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 deserts of Persia, a
locality which my tale required; but I have ventured to introduce here,
and in the subsequent pages, the principal characteristics of the great
Arabian deserts: the mirage, the simoom, the gazelle, the oasis.]
[Footnote 7: page 28.--_Jackals and marten-cat._ At nightfall,
especially in Asia Minor, the lonely horseman will often meet the
jackals on their evening prowl.
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