The Story of Alexander

by Robert Steele

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.