Could it have been that easy? Manse Everard of the Time Patrol, posing as Meander from Athens, rides into Paragadae where he hails a captain of guards, saying:
"'I seek hospitality from some great man who may care to hear my poor tales of foreign travel.'" (p. 69)
The captain, serving no less a personage than Croesus, calls a slave who finds the majordomo who sends another slave to invite the stranger into a cool, green garden.
Next, he is offered and accepts:
a hot bath;
fragrant oils;
fresh clothes;
a room;
dates;
wine;
a couch;
a pleasant view;
not a cigar!;
dinner with Croesus.
We know from accounts of ancient times by Anderson and others that travelers were welcomed for their news of the wider world.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Not a totally implausible scenario, anyhow. I recall the story in Genesis of Abraham welcoming, with similar generosity, the three strangers traveling to Sodom. So this kind of openhanded treatment of strangers was at least an ideal that was sometimes acted on.
Ad astra! Sean
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