THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, 281 
Abyflinia, to marry what number of wives they choofe ; 
that thefe were not, therefore, all queens ; but that among 
them there was one who was confidered particularly as 
queen, and upon her head was placed the crown, and fhe 
was called Iteghe. 
Tuus, in Perfia, we read that Ahafuerus loved Efther *, 
who had found grace in his fight more than the other vir- 
gins, and he had placed a golden crown upon her head. 
And Jofephus + informs us, that, when Efther{ was brought 
before the king, he was exceedingly delighted with her, 
and made her his lawful wife, and when fhe came into the 
palace he put a crown upon her head: whether placing 
the crown upon the queen’s head had any civil effect 
as to regency in Perfia as it had in Aby‘flinia, is what hiftory 
does not inform us. 
J uave already obferved, that there is an officer called 
$Serach Maflery, who watches before the king’s gate all 
might, and at the dawn of day cracks a whip to chace the 
wild beafts out of the town. This, too, is the fignal for 
the king to rife, and fit down in his judgment-feat. The 
fame cuftom was obferved in Perfia. Early in the morning 
an officer entered ‘the king’s chamber, and faid to him “ A- 
rife,O king! and take charge of thofe matters which Oro- 
mafdes has appointed you to the care of.” 
Vou. Ill. Nn THE 
* Efther, chap. it. + Jofeph. lib. xi. cap. 6. 
{ If Lremember right, it is D. Prideaux that fays Efther is a PerGan word, of no fig« 
alfication. I rather think it is Abyffinian, becaufe it has a fignification in that language. 
Efhté, the mafculine, fignifies an agreeable prefent, and isa proper name, of which Efther 
is the feminine. 
