The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1906-06-07
his companions to tie him to the mast,


and to put more rope around him, and
tie him all the faster if they should
see him trying to get loose. Then he
hermetically sealed the ears of his en-
tire crew with wax, so that they were
unable to hear any sound. Odysseus,
who could resist the enticing tunes no
more than any other mortal, struggled
frant1cally to get loose when he heard
the Sirens singing his praise and beck
oning him to them. He threatened his
men with all kinds of punishment if
they did not unite him at once. 1t was
all In vain; the men could not hear
him, and tied him all the faster, the
more they saw him struggle, till the
island had passed out of sight and the
danger had disappeared. The idea is
brilliantly conceived. The curiosity of
Odysseus, to hear the sweet voices
without falling victim to their charm,
is splendidly portrayed by the great
poet. @sse
| Another, partly thrilling, partly
idyllic adventure with the fair sex be-
fell Odysseus on the island of the
charming and beautiful Circe, a won
derful sorceress, who changed all of
Odysseus' companions into swine by
means of an enchanted wine, and was
just about to metamorphose our hero
into the same kind of animal, when
she was outwitted by him, and forced
to restore his friends to their normal
conditions. After that, Odysseus and
Circe became excellent friends-so ex-
cellent, that Odysseus might have
stayed with her indefinitely, had he
not finally, after spending a whole
year with Circe, succumbed to the en-
treaties of his friends to continue the
home Journey. The genus maseuli-
num-the self-styled lord of creation
appears to have been of as naughty a
disposition then, as he is in our degen-
crate times; for Homer portrays to US
this Odysseus, husband and father,
as a man who, even while longing to
return to the bosom of his family, is
not at all adverse to sip, like butter
fly, honey from the flowers he finds on
his way. Truly, there is nothing new
under the sun! But this little trans
gression reminds the writer to point
out that there is not q single love
scene in Homer's work. Think of
that, kind reader. Here we have the
oldest and most fascinating of all
poems, without even q reference to
love; while almost every one of the
later poets found it impossible to
make his work interesting without
love-without a great deal of love.
The many feats of personal bravery
and daring of @Odysseus, shall not be
referred to in this article. Odysseus'
ship was finally shattered to pieces on
rock, and his few remaining COM
panions perished on this occasion,
while he, protected by Athene, was
washed upon the shores of the Island
Phaeacia, which was inhabited by a
nautical people who had become very
prosperous by their maritime enter
prises. 1t was reigned over by King
Alcinous who, having heard of the
prowess of Odysseus, received him
with the utmost hospitality, gave fes-
rivals and tournaments in his honor,
at which latter Odysseus greatly dis
tinguished himself, and finally sent
him on one of his ships home to
Ithaca. The scenes at Phaeacia, be-
long to the very best of Homer's de-
scriptions. We have no historical
record of this island; but no more do
we have records of any other parts of
the world as they existed before 700
B. G. When Homer tells as about
giants, nymphs and monsters, we un-
derstand that these either originated
in his imaginative brain; or that he
had heard Of such legends by verbal
transmissions. But it is quite impos-
sible, that he GOULD have given us q
detailed description of such a well
organized commonwealth ss that of
the Phaeaceans IL 1t had not really ex-
listed, either inf fhaeacis, or somewhere
else. He even gives us in detail the
conversations carried on at the feats,
etc., by Aleinous, Odysseus and others,
and the excellent language employed
Is absolutely phenomenal, il we con-
l'sider those early times. The most