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58.

But soon they reached the castle wall,
And came to the castle gate;
When, lo! the youth, without delay,
Rode boldly in thereat.

59.

Thrice turned the maiden wan and pale,
And with fear her heart was moved,
When she saw the lordly baron was
The peasant youth she loved.

60.

But blithe he cried: 'Cheer up, my fair; Forgive my pride, I pray ;

And, lo for thy faith thus nobly proved, Be this thy bridal-day.

61.

Although thou wast but a lowly maid, Thou art now my countess gay; Then, come, cheer up, my love so true, For this is our bridal-day.'

62.

The wardens blew their sounding horns,
And their banners streamed in air;
Their horns resounded o'er the dale,
The banners shone afar.

OLD WORLD STORIES.

THE CATTLE OF HELIOS.

Far away down the gentle stream of ocean, Odysseus had been to the dark kingdom of Hades, where the ghosts of men wander after their days on earth are ended. There he talked with Agamemnon and the wise seer Teiresias, with Minos and Heracles; and there he had listened to the words of Achilles in the meadows of Asphodel, and told him of the brave deeds and the great name of his son Neoptolemus. There the shade of Heracles spake to him, but Heracles himself was in the house of Zeus, and lay in the arms of Hebe, quaffing the dark wine at the banquets of the gods. And the shade told him of the former days, how all his life long Heracles toiled for a hard master, who was weaker than himself, but Zeus gave him the power. Then Odysseus tarried no more in the shadowy land, for he feared lest Persephone, the queen, might place before him Gorgon's head, which no mortal man may see and live; so he went back to his ship, and his men took their oars and rowed down the stream of ocean, till they came to the wide sea; and then they spread the white sails, and hastened to the island of Ææa, where Eôs dwells, and where Helios rises to greet the early morning.

From her home which the wolves and the lions guarded, the Lady Kirkê saw the ship of Odysseus, as she sat on her golden throne, weaving the bright threads in

her loom. And straightway she rose, and bade her handmaidens bring bread and wine to the sea-shore for Odysseus and his men. Long time they feasted on the smooth beach, until they fell asleep for very weariness; but Kirkê took Odysseus to her own home, and bade him sit down by her side, while she told him of all the things which should befall him on his way to Ithaca. She told him of the Seirens, fair and false, and of their sweet song, by which they tempt the weary seamen as they sail on the white and burning sea. She told him of the wandering rocks, from which no ship ever escaped but the divine Argo, when Jason led the warriors to search for the golden fleece. She told him of the monstrous Skylla, with her twelve shapeless feet and her six necks, long and lean, from which six dreadful heads peer out over the dark water, each with a triple row of spearlike teeth, as she seizes on every living thing which the waves of the sea cast within her reach. She told him of Charybdis, the deathless monster, who, thrice each day, hurls forth the water from her boiling pool, and thrice each day sucks it back. She warned him of the Thrinakian land, where the cattle of Helios feed in their sunny pastures. There, each evening, as the sun goes down, and each morning as he rises from the eastern sea, two fair maidens came forth to tend them. These children of Helios, their mother-tender and loving as the light of early day-placed far off in the Thrinakian land, to tend their father's herds. 'Wherefore go not near that island,' said the Lady Kirkê, 'for no mortal man shall escape the wrath of Helios if any hurt befall his cattle. And if thy comrades stretch forth a hand against them, thy ship shall be sunk in the deep sea; and if ever thou mayest reach thy home, thou shalt return to it a lonely

man, mourning for all the friends whom thou hast lost.'

Even as she spake, the light of Eôs tinged the far-off sky, and Kirkê bade Odysseus farewell as he went back to the ship. So they sailed away from the house of the wise goddess, and they passed by the Seirens' land, where Odysseus heard the sweet sound of their singing as it rose clear and soft through the hot and breathless air. Thence they came to the secret caves of Skylla, and her six heads, stretched out above the boiling waters, seized each one of the men of Odysseus, and he heard their last shriek for help as they were sucked down her gaping jaws. But they went not near the whirlpool of Charybdis, for Odysseus feared the warning of Kirkê.

The sun was sinking down in the sky as the ship of Odysseus drew near towards the beautiful island of Helios. The long line of light danced merrily on the rippling sea, and the soft breeze fanned their cheeks with its gentle breathing. Then spake Odysseus, and said Listen, O friends, to my words. Last night,

the Lady Kirkê talked with me, and told me of all the things that should come to pass as we journeyed home to Ithaca. She told me of the Seirens, of Skylla and Charybdis, and all things have come to pass as she said. But, most of all, she warned me not to set foot on the island of Helios, for there his cattle are tended. Each day, Helios looks down upon them as he journeys through the high heaven, and no mortal man may lay his hand on them and live. Wherefore hearken to me, and turn the ship away, so that we may not come to this land. Well I know that ye are weary and sick with toil; but better is it to reach our home wearied and hungry, than to perish in distant

lands for evil deeds.' Then was Eurylochos filled with anger; so he spake out boldly, and said: 'Oh, Odysseus, hard of heart and cruel in soul, thou faintest not in thy limbs, neither is thy body tired out with toil. Surely thou must be framed of hard iron, that thou seekest to turn us away from the fair and happy land. Our hearts are faint, our bodies tremble for very weariness, and sleep lies heavy on our eyelids. Here, on the smooth beach, we may rest in peace, and cheer our souls with food and wine, and when the sun is risen we will go forth again in our long wanderings over the wide sea; but now will we not go, for who can sail safely while the night sits on her dark throne in the sky? for then dangers hang over mortal men, and the sudden whirlwind may come and sink us all beneath the tossing waters.'

So spake Eurylochos, and all the men shouted with loud voices to go to the land; but when Odysseus saw that it was vain to hinder them, he said: 'Swear then to me, all of you, a solemn oath, that ye will touch not one of the sacred herds who feed in the pastures of Helios, but that ye will only eat of the bread and drink the wine which the Lady Kirkê gave to us.' Then they sware all of them; and the ship came to land in a beautiful bay, where a soft stream of pure water trickled down from a high rock, and deep caves gave shelter from the dew of the night. Then they made their meal on the beach, and mourned over their six comrades whom the monstrous Skylla had swallowed with her greedy jaws, until sleep came down upon their eyelids; but when the stars were going down in the sky, and before Eôs spread her soft light through the heaven, Zeus sent forth a great wind to scourge the waters of the sea, and a dark cloud came down and hid

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