Between shame and terror she got them in and placed them round the bed, herself holding the light. One of them seized his feet, another held his head back by the hair, and the third despatched him with a stab of his sword, a death, perhaps, easier than he deserved. He was the first, or perhaps the only despot ever assassinated by his own wife. His body after death was dragged about and trodden under foot by the people of Pheræ, a recompense which his villanies deserved.