News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-08-05
A LITTLE MAID.
A Pretty story of Hundreds of Years Ago.
From the Springfield Republican

From the Springfield Republican.
Away off in the beautiful country of
Greece, a long, long time ago. there
lived little maiden, the daughter of a
King. Her name was Gorge not a
very pretty pane, perhaps, to us who
are used to calling little girls Maud and
Ethel and Helen, but strong name,
and therefore quite appropriate to the
little maid who bore it, as you shall see.
In those old times there used to be
many wars, and the country of Sparta,
the part of Greece where Gorge lived,
was famous for its brave warriors. who
never thought for a moment of their own
safety when their countsy was in dan
ger. Sometimes these reere not good
" Wars, but wars for spitf and revenge
instead of for freedom a I d for loyalty to
beautiful Greece.
Some wicked man would wish to
avenge an injury he haS received, and
in order to do this he Sald go about
among the different kiP aoms and per-
suade the rulers to join with him and
try to overcome his epssny; and then
there would be terrible bloodshed in
order 70 satisfy one wickeea--ma g re-
venge. Aristagoras was such man as
this. He was dissatisfied with his King,
and wished to become the King himself
instead. One day he came to Sparta on
this evil Grand, and tried to persuade
King Cleomenes, the father of little
Gorge, to help his base project. He
promised him power and honor and
money if he would do as he wished l.;
more and more money, and, as the King
refused, still more and more money he
offered, and at last the King almost con-
sented
But it had happened that when Aris-
tagoras had come into the presence of
the King, the Kings little daughter was
standing by his side with her hand in
his. Aristagoras wanted Cleomenes to
send her away, for he knew very we'll
that it is much harder to induce a man
to do something wrong when there is a
dear little child at his side. But the
King had said, mo, say what you have
to say in her presence, too" And SO
little Gorge had sat at her fathers feet,
looking up into his face with her inno-
cent eyes and listening intently to all
that was said. She felt that somethin G
was wrong, and when she saw her
father look troubled and hesitate,
and cast down his eyes, she knew
the strange visitor was trying to
make him do something he did not
quite want to do. She stole her little
hand softly into her fathers and said:
Papa, come away, come, OF this
strange man will make you do wrong"
This made the King feel strong again,
and, clasplng the little maids hand
tightly in his own, he rose and left the
tempter and went away with the child
who had saved him and his country
from dlshOnor. Gorge was only 10 years
old then, but she was worthy to be a
Kings daughter because, being good
and true herself, she helped her father
to be good and true also.
When she grew to be a woman she
became the wife of King, and then
she showed herself as noble Queen es
she had been a Princess. Her husband
was that King Leonidas who stood in
the narrow pass of Thermopyle with his
small army and fought back the great
hosts of the Persians until he and his
heroic band were killed. But before
this happened there was a time when
| the Grecians did not know that the
great Persian army was coming to try
and destroy theIa, and friend of theirs,
who was a prisoner in the country
where the great Xerxes lived, wishing
to warn the Spartans of the coming OF
the Persians, so they might prepare,
sent a messenger to King Leonidas. But
when the me senger arrived all he had
| to show for his message was bare,
white waxen tablet. The King and al
his lords were puzzled over this strange
tablet long time, but could make no.
thing out of it. At last they began tc
think it was done for jest and did not
mean anything.
But just then the young Queen Gorge
said: "Let me take it, and after look.
ing it all over she exclaimed, "There
must be some writing underneath the
waXl
They scraped away the wax from the
tablet, and there, sure enough. written
on the wood beneath, was the message
OF the Grecian prisoner and his warning
to King Leonidas.
Thus Gorge helped her country sec,
ond time, for if the Spartans had not
known that the army was coming they
could not have warned the other king,
doms, and perhaps the Persians would
not have been conquered. But as il
was, Leonidas and the other Kings
called their armies together, and when
the Persian host came sweeping over
the PLAINS the Greeks were ready to
meet them and to fight and die for theil
beautiful Greece.
So this one little maid of hundreds OF
years ago, Princess and Queen, helped
to save her father from disgrace and heI
country from ruin. And we may feel
sure that she was strong and true to the
last, even when her brave husband,
Leonidas, lay dead in the fearful pass Of
Thermopyle, and she was left to mourn
in the royal palace at Sparta.