Page:Homer. The Odyssey (IA homerodyssey00collrich).pdf/68

58 the blind minstrel Demodocus, in whose person it has been thought that the poet describes himself—

Such honour has the bard in all lands. The king's son does not disdain to guide " the blind ringers ; and when the song is over, the herald leads him care-fully to his place at the banquet, where his portion is of the choicest — "the chine of the white-tusked boar." The subject of his lay is the tale which charms all hearers—Phæacian, Greek, or Roman, ancient or modern, then as now—the tale of Troy. Touched with the remembrances which the song awakens, Ulysses wraps his face in his mantle to hide his rising tears. The king marks his guest's emotion: too courteous to allude to it, he contents himself with rising at once from the banquet-table, and giving order for the sports to begin. Foot-race, wrestling, quoit throwing, and boxing, all have their turn; and in all the king's sons take their part, not unsuccessfully. It is suggested at last that the stranger, who stands silently looking on, should exhibit some feat of strength or skill. Ulysses declines—he has no heart just now for pastimes. Then one of the young Phæacians, Euryalus, who has just won the wrestling-match, gives