Perihelion

“ In Pericles, his queen and daughter, seen, Although assail'd with fortune fierce and keen, Virtue preserved from fell destruction's blast, Led on by heaven, and crown'd with joy at last: In Helicanus may you well descry A figure of truth, of faith, of loyalty: In reverend Cerimon there well appears The worth that learned charity aye wears: For wicked Cleon and his wife, when fame Had spread their cursed deed, and honour'd name Of Pericles, to rage the city turn, That him and his they in his palace burn; The gods for murder seemed so content To punish them although not done but meant. ”

“ The sea was no friendly element to unhappy Pericles, for long before they reached Tyre another dreadful tempest arose, which so terrified Thaisa that she was taken ill, and in a short space of time her nurse Lychorida came to Pericles with a little child in her arms, to tell the prince the sad tidings that his wife died the moment her little babe was born. She held the babe towards its father, saying, "Here is a thing too young for such a place. This is the child of your dead queen." No tongue can tell the dreadful sufferings of Pericles when he heard his wife was dead. ”

“ Peridium depressed-globose, the cuticle deciduous with the mycelium; outer peridium deeply parted, the segments 7–20, strongly hygrometric, acute at the apex; inner peridium depressed-globose, sessile, reticulate, pitted, whitish becoming gray or brownish; the mouth an irregularly lacerate aperture. Threads of the capillitium rather thinner than the spores, hyaline. Spores globose, minutely warted, brown, 8–11μ in. in diameter.
Growing in fields and woods in sandy soil. A very common species found everywhere in the world. Inner peridium 3⁄4-1 in. ”

“ As soon as he could speak, he said, "O you gods, why do you make us love your goodly gifts, and then snatch those gifts away?" "Patience, good sir," said Lychorida, "here is all. that is left alive of our dead queen, a little daughter, and for your child's sake be more manly. Patience, good sir, even for the sake of this precious charge." Pericles took the new-born infant in his arms, and he said to the little babe, "Now may your life be mild, for a more blusterous birth had never babe! ”

“ The plant is small, never growing to more than an inch and a fourth in diameter. The peridium is depressed globose, with a fibrous mycelium. The outer peridium is rather thick and when the plant is nearing maturity it breaks up readily unless handled very carefully; at maturity it scales off, except a small portion about the base. The outer peridium is white and comparatively smooth, the inner is thin, tough, smooth, lead-colored, dehiscent at the apex by a round or oblong mouth. Mass of spores and capillitium not solid or hard ”

“ He had bestowed upon her the name of Marina, from the sea, which was her birthplace. He begged these friends, in whom he had great confidence, to rear his child with their own daughter, declaring he would never cut his hair or shave his beard, until his daughter, now so tender an infant, should reach a marriageable age, and be united to a worthy husband. Having made these plans for her breeding and education, Pericles left the palace of Cleon and Dionyza, and returned to Tyre, where he retreived the sceptre from Helicanus, and commenced a peaceful and just reign. ”

“ In the mean time the costly chest in which Pericles had encased the body of his beloved wife had floated upon the waves, and was tossed ashore at Ephesus. Here some gentlemen, who were early abroad, found it among the wrecks, laying in the sand. It happened that there dwelt upon the coast in Ephesus, one of the wisest of living physicians, named Cerimon. He knew the properties of all herbs and minerals, their powers of cure, and prepared such wonderful remedies as the world had never seen. To him, then, this chest containing the lifeless body of Thaisa was brought. ”

“ Lay the babe upon the pillow, and go about this suddenly, Lychorida, while I say a priestly farewell to my Thaisa.'
They brought Pericles a large chest, in which (wrapped in a satin shroud) he placed his queen, and sweet-smelling spices he strewed over her, and beside her he placed rich jewels, and a written paper, telling who she was, and praying if haply any one should kind the chest which contained the body of his wife, they would give her burial: and then with his own hands he cast the chest into the sea. When the storm was over, Pericles ordered the sailors to make for Tarsus. ”

“ SCENE III. The temple of Diana at Ephesus; Thaisa standing near the altar, as high priestess; a number of Virgins on each side; Cerimon and other inhabitants of Ephesus attending. [Enter Pericles, with his train; Lysimachus, Helicanus, Marina, and a Lady.]
PERICLES. Hail, Dian! to perform thy just command, I here confess myself the king of Tyre; Who, frighted from my country, did wed At Pentapolis the fair Thaisa. At sea in childbed died she, but brought forth A maid-child call'd Marina; who, O goddess, Wears yet thy silver livery. She at Tarsus Was nursed with Cleon ”

“ A babe is moulded. Be attent,
And time that is so briefly spent
With your fine fancies quaintly eche:
What’s dumb in show I’ll plain with speech.
Dumb-show. Enter, Pericles and Simonides at one door with Attendants; a Messenger meets them, kneels, and gives Pericles a letter: Pericles shows it Simonides; the Lords kneel to him. Then enter Thaisa with child, with Lychorida, a nurse. The King shows her the letter; she rejoices: she and Pericles take leave of her father, and depart, with Lychorida and their Attendants. Then exeunt Simonides and the rest. ”

“ People were dying in the streets for want of food, and at the very gates of the governor’s palace young Pericles stumbled over the dead bodies of mothers, who lay clasping to their breasts the forms of their famished babes.
The corn with which his ships were loaded afforded instant relief, and the grateful people overwhelmed him with gratitude and blessings. He stayed there for some time in peace and quietness, till suddenly a letter was received from the trusty Helicanus, informing him that Antiochus had discovered his refuge and would try any means to compass his death. ”

“ Pericles arrived in safety at Tyre, and was once more settled in the quiet possession of his throne, while his woful queen, whom he thought dead, remained at Ephesus. Her little babe Marina, whom this hapless mother had never seen, was brought up by Cleon in a manner suitable to her high birth. He gave her the most careful education, so that by the time Marina attained the age of fourteen years, the most deeply-learned men were not more studied in the learning of those times than was Marina. ”

“ Pericles Is now again thwarting the wayward seas Attended on by many a lord and knight, To see his daughter, all his life’s deight. Old Escanes, whom Helicanus late Advanced in time to great and high estate. Is left to govern. Bear you it in mind, Old Helicanus goes along behind Well-sailing ships and bounteous winds have brought This king to Tarsus, — think his pilot thought; So with his steerage shall your thoughts grow on, — To fetch his daughter home, who first is gone. Like motes and shadows see them move awhile; Your ears unto your eyes I’ll reconcile. ”

“ Pericles was unmoved by any of these attacks, but quietly endured all this storm of obloquy. He sent a fleet of a hundred ships to attack Peloponnesus, but did not sail with it himself, remaining at home to keep a tight hand over Athens until the Peloponnesians drew off their forces. He regained his popularity with the common people, who suffered much from the war, by giving them allowances of money from the public revenue, and grants of land; for he drove out the entire population of the island of Aegina, and divided the land by lot among the Athenians. ”

“ Pericles' brow darkened. "They threatened that, did they?" he exclaimed. "The wretches shall not lay a finger on you! Pericles the Archon has said it. And now you must hurry away. Your Father will be torn with anxiety until he sees you again. To-morrow morning I shall send a messenger to your uncle's house with a package for you, which you must not open until you are safe at home again. And when you grow up to be strong, brave men, I shall expect you to be generals in the army of Athens at the very least."
"I can't grow up to be a strong, brave man," said Daphne in a very small voice. ”

“ Hoping to relieve them somewhat, and also to annoy the enemy, Pericles manned a hundred and fifty ships, placed on board, besides the sailors, many brave infantry and cavalry soldiers, and was about to put to sea. The Athenians conceived great hopes, and the enemy no less terror from so large an armament. When all was ready, and Pericles himself had just embarked in his own trireme, an eclipse of the sun took place, producing total darkness, and all men were terrified at so great a portent. Pericles sailed with the fleet, but did nothing worthy of so great a force. ”

“ The specimens are a little larger, depressed and angular. The peridium is paler, smoother, though sometimes almost black, thin, ruptured irregularly. But the form and color of the peridium in the sporocarps of the older species vary much in response to external conditions; on a substratum affording scant nutrition the forms of fructification are minute; and in all cases, if maturity be hastened, the peridium responds in darker colors. Under more favorable conditions the wall is smoother and brighter. ”

“ And then and there did Pericles, with the consent of Thaisa, solemnly affiance their daughter, the virtuous Marina, to the well-deserving Lysimachus in marriage.
Thus have we seen in Pericles, his queen, and daughter, a famous example of virtue assailed by calamity (through the sufferance of Heaven, to teach patience and constancy to men) , under the same guidance becoming finally successful, and triumphing over chance and change. ”

“ She at Tarsus was nursed with Dionysia, who at fourteen years thought to kill her, but her better stars brought her to Mitylene, by whose shores as I sailed, her good fortunes brought this maid on board, where by her most clear remembrance she made herself known to be my daughter."
Thaisa, unable to bear the transports which his words had raised in her, cried out, "You are, you are, O royal Pericles"⸻and fainted. "What means this woman?" said Pericles: "she dies! gentlemen, help."—"Sir," said Cerimon, "if you have told Diana's altar true, this is your wife." ”

“ The tissue of the walls (trama) consists often (Lycoperdaceæ) of two kinds of hyphæ, some thin and rich in protoplasm, divided by transverse septa and bearing the basidia; others thicker and thick-walled which do not dissolve like the former on the ripening of the spores, but continue to grow and form a woolly, elastic mass, the capillitium, which may be regarded as highly developed paraphyses. The peridium may be either single or double, and presents many variations in its structure and dehiscence. The mycelium is generally a number of string-like strands, living in soils rich in humus. ”

“ Here he informed the citizens of the wrongs his daughter had suffered at the hands of Dionyza and Cleon, and the enraged populace took the lives of the guilty couple. The city was given into the hands of Pericles, who left the faithful Helicanus as its ruler and governor.
Then Pericles and his Queen went on to Tyre, where they reigned long years in wondrous happiness and peace. She bore him a son, who was afterward the Prince of Tyre, and at a very ripe age Pericles and Thaisa died, and their ashes were placed in one sepulchre. ”

“ DUMB SHOW. [Enter at one door Pericles talking with Cleon talking with CLEON; all the train with them. Enter at another door a Gentleman, with a letter to Pericles; Pericles shows the letter to Cleon; gives the Messenger a reward, and knights him. Exit Pericles at one door, and Cleon at another.]
Good Helicane, that stay'd at home. Not to eat honey like a drone From others' labours; for though he strive To killen bad, keep good alive; And to fulfil his prince' desire, Sends word of all that haps in Tyre: How Thaliard came full bent with sin And had intent to murder him ”

“ He had not sailed far, when his ship was overtaken by a dreadful storm, and every man on board perished except Pericles, who was cast by the sea-waves naked on an unknown shore, where he had not wandered long before he met with some poor fishermen, who invited him to their homes, giving him clothes and provisions. The fishermen told Pericles the name of their country was Pentapolis, and that their king was Simonides, commonly called the good Simonides, because of his peaceable reign and good government. ”

“ The next day Pericles, clad in his brave father's armour, repaired to the royal court of Symonides, where he performed wonders at the tournament, vanquishing with ease all the brave knights and valiant princes who contended with him in arms for the honour of Thaisa's love. ”

“ Pericles has borne all his misfortunes with the dignity of an immortal. No one has seen him shed a tear, of heard him utter a complaint. The ungrateful people blame him for all their troubles, as if he had omnipotent power to avert evils. Cleon and Tolmides are triumphant. Pericles is deprived of office, and fined fifty drachmæ."
He looked at Philothea, and seeing her eyes fixed earnestly upon him, her lips parted, and an eager flush spread over her whole countenance, he said, in a tone of tender solemnity, "Daughter of Alcimenes, your heart reproaches me, that I forbear to speak of Paralus. ”