THE ADVENTURES OF DEMOCEDES. 111

Indeed, they only made the pain more severe. For
seven days and nights the mighty king was taught
that he was a man as well as a monarch, and could
suffer as severely as the poorest peasant in his king-
dom. The foot gave him such torture that all sleep
fied from his eyelids, and he and those around him
were in despair.

At length it came to the memory of one who had
come from the court of Orestes, at Sardis, that report
had spoken of a Greek surgeon among the slaves of
the slain satrap. He mentioned this, and the king,
to whom any hope of relief was welcome, gave orders
that this man should be sought and brought before
him. It wasa miserable object that was soon ushered
into the royal presence, a poor creature in rags, with
fetters on his hands, and deep lines of suffering upon
his face; a picture of misery, in fact.

He was asked if he understood surgery. “No,”
he replied ; saying that he was a slave, not a surgeon.
Darius did not believe him; these Greeks were art-
ful; but there were ways of getting at the truth.
He ordered that the scourge and the pricking instru-
ments of torture should be brought. Democedes,
who was probably playing a shrewd game, now ad-
mitted that he did have some little skill, but feared
to practise his small art on so great a patient. He
was bidden to do what he could, and went to work
on the royal foot.

The little skill of the Greek soon distanced the
great skill of the Egyptians. He succeeded perfectly
in alleviating the pain, and soon had his patient in a
deep and refreshing sleep. In a short time the foot