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The Pansy baby, Chapter 2 · The Golden Porch

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Section fifteen of The Golden Porch. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
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recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Agnes Robert Baer, The Golden Porch by
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W. M. L. Hutchinson. The Pansy Baby, Chapter two.
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King Ipotas died at last in a green old age, having lived to see
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the Pansy Child grow up a tall and comely youth. And he left him
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heir to all that was his. But the folk of Arcadia will ill pleased
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that a stranger born should rule over them, And they murmured, saying,
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are there not kinsmen of our dead king in the land to take his inheritance?
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Would that one of them were lord over us? For us? For
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this Jamos, we know neither his father nor his kindred. And the old
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man said, there is naught under the Sun's so ancient a land as Arcadia,
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but now the glories departed from it, for a kinless waif sits the
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seat of a hundred kings. These sayings came to the ears of Yamos,
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and he was troubled, not knowing what they meant. Mother he said to
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Avadne, what is this. The people say that I am no rightful heir
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of i Putos, are not you his daughter, and am not I your
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child? Yet they call me a stranger in an upstart. And Avadney told
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him all the story of his birth and how he had no mortal father,
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but was the gift of that bright haired god who loved her long ago.
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I know. She said that Apalla will love you also for my sake,
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and he promised that his favor should always rest on me and mine. So
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now, if you are troubled at the murmuring of the folk, entreat him
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to befriend you and show you a way to deal with them. Must I
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seek the guard in his house at Delphi, asked Yamos. Nay, said
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Evadne, there is no need to journey so far. Go this night into
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the woods, and it may be he will speak to you there if you
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call upon him. Yamos went forth at midnight into the dark heart of the
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forest, and came by winding mossy ways to a leafy hollow, where a
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streamlet tinkled unseen in the gloom. A faint, sweet scent that he knew
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rose from the ground. He could not see what flowers were at his feet,
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but he felt sure they were pansies, And when he stopped and gathered
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one, it was indeed his namesake. The heart's ease. Here, he
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thought, where Apollo's token blooms, I will call upon his name. He
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slid down the flowery bank and stood barefoot in the running brook, for all
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streams were holy, and men were wont to enter their pure water when they
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would the presence of the stainless gods. Then, having bathed his hands and
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forehead, he stretched his arms skywards, saying, God of the Silver Bow,
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glorious Apollo, draw near, and hearken to my prayer. I knew
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not till this day that King Iputos was not my grandsire. But now it
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were hateful to me to dwell in Arcadia, bearing the reproaches of the folk
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who would fain have a king of the ancient royal blood. Lead me,
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I pray to another land and another people, and give me rule over them,
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that so I may found a kingdom and make myself a name among men.
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When he had thus spoken, a voice called far off in the darkness.
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Ye almost my son, who calls me, said the lad trembling,
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and the voice answered, near at hand, one who will be to you
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a father, and perform the promise he made to Avaudnay and the days of
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her youth. Follow me now in the way that I am going, till
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we come to the fair place that shall be your home. Yamos felt that
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a presence stood close beside him in the dark hollow, but he could discern
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no form of feature through the gloom. Gracious Apollo, he said, lead
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me where you will. Yet how shall I threaten the footsteps of a guide
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I cannot see? But now the voice came from farther down the stream,
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calling hither to me, and he hastened after it. And ever as he
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sped onward through the murk of the woods, he heard it crying before him,
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follow follow. No other sound broke the deep hush of the night,
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save the rippling of the stream, now nearer and now more distant. As
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they took their way along the narrow vales through which it flowed, it seemed
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to Yamas that his limbs were becoming strangely light, and his feet went swifter
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than ever before. Tirelessly, he raced on and on and never tripped or
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stumbled. Though he could not see a spear's length before him under the star
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proof force bows. At last, in the first grayness of dawn, he
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found himself in an open valley, where the stream now brought into a river,
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where between wide and level meads. The voice he had followed was silent,
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and he cried aloud. Whither now, Apollo, Look yonder, said
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the voice beside him, where the valley widens into a plain under that low
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wooded hill. There hard by the ford of the river, stands a temple
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of my brother Poseidon. And near it is the tomb of a king.
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That is the place where you must make your dwelling. And though it be
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solitary now, and shall be thronged in days to come by the great ones
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of the earth. Now Yomost had hoped that Apollo would bring him to some
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fair city, and he marveled in his heart what kingship could be his in
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that lonely valley. Also he desired exceedingly to behold him face to face,
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And he said, O, Heavenly Guide, if this be my journey's end,
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deign to show yourself to your servant before your departure. For the darkness
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of the night is gone, But looking eagerly round, he still saw no
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one. And the invisible God answered, my son, of two things,
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you shall now choose one, or to have them both is not granted to
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any mortal. Either you shall see me this once, face to face,
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or you shall hear me speaking to you henceforth whenever you will, as you
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hear me now, and talk with me as a man talks with his friend.
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Then, Yamos, when he had thought a little while, said,
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I choose to hear your voice. So shall I always find counsel for every
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need you have chosen, Well, said Apollo. Henceforth, great shall be
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your fame in this land. For by communing with Me, who know all
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things in heaven and earth, and all that is to come, you will
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become the wisest of seers. Moreover, your wisdom shall pass to your children,
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called after your name, and they shall have the gift of soothsay for
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all time, though it will not be granted to them to hear my voice,
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lest be immortals they boast of possessing the wisdom of the gods. Go
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now and dwell yonder by the river until you see one coming to the ford
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girt with a lion skin and bearing a bow. That comer will build an
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altar to a mightier god than Poseidon, and a new gift will be given
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to you in that day, whereby you and yours may reveal truth to men.
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So Yamos went and lodged in Poseidon's temple and took service there, hewing
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wood and drawling water for the sacrifices, and the folk of the country gave
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him food from the offerings labor ought to the god. But he did not
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long hold that lowly office before Apaullo's word began to be fulfilled. For it
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was soon noised abroad that the stranger youth who served so diligently in the temple
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had marvelous skill in the art of a seer, and his true answers to
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all who inquired of him about things to come were talked of far and near.
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At last, the king of the land himself came to visit him and
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bade him interpret a dream that he had dreamed. He almost gave him no
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answer till he had spoken secretly with Apollo. Then he declared the meaning of
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the dream, and what he foretold from it came straightway to pass. After
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this the king would have had him dwell in his palace in the city,
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But since Yamas would not leave the place appointed by the god, he built
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him a goodly house there. The young seer would take no rewards from poor
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folk when they came to him for prophecy, but from the grate of the
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land he took such gifts as they pleased to a stow, so that his
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wealth increased with his fame. Now, this king, whose name was Algaios,
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was very rich in flocks and herds, and he kept a thousand oxen
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stalled in a great byre near his house. The buyer was never cleansed from
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year's end to year's end, and at length the oxen stead so deep in
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filth that it bred a meerin among them. And Argaios set his herdsman to
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cleanse the stalls. But none of them had strength to endure that noisome labor,
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and he took counsel of Yamos what were best to be done? Who
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bade him send Harald of Roar to offer a rich recompense whoever would clear the
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byre of its foulness. The king did so, and not many days after
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Yamo saw a man coming to the ford of the river, were it with
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a lion skin and bearing a great bow. This is the comer, he
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thought, and he went to meet the stranger and asked him his name.
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I am called Heracles, said he with the bow, and I see King
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Agaos, for I hear word of a service he needs. If he will
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pay the price, I ask, I will cleanse his buyer for him,
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and that in one day I will bring you to him, said Yamos,
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and they went together to the house of the king. Awgaoz believed it impossible
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for one man to do that work even in a year, so he readily
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promised the stranger the price he asked, which was a hundred of oxen.
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Then Heracles asked for a mattock and a spade, and they were given to
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him amid laughter and jibbing from the king and his men, who deemed him
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crazed in his wits. And when Heracles began to dig a wide trench at
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the door of the byre, they laughed the more. But he, with
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more than mortal strength, dug that trench right across the fields that lay between
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the city and the river. And when he came to the ford, he
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built a dam of earth and stones athwart the stream, so that it was
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turned from its course and flowed into the trench, and the waters, rushing
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through their new channel, flooded the byre and washed away the dung heaps that
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filled the stars, and poured in a torrent down to the pool beneath the
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city walls. From morning to evening, Heracles wrought at that tass without rest,
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and before sunset the buyer was cleansed. Then thust the water should swamp
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the city. He went in haste to break down the dam at the ford,
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and they returned again to the river bed. But when he claimed his
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reward of the hundred oxen, an evil thought came to our gaats, and
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he said, what mean, you, stranger? I take the gods to
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witness that I made no such promise. Shall I give a hundred oxen for
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the hire of one day's labor? That wage you shall never have of me
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unless you can prove that I promised it. This he said cut for it
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had so chanced that Yamos did not go as Heracles into the king's presence,
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and none of his house thought was with Argaeas when he gave the promise,
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except Phileas, his young son. So the false king, who thought his
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son was even such as himself, now called for Yamos and said, let
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us see your judge between us, for he is just and holy. And
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Yamos said, is there not a witness who can say which of the two
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speaks truly King Argaeas or the stranger he was? Phileaas my son, answered
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the king, who was present at our talk together, and can bear witness
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that I did not promise the hundred oxen. But the young prince blushed red
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with shame for his father's guile, and said, nay, my father,
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you did promise them. For I heard you at that Agaas was wroth,
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and for all Iamos could say against it. He banished his son after the
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land on pain of death, and commanded his servants to drive both him and
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Heracles forth from the palace. Heracles could have overcome them all single handed.
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Yet for the sake of I lay us and lest harm should come to him,
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he departed without another word, taking the lad with him. But Yamash
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shook off the dust from his sandals on the king's threshold and said, well
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to this house and well to Argaas, because of the thing he hath done
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this day, I say to your perjured king, that I will see your
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face no more, for the God whom I serve abhors lying in deceit.
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Argaeus had a mind to slay him for these words, but he feared to
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lay hands on him because he was a prophet and beloved of all the folk,
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and he let him go back to his own place. Not long after
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this word came to the king that an army was marching upon his borders,
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and the captain of the host was the man clad in the lion skin,
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who had cleansed his byre. For Heracles had mustered his friends and comrades out
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of many cities to make warn Argaeas, and he had with him all the
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fighting men of Arcadia, the birthplace of Yamos, who wore his sworn allies
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because of a service he had done them. Of old. There was a
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lake at Arcadia which was the home of a strange tribe, a great water
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fowl, and they preyed on human flesh and were the terror of the land
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until Heracles scared them away forever with the twanging of his mighty bow string and
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the hissing flight of his arrows. This good deed the men of Arcadia kept
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in remembrance, and now they repaid it, as they had vowed to do
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what the son of Argaeas was not with that host. For Heracles had helped
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the lad to wind himself a kingdom in the north country, where he lived
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prosperously all his days. And King Agaeas and his folk gave battle to the
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invaders before the gates of the city, and were put to utter rout,
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and the city was taken and set on fire. Now Heracles had given command
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to his host that they should give quarter to all except the king only.
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Therefore there was little slaughter that day. But Agaeus himself meant the doom.
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He well deserved all his wealth and all the spoiled the city. Heracles divided
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with his comrades, and next day they set forth with their booty keeps on
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ox wagons and with vast roves of cattle, to return to their homes.
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When they came to the ford of the river, Yarmos met them, and
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Heracles asked him what temple that was, and why it was built there.
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Apart from any dwelling of men, it is Poseidon's temple, said Yamos,
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which a prince who once ruled this land, built in thanksgiving for a victory
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he won here by that God's help. Pelops was his name, and he
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came overseas from the east, where his father was a king of surpassing wealth
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and glory, whom men called the favorite of the gods. And he told
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Heracles the story of the charied race, which has been told in this book
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already, and showed him the tomb of Pelops, who had bidden his sons
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bury him beside Poseidon shrine. I also then said, Heracles, will build
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the temple here to the God who has given me victory this day, even
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to most high Zeus, my guardian and deliverer in all perils. And as
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Pelops ordained chariot races to be run here for a perpetual memorial, I too
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will now hold a contest of young men in feats of speed and strength,
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and leave it in your charge, Holy Sea, to hold the like once
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in four years, keeping solemn festival to the honor of Zeus. Thereupon he
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chose out rich prizes for the games from his share the spoil, and gave
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the remainder to Yamos, saying, all this I dedicate to ze take it
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to your keeping, for I make you treasurer of his temple. So the
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hero is comrades marked out a goodly space of the river side meadow and fenced
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it round with an earthen wall. And when they had built an altar of
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broad stones therein they burnt sacrifices to Zeus. Then they held the contest,
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and made almost the judge of them. First there was a foot race,
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next wrestling and boxing and throwing the stone quait a. Last a chariot race
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in honor of Pelops. Heracles himself took no part of the games, because
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he was the giver of the prizes, and so it was best, for
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though he was of small stature, his strength was as the strength of fifty
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men. At evening time, great fires were lighted by the stream, and
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sheep and oxen were roasted whole for the banquet, and all the hosts sat
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down to feast and to make merry. A lovely moon looked down in ful
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orbs splendor on their festival, and threw her golden light over plain and river.
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All that midsummer night, the warriors held revel with wine and song and
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minstrelsy, till the wood fires burned low and the twittering of birds began to
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tell that dawn was near. Next Noontide, Heracles marshaled the host for their
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journey and bade Yamos offer sacrifice on the new altar, praying Zeus to give
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some good omen at their setting forth. Then it was that the second gift
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of prophecy came to the young Seer. As Apollo promised for looking on the
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fire of the altar, his mind was suddenly enlightened with strange knowledge, and
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he read plain signs of fate in the leaping flames. Go on peace,
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Heracles, he cried, safe in speedy, shall be your home faring,
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as Zeus grants me to discern from the clear burning of the sacrifice. Henceforth,
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I know, by Apollo's word to me, that I shall thus foretell
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good or ill hap to all who make offerings on this altar. So Heracles
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went his way with all his company, and ye almost saw him no more
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until another day. But the seer fulfilled all the charge he had laid upon
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him, and dwelt happy and greatly honored in that holy place, serving the
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gods faithfully all his days. The gift of divining by fire remained ever after
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with him and his according to Apollo's promise, and in the after ages,
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when the sacred games that Heracles founded were become famous over the whole world.
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The prophets of the Glorious Sanctuary were the clan who had their name and lineage
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from the Pansy child. End of Section fifteen.