第 15 节
作者:恐龙王      更新:2022-07-12 16:21      字数:9322
  kneeling at her feet; and bade him follow her to her own house; within the
  palace garden of King Priam。
  Helen   walked   forward;   with   a   bower   maiden   at   either   side;   and   the
  beggar   crawling   after   her。    When   she had   entered her   house;  Paris   was
  not there; so she ordered the bath to be filled with warm water; and new
  clothes to be brought; and she herself washed the old beggar and anointed
  him with oil。      This appears very strange to us; for though Saint Elizabeth
  of Hungary used to wash and clothe beggars; we are surprised that Helen
  should do so; who was not a saint。             But long afterwards she herself told
  the son of Ulysses; Telemachus; that she had washed his father when he
  came into Troy disguised as a beggar who had been sorely beaten。
  You must have guessed that the beggar was Ulysses; who had not gone
  to   Delos   in   his   ship;   but   stolen   back   in   a   boat;   and   appeared   disguised
  among      the  Greeks。     He    did   all  this  to  make   sure   that  nobody     could
  recognise him; and he behaved so as to deserve a whipping that he might
  not   be   suspected   as   a   Greek   spy  by   the Trojans;   but   rather   be   pitied   by
  them。     Certainly he deserved his name of 〃the much…enduring Ulysses。〃
  Meanwhile he sat in his bath and Helen washed his feet。                    But when
  she had done; and had anointed his wounds with olive oil; and when she
  had clothed him in a white tunic and a purple mantle; then she opened her
  lips   to   cry   out   with   amazement;   for   she   knew   Ulysses;   but   he   laid   his
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  finger    on   her   lips;  saying    〃Hush!〃      Then      she  remembered        how    great
  danger   he   was   in;   for   the   Trojans;   if   they   found   him;   would   put   him   to
  some   cruel   death;   and   she   sat   down;   trembling   and   weeping;   while   he
  watched her。
  〃Oh thou strange one;〃 she said; 〃how enduring is thy heart and how
  cunning   beyond   measure!           How   hast   thou   borne   to   be   thus   beaten   and
  disgraced; and to come within the walls of Troy?                    Well it is for thee that
  Paris;   my   lord;   is   far   from   home;   having   gone   to   guide   Penthesilea;   the
  Queen of the warrior maids whom men call Amazons; who is on her way
  to help the Trojans。〃
  Then Ulysses smiled; and Helen saw that she had said a word which
  she   ought   not   to   have   spoken;   and   had   revealed   the   secret   hope   of   the
  Trojans。      Then   she   wept;   and   said;   〃Oh   cruel   and   cunning!       You   have
  made me betray the people with whom I live; though woe is me that ever I
  left my own people; and my husband dear; and my child! And now if you
  escape   alive   out   of   Troy;   you   will   tell   the   Greeks;   and   they   will   lie   in
  ambush by night for the Amazons on the way to Troy and will slay them
  all。   If you and I were not friends long ago; I would tell the Trojans that
  you are here; and they would give your body to the dogs to eat; and fix
  your   head   on   the   palisade   above   the   wall。      Woe   is   me   that   ever   I   was
  born。〃
  Ulysses answered; 〃Lady; as you have said; we two are friends from of
  old; and your friend I will be till the last; when the Greeks break into Troy;
  and slay the men; and carry the women captives。 If I live till that hour no
  man   shall   harm   you;   but   safely   and   in   honour   you   shall   come   to   your
  palace   in   Lacedaemon   of   the   rifted   hills。      Moreover;   I   swear   to   you   a
  great oath; by Zeus above; and by Them that under earth punish the souls
  of   men   who   swear   falsely;   that   I   shall   tell   no   man   the   thing   which   you
  have spoken。〃
  So when he had sworn and done that oath; Helen was comforted and
  dried her tears。       Then she told him how unhappy she was; and how she
  had   lost   her   last   comfort   when   Hector   died。      〃Always   am   I   wretched;〃
  she   said;   〃save   when   sweet   sleep   falls   on   me。     Now   the   wife   of   Thon;
  King of Egypt; gave me this gift when we were in Egypt; on our way to
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  Troy; namely; a drug that brings sleep even to the most unhappy; and it is
  pressed from the poppy heads of the garland of the God of Sleep。〃                      Then
  she showed him strange phials of gold; full of this drug:                  phials wrought
  by the Egyptians; and covered with magic spells and shapes of beasts and
  flowers。     〃One of these I will give you;〃 she said; 〃that even from Troy
  town you may  not go without   a gift in   memory of the hands of   Helen。〃
  So Ulysses took the phial of gold; and was glad in his heart; and Helen set
  before     him   meat    and   wine。    When      he   had   eaten   and   drunk;    and   his
  strength had come back to him; he said:
  〃Now I must dress me again in my old rags; and take my wallet; and
  my staff; and go forth; and beg through Troy town。                 For here I must abide
  for some days as a beggar man; lest if I now escape from your house in the
  night   the   Trojans   may   think   that   you   have   told   me   the   secrets   of   their
  counsel; which I am carrying to the Greeks; and may be angry with you。〃
  So   he clothed   himself   again   as   a beggar;  and took   his   staff;  and hid   the
  phial of gold with the Egyptian drug in his rags; and in his wallet also he
  put the new clothes that Helen had given him; and a sword; and he took
  farewell; saying; 〃Be of good heart; for the end of your sorrows is at hand。
  But if you see me among the beggars in the street; or by the well; take no
  heed of me; only I will salute you as a beggar who has been kindly treated
  by a Queen。〃
  So   they   parted;   and   Ulysses   went   out;   and   when   it   was   day   he   was
  with the beggars in the streets; but by night he commonly slept near the
  fire   of   a   smithy   forge;   as   is   the   way   of   beggars。 So   for   some   days   he
  begged; saying that he was gathering food to eat while he walked to some
  town far   away  that was   at peace; where he   might find   work to   do。               He
  was   not   impudent   now;   and   did   not   go   to   rich   men's   houses   or   tell   evil
  tales; or laugh; but he was much in the temples; praying to the Gods; and
  above   all   in   the   temple   of   Pallas Athene。    The   Trojans   thought   that   he
  was a pious man for a beggar。
  Now there was a custom in these times that men and women who were
  sick   or   in   distress;   should   sleep   at   night   on   the   floors   of   the   temples。
  They did this hoping that the God would send them a dream to show them
  how their diseases might be cured; or how they might find what they had
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  lost; or might escape from their distresses。
  Ulysses   slept   in   more   than   one   temple;   and   once   in   that   of   Pallas
  Athene;   and   the   priests   and   priestesses   were   kind   to   him;   and   gave   him
  food in the morning when the gates of the temple were opened。
  In the temple of Pallas Athene; where the Luck of Troy lay always on
  her altar; the custom was that priestesses kept watch; each for two hours;
  all through the night; and soldiers kept guard within call。                  So one night
  Ulysses slept there; on the floor; with other distressed people; seeking for
  dreams from the Gods。            He lay still all through the night till the turn of
  the last priestess came to watch。          The priestess used to walk up and down
  with bare feet among the dreaming people; having a torch in her hand; and
  muttering   hymns   to   the   Goddess。         Then   Ulysses;   when   her   back   was
  turned; slipped the gold phial out of his rags; and let it lie on the polished
  floor beside him。        When the priestess came back again; the light from her
  torch   fell   on   the   glittering   phial;   and   she   stooped   and   picked   it   up;   and
  looked   at   it   curiously。   There   came   from   it   a   sweet   fragrance;   and   she
  opened it; and tasted the drug。            It seemed to her the sweetest thing that
  ever she had tasted; and she took more and more; and then closed the phial
  and laid it down; and went along murmuring her hymn。
  But soon a great drowsiness came over her; and she sat down on the
  step of the altar; and fell sound asleep