232 ARISTOPHANES.

half-rotten, were found to be silver, the dresser was *
ivory ; the very slaves played at odd. and even with
gold pieces.

Not less wonderful was the crowd of visitors that
came to pay their respects to the god. The first ar-
rival was a good man, who had been poor. He had
been left a comfortable fortune, he explained, by his
father, and had thought that the best use he could
make of it would be to help his friends. If he should
come to need, of course they would help him. Nat-
urally he had not been long in reaching the bottom
of his purse, and then he found that his friends could
not so much as see him. Thanks to this change in
the god, he was now well off, and he was coming to
dedicate to him the ragged cloak and worn-out shoes
which he had worn in the days of his poverty. The
next comer was as much disgusted at the new order
of things as his predecessor had been pleased. He
was an informer, and came in a condition of frantic
hunger; his business had failed him, and he threat-
ened the most fearful penalties against those who
had ruined him. All the satisfaction he got was to
be stripped of his fine clothes, have the good man’s
cloak wrapped round him, and the shoes fastened on
his-forehead. Next came an elderly lady, who had
‘lost the suitor who had paid her attentions on account
of her wealth, but now, being rich himself, had trans-
ferred them elsewhere. She too got nothing by her
visit- The succeeding visitor showed that the influ-