They passed into a building unchallenged.

Then by passages and arched halls; through courts, and under colonnades not always lighted; up long flights of stairs, past innumerable cloisters and chambers, they were conducted into a tower of great height.

Suddenly the guide halted, and, pointing through an open door, said to them, "Enter.

The king is there." The air of the chamber was heavy with the perfume of sandal-wood, and all the appointments within were effeminately rich.

Upon the floor, covering the central space, a tufted rug was spread, and upon that a throne was set.