and took off the head of Alroy at a stroke. It fell, and, as it fell, a
smile of triumphant derision seemed to play upon the dying features
of the hero, and to ask of his enemies, 'Where now are all your
tortures?'[82]

NOTES TO ALROY.

[Footnote 1: page 4.--_We shall yet see an ass mount a ladder_.--Hebrew
proverb.]

[Footnote 2: page 12.--Our walls are hung with flowers you love. It is
the custom of the Hebrews in many of their festivals, especially in
the feast of the Tabernacle, to hang the walls of their chambers with
garlands of flowers.]

[Footnote 3: page 13.--_The traditionary tomb of Esther and Mordecai_.
'I accompanied the priest through the town over much ruin and rubbish
to an enclosed piece of ground, rather more elevated than any in its
immediate vicinity. In the centre was the Jewish tomb-a square building
of brick, of a mosque-like form, with a rather elongated dome at the
top. The door is in the ancient sepulchral fashion of the country, very
small, consisting of a single stone of great thickness, and turning on
its own pivots from one side. Its key is always in possession of
the eldest of the Jews resident at Hamadan. Within the tomb are two
sarcophagi, made of a very dark wood, carved with great intricacy of
pattern and richness of twisted ornament, with a line of inscription in
Hebrew,' &c.--_Sir R. K. Porter's Travels in Persia, vol. ii. p. 107_.]

[Footnote 4: page 16.--_A marble fountain, the richly-carved cupola
supported by twisted columns_. The vast magnificence and elaborate
fancy of the tombs and fountains is a remarkable feature of Oriental
architecture. The Eastern nations devote to these structures the richest
and the most durable materials. While the palaces of Asiatic monarchs
are in general built only of wood, painted in fresco, the rarest marbles
are dedicated to the sepulchre and the spring, which are often richly
gilt, and adorned even with precious stones.]

[Footnote 5: page 17.--_The chorus of our maidens._ It is still the
custom for the women in the East to repair at sunset in company to
the fountain for their supply of water. In Egypt, you may observe at
twilight the women descending the banks of the Nile in procession from
every town and village. Their graceful drapery, their long veils not
concealing their flashing eyes, and the classical forms of their vases,
render this a most picturesque and agreeable spectacle.]

[Footnote 6: page 24.--I describe the salty d