ress.

A broad necklace, of seven rows of enamels, gems, and golden beads,
swelled on the Pharaoh's breast and shone in the sun. His upper garment
was a sort of close-fitting jacket, of rose and black checkers, the ends
of which, shaped like narrow bands, were twisted tightly several times
around the bust. The sleeves, which came down to the biceps and were
edged with transverse lines of gold, red, and blue, showed round, firm
arms, the left provided with a broad wristlet of metal intended to
protect it from the switch of the cord when the Pharaoh shot an arrow
from his triangular bow. His right arm was adorned with a bracelet
formed of a serpent twisted several times on itself, and in his hand he
held a long golden sceptre ending in a lotus-bud. The rest of the body
was enveloped in the finest linen cloth with innumerable folds, held to
the hips by a girdle inlaid with plates of enamel and gold. Between the
jacket and the belt, the torso showed, shining and polished like rose
granite worked by a skilful workman. Sandals with pointed upturned toes
protected his long narrow feet, which were held close to one another
like the feet of the gods on the walls of the temples. His smooth,
beardless face with its great, regular features, which it seemed
impossible for any human emotion to alter, and which the blood of vulgar
life did not colour, with its deathlike pallor, its closed lips, its
great eyes made larger still by black lines, the eyelids of which never
closed any more than did those of the sacred hawk,--inspired through its
very immobility respect and awe. It seemed as though those fixed eyes
gazed upon eternity and the infinite only; surrounding objects did not
appear to be reflected in them. The satiety of enjoyment, of will
satisfied the moment it was expressed, the isolation of a demigod who
has no fellow among mortals, the disgust of worship, and the weariness
of triumph had forever marked that face, implacably sweet and of
granite-like serenity. Not even Osiris judging the souls of the dead
could look more majestic and more calm. A great tame lion, lying by his
side upon the litter, stretched out its enormous paws like a sphinx upon
a pedestal, and winked its yellow eyes. A rope fixed to the litter,
fastened to the Pharaoh the chariots of the conquered chiefs. He dragged
them behind him like animals in a leash. These vanquished chiefs, in
gloomy, fierce attitudes, whose elbows, drawn together by their points,
fo