Oh, give it back, good
stranger
!
Universal Anthology - v01
As Perseus walked along, therefore, the people pointed after him, and made mouths, and winked to one another, and ridiculed him as loudly as they dared.
" Ho, ho ! " cried they ; " Medusa's snakes will sting him soundly ! "
Now, there were three Gorgons alive at that period, and they were the most strange and terrible monsters that had ever been seen since the world was made, or that have been seen in after days, or that are likely to be seen in all time to come. I hardly know what sort of creature or hobgoblin to call them. They were three sisters, and seem to have borne some distant resemblance to woman, but were really a very frightful and mischievous species of dragon. It is indeed difficult to imagine what hideous beings these three sisters were. Why, instead of locks of hair, if you can believe me, they had each of them a hundred enormous snakes growing on their heads, all alive, twisting, wriggling, curling, and thrusting out their venomous tongues with forked stings at the end. The teeth of the Gor gons were terribly long tusks ; their hands were made of brass ; and their bodies were all over scales, which, if not iron, were something as hard and impenetrable. They had wings, too, and exceedingly splendid ones, I can assure you, for every feather in them was pure, bright, glittering, burnished gold, and they looked very dazzling, no doubt, when the Gorgons were flying about in the sunshine.
But when people happened to catch a glimpse of their glit tering brightness aloft in the air, they seldom stopped to gaze,
382 THE GORGON'S HEAD.
but ran and hid themselves as speedily as they could. You will think, perhaps, that they were afraid of being stung by the serpents that served the Gorgons instead of hair, or of hav ing their heads bitten off by their ugly tusks, or of being torn all to pieces by their brazen claws. Well, to be sure, these were some of the dangers, but by no means the greatest nor the most difficult to avoid. For the worst thing about these abominable Gorgons was that if once a poor mortal fixed his eyes full upon one of their faces, he was certain that very instant to be changed from warm flesh and blood into cold and lifeless stone.
Thus, as you will easily perceive, it was a very dangerous adventure that the wicked King Polydectes had contrived for this innocent young man. Perseus himself, when he had thought over the matter, could not help seeing that he had very little chance of coming safely through and that he was far more likely to become stone image than to bring back the head of Medusa with the snaky locks. For, not to speak of other difficulties, there was one which would have puzzled an older man than Perseus to get over. Not only must he fight with and slay this golden-winged, iron-scaled, long-tusked, brazen-clawed, snaky-haired monster, but he must do with his eyes shut, or at least without so much as a glance at the enemy with whom he was contending. Else, while his arm was lifted to strike, he would stiffen into stone, and stand with that uplifted arm for centuries, until time and the wind and weather should crumble him quite away. This would be very sad thing to befall young man who wanted to perform great many brave deeds and to enjoy a great deal of happiness in this bright and beautiful world.
So disconsolate did these thoughts make him that Perseus could not bear to tell his mother what he had undertaken to do. He therefore took his shield, girded on his sword, and crossed over from the island to the mainland, where he sat down in a solitary place and hardly refrained from shedding tears.
But while he was in this sorrowful mood he heard voice close beside him. "
" Perseus," said the voice, "why are you sad?
He lifted his head from his hands, in which he had hidden it, and, behold all alone as Perseus had supposed himself to be, there was stranger in the solitary place. It was brisk, intelligent, and remarkably shrewd-looking young man, with
a!
a
a aa it
a
it
it,
a
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a cloak over his shoulders, an odd sort of cap on his head, a strangely twisted staff in his hand, and a short and very crooked sword hanging by his side. He was exceeding light and active in his figure, like a person much accustomed to gym nastic exercises and well able to leap or run. Above all, the stranger had such a cheerful, knowing, and helpful aspect (though it was certainly a little mischievous into the bargain) that Perseus could not help feeling his spirits grow livelier as he gazed at him. Besides, being really a courageous youth, he felt greatly ashamed that anybody should have found him with tears in his eyes, like a timid little schoolboy, when, after all, there might be no occasion for despair. So Perseus wiped his eyes and answered the stranger pretty briskly, putting on as brave a look as he could.
" I am not so very sad," said he ; " only thoughtful about an adventure that I have undertaken. "
" Oho ! " answered the stranger. " Well, tell me all about it, and possibly I may be of service to you. I have helped a good many young men through adventures that looked difficult enough beforehand. Perhaps you may have heard of me. I have more names than one, but the name of Quicksilver suits me as well as any other. Tell me what your trouble is, and we will talk the matter over and see what can be done. "
The stranger's words and manner put Perseus into quite a different mood from his former one. He resolved to tell Quick silver all his difficulties, since he could not easily be worse off than he already was, and very possibly his new friend might give him some advice that would turn out well in the end. So he let the stranger know, in few words, precisely what the case was —how that King Polydectes wanted the head of Medusa with the snaky locks as a bridal gift for the beautiful Princess Hippodamia, and how that he had undertaken to get it for him, but was afraid of being turned into stone.
" And that would be a great pity," said Quicksilver, with his mischievous smile. "You would make a very handsome marble statue, it is true, and it would be a considerable number of centuries before you crumbled away, but, on the whole, one would rather be a young man for a few years than a stone image for a great many. "
" Oh, far rather ! " exclaimed Perseus, with the tears again standing in his eyes. " And, besides, what would my dear mother do if her beloved son were turned into a stone ? "
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" Well, well ! let us hope that the affair will not turn out so very badly," replied Quicksilver in an encouraging tone. " I am the very person to help you, if anybody can. My sister and myself will do our utmost to bring you safe through the adventure, ugly as it now looks. "
" Yes, my sister," said the stranger. " She is very wise, I promise you ; and as for myself, I generally have all my wits about me, such as they are. If you show yourself bold and cautious and follow our advice, you need not fear being a stone image yet a while. But, first of all, you must polish your shield till you can see your face in it as distinctly as in a mirror. "
This seemed to Perseus rather an odd beginning of the adventure, for he thought it of far more consequence that the shield should be strong enough to defend him from the Gorgons' brazen claws than that it should be bright enough to show him the reflection of his face. However, concluding that Quick silver knew better than himself, he immediately set to work and scrubbed the shield with so much diligence and good will that it very quickly shone like the moon at harvest time. Quicksilver looked at it with a smile and nodded his approba tion. Then, taking off his own short and crooked sword, he girded it about Perseus, instead of the one which he had before worn.
"Your sister? " repeated Perseus.
" No sword but mine will answer your purpose," observed he ; " the blade has a most excellent temper, and will cut through iron and brass as easily as through the slenderest twig. And now we will set out. The next thing is to find the Three Gray Women, who will tell us where to find the Nymphs. "
" The Three Gray Women ! " cried Perseus, to whom this seemed only a new difficulty in the path of his adventure ;
" pray, who may the Three Gray Women be ? of them before. "
I never heard
" They are three very strange old ladies," said Quicksilver, laughing. " They have but one eye among them, and only one tooth. Moreover, you must find them out by starlight or in the dusk of the evening, for they never show themselves by the light either of the sun or moon. "
" But," said Perseus, " why should I waste my time with these Three Gray Women ? Would it not be better to set out at once in search of the terrible Gorgons ? "
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" No, no," answered his friend. " There are other things to be done before you can find your way to the Gorgons. There is nothing for it but to hunt up these old ladies, and when we meet with them you may be sure that the Gorgons are not a great way off. Come, let us be stirring. "
Perseus by this time felt so much confidence in his com panion's sagacity that he made no more objections, and pro fessed himself ready to begin the adventure immediately. They accordingly set out and walked at a pretty brisk pace —. so brisk, indeed, that Perseus found it rather difficult to keep up with his nimble friend Quicksilver. To say the truth, he had a singular idea that Quicksilver was furnished with a pair of winged shoes, which of course helped him along marvelously. And then, too, when Perseus looked sideways at him out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to see wings on the side of his head, although, if he turned a full gaze, there were no such things to be perceived, but only an odd kind of cap. But, at all events, the twisted staff was evidently a great convenience to Quicksilver, and enabled him to proceed so fast that Perseus, though a remarkably active young man, began to be out of breath. "
" Here !
enough, rogue that he was, how hard Perseus found it to keep pace with him — " take you the staff, for you need it a great deal more than I. Are there no better walkers than yourself in the island of Seriphus? "
cried Quicksilver at last — for he knew well
" I could walk pretty well," said Perseus, glancing slyly at his companion's feet, "if I had only a pair of winged shoes. "
" We must see about getting you a pair," answered Quick silver.
But the staff helped Perseus along so bravely that he no longer felt the slightest weariness. In fact, the stick seemed to be alive in his hand, and to lend some of its life to Perseus. He and Quicksilver now walked onward at their ease, talking very sociably together, and Quicksilver told so many pleasant stories about his former adventures, and how well his wits had served him on various occasions, that Perseus began to think him a very wonderful person. He evidently knew the world, and nobody is so charming to a young man as a friend who has that kind of knowledge. Perseus listened the more eagerly in the hope of brightening his own wits by what he heard.
At last he happened to recollect that Quicksilver had spoken
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of a sister who was to lend her assistance in the adventure which they were now bound upon.
"Where is she? " he inquired. "Shall we not meet her soon? "
I shall be afraid to say
" She is a very accomplished person, I assure you," con tinued Quicksilver, "and has all the arts and sciences at her fingers' ends. In short, she is so immoderately wise that many people call her wisdom personified. But, to tell you the truth, she has hardly vivacity enough for my taste, and I think you would scarcely find her so pleasant a traveling companion as myself. She has her good points, nevertheless, and you will find the benefit of them in your encounter with the Gor- gons. "
" All at the proper time," said his companion. " But this sister of mine, you must understand, is quite a different sort of character from myself. She is very grave and prudent, seldom smiles, never laughs, and makes it a rule not to utter a word unless she has something particularly profound to say. Neither will she listen to any but the wisest conversation. "
" Dear me ! " ejaculated Perseus ; " a syllable. "
By this time it had grown quite dusk. They were now come to a very wild and desert place, overgrown with shaggy bushes, and so silent and solitary that nobody seemed ever to have dwelt or journeyed there. All was waste and desolate in the gray twilight, which grew every moment more obscure. Perseus looked about him rather disconsolately, and asked Quicksilver whether they had a great deal farther to go.
" Hist ! hist ! " whispered his companion. " Make no noise. This is just the time and place to meet the Three Gray Women. Be careful that they do not see you before you see them, for, though they have but a single eye among the three, it is as sharp-sighted as half a dozen common eyes. "
" But what must I do," asked Perseus, " when we meet them ? "
explained to Perseus how the Three Gray Women managed with their one eye. They were in the habit, it seems, of changing it from one to another, as if it had been a pair of spectacles or — which would have suited them better — a quizzing glass. When one of the three had kept the eye a certain time, she took it out of the socket and passed it to one
of her sisters whose turn it might happen to be, and who im
Quicksilver
THE GORGON'S HEAD. 387
mediately clapped it into her own head and enjoyed a peep at the visible world. Thus it will easily be understood that only one of the Three Gray Women could see, while the other two were in utter darkness ; and, moreover, at the instant when the eye was passing from hand to hand neither of the poor old ladies was able to see a wink. I have heard of a great many strange things in my day, and have witnessed not a few, but none, it seems to me, that can compare with the oddity of these Three Gray Women all peeping through a single eye.
So thought Perseus likewise, and was so astonished that he almost fancied his companion was joking with him, and that there were no such old women in the world.
" You will soon find whether I tell the truth or no," observed
Quicksilver. now ! "
" Hark ! hush ! hist ! hist ! There they come,
Perseus looked earnestly through the dusk of the evening, and there, sure enough, at no great distance off, he descried the Three Gray Women. The light being so faint, he could not well make out what sort of figures they were, only he dis covered that they had long gray hair, and as they came nearer he saw that two of them had but the empty socket of an eye in the middle of their foreheads. But in the middle of the third sister's forehead there was a very large, bright, and piercing eye, which sparkled like a great diamond in a ring; and so penetrating did it seem to be that Perseus could not help thinking it must possess the gift of seeing in the darkest midnight just as perfectly as at noonday. The sight of three persons' eyes was melted and collected into that single one.
Thus the three old dames got along about as comfortably, upon the whole, as if they could all see at once. She who chanced to have the eye in her forehead led the other two by the hands, peeping sharply about her all the while, inso much that Perseus dreaded lest she should see right through the thick clump of bushes behind which he and Quicksilver had hidden themselves. My stars ! it was positively terrible to be within reach of so very sharp an eye.
But before they reached the clump of bushes one of the Three Gray Women spoke.
" Sister ! Sister Scarecrow ! " cried she, " you have had the eye long enough. It is my turn now ! "
" Let me keep it a moment longer, Sister Nightmare," an
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swered Scarecrow. " I thought I had a glimpse of something behind that thick bush. "
"Well, and what of that? " retorted Nightmare, peevishly. " Can't I see into a thick bush as easily as yourself ? The eye is mine as well as yours, and I know the use of it as well as you, or maybe a little better. I insist upon taking a peep immediately. "
But here the third sister, whose name was Shakejoint, began to complain, and said that it was her turn to have the eye, and that Scarecrow and Nightmare wanted to keep it all to them selves. To end the dispute, old Dame Scarecrow took the eye out of her forehead and held it forth in her hand.
" Take it, one of you," cried she, " and quit this foolish quarreling. For my part, I shall be glad of a little thick dark ness. Take it quickly, however, or I must clap it into my own head again. "
Accordingly, both Nightmare and Shakejoint stretched out their hands, groping eagerly to snatch the eye out of the hand of Scarecrow. But, being both alike blind, they could not easily find where Scarecrow's hand was ; and Scarecrow, being now just as much in the dark as Shakejoint and Nightmare, could not at once meet either of their hands in order to put the eye into it. Thus (as you will see with half an eye, my wise little auditors) these good old dames had fallen into a strange per plexity. For, though the eye shone and glistened like a star as Scarecrow held it out, yet the Gray Women caught not the least glimpse of its light, and were, all three, in utter darkness from too impatient a desire to see.
Quicksilver was so much tickled at beholding Shakejoint and Nightmare both groping for the eye, and each finding fault with Scarecrow and with one another, that he could scarcely help laughing aloud. "
" Now is your time !
quick ! before they can clap the eye into either of their heads. Rush out upon the old ladies and snatch it from Scarecrow's hand. "
he whispered to Perseus. " Quick,
In an instant, while the Three Gray Women were still scolding each other, Perseus leaped from behind the clump of bushes and made himself master of the prize. The marvelous eye, as he held it in his hand, shone very brightly, and seemed to look up into his face with a knowing air, and an expression as if it would have winked had it been provided with a pair of
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eyelids for that purpose. But the Gray Women knew nothing of what had happened, and, each supposing that one of her sisters was in possession of the eye, they began their quarrel anew. At last, as Perseus did not wish to put these respecta ble dames to greater inconvenience than was really necessary, he thought it right to explain the matter.
" My good ladies," said he, " pray do not be angry with one another. If anybody is in fault, it is myself, for I have the honor to hold your very brilliant and excellent eye in my own hand. " "
" You ! you have our eye ? And who are you ?
the Three Gray Women all in a breath, for they were terribly frightened, of course, at hearing a strange voice and discover ing that their eyesight had got into the hands of they could not guess whom. " Oh, what shall we do, sisters ? what shall we do ? We are all in the dark ! Give us our eye ! Give us our one precious, "solitary eye ! You have two of your own ! Give us our eye !
screamed
" Tell them," whispered Quicksilver to Perseus, " that they shall have back the eye as soon as they direct you where to find the Nymphs who have the flying slippers, the magic wallet, and the helmet of darkness. "
" My dear, good, admirable old ladies," said Perseus, address ing the Gray Women, " there is no occasion for putting your selves into such a fright. I am by no means a bad young man. You shall have back your eye, safe and sound and as bright as ever, the moment you tell me where to find the Nymphs. "
" The Nymphs ! Goodness me ! sisters, what Nymphs does he mean? " screamed Scarecrow. "There are a great many Nymphs, people say — some that go a hunting in the woods, and some that live inside of trees, and some that have a comfortable home in fountains of water. We know nothing at all about them. We are three unfortunate old souls that go wandering about in the dusk, and never had but one eye among us, and that one you have stolen away.
Oh, give it back, good stranger ! whoever you are, give it back ! "
All this while the Three Gray Women were groping with their outstretched hands and trying their utmost to get hold of Perseus, but he took good care to keep out of their reach.
"My respectable dames," said he — for his mother had taught him always to use the greatest civility — "I hold your eye fast in my hand, and shall keep it safely for you until you please to
390 THE GORGON'S HEAD.
tell me where to find these Nymphs — the Nymphs, I mean, who keep the enchanted wallet, the flying slippers, and the —. what is it ? — the helmet of invisibility. " "
" Mercy on us, sisters ! what is the young man talking about? exclaimed Scarecrow, Nightmare, and Shakejoint one to another, with great appearance of astonishment. " A pair of flying slip pers, quoth he ! His heels would quickly fly higher than his head if he were silly enough to put them on. And a helmet of invisibility ! How could a helmet make him invisible unless it were big enough for him to hide under it ? And the enchanted wallet ! What sort of a contrivance may that be, I wonder ? No, no, good stranger ! we can tell you nothing of these mar velous things. You have two eyes of your own, and we but a single one among us three. You can find out such wonders better than three blind old creatures like us. "
Perseus, hearing them talk in this way, began really to think that the Gray Women knew nothing of the matter, and, as it grieved him to have put them to so much trouble, he was just on the point of restoring their eye and asking pardon for his rudeness in snatching it away. But Quicksilver caught his hand.
"Don't let them make a fool of you," said he. "These Three Gray Women are the only persons in the world that can tell you where to find the Nymphs, and unless you get that information you will never succeed in cutting off the head of Medusa with the snaky locks. Keep fast hold of the eye and all will go well. "
As it turned out, Quicksilver was in the right. There are but few things that people prize so much as they do their eye sight, and the Gray Women valued their single eye as highly as if it had been half a dozen, which was the number they ought to have had. Finding that there was no other way of recover ing it, they at last told Perseus what he wanted to know. No sooner had they done so than he immediately and with the utmost respect clapped the eye into the vacant socket in one of their foreheads, thanked them for their kindness, and bade them farewell. Before the young man was out of hearing, however, they had got into a new dispute because he happened to have given the eye to Scarecrow, who had already taken her turn of it when their trouble with Perseus commenced.
It is greatly to be feared that the Three Gray Women were very much in the habit of disturbing their mutual harmony by
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bickerings of this sort, which was the more pity as they could not conveniently do without one another, and were evidently intended to be inseparable companions. As a general rule, I would advise all people, whether sisters or brothers, old or young, who chance to have but one eye among them, to culti vate forbearance, and not all insist upon peeping through it at once.
Quicksilver and Perseus in the mean time were making the best of their way in quest of the Nymphs. The old dames had given them such particular directions that they were not long in finding them out. They proved to be very different persons from Nightmare, Shakejoint, and Scarecrow, for instead of being old they were young and beautiful, and instead of one eye among the sisterhood each Nymph had two exceedingly bright eyes of her own, with which she looked very kindly at Perseus. They seemed to be acquainted with Quicksilver, and when he told them the adventure which Perseus had undertaken they made no difficulty about giving him the valuable articles that were in their custody. In the first place, they brought out what appeared to be a small purse, made of deerskin and curiously embroidered, and bade him be sure and keep it safe. This was the magic wallet. The Nymphs next produced a pair of shoes or slippers or sandals with a nice little pair of wings at the heel of each.
" Put them on, Perseus," said Quicksilver. " You will find yourself as light-heeled as you can desire for the remainder of our journey. "
So Perseus proceeded to put one of the slippers on, while he laid the other on the ground by his side. Unexpectedly, however, this other slipper spread its wings, fluttered up off the ground, and would probably have flown away if Quicksilver had not made a leap and luckily caught it in the air.
" "Be more careful," said he as he gave it back to Perseus.
It would frighten the birds up aloft if they should see a flying slipper amongst them. "
When Perseus had got on both of these wonderful slippers he was altogether too buoyant to tread on earth. Making a step or two, lo and behold ! upward he popped into the air, high above the heads of Quicksilver and the Nymphs, and found it very difficult to clamber down again. Winged slippers and all such high-flying contrivances are seldom quite easy to manage until one grows a little accustomed to them.
Quicksilver
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laughed at his companion's involuntary activity, and told him that he must not be in so desperate a hurry, but must wait for the invisible helmet.
The good-natured Nymphs had the helmet with its dark tuft of waving plumes all in readiness to put upon his head. And now there happened about as wonderful an incident as anything that I have yet told you. The instant before the helmet was put on, there stood Perseus, a beautiful young man with golden ringlets and rosy cheeks, the crooked sword by his side, and the brightly polished shield upon his arm — a figure that seemed all made up of courage, sprightliness, and glorious light. But when the helmet had descended over his white brow there was no longer any Perseus to be seen ! Nothing but empty air ! Even the helmet that covered him with its invisi bility had vanished ! "
" Where are you, Perseus ?
asked Quicksilver.
" Why, here, to be sure ! " answered Perseus, very quietly, although his voice seemed to come out of the transparent atmosphere. "Just where I was a moment ago. Don't you
see me? "
" No, indeed ! " answered his friend. " You are hidden
under the helmet. But if I cannot see you, neither can the Gorgons. Follow me, therefore, and we will try your dexterity in using the winged slippers. "
With these words Quicksilver's cap spread its wings, as if his head were about to fly away from his shoulders ; but his whole figure rose lightly into the air, and Perseus followed. By the time they had ascended a few hundred feet the young man began to feel what a delightful thing it was to leave the dull earth so far beneath him and to be able to flit about like a bird.
It was now deep night. Perseus looked upward and saw the round, bright, silvery moon, and thought that he should desire nothing better than to soar up thither and spend his life there. Then he looked downward again and saw the earth, with its seas and lakes, and the silver courses of its rivers, and snowy mountain peaks, and the breadth of its fields, and the dark cluster of its woods, and its cities of white marble ; and, with the moonshine sleeping over the whole scene, it was as beautiful as the moon or any star could be. And, among other objects, he saw the island of Seriphus, where his dear mother was. Sometimes he and Quicksilver approached a cloud that at a distance looked as if it were made of fleecy silver, although
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when they plunged into it they found themselves chilled and moistened with gray mist. So swift was their flight, however, that in an instant they emerged from the cloud into the moon light again. Once a high-soaring eagle flew right against the invisible Perseus. The bravest sights were the meteors that gleamed suddenly out as if a bonfire had been kindled in the sky, and made the sunshine pale for as much as a hundred miles around them.
As the two companions flew onward Perseus fancied that he could hear the rustle of a garment close by his side; and it was on the side opposite to the one where he beheld Quicksilver, yet only Quicksilver was visible.
"Whose garment is this," inquired" Perseus, "that keeps rustling close beside me in the breeze ?
" Oh, it is my sister's ! " answered Quicksilver. " She is coming along with us, as I told you she would. We could do nothing without the help of my sister. You have no idea how wise she is. She has such eyes, too ! Why, she can see you at this moment just as distinctly as if you were not invisible, and I'll venture to say she will be the first to discover the Gorgons. "
By this time, in their swift voyage through the air, they had come within sight of the great ocean, and were soon flying over it. Far beneath them the waves tossed themselves tumul- tuously in mid sea, or rolled a white surf line upon the long beaches, or foamed against the rocky cliffs with a roar that was thunderous in the lower world, although it became a gentle murmur, like the voice of a baby half asleep, before it reached the ears of Perseus. Just then a voice spoke in the air close by him. It seemed to be a woman's voice, and was melodious, though not exactly what might be called sweet, but grave and mild.
"Perseus," said the voice, "there are the Gorgons. "
" Where ? " exclaimed Perseus. " I cannot see them. "
" On the shore of that island beneath you," replied the
voice. "A pebble dropped from your hand would strike in the midst of them. "
"I told you she would be the first to discover them," said Quicksilver to Perseus. " And there they are ! "
Straight downward, two or three thousand feet below him, Perseus perceived a small island with the sea breaking into white foam all around its rocky shore except on one side, where there was a beach of snowy sand. He descended toward it,
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and, looking earnestly at a cluster or heap of brightness at the foot of a precipice of black rocks, behold, there were the terrible Gorgons ! They lay fast asleep, soothed by the thunder of the sea, for it required a tumult that would have deafened every body else to lull such fierce creatures into slumber. The moonlight glistened on their steely scales and on their golden wings, which drooped idly over the sand. Their brazen claws, horrible to look at, were thrust out and clutched the wave- beaten fragments of rock, while the sleeping Gorgons dreamed of tearing some poor mortal all to pieces. The snakes that served them instead of hair seemed likewise to be asleep, although now and then one would writhe and lift its head and thrust out its forked tongue, emitting a drowsy hiss, and then let itself subside among its sister snakes.
The Gorgons were more like an awful gigantic kind of in sect — immense golden-winged beetles or dragon flies or things of that sort, at once ugly and beautiful — than like anything else, only that they were a thousand and a million times as big. And, with all this, there was something partly human about them, too. Luckily for Perseus, their faces were completely hidden from him by the posture in which they lay, for had he but looked one instant at them he would have fallen heavily out of the air, an image of senseless stone.
" Now," whispered Quicksilver, as he hovered by the side of Perseus, — " now is your time to do the deed ! Be quick, for if one of the Gorgons should awake, you are too late. "
" Which shall I strike at ? " asked Perseus, drawing his sword and descending a little lower. " They all three look alike. All three have snaky locks. Which of the three is Medusa ? "
It must be understood that Medusa was the only one of these dragon monsters whose head Perseus could possibly cut off. As for the other two, let him have the sharpest sword that ever was forged, and he might have hacked away by the hour together without doing them the least harm.
" Be cautious," said the calm voice which had before spoken to him. " One of the Gorgons is stirring in her sleep, and is just about to turn over. That is Medusa. Do not look at her. The sight would turn you to stone. Look at the reflection of her face and figure in the bright mirror of your shield. "
Perseus now understood Quicksilver's motive for so earnestly exhorting him to polish his shield. In its surface he could safely
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look at the reflection of the Gorgon's face. And there it was, that terrible countenance, mirrored in the brightness of the shield, with the moonlight falling over it and displaying all its horror. The snakes, whose venomous natures could not alto gether sleep, kept twisting themselves over the forehead. It was the fiercest and most horrible face that ever was seen or imagined, and yet with a strange, fearful, and savage kind of beauty in it. The eyes were closed and the Gorgon was still in a deep slumber, but there was an unquiet expression disturbing her features, as if the monster was troubled with an ugly dream. She gnashed her white tusks and dug into the sand with her brazen claws.
The snakes, too, seemed to feel Medusa's dream and to be made more restless by it. They twined themselves into tumul tuous knots, writhed fiercely, and uplifted a hundred hissing heads without opening their eyes.
" Now, now ! " whispered Quicksilver, " who was growing im patient. " Make a dash at the monster !
" But be calm," said the grave, melodious voice at the young man's side. " Look in your shield as you fly downward, and take care that you do not miss your first stroke. "
Perseus flew cautiously downward, still keeping his eyes on Medusa's face as reflected in his shield. The nearer he came the more terrible did the snaky visage and metallic body of the monster grow. At last, when he found himself hovering over her within arm's length, Perseus uplifted his sword, while at the same instant each separate snake upon the Gorgon's head stretched threateningly upward and Medusa unclosed her eyes. But she awoke too late. The sword was sharp, the stroke fell like a lightning flash, and the head of the wicked Medusa tum bled from her body ! "
cried Quicksilver. " Make haste and clap the head into your magic wallet. "
" Admirably done !
To the astonishment of Perseus, the small embroidered wallet which he had hung about his neck, and which had hitherto been no bigger than a purse, grew all at once large enough to contain Medusa's head. As quick as thought he snatched it up, with the snakes still writhing upon it, and thrust it in.
" Your task is done," said the calm voice. " Now fly, for the other Gorgons will do their utmost to take vengeance for Medusa's death. "
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It was indeed necessary to take flight, for Perseus had not done the deed so quietly but that the clash of his sword and the hissing of the snakes and the thump of Medusa's head as it tumbled upon the sea-beaten sand awoke the other two monsters. There they sat for an instant, sleepily rubbing their eyes with their brazen fingers, while all the snakes on their heads reared themselves on end with surprise and with venomous malice against they knew not what. But when the Gorgons saw the scaly carcass of Medusa headless, and her golden wings all ruffled and half spread out on the sand, it was really awful to hear what yells and screeches they set up. And then the snakes ! They sent forth a hundredfold hiss with one consent, and Medusa's snakes answered them out of the magic wallet.
No sooner were the Gorgons broad awake than they hurtled upward into the air, brandishing their brass talons, gnashing their horrible tusks, and flapping their huge wings so wildly that some of the golden feathers were shaken out and floated down upon the shore. And there, perhaps, those very feathers lie scattered till this day. Up rose the Gorgons, as I tell you, staring horribly about in hopes of turning somebody to stone. Had Perseus looked them in the face, or had he fallen into their clutches, his poor mother would never have kissed her boy again. But he took good care to turn his eyes another way, and as he wore the helmet of invisibility, the Gorgons knew not in what direction to follow him ; nor did he fail to make the best use of the winged slippers by soaring upward a perpendicular mile or so. At that height, when the screams of those abominable creatures sounded faintly beneath him, he made a straight course for the island of Seriphus, in order to carry Medusa's head to King Polydectes.
I have no time to tell you of several marvelous things that befell Perseus on his way homeward, such as his killing a hideous sea monster just as it was on the point of devouring a beautiful maiden, nor how he changed an enormous giant into a mountain of stone merely by showing him the head of the
If you doubt this latter story, you may make a voy age to Africa some day or other and see the very mountain, which is still known by the ancient giant's name.
Gorgon.
Finally, our brave Perseus arrived at the island, where he expected to see his dear mother. But during his absence the wicked king had treated Danae so very ill that she was com pelled to make her escape, and had taken refuge in a temple,
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where some good old priests were extremely kind to her. These praiseworthy priests, and the kind-hearted fisherman who had first shown hospitality to Danae and little Perseus when he found them afloat in the chest, seem to have been the only persons on the island who cared about doing right. All the rest of the people, as well as King Polydectes himself, were remarkably ill-behaved, and deserved no better destiny than that which was now to happen.
Not finding his mother at home, Perseus went straight to the palace, and was immediately ushered into the presence of the king. Polydectes was by no means rejoiced to see him, for he had felt almost certain in his own evil mind that the Gorgons would have torn the poor young man to pieces and have eaten him up out of the way. However, seeing him safely returned, he put the best face he could upon the matter and asked Per seus how he had succeeded. "
" Have you performed your promise ?
you brought me the head of Medusa with the snaky locks ? If not, young man, it will cost you dear, for I must have a bridal present for the beautiful Princess Hippodamia, and there is nothing else that she would admire so much. "
" Yes, please your majesty," answered Perseus in a quiet way, as if it were no very wonderful deed for such a young man as he to perform. " I have brought you the Gorgon's head, snaky locks, and all. "
" Indeed ! Pray let me see it," quoth King Polydectes. " It must be a very curious spectacle, if all that travelers tell about it be true. "
"Your majesty is in the right," replied Perseus. "It is really an object that will be pretty certain to fix the regards of all who look at it. And, if your majesty think fit, I would suggest that a holiday be proclaimed, and that all your majesty's subjects be summoned to behold this wonderful curiosity. Few of them, I imagine, have seen a Gorgon's head before, and per haps never may again. "
The king well knew that his subjects were an idle set of rep robates, and very fond of sight-seeing, as idle persons usually are. So he took the young man's advice, and sent out heralds and messengers in all directions to blow the trumpet at the street corners and in the market places and wherever two roads met, and summon everybody to court. Thither, accordingly, came a great multitude of good-for-nothing vagabonds, all of
inquired he. " Have
398 THE GORGON'S HEAD.
whom, out of pure love of mischief, would have been glad if Perseus had met with some ill hap in his encounter with the Gorgons. If there were any better people in the island (as I really hope there may have been, although the story tells nothing about any such), they stayed quietly at home, minding their own business and taking care of their little children. Most of the inhabitants, at all events, ran as fast as they could to the palace, and shoved and pushed and elbowed one another in their eagerness to get near a balcony on which Perseus showed himself holding the embroidered wallet in his hand.
On a platform within full view of the balcony sat the mighty King Polydectes, amid his evil counselors and with his flatter ing courtiers in a semicircle round about him. Monarch, coun selors, courtiers, and subjects all gazed eagerly toward Perseus.
" Show us the head ! Show us the head ! " shouted the people ; and there was a fierceness in their cry, as if they would tear Perseus to pieces unless he should satisfy them with what he had to show. " Show us the head of Medusa with the snaky locks ! "
A feeling of sorrow and pity came over the youthful Perseus.
" Ho, ho ! " cried they ; " Medusa's snakes will sting him soundly ! "
Now, there were three Gorgons alive at that period, and they were the most strange and terrible monsters that had ever been seen since the world was made, or that have been seen in after days, or that are likely to be seen in all time to come. I hardly know what sort of creature or hobgoblin to call them. They were three sisters, and seem to have borne some distant resemblance to woman, but were really a very frightful and mischievous species of dragon. It is indeed difficult to imagine what hideous beings these three sisters were. Why, instead of locks of hair, if you can believe me, they had each of them a hundred enormous snakes growing on their heads, all alive, twisting, wriggling, curling, and thrusting out their venomous tongues with forked stings at the end. The teeth of the Gor gons were terribly long tusks ; their hands were made of brass ; and their bodies were all over scales, which, if not iron, were something as hard and impenetrable. They had wings, too, and exceedingly splendid ones, I can assure you, for every feather in them was pure, bright, glittering, burnished gold, and they looked very dazzling, no doubt, when the Gorgons were flying about in the sunshine.
But when people happened to catch a glimpse of their glit tering brightness aloft in the air, they seldom stopped to gaze,
382 THE GORGON'S HEAD.
but ran and hid themselves as speedily as they could. You will think, perhaps, that they were afraid of being stung by the serpents that served the Gorgons instead of hair, or of hav ing their heads bitten off by their ugly tusks, or of being torn all to pieces by their brazen claws. Well, to be sure, these were some of the dangers, but by no means the greatest nor the most difficult to avoid. For the worst thing about these abominable Gorgons was that if once a poor mortal fixed his eyes full upon one of their faces, he was certain that very instant to be changed from warm flesh and blood into cold and lifeless stone.
Thus, as you will easily perceive, it was a very dangerous adventure that the wicked King Polydectes had contrived for this innocent young man. Perseus himself, when he had thought over the matter, could not help seeing that he had very little chance of coming safely through and that he was far more likely to become stone image than to bring back the head of Medusa with the snaky locks. For, not to speak of other difficulties, there was one which would have puzzled an older man than Perseus to get over. Not only must he fight with and slay this golden-winged, iron-scaled, long-tusked, brazen-clawed, snaky-haired monster, but he must do with his eyes shut, or at least without so much as a glance at the enemy with whom he was contending. Else, while his arm was lifted to strike, he would stiffen into stone, and stand with that uplifted arm for centuries, until time and the wind and weather should crumble him quite away. This would be very sad thing to befall young man who wanted to perform great many brave deeds and to enjoy a great deal of happiness in this bright and beautiful world.
So disconsolate did these thoughts make him that Perseus could not bear to tell his mother what he had undertaken to do. He therefore took his shield, girded on his sword, and crossed over from the island to the mainland, where he sat down in a solitary place and hardly refrained from shedding tears.
But while he was in this sorrowful mood he heard voice close beside him. "
" Perseus," said the voice, "why are you sad?
He lifted his head from his hands, in which he had hidden it, and, behold all alone as Perseus had supposed himself to be, there was stranger in the solitary place. It was brisk, intelligent, and remarkably shrewd-looking young man, with
a!
a
a aa it
a
it
it,
a
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383
a cloak over his shoulders, an odd sort of cap on his head, a strangely twisted staff in his hand, and a short and very crooked sword hanging by his side. He was exceeding light and active in his figure, like a person much accustomed to gym nastic exercises and well able to leap or run. Above all, the stranger had such a cheerful, knowing, and helpful aspect (though it was certainly a little mischievous into the bargain) that Perseus could not help feeling his spirits grow livelier as he gazed at him. Besides, being really a courageous youth, he felt greatly ashamed that anybody should have found him with tears in his eyes, like a timid little schoolboy, when, after all, there might be no occasion for despair. So Perseus wiped his eyes and answered the stranger pretty briskly, putting on as brave a look as he could.
" I am not so very sad," said he ; " only thoughtful about an adventure that I have undertaken. "
" Oho ! " answered the stranger. " Well, tell me all about it, and possibly I may be of service to you. I have helped a good many young men through adventures that looked difficult enough beforehand. Perhaps you may have heard of me. I have more names than one, but the name of Quicksilver suits me as well as any other. Tell me what your trouble is, and we will talk the matter over and see what can be done. "
The stranger's words and manner put Perseus into quite a different mood from his former one. He resolved to tell Quick silver all his difficulties, since he could not easily be worse off than he already was, and very possibly his new friend might give him some advice that would turn out well in the end. So he let the stranger know, in few words, precisely what the case was —how that King Polydectes wanted the head of Medusa with the snaky locks as a bridal gift for the beautiful Princess Hippodamia, and how that he had undertaken to get it for him, but was afraid of being turned into stone.
" And that would be a great pity," said Quicksilver, with his mischievous smile. "You would make a very handsome marble statue, it is true, and it would be a considerable number of centuries before you crumbled away, but, on the whole, one would rather be a young man for a few years than a stone image for a great many. "
" Oh, far rather ! " exclaimed Perseus, with the tears again standing in his eyes. " And, besides, what would my dear mother do if her beloved son were turned into a stone ? "
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THE GORGON'S HEAD.
" Well, well ! let us hope that the affair will not turn out so very badly," replied Quicksilver in an encouraging tone. " I am the very person to help you, if anybody can. My sister and myself will do our utmost to bring you safe through the adventure, ugly as it now looks. "
" Yes, my sister," said the stranger. " She is very wise, I promise you ; and as for myself, I generally have all my wits about me, such as they are. If you show yourself bold and cautious and follow our advice, you need not fear being a stone image yet a while. But, first of all, you must polish your shield till you can see your face in it as distinctly as in a mirror. "
This seemed to Perseus rather an odd beginning of the adventure, for he thought it of far more consequence that the shield should be strong enough to defend him from the Gorgons' brazen claws than that it should be bright enough to show him the reflection of his face. However, concluding that Quick silver knew better than himself, he immediately set to work and scrubbed the shield with so much diligence and good will that it very quickly shone like the moon at harvest time. Quicksilver looked at it with a smile and nodded his approba tion. Then, taking off his own short and crooked sword, he girded it about Perseus, instead of the one which he had before worn.
"Your sister? " repeated Perseus.
" No sword but mine will answer your purpose," observed he ; " the blade has a most excellent temper, and will cut through iron and brass as easily as through the slenderest twig. And now we will set out. The next thing is to find the Three Gray Women, who will tell us where to find the Nymphs. "
" The Three Gray Women ! " cried Perseus, to whom this seemed only a new difficulty in the path of his adventure ;
" pray, who may the Three Gray Women be ? of them before. "
I never heard
" They are three very strange old ladies," said Quicksilver, laughing. " They have but one eye among them, and only one tooth. Moreover, you must find them out by starlight or in the dusk of the evening, for they never show themselves by the light either of the sun or moon. "
" But," said Perseus, " why should I waste my time with these Three Gray Women ? Would it not be better to set out at once in search of the terrible Gorgons ? "
THE GORGON'S HEAD. 385
" No, no," answered his friend. " There are other things to be done before you can find your way to the Gorgons. There is nothing for it but to hunt up these old ladies, and when we meet with them you may be sure that the Gorgons are not a great way off. Come, let us be stirring. "
Perseus by this time felt so much confidence in his com panion's sagacity that he made no more objections, and pro fessed himself ready to begin the adventure immediately. They accordingly set out and walked at a pretty brisk pace —. so brisk, indeed, that Perseus found it rather difficult to keep up with his nimble friend Quicksilver. To say the truth, he had a singular idea that Quicksilver was furnished with a pair of winged shoes, which of course helped him along marvelously. And then, too, when Perseus looked sideways at him out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to see wings on the side of his head, although, if he turned a full gaze, there were no such things to be perceived, but only an odd kind of cap. But, at all events, the twisted staff was evidently a great convenience to Quicksilver, and enabled him to proceed so fast that Perseus, though a remarkably active young man, began to be out of breath. "
" Here !
enough, rogue that he was, how hard Perseus found it to keep pace with him — " take you the staff, for you need it a great deal more than I. Are there no better walkers than yourself in the island of Seriphus? "
cried Quicksilver at last — for he knew well
" I could walk pretty well," said Perseus, glancing slyly at his companion's feet, "if I had only a pair of winged shoes. "
" We must see about getting you a pair," answered Quick silver.
But the staff helped Perseus along so bravely that he no longer felt the slightest weariness. In fact, the stick seemed to be alive in his hand, and to lend some of its life to Perseus. He and Quicksilver now walked onward at their ease, talking very sociably together, and Quicksilver told so many pleasant stories about his former adventures, and how well his wits had served him on various occasions, that Perseus began to think him a very wonderful person. He evidently knew the world, and nobody is so charming to a young man as a friend who has that kind of knowledge. Perseus listened the more eagerly in the hope of brightening his own wits by what he heard.
At last he happened to recollect that Quicksilver had spoken
386 THE GORGON'S HEAD.
of a sister who was to lend her assistance in the adventure which they were now bound upon.
"Where is she? " he inquired. "Shall we not meet her soon? "
I shall be afraid to say
" She is a very accomplished person, I assure you," con tinued Quicksilver, "and has all the arts and sciences at her fingers' ends. In short, she is so immoderately wise that many people call her wisdom personified. But, to tell you the truth, she has hardly vivacity enough for my taste, and I think you would scarcely find her so pleasant a traveling companion as myself. She has her good points, nevertheless, and you will find the benefit of them in your encounter with the Gor- gons. "
" All at the proper time," said his companion. " But this sister of mine, you must understand, is quite a different sort of character from myself. She is very grave and prudent, seldom smiles, never laughs, and makes it a rule not to utter a word unless she has something particularly profound to say. Neither will she listen to any but the wisest conversation. "
" Dear me ! " ejaculated Perseus ; " a syllable. "
By this time it had grown quite dusk. They were now come to a very wild and desert place, overgrown with shaggy bushes, and so silent and solitary that nobody seemed ever to have dwelt or journeyed there. All was waste and desolate in the gray twilight, which grew every moment more obscure. Perseus looked about him rather disconsolately, and asked Quicksilver whether they had a great deal farther to go.
" Hist ! hist ! " whispered his companion. " Make no noise. This is just the time and place to meet the Three Gray Women. Be careful that they do not see you before you see them, for, though they have but a single eye among the three, it is as sharp-sighted as half a dozen common eyes. "
" But what must I do," asked Perseus, " when we meet them ? "
explained to Perseus how the Three Gray Women managed with their one eye. They were in the habit, it seems, of changing it from one to another, as if it had been a pair of spectacles or — which would have suited them better — a quizzing glass. When one of the three had kept the eye a certain time, she took it out of the socket and passed it to one
of her sisters whose turn it might happen to be, and who im
Quicksilver
THE GORGON'S HEAD. 387
mediately clapped it into her own head and enjoyed a peep at the visible world. Thus it will easily be understood that only one of the Three Gray Women could see, while the other two were in utter darkness ; and, moreover, at the instant when the eye was passing from hand to hand neither of the poor old ladies was able to see a wink. I have heard of a great many strange things in my day, and have witnessed not a few, but none, it seems to me, that can compare with the oddity of these Three Gray Women all peeping through a single eye.
So thought Perseus likewise, and was so astonished that he almost fancied his companion was joking with him, and that there were no such old women in the world.
" You will soon find whether I tell the truth or no," observed
Quicksilver. now ! "
" Hark ! hush ! hist ! hist ! There they come,
Perseus looked earnestly through the dusk of the evening, and there, sure enough, at no great distance off, he descried the Three Gray Women. The light being so faint, he could not well make out what sort of figures they were, only he dis covered that they had long gray hair, and as they came nearer he saw that two of them had but the empty socket of an eye in the middle of their foreheads. But in the middle of the third sister's forehead there was a very large, bright, and piercing eye, which sparkled like a great diamond in a ring; and so penetrating did it seem to be that Perseus could not help thinking it must possess the gift of seeing in the darkest midnight just as perfectly as at noonday. The sight of three persons' eyes was melted and collected into that single one.
Thus the three old dames got along about as comfortably, upon the whole, as if they could all see at once. She who chanced to have the eye in her forehead led the other two by the hands, peeping sharply about her all the while, inso much that Perseus dreaded lest she should see right through the thick clump of bushes behind which he and Quicksilver had hidden themselves. My stars ! it was positively terrible to be within reach of so very sharp an eye.
But before they reached the clump of bushes one of the Three Gray Women spoke.
" Sister ! Sister Scarecrow ! " cried she, " you have had the eye long enough. It is my turn now ! "
" Let me keep it a moment longer, Sister Nightmare," an
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THE GORGON'S HEAD.
swered Scarecrow. " I thought I had a glimpse of something behind that thick bush. "
"Well, and what of that? " retorted Nightmare, peevishly. " Can't I see into a thick bush as easily as yourself ? The eye is mine as well as yours, and I know the use of it as well as you, or maybe a little better. I insist upon taking a peep immediately. "
But here the third sister, whose name was Shakejoint, began to complain, and said that it was her turn to have the eye, and that Scarecrow and Nightmare wanted to keep it all to them selves. To end the dispute, old Dame Scarecrow took the eye out of her forehead and held it forth in her hand.
" Take it, one of you," cried she, " and quit this foolish quarreling. For my part, I shall be glad of a little thick dark ness. Take it quickly, however, or I must clap it into my own head again. "
Accordingly, both Nightmare and Shakejoint stretched out their hands, groping eagerly to snatch the eye out of the hand of Scarecrow. But, being both alike blind, they could not easily find where Scarecrow's hand was ; and Scarecrow, being now just as much in the dark as Shakejoint and Nightmare, could not at once meet either of their hands in order to put the eye into it. Thus (as you will see with half an eye, my wise little auditors) these good old dames had fallen into a strange per plexity. For, though the eye shone and glistened like a star as Scarecrow held it out, yet the Gray Women caught not the least glimpse of its light, and were, all three, in utter darkness from too impatient a desire to see.
Quicksilver was so much tickled at beholding Shakejoint and Nightmare both groping for the eye, and each finding fault with Scarecrow and with one another, that he could scarcely help laughing aloud. "
" Now is your time !
quick ! before they can clap the eye into either of their heads. Rush out upon the old ladies and snatch it from Scarecrow's hand. "
he whispered to Perseus. " Quick,
In an instant, while the Three Gray Women were still scolding each other, Perseus leaped from behind the clump of bushes and made himself master of the prize. The marvelous eye, as he held it in his hand, shone very brightly, and seemed to look up into his face with a knowing air, and an expression as if it would have winked had it been provided with a pair of
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389
eyelids for that purpose. But the Gray Women knew nothing of what had happened, and, each supposing that one of her sisters was in possession of the eye, they began their quarrel anew. At last, as Perseus did not wish to put these respecta ble dames to greater inconvenience than was really necessary, he thought it right to explain the matter.
" My good ladies," said he, " pray do not be angry with one another. If anybody is in fault, it is myself, for I have the honor to hold your very brilliant and excellent eye in my own hand. " "
" You ! you have our eye ? And who are you ?
the Three Gray Women all in a breath, for they were terribly frightened, of course, at hearing a strange voice and discover ing that their eyesight had got into the hands of they could not guess whom. " Oh, what shall we do, sisters ? what shall we do ? We are all in the dark ! Give us our eye ! Give us our one precious, "solitary eye ! You have two of your own ! Give us our eye !
screamed
" Tell them," whispered Quicksilver to Perseus, " that they shall have back the eye as soon as they direct you where to find the Nymphs who have the flying slippers, the magic wallet, and the helmet of darkness. "
" My dear, good, admirable old ladies," said Perseus, address ing the Gray Women, " there is no occasion for putting your selves into such a fright. I am by no means a bad young man. You shall have back your eye, safe and sound and as bright as ever, the moment you tell me where to find the Nymphs. "
" The Nymphs ! Goodness me ! sisters, what Nymphs does he mean? " screamed Scarecrow. "There are a great many Nymphs, people say — some that go a hunting in the woods, and some that live inside of trees, and some that have a comfortable home in fountains of water. We know nothing at all about them. We are three unfortunate old souls that go wandering about in the dusk, and never had but one eye among us, and that one you have stolen away.
Oh, give it back, good stranger ! whoever you are, give it back ! "
All this while the Three Gray Women were groping with their outstretched hands and trying their utmost to get hold of Perseus, but he took good care to keep out of their reach.
"My respectable dames," said he — for his mother had taught him always to use the greatest civility — "I hold your eye fast in my hand, and shall keep it safely for you until you please to
390 THE GORGON'S HEAD.
tell me where to find these Nymphs — the Nymphs, I mean, who keep the enchanted wallet, the flying slippers, and the —. what is it ? — the helmet of invisibility. " "
" Mercy on us, sisters ! what is the young man talking about? exclaimed Scarecrow, Nightmare, and Shakejoint one to another, with great appearance of astonishment. " A pair of flying slip pers, quoth he ! His heels would quickly fly higher than his head if he were silly enough to put them on. And a helmet of invisibility ! How could a helmet make him invisible unless it were big enough for him to hide under it ? And the enchanted wallet ! What sort of a contrivance may that be, I wonder ? No, no, good stranger ! we can tell you nothing of these mar velous things. You have two eyes of your own, and we but a single one among us three. You can find out such wonders better than three blind old creatures like us. "
Perseus, hearing them talk in this way, began really to think that the Gray Women knew nothing of the matter, and, as it grieved him to have put them to so much trouble, he was just on the point of restoring their eye and asking pardon for his rudeness in snatching it away. But Quicksilver caught his hand.
"Don't let them make a fool of you," said he. "These Three Gray Women are the only persons in the world that can tell you where to find the Nymphs, and unless you get that information you will never succeed in cutting off the head of Medusa with the snaky locks. Keep fast hold of the eye and all will go well. "
As it turned out, Quicksilver was in the right. There are but few things that people prize so much as they do their eye sight, and the Gray Women valued their single eye as highly as if it had been half a dozen, which was the number they ought to have had. Finding that there was no other way of recover ing it, they at last told Perseus what he wanted to know. No sooner had they done so than he immediately and with the utmost respect clapped the eye into the vacant socket in one of their foreheads, thanked them for their kindness, and bade them farewell. Before the young man was out of hearing, however, they had got into a new dispute because he happened to have given the eye to Scarecrow, who had already taken her turn of it when their trouble with Perseus commenced.
It is greatly to be feared that the Three Gray Women were very much in the habit of disturbing their mutual harmony by
THE GORGON'S HEAD. 391
bickerings of this sort, which was the more pity as they could not conveniently do without one another, and were evidently intended to be inseparable companions. As a general rule, I would advise all people, whether sisters or brothers, old or young, who chance to have but one eye among them, to culti vate forbearance, and not all insist upon peeping through it at once.
Quicksilver and Perseus in the mean time were making the best of their way in quest of the Nymphs. The old dames had given them such particular directions that they were not long in finding them out. They proved to be very different persons from Nightmare, Shakejoint, and Scarecrow, for instead of being old they were young and beautiful, and instead of one eye among the sisterhood each Nymph had two exceedingly bright eyes of her own, with which she looked very kindly at Perseus. They seemed to be acquainted with Quicksilver, and when he told them the adventure which Perseus had undertaken they made no difficulty about giving him the valuable articles that were in their custody. In the first place, they brought out what appeared to be a small purse, made of deerskin and curiously embroidered, and bade him be sure and keep it safe. This was the magic wallet. The Nymphs next produced a pair of shoes or slippers or sandals with a nice little pair of wings at the heel of each.
" Put them on, Perseus," said Quicksilver. " You will find yourself as light-heeled as you can desire for the remainder of our journey. "
So Perseus proceeded to put one of the slippers on, while he laid the other on the ground by his side. Unexpectedly, however, this other slipper spread its wings, fluttered up off the ground, and would probably have flown away if Quicksilver had not made a leap and luckily caught it in the air.
" "Be more careful," said he as he gave it back to Perseus.
It would frighten the birds up aloft if they should see a flying slipper amongst them. "
When Perseus had got on both of these wonderful slippers he was altogether too buoyant to tread on earth. Making a step or two, lo and behold ! upward he popped into the air, high above the heads of Quicksilver and the Nymphs, and found it very difficult to clamber down again. Winged slippers and all such high-flying contrivances are seldom quite easy to manage until one grows a little accustomed to them.
Quicksilver
392 THE GORGON'S HEAD.
laughed at his companion's involuntary activity, and told him that he must not be in so desperate a hurry, but must wait for the invisible helmet.
The good-natured Nymphs had the helmet with its dark tuft of waving plumes all in readiness to put upon his head. And now there happened about as wonderful an incident as anything that I have yet told you. The instant before the helmet was put on, there stood Perseus, a beautiful young man with golden ringlets and rosy cheeks, the crooked sword by his side, and the brightly polished shield upon his arm — a figure that seemed all made up of courage, sprightliness, and glorious light. But when the helmet had descended over his white brow there was no longer any Perseus to be seen ! Nothing but empty air ! Even the helmet that covered him with its invisi bility had vanished ! "
" Where are you, Perseus ?
asked Quicksilver.
" Why, here, to be sure ! " answered Perseus, very quietly, although his voice seemed to come out of the transparent atmosphere. "Just where I was a moment ago. Don't you
see me? "
" No, indeed ! " answered his friend. " You are hidden
under the helmet. But if I cannot see you, neither can the Gorgons. Follow me, therefore, and we will try your dexterity in using the winged slippers. "
With these words Quicksilver's cap spread its wings, as if his head were about to fly away from his shoulders ; but his whole figure rose lightly into the air, and Perseus followed. By the time they had ascended a few hundred feet the young man began to feel what a delightful thing it was to leave the dull earth so far beneath him and to be able to flit about like a bird.
It was now deep night. Perseus looked upward and saw the round, bright, silvery moon, and thought that he should desire nothing better than to soar up thither and spend his life there. Then he looked downward again and saw the earth, with its seas and lakes, and the silver courses of its rivers, and snowy mountain peaks, and the breadth of its fields, and the dark cluster of its woods, and its cities of white marble ; and, with the moonshine sleeping over the whole scene, it was as beautiful as the moon or any star could be. And, among other objects, he saw the island of Seriphus, where his dear mother was. Sometimes he and Quicksilver approached a cloud that at a distance looked as if it were made of fleecy silver, although
THE GORGON'S HEAD. 393
when they plunged into it they found themselves chilled and moistened with gray mist. So swift was their flight, however, that in an instant they emerged from the cloud into the moon light again. Once a high-soaring eagle flew right against the invisible Perseus. The bravest sights were the meteors that gleamed suddenly out as if a bonfire had been kindled in the sky, and made the sunshine pale for as much as a hundred miles around them.
As the two companions flew onward Perseus fancied that he could hear the rustle of a garment close by his side; and it was on the side opposite to the one where he beheld Quicksilver, yet only Quicksilver was visible.
"Whose garment is this," inquired" Perseus, "that keeps rustling close beside me in the breeze ?
" Oh, it is my sister's ! " answered Quicksilver. " She is coming along with us, as I told you she would. We could do nothing without the help of my sister. You have no idea how wise she is. She has such eyes, too ! Why, she can see you at this moment just as distinctly as if you were not invisible, and I'll venture to say she will be the first to discover the Gorgons. "
By this time, in their swift voyage through the air, they had come within sight of the great ocean, and were soon flying over it. Far beneath them the waves tossed themselves tumul- tuously in mid sea, or rolled a white surf line upon the long beaches, or foamed against the rocky cliffs with a roar that was thunderous in the lower world, although it became a gentle murmur, like the voice of a baby half asleep, before it reached the ears of Perseus. Just then a voice spoke in the air close by him. It seemed to be a woman's voice, and was melodious, though not exactly what might be called sweet, but grave and mild.
"Perseus," said the voice, "there are the Gorgons. "
" Where ? " exclaimed Perseus. " I cannot see them. "
" On the shore of that island beneath you," replied the
voice. "A pebble dropped from your hand would strike in the midst of them. "
"I told you she would be the first to discover them," said Quicksilver to Perseus. " And there they are ! "
Straight downward, two or three thousand feet below him, Perseus perceived a small island with the sea breaking into white foam all around its rocky shore except on one side, where there was a beach of snowy sand. He descended toward it,
394
THE GORGON'S HEAD.
and, looking earnestly at a cluster or heap of brightness at the foot of a precipice of black rocks, behold, there were the terrible Gorgons ! They lay fast asleep, soothed by the thunder of the sea, for it required a tumult that would have deafened every body else to lull such fierce creatures into slumber. The moonlight glistened on their steely scales and on their golden wings, which drooped idly over the sand. Their brazen claws, horrible to look at, were thrust out and clutched the wave- beaten fragments of rock, while the sleeping Gorgons dreamed of tearing some poor mortal all to pieces. The snakes that served them instead of hair seemed likewise to be asleep, although now and then one would writhe and lift its head and thrust out its forked tongue, emitting a drowsy hiss, and then let itself subside among its sister snakes.
The Gorgons were more like an awful gigantic kind of in sect — immense golden-winged beetles or dragon flies or things of that sort, at once ugly and beautiful — than like anything else, only that they were a thousand and a million times as big. And, with all this, there was something partly human about them, too. Luckily for Perseus, their faces were completely hidden from him by the posture in which they lay, for had he but looked one instant at them he would have fallen heavily out of the air, an image of senseless stone.
" Now," whispered Quicksilver, as he hovered by the side of Perseus, — " now is your time to do the deed ! Be quick, for if one of the Gorgons should awake, you are too late. "
" Which shall I strike at ? " asked Perseus, drawing his sword and descending a little lower. " They all three look alike. All three have snaky locks. Which of the three is Medusa ? "
It must be understood that Medusa was the only one of these dragon monsters whose head Perseus could possibly cut off. As for the other two, let him have the sharpest sword that ever was forged, and he might have hacked away by the hour together without doing them the least harm.
" Be cautious," said the calm voice which had before spoken to him. " One of the Gorgons is stirring in her sleep, and is just about to turn over. That is Medusa. Do not look at her. The sight would turn you to stone. Look at the reflection of her face and figure in the bright mirror of your shield. "
Perseus now understood Quicksilver's motive for so earnestly exhorting him to polish his shield. In its surface he could safely
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395
look at the reflection of the Gorgon's face. And there it was, that terrible countenance, mirrored in the brightness of the shield, with the moonlight falling over it and displaying all its horror. The snakes, whose venomous natures could not alto gether sleep, kept twisting themselves over the forehead. It was the fiercest and most horrible face that ever was seen or imagined, and yet with a strange, fearful, and savage kind of beauty in it. The eyes were closed and the Gorgon was still in a deep slumber, but there was an unquiet expression disturbing her features, as if the monster was troubled with an ugly dream. She gnashed her white tusks and dug into the sand with her brazen claws.
The snakes, too, seemed to feel Medusa's dream and to be made more restless by it. They twined themselves into tumul tuous knots, writhed fiercely, and uplifted a hundred hissing heads without opening their eyes.
" Now, now ! " whispered Quicksilver, " who was growing im patient. " Make a dash at the monster !
" But be calm," said the grave, melodious voice at the young man's side. " Look in your shield as you fly downward, and take care that you do not miss your first stroke. "
Perseus flew cautiously downward, still keeping his eyes on Medusa's face as reflected in his shield. The nearer he came the more terrible did the snaky visage and metallic body of the monster grow. At last, when he found himself hovering over her within arm's length, Perseus uplifted his sword, while at the same instant each separate snake upon the Gorgon's head stretched threateningly upward and Medusa unclosed her eyes. But she awoke too late. The sword was sharp, the stroke fell like a lightning flash, and the head of the wicked Medusa tum bled from her body ! "
cried Quicksilver. " Make haste and clap the head into your magic wallet. "
" Admirably done !
To the astonishment of Perseus, the small embroidered wallet which he had hung about his neck, and which had hitherto been no bigger than a purse, grew all at once large enough to contain Medusa's head. As quick as thought he snatched it up, with the snakes still writhing upon it, and thrust it in.
" Your task is done," said the calm voice. " Now fly, for the other Gorgons will do their utmost to take vengeance for Medusa's death. "
396 THE GORGON'S HEAD.
It was indeed necessary to take flight, for Perseus had not done the deed so quietly but that the clash of his sword and the hissing of the snakes and the thump of Medusa's head as it tumbled upon the sea-beaten sand awoke the other two monsters. There they sat for an instant, sleepily rubbing their eyes with their brazen fingers, while all the snakes on their heads reared themselves on end with surprise and with venomous malice against they knew not what. But when the Gorgons saw the scaly carcass of Medusa headless, and her golden wings all ruffled and half spread out on the sand, it was really awful to hear what yells and screeches they set up. And then the snakes ! They sent forth a hundredfold hiss with one consent, and Medusa's snakes answered them out of the magic wallet.
No sooner were the Gorgons broad awake than they hurtled upward into the air, brandishing their brass talons, gnashing their horrible tusks, and flapping their huge wings so wildly that some of the golden feathers were shaken out and floated down upon the shore. And there, perhaps, those very feathers lie scattered till this day. Up rose the Gorgons, as I tell you, staring horribly about in hopes of turning somebody to stone. Had Perseus looked them in the face, or had he fallen into their clutches, his poor mother would never have kissed her boy again. But he took good care to turn his eyes another way, and as he wore the helmet of invisibility, the Gorgons knew not in what direction to follow him ; nor did he fail to make the best use of the winged slippers by soaring upward a perpendicular mile or so. At that height, when the screams of those abominable creatures sounded faintly beneath him, he made a straight course for the island of Seriphus, in order to carry Medusa's head to King Polydectes.
I have no time to tell you of several marvelous things that befell Perseus on his way homeward, such as his killing a hideous sea monster just as it was on the point of devouring a beautiful maiden, nor how he changed an enormous giant into a mountain of stone merely by showing him the head of the
If you doubt this latter story, you may make a voy age to Africa some day or other and see the very mountain, which is still known by the ancient giant's name.
Gorgon.
Finally, our brave Perseus arrived at the island, where he expected to see his dear mother. But during his absence the wicked king had treated Danae so very ill that she was com pelled to make her escape, and had taken refuge in a temple,
THE GORGON'S HEAD. 397
where some good old priests were extremely kind to her. These praiseworthy priests, and the kind-hearted fisherman who had first shown hospitality to Danae and little Perseus when he found them afloat in the chest, seem to have been the only persons on the island who cared about doing right. All the rest of the people, as well as King Polydectes himself, were remarkably ill-behaved, and deserved no better destiny than that which was now to happen.
Not finding his mother at home, Perseus went straight to the palace, and was immediately ushered into the presence of the king. Polydectes was by no means rejoiced to see him, for he had felt almost certain in his own evil mind that the Gorgons would have torn the poor young man to pieces and have eaten him up out of the way. However, seeing him safely returned, he put the best face he could upon the matter and asked Per seus how he had succeeded. "
" Have you performed your promise ?
you brought me the head of Medusa with the snaky locks ? If not, young man, it will cost you dear, for I must have a bridal present for the beautiful Princess Hippodamia, and there is nothing else that she would admire so much. "
" Yes, please your majesty," answered Perseus in a quiet way, as if it were no very wonderful deed for such a young man as he to perform. " I have brought you the Gorgon's head, snaky locks, and all. "
" Indeed ! Pray let me see it," quoth King Polydectes. " It must be a very curious spectacle, if all that travelers tell about it be true. "
"Your majesty is in the right," replied Perseus. "It is really an object that will be pretty certain to fix the regards of all who look at it. And, if your majesty think fit, I would suggest that a holiday be proclaimed, and that all your majesty's subjects be summoned to behold this wonderful curiosity. Few of them, I imagine, have seen a Gorgon's head before, and per haps never may again. "
The king well knew that his subjects were an idle set of rep robates, and very fond of sight-seeing, as idle persons usually are. So he took the young man's advice, and sent out heralds and messengers in all directions to blow the trumpet at the street corners and in the market places and wherever two roads met, and summon everybody to court. Thither, accordingly, came a great multitude of good-for-nothing vagabonds, all of
inquired he. " Have
398 THE GORGON'S HEAD.
whom, out of pure love of mischief, would have been glad if Perseus had met with some ill hap in his encounter with the Gorgons. If there were any better people in the island (as I really hope there may have been, although the story tells nothing about any such), they stayed quietly at home, minding their own business and taking care of their little children. Most of the inhabitants, at all events, ran as fast as they could to the palace, and shoved and pushed and elbowed one another in their eagerness to get near a balcony on which Perseus showed himself holding the embroidered wallet in his hand.
On a platform within full view of the balcony sat the mighty King Polydectes, amid his evil counselors and with his flatter ing courtiers in a semicircle round about him. Monarch, coun selors, courtiers, and subjects all gazed eagerly toward Perseus.
" Show us the head ! Show us the head ! " shouted the people ; and there was a fierceness in their cry, as if they would tear Perseus to pieces unless he should satisfy them with what he had to show. " Show us the head of Medusa with the snaky locks ! "
A feeling of sorrow and pity came over the youthful Perseus.
