108 MELPOMENE.

son; these are all native Scythians, for in Scythiij
there are no purchased slaves, the king selecting suck
to attend him as he thinks proper: fifty of these theji
strangle, with an equal number of his best horse*
They open and cleanse the bodies of them all, whidr
having filled with straw, they sew up again: Hub
upon two pieces of wood they place a third, of a semi­
circular form, with its concave side uppermost, a
second is disposed in like manner, then a third, and
so on, till a sufficient number have been erected. Upon
these semicircular pieces of wood they place the
horses, after passing large poles through them, from
the feet to the neck. One part of the structure, form­
ed as we have described, supports the shoulders of the
horse, the other his hinder parts, whilst the legs ire
left to project upwards. The horses are then bridled,
and the reins fastened to the legs; upon each of these
they afterwards place one of the youths who have
been strangled, in the following manner: a pole i>
passed through each, quite to the neck, through the
back, the extremity of which is fixed to the piece of
timber with which the horse has been spitted; havin?
done this with each, they so leave them.

LXXIII. The above are the ceremonies observed
in the interment of their kings: as to the people in
general, when any one dies, the neighbours place the
body on a carriage, and carry it about to the different
acquaintance of the deceased; these prepare some
entertainment for those who accompany the corpse,
placing the same before the body, as before the rest
Private persons, after being thus carried about forthe
space of forty days, are then buried. They who have
been engaged in the performance of these rites, afta-
wards use the following mode of purgation:—after
thoroughly washing the head, and then drying A
they do thus with regard to the body; they place in
the ground three stakes, inclining towards each other;
round these they bind fleeces of wool as thickly >'
possible, and finally, into the space betwixt the stake3
they throw red-hot stones.

LXXIV. They have among them a species of hemr
resembling flax, except that it is both thicker end