"The Queen would not listen to any of these plans. Leaving Alexandria
and spending the winter on a lonely island in the tropics was an utterly
incomprehensible idea. So she let the King have his way, and no doubt
was glad to be relieved from the care of the children; for, even after
her royal husband's exile from the city, she never visited her daughters.
True, death allowed her only a short time to do so.

"Her oldest daughter, Berenike, who became her successor, followed her
example, and troubled herself very little about her sisters. I heard
after wards that she was very glad to know that they were in charge of
persons who filled their minds with other thoughts than the desire to
rule. Her brothers were reared at Lochias by our countryman Theodotus,
under the eyes of their guardian, Pothinus.

"Our family life was of course wholly transformed by the reception of the
royal children. In the first place, we moved from our house in the
Museum Square into the little palace at Kanopus, and the big, shady
garden delighted us. I remember, as though it were but yesterday, the
morning--I was then a boy of fifteen--when my father told us that two of
the King's daughters would soon become members of the household. There
were three of us children--Charmian, who went to the war with the Queen,
because Iras, our niece, was ill; I myself; and Straton, who died long
ago. We were urged to treat the princesses with the utmost courtesy and
consideration, and we perceived that their reception really demanded
respect; for the palace, which we had found empty and desolate, was
refurnished from roof to foundation.

"The day before they were expected horses, chariots, and litters came,
while boats and a splendid state galley, fully manned, arrived by sea.