ongs which any of them might be suffering, simply
seized the whole company, and brought them all to Darius in Susa, as
trophies of his triumph, and tokens of the faithfulness and efficiency
with which he had executed the work that Darius had committed to his
charge. Thus Democedes was borne away, in hopeless bondage, thousands
of miles farther from his native land than before, and with very
little prospect of being ever able to return. He arrived at Susa,
destitute, squalid, and miserable. His language was foreign, his rank
and his professional skill unknown, and all the marks which might
indicate the refinement and delicacy of the modes of life to which he
had been accustomed were wholly disguised by his present destitution
and wretchedness. He was sent with the other captives to the prisons,
where he was secured, like them, with fetters and chains, and was soon
almost entirely forgotten.

He might have taken some measures for making his character, and his
past celebrity and fame as a physician known; but he did not dare to
do this, for fear that Darius might learn to value his medical skill,
and so detain him as a slave for the sake of his services. He thought
that the chance was greater that some turn of fortune, or some
accidental change in the arrangements of government might take place,
by which he might be set at liberty, as an insignificant and worthless
captive, whom there was no particular motive for detaining, than if
he were transferred to the king's household as a slave, and his value
as an artisan--for medical practice was, in those days, simply an
art--were once known. He made no effort, therefore, to bring his true
character to light, but pined silently in his dungeon, in rags and
wretchedness, and in a mental despondency which was gradually sinking
into despair.

About this time, it happened that Darius was one day riding furiously
in a chase, and coming upon some sudden danger, he attempted to leap
from his horse. He fell and sprained his ankle. He was taken up by the
attendants, and carried home. His physicians were immediately called
to attend to the case. They were Egyptians. Egypt was, in fact,
considered the great seat and centre of learning and of the arts in
those days, and no royal household was complete without Egyptian
physicians.

The learning and skill, however, of the Egyptians in Darius's court
were entirely baffled by the sprain. They thought that the joint was
dislocated, and they t