"
The youth lolled back complacently on the couch.
The youth lolled back complacently on the couch.
Universal Anthology - v04
Some
ing departed
THE VOYAGE OF NEARCHUS.
235
inhabit desert places, where the land is without trees, and does not produce cultivated fruits. The whole diet of these con sists of fish. Few of them sow any corn in the land, and what little is produced they use as a relish to the fish ; for they use fish in place of bread. The most prosperous of them collect the bones of the whales cast up by the sea, and use these instead of timber for their houses ; the broad bones which they find they make into doors. The majority, who are poorer, make their houses of the backbones of fishes.
Whales.
Great whales live in the external sea, as well as fish far larger than those in this internal sea [the Mediterranean]. Nearchus says that when they were sailing from Cyiza they saw at daybreak the water of the sea being blown upward as if being borne violently aloft from the action of bellows.
alarmed, they asked the pilots what it was, and from what this phenomenon arose ; and they answered that this was caused by whales rushing through the sea and blowing the water upward. The sailors were so alarmed at this that they let the oars fall from their hands. Nearchus went to them and encouraged them, and bade them be of good cheer ; and sailing past each of the vessels, he ordered the men to direct their ships straight at them as in a sea battle, to raise a loud shout, and to row as hard as they could, making as much noise and din as possible. Being thus encouraged, at the signal given, they rowed the ships together. When they got near the beasts, the men shouted as loud as they could, the trumpets sounded, and they made as much noise as possible with the rowing. Then the
whales, which were just now seen at the prows of the ships, being frightened, dived to the bottom, and soon afterwards came up again near the sterns, and again blew the sea up to a great distance. Then there was loud applause among the sailors at their unexpected deliverance, and praise was given to Nearchus for his boldness and wisdom. Some of these whales are left ashore on many parts of the coast, when the ebb tide flows, being imprisoned in the shallows; others are thrown up on the dry ground by the rough storms, and then perish and rot. When the flesh has fallen off the bones are left ; which the people use for making their houses. The
Being
236 THE VOYAGE OF NEARCHUS.
large bones in their sides form beams for the houses, and the smaller ones rafters, the jawbones the doorposts. For many of them reach the length of 25 fathoms [152 feet].
The Snakk Island, and the Meemaid.
When they were sailing along the coast of the land of the Ichthyophagi, they heard a tale about a certain island, which lies 100 stades (11J miles) from the mainland there, and is uninhabited. The natives say it is called Nosala, and that it is sacred to the Sun, and that no man wishes to touch at it. For whoever lands there through ignorance, disappears. Nearchus says that one of their light galleys having a crew of Egyptians disappeared not far from this island ; and that the pilots stoutly affirmed in regard to this occurrence, that no doubt, having put in at the island through want of knowledge, they had disappeared. But Nearchus sent a ship with thirty oars all round the island, ordering the sailors not to land on it, but sailing along so as to graze the shore to shout out to the men, calling out the captain's name and that of any other man known to them. But when no one obeyed him, he says he himself sailed to the island, and compelled the sailors against their will to put in. He landed himself, and proved that the tale about the island was an empty myth.
He heard another tale told about this island, to the effect that one of the Nereids dwelt in it; but her name was not mentioned. She had communication with every man who approached the island, and having changed him into a fish, cast him into the sea. But the Sun was angry with the Ne reid, and ordered her to depart from the island. She agreed to depart, but besought that her disease should be healed. The Sun hearkened to her request, and pitying the men whom she had turned into fishes, he turned them back again into men ; and from these, they said, the race of the Ichthyophagi sprang, which continued down to the time of Alexander. I, for my part, do not praise Nearchus for spending his time and ability in proving these things false, though they were not very difficult of disproof. I know, however, that it is a very difficult task for one who reads the ancient tales to prove that they are false.
THE VOYAGE OF NEARCHUS. 237
Voyage along the Coast of Carmania.
They came to anchor near a deserted shore, and observed a long promontory stretching far out into the sea. The promon tory seemed about a day's voyage off. Those who were ac quainted with those parts said that this promontory, which stretched out, was in Arabia, and was called Maceta ; and that cinnamon and such like things were carried thence to the Assyrians. From this shore, where the fleet was riding at anchor, and from the promontory which they saw stretching out into the sea opposite them, the gulf runs up into the inte rior, which is probably the Red Sea (Arabian Sea). So I think, and so did Nearchus.
When they saw this promontory, Onesicritus gave orders to direct their course to it, in order that they might not suffer hardships driving their ships up the gulf. But Nearchus an swered that Onesicritus was childish if he did not know for what purpose Alexander had dispatched the expedition. For he did not send out the ships because he could not con vey all his army by land in safety, but because he wished to explore the coast by a coasting voyage to see what harbors and islands were there, and if any gulf ran into the land to sail round it ; to find out what cities were on the seacoast, and see if any of the country was fertile, and if any was deserted. Therefore they ought not to render their whole work nugatory, now they were already near the end of their labors, especially as they no longer were in want of necessaries on the voyage. He said he was afraid, because the promontory stretched towards the south, that they should meet with a country there uninhabited, waterless, and fiery hot. These arguments pre vailed, and Nearchus seems clearly to me to have saved his army by this advice ; for the report is current that that prom ontory and all the land adjacent is uninhabited and entirely destitute of water.
Arrival at Harmozeia.
Loosening from the shore they sailed, keeping close to the land, and after voyaging 700 stades (82 miles) they anchored on another shore, named Neoptana. And again they put to sea at break of day, and sailing 100 stades (11£ miles) they anchored in the river Anamis. The place was called Har
238 THE VOYAGE OF NEARCHUS.
mozeia [near Gombroon], and was pleasant and fertile in every thing; except that olive trees did not grow there. Here they disembarked and rested with delight from all their labors, re calling all the hardships they had endured on the sea and near the land of the Ichthyophagi, the desolateness of the country, and the savageness of the people. They also recapitulated their own distresses. -
Some of them went up far into the country away from the sea, scattering themselves about away from the camp, one in search of one thing, another of another. Here they saw a man wearing a Grecian cloak, and equipped in other respects like a Greek. He also spoke the Greek language. The men who first saw this person said that they wept ; it seemed so un expected a thing for them, after so many misfortunes, to see a Greek and to hear a Greek voice. They asked him whence he came and who he was. He said he had wandered away from Alexander's camp, and that the king himself and his army were not far off. They conducted this man to Nearchus, shouting and clapping their hands. He told Near- chus everything, and that the king and the camp were distant from the sea a journey of five days. He said he would intro duce the governor of this land to Nearchus, and did so. Near chus imparted to the governor his intention of going up the country to the king.
Nearchus Rejoins Alexander.
The governor having learnt that Alexander was very anx ious about this expedition, thought that he would receive a great reward if he were the first to announce to him the safety of Nearchus and his army, and he knew that Nearchus would arrive in the king's presence in a very short time. So he drove the shortest way, and told Alexander that Nearchus would soon be with him from the ships. At that time, although the king did not believe the story, yet he rejoiced at the news, as was natural. But when one day after another passed by, the re port no longer seemed credible to him, when he considered the time since he received the news. Several persons were sent one after the other to fetch Nearchus. Some, after going a little distance on the journey and meeting no one, returned without him; others, having gone farther, but having missed Nearchus and his men, did not return. Then Alexander ordered that
THE VOYAGE OF NEAKCHUS. 239
man to be arrested, as a reporter of empty rumors, and one who had made his troubles more grievous than before on ac count of his foolish joy. It was evident from his face and his decision that he was cast into great grief. Meanwhile, some of those who had been dispatched in search of Nearchus with horses and carriages, fell in with him and Archias, and five or six with them, on the road; for he was coming up with so few attendants. When they met them they recognized neither him nor Archias; so much altered did they look. They had long hair, they were dirty and covered with brine; their bodies were shriveled, and they were pale from want of sleep and other hardships.
[Alexander was overjoyed to find both fleet and army safe, and wished to send the fleet up to Susa under another command; but Nearchus protested against having accomplished all the hard part of the voyage and letting another do the easy part and get the glory of the finished voyage. He was therefore allowed to sail it up the Persian Gulf and the Euphrates. ]
They traveled 900 stades (106 miles), and cast anchor at the mouth of the Euphrates, near a certain village in Babylonia, named Diridotis; where the merchants bring frankincense from the country on the opposite side of the gulf, and all the other spices which the country of the Arabs produces. From the mouth of the Euphrates up to Babylon, Nearchus said, is a voyage of 3300 stades (388 miles). . . .
When it was reported that Alexander was approaching, they again sailed up the river, and moored near the bridge of boats by which Alexander was going to convey his army to Susa. Here a junction was formed, and Alexander offered sacrifices for the safety of the ships and of the men, and celebrated con tests. Wherever Nearchus appeared in the army he was pelted with flowers and garlands. Here also Nearchus and Leonnatus were crowned by Alexander with golden crowns; the former for the preservation of the fleet, and the latter for the victory which he had won over the Oreitians and the neighboring barbarians. Thus Alexander's army, starting from the mouth of the Indus, arrived safely.
240 THE FORGED WILL.
THE FORGED WILL. By W. A. BECKER. (From " Charlcles. ")
[Wilhblm Adolf Beckeb, a noted German classical antiquary, was born at Dresden, 1796 ; died at Meissen, 1846. Designed for trade, he left it for scholarship ; studied at Leipsic, and the last four years of his life was professor there. His still familiar works are " Charicles " and " Gallus," novels embody ing the social life of the Greeks in Alexander's time and the Romans in Augustus'. His "Handbook of Roman Antiquities" (1843-1846) is his chief monument as a scholar. ]
[Note. — A talent may be reckoned as nearly $1200; a mina, $20; a drachma, 20 cents. ]
Poltcles was a very wealthy man. His country estates, his houses in the city and the Piraeus, and his numerous slaves, yielded him, with no trouble, a secure income ; which however was as nothing compared to that which he derived from the ready money lying at the money changers', or lent out else where, at a high rate of interest. Those who were more inti mate with the state of his affairs were convinced that his property amounted in all to more than fifty talents.
He had remained single till his fifty-fifth year, and then, in compliance with his late brother's dying request, he had mar ried his only surviving daughter, Cleobule, a blooming girl of sixteen. But in the midst of the festivity of the marriage feast, he was attacked with apoplexy, which had been succeeded by tedious and painful illness. No means of relief had been neglected. The veteran family physician, a man of no mean skill, had called in the advice of other medical men, but the resources of their art were exhausted without success : neither their exertions, nor the tenderness of Cleobule, who nursed the patient like a dutiful daughter, availed to reunite the ruptured threads of his existence. Polycles was not satisfied with ap plying for aid to the successors of JSsculapius, but tried the efficacy of certain charms ; while interpreters of dreams were consulted, expiations placed in the crossways, and aged women, reputed to have the power of curing diseases by mysterious arts and magic songs, had been summoned to attend. Whole days and nights had also been passed by the sufferer in the temple
THE FORGED WILL. 241
of J5sculapius, but to no purpose. At last, hearing of a happy cure effected in a similar case by the baths of jEdepsos, he repaired thither for the benefit of the waters : but the Nymphs had refused their succor ; and some days ago the doctor had declared that the patient would never need any herb more, save
the parsley [funeral wreaths].
Next day Charicles was on the point of going out. The
previous evening he had come to the resolution of marrying, and he had determined that Phorion should play the suitor for him. At this moment a slave rapped at the door, on an errand from Polycles. Weak as the patient was, he had expressed great pleasure on hearing that the son of his old friend was in Athens, and now sent to say he wished to see him once more before his end, which he felt was drawing nigh. Charicles could not refuse a request expressive of so much kindliness, and"therefore promised to attend.
It were better to come along with me at once," said the slave. " My master is very low now, and his friends have just met at his bedside. "
"Well, lead on," said Charicles, not unwilling to put off
for a time his intended visit to Phorion ; " lead on, I follow
you. "
At the doctor's side stood three friends of the family, their
gaze fixed inquiringly on his countenance ; while at the foot of the bed an aged slave, with clasped hands, was gazing in tently on his dying master. Long and silently did the leech hold the sick man's wrist, and at last let it go, though without uttering a word that might encourage hope.
The slave who had conducted Charicles now approached, and first whispered his arrival to the doctor, with whose assent he further announced it to his master. The sick man pushed back the felt cap which he had drawn down over his forehead, and extended his right hand to Charicles. " Joy to you, son of my friend," he murmured feebly ; " and thanks for fulfilling my wish. I was present at the festival of naming you, and thus you stand now at my dying bed. "
" Health to you also," answered Charicles, "and joy, although now you are in pain and anguish. May the gods transform into lightsome day the dark night that now encompasses you. "
"Nay," said Polycles; "I am not to be deceived. I am not one of those who, when they meet with suffering or mis fortune, send for a sophist to console them. Rather tell me
VOL. IV. — 16
242 THE FORGED WILL.
something of the fate of thy family. " The youth, accordingly, delivered a brief recital of the fortunes of his house since the flight from Athens.
The sick man evinced so much emotion in the course of the narration, that at last the doctor motioned Charicles to break off. " Is the draught ready that I ordered to be prepared? " he inquired of a slave who just then entered.
" Manto will bring it immediately," was the reply.
" Manto? " exclaimed Polycles : " why not Cleobule ? " "She heard that gentlemen were with you," replied the
slave.
" They are only near friends of the family," said the sick
man ; " she need not mind them. I prefer taking the draught from her. "
The slave departed to inform the lady of his master's wishes, and the doctor again felt the patient's pulse, whilst the by standers stood aside.
One of the three, who had been addressed as Sophilos, had seized Charicles by the hand, and retired with him to a corner of the room. His age was between fifty and sixty, and his exterior bespoke affluence, as well as polish and good breeding. Time had furrowed his brow, and rendered gray his locks ; but his firm carriage and active step betokened one still vigorous, and he conversed with all the vivacity of youth. A gentle earnestness and good-humored benevolence beamed in his countenance, and his whole appearance was calculated to awaken confidence and attract the beholder.
As Charicles recounted the misfortunes of his family, Sophi los had listened with sympathy, and, when he now further ques tioned Charicles about many passages in his life, his glance dwelt on the youth with peculiar satisfaction. Whilst they were en gaged in low-toned conversation, the hanging was pushed aside, and Cleobule entered, followed by a female slave. Nearly over come with timidity, she did not dare raise her eyes, but kept them fixed on the glass phial in her right hand, and she hastened to present to her sick husband and uncle the portion which it contained, the physician having first mingled in it something from his drug box. She next smoothed the pillow, bending affectionately over her husband, as if to inquire whether he felt any relief.
The eyes of all present were fastened on this picture of dutiful affection, but the gaze of Charicles especially seemed
THE FORGED WILL. 243
riveted to the spot. When Cleobule entered, he was convers ing with Sophilos, with his back to the door, and she on her part was so entirely occupied with tending the sick man, that her face had not once been turned towards the group behind her. Yet there was something in that graceful figure that awoke scarcely stifled emotions in his breast. It was the very image of the apparition by the brook. . . .
The physician next prescribed a bath for his patient. . . . Cleobule hastened to superintend in person the needful prepara tions, and as she turned round to go towards the door, her eye fell upon Charicles, who was standing near it. Suddenly she started as though she had seen the Gorgon's head, or some specter risen out of Hades ; and the glass phial would have dropped from her hand, had not the doctor caught it. With a deep blush, and downcast eyes, she rushed hurriedly past the young man, who was himself so surprised and confused that he did not hear the question which Sophilos just then put to him. It was now necessary to leave the sick chamber, and he was not sorry to do so. Approaching the bed, he expressed a hope that its tenant would amend, and then hastened from the chamber in a tumult of contending emotions.
It was one of those blustering nights so common at the com mencement of Maemacterion [latter part of November]. The wind blew from Salamis, driving before it the scud of black rain clouds over the Piraeus ; and when they opened for a mo ment, the crescent of the waning moon would peer forth, throw ing a transient glimmer on the distant temples of the Acropolis. In the streets of the seaport, generally so full of bustle, reigned deep repose, only broken by the dull roaring of the sea, or the groaning of the masts, as some more violent gust swept through the rigging of the vessels yet remaining in the harbor. Occa sionally, too, some half -intoxicated sailor would stagger lantern- less from the wine shops towards the harbor ; or some footpad would sneak along the sides of the houses, ready to pounce on the cloak of a belated passenger, and hiding cautiously behind a Hermes or an altar whenever the bell of the night patrol was heard.
In a small room of a house situated some distance from the harbor, a young man of unprepossessing exterior lay stretched upon a low couch, which was too short for his figure. His hol low eyes and sunken cheeks, the carelessness of his demeanor,
244 THE FORGED WILL.
his hasty way of draining the cup in his right hand, and the coarse jokes that from time to time escaped him, sufficiently marked him as one of those vulgar roues who were accustomed to waste the day at the dice board, and devote the night to riot and debauchery. On the table near him, beside the nearly empty punch bowl, stood a lamp with a double wick, whose light abundantly illumined the narrow chamber. There were also the remnants of the frugal supper that he had just concluded, and a second goblet, which a slave, who sat upon another couch opposite the young man, replenished pretty frequently. Be tween them was a draughtboard which the slave was eying attentively, whilst the other surveyed it with tolerable indiffer ence. The game was by no means even. The menial evidently had the advantage ; and he now made a move which reduced his adversary to great straits.
" A stupid game, this ! " exclaimed the youth, as he tossed the pieces all in a heap ; " a game where it's all thinking, and nothing won after all. Dicing for me," he added with a yawn. " But what has got Sosilas ? It must be past midnight ; and such weather as this, I should not over-enjoy the walk from the town to the haven. "
"He's gone to Polycles," replied the slave. "'Twas said he would not live till morning, and Sosilas seems vastly con cerned about him. "
" I know," answered the youth ; " but then why did he send for me, just at this time of all others ? The morning would have done quite as well ; and I must needs leave a jolly party, forsooth ; and here I am, hang it, and have to stand my own wine, for not a drop has the old hunks provided. "
" All I know," replied the slave, " is that he bade me fetch you wherever you were, as he must have speech with you this very night without fail. "
" Then why doesn't he come ? " retorted the other, peevishly. "Did he go unattended? "
" Syrus went with him ; he'll come to no harm. And even suppose he didn't return," continued the slave with a smile ; "why, you're his next relation and heir, aren't you? Two houses in the city, besides this here — a carpenter's shop, and maybe some five or six talents in ready cash ; — in sooth, no such bad heritage !
"
The youth lolled back complacently on the couch. " Yes, Molon," said he, " when he's once out of the way, then "
THE FORGED WILL. 245
At this moment came a violent rap at the outer door. " There he is ! " cried the slave, as he hastily caught up the draughtboard and one of the goblets, smoothed down the cushion and coverlet of the couch he had been sitting on, and stationed himself at the stripling's elbow, as if he had been waiting on him.
Steps were now audible in the courtyard, and a gruff voice was heard giving orders to a slave in harsh accents. The door opened, and in walked a man with a large beard, and dark and forbidding features. He was wrapped, after the Spartan fash ion, in a short mantle of coarse thick texture, and wore Laco- nian shoes. In his hand was a stout cudgel, with its handle bent in the form of a cross. The sight of the drinking cups and the unwonted illumination of the chamber made him forget the greeting. He approached the slave in a rage.
" Ah ! you knave ! " cried he, raising his stick ; " what d'ye mean by these two burners, and such large wicks ? Does not the winter consume oil enough without this ? And you, Lysis- tratos," — he here turned to the youth — "seem to make your self"quite at home in my house. " "
Oh ! to be sure, uncle," answered the other, dryly ;
on credit from the tavern, since yours is safe under lock and key. Do you suppose I'm going to wait here half the night for you, without a drop to drink? "
" I didn't expect to be kept so long," said the old man, some what softened, as he hastily scanned the apartment. " You may go," he said to the slave ; " we don't want you any more : leave us, and go to bed. " The slave departed; Sosilas bolted the door, and returned to his nephew.
" He is dead," whispered he, drawing a long breath ; " Poly- cles is dead, and a property of sixty talents and more is left
without natural heirs. " " The nephew started.
Well ! and what good is that to us, ifwe do not come in for a share ? "
" That's just the question," answered the uncle. " Lysistra- tos," he resumed after a short silence, " you may be a rich man, if you will. "
" Will ? ay ! by Dionysos will I, and no mistake," laughed the nephew.
"Only do what I tell you," said Sosilas, "and you have your desire. We are connected — very distantly, I grant — with Polycles, for my long-deceased wife and Cleobule's mother
wine
246 THE FORGED WILL.
were first cousins. Yet this connection gives us no title to the property. But, now, what if a will were produced naming me heir ! "
" You mean a forged one," said Lysistratos musingly ; " but how will it be accredited without you have his signet ring ? And do you suppose Polycles, during his long illness, has not himself arranged about bequeathing his property ? "
The old man quietly opened an adjoining room, and fetched out of it a box, which he unfastened, and drew forth a document with a seal. " Look ye there, read that," said he, as he placed it before the youth. " " What's the superscription ? "
" By Dionysos ! cried the youth springing to his feet, "' The last will of Polycles. ' How came you by this ? "
"Very simply," replied the uncle. "When Polycles was starting to JSdepsos, and Sophilos, who had got him in his meshes, was luckily gone upon a journey, he summoned me, as a relative of his wife's, and intrusted me with his will in the presence of the three witnesses therein named. "
" Capital ! " shouted Lysistratos ; " so you can substitute another of your own composing. But still, even then, you will want his signet : do you think you could imitate it? "
" "That would be a dangerous experiment," replied the uncle;
and besides, you can perceive by the superscription in what peculiar shaky characters it is written; so that it would be almost impossible to forge an imitation, nor indeed do we want one. " Saying this he produced a knife, removed the shell which served as a capsule to the seal, and said, " See ! that's Polycles' seal, and there is just such another beneath the writing ; and now look at this," cried he, as he placed side by side"with it another seal, hanging by a slip of string.
" You'll understand presently," replied the uncle. He took the knife, and without hesitation severed the string to which the seal was appended, opened the document, and spread it before his nephew. " Look," he said with a malicious grin ; " supposing ' Sosilas ' stood here instead of ' Sophilos,' and there, ' Sophilos ' instead of ' Sosilas. ' I should not so much mind then. " "
By Poseidon ! exactly the same," exclaimed Lysistratos, in amazement; "but I can't conceive what all this is about. "
The youth read in astonishment.
"that were indeed a master stroke; and there are only two letters to alter; for as good luck has the fathers' names are
I' faith!
"
he exclaimed,
it,
THE FORGED WILL. 247
the same. But the seal ? " he added, " the seal ? how could you venture to break open the deed ? "
The old man made a second dive into the mysterious box, and drew out something resembling a signet. "I learned how to make this substance from a cunning fellow who went about soothsaying. If pressed upon a seal when soft, it receives all the characters with perfect accuracy and in a short time be comes as hard as stone. " The will had been opened before, and the seal appended to it was merely an impression of this. " Can you distinguish between it and the genuine one ? "
" No, that I can't," answered the nephew.
" So, then, it will be an easy matter to reseal the deed, when we have alterIed the letters in these two places. "
"
to become rich by this ? now interposed
"But how am
the youth, suspiciously; "my name is not mentioned in the testament. "
"Listen a moment," replied the uncle; "the inheritance, as you may have read, is coupled with one condition — that the heir must marry the widow Cleobule, and if he object to this, must be content with five talents as his portion ; but he will have the right of giving the widow in marriage, along with the rest of the property, to whomsoever he may judge proper. Now I am too old to marry again; and be sides, I was warned against it in a dream. I dreamed that I wished to take a wife, and went to the bride's house to be be trothed to her; but when I essayed to go away again, the door was fastened, and could not be opened. Two interpreters of dreams, whom I consulted, foretold that I should die on the day of my betrothment ; and that is warning enough ; but you shall marry Cleobule, if you will privately cede half the property to me. " "
After some higgling, it was finally settled that the uncle should not receive the five talents over and above his half of the property, but that these should be included in the parti tion.
The nephew reflected for a moment.
tition," he said at last: "your share is unincumbered, while my moiety will be saddled with the widow. "
" Fool ! " retorted Sosilas : " Cleobule is such a beauty that many a man would be glad to take her without any dowry at all ; besides which, it all depends on me, you know, whether you get a farthing. "
It's an unequal par
248 THE FORGED WILL.
" Now hand me the will," said the old man ; "with this little sponge I erase the two letters, and the more easily because the paper is so good. Look ! they are now scarce distinguishable. This ink," continued he, as he produced a little box and the writing reed, "is of just the same blackness as the writing. There we have it, all right. Who will assert that it was not always as it now stands ? "
" Excellent ! " said the nephew ; " now for the seal. "
The old man carefully folded up the deed again, moistened some clay, tied the string, and impressed the forged stamp upon the clay. "There ! " said he, "isn't it the same seal ? "
" Well, that beats everything," cried Lysistratos, as he com pared the two seals ; " no one will ever dream that it is a forgery. "
A rustling outside the door startled the old man. He snatched up the will and the other contents of the box, which he bore off, and fastened the door of the room adjacent, seal ing it for greater security. Then taking the lamp he explored the court, to discover if possible the cause of the disturbance. " It was nothing," he said, when he came back ; " most likely the storm which made the door shake. It will soon be morn ing : Lysistratos, come into my bedchamber, and let us have a short nap. "
The two worthies had not been long gone when Molon glided softly into the room, and groped about in the dark for one of the sofas. A gleam of moonlight shone through the open door, and he hastily seized something that lay in the folds of the drapery, and then as quickly and softly vanished, his gestures denoting the prize to be one on which he set a high value.
When morning dawned on the house of the deceased, it found the inmates already busy with preparations for the burial. An earthen vessel, filled with water, stood before the door, to signify to the passenger that it was a house of mourn ing. Within, the women were occupied in anointing and lay ing out the corpse. Cleobule, inexperienced, and woe-begone like an orphan child, had begged the aid of Sophilos, who, even without solicitation, would have undertaken to conduct the funeral. She had always looked on Polycles in the light of an affectionate uncle, who had indulged her every wish ; and now she wept for him as for a parent ; while she applied herself to
THE FORGED WILL. 249
her mournful duties, assisted by her mother, whom she had sent for on the previous evening, — as her childlike tremors, which had been early nourished by nurses' fairy tales and ghost stories, rendered solitude in the house of death insupportable.
It was still early, and Sophilos was just debating with the women of the order of the interment, when Sosilas also made his appearance, with sorrow in his aspect but exultation in his heart. He had hastened, he said, to bring the will which the deceased had deposited in his hands ; as perhaps it might con tain some dispositions respecting his interment. He then named the witnesses who had been by when he received the will, and whose presence would now be necessary at the opening. Cleo- bule was somewhat disconcerted to find the document that was to decide her future fate placed in the custody of one to whom, from early childhood, she had entertained feelings of aversion. Polycles had never been explicit on this head, merely assuring her in general terms that she had been cared for. And such she now hoped was the case ; but yet she had rather that any body else had produced the will. Sophilos, on the other hand, did not seem at all put out by the circumstance. He praised Sosilas for his punctuality, and desired that the witnesses might be cited to attend ; but this, the other said, was not necessary, as he had already sent them notices to that effect. "
Before long the three made their appearance.
present," said Sosilas to" them, " when Polycles committed his last will to my charge ?
They replied in the affirmative.
"You will be ready then to testify that this is the deed which he intrusted to me ? "
" The superscription and the seal," answered one of them, " are what prove its authenticity. All that we can witness to is that a testament was deposited with you — not, that this is the identical one in question ; still there is no ground for the con trary assumption, since the seal is untouched, and may be recog nized as that of Polycles. "
" Do you, therefore, satisfy yourself, Cleobule, that I have faithfully discharged your husband's behest. Do you acknowl edge this seal ? "
With trembling hand Cleobule took the deed. " An eagle clutching a snake," said she ; "it is the device of his signet. " She next handed the testament to Sophilos, who also pro nounced it all right.
You were
250
THE FORGED WILL.
" Open it then," said Sosilas to one of the witnesses, " that its contents may be known. My sight is bad : do one of you read for me. "
The string was cut, the document unfolded, and the witness read as follows : —
" The testament of Polycles the Paeanian. May all be well ; but should I not recover from this sickness, thus do I devise my estate. I give my wife Cleobule, with all my fortune, as set down in the accompanying schedule, — save and except all that is herein otherwise disposed, — to my friend Sosilas, the son of Philo, to which end I adopt him as my son. Should he refuse to marry her, then I bequeath to him the five talents lying with Pasion, the money changer ; but I then constitute him guardian of Cleobule, and he shall give her, with the rest of the property, to some husband of his own choosing, who shall take posses sion of my house. I give and bequeath my house on the Olym- pieion to Theron, the son of Callias ; and the lodging house in the Piraeus to Sophilos, son of Philo. To the son of Callipides I bequeath my largest silver bowl, and to his wife a pair of gold earrings, and two coverlets and two cushions of the best in my possession ; that I may not seem to have forgotten them. To my physician Zenothemis I leave a legacy of one thousand drachmae, though his skill and attention have deserved still more. Let my sepulchre be erected in a fitting spot of the garden outside the Melitic gate. Let Theron, together with Sophilos and my relatives, see to it that my obsequies and monument be neither unworthy of me, nor yet on too sumptu ous a scale. I expressly prohibit Cleobule and the women, as well as the female slaves, from cutting off their hair, or other wise disfiguring themselves. To Demetrius, who has long been free, I remit his ransom, and make him a present of five minae, a himation and a chiton [cloak and gown], in considera tion of his faithful services. Of the slaves I hereby manumit Parmeno, and Chares, with his child ; but Carion and Donax must work for four years in the garden, and shall then be made free, if they shall have conducted themselves well during that period. Manto shall be free immediately on Cleobule's mar riage, and shall also receive three minae. Of the children of my slaves none are to be sold, but are to be kept in the house
till they are grown up, and then set free. Syrus, however, shall be sold. Sophilos, Theron, and Callipides will discharge the duties of executors. This testament is placed in the keeping
THE FORGED WILL.
251
of Sosilas. Witnesses : Lysimachos, son of Strato ; Hegesias, of Hegio; and Hipparchos of Callippos. "
A deathlike stillness reigned among the audience when the reader had concluded. At the first words Cleobule had turned pale, and sunk back on a settle half fainting, while her mother, who was crying, supported her. Sophilos placed his hand on his lips, and was lost in thought ; the witnesses mutely surveyed the scene. Sosilas alone seemed perfectly composed. "Take courage," said he, approaching Cleobule ; " fear not that I will lay claim to the happiness that Polycles intended for me. I my self, too, am astonished, and could easily be dazzled by the tempt ing prize ; but I am too old to dream of wedding a young bride. Willingly do I resign the rich inheritance, and shall select for you a husband more suitable in age. "
Cleobule turned away with a shudder. Sosilas grasped the will, saying, " Nothing more is now wanting but the attesta tion of the witnesses, that such was the tenor of the will when opened. "
" The witnesses accordingly set their seals to the writing. It is not the only testament that Polycles has left," remarked
one of them. " " How ? What ?
exclaimed Sosilas, turning pale ; " noth ing is said here about the existence of another will. "
" I don't rightly understand it," replied the witness ; " but two days after you received this, Polycles called me and four others in as witnesses, on his depositing another document— doubtless a duplicate of this — in the hands of Menecles, to whose house he had caused himself to be conveyed. "
The effects of this disclosure on those present were, as might have been expected, extremely various. Sosilas stood like one utterly undone ; a faint ray of hope glimmered in the bosom of Cleobule ; Sophilos eyed narrowly the countenance of the forger, who quailed before his glance; and the witnesses looked doubtingly at one another.
Sosilas at length broke the silence. "This will," said he with some vehemence, " is genuine ; and even supposing that there is another authentic one in existence, its contents will of course be the same. "
"Why"! it is indeed hardly to be supposed," rejoined Sophilos, that Polycles would have changed his mind in two days ; but we must invite Menecles to produce the copy in his custody, without loss of time. " A slave here entered, and
252 THE FORGED WILL.
whispered a message in his ear. " The very thing ! " he cried. " Menecles is not less punctual than you. Two of his witnesses have already arrived, in obedience to his summons ; and he will therefore shortly be here in person. "
The men now entered. Sosilas walked up and down the room, and gradually recovered his composure. Even should his plans be unpleasantly disturbed by the contents of the second will, still a wide field would be open for litigation, in which he had an even chance of coming off victor. Menecles soon arrived with the other two witnesses, and delivered the will. The superscription and seal were found to be correct, and its contents tallied with those of the first, word for word, with the exception of the two names, which were interchanged. At the end was a postscript, to the effect that an exactly similar testament was deposited with Sosilas the Piraean.
The reading of this caused a violent scene, and plenty of abuse and recrimination followed on both sides. Sosilas pro nounced it a forgery, and went off declaring that he would make good his claims before a court of law.
The morning of the funeral had arrived ; and before day break a crowd of mourners, and of others actuated merely by motives of curiosity, had collected in and around the house, either to attach themselves to the procession, or merely to be spectators of the pageant. Even the day before, whilst the corpse lay in state, the door was crowded by persons who in the course of their lives had never before crossed its threshold. Several, too, had evinced much celerity in putting on mourning, being very anxious to establish their claims to a distant rela tionship with the defunct, when they learned the property was in dispute, and there seemed a prospect of good fishing in the troubled waters.
Charicles, however, did not present himself within ; although perhaps the house possessed greater attractions for him than for any of the others. The impression his late unexpected appear ance made on Cleobule had not escaped him, and he held it im proper to disturb her duties to the departed by a second visit. Still he could not omit accompanying the funeral procession to the place of interment ; and in fact Sophilos, who somehow felt a great liking for the youth, had himself invited him to be pres ent. The old gentleman had paid him several visits, and in a significant manner had described how much Cleobule was im
THE FORGED WILL. 253
periled by the will, which he was convinced was a forgery. Charicles was perhaps more disquieted at this than even Sophilos himself. Whichever way the matter might be decided, it would of course make no difference to him personally : for in case a fraud were detected, the lady would become the wife of Sophilos ; and as regarded himself, he had made up his mind that even under the most favorable circumstances, it would never befit one of his years and condition to marry a widow of such large property : he was nevertheless pained to think that such a fascinating creature might fall into the power of one who, to judge from all accounts, must be utterly unworthy of her. . . .
When the bones had been consigned to the ground, and the women had bidden farewell to the new-made grave, Charicles with Sophilos wended his way back towards the city. The possible consequences of the unhappy will formed the topic of conversation. Charicles could not conceal how very different an impression Sosilas had made upon him from what he had ex pected.
ing departed
THE VOYAGE OF NEARCHUS.
235
inhabit desert places, where the land is without trees, and does not produce cultivated fruits. The whole diet of these con sists of fish. Few of them sow any corn in the land, and what little is produced they use as a relish to the fish ; for they use fish in place of bread. The most prosperous of them collect the bones of the whales cast up by the sea, and use these instead of timber for their houses ; the broad bones which they find they make into doors. The majority, who are poorer, make their houses of the backbones of fishes.
Whales.
Great whales live in the external sea, as well as fish far larger than those in this internal sea [the Mediterranean]. Nearchus says that when they were sailing from Cyiza they saw at daybreak the water of the sea being blown upward as if being borne violently aloft from the action of bellows.
alarmed, they asked the pilots what it was, and from what this phenomenon arose ; and they answered that this was caused by whales rushing through the sea and blowing the water upward. The sailors were so alarmed at this that they let the oars fall from their hands. Nearchus went to them and encouraged them, and bade them be of good cheer ; and sailing past each of the vessels, he ordered the men to direct their ships straight at them as in a sea battle, to raise a loud shout, and to row as hard as they could, making as much noise and din as possible. Being thus encouraged, at the signal given, they rowed the ships together. When they got near the beasts, the men shouted as loud as they could, the trumpets sounded, and they made as much noise as possible with the rowing. Then the
whales, which were just now seen at the prows of the ships, being frightened, dived to the bottom, and soon afterwards came up again near the sterns, and again blew the sea up to a great distance. Then there was loud applause among the sailors at their unexpected deliverance, and praise was given to Nearchus for his boldness and wisdom. Some of these whales are left ashore on many parts of the coast, when the ebb tide flows, being imprisoned in the shallows; others are thrown up on the dry ground by the rough storms, and then perish and rot. When the flesh has fallen off the bones are left ; which the people use for making their houses. The
Being
236 THE VOYAGE OF NEARCHUS.
large bones in their sides form beams for the houses, and the smaller ones rafters, the jawbones the doorposts. For many of them reach the length of 25 fathoms [152 feet].
The Snakk Island, and the Meemaid.
When they were sailing along the coast of the land of the Ichthyophagi, they heard a tale about a certain island, which lies 100 stades (11J miles) from the mainland there, and is uninhabited. The natives say it is called Nosala, and that it is sacred to the Sun, and that no man wishes to touch at it. For whoever lands there through ignorance, disappears. Nearchus says that one of their light galleys having a crew of Egyptians disappeared not far from this island ; and that the pilots stoutly affirmed in regard to this occurrence, that no doubt, having put in at the island through want of knowledge, they had disappeared. But Nearchus sent a ship with thirty oars all round the island, ordering the sailors not to land on it, but sailing along so as to graze the shore to shout out to the men, calling out the captain's name and that of any other man known to them. But when no one obeyed him, he says he himself sailed to the island, and compelled the sailors against their will to put in. He landed himself, and proved that the tale about the island was an empty myth.
He heard another tale told about this island, to the effect that one of the Nereids dwelt in it; but her name was not mentioned. She had communication with every man who approached the island, and having changed him into a fish, cast him into the sea. But the Sun was angry with the Ne reid, and ordered her to depart from the island. She agreed to depart, but besought that her disease should be healed. The Sun hearkened to her request, and pitying the men whom she had turned into fishes, he turned them back again into men ; and from these, they said, the race of the Ichthyophagi sprang, which continued down to the time of Alexander. I, for my part, do not praise Nearchus for spending his time and ability in proving these things false, though they were not very difficult of disproof. I know, however, that it is a very difficult task for one who reads the ancient tales to prove that they are false.
THE VOYAGE OF NEARCHUS. 237
Voyage along the Coast of Carmania.
They came to anchor near a deserted shore, and observed a long promontory stretching far out into the sea. The promon tory seemed about a day's voyage off. Those who were ac quainted with those parts said that this promontory, which stretched out, was in Arabia, and was called Maceta ; and that cinnamon and such like things were carried thence to the Assyrians. From this shore, where the fleet was riding at anchor, and from the promontory which they saw stretching out into the sea opposite them, the gulf runs up into the inte rior, which is probably the Red Sea (Arabian Sea). So I think, and so did Nearchus.
When they saw this promontory, Onesicritus gave orders to direct their course to it, in order that they might not suffer hardships driving their ships up the gulf. But Nearchus an swered that Onesicritus was childish if he did not know for what purpose Alexander had dispatched the expedition. For he did not send out the ships because he could not con vey all his army by land in safety, but because he wished to explore the coast by a coasting voyage to see what harbors and islands were there, and if any gulf ran into the land to sail round it ; to find out what cities were on the seacoast, and see if any of the country was fertile, and if any was deserted. Therefore they ought not to render their whole work nugatory, now they were already near the end of their labors, especially as they no longer were in want of necessaries on the voyage. He said he was afraid, because the promontory stretched towards the south, that they should meet with a country there uninhabited, waterless, and fiery hot. These arguments pre vailed, and Nearchus seems clearly to me to have saved his army by this advice ; for the report is current that that prom ontory and all the land adjacent is uninhabited and entirely destitute of water.
Arrival at Harmozeia.
Loosening from the shore they sailed, keeping close to the land, and after voyaging 700 stades (82 miles) they anchored on another shore, named Neoptana. And again they put to sea at break of day, and sailing 100 stades (11£ miles) they anchored in the river Anamis. The place was called Har
238 THE VOYAGE OF NEARCHUS.
mozeia [near Gombroon], and was pleasant and fertile in every thing; except that olive trees did not grow there. Here they disembarked and rested with delight from all their labors, re calling all the hardships they had endured on the sea and near the land of the Ichthyophagi, the desolateness of the country, and the savageness of the people. They also recapitulated their own distresses. -
Some of them went up far into the country away from the sea, scattering themselves about away from the camp, one in search of one thing, another of another. Here they saw a man wearing a Grecian cloak, and equipped in other respects like a Greek. He also spoke the Greek language. The men who first saw this person said that they wept ; it seemed so un expected a thing for them, after so many misfortunes, to see a Greek and to hear a Greek voice. They asked him whence he came and who he was. He said he had wandered away from Alexander's camp, and that the king himself and his army were not far off. They conducted this man to Nearchus, shouting and clapping their hands. He told Near- chus everything, and that the king and the camp were distant from the sea a journey of five days. He said he would intro duce the governor of this land to Nearchus, and did so. Near chus imparted to the governor his intention of going up the country to the king.
Nearchus Rejoins Alexander.
The governor having learnt that Alexander was very anx ious about this expedition, thought that he would receive a great reward if he were the first to announce to him the safety of Nearchus and his army, and he knew that Nearchus would arrive in the king's presence in a very short time. So he drove the shortest way, and told Alexander that Nearchus would soon be with him from the ships. At that time, although the king did not believe the story, yet he rejoiced at the news, as was natural. But when one day after another passed by, the re port no longer seemed credible to him, when he considered the time since he received the news. Several persons were sent one after the other to fetch Nearchus. Some, after going a little distance on the journey and meeting no one, returned without him; others, having gone farther, but having missed Nearchus and his men, did not return. Then Alexander ordered that
THE VOYAGE OF NEAKCHUS. 239
man to be arrested, as a reporter of empty rumors, and one who had made his troubles more grievous than before on ac count of his foolish joy. It was evident from his face and his decision that he was cast into great grief. Meanwhile, some of those who had been dispatched in search of Nearchus with horses and carriages, fell in with him and Archias, and five or six with them, on the road; for he was coming up with so few attendants. When they met them they recognized neither him nor Archias; so much altered did they look. They had long hair, they were dirty and covered with brine; their bodies were shriveled, and they were pale from want of sleep and other hardships.
[Alexander was overjoyed to find both fleet and army safe, and wished to send the fleet up to Susa under another command; but Nearchus protested against having accomplished all the hard part of the voyage and letting another do the easy part and get the glory of the finished voyage. He was therefore allowed to sail it up the Persian Gulf and the Euphrates. ]
They traveled 900 stades (106 miles), and cast anchor at the mouth of the Euphrates, near a certain village in Babylonia, named Diridotis; where the merchants bring frankincense from the country on the opposite side of the gulf, and all the other spices which the country of the Arabs produces. From the mouth of the Euphrates up to Babylon, Nearchus said, is a voyage of 3300 stades (388 miles). . . .
When it was reported that Alexander was approaching, they again sailed up the river, and moored near the bridge of boats by which Alexander was going to convey his army to Susa. Here a junction was formed, and Alexander offered sacrifices for the safety of the ships and of the men, and celebrated con tests. Wherever Nearchus appeared in the army he was pelted with flowers and garlands. Here also Nearchus and Leonnatus were crowned by Alexander with golden crowns; the former for the preservation of the fleet, and the latter for the victory which he had won over the Oreitians and the neighboring barbarians. Thus Alexander's army, starting from the mouth of the Indus, arrived safely.
240 THE FORGED WILL.
THE FORGED WILL. By W. A. BECKER. (From " Charlcles. ")
[Wilhblm Adolf Beckeb, a noted German classical antiquary, was born at Dresden, 1796 ; died at Meissen, 1846. Designed for trade, he left it for scholarship ; studied at Leipsic, and the last four years of his life was professor there. His still familiar works are " Charicles " and " Gallus," novels embody ing the social life of the Greeks in Alexander's time and the Romans in Augustus'. His "Handbook of Roman Antiquities" (1843-1846) is his chief monument as a scholar. ]
[Note. — A talent may be reckoned as nearly $1200; a mina, $20; a drachma, 20 cents. ]
Poltcles was a very wealthy man. His country estates, his houses in the city and the Piraeus, and his numerous slaves, yielded him, with no trouble, a secure income ; which however was as nothing compared to that which he derived from the ready money lying at the money changers', or lent out else where, at a high rate of interest. Those who were more inti mate with the state of his affairs were convinced that his property amounted in all to more than fifty talents.
He had remained single till his fifty-fifth year, and then, in compliance with his late brother's dying request, he had mar ried his only surviving daughter, Cleobule, a blooming girl of sixteen. But in the midst of the festivity of the marriage feast, he was attacked with apoplexy, which had been succeeded by tedious and painful illness. No means of relief had been neglected. The veteran family physician, a man of no mean skill, had called in the advice of other medical men, but the resources of their art were exhausted without success : neither their exertions, nor the tenderness of Cleobule, who nursed the patient like a dutiful daughter, availed to reunite the ruptured threads of his existence. Polycles was not satisfied with ap plying for aid to the successors of JSsculapius, but tried the efficacy of certain charms ; while interpreters of dreams were consulted, expiations placed in the crossways, and aged women, reputed to have the power of curing diseases by mysterious arts and magic songs, had been summoned to attend. Whole days and nights had also been passed by the sufferer in the temple
THE FORGED WILL. 241
of J5sculapius, but to no purpose. At last, hearing of a happy cure effected in a similar case by the baths of jEdepsos, he repaired thither for the benefit of the waters : but the Nymphs had refused their succor ; and some days ago the doctor had declared that the patient would never need any herb more, save
the parsley [funeral wreaths].
Next day Charicles was on the point of going out. The
previous evening he had come to the resolution of marrying, and he had determined that Phorion should play the suitor for him. At this moment a slave rapped at the door, on an errand from Polycles. Weak as the patient was, he had expressed great pleasure on hearing that the son of his old friend was in Athens, and now sent to say he wished to see him once more before his end, which he felt was drawing nigh. Charicles could not refuse a request expressive of so much kindliness, and"therefore promised to attend.
It were better to come along with me at once," said the slave. " My master is very low now, and his friends have just met at his bedside. "
"Well, lead on," said Charicles, not unwilling to put off
for a time his intended visit to Phorion ; " lead on, I follow
you. "
At the doctor's side stood three friends of the family, their
gaze fixed inquiringly on his countenance ; while at the foot of the bed an aged slave, with clasped hands, was gazing in tently on his dying master. Long and silently did the leech hold the sick man's wrist, and at last let it go, though without uttering a word that might encourage hope.
The slave who had conducted Charicles now approached, and first whispered his arrival to the doctor, with whose assent he further announced it to his master. The sick man pushed back the felt cap which he had drawn down over his forehead, and extended his right hand to Charicles. " Joy to you, son of my friend," he murmured feebly ; " and thanks for fulfilling my wish. I was present at the festival of naming you, and thus you stand now at my dying bed. "
" Health to you also," answered Charicles, "and joy, although now you are in pain and anguish. May the gods transform into lightsome day the dark night that now encompasses you. "
"Nay," said Polycles; "I am not to be deceived. I am not one of those who, when they meet with suffering or mis fortune, send for a sophist to console them. Rather tell me
VOL. IV. — 16
242 THE FORGED WILL.
something of the fate of thy family. " The youth, accordingly, delivered a brief recital of the fortunes of his house since the flight from Athens.
The sick man evinced so much emotion in the course of the narration, that at last the doctor motioned Charicles to break off. " Is the draught ready that I ordered to be prepared? " he inquired of a slave who just then entered.
" Manto will bring it immediately," was the reply.
" Manto? " exclaimed Polycles : " why not Cleobule ? " "She heard that gentlemen were with you," replied the
slave.
" They are only near friends of the family," said the sick
man ; " she need not mind them. I prefer taking the draught from her. "
The slave departed to inform the lady of his master's wishes, and the doctor again felt the patient's pulse, whilst the by standers stood aside.
One of the three, who had been addressed as Sophilos, had seized Charicles by the hand, and retired with him to a corner of the room. His age was between fifty and sixty, and his exterior bespoke affluence, as well as polish and good breeding. Time had furrowed his brow, and rendered gray his locks ; but his firm carriage and active step betokened one still vigorous, and he conversed with all the vivacity of youth. A gentle earnestness and good-humored benevolence beamed in his countenance, and his whole appearance was calculated to awaken confidence and attract the beholder.
As Charicles recounted the misfortunes of his family, Sophi los had listened with sympathy, and, when he now further ques tioned Charicles about many passages in his life, his glance dwelt on the youth with peculiar satisfaction. Whilst they were en gaged in low-toned conversation, the hanging was pushed aside, and Cleobule entered, followed by a female slave. Nearly over come with timidity, she did not dare raise her eyes, but kept them fixed on the glass phial in her right hand, and she hastened to present to her sick husband and uncle the portion which it contained, the physician having first mingled in it something from his drug box. She next smoothed the pillow, bending affectionately over her husband, as if to inquire whether he felt any relief.
The eyes of all present were fastened on this picture of dutiful affection, but the gaze of Charicles especially seemed
THE FORGED WILL. 243
riveted to the spot. When Cleobule entered, he was convers ing with Sophilos, with his back to the door, and she on her part was so entirely occupied with tending the sick man, that her face had not once been turned towards the group behind her. Yet there was something in that graceful figure that awoke scarcely stifled emotions in his breast. It was the very image of the apparition by the brook. . . .
The physician next prescribed a bath for his patient. . . . Cleobule hastened to superintend in person the needful prepara tions, and as she turned round to go towards the door, her eye fell upon Charicles, who was standing near it. Suddenly she started as though she had seen the Gorgon's head, or some specter risen out of Hades ; and the glass phial would have dropped from her hand, had not the doctor caught it. With a deep blush, and downcast eyes, she rushed hurriedly past the young man, who was himself so surprised and confused that he did not hear the question which Sophilos just then put to him. It was now necessary to leave the sick chamber, and he was not sorry to do so. Approaching the bed, he expressed a hope that its tenant would amend, and then hastened from the chamber in a tumult of contending emotions.
It was one of those blustering nights so common at the com mencement of Maemacterion [latter part of November]. The wind blew from Salamis, driving before it the scud of black rain clouds over the Piraeus ; and when they opened for a mo ment, the crescent of the waning moon would peer forth, throw ing a transient glimmer on the distant temples of the Acropolis. In the streets of the seaport, generally so full of bustle, reigned deep repose, only broken by the dull roaring of the sea, or the groaning of the masts, as some more violent gust swept through the rigging of the vessels yet remaining in the harbor. Occa sionally, too, some half -intoxicated sailor would stagger lantern- less from the wine shops towards the harbor ; or some footpad would sneak along the sides of the houses, ready to pounce on the cloak of a belated passenger, and hiding cautiously behind a Hermes or an altar whenever the bell of the night patrol was heard.
In a small room of a house situated some distance from the harbor, a young man of unprepossessing exterior lay stretched upon a low couch, which was too short for his figure. His hol low eyes and sunken cheeks, the carelessness of his demeanor,
244 THE FORGED WILL.
his hasty way of draining the cup in his right hand, and the coarse jokes that from time to time escaped him, sufficiently marked him as one of those vulgar roues who were accustomed to waste the day at the dice board, and devote the night to riot and debauchery. On the table near him, beside the nearly empty punch bowl, stood a lamp with a double wick, whose light abundantly illumined the narrow chamber. There were also the remnants of the frugal supper that he had just concluded, and a second goblet, which a slave, who sat upon another couch opposite the young man, replenished pretty frequently. Be tween them was a draughtboard which the slave was eying attentively, whilst the other surveyed it with tolerable indiffer ence. The game was by no means even. The menial evidently had the advantage ; and he now made a move which reduced his adversary to great straits.
" A stupid game, this ! " exclaimed the youth, as he tossed the pieces all in a heap ; " a game where it's all thinking, and nothing won after all. Dicing for me," he added with a yawn. " But what has got Sosilas ? It must be past midnight ; and such weather as this, I should not over-enjoy the walk from the town to the haven. "
"He's gone to Polycles," replied the slave. "'Twas said he would not live till morning, and Sosilas seems vastly con cerned about him. "
" I know," answered the youth ; " but then why did he send for me, just at this time of all others ? The morning would have done quite as well ; and I must needs leave a jolly party, forsooth ; and here I am, hang it, and have to stand my own wine, for not a drop has the old hunks provided. "
" All I know," replied the slave, " is that he bade me fetch you wherever you were, as he must have speech with you this very night without fail. "
" Then why doesn't he come ? " retorted the other, peevishly. "Did he go unattended? "
" Syrus went with him ; he'll come to no harm. And even suppose he didn't return," continued the slave with a smile ; "why, you're his next relation and heir, aren't you? Two houses in the city, besides this here — a carpenter's shop, and maybe some five or six talents in ready cash ; — in sooth, no such bad heritage !
"
The youth lolled back complacently on the couch. " Yes, Molon," said he, " when he's once out of the way, then "
THE FORGED WILL. 245
At this moment came a violent rap at the outer door. " There he is ! " cried the slave, as he hastily caught up the draughtboard and one of the goblets, smoothed down the cushion and coverlet of the couch he had been sitting on, and stationed himself at the stripling's elbow, as if he had been waiting on him.
Steps were now audible in the courtyard, and a gruff voice was heard giving orders to a slave in harsh accents. The door opened, and in walked a man with a large beard, and dark and forbidding features. He was wrapped, after the Spartan fash ion, in a short mantle of coarse thick texture, and wore Laco- nian shoes. In his hand was a stout cudgel, with its handle bent in the form of a cross. The sight of the drinking cups and the unwonted illumination of the chamber made him forget the greeting. He approached the slave in a rage.
" Ah ! you knave ! " cried he, raising his stick ; " what d'ye mean by these two burners, and such large wicks ? Does not the winter consume oil enough without this ? And you, Lysis- tratos," — he here turned to the youth — "seem to make your self"quite at home in my house. " "
Oh ! to be sure, uncle," answered the other, dryly ;
on credit from the tavern, since yours is safe under lock and key. Do you suppose I'm going to wait here half the night for you, without a drop to drink? "
" I didn't expect to be kept so long," said the old man, some what softened, as he hastily scanned the apartment. " You may go," he said to the slave ; " we don't want you any more : leave us, and go to bed. " The slave departed; Sosilas bolted the door, and returned to his nephew.
" He is dead," whispered he, drawing a long breath ; " Poly- cles is dead, and a property of sixty talents and more is left
without natural heirs. " " The nephew started.
Well ! and what good is that to us, ifwe do not come in for a share ? "
" That's just the question," answered the uncle. " Lysistra- tos," he resumed after a short silence, " you may be a rich man, if you will. "
" Will ? ay ! by Dionysos will I, and no mistake," laughed the nephew.
"Only do what I tell you," said Sosilas, "and you have your desire. We are connected — very distantly, I grant — with Polycles, for my long-deceased wife and Cleobule's mother
wine
246 THE FORGED WILL.
were first cousins. Yet this connection gives us no title to the property. But, now, what if a will were produced naming me heir ! "
" You mean a forged one," said Lysistratos musingly ; " but how will it be accredited without you have his signet ring ? And do you suppose Polycles, during his long illness, has not himself arranged about bequeathing his property ? "
The old man quietly opened an adjoining room, and fetched out of it a box, which he unfastened, and drew forth a document with a seal. " Look ye there, read that," said he, as he placed it before the youth. " " What's the superscription ? "
" By Dionysos ! cried the youth springing to his feet, "' The last will of Polycles. ' How came you by this ? "
"Very simply," replied the uncle. "When Polycles was starting to JSdepsos, and Sophilos, who had got him in his meshes, was luckily gone upon a journey, he summoned me, as a relative of his wife's, and intrusted me with his will in the presence of the three witnesses therein named. "
" Capital ! " shouted Lysistratos ; " so you can substitute another of your own composing. But still, even then, you will want his signet : do you think you could imitate it? "
" "That would be a dangerous experiment," replied the uncle;
and besides, you can perceive by the superscription in what peculiar shaky characters it is written; so that it would be almost impossible to forge an imitation, nor indeed do we want one. " Saying this he produced a knife, removed the shell which served as a capsule to the seal, and said, " See ! that's Polycles' seal, and there is just such another beneath the writing ; and now look at this," cried he, as he placed side by side"with it another seal, hanging by a slip of string.
" You'll understand presently," replied the uncle. He took the knife, and without hesitation severed the string to which the seal was appended, opened the document, and spread it before his nephew. " Look," he said with a malicious grin ; " supposing ' Sosilas ' stood here instead of ' Sophilos,' and there, ' Sophilos ' instead of ' Sosilas. ' I should not so much mind then. " "
By Poseidon ! exactly the same," exclaimed Lysistratos, in amazement; "but I can't conceive what all this is about. "
The youth read in astonishment.
"that were indeed a master stroke; and there are only two letters to alter; for as good luck has the fathers' names are
I' faith!
"
he exclaimed,
it,
THE FORGED WILL. 247
the same. But the seal ? " he added, " the seal ? how could you venture to break open the deed ? "
The old man made a second dive into the mysterious box, and drew out something resembling a signet. "I learned how to make this substance from a cunning fellow who went about soothsaying. If pressed upon a seal when soft, it receives all the characters with perfect accuracy and in a short time be comes as hard as stone. " The will had been opened before, and the seal appended to it was merely an impression of this. " Can you distinguish between it and the genuine one ? "
" No, that I can't," answered the nephew.
" So, then, it will be an easy matter to reseal the deed, when we have alterIed the letters in these two places. "
"
to become rich by this ? now interposed
"But how am
the youth, suspiciously; "my name is not mentioned in the testament. "
"Listen a moment," replied the uncle; "the inheritance, as you may have read, is coupled with one condition — that the heir must marry the widow Cleobule, and if he object to this, must be content with five talents as his portion ; but he will have the right of giving the widow in marriage, along with the rest of the property, to whomsoever he may judge proper. Now I am too old to marry again; and be sides, I was warned against it in a dream. I dreamed that I wished to take a wife, and went to the bride's house to be be trothed to her; but when I essayed to go away again, the door was fastened, and could not be opened. Two interpreters of dreams, whom I consulted, foretold that I should die on the day of my betrothment ; and that is warning enough ; but you shall marry Cleobule, if you will privately cede half the property to me. " "
After some higgling, it was finally settled that the uncle should not receive the five talents over and above his half of the property, but that these should be included in the parti tion.
The nephew reflected for a moment.
tition," he said at last: "your share is unincumbered, while my moiety will be saddled with the widow. "
" Fool ! " retorted Sosilas : " Cleobule is such a beauty that many a man would be glad to take her without any dowry at all ; besides which, it all depends on me, you know, whether you get a farthing. "
It's an unequal par
248 THE FORGED WILL.
" Now hand me the will," said the old man ; "with this little sponge I erase the two letters, and the more easily because the paper is so good. Look ! they are now scarce distinguishable. This ink," continued he, as he produced a little box and the writing reed, "is of just the same blackness as the writing. There we have it, all right. Who will assert that it was not always as it now stands ? "
" Excellent ! " said the nephew ; " now for the seal. "
The old man carefully folded up the deed again, moistened some clay, tied the string, and impressed the forged stamp upon the clay. "There ! " said he, "isn't it the same seal ? "
" Well, that beats everything," cried Lysistratos, as he com pared the two seals ; " no one will ever dream that it is a forgery. "
A rustling outside the door startled the old man. He snatched up the will and the other contents of the box, which he bore off, and fastened the door of the room adjacent, seal ing it for greater security. Then taking the lamp he explored the court, to discover if possible the cause of the disturbance. " It was nothing," he said, when he came back ; " most likely the storm which made the door shake. It will soon be morn ing : Lysistratos, come into my bedchamber, and let us have a short nap. "
The two worthies had not been long gone when Molon glided softly into the room, and groped about in the dark for one of the sofas. A gleam of moonlight shone through the open door, and he hastily seized something that lay in the folds of the drapery, and then as quickly and softly vanished, his gestures denoting the prize to be one on which he set a high value.
When morning dawned on the house of the deceased, it found the inmates already busy with preparations for the burial. An earthen vessel, filled with water, stood before the door, to signify to the passenger that it was a house of mourn ing. Within, the women were occupied in anointing and lay ing out the corpse. Cleobule, inexperienced, and woe-begone like an orphan child, had begged the aid of Sophilos, who, even without solicitation, would have undertaken to conduct the funeral. She had always looked on Polycles in the light of an affectionate uncle, who had indulged her every wish ; and now she wept for him as for a parent ; while she applied herself to
THE FORGED WILL. 249
her mournful duties, assisted by her mother, whom she had sent for on the previous evening, — as her childlike tremors, which had been early nourished by nurses' fairy tales and ghost stories, rendered solitude in the house of death insupportable.
It was still early, and Sophilos was just debating with the women of the order of the interment, when Sosilas also made his appearance, with sorrow in his aspect but exultation in his heart. He had hastened, he said, to bring the will which the deceased had deposited in his hands ; as perhaps it might con tain some dispositions respecting his interment. He then named the witnesses who had been by when he received the will, and whose presence would now be necessary at the opening. Cleo- bule was somewhat disconcerted to find the document that was to decide her future fate placed in the custody of one to whom, from early childhood, she had entertained feelings of aversion. Polycles had never been explicit on this head, merely assuring her in general terms that she had been cared for. And such she now hoped was the case ; but yet she had rather that any body else had produced the will. Sophilos, on the other hand, did not seem at all put out by the circumstance. He praised Sosilas for his punctuality, and desired that the witnesses might be cited to attend ; but this, the other said, was not necessary, as he had already sent them notices to that effect. "
Before long the three made their appearance.
present," said Sosilas to" them, " when Polycles committed his last will to my charge ?
They replied in the affirmative.
"You will be ready then to testify that this is the deed which he intrusted to me ? "
" The superscription and the seal," answered one of them, " are what prove its authenticity. All that we can witness to is that a testament was deposited with you — not, that this is the identical one in question ; still there is no ground for the con trary assumption, since the seal is untouched, and may be recog nized as that of Polycles. "
" Do you, therefore, satisfy yourself, Cleobule, that I have faithfully discharged your husband's behest. Do you acknowl edge this seal ? "
With trembling hand Cleobule took the deed. " An eagle clutching a snake," said she ; "it is the device of his signet. " She next handed the testament to Sophilos, who also pro nounced it all right.
You were
250
THE FORGED WILL.
" Open it then," said Sosilas to one of the witnesses, " that its contents may be known. My sight is bad : do one of you read for me. "
The string was cut, the document unfolded, and the witness read as follows : —
" The testament of Polycles the Paeanian. May all be well ; but should I not recover from this sickness, thus do I devise my estate. I give my wife Cleobule, with all my fortune, as set down in the accompanying schedule, — save and except all that is herein otherwise disposed, — to my friend Sosilas, the son of Philo, to which end I adopt him as my son. Should he refuse to marry her, then I bequeath to him the five talents lying with Pasion, the money changer ; but I then constitute him guardian of Cleobule, and he shall give her, with the rest of the property, to some husband of his own choosing, who shall take posses sion of my house. I give and bequeath my house on the Olym- pieion to Theron, the son of Callias ; and the lodging house in the Piraeus to Sophilos, son of Philo. To the son of Callipides I bequeath my largest silver bowl, and to his wife a pair of gold earrings, and two coverlets and two cushions of the best in my possession ; that I may not seem to have forgotten them. To my physician Zenothemis I leave a legacy of one thousand drachmae, though his skill and attention have deserved still more. Let my sepulchre be erected in a fitting spot of the garden outside the Melitic gate. Let Theron, together with Sophilos and my relatives, see to it that my obsequies and monument be neither unworthy of me, nor yet on too sumptu ous a scale. I expressly prohibit Cleobule and the women, as well as the female slaves, from cutting off their hair, or other wise disfiguring themselves. To Demetrius, who has long been free, I remit his ransom, and make him a present of five minae, a himation and a chiton [cloak and gown], in considera tion of his faithful services. Of the slaves I hereby manumit Parmeno, and Chares, with his child ; but Carion and Donax must work for four years in the garden, and shall then be made free, if they shall have conducted themselves well during that period. Manto shall be free immediately on Cleobule's mar riage, and shall also receive three minae. Of the children of my slaves none are to be sold, but are to be kept in the house
till they are grown up, and then set free. Syrus, however, shall be sold. Sophilos, Theron, and Callipides will discharge the duties of executors. This testament is placed in the keeping
THE FORGED WILL.
251
of Sosilas. Witnesses : Lysimachos, son of Strato ; Hegesias, of Hegio; and Hipparchos of Callippos. "
A deathlike stillness reigned among the audience when the reader had concluded. At the first words Cleobule had turned pale, and sunk back on a settle half fainting, while her mother, who was crying, supported her. Sophilos placed his hand on his lips, and was lost in thought ; the witnesses mutely surveyed the scene. Sosilas alone seemed perfectly composed. "Take courage," said he, approaching Cleobule ; " fear not that I will lay claim to the happiness that Polycles intended for me. I my self, too, am astonished, and could easily be dazzled by the tempt ing prize ; but I am too old to dream of wedding a young bride. Willingly do I resign the rich inheritance, and shall select for you a husband more suitable in age. "
Cleobule turned away with a shudder. Sosilas grasped the will, saying, " Nothing more is now wanting but the attesta tion of the witnesses, that such was the tenor of the will when opened. "
" The witnesses accordingly set their seals to the writing. It is not the only testament that Polycles has left," remarked
one of them. " " How ? What ?
exclaimed Sosilas, turning pale ; " noth ing is said here about the existence of another will. "
" I don't rightly understand it," replied the witness ; " but two days after you received this, Polycles called me and four others in as witnesses, on his depositing another document— doubtless a duplicate of this — in the hands of Menecles, to whose house he had caused himself to be conveyed. "
The effects of this disclosure on those present were, as might have been expected, extremely various. Sosilas stood like one utterly undone ; a faint ray of hope glimmered in the bosom of Cleobule ; Sophilos eyed narrowly the countenance of the forger, who quailed before his glance; and the witnesses looked doubtingly at one another.
Sosilas at length broke the silence. "This will," said he with some vehemence, " is genuine ; and even supposing that there is another authentic one in existence, its contents will of course be the same. "
"Why"! it is indeed hardly to be supposed," rejoined Sophilos, that Polycles would have changed his mind in two days ; but we must invite Menecles to produce the copy in his custody, without loss of time. " A slave here entered, and
252 THE FORGED WILL.
whispered a message in his ear. " The very thing ! " he cried. " Menecles is not less punctual than you. Two of his witnesses have already arrived, in obedience to his summons ; and he will therefore shortly be here in person. "
The men now entered. Sosilas walked up and down the room, and gradually recovered his composure. Even should his plans be unpleasantly disturbed by the contents of the second will, still a wide field would be open for litigation, in which he had an even chance of coming off victor. Menecles soon arrived with the other two witnesses, and delivered the will. The superscription and seal were found to be correct, and its contents tallied with those of the first, word for word, with the exception of the two names, which were interchanged. At the end was a postscript, to the effect that an exactly similar testament was deposited with Sosilas the Piraean.
The reading of this caused a violent scene, and plenty of abuse and recrimination followed on both sides. Sosilas pro nounced it a forgery, and went off declaring that he would make good his claims before a court of law.
The morning of the funeral had arrived ; and before day break a crowd of mourners, and of others actuated merely by motives of curiosity, had collected in and around the house, either to attach themselves to the procession, or merely to be spectators of the pageant. Even the day before, whilst the corpse lay in state, the door was crowded by persons who in the course of their lives had never before crossed its threshold. Several, too, had evinced much celerity in putting on mourning, being very anxious to establish their claims to a distant rela tionship with the defunct, when they learned the property was in dispute, and there seemed a prospect of good fishing in the troubled waters.
Charicles, however, did not present himself within ; although perhaps the house possessed greater attractions for him than for any of the others. The impression his late unexpected appear ance made on Cleobule had not escaped him, and he held it im proper to disturb her duties to the departed by a second visit. Still he could not omit accompanying the funeral procession to the place of interment ; and in fact Sophilos, who somehow felt a great liking for the youth, had himself invited him to be pres ent. The old gentleman had paid him several visits, and in a significant manner had described how much Cleobule was im
THE FORGED WILL. 253
periled by the will, which he was convinced was a forgery. Charicles was perhaps more disquieted at this than even Sophilos himself. Whichever way the matter might be decided, it would of course make no difference to him personally : for in case a fraud were detected, the lady would become the wife of Sophilos ; and as regarded himself, he had made up his mind that even under the most favorable circumstances, it would never befit one of his years and condition to marry a widow of such large property : he was nevertheless pained to think that such a fascinating creature might fall into the power of one who, to judge from all accounts, must be utterly unworthy of her. . . .
When the bones had been consigned to the ground, and the women had bidden farewell to the new-made grave, Charicles with Sophilos wended his way back towards the city. The possible consequences of the unhappy will formed the topic of conversation. Charicles could not conceal how very different an impression Sosilas had made upon him from what he had ex pected.
