Show CITY OF CROESUS AND MIDAS situated in spot rich in legends legend of ancient geography and mythology there Is a river which flows northward eastward and northward gain again finding its hazardous way through tho rugged mountains of ancient lydia in asia minor its waters now scant and limpid now voluminous aluminous and turbid a says aye a writer in scribners Al agazine are poured at length into a larger and more sluggish stream which fed by b a hundred other snow born fountains that descend from the almost perpetually snow clad mountains on tho the south couth flows westward in its turn through a broad and fruitful plain and then through a narrow defile to loso lose itself find and its yellow hue at last in tho tha clear expanse of tho the hay day of smyrna which at this point represents tho the aegean sea the smaller river Is the ancient paz pas tolus tho the gold bearing stream of classical legend and song in which mythical midas washed to cleanse himself of the golden touch and from which historical croesus washed wash ed his wealth by the simple process kno known wn as placer mining for croesus was no other than tho the last ring king of the ancient indian nation and tho the pactolus cut in III halves tile tho market place of it no 0 less a city than sardis his capital tho the greater river was anciently the lie Il hermus ormus beside its bank the arales of xerxes and of alexander encamped it made ol of the plain of lydia idia a great gnat nations granary and garden but it did not appeal to tho the poets and the builders of legends as did its little mountain arm with the sands of gold tho the snow clipped capped mountain was amo lus ills to tile the Ci grecki reeks its rugged fast nesses saw tile tho birth and youthful mouthful sports of pan 1 thus bus in a few burds w ards j we may place tho the setting of this story in the ancient geographical chart and in the mythology and legends of the ancient greeks |