Very hard it was to old Maurice, to lend his belief to this tremendous leap of Periander's, so much did it go beyond all the bounds of probability; at least, he thought, there should have been three or four legs broken, that the courtesy of the hearers might not have been so severely tried in listening to so very outrageous a performance. However, so great was the credit which Periander had with them all, that they did not even express a doubt, for as it is one of the inconveniences of lying, that even when a liar speaks truth he is not believed, so it is the glory of the truth-teller to be credited, even when he exaggerates a little; and as Maurice's private thoughts did not interfere with the discourse, Periander went on, saying, "I returned to shore with the horse--I even mounted him again--and tried to incite him a second time to renew the feat he had just performed, but it was impossible, for, fixing himself firmly on his haunches on the point of the rock, he broke the reins, remaining as if nailed to the ground. He was covered with a profuse sweat from head to foot, and so thoroughly frightened, that he was changed from a lion into a lamb, and from a savage beast into a noble horse, so that when the grooms came to handle him, they found that they could caparison and mount him, and ride him with the most entire security, and he showed such activity and such perfect paces, that the king was quite enchanted, and Sulpicia was pleased to see my actions support her words. "The frost lasted three months, and during this time a vessel was finished building which the king had begun, and which was intended to navigate these seas, and clear them of the pirates, enriching himself with the spoil.