they wanted to find the house of Hipponicus.
"Well," said Anaxagoras, when they had finished, "I live in the Piraeus.
I was on my way home, but now I shall go with you to the house of
Hipponicus, and you shall tell your story to Pericles himself."
VII
HOME AGAIN
Under the guidance and protection of Anaxagoras and the slave, the
children were soon ushered into the court of the richest house in Athens,
and then Anaxagoras sent a message to Pericles, who was dining with a
group of men in a large room opening off the court. When the slave opened
the door of the banquet-room, the children caught a glimpse of men
reclining on couches, with wreaths about their heads, and heard for an
instant the sound of laughter and gay voices. The smell of food came
also, and the Twins sniffed the delicious odor hungrily. Soon Pericles
appeared, wearing a wreath upon his brow, and, as Daphne thought, looking
more like a God than ever. Anaxagoras told him the story which the Twins
had told to him.
"A very neat plot! Is it not?" said Pericles gravely, when Anaxagoras had
finished.
"They said something about you too," said Daphne, lifting her eyes to
Anaxagoras.
"Indeed!" said Anaxagoras. "So I am in it, too! What did they say?"
"They said you were an old fox," said Daphne. The two men laughed.
"I trust I may live up to their opinion of me," said Anaxagoras.
Then Pericles looked at the children and laid his hand gently upon their
tousled heads.
"So you ran alone through Athens at night to warn me, did you?" he said.
"And you have been in great danger for my sake? I shall know how to deal
with those two pious old serpents of the Acropolis. Thanks to you, I
shall not fall into their coils. And Pericles does not forget an
obligation. Now, my little Spartans," he added, tipping up their chins
and looking at their pale and pinched faces, "it's time you had something
to eat!"
He clapped his hands and a slave appeared. "Say to Hipponicus that two
friends of Pericles are in the court, and he begs that they may be served
there with the best the house affords."
The slave disappeared and soon returned bringing such a feast as the
Twins had never tasted in their whole lives before. Pericles waited,
talking quietly with Anaxagoras, until their hunger was partly appeased,
and then he spoke to them again.
"Now, my brave Spartans," he said, "since you have been so considerate of
my safety, it is well that I should look after yours. Have you any idea
where your Father may be found? He is probably searching the town for
you."
"We were to spend the night at the house of my Uncle Phaon, the
stone-cutter," said Dion, "but we don't know where he lives."
"Phaon," said Pericles, stroking his beard. "Is he not a workman in the
shop of Phidias the sculptor? He has a stone-cutter of that name, and,
now I think of it, he is called Phaon the Spartan."
"That must be my uncle," said Dion, "but I don't know where he lives. I
have never been to Athens before, and Uncle Phaon does not come to the
farm."
"We can find out from Phidias," said Anaxagoras, and, turning to his
slave, he said, "Run quickly to the house of Phidias and say to him that
Pericles the Archon wishes to know where to find the house of Phaon the
stone-cutter."
The slave sped away and returned in a short time with the message that
Phaon lived near the northwest gate. "And I know the way there," added
the slave.
"Very well," said Anaxagoras. "We will take these children there. Then I
will await you at your house, Pericles, for I wish to hear the end of the
story, and to know how you deal with those two old traitors."
"Now that I know their purpose," said Pericles, "it is easy to defeat it!
I shall return no word to their abuse. When I reach my house, I shall
politely offer my assailant the escort of my slave, to light him home
with his torch."
Anaxagoras laughed heartily.
"Good," he cried, "and humorous as well. A torch to light up their evil
faces is the last thing in the world they would wish to have. You could
not devise a more perfect plan to foil their wicked schemes."
"I wish all plots might be as easily frustrated," said Pericles gravely.
Then, turning to the children, he added kindly: "You have nothing further
to fear. My good friend Anaxagoras and his slave will see you safely to
your uncle's house, and he will surely know where to find your Father."
"You won't let Lampon catch us and sell us for slaves, will you?" begged
Daphne, shuddering. "They said they would sell us in Alexandria."
Pericles' brow darkened. "They threatened that, did they?" he exclaimed.
"The wretches shall not lay a finger on you! Pericles the Archon has said
it. And now you must hurry away. Your Father will be torn with anxiety
until he sees you again. To-morrow morning I shall send a messenger to
your uncle's house with a package for you, which you must not open until
you are safe at home again. And when you grow up to be strong, brave
men, I shall expect you to be generals in the army of Athens at the very
least."
"I can't grow up to be a strong, brave man," said Daphne in a very small
voice. "I wish I could. But I'm a girl."
"A girl!" cried Pericles in amazement, "and so brave! Surely then you
will at least be the mother of heroes some time. But after this stay more
quietly at home, my child. Women should have no history." And he
disappeared through the door into the banquet-hall.
When the Twins, accompanied by Anaxagoras and the slave, finally reached
the house of their uncle, they found the door open and people hurrying
excitedly to and fro, carrying torches in their hands. In the court of
the house stood Melas, talking with Phaon and his wife.
"I have searched every nook and cranny of the Acropolis," Melas was
saying. "I do not see how they could have escaped me."
"It's a punishment of the Gods," said the wife of Phaon. "You should not
have let Daphne run the streets like a boy. It's against nature. No
decent Athenian girl would be allowed to. I never put my nose out of my
Mother's house exeept on the days of women's festivals until I was
married."
"But, my dear," said Phaon mildly, "you forget the Spartans are
different."
"I should say they were!" snapped the wife of Phaon, "and now they may
see what comes of it. It's my opinion these wild children have fallen off
the cliffs on the north side of the Acropolis."
Melas shuddered, sank down upon a stool, and hid his face. Just at that
moment there was a sudden rush of feet behind him and he felt four arms
flung about his neck. Spartan though he was, Melas trembled, and his eyes
were wet as he clasped his children in his arms, Anaxagoras stood in the
doorway a moment smiling at the happy group, and then gently slipped away
without waiting for any thanks.
Early the next morning a basket addressed to the "brave children of Melas
the Spartan, from Pericles the Archon," was delivered by a slave at the
door of Phaon. The Twins had been eagerly expecting it, and when it
arrived they were no less eager to start for home, since Pericles had
told them not to open it until they were under their own roof once more.
Their aunt, the wife of Phaon, was filled with curiosity to know the
contents. Moreover, since she had learned the whole story of the night
before and knew that the children had won the favor and were now under
the avowed protection of Pericles, her respect for them and for Spartans
in general had greatly increased.
"Let us see what gifts the great Pericles has sent you!" she cried, when
the package came.
"No, no," said Daphne hastily. "He said we should not open it until we
got home."
"Very well, then," said the wife of Phaon, sulkily, "only then I shall
never see what's in it."
"Well," said Daphne piously, "you remember about Pandora, don't you? I
wouldn't dare open it until the time comes!"
To this the aunt could make no reply, Melas, too, had no wish to linger
in Athens after the experience of the day before. The children were in
terror of meeting Lampon, and Melas himself felt it would be a great
load off his mind to get them safely back to their quiet house on Salamis
once more and into their Mother's care. So they bade Phaon and his wife
good-bye and started before noon for the Piræus.
At the dock they found the boat ready for its return journey across the
bay. Nearby was the large black hull of an African ship, bound for
Alexandria. Dion pointed to it.
"Suppose we were on that this minute," he said to Daphne, and Daphne
covered her eyes and shook with horror at the mere thought of it.
It was nearly night when the three weary wanderers climbed the last
hill and turned from the roadway into the path which led to the old
farm-house. Lydia was standing in the doorway with Chloe behind her,
smiling, and Argos came bounding out to meet them, wagging his tail and
barking for joy.
It was a happy party that gathered around the hearth fire that night.
Lydia had prepared a wonderful feast to greet the travelers. There were
roast chicken, and sausages too, and goat's milk, and figs. They opened
the basket by fire-light, and if all the Christmases of your whole life
had been rolled into one, it couldn't have been more wonderful to you
than the gifts of Pericles were to Dion and Daphne. There was a soft robe
of scarlet for each of them, with golden clasps to fasten it. There were
a purse of gold coins and two beautiful parchment books--all written by
hand, for of course there were no printed books in those days. There were
gifts for their Father and Mother, too, and, best of all, a letter
written with Pericles' own hand and addressed to "Euripides the Poet, of
Salamis." With it came a note to Melas, saying he might read the letter,
as he wished him to know its contents. This was the letter:--
"Pericles the Archon to Euripides the Poet, Greetings.
"The bearers of this letter are friends of mine who have rendered me a
great service. By their timely warning I was enabled to foil a plot to
make me appear to the public as an enemy of the Gods. As sufficient
recompense I commend them to your friendship. No greater service can be
rendered Athens than to raise up noble and patriotic defenders. To this
end I commit these children to your guidance, the girl no less than
the boy. Give them, I beg, the benefit of your wisdom, since they have
proven themselves worthy of such honor, and Athens shall one day thank
you for this service."
And so it was that Dion and Daphne, the Spartans, not only mastered the
learning of their time, but also became the friends of Pericles the
Athenian and of Euripides the Poet, and perhaps now wander with them in
the Elysian Fields.
* * * * *
A study period for the working out of the pronunciation of the more
difficult names and words will be the only preparation for reading _The
Spartan Twins_ needed by the average fifth grade class. The story can
usually be read at sight in the sixth grade.
It will admirably supplement the study of Greek History in these grades.
The essential thing is for the teacher to provide the proper background
for the story. The value in the history of the Greeks lies in the lessons
of bravery and of love of country that it brings us, and in the
inspiration and beauty of the myths, dramas, poems, and orations, the
statues and temples that survive to our time. The fundamental aim in its
study in the fifth and sixth grades is not so much to store the child's
mind with details as to make such impressions as will guide him to a
later appreciation of why we remember the Greeks, and what we have
learned from them.
In these days of a "new internationalism," the teacher's most immediate
duty is to bring her pupils to a realization of what Americanism and
democracy mean, and that each is a development from the past. To do this,
she should explain that before there were immigrants, there were
discoverers and colonists, from Spain, England, and France; and that
these countries had their origin in colonies from Rome, herself a colony
from Greece. The teacher should explain that the spirit in these ancient
cities that inspired colonization, trade, and empire was the inherent and
ineradicable desire of men, first, for the opportunity of ruling
themselves, and then to establish bonds of union against foreign
aggression. Children will then perceive that the ancient Greeks were men
quite like ourselves; and that they began the ways of government which we
have, and which our forefathers brought to America. So much for what we
learned from the Greeks.
As to why we remember them, let the teacher recall the stories already
familiar through supplementary reading in literature, the Golden Fleece,
Hercules, the Siege of Troy, the Wanderings of Ulysses; let her point out
Greek cities which still exist, Athens, Marseilles, Alexandria,
Constantinople; let her tell the stories of Marathon, of Leonidas and
Thermopylae, and of Salamis; let her show pictures of Athens, the most
splendid city of ancient Greece, of the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the
Venus of Milo, the Hermes of Praxiteles, the Discus Thrower, and so on.
This book affords opportunity to contrast the way in which children were
brought up in Sparta with the way in which they were brought up in
Athens. The ideals of these two city-states also may be contrasted.
Although cities might have separate interests, it should be shown that
throughout Greece there were interests in common, of which the people
were reminded through the Olympic games.
The teacher is referred to the following volumes for further assistance
in re-creating the atmosphere of ancient Greece:--
Tappan's _The Story of the Greek People_, _Old World Hero Stories_, and
_Our European Ancestors_; Hawthorne's _Wonder-Book_ and _Tanglewood
Tales_; Peabody's _Old Creek Folk Stories_; Bryant's translation of the
_Odyssey_ and of the _Iliad_; Palmer's translation of the _Odyssey_;
Hopkinson's _Greek Leaders_; Plutarch's _Alexander the Great_; Marden's
_Greece and the Ægean Islands_; Hurll's _Greek Sculpture_ and _How to
Show Pictures to Children_; _Masterpieces of Greek Literature_.
Like all the other Volumes in the "Twins Series," _The Spartan Twins_
furnishes ample subjects for dramatization. The unique illustrations
should be of assistance, and other illustrations in most of the books
referred to above also will help to show scenery, costumes, furniture,
and utensils.
The story will suggest many topics for class discussion, and in addition
such questions as the following will help the pupils to visualize the
Greece of the past:--
1. Why would ancient Greece have been a pleasant country to live in?
2. How would it affect your home town if it were shut off from all
others?
3. Judging from the Greek stories, what sort of men did they regard as
heroes? What sort of men do we regard as heroes to-day?
4. In the stories of gods and heroes, are there scenes that would make
good pictures?
5. Imagine you are Pericles, and make a speech telling the Athenians why
they ought to beautify their city.
6. What could be done to beautify the place in which you live?
7. Which one of the Greeks or their heroes do you regard as the greatest
man? Why?
8. What was good and what was not good in the training of the Spartan
boys?
9. In what respects was the training of the Athenian boys better?
10. How do the ideas of one child become known to other children? How
do the ideas of one country become known to other countries?
11. Had the Greeks good reasons for emigrating?
12. Imagine that you are an ancient Greek and tell why you became a
colonist.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Spartan Twins, by Lucy (Fitch) Perkins