250 HISTORICAL TALES.

were to win a city and start a revolution which in the
end would destroy the power of Sparta the imperial.

Of the seven exiles who thus returned, under cover
of night and disguise, to their native city, the chief
was Pelopidas, a rich and patriotic Theban, who was
yet to prove himself one of the great men of Greece.
Entering the gates, they proceeded quietly through
the streets, and soon found an abiding-place in the
house of Charon, an earnest patriot. This was their
appointed rendezvous.

And now we have a curious incident to tell, show-
ing on what small accidents great events may hinge.
Among the Thebans who had been let into the secret
of the conspiracy was a faint-hearted man named
Hipposthenidas. As the time for action drew near
this ‘timid fellow grew more and more frightened,
and at length took upon himself, unknown to the
rest, to stop the coming of the exiled patriots. He
ordered Chlidon, a faithful slave of one of the seven,
to ride in haste from Thebes, meet his master on the
road, and bid him and his companions to go back to
Athens, as circumstances had arisen which made
their coming dangerous and their project imprac-
ticable.

Chlidon, ready to obey orders, went home for his
bridle, but failed to find it in its usual place. He
asked his wife where it was. She pretended at first
to help him look for it, but at last, in a tone of con-
trition, acknowledged that she had lent it, without
asking him, to a neighbor. Chlidon, in a burst of
anger at the delay to his journey, entered into a loud
altercation with the woman, who grew angry on her