ht. On a march, the king was wont to
vary the manner of his travelling, exchanging, when the inclination took
him, his chariot for a litter, and riding in that more luxurious vehicle
till he was tired of it, after which he returned to his chariot for
a space. The services of the stool-bearer were thus in constant
requisition, since it was deemed quite impossible that his Majesty could
ascend or descend his somewhat lofty war-car without such aid.

The rank of the bow-bearer was probably nearly as great as that of the
driver of the chariot. He was privileged to stand immediately behind the
monarch on grand occasions, so carrying in his left hand the weapon from
which he derived his appellation. The quiver-bearer had the next place.
Both wore the Median costume--the _candys_, or flowing robe, the girdle,
the high shoe, and the stiff fluted cap, or, perhaps, occasionally the
simple fillet. Sometimes the two offices would seem to have been held
by the same person, unless we are to attribute this appearance, where
it occurs, to the economy of the artist, who may have wished to save
himself the trouble of drawing two separate figures. [PLATE XXXIII.,
Fig. 5.]

The parasol-bearer was attired as the bow and quiver bearers,
except that he was wholly unarmed, and had the fillet for his proper
head-dress. Though not a military officer, he accompanied the monarch in
his expeditions, since in the midst of war there might be occasions of
state when his presence would be convenient. The officer who bore the
royal fan and handkerchief had generally the same costume; but sometimes
his head was enveloped in a curious kind of cowl or muffler, which
covered the whole of it except the forehead, the eyes, the nose, the
mouth, and the upper portion of the cheeks. [PLATE XXXIV., Fig. 1.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXXIV.]

The fan, or fly-chaser, had a long straight handle, ornamented with
a sort of beading, which held a brush of some springy fibrous matter.
[PLATE XXXIII., Fig. 4.] The bearer, whose place was directly behind the
monarch, held his implement, which bent forward gracefully, nearly at
arm's length over his master's head.

It would seem that occasionally the bearer of the handkerchief
laid aside his fly-chaser, and assumed in lieu of it a small bottle
containing perfumery. [PLATE XXXIV., Fig. 4.] In a sculptured tablet at
Persepolis, given by Ker Porter, an attendant in the Median robe, with a
fillet upon his head, who bears t