BOOK

OF

uonoeR
voyaces

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
AT LOS ANGELES

/

By J. Jacobs

English Fairy Tales

Celtic Fairy Tales

More English Fairy Tales

More Celtic Fairy Tales

Indian Fairy Tales

Europa's Fairy Tales

THETIS SAVES THK ARGONAUTS FROM STYLUA

THE BOOK OF
WONDER VOYAGES

EDITED BY

JOSEPH JACOBS

ILLUSTRATED BY

JOHN D. BATTEN

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

NEW YORK AND LONDON

Cbc fmicfcerbocfcer press

1919

ttbe Knickerbocker prcw, Hew fiotk

THE BOOK OF
WONDER VOYAGES

Preface

IT was my custom for several years to tell my children
every Friday night a voyage, told in the first per-
son, but, if the truth must come out, simply ' ' lifted "
or at best adapted from all the imaginary voyages I
could come across. I led the youngsters to under-
stand that I had gone through one hundred voyages in
my time, but that I should never be able to tell them my
hundredth voyage, for if I told that I should burst.
Sure enough I got to the ninety-ninth voyage, and on
the following Friday there was, of course, no narrative
forthcoming. But the following week a deputation
from the young ones begged for my hundredth voyage,
whatever the consequences.

I have thought that if my poor recital of these
imaginary voyages could rouse interest and curiosity to
such an unfilial pitch among my own children the
originals from which I derived them might be equally
attractive to other children; and I have brought
together in the present volume the most memorable of
those flights of the imagination which form almost as
marked a class of popular literature as fairy tales
themselves. It seems as natural to build ships, as to

VI

Preface

build castles, in the air; and there can be but few child-
ren of any age that have not at one time or another seen
themselves transported to lands where the ordinary
Laws of Mechanics or Physiology do not apply, and
things throw off the causal nexus of common life. But
though we fly our kite of imagination, it is always
secured, if only by a thread, to earthly fact, and in the
wildest flights of imaginary voyagers there is always
some germ of geographic truth.

So natural is this tendency towards these voyages to
the Land of Fancy that we find specimens of them in
almost all lands, and it has been my aim in the present
collection to bring characteristic specimens from as
many and as diverse quarters as my space permitted.
Hellas gives us The Argonauts; the Celts tell The Voyage
of Maelduin, which attracted Tennyson's notice. Sind-
bad would have perhaps been the appropriate repre-
sentative of Arabia, but one hesitates to divorce him
from the "Nights, " and Mr. Batten had treated him in
his appropriate connection. So I have selected Hasan
of Bassorah and his Voyage to the Islands of Wak-Wak
to represent Arabia. Curiously enough, the greatest
voyagers of all, the Norsemen, seemingly found little
temptation to let their imagination play about their
business concerns, and in order to obtain a represen-
tative Wonder Voyage from the most wonderful voy-
agers of medieval times, I have had to combine two
minor sagas which can be classed under that genre.

To be at all effective, a Wonder Voyage requires a

Preface vii

certain amount of sea-room. One does not get one's sea
legs, so to speak, till a sheet or two of print has been let
loose. Hence I have not been able to include more
than four or five voyages in the present volume but
they will surely serve as Winter Nights' Tales. They
should be read when the stormy winds do blow, do blow.

The story of The Argonauts had been told so well by
Kingsley that I dared not commit the sacrilege of pro-
ducing a rival version. I have to thank Messrs. Mac-
millan for permitting me to utilise his "Heroes. " Mr.
Alfred Nutt with his usual kindness has provided me
with a version of Maelduin, in which he has had per-
mission from Dr. Whitley Stokes to use his translation
which appeared in the Revue Celtique. Hasan I have
retold in an abridged form, using as my "originals" the
three translations from the Arabic, none of which were
sufficiently simple to suit the audience for whom I in-
tended his Adventures. For my Icelandic I have had
to resort to the friendly offices of the Rev. J. Sephton,
who has been good enough to translate the Eric Saga
for this volume, while I have combined with it an adapta-
tion of Thorkill's "Voyage to the World Beyond the
Ocean, " from Saxo Grammaticus, utilising for that pur-
pose Mr. Elton's version published by the Folk-Lore
Society. To all these gentlemen I hereby record my
grateful thanks.

As the world grows old and grey, and men become
everywhere alike, the value of the imagination for
ornament and for delight will become more and more

viii Preface

appreciated, even in education. The training and the
practice of the imagination will become ever increas-
ingly important as life gets more neutral tinted. Let
therefore our children be early trained to adventurous
voyages on the Sea of Imagination.

JOSEPH JACOBS.

Contents

PACK

THE ARGONAUTS . i

THE VOYAGE OF MAELDUIK . ... 91

HASAN OF BASSORAH . . . . . .127

THE JOURNEYINGS OF TfiORKILL AND OF ERIC THE
FAR-TRAVELED . 186

NOTES. 215

List of Illustrations

PACK

THETIS SAVES THE ARGONAUTS FROM SCYLLA Frontispiece

PHRIXUS AND HELLE ...... 2

^ESON AND JASON 5

CHIRON'S FAREWELL TO THE ARGONAUTS . .31

THE CHASE OF THE HARPIES ..... 37

THE CROP OF THE DRAGON'S TEETH ... 50

ORPHEUS AND MEDEA CHARM THE SNAKE . . 55

CIRCE AND MEDEA ...... 63

THE BEGUILING OF TALUS ..... 84

THE GIANT ANTS . 96

THE MONSTER OF THE FEATS 100

THE RED HOT SWINE ...... 101

THE MILL OF GRUDGING 107

THE QUEEN OF THE MAGIC CLEW . . . . 117

THE GREEN BIRD 120

xii List of Illustrations

PAGE

THE PERSIAN AND HASAN . . 128

THE PERSIAN SEWS UP HASAN . . . .132

THE FLIGHT OF THE SWAN MAIDENS . . .143

HASAN'S WIFE CARRIES OFF HER CHILDREN . .152

THE SHAYKH ABU AL-RUWAYSH . . . .159

THE KING AND MANAR AL-SANA . . . .171

HASAN REJOINS HIS WIFE . . . . 175

SHAWAHI ON THE JAR 178

THORKILL AND THE SERPENT . . . . .195

THE HORN-SNOUTED GIANTS . . . 200

The Argonauts

HOW THE CENTAUR TRAINED THE HEROES ON PELION

NOW I have a tale of heroes who sailed away into
a distant land, to win themselves renown for-
ever, in the adventure of the Golden Fleece.

And what was that Golden Fleece?

The old Hellens said that it hung in Colchis, which
we call the Circassian coast, nailed to a beech tree in
the War-god's wood; and that it was the fleece of the
wondrous ram who bore Phrixus and Helle across
the Euxine Sea. For Phrixus and Helle were the
children of the cloud-nymph, and of Athamas the Min-
uan King. And when a famine came upon the land,
their cruel stepmother Ino wished to kill them that
her own children might reign, and said that they
must be sacrificed on an altar, to turn away the anger
of the gods. So the poor children were brought to the
altar, and the priest stood ready with his knife, when
out of the clouds came the Golden Ram, and took them
on his back, and vanished. Then madness came upon

2 The Book of Wonder Voyages

that foolish king, Athamas, and ruin upon Ino and her
children. For Athamas killed one of them in his fury,
and Ino fled from him with the other in her arms, and
leaped from a cliff into the sea, and was changed into

PHRIXUS AND HELLE

a dolphin, such as you have seen, which wanders over
the waves forever sighing, with its little one clasped
to its breast.

But the people drove out King Athamas, because he
had killed his child ; and he roamed about in his misery,
till he came to the Oracle in Delphi. And the Oracle
told him that he must wander for his sin, till the wild
beasts should feast him as their guest. So he went on

The Argonauts 3

in hunger and sorrow for many a weary day, till he saw
a pack of wolves. The wolves were tearing a sheep;
but when they saw Athamas they fled, and left the
sheep for him, and he ate of it; and then he knew that
the oracle was fulfilled at last. So he wandered no
more; but settled, and built a town, and became a
king again.

But the ram carried the two children far away over
land and sea, till he came to the Thracian Chersonese,
and there Helle fell into the sea. So those narrow
straits are called "Hellespont" after her; and they
bear that name until this day.

Then the ram flew on with Phrixus to the northeast
across the sea which we call the Black Sea now; but
the Hellens called it Euxine. And at last, they say, he
stopped at Colchis, on the steep Circassian coast; and
there Phrixus married Chalciope, the daughter of
Aietes the king; and offered the ram in sacrifice; and
Aietes nailed the ram's fleece to a beech, in the grove
of Ares the War-god.

And after a while Phrixus died, and was buried, but
his spirit had no rest; for he was buried far from his
native land, and the pleasant hills of Hellas. So he
came in dreams to the heroes of the Minuai, and called
sadly by their beds, "Come and set my spirit free, that
I may go home to my fathers and to my kinsfolk, and
the pleasant Minuan land."

And they asked, "How shall we set your spirit free?"

"You must sail over the sea to Colchis, and bring

4 The Book of Wonder Voyages

home the golden fleece; and then my spirit will come
back with it, and I shall sleep with my fathers and have
rest."

He came thus, and called to them often; but when
they woke they looked at each other, and said: "Who
dare sail to Colchis, or bring home the golden fleece?"
And in all the country none was brave enough to try
it; for the man and the time were not come.

Phrixus had a cousin called JEson, who was king in
lolcos by the sea. There he ruled over the rich Minuan
heroes, as Athamas his uncle ruled in Bosotia; and,
like Athamas, he was an unhappy man. For he had
a stepbrother named Pelias, of whom some said that
he was a nymph's son, and there were dark and sad
tales about his birth. When he was a babe he was
cast out on the mountains, and a wild mare came by
and kicked him. But a shepherd passing found the
baby, with its face all blackened by the blow; and took
him home, and called him Pelias, because his face was
bruised and black. And he grew up fierce and lawless,
and did many a fearful deed ; and at last he drove out
&son his stepbrother, and then his own brother
Neleus, and took the kingdom to himself, and ruled
over the rich Minuan heroes, in lolcos by the sea.

And ^son, when he was driven out, went sadly
away out of the town, leading his little son by the
hand; and he said to himself, "I must hide the child
in the mountains; or Pelias will surely kill him because
he is the heir."

The Argonauts 5

So he went up from the sea across the valley, through
the vineyards and the olive groves, and across the
torrent of Anauros, toward Pelion the ancient mountain,
whose brows are white with snow.

vESON AND JASON

He went up and up into the mountain, over marsh,
and crag, and down, till the boy was tired and footsore,
and JEson had to bear him in his arms, till he came to
the mouth of a lonely cave, at the foot of a mighty cliff.

Above the cliff the snow wreaths hung, dripping
and cracking in the sun; but at its foot around the

6 The Book of Wonder Voyages

cave's mouth grew all fair flowers and herbs, as if in a
garden, ranged in order, each sort by itself. There
they grew gayly in the sunshine, and the spray of the
torrent from above; while from the cave came the
sound of music, and a man's voice singing to the harp.
( Then JSson put down the lad, and whispered :

"Fear not, but go in, and whomsoever you shall find,
lay your hands upon his knees and say, 'In the name
of Zeus, the father of gods and men, I am your guest
from this day forth.' "

Then the lad went in without trembling, for he too
was a hero's son; but when he was within, he stopped
in wonder to listen to that magic song.

And there he saw the singer lying upon bearskins
and fragrant boughs: Chiron, the ancient centaur, the
wisest of all things beneath the sky. Down to the
waist he was a man, but below he was a noble horse;
his white hair rolled down over his broad shoulders,
and his white beard over his broad brown chest; and
his eyes were wise and mild, and his forehead like a
mountain wall.

And in his hands he held a harp of gold, and struck it
with a golden key; and as he struck, he sang till his
eyes glittered, and filled all the cave with light.

And he sang of the birth of Time, and of the heavens
and the dancing stars; and of the ocean, and the ether,
and the fire, and the shaping of the wondrous earth.
And he sang of the treasures of the hills, and the hid-
den jewels of the mine, and the veins of fire and metal,

The Argonauts 7

and the virtues of all healing herbs, and of the speech
of birds, and of prophecy, and of hidden things to come.

Then he sang of health, and strength, and manhood,
and a valiant heart; and of music, and hunting, and
wrestling, and all the games which heroes love; and of
travel, and wars, and sieges, and a noble death in fight;
and then he sang of peace and plenty, and of equal
justice in the land; and as he sang the boy listened
wide-eyed, and forgot his errand in the song.

And at the last old Chiron was silent, and called the
lad with a soft voice.

And the lad ran trembling to him, and would have
laid his hands upon his knees; but Chiron smiled, and
said, "Call hither your father ^Eson, for I know you,
and all that has befallen, and saw you both afar in the
valley, even before you left the town."

Then ^Eson came in sadly, and Chiron asked him,
"Why earnest you not yourself to me, JEson the ^Eolid ? "

And ^Eson said:

"I thought, Chiron will pity the lad if he sees him
come alone; and I wished to try whether he was fear-
less, and dare venture like a hero's son. But now I
entreat you by Father Zeus, let the boy be your guest
till better times, and train him among the sons of the
heroes, that he may avenge his father's house."

Then Chiron smiled, and drew the lad to him, and
laid his hand upon his golden locks, and said, "Are you
afraid of my horse's hoofs, fair boy, or will you be my
pupil from this day?"

8 The Book of Wonder Voyages

"I would gladly have horse's hoofs like you, if I
could sing such songs as yours."

And Chiron laughed, and said, "Sit here by me till
sundown, when your playfellows will come home, and
you shall learn like them to be a king, worthy to rule
over gallant men."

Then he turned to ^Eson, and said: "Go back in
peace, and bend before the storm like a prudent man.
This boy shall not cross the Anauros again, till he has
become a glory to you and to the house of ^Eolus."

And ^Eson wept over his son and went away; but
the boy did not weep, so full was his fancy of that
strange cave, and the centaur, and his song, and the
playfellows whom he was to see.

Then Chiron put the lyre into his hands, and taught
him how to play it, till the sun sank low behind the
cliff, and a shout was heard outside.

And then in came the sons of the heroes, ^Eneas, and
Hercules, and Peleus, and many another mighty name.

And great Chiron leaped up joyfully, and his hoofs
made the cave resound, as they shouted, "Come out,
Father Chiron; come out and see our game." And
one cried, "I have killed two deer"; and another, "I
took a wildcat among the' crags"; and Hercule?
dragged a wild goat after him by its horns, for he was
as huge as a mountain crag; and Caeneus carried a
bear cub under each arm, and laughed when they
scratched and bit, for neither tooth nor steel could
wound him.

The Argonauts 9

And Chiron praised them all, each according to his
deserts.

Only one walked apart and silent, ^Esculapius, the
too-wise child, with his bosom full of herbs and flowers,
and round his wrist a spotted snake; he came with
downcast eyes to Chiron, and whispered how he had
watched the snake cast its old skin, and grow young
again before his eyes, and how he had gone down into
a village in the vale, and cured a dying man with a
herb which he had seen a sick goat eat.

And Chiron smiled, and said, "To each Athene and
Apollo give some gift, and each is worthy in his place;
but to this child they have given an honor beyond all
honors, to cure while others kill."

Then the lads brought in wood, and split it, and
lighted a blazing fire ; and others skinned the deer and
quartered them, and set them to roast before the fire;
and while the venison was cooking they bathed in the
snow torrent, and washed away the dust and sweat.

And then all ate till they could eat no more (for they
had tasted nothing since the dawn) , and drank of the
clear spring water, for wine is not fit for growing lads.
And when the remnants were put away, they all lay
down upon the skins and leaves about the fire, and
each took the lyre in turn, and sang and played with
all his heart.

And after a while they all went out to a plot of grass at
the cave's mouth, and there they boxed, and ran, and
wrestled, and laughed till the stones fell from the cliffs.

io The Book of Wonder Voyages

Then Chiron took his lyre, and all the lads joined
hands; and as he played, they danced to his measure,
in and out, and round and round. There they danced
hand in hand, till the night fell over land and sea,
while the black glen shone with their broad white
limbs and the gleam of their golden hair.

And the lad danced with them, delighted, and then
slept a wholesome sleep, upon fragrant leaves of bay,
and myrtle, and marjoram, and flowers of thyme; and
rose at the dawn, and bathed in the torrent, and be-
came a schoolfellow to the heroes' sons, and forgot
lolcos, and his father, and all his former life. But he
grew strong, and brave, and cunning, upon the pleasant
downs of Pelion, in the keen hungry mountain air.
And he learned to wrestle, and to box, and to hunt, and
to play upon the harp; and next he learned to ride, for
old Chiron used to mount him on his back; and he
learned the virtues of all herbs, and how to cure all
wounds; and Chiron called him Jason the healer, and
that is his name until this day.

II

HOW JASON LOST HIS SANDAL IN ANAUROS

AND ten years came and went, and Jason was grown
to be a mighty man. Some of his fellows were
gone, and some were growing up by his side.
^Esculapius was gone into Peloponnese to work his
wondrous cures on men ; and some say he used to raise
the dead to life. And Hercules was gone to Thebes
to fulfill those famous labors which have become a
proverb among men. And Peleus had married a sea-
nymph, and his wedding is famous to this day. And
^Eneas was gone home to Troy, and many a noble tale
you will read of him, and of all the other gallant heroes,
the scholars of Chiron the just. And it happened on
a day that Jason stood on the mountain, and looked
north and south and east and west; and Chiron stood
by him and watched him, for he knew that the time
was come.

And Jason looked and saw the plains of Thessaly,
where the Lapithai breed their horses; and the lake of
Boibe, and the stream which runs northward to Peneus
and Tempe; and he looked north, and saw the moun-
tain wall which guards the Magnesian shore ; Olympus,

12 The Book of Wonder Voyages

the seat of the Immortals, and Ossa, and Pelion, where
he stood. Then he looked east and saw the bright
blue sea, which stretched away forever toward the
dawn. Then he looked south, and saw a pleasant land,
with white-walled towns and farms nestling along the
shore of a land-locked bay, while the smoke rose blue
among the trees; and he knew it for the bay of Pagasai,
and the rich lowlands of Haemonia, and lolcos by the
sea.

Then he sighed, and asked, "Is it true what the
heroes tell me — that I am heir of that fair land?"

"And what good would it be to you, Jason, if you
were heir of that fair land?"

"I would take it and keep it."

"A strong man has taken it and kept it long. Are
you stronger than Pelias the terrible?"

"I can try my strength with his," said Jason; but
Chiron sighed, and said :

"You have many a danger to go through before you
rule in lolcos by the sea: many a danger and many a
woe; and strange troubles in strange lands, such as
man never saw before."

"The happier I," said Jason, "to see what man
never saw before."

And Chiron sighed again, and said: "The eaglet
must leave the nest when it is fledged. Will you go to
lolcos by the sea? Then promise me two things before
you go."

Jason promised, and Chiron answered, "Speak

The Argonauts 13

harshly to no soul whom you may meet, and stand by
• the word which you shall speak."

Jason wondered why Chiron asked this of him ; but he
knew that the Centaur was a prophet, and saw things
long before they came. So he promised, and leaped
down the mountain, to take Jiis fortune like a man.

He went down through the arbutus thickets, and
across the downs of thyme, till he came to the vine-
yard walls, and the pomegranates and the olives in the
glen ; and among the olives roared Anauros, all foaming
with a summer flood.

And on the bank of Anauros sat a woman, all wrinkled,
gray, and old; her head shook palsied on her breast,
and her hands shook palsied on her knees; and when
she saw Jason, she spoke, whining, "Who will carry me
across the flood?"

Jason was bold and hasty, and was just going to
leap into the flood: and yet he thought twice before
he leaped, so loud roared the torrent down, all brown
from the mountain rains, and silver-veined with melting
snow; while underneath he could hear the boulders
rumbling like the tramp of horsemen or the roll of
wheels, as they ground along the narrow channel, and
shook the rocks on which he stood.

But the old woman whined all the more: "I am weak
and old, fair youth. For Hera's sake, carry me over
the torrent."

And Jason was going to answer her scornfully, when
Chiron's words came to his mind.

H The Book of Wonder Voyages

So he said, "For Hera's sake, the Queen of the Im-
mortals on Olympus, I will carry you over the torrent,
unless we both are drowned midway."

Then the old dame leaped upon his back as nimbly as
a goat; and Jason staggered in, wondering; and the
first step was up to his knees.

The first step was up to his knees, and the second
step was up to his waist ; and the stones rolled about his
feet, and his feet slipped about the stones; so he went
on staggering and panting, while the old woman cried
from off his back :

"Fool, you have wet my mantle! Do you make
game of poor old souls like me?"

Jason had half a mind to drop her, and let her get
through the torrent by herself; but Chiron's words
were in his mind, and he said only, "Patience, mother;
the best horse may stumble some day."

At last he staggered to the shore, and set her down
upon the bank; and a strong man he needed to have
been, or that wild water he never would have crossed.

He lay panting a while upon the bank, and then leaped
up to go upon his journey; but he cast one look at the
old woman, for he thought, "She should thank me once
at least."

And as he looked, she grew fairer than all women,
and taller than all men on earth; and her garments
shone like the summer sea, and her jewels like the stars
of heaven ; and over her forehead was a veil, woven of
the golden clouds of sunset; and through the veil she

The Argonauts 15

looked down on him, with great soft heifer's eyes; with
great eyes, mild and awful, which filled all the glen
with light.

And Jason fell upon his knees, and hid his face be-
tween his hands.

And she spoke: "I am the Queen of Olympus, Hera,
the wife of Zeus. As thou hast done to me, so will I
do to thee. Call on me in the hour of need, and try
if the Immortals can forget."

And when Jason looked up, she rose from off the
earth, like a pillar of tall white cloud, and floated away
across the mountain peaks, towards Olympus the holy
hill.

Then a great fear fell on Jason : but after a while he
grew light of heart; and he blessed old Chiron, and
said, "Surely the Centaur is a prophet, and guessed
what would come to pass, when he bade me speak
harshly to no soul whom I might meet."

Then he went down toward lolcos ; and as he walked
he found that he had lost one of his sandals in the flood.

And as he went through the streets, the people came
out to look at him, so tall and fair was he; but some of
the elders whispered together; and at last one of them
stopped Jason, and called to him, "Fair lad, who are
you, and whence come you; and what is your errand
in the town?"

"My name, good father, is Jason, and I come from
Pelion, up above; and my errand is to Pelias your king;
tell me, then, where his palace is."

16 The Book of Wonder Voyages

But the old man started, and grew pale, and said,
"Do you not know the oracle, my son, that you go so
boldly through the town with but one sandal on? "

"I am a stranger here, and know of no oracle; but
what of my one sandal? I lost the other in Anauros,
while I was struggling with the flood."

Then the old man looked back to his companions;
and one sighed, and another smiled; at last he said:
"I will tell you, lest you rush upon your ruin unawares.
The Oracle in Delphi has said that a man wearing one
sandal should take the kingdom from Pelias, and keep it
for himself. Therefore beware how you go up to his pal-
ace, for he is the fiercest, aad most cunning of all kings."

Then Jason laughed a great laugh, like a warhorse
in his pride. "Good news, good father, both for you
and me. For that very end I came into the town."

Then he strode on toward the palace of Pelias, while
all the people wondered at his bearing.

And he stood in the doorway and cried, "Come out,
come out, Pelias the valiant, and fight for your king-
dom like a man."

Pelias came out wondering, and, "Who are you,
bold youth?" he cried.

"I am Jason, the son of ^Eson, the heir of all this
land."

Then Pelias lifted up his hands and eyes, and wept,
or seemed to weep; and blessed the heavens which had
brought his nephew to him, never to leave him more.
"For," said he, "I have but three daughters, and no

The Argonauts 17

son to be my heir. You shall be my heir, then, and
rule the kingdom after me, and marry whichsoever of
my daughters you shall choose ; though a sad kingdom
you will find it, and whosoever rules it a miserable man.
But come in, come in, and feast."

So he drew Jason in, whether he would or not, and
spoke to him so lovingly and feasted him so well, that
Jason's anger passed; and after supper his three cousins
came into the hall, and Jason thought that he should
like well enough to have one of them for his wife.

But at last he said to Pelias: "Why do you look so
sad, my uncle? And what did you mean just now
when you said that this was a doleful kingdom, and its
ruler a miserable man?" .Hjf

Then Pelias sighed heavily again and again and again,
like a man who had to tell some dreadful story, and
was afraid to begin ; but at last :

"For seven long years and more have I never known
a quiet night; and no more will he who comes after
me, till the golden fleece be brought home."

Then he told Jason the story of Phrixus, and of the
golden fleece; and told him, too, which was a lie, that
Phrixus' spirit tormented him, calling to him day and
night. And his daughters came, and told the same
tale (for their father had taught them their parts)
and wept, and said, "Oh, who will bring home the
golden fleece, that our uncle's spirit may rest; and
that we may have rest also, whom he never lets sleep
in peace?"

1 8 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Jason sat a while, sad and silent; for he had often
heard of that golden fleece; but he looked on it as a
thing hopeless and impossible for any mortal man to
win it.

But when Pelias saw him silent, he began to talk of
other things, and courted Jason more and more, speak-
ing to him as if he were certain to be his heir, and
asking his advice about the kingdom; till Jason, who
was young and simple, could not help saying to himself,
"Surely he is not the dark man whom people call him.
Yet why did he drive my father out?" And he asked
Pelias boldly, "Men say that you are terrible, and a
man of blood; but I find you a kind and hospitable
man; and as you are to me, so will I be to you. Yet
why did you drive my father out?"

Pelias smiled and sighed. "Men have slandered
me in that, as in all things. Your father was growing
old and weary, and he gave the kingdom up to me of his
own will. You shall see him to-morrow, and ask him ;
and he will tell you the same."

Jason's heart leaped in him when he heard that he was
to see his father; and he believed all that Pelias said,
forgetting that his father might not dare to tell the truth.

"One thing more there is," said Pelias, "on which I
need your advice; for, though you are young, I see in
you a wisdom beyond your years. There is one neigh-
bor of mine, whom I dread more than all men on
earth. I am stronger than he now, and can command
him; but I know that if he stay among us, he will work

The Argonauts 19

my ruin in the end. Can you give me a plan, Jason,
by which I can rid myself of that man?"

After a while Jason answered, half laughing, "Were
I you, I would send him to fetch that same golden
fleece; for if he once set forth after it you would never
be troubled with him more."

And at that a bitter smile came across Pelias' lips,
and a flash of wicked joy into his eyes; and Jason saw
it and started; and over his mind came the warning
of the old man, and his own one sandal, and the oracle,
and he saw that he was taken in a trap.

But Pelias only answered gently, "My son, he shall
be sent forthwith."

"You mean me?" cried Jason, starting up, "because
I came here with one sandal?" And he lifted his fist
angrily, while Pelias stood up to him like a wolf at
bay; and whether of the two was the stronger and
the fiercer it would be hard to tell.

But after a moment Pelias spoke gently: "Why then
so rash, my son? You, and not I, have said what is
said; why blame me for what I have not done? Had
you bid me love the man of whom I spoke, and make
him my son-in-law and heir, I would have obeyed you ;
and what if I obey you now, and send the man to win
himself immortal fame? I have not harmed you, or
him. One thing at least I know, that he will go, and
that gladly; for he has a hero's heart within him, loving
glory, and scorning to break the word which he has
given."

20 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Jason saw that he was entrapped; but his second
promise to Chiron came into his mind, and he thought,
"What if the Centaur were a prophet in that also, and
meant that I should win the fleece!" Then he cried
aloud :

"You have well spoken, cunning uncle of mine!
I love glory, and I dare keep to my word. I will go
and fetch this golden fleece. Promise me but this in
return, and keep your word as I keep mine. Treat
my father lovingly while I am gone, for the sake of the
all-seeing Zeus; and give me up the kingdom for my
own on the day that I bring back the golden fleece."

Then Pelias looked at him and almost loved him, in
the midst of all his hate; and said, "I promise, and
I will perform. It will be no shame to give up my
kingdom to the man who wins that fleece."

Then they swore a great oath between them; and
afterwards both went in, and lay down to sleep.

But Jason could not sleep for thinking of his mighty
oath, and how he was to fulfil it, all alone, and without
wealth or friends. So he tossed a long time upon his
bed, and thought of this plan and of that; and some-
times Phrixus seemed to call him, in a thin voice, faint
and low, as if it came from far across the sea, "Let me
come home to my fathers and have rest." And some-
times he seemed to see the eyes of Hera, and to hear
her words again: "Call on me in the hour of need, and
see if the Immortals can forget."

And on the morrow he went to Pelias, and said,

The Argonauts 21

"Give me a victim, that I may sacrifice to Hera." So
he went up, and offered his sacrifice; and as he stood
by the altar Hera sent a thought into his mind ; and he
went back to Pelias, and said :

"If you are indeed in earnest, give me two heralds,
that they may go round to all the princes of the Minuai,
who were pupils of the Centaur with me, that we may
fit out a ship together, and take what shall befall."

At that Pelias praised his wisdom, and hastened to
send the heralds out ; for he said in his heart, ' ' Let all
the princes go with him, and, like him, never return;
for so I shall be lord of all the Minuai, and the greatest
king in Hellas."

Ill

HOW THEY BUILT THE SHIP ARGO IN IOLCOS

SO the heralds went out, and cried to all the heroes
of the Minuai, "Who dare come to the adventure
of the golden fleece?"

And Hera stirred the hearts of all the princes, and
they came from all their valleys to the yellow sands
of Pagasai. And first came Hercules the mighty,
with his lion's skin and club, and behind him Hylas
his young squire, who bore his arrows and his bow,
and Tiphys, the skillful steersman; and Butes, the
fairest of all men; and Castor and Polydeuces the twins,
the sons of the magic swan ; and Caeneus, the strongest
of mortals, whom the Centaurs tried in vain to kill,
and overwhelmed him with trunks of pine trees, but
even so he would not die; and thither came Zetes and
Calais, the winged sons of the north wind; and Peleus,
the father of Achilles, whose bride was silver-footed
Thetis, the goddess of the sea. And thither came
Telamon and Oileus, the fathers of the two Ajaxes,
who fought upon the plains of Troy; and Mopsus, the
wise soothsayer, who knew the speech of birds; and
Idmon, to whom Phoebus gave a tongue to prophesy of

The Argonauts 23

things to come; and Ancaios, who could read the stars,
and knew all the circles of the heavens; and Argus,
the famed shipbuilder, and many a hero more, in
helmets of brass and gold with tall dyed horse-hair
crests, and embroidered shirts of linen beneath their
coats of mail, and greaves of polished tin to guard their
knees in fight; with each man his shield upon his
shoulder, of many a fold of tough bull's hide, and his
sword of tempered bronze in his silver-studded belt;
and in his right hand a pair of lances, of the heavy
white ash-staves.

So they came down to lolcos, and all the city came
out to meet them, and were never tired with looking
at their height, and their beauty, and their gallant
bearing, and the glitter of their inlaid arms. And some
said, "Never was such a gathering of the heroes since
the Hellens conquered the land." But the women
sighed over them, and whispered, "Alas! they are all
going to their death!"

Then they felled the pines on Pelion, and shaped them
with the axe, and Argus taught them to build a galley,
the first long ship which ever sailed the seas. They
pierced her for fifty oars — an oar for each hero of the
crew — and pitched her with coal-black pitch, and
painted her bows with vermilion; and they named her
Argo after Argus, and worked at her all day long. And
at night Pelias feasted them like a king, and they slept
in his palace porch.

But Jason went away to the northward, and into

24 The Book of Wonder Voyages

the land of Thrace, till he found Orpheus, the prince
of minstrels, where he dwelt in his cave under Rhodope,
among the savage Cicon tribes. And he asked him,
"Will you leave your mountains, Orpheus, my fellow-
scholar in old times, and cross Strymon once more
with me, to sail with the heroes of the Minuai, and
bring home the golden fleece, and charm for us all men
and all monsters with your magic harp and song?"

Then Orpheus sighed: "Have I not had enough of
toil and of weary wandering far and wide since I lived
in Chiron's cave, above lolcos by the sea? In vain is
the skill and the voice which my goddess mother gave
me; in vain have I sung and labored; in vain I went
down to the dead, and charmed all the kings of Hades,
to win back Eurydice my bride. For I won her, my
beloved, and lost her again the same day, and wandered
away in my madness, even to Egypt and the Libyan
sands, and the isles of all the seas, driven on by the
terrible gadfly, while I charmed in vain the hearts of
men, and the savage forest beasts, and the trees, and
the lifeless stones, with my magic harp and song, giving
rest, but finding none. But at last Calliope my mother
delivered me, and brought me home in peace; and I
dwell here in the cave alone, among the savage Cicon
tribes, softening their wild hearts with music and the
gentle laws of Zeus. And now I must go out again, to
the ends of all the earth, far away into the misty dark-
ness, to the last wave of the Eastern Sea. But what is
doomed must be, and a friend's demand obeyed; for

The Argonauts 25

prayers are the daughters of Zeus, and who honors
them honors him."

Then Orpheus rose up sighing, and took his harp,
and went over Strymon. And he led Jason to the south-
west, up the banks of Haliacmon and over the spurs of
Pindus, to Dodona the town of Zeus, where it stood by
the side of the sacred lake, and the fountain which
breathed out fire, in the darkness of the ancient oak
wood, beneath the mountain of the hundred springs.
And he led him to the holy oak, where the -black dove
settled in old times, and was changed into the priestess
of Zeus, and gave oracles to all nations round. And
he bade him cut down a bough, and sacrifice to Hera
and to Zeus; and they took the bough and came to
lolcos, and nailed it to the beak-head of the ship.

And at last the ship was finished, and they tried to
launch her down the beach; but she was too heavy for
them to move her, and her keel sank deep into the sand.
Then all the heroes looked at each other blushing; but
Jason spoke and said, "Let us ask the magic bough;
perhaps it can help us in our need."

Then a voice came from the bough, and Jason heard
the words it said, and bade Orpheus play upon the
harp, while the heroes waited round, holding the pine-
trunk rollers to help her toward the sea.

Then Orpheus took his harp, and began his magic
song : ' ' How sweet it is to ride upon the surges, and to
leap from wave to wave, while the wind sings cheerful
in the cordage, and the oars flash fast among the foam !

26 The Book of Wonder Voyages

How sweet it is to roam across the ocean, and see new
towns and wondrous lands, and to come home laden
with treasure, and to win undying fame!"

And the good ship Argo heard him, and longed to be
away and out at sea; till she stirred in every timber,
and heaved from stem to stern, and leaped up from the
sand upon the rollers, and plunged onward like a
gallant horse; and the heroes fed her path with pine
trunks, till she rushed into the whispering sea.

Then they stored her well with food and water, and
pulled the ladder up on board, and settled themselves
each man to his oar, and kept time to Orpheus' harp;
and away across the bay they rowed southward, while
the people lined the cliffs; and the women wept, while
the men shouted, at the starting of that gallant crew.

IV

HOW THE ARGONAUTS SAILED TO COLCHIS

AND what happened next, my children, whether it
be true or not, stands written in ancient songs,
which you shall read for yourselves some day.
And grand old songs they are, written in grand old
rolling verse ; and they call them the Songs of Orpheus,
or the Orphics, to this day. And they tell how the
heroes came to Aphetai, across the bay, and waited for
the southwest wind, and chose themselves a captain
from their crew: and how all called for Hercules, be-
cause he was the strongest and most huge; but Hercu-
les refused, and called for Jason, because he was the
wisest of them all. So Jason was chosen captain; and
Orpheus heaped a pile of wood, and slew a bull, and
offered it to Hera, and called all the heroes to stand
round, each man's head crowned with olive, and to
strike their swords into the bull. Then he filled a golden
goblet with the bull's blood, and with wheaten flour,
and honey, and wine, and the bitter salt-sea water, and
bade the heroes taste. So each tasted the goblet,
and passed it round, and vowed an awful vow: and
they vowed before the sun, and the night, and the
27

28 The Book of Wonder Voyages

blue-haired sea who shakes the land, to stand by Jason
faithfully in the adventure of the golden fleece; and
whosoever shrank back, or disobeyed, or turned traitor
to his vow, then justice should minister against him,
and the Erinnues who track guilty men.

Then Jason lighted the pile, and burnt the carcass of
the bull; and they went to their ship and sailed east-
ward, like men who have a work to do; and the place
from which they went was called Aphetai, the sailing-
place, from that day forth. Three thousand years and
more they sailed away, into the unknown Eastern
seas; and great nations have come and gone since then,
and many a storm has swept the earth; and many a
mighty armament, to which Argo would be but one
small boat; English and French, Turkish and Russian,
have sailed those waters since; yet the fame of that
small Argo lives forever, and her name is become a
proverb among men.

So they sailed past the Isle of Sciathos, with the
Cape of Sepius on their left, and turned to the north-
ward toward Pelion, up the long Magnesian shore.
On their right hand was the open sea, and on their left
old Pelion rose, while the clouds crawled round his
dark pine forests, and his caps of summer snow. And
their hearts yearned for the dear old mountain, as
they thought of pleasant days gone by, and of the
sports of their boyhood, and their hunting, and their
schooling in the cave beneath the cliff. And at last
Peleus spoke: "Let us land here, friends, and climb the

The Argonauts 29

dear old hill once more. We are going on a fearful
journey; who knows if we shall see Pelion again? Let
us go up to Chiron our master, and ask his blessing
ere we start. And I have a boy, too, with him, whom
he trains as he trained me once — the son whom Thetis
brought me, the silver-footed lady of the sea, whom I
caught in the cave, and tamed her, though she changed
her shape seven times. For she changed, as I held her,
into water, and to vapor, and to burning flame, and
to a rock, a*nd to a black-maned lion, and to a tall and
stately tree. But I held her and held her ever, till she
took her own shape again, and led her to my father's
house, and won her for my bride. And all the rulers
of Olympus came to our wedding, and the heavens and
the earth rejoiced together, when an Immortal wedded
mortal man. And now let me see my son ; for it is not
often I shall see him upon earth: famous he will be,
but short-lived, and die in the flower of youth."

So Tiphys the helmsman steered them to the shore
under the crags of Pelion; and they went up through
the dark pine forests towards the Centaur's cave.

And they came into the misty hall, beneath the
snow-crowned crag; and saw the great Centaur lying,
with his huge limbs spread upon the rock; and beside
him stood Achilles, the child whom no steel could
wound, and played upon his harp right sweetly, while
Chiron watched and smiled.

Then Chiron leaped up and welcomed them, and kissed
them every one, and set a feast before them of swine's

30 The Book of Wonder Voyages

flesh, and venison, and good wine; and young Achilles
served them, and carried the golden goblet round.
And after supper all the heroes clapped their hands,
and called on Orpheus to sing; but he refused, and
said, "How can I, who am the younger, sing before
our ancient host?" So they called on Chiron to sing,
and Achilles brought him his harp; and he began a
wondrous song; a famous story of old time, of the
fight between the Centaurs and the Lapithai. He
sang how his brothers came to ruin by their folly, when
they were mad with wine; and how they and the heroes
fought, with fists, and teeth, and the goblets from which
they drank; and how they tore up the pine trees in
their fury, and hurled great crags of stone, while the
mountains thundered with the battle, and the land
was wasted far and wide; till the Lapithai drove them
from their home in the rich Thessalian plains to the
lonely glens of Pindus, leaving Chiron all alone. And
the heroes praised his song right heartily; for some of
them had helped in that great fight.

Then Orpheus took the lyre, and sang of Chaos, and
the making of the wondrous World, and how all things
sprang from Love, who could not live alone in the
Abyss. And as he sang, his voice rose from the cave,
above the crags, and through the tree tops, and the
glens of oak and pine. And the trees bowed their
heads when they heard it, and the gray rocks cracked
and rang, and the forest beasts crept near to listen,
and the birds forsook their nests and hovered round.

The Argonauts 31

And old Chiron clapped his hands together, and beat his

hoofs upon the ground, for wonder at that magic song.

Then Peleus kissed his boy, and wept over him, and

they went down to the ship; and Chiron came down

CHIRON'S FAREWELL TO THE ARGONAUTS

with them, weeping, and kissed them one by one, and
blessed them, and promised to them great renown. And
the heroes wept when they left him, till their great
hearts could weep no more; for he was kind and just
and pious, and wiser than all beasts and men. Then
he went up to a cliff, and prayed for them, that they
might come home safe and well; while the heroes rowed

32 The Book of Wonder Voyages

away, and watched him standing on his cliff above the
sea, with his great hands raised toward heaven, and
his white locks waving in the wind; and they strained
their eyes to watch him to the last, for they felt that
they should look on him no more.

So they rowed on over the long swell of the sea, past
Olympus, the seat of the Immortals, and past the
wooded bays of Athos, and Samothrace the sacred isle;
and they came past Lemnos to the Hellespont, and
through the narrow strait of Abydos, and so on into
the Propontis, which we call Marmora now. And
there they met with Cyzicus, ruling in Asia over the
Dolions, who, the songs say, was the son of ^Eneas,
of whom you will hear many a tale some day. For
Homer tells us how he fought at Troy, and Virgil how
he sailed away and founded Rome; and men believed
until late years that from him sprang our old British
kings. Now Cyzicus, the songs say, welcomed the
heroes, for his father had been one of Chiron's scholars;
so he welcomed them, and feasted them, and stored their
ship with corn and wine, and cloaks and rugs, the songs
say, and shirts, of which no doubt they stood in need.

But at night, while they lay sleeping, came down on
them terrible men, who lived with the bears in the
mountains, like Titans or giants in shape; for each of
them had six arms, and they fought with young firs
and pines. But Hercules killed them all before morn
with his deadly poisoned arrows; but among them,
in the darkness, he slew Cyzicus the kindly prince.

The Argonauts 33

Then they got to their ship and to their oars, and
Tiphys bade them cast off the hawsers and go to sea.
But as he spoke a whirlwind came, and spun the Argo
round, and twisted the hawsers together, so that no
man could loose them. Then Tiphys dropped the
rudder from his hand, and cried, "This comes from
the gods above." But Jason went forward, and asked
counsel of the magic bough.

Then the magic bough spoke, and answered, "This
is because you have slain Cyzicus your friend. You
must appease his soul, or you will never leave this
shore."

Jason went back sadly, and told the heroes what he
had heard. And they leaped on shore, and searched till
dawn; and at dawn they found the body, all rolled in
dust and blood, among the corpses of those monstrous
beasts. And they wept over their kind host, and laid
him on a fair bed, and heaped a huge mound over him,
and offered black sheep at his tomb, and Orpheus sang
a magic song to him, that his spirit might have rest.
And then they held games at the tomb, after the
custom of those times, and Jason gave prizes to each
winner. To Ancaeus he gave a golden cup, for he
wrestled best of all; and to Hercules a silver one, for
he was the strongest of all; and to Castor, who rode
best, a golden crest; and Poly deuces the boxer had a
rich carpet, and to Orpheus for his song a sandal with
golden wings. But Jason himself was the best of all
the archers, and the Minuai crowned him with an olive

34 The Book of Wonder Voyages

crown; and so, the songs say, the soul of good Cyzicus
was appeased and the heroes went on their way in peace.

But when Cyzicus' wife heard that he was dead, she
died likewise of grief; and her tears became a fountain
of clear water, which flows the whole year round.

Then they rowed away, the songs say, along the
Mysian shore, and past the mouth of Rhindacus, till
they found a pleasant bay, sheltered by the long ridges
of Arganthus, and by high walls of basalt rock. And
there they ran the ship ashore upon the yellow sand,
and furled the sail, and took the mast down, and lashed
it in its crutch. And next they let down the ladder,
and went ashore to sport and rest.

And there Hercules went away into the woods, bow
in hand, to hunt wild deer; and Hylas, the fair boy,
slipped away after him, and followed him by stealth, until
he lost himself among the glens, and sat down weary to
rest himself by the side of a lake ; and there the water-
nymphs came up to look at him, and loved him, and
carried him down under the lake to be their playfellow,
forever happy and young. And Hercules sought for
him in vain, shouting his name till all the mountains
rang; but Hylas never heard him, far down under the
sparkling lake. So while Hercules wandered searching
for him, a fair breeze sprang up, and Hercules was
nowhere to be found; and the Argo sailed away, and
Hercules was left behind, and never saw the noble
Phasian stream.

Then the Minuai came to a doleful land, where

The Argonauts 35

Amycus the giant ruled, and cared nothing for the laws
of Zeus, but challenged all strangers to box with him,
and those whom he conquered he slew. But Poly-
deuces the boxer struck him a harder blow than he
ever felt before, and slew him; and the Minuai went
on up the Bosphorus, till they came to the city of
Phineus, the fierce Bithynian king; for Zetes and
Calais bade Jason land there, because they had a work
to do.

And they went up from the shore toward the city,
through forests white with snow; and Phineus came
out to meet them with a lean and woeful face, and said :
"Welcome, gallant heroes, to the land of bitter blasts,
the land of cold and misery ; yet I will feast you as best
I can." And he led them in, and set meat before them;
but before they could put their hands to their mouths,
down came two fearful monsters, the like of whom
man never saw; for they had the faces and hair of fair
maidens, but the wings and claws of hawks; and they
snatched the meat from off the table, and flew shrieking
out above the roofs.

Then Phineus beat his breast and cried : ' ' These are
the Harpies, whose names are the Whirlwind and the
Swift, the daughters of Wonder and of the Amber
nymph, and they rob us night and day. They carried
off the daughters of Pandareus, whom all the gods had
blest; for Aphrodite fed them on Olympus with honey
and milk and wine; and Hera gave them beauty and
wisdom, and Athene skill in all the arts; but when

36 The Book of Wonder Voyages

they came to their wedding, the Harpies snatched them
both away, and gave them to be slaves to the Erinnues,
and live in horror all their days. And now they haunt
me, and my people, and the Bosphorus, with fearful
storms; and sweep away our food from off our tables,
so that we starve in spite of all our wealth."

Then up rose Zetes and Calais, the winged sons
of the North- wind, and said: "Do you not know us,
Phineus, and these wings which grow upon our backs?"
And Phineus hid his face in terror; but he answered
not a word.

"Because you have been a traitor, Phineus, the
Harpies haunt you day and night. Where is Cleo-
patra our sister, your wife, whom you keep in prison?
and where are her two children, whom you blinded in
your rage, at the bidding of an evil woman, and cast
them out upon the rocks? Swear to us that you will
right our sister, and cast out that wicked woman; and
then we will free you from your plague, and drive the
whirlwind maidens to the south; but if not, we will
put out your eyes, as you put out the eyes of your own
sons."

Then Phineus swore an oath to them, and drove out
the wicked woman; and Jason took those two poor
children, and cured their eyes with magic herbs.

But Zetes and Calais rose up sadly and said: "Fare-
well now, heroes all; farewell, our dear companions,
with whom we played on Pelion in old times; for a
fate is laid upon us, and our day is come at last, in

The Argonauts 37

which we must hunt the whirlwinds over land and sea
forever; and if we catch them they die, and if not, we
die ourselves."

THE CHASE OF THE HARPIES

At that all the heroes wept; but the two young men
sprang up, and aloft into the air after the Harpies,
and the battle of the winds began.

The heroes trembled in silence as they heard the
shrieking of the blasts; while the palace rocked and all
the city, and great stones were torn from the crags, and
the forest pines were hurled earthward, north and
south and east and west, and the Bosphorus boiled

338187

38 The Book of Wonder Voyages

white with foam, and the clouds were dashed against
the cliffs.

But at last the battle ended, and the Harpies fled
screaming toward the south, and the sons of the North-
wind rushed after them, and brought clear sunshine
where they passed. For many a league they followed
them, over all the isles of the Cyclades, and away to
the southwest across Hellas, till they came to the
Ionian Sea, and there they fell upon the Echinades,
at the mouth of the Achelous; and those isles were
called the Whirlwind Isles for many a hundred years.
But what became of Zetes and Calais I know not, for
the heroes never saw them again: and some say that
Hercules met them, and quarreled with them, and slew
them with his arrows; and some say that they fell
down from weariness and the heat of the summer sun,
and that the Sun-god buried them among the Cyclades,
in the pleasant Isle of Tenos; and for many hundred
years their grave was shown there, and over it a pillar,
which turned to every wind. But those dark storms
and whirlwinds haunt the Bosphorus until this day.

But the Argonauts went eastward, and out into the
open sea, which we now call the Black Sea, but it was
called the Euxine then. No Hellen had ever crossed
it, and all feared that dreadful sea, and its rocks and
shoals, and fogs and bitter freezing storms; and they
told strange stories of it, some false and some half
true, how it stretched northward to the ends of the
earth, and the sluggish Putrid Sea, and the everlasting

The Argonauts 39

night, and the regions of the dead. So the heroes
trembled, for all their courage, as they came into that
wild Black Sea, and saw it stretching out before them,
without a shore, as far as eye could see.

And first Orpheus spoke, and warned them: "We
shall come now to the wandering blue rocks; my
mother warned me of them, Calliope, the immortal
muse."

And soon they saw the blue rocks shining like spires
and castles of gray glass, while an ice-cold wind blew
from them and chilled all the heroes' hearts. And as
they neared they could see them heaving, as they rolled
upon the long sea- waves, crashing and grinding together
till the roar went up to heaven. The sea sprang up
in spouts between them, and swept round them in
white sheets of foam; but their heads swung nodding
high in air, while the wind whistled shrill among the
crags.

The heroes' hearts sank within them, and they lay
upon their oars in fear; but Orpheus called to Tiphys
the helmsman : ' ' Between them we must pass ; so look
ahead for an opening, and be brave, for Hera is with
us." But Tiphys the cunning helmsman stood silent,
clenching his teeth, till he saw a heron come flying
mast -high toward the rocks, and hover a while before
them, as if looking for a passage through. Then he
cried, "Hera has sent us a pilot; let us follow the
cunning bird."

Then the heron flapped to and fro a moment, till he

40 The Book of Wonder Voyages

saw a hidden gap, and into it he rushed like an arrow,
while the heroes watched what would befall.

And the blue rocks clashed together as the bird fled
swiftly through; but they struck but a feather from his
tail, and then rebounded apart at the shock.

Then Tiphys cheered the heroes, and they shouted ; and
the oars bent like withes beneath their strokes as they
rushed between those toppling ice crags and the cold blue
lips of death. And ere the rocks could meet again they
had passed them, and were safe out in the open sea.

And after that they sailed on wearily along the Asian
coast, by the Black Cape and Thyneis, where the hot
stream of Thymbris falls into the sea, and Sangarius,
whose waters float on the Euxine, till they came to
Wolf the river, and to Wolf the kindly king. And
there died two brave heroes, Idmon and Tiphys the wise
helmsman : one died of an evil sickness, and one a wild
boar slew. So the heroes heaped a mound above them,
and set upon it an oar on high, and left them there to
sleep together, on the far-off Lycian shore. But Idas
killed the boar, and avenged Tiphys ; and Ancaios took
the rudder and was helmsman, and steered them on
toward the east.

And they went on past Sinope, and many a mighty
river's mouth, and past many a barbarous tribe, and
the cities of the Amazons, the warlike women of the
East, till all night they heard the clank of anvils and
the roar of furnace blasts, and the forge fires shone
like sparks through the darkness in the mountain glens

The Argonauts 41

aloft; for they were come to the shores of the Chalybes,
the smiths who never tire, but serve Ares the cruel
War-god, forging weapons day and night.

And at daydawn they looked eastward, and mid-
way between the sea and the sky they saw white snow-
peaks hanging, glittering sharp and bright above the
clouds. And they knew that they were come to Cau-
casus, at the end of all the earth : Caucasus the highest
of all mountains, the father of the rivers of the East.
On his peak lies chained the Titan, while a vulture tears
his heart; and at his feet are piled dark forests round
the magic Colchian land.

And they rowed three days to the eastward, while
Caucasus rose higher hour by hour, till they saw the
dark stream of Phasis rushing headlong to the sea, and,
shining above the tree tops, the golden roofs of King
Aietes, the child of the Sun.

Then out spoke Ancaios the helmsman, "We are
come to our goal at last, for there are the roofs of
Aietes, and the woods where all poisons grow; but who
can tell us where among them is hid the golden fleece ?
Many a toil must we bear ere we find it, and bring it
home to Greece."

But Jason cheered the heroes, for his heart was high
and bold; and he said, "I will go alone up to Aietes,
though he be the child of the Sun, and win him with
soft words. Better so than to go all together, and to
come to blows at once." But the Minuai would not
stay behind, so they rowed boldly up the stream.

42 The Book of Wonder Voyages

And a dream came to Aietes, and filled his heart
with fear. He thought he saw a shining star, which
fell into his daughter's lap; and that Medea his daugh-
ter took it gladly, and carried it to the riverside, and
cast it in, and there the whirling river bore it down,
and out into the Euxine Sea.

Then he leaped up in fear, and bade his servants
bring his chariot, that he might go down to the river-
side and appease the nymphs, and the heroes whose
spirits haunt the bank. So he went down in his golden
chariot, and his daughters by his side, Medea the fair
witch-maiden, and Chalciope, who had been Phrixus'
wife, and behind him a crowd of servants and soldiers,
for he was a rich and mighty prince.

And as he drove down by the reedy river he saw
Ar go sliding up beneath the bank, and many a hero in
her, like Immortals for beauty and for strength, as
their weapons glittered round them in the level morn-
ing sunlight, through the white mist of the stream. But
Jason was the noblest of all; for Hera, who loved him,
gave him beauty and tallness and terrible manhood.

And when they came near together and looked into
each other's eyes the heroes were awed before Aietes as
he shone in his chariot, like his father the glorious Sun;
for his robes were of rich gold tissue, and the rays of
his diadem flashed fire; and in his hand he bore a
jeweled scepter, which glittered like the stars; and
sternly he looked at them under his brows, and sternly
he spoke and loud :

The Argonauts 43

"Who are you, and what want you here, that you
come to the shore of Cutaia? Do you take no account
of my rule, nor of my people the Colchians who serve
me, who never tired yet in the battle, and know well
how to face an invader?"

And the heroes sat silent a while before the face of
that ancient king. But Hera the awful goddess put
courage into Jason's heart, and he rose and shouted
loudly in answer: "We are no pirates nor lawless men.
We come not to plunder and to ravage, or carry away
slaves from your land ; but my uncle, the son of Posei-
don, Pelias the Minuan king, he it is who has set me
on a quest to bring home the golden fleece. And these
too, my bold comrades, they are no nameless men;
for some are the sons of Immortals, and some of heroes
far renowned. And we too never tire in battle, and
know well how to give blows and to take; yet we wish
to be guests at your table : it will be better so for both."

Then Aietes' rage rushed up like a whirlwind, and
his eyes flashed fire as he heard; but he crushed his
anger down in his breast, and spoke mildly a cunning
speech :

"If you will fight for the fleece with my Colchians,
then many a man must die. But do you indeed expect
to win from me the fleece in fight? So few you are
that if you be worsted I can load your ship with your
corpses. But if you will be ruled by me, you will
find it better far to choose the best man among you,
and let him fulfil the labors which I demand. Then I

44 The Book of Wonder Voyages

will give him the golden fleece for a prize and a glory
to you all."

So saying, he turned his horses and drove back in
silence to the town. And the Minuai sat silent with
sorrow, and longed for Hercules and his strength; for
there was no facing the thousands of the Colchians
and the fearful chance of war.

But Chalciope, Phrixus' widow, went weeping to the
town; for she remembered her Minuan husband, and
all the pleasures of her youth, while she watched the
fair faces of his kinsmen, and their long locks of golden
hair. And she whispered to Medea her sister: "Why
should all these brave men die? Why does not my
father give them up the fleece, that my husband's
spirit may have rest?"

And Medea's heart pitied the heroes, and Jason most
of all; and she answered: "Our father is stern and
terrible, and who can win the golden fleece?" But
Chalciope said: "These men are not like our men;
there is nothing which they cannot dare nor do."

And Medea thought of Jason and his brave coun-
tenance, and said : " If there was one among them who
knew no fear, I could show him how to win the fleece."

So in the dusk of evening they went down to the
riverside, Chalciope and Medea the witch-maiden,
and Argus, Phrixus' son. And Argus the boy crept
forward, among the beds of reeds, till he came where
the heroes were sleeping, on the thwarts of the ship,
beneath the bank, while Jason kept ward on shore, and

The Argonauts 45

leaned upon his lance full of thought. And the boy came
to Jason, and said :

' ' I am the son of Phrixus, your cousin ; and Chalciope
my mother waits for you, to talk about the golden
fleece."

Then Jason went boldly with the boy, and found the
two princesses standing; and when Chalciope saw him
she wept, and took his hands, and cried.

"O cousin of my beloved, go home before you
die!"

"It would be base to go home now, fair princess,
and to have sailed all these seas in vain." Then both
the princesses besought him; but Jason said, "It is
too late."

"But you know not," said Medea, "what he must
do who would win the fleece. He must tame the two
brazen-footed bulls, who breathe devouring flame; and
with them he must plow ere nightfall four acres in the
field of Ares; and he must sow them with serpents'
teeth, of which each tooth springs up into an armed
man. Then he must fight with all those warriors;
and little will it profit him to conquer them, for the
fleece is guarded by a serpent, more huge than any
mountain pine; and over his body you must step if
you would reach the golden fleece."

Then Jason laughed bitterly. "Unjustly is that
fleece kept here, and by an unjust and lawless king;
and unjustly shall I die in my youth, for I will attempt
it ere another sun be set."

46 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Then Medea trembled and said: "No mortal man
can reach that fleece unless I guide him through. For
round it, beyond the river, is a wall full nine ells high,
with lofty towers and buttresses, and mighty gates of
threefold brass; and over the gates the wall is arched,
with golden battlements above. And over the gate-
way sits Brimo, the wild witch-huntress of the woods,
brandishing a pine torch in her hands, while her mad
hounds howl around. No man dare meet her or look
on her, but only I her priestess, and she watches far
and wide lest any stranger should come near."

"No wall so high but it may be climbed at last, and
no wood so thick but it may be crawled through; no
serpent so wary but he may be charmed, or witch-queen
so fierce but spells may soothe her; and I may yet
win the golden fleece, if a wise maiden help bold men."

And he looked at Medea cunningly, and held her
with his glittering eye, till she blushed and trembled,
and said :

"Who can face the fire of the bulls' breath, and fight
ten thousand armed men?"

"He whom you help," said Jason, flattering her,
"for your fame is spread over alt the earth. Are you
not the queen of all enchantresses, wiser even than
your sister Circe, in her fairy island in the West?"

"Would that I were with my sister Circe in her fairy
island in the West, far away from sore temptation and
thoughts which tear the heart ! But if it must be so—
for why should you die?— I have an ointment here; I

The Argonauts 47

made it from the magic ice-flower which sprang from
Prometheus' wound, above the clouds on Caucasus, in
the dreary fields of snow. Anoint yourself with that,
and you shall have in you seven men's strength; and
anoint your shield with it, and neither fire nor sword
can harm you. But what you begin you must end
before sunset, for its virtue lasts only one day. And
anoint your helmet with it before you sow the serpents'
teeth; and when the sons of earth spring up, cast your
helmet among their ranks, and the deadly crop of the
War-god's field will mow itself, and perish."

Then Jason fell on his knees before her, and thanked
her and kissed her hands; and she gave him the vase
of ointment, and fled trembling through the reeds.
And Jason told his comrades what had happened, and
showed them the box of ointment; and all rejoiced
but Idas, and he grew mad with envy.

And at sunrise Jason went and bathed, and anointed
himself from head to foot, and his shield, and his hel-
met, and his weapons, and bade his comrades try the
spell. So they tried to bend his lance, but it stood like
an iron bar; and Idas in spite hewed at it with his sword,
but the blade flew to splinters in his face. Then they
hurled their lances at his shield, but the spear-points
turned like lead; and Caineus tried to throw him, but
he never stirred a foot; and Polydeuces struck him
with his fist a blow which would have killed an ox, but
Jason only smiled, and the heroes danced about him
with delight ; and he leaped, and ran, and shouted in

48 The Book of Wonder Voyages

the joy of that enormous strength, till the sun rose,
and it was time to go and to claim Aietes' promise.

So he sent up Telamon and Aithalides to tell Aietes
that he was ready for the fight; and they went up
among the marble walls, and beneath the roofs of gold,
and stood in Aietes' hall, while he grew pale with rage.

"Fulfil your promise to us, child of the blazing Sun.
Give us the serpents' teeth, and let loose the fiery bulls;
for we have found a champion among us who can win
the golden fleece."

And Aietes bit his lips, for he fancied that they had
fled away by night : but he could not go back from his
promise; so he gave them the serpents' teeth.

Then he called for his chariot and his horses, and sent
heralds through all the town; and all the people went
out with him to the dreadful War-god's field.

And there Aietes sat upon his throne, with his war-
riors on each hand, thousands and tens of thousands,
clothed from head to foot in steel chain-mail. And
the people and the women crowded to every window
and bank and wall; while the Minuai stood together,
a mere handful in the midst of that great host.

And Chalclope was there and Argus, trembling, and
Medea, wrapped closely in her veil ; but Aietes did not
know that she was muttering cunning spells between
her lips.

Then Jason cried, "Fulfil your promise, and let
your fiery bulls come forth."

Then Aietes bade open the gates, and the magic

The Argonauts 49

bulls leaped out. Their brazen hoofs rang upon the
ground, and their nostrils sent out sheets of flame, as
they rushed with lowered heads upon Jason; but he
never flinched a step. The flame of their breath swept
round him, but it singed not a hair of his head; and the
bulls stopped short and trembled when Medea began
her spell.

Then Jason sprang upon the nearest and seized him
by the horn; and up and down they wrestled, till the
bull fell groveling on his knees; for the heart of the
brute died within him, and his mighty limbs were loosed,
beneath the steadfast eye of that dark witch-maiden
and the magic whisper of her lips.

So both the bulls were tamed and yoked ; and Jason
bound them to the plow, and goaded them onward
with his lance till he had plowed the sacred field.

And all the Minuai shouted; but Aietes bit his lips
with rage, for the half of Jason's work was over, and
the sun was yet high in heaven.

Then he took the serpents' teeth and sowed them,
and waited what would befall. But Medea looked at
him and at his helmet, lest he should forget the lesson
she had taught.

And every furrow heaved and bubbled, and out of
every clod arose a man. Out of the earth they rose by
thousands, each clad from head to foot in steel, and
drew their swords and rushed on Jason, where he stood
in the midst alone.

Then the Minuai grew pale with fear for him; but

50 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Aietes laughed a bitter laugh. "See! if I had not
warriors enough already round me, I could call them
out of the bosom of the earth."
But Jason snatched off his helmet, and hurled it

THE CROP OF THE DRAGON'S TEETH

into the thickest of the throng. And blind madness
came upon them, suspicion, hate, and fear; and one
cried to his fellow, "Thou didst strike me!" and an-
other, ' ' Thou art Jason ; thou shalt die ! " So fury seized
those earth-born phantoms, and each turned his hand
against the rest; and they fought and were never
weary, till they all lay dead upon the ground. Then

The Argonauts 51

the magic furrows opened and the kind earth took them
home into her breast; and the grass grew up all green
again above them, and Jason's work was done.

Then the Minuai rose and shouted, till Prometheus
heard them from his crag. And Jason cried, "Lead
me to the fleece this moment, before the sun goes down."

But Aietes thought, "He has conquered the bulls,
and sown and reaped the deadly crop. Who is this
who is proof against all magic ? He may kill the serpent
yet." So he delayed, and sat taking counsel with his
princes till the sun went down and all was dark. Then
he bade a herald cry, "Every man to his home for
to-night. To-morrow we will meet these heroes, and
speak about the golden fleece."

Then he turned and looked at Medea. "This is
your doing, false witch-maid! You have helped these
yellow-haired strangers, and brought shame upon
your father and yourself!"

Medea shrank and trembled, and her face grew pale
with fear; and Aietes knew that she was guilty, and
whispered, "If they win the fleece, you die!"

But the Minuai marched toward their ship, growling
like lions cheated of their prey ; for they saw that Aietes
meant to mock them, and to cheat them out of all
their toil. And Oileus said, "Let us go to the grove
together, and take the fleece by force."

And Idas the rash cried, "Let us draw lots who shall
go in first; for, while the dragon is devouring one, the
rest can slay him and carry off the fleece in peace.".

52 The Book of Wonder Voyages

But Jason held them back, though he praised them;
for he hoped for Medea's help.

And after a while Medea came trembling and wept
a long while before she spoke. And at last :

"My end is come, and I must die; for my father has
found out that I have helped you. You he would kill
if he dared; but he will not harm you, because you have
been his guests. Go, then, go, and remember poor
Medea when you are far away across the sea." But
all the heroes cried :

"If you die, we die with you; for without you we
cannot win the fleece, and home we will not go without
it, but fall here fighting to the last man."

"You need not die," said Jason. "Flee home with
us across the sea. Show us first how to win the fleece;
for you can do it. Why else are you the priestess of
the grove? Show us but how to win the fleece, and
come with us, and you shall be my queen, and rule
over the rich princes of the Minuai, in lolcos by the
sea."

And all the heroes pressed round, and vowed to her
that she should be their queen.

Medea wept, and shuddered, and hid her face in her
hands; for her heart yearned after her sisters and her
playfellows, and the home where she was brought up
as a child. But at last she looked up at Jason and
spoke between her sobs.

"Must I leave my home and my people, to wander
with strangers across the sea? The lot is cast, and I

The Argonauts 53

must endure it. I will show you how to win the golden
fleece. Bring up your ship to the wood-side, and moor
her there against the bank; and let Jason come up at
midnight, and one brave comrade with him, and meet
me beneath the wall."

Then all the heroes cried together, "I will go!"
"and I!" "and I!" And Idas the rash grew mad with
envy; for he longed to be foremost in all things. But
Medea calmed them, and said, "Orpheus shall go with
Jason and bring his magic harp; for I hear of him that
he is the king of all minstrels, and can charm all things
on earth."

And Orpheus laughed for joy, and clapped his hands,
because the choice had fallen on him ; for in those days
poets and singers were as bold warriors as the best.

So at midnight they went up the bank, and found
Medea : and beside came Absyrtus her young brother,
leading a yearling lamb.

Then Medea brought them to a thicket beside the
War-god's gate; and there she bade Jason dig a ditch
and kill the lamb, and leave it there, and strew on it
magic herbs and honey from the honeycomb.

Then sprang up through the earth, with the red fire
flashing before her, Brimo, the wild witch-huntress,
while her mad hounds howled around. She had one
head like a horse's, and another like a ravening hound's,
and another like a hissing snake's, and a sword in either
hand. And she leaped into the ditch with her hounds,
and they ate and drank their fill, while Jason and

54 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Orpheus trembled, and Medea hid her eyes. And at
last the witch-queen vanished, and fled with her hounds
into the woods; and the bars of the gates fell down, and
the brazen doors flew wide, and Medea and the heroes
ran forward and hurried through the poison wood,
among the dark stems of the mighty beeches, guided
by the gleam of the golden fleece, until they saw it
hanging on one vast tree in the midst. And Jason
would have sprung to seize it; but Medea held him
back, and pointed, shuddering, to the tree-foot, where
the mighty serpent lay, coiled in and out among
the roots with a body like a mountain pine. His coils
stretched many a fathom, spangled with bronze and
gold; and half of him they could see, but no more,
for the rest lay in the darkness far beyond.

And when he saw them coming he lifted up his
head, and watched them with his small bright eyes, and
flashed his forked tongue, and roared like the fire among
the woodlands, till the forest tossed and groaned.
For his cries shook the trees from leaf to root, and swept
over the long reaches of the river, and over Aietes' hall,
and woke the sleepers in the city, till mothers clasped
their children in their fear.

But Medea called gently to him, and he stretched
out his long spotted neck, and licked her hand, and
looked up in her face, as if to ask for food. Then she
made a sign to Orpheus, and he began his magic song.

And as he sung, the forest grew calm again, and the
leaves on every tree hung still; and the serpent's head

55

56 The Book of Wonder Voyages

sank down, and his brazen coils grew limp, and his
glittering eyes closed lazily, till he breathed as gently
as a child, while Orpheus called to pleasant Slumber,
who gives peace to men, and beasts, and waves.

Then Jason leaped forward warily, and stepped across
that mighty snake, and tore the fleece from off the
tree trunk; and the four rushed down the garden, to
the bank where the Argo lay.

There was a silence for a moment, while Jason held
the golden fleece on high. Then he cried, "Go now,
good Argo, swift and steady, if ever you would see
Pelion more."

And she went, as the heroes drove her, grim and
silent all, with muffled oars, till the pine wood bent
like willow in their hands, and stout Argo groaned
beneath their strokes.

On and on, beneath the dewy darkness, they fled
swiftly down the swirling stream; underneath black
walls, and temples, and the castles of the princes of the
East; past sluice mouths, and fragrant gardens, and
groves of all strange fruits; past marshes where fat
kine lay sleeping, and long beds of whispering reeds;
till they heard the merry music of the surge upon the
bar, as it tumbled in the moonlight all alone.

Into the surge they rushed, and Argo leaped the break-
ers like a horse; for she knew the time was come to
show her mettle, and win honor for the heroes and
herself.

Into the surge they rushed, and Argo leaped the break-

The Argonauts 57

ers like a horse, till the heroes stopped all panting,
each man upon his oar, as she slid into the still broad
sea.

Then Orpheus took his harp and sang a paean, till
the heroes' hearts rose high again; and they rowed on
stoutly and steadfastly, away into the darkness of the
West.

HOW THE ARGONAUTS WERE DRIVEN INTO THE
UNKNOWN SEA

SO they fled away in haste to the westward; but
Aietes manned his fleet and followed them.
And Lynceus the quick-eyed saw him coming,
while he was still many a mile away, and cried, "I see
a hundred ships, like a flock of white swans, far in the
east." And at that they rowed hard, like heroes;
but the ships came nearer every hour.

Then Medea, the dark witch-maiden, laid a cruel
and a cunning plot; for she killed Absyrtus, her young
brother, and cast him into the sea, and said, "Ere my
father can take up his corpse and bury it, he must
wait long, and be left far behind."

And all the heroes shuddered, and looked one at the
other for shame; yet they did not punish that dark
witch-woman, because she had won for them the golden
fleece.

And when Aietes came to the place he saw the float-
ing corpse ; and he stopped a long while, and bewailed
his son, and took him up, and went home. But he sent
on his sailors toward the westward, and bound them

558

The Argonauts 59

by a mighty curse : ' ' Bring back to me that dark witch-
woman, that she may die a dreadful death. But if
you return without her, you shall die by the same
death yourselves."

So the Argonauts escaped for that time; but Father
Zeus saw that foul crime; and out of the heavens he
sent a storm, and swept the ship far from her course.
Day after day the storm drove her, amid foam and
blinding mist, till they knew no longer where they were,
for the sun was blotted from the skies. And at last
the ship struck on a shoal, amid low isles of mud and
sand, and the waves rolled over her and through her,
and the heroes lost all hope of life.

Then Jason cried to Hera, "Fair queen, who hast
befriended us till now, why hast thou left us in our
misery, to die here among unknown seas? It is hard
to lose the honor which we have won with such toil
and danger, and hard never to see Hellas again, and
the pleasant bay of Pagasai."

Then out and spoke the magic bough which stood
upon the Argo's beak, "Because Father Zeus is angry,
all this has fallen on you; for a cruel crime has been
done on board, and the sacred ship is foul with blood."

At that some of the heroes cried, "Medea is the
murderess. Let the witch-woman bear her sin, and
die!" And they seized Medea to hurl her into the
sea, and atone for the young boy's death; but the
magic bough spoke again, "Let her live till her crimes
are full. Vengeance waits for her, slow and sure;

60 The Book of Wonder Voyages

but she must live, for you need her still. She must
show you the way to her sister Circe, who lives among
the islands of the West. To her you must sail, a weary
way, and she shall cleanse you from your guilt."

Then all the heroes wept aloud when they heard the
sentence of the oak; for they knew that a dark journey
lay before them, and years of bitter toil. And some
upbraided the dark witch-woman and some said, ' ' Nay,
we are her debtors still; without her we should never
have won the fleece." But most of them bit their
lips in silence, for they feared the witch's spells.

And now the sea grew calmer, and the sun shone out
once more, and the heroes thrust the ship off the sand-
bank, and rowed forward on their weary course under
the guiding of the dark witch-maiden, into the wastes
of the unknown sea.

Whither they went I cannot tell, nor how they came
to Circe's isle. Some say that they went to the west-
ward, and up the Ister stream, and so came into the
Adriatic, dragging their ship over the snowy Alps.
And others say that they went southward, into the
Red Indian Sea, and past the sunny lands where spices
grow, round Ethiopia toward the West; and that at
last they came to Libya, and dragged their ship across
the burning sands, and over the hills into the Syrtes,
where the flats and quicksands spread for many a mile,
between rich Cyrene and the Lotus-eaters' shore. But
all these are but dreams and fables, and dim hints of
unknown lands.

The Argonauts 61

But all say that they came to a place where they had
to drag their ship across the land nine days with ropes
and rollers, till they came into an unknown sea. And
the best of all the old songs tells us how they went
away toward the North, till they came to the slope of
Caucasus, where it sinks into the sea; and to the
narrow Cimmerian Bosphorus, where the Titan swam
across upon the bull; and thence into the lazy waters
of the still Mseotid lake. And thence they went north-
ward ever, up the Tanais, which we call Don, past the
Geloni and Sauromatai, and many a wandering shepherd
tribe, and the one-eyed Arimaspi, of whom old Greek
poets tell, who steal the gold from the Griffins, in the
cold Riphaian hills.

And they passed the Scythian archers, and the Tauri
who eat men, and the wandering Hyperboreai, who
feed their flocks beneath the polestar, until they came
into the northern ocean, the dull dead Cronian Sea.
And there Argo would move on no longer; and each
man clasped his elbow, and leaned his head upon his
hand, heartbroken with toil and hunger, and gave
himself up to death. But brave Ancaios the helms-
man cheered up their hearts once more, and bade them
leap on land, and haul the ship with ropes and rollers
for many a weary day, whether over land, or mud, or
ice, I know not, for the song is mixed and broken like
a dream. And it says next how they came to the rich
nation of the famous long-lived men; and to the coast
of the Cimmerians, who never saw the sun, buried deep

62 The Book of Wonder Voyages

in the glens of the snow mountains; and to the fair
land of Hermione, where dwelt the most righteous of
all nations: and to the gates of the world below, and
to the dwelling place of dreams.

And at last Ancaios shouted, "Endure a little while,
brave friends, the worst is surely past; for I can see
the pure west wind ruffle the water, and hear the roar
of ocean on the sands. So raise up the mast, and set
the sail, and face what comes like men."

Then out spoke the magic bough: "Ah, would that
I had perished long ago, and been whelmed by the
dread blue rocks beneath the fierce swell of the Euxine !
Better so, than to wander forever, disgraced by the
guilt of my princes; for the blood of Absyrtus still
tracks me, and woe follows hard upon woe. And now
some dark horror will clutch me, if I come near the
Isle of lerne. Unless you will cling to the land, and
sail southward and southward forever, I shall wander
beyond the Atlantic, to the ocean which has no shore."

Then they blest the magic bough, and sailed south-
ward along the land. But ere they could pass lerne,
the land of mists and storms, the wild wind came down
dark and roaring, and caught the sail, and strained
the ropes. And away they drove twelve nights, on the
wide wild western sea, through the foam, and over the
rollers, while they saw neither sun nor stars. And
they cried again: "We shall perish, for we know not
where we are. We are lost in the dreary damp dark-
ness, and cannot tell north from south."

CIRCE AND MEDEA

63

64 The Book of Wonder Voyages

But Lynceus the long-sighted called gaily from the
bows: "Take heart again, brave sailors; for I see a
pine-clad isle, and the halls of the kind Earth-mother,
with a crown of clouds around them."

But Orpheus said: "Turn from them, for no living
man can land there; there is no harbor on the coast,
but steep-walled cliffs all round."

So Ancaios turned the ship away ; and for three days
more they sailed on, till they came to Aiaia, Circe's
home, and the fairy island of the West.

And there Jason bid them land, and seek about for
any sign of living man. And as they went inland Circe
met them, coming down toward the ship; and they
trembled when they saw her, for her hair, and face,
and robes shone like flame.

And she came and looked at Medea; and Medea
hid her face beneath her veil.

And Circe cried: "Ah, wretched girl, have you for-
gotten all your sins, that you come hither to my island,
where the flowers bloom all the year round? Where
is your aged father, and the brother whom you killed ?
Little do I expect you to return in safety with these
strangers whom you love. I will send you food and
wine: but your ship must not stay here, for it is foul
with sin, and foul with sin its crew."

And the heroes prayed her, but in vain, and cried,
' ' Cleanse us from our guilt ! ' ' But she sent them away
and said, "Go on to Malea, and there you may be
cleansed, and return home."

The Argonauts 65

Then a fair wind rose, and they sailed eastward, by
Tartessus on the Iberian shore, till they came to the
Pillars of Hercules, and the Mediterranean Sea. And
thence they sailed on through the deeps of Sardinia,
and past the Ausonian Islands, and the capes of the
Tyrrhenian shore, till they came to a flowery island
upon a still bright summer's eve. And as they neared
it, slowly and wearily, they heard sweet songs upon
the shore. But when Medea heard it, she started, and
cried, "Beware, all heroes, for these are the rocks of
the Sirens. You must pass close by them, for there
is no other channel; but those who listen to that song
are lost."

Then Orpheus spoke, the king of all minstrels,
"Let them match their song against mine. I have
charmed stones, and trees, and dragons, how much
more the hearts of men!" So he caught up his lyre,
and stood upon the poop, and began his magic song.

And now they could see the Sirens on Anthemousa,
the flowery isle ; three fair maidens sitting on the beach,
beneath a red rock in the setting sun, among beds
of crimson poppies and olden asphodel. Slowly they
sung and sleepily, with silver voices, mild and clear,
which stole over the golden waters, and into the hearts
of all the heroes, in spite of Orpheus' song.

And all things stayed around and listened; the gulls
sat in white lines along the rocks; on the beach great
seals lay basking, and kept time with lazy heads;
while silver shoals of fish came up to hearken, and

66 The Book of Wonder Voyages

whispered as they broke the shining calm. The Wind
overhead hushed his whistling, as he shepherded his
clouds toward the west; and the clouds stood in
midblue, and listened dreaming, like a flock of golden
sheep.

And as the heroes listened, the oars fell from their
hands, and their heads drooped on their breasts, and
they closed their heavy eyes; and they dreamed of
bright still gardens, and of slumbers under murmuring
pines, till all their toil seemed foolishness, and they
thought of their renown no more.

Then one lifted his head suddenly, and cried, "What
use in wandering for ever? Let us stay here and rest
a while." And another, "Let us row to the shore, and
hear the words they sing." And another, "I care not
for the words, but for the music. They shall sing me
to sleep, that I may rest."

And Butes, the son of Pandion, the fairest of all
mortal men, leaped out and swam toward the shore,
crying, "I come, I come, fair maidens, to live and die
here, listening to your song."

Then Medea clapped her hands together, and cried,
"Sing louder, Orpheus, sing a bolder strain; wake up
these hapless sluggards, or none of them will see the
land of Hellas more."

Then Orpheus lifted his harp, and crashed his cun-
ning hand across the strings; and his music and his
voice rose like a trumpet through the still evening air;
into the air it rushed like thunder, till the rocks rang

The Argonauts 67

and the sea; and into their souls it rushed like wine,
till all hearts beat fast within their breasts.

And he sung the song of Perseus, how the gods led
him over land and sea, and how he slew the loathly
Gorgon, and won himself a peerless bride; and how he
sits now with the gods upon Olympus, a shining star
in the sky, immortal with his immortal bride, and
honored by all men below.

So Orpheus sang and the Sirens, answering each
other across the golden sea, till Orpheus' voice drowned
the Sirens', and the heroes caught their oars again.

And they cried, "We will be men like Perseus, and
we will dare and suffer to the last. Sing us his song
again, brave Orpheus, that we may forget the Sirens
and their spell."

And as Orpheus sang, they dashed their oars into the
sea, and kept time to his music, as they fled fast away ;
and the Sirens' voices died behind them, in the hissing
of the foam along their wake.

But Butes swam to the shore, and knelt down be-
fore the Sirens, and cried, "Sing on! sing on!" But he
could say no more, for a charmed sleep came over him,
and a pleasant humming in his ears; and he sank all
along the pebbles, and forgot all heaven and earth, and
never looked at that sad beach around him, all strewn
with the bones of men.

Then slowly rose up those three fair sisters, with a
cruel smile upon their lips; and slowly they crept
down towards him, like leopards who creep upon their

68 The Book of Wonder Voyages

prey; and their hands were like the talons of eagles
as they stepped across the bones of their victims to
enjoy their cruel feast.

But fairest Aphrodite saw him from the highest
Idalian peak, and she pitied his youth and his beauty,
and leaped up from her golden throne ; and like a falling
star she cleft the sky, and left a trail of glittering light,
till she stooped to the Isle of the Sirens, and snatched
their prey from their claws. And she lifted Butes as
he lay sleeping, and wrapped him in a golden mist ; and
she bore him to the peak of Lilybasum, and he slept there
many a pleasant year.

But when the Sirens saw that they were conquered,
they shrieked for envy and rage, and leaped from the
beach into the sea, and were changed into rocks until
this day.

Then they came to the straits by Lilybasum, and
saw Sicily, the three-cornered island, under which
Enceladus the giant lies groaning day and night, and
when he turns the earth quakes, and his breath bursts
out in roaring flames from the highest cone of ^Etna,
above the chestnut woods. And there Charybdis
caught them in its fearful coils of wave, and rolled
mast high about them, and spun them round and round;
and they could go neither back nor forward, while the
whirlpool sucked them in.

And while they struggled they saw near them, on
the other side of the strait, a rock stand in the water,
with its peak wrapped round in clouds — a rock which no

The Argonauts 69

man could climb, though he had twenty hands and
feet, for the stone was smooth and slippery, as if pol-
ished by man's hand; and halfway up, a misty cave
looked out toward the west.

And when Orpheus saw it he groaned, and struck his
hands together. And "Little will it help us," he cried,
"to escape the jaws of the whirlpool; for in that cave
lives Scylla, the sea-hag with a young whelp's voice;
my mother warned me of her ere we sailed away from
Hellas; she has six heads, and six long necks, and
hides in that dark cleft. And from her cave she fishes
for all things which pass by — for sharks, and seals, and
dolphins, and all the herds of Amphitrite. And never
ship's crew boasted that they came safe by her rock,
for she bends her long necks down to them, and every
mouth takes up a man. And who will help us now?
For Hera and Zeus hate us, and our ship is foul with
guilt; so we must die, whatever befalls."

Then out of the depths came Thetis, Peleus' silver-
footed bride, for love of her gallant husband, and all
her nymphs around her; and they played like snow-
white dolphins, diving on from wave to wave, before
the ship, and in her wake, and beside her, as dolphins
play. And they caught the ship, and guided her, and
passed her on from hand to hand, and tossed her through
the billows, as maidens toss the ball. And when Scylla
stooped to seize her, they struck back her ravening
heads, and foul Scylla whined, as a whelp whines, at
the touch of their gentle hands. But she shrank into

70 The Book of Wonder Voyages

her cave affrighted — for all bad things shrink from
good — and Argo leaped safe past her, while a fair breeze
rose behind. Then Thetis and her nymphs sank down
to their coral caves beneath the sea, and their gardens
of green and purple, where live flowers bloom, all the
year round; while the heroes went on rejoicing, yet
dreading what might come next.

After that they rowed on steadily for many a weary
day, till they saw a long high island, and beyond it a
mountain land. And they searched till they found a
harbor, and there rowed boldly in. But after a while
they stopped, and wondered, for there stood a great
city on the shore, and temples and walls and gardens,
and castles high in air upon the cliffs. And on either
side they saw a harbor, with a narrow mouth, but wide
within ; and black ships without number, high and dry
upon the shore.

Then Ancaios, the wise helmsman, spoke: "What
new wonder is this? I know all isles, and harbors, and
the windings of all seas; and this should be Corcyra,
where a few wild goatherds dwell. But whence come
these new harbors and vast works of polished stone?"

But Jason said, "They can be no savage people.
We will go in and take our chance."

So they rowed into the harbor, among a thousand
black-beaked ships, each larger far than Argo, toward
a quay of polished stone. And they wondered at that
mighty city, with its roofs of burnished brass, and long
and lofty walls of marble, with strong palisades above.

The Argonauts 71

And the quays were full of people, merchants, and
mariners, and slaves, going to and fro with merchandise
among the crowd of ships. And the heroes' hearts were
humbled, and they looked at each other and said,
"We thought ourselves a gallant crew when we sailed
from lolcos by the sea; but how small we look before
this city, like an ant before a hive of bees."

Then the sailors hailed them roughly from the quay :
"What men are you? — we want no strangers here, nor
pirates. We keep our business to ourselves."

But Jason answered gently, with many a flattering
word, and praised their city and their harbor, and
their fleet of gallant ships. "Surely you are the child-
ren of Poseidon, and the masters of the sea; and we are
but poor wandering mariners, worn out with thirst
and toil. Give us but food and water, and we will go
on our voyage in peace."

Then the sailors laughed, and answered: "Stranger,
you are no fool; you talk like an honest man, and you
shall find us honest too. We are the children of Posei-
don, and the masters of the sea; but come ashore to
us, and you shall have the best that we can give."

So they limped ashore, all stiff and weary, with long
ragged beards and sunburned cheeks, and garments
torn and weather-stained, and weapons rusted with the
spray, while the sailors laughed at them (for they were
rough-tongued, though their hearts were frank and
kind). And one said, "These fellows are but raw
sailors; they look as if they had been sea-sick all the

72 The Book of Wonder Voyages

day." And another, "Their legs have grown crooked
with much rowing, till they waddle in their walk like
ducks."

At that Idas the rash would have struck them; but
Jason held him back, till one of the merchant kings
spoke to them, a tall and stately man:

"Do not be angry, strangers; the sailor boys must
have their jest. But we will treat you justly and kindly
for strangers and poor men come from God; and you
seem no common sailors by your strength, and height,
and weapons. Come up with me to the palace of
Alcinous, the rich sea-going king, and we will feast you
well and heartily; and after that you shall tell us your
name."

But Medea hung back, and trembled, and whispered
in Jason's ear, "We are betrayed, and are going to our
ruin, for I see my countrymen among the crowd; dark-
eyed Colchi in steel mail-shirts, such as they wear in
my father's land."

"It is too late to turn," said Jason. And he spoke
to the merchant king: "What country is this, good sir?
And what is this new-built town?"

"This is the land of the Phaeaces, beloved by all the
Immortals; for they come hither and feast like friends
with us, and sit by our side in the hall. Hither we came
from Laburnia to escape the unrighteous Cyclopes; for
they robbed us, peaceful merchants, of our hard-earned
wares and wealth. So Nausithous, the son of Poseidon,
brought us hither, and died in peace; and now his son

The Argonauts 73

Alcinous rules us, and Arete the wisest of queens."
So they went up across the square, and wondered
still more as they went; for along the quays lay in
order great cables, and yards, and masts, before the
fair temple of Poseidon, the blue-haired king of the
seas. And round the square worked the shipwrights,
as many in number as ants, twining ropes, and hewing
timber, and smoothing long yards and oars. And the
Minuai went on in silence through clean white marble
streets, till they came to the hall of Alcinous, and they
wondered then still more. For the lofty palace shone
aloft in the sun, with walls of plated brass, from the
threshold to the innermost chamber, and the doors
were of silver and gold. And on each side of the door-
way sat living dogs of gold, who never grew old or died,
so well Hephaistos had made them in his forges in
smoking Lemnos, and gave them to Alcinous to guard
his gates by night. And within, against the walls,
stood thrones on either side, down the whole length of
the hall, strewn with rich glossy shawls; and on them
the merchant kings of those crafty sea-roving Phasaces
sat eating and drinking in pride, and feasting there all
the year round. And boys of molten gold stood each
on a polished altar, and held torches in their hands,
to give light all night to the guests. And round the
house sat fifty maid-servants, some grinding the meal
in the mill, some turning the spindle, some weaving at
the loom, while their hands twinkled as they passed the
shuttle, like quivering aspen leaves.

74 The Book of Wonder Voyages

And outside before the palace a great garden was
walled round, filled full of stately fruit-trees, gray
olives, and sweet figs, and pomegranates, pears, and
apples, which bore the whole year round. For the rich
southwest wind fed them, till pear grew ripe on pear,
fig on fig, and grape on grape, all the winter and
the spring. And at the further end gay flower-beds
bloomed through all seasons of the year; and two fair
fountains rose, and ran, one through the garden grounds,
and one beneath the palace gate, to water all the town.
Such noble gifts the heavens had given to Alcinous
the wise.

So they went in, and saw him sitting, like Poseidon,
on his throne, with his golden scepter by him, in gar-
ments stiff with gold, and in his hand a sculptured
goblet as he pledged the merchant kings; and beside
him stood Arete, his wise and lovely queen, and leaned
against a pillar as she spun her golden threads.

Then Alcinous rose, and welcomed them, and bade
them sit and eat ; and the servants brought them tables
and bread, and meat and wine.

But Medea went on trembling toward Arete the fair
queen, and fell at her knees, and clasped them, and
cried, weeping, as she knelt :

"I am your guest, fair queen, and I entreat you by
Zeus, from whom prayers come. Do not send me back
to my father to die some dreadful death ; but let me go
my way, and bear my burden. Have I not had enough
of punishment and shame?"

The Argonauts 75

"Who are you, strange maiden? and what is the
meaning of your prayer?"

"I am Medea, daughter of Aietes, and I saw my
countrymen here to-day; and I know that they are
come to find me, and take me home to die some dreadful
death."

Then Arete frowned, and said, "Lead this girl in,
my maidens; and let the kings decide, not I."

And Alcinous leaped up from his throne, and cried,
"Speak, strangers, who are you? And who is this
maiden?"

"We are the heroes of the Minuai," said Jason;
"and this maiden has spoken truth. We are the men
who took the golden fleece, the men whose fame has
run round every shore. We came hither out of the
ocean, after sorrows such as man never saw before.
We went out many, and come back few, for many a
noble comrade have we lost. So let us go, as you
should let your guests go, in peace; that the world
may say, 'Alcinous is a just king. ' '

But Alcinous frowned, and stood deep in thought;
and at last he spoke:

1 ' Had not the deed been done which is done, I should
have said this day to myself, 'It is an honor to Al-
cinous, and to his children after him, that the far-
famed Argonauts are his guests.' But these Colchi
are my guests, as you are; and for this month
they have waited here with all their fleet, for they
have hunted all the seas of Hellas, and could not

76 The Book of Wonder Voyages

find you, and dared neither go farther, nor go
home."

"Let them choose out their champions, and we will
fight them, man for man."

"No guests of ours shall fight upon our island, and
if you go outside they will outnumber you. I will do
justice between you, for I know and do what is right."

Then he turned to his kings, and said, "This may
stand over till to-morrow. To-night we will feast our
guests, and hear the story of all their wanderings, and
how they came hither out of the ocean."

So Alcinous bade the servants take the heroes in,
and bathe them, and give them clothes. And they
were glad when they saw the warm water, for it was
long since they had bathed. And they washed off the
sea-salt from their limbs, and anointed themselves
from head to foot with oil, and combed out their golden
hair. Then they came back again into the hall, while
the merchant kings rose up to do them honor. And
each man said to his neighbor, ' ' No wonder that these
n en won fame. How they stand now like Giants, or
Titans, or Immortals come down from Olympus, though
many a winter has worn them, and many a fearful
storm. What must they have been when they sailed
from lolcos, in the bloom of their youth, long ago?"

Then they went out to the garden ; and the merchant
princes said, "Heroes, run races with us. Let us see
whose feet are nimblest."

"We cannot race against you, for our limbs are stiff

The Argonauts 77

from sea: and we have lost our two swift comrades,
the sons of the north wind. But do not think us cow-
ards: if you wish to try our strength, we will shoot,
and box, and wrestle, against any men on earth."

And Alcinous smiled, and answered, "I believe you,
gallant guests; with your long limbs and broad shoul-
ders, we could never match you here. For we care
nothing here for boxing, or for shooting with the bow;
but for feasts, and songs, and harping, and dancing,
and running races, to stretch our limbs on shore."

So they danced there and ran races, the jolly mer-
chant kings, till the night fell, and all went in.

And then they ate and drank, and comforted their
weary souls, till Alcinous called a herald, and bade him
go and fetch the harper.

The herald went out, and fetched the harper, and
led him in by the hand ; and Alcinous cut him a piece
of meat, from the fattest of the haunch, and sent it to
him, and said, "Sing to us, noble harper, and rejoice
the heroes' hearts."

So the harper played and sang, while the dancers
danced strange figures; and after that the tumblers
showed their tricks, till the heroes laughed again.

Then, "Tell me heroes," asked Alcinous, "you who
have sailed the ocean round, and seen the manners of
all nations, have you seen such dancers as ours here,
or heard such music and such singing? We hold ours
to be the best on earth."

"Such dancing we have never seen," said Orpheus;

78 The Book of Wonder Voyages

"and your singer is a happy man, for Phoebus himself
must have taught him, or else he is the son of a Muse,
as I am also, and have sung once or twice, though not
so well as he."

"Sing to us, then, noble stranger," said Alcinous;
"and we will give you precious gifts."

So Orpheus took his magic harp, and sang to them a
stirring song of their voyage from lolcos, and their
dangers, and how they won the golden fleece; and of
Medea's love, and how she helped them, and went with
them over land and sea; and of all their fearful dangers,
from monsters, and rocks, and storms, till the heart of
Arete was softened, and all the women wept. And the
merchant kings rose up, each man from off his golden
throne, and clapped their hands, and shouted, "Hail
to the noble Argonauts, who sailed the unknown sea!"

Then he went on, and told their journey over the
sluggish northern main, and through the shoreless outer
ocean, to the fairy island of the west, and of the Sirens,
and Scylla, and Charybdis, and all the wonders they
had seen, till midnight passed and the day dawned;
but the kings never thought of sleep. Each man sat
still and listened, with his chin upon his hand.

And at last, when Orpheus had ended, they all went
thoughtful out, and the heroes lay down to sleep, be-
neath the sounding porch outside, where Arete had
strewn them rugs and carpets, in the sweet still summer
night.

But Arete pleaded hard with her husband for Medea,

The Argonauts 79

for her heart was softened. And she said, "The gods
will punish her, not we. After all, she is our guest and
my suppliant, and prayers are the daughters of Zeus.
And who, too, dare part man and wife, after all they
have endured together?"

And Alcinous smiled. "The minstrel's song has
charmed you; but I must remember what is right, for
songs cannot alter justice; and I must be faithful to
my name; Alcinous I am called, the man of sturdy
sense; and Alcinous I will be." But for all that Arete
besought him, until she won him round.

So next morning he sent a herald, and called the
kings into the square, and said, "This is a puzzling
matter: remember but one thing. These Minuai live
close by us, and we may meet them often on the seas ;
but Aietes lives far off, and we have only heard his
name. Which, then, of the two is it safer to offend —
the men near us, or the men far off?"

The princes laughed, and praised his wisdom; and
Alcinous called the heroes to the square, and the Colchi
also; and they came and stood opposite each other,
but Medea stayed in the palace. Then Alcinous spoke,
"Heroes of the Colchi, what is your errand about this
lady?"

"To carry her home with us, that she may die a
shameful death ; but if we return without her, we must
die the death she should have died."

"What say you to this, Jason the ^Eolid?" said
Alcinous, turning to the Minuai.

8o The Book of Wonder Voyages

"I say," said the cunning Jason, "that they are come
here on a bootless errand. Do you think that you can
make her follow you, heroes of the Colchi — her, who
knows all spells and charms? She will cast away your
ships on quicksands, or call down on you Brimo the
wild huntress ; or the chains will fall from off her wrists,
and she will escape in her dragon car; or if not thus,
some other way, for she has a thousand plans and wiles.
And why return home at all, brave heroes, and face
the long seas again, and the Bosphorus, and the stormy
Fuxine, and double all your toil ? There is many a fair
land round these coasts, which waits for gallant men
like you. Better to settle there, and build a city, and
let Aietes and Colchis help themselves."

Then a murmur rose among the Colchi, and some
cried, "He has spoken well"; and some, "We have
had enough of roving, we will sail the seas no more!"
And the chief said at last, " Be it so, then ; a plague she
has been to us, and a plague to the house of her father,
and a plague she will be to you. Take her, since you
are no wiser; and we will sail away toward the north."

Then Alcinous gave them food and water, and gar-
ments, and rich presents, of all sorts; and he gave the
same to the Minuai, and sent them all away in peace.

So Jason kept the dark witch-maiden to breed him
woe and shame; and the Colchi went northward into
the Adriatic, and settled, and built towns along the shore.

Then the heroes rowed away to the eastward to reach
Hellas, their beloved land; but a storm came down

The Argonauts 81

upon them, and swept them far away toward the south.
And they rowed till they were spent with struggling,
through the darkness and the blinding rain; but
where they were they could not tell, and they gave up
all hope of life. And at last they touched the ground,
and when daylight came they waded to the shore; and
saw nothing round but sand and desolate salt pools,
for they had come to the quicksands of the Syrtis, and
the dreary treeless flats which lie between Numidia
and Gyrene, on the burning shore of Africa. And there
they wandered starving for many a weary day, ere they
could launch their ship again, and gain the open sea.
And there Canthus was killed, while he was trying to
drive off sheep, by a stone which a herdsman threw.

And there too Mopsus died, the seer who knew the
voices of all birds; but he could not foretell his own
end, for he was bitten in the foot by a snake, one of
those which sprang from the Gorgon's head when
Perseus carried it across the sands.

At last they rowed away toward the northward, for
many a weary day, till their water was spent, and their
food eaten; and they were worn out with hunger and
thirst. But at last they saw a long steep island, and a
blue peak high among the clouds; and they knew it for
the peak of Ida, and the famous land of Crete. And
they said, "We will land in Crete, and see Minos the
just king, and all his glory and his wealth; at least he
will treat us hospitably, and let us fill our water-casks
upon the shore."

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But when they came nearer to the island they saw a
wondrous sight upon the cliffs. For on a cape to the
westward stood a giant, taller than any mountain pine,
who glittered aloft against the sky like a tower of bur-
nished brass. He turned and looked on all sides round
him, till he saw the Argo and her crew; and when he
saw them he came toward them, more swiftly than the
swiftest horse, leaping across the glens at a bound, and
striding at one step from down to down. And when
he came abreast of them he brandished his arms up
and down, as a ship hoists and lowers her yards, and
shouted with his brazen throat like a trumpet from off
the hills, "You are pirates, you are robbers! If you
dare land here, you die."

Then the heroes cried, "We are no pirates. We are
all good men and true, and all we ask is food and water ; "
but the giant cried the more:

"You are robbers, you are pirates all; I know you;
and if you land, you shall die the death."

Then he waved his arms again as a signal, and they
saw the people flying inland, driving their flocks before
them, while a great flame arose among the hills. Then
the giant ran up a valley and vanished, and the heroes
lay on their oars in fear.

But Medea stood watching all from under her steep
black brows, with a cunning smile upon her lips, and
a cunning plot within her heart. At last she spoke: "I
know this giant. I heard of him in the East. Hephais-
tos the Fire King made him in his forge in JEtna be-

The Argonauts 83

neath the earth, and called him Talus, and gave him
to Minos for a servant, to guard the coast of Crete.
Thrice a day he walks round the island, and never
stops to sleep and if strangers land he leaps into his
furnace, which flames there among the hills; and when
he is red-hot he rushes on them, and burns them in his
brazen hands."

Then all the heroes cried, "What shall we do, wise
Medea? We must have water, or we die of thirst.
Flesh and blood we can face fairly; but who can face
this red-hot brass?"

"I can face red-hot brass, if the tale I hear be true.
For they say that he has but one vein in all his body,
filled with liquid fire; and that this vein is closed with
a nail; but I know not where that nail is placed. But
if I can get it once into these hands, you shall water
your ship here in peace."

Then she bade them put her on shore, and row off
again, and wait what would befall.

And the heroes obeyed her unwillingly, for they were
ashamed to leave her so alone; but Jason said, "She
is dearer to me than to any of you, yet I will trust her
freely on shore; she has more plots than we can dream
of in the windings of that fair and cunning head."

So they left the witch-maiden on the shore; and she
stood there in her beauty all alone, till the giant strode
back red-hot from head to heel, while the grass hissed
and smoked beneath his tread.

And when he saw the maiden alone, he stopped; and

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she looked boldly up into his face without moving,
and began her magic song :

"Life is short, though life is sweet; and even men of
brass and fire must die. The brass must rust, the fire

THE BEGUILING OF TALUS

must cool, for time gnaws all things in their turn. Life
is short, though life is sweet : but sweeter to live for-
ever; sweeter to live ever youthful like the gods, who
have ichor in their veins — ichor which gives life, and
youth, and joy, and a bounding heart."

Then Talus said, "Who are you, strange maiden,
and where is this ichor of youth?"

Then Medea held up a flask of crystal, and said,

The Argonauts 85

"Here is the ichor of youth. I am Medea the en-
chantress; my sister Circe gave me this, and said,
'Go and reward Talus, the faithful servant, for his
fame is gone out into all lands. ' So come, and I
will pour this into your veins, that you may live forever
young."

And he listened to her false words, that simple Talus,
and came near; and Medea said, "Dip yourself in the
sea first, and cool yourself, lest you burn my tender
hands; then show me where the nail in your vein is,
that I may pour the ichor in."

Then that simple Talus dipped himself in the sea,
till it hissed, and roared, and smoked; and came and
knelt before Medea, and showed her the secret nail.

And she drew the nail out gently, but she poured no
ichor in ; and instead the liquid fire spouted forth, like
a stream of red-hot iron. And Talus tried to leap up,
crying, "You have betrayed me, false witch-maiden!"
But she lifted up her hands before him, and sang, till
he sank beneath her spell. And as he sank, his brazen
limbs clanked heavily, and the earth groaned beneath
his weight; and the liquid fire ran from his heel, like
a stream of lava, to the sea; and Medea laughed, and
called to the heroes, "Come ashore, and water your
ship in peace."

So they came, and found the giant lying dead; and
they fell down and kissed Medea's feet; and watered
their ship, and took sheep and oxen, and so left that
inhospitable shore.

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At last, after many more adventures, they came to
the Cape of Malea, at the southwest point of the Pelo-
ponnese. And there they offered sacrifices, and Orpheus
purged them from their guilt. Then they rode away
again to the northward, past the Laconian shore, and
came all worn and tired by Sunium, and up the long
Euboean Strait, until they saw once more Pelion, and
Aphetai, and lolcos by the sea.

And they ran the ship ashore; but they had no
strength left to haul her up the beach; and they crawled
out on the pebbles, and sat down, and wept till they
could weep no more. For the houses and the trees
were all altered ; and all the faces which they saw were
strange; and their joy was swallowed up in sorrow,
while they thought of their youth, and all their labor,
and the gallant comrades they had lost.

And the people crowded round, and asked them,
"Who are you, that you sit weeping here?"

"We are the sons of your princes, who sailed out
many a year ago. We went to fetch the golden fleece,
and we have brought it, and grief therewith. Give us
news of our fathers and our mothers, if any of them
be left alive on earth."

Then there was shouting, and laughing, and weeping;
and all the kings came to the shore, and they led away
the heroes to their homes, and bewailed the valiant
dead.

Then Jason went up with Medea to the palace of his
uncle Pelias. And when he came in Pelias sat by the

The Argonauts 87

hearth, crippled and blind with age; while opposite
him sat JEson, Jason's father, crippled and blind like-
wise; and the two old men's heads shook together as
they tried to warm themselves before the fire.

And Jason fell down at his father's knees, and wept,
and called him by his name. And the old man stretched
his hands out, and felt him, and said, "Do not mock
me, young hero. My son Jason is dead long ago at
sea."

"I am your own son Jason, whom you trusted to the
Centaur upon Pelion; and I have brought home the
golden fleece, and a princess of the Sun's race for my
bride. So now give me up the kingdom, Pelias my
uncle, and fulfil your promise as I have fulfilled mine."

Then his father clung to him like a child, and wept,
and would not let him go; and cried, "Now I shall
not go down lonely to my grave. Promise me never
to leave me till I die."

VI

WHAT WAS THE END OF THE HEROES

AND now I wish that I could end my story pleas-
antly; but it is no fault of mine that I cannot.
The old songs end it sadly, and I believe that
they are right and wise; for though the heroes were
purified at Malea, yet sacrifices cannot make bad hearts
good, and Jason had taken a wicked wife, and he had
to bear his burden to the last.

And first she laid a cunning plot to punish that poor
old Pelias, instead of letting him die in peace.

For she told his daughters, "I can make old things
young again; I will show you how easy it is to do."
So she took an old ram and killed him, and put him in
a cauldron with magic herbs; and whispered her spells
over him, and he leaped out again a young lamb. So
that "Medea's cauldron," is a proverb still, by which
we mean times of war and change, when the world has
become old and feeble, and grows young again through
bitter pains.

Then she said to Pelias' daughters, "Do to your
father as I did to this ram, and he will grow young and
strong again." But she orly told them half the spell;

88

The Argonauts 89

so they failed, while Medea mocked them; and poor
old Pelias died, and his daughters came to misery.
But the songs say she cured ^Eson, Jason's father, and
he became young and strong again.

But Jason could not love her, after all her cruel
deeds. So he was ungrateful to her, and wronged
her; and she revenged herself on him. And a terrible
revenge she took — too terrible to speak of here. But
you will hear of it yourselves when you grow up, for it
has been sung in noble poetry and music ; and whether
it be true or not, it stands forever as a warning to us
not to seek for help from evil persons, or to gain good
ends by evil means. For if we use an adder even against
our enemies, it will turn again and sting us.

But of all the other heroes there is many a brave tale
left, which I have no space to tell you, so you must
read them for yourselves: — of the hunting of the boar
in Calydon, which Meleager killed; and of Hercules'
twelve famous labors; and of the seven who fought
at Thebes ; and of the noble love of Castor and Pollux,
the twin Dioscouroi — how when one died the other
would not live without him, so they shared their im-
mortality between them; and Zeus changed them into
the two twin stars which never rise both at once.

And what became of Chiron, the good immortal
beast? That, too, is a sad story; for the heroes never
saw him more. He was wounded by a poisoned arrow,
at Pholoe among the hills, when Hercules opened the
fatal wine jar which Chiron had warned him not to

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touch. And the Centaurs smelt the wine, and nocked
to it, and fought for it with Hercules; but he killed
them all with his poisoned arrows, and Chiron was left
alone. Then Chiron took up one of the arrows, and
dropped it by chance upon his foot; and the poison
ran like fire along his veins, and he lay down and longed
to die; and cried, "Through wine I perish, the bane
of all my race. Why should I live for ever in this
agony? Who will take my immortality, that I may
die?"

Then Prometheus answered, the good Titan, whom
Hercules had set free from Caucasus, ' ' I will take your
immortality and live forever, that I may help poor
mortal men." So Chiron gave him his immortality,
and died, and had rest from pain. And Hercules and
Prometheus wept over him, and went to bury him on
Pelion; but Zeus took him up among the stars, to live
forever, grand and mild, low down in the far southern
sky.

The Voyage of Maelduin

THIS is the story of the wanderings of Maelduin,
and how for three years and seven months he
was driven in his barque to and fro over the
boundless, fathomless ocean, and of the many strange
islands and mighty wonders he encountered.

Maelduin was the son of a goodly fighter, a hero lord
over his clan, Ailill Edgebattle by name. But, whilst
he was yet a babe, plunderers from over sea fell upon
his home, burned the church of Dubhcluain, and slew
his father therein. So his mother fled in haste and
came to the King of Arran, and gave her babe in foster-
ing to her bosom friend, the Queen. In one cradle, on
one breast, and in one lap with the King's three sons was
Maelduin reared, and as he grew up he thought him-
self their own brother. Yet many knew his father
was slain and his mother a wanderer. The youth
grew up tall, well-knit, and fair, so that of all flesh
within the four brown quarters of this world none
might match him in grace and beauty. Hardy he was,
fresh and joyous of mood, well skilled in the use of
weapons, and in every manly game and art. None
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like him for running or putting the stone; he and his
horse outraced all his comrades.

On a day of days the youths of the court were making
merry, contending in feats of strength and skill. Still
Maelduin bore off the palm, so that at last an envious
comrade burst out angrily: "To think that thou, whose
clan and kindred, whose father and mother no man
knows, should beat us at every sport, be it on land or
water, or in moving the ivory men on the playing
board!"

Maelduin stood silent a while, for never until then
had he thought himself other than the son of the King
and Queen of the land. So he came to his foster-mother
and said, "I will neither eat nor drink till thou tellest
me the name of my father and my mother."

' ' Why dost thou ask that ? ' ' said she. " Heed not the
jealous mutterings of thy companions. Am I not a
mother to thee? Is there among the people of this land
a mother whose love for her son is greater than the love
I bear to thee?"

"That is so," said he; "but nevertheless I pray thee
to make known to me the names of my parents."

So his foster-mother told him concerning his mother
and delivered him into her hands. And he entreated
her to tell him who his father was.

But she rebuked him, saying, "My son, it will make
thee no happier to know who he was, nor will it in any
way profit thee. He has been dead for many and many
a year."

The Voyage of Maelduin 93

"Be that as it may," replied he, "it were better for
me to know."

She told him then that he was son to Ailill Edge-
battle, of the kin of the Owenaght, lord of the territory
of Ninus.

So Maelduin went to his father's land, to enter into
possession of the domain that was his by right. And
with him went his three foster-brothers, whom he loved
dearly. A right welcome was made him by his kins-
folk, and they bade him be of good cheer, now he was
on his own land and among his own people.

On a day of days Maelduin and certain of his warriors
were putting the stone in the graveyard of the church of
Dubhcluain. Placing his foot on the scorched ruin wall
of the church, Maelduin hurled the stone clear over it.
Then Bricone, the poison-tongued, laughed and said,
aloud :

"Better it were to avenge the man slain here than to
cast stones over his bare burnt bones."

"Of whom speakest thou?" asked Maelduin.

"Of Ailill, thy father."

"Who slew him?"

"Plunderers from over sea, men of Leix, here on this
spot."

Great was the sorrow of Maelduin. Putting down
the stone he held ready for the cast, he girded on his
armor, flung his mantle around him, and eagerly in-
quired by what way he might reach Leix. "By sea
alone," said the guide.

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So he was minded to go first into the country of Cor-
comroe, the land of Nuca the wizard, and to beg of him
a charm and a blessing for the boat he should after-
wards build. Charms and blessings the wizard gave
him, and instructed him when he should begin to build,
and when to put out to sea and how many men he should
take with him. And he charged him straitly that there
should be seventeen, neither more nor less, and he laid a
curse upon him if his charge were disobeyed.

The boat that was built was of wicker work, of eight
thwarts, covered with three-fold ox-hide of hard bark-
soaked red leather. Then Maelduin gathered together
his men, and among them were German and Diuran the
rhymer.

On the day appointed by the wizard they hoisted
the flapping, many-colored sail to the tall, tough mast,
and they put forth to sea. But when they had gone a
little way they were roused by the cries of Maelduin's
three foster-brothers, who stood upon the beach and
called them back.

"Go home," said Maelduin, "I may not carry a
larger number than are now in the boat."

"If thou wilt not come back for us, we will follow
thee into the sea, though we drown."

Saying which they cast themselves into the water,
and struck out boldly from the shore. When Maelduin
saw that, he bade turn the boat's head, and put back,
taking them into the boat for fear they be drowned. But
his heart was heavy, for he thought of the wizard's curse.

The Voyage of Maelduin 95

They rowed until eve, and ceased not for nightfall.
About midnight they were nigh two small and barren
islets, on which were two forts. Thence came through
the night a noise, great and uproarious, of men drinking
and boasting them of the spoils they had won. As they
lay for awhile on their oars and listened, there was
heard the voice of a hero. "Stand off from me, for I
am a better man than thou. I it was slew Ailill Edge-
battle and burned the church of Dubhcluain over his
head, and his kin have never dared avenge it on me.
Hast thou ever done the like of such a deed? "

Great was the joy and fierce the exultation of Mael-
duin and his companions. "Truly the victory is ours,"
said Diuran the rhymer, "and God has led us here,
steering the bark Himself. Let us land and utterly
destroy these forts."

But even as they spoke there arose a great wind and
drove them out to sea, far beyond sight or ken of land,
into the midst of the huge and endless ocean. "Cease
rowing," said Maelduin, "and let the boat drift as it
will. Whithersoever it shall please God, there let us
be brought." Then turning to his foster-brothers,
"You it is who have caused this trouble by joining
yourselves to us in spite of the wizard's word that
seventeen, neither more nor less, was to be our number.
Of a surety more evil will come of this."

They made no answer save to be silent awhile.

For three days and three nights they tossed upon the

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sea, finding neither land nor ground. But on the
morning of the third day they heard a sound from
the northeast. "It is the voice of a wave against the
shore," said Maelduin. When the sun rose and the
day brightened they rowed towards the noise and put in

THE GIANT ANTS

close to shore. Lots were cast to decide which among
them should visit the strange land; but even as they
were making ready to leave the boat, behold a great
swarm of ants, and every ant the size of a foal. They
swarmed down to the beach, into the very sea, making
as though they would devour alike men and boat.

The Voyage of Maelduin 97

Then Maelduin and his men were sore affrighted and
pushed off hastily and with oar and sail made what
speed they could. Nor did they cease for three days
and nights; and all this while they had no sight of land.

On the morn of the fourth day they came to another
island, great in size, and of sandy soil. As they neared
it to scan more closely what manner of land this might
be, they beheld standing upon the shore a very marvel-
ous beast. In shape it was like a horse, but it had the
legs of a hound, and on its feet were talons long and
rough and sharp. It pranced and gamboled upon the
beach as though overjoyed to see the wanderer, but in
its heart it was minded to devour them should they
land. "I do not like this beast," said Maelduin;
"methinks he is too pleased to see us; we had better
leave this island." So they turned the boat's head and
made what speed they might. But when the beast
saw them departing it was enraged, and, digging up the
beach with its sharp talons, it pelted them so violently
with stones and rocks that it was all they could do to
get out of reach. Nevertheless, pulling strongly, they
won the open sea and so escaped this danger.

After rowing long and afar, and hastily, they sighted
a large flat island. Lots were cast who should land,
and bring back tidings of the country. The lot fell to
German, who was little pleased at the task when he
thought of the gigantic ants and the taloned monster

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they had met with on the other islands. Then said his
comrade, Diuran the rhymer, "I will accompany thee
this time, and when the lot falls to me, thou shalt be
my comrade." So they set forth together. Long was
the island, and wide, and in the midst an immense open
green. Upon this green were to be seen many hoof-
prints of horses, and these were very large, every hoof-
print as big as a ship's sail. Moreover, lying on the
ground were nuts as big as headpieces, and remains of
all kinds, vast and monstrous in size, as though giants
had gone a-plundering and left their scattered spoil.
So German and Diuran were much afraid, and, calling
to their comrades in the boat to behold these things,
they hastily returned, and sail was set that they might
flee swiftly if need be.

Hardly had they stood a little way off the land when
they beheld the rush of a mighty multitude along the
beach and on to the open green, and the racing of
horses against each other. Swifter than the wind was
each horse, clamorous and deafening were the outcry
and the din of the multitude. Maelduin and his men
lay on their oars wondering, and they heard clearly the
swish of the whips, and the thud of the horses' hoofs,
and the eager shouting of the assembled throng, ' ' Hither
the gray steed. " " Drive the dun horse there ! " " Come
on with the white horse ! " " Mine is the fastest steed ! ' '
"My horse is the best jumper!" So the wanderers
tarried no longer, but set sail hastily, for they felt sure it
was a gathering of demons they beheld.

The Voyage of Maelduin 99

A full week were they voyaging in hunger and thirst,
until at last they chanced upon a great island, rising
high out of the waves, on the seashore of which stood a
huge house. The house had two doorways, one open-
ing onto the island, the other onto the sea. Now, the
latter was partly of stone, and it was pierced by a hole,
through which the waves, as they dashed up against
the door, flung salmon into the house. Here, thought
Maelduin, we shall find food ; so he and his men entered
the house, but it was empty. A testered bed there
was, evidently the chief's, and a bed for every three
men of the household, and before each bed were
placed food, a glass vessel containing good liquor,
and a glass goblet. So they dined off the food and
liquor and thanked God, who had helped them to
satisfy their hunger. But as the inmates of the house
did not make their appearance, they decided to set sail
again.

And this they did ; but after a while their provisions
gave out, and they hungered greatly, until they came
to another island with a high cliff round it on every side,
in which could be seen a long narrow wood. Now, as
Maelduin passed the wood, which came down to the
water's edge, he took a branch from a tree and kept it
in his hand three days and three nights while the boat
was coasting the cliff. On the third day there was a
cluster of three apples at the end of the branch, and
no apple but satisfied the hunger of the crew for forty
nights.

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The next island they sighted had a fence of stone
around it. They drew near to spy it out more closely,
and when they had landed and gone a little way inland,
there sprang up a huge beast, which began to race

THE MONSTER OF THE FEATS

round the island. Swifter than the rush of the cold
wind of March seemed its racing to Maelduin. When
it was tired of racing it stood on a peak, which towered
up in the center of the island, and many and marvelous
were the feats it performed; it would put its head down,
throw its legs up in the air, and turn and whirl around
the bones of its body, while the skin never moved; or

The Voyage of Maelduin 101

again it would make its skin revolve like a mill-wheel,
whilst flesh and bones remained still. When Maelduin
and his crew perceived the strange and horrible antics
of this monster they were seized with dread, and fled
hastily, whereupon the monster followed them to the

THE RED HOT SWINE

beach, and hurled stones after them, and would fain
have seized and devoured them. It was but a narrow
escape they had, for one of the stones pierced through
Maelduin's shield and lodged in the keel of the boat.

And now the wanderers were sad, complaining and
feeble, for they knew not whither in the world they

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were going, or in what land they might find rest or aid.
Weary and hopeless were they, sad and sighing when
they had at last sight of another island. Many trees
could be seen; and what pleased the wanderers greatly,
they were full of fruit, with great golden apples hanging
from every bough. And that the apples were good to
eat they could soon discern. For beneath the trees lay
short, red-colored animals, like to swine in shape, and
at times they stood up and struck the trees with their
hind legs, and greedily devoured the apples that fell.
Strange were the ways of these beasts. From dawn to
sunset they hid in caverns underground, but at sunset
they came forth to feed, and as they did so many flocks
of birds flew in from the sea and perched in the branches
of the trees and fed on their fruit.

When Maelduin saw these things, "surely," thought
he, "if the beasts and birds can feed so can we." So
two of the crew were landed. But the ground was hot
under their feet and it was not possible for them to
remain long here. For the land was a fiery one, heated
by the animals that dwell in the caverns underground.
They could but gather hastily as many apples as possi-
ble and these they brought back to the boat, and the
crew regaled themselves upon them. Great was the
virtue of these apples, for whoso ate them lacked neither
food nor drink. On the morrow they landed again, and
after loading their boat with as many apples as they
could pluck ere the soles of their feet were burned, they
again set sail.

The Voyage of Maelduin 103

After a while the apples failed, and great hunger and
thirst seized upon them afresh. Nor were they other-
wise in a good plight, for the sea gave forth an evil
stench, which filled their mouths and noses.

Glad they were to come to an island, wherein was a
fort surrounded by a white, high rampart, that looked
as if it were a chalk rock or were built of burnt lime.
Great was its height from the sea; it all but touched the
clouds. The fort was wide open, and round the outer
rampart were great snow-white houses. They entered
the largest of these and saw no one there, save a small
cat, which played in the midst thereof on four stone
pillars, leaping from one to the other. It glanced at
the men, but never ceased its play. The wall of the
house, which reached from one doorpost to the other,
was furnished with three rows. The first was of gold
and silver brooches fastened to the wall by their pins;
the second of gold and silver necklaces, each as large as
a vat hoop; and the third of gold and silver hilted
swords. About the rooms lay white quilts and gar-
ments of shining hue. There were, moreover, a roasted
ox, a flitch, and vessels full of sweet, heady ale. "Hath
this been left for us? " asked Maelduin of the cat. The
creature looked at him suddenly, and then resumed its
play. So Maelduin knew that the food was for them.
And they ate and drank and slept. What was left of
the food they stored up to take with them. When they
were about to depart Maelduin's foster-brother said:

104 The Book of Wonder Voyages

"Shall I not take with me one of the necklaces? "

"Nay," said Maelduin, "the house is well guarded."

Howbeit, the foster-brother took the necklace, and

carried it as far as the middle of the enclosure. But

thither the cat followed them, leaped through the thief

like a fiery arrow, and burned him to ashes, after which

jt returned to its pillar. And Maelduin soothed it with

fair words, and put the necklace back in its place, and

cleansed the floor of the ashes, which he cast forth on

the shore of the sea.

Then they went on board, praising and magnifying
God.

Now, on the third day after this, they came in the
early morning to another island, in the midst of which
was a brass palisade that divided it into two. On either
side of the fence was a flock of sheep, black on the one
side, on the other white, and in the midst thereof was a
big man who kept the flocks apart. When he flung a
white sheep among the black it became black, and when
he flung a black sheep among the white it became white.
This terrified the men in the boat. Then said Mael-
duin:

"Let us throw two rods on the island, and if they
change color it shall be a sign unto us that we too
would change color if we land. "

So they flung a black-barked rod among the white
sheep, and it immediately became white. In like man-
ner they threw a peeled white rod among the black

The Voyage of Maelduin 105

sheep, whereupon it became black at once. So Mael-
duin would not land lest their color should fare no
better than that of the rods.
And they departed in terror.

On the third day afterwards they espied an island,
great and wide, upon which were a herd of beautiful
swine. Of these they killed a small pig, but, being
unable to carry it to be roasted, they cooked it there and
bore it to their boat .

On the island was a lofty mountain, from which they
thought they would like to view the land. So Diuran
the rhymer and German went thither, and, flowing at
its base, was a broad shallow river. German dipped
the handle of his spear into the water, and straightway
it was consumed as if by fire. They went no further
in that direction. Moreover, they saw on the other
side of the river great hornless oxen, among which sat a
huge man. German clashed his spear-shaft against his
shield to frighten the animals.

"Why dost thou frighten the silly calves?" asked the
huge man.

"If these are calves, where are their dams?" said
German.

"On the other side of yonder mountain," he replied.

Then they deemed this was no land for them to stay
in, and, having hastened back to the boat, they reported
these marvels, and Maelduin bid hoist the sail and lay
to with the oars, and they departed speedily.

io6 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Not long thereafter they came to an island upon
which dwelt a miller, vast of bulk and hideous of aspect;
and if he was hideous, still more hideous was his mill.

"What mill may this be?" asked the wayfarers.

Then he made reply :

"Whatever in broad Erin, and in all the four brown
quarters of the globe, is not given cheerfully and with a
willing heart is ground here. And truly, I tell you, half
of the corn of Erin passes through my mill."

Even as he spoke they saw countless laden horses and
human beings bending under the weight of heavy sacks,
and all were going to and from the mill. And ever the
unground corn came from the east, and ever the ground
corn was carried westward.

They marveled greatly at these things.

"What is the name of thy mill?" asked they again.

Then he told them it was the mill of Hell.

Thereupon they crossed themselves with the sign of
Christ's cross, and departed in their boat.

Then they came to a large island peopled with many
human beings, black in body and raiment. They
wore fillets round their heads, and they rested not from
wailing.

Lots were cast as to who should land, and the unlucky
lot fell to one of Maelduin's two foster-brothers. He
went on shore, and when he mingled with the wailing
people he at once became as one of them, and wept and
wailed too. Maelduin would fain have rescued him,

THE MILL OF GRUDGING

107

io8 The Book of Wonder Voyages

and sent two of his men to bring him away, but they
could not recognize him, and they also began to lament
and bemoan themselves.

Said Maelduin :

"Let four of you go with weapons and force them to
come. Cover your faces with your garments, look not
at the land, breathe not the air thereof, and keep your
eyes fixed upon your own men."

So they went and brought back the other two by
force, but the foster-brother had become one of the
wallers, and him they could not save. When they
inquired of the rescued ones what they had seen in the
land, they replied :

"Verily, we know not. What we saw others doing,
we did."

Then they swiftly left the island.

Thereafter they came to another lofty island, divided
into four parts by fences. Golden was the first fence,
silver the next, brass the third, crystal the fourth.
Kings dwelt in one division, queens in another, warriors
in the third, and in the fourth maidens alone. As they
neared the land a maiden came to meet them, and
brought them on shore, when she entertained them and
gave them food. It was like cheese in taste, but the
flavor thereof was such that each man thought he was
eating what he best liked. She gave them sweet, heady
ale from a small vessel, the strength of which caused
them to sleep three days and three nights. Where

The Voyage of Maelduin 109

they awoke on the third day was in their boat, on the
open sea, and they could see neither island nor maiden.

So they hoisted the sail and plied their oars, and
voyaged onwards until they came to a small island,
wherein was a fortress with a brass door on which were
brass fastenings. A bridge of glass rose from the door,
and when they essayed to mount it they fell down back-
wards. They were wearied of trying when at last they
saw a woman come out from the fortress, and in her
hand a pail, which she filled with water from the fount-
ain that flowed beneath the bridge. Then she turned
back to the fortress.

"That were a housekeeper for Maelduin," said
German.

"Much care I for Maelduin," quoth she, and closed
the door behind her.

Then they were angered, and began to shake the
brazen fastenings of the door; but the sound which they
made was a sweet, soothing music, which caused them
to sleep till the next morning.

On awaking they saw the same woman with the pail,
which she filled in the same manner as before.

"Tis indeed a housekeeper for Maelduin," said
German.

"As if I cared for Maelduin," said she, and shut the
door after her.

And again they were lulled to sleep by the sweet fairy
music of the brazen door till the morrow.

i io The Book of Wonder Voyages

Thus it continued for three days and three nights.
On the fourth day the woman crossed the bridge and
came to meet them. Beautiful indeed was she. A cir-
clet of gold bound her golden hair. Silver sandals clad
her rosy feet. A gold studded silver brooch fastened
her mantle, and a filmy silken smock lay next her white
skin.

"I bring thee greeting, Maelduin," said she. And
then she named each of the crew by his own name. ' ' It
is long since your coming here hath been known and
expected," she went on.

Then she led them to a large house near the sea, and
bade them haul their boat on shore. Within the house
was a couch for Maelduin alone, and one for every three
of his people. She brought them food like unto cheese,
of which she gave a portion to every three. And the
savor thereof was such as each desired to find therein.
But she served Maelduin apart. She filled her pail at
the same place and dealt them liquor, a portion for
every three. She knew when they had had enough,
and then ceased to serve them.

And every man said she would be a fitting wife for
Maelduin.

Then she took her vessel and pail and left them.

And Maelduin's people said to him, "Shall we ask her
if she would marry thee?"

"Just as you will," said he.

When she came next day they asked her if she would
love Maelduin and marry him.

The Voyage of Maelduin m

"On the morrow," said she, "you shall be an-
swered."

So, after they had eaten and drunk, they laid them
down to sleep, but when they awoke they were in their
boat on a crag, and they saw neither the island, nor the
fortress, nor the lady, nor the place where they had been.

They rowed further, till they came to another island,
upon which were many trees, wherein dwelt numbers of
birds. Landing, they met a man clothed solely with
his own hair. They asked him who he was, and whence
his kindred. And he answered :

"I am of the men of Ireland. I went forth on a pil-
grimage in a small boat, which split under me when I
had gone but a little way from land. But I was unwill-
ing to give up my intent of pilgrimage and put back to
shore, and there put a sod of my country's earth under
my feet, and upon it I ventured again to sea. Now, the
Lord set that sod for me in this place, and enlargeth it
by a foot every year, and addeth a tree to grow therein.
The birds which you behold in the trees are the souls of
my children and kindred who await their doomsday.
Angels are sent to feed me daily with half a cake, a slice
of fish, and liquor from the well. Whey or water on
Fridays and Wednesdays; sweet milk on Sundays and
martyrs' feasts; but on the Apostles' feast days and
those of Mary and John the Baptist, bright ale and wine.
At noon every soul yonder receiveth the same, enough
for each."

ii2 The Book of Wonder Voyages

And when the old man had entertained them for three
nights they bade him farewell. And ere they departed
he said unto them : "All of you shall reach your country,
save one."

When they had been a long while tossing on the
waves of the sea, they saw afar off an island, and as
they drew near they heard the noise of smiths smiting
iron on the anvil with sledges. The din each man made
was as if three or four were smiting at once. As Mael-
duin and his men came nigh the shore they heard one
man asking of the other:

"Are they close at hand?"

"Yea."

"Who are coming here?" asked a third man.

"Little boys in a cockleshell."

Maelduin said, "Let us retreat, but let us not turn
the boat, but keep her stern foremost, that they might
not perceive we are fleeing."

So they rowed away with the boat stern foremost.

In a little while the man in the forge asked: "Are
they in the harbor now?" And the watchman replied
that they were at anchor.

Shortly after the forgeman again inquired what they
were doing. The lookout man replied, "I think they
are running away, as they seem to be further from the
port than they were a short time ago." Upon that the
smith came out of the forge, holding by the tongs a huge
mass of glowing iron, which he threw after the boat.

The Voyage of Maelduin 1 13

By good fortune it did not reach the vessel, but the sea
hissed and boiled where it fell. As for the warriors,
they swiftly fled into mid-ocean.

After that they voyaged until they came to a sea,
thin and misty like a cloud, so that it seemed as if it
could not support their boat. As they sailed over, it
was transparent to their gaze, and they beheld under-
neath it roofed strongholds and a beautiful country.
Also they saw a huge, monstrous beast, in a tree that
was surrounded by herds and flocks, beside which sat a
man armed with shield, spear, and sword. And when
the armed man beheld the beast he immediately fled.
As for the beast, it seized the largest ox of the herd, and,
dragging it into the tree, devoured it in the twinkling of
an eye ; upon that flocks and herds took to flight. When
Maelduin and his people saw these things they were yet
more terrified, for they feared they should never cross
this sea without falling through it, so fine and vapor-
like was it.

Only after much danger did they succeed in skimming
its surface.

Now a strange thing was to be seen on the next island
they came to, a great stream rising out of the beach, and
arching rainbow-wise over the whole land, until it fell
into the beach on the opposite side. To and fro the
wanderers passed underneath the stream without being
wet. And when they pierced the arch with their spears

ii4 The Book of Wonder Voyages

huge salmon came tumbling down in such vast numbers
that the whole island was filled with the evil smell of the
fish, nor could they gather them all because of their
abundance.

From Sunday at eventide to Monday forenoon the
stream was at rest. When Maelduin and his people had
filled their boat with the largest salmon they continued
their journey on the ocean.

Thus they voyaged till they came to a great silver
column standing in mid-ocean. It had four sides, each
of which measured two oar-strokes wide, so that the
compass of the whole was eight oar-strokes. There was
not a sod of earth about this column, only the boundless
ocean. Its base could not be seen, nor could its sum-
mit, so high did it tower above the sea. A silver net
hung down from the summit, through a single mesh
of which the boat went, under full sail. And as they
passed through it Diuran struck the mesh with the edge
of his spear. "Destroy not the net," said Maelduin,
"for what we see is the work of mighty men." But
Diuran replied that he did it to the glory of God, and
that his story might be the more believed; and he vowed
if he ever reached Ireland he would offer this piece of
mesh on the high altar of Armagh.

And they heard a voice from the summit of the pillar,
mighty, clear, and distinct. But they knew not the
language it spake, nor did they understand the words it
uttered.

The Voyage of Maelduin 115

Thereafter they came to a large island wherein was
a great plain surmounted by a vast tableland, heather-
less, but grassy and smooth. Near the sea rose a high,
strong fortress, and therein a goodly furnished house,
where dwelt seventeen maidens. Maelduin and his men
landed and sat on a hillock before the fort. And as
they sat, behold a rider on a race horse came to the
fortress. She was arrayed in a blue hood, a purple-
bordered mantle, and she wore gold embroidered gloves.
Sandals were on her feet, and the horse cloth of her seat
was finely adorned. As she alighted one of the maidens
led her horse away, and she entered the fortress. Shortly
after this, one of the maidens came out to welcome them
and invite them to the fort in the queen's name. So
they entered and made merry with the queen and her
maidens. Good food and wine were served them, a
platter and drinking vessel for every three men, and
one apart for Maelduin. The next morning, when they
were about to depart the queen said, "Stay here and old
age shall not fall on you, but you shall keep the age you
now have; lasting life shall be yours alway, and every
joy and delight. Why then go wandering longer from
island to island over the wide and barren ocean?"

"Tell us," then said Maelduin, "how you came here? "
And she said : ' ' There dwelt a good man on this isle, and
king he was of it. I was his wife and these seventeen
maidens are our children. Now, when the king died
and left no heir, I took the kingship and go daily to the
great plain to judge the folk and decide their disputes."

n6 The Book of Wonder Voyages

They abode in that island for the three winter months
and it seemed to them they were three years. And one
of his people said unto Maelduin: "We have been here
a long time ; why do we not return to our own land ? "

But Maelduin was unwilling, and replied, "In our
own land we shall not find aught better than we have
here."

Then the people began to murmur greatly saying:
"Great is the love which Maelduin bears to the queen.
Let him stay with her if he pleases, but we will go back
to our own country."

"I will not stay after you," answered Maelduin.

So one day when the queen was busy at the judgment-
seat, they launched the boat and hoisted the many-
colored sail to the tall, tough mast and went on board.
But ere they cleared the land she came riding hastily,
and threw a clew after them that clung to Maelduin's
hand as he caught it. And the thread of the clew was
in her hand, and by it she drew the boat unto her, back
to the harbor.

Thereafter they sojourned with her thrice three
months. Then Maelduin's people took counsel together,
saying: "Now we are sure Maelduin loves the queen
more than us. That is why he catches the clew, that
it may cleave to his hand, and we be brought back to
the fortress."

And Maelduin answered them: "Let another catch
the clew, and if it cling to his hand, let his hand be cut
off."

THE QUEEN OF THE MAGIC CLEW

117

ii 8 The Book of Wonder Voyages

So they went on board again, and again the queen
came and flung the clew after them. This time it was
caught by another man, to whose hand it clung. But
Diuran cut off the hand, and it fell with the clew into
the sea. When the queen saw this she began to wail
and shriek, so that all the land was one cry, wail, and
shrieking.

Thus it was they escaped from her, and from the
island.

And for a long time they tossed about on the waves
until they came to an island whereon were planted
trees, like willow or hazel, upon which grew marvelous
fruit, like large berries. They stripped one small tree
and cast lots who should first taste the fruit. The lot
fell to Maelduin. He squeezed some of the berries into
a vessel and drank the juice, and it cast him into a deep
sleep from that hour till the same hour on the morrow.
As he lay with the red foam on his lips, they knew not
till he awoke whether it was slumber or whether it was
death. Then he said : ' ' Gather this fruit, for great is its
excellence."

So they gathered all the fruit of the land, filling their
vessels with its juice, and mingling it with water to
moderate its strength, and then they rowed away.

Thereafter they landed on another large island. Part
of it was overgrown with yew and oak wood ; the rest was
a plain, in the midst of which was a small lake, with

The Voyage of Maelduin 119

great herds of sheep feeding in the surrounding meadows.
There were besides on the island a church and a fortress.
They entered the church and found therein a cleric,
ancient and gray, whose sole clothing was his own hair.
Maelduin inquired of him whence he came.

"I am the fifteenth man of the community of the
blessed Brendan," replied he. "We went forth on our
pilgrimage into the vast and boundless ocean and we
came to this island. And of the fifteen men all have
died save I alone."

Then he showed them the tablet of the blessed Bren-
dan, which they had taken with them on their pilgrim-
age. And the travelers bowed themselves before it,
and Maelduin kissed it.

"Now," said the old man, "eat your fill of the sheep
for food, but take no more than it needs to appease your
hunger."

So they abode there for a season, feeding on the flesh
of the sheep and worshiping with the cleric. One day
as they were gazing seawards they perceived what
seemed a cloud coming towards them, from the south-
west, but on its nearer approach they saw by the waving
of its wings that it was a bird. It came to the island
and perched on a hill near the lake. And they feared
lest it might bear them in its talons out to sea. It
brought with it a branch bigger than one of the great
oaks which grew upon the island, covered with large
twigs, green leaves, and bearing heavy abundant fruit,
red berries like to grapes, only larger in size. It seemed

120 The Book of Wonder Voyages

weary, and rested, eating of the fruit. Maelduin and
his men approached cautiously lest it might harm them.
Then they drew nearer and began to gather berries off
the branch, but the bird neither moved nor heeded them.
At noon two great eagles came flying from the south-
west and lit down in front of the bird, and began to
preen and cleanse its feathers. This they continued to

THE GREAT BIRD

do until even, when they began to eat of the berries off
the branch. The next morn until midday they passed
in tending the bird, preening and cleansing its feathers.
At midday they ceased from their task and, perching on
the branch, stripped the berries from it, broke them
with their beaks against the stones, and cast them into
the lake. And with the foam of the berries the water
was dyed a deep red. Then went the bird and bathed
in the lake until the close of the day, when it perched in
another place on the same hill.

The Voyage of Maelduin 121

On the morrow the eagles returned and sleeked its
plumage as if it were done with a comb. At midday
they rested a little, and then flew off to that quarter
of the heavens whence they had come. But the great
bird remained, shaking his pinions, until the third day,
when it soared up and flew thrice round the island,
alighting for a little while on the same hill. Then it
flew towards the land whence it came with a speed
swifter and stronger than before. Wherefore it was
manifest to all that to it had been restored the gift of
youth, and through it the word of the prophet had been
fulfilled : Thy youth shall be renewed like the eagle's.

Then Diuran wondered greatly and said, "Let us go
bathe in the lake and make ourselves young even as the
bird has done." And when one of his comrades would
have dissuaded him, fearing the venom left by the bird in
the lake, he still persisted, saying that he would go first.

So he plunged in and bathed and drank of the water.
And from that time forth until the end of his life he
suffered from neither weakness nor infirmity, his eye-
sight was passing strong, nor did he lose a tooth from
his jaw or a hair from his head.

After bidding farewell to that ancient man, and tak-
ing with them a provision of sheep, they came to an
island around which ran a moving fiery rampart. In
the side of the rampart was an open doorway. And
whenever this doorway, as it turned around the island,
came opposite to them they could see through it the

122 The Book of Wonder Voyages

whole island, and all its indwellers, even human beings,
beautiful, abundant, wearing adorned garments and
feasting with golden vessels in their hands. Pleasant
was it to hearken unto their drinking songs, and long did
the wanderers gaze upon this marvel, from which they
might hardly depart, so delightful was it.

Not long after this they saw among the waves a shape
like unto that of a white bird. They turned the prow
of the boat into it southward, and on drawing nearer
they perceived it to be a man clothed solely in his own
white hair, kneeling on a broad rock.

And they entreated a blessing from him, and asked
him whence he came.

"From Torach," replied he; "there I was reared. I
was cook unto a church; but I was an evil cook, for I
sold the food of my brethren for treasures and jewels, so
that my house became full of costly stuffs and raiment,
of brazen pails and small brazen goblets, of brooches of
silver and pins of gold. Truly nothing was lacking in
my house of all the things which men hoard, and I had
golden books and book-covers adorned with brass and
gold. Besides this, I would dig under the houses of the
church and rob them of their treasures.

"Thus I grew proud and haughty, thinking of my
riches and spoils, and would no longer be cook unto my
brethren. So I put forth to sea in a new boat of tanned
hide. But I first emptied my house of its treasures and
filled my new vessel therewith. When I set sail the sea

The Voyage of Maelduin 123

was calm, but great winds arose and drove me into mid-
ocean, far beyond sight of land, and there my boat stood
still, moving not.

"As I looked about me, I beheld a man sitting upon a
wave, who inquired of me whither I was bound. And
he told me I should be sorrowful and full of terror if I
knew the band that surrounded me; for a crowd of
demons encircled me on every side because of my covet-
ousness and my pride, my haughtiness, thefts, and
other evil deeds. Then he told me that my boat should
remain motionless until I did his will ; and his will was
that I should fling all my treasures into the sea.

"So I flung all into the waters save a small wooden
cup. Then he gave me whey-water and seven cakes,
and bade me go whither wind and wave carried me. I
minded his words, and following the will of my boat,
was finally landed upon this crag. Seven years was I
here, living on the seven cakes and whey-water given
me by the man who sent me from him. Nor had I any
other food. When that came to an end I fasted for
three days, at the end of which, at the hour of noon, an
otter brought me a salmon out of the sea. But as I
could not eat it raw I threw it back into the water, and
fasted for another three days. On the third day the
otter brought me the salmon again and another otter
brought a piece of flaming firewood, and set it down and
blew with its breath, so that the fire blazed up. There-
on I cooked the fish, and lived on such food for an-
other seven years. And at the end of that time the

124 The Book of Wonder Voyages

fish supply ceased and I fasted again for the space of
three days. Then on the third noon half a wheaten
cake and a piece of fish were cast up and a cup of good
liquor came to me. Thus I receive food every day.
And neither wind nor wet, nor heat nor cold affects me."

Now when the hour of noon arrived, half a cake and a
piece of fish came for every man, and in the cup which
stood before the cleric was found each man's fill of good
liquor. And the cleric spake to them: "You will all
reach your country save one man. And you, Maelduin,
will find the man who slew your father in a fortress.
Slay him not but forgive him, for God hath saved you
from many great perils, and ye, too, are men deserving
death."

Then they bade him farewell and resumed their
journey.

They drove forth over the ocean until they came to
an island wherein was a great level plain, and on this
plain a vast multitude playing and laughing without
stay or pause. Lots were cast by Maelduin and his
men to see unto whom it should fall to enter the island
and explore it, and the lot fell upon the third of Mael-
duin's foster brethren. So he left the boat, but no
sooner had he set foot to ground when he, too, began
to play and laugh without ceasing. In vain did his
comrades call him back. He leaped and laughed and
sang as though all his life he had been one of the island-
ers. So after waiting a long time they put forth again,

The Voyage of Maelduin 125

sorrowful to leave him. But he never stayed from his
merry play and joyous laughter.

Then was fulfilled the doom of Nuca the wizard that
only Maelduin and the seventeen appointed comrades
should win back in safety to the land of their birth.

After this they came to an island filled with cattle,
oxen, kine, and sheep. There were neither houses nor
forts therein, so they fed on the sheep. Then some of
them espied a large falcon, which they declared to be
like the falcons of Ireland. So they agreed to watch
whither it went, and when it flew to the southeast they
rowed after it until even, when they sighted land like
unto Ireland. Rowing towards it they found it to be
the very island from which they had been driven by the
wind, and thereon were the slayers of Ailill, Maelduin's
father.

There they landed, and, going to the fortress where
the inhabitants were dining listened at the door to their
conversation.

One man said, "It would be well if we do not see
Maelduin." "That Maelduin," said another, "hath
been drowned. " "But," said a third, "mayhap it will
be he who will wake you out of your sleep." "What
should we do if he came now?" asked a fourth. To
that the chief replied, "We would welcome him gladly,
for indeed he has suffered long." Thereat Maelduin
struck the knocker against the door.

"Who is there? " said the doorkeeper.

126 The Book of Wonder Voyages

"Maelduin," replied he.

"Then open," said the chief, "for thou art welcome."

Thus they were gladly welcomed, and gifts of new

raiment were made them. Then they told of the

marvels God had shown them, according to the word of

the sacred poet who saith :

" This, too, it shall please thee to bear in mind."

Thereafter Maelduin went to his own district, and his
tribe and kinsmen joyed greatly at his coming, and Diu-
ran the rhymer took the five half-ounces of silver he
had brought from the net and laid them on the altar of
Armagh, exulting in the miracles and wonders God had
wrought for them. They narrated their adventures
from beginning to end, their perils and dangers by sea
and land, and Aed the fair, chief poet of Ireland, wrote
them down, that the men of Ireland might delight in
them forever.

Hasan of Bassorah

IN days of yore, there lived a merchant in the Land of
Bassorah who died and left two sons, who divided
his estate between them. The elder of these was
named Hasan, a youth of great beauty and comeliness,
who soon dissipated all the wealth he had inherited from
his father in feasts and frolics. At last, when he had
exhausted all his property he met a friend of his father's,
who recommended him to learn a trade, and he learned
the trade of a goldsmith. One day as he sat in his
booth in the bazaar there came to him an old Persian
with a great white beard, and white turban on his head,
and he looked upon Hasan's work and asked him his
name.

"Hasan," said the young man. Then the old man
said, ' ' My son, thou art a comely youth. Thou hast no
sire, and I have no son, and I know an art than which
there is none more goodly; to none have I imparted
it, but I am willing to teach it to thee and make thee
my son, so that thou mayest be free from all fear of
poverty."

Then Hasan asked, "What is this art thou wouldst

teach me?"

127

128 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Then the Persian said, "O Hasan, set the crucible
and apply the bellows."

And when he had done so and lighted the charcoal,
the Persian said, "Hast thou any copper?" And he
replied, "I have a broken bowl." So he bade him cut

THE PERSIAN AND HASAN

it up with the shears and cast it into the crucible and
blow up the fire with the bellows. And when the cop-
per became liquid he put his hand to his turban and
took from it a folded paper and sprinkled from it into
the pot about half a drachm of what looked like yellow
eye powder. And when Hasan had blown upon this
for a time all the contents of the crucible became one
lump of gold of finest quality. Then the Persian bade

Hasan of Bassorah 129

him carry it into the market place and sell it. He took
it into the market, and there they rubbed it upon the
touchstone and found it pure gold, and the merchants
bought it from them for fifteen thousand dirhams.

So Hasan rejoiced and took a metal mortar and
returned to the shop and laid it before the Persian and
said, ' ' Let us put this in the fire and make of it lumps of
gold." The Persian laughed and said, "My son, have
the Jinns made thee mad that thou wouldst go down
into the market with two ingots of gold in one day?
People will say these men practice alchemy, and the
judges will hear of us, and we shall lose our lives. If
thou wouldst learn this mystery let us go to thy house."

When they came to Hasan's house he brought out
food and set it before the Persian, saying, "Eat, my
lord, that between us there may be bread and salt."
The Persian replied with a smile, "True, my son, yet
what virtue hath bread and salt ? " And after they had
eaten the Persian bade him prepare the crucible once
more, and while he was at work the Persian said: "O
Hasan, I have a daughter whose like never have eyes
beheld for beauty and perfect grace. I will marry her
to none but thee." And while he was saying this he
took from his turban a piece of bhang, which if an ele-
phant smelt he would sleep from night to night, cutting
a bit off and putting it in a piece of sweetmeat. And
he gave it to Hasan, who took it unknowing, and hardly
had he swallowed it when he fell down and was lost to
the world. Whereupon the Persian cried: "Thou hast

i3° The Book of Wonder Voyages

fallen into my snares, O gallows bird, thou Arab dog!
This many a year have I sought thee, and now have I
found thee, O Hasan."

So he pinioned Hasan and placed him in an empty
chest, and summoning a porter had him carried down to
the harbor and placed upon a vessel at anchor there.
And when they were far out at sea he opened the chest,
and took out the young man and made him snuff up
vinegar, and blew a powder into his nostrils. Then
Hasan sneezed and opened his eyes, and found himself
at sea aboard a vessel in full sail. Then he said to the
Persian, "0 my father, what of the convenant of bread
and salt that was made betwixt thee and me?" But
the Persian, whose name was Barham the Fire Wor-
shiper, replied: "O dog, does the like of me know of the
bond of bread and salt? Of youths like thee I have
slain a thousand save one, and thou shalt make up the
thousand unless thou do sacrifice to fire." But Hasan
refused, and Barham caused his slaves to beat him with
a hide whip of plaited thongs.

And after they had sailed upon the sea for three
months and a day, the Persian loosed Hasan from his
bonds and clad him in goodly clothes, and made excuses
to him, and promised to teach him the craft, and restore
him to his native land. And Hasan said: "How can
I ever rely upon thee again?" To which Barham an-
swered : ' ' O my son, but for sin there were no pardon.
Indeed, I did all these things to thee but to try thy pa-
tience." Then said Hasan to Barham: "O Master,

Hasan of Bassorah 131

whither goest thou?" Then the Fire Worshiper
replied : " I am bound for the Mountain of Clouds, where
is the elixir which we use in alchemy. " And he swore
by the Fire and the Light, he had no longer cause to fear
him. Then Hasan's heart was set at ease, and they
ceased not sailing till the ship came to anchor off a long
coast of many-colored pebbles, white, and yellow, and
sky-blue, and black, and every other hue. And the Fire
Worshiper sprang up and said: "O Hasan, come, let us
go ashore. " And they landed and tramped inland till
they were out of sight of the ship, when Barham sat
down, and taking from his pocket a kettledrum of cop-
per, and a silken strap worked in gold, beat the drum
with the strap till there arose a cloud of dust from the
further side of the desert. Presently the dust lifted,
and behold there were three dromedaries, one for Bar-
ham, one for Hasan, and on the other they placed their
food and baggage. And they fared on these for seven
days, and on the eighth the Fire Worshiper said: "O
Hasan, what seest thou?" And Hasan said: "I see
clouds and mist from east and west." And Barham
answered: "That is neither clouds nor mist, but a vast
and lofty mountain on which the clouds split : it is for
that I have brought thee thither. " And they ceased
not faring till they came to the foot of the mountain,
where they halted. And Hasan saw a palace on it and
asked Barham: "What is yonder palace?" And Bar-
ham replied: "It is an abode of the Jinns, and the
Ghouls, and the Satans; there dwells a foe of mine. "

i32 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Then they dismounted, and Barham opened a bag,
and took a handmill and some wheat, ground the grain,
and kneaded three round cakes. Then he took out a
big skin, and said to Hasan : "Lie down on this skin and

THE PERSIAN SEWS UP HASAN

I will sew thee up therein. But the rukhs will come to
thee and carry thee up to the top of the mountain.
Take this knife with thee, and when the birds have done
flying and have set thee down, slit the skin open and
come forth. Then the birds will take fright at thee and
fly away; and thou shalt look down from the top of
the mountain and speak to me and do what I bid thee. "

Hasan of Bassorah 133

And it was as he said. But as soon as Hasan felt
himself on the ground he slit the skin and called out to
the Fire Worshiper, who danced for joy when he heard
him speak, and called out : "What is there behind thee? "
And Hasan saw many rotten bones and much wood,
and told it to Barham, who said to him: "This is what
we need. Make six bundles of the wood and throw
them down to me, for out of this wood do we do al-
chemy." So Hasan threw him the six bundles. And
when he had them he called out to Hasan : ' ' Thou gal-
lows bird, I have all I wish of thee. Dwell there above,
or throw thyself down, as thou wilt. " So saying he left
him; and Hasan knew that he had played the traitor
with him. Then he looked about him and walked to
the other side of the mountain, where he found the dark
blue sea dashing against the foot of the mountain and
turning the waves into yeast. So he said the prayers
for the dead for himself, and cast himself down into the
sea. But the waves bore him up unhurt and cast him
safe ashore, where he found himself near the place where
he had halted with Barham the Fire Worshiper.

And there he saw the palace wherein the Persian had
said, "There dwells a foe of mine. " So he went up to
it, and finding the gate open, he entered the portico,
where he found seated on a bench two girls, like twin
moons, at play, with a chess-cloth before them. And
one of them raised her head and cried out for joy, saying :
"Here is a son of man; methinks it is the one that
Barham the Fire Worshiper brought here this year. "

134 The Book of Wonder Voyages

And Hasan, when he heard this, threw himself at their
feet, and said: "Yes, ladies, I am indeed that unhappy
one. " Then the younger girl said to her sister: "Bear
witness, sister, that this is my brother by covenant, and
I will die for his death and live for his life, joy for his
joy and mourn for his mourning. " So saying, she rose
and embraced him, and led him to the palace, where she
brought him royal raiment wherewith to array him.
And they feasted together, and Hasan told all that had
befallen him. And when they heard that Barham had
called their palace "a place of Ghouls and Satans, "
they swore that he should die the foulest death.

And the sisters told him in return their own history.
"Indeed we are daughters of a King of the Jinns, and
because he would not have us married, he sought out
this Castle of the Mountain of Clouds, which was built
by one of the Jinns, that rebelled against Solomon.
And when he desires to come to us he beats a kettle-
drum and summons his hosts, so that he may ride to us
through the air. And if we are to visit him, the enchan-
ters come and bring us back to him. Now five of our
sisters have gone hunting in the desert, while we two
stop at home and prepare the food for them. "

And soon after this the other damsels returned from
hunting, and bowed and saluted Hasan with the salaam,
and gave him joy of his safety. So Hasan abode with
them in all joy, riding to the chase and leading the most
delightful of lives with them as his sisters.

Thus passed a whole year till he saw Barham the Fire

Hasan of Basso rah 135

Worshiper come back with a young man just as he had
done with Hasan. Then the seven sisters armed them-
selves, and slung on their swords, and brought Hasan a
steed of the best, and weaponed him with goodly wea-
pons. And they came up to Barham just as he was
saying to the young man: "Sit thou in this hide."
Hasan spake to him, saying : ' ' Hold thy hand, cursed one !
dog ! traitor ! that has broken the bond of bread and salt. "
But Barham said: "O Hasan, how hast thou escaped?
Thou art dearer to me than the light of mine eyes."
But Hasan stepped up to him and smote him between
the shoulders, that the sword came out brightly gleam-
ing on the other side of his throat. Then he took the
Fire Worshiper's bag and opened it, and taking out
the kettledrum struck it with the strap, whereupon out
came the dromedaries. So he unbound the youth and
placed him on the camel, and loaded another with food
and water, and said: "Go thou whither thou wilt. "

When the damsels saw Hasan slay the Fire Wor-
shiper they rejoiced greatly and returned to the palace.
One day there rose from the desert a cloud of dust, and
when the Princesses saw this they said to him: "Rise,
Hasan, run to thy chamber and conceal thyself, but
fear not, no harm shall befall thee. " So he went to his
chamber and locked the door upon himself, and presently
the dust opened and showed beneath it a great host like
the surging sea coming from the King, the father of the
Princesses. And when they came to the palace they
told the damsels that their father summoned them to a.

136 The Book of Wonder Voyages

wedding feast of one of the King's Jinns. And they
asked, "How long shall we be absent from this place?"
And the answer was, "The time to come and to go and
to stay will be two months. " So the Princesses went to
Hasan and said to him: "We must be away for two
months, but, in the meanwhile, this house is thy house,
all the keys of it we leave with thee. But, O our bro-
ther, by the bond of brotherhood we beseech thee in
very deed, open not the eighth door." So they bade
him farewell and fared forth with the troops, leaving
Hasan alone in the palace.

And Hasan sorrowed at their departure, nor took he
any pleasure in the hunt, in his food, or in the gorgeous
riches and treasures of the palace, by reason of the
Princesses' absence. Then his heart was fired by
thinking of the door they had forbidden him to open,
and he said within himself : ' ' My sister had never told
me not to open this door unless there were behind it
something about which she would have none know.
But I will open it and find out what it is, even though
within were sudden death." So he opened the door,
but saw no treasure therein, only a vaulted, winding
staircase of Yamani onyx at the upper end. This
stair he mounted, which brought him out upon the ter-
race-roof of the palace, below which were gardens and
orchards full of trees and fruits, beasts, and birds singing
the praises of Allah. And he said to himself, "This is
what they forbade me. " And beyond all these delights
he beheld a surging, billowy sea. He continued to

Hasan of Bassorah 137

explore the palace until he came to a pavilion built of
gold and silver bricks, jacinth, and emerald, and sup-
ported by four columns. In the center thereof was a
sitting-room, paved and lined with a mosaic of all man-
ner of precious stones, rubies, emeralds, balasses, and
other sorts of jewels ; and in the midst was a basin brim-
ful of water, canopied by a trelliswork of sandalwood
and aloes wood, interwreathed with red, gold, and
emerald wands set with various kinds of jewels and fine
pearls as large as a pigeon's egg. The trellis was cov-
ered with a climbing vine bearing grapes like rubies,
and beside the basin was a throne of lign-aloes latticed
with red gold, inlaid with great pearls, many colored
gems of every sort and precious minerals. About it
the birds sang sweetly, and many voices sang to the
glory of Allah, the Most High ; in short, it was a palace
the like of which nor Caesar nor Chosroes ever owned.
And Hasan marveled and said to himself: "I wonder
to which of the Kings this palace belongeth, or is it
Many-Columned Iram whereof they tell, for who among
mortals can pretend to the like of this?"

And as Hasan sat and wondered at the beauties of the
scene around him, he espied ten birds flying towards the
basin that was in the pavilion, and amongst them was
one, a marvel of beauty, to whom the nine seemed to do
service. As he gazed they entered the pavilion and
perched on the couch, after which each bird opened its
neck skin, and lo ! it proved to be but a feather garment
from which issued ten maidens, whose beauty shamed

i38 The Book of Wonder Voyages

the brilliancy of the moon. And they doffed their
clothes and plunged into the basin and fell to playing
with one another. And when Hasan beheld the most
beautiful maid he fell passionately in love with her, and
he knew well why the Princesses had forbidden him to
open the door. And he sat and gazed, and wept for
longing because of the beauty of the chief damsel, but
all the while he remained hidden from them. Pres-
ently they came out of the water and donned their
raiment and their ornaments. And the chief maiden
donned a green gown, wherein she surpassed in loveli-
ness all the fair ones of the world; she excelled a palm
branch in the grace of her bending gait.

And when the maidens were dressed they sat and
talked and laughed amongst themselves, but Hasan
still stood gazing, drowned in the sea of his love. And
he said to himself : ' ' My sister forbade me open the door,
for she feared lest I should fall in love with one of these
damsels. Now, 0 Hasan, how shalt thou woo and
win her? Thou hast cast thyself into a bottomless
sea, and snared thyself in a net whence there is no
escape! I shall die desolate, and none shall know of
rny death." And ever he gazed on the chief damsel,
for she surpassed all human beings in beauty. Her
mouth was magical as Solomon's seal, her hair blacker
than the night, her brow bright as the full moon of the
Feast of Ramazan, her eyes like unto those of a gazelle,
her nose straight as a cane, her cheeks like blood-red
anemones of Nu'uman, her lips like coralline, her teeth

Hasan of Bassorah 139

like strung pearls, her neck like an ingot of silver, indeed,
she was of surpassing beauty and symmetry.

And as Hasan stood watching them, forgetting meat
and drink, the chief damsel said to her maidens: "0
King's daughters, it grows late, our land is afar and we
weary of this place. Come, then, let us depart to our
own country." So they redonned their feathered rai-
ment, and became birds as before; thus they flew away
with the chief lady in their midst.

As for Hasan, he despaired of their return, and tears
ran down his cheeks. Then he dragged himself down
the stairs to his own chamber, where he lay sick, neither
eating nor drinking, drowned in the sea of his solitude.
And on the morrow he returned to the pavilion and
watched for the birds until nightfall: but they came
not. Again he dragged himself down the stairs to his
chamber and wept and wailed the livelong night. Nor
for him was there any rest: he neither ate, drank, nor
slept : by day he was distracted, by night distressed with
sleeplessness, drunken with melancholy thought and
love-longing.

Now whilst he was in this distress of mind behold a
cloud of dust arose from the desert, upon which he ran
down to hide himself, knowing that it hailed the Prin-
cesses' return. Soon after the damsels arrived and put
off their arms and war armor. The youngest stayed
not to doff her weapons and gear, but went straight to
Hasan's apartment. Not rinding him there she sought
for him till she came upon him in one of the sleeping

140 The Book of Wonder Voyages

rooms where he lay, feeble and wasted, his color changed,
his eyes sunken for lack of food and for much weeping
by reason of his love and longing. When she saw him
thus she was greatly troubled and knew not what to
say. Presently she spoke, saying: "Tell me, what ail-
eth thee, O my brother, that I may do away with the
sorrow. I will be thy ransom. " And he told his tale
with tears.

When his sister heard this she marveled at his elo-
quence, and said : " O my brother, what hath happened
to thee that thou speakest with tears ? By our love as
brother and sister tell me what aileth thee, tell me thy
secret, nor hide aught of that which hath befallen thee
during our absence, for I am sorrowful because of thee. "
Hasan sighed, and his tears fell like rain as he said, "I
fear, O my sister, if I tell thee thou wilt not help me to
win my wish, but wilt leave me to die in my pain."
"Nay," she replied, "I will not leave thee, though it
cost me my life. " So he told her all that had happened,
and how he had conceived a passion for the lady he had
seen when he had opened the forbidden door. Then
his sister wept and said: "Be of good cheer, O my
brother, for though it cost me my life, I will devise
means by which thou mayest wed her, if such be the
will of Allah Almighty. But keep the matter from
my sisters; tell it them not. If they question thee of
opening the forbidden door, say 'I opened it not, but
I was troubled at your absence and my loneliness in
yearning for you!'" And he replied, "Yes; this is

Hasan of Bassorah 141

the right rede." So he kissed her head, and his heart
was comforted. Then his health and spirits returned
to him, and he begged for food, which she brought him.
And when her sisters questioned her concerning him,
she replied, "His sickness was caused by our leaving
him desolate, for the days we have been absent have
seemed to him more than a thousand years. Per-
chance, too, he has been thinking of his mother, who
may have been weeping for him and mourning his loss
day and night, for when we were with him we were the
means of diverting his thoughts. ' ' And the sisters wept
saying: '"Fore Allah, he is not to blame. " Then they
went to salute Hasan, and when they saw how he had
changed, how wasted and shrunken he had become,
they wept for very pity and did all in their power to
comfort and cheer him. Yet his sickness daily increased,
at seeing which they all wept, especially the youngest.
Now afterwards the Princesses went a-hunting, but the
youngest remained with Hasan.

And when the Princesses had departed, the youngest,
who remained at home, went to Hasan and said: "O my
brother, show me the place where thou sawest the
maidens. " Then he rejoiced at her words and tried to
rise, but could not for weakness. So she took him in
her arms and carried him to the top of the palace, where
he showed her the pavilion and the basin of water where
they had bathed. And she said : ' ' Explain to me, O my
brother, how they came. " Then he described what he
had seen, and especially the maiden with whom he had

H2 The Book of Wonder Voyages

fallen in love. And as she listened she grew pale, for
she knew all about the beautiful maiden. So that he
asked her: "What aileth thee, O my sister, that thou art
pale and troubled?" She replied: "O my brother, this
lady is the daughter of one of the most powerful kings of
the Jinn. Her father ruleth men and Jinn, and wizards
and cohens, and chiefs of tribes and guards and coun-
tries and cities and islands, and is immensely rich. Our
father is a Viceroy and one of his vassals, and none can
avail against him. And he hath given his daughters a
large tract of country, a year's journey in length and
breadth, girt about with a great, deep river. He hath
an army of women equal in courage to a thousand of the
bravest knights, and seven daughters who excel their
sisters in valor. The maidens who came with the
lady thou lovest are the ladies of her court, and their
feather raiment is the handiwork of the Jinn enchant-
ers. If thou wouldst wed this queen pay good heed to
my words. They come to this place on the first day of
every month, and when thou watchest them beware
well that they do not see thee or we shall lose our lives.
When they doff their dress, note which is the feather
suit of her thou lovest and take it, for it beareth her to
her country, and in taking it thou hast mastered her.
But beware lest she take it from thee by her wiles.
Then her companions will flee, and she will be at thy
mercy."

Whereupon Hasan was at ease, and waited till the
new moon for the coming of the birds. When he espied

THE FLIGHT OF THE SWAN MAIDENS

143

144 The Book of Wonder Voyages

them he hid himself and watched, and when they were
all playing and laughing in the water, he laid his hand on
his ladylove's feather garment. And when she came to
put it on and found it not she shrieked and wept, and all
her ladies shrieked and wept with her. But they were
obliged to leave her lest they, too, might be deprived of
their garments, so she was left alone by the pavilion
basin.

And when Hasan heard the beautiful damsel bewail
her lot, he sprang from his hiding-place and dragged her
down to his own room, where he threw a silken cloak
over her and left her weeping. And he went and told
the youngest Princess, who came into her and saluted
her. And the beautiful captive said : " O king's daugh-
ter, how cometh it that you harbor mortal men and dis-
close to them our case and yours ? ' ' And Hasan's sister
replied: "O king's daughter, this mortal is perfect and
will do thee no harm, for he loveth thee, in sooth, he
hath nearly died for love of thee. " Then she brought
her costly raiment, and ate with her, and ceased not to
plead Hasan's cause. And when she had assigned her
a chamber in the palace and comforted her, she went to
Hasan and said: "Arise, go to her, and kiss her hands
and feet. " And Hasan went and kissed her, and said:
" O Princess of fair ones, I took thee only that I might be
thy bondsman till the day of doom, and I ask naught of
thee but to take thee to wife after the law of Allah. And
when thou wilt I will take thee to my country, and thou
shalt have handmaidens of thine own, and my mother

Hasan of Bassorah 145

shall do thee service." But she answered him not.
Then he went to the Princesses and for a while enter-
tained them, but sorrow overcame him, and he wept
because of his love for the beautiful maid. ' ' What is the
reason of thy tears? Which of us hath vexed thee that
thou art thus troubled ? ' ' asked the Princesses. And the
youngest said : ' ' He hath caught a bird from the air, and
would have you help him tame her. " And to him she
said: "Do thou tell them, for I cannot face them with
these words. " So she related the story of his entering
the forbidden chamber, of the birds' visit to the fountain,
of their feathered raiment, of their transformation into
damsels, of his love for the most beautiful of these, and of
how he carried her off. "Where is she?" they asked.
"With him in such a chamber, " quoth she. "Describe
her to us. " Upon which the youngest Princess gave a
glowing description of the exquisite charms of the royal
captive. Then they turned to Hasan, and said: "Show
her to us. " So he led them to the beautiful damsel, to
whom they did honor, and said : ' ' Indeed, he loveth thee
with a passionate love, and seeketh thee in marriage,
wherefore he came to thee in person. And he telleth us
he hath burned thy feather raiment, or we had taken
it from him." Then the wedding ceremony was per-
formed, and the bridal feast celebrated as beseemeth
kings' daughters.

And the honeymoon lasted forty days, and was a time
of joy and feasting and delight, and the king's daughter
became reconciled, and forgot her kith and kin. And at

H6 The Book of Wonder Voyages

the end of the forty days Hasan dreamed a dream con-
cerning his mother, that she was wasted and worn
through bitterly bewailing her loss of him, and that she
as it were spoke to him, saying : "O my son, Hasan, how
is it thou livest thy life of ease and forgettest me? I
have made thee a tomb in my house that I may never
forget thee. Would to heaven that I knew if I should
live to see thee!" Then he awoke weeping, for he was
very sorrowful. And his wife said to him: "What ail-
eth thee, O my lord ? ' ' Then he moaned and groaned,
and told her his dream. This she repeated to the Prin-
cesses, who had pity on him, and said: "Do as thou
wilt, for it behoveth thee to visit thy mother : but see
thou visit us, though it be only once a year." So he
agreed to depart, and they made him and his bride
ready for the voyage, and gave them raiment and jewels
and five-and-twenty chests of gold and fifty of silver.
Then they beat the magic kettledrum so that the drome-
daries appeared on all sides. And the youngest sister
said: "If aught grieve thee, beat the kettledrum and
return to us on the dromedaries. " And when they had
gone a little way with him they returned home sorrow-
ing, especially the youngest sister, who wept for him
night and day.

When Hasan with his wife reached Bassorah he went
straight to his mother's house and was there received by
her with great joy, for she had mourned him bitterly and
was even weeping and wailing for him when he knocked
at her door. Then Hasan told her all the story of his

Hasan of Bassorah 147

adventures, so that she wondered greatly and blessed
Allah for having brought him back in safety. And she
marveled exceedingly at the beauty of his wife, whom
she cheered and comforted and welcomed as a daughter.

Now that they had become so rich his mother sug-
gested that it would be well to leave Bassorah, where
they might be accused of having obtained their wealth
by means of alchemy. So they left that city and went
to dwell at Bagdad, where they lived magnificently,
with servants and attendants and a little black boy for
the house. And he abode with his wife in all solace and
delight for three years, during which time she bore him
two sons, one of whom he named Nasir and the other
Mansur.

Then he began to think of his sisters, the Princesses,
and of how good they had been to him, and helped him
to obtain his desire. So he decided to visit them, and
for that purpose went out and bought costly stuffs,
trinkets, and fruit confections such as they had never
seen. And he told his mother of his intent and gave
her strict injunctions to watch over his wife saying:
"Suffer her not to go out of the door, nor to look out
of the window, nor over the wall, for if aught of evil
befell her I should slay myself for her sake. Here is
her feather dress in a chest underground ; watch over it
lest she find it and take it, for then she would fly away
with her children, and I should never hear of her again. "

Now, as Fate would have it, his wife heard what he
said to his mother, but neither of them knew thereof.

148 The Book of Wonder Voyages

So Hasan beat the kettledrum and mounted the camels
and traveled for ten days over hills, and valleys, and
plains, and wastes until he reached the Princesses'
palace. And they rejoiced greatly to see him. And he
abode with them three months, feasting and merry-
making, hunting and sporting.

As for his wife, she remained with his mother two
days, and on the third said: "Have I lived with him
three years, and shall I never be allowed to go to the
bath?" And the mother answered: "O my daughter,
here we are strangers, and thy husband is abroad, but
I will heat thee water and wash thy head in the Ham-
mam-bath which is in the house. " Then she wept and
bewailed her lot, so that Hasan's mother let her have her
way, and she went to the bath with her two little sons.
And while she was at the bath even the passing women
of the city stopped to gaze upon her beauty, so that the
place was thronged with spectators. Now, it chanced
that among those present was Tohfah the Lutanist, a
slave-girl of Harun-al-Raschid, the Commander of the
Faithful. So struck was she by the lady's marvelous
beauty, that she ceased not to gaze upon her, and after
the bath went out with her and followed her till she saw
where she dwelt. Then she returned to the Caliph's
palace and presented herself before Lady Zubaydah,
who said, "O Tohfah, why hast thou tarried in the
Hammam?" She replied, "O, my lady, I have seen a
marvel, never saw I its like among men or women."
"What was that?" asked Zubaydah. "O, my lady, I

Hasan of Bassorah 149

saw a damsel in the bath with her two little boys like
moons, eye never espied her like, neither hath she her
peer for beauty in the whole world. Surely, if the
Commander of the Faithful knew of her he would slay
her husband, Hasan of Bassorah, and take her from
him. " And Zubaydah cried, "Woe is thee, Tohfah, if
she be not as thou sayest, for then, indeed, will I bid
strike off thy head. But I must needs look on her. "
And she called Masrur, and said to him, "Go to the
Wazir's house and bring me the damsel who dwelleth
there, also her two children and the old woman. Haste,
and tarry not." And Masrur hastened to Hasan's
house and knocked at the door. Quoth the old woman,
1 ' Who is at the door ? " " Masrur, servant of the Com-
mander of the Faithful. " So she opened the door and
he entered and saluted her with the salaam, saying:
"Lady Zubaydah, queen-wife of the Commander of the
Faithful, summoneth thee and thy son's wife and chil-
dren to her, for she hath been told of the lady's beauty. "
Saith the old woman, "O, my lord Masrur, we are
foreign folk, and the girl's husband, who is away from
home, hath bidden me not let her go forth in his absence,
therefore I beseech thee, ask me not this thing. " But
Masrur replied, "O, my lady, there is naught to fear
therein or I would not ask it of you. The Lady Zubay-
dah desireth to see her, and after that she may return. "
So Hasan's mother could not gainsay him and they all
repaired to the palace of the Caliphate and presented
themselves before Lady Zubaydah. And she said to

150 The Book of Wonder Voyages

the beautiful damsel, who was veiled, "Wilt thou not
uncover thy face that I may look on it?" And as
she did so the Queen and all her court were amazed at
such marvelous beauty, for all who looked upon her
became Jinn-mad. And Zubaydah embraced her and
made her sit by her on the couch. Moreover, she bade
decorate the palace in her honor and put upon her the
richest raiment and a necklace of the rarest ornaments.
And unto her she said, "O liege lady of .fair ones, what
arts knowest thou?" And she replied, "O, my lady, I
have a dress of feathers, and if I put it on thou wouldst
see one of the fairest of fashions and wouldst marvel
thereat." "Where is this dress of thine?" asked Zu-
baydah. And the damsel answered, " It is with my hus-
band's mother; seek it of her." So Zubaydah turned
to the old woman, "O, my lady, the pilgrimess! O, my
mother! fetch us the feather dress, afterwards thou
mayest take it back again." But the old woman
replied, "O my lady, this damsel is a liar. Hast thou
ever seen any woman with a feather dress, such belong-
eth only to birds?" And the damsel said, "As thou
livest, O my lady, she hath a feather dress of mine. It
is in a chest buried in a store cupboard in the house. "
Then Zubaydah took from her neck a necklace of jewels
worth all the treasures of Chosroe and Caesar, and gave
it the old woman, saying : "O, my mother, I conjure thee
by thy life, take this necklace and fetch us this dress."
But she sware she had never seen any such dress and
knew not what the damsel meant. Then Lady Zubay-

Hasan of Basso rah is1

dah took the key from her and giving it to Masrur said,
"Take this key and go to the house, and enter the store
cupboard there, in the middle of which thou wilt find a
chest buried. Take the chest out, break it open, and
bring me the feather dress therein. " So he went forth
as she bade him, and the old woman followed him weep-
ing. And he took the feather dress from the chest and
wrapping it in a napkin brought it to Lady Zubaydah,
who turned it about, marveling at its beauty. Then
she gave it to the damsel, saying : " Is this thy dress of
feathers?" "Yes, O my lady, " replied she, and took it
joyfully. Then she examined it, and was delighted to
find it whole, without a feather missing. And she arose
and came down from her seat, and wrapping herself and
her sons in the feather dress became a bird, so that
Zubaydah and all present marveled. Then she walked
with a swaying, graceful gait, and danced, and sported,
and flapped her wings. Then she said, "Is this goodly,
O my ladies?" And they replied, "Yes, O Princess
of the Fair ! All thou dost is goodly. " Said she, "And
this, O my mistresses, that I am about to do is better
yet. ' ' Then she spread her wings and flew up with her
children to the palace dome and perched upon the roof,
whilst they looked at her wide-eyed, and said, "This is
indeed, a rare and outlandish fashion ! Never saw we its
like." "Wilt thou not come down to us that we may
enjoy thy beauty, O fairest of the fair?" said Lady
Zubaydah. ' ' Far be it from me, ' ' she replied, ' ' to come
back to the past. " And to Hasan's mother she said,

i52 The Book of Wonder Voyages

"O my lady, O mother of my husband, it grieveth me
to part from thee. When thy son returneth, and long-
eth, and wearieth after me, tell him to come to me in the
Islands of Wak." Then she took flight with her children
for her own country.

HASAN S WIFE CARRIES OFF HER CHILDREN

But the old woman wept and moaned and fainted
away for grief. And Lady Zubaydah said: "If thou
hadst told me that this would happen I would not have
gainsaid thee. And had I known she was of the Flying
Jinn I would not have allowed her to don the dress.
But now, words profit nothing, so do thou acquit me of

Hasan of Bassorah 153

offense against thee." "Thou art acquitted," replied
the old woman shortly. Then she returned home,
where she pined after her daughter-in-law, her grand-
children, and for a sight of her son. And she dug in the
house three graves, and betook herself to them weeping
all whiles of the day and watches of the night.

Now as regards Hasan, he stayed with the Princesses
three months, after which he bade them farewell. And
they gave him five loads of gold and the like of silver,
and one load of victual, and accompanied him on his
homeward way till he conjured them to return. Then
each one embraced him and bade him a loving farewell.

Now when he reached Bagdad and entered his own
home, he found his mother wasted and worn as thin as
a toothpick for excess of mourning and watching and
weeping, and when he asked her of his wife and children
she fainted. Thereupon he searched the house, but
there were no traces of them ; and when he found the
chest broken and the feather dress missing, he knew that
his wife had possessed herself of it and flown away with
her children. Then he returned to his mother and
questioned her. And she wept and said: "O my son,
may Allah requite thee their loss! These are their
three tombs." Whereupon his anguish was so great
that she despaired of his life. Then he brandished a
stick, and coming to his mother said: "Except thou
tell me the truth I will strike off thy head and kill my-
self. " She replied, "O my son, do not such deed, put
up thy sword and sit down till I tell thee what hath

154 The Book of Wonder Voyages

passed. " So he put up his sword and sat by her side
while she recounted all that had happened from first to
last. And when the story was ended Hasan fell down
in a faint and remained thus to the close of day. And
for five days he wept and wailed and bemoaned him-
self, and would take neither meat nor drink. And one
night he dreamed that he saw his wife full of sorrow,
repenting for what she had done. Thus he lived for a
whole month, weeping and heavy hearted, wakeful by
night and eating little. Then he thought he would
repair to his sisters and take counsel with them in the
matter, so he summoned his dromedaries, loading them
with costly gifts, and bade his mother adieu.

And when he reached the Palace of the Mountain of
Clouds, the Princesses rejoiced to see him, but said: "0
our brother, what can ail thee to come again so soon,
seeing thou wast with us but two months since ? ' ' Then
he fainted for grief and wept bitterly, and told them
what had befallen him in his absence, and how his wife
had taken flight with her children. So they grieved
for him, and asked what she had said at leave-taking.
And he repeated word for word what his wife had said
to his mother: "Tell thy son, when he cometh to thee
and the nights of severance shall be longsome to him,
and he craveth reunion and meeting to see, and whenas
the winds of love and longing shake him dolefully, let
him fare to me in the Islands of Wak." When they
heard his words they signed to one another with their
eyes, and shook their heads, and considered deeply for

Hasan of Bassorah 155

awhile; then they said: "There is no Majesty and there
is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!
Put forth thy hand to Heaven, and when thou reach
thither, then shalt thou win to thy wife. " Whereupon
Hasan wept bitterly, and the Princesses comforted
him and exhorted him to patience and prayer, saying:
"O my brother, be of good cheer, keep thy eyes cool
and clear and be patient, so shalt thou win thy will : for
whoso hath patience and waiteth, that he seeketh
attaineth. " But he still grieved deeply, and abode
with them a whole year, during which time his eyes
could never retain their tears.

Now the sisters had an uncle whose name was Abd
al-Kaddus, or Slave of the Most Holy ; and he loved the
eldest exceedingly and was wont to visit her once a year
and do all she desired. Once he gave her a pouch filled
with certain perfumes, saying, "O daughter of my
brother, if thou be in want of aught or if aught trouble
thee, or if thou stand in any need, cast off these per-
fumes upon fire naming my name, and I will be with
thee and will do thy desire. " So now the eldest Prin-
cess said, "Lo, the year is past and my uncle is not
come. Bring me the firesticks and the perfumes."
And the youngest Princess arose rejoicing and laid it
before her. So she opened the box, and taking there-
from some of the perfume, cast it on the fire, naming her
uncle's name. Ere it was burnt out a dust cloud ap-
peared at the further end of the desert, which presently
lifting discovered her uncle riding on an elephant. And

i56 The Book of Wonder Voyages

when he arrived they embraced him and welcomed him
gladly, saying how they had not seen him for more than
a twelvemonth. They then recalled to his memory how
Hasan had slain Barham the Magian, and proceeded
to relate the story of his love for, and marriage of, the
Supreme King's daughter, with all the painful results
that followed.

When Abd al-Kaddus heard this he shook his head
and bit his forefinger, and began to make marks on the
earth with his finger-tips, after which he looked right
and left, and shook his head a third time, whilst Hasan
watched him from where he was hidden. Then said the
Princesses, "Return us some answer, for our hearts
are rent in sunder. " And when he saw them in this
transport of grief and trouble and mourning, he was
moved with compassion and said, "Be ye silent!"
Then turning to Hasan: "O my son, hearten thy heart
and rejoice in the winning of thy wish : take courage and
follow me." So Hasan took leave of the Princesses,
and followed him rejoicing. Then Abd al-Kaddus took
Hasan up behind him on the elephant, and they jour-
neyed three days and three nights till they came to a
vast blue mountain, the stones of which were blue and
in the midst of which was a cavern with a door of Chinese
iron. Here they dismounted and dismissed the elephant.
Then Abd al-Kaddus went to the door and knocked,
whereupon it opened and there came out to him a black
slave, hairless, with brand in right hand, and targe of
steel in left. When he saw Abd al-Kaddus he threw

Hasan of Bassorah 157

away sword and buckler and came and kissed his hand.
Thereupon the old man entered the cave with Hasan
whilst the slave shut the door behind them. It was a
huge vast place, through which ran an arched corridor;
and they walked on for a mile or so, till they came to a
large open space, whence they made for an angle of the
mountain, wherein were two immense doors of solid
brass. And the old man said to Hasan, "Sit at the
door till I return, and beware lest thou open it and
enter." Then he went in and shut the door, and was
absent for a full hour, when he returned leading a black
stallion, bridled and saddled with velvet housings. And
when it ran it flew, and when it flew the very dust would
pursue, and he brought it to Hasan saying: "Mount!"
So he mounted and Abd al-Kaddus opened a second
door, beyond which appeared a vast desert. And the
two passed through the door into the desert, when the
old man said : " O my son, take this scroll and go whither
the steed will carry thee. When thou seest him stop
at the door of a cavern like this, alight and throw the
reins over the saddle-bow and let him go. He will
enter the cavern, but enter not with him; tarry at the
door five days without wearying of waiting. On the
sixth day will come forth to thee a black Shaykh clad in
sable, with a long white beard. Kiss his hands, seize
his skirt, and lay it on thy head, and weep before him,
till he take pity on thee and ask thee what thou wouldst
have. When he saith: 'What is thy want?' give him
this scroll, which he will take without speaking, and go

158 The Book of Wonder Voyages

in and leave thee. Wait at the door another five days
without wearying, and on the sixth day expect him.
And if he come out to thee himself, know that thy wish
will be won, but if one of his pages come, know that he
meaneth to kill thee; and — thus thy story will end. "

Then Abd al-Kaddus tried to dissuade him from
undertaking the journey, but Hasan would in no way
agree. And seeing it was useless to try to turn him
from his purpose he said: "Know, O my son, that the
Islands of Wak are seven in number, peopled by a
mighty host of women, and the Inner Isles by Satans,
Mardis, Warlocks, and various tribes of the Jinn.
And no man once entering this land hath ever returned.
Will nothing serve thee but that thou must make the
journey?" Hasan replied, "Nothing! I only ask thy
prayers for help and aidance. ' ' So the old man knew he
would not turn from his purpose though it cost him his
life, so he handed him the scroll, saying: "I have in this
letter given a strict charge concerning thee to Abu
al-Ruwaysh, son of Bilkis, daughter of Muin, for he is
my Shaykh and my teacher, and all men and Jinn
humble themselves to him and stand in awe of him. "

Thus Hasan set out, and his horse flew swifter than
lightning, and stayed not for ten days until there ap-
peared before him a vast loom, black as night, wall-
ing the world from east to west. And as he neared it his
steed neighed under him, whereupon horses many as the
drops of rain came rubbing themselves against it. And
Hasan was afraid, for he rode thus until he came to the

Hasan of Bassorah

159

cavern described by Abd al-Kaddus. And on reaching
it the steed entered, but Hasan abode without as the
old man had bidden him.

And when the appointed five days for waiting were
expired, out came the Shaykh Abu al-Ruwaysh, a

THE SHAYKH ABU AL-RUWAYSH

blackamoor, clad in black raiment. And Hasan threw
himself at his feet, and seizing his skirt, laid it on his
head, and wept before him. "What wantest thou, O
my son ? ' ' quoth the old man. Whereupon he gave him
the letter, which Abu al-Ruwaysh took and reentered
the cavern without making answer. So Hasan sat
down and waited another five days, weeping and be-

160 The Book of Wonder Voyages

moaning himself. And on the sixth day the Shaykh
came forth clad in white raiment and signed him to
enter. And the old man went with him half a day's
journey, till they reached an arched doorway with a
door of steel. This the Shaykh opened, and they
entered a vestibule vaulted with onyx stones and arab-
esqued with gold, and they stayed not till they came
to a great wide hall of marble. In the midst was a
flower garden containing all manner of flowers and
fruits, with birds singing on the boughs. And there
were four daises facing each other, in each a jetting
fountain, at the corners of which were lions of red gold.
On each dais was a chair, whereon sat an elder with
many books before him, and censers of gold containing
fire and perfumes, and before each elder were students
who read the books to him.

Now when the two entered the elders rose and did
them honor; whereupon Abu al-Ruwaysh signed to
them to dismiss their scholars, and they did so. Then
the four arose, and seating themselves before the
Shaykh, asked him of the case of Hasan. Then Hasan
told them all that had befallen him from first to last, and
the Shaykh begged them to help him to recover his wife
and children. Then Abu al-Ruwaysh wrote a letter,
which he gave to Hasan with a pouch of perfumed
leather containing incense and fire sticks, saying:
" Whenas thou fallest into any strait, burn a little of the
incense and name my name, whereupon I will be with
thee and save thee from thy stress." Then he bade

Hasan of Bassorah 161

them fetch him an Ifrit of the Flying Jinn, and when it
appeared, he whispered something in the ear of the fire-
drake, whereat the Ifrit shook his head, and answered :
"I accept, O elder of elders!" And Abu al-Ruwaysh
said to Hasan: "Mount the shoulders of this Ifrit,
Dahnash the Flyer, but when he heaveth thee heaven-
wards, and thou hearest the angels glorifying God, have
a care lest thou do the like, or thou and he will both
perish. " And the old man continued: "O Hasan, after
faring with thee all day, to-morrow at peep of dawn he
will set thee down in a land white like unto camphor,
whereupon walk ten days by thyself till thou come to the
gate of a city. This enter and inquire for the King,
and when thou comest to his presence, salute him with
the salaam and kiss his hand, then give him this scroll
and consider well whatso he shall counsel thee. " Hasan
replied: "To hear is to obey, " and mounted the Flyer's
back. Thus he traveled till at dawn the next day,
when he was set down in a land white as camphor.
There he followed the Shaykh's directions, and inquired
for the King, whose name was Hassun, Lord of the Land
of Camphor. And being admitted into his presence,
Hasan gave the letter into his hands. While reading it
the King shook his head awhile, and then said: "O
Hasan, thou comest to me, seeking to enter the Islands
of Wak. I would send thee thither this very day, but
that by the way are many perils and wolds full of terrors,
yet have patience and naught save fair shall befall thee.
Presently there will come to us ships from the Islands of

1 62 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Wak, and the first that shall arrive I will send thee
aboard her, and give thee in charge to the sailors, who
will bear thee thither. As soon as thou comest ashore,
thou wilt see a multitude of wooden benches about the
beach: choose thee one, and crouch under it and stir
not. When night sets in, thou wilt see an army of
women flocking about the goods landed from the ship,
and one will sit down on the bench under which thou art
hiding. Wherefore put forth thy hand and take hold of
her and implore her protection. If she give thee pro-
tection, thou wilt regain thy wife and children; if not,
mourn for thyself, and give up all hope of life. "

And Hasan waited three whole months for the coming
of the ship. And at the end of that time the King sent
for him, and presenting him with costly gifts, summoned
the captain, saying: "Take this youth with thee so
that none may know of him save thee, and carry him to
the Islands of Wak. " So the captain laid him in a chest
and bore him aboard, and none doubted but that the
chest contained merchandise.

And at the end of ten days Hasan was set ashore,
and as he walked up the beach he saw wooden benches
without number, and hid under one till nightfall.
Then there came many women armed with hauberks,
coats of mail, and drawn swords, who busied themselves
with the merchandise from the ships. And one seated
herself on the bench under which Hasan crouched,
whereupon he took hold of the hem of her garment
and did as the Shaykh had bidden him. And her heart

Hasan of Bassorah 163

inclined to him, for she knew he had not come to that
place save for a grave matter. So she said : " Be of good
cheer, keep thine eyes cool and clear, take courage and
return to thy hiding-place till the coming night, and
Allah shall do as he will."

And the next night the merchant-woman with whom
he had taken refuge came up to him and gave him a
habergeon and a helmet, a spear, a sword, and a gilded
girdle, and bade him don them, and stay where she left
him for fear of the troops.

And as Hasan sat upon the bench, behold there came
up an army of women. So he arose, and mingling with
them, became as one of them. A little before daybreak
they set out and marched to their camp, where they
dispersed each to her tent. And Hasan followed one of
them, and lo! it was her for whose protection he had
prayed. When she entered she threw down her arms
and doffed her veil, and Hasan saw her to be a grizzled
old woman, with pock-marked face and without teeth
or eyebrows. And she questioned him of his case, and
promised him her safeguard, saying, "Have no fear
whatsoever. " So he told her this tale from first to last.
And she said, "Glory be to God, who hath made thee
appeal to me, tor hadst thou appealed to any other thou
wouldst have lost thy life. But know, O my son, thy
wife is not here, but in the seventh of the Islands of
Wak, and between us and it is seven months' journey.
From here we go to an island called the Land of Birds,
wherein, for the loud crying of the birds and the flapping

1 64 The Book of Wonder Voyages

of their wings, one cannot hear other speak. From this
country we come to another, the Land of Wild Beasts,
where for roaring of lions, howling of wolves, laughing
of hyenas, and crying of other beasts of prey, we shall
hear naught. The next is the Land of the Jann, where
our eyes are blinded by the fires, the sparks and smoke
from their mouths, and our ears deafened by their groan-
ing. And after this we come to a huge mountain and
running river close to the Isles of Wak. And on the
bank of the river is another mountain, called Mount
Wak, named thus by reason of a tree that bears fruits
like heads of the sons of Adam."

Then the old woman beat the kettledrums for depar-
ture, and the army set out. And they journeyed
through the terrible lands she had spoken of until they
came to the river, and set down their loads at the foot
of the huge mountain. And the old woman set Hasan
a couch of alabaster, inlaid with pearls and jewels and
nuggets of red gold. And he sat down thereon, and
bound his face with a kerchief that discovered naught of
him but his eyes. And the old woman bade him watch
the women as they went to bathe, to discover whether
his wife were among them. And although the maids
were beautiful to look upon, and one of them exceeding
fair, reminding him much of her he had come to seek,
yet was she not among them. And at the old dame's
request he gave her a description of his wife, whereupon
she made answer, "O Hasan, would to heaven I had
never known thee! This woman is none other than

Hasan of Basso rah 165

the eldest daughter of the Supreme King, she who ruleth
over all the Islands of Wak. It is impossible for thee
to obtain her, as between her and thee the distance is as
that between earth and heaven. So return whence thou
earnest lest our lives be lost. " And Hasan wept sore,
and bemoaned himself and despaired of life. And Sha-
wahi said, "O my son, tell me which of the maidens
pleaseth thee and I will give her thee instead of thy
wife, and thou canst say that thy wife and children are
dead, for if thou fall into the King's hand I have no
means of delivering thee." Then Hasan wept till he
swooned away, and Shawahi sprinkled water on his
face till he revived. And she was sorry for him, and
Allah planted the seed of affection for him in her heart,
and she comforted him, saying, "Be of good cheer, and
keep thine eyes cool and clear, and put away trouble
from thy thought, for I will risk my life for thee until
thou attain thine aim or I die."

Now the Queen of the Island wherein they dwelt was
Nur al-Huda, eldest daughter of the Supreme King, and
she ruled over all the lands and Islands of Wak. So
when the ancient dame saw Hasan weary with his
longing, she repaired to the palace and going to the
Queen Nur al-Huda, kissed ground before her, for she
had a claim in her favor because she had reared the
King's daughters, and was had in high honor and
consideration with them and the King. Nur al-Huda
rose to her as she entered, and embracing her seated
her by her side, and asked her of her journey. And

1 66 The Book of Wonder Voyages

the dame replied, "O Queen of the Age and the Time, I
have a favor to crave of thee and I fain would dis-
cover it to thee, that thou mayest help me to accom-
plish it, and but for my confidence that thou wilt not
gainsay me, therein I would not expose it to thee."
And the Queen asked : ' ' What is thy need ? Expound it
to me and I will accomplish it to thee, for I and my king-
dom and troops are all at thy command." Thereupon
the old woman fell down before her, and acquainted
her with the whole of Hasan's case. And the Queen
was exceeding wroth, and said to Shawahi, "O ill-
omened beldam, art thou come to such a pass that thou
earnest men with thee into the Islands of Wak? But
for thy claim on me I would make both him and thee
die the foulest of deaths. Go and bring him hither that
I may see him. ' ' So the old woman went to Hasan and
said: "Rise, speak with the Queen, O wight, whose last
hour is at hand. " And when he came in the Queen's
presence, he kissed ground before her, and saluted her
with the salaam. And the Queen bade the old woman
ask him questions that she might hear his answers.
Thus she heard from his own lips the story of what had
befallen him. And when he quoted the parting words
of his wife, in which she intimated that if he longed for
her he should come to the Islands of Wak for her, the
Queen shook her head and said: "She would not have
spoken thus, if she had not desired thee, nor acquainted
thee with her abiding place." And Hasan said: "0
mistress of Kings and asylum of prince and pauper,

Hasan of Bassorah 167

oppress me not, but have compassion on me and aid
me to regain my wife and children. " And the Queen
replied, "I have compassion on thee, and am resolved
to show thee in review of all the maidens in the city and
in the provinces. If thou discover among them thy
wife I will deliver her to thee, but if thou know her not,
I will put thee to death and crucify thee over the old
woman's door. " And the Queen commanded that all
the maidens in the Island should be brought before her,
and that they should pass before Hasan hundred after
hundred, but he tound not his wife amongst them.
And the Queen was enraged and said: "Take him
along, face to earth, and cut off his head." So they
threw him down and dragged him along, and with
bared brands awaited the royal permission. But the
old woman kneeled before the Queen and said: "Verily
he hath entered our land, and eaten of our meat,
wherefore he hath a claim upon us, the more especially
since I promised him to bring him in company with
thee; and thou knowest that parting is a grievous ill
and severance hath power to kill, especially separation
from children. Now he hath seen all our women save
only thyself, so do thou show Jiim thy face." The
Queen smiled and said: "How can he be my husband
and have had children by me, that I should show him
my face?" Then she made them bring Hasan before
her, and unveiled her face, which when he saw he cried
out with a great cry and fell down fainting. And when
he came to himself he looked on the Queen's face, and

1 68 The Book of Wonder Voyages

cried out with a great cry, for stress whereof the palace
was like to fall upon all therein. And he said: "In
very sooth this Queen is either my wife or else the likest
of all folk to my wife. " And when Nur al-Huda heard
this she said : "This stranger is either Jinn-mad or out of
his mind, for he saith I am his wife, " and she laughed,
for she was unmarried. Then she asked: "What is it
in thy wife that resembleth me?" And Hasan replied,
"All that is in thee of beauty and loveliness, elegance
and amorous grace. Thou art her very self in the way
of speaking, in the fairness of thy favor, and the bril-
liancy of thy brow." And the Queen was flattered, and
said to Shawahi, ' ' Carry him back to the place where he
tarried with thee till I examine into this affair, for he
is a manly man, and forge tteth not friend or lover. "
Then she bade Shawahi haste to the abode of her
youngest sister, Manar al-Sana, and to tell her to clothe
her two sons in the coats of mail their aunt had made
them, and send them to her, and after securing the
children, to say to Manar, "Thy sister inviteth thee
to visit her. And," continued the Queen, "I swear
that if my sister prove to be his wife, I will not hin-
der him from taking her and the children to his own
country."

Then the old woman armed herself and taking with
her a thousand weaponed horsemen journeyed to the
city where dwelt Lady Manar al-Sana. And on reach-
ing the city she went in to the Princess and gave her the
Queen's message. And the Princess said, "Verily, I am

Hasan of Bassorah 169

beholden to my sister, and have failed in my duty in not
visiting her, but I will do so forthwith. " And she made
ready to go taking with her rare gifts for her sister.
Now she was the youngest daughter of the King, who
had seven children, and when he heard she was about to
visit his eldest daughter he brought from his treasuries
meat and drink and money and jewels and rarities which
beggar description. But the old woman again pre-
sented herself and said, "Thy sister, Queen Nur al-
Huda, biddeth thee clothe thy two sons in the coats of
mail she made for them and send them to her by me. "
And the Princess was troubled and said, "O mother, I
tremble when thou namest my children, for from the
time of their birth none hath looked on their faces,
neither Jinn, nor man, nor woman." And Shawahi
replied, "Dost thou fear for them from thy sister? In-
deed, the Queen would be wroth with thee if thou dis-
obeyed her. And, O my daughter, thou knowest my
tenderness and love for thee and thy children. I will
take them under my care, so be of cheerful heart and
send them her." So she equipped her little sons and
clad them in the coats of mail and delivered them to
the old woman, who took them and sped on her way like
a bird by another road than that the Princess would
travel. So she brought them into the Queen's presence,
who rejoiced greatly and embraced them, and seated
them, one on the right side and the other on the left.
Then she bid them summon Hasan. But Shawahi
said, "If I bring him wilt thou reunite him with his

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children? Or if they prove not his wilt thou pardon
him and restore him to his own country?" And the
Queen was furious and replied, "This shall never be;
no, never ; for if they be not his children I will slay him
and strike off his neck with my own hand." Upon
which the old woman fell down for fear, and Nur al-
Huda set upon her the Chamberlain and twenty Mame-
lukes, saying, "Go with this crone and fetch me the
youth who is in her house. " Thus they brought Hasan
into the Queen's presence, where he found his two sons,
Nasir and Mansur, sitting in her lap while she played
and made merry with them. And as soon as his eyes
fell on them he gave a great cry and fell down fainting
for excess of joy at the sight of them. And they also
knew him, and freed themselves from the Queen's lap
and put their arms round Hasan's neck and said to
him, ' ' O our father. ' ' And all present wept for pity and
tenderness. But Nur al-Huda was wroth beyond mea-
sure. And she cried out saying, "Arise, fly for thy life.
But that I swore no evil should betide thee if thy tale
proved true, I would slay thee with mine own hand."
So Hasan departed from her presence, and, giving him-
self up for lost, wept and repented of having come to
these lands.

But as regards his wife, Manar al-Sana, when she was
about to depart on her journey, the King, her father, sent
requesting that she would first visit him. So she rose
and repaired to his presence, when he said unto her, "O
my daughter, I have had a dream which maketh me fear

Hasan of Bassorah 171

that sorrow will betide thee where thou goest. " And
she replied, "What didst thou see in thy dream, O my
father ? " "I dreamed, ' ' said he, " that I entered a secret
hoard where was great store of moneys, jewels, jacinths,

THE KING AND MANAR AL-SANA

and other riches. But naught pleased me save seven
bezels, which were the finest things there. And I chose
the smallest of the seven, for it was the finest and most
lustrous. And as I came out at the door, a bird from a
far land, snatched it out of my hand and returned it
whence it came. At once on awaking I summoned the
interpreters and expounders of dreams, who said unto
me ... "Thou hast seven daughters, and wilt lose
the youngest, who will be taken from thee without thy
will. Now, my daughter, thou art my youngest and

i?2 The Book of Wonder Voyages

dearest, but I know not what may befall thee, so I
beseech thee leave me not, but return to the palace. "
But she feared for her children and replied, ' ' O King, my
sister hath made ready for me an entertainment and
awaiteth my coming; for these four years she hath not
seen me, if I go not she will be angry. Besides, no
stranger can gain access to the Islands of Wak, for he
would be drowned in the seas of destruction. " So she
ceased not to persuade him till he gave her leave to
depart, at the same time bidding her not remain longer
than two days.

And when she arrived at her sister's palace -the child-
ren ran to her weeping and crying, "O our father!"
And she kissed them and put her arms about them, say-
ing, "What! Have you seen your sire at this time?
Would the hour had never been in which I left him. If
I knew him to be in the house of the world I would carry
you to him. " And when her sister saw this she saluted
her not, but said, "Whence hadst thou these children?
Hast thou married unbeknown to thy sire ? Or are they
not legally thy children?" Then she bade her guards
seize her, and pinion her elbows and shackle her with
shackles of iron. And she beat her unmercifully and
hanged her up by the hair, after which she cast her in
prison and wrote the King, her father, acquainting him
with the whole of her case. Then she delivered the letter
to a courier and he carried it to the King, who, when he
read it, was exceedingly angry with his daughter Manar
and wrote to Nur al-Huda, saying, "I commit her case

Hasan of Bassorah 173

to thee, and give thee command over her life; if the
matter be as thou sayest kill her without consulting me."
And when the Queen had read her father's letter she
sent for Manar and made her stand in her presence
humiliated and abashed. And Nur al-Huda continued
to treat her sister cruelly, binding her with cords to a
ladder of wood and beating her with a palm stick and
with thongs till her charms were wasted for excess of
beating, nor would she hearken to her tears and piteous
cries for mercy. And when Shawahi saw this she wept
and cursed the Queen, for which she was seized and
beaten and turned out of the palace. But as for Hasan
he wandered lonely and sad by the riverside, albeit he
felt that deliverance from trouble was at hand and re-
union with those he loved.

Now as he walked he came upon two little boys, the
sons of sorcerers, who were quarreling about a rod of
copper graven with talismans, and a skull cap of leather
wrought in steel. And Hasan parted them, saying:
"What are you quarreling about?" And they replied:
"We are brothers-german, and our father was a mighty
magician. He died and left us this cap and rod. Now
my brother wants the rod, and so do I, but thou shalt
be the judge between us." "And what are their prop-
erties?" asked Hasan. And they replied: "The virtue
of the cap is that whoso setteth it on his head is con-
cealed from all men's eyes, nor can any see him while it
remains on his head. That of the rod is that whoso
owneth it hath authority over seven tribes of the Jinn,

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and when the possessor thereof smiteth therewith on the
ground their kings come to do him homage, and all the
Jinn are at his service. " Then Hasan said to the two
boys : " If ye would have me decide the case, I will take
a stone and throw it, and he who first catcheth the stone
shall have the rod, while the cap remaineth for the one
who f aileth. ' ' And they said : ' ' We consent and accept
this, thy proposal." Then Hasan threw a stone with all
his might, so that it disappeared from sight. The boys
ran after it, and when they were at a distance he donned
the cap to prove the truth of what they had said. When
they returned they found him not, and the rod and cap,
too, were both gone. And they began to abuse one
another and retrace their steps, but as for Hasan, he
entered the city wearing the cap and bearing the rod,
and none saw him. And he entered the lodging of
Shawahi and shook a shelf filled with glass and china
over her head. And seeing no one, she called out : " Huda
hath sent a Satan to torment me, and hath tricked me
this trick. ' ' Upon which Hasan replied : " I am no Satan,
but Hasan the afflicted." And he raised his cap from
his head, and appeared to the old woman. And she
told him all that had befallen his wife, and said: "The
Queen repenteth of having let thee go, and hath
sent one after thee, promising him gold and honor if he
bring thee back. " Then Hasan showed her the rod and
cap, whereat she rejoiced exceedingly, and said: "0 my
son, don the cap and take the rod in hand and enter
where thy wife and children are. Smite the earth with

HASAN REJOINS HIS WIFE

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the rod, saying: 'Be ye present, O servants of these
names ! ' Whereupon the servants of the rod will appear
and if there present himself one of the chiefs of the
tribes, command him whatso thou will. "

So he bade her farewell, and donning the cap and
taking the rod entered where his wife was. And his
heart ached for her, for he found her bound to the ladder
by her hair and almost lifeless. Then he took the cap
from his head, and the children saw him and cried out,
4 ' O our father ! ' ' And their mother asked them, ' ' What
remindeth you of your father at this time?" And she
thought of her married life with Hasan, and of all that
had befallen her since, so that she wept bitterly and her
tears ran down upon the ground. Then Hasan could
contain himself no longer, and took the cap from his
head so that his wife saw him and screamed a scream
that startled all in the palace, and said to him, "How
earnest thou hither? From the sky hast thou dropped?
Or through the earth hast thou come up ? " And Hasan
answered, "O lady of fair ones, I came not save to
deliver thee with this rod and this cap. " And he told
her what had befallen him with the two boys, but whilst
he spake the Queen came up and heard his speech,
whereupon Hasan donned his cap and was hidden from
sight. Then she said to the Princess, "O wanton,
who is there with whom thou wast talking?" And
Manar replied, "Who should talk with me except these
children?" Then the Queen beat her and loosed her
and carried her to another room, while Hasan followed

Hasan of Bassorah 177

unseen. And he waited patiently till night came on,
when he arose and went to her and loosing her kissed
her, saying : ' ' How long have we wearied for our mother-
land and for reunion here?" Then he took the elder
boy and she the younger, and they went forth from the
palace. And Allah veiled them with the veil of his
protection so that they came safe to the outer gate of the
Queen's Seraglio. But finding it locked they despaired
of escape, and his wife said, "There is no relief for us
but to kill ourselves and be at rest from this great and
weary travail." At this moment they heard a voice
from without the door say, ' ' O my Lady Manar al-Sana,
I will not open to thee and thy husband except ye obey
me in whatso I shall say to you. " And they were silent
for excess of fright ; when the voice spake again, saying :
"What aileth you both to be silent and answer me not ? "
And they knew the speaker to be the old woman, Sha-
wahi. So they said, "Whatsoever thou biddest us
we will do." And she replied, "I will not open until
ye both swear that ye will take me with you, so that
whatever bef aileth you shall befall me, for yonder
abominable woman treateth me with indignity and tor-
menteth me on your account." Now recognizing her
they trusted in her and sware an oath such as contented
her, whereupon she opened the door and they found her
riding on a Greek jar of red earthenware with a rope
of palm-fibers about its neck, which rolled under her
and ran faster than a Najdi colt, and she said to them,
"Follow me and fear naught, for I know forty modes of

1 78 The Book of Wonder Voyages

magic by the least of which I could make this city a
dashing sea, and ensorcel each damsel therein to a fish,
and all before dawn. " So Hasan and his wife rejoiced,
making sure of escape.

SHAW AH I ON THE JAR

And they walked on till they came without the city,
when Hasan smote the earth with the rod crying: "Ho,
ye servants of these names, appear to me and acquaint
me with your conditions. " Thereupon the earth clave
asunder and out came ten Ifrits, with their feet in the
earth, and their heads in the clouds. And they kissed
the earth three times and said, "Adsumus! Here are
we at thy service, O our lord and ruler over us ! What

Hasan of Bassorah 179

dost thou bid us do? If thou wilt we will dry thee up
seas and remove mountains from their places." So
Hasan rejoiced and said: "Who are ye, and what be
your names and your races, and to what tribes do ye
belong?" They replied: "We are seven Kings, each
ruling over seven tribes of the Jinn, and Satans and
Marids, flyers and divers, dwellers in mountains and
wastes and wolds and haunters of the seas ; so bid us do
whatso thou wilt, for whoso possesseth this rod hath
dominion over us." And Hasan rejoiced exceedingly,
as did his wife and the old woman. And he said: "I
would have you carry me forthwith to the city of Bag-
dad, me and my wife, and this honest woman. " And
they answered: "O our lord, we are of the covenant
of our lord, Solomon son of David, and he made us
sware that we would bear none of the sons of Adam
upon our backs. But we will harness the horses of the
Jinn and they shall carry thee and thy company to thy
country." "How far are we from Bagdad?" asked
Hasan. "Seven years' journey for a diligent horse-
man, " they replied. At this Hasan marveled and said:
"Then how came I hither in less than a year?" And
they replied: "Allah softened to thee the hearts of his
pious servants. " And he asked again, "When ye have
mounted me upon your steeds, in how many days will
they bring us to Bagdad?" They answered: "They
will carry you thither under the year, but not till ye
have endured terrible perils and hardships, and horrors,
and we cannot promise thee safety. "

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Then they struck the ground with their feet, where-
upon it opened, and they disappeared within, and were
absent awhile, after which they reappeared with three
horses, saddled and bridled, and on each saddlebow a
pair of saddlebags, with a leathern bottle of water in
one pocket and the other full of food. So Hasan
mounted one steed and took a child before him, whilst
his wife mounted a second and took the other child
before her, and the old woman bestrode the third. And
they rode on all through the night. And as they rode,
Hasan caught sight of a black object, which as he drew
nearer turned out to be an Ifrit, with a head like a huge
dome, tusks like grapnels, jaws like a lane, nostrils like
ewers, ears like leathern targes, a mouth like a cave,
teeth like pillars of stone, hands like winnowing forks,
and legs like masts; his head was in the clouds and his
feet in the earth he had plowed. And he said to Hasan,
"Fear not, I wish to accompany you and be your guide
till you leave the Wak Islands. Be of good cheer, for I
am a Moslem even as ye. " So they followed the Ifrit
and made merry, and Hasan told his wife all that had
befallen him while she related all she had seen and suf-
fered.

Thus they rode till the thirty-first day, when there
arose before them a dust-cloud that walled the world
and darkened the day. And the old woman said to
Hasan: "This is the army of the Wak Islands that hath
overtaken us; they will lay violent hands upon us.
Strike the earth with the rod. " And the seven Kings

Hasan of Bassorah 181

presented themselves, saying, "Fear not, neither grieve.
Ascend the mountain, thou and thy wife and children
and she who is with thee, and leave us to deal with
them. We know you are in the right and they in the
wrong. " So they dismissed their horses and ascended
the mountainside.

Now a great battle was fought wherein the seven
Kings of the Jinns and their armies defeated Queen
Nur al-Huda and her armies, slaying many and taking
her and the powerful men of her realm prisoner. And
on the morning after the battle the Jinn Kings set be-
fore Hasan an alabaster throne, inlaid with pearls and
jewels, and he sat down thereon. Also a throne of ivory
plated with glittering gold for his wife and the dame, and
there they judged Queen Nur al-Huda and alt the cap-
tives. And Hasan commanded that all the captives
were to be slain, and the old woman cried out: "Slay
all, and spare none. " But Princess Manar pleaded for
her sister Nur al-Huda and wept over her, so that
Hasan gave her into her hands, saying, "Do whatso
thou wilt. " Thereupon she bade them loose her sister
and all the captives, and she went up to her and em-
braced her, and they all made peace together after the
goodliest fashion. And Hasan dismissed his servants
of the rod, and thanked them for having helped him
against his foes.

And they passed the night together in converse, and
on the morrow bade one another farewell. And Sha-
wahi departed with Nur al-Huda to the left, while

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Hasan and his wife went to the right. And Hasan and
his wife rode till they came to a city surrounded with
trees and streams, and as they rested there they were
greeted by King Hassun, Lord of the Land of Camphor
and Castle of Crystal. And they rejoiced to meet one
another and Hasan told all that had befallen him.
Whereupon the King said: "O my son, none ever
reached the Islands of Wak and returned thence but thou ;
indeed thy case is wondrous. ' ' And Hasan with his wife
and children lodged in the guest house of the palace
three days, eating and drinking in mirth and merriment,
after which they sought the King's permission to depart.
And the King granted it and rode with them ten days,
after which he bade them farewell. And they journeyed
for a month, after which they came to the cavern with
the brass door, out of which the Shaykh Abu al-Ru-
waysh issued, and saluted Hasan, and gave him joy of
his safety. And when Hasan told him all that had be-
fallen him, the Shaykh replied, "O my son, but for this
rod and cap, thou hadst never delivered thy wife and
children." And as they talked together there came a
knocking at the door, and Abu al-Ruwaysh went and
found Abu al-Kaddus mounted on his elephant. And
he embraced Hasan and congratulated him on his safety.
And Hasan told him everything from first to last until
he came to the story of the rod and cap, when Abu
al-Kaddus said: "O my son, thou hast delivered wife
and children, and hast no further need of the two. Now
we were the means of thy getting to the Islands of Wak,

Hasan of Bassorah 183

and I have done thee kindness for the sake of my nieces,
therefore I beg thee give me the rod and Abu al-Ru-
waysh the cap." And Hasan hung down his head,
ashamed to say, "I will not give them you, " then in his
mind he thought of how good they had been to him, and
how if it had not been for them he would not have
received the rod and cap. So he raised his head and
answered: "Yes, I will give them you. But, O my
lords, I fear lest the Supreme King, my wife's father,
come to me in my own country to fight, and I be
unable to repel them for want of the rod and cap."
And they replied: "Fear not, we will continually succor
thee and keep watch and ward for thee, and whoso
shall come against thee from thy wife's father or any
other, we will send him from thee, therefore be of
good cheer, for no harm shall come to thee." And
the two elders rejoiced exceedingly and gave him riches
and treasures, beautiful beyond description. And
Hasan and his wife abode with them three days,
when they bade them farewell and departed for the
Land of the Princesses, to which Abu al-Kaddus,
mounted on a mighty big elephant, guided them by
a short cut and easy way. And as they drew near the
palace, the Princesses came forth to meet them, and
saluted them and their uncle, who said to them:
"Behold I have accomplished the need of this, your
brother Hasan, and have helped him to regain his wife
and children. " So they embraced him and gave him
joy of his health, and it was a day of feasting with

1 84 The Book of Wonder Voyages

them. And the youngest Princess wept bitterly as she
embraced Hasan, and told him how she had longed and
suffered for his return. And Hasan told all that had
happened on his journey from first to last, and said to
his youngest sister, "I shall never forget all thou hast
done for me from first to last."

And Hasan and his wife abode with the Princesses
ten days, feasting and merrymaking, at the end of
which time they prepared to continue their journey.
And his sisters made him presents of riches and rarities,
and bade him a loving farewell. And after journeying
two months and ten days they came to Bagdad, and
Hasan repaired to his home by the private gate and
knocked at the door.

Now his mother had not ceased to mourn him since
his departure, but shed tears night and day, and for lack
of food and sleep had fallen ill. And she heard her
son's voice, saying, "O mother, mother, Fortune hath
been kind and hath vouchsafed our reunion. " Where-
upon she went to the door between belief and misbelief,
and when she saw him and his wife and children she
cried aloud for excess of joy, and fell to the earth in a
fainting fit. And when she had recovered and he had
comforted her, he related all his adventures from begin-
ning to end. And they passed the night in all pleasure
and happiness, and on the morrow Hasan donned rich
apparel and went to the bazaar and bought black slaves
and slave girls, rich stuffs and ornaments and furniture,
carpets and costly vessels, and all manner of precious

Hasan of Bassorah 185

things. Moreover, he purchased houses and gardens
and estates, and abode with his wife and children and
mother in all joy and happiness till the Destroyer of
delights and the Severer of societies knocked at their
door.

The Journeyings of Thorkill and
of Eric the Far-Traveled

ONCE there was a King who reigned at Drontheim
in Norroway. He was named Thrond, and he
had a son, Eric, young and handsome and goodly
to see. Now it happed at one Yule-Tide there was
among the guests a certain Thorkill, a swart and
sturdy man that seemed a seafarer and one accustomed
to lead men. When the cups had been drunk out and
the time for telling of tales had come, Thrond called
upon this Thorkill to say his say first of all men. And
he spake thus. . . .

Thorkill's Story of how he Fared to the Glittering
Plain and to the Halls of Geirrod

"If I have aught, Sir King, that can appear new to
you or please your ears, it is what I passed through in
my search for Geirrod's Home. For from the days of
my youth onward I had heard of the mighty stores of
treasure piled up in that land. Yet was the way thither
full of terrors and dangers, and few of mortal men had
reached it, and still fewer come back from it. For
Geirrod's Home, they said, was beyond ocean that lies
1 86

Journeyings of Thorkill and Eric 187

about all land. It was beyond the ken of sun and stars,
far out in the Realm of Darkness.

' ' Now from the time I had first heard of this, I had a
desire to try and reach that land. It was not for the
sake of the booty that could be gained, but I hoped for
the glory that would come from achieving a task hitherto
untried by men. So I went to King Gorm and told
him of the land and of my desire to reach it, and asked
his help to fit out an expedition. ' Who will go with
Thorkill?' asked King Gorm in the Council, and three
hundred brave men and true said they would go with me,
and foremost among them was the King himself and
his trusty archers, Broder and Buchi. Three long
ships were built for them, each with fifty banks of oars.
Strongly were they made, as I advised, fitted with many
knotted cords and with nails close set. And above, they
were covered with ox hides sewn together, so that pro-
visions might be kept dry from the salt spray. And so
we set sail towards the open sea.

"Now when we came to Halogaland the northern
breeze died out, and we passed to and fro on the waves
for many days out of sight of land. Soon even our bread
gave out, and all we had to keep ourselves alive was a
little pottage. At last we heard far off a noise as of
waves beating against the rocks with a sound like thun-
der. We sent a boy of great nimbleness aloft to the
masthead to look out, and he called down to us that he
could see walls rising out of the sea as if of a fortress.
Then we cheered all, and turned the prows of the ships

1 88 The Book of Wonder Voyages

where he pointed, and gazed with thirsty eyes upon the
land as we neared it. And when we came close we had
to search for many hours before we could find an open-
ing in the walls of the island. At last we saw a steep
path that led up to the heights, and anchoring our ships
we all began to climb the path till we came out upon the
higher ground above. There we found herds of cattle
roaming about, and my men were eager to kill them for
food. But I said, 'Nay, be wary; no men are here, and
these may, perchance, be sacred to some of the gods: if,
therefore, we slay the beasts wantonly we shall rouse the
anger of the gods and they will not let us depart. Take,
therefore, no more of these beasts than will be sufficient
to appease our hunger, and then we must depart.' But
my men were more eager to fill their bellies than to obey
orders, especially when they found the cattle easy to
capture, since they were unaccustomed to sight of men
and came up to us without fear. So they slew and slew
till enough had been slaughtered to fill the holds again
with carcasses of meat. But next night we heard a
mighty clamor; huge monsters dashed down upon the
shore and beset our ships, and one of them, huger than
the rest, strode over the waters armed with a mighty
club, and running close up to us, bellowed out: 'You
shall never sail away till you have atoned for the crime
you have committed in slaughtering the flock of the
gods, and unless you make good the loss of the herds by
giving up one man from each of your ships.' Then I
reminded the men that I had warned them against their

Journeyings of Thorkill and Eric 189

folly, and said, 'It is all our own fault. Better lose three
than three hundred; let us cast lots for the three and so
escape in safety.' The men agreed to this; and having
cast lots threw into the sea the men upon whom the lots
had fallen, and these were seized upon by the monsters,
who went again up the path, shouting in triumph but
leaving us in peace.

"After this, the wind being favorable, we sailed to
further Permland. It is a land that is always cold, and
is covered with deep snow which even the summer heat
cannot melt. It is full of pathless forests; wheat, bar-
ley, oats, and such-like grain are but rarely seen, while
strange beasts, seldom found elsewhere, wander hither
and thither. The channels of the rivers are covered
with reefs, which causes the water to flow as a hissing,
foaming flood. Here we brought our ships ashore, and I
bade my men pitch their tents on the beach, for we were
now within but short distance of Geirrod's Home.
'Speak to no one whom ye may meet,' I said to them,
'for nothing makes these monsters so angry as to have
strangers say uncivil words to them. It will, therefore,
be better if you keep silent and let me speak, as I alone
know the customs and manners of this people. ' Now at
twilight time a man of tremendous size came towards us,
greeting the sailors by their names. My men were
terrified, but I told them to be of good cheer and wel-
come him warmly, as he was Gudmund, Lord of the
Glittering Plain, brother of Geirrod and the protector in
all dangers of men who landed in this place. And when

190 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Gudmund asked why no man answered his greeting, I
replied that they did not know his language, or at least
but little of it, and so were ashamed of saying anything
before him. Then Gudmund invited us to be his guests,
and took us away with him in chariots. As we went
forward we saw a river and across it a golden bridge.
This delighted us so that we wanted to cross it. But
Gudmund would not let us. 'By this river,' said he,
'the world of men is divided from the world of monsters.
No mortal man may cross the Golden Bridge to enter
that other world.' Now by this time we had reached
the Big Man's dwelling, but before entering I took my
men apart, and warned them to behave like men of good
counsel amidst the divers temptations chance might
throw in their way. I bid them abstain from the
Stranger's food, and partake only of their own. Also
to sit apart from the people of that land, and have no-
thing to do with them at their banquets. I told them
further, that if they ate of the Stranger's food they
would forget everything they had ever known, their
homes, their wives and children, all the good and beauti-
ful things they had ever seen or heard or felt, and would
henceforth lead mean wretched lives among these terri-
ble monsters.

"The magnificent hall of Gudmund 's palace was
thronged with guests, and the tables were covered with
delicate meats and costly wines. Twelve tall, hand-
some sons had he, and as many daughters of surpassing
beauty. And he led us to our seats and bade his serv-

Journeyings of Thorkill and Eric 191

ants bring us of the best. But when he saw that I
barely tasted the food, he was hurt, and reproached me,
saying that such behavior was discourteous and ill-
bred. But I had my answer ready, and said: 'It often
makes men ill to eat food they are not used to; I am far
from being ungrateful for your kindness, but am merely
taking care of my health by eating my own food to
which I am acpustomed. You must not be hurt or
consider me wanting in courtesy if I act thus for the
sake of my own health.' Now, when Gudmund saw
that his wicked designs were foiled, and that he could
neither make his guests drink his wines nor eat his
dainty food, he determined to try and persuade them
to take the women of his household as wives. So he
offered the King his daughter in marriage, and promised
that each of my' men should marry the woman in the
house he liked best. Many of my men inclined to ac-
cept his offer, but I, happily, by my advice prevented
them from giving way to the temptation. Very care-
fully did I observe my host, lest he should have any
suspicions about us, and with equal care I watched over
my men lest they should taste the dangerous pleasures
he offered them. Four of the Danes, who loved eating
and drinking and riches more than anything on earth or
in heaven, accepted the wine and the food, and the
women of the household as wives. But the pleasures
maddened them, and they went out of their minds, and
no longer remembered anything or anyone whom they
had ever known, and utterly forgot their homes, their

i92 The Book of Wonder Voyages

own country, and their past lives. Had they controlled
themselves they would have equaled the fame of
Hercules, become braver than giants, and great and
noble servants of their country. But Gudmund, still
intent on having his wicked way, went on to praise the
beauties and delights of his garden, and did all he could
to lure the King thither to eat of its fruit. But I privily
begged him not to yield, so he excused himself to his host
by saying that he must hasten on his journey. Then
Gudmund perceived that I knew his intent, so finding he
could not work his will, he took us all to the other side
of the river and left us to finish our journey.

"And as we went on, we saw a little way off a gloomy,
desolate, neglected town; indeed, it hardly looked like a
town, but more like a big black cloud sending forth fog
and mist. Around the battlements were stakes, and
upon these severed heads of warriors ; moreover, we saw
fierce dogs watching before the doors to guard the
entrance. To still their rage I threw them a horn
smeared with fat to lick. The gates to this strange city
were built on high, so that we had to climb to them with
ladders, and even then we found it difficult of access.
Inside, the town was crowded with murky and mis-
shapen phantoms, and it was hard to say whether their
shrieking forms were more ghastly to the eye or to the
ear. All was foul, and the smell of the loathsome mud
was unbearable. Then we found the rocky dwelling
which, it was said, Geirrod lived in for his palace. A
narrow and horrible rift led inward, but at the very

Journeyings of Thorkill and Eric 193

threshold my men stopped in a sort of panic. Seeing
they were uncertain what to do, I strove to banish
their hesitation by encouraging them to play the man,
advising them to keep a strict watch over themselves,
lest they be tempted to touch anything in the house
they were about to enter, of whatsoever kind it might
be, and however delightful or pleasant to look at.
Further, I bade them be neither covetous nor fearful;
neither desire what was pleasant nor dread what was
awful to look upon, though the place might be filled with
both that which was delightful and that which was terri-
ble. 'For if you put out your hands to take,' said I,
'they will suddenly become bound fast, and you will be
unable to tear them away from the thing you have
touched, and they will become knotted up with it, as
by bonds that no power on earth may untie.' Then I
bade them enter in order, four at a time. Broder and
Buchi first tried to go in, the King and I followed them,
and the others came behind us in ordered ranks. In-
side, the house was but a ruin, desolate, and filled with
a strong and horrible reek. It seemed to teem with
everything that could disgust the eye or mind ; the door-
posts were begrimed with the soot of ages, the walls were
plastered with dirt, the roof was one mass of spearheads,
numberless snakes crawled along the floor. Such an
unwonted sight struck terror into us, and the smell that
rilled the palace assailed our very brains. Bloodless
phantasmal monsters huddled on the iron seats, and
on the thresholds hideous doorkeepers stood at watch.

194 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Some of these, armed with clubs lashed together, yelled,
while others played a gruesome game, tossing a goat's
hide from one to the other. Here I again warned my
men, and forbade them attempt to touch or take any-
thing. As we went on through the breach in the crag,
we saw an old man with his body pierced through,
sitting a little way off on a high seat facing that side of
the rock which had been broken away. There, too,
were three women, whose bodies were covered with
wounds, and who seemed to have lost the strength of
their backbones. My men wanted to know why all this
had happened, so I told them how long, long ago the
god Thor had been wroth with the giants, among whom
was Geirrod, who had fought with him. So he had
hurled a right hot iron at the giant, piercing him, and
breaking an issue through the mountain's side. The
women, terrified at all this, had tried to take their re-
venge on the god, who broke their bodies by way of
punishment. As my men were leaving the palace,
they saw seven big barrels hooped round with golden
belts, from which hung large silver rings, fastened to
them by means of many links. Near these was the tusk
of a strange beast, tipped at both ends with gold.
Close by lay a large and beautifully chased stag-horn,
decorated with costly gems that sent forth flashes of
glittering light, while beside it was a heavy gold brace-
let covered with rubies that seemed to send forth show-
ers of red flame. One man longed with all his heart
and soul for this bracelet and laid his hands upon

Journeyings of Thorkill and Eric 195

it to take it, for he knew not that the brilliant metal
could do him deadly harm and was full of a poison which
would cause his death. A second man, unable to control
his longing, stretched out his trembling hand towards

THORKILL AND THE SERPENT

the horn, while a third made his way towards the tusk.
All these things were lovely to look upon, and it seemed
as if the possession of them would add to one's happiness.
But when the first man laid his hands upon the bracelet
it turned into a snake, and pierced his flesh with its
poisonous tooth; as the second clutched the horn with
his trembling fingers, it lengthened out into a serpent
and killed him before he could lift it from the ground;
while the tusk turned into a sword and plunged itself
into the man who ventured to carry it away. The other
men were so terrified at all this that they were in con-
stant fear lest they too should suffer death because of

196 The Book of Wonder Voyages

the covetousness of their comrades. Then we came to
another room, in which lay a still richer treasure and
arms too great and too massive for men of this earth to
bear. There, too, was a king's mantle, embroidered
with rich and brilliant silks which shone like the colors
of the rainbow, a hat adorned with the many-colored
feathers of some rare bird, and a marvelously wrought
belt intertwined with chains of the most costly jewels.
Now, the longing to possess these wonderful things
seemed to shake my being to its very center. I, who
had so often counseled others, could not, to save my
life, master my own desires. So, with no other thought
than that of longing to possess, I laid my hand upon
the mantle, while my men followed my example and took
all that came in their way. Then, all of a sudden, the
place began to shake as if with an earthquake, and to
reel and totter to and fro. Immediately the women
shrieked out that the wicked robbers were staying too
long. And those hideous beings which had looked like
phantoms, vseemed to obey the women's cries, for they
all at once leaped from their seats and began to attack
us furiously. The other creatures bellowed hoarsely.
Broder and Buchi attacked the witches, who ran at
them, with a shower of spears from every side, while
they crushed the monsters with the missiles from
their bows and slings. There could be no more manful
or successful way of repulsing them, yet only twenty
of all the king's company were rescued, the rest being
torn to pieces by the monsters. The survivors returned

Journey ings of Thorkill and Eric 197

to the river, over which they were ferried by Gudmund,
who invited them to his house. But he could not per-
suade them to remain long with him, although he did all
in his power to make them change their minds. So at
last he gave them presents and let them go. But Buchi,
during his stay, lost his self-control and fell in love with
one of Gudmund's daughters. Yet, after she had be-
come his bride he regretted it deeply, for his brain
began to whirl, and he lost his remembrance of all things
which had ever happened. Thus, the hero who had
overcome monsters and braved perils by land and water,
was conquered by his passion for one girl. He set off
to accompany the king and us, but as he was about to
cross the river in his chariot, the wheels sank deep, he
was caught up by the current of the river and de-
stroyed. The king sorrowed for him and hastened on
his voyage. At first our journey was prosperous, but
when the weather changed we were tossed about on the
waves, while the winds blew and the storm raged heavily,
and our men perished of hunger. Then we prayed the
gods to help us, but the king offered vows and peace-
offerings to Utgarda-Loki, who sent the sunshine and
calm for which he asked, and the tempest ceased and
the winds were still.

"Now, after all these storms and toils, King Gorm felt
that it was time he should rest from his labors. So he
took a Swedish lady for his queen and spent his time in
reading and meditation instead of following those pur-
suits to which all his life he had been accustomed. And

i98 The Book of Wonder Voyages

his days were prolonged in peace and quietness. To-
wards the end thereof, some learned men told him that
after death, that is the death of the body, the soul lived
on, and went to dwell in some other land. And he
thought deeply about all this, and was continually
wondering where his soul would go when his body died.

"Now, at this time certain men who wished me ill
came and told Gorm that he should ask the gods about
such matters, as they were questions too difficult for
human minds to answer, and too hard for mortals to
find out. And to do this they said that Utgarda-Loki
must be appeased, and that none could appease him
better than I. Others spoke evil about me and de-
clared I was guilty of treachery and wished to take the
king's life. So, seeing that I was obliged to suffer in
some way, I asked that my accusers should accompany
me on my journey. And when they saw that the dan-
gers they had put in my way had fallen upon them
they were exceedingly afraid and tried to alter their
plans. But the king would not listen to them, accused
them of being cowardly, and forced them to sail with
me. It is often, indeed, so, that when one wishes to do
another a wrong, the evil one would do falls upon one-
self. When the men saw they were obliged to obey the
king, and could not in any way get out of it, they cov-
ered their ship with ox hides and filled it with provisions.

"In this ship we all sailed away till we came to a land
where there was no sun, no stars, no daylight, and over
which hung a black cloud that made it like one dark,

Journeyings of Thorkill and Eric 199

long night. For a long, long while we sailed under this
strange sky, till at last our wood fell short and we were
unable to light any fires. So having no place to cook
our food we staved off our hunger with raw meat. But
those of us who ate of it fell ill, for we could not digest
such food. Thus we were in terrible straits; for when
we took of the uncooked food it brought on sickness and
disease, and if we ate nothing we could but starve.
Just as we were about to despair, a gleam of help shone
for us in the distance, even as the string breaks most
easily when it is stretched tightest, and the daylight
begins to break when the night is at its darkest. For
we saw the twinkle of a fire a little way off, and we still
hoped that our lives might be spared. As for me, I
thought that heaven had sent the fire, and made up my
mind to go and take some of it. To be surer of getting
back to my friends I fastened a jewel on the masthead
to enable me easily to recognize my ship. On landing,
my eyes fell on a cavern scooped out of the rocks, and
which one reached by a narrow path. Telling my men
to wait outside, I went in and there saw two swart, very
huge men with long horny noses throwing any fuel they
could find on their fire. The entrance to this cavern
was hideous in the extreme; the doorposts, falling from
decay, the walls grimy with mold, the roof dirty, and
snakes crawled along the floor. All this disgusted the
eye as well as the mind. One of the giants greeted me,
and I said I had begun a most difficult quest, fain as I
was to visit a strange god and to explore a region that

200 The Book of Wonder Voyages

lay beyond the world, and upon which the foot of man
had never trod. Then he promised to tell me the
different paths I must take for my journey if I would
make three true judgments in the form of sayings. So I

THE HORN-SNOUTED GIANTS

replied; 'Truly, I do not think I have ever visited a
household full of so many uncomely noses; nor have I
ever come to any other place where I had less mind to
live.' My second remark was: 'It is, I think, my best
foot which can get out of this foremost.' The giant was
delighted with my shrewdness and praised the truth of
my sayings. And he told me that I must first travel to
a land where the grass never grew, and upon which no
light ever shone. The lightless and grassless land, he
called it. But to reach this land I must row across

Journeyings of Thorkill and Eric 201

water for four days. In this grim country I might visit
Utgarda-Loki, whose filthy dwelling-place was a hideous
and grisly cave. I was terrified at being told to take
such a long and dangerous journey, but the wretched-
ness of my present condition was uppermost in my
mind, and I asked him if he could give us some firing.
'If thou needest fire, ' said he, 'thou must make three
more witty remarks.' To which I replied : 'Good advice
is to be followed, even though a mean fellow give it.'
Likewise: 'I have gone so far in rashness, that if I can
get back I shall owe my safety to no one but my own
legs.' And again : 'If I could go away at this moment I
would take good care never to come back.'

"And the giant was pleased with my sayings and
gave me some fire, which I took back to my comrades;
he also sent us a favorable wind, so that on the fourth
day we reached the place for which we were bound. It
was a land of everlasting night, unbroken by the happy
change of light and darkness. So black and thick was
the gloom that we could hardly see before us, though
we managed to make out a huge towering rock. As I
wished to explore it I told my men to strike a fire from
flints as a safeguard against demons, ghosts, and goblins,
and to place it in the entrance. I bade the others bear
a light before me as I entered the narrow passage of the
cavern. So narrow and small was the entrance that I
had to stoop low down to crawl in. There I beheld a
number of iron seats, among which glided a swarm of
serpents. Next I beheld a mass of sluggish water that

202 The Book of Wonder Voyages

flowed gently over a stretch of sand. This water we
crossed, and came to a cavern yet steeper than the first.
Then we entered a dim, gloomy room, where lay Utgar-
da-Loki, bound hand and foot with enormous chains.
Every hair of his head was as large and stiff as an iron
spear, indeed, his hair looked like a mass of spears.
These spears grew on his face in the form of a beard as
well as on his head, and I, in order to win yet greater
renown, plucked one from his chin, my comrades helping
me. Straightway a most noisome smell overcame us so
that we could scarce breathe and had to bury our noses
in our mantles. We could hardly make our way out, for
the snakes crowded round about us, crawled on us, clung
to us, twisted round us, and seemed to be doing their
best to hinder our departure.

"So horrible was all this, that only five of my men
embarked with me; the rest were killed by the poison.
The demons followed them and threw their poison at
them. The sailors covered themselves with their hides
and threw the venom back. One man, wishing to peep
out of the hide, was touched by the poison, and his head
was taken off as if it had been severed by a sword.
Another who looked out of his hide was blinded by the
poison which touched his eyes. Another had his arm
withered as he thrust it out while unfolding the hide.
We besought our gods to be kinder to us, but they took
no notice, until I prayed to the Great God of the world,
who sent us a clear sky and a peaceful voyage.

"Then we came to another world, the world of living

Journeyings of Thorkill and Eric 203

men. For we landed in a country where the people
loved and worshiped God. But as for my poor men,
they were all but dead, because of the fearful air they
had breathed; and I returned to my own country with
but two who had escaped these perils. Yet even I was
not free from the taint of all we had gone through, for
the uncleanly matter that was still on my face so dis-
guised me, and so altered the very shape of my features,
that even my most intimate friends did not know me.
When I had removed it I was again recognized, and the
king was most anxious to hear all that had befallen me.
But my enemies still cherished unkindly feelings against
me, and even pretended that the king would die sud-
denly if I told him what had happened to me. The king,
too, was inclined to believe them because of a dream he
had had, in which it had been falsely told him that such
an event would come to pass. And so, for this reason,
men were hired by the king to kill me in the night.
Now, I was not supposed to know of this wicked intent ;
nevertheless, I got wind of it, and thus, unknown to all,
I slept not in my bed that night, but placed a big log of
wood therein. So the men who had come to kill me
plunged their swords into a mass of timber. On the
morrow I went to the king as he sat at meat, and said :
'I forgive thy cruelty and pardon thy sin, in that thou
hast rewarded with punishment and not with thanks
him who brought thee good tidings of his journey.
For thy sake I willingly endured all these trials, and
wore myself out in all these perils. I hoped thou

204 The Book of Wonder Voyages

wouldst reward my services with gratitude, and behold,
I found thou didst but punish me for my bravery, thou
more than all others. But I withhold all vengeance,
and content myself with knowing that down in thy
heart thou art bitterly ashamed of thyself — that is, if
the ungrateful are ever ashamed of themselves — and
art thus punished for thy wrong-doing towards me. I
hesitate not to say that thou art worse than all demons
in fury, and all beasts in cruelty, if, after having escaped
the snares of all these monsters, I have failed to be safe
from thine.'

"Now the king wished to hear everything from my
own lips, and bade me tell him all that had happened,
right from the very beginning. He listened eagerly to
everything, but could not endure to have his own god
unfavorably spoken of. So terribly did it distress him
to hear Utgarda-Loki reproached because of his un-
cleanly surroundings, and so indignant was he to hear of
the god's misfortunes that he fell down dead then and
there even as I proceeded with my tale. Thus while he
was so zealous in the worship of a false god, he came to
the gates of the true prison of sorrows. And many of
the bystanders died from the effects of the hair I had
plucked from the Giant's beard by way of gaining
renown."

All men wondered at the marvels told by Thorkill the
Stranger, and many said that even greater marvels were
to be seen in Odainsakr, the Land of the Undying; none

Journeyings of Thorkill and Eric 205

of the heroes in their time had dared to seek this, they
said, but Eric the Thrond sprang up and said with a
mighty oath he would travel south over the world until
he discovered Odainsakr, the Land of the Undying.
" Who will go with me?" he cried. And eleven of the
king's nobles swore the same vow as he. And when
spring came he sailed south with them to the Court of
Denmark. Now the Danish king's son was also named
Eric, and the two young men became close friends, for
they were like one another in character. And in the
springtime Eric the Dane accompanied his friend to
the realm of Gardar and thence to Micklegarth, where
the Emperor of Greece holds sway, and they took with
them four-and-twenty men, great, tall, strong fellows,
famed for valor and hardihood and skill in fighting.

At that time the Emperor of Greece was gathering
an army to war against his foes, and he invited the
two Erics to join him. He entertained them with all
honors, and through an interpreter asked who they
were, whence they had come, and what was the purpose
of their journey. When he was told that they came
from the North, and that their purpose was to see the
wide world, he treated them with great kindness and
courtesy, and they on their part were of much service to
him in his enterprise. And when the Emperor saw that
each Northman surpassed two or three Greeks in fight-
ing, and that they were men who might thoroughly be
trusted, he gave to them more gold than to his other
men and made them his beloved liegemen. And they

206 The Book of Wonder Voyages

were the first Northmen who rose to honor among the
Greeks.

Now one day Eric the Thrond asked the Emperor,
"O Emperor, tell me if you know how far the earth
extends?"

And the Emperor made answer: "You ask about
things that it is useless to know. I will, however, tell
you. It is one hundred and eighty thousand millions of
miles round. It is not held in its place by pillars; God
holds it firm."

"How far is it," asked Eric, "from heaven to earth?"

"One hundred and eighty-five thousand miles."

"What is there round about the earth?"

"The great sea, which is called the ocean."

"Which land is furthest from us in the southern half
of the world?"

"We consider India the end of the earth on the south-
ern side."

"Where is Odainsakr, of which we have heard tell
in our country?"

"It lies in the East, not far from India. We call it
Paradise. Northmen call it the 'Land of Living Men.'
That, I believe, is the Odainsakr you mean. "

"Is it possible to reach it?"

" Most certainly not, for it is surrounded by a wall of
fire which stretches from the floor of earth to the ceiling
of heaven."

Now when the Emperor had answered these and
many other questions, Eric fell at his feet, and said: "I

Journeyings of Thorkill and Eric 207

believe, O best and wisest Emperor, that for your own
honor's sake you will help me on the journey for which
I am bound in order to fulfil my vow. I am in search of
Odainsakr, but I shall never reach it unless you help
me."

"Stay with me for the next three years," replied the
Emperor, "you and Eric the Dane, then you shall pro-
ceed on your journey. It will do you good to stay.
After that time I will help you."

And the two promised they would stay.

Afterwards Eric the Thrond asked the Emperor about
the different countries he would pass through, the
manners and customs of the inhabitants, the seas and
rivers. He also asked about the Eastern and Southern
parts of the world, the forests, the islands, the deserts;
the ways of the different people; the huge serpents,
beasts, and birds ; the quantity of gold, jewels, and pre-
cious stones to be found. And to all his questions the
Emperor gave wise, kind, clever answers.

Now when Eric's three years' stay with the Emperor
had come to an end, and when he had gained from his
sovereign much knowledge about many things, he set off
with a company of men for the Land of Syria. And the
Emperor of Greece gave him letters sealed with his own
seal that the monarchs of other lands might read and
welcome and hospitably entertain him. And from
Syria he sailed with stranger men on their way east-
wards. From there he continued his journey, some-
times on horseback, oftener on foot, until he and his

208 The Book of Wonder Voyages

men came to India. The great chiefs of the foreign
lands he visited gave him a kindly welcome. Every
one helped him on his way, and all to whom he showed
the letters of the Greek Emperor received him courte-
ously and were hospitable. No one cheated them, nor
did any do them harm.

When they had passed beyond the confines of India,
a journey lasting more than forty-five days, they came
to lands where it was ever dark, and where the stars
alone shone through the livelong day. Here they saw a
golden rock and many other marvelous things. And
when they had wandered for many days over forests and
lofty mountains, questioning one another as to which
way they should go, they came to a river called Pison,
which flows from the Land of Paradise. Over the river
and high above them was a stone bridge, across which
lay a marvelous huge dragon, which terrified them by
its wide-open mouth, that seemed gaping to devour
them. Beyond this they saw a land from whence the
breeze wafted the most exquisite scents. They could
see that it was full of flowers of all kinds and of honey
in abundance. And it seemed to them that they had
reached the borders of the land they sought.

Then Eric the Thrond went towards the bridge to pass
over the river, but Eric the Dane forbade him, saying :

1 ' Beware ! Do not go near. See, the dragon is ready
to swallow you. "

But Eric the Thrond answered: "I do not fear the
dragon, and he shall not hinder my journey. "

Journeyings of Thorkill and Eric 209

"I beg you, dearest of friends," said Eric the Dane,
"do not give yourself to death. Turn back: if you go
any farther you will surely be killed."

But Eric the Thrond would not listen, and deter-
mined to go onward. So the two Erics bade one another
farewell, and parted.

Eric the Thrond now drew his sword, and holding it
in his right hand, took one of his companions by the left
hand. Thus the two men went forwards towards the
dragon's mouth. And as Eric the Dane looked on, it
seemed to him that the dragon at once swallowed the
two men up. But it did not really happen so, for as
Eric the Thrond and his companion rushed into the
dragon's mouth they found themselves journeying
onwards in the midst of great darkness. But Eric the
Dane turned away and began his journey home. After
many years he reached his native land, where he told
of the fate of Eric the Thrond to all who asked him
about it, how he had been swallowed up by a dragon in
trying to cross the Golden Bridge that led to the Land
of Paradise. And there is nothing further told of Eric
the Dane.

Now, when Eric the Thrond had passed out of the
darkness, he found himself in a land of glorious delight,
where every herb was beautiful and covered with
flowers, and where streams of honey flowed through
every field. It was a low country, flat like a plain; not
a mountain was to be seen, nor even a hill. It was lit
up by perpetual sunshine, and there was neither cloud,

210 The Book of Wonder Voyages

nor night, nor darkness. A perfect calm seemed to
touch all things; only when the breeze stirred lightly did
the scents of the flowers seem stronger than before.
And Eric and his companion walked over the fields for a
long way to see if they could find any house or building,
and to learn how far the land extended. At last they
saw what seemed like a hood-shaped building hanging
in the air, and they turned to examine it. As they
approached they saw that it was a tower unsupported
by any pillars, while to the south of it a high ladder
was fixed. As they came quite close they wondered
greatly as to how the ladder could be supported against
a tower hanging in the air. Then they climbed the
ladder, which led them to a room all hung round with
rich curtains. Inside was a silver table, upon which lay
exceeding white bread of a delicious fragrance. Upon
a golden plate were placed all kinds of meats and deli-
cious fruits. There were, too, a tankard adorned with
precious stones, and a golden goblet, both filled with a
delightful drink. Beds covered with costly velvet might
be seen in another part of the room. And they mar-
veled greatly at all these wonderful things.

"Behold," said Eric, "here is Odainsakr, the land I
have sought for many years with great toil and diffi-
culty. "

And they praised God, saying: "Great is Almighty
God, and glorious in all things; for He hath helped us
to discover this land. " Then they ate and drank and
lay down to sleep.

Journeyings of Thorkill and Eric 211

And as Eric slept there appeared to him a young man
clothed in white, who thus addressed him: "Great is
your faith, Eric, for you have shown it by persevering
in your search. Tell me how the land pleases you."

"It is all I could wish," he replied, "and better than
any other land. But tell me, who are you? Your
knowledge must be greater than mine, for you are
acquainted with my name, while I know you not. "

And the young man smiled upon him, and said: "I
am an angel, one of those who watch over Paradise. I
was standing by you when you made the solemn vow to
travel south over the world. By God's command I made
you think of sailing to Micklegarth, where, through me,
you believed the truth and were baptized. It was a
blessed thing that you listened to the Greek Emperor's
advice, received his letters, and afterwards bathed in
the Jordan. God made me your guardian angel, and I
have taken care of you on land and sea and through
every danger of your journey. I have kept you from
all evil. Many things happen according to God's will
that men cannot understand, but we are spirits of the
heavenly country. The beautiful land you have seen
is but a bare desert compared with Paradise, where the
first created humans live, and the souls of the patriarchs
and prophets. It is but a little way from here, and the
river you crossed flows from it. Before you came here,
God told us to water it and make the flowers bloom, so
that in it you might see a land somewhat like Paradise,
wherein you might rest and be rewarded after your toil. "

212 The Book of Wonder Voyages

" Where do you live? " asked Eric of the angel.

"In the heavens, where we look upon God, who is a
spirit. We are often sent into the world in time of need
to help men, as I have been sent to you. "

"How is this building kept up? It seems to me to
be hanging in the air. "

"God holds it. By this you may believe that God
created all things from nothing."

Then the angel asked Eric: "Do you wish to stay
here, or to return to your own country?"

"I would rather return. "

' ' Why do you wish to go back to your own wretched
native land?"

"That I may tell my friends about my journey and
all the wonderful things I have seen and heard. If
I do not return they will think I have died an evil
death."

Then the angel said: "Though the people in your
land still worship idols, and though the time has not yet
come when they shall leave their idols and return to
God, yet it will come, and God in His mercy shall free
them. You may return to tell of God's greatness,
which you have seen in Eastern lands. Perhaps they
will be more ready to believe in God when they hear
what you have to say. Ten years after you reach home
I will visit you, as I visited Habakkuk and Daniel,
whom I took over many lands. I will then bring you to
this place, chosen of God, that your bones may be
guarded here till the Judgment-Day. Remain here for

Journey ings of Thorkill and Eric 213

seven days, then take with you food for your journey,
and return to the North. "

In the morning, when Eric awoke, he thanked God,
and did all the angel had told him. We do not know
anything about his return North, until four years after-
wards, when he reached Micklegarth, and gave an
account of his journey to the Greek Emperor.

"God has protected you wonderfully," said the
Emperor, "and shown you His secret things — a sight
you cannot repay."

Eric stayed two years with the Emperor, and in the
seventh of his homeward travel he came to Thrond-
heim, where he dwelt ten years. And at the dawn of
day, when the ten years had come to an end, as Eric was
kneeling down to pray, God took him, and he was seen
no more on earth.

So ends the Saga of Eric the Far-Traveled.

NOTES

WONDER VOYAGES are found in the earliest of all litera-
tures— the Egyptian. In a papyrus at the Hermitage
collection at Petrograd there is an account of a ship-
wrecked sailor who visited an isle which was inhabited by
huge serpents big enough to carry the sailor in his mouth.
This has been given by M. Maspero in his Conies populaires de
VEgypte ancienne, Paris, 1882; and by Prof. Flinders Petrie
in the first series of his Egyptian Tales, pp. 81-96. The Odys-
sey itself may be regarded as the grandest specimen of this
genre of literature, which is even represented among the
books of the Bible by the story of Jonah. Among the
Jatakas again there are one or two which would seem to
show that the Indian imagination also took its flight among
islands that never were on sea. The Wonder Voyage had
become a convention of Greek Literature by the time that
Lucian adopted it as the work of his satirical Vera Historia,
which itself became the type of a whole series of philosophic
Wonder Voyages which culminated in Cyrano de Bergerac's
Histoire Comique de la Lune, and Swift's Gulliver. These in
their turn were parodied by the redoubtable Baron Mun-
chausen. Mr. Rider Haggard has practically revived the
genre in the nineteenth-century form of novels of adventure.

At the root of the whole idea of a Wonder Voyage is the
scepticism with regard to travelers' tales and sailors' yarns
which is current among all peoples. Curiously enough, the
book of Marco Polo, which was regarded by his contempor-
aries as mainly a Wonder Voyage, has proved to be quite a
sane and critical account of Mid and Eastern Asia. Yet
"Sir John Mandeville" was evidently poking fun at him in
215

216 The Book of Wonder Voyages

his own book which must also be affiliated to the family of
Wonder Voyages. Altogether there is a huge mass of litera-
ture which may be included under this term, and in the
middle of last century quite a whole series of dumpy duo-
decimos, running to thirty volumes, was published in Paris
under the title of Voyages extraordinaires. The present
collection can therefore claim to touch only upon the fringe
of a great subject, and can profess to give only a few
specimens from different quarters of the world.

In most of the Wonder Voyages represented in this volume
there are traces of the influence of the last voyage of man.
In the Greek, in the Celtic, and in the Norse voyages there
is a clear reference, as will be seen from the Notes, to the
other world as the bourne from which our travelers do
return : in fact, we have here the free play of the Folk-mind
on man's last home. The travelers cross the bar and sail
out into the Unknown ; their peculiarity is that they return
and recross it. Careful study of these tales, therefore, has
a somewhat higher interest than that of ordinary Folk
tales, for they are connected with the hopes and fears which
surround man's last moments.

THE ARGONAUTS

Source. — From Kingsley's Heroes which in the main
follows Apollonius Rhodius, whose floruit is 200 B.C., and
whose Argonautica is one of the most readable of Greek
poems. On the whole, Kingsley has condensed with great
skill and given the main outlines of the action with clearness
and grace.

Parallels. — In Roscher's Lexicon von griech. und rom.
Mythologie, under the headings of " Argonauten," "Jason,"
"Medeia, " Dr. Seeliger has summed up the results of Ger-
man research on the Saga with full references to every pas-
sage in ancient literature where the Argonauts are referred to.
Unfortunately he omits just those references which may be

Notes 217

regarded as offering true parallels to the Argonaut Saga.
These parallels are from a source which perhaps the dignity
of Teutonic erudition shrank from utilizing. Lynceus and
the other skilled companions of Jason recall to the f olklorist
that set of folk tales in which the hero is aided to obtain his
bride by a set of comrades who can see through a stone wall,
outpace the wind, or hit the enemy miles away, as in the
Grimm story of the Six Companions or in theMabinogi of
Kilhwch, which contains a huge list of such miracles of skill.
(See Lady Guest's Mabinogion, pp. 225-6.) Mr. Nutt,
in his valuable notes on Mac Innes' Folk Hero Tales from
Argyleshire, pp. 445-8, has given a number of parallels from
the Celtic fringe, and gives reasons for holding that a story
of six skilled companions probably occurred in the Irish
Voyage of the Sons of O'Corra, which can be dated in the
seventh century. Mr. Nutt confines himself to Celtic par-
allels, but the Grimms extend the parallelism in their notes,
i., 435, and M. Cosquin considerably extends the list (Contes
populates de Lorraine, i., 23-7; ii., 145). In most of these
lists we find at least a parallel to Hercules the Strong Man,
and Lynceus of the Far-Sight.

Another set of parallels neglected by Dr. Seeliger is of
even still greater interest and importance for the scientific
study of the Argonaut Legend, since it is, practically, a paral-
lel of the whole story. Technically speaking, the Legend is
what we Folklorists call a "Bride Wager," in which the
Hero gains a bride by performing certain Tasks. Then
there comes the pursuit and the obstacles to pursuit which
are familiar in this class of story, and, finally, the heroine,
like Medeia, is neglected for a rival, originally through the
operation of an Oblivion Kiss. The whole set of incidents
forms one of the most familiar of Celtic fairy tales under the
title of "The Battle of the Birds. " (See Celtic Fairy Tales,
xxiv., and notes, ibid., p. 267 seq., where no less than sixteen
Celtic versions are referred to.) The spread of the story
among other nations is almost equally extensive. Mr. Newell

2i8 The Book of Wonder Voyages

gave an English version, "Lady Featherflight, " in the Tran-
sactions of the International Folklore Congress of 1891, pp.
40-7, and adds a considerable number of variants from all
parts of the world. The most interesting of these is one
from Samoa, of all places in the world, given from Turner's
Samoa a Hundred Years Ago, p. 102 seq. This has been
commented upon by Mr. Lang in his paper on "A Far-
Traveled Tale," in Custom and Myth, p. 87 seq. Its interest
is the greater since many of the incidents, as, for instance,
those of the flight, exactly almost totidem verbis as in some
of the European versions. I wrote to Mr. Stevenson, point-
ing out the importance of the story for folklore purposes, and
asking him to investigate it in situ, and he kindly promised
to do so. But, unfortunately, death broke off that as well
as many other promises.

The existence of these parallels in the Argonaut Legend in
Folklore sufficiently indicates the direction in which research
and inquiry should be made. Dr. Seeliger, like all Teutonic
investigators, deals with the subject as part of Mythology,
though in all the enormous mass of literature that he brings
to bear upon the subject in the ancient world there is no
sign that any of the heroes or heroines were treated with
divine honors. (A casual reference of Pindar's to the
"immortal" Medeia is almost the sole exception.) At
best, the story is a Greek Saga or Hero Tale, and if any
elucidation of the various incidents of the story is to be
found we must not neglect the parallels afforded by folk
tales. The Argonaut Legend is, therefore, an interesting
instance in which we can contrast the German and the
English method of dealing with hero tales.

Remarks. — In Dr. Seeliger's long article upon the Argo-
nauts he first gives an abstract of the Legend according to
Apollonius Rhodius: he then gives a list of the Argonauts,
who were fifty in all, though sixty-seven names of them
have been compiled by Dr. Seeliger's perseverance and
erudition. He then gives the literary tradition of the

Notes 219

Legend, starting with Homer, who mentions or refers to the
ship Argo, Jason, Pelias, and ^Eson, and the Symplegades,
all of course in the Odyssey, where such references would nat-
urally be. The fragments of Hesiod also contain numerous
references, while Pindar has a whole Pythian Ode devoted to
it. Then comes an interesting section devoted to the local
traditions dealing with the Voyage, in which comes out the
interesting point that a chain of hills on the east of the Black
Sea was called the Jasmonian Mountains in antiquity, and
is still known as lassan Burun. The supposed connection
of the sorceress with the Kingdom of Media also comes up
for discussion under this head. Then we have another
section dealing with the monumental remains of the Myth,
in which the dragon is always represented as a serpent pur et
simple. Dr. Seeliger sums up his conclusion that the Legend
is certainly a physical myth ! — and therein all Teutons are
at one, though they vary as usual as to what branch of
Physics they affiliate the story. Forchhammer regards it as
an Agrarian Year Myth, the agriculture being represented by
the tale of Cadmus, and the Year being of course indicated
by the Golden Fleece. Kuhn and Mannhardt — those
names of weight in mythological investigation — agree for
once in calling it a Day Myth. According to the former
Gelehrter, the Oak with the Golden Fleece, is the Night
Sun-Tree (Nachtsonnenbaum), whatever that precisely may
mean. In other words, these scholars make the central
point of the story out of what is only one of its imaginative
trappings. Even if we regard the winning of the Golden
Fleece as the central incident of the story it is difficult to see
in what sense we can make the Fleece a representative
either of the Year or of the Day. How can a Hero win a
year, even though he gained the day? It is abundantly
obvious that these interpretations have only been arrived
at in the interests of a theory, and without the slightest
attempt to reconstruct the state of mind of the original tale-
teller. It is fair to add that Dr. Seeliger regards the original

220 The Book of Wonder Voyages

myth as being complicated, if not "contaminated, " with the
Legend of the eastern Voyage of the Greeks to the extremity
of the Black Sea, with genealogical myths in honor of the
Minuai and with the local traditions of the cultus of the
Cabiri on the island of Lemnos. Add the sirens and Scylla
from the Odyssey to this hotch-pot, and behold the Argo-
nauts who are obliged to lengthen their voyage to suit local
requirements. So far Dr. Seeliger upon the Argonauts in
general.

Under the heading "Jason," Dr. Seeliger gives the con-
clusions of German mythologists as to the nature of the hero,
who is regarded by some as a wind god, while Kuhn and
Mannhardt are at one in regarding him as a sun god. Again,
under "Medeia" her mythological character is emphasized
by the Germans, though, as usual, they have a pretty quar-
rel as to the exact part of Nature which she represents.
Altogether, I think it can scarcely be said that Germany
leaves us at the end of all its erudition much information as
to what the story of the Argonauts means, or whether it
means anything.

Turn we, then, to England and English investigators — if
I dare include Mr. Andrew Lang under that appellative.
As already mentioned, in his Custom and Myth he has dealt
with the tale mainly from the point of view of its far travels.
The Germans and some English followers have concen-
trated their attention on the problem of what Jason and
Medeia mean rather than on what they do; and Mr. Lang
has his fun out of the varying interpretations given by
Preller and Schwartz on the meaning of Medeia, who is the
moon, according to one, and a lightning goddess, according
to the other. Most people will agree with Mr. Lang, that
these interpretations throw no light on the story, as a story,
especially when it is considered that the same, or similar,
interpretations are used by the Teutonic method to explain
every mythological story.

Mr. Lang proceeds to point out that the main incidents

Notes 221

of the Argonaut story — the coming of the wooer; the love
of the hostile being's daughter; the tasks imposed on the
wooer; the aid rendered by her daughter; the flight of the
pair; the death, or destruction, of the hostile being — occur
among the Greeks, the Lowland Scotch, the Kelts, the Rus-
sians, the Poles, the Algonquins, the Finns, the Malagasy
and the Samoans. Besides these, some of the incidents, like
the obstacles to pursuit, are found in Japan and Zululand,
not to mention Norway. The most remarkable coincidence
of all is that of the comb which is dropped by the pursued
girl and forms an impenetrable thicket, which detains the
pursuer. This is found so far away as Italy, Japan, and
Samoa. It is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine that
this peculiar incident was invented independently. Its
occurrence in Samoa is especially noteworthy as this was
only discovered by Europeans in 1722, and the form of the
story in which it was collected by Turner shows traces of
the cannibal period, before any European influence had
become predominant. Mr. Lang in his paper does not
definitely state that he is of opinion that all these stories
emanated from a single center; but I gather from later
statements of his that this is now his opinion. He certainly
makes no attempt to determine what was that original
center, or the roads by which it reached the various termini
where variants of the story have been collected.

I will not rush in where Mr. Lang has feared to tread,
and must content myself with pointing out the various
possibilities of diffusion. After recent controversies, I think
most of the English investigators of the Folk tale would
agree that the common incidents in their present order
were put together by a single imaginative creator. On the
old theory of the original unity of the Aryan peoples, it
would have been natural to assume that this early artist
was an Ur-Aryan, and that all the Aryan peoples took
the story with them on their migrations through Europe;
but this view is now somewhat discredited by the advance

222 The Book of Wonder Voyages

of philological science, which regards the identity of lan-
guage among the Aryans as due to borrowing, and we are
scarcely at liberty to make an assumption of so early a case
of story barter, when later borrowing will equally well
explain the resemblance. The Greek version of the tale as
we have it can scarcely be the original from which all others
have been derived, since one of the most marked of the
common incidents, that of the obstacles to pursuit, is only
represented in the Greek version by the dismemberment of
Apsyrtos. This brutal device is clearly a primitive trait,
but it has disappeared in all the other European versions.
Mr. Nutt has ingeniously pointed out that the three ob-
stacles which are common to the Norse and to the Celtic
variants of the story have a distinct Teutonic appearance,
since they recall the mountain, lake, and forest which among
the Teutons separate the other world from this. A working
hypothesis to account for the spread through Europe, at
any rate, would be to assume that the Greek story in the
early form, not in that derived from Apollonius, got among
the outlying posts of the Roman Empire in Germany, and
was there interpolated with the specific Teutonic conception
of hell, but this will not account for its spread in extra-
European regions.

India would assist us as a center of dispersion, if we could
find the tale in all its incidents in the peninsula. Thence
it could have spread to Madagascar and Zululand, on the
one hand, and to Japan and Samoa on the other; but the
only Indian form with which I am acquainted, that given in
the thirty-ninth chapter of the Kathdsarit Sdgara does not
contain the obstacles to flight in the form required to explain
this spread. The Rakshasa's daughter, who is the Indian
analogue of Medeia, does not throw out obstacles to her
father's pursuit, but transforms herself and misleads him
as to the path taken by the lovers; she even induces her
father to believe he is dead, so that he has to go home to
inquire whether this is a fact. But it is the comb we want

Notes 223

to find in India to explain its diffusion elsewhere; and until
we find this the problem of diffusion for this particular story
must remain unsolved.

It will thus be seen that neither on the German nor the
English lines of investigation can we at present arrive at any
very definite conclusion, either as to the origin or the diffusion
of the Argonaut story. Yet we need not despair. We are
only at the beginning of our inquiries as to the lines of trans-
mission of Folk tales in and out of Europe, and it is by no
means unlikely that we shall find our comb in India, which
would be an important stage towards solving the problem
of diffusion. If we can ever get at any definite conclusion
as to this, we shall then be in a better position to discuss
origins. The very early date at which the Argonaut story
appears among the Greeks gives them a primd facie claim to
the origination of the legend; but, as we know it among Folk
tales, it is clear that the Teutons had something to do with
the later incidents, which mainly follow the Teuton, rather
than the Greek form. Twenty years ago we might have
said that the Teutonic was the earlier and represented more
closely the original Aryan form of the legend, but, as at
present advised, we must regard the obstacles to pursuit as a
later and Teutonic interpolation ; for in either case we must
assume a passage from one tribe to another and why not a
later as well as an earlier case of borrowing?

THE VOYAGE OF MAELDUIN

Source. — The poem which Tennyson made from the most
romantic episodes of the Maelduin has drawn general atten-
tion to this fine specimen of the Wonder Voyage. As it is a
Celtic product I naturally relied on Mr. Nutt both for text
and comments, which he gives as follows:

" The Voyage of Maelduin " is an Irish romance preserved
in a number of MSS. of which the oldest was copied at the
close of the twelfth century from earlier MSS. now lost.

224 The Book of Wonder Voyages

The state of the language justifies the attribution of parts
of the tale to a much earlier period, probably to the second
half of the eighth century. The Irish text has been printed,
with a complete English version, by Dr. Whitley Stokes, in
the ninth and tenth volumes of the Revue Celtique, and the
present re-telling is based upon his version . I have abridged
somewhat, mainly by omitting variant episodes which be-
tray the late and interpolated character of the text as it has
come down to us.

Parallels. — In the great list of nearly two hundred Irish
romances, which is probably as old as the eighth century,
"The Voyage of Maelduin" is mentioned as the first of the
class of Imrama, or "Oversea Voyages." Six others are
mentioned, of which one only, "The Voyage of the O'Cor-
ras," has come down to us. But we also possess two Imrama
not mentioned in the story list, and probably of later date,
"The Voyage of Snegdus and Mac Riagla, " and " The Voy-
age of St. Brendan. " These may be described as Christian
adaptations of "The Voyage of Maelduin. " " The Voyage
of St. Brendan," originally written in Latin by an Irish monk
and only translated back into Irish in the twelfth century or
later, was immensely popular throughout the Middle Ages;
and thanks to it, the Irish seamen's legends became part of
the literature common to all Western Christendom. As late
as the fifteenth century the Isles of the Blessed Brendan
were being sought for by adventurous sailors, and Columbus
himself was probably influenced by the tale.

Remarks. — Our romance has been most exhaustively
studied by Professor Heinrich Zimmer (Zeitschrift filr
deutsches Alter thum, xxxiii., and Sitzungsberichte der Kgl.
Preuss. Ak. d. Wissenschaften, 1891, xvi.). He shows that it
is the oldest work of its class extant, and discusses the vari-
ous themes and episodes which it contains. The Irish, as we
know both from classical and native sources, began in the
fourth century to sally out of Ireland and harry the lands
to the East and Northeast. They even pushed as far as

Notes 225

Iceland, where the first settlers found traces of previous
occupation by Irish hermits. In this way they accumulated
considerable knowledge of the surrounding seas and a still
more considerable stock of sailors' yarns. Often, too, these
voyages were made by the missionaries who swarmed out of
Ireland in the seventh and eighth centuries, and who would
naturally be disposed to put a miraculous gloss upon the
marvels they encountered. "The Voyage of Maelduin"
thus embodies a deal of real fact magnified and distorted.
For instance, the glassy sea may well be a fantastic remi-
niscence of the ice-covered Polar seas. The island of the de-
mon horse-racing may give us a picture of the first meeting
of the Irish with the Norse dwellers on the Shetland or
Faroe islands, and their love for horse-racing. The adven-
ture of the color-changing sheep has also its probable origin
in circumstances special to the Faroe islands. Another
element in our romance is the Christian legendary one; the
story of the great bird renewing its strength is obviously a
variant of the Phoenix legend, which, though originally of
pre-Christian origin, was developed and interpreted in a
Christian sense. The annals of Irish sainthood have also
furnished their quota; many of the saints — e.g., Columba —
were seafarers, and marvels, such as that told of Brendan's
seven years' sojourn on the back of a whale, are common in
Irish hagiology.

Another and the most interesting element remains to be
noticed. The ancient Irish believed, as did the ancient
Greeks, in an Elysium, a god's land to which mortals might
be transported by the caprice of its immortal dwellers there
to share with them the joys of endless life, love, and feasting.
Two of the oldest Irish romances, the story of "Connla"
(to be found in Celtic Fairy Tales), and "The Voyage of
Bran, " handle the theme of the love of an immortal maiden
for a mortal hero, and of his following her to the Pleasant
Plain, the Land of Youth, the Land of the Living Heart, to
quote a few of its many titles. Two of the episodes of

226 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Maelduin ("The Isle of Wailing," and "The Queen of the
Magic Clew"), are also found in "The Voyage of Bran."
In an essay accompanying Prof. Meyer's edition and trans-
lation of the latter work I have brought together all the Irish
variants of the theme, including those found in Maelduin,
and discussed their relation to each other and to the general
body of Aryan mythical beliefs and imaginings.

Thus, "The Voyage of Maelduin" gives us an idea of the
sources open to the Irish story-teller of the eighth century,
and of the influences to which he was exposed. We must
picture Aed the Fair, chief among the story-tellers of Ireland
as the Tennyson or Morris of his day, a knower of men
and things as well as of books. He took the old mythic
tales of his race in which the gods and goddesses of the Tua-
tha de Danann wooed mortals to their fairy home, and he
used them in his account of the islands of the Queen of the
Magic Clew, or of the Musical Brazen Gate. He took
Christian legends and worked them into the weft of his story.
He was familiar with the marvels told of his saintly country-
men who evangelized the Northern seas. He picked up
many a yarn spun by seafarers to the distant Faroes or the
more distant Iceland, that land of boiling springs, fiery
mountains, and ice-clad plains. He handled all these ele-
ments with singular perception of their romantic quality and
effect, little thinking that his fancies re-told in Latin by the
author of Navigatio S. Brendani, would delight Western
Europe for ages, and, translated into English more than
a thousand years later, would inspire the chief English poet
of his time to breathe fresh life and beauty into the old
legend.

HASAN OF BASSORAH

Source. — From the Arabian Nights though it does not
occur in the ordinary editions from Galland. I have cor-
densed from the versions of Lane and Burton. (See my

Notes 227

edition of Lane, vol. v., pp. 132-287.) I suggested in my
edition that it was inserted in the " Nights " by Mohammed
al-Gahshijari, in whom I think I have discovered the author
of the " Nights," so far as they have one.

Parallels.— Hasan resembles, on the one hand, Sindbad
and, on the other, Aladdin. Sindbad was probably one of
Gahshijari's contributions to the "Nights," while Aladdin,
it is now known, was contributed to Galland by a Christian
of Aleppo, named Hanna, and from certain indications is
likely to be of Western, rather than of Eastern origin. (See
my Introduction to Lane, p. xxiv.) But the chief motif of
Hasan is what is known to Folklorists as the Swan- Maiden
story, which forms the subject of two chapters (x and xi)
of Mr. Hartland's "Science of Fairy Tales": these are filled
with a number of parallels from nearly all quarters of the
globe, including Guiana, the Esquimaux, Burmah, and the
New Hebrides. Mr. Hartland connects with this wide-
spread series of tales a whole corpus of archaic institutions.
The bird costume of the maiden recalls totemism ; her import-
ance in the story is referred back to the matriarchate; the
way she is won is, of course, a case of marriage by capture;
while the forbidden door is equally, of course, a case of tabu.
The Islands of Wak Wak are known to archaic geographers
but their exact identity is "wropt in mystery"; they have
been identified with the Seychelles, Madagascar, Malacca,
Java, China, and Japan, while Mr. Kirby is certain that the
Cora Islands near New Guinea are intended: "for the
wonderful fruits which grow there are birds of paradise,
which settle in flocks on the trees at sunset and sunrise
uttering this very cry." The islands successively visited
by Hasan recall the voyage of Maelduin.

Remarks. — Further reflection, since I wrote my Intro-
duction to Lane, has convinced me that I have placed coo
early a date for Hasan in attributing it to Gahshijari, who
was of the tenth century. The interspersed verses (which I
have here omitted) show that at any rate in its present form

228 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Hasan is much later. Besides this, the accumulation of
adventures, which are not very closely knit together, implies
that the author of Hasan was acquainted with earlier tales of
the same type. It is useless, therefore, in my opinion, to
attempt to trace in Hasan any direct influence of those primi-
tive conceptions which Mr. Hartland brings in for the
illustration of the tale. They may be primitive in origin,
but as used in Hasan they are simply conventions of
Arabic story-telling, and by no means imply existence of
the matriarchate, or the marriage of capture, among the
Arabs. On the other hand, it is possible that some of
the incidents may be, directly or indirectly, derived
from sailors' yarns of countries where these primitive
customs still prevail. Burton's notes give us very many
curious parallels from the Arabic geographers, which could
be increased from a source nearer home (Mandeville's
Travels'). It is simpler to account for the reference to these
curious customs in Hasan by misunderstandings of travel-
ers' accounts from savage lands than to assume that the
story itself had lasted on among Arabic-speaking peoples
from the time when they themselves were savages.

ERIC THE FAR-TRAVELER

Source. — The frame-work has been derived from a trans-
lation of "Erek's Saga Vidforla, " kindly translated by the
Rev. J. Sephton from the third vol. of the Fornaldur Sdgur,
where it is printed from a vellum written about 1350. I
have added the "Voyage of Thorkill, " from Saxo Gram-
maticus (Mr. Elton's translation, pp. 344-256), but have had
to re- write, owing to the excessive Latinity of Saxo.

Parallels. — There is a much more elaborate account of
the voyage of Eric in Saxo's fifth book (Mr. Elton's
translation, pp. 156-99), which as Professor York Powell
points out in the introduction to Saxo (p. Ixxvii.), is to a
large extent a variant of the "Voyage of Thorkill"; for that

Notes 229

reason I have chosen the later version of the Eric Saga.
Professor York Powell also points out that in the Thorkill
voyage there are traces of a lost Swipdag story, which might
be called the Icelandic Odyssey; it also contains traces, ac-
cording to him, of the myth of Loki, while the plucking of the
hair is a well-known Folktale incident, and the trick of the
log in bed is familiar to us from our earliest days in "Jack
the Giant-Killer. " I would add that the incident in which
the sailors seize the sacred animals is so close to the similar
one in the Odyssey that we can scarcely avoid tracing it to
some reminiscence of the Greek epic, which we know reached
Ireland in an oral form as early as the tenth or eleventh
century.

Remarks. — This trace of the influence of the Odyssey is,
however, of little importance, as the whole scheme of Thor-
kill's voyage bears trace of its autochthonous character.
As Professor York Powell remarks: "The dark, fuelless,
starless, grassless land is evidently based upon some remi-
niscence of the Arctic islands. " It is scarcely to be doubted,
that Dr. Nansen was to some extent anticipated by Norse
voyagers, and that Thor kill's story shows reminiscences of
the Sutherland preacher who harrowed the souls of his
congregation by his descriptions of hell, as being filled with
ice and of an average temperature minus 100 degrees. To a
Southron friend, who pointed out the hetorodoxy of this
description, he replied: "Whist! mon, if they thought it
hot, they'd all want to go there. " The preacher was more
orthodox than he knew, for in the doctrines of the Church
there are cold cells in the Inferno, as we know from Dante
and from Shakespeare. Or perhaps he was influenced by
the Icelandic tradition of the other world, of which a faint
echo is to be found in the story of Thorkill. The late Dr.
Rydberg was as ingenious as usual in his treatment of this
myth. (See his Teutonic Mythology, pp. 208-304, where he
deals with both our voyages.) He points out the influence
of Christian, or rather of Jewish mythology in the voyage of

230 The Book of Wonder Voyages

Eric, but he also indicates the purely Norse character of
much that occurs, even in this late Saga. He gives on p.
307 an interesting map of Earth, Heaven, and Hell accord-
ing to the Norseman. In Dr. Rydberg's account of the
Swipdag story, he points out that one of the voyages he was
evidently destined to go through was a voyage to the nether
world; so it is possible that both our stories may ultimately
be traced back to the Swipdag legend, of which only traces
occur in Icelandic literature. Indeed, Dr. Rydberg claims
our Eric as a synonym of Swipdag (p. 555 seq.). From all
this it is clear that our stories are practically two variants
of the Icelandic "harrowing of Hell."

Jl Selection from the
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and Other Fairy Tales. By George MacDonald. Illustrated
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41 Once upon a time ! " That is the way Dr. MacDonald begins
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These are reprints of a delightfully fanciful child's stories, famous
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For Children
By AMY STEEDMAN

With 12 Full-page Illustrations in Color after designs
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A volume for young folks that is full of ennobling examples of
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The volume contains twelve illustrations in color by Katharine
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