foolish, some merely thoughtless like my lord Aegyptius's grandson—is robbery in the first degree, for which Elyman law demands a fourfold restitution. Antinous and his fellow criminal Eurymachus—who broached the plot three days ago under a yew tree, where one of Athene's owls perched listening—are in their own estimation cleverer even than my sister Nausicaa. But they, not she, have overreached themselves! Their antics (laughable though they may seem today) will eventually cost them more than anyone in this Council suspects.
"My lord Antinous, my lord Eurymachus, and you, my lord Ctesippus, if you have the least shame in your hearts, or reverence for the Blessed Gods, avoid the Palace and feast elsewhere, play cottabus with your own sweet dark wine, and vomit the surfeit of your crammed stomachs on some other floor! But if you have neither shame, nor reverence for the Gods, then eat and drink your fill, as you propose; and I will entreat Zeus, whom I honour, to bring closer the day of reckoning: the day when all enemies of our ancient house shall be utterly destroyed. My lords, how do you read this augury? Yesterday, while the Princess Nausicaa supervised the laundry women beside the Springs of Periboea, an eagle swooped down and made havoc among a covey of impudent sparrows which were feasting on the palace bread. All present saw the sight and wondered."
Old Halitherses rose and accepted the rod. "Men of Drepanum, if this augury was indeed seen (and it will be simple to check the report), it can admit of only one reading. The sparrows are suitors who make merry at the King's expense. They should be restrained—for these signs are warnings rather than prophecies, and doom can be averted in good time by men of experience—before the eagle swoops and makes havoc among them. Signs must always be respected. One evening last year, I saw a strange sight: a young he-goat had slipped into the sea from a cliff and was struggling desperately to scramble ashore in a heavy swell. It is a common opinion that goats are too sure-footed ever to fall, but perhaps part of the cliff had become loosened by continuous rain and given way—and it grieved my heart that I could not save this poor creature because of my great age and the surliness of the sea. So I pondered and asked myself: 'What young man goes in peril of his life?' By dawn Prince Laodamas had disappeared!"
Eurymachus replied: "My lord Halitherses, like all augurs you observe half a hundred sights daily, and those which can be twisted into a prophecy, months or years later, you advance as proof of your prescience; the rest are conveniently forgotten. Birds can always be seen idly fooling about in the sky, or in trees, and a great many of them are birds of prey. If every time a lark flaps her wings or an eagle breakfasts on a sparrow I must spend the next month wondering what trouble it portends, life would become impossible. And then the behaviour of weasels or hares or foxes or goats—there is no end to the divinatory study of animals. Why, look yonder at those two dogs misbehaving behind that pillar! Run home, old man, the sign is meant for you! make sure that your grandchildren are not getting into serious mischief! But first let me warn you against provoking this headstrong young buck, Prince Clytoneus, to violence, in the hope of a handsome present from the royal family. If he attempts to use his budding horns on us, the King's guests, force will be used, and you will find yourself ordered to pay a heartbreaking fine for incitement to murder… Meanwhile, the more you preach at us the less we shall respect you; it is like shouting into the north-east wind. Antinous and I propose to enjoy the royal hospitality, and nothing can stop us: neither this Prince's boyish threats nor your tedious auguries."
Clytoneus took the white rod for the last time. "My lords," he said. "Having recorded my suppliant protest before the Gods, and before the people of Drepanum, I await your considered verdict, for which, since I am not yet one of your number, you will not need my vote. If you decline to act in the matter, I shall appeal to the Elyman Assembly. But first let me restate the case point by point…"
He had only just embarked on his exposition when he became aware of a stir and a murmur from the benches. My uncle Mentor entered, bowed to the Council, and took his accustomed seat. His presence strengthened and encouraged Clytoneus, who held forth with increased eloquence. When he had done, Mentor beckoned for the white rod and spoke as follows: "My lords, some of you are perhaps surprised to see me here. Yesterday I was driving in the royal chariot to Aegesta when a messenger detained me, saying that I was urgently wanted in my own island of Hiera, where a convulsive disease had attacked our red cattle—and that a six-oared boat was waiting on the shore not far off to take me there at once. Suspecting no fraud, I interrupted my journey and clambered aboard. But when, set ashore on Hiera, I ran to my brother-in-law's house and asked him anxiously how many cows had died, he replied smiling that all the beasts were in good health. He had, however, been sent a message—I could not discover by whom—to expect my arrival: I was supposedly in flight from Drepanum, having been warned that it would be death for me to remain in the town! Retracing my steps to the beach, between relief and annoyance, I found that the six-oarer, the crew of which wore my lord Eurymachus's house badge, had disappeared. Nor would any of the local fishermen ferry me back to Drepanum, even for a high price, because of certain threats made against my life if I left Hiera. I spent the night with my brother-in-law, but when dawn came, decided to return here, where my business lies. I keep a skiff of my own on Hiera, which I launched on rollers, then stepped the mast, hoisted sail, and ran across in less than two hours.
"My lords, I beg your close attention. Though no longer the Regent in your eyes, I am still the Regent in the eyes of all honest Elymans who respect and obey the King; and if I choose to visit Aegesta, it will go hard with the man who tries to stop me by force, since trickery has failed. I shall ask the Aegestans to find out on my behalf why you did not challenge the King's choice of Regent, publicly announced on the morning of his departure; and why you have since approved of a plot to maroon me on Hiera. As for the matter of the suitors, raised by my nephew Clytoneus, I support him wholeheartedly. Not that I wish to do battle with these so-called suitors of my niece. I shall do no more than ask them once again to begone and warn them that to slight me may mean death when the King returns; for the joke has gone too far. They are gay young bachelors and few of them realize the seriousness of their deeds. But the same is not true of you elder men, fathers of families, who connive at the brutal invasion of your King's Palace, the stealing of his goods, and the insults offered to his family. During Clytoneus's speech, has a single expression of sympathy escaped your lips? Has any one of you dared condemn the suitors' action for what it is—daylight robbery, treason and rebellion?"
"Come, come, my lord Mentor," said Aegyptius. "These are strong words. Doubtless you feel aggrieved because the honour which you enjoyed for a few days proved to be illegally bestowed; but do not confuse the issue. This Council can hardly take cognizance of a practical joke played on you by some person unknown: the underlying suggestion being, I suppose that, since you are a Hierian, Hiera is the best field at the moment for your activities. Moreover, the suitors, among them—I admit—one of my grandsons (and I hope that he may prove the successful candidate) appear to be well within their rights. It has been established by two of the councillors, for whom you evince a sudden implacable hatred, that on the morning of his departure the King invited…"
Because the suitors were many and drawn from almost every family in Drepanum, the meeting took its expected course. The elder councillors did not care to antagonize their kinsfolk, and decided that if as many as one hundred and twelve young men had joined in the banquet, they must have had good grounds for doing so.
Leiocritus, another of my suitors, made the closing speech. "Have done with this nonsense! What a tempest has been raised on account of one supper! The King could offer a similar banquet every day for a year and notice very little depletion of his immense flocks and herds; though, being the meanest man alive, he asks his daughter to offer them bread, cheese, and spruce beer; and demands an immense dowry from the fortunate suitor as well. Break up this meeting, my lord Aegyptius, and let us all go about our business! If Clytoneus insists that his father's presence is necessary for the marriage agreement, he has only to take ship and fetch him back from Sandy Pylus. My lords Mentor and Halitherses can arrange the matter between them, though I very much doubt whether Clytoneus, despite his bragging, will have the spirit to leave Drepanum. Come, Antinous, come Eurymachus and Ctesippus, it is time we were off for the day's banquet at the Palace. The royal herdsmen have been warned to send more beasts."
Clytoneus stalked glumly down to the seashore, where he washed his hands in the surf and prayed to Athene for guidance. Athene, as before, was quick to help. She sent Mentor in search of him, and when Clytoneus turned around, there he came.
"My dear nephew," cried Mentor, "I am here to tell you how proud I am to find that, as I always hoped, you are neither a coward nor a fool, and that you inherit both your father's strong-mindedness and your mother's passionate love of justice and decency. So forget the suitors, their greed and dishonesty; they are fools, led by knaves, and the Gods will destroy them. Your course is to pretend acceptance of Leiocritus's advice: go to the Palace, collect provisions as if for a voyage to Greece—wine, barley, cheese, and so forth—and I will do what I can to raise a crew among the common people who remain loyal to your father and myself. Any longer stay in Drepanum, even at the Palace, would be dangerous, after your insults to the enemy."
Clytoneus asked: "Why 'as if for a voyage to Greece?' You mean that I should not, in fact, sail to Sandy Pylus?"
"I mean exactly that."
"Where then? You are not suggesting that I should desert my family?"
"No: I want you to seek immediate armed assistance. And only one quarter remains where you can hope to find it, because the suitors have now, I hear, sent representatives to Aegesta and Eryx and poisoned the citizens' minds against us; Eryx has already ruled that my regency is unconstitutional. You must approach your brother Halius, who has been elected war leader of the Sicels in Minoa, and appeal to him. Even resentment of your father's stern action long ago will surely not prevent Halius from running to the defence of his beloved mother and your sister Nausicaa. He used to carry Nausicaa on his back when she was a little girl, and wept bitter tears when he had to leave her."
"And you, Uncle? You disregard their threats and have not insulted them less openly than I did."
Mentor shrugged his shoulders. "I think that I know what duty I owe my King," he said in firm tones.
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