city; such is the tradition. As men love to trace their descent back to
some stoned greatness, nations delight to associate the gods with their
origin."

[Illustration: Stamp, Persia]

Many stamps of Persia bear the lion and the sun, the arms of the country
and the insignia of its highest order of nobility. It is the lion of
Iran, holding in its paw the sceptre of the Khorassan while behind it
shines the sun of Darius. There is a legend concerning the latter symbol
to the effect that Darius, hunting in the desert, threw his spear at a
lion and missed. The beast crouched to spring, when the sun, shining on
a talisman on Darius' breast, so overpowered it that it came fawning to
his feet and followed him back to the city. And for this reason the sun
became part of the arms of the kingdom. But I think we may look further
than this and find in it a relic of the ancient fire worship and of
oriental pretentions to power over heaven and earth.

[Illustration: Stamp, Egypt, 5 para]

How much of Egypt's myths and splendors are here depicted; the temple
column called Pompey's pillar, the obelisk of Luxor, the mighty
pyramids, last of all the sphynx, that fabled creature with the face of
a woman, the body of a tigress and the heart of both. In fancy we can
see her, crouched on a rock beside the great highway to Thebes,
propounding her fatal riddle to the bewildered passers by, till Oedipus
shall come.

[Illustration: Stamp, Turkey]