Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1921-09-23

Il
clans. There begins In the land Of this
fabulous folk one of the most mar
velous adventures of tine man of mar
wells. Probably the scene that remains
In the minds Of the great majority
of readers of Greek literature as the
fairest bit of idealized 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 ball upon the shore, where
Odysseus. beneath the shade of the
bushes, was sleeping OFF the weary
travail of his long swim. 'Then hav-
Ing 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 themselves with
food, maids and mistress alike, they
began to play ball, casting aside their
wells, And for them fair-armed Nau-
sicaa began the song. AS Artemis the
archer-goddess goeth down from
eitiltT tOILI 1dNkttuS VI
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 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 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 ntroductionpr
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 COMPARE
son of her perfect youth to the young
shoot of a palm tree he had seen In
Delos. Whoever has a 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 court
bard sings of Troy--the stranger
weeps: the king presses him to tell
his story. 1t was 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 Gree, 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 a scar upon
his leg. the final great trial of strength
between the old beggarman and the
sultors; they cannot even bend the
famous bow of Eurytus; he, however,
strings ii with ease and sends an
arrow singing through the holes of
twelve battle-axes, set up one behind
another.
At that instant the beggaIman
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
ly all these long years, and hastens to
greet his old father, Laertes.
Impossible romance? dare say.
Yet one Of the most human stories
ever told
Copyright. 1919 by the Post Publishing
Co. (The Boston POST. Copyright in the
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-