le every time either one desires to go out, all dine
at the steward's table. The courtiers who dine at our table certainly
enjoy much honor, but little profit; they are served from the same
dishes as we, but do not eat the same things. The cook arranges the
roast meat in the form of a pyramid; at the top he places the game and
the poultry, while below are the pork and the beef, the coarse food of
the courtiers, to whom the dishes are not carried until after we have
been served, and thus the end of the table where they sit is called the
gray end.

When the dishes are first served, they are so enormous that one would
think there must be a large portion for every one; but they disappear so
rapidly that some poor courtiers have scarcely enough to give a flavor
to their bread. There are some who eat in the most incredible fashion,
and who devour all before the others have had a chance to help
themselves. On ordinary occasions, our dinner consists of four dishes;
but on Sundays and holidays, when we have visitors, from seven to
twelve dishes are placed upon the table. The young ladies, our
companions, dine with us.

The salaried courtiers are very well paid; they receive from three to
four hundred florins every year; but then my father requires that they
shall be well dressed, especially when there is a reception at the
castle. He rewards them largely when he is pleased with their services.
If one among them distinguishes himself by his zeal or his strict
attention to his duties, my father recompenses him on his name day,
either in money or in stuffs taken from his own wardrobe.

The salaried dependents are subject to the jurisdiction of the steward,
who has the right of reprimanding and punishing them. The chamberlains
are also under his command; they are gentlemen, and serve during three
years. Their term of service begins between the ages of fifteen and
twenty. When they have been guilty of any fault, the steward awards them
so many lashes with a leathern strap. A carpet is first stretched over
the floor, for the bare ground is only suitable for servants who are not
noble, and the culprit is then chastised. The steward is very severe,
and says that were he more lenient, it would be impossible to maintain
discipline or pursue a proper and efficient method of education;
severity being necessary to restrain youth within the bounds of reason.
My father has told us that there is not a single room in the castle at
Maleszow in