confined together, and opening the gate drove them all forth, a herd
of bristly swine. Then she anointed them one by one with another drug;
and instantly the bristles fell away from them, and they became men
again, only younger and fairer to behold than they were before. With
tears of joy they embraced Odysseus, and the whole place rang with
their happy greetings, so that even Circe was moved by the tender
scene.

When they had grown calmer she bade Odysseus go down to the sea, and
bring back all the rest of his company to take up their abode in her
house. Being now quite reassured as to her purpose, he hesitated not
to obey, and went down alone to carry the message from Circe. Arrived
at the ship he was hailed by his comrades as one returned from the
dead; but putting aside their eager questions he told them to beach
the vessel, stow away all her tackle, and follow him to the house of
Circe, where they would find all their fellows feasting and making
merry.

Much cheered by his words the men set to work with willing hands, and
before an hour had passed the whole company was reunited under Circe's
hospitable roof. The dreaded witch had laid aside all her terrors, and
now appeared only in the character of a kind and generous hostess,
whose sole care was for the comfort and welfare of her guests. Days
lengthened into weeks, and weeks into months, and still they lingered
on in that luxurious clime, as if there were no such place as Ithaca,
and no wide waste of sea to be crossed.

At last, when they had lived a whole year on the island, Odysseus' men
began to grow weary of their long inaction, and begged their leader to
obtain Circe's permission to depart. Not without some misgivings,