the 250
pounds and the goblet, and having to unpack his box again, was so
great as his chance of having his box tampered with before he got it
away, if he neglected to double-lock it at once and put the key in
his pocket. He has always a keen eye to money; indeed the whole
Odyssey turns on what is substantially a money quarrel, so this time
without the prompting of Minerva he does one of the very few
sensible things which he does, on his own account, throughout the
whole poem.

Supper is now served, and when it is over, Ulysses, pressed by
Alcinous, announces his name and begins the story of his adventures.

It is with profound regret that I find myself unable to quote any of
the fascinating episodes with which his narrative abounds, but I
have said I was going to lecture on the humour of Homer--that is to
say of the Iliad and the Odyssey--and must not be diverted from my
subject. I cannot, however, resist the account which Ulysses gives
of his meeting with his mother in Hades, the place of departed
spirits, which he has visited by the advice of Circe. His mother
comes up to him and asks him how he managed to get into Hades, being
still alive. I will translate freely, but quite closely, from
Ulysses' own words, as spoken to the Phaeacians.

"And I said, 'Mother, I had to come here to consult the ghost of the
old Theban prophet Teiresias, I have never yet been near Greece, nor
set foot on my native land, and have had nothing but one long run of
ill luck from the day I set out with Agamemnon to fight at Troy.
But tell me how you came here yourself? Did you have a long and
painful illness or did heaven vouchsafe you a gentle easy passage to
eternity? Tell me also about my father and my son? Is my property
still in their hands, or has someone else got hold of it who thinks
that I shall not return to claim it? How, again, is my wife
conducting herself? Does she live with her son and make a home for
him, or has she married again?'

"My mother answered, 'Your wife is still mistress of your house, but
she is in very great straits and spends the greater part of her time
in tears. No one has actually taken possession of your property,
and Telemachus still holds it. He has to accept a great many
invitations, and gives much the sort of entertainments in return
that may be expected from one in his position. Your father remains
in the old place, and never goes near the town; he is very badly
off, and has neither bed