Page:Stories from Old English Poetry-1899.djvu/279

Rh Being pressed to show his skill in music, he took a lyre and improvised some words and music in praise of the princess, which more than ever won the heart of the king, who could not disguise his delight, but gave him the hand of Thaisa as his partner in the dance. So the night wore on in feasting and revelry till the last candle burnt out in the banquet hall.

Pericles remained some months at the court of Simonides. Every evening he resolved to leave the court on the following morning, and every morning he found some excuse for remaining one day more. The truth was, he loved very dearly the young princess, and believed that she loved him. But he knew his affairs were in so bad a state from the lasting enmity of King Antiochus that he felt it would be ungenerous in him to ask her to share his fallen fortunes. He had all this time kept his name and rank a secret from Simonides, believing his only safety was in his obscurity. But the noble old king had treated him with such distinction as his merits deserved, without asking whether he was of proud or humble origin. Simonides was one of the rarest of men, for he saw that true nobility was altogether in the man and not in his surroundings; and the manner in which he treated Prince Pericles proved that his people did not prize him too dearly, when they esteemed him the best and wisest of rulers.