f-..“
reason, con“; .8 1m
discovered here is one oi‘those great
tutelar deities or protective powers.-
There is the great “Hall of Arms”
and the “Hail of the Courteeans,"
named thus from the wall decora-r
tlons showing theircharacter. Among
the Persians and Babylonian the '
sacred courteous played no small
part, so that a hall~in the palace :
should plainly be marked with their
designs is not unexpected. The cenr
trai’ hall of the palace has been called‘
the Hall of Enamel 0n seéount of the
wonderful ' enameled plaques with
Tell the Women mentioned in the
Bible as playing parts more or
, less prominent in the conflicts of
the diii’ereat peoples who contributed to
Biblical history, there probably is none
who has aroused more curiosity and who
. stands out with. more of mysterious
, romance than does Esther, the Hebrew
11 . Queen of Persia. ’ -
The refusal of Vashti to obey the sum-
mons Of her lord and master, Ahasuerus,
to go before him that her beauty might be extended his '5
intrigue the fancies of his bibulous “Red what “3’ p
friends, is one of the dramatic incidents ~asked that the King and his Minister Certainly no experience could be more
that gratify the imagination. painters Haman come and dine with her. When» interesting than to visit the ruins and the
and even sculptors have made Vashti the ng came ‘0 the banquet and he courtyards—to stand perhaps “POD the
their inspiration for many of the world's 33““ his Queen what she desired she very pavements and on the same. mosaic
Sreatest masterpieces. Even more 851‘“ him to come again on the ,1
Visitors Now May 566 the Very Rooms in Winch
Haman1 Plotted the Downfall of Mordecai ‘
and Where Vashti _ Dolled the King I‘ _.
cepter toward her and rim, " as the lots were cast to fix the day
etition might‘be. She by Human.
In the very center of the ruins‘theex;
7 plorers came across a great stone floored
”hall" surrounded by broad granite col-
umns.“many of which still stood and on which it was surrounded. The room
which there were inscriptions which 111-. used as the palace treasury has been
‘dicated that this was the feast roam in identified. The throne room has been
4? _
a
dramatic, however, particularly in its next day and“ eat with her and to ‘
consequences, was the consent of the bring Human Wit-h ”“11 Possi-
humble Esther‘to take Vashtl's place and bly her heart failed her 3‘ the
please the King. Esther was even less laSt moment 0“ Shé “’13th to-
than secondary to V lshti She probably make her request all the more im-
would have passed on’ unknown in the ”935”" by postponing “- for one
history of her period had not Ahasuerus _ day more.
suddenly bcthought himself of her 0ri~ The King and Haman came on
ental beauty when his more favored ”the marrow. BM that V9157 night
Vasllti denied him. ’ the King slept poorly and to be
When, pleased with her obedience and amused he had his scribes bring
the admiration his friends bestowed upon him ”‘9 ChTOMCleS 0f the realm
her, Allasuerus made Esther Queen, she and read t0 him. There they hap-
hccame the first, even as she was the pent-d to read an .account of an
lust, Jewish consort to hold the throne OCCUETGHCB earlier in his reign.
of the Persian kingdom, when Mordecai had discovered a
- A French expedition, in which there were plot against the King's_llie and by
associated several American archaeolo- informing him 83?“! him.
gists has just issued in France the report “Then he heard this the King
of its excavations at Susa, where Darius 331165 what had been done for
built the gorgeous palace in which Queen Mordecai and was laid that noth-
' Esther ruled and in which there was ing had been done. So on the
played the drama which the Bible pm. next day he asked Human: "What
cents. The general locality of the palace Shall be done unto the man whom
of Ahasuerus has been known for some the King delighteth to honor?"
time. Not, however, until this expedi- Hamlin; thinking that the King
tlon began its explorations of the hill had him in mind, suggested that
at Shea was it definitely known that this man be placed upon the
. ruins of the magnificent pile of ancient King's own horse and led through
buildings gun existed. the city clothed in royal robes by
These ruins now have been entirely the greatest of the nobles, who
uncovered. Before the explorers there was to cry 'out: "Thus shall be
stood revealedall the mysterious recesses, done to the man whom the King
the throne room, the women‘s quar-
ters, the retiring rooms. the great
espionades, the hanging gardens
and the treasure vaults of what un-
doubtedly was the {most elaborate
and magnificent royal villa of the
early Persian period.
in fact the very throne on which
Esther sat with the King has been
t identified. It is not of‘ gold or
other precious metal as many have
liked to imagine it, but instead is
of surfaced stone and granite. . [in
distinguishing character is the
unique double bodied sphinx, which
by some ancient artisan, was
chiseled into the back wall of the
throne and against which Esther
1 and Ahasuerus rested which they
issued their royal decrees.
There are inscriptions 110w being
deciphered~ which so far promise to
identify completely this -
very spot as the place
where Ahasuerus set
when he listened to the
plea of his beautiful
Queen for the life of her
friend Mordecai, and that
likewise it was here the
King issued his command
that led to the hanging
of Human at that great
height which became
proverbial through all
succeeding ages. There
are many. other inscrip-
tions, tablets and even
papyri which‘i‘have been
found in the scribe rooms
and .in the treasure
vaults of the ruins which
promise to throw a great
deal of additional light
upon the intriguing story
of Esther, Haman and
Mordecai. So far we
know only that Haman
lgivlae‘ a‘ plotter and
schelner who became angered at Morde-
cai becaiise the latter refused to show
him reverence which, as grand vizer to
the King, Human thought was due him.
” We are fully acquainted with the story of
1 Hama‘n's attempt at vengeance—how he
" conspired to have all the Jews within the
, domain of Ahasuerus slaughtered upon
gm certain day. Without naming the
people who were to become his victims,
:Hpman appealed to Ahasuerus and
pleaded that there was a people whose
lawi were different from the luvs of the
incl-slam. and who did not keep the
King's laws, and that he would pay ten
thousand talents of silver into the King's
treasury if they were ordered to be de-
ma. Neither knowing nor caring,
King Ahaeuorus accepted the suggestion,
and the King’s scribes were ordered to
notify the governors of every province
carry out this command upon a cer-
1day‘whlch had been determined by
are casting of lots, which fell on the
no. Adar. These (lots = were called
.44"-
The famous Sphinx winch marks the place
where Ahaeuerus built his throne.
delighteth to honor!" Then, said the»
King, take Mordecai, the Jew. and do
what you have suggested. It is easy to
guess that Human was delighted with his
task, so much so that when he returned
him that Mordecai would succeed, and he
would fail. Then came the messenger of
the King to lead him to the Queen‘s han-
quet. At this dinner, when all were merry.
the King again asked Esther What was
her request, and she replied: "Let my
life be given me at my request, and my
people at my request.” When the King
became enraged and asked who was plots
ting against his Queen, she told him that
it was "This wicked Haman.” “is King
was so enraged that he left the roomto
walk in the garden, and Eamon begun
pleading for his life to Esther. The King
returning saw him throwing himself at
her feet in fear. -
Atasignaltheguardstookflamanto
prison. One of the King‘s chamberiains
told him Human had built a gallows for
in - seal and the King eldered Human
hanged on this. Permission was given to
the Jews to defend themselves on the
. fated day. the laws of the Medea and Per-
slansbeingsuchthatnoneeouldbeal-
Hordmi heard. of‘ this plot be
p ad Queen Mar and urged her to
‘ people. as sheyherself would also
. ‘ Mme, and that escape W38
were saved. They lure celebrated this
festivelevereinceunderthonamew
~tere¢andthusmstberandherpeopler
The palace where ”Esther ruled as Queen as it appeared in her time.
This is a plan of the reconstruction now progressing.
The new
palace will rise from the foundations of the old one.
floors on which this drama of Bible nar-
rative was played. There has been so
much sympathy with the consummate
cleverness with which the beautiful young
Queen played out her little plot to save
her people that, upon the part of one
portion of the world‘s people at least,
there would be a great sentimental satie
faction in walking over and over again
in the very footsteps of Queen Esther.
herself.
There has never been until now. any
tangible proof of Esther's existence or
even of the existence of—the King, Alias-
uerus, except, of course. that'sto‘ry which
is found in the Bible. The archaeoldglsts
who have just returned from Palestine
are now preparing the translations of the
inscriptions. and will soon present ma.
terial proof of the magnificence of’Es-
ther’a reign and of even additional evi-
dence that her conflict With Human was
home his friends and his wife warned eindebd a veritable mél’odrama.
Near the palace itself, it has been seen,
was the great capitol. or “'Apadana," as 1t
was called, quite distinct from the palace,
which has also been discovered and partly,
rebuilt. A double gallery has lately been,
discovered connecting the Apedaua with
the palace, so that the fire set by the very ‘
hand of Alexander the Great (383 B. O.) '
didnot really destroy it.” haibe‘en be
lieved.
standing and
in place.
may inscriptions bearing the nuns of
bases of the others are
Ivory broad; thus aflording’light and air
land moo.
some of the columns 316 still
which the reigning Kings held their fes-
tivals and great celebrations. Undoubt-
edly it was in this very chamber that '
Ahasuerus entértained his friends. and it
must havebeen to this room he sum-
moned Vashti and her maidens that their
coquetries might add to the gayety'of the
occasion. So it‘must also have been to
this‘room that Esthercame with her at—
tendant maids and found honor in the
eyes of the'King and his guests. 1
The other buildings making up the pal~
ace and' the Apadana formed two great
structures, near each other and connected
by passageways. To thesouthwest was
the palace of Darius 1., to the northeast
'the great hippostyle hall, or ball of col-
umns, the throne room of the Apadana. ‘
The palace was a large building. in
which were no less than 110 balls. large
and email, always longer than wide.
Some of these halls are out up into
smaller-111001113. There were si‘xrectangu—
lar inner courts, :three of which »were
to" the rooms and halls. The four main
walls of the palace faced the four cardinal
points of the compass very precisely.
Three long corridors ran from east to
met through the palace, connecting all ' ,
its rooms. The broad inner courts bles- ‘ -
named with trees and powers. for coolness
The
finds made is a tablet M baked clay on
:.1which Darius speaks of the construction
of the palace, the materials.” includcx
mg stone, choice woods, This on}:
' rere few windows on 7
the, outside. so that the palace might b6
, the more easily defended if attached. The
'w’nlls without and within were adorned-Z
, with enameled plaques and bricks inf
Darius have been found among the ruins ~
of the palace itself and when they were f
,deciphered much of the history of that
time will be rewritten. In the latest
“Esther Marlo Queen." the beauti- ;
ful painting by Jose Vilegu. The
explorers hope to find chiseled on
the walls of tln newly discovered
pllhce the King’ e own account of
L the mam-men: of his
new Queen.
found andreven thevaudience hall, to
which‘came those desiring to be heard or
to have their cases adjusgad,
There was once a row of enameled
1 arches in all the glorious colors of those
bright enamels. The treasure house was
identified by the great cellars and ap
parent strong rooms in which precious
objects and the wealth of the monarch
were carefully kept. These are of course
empty, having been rifled by those who
4......
"Esther Presenting Herself 3:5“ ?
, Ahnsuerus,” a painting by Felix
Barrios. The explorers luv-
. found the throne of the King.
and‘m restoring the very
spot on which Esther
stood when the King
received her.
captured the city many thousand you:
ago.
It is said that Alexander the .
found here enough gold and silver to 5
his troops, his generals and-
and to begin further expeditions of out
quest. Strobe said that the value 1‘
49, 000 gold talents. besides a great m
of silver. This would be equal to
thing like two million dollars, but
a purchasing power at that time at
least a hundred million.
’ It is proposed to thoroughly'reco
the ancient palace and its 5
buildings as soon as all the inset!
have been decipher-ed. If this is
it will be one of the most into
archaeological achievements in the
“ Engagement Teams” Latest
" 7 Sport 0f Mid-West “Co-Eda"
HE West out of which has come
Lochinvar and a host of other
‘1 startlers in the field of romance.
has just produced a fresh gasp worthy
wonder. It is Lochinvarina in this case.
1922 model, the co—ed of the University
of Wficonsin. who suggested to her soror-
ity that the "sisters” divide themselves
into two teams which should vie in the
matter‘ of engagement rings bagged in
the course of the year. The sorority, in
fun, acted on the suggestion and the com-
petition is on.
It has been years now since the first
audience to be shocked by the lines ad
dressed to the hero in Shaw's “Man and
Superman“ . . "You think that you are
Ann’s suitor: that you are the pursuer
and she the pursued; that it is your part
to woo, to persuade, to prevail. to over-
come. Fool! it is you who are the pur-
sued. the marked down quarry, the (195+.
tilled prey." _
The ordshaveeometobetakenasa
matter of fact. Once that its attention
was called to the facts the world hash“
noticing things ever since, and M
cynicism have bén uttered on the' (6%
nine pursuit musculine retreat 11th“.
non than on any other subject.
It is characteristic that the West '3!
itsgradltlon of honesty should face “9‘
squarely. It is also characteristic M
the much talked of younger genera“
should. The result—the “love team!!—
are the last word in feminine pal-ml;
The girls. acknowledging that one of their,
Primary interestsi be choosing of suit-
able mates, see no reason why basketball
teams, when basketball is at most only i
secondary interest should exist an)“ m
than engagement teams.
The methods or the teams are as old as
the idea of them is new. There is a hall-
tiful lake beside the university. and mm
1181“ canoeing is the favorite sport. its
young men would probably be as m
pi‘ised as fihaw’s here was if told that
there was anything new under the m
in romance.
:. ._
HERE is visible in the night sky
faint “Shh rounded in outline
has. it is called the
and is one the most
astron-
. ' enters. ., was Pickering who suggested
under favorable circumstances a ,
EAR the head of the Copper 33"
in Alaska, in a very rough ‘3‘
broken country. above which :1—
and “timed elm em“? omits *0 the cone of the extinct volcano new
Wrangell, there exists. according to 3‘
report of a Government emcer, a nod ‘
gigantic geyser: which may even
those of the Yellowstonfialley in pit".f
'i‘he omen- was unable to approach III
Norwalk Chronicler