d approach the royal person unless
introduced by a Court usher, Prostration--the attitude of worship--was
required of all as they entered the presence. The hands of the persons
introduced had to be hidden in their sleeves so long as their audience
lasted. In crossing the Palace Courts it was necessary to abstain
carefully from touching the carpet which was laid for the king to walk
on. Coming into the king's presence unsummoned was a capital crime,
punished by the attendants with instant death, unless the monarch
himself, as a sign that he pardoned the intrusion, held out towards the
culprit the golden sceptre which he bore in his hands. It was also a
capital offence to sit down, even unknowingly, upon the royal throne;
and it was a grave misdemeanor to wear one of the king's cast-off
dresses. Etiquette was almost as severe on the monarch himself as on
his subjects. He was required to live chiefly in seclusion; to eat his
meals, for the most part, alone; never to go on foot beyond the palace
walls; never to revoke an order once given, however much he might regret
it; never to draw back from a promise, whatever ill results he might
anticipate from its performance. To maintain the quasi-divine character
which attached to him it was necessary that he should seem infallible,
immutable, and wholly free from the weakness of repentance.

As some compensation for the restrictions laid upon him, the Persian
king had the sole enjoyment of certain luxuries. The wheat of Assos was
sent to the Court to furnish him with bread, and the vines of Helbon
were cultivated for the special purpose of supplying him with wine.
Water was conveyed to Susa for his use from distant streams regarded as
specially sweet and pure; and in his expeditions he was accompanied, by
a train of wagons, which were laden with silver flasks, filled from the
clear stream of the Choaspes. The oasis of Ammon contributed the salt
with which he seasoned his food. All the delicacies that the Empire
anywhere produced were accumulated on his board, for the supply of which
each province was proud to send its best and choicest products.

The chief amusements in which the Great King indulged were hunting and
playing at dice. Darius Hystaspis, who followed the chase with such
ardor as on one occasion to dislocate his ankle in the pursuit of a wild
beast, had himself represented on his signet-cylinder as engaged in a
lion-hunt. From this representation, we learn that the Per