were always glad when the hour came to read the "Metamorphoses."




STORIES FROM HERODOTUS


LADRONIUS, THE PRINCE OF THIEVES

Retold by G. H. Boden and W. Barrington d'Almeida


Many hundreds of years ago, not long after the Greeks returned from the
famous siege of Troy, there lived a king of Egypt, whose name was
Rhampsinitus. So great a king was he, that he kept a small army constantly
employed in supplying the royal household with food, and another small
army was required to keep the gardens of the palace in order. And had any
one been bold enough to doubt the greatness of the king, he need only have
looked at his magnificent dress to set all doubts at rest forever. Upon
the neck of the king was a heavy necklace, glittering with priceless
jewels, and on his arms were massive bracelets of pure gold. A golden
serpent, the symbol of royalty, gleamed from his forehead, and his golden
breastplate showed the sacred beetle worked in precious stones, to protect
him from evil spirits. Whenever he appeared in the streets of his capital,
he was borne in the royal chair on the shoulders of eight of his
courtiers, while on each side walked a great noble carrying a fan, shaped
like a palm leaf, with a long, straight stem. In front marched the
bodyguard of Sardinians, men with fair skins and blue eyes, who looked
very much out of place among the swarthy Egyptians; and last of all came