ou seest are thy handmaidens, and only await
thy bidding to transform thee from an Egyptian jewel into a Persian
pearl."

The master of the caravansary then appeared, bearing, in token of
welcome, a basket of fruits arranged with great taste.

Nitetis returned her thanks to both these men in kind and friendly words;
then entering the house laid aside the dress and ornaments of her native
land, weeping as she did so, allowed the strangers to unloose the plait
of hair which hung down at the left side of her head, and was the
distinctive mark of an Egyptian princess, and to array her in Median
garments.

[In almost all the Egyptian pictures, the daughters and sons of the
Pharaohs are represented with these locks of hair, plaited and
reaching from the forehead to the neck. Rosellini, Mon. stor. II.
123. Lepsius, Denkmaler. The daughter of Rameses II. is drawn
thus, and we have examples of the same in many other pictures.]

In the meantime, a repast had been commanded by the princes who
accompanied her. Eager and agile attendants rushed to the
baggage-waggons, fetching thence, in a few moments, seats, tables, and
golden utensils of all kinds. The cooks vied with them and with each
other, and as if by magic, in a short space of time a richly-adorned
banquet for the hungry guests appeared, at which even the flowers were
not wanting.

During the entire journey our travellers had lived in a similar luxury,
as their beasts of burden carried every imaginable convenience, from
tents of water-proof materials inwrought with gold, down to silver
foot-stools; and in the vehicles which composed their train were not only
bakers, cooks, cup-bearers and carvers, but perfumers, hair-dressers and
weavers of garlands. Beside these conveniences, a well-fitted up
caravansary, or inn, was to be found about every eighteen miles along the
whole route, where disabled horses could be replaced, the plantations
around which afforded a refreshing shelter from the noonday heat, or
their hearths a refuge from the snow and cold on the mountain-passes.

The kingdom of Persia was indebted for these inns (similar to the
post-stations of modern days) to Cyrus, who had endeavored to connect the
widely-distant provinces of his immense dominions by a system of
well-kept roads, and a regular postal service. At each of these stations
the horseman carrying the letter-bag was relieved by a fresh man on a
fresh steed, to whom the letters were tr