g's
command, forbidden to leave the harem, unless permitted and accompanied
either by Kassandane or the eunuchs.

On the present occasion Croesus, who had always loved, and loved her
still, like a daughter, had sent for Rhodopis to Sais. He, as well as
Kassandane, understood her wish to take leave of this, her dearest
and most faithful friend, before setting out for Persia; besides which
Kassandane had a great wish to see one in whose praise she had heard so
much. When Sappho's tender and sad farewell was over therefore, Rhodopis
was summoned to the queen-mother.

A stranger, who saw these two women together, would have thought both
were queens; it was impossible to decide which of the two had most right
to the title.

Croesus, standing as he did in as close a relation to the one as to the
other, undertook the office of interpreter, and the ready intellect of
Rhodopis helped him to carry on an uninterrupted flow of conversation.

Rhodopis, by her own peculiar attractions, soon won the heart of
Kassandane, and the queen knew no better way of proving this than by
offering, in Persian fashion, to grant her some wish.

Rhodopis hesitated a moment; then raising her hands as if in prayer, she
cried: "Leave me my Sappho, the consolation and beauty of my old age."

Kassandane smiled sadly. "It is not in my power to grant that wish,"
she answered. "The laws of Persia command, that the children of the
Achaemenidae shall be brought up at the king's gate. I dare not allow
the little Parmys, Cyrus' only grandchild, to leave me, and, much as
Sappho loves you, you know she would not part from her child. Indeed,
she has become so dear to me now, and to my daughter, that though I well
understand your wish to have her, I could never allow Sappho to leave
us."

Seeing that Rhodopis' eyes were filling with tears, Kassandane went on:
"There is, however, a good way out of our perplexity. Leave Naukratis,
and come with us to Persia. There you can spend your last years with
us and with your granddaughter, and shall be provided with a royal
maintenance."

Rhodopis shook her head, hoary but still so beautiful, and answered in
a suppressed voice: "I thank you, noble queen, for this gracious
invitation, but I feel unable to accept it. Every fibre of my heart
is rooted in Greece, and I should be tearing my life out by leaving it
forever. I am so accustomed to constant activity, perfect freedom, and
a stirring exchange of thought, that I s