iged
to serve the Spartans in every way, and were called He'lots.

When Aristodemus died, his twin sons were both made kings; and, as each
of them left his throne to his descendants, Sparta had two kings,
instead of one, from this time on. One member of the royal family,
although he never bore the name of king, is the most noted man in
Spartan history. This is Ly-cur'gus, the son of one ruler, the brother
of another, and the guardian of an infant king named Char-i-la'us.

Lycurgus was a thoroughly good and upright man. We are told that the
mother of the baby king once offered to put her child to death that
Lycurgus might reign. Fearing for the babe's safety, Lycurgus made
believe that he agreed to this plan, and asked that the child should be
given to him to kill as he saw fit.

Lycurgus, having thus obtained possession of the babe, carried him to
the council hall. There the child was named king; and Lycurgus promised
that he would watch carefully over him, educate him well, and rule for
him until he should be old and wise enough to reign alone.

While he was thus acting as ruler, Lycurgus made use of his power to
bring many new customs into Sparta, and to change the laws. As he was
one of the wisest men who ever lived, he knew very well that men must be
good if they would be happy. He also knew that health is far better than
riches; and, hoping to make the Spartans both good and healthy, he won
them over little by little to obey a new set of laws, which he had made
after visiting many of the neighboring countries, and learning all he
could.

XXII. THE SPARTAN TRAINING.

The laws which Lycurgus drew up for the Spartans were very strict. For
instance, as soon as a babe came into the world, the law ordered that
the father should wrap it up in a cloak, and carry it before a council
made up of some of the oldest and wisest men.

They looked at the child carefully, and if it seemed strong and healthy,
and was neither crippled nor in any way deformed, they said that it
might live. Then they gave it back to the father, and bade him bring up
the child for the honor of his country.

If the babe was sickly or deformed, it was carried off to a mountain
near by, and left alone; so that it soon died of hunger or thirst, or
was eaten up by the wild beasts.

The Spartan children staid under their father's roof and in their
mother's care until they were seven years old. While in the nursery,
they were taught all the