But King Ulysses was a bold man as well as
a prudent one; and on the third morning he
determined to discover what sort of a place the
island was, and whether it were possible to ob-
tain a supply of food for the hungry mouths
of his companions. So, taking a spear in his
hand, he clambered to the summit of a cliff, and
gazed round about him. At a distance, towards
the centre of the island, he beheld the stately
towers of what seemed to be a palace, built of
snow-white marble, and rising in the midst of a
grove of lofty trees. The thick branches of these
trees stretched across the front of the edifice, and
more than half concealed it, although, from the
portion which he saw, Ulysses judged it to be
spacious and exceedingly beautiful, and probably
the residence of some great nobleman or prince.
A blue smoke went curling up from the chimney,
and was almost the pleasantest part of the spec-
tacle to Ulysses. For, from the abundance of
this smoke, it was reasonable to conclude that
there was a good fire in the kitchen, and that, at
dinner time, a plentiful banquet would be served
up to the inhabitants of the palace, and to what-
ever guests might happen to drop in.

[[164]]

p163 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p164w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p165

v?