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At Susa, on the arrival of the first message, which said that
Xerxes was master of Athens, such was the delight of the Persians
who had remained behind, that they forthwith strewed all the streets
with myrtle boughs, and burnt incense, and fell to feasting and
merriment. In like manner, when the second message reached them, so
sore was their dismay, that they all with one accord rent their
garments, and cried aloud, and wept and wailed without stint. They
laid the blame of the disaster on Mardonius; and their grief on the
occasion was less on account of the damage done to their ships, than
owing to the alarm which they felt about the safety of the king. Hence
their trouble did not cease till Xerxes himself, by his arrival, put
an end to their fears.
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