nqueters, amongst whom Boges had taken his seat, were
rising from table, the door opened, and a vision appeared, which
drew prolonged exclamation of surprise from all the Persians present.
Nitetis, clad in the glorious apparel of a Median princess, proud in the
consciousness of her triumphant beauty, and yet blushing like a young
girl at the wondering admiration of her friends, stood before them.

The attendants involuntarily fell on their faces before her, according
to the custom of the Asiatics, and the noble Achaemenidae bowed low and
reverentially; for it seemed as if Nitetis has laid aside all her former
bashfulness and timidity with her simple Egyptian dress, and with the
splendid silken garments of a Persian princess, flashing as they were
with gold and jewels, had clothed herself in the majesty of a queen.

The deep reverence paid by all present seemed agreeable to her, and
thanking her admiring friends by a gracious wave of the hand, she turned
to the chief of the eunuchs and said in a kind tone but mingled with a
touch of pride; "Thou hast performed thy mission well; I am content with
the raiment and the slaves that thou hast provided and shall commend thy
circumspection to the king, my husband. Receive this gold chain in the
meanwhile, as a token of my gratitude."

The eunuch kissed the hem of her garment, and accepted the gift in
silence. This man, hitherto omnipotent in his office, had never before
encountered such pride in any of the women committed to his charge. Up
to the present time all Cambyses' wives had been Asiatics, and, well
aware of the unlimited power of the chief of the eunuchs, had used every
means within their reach to secure his favor by flattery and submission.

Boges now made a second obeisance before Nitetis, of which, however, she
took no notice, and turning to Croesus said: "Neither words nor gifts
could ever suffice to express my gratitude to you, kindest of friends,
for, if my future life at the court of Persia prove, I will not venture
to say a happy, but even a peaceful one, it is to you alone that I
shall owe it. Still, take this ring. It has never left my finger since
I quitted Egypt, and it has a significance far beyond its outward worth.
Pythagoras, the noblest of the Greeks, gave it to my mother, when he
was tarrying in Egypt to learn the wisdom of our priests, and it was her
parting gift to me. The number seven is engraved upon the simple stone.
This indivisible number repr