"deceived you; he has adorned my person, and sent "me to you as his daughter; but Apries was my fa"ther, whom Amasis, with his other rebellious sub"jects, dethroned and put to death." This speech and this occasion immediately prompted Cambyses, in great wrath, to commence hostilities against Egypt. Such is the Persian account of the story.

II. The Egyptians claim Cambyses as their own, by asserting that this incident did not happen to him, but to Cyrus, from whom, and from this daughter of Apries, they say he was born. This, however, is certainly not true. The Egyptians are of all mankind the best conversant with the Persian manners, and they must have known that a natural child could never succeed to the throne of Persia, while a legitimate one was alive. It was equally certain that Cambyses was not born of an Egyptian woman, but was the son of Cassandane, the daughter of Pharnaspe, of the race of the Achæmenides. This story, therefore, was invented by the Egyptians, that they might from this pretence claim a connexion with the house of Cyrus.

III. Another story also is asserted, which to me seems improbable. They say that a Persian lady once visiting the wives of Cyrus, saw standing near their mother, the children of Cassandane, whom she complimented in high terms on their superior excellence of form and person. "Me," replied Cassandane, "who am the mother of these children, Cyrus ne"glects and despises; all his kindness is bestowed on "this Egyptian female." This she said from resentment against Nitetis. They add that Cambyses, her eldest son, instantly exclaimed, "Mother, as soon as "I am a man, I will effect the utter destruction of Egypt." These words, from a prince who was then only ten years of age, surprised and delighted the women; and as soon as he became a man, and succeeded to the throne, he remembered the incident, and commenced hostilities against Egypt.

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IV. He had another inducement to this undertaking. Among the auxiliaries of Amasis was a man named Phanes, a native of Halicarnassus, and greatly

distinguished by his mental as well as military accomplishments. This person being, for I know not what reason, incensed against Amasis, fled in a vessel from Egypt, to have a conference with Cambyses. As he possessed great influence among the auxiliaries, and was perfectly acquainted with the affairs of Egypt, Amasis ordered him to be rigorously pursued, and for this purpose, equipped, under the care of the most faithful of his eunuchs, a three-banked galley. The pursuit was successful, and Phanes was taken in Lydia, but he was not carried back to Egypt, for he circumvented his guards, and by making them drunk, effected his escape. He fled instantly to Persia: Cambyses was then meditating the expedition against Egypt, but was deterred by the difficulty of marching an army over the deserts, where so little water was to be procured. Phanes explained to the king all the concerns of Amasis; and to obviate the above difficulty, advised him to send and ask of the king of the Arabs, a safe passage through his territories.

V. This is indeed the only avenue by which Egypt can possibly be entered. The whole country, from Phoenicia to Cadytis, a city which belongs to the Syrians of Palestine, and in my opinion equal to Sardis, together with all the commercial towns as far as Jenysus, belong to the Arabians. This is also the case with that space of land which extends from the Syrian Jenysus to the lake of Serbonis, from the vicinity of which, mount Casius stretches to the sea. At this lake, where, as was reported, Typhon was concealed, Egypt commences. This tract, which comprehends the city Jenysus, mount Casius, and the lake of Serbonis, is of no trifling extent; it is a three days' journey over a very dry and parched desert.

VI. I shall now explain what is known to very few of those who travel into Egypt by sea. Twice in every year there are exported from different parts of Greece to Egypt, and from Phoenicia in particular, wine secured in earthen jars, not one of which jars is afterwards to be seen. I shall describe to what purpose they are applied: the principal magistrate of every town is obliged to collect all the earthen vessels

imported to the place where he resides, and send them to Memphis. The Memphians fill them with water, and afterwards transport them to the Syrian deserts. Thus all the earthen vessels carried into Egypt, and there carefully collected, are continually added to those already in Syria.

VII. Such are the means which the Persians have constantly adopted to provide themselves with water in these deserts, from the time that they were first masters of Egypt. But as, at the time of which I speak, they had not this resource, Cambyses listened to the advice of his Halicarnassian guest, and solicited of the Arabian prince a safe passage through his territories; which was granted, after mutual promises of friendship.

VIII. These are the ceremonies which the Arabians observe when they make alliances, of which no people in the world are more tenacious. On these occasions some one connected with both parties stands betwixt them, and with a sharp stone opens a vein of the hand, near the middle finger, of those who are about to contract. He then takes a piece of the vest of each person, and dips it in their blood, with which he stains several stones purposely placed in the midst of the assembly, invoking, during the process, Bacchus and Urania. When this is finished, he who solicits the compact to be made, pledges his friends for the sincerity of his engagements to the stranger or citizen, or whoever it may happen to be; and all of them conceive an indispensable necessity to exist, of performing what they promise. Bacchus and Urania are the only deities whom they venerate. They cut off their hair round their temples, from the supposition that Bacchus wore his in that form; him they call Urotalt; Urania has the name of Alilat.

IX. When the Arabian prince had made an alliance with the messengers of Cambyses, he ordered all his camels to be laden with camel-skins filled with water, and to be driven to the deserts, there to wait the arrival of Cambyses and his army. Of this incident, the above seems to me the more probable narrative, There is also another, which however I may disbe

lieve, I think I ought not to omit. In Arabia is a large river called Corys, which loses itself in the Red Sea: from this river the Arabian is said to have formed a canal of the skins of oxen and other animals sewed together, which was continued to the abovementioned deserts, where he also sunk a number of cisterns to receive the water so introduced. From the river to the desert is a journey of twelve days; and they say that the water was conducted by three distinct canals into as many different places.

X. At the Pelusian mouth of the Nile, Psammenitus, the son of Amasis, was encamped, and expected Cambyses in arms.. Amasis himself, after a reign of forty-four years, died before Cambyses had advanced to Egypt, and during the whole enjoyment of his power, he experienced no extraordinary calamity. At his death his body was embalmed, and deposited in a sepulchre which he had erected for himself in the temple of Minerva. During the reign of his son Psammenitus, Egypt beheld a most remarkable -prodigy; there was rain in the Egyptian Thebes, a circumstance which never happened before, and which, as the Thebans themselves assert, has never occurred since. In the higher parts of Egypt it never rains, but at that period we read it rained at Thebes in distinct drops.

XI. The Persians having passed the deserts, fixed their camp opposite to the Egyptians, as if with the design of offering them battle. The Greeks and Carians, who were the confederates of the Egyptians, to show their resentment against Phanes, for introducing a foreign army against Egypt, adopted this expedient: they brought his sons, whom he had left behind, into the camp, and in a conspicuous place, and in the sight of their father, they put them one by one to death upon a vessel brought thither for that purpose. When they had done this, they filled the vase which had received the blood with wine and water; having drunk which, all the auxiliaries imme diately engaged the enemy. The battle was obstinately disputed, but after considerable loss on both sides, the Egyptians fled.

XII Ly the people inhabiting the place where this battle was fought, a very surprising thing was pointed out to my attention. The bones of those who fell in the engagement were soon afterwards collected, and separated into two distinct heaps. It was observed of the Persians, that their heads were so extremely soft, as to yield to the slight impression even of a pebble; those of the Egyptians, on the contrary, were so firm, that the blow of a large stone could hardly break them. The reason which they gave for this was very satisfactory-the Egyptians from a very early age shave their heads, which by being constantly exposed to the action of the sun, become firm and hard; this treatment also prevents baldness, very few instances of which are ever to be seen in Egypt. Why the skulls of the Persians are so soft may be explained from their being from their infancy accustomed to shelter them from the sun, by the constant use of turbans. I made the very same remark at Papremis, after examining the bones of those who, under the conduct of Achæmenes, son of Darius, were defeated by Inaros the African.

XIII. The Egyptians after their defeat fled in great disorder to Memphis. Cambyses despatched a Persian up the river in a Mitylenian vessel to treat with them; but as soon as they saw the vessel enter Memphis, they rushed in a crowd from the citadel, destroyed the vessel, tore the crew in pieces, and afterwards carried them into the citadel. Siege was immediately laid to the place, and the Egyptians were finally compelled to surrender. Those Africans who lived nearest to Egypt, apprehensive of a similar fate, submitted without contest, imposing a tribute on themselves, and sending presents to the Persians. Their example was followed by the Cyreneans and Barceans, who were struck with the like panic. Cambyses received the African presents very graciously, but he expressed much resentment at those of the Cyreneans, as I think, on account of their meanness. They sent him five hundred mine of silver, which, as soon as he received, with his own hands he threw amongst his soldiers.