358 HISTORICAL TALES.

the amphitheatre. Then came a display of the
wealth of Palmyra, the magnificent plate and ward-
robe of Zenobia, the arms and ensigns of numerous
conquered nations. Hmbassadors from the most re-
mote regions of the civilized earth,—from Ethiopia,
Arabia, Persia, India, and China,—attired in-rich and
singular dresses, attested the fame of the Roman
emperor, while his power was shown by the many
presents he had received, among them a great num-
ber of crowns of gold, which had been given him by
grateful cities.

A long train of captives next declared his triumph,
among them Goths, Vandals, Franks, Gauls, Ger-
mans, Syrians, and Egyptians. Each people was
distinguished by its peculiar inscription, the title of
Amazons being given to ten Gothic heroines who
had been taken in arms. But in this great crowd
of unhappy captives one above all attracted the at-
tention of the host of spectators, the beauteous figure
of the Queen of the Hast. Zenobia was so laden
with jewels as almost to faint under their weight.
Her limbs bore fetters of gold, while the golden
chain that encircled her neck was of such weight
that it had to be supported by a slave. She walked
along the streets of Rome, preceding the magnificent
chariot in which she had indulged hopes of riding in
triumph through those grand avenues. Behind it
came two other chariots, still more sumptuous, those
of Odenathus and the Persian monarch. The trium-
phal car of Aurelian, which followed, was one which
had formerly been used by a Gothic king, and was
drawn by four stags or four elephants, we are not