"I am a slave, a favor'd slave at best, To share his splendor, and seem very blest; Byron. WE are now to attend a royal feast at the Palace of Ahasuerus in Susa. The Greek authors all agree that the Persians were remarkable for luxury and magnificence in their palaces and at their entertainments. Their resources were gathered by commerce from Greece and Spain, and the Islands of the Mediterranean. A trade had long existed between Tyre, Sidon and Palmyra, by caravans with Africa and Persia. They abounded in ebony, ivory, cotton, linen, wool, gold, spices and slaves. The Persians in the days of Esther were masters of all the wealth and trade that remained of the cities and empires that had existed before them, from India to Ethiopia. They used the cotton cloths of the Indus, the lion hides and leopard skins of Africa, the camels of the Arabs, and the chariots of the Libyans, Babylonians and Egyptians. Every traveler who visits the ruins of the early periods of the Persians, is struck with amazement at the grandeur, and size and magnificence of their royal residences. Heeren has a diagram of the sculptures that represent the festival. hall, reception hall, and audience chamber, the king's house, queen's apartments, sanctuary and banqueting room of the kings of Persia. Imagination cannot picture a sight more imposing than the vast forest of the solitary, mutilated gigantic pillars, colonnades and obelisks of Karnak, and such, or but little, if at all inferior, was the style of the buildings of the Persian capitals. The royal garden pavilion at Ispahan, with its numerous columns and rich embroideries and hangings, may possibly give some idea of the garden of the king's palace at Susa. History records that on several occasions Persian kings have feasted as many as five thousand men at once, and at an expense of two hundred talents. So onerous was the expense of providing for Xerxes' table, that Herodotus relates that a poet of Abdera called upon the people to offer sacrifices with thanksgiving to the gods, that it was not the custom of Xerxes to take two meals in one day, for his dinner was as much as they could possibly provide for, and if he had taken a notion to have supper too, they would all have been utterly ruined. Lib. vii. It is in evidence then that the Persians were in possession of every thing PERSIAN POMP AND LUXURY. 95 required for such feasting and display as are described in our text. They had all sorts of musical instruments, and glass vessels, both cut and ground, mirrors, embroidery and tapestry of many kinds, and Hermione purple, and were acquainted with the use of iron and bronze, and had gold and silver and jewels in great abundance. Oriental luxury is proverbial, but especially that of the Persian kings. No eastern monarchs have ever surpassed, perhaps none have equalled them in show or grandeur, or pompous titles. "The great king," or the "king of kings," and divine honors were their recognized titles and dues. The well remembered line of Horace, "Persicos odi, puer, apparatus." "I tell thee boy, that I detest The grandeur of a Persian feast," well expresses the common feeling in his day in regard to Persian luxury and pride. Dr. Russel, in his history of Aleppo, gives an elaborate description of an Eastern house and pavilion, which, in every particular, justifies the whole description of Ahasuerus' palace, as given in the Bible. Sir John Chardin also describes ruins at Persepolis in which were pillars, columns, and apartments, like those of the king's house at Susa. It is common, in the East, to extend a covering of canvass lined with calico, or striped silk, over the court yard where a feast is given, to keep off the sun. Such a custom, at entertainments, is often seen in Birmah, and in Calcutta. Indeed we have seen substantially the same thing at Sebastopol fetes, Fourth of July celebrations, and even at camp meetings. And in the Colisseum, or Flavian may see, to this day, the masts, or scaffolds, which was covered with an awn Amphitheater at Rome, one marks on the walls of the were erected when that area ing, as it was when their shows were exhibited to the people. The precise occasion of Ahasuerus' feast is not stated. The Chaldee Targum says it was in commemoration of the suppression of a most dangerous rebellion. Others think that it was in honor of his having triumphed over his competitors for the throne-Artabanes and the Bactrians or that it was in honor of his having quieted the disturbances that grew out of his father's assassination. Some think that it was intended to celebrate his victories in Egypt and Asia Minor. And others, to commemorate the dedication of Susa as one of the royal capitals. Whatever it was designed to commemorate, it was a proclamation that he was the absolute possessor of the vast Persian empire, and that he was at peace with all the world. And while it was commemorative of glorious achievements, it would serve also to animate his soldiers, gratify his officers and allied princes, and prepare them for future exploits. Men are but little more than children all their lives. If they are not engaged in war, they must have fetes and feasts. It is on this principle that fairs, fire companies and the like, besides their intrinsic utility, are of great use in working off surplus excitement, and so preventing social or civil disturbances. The French Emperor understands this subject well, and so did old Ahasuerus. Accordingly he made a feast worthy of himself, and of his empire. It was an extraordinary THE GREAT FEAST. 97 display of his wealth before his nobility and the princes of all the conquered provinces-pomp so extraordinary had never before been seen in the world—such rich canopies, gorgeous cuftains, tall columns, and rich stuffs suspended in festoons, golden couches, tesselated floors, beds of gold and silver, overlaid or studded with gold and silver-divans such only as Orientals can make a feast and a display compared with which all other feasts and pomps seem nothing better than famine and poverty. There was a whole world of foodmeats and drinks-and that for half of the year for guests from far and near—from a hundred and twentyseven provinces. It has been usual, in all ages, to celebrate victories and the accession of a new sovereign to the throne by acts of clemency and feasting. In China it is the custom to have three years of mourning on the death of an emperor, during which no public feasts can be held; but, at the expiration of this period, the succeeding monarch gives an inauguration festival of very great magnificence. The feast of Ahasuerus was not like that of Belshazzer, Dan. v, to profane the sacred vessels, nor defy the God of the Hebrews, nor was it murderous like Herod's, nor like Mehemet Ali's feast of death to the Mamelukes. Nor was there any compulsory drinking, nor mixed dancing. The waltz was never known at a Persian court, nor would it be tolerated for a moment in any Oriental palace. And the drinking was according to law; and none did corpel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure. There was genuine politeness at the king's feast in re |