The Story of Alexander

by Robert Steele

So the lord of the lists stood up and bade the heralds bring the knights before him, but they came back and told him how Porus lay deathlike on the field, yet was he unhurt to all seeming, so Ptolemy spake to Alexander and said, “Sir Alexander, thou hast done thy duly as a true knight, thine adversary is at thy mercy to slay or to spare.” Then Alexander answered, “Were it not for his traitorous dealing to my good steed I would forgive him yet again, nor may I slay him unarmed, but by to-morrow morn I will meet him again on foot, sword to sword, till one of us die.” Then the squires carried Porus away to his tent, and the Indian knights went away from the field shamefast, but the Persians and the Greeks rejoiced in the fame of their lord, and mourned over the death of the good steed Bucephalus. That day Alexander built a tomb for his horse and laid him there, and bitter were the tears he shed, for it seemed to him that the best days of his life were beginning to leave him, and his evil days had begun.

When the morrow came all men went again to their places, and the heralds and the trumpeters sat down in their seats, and Ptolemy bade silence. Then the two knights were brought before him, on foot, armed with sword and dagger, and he placed them before each other, and bade them fall to when the trumpet sounded. The heralds rose and made proclamation: “Lo ye, all men here present, these knights, Sir Alexander of Macedon and Sir Porus of India, be met for the agreement of certain differences between them; if now any man shall enter this field, or aid them in any way, he shall fall under pain of death, until this difference be voided.” Then all men kept silence, till the lord of the field let fall his sceptre and the trumpets rang out one shrill call.

Scarcely had the sound died away before the two knights began circling round each other, like birds watching an opportunity to dart in and seize their prey; but they dared not adventure, for Porus was tall and long of reach, and Alexander was nimble and long-armed and very mighty, and each man wished to strike a blow that would end the fight at once, and time after time they came near each other and stepped back again, till at the last Porus struck at the left shoulder of Alexander, which was just in his reach, and Alexander caught the blow on his shoulder, and running forward struck with his right arm alone, and drove his sword-edge through helm and cheek-bone and skull, and Porus fell dead on the ground, and the Greeks shouted with joy. Thus was the treason of Porus, his evil thoughts and his unknightly deeds, avenged by Alexander. But when he was dead the Lord of Macedon gave him burial like one of the kings, and he built over him a temple, with walls and towers and priests to pray for him perpetually.

At this time it fell that Candoyl, the eldest son of Candace the queen, came before his mother and said to her, “Fair mother and queen, grant me that I may leave thy lands and journey out into the world;” and she said, “Go, my son, with my blessing and leave, and tarry not till thou return.” So he got together much wealth and departed, with his wife and his servants, and came to a certain strong city called Bebrik, and harboured there, and when the morrow was come and he departed, the king of Bebrik came round and met him on a certain bent, and slew many of his men, and one of the king’s knights took the lady and bore her off to the town, shrieking and lamenting so as to pierce the heart of any true knight: for it is to be said that the king of Bebrik had loved her for many years. Then was Candoyl sore troubled, and he went on his way to the army of Alexander to seek his grace, if by any means he would help him to recover his lady and love. Soon he came near the camp and entered it, and the watchmen took him and brought him before Ptolemy, the most noble of the Greeks after Alexander, and he asked him, “What manner of man art thou, and what dost thou here? What is the cause of thy coming? Let us know thy name?” “Sire,” said he, “I am Candoyl, the son of Candace the conqueress,” and he told him of his coming, and of what befell him in the way. Then Ptolemy hurried from the tent, leaving Candoyl in ward of a knight, and went into the cabin where the King was lying, and found him asleep. So he waked him gently and told him the tidings, how a knight, the son of Candace the queen, had come to crave his help against the king of Bebrik, who had reft his wife from him.

Then said Alexander, “Go back again to thy tent, put on thy head the richest diadem I have, a crown of red gold, and a king’s mantle, and seat thee in the king’s seat as though thou wert myself, let my knights come about thee and call thee by my name with all due reverence, and then send messengers for me, and call me Antiochus, and I shall obey thy bidding as I were thy liegeman. And when I come to thy call, and kneel before thee, declare to me all the case of Candoyl’s adventure openly before him, and be not abashed when I bow, nor bid me not to rise, but let thy countenance be solemn when thou art speaking, and say then, ‘Antiochus, my noble, let us see thy wisdom in this matter, do thou wisely advise me.’” So Ptolemy hurried away and clothed him in the dress of an emperor, and sent for Alexander in the name of Antiochus, and when he was come, he told him the tale before Candoyl, and asked his advice. Then answered Antiochus, “Were it your will, noble Emperor, I would fare with this knight to recover his wife, and would bid the king of Bebrik on pain of his eyes restore her, and if not, we should grind his city and him to dust.” Then Candoyl bowed before the king, and said, “Sir Antiochus, of all men be thou happy, thy wisdom is worthy of a king clad in gold with crown and sceptre.” So Alexander and Candoyl rode forth that same night, and when it was dawn they came before the walls of Bebrik. Then the watch on the gate saw them, and cried out, “Who are ye, O knights; whence and what is your errand?” And Alexander answered, “It is Sir Candoyl, that has come for his spouse, and I am the messenger of the Lord of Macedon, and I bid you, if you will save your city from destruction, to yield his bride to him without delay.” Then the burghers of the city were filled with fear, though they were a stiff-necked folk, and they went in a body to the palace of their king, and burst open the gates and brought forth the dame, and led her to her husband in all honour. So Candoyl thanked him heartily, and said, “I pray thee, dear prince, pass with me to my mother, that thou mayst have the honour and reward thou hast merited for thy deeds.” Then was the King rejoiced at these words, and he said, “Go we to Alexander to ask his leave, and gladly will I follow thee and do thy will;” for he would not have him to think him other than Antiochus; so they went to Ptolemy and he gave him full leave to depart.

Now drew they near the city of Candace the queen, and she heard of the coming of Candoyl her son and his wife, and how she had been taken prisoner by the king of Bebrik, and released by a knight of Macedon, who was with them, and she was glad in her heart, and greatly rejoiced. Into a chamber she went and changed all her weeds, and put on a robe of red gold and a rich mantle over it, a crown and a kerchief clustered with gems, and came down from her palace gate surrounded by her knights, and found them before it. So she clasped her son in her arms and kissed him, and said, “Welcome be thou, my loved son, and thou, my dearest daughter, and I am glad of your guest, as the gods give me joy:” and Alexander looked on her, and his heart rejoiced, for he thought her likest of all women to Olympias his mother; fair and fresh was she as a falcon, or as some spirit from another world. So they came into her castle-hall, full of precious stones and adorned with gems, its pillars of porphyry, and its floor of bright crystal, clear as a river, and there they sat at meat—Alexander and Candace and Candoyl, served together at the high table.

On the morrow at first light Candace the queen came with her ladies and took the Greek knight Antiochus through the palace and showed him how richly it was built, and all the wonders in it, great and small. And when he had seen all these things she asked him of the palace of Alexander, and he told her how it was not so rich as hers, but was a home for fighting men to rest in, and to prepare for new wars, while the palaces of the Kings of the East were fitter to make men long for ease than to give them heart for the toil and danger of battle. Then said the Queen, “Other wonders still shall I show thee, O Antiochus, wonders that no king hath the like of,” and she bade her servants go forth, and giving her hand to the Greek led him into a room, covered with cypress and with cedar from floor to roof, where they sat down on two thrones in the room. Soon a mighty sound was heard, and as the Greek looked out he saw the trees and the fields and the town moving round him, and he knew that he was in a chamber that turned round by some hidden power. It is to be said that this room was turned round by the strength of twenty tame elephants that the queen kept for this end, and everyday she came and sat in the chamber and looked from the window while it was turned for a space. So as the false Antiochus looked he wondered and said, “Verily, O Queen, were such a wonder as this in our land of Macedon, proud would our lord the king be of it above all his treasures”; and Candace looked on him and said, “Alexander, this is but little to the wonders that the men of this land can show the Greeks.”

Then Alexander sprang up from his seat at the calling of his name, for well he knew the danger he was in, and all his face turned pale, since any of the kings of India would give his weight in gold to have him in their power, and he said, “Nay, lady, my name is Antiochus,” but she rose and took him by the hand with a kindly laugh, and going to the recess drew back the tapestry banging and shewed him a picture in parchment whereon he was painted dressed in his royal robes. “See for thyself,” said she, “that I have made no mistake.” Then as the king looked on the picture his face turned yellow, and his flesh trembled. “Why fades thy fair hue?” said the lady, “thou warrior of all the world, the conqueror of Persia and of India, the Medes and the Parthians! Lo, now, thou art here in a woman’s ward, in spite of all thy worthy deeds. Where is now thy praise that reaches up to heaven? It is gone at once, at the turning of the breath of a woman.” Then she waited for a space, but the lord of Macedon answered her naught, for his heart waxed hot within him, and he ground his teeth with rage as he looked hither and thither, so she said, “Why dost thou vex thy soul, Sir Conqueror, what may thy manhood avail thee, or all thy rage?” Then the King answered her and said, “For one thing only I grieve, that I have not my sword, nor may I see any weapon.” “And, my fair knight, what bold brave deed would thy sword help thee to, if thou hadst one?” “Since I am taken unawares,” quoth he, “surely I would slay thee where thou sittest, and myself after.” Then Candace the Queen laughed out, “That were the deed of a true knight,” said she, “but not yet are we to do and suffer such things; hast thou not rescued my son’s wife from the hands of the king of Bebrik? Surely I shall save thee unharmed from my folk. Yet were it known that thou wert here, not all my power could save thee, since thou hast slain the Lord of India, good Porus, whose daughter my youngest son Caratros has taken to wife. But no man has seen thy picture from the day I had it till now.” Then the Lord of Macedon came near her, and she took him by the hand and led him into the hall of the palace.

Now when Candace the Queen left Alexander in the hall she came on her two sons Candoyl and Caratros, and they were in sore strife. For after the Queen had borne away with her the Greek, Caratros said to his brother Candoyl, “Now has this Greek Lord slain my father-in-law, Porus the Good, and needs must I have revenge or my wife will go mad. I will slay this lord Antiochus, his friend and messenger, and when he comes to revenge his servant, I will go out and slay him in combat.” But Candoyl answered him, “My brother, the Lord of Macedon has helped me, and this knight, Sir Antiochus, has recovered for me my wife: I brought him hither, and I shall lead him in safety to his lord’s tents.” Then Candace the Queen said, “Caratros, my son, what honour will come to thee for slaying a guest and a friend? Shall anything come of it but sorrow?” But Caratros grew angry and said, “What ails thee brother, that we should strive with each other in this matter, leave me to do my will.” Then Candace the Queen went quickly and took Alexander into council and told him how her son wished to slay him, and how Candoyl would fight for him. “Lord Alexander,” said she, “I pray thee, make peace between my children.” Then Alexander rose up, and came to the room of the brethren, and the clash of swords was heard, so he caught up a weapon and ran between them and beat down their swords, saying, “Fair lords, this must not be, ye must not fight alone.” And after he had quieted them, he spake to Caratros in fair words, saying, “My good lord, if you end my life, you can win no praise for it, since I am in thy hands. Alexander has seven hundred knights as good as I am, if I were precious to him, would he have let me come in a strange land without ward or retinue? Not so, my lord, but if in truth you desire to look on Alexander, you need but give me the goods I crave for and I will immediately put that prince into your hands.” Then Caratros rejoiced, and kissed his brother in his joy; and Candace the Queen called to her Alexander and said, “Happy should I be, if you were ever with me, then should all my foes be destroyed.” So she gave him a crown of amethysts and diamonds, and a noble mantle, and dearly she kissed him, and bade him farewell. And the Lord of Macedon departed and with him Candoyl went as his guide, for he thought that Caratros his brother might again change his mind and work him evil, if the Greek knight returned alone to the camp; and he purposed to lead him through the mountains and to shew him the place where Candace his mother worshipped the great gods, and heard oracles of things to come, and teamed the mysteries of the gods.