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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 01:28:30 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 01:28:30 -0700 |
| commit | 607fc72c9e10498262326f8b2a5eca3b81847478 (patch) | |
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diff --git a/20740-h/20740-h.htm b/20740-h/20740-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7e47bf5 --- /dev/null +++ b/20740-h/20740-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,11536 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Myths and Legends of All Nations, by Logan Marshall</title> +<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> +<style type="text/css"> + + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + img {border: none;} + + a {text-decoration: none;} + + ins.correction {text-decoration:none; border-bottom: thin dotted gray;} + /* replace default underline with delicate gray line */ + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + + .bbox {border: solid 2px; padding: 1em;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .lowercase {text-transform: lowercase;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i1 {display: block; margin-left: 1em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i6 {display: block; margin-left: 6em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + + .tdl {text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;} /* left align cell */ + .tdli {text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom; text-indent: 2em;} /* left align cell, hanging indent */ + .tdc {text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom} /* centre align cell */ + .tdr {text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;} /* right align cell */ + .tdlsc {text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom; font-variant: small-caps;} /* left align cell small caps font */ + + </style> + </head> +<body> + +<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Myths and Legends of All Nations</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Myths and Legends of All Nations<br /> + Famous Stories from the Greek, German, English, Spanish, Scandinavian, Danish, French, Russian, Bohemian, Italian and other sources</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Various</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Editor: Logan Marshall</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Translator: Logan Marshall</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 4, 2007 [eBook #20740]<br /> +[Most recently updated: May 6, 2023]</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Juliet Sutherland, Sam W. and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF ALL NATIONS ***</div> + +<p><a name="Illus01" id="Illus01"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 259px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_01.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_01th.jpg" width="259" height="400" +alt="Cover of Myths & Legends of All Nations, showing Elsa kneeling before +Lohengrin." +title="ELSA ON HER KNEES BEFORE LOHENGRIN" /></a> +<span class="caption">ELSA ON HER KNEES BEFORE LOHENGRIN</span> +</div> + +<p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +</p> + + +<h1>MYTHS AND LEGENDS<br /> +OF ALL NATIONS</h1> + +<p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +</p> + +<h2>FAMOUS STORIES</h2> + +<h3>FROM THE GREEK, GERMAN, ENGLISH, SPANISH<br /> +SCANDINAVIAN, DANISH, FRENCH<br /> +RUSSIAN, BOHEMIAN, ITALIAN<br /> +AND OTHER SOURCES</h3> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> + +<h2><span class="smcap lowercase">TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY</span><br /> +LOGAN MARSHALL</h2> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> + +<h3>ILLUSTRATED<br /> +<span class="smcap lowercase">WITH ORIGINAL COLORED PLATES</span></h3> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> + +<h4>THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA</h4> + +<p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +</p> + + +<p class="center">Copyright, 1914, by<br /> +<span class="smcap">L. T. Myers</span></p> + +<p class="center smcap lowercase">PRINTED IN U. S. A.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus02" id="Illus02"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_02.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_02th.jpg" width="275" height="400" +alt="Arthur pulls the sword Excalibur from the stone as a group of knights +look on." +title="THEN ARTHUR DREW OUT THE SWORD AND WAS PROCLAIMED KING" /></a> +<span class="caption">THEN ARTHUR DREW OUT THE SWORD AND WAS PROCLAIMED KING</span> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> + +<h2>PREFACE</h2> + + +<p>The myths and legends here gathered together have appealed +and will continue to appeal to every age. Nowhere in the +realm of fiction are there stories to compare with those which +took form centuries ago when the race was in its childhood—stories +so intimately connected with the life and history and +religion of the great peoples of antiquity that they have become +an integral part of our own civilization, a heritage of +wealth to every child that is born into the world.</p> + +<p>The historic basis of the tales is slight; yet who can think of +the Greeks without remembering the story of Troy, or of +Rome without a backward glance at Æneas, fabled founder +of the race and hero of Virgil's world-famous Latin epic? +Any understanding of German civilization would be incomplete +without knowledge of the mythical prince Siegfried, hero of +the earliest literature of the Teutonic people, finally immortalized +in the nineteenth century through the musical dramas +of Wagner. Any understanding of English civilization would +be similarly incomplete without the semi-historic figure of +King Arthur, glorified through the accumulated legends of +the Middle Ages and made to live again in the melodic idylls +of the great Victorian laureate. And so one might go on. +In many ways the mythology and folklore of a country are a +truer index to the life of its people than any of the pages of +actual history; for through these channels the imagination +and the heart speak. All the chronicles of rulers and governing +bodies are as dust in comparison.</p> + +<p>The imagination of the ancients had few if any bounds, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span> +even Athens in the height of her intellectual glory accepted +the fabulous tales of gods and half-gods. Today we read and +wonder. But the child, who in his brief lifetime must live +over in part at least the history of the whole race, delights +in the myths and legends which made his ancestors admire +or tremble. They are naturally not so real to him as they +were to his forefathers; yet they open up a rich and gorgeous +wonderland, without excursions into which every child must +grow up the poorer in mind and spirit.</p> + +<p>To the children of America, wherever they may be, this +book is dedicated. It is sure to bring enjoyment, because +its stories have stood the test of time.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + + +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="60%" summary="Table of Contents"> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> </td> + <td class="tdr"><span class="smcap lowercase">PAGE</span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Prometheus the Friend of Man</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">The Labors of Hercules</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From the German of Gustav Schwab.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Deucalion and Pyrrha</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From the German of Gustav Schwab.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Theseus and the Centaur</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From the German of Gustav Schwab.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Niobe</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From the German of Gustav Schwab.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">The Gorgon's Head</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From Hawthorne's "Wonder Book."</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">The Golden Fleece</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From Hawthorne's "Tanglewood Tales."</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">The Cyclops</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From Church's "Stories from Homer."</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Œdipus and the Sphinx</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_116">116</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>Adapted from Church's "Stories from Greek Tragedians."</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Antigone, a Faithful Daughter and Sister</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>Adapted from Church's "Stories from Greek Tragedians."</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">The Story of Iphigenia</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From Church's "Stories from Greek Tragedians."</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">The Sack of Troy</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From Church's "Stories from Virgil."</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Beowulf and Grendel</td> + <td class="tdr"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From Joyce Pollard's "Stories from Old English Romance."</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">The Good King Arthur</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">The Great Knight Siegfried</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_214">214</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Lohengrin and Elsa the Beautiful</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_221">221</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From the German of Robert Hertwig.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Frithiof the Bold</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_226">226</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From the German of Robert Hertwig.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Wayland the Smith</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From the German of Robert Hertwig.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Twardowski, the Polish Faust</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Ilia Muromec of Russia</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_243">243</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Kralewitz Marko of Servia</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">The Decision of Libuscha</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_248">248</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">Count Roland of France</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"><i>From Church's "Stories of Charlemagne and the Peers of France."</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlsc">The Cid</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_267">267</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> + +<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR</h2> + + +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="60%" summary="List of Illustrations"> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Lohengrin and Elsa the Beautiful.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Elsa on Her Knees Before Lohengrin</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus01"><i>Cover</i></a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>The Good King Arthur.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Then Arthur Drew Out the Sword and was Proclaimed King</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus02"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Prometheus, the Friend of Man.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"><span class="smcap lowercase">PAGE</span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Prometheus Punished for His Gift to Man</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus03">9</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>The Labors of Hercules.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">The Hero Approached the Dreadful Monster</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus04">19</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Deucalion and Pyrrha.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Deucalion and Pyrrha Casting the Bones of Their Mother Behind Them</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus05">31</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Theseus and the Centaur.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">The Centaur Fell Backward</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus06">35</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Niobe.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Niobe Weeping for Her Children</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus07">40</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>The Gorgon's Head.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Perseus Slaying the Medusa</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus08">60</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>The Golden Fleece.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">The Dragon Fell at Full Length Upon the Ground</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus09">104</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>The Cyclops.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">The One-eyed Polyphemus</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus10">108</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Œdipus and the Sphinx.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Œdipus Stood Before the Sphinx</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus11">116</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Antigone, the Faithful Daughter and Sister.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">The Blind Œdipus, Led by His Daughter Antigone</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus12">118</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>The Story of Iphigenia.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Iphigenia About to be Sacrificed</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus13">140</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>The Sack of Troy.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">The Trojan Horse</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus14">153</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Beowulf and Grendel.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Beowulf Face to Face With the Fire-breathing Dragon</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus15">170</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>The Great Knight Siegfried.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Siegfried Came Off Victor in Every Encounter</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus16">214</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Frithiof the Bold.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Frithiof and Ingeborg in the Temple of Balder</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus17">230</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Wayland the Smith.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Wayland the Smith, Wearing the Wings He had Fashioned</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus18">234</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Twardowski, the Polish Faust.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Twardowski in the Arms of the Evil One</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus19">242</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Ilia Muromec of Russia.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Zidovin Threw the Iron Club High Into the Air and Caught It with One Hand</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus20">244</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Kralewitz Marko of Servia.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">They Gagged Marko and Bound Him to His Horse</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus21">246</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>The Decision of Libuscha.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Libuscha Insulted by Chrudis</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus22">248</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Count Roland of France.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">Roland's Own Death Was Very Near</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus23">265</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>The Cid.</i></td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdli">The Youthful Cid Avenging the Death of His Father</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Illus24">267</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> + +<h2>PROMETHEUS, THE FRIEND OF MAN</h2> + + +<p>Many, many centuries ago there lived two brothers, +Prometheus or Forethought, and Epimetheus or Afterthought. +They were the sons of those Titans who had fought against +Jupiter and been sent in chains to the great prison-house of +the lower world, but for some reason had escaped punishment.</p> + +<p>Prometheus, however, did not care for idle life among the +gods on Mount Olympus. Instead he preferred to spend his +time on the earth, helping men to find easier and better ways +of living. For the children of earth were not happy as they +had been in the golden days when Saturn ruled. Indeed, +they were very poor and wretched and cold, without fire, +without food, and with no shelter but miserable caves.</p> + +<p>"With fire they could at least warm their bodies and cook +their food," Prometheus thought, "and later they could make +tools and build houses for themselves and enjoy some of the +comforts of the gods."</p> + +<p>So Prometheus went to Jupiter and asked that he might +be permitted to carry fire to the earth. But Jupiter shook +his head in wrath.</p> + +<p>"Fire, indeed!" he exclaimed. "If men had fire they would +soon be as strong and wise as we who dwell on Olympus. +Never will I give my consent."</p> + +<p>Prometheus made no reply, but he didn't give up his idea +of helping men. "Some other way must be found," he +thought.</p> + +<p>Then, one day, as he was walking among some reeds he +broke off one, and seeing that its hollow stalk was filled with +a dry, soft pith, exclaimed:</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> +"At last! In this I can carry fire, and the children of men +shall have the great gift in spite of Jupiter."</p> + +<p>Immediately, taking a long stalk in his hands, he set out for +the dwelling of the sun in the far east. He reached there in +the early morning, just as Apollo's chariot was about to begin +its journey across the sky. Lighting his reed, he hurried +back, carefully guarding the precious spark that was hidden +in the hollow stalk.</p> + +<p>Then he showed men how to build fires for themselves, +and it was not long before they began to do all the wonderful +things of which Prometheus had dreamed. They learned to +cook and to domesticate animals and to till the fields and to +mine precious metals and melt them into tools and weapons. +And they came out of their dark and gloomy caves and built +for themselves beautiful houses of wood and stone. And +instead of being sad and unhappy they began to laugh and +sing. "Behold, the Age of Gold has come again," they said.</p> + +<p>But Jupiter was not so happy. He saw that men were +gaining daily greater power, and their very prosperity made +him angry.</p> + +<p>"That young Titan!" he cried out, when he heard what +Prometheus had done. "I will punish him."</p> + +<p>But before punishing Prometheus he decided to vex the +children of men. So he gave a lump of clay to his blacksmith, +Vulcan, and told him to mold it in the form of a woman. +When the work was done he carried it to Olympus.</p> + +<p>Jupiter called the other gods together, bidding them give +her each a gift. One bestowed upon her beauty, another, +kindness, another, skill, another, curiosity, and so on. Jupiter +himself gave her the gift of life, and they named her Pandora, +which means "all-gifted."</p> + +<p>Then Mercury, the messenger of the gods, took Pandora +and led her down the mountain side to the place where Prometheus +and his brother were living.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus03" id="Illus03"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_03.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_03th.jpg" width="274" height="400" +alt="Prometheus is shackled to an outcrop of rock. An eagle is perched on him, +pecking at his flesh." +title="PROMETHEUS PUNISHED FOR HIS GIFT TO MAN" /></a> +<span class="caption">PROMETHEUS PUNISHED FOR HIS GIFT TO MAN</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> +"Epimetheus, here is a beautiful woman that Jupiter has +sent to be your wife," he said.</p> + +<p>Epimetheus was delighted and soon loved Pandora very +deeply, because of her beauty and her goodness.</p> + +<p>Now Pandora had brought with her as a gift from Jupiter +a golden casket. Athena had warned her never to open the +box, but she could not help wondering and wondering what it +contained. Perhaps it held beautiful jewels. Why should +they go to waste?</p> + +<p>At last she could not contain her curiosity any longer. +She opened the box just a little to take a peep inside. Immediately +there was a buzzing, whirring sound, and before she +could snap down the lid ten thousand ugly little creatures +had jumped out. They were diseases and troubles, and very +glad they were to be free.</p> + +<p>All over the earth they flew, entering into every household, +and carrying sorrow and distress wherever they went.</p> + +<p>How Jupiter must have laughed when he saw the result of +Pandora's curiosity!</p> + +<p>Soon after this the god decided that it was time to punish +Prometheus. He called Strength and Force and bade them +seize the Titan and carry him to the highest peak of the +Caucasus Mountains. Then he sent Vulcan to bind him with +iron chains, making arms and feet fast to the rocks. Vulcan +was sorry for Prometheus, but dared not disobey.</p> + +<p>So the friend of man lay, miserably bound, naked to the +winds, while the storms beat about him and an eagle tore at +his liver with its cruel talons. But Prometheus did not utter +a groan in spite of all his sufferings. Year after year he lay +in agony, and yet he would not complain, beg for mercy or +repent of what he had done. Men were sorry for him, but +could do nothing.</p> + +<p>Then one day a beautiful white cow passed over the +mountain, and stopped to look at Prometheus with sad eyes.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> +"I know you," Prometheus said. "You are Io, once a +fair and happy maiden dwelling in Argos, doomed by Jupiter +and his jealous queen to wander over the earth in this guise. +Go southward and then west until you come to the great +river Nile. There you shall again become a maiden, fairer +than ever before, and shall marry the king of that country. +And from your race shall spring the hero who will break my +chains and set me free."</p> + +<p>Centuries passed and then a great hero, Hercules, came to +the Caucasus Mountains. He climbed the rugged peak, +slew the fierce eagle, and with mighty blows broke the chains +that bound the friend of man.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE LABORS OF HERCULES</h2> + + +<p>Before the birth of Hercules Jupiter had explained in the +council of the gods that the first descendant of Perseus should +be the ruler of all the others of his race. This honor was +intended for the son of Perseus and Alcmene; but Juno was +jealous and brought it about that Eurystheus, who was also +a descendant of Perseus, should be born before Theseus. +So Eurystheus became king in Mycene, and the later-born +Hercules remained inferior to him.</p> + +<p>Now Eurystheus watched with anxiety the rising fame of +his young relative, and called his subject to him, demanding +that he carry through certain great tasks or labors. When +Hercules did not immediately obey, Jupiter himself sent +word to him that he should fulfill his service to the King of +Greece.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless the hero son of a god could not make up his +mind easily to render service to a mere mortal. So he traveled +to <ins class="correction" title="'Delhi' in original">Delphi</ins> +and questioned the oracle as to what he should do. +This was the answer:</p> + +<p><i>The overlordship of Eurystheus will be qualified on condition +that Hercules perform ten labors that Eurystheus shall assign +him. When this is done, Hercules shall be numbered among +the immortal gods.</i></p> + +<p>Hereupon Hercules fell into deep trouble. To serve a man +of less importance than himself hurt his dignity and self-esteem; +but Jupiter would not listen to his complaints.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">The First Labor</span></h3> + +<p>The first labor that Eurystheus assigned to Hercules was +to bring him the skin of the Nemean lion. This monster<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> +dwelt on the mountain of Peloponnesus, in the forest between +Kleona and Nemea, and could be wounded by no weapons +made of man. Some said he was the son of the giant Typhon +and the snake Echidna; others that he had dropped down from +the moon to the earth.</p> + +<p>Hercules set out on his journey and came to Kleona, where +a poor laborer, Molorchus, received him hospitably. He met +the latter just as he was about to offer a sacrifice to Jupiter.</p> + +<p>"Good man," said Hercules, "let the animal live thirty +days longer; then, if I return, offer it to Jupiter, my deliverer, +and if I do not return, offer it as a funeral sacrifice to me, the +hero who has attained immortality."</p> + +<p>So Hercules continued on his way, his quiver of arrows over +his shoulder, his bow in one hand, and in the other a club made +from the trunk of a wild olive tree which he had passed on +Mount Helicon and pulled up by the roots. When he at +last entered the Nemean wood, he looked carefully in every +direction in order that he might catch sight of the monster +lion before the lion should see him. It was mid-day, and +nowhere could he discover any trace of the lion or any path +that seemed to lead to his lair. He met no man in the field +or in the forest: fear held them all shut up in their distant +dwellings. The whole afternoon he wandered through the +thick undergrowth, determined to test his strength just as +soon as he should encounter the lion.</p> + +<p>At last, toward evening, the monster came through the +forest, returning from his trap in a deep fissure of the earth.</p> + +<p>He was saturated with blood: head, mane and breast were +reeking, and his great tongue was licking his jaws. The hero, +who saw him coming long before he was near, took refuge in +a thicket and waited until the lion approached; then with his +arrow he shot him in the side. But the shot did not pierce +his flesh; instead it flew back as if it had struck stone, and +fell on the mossy earth.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> +Then the animal raised his bloody head; looked around +in every direction, and in fierce anger showed his ugly teeth. +Raising his head, he exposed his heart, and immediately +Hercules let fly another arrow, hoping to pierce him through +the lungs. Again the arrow did not enter the flesh, but fell +at the feet of the monster.</p> + +<p>Hercules took a third arrow, while the lion, casting his eyes +to the side, watched him. His whole neck swelled with +anger; he roared, and his back was bent like a bow. He +sprang toward his enemy; but Hercules threw the arrow and +cast off the lion skin in which he was clothed with the left +hand, while with the right he swung his club over the head +of the beast and gave him such a blow on the neck that, all +ready to spring as the lion was, he fell back, and came to a +stand on trembling legs, with shaking head. Before he could +take another breath, Hercules was upon him.</p> + +<p>Throwing down his bow and quiver, that he might be +entirely unencumbered, he approached the animal from +behind, threw his arm around his neck and strangled him. +Then for a long time he sought in vain to strip the fallen +animal of his hide. It yielded to no weapon or no stone. At +last the idea occurred to him of tearing it with the animal's +own claws, and this method immediately succeeded.</p> + +<p>Later he prepared for himself a coat of mail out of the lion's +skin, and from the neck, a new helmet; but for the present +he was content to don his own costume and weapons, and +with the lion's skin over his arm took his way back to Tirynth.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Second Labor</span></h3> + +<p>The second labor consisted in destroying a hydra. This +monster dwelt in the swamp of Lerna, but came occasionally +over the country, destroying herds and laying waste the fields. +The hydra was an enormous creature—a serpent with nine +heads, of which eight were mortal and one immortal.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +Hercules set out with high courage for this fight. He +mounted his chariot, and his beloved nephew Iolaus, the son +of his stepbrother Iphicles, who for a long time had been his +inseparable companion, sat by his side, guiding the horses; +and so they sped toward Lerna.</p> + +<p>At last the hydra was visible on a hill by the springs of +Amymone, where its lair was found. Here Iolaus left the +horses stand. Hercules leaped from the chariot and sought +with burning arrows to drive the many-headed serpent from +its hiding place. It came forth hissing, its nine heads raised +and swaying like the branches of a tree in a storm.</p> + +<p>Undismayed, Hercules approached it, seized it, and held +it fast. But the snake wrapped itself around one of his feet. +Then he began with his sword to cut off its heads. But this +looked like an endless task, for no sooner had he cut off one +head than two grew in its place. At the same time an enormous +crab came to the help of the hydra and began biting the +hero's foot. Killing this with his club, he called to Iolaus for +help.</p> + +<p>The latter had lighted a torch, set fire to a portion of the +nearby wood, and with brands therefrom touched the serpent's +newly growing heads and prevented them from living. In +this way the hero was at last master of the situation and was +able to cut off even the head of the hydra that could not be +killed. This he buried deep in the ground and rolled a heavy +stone over the place. The body of the hydra he cut into half, +dipping his arrows in the blood, which was poisonous.</p> + +<p>From that time the wounds made by the arrows of Hercules +were fatal.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Third Labor</span></h3> + +<p>The third demand of Eurystheus was that Hercules bring +to him alive the hind Cerynitis. This was a noble animal,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> +with horns of gold and feet of iron. She lived on a hill in +Arcadia, and was one of the five hinds which the goddess +Diana had caught on her first hunt. This one, of all the five, +was permitted to run loose again in the woods, for it was +decreed by fate that Hercules should one day hunt her.</p> + +<p>For a whole year Hercules pursued her; came at last to the +river Ladon; and there captured the hind, not far from the +city Oenon, on the mountains of Diana. But he knew of no +way of becoming master of the animal without wounding her, +so he lamed her with an arrow and then carried her over his +shoulder through Arcadia.</p> + +<p>Here he met Diana herself with Apollo, who scolded him +for wishing to kill the animal that she had held sacred, and +was about to take it from him.</p> + +<p>"Impiety did not move me, great goddess," said Hercules +in his own defense, "but only the direst necessity. How +otherwise could I hold my own against Eurystheus?"</p> + +<p>And thus he softened the anger of the goddess and brought +the animal to Mycene.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Fourth Labor</span></h3> + +<p>Then Hercules set out on his fourth undertaking. It +consisted in bringing alive to Mycene a boar which, likewise +sacred to Diana, was laying waste the country around the +mountain of Erymanthus.</p> + +<p>On his wanderings in search of this adventure he came to +the dwelling of Pholus, the son of Silenus. Like all Centaurs, +Pholus was half man and half horse. He received his guest +with hospitality and set before him broiled meat, while he +himself ate raw. But Hercules, not satisfied with this, wished +also to have something good to drink.</p> + +<p>"Dear guest," said Pholus, "there is a cask in my cellar; +but it belongs to all the Centaurs jointly, and I hesitate to +open it because I know how little they welcome guests."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> +"Open it with good courage," answered Hercules, "I promise +to defend you against all displeasure."</p> + +<p>As it happened, the cask of wine had been given to the +Centaurs by Bacchus, the god of wine, with the command that +they should not open it until, after four centuries, Hercules +should appear in their midst.</p> + +<p>Pholus went to the cellar and opened the wonderful cask. +But scarcely had he done so when the Centaurs caught the +perfume of the rare old wine, and, armed with stones and pine +clubs, surrounded the cave of Pholus. The first who tried +to force their way in Hercules drove back with brands he +seized from the fire. The rest he pursued with bow and arrow, +driving them back to Malea, where lived the good Centaur, +Chiron, Hercules' old friend. To him his brother Centaurs +had fled for protection.</p> + +<p>But Hercules still continued shooting, and sent an arrow +through the arm of an old Centaur, which unhappily went +quite through and fell on Chiron's knee, piercing the flesh. +Then for the first time Hercules recognized his friend of +former days, ran to him in great distress, pulled out the arrow, +and laid healing ointment on the wound, as the wise Chiron +himself had taught him. But the wound, filled with the +poison of the hydra, could not be healed; so the centaur was +carried into his cave. There he wished to die in the arms of +his friend. Vain wish! The poor Centaur had forgotten that +he was immortal, and though wounded would not die.</p> + +<p>Then Hercules with many tears bade farewell to his old +teacher and promised to send to him, no matter at what price, +the great deliverer, Death. And we know that he kept his +word.</p> + +<p>When Hercules from the pursuit of the other Centaurs +returned to the dwelling of Pholus he found him also dead. +He had drawn the deadly arrow from the lifeless body of one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> +Centaur, and while he was wondering how so small a thing +could do such great damage, the poisoned arrow slipped +through his fingers and pierced his foot, killing him instantly. +Hercules was very sad, and buried his body reverently beneath +the mountain, which from that day was called Pholoë.</p> + +<p>Then Hercules continued his hunt for the boar, drove him +with cries out of the thick of the woods, pursued him into a +deep snow field, bound the exhausted animal, and brought +him, as he had been commanded, alive to Mycene.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Fifth Labor</span></h3> + +<p>Thereupon King Eurystheus sent him upon the fifth labor, +which was one little worthy of a hero. It was to clean the +stables of Augeas in a single day.</p> + +<p>Augeas was king in Elis and had great herds of cattle. These +herds were kept, according to the custom, in a great inclosure +before the palace. Three thousand cattle were housed there, +and as the stables had not been cleaned for many years, so +much manure had accumulated that it seemed an insult to +ask Hercules to clean them in one day.</p> + +<p>When the hero stepped before King Augeas and without +telling him anything of the demands of Eurystheus, pledged +himself to the task, the latter measured the noble form in +the lion-skin and could hardly refrain from laughing when +he thought of so worthy a warrior undertaking so menial a +work. But he said to himself: "Necessity has driven +many a brave man; perhaps this one wishes to enrich himself +through me. That will help him little. I can promise him a +large reward if he cleans out the stables, for he can in one day +clear little enough." Then he spoke confidently:</p> + +<p>"Listen, O stranger. If you clean all of my stables in one +day, I will give over to you the tenth part of all my possessions +in cattle."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> +Hercules accepted the offer, and the king expected to see +him begin to shovel. But Hercules, after he had called the +son of Augeas to witness the agreement, tore the foundations +away from one side of the stables; directed to it by means of a +canal the streams of Alpheus and Peneus that flowed near by; +and let the waters carry away the filth through another +opening. So he accomplished the menial work without +stooping to anything unworthy of an immortal.</p> + +<p>When Augeas learned that this work had been done in the +service of Eurystheus, he refused the reward and said that he +had not promised it; but he declared himself ready to have +the question settled in court. When the judges were assembled, +Phyleus, commanded by Hercules to appear, testified against +his father, and explained how he had agreed to offer Hercules +a reward. Augeas did not wait for the decision; he grew +angry and commanded his son as well as the stranger to leave +his kingdom instantly.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Sixth Labor</span></h3> + +<p>Hercules now returned with new adventures to Eurystheus; +but the latter would not give him credit for the task because +Hercules had demanded a reward for his labor. He sent the +hero forth upon a sixth adventure, commanding him to drive +away the Stymphalides. These were monster birds of prey, +as large as cranes, with iron feathers, beaks and claws. They +lived on the banks of Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia, and had +the power of using their feathers as arrows and piercing with +their beaks even bronze coats of mail. Thus they brought +destruction to both animals and men in all the surrounding +country.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus04" id="Illus04"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_04.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_04th.jpg" width="275" height="400" +alt="Hercules, armoured and carrying sword and shield, faces the Minotaur, +a muscled man with the head of a bull." +title="THE HERO APPROACHED THE DREADFUL MONSTER" /></a> +<span class="caption">THE HERO APPROACHED THE DREADFUL MONSTER</span> +</div> + +<p>After a short journey Hercules, accustomed to wandering, +arrived at the lake, which was thickly shaded by a wood. +Into this wood a great flock of the birds had flown for fear of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> +being robbed by wolves. The hero stood undecided when he +saw the frightful crowd, not knowing how he could become +master over so many enemies. Then he felt a light touch on +his shoulder, and glancing behind him saw the tall figure +of the goddess Minerva, who gave into his hands two mighty +brass rattles made by Vulcan. Telling him to use these to +drive away the Stymphalides, she disappeared.</p> + +<p>Hercules mounted a hill near the lake, and began frightening +the birds by the noise of the rattles. The Stymphalides could +not endure the awful noise and flew, terrified, out of the forest. +Then Hercules seized his bow and sent arrow after arrow in +pursuit of them, shooting many as they flew. Those who +were not killed left the lake and never returned.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Seventh Labor</span></h3> + +<p>King Minos of Crete had promised Neptune (Poseidon), +god of the sea, to offer to him whatever animal should first +come up out of the water, for he declared he had no animal +that was worthy for so high a sacrifice. Therefore the god +caused a very beautiful ox to rise out of the sea. But the king +was so taken with the noble appearance of the animal that he +secretly placed it among his own herds and offered another +to Neptune. Angered by this, the god had caused the animal +to become mad, and it was bringing great destruction to the +island of Crete. To capture this animal, master it, and bring +it before Eurystheus, was the seventh labor of Hercules.</p> + +<p>When the hero came to Crete and with this intention stepped +before Minos, the king was not a little pleased over the prospect +of ridding the island of the bull, and he himself helped Hercules +to capture the raging animal. Hercules approached the +dreadful monster without fear, and so thoroughly did he +master him that he rode home on the animal the whole way +to the sea.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> +With this work Eurystheus was pleased, and after he had +regarded the animal for a time with pleasure, set it free. No +longer under Hercules' management, the ox became wild +again, wandered through all Laconia and Arcadia, crossed +over the isthmus to Marathon in Attica and devastated the +country there as formerly on the island of Crete. Later it +was given to the hero Theseus to become master over him.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Eighth Labor</span></h3> + +<p>The eighth labor of Hercules was to bring the mares of the +Thracian Diomede to Mycene. Diomede was a son of Mars +and ruler of the Bistonians, a very warlike people. He had +mares so wild and strong that they had to be fastened with +iron chains. Their fodder was chiefly hay; but strangers +who had the misfortune to come into the city were thrown +before them, their flesh serving the animals as food.</p> + +<p>When Hercules arrived the first thing he did was to seize +the inhuman king himself and after he had overpowered the +keepers, throw him before his own mares. With this food the +animals were satisfied and Hercules was able to drive them to +the sea.</p> + +<p>But the Bistonians followed him with weapons, and Hercules +was forced to turn and fight them. He gave the horses into +the keeping of his beloved companion Abderus, the son of +Mercury, and while Hercules was away the animals grew +hungry again and devoured their keeper.</p> + +<p>Hercules, returning, was greatly grieved over this loss, and +later founded a city in honor of Abderus, naming it after his +lost friend. For the present he was content to master the +mares and drive them without further mishap to Eurystheus.</p> + +<p>The latter consecrated the horses to Juno. Their +descendants were very powerful, and the great king Alexander +of Macedonia rode one of them.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> +<h3><span class="smcap">The Ninth Labor</span></h3> + +<p>Returning from a long journey, the hero undertook an +expedition against the Amazons in order to finish the ninth +adventure and bring to King Eurystheus the sword belt of +the Amazon Hippolyta.</p> + +<p>The Amazons inhabited the region of the river Thermodon +and were a race of strong women who followed the occupations +of men. From their children they selected only such as were +girls. United in an army, they waged great wars. Their +queen, Hippolyta, wore, as a sign of her leadership, a girdle +which the goddess of war had given her as a present.</p> + +<p>Hercules gathered his warrior companions together into a +ship, sailed after many adventures into the Black Sea and at +last into the mouth of the river Thermodon, and the harbor +of the Amazon city Themiscira. Here the queen of the +Amazons met him.</p> + +<p>The lordly appearance of the hero flattered her pride, and +when she heard the object of his visit, she promised him the +belt. But Juno, the relentless enemy of Hercules, assuming +the form of an Amazon, mingled among the others and spread +the news that a stranger was about to lead away their queen. +Then the Amazons fought with the warriors of Hercules, and +the best fighters of them attacked the hero and gave him a +hard battle.</p> + +<p>The first who began fighting with him was called, because +of her swiftness, Aëlla, or Bride of the Wind; but she found in +Hercules a swifter opponent, was forced to yield and was in +her swift flight overtaken by him and vanquished. A second +fell at the first attack; then Prothoë, the third, who had +come off victor in seven duels, also fell. Hercules laid low +eight others, among them three hunter companions of Diana, +who, although formerly always certain with their weapons, +today failed in their aim, and vainly covering themselves with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> +their shields fell before the arrows of the hero. Even Alkippe +fell, who had sworn to live her whole live unmarried: the vow +she kept, but not her life.</p> + +<p>After even Melanippe, the brave leader of the Amazons, +was made captive, all the rest took to wild flight, and Hippolyta +the queen handed over the sword belt which she had promised +even before the fight. Hercules took it as ransom and set +Melanippe free.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Tenth Labor</span></h3> + +<p>When the hero laid the sword belt of Queen Hippolyta at +the feet of Eurystheus, the latter gave him no rest, but sent +him out immediately to procure the cattle of the giant Geryone. +The latter dwelt on an island in the midst of the sea, and +possessed a herd of beautiful red-brown cattle, which were +guarded by another giant and a two-headed dog.</p> + +<p>Geryone himself was enormous, had three bodies, three +heads, six arms and six feet. No son of earth had ever +measured his strength against him, and Hercules realized +exactly how many preparations were necessary for this heavy +undertaking. As everybody knew, Geryone's father, who bore +the name "Gold-Sword" because of his riches, was king of +all Iberia (Spain). Besides Geryone he had three brave giant +sons who fought for him; and each son had a mighty army of +soldiers under his command. For these very reasons had +Eurystheus given the task to Hercules, for he hoped that +his hated existence would at last be ended in a war in such a +country. Yet Hercules set out on this undertaking no more +dismayed than on any previous expedition.</p> + +<p>He gathered together his army on the island of Crete, which +he had freed from wild animals, and landed first in Libya. +Here he met the giant Antaeus, whose strength was renewed +as often as he touched the earth. He also freed Libya of birds<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> +of prey; for he hated wild animals and wicked men because +he saw in all of them the image of the overbearing and unjust +lord whom he so long had served.</p> + +<p>After long wandering through desert country he came at +last to a fruitful land, through which great streams flowed. +Here he founded a city of vast size, which he named Hecatompylos +(City of a Hundred Gates). Then at last he reached +the Atlantic Ocean and planted the two mighty pillars which +bear his name.</p> + +<p>The sun burned so fiercely that Hercules could bear it no +longer; he raised his eyes to heaven and with raised bow +threatened the sun-god. Apollo wondered at his courage and +lent him for his further journeys the bark in which he himself +was accustomed to lie from sunset to sunrise. In this Hercules +sailed to Iberia.</p> + +<p>Here he found the three sons of Gold-Sword with three great +armies camping near each other; but he killed all the leaders +and plundered the land. Then he sailed to the island Erythia, +where Geryone dwelt with his herds.</p> + +<p>As soon as the two-headed dog knew of his approach he +sprang toward him; but Hercules struck him with his club +and killed him. He killed also the giant herdsman who came +to the help of the dog. Then he hurried away with the cattle.</p> + +<p>But Geryone overtook him and there was a fierce struggle. +Juno herself offered to assist the giant; but Hercules shot her +with an arrow deep in the heart, and the goddess, wounded, +fled. Even the threefold body of the giant which ran together +in the region of the stomach, felt the might of the deadly +arrows and was forced to yield.</p> + +<p>With glorious adventures Hercules continued his way home, +driving the cattle across country through Iberia and Italy. +At Rhegium in lower Italy one of his oxen got away and +swam across the strait to Sicily. Immediately Hercules<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> +drove the other cattle into the water and swam, holding one +by the horns, to Sicily. Then the hero pursued his way +without misfortune through Italy, Illyria and Thrace to Greece.</p> + +<p>Hercules had now accomplished ten labors; but Eurystheus +was still unsatisfied and there were two more tasks to be +undertaken.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Eleventh Labor</span></h3> + +<p>At the celebration of the marriage of Jupiter and Juno, +when all the gods were bringing their wedding gifts to the +happy pair, Mother Earth did not wish to be left out. So +she caused to spring forth on the western borders of the great +world-sea a many-branched tree full of golden apples. Four +maidens called the Hesperides, daughters of Night, were the +guardians of this sacred garden, and with them watched the +hundred-headed dragon, Ladon, whose father was Phorkys, +the parent of many monsters. Sleep came never to the eyes +of this dragon and a fearful hissing sound warned one of his +presence, for each of his hundred throats had a different voice. +From this monster, so was the command of Eurystheus, +should Hercules seize the golden apples.</p> + +<p>The hero set out on his long and adventurous journey and +placed himself in the hands of blind chance, for he did not know +where the Hesperides dwelt.</p> + +<p>He went first to Thessaly, where dwelt the giant Termerus, +who with his skull knocked to death every traveler that he +met; but on the mighty cranium of Hercules the head of the +giant himself was split open.</p> + +<p>Farther on the hero came upon another monster in his +way—Cycnus, the son of Mars and Pyrene. He, when asked +concerning the garden of the Hesperides, instead of answering, +challenged the wanderer to a duel, and was beaten by Hercules. +Then appeared Mars, the god of war, himself, to avenge the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> +death of his son; and Hercules was forced to fight with him. +But Jupiter did not wish that his sons should shed blood, +and sent his lightning bolt to separate the two.</p> + +<p>Then Hercules continued his way through Illyria, hastened +over the river Eridanus, and came to the nymphs of Jupiter +and Themis, who dwelt on the banks of the stream. To these +Hercules put his question.</p> + +<p>"Go to the old river god Nereus," was their answer. "He +is a seer and knows all things. Surprise him while he sleeps +and bind him; then he will be forced to tell you the right +way."</p> + +<p>Hercules followed this advice and became master of the +river god, although the latter, according to his custom, assumed +many different forms. Hercules would not let him go until +he had learned in what locality he could find the golden apples +of the Hesperides.</p> + +<p>Informed of this, he went on his way toward Libya and +Egypt. Over the latter land ruled Busiris, the son of Neptune +and Lysianassa. To him during the period of a nine-year +famine a prophet had borne the oracular message that the +land would again bear fruit if a stranger were sacrificed once +a year to Jupiter. In gratitude Busiris made a beginning +with the priest himself. Later he found great pleasure in the +custom and killed all strangers who came to Egypt. So +Hercules was seized and placed on the altar of Jupiter. But +he broke the chains which bound him, and killed Busiris and +his son and the priestly herald.</p> + +<p>With many adventures the hero continued his way, set +free, as has been told elsewhere, Prometheus, the Titan, who +was bound to the Caucasus Mountains, and came at last to +the place where Atlas stood carrying the weight of the heavens +on his shoulders. Near him grew the tree which bore the golden +apples of the Hesperides.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> +Prometheus had advised the hero not to attempt himself +to make the robbery of the golden fruit, but to send Atlas +on the errand. The giant offered to do this if Hercules would +support the heavens while he went. This Hercules consented +to do, and Atlas set out. He put to sleep the dragon who +lived beneath the tree and killed him. Then with a trick he +got the better of the keepers, and returned happily to Hercules +with the three apples which he had plucked.</p> + +<p>"But," he said, "I have now found out how it feels to be +relieved of the heavy burden of the heavens. I will not carry +them any longer." Then he threw the apples down at the +feet of the hero, and left him standing with the unaccustomed, +awful weight upon his shoulders.</p> + +<p>Hercules had to think of a trick in order to get away. +"Let me," he said to the giant, "just make a coil of rope to +bind around my head, so that the frightful weight will not +cause my forehead to give way."</p> + +<p>Atlas found this new demand reasonable, and consented to +take over the burden again for a few minutes. But the deceiver +was at last deceived, and Hercules picked up the apples from +the ground and set out on his way back. He carried the +apples to Eurystheus, who, since his object of getting rid of +the hero had not been accomplished, gave them back to Hercules +as a present. The latter laid them on the altar of +Minerva; but the goddess, knowing that it was contrary to +the divine wishes to carry away this sacred fruit, returned the +apples to the garden of the Hesperides.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Twelfth Labor</span></h3> + +<p>Instead of destroying his hated enemy the labors which +Eurystheus had imposed upon Hercules had only strengthened +the hero in the fame for which fate had selected him. He had +become the protector of all the wronged upon earth, and the +boldest adventurer among mortals.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> +But the last labor he was to undertake in the region in +which his hero strength—so the impious king hoped—would +not accompany him. This was a fight with the dark powers +of the underworld. He was to bring forth from Hades Cerberus, +the dog of Hell. This animal had three heads with +frightful jaws, from which incessantly poison flowed. A +dragon's tail hung from his body, and the hair of his head and +of his back formed hissing, coiling serpents.</p> + +<p>To prepare himself for this fearful journey Hercules went +to the city of Eleusis, in Attic territory, where, from a wise +priest, he received secret instruction in the things of the upper +and lower world, and where also he received pardon for the +murder of the Centaur.</p> + +<p>Then, with strength to meet the horrors of the underworld, +Hercules traveled on to Peloponnesus, and to the Laconian +city of Taenarus, which contained the opening to the lower +world. Here, accompanied by Mercury, he descended through +a cleft in the earth, and came to the entrance of the city of +King Pluto. The shades which sadly wandered back and +forth before the gates of the city took flight as soon as they +caught sight of flesh and blood in the form of a living man. +Only the Gorgon Medusa and the spirit of Meleager remained. +The former Hercules wished to overthrow with his sword, +but Mercury touched him on the arm and told him that the +souls of the departed were only empty shadow pictures and +could not be wounded by mortal weapons.</p> + +<p>With the soul of Meleager the hero chatted in friendly +fashion, and received from him loving messages for the +upper world. Still nearer to the gates of Hades Hercules +caught sight of his friends Theseus and Pirithous. When both +saw the friendly form of Hercules they stretched beseeching +hands towards him, trembling with the hope that through his +strength they might again reach the upper world. Hercules<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +grasped Theseus by the hand, freed him from his chains and +raised him from the ground. A second attempt to free Pirithous +did not succeed, for the ground opened beneath his feet.</p> + +<p>At the gate of the City of the Dead stood King Pluto, and +denied entrance to Hercules. But with an arrow the hero +shot the god in the shoulder, so that he feared the mortal; +and when Hercules then asked whether he might lead away +the dog of Hades he did not longer oppose him. But he +imposed the condition that Hercules should become master +of Cerberus without using any weapons. So the hero set out, +protected only with cuirass and the lion skin.</p> + +<p>He found the dog camping near the dwelling of Acheron, +and without paying any attention to the bellowing of the +three heads, which was like the echo of fearful resounding +thunder, he seized the dog by the legs, put his arms around +his neck, and would not let him go, although the dragon tail +of the animal bit him in the cheek.</p> + +<p>He held the neck of Cerberus firm, and did not let go +until he was really master of the monster. Then he raised +it, and through another opening of Hades returned in happiness +to his own country. When the dog of Hades saw the light of +day he was afraid and began to spit poison, from which +poisonous plants sprung up out of the earth. Hercules brought +the monster in chains to Tirynth, and led it before the astonished +Eurystheus, who could not believe his eyes.</p> + +<p>Now at last the king doubted whether he could ever rid +himself of the hated son of Jupiter. He yielded to his fate +and dismissed the hero, who led the dog of Hades back to his +owner in the lower world.</p> + +<p>Thus Hercules after all his labors was at last set free from +the service of Eurystheus, and returned to Thebes.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> + +<h2>DEUCALION AND PYRRHA</h2> + + +<p>While the men of the Age of Bronze still dwelt upon the +earth reports of their wickedness were carried to Jupiter. +The god decided to verify the reports by coming to earth +himself in the form of a man, and everywhere he went he found +that the reports were much milder than the truth.</p> + +<p>One evening in the late twilight he entered the inhospitable +shelter of the Arcadian King Lycaon, who was famed for his +wild conduct. By several signs he let it be known that he +was a god, and the crowd dropped to their knees; but Lycaon +made light of the pious prayers.</p> + +<p>"Let us see," he said, "whether he is a mortal or a god."</p> + +<p>Thereupon he decided to destroy the guest that night while +he lay in slumber, not expecting death. But before doing so +he killed a poor hostage whom the Molossians had sent to +him, cooked the half-living limbs in boiling water or broiled +them over a fire, and placed them on the table before the guest +for his evening meal.</p> + +<p>But Jupiter, who knew all this, left the table and sent a +raging fire over the castle of the godless man. Frightened, +the king fled into the open field. The first cry he uttered was +a howl; his garments changed to fur; his arms to legs; he +was transformed into a bloodthirsty wolf.</p> + +<p>Jupiter returned to Olympus, held counsel with the gods and +decided to destroy the reckless race of men. At first he wanted +to turn his lightnings over all the earth, but the fear that the +ether would take fire and destroy the axle of the universe +restrained him. He laid aside the thunderbolt which the +Cyclops had fashioned for him, and decided to send rain from +heaven over all the earth and so destroy the race of mortals.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +Immediately the North Wind and all the other cloud-scattering +winds were locked in the cave of Aeolus, and only +the South Wind sent out. The latter descended upon the +earth; his frightful face was covered with darkness; his +beard was heavy with clouds; from his white hair ran the +flood; mists lay upon his brow; from his bosom dropped the +water. The South Wind grasped the heavens, seized in his +hands the surrounding clouds and began to squeeze them. +The thunder rolled; floods of rain burst from the heavens. +The standing corn was bent to the earth; destroyed was the +hope of the farmer; destroyed the weary work of a whole +year.</p> + +<p>Even Neptune, god of the sea, came to the assistance of +his brother Jupiter in the work of destruction. He called +all the rivers together and said, "Give full rein to your torrents; +enter houses; break through all dams!"</p> + +<p>They followed his command, and Neptune himself struck the +earth with his trident and let the flood enter. Then the +waters streamed over the open meadows, covered the fields, dislodged +trees, temples and houses. Wherever a palace stood, +its gables were soon covered with water and the highest +turrets were hidden in the torrent. Sea and earth were no +longer divided; all was flood—an unbroken stretch of water.</p> + +<p>Men tried to save themselves as best they could; some +climbed the high mountains; others entered boats and rowed, +now over the roofs of the fallen houses, now over the hills of +their ruined vineyards. Fish swam among the branches of +the highest trees; the wild boar was caught in the flood; +people were swept away by the water and those whom the +flood spared died of hunger on the barren mountains.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus05" id="Illus05"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 273px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_05.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_05th.jpg" width="273" height="400" +alt="Deucalion and Pyrrha stand in a desolate landscape, under a dark sky, an +altar on the hill top behind them. Human figures rise from the ground in front +of them." +title="DEUCALION AND PYRRHA CASTING THE BONES OF THEIR MOTHER BEHIND THEM" /></a> +<span class="caption">DEUCALION AND PYRRHA CASTING THE BONES OF THEIR MOTHER +BEHIND THEM</span> +</div> + +<p>One high mountain in the country of Phocis still raised two +peaks above the surrounding waters. It was the great Mount +Parnassus. Toward this floated a boat containing Deucalion,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +the son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha. No man, no +woman, had ever been found who surpassed these in righteousness +and piety. When, therefore, Jupiter, looking down from +heaven upon the earth, saw that only a single pair of mortals +remained of the many thousand times a thousand, both +blameless, both devoted servants of the gods, he sent forth the +North Wind, recalled the clouds, and once again separated +the earth from the heavens and the heavens from the earth.</p> + +<p>Even Neptune, lord of the sea, laid down his trident and +calmed the flood. The ocean resumed its banks; the rivers +returned to their beds; forests stretched their slime-covered +tree-tops out of the deep; hills followed; finally stretches of +level land appeared and the earth was as before.</p> + +<p>Deucalion looked around him. The country was laid waste; +it was wrapped in the silence of the grave. Tears rolled down +his cheeks and he said to his wife, Pyrrha, "Beloved, solitary +companion of my life, as far as I can see through all the +surrounding country, I can discover no living creature. We +two must people the earth; all the rest have been drowned +by the flood. But even we are not yet certain of our lives. +Every cloud that I see strikes terror to my soul. And even +if danger is past, what shall we do alone on the forsaken +earth? Oh, that my father Prometheus had taught me the +art of creating men and breathing life into them!"</p> + +<p>Then the two began to weep. They threw themselves on +their knees before the half-destroyed altar of the goddess +Themis, and began to pray, saying, "Tell us, O goddess, by +what means we can replace the race that has disappeared? +Oh, help the earth to new life."</p> + +<p>"Leave my altar," sounded the voice of the goddess. +"Uncover your heads, ungird your garments and cast the +bones of your mother behind you."</p> + +<p>For a long time Deucalion and Pyrrha wondered over the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> +puzzling words of the goddess. Pyrrha was the first to break +the silence. "Pardon me, O noble goddess," she said, "if I +do not obey you and cannot consent to scatter the bones of +my mother."</p> + +<p>Then Deucalion had a happy thought. He comforted his +wife. "Either my reason deceives me," he said, "or the +command of the goddess is good and involves no impiety. +The great mother of all of us is the Earth; her bones are the +stones, and these, Pyrrha, we will cast behind us!"</p> + +<p>Both mistrusted this interpretation of the words, but what +harm would it do to try? Thereupon they uncovered their +heads, ungirded their garments and began casting stones +behind them.</p> + +<p>Then a wonderful thing happened. The stone began to +lose its hardness, became malleable, grew and took form—not +definite at once, but rude figures such as an artist first hews out +of the rough marble. Whatever was moist or earthy in the +stones was changed into flesh; the harder parts became bones; +the veins in the rock remained as veins in the bodies. Thus, +in a little while, with the aid of the gods, the stones which +Deucalion threw assumed the form of men; those which Pyrrha +threw, the form of women.</p> + +<p>This homely origin the race of men does not deny; they +are a hardy people, accustomed to work. Every moment +of the day they remember from what sturdy stock they have +sprung.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THESEUS AND THE CENTAUR</h2> + + +<p>Theseus, the hero king of Athens, had a reputation for great +strength and bravery; but Pirithous, the son of Ixion, one of +the most famous heroes of antiquity, wished to put him to the +test. He therefore drove the cattle which belonged to Theseus +away from Marathon, and when he heard that Theseus, +weapon in hand, was following him, then, indeed, he had what +he desired. He did not flee, but turned around to meet him.</p> + +<p>When the two heroes were near enough to see each other, +each was so filled with admiration for the beautiful form and +the bravery of his opponent that, as if at a given signal, both +threw down their weapons and hastened toward each other. +Pirithous extended his hand to Theseus and proposed that the +latter act as arbitrator for the settlement of the dispute about +the cattle: whatever satisfaction Theseus would demand +Pirithous would willingly give.</p> + +<p>"The only satisfaction which I desire," answered Pirithous, +"is that you instead of my enemy become my friend and +comrade in arms."</p> + +<p>Then the two heroes embraced each other and swore eternal +friendship.</p> + +<p>Soon after this Pirithous chose the Thessalian princess, +Hippodamia, from the race of Lapithæ, for his bride, and +invited Theseus to the wedding. The Lapithæ, among whom +the ceremony took place, were a famous family of Thessalians, +rugged mountaineers, in some respects resembling animals—the +first mortals who had learned to manage a horse. But +the bride, who had sprung from this race, was not at all like +the men of her people. She was of noble form, with delicate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +youthful face, so beautiful that all the guests praised Pirithous +for his good fortune.</p> + +<p>The assembled princes of Thessaly were at the wedding +feast, and also the Centaurs, relatives of Pirithous. The +Centaurs were half men, the offspring which a cloud, assuming +the form of the goddess Hera, had born to Ixion, the father of +Pirithous. They were the eternal enemies of the Lapithæ. +Upon this occasion, however, and for the sake of the bride, +they had forgotten past grudges and come together to the +joyful celebration. The noble castle of Pirithous resounded +with glad tumult; bridal songs were sung; wine and food +abounded. Indeed, there were so many guests that the palace +would not accommodate all. The Lapithæ and Centaurs +sat at a special table in a grotto shaded by trees.</p> + +<p>For a long time the festivities went on with undisturbed +happiness. Then the wine began to stir the heart of the wildest +of the Centaurs, Eurytion, and the beauty of the Princess +Hippodamia awoke in him the mad desire of robbing the +bridegroom of his bride. Nobody knew how it came to pass; +nobody noticed the beginning of the unthinkable act; but +suddenly the guests saw the wild Eurytion lifting Hippodamia +from her feet, while she struggled and cried for help. His deed +was the signal for the rest of the drunken Centaurs to do likewise, +and before the strange heroes and the Lapithæ could +leave their places, every one of the Centaurs had roughly +seized one of the Thessalian princesses who served at the court +of the king or who had assembled as guests at the wedding.</p> + +<p>The castle and the grotto resembled a besieged city; the +cry of the women sounded far and wide. Quickly friends and +relatives sprang from their places.</p> + +<p>"What delusion is this, Eurytion," cried Theseus, "to vex +Pirithous while I still live, and by so doing arouse the anger +of two heroes?" With these words he forced his way through +the crowd and tore the stolen bride from the struggling robber.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus06" id="Illus06"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_06.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_06th.jpg" width="274" height="400" +alt="Men and centaurs fight one another, while a centaur in the foreground +falls backward, having been hit on the head by a thrown jug." +title="THE CENTAUR FELL BACKWARD" /></a> +<span class="caption">THE CENTAUR FELL BACKWARD</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +Eurytion said nothing, for he could not excuse his deed, +but he lifted his hand toward Theseus and gave him a rough +knock in the chest. Then Theseus, who had no weapon at +hand, seized an iron jug of embossed workmanship which +stood near by and flung it into the face of his opponent with +such force that the Centaur fell backward on the ground, +while brains and blood oozed from the wound in his head.</p> + +<p>"To arms!" the cry arose from all sides. At first beakers, +flasks and bowls flew back and forth. Then one sacrilegious +monster grabbed the oblations from the neighboring apartments. +Another tore down the lamp which burned over the +table, while still another fought with a sacrificial deer which +had hung on one side of the grotto. A frightful slaughter +ensued. Rhoetus, the most wicked of the Centaurs after +Eurytion, seized the largest brand from the altar and thrust +it into the gaping wound of one of the fallen Lapithæ, so that +the blood hissed like iron in a furnace. In opposition to him +rose Dryas, the bravest of the Lapithæ, and seizing a glowing +log from the fire, thrust it into the Centaur's neck. The fate +of this Centaur atoned for the death of his fallen companion, +and Dryas turned to the raging mob and laid five of them low.</p> + +<p>Then the spear of the brave hero Pirithous flew forth and +pierced a mighty Centaur, <ins class="correction" title="'Petraus' in original">Petraeus</ins>, +just as he was about to uproot a tree to use it for a club. The spear +pinned him against the knotted oak. A second, Dictys, fell at the +stroke of the Greek hero, and in falling snapped off a mighty ash +tree; a third, wishing to avenge him, was crushed by Theseus +with an oak club.</p> + +<p>The most beautiful and youthful of the Centaurs was Cyllarus. +His long hair and beard were golden; his smile was +friendly; his neck, shoulders, hands and breast were as beautiful +as if formed by an artist. Even the lower part of his body, +the part which resembled a horse, was faultless, pitch-black in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> +color, with legs and tail of lighter dye. He had come to the +feast with his wife, the beautiful Centaur, Hylonome, who at +the table had leaned gracefully against him and even now +united with him in the raging fight. He received from an +unknown hand a light wound near his heart, and sank dying +in the arms of his wife. Hylonome nursed his dying form, +kissed him and tried to retain the fleeting breath. When she +saw that he was gone she drew a dagger from her breast and +stabbed herself.</p> + +<p>For a long time still the fight between the Lapithæ and +the Centaurs continued, but at last night put an end to the +tumult. Then Pirithous remained in undisturbed possession +of his bride, and on the following morning Theseus departed, +bidding farewell to his friend. The common fight had quickly +welded the fresh tie of their brotherhood into an indestructible +bond.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p> + +<h2>NIOBE</h2> + + +<p>Niobe, Queen of Thebes, was proud of many things. Amphion, +her husband, had received from the Muses a wonderful +lyre, to the music of which the stones of the royal palace had +of themselves assumed place. Her father was Tantalus, +who had been entertained by the gods; and she herself was +the ruler of a powerful kingdom and a woman of great pride +of spirit and majestic beauty. But of none of these things +was she so proud as she was of her fourteen lovely children, +the seven sons and seven daughters to whom she had given +birth.</p> + +<p>Indeed, Niobe was the happiest of all mothers, and so would +she have remained if she had not believed herself so peculiarly +blessed. Her very knowledge of her good fortune was her +undoing.</p> + +<p>One day the prophetess Manto, daughter of the soothsayer +Tiresias, being instructed of the gods, called together the +women of Thebes to do honor to the goddess Latona and her +two children, Apollo and Diana. "Put laurel wreaths upon +your heads," were her commands, "and bring sacrifices with +pious prayers."</p> + +<p>Then while the women of Thebes were gathering together, +Niobe came forth, clad in a gold-embroidered garment, with +a crowd of followers, radiant in her beauty, though angry, +with her hair flowing about her shoulders. She stopped in +the midst of the busy women, and raising her voice, spoke to +them.</p> + +<p>"Are you not foolish to worship gods of whom stories are +told to you when more favored beings dwell here among you?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> +While you are making sacrifices on the altar of Latona, why +does my divine name remain unknown? My father Tantalus +is the only mortal who has ever sat at the table of the gods; +and my mother Dione is the sister of the Pleiades, who as +bright stars shine nightly in the heavens. One of my uncles is +the giant Atlas, who on his neck supports the vaulted heavens; +my grandfather is Jupiter, the father of the gods. The people +of Phrygia obey me, and to me and my husband belongs the +city of Cadmus, the walls of which were put together by the +music that my husband played. Every corner of my palace +is filled with priceless treasures; and there, too, are other +treasures—children such as no other mother can show: seven +beautiful daughters, seven sturdy sons, and just as many +sons- and daughters-in-law. Ask now whether I have ground for +pride. Consider again before you honor more than me Latona, +the unknown daughter of the Titans, who could find no place +in the whole earth in which she might rest and give birth to +her children until the island of Delos in compassion offered +her a precarious shelter. There she became the mother of +two children—the poor creature! Just the seventh part of +my mother joy! Who can deny that I am fortunate? Who +will doubt that I shall remain happy? Fortune would have a +hard time if she undertook to shatter my happiness. Take +this or that one from my treasured children; but when would +the number of them dwindle to the sickly two of Latona? +Away with your sacrifices! Take the laurel out of your hair. +Go back to your homes and let me never see such foolishness +again!"</p> + +<p>Frightened at the outburst, the women removed the wreaths +from their heads, left their sacrifices and slunk home, still +honoring Latona with silent prayer.</p> + +<p>On the summit of the Delian mountain Cynthas stood +Latona with her two children, watching what was taking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> +place in distant Thebes. "See, my children," she said, "I, +your mother, who am so proud of your birth, who yield place +to no goddess except Juno, I am held up to ridicule by an +upstart mortal, and if you do not defend me, my children, +I shall be driven away from the ancient and holy altars. Yes, +you too are insulted by Niobe, and she would like to have you +set aside for her children!"</p> + +<p>Latona was about to go on, but Apollo interrupted her: +"Cease your lamentations, mother; you only delay the +punishment."</p> + +<p>Then he and his sister wrapped themselves in a magic +cloud cloak that made them invisible, and flew swiftly through +the air until they reached the town and castle of Cadmus.</p> + +<p>Just outside the walls of the city was an open field that was +used as a race-course and practice ground for horses. Here +the seven sons of Amphion were amusing themselves, when +suddenly the oldest dropped his reins with a cry and fell from +his horse, pierced to the heart by an arrow. One after another +the whole seven were struck down.</p> + +<p>The news of the disaster soon spread through the city. +Amphion, when he heard that all his sons had perished, fell +on his own sword. Then the loud cries of his servants penetrated +to the women's quarters.</p> + +<p>For a long time Niobe could not believe that the gods had +thus brought vengeance. When she did, how unlike was she +to the Niobe who drove the people from the altars of the +mighty goddess and strode through the city with haughty +mien. Crazed with grief she rushed out to the field where her +sons had been stricken, threw herself on their dead bodies, +kissing now this one and now that. Then, raising her arms +to heaven, she cried, "Look now upon my distress, thou cruel +Latona; for the death of these seven bows me to the earth. +Triumph thou, O my victorious enemy!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +Now the seven daughters of Niobe, clad in garments of +mourning, drew near, and with loosened hair stood around +their brothers. And the sight of them brought a ray of joy +to Niobe's white face. She forgot her grief for a moment, +and casting a scornful look to heaven, said, "Victor! No, for +even in my loss I have more than thou in thy happiness!"</p> + +<p>Hardly had she spoken when there was the sound of a drawn +bow. The bystanders grew cold with fear, but Niobe was not +frightened, for misfortune had made her strong.</p> + +<p>Suddenly one of the sisters put her hand to her breast and +drew out an arrow that had pierced her; then, unconscious, +she sank to the ground. Another daughter hastened to her +mother to comfort her, but before she could reach her she was +laid low by a hidden wound. One after another the rest fell, +until only the last was left. She had fled to Niobe's lap and +childlike was hiding her face in her mother's garments.</p> + +<p>"Leave me only this one," cried Niobe, "just the youngest +of so many."</p> + +<p>But even while she prayed the child fell lifeless from her +lap, and Niobe sat alone among the dead bodies of her husband, +her sons and her daughters. She was speechless with grief; +no breath of air stirred the hair on her head; the blood left +her face; the eyes remained fixed on the grief-stricken countenance; +in the whole body there was no longer any sign of life. +The veins ceased to carry blood; the neck stiffened; arms and +feet grew rigid; the whole body was transformed into cold and +lifeless stone. Nothing living remained to her except her +tears, which continued flowing from her stony eyes.</p> + +<p>Then a mighty wind lifted the image of stone, carried it +over the sea and set it down in Lydia, the old home of Niobe, +in the barren mountains under the stony cliffs of Sipylus. +Here Niobe remained fixed as a marble statue on the summit +of the mountain, and to this very day you can see the grief-stricken +mother in tears.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus07" id="Illus07"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 276px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_07.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_07th.jpg" width="276" height="400" +alt="A group of three people look up at Niobe, turned to stone, her tears +forming waterfalls running down the hillside." +title="NIOBE WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN" /></a> +<span class="caption">NIOBE WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN</span> +</div> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE GORGON'S HEAD</h2> + + +<p>Perseus was the son of Danaë, who was the daughter +of a king. And when Perseus was a very little boy, some +wicked people put his mother and himself into a chest and set +them afloat upon the sea. The wind blew freshly and drove +the chest away from the shore, and the uneasy billows tossed +it up and down; while Danaë clasped her child closely to her +bosom, and dreaded that some big wave would dash its foamy +crest over them both. The chest sailed on, however, and +neither sank nor was upset, until, when night was coming, +it floated so near an island that it got entangled in a fisherman's +nets and was drawn out high and dry upon the sand. This +island was called Seriphus and it was reigned over by King +Polydectes, who happened to be the fisherman's brother.</p> + +<p>This fisherman, I am glad to tell you, was an exceedingly +humane and upright man. He showed great kindness to +Danaë and her little boy, and continued to befriend them +until Perseus had grown to be a handsome youth, very strong +and active and skilful in the use of arms. Long before this +time King Polydectes had seen the two strangers—the mother +and her child—who had come to his dominions in a floating +chest. As he was not good and kind, like his brother the +fisherman, but extremely wicked, he resolved to send Perseus +on a dangerous enterprise, in which he would probably be +killed, and then to do some great mischief to Danaë herself. +So this bad-hearted king spent a long while in considering +what was the most dangerous thing that a young man could +possibly undertake to perform. At last, having hit upon an +enterprise that promised to turn out as fatally as he desired, +he sent for the youthful Perseus.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> +The young man came to the palace and found the king +sitting upon his throne.</p> + +<p>"Perseus," said King Polydectes, smiling craftily upon +him, "you are grown up a fine young man. You and your +good mother have received a great deal of kindness from +myself, as well as from my worthy brother the fisherman, +and I suppose you would not be sorry to repay some of it."</p> + +<p>"Please, your Majesty," answered Perseus, "I would +willingly risk my life to do so."</p> + +<p>"Well, then," continued the king, still with a cunning smile +on his lips, "I have a little adventure to propose to you, and +as you are a brave and enterprising youth, you will doubtless +look upon it as a great piece of good luck to have so rare an +opportunity of distinguishing yourself. You must know, my +good Perseus, I think of getting married to the beautiful +Princess Hippodamia, and it is customary on these occasions +to make the bride a present of some far-fetched and elegant +curiosity. I have been a little perplexed, I must honestly +confess, where to obtain anything likely to please a princess +of her exquisite taste. But this morning, I flatter myself, +I have thought of precisely the article."</p> + +<p>"And can I assist your Majesty in obtaining it?" cried +Perseus, eagerly.</p> + +<p>"You can if you are as brave a youth as I believe you to be," +replied King Polydectes with the utmost graciousness of manner. +"The bridal gift which I have set my heart on presenting +to the beautiful Hippodamia is the head of the Gorgon Medusa +with the snaky locks; and I depend on you, my dear Perseus, +to bring it to me. So, as I am anxious to settle affairs with +the princess, the sooner you go in quest of the Gorgon, the +better I shall be pleased."</p> + +<p>"I will set out tomorrow morning," answered Perseus.</p> + +<p>"Pray do so, my gallant youth," rejoined the king. "And,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> +Perseus, in cutting off the Gorgon's head, be careful to make a +clean stroke, so as not to injure its appearance. You must +bring it home in the very best condition in order to suit the +exquisite taste of the beautiful Princess Hippodamia."</p> + +<p>Perseus left the palace, but was scarcely out of hearing +before Polydectes burst into a laugh, being greatly amused, +wicked king that he was, to find how readily the young man fell +into the snare. The news quickly spread abroad that Perseus +had undertaken to cut off the head of Medusa with the snaky +locks. Everybody was rejoiced, for most of the inhabitants +of the island were as wicked as the king himself and would +have liked nothing better than to see some enormous mischief +happen to Danaë and her son. The only good man in this +unfortunate island of Seriphus appears to have been the +fisherman. As Perseus walked along, therefore, the people +pointed after him and made mouths, and winked to one +another and ridiculed him as loudly as they dared.</p> + +<p>"Ho, ho!" cried they; "Medusa's snakes will sting him +soundly!"</p> + +<p>Now, there were three Gorgons alive at that period, and +they were the most strange and terrible monsters that had +ever been since the world was made, or that have been seen +in after days, or that are likely to be seen in all time to come. +I hardly know what sort of creature or hobgoblin to call them. +They were three sisters and seem to have borne some distant +resemblance to women, but were really a very frightful and +mischievous species of dragon. It is, indeed, difficult to imagine +what hideous beings these three sisters were. Why, +instead of locks of hair, if you can believe men, they had +each of them a hundred enormous snakes growing on their +heads, all alive, twisting, wriggling, curling and thrusting +out their venomous tongues, with forked stings at the end! +The teeth of the Gorgons were terribly long tusks, their hands<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> +were made of brass, and their bodies were all over scales, +which, if not iron, were something as hard and impenetrable. +They had wings, too, and exceedingly splendid ones, I can +assure you, for every feather in them was pure, bright, glittering, +burnished gold; and they looked very dazzling, no doubt, +when the Gorgons were flying about in the sunshine.</p> + +<p>But when people happened to catch a glimpse of their +glittering brightness, aloft in the air, they seldom stopped to +gaze, but ran and hid themselves as speedily as they could. +You will think, perhaps, that they were afraid of being stung +by the serpents that served the Gorgons instead of hair—or +of having their heads bitten off by their ugly tusks—or of +being torn all to pieces by their brazen claws. Well, to be +sure, these were some of the dangers, but by no means the +greatest nor the most difficult to avoid. For the worst thing +about these abominable Gorgons was that if once a poor +mortal fixed his eyes full upon one of their faces, he was +certain that very instant to be changed from warm flesh and +blood into cold and lifeless stone!</p> + +<p>Thus, as you will easily perceive, it was a very dangerous +adventure that the wicked King Polydectes had contrived +for this innocent young man. Perseus himself, when he had +thought over the matter, could not help seeing that he had +very little chance of coming safely through it, and that he +was far more likely to become a stone image than to bring +back the head of Medusa with the snaky locks. For, not to +speak of other difficulties, there was one which it would have +puzzled an older man than Perseus to get over. Not only +must he fight with and slay this golden-winged, iron-scaled, +long-tusked, brazen-clawed, snaky-haired monster, but he +must do it with his eyes shut, or, at least, without so much as +a glance at the enemy with whom he was contending. Else, +while his arm was lifted to strike, he would stiffen into stone<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> +and stand with that uplifted arm for centuries, until time and +the wind and weather should crumble him quite away. This +would be a very sad thing to befall a young man who wanted +to perform a great many brave deeds and to enjoy a great +deal of happiness in this bright and beautiful world.</p> + +<p>So disconsolate did these thoughts make him that Perseus +could not bear to tell his mother what he had undertaken to +do. He therefore took his shield, girded on his sword and +crossed over from the island to the mainland, where he sat +down in a solitary place and hardly refrained from shedding +tears.</p> + +<p>But while he was in this sorrowful mood, he heard a voice +close beside him.</p> + +<p>"Perseus," said the voice, "why are you sad?"</p> + +<p>He lifted his head from his hands, in which he had hidden it, +and behold! all alone as Perseus had supposed himself to be, +there was a stranger in the solitary place. It was a brisk, +intelligent and remarkably shrewd-looking young man, with a +cloak over his shoulders, an odd sort of cap on his head, a +strangely twisted staff in his hand and a short and very crooked +sword hanging by his side. He was exceedingly light and +active in his figure, like a person much accustomed to gymnastic +exercises and well able to leap or run. Above all, the stranger +had such a cheerful, knowing and helpful aspect (though +it was certainly a little mischievous, into the bargain) that +Perseus could not help feeling his spirits grow livelier as he +gazed at him. Besides, being really a courageous youth, he +felt greatly ashamed that anybody should have found him with +tears in his eyes like a timid little schoolboy, when, after all, +there might be no occasion for despair. So Perseus wiped +his eyes and answered the stranger pretty briskly, putting +on as brave a look as he could.</p> + +<p>"I am not so very sad," said he, "only thoughtful about +an adventure that I have undertaken."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +"Oho!" answered the stranger. "Well, tell me all about +it and possibly I may be of service to you. I have helped a +good many young men through adventures that looked difficult +enough beforehand. Perhaps you may have heard of me. +I have more names than one, but the name of Quicksilver suits +me as well as any other. Tell me what the trouble is and we +will talk the matter over and see what can be done."</p> + +<p>The stranger's words and manner put Perseus into quite a +different mood from his former one. He resolved to tell +Quicksilver all his difficulties, since he could not easily be +worse off than he already was, and, very possibly, his new +friend might give him some advice that would turn out well +in the end. So he let the stranger know in few words precisely +what was the case—how the King Polydectes wanted the head +of Medusa with the snaky locks as a bridal gift for the beautiful +Princess Hippodamia and how that he had undertaken +to get it for him, but was afraid of being turned into stone.</p> + +<p>"And that would be a great pity," said Quicksilver, with +his mischievous smile. "You would make a very handsome +marble statue, it is true, and it would be a considerable +number of centuries before you crumbled away; but, on the +whole, one would rather be a young man for a few years +than a stone image for a great many."</p> + +<p>"Oh, far rather!" exclaimed Perseus, with the tears again +standing in his eyes. "And, besides, what would my dear +mother do if her beloved son were turned into a stone?"</p> + +<p>"Well, well, let us hope that the affair will not turn out +so very badly," replied Quicksilver in an encouraging tone. +"I am the very person to help you, if anybody can. My +sister and myself will do our utmost to bring you safe through +the adventure, ugly as it now looks."</p> + +<p>"Your sister?" repeated Perseus.</p> + +<p>"Yes, my sister," said the stranger. "She is very wise,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> +I promise you; and as for myself, I generally have all my wits +about me, such as they are. If you show yourself bold and +cautious, and follow our advice, you need not fear being a +stone image yet awhile. But, first of all, you must polish +your shield till you can see your face in it as distinctly as in a +mirror."</p> + +<p>This seemed to Perseus rather an odd beginning of the +adventure, for he thought it of far more consequence that +the shield should be strong enough to defend him from the +Gorgon's brazen claws than that it should be bright enough +to show him the reflection of his face. However, concluding +that Quicksilver knew better than himself, he immediately +set to work and scrubbed the shield with so much diligence +and good will that it very quickly shone like the moon at +harvest time. Quicksilver looked at it with a smile and +nodded his approbation. Then taking off his own short and +crooked sword, he girded it about Perseus, instead of the one +which he had before worn.</p> + +<p>"No sword but mine will answer your purpose," observed +he; "the blade has a most excellent temper and will cut +through iron and brass as easily as through the slenderest +twig. And now we will set out. The next thing is to find +the Three Gray Women, who will tell us where to find the +Nymphs."</p> + +<p>"The Three Gray Women!" cried Perseus, to whom this +seemed only a new difficulty in the path of his adventure. +"Pray, who may the Three Gray Women be? I never heard +of them before."</p> + +<p>"They are three very strange old ladies," said Quicksilver, +laughing. "They have but one eye among them, and only +one tooth. Moreover, you must find them out by starlight +or in the dusk of the evening, for they never show themselves +by the light either of the sun or moon."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> +"But," said Perseus, "why should I waste my time with +these Three Gray Women? Would it not be better to set +out at once in search of the terrible Gorgons?"</p> + +<p>"No, no," answered his friend. "There are other things +to be done before you can find your way to the Gorgons. +There is nothing for it but to hunt up these old ladies; and +when we meet with them, you may be sure that the Gorgons +are not a great way off. Come, let us be stirring!"</p> + +<p>Perseus by this time felt so much confidence in his companion's +sagacity that he made no more objections, and professed +himself ready to begin the adventure immediately. They +accordingly set out and walked at a pretty brisk pace; so +brisk, indeed, that Perseus found it rather difficult to keep +up with his nimble friend Quicksilver. To say the truth, he +had a singular idea that Quicksilver was furnished with a +pair of winged shoes, which, of course, helped him along +marvelously. And then, too, when Perseus looked sideways +at him out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to see wings on +the side of his head; although, if he turned a full gaze, there +were no such things to be perceived, but only an odd kind of +cap. But at all events, the twisted staff was evidently a +great convenience to Quicksilver, and enabled him to proceed +so fast that Perseus, though a remarkably active young man, +began to be out of breath.</p> + +<p>"Here!" cried Quicksilver at last—for he knew well enough, +rogue that he was, how hard Perseus found it to keep pace +with him—"take you the staff, for you need it a great deal +more than I. Are there no better walkers than yourself in +the island of Seriphus?"</p> + +<p>"I could walk pretty well," said Perseus, glancing slyly at +his companion's feet, "if I had only a pair of winged shoes."</p> + +<p>"We must see about getting you a pair," answered Quicksilver.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> +But the staff helped Perseus along so bravely that he no +longer felt the slightest weariness. In fact, the stick seemed +to be alive in his hand and to lend some of its life to Perseus. +He and Quicksilver now walked onward at their ease, talking +very sociably together; and Quicksilver told so many pleasant +stories about his former adventures and how well his wits +had served him on various occasions that Perseus began to +think him a very wonderful person. He evidently knew the +world; and nobody is so charming to a young man as a friend +who has that kind of knowledge. Perseus listened the more +eagerly, in the hope of brightening his own wits by what he +heard.</p> + +<p>At last, he happened to recollect that Quicksilver had +spoken of a sister who was to lend her assistance in the adventure +which they were now bound upon.</p> + +<p>"Where is she?" he inquired. "Shall we not meet her soon?"</p> + +<p>"All at the proper time," said his companion. "But this +sister of mine, you must understand, is quite a different sort +of character from myself. She is very grave and prudent, +seldom smiles, never laughs and makes it a rule not to utter +a word unless she has something particularly profound to say. +Neither will she listen to any but the wisest conversation."</p> + +<p>"Dear me!" ejaculated Perseus; "I shall be afraid to say +a syllable."</p> + +<p>"She is a very accomplished person, I assure you," continued +Quicksilver, "and has all the arts and science at her +fingers' ends. In short, she is so immoderately wise that +many people call her wisdom personified. But to tell you the +truth, she has hardly vivacity enough for my taste; and I +think you would scarcely find her so pleasant a traveling +companion as myself. She has her good points, nevertheless; +and you will find the benefit of them in your encounter with +the Gorgons."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> +By this time it had grown quite dusk. They were now +come to a very wild and desert place, overgrown with shaggy +bushes and so silent and solitary that nobody seemed ever +to have dwelt or journeyed there. All was waste and desolate +in the gray twilight, which grew every moment more obscure. +Perseus looked about him rather disconsolately and asked +Quicksilver whether they had a great deal farther to go.</p> + +<p>"Hist! hist!" whispered his companion. "Make no noise! +This is just the time and place to meet the Three Gray Women. +Be careful that they do not see you before you see them, for +though they have but a single eye among the three, it is as +sharp-sighted as half a dozen common eyes."</p> + +<p>"But what must I do," asked Perseus, "when we meet +them?"</p> + +<p>Quicksilver explained to Perseus how the Three Gray Women +managed with their one eye. They were in the habit, it seems, +of changing it from one to another, as if it had been a pair +of spectacles, or—which would have suited them better—a +quizzing glass. When one of the three had kept the eye a +certain time, she took it out of the socket and passed it to one +of her sisters, whose turn it might happen to be, and who +immediately clapped it into her own head and enjoyed a +peep at the visible world. Thus it will easily be understood +that only one of the Three Gray Women could see, while the +other two were in utter darkness; and, moreover, at the +instant when the eye was passing from hand to hand, none +of the poor old ladies was able to see a wink. I have heard +of a great many strange things in my day, and have witnessed +not a few, but none, it seems to me, that can compare with +the oddity of these Three Gray Women all peeping through +a single eye.</p> + +<p>So thought Perseus, likewise, and was so astonished that +he almost fancied his companion was joking with him, and +that there were no such old women in the world.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> +"You will soon find whether I tell the truth or no," observed +Quicksilver. "Hark! hush! hist! hist! There they come +now!"</p> + +<p>Perseus looked earnestly through the dusk of the evening, +and there, sure enough, at no great distance off, he descried +the Three Gray Women. The light being so faint, he could +not well make out what sort of figures they were; only he +discovered that they had long gray hair, and as they came +nearer he saw that two of them had but the empty socket of +an eye in the middle of their foreheads. But in the middle of +the third sister's forehead there was a very large, bright and +piercing eye, which sparkled like a great diamond in a ring; +and so penetrating did it seem to be that Perseus could not +help thinking it must possess the gift of seeing in the darkest +midnight just as perfectly as at noonday. The sight of three +persons' eyes was melted and collected into that single one.</p> + +<p>Thus the three old dames got along about as comfortably, +upon the whole, as if they could all see at once. She who +chanced to have the eye in her forehead led the other two by +the hands, peeping sharply about her all the while; insomuch +that Perseus dreaded lest she should see right through the +thick clump of bushes behind which he and Quicksilver had +hidden themselves. My stars! it was positively terrible to +be within reach of so very sharp an eye!</p> + +<p>But before they reached the clump of bushes, one of the +Three Gray Women spoke.</p> + +<p>"Sister! Sister Scarecrow!" cried she, "you have had the +eye long enough. It is my turn now!"</p> + +<p>"Let me keep it a moment longer, Sister Nightmare," +answered Scarecrow. "I thought I had a glimpse of something +behind that thick bush."</p> + +<p>"Well, and what of that?" retorted Nightmare, peevishly. +"Can't I see into a thick bush as easily as yourself? The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> +eye is mine as well as yours; and I know the use of it as well +as you, or maybe a little better. I insist upon taking a peep +immediately!"</p> + +<p>But here the third sister, whose name was Shakejoint, +began to complain, and said that it was her turn to have the +eye, and that Scarecrow and Nightmare wanted to keep it all +to themselves. To end the dispute, old Dame Scarecrow took +the eye out of her forehead and held it forth in her hand.</p> + +<p>"Take it, one of you," cried she, "and quit this foolish +quarreling. For my part, I shall be glad of a little thick +darkness. Take it quickly, however, or I must clap it into +my own head again!"</p> + +<p>Accordingly, both Nightmare and Shakejoint put out their +hands, groping eagerly to snatch the eye out of the hand of +Scarecrow. But being both alike blind, they could not easily +find where Scarecrow's hand was; and Scarecrow, being now +just as much in the dark as Shakejoint and Nightmare, could +not at once meet either of their hands in order to put the eye +into it. Thus (as you will see with half an eye, my wise little +auditors) these good old dames had fallen into a strange +perplexity. For, though the eye shone and glistened like +a star as Scarecrow held it out, yet the Gray Women caught +not the least glimpse of its light and were all three in utter +darkness from too impatient a desire to see.</p> + +<p>Quicksilver was so much tickled at beholding Shakejoint +and Nightmare both groping for the eye, and each finding +fault with Scarecrow and one another, that he could scarcely +help laughing aloud.</p> + +<p>"Now is your time!" he whispered to Perseus. "Quick, +quick! before they can clap the eye into either of their heads. +Rush out upon the old ladies and snatch it from Scarecrow's +hand!"</p> + +<p>In an instant, while the Three Gray Women were still<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> +scolding each other, Perseus leaped from behind the clump +of bushes and made himself master of the prize. The marvelous +eye, as he held it in his hand, shone very brightly, and +seemed to look up into his face with a knowing air, and an +expression as if it would have winked had it been provided +with a pair of eyelids for that purpose. But the Gray Women +knew nothing of what had happened, and each supposing that +one of her sisters was in possession of the eye, they began their +quarrel anew. At last, as Perseus did not wish to put these +respectable dames to greater inconvenience than was really +necessary, he thought it right to explain the matter.</p> + +<p>"My good ladies," said he, "pray do not be angry with one +another. If anybody is in fault, it is myself; for I have the +honor to hold your very brilliant and excellent eye in my own +hand!"</p> + +<p>"You! you have our eye! And who are you?" screamed +the Three Gray Women all in a breath; for they were terribly +frightened, of course, at hearing a strange voice and discovering +that their eyesight had got into the hands of they could not +guess whom. "Oh, what shall we do, sisters? what shall we +do? We are all in the dark! Give us our eye! Give us our +one precious, solitary eye! You have two of your own! +Give us our eye!"</p> + +<p>"Tell them," whispered Quicksilver to Perseus, "that +they shall have back the eye as soon as they direct you where +to find the Nymphs who have the flying slippers, the magic +wallet and the helmet of darkness."</p> + +<p>"My dear, good, admirable old ladies," said Perseus, +addressing the Gray Women, "there is no occasion for putting +yourselves into such a fright. I am by no means a bad young +man. You shall have back your eye, safe and sound, and as +bright as ever, the moment you tell me where to find the +Nymphs."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> +"The Nymphs! Goodness me! sisters, what Nymphs +does he mean?" screamed Scarecrow. "There are a great +many Nymphs, people say; some that go a hunting in the +woods, and some that live inside of trees, and some that have a +comfortable home in fountains of water. We know nothing +at all about them. We are three unfortunate old souls that +go wandering about in the dusk and never had but one eye +amongst us, and that one you have stolen away. Oh, give it +back, good stranger!—whoever you are, give it back!"</p> + +<p>All this while the Three Gray Women were groping with +their outstretched hands and trying their utmost to get hold +of Perseus. But he took good care to keep out of their reach.</p> + +<p>"My respectable dames," said he—for his mother had +taught him always to use the greatest civility—"I hold your +eye fast in my hand and shall keep it safely for you until you +please to tell me where to find these Nymphs. The Nymphs, +I mean, who keep the enchanted wallet, the flying slippers and +the what is it?—the helmet of invisibility."</p> + +<p>"Mercy on us, sisters! what is the young man talking +about?" exclaimed Scarecrow, Nightmare and Shakejoint, +one to another, with great appearance of astonishment. "A +pair of flying slippers, quoth he! His heels would quickly +fly higher than his head if he was silly enough to put them on. +And a helmet of invisibility! How could a helmet make him +invisible, unless it were big enough for him to hide under it? +And an enchanted wallet! What sort of a contrivance may +that be, I wonder? No, no, good stranger! we can tell you +nothing of these marvelous things. You have two eyes of +your own and we have but a single one amongst us three. +You can find out such wonders better than three blind old +creatures like us."</p> + +<p>Perseus, hearing them talk in this way, began really to +think that the Gray Women knew nothing of the matter;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> +and, as it grieved him to put them to so much trouble, he was +just on the point of restoring their eye and asking pardon for +his rudeness in snatching it away. But Quicksilver caught +his hand.</p> + +<p>"Don't let them make a fool of you!" said he. "These +Three Gray Women are the only persons in the world that +can tell you where to find the Nymphs, and unless you get +that information you will never succeed in cutting off the head +of Medusa with the snaky locks. Keep fast hold on the eye +and all will go well."</p> + +<p>As it turned out, Quicksilver was in the right. There are +but few things that people prize so much as they do their +eyesight; and the Gray Women valued their single eye as +highly as if it had been half a dozen, which was the number +they ought to have had. Finding that there was no other +way of recovering it, they at last told Perseus what he wanted +to know. No sooner had they done so than he immediately +and with the utmost respect clapped the eye into the vacant +socket in one of their foreheads, thanked them for their kindness +and bade them farewell. Before the young man was out +of hearing, however, they had got into a new dispute, because +he happened to have given the eye to Scarecrow, who had +already taken her turn of it when their trouble with Perseus +commenced.</p> + +<p>It is greatly to be feared that the Three Gray Women +were very much in the habit of disturbing their mutual harmony +by bickerings of this sort, which was the more pity, as +they could not conveniently do without one another and were +evidently intended to be inseparable companions. As a +general rule, I would advise all people, whether sisters or +brothers, old or young, who chance to have but one eye amongst +them, to cultivate forbearance and not all insist upon peeping +through it at once.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> +Quicksilver and Perseus, in the meantime, were making +the best of their way in quest of the Nymphs. The old dames +had given them such particular directions that they were +not long in finding them out. They proved to be very different +persons from Nightmare, Shakejoint and Scarecrow; +for, instead of being old, they were young and beautiful; +and instead of one eye amongst the sisterhood, each Nymph +had two exceedingly bright eyes of her own, with which she +looked very kindly at Perseus. They seemed to be acquainted +with Quicksilver, and when he told them the adventure which +Perseus had undertaken, they made no difficulty about giving +him the valuable articles that were in their custody. In the +first place, they brought out what appeared to be a small +purse, made of deer skin and curiously embroidered, and bade +him be sure and keep it safe. This was the magic wallet. +The Nymphs next produced a pair of shoes or slippers or +sandals, with a nice little pair of wings at the heel of each.</p> + +<p>"Put them on, Perseus," said Quicksilver. "You will +find yourself as light-heeled as you can desire for the remainder +of our journey."</p> + +<p>So Perseus proceeded to put one of the slippers on, while +he laid the other on the ground by his side. Unexpectedly, +however, this other slipper spread its wings, fluttered up off +the ground and would probably have flown away if Quicksilver +had not made a leap and luckily caught it in the air.</p> + +<p>"Be more careful," said he as he gave it back to Perseus. +"It would frighten the birds up aloft if they should see a +flying slipper amongst them."</p> + +<p>When Perseus had got on both of these wonderful slippers, +he was altogether too buoyant to tread on earth. Making a +step or two, lo and behold! upward he popped into the air +high above the heads of Quicksilver and the Nymphs, and +found it very difficult to clamber down again. Winged slippers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> +and all such high-flying contrivances are seldom quite easy to +manage until one grows a little accustomed to them. Quicksilver +laughed at his companion's involuntary activity and +told him that he must not be in so desperate a hurry, but must +wait for the invisible helmet.</p> + +<p>The good-natured Nymphs had the helmet, with its dark +tuft of waving plumes, all in readiness to put upon his head. +And now there happened about as wonderful an incident as +anything that I have yet told you. The instant before the +helmet was put on, there stood Perseus, a beautiful young +man, with golden ringlets and rosy cheeks, the crooked sword +by his side and the brightly polished shield upon his arm—a +figure that seemed all made up of courage, sprightliness and +glorious light. But when the helmet had descended over his +white brow, there was no longer any Perseus to be seen! +Nothing but empty air! Even the helmet that covered him +with its invisibility had vanished!</p> + +<p>"Where are you, Perseus?" asked Quicksilver.</p> + +<p>"Why, here, to be sure!" answered Perseus very quietly, +although his voice seemed to come out of the transparent +atmosphere. "Just where I was a moment ago. Don't you +see me?"</p> + +<p>"No, indeed!" answered his friend. "You are hidden +under the helmet. But if I cannot see you, neither can the +Gorgons. Follow me, therefore, and we will try your dexterity +in using the winged slippers."</p> + +<p>With these words, Quicksilver's cap spread its wings, as if +his head were about to fly away from his shoulders; but his +whole figure rose lightly into the air and Perseus followed. +By the time they had ascended a few hundred feet the young +man began to feel what a delightful thing it was to leave the +dull earth so far beneath him and to be able to flit about like +a bird.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> +It was now deep night. Perseus looked upward and saw +the round, bright, silvery moon and thought that he should +desire nothing better than to soar up thither and spend his +life there. Then he looked downward again and saw the +earth, with its seas and lakes, and the silver course of its rivers, +and its snowy mountain peaks, and the breath of its fields, +and the dark cluster of its woods, and its cities of white marble; +and with the moonshine sleeping over the whole scene, it was +as beautiful as the moon or any star could be. And among +other objects he saw the island of Seriphus, where his dear +mother was. Sometimes he and Quicksilver approached a +cloud that at a distance looked as if it were made of fleecy +silver, although when they plunged into it they found themselves +chilled and moistened with gray mist. So swift was +their flight, however, that in an instant they emerged from +the cloud into the moonlight again. Once a high-soaring +eagle flew right against the invisible Perseus. The bravest +sights were the meteors that gleamed suddenly out as if a +bonfire had been kindled in the sky and made the moonshine +pale for as much as a hundred miles around them.</p> + +<p>As the two companions flew onward, Perseus fancied that +he could hear the rustle of a garment close by his side; and +it was on the side opposite to the one where he beheld Quicksilver, +yet only Quicksilver was visible.</p> + +<p>"Whose garment is this," inquired Perseus, "that keeps +rustling close beside me in the breeze?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, it is my sister's!" answered Quicksilver. "She +is coming along with us, as I told you she would. We could +do nothing without the help of my sister. You have no idea +how wise she is. She has such eyes, too! Why, she can see +you at this moment just as distinctly as if you were not +invisible, and I'll venture to say she will be the first to discover +the Gorgons."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> +By this time, in their swift voyage through the air, they +had come within sight of the great ocean and were soon flying +over it. Far beneath them the waves tossed themselves +tumultuously in mid-sea, or rolled a white surf line upon the +long beaches, or foamed against the rocky cliffs, with a roar +that was thunderous in the lower world, although it became a +gentle murmur, like the voice of a baby half asleep, before it +reached the ears of Perseus. Just then a voice spoke in the +air close by him. It seemed to be a woman's voice and was +melodious, though not exactly what might be called sweet, +but grave and mild.</p> + +<p>"Perseus," said the voice, "there are the Gorgons."</p> + +<p>"Where?" exclaimed Perseus. "I cannot see them."</p> + +<p>"On the shore of that island beneath you," replied the voice. +"A pebble dropped from your hand would strike in the midst +of them."</p> + +<p>"I told you she would be the first to discover them," said +Quicksilver to Perseus. "And there they are!"</p> + +<p>Straight downward, two or three thousand feet below him, +Perseus perceived a small island, with the sea breaking into +white foam all around its rocky shore, except on one side, +where there was a beach of snowy sand. He descended +toward it, and looking earnestly at a cluster or heap of brightness +at the foot of a precipice of black rocks, behold, there +were the terrible Gorgons! They lay fast asleep, soothed by +the thunder of the sea; for it required a tumult that would +have deafened everybody else to lull such fierce creatures +into slumber. The moonlight glistened on their steely scales +and on their golden wings, which drooped idly over the sand. +Their brazen claws, horrible to look at, were thrust out and +clutched the wave-beaten fragments of rock, while the sleeping +Gorgons dreamed of tearing some poor mortal all to pieces. +The snakes that served them instead of hair seemed likewise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> +to be asleep, although now and then one would writhe and lift +its head and thrust out its forked tongue, emitting a drowsy +hiss, and then let itself subside among its sister snakes.</p> + +<p>The Gorgons were more like an awful, gigantic kind of insect—immense, +golden-winged beetles or dragonflies or things of +that sort—at once ugly and beautiful—than like anything +else; only that they were a thousand and a million times as +big. And with all this there was something partly human +about them, too. Luckily for Perseus, their faces were completely +hidden from him by the posture in which they lay, +for had he but looked one instant at them, he would have +fallen heavily out of the air, an image of senseless stone.</p> + +<p>"Now," whispered Quicksilver as he hovered by the side +of Perseus—"now is your time to do the deed! Be quick, +for if one of the Gorgons should awake, you are too late!"</p> + +<p>"Which shall I strike at?" asked Perseus, drawing his +sword and descending a little lower. "They all three look +alike. All three have snaky locks. Which of the three is +Medusa?"</p> + +<p>It must be understood that Medusa was the only one of +these dragon monsters whose head Perseus could possibly +cut off. As for the other two, let him have the sharpest +sword that ever was forged, and he might have hacked away +by the hour together without doing them the least harm.</p> + +<p>"Be cautious," said the calm voice which had before spoken +to him. "One of the Gorgons is stirring in her sleep and is +just about to turn over. That is Medusa. Do not look at +her! The sight would turn you to stone! Look at the reflection +of her face and figure in the bright mirror of your shield."</p> + +<p><a name="Illus08" id="Illus08"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_08.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_08th.jpg" width="274" height="400" +alt="Perseus, sword raised, prepares to cut off the head of the sleeping +Medusa. Snakes in her hair rear up, while her two sister sleep beside her." +title="PERSEUS SLAYING THE MEDUSA" /></a> +<span class="caption">PERSEUS SLAYING THE MEDUSA</span> +</div> + +<p>Perseus now understood Quicksilver's motive for so earnestly +exhorting him to polish his shield. In its surface he could +safely look at the reflection of the Gorgon's face. And there +it was—that terrible countenance—mirrored in the brightness<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> +of the shield, with the moonlight falling over it and displaying +all its horror. The snakes, whose venomous natures could +not altogether sleep, kept twisting themselves over the forehead. +It was the fiercest and most horrible face that ever +was seen or imagined, and yet with a strange, fearful and +savage kind of beauty in it. The eyes were closed and the +Gorgon was still in a deep slumber; but there was an unquiet +expression disturbing her features, as if the monster was +troubled with an ugly dream. She gnashed her white tusks +and dug into the sand with her brazen claws.</p> + +<p>The snakes, too, seemed to feel Medusa's dream and to be +made more restless by it. They twined themselves into +tumultuous knots, writhed fiercely and uplifted a hundred +hissing heads without opening their eyes.</p> + +<p>"Now, now!" whispered Quicksilver, who was growing +impatient. "Make a dash at the monster!"</p> + +<p>"But be calm," said the grave, melodious voice at the young +man's side. "Look in your shield as you fly downward, and +take care that you do not miss your first stroke."</p> + +<p>Perseus flew cautiously downward, still keeping his eyes on +Medusa's face, as reflected in his shield. The nearer he came, +the more terrible did the snaky visage and metallic body of +the monster grow. At last, when he found himself hovering +over her within arm's length, Perseus uplifted his sword, +while at the same instant each separate snake upon the Gorgon's +head stretched threateningly upward, and Medusa +unclosed her eyes. But she awoke too late. The sword was +sharp, the stroke fell like a lightning flash, and the head of the +wicked Medusa tumbled from her body!</p> + +<p>"Admirably done!" cried Quicksilver. "Make haste and +clap the head into your magic wallet."</p> + +<p>To the astonishment of Perseus, the small, embroidered +wallet which he had hung about his neck and which had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> +hitherto been no bigger than a purse, grew all at once large +enough to contain Medusa's head. As quick as thought, he +snatched it up, with the snakes still writhing upon it, and +thrust it in.</p> + +<p>"Your task is done," said the calm voice. "Now fly, for +the other Gorgons will do their utmost to take vengeance for +Medusa's death."</p> + +<p>It was, indeed, necessary to take flight, for Perseus had not +done the deed so quietly but that the clash of his sword and +the hissing of the snakes and the thump of Medusa's head as +it tumbled upon the sea-beaten sand awoke the other two +monsters. There they sat for an instant, sleepily rubbing +their eyes with their brazen fingers, while all the snakes on +their heads reared themselves on end with surprise and with +venomous malice against they knew not what. But when the +Gorgons saw the scaly carcass of Medusa, headless, and her +golden wings all ruffled and half spread out on the sand, +it was really awful to hear what yells and screeches they set +up. And then the snakes! They sent forth a hundredfold +hiss with one consent, and Medusa's snakes answered them out +of the magic wallet.</p> + +<p>No sooner were the Gorgons broad awake than they hurtled +upward into the air, brandishing their brass talons, gnashing +their horrible tusks and flapping their huge wings so wildly +that some of the golden feathers were shaken out and floated +down upon the shore. And there, perhaps, those very feathers +lie scattered till this day. Up rose the Gorgons, as I tell you, +staring horribly about, in hopes of turning somebody to stone. +Had Perseus looked them in the face or had he fallen into their +clutches, his poor mother would never have kissed her boy +again! But he took good care to turn his eyes another way; +and as he wore the helmet of invisibility, the Gorgons knew not +in what direction to follow him; nor did he fail to make the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> +best use of the winged slippers by soaring upward a perpendicular +mile or so. At that height, when the screams of those +abominable creatures sounded faintly beneath him, he made +a straight course for the island of Seriphus, in order to carry +Medusa's head to King Polydectes.</p> + +<p>I have no time to tell you of several marvelous things that +befell Perseus on his way homeward, such as his killing a +hideous sea monster just as it was on the point of devouring a +beautiful maiden, nor how he changed an enormous giant into +a mountain of stone merely by showing him the head of the +Gorgon. If you doubt this latter story, you may make a +voyage to Africa some day or other and see the very mountain, +which is still known by the ancient giant's name.</p> + +<p>Finally, our brave Perseus arrived at the island where he +expected to see his dear mother. But during his absence, +the wicked king had treated Danaë so very ill that she was +compelled to make her escape, and had taken refuge in a +temple, where some good old priests were extremely kind to +her. These praiseworthy priests and the kind-hearted fisherman, +who had first shown hospitality to Danaë and little +Perseus when he found them afloat in the chest, seem to have +been the only persons on the island who cared about doing +right. All the rest of the people, as well as King Polydectes +himself, were remarkably ill behaved and deserved no better +destiny than that which was now to happen.</p> + +<p>Not finding his mother at home, Perseus went straight to +the palace and was immediately ushered into the presence of +the king. Polydectes was by no means rejoiced to see him, +for he had felt almost certain, in his own evil mind, that the +Gorgons would have torn the poor young man to pieces and +have eaten him up out of the way. However, seeing him +safely returned, he put the best face he could upon the matter +and asked Perseus how he had succeeded.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> +"Have you performed your promise?" inquired he. "Have +you brought me the head of Medusa with the snaky locks? +If not, young man, it will cost you dear; for I must have a +bridal present for the beautiful Princess Hippodamia and there +is nothing else that she would admire so much."</p> + +<p>"Yes, please your Majesty," answered Perseus, in a quiet +way, as if it were no very wonderful deed for such a young +man as he to perform. "I have brought you the Gorgon's +head, snaky locks and all!"</p> + +<p>"Indeed! Pray, let me see it," quoth King Polydectes. +"It must be a very curious spectacle if all that travelers tell +it be true!"</p> + +<p>"Your Majesty is in the right," replied Perseus. "It is +really an object that will be pretty certain to fix the regards +of all who look at it. And if your Majesty think fit, I would +suggest that a holiday be proclaimed and that all your +Majesty's subjects be summoned to behold this wonderful +curiosity. Few of them, I imagine, have seen a Gorgon's +head before and perhaps never may again!"</p> + +<p>The king well knew that his subjects were an idle set of +reprobates and very fond of sight-seeing, as idle persons usually +are. So he took the young man's advice and sent out heralds +and messengers in all directions to blow the trumpet at the +street corners and in the market places and wherever two +roads met, and summon everybody to court. Thither, +accordingly, came a great multitude of good-for-nothing +vagabonds, all of whom, out of pure love of mischief, would +have been glad if Perseus had met with some ill-hap in his +encounter with the Gorgons. If there were any better people +in the island (as I really hope there may have been, although +the story tells nothing about any such), they stayed quietly +at home, minding their business and taking care of their +little children. Most of the inhabitants, at all events, ran<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +as fast as they could to the palace and shoved and pushed and +elbowed one another in their eagerness to get near a balcony +on which Perseus showed himself, holding the embroidered +wallet in his hand.</p> + +<p>On a platform within full view of the balcony sat the +mighty King Polydectes, amid his evil counselors, and with +his flattering courtiers in a semi-circle round about him. +Monarch, counselors, courtiers and subjects all gazed eagerly +toward Perseus.</p> + +<p>"Show us the head! Show us the head!" shouted the people; +and there was a fierceness in their cry as if they would tear +Perseus to pieces unless he should satisfy them with what he +had to show. "Show us the head of Medusa with the snaky +locks!"</p> + +<p>A feeling of sorrow and pity came over the youthful Perseus.</p> + +<p>"O King Polydectes," cried he, "and ye many people, +I am very loath to show you the Gorgon's head!"</p> + +<p>"Ah, the villain and coward!" yelled the people more +fiercely than before. "He is making game of us! He has no +Gorgon's head! Show us the head if you have it, or we will +take your own head for a football!"</p> + +<p>The evil counselors whispered bad advice in the king's +ear; the courtiers murmured, with one consent, that Perseus +had shown disrespect to their royal lord and master; and the +great King Polydectes himself waved his hand and ordered +him, with the stern, deep voice of authority, on his peril, to +produce the head.</p> + +<p>"Show me the Gorgon's head or I will cut off your own!"</p> + +<p>And Perseus sighed.</p> + +<p>"This instant," repeated Polydectes, "or you die!"</p> + +<p>"Behold it then!" cried Perseus in a voice like the blast of a +trumpet.</p> + +<p>And suddenly holding up the head, not an eyelid had time<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> +to wink before the wicked King Polydectes, his evil counselors +and all his fierce subjects were no longer anything but the +mere images of a monarch and his people. They were all +fixed forever in the look and attitude of that moment! At +the first glimpse of the terrible head of Medusa, they whitened +into marble! And Perseus thrust the head back into his +wallet and went to tell his dear mother that she need no longer +be afraid of the wicked King Polydectes.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE GOLDEN FLEECE</h2> + + +<p>When Jason, the son of the dethroned King of Iolchos, was +a little boy, he was sent away from his parents and placed +under the queerest schoolmaster that ever you heard of. This +learned person was one of the people, or quadrupeds, called +Centaurs. He lived in a cavern, and had the body and legs +of a white horse, with the head and shoulders of a man. His +name was Chiron; and in spite of his odd appearance, he was +a very excellent teacher and had several scholars who afterward +did him credit by making a great figure in the world. +The famous Hercules was one, and so was Achilles, and +Philoctetes likewise, and Æsculapius, who acquired immense +repute as a doctor. The good Chiron taught his pupils how +to play upon the harp, and how to cure diseases, and how to +use the sword and shield, together with various other branches +of education in which the lads of those days used to be instructed +instead of writing and arithmetic.</p> + +<p>I have sometimes suspected that Master Chiron was not +really very different from other people, but that, being a +kind-hearted and merry old fellow, he was in the habit of +making believe that he was a horse, and scrambling about +the schoolroom on all fours and letting the little boys ride +upon his back. And so, when his scholars had grown up and +grown old and were trotting their grandchildren on their +knees, they told them about the sports of their school-days; +and these young folks took the idea that their grandfathers +had been taught their letters by a Centaur, half man and half +horse. Little children, not quite understanding what is said +to them, often get such absurd notions into their heads, you +know.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> +Be that as it may, it has always been told for a fact (and +always will be told, as long as the world lasts) that Chiron, +with the head of a schoolmaster, had the body and legs of a +horse. Just imagine the grave old gentleman clattering and +stamping into the schoolroom on his four hoofs, perhaps +treading on some little fellow's toes, flourishing his switch +tail instead of a rod and now and then trotting out of doors +to eat a mouthful of grass! I wonder what the blacksmith +charged him for a set of iron shoes.</p> + +<p>So Jason dwelt in the cave, with this four-footed Chiron +from the time that he was an infant only a few months old, +until he had grown to the full height of a man. He became a +very good harper, I suppose, and skilful in the use of weapons +and tolerably acquainted with herbs and other doctor's stuff, +and above all, an admirable horseman; for, in teaching young +people to ride, the good Chiron must have been without a +rival among schoolmasters. At length, being now a tall and +athletic youth, Jason resolved to seek his fortune in the +world without asking Chiron's advice or telling him anything +about the matter. This was very unwise, to be sure; and I +hope none of you, my little hearers, will ever follow Jason's +example. But, you are to understand, he had heard how that +he himself was a prince royal, and how his father, King Æson, +had been deprived of the kingdom of Iolchos by a certain +Pelias, who would also have killed Jason had he not been +hidden in the Centaur's cave. And being come to the strength +of a man, Jason determined to set all this business to rights +and to punish the wicked Pelias for wronging his dear father, +and to cast him down from the throne and seat himself there +instead.</p> + +<p>With this intention he took a spear in each hand and threw +a leopard's skin over his shoulders to keep off the rain, and set +forth on his travels, with his long yellow ringlets waving in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> +the wind. The part of his dress on which he most prided +himself was a pair of sandals that had been his father's. +They were handsomely embroidered and were tied upon his +feet with strings of gold. But his whole attire was such as +people did not very often see; and as he passed along, the +women and children ran to the doors and windows, wondering +whither this beautiful youth was journeying, with his leopard's +skin and his golden-tied sandals, and what heroic deeds he +meant to perform, with a spear in his right hand and another +in his left.</p> + +<p>I know not how far Jason had traveled when he came to +a turbulent river, which rushed right across his pathway +with specks of white foam along its black eddies, hurrying +tumultuously onward and roaring angrily as it went. Though +not a very broad river in the dry seasons of the year, it was +now swollen by heavy rains and by the melting of the snow on +the sides of Mount Olympus; and it thundered so loudly and +looked so wild and dangerous that Jason, bold as he was, +thought it prudent to pause upon the brink. The bed of +the stream seemed to be strewn with sharp and rugged rocks, +some of which thrust themselves above the water. By and +by an uprooted tree, with shattered branches, came drifting +along the current and got entangled among the rocks. Now +and then a drowned sheep and once the carcass of a cow +floated past.</p> + +<p>In short, the swollen river had already done a great deal of +mischief. It was evidently too deep for Jason to wade and +too boisterous for him to swim; he could see no bridge, and as +for a boat, had there been any, the rocks would have broken +it to pieces in an instant.</p> + +<p>"See the poor lad," said a cracked voice close to his side. +"He must have had but a poor education, since he does not +know how to cross a little stream like this. Or is he afraid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> +of wetting his fine golden-stringed sandals? It is a pity his +four-footed schoolmaster is not here to carry him safely +across on his back!"</p> + +<p>Jason looked round greatly surprised, for he did not know +that anybody was near. But beside him stood an old woman, +with a ragged mantle over her head, leaning on a staff, the +top of which was carved into the shape of a cuckoo. She +looked very aged and wrinkled and infirm; and yet her +eyes, which were as brown as those of an ox, were so extremely +large and beautiful that when they were fixed on Jason's +eyes he could see nothing else but them. The old woman had +a pomegranate in her hand, although the fruit was then quite +out of season.</p> + +<p>"Whither are you going, Jason?" she now asked.</p> + +<p>She seemed to know his name, you will observe; and, +indeed, those great brown eyes looked as if they had a knowledge +of everything, whether past or to come. While Jason +was gazing at her a peacock strutted forward and took his +stand at the old woman's side.</p> + +<p>"I am going to Iolchos," answered the young man, "to +bid the wicked King Pelias come down from my father's +throne and let me reign in his stead."</p> + +<p>"Ah, well, then," said the old woman, still with the same +cracked voice, "if that is all your business, you need not be +in a very great hurry. Just take me on your back, there's +a good youth, and carry me across the river. I and my +peacock have something to do on the other side, as well as +yourself."</p> + +<p>"Good mother," replied Jason, "your business can hardly +be so important as the pulling down a king from his throne. +Besides, as you may see for yourself, the river is very boisterous; +and if I should chance to stumble, it would sweep both +of us away more easily than it has carried off yonder uprooted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> +tree. I would gladly help you if I could, but I doubt whether +I am strong enough to carry you across."</p> + +<p>"Then," said she very scornfully, "neither are you strong +enough to pull King Pelias off his throne. And, Jason, unless +you will help an old woman at her need, you ought not to be a +king. What are kings made for, save to succor the feeble +and distressed? But do as you please. Either take me on +your back, or with my poor old limbs I shall try my best to +struggle across the stream."</p> + +<p>Saying this, the old woman poked with her staff in the river +as if to find the safest place in its rocky bed where she might +make the first step. But Jason by this time had grown +ashamed of his reluctance to help her. He felt that he could +never forgive himself if this poor feeble creature should come +to any harm in attempting to wrestle against the headlong +current. The good Chiron, whether half horse or no, had +taught him that the noblest use of his strength was to assist +the weak; and also that he must treat every young woman +as if she were his sister and every old one like a mother. +Remembering these maxims, the vigorous and beautiful young +man knelt down and requested the good dame to mount upon +his back.</p> + +<p>"The passage seems to me not very safe," he remarked, +"but as your business is so urgent I will try to carry you +across. If the river sweeps you away it shall take me, too."</p> + +<p>"That, no doubt, will be a great comfort to both of us," +quoth the old woman. "But never fear! We shall get safely +across."</p> + +<p>So she threw her arms around Jason's neck; and, lifting +her from the ground, he stepped boldly into the raging and +foamy current, and began to stagger away from the shore. +As for the peacock, it alighted on the old dame's shoulder. +Jason's two spears, one in each hand, kept him from stumbling<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> +and enabled him to feel his way among the hidden rocks; +although every instant he expected that his companion and +himself would go down the stream together with the driftwood +of shattered trees and the carcasses of the sheep and cow. +Down came the cold, snowy torrent from the steep side of +Olympus, raging and thundering as if it had a real spite against +Jason or, at all events, were determined to snatch off his +living burden from his shoulders. When he was half way +across the uprooted tree (which I have already told you about) +broke loose from among the rocks and bore down upon him +with all its splintered branches sticking out like the hundred +arms of the giant Briareus. It rushed past, however, without +touching him. But the next moment his foot was caught in a +crevice between two rocks and stuck there so fast that in the +effort to get free he lost one of his golden-stringed sandals.</p> + +<p>At this accident Jason could not help uttering a cry of +vexation.</p> + +<p>"What is the matter, Jason?" asked the old woman.</p> + +<p>"Matter enough," said the young man. "I have lost a +sandal here among the rocks. And what sort of a figure shall +I cut at the court of King Pelias with a golden-stringed sandal +on one foot and the other foot bare!"</p> + +<p>"Do not take it to heart," answered his companion cheerily. +"You never met with better fortune than in losing that +sandal. It satisfies me that you are the very person whom +the Speaking Oak has been talking about."</p> + +<p>There was no time just then to inquire what the Speaking +Oak had said. But the briskness of her tone encouraged the +young man; and, besides, he had never in his life felt so +vigorous and mighty as since taking this old woman on his +back. Instead of being exhausted he gathered strength as +he went on; and, struggling up against the torrent, he at +last gained the opposite shore, clambered up the bank and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> +set down the old dame and her peacock safely on the grass. +As soon as this was done, however, he could not help looking +rather despondently at his bare foot, with only a remnant of +the golden string of the sandal clinging round his ankle.</p> + +<p>"You will get a handsomer pair of sandals by and by," +said the old woman, with a kindly look out of her beautiful +brown eyes. "Only let King Pelias get a glimpse of that +bare foot and you shall see him turn as pale as ashes, I promise +you. There is your path. Go along, my good Jason, and my +blessing go with you. And when you sit on your throne +remember the old woman whom you helped over the river."</p> + +<p>With these words she hobbled away, giving him a smile +over her shoulder as she departed. Whether the light of her +beautiful brown eyes threw a glory round about her, or whatever +the cause might be, Jason fancied that there was something +very noble and majestic in her figure after all, and that, +though her gait seemed to be a rheumatic hobble, yet she +moved with as much grace and dignity as any queen on earth. +Her peacock, which had now fluttered down from her shoulder, +strutted behind her in prodigious pomp and spread out its +magnificent tail on purpose for Jason to admire it.</p> + +<p>When the old dame and her peacock were out of sight +Jason set forward on his journey. After traveling a pretty +long distance he came to a town situated at the foot of a +mountain and not a great way from the shore of the sea. On +the outside of the town there was an immense crowd of people, +not only men and women, but children, too, all in their best +clothes and evidently enjoying a holiday. The crowd was +thickest toward the seashore, and in that direction, over the +people's heads, Jason saw a wreath of smoke curling upward +to the blue sky. He inquired of one of the multitude what +town it was near by and why so many persons were here +assembled together.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> +"This is the kingdom of Iolchos," answered the man, "and +we are the subjects of King Pelias. Our monarch has summoned +us together, that we may see him sacrifice a black bull +to Neptune, who, they say, is his majesty's father. Yonder +is the king, where you see the smoke going up from the altar."</p> + +<p>While the man spoke he eyed Jason with great curiosity; +for his garb was quite unlike that of the Iolchians, and it +looked very odd to see a youth with a leopard's skin over his +shoulders and each hand grasping a spear. Jason perceived, +too, that the man stared particularly at his feet, one of which, +you remember, was bare, while the other was decorated with +his father's golden-stringed sandal.</p> + +<p>"Look at him! only look at him!" said the man to his next +neighbor. "Do you see? He wears but one sandal!"</p> + +<p>Upon this, first one person and then another began to stare +at Jason, and everybody seemed to be greatly struck with +something in his aspect; though they turned their eyes much +oftener toward his feet than to any other part of his figure. +Besides, he could hear them whispering to one another.</p> + +<p>"One sandal! One sandal!" they kept saying. "The +man with one sandal! Here he is at last! Whence has he +come? What does he mean to do? What will the king say +to the one-sandaled man?"</p> + +<p>Poor Jason was greatly abashed and made up his mind that +the people of Iolchos were exceedingly ill-bred to take such +public notice of an accidental deficiency in his dress. Meanwhile, +whether it were that they hustled him forward or that +Jason of his own accord thrust a passage through the crowd, +it so happened that he soon found himself close to the smoking +altar, where King Pelias was sacrificing the black bull. The +murmur and hum of the multitude, in their surprise at the +spectacle of Jason with his one bare foot, grew so loud that it +disturbed the ceremonies; and the king, holding the great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +knife with which he was just going to cut the bull's throat, +turned angrily about and fixed his eyes on Jason. The people +had now withdrawn from around him, so that the youth +stood in an open space, near the smoking altar, front to front +with the angry King Pelias.</p> + +<p>"Who are you?" cried the king, with a terrible frown. +"And how dare you make this disturbance, while I am sacrificing +a black bull to my father Neptune?"</p> + +<p>"It is no fault of mine," answered Jason. "Your majesty +must blame the rudeness of your subjects, who have raised +all this tumult because one of my feet happens to be bare."</p> + +<p>When Jason said this the king gave a quick, startled glance +at his feet.</p> + +<p>"Ha!" muttered he, "here is the one-sandaled fellow, sure +enough! What can I do with him?"</p> + +<p>And he clutched more closely the great knife in his hand, +as if he were half a mind to slay Jason instead of the black +bull. The people round about caught up the king's words, +indistinctly as they were uttered; and first there was a murmur +among them and then a loud shout.</p> + +<p>"The one-sandaled man has come! The prophecy must be +fulfilled!"</p> + +<p>For you are to know that many years before King Pelias +had been told by the Speaking Oak of Dodona that a man +with one sandal should cast him down from his throne. +On this account he had given strict orders that nobody should +ever come into his presence unless both sandals were securely +tied upon his feet; and he kept an officer in his palace whose +sole business it was to examine people's sandals and to supply +them with a new pair at the expense of the royal treasury as +soon as the old ones began to wear out. In the whole course +of the king's reign he had never been thrown into such a +fright and agitation as by the spectacle of poor Jason's bare<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> +foot. But as he was naturally a bold and hard-hearted man, +he soon took courage and began to consider in what way he +might rid himself of this terrible one-sandaled stranger.</p> + +<p>"My good young man," said King Pelias, taking the +softest tone imaginable in order to throw Jason off his guard, +"you are excessively welcome to my kingdom. Judging +by your dress, you must have traveled a long distance, for +it is not the fashion to wear leopard-skins in this part of the +world. Pray, what may I call your name, and where did you +receive your education?"</p> + +<p>"My name is Jason," answered the young stranger. "Ever +since my infancy I have dwelt in the cave of Chiron the Centaur. +He was my instructor, and taught me music and horsemanship +and how to cure wounds, and likewise how to inflict +wounds with my weapons!"</p> + +<p>"I have heard of Chiron the schoolmaster," replied King +Pelias, "and how that there is an immense deal of learning +and wisdom in his head, although it happens to be set on a +horse's body. It gives me great delight to see one of his +scholars at my court. But to test how much you have profited +under so excellent a teacher, will you allow me to ask you a +single question?"</p> + +<p>"I do not pretend to be very wise," said Jason; "but ask +me what you please and I will answer to the best of my +ability."</p> + +<p>Now King Pelias meant cunningly to entrap the young man +and to make him say something that should be the cause of +mischief and destruction to himself. So with a crafty and +evil smile upon his face, he spoke as follows:</p> + +<p>"What would you do, brave Jason," asked he, "if there +were a man in the world by whom, as you had reason to believe, +you were doomed to be ruined and slain—what would you do, +I say, if that man stood before you and in your power?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> +When Jason saw the malice and wickedness which King +Pelias could not prevent from gleaming out of his eyes, he +probably guessed that the king had discovered what he came +for, and that he intended to turn his own words against himself. +Still, he scorned to tell a falsehood. Like an upright +and honorable prince, as he was, he determined to speak out +the real truth. Since the king had chosen to ask him the +question and since Jason had promised him an answer, there +was no right way save to tell him precisely what would be +the most prudent thing to do if he had his worst enemy in his +power.</p> + +<p>Therefore, after a moment's consideration, he spoke up +with a firm and manly voice:</p> + +<p>"I would send such a man," said he, "in quest of the +Golden Fleece!"</p> + +<p>This enterprise, you will understand, was, of all others, the +most difficult and dangerous in the world. In the first place, +it would be necessary to make a long voyage through unknown +seas. There was hardly a hope or a possibility that any young +man who should undertake this voyage would either succeed +in obtaining the Golden Fleece or would survive to return +home and tell of the perils he had run. The eyes of King +Pelias sparkled with joy, therefore, when he heard Jason's +reply.</p> + +<p>"Well said, wise man with the one sandal!" cried he. "Go, +then, and at the peril of your life bring me back the Golden +Fleece!"</p> + +<p>"I go," answered Jason composedly. "If I fail, you need +not fear that I will ever come back to trouble you again. +But if I return to Iolchos with the prize, then, King Pelias, +you must hasten down from your lofty throne and give me +your crown and scepter."</p> + +<p>"That I will," said the king, with a sneer. "Meantime +I will keep them very safely for you."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> +The first thing that Jason thought of doing after he left +the king's presence was to go to Dodona and inquire of the +Talking Oak what course it was best to pursue. This wonderful +tree stood in the center of an ancient wood. Its stately +trunk rose up a hundred feet into the air and threw a broad +and dense shadow over more than an acre of ground. Standing +beneath it, Jason looked up among the knotted branches and +green leaves and into the mysterious heart of the old tree, and +spoke aloud, as if he were addressing some person who was +hidden in the depths of the foliage.</p> + +<p>"What shall I do," said he, "in order to win the Golden +Fleece?"</p> + +<p>At first there was a deep silence, not only within the shadow +of the Talking Oak, but all through the solitary wood. In +a moment or two, however, the leaves of the oak began to stir +and rustle as if a gentle breeze were wandering among them, +although the other trees of the wood were perfectly still. +The sound grew louder and became like the roar of a high +wind. By and by Jason imagined that he could distinguish +words, but very confusedly, because each separate leaf of the +tree seemed to be a tongue and the whole myriad of tongues +were babbling at once. But the noise waxed broader and +deeper until it resembled a tornado sweeping through the oak +and making one great utterance out of the thousand and +thousand of little murmurs which each leafy tongue had caused +by its rustling. And now, though it still had the tone of a +mighty wind roaring among the branches, it was also like a +deep bass voice speaking, as distinctly as a tree could be +expected to speak, the following words:</p> + +<p>"Go to Argus, the shipbuilder, and bid him build a galley +with fifty oars."</p> + +<p>Then the voice melted again into the indistinct murmur of +the rustling leaves and died gradually away. When it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> +quite gone Jason felt inclined to doubt whether he had actually +heard the words or whether his fancy had not shaped them out +of the ordinary sound made by a breeze while passing through +the thick foliage of the tree.</p> + +<p>But on inquiry among the people of Iolchos, he found that +there was really a man in the city by the name of Argus, who +was a very skilful builder of vessels. This showed some +intelligence in the oak, else how should it have known that +any such person existed? At Jason's request Argus readily +consented to build him a galley so big that it should require +fifty strong men to row it, although no vessel of such a size +and burden had heretofore been seen in the world. So the +head carpenter and all his journeymen and apprentices began +their work; and for a good while afterward there they were +busily employed hewing out the timbers and making a great +clatter with their hammers, until the new ship, which was +called the Argo, seemed to be quite ready for sea. And as the +Talking Oak had already given him such good advice, Jason +thought that it would not be amiss to ask for a little more. +He visited it again, therefore, and standing beside its huge, +rough trunk, inquired what he should do next.</p> + +<p>This time there was no such universal quivering of the +leaves throughout the whole tree as there had been before. +But after a while Jason observed that the foliage of a great +branch which stretched above his head had begun to rustle +as if the wind were stirring that one bough, while all the other +boughs of the oak were at rest.</p> + +<p>"Cut me off!" said the branch, as soon as it could speak +distinctly; "cut me off! cut me off! and carve me into a figurehead +for your galley."</p> + +<p>Accordingly, Jason took the branch at its word and lopped +it off the tree. A carver in the neighborhood engaged to +make the figurehead. He was a tolerably good workman and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> +had already carved several figureheads in what he intended +for feminine shapes, and looking pretty much like those +which we see nowadays stuck up under a vessel's bowsprit, +with great staring eyes that never wink at the dash of the +spray. But (what was very strange) the carver found that +his hand was guided by some unseen power and by a skill +beyond his own, and that his tools shaped out an image which +he had never dreamed of. When the work was finished it +turned out to be the figure of a beautiful woman, with a helmet +on her head, from beneath which the long ringlets fell down +upon her shoulders. On the left arm was a shield and in its +center appeared a lifelike representation of the head of Medusa +with the snaky locks. The right arm was extended as if +pointing onward. The face of this wonderful statue, though +not angry or forbidding, was so grave and majestic that perhaps +you might call it severe; and as for the mouth, it seemed just +ready to unclose its lips and utter words of the deepest wisdom.</p> + +<p>Jason was delighted with the oaken image and gave the +carver no rest until it was completed and set up where a +figurehead has always stood, from that time to this, in the +vessel's prow.</p> + +<p>"And now," cried he, as he stood gazing at the calm, +majestic face of the statue, "I must go to the Talking Oak and +inquire what next to do."</p> + +<p>"There is no need of that, Jason," said a voice which, though +it was far lower, reminded him of the mighty tones of the great +oak. "When you desire good advice you can seek it of me."</p> + +<p>Jason had been looking straight into the face of the image +when these words were spoken. But he could hardly believe +either his ears or his eyes. The truth was, however, that the +oaken lips had moved, and to all appearance, the voice had +proceeded from the statue's mouth. Recovering a little from +his surprise, Jason bethought himself that the image had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> +carved out of the wood of the Talking Oak, and that, therefore, +it was really no great wonder, but, on the contrary, the most +natural thing in the world, that it should possess the faculty +of speech. It should have been very odd indeed if it had not. +But certainly it was a great piece of good fortune that he should +be able to carry so wise a block of wood along with him in his +perilous voyage.</p> + +<p>"Tell me, wondrous image," exclaimed Jason, "since you +inherit the wisdom of the Speaking Oak of Dodona, whose +daughter you are—tell me, where shall I find fifty bold youths +who will take each of them an oar of my galley? They must +have sturdy arms to row and brave hearts to encounter perils, +or we shall never win the Golden Fleece."</p> + +<p>"Go," replied the oaken image, "go, summon all the heroes +of Greece."</p> + +<p>And, in fact, considering what a great deed was to be done, +could any advice be wiser than this which Jason received from +the figurehead of his vessel? He lost no time in sending +messengers to all the cities, and making known to the whole +people of Greece that Prince Jason, the son of King Æson, +was going in quest of the Fleece of Gold, and he desired the +help of forty-nine of the bravest and strongest young men +alive, to row his vessel and share his dangers. And Jason +himself would be the fiftieth.</p> + +<p>At this news the adventurous youths all over the country +began to bestir themselves. Some of them had already fought +with giants and slain dragons; and the younger ones, who had +not yet met with such good fortune, thought it a shame to +have lived so long without getting astride of a flying serpent +or sticking their spears into a Chimæra, or at least thrusting +their right arms down a monstrous lion's throat. There was +a fair prospect that they would meet with plenty of such +adventures before finding the Golden Fleece. As soon as they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> +could furbish up their helmets and shields, therefore, and gird +on their trusty swords, they came thronging to Iolchos and +clambered on board the new galley. Shaking hands with +Jason, they assured him that they did not care a pin for their +lives, but would help row the vessel to the remotest edge of +the world and as much further as he might think it best to go.</p> + +<p>Many of these brave fellows had been educated by Chiron, +the four-footed pedagogue, and were therefore old schoolmates +of Jason and knew him to be a lad of spirit. The mighty +Hercules, whose shoulders afterward held up the sky, was one +of them. And there were Castor and Pollux, the twin brothers, +who were never accused of being chicken-hearted, although +they had been hatched out of an egg; and Theseus, who was +so renowned for killing the Minotaur; and Lynceus, with his +wonderfully sharp eyes, which could see through a millstone +or look right down into the depths of the earth and discover +the treasures that were there; and Orpheus, the very best of +harpers, who sang and played upon his lyre so sweetly that +the brute beasts stood upon their hind legs and capered merrily +to the music. Yes, and at some of his more moving tunes the +rocks bestirred their moss-grown bulk out of the ground, and +a grove of forest trees uprooted themselves and, nodding their +tops to one another, performed a country dance.</p> + +<p>One of the rowers was a beautiful young woman named +Atalanta, who had been nursed among the mountains by a +bear. So light of foot was this fair damsel that she could step +from one foamy crest of a wave to the foamy crest of another +without wetting more than the sole of her sandal. She had +grown up in a very wild way and talked much about the rights +of women, and loved hunting and war far better than her +needle. But in my opinion, the most remarkable of this +famous company were two sons of the North Wind (airy +youngsters, and of rather a blustering disposition), who had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> +wings on their shoulders, and, in case of a calm, could puff +out their cheeks and blow almost as fresh a breeze as their +father. I ought not to forget the prophets and conjurers, +of whom there were several in the crew, and who could foretell +what would happen tomorrow, or the next day, or a hundred +years hence, but were generally quite unconscious of what was +passing at the moment.</p> + +<p>Jason appointed Tiphys to be helmsman, because he was a +star-gazer and knew the points of the compass. Lynceus, on +account of his sharp sight, was stationed as a lookout in the +prow, where he saw a whole day's sail ahead, but was rather +apt to overlook things that lay directly under his nose. If +the sea only happened to be deep enough, however, Lynceus +could tell you exactly what kind of rocks or sands were at the +bottom of it; and he often cried out to his companions that +they were sailing over heaps of sunken treasure, which yet he +was none the richer for beholding. To confess the truth, few +people believed him when he said it.</p> + +<p>Well! But when the Argonauts, as these fifty brave adventurers +were called, had prepared everything for the voyage, +an unforeseen difficulty threatened to end it before it was +begun. The vessel, you must understand, was so long and +broad and ponderous that the united force of all the fifty was +insufficient to shove her into the water. Hercules, I suppose, +had not grown to his full strength, else he might have set her +afloat as easily as a little boy launches his boat upon a puddle. +But here were these fifty heroes, pushing and straining and +growing red in the face without making the Argo start an +inch. At last, quite wearied out, they sat themselves down on +the shore, exceedingly disconsolate and thinking that the +vessel must be left to rot and fall in pieces and that they must +either swim across the sea or lose the Golden Fleece.</p> + +<p>All at once Jason bethought himself of the galley's miraculous +figurehead.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> +"Oh, daughter of the Talking Oak," cried he, "how shall +we set to work to get our vessel into the water?"</p> + +<p>"Seat yourselves," answered the image (for it had known +what had ought to be done from the very first and was only +waiting for the question to be put), "seat yourselves and handle +your oars, and let Orpheus play upon his harp."</p> + +<p>Immediately the fifty heroes got on board, and seizing their +oars, held them perpendicularly in the air, while Orpheus +(who liked such a task far better than rowing) swept his +fingers across the harp. At the first ringing note of the music +they felt the vessel stir. Orpheus thrummed away briskly +and the galley slid at once into the sea, dipping her prow so +deeply that the figurehead drank the wave with its marvelous +lips, and rising again as buoyant as a swan. The rowers +plied their fifty oars, the white foam boiled up before the prow, +the water gurgled and bubbled in their wake, while Orpheus +continued to play so lively a strain of music that the vessel +seemed to dance over the billows by way of keeping time to it. +Thus triumphantly did the Argo sail out of the harbor amid +the huzzas and good wishes of everybody except the wicked +old Pelias, who stood on a promontory scowling at her and +wishing that he could blow out of his lungs the tempest of +wrath that was in his heart and so sink the galley with all on +board. When they had sailed above fifty miles over the sea +Lynceus happened to cast his sharp eyes behind, and said +that there was this bad-hearted king, still perched upon the +promontory, and scowling so gloomily that it looked like a +black thunder-cloud in that quarter of the horizon.</p> + +<p>In order to make the time pass away more pleasantly during +the voyage, the heroes talked about the Golden Fleece. It +originally belonged, it appears, to a Bœotian ram, who had +taken on his back two children, when in danger of their lives, +and fled with them over land and sea as far as Colchis. One<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> +of the children, whose name was Helle, fell into the sea and +was drowned. But the other (a little boy named Phrixus) +was brought safe ashore by the faithful ram, who, however, +was so exhausted that he immediately lay down and died. +In memory of this good deed, and as a token of his true heart, +the fleece of the poor dead ram was miraculously changed +to gold and became one of the most beautiful objects ever seen +on earth. It was hung upon a tree in a sacred grove, where +it had now been kept I know not how many years, and was +the envy of mighty kings who had nothing so magnificent in +any of their palaces.</p> + +<p>If I were to tell you all the adventures of the Argonauts +it would take me till nightfall and perhaps a great deal longer. +There was no lack of wonderful events, as you may judge +from what you have already heard. At a certain island they +were hospitably received by King Cyzicus, its sovereign, +who made a feast for them and treated them like brothers. +But the Argonauts saw that this good king looked downcast +and very much troubled, and they therefore inquired of him +what was the matter. King Cyzicus hereupon informed +them that he and his subjects were greatly abused and incommoded +by the inhabitants of a neighboring mountain, who +made war upon them and killed many people and ravaged the +country. And while they were talking about it Cyzicus +pointed to the mountain and asked Jason and his companions +what they saw there.</p> + +<p>"I see some very tall objects," answered Jason, "but they +are at such a distance that I cannot distinctly make out what +they are. To tell your majesty the truth, they look so very +strangely that I am inclined to think them clouds which have +chanced to take something like human shapes."</p> + +<p>"I see them very plainly," remarked Lynceus, whose eyes, +you know, were as far-sighted as a telescope. "They are a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> +band of enormous giants, all of whom have six arms apiece, +and a club, a sword or some other weapon in each of their +hands."</p> + +<p>"You have excellent eyes," said King Cyzicus. "Yes, they +are six-armed giants, as you say, and these are the enemies +whom I and my subjects have to contend with."</p> + +<p>The next day, when the Argonauts were about setting sail, +down came these terrible giants, stepping a hundred yards at +a stride, brandishing their six arms apiece and looking very +formidable so far aloft in the air. Each of these monsters +was able to carry on a whole war by himself, for with one of +his arms he could fling immense stones and wield a club with +another and a sword with a third, while a fourth was poking +a long spear at the enemy and the fifth and sixth were shooting +him with a bow and arrow. But luckily, though the giants +were so huge and had so many arms, they had each but one +heart and that no bigger nor braver than the heart of an +ordinary man. Besides, if they had been like the hundred-armed +Briareus, the brave Argonauts would have given them +their hands full of fight. Jason and his friends went boldly +to meet them, slew a great many and made the rest take to +their heels—so that if the giants had had six legs apiece instead +of six arms, it would have served them better to run away with.</p> + +<p>Another strange adventure happened when the voyagers +came to Thrace, where they found a poor blind king named +Phineus, deserted by his subjects and living in a very sorrowful +way all by himself. On Jason's inquiring whether they could +do him any service, the king answered that he was terribly +tormented by three great winged creatures called Harpies, +which had the faces of women and the wings, bodies and claws +of vultures. These ugly wretches were in the habit of snatching +away his dinner, and allowed him no peace of his life. +Upon hearing this the Argonauts spread a plentiful feast<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> +on the seashore, well knowing from what the blind king said +of their greediness that the Harpies would snuff up the scent +of the victuals and quickly come to steal them away. And so +it turned out, for hardly was the table set before the three +hideous vulture-women came flapping their wings, seized the +food in their talons and flew off as fast as they could. But +the two sons of the North Wind drew their swords, spread +their pinions and set off through the air in pursuit of the +thieves, whom they at last overtook among some islands, after +a chase of hundreds of miles. The two winged youths blustered +terribly at the Harpies (for they had the rough temper of +their father), and so frightened them with their drawn swords +that they solemnly promised never to trouble King Phineus +again.</p> + +<p>Then the Argonauts sailed onward and met with many +other marvelous incidents, any one of which would make a +story by itself. At one time they landed on an island and +were reposing on the grass, when they suddenly found themselves +assailed by what seemed a shower of steel-headed +arrows. Some of them stuck in the ground, while others hit +against their shields and several penetrated their flesh. The +fifty heroes started up and looked about them for the hidden +enemy, but could find none nor see any spot on the whole +island where even a single archer could lie concealed. Still, +however, the steel-headed arrows came whizzing among them; +and at last, happening to look upward, they beheld a large +flock of birds hovering and wheeling aloft and shooting their +feathers down upon the Argonauts. These feathers were the +steel-headed arrows that had so tormented them. There was +no possibility of making any resistance, and the fifty heroic +Argonauts might all have been killed or wounded by a flock +of troublesome birds without ever setting eyes on the Golden +Fleece if Jason had not thought of asking the advice of the +oaken image.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> +So he ran to the galley as fast as his legs would carry him.</p> + +<p>"O daughter of the Speaking Oak," cried he, all out of +breath, "we need your wisdom more than ever before! We +are in great peril from a flock of birds, who are shooting us +with their steel-pointed feathers. What can we do to drive +them away?"</p> + +<p>"Make a clatter on your shields," said the image.</p> + +<p>On receiving this excellent counsel, Jason hurried back to +his companions (who were far more dismayed than when they +fought with the six-armed giants) and bade them strike with +their swords upon their brazen shields. Forthwith the fifty +heroes set heartily to work, banging with might and main, +and raised such a terrible clatter that the birds made what +haste they could to get away; and though they had shot half +the feathers out of their wings, they were soon seen skimming +among the clouds, a long distance off and looking like a flock +of wild geese. Orpheus celebrated this victory by playing a +triumphant anthem on his harp, and sang so melodiously +that Jason begged him to desist, lest, as the steel-feathered +birds had been driven away by an ugly sound, they might be +enticed back again by a sweet one.</p> + +<p>While the Argonauts remained on this island they saw a +small vessel approaching the shore, in which were two young +men of princely demeanor, and exceedingly handsome, as +young princes generally were in those days. Now, who do +you imagine these two voyagers turned out to be? Why, if +you will believe me, they were the sons of that very Phrixus, +who in his childhood had been carried to Colchis on the back +of the golden-fleeced ram. Since that time Phrixus had married +the king's daughter, and the two young princes had been +born and brought up at Colchis, and had spent their play days +on the outskirts of the grove, in the center of which the Golden +Fleece was hanging upon a tree. They were now on their way<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> +to Greece, in hopes of getting back a kingdom that had been +wrongfully taken from their father.</p> + +<p>When the princes understood whither the Argonauts were +going they offered to turn back and guide them to Colchis. +At the same time, however, they spoke as if it were very doubtful +whether Jason would succeed in getting the Golden +Fleece. According to their account, the tree on which it +hung was guarded by a terrible dragon, who never failed to +devour at one mouthful every person who might venture +within his reach.</p> + +<p>"There are other difficulties in the way," continued the +young princes. "But is not this enough? Ah, brave Jason, +turn back before it is too late! It would grieve us to the heart +if you and your forty-nine brave companions should be eaten +up, at fifty mouthfuls, by this execrable dragon."</p> + +<p>"My young friends," quietly replied Jason, "I do not wonder +that you think the dragon very terrible. You have grown up +from infancy in the fear of this monster, and therefore still +regard him with the awe that children feel for the bugbears +and hobgoblins which their nurses have talked to them about. +But in my view of the matter, the dragon is merely a pretty +large serpent who is not half so likely to snap me up at one +mouthful as I am to cut off his ugly head and strip the skin +from his body. At all events, turn back who may, I will +never see Greece again unless I carry with me the Golden +Fleece."</p> + +<p>"We will none of us turn back!" cried his forty-nine brave +comrades. "Let us get on board the galley this instant, +and if the dragon is to make a breakfast of us, much good may +it do him."</p> + +<p>And Orpheus (whose custom it was to set everything to +music) began to harp and sing most gloriously, and made +every mother's son of them feel as if nothing in this world<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> +were so delectable as to fight dragons and nothing so truly honorable +as to be eaten up at one mouthful, in case of the worst.</p> + +<p>After this (being now under the guidance of the two princes, +who were well acquainted with the way) they quickly sailed +to Colchis. When the king of the country, whose name was +Æetes, heard of their arrival, he instantly summoned Jason to +court. The king was a stern and cruel-looking potentate, +and though he put on as polite and hospitable an expression +as he could, Jason did not like his face a whit better than that +of the wicked King Pelias, who dethroned his father.</p> + +<p>"You are welcome, brave Jason," said King Æetes. "Pray, +are you on a pleasure voyage?—or do you meditate the discovery +of unknown islands?—or what other cause has procured +me the happiness of seeing you at my court?"</p> + +<p>"Great sir," replied Jason, with an obeisance—for Chiron +had taught him how to behave with propriety, whether to +kings or beggars—"I have come hither with a purpose which +I now beg your majesty's permission to execute. King Pelias, +who sits on my father's throne (to which he has no more right +than to the one on which your excellent majesty is now +seated), has engaged to come down from it and to give me his +crown and scepter, provided I bring him the Golden Fleece. +This, as your majesty is aware, is now hanging on a tree here +at Colchis; and I humbly solicit your gracious leave to take +it away."</p> + +<p>In spite of himself, the king's face twisted itself into an +angry frown; for, above all things else in the world, he prized +the Golden Fleece, and was even suspected of having done a +very wicked act in order to get it into his own possession. +It put him into the worst possible humor, therefore, to hear +that the gallant Prince Jason and forty-nine of the bravest +young warriors of Greece had come to Colchis with the sole +purpose of taking away his chief treasure.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +"Do you know," asked King Æetes, eyeing Jason very +sternly, "what are the conditions which you must fulfill +before getting possession of the Golden Fleece?"</p> + +<p>"I have heard," rejoined the youth, "that a dragon lies +beneath the tree on which the prize hangs, and that whoever +approaches him runs the risk of being devoured at a +mouthful."</p> + +<p>"True," said the king, with a smile that did not look +particularly good-natured. "Very true, young man. But +there are other things as hard, or perhaps a little harder, to be +done before you can even have the privilege of being devoured +by the dragon. For example, you must first tame my two +brazen-footed and brazen-lunged bulls, which Vulcan, the +wonderful blacksmith, made for me. There is a furnace in +each of their stomachs, and they breathe such hot fire out of +their mouths and nostrils that nobody has hitherto gone nigh +them without being instantly burned to a small, black cinder. +What do you think of this, my brave Jason?"</p> + +<p>"I must encounter the peril," answered Jason composedly, +"since it stands in the way of my purpose."</p> + +<p>"After taming the fiery bulls," continued King Æetes, +who was determined to scare Jason if possible, "you must yoke +them to a plow and must plow the sacred earth in the grove +of Mars and sow some of the same dragon's teeth from which +Cadmus raised a crop of armed men. They are an unruly +set of reprobates, those sons of the dragon's teeth, and unless +you treat them suitably, they will fall upon you sword in hand. +You and your forty-nine Argonauts, my bold Jason, are hardly +numerous or strong enough to fight with such a host as will +spring up."</p> + +<p>"My master Chiron," replied Jason, "taught me long ago +the story of Cadmus. Perhaps I can manage the quarrelsome +sons of the dragon's teeth as well as Cadmus did."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> +"I wish the dragon had him," muttered King Æetes to +himself, "and the four-footed pedant, his schoolmaster, into +the bargain. Why, what a foolhardy, self-conceited coxcomb +he is! We'll see what my fire-breathing bulls will do for him. +Well, Prince Jason," he continued aloud, and as complacently +as he could, "make yourself comfortable for today, and tomorrow +morning, since you insist upon it, you shall try your +skill at the plow."</p> + +<p>While the king talked with Jason a beautiful young woman +was standing behind the throne. She fixed her eyes earnestly +upon the youthful stranger and listened attentively to every +word that was spoken, and when Jason withdrew from the +king's presence this young woman followed him out of the +room.</p> + +<p>"I am the king's daughter," she said to him, "and my name +is Medea. I know a great deal of which other young princesses +are ignorant and can do many things which they would +be afraid so much as to dream of. If you will trust to me I can +instruct you how to tame the fiery bulls and sow the dragon's +teeth and get the Golden Fleece."</p> + +<p>"Indeed, beautiful princess," answered Jason, "if you will +do me this service I promise to be grateful to you my whole +life long."</p> + +<p>Gazing at Medea, he beheld a wonderful intelligence in her +face. She was one of those persons whose eyes are full of +mystery; so that while looking into them, you seem to see a +very great way, as into a deep well, yet can never be certain +whether you see into the furthest depths or whether there be +not something else hidden at the bottom. If Jason had been +capable of fearing anything he would have been afraid of making +this young princess his enemy; for, beautiful as she now +looked, she might the very next instant become as terrible as +the dragon that kept watch over the Golden Fleece.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus09" id="Illus09"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_09.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_09th.jpg" width="274" height="400" +alt="Medea, arms outstretched, stands over the prone dragon. Jason waits +in front of a tree, the golden fleece hanging from its trunk." +title="THE DRAGON FELL AT FULL LENGTH UPON THE GROUND" /></a> +<span class="caption">THE DRAGON FELL AT FULL LENGTH UPON THE GROUND</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> +"Princess," he exclaimed, "you seem indeed very wise and +very powerful. But how can you help me to do the things +of which you speak? Are you an enchantress?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Prince Jason," answered Medea, with a smile, +"you have hit upon the truth. I am an enchantress. Circe, +my father's sister, taught me to be one, and I could tell you, +if I pleased, who was the old woman with the peacock, the +pomegranate and the cuckoo staff, whom you carried over +the river; and likewise, who it is that speaks through the lips +of the oaken image that stands in the prow of your galley. +I am acquainted with some of your secrets, you perceive. +It is well for you that I am favorably inclined, for otherwise +you would hardly escape being snapped up by the dragon."</p> + +<p>"I should not so much care for the dragon," replied Jason, +"if I only knew how to manage the brazen-footed and fiery-lunged +bulls."</p> + +<p>"If you are as brave as I think you, and as you have need +to be," said Medea, "your own bold heart will teach you that +there is but one way of dealing with a mad bull. What it is +I leave you to find out in the moment of peril. As for the fiery +breath of these animals, I have a charmed ointment here +which will prevent you from being burned up and cure you +if you chance to be a little scorched."</p> + +<p>So she put a golden box into his hand and directed him +how to apply the perfumed unguent which it contained, and +where to meet her at midnight.</p> + +<p>"Only be brave," added she, "and before daybreak the +brazen bulls shall be tamed."</p> + +<p>The young man assured her that his heart would not fail +him. He then rejoined his comrades, and told them what +had passed between the princess and himself, and warned +them to be in readiness in case there might be need of their +help.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> +At the appointed hour he met the beautiful Medea on the +marble steps of the king's palace. She gave him a basket, +in which were the dragon's teeth, just as they had been pulled +out of the monster's jaws by Cadmus long ago. Medea then +led Jason down the palace steps and through the silent streets +of the city and into the royal pasture-ground, where the two +brazen-footed bulls were kept. It was a starry night, with a +bright gleam along the eastern edge of the sky, where the moon +was soon going to show herself. After entering the pasture +the princess paused and looked around.</p> + +<p>"There they are," said she, "reposing themselves and chewing +their fiery cuds in that furthest corner of the field. It will +be excellent sport, I assure you, when they catch a glimpse of +your figure. My father and all his court delight in nothing +so much as to see a stranger trying to yoke them in order +to come at the Golden Fleece. It makes a holiday in Colchis +whenever such a thing happens. For my part, I enjoy it +immensely. You cannot imagine in what a mere twinkling +of an eye their hot breath shrivels a young man into a black +cinder."</p> + +<p>"Are you sure, beautiful Medea," asked Jason, "quite +sure, that the unguent in the gold box will prove a remedy +against those terrible burns?"</p> + +<p>"If you doubt, if you are in the least afraid," said the +princess, looking him in the face by the dim starlight, "you +had better never have been born than go a step nigher to the +bulls."</p> + +<p>But Jason had set his heart steadfastly on getting the +Golden Fleece, and I positively doubt whether he would have +gone back without it even had he been certain of finding +himself turned into a red-hot cinder, or a handful of white +ashes the instant he made a step further. He therefore let +go Medea's hand and walked boldly forward in the direction<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> +whither she had pointed. At some distance before him he +perceived four streams of fiery vapor, regularly appearing +and again vanishing after dimly lighting up the surrounding +obscurity. These, you will understand, were caused by the +breath of the brazen bulls, which was quietly stealing out of +their four nostrils as they lay chewing their cuds.</p> + +<p>At the first two or three steps which Jason made the four +fiery streams appeared to gush out somewhat more plentifully, +for the two brazen bulls had heard his foot-tramp and were +lifting up their hot noses to snuff the air. He went a little +further, and by the way in which the red vapor now spouted +forth he judged that the creatures had got upon their feet. +Now he could see glowing sparks and vivid jets of flame. At +the next step each of the bulls made the pasture echo with a +terrible roar, while the burning breath which they thus belched +forth lit up the whole field with a momentary flash.</p> + +<p>One other stride did bold Jason make; and suddenly, as a +streak of lightning, on came these fiery animals, roaring like +thunder and sending out sheets of white flame, which so kindled +up the scene that the young man could discern every object +more distinctly than by daylight. Most distinctly of all he +saw the two horrible creatures galloping right down upon him, +their brazen hoofs rattling and ringing over the ground and +their tails sticking up stiffly into the air, as has always been the +fashion with angry bulls. Their breath scorched the herbage +before them. So intensely hot it was, indeed, that it caught +a dry tree under which Jason was now standing and set it all +in a light blaze. But as for Jason himself (thanks to Medea's +enchanted ointment), the white flame curled around his body +without injuring him a jot more than if he had been made of +asbestos.</p> + +<p>Greatly encouraged at finding himself not yet turned into a +cinder, the young man awaited the attack of the bulls. Just<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> +as the brazen brutes fancied themselves sure of tossing him +into the air he caught one of them by the horn and the other +by his screwed-up tail and held them in a grip like that of an +iron vise, one with his right hand, the other with his left. +Well, he must have been wonderfully strong in his arms, to +be sure! But the secret of the matter was that the brazen +bulls were enchanted creatures and that Jason had broken +the spell of their fiery fierceness by his bold way of handling +them. And ever since that time it has been the favorite +method of brave men, when danger assails them, to do what +they call "taking the bull by the horns"; and to grip him by +the tail is pretty much the same thing—that is, to throw +aside fear and overcome the peril by despising it.</p> + +<p>It was now easy to yoke the bulls and to harness them to +the plow which had lain rusting on the ground for a great +many years gone by, so long was it before anybody could be +found capable of plowing that piece of land. Jason, I suppose, +had been taught how to draw a furrow by the good old Chiron, +who, perhaps, used to allow himself to be harnessed to the +plow. At any rate, our hero succeeded perfectly well in breaking +up the greensward; and by the time that the moon was a +quarter of her journey up the sky the plowed field lay before +him, a large tract of black earth, ready to be sown with the +dragon's teeth. So Jason scattered them broadcast and +harrowed them into the soil with a brush-harrow, and took +his stand on the edge of the field, anxious to see what would +happen next.</p> + +<p>"Must we wait long for harvest-time?" he inquired of +Medea, who was now standing by his side.</p> + +<p>"Whether sooner or later, it will be sure to come," answered +the princess. "A crop of armed men never fails to spring up +when the dragon's teeth have been sown."</p> + +<p>The moon was now high aloft in the heavens and threw its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> +bright beams over the plowed field, where as yet there was +nothing to be seen. Any farmer, on viewing it, would have +said that Jason must wait weeks before the green blades would +peep from among the clods, and whole months before the +yellow grain would be ripened for the sickle. But by and by, +all over the field, there was something that glistened in the +moonbeams like sparkling drops of dew. These bright objects +sprouted higher and proved to be the steel heads of spears. +Then there was a dazzling gleam from a vast number of +polished brass helmets, beneath which, as they grew further +out of the soil, appeared the dark and bearded visages of +warriors, struggling to free themselves from the imprisoning +earth. The first look that they gave at the upper world was a +glare of wrath and defiance. Next were seen their bright +breastplates; in every right hand there was a sword or a +spear and on each left arm a shield; and when this strange +crop of warriors had but half grown out of the earth, they +struggled—such was their impatience of restraint—and, as +it were, tore themselves up by the roots. Wherever a dragon's +tooth had fallen, there stood a man armed for battle. They +made a clangor with their swords against their shields, and +eyed one another fiercely; for they had come into this beautiful +world and into the peaceful moonlight full of rage and +stormy passions and ready to take the life of every human +brother in recompense for the boon of their own existence.</p> + +<p>There have been many other armies in the world that seemed +to possess the same fierce nature with the one which had now +sprouted from the dragon's teeth; but these in the moonlit +field were the more excusable, because they never had women +for their mothers. And now it would have rejoiced any great +captain who was bent on conquering the world, like Alexander +or Napoleon, to raise a crop of armed soldiers as easily as +Jason did!</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> +For awhile the warriors stood flourishing their weapons, +clashing their swords against their shields and boiling over +with the red-hot thirst for battle. Then they began to shout, +"Show us the enemy! Lead us to the charge! Death or +victory! Come on, brave comrades! Conquer or die!" and +a hundred other outcries, such as men always bellow forth +on a battle-field and which these dragon people seemed to have +at their tongues' ends. At last the front rank caught sight +of Jason, who, beholding the flash of so many weapons in the +moonlight, had thought it best to draw his sword. In a +moment all the sons of the dragon's teeth appeared to take +Jason for an enemy; and crying with one voice, "Guard the +Golden Fleece!" they ran at him with uplifted swords and +protruded spears. Jason knew that it would be impossible +to withstand this bloodthirsty battalion with his single arm, +but determined, since there was nothing better to be done, +to die as valiantly as if he himself had sprung from a dragon's +tooth.</p> + +<p>Medea, however, bade him snatch up a stone from the +ground.</p> + +<p>"Throw it among them quickly!" cried she. "It is the +only way to save yourself."</p> + +<p>The armed men were now so nigh that Jason could discern +the fire flashing out of their enraged eyes, when he let fly the +stone and saw it strike the helmet of a tall warrior who was +rushing upon him with his blade aloft. The stone glanced +from this man's helmet to the shield of his nearest comrade, +and thence flew right into the angry face of another, hitting +him smartly between the eyes. Each of the three who had +been struck by the stone took it for granted that his next +neighbor had given him a blow; and instead of running any +further toward Jason, they began to fight among themselves. +The confusion spread through the host, so that it seemed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> +scarcely a moment before they were all hacking, hewing and +stabbing at one another, lopping off arms, heads and legs and +doing such memorable deeds that Jason was filled with immense +admiration; although, at the same time, he could not help +laughing to behold these mighty men punishing each other +for an offense which he himself had committed. In an incredibly +short space of time (almost as short, indeed, as it +had taken them to grow up) all but one of the heroes of the +dragon's teeth were stretched lifeless on the field. The last +survivor, the bravest and strongest of the whole, had just +force enough to wave his crimson sword over his head and give +a shout of exultation, crying, "Victory! Victory! Immortal +fame!" when he himself fell down and lay quietly among his +slain brethren.</p> + +<p>And there was the end of the army that had sprouted from +the dragon's teeth. That fierce and feverish fight was the +only enjoyment which they had tasted on this beautiful earth.</p> + +<p>"Let them sleep in the bed of honor," said the Princess +Medea, with a sly smile at Jason. "The world will always +have simpletons enough, just like them, fighting and dying for +they know not what, and fancying that posterity will take the +trouble to put laurel wreaths on their rusty and battered +helmets. Could you help smiling, Prince Jason, to see the +self-conceit of that last fellow, just as he tumbled down?"</p> + +<p>"It made me very sad," answered Jason gravely. "And +to tell you the truth, princess, the Golden Fleece does not +appear so well worth the winning, after what I have here +beheld."</p> + +<p>"You will think differently in the morning," said Medea. +"True, the Golden Fleece may not be so valuable as you have +thought it; but then there is nothing better in the world, and +one must needs have an object, you know. Come! Your +night's work has been well performed; and tomorrow you can<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> +inform King Æetes that the first part of your allotted task is +fulfilled."</p> + +<p>Agreeably to Medea's advice, Jason went betimes in the +morning to the palace of king Æetes. Entering the presence +chamber, he stood at the foot of the throne and made a low +obeisance.</p> + +<p>"Your eyes look heavy, Prince Jason," observed the king; +"you appear to have spent a sleepless night. I hope you have +been considering the matter a little more wisely and have concluded +not to get yourself scorched to a cinder in attempting +to tame my brazen-lunged bulls."</p> + +<p>"That is already accomplished, may it please your majesty," +replied Jason. "The bulls have been tamed and yoked; +the field has been plowed; the dragon's teeth have been sown +broadcast and harrowed into the soil; the crop of armed +warriors has sprung up and they have slain one another +to the last man. And now I solicit your majesty's permission +to encounter the dragon, that I may take down the Golden +Fleece from the tree and depart with my forty-nine comrades."</p> + +<p>King Æetes scowled and looked very angry and excessively +disturbed; for he knew that, in accordance with his kingly +promise, he ought now to permit Jason to win the fleece if +his courage and skill should enable him to do so. But since +the young man had met with such good luck in the matter of +the brazen bulls and dragon's teeth, the king feared that he +would be equally successful in slaying the dragon. And +therefore, though he would gladly have seen Jason snapped +up at a mouthful, he was resolved (and it was a very wrong +thing of this wicked potentate) not to run any further risk +of losing his beloved fleece.</p> + +<p>"You never would have succeeded in this business, young +man," said he, "if my undutiful daughter Medea had not +helped you with her enchantments. Had you acted fairly,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> +you would have been at this instant a black cinder or a handful +of white ashes. I forbid you, on pain of death, to make any +more attempts to get the Golden Fleece. To speak my mind +plainly, you shall never set eyes on so much as one of its +glistening locks."</p> + +<p>Jason left the king's presence in great sorrow and anger. +He could think of nothing better to be done than to summon +together his forty-nine brave Argonauts, march at once to +the grove of Mars, slay the dragon, take possession of the +Golden Fleece, get on board the Argo and spread all sail for +Iolchos. The success of this scheme depended, it is true, on +the doubtful point whether all the fifty heroes might not be +snapped up as so many mouthfuls by the dragon. But as +Jason was hastening down the palace steps, the Princess +Medea called after him and beckoned him to return. Her +black eyes shone upon him with such a keen intelligence that +he felt as if there were a serpent peeping out of them, and +although she had done him so much service only the night +before, he was by no means very certain that she would not +do him an equally great mischief before sunset. These +enchantresses, you must know, are never to be depended +upon.</p> + +<p>"What says King Æetes, my royal and upright father?" +inquired Medea, slightly smiling. "Will he give you the +Golden Fleece without any further risk or trouble?"</p> + +<p>"On the contrary," answered Jason, "he is very angry with +me for taming the brazen bulls and sowing the dragon's teeth. +And he forbids me to make any more attempts, and positively +refuses to give up the Golden Fleece, whether I slay the +dragon or no."</p> + +<p>"Yes, Jason," said the princess, "and I can tell you more. +Unless you set sail from Colchis before tomorrow's sunrise, +the king means to burn your fifty-oared galley and put yourself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> +and your forty-nine brave comrades to the sword. But +be of good courage. The Golden Fleece you shall have if it +lies within the power of my enchantments to get it for you. +Wait for me here an hour before midnight."</p> + +<p>At the appointed hour you might again have seen Prince +Jason and the Princess Medea, side by side, stealing through +the streets of Colchis on their way to the sacred grove, in the +center of which the Golden Fleece was suspended to a tree. +While they were crossing the pasture ground the brazen bulls +came toward Jason, lowing, nodding their heads and thrusting +forth their snouts, which, as other cattle do, they loved to +have rubbed and caressed by a friendly hand. Their fierce +nature was thoroughly tamed; and with their fierceness, the +two furnaces in their <ins class="correction" title="'stomaches' in original">stomachs</ins> +had likewise been extinguished, insomuch that they probably +enjoyed far more comfort in grazing and chewing their cuds than +ever before. Indeed, it had heretofore been a great inconvenience +to these poor animals that, whenever they wished to eat a mouthful +of grass, the fire out of their nostrils had shriveled it up before +they could manage to crop it. How they contrived to keep themselves +alive is more than I can imagine. But now, instead of +emitting jets of flame and streams of sulphurous vapor, they +breathed the very sweetest of cow breath.</p> + +<p>After kindly patting the bulls, Jason followed Medea's +guidance into the Grove of Mars, where the great oak trees +that had been growing for centuries threw so thick a shade +that the moonbeams struggled vainly to find their way through +it. Only here and there a glimmer fell upon the leaf-strewn +earth, or now and then a breeze stirred the boughs aside and +gave Jason a glimpse of the sky, lest in that deep obscurity +he might forget that there was one overhead. At length, +when they had gone further and further into the heart of +the duskiness, Medea squeezed Jason's hand.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> +"Look yonder," she whispered. "Do you see it?"</p> + +<p>Gleaming among the venerable oaks there was a radiance, +not like the moonbeams, but rather resembling the golden +glory of the setting sun. It proceeded from an object which +appeared to be suspended at about a man's height from the +ground, a little further within the wood.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" asked Jason.</p> + +<p>"Have you come so far to seek it," exclaimed Medea, +"and do you not recognize the meed of all your toils and perils +when it glitters before your eyes? It is the Golden Fleece."</p> + +<p>Jason went onward a few steps further, and then stopped +to gaze. Oh, how beautiful it looked, shining with a marvelous +light of its own, that inestimable prize which so many heroes +had longed to behold, but had perished in the quest of it, +either by the perils of their voyage or by the fiery breath of +the brazen-lunged bulls.</p> + +<p>"How gloriously it shines!" cried Jason in a rapture. +"It has surely been dipped in the richest gold of sunset. Let +me hasten onward and take it to my bosom."</p> + +<p>"Stay," said Medea, holding him back. "Have you forgotten +what guards it?"</p> + +<p>To say the truth, in the joy of beholding the object of his +desires, the terrible dragon had quite slipped out of Jason's +memory. Soon, however, something came to pass that +reminded him what perils were still to be encountered. An +antelope that probably mistook the yellow radiance for +sunrise came bounding fleetly through the grove. He was +rushing straight toward the Golden Fleece, when suddenly +there was a frightful hiss and the immense head and half +the scaly body of the dragon was thrust forth (for he was +twisted round the trunk of the tree on which the fleece hung), +and seizing the poor antelope, swallowed him with one snap +of his jaws.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> +After this feat, the dragon seemed sensible that some other +living creature was within reach, on which he felt inclined to +finish his meal. In various directions he kept poking his ugly +snout among the trees, stretching out his neck a terrible long +way, now here, now there and now close to the spot where +Jason and the princess were hiding behind an oak. Upon my +word, as the head came waving and undulating through the +air and reaching almost within arm's length of Prince Jason, +it was a very hideous and uncomfortable sight. The gape +of his enormous jaws was nearly as wide as the gateway of the +king's palace.</p> + +<p>"Well, Jason," whispered Medea (for she was ill natured, +as all enchantresses are, and wanted to make the bold youth +tremble), "what do you think now of your prospect of winning +the Golden Fleece?"</p> + +<p>Jason answered only by drawing his sword and making a +step forward.</p> + +<p>"Stay, foolish youth," said Medea, grasping his arm. "Do +not you see you are lost without me as your good angel? +In this gold box I have a magic potion which will do the +dragon's business far more effectually than your sword."</p> + +<p>The dragon had probably heard the voices, for swift as +lightning his black head and forked tongue came hissing +among the trees again, darting full forty feet at a stretch. +As it approached, Medea tossed the contents of the gold box +right down the monster's wide-open throat. Immediately, +with an outrageous hiss and a tremendous wriggle—flinging +his tail up to the tip-top of the tallest tree and shattering all +its branches as it crashed heavily down again—the dragon +fell at full length upon the ground and lay quite motionless.</p> + +<p>"It is only a sleeping potion," said the enchantress to Prince +Jason. "One always finds a use for these mischievous creatures +sooner or later; so I did not wish to kill him outright.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> +Quick! Snatch the prize and let us begone. You have won +the Golden Fleece."</p> + +<p>Jason caught the fleece from the tree and hurried through +the grove, the deep shadows of which were illuminated as +he passed, by the golden glory of the precious object that he +bore along. A little way before him he beheld the old woman +whom he had helped over the stream, with her peacock beside +her. She clapped her hands for joy, and beckoning him to +haste, disappeared among the duskiness of the trees. Espying +the two winged sons of the North Wind (who were disporting +themselves in the moonlight a few hundred feet aloft), Jason +bade them tell the rest of the Argonauts to embark as speedily +as possible. But Lynceus, with his sharp eyes, had already +caught a glimpse of him, bringing the Golden Fleece, although +several stone walls, a hill, and the black shadows of the Grove +of Mars intervened between. By his advice the heroes had +seated themselves on the benches of the galley, with their +oars held perpendicularly, ready to let fall into the water.</p> + +<p>As Jason drew near he heard the Talking Image calling to +him with more than ordinary eagerness, in its grave, sweet +voice:</p> + +<p>"Make haste, Prince Jason! For your life, make haste!"</p> + +<p>With one bound he leaped aboard. At sight of the glorious +radiance of the Golden Fleece, the forty-nine heroes gave a +mighty shout, and Orpheus, striking his harp, sang a song of +triumph, to the cadence of which the galley flew over the +water, homeward bound, as if careering along with wings!</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE CYCLOPS</h2> + + +<p>When the great city of Troy was taken, all the chiefs who +had fought against it set sail for their homes. But there was +wrath in heaven against them, for indeed they had borne +themselves haughtily and cruelly in the day of their victory. +Therefore they did not all find a safe and happy return. +For one was shipwrecked and another was shamefully slain +by his false wife in his palace, and others found all things at +home troubled and changed and were driven to seek new +dwellings elsewhere. And some, whose wives and friends +and people had been still true to them through those ten long +years of absence, were driven far and wide about the world +before they saw their native land again. And of all, the wise +Ulysses was he who wandered farthest and suffered most.</p> + +<p>He was well-nigh the last to sail, for he had tarried many +days to do pleasure to Agamemnon, lord of all the Greeks. +Twelve ships he had with him—twelve he had brought to +Troy—and in each there were some fifty men, being scarce +half of those that had sailed in them in the old days, so many +valiant heroes slept the last sleep by Simoïs and Scamander +and in the plain and on the seashore, slain in battle or by the +shafts of Apollo.</p> + +<p>First they sailed northwest to the Thracian coast, where +the Ciconians dwelt, who had helped the men of Troy. Their +city they took, and in it much plunder, slaves and oxen, and +jars of fragrant wine, and might have escaped unhurt, but +that they stayed to hold revel on the shore. For the Ciconians +gathered their neighbors, being men of the same blood, and +did battle with the invaders and drove them to their ship.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> +And when Ulysses numbered his men, he found that he had +lost six out of each ship.</p> + +<p>Scarce had he set out again when the wind began to blow +fiercely; so, seeing a smooth, sandy beach, they drove the +ships ashore and dragged them out of reach of the waves, +and waited till the storm should abate. And the third morning +being fair, they sailed again and journeyed prosperously till +they came to the very end of the great Peloponnesian land, +where Cape Malea looks out upon the southern sea. But +contrary currents baffled them, so that they could not round +it, and the north wind blew so strongly that they must fain +drive before it. And on the tenth day they came to the land +where the lotus grows—a wondrous fruit, of which whosoever +eats cares not to see country or wife or children again. Now +the Lotus eaters, for so they call the people of the land, were +a kindly folk and gave of the fruit to some of the sailors, not +meaning them any harm, but thinking it to be the best that +they had to give. These, when they had eaten, said that +they would not sail any more over the sea; which, when the +wise Ulysses heard, he bade their comrades bind them and +carry them, sadly complaining, to the ships.</p> + +<p>Then, the wind having abated, they took to their oars and +rowed for many days till they came to the country where the +Cyclopes dwell. Now, a mile or so from the shore there was +an island, very fair and fertile, but no man dwells there or +tills the soil, and in the island a harbor where a ship may be +safe from all winds, and at the head of the harbor a stream +falling from the rock, and whispering alders all about it. Into +this the ships passed safely and were hauled up on the beach, +and the crews slept by them, waiting for the morning. And +the next day they hunted the wild goats, of which there was +great store on the island, and feasted right merrily on what +they caught, with draughts of red wine which they had carried +off from the town of the Ciconians.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> +But on the morrow, Ulysses, for he was ever fond of adventure +and would know of every land to which he came what +manner of men they were that dwelt there, took one of his +twelve ships and bade row to the land. There was a great +hill sloping to the shore, and there rose up here and there a +smoke from the caves where the Cyclopes dwelt apart, holding +no converse with each other, for they were a rude and savage +folk, but ruled each his own household, not caring for others. +Now very close to the shore was one of these caves, very huge +and deep, with laurels round about the mouth, and in front +a fold with walls built of rough stone and shaded by tall oaks +and pines. So Ulysses chose out of the crew the twelve +bravest, and bade the rest guard the ship, and went to see +what manner of dwelling this was and who abode there. He +had his sword by his side, and on his shoulder a mighty skin +of wine, sweet smelling and strong, with which he might win +the heart of some fierce savage, should he chance to meet +with such, as indeed his prudent heart forecasted that he +might.</p> + +<p>So they entered the cave and judged that it was the dwelling +of some rich and skilful shepherd. For within there were +pens for the young of the sheep and of the goats, divided all +according to their age, and there were baskets full of cheeses, +and full milk pails ranged along the wall. But the Cyclops +himself was away in the pastures. Then the companions of +Ulysses besought him that he would depart, taking with him, +if he would, a store of cheeses and sundry of the lambs and of +the kids. But he would not, for he wished to see, after his +wont, what manner of host this strange shepherd might be. +And truly he saw it to his cost!</p> + +<p><a name="Illus10" id="Illus10"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_10.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_10th.jpg" width="274" height="400" +alt="The huge cyclops enters his cave carrying an enormous bundle of wood, +while Ulysses and his comrades stand inside the cave in the gloom." +title="THE ONE-EYED POLYPHEMUS" /></a> +<span class="caption">THE ONE-EYED POLYPHEMUS</span> +</div> + +<p>It was evening when the Cyclops came home, a mighty +giant, twenty feet in height or more. On his shoulder he bore +a vast bundle of pine logs for his fire, and threw them down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> +outside the cave with a great crash, and drove the flocks +within, and closed the entrance with a huge rock, which +twenty wagons and more could not bear. Then he milked +the ewes and all the she-goats, and half of the milk he curdled +for cheese and half he set ready for himself when he should +sup. Next he kindled a fire with the pine logs, and the flame +lighted up all the cave, showing Ulysses and his comrades.</p> + +<p>"Who are ye?" cried Polyphemus, for that was the giant's +name. "Are ye traders or, haply, pirates?"</p> + +<p>For in those days it was not counted shame to be called a +pirate.</p> + +<p>Ulysses shuddered at the dreadful voice and shape, but +bore him bravely, and answered, "We are no pirates, mighty +sir, but Greeks, sailing back from Troy, and subjects of the +great King Agamemnon, whose fame is spread from one end +of heaven to the other. And we are come to beg hospitality +of thee in the name of Zeus, who rewards or punishes hosts +and guests according as they be faithful the one to the other, +or no."</p> + +<p>"Nay," said the giant, "it is but idle talk to tell me of +Zeus and the other gods. We Cyclopes take no account +of gods, holding ourselves to be much better and stronger than +they. But come, tell me where have you left your ship?"</p> + +<p>But Ulysses saw his thought when he asked about the +ship, how he was minded to break it and take from them all +hope of flight. Therefore he answered him craftily:</p> + +<p>"Ship have we none, for that which was ours King Poseidon +brake, driving it on a jutting rock on this coast, and we whom +thou seest are all that are escaped from the waves."</p> + +<p>Polyphemus answered nothing, but without more ado +caught up two of the men, as a man might catch up the whelps +of a dog, and dashed them on the ground, and tore them limb +from limb and devoured them, with huge draughts of milk<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> +between, leaving not a morsel, not even the very bones. But +the others, when they saw the dreadful deed, could only +weep and pray to Zeus for help. And when the giant had +ended his foul meal, he lay down among his sheep and slept.</p> + +<p>Then Ulysses questioned much in his heart whether he +should slay the monster as he slept, for he doubted not that +his good sword would pierce to the giant's heart, mighty as he +was. But, being very wise, he remembered that, should he +slay him, he and his comrades would yet perish miserably. +For who should move away the great rock that lay against the +door of the cave? So they waited till the morning. And the +monster woke and milked his flocks, and afterward, seizing +two men, devoured them for his meal. Then he went to the +pastures, but put the great rock on the mouth of the cave, +just as a man puts down the lid upon his quiver.</p> + +<p>All that day the wise Ulysses was thinking what he might +best do to save himself and his companions, and the end of +his thinking was this: There was a mighty pole in the cave, +green wood of an olive tree, big as a ship's mast, which Polyphemus +purposed to use, when the smoke should have dried +it, as a walking staff. Of this he cut off a fathom's length, and +his comrades sharpened it and hardened it in the fire and then +hid it away. At evening the giant came back and drove his +sheep into the cave, nor left the rams outside, as he had been +wont to do before, but shut them in. And having duly done +his shepherd's work, he made his cruel feast as before. Then +Ulysses came forward with the wine skin in his hand and +said:</p> + +<p>"Drink, Cyclops, now that thou hast feasted. Drink and +see what precious things we had in our ship. But no one +hereafter will come to thee with such like, if thou dealest with +strangers as cruelly as thou hast dealt with us."</p> + +<p>Then the Cyclops drank and was mightily pleased, and said,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> +"Give me again to drink and tell me thy name, stranger, and +I will give thee a gift such as a host should give. In good +truth this is a rare liquor. We, too, have vines, but they bear +no wine like this, which indeed must be such as the gods drink +in heaven."</p> + +<p>Then Ulysses gave him the cup again and he drank. Thrice +he gave it to him and thrice he drank, not knowing what it +was and how it would work within his brain.</p> + +<p>Then Ulysses spake to him. "Thou didst ask my name, +Cyclops. Lo! my name is No Man. And now that thou +knowest my name, thou shouldst give me thy gift."</p> + +<p>And he said, "My gift shall be that I will eat thee last of +all thy company."</p> + +<p>And as he spake he fell back in a drunken sleep. Then +Ulysses bade his comrades be of good courage, for the time +was come when they should be delivered. And they thrust +the stake of olive wood into the fire till it was ready, green as +it was, to burst into flame, and they thrust it into the monster's +eye; for he had but one eye, and that in the midst of his forehead, +with the eyebrow below it. And Ulysses leaned with +all his force upon the stake and thrust it in with might and +main. And the burning wood hissed in the eye, just as the +red-hot iron hisses in the water when a man seeks to temper +steel for a sword.</p> + +<p>Then the giant leapt up and tore away the stake and cried +aloud, so that all the Cyclopes who dwelt on the mountain +side heard him and came about his cave, asking him, "What +aileth thee, Polyphemus, that thou makest this uproar in the +peaceful night, driving away sleep? Is any one robbing thee +of thy sheep or seeking to slay thee by craft or force?"</p> + +<p>And the giant answered, "No Man slays me by craft."</p> + +<p>"Nay, but," they said, "if no man does thee wrong, we +cannot help thee. The sickness which great Zeus may send, +who can avoid? Pray to our father, Poseidon, for help."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> +Then they departed, and Ulysses was glad at heart for the +good success of his device when he said that he was No Man.</p> + +<p>But the Cyclops rolled away the great stone from the door +of the cave and sat in the midst, stretching out his hands +to feel whether perchance the men within the cave would +seek to go out among the sheep.</p> + +<p>Long did Ulysses think how he and his comrades should +best escape. At last he lighted upon a good device, and much +he thanked Zeus for that this once the giant had driven the +rams with the other sheep into the cave. For, these being +great and strong, he fastened his comrades under the bellies +of the beasts, tying them with osier twigs, of which the giant +made his bed. One ram he took and fastened a man beneath +it, and two others he set, one on either side. So he did with +the six, for but six were left out of the twelve who had ventured +with him from the ship. And there was one mighty ram, far +larger than all the others, and to this Ulysses clung, grasping +the fleece tight with both his hands. So they waited for the +morning. And when the morning came, the rams rushed +forth to the pasture; but the giant sat in the door and felt +the back of each as it went by, nor thought to try what might +be underneath. Last of all went the great ram. And the +Cyclops knew him as he passed and said:</p> + +<p>"How is this, thou, who art the leader of the flock? Thou +art not wont thus to lag behind. Thou hast always been the +first to run to the pastures and streams in the morning and +the first to come back to the fold when evening fell; and now +thou art last of all. Perhaps thou art troubled about thy +master's eye, which some wretch—No Man, they call him—has +destroyed, having first mastered me with wine. He has +not escaped, I ween. I would that thou couldst speak and +tell me where he is lurking. Of a truth I would dash out +his brains upon the ground and avenge me of this No Man."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> +So speaking, he let him pass out of the cave. But when +they were out of reach of the giant, Ulysses loosed his hold of +the ram and then unbound his comrades. And they hastened +to their ship, not forgetting to drive before them a good store +of the Cyclops' fat sheep. Right glad were those that had +abode by the ship to see them. Nor did they lament for those +that had died, though they were fain to do so, for Ulysses +forbade, fearing lest the noise of their weeping should betray +them to the giant, where they were. Then they all climbed +into the ship, and sitting well in order on the benches, smote +the sea with their oars, laying-to right lustily, that they might +the sooner get away from the accursed land. And when they +had rowed a hundred yards or so, so that a man's voice could +yet be heard by one who stood upon the shore, Ulysses stood +up in the ship and shouted:</p> + +<p>"He was no coward, O Cyclops, whose comrades thou didst +so foully slay in thy den. Justly art thou punished, monster, +that devourest thy guests in thy dwelling. May the gods +make thee suffer yet worse things than these!"</p> + +<p>Then the Cyclops in his wrath broke off the top of a great +hill, a mighty rock, and hurled it where he had heard the +voice. Right in front of the ship's bow it fell, and a great +wave rose as it sank, and washed the ship back to the shore. +But Ulysses seized a long pole with both hands and pushed +the ship from the land and bade his comrades ply their oars, +nodding with his head, for he was too wise to speak, lest the +Cyclops should know where they were. Then they rowed +with all their might and main.</p> + +<p>And when they had gotten twice as far as before, Ulysses +made as if he would speak again; but his comrades sought to +hinder him, saying, "Nay, my lord, anger not the giant any +more. Surely we thought before we were lost, when he threw +the great rock and washed our ship back to the shore. And<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> +if he hear thee now, he may crush our ship and us, for the man +throws a mighty bolt and throws it far."</p> + +<p>But Ulysses would not be persuaded, but stood up and +said, "Hear, Cyclops! If any man ask who blinded thee, +say that it was the warrior Ulysses, son of Laertes, dwelling +in Ithaca."</p> + +<p>And the Cyclops answered with a groan, "Of a truth, the +old oracles are fulfilled, for long ago there came to this land +one Telemus, a prophet, and dwelt among us even to old age. +This man foretold me that one Ulysses would rob me of my +sight. But I looked for a great man and a strong, who should +subdue me by force, and now a weakling has done the deed, +having cheated me with wine. But come thou hither, Ulysses, +and I will be a host indeed to thee. Or, at least, may Poseidon +give thee such a voyage to thy home as I would wish thee to +have. For know that Poseidon is my sire. May be that he +may heal me of my grievous wound."</p> + +<p>And Ulysses said, "Would to God, I could send thee down +to the abode of the dead, where thou wouldst be past all +healing, even from Poseidon's self."</p> + +<p>Then Cyclops lifted up his hands to Poseidon and prayed:</p> + +<p>"Hear me, Poseidon, if I am indeed thy son and thou my +father. May this Ulysses never reach his home! or, if the +Fates have ordered that he should reach it, may he come +alone, all his comrades lost, and come to find sore trouble in +his house!"</p> + +<p>And as he ended he hurled another mighty rock, which +almost lighted on the rudder's end, yet missed it as if by a +hair's breadth. So Ulysses and his comrades escaped and +came to the island of the wild goats, where they found their +comrades, who indeed had waited long for them, in sore fear +lest they had perished. Then Ulysses divided among his +company all the sheep which they had taken from the Cyclops.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> +And all, with one consent, gave him for his share the great +ram which had carried him out of the cave, and he sacrificed +it to Zeus. And all that day they feasted right merrily on +the flesh of sheep and on sweet wine, and when the night was +come, they lay down upon the shore and slept.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p> + +<h2>ŒDIPUS AND THE SPHINX</h2> + + +<p>It befell in times past that the gods, being angry with the +inhabitants of Thebes, sent into their land a very troublesome +beast which men called the Sphinx. Now this beast had the +face and breast of a fair woman, but the feet and claws of a +lion; and it was wont to ask a riddle of such as encountered +it, and such as answered not aright it would tear and devour.</p> + +<p>When it had laid waste the land many days, there chanced +to come to Thebes one Œdipus, who had fled from the city of +Corinth that he might escape the doom which the gods had +spoken against him. And the men of the place told him of the +Sphinx, how she cruelly devoured the people, and that he +who should deliver them from her should have the kingdom. +So Œdipus, being very bold, and also ready of wit, went forth +to meet the monster. And when she saw him she spake, +saying:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Read me this riddle right, or die:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What liveth there beneath the sky,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Four-footed creature that doth choose<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now three feet and now twain to use,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And still more feebly o'er the plain<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Walketh with three feet than with twain?"<br /></span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>And Œdipus made reply:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"'Tis man, who in life's early day<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Four-footed crawleth on his way;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When time hath made his strength complete,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Upright his form and twain his feet;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When age hath bound him to the ground<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A third foot in his staff is found."<br /></span> +</div> +</div> + +<p><a name="Illus11" id="Illus11"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_11.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_11th.jpg" width="275" height="400" +alt="Œdipus stands before the sphinx, who rests against a large +rock, in front of which is a pit containing many human bones." +title="ŒDIPUS STOOD BEFORE THE SPHINX" /></a> +<span class="caption">ŒDIPUS STOOD BEFORE THE SPHINX</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> +And when the Sphinx found that her riddle was answered +she cast herself from a high rock and perished.</p> + +<p>As a reward Œdipus received the great kingdom of Thebes +and the hand of the widowed queen Jocasta in marriage. +Four children were born to them—two sons, Eteocles and +Polynices, and two daughters, Antigone and Ismené.</p> + +<p>Now the gods had decreed that Œdipus should murder his +own father and marry his own mother, and by a curious +chance this was precisely what he had done. As a baby he +had been left to die lest he should live to fulfil the doom, but +had been rescued by an old shepherd and brought up at the +court of Corinth. Fleeing from there that he might not +murder him whom he believed to be his father, he had come +to Thebes, and on the way had met Laius, his true father, +the king, and killed him.</p> + +<p>While he remained ignorant of the facts Œdipus was very +happy and reigned in great power and glory; but when +pestilence fell upon the land and he discovered the truth of +the almost forgotten oracle, he was very miserable, and in the +madness of grief put out his own eyes.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> + +<h2>ANTIGONE, A FAITHFUL DAUGHTER AND SISTER</h2> + + + +<p>Jocasta, when she learned that Œdipus was really her son, +was so filled with horror and distress that she took her own +life. But Antigone and Ismené were sorry for their father, +whom they loved very dearly, and sought by every means +they knew to render his suffering less.</p> + +<p>Longing to see again the land of Corinth which he had left +seized the blind Œdipus, and like a beggar, staff in hand, he +set out. Only Antigone accompanied him, guiding his step +and striving daily to keep up his courage.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus12" id="Illus12"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_12.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_12th.jpg" width="274" height="400" +alt="Œdipus, leaning on a staff, is guided by his daughter, who +carries their belongings in a pouch slung over her back." +title="THE BLIND ŒDIPUS, LED BY HIS DAUGHTER ANTIGONE" /></a> +<span class="caption">THE BLIND ŒDIPUS, LED BY HIS DAUGHTER ANTIGONE</span> +</div> + +<p>After much wandering Œdipus was finally cast into +prison. Then the two sons took possession of the kingdom, +making agreement between themselves that each should +reign for the space of one year. And the elder of the two, +whose name was Eteocles, first had the kingdom; but when +his year was come to an end, he would not abide by his promise, +but kept that which he should have given up, and drove out +his younger brother from the city. Then the younger, whose +name was Polynices, fled to Argos, to King Adrastus. And +after a while he married the daughter of the king, who made a +covenant with him that he would bring him back with a high +hand to Thebes and set him on the throne of his father. Then +the king sent messengers to certain of the princes of Greece, +entreating that they would help in this matter. And of these +some would not, but others hearkened to his words, so that a +great army was gathered together and followed the king and +Polynices to make war against Thebes. So they came and +pitched their camp over against the city. And after they had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> +been there many days, the battle grew fierce about the wall. +But the chiefest fight was between the two brothers, for the +two came together in an open space before the gates. And +first Polynices prayed to Heré, for she was the goddess of +the great city of Argos, which had helped him in this enterprise, +and Eteocles prayed to Pallas of the Golden Shield, whose +temple stood hard by. Then they crouched, each covered +with his shield and holding his spear in his hand, if by chance +his enemy should give occasion to smite him; and if one showed +so much as an eye above the rim of his shield the other would +strike at him. But after a while King Eteocles slipped upon a +stone that was under his foot, and uncovered his leg, at which +straightway Polynices took aim with his spear, piercing the +skin. But so doing he laid his own shoulder bare, and King +Eteocles gave him a wound in the breast. He brake his spear +in striking and would have fared ill but that with a great +stone he smote the spear of Polynices and brake this also in +the middle. And now were the two equal, for each had lost +his spear. So they drew their swords and came yet closer +together. But Eteocles used a device which he had learnt +in the land of Thessaly; for he drew his left foot back, as if he +would have ceased from the battle, and then of a sudden +moved the right forward; and so smiting sideways, drove +his sword right through the body of Polynices. But when, +thinking that he had slain him, he set his weapons in the +earth and began to spoil him of his arms, the other, for he +yet breathed a little, laid his hand upon his sword, and though +he had scarce strength to smite, yet gave the king a mortal +blow, so that the two lay dead together on the plain. And +the men of Thebes lifted up the bodies of the dead and bare +them both into the city.</p> + +<p>When these two brothers, the sons of King Œdipus, had +fallen each by the hand of the other, the kingdom fell to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> +Creon, their uncle. For not only was he the next of kin to the +dead, but also the people held him in great honor because his +son Menœceus had offered himself with a willing heart that +he might deliver his city from captivity.</p> + +<p>Now when Creon was come to the throne he made a proclamation +about the two princes, commanding that they should +bury Eteocles with all honor, seeing that he died as beseemed +a good man and a brave, doing battle for his country, that it +should not be delivered into the hands of the enemy; but as +for Polynices, he bade them leave his body to be devoured +by the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field, because he +had joined himself to the enemy and would have beaten down +the walls of the city and burned the temples of the gods +with fire and led the people captive. Also he commanded +that if any man should break this decree he should suffer +death by stoning.</p> + +<p>Now Antigone, who was sister to the two princes, heard +that the decree had gone forth, and chancing to meet her +sister Ismené before the gates of the palace, spake to her, +saying:</p> + +<p>"O my sister, hast thou heard this decree that the king +hath put forth concerning our brethren that are dead?"</p> + +<p>Then Ismené made answer: "I have heard nothing, my +sister, only that we are bereaved of both of our brethren in +one day and that the army of the Argives is departed in this +night that is now past. So much I know, but no more."</p> + +<p>"Hearken then. King Creon hath made a proclamation +that they shall bury Eteocles with all honor, but that Polynices +shall lie unburied, that the birds of the air and the beasts of +the field may devour him, and that whosoever shall break +this decree shall suffer death by stoning."</p> + +<p>"But if it be so, my sister, how can we avail to change it?"</p> + +<p>"Think whether or no thou wilt share with me the doing +of this deed."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> +"What deed? What meanest thou?"</p> + +<p>"To pay due honor to this dead body."</p> + +<p>"What? Wilt thou bury him when the king hath forbidden +it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, for he is my brother and also thine, though perchance +thou wouldst not have it so. And I will not play him false."</p> + +<p>"O my sister, wilt thou do this when Creon hath forbidden +it?"</p> + +<p>"Why should he stand between me and mine?"</p> + +<p>"But think now what sorrows are come upon our house. +For our father perished miserably, having first put out his +own eyes; and our mother hanged herself with her own hands; +our two brothers fell in one day, each by the other's spear; +and now we two only are left. And shall we not fall into a +worse destruction than any, if we transgress these commands +of the king? Think, too, that we are women and not men, +and of necessity obey them that are stronger. Wherefore, as +for me, I will pray the dead to pardon me, seeing that I am +thus constrained; but I will obey them that rule."</p> + +<p>"I advise thee not, and if thou thinkest thus, I would not +have thee for helper. But know that I will bury my brother, +nor could I better die than for doing such a deed. For as he +loved me, so also do I love him greatly. And shall not I do +pleasure to the dead rather than to the living, seeing that I +shall abide with the dead for ever? But thou, if thou wilt +do dishonor to the laws of the gods?"</p> + +<p>"I dishonor them not. Only I cannot set myself against +the powers that be."</p> + +<p>"So be it; but I will bury my brother."</p> + +<p>"O my sister, how I fear for thee!"</p> + +<p>"Fear for thyself. Thine own lot needeth all thy care."</p> + +<p>"Thou wilt at least keep thy counsel, nor tell the thing to +any man."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> +"Not so: hide it not. I shall scorn thee more if thou proclaim +it not aloud to all."</p> + +<p>So Antigone departed; and after a while came to the same +place King Creon, clad in his royal robes and with his scepter +in his hand, and set forth his counsel to the elders who were +assembled, how he had dealt with the two princes according +to their deserving, giving all honor to him that loved his +country and casting forth the other unburied. And he bade +them take care that this decree should be kept, saying that he +had also appointed certain men to watch the dead body.</p> + +<p>And he had scarcely left speaking when there came one of +these same watchers and said:</p> + +<p>"I have not come hither in haste, O King; nay, I doubted +much, while I was yet on the way, whether I should not turn +again. For now I thought, 'Fool, why goest thou where thou +shalt suffer for it'; and then, again, 'Fool, the king will hear +the matter elsewhere, and then how wilt thou fare?' But at +the last I came as I had purposed, for I know that nothing +may happen to me contrary to fate."</p> + +<p>"But say," said the king, "what troubles thee so much?"</p> + +<p>"First hear my case. I did not the thing and know not +who did it, and it were a grievous wrong should I fall into +trouble for such a cause."</p> + +<p>"Thou makest a long preface, excusing thyself, but yet +hast, as I judge, something to tell."</p> + +<p>"Fear, my lord, ever causeth delay."</p> + +<p>"Wilt thou not speak out thy news and then begone?"</p> + +<p>"I will speak it. Know then that some man hath thrown +dust upon this dead corpse, and done besides such things as +are needful."</p> + +<p>"What sayest thou? Who hath dared to do this deed?"</p> + +<p>"That I know not, for there was no mark as of spade or +pick-axe; nor was the earth broken, nor had wagon passed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> +thereon. We were sore dismayed when the watchman showed +the thing to us; for the body we could not see. Buried +indeed it was not, but rather covered with dust. Nor was +there any sign as of wild beast or of dog that had torn it. +Then there arose a contention among us, each blaming the +other, and accusing his fellows, and himself denying that he +had done the deed or was privy to it. And doubtless we had +fallen to blows but that one spake a word which made us all +tremble for fear, knowing that it must be as he said. For he +said that the thing must be told to thee, and in no wise hidden. +So we drew lots, and by evil chance the lot fell upon me. +Wherefore I am here, not willingly, for no man loveth him +that bringeth evil tidings."</p> + +<p>Then said the chief of the old men:</p> + +<p>"Consider, O King, for haply this thing is from the gods."</p> + +<p>But the king cried:</p> + +<p>"Thinkest thou that the gods care for such an one as this +dead man, who would have burnt their temples with fire, and +laid waste the land which they love, and set at naught the +laws? Not so. But there are men in this city who have long +time had ill will to me, not bowing their necks to my yoke; +and they have persuaded these fellows with money to do this +thing. Surely there never was so evil a thing as money, +which maketh cities into ruinous heaps and banisheth men +from their houses and turneth their thoughts from good unto +evil. But as for them that have done this deed for hire, of a +truth they shall not escape, for I say to thee, fellow, if ye bring +not here before my eyes the man that did this thing, I will +hang you up alive. So shall ye learn that ill gains bring no +profit to a man."</p> + +<p>So the guard departed, but as he went he said to himself:</p> + +<p>"Now may the gods grant that the man be found; but +however this may be, thou shalt not see me come again on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> +such errand as this, for even now have I escaped beyond all +hope."</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding, after a space he came back with one of +his fellows; and they brought with them the maiden Antigone, +with her hands bound together.</p> + +<p>And it chanced that at the same time King Creon came +forth from the palace. Then the guard set forth the thing to +him, saying:</p> + +<p>"We cleared away the dust from the dead body, and sat +watching it. And when it was now noon, and the sun was +at his height, there came a whirlwind over the plain, driving +a great cloud of dust. And when this had passed, we looked, +and lo! this maiden whom we have brought hither stood by +the dead corpse. And when she saw that it lay bare as before, +she sent up an exceeding bitter cry, even as a bird whose young +ones have been taken from the nest. Then she cursed them +that had done this deed, and brought dust and sprinkled it +upon the dead man, and poured water upon him three times. +Then we ran and laid hold upon her and accused her that she +had done this deed; and she denied it not. But as for me, +'tis well to have escaped from death, but it is ill to bring +friends into the same. Yet I hold that there is nothing dearer +to a man than his life."</p> + +<p>Then said the king to Antigone:</p> + +<p>"Tell me in a word, didst thou know my decree?"</p> + +<p>"I knew it. Was it not plainly declared?"</p> + +<p>"How daredst thou to transgress the laws?"</p> + +<p>"Zeus made not such laws, nor Justice that dwelleth with +the gods below. I judged not that thy decrees had such +authority that a man should transgress for them the unwritten +sure commandments of the gods. For these, indeed, are not +of today or yesterday, but they live forever, and their beginning +no man knoweth. Should I, for fear of thee, be found guilty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> +against them? That I should die I knew. Why not? All +men must die. And if I die before my time, what loss? He +who liveth among many sorrows even as I have lived, counteth +it gain to die. But had I left my own mother's son unburied, +this had been loss indeed."</p> + +<p>Then said the king:</p> + +<p>"Such stubborn thoughts have a speedy fall and are shivered +even as the iron that hath been made hard in the furnace. +And as for this woman and her sister—for I judge her sister +to have had a part in this matter—though they were nearer +to me than all my kindred, yet shall they not escape the doom +of death. Wherefore let some one bring the other woman +hither."</p> + +<p>And while they went to fetch the maiden Ismené, Antigone +said to the king:</p> + +<p>"Is it not enough for thee to slay me? What need to +say more? For thy words please me not, nor mine thee. +Yet what nobler thing could I have done than to bury my +mother's son? And so would all men say, but fear shutteth +their mouths."</p> + +<p>"Nay," said the king, "none of the children of Cadmus +thinketh thus, but thou only. But, hold, was not he that fell +in battle with this man thy brother also?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, truly, my brother he was."</p> + +<p>"And dost thou not dishonor him when thou honorest his +enemy?"</p> + +<p>"The dead man would not say it, could he speak."</p> + +<p>"Shall then the wicked have like honor with the good?"</p> + +<p>"How knowest thou but that such honor pleaseth the gods +below?"</p> + +<p>"I have no love for them I hate, though they be dead."</p> + +<p>"Of hating I know nothing; 'tis enough for me to love."</p> + +<p>"If thou wilt love, go love the dead. But while I live no +woman shall rule me."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> +Then those that had been sent to fetch the maiden Ismené +brought her forth from the palace. And when the king accused +her that she had been privy to the deed she denied not, but +would have shared one lot with her sister.</p> + +<p>But Antigone turned from her, saying:</p> + +<p>"Not so; thou hast no part or lot in the matter. For thou +hast chosen life and I have chosen death; and even so shall +it be."</p> + +<p>And when Ismené saw that she prevailed nothing with her +sister, she turned to the king and said:</p> + +<p>"Wilt thou slay the bride of thy son?"</p> + +<p>"Ay," said he, "there are other brides to win!"</p> + +<p>"But none," she made reply, "that accord so well with +him."</p> + +<p>"I will have no evil wives for my sons," said the king.</p> + +<p>Then cried Antigone:</p> + +<p>"O Hæmon, whom I love, how thy father wrongeth thee!"</p> + +<p>Then the king bade the guards lead the two into the palace. +But scarcely had they gone when there came to the place +the Prince Hæmon, the king's son, who was betrothed to the +maiden Antigone. And when the king saw him, he said:</p> + +<p>"Art thou content, my son, with thy father's judgment?"</p> + +<p>And the young man answered:</p> + +<p>"My father, I would follow thy counsels in all things."</p> + +<p>Then said the king:</p> + +<p>"'Tis well spoken, my son. This is a thing to be desired, +that a man should have obedient children. But if it be otherwise +with a man, he hath gotten great trouble for himself and +maketh sport for them that hate him. And now as to this +matter. There is naught worse than an evil wife. Wherefore +I say let this damsel wed a bridegroom among the dead. For +since I have found her, alone of all this people, breaking my +decree, surely she shall die. Nor shall it profit her to claim<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> +kinship with me, for he that would rule a city must first deal +justly with his own kindred. And as for obedience, this it is +that maketh a city to stand both in peace and in war."</p> + +<p>To this the Prince Hæmon made answer:</p> + +<p>"What thou sayest, my father, I do not judge. Yet bethink +thee, that I see and hear on thy behalf what is hidden from +thee. For common men cannot abide thy look if they say +that which pleaseth thee not. Yet do I hear it in secret. +Know then that all the city mourneth for this maiden, saying +that she dieth wrongfully for a very noble deed, in that she +buried her brother. And 'tis well, my father, not to be wholly +set on thy thoughts, but to listen to the counsels of others."</p> + +<p>"Nay," said the king; "shall I be taught by such an one +as thou?"</p> + +<p>"I pray thee regard my words, if they be well, and not my +years."</p> + +<p>"Can it be well to honor them that transgress? And hath +not this woman transgressed?"</p> + +<p>"The people of this city judge not so."</p> + +<p>"The people, sayest thou? Is it for them to rule, or for +me?"</p> + +<p>"No city is the possession of one man only."</p> + +<p>So the two answered one the other, and their anger waxed +hot. And at the last the king cried:</p> + +<p>"Bring this accursed woman and slay her before his eyes."</p> + +<p>And the prince answered:</p> + +<p>"That thou shalt never do. And know this also, that thou +shalt never see my face again."</p> + +<p>So he went away in a rage; and the old men would have +appeased the king's wrath, but he would not hearken to them, +but said that the two maidens should die.</p> + +<p>"Wilt thou then slay them both?" said the old men.</p> + +<p>"'Tis well said," the king made answer. "Her that meddled +not with the matter, I harm not."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> +"And how wilt thou deal with the other?"</p> + +<p>"There is a desolate place, and there I will shut her up alive +in a sepulchre; yet giving her so much of food as shall quit us +of guilt in the matter, for I would not have the city defiled. +There let her persuade Death, whom she loveth so much, that +he harm her not."</p> + +<p>So the guards led Antigone away to shut her up alive in the +sepulchre. But scarcely had they departed when there came +an old prophet Tiresias, seeking the king. Blind he was, so +that a boy led him by the hand; but the gods had given him +to see things to come.</p> + +<p>And when the king saw him he asked:</p> + +<p>"What seekest thou, wisest of men?"</p> + +<p>Then the prophet answered:</p> + +<p>"Hearken, O King, and I will tell thee. I sat in my seat, +after my custom, in the place whither all manner of birds +resort. And as I sat I heard a cry of birds that I knew not, +very strange and full of wrath. And I knew that they tare +and slew each other, for I heard the fierce flapping of their +wings. And being afraid, I made inquiry about the fire, +how it burned upon the altars. And this boy, for as I am a +guide to others so he guideth me, told me that it shone not at +all, but smouldered and was dull, and that the flesh which was +burnt upon the altar spluttered in the flame and wasted away +into corruption and filthiness. And now I tell thee, O King, +that the city is troubled by thy ill counsels. For the dogs +and the birds of the air tear the flesh of this dead son of Œdipus, +whom thou sufferest not to have due burial, and carry it to +the altars, polluting them therewith. Wherefore the gods +receive not from us prayer or sacrifice, and the cry of the birds +hath an evil sound, for they are full of the flesh of a man. +Therefore I bid thee be wise in time. For all men may err; +but he that keepeth not his folly, but repenteth, doeth well; +but stubbornness cometh to great trouble."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> +Then the king answered:</p> + +<p>"Old man, I know the race of prophets full well, how ye +sell your art for gold. But make thy trade as thou wilt, this +man shall not have burial; yea, though the eagles of Zeus +carry his flesh to their master's throne in heaven, he shall not +have it."</p> + +<p>And when the prophet spake again, entreating him and +warning, the king answered him after the same fashion, that +he spake not honestly, but had sold his art for money.</p> + +<p>But at the last the prophet spake in great wrath, saying:</p> + +<p>"Know, O King, that before many days shall pass thou shalt +pay a life for a life, even one of thine own children, for them +with whom thou hast dealt unrighteously, shutting up the +living with the dead and keeping the dead from them to whom +they belong. Therefore the Furies lie in wait for thee and +thou shalt see whether or no I speak these things for money. +For there shall be mourning and lamentation in thine own +house, and against thy people shall be stirred up many cities. +And now, my child, lead me home and let this man rage +against them that are younger than I."</p> + +<p>So the prophet departed and the old men were sore afraid +and said:</p> + +<p>"He hath spoken terrible things, O King; nor ever since +these gray hairs were black have we known him say that which +was false."</p> + +<p>"Even so," said the king, "and I am troubled in heart and +yet am loath to depart from my purpose."</p> + +<p>"King Creon," said the old men, "thou needest good +counsel."</p> + +<p>"What, then, would ye have done?"</p> + +<p>"Set free the maiden from the sepulchre and give this +dead man burial."</p> + +<p>Then the king cried to his people that they should bring<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> +bars wherewith to loosen the doors of the sepulchre, and +hastened with them to the place. But coming on their way +to the body of Prince Polynices, they took it up and washed it, +and buried that which remained of it, and raised over the +ashes a great mound of earth. And this being done, they drew +near to the place of the sepulchre; and as they approached, the +king heard within a very piteous voice, and knew it for the +voice of his son. Then he bade his attendants loose the door +with all speed; and when they had loosed it, they beheld +within a very piteous sight. For the maiden Antigone had +hanged herself by the girdle of linen which she wore, and the +young man Prince Hæmon stood with his arms about her dead +body, embracing it. And when the king saw him, he cried +to him to come forth; but the prince glared fiercely upon +him and answered him not a word, but drew his two-edged +sword. Then the king, thinking that his son was minded in +his madness to slay him, leapt back, but the prince drove the +sword into his own heart and fell forward on the earth, still +holding the dead maiden in his arms. And when they brought +the tidings of these things to Queen Eurydice, the wife of +King Creon and mother to the prince, she could not endure +the grief, being thus bereaved of her children, but laid hold of +a sword and slew herself therewith.</p> + +<p>So the house of King Creon was left desolate unto him that +day, because he despised the ordinances of the gods.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE STORY OF IPHIGENIA</h2> + + +<p>King Agamemnon sat in his tent at Aulis, where the army +of the Greeks was gathered together, being about to sail +against the great city of Troy. And it was now past midnight; +but the king slept not, for he was careful and troubled about +many things. And he had a lamp before him and in his hand +a tablet of pine wood, whereon he wrote. But he seemed +not to remain in the same mind about that which he wrote; +for now he would blot out the letters, and then would write +them again; and now he fastened the seal upon the tablet +and then brake it. And as he did this he wept and was like to +a man distracted. But after a while he called to an old man, +his attendant (the man had been given in time past by Tyndareus +to his daughter, Queen Clytæmnestra) and said:</p> + +<p>"Old man, thou knowest how Calchas the soothsayer bade +me offer for a sacrifice to Artemis, who is goddess of this place, +my daughter Iphigenia, saying that so only should the army +have a prosperous voyage from this place to Troy, and should +take the city and destroy it; and how when I heard these +words I bade Talthybius the herald go throughout the army +and bid them depart, every man to his own country, for that +I would not do this thing; and how my brother, King Menelaüs, +persuaded me so that I consented to it. Now, therefore, +hearken to this, for what I am about to tell thee three men only +know, namely, Calchas the soothsayer, and Menelaüs, and +Ulysses, king of Ithaca. I wrote a letter to my wife the +queen, that she should send her daughter to this place, that +she might be married to King Achilles; and I magnified the +man to her, saying that he would in no wise sail with us unless<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> +I would give him my daughter in marriage. But now I have +changed my purpose and have written another letter after +this fashion, as I will now set forth to thee: '<i>Daughter of Leda, +send not thy child to the land of Eubœa, for I will give her in +marriage at another time.</i>'"</p> + +<p>"Aye," said the old man, "but how wilt thou deal with +King Achilles? Will he not be wroth, hearing that he hath +been cheated of his wife?"</p> + +<p>"Not so," answered the king, "for we have indeed used +his name, but he knoweth nothing of this marriage. And now +make haste. Sit not thou down by any fountain in the woods, +and suffer not thine eyes to sleep. And beware lest the chariot +bearing the queen and her daughter pass thee where the roads +divide. And see that thou keep the seal upon this letter +unbroken."</p> + +<p>So the old man departed with the letter. But scarcely +had he left the tent when King Menelaüs spied him and laid +hands on him, taking the letter and breaking the seal. And +the old man cried out:</p> + +<p>"Help, my lord; here is one hath taken thy letter!"</p> + +<p>Then King Agamemnon came forth from his tent, saying, +"What meaneth this uproar and disputing that I hear?"</p> + +<p>And Menelaüs answered, "Seest thou this letter that I +hold in my hand?"</p> + +<p>"I see it: it is mine. Give it to me."</p> + +<p>"I give it not till I have read that which is written therein +to all the army of the Greeks."</p> + +<p>"Where didst thou find it?"</p> + +<p>"I found it while I waited for thy daughter till she should +come to the camp."</p> + +<p>"What hast thou to do with that? May I not rule my own +household?"</p> + +<p>Then Menelaüs reproached his brother because he did not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> +continue in one mind. "For first," he said, "before thou +wast chosen captain of the host, thou wast all things to all +men, greeting every man courteously, and taking him by the +hand, and talking with him, and leaving thy doors open to +any that would enter; but afterwards, being now chosen, +thou wast haughty and hard of access. And next, when this +trouble came upon the army, and thou wast sore afraid lest +thou shouldst lose thy office and so miss renown, didst thou +not hearken to Calchas the soothsayer, and promise thy +daughter for sacrifice, and send for her to the camp, making +pretence of giving her in marriage to Achilles? And now thou +art gone back from thy word. Surely this is an evil day for +Greece, that is troubled because thou wantest wisdom."</p> + +<p>Then answered King Agamemnon: "What is thy quarrel +with me? Why blamest thou me if thou couldst not rule thy +wife? And now to win back this woman, because forsooth +she is fair, thou castest aside both reason and honor. And I, +if I had an ill purpose and now have changed it for that which +is wiser, dost thou charge me with folly? Let them that +sware the oath to Tyndareus go with thee on this errand. +Why should I slay my child and work for myself sorrow and +remorse without end that thou mayest have vengeance for +thy wicked wife?"</p> + +<p>Then Menelaüs turned away in a rage, crying, "Betray me +if thou wilt. I will betake myself to other counsels and other +friends."</p> + +<p>But even as he spake there came a messenger, saying, +"King Agamemnon, I am come, as thou badest me, with thy +daughter Iphigenia. Also her mother, Queen Clytæmnestra, +is come, bringing with her her little son Orestes. And now +they are resting themselves and their horses by the side of a +spring, for indeed the way is long and weary. And all the +army is gathered about them to see them and greet them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> +And men question much wherefore they are come, saying. +'Doth the king make a marriage for his daughter; or hath he +sent for her, desiring to see her?' But I know thy purpose, +my lord; wherefore we will dance and shout and make merry, +for this is a happy day for the maiden."</p> + +<p>But the King Agamemnon was sore dismayed when he knew +that the queen was come, and spake to himself, "Now what +shall I say to my wife? For that she is rightly come to the +marriage of her daughter, who can deny? But what will she +say when she knoweth my purpose? And of the maiden, what +shall I say? Unhappy maiden whose bridegroom shall be +death! For she will cry to me, 'Wilt thou kill me, my father?' +And the little Orestes will wail, not knowing what he doeth, +seeing he is but a babe. Cursed be Paris, who hath wrought +this woe!"</p> + +<p>And now King Menelaüs came back, saying that it repented +him of what he had said, "For why should thy child die for +me? What hath she to do with Helen? Let the army be +scattered, so that this wrong be not done."</p> + +<p>Then said King <ins class="correction" title="'Agammenon' in original">Agamemnon</ins>, +"But how shall I escape from this strait? For the whole host +will compel me to this deed?"</p> + +<p>"Not so," said King Menelaüs, "if thou wilt send back the +maiden to Argos."</p> + +<p>"But what shall that profit," said the king; "for Calchas +will cause the matter to be known, or Ulysses, saying that I +have failed of my promise; and if I fly to Argos, they will +come and destroy my city and lay waste my land. Woe is +me! in what a strait am I set! But take thou care, my brother, +that Clytæmnestra hear nothing of these things."</p> + +<p>And when he had ended speaking, the queen herself came +unto the tent, riding in a chariot, having her daughter by her +side. And she bade one of the attendants take out with care +the caskets which she had brought for her daughter, and bade<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> +others help her daughter to alight and herself also, and to a +fourth she said that he should take the young Orestes. Then +Iphigenia greeted her father, saying, "Thou hast done well to +send for me, my father."</p> + +<p>"'Tis true and yet not true, my child."</p> + +<p>"Thou lookest not well pleased to see me, my father."</p> + +<p>"He that is a king and commandeth a host hath many +cares."</p> + +<p>"Put away thy cares awhile and give thyself to me."</p> + +<p>"I am glad beyond measure to see thee."</p> + +<p>"Glad art thou? Then why dost thou weep?"</p> + +<p>"I weep because thou must be long time absent from me."</p> + +<p>"Perish all these fightings and troubles!"</p> + +<p>"They will cause many to perish, and me most miserably +of all."</p> + +<p>"Art thou going a journey from me, my father?"</p> + +<p>"Aye, and thou also hast a journey to make."</p> + +<p>"Must I make it alone, or with my mother?"</p> + +<p>"Alone; neither father nor mother may be with thee."</p> + +<p>"Sendest thou me to dwell elsewhere?"</p> + +<p>"Hold thy peace: such things are not for maidens to +inquire."</p> + +<p>"Well, my father, order matters with the Phrygians and +then make haste to return."</p> + +<p>"I must first make a sacrifice to the gods."</p> + +<p>"'Tis well. The gods should have due honor."</p> + +<p>"Aye, and thou wilt stand close to the altar."</p> + +<p>"Shall I lead the dances, my father?"</p> + +<p>"O my child, how I envy thee, that thou knowest naught! +And now go into the tent; but first kiss me and give me thy +hand, for thou shalt be parted from thy father for many +days."</p> + +<p>And when she was gone within, he cried, "O fair bosom and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> +very lovely cheeks and yellow hair of my child! O city of Priam, +what woe thou bringest on me! But I must say no more."</p> + +<p>Then he turned to the queen and excused himself that he +wept when he should rather have rejoiced for the marriage +of his daughter. And when the queen would know of the +estate of the bridegroom he told her that his name was Achilles +and that he was the son of Peleus by his wife Thetis, the +daughter of Nereus of the sea, and that he dwelt in Phthia. +And when she inquired of the time of the marriage, he said +that it should be in the same moon, on the first lucky day; +and as to the place, that it must be where the bridegroom was +sojourning, that is to say, in the camp. "And I," said the +king, "will give the maiden to her husband."</p> + +<p>"But where," answered the queen, "is it your pleasure that +I should be?"</p> + +<p>"Thou must return to Argos and care for the maidens +there."</p> + +<p>"Sayest thou that I must return? Who then will hold up +the torch for the bride?"</p> + +<p>"I will do that which is needful. For it is not seemly that +thou shouldst be present where the whole army is gathered +together."</p> + +<p>"Aye, but it is seemly that a mother should give her daughter +in marriage."</p> + +<p>"But the maidens at home should not be left alone."</p> + +<p>"They are well kept in their chambers."</p> + +<p>"Be persuaded, lady."</p> + +<p>"Not so: thou shalt order that which is without the house, +but I that which is within."</p> + +<p>But now came Achilles to tell the king that the army was +growing impatient, saying that unless they might sail speedily +to Troy they would return each man to his home. And +when the queen heard his name—for he had said to the attendant,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> +"Tell thy master that Achilles, the son of Peleus, would +speak with him"—she came forth from the tent and greeted +him and bade him give her his right hand. And when the +young man was ashamed (for it was not counted a seemly +thing that men should speak with women) she said:</p> + +<p>"But why art thou ashamed, seeing that thou art about to +marry my daughter?"</p> + +<p>And he answered, "What sayest thou, lady? I cannot +speak for wonder at thy words."</p> + +<p>"Often men are ashamed when they see new friends and the +talk is of marriage."</p> + +<p>"But, lady, I never was suitor for thy daughter. Nor +have the sons of Atreus said aught to me of the matter."</p> + +<p>But the queen was beyond measure astonished, and cried, +"Now this is shameful indeed, that I should seek a bridegroom +for my daughter in such fashion."</p> + +<p>But when Achilles would have departed, to inquire of the +king what this thing might mean, the old man that had at +the first carried the letter came forth and bade him stay. +And when he had assurance that he should receive no harm +for what he should tell them, he unfolded the whole matter. +And when the queen had heard it, she cried to Achilles, "O +son of Thetis of the sea! help me now in this strait and help +this maiden that hath been called thy bride, though this +indeed be false. 'Twill be a shame to thee if such wrong be +done under thy name; for it is thy name that hath undone +us. Nor have I any altar to which I may flee, nor any friend +but thee only in this army."</p> + +<p>Then Achilles made answer, "Lady, I learnt from Chiron, +who was the most righteous of men, to be true and honest. +And if the sons of Atreus govern according to right, I obey +them; and if not, not. Know, then, that thy daughter, +seeing that she hath been given, though but in word only, to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> +me, shall not be slain by her father. For if she so die, then +shall my name be brought to great dishonor, seeing that +through it thou hast been persuaded to come with her to this +place. This sword shall see right soon whether any one +will dare to take this maiden from me."</p> + +<p>And now King Agamemnon came forth, saying that all +things were ready for the marriage, and that they waited for +the maiden, not knowing that the whole matter had been +revealed to the queen. Then she said:</p> + +<p>"Tell me now, dost thou purpose to slay thy daughter and +mine?" And when he was silent, not knowing, indeed, +what to say, she reproached him with many words, that she +had been a loving and faithful wife to him, for which he made +her an ill recompense slaying her child.</p> + +<p>And when she had made an end of speaking, the maiden +came forth from the tent, holding the young child Orestes +in her arms, and cast herself upon her knees before her father +and besought him, saying, "I would, my father, that I had +the voice of Orpheus, who made even the rocks to follow +him, that I might persuade thee; but now all that I have I +give, even these tears. O my father, I am thy child; slay me +not before my time. This light is sweet to look upon. Drive +me not from it to the land of darkness. I was the first to call +thee father; and the first to whom thou didst say 'my child.' +And thou wouldst say to me, 'Some day, my child, I shall see +thee a happy wife in the home of a good husband.' And I +would answer, 'And I will receive thee with all love when thou +art old, and pay thee back for all the benefits thou hast done +unto me.' This I indeed remember, but thou forgettest; for +thou art ready to slay me. Do it not, I beseech thee, by Pelops +thy grandsire, and Atreus thy father, and this my mother, +who travailed in childbirth of me and now travaileth again +in her sorrow. And thou, O my brother, though thou art but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> +a babe, help me. Weep with me; beseech thy father that he +slay not thy sister. O my father, though he be silent, yet, +indeed, he beseecheth thee. For his sake, therefore, yea, +and for mine own, have pity upon me and slay me not."</p> + +<p>But the king was sore distracted, knowing not what he should +say or do, for a terrible necessity was upon him, seeing that the +army could not make their journey to Troy unless this deed +should first be done. And while he doubted came Achilles, +saying that there was a horrible tumult in the camp, the men +crying out that the maiden must be sacrificed, and that when +he would have stayed them from their purpose, the people +had stoned him with stones, and that his own Myrmidons +helped him not, but rather were the first to assail him. Nevertheless, +he said that he would fight for the maiden, even to the +utmost, and that there were faithful men who would stand +with him and help him. But when the maiden heard these +words, she stood forth and said, "Hearken to me, my mother. +Be not wroth with my father, for we cannot fight against +fate. Also we must take thought that this young man suffer +not, for his help will avail naught and he himself will perish. +Therefore I am resolved to die; for all Greece looketh to me; +for without me the ships cannot make their voyage, nor the +city of Troy be taken. Thou didst bear me, my mother, not +for thyself only, but for this whole people. Wherefore I will +give myself for them. Offer me for an offering, and let the +Greeks take the city of Troy, for this shall be my memorial +forever."</p> + +<p>Then said Achilles, "Lady, I should count myself most +happy if the gods would grant thee to be my wife. For I +love thee well when I see how noble thou art. And if thou +wilt, I will carry thee to my home. And I doubt not that +I shall save thee, though all the men of Greece be against me."</p> + +<p>But the maiden answered, "What I say, I say with full<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> +purpose. Nor will I that any man should die for me, but +rather will I save this land of Greece."</p> + +<p>And Achilles said, "If this be thy will, lady, I cannot say +nay, for it is a noble thing that thou doest."</p> + +<p>Nor was the maiden turned from her purpose though her +mother besought her with many tears. So they that were +appointed led her to the grove of Artemis, where there was +built an altar, and the whole army of the Greeks gathered +about it. But when the king saw her going to her death he +covered his face with his mantle; but she stood by him, and +said, "I give my body with a willing heart to die for my country +and for the whole land of Greece. I pray the gods that ye +may prosper and win the victory in this war and come back +safe to your homes. And now let no man touch me, for I +will die with a good heart."</p> + +<p>And all men marveled to see the maiden of what a good +courage she was. And all the army stood regarding the +maiden and the priest and the altar.</p> + +<p>Then there befell a marvelous thing. For suddenly +the maiden was not there. Whither she had gone no one +knew; but in her stead there lay gasping a great hind, and +all the altar was red with the blood thereof.</p> + +<p>And Calchas said, "See ye this, men of Greece, how the +goddess hath provided this offering in the place of the maiden, +for she would not that her altar should be defiled with innocent +blood. Be of good courage, therefore, and depart every man +to his ship, for this day ye shall sail across the sea to the land +of Troy."</p> + +<p>Then the goddess carried away the maiden to the land of +the Taurians, where she had a temple and an altar. Now +on this altar the king of the land was wont to sacrifice any +stranger, being Greek by nation, who was driven by stress of +weather to the place, for none went thither willingly. And<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> +the name of the king was Thoas, which signifieth in the Greek +tongue, "swift of foot."</p> + +<p><a name="Illus13" id="Illus13"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_13.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_13th.jpg" width="274" height="400" +alt="Two figures raise their arms, while a third kneels, before an altar +standing between two pillars. A fourth person stands watching in the background." +title="IPHIGENIA ABOUT TO BE SACRIFICED" /></a> +<span class="caption">IPHIGENIA ABOUT TO BE SACRIFICED</span> +</div> + +<p>Now when the maiden had been there many years she +dreamed a dream. And in the dream she seemed to have +departed from the land of the Taurians and to dwell in the +city of Argos, wherein she had been born. And as she slept +in the women's chamber there befell a great earthquake, and +cast to the ground the palace of her fathers, so that there was +left one pillar only which stood upright. And as she looked +on this pillar, yellow hair seemed to grow upon it as the hair +of a man, and it spake with a man's voice. And she did to +it as she was wont to do to the strangers that were sacrificed +upon the altar, purifying it with water and weeping the while. +And the interpretation of the dream she judged to be that her +brother Orestes was dead, for that male children are the pillars +of a house, and that she only was left to the house of her father.</p> + +<p>Now it chanced that at this same time Orestes, with Pylades +that was his friend, came in a ship to the land of the Taurians. +And the cause of his coming was this. After that he had slain +his mother, taking vengeance for the death of King Agamemnon +his father, the Furies pursued him. Then Apollo, who +had commanded him to do this deed, bade him go to the land +of Athens that he might be judged. And when he had been +judged and loosed, yet the Furies left him not. Wherefore +Apollo commanded that he should sail for the land of the +Taurians and carry thence the image of Artemis and bring it +to the land of the Athenians, and that after this he should +have rest. Now when the two were come to the place, they +saw the altar that it was red with the blood of them that had +been slain thereon. And Orestes doubted how they might +accomplish the things for the which he was come, for the walls +of the temple were high and the gates not easy to be broken +through. Therefore he would have fled to the ship, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> +Pylades consented not, seeing that they were not wont to go +back from that to which they had set their hand, but counseled +that they should hide themselves during the day in a cave +that was hard by the seashore, not near to the ship, lest search +should be made for them, and that by night they should creep +into the temple by a space that there was between the pillars, +and carry off the image, and so depart.</p> + +<p>So they hid themselves in a cavern by the sea. But it +chanced that certain herdsmen were feeding their oxen in +pastures hard by the shore; one of these, coming near to the +cavern, spied the young men as they sat therein, and stealing +back to his fellows, said, "See ye not them that sit yonder. +Surely they are gods;" for they were exceeding tall and fair +to look upon. And some began to pray to them, thinking +that they might be the Twin Brethren or of the sons of Nereus. +But another laughed and said, "Not so; these are shipwrecked +men who hide themselves, knowing that it is our custom to +sacrifice strangers to our gods." To him the others gave +consent and said that they should take the men prisoners +that they might be sacrificed to the gods.</p> + +<p>But while they delayed, Orestes ran forth from the cave, +for the madness was come upon him, crying out, "Pylades, +seest thou not that dragon from hell; and that who would +kill me with the serpents of her mouth, and this again that +breatheth out fire, holding my mother in her arms to cast +her upon me?" And first he bellowed as a bull and then +howled as a dog, for the Furies, he said, did so. But the +herdsmen, when they saw this, gathered together in great +fear and sat down. But when Orestes drew his sword and +leapt, as a lion might leap, into the midst of the herd, slaying +the beasts (for he thought in his madness that he was contending +with the Furies), then the herdsmen, blowing on shells, called +to the people of the land; for they feared the young men, so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> +strong they seemed and valiant. And when no small number +was gathered together, they began to cast stones and javelins +at the two. And now the madness of Orestes began to abate, +and Pylades tended him carefully, wiping away the foam from +his mouth and holding his garments before him that he should +not be wounded by the stones. But when Orestes came to +himself and beheld in what straits they were, he groaned aloud +and cried, "We must die, O Pylades, only let us die as befitteth +brave men. Draw thy sword and follow me." And the people +of the land dared not to stand before them; yet while some +fled, others would cast stones at them. For all that no man +wounded them. But at the last, coming about them with a +great multitude, they smote the swords out of their hands +with stones, and so bound them and took them to King Thoas. +And the king commanded that they should be taken to the +temple, that the priestess might deal with them according +to the custom of the place.</p> + +<p>So they brought the young men bound to the temple. Now +the name of the one they knew, for they had heard his companion +call to him, but the name of the other they knew not. +And when Iphigenia saw them, she bade the people loose their +bonds, for that being holy to the goddess they were free. +And then—for she took the two for brothers—she asked +them, saying, "Who is your mother and your father and your +sister, if a sister you have? She will be bereaved of noble +brothers this day. And whence come ye?"</p> + +<p>To her Orestes answered, "What meanest thou, lady, by +lamenting in this fashion over us? I hold it folly in him who +must die that he should bemoan himself. Pity us not; we +know what manner of sacrifices ye have in this land."</p> + +<p>"Tell me now, which of ye two is called Pylades?"</p> + +<p>"Not I, but this my companion."</p> + +<p>"Of what city in the land of Greece are ye? And are ye +brothers born of one mother?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> +"Brothers we are, but in friendship, not in blood."</p> + +<p>"And what is thy name?"</p> + +<p>"That I tell thee not. Thou hast power over my body, +but not over my name."</p> + +<p>"Wilt thou not tell me thy country?"</p> + +<p>And when he told her that his country was Argos, she asked +him many things, as about Troy, and Helen, and Calchas the +prophet, and Ulysses; and at last she said, "And Achilles, +son of Thetis of the sea, is he yet alive?"</p> + +<p>"He is dead and his marriage that was made at Aulis is of +no effect."</p> + +<p>"A false marriage it was, as some know full well."</p> + +<p>"Who art thou that inquirest thus about matters in Greece?"</p> + +<p>"I am of the land of Greece and was brought thence yet +being a child. But there was a certain Agamemnon, son of +Atreus; what of him?"</p> + +<p>"I know not. Lady, leave all talk of him."</p> + +<p>"Say not so; but do me a pleasure and tell me."</p> + +<p>"He is dead."</p> + +<p>"Woe is me! How died he?"</p> + +<p>"What meaneth thy sorrow? Art thou of his kindred?"</p> + +<p>"'Tis a pity to think how great he was, and now he hath +perished."</p> + +<p>"He was slain in a most miserable fashion by a woman, +but ask no more."</p> + +<p>"Only this one thing. Is his wife yet alive?"</p> + +<p>"Nay; for the son whom she bare slew her, taking vengeance +for his father."</p> + +<p>"A dreadful deed, but righteous withal."</p> + +<p>"Righteous indeed he is, but the gods love him not."</p> + +<p>"And did the king leave any other child behind him?"</p> + +<p>"One daughter, Electra by name."</p> + +<p>"And is his son yet alive?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> +"He is alive, but no man more miserable."</p> + +<p>Now when Iphigenia heard that he was alive and knew +that she had been deceived by the dreams which she had +dreamt, she conceived a thought in her heart and said to +Orestes, "Hearken now, for I have somewhat to say to thee +that shall bring profit both to thee and to me. Wilt thou, if I +save thee from this death, carry tidings of me to Argos to +my friends and bear a tablet from me to them? For such a +tablet I have with me, which one who was brought captive +to this place wrote for me, pitying me, for he knew that I +caused not his death, but the law of the goddess in this place. +Nor have I yet found a man who should carry this thing to +Argos. But thou, I judge, art of noble birth and knowest +the city and those with whom I would have communication. +Take then this tablet and thy life as a reward, and let this +man be sacrificed to the goddess."</p> + +<p>Then Orestes made answer, "Thou hast said well, lady, +save in one thing only. That this man should be sacrificed +in my stead pleaseth me not at all. For I am he that brought +this voyage to pass; and this man came with me that he might +help me in my troubles. Wherefore it would be a grievous +wrong that he should suffer in my stead and I escape. Give +then the tablet to him. He shall take it to the city of Argos +and thou shalt have what thou wilt. But as for me, let them +slay me if they will."</p> + +<p>"'Tis well spoken, young man. Thou art come, I know, +of a noble stock. The gods grant that my brother—for I +have a brother, though he be far hence—may be such as thou. +It shall be as thou wilt. This man shall depart with the tablet +and thou shalt die."</p> + +<p>Then Orestes would know the manner of the death by which +he must die. And she told him that she slew not the victims +with her own hand, but that there were ministers in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> +temple appointed to this office, she preparing them for sacrifice +beforehand. Also she said that his body would be burned +with fire.</p> + +<p>And when Orestes had wished that the hand of his sister +might pay due honor to him in his death, she said, "This may +not be, for she is far away from this strange land. But yet, +seeing that thou art a man of Argos, I myself will adorn thy +tomb and pour oil of olives and honey on thy ashes." Then +she departed, that she might fetch the tablet from her dwelling, +bidding the attendants keep the young men fast, but without +bonds.</p> + +<p>But when she was gone, Orestes said to Pylades, "Pylades, +what thinkest thou? Who is this maiden? She had great +knowledge of things in Troy and Argos, and of Calchas the +wise soothsayer, and of Achilles and the rest. And she made +lamentation over King Agamemnon. She must be of Argos."</p> + +<p>And Pylades answered, "This I cannot say; all men have +knowledge of what befell the king. But hearken to this. +It were shame to me to live if thou diest. I sailed with thee +and will die with thee. For otherwise men will account +lightly of me both in Argos and in Phocis, which is my own +land, thinking that I betrayed thee or basely slew thee, that +I might have thy kingdom, marrying thy sister, who shall +inherit it in thy stead. Not so: I will die with thee and my +body shall be burnt together with thine."</p> + +<p>But Orestes answered, "I must bear my own troubles. +This indeed would be a shameful thing, that when thou seekest +to help me I should destroy thee. But as for me, seeing how +the gods deal with me, it is well that I should die. Thou, +indeed, art happy, and thy house is blessed; but my house is +accursed. Go, therefore, and my sister, whom I have given +thee to wife, shall bear thee children, and the house of my +father shall not perish. And I charge thee that when thou art<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> +safe returned to the city of Argos, thou do these things. +First, thou shalt build a tomb for me, and my sister shall make +an offering there of her hair and of her tears also. And tell +her that I died, slain by a woman of Argos that offered me +as an offering to her gods; and I charge thee that thou leave +not my sister, but be faithful to her. And now farewell, true +friend and companion in my toils; for indeed I die, and +Phœbus hath lied unto me, prophesying falsely."</p> + +<p>And Pylades swore to him that he would build him a tomb +and be a true husband to his sister. After this Iphigenia +came forth, holding a tablet in her hand. And she said, +"Here is the tablet of which I spake. But I fear lest he to +whom I shall give it shall haply take no account of it when he +is returned to the land. Therefore I would fain bind him with +an oath that he will deliver it to them that should have it in +the city of Argos." And Orestes consented, saying that she +also should bind herself with an oath that she would deliver +one of the two from death. So she sware by Artemis that +she would persuade the king, and deliver Pylades from death. +And Pylades sware on his part by Zeus, the father of heaven, +that he would give the tablet to those whom it should concern. +And having sworn it, he said, "But what if a storm overtake +me and the tablet be lost and I only be saved?"</p> + +<p>"I will tell thee what hath been written in the tablet; +and if it perish, thou shalt tell them again; but if not, then +thou shalt give it as I bid thee."</p> + +<p>"And to whom shall I give it?"</p> + +<p>"Thou shalt give it to Orestes, son of Agamemnon. And +that which is written therein is this: '<i>I that was sacrificed in +Aulis, even Iphigenia, who am alive and yet dead to my own +people, bid thee——</i>'"</p> + +<p>But when Orestes heard this, he brake in, "Where is this +Iphigenia? Hath the dead come back among the living?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> +"Thou seest her in me. But interrupt me not. '<i>I bid thee +fetch me before I die to Argos from a strange land, taking me +from the altar that is red with the blood of strangers, whereat I +serve.</i>' And if Orestes ask by what means I am alive, thou +shalt say that Artemis put a hind in my stead, and that the +priest, thinking that he smote me with the knife, slew the +beast, and that the goddess brought me to this land."</p> + +<p>Then said Pylades, "My oath is easy to keep. Orestes, +take thou this tablet from thy sister."</p> + +<p>Then Orestes embraced his sister, crying—for she turned +from him, not knowing what she should think—"O my sister, +turn not from me; for I am thy brother whom thou didst not +think to see."</p> + +<p>And when she yet doubted, he told her of certain things +by which she might know him to be Orestes—how that she +had woven a tapestry wherein was set forth the strife between +Atreus and Thyestes concerning the golden lamb; and that +she had given a lock of her hair at Aulis to be a memorial of +her; and that there was laid in her chamber at Argos the +ancient spear of Pelops, her father's grandsire, with which +he slew Œnomaüs and won Hippodamia to be his wife.</p> + +<p>And when she heard this, she knew that he was indeed +Orestes, whom, being an infant and the latest born of his +mother, she had in time past held in her arms. But when the +two had talked together for a space, rejoicing over each other +and telling the things that had befallen them, Pylades said, +"Greetings of friends after long parting are well; but we must +needs consider how best we shall escape from this land of the +barbarians."</p> + +<p>But Iphigenia answered, "Yet nothing shall hinder me from +knowing how fareth my sister Electra."</p> + +<p>"She is married," said Orestes, "to this Pylades, whom thou +seest."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> +"And of what country is he and who is his father?"</p> + +<p>"His father is Strophius the Phocian; and he is a kinsman, +for his mother was the daughter of Atreus and a friend also +such as none other is to me."</p> + +<p>Then Orestes set forth to his sister the cause of his coming +to the land of the Taurians. And he said, "Now help me in +this, my sister, that we may bear away the image of the +goddess; for so doing I shall be quit of my madness, and +thou wilt be brought to thy native country and the house of +thy father shall prosper. But if we do it not, then shall we +perish altogether."</p> + +<p>And Iphigenia doubted much how this thing might be done. +But at the last she said, "I have a device whereby I shall +compass the matter. I will say that thou art come hither, +having murdered thy mother, and that thou canst not be +offered for a sacrifice till thou art purified with the water of +the sea. Also that thou hast touched the image, and that +this also must be purified in like manner. And the image I +myself will bear to the sea; for, indeed, I only may touch it +with my hands. And of this Pylades also I will say that he +is polluted in like manner with thee. So shall we three win +our way to the ship. And that this be ready it will be thy +care to provide."</p> + +<p>And when she had so said, she prayed to Artemis: "Great +goddess, that didst bring me safe in days past from Aulis, +bring me now also, and these that are with me, safe to the +land of Greece, so that men may count thy brother Apollo +to be a true prophet. Nor shouldst thou be unwilling to +depart from this barbarous land and to dwell in the fair city +of Athens."</p> + +<p>After this came King Thoas, inquiring whether they had +offered the strangers for sacrifice and had duly burnt their +bodies with fire. To him Iphigenia made answer, "These +were unclean sacrifices that thou broughtest to me, O King."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> +"How didst thou learn this?"</p> + +<p>"The image of the goddess turned upon her place of her +own accord and covered also her face with her hands."</p> + +<p>"What wickedness, then, had these strangers wrought?"</p> + +<p>"They slew their mother and had been banished therefor +from the land of Greece."</p> + +<p>"O monstrous! Such deeds we barbarians never do. +And now what dost thou purpose?"</p> + +<p>"We must purify these strangers before we offer them for a +sacrifice."</p> + +<p>"With water from the river, or in the sea?"</p> + +<p>"In the sea. The sea cleanseth away all that is evil among +men."</p> + +<p>"Well, thou hast it here, by the very walls of the temple."</p> + +<p>"Aye, but I must seek a place apart from men."</p> + +<p>"So be it; go where thou wilt; I would not look on things +forbidden."</p> + +<p>"The image also must be purified."</p> + +<p>"Surely, if the pollution from these murderers of their +mother hath touched it. This is well thought of in thee."</p> + +<p>Then she instructed the king that he should bring the +strangers out of the temple, having first bound them and veiled +their heads. Also that certain of his guards should go with +her, but that all the people of the city should be straitly +commanded to stay within doors, that so they might not be +defiled; and that he himself should abide in the temple and +purify it with fire, covering his head with his garments when +the strangers should pass by. "And be not troubled," she +said, "if I seem to be long doing these things."</p> + +<p>"Take what time thou wilt," he said, "so that thou do all +things in order."</p> + +<p>So certain of the king's guards brought the two young +men from out of the temple, and Iphigenia led them towards<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> +the place where the ship of Orestes lay at anchor. But when +they were come near to the shore, she bade them halt nor +come over-near, for that she had that to do in which they must +have no part. And she took the chain wherewith the young +men were bound in her hands and set up a strange song as of +one that sought enchantments. And after that the guards +sat where she bade them for a long time, they began to fear +lest the strangers should have slain the priestess and so fled. +Yet they moved not, fearing to see that which was forbidden. +But at the last with one consent they rose up. And when +they were come to the sea, they saw the ship trimmed to set +forth, and fifty sailors on the benches having oars in their +hands ready for rowing; and the two young men were standing +unbound upon the shore near to the stern. And other sailors +were dragging the ship by the cable to the shore that the +young men might embark. Then the guards laid hold of the +rudder and sought to take it from its place, crying, "Who are +ye that carry away priestesses and the images of our gods?" +Then Orestes said, "I am Orestes, and I carry away my sister." +But the guards laid hold of Iphigenia; and when the sailors +saw this they leapt from the ship; and neither the one nor the +other had swords in their hands, but they fought with their +fists and their feet also. And as the sailors were strong and +skilful, the king's men were driven back sorely bruised and +wounded. And when they fled to a bank that was hard by +and cast stones at the ship, the archers standing on the stern +shot at them with arrows. Then—for his sister feared to +come farther—Orestes leapt into the sea and raised her upon +his shoulder and so lifted her into the ship, and the image of +the goddess with her. And Pylades cried, "Lay hold of your +oars, ye sailors, and smite the sea, for we have that for the +which we came to this land." So the sailors rowed with all +their might; and while the ship was in the harbor it went well<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> +with them, but when it was come to the open sea a great +wave took it, for a violent wind blew against it and drove it +backwards to the shore.</p> + +<p>And one of the guards when he saw this ran to King Thoas +and told him, and the king made haste and sent messengers +mounted upon horses, to call the men of the land that they +might do battle with Orestes and his comrade. But while +he was yet sending them, there appeared in the air above his +head the goddess Athene, who spake, saying, "Cease, King +Thoas, from pursuing this man and his companions; for he +hath come hither on this errand by the command of Apollo; +and I have persuaded Poseidon that he make the sea smooth +for him to depart."</p> + +<p>And King Thoas answered, "It shall be as thou wilt, O +goddess; and though Orestes hath borne away his sister and +the image, I dismiss my anger, for who can fight against the +gods?"</p> + +<p>So Orestes departed and came to his own country and dwelt +in peace, being set free from his madness, according to the +word of Apollo.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE SACK OF TROY</h2> + +<p><a name="Illus14" id="Illus14"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_14.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_14th.jpg" width="274" height="400" +alt="The people of Troy watch and celebrate as the enormous wooden horse +is dragged back to their city." +title="THE TROJAN HORSE" /></a> +<span class="caption">THE TROJAN HORSE</span> +</div> + + +<p>For ten years King Agamemnon and the men of Greece +laid siege to Troy. But though sentence had gone forth +against the city, yet the day of its fall tarried, because certain +of the gods loved it well and defended it, as Apollo and Mars, +the god of war, and Father Jupiter himself. Wherefore +Minerva put it into the heart of Epeius, Lord of the Isles, that +he should make a cunning device wherewith to take the city. +Now the device was this: he made a great horse of wood, +feigning it to be a peace-offering to Minerva, that the Greeks +might have a safe return to their homes. In the belly of this +there hid themselves certain of the bravest of the chiefs, as +Menelaüs, and Ulysses, and Thoas the Ætolian, and Machaon +the great physician, and Pyrrhus, son of Achilles (but Achilles +himself was dead, slain by Paris, Apollo helping, even as he +was about to take the city), and others also, and with them +Epeius himself. But the rest of the people made as if they had +departed to their homes; only they went not further than +Tenedos, which was an island near to the coast.</p> + +<p>Great joy was there in Troy when it was noised abroad +that the men of Greece had departed. The gates were opened, +and the people went forth to see the plain and the camp. +And one said to another as they went, "Here they set the +battle in array, and there were the tents of the fierce Achilles, +and there lay the ships." And some stood and marveled at +the great peace-offering to Minerva, even the horse of wood. +And Thymœtes, who was one of the elders of the city, was the +first who advised that it should be brought within the walls +and set in the citadel. Now whether he gave this counsel<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> +out of a false heart or because the gods would have it so, no +man knows. But Capys, and others with him, said that it +should be drowned in water or burned with fire, or that men +should pierce it and see whether there were aught within. +And the people were divided, some crying one thing and some +another. Then came forward the priest Laocoön, and a +great company with him, crying, "What madness is this? +Think ye that the men of Greece are indeed departed or that +there is any profit in their gifts? Surely there are armed men +in this mighty horse; or haply they have made it that they +may look down upon our walls. Touch it not, for as for these +men of Greece, I fear them, even though they bring gifts in +their hands."</p> + +<p>And as he spake he cast his great spear at the horse, so that +it sounded again. But the gods would not that Troy should +be saved.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile there came certain shepherds dragging with +them one whose hands were bound behind his back. He had +come forth to them, they said, of his own accord when they +were in the field. And first the young men gathered about +him mocking him, but when he cried aloud, "What place is +left for me, for the Greeks suffer me not to live and the men +of Troy cry for vengeance upon me?" they rather pitied him, +and bade him speak and say whence he came and what he +had to tell.</p> + +<p>Then the man spake, turning to King Priam: "I will speak +the truth, whatever befall me. My name is Sinon and I +deny not that I am a Greek. Haply thou hast heard the +name of Palamedes, whom the Greeks slew, but now, being +dead, lament; and the cause was that because he counseled +peace, men falsely accused him of treason. Now, of this +Palamedes I was a poor kinsman and followed him to Troy. +And when he was dead, through the false witness of Ulysses,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> +I lived in great grief and trouble, nor could I hold my peace, +but sware that if ever I came back to Argos I would avenge +me of him that had done this deed. Then did Ulysses seek +occasion against me, whispering evil things, nor rested till +at the last, Calchas the soothsayer helping him—but what +profit it that I should tell these things? For doubtless ye +hold one Greek to be even as another. Wherefore slay me +and doubtless ye will do a pleasure to Ulysses and the sons of +Atreus."</p> + +<p>Then they bade him tell on, and he said:</p> + +<p>"Often would the Greeks have fled to their homes, being +weary of the war, but still the stormy sea hindered them. +And when this horse that ye see had been built, most of all +did the dreadful thunder roll from the one end of the heaven +to the other. Then the Greeks sent one who should inquire +of Apollo; and Apollo answered them thus: 'Men of Greece, +even as ye appeased the winds with blood when ye came to +Troy, so must ye appease them with blood now that ye would +go from thence.' Then did men tremble to think on whom +the doom should fall, and Ulysses, with much clamor, drew +forth Calchas the soothsayer into the midst, and bade him +say who it was that the gods would have as a sacrifice. Then +did many forbode evil for me. Ten days did the soothsayer +keep silence, saying that he would not give any man to death. +But then, for in truth the two had planned the matter beforehand, +he spake, appointing me to die. And to this thing they +all agreed, each being glad to turn to another that which he +feared for himself. But when the day was come and all +things were ready, the salted meal for the sacrifice and the +garlands, lo! I burst my bonds and fled and hid myself in the +sedges of a pool, waiting till they should have set sail, if haply +that might be. But never shall I see country or father or +children again. For doubtless on these will they take<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> +vengeance for my flight. Only do thou, O King, have pity on +me, who have suffered many things, not having harmed any +man."</p> + +<p>And King Priam had pity on him, and bade them loose +his bonds, saying, "Whoever thou art, forget now thy country. +Henceforth thou art one of us. But tell me true: why made +they this huge horse? Who contrived it? What seek they +by it—to please the gods or to further their siege?"</p> + +<p>Then said Sinon, and as he spake he stretched his hands +to the sky, "I call you to witness, ye everlasting fires of +heaven, that with good right I now break my oath of fealty and +reveal the secrets of my countrymen. Listen then, O King. +All our hope has ever been in the help of Minerva. But from +the day when Diomed and Ulysses dared, having bloody +hands, to snatch her image from her holy place in Troy, her +face was turned from us. Well do I remember how the eyes +of the image, well-nigh before they had set it in the camp, +blazed with wrath, and how the salt sweat stood upon its +limbs, aye, and how it thrice leapt from the ground, shaking +shield and spear. Then Calchas told us that we must cross +the seas again and seek at home fresh omens for our war. +And this, indeed, they are doing even now, and will return +anon. Also the soothsayer said, 'Meanwhile ye must make +the likeness of a horse, to be a peace-offering to Minerva. +And take heed that ye make it huge of bulk, so that the men of +Troy may not receive it into their gates, nor bring it within +their walls and get safety for themselves thereby. For if,' +he said, 'the men of Troy harm this image at all, they shall +surely perish; but if they bring it into their city, then shall +Asia lay siege hereafter to the city of Pelops, and our children +shall suffer the doom which we would fain have brought on +Troy.'"</p> + +<p>These words wrought much on the men of Troy, and as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> +they pondered on them, lo! the gods sent another marvel to +deceive them. For while Laocoön, the priest of Neptune, was +slaying a bull at the altar of his god, there came two serpents +across the sea from Tenedos, whose heads and necks, whereon +were thick manes of hair, were high above the waves, and +many scaly coils trailed behind in the waters. And when +they reached the land they still sped forward. Their eyes +were red as blood and blazed with fire and their forked tongues +hissed loud for rage. Then all the men of Troy grew pale with +fear and fled away, but these turned not aside this way or +that, seeking Laocoön where he stood. And first they wrapped +themselves about his little sons, one serpent about each, and +began to devour them. And when the father would have +given help to his children, having a sword in his hand, they +seized upon himself and bound him fast with their folds. +Twice they compassed him about his body, and twice about +his neck, lifting their heads far above him. And all the while +he strove to tear them away with his hands, his priest's garlands +dripping with blood. Nor did he cease to cry horribly +aloud, even as a bull bellows when after an ill stroke of the +axe it flees from the altar. But when their work was done, +the two glided to the citadel of Minerva and hid themselves +beneath the feet and the shield of the goddess. And men said +one to another, "Lo! the priest Laocoön has been judged +according to his deeds; for he cast his spear against this holy +thing, and now the gods have slain him." Then all cried out +together that the horse of wood must be drawn to the citadel. +Whereupon they opened the Scæan Gate and pulled down the +wall that was thereby, and put rollers under the feet of the +horse and joined ropes thereto. So in much joy they drew +it into the city, youths and maidens singing about it the while +and laying their hands to the ropes with great gladness. And +yet there wanted no signs and tokens of evil to come. Four<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> +times it halted on the threshold of the gate, and men might +have heard a clashing of arms within. Cassandra also opened +her mouth, prophesying evil; but no man heeded her, for +that was ever the doom upon her, not to be believed, though +speaking truth. So the men of Troy drew the horse into the +city. And that night they kept a feast to all the gods with +great joy not knowing that the last day of the great city had +come.</p> + +<p>But when night was now fully come and the men of Troy +lay asleep, lo! from the ship of King Agamemnon there rose +up a flame for a signal to the Greeks; and these straightway +manned their ships and made across the sea from Tenedos, +there being a great calm and the moon also giving them light. +Sinon likewise opened a secret door that was in the great +horse and the chiefs issued forth therefrom and opened the +gates of the city, slaying those that kept watch.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile there came a vision to Æneas, who now, Hector +being dead, was the chief hope and stay of the men of Troy. +It was Hector's self that he seemed to see, but not such as he +had seen him coming back rejoicing with the arms of Achilles +or setting fire to the ships, but even as he lay after that Achilles +dragged him at his chariot wheels, covered with dust, and +blood, his feet swollen and pierced through with thongs. +To him said Æneas, not knowing what he said, "Why hast thou +tarried so long? Much have we suffered waiting for thee! +And what grief hath marked thy face, and whence these +wounds?"</p> + +<p>But to this the spirit answered nothing, but said, groaning +the while, "Fly, son of Venus, fly and save thee from these +flames. The enemy is in the walls and Troy hath utterly +perished. If any hand could have saved our city, this hand +had done so. Thou art now the hope of Troy. Take then her +gods and flee with them for company, seeking the city that +thou shalt one day build across the sea."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> +And now the alarm of battle came nearer and nearer, and +Æneas, waking from sleep, climbed upon the roof and looked +on the city. As a shepherd stands and sees a fierce flame +sweeping before the south wind over the corn-fields or a flood +rushing down from the mountains, so he stood. And as he +looked, the great palace of Deïphobus sank down in the fire +and the house of Ucalegon that was hard by, blazed forth, till +the sea by Sigeüm shone with the light. Then, scarce knowing +what he sought, he girded on his armor, thinking perchance +that he might yet win some place of vantage or at the least +might avenge himself on the enemy or find honor in his death. +But as he passed from out of his house there met him Panthus, +the priest of Apollo that was on the citadel, who cried to him, +"O Æneas, the glory is departed from Troy and the Greeks +have the mastery in the city; for armed men are coming forth +from the great horse of wood and thousands also swarm in at +the gates, which Sinon hath treacherously opened." And as +he spake others came up under the light of the moon, as +Hypanis and Dymas and young Corœbus, who had but newly +come to Troy, seeking Cassandra to be his wife. To whom +Æneas spake: "If ye are minded, my brethren, to follow me +to the death, come on. For how things fare this night ye see. +The gods who were the stay of this city have departed from +it; nor is aught remaining to which we may bring succor. +Yet can we die as brave men in battle. And haply he that +counts his life to be lost may yet save it." Then, even as +ravening wolves hasten through the mist seeking for prey, +so they went through the city, doing dreadful deeds. And for +a while the men of Greece fled before them.</p> + +<p>First of all there met them Androgeos with a great company +following him, who, thinking them to be friends, said, "Haste, +comrades; why are ye so late? We are spoiling this city of +Troy and ye are but newly come from the ships." But forthwith,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> +for they answered him not as he had looked for, he knew +that he had fallen among enemies. Then even as one who +treads upon a snake unawares among thorns and flies from it +when it rises angrily against him with swelling neck, so +Androgeos would have fled. But the men of Troy rushed on +and, seeing that they knew all the place and that great fear +was upon the Greeks, slew many men. Then said Corœbus, +"We have good luck in this matter, my friends. Come now, +let us change our shields and put upon us the armor of these +Greeks. For whether we deal with our enemy by craft or by +force, who will ask?" Then he took to himself the helmet and +shield of Androgeos and also girded the sword upon him. In +like manner did the others, and thus, going disguised among +the Greeks, slew many, so that some again fled to the ships +and some were fain to climb into the horse of wood. But lo! +men came dragging by the hair from the temple of Minerva +the virgin Cassandra, whom when Corœbus beheld, and how +she lifted up her eyes to heaven (but as for her hands, they were +bound with iron), he endured not the sight, but threw himself +upon those that dragged her, the others following him. Then +did a grievous mischance befall them, for the men of Troy +that stood upon the roof of the temple cast spears against them, +judging them to be enemies. The Greeks also, being wroth +that the virgin should be taken from them, fought the more +fiercely, and many who had before been put to flight in the +city came against them and prevailed, being indeed many +against few. Then first of all fell Corœbus, being slain by +Peneleus the Bœotian, and Rhipeus also, the most righteous +of all the sons of Troy. But the gods dealt not with him after +his righteousness. Hypanis also was slain and Dymas, and +Panthus escaped not for all that more than other men he feared +the gods and was also the priest of Apollo.</p> + +<p>Then was Æneas severed from the rest, having with him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> +two only, Iphitus and Pelias, Iphitus being an old man and +Pelias sorely wounded by Ulysses. And these, hearing a great +shouting, hastened to the palace of King Priam, where the +battle was fiercer than in any place beside. For some of the +Greeks were seeking to climb the walls, laying ladders thereto, +whereon they stood, holding forth their shields with their +left hands and with their right grasping the roofs. And the +men of Troy, on the other hand, being in the last extremity, +tore down the battlements and the gilded beams wherewith +the men of old had adorned the palace. Then Æneas, knowing +of a secret door whereby the unhappy Andromache in past +days had been wont to enter, bringing her son Astyanax to +his grandfather, climbed on to the roof and joined himself +to those that fought therefrom. Now upon this roof there was +a tower, whence all Troy could be seen and the camp of the +Greeks and the ships. This the men of Troy loosened from +its foundations with bars of iron, and thrust it over, so that it +fell upon the enemy, slaying many of them. But not the +less did others press forward, casting the while stones and javelins +and all that came to their hands.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile others sought to break down the gates of the +palace, Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, being foremost among them, +clad in shining armor of bronze. Like to a serpent was he, +which sleeps indeed during the winter, but in the spring comes +forth into the light, full-fed on evil herbs, and, having cast +his skin and renewed his youth, lifts his head into the light +of the sun and hisses with forked tongue. And with Pyrrhus +were tall Periphas, and Automedon, who had been armor-bearer +to his father Achilles, and following them the youth of +Scyros, which was the kingdom of his grandfather Lycomedes. +With a great battle-axe he hewed through the doors, breaking +down also the door-posts, though they were plated with bronze, +making, as it were, a great window, through which a man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> +might see the palace within, the hall of King Priam and of the +kings who had reigned aforetime in Troy. But when they +that were within perceived it, there arose a great cry of women +wailing aloud and clinging to the doors and kissing them. +But ever Pyrrhus pressed on, fierce and strong as ever was his +father Achilles, nor could aught stand against him, either the +doors or they that guarded them. Then, as a river bursts +its banks and overflows the plain, so did the sons of Greece +rush into the palace.</p> + +<p>But old Priam, when he saw the enemy in his hall, girded +on him his armor, which now by reason of old age he had long +laid aside, and took a spear in his hand and would have gone +against the adversary, only Queen Hecuba called to him from +where she sat. For she and her daughters had fled to the great +altar of the household gods and sat crowded about it like unto +doves that are driven by a storm. Now the altar stood in an +open court that was in the midst of the palace, with a great +bay-tree above it. So when she saw Priam, how he had girded +himself with armor as a youth, she cried to him and said, +"What hath bewitched thee, that thou girdest thyself with +armor? It is not the sword that shall help us this day; no, +not though my own Hector were here, but rather the gods and +their altars. Come hither to us, for here thou wilt be safe, +or at the least wilt die with us."</p> + +<p>So she made the old man sit down in the midst. But lo! +there came flying through the palace, Polites, his son, wounded +to death by the spear of Pyrrhus, and Pyrrhus close behind +him. And he, even as he came into the sight of his father +and his mother, fell dead upon the ground. But when King +Priam saw it he contained not himself, but cried aloud, "Now +may the gods, if there be any justice in heaven, recompense +thee for this wickedness, seeing that thou hast not spared to +slay the son before his father's eyes. Great Achilles, whom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> +thou falsely callest thy sire, did not thus to Priam, though he +was an enemy, but reverenced right and truth and gave the +body of Hector for burial and sent me back to my city."</p> + +<p>And as he spake the old man cast a spear, but aimless and +without force, which pierced not even the boss of the shield. +Then said the son of Achilles, "Go thou and tell my father of +his unworthy son and all these evils deeds. And that thou +mayest tell him die!" And as he spake he caught in his left +hand the old man's white hair and dragged him, slipping the +while in the blood of his own son, to the altar, and then, lifting +his sword high for a blow, drove it to the hilt in the old man's +side. So King Priam, who had ruled mightily over many +peoples and countries in the land of Asia, was slain that night, +having first seen Troy burning about him and his citadel laid +even with the ground. So was his carcass cast out upon the +earth, headless and without a name.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p> + +<h2>BEOWULF AND GRENDEL</h2> + + +<p>Long ago there ruled over the Danes a king called Hrothgar. +He gained success and glory in war, so that his loyal kinsmen +willingly obeyed him, and everything prospered in his land.</p> + +<p>One day it came into his mind that he would build a princely +banquet-hall, where he might entertain both the young and +old of his kingdom; and he had the work widely made known +to many a tribe over the earth, so that they might bring +rich gifts to beautify the hall.</p> + +<p>In course of time the banquet-house was built and towered +aloft, high and battlemented. Then Hrothgar gave it the +name of Heorot, and called his guests to the banquet, and gave +them gifts of rings and other treasures; and afterwards +every day the joyous sound of revelry rang loud in the hall, +with the music of the harp and the clear notes of the singers.</p> + +<p>But it was not long before the pleasure of the king's men was +broken, for a wicked demon began to work mischief against +them. This cruel spirit was called Grendel, and he dwelt +on the moors and among the fens. One night he came to +Heorot when the noble guests lay at rest after the feast, and +seizing thirty thanes as they slept, set off on his homeward +journey, exulting in his booty.</p> + +<p>At break of day his deed was known to all men, and great +was the grief among the thanes. The good King Hrothgar +also sat in sorrow, suffering heavy distress for the death of +his warriors.</p> + +<p>Not long afterwards Grendel again appeared, and wrought +a yet worse deed of murder. After that the warriors no longer +dared to sleep at Heorot, but sought out secret resting-places, +leaving the great house empty.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> +A long time passed. For the space of twelve winters Grendel +waged a perpetual feud against Hrothgar and his people; +the livelong night he roamed over the misty moors, visiting +Heorot, and destroying both the tried warriors and the young +men whenever he was able. Hrothgar was broken-hearted, +and many were the councils held in secret to deliberate what +it were best to do against these fearful terrors; but nothing +availed to stop the fiend's ravages.</p> + +<p>Now the tale of Grendel's deeds went forth into many +lands; and amongst those who heard of it were the Geats, +whose king was Higelac. Chief of his thanes was a noble and +powerful warrior named Beowulf, who resolved to go to the +help of the Danes. He bade his men make ready a good sea-boat, +that he might go across the wild swan's path to seek out +Hrothgar and aid him; and his people encouraged him to go +on that dangerous errand even though he was dear to them.</p> + +<p>So Beowulf chose fourteen of his keenest warriors, and sailed +away over the waves in his well-equipped vessel, till he came +within sight of the cliffs and mountains of Hrothgar's kingdom. +The Danish warder, who kept guard over the coast, saw them +as they were making their ship fast and carrying their bright +weapons on shore. So he mounted his horse and rode to meet +them, bearing in his hand his staff of office; and he questioned +them closely as to whence they came and what their business +was.</p> + +<p>Then Beowulf explained their errand, and the warder, +when he had heard it, bade them pass onwards, bearing their +weapons, and gave orders that their ship should be safely +guarded.</p> + +<p>Soon they came within sight of the fair palace Heorot, and +the warder showed them the way to Hrothgar's court, and +then bade them farewell, and returned to keep watch upon +the coast.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> +Then the bold thanes marched forward to Heorot, their +armor and their weapons glittering as they went. Entering +the hall, they set their shields and bucklers against the walls, +placed their spears upright in a sheaf together, and sat down +on the benches, weary with their seafaring.</p> + +<p>Then a proud liegeman of Hrothgar's stepped forward and +asked:</p> + +<p>"Whence bring ye your shields, your gray war-shirts and +frowning helmets, and this sheaf of spears? Never saw I +men of more valiant aspect."</p> + +<p>"We are Higelac's boon companions," answered Beowulf. +"Beowulf is my name, and I desire to declare my errand to +the great prince, thy lord, if he will grant us leave to approach +him."</p> + +<p>So Wulfgar, another of Hrothgar's chieftains, went out to +the king where he sat with the assembly of his earls and told +him of the arrival of the strangers, and Hrothgar received the +news with joy, for he had known Beowulf when he was a boy, +and had heard of his fame as a warrior. Therefore he bade +Wulfgar bring him to his presence, and soon Beowulf stood +before him and cried:</p> + +<p>"Hail to thee, Hrothgar! I have heard the tale of Grendel, +and my people, who know my strength and prowess, have +counseled me to seek thee out. For I have wrought great +deeds in the past, and now I shall do battle against this monster. +Men say that so thick is his tawny hide that no weapon +can injure him. I therefore disdain to carry sword or shield +into the combat, but will fight with the strength of my arm +only, and either I will conquer the fiend or he will bear away +my dead body to the moor. Send to Higelac, if I fall in the +fight, my beautiful breastplate. I have no fear of death, +for Destiny must ever be obeyed."</p> + +<p>Then Hrothgar told Beowulf of the great sorrow caused<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> +to him by Grendel's terrible deeds, and of the failure of all +the attempts that had been made by the warriors to overcome +him; and afterwards he bade him sit down with his followers +to partake of a meal.</p> + +<p>So a bench was cleared for the Geats, and a thane waited +upon them, and all the noble warriors gathered together, and +a great feast was held once more in Heorot with song and +revelry. Waltheow, Hrothgar's queen, came forth also, and +handed the wine-cup to each of the thanes, pledging the king +in joyful mood and thanking Beowulf for his offer of help.</p> + +<p>At last all the company arose to go to rest; and Hrothgar +entrusted the guardianship of Heorot to Beowulf with cheering +words, and so bade him good night. Then all left the hall, +save only a watch appointed by Hrothgar, and Beowulf +himself with his followers, who laid themselves down to rest.</p> + +<p>No long time passed before Grendel came prowling from +his home on the moors under the misty slopes. Full of his +evil purpose, he burst with fury into the hall and strode forward +raging, a hideous, fiery light gleaming from his eyes. +In the hall lay the warriors asleep, and Grendel laughed in +his heart as he gazed at them, thinking to feast upon them all. +Quickly he seized a sleeping warrior and devoured him; +then, stepping forward, he reached out his hand towards +Beowulf as he lay at rest.</p> + +<p>But the hero was ready for him, and seized his arm in a +deadly grip such as Grendel had never felt before. Terror +arose in the monster's heart, and his mind was bent on flight; +but he could not get away.</p> + +<p>Then Beowulf stood upright and grappled with him firmly, +and the two rocked to and fro in the struggle, knocking over +benches and shaking the hall with the violence of their fight. +Suddenly a new and terrible cry arose, the cry of Grendel in +fear and pain, for never once did Beowulf relax his hold upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> +him. Then many of Beowulf's earls drew their swords and +rushed to aid their master; but no blade could pierce him and +nothing but Beowulf's mighty strength could prevail.</p> + +<p>At last the monster's arm was torn off at the shoulder, and +sick unto death, he fled to the fens, there to end his joyless +life. Then Beowulf rejoiced at his night's work, wherein he +had freed Heorot forever from the fiend's ravages.</p> + +<p>Now on the morrow the warriors flocked to the hall; and +when they heard what had taken place, they went out and +followed Grendel's tracks to a mere upon the moors, into +which he had plunged and given up his life. Then, sure of +his death, they returned rejoicing to Heorot, talking of +Beowulf's glorious deed; and there they found the king and +queen and a great company of people awaiting them.</p> + +<p>And now there was great rejoicing and happiness. Fair +and gracious were the thanks that Hrothgar gave to Beowulf, +and great was the feast prepared in Heorot. Cloths embroidered +with gold were hung along the walls and the hall was +decked in every possible way.</p> + +<p>When all were seated at the feast, Hrothgar bade the +attendants bring forth his gifts to Beowulf as a reward of +victory. He gave him an embroidered banner, a helmet +and breastplate, and a valuable sword, all adorned with gold +and richly ornamented. Also he gave orders to the servants +to bring into the court eight horses, on one of which was a +curiously adorned and very precious saddle, which the king +was wont to use himself when he rode to practice the sword-game. +These also he gave to Beowulf, thus like a true man +requiting his valiant deeds with horses and other precious +gifts. He bestowed treasures also on each of Beowulf's +followers and gave orders that a price should be paid in gold +for the man whom the wicked Grendel had slain.</p> + +<p>After this there arose within the hall the din of voices and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> +the sound of song; the instruments also were brought out +and Hrothgar's minstrel sang a ballad for the delight of the +warriors. Waltheow too came forth, bearing in her train +presents for Beowulf—a cup, two armlets, raiment and rings, +and the largest and richest collar that could be found in all +the world.</p> + +<p>Now when evening came Hrothgar departed to his rest, +and the warriors cleared the hall and lay down to sleep once +more, with their shields and armor beside them as was their +custom. But Beowulf was not with them, for another resting-place +had been assigned to him that night, for all thought that +there was now no longer any danger to be feared.</p> + +<p>But in this they were mistaken, as they soon learnt to their +cost. For no sooner were they all asleep than Grendel's +mother, a monstrous witch who dwelt at the bottom of a +cold mere, came to Heorot to avenge her son and burst into +the hall. The thanes started up in terror, hastily grasping +their swords; but she seized upon Asher, the most beloved +of Hrothgar's warriors, who still lay sleeping, and bore him +off with her to the fens, carrying also with her Grendel's +arm, which lay at one end of the hall.</p> + +<p>Then there arose an uproar and the sound of mourning in +Heorot. In fierce and gloomy mood Hrothgar summoned +Beowulf and told him the ghastly tale, begging him, if he +dared, to go forth to seek out the monster and destroy it.</p> + +<p>Full of courage, Beowulf answered with cheerful words, +promising that Grendel's mother should not escape him; +and soon he was riding forth fully equipped on his quest, +accompanied by Hrothgar and many a good warrior. They +were able to follow the witch's tracks right through the forest +glades and across the gloomy moor, till they came to a spot +where some mountain trees bent over a hoar rock, beneath +which lay a dreary and troubled lake; and there beside the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> +water's edge lay the head of Asher, and they knew that the +witch must be at the bottom of the water.</p> + +<p>Full of grief, the warriors sat down, while Beowulf arrayed +himself in his cunningly fashioned coat of mail and his richly +ornamented helmet. Then he turned to Hrothgar and spoke +a last word to him.</p> + +<p>"If the fight go against me, great chieftain, be thou a guardian +to my thanes, my kinsmen and my trusty comrades; +and send thou to Higelac those treasures that thou gavest +me, that he may know thy kindness to me. Now will I earn +glory for myself, or death shall take me away."</p> + +<p>So saying, he plunged into the gloomy lake, at the bottom +of which was Grendel's mother. Very soon she perceived his +approach, and rushing forth, grappled with him and dragged +him down to her den, where many horrible sea-beasts joined +in the fight against him. This den was so fashioned that the +water could not enter it, and it was lit by the light of a fire +that shone brightly in the midst of it.</p> + +<p>And now Beowulf drew his sword and thrust at his terrible +foe; but the weapon could not injure her, and he was forced +to fling it away and trust in the powerful grip of his arms +as he had done with Grendel. Seizing the witch, he shook +her till she sank down on the ground; but she quickly rose +again and requited him with a terrible hand-clutch, which +caused Beowulf to stagger and then fall. Throwing herself +upon him, she seized a dagger to strike him; but he wrenched +himself free and once more stood upright.</p> + +<p>Then he suddenly perceived an ancient sword hanging upon +the wall of the den, and seized it as a last resource. Fierce +and savage, but well-nigh hopeless, he struck the monster +heavily upon the neck with it. Then, to his joy, the blade +pierced right through her body and she sank down dying.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus15" id="Illus15"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_15.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_15th.jpg" width="274" height="400" +alt="Armed with sword and shield, Beowulf prepares to fight the dragon +in its cave." +title="BEOWULF FACE TO FACE WITH THE FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON" /></a> +<span class="caption">BEOWULF FACE TO FACE WITH THE FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON</span> +</div> + +<p>At that moment the flames of the fire leapt up, throwing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> +a brilliant light over the den; and there against the wall +Beowulf beheld the dead body of Grendel lying on a couch. +With one swinging blow of the powerful sword he struck off +his head as a trophy to carry to Hrothgar.</p> + +<p>But now a strange thing happened, for the blade of the +sword began to melt away even as ice melts, and soon nothing +was left of it save the hilt. Carrying this and Grendel's +head, Beowulf now left the den and swam upwards to the +surface of the lake.</p> + +<p>There the thanes met him with great rejoicings, and some +quickly helped him to undo his armor, while others prepared +to carry the great head of Grendel back to Heorot. It took +four men to carry it, and ghastly, though wonderful, was the +sight of it.</p> + +<p>And now once more the warriors assembled in Heorot, and +Beowulf recounted to Hrothgar the full tale of his adventure +and presented to him the hilt of the wonderful sword. Again +the king thanked him from the depth of his heart for his +valiant deeds; and as before a fair feast was prepared and the +warriors made merry till night came and they repaired to +rest, certain this time of their safety.</p> + +<p>Now on the morrow Beowulf and his nobles made ready to +depart to their own land; and when they were fully equipped +they went to bid farewell to Hrothgar. Then Beowulf spoke, +saying:</p> + +<p>"Now are we voyagers eager to return to our lord Higelac. +We have been right well and heartily entertained, O king, +and if there is aught further that I can ever do for thee, then +I shall be ready for thy service. If ever I hear that thy +neighbors are again persecuting thee, I will bring a thousand +thanes to thy aid; and I know that Higelac will uphold me +in this."</p> + +<p>"Dear are thy words to me, O Beowulf," Hrothgar made<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> +answer, "and great is thy wisdom. If Fate should take away +the life of Higelac, the Geats could have no better king than +thou; and hereafter there shall never more be feuds between +the Danes and the Geats, for thou by thy great deeds hast +made a lasting bond of friendship between them."</p> + +<p>Then Hrothgar gave more gifts to Beowulf and bade him +seek his beloved people and afterwards come back again to +visit him, for so dearly had he grown to love him that he +longed to see him again.</p> + +<p>So the two embraced and bade each other farewell with +great affection, and then at last Beowulf went down to where +his ship rode at anchor and sailed away with his followers to +his own country, taking with him the many gifts that Hrothgar +had made to him. And coming to Higelac's court, he told +him of his adventures, and having shown him the treasure, +gave it all up to him, so loyal and true was he. But Higelac +in return gave Beowulf a goodly sword and seven thousand +pieces of gold and a manor-house, also a princely seat for him +to dwell in. There Beowulf lived in peace, and not for many +years was he called to fresh adventures.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">Beowulf and the Fire-Dragon</span></h3> + +<p>After his return to the land of the Geats, Beowulf served +Higelac faithfully till the day of the king's death, which befell +in an expedition that he made to Friesland. Beowulf was +with him on that disastrous journey, and only with difficulty +did he escape with his life. But when he returned as a poor +solitary fugitive to his people, Hygd, Higelac's wife, offered +him the kingdom and the king's treasures, for she feared that +her young son Heardred was not strong enough to hold the +throne of his fathers against invading foes.</p> + +<p>Beowulf, however, would not accept the kingdom, but +rather chose to uphold Heardred among the people, giving +him friendly counsel and serving him faithfully and honorably.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> +But before very long Heardred was killed in battle, and +then at last Beowulf consented to become king of the Geats.</p> + +<p>For fifty years he ruled well and wisely and his people +prospered. But at last trouble came in the ravages of a +terrible dragon, and once more Beowulf was called forth to +a terrific combat.</p> + +<p>For three hundred years this dragon had kept watch over +a hoard of treasure on a mountain by the seashore in the +country of the Geats. The treasure had been hidden in a +cave under the mountain by a band of sea-robbers; and when +the last of them was dead the dragon took possession of the +cave and of the treasure and kept fierce watch over them.</p> + +<p>But one day a poor man came to the spot while the dragon +was fast asleep and carried off part of the treasure to his +master.</p> + +<p>When the dragon awoke he soon discovered the man's +footprints, and on examining the cave he found that part of +the gold and splendid jewels had disappeared. In wrathful +and savage mood he sought all round the mountain for the +robber, but could find no one.</p> + +<p>So when evening came he went forth eager for revenge, +and throwing out flashes of fire in every direction, he began +to set fire to all the land. Beowulf's own princely manor-house +was burnt down and terrible destruction was wrought +on every hand, till day broke and the fire-dragon returned to +his den.</p> + +<p>Great was Beowulf's grief at this dire misfortune, and eager +was his desire for vengeance. He scorned to seek the foe +with a great host behind him, nor did he dread the combat +in any way, for he called to mind his many feats of war, and +especially his fight with Grendel.</p> + +<p>So he quickly had fashioned a mighty battle-shield, made +entirely of iron, for he knew that the wooden one that he was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> +wont to use would be burnt up by the flames of the fire-dragon. +Then he chose out eleven of his earls, and together they set +out for the mountain, led thither by the man who had stolen +the treasure.</p> + +<p>When they came to the mouth of the cave Beowulf bade +farewell to his companions, for he was resolved to fight single-handed +against the foe.</p> + +<p>"Many a fight have I fought in my youth," he said, "and +now once more will I, the guardian of my people, seek the +combat. I would not bear any sword or other weapon against +the dragon if I thought that I could grapple with him as I did +with the monster Grendel. But I fear that I shall not be +able to approach so close to this foe, for he will send forth hot, +raging fire and venomous breath. Yet am I resolute in mood, +fearless and resolved not to yield one foot's-breadth to the +monster.</p> + +<p>"Tarry ye here on the hill, my warriors, and watch which of +us two will survive the deadly combat, for this is no enterprise +for you. I only can attempt it, because such great strength +has been given to me. Therefore I will do battle alone and +will either slay the dragon and win the treasure for my people +or fall in the fight, as destiny shall appoint."</p> + +<p>When he had spoken thus Beowulf strode forward to the +fight, armed with his iron shield, his sword and his dagger. +A stone arch spanned the mouth of the cave, and on one side +a boiling stream, hot as though with raging fires, rushed +forth. Undaunted by it, Beowulf uttered a shout to summon +the dragon to the fight. Immediately a burning breath from +the monster came out of the rock, the earth rumbled and then +the dragon rushed forth to meet his fate.</p> + +<p>Standing with his huge shield held well before him, Beowulf +received the attack and struck from beneath his shield at the +monster's side. But his blade failed him and turned aside,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> +and the blow but served to enrage the dragon, so that he darted +forth such blasting rays of deadly fire that Beowulf was well +nigh overwhelmed and the fight went hard with him.</p> + +<p>Now his eleven chosen comrades could see the combat from +where they stood; and one of them, Beowulf's kinsman Wiglaf, +was moved to great sorrow at the sight of his lord's distress. +At last he could bear it no longer, but grasped his wooden +shield and his sword and cried to the other thanes:</p> + +<p>"Remember how we promised our lord in the banquet-hall, +when he gave us our helmets and swords and battle-gear, that +we would one day repay him for his gifts. Now is the day +come that our liege lord has need of the strength of good +warriors. We must go help him, even though he thought to +accomplish this mighty work alone, for we can never return +to our homes if we have not slain the enemy and saved our +king's life. Rather than live when he is dead, I will perish +with him in this deadly fire."</p> + +<p>Then he rushed through the noisome smoke to his lord's +side, crying:</p> + +<p>"Dear Beowulf, take courage. Remember thy boast that +thy valor shall never fail thee in thy lifetime, and defend thyself +now with all thy might, and I will help thee."</p> + +<p>But the other warriors were afraid to follow him, so that +Beowulf and Wiglaf stood alone to face the dragon.</p> + +<p>As soon as the monster advanced upon them, Wiglaf's +wooden shield was burnt away by the flames, so that he was +forced to take refuge behind Beowulf's iron shield; and this +time when Beowulf struck with his sword, it was shivered +to pieces. Then the dragon flung himself upon him and caught +him up in his arms, crushing him till he lay senseless and +covered with wounds.</p> + +<p>But now Wiglaf showed his valor and strength, and smote +the monster with such mighty blows that at last the fire<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> +coming forth from him began to abate somewhat. Then +Beowulf came once more to his senses, and drawing his deadly +knife, struck with it from beneath; and at last the force of +the blows from the two noble kinsmen felled the fierce fire-dragon +and he sank down dead beside them.</p> + +<p>But Beowulf's wounds were very great, and he knew that +the joys of life were ended for him and that death was very +near. So while Wiglaf with wonderful tenderness unfastened +his helmet for him and refreshed him with water, he spoke, +saying:</p> + +<p>"Though I am sick with mortal wounds, there is yet some +comfort remaining for me. For I have governed my people +for fifty winters and kept them safe from invading foes; yet +have not sought out quarrels nor led my kinsmen to dire +slaughter when there was no need. Therefore the Ruler of +all men will not blame me when my life departs from my +body.</p> + +<p>"And now go thou quickly, dear Wiglaf, to spy out the +treasure within the cave, so that I may see what wealth I have +won for my people before I die."</p> + +<p>So Wiglaf went into the cave and there he saw many precious +jewels, old vessels, helmets, gold armlets and other treasures, +which excelled in beauty and number any that mankind has +ever known. Moreover, high above the treasure flapped a +marvelous gilded standard, from which came a ray of light +which lit up all the cave.</p> + +<p>Then Wiglaf seized as much as he could carry of the precious +spoils, and taking the standard also, hastened back to his lord, +dreading lest he should find him already dead.</p> + +<p>Beowulf was very near his life's end, but when Wiglaf had +again revived him with water, he had strength to speak once +more.</p> + +<p>"Glad am I," he said, "that I have been able before my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> +death to gain so much for my people. But now I may no +longer abide here. Bid the gallant warriors burn my body +on the headland here which juts into the sea, and afterwards +raise a huge mound on the same spot, that the sailors who +drive their vessels over the misty floods may call it Beowulf's +Mound."</p> + +<p>Then the dauntless prince undid the golden collar from his +neck and gave it to Wiglaf with his helmet and coat of mail, +saying:</p> + +<p>"Thou art the last of all our race, for Fate has swept away +all my kindred save thee to their doom, and now I also must +join them," and with these words the aged king fell back dead.</p> + +<p>Now as Wiglaf sat by his lord, grieving sorely at his death, +the other ten thanes who had shown themselves to be faithless +and cowardly approached with shame to his side. Then Wiglaf +turned to them, crying bitterly:</p> + +<p>"Truly our liege lord flung away utterly in vain the battle-gear +that he gave ye. Little could he boast of his comrades +when the hour of need came. I myself was able to give him +some succor in the fight, but ye should have stood by him also +to defend him. But now the giving of treasure shall cease +for ye and ye will be shamed and will lose your land-right when +the nobles learn of your inglorious deed. Death is better for +every earl than ignominious life."</p> + +<p>After this Wiglaf summoned the other earls and told them +of all that had happened and of the mound that Beowulf +wished them to build. Then they gathered together at the +mouth of the cave and gazed with tears upon their lifeless +lord and looked with awe upon the huge dragon as it lay stiff +in death beside its conqueror. Afterwards, led by Wiglaf, +seven chosen earls entered the cave and brought forth all the +treasure, while others busied themselves in preparing the +funeral pyre.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> +When all was ready and the huge pile of wood had been +hung with helmets, war-shields and bright coats of mail, as +befitted the funeral pyre of a noble warrior, the earls brought +their beloved lord's body to the spot and laid it on the wood. +Then they kindled the fire and stood by mourning and uttering +sorrowful chants, while the smoke rose up and the fire roared +and the body was consumed away. Afterwards they built +a mound on the hill, making it high and broad so that it could +be seen from very far away. Ten days they spent in building +it; and because they desired to pay the highest of honors to +Beowulf, they buried in it the whole of the treasure that the +dragon had guarded, for no price was too heavy to pay as a +token of their love for their lord. So the treasure even now +remains in the earth, as useless as it was before.</p> + +<p>When at last the mound was completed, the noble warriors +gathered together and rode around it, lamenting their king +and singing the praise of his valor and mighty deeds.</p> + +<p>Thus mourned the people of the Geats for the fall of Beowulf, +who of all kings in the world was the mildest and kindest, +the most gracious to his people, and the most eager to win +their praise.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE GOOD KING ARTHUR</h2> + + +<p>Probably every one knows the story of the great King Arthur +who, the legends say, ruled in Britain so many, many years +ago and gathered about him in his famous Round Table, +knights of splendid courage, tried and proven. So well loved +was the story of Arthur in other countries as well as in England +that it was among the very first works ever printed in Europe, +and it was still welcomed centuries later when the great +English poet, Alfred Tennyson, told it in his <i>Idylls of the King</i>.</p> + +<p>The boy Arthur was really the son of King Uther Pendragon, +but few persons knew of his birth. Uther had given him into +the care of the enchanter Merlin, who had carried him to the +castle of Sir Hector,<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> an old friend of Uther's. Here the young +prince lived as a child of the house.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> +This name is otherwise given as <i>Sir Ector</i>, and by Tennyson as +<i>Sir Anton</i>.</p></div> +</div> + +<p>Now Merlin was a very wise man, and when King Uther +died several years later the noblemen asked his advice in +choosing a new king.</p> + +<p>"Gather together in St. Stephen's Church in London, on +Christmas Day," was all the enchanter answered.</p> + +<p>So the knights assembled, and when the mass was over and +they passed out into the churchyard, there they beheld a +large block of stone, upon which rested a heavy anvil. The +blade of a jeweled sword was sunk deeply into the anvil.</p> + +<p>Wondering, the noblemen drew near. One of them discovered +an inscription upon the hilt which said that none +but the man who could draw out the sword should ever rule +in Uther's place. One by one they tried, but the sword was +firmly imbedded. No one could draw it forth.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> +Arthur was only a baby at this time, but some years later +Sir Hector traveled up to London, bringing with him his own +son, Sir Kay, and his foster son, Arthur. Sir Kay had just +reached manhood and was to take part in his first tournament. +Imagine his distress, therefore, when, on arriving at the +tourney ground, he discovered that he had forgotten to bring +his sword.</p> + +<p>"I will fetch it for you," cried the young Arthur, anxious +to be of service.</p> + +<p>He found the apartment of Sir Kay closed and locked; +but he was determined to get a sword for his brother, and +remembering the huge anvil he had seen in the churchyard, +he hurried toward it. Grasping the hilt of the projecting +sword, he drew it out easily.</p> + +<p>Happy over his good fortune, Arthur returned to the tourney +ground and gave the new sword to his foster brother. Sir +Hector, who stood near, recognized it.</p> + +<p>"Where did you get that sword?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"From the great anvil in the churchyard of St. Stephen's +I drew it," was the answer.</p> + +<p>But Sir Hector still doubted, and when the tournament was +over, he and all the principal nobles of the realm rode back +to the churchyard.</p> + +<p>Arthur replaced the sword in the anvil and stood aside +while all present tried to draw it forth. None succeeded. +Then Arthur again stepped up, grasped the hilt and pulled +out the blade.</p> + +<p>"The king, the king!" the people cried; for they knew that +at last they had found a worthy successor to the good King +Uther.</p> + +<p>So Arthur was crowned king and entered upon that wise and +kingly rule of which the praises have so often been sung.</p> + +<p>Following are the stories of the coming and passing of +Arthur as they are related by Tennyson:</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p> +<h3><span class="smcap">The Coming of Arthur</span></h3> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Leodogran, the King of Cameliard,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Had one fair daughter, and none other child;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And she was fairest of all flesh on earth,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Guinevere, and in her his one delight.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">For many a petty king ere Arthur came<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ruled in this isle, and ever waging war<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Each upon other, wasted all the land;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And still from time to time the heathen host<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Swarm'd overseas, and harried what was left.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And so there grew great tracts of wilderness,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Wherein the beast was ever more and more,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But man was less and less, till Arthur came.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For first Aurelius lived and fought and died,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And after him King Uther fought and died,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But either fail'd to make the kingdom one.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And after these King Arthur for a space,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And thro' the puissance of his Table Round,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Drew all their petty princedoms under him,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Their king and head, and made a realm, and reign'd.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And thus the land of Cameliard was waste,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thick with wet woods, and many a beast therein,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And none or few to scare or chase the beast;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So that wild dog and wolf and boar and bear<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Came night and day, and rooted in the fields,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And wallow'd in the gardens of the King.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And ever and anon the wolf would steal<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The children and devour, but now and then,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Her own brood lost or dead, lent her fierce teat<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To human sucklings; and the children housed<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In her foul den, there at their meat would growl,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> +<span class="i0">And mock their foster-mother on four feet,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Till, straightened, they grew up to wolf-like men,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Worse than the wolves. And King Leodogran<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Groan'd for the Roman legions here again,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And Cæsar's eagle: then his brother king,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Urien, assail'd him: last a heathen horde,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Reddening the sun with smoke and earth with blood,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And on the spike that split the mother's heart<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Spitting the child, brake on him, till, amazed,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He knew not whither he should turn for aid.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">But—for he heard of Arthur newly crown'd,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tho' not without an uproar made by those<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who cried, "He is not Uther's son"—the King<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sent to him, saying, "Arise, and help us thou!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For here between the man and beast we die."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And Arthur yet had done no deed of arms,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But heard the call, and came: and Guinevere<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Stood by the castle walls to watch him pass;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But since he neither wore on helm or shield<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The golden symbol of his kinglihood,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But rode a simple knight among his knights,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And many of these in richer arms than he,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">She saw him not, or marked not, if she saw,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">One among many, tho' his face was bare.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But Arthur, looking downward as he past,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Felt the light of her eyes into his life<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Smite on the sudden, yet rode on, and pitch'd<br /></span> +<span class="i0">His tents beside the forest. Then he drave<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The heathen; after, slew the beast, and fell'd<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The forest, letting in the sun, and made<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Broad pathways for the hunter and the knight,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And so return'd.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> +<span class="i6">For while he lingered there,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A doubt that ever smoulder'd in the hearts<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of those great Lords and Barons of his realm<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Flash'd forth and into war: for most of these,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Colleaguing with a score of petty kings,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Made head against him, crying, "Who is he<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That he should rule us? who hath proven him<br /></span> +<span class="i0">King Uther's son? for lo! we look at him,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And find nor face nor bearing, limbs nor voice,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Are like to those of Uther whom we knew.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">This is the son of Gorloïs, not the King;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">This is the son of Anton, not the King."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And Arthur, passing thence to battle, felt<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Travail, and throes and agonies of the life,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Desiring to be join'd with Guinevere;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And thinking as he rode, "Her father said<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That there between the man and beast they die.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shall I not lift her from this land of beasts<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Up to my throne, and side by side with me?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What happiness to reign a lonely king,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Vext—O ye stars that shudder over me,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">O earth that soundest hollow under me,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Vext with waste dreams? for saving I be join'd<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To her that is the fairest under heaven,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I seem as nothing in the mighty world,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And cannot will my will, nor work my work<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Wholly, nor make myself in mine own realm<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Victor and lord. But were I join'd with her,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then might we live together as one life,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And reigning with one will in everything<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Have power on this dark land to lighten it,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And power on this dead world to make it live."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> +<span class="i1">Thereafter—as he speaks who tells the tale—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When Arthur reach'd a field-of-battle bright<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With pitch'd pavilions of his foe, the world<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Was all so clear about him, that he saw<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The smallest rock far on the faintest hill,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And even in high day the morning star.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So when the King had set his banner broad,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">At once from either side, with trumpet-blast,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And shouts, and clarions shrilling unto blood,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The long-lanced battle let their horses run.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And now the barons and the kings prevail'd,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And now the King, as here and there that war<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Went swaying; but the Powers who walk the world<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Made lightnings and great thunders over him,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And dazed all eyes, till Arthur by main might<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And mightier of his hands with every blow,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And leading all his knighthood threw the kings<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Carádos, Urien, Cradlemont of Wales,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Claudias, and Clariance of Northumberland,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The King Brandagoras of Latangor,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With Anguisant of Erin, Morganore,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And Lot of Orkney. Then, before a voice<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As dreadful as the shout of one who sees<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To one who sins, and deems himself alone<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And all the world asleep, they swerved and brake<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Flying, and Arthur call'd to stay the brands<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That hack'd among the flyers, "Ho! they yield!"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So like a painted battle the war stood<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Silenced, the living quiet as the dead,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And in the heart of Arthur joy was lord.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He laugh'd upon his warrior whom he loved<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And honor'd most. "Thou dost not doubt me King,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So well thine arm hath wrought for me today."<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> +<span class="i0">"Sir and my liege," he cried, "the fire of God<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Descends upon thee in the battle-field:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I know thee for my King!" Whereat the two,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For each had warded either in the fight,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sware on the field of death a deathless love.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And Arthur said, "Man's word is God in man:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Let chance what will, I trust thee to the death."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then quickly from the foughten field he sent<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ulfius, and Brastias, and Bedivere,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">His new-made knights, to King Leodogran,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Saying, "If I in aught have served thee well,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Give me thy daughter Guinevere to wife."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Whom when he heard, Leodogran in heart<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Debating—"How should I that am a king,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">However much he holp me at my need,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Give my one daughter saving to a king,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And a king's son?"—lifted his voice, and call'd<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A hoary man, his chamberlain, to whom<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He trusted all things, and of him required<br /></span> +<span class="i0">His counsel: "Knowest thou aught of Arthur's birth?"<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then spake the hoary chamberlain and said,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Sir King, there be but two old men that know:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And each is twice as old as I; and one<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Is Merlin, the wise man that ever served<br /></span> +<span class="i0">King Uther thro' his magic art; and one<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Is Merlin's master (so they call him) Bleys,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who taught him magic; but the scholar ran<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Before the master, and so far, that Bleys<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Laid magic by, and sat him down, and wrote<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All things and whatsoever Merlin did<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> +<span class="i0">In one great annal-book, where after-years<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Will learn the secret of our Arthur's birth."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">To whom the King Leodogran replied,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"O friend, had I been holpen half as well<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By this King Arthur as by thee today,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then beast and man had had their share of me:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But summon here before us yet once more<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ulfius, and Brastias, and Bedivere."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then, when they came before him, the King said,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"I have seen the cuckoo chased by lesser fowl,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And reason in the chase: but wherefore now<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Do these your lords stir up the heat of war,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Some calling Arthur born of Gorloïs,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Others of Anton? Tell me, ye yourselves,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hold ye this Arthur for King Uther's son?"<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And Ulfius and Brastias answer'd, "Ay."<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then Bedivere, the first of all his knights,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Knighted by Arthur at his crowning, spake—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For bold in heart and act and word was he,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whenever slander breathed against the King—<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"Sir, there be many rumors on this head:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For there be those who hate him in their hearts,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Call him base-born, and since his ways are sweet,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And theirs are bestial, hold him less than man:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And there be those who deem him more than man,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And dream he dropt from heaven: but my belief<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In all this matter—so ye care to learn—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sir, for ye know that in King Uther's time<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The prince and warrior Gorloïs, he that held<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Tintagil castle by the Cornish sea,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Was wedded with a winsome wife, Ygerne:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And daughters had she borne him—one whereof,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lot's wife, the Queen of Orkney, Bellicent,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hath ever like a loyal sister cleaved<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To Arthur—but a son she had not borne.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And Uther cast upon her eyes of love:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But she, a stainless wife to Gorloïs,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So loathed the bright dishonor of his love,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That Gorloïs and King Uther went to war:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And overthrown was Gorloïs and slain.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then Uther in his wrath and heat besieged<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ygerne within Tintagil, where her men,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Seeing the mighty swarm about their walls,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Left her and fled, and Uther enter'd in,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And there was none to call to but himself.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So, compass'd by the power of the King,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Enforced she was to wed him in her tears,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And with a shameful swiftness: afterward,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Not many moons, King Uther died himself,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Moaning and wailing for an heir to rule<br /></span> +<span class="i0">After him, lest the realm should go to wrack.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And that same night, the night of the new year,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By reason of the bitterness and grief<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That vext his mother, all before his time<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Was Arthur born, and all as soon as born<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Deliver'd at a secret postern-gate<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To Merlin, to be holden far apart<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Until his hour should come; because the lords<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of that fierce day were as the lords of this,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Wild beasts, and surely would have torn the child<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Piecemeal among them, had they known; for each<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But sought to rule for his own self and hand,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> +<span class="i0">And many hated Uther for the sake<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of Gorloïs. Wherefore Merlin took the child,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And gave him to Sir Anton, an old knight<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And ancient friend of Uther; and his wife<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nursed the young prince, and rear'd him with her own;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And no man knew. And ever since the lords<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Have foughten like wild beasts among themselves,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So that the realm has gone to wrack: but now,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">This year, when Merlin (for his hour had come)<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Brought Arthur forth, and set him in the hall,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Proclaiming, 'Here is Uther's heir, your king,'<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A hundred voices cried, 'Away with him!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">No king of ours! A son of Gorloïs he,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or else the child of Anton and no king,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or else base-born.' Yet Merlin thro' his craft,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And while the people clamor'd for a king,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Had Arthur crown'd; but after, the great lords<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Banded, and so brake out in open war."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then while the King debated with himself<br /></span> +<span class="i0">If Arthur were the child of shamefulness,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or born the son of Gorloïs, after death,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or Uther's son, and born before his time,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or whether there were truth in anything<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Said by these three, there came to Cameliard,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With Gawain and young Modred, her two sons,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lot's wife, the Queen of Orkney, Bellicent;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whom as he could, not as he would, the King<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Made feast for, saying, as they sat at meat:<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"A doubtful throne is ice on summer seas.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ye come from Arthur's court. Victor his men<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Report him! Yea, but ye—think ye this king—<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> +<span class="i0">So many those that hate him, and so strong,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So few his knights, however brave they be—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hath body enow to hold his foemen down?"<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"O King," she cried, "and I will tell thee: few,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Few, but all brave, all of one mind with him;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For I was near him when the savage yells<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of Uther's peerage died and Arthur sat<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Crown'd on the daïs, and his warriors cried,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'Be thou the king, and we will work thy will,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who love thee.' Then the King in low deep tones,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And simple words of great authority,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bound them by so strait vows to his own self,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That when they rose, knighted from kneeling, some<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Were pale as at the passing of a ghost.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Some flush'd, and others dazed, as one who wakes<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Half-blinded at the coming of a light.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"But when he spake and cheer'd his Table Round<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With large, divine and comfortable words,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Beyond my tongue to tell thee—I beheld<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From eye to eye thro' all their Order flash<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A momentary likeness of the King:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And ere it left their faces, thro' the cross<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And those around it and the Crucified,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Down from the casement over Arthur, smote<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Flame-color, vert, and azure, in three rays,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">One falling upon each of three fair queens,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who stood in silence near his throne, the friends<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of Arthur, gazing on him, tall, with bright<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sweet faces, who will help him at his need.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> +<span class="i1">"And there I saw mage Merlin, whose vast wit<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And hundred winters are but as the hands<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of loyal vassals toiling for their liege.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"And near him stood the Lady of the Lake,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who knows a subtler magic than his own—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">She gave the King his huge cross-hilted sword,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whereby to drive the heathen out: a mist<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of incense curl'd about her, and her face<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Well-nigh was hidden in the minster gloom;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But there was heard among the holy hymns<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A voice as of the waters, for she dwells<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Down in a deep, calm, whatsoever storms<br /></span> +<span class="i0">May shake the world, and when the surface rolls,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hath power to walk the waters like our Lord.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"There likewise I beheld Excalibur<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Before him at his crowning borne, the sword<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That rose from out the bosom of the lake,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And Arthur row'd across and took it—rich<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With jewels, elfin Urim, on the hilt,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bewildering heart and eye—the blade so bright<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That men are blinded by it—on one side,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Graven in the oldest tongue of all this world,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'Take me,' but turn the blade and ye shall see,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And written in the speech ye speak yourself,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'Cast me away!' And sad was Arthur's face<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Taking it, but old Merlin counsel'd him,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'Take thou and strike! the time to cast away<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Is yet far-off.' So this great brand the king<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Took, and by this will beat his foemen down."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> +<span class="i1">Thereat Leodogran rejoiced, but thought<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To sift his doubtings to the last, and ask'd,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fixing full eyes of question on her face,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"The swallow and the swift are near akin,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But thou art closer to this noble prince,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Being his own dear sister"; and she said,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Daughter of Gorloïs and Ygerne am I";<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"And therefore Arthur's sister?" asked the King.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">She answer'd, "These be secret things," and sign'd<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To those two sons to pass and let them be.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And Gawain went, and breaking into song<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sprang out, and follow'd by his flying hair<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ran like a colt, and leapt at all he saw:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But Modred laid his ear beside the doors,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And there half heard; the same that afterward<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Struck for the throne, and striking found his doom.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And then the Queen made answer, "What know I?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For dark my mother was in eyes and hair,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And dark in hair and eyes am I; and dark<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Was Gorloïs, yea and dark was Uther too,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Well-nigh to blackness; but this King is fair<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Beyond the race of Britons and of men.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Moreover, always in my mind I hear<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A cry from out the dawning of my life,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A mother weeping, and I hear her say,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'O that ye had some brother, pretty one,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To guard thee on the rough ways of the world.'"<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"Ay," said the King, "and hear ye such a cry?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But when did Arthur chance upon thee first?"<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> +<span class="i1">"O King!" she cried, "and I will tell thee true:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He found me first when yet a little maid:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Beaten I had been for a little fault<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whereof I was not guilty; and out I ran<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And flung myself down on a bank of heath,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And hated this fair world and all therein,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And wept and wish'd that I were dead; and he—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I know not whether of himself he came,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or brought by Merlin, who, they say, can walk<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Unseen at pleasure—he was at my side,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And spake sweet words, and comforted my heart,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And dried my tears, being a child with me.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And many a time he came, and evermore<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As I grew greater grew with me; and sad<br /></span> +<span class="i0">At times he seem'd, and sad with him was I,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Stern too at times, and then I loved him not,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But sweet again, and then I loved him well.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And now of late I see him less and less,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But those first days had golden hours for me,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For then I surely thought he would be king.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"But let me tell thee now another tale:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For Bleys, our Merlin's master, as they say,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Died but of late, and sent his cry to me,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To hear him speak before he left his life.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shrunk like a fairy changeling lay the mage;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And when I enter'd told me that himself<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And Merlin ever served about the King,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Uther, before he died; and on the night<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When Uther in Tintagil past away<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Moaning and wailing for an heir, the two<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Left the still King, and passing forth to breathe,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Then from the castle gateway by the chasm<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Descending thro' the dismal night—a night<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In which the bounds of heaven and earth were lost—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Beheld, so high upon the dreary deeps<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It seem'd in heaven, a ship, the shape thereof<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A dragon wing'd, and all from stem to stern<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bright with a shining people on the decks,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And gone as soon as seen. And then the two<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dropt to the cove, and watch'd the great sea fall,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Wave after wave, each mightier than the last,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Till last, a ninth one, gathering half the deep<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And full of voices, slowly rose and plunged<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Roaring, and all the wave was in a flame:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And down the wave and in the flame was borne<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A naked babe, and rode to Merlin's feet,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who stoopt and caught the babe, and cried 'The King!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Here is an heir for Uther!' And the fringe<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of that great breaker, sweeping up the strand,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lash'd at the wizard as he spake the word,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And all at once all round him rose in fire,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So that the child and he were clothed in fire.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And presently thereafter followed calm,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Free sky and stars: 'And this same child,' he said,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'Is he who reigns: nor could I part in peace<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Till this were told.' And saying this the seer<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Went thro' the strait and dreadful pass of death,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Not ever to be questioned any more<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Save on the further side; but when I met<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Merlin, and ask'd him if these things were truth—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The shining dragon and the naked child<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Descending in the glory of the seas—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He laugh'd as is his wont, and answer'd me<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In riddling triplets of old time, and said:<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> +<span class="i1">"'Rain, rain, and sun! a rainbow in the sky!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A young man will be wiser by and by;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">An old man's wit may wander ere he die.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"'Rain, rain, and sun! a rainbow on the lea!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And truth is this to me, and that to thee;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And truth or clothed or naked let it be.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"'Rain, sun, and rain! and the free blossom blows:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sun, rain, and sun! and where is he who knows?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From the great deep to the great deep he goes.'<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"So Merlin riddling anger'd me; but thou<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fear not to give this King thine only child,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Guinevere: so great bards of him will sing<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hereafter; and dark sayings from of old<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ranging and ringing thro' the minds of men,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And echo'd by old folk beside their fires<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For comfort after their wage-work is done,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Speak of the King; and Merlin in our time<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hath spoken also, not in jest, and sworn<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tho' men may wound him that he will not die,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But pass, again to come; and then or now<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Utterly smite the heathen under foot,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Till these and all men hail him for their king."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">She spake and King Leodogran rejoiced,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But musing "Shall I answer yea or nay?"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Doubted and drowsed, nodded and slept, and saw,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dreaming, a slope of land that ever grew,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Field after field, up to a height, the peak<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Haze-hidden, and thereon a phantom king,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now looming, and now lost: and on the slope<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> +<span class="i0">The sword rose, the hind fell, the herd was driven,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fire glimpsed; and all the land from roof and rick,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In drifts of smoke before a rolling wind,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Stream'd to the peak, and mingled with the haze<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And made it thicker; while the phantom king<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sent out at times a voice; and here or there<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Stood one who pointed toward the voice, the rest<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Slew on and burnt, crying, "No king of ours,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">No son of Uther, and no king of ours";<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Till with a wink his dream was changed, the haze<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Descended, and the solid earth became<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As nothing, but the king stood out in heaven<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Crown'd. And Leodogran awoke, and sent<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ulfius, and Brastias, and Bedivere,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Back to the court of Arthur answering yea.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then Arthur charged his warrior whom he loved<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And honored most, Sir Lancelot, to ride forth<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And bring the Queen;—and watch'd him from the gates;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And Lancelot past away among the flowers,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">(For then was latter April) and return'd<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Among the flowers, in May, with Guinevere.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To whom arrived, by Dubric the high saint,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Chief of the church in Britain, and before<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The stateliest of her altar-shrines, the King<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That morn was married, while in stainless white,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The fair beginners of a nobler time,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And glorying in their vows and him, his knights<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Stood round him, and rejoicing in his joy.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Far shone the fields of May thro' open door,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The sacred altar blossom'd white with May,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The Sun of May descended on their King,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They gazed on all earth's beauty in their Queen,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Roll'd incense, and there past along the hymns<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A voice as of the waters, while the two<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sware at the shrine of Christ a deathless love:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And Arthur said, "Behold, thy doom is mine.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Let chance what will, I love thee to the death!"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To whom the Queen replied with drooping eyes,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"King and my lord, I love thee to the death!"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And holy Dubric spread his hands and spake,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Reign ye, and live and love, and make the world<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Other, and may thy Queen be one with thee,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And all this Order of thy Table Round<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fulfil the boundless purpose of their King!"<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">So Dubric said; but when they left the shrine<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Great Lords from Rome before the portal stood,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In scornful stillness gazing as they past;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then while they paced a city all on fire<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With sun and cloth of gold, the trumpets blew,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And Arthur's knighthood sang before the King:—<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"Blow trumpet, for the world is white with May;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Blow trumpet, the long night hath roll'd away!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Blow thro' the living world—'Let the King reign.'<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"Shall Rome or heathen rule in Arthur's realm?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Flash brand and lance, fall battle-axe upon helm,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fall battle-axe, and flash brand! Let the King reign.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"Strike for the King and live! his knights have heard<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That God hath told the King a secret word.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fall battle-axe, and flash brand! Let the King reign.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> +<span class="i1">"Blow trumpet! he will lift us from the dust.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Blow trumpet! live the strength and die the lust!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Clang battle-axe, and clash brand! Let the King reign.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"Strike for the King and die! and if thou diest,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The King is King, and ever wills the highest.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Clang battle-axe, and clash brand! Let the King reign.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"Blow, for our Sun is mighty in his May!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Blow, for our Sun is mightier day by day!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Clang battle-axe, and clash brand! Let the King reign.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"The King will follow Christ, and we the King,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In whom high God hath breathed a secret thing.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fall battle-axe, and clash brand! Let the King reign."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">So sang the knighthood, moving to their hall.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There at the banquet those great Lords from Rome,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The slowly-fading mistress of the world,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Strode in, and claim'd their tribute as of yore.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But Arthur spake, "Behold, for these have sworn<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To wage my wars, and worship me their King;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The old order changeth, yielding place to new;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And we that fight for our fair father Christ,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Seeing that ye be grown too weak and old<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To drive the heathen from your Roman wall,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">No tribute will we pay": so those great lords<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Drew back in wrath, and Arthur strove with Rome.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And Arthur and his knighthood for a space<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Were all one will, and thro' that strength the King<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Drew in the petty princedoms under him,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fought, and in twelve great battles overcame<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The heathen hordes, and made a realm and reign'd.<br /></span> +</div> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></p> +<h3><span class="smcap">The Passing of Arthur</span></h3> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">That story which the bold Sir Bedivere,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">First made and latest left of all the knights,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Told, when the man was no more than a voice<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the white winter of his age, to those<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With whom he dwelt, new faces, other minds.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">For on their march to westward, Bedivere,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who slowly paced among the slumbering host,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Heard in his tent the moanings of the King:<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"I found Him in the shining of the stars,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I mark'd Him in the flowering of His fields,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But in His ways with men I find Him not.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I waged His wars, and now I pass and die.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">O me! for why is all around us here<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As if some lesser god had made the world,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But had not force to shape it as he would,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Till the High God behold it from beyond,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And enter it, and make it beautiful?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or else as if the world were wholly fair,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But that these eyes of men are dense and dim,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And have not power to see it as it is:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Perchance, because we see not to the close;—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For I, being simple, thought to work His will,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And have but stricken with the sword in vain;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And all whereon I lean'd in wife and friend<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Is traitor to my peace, and all my realm<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Reels back into the beast, and is no more.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My God, thou hast forgotten me in my death:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nay—God my Christ—I pass but shall not die."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> +<span class="i1">Then, ere that last weird battle in the west,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There came on Arthur sleeping, Gawain kill'd<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In Lancelot's war, the ghost of Gawain blown<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Along a wandering wind, and past his ear<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Went shrilling, "Hollow, hollow all delight!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hail King! tomorrow thou shalt pass away.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Farewell! there is an isle of rest for thee.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And I am blown along a wandering wind,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And hollow, hollow, hollow all delight."<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And fainter onward, like wild birds that change<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Their season in the night and wail their way<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From cloud to cloud, down the long wind the dream<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shrill'd; but in going mingled with dim cries<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Far in the moonlit haze among the hills,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As of some lonely city sack'd by night,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When all is lost, and wife and child with wail<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Pass to new lords! and Arthur woke and call'd,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Who spake? A dream. O light upon the wind,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thine, Gawain, was the voice—are these dim cries<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thine? or doth all that haunts the waste and wild<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Mourn, knowing it will go along with me?"<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">This heard the bold Sir Bedivere and spake:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"O me, my King, let pass whatever will,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Elves, and the harmless glamour of the field;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But in their stead thy name and glory cling<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To all high places like a golden cloud<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For ever: but as yet thou shalt not pass.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Light was Gawain in life, and light in death<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Is Gawain, for the ghost is as the man;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And care not thou for dreams from him, but rise—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I hear the steps of Modred in the west,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And with him many of thy people, and knights<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Once thine, whom thou hast loved, but grosser grown<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Than heathen, spitting at their vows and thee.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Right well in heart they know thee for the King.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Arise, go forth and conquer as of old."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Far other is this battle in the west<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whereto we move, than when we strove in youth,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And brake the petty kings, and fought with Rome,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or thrust the heathen from the Roman wall,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And shook him thro' the north. Ill doom is mine<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To war against my people and my knights.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The king who fights his people fights himself.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And they my knights, who loved me once, the stroke<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That strikes them dead is as my death to me.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Yet let us hence, and find or feel a way<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thro' this blind haze, which ever since I saw<br /></span> +<span class="i0">One lying in the dust at Almesbury,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hath folded in the passes of the world."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then rose the King and moved his host by night,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And ever push'd Sir Modred, league by league,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Back to the sunset bound of Lyonnesse—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A land of old upheaven from the abyss<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By fire, to sink into the abyss again;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where fragments of forgotten peoples dwelt,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the long mountains ended in a coast<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of ever-shifting sand, and far away<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The phantom circle of a moaning sea.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There the pursuer could pursue no more,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And he that fled no further fly the King;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And there, that day when the great light of heaven<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Burn'd at his lowest in the rolling year,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> +<span class="i0">On the waste sand by the waste sea they closed.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nor ever yet had Arthur fought a fight<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Like this last dim, weird battle of the west.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A death-white mist slept over sand and sea:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whereof the chill, to him who breathed it, drew<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Down with his blood, till all his heart was cold<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With formless fear; and ev'n on Arthur fell<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Confusion, since he saw not whom he fought,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For friend and foe were shadows in the mist,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And friend slew friend not knowing whom he slew;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And some had visions out of golden youth,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And some beheld the faces of old ghosts<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Look in upon the battle; and in the mist<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Was many a noble deed, many a base,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And chance and craft and strength in single fights,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And ever and anon with host to host<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shocks, and the splintering spear, the hard mail hewn,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shield-breakings, and the clash of brands, the crash<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of battle-axes on shatter'd helms, and shrieks<br /></span> +<span class="i0">After the Christ, of those who falling down<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Look'd up for heaven, and only saw the mist:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And shouts of heathen and the traitor knights,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Oaths, insult, filth, and monstrous blasphemies,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sweat, writhing, anguish, laboring of the lungs<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In that close mist, and cryings for the light,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Moans of the dying, and voices of the dead.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Last, as by some one death-bed after wail<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of suffering, silence follows, or thro' death<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or deathlike swoon, thus over all that shore,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Save for some whisper of the seething seas,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A dead hush fell; but when the dolorous day<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Grew drearier toward twilight falling, came<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> +<span class="i0">A bitter wind, clear from the North, and blew<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The mist aside, and with that wind the tide<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Rose, and the pale King glanced across the field<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of battle: but no man was moving there;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nor any cry of Christian heard thereon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nor yet of heathen; only the wan wave<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Brake in among dead faces, to and fro<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Swaying the helpless hands, and up and down<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tumbling the hollow helmets of the fallen,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And shiver'd brands that once had fought with Rome,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And rolling far along the gloomy shores<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The voice of days of old and days to be.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And whiter than the mist that all day long<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Had held the field of battle was the King:<br /></span> +<span class="i1">"Hearest thou this great voice that shakes the world<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And wastes the narrow realm whereon we move,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And beats upon the faces of the dead,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My dead, as tho' they had not died for me?—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">O Bedivere, for on my heart hath fall'n<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Confusion, till I know not what I am,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nor whence I am, nor whether I be King.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Behold, I seem but King among the dead."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then spake the bold Sir Bedivere: "My King,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">King everywhere! and so the dead have kings,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There also will I worship thee as King.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Yet still thy life is whole, and still I live<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who love thee; but who hates thee, he that brought<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The heathen back among us, yonder stands,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Modred, unharm'd, the traitor of thine house."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> +<span class="i1">Then spake the King: "My house had been my doom,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But call not thou this traitor of my house<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who hath but dwelt beneath one roof with me.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My house are rather they who sware my vows,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Yea, even while they brake them, own'd me King.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And well for thee, saying in my dark hour,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When all the purport of my throne hath fail'd,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That quick or dead thou holdest me for King.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">King am I, whatsoever be their cry;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And one last act of kinghood shalt thou see<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Yet, ere I pass." And uttering this the King<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Made at the man: then Modred smote his liege<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hard on that helm which many a heathen sword<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Had beaten thin; while Arthur at one blow,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Striking the last stroke with Excalibur,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Slew him, and but slain himself, he fell.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">So all day long the noise of battle roll'd<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Among the mountains by the winter sea;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Until King Arthur's Table, man by man,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Had fall'n in Lyonnesse about their lord,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">King Arthur. Then, because his wound was deep,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The bold Sir Bedivere uplifted him,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And bore him to a chapel nigh the field,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A broken chancel with a broken cross,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That stood on a dark strait of barren land:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">On one side lay the Ocean, and on one<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lay a great water, and the moon was full.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"The sequel of today unsolders all<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The goodliest fellowship of famous knights<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whereof this world holds record. Such a sleep<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> +<span class="i0">They sleep—the men I loved. I think that we<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shall never more, at any future time,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Delight our souls with talk of knightly deeds,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Walking about the gardens and the halls<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of Camelot, as in the days that were.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I perish by this people which I made,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tho' Merlin sware that I should come again<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To rule once more; but, let what will be, be,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am so deeply smitten thro' the helm<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That without help I cannot last till morn.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thou therefore take my brand Excalibur,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Which was my pride: for thou rememberest how<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In those old days, one summer noon, an arm<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Rose up from out the bosom of the lake,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Holding the sword—and how I row'd across<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And took it, and have worn it, like a king;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And, wheresoever I am sung or told<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In after-time, this also shall be known:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But now delay not: take Excalibur,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And fling him far into the middle mere:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Watch what thou seest, and lightly bring me word."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">To him replied the bold Sir Bedivere:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"It is not meet, Sir King, to leave thee thus,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Aidless, alone, and smitten thro' the helm—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A little thing may harm a wounded man:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Yet I thy hest will all perform at full,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Watch what I see, and lightly bring thee word."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">So saying, from the ruin'd shrine he stept,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And in the moon athwart the place of tombs,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where lay the mighty bones of ancient men,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Old knights, and over them the sea-wind sang<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shrill, chill, with flakes of foam. He, stepping down<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By zigzag paths, and juts of pointed rock,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Came on the shining levels of the lake.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">There drew he forth the brand Excalibur,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And o'er him, drawing it, the winter moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Brightening the skirts of a long cloud, ran forth<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And sparkled keen with frost against the hilt:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For all the haft twinkled with diamond sparks,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Myriads of topaz-lights, and jacinth-work<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of subtlest jewellery. He gazed so long<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That both his eyes were dazzled as he stood,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">This way and that dividing the swift mind,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In act to throw: but at the last it seem'd<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Better to leave Excalibur conceal'd<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There in the many-knotted water-flags,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That whistled stiff and dry about the marge.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So strode he back slow to the wounded King.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Hast thou perform'd my mission which I gave?"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is it thou hast seen? or what hast heard?<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"I heard the ripple washing in the reeds,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the wild water lapping on the crag."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">To whom replied King Arthur, faint and pale:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Thou hast betray'd thy nature and thy name,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Not rendering true answer, as beseem'd<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thy fealty, nor like a noble knight:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For surer sign had follow'd, either hand,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Or voice, or else a motion of the mere.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">This is a shameful thing for men to lie.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Yet now, I charge thee, quickly go again,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As thou art lief and dear, and do the thing<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I bade thee, watch, and lightly bring me word."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then went Sir Bedivere the second time<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Across the ridge, and paced beside the mere,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Counting the dewy pebbles, fix'd in thought;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But when he saw the wonder of the hilt,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">How curiously and strangely chased, he smote<br /></span> +<span class="i0">His palms together, and he cried aloud:<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"And if indeed I cast the brand away,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Surely a precious thing, one worthy note,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Should thus be lost for ever from the earth,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Which might have pleased the eyes of many men.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What good should follow this, if this were done?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What harm, undone? Deep harm to disobey,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Seeing obedience is the bond of rule.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Were it well to obey then, if a king demand<br /></span> +<span class="i0">An act unprofitable, against himself?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The King is sick, and knows not what he does.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What record, or what relic of my lord<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Should be to after-time, but empty breath<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And rumors of a doubt? But were this kept,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Stored in some treasure-house of mighty kings,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Some one might show it at a joust of arms,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Saying, 'King Arthur's sword, Excalibur,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Wrought by the lonely maiden of the Lake.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nine years she wrought it, sitting in the deeps<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Upon the hidden bases of the hills.'<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So might some old man speak in the after-time<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> +<span class="i0">To all the people, winning reverence.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But now much honor and much fame were lost."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">So spake he, clouded with his own conceit,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And hid Excalibur the second time,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And so strode back slow to the wounded King.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then spoke King Arthur, breathing heavily:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"What is it thou hast seen? or what hast heard?"<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"I heard the water lapping on the crag,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the long ripple washing in the reeds."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">To whom replied King Arthur, much in wrath:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Ah, miserable and unkind, untrue,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Unknightly, traitor-hearted! Woe is me!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Authority forgets a dying king,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Laid widow'd of the power in his eye<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That bow'd the will. I see thee what thou art,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For thou, the latest-left of all my knights,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In whom should meet the offices of all,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thou wouldst betray me for the precious hilt;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Either from lust of gold, or like a girl<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Valuing the giddy pleasure of the eyes.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Yet, for a man may fail in duty twice,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the third time may prosper, get thee hence:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But, if thou spare to fling Excalibur,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will arise and slay thee with my hands."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then quickly rose Sir Bedivere, and ran,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And, leaping down the ridges lightly, plunged<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Among the bulrush beds, and clutch'd the sword,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> +<span class="i0">And strongly wheel'd and threw it. The great brand<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Made lightnings in the splendor of the moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And flashing round and round, and whirl'd in an arch,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shot like a streamer of the northern morn,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Seen where the moving isles of winter shook<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By night, with noises of the Northern Sea.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So flash'd and fell the brand Excalibur:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But ere he dipt the surface, rose an arm<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And caught him by the hilt, and brandish'd him<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Three times, and drew him under in the mere.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And lightly went the other to the King.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then spoke King Arthur, drawing thicker breath:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Now see I by thine eyes that this is done.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Speak out: what is it thou hast heard, or seen?"<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Sir King, I closed mine eyelids, lest the gems<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Should blind my purpose, for I never saw,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nor shall see, here or elsewhere, till I die,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Not tho' I live three lives of mortal men,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So great a miracle as yonder hilt.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then with both hands I flung him, wheeling him;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But when I look'd again, behold an arm,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That caught him by the hilt and brandish'd him<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Three times, and drew him under in the mere."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And answer made King Arthur, breathing hard:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"My end draws nigh; 't is time that I were gone.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Make broad thy shoulders to receive my weight,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And bear me to the margin; yet I fear<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My wound hath taken cold, and I shall die."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> +<span class="i1">So saying, from the pavement he half rose,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Slowly, with pain, reclining on his arm,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And looking wistfully with wide blue eyes<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As in a picture. Him Sir Bedivere<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Remorsefully regarded thro' his tears,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And would have spoken, but he found not words;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then took with care, and kneeling on one knee,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">O'er both his shoulders drew the languid hands,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And rising bore him thro' the place of tombs.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">But, as he walk'd, King Arthur panted hard,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Like one that feels a nightmare on his bed<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When all the house is mute. So sigh'd the King,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Muttering and murmuring at his ear, "Quick, quick!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I fear it is too late, and I shall die."<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But the other swiftly strode from ridge to ridge,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Clothed with his breath, and looking, as he walk'd,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Larger than human on the frozen hills.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He heard the deep behind him, and a cry<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Before. His own thought drove him like a goad.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dry clash'd his harness in the icy caves<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And barren chasms, and all to left and right<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The bare black cliff clang'd round him, as he based<br /></span> +<span class="i0">His feet on juts of slippery crag that rang<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sharp-smitten with the dint of armed heels<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And on a sudden, lo! the level lake,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the long glories of the winter moon.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then saw they how there hove a dusky barge,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dark as a funeral scarf from stem to stern,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Beneath them; and descending they were ware<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That all the decks were dense with stately forms,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Black-stoled, black-hooded, like a dream—by these<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Three Queens with crowns of gold: and from them rose<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A cry that shiver'd to the tingling stars,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And, as it were one voice, an agony<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of lamentation, like a wind that shrills<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All night in a waste land, where no one comes,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or hath come, since the making of the world.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then murmur'd Arthur, "Place me in the barge."<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So to the barge they came. There those three Queens<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Put forth their hands, and took the King, and wept.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But she, that rose the tallest of them all<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And fairest, laid his head upon her lap,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And loosed the shatter'd casque, and chafed his hands,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And call'd him by his name, complaining loud,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And dropping bitter tears against a brow<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Striped with dark blood: for all his face was white<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And colorless, and like the wither'd moon<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Smote by the fresh beam of the springing east;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And all his greaves and cuisses dash'd with drops<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of onset; and the light and lustrous curls—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That made his forehead like a rising sun<br /></span> +<span class="i0">High from the daïs-throne—were parch'd with dust;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or, clotted into points and hanging loose,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Mix'd with the knightly growth that fringed his lips.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So like a shatter'd column lay the King;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Not like that Arthur who, with lance in rest,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From spur to plume a star of tournament,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shot thro' the lists at Camelot, and charged<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Before the eyes of ladies and of kings.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then loudly cried the bold Sir Bedivere:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Ah! my Lord Arthur, whither shall I go?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where shall I hide my forehead and my eyes?<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> +<span class="i0">For now I see the true old times are dead,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When every morning brought a noble chance,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And every chance brought out a noble knight.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Such times have been not since the light that led<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The holy Elders with the gift of myrrh.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But now the whole Round Table is dissolved<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Which was an image of the mighty world<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And I, the last, go forth companionless,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the days darken round me, and the years,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Among new men, strange faces, other minds."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And slowly answer'd Arthur from the barge:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"The old order changeth, yielding place to new,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And God fulfils himself in many ways,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Comfort thyself: what comfort is in me?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I have lived my life, and that which I have done<br /></span> +<span class="i0">May He within himself make pure! but thou,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">If thou shouldst never see my face again,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Rise like a fountain for me night and day.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For what are men better than sheep or goats<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That nourish a blind life within the brain,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Both for themselves and those who call them friend?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For so the whole round earth is every way<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But now farewell. I am going a long way<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With these thou seest—if indeed I go<br /></span> +<span class="i0">(For all my mind is clouded with a doubt)—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To the island-valley of Avilion;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Nor ever wind blows loudly; but it lies<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Deep-meadow'd, happy, fair with orchard lawns<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And bowery hollows crown'd with summer sea,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where I will heal me of my grievous wound."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">So said he, and the barge with oar and sail<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Moved from the brink, like some full-breasted swan<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That, fluting a wild carol ere her death,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ruffles her pure cold plume, and takes the flood<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With swarthy webs. Long stood Sir Bedivere<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Revolving many memories, till the hull<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Look'd one black dot against the verge of dawn,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And on the mere the wailing died away.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">But when that moan had past for evermore,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The stillness of the dead world's winter dawn<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Amazed him, and he groan'd, "The King is gone."<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And therewithal came on him the weird rhyme,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"From the great deep to the great deep he goes."<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Whereat he slowly turn'd and slowly clomb<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The last hard footstep of that iron crag;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thence mark'd the black hull moving yet, and cried,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"He passes to be King among the dead,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And after healing of his grievous wound<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He comes again; but—if he come no more—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">O me, be yon dark Queens in yon black boat,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who shriek'd and wail'd, the three whereat we gazed<br /></span> +<span class="i0">On that high day, when, clothed with living light,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They stood before his throne in silence, friends<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of Arthur, who should help him at his need?"<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> +<span class="i1">Then from the dawn it seem'd there came, but faint,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As from beyond the limit of the world,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Like the last echo born of a great cry,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sounds, as if some fair city were one voice<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Around a king returning from his wars.<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Thereat once more he moved about, and clomb<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ev'n to the highest he could climb, and saw,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Straining his eyes beneath an arch of hand,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or thought he saw, the speck that bare the King,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Down that long water opening on the deep<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Somewhere far off, pass on and on, and go<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From less to less and vanish into light.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the new sun rose bringing the new year.<br /></span> +</div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE GREAT KNIGHT SIEGFRIED</h2> + + +<p>Once upon a time there lived in the Netherlands, in Xante, +a wonderful castle on the river Rhine, a mighty king and +queen. Siegmund and Sieglinde were their names, and far +and wide were they known. Yet their son, the glorious hero +Siegfried, was still more widely celebrated. Even as a boy +he performed so many daring feats that his bravery was talked +of in all German lands.</p> + +<p>The two most remarkable of these feats were the slaying +of a frightful monster known as the "Dragon of the Linden-tree" +and the capture of the rich treasure of the Nibelungs. +The hoard was an ancient one and had this wonderful property—that +no matter how much was taken from it the quantity +was never less.</p> + +<p>All this happened before Siegfried reached the age of manhood. +When it was time for the youth to be knighted, King +Siegmund sent invitations far and wide throughout the country, +and a great celebration took place. Siegfried was solemnly +girded with a sword and permitted to take his place among the +warriors of the kingdom. Then there was a great tournament, +a wonderful occasion for Siegfried, who came off victor in every +encounter, although many tried warriors matched their skill +against his. Altogether the festivities lasted seven whole +days.</p> + +<p>After the guests had departed, Siegfried asked permission +of his parents to travel into Burgundy to seek as bride for +himself Kriemhild, the maiden of whose great beauty and +loveliness he had heard.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus16" id="Illus16"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_16.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_16th.jpg" width="275" height="400" +alt="Two armed and armoured knights, one riding a black horse, the other +a white, fight one another." +title="SIEGFRIED CAME OFF VICTOR IN EVERY ENCOUNTER" /></a> +<span class="caption">SIEGFRIED CAME OFF VICTOR IN EVERY ENCOUNTER</span> +</div> + +<p>Gunther, the king of Burgundy, recognizing the young<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> +hero, went out to meet him and politely inquired the cause of +his visit. Imagine his dismay when Siegfried proposed a +single combat, in which the victor might claim the land and +allegiance of the vanquished. Neither Gunther nor any of +his knights would accept the challenge; but Gunther and his +brother hastened forward with proffers of unbounded hospitality.</p> + +<p>Siegfried lingered a year in Gunther's palace, and though +he never caught a glimpse of the fair maid Kriemhild, she +often admired his strength and manly beauty from behind +the palace windows.</p> + +<p>One day a herald arrived from King Ludeger of Saxony and +King Ludegast of Denmark, announcing an invasion. Gunther +was dismayed; but the brave Siegfried came to the rescue, +saying that if Gunther would give him only one thousand +brave men he would repel the enemy. This was done and the +little army marched into Saxony and routed the twenty +thousand valiant soldiers of the enemy's force. All the men +did brave work, but Siegfried was the bravest of them all.</p> + +<p>When the hero returned, a great celebration was held in his +honor, and Kriemhild, Ute and all the ladies of the court were +invited to be present at the tournament. It was there that +Siegfried first saw the fair maiden. Her beauty was more +wonderful than he had ever been able to imagine. What was +his delight, then, to learn that he had been appointed her +escort.</p> + +<p>On the way to the tournament Kriemhild murmured her +thanks for the good work Siegfried had done for her, +and Siegfried vowed that he would always serve her brothers +because of his great love for her.</p> + +<p>Soon after the tournament Gunther announced his intention +of winning for his wife, Brunhild, the princess of Issland, +who had vowed to marry no man but the one who could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> +surpass her in jumping, throwing a stone and casting a spear. +Gunther proposed that Siegfried go with him, promising him, +in return for his services, the hand of Kriemhild. Such an +offer was not to be despised, and Siegfried immediately consented, +advising Gunther to take only Hagen and Dankwart +with him.</p> + +<p>Gunther and the three knights set out in a small vessel. +Siegfried bade his companions represent him as Gunther's +vassal only; but Brunhild, seeing his giant figure and guessing +its strength, imagined that he had come to woo her. She was +dismayed, therefore, when she heard that he had held the stirrup +for Gunther to dismount. When he entered her hall, +she advanced to meet him; but he drew aside, saying that +honor was due to his master Gunther.</p> + +<p>Brunhild ordered preparations for the evening contest, and +Gunther, Hagen and Dankwart trembled when they saw four +men staggering under the weight of Brunhild's shield and +three more staggering under the weight of her spear. Siegfried, +meantime, had donned his magic cloud cloak and bade +Gunther rely upon his aid.</p> + +<p>The combat opened. Brunhild poised her spear and flung +it with such force that both heroes staggered; but before she +could cry out her victory Siegfried had caught the spear and +flung it back with such violence that the princess fell and was +obliged to acknowledge defeat.</p> + +<p>Undaunted, she caught up a huge stone, flung it far into the +distance, and then leaping, alighted beside it. No sooner had +she done this than Siegfried seized the stone, flung it still +farther, and lifting Gunther by his broad girdle bounded +through the air with him and alighted beyond the stone. Then +Brunhild knew that she had found her master.</p> + +<p>"Come hither all my kinsmen and followers," she said, +"and acknowledge my superior. I am no longer your mistress. +Gunther is your lord."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> +The wedding was fitly celebrated and then Gunther and +his bride were escorted back to Issland by a thousand Nibelung +warriors whom Siegfried had gathered for the purpose. A +great banquet was given upon their return, at which the impatient +Siegfried ventured to remind Gunther of his promise. +Brunhild protested that Gunther should not give his only sister +to a menial, but Gunther gave his consent and the marriage +took place immediately. The two bridal couples then sat side +by side. Kriemhild's face was very happy; Brunhild's was +dark and frowning.</p> + +<p>You see, Brunhild was not pleased with the husband she +had gained and preferred Siegfried. Alone with her husband +the first night she bound him with her girdle and suspended +him from a corner of her apartment. There she let him hang +till morning. Released, Gunther sought out Siegfried and +told him of the disgraceful affair.</p> + +<p>The following evening Siegfried again donned his cloud +cloak and entered the apartments of Gunther and Brunhild. +As he entered he blew out the lights, caught Brunhild's hands +and wrestled with her until she pleaded for mercy.</p> + +<p>"Great king, forbear," she said. "I will henceforth be thy +dutiful wife. I will do nothing to anger thee. Thou art my +lord and master."</p> + +<p>Having accomplished his purpose, Siegfried left the room, +but first he took Brunhild's girdle and her ring. These he +carried with him when after the festivities he and Kriemhild +returned to Xante on the Rhine.</p> + +<p>Siegmund and Sieglinde abdicated in favor of their son, and +for ten years Siegfried and Kriemhild reigned happily. Then +they were invited to pay a visit to Gunther and Brunhild. +They accepted, leaving their little son Gunther in the care of +the Nibelungs.</p> + +<p>Brunhild received Kriemhild graciously, but at heart she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> +was jealous and wanted Kriemhild to acknowledge her as superior. +One day they had a hot dispute, Kriemhild declaring +that her husband was without peer in the world, and Brunhild +retorting that since he was Gunther's vassal he must be his +inferior. Kriemhild made an angry avowal that she would +publicly assert her rank.</p> + +<p>Both queens parted in a rage and proceeded to attire themselves +in the most gorgeous costumes they possessed. Accompanied +by their ladies-in-waiting they met at the church door. +Brunhild bade Kriemhild stand aside while she entered, and +Kriemhild would not. A storm of words followed. Finally +Kriemhild insulted the other queen by declaring that Brunhild +was not a faithful wife.</p> + +<p>"You loved Siegfried better than Gunther," she declared. +"Here are your girdle and ring which my husband gave to +me." So saying, she displayed the girdle and ring which +Siegfried had unwisely given her when he confided to her the +story of Gunther's wooing.</p> + +<p>Brunhild summoned Gunther to defend her, and he sent for +Siegfried. The latter publicly swore that his wife had not told +the truth and that Brunhild had never loved him or he her.</p> + +<p>"This quarrel is disgraceful," he said. "I will teach my +wife better manners for the future." Gunther promised to do +likewise.</p> + +<p>The guests departed, but Brunhild still smarted from the +insult and longed for revenge. Hagen, finding her in tears, +undertook to avenge her. He continually reminded Gunther +of the insult his wife had received. The king at first paid no +attention to the insinuations, but at last he consented to an +assault on Siegfried.</p> + +<p>He asked the great hero to help him in a war which he pretended +his old enemy Ludeger was about to bring upon him. +Siegfried consented, and Kriemhild, because she loved her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> +husband very deeply, was much troubled. In her distress she +confided to Hagen that Siegfried was invulnerable except in +one spot, between the shoulder blades, where a lime leaf had +rested and the dragon's blood had not touched him.</p> + +<p>"Never fear," said Hagen, "I myself will help to protect +him. You sew a tiny cross on Siegfried's doublet, just over +the vulnerable spot, that I may be the better able to shield +him."</p> + +<p><ins class="correction" title="'Brunhild' in original">Kriemhild</ins> +promised to obey his instructions, and Hagen departed, well +pleased, to carry the news to Gunther.</p> + +<p>At last the day came for Siegfried to leave his queen. He +talked to her and comforted her and kissed her rosy lips.</p> + +<p>"Dear heart," he said, "why all these tears? I shall not +be gone long."</p> + +<p>But she was thinking of what she had told Hagen, and wept +and wept and would not be comforted.</p> + +<p>When Siegfried joined Gunther's party he was surprised to +learn that the rebellion had been quelled and that he was +invited to join in a hunt instead of a fray.</p> + +<p>So he joined the hunting party. Now Siegfried was as great +a hunter as he was a warrior, and while the noonday meal was +being prepared he scoured the forest, slew several wild boars, +caught a bear alive and in a spirit of mischief turned him loose +among the guests. Then, tired and thirsty, he sat down, +calling for a drink.</p> + +<p>Not a bit of wine was at hand; it had all been carried to +another part of the forest. Hagen pointed out a spring near +by and Siegfried proposed a race, offering to run in full armor +while the others ran without armor or weapons. In spite of +the handicap, Siegfried reached the spring first.</p> + +<p>Always polite, Siegfried bade his host, Gunther, drink first, +while he himself disarmed. Siegfried then stooped over the +spring to drink, and as he stooped, Hagen, gliding behind<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> +him, drove his spear into his body at the exact spot where +Kriemhild had embroidered the fatal mark.</p> + +<p>Siegfried struggled to avenge himself, but found nothing +but his shield within reach. This he flung with such force at +his murderer that it knocked him down. Exhausted by the +effort, the hero fell back upon the grass, cursing the treachery +of Gunther and Hagen.</p> + +<p>Curses soon gave way to thoughts of Kriemhild, however, +and overcoming his anger he recommended her to the care of +her brother Gunther. Then the great hero died.</p> + +<p>The hunting party agreed to carry the body back to Worms +and say that they had found it in the forest. But Hagen, +bolder than the rest, ordered the bearers to deposit the corpse +at Kriemhild's door, where she would see it when she went +out for early mass the next morning. As he expected, +Kriemhild discovered her dead lord and fell senseless upon +him. Recovering, she cried out that he had been murdered: +no foeman in a fair fight could have killed the glorious knight.</p> + +<p>A great funeral took place and Siegfried's body was laid in +state in the cathedral at Worms. Thither many came to view +it and to express their sympathy for the widow Kriemhild. +The latter, suspecting treachery, refused to listen to Gunther +until he promised that all of those present at the hunt should +touch the body.</p> + +<p>"Blood will flow afresh at the murderer's touch," he said.</p> + +<p>One by one the hunters advanced, and when Hagen touched +the great warrior's form, lo, the blood flowed again from his +wounds. At this the Nibelung warriors wanted to avenge the +dead, but Kriemhild would not permit them to interrupt the +funeral. So the ceremonies were concluded and Siegfried's +body was laid to rest.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span></p> + +<h2>LOHENGRIN AND ELSA THE BEAUTIFUL</h2> + + +<p>The young Duchess of Brabant, Elsa the Beautiful, had +gone into the woods hunting, and becoming separated from her +attendants, sat down to rest under a wide-branching linden-tree.</p> + +<p>She was sorely troubled, for many lords and princes were +asking for her hand in marriage. More urgent than all the +others was the invincible hero, Count Telramund, her former +guardian, who since the death of her father had ruled over the +land with masterly hand. Now the duke, her father, on his +death-bed had promised Telramund that he might have Elsa +for wife, should she be willing; and Telramund was continually +reminding her of this. But Elsa blushed with shame at the +mere thought of such a union, for Telramund was a rough +warrior, as much hated for his cruelty as he was feared for his +strength. To make matters worse he was now at the court +of the chosen King Henry of Saxony, threatening her with war +and even worse calamities.</p> + +<p>In the shade of the linden Elsa thought of all this, and +pitied her own loneliness in that no brother or friend stood +at her side to help her. Then the sweet singing of birds seemed +to comfort her, and she dropped into a gentle sleep. As she +dreamed it seemed to her that a young knight stepped out +of the depths of the forest. Holding up a small silver bell, +he spoke in friendly tones:</p> + +<p>"If you should need my help, just ring this."</p> + +<p>Elsa tried to take the trinket, but she could neither rise nor +reach the outstretched hand. Then she awoke.</p> + +<p>Thinking over the apparition Elsa noted a falcon circling<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> +over her head. It came nearer and finally settled on her +shoulder. Around his neck hung a bell exactly like that she +had seen in the dream. She loosened it, and as she did so +the bird rose and flew away. But she still held the little bell +in her hand, and in her soul was fresh hope and peace.</p> + +<p>When she returned to the castle she found there a message, +bidding her appear before the king in Cologne on the Rhine. +Filled with confidence in the protection of higher powers, she +did not hesitate to obey. In gorgeous costume, with many +followers, she set out.</p> + +<p>King Henry was a man who loved justice and exercised it, +but his kingdom was in constant danger from inroads by wild +Huns, and for this reason he wished to do whatever would +win the favor of the powerful Count Telramund. When, +however, he saw Elsa in all her beauty and innocence he +hesitated in his purpose.</p> + +<p>The plaintiff brought forward three men who testified that +the duchess had entered into a secret union with one of her +vassals. Only two of these men were shown to be perfidious; +the testimony of the other seemed valid, though this was not +enough to condemn her.</p> + +<p>Then Telramund seized his sword, crying out that God +Himself should be the judge, and that a duel should decide +the matter. So a duel was arranged to take place three +days later.</p> + +<p>Elsa cast her eyes around the circle of nobles, but saw no +one grasp his sword in defense of her innocence. Fear of the +mighty warrior Telramund filled them all.</p> + +<p>Remembering the little bell, she drew it forth from her +pocket and rang it. The clear tones broke the stillness, grew +louder and louder until they reached even the distant mountains.</p> + +<p>"My champion will appear in the contest," she said; whereupon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> +the count let forth such a mocking laugh that the hearts +of all were filled with intense fear.</p> + +<p>The day of the contest was at hand. The king sat on his +high throne and watched the majestic river that sent its mighty +waters through the valley. Princes and brave knights were +gathered together. Before them stood Telramund, clad in +armor, and at his side the accused Elsa, adorned with every +grace that Nature can bestow.</p> + +<p>Three times the mighty hero challenged some one to come +forward as a champion for the accused girl, but no one stirred. +Then arose from the Rhine the sound of sweet music; something +silvery gleamed in the distance, and as it came nearer +it was plain that it was a swan with silver feathers. With a +silver chain he was pulling a small ship, in which lay sleeping +a knight clad in bright armor.</p> + +<p>When the bark landed, the knight awoke, rose, and blew +three times on a golden horn. This was the signal that he took +up the challenge. Quickly he strode into the lists.</p> + +<p>"Your name and descent?" cried the herald.</p> + +<p>"My name is Lohengrin," answered the stranger, "my +origin royal: more it is not necessary to tell."</p> + +<p>"Enough," broke in the king, "nobility is written on your +brow."</p> + +<p>Trumpets gave the signal for the fight to begin. Telramund's +strokes fell thick as hail, but suddenly the stranger +knight rose and with one fearful stroke split the count's helmet +and cut his head.</p> + +<p>"God has decided," cried the king. "His judgment is +right; but you, noble knight, will help us in the campaign +against the barbarian hordes and will be the leader of the +detachment which the fair duchess will send from Brabant."</p> + +<p>Gladly Lohengrin consented, and amid cries of delight +from the assembled people he rode over to Elsa, who greeted +him as her deliverer.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> +Lohengrin escorted Elsa back to Brabant, and on the way +love awoke in their hearts, and they knew that they were +destined for each other. In the castle of Antwerp they were +pledged, and a few weeks later the marriage took place. As +the bridal couple were leaving the cathedral, Lohengrin said +to Elsa:</p> + +<p>"One thing I must ask of you, and that is that you never +inquire concerning my origin, for in the hour that you put +that question must I surely part from you."</p> + +<p>It was not long after the ceremony that the cry to arms +came from King Henry, and Elsa accompanied her husband +and his troops to Cologne, where all the counts of the kingdom +were assembled. Here there were many inquiries concerning +Lohengrin, and when none seemed to know of his +origin, some jealously claimed that he was the son of a heathen +magician, and that he gained his victories by the power +of black arts.</p> + +<p>Elsa, who had heard rumors of these charges, was deeply +grieved; for she knew the noble heart of her husband. He +had even relieved her fears for his safety by the assurance that +he was under the protection of powers higher than human.</p> + +<p>But she could not banish the evil rumors from her mind, +and forgetting the warning her husband had given her on +the day of her marriage, she dropped to her knees and asked +him concerning his birth.</p> + +<p>"Dear wife," he cried in great distress, "now will I tell to +you and to the king and to all the assembled princes, what +up to this time I have kept secret; but know that the time of +our parting is at hand."</p> + +<p>Then the hero led his trembling wife before the king and +his nobles who were assembled on the banks of the Rhine.</p> + +<p>"The son of Parsifal am I," he said, "the son of Parsifal, +the keeper of the Holy Grail. Gladly would I have helped<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> +you, O King, in your fight against the barbarians, but an +unavoidable fate calls me away. You will, however, be +victorious, and under your descendants will Germany become +a powerful nation."</p> + +<p>When he finished speaking there was a deep silence, and +then, as upon his arrival, there rose the sound of music—not +joyful this time, but solemn, like a chant at the grave of the +dead. It came nearer and again the swan and the boat appeared.</p> + +<p>"Farewell, dear one," Lohengrin cried, folding his wife +in his arms. "Too dearly did I hold you and your pleasant +land of earth; now a higher duty calls me."</p> + +<p>Weeping, Elsa clung to him; but the swan song sounded +louder, like a warning. He tore himself free and stepped +into the boat. Was it the ship of death and destruction, or +only the ship that carried the blessed to the sacred place of +the Grail? No one knew.</p> + +<p>Elsa, lonely and sad, did not live long after the separation. +Her only hope was that she would be reunited to her dear +husband; and she parted willingly with her own life, as other +children of earth have done when they have lost all that +they held most precious.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span></p> + +<h2>FRITHIOF THE BOLD</h2> + + +<p>Frithiof was a Norwegian hero, grandson of Viking, who +was the largest and strongest man of his time. Viking had +sailed the sea in a dragon ship, meeting with many adventures, +and Thorsten, Frithiof's father, had likewise sailed abroad, +capturing many priceless treasures and making a great name +for himself.</p> + +<p>Frithiof was entrusted to the care of Hilding, his foster +father, and in his care, also, were Halfdan and Helgé, King +Bélé's sons, and, some years later, their little sister, Ingeborg. +Frithiof and Ingeborg became firm friends, and as the lad +increased in bravery and strength, the girl increased in beauty +and loveliness of soul. Hilding, noticing how each day they +became fonder of each other, called Frithiof to him and bade +him remember that he was only a humble subject and could +never hope to wed Ingeborg, the king's only daughter, descended +from the great god Odin. The warning, however, +came too late, for Frithiof already loved the fair maiden, +and vowed that he would have her for his bride at any cost.</p> + +<p>Soon after this the king died, leaving his kingdom to his +two sons and giving instructions that his funeral mound +should be erected in sight of that of his dear friend Thorsten, +so that their spirits might not be separated even in death. +Then Ingeborg went to live with her brothers, the Kings of +Sogn, while Frithiof retired to his own home at Framnas, +closed in by the mountains and the sea.</p> + +<p>Frithiof was now one of the wealthiest and most envied +of land-owners. His treasures were richer by far than those +of any king.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> +In the spring he held a great celebration, which the kings +of Sogn and their sister Ingeborg, among many other guests, +attended. Frithiof and Ingeborg were much together, and +Frithiof was very happy to learn that Ingeborg returned his +affection.</p> + +<p>Great was his grief when the time came for her to sail away. +Not long had she been gone, however, when he vowed to +Björn, his chief companion, that he would follow after her +and ask for her hand. His ship was prepared and soon he +touched the shore near the temple of the god Balder.</p> + +<p>His request was not granted and Helgé dismissed him contemptuously. +In a rage at the insult Frithiof lifted his sword; +but remembering that he stood on consecrated ground near +Bélé's tomb, he spared the king, only cutting his heavy shield +in two to show the strength of his blade.</p> + +<p>Soon after his departure another suitor, the aged King +Ring of Norway sought the hand of Ingeborg in marriage, +and being refused, collected an army and prepared to make +war on Helgé and Halfdan.</p> + +<p>Then the two brothers were glad to send a messenger after +Frithiof, asking his aid. The hero, still angry, refused; but +he hastened at once to Ingeborg. He found her in tears at +the shrine of Balder, and although it was considered a sin +for a man and woman to exchange words in the sacred temple, +he spoke to her, again making known his love.</p> + +<p>The kings, her brothers, were away at war, but Frithiof +stayed near Ingeborg, and when they returned, promised to +free them from the oppression of Sigurd Ring if in return +they would promise him the hand of their sister. But the +kings had heard of how Frithiof had spoken to Ingeborg in +the temple, and although they feared Sigurd they would not +grant the request. Instead he was condemned in punishment +to sail away to the Orkney Islands to claim tribute +from the king Angantyr.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> +Frithiof departed in his ship Ellida, and Ingeborg stayed +behind, weeping bitterly. And as soon as the vessel was +out of sight the brothers sent for two witches—Heid and +Ham—bidding them stir up such a tempest on the sea that +even the god-given ship Ellida could not withstand its fury.</p> + +<p>But no tempest could frighten the brave Frithiof. Singing +a cheery song he stood at the helm, caring nothing for +the waves that raged about the ship. He comforted his crew, +and then climbed the mast to keep a sharp lookout for +danger.</p> + +<p>From there he spied a huge whale, upon which the two +witches were seated, delighted at the tempest they had stirred +up. Speaking to his good ship, which could both hear and +obey, he bade it run down the whale and the witches.</p> + +<p>This Ellida did. Whale and witches sank; the sea grew +red with their blood; the waves were calmed. Again the +sun smiled over the hardy sailors. But many of the crew +were worn out by the battle with the elements and had to be +carried ashore by Frithiof and Björn when they reached the +Orkney Islands.</p> + +<p>Now the watchman at Angantyr's castle had reported the +ship and the gale, and Angantyr had declared that only +Frithiof and Ellida could weather such a storm. One of his +vassals, Atlé, caught up his weapons and hurried forth to +challenge the great hero.</p> + +<p>Frithiof had no weapons, but with a turn of his wrist he +threw his opponent.</p> + +<p>"Go and get your weapons," Atlé said, when he saw that +Frithiof would have killed him.</p> + +<p>Knowing that Atlé was a true soldier and would not run +away, Frithiof left him in search of his sword; but when he +returned and found his opponent calmly awaiting death, +he was generous, and bade him rise and live.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> +Angantyr vowed that he owed no tribute to Helgé, and +would pay him none, but to Frithiof he gave a vast treasure, +telling him that he might dispose of it as he would.</p> + +<p>So Frithiof sailed back to the kings of Sogn, confident +that he could win Ingeborg. What was his dismay, therefore, +to learn that Helgé and Halfdan had already given +their sister in marriage to Sigurd Ring. In a rage he bade +his men destroy all the vessels in the harbor, while he strode +toward the temple of Balder where Helgé and his wife were. +He flung Angantyr's purse of gold in Helgé's face, and seeing +the ring he had given to Ingeborg on the hand of Helgé's +wife snatched it roughly from her. In trying to get it back +she dropped the image of the god, which she had just been +anointing, into the fire. It was quickly consumed, while +the rising flames set fire to the temple.</p> + +<p>Horror-stricken, Frithiof tried to stop the blaze, and when +he could not, hurried away to his ship.</p> + +<p>So Frithiof became an exile, and a wanderer on the face of +the earth. For many years he lived the life of a pirate or +viking, exacting tribute from other ships or sacking them +if they would not pay tribute; for this occupation in the +days of Frithiof was considered wholly respectable. It was +followed again and again by the brave men of the North.</p> + +<p>But Frithiof was often homesick, and longed to enter a +harbor, and lead again a life of peace.</p> + +<p>At last he decided to visit the court of Sigurd Ring and +find out whether Ingeborg was really happy. Landing, he +wrapped himself in an old cloak and approached the court. +He found a seat on a bench near the door, as beggars usually +did; but when one insulting courtier mocked him he lifted +the offender in his mighty hand and swung him high over +his head.</p> + +<p>At this Sigurd Ring invited the old man to remove his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> +mantle and take a seat near him. With surprise Sigurd +and his courtiers saw step from the tattered mantle a handsome +warrior, richly clad; but only Ingeborg knew who he +was.</p> + +<p>"Who are you who comes to us thus?" asked Sigurd Ring.</p> + +<p>"I am Thiolf, a thief," was the answer, "and I have grown +to manhood in the Land of Sorrow."</p> + +<p>Sigurd invited him to remain, and he soon became the +almost constant companion of the king and queen.</p> + +<p>One spring day Sigurd and Frithiof had ridden away on a +hunting expedition, and the old king being tired from the +chase lay down on the ground to rest, feigning sleep. The +birds and beasts of the forest drew near and whispered to +Frithiof that he should slay the king and have Ingeborg for +his own wife. But Frithiof was too fine and loyal to listen +to such suggestions.</p> + +<p>Awaking, Sigurd Ring called Frithiof to him.</p> + +<p>"You are Frithiof the Bold," he said, "and from the first +I knew you. Be patient now a little longer and you shall +have Ingeborg, for my end is near."</p> + +<p>Soon after this Sigurd died, commending his wife to the +young hero's loving care. And at his own request the +funeral feast was closed by the public betrothal of Ingeborg +and Frithiof.</p> + +<p>The people, admiring his bravery, wanted to make Frithiof +king, but he would not listen to their pleadings. Instead he +lifted the little son of Sigurd upon his shield.</p> + +<p>"Behold your king," he cried, "and until he is grown to +manhood I will stand beside him."</p> + +<p>So Frithiof married his beloved Ingeborg, and later, so the +story runs, he returned to his own country and built again the +temple of Balder, more beautiful by far than any before.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus17" id="Illus17"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 273px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_17.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_17th.jpg" width="273" height="400" +alt="Frithiof and Ingeborg, dressed in sumptuous clothing, stand with other +people at the foot of the steps in the ornately decorated temple. Women dance +on the steps, and in the centre stands another person, arms raised, and +wearing robes." +title="FRITHIOF AND INGEBORG IN THE TEMPLE OF BALDER" /></a> +<span class="caption">FRITHIOF AND INGEBORG IN THE TEMPLE OF BALDER</span> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span></p> + +<h2>WAYLAND THE SMITH</h2> + + +<p>King Nidung had one daughter and three sons. The oldest +son, Otvin, was away from court, guarding the outposts +of the country; the other two sons were still children.</p> + +<p>One day the two boys came with their bows to the great +smith Wayland, asking him to make arrows for them.</p> + +<p>"Not today," the smith answered. "I have not time; +and besides, even though you are the sons of the king, I +may not work for you without the wish and consent of your +father. If he is willing, you may come again; but you +must promise to do exactly as I tell you."</p> + +<p>"What is that?" one of the boys ventured.</p> + +<p>"You must," said Wayland, "come on a day when snow has +freshly fallen, and you must walk facing backward all the +way."</p> + +<p>The children cared little whether they walked backward +or forward, as long as they got their arrows, and so they +promised. To their delight next morning they found that +snow had fallen. Quickly they set out for the smithy, walking +backward all the way.</p> + +<p>"O Wayland, make us the arrows," they cried. "The +king, our father, has said that we might have them."</p> + +<p>But Wayland had no intention of making the arrows, for +the king had treated him unjustly and cruelly, and he saw +the opportunity for revenge. With his mighty hammer he +struck the two children on the head and killed them. Then +he threw their bodies into a cave adjoining the smithy.</p> + +<p>When the children did not return the castle messengers +were sent out to find them. They inquired at the smithy.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> +"The boys have gone," said Wayland. "I made arrows +for them, and no doubt they have gone into the woods to +shoot birds."</p> + +<p>Returning to the castle the messengers saw the footprints +in the snow, and since they pointed toward home, decided +that the children must have gone back. But they were not +there. Then Nidung sent his servants far and wide throughout +the country, and when the boys were nowhere to be +found, he concluded that they must have been devoured by +wild animals.</p> + +<p>When all the searches were over, Wayland brought forth +the bodies of the two children, stripped the bones of flesh, +whitened them, and made them into goblets and vessels for +the king's table, mounting them with silver and gold. The +king was delighted with them, and had them placed upon +his board whenever there were guests of honor present.</p> + +<p>A long time later, Badhild, the king's daughter, while +playing with her companions in the garden one day, broke +a costly ring that Nidung had given her. She was greatly +vexed and feared to tell her father.</p> + +<p>"Why not take it to Wayland to mend?" suggested one of +her trusted maidens.</p> + +<p>So Badhild gave the trinket to the girl and bade her take +it to Wayland. She brought it back with her.</p> + +<p>"Without the command of the king he will not mend it," +she said, "unless the king's daughter herself will come to +him."</p> + +<p>Badhild set out immediately for the smithy. There Wayland +substituted for her ring his own, which had the curious +magic power of making its wearer fall in love with the smith.</p> + +<p>The smith slipped the jewel on her finger, gazed into her +eyes and said, "This ring you shall keep as well as your own, +if you will be my bride."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> +The maiden could not refuse, and so the two were married, +agreeing to keep their union a secret.</p> + +<p>About this time Eigil, the brother of Wayland, came to the +court of Nidung. He was a celebrated man and the most +skilful master of the bow to be found anywhere in the world. +The king welcomed him, and he remained a long time at the +court. One day Nidung proposed that, since he was such a +skilful bowman, he should try shooting an apple from the +head of his own son. Eigil agreed.</p> + +<p>"You may have only one trial," the king said.</p> + +<p>So an apple was placed on the head of Eigil's three-year-old +son, and Eigil, taking his bow, aimed, and with the first +arrow struck the apple in the center, so that it fell from +the child's head.</p> + +<p>"Why did you have three arrows?" the king asked.</p> + +<p>"Sire," replied Eigil, "I will not lie to you. If I had pierced +my son with the first arrow, the other two would have pierced +you."</p> + +<p>The king, strange to say, did not take offense at this speech, +but on the contrary showed Eigil still greater favor than he +had in the past.</p> + +<p>The archer frequently visited his brother Wayland, but +Badhild came but seldom to her husband's house. One +day the two came together at Wayland's special request. +When they were leaving Wayland embraced Badhild and said +to her:</p> + +<p>"You will be the mother of a boy—your child and mine. +It may be that I shall go away from here and never see his +face; but you must tell him that I have made for him worthy +weapons and stowed them in safety in the place where the +water enters and the wind goes out (the forge)."</p> + +<p>The next time Wayland saw Eigil he bade him bring to +him all kinds of feathers, large and small.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> +"I wish to make for myself a doublet of feathers," he +explained.</p> + +<p>Then Eigil shot many birds of prey and brought their +feathers to Wayland. From them he made a flying shirt, +clad in which he looked more like an eagle than a man.</p> + +<p>Eigil admired the workmanship and Wayland asked him +to try it.</p> + +<p>"How shall I rise, how fly, and how alight?" asked Eigil.</p> + +<p>"You must rise against the wind, and fly first low and +then high, but you must alight with the wind."</p> + +<p>Eigil did as he was told, and had a good deal of trouble in +alighting. Finally he knocked his head with such force on +the ground that he lost consciousness. When he came to +himself Wayland spoke:</p> + +<p>"Tell me, brother Eigil, do you like the shirt?"</p> + +<p>"If it were as easy to alight as it is to fly," was the answer, +"I should fly away and you would never see me again."</p> + +<p>"I will alter what is wrong," said the smith, making a +slight change in the shirt. Then with Eigil's help he put on +the feathers, flapped his wings and rose into the air. He +lighted on a turret of the castle and called down to Eigil.</p> + +<p>"I did not tell you the truth when I said that you should +alight <i>with</i> the wind, for I knew that if you found out how +easy it was to fly you would never give me the shirt back +again. You can see for yourself that all birds rise against +the wind and alight in the same way. I am going home to +my own country, but first I must have a few words with Nidung. +And, remember, if he bids you shoot me, shoot under +the left wing, for there I have fastened a bladder filled with +blood."</p> + +<p>With these words Wayland flew to the highest tower of the +king's castle and called to the king as he passed with his +courtiers.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus18" id="Illus18"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_18.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_18th.jpg" width="275" height="400" +alt="Wayland, wearing his feather shirt, wings outstretched, launches +himself from the top of a tower." +title="WAYLAND THE SMITH, WEARING THE WINGS HE HAD FASHIONED" /></a> +<span class="caption">WAYLAND THE SMITH, WEARING THE WINGS HE HAD FASHIONED</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> +"Are you a bird, Wayland?" asked the king.</p> + +<p>"Sometimes I am a bird and sometimes a man," was the +reply; "but now I am going away from here and never again +will you have me in your power. Listen while I speak. You +promised once to give me your daughter and the half of your +kingdom, but you made of me instead an outcast—because +I defended myself and killed the wretches who would have +taken my life.</p> + +<p>"You surprised me while I slept and stole my arms and my +treasures; and not satisfied with that you laid a net for my +feet and made of me a cripple. But I have had my revenge. +Do you know where your sons are?"</p> + +<p>"My sons!" cried Nidung. "Oh, tell me what you know +of them."</p> + +<p>"I will tell you, but first you must swear to me by the +deck of the ship and the edge of the shield, by the back of +the horse and the blade of the sword that you will do no harm +to my wife and child."</p> + +<p>Nidung swore and Wayland began his speech:</p> + +<p>"Go to my smithy, and there in the cave you will find +the remains of your sons. I killed them, and of their bones +made vessels for your table. Your daughter Badhild is my +wife. So have I repaid evil with evil, and our connection +is ended."</p> + +<p>With these words he flew away, while Nidung in great +anger cried: "Eigil, shoot at Wayland."</p> + +<p>"I cannot harm my own brother," replied Eigil.</p> + +<p>"Shoot," cried the king, "or I will kill you."</p> + +<p>Then Eigil laid an arrow in his bow and shot Wayland as +he had been instructed, under his left arm, until the blood +flowed and everyone thought that the great smith had +received his death wound.</p> + +<p>But Wayland, unharmed, flew away to Zealand and made +his home there in his father's land.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> +Nidung, meantime, was sad and unhappy, and it was not +long before he died and Otvin, his son, succeeded to the throne.</p> + +<p>Otvin was soon loved and honored throughout the kingdom +because of his great justice and kindness. His sister +lived with him at court, and there her son, Widge, was born.</p> + +<p>One day Wayland sent messengers to Otvin, asking for +peace and pardon, and when these were granted he traveled +again to Jutland and was received with great honor.</p> + +<p>The mighty smith was very glad to see his wife again and +very proud of his three-year-old son; but he would not yield +to Otvin's request that he remain in Jutland. Instead he +returned to Zealand with Badhild and Widge, and there they +lived happily for many years.</p> + +<p>Wayland was known throughout all the world for his knowledge +and skill, and his son Widge was a powerful hero, whose +praises were much celebrated in song.</p> + +<p>So ends the story of Wayland, the great smith of the +northern countries.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span></p> + +<h2>TWARDOWSKI, THE POLISH FAUST</h2> + + +<p>Toward the close of the eighteenth century there was +pointed out to visitors in the old town of Krakau the house +of the magician Twardowski, who quite properly was called +the Faust of Poland, because of his dealings with the Evil +One.</p> + +<p>In his youth Twardowski had followed the study of medicine, +and with such industry, such eagerness and such a clear +mind did he practice his profession that it was not long before +he was the most celebrated doctor in all Poland. But Twardowski +was not satisfied with this. He craved greater and +still greater power.</p> + +<p>At last one day, as he was reading, he found in an old book +of magic that for which he had long been seeking—the formula +for summoning the devil. When night came a storm +had risen, but caring not for that he hurried away to the +lonely mountain Kremenki. There, in a rudely constructed +hut, he began his incantations.</p> + +<p>Before long there was an earthquake; great rocks were +loosened, the ground opened at Twardowski's feet and flames +leaped out; and in the flames appeared the Evil One himself, +in the form of a man, clad in a red cloak with the well-known +pointed red cap.</p> + +<p>"What do you wish?" the devil asked.</p> + +<p>"The power of your most secret wisdom," was the answer.</p> + +<p>"And how is this to be done?"</p> + +<p>"You shall make me the most celebrated of all the learned +men of the century, and shall besides give me such happiness +as no man has ever enjoyed upon this earth before."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> +"So be it," said the devil. "But on condition that at +the end of seven years I gain possession of your soul."</p> + +<p>"You may take me," answered Twardowski, "but only in +Rome may you have power over me. Thither, at the end of +seven years, will I go."</p> + +<p>The devil hesitated over this clause, but thinking of the +fun he could have in the holy city, finally agreed. Leaning +against the wall of stone he wrote the compact, which Twardowski, +making a slight wound in his arm, signed with his own +blood.</p> + +<p>When Twardowski descended from the mountain and +made his way, book under arm, through the valley, he heard +the bells in all the towers of the city ringing out clearly and +solemnly on the still night air. He listened, wondering at the +unaccustomed noise, then hurried into the town, inquiring +from every one he met what the occasion was. But no one +seemed to have heard the sound.</p> + +<p>Then a deep feeling of sadness came over him as he realized +the meaning of the bells. They were the funeral knell +of his own soul.</p> + +<p>When morning came, however, doubts were forgotten, and +Twardowski was glad to have the devil at his command. The +first thing that he demanded was to have all the silver of +Poland gathered together in one place and covered over with +great mounds of sand.</p> + +<p>Similar requests followed, and it was not long before the +devil repented of his bargain. One day it would please Twardowski +to fly without wings through the air; on another, to +the delight of the crowd, to gallop backward on a cock; on +another to float in a boat without a rudder or sail, accompanied +by some maiden who for the moment had inflamed +his heart. One day, by the use of his magic mirror, he set +fire to the castle of an enemy a mile away. This last feat +made him greatly feared by people far and wide.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> +At last the seven years were up. The devil appeared to +Twardowski and said:</p> + +<p>"Twardowski, the time of our pact is over, and I command +you to fulfill your promise and go to Rome."</p> + +<p>"What shall I do there?"</p> + +<p>"Give me your immortal soul," was the answer.</p> + +<p>"Do you think I am a fool?" asked Twardowski.</p> + +<p>"You gave me your promise to go to Rome after seven +years."</p> + +<p>"That I have already done," said Twardowski, "and I +did not promise to stay in Rome."</p> + +<p>"Noble deceiver!" exclaimed the Evil One.</p> + +<p>"Stupid devil!" cried Twardowski.</p> + +<p>Then after a struggle the devil vanished and Twardowski +returned home.</p> + +<p>For over a year he pored incessantly over his books of +magic, until at last he found a formula for warding off death. +Then he called his disciple Famulus to him and explained +that he was going to test the formula.</p> + +<p>"You have always obliged me without question," said +Twardowski, "and I expect you to now. Take this knife +and thrust it into my heart."</p> + +<p>"God forbid!" cried Famulus.</p> + +<p>"Why are you frightened? I know what I am doing. +Take the knife and kill me, as the parchment directs."</p> + +<p>"I cannot."</p> + +<p>"You must," insisted Twardowski.</p> + +<p>"It is impossible!"</p> + +<p>"No more exclamations. Do as I tell you."</p> + +<p>"Oh, oh, oh!" wailed Famulus.</p> + +<p>"Strike!" thundered Twardowski, "or I will kill you this +instant."</p> + +<p>Then Famulus did as he was bid and forced the blade +into his master's heart.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> +Twardowski uttered a low cry, fell, and was soon dead.</p> + +<p>Famulus dropped trembling into a chair and covered his +face with his hands. Then he remembered that he must +read the remainder of the parchment in order to find out +what he must do to restore the body to life.</p> + +<p>Then he set about the task, severed the limbs of the dead +body, and worked and brewed and distilled until the elixir +described in the parchment was prepared.</p> + +<p>With the elixir he rubbed the members of the master's +body, put them together, and laid the corpse in a coffin. +This he buried on the following night, explaining to Twardowski's +friends that such had been the master's wish.</p> + +<p>Now the parchment stated that the body must remain +in the grave seven years, seven months, seven days and seven +hours; so Famulus could do nothing but wait. At last the +time had expired, and on a snowy, cold December night he +found his way to the grave. He dug out the coffin, brushed +off the snow and earth, opened the casket and found—not +the body of Twardowski, but that of a child who lay sleeping +in a bed of fragrant violets.</p> + +<p>"The child is like Twardowski," Famulus thought, and +he gathered him up under his cloak and carried him home. +The next morning the child was the size of a twelve-year +old; and after seven weeks he was a full-grown man.</p> + +<p>Twardowski, who now seemed quite himself, only +younger, and stronger, thanked Famulus and resumed again +his study of magic. He desired, above all things, to be freed +forever from his compact with the devil. This, he read in +one of the books, he might do if he would brave the terrors +of the underworld.</p> + +<p>So Twardowski determined to enter the gates of hell. +At his magic speech the ground opened and he began the +path of descent. Blue flames lighted the way. Deeper and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> +deeper he went through dark and winding passages. At +last he reached the underworld itself, and many awful sights +did he behold.</p> + +<p>And the farther he went the more frightened did he +become. He could not help feeling that the devil had +plotted something against him. Finally he found himself +in a small room, and cast a hasty glance around, looking for +a means of escape.</p> + +<p>Seeing a child in a cradle in one corner of the room he +seized it hastily, threw his cloak around it, and was about +to leave when the door opened and the Evil One entered.</p> + +<p>He made a respectful bow and said, "Will you be good +enough to go with me now?"</p> + +<p>"Why so?" asked Twardowski, obstinately.</p> + +<p>"Because of our agreement."</p> + +<p>"But," said the magician, "only in Rome have you power +over me."</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied the devil, "and Rome is the name of this +house."</p> + +<p>"You think to trick me by a pun; but you cannot. I +carry this talisman of innocence," and throwing aside his +cloak, he disclosed the sleeping child.</p> + +<p>Anger showed in the face of the devil; but he stepped +nearer to Twardowski and said softly:</p> + +<p>"What are you thinking of, Twardowski? Have you forgotten +your promise? The nobleman's word is sacred to +him."</p> + +<p>Pride awoke in the breast of the magician.</p> + +<p>"I must keep my word," he said, laying the child back +in the crib, and surrendering himself.</p> + +<p>On the shoulders of the devil two wings appeared, like +the wings of a bat. He seized Twardowski and flew away +with him, mounting higher and higher into the night. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> +magician was so terrified and suffered such anguish in the +clutches of the Evil One that in a few moments he was changed +into an old man, but he did not lose consciousness. At last +so high were they that cities appeared like flies and Krakau +with its mighty turrets like two spiders. Deeply moved, +Twardowski looked down upon the scene of all his struggles +and all his joys.</p> + +<p>But higher and higher they went—higher than any +eagle has ever flown—and more lonely and more fearful did +it seem to Twardowski. Only occasionally bright stars +passed by them, or fiery meteors, leaving a long streak of +light behind.</p> + +<p>At last they came to the moon, which stared at them +with dead eyes. Then a song that Twardowski had read +in his mother's hymn book rose to his lips. And as he +repeated mechanically the prayer his mother had taught +him an angel suddenly appeared and said:</p> + +<p>"Satan, let Twardowski go; and you, Twardowski, hang +you there between heaven and earth, to atone for your sin +until the Last Judgment. Then will you be reunited with +your mother in heaven. The prayer which you remembered +in your hour of need has saved you."</p> + +<p>And so, according to the story, Twardowski is suspended +in the vault of heaven to this very day.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus19" id="Illus19"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 273px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_19.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_19th.jpg" width="273" height="400" +alt="Under a dark sky split by lightning, the devil carries off Twardowski. +An angelic figure stands in the heavens in the background, holding a sword." +title="TWARDOWSKI IN THE ARMS OF THE EVIL ONE" /></a> +<span class="caption">TWARDOWSKI IN THE ARMS OF THE EVIL ONE</span> +</div> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span></p> + +<h2>ILIA MUROMEC OF RUSSIA</h2> + + +<p>When we think of Russia we think of a great dark country—a +country of long winters and abundant snow and ice. +It was here, long ago, in the city of Kiev, that the hero +Ilia Muromec was born.</p> + +<p>There was at that time a great castle in the city, and +this was well protected by Ilia Muromec and his twelve +armed knights. For thirty long years had they kept watch +at their post and no stranger had ever passed by them.</p> + +<p>But one morning Dobrnja, the knight after Ilia Muromec +most powerful, perceived on the ground the imprint of a +horse's hoof. Then he said to the knights:</p> + +<p>"Now is the mighty Zidovin in the neighborhood of our +castle. What is your will?"</p> + +<p>The knights with one accord agreed that Dobrnja should +ride out against the stranger. So Dobrnja mounted his +war-horse and galloped forth to meet Zidovin, calling to +him in a deep, gruff voice:</p> + +<p>"Here, my insolent sir, you have come all the way to our +castle and have omitted to send greeting to our captain +Ilia Muromec, or to inform him of your approach."</p> + +<p>When Zidovin heard these words he turned quickly and +rode toward Dobrnja with such force that springs and lakes +appeared wherever the hoofs of his black horse touched the +ground. And the trembling of the earth caused great waves +to rise on the sea.</p> + +<p>Dobrnja was so frightened that he jerked his horse about +and with the swiftness of a cyclone galloped back to the +castle. When he entered, almost exhausted, he told in great +excitement of his encounter.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> +Immediately Ilia decided to go forth himself against the +enemy, and all the entreaties of his knights could not restrain +him. So he rode out to a high point where he could see +Zidovin, watch him as he threw his hundred-weight club up +into the clouds, caught it with one hand, and swung it around +in the air as if it had been a feather.</p> + +<p>Then Ilia spurred his horse and rode toward Zidovin. A +horrible fight ensued. Swords clashed and deep fissures +were made in the earth, but neither knight fell. It seemed +as if both heroes had grown fast to their saddles, so unshakeable +were they.</p> + +<p>At last they jumped from their horses and fought hand +to hand with lances. All day long and all night long they +struggled, until Ilia finally fell wounded to the ground. +Zidovin kneeled on his breast, drew out his sharp knife, and +was about to cut off the head of his enemy.</p> + +<p>Ilia meantime was thinking, "Surely the holy fathers did +not lie to me when they said that I should not lose my life +in battle."</p> + +<p>Then suddenly he felt his strength redoubled, and he +hurled Zidovin from him with such force that his body +touched the clouds before it fell again in the moist earth +at his feet. Cutting off the warrior's head, he mounted his +horse and rode back to the castle. To his knights he said:</p> + +<p>"Thirty years have I ridden in the field and thirty years +have I fought with heroes and tested my strength; but +such a mighty man as Zidovin have I in all that time never +met."</p> + +<p><a name="Illus20" id="Illus20"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 275px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_20.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_20th.jpg" width="275" height="400" +alt="A man on a horse watches as another rider, in the field below, throws +an enormous club into the air." +title="ZIDOVIN THREW THE IRON CLUB INTO THE AIR AND CAUGHT IT WITH ONE +HAND" /></a> +<span class="caption">ZIDOVIN THREW THE IRON CLUB INTO THE AIR AND CAUGHT IT +WITH ONE HAND</span> +</div> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span></p> + +<h2>KRALEWITZ MARKO OF SERVIA</h2> + + +<p>Kralewitz Marko was the son of a Servian king who lived +many, many years ago. He was very fond of hunting, and +one day he rode forth on his horse Saria to the mountain +Sargau. Being tired, he dismounted, tied his horse to a tree, +sat down in its shade and fell asleep.</p> + +<p>And as he slept it happened that Arbanes Neda with his +seven brothers rode by. They all dismounted, lifted Kralewitz, +bound him to his horse, and rode away with him to +Jedrena, where they presented him to the vizier.</p> + +<p>Highly pleased over the gift, the vizier took the king's +son and threw him into prison. Two long years Kralewitz +lay there, longing for liberty and home. Then he learned that +in a few days he was to be executed.</p> + +<p>Immediately he wrote a letter to his friend, Milos Obilis, +asking for help. This important message he entrusted to his +only companion, a white falcon. Tying the letter under the +bird's wing he set it free.</p> + +<p>The falcon easily found its way, alighted on Milos' window, +and was admitted. Scarcely had Milos read the letter, when +he and two of his friends were ready to set out for Jedrena. +They reached there the day before the execution.</p> + +<p>In the morning the gate of the city was opened and Marko +was led out. Milos and his companions accompanied the +mournful procession to an open field in which the execution +was to take place. Two Arabs stood up with gleaming swords +prepared to cut off Marko's head.</p> + +<p>"Hold on, brothers," cried Milos. "I will give you a +sharper sword with which to cut off the malicious head of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> +noble Piam. See, with this sword did the good-for-nothing +treacherously slay my father. Cursed be his hand!"</p> + +<p>With these words he rushed to Marko's side; then with one +swift stroke he cut off the head of one Arab, and with another +the head of the other.</p> + +<p>With still another stroke he severed the chains that bound +Marko, and Marko, seizing a sword, swung himself into his +saddle, and with his friends began to attack the horde of +Turks. Frightened, the Turks fled before them, and Marko +and his companions returned to their own country.</p> + +<p>Marko waited for and soon found the opportunity of showing +his gratitude to his friend, for Milos and two of his brothers +were thrown into prison in Varadin. Milos wrote with his own +blood a letter to Marko, asking for help.</p> + +<p>Then the king's son sprang to his horse Saria and rode to +Varadin. Outside of the city he dismounted, stuck his spear +in the earth, tied Saria and began drinking the black wine +which he had brought with him. He poured it into huge +beakers, half of which he drank himself, and half of which he +gave to Saria.</p> + +<p>At the same time a beautiful maiden, the daughter-in-law +of the general, passed by. When she saw the king's son she +was frightened and ran and told her father-in-law.</p> + +<p>Then the general sent out his son Velimir with three hundred +men to take Marko prisoner. The knights encircled Kralewitz +Marko, but he continued drinking his wine and paid no attention +to them. But Saria noticed them, and drawing near her +master began beating the ground with her hoofs.</p> + +<p>At this Marko looked up and saw himself surrounded. He +emptied his beaker, threw it to the ground, and sprang to his +horse.</p> + +<p><a name="Illus21" id="Illus21"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_21.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_21th.jpg" width="274" height="400" +alt="A man is bound and tied upside down on the back of a white horse, which +is being led by another rider." +title="THEY GAGGED MARKO AND BOUND HIM TO HIS HORSE" /></a> +<span class="caption">THEY GAGGED MARKO AND BOUND HIM TO HIS HORSE</span> +</div> + +<p>Like a falcon among doves Marko charged against the +enemy. He cut off the heads of some and drove the rest before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> +him into the Danube. Velimir tried to flee, but Marko threw +him from his horse, tied his hands and feet and bound him to +Saria. Then again he began to drink his wine.</p> + +<p>All this the maiden watched and reported to her father. +He gathered together three thousand knights and rode forth +against the stranger. They surrounded Marko, but he was +undismayed. Bravely he charged against them, his sword in +his right hand, his spear in his left, and the reins held between +his teeth.</p> + +<p>Every knight he touched with either sword or spear fell +instantly to the ground, and when Vuca, the general, wholly +dismayed, tried to escape on his fiery Arabian horse, Marko +followed him, threw him, bound him, and led him to the place +where his son lay. Then he bound the two together, tossed +them on the saddle of the Arabian horse and rode home. +There he put them in prison.</p> + +<p>Hearing this, the wife of the general wrote a letter to Marko, +begging for mercy for her husband and son. Marko promised +to release them on condition that she release Milos and his +brothers. This she did, honoring them and making them +rich presents.</p> + +<p>"Now, for the love of Heaven," said she, "see that my +husband and my son return to me."</p> + +<p>"Never fear," answered Milos. "Give me the general's +black horse; adorn him as the general adorned him; give me +a golden chariot with twelve horses, such as the general rides +in when he journeys to the emperor in Vienna; and give me +the robe that the general wears on state occasions."</p> + +<p>The wife provided all that he asked, and gave the prisoners +for themselves a thousand ducats. Then they rode away.</p> + +<p>Marko welcomed them, released the general and his son and +provided them with a strong body-guard back to Varadin. Then +Milos and his brothers divided the ducats among them, kissed the +hand of the king's son, and rode away into their own country.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE DECISION OF LIBUSCHA</h2> + + +<p>There dwelt once in the neighborhood of Grünberg Castle +in Bohemia two brothers—Staglow and Chrudis, of the distinguished +family of Klemowita—and these two had fallen +into a fierce dispute over the inheritance of their father's +lands. The older son Chrudis thought that he should inherit +all of the estate—and that is the custom in some countries, +you know—while the younger son, Staglow, declared that the +property should be equally divided.</p> + +<p>Now it happened that a sister of the princess Libuscha +Vyched lived at the court. She entreated the princess to settle +the quarrel according to law.</p> + +<p>The princess yielded to her wish, and decided that the +brothers should either inherit their father's estate jointly or +divide it into equal shares.</p> + +<p>All the lords of the country assembled to hear the rendering +of the decision—brave knights from far and near. Chrudis +and Staglow, of course, were present, very curious to hear +what their princess would decide. Pungel of Hadio, proclaimed +far and wide as the bravest of all the knights of +Bohemia, was also among the company.</p> + +<p>The princess herself rendered the decision, standing in white +robes before her people. The two brothers stood near, and +scarcely had the last word been uttered when the knight +Chrudis, who, as first-born, claimed the estate for himself, +sprang excitedly to his feet, mocking and insulting the princess. +"Poor people," he said, addressing the assembly, "I am +sorry for you who have to be ruled over by a girl."</p> + +<p><a name="Illus22" id="Illus22"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 273px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_22.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_22th.jpg" width="273" height="400" +alt="A woman dressed in white robes stands, surrounded by other people. +Two men stand in front of her. One, his cloak thrown to the ground, gestures +at the woman." +title="LIBUSCHA INSULTED BY CHRUDIS" /></a> +<span class="caption">LIBUSCHA INSULTED BY CHRUDIS</span> +</div> + +<p>Deeply grieved, the maiden-princess Libuscha rose, explaining<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> +that she would no longer rule alone. She commanded +the people to choose her a husband.</p> + +<p>"No matter whom you choose," she declared, "I will abide +by your decision."</p> + +<p>Thereupon the assembled subjects cried out that they would +have Pungel of Hadio as prince; and Libuscha, stepping +toward him, extended her hand to him in token of her agreement.</p> + +<p>Thus did Pungel become the liege lord of the Bohemian +nobles.</p> + +<p>No one knows how long ago all this happened, for the +manuscript that tells the story was very old when it was +discovered in the year 1817. It had lain for many, many +years among other old documents in the great chests that lined +the walls of the courtroom in the ancient Castle Grünberg +in Bohemia. The manuscript is now in a great museum in +Prague, and perhaps, some day, when you go there, you will +see it for yourself.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span></p> + +<h2>COUNT ROLAND OF FRANCE</h2> + + +<p>The trumpets sounded and the army went on its way to +France. The next day King Charles called his lords together. +"You see," said he, "these narrow passes. Whom shall I +place to command the rear-guard? Choose you a man yourselves."</p> + +<p>Said Ganelon, "Whom should we choose but my son-in-law, +Count Roland? You have no man in your host so +valiant. Of a truth he will be the salvation of France."</p> + +<p>The King said when he heard these words, "What ails +you, Ganelon? You look like to one possessed."</p> + +<p>When Count Roland knew what was proposed concerning +him, he spake out as a true knight should speak: "I am right +thankful to you, father-in-law, that you have caused me +to be put in this place. Of a truth the King of France shall +lose nothing by my means, neither charger, nor mule, nor +pack-horse, nor beast of burden."</p> + +<p>Then Roland turned to the King and said, "Give me twenty +thousand only, so they be men of valor, and I will keep the +passes in all safety. So long as I shall live, you need fear no +man."</p> + +<p>Then Roland mounted his horse. With him were Oliver, +his comrade, and Otho and Berenger, and Gerard of Roussillon, +an aged warrior, and others, men of renown. And Turpin +the Archbishop cried, "By my head, I will go also." So they +chose twenty thousand warriors with whom to keep the passes.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile King Charles had entered the valley of Roncesvalles. +High were the mountains on either side of the way, +and the valleys were gloomy and dark. But when the army<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> +had passed through the valley, they saw the fair land of +Gascony, and as they saw it they thought of their homes and +their wives and daughters. There was not one of them but +wept for very tenderness of heart. But of all that company +there was none sadder than the King himself, when he thought +how he had left his nephew Count Roland behind him in the +passes of Spain.</p> + +<p>And now the Saracen King Marsilas began to gather his +army. He laid a strict command on all his nobles and chiefs +that they should bring with them to Saragossa as many men as +they could gather together. And when they were come to +the city, it being the third day from the issuing of the King's +command, they saluted the great image of Mahomet, the false +prophet, that stood on the topmost tower. This done they +went forth from the city gates. They made all haste, marching +across the mountains and valleys of Spain till they came in +sight of the standard of France, where Roland and Oliver and +the Twelve Peers were ranged in battle array.</p> + +<p>The Saracen champions donned their coats of mail, of double +substance most of them, and they set upon their heads helmets +of Saragossa of well-tempered metal, and they girded themselves +with swords of Vienna. Fair were their shields to view; +their lances were from Valentia; their standards were of white, +blue, and red. Their mules they left with the servants, and, +mounting their chargers, so moved forwards. Fair was the +day and bright the sun, as their armor flashed in the light, and +the drums were beaten so loudly that the Frenchmen heard +the sound.</p> + +<p>Said Oliver to Roland, "Comrade, methinks we shall +soon do battle with the Saracens."</p> + +<p>"God grant it," answered Roland. "'Tis our duty to hold +the place for the King, and we will do it, come what may. +As for me, I will not set an ill example."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> +Oliver climbed to the top of a hill, and saw from thence +the whole army of the heathen. He cried to Roland his +companion, "I see the flashing of arms. We men of France +shall have no small trouble therefrom. This is the doing +of Ganelon the traitor."</p> + +<p>"Be silent," answered Roland, "till you shall know; say +no more about him."</p> + +<p>Oliver looked again from the hilltop, and saw how the +Saracens came on. So many there were that he could not +count their battalions. He descended to the plain with all +speed, and came to the array of the French, and said, "I have +seen more heathen than man ever yet saw together upon the +earth. There are a hundred thousand at the least. We shall +have such a battle with them as has never before been fought. +My brethren of France, quit you like men, be strong; stand +firm that you be not conquered." And all the army shouted +with one voice, "Cursed be he that shall fly."</p> + +<p>Then Oliver turned to Roland, and said, "Sound your +horn; my friend, Charles will hear it, and will return."</p> + +<p>"I were a fool," answered Roland, "so to do. Not so; but +I will deal these heathen some mighty blows with Durendal, +my sword. They have been ill-advised to venture into these +passes. I swear that they are condemned to death, one and +all."</p> + +<p>After a while, Oliver said again, "Friend Roland, sound your +horn of ivory. Then will the King return, and bring his +army with him, to our help." But Roland answered again, +"I will not do dishonor to my kinsmen, or to the fair land of +France. I have my sword; that shall suffice for me. These +evil-minded heathen are gathered together against us to their +own hurt. Surely not one of them shall escape from death."</p> + +<p>"As for me," said Oliver, "I see not where the dishonor +would be. I saw the valleys and the mountains covered with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> +the great multitude of Saracens. Theirs is, in truth, a mighty +array, and we are but few."</p> + +<p>"So much the better," answered Roland. "It makes +my courage grow. 'Tis better to die than to be disgraced. +And remember, the harder our blows the more the King will +love us."</p> + +<p>Roland was brave, but Oliver was wise. "Consider," +he said, "comrade. These enemies are over-near to us, +and the King over-far. Were he here, we should not be in +danger; but there are some here today who will never fight +in another battle."</p> + +<p>Then Turpin the Archbishop struck spurs into his horse, +and rode to a hilltop. Then he turned to the men of France, +and spake: "Lords of France, King Charles has left us here; +our King he is, and it is our duty to die for him. Today our +Christian Faith is in peril: do ye fight for it. Fight ye must; +be sure of that, for there under your eyes are the Saracens. +Confess, therefore, your sins, and pray to God that He have +mercy upon you. And now for your soul's health I will give +you all absolution. If you die, you will be God's martyrs, +every one of you, and your places are ready for you in His +Paradise."</p> + +<p>Thereupon the men of France dismounted, and knelt upon +the ground, and the Archbishop blessed them in God's name. +"But look," said he, "I set you a penance—smite these +pagans." Then the men of France rose to their feet. They +had received absolution, and were set free from all their sins, +and the Archbishop had blessed them in the name of God. +After this they mounted their swift steeds, and clad themselves +in armor, and made themselves ready for the battle.</p> + +<p>Said Roland to Oliver, "Brother, you know that it is Ganelon +who has betrayed us. Good store he has had of gold +and silver as a reward; 'tis the King Marsilas that has made<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> +merchandise of us, but verily it is with our swords that he +shall be paid." So saying, he rode on to the pass, mounted +on his good steed Veillantif. His spear he held with the point +to the sky; a white flag it bore with fringes of gold which fell +down to his hands. A stalwart man was he, and his countenance +was fair and smiling. Behind him followed Oliver, his +friend; and the men of France pointed to him, saying, "See +our champion!" Pride was in his eye when he looked towards +the Saracens; but to the men of France his regard was all +sweetness and humility. Full courteously he spake to them:</p> + +<p>"Ride not so fast, my lords," he said; "verily these heathen +are come hither, seeking martyrdom. 'Tis a fair spoil that +we shall gather from them today. Never has King of France +gained any so rich." And as he spake, the two hosts came +together.</p> + +<p>Said Oliver, "You did not deem it fit, my lord, to sound +your horn. Therefore you lack the help which the King +would have sent. Not his the blame, for he knows nothing +of what has chanced. But do you, lords of France, charge +as fiercely as you may, and yield not one whit to the enemy. +Think upon these two things only—how to deal a straight +blow and to take it. And let us not forget King Charles' +cry of battle."</p> + +<p>Then all the men of France with one voice cried out, +"Mountjoy!" He that heard them so cry had never doubted +that they were men of valor. Proud was their array as they +rode on to battle, spurring their horses that they might speed +the more. And the Saracens, on their part, came forward +with a good heart. Thus did the Frenchmen and the heathen +meet in the shock of battle.</p> + +<p>Full many of the heathen warriors fell that day. Not +one of the Twelve Peers of France but slew his man. But +of all none bore himself so valiantly as Roland. Many a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> +blow did he deal to the enemy with his mighty spear, and when +the spear was shivered in his hand, fifteen warriors having +fallen before it, then he seized his good sword Durendal, and +smote man after man to the ground. Red was he with the +blood of his enemies, red was his hauberk, red his arms, red +his shoulders, aye, and the neck of his horse. Not one of +the Twelve lingered in the rear, or was slow to strike, but +Count Roland was the bravest of the brave. "Well done, +sons of France!" cried Turpin the Archbishop, when he saw +them lay on in such sort.</p> + +<p>Next to Roland for valor and hardihood came Oliver, his +companion. Many a heathen warrior did he slay, till at last +his spear was shivered in his hand. "What are you doing, +comrade?" cried Roland, when he was aware of the mishap. +"A man wants no staff in such a battle as this. 'Tis the steel +and nothing else that he must have. Where is your sword +Hautclere, with its hilt of gold and its pommel of crystal?"</p> + +<p>"On my word," said Oliver, "I have not had time to draw +it; I was so busy with striking." But as he spake he drew +the good sword from its scabbard, and smote a heathen knight, +Justin of the Iron Valley. A mighty blow it was, cleaving +the man in twain down to his saddle—aye, and the saddle +itself with its adorning of gold and jewels, and the very +backbone also of the steed whereon he rode, so that horse and +man fell dead together on the plains. "Well done!" cried +Roland; "you are a true brother of mine. 'Tis such strokes +as this that make the King love us."</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, for all the valor of Roland and his fellows +the battle went hard with the men of France. Many lances +were shivered, many flags torn, and many gallant youths cut +off in their prime. Never more would they see mother and +wife. It was an ill deed that the traitor Ganelon wrought when +he sold his fellows to King Marsilas!</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> +And now there befell a new trouble. King Almaris, with +a great host of heathen, coming by an unknown way, fell +upon the rear of the host where there was another pass. +Fiercely did the noble Walter that kept the same charge the +newcomers, but they overpowered him and his followers. +He was wounded with four several lances, and four times did +he swoon, so that at the last he was constrained to leave the +field of battle, that he might call the Count Roland to his aid. +But small was the aid which Roland could give him or any one. +Valiantly he held up the battle, and with him Oliver, and +Turpin the Archbishop, and others also; but the lines of the +men of France were broken, and their armor thrust through +and their spears shivered, and their flags trodden in the dust. +For all this they made such slaughter among the heathen that +King Almaris, who led the armies of the enemy, scarcely +could win back his way to his own people, wounded in four +places and sorely spent. A right good warrior was he; had +he but been a Christian, but few had matched him in battle.</p> + +<p>Count Roland saw how grievously his people had suffered +and spake thus to Oliver his comrade: "Dear comrade, you +see how many brave men lie dead upon the ground. Well +may we mourn for fair France, widowed as she is of so many +valiant champions. But why is our King not here? O +Oliver, my brother, what shall we do to send him tidings of +our state?" "I know not," answered Oliver. "Only this +I know—that death is to be chosen rather than dishonor."</p> + +<p>After a while Roland said again, "I shall blow my horn; +King Charles will hear it, where he has encamped beyond the +passes, and he and his host will come back."</p> + +<p>"That would be ill done," answered Oliver, "and shame +both you and your race. When I gave you this counsel you +would have none of it. Now I like it not. 'Tis not for a +brave man to sound the horn and cry for help now that we +are in such case."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> +"The battle is too hard for us," said Roland again, "and +I shall sound my horn, that the King may hear."</p> + +<p>And Oliver answered again, "When I gave you this +counsel, you scorned it. Now I myself like it not. 'Tis +true that had the King been here, we had not suffered this +loss. But the blame is not his. 'Tis your folly, Count +Roland, that has done to death all these men of France. +But for that we should have conquered in this battle, and +have taken and slain King Marsilas. But now we can do +nothing for France and the King. We can but die. Woe +is me for our country, aye, and for our friendship, which +will come to a grievous end this day."</p> + +<p>The Archbishop perceived that the two friends were at +variance, and spurred his horse till he came where they stood. +"Listen to me," he said, "Sir Roland and Sir Oliver. I +implore you not to fall out with each other in this fashion. +We, sons of France, that are in this place, are of a truth condemned +to death, neither will the sounding of your horn +save us, for the King is far away, and cannot come in time. +Nevertheless, I hold it to be well that you should sound it. +When the King and his army shall come, they will find us +dead—that I know full well. But they will avenge us, so that +our enemies shall not go away rejoicing. And they will also +recover our bodies, and will carry them away for burial in +holy places, so that the dogs and wolves shall not devour +them."</p> + +<p>"You say well," cried Roland, and he put his horn to +his lips, and gave so mighty a blast upon it, that the sound +was heard thirty leagues away. King Charles and his men +heard it, and the King said, "Our countrymen are fighting +with the enemy." But Ganelon answered, "Sire, had any +but you so spoken, I had said that he spoke falsely."</p> + +<p>Then Roland blew his horn a second time; with great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> +pain and anguish of body he blew it, and the red blood gushed +from his lips; but the sound was heard yet farther than at +first. Again the King heard it, and all his nobles, and all +his men. "That," said he, "is Roland's horn; he never had +sounded it were he not in battle with the enemy." But +Ganelon answered again: "Believe me, Sire, there is no battle. +You are an old man, and you have the fancies of a child. +You know what a mighty man of valor is this Roland. Think +you that any one would dare to attack him? No one, of a +truth. Ride on, Sire; why halt you here? The fair land of +France is yet far away."</p> + +<p>Roland blew his horn a third time, and when the King +heard it he said, "He that blew that horn drew a deep breath." +And Duke Naymes cried out, "Roland is in trouble; on my +conscience he is fighting with the enemy. Some one has +betrayed him; 'tis he, I doubt not, that would deceive you +now. To arms, Sire! utter your war-cry, and help your +own house and your country. You have heard the cry of the +noble Roland."</p> + +<p>Then King Charles bade all the trumpets sound, and forthwith +all the men of France armed themselves, with helmets, +and hauberks, and swords with pommels of gold. Mighty were +their shields, and their lances strong, and the flags that they +carried were white and red and blue. And when they made +an end of their arming they rode back with all haste. There +was not one of them but said to his comrade, "If we find +Roland yet alive, what mighty strokes will we strike for him!"</p> + +<p>But Ganelon the King handed over to the knaves of his +kitchen. "Take this traitor," said he, "who has sold his +country." Ill did Ganelon fare among them. They pulled +out his hair and his beard and smote him with their staves; +then they put a great chain, such as that with which a bear is +bound, about his neck, and made him fast to a pack-horse.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> +This done, the King and his army hastened with all speed +to the help of Roland. In the van and the rear sounded the +trumpets as though they would answer Roland's horn. Full +of wrath was King Charles as he rode; full of wrath were all +the men of France. There was not one among them but +wept and sobbed; there was not one but prayed, "Now, may +God keep Roland alive till we come to the battle-field, so that +we may strike a blow for him." Alas! it was all in vain; +they could not come in time for all their speed.</p> + +<p>Count Roland looked round on the mountain-sides and on +the plains. Alas! how many noble sons of France he saw lying +dead upon them! "Dear friends," he said, weeping as he +spoke, "may God have mercy on you and receive you into +His Paradise! More loyal followers have I never seen. How +is the fair land of France widowed of her bravest, and I can +give you no help. Oliver, dear comrade, we must not part. +If the enemy slay me not here, surely I shall be slain by sorrow. +Come then, let us smite these heathen."</p> + +<p>Thus did Roland again charge the enemy, his good sword +Durendal in his hand; as the stag flies before the hounds, so +did the heathen fly before Roland. "By my faith," cried +the Archbishop when he saw him, "that is a right good knight! +Such courage, and such a steed, and such arms I love well to +see. If a man be not brave and a stout fighter, he had better +by far be a monk in some cloister where he may pray all day +long for our sins."</p> + +<p>Now the heathen, when they saw how few the Frenchmen +were, took fresh courage. And the Caliph, spurring his horse, +rode against Oliver and smote him in the middle of his back, +making his spear pass right through him. "That is a shrewd +blow," he cried; "I have avenged my friends and countrymen +upon you."</p> + +<p>Then Oliver knew he was stricken to death, but he would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> +not fall unavenged. With his great sword Hautclere he +smote the Caliph on his head and cleft it to the teeth. "Curse +on you, pagan. Neither your wife nor any woman in the land +of your birth shall boast that you have taken a penny's worth +from King Charles!" But to Roland he cried, "Come, +comrade, help me; well I know that we two shall part in great +sorrow this day."</p> + +<p>Roland came with all speed, and saw his friend, how he +lay all pale and fainting on the ground and how the blood +gushed in great streams from his wound. "I know not what +to do," he cried. "This is an ill chance that has befallen you. +Truly France is bereaved of her bravest son." So saying +he went near to swoon in the saddle as he sat. Then there +befell a strange thing. Oliver had lost so much of his blood +that he could not any more see clearly or know who it was that +was near him. So he raised up his arm and smote with all +his strength that yet remained to him on the helmet of Roland +his friend. The helmet he cleft in twain to the visor; but +by good fortune it wounded not the head.</p> + +<p>Roland looked at him and said in a gentle voice, "Did +you this of set purpose? I am Roland your friend, and have +not harmed you."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Oliver, "I hear you speak, but I cannot see +you. Pardon me that I struck you; it was not done of set +purpose."</p> + +<p>"It harmed me not," answered Roland; "with all my +heart and before God I forgive you." And this was the way +these two friends parted at the last.</p> + +<p>And now Oliver felt the pains of death come over him. +He could no longer see nor hear. Therefore he turned his +thoughts to making his peace with God, and clasping his hands +lifted them to heaven and made his confession. "O Lord," +he said, "take me into Paradise. And do Thou bless King<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> +Charles and the sweet land of France." And when he had +said thus he died. And Roland looked at him as he lay. +There was not upon earth a more sorrowful man than he. +"Dear comrade," he said, "this is indeed an evil day. Many +a year have we two been together. Never have I done wrong +to you; never have you done wrong to me. How shall I +bear to live without you?" And he swooned where he sat +on his horse. But the stirrup held him up that he did not fall +to the ground.</p> + +<p>When Roland came to himself he looked about him and +saw how great was the calamity that had befallen his army. +For now there were left alive to him two only, Turpin the +Archbishop and Walter of Hum. Walter had but that moment +come down from the hills where he had been fighting so fiercely +with the heathen that all his men were dead; now he cried +to Roland for help. "Noble Count, where are you? I am +Walter of Hum, and am not unworthy to be your friend. Help +me therefore. For see how my spear is broken and my shield +cleft in twain. My hauberk is in pieces, and my body sorely +wounded. I am about to die; but I have sold my life at a +great price."</p> + +<p>When Roland heard him cry he set spurs to his horse and +galloped to him. "Walter," said he, "you are a brave warrior +and a trustworthy. Tell me now where are the thousand valiant +men whom you took from my army. They were right +good soldiers, and I am in sore need of them."</p> + +<p>"They are dead," answered Walter; "you will see them +no more. A sore battle we had with the Saracens yonder on +the hills; they had the men of Canaan there and the men of +Armenia and the Giants; there were no better men in their +army than these. We dealt with them so that they will not +boast themselves of this day's work. But it cost us dear; +all the men of France lie dead on the plain, and I am wounded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> +to the death. And now, Roland, blame me not that I fled; +for you are my lord, and all my trust is in you."</p> + +<p>"I blame you not," said Roland, "only as long as you live +help me against the heathen." And as he spake he took his +cloak and rent it into strips and bound up Walter's wounds +therewith. This done he and Walter and the Archbishop +set fiercely on the enemy. Five-and-twenty did Roland slay, +and Walter slew six, and the Archbishop five. Three valiant +men of war they were; fast and firm they stood one by the +other; hundreds there were of the heathen, but they dared +not come near to these three valiant champions of France. +They stood far off, and cast at the three spears and darts and +javelins and weapons of every kind. Walter of Hum was +slain forthwith; and the Archbishop's armor was broken, +and he wounded, and his horse slain under him. Nevertheless +he lifted himself from the ground, still keeping a good heart +in his breast. "They have not overcome me yet," said he; +"as long as a good soldier lives, he does not yield."</p> + +<p>Roland took his horn once more and sounded it, for he +would know whether King Charles were coming. Ah me! +it was a feeble blast that he blew. But the King heard it, +and he halted and listened. "My lords!" said he, "things +go ill for us, I doubt not. Today we shall lose, I fear me +much, my brave nephew Roland. I know by the sound of his +horn that he has but a short time to live. Put your horses +to their full speed, if you would come in time to help him, and +let a blast be sounded by every trumpet that there is in the +army." So all the trumpets in the host sounded a blast; +all the valleys and hills re-echoed with the sound; sore discouraged +were the heathen when they heard it.</p> + +<p>"King Charles has come again," they cried; "we are all as +dead men. When he comes he shall not find Roland alive." +Then four hundred of them, the strongest and most valiant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> +knights that were in the army of the heathen, gathered themselves +into one company, and made a yet fiercer assault on +Roland.</p> + +<p>Roland saw them coming, and waited for them without +fear. So long as he lived he would not yield himself to the +enemy or give place to them. "Better death than flight," +said he, as he mounted his good steed Veillantif, and rode +towards the enemy. And by his side went Turpin the Archbishop +on foot. Then said Roland to Turpin, "I am on horseback +and you are on foot. But let us keep together; never +will I leave you; we two will stand against these heathen dogs. +They have not, I warrant, among them such a sword as +Durendal."</p> + +<p>"Good," answered the Archbishop. "Shame to the man +who does not smite his hardest. And though this be our +last battle, I know well that King Charles will take ample +vengeance for us."</p> + +<p>When the heathen saw these two stand together they +fell back in fear and hurled at them spears and darts and +javelins without number. Roland's shield they broke and +his hauberk; but him they hurt not; nevertheless they did +him a grievous injury, for they killed his good steed Veillantif. +Thirty wounds did Veillantif receive, and he fell dead under +his master. At last the Archbishop was stricken and Roland +stood alone, for the heathen had fled from his presence.</p> + +<p>When Roland saw that the Archbishop was dead, his heart +was sorely troubled in him. Never did he feel a greater +sorrow for comrade slain, save Oliver only. "Charles of +France," he said, "come as quickly as you may! Many a gallant +knight have you lost in Roncesvalles. But King Marsilas, +on his part, has lost his army. For one that has fallen on this +side there have fallen full forty on that." So saying he turned +to the Archbishop; he crossed the dead man's hands upon his +breast and said, "I commit thee to the Father's mercy. Never<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> +has man served God with a better will, never since the beginning +of the world has there lived a sturdier champion of the +faith. May God be good to you and give you all good things!"</p> + +<p>Now Roland felt that his own death was near at hand. +In one hand he took his horn, and in the other his good sword +Durendal, and made his way the distance of a furlong or so +till he came to a plain, and in the midst of the plain a little +hill. On the top of the hill in the shade of two fair trees +were four marble steps. There Roland fell in a swoon upon +the grass. There a certain Saracen spied him. The fellow +had feigned death, and had laid himself down among the slain, +having covered his body and his face with blood. When he +saw Roland, he raised himself from where he was lying among +the slain and ran to the place, and, being full of pride and fury, +seized the Count in his arms, crying aloud, "He is conquered, +he is conquered, he is conquered, the famous nephew of King +Charles! See, here is his sword; 'tis a noble spoil that I +shall carry back with me to Arabia." Thereupon he took the +sword in one hand, with the other he laid hold of Roland's +beard.</p> + +<p>But as the man laid hold, Roland came to himself, +and knew that some one was taking his sword from him. +He opened his eyes but not a word did he speak save this +only, "Fellow, you are none of ours," and he smote him a +mighty blow upon his helmet. The steel he brake through +and the head beneath, and laid the man dead at his feet. +"Coward," he said, "what made you so bold that you dared +lay hands on Roland? Whosoever knows him will think you +a fool for your deed."</p> + +<p><a name="Illus23" id="Illus23"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_23.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_23th.jpg" width="274" height="400" +alt="An armoured man, surrounded by the bodies of men and horses, leans +against a wall of rock clutching a wound in his chest." +title="ROLAND'S OWN DEATH WAS VERY NEAR" /></a> +<span class="caption">ROLAND'S OWN DEATH WAS VERY NEAR</span> +</div> + +<p>And now Roland knew that death was near at hand. He +raised himself and gathered all his strength together—ah me! +how pale his face was!—and took in his hand his good sword +Durendal. Before him was a great rock and on this in his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> +rage and pain he smote ten mighty blows. Loud rang the +steel upon the stone; but it neither brake nor splintered. +"Help me," he cried, "O Mary, our Lady! O my good sword, +my Durendal, what an evil lot is mine! In the day when I +must part with you, my power over you is lost. Many a +battle I have won with your help; and many a kingdom have I +conquered, that my lord Charles possesses this day. Never +has any one possessed you that would fly before another. +So long as I live, you shall not be taken from me, so long have +you been in the hands of a loyal knight."</p> + +<p>Then he smote a second time with the sword, this time +upon the marble steps. Loud rang the steel, but neither +brake nor splintered. Then Roland began to bemoan himself. +"O my good Durendal," he said, "how bright and clear thou +art, shining as shines the sun! Well I mind me of the day +when a voice that seemed to come from heaven bade King +Charles give thee to a valiant captain; and forthwith the +good King girded it on my side. Many a land have I conquered +with thee for him, and now how great is my grief! +Can I die and leave thee to be handled by some heathen?" +And the third time he smote a rock with it. Loud rang the +steel, but it brake not, bounding back as though it would +rise to the sky. And when Count Roland saw that he could +not break the sword, he spake again but with more content +in his heart. "O Durendal," he said, "a fair sword art thou, +and holy as fair. There are holy relics in thy hilt, relics of +St. Peter and St. Denis and St. Basil. These heathen shall +never possess thee; nor shalt thou be held but by a Christian +hand."</p> + +<p>And now Roland knew that death was very near to him. +He laid himself down with his head upon the grass, putting +under him his horn and his sword, with his face turned towards +the heathen foe. Ask you why he did so? To show, forsooth,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> +to Charlemagne and the men of France that he died in the +midst of victory. This done, he made a loud confession of +his sins, stretching his hand to heaven, "Forgive me, Lord," +he cried, "my sins, little and great, all that I have committed +since the day of my birth to this hour in which I am stricken +to death." So he prayed; and, as he lay, he thought of +many things, of the countries which he had conquered, and of +his dear fatherland France, and of his kinsfolk, and of the +good King Charles. Nor, as he thought, could he keep himself +from sighs and tears; yet one thing he remembered beyond +all others—to pray for forgiveness of his sins. "O Lord," +he said, "who art the God of truth, and didst save Daniel +Thy prophet from the lions, do Thou save my soul and defend +it against all perils!" So speaking he raised his right hand, +with the gauntlet yet upon it, to the sky, and his head fell +back upon his arm and the angels carried him to heaven. +So died the great Count Roland.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE CID</h2> + +<p><a name="Illus24" id="Illus24"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;"> +<a href="images/maloan_24.jpg"> +<img src="images/maloan_24th.jpg" width="274" height="400" +alt="In a richly decorated room, a young man draws his sword to confront an +older man, while three others look on." +title="THE YOUTHFUL CID AVENGING THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER" /></a> +<span class="caption">THE YOUTHFUL CID AVENGING THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER</span> +</div> + + +<p>Unlike some of the other heroes told about in this book, +the Cid was a real man, whose name was Rodrigo Diaz, or +Ruydiez. He was born in Burgos in the eleventh century +and won the name of "Cid," which means "Conqueror," +by defeating five Moorish kings. This happened after Spain +had been in the hands of the Arabs for more than three +hundred years, so it is small wonder that the Spaniards +looked upon their hero as a very remarkable man.</p> + +<p>When Rodrigo was still a youth, his father, Diego Laynez, +was grossly insulted by Don Gomez. The custom in those +days was to avenge such an insult by slaying the offender; +but Diego was too old and feeble to bear arms. When he +finally told his son of the wrong, Rodrigo sought out Don +Gomez and challenged him to fight. So bravely and skilfully +did Rodrigo manage his weapons that he slew his +father's enemy. Then he cut off the head and carried it +to Diego.</p> + +<p>Soon after this Diego bade his son do homage at King +Ferdinand's court. Rodrigo appeared before the king, but +his bearing was so defiant that Ferdinand was frightened, +and banished him.</p> + +<p>Rodrigo departed with three hundred followers, encountered +some Moors, who were invading Castile, defeated them +and took five of their kings captive, releasing them only +after they had promised to pay tribute and to refrain from +further warfare. It was these kings who first called him +"Cid."</p> + +<p>In return for his brave service Rodrigo was restored to +favor and given place among the king's courtiers.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> +One day Dona Ximena, daughter of Don Gomez, appeared +and demanded justice from the king. Recognizing Rodrigo +among the courtiers, she called to him to slay her also. But +both demand and cry were unheeded, for the king had been +too well served by Rodrigo to listen to any accusation +against him.</p> + +<p>Three times the maiden returned with the same request, +and each time she came she heard greater praise of the +young hero. At last she decided to alter her demand. A +fourth time she returned, consenting to forego all thoughts +of vengeance if the king would order the young hero to marry +her. The Cid was very willing, for he had learned to love +the girl, admiring her beauty and spirit.</p> + +<p>The marriage was celebrated with great pomp and the +king gave Rodrigo four cities as a marriage portion. Rodrigo, +vowing that he would not be worthy of his wife until +he had won five battles, after a pious pilgrimage to the shrine +of the patron saint, hastened off to Calahorra, a frontier town +claimed by two kings—the kings of Castile and Oregon.</p> + +<p>It had been decided that the dispute over the town should +be settled by combat. Rodrigo became the champion of +Ferdinand of Castile. The other champion, Martin Gonzalez, +began, as soon as the combat opened, to taunt the +Cid.</p> + +<p>"Never again will you mount your favorite steed Babieça," +he said, "never will you return to your castle; never will +you see your beloved Ximena again."</p> + +<p>But the Cid was undaunted, and had soon laid his enemy +low. Great praise then was given to the Cid—so great that +the knights of Castile were jealous and plotted to kill him. +But the Moorish kings whom he had captured and released +warned him in time to avert the danger.</p> + +<p>Then the Cid aided Ferdinand in defeating the hostile<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> +Moors in Estremadura, after a siege of Coimbra lasting +seven months. Several other victories over his country's +enemies were added to this, and then Rodrigo returned to +his beloved wife.</p> + +<p>But not for long was he permitted to remain in the quiet +of home. Henry III, Emperor of Germany, complained to +the Pope that King Ferdinand had refused to acknowledge +his superiority. The Pope sent a message to Ferdinand, +demanding homage and tribute. The demand angered both +Ferdinand and the Cid.</p> + +<p>"Never yet have we done homage," cried the Cid, "and +shall we now bow to a stranger?"</p> + +<p>A proud refusal was then sent to the Pope, and he, knowing +of no better way to settle the dispute, bade Henry send +a champion to meet Rodrigo. The emperor's champion +was, of course, defeated, and all of Ferdinand's enemies were +so awed by the outcome of the fight that none ever again +demanded homage or tribute. Rodrigo was, indeed, a very +useful subject. When Ferdinand died, he was succeeded +by his son, Don Sancho. The latter, planning a visit to +Rome, selected the Cid to accompany him. Arriving, they +found that in the preparations that had been made for their +reception a lower seat had been prepared for Don Sancho +than for the King of France. The Cid would not suffer +such a slight, and became so violent that the Pope excommunicated +him. Nevertheless, the seats were made of equal +height, and the Cid, who was a good Catholic, humbled +himself before the Pope and was forgiven.</p> + +<p>It was an age of great wars, and the Cid aided his king +in many a brave fight. At last, in the siege of Zamora, the +king was treacherously murdered, and, as he had no sons, +Don Alfonso, his brother, succeeded. When he arrived at +Zamora the Cid refused to acknowledge Alfonso until he should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> +swear that he had no part in the murder. The king, angered +by the Cid's attitude, plotted revenge. Opportunity came +during a war with the Moors, and the Cid was banished +upon a slight pretext.</p> + +<p>"I obey, O king," replied the Cid, when he heard the +decree. "I am more ready to serve you than you are to +reward me. I pray that you may never more in battle +need the right arm and sword that so often served your +father."</p> + +<p>Then the Cid rode away, through a crowd of weeping +people, and camped outside of the city until he could make +definite plans. The people longed to bring him food or +offer him shelter, but they feared the displeasure of the +king. One old man, however, crept outside of the city with +food, declaring that he cared "not a fig" for Alfonso's +commands.</p> + +<p>The Cid needed money, and to get it he pledged two locked +coffers to some Jews. The Jews in those days were much +despised by the Christians, though usually very wealthy. +The men, thinking that the boxes contained vast treasures, +when in reality they were filled with sand, advanced the +Cid 600 marks of gold. Then the hero bade farewell to his +wife and children and rode away, vowing that he would +return, covered with glory and carrying with him rich spoils.</p> + +<p>Within two weeks' time the Cid and his little band of +followers had captured two Moorish strongholds and carried +off much spoil. The Cid then prepared a truly royal present +and sent it to the king. Alfonso, upon receiving the gift, +pardoned the Cid, and published an edict permitting all +who wished to join in the fight against the Moors to join +Rodrigo and his band.</p> + +<p>Toledo, thanks to the valor of the Cid, soon fell into the +hands of Alfonso, but a misunderstanding arose and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> +king insulted the Cid. The latter, in great rage, left the +army and made a sudden raid on Castile. Then the Moors, +knowing that the Cid had departed, took courage and captured +Valencia. But the Cid, hearing of the disaster, +promptly returned, recaptured the city, and sent a message +to Alfonso asking for his wife and daughters. At the same +time he sent more than the promised sum of money to the +Jews, who up to this time had not learned that the coffers +were filled with sand. To the messenger he said:</p> + +<p>"Tell them, that although they can find nothing in the +coffers but sand, they will find that the pure gold of my +truth lies beneath the sand."</p> + +<p>As the Cid was now master of Valencia, and of vast wealth, +his daughters were sought in marriage by many suitors, +and the marriage of both girls was celebrated with great +splendor. But the Counts of Carrion, their husbands, were +not brave men like the Cid, and after lingering at Valencia +in idleness for two years, their weakness was clearly shown.</p> + +<p>One evening while the Cid was sleeping, a lion broke loose +from his private menagerie and entered the room where he +lay. The two princes, who were playing in the room, fled, +one in his haste falling into an empty vat, and the other +taking refuge behind the Cid's couch. The roaring of the +lion wakened the Cid, and jumping up he seized his sword, +caught the lion by the mane, led it back to its cage, and +calmly returned to his place.</p> + +<p>The cowardly conduct of the Counts of Carrion roused +the anger of the Cid's followers, and in the siege of Valencia +that followed their conduct brought only contempt. When +the Moors were finally driven away the counts asked permission +to return home with their brides and gifts.</p> + +<p>So the Cid parted from his daughters, weeping at the +loss. The procession started. The first morning the counts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> +sent their escorts ahead, and, left alone with their wives, +stripped them of their garments, beat them and kicked them, +and left them for dead. But Felez Muñoz, a loyal follower +of the Cid's, riding back, found the two wives, bound up +their wounds and obtained shelter for them in the house of +a poor man whose wife and daughters promised to nurse +them. Then he rode on to tell the Cid. The Cid swore that +he would be avenged, and as Alfonso was responsible for the +marriage, he applied to him for redress.</p> + +<p>The king, who had long since forgiven the Cid and learned +to value his services, was very angry. A battle was finally +arranged. The Counts of Carrion and their uncle were +defeated and banished, and the Cid returned in triumph to +Valencia. Here his daughters' second marriage took place.</p> + +<p>The Moors returned five years later, and the Cid was +prepared to meet them when he received a vision of St. +Peter, predicting that he would die within thirty days, but +that even though dead he would triumph over his enemy. +He accordingly made preparations for his death, and after +appointing a successor, he gave instructions that none should +weep over his death, and that his body when embalmed +should be set upon his horse, Babieça, and that, with his +sword Tizona in his hand, he should be led on a certain day +against the enemy.</p> + +<p>The hero died and his successor together with his wife +Ximena strove to carry out his instructions. A battle was +planned, and the Cid, strapped upon his war horse, rode in +the van. The Moors, filled with terror, fled before him.</p> + +<p>After the victory the body was placed in the Church of +San Pedro de Cardeña, where for ten years it remained +seated, in plain view of all.</p> + + +<div class="bbox"> +<p><b>Transcriber's Notes:</b></p> + +<p>Minor printer errors (omitted or incorrect punctuation) have been +amended without note. Minor inconsistencies in hyphenation have been +resolved where possible, or retained where there was no way to determine +which was correct, again without note. Other errors have been amended, +and have a <ins class="correction" title="like this">faint grey dotted +underline</ins>. Hover your mouse over these words to see the original +text or a note about the amendment. The list of amendments is also +included below.</p> + +<p>Illustrations have been shifted slightly so that they do not fall in +the middle of paragraphs. The frontispiece illustration has been moved +to follow the title page, and the cover illustration has had the +caption from the List of Illustrations added. Minor punctuation +variations between the List of Illustrations and illustration captions +have been made consistent without note. Click on the illustrations to see +a larger image.</p> + +<p>Some of the earlier tales use Greek mythological names, while others +use the Roman equivalent (for example, Poseidon or Neptune, Ares or Mars). +Some Greek names use a Latin spelling (for example, Thermiscira rather than +Thermiscyra), or have differing spelling in different tales (for +example Hera and Heré). These have been left unchanged, except where +there was an obvious error.</p> + + +<p><b>List of Amendments:</b></p> + +<p>Page <a href="#Page_11">11</a>—Delhi amended to Delphi—"So +he traveled to Delphi ..."</p> + +<p>Page <a href="#Page_35">35</a>—Petraus amended to +Petraeus—"... pierced a mighty Centaur, Petraeus, ..."</p> + +<p>Page <a href="#Page_102">102</a>—stomaches amended to +stomachs—"... furnaces in their stomachs had likewise been +extinguished, ..."</p> + +<p>Page <a href="#Page_134">134</a>—Agammenon amended to +Agamemnon—"Then said King Agamemnon, "But how ...""</p> + +<p>Page <a href="#Page_219">219</a>—Brunhild amended to +Kriemhild—"Kriemhild promised to obey his instructions, ..."</p> +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF ALL NATIONS ***</div> +<div style='text-align:left'> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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