He was delighted at the sight of the young people; his soul, by a secret prescient movement, of which he knew not the cause, inclining towards his children. He thought this too an omen of victory, and joyfully exclaimed—"See! the gods, as our first spoils, deliver up to us our enemies in bonds. Let these then, as our first captives, be carefully preserved for our triumphant sacrifices to be offered, as the customs of Ethiopia require, to the gods of our country, when we shall have subdued our foes." And having praised and rewarded the captors, he sent them, together with their prisoners, to the rear of the army, ordering the latter to be kept under a guard (many of whom understood their language), to be treated, attended, and provided for in the most careful and splendid manner, and especially to be preserved from all contamination, as destined to be sacred victims. He directed their iron chains to be taken off, and fetters of gold to be put on in their room—for this metal is used by the Ethiopians in the way in which other nations use iron. His commands were obeyed; and the lovers, when they saw their first chains taken off, began to entertain hopes of liberty, which were soon crushed by the appearance and application of the golden ones.
Theagenes could not forbear smiling, and exclaimed—"Here is, indeed, a splendid mutation of fortune; the goddess is very kind to us, and changes our iron for gold: enriched by our fetters, we are become prisoners of high price."
Chariclea smiled at this sally, and tried to keep up his spirits, insisting that the more favourable predictions of the gods were beginning to be fulfilled, and endeavouring to soothe his mind with better hopes.
Hydaspes, who had flattered himself that he should take Syene at his first appearance, without opposition, being very nearly repulsed by the garrison, defending themselves bravely, irritated besides by insulting speeches, determined no longer to continue the blockade, by which, the city might at last be taken, to the destruction of some and the escape of others: but, by a new and unusual way of assault, to involve the town, and its defenders, in one common and universal ruin.
His plan of attack was this: he described a circle round the walls, which he divided into portions of ten cubits each, assigning ten men to every division, and ordering them to dig a wide and deep ditch. They dug it accordingly, while others, with the earth they threw out, raised a mound or wall parallel with, and nearly equal in height, to that of the place which they were besieging. The garrison made no attempt to hinder these operations—the besieging army was so numerous, that they durst not venture on a sally—and the works were carried on at such a distance from the walls, as to be out of the reach of their missile weapons.
When he had completed this part of his plan, with wonderful dispatch, owing to the multitude of men employed in it, and the diligence with which he urged on their labours, he proceeded to execute another work. He left a part of the circle, to the space of about fifty feet, plain and unfilled up. From each extremity of the ditch above described, he extended a long mound down to the Nile, raising it higher and higher as it approached the river. It had the appearance of two long walls, preserving all the way the breadth of fifty feet.
When he had carried on his lines so that they joined the river, he cut a passage for it, and poured its waters into the channel, which he had provided for them. They, rushing from higher into lower ground, and from the vast width of the Nile into the narrow channel, and confined by the mounds on each side, thundered through the passage and channel with a noise and impetuosity that might be heard at a great distance.
The fearful sight and sound struck the ears and met the eyes of the astonished inhabitants of Syene. They saw the alarming circumstances in which they were, and that the view of the besiegers was, to overwhelm them with the waters. The trenches which surrounded, and the inundation which was now fast approaching, prevented their escaping out of the city, and it was impossible for them to remain long in it, without the extremest danger; they took measures, therefore, as well as they were able, for their own protection.
In the first place, they filled up and secured every opening and crevice in the gates with pitch and tow; then they propped and strengthened the walls with earth, stones, and wood, heaping up against them anything which was at hand. Every one was employed; women, children, and old men; for no age, no sex, ever refuses labour when it is for the preservation of their lives. They who were best able to bear fatigue were employed in digging a subterraneous and narrow passage, from the city to the enemy's mound, which work was thus conducted:
They first sunk a shaft near the walls, to the depth of five cubits; and when they had dug it below the foundations, they carried their mine on forwards towards the bulwarks with which they were inclosed, working by torchlight; those who were behind receiving, in regular order, the earth thrown out from those who were before, and depositing it at length in a vacant place in the city, formerly occupied by gardens, where they raised it into a heap.