e to AEneas and
his Trojans in a strange fashion. On the morning after their arrival in
the country of the Cyclops, they were on the shore, when they were
surprised to see a man emerge from the woods, and approach them with
suppliant gestures. His appearance was wild and emaciated, his beard
overgrown, his garments ragged; but nevertheless it was easy to perceive
that he was a Greek. When he saw that the voyagers wore Trojan dress and
arms, he paused in fear, but the next moment he hurried toward them with
tears and entreaties.

"I conjure you," he cried, "by the stars, by the powers above, by the
light of heaven, ye Trojans, take me hence. Carry me where you will, do
with me what you will, I shall be content. I confess that I was one who
bore arms against Troy; if you deem that a crime, put me to death for it.
At least I shall have the satisfaction of dying by the hands of men."

AEneas and Anchises received the stranger kindly, assured him of his
safety, and asked him who he was, and how he came to be in that desolate
country. He answered that he was an Ithacan, his name Achaemenides, and
that he had been one of the companions of Ulysses in his wanderings. He
related the adventures of the Ithacan hero in the cave of Polyphemus, and
told how he himself, having been by accident left behind when his comrades
escaped, had since led a wretched existence in the woods, living on wild
berries and roots, and continually in dread lest he should be seen by the
Cyclops. He advised AEneas to lose no time in quitting the country, lest
the ferocious shepherds should discover and destroy them. Even as
Achaemenides spoke, Polyphemus was seen accompanying his flock to their
pasture. So tall was he of stature that he carried the trunk of a
pine-tree as a staff to guide his footsteps. Reaching the sea he stepped
into it, and bent down to bathe the wound inflicted by Ulysses. The
Trojans hastened to cut their cables, and rowed out to sea. The giant
heard the sound of their oars, and turned to follow them; but in his
blindness he dared not follow far, and therefore he called on his brethren
with a cry so loud that the very sea was shaken in its depths. Forthwith
the huge Cyclops came trooping to the shore, like a wood of lofty trees
endued with life and motion; but by this time the Trojan vessels had got
beyond their reach.

AENEAS AND QUEEN DIDO

By Alfred J. Church

[AEneas was driven by a storm upon the shores of Cartha