The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1921-10-12

cast ashore on the land OF the phoe,
clans. There begins In the land NJ tI,,.
IaDuious folk one Of the most mor.
Velous adventures Of the man Of NOR
vels. PROBABLY the scene that remains
III the minds Of the great majority
OF readers Of Greek literature az tho
fairest bit Of idealized beauty in r. ou
Is the picture Of the young prnce.v
N"usicaa. She had gone down to the
river mouth with her handmaidens IN
WASH linen; their work done thew feu
70 playing ball upon the shore wbe~a
Odysseus, beneath the shade Of tho
Dushes, was sleeping off the weary
travail Of his long swim. "Tben b.,.
ing Dathed 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 mad cheered themselves with
food, maids and mistress alike. thew
began to play ball, casting aside their
veils And for them fair-armed Nau.
sicaa began the song. AS Artemis the
archer-goddess goeth down from
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, and Leto rejoiceth
In heart, and over all she hoIdeth
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 and
leave the weary sleeper under the
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
we'll that the hero knew not only the
ways Of men, but of maids as we'll. 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 palm tree he had seen in
Delos. Whoever has gardeners eye
knows instantly the perfect tribute.
Then followed the presentation of
the royal wanderer at the court OF
King Alcinous and Queen Arete and
the tale Of his adventures since leav.
ing Calypso's isle. The king is moved
and promises to help the stranger on
his way. A feast is held; the cour'
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. Begin.
ming with the fall of Troy, he had
made his course to Thrace, to the
Lotus-eaters, to the land Of the Cy-
clops, when befell 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 en-.
chantress Circe, who turned her WIS.,
itors into swine. Then came the de-
scent to Hades, which set the fashion
for Virgil and for Dante and all the
others who have essayed that great
adventure. The sirens, Scylla and
Charybdis, and other adventures
brought the tale up to Calypso once
more.
Alcinous and the Phaeacians sent
Odysseus on his way to his home at
Ithaca. But his old enemy Poseidon
turned the ship to stone, and the wan.
derer reached home alone, in the
guise of an old beggarman, where he
arrived as his son, Telemachus, was
returning from his travels.
Then began the thrilling tale of the
wiles and guiles to win his own from
the suitors who had taken his place.
the harbor of refuge with faithful old
Eumaeus, the swine-herd, the recog-
milton by Telemachus, the death Of
the true old dog Argos on sight Of his
long absent master. the interview with
Penelope, the recognition by his old
nurse who knows him by scar upon
his leg, the final great trial of strength
between the old beggarman and the
lucy even UCiho tii0
famous bow of Eurytus; he, however.
strings it with ease and sends an
arrow singing through the holes OF
twelve battleaxes, set up one behind
another.
At that instant the beggarmar
throws off his disguise and with Tele
machus and only two faithful follow
ers Stays the evil suitors, wins back
his true wife who has waited patient
~ all these long years, and hastens to
greet his old father, Laertes.
Impossible romance? l dare say
Yet one Of the most human stories
ever told.
Copyright. 1919 by the Post Publishing
Co. (The Boston Post. Copyright in tht
United Kingdom. the Dominions. its Col.
onies and dependencies, under the copy.
right act. by the Post Publishing Co.
Boston. Mass. U. S. A. All rights re
served.
Wardrobe Mystery Solved.