go and his gains,'

Then said Odysseus with anger. 'Thou hast not spoken well, young man.
Thou hast beauty surely, but thou hast not grace of manner nor speech.
And thou hast stirred the spirit in my breast by speaking to me in such
words.'

Thereupon, clad as he was in his mantle, Odysseus sprang up and took a
weight that was larger than any yet lifted, and with one whirl he flung
it from his hands. Beyond all marks it flew, and one who was standing
far off cried out, 'Even a blind man, stranger, might know that thy
weight need not be confused with the others, but lies far beyond them.
In this bout none of the Phaeacians can surpass thee.'

And Odysseus, turning to the youths, said, 'Let who will, pass that
throw. And if any of you would try with me in boxing or wrestling or
even in the foot-race, let him stand forward--anyone except Laodamas,
for he is of the house that has befriended me. A rude man he would
surely be who should strive with his host.'

[Illustration]

All kept silence. Then Alcinous the King said, 'So that thou shalt
have something to tell thy friends when thou art in thine own hand, we
shall show thee the games in which we are most skilful. For we Phaeacians
are not perfect boxers or wrestlers, but we excel all in running and in
dancing and in pulling with the oar. Lo, now, ye dancers! Come forward
and show your nimbleness, so that the stranger may tell his friends,
when he is amongst them, how far we surpass all men in dancing as well
as in seamanship and speed of foot.'

A place was levelled for the dance, and the blind minstrel, Demodocus,
took the lyre in his hands and made music, while youths skilled in the
dance struck the ground with their feet. Odysseus as he watched them
marvelled at their grace and their spirit. When the dance was ended he
said to the King, 'My Lord Alcinous, thou didst boast thy dancers to be
the best in the world, and thy word is not to be denied. I wonder as I
look upon them.'

At the end of the day Alcinous spoke to his people and said, 'This
stranger, in all that he does and says, shows himself to be a wise and a
mighty man. Let each of us now give him the stranger's gift. Here there
are twelve princes of the Phaeacians and I am the thirteenth. Let each of
us give him a worthy gift, and then let us go back to my house and sit
down to supper. As for Euryalus, let him make amends to the stranger for
his rudeness of speech as he offers him his gift.'

All assent