Semi-weekly interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1881-1905, 1891-05-05


The battlefield where Persia's victim horde
First bowed beneath the brunt Of Hellss'
sword,
A on the morn Ca distant glory dear.
When Marathon became magic word,
Which uttered, Co the hearers eye appear
The camp. the host, the night, tho conquerors
career.
The Aging Mede, his shsftless, broken how.
The fiery Greek, his red pursuing spear.
From Marathon, also. dated a new de
parture In the conduct Of warfare, since OF
course field 40 surprising In its results
had It's genius and its hero for the emula-
ton Of men who should come afterward
This was Miltiades. n citizen Of Athens.
who had been In the service OF Darius
the Medic, and had sharpened his wits n
soldier Of fortune In some Of the conquered
colonies where he was "A satrap OF the Per
sian king The Athenians forgave him
grave sins and elected him one OF the
ten generals Of their army when he re-
turned Ia them with price upon his head
for AN act OF daring treachery 20 Darius.
The Persian army set out in the year 40
u. G. TO punish Athens for having assisted
lonia in it, rebellion against Asiatic
usurpation and tyranny. and having con
quercd the ncighboring EubHa aud razed
it, city, Eretris, a. an example Of what
plain Of Marathon with over 10000 men.
intending to march upon Athens. The
Athenians went out Co meet them 1000
strong, summoning their neighbors Ia
leud a hand The Spartlns promised 10
do 40, but religious scruples detained
them, and the platacnus sent 1000 men To
repay similar service rendered some
years before.
When the Athrninn generals saw Darius
host before them and beheld their own
weak muster division of opinion showed
itself at once. The Persian troops mp Ia
this date had proved invincible In every
contest wagcd against the Greeks, aud the
very name OF Mcdc sent terror To the souls
Of the b-avest son OF Hellas. The Atheni-
ans, however, had immense advantages ia
spite OF their weak battalions, and five
generals out of ten voted for an immediate
battle. The Pcrsians had landed on IA low
plain but slightly elevated from the beach,
and the Greeks were upon "A height that
eucircled the plain nearly from shore To
shore At the eNtrcmities Of the height
were marshes which at the season-au-
tumn-were impossible for troops. Five
of the generals assumed that. n the Per
SLAMS had come To fight, they should be al
lowed to take the initiative and butt their
would await them at every turn. Besides,
since the Spartans were coming up TO aid
their fellows IL would bc best to postpone
action until their arrival ut least.
On the other hand. five colleagues voted
for immediate attack on the Persian camp.
Miltiades headed this party and founded
his opinion on his knowledge Of the Persian
troops. whom he deemed inferior to Greeks
when the latter were well handled, and his
belief In the uncertainty Of human affairs,
no matter how rose colored they might APP
pear. Athens WAS twenty-five miles dis
tant from Marathon. and there, safely hid
ing while better men were on the warpath.
were factions OF scheming meE ready TO
betray the state into the hands of Darius for
their own ends. An expelled tyrant OF
Athens, Hippias, was in the Persian camp
instigating the warfare On his people In