Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1919-08-02

the CLASSIC KING Nelcuu&1k tne StofAn-
tossed stranger TO his board.
Ear wanderer.- he said. raising his
glass to me. ~eat OF what cur board
affords, welcome without question Of
name and nation. But If. when the
food and wine have done their ge1lal
ofaee. and the WEAKNESS Of your Jour
neying has fallen from you. you should
feel stirred to tell US somewhat Of
yourself and your wanderlngs. what
manner Of men call you kinsman. in
what fair land Is your home and the
place Of your loved ones. be sure that
We shall count the tale good hearing
and. for our part. make exchange In
like fashion Of ourselves and the pass
age Of our days In this lonely isle"
We all laughed as he ended-himself
with a whlnny Of laughter. For, odd
as such discourse may sound in the
reading. it was uttered so whimsicaIly.
and in so spirited and humorous a
style that l assure you 1t was very
captivating.
"Y0u should have been an actor. my
lord Alcinous." l said. laughing. I
seemed already curiOusly at home.
seated there at that table with this
fantastic stranger and that being out
of fairyland toward whom dared only
turn my eyes now and again by
stealth. The strange fellow had such
a way with him. and his talk made you
feel that he had known you all your
life.
"Ahl l have had my dreams. have
had my dreamsT he answered. his
eyes gazing with a momentary wistful-
ness across the orange trees.
Then we talked at random, as friend
ly strangers talk over luncheon, though
we were glad enough that he should
do all the talking-wonderful. rides
cent. madcap talk, such as a man here
and there In ten thousand, gifted with
perhaps the most attractive Of all hui
man gifts, has at his command.
And, every now aud again, my eyes.
falling on the paradoxichl squalor Of
his clothing. would remind me Of the
enigma of this courtly vagabond; /;
though--need l say ltl-my eyes and
my heart had other business than with
him, throughout that wonderful meal,
cnfolded as / felt myself once more in
that golden cloud Of magnetic vitality,
which had at first swept over me, as
with a breath Of perfumed fire, among
the salt pork and the tlnware of
Sweeney's store.
Luncheon over, Lady Calypso, with
stately inclination Of her lovely
head, left us to our wine and our
cigars.
The time had come for the far-trav-
eled guest to declare himself, and l
saw In my hosts eye courteous invi-
cation to begin. had been pondcring
what account TO give Of myself, and l
had decided, for various reasons-of
which the Lady Calypso was, of course.
first, but the open-hearted charm Of
her father a close second-to tell him
the whole of my story. Whatever
his and her particular secret was, II
was evident to me that Il was an In
nocent and honorable one; and, be-
sides. / may have had n notion that
before long / was to have family
interest in It. So began-startlng In
with a little prelude In the manner of
my host, just to enter into the spirit
of the game:
my Lord Alclnous, your guest, the
far wanderer. having partaken of your
golden hospitality. is now faln to open
his heart TO you, and tell you Of him
self and his race, his home and his
loved ones across the wine-dark sea.
and such of hts adventures as may
give pleasure TO your ears" =.
though, having no talents in that di-
rectlon, l was glad enough 90 abandon
my lame attempt at his Homeric style
/ for plain straightforward narrative
Of the events Of the past three months.
had not, however, proceeded very
far, when, with a courteous raising Of
his hand, King Alclnous suggested a
pause.
III you would not mind" he said, 81
would like my daughter TO hear this
too, for II is Of the very stun Of ro-
mantle adventure in which she de-
lights. She is Il brave girl. and as
often tell her, would have made a
very spirited daredevil boy. II she
hadn't happened to be born a girl"
This phrase seemed to fash light
upon the questlonings that had stirred
at the back Of my mind since had
first heard that voice In Sweeney's
store.
"By the way. dear king" l said. as
sumlng casual manner. do you hap
pen TO have a sonf
"No" he answered. Calypso is my
only child"
"Very strangep I said, "we met a
whimsical lnd IN our travels whom |
would have sworn was her brother"
THAT'S oddI' said the king lmper-
turhahly, "but mol have no son !"
and he seemed to say II with a certain
sadness.
Then Calypso came in TO join my
audience, having meanwhile. taken
the opportunity OF twining a scarlet
hibiscus among her mxuriant dark
curls. should certainly have told the
story better without her. yet I was