Nathan, for his part, learned his letters from the performance troupe among which he was raised. While most people the troupe met saw only the rough hedonists that came to perform, in truth, the coordination needed to play and learn their music, dances and skits would have been nearly impossible without the ability to read letters and music, and thus it was that each day, a cluster of bored children would listen to one of the elders of the troupe, and practice reading and writing. While they were wilder than most city students might have been, the necessity of these lessons to maintain the troupe's abilities to perform provided sufficient motivation to learn.
"But in the laugh there was another voice. A clearer laugh, an ironic laugh. A laugh which laughs because it chooses not to weep."
![[Image: 3610850.jpg]](http://assets-cloud.enjin.com/users/1266293/pics/original/3610850.jpg)
