eir own rank under
the king's eye."

"Are they to begin learning the luxurious manners of the court so
early?"

"Oh no! the poor boys lead a terrible life. They are obliged to sleep on
the hard ground, to rise before the sun. Their food is bread and water,
with very little meat, and they are never allowed to taste wine or
vegetables. Indeed at times they are deprived of food and drink for
some days, simply to accustom them to privations. When the court is at
Ecbatana or Pasargadae, and the weather is bitterly cold, they are sure
to be taken out to bathe, and here in Susa, the hotter the sun, the
longer and more difficult the marches they are compelled to take."

[The summer residences of the kings cf Persia, where it is sometimes
very cold. Ecbatana lies at the foot of the high Elburs (Orontes)
range of mountains in the neighborhood of the modern Hamadan;
Pasargadae not far from Rachmet in the highlands of Iran]

"And these boys, so simply and severely brought up, become in after life
such luxurious men?"

"Yes, that is always the case. A meal that has been waited for is
all the more relished when it comes. These boys see splendor and
magnificence around them daily; they know how rich they are in reality,
and yet have to suffer from hunger and privation. Who can wonder, if,
when at last they gain their liberty, they plunge into the pleasures of
life with a tenfold eagerness? But on the other hand, in time of war, or
when going to the chase, they never murmur at hunger or thirst, spring
with a laugh into the mud regardless of their thin boots and purple
trousers, and sleep as soundly on a rock as on their beds of delicate
Arabian wool. You must see the feats these boys perform, especially when
the king is watching them! Cambyses will certainly take you if you ask
him."

"I know those exercises already. In Egypt the girls as well as the
boys are kept to such gymnastic exercises. My limbs were trained to
flexibility by running, postures, and games with hoops and balls.

"How strange! Here, we women grow up just as we please, and are taught
nothing but a little spinning and weaving. Is it true that most of the
Egyptian women can read and write?"

"Yes, nearly all."

"By Mithras, you must be a clever people! Scarcely any of the Persians,
except the Magi and the scribes, learn these difficult arts. The sons
of the nobles are taught to speak the truth, to be courageous, obedient,
and to reverence the go