ts were in vain; she could arouse no
devotional feeling. Kassandane and Atossa knelt at her side, joining
heartily in the very hymns which to Nitetis were an empty sound.

It cannot be denied, that many parts of these hymns contain true poetry;
but they become wearisome through the constant repetition and invocation
of the names of good and bad spirits. The Persian women had been taught
from childhood, to look upon these religious songs as higher and holier
than any other poetry. Their earliest prayers had been accompanied by
such hymns, and, like everything else which has come down to us from
our fathers, and which we have been told in the impressionable time of
childhood is divine and worthy of our reverence, they were still sacred
and dear to them and stirred their most devotional feelings.

But for Nitetis, who had been spoilt for such things by an intimate
acquaintance with the best Greek poets, they could have but little
charm. What she had lately been learning in Persia with difficulty had
not yet become a part of herself, and so, while Kassandane and Atossa
went through all the outward rites as things of course and perfectly
natural to them, Nitetis could only prevent herself from forgetting the
prescribed ceremonials by a great mental effort, and dreaded lest she
should expose her ignorance to the jealous, watchful gaze of her rivals.

And then, too, only a few minutes before the sacrifice, she had received
her first letter from Egypt. It lay unread on her dressing-table, and
came into her mind whenever she attempted to pray. She could not help
wondering what news it might bring her. How were her parents? and how
had Tachot borne the parting from herself, and from the prince she loved
so well?

The ceremony over, Nitetis embraced Kassandane and Atossa, and drew a
long, deep breath, as if delivered from some threatening danger. Then
ordering her litter, she was carried back to her dwelling, and hastened
eagerly to the table where her letter lay. Her principal attendant,
the young girl who on the journey had dressed her in her first Persian
robes, received her with a smile full of meaning and promise, which
changed however, into a look of astonishment, on seeing her mistress
seize the letter, without even glancing at the articles of dress and
jewelery which lay on the table.

Nitetis broke the seal quickly and was sitting down, in order to begin
the difficult work of reading her letter, when the girl came up,