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+The Project Gutenberg eBook of Myths and Legends of All Nations
+
+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
+www.gutenberg.org. 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.
+
+Title: Myths and Legends of All Nations
+       Famous Stories from the Greek, German, English, Spanish, Scandinavian, Danish, French, Russian, Bohemian, Italian and other sources
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: Logan Marshall
+
+Translator: Logan Marshall
+
+Release Date: March 4, 2007 [eBook #20740]
+[Most recently updated: May 6, 2023]
+
+Language: English
+
+Produced by: Juliet Sutherland, Sam W. and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF ALL NATIONS ***
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: ELSA ON HER KNEES BEFORE LOHENGRIN]
+
+
+
+
+              MYTHS AND LEGENDS
+               OF ALL NATIONS
+
+
+               FAMOUS STORIES
+
+  FROM THE GREEK, GERMAN, ENGLISH, SPANISH
+        SCANDINAVIAN, DANISH, FRENCH
+         RUSSIAN, BOHEMIAN, ITALIAN
+             AND OTHER SOURCES
+
+
+          TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY
+               LOGAN MARSHALL
+
+
+                ILLUSTRATED
+        WITH ORIGINAL COLORED PLATES
+
+
+ THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA
+
+
+PRINTED IN U. S. A.
+
+[Illustration: THEN ARTHUR DREW OUT THE SWORD AND WAS PROCLAIMED KING]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+The imagination of the ancients had few if any bounds, and 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.
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+PROMETHEUS THE FRIEND OF MAN                                         7
+
+THE LABORS OF HERCULES                                              11
+_From the German of Gustav Schwab._
+
+DEUCALION AND PYRRHA                                                29
+_From the German of Gustav Schwab._
+
+THESEUS AND THE CENTAUR                                             33
+_From the German of Gustav Schwab._
+
+NIOBE                                                               37
+_From the German of Gustav Schwab._
+
+THE GORGON'S HEAD                                                   41
+_From Hawthorne's "Wonder Book."_
+
+THE GOLDEN FLEECE                                                   67
+_From Hawthorne's "Tanglewood Tales."_
+
+THE CYCLOPS                                                        106
+_From Church's "Stories from Homer."_
+
+ŒDIPUS AND THE SPHINX                                           116
+_Adapted from Church's "Stories from Greek Tragedians."_
+
+ANTIGONE, A FAITHFUL DAUGHTER AND SISTER                           118
+_Adapted from Church's "Stories from Greek Tragedians."_
+
+THE STORY OF IPHIGENIA                                             131
+_From Church's "Stories from Greek Tragedians."_
+
+THE SACK OF TROY                                                   153
+_From Church's "Stories from Virgil."_
+
+BEOWULF AND GRENDEL                                                164
+_From Joyce Pollard's "Stories from Old English Romance."_
+
+THE GOOD KING ARTHUR                                               179
+
+THE GREAT KNIGHT SIEGFRIED                                         214
+
+LOHENGRIN AND ELSA THE BEAUTIFUL                                   221
+_From the German of Robert Hertwig._
+
+FRITHIOF THE BOLD                                                  226
+_From the German of Robert Hertwig._
+
+WAYLAND THE SMITH                                                  231
+_From the German of Robert Hertwig._
+
+TWARDOWSKI, THE POLISH FAUST                                       237
+
+ILIA MUROMEC OF RUSSIA                                             243
+
+KRALEWITZ MARKO OF SERVIA                                          245
+
+THE DECISION OF LIBUSCHA                                           248
+
+COUNT ROLAND OF FRANCE                                             250
+_From Church's "Stories of Charlemagne and the Peers of France."_
+
+THE CID                                                            267
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR
+
+
+_Lohengrin and Elsa the Beautiful._
+  Elsa on Her Knees Before Lohengrin                           _Cover_
+
+_The Good King Arthur._
+  Then Arthur Drew Out the Sword and was
+    Proclaimed King                                     _Frontispiece_
+
+_Prometheus, the Friend of Man._                                  PAGE
+  Prometheus Punished for His Gift to Man                            9
+
+_The Labors of Hercules._
+  The Hero Approached the Dreadful Monster                          19
+
+_Deucalion and Pyrrha._
+  Deucalion and Pyrrha Casting the Bones of
+    Their Mother Behind Them                                        31
+
+_Theseus and the Centaur._
+  The Centaur Fell Backward                                         35
+
+_Niobe._
+  Niobe Weeping for Her Children                                    40
+
+_The Gorgon's Head._
+  Perseus Slaying the Medusa                                        60
+
+_The Golden Fleece._
+  The Dragon Fell at Full Length Upon the
+    Ground                                                         104
+
+_The Cyclops._
+  The One-eyed Polyphemus                                          108
+
+_Œdipus and the Sphinx._
+  Œdipus Stood Before the Sphinx                                116
+
+_Antigone, the Faithful Daughter and Sister._
+  The Blind Œdipus, Led by His Daughter
+    Antigone                                                       118
+
+_The Story of Iphigenia._
+  Iphigenia About to be Sacrificed                                 140
+
+_The Sack of Troy._
+  The Trojan Horse                                                 153
+
+_Beowulf and Grendel._
+  Beowulf Face to Face With the Fire-breathing
+    Dragon                                                         170
+
+_The Great Knight Siegfried._
+  Siegfried Came Off Victor in Every Encounter                     214
+
+_Frithiof the Bold._
+  Frithiof and Ingeborg in the Temple of Balder                    230
+
+_Wayland the Smith._
+  Wayland the Smith, Wearing the Wings He had
+    Fashioned                                                      234
+
+_Twardowski, the Polish Faust._
+  Twardowski in the Arms of the Evil One                           242
+
+_Ilia Muromec of Russia._
+  Zidovin Threw the Iron Club High Into the
+    Air and Caught It with One Hand                                244
+
+_Kralewitz Marko of Servia._
+  They Gagged Marko and Bound Him to His
+    Horse                                                          246
+
+_The Decision of Libuscha._
+  Libuscha Insulted by Chrudis                                     248
+
+_Count Roland of France._
+  Roland's Own Death Was Very Near                                 265
+
+_The Cid._
+  The Youthful Cid Avenging the Death of His
+    Father                                                         267
+
+
+
+
+PROMETHEUS, THE FRIEND OF MAN
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+Prometheus made no reply, but he didn't give up his idea of helping
+men. "Some other way must be found," he thought.
+
+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:
+
+"At last! In this I can carry fire, and the children of men shall
+have the great gift in spite of Jupiter."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+But Jupiter was not so happy. He saw that men were gaining daily
+greater power, and their very prosperity made him angry.
+
+"That young Titan!" he cried out, when he heard what Prometheus had
+done. "I will punish him."
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+[Illustration: PROMETHEUS PUNISHED FOR HIS GIFT TO MAN]
+
+"Epimetheus, here is a beautiful woman that Jupiter has sent to be
+your wife," he said.
+
+Epimetheus was delighted and soon loved Pandora very deeply, because
+of her beauty and her goodness.
+
+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?
+
+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.
+
+All over the earth they flew, entering into every household, and
+carrying sorrow and distress wherever they went.
+
+How Jupiter must have laughed when he saw the result of Pandora's
+curiosity!
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+Then one day a beautiful white cow passed over the mountain, and
+stopped to look at Prometheus with sad eyes.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+THE LABORS OF HERCULES
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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 Delphi and
+questioned the oracle as to what he should do. This was the answer:
+
+_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._
+
+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.
+
+
+THE FIRST LABOR
+
+The first labor that Eurystheus assigned to Hercules was to bring him
+the skin of the Nemean lion. This monster 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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+At last, toward evening, the monster came through the forest,
+returning from his trap in a deep fissure of the earth.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+
+THE SECOND LABOR
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+From that time the wounds made by the arrows of Hercules were fatal.
+
+
+THE THIRD LABOR
+
+The third demand of Eurystheus was that Hercules bring to him alive
+the hind Cerynitis. This was a noble animal, 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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?"
+
+And thus he softened the anger of the goddess and brought the animal
+to Mycene.
+
+
+THE FOURTH LABOR
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"Open it with good courage," answered Hercules, "I promise to defend
+you against all displeasure."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+
+THE FIFTH LABOR
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+
+THE SIXTH LABOR
+
+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.
+
+[Illustration: THE HERO APPROACHED THE DREADFUL MONSTER]
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+
+THE SEVENTH LABOR
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+
+THE EIGHTH LABOR
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+The latter consecrated the horses to Juno. Their descendants were very
+powerful, and the great king Alexander of Macedonia rode one of them.
+
+
+THE NINTH LABOR
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+
+THE TENTH LABOR
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+Hercules had now accomplished ten labors; but Eurystheus was still
+unsatisfied and there were two more tasks to be undertaken.
+
+
+THE ELEVENTH LABOR
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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.
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+
+THE TWELFTH LABOR
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+Thus Hercules after all his labors was at last set free from the
+service of Eurystheus, and returned to Thebes.
+
+
+
+
+DEUCALION AND PYRRHA
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Let us see," he said, "whether he is a mortal or a god."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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!"
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+[Illustration: DEUCALION AND PYRRHA CASTING THE BONES OF THEIR MOTHER
+BEHIND THEM]
+
+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, 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.
+
+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.
+
+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!"
+
+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."
+
+"Leave my altar," sounded the voice of the goddess. "Uncover your
+heads, ungird your garments and cast the bones of your mother behind
+you."
+
+For a long time Deucalion and Pyrrha wondered over the 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."
+
+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!"
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+THESEUS AND THE CENTAUR
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"The only satisfaction which I desire," answered Pirithous, "is that
+you instead of my enemy become my friend and comrade in arms."
+
+Then the two heroes embraced each other and swore eternal friendship.
+
+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
+youthful face, so beautiful that all the guests praised Pirithous for
+his good fortune.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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.
+
+[Illustration: THE CENTAUR FELL BACKWARD]
+
+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.
+
+"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.
+
+Then the spear of the brave hero Pirithous flew forth and pierced a
+mighty Centaur, Petraeus, 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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+NIOBE
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+"Are you not foolish to worship gods of whom stories are told to you
+when more favored beings dwell here among you? 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!"
+
+Frightened at the outburst, the women removed the wreaths from their
+heads, left their sacrifices and slunk home, still honoring Latona
+with silent prayer.
+
+On the summit of the Delian mountain Cynthas stood Latona with her two
+children, watching what was taking 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!"
+
+Latona was about to go on, but Apollo interrupted her: "Cease your
+lamentations, mother; you only delay the punishment."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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!"
+
+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!"
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Leave me only this one," cried Niobe, "just the youngest of so many."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+[Illustration: NIOBE WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN]
+
+
+
+
+THE GORGON'S HEAD
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+The young man came to the palace and found the king sitting upon his
+throne.
+
+"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."
+
+"Please, your Majesty," answered Perseus, "I would willingly risk my
+life to do so."
+
+"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."
+
+"And can I assist your Majesty in obtaining it?" cried Perseus,
+eagerly.
+
+"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."
+
+"I will set out tomorrow morning," answered Perseus.
+
+"Pray do so, my gallant youth," rejoined the king. "And, 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."
+
+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.
+
+"Ho, ho!" cried they; "Medusa's snakes will sting him soundly!"
+
+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
+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.
+
+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!
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+But while he was in this sorrowful mood, he heard a voice close beside
+him.
+
+"Perseus," said the voice, "why are you sad?"
+
+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.
+
+"I am not so very sad," said he, "only thoughtful about an adventure
+that I have undertaken."
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"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?"
+
+"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."
+
+"Your sister?" repeated Perseus.
+
+"Yes, my sister," said the stranger. "She is very wise, 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."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+"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?"
+
+"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!"
+
+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.
+
+"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?"
+
+"I could walk pretty well," said Perseus, glancing slyly at his
+companion's feet, "if I had only a pair of winged shoes."
+
+"We must see about getting you a pair," answered Quicksilver.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Where is she?" he inquired. "Shall we not meet her soon?"
+
+"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."
+
+"Dear me!" ejaculated Perseus; "I shall be afraid to say a syllable."
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"But what must I do," asked Perseus, "when we meet them?"
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"You will soon find whether I tell the truth or no," observed
+Quicksilver. "Hark! hush! hist! hist! There they come now!"
+
+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.
+
+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!
+
+But before they reached the clump of bushes, one of the Three Gray
+Women spoke.
+
+"Sister! Sister Scarecrow!" cried she, "you have had the eye long
+enough. It is my turn now!"
+
+"Let me keep it a moment longer, Sister Nightmare," answered
+Scarecrow. "I thought I had a glimpse of something behind that thick
+bush."
+
+"Well, and what of that?" retorted Nightmare, peevishly. "Can't I see
+into a thick bush as easily as yourself? The 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!"
+
+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.
+
+"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!"
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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!"
+
+In an instant, while the Three Gray Women were still 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.
+
+"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!"
+
+"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!"
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+"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!"
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+Perseus, hearing them talk in this way, began really to think that the
+Gray Women knew nothing of the matter; 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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Put them on, Perseus," said Quicksilver. "You will find yourself as
+light-heeled as you can desire for the remainder of our journey."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+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 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.
+
+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!
+
+"Where are you, Perseus?" asked Quicksilver.
+
+"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?"
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Whose garment is this," inquired Perseus, "that keeps rustling close
+beside me in the breeze?"
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"Perseus," said the voice, "there are the Gorgons."
+
+"Where?" exclaimed Perseus. "I cannot see them."
+
+"On the shore of that island beneath you," replied the voice. "A
+pebble dropped from your hand would strike in the midst of them."
+
+"I told you she would be the first to discover them," said Quicksilver
+to Perseus. "And there they are!"
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+"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!"
+
+"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?"
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+[Illustration: PERSEUS SLAYING THE MEDUSA]
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+"Now, now!" whispered Quicksilver, who was growing impatient. "Make a
+dash at the monster!"
+
+"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."
+
+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!
+
+"Admirably done!" cried Quicksilver. "Make haste and clap the head
+into your magic wallet."
+
+To the astonishment of Perseus, the small, embroidered wallet which he
+had hung about his neck and which had 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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"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!"
+
+"Indeed! Pray, let me see it," quoth King Polydectes. "It must be a
+very curious spectacle if all that travelers tell it be true!"
+
+"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!"
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+"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!"
+
+A feeling of sorrow and pity came over the youthful Perseus.
+
+"O King Polydectes," cried he, "and ye many people, I am very loath to
+show you the Gorgon's head!"
+
+"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!"
+
+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.
+
+"Show me the Gorgon's head or I will cut off your own!"
+
+And Perseus sighed.
+
+"This instant," repeated Polydectes, "or you die!"
+
+"Behold it then!" cried Perseus in a voice like the blast of a
+trumpet.
+
+And suddenly holding up the head, not an eyelid had time 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.
+
+
+
+
+THE GOLDEN FLEECE
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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 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!"
+
+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.
+
+"Whither are you going, Jason?" she now asked.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+"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 tree. I would gladly help you if I
+could, but I doubt whether I am strong enough to carry you across."
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"That, no doubt, will be a great comfort to both of us," quoth the old
+woman. "But never fear! We shall get safely across."
+
+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 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.
+
+At this accident Jason could not help uttering a cry of vexation.
+
+"What is the matter, Jason?" asked the old woman.
+
+"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!"
+
+"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."
+
+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 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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"Look at him! only look at him!" said the man to his next neighbor.
+"Do you see? He wears but one sandal!"
+
+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.
+
+"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?"
+
+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 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.
+
+"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?"
+
+"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."
+
+When Jason said this the king gave a quick, startled glance at his
+feet.
+
+"Ha!" muttered he, "here is the one-sandaled fellow, sure enough! What
+can I do with him?"
+
+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.
+
+"The one-sandaled man has come! The prophecy must be fulfilled!"
+
+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 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.
+
+"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?"
+
+"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!"
+
+"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?"
+
+"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."
+
+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:
+
+"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?"
+
+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.
+
+Therefore, after a moment's consideration, he spoke up with a firm and
+manly voice:
+
+"I would send such a man," said he, "in quest of the Golden Fleece!"
+
+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.
+
+"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!"
+
+"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."
+
+"That I will," said the king, with a sneer. "Meantime I will keep them
+very safely for you."
+
+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.
+
+"What shall I do," said he, "in order to win the Golden Fleece?"
+
+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:
+
+"Go to Argus, the shipbuilder, and bid him build a galley with fifty
+oars."
+
+Then the voice melted again into the indistinct murmur of the rustling
+leaves and died gradually away. When it was 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+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 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.
+
+"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."
+
+"Go," replied the oaken image, "go, summon all the heroes of Greece."
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+All at once Jason bethought himself of the galley's miraculous
+figurehead.
+
+"Oh, daughter of the Talking Oak," cried he, "how shall we set to
+work to get our vessel into the water?"
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"I see them very plainly," remarked Lynceus, whose eyes, you know,
+were as far-sighted as a telescope. "They are a 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."
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+So he ran to the galley as fast as his legs would carry him.
+
+"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?"
+
+"Make a clatter on your shields," said the image.
+
+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.
+
+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 to Greece, in hopes of getting back
+a kingdom that had been wrongfully taken from their father.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+"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?"
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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?"
+
+"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."
+
+"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?"
+
+"I must encounter the peril," answered Jason composedly, "since it
+stands in the way of my purpose."
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"Indeed, beautiful princess," answered Jason, "if you will do me this
+service I promise to be grateful to you my whole life long."
+
+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.
+
+[Illustration: THE DRAGON FELL AT FULL LENGTH UPON THE GROUND]
+
+"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?"
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"Only be brave," added she, "and before daybreak the brazen bulls
+shall be tamed."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"Are you sure, beautiful Medea," asked Jason, "quite sure, that the
+unguent in the gold box will prove a remedy against those terrible
+burns?"
+
+"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."
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+Greatly encouraged at finding himself not yet turned into a cinder,
+the young man awaited the attack of the bulls. Just 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.
+
+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.
+
+"Must we wait long for harvest-time?" he inquired of Medea, who was
+now standing by his side.
+
+"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."
+
+The moon was now high aloft in the heavens and threw its 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.
+
+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!
+
+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.
+
+Medea, however, bade him snatch up a stone from the ground.
+
+"Throw it among them quickly!" cried she. "It is the only way to save
+yourself."
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+"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?"
+
+"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."
+
+"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 inform King Æetes that the first part of your
+allotted task is fulfilled."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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, 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."
+
+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.
+
+"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?"
+
+"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."
+
+"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 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."
+
+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 stomachs 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.
+
+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.
+
+"Look yonder," she whispered. "Do you see it?"
+
+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.
+
+"What is it?" asked Jason.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+"Stay," said Medea, holding him back. "Have you forgotten what guards
+it?"
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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?"
+
+Jason answered only by drawing his sword and making a step forward.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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. Quick! Snatch the
+prize and let us begone. You have won the Golden Fleece."
+
+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.
+
+As Jason drew near he heard the Talking Image calling to him with more
+than ordinary eagerness, in its grave, sweet voice:
+
+"Make haste, Prince Jason! For your life, make haste!"
+
+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!
+
+
+
+
+THE CYCLOPS
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+And when Ulysses numbered his men, he found that he had lost six out
+of each ship.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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!
+
+[Illustration: THE ONE-EYED POLYPHEMUS]
+
+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 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.
+
+"Who are ye?" cried Polyphemus, for that was the giant's name. "Are ye
+traders or, haply, pirates?"
+
+For in those days it was not counted shame to be called a pirate.
+
+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."
+
+"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?"
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+Then the Cyclops drank and was mightily pleased, and said, "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."
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+And he said, "My gift shall be that I will eat thee last of all thy
+company."
+
+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.
+
+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?"
+
+And the giant answered, "No Man slays me by craft."
+
+"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."
+
+Then they departed, and Ulysses was glad at heart for the good
+success of his device when he said that he was No Man.
+
+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.
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+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:
+
+"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!"
+
+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.
+
+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 if he hear thee now, he may crush our ship and us, for
+the man throws a mighty bolt and throws it far."
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+Then Cyclops lifted up his hands to Poseidon and prayed:
+
+"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!"
+
+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. 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.
+
+
+
+
+ŒDIPUS AND THE SPHINX
+
+
+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.
+
+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:
+
+      "Read me this riddle right, or die:
+      What liveth there beneath the sky,
+      Four-footed creature that doth choose
+      Now three feet and now twain to use,
+      And still more feebly o'er the plain
+      Walketh with three feet than with twain?"
+
+And Œdipus made reply:
+
+      "'Tis man, who in life's early day
+      Four-footed crawleth on his way;
+      When time hath made his strength complete,
+      Upright his form and twain his feet;
+      When age hath bound him to the ground
+      A third foot in his staff is found."
+
+[Illustration: ŒDIPUS STOOD BEFORE THE SPHINX]
+
+And when the Sphinx found that her riddle was answered she cast
+herself from a high rock and perished.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+ANTIGONE, A FAITHFUL DAUGHTER AND SISTER
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+[Illustration: THE BLIND ŒDIPUS, LED BY HIS DAUGHTER ANTIGONE]
+
+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 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.
+
+When these two brothers, the sons of King Œdipus, had fallen each
+by the hand of the other, the kingdom fell to 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.
+
+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.
+
+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:
+
+"O my sister, hast thou heard this decree that the king hath put forth
+concerning our brethren that are dead?"
+
+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."
+
+"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."
+
+"But if it be so, my sister, how can we avail to change it?"
+
+"Think whether or no thou wilt share with me the doing of this deed."
+
+"What deed? What meanest thou?"
+
+"To pay due honor to this dead body."
+
+"What? Wilt thou bury him when the king hath forbidden it?"
+
+"Yes, for he is my brother and also thine, though perchance thou
+wouldst not have it so. And I will not play him false."
+
+"O my sister, wilt thou do this when Creon hath forbidden it?"
+
+"Why should he stand between me and mine?"
+
+"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."
+
+"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?"
+
+"I dishonor them not. Only I cannot set myself against the powers that
+be."
+
+"So be it; but I will bury my brother."
+
+"O my sister, how I fear for thee!"
+
+"Fear for thyself. Thine own lot needeth all thy care."
+
+"Thou wilt at least keep thy counsel, nor tell the thing to any man."
+
+"Not so: hide it not. I shall scorn thee more if thou proclaim it not
+aloud to all."
+
+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.
+
+And he had scarcely left speaking when there came one of these same
+watchers and said:
+
+"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."
+
+"But say," said the king, "what troubles thee so much?"
+
+"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."
+
+"Thou makest a long preface, excusing thyself, but yet hast, as I
+judge, something to tell."
+
+"Fear, my lord, ever causeth delay."
+
+"Wilt thou not speak out thy news and then begone?"
+
+"I will speak it. Know then that some man hath thrown dust upon this
+dead corpse, and done besides such things as are needful."
+
+"What sayest thou? Who hath dared to do this deed?"
+
+"That I know not, for there was no mark as of spade or pick-axe; nor
+was the earth broken, nor had wagon passed 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."
+
+Then said the chief of the old men:
+
+"Consider, O King, for haply this thing is from the gods."
+
+But the king cried:
+
+"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."
+
+So the guard departed, but as he went he said to himself:
+
+"Now may the gods grant that the man be found; but however this may
+be, thou shalt not see me come again on such errand as this, for even
+now have I escaped beyond all hope."
+
+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.
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+Then said the king to Antigone:
+
+"Tell me in a word, didst thou know my decree?"
+
+"I knew it. Was it not plainly declared?"
+
+"How daredst thou to transgress the laws?"
+
+"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 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."
+
+Then said the king:
+
+"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."
+
+And while they went to fetch the maiden Ismené, Antigone said to the
+king:
+
+"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."
+
+"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?"
+
+"Yes, truly, my brother he was."
+
+"And dost thou not dishonor him when thou honorest his enemy?"
+
+"The dead man would not say it, could he speak."
+
+"Shall then the wicked have like honor with the good?"
+
+"How knowest thou but that such honor pleaseth the gods below?"
+
+"I have no love for them I hate, though they be dead."
+
+"Of hating I know nothing; 'tis enough for me to love."
+
+"If thou wilt love, go love the dead. But while I live no woman shall
+rule me."
+
+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.
+
+But Antigone turned from her, saying:
+
+"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."
+
+And when Ismené saw that she prevailed nothing with her sister, she
+turned to the king and said:
+
+"Wilt thou slay the bride of thy son?"
+
+"Ay," said he, "there are other brides to win!"
+
+"But none," she made reply, "that accord so well with him."
+
+"I will have no evil wives for my sons," said the king.
+
+Then cried Antigone:
+
+"O Hæmon, whom I love, how thy father wrongeth thee!"
+
+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:
+
+"Art thou content, my son, with thy father's judgment?"
+
+And the young man answered:
+
+"My father, I would follow thy counsels in all things."
+
+Then said the king:
+
+"'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
+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."
+
+To this the Prince Hæmon made answer:
+
+"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."
+
+"Nay," said the king; "shall I be taught by such an one as thou?"
+
+"I pray thee regard my words, if they be well, and not my years."
+
+"Can it be well to honor them that transgress? And hath not this woman
+transgressed?"
+
+"The people of this city judge not so."
+
+"The people, sayest thou? Is it for them to rule, or for me?"
+
+"No city is the possession of one man only."
+
+So the two answered one the other, and their anger waxed hot. And at
+the last the king cried:
+
+"Bring this accursed woman and slay her before his eyes."
+
+And the prince answered:
+
+"That thou shalt never do. And know this also, that thou shalt never
+see my face again."
+
+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.
+
+"Wilt thou then slay them both?" said the old men.
+
+"'Tis well said," the king made answer. "Her that meddled not with the
+matter, I harm not."
+
+"And how wilt thou deal with the other?"
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+And when the king saw him he asked:
+
+"What seekest thou, wisest of men?"
+
+Then the prophet answered:
+
+"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."
+
+Then the king answered:
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+But at the last the prophet spake in great wrath, saying:
+
+"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."
+
+So the prophet departed and the old men were sore afraid and said:
+
+"He hath spoken terrible things, O King; nor ever since these gray
+hairs were black have we known him say that which was false."
+
+"Even so," said the king, "and I am troubled in heart and yet am loath
+to depart from my purpose."
+
+"King Creon," said the old men, "thou needest good counsel."
+
+"What, then, would ye have done?"
+
+"Set free the maiden from the sepulchre and give this dead man
+burial."
+
+Then the king cried to his people that they should bring 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.
+
+So the house of King Creon was left desolate unto him that day,
+because he despised the ordinances of the gods.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF IPHIGENIA
+
+
+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:
+
+"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 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: '_Daughter of Leda, send not thy
+child to the land of Eubœa, for I will give her in marriage at
+another time._'"
+
+"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?"
+
+"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."
+
+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:
+
+"Help, my lord; here is one hath taken thy letter!"
+
+Then King Agamemnon came forth from his tent, saying, "What meaneth
+this uproar and disputing that I hear?"
+
+And Menelaüs answered, "Seest thou this letter that I hold in my
+hand?"
+
+"I see it: it is mine. Give it to me."
+
+"I give it not till I have read that which is written therein to all
+the army of the Greeks."
+
+"Where didst thou find it?"
+
+"I found it while I waited for thy daughter till she should come to
+the camp."
+
+"What hast thou to do with that? May I not rule my own household?"
+
+Then Menelaüs reproached his brother because he did not 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."
+
+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?"
+
+Then Menelaüs turned away in a rage, crying, "Betray me if thou wilt.
+I will betake myself to other counsels and other friends."
+
+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. 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."
+
+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!"
+
+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."
+
+Then said King Agamemnon, "But how shall I escape from this strait?
+For the whole host will compel me to this deed?"
+
+"Not so," said King Menelaüs, "if thou wilt send back the maiden to
+Argos."
+
+"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."
+
+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 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."
+
+"'Tis true and yet not true, my child."
+
+"Thou lookest not well pleased to see me, my father."
+
+"He that is a king and commandeth a host hath many cares."
+
+"Put away thy cares awhile and give thyself to me."
+
+"I am glad beyond measure to see thee."
+
+"Glad art thou? Then why dost thou weep?"
+
+"I weep because thou must be long time absent from me."
+
+"Perish all these fightings and troubles!"
+
+"They will cause many to perish, and me most miserably of all."
+
+"Art thou going a journey from me, my father?"
+
+"Aye, and thou also hast a journey to make."
+
+"Must I make it alone, or with my mother?"
+
+"Alone; neither father nor mother may be with thee."
+
+"Sendest thou me to dwell elsewhere?"
+
+"Hold thy peace: such things are not for maidens to inquire."
+
+"Well, my father, order matters with the Phrygians and then make haste
+to return."
+
+"I must first make a sacrifice to the gods."
+
+"'Tis well. The gods should have due honor."
+
+"Aye, and thou wilt stand close to the altar."
+
+"Shall I lead the dances, my father?"
+
+"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."
+
+And when she was gone within, he cried, "O fair bosom and 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."
+
+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."
+
+"But where," answered the queen, "is it your pleasure that I should
+be?"
+
+"Thou must return to Argos and care for the maidens there."
+
+"Sayest thou that I must return? Who then will hold up the torch for
+the bride?"
+
+"I will do that which is needful. For it is not seemly that thou
+shouldst be present where the whole army is gathered together."
+
+"Aye, but it is seemly that a mother should give her daughter in
+marriage."
+
+"But the maidens at home should not be left alone."
+
+"They are well kept in their chambers."
+
+"Be persuaded, lady."
+
+"Not so: thou shalt order that which is without the house, but I that
+which is within."
+
+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, "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:
+
+"But why art thou ashamed, seeing that thou art about to marry my
+daughter?"
+
+And he answered, "What sayest thou, lady? I cannot speak for wonder at
+thy words."
+
+"Often men are ashamed when they see new friends and the talk is of
+marriage."
+
+"But, lady, I never was suitor for thy daughter. Nor have the sons of
+Atreus said aught to me of the matter."
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+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 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."
+
+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:
+
+"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.
+
+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 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."
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+But the maiden answered, "What I say, I say with full purpose. Nor
+will I that any man should die for me, but rather will I save this
+land of Greece."
+
+And Achilles said, "If this be thy will, lady, I cannot say nay, for
+it is a noble thing that thou doest."
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+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 the name of the king was Thoas, which signifieth in
+the Greek tongue, "swift of foot."
+
+[Illustration: IPHIGENIA ABOUT TO BE SACRIFICED]
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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?"
+
+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."
+
+"Tell me now, which of ye two is called Pylades?"
+
+"Not I, but this my companion."
+
+"Of what city in the land of Greece are ye? And are ye brothers born
+of one mother?"
+
+"Brothers we are, but in friendship, not in blood."
+
+"And what is thy name?"
+
+"That I tell thee not. Thou hast power over my body, but not over my
+name."
+
+"Wilt thou not tell me thy country?"
+
+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?"
+
+"He is dead and his marriage that was made at Aulis is of no effect."
+
+"A false marriage it was, as some know full well."
+
+"Who art thou that inquirest thus about matters in Greece?"
+
+"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?"
+
+"I know not. Lady, leave all talk of him."
+
+"Say not so; but do me a pleasure and tell me."
+
+"He is dead."
+
+"Woe is me! How died he?"
+
+"What meaneth thy sorrow? Art thou of his kindred?"
+
+"'Tis a pity to think how great he was, and now he hath perished."
+
+"He was slain in a most miserable fashion by a woman, but ask no
+more."
+
+"Only this one thing. Is his wife yet alive?"
+
+"Nay; for the son whom she bare slew her, taking vengeance for his
+father."
+
+"A dreadful deed, but righteous withal."
+
+"Righteous indeed he is, but the gods love him not."
+
+"And did the king leave any other child behind him?"
+
+"One daughter, Electra by name."
+
+"And is his son yet alive?"
+
+"He is alive, but no man more miserable."
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+"'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."
+
+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 temple appointed to this office, she
+preparing them for sacrifice beforehand. Also she said that his body
+would be burned with fire.
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+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 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."
+
+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?"
+
+"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."
+
+"And to whom shall I give it?"
+
+"Thou shalt give it to Orestes, son of Agamemnon. And that which is
+written therein is this: '_I that was sacrificed in Aulis, even
+Iphigenia, who am alive and yet dead to my own people, bid thee----_'"
+
+But when Orestes heard this, he brake in, "Where is this Iphigenia?
+Hath the dead come back among the living?"
+
+"Thou seest her in me. But interrupt me not. '_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._' 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."
+
+Then said Pylades, "My oath is easy to keep. Orestes, take thou this
+tablet from thy sister."
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+But Iphigenia answered, "Yet nothing shall hinder me from knowing how
+fareth my sister Electra."
+
+"She is married," said Orestes, "to this Pylades, whom thou seest."
+
+"And of what country is he and who is his father?"
+
+"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."
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+"How didst thou learn this?"
+
+"The image of the goddess turned upon her place of her own accord and
+covered also her face with her hands."
+
+"What wickedness, then, had these strangers wrought?"
+
+"They slew their mother and had been banished therefor from the land
+of Greece."
+
+"O monstrous! Such deeds we barbarians never do. And now what dost
+thou purpose?"
+
+"We must purify these strangers before we offer them for a sacrifice."
+
+"With water from the river, or in the sea?"
+
+"In the sea. The sea cleanseth away all that is evil among men."
+
+"Well, thou hast it here, by the very walls of the temple."
+
+"Aye, but I must seek a place apart from men."
+
+"So be it; go where thou wilt; I would not look on things forbidden."
+
+"The image also must be purified."
+
+"Surely, if the pollution from these murderers of their mother hath
+touched it. This is well thought of in thee."
+
+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."
+
+"Take what time thou wilt," he said, "so that thou do all things in
+order."
+
+So certain of the king's guards brought the two young men from out of
+the temple, and Iphigenia led them towards 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 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.
+
+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."
+
+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?"
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+THE SACK OF TROY
+
+[Illustration: THE TROJAN HORSE]
+
+
+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.
+
+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 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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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, 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."
+
+Then they bade him tell on, and he said:
+
+"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 vengeance for my flight. Only do thou, O King, have pity on me,
+who have suffered many things, not having harmed any man."
+
+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?"
+
+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.'"
+
+These words wrought much on the men of Troy, and as 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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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?"
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+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, 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.
+
+Then was Æneas severed from the rest, having with him 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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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."
+
+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 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."
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+BEOWULF AND GRENDEL
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+Then a proud liegeman of Hrothgar's stepped forward and asked:
+
+"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."
+
+"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."
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+Then Hrothgar told Beowulf of the great sorrow caused 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+After this there arose within the hall the din of voices and 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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 water's edge lay the
+head of Asher, and they knew that the witch must be at the bottom of
+the water.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+[Illustration: BEOWULF FACE TO FACE WITH THE FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON]
+
+At that moment the flames of the fire leapt up, throwing 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+"Dear are thy words to me, O Beowulf," Hrothgar made 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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+
+BEOWULF AND THE FIRE-DRAGON
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+But before very long Heardred was killed in battle, and then at last
+Beowulf consented to become king of the Geats.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+So he quickly had fashioned a mighty battle-shield, made entirely of
+iron, for he knew that the wooden one that he was 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.
+
+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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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, 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.
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+Then he rushed through the noisome smoke to his lord's side, crying:
+
+"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."
+
+But the other warriors were afraid to follow him, so that Beowulf and
+Wiglaf stood alone to face the dragon.
+
+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.
+
+But now Wiglaf showed his valor and strength, and smote the monster
+with such mighty blows that at last the fire 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.
+
+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:
+
+"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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+Beowulf was very near his life's end, but when Wiglaf had again
+revived him with water, he had strength to speak once more.
+
+"Glad am I," he said, "that I have been able before my 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."
+
+Then the dauntless prince undid the golden collar from his neck and
+gave it to Wiglaf with his helmet and coat of mail, saying:
+
+"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.
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+THE GOOD KING ARTHUR
+
+
+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 _Idylls of the
+King_.
+
+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]
+an old friend of Uther's. Here the young prince lived as a child of
+the house.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[A] This name is otherwise given as _Sir Ector_, and by Tennyson as
+_Sir Anton_.
+
+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.
+
+"Gather together in St. Stephen's Church in London, on Christmas Day,"
+was all the enchanter answered.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"I will fetch it for you," cried the young Arthur, anxious to be of
+service.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Where did you get that sword?" he asked.
+
+"From the great anvil in the churchyard of St. Stephen's I drew it,"
+was the answer.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"The king, the king!" the people cried; for they knew that at last
+they had found a worthy successor to the good King Uther.
+
+So Arthur was crowned king and entered upon that wise and kingly rule
+of which the praises have so often been sung.
+
+Following are the stories of the coming and passing of Arthur as they
+are related by Tennyson:
+
+
+THE COMING OF ARTHUR
+
+        Leodogran, the King of Cameliard,
+      Had one fair daughter, and none other child;
+      And she was fairest of all flesh on earth,
+      Guinevere, and in her his one delight.
+
+        For many a petty king ere Arthur came
+      Ruled in this isle, and ever waging war
+      Each upon other, wasted all the land;
+      And still from time to time the heathen host
+      Swarm'd overseas, and harried what was left.
+      And so there grew great tracts of wilderness,
+      Wherein the beast was ever more and more,
+      But man was less and less, till Arthur came.
+      For first Aurelius lived and fought and died,
+      And after him King Uther fought and died,
+      But either fail'd to make the kingdom one.
+      And after these King Arthur for a space,
+      And thro' the puissance of his Table Round,
+      Drew all their petty princedoms under him,
+      Their king and head, and made a realm, and reign'd.
+
+        And thus the land of Cameliard was waste,
+      Thick with wet woods, and many a beast therein,
+      And none or few to scare or chase the beast;
+      So that wild dog and wolf and boar and bear
+      Came night and day, and rooted in the fields,
+      And wallow'd in the gardens of the King.
+      And ever and anon the wolf would steal
+      The children and devour, but now and then,
+      Her own brood lost or dead, lent her fierce teat
+      To human sucklings; and the children housed
+      In her foul den, there at their meat would growl,
+      And mock their foster-mother on four feet,
+      Till, straightened, they grew up to wolf-like men,
+      Worse than the wolves. And King Leodogran
+      Groan'd for the Roman legions here again,
+      And Cæsar's eagle: then his brother king,
+      Urien, assail'd him: last a heathen horde,
+      Reddening the sun with smoke and earth with blood,
+      And on the spike that split the mother's heart
+      Spitting the child, brake on him, till, amazed,
+      He knew not whither he should turn for aid.
+
+        But--for he heard of Arthur newly crown'd,
+      Tho' not without an uproar made by those
+      Who cried, "He is not Uther's son"--the King
+      Sent to him, saying, "Arise, and help us thou!
+      For here between the man and beast we die."
+
+        And Arthur yet had done no deed of arms,
+      But heard the call, and came: and Guinevere
+      Stood by the castle walls to watch him pass;
+      But since he neither wore on helm or shield
+      The golden symbol of his kinglihood,
+      But rode a simple knight among his knights,
+      And many of these in richer arms than he,
+      She saw him not, or marked not, if she saw,
+      One among many, tho' his face was bare.
+      But Arthur, looking downward as he past,
+      Felt the light of her eyes into his life
+      Smite on the sudden, yet rode on, and pitch'd
+      His tents beside the forest. Then he drave
+      The heathen; after, slew the beast, and fell'd
+      The forest, letting in the sun, and made
+      Broad pathways for the hunter and the knight,
+      And so return'd.
+
+                    For while he lingered there,
+      A doubt that ever smoulder'd in the hearts
+      Of those great Lords and Barons of his realm
+      Flash'd forth and into war: for most of these,
+      Colleaguing with a score of petty kings,
+      Made head against him, crying, "Who is he
+      That he should rule us? who hath proven him
+      King Uther's son? for lo! we look at him,
+      And find nor face nor bearing, limbs nor voice,
+      Are like to those of Uther whom we knew.
+      This is the son of Gorloïs, not the King;
+      This is the son of Anton, not the King."
+
+        And Arthur, passing thence to battle, felt
+      Travail, and throes and agonies of the life,
+      Desiring to be join'd with Guinevere;
+      And thinking as he rode, "Her father said
+      That there between the man and beast they die.
+      Shall I not lift her from this land of beasts
+      Up to my throne, and side by side with me?
+      What happiness to reign a lonely king,
+      Vext--O ye stars that shudder over me,
+      O earth that soundest hollow under me,
+      Vext with waste dreams? for saving I be join'd
+      To her that is the fairest under heaven,
+      I seem as nothing in the mighty world,
+      And cannot will my will, nor work my work
+      Wholly, nor make myself in mine own realm
+      Victor and lord. But were I join'd with her,
+      Then might we live together as one life,
+      And reigning with one will in everything
+      Have power on this dark land to lighten it,
+      And power on this dead world to make it live."
+
+        Thereafter--as he speaks who tells the tale--
+      When Arthur reach'd a field-of-battle bright
+      With pitch'd pavilions of his foe, the world
+      Was all so clear about him, that he saw
+      The smallest rock far on the faintest hill,
+      And even in high day the morning star.
+      So when the King had set his banner broad,
+      At once from either side, with trumpet-blast,
+      And shouts, and clarions shrilling unto blood,
+      The long-lanced battle let their horses run.
+      And now the barons and the kings prevail'd,
+      And now the King, as here and there that war
+      Went swaying; but the Powers who walk the world
+      Made lightnings and great thunders over him,
+      And dazed all eyes, till Arthur by main might
+      And mightier of his hands with every blow,
+      And leading all his knighthood threw the kings
+      Carádos, Urien, Cradlemont of Wales,
+      Claudias, and Clariance of Northumberland,
+      The King Brandagoras of Latangor,
+      With Anguisant of Erin, Morganore,
+      And Lot of Orkney. Then, before a voice
+      As dreadful as the shout of one who sees
+      To one who sins, and deems himself alone
+      And all the world asleep, they swerved and brake
+      Flying, and Arthur call'd to stay the brands
+      That hack'd among the flyers, "Ho! they yield!"
+      So like a painted battle the war stood
+      Silenced, the living quiet as the dead,
+      And in the heart of Arthur joy was lord.
+      He laugh'd upon his warrior whom he loved
+      And honor'd most. "Thou dost not doubt me King,
+      So well thine arm hath wrought for me today."
+      "Sir and my liege," he cried, "the fire of God
+      Descends upon thee in the battle-field:
+      I know thee for my King!" Whereat the two,
+      For each had warded either in the fight,
+      Sware on the field of death a deathless love.
+      And Arthur said, "Man's word is God in man:
+      Let chance what will, I trust thee to the death."
+
+        Then quickly from the foughten field he sent
+      Ulfius, and Brastias, and Bedivere,
+      His new-made knights, to King Leodogran,
+      Saying, "If I in aught have served thee well,
+      Give me thy daughter Guinevere to wife."
+
+        Whom when he heard, Leodogran in heart
+      Debating--"How should I that am a king,
+      However much he holp me at my need,
+      Give my one daughter saving to a king,
+      And a king's son?"--lifted his voice, and call'd
+      A hoary man, his chamberlain, to whom
+      He trusted all things, and of him required
+      His counsel: "Knowest thou aught of Arthur's birth?"
+
+        Then spake the hoary chamberlain and said,
+      "Sir King, there be but two old men that know:
+      And each is twice as old as I; and one
+      Is Merlin, the wise man that ever served
+      King Uther thro' his magic art; and one
+      Is Merlin's master (so they call him) Bleys,
+      Who taught him magic; but the scholar ran
+      Before the master, and so far, that Bleys
+      Laid magic by, and sat him down, and wrote
+      All things and whatsoever Merlin did
+      In one great annal-book, where after-years
+      Will learn the secret of our Arthur's birth."
+
+        To whom the King Leodogran replied,
+      "O friend, had I been holpen half as well
+      By this King Arthur as by thee today,
+      Then beast and man had had their share of me:
+      But summon here before us yet once more
+      Ulfius, and Brastias, and Bedivere."
+
+        Then, when they came before him, the King said,
+      "I have seen the cuckoo chased by lesser fowl,
+      And reason in the chase: but wherefore now
+      Do these your lords stir up the heat of war,
+      Some calling Arthur born of Gorloïs,
+      Others of Anton? Tell me, ye yourselves,
+      Hold ye this Arthur for King Uther's son?"
+
+        And Ulfius and Brastias answer'd, "Ay."
+      Then Bedivere, the first of all his knights,
+      Knighted by Arthur at his crowning, spake--
+      For bold in heart and act and word was he,
+      Whenever slander breathed against the King--
+
+        "Sir, there be many rumors on this head:
+      For there be those who hate him in their hearts,
+      Call him base-born, and since his ways are sweet,
+      And theirs are bestial, hold him less than man:
+      And there be those who deem him more than man,
+      And dream he dropt from heaven: but my belief
+      In all this matter--so ye care to learn--
+      Sir, for ye know that in King Uther's time
+      The prince and warrior Gorloïs, he that held
+      Tintagil castle by the Cornish sea,
+      Was wedded with a winsome wife, Ygerne:
+      And daughters had she borne him--one whereof,
+      Lot's wife, the Queen of Orkney, Bellicent,
+      Hath ever like a loyal sister cleaved
+      To Arthur--but a son she had not borne.
+      And Uther cast upon her eyes of love:
+      But she, a stainless wife to Gorloïs,
+      So loathed the bright dishonor of his love,
+      That Gorloïs and King Uther went to war:
+      And overthrown was Gorloïs and slain.
+      Then Uther in his wrath and heat besieged
+      Ygerne within Tintagil, where her men,
+      Seeing the mighty swarm about their walls,
+      Left her and fled, and Uther enter'd in,
+      And there was none to call to but himself.
+      So, compass'd by the power of the King,
+      Enforced she was to wed him in her tears,
+      And with a shameful swiftness: afterward,
+      Not many moons, King Uther died himself,
+      Moaning and wailing for an heir to rule
+      After him, lest the realm should go to wrack.
+      And that same night, the night of the new year,
+      By reason of the bitterness and grief
+      That vext his mother, all before his time
+      Was Arthur born, and all as soon as born
+      Deliver'd at a secret postern-gate
+      To Merlin, to be holden far apart
+      Until his hour should come; because the lords
+      Of that fierce day were as the lords of this,
+      Wild beasts, and surely would have torn the child
+      Piecemeal among them, had they known; for each
+      But sought to rule for his own self and hand,
+      And many hated Uther for the sake
+      Of Gorloïs. Wherefore Merlin took the child,
+      And gave him to Sir Anton, an old knight
+      And ancient friend of Uther; and his wife
+      Nursed the young prince, and rear'd him with her own;
+      And no man knew. And ever since the lords
+      Have foughten like wild beasts among themselves,
+      So that the realm has gone to wrack: but now,
+      This year, when Merlin (for his hour had come)
+      Brought Arthur forth, and set him in the hall,
+      Proclaiming, 'Here is Uther's heir, your king,'
+      A hundred voices cried, 'Away with him!
+      No king of ours! A son of Gorloïs he,
+      Or else the child of Anton and no king,
+      Or else base-born.' Yet Merlin thro' his craft,
+      And while the people clamor'd for a king,
+      Had Arthur crown'd; but after, the great lords
+      Banded, and so brake out in open war."
+
+        Then while the King debated with himself
+      If Arthur were the child of shamefulness,
+      Or born the son of Gorloïs, after death,
+      Or Uther's son, and born before his time,
+      Or whether there were truth in anything
+      Said by these three, there came to Cameliard,
+      With Gawain and young Modred, her two sons,
+      Lot's wife, the Queen of Orkney, Bellicent;
+      Whom as he could, not as he would, the King
+      Made feast for, saying, as they sat at meat:
+
+        "A doubtful throne is ice on summer seas.
+      Ye come from Arthur's court. Victor his men
+      Report him! Yea, but ye--think ye this king--
+      So many those that hate him, and so strong,
+      So few his knights, however brave they be--
+      Hath body enow to hold his foemen down?"
+
+        "O King," she cried, "and I will tell thee: few,
+      Few, but all brave, all of one mind with him;
+      For I was near him when the savage yells
+      Of Uther's peerage died and Arthur sat
+      Crown'd on the daïs, and his warriors cried,
+      'Be thou the king, and we will work thy will,
+      Who love thee.' Then the King in low deep tones,
+      And simple words of great authority,
+      Bound them by so strait vows to his own self,
+      That when they rose, knighted from kneeling, some
+      Were pale as at the passing of a ghost.
+      Some flush'd, and others dazed, as one who wakes
+      Half-blinded at the coming of a light.
+
+        "But when he spake and cheer'd his Table Round
+      With large, divine and comfortable words,
+      Beyond my tongue to tell thee--I beheld
+      From eye to eye thro' all their Order flash
+      A momentary likeness of the King:
+      And ere it left their faces, thro' the cross
+      And those around it and the Crucified,
+      Down from the casement over Arthur, smote
+      Flame-color, vert, and azure, in three rays,
+      One falling upon each of three fair queens,
+      Who stood in silence near his throne, the friends
+      Of Arthur, gazing on him, tall, with bright
+      Sweet faces, who will help him at his need.
+
+        "And there I saw mage Merlin, whose vast wit
+      And hundred winters are but as the hands
+      Of loyal vassals toiling for their liege.
+
+        "And near him stood the Lady of the Lake,
+      Who knows a subtler magic than his own--
+      Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful.
+      She gave the King his huge cross-hilted sword,
+      Whereby to drive the heathen out: a mist
+      Of incense curl'd about her, and her face
+      Well-nigh was hidden in the minster gloom;
+      But there was heard among the holy hymns
+      A voice as of the waters, for she dwells
+      Down in a deep, calm, whatsoever storms
+      May shake the world, and when the surface rolls,
+      Hath power to walk the waters like our Lord.
+
+        "There likewise I beheld Excalibur
+      Before him at his crowning borne, the sword
+      That rose from out the bosom of the lake,
+      And Arthur row'd across and took it--rich
+      With jewels, elfin Urim, on the hilt,
+      Bewildering heart and eye--the blade so bright
+      That men are blinded by it--on one side,
+      Graven in the oldest tongue of all this world,
+      'Take me,' but turn the blade and ye shall see,
+      And written in the speech ye speak yourself,
+      'Cast me away!' And sad was Arthur's face
+      Taking it, but old Merlin counsel'd him,
+      'Take thou and strike! the time to cast away
+      Is yet far-off.' So this great brand the king
+      Took, and by this will beat his foemen down."
+
+        Thereat Leodogran rejoiced, but thought
+      To sift his doubtings to the last, and ask'd,
+      Fixing full eyes of question on her face,
+      "The swallow and the swift are near akin,
+      But thou art closer to this noble prince,
+      Being his own dear sister"; and she said,
+      "Daughter of Gorloïs and Ygerne am I";
+      "And therefore Arthur's sister?" asked the King.
+      She answer'd, "These be secret things," and sign'd
+      To those two sons to pass and let them be.
+      And Gawain went, and breaking into song
+      Sprang out, and follow'd by his flying hair
+      Ran like a colt, and leapt at all he saw:
+      But Modred laid his ear beside the doors,
+      And there half heard; the same that afterward
+      Struck for the throne, and striking found his doom.
+
+        And then the Queen made answer, "What know I?
+      For dark my mother was in eyes and hair,
+      And dark in hair and eyes am I; and dark
+      Was Gorloïs, yea and dark was Uther too,
+      Well-nigh to blackness; but this King is fair
+      Beyond the race of Britons and of men.
+      Moreover, always in my mind I hear
+      A cry from out the dawning of my life,
+      A mother weeping, and I hear her say,
+      'O that ye had some brother, pretty one,
+      To guard thee on the rough ways of the world.'"
+
+        "Ay," said the King, "and hear ye such a cry?
+      But when did Arthur chance upon thee first?"
+
+        "O King!" she cried, "and I will tell thee true:
+      He found me first when yet a little maid:
+      Beaten I had been for a little fault
+      Whereof I was not guilty; and out I ran
+      And flung myself down on a bank of heath,
+      And hated this fair world and all therein,
+      And wept and wish'd that I were dead; and he--
+      I know not whether of himself he came,
+      Or brought by Merlin, who, they say, can walk
+      Unseen at pleasure--he was at my side,
+      And spake sweet words, and comforted my heart,
+      And dried my tears, being a child with me.
+      And many a time he came, and evermore
+      As I grew greater grew with me; and sad
+      At times he seem'd, and sad with him was I,
+      Stern too at times, and then I loved him not,
+      But sweet again, and then I loved him well.
+      And now of late I see him less and less,
+      But those first days had golden hours for me,
+      For then I surely thought he would be king.
+
+       "But let me tell thee now another tale:
+      For Bleys, our Merlin's master, as they say,
+      Died but of late, and sent his cry to me,
+      To hear him speak before he left his life.
+      Shrunk like a fairy changeling lay the mage;
+      And when I enter'd told me that himself
+      And Merlin ever served about the King,
+      Uther, before he died; and on the night
+      When Uther in Tintagil past away
+      Moaning and wailing for an heir, the two
+      Left the still King, and passing forth to breathe,
+      Then from the castle gateway by the chasm
+      Descending thro' the dismal night--a night
+      In which the bounds of heaven and earth were lost--
+      Beheld, so high upon the dreary deeps
+      It seem'd in heaven, a ship, the shape thereof
+      A dragon wing'd, and all from stem to stern
+      Bright with a shining people on the decks,
+      And gone as soon as seen. And then the two
+      Dropt to the cove, and watch'd the great sea fall,
+      Wave after wave, each mightier than the last,
+      Till last, a ninth one, gathering half the deep
+      And full of voices, slowly rose and plunged
+      Roaring, and all the wave was in a flame:
+      And down the wave and in the flame was borne
+      A naked babe, and rode to Merlin's feet,
+      Who stoopt and caught the babe, and cried 'The King!
+      Here is an heir for Uther!' And the fringe
+      Of that great breaker, sweeping up the strand,
+      Lash'd at the wizard as he spake the word,
+      And all at once all round him rose in fire,
+      So that the child and he were clothed in fire.
+      And presently thereafter followed calm,
+      Free sky and stars: 'And this same child,' he said,
+      'Is he who reigns: nor could I part in peace
+      Till this were told.' And saying this the seer
+      Went thro' the strait and dreadful pass of death,
+      Not ever to be questioned any more
+      Save on the further side; but when I met
+      Merlin, and ask'd him if these things were truth--
+      The shining dragon and the naked child
+      Descending in the glory of the seas--
+      He laugh'd as is his wont, and answer'd me
+      In riddling triplets of old time, and said:
+
+        "'Rain, rain, and sun! a rainbow in the sky!
+      A young man will be wiser by and by;
+      An old man's wit may wander ere he die.
+
+        "'Rain, rain, and sun! a rainbow on the lea!
+      And truth is this to me, and that to thee;
+      And truth or clothed or naked let it be.
+
+        "'Rain, sun, and rain! and the free blossom blows:
+      Sun, rain, and sun! and where is he who knows?
+      From the great deep to the great deep he goes.'
+
+        "So Merlin riddling anger'd me; but thou
+      Fear not to give this King thine only child,
+      Guinevere: so great bards of him will sing
+      Hereafter; and dark sayings from of old
+      Ranging and ringing thro' the minds of men,
+      And echo'd by old folk beside their fires
+      For comfort after their wage-work is done,
+      Speak of the King; and Merlin in our time
+      Hath spoken also, not in jest, and sworn
+      Tho' men may wound him that he will not die,
+      But pass, again to come; and then or now
+      Utterly smite the heathen under foot,
+      Till these and all men hail him for their king."
+
+        She spake and King Leodogran rejoiced,
+      But musing "Shall I answer yea or nay?"
+      Doubted and drowsed, nodded and slept, and saw,
+      Dreaming, a slope of land that ever grew,
+      Field after field, up to a height, the peak
+      Haze-hidden, and thereon a phantom king,
+      Now looming, and now lost: and on the slope
+      The sword rose, the hind fell, the herd was driven,
+      Fire glimpsed; and all the land from roof and rick,
+      In drifts of smoke before a rolling wind,
+      Stream'd to the peak, and mingled with the haze
+      And made it thicker; while the phantom king
+      Sent out at times a voice; and here or there
+      Stood one who pointed toward the voice, the rest
+      Slew on and burnt, crying, "No king of ours,
+      No son of Uther, and no king of ours";
+      Till with a wink his dream was changed, the haze
+      Descended, and the solid earth became
+      As nothing, but the king stood out in heaven
+      Crown'd. And Leodogran awoke, and sent
+      Ulfius, and Brastias, and Bedivere,
+      Back to the court of Arthur answering yea.
+
+        Then Arthur charged his warrior whom he loved
+      And honored most, Sir Lancelot, to ride forth
+      And bring the Queen;--and watch'd him from the gates;
+      And Lancelot past away among the flowers,
+      (For then was latter April) and return'd
+      Among the flowers, in May, with Guinevere.
+      To whom arrived, by Dubric the high saint,
+      Chief of the church in Britain, and before
+      The stateliest of her altar-shrines, the King
+      That morn was married, while in stainless white,
+      The fair beginners of a nobler time,
+      And glorying in their vows and him, his knights
+      Stood round him, and rejoicing in his joy.
+      Far shone the fields of May thro' open door,
+      The sacred altar blossom'd white with May,
+      The Sun of May descended on their King,
+      They gazed on all earth's beauty in their Queen,
+      Roll'd incense, and there past along the hymns
+      A voice as of the waters, while the two
+      Sware at the shrine of Christ a deathless love:
+      And Arthur said, "Behold, thy doom is mine.
+      Let chance what will, I love thee to the death!"
+      To whom the Queen replied with drooping eyes,
+      "King and my lord, I love thee to the death!"
+      And holy Dubric spread his hands and spake,
+      "Reign ye, and live and love, and make the world
+      Other, and may thy Queen be one with thee,
+      And all this Order of thy Table Round
+      Fulfil the boundless purpose of their King!"
+
+        So Dubric said; but when they left the shrine
+      Great Lords from Rome before the portal stood,
+      In scornful stillness gazing as they past;
+      Then while they paced a city all on fire
+      With sun and cloth of gold, the trumpets blew,
+      And Arthur's knighthood sang before the King:--
+
+        "Blow trumpet, for the world is white with May;
+      Blow trumpet, the long night hath roll'd away!
+      Blow thro' the living world--'Let the King reign.'
+
+        "Shall Rome or heathen rule in Arthur's realm?
+      Flash brand and lance, fall battle-axe upon helm,
+      Fall battle-axe, and flash brand! Let the King reign.
+
+        "Strike for the King and live! his knights have heard
+      That God hath told the King a secret word.
+      Fall battle-axe, and flash brand! Let the King reign.
+
+        "Blow trumpet! he will lift us from the dust.
+      Blow trumpet! live the strength and die the lust!
+      Clang battle-axe, and clash brand! Let the King reign.
+
+        "Strike for the King and die! and if thou diest,
+      The King is King, and ever wills the highest.
+      Clang battle-axe, and clash brand! Let the King reign.
+
+        "Blow, for our Sun is mighty in his May!
+      Blow, for our Sun is mightier day by day!
+      Clang battle-axe, and clash brand! Let the King reign.
+
+        "The King will follow Christ, and we the King,
+      In whom high God hath breathed a secret thing.
+      Fall battle-axe, and clash brand! Let the King reign."
+
+        So sang the knighthood, moving to their hall.
+      There at the banquet those great Lords from Rome,
+      The slowly-fading mistress of the world,
+      Strode in, and claim'd their tribute as of yore.
+      But Arthur spake, "Behold, for these have sworn
+      To wage my wars, and worship me their King;
+      The old order changeth, yielding place to new;
+      And we that fight for our fair father Christ,
+      Seeing that ye be grown too weak and old
+      To drive the heathen from your Roman wall,
+      No tribute will we pay": so those great lords
+      Drew back in wrath, and Arthur strove with Rome.
+
+        And Arthur and his knighthood for a space
+      Were all one will, and thro' that strength the King
+      Drew in the petty princedoms under him,
+      Fought, and in twelve great battles overcame
+      The heathen hordes, and made a realm and reign'd.
+
+
+THE PASSING OF ARTHUR
+
+      That story which the bold Sir Bedivere,
+      First made and latest left of all the knights,
+      Told, when the man was no more than a voice
+      In the white winter of his age, to those
+      With whom he dwelt, new faces, other minds.
+
+        For on their march to westward, Bedivere,
+      Who slowly paced among the slumbering host,
+      Heard in his tent the moanings of the King:
+
+        "I found Him in the shining of the stars,
+      I mark'd Him in the flowering of His fields,
+      But in His ways with men I find Him not.
+      I waged His wars, and now I pass and die.
+      O me! for why is all around us here
+      As if some lesser god had made the world,
+      But had not force to shape it as he would,
+      Till the High God behold it from beyond,
+      And enter it, and make it beautiful?
+      Or else as if the world were wholly fair,
+      But that these eyes of men are dense and dim,
+      And have not power to see it as it is:
+      Perchance, because we see not to the close;--
+      For I, being simple, thought to work His will,
+      And have but stricken with the sword in vain;
+      And all whereon I lean'd in wife and friend
+      Is traitor to my peace, and all my realm
+      Reels back into the beast, and is no more.
+      My God, thou hast forgotten me in my death:
+      Nay--God my Christ--I pass but shall not die."
+
+        Then, ere that last weird battle in the west,
+      There came on Arthur sleeping, Gawain kill'd
+      In Lancelot's war, the ghost of Gawain blown
+      Along a wandering wind, and past his ear
+      Went shrilling, "Hollow, hollow all delight!
+      Hail King! tomorrow thou shalt pass away.
+      Farewell! there is an isle of rest for thee.
+      And I am blown along a wandering wind,
+      And hollow, hollow, hollow all delight."
+      And fainter onward, like wild birds that change
+      Their season in the night and wail their way
+      From cloud to cloud, down the long wind the dream
+      Shrill'd; but in going mingled with dim cries
+      Far in the moonlit haze among the hills,
+      As of some lonely city sack'd by night,
+      When all is lost, and wife and child with wail
+      Pass to new lords! and Arthur woke and call'd,
+      "Who spake? A dream. O light upon the wind,
+      Thine, Gawain, was the voice--are these dim cries
+      Thine? or doth all that haunts the waste and wild
+      Mourn, knowing it will go along with me?"
+
+        This heard the bold Sir Bedivere and spake:
+      "O me, my King, let pass whatever will,
+      Elves, and the harmless glamour of the field;
+      But in their stead thy name and glory cling
+      To all high places like a golden cloud
+      For ever: but as yet thou shalt not pass.
+      Light was Gawain in life, and light in death
+      Is Gawain, for the ghost is as the man;
+      And care not thou for dreams from him, but rise--
+      I hear the steps of Modred in the west,
+      And with him many of thy people, and knights
+      Once thine, whom thou hast loved, but grosser grown
+      Than heathen, spitting at their vows and thee.
+      Right well in heart they know thee for the King.
+      Arise, go forth and conquer as of old."
+
+        Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere:
+      "Far other is this battle in the west
+      Whereto we move, than when we strove in youth,
+      And brake the petty kings, and fought with Rome,
+      Or thrust the heathen from the Roman wall,
+      And shook him thro' the north. Ill doom is mine
+      To war against my people and my knights.
+      The king who fights his people fights himself.
+      And they my knights, who loved me once, the stroke
+      That strikes them dead is as my death to me.
+      Yet let us hence, and find or feel a way
+      Thro' this blind haze, which ever since I saw
+      One lying in the dust at Almesbury,
+      Hath folded in the passes of the world."
+
+        Then rose the King and moved his host by night,
+      And ever push'd Sir Modred, league by league,
+      Back to the sunset bound of Lyonnesse--
+      A land of old upheaven from the abyss
+      By fire, to sink into the abyss again;
+      Where fragments of forgotten peoples dwelt,
+      And the long mountains ended in a coast
+      Of ever-shifting sand, and far away
+      The phantom circle of a moaning sea.
+      There the pursuer could pursue no more,
+      And he that fled no further fly the King;
+      And there, that day when the great light of heaven
+      Burn'd at his lowest in the rolling year,
+      On the waste sand by the waste sea they closed.
+      Nor ever yet had Arthur fought a fight
+      Like this last dim, weird battle of the west.
+      A death-white mist slept over sand and sea:
+      Whereof the chill, to him who breathed it, drew
+      Down with his blood, till all his heart was cold
+      With formless fear; and ev'n on Arthur fell
+      Confusion, since he saw not whom he fought,
+      For friend and foe were shadows in the mist,
+      And friend slew friend not knowing whom he slew;
+      And some had visions out of golden youth,
+      And some beheld the faces of old ghosts
+      Look in upon the battle; and in the mist
+      Was many a noble deed, many a base,
+      And chance and craft and strength in single fights,
+      And ever and anon with host to host
+      Shocks, and the splintering spear, the hard mail hewn,
+      Shield-breakings, and the clash of brands, the crash
+      Of battle-axes on shatter'd helms, and shrieks
+      After the Christ, of those who falling down
+      Look'd up for heaven, and only saw the mist:
+      And shouts of heathen and the traitor knights,
+      Oaths, insult, filth, and monstrous blasphemies,
+      Sweat, writhing, anguish, laboring of the lungs
+      In that close mist, and cryings for the light,
+      Moans of the dying, and voices of the dead.
+
+        Last, as by some one death-bed after wail
+      Of suffering, silence follows, or thro' death
+      Or deathlike swoon, thus over all that shore,
+      Save for some whisper of the seething seas,
+      A dead hush fell; but when the dolorous day
+      Grew drearier toward twilight falling, came
+      A bitter wind, clear from the North, and blew
+      The mist aside, and with that wind the tide
+      Rose, and the pale King glanced across the field
+      Of battle: but no man was moving there;
+      Nor any cry of Christian heard thereon,
+      Nor yet of heathen; only the wan wave
+      Brake in among dead faces, to and fro
+      Swaying the helpless hands, and up and down
+      Tumbling the hollow helmets of the fallen,
+      And shiver'd brands that once had fought with Rome,
+      And rolling far along the gloomy shores
+      The voice of days of old and days to be.
+
+        Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere,
+      And whiter than the mist that all day long
+      Had held the field of battle was the King:
+        "Hearest thou this great voice that shakes the world
+      And wastes the narrow realm whereon we move,
+      And beats upon the faces of the dead,
+      My dead, as tho' they had not died for me?--
+      O Bedivere, for on my heart hath fall'n
+      Confusion, till I know not what I am,
+      Nor whence I am, nor whether I be King.
+      Behold, I seem but King among the dead."
+
+        Then spake the bold Sir Bedivere: "My King,
+      King everywhere! and so the dead have kings,
+      There also will I worship thee as King.
+      Yet still thy life is whole, and still I live
+      Who love thee; but who hates thee, he that brought
+      The heathen back among us, yonder stands,
+      Modred, unharm'd, the traitor of thine house."
+
+        Then spake the King: "My house had been my doom,
+      But call not thou this traitor of my house
+      Who hath but dwelt beneath one roof with me.
+      My house are rather they who sware my vows,
+      Yea, even while they brake them, own'd me King.
+      And well for thee, saying in my dark hour,
+      When all the purport of my throne hath fail'd,
+      That quick or dead thou holdest me for King.
+      King am I, whatsoever be their cry;
+      And one last act of kinghood shalt thou see
+      Yet, ere I pass." And uttering this the King
+      Made at the man: then Modred smote his liege
+      Hard on that helm which many a heathen sword
+      Had beaten thin; while Arthur at one blow,
+      Striking the last stroke with Excalibur,
+      Slew him, and but slain himself, he fell.
+
+        So all day long the noise of battle roll'd
+      Among the mountains by the winter sea;
+      Until King Arthur's Table, man by man,
+      Had fall'n in Lyonnesse about their lord,
+      King Arthur. Then, because his wound was deep,
+      The bold Sir Bedivere uplifted him,
+      And bore him to a chapel nigh the field,
+      A broken chancel with a broken cross,
+      That stood on a dark strait of barren land:
+      On one side lay the Ocean, and on one
+      Lay a great water, and the moon was full.
+
+        Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere:
+      "The sequel of today unsolders all
+      The goodliest fellowship of famous knights
+      Whereof this world holds record. Such a sleep
+      They sleep--the men I loved. I think that we
+      Shall never more, at any future time,
+      Delight our souls with talk of knightly deeds,
+      Walking about the gardens and the halls
+      Of Camelot, as in the days that were.
+      I perish by this people which I made,--
+      Tho' Merlin sware that I should come again
+      To rule once more; but, let what will be, be,
+      I am so deeply smitten thro' the helm
+      That without help I cannot last till morn.
+      Thou therefore take my brand Excalibur,
+      Which was my pride: for thou rememberest how
+      In those old days, one summer noon, an arm
+      Rose up from out the bosom of the lake,
+      Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful,
+      Holding the sword--and how I row'd across
+      And took it, and have worn it, like a king;
+      And, wheresoever I am sung or told
+      In after-time, this also shall be known:
+      But now delay not: take Excalibur,
+      And fling him far into the middle mere:
+      Watch what thou seest, and lightly bring me word."
+
+        To him replied the bold Sir Bedivere:
+      "It is not meet, Sir King, to leave thee thus,
+      Aidless, alone, and smitten thro' the helm--
+      A little thing may harm a wounded man:
+      Yet I thy hest will all perform at full,
+      Watch what I see, and lightly bring thee word."
+
+        So saying, from the ruin'd shrine he stept,
+      And in the moon athwart the place of tombs,
+      Where lay the mighty bones of ancient men,
+      Old knights, and over them the sea-wind sang
+      Shrill, chill, with flakes of foam. He, stepping down
+      By zigzag paths, and juts of pointed rock,
+      Came on the shining levels of the lake.
+
+        There drew he forth the brand Excalibur,
+      And o'er him, drawing it, the winter moon,
+      Brightening the skirts of a long cloud, ran forth
+      And sparkled keen with frost against the hilt:
+      For all the haft twinkled with diamond sparks,
+      Myriads of topaz-lights, and jacinth-work
+      Of subtlest jewellery. He gazed so long
+      That both his eyes were dazzled as he stood,
+      This way and that dividing the swift mind,
+      In act to throw: but at the last it seem'd
+      Better to leave Excalibur conceal'd
+      There in the many-knotted water-flags,
+      That whistled stiff and dry about the marge.
+      So strode he back slow to the wounded King.
+
+        Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere:
+      "Hast thou perform'd my mission which I gave?"
+      What is it thou hast seen? or what hast heard?
+
+        And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere:
+      "I heard the ripple washing in the reeds,
+      And the wild water lapping on the crag."
+
+        To whom replied King Arthur, faint and pale:
+      "Thou hast betray'd thy nature and thy name,
+      Not rendering true answer, as beseem'd
+      Thy fealty, nor like a noble knight:
+      For surer sign had follow'd, either hand,
+      Or voice, or else a motion of the mere.
+      This is a shameful thing for men to lie.
+      Yet now, I charge thee, quickly go again,
+      As thou art lief and dear, and do the thing
+      I bade thee, watch, and lightly bring me word."
+
+        Then went Sir Bedivere the second time
+      Across the ridge, and paced beside the mere,
+      Counting the dewy pebbles, fix'd in thought;
+      But when he saw the wonder of the hilt,
+      How curiously and strangely chased, he smote
+      His palms together, and he cried aloud:
+
+        "And if indeed I cast the brand away,
+      Surely a precious thing, one worthy note,
+      Should thus be lost for ever from the earth,
+      Which might have pleased the eyes of many men.
+      What good should follow this, if this were done?
+      What harm, undone? Deep harm to disobey,
+      Seeing obedience is the bond of rule.
+      Were it well to obey then, if a king demand
+      An act unprofitable, against himself?
+      The King is sick, and knows not what he does.
+      What record, or what relic of my lord
+      Should be to after-time, but empty breath
+      And rumors of a doubt? But were this kept,
+      Stored in some treasure-house of mighty kings,
+      Some one might show it at a joust of arms,
+      Saying, 'King Arthur's sword, Excalibur,
+      Wrought by the lonely maiden of the Lake.
+      Nine years she wrought it, sitting in the deeps
+      Upon the hidden bases of the hills.'
+      So might some old man speak in the after-time
+      To all the people, winning reverence.
+      But now much honor and much fame were lost."
+
+        So spake he, clouded with his own conceit,
+      And hid Excalibur the second time,
+      And so strode back slow to the wounded King.
+
+        Then spoke King Arthur, breathing heavily:
+      "What is it thou hast seen? or what hast heard?"
+
+        And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere:
+      "I heard the water lapping on the crag,
+      And the long ripple washing in the reeds."
+
+        To whom replied King Arthur, much in wrath:
+      "Ah, miserable and unkind, untrue,
+      Unknightly, traitor-hearted! Woe is me!
+      Authority forgets a dying king,
+      Laid widow'd of the power in his eye
+      That bow'd the will. I see thee what thou art,
+      For thou, the latest-left of all my knights,
+      In whom should meet the offices of all,
+      Thou wouldst betray me for the precious hilt;
+      Either from lust of gold, or like a girl
+      Valuing the giddy pleasure of the eyes.
+      Yet, for a man may fail in duty twice,
+      And the third time may prosper, get thee hence:
+      But, if thou spare to fling Excalibur,
+      I will arise and slay thee with my hands."
+
+        Then quickly rose Sir Bedivere, and ran,
+      And, leaping down the ridges lightly, plunged
+      Among the bulrush beds, and clutch'd the sword,
+      And strongly wheel'd and threw it. The great brand
+      Made lightnings in the splendor of the moon,
+      And flashing round and round, and whirl'd in an arch,
+      Shot like a streamer of the northern morn,
+      Seen where the moving isles of winter shook
+      By night, with noises of the Northern Sea.
+      So flash'd and fell the brand Excalibur:
+      But ere he dipt the surface, rose an arm
+      Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful,
+      And caught him by the hilt, and brandish'd him
+      Three times, and drew him under in the mere.
+      And lightly went the other to the King.
+
+        Then spoke King Arthur, drawing thicker breath:
+      "Now see I by thine eyes that this is done.
+      Speak out: what is it thou hast heard, or seen?"
+
+        And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere:
+      "Sir King, I closed mine eyelids, lest the gems
+      Should blind my purpose, for I never saw,
+      Nor shall see, here or elsewhere, till I die,
+      Not tho' I live three lives of mortal men,
+      So great a miracle as yonder hilt.
+      Then with both hands I flung him, wheeling him;
+      But when I look'd again, behold an arm,
+      Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful,
+      That caught him by the hilt and brandish'd him
+      Three times, and drew him under in the mere."
+
+        And answer made King Arthur, breathing hard:
+      "My end draws nigh; 't is time that I were gone.
+      Make broad thy shoulders to receive my weight,
+      And bear me to the margin; yet I fear
+      My wound hath taken cold, and I shall die."
+
+        So saying, from the pavement he half rose,
+      Slowly, with pain, reclining on his arm,
+      And looking wistfully with wide blue eyes
+      As in a picture. Him Sir Bedivere
+      Remorsefully regarded thro' his tears,
+      And would have spoken, but he found not words;
+      Then took with care, and kneeling on one knee,
+      O'er both his shoulders drew the languid hands,
+      And rising bore him thro' the place of tombs.
+
+        But, as he walk'd, King Arthur panted hard,
+      Like one that feels a nightmare on his bed
+      When all the house is mute. So sigh'd the King,
+      Muttering and murmuring at his ear, "Quick, quick!
+      I fear it is too late, and I shall die."
+      But the other swiftly strode from ridge to ridge,
+      Clothed with his breath, and looking, as he walk'd,
+      Larger than human on the frozen hills.
+      He heard the deep behind him, and a cry
+      Before. His own thought drove him like a goad.
+      Dry clash'd his harness in the icy caves
+      And barren chasms, and all to left and right
+      The bare black cliff clang'd round him, as he based
+      His feet on juts of slippery crag that rang
+      Sharp-smitten with the dint of armed heels
+      And on a sudden, lo! the level lake,
+      And the long glories of the winter moon.
+
+        Then saw they how there hove a dusky barge,
+      Dark as a funeral scarf from stem to stern,
+      Beneath them; and descending they were ware
+      That all the decks were dense with stately forms,
+      Black-stoled, black-hooded, like a dream--by these
+      Three Queens with crowns of gold: and from them rose
+      A cry that shiver'd to the tingling stars,
+      And, as it were one voice, an agony
+      Of lamentation, like a wind that shrills
+      All night in a waste land, where no one comes,
+      Or hath come, since the making of the world.
+
+        Then murmur'd Arthur, "Place me in the barge."
+      So to the barge they came. There those three Queens
+      Put forth their hands, and took the King, and wept.
+      But she, that rose the tallest of them all
+      And fairest, laid his head upon her lap,
+      And loosed the shatter'd casque, and chafed his hands,
+      And call'd him by his name, complaining loud,
+      And dropping bitter tears against a brow
+      Striped with dark blood: for all his face was white
+      And colorless, and like the wither'd moon
+      Smote by the fresh beam of the springing east;
+      And all his greaves and cuisses dash'd with drops
+      Of onset; and the light and lustrous curls--
+      That made his forehead like a rising sun
+      High from the daïs-throne--were parch'd with dust;
+      Or, clotted into points and hanging loose,
+      Mix'd with the knightly growth that fringed his lips.
+      So like a shatter'd column lay the King;
+      Not like that Arthur who, with lance in rest,
+      From spur to plume a star of tournament,
+      Shot thro' the lists at Camelot, and charged
+      Before the eyes of ladies and of kings.
+
+        Then loudly cried the bold Sir Bedivere:
+      "Ah! my Lord Arthur, whither shall I go?
+      Where shall I hide my forehead and my eyes?
+      For now I see the true old times are dead,
+      When every morning brought a noble chance,
+      And every chance brought out a noble knight.
+      Such times have been not since the light that led
+      The holy Elders with the gift of myrrh.
+      But now the whole Round Table is dissolved
+      Which was an image of the mighty world
+      And I, the last, go forth companionless,
+      And the days darken round me, and the years,
+      Among new men, strange faces, other minds."
+
+        And slowly answer'd Arthur from the barge:
+      "The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
+      And God fulfils himself in many ways,
+      Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.
+      Comfort thyself: what comfort is in me?
+      I have lived my life, and that which I have done
+      May He within himself make pure! but thou,
+      If thou shouldst never see my face again,
+      Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer
+      Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice
+      Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
+      For what are men better than sheep or goats
+      That nourish a blind life within the brain,
+      If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
+      Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
+      For so the whole round earth is every way
+      Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.
+      But now farewell. I am going a long way
+      With these thou seest--if indeed I go
+      (For all my mind is clouded with a doubt)--
+      To the island-valley of Avilion;
+      Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow,
+      Nor ever wind blows loudly; but it lies
+      Deep-meadow'd, happy, fair with orchard lawns
+      And bowery hollows crown'd with summer sea,
+      Where I will heal me of my grievous wound."
+
+        So said he, and the barge with oar and sail
+      Moved from the brink, like some full-breasted swan
+      That, fluting a wild carol ere her death,
+      Ruffles her pure cold plume, and takes the flood
+      With swarthy webs. Long stood Sir Bedivere
+      Revolving many memories, till the hull
+      Look'd one black dot against the verge of dawn,
+      And on the mere the wailing died away.
+
+        But when that moan had past for evermore,
+      The stillness of the dead world's winter dawn
+      Amazed him, and he groan'd, "The King is gone."
+      And therewithal came on him the weird rhyme,
+      "From the great deep to the great deep he goes."
+
+        Whereat he slowly turn'd and slowly clomb
+      The last hard footstep of that iron crag;
+      Thence mark'd the black hull moving yet, and cried,
+      "He passes to be King among the dead,
+      And after healing of his grievous wound
+      He comes again; but--if he come no more--
+      O me, be yon dark Queens in yon black boat,
+      Who shriek'd and wail'd, the three whereat we gazed
+      On that high day, when, clothed with living light,
+      They stood before his throne in silence, friends
+      Of Arthur, who should help him at his need?"
+
+        Then from the dawn it seem'd there came, but faint,
+      As from beyond the limit of the world,
+      Like the last echo born of a great cry,
+      Sounds, as if some fair city were one voice
+      Around a king returning from his wars.
+
+        Thereat once more he moved about, and clomb
+      Ev'n to the highest he could climb, and saw,
+      Straining his eyes beneath an arch of hand,
+      Or thought he saw, the speck that bare the King,
+      Down that long water opening on the deep
+      Somewhere far off, pass on and on, and go
+      From less to less and vanish into light.
+      And the new sun rose bringing the new year.
+
+
+
+
+THE GREAT KNIGHT SIEGFRIED
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+[Illustration: SIEGFRIED CAME OFF VICTOR IN EVERY ENCOUNTER]
+
+Gunther, the king of Burgundy, recognizing the young 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Come hither all my kinsmen and followers," she said, "and acknowledge
+my superior. I am no longer your mistress. Gunther is your lord."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+Brunhild received Kriemhild graciously, but at heart she 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.
+
+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.
+
+"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.
+
+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.
+
+"This quarrel is disgraceful," he said. "I will teach my wife better
+manners for the future." Gunther promised to do likewise.
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+"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."
+
+Kriemhild promised to obey his instructions, and Hagen departed, well
+pleased, to carry the news to Gunther.
+
+At last the day came for Siegfried to leave his queen. He talked to
+her and comforted her and kissed her rosy lips.
+
+"Dear heart," he said, "why all these tears? I shall not be gone
+long."
+
+But she was thinking of what she had told Hagen, and wept and wept and
+would not be comforted.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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 him, drove his spear into his
+body at the exact spot where Kriemhild had embroidered the fatal mark.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Blood will flow afresh at the murderer's touch," he said.
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+LOHENGRIN AND ELSA THE BEAUTIFUL
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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:
+
+"If you should need my help, just ring this."
+
+Elsa tried to take the trinket, but she could neither rise nor reach
+the outstretched hand. Then she awoke.
+
+Thinking over the apparition Elsa noted a falcon circling 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"My champion will appear in the contest," she said; whereupon the
+count let forth such a mocking laugh that the hearts of all were
+filled with intense fear.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Your name and descent?" cried the herald.
+
+"My name is Lohengrin," answered the stranger, "my origin royal: more
+it is not necessary to tell."
+
+"Enough," broke in the king, "nobility is written on your brow."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+Gladly Lohengrin consented, and amid cries of delight from the
+assembled people he rode over to Elsa, who greeted him as her
+deliverer.
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+Then the hero led his trembling wife before the king and his nobles
+who were assembled on the banks of the Rhine.
+
+"The son of Parsifal am I," he said, "the son of Parsifal, the keeper
+of the Holy Grail. Gladly would I have helped 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."
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+FRITHIOF THE BOLD
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+Frithiof was now one of the wealthiest and most envied of land-owners.
+His treasures were richer by far than those of any king.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+Frithiof had no weapons, but with a turn of his wrist he threw his
+opponent.
+
+"Go and get your weapons," Atlé said, when he saw that Frithiof would
+have killed him.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+Horror-stricken, Frithiof tried to stop the blaze, and when he could
+not, hurried away to his ship.
+
+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.
+
+But Frithiof was often homesick, and longed to enter a harbor, and
+lead again a life of peace.
+
+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.
+
+At this Sigurd Ring invited the old man to remove his 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.
+
+"Who are you who comes to us thus?" asked Sigurd Ring.
+
+"I am Thiolf, a thief," was the answer, "and I have grown to manhood
+in the Land of Sorrow."
+
+Sigurd invited him to remain, and he soon became the almost constant
+companion of the king and queen.
+
+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.
+
+Awaking, Sigurd Ring called Frithiof to him.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Behold your king," he cried, "and until he is grown to manhood I will
+stand beside him."
+
+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.
+
+[Illustration: FRITHIOF AND INGEBORG IN THE TEMPLE OF BALDER]
+
+
+
+
+WAYLAND THE SMITH
+
+
+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.
+
+One day the two boys came with their bows to the great smith Wayland,
+asking him to make arrows for them.
+
+"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."
+
+"What is that?" one of the boys ventured.
+
+"You must," said Wayland, "come on a day when snow has freshly fallen,
+and you must walk facing backward all the way."
+
+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.
+
+"O Wayland, make us the arrows," they cried. "The king, our father,
+has said that we might have them."
+
+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.
+
+When the children did not return the castle messengers were sent out
+to find them. They inquired at the smithy.
+
+"The boys have gone," said Wayland. "I made arrows for them, and no
+doubt they have gone into the woods to shoot birds."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Why not take it to Wayland to mend?" suggested one of her trusted
+maidens.
+
+So Badhild gave the trinket to the girl and bade her take it to
+Wayland. She brought it back with her.
+
+"Without the command of the king he will not mend it," she said,
+"unless the king's daughter herself will come to him."
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+The maiden could not refuse, and so the two were married, agreeing to
+keep their union a secret.
+
+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.
+
+"You may have only one trial," the king said.
+
+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.
+
+"Why did you have three arrows?" the king asked.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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:
+
+"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)."
+
+The next time Wayland saw Eigil he bade him bring to him all kinds of
+feathers, large and small.
+
+"I wish to make for myself a doublet of feathers," he explained.
+
+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.
+
+Eigil admired the workmanship and Wayland asked him to try it.
+
+"How shall I rise, how fly, and how alight?" asked Eigil.
+
+"You must rise against the wind, and fly first low and then high, but
+you must alight with the wind."
+
+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:
+
+"Tell me, brother Eigil, do you like the shirt?"
+
+"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."
+
+"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.
+
+"I did not tell you the truth when I said that you should alight
+_with_ 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."
+
+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.
+
+[Illustration: WAYLAND THE SMITH, WEARING THE WINGS HE HAD FASHIONED]
+
+"Are you a bird, Wayland?" asked the king.
+
+"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.
+
+"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?"
+
+"My sons!" cried Nidung. "Oh, tell me what you know of them."
+
+"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."
+
+Nidung swore and Wayland began his speech:
+
+"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."
+
+With these words he flew away, while Nidung in great anger cried:
+"Eigil, shoot at Wayland."
+
+"I cannot harm my own brother," replied Eigil.
+
+"Shoot," cried the king, "or I will kill you."
+
+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.
+
+But Wayland, unharmed, flew away to Zealand and made his home there in
+his father's land.
+
+Nidung, meantime, was sad and unhappy, and it was not long before he
+died and Otvin, his son, succeeded to the throne.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+So ends the story of Wayland, the great smith of the northern
+countries.
+
+
+
+
+TWARDOWSKI, THE POLISH FAUST
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"What do you wish?" the devil asked.
+
+"The power of your most secret wisdom," was the answer.
+
+"And how is this to be done?"
+
+"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."
+
+"So be it," said the devil. "But on condition that at the end of
+seven years I gain possession of your soul."
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+At last the seven years were up. The devil appeared to Twardowski and
+said:
+
+"Twardowski, the time of our pact is over, and I command you to
+fulfill your promise and go to Rome."
+
+"What shall I do there?"
+
+"Give me your immortal soul," was the answer.
+
+"Do you think I am a fool?" asked Twardowski.
+
+"You gave me your promise to go to Rome after seven years."
+
+"That I have already done," said Twardowski, "and I did not promise to
+stay in Rome."
+
+"Noble deceiver!" exclaimed the Evil One.
+
+"Stupid devil!" cried Twardowski.
+
+Then after a struggle the devil vanished and Twardowski returned home.
+
+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.
+
+"You have always obliged me without question," said Twardowski, "and I
+expect you to now. Take this knife and thrust it into my heart."
+
+"God forbid!" cried Famulus.
+
+"Why are you frightened? I know what I am doing. Take the knife and
+kill me, as the parchment directs."
+
+"I cannot."
+
+"You must," insisted Twardowski.
+
+"It is impossible!"
+
+"No more exclamations. Do as I tell you."
+
+"Oh, oh, oh!" wailed Famulus.
+
+"Strike!" thundered Twardowski, "or I will kill you this instant."
+
+Then Famulus did as he was bid and forced the blade into his master's
+heart.
+
+Twardowski uttered a low cry, fell, and was soon dead.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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.
+
+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.
+
+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 deeper he went through dark and winding
+passages. At last he reached the underworld itself, and many awful
+sights did he behold.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+He made a respectful bow and said, "Will you be good enough to go with
+me now?"
+
+"Why so?" asked Twardowski, obstinately.
+
+"Because of our agreement."
+
+"But," said the magician, "only in Rome have you power over me."
+
+"Yes," replied the devil, "and Rome is the name of this house."
+
+"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.
+
+Anger showed in the face of the devil; but he stepped nearer to
+Twardowski and said softly:
+
+"What are you thinking of, Twardowski? Have you forgotten your
+promise? The nobleman's word is sacred to him."
+
+Pride awoke in the breast of the magician.
+
+"I must keep my word," he said, laying the child back in the crib, and
+surrendering himself.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+And so, according to the story, Twardowski is suspended in the vault
+of heaven to this very day.
+
+[Illustration: TWARDOWSKI IN THE ARMS OF THE EVIL ONE]
+
+
+
+
+ILIA MUROMEC OF RUSSIA
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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:
+
+"Now is the mighty Zidovin in the neighborhood of our castle. What is
+your will?"
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+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:
+
+"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."
+
+[Illustration: ZIDOVIN THREW THE IRON CLUB INTO THE AIR AND CAUGHT IT
+WITH ONE HAND]
+
+
+
+
+KRALEWITZ MARKO OF SERVIA
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Hold on, brothers," cried Milos. "I will give you a sharper sword
+with which to cut off the malicious head of the noble Piam. See, with
+this sword did the good-for-nothing treacherously slay my father.
+Cursed be his hand!"
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+At this Marko looked up and saw himself surrounded. He emptied his
+beaker, threw it to the ground, and sprang to his horse.
+
+[Illustration: THEY GAGGED MARKO AND BOUND HIM TO HIS HORSE]
+
+Like a falcon among doves Marko charged against the enemy. He cut off
+the heads of some and drove the rest before 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"Now, for the love of Heaven," said she, "see that my husband and my
+son return to me."
+
+"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."
+
+The wife provided all that he asked, and gave the prisoners for
+themselves a thousand ducats. Then they rode away.
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+THE DECISION OF LIBUSCHA
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+[Illustration: LIBUSCHA INSULTED BY CHRUDIS]
+
+Deeply grieved, the maiden-princess Libuscha rose, explaining that
+she would no longer rule alone. She commanded the people to choose her
+a husband.
+
+"No matter whom you choose," she declared, "I will abide by your
+decision."
+
+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.
+
+Thus did Pungel become the liege lord of the Bohemian nobles.
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+COUNT ROLAND OF FRANCE
+
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+The King said when he heard these words, "What ails you, Ganelon? You
+look like to one possessed."
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+Said Oliver to Roland, "Comrade, methinks we shall soon do battle with
+the Saracens."
+
+"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."
+
+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."
+
+"Be silent," answered Roland, "till you shall know; say no more about
+him."
+
+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."
+
+Then Oliver turned to Roland, and said, "Sound your horn; my friend,
+Charles will hear it, and will return."
+
+"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."
+
+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."
+
+"As for me," said Oliver, "I see not where the dishonor would be. I
+saw the valleys and the mountains covered with the great multitude of
+Saracens. Theirs is, in truth, a mighty array, and we are but few."
+
+"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."
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+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 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:
+
+"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.
+
+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."
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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?"
+
+"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."
+
+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!
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+"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."
+
+"The battle is too hard for us," said Roland again, "and I shall
+sound my horn, that the King may hear."
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+"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."
+
+Then Roland blew his horn a second time; with great 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."
+
+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."
+
+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!"
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+Then Oliver knew he was stricken to death, but he would 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."
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+"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."
+
+"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.
+
+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 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.
+
+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."
+
+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."
+
+"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 to the
+death. And now, Roland, blame me not that I fled; for you are my lord,
+and all my trust is in you."
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+"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 knights that were in the army of
+the heathen, gathered themselves into one company, and made a yet
+fiercer assault on Roland.
+
+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."
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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 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!"
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+[Illustration: ROLAND'S OWN DEATH WAS VERY NEAR]
+
+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 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."
+
+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."
+
+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, 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.
+
+
+
+
+THE CID
+
+[Illustration: THE YOUTHFUL CID AVENGING THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER]
+
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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."
+
+In return for his brave service Rodrigo was restored to favor and
+given place among the king's courtiers.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+Then the Cid aided Ferdinand in defeating the hostile 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.
+
+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.
+
+"Never yet have we done homage," cried the Cid, "and shall we now bow
+to a stranger?"
+
+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.
+
+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 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.
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+Toledo, thanks to the valor of the Cid, soon fell into the hands of
+Alfonso, but a misunderstanding arose and the 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:
+
+"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."
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+So the Cid parted from his daughters, weeping at the loss. The
+procession started. The first morning the counts 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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+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 are listed below.
+
+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.
+
+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.
+
+
+List of Amendments:
+
+Page 11--Delhi amended to Delphi--"So he traveled to Delphi ..."
+
+Page 35--Petraus amended to Petraeus--"... pierced a mighty Centaur,
+Petraeus, ..."
+
+Page 102--stomaches amended to stomachs--"... furnaces in their
+stomachs had likewise been extinguished, ..."
+
+Page 134--Agammenon amended to Agamemnon--"Then said King Agamemnon,
+"But how ...""
+
+Page 219--Brunhild amended to Kriemhild--"Kriemhild promised to obey
+his instructions, ..."
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF ALL NATIONS ***
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