streets, and a very fine appearance she made. She seemed to be the very identical blue-eyed daughter of father Jupiter; so the wariest and most knowing coves, from the Acropolis to the Piræus, were most entirely bamboozled, insomuch that they never doubted for a moment but that she was the veritable genuine Glaucopis herself.

The trick was well conceived and equally well executed. Phya, speaking with the authority and eloquence of Minerva, told the people what a very pretty piece of folly had been committed in the matter of the banishment of Pisistratus, and further she enjoined the demos, that, by an act of present self-stultification, it should do the best in its power to make amends for its past absurdity: the injured tyrant must be restored in the twinkling of a bed-post-which he accordingly was. And thus by dodge number two, did our Hellenic liberal again accomplish his own designs.

Re-instated as top-sawyer, he thought he was all right, but in this he was wrong. For

although he acted with great liberality— among other things freely repudiating the daughter of Megacles,-yet there were so many others conceited enough to fancy they ought to be top-sawyers too, that he found it no easy matter to keep his position. For some time it was diamond cut diamond among the rivals; Pisistratus keeping up the game very well; but he was beaten at last; and again obliged to abscond. On this occasion he lay perdue for a deuce of a while, after which he came back, and then resolved to make the third time serve for all. This he did very completely. For having once more stuck himself in the seat of despotism, he stuck so fast that nobody could kick him out. And, to cut a long story short, there he lived and there he died; tyrannizing over the Attic people to his heart's content and his life's end. He left the throne to his two sons Hipparchus and Hippias, to hold as joint tenants. But the joint estate was soon severed, for Hipparchus

one unfortunate morning, having grievously vexed the demos, they severed his head from his body, and thus let Hippias into sole possession. However he did not quite suit them; so, after a little see-sawing together, and diminutive dodging, they deemed it best to part company; and thereupon Hippias and all the rest of the Pisistratida were packed off, bag and baggage, never to visit Athens any more.

As we said at the beginning of this little biography so say we now at the end thereof, Pisistratus, though commonly admitted to have been a tyrant, was nevertheless a very good liberal. And if no liberals were any worse than he was, we don't see that there would be much to complain of. His chief failing seems to have been selfishness, and a most uncontrollable desire to be bigger than other people; to accomplish which he became a dodger, and very munificent.

CHAP. II.

Dionysius the Elder.

WHAT, another tyrant? Yes, gentle reader, another tyrant. And please pardon us for selecting him as our second specimen of the liberal. For, seeing he was a thoroughgoing out-and-outer of the class, our catalogue would be very defective if he were omitted therefrom.

You need not be told that he was born at Syracuse in the island of Sicily,-upon this fact all men agree. But whether he came of the nobs, or sprang from the snobs, is a quæstio vexata by those who have written his life. And the point having no point in it, we shall say nothing about it. Enough for us that he was a Syracusan, who lived in

the times when Carthage and Sicily were at

daggers-drawn.

The Carthaginians had come ashore a good many times without making much way, but at length they managed to bone Agrigentum. And as this was a very capital prize, the city being full of all manner of fine things, the Sicilians began to think the game rather serious. They thereupon had a confabulation together upon the subject, and, as is usual in such cases, one man said one thing, and another said another. But Dionysius alone laid all the blame to the Government, the members of which he stigmatized as fools and knaves; and he concluded by proposing a change of ministry. This, of course, was very offensive to the cabinet for the time being, who accordingly took advantage of the law in such case made and provided. He was therefore treated as a demagogue, and condemned in a grievous amercement, which had to be paid before he could open his