Harem Window and Court.
As is well known, in all Mohammedan countries, women pass their lives in closest seclusion. Their quarters are provided in the upper story of the house, the windows being small indeed. Seldom going out, living their years in idleness, it is small wonder that these unfortunate creatures often resort to intrigues to absorb their interest.
Winged Lion.
These symbolic animals in stone were stationed at the portals of the royal palace and sometimes guarded the palaces of the wealthy in Assyria. The lion's body symbolized strength, the wings of the eagle, swiftness; the human head, human intelligence. It was believed that evil spirits would pause before such emblems of majesty, nor dare to enter.
Musicians and Attendants in the Garden of Asshurbanipal.
After the war was over, the king, satiated with booty and slaughter, sought the quieter pleasures of the banquet. This was frequently served in the royal garden, while musicians dispensed sweet strains of music. To make more animated the joyous occasion, the head of the defeated king or general was sometimes suspended from a nearby tree, so that the Assyrian ruler might exult over his own triumph as he drank his wine.
Damascus Sword-maker.
The swords of Damascus have always been famous. The ancient sword-makers understood a secret process of tempering steel which rendered it very pliable and at the same time imparted to it astonishing strength.
The River Jordan.
The word Jordan means "the down-comer," and truly a river which drops 3,000 feet in a course of 150 miles is indeed a "descender." In the spring the stream is brown and muddy, heavily charged as it is with debris from the mountains. Ships never journey far up or down the river. Below the level of the sea, the climate is hot and sultry and the region full of malaria.