The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1893-05-31
For the Herald and News.
A TALE OF TROY.
For Francis and Other Good Children.

know, Francis, that all stories and his.
tories begin just in this way, "Once
upon a tine,"-once upon time
Paris, fair young prince of Troy, sail
ing about the world in pleasure boat,
now called a yacht, stopped at the
house of Menelaus, one of the Greek
kings, in fact King of Sparta, who had
a beautiful young wife named Helen,
who was the beautifulest woman in all
the world. Paris fell in love with her
and she fell in love with Paris, which
she ought not to have done. But
there was some excuse for her as her
husband, Menelaus, was an ungainly
old chap, not at all smart to look it,
but a very kind-hearted, indulgent
husband. If he had kept his wife
under strict control I have no doubt
it would nave been much better for all
parties and saved much bloodshed and
averted the ruin of Troy. Paris was
exceedingly handsome, dressed to per-
fection and always kept his long black
hair neatly curled in ringlets and per-
fumed with some odorous oil. The
upshot of the visit was that Helen left
her husband and went off with Paris.
This was very sad piece of business;
but the trouble did not end with her
running away. All the Greek princes
made common cause with Menelaus;
gathered their armies together, the
whole amounting to two or three thou
sand men, and made war upon Troy
for the recovery of Helen. This war
lasted ten years; Troy was destroyed
and Helen was restored to her hus-
band. She returned home with him
and they say that she behaved herself
quite we'll ever afterwards, but I think
it rather doubtful.
She must have been a witch. Prob
ably she was, for an old story says that
the true Helen was good and virtu-
Gus woman and was hidden away
somewhere and that Helen Of Troy
was a beautiful and false image substi-
tuted for her. Yes, she was a witch,
for every male and female Trojan of
them all yielded to her wishes in all
things; and the honest men, the
bravest, ell fought and died for her, as
though she was sacred divinity.
Priam, the good old king, Hector, the
brave eldest SOB, perfect model of a
hero and a warrior, had no thought of
giving her to her lawful husband as
long as Paris claimed her. He, a
graceless and cowardly scamp, with
his hair curled and perfumed with
rosewater and cologne, would never
fight when he could get out of it. His
idea was that discretion was the better
part of valor, and acting upon this
principle be kept out of danger as long
as he could.
The war lasted ten years, and the
Greeks never could have taken the
city had it not been for cunning,
scurvy trick the crafty old Ulysses
caused to be played upon the simple
hearted, credulous Trojans. So it came
to pass that once upon time towards
the close of the tenth year of the war,
when everybody was anxious to get
home to see about getting in their
crops and paying their taxes las the
Governor had positively refused to ex-
tend time), and taking up their liens,
the crafty old Ulysses proposed to the
Greeks to build huge wooden horse
and fill it full of armed men; and after
the horse was completed and properly
packed with soldiers, all the others
were to 60 on board their ships and
make sail for home, or pretend to do
so. They led the Trojans to believe
that the horse was sacred to Minerva,
or some other of their gods or godesses;
that they offered it as farewell peace
offering and hoped that it would be
solemnly kept and taken care of as
sacred to the gods. The Trojans, in
their simplicity, believed this non
sense; and when they thought that
the Greeks had gone home, as their
little ships were soon out of sight (but
they had only sailed a few miles along
the coast and hid themselyes), they
went out in great joy, in fact had a
regular grand jollifcation, tackled the
huge monster of horse and dragged
him up to the gate on wheels. When
they got to the gate, 10, and behold:
the gate was not wide enough to let
him through, so in tt cir simplicity
they broke the wall down and pulled
the horse through into the main street
of the city, and not far from one of the
finest temples in the whole land. By
time it was about twelve o'clock at
night, and all were rather tired and
sleepy, though very, very well satisfied
with their days work. Poor fellows,
it was the worst days work they had
ever done, though they did not know
it until too Jate. Men never do know
in time what is good for them. About
three o'clock in the morning the whole
city was reused from sleep by cries of
fire and war and woe and desolation.
Fire, fire was raging in many places;
and Main street and all the principal
streets were full Of armed Greeks, kill
ing whomsoever they would and say
ing some alive to be carried away as
slaves. O, it was a dreadful scene;
but some Trojans escaped. The great
Eneas, called the Pious because he
was SO good TO his father, and the
great-grandfather Of the builders of
Rome, was seen trudging along with
his father Anchises on his back and