up the trunk of a tree, and began to pick insects out of the bark with its
long, sharp bill; for it was a kind of woodpecker, you must know, and had
to get its living in the same manner as other birds of that species. But
every little while, as it pecked at the bark of the tree, the purple bird
bethought itself of some secret sorrow, and repeated its plaintive note of
"Peep, peep, pe--weep!"
On his way to the shore, Ulysses had the good luck to kill a large stag by
thrusting his spear into its back. Taking it on his shoulders (for he was
a remarkably strong man), he lugged it along with him, and flung it down
before his hungry companions. I have already hinted to you what
gormandizers some of the comrades of King Ulysses were. From what is
related of them, I reckon that their favorite diet was pork, and that they
had lived upon it until a good part of their physical substance was
swine's flesh, and their tempers and dispositions were very much akin to
the hog. A dish of venison, however, was no unacceptable meal to them,
especially after feeding so long on oysters and clams. So, beholding the
dead stag, they felt of its ribs in a knowing way, and lost no time in
kindling a fire, of drift-wood, to cook it. The rest of the day was spent
in feasting; and if these enormous eaters got up from table at sunset, it
was only because they could not scrape another morsel off the poor
animal's bones.
The next morning their appetites were as sharp as ever. They looked at
Ulysses, as if they expected him to clamber up the cliff again, and come
back with another fat deer upon his shoulders. Instead of setting out,
however, he summoned the whole crew together, and told them it was in vain
to hope that he could kill a stag every day for their dinner, and
therefore it was advisable to think of some other mode of satisfying their
hunger.
"Now," said he, "when I was on the cliff yesterday, I discovered that this
island is inhabited. At a considerable distance from the shore stood a
marble palace, which appeared to be very spacious, and had a great deal of
smoke curling out of one of its chimneys."
"Aha!" muttered some of his companions, smacking their lips. "That smoke
must have come from the kitchen fire. There was a good dinner on the spit;
and no doubt there will be as good a one to-day."
"But," continued the wise Ulysses, "you must remember, my good friends,
our misadventure in the cavern of one-eyed Polyphemus, the Cyclops!
Instead of his ordinary milk diet, did he not eat up two of our comrades
for his supper, and a couple more for breakfast, and two at his supper
again? Methinks I see him yet, the hideous monster, scanning us with that
great red eye, in the middle of his forehead, to single out the fattest.
And then again, only a few days ago, did we not fall into the hands of the
king of the Læstrygons, and those other horrible giants, his subjects, who
devoured a great many more of us than are now left? To tell you the truth,
if we go to yonder palace, there can be no question that we shall make our
appearance at the dinner-table; but whether seated as guests or served up
as food, is a point to be seriously considered."
"Either way," murmured some of the hungriest of the crew, "it will be
better than starvation; particularly if one could be sure of being well
fattened beforehand and daintily cooked afterwards."
"That is a matter of taste," said King Ulysses, "and, for my own part,
neither the most careful fattening nor the daintiest of cookery would
reconcile me to being dished at last. My proposal is, therefore, that we
divide ourselves into two equal parties, and ascertain, by drawing lots,
which of the two shall go to the palace, and beg for food and assistance.
If these can be obtained, all is well. If not, and if the inhabitants
prove as inhospitable as Polyphemus or the Læstrygons, then there will but
half of us perish, and the remainder may set sail and escape."
As nobody objected to this scheme, Ulysses proceeded to count the whole
band, and found that there were forty-six men, including himself. He then
numbered off twenty-two of them, and put Eurylochus (who was one of his
chief officers, and second only to himself in sagacity) at their head.
Ulysses took command of the remaining twenty-two men, in person. Then,
taking off his helmet, he put two shells into it, on one of which was
written, "Go," and on the other, "Stay." Another person now held the
helmet, while Ulysses and Eurylochus drew out each a shell; and the word
"Go" was found written on that which Eurylochus had drawn. In this manner
it was decided that Ulysses and his twenty-two men were to remain at the
seaside until the other party should have found out what sort of treatment
they might expect at the mysterious palace. As there was no help for it,
Eurylochus immediately set forth at the head of his twenty-two followers,
who went off in a very melancholy state of mind, leaving their friends in
hardly better spirits than themselves.
No sooner had they clambered up the cliff, than they discerned the tall
marble towers of the palace, ascending, as white as snow, out of the
lovely green shadow of the trees which surrounded it. A gush of smoke came
from a chimney in the rear of the edifice. This vapor rose high in the
air, and meeting with a breeze, was wafted seaward, and made to pass over
the heads of the hungry mariners. When people's appetites are keen, they
have a very quick scent for anything savory in the wind.
"That smoke comes from the kitchen!" cried one of them, turning up his
nose as high as he could, and snuffing eagerly. "And, as sure as I'm a
half-starved vagabond, I smell roast meat in it."
"Pig, roast pig!" said another. "Ah, the dainty little porker! My mouth
waters for him."
"Let us make haste," cried the others, "or we shall be too late for the
good cheer!"
But scarcely had they made half a dozen steps from the edge of the cliff,
when a bird came fluttering to meet them. It was the same pretty little
bird, with the purple wings and body, the yellow legs, the golden collar
round its neck, and the crown-like tuft upon its head, whose behavior had
so much surprised Ulysses. It hovered about Eurylochus, and almost brushed
his face with its wings.
"Peep, peep, pe--weep!" chirped the bird.
So plaintively intelligent was the sound, that it seemed as if the little
creature were going to break its heart with some mighty secret that it had
to tell, and only this one poor note to tell it with.
"My pretty bird," said Eurylochus,--for he was a wary person, and let no
token of harm escape his notice,--"my pretty bird, who sent you hither?
And what is the message which you bring?"
"Peep, peep, pe--weep!" replied the bird, very sorrowfully.
Then it flew towards the edge of the cliff, and looked round at them, as
if exceedingly anxious that they should return whence they came.
Eurylochus and a few of the others were inclined to turn back. They could
not help suspecting that the purple bird must be aware of something
mischievous that would befall them at the palace, and the knowledge of
which affected its airy spirit with a human sympathy and sorrow. But the
rest of the voyagers, snuffing up the smoke from the palace kitchen,
ridiculed the idea of returning to the vessel. One of them (more brutal
than his fellows, and the most notorious gormandizer in the whole crew)
said such a cruel and wicked thing, that I wonder the mere thought did not
turn him into a wild beast in shape, as he already was in his nature.
"This troublesome and impertinent little fowl," said he, "would make a
delicate titbit to begin dinner with. Just one plump morsel, melting away
between the teeth. If he comes within my reach, I'll catch him, and give
him to the palace cook to be roasted on a skewer."
The words were hardly out of his mouth, before the purple bird flew away,
crying, "Peep, peep, pe--weep," more dolorously than ever.
"That bird," remarked Eurylochus, "knows more than we do about what awaits
us at the palace."
"Come on, then," cried his comrades, "and we'll soon know as much as he
does."
The party, accordingly, went onward through the green and pleasant wood.
Every little while they caught new glimpses of the marble palace, which
looked more and more beautiful the nearer they approached it. They soon
entered a broad pathway, which seemed to be very neatly kept, and which
went winding along with streaks of sunshine falling across it, and specks
of light quivering among the deepest shadows that fell from the lofty
trees. It was bordered, too, with a great many sweet-smelling flowers,
such as the mariners had never seen before. So rich and beautiful they
were that, if the shrubs grew wild here and were native in the soil, then
this island was surely the flower-garden of the whole earth; or, if
transplanted from some other clime, it must have been from the Happy
Islands that lay towards the golden sunset.
"There has been a great deal of pains foolishly wasted on these flowers,"
observed one of the company; and I tell you what he said, that you may
keep in mind what gormandizers they were. "For my part, if I were the
owner of the palace, I would bid my gardener cultivate nothing but savory
potherbs to make a stuffing for roast meat, or to flavor a stew with."
"Well said!" cried the others. "But I'll warrant you there's a kitchen
garden in the rear of the palace."
At one place they came to a crystal spring, and paused to drink at it for
want of liquor which they liked better. Looking into its bosom, they
beheld their own faces dimly reflected, but so extravagantly distorted by
the gush and motion of the water, that each one of them appeared to be
laughing at himself and all his companions. So ridiculous were these
images of themselves, indeed, that they did really laugh aloud, and could
hardly be grave again as soon as they wished. And after they had drunk,
they grew still merrier than before.
"It has a twang of the wine-cask in it," said one, smacking his lips.
"Make haste!" cried his fellows; "we'll find the wine-cask itself at the
palace; and that will be better than a hundred crystal fountains."
Then they quickened their pace, and capered for joy at the thought of the
savory banquet at which they hoped to be guests. But Eurylochus told them
that he felt as if he were walking in a dream.
"If I am really awake," continued he, "then, in my opinion, we are on the
point of meeting with some stranger adventure than any that befell us in
the cave of Polyphemus, or among the gigantic man-eating Læstrygons, or in
the windy palace of King Æolus, which stands on a brazen-walled island.
This kind of dreamy feeling always comes over me before any wonderful
occurrence. If you take my advice, you will turn back."
"No, no," answered his comrades, snuffing the air, in which the scent from
the palace kitchen was now very perceptible. "We would not turn back,
though we were certain that the king of the Læstrygons, as big as a
mountain, would sit at the head of the table, and huge Polyphemus, the
one-eyed Cyclops, at its foot."
At length they came within full sight of the palace, which proved to be
very large and lofty, with a great number of airy pinnacles upon its roof.
Though it was now midday, and the sun shone brightly over the marble
front, yet its snowy whiteness and its fantastic style of architecture
made it look unreal, like the frostwork on a window-pane, or like the
shapes of castles which one sees among the clouds by moonlight. But just
then a puff of wind brought down the smoke of the kitchen chimney among
them, and caused each man to smell the odor of the dish that he liked
best; and, after scenting it, they thought everything else moonshine, and
nothing real save this palace, and save the banquet that was evidently
ready to be served up in it.
So they hastened their steps towards the portal, but had not got half-way
across the wide lawn, when a pack of lions, tigers, and wolves came
bounding to meet them. The terrified mariners started back, expecting no
better fate than to be torn to pieces and devoured. To their surprise and
joy, however, these wild beasts merely capered around them, wagging their
tails, offering their heads to be stroked and patted, and behaving just
like so many well-bred house-dogs, when they wish to express their delight
at meeting their master or their master's friends. The biggest lion licked
the feet of Eurylochus; and every other lion, and every wolf and tiger,
singled out one of his two and twenty followers, whom the beast fondled as
if he loved him better than a beef-bone.
But, for all that, Eurylochus imagined that he saw something fierce and
savage in their eyes; nor would he have been surprised, at any moment, to
feel the big lion's terrible claws, or to see each of the tigers make a
deadly spring, or each wolf leap at the throat of the man whom he had
fondled. Their mildness seemed unreal, and a mere freak; but their savage
nature was as true as their teeth and claws.
Nevertheless, the men went safely across the lawn with the wild beasts
frisking about them, and doing no manner of harm; although, as they
mounted the steps of the palace, you might possibly have heard a low
growl, particularly from the wolves, as if they thought it a pity, after
all, to let the strangers pass without so much as tasting what they were
made of.
Eurylochus and his followers now passed under a lofty portal, and looked
through the open doorway into the interior of the palace. The first thing
that they saw was a spacious hall, and a fountain in the middle of it,
gushing up towards the ceiling out of a marble basin, and falling back
into it with a continual plash. The water of this fountain, as it spouted
upward, was constantly taking new shapes, not very distinctly, but plainly
enough for a nimble fancy to recognize what they were. Now it was the
shape of a man in a long robe, the fleecy whiteness of which was made out
of the fountain's spray; now it was a lion, or a tiger, or a wolf, or an
ass, or, as often as anything else, a hog, wallowing in the marble basin
as if it were his sty. It was either magic or some very curious machinery
that caused the gushing waterspout to assume all these forms. But, before
the strangers had time to look closely at this wonderful sight, their
attention was drawn off by a very sweet and agreeable sound. A woman's
voice was singing melodiously in another room of the palace, and with her
voice was mingled the noise of a loom, at which she was probably seated,
weaving a rich texture of cloth, and intertwining the high and low
sweetness of her voice into a rich tissue of harmony.
By and by the song came to an end; and then, all at once, there were
several feminine voices, talking airily and cheerfully, with now and then
a merry burst of laughter, such as you may always hear when three or four
young women sit at work together.
"What a sweet song that was!" exclaimed one of the voyagers.
"Too sweet, indeed," answered Eurylochus, shaking his head. "Yet it was
not so sweet as the song of the Sirens, those birdlike damsels who wanted
to tempt us on the rocks, so that our vessel might be wrecked, and our
bones left whitening along the shore."
"But just listen to the pleasant voices of those maidens, and that buzz of
the loom, as the shuttle passes to and fro," said another comrade. "What a
domestic, household, homelike sound it is! Ah, before that weary siege of
Troy, I used to hear the buzzing loom and the women's voices under my own
roof. Shall I never hear them again? nor taste those nice little savory
dishes which my dearest wife knew how to serve up?"
"Tush! we shall fare better here," said another. "But how innocently those
women are babbling together, without guessing that we overhear them! And
mark that richest voice of all, so pleasant and familiar, but which yet
seems to have the authority of a mistress among them. Let us show
ourselves at once. What harm can the lady of the palace and her maidens do
to mariners and warriors like us?"
"Remember," said Eurylochus, "that it was a young maiden who beguiled
three of our friends into the palace of the king of the Læstrygons, who
ate up one of them in the twinkling of an eye."
No warning or persuasion, however, had any effect on his companions. They
went up to a pair of folding-doors at the farther end of the hall, and,
throwing them wide open, passed into the next room. Eurylochus, meanwhile,
had stepped behind a pillar. In the short moment while the folding-doors
opened and closed again, he caught a glimpse of a very beautiful woman
rising from the loom and coming to meet the poor weather-beaten wanderers,
with a hospitable smile and her hand stretched out in welcome. There were
four other young women, who joined their hands and danced merrily forward,
making gestures of obeisance to the strangers. They were only less
beautiful than the lady who seemed to be their mistress. Yet Eurylochus
fancied that one of them had sea-green hair, and that the close-fitting
bodice of a second looked like the bark of a tree, and that both the
others had something odd in their aspect, although he could not quite
determine what it was, in the little while that he had to examine them.
The folding-doors swung quickly back, and left him standing behind the
pillar, in the solitude of the outer hall. There Eurylochus waited until
he was quite weary, and listened eagerly to every sound, but without
hearing anything that could help him to guess what had become of his
friends. Footsteps, it is true, seemed to be passing and repassing in
other parts of the palace. Then there was a clatter of silver dishes, or
golden ones, which made him imagine a rich feast in a splendid
banqueting-hall. But by and by he heard a tremendous grunting and
squealing, and then a sudden scampering, like that of small, hard hoofs
over a marble floor, while the voices of the mistress and her four
handmaidens were screaming all together, in tones of anger and derision.
Eurylochus could not conceive what had happened, unless a drove of swine
had broken into the palace, attracted by the smell of the feast. Chancing
to cast his eyes at the fountain, he saw that it did not shift its shape,
as formerly, nor looked either like a long-robed man, or a lion, a tiger,
a wolf, or an ass. It looked like nothing but a hog, which lay wallowing
in the marble basin, and filled it from brim to brim.
But we must leave the prudent Eurylochus waiting in the outer hall, and
follow his friends into the inner secrecy of the palace. As soon as the
beautiful woman saw them, she arose from the loom, as I have told you, and
came forward, smiling, and stretching out her hand. She took the hand of
the foremost among them, and bade him and the whole party welcome.
"You have been long expected, my good friends," said she. "I and my
maidens are well acquainted with you, although you do not appear to
recognize us. Look at this piece of tapestry, and judge if your faces must
not have been familiar to us."
So the voyagers examined the web of cloth which the beautiful woman had
been weaving in her loom; and to their vast astonishment they saw their
own figures perfectly represented in different colored threads. It was a
lifelike picture of their recent adventures, showing them in the cave of
Polyphemus, and how they had put out his one great moony eye; while in
another part of the tapestry they were untying the leathern bags, puffed
out with contrary winds; and farther on, they beheld themselves scampering
away from the gigantic king of the Læstrygons, who had caught one of them
by the leg. Lastly, there they were, sitting on the desolate shore of this
very island, hungry and downcast, and looking ruefully at the bare bones
of the stag which they devoured yesterday. This was as far as the work had
yet proceeded; but when the beautiful woman should again sit down at her
loom, she would probably make a picture of what had since happened to the
strangers, and of what was now going to happen.
"You see," she said, "that I know all about your troubles; and you cannot
doubt that I desire to make you happy for as long a time as you may remain
with me. For this purpose, my honored guests, I have ordered a banquet to
be prepared. Fish, fowl, and flesh, roasted, and in luscious stews, and
seasoned, I trust, to all your tastes, are ready to be served up. If your
appetites tell you it is dinner-time, then come with me to the festal
saloon."
At this kind invitation, the hungry mariners were quite overjoyed; and one
of them, taking upon himself to be spokesman, assured their hospitable
hostess that any hour of the day was dinner-time with them, whenever they
could get flesh to put in the pot, and fire to boil it with. So the
beautiful woman led the way; and the four maidens (one of them had
sea-green hair, another a bodice of oak-bark, a third sprinkled a shower
of water-drops from her fingers' ends, and the fourth had some other
oddity, which I have forgotten), all these followed behind, and hurried
the guests along, until they entered a magnificent saloon. It was built in
a perfect oval, and lighted from a crystal dome above. Around the walls
were ranged two and twenty thrones, overhung by canopies of crimson and
gold, and provided with the softest of cushions, which were tasseled and
fringed with gold cord. Each of the strangers was invited to sit down; and
there they were, two and twenty storm-beaten mariners, in worn and
tattered garb, sitting on two and twenty cushioned and canopied thrones,
so rich and gorgeous that the proudest monarch had nothing more splendid
in his stateliest hall.
Then you might have seen the guests nodding, winking with one eye, and
leaning from one throne to another, to communicate their satisfaction in
hoarse whispers.
"Our good hostess has made kings of us all," said one. "Ha! do you smell
the feast? I'll engage it will be fit to set before two-and-twenty kings."
"I hope," said another, "it will be, mainly, good substantial joints,
sirloins, spareribs, and hinder quarters, without too many kickshaws. If I
thought the good lady would not take it amiss, I should call for a fat
slice of fried bacon to begin with."
Ah, the gluttons and gormandizers! You see how it was with them. In the
loftiest seats of dignity, on royal thrones, they could think of nothing
but their greedy appetite, which was the portion of their nature that they
shared with wolves and swine; so that they resembled those vilest of
animals far more than they did kings,--if, indeed, kings were what they
ought to be.
But the beautiful woman now clapped her hands; and immediately there
entered a train of two and twenty serving-men, bringing dishes of the
richest food, all hot from the kitchen fire, and sending up such a steam
that it hung like a cloud below the crystal dome of the saloon. An equal
number of attendants brought great flagons of wine, of various kinds, some
of which sparkled as it was poured out, and went bubbling down the throat;
while, of other sorts, the purple liquor was so clear that you could see
the wrought figures at the bottom of the goblet. While the servants
supplied the two and twenty guests with food and drink, the hostess and
her four maidens went from one throne to another, exhorting them to eat
their fill, and to quaff wine abundantly, and thus to recompense
themselves, at this one banquet, for the many days when they had gone
without a dinner. But, whenever the mariners were not looking at them
(which was pretty often, as they looked chiefly into the basins and
platters), the beautiful woman and her damsels turned aside and laughed.
Even the servants, as they knelt down to present the dishes, might be seen
to grin and sneer, while the guests were helping themselves to the offered
dainties.
And once in a while the strangers seemed to taste something that they did
not like.
"Here is an odd kind of a spice in this dish," said one. "I can't say it
quite suits my palate. Down it goes, however."
"Send a good draught of wine down your throat," said his comrade on the
next throne. "That is the stuff to make this sort of cookery relish well.
Though I must needs say, the wine has a queer taste too. But the more I
drink of it the better I like the flavor."