have known him for the king, so miserable did this man seem. He
crept along, touching the walls, for the eyes in his head were
blind and withered. His body was shrunken, and when he stood
before them leaning on his staff he was like to a lifeless thing.
He turned his blinded eyes upon them, looking from one to the
other as if he were searching for a face.

Then his sightless eyes rested upon Zetes and Calais, the sons of
Boreas, the North Wind. A change came into his face as it turned
upon them. One would think that he saw the wonder that these two
were endowed with--the wings that grew upon their ankles. It was
awhile before he turned his face from them; then he spoke to
Jason and said:

"You have come to have counsel with one who has the wisdom of the
gods. Others before you have come for such counsel, but seeing
the misery that is visible upon me they went without asking for
counsel: I would strive to hold you here for a while. Stay, and
have sight of the misery the gods visit upon those who would be
as wise as they. And when you have seen the thing that is wont to
befall me, it may be that help will come from you for me."

Then Phineus, the blind king, left them, and after a while the
heroes were brought into a great hall, and they were invited to
rest themselves there while a banquet was being prepared for
them. The hall was richly adorned, but it looked to the heroes as
if it had known strange happenings; rich hangings were strewn
upon the ground, an ivory chair was overturned, and the dais
where the king sat had stains upon it. The servants who went
through the hall making ready the banquet were white-faced and