The Washington herald., 1919-09-26

( latter has in it the beginning of the
story OF Orestes. the close Greek
counterpart OF Hamlet. The kings
brother Manelaus had better fortune;
he had journeyed homeward with his
erstwhile queen Helen. as II the greA
Trojan episode had never been, ana
( was reigning again In peace and quiet
with The Worlds Desire by his side
at Sparta, with no dread OF a maraud-
ing Paris sent on the quest of beauty
oy Aphrodite. And so. too. the other
princes had returned with varying
fortunes.
But not so the Great Adventurer
Troy had taken ten years to capture;
ten years more still found the willy
Odysseus detained in the Isle OF
Ogygia by the fair Calypso. Mean
while the patient Penelope bides az
! home, beset by the riotous suitors
who make Liberty Hall of the absent
Kings palace and would force the
queen to wed one Of them She, ever
as alert and resourceful as her wan
dering lord, puts OF her promise till
she has woven a web-of which sne
each night unravels what she has done
during the day.
This first great story OF wandering
adventure has a much more perfect
unity than the Iliad. 1t centers close
ly about the person OF Odysseus, ana
divides itself into three parts. the
adventures OF Telemachus in quest OF
odysseus, the wanderings OF the hero.
and his return home, where with the
Few still faithful to him he makes
himself his own detective, lays the
scene for the destruction OF the
villains. and finally brings about the
happy ending which has so constantly
distressed critics Of the novel and the
theater since man began to write ana
ordinary folk to listen or to read.
In the first chapter. which comprises
the first four books OF the suitors.
Odyssey. young Telemachus. amidst
the mockery OF the suitors. starts IN
quest Of his father. and makes the
rounds of the courts of our old friend
Nestor. king of Pylos. and OF Meme
laus and Helen at Sparta, where he
learns the whereabouts of his father.
and then starts homewaru.
At this moment 1t is at last made
possible for Odysseus to start on his
way home. But the sea, ever his
enemy. again plays him false, and he
Is wrecked once more. though he is
cast ashore on the land of the Phaea-
clans. There begins in the land of
this fabulous folk one of the most
marvellous adventures OF the man of
marvels. Probably the scene that re-
mains in the minds of the great
majority Of readers of Greek literature
as the fairest bit of idolized beauty
in it all is the picture of the young
Princess Nausicaa. She had gone
down TO the river mouth with her
handmaidens to wash linen: their
work done. they fell to playing upon
the shore. where Odysseus. beneath
the shade of the bushes. was sleeping
of the weary travaii of his long swim
Then Having bathed and anointed
themselves sleekly with olive oil. they
took their meal by the banks of the
river and waited for the clothes TO
dry in the bright rays of the sun.
And when they had cheered them
selves with food. maids and mistress
alike they began to play at ball, cast
ing aside their wells. And for them
fair-armed Nausicaa began the song.
AS Artemis the archer goddess goeth
down from a mountain, either lofty
Taygetus or Erymanthus. taking her
sport with boars and swift deer, and
with her the wood-nymphs sport.
daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus, ana
Leto rejoiceth in heart, and over all
she holdeth head and brows, and easy
to mark Is she. though all be fair
so was the unwed maid conspicuous
among her attendants.-
The days work and the sport were
over; they were about to depart ana
leave the weary sleeper under rne
bushes-when one last throw sent the
ball spinning into the water Instant
and unanimous scream from PRINCESS
and from maids!
So Odysseus was introduced to
Phaeacia, and the introduction proved
well that the hero knew not only the
ways of men. but of maids as well.
OF the many pleasing things he said
to the princess to win her favor, one
stands out conspicuous-his compari-
son Of her perfect youth to the young
shoot of a palm tree he had seen in
Delos. Whoever had a gardeners
eve knows instantly the perfect trib-
ute.
Then followed the presentation OF
the royal wanderer at the court OF
fNIhe hiShiOA' ohu SLuCcH ATele anu
the tale of his adventures since leav-
ing Calypsos isle. The king is
moved and promises to help the
stranger on his way. A feast is held;
the court bard sings of Troy-the
stranger weeps; the king presses him
to tell his story. 1t was a wondrous
tale he had To tell, the like of which
was never heard before or since. be-
ginning with the fall of Troy, he had
made his course to Thrace, to the
Lostus-eaters, to the land OF the Cy-
clops, when hefell the adventure with
Polyphemus. whose one eye he put
out; next the trying experience with
the perverse Winds of Aeolus. with the
Laestrygonians, and with the enchant-
ress Circe, Who turned her visitors
into swine. Then came the descent
to Hades. which set the fashion for
Virgil and for Dante and all the others
who have essayed that great ad-
venture. Tte Sirens. Scylla ana
Charybdis, and other adventures