Page:History of Art in Persia.djvu/371

 Inhabited Palaces. 349 rately, making long explanatory notes in connection with them super- fluous ; plan in hand (Fig. 143), as well as general view, Plate X..* it is quite easy to measure the distances interposing between the various palaces. In it the north face occupies the foreground ; on the right, a foreshortened view of the basement wall, the pristine aspect of which is due to its restored paidpet, broken ofTeverywhere. The grand sweep with which it shoots out into the plain brings home to us how powerful was the master who ordered this work, * whilst the beauty and finish of the workmanship testify to the technical skill of the masons in his em ploy. The numerous juts and curves in the wall break the lines and induce play of light and shade, imparting thereto something of the picturesque variety — we had almost said, the life — of the natural rock. Of course, the optical delusion is but transient, and soon yields before the clever adjust- ment of the staircase ; in the face of it the beholder realizes that here stands one of the noblest creations ever achieved by human genius. Close to the head of the stairs rise the Propybea, turned towards the hypostyle hall of Xerxes, of which they form the approach. The latter, proudly seated on its platform, displays its triple crown of porticoes ; one faces the spectator and invites the eye to look down the vista of its pillars, whilst we catch a glimpse of the angle of the second and the small side of the third. Fronting the anterior porch are four masts, akin to those that stood in front of Assyrian palaces, wooden poles whose exterior disappears under a metal casing, whilst a banner at the top yields opportunity for draperies of many hues, gaily floating wi^ the breeze. Somewhat in advance of these, again, an equal number of bulls are set up on pedestals. These accessories serve to indi- cate in what fashion spaces interposing between the structures could be filled in and embellished. Then, too, the unfailing presence of trees furnished the means towards the same end ; if we have made but scant use of them, it was for the sake of keeping the edifices uncovered. This, the first palace encountered on the esplanade, was that which, owing to its extraordinary dimensions and originality of adjustment, must have produced the deepest impression on the beholder; hence the important r6U it fills in our restoration. The Palace of Darius being turned towards the south, we naturally .obtain but a back view, and even that is partially concealed; ' Corrected from the Errata. Digitized by Google