Junior: "THE STORY OF THE ODYSSEY." Ulysses (u-lys'-secz, other name return of Helen. Odyseus (o-dys'-seus), the Greek hero, was the ruler of Ithaca. He loved his wife Penelope (pen-el-ope) and his little son Tel-em'-achus, so much, that, though he was a brave soldier and the wisest of his people, he wanted to stay with them instead of taking part in planning the siege of Troy (the cruel war that came about because beautiful Helen, wife of the Greek general, ran away with Trojan Paris). So he pretended to be insane, and to prove it, ploughed the sand along the seashore. But another clever man caught him by putting the little Telemachus in the furrow, when Ulysses quickly turned his plough aside. So it became his mission to visit the Trojans and demand the She refused to come. Then followed the ten years' war. Ulysses took a foremost part. He was one of those concealed in the gigantic wooden horse that was hauled inside the gates by the Trojans, to their downfall. The Odyssey tells the story of his wanderings, when after leaving Troy, storms carried his ship to wrong ports. LESSON REVIEW. 1. Who wrote the "Iliad" and "Odyssey?" What form of literature are they, and what is their place in the literary world? Briefly tell what each is about. 2. Describe the character of Ulys ses. 3 Describe the character of Penelope and tell what was happening to her while her husband was away. 6. Relate very briefly the theme of chapters 6, 7. and 8. 7. Tell the story of the Cyclops. 8. Tell of his adventures with Acobis and Cir'-ce. 9. Tell briefly about the descent into hell. 10. Tell of his adventure with the Sirens. 11. What part does Telemachus play in the return of his father? How is he assisted by the gods? 12. Tell how Ulysses returned and how he and Telemachus met. 13. Relate the meeting of Ulysses and Penelope and how the suitors were put to flight. Again they mount, their journey to renew, And from the sounding portico they flew Along the waving fields their way they hold, The fields receding as their chariot roll'd: Then slowly sunk the ruddy globe of light, And o'er the shaded landscape rush'd the night. * * * * * * * Thus spake Calypso to her godlike. guest: "Ulysses!" (with a sigh she thus began): "O sprung from gods! in wisdom more than man! Is then thy home the passion of thy heart? Thus wilt thou leave me, are we thus to part? Farewell, and ever joyful may'st thou be, Nor break the transport with one thought of me. * * * A willing goddess, and immortal life, Might banish from thy mind an absent wife. Am I inferior to a mortal dame? Less soft my feature, less august my frame? Or shall the daughters of the earth compare Their earth-born beauties with the heavenly fair?" "Loved and adored, O goddess, as thou art, Forgive the weakness of a human heart. Vol. 20. DECEMBER, 1909. No. 12. The Heart's Desire. Katie Grover. Everything was suggestive of Christmas. Even the snow-flakes flying hither and thither in frolicsome glee seemed to have caught the true Christmas spirit and were trying to do their part by making it a snowy Christmas. To enter the gay shops down town was like a peep into fairyland so beautifully and temptingly were they adorned to allure the Christmas shoppers. Indeed, a mere glance toward the great plate glass show windows from the most indifferent passer by revealed such wondrous glimpses of dolls and Teddy-bears, silken robes, glittering jewels, and dainty nicknacks, that ere he was aware he too had caught the Christmas spirit, and was hastening inside with the hurrying crowd. One richly dressed woman looked strangely alone and apart as she stood sadly absorbed in watching two pretty children who were going into ecstacies over the beautiful dolls smiling from the windows. "Mamma, if we are real good, do you think Santa will bring us just what we want most in all the world?" asked the oider girl, turning to her mother, while her eyes. rested on the doll of her dreams. The woman smiled sympathetically and went on her way thinking how all her life the same vexing childish problems had confronted her, and still she waited, the sweet "Wouldn't you like a tree?" asked the boy rather wistfully. Somehow they were not going very fast, and the poor little mother and sister at home were entirely dependent upon this brave boy. "Take one for your childrens, won't you please?" "I have no children," she answered sadly, and the lonely look in her eyes made the boy feel that perhaps after all his mother was richer in some things than this woman in her rich sealskin wrap. "Keep the dollar, my boy, I don't want the change," she said, taking her bag of holly and nodding cheerily as she turned away. The car was crowded. There were fathers loaded down with all sorts of mysterious looking packages of every size, worn-out patient mothers with their children and young people joyfully looking forward to the coming holidays with youth's bright anticipation. |