opposite to the king's chamber, which had
a curtain drawn across the door, concealing him from their gaze, but not
so thick as to hide them from their entertainer. Occasionally, on some
very special occasion, as, perhaps, on the Royal birthday, or other
great festival, the king presided openly at the banquet, drinking and
discoursing with his lords, and allowing the light of his countenance to
shine freely upon a large number of guests, whom, on these occasions,
he treated as if they were of the same flesh and blood with himself.
Couches of gold and silver were spread for all, and "royal wine in
abundance" was served to them in golden goblets. On these, and, indeed,
on all occasions, the guests, if they liked, carried away any portion
of the food set before them which they did not consume at the time,
conveying it to their homes, where it served to support their families.

The architecture of the royal palace will be discussed in another
chapter; but a few words may be said in this place with respect to its
furniture and general appearance. The pillared courts and halls of
the vast edifices which the Achaemenian monarchs raised at Susa and
Persepolis would have had a somewhat bare and cold aspect, if it had not
been for their internal fittings. The floors were paved with stones
of various hues, blue, white, black, and red, arranged doubtless into
patterns, and besides were covered in places with carpeting. The spaces
between the pillars were filled with magnificent hangings, white green,
and violet, which were fastened with cords of fine linen (?) and purple
to silver rings and pillars of marble, screening the guests from sight,
while they did not too much exclude the balmy summer breeze. The walls
of the apartments were covered with plates of gold. All the furniture
was rich and costly. The golden throne of the monarch stood under an
embroidered canopy or awning supported by four pillars of gold inlaid
with precious stones. [PLATE XXXV.] Couches resplendent with silver and
gold filled the rooms. The private chamber of the monarch was adorned
with a number of objects, not only rich and splendid, but valuable as
productions of high art. Here, impending over the royal bed, was the
golden vine, the work of Theodore of Samos, where the grapes were
imitated by means of precious stones, each of enormous value. Here,
probably, was the golden plane-tree, a worthy companion to the
vine, though an uncourtly Greek declared it was t