ts,--graven and in mosaic; for the images of lions, cherubim,
oxen, palms and pineapples, both hewn in stone and molten,--for all
these did Solomon give Hiram, King of Tyre, who bore the same name as
the master builder, twenty cities and hamlets in the land of Galilee,
and Hiram found the gift insignificant. With such splendour had been
built the temple of the Lord, and the palace of Solomon, and the little
palace at Millo for the king's wife, the beautiful Queen Astis, daughter
to Shishak, Pharaoh of AEgypt; while the redwood which later went for the
balustrades and stairs of the galleries, for the musical instruments and
for the bindings of the sacred books, had been brought as a gift to
Solomon by the Queen of Sheba, the wise and beautiful Balkis, together
with such a quantity of aromatic incense, sweet smelling oils, and
precious perfumes, as had never been seen before in the land of Israel.

With each year did the riches of the king increase. Thrice a year
did his ships return to harbour: the Tarshish, that sailed the
Mediterranean, and the Hiram, that sailed the Black Sea. They brought
out of Africa ivory and apes and peacocks and antelopes; richly adorned
chariots out of AEgypt; live tigers and lions, as well as animal pelts
and furs, out of Mesopotamia; snow-white steeds out of Cuth; gold dust
out of Parvaam that came to six hundred and threescore talents in one
year; redwood, ebony and sandalwood out of the land of Ophir; gay rugs
of Asshur and Calah, of marvelous designs,--the friendly gifts of King
Tiglath-Pileser; artistic mosaic out of Nineveh, Nimroud, and Sargon;
wondrous figured stuffs out of Khatuar; goblets of beaten gold out
of Tyre; stained glass out of Sidon; and out of Punt, which is near
Bab-el-Medebu, those rare perfumes,--nard, aloes, calamus, cinnamon,
saffron, amber, musk, stacte, galbanum, Smyrna myrrh, and
frankincense,--for the possession of which the AEgyptian pharaohs had
more than once embarked upon bloody wars.

As for silver, it was accounted of as common stone in the days of
Solomon, and redwood was of no more value than the common sycamores that
grow in the low plains in abundance.

Pools of stone, lined with porphyry, and marble cisterns and cool
fountains did the king build, commanding the water to be conveyed from
mountain springs that plunged down into the Kidron's torrent; while
around the palace he planted gardens and groves, and cultivated a
vineyard in Baal-hamon.

And So