"Gorgias," he resumed, "was an Egyptian soldier; he is now no more, having been slain by the buccaneers. He conceived a passion for your wife, and being well acquainted with the nature of drugs, he compounded a love philtre which he persuaded your Egyptian servant to mix with Leucippe's drink; he neglected to dilute the potion, so that instead of producing love it brought on madness. I was informed of all this yesterday by Gorgias' servant, who accompanied his master against the buccaneers, and who seems to have been specially preserved by Fortune for your sake. He asks four pieces of gold for effecting your wife's recovery, having, as he says, a drug which will counteract the effects of that which has been administered." "All blessings attend you for this good service!" I exclaimed; "pray bring the man here of whom you speak."
No sooner was he departed on this errand, than going in to the Egyptian, I struck him repeatedly about the head with my clenched fist, saying at every blow, "What was it which you gave Leucippe? What is it which has caused her madness?" The fellow in his fright confessed everything, confirming what Chæreas had already said; upon which we thrust him into prison, and there kept him. By this time Chæreas had returned, bringing the man with him. "Here are your four gold pieces as the reward for your seasonable information; but before you proceed to do anything, hear my opinion. As this lady's illness has been caused by swallowing a drug, I cannot but think it dangerous to administer more physic while the stomach is already under the influence of medicine; tell me, therefore, what are the ingredients in your proposed remedy, and compound it in my presence; upon these conditions I will give you four more gold pieces." "Your apprehensions are reasonable," he replied; "but the ingredients in my medicine are all common and fit for human food, and I will myself swallow the same quantity which I give the lady." After specifying the various ingredients, he sent some one out to procure them; and as soon as they were brought, he pounded them together in our presence, made two draughts of them, saying, "one of them I will drink off, the other is for the lady; it will make her sleep all night, and in the morning she will awake quite recovered." He then swallowed the draught, and ordered the other to be taken at night. "I must now go and lie down," he said, "under the influence of the medicine." With these words he left us, having received the stipulated sum, and with the assurance of the additional reward being paid him, if Leucippe should recover. When the hour arrived for administering the draught, I poured it out, and thus addressed it:
"Offspring of the Earth, gift of Æsculapius, may the promises made of thee be verified; shew thyself propitious and preserve my beloved; subdue the power of that ruthless potion." Thus having entered into a kind of compact with the medicine, I kissed the cup and give it to Leucippe. She soon fell into a profound sleep, and while sitting beside her I said to her, as if she could still hear me, "Wilt thou really recover thy senses? Wilt thou know me again? Shall I hear that dear voice of thine? Give some token in thy sleep, as yesternight thou didst concerning Gorgias; happier are thy sleeping than thy waking hours; frenzy is thy portion when awake, but thou art inspired by Wisdom when asleep."
At length my words and thoughts were interrupted by the anxiously-expected break of day, and I heard Leucippe's voice calling me by name. Instantly I hurried to her side, and inquired how she felt; she appeared to have no knowledge of what had passed, and seeing that her hands were bound, expressed surprise, and inquired who had tied them. Finding her restored to her right mind, I undid the knots in great agitation, through excess of joy, and then related to her all particulars. She blushed upon learning what had passed, and almost believed herself to be still committing the same extravagance; but my assurances gradually soothed and restored her to herself. Gladly did I pay the man the sum which had been promised him, and fortunately our finances[21] were in safety, for Satyrus had our money about his person[22] at the time when we were shipwrecked, and neither he nor Menelaus had been plundered by the buccaneers. While what I have been relating took place, a much more powerful force arrived from the seat of government, which succeeded in completely destroying the pirate settlement.
As the river was now freed from any dangers on the part of these marauders, we prepared to sail for Alexandria, accompanied by Chæreas, for whom we had conceived a friendship on account of the discovery which he had made to us about the potion. He was a native of the Isle of Pharos, and his calling that of a fisherman; he had served in a naval expedition against the buccaneers, and at its termination had been discharged. The river which, owing to the depredations of the pirates, had for a long time been deserted, was now crowded with vessels; and a pleasant thing it was to hear the songs of the sailors and the mirth of the passengers, and to see so many craft passing up and down. Our voyage was like a continuous festival, and the river itself seemed to be keeping holiday.[23] I for the first time drank some of the Nile water, without any admixture of wine, being desirous to test its sweetness,—and wine, I may remark, always spoils the flavour of water. Having filled a transparent crystal glass, the liquid vied with, nay, surpassed it in brightness. It was sweet to the taste, and had an agreeable coldness, whereas some of the Grecian rivers are so very cold as to be injurious to the health. On this account the Egyptians have no fear in drinking its water, and stand in no need of wine.[24] Their way of drinking struck me as being curious. They do not draw up the water in a bucket, neither do they use any other cup than that which Nature has supplied,—their hand; when any one is thirsty he stoops over the side of the vessel, and, receiving the water in the hollow of his hand, jerks it upwards with such dexterity, that it is received into the open mouth, and not a drop is lost.
The Nile produces another monster, more noted for strength than even the river-horse, I mean the crocodile.[25] His shape is between that of a fish and a large animal. His length from head to tail is great, and out of proportion to his breadth; his skin is rough with scales; the surface of his back hard and of a black colour, while the belly is white. He has four legs, which bend in an oblique direction, like those of the land tortoise; his tail is long and thick, forming a solid mass, and differing from that of other animals in being the continuation of the spine, and therefore a constituent part of the body, and on the top it is set with sharp spines, like the teeth of a saw. It serves the crocodile for an implement with which to capture his prey; he strikes with it against his antagonist, and a single stroke will inflict several wounds. His head grows directly out of his shoulders in one line, for Nature has concealed his neck.[26] The most formidable part about him are his jaws, which open to an immense extent; so long as they remain closed they form a head, but when expanded to take in its prey, they become all mouth; (the animal, I may observe, moves only the upper jaw) for so great is their expansion that it reaches to the shoulders and to the orifice of the stomach. He has many teeth, which are disposed in long rows: they are said to equal the days of the year in number. Were you to see the animal on land, you would not suppose him to be possessed of so much strength, judging from his size.
[1] Herod. ii. 71, commits the same error, using the expression δίχηλον, whereas the foot of the animal is divided into toes like that of the elephant. In a note Mr. Blakesley remarks, that in some of the temples of Egypt, the animal is found depicted with cloven hoofs and huge projecting tusks, as described by Herodotus and Tatius.
[2] Compare Job's description of Leviathan. "Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth."—xli. 19-21.
[3] "The hide is upwards of an inch and a half in thickness; it is chiefly used for whips; the well-known 'cowhides' are made of this material."—Wood's Nat. Hist.