Okolona messenger., 1921-10-06

troubles by the duel Of the cham
pions were in vain. The contest WAS
incOnclusive and the truce was brok-
en-.
The scene changes to Troy itself.
In an interval Of the battle great Hec-
tor Of the Glancing Helm had gone TO
the citadel. And there he said fare
well to Andromache, his wife. and to
his little boy, picture that has never
been surpassed for true tenderness
although 1t was SO many hundred
years ago. he smiled and looked upon
the little boy in silence. "Ah, Hector"
she cried, "stay here upon the wall
Thou art to me father and mother
and brother, too, as well as lord. The
foe will attack thee alOnel" Il know
the day shall come" he answered,
''when holy nIos shall perish, and
Priam and the folk Of Priam Of the
goodly Ashen Spear. But thought Of
him, of my mother, Of my brothers,
does not trouble me so much as that
some warrior of the Achalans shall
rob thee Of the day of freedom" He
stretched out his hand to the little
boy, who shrunk back to his nurses
breast in fear Of the bronze and the
horse-hair crest that nodded dread.
fully from the top Of the helm.
Straightway Hector took off the helm
and placed it on the ground. And
when he had kissed his son and tossed
him in his arms, he spoke in prayer
to Zeus and the rest of the gods:
"Grant, ye gods, that this son of mine
prove foremost among the Trojans,
good and mighty king. And as he
comes back from battle may many
man say Of him, "A far better man
than his father and may his mother
rejoice in heart" And then he hand
ed him back to his mother, who re-
ceived him smiling through her tears.
and so departed to the battle with
words of high cheer.
There follow many scenes of va
ried action--the niad is one OF the
great collections Of short stories In
| the worlds literature, in which Is
given a perfect picture Of the life Of
that lOrdly society Of SO long ago.
The plain people play little part, al
though their champion, Thersites, Is
the first democrat mentioned in liter
ature. Mighty deeds of derTing-do.
high adventure, love Of lords and la
dies, the pranks Of merry children
all are preserved, as it were, In amber,
and. the sentiment for the most part
is so modern that it is almost impOssi-
BILE to believe that we are reading OF
people who lived many hundreds of
years before Christ was born.
But over all impends one dreadful
fate. It is Greek tale-yet Hector,
prince and leader Of the foe, Is the
hero of the story. OF course he is not
quite so strong, not quite SO great a
fighter as Achilles, the Greek cham
pion, and all know that in the end
Achilles will win. The great scenes
are worked up to with consummate ar
tistry. Achilles is still sulking in his
tent; Hector is pressing the Greeks
hard; Patroclus, Achilles dearest
friend, begs his chief to let him don
his lords armOr and save his people
he has his way and Hector slays him.
Achilles anger blazes forth in all Its
passion. What now a petty slight
The great scene Of the battle between
the two inspires the poet to all his
noblest power. They fight; Achilles
pursues Hector thrice around the
walls of Troy; Zeus weighs in golden
scales the fates of the two; Hector is
doomed to die; inexorable destiny
may not be stayed. Achilles Stays
Hector, and every heart but that Of
the victor is wrung with the pity OF 1t
all. And in the end, even Achilles
heart is moved. For old King P-iam
can neither sleep nor eat while his
sons body lies dead in the camp OF
the foe. Against the will Of all that
was dearest to him he gathered great
store Of ransom and made his way by
night under the kindly guidance of the
, gods to Achilles tent and sought for
the body Of his dear son. 1t is scene
of love and pity, Of chivalry and
greatness Of heart that all the years
since then have never seen surpassed.
BE not angry with me, Patroclus,
prayed Achilles, Elf thou shalt learn
in Hades' house that / have given
back noble Hector to his dear father" I"
And PatrocIus, one may be sure.
shared the pity Of all brave men and
all true women ever since.
, Copyright. 1919. by the Post Publishing
Co. (The Boston Post). Copyright in ht
United Kingdom, the Dominions. its Col
onies and dependencies, under the copy
right act, BY the Post Publishing Co.
Boston, Mass, u. s. A. AL rights re-
served.