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New Perspectives on XML Comprehensive, 3rd Edition, Instructor’s Manual 1 of 12
© 2015 Cengage Learning
XML
Tutorial Six:
Functional Programming with XSLT and XPath 1.0
A Guide to this Instructor’s Manual:
We have designed this Instructor’s Manual to supplement and enhance your teaching
experience through classroom activities and a cohesive chapter summary.
This document is organized chronologically, using the same heading in blue that you see in the
textbook.Under each heading you will find (in order): Lecture Notes that summarize the
section, Figures and Boxes found in the section (if any), Teacher TIPs, Classroom Activities, and
Lab Activities.Pay special attention to teaching tips, and activities geared towards quizzing your
students, enhancing their critical thinking skills, and encouraging experimentation within the
software.
In addition to this Instructor’s Manual, our Instructor’s Resources also include PowerPoint
Presentations, Test Banks, and other supplements to aid in your teaching experience.
For your students:
Our latest online feature, CourseCasts, is a library of weekly podcasts designed to keep your
students up to date with the latest in technology news.Direct your students to
http://coursecasts.course.com, where they can download the most recent CourseCast onto their
mp3 player. Ken Baldauf, host of CourseCasts, is a faculty member of the Florida State
University Computer Science Department where he is responsible for teaching technology
classes to thousands of FSU students each year. Ken is an expert in the latest technology and
sorts through and aggregates the most pertinent news and information for CourseCasts so your
students can spend their time enjoying technology, rather than trying to figure it out. Open or
close your lecture with a discussion based on the latest CourseCast.
Table of Contents
Tutorial Objectives 2
XML 326: Using XSLT Variables 2
XML 331: Copying Nodes 3
XML 335: Retrieving Data from Multiple Files 3
XML 339: Accessing an External Style Sheet 4
XML 344: Creating a Lookup Table in XSLT 5
XML 347: Working with Numeric Functions 6
XML 349: Applying Mathematical Operators 7
XML 351: Formatting Numeric Values 7
XML 355: Working with Text Strings 8
XML 364: Introducing Parameters 8
XML 368: Using Named Templates 9
XML 369: Introducing Functional Programming 10

End of Tutorial Material 11
Glossary of Key Terms 12
Tutorial Objectives
Students will have mastered the material in Tutorial Six when they can:
Session 6.1
⚫ Create and apply XSLT variables
⚫ Copy nodes into the result document
⚫ Retrieve data from XML documents
⚫ Access external style sheets
Session 6.2
⚫ Create a lookup table
⚫ Use XPath 1.0 numeric functions and
operators
⚫ Apply a number format
⚫ Extract and combine text strings
Session 6.3
⚫ Create global and local parameters
⚫ Explore the principals of functional
programming
⚫ Create a recursive template
XML 326: Using XSLT Variables
LECTURE NOTES
• Define variable as a user-defined name that stores a value or an object, and review the values and
objects that can be stored in an XSLT variable
• Explain that an XSLT variable can be created using either an empty element or a two-sided element
• Explain that XSLT variables act more like constants because the value of an XSLT variable canonly
be defined once and it cannot be further updated
• Review the concept of scope, including a comparison of global scope versus local scope
• Demonstrate that once a variable is created, it can be referenced using the expression $name,where
name is the variable's name
• Explain that a variable can be used to store node sets, allowing you to replace long and complicated
location paths with compact variable names, making code easier to manage
BOXES
• TIP: A variable name cannot start with a number, and variable names are case sensitive. (XML 326)
• TIP: Declare your variables directly after the opening tag for the element that contains them so
there is no confusion about the variables' scope. (XML 327)
• Reference: Declaring and Referencing Variables in XSLT 1.0 (XML 329)
FIGURES
• Figure 6-1, Figure 6-2, Figure 6-3, Figure 6-4, Figure 6-5
TEACHER TIP
Stress to students that an XSLT variable can hold more than just a single value. An XSLT variable can also
contain more complex elements such as a complete node set from an XML document or an entire section of
code.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Class Discussion: Prepare a list of valid and invalid variable names. Present them to the class and ask
them to determine if each is valid or invalid.
2. Quick Quiz:
• True/False: If a variable references a node set, you can use the variable in place of the node-set
reference. (Answer: True)
• True/False: You can assign the same name to a global variable and a local variable. (Answer:
True)
XML 331: Copying Nodes
LECTURE NOTES
• Discuss the challenge of writing element tags to a result document, including the role of CDATA
sections, the XSLT copy instruction, and the XSLT copy-of element
• Explain that the copyelement copies a node from the source document, but creates a shallow copy
limited to only the active node and does not include the children, descendants, or attributes of that
node
• Discuss how the copy-of element differs from the copy element by creating a deep copy of a node
set, including all descendant nodes and attributes
BOXES
• InSight: Using the Identity Template (XML 332)
• Reference: Creating a Copy of a Node Set (XML 333)
• InSight: Copying Nodes in XSLT 2.0 (XML 335)
FIGURES
• Figure 6-6, Figure 6-7
1. Class Discussion: Ask students to propose situations when you might prefer to use the copy element
to create a shallow copy of a node and situations when use of the copy-of element to create a deep
copy of a node set would be appropriate. Are there any common differences between these examples?
2. Quick Quiz:
• True/False: Many XSLT processors will not write markup tags even if they are enclosed within a
CDATA section. (Answer: True)
• The __________ element creates a shallow copy limited to only the active node and does not
include the children, descendants, or attributes of that node. (Answer: copy)
XML 335: Retrieving Data from Multiple Files
LECTURE NOTES
• Review the concept that XML data is often spread among several XML files in order to keep each
XMLdocument to a manageable size and complexity
• Provide an overview of the three ways of accessing data from multiple source documents within
anXSLT style sheet: the XSLT 1.0 document() function, the XPath 2.0 doc() function, and the
XSLT 2.0 unparsed-text() function

• Explain that both the document() and doc() functions return the root node of the
specifieddocument, and this root node you can append an XPath expression just as you would with
location paths in the source document
• Describe the unparsed-text() function supported by XSLT 2.0, which can be used to retrieve
non-XML data, including HTML files
BOXES
• TIP: You must enter the URI for a path on the local machine prefaced with file:///, and any
spacesor special characters must be replaced with escape codes. (XML 336)
• TIP: Use the document() function when you are writing an XSLT 1.0-compliant style sheet. Use
the doc() function for XSLT 2.0 style sheets or when you are using XPath for non-XSLT applications
such as database queries. (XML 336)
• ProSkills: Problem Solving: Checking for the Existence of an External Document (XML 338)
FIGURES
TEACHER TIP
Emphasize to students the value of checking for the existence of an external document, as described in the
ProSkills box on page XML 338. It can be frustrating to spend considerable effort writing code to access data
from an external file, only to have the transformation fail due to a missing file. Building in such a check
adds an extra level of robustness to an application when executed.
1. Group Discussion:
2. Quick Quiz:
• True/False: The data retrieved using the unparsed-text() function is read as a long text string.
(Answer: True)
• True/False: Files accessed with the document() and doc() functions do not have to be well-
formed XML documents. (Answer: False)
LAB ACTIVITY
Provide students with a sample XML file and a sample text file, and have them practice creating XSLT
style sheets to retrieve data from each type of file. Students should share their results with the class, and
discuss the differences in the code used and results as displayed when using the different source
documents.
XML 339: Accessing an External Style Sheet
LECTURE NOTES
• Review the concept of breaking up the style sheet into separate files that can be managed more
easily as a project grows in size and complexity
• Explain that one way to include an external style sheet file in the active style sheet is to add the
include element as a child of the stylesheet element
• Discuss how an XSLT processor resolves conflicts between two style components when working
with an external style sheet

• Review the use of the import element as a method of accessing an external style sheet, and contrast
its use with that of the include element
BOXES
• TIP: If you’re concerned about name conflicts and want the active style sheet to always have
precedence over the external sheet, always use the import element. (XML 339)
• Reference: Including and Importing Style Sheets (XML 339)
• Review: Session 6.1 Quick Check (XML 341)
FIGURES
TEACHER TIP
Emphasize to students the process used by a processor to determine priority of two conflicting style rules
when an external style sheet is used. When the processor has to resolve conflicts between two style
components, it picks the one that is defined last in the style sheet. Thus, if you place the include element
at the end of your style sheet it will have precedence over the active style sheet; on the other hand, when
the include element is placed at the top of the style sheet, any components in the active style sheet will
have precedence.
1. Group Activity: Provide students with a sample XML document and XSLT style sheet. Ask them to
create a new style sheet that will use styles from the external style sheet. In one copy, they should
include the external style sheet, and in another copy they should import the file. As a class, review
any differences or unexpected results that occur.
2. Quick Quiz:
• True/False: The import element can be placed anywhere within the style sheet as long as it is a
child of the stylesheet element. (Answer: False)
• True/False: Including a style sheet has the same effect as inserting the style sheet code at the
location where the include element is placed. (Answer: True)
XML 344: Creating a Lookup Table in XSLT
LECTURE NOTES
• Define lookup table as a collection of data values that can be searched in order to return data that
matches a supplied key value
• Review the use of lookup tables as a source of data for result documents
• Discuss the use of the current() function, which returns the active node being processed in the
style sheet, as one way to create a lookup table
FIGURES
• Figure 6-12, Figure 6-13, Figure 6-14, Figure 6-15

1.Class Discussion: Ask students to suggest real world scenarios where a lookup table would be a
valuable resource for an XSLT application. What are some useful and unique features of a result
document you could implement through the use of lookup tables?
2.Quick Quiz:
• True/False: The current()function can be used to look up values from a data source. (Answer:
True)
XML 347: Working with Numeric Functions
LECTURE NOTES
• Review the use of numeric functions in style sheets, including an overview of the Xpath 1.0
numeric functions listed in Figure 6-16
• Discuss the use of the position()function to return the position of individual nodes within a node
set, including its application in limiting a selection to a specific set of objects
BOXES
• TIP: If XPath is unable to calculate a value because of an error in the style sheet, it will returnthe
text string "NaN" (Not a Number). (XML 347)
• InSight: Using the number Element (XML 349)
FIGURES
• Figure 6-16, Figure 6-17,Figure 6-18
1. Critical Thinking: Explore as a group the contrast in function between the position()function and
the number element. The position() function returns the position of the node as it is displayed
within theresult document, not necessarily the position of the node in the source document. The
number element counts nodes based on the source document, even if you sort the nodes in the result
document, the value returned by the number element will still reflect the original order from the
source file. Ask students to propose situations when each approach would be appropriate.
2. Quick Quiz:
• True/False: The number element returns the position of the node as it is displayed within the
result document, not necessarily the position of the node in the source document. (Answer:
False)
• True/False: The ceiling(number) function rounds a number up to the next integer. (Answer:
True)
LAB ACTIVITY
Provide students with a sample XML source document containing a variety of numeric data. Ask them
to create an XSLT style sheet that uses each of the eight XPath 1.0 numeric functions listed in Figure 6-
16 to manipulate the sample data. Ask students to share their results, and highlight unique uses or
combinations of the functions.

XML 349: Applying Mathematical Operators
LECTURE NOTES
• Explain that writing mathematical expressions is one way to overcome the limited features of the
numeric functions available in XPath 1.0
• Review the six mathematical operators provided in XPath 1.0, as listed in Figure 6-19
• Provide an overview of the additional numeric functions provided in XPath 2.0, as listed in Figure
6-22
FIGURES
• Figure 6-19, Figure 6-20, Figure 6-21, Figure 6-22
TEACHER TIP
Remind students that mathematical division can only be done with the divkeyword and not the / symbol
becausethat symbol is reserved by XPath for use in location paths.
1. Group Activity: Provide students with a sample XML source document containing a variety of
numeric data. Ask them to create an XSLT style sheet that uses each of the six XPath 1.0 mathematical
operators listed in Figure 6-19 to manipulate the sample data. Ask students to share their results, and
highlight unique uses or combinations of the operators.
2. Quick Quiz:
• True/False: XPath 2.0 does not support the XPath 1.0 numeric functions. (Answer: False)
• True/False: Mathematical division can only be done with the div keyword and not the / symbol.
(Answer: True)
XML 351: Formatting Numeric Values
LECTURE NOTES
• Explain that XSLT and XPath 1.0 support only one data type for numbers—double precision floating
point—in which the data values are stored using eight bytes of computer storage in order to achieve
greater precision with calculations
• Review the use of the format-number() function to control the display of numeric values in result
documents
• Provide an overview of the number format symbols used with the format-number() function, as
listed in Figure 6-23
• Introduce students to the options available to format numbers for consistency with international
number formats, including the attributes of the decimal-format element, as listed in Figure 6-24
BOXES
• Reference: Formatting Numeric Values (XML 353)
FIGURES
• Figure 6-23, Figure 6-24, Figure 6-25

1. Group Activity: Provide students with a sample XML source document containing a variety of
numeric data. Ask them to create an XSLT style sheet that uses each of the eight number format
symbols listed in Figure 6-23 to manipulate the sample data. Ask students to share their results, and
highlight unique uses or combinations of the format symbols.
2. Quick Quiz:
• True/False: The decimal-format element can be placed within a template. (Answer: False)
• True/False: XPath 1.0 and XSLT 1.0 do not support date formats. (Answer: True)
XML 355: Working with Text Strings
LECTURE NOTES
• Review the functions supported by XPath 1.0 for manipulating text strings, as listed in Figure 6-26
• Discuss strategies for extracting and combining text strings effectively using text string functions
• Provide an overview of common strategies for working with white space in source text, including
functions used to preserve, strip, or normalize white space nodes
BOXES
• TIP: Be sure to include white space characters or text separators within your concatenation or else
the concatenated text strings will run into each other. (XML 356)
• TIP: Do not use the   entity even if you are generating HTML code because that entity will
not be recognized by the XSLT processor. (XML 360)
• ProSkills: Written Communication: Removing Extraneous White Space (XML 360)
• Review: Session 6.2 Quick Check (XML 361)
FIGURES
• Figure 6-26, Figure 6-27, Figure 6-28, Figure 6-29, Figure 6-30
1. Class Discussion: The text illustrates the use of text string manipulation with the example of
formatting a date string. As a group, ask students to suggest other real world scenarios where it would
be useful to extract, combine, and/or format text string data from an XML source document. Consider
the brainstorming code examples that could be used to achieve the proposed scenarios.
2. Quick Quiz:
• True/False: If you want to insure that white space nodes are not deleted, you can apply the
normalize-space element as a direct child of the stylesheet element. (Answer: False,
preserve-space)
• True/False: XPath 2.0 includes several new functions for manipulating text strings and working
with dates and durations. (Answer: True)
LAB ACTIVITY
Provide students with a sample XML source document containing a variety of text string data. Ask them
to create an XSLT style sheet that uses at least four of the eight XPath 1.0 test string functions listed in
Figure 6-26 to manipulate the sample data. Ask students to share their results, and highlight unique uses
or combinations of the text string functions.
XML 364: Introducing Parameters

LECTURE NOTES
• Introduce the use of parameters as a way to overcome the limitation of XSLT variables that
mandates they only be defined once and only from within the style sheet
• Describe parameters as similar to variables except that their values can be passed to them from
outside their scope
• Differentiate between global and local parameters
• Introduce the role and syntax of the param element used in defining parameters
• Explain that because parameters have their values passed to them from outside their scope, global
parameters have their values set by the processor itself (and the exact method can vary by
processor)
• Review template parameters, and explain that, as with local variables, the scope of a template
parameter is limited to the template in which it is created
BOXES
• TIP: Parameters created in XSLT 2.0 also support the as attribute to define the data type of
theparameter value. (XML 364)
• Reference: Creating and Using Parameters (XML 364)
• TIP: Make sure that the parameter name matches the name of the parameter. If you mistype the
name, an XSLT processor does not pass the value but it also does not return an error message
indicating that a mistake was made. (XML 366)
• Reference: Passing a Value to a Template Parameter (XML 368)
FIGURES
• Figure 6-31, Figure 6-32, Figure 6-33
TEACHER TIP
The command code used to transform a document while setting a parameter value differs from the
command students have been using to this point. Reinforce with students the syntax of this command, and
provide examples of its use to reduce confusion.
1. Group Activity: Ask students to write code examples to define a local, global, and template
parameter. Share these examples, and discuss differences in the code used to define each and in the
scope of each parameter type. Ask students to suggest scenarios when the use of each type of
parameter might be indicated.
2. Quick Quiz:
• True/False: The parameter cannot be passed to a template parameter from outside of the
template. (Answer: False)
• True/False: The XSLT processors built into web browsers do not allow users to set parameter
values directly at this time. (Answer: True)
XML 368: Using Named Templates
LECTURE NOTES
• Define named template as a template that is not matched to a node set but instead acts like a
function to display a calculated value or perform an operation
• Review the syntax of the xsl:template structure used to create a named template

• Explain that because a named template is not matched to a node set, it has to be called rather than
applied, using the call-template element
BOXES
• Reference: Creating and Calling Named Templates (XML 369)
TEACHER TIP
Remind students that named templates have much in common with the root and element templates they
already have experience with. All must be separately defined and then called or applied, and all have a
similar basic foundational structure.
1. Critical Thinking Activity: The text illustrates the use of named templates with a function to insert an
image file into the result document. Ask students to suggest other possible practical uses for a named
template. If possible, have them try to write sample code to implement these suggestions.
2. Quick Quiz:
• True/False: The only element that the call-template element can contain is the with-param
element. (Answer: True)
• A(n) __________ template is a template that is not matched to a node set but instead acts like a
function to display a calculated value or perform an operation. (Answer: named)
XML 369: Introducing Functional Programming
LECTURE NOTES
• Explain that XSLT is an example of functional programming, which relies on the evaluation of
functions and expressions, rather than on the sequential execution of commands
• Explain that the loop structure is not compatible with XSLT 1.0 because the XSLT language does not
allowvariables to be redefined after they have been created
• Review the four key principles of functional programming languages, as enumerated on page XML
370
• Emphasize that the important overall principle to keep in mind with functional programs is to
thinkof tasks in terms of functions rather than loops and assignment statements
• Introduce recursion as the key tool used to repeat commands in functional programming
• Review the three key features of recursive functions as enumerated on page XML 371: a base case, a
change of state, and the function must call itself employing the change of state
BOXES
• ProSkills: Problem Solving: Choosing Functional Programming (XML 370)
• InSight: Returning Variables Values with Named Templates (XML 377)
• Review: Session 6.3 Quick Check
FIGURES
• Figure 6-34, Figure 6-35, Figure 6-36, Figure 6-37, Figure 6-38, Figure 6-39, Figure 6-40, Figure 6-
41, Figure 6-42, Figure 6-43, Figure 6-44, Figure 6-45

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1. Class Discussion: Most students with some programming experience are likely more familiar with
procedural programming languages than functional programming. Review the key features of
functional programming introduced in this section, and ask students to suggest similarities and
differences to programming languages they have worked with in the past. Ask them to propose
applications that would be more suited to one approach or the other.
2. Quick Quiz:
• True/False: Looping is the process by which a function calls itself. (Answer: False, Recursion)
• True/False: Each template can be thought of as a function, with the input being the specified
node set and the output being the result text generated by XSLT. (Answer: True)
End of Tutorial Material
• SAM Assessment, Training, and Projects: This text is available with SAM Assessment, Training, and
Projects that map directly to the learning objectives covered in each chapter. SAM's active, hands-
on training and skill-based assessment help you master Microsoft Office skills. SAM Projects let you
apply skills in real-world scenarios using the actual Microsoft Office applications. Immediate
feedback and comprehensive study guides give you the practice and support you need to succeed.
To obtain a SAM account, visit www.cengagebrain.com or contact your instructor or bookstore for
additional information.
• Review Assignments: Review Assignments provide students with additional practice of the skills
they learned in the tutorial, using the same tutorial case with which they are already familiar. These
assignments are designed as straight practice only and should not include anything of an
exploratory nature.
• Case Problems:A typical NP tutorial has four Case Problems following the Review Assignments.
Short tutorials can have fewer Case Problems (or none at all); other tutorials may have five Case
Problems. The Case Problems provide further hands-on assessment of the skills and topics presented
in the tutorial, but with new case scenarios. There are four types of Case Problems:
• Apply. In this type of Case Problem, students apply the skills that they have learned in
the tutorial to solve a problem.
• Create. In a Create Case Problem, students are either shown the end result, such as a
finished Web site, and asked to create the document based on the figure provided, or
students are asked to create something from scratch in a more free-form manner.
• Challenge.A Challenge Case Problem involves three or more Explore steps. These steps
challenge students by having them go beyond what was covered in the tutorial, either
with guidance in the step or by using online Help as directed.
• Research. In this type of Case Problem, students need to go to the Web to find
information that they will incorporate somehow in their work for the Case Problem.
A tutorial does not have to include each of the four types of Case Problems; rather, the tutorial’s
content should dictate which Case Problems to include. It’s possible, therefore, that some tutorials
might have three Case Problems of one type and only one Case Problem of a different type. To the
extent possible, the first Case Problem in a tutorial should be an Apply so that the Case Problems
progress in degree of difficulty.
• ProSkills Exercises: ProSkills exercises integrate the technology skills students learn with one or
more of the following soft skills: decision making, problem solving, teamwork, verbal
communication, and written communication. The goal of these exercises is to enhance students’
understanding of the soft skills and how to apply them appropriately in real-world, professional

situations that also involve software application skills. ProSkills exercises are offered at various
points throughout a text, encompassing the concepts and skills presented in a standalone tutorial or
a group of related tutorials.
Glossary of Key Terms
• base case (XML 371)
• change of state (XML 371)
• concatenate (XML 356)
• deep copy (XML 333)
• document()(XML 324)
• double precision floating point (XML 351)
• format-number() (XML 342)
• functional programming (XML 369)
• global parameter (XML 364)
• global scope (XML 327)
• global variable (XML 327)
• identity template (XML 332)
• local parameter (XML 364)
• local scope (XML 327)
• local variable (XML 327)
• lookup table (XML 344)
• named template (XML 362)
• normalize-space()(XML 360)
• parameter (XML 362)
• preserve-space(XML 360)
• recursion (XML 371)
• recursive template (XML 362)
• result tree fragment (XML 326)
• scope (XML 327)
• shallow copy (XML 332)
• substring (XML 355)
• template parameter (XML 362)
• variable (XML 324)
• white space nodes (XML 360)
• xsl:call-template (XML 362)
• xsl:copy-of (XML 325)
• xsl:include (XML 324)
• xsl:text (XML 362)
• xsl:variable (XML 324)
• xsl:with-param (XML 362)
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CHAPTER XXXVI
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Towards sunset, Ishtar wandered into Babylon anxious, forlorn, and
desolate, yet carefully nursing in her breast that spark of true
courage she inherited from a line of warriors. In plain attire, travel-
worn and dejected, she passed on among a crowd of wayfarers
heeded by none. Desirous of escaping observation, she yet could not
help reflecting bitterly how everything about her was changed,
herself perhaps most of all.
It seemed but yesterday that the daughter of Arbaces moved abroad
attended by a retinue of servants, escorted by a troop of horsemen.
Even when most she affected privacy, she could not stir without
women, camels, foot-cloths, fan-bearers, all the encumbrances of
rank. Eager eyes were fain to pierce her veil, that they might gaze
on her beauty; kind voices wafted after her their welcome or good
wishes, because of her own graces and her father's fame. She was
flattered, admired—above all, loved. And now she must shrink
beneath the wall, to avoid the rude camel-driver and his ungainly
charge. The water-carrier, tottering under his jars, gruffly bade her
stand aside to let him pass; and the only courtesy she experienced
amongst that hurrying, shifting throng was from a curled and
bearded bowman, who would fain have lifted her veil as the price of
his protection, and whose good offices she repulsed with a scornful
energy that put him to flight in considerable dismay.
She wept a little after this effort, and hurried on faster to the shelter
of what had once been her home.
In the days of mourning that succeeded his death, or, as his subjects
were taught to believe, the enthronement amongst the stars of the

Great King, a strange repressive power had made itself felt amongst
all classes in the city of Babylon. An unseen hand, cold, weighty, and
irresistible, seemed laid upon the whole people, forbidding any
demonstration of sympathy and indeed all expression of feeling
whatever, public or private. The king's host, as it was still termed,
had been recalled within the walls, and amalgamated cordially
enough with their comrades of that army which was avowedly in the
interests of the queen; but the citizens gained little from such an
alliance, save more mouths to feed, more prejudices to consult, and
it might almost be said more masters to serve. The priests of Baal
too, with whom, in the reign of Ninus, his men of war had been
covertly at variance, seemed now on terms of the closest
brotherhood with all who handled bow and spear. Such a fusion of
two non-productive classes boded little good to those whose
industry supported both; and the thoughtless Babylonian, usually so
light-hearted, found himself saddened and depressed when he had
fondly expected to eat, drink, and be merry, under the easy rule of a
lord who preferred feast to fray, bubble of wine-cup to clash of
sword and spear. From a change of rulers Babylon had expected a
change of those principles which constitute government itself. Ninus,
though firm and impartial, was severe, and reined her with a strong
hand; she had therefore always looked forward to the day when his
son should sway the sceptre, as a time of ease and luxury, with
license for every man to think and speak and act as seemed good in
his own eyes. But Ninus went to the stars, Ninyas reigned in his
stead; and the citizens wondered, with blank faces, why bread was
dear and water scarce, the priest covetous, the warrior oppressive,
and the royal yoke harder than ever to be borne.
Under such circumstances none thought it worth while to bestir
himself for the bettering of his own position, or the assistance of his
neighbour. If a well was choked, he cared not to clear it: if a wall fell
down, he let it lie. There was a shadow over the city, and its
inhabitants already regretted the wise foresight and judicious
government of the Great Queen.

Ishtar felt very weary before she reached the portals of her father's
house, very sad and friendless when she crossed its threshold and
looked round on the precincts of her home. The sun was down, but
a clear cold moon poured its beams over the scene of desolation and
decay. It was obvious that the palace must have been abandoned on
the night of its attack, and that no friend or servant of Arbaces had
revisited it since. The assailants, having another object than plunder,
carried away from his dwelling only that one of his possessions the
chief captain most dearly valued, which they took with them to
Ascalon. But an unguarded house could scarce remain unspoiled for
a single night in such a city as Babylon. And Ishtar found her father's
dwelling rifled and sacked from roof-tree to door-stone completely,
as though an enemy had taken it by storm. In the court-yard
remnants of shawls, silks, precious arms, costly flagons, strewed the
inlaid pavement, dinted and defaced by marks of struggling feet; but
the shreds were frayed and torn, stained with wine or stiff with
blood, the weapons bent or broken; the flagons lay crushed and
battered where they had been emptied and dashed down. Pushing
aside some rent hangings at the entrance of the court, night-hawks
shrieked and night-owls hooted, while a bat, flying out, struck cold
and clammy against Ishtar's cheek. Her flesh crept with horror; but
that sorrow mastered fear, she must have cried aloud for help.
The moon shone brighter as it mounted in the sky. Patches of dried
blood stained courts and passages, a splintered javelin and a naked
sword, lay at her feet—fragments of alabaster and gilding broken
from the sculptures on the walls strewed the floor; but whatever loss
the assailants might have sustained, it seemed that they had borne
away their wounded and their dead. As yet she was spared the
ghastly presence of a corpse.
Cold and faint, she leaned against the wall to take breath. It had
come to this. Amongst all that shattered splendour in those very
halls where her father feasted scores of warriors, every one a
captain of ten thousand, there was now neither bread to eat nor
wine to drink—no, nor the means of purchasing so much as a

draught of fair water; though so short a while ago the palace of
Arbaces had been stored with royal gifts and costly merchandise,
meat and drink, gold, precious stones, and spoil of war.
If she could but find even an embroidered baldrick, a jewelled
dagger, whole and uninjured, something she might carry into the
market, and sell for as many skekels of silver as would put food in
her mouth, and enable her to continue those efforts for the delivery
of Sarchedon, which should never cease but with her life!
Resolving to search the palace through, she pushed on, traversing
the court she had lately entered, and so reached the well-known
stairs leading to the women's apartment, that heretofore she had so
often climbed dreamily thinking of her lover, or run down blithely
with a smiling welcome for her sire. Here were indeed traces of
deadly strife. Embroidered curtains, torn and disordered, dangled
from the wall; defaced sculptures and shattered slabs encumbered
the pavement; a slender column of bronze, supporting a brazier, was
bent and twisted to its pedestal; a broken bow lay across a torch
long since extinguished on the floor. The lower part of the hall was
black in shadow, while a flood of moonlight bathed roof and rafters,
painted wood-work, gilded pinnacle, all that elaborate ornament and
finish which had been above the level of the conflict.
As her foot touched the first step, two lurid eyes glared on her
through the darkness, and a long lean object glided swiftly by,
brushing her garments as it passed.
It was the wild-dog disturbed from his loathsome meal.
She had no fear now; only a thrill of intense suffering, with a fierce
hideous desire for revenge. Wreathing her white arms above her
head, she flung herself down by something, that an instinct of love,
stronger than the very horror of the situation, told her must be the
remains of her father.
A cloven headpiece had rolled from the smooth and grinning skull.
His fleshless fingers still closed round the handle of a sword. He lay

where he fell, his face to heaven, grim, unyielding, defiant even in
death; but the wild-dogs had stripped him to the bone, and it was a
bare bleached skeleton against which Ishtar laid her pale and
shuddering cheek.
There rose through roof and rafters, curdling her very blood, a shrill
and piercing shriek. She never knew it was the wail of agony wrung
from her by her own despair.
Alas for the brave spirit passed away, the loyal heart, cold and still,
kind and true! He had been struck down in her defence; had been
willing, eager, to purchase with drops of life-blood the brief moments
that might have aided her to escape; his last blow struck on her
behalf, his last breath drawn for the child who had sat on his knees
and lain in his bosom. The noblest warrior that ever drew bow in the
service of Ninus, fit leader of the brave who were arrayed under the
banner of Ashur at his behest. She was proud of him even then.
As the moonbeams crept across the pavement where it lay, they
were so far merciful, that they revealed to her the ghastly sight by
imperceptible degrees. She seemed to gather strength from him
whose blood ran in her veins, stretched out in that white distorted
heap, scarce retaining a semblance of human form. She thought of
him in the majesty of his strength, the pride and beauty of his
manhood, recalling the broad hand that used to rest so lovingly on
her head, the noble brow that never wore a frown for her; and the
weight seemed lifted from her brain, the iron probe taken out of her
heart, while sobs convulsed her bosom, and scalding tears rushed to
her eyes.
She became human again. She was a woman now, and she wept.
It was a weary watch. The long night through she never left his
skeleton, never changed her position, nor ceased her silent
mourning, nor moved a limb, but to drive away the wild-dogs that
glided in and out the entrance of the court, drawing near with eager

whine and wistful eyes while she was still, scouring off in vexed
dismay when she stirred, to return again, and yet again, till dawn.
Though grief like hers may for a time dominate the requirements of
the body, these assert themselves at last. With the return of day
Ishtar felt conscious of hunger and weakness, the one threatening to
overpower her if the cravings of the other were not speedily
satisfied. She knew she must exert herself at once, lest she too
should sink down, and die by him whose bones lay bleaching beside
her there.
Would it not be better so? What had she to do with life now? There
was but one consideration to rouse her from the apathy of despair.
The last obsequies must be paid to the remains of her father; and
who would insure for him that final mark of respect if she was gone?
She would live at least till this was accomplished; and therefore must
she go out into the city, and stand unveiled in square and street till
she could find a friend. Surely amongst all those men of war who
went forth to battle at his word might pass one who would recognise
his daughter, and afford the only tribute of respect left to the
memory of Arbaces!
From the resolution to make her effort grew strength to attempt it.
With exertion came renewed vitality, and with vitality a spark of
hope. Yes, even through those depths of gloom and misery
glimmered faint reflective rays of that which was not quite
impossible; as the light of heaven, though blurred and dim, reaches
one who is sinking in the green bewildering sea.
Then she rose up, tore a strip of curtain from the portal, and lifting
the skeleton with tender reverent care, disposed it in a seemly
attitude under that scanty covering, so as to baffle wild-dog and
vulture till her return.
In raising her father's remains she found under them a baldrick in
which his sword had hung, embroidered by her own hands. Even
this had been gnawed and partly eaten away; but it was fastened

with a jewelled clasp, pressed down beneath the broad shoulder-
blade of the dead warrior, and had escaped alike the eyes of cupidity
and the fangs of hunger. It was a treasure to her now. Drawing it
hastily out, she concealed it in her bosom, kissing the precious relic
once with eager, passionate lips, because she must part from it so
soon.
Then she disposed his strange shroud about the remains of Arbaces,
looked high and low, to earth and heaven, with wild imploring eyes,
seeking aid, but finding none, and so walked out alone into the
world from her home.

CHAPTER XXXVII
THE WINGS OF A DOVE
An hour after sunrise, Babylon the Great was up and dressed like
any other restless lady, wakeful and astir, warm with life and beauty,
rich in gaudy colours, bright with gold and gems.
Trumpets that mustered warriors by thousands were pealing from
her walls. Priests of Baal and prophets of the grove were chanting
their idolatrous hymns, to ring of harp or sound of timbrel, through a
score of stately temples, a hundred squares, terraces, and open
places in the city. Oxen were lowing, sheep bleating, as they stood in
droves herded together for sacrifice. Peasants from without were
toiling under their market-produce; merchants of Tyre and of the
South were guiding their camels, laden with bales of costly goods for
the mart of nations; a hundred streams of labour, luxury, and traffic
converged to this common centre; and through all her gates the
wealth of a hundred countries was flowing in to enrich the mistress
of the world.
She accepted their tribute like a queen lavish of smiles and honours,
repaying real substantial benefits with bright glitter of ornament,
with show of tinsel and gilding, with a false welcome and a cold
farewell. Her visitors took their leave, the better for her notice, by an
acquired taste for deteriorating luxuries, an increased discontent
with the manly simplicity of their homes. They thronged in and out
nevertheless, crowding especially to one quarter of the city, on the
banks of the broad river, at an equal distance from the two royal
palaces, where it was customary to hold a market for all kind of
wares and provisions, where a man might purchase, according to his
needs, a barley loaf or a dress of honour, a rope of onions or a string
of pearls.

Here prevailed that stir, turmoil, and confusion of tongues which
must necessarily accompany such gatherings of different tribes and
professions, especially under a southern sky. The plain-spoken
countryman discoursed volubly on the luxuriant growth of garden-
stuff that overflowed his baskets; the keener-witted citizen
cheapened and chaffered, sparing neither laughter nor sarcasm, nor
shrill and deafening abuse; dark-skinned Ethiopians grinned,
nodded, clapped their hands, and rubbed their woolly heads in
mingled amazement and delight; haughty warriors stalked in and out
the stalls of the various traders with martial strides and offensive
demeanour, taking at their own price such things as they required,
or, on occasion, omitting the ceremony of payment altogether;
troops of women, chiefly from the lowest class, added their eager
voices to the general clamour, hanging their swaddled infants at
their backs, hoisting them on their shoulders, or extricating with loud
outcries and hearty cuffs the stronger urchins, who persistently
sought every opportunity of being trampled under foot by the crowd;
while over all, at no distant intervals, towered the pliant necks and
patient heads of meek-eyed camels, looking sleepily down on the
confusion, in calm tolerant contempt, like that of their swarthy
riders, for those who dwelt in cities, earning bread by the bustle and
competition of sedentary occupation rather than by long
adventurous journeys or the vicissitudes of robbery and war.
These were invariably objects of undisguised interest to the
bystanders; for about man and beast hung a smack of the boundless
desert, the wild free air, the untrodden measureless waste, as from
the dress and bearing of the mariner seems to exhale a flavour of
his adopted element, a breath from the salt breezes of the sea.
They were mostly sun-burned and travel-worn, bearing traces of
fatigue, hardship, and long exposure by night and day.
To a group of these, standing somewhat apart, surrounding one of
their camels, which had lain calmly down, load and all, Ishtar
thought well to address herself. They were apparently traders of a
superior class, while something in their dress and furniture, denoting

that their home was in the north, led her to believe they would offer
a more liberal price for jewels than those southern merchants, who
might probably have brought with them many such valuables for
sale. The men, like their camels, seemed very weary; nevertheless
they entered on the business of a bargain without delay.
"The damsel needs but look round," said one, "to see that her
servants have no need of such things. We are overcome with long
travel, sore hungered and athirst. What have we to do with clasp
and jewel? Your servants are faint for lack of bread. Can they
comfort their hearts with gems and gold?"
"Behold the sandals dropping from our feet," pursued another, "the
halters of our camels worn to the last fibre! Bring us goats'-hair
ropes, woollen raiment, or even garments of fine linen; we will buy
them of you, and welcome—at a price."
Sorely discouraged, Ishtar would have protested; but the words died
on her lips, and she turned meekly away. Perhaps no amount of
eloquence could have served her so well as this apparent
indifference. The principal trader leaped down from his camel, and
accosted her with some eagerness.
"Be not hasty, my daughter," said he. "The foolish guest turns from a
smoking platter, the wise waits till it is cool. Those who desire not to
buy may be willing to sell. Will you look on the wares we have
brought out of the south?—over the long trackless desert, and
through the nations whose hand is ever stretched out to spoil and
slay—the Amalekites, the Hivites, and the Anakim."
Ishtar started. The mention of the last-named tribe brought the
blood to her brow. She turned back, and replied,
"Show me your wares, if you will, but I too am faint for lack of
bread. If I am compelled to take this jewel out of the market unsold,
I must creep hence to the city wall, turn my face to its shelter, and
so lie down to die."

There was something in her tone that vouched for her truth. He was
a merciful man, though he had traded and travelled through the
eastern world. Had she bargained with him, he could have found it
in his heart to cozen her out of every article she possessed, and had
been proud of his own acuteness the while. But this was a different
question. It was like fighting an unarmed adversary, taking a prey
that made no effort to resist or flee. His heart melted within him for
sheer pity and good-will. Caution, however, whispered that such
appeals might form the new mode of trading lately adopted in
Babylon; and while he took the jewel from her hand, he only said,
"We have enough and to spare of such ornaments. Nevertheless, let
us look, and judge for ourselves."
His comrades, of whom there were but two, joined in the
examination. From their immovable features she could not guess
their opinion; but Ishtar gathered that they meant to trade from the
quiet air of depreciation assumed incontinently by each.
After scrutinising the jewel at every possible angle, so as to subject
each particle of each stone to the searching test of sunlight, the last
speaker, who seemed the principal personage, weighed it carefully in
a pair of scales hanging at his belt, and observed,
"One hundred shekels of silver would surely be a fair price, oh! my
daughter? But we too have merchandise to sell. Will you not take
fifty shekels and your choice of a breadth of silk, a piece of goodly
needlework, or a wrought ornament in bronze and ivory from Tyre?"
The clasp was worth three hundred at the lowest, and he felt full of
pity and loving-kindness towards the damsel, but a profession is
second nature. He was a trader, and must live.
"Your servant is in the hand of my lord," answered Ishtar humbly.
"Take the jewel, I pray. Give me the fifty shekels, so that I may buy
a morsel of bread, and eat before I die!"

He counted them out, well pleased. It was not often, even in
careless pleasure-seeking Babylon, that he could trade to such
advantage. But the bargain now stood on a different footing. Ishtar's
prompt compliance with his terms caused him to feel bound in
honour to give her free choice of the various articles he had named,
trusting only that she might not select the rarest and most
expensive. Neither he nor his comrades would have refused her for
their lives. Their probity, though loose in the extreme, was not
elastic, and no temptation could have seduced them into any act
they considered a breach of faith. Causing, therefore, another camel
to kneel down, they proceeded to unpack its load, turning over for
inspection shawls, silks, embroidery, and trinkets, more or less
costly, from the workshops of Tyre, Ascalon, or other cities on the
seacoast.
Faint with watching and exhaustion, goods, camel, traders, and
bystanders swam before Ishtar's eyes; for amongst a handful of
glittering ornaments she distinguished the amulet that the Great
Queen had bestowed on Sarchedon, that she had last seen about
her lover's neck.
With an effort of which few women would have been capable, she
recalled her fleeting senses in subservience to her will, and asked
calmly to examine the trinket. It was valuable, no doubt, yet more
from its exquisite finish than intrinsic worth, and she had presence
of mind to appear only desirous of possessing it as a gaudy trifle
with which they could have little disinclination to part.
"I will ask my lord," said she, "to bestow on me no more than this
ornament I hold in my hand. Also, if a drop be left in the water-skin,
that I may wet my burning lips, for indeed I am faint and sore
athirst!"
"It is my daughter's," answered the trader. "My camels, my goods,
all I possess, are hers! The water-skin is indeed dried and shrivelled
like an ungathered grape, but here is a gourd not yet emptied, a

barley-loaf still unbroken. I pray you, eat and drink, my daughter;
comfort your heart, and go in peace."
Complying eagerly with the invitation, Ishtar felt her very life
returning with each mouthful she swallowed. Had it not been so, she
never could have found strength for the task she had set herself to
perform. Looking on that amulet, with its bird of peace following the
weapon of war through the air, her whole being, her very soul,
seemed to go out towards the lover from whom she had been
parted with so little likelihood that they might ever meet again.
"O, that I had the wings of a dove!" thought Ishtar, in the loving
impotence of her desire, wishing, with other tortured spirits of every
age and clime, but to burst through the invisible, impalpable wires of
her cage to seek the rest that none can find—broken in heart and
hopes, weary and wounded, yearning only to fly home.
And it may be that those who have followed in the slimy path of the
serpent shall one day find their bitterest punishment in aimless,
endless longing for the wings of the dove.
But could she have flown with all the speed of all the birds of air, it
was yet indispensable to follow out the clue she had already
obtained in the possession of the trinket that so lately belonged to
Sarchedon. Strengthened by food, her womanly wit regained its
keenness, while womanly shame bade her disclose but half the
truth. It would be wise, she thought, to trust this friendly merchant;
yet she dared not confide in him wholly, nor lay open to a stranger
all the weakness of her heart.
"My lord has shown favour to his servant," said she. "I desired of
him a gift, and, lo, it lieth here in my hand! I was hungered and
athirst; he gave me to eat and to drink! Am I not in some sort the
guest of my lord? I would fain ask him one question. All my
happiness hangs on his lips. As his soul liveth, I implore my lord to
tell me the truth."

"Speak on, my daughter," was the reply. "There is no space for
falsehood within the curtains of a tent, and he who dwells in the
desert knows not how to lie."
"This trinket," she continued eagerly, "you took it from its owner. It
hung round his neck. He was a son of Ashur, tall and comely as a
cedar of the mountain, brave as the lion, ruddy as sunset, bright as
morning, and beautiful as day!"
The astute trader smiled.
"You know him," said he, "and you love him! It is as my daughter
hath said."
"He is my brother," she answered, blushing crimson while she
adjusted her veil. "If aught but good hath befallen him, it were
better for me that I had never been born!"
"Such a one as you have described," answered the other, "did indeed
come into our possession by lawful barter amongst the tents of the
Anakim. A slave can have no goods to call his own, and when we
discovered beneath his garment this jewel that had escaped the
eyes of his spoilers, we might have taken it righteously by force.
Nevertheless, the man was strong and warlike. Even in bonds, it
may be that he would have done himself some injury, and so
lessened his price. It was well that he suffered me to strip it from his
neck unnoticed while he looked back upon the camp, as if he had
left his very heart with the tribe."
A thrill that, in spite of all, amounted to real happiness shot through
her trembling frame.
"Can he not be redeemed?" she exclaimed, clasping her hands
eagerly. "Where is he now?"
The trader pondered.
"I too have a brother," said he, "and we parted at a day's march
from the tents of the Anakim, as we have parted many a time,

trusting to meet yet once again before we die. My course lay hither
to the great city; for are not my camels laden with silks and spices
and costly jewels, such as rich Babylon must have at all hazards and
at any cost? I pray you, damsel, remember I am a fair trader; I ask
for no greater profit than enables me to get bread for myself and
forage for my beasts. Some there be who scruple not to rob with the
scales, as the Amalekite robs with the spear; but such prosper not in
life, and long before their beards turn gray, their flesh is eaten by
vultures and their bones whiten the plain.
"My lord spoke of the Assyrian," interrupted Ishtar. "Is he safe? Is he
alive?"
"That he is alive, my daughter," replied the merchant, "if care and
good usage can keep the life in a valuable captive, I will answer with
my head. We bought him at a remunerative price, and my brother is
even less likely than myself to let one suffer damage whose welfare
is of such marketable value. That he is safe with the other goods I
have sufficient reason to hope. Surely they joined a caravan guarded
by more than five hundred horsemen of the desert. Ere now they
must have reached the pleasant confines of my home—the broad-
leaved oaks, the cool green valleys, and the breezy mountains of the
north."
"The north!" repeated Ishtar, aghast and discomfited. "What! beyond
Nineveh?"
"Far beyond Nineveh," said the other, "far beyond the boundaries of
the land of Shinar, where the banner of Ashur hath never been lifted,
the spear of the Assyrian never dulled its point in blood—in the land
of corn and wine, pasture and fruit tree, flocks and herds, peace and
plenty, the happy hill country of Armenia!"
"Sold to the Armenian for a slave!" was her answer. "O, my lord,
shall I never see him again?"
He pitied her from his heart.

"Much may be done," said he, "with these three weapons, sword,
bow, and spear; more yet with these, time, wisdom, patience. Add
but a little gold, and who shall say that aught is impossible? My
brother is one of those who, setting before them an object in the
plain, turn neither to right nor left till they have reached it. The
Assyrian is of fine frame and goodly stature, fit to stand on the steps
of a throne. My brother hath determined he will sell him to no
meaner purchaser than a king. Not all the wealth of Armenia will
tempt him from his purpose, and to the king he will be sold. I have
spoken."
Then he turned away to prosecute his business with those who were
waiting around for examination of his merchandise, and Ishtar found
herself alone and friendless in the crowded market—alone, with a
wild foolish hope in her heart, and Sarchedon's amulet in her hand.
From the time she lost sight of him, she had never faltered one
single moment in her resolution; arduous, impossible as seemed her
task, she would not relinquish it even now.
Had she needed any farther stimulant to exertion she would have
found it in the reflection that he, the distinguished warrior, the
ornament of a court, the flower of a host, the treasure of her own
heart, was a slave!
At least she knew where he had gone; at least there was one spot of
earth on which her loving thoughts could light, like weary birds, and
take their rest. But how to reach him? how to span the cruel
distance that lay between? Gazing wistfully on the amulet in her
hand, she would have bartered all her hopes here and hereafter,
peace and safety, life and beauty, innocence itself, in exchange for
the wings of a dove.

CHAPTER XXXVIII
BOND AND FREE
"A horned owl in the twilight; a horned owl in the dark! How many
horns does my owl hold up!" A merry laugh was ringing in her ear, a
soft hand was laid over her eyes, while the white fingers of its fellow
twinkled before her face, and Ishtar recognised the voice of Kalmim,
challenging her to one of those foolish games of guessing so popular
from the earliest ages with the thoughtless children of the south.
It was something to meet a friend, and of her own sex, even though
that friend was one with whom her deeper, purer nature had but
little in common. Strung to their highest pitch, her feelings now gave
way; and leaning on Kalmim's shoulder, Ishtar burst into a passion of
weeping that perhaps did more to calm and restore her than all the
feminine consolations and condolences lavished by the other, whose
compassion, lying near the surface, seemed easily aroused and
quickly exhausted.
A weeping girl was no unusual sight in the public places of great
Babylon. Exciting neither pity nor comment, Ishtar and Kalmim
withdrew unnoticed from the crowd, to stand apart in the shelter of
a gigantic fountain, erected for the refreshment of her people by the
Great Queen, where the younger woman soon recovered composure
to answer the voluble questions of the elder.
"Where have you been hiding, and what have you been doing, and
why have we never seen you at the well, in the temple, at market,
sacrifice, or on the city wall?" said Kalmim, flirting the water about
while she dipped her white hand in its marble basin. "Surely the
days of mourning are past, and those of feasting should have begun.
Why, then, in the name of Ashtaroth, do I find the fairest damsel in

Babylon with her eyes unpainted, her head untied, and, my dear, a
dress that looks as if it had been trodden in the dust by every beast
in the market? How did you ever get it so rumpled and soiled?"
Ignoring this important consideration, Ishtar took the other by the
hand, and gazing in her face with large serious eyes, replied,
"Kalmim, I believe you would serve me, if you could. I believe you
are my friend."
"As far as one woman can be a friend to another," laughed Kalmim.
"And that is about as far as I could fathom the great river with my
bodkin. Trust me, dear, you are too comely to possess friends, either
men or women. Nevertheless, you sat on my knees when you were
a curly-headed child, and I—well, when I was better and happier
than I am now. I would serve you if I could. By the light of
Shamash, I would, though I might hate myself and you the next
minute! Take me, therefore, while the good mood is on. What can I
do to please my white-faced Ishtar?"
"You have influence and power," was the reply. "He—my father used
—I have heard it said that you are deep in her counsels, and high in
favour with the Great Queen."
An angry flush rose to Kalmim's brow, and her laugh was not
pleasant to hear, while she answered,
"The Great Queen is a woman like the rest of us. I wish I had never
seen her haughty face. For days together it was Kalmim here,
Kalmim there; who so quick-witted as Kalmim? whom could she trust
like Kalmim? Kalmim was never to be out of her sight. I must have
had a score of hands, and as many wings as Nisroch, to do half her
bidding. Then, in the twinkling of an eye, lo, in the threading of a
needle, all is changed, and because the Great King went to the stars
or wherever he did go, I am to be cast aside like a frayed robe or a
soiled napkin, and must see her face no more. She might have been
a little fonder of him while he was here, I think, instead of making all
this mourning now he's gone. You would suppose that in the whole

land of Shinar no wife was ever left a widow before. Queen though
she be, she must take her chance with the others, I trow."
"And are you no longer in the royal service?" asked Ishtar, sadly
disappointed.
"In the royal service I must ever be," answered Kalmim, "since I was
born a bondwoman in old Nineveh, whence come the fairest of us,
after all, say what they will of this great wicked town! I can no more
help my bonds than my beauty, and I do not know, my pretty Ishtar,
that I am more anxious to get rid of the one than the other. But it
vexes me sore, and angers me too, when I think that the queen,
because she sits in sackcloth and scatters ashes on her head, should
refuse to admit her faithful slave and servant, who never failed her
yet, even to the outer court of the palace. If I were free, like you,
my dear, I swear by Baal I would take my leave of great Babylon for
good and all!"
"Free!" repeated the girl bitterly, reflecting how little availed her
freedom, her birth, even her beauty to attain the one object of her
life, in the pursuit of which she was fain to implore the assistance of
this bondwoman. "If I were free, as you say, I would leap on yonder
camel, with a lump of dates and a barley-cake in my hand, turn his
head for the northern mountains, and never wish to see the city
walls again."
"I guessed it!" exclaimed Kalmim, clapping her hands. "The daughter
of the stars has gone the way of us poor children of earth, as if she
too were made of common clay. He has taken your heart with him,
whoever he is. I see it all, and follow him you must, at any labour
and at any cost. I can feel for you, dear: I know what it is. Now,
there was Sethos, the Great King's cup-bearer, as goodly a youth as
ever longed for a beard. And, lo, he vanishes one summer's morning
with a score of horsemen, rides away into the desert, and I shall
never see him more."

"Take comfort," rejoined Ishtar, glad to do a kindness even for this
flighty dame. "I left him safe and well at Ascalon, and beheld him
with my own eyes drinking wine of Eschol the night before I fled."
"At Ascalon!" exclaimed Kalmim. "Where Rekamat was—I heard
them say so! The treacherous tiger-cat! The false villain! See what it
is to let a man find out you have thought twice about him. He cares
no more for you than we do for a garment worn a score of times, or
a husband we have known a score of years. And yet he swore and
protested. Well, I was born under Ashtaroth, and I have been a fool
like many another. Nevertheless, the broken jar will mend no doubt,
and the empty gourd can be filled again at the stream."
"I think he came not into Ascalon of his own free will," answered
Ishtar. "He galloped through the gate like one who rides for life, with
a cloud of Egyptian horsemen at his heels."
"I wish with all my heart they had caught and flayed him alive!"
laughed the other. "But I might have known him better than to think
he would look at that cream-faced Rekamat, for all her delicate gait
and her tawny hair. So he escaped with the skin of his teeth, say
you, and was last seen safe in Ascalon. I pray you, is he there now?"
"I know not," answered Ishtar. "O Kalmim, I will trust you. I am so
miserable. He entered the city with—with Sarchedon. And the walls
were guarded, the watch set, because of the false Egyptian, so that
a mouse could scarce creep out unnoticed. Nevertheless, we glided
through the gate at sunrise, he and I, and—and, right or wrong, we
fled into the wilderness."
"Like a pair of pelicans!" exclaimed the other in high glee. "And so,
being in the wilderness, you made yourselves a nest no doubt, and
folded your wings in peace, as it had been behind the city wall!"
"The children of Anak surprised us sleeping," sobbed Ishtar, whose
tears were beginning to flow afresh. "They killed our dromedary,
poor beast, and spoiled our goods—all that we had—a lump of bread
and a handful of dates. They spared our lives in pity, but they set me

down beside the Well of Palms, and they sold him into captivity. O
Kalmim, comfort me, for indeed I fear I shall never see him more!"
Light-hearted and impressionable, the other was ready enough with
sympathy, advice, and perhaps assistance, up to the point at which
it could inconvenience herself.
"Take heart," said she; "the world is wide, but woman has her wits,
as the bird of the air has its wings. Can you not discover where he is
gone? Knowing this, surely the bow is bent, and the arrow fitted to
the string. You need but let it fly."
"I was guided by Nisroch," was the tearful answer; "for I came
hither into the market from the halls of my ruined home and the
bones of my dead father. O Kalmim, I watched by them all last night,
to drive the wild-dogs away."
Again she laid her face on the other's shoulder, and wept.
Kalmim was greatly moved.
"I will help you," she protested. "Indeed, I will. I have friends; I
have lovers—scores of them, girl; and in high places too. I will seam
my face with scars, tear out my hair by handfuls, but they shall
listen to my prayer. What! is my cheek sun-burned? are mine eyes
grown dim? I will force my way to the queen! I will humble myself
before the prince!"
"The prince!" interrupted Ishtar. "He is in Ascalon."
"Foolish girl!" replied the other. "He is even now coming out from the
queen's palace to do justice amongst the people. Every second
morning he rides forth on a white horse, with Assarac at his right
hand. Grave has he grown, and severe, putting aside the wine-cup,
speaking but a word at a time, and scarce suffering the people to
look on his face. Ashtaroth, what a face it is! Surely he is more
beautiful than dawn."

Ishtar shuddered. To her, for all his comeliness, he was loathsome as
a leper, terrible as a beast of prey.
"It is but justice I require," said she, wringing her hands. "Bare
justice for an Assyrian-born carried into captivity."
"He shall be brought back by the sons of Ashur with the strong
hand," replied Kalmim stoutly. "Who can stand against Assyria in her
might? But I know not yet whither they have taken him, nor how
you have discovered the prison-house where he is lodged."
"I came into the market at sunrise," answered Ishtar, "to sell the
clasp of my father's girdle, that I might eat a morsel of bread.
Ashtaroth must have had pity on me; for she directed my steps to
those very traders who bought Sarchedon from the sons of Anak.
One, who seemed chief among them, spoke me fair, and treated me
well. Perhaps he has a daughter of his own. From him I learned, that
when they divided the spoil, his brother had taken the Assyrian
warrior for his share, and was journeying with him to Armenia,
where he would sell him for a goodly slave to stand before the king.
I pray you, Kalmim, is it very far to Armenia?"
"It is many days' journey," replied Kalmim hopefully. "But those who
have horses and camels need not the wings of a bird. I have heard it
said of the Great King, that his sceptre stretched over the whole land
of Shinar, his spear to the uttermost ends of the earth, and his
arrows reached the heavens. I know not; but I think the sons of
Ashur can obtain what they want, even from beyond the mountains
of Armenia, if they go to ask for it with bow and spear. These
traders, though, are soft and smooth-spoken, false as prosperous
lovers, every man of them! How know you their tale is true?"
"By this token," answered Ishtar, showing Sarchedon's amulet in her
hand.
Kalmim recognised it at once. Many a time since she missed it from
the Great Queen's neck had she speculated on its absence, and
wondered what fresh combinations of intrigue and duplicity were

denoted by this imprudent generosity of her mistress. Though
Semiramis, she knew, entertained a peculiar reverence for the
trinket, as possessing some supernatural charm, yet when she bade
her tirewoman go back to search for it in the temple of Baal, there
was a restless anxiety in her demeanour not to be explained by
mere concern for a lost jewel. And now her eyes were opened. She
marvelled how she could have been so dull and blind. She resolved
to hold the clue tight, and never let it go till she had turned its
possession to her own advantage. Though she tried to look innocent
and unconscious, it was impossible to keep down the sparkle in her
eye, the crimson on her cheek, while she asked as carelessly as she
could,
"Is it a sign between you, and did he send it to vouch for the truth
of the messenger?"
"Not so," answered Ishtar. "They took it from his neck by stealth,
and the good trader gave it into my hand, because I desired it from
him as a gift. When I look on it, I seem to see the noble face of my
beloved. O Kalmim, we must deliver him, and bring him back."
"We must deliver him, and bring him back," repeated Kalmim,
pondering deeply. In a few seconds she ran through the main points
and bearings of the case.
So long as Sarchedon remained a captive in Armenia, it was obvious
that he could be of little service to her designs, but if she could by
any means recall him to Babylon, a path seemed open that should
lead to her own aggrandisement and paramount influence in the
palace. She was sufficiently persuaded that the seclusion of
Semiramis would last but for a short time; that her masculine
intellect would soon weary of inactivity; and that her energies would
again rule the nation through the son, as heretofore through the
sire. She was shrewd enough to have observed that Ninyas did
nothing without the counsel of Assarac; and she had not forgotten
Assarac's implicit and slavish devotion to the queen. She was also
satisfied that her royal lady had contracted one of those infatuated

passions for Sarchedon to which she was occasionally subject, and
which her tire-woman's experience reminded her would be gratified
at any cost of danger or shame. If, then, she could go to the queen
when the days of mourning had expired, and say to her, "I have got
your treasure safe in Babylon, under lock and key; I brought him
back from Armenia by my own exertions, and you need but lift up
your finger to behold him here at your feet," would she not become
one of the greatest personages in Assyria, herself the fount of
honour, wealth, influence, and promotion? Sethos, she decided,
should obtain the leadership of the royal guard, and her other lovers
be rewarded, more or less, in proportion to their attractions.
Meantime Sarchedon must be brought back.
"You love him dearly then," said she, "and would shrink from no
sacrifice to insure his safety?"
There was more than devotion in Ishtar's simple answer,
"I would give my life for the life of him."
"There is but one power under that of Ashtaroth to help you at your
need," pursued Kalmim. "If the king will send an embassy to
Armenia, as to Egypt, for the recovery of Sarchedon, the youth may
yet return, fast as camels can travel. But you must make your
petition at once, and in person. You are young and comely, though a
little too pale. Such faces as yours seldom plead with Ninyas in vain."
Ishtar clasped her hands and trembled.
"Is there no other way?" said she. "There is none in all the land of
Shinar before whom I would not rather bow down my face than the
prince."
"The prince, girl! what mean you?" exclaimed the other. "Are you
mad? There is none can help you in such a matter but the king."
"Only—only," stammered Ishtar, "I fled on purpose to avoid him."

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