ey danced there and ran races, the jolly merchant kings, till the
night fell, and all went in.

And then they ate and drank, and comforted their weary souls, till
Alcinous called a herald, and bade him go and fetch the harper.

The herald went out, and fetched the harper, and led him in by the hand;
and Alcinous cut him a piece of meat from the fattest of the haunch, and
sent it to him, and said: "Sing to us, noble harper, and rejoice the
heroes' hearts."

So the harper played and sang, while the dancers danced strange figures;
and after that the tumblers showed their tricks, till the heroes laughed
again.

Then, "Tell me, heroes," asked Alcinous, "you who have sailed the ocean
round, and seen the manners of all nations, have you seen such dancers
as ours here? or heard such music and such singing? We hold ours to be
the best on earth."

"Such dancing we have never seen," said Orpheus; "and your singer is a
happy man; for Phoebus himself must have taught him, or else he is the
son of a Muse; as I am also, and have sung once or twice, though not so
well as he."

"Sing to us, then, noble stranger," said Alcinous; "and we will give you
precious gifts."

So Orpheus took his magic harp, and sang to them a stirring song of
their voyage from Iolcos, and their dangers, and how they won the
golden fleece; and of Medeia's love, and how she helped them, and went
with them over land and sea; and of all their fearful dangers, from
monsters, and rocks, and storms, till the heart of Arete was softened,
and all the women wept. And the merchant kings rose up, each man from
off his golden throne, and clasped their hands, and shouted: "Hail to
the noble Argonauts, who sailed the unknown seal"

Then he went on, and told their journey over the sluggish northern main,
and through the shoreless outer ocean, to the fairy island of the West;
and of the Sirens, and Scylla, and Charybdis, and all the wonders they
had seen, till midnight passed, and the day dawned; but the kings never
thought of sleep. Each man sat still and listened, with his chin upon
his hand.

And at last when Orpheus had ended, they all went thoughtful out, and
the heroes lay down to sleep, beneath the sounding porch outside, where
Arete had strewn them rugs and carpets, in the sweet still summer night.

But Arete pleaded hard with her husband for Medeia, for her heart was
softened. And she said: "The Gods will punish her, not we. After all,
she is our guest and