Page:Xenophon by Alexander Grant.djvu/86

76 thousand Greeks, and, instead of forbidding, to urge them to cross over to Asia. Two Spartan envoys, Charminus and Polynicus, arrived at the Greek camp with a commission from Thimbron to offer the army the same pay as had been promised, though not paid, by Seuthes. These commissioners were hospitably received by Seuthes, who saw in them a means of ridding himself of the army which he had made his catspaw, and wanted no longer. In private audience, the envoys asked his opinion of Xenophon, and Seuthes replied, "He is not a bad fellow on the whole, but he is a soldier's friend, and that hurts his interests." Xenophon appears to have had great satisfaction in recording this little certificate to the disinterestedness of his conduct.

The soldiers on hearing the offers of Thimbron joyfully closed with them, but still complained bitterly of the way in which they had been cheated by Seuthes. Charminus, acknowledging the justice of their complaint, himself made a representation on the subject to the Thracian chief, but without effect. As a last appeal, he even sent Xenophon to demand the arrears of pay in the name of the Lacedæmonians. This "afforded the Athenian an opportunity of administering a severe lecture to Seuthes. But the latter was found less accessible than the Cyreian assembled soldiers to the workings of eloquence: nor did Xenophon obtain anything beyond a miserable dividend upon the sum due—together with civil expressions towards himself personally; an invitation to remain, with a thousand men, instead of going to Asia with