But no one knew better how to be practical when it was necessary so to be. He had been acquainted with Peisandros in old days—a man of some ability and power of speech, not to be trusted too far, and of doubtful courage. Alkibiades saw the difficulty the oligarchic deputation felt. He went before it, met it boldly and in diplomatic fashion. He told them frankly of his influence in the councils of the Persian, and of his efforts to break up the alliance between Sparta and Persia; that he had delayed the coming of the Persian fleet, and had stopped the Persian subsidies; that it was through his advice the Spartan fleet was now laid up inactively at Rhodes; and that he was at work endeavouring to bring about a Persian-Athenian alliance. ‘But,’ he added truthfully, ‘there is one thing I cannot do, there is one point on which the Minister of the king stands firm: he will not even enter into negotiations for a treaty with a democratic government; much less could I persuade him to make alliance with one. He distrusts the people; he says they will one thing to-day and another thing to-morrow. And even if I could overcome the objections of Tissaphernes to a democracy, neither he nor I could induce the Persian king to treat with any but a kingly government, or at least an aristocracy. These things would have been hard for me to say or hear at one time, but,’ he added sadly, ‘I, too, have been taught to distrust the justice of the people.’ Nothing could have been more welcome to Peisandros and the other Athenian deputies from Samos. This was the one thing they wanted, the one thing they feared it would be impossible to get. With Alkibiades friendly to an oligarchy, all difficulties vanished. The very condition they shrank from mentioning to him he had insisted on himself. He had smoothed the way. All was plain sailing now, they thought, at Samos, except for that miscreant Phrynichos; they only doubted about him. They knew his inveterate hatred of Alkibiades. As soon as they got back to Samos they called together their friends, the chiefs of the oligarchic party there. Nearly all the leaders were oligarchic. Phrynichos, of course, was oligarchic. They told the happy outcome of their mission; all were delighted except that one. He avowed his scepticism. He knew the steadfast nature of Alkibiades too well to believe that he seriously intended to join himself to the enemies of the people, however little the people deserved his staunch fidelity. However much the people had injured him, the oligarchs had hurt him more. Phrynichos remembered how in years gone by they had tried to attract him to their side; he more than suspected that the old charges brought against Alkibiades had been due to the vengeance of that party, whose proposals he had scorned.