EMPEROR, AND HOW HE DEFEATED PORUS THE KING OF INDIA.
Then came messengers to Alexander bringing word that Darius lay in
his palace nigh death, and that there was no man among the Persians
who might give orders or make head against him. So the king bade
arm his knights, and he rode into the city of Susa, and when the
men of the city saw them coming the chief of them went out to the
gate of the city and received him royally with reverence and joy,
saying, “Welcome be thou, O warrior, famed o’er all the world,”
while the hearts of those who had rebelled against Darius failed
them, and they fled from him and hid their heads till they should
know Alexander the King’s thought of the death of the lord of the
Persians.
Then Alexander rode through the town to the palace of Darius, and
when he entered it he wondered at its beauty, that any mortal man
should make one so fair. The floor was wrought of clear stones
and crystal in divers colours, the walls were covered with golden
plates, on which were set gems and stars of blue, whose sight
dazzled the eyes, and high over all rose a beautiful dome covered
with enamel and ornaments of trees and flowers. Now when Alexander
had seen these things he went through the hall and into the chamber
of Darius, and there he saw him laid on his bed at point of death;
for he was so sore smitten that no man could bind up his wounds,
and at every breath the blood gushed out. And the king of the
Greeks was moved by pure pity, and he leaned over the dying man
and kissed him, and said, “Comfort thee, my lord, and rise and be
emperor still in all thy former honour and dignity, for as for
these defeats they are the fortune of war, which exalts one man
and puts down another; but I, O King, will defend thee and avenge
thee on thine enemies;” and he burst into sobs of grief. And Darius
raised him on his bed, and kissed his hand and his neck, and said,
“O son, this is but the common fate of man, nor must I grieve
overmuch. I was rich and grew proud, now am I poor. Bury me, my
son, among my fathers, the lords of Persia, and rule thou the land.
My mother and my wife are with you; guard them as you have done
and help them. My daughter Roxana I leave to you for wife; it suits
well that a noble king should have the fairest wife on earth. Take
heed of what I have said; be tender of my knights,” and Darius the
king fell back and died.
So it was that in few days after the chief men of Persia and of
Medea came to Alexander and led him to the throne of Darius, and
crowned him with the golden crown, hailing him Emperor of the
World; and they brought to him the fair damsel Roxana, the daughter
of Darius, covered with a thick veil, and set her on the throne
beside him. Now Alexander had not seen the damsel, except once
at the supper of Darius her father, though she had been in his
camp for many days, but she knew him, for she had preserved his
portrait since the time that Darius had thrown it aside, and her
heart was glad that she was to be his queen. And as the rulers of
Persia brought Alexander to the throne they showed him that it had
seven steps--the first an amethyst, which showed the king should be
of sober mind; the second an emerald, to show that a king should
see clearly; the third a topaz, to remind him how things are not
what they seem always; the fourth step a garnet, to remind him of
fame and honour; the fifth an adamant, to show a king should be
steadfast; the sixth of pure gold, to show a king should be chief;
the seventh of earth, to remind the king that he must die. And at
each step the wise men explained its meaning to him, and on the
seventh they crowned him, and fell down before him, and Roxana with
them, and he lifted her up and raised her veil before them, and
when he saw her he loved her, and with his own hands he put a crown
on her head.
After Alexander was crowned he sent messengers into all parts of
the land to spread the news, and to give orders for the safety of
the land, and he made a proclamation offering their due reward to
the slayers of Darius. When they heard this the two knights came
forward in hope, and looked to get great riches, but he ordered
them to be hanged near the grave of Darius, and all the Persian
nobles rejoiced, for they loved Darius, and had grieved sore at his
murder. Then Alexander appointed one of the uncles of Darius to
be lord and governor of Persia, and he married Roxana, and made a
great feast through the land, which lasted for eight days, and all
the land of Persia rejoiced and was glad.
In few days, however, the warlike spirit of Alexander came upon him
again, and he resolved to set out and conquer the king of India,
Porus, who had threatened him with war if he attacked Darius. So
he gathered together a great host of Medes and Persians, and added
them to his own Greeks, and with them he marched out of Persia
towards the borders of India, through the great desert which lay
between them, leaving Roxana his queen behind with her mother and
uncle. And after they had spent many days in the passage, and were
wearied of the wild waste where no water was, and the high hills
and the hollows and the broad plains, the Greeks began to murmur
among themselves, and to ask, “Why should we do more, since we
have conquered the Persians, and seized the empire which formerly
took tribute of our fathers? This land of India is inhabited but
by beasts, and as for Alexander, he lives but for fighting, and if
he lived in peace he would die as if he were starved. Let us leave
him to fight with these barbarians, and go home in peace.” When
Alexander heard them, he gathered together his knights and peers,
and reproached them. He told them how he had saved them in their
troubles, how he had exposed himself to danger on their behalf, and
how he had always been first in battle among them. Then he said
that if they feared and deserted him, he would keep on alone till
he had fulfilled his fate, nor would he return to Greece until he
had conquered all lands under heaven. And when he had finished his
speech the hearts of his princes turned to him, and they sought his
grace, and promised to follow him everywhere to the death, without
question or murmur.
In these days a messenger arrived from Porus bearing a message of
threats and sneers to Alexander, and when the message was given
to him in the presence of his men, some of the Greeks feared, for
this was a new land to them, and they knew not what wonders Porus
might bring against them. But Alexander cared never a whit for any
of his words, and the message he sent back was bolder than that
he received, so that Porus became very angry when he heard it,
and he assembled his army in haste and sent them out forthwith
against Alexander, without waiting for a part of it not yet come to
him. And though he had not all his army, yet he had more soldiers
than Alexander, and he had with him chariots armed with scythes,
ten thousand at least, and he had unicorns in his host, and more
than all he had four hundred elephants, each with a castle on its
back and thirty men in armour. Now the Greeks had never fought
against elephants, nor had they even seen them, so that they were
sore afraid, for their swords could not pierce the skin of the
elephants, and the great beasts trampled them down, and the men
on their backs threw darts at them and shot arrows, and there was
no means of turning them back. Thus the Greeks and the Persians
were driven back that day by the Indians through their elephants.
But when night came on Alexander ordered all his men and they got
great suits of armour and hammered them together, and they filled
them with coals and lit great fires round about them, so that they
became red hot, and all the night the Greeks made these brazen men
and kept them hot, and at first dawn the fires were put out and
these red-hot brazen men were brought before the host, and when the
elephants attacked them as before and threw their trunks round them
to cast them on the ground and trample them, the hot metal burnt
their trunks and their feet, and they turned and fled, and trampled
down their own men, hooting horribly. Then Alexander ordered the
Persians to attack the Indian army while it was in confusion, but
Porus rallied them and there was a great battle; but at the last
Alexander with his men came to the aid of the Persians, and the
Indians were defeated and Porus took to flight, and fled away in
haste, and Alexander and his host were left masters of the field.
Next day he marched to a city near that place, the chief of all
that Porus was lord of, and no man hindered, so that Alexander
entered it and found there the palace of Porus, and his house was
noble and fair. It had four hundred pillars of gold, and between
each was a grape vine with carved leaves and grapes of all precious
stones, some of clear crystals, some of pearls, some of emeralds,
and of other gems. And all the walls were covered with thick plates
of gold, the thinnest of them was an inch thick, and they were set
with stones like the stars of heaven, and the doors of the rooms
were of ivory carved and adorned, and the bars and bolts were of
ebony; the upper rooms were all of cypress or of cedar, and in all
the rooms there were golden statues and images seated on thrones
of gold, and over them hangings of rich embroidery; and in the
palace hall there was a fair tree, and on the branches of it were
all manner of birds, each painted and made like to its nature, but
with their bills and claws of fine gold, and whenever the king
wished they made as sweet a melody as if it were the month of May.
But time fails us to tell of all the beauties of this palace. And
when Alexander entered the palace he wondered greatly and went
through it till he came to a room which was shut, and on it was
a label, “For Alexander alone.” Then he stayed, and he would not
enter the room, for he feared some wile of the Indian King, and he
got together his wise men, and with them he opened the door. But
when he did so, he heard a burst of merry laughter, and he looked,
and lo, before him was a fair young girl, and she said to him,
“It is bravely done of thee, O Alexander, to open this door with
such aid; am I then so fearful?” And Alexander was abashed for a
moment, but he said, “O damsel, the presents of Indian kings are
not always so charming as thou art,” and he sat down beside her and
talked with her. But while she was speaking, one of the wise men of
Greece had watched her, and he liked not the manner of her eyes,
and he came near to the king and spoke to him, “O King, beware
of this damsel, for methinketh that she is not of human kind like
to other women.” Then the damsel said, “Away with this dotard, O
King, kiss my lips and see if I be not a woman.” And the wise man
said, “O Alexander, verily this is one of the poison-maidens of
India, for in this land they feed girls from their birth on deadly
poison, so that poison is their food, and food their poison, and
whoever kisses them dies immediately.” Then one of the lords of
the Persians came forward and said, “O fool, how tellest thou such
a tale to my lord Alexander,” and turning to Alexander, he said,
“May thy slave show this dotard is wrong?” And the king doubted,
but he trusted his wise man, so the Persian lord leaned forward and
kissed the girl on the lips, and fell down dead. Then she laughed
merrily, and said, “O Alexander, if thou hadst not been guided by
the counsel of thy wise men, such would have been thy fate.” But
all the Greeks fled out of the room. Then the maiden blew a whistle
and two great serpents came from their holes in the corner of the
room, and circled round her.
Now the next morn, when men went to fetch the damsel before King
Alexander, they found the room empty, but for one great snake that
lay on the divan, and they came and told the King, and he knew that
the damsel had been left there to cause his death, and he was on
his guard.
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