THE KING'S HAREM. 57 



The Great King still preserved in his habits some- 

 thing of the nomade chief. He did not reside all the 

 year in one spot. He "wintered at Babylon ; but in 

 the summer the heat was terrible in that region ; the 

 citizens retired to their cellars ; and the king went to 

 Susa, which was situated on the hills ; or to Ecbatana, 

 the ancient capital of the Medes ; or to Persepolis, the 

 true hearth and home of the Persian race. When he 

 approached one of these cities the Magi came forth to 

 meet him, dressed all in white and singing hymns. 

 The road was strewn with myrtle boughs and roses, 

 and silver altars with blazing frankincense were placed 

 by the wayside. 



His palaces were built of precious woods ; but the 

 naked wood was never permitted to be seen : the 

 walls were covered with golden plates, the roof with 

 silver tiles. The courts were adorned with white, 

 green, and blue hangings, fastened with cords of fine 

 linen to pillars of marble by silver rings. The gardens 

 were filled with rare and exotic plants ; from the cold 

 bosom of the snow-white stone fountains sprang upwards, 

 sparkling iD the air ; birds of gorgeous plumage flashed 

 from tree to tree, resembling flowers where they perched. 

 And as the sun sank low in the heavens, and the 

 shadows on the earth grew deep, the voice of the 

 nightingale was heard in the thicket, and the low 

 cooing of the dove. Sounds of laughter proceeded 

 from the house ; lattices were opened ; ponderous doors 

 swung back ; and out poured a troop of houris which 

 a Persian poet only would venture to describe. For 

 there might be seen the fair Circassian, with cheeks like 

 the apple in its rosy bloom ; and the Abyssinian damsel, 

 with warm brown skin and voluptuous drowsy eyes ; 

 the Hindoo girl, with lithe and undulating form, and 



