setting out,
however, he summoned the whole crew together, and told them it was in vain
to hope that he could kill a stag every day for their dinner, and
therefore it was advisable to think of some other mode of satisfying their
hunger.

"Now," said he, "when I was on the cliff yesterday, I discovered that this
island is inhabited. At a considerable distance from the shore stood a
marble palace, which appeared to be very spacious, and had a great deal of
smoke curling out of one of its chimneys."

"Aha!" muttered some of his companions, smacking their lips. "That smoke
must have come from the kitchen fire. There was a good dinner on the spit;
and no doubt there will be as good a one to-day."

"But," continued the wise Ulysses, "you must remember, my good friends,
our misadventure in the cavern of one-eyed Polyphemus, the Cyclops!
Instead of his ordinary milk diet, did he not eat up two of our comrades
for his supper, and a couple more for breakfast, and two at his supper
again? Methinks I see him yet, the hideous monster, scanning us with that
great red eye, in the middle of his forehead, to single out the fattest.
And then again, only a few days ago, did we not fall into the hands of the
king of the Laestrygons, and those other horrible giants, his subjects, who
devoured a great many more of us than are now left? To tell you the truth,
if we go to yonder palace, there can be no question that we shall make our
appearance at the dinner-table; but whether seated as guests or served up
as food, is a point to be seriously considered."

"Either way," murmured some of the hungriest of the crew, "it will be
better than starvation; particularly if one could be sure of being well
fattened beforehand and daintily cooked afterwards."

"That is a matter of taste," said King Ulysses, "and, for my own part,
neither the most careful fattening nor the daintiest of cookery would
reconcile me to being dished at last. My proposal is, therefore, that we
divide ourselves into two equal parties, and ascertain, by drawing lots,
which of the two shall go to the palace, and beg for food and assistance.
If these can be obtained, all is well. If not, and if the inhabitants
prove as inhospitable as Polyphemus or the Laestrygons, then there will but
half of us perish, and the remainder may set sail and escape."

As nobody objected to this scheme, Ulysses proceeded to count the whole
band, and found that there were forty-six men, including hims