form of Ashpenaz was seen moving slowly towards the rostrum; he ascended,
gracefully bowed to the officers on either side, and proceeded:

"It is of the utmost importance that those who are destined to minister
in the king's presence should be well initiated into the ways and
manners, maxims and customs of our nation, and be well versed in all the
learning of the Chaldeans. Nothing short of this can meet the demands and
reasonable expectations of our great monarch; and for this he has
carefully provided every facility. Your teachers are of the most superior
in the realm, and an ample period is appointed for the perfection of your
accomplishments.

"In addition to literary attainments, the king looks for moral integrity,
uprightness of character, and true amiability of deportment. Without
these, the most learned can never add to the real dignity of the court,
nor to the stability of the Empire; but, on the contrary, such a one
destitute of moral principle must prove a dangerous element in any and
all communities. Let this be deeply impressed on your youthful minds, and
seek earnestly to cultivate those nobler powers of the mind, as well as
the intellectual faculties.

"Those of you from Egypt, and especially those of you from Judah, have no
faith in our gods, or sympathy with our mode of worship. From your
infancy ye have been taught to do homage to the God of your fathers and
to his worship ye have pledged your future lives. The King of Babylon, in
his great wisdom, has seen fit to put no obstacles between you and the
worship of your deities. Ye are at liberty to serve your gods and adore
after the dictates of your own consciences; and, moreover, ye are not
required to perform any act that may be contrary to your religious
convictions. I trust that this great favor will be rightly appreciated,