Part 13 (2/2)
They were struck with admiration at his proposal, and praised the greatness of his mind, but set before him the certain destruction which must attend him. 'All this,' said Leonidas, 'I have already considered; but I am determined to go, with the appearance indeed of defending the pa.s.s of Thermopylae, but in reality to die for the liberty of Greece.'
Saying this, he instantly went out of the a.s.sembly, and prepared for the expedition, taking with him about three hundred Spartans. Before he went, he embraced his wife, who hung about him in tears, as being well acquainted with the dangerous purposes of his march; but he endeavoured to comfort her, and told her that a short life was well sacrificed to the interests of his country, and that Spartan women should be more careful about the glory than the safety of their husbands. He then kissed his infant children, and charging his wife to educate them in the same principles he had lived in, went out of his house, to put himself at the head of those brave men who were to accompany him.
”As they marched through the city, all the inhabitants attended them with praises and acclamations; the young women sang songs of triumph, and scattered flowers before them; the youths were jealous of their glory, and lamented that such a n.o.ble doom had not rather fallen upon themselves; while all their friends and relations seemed rather to exult in the immortal honour they were going to acquire, than to be dejected with the apprehensions of their loss; and as they continued their march through Greece, they were joined by various bodies of their allies, so that their number amounted to about six thousand when they took possession of the straits of Thermopylae.
”In a short time Xerxes approached with his innumerable army, which was composed of various nations, and armed in a thousand different manners, and, when he had seen the small number of his enemies, he could not believe that they really meant to oppose his pa.s.sage; but when he was told that this was surely their design, he sent out a small detachment of his troops, and ordered them to take those Grecians alive and bring them bound before him. The Persian troops set out and attacked the Grecians with considerable fury; but in an instant they were routed, the greater part slain, and the rest obliged to fly. Xerxes was enraged at this misfortune, and ordered the combat to be renewed with greater forces. The attack was renewed, but always with the same success, although he sent the bravest troops in his whole army. Thus was this immense army stopped in its career, and the pride of their monarch humbled by so inconsiderable a body of Grecians, that they were not at first thought worthy of a serious attack. At length, what Xerxes, with all his troops was incapable of effecting, was performed by the treachery of some of the Grecians who inhabited that country. For a great reward they undertook to lead a chosen body of the Persians across the mountains by a secret path, with which they alone were acquainted. Accordingly, the Persians set out in the night, and having pa.s.sed over the mountains in safety, encamped on the other side.
”As soon as day arose, Leonidas perceived that he had been betrayed, and that he was surrounded by the enemy; nevertheless, with the same undaunted courage, he took all necessary measures and prepared for the fate which he had long resolved to meet. After praising and thanking the allies for the bravery with which they had behaved, he sent them all away to their respective countries; many of the Spartans, too, he would have dismissed under various pretences; but they, who were all determined rather to perish with their king than to return, refused to go. When he saw their resolution, he consented that they should stay with him and share in his fate. All day, therefore, he remained quiet in his camp; but when evening approached, he ordered his troops to take some refreshment, and, smiling, told them 'to dine like men who were to sup in another world.' They then completely armed themselves, and waited for the middle of the night, which Leonidas judged most proper for the design he meditated. He saw that the Persians would never imagine it possible that such an insignificant body of men should think of attacking their numerous forces; he was therefore determined, in the silence of the night, to break into their camp, and endeavour, amid the terror and confusion which would ensue, to surprise Xerxes himself.
”About midnight, therefore, this determined body of Grecians marched out with Leonidas at their head. They soon broke into the Persian camp, and put all to flight that dared to oppose them. It is impossible to describe the terror and confusion which ensued among so many thousands thus unexpectedly surprised. Still the Grecians marched on in close impenetrable order, overturning the tents, destroying all that dared to resist, and driving that vast and mighty army like frightened sheep before them. At length they came even to the imperial tent of Xerxes; and had he not quitted it at the first alarm, he would there have ended at once his life and expedition. The Grecians in an instant put all the guards to flight, and rus.h.i.+ng upon the imperial pavilion, violently overturned it, and trampled under their feet all the costly furniture and vessels of gold which were used by the monarchs of Persia.
”But now the morning began to appear, and the Persians, who had discovered the small number of their a.s.sailants, surrounded them on every side, and without daring to come to a close engagement, poured in their darts and other missive weapons. The Grecians were wearied even with the toils of conquest, and their body was already considerably diminished; nevertheless, Leonidas, who was yet alive, led on the intrepid few that yet remained to a fresh attack; again he rushed upon the Persians, and pierced their thickest battalions as often as he could reach them. But valour itself was vain against such inequality of numbers; at every charge the Grecian ranks grew thinner and thinner, till at length they were all destroyed, without a single man having quitted his post or turned his back upon the enemy.”
”Really,” said Tommy, when the history was finished, ”Leonidas was a brave man indeed. But what became of Xerxes and his army after the death of this valiant Spartan? was he able to overcome the Grecians, or did they repulse him?” ”You are now able to read for yourself,” replied Mr Barlow, ”and therefore, by examining the histories of those countries, you may be informed of everything you desire.”
CHAPTER VI.
The Constellations--Distance from the Earth--The Magnet and its Powers--The Compa.s.s--The Greenlanders and their Customs--The Telescope--The Magic Lantern--Story of the African Prince and the Telescope--Mr Barlow's Poor Paris.h.i.+oners--His Annual Dinner--Tommy attempts Sledge Driving--His mishap in the Pond--His Anger.
And now the frost had continued for several weeks, and Tommy had taken advantage of the evenings, which generally proved clear and star-light, to improve his knowledge of the heavens. He had already ornamented his paper globe with several of the most remarkable constellations. Around the Pole-star he had discovered Perseus and Andromeda, and Cepheus and Ca.s.siopeia's Chair. Between these and the bright Orion, which rose every night and glittered in the south, he discovered seven small stars that were set in a cl.u.s.ter, and called the Pleiades. Then, underneath Orion, he discovered another glittering star, called Sirius, or the Dog-star.
All these, he continually observed, journeyed every night from east to west, and then appeared the evening after in their former places. ”How strange it is,” observed Tommy, one day to Mr Barlow, ”that all these stars should be continually turning about the earth!”
”How do you know,” replied Mr Barlow, ”that they turn at all?”
_Tommy._--Because I see them move every night.
_Mr Barlow._--But how are you sure that it is the stars which move every night, and not the earth itself?
Tommy considered, and said, ”But then I should see the earth move, and the stars stand still.”
_Mr Barlow._--What, did you never ride in a coach?
_Tommy._--Yes, sir, very often.
_Mr Barlow._--And did you then see that the coach moved, as you sat still, and went along a level road?
_Tommy._--No, sir; I protest I have often thought that the houses and trees, and all the country, glided swiftly along by the windows of the coach.
_Mr Barlow._--And did you never sail in a boat?
_Tommy._--Yes, I have; and I protest I have observed the same thing; for I remember I have often thought the sh.o.r.e was running away from the boat, instead of the boat from the sh.o.r.e.
_Mr Barlow._--If that is the case, it is possible, even though the earth should move, instead of the stars, that you might only see what you do at present, and imagine that the earth you are upon was at rest.
_Tommy._--But is it not more likely that such little things as the stars and the sun should move, than such a large thing as the earth?
_Mr Barlow._--And how do you know that the stars and sun are so small?
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