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Zbe CbanceIIor'6 Conscience 



ground for local colour, the serpent hanging to the tree at her 

 elbow with sibilant advice, and Eve holding the apple ready 

 to give it to the father of the race. Jolly big, fat apple, too. 

 A voila. 



We were talking only a short time ago of Troy and Time's 

 devouring progress. Where's Troy, and what but another 

 apple led to Troy's destruction. That carries us back almost 

 to Adam, doesn't it? Eris was the goddess of discord, — sort 

 of an advance agent for all of the future trouble-breeders, you 

 know. It seems that she had been omitted from the invita- 

 tion list for the wedding of Peleus and Thetis when the cards 

 were sent out, so when all of the gods and goddesses were 

 assembled she threw into the group a beautiful golden apple 

 on which she had written the words "For the Fairest." 

 My, would not that create trouble even today, and it was 

 just like that then, too. Every one of the lady gods was 

 willing to stake her Olympian coronet that the apple of 

 discord was intended for no one but her. I suppose that 

 Olympian clothes would not tear nor Olympian hair come out, 

 but there was quite an eruption. Aphrodite and Hera and 

 Pallas all entered the lists and, although you may not wish 

 to believe it, I am unable to hide the miserable fact that every 

 goddess of them stooped to bribery. Zeus, as usual, dodged 

 the responsibility of making the choice and left it all to Paris, 

 the son of Priam, King of Troy, and Paris decided, you will 

 recollect, in favour of Aphrodite. Hera never stopped raging 

 until the wooden horse had done its work, Troy was no more, 



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