The Second Story about

Hercules;

HOW HE

ENTERED INTO THE

GARDEN OF THE HESPERIDES.

THE abours of Hercules were drawing to an end. Ten times he had been sent forth to difficulty and danger, and ten times, behaving himself like a true son of Zeus, he had returned victorious. And now the eleventh year of his slavery came on; and with the new year, new perils.

"Son of Zeus," said King Eurystheus, "hitherto thou hast fought valiantly and successfully; but success doth not always continue, and valour is sometimes wanting, when most needed. I am minded, therefore, to try thee once more; peradventure thou art not always invincible."

"I am ready, O son of Sthenelus," answered Hercules; "for serving thee, I serve my father. And I never looked, in this mortal life, for ease

or rest; it suffices me to labour here, and to have my portion among the gods hereafter."

"Be it so," King Eurystheus made answer : "but now hearken to my words: there is a garden in the southern boundaries of the earth, where the Hesperides inhabit. They are three in number, and fair beyond the daughters of men. Full of all lovely plants is that garden; but renowned above all is the Tree of the Golden Apples. These apples I desire to possess; but to gain them is a hard task. A dragon, terrible, scaly, breathing fire, and the hater of men, guards the tree; and by his death only can that fruit be obtained."

"I obey, King of Mycenae," said Hercules; "to-night shall see me on my journey. But I would fain inquire where the Hesperides dwell? for till that be known, small chance have I of entering their garden."

"All I know I have said," answered Eurystheus; "they dwell in the southern limits of earth, beyond the waters of the Great Sea. If thou wouldst know more, thou must seek it for thyself." And he turned and went into his palace.

Then was Hercules in a sore strait; but his courage failed him not. Again and again," he

said, "I have been victorious; the strength of Zeus was with me. And I feel that strength still; it puts might into my arm, and swiftness into my foot; it is to me as a great breast-plate, and stirs me up to do battle with the dragon. I may wander far before I can reach the garden: but Athene, who cannot be deceived, will guide my steps."

And so day after day he travelled on, till he came to fruitful Italy. It drew towards evening on the mountains; and still he was journeying to the South. At last he sat down to rest at the head of a ravine: right and left huge precipices opened out to his eye, along at their foot. forest, hung over the

and a stream went winding Trees, the giants of the path by which he was to

descend; the cork and the cedar, the oak and the chesnut; thousands of insects were singing their drowsy evening song; the sun shot long rays of hazy light through breaks of the foliage and crevices of the rocks: and here and there in the

grass were little eyes of gold. The hero leaned on

a breastwork of rock, and looked down into the abyss. Just below, on the brow of the ravine, was a plot of the smoothest turf; neither flowers nor plants grew on it: not a leaf lay there; it seemed as if it were tended by invisible hands. A

tall ash on one side, a stately oak on the other, sheltered it from sun and wind. And as Hercules looked, the nymphs of the mountains came forth to their evening dance. There were Dryads, that lurk in the deepest recesses of the woods, and never endure the glare of day; that dwell among dewy branches, and thick green arcades, and arbours of the thickest shade; there were Hamadryades, that are born with an oak, watch over the tree as it grows to perfection, and die when it dies; there were Oreades, who delight in the steepest crags, and stand where the wild goat would grow dizzy: there were NapϾ, who love the slope of the hill side, and the bosom of the sunny valley. They then mingled in the song and dance, till twilight gathered in over the cliffs.

Hercules, meanwhile, communed with his heart, and he spake boldly to the divinities.

"Nymphs," he said, "of the mountains, and forests, dwellers of the hill and the valley; ye that outspeed the deer in fleetness, and have haunts unknown to the woodman ; hear me a wanderer upon earth, although a son of Zeus. I seek the abode of your sister nymphs; I am bound to the garden of the Hesperides. Where dwell they? for ye know their habitations:

whither must I bend my course? Tell me, immortal nymphs; I will prove my thankfulness for your counsel. At my return, I will pour forth oblations of milk and honey in your praise; or, if it please you better, I will slay a goat at your altars."

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Then answered Aganippe, the brightest of the bright-eyed nymphs, Stranger," she said, "that by difficult paths art hastening to a lovely garden, thou askest that of us which is known only to the Heavenly Gods. But, if thou canst bind Nereus, the eldest of the divinities of the sea, he will tell thee what thou seekest, for he knows both present and past. He dwells on the seashore, in the southernmost coast of Italy."

"Thanks, O nymph," answered Hercules; "I will set forth in search of the god."

Stay yet," said fair Aganippe, "for I have not told thee all. Nereus can tell thee if he will, but, unless thou compellest him, he will not. Bind him, and keep him close; he can change himself into all shapes. Sometimes he will roar as a lion; then he will stretch his wings as an eagle; then he will become raging fire; then destructive water. But still hold him bound, and at length he will tell thee all."

So spake she, and retreated with her sisters.