TERPSICHORE.

questions of the man relative to his departure from
Corinth; in the mean while, wherever he discerned a
head of corn taller than the rest, he cut it off, till all
the highest and the richest were levelled with the
ground. .Having gone over the whole field in this
manner, he retired, without speaking a word to the
person who attended him. On the return of his emis­
sary to Corinth, Periander was extremely anxious to
learn the result of his journey, but he was informed,
that Thrasybulus had never said a word in reply;
that he even appeared to be a man deprived of his
reason, and bent on the destruction of his own prop­
erty. The messenger then proceeded to inform his
master of what Thrasybulus had done. Periander im­
mediately conceived the meaning of Thrasybulus to
be, that he should destroy the most illustrious of his
citizens. He in consequence exercised every species
of cruelty, till he completed what his father Cypselus
had begun, killing some, and driving others into
exile. On account of his wife Melissa, he one day
stripped all the women of Corinth of their clothes.
He had sent into Thesprotia, near the river Acheron,
to consult the oracle of the dead, concerning some­
thing of value which had been left by a stranger. Me­
lissa appearing, declared that she would by no means
tell where the thing required was deposited, for she
was cold and naked; for the garments in which she
was interred were of no service to her, not having
been burned. In proof of which, she asserted, that
Periander had 'put bread into a cold oven;' Perian­
der, on hearing this, was satisfied of the truth of
what she said, for he had embraced Melissa after her
decease. On the return therefore of his messengers,
he commanded all the women of Corinth to assemble
at the temple of Juna. On this occasion the women
came as to some public festival, adorned with the
greatest splendour. The king, having placed his
guards for the purpose, caused them all to be strip­
ped, free women and slaves, without distinction.
Their clothes were afterwards disposed in a large
trench, and burned in honour of Melissa, who was sol­
emnly invoked on the occasion. When this was done.