Near to this alcove are the hareems of Nehemoth.
'The King hath four hareems--one for the stalwart women from the
mountains to the north, one for the dark and furtive jungle women,
one for the desert women that have wandering souls and pine in
Babbulkund, and one for the princesses of his own kith, whose brown
cheeks blush with the blood of ancient Pharaohs and who exult with
Babbulkund in her surpassing beauty, and who know nought of the
desert or the jungle or the bleak hills to the north. Quite
unadorned and clad in simple garments go all the kith of Nehemoth,
for they know well that he grows weary of pomp. Unadorned all save
one, the Princess Linderith, who weareth Ong Zwarba and the three
lesser gems of the sea. Such a stone is Ong Zwarba that there are
none like it even in the turban of Nehemoth nor in all the
sanctuaries of the sea. The same god that made Linderith made long
ago Ong Zwarba; she and Ong Zwarba shine together with one light,
and beside this marvellous stone gleam the three lesser ones of the
sea.
'Now when the King sitteth in his opal alcove by the sacred lake
with the orchids blooming around him all sounds are become still.
The sound of the tramping of the weary slaves as they go round and
round never comes to the surface. Long since the musicians sleep,
and their hands have fallen dumb upon their instruments, and the
voices in the city have died away.
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