 Chapter 4 of Cleopatra. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Calm Dragon. Cleopatra by Jacob Abbott. Chapter 4. Cleopatra's Father. Rome, the rival of Alexandria. Extent of their rule. Extension of the Roman Empire. Cleopatra's Father. Ptolemy's ignoble birth. Caesar in Pompeii. Ptolemy purchases the Alliance of Rome. Taxes to raise the money. Revolt to Alexandria. Ptolemy's flight. Baranis. Her marriage with Salucas. Cleopatra's early life. Ptolemy, an object of contempt. Ptolemy's interview with Cato. Character of Cato. Ptolemy's reception. Cato's advice to him. Ptolemy arrives at Rome. His application to Pompeii. Action of the Roman Senate. Plans for restoring Ptolemy. Measures of Baranis. Her embassage to Rome. Ptolemy's treachery. Its consequences. Opposition to Ptolemy. The prophecy. Attempts to evade the oracle. Gabinius undertakes the cause. Mark Antony. His history and character. Antony in Greece. He joins Gabinius. Danger of crossing the deserts. Armies destroyed. Mark Antony's character. His personal appearance. March across the desert. Belusium taken. March across the delta. Success of the Romans. Baranis a prisoner. Fate of Arkelos. Grief of Antony. Unnatural joy of Ptolemy. When the time was approaching in which Cleopatra appeared upon the stage, Rome was perhaps the only city that could be considered as the rival of Alexandria in the estimation of mankind in respect to interest and attractiveness as a capital. In one respect Rome was vastly superior to the Egyptian metropolis and that was in the magnitude and extent of the military power which it welled among the nations of the earth. Alexandria ruled over Egypt and over a few of the neighboring coast islands but in the course of three centuries during which she had been acquiring her greatness and fame the Roman Empire had extended itself over almost the whole civilized world. Egypt had been, thus far, too remote to be directly reached but the affairs of Egypt itself became involved at length with the operations of the Roman power. About the time of Cleopatra's birth in a very striking and peculiar manner and as the consequences of the transaction where the means of turning the whole course of the queen's subsequent history a narration of it is necessary to a proper understanding of the circumstances under which she commenced her career. In fact it was the extension of the Roman Empire to the limits of Egypt and the connections which then arose between the leading Roman generals and the Egyptian sovereign which made the story of this particular queen so much more conspicuous and as an object of interest and attention to mankind than that of any other one of the ten Cleopatres who rose successively in the same royal line. Ptolemy Elites, Cleopatra's father, was perhaps in personal character the most dissipated, degraded and corrupt of all the sovereigns in the dynasty he spent his whole time in vice and debauchery the only honest accomplishment that he seemed to possess was the skill in playing upon the flute of this he was very vain he instituted musical contests in which the musical performers of Alexandria played for prizes and crowns and he himself was accustomed to enter the list with the rest as a competitor. The people of Alexandria and the world in general considered such pursuits as these wholly unworthy the attention of the representative aso illustrious a line of sovereigns and the abhorrence which they felt for the monarch's vices and crimes was mingled with a feeling of contempt for the meanness of his ambition. There was a doubt in respect to his title to the crown for his birth on the mother's side was irregular and ignoble instead however of attempting to confirm and secure his possession of power by vigorous and prosperous administration of the government he wholly abandoned all concern in respect to the course of public affairs and then to guard against the danger of being deposed he conceived the plan of getting himself recognized at Rome as one of the allies of the Roman people if this were once done he supposed the Roman government would feel under an obligation to sustain him on his throne in the event of any threatened danger the Roman government was a sort of republic and the two most powerful men in the state at this time were Pompey and Caesar Caesar was in the ascendancy at Rome at the time that Ptolemy made his application for an alliance Pompey was absent in Asia Minor being engaged in prosecuting a war with Mithridates a very powerful monarch who was at the time resisting the Roman power Caesar was very deeply involved in debt and was, moreover, very much in need of money not only for relief from existing embarrassments but as a means of subsequent expenditure to enable him to accomplish certain great political schemes which he was entertaining after many negotiations and delays it was agreed that Caesar would exert his influence to secure an alliance between the Roman people and Ptolemy on condition that Ptolemy paid him the sum of six thousand talents equal to about six millions of dollars a part of the money Caesar said was for Pompey the title of ally was conferred and Ptolemy undertook to raise the money which he had promised by increasing the taxes of his kingdom the measures, however which he thus adopted for the purpose of making himself the more secure in his possession of the throne proved to be the means of overthrowing him the discontent and disaffection of his people which had been strong and universal before, though suppressed and concealed broke out now into open violence that there should be laid upon them in addition to all their other burdens these new oppressions heavier than those which had they endured before and exacted for such a purpose too was not to be endured to be compelled to see their country sold on any terms to the Roman people was sufficiently hard to bear but to be forced to raise themselves and pay the price of the transfer was absolutely intolerable Alexandria commenced a revolt Ptolemy was not a man to act decidedly against such a demonstration or, in fact to invent either calmness or courage in any emergency whatever his first thought was to escape from Alexandria to save his life his second to make the best of his way to Rome to call upon the Roman people to come to the succor of their ally Ptolemy left five children behind him in his flight the eldest was the princess Baranese who had already reached maturity the second was the great Cleopatra this subject of this history Cleopatra was, at this time, about eleven years old there were also two sons but they were very young one of them was named Ptolemy the Alexandrians determined on raising Baranese to the throne in her father's place as soon as his flight was known they thought the sons were too young to attempt to reign in such an emergency as it was very probable that Aletes, the father would attempt to recover his kingdom Baranese very readily accepted the honor and power which were offered to her she established herself at her father's palace and began her reign in great magnificence and splendor in process of time she thought that her position would be strengthened by a marriage with a royal prince from some neighboring realm she first sent ambassadors to make proposals to the Prince of Syria named Antiochus the ambassadors came back bringing word that Antiochus was dead but that he had a brother named Saluchus upon whom the succession fell Baranese then sent them back to make the same offers to him he accepted the proposals came to Egypt and he and Baranese were married after trying him for a while Baranese found that for some reason or other she did not like him as a husband and accordingly she caused him to be strangled at length after various other intrigues and much secret management Baranese succeeded in a second negotiation and married a prince or a pretended prince from some country of Asia Minor whose name was Arkelos she was better pleased with the second husband than she had been with the first and she began at last to feel somewhat settled and established on her throne and to be prepared as she thought to offer effectual resistance to her father in case he should ever attempt to return it was in the midst of the scenes and surrounded by the influences which might be expected to prevail in the families of such a father and such a sister that Cleopatra spent those years of her life in which the character is formed during all these revolutions and exposed to all these exhibitions of licentious wickedness and of unnatural cruelty and crime she was growing up in the royal palaces as spirited and beautiful but indulged and neglecting child in the meantime Oledis the father went on toward Rome so far as his character and as a story were known among the surrounding nations he was the object of universal obliquy both on accounts of his previous career of degrading vice and now still more for this ignoble flight from the difficulties in which his vices and crimes had involved him he stopped on the way at the island of Rhodes it happened that Cato the great Roman philosopher in general was at Rhodes at this time Cato was a man of stern unbending virtue and of great influence at that period in public affairs Ptolemy sent a messenger to inform Cato of his arrival supposing of course that the Roman general would hasten on hearing of the fact to pay his respects to so great a personage as he a king of Egypt a Ptolemy though suffering under a temporary reverse of fortune Cato directed the messenger to reply that so far as he was aware he had no particular business with Ptolemy say however to the king he added that if he has any business with me he may call and see me if he pleases Ptolemy was obliged to suppress his resentment and submit he thought it very essential to the success of his plans that he should see Cato and secure if possible his interest and cooperation and he consequently made preparations for paying instead of receiving the visit intending to go in the greatest royal state that he could command he accordingly appeared at Cato's lodgings on the following day magnificently dressed and accompanied by many attendants Cato, who was dressed in the plainest and most simple banner and whose apartment was furnished in a style corresponding with the severity of his character did not even rise when the king entered the room he simply pointed with his hand and bade the visitor take a seat Ptolemy began to make a statement of his case with the view to obtaining Cato's influence with the Roman people to induce them to interpose in his behalf Cato, however far from evincing any disposition to espouse his visitor's cause censured him in the plainest terms for having abandoned his proper position in his own kingdom to go and make himself a victim and pray for the insatiable avarance of the Roman leaders nothing at Rome, he said but by the influence of bribes and all the resources of Egypt will not be enough to satisfy the Roman greediness for money he concluded by recommending him to go back to Alexandria and rely for his hope of the difficulties which surrounded him on the exercise of his own energy and resolution there Ptolemy was greatly abashed at this rebuff, but on consultation with his attendants it was decided to be too late now to return the whole party accordingly re-embarked on their galleys and pursued their way to Rome Ptolemy found, on his arrival at the city, that Caesar was absent in Gaul while Pompey, on the other hand who had returned victorious from his campaigns against Mithridates was now the great leader of influence and power at the capital this change of circumstances however, particularly unfavorable for Ptolemy was on friendly terms with Pompey as he had been with Caesar he assisted him in his wars with Mithridates by sending him a squadron of horse in pursuance of his policy of cultivating friendly relations with the Roman people by every means in his power besides, Pompey had received a part of the money which Ptolemy had paid to Caesar as the price of the Roman alliance and was to receive his share of the resting case Ptolemy should ever be restored Pompey was accordingly interested in favoring the royal fugitive's cause he received him in his palace entertained him in magnificent style and took immediate measures for bringing his cause before the Roman senate urging upon that body the adoption of immediate and vigorous measures for effecting his restoration as an ally whom they were bound to protect against his rebellious subjects there was at first some opposition in the Roman senate against espousing the cause of such a man but it was soon put down being overpowered in part by Pompey's authority and in part silenced by Ptolemy's promises and bribes the senate determined to restore the king to his throne and began to make arrangements for carrying the measure into effect the Roman provinces nearest to Egypt were Silesia and Syria countries situated on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea north of Judea the forces stationed in these provinces would be of course the most convenient for furnishing the necessary troops for the expedition the province of Silesia was under the command of consul Lentilus Lentilus was at this time at Rome he had repaired to the capital for some temporary purpose leaving his province and the troops stationed under the command for the time of a sort of lieutenant general named Gabinius it was concluded that this Lentilus with his Syrian forces should undertake the task of reinstating Ptolemy on his throne while these plans and arrangements were yet immature a circumstance occurred which threatened for a time wholly to defeat them it seems that when Cleopatra's father first left Egypt he had caused a report to be circulated that he had been killed in the revolt the object of this was to cover and conceal his flight the government of Baranice soon discovered the truth and learned that the fugitive had gone in the direction of Rome they immediately inferred that he was going to appeal to the Roman people for aid and they determined that if that were the case the Roman people, before deciding in his favor, should have the opportunity to hear their side of the story as well as his they accordingly made preparations at once for sending a very imposing embassage to Rome the deputation consisted of more than 100 persons the object of Baranice's government and sending so large a number was not only to invent their respect for the Roman people and their sense of the magnitude of the question at issue but also to guard against any efforts that Ptolemy might make to intercept the embassage on the way or to buy off the members of it by bribes the number, however large as it was, proved insufficient to accomplish this purpose the whole Roman world was at this time in such a condition of disorder and violence in the hands of the desperate and reckless military leaders who then bore sway that there were everywhere abundant facilities for the commission of any conceivable crime Ptolemy contrived with the assistance of the fierce partisans who had espoused his cause and who were deeply interested in his success on account of the rewards which were promised them to wail and destroy a large proportion of this company before they reached Rome some were assassinated some were poisoned some were tampered with and bought off by bribes a small remnant reached Rome but they were so intimidated by the dangers which surrounded them that they did not dare to take any public action in respect to the business which had been committed to their charge Ptolemy began to congratulate himself on having completely circumvented Ptolemy's daughter in her efforts to protect herself against his designs instead of that however it was soon proved that the effect of this atrocious treachery was exactly the contrary of what its perpetrators had expected the knowledge of the facts became gradually extended among the people of Rome and it awakened universal indignation the party who had been originally opposed to Ptolemy's cause seized the opportunity to renew their opposition and they gained so much strength from the general odium which Ptolemy's crimes had awakened that Pompey found it almost impossible to sustain his cause at length the party opposed to Ptolemy found or pretended to find in certain sacred books called the Sublime Oracles which were kept in the custody of the priest and were supposed to contain prophetic intimations of the will of heaven in respect to the conduct of public affairs the following passage if a king of Egypt should apply to you for aid treat him in a friendly manner but do not furnish him with troops for if you do you will incur great danger this made new difficulty for Ptolemy's friends they attempted at first to evade this inspired injunction by denying the reality of it there was no such passage to be found they said it was all an invention of their enemies this point seems to have been overruled and then they attempted to give the passage some other than obvious interpretation finally they maintained that although it prohibited the furnishing of Ptolemy himself with troops it did not forbid their sending an armed force into Egypt under leaders of their own that they could certainly do and then, when the rebellion was suppressed and Baranese government overthrown they could invite Ptolemy to return to his kingdom and resume his crown in a peaceful manner this they alleged would not be furnishing him with troops and of course would not be disobeying the oracle these attempts to evade the direction of the oracle on the part of Ptolemy's friends only made the debates and dissensions between them and his enemies more violent than ever Pompey made every effort in his power to aid Ptolemy's cause but Lentilus, after a long hesitation and delay decided that it would not be safe for him to embark in it at length, however, Gabinius, the lieutenant who commanded in Syria was induced to undertake the enterprise on certain promises which he received from Ptolemy to be performed in case he succeeded and with a certain encouragement not very legal or regular which Pompey gave him in respect to the employment of the Roman troops under his command he resolved to march to Egypt his route, of course would lie along the shores of the Mediterranean and through the desert to Pelusium which has already been mentioned as the frontier town on this side of Egypt from Pelusium he was to march through the heart of the Delta to Alexandria and, if successful in his invasion overthrow the government of Baranis and Arkelos and then, inviting Ptolemy to return reinstate him on the throne in the prosecution of this dangerous enterprise Gabinius relied strongly on the assistance of a very remarkable man then his second in command who afterward acted a very important part in the subsequent history of Cleopatra his name was Mark Antony Antony was born in Rome of a very distinguished family but his father died when he was very young and being left subsequently much to himself he became a very wild and disillent young man he wasted the property which his father had left him in folly and vice and then going on disparately in the same career he soon incurred enormous debts and involved himself in consequence in extricable difficulties his creditors continually harassed him with importunities for money and with suits at law to compel payments which he had no means of making he was likewise incessantly pursued by the hostility of the many enemies that he had made in the city by his violence and his crimes that length he absconded and went to Greece here Gabynius went on his way to Syria met him and invited him to join his army rather than to remain in his idleness and destitution Antony, who was as proud and lofty in spirit as he was degraded in morals and condition refused to do this unless Gabynius would give him a command Gabynius saw in the daring and reckless energy which Antony manifested the indications of the class of qualities which in those days made a successful soldier ascended to his terms he gave him command of his cavalry Antony distinguished himself in the Syrian campaigns that followed and was now full of eagerness to engage in this Egyptian enterprise in fact it was mainly his zeal and enthusiasm to embark in this undertaking which was the means of deciding Gabynius to consent to Ptolemy's proposals the danger and difficulty which they considered as most to be apprehended in the whole expedition was the getting across the desert to Pelusium in fact the great protection of Egypt had always been here isolation the trackless and desolate sands being holy destitute of water and utterly void could be traversed even by caravan of peaceful travelers only with great difficulty and danger for an army to attempt to cross them exposed as the troops would necessarily be to the assaults of enemies who might advance to meet them on the way and sure of encountering a terrible opposition from fresh and vigorous bands when they should arrive way worn and exhausted by the physical hardships of the way at the borders of the inhabited country was a desperate undertaking many instances occurred in ancient times in which vast bodies of troops in attempting marches over the deserts by which Egypt was surrounded destroyed by famine or thirst or overwhelmed by storms of sand these difficulties and dangers however did not at all intimidate Mark Antony the anticipation in fact of the glory of surmounting them was one of the main inducements which led him to embark in the enterprise the perils of the desert constituted one of the charms which made the expedition so attractive he placed himself therefore at the head of his troop cavalry and set off across the sands in advance of Gabinius to take Pelusium in order thus to open away from the main body of the army into Egypt Ptolemy accompanied Antony Gabinius was to follow with all his faults to call him by no severe name Mark Antony possessed certain great excellences of character he was ardent but then he was cool collected and sagacious and there was a certain frank generosity continually eventing itself in his conduct and character which made him a great favorite among his men he was at this time about 28 years old of a tall and manly form and of an expressive and intellectual cast of continents his forehead was high his nose aquiline and his eyes full of vivacity and life he was accustomed to dress in a very plain and careless manner and he assumed an air of the utmost familiarity and freedom in his intercourse with his soldiers he would join them in their sports joke with them and good-naturedly receive their jokes in return and take his meals standing with them around their rude tables in the open field such habits of intercourse with his men in a commander of ordinary character would have been fatal to his ascendancy over them but in Mark Antony's case these frank and familiar manners which seemed only to make military genius and the intellectual power which he possessed the more conspicuous and the more universally admired Antony conducted his troops of horsemen across the desert in a very safe and speedy manner and arrived before Pelusium the city was not prepared to resist him it surrendered at once and the whole garrison fell into his hands as prisoners of war Ptolemy demanded that they should all be immediately killed they were rebels he said and as such ought to be put to death Antony however as might have been expected from his character absolutely refused to allow any such barbarity Ptolemy since the power was not yet in his hands was compelled to submit and to postpone gratifying the spirit of vengeance which he had so long been slumbering in his breast to a future day he could the more patiently submit to this necessity since it appeared that the day of his complete and final triumph over his daughter and all her inheritance was now very nigh at hand in fact, Baranis and her government when they heard of the arrival of Antony and Ptolemy at Pelusium of the fall of that city and of the approach of Gubidius with an overwhelming force of Roman soldiers were struck with dismay Arkelos, the husband of Baranis had been informed a year as a personal friend of Antony's Antony considered in fact that they were friends still though required by what the historian calls their duty to fight each other for the possession of the kingdom the government of Baranis raised an army Arkelos took command of it and advanced to meet the enemy in the meantime, Gubidius arrived at the main body of the Roman troops and commenced his march in conjunction with Antony toward the capital as they were obliged to make a circuit to the southward in order to avoid the inlets and lagoons which on the northern coast of Egypt penetrate for some distance into the land their course led them through the heart of the delta many battles were fought the Romans everywhere gaining the victory the Egyptians soldiers were in fact the discontented and mutinous perhaps in part because they were considered the government on the side of which they were compelled to engage as after all a absorption at length the great final battle was fought which settled the controversy Arkelos was slain upon the field Baranis was taken prisoner their government was wholly overthrown and the way was open for the march of the Roman armies to Alexandria Mark Antony when judged by our standards was certainly as well as Ptolemy a depraved and vicious man but his depravity was of a very different type from that of Cleopatra's father the difference in the men in one respect was very clearly evinced by the objects towards which their interest and attention were respectfully turned after this great battle while the contest had been going on the king and queen of Egypt Arkelos and Baranis were of course in the view of both Antony and Ptolemy the two most conspicuous personages in the army of their enemies and while Antony would naturally watch with the greatest interest the fate of his friend Ptolemy would naturally follow him with the highest concern the destiny of his daughter accordingly when the battle was over while the mind of Ptolemy might as we should naturally expect be chiefly occupied by the fact that his daughter was made a captive Antony's we might suppose would be engrossed by the tidings that his friend had been slain the one rejoiced and the other mourned Antony sought for the body of his friend on the field of battle and when it was found he gave himself wholly to the work of providing for it a most magnificent burial he seemed at the funeral to lament the death of his ancient comrade with real and unaffected grief Ptolemy on the other hand was overwhelmed with joy at finding his daughter his captive the long wished for hour for the gratification of his revenge had come at last which he had made of his power when he was put in possession of it at Alexandria was to order his daughter to be beheaded End of Chapter 4 Cleopatra's father Recording by CalmDragon.net Chapter 5 of Cleopatra This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org by Elena Jordan Cleopatra by Jacob Abbott Chapter 5 A Session to the Throne Cleopatra Excitement in Alexandria Ptolemy Restored Acquiescence of the People Festivities Popularity of Antony Antony's Generosity Anecdote Antony and Cleopatra Antony Returns to Rome Ptolemy's Murders Pompey and Caesar Close of Ptolemy's reign Settlement of the Succession A Session of Cleopatra She is married to her brother Pothinus the Unic His Character and Government Machinations of Pothinus Cleopatra is Expelled Pothinus is Expelled Pothinus is Expelled Pothinus is Expelled Cleopatra is Expelled Cleopatra's Army Approaching Contest Caesar and Pompey Battle of Farsalia Pompey at Pelusium Treachery of Pothinus Caesar's Pursuit of Pompey His Danger Caesar at Alexandria Astonishment of the Egyptians Caesar presented with Pompey's Hit His Danger Caesar presented with Pompey's Head Pompey's Seal Situation of Caesar His Demands Conduct of Pothinus Quorals Policy of Pothinus Contensions Caesar sends to Syria for additional troops At the time when the unnatural quarrel between Cleopatra's father and her sister was working its way toward its dreadful termination as related in the last chapter She herself was residing at the royal palace in Alexandria a blooming and beautiful girl of about fifteen Fortunately for her she was too young to take any active part personally in the contention Her two brothers were still younger than herself They all three remained therefore in the royal palaces Quiet spectators of the revolution without being either benefited or injured by it It is singular that the name of both the boys was Ptolemy The excitement in the city of Alexandria was intense and universal when the Roman army entered it to reinstate Cleopatra's father upon his throne A very large portion of the inhabitants were pleased with having the former king restored it appears by a retrospect of the history of kings that when a legitimate hereditary sovereign or dynasty is deposed and expelled by a rebellious population no matter how intolerable may have been the tyranny or how atrocious the crimes by which the patience of the subject was exhausted The lapse of a very few years is ordinarily sufficient to produce a very general readiness to acquiesce in a restoration and in this particular instance there had been no such superiority in the government of Bernice during the period while her power continued over that of her father which she had displaced as to make this case an exception to the general rule The mass of people therefore all those especially who had taken no active part in Bernice's government were ready to welcome Ptolemy back to his capital those who had taken such a part were all summarily executed by Ptolemy's orders There was of course a great excitement throughout the city on the arrival of the Roman army all the foreign influence and power which had been exercised in Egypt thus far and almost all the officers whether civil or military had been Greek The coming of the Romans was the introduction of a new element of interest to add to the endless variety of excitements which animated the capital The restoration of Ptolemy was celebrated with games spectacles and festivities of every kind and of course next to the king himself the chief center of interest and attraction and all these public rejoicings would be the distinguished foreign generals by whose instrumentality the end had been gained Mark Antony was a special object of public regard and admiration at the time His eccentric manners his frank and honest air his Roman simplicity of dress and demeanor made him conspicuous and his interposition to save the lives of the captured garrison of Pellusium and the interest which he took in rendering such distinguished funeral honors to the enemy whom his army had slain in battle impressed the people with the idea of a certain nobleness and magnanimity in his character which in spite of his faults made him an object of general admiration and applause The very faults of such a man assume often in the eyes of the world the guise and semblance of virtues for example it is related of Anthony that at one time in the course of his life he was like a present of some kind to a certain person in requital for a favor which he had received from him he ordered his treasurer to send a sum of money to his friend and named for the sum to be sent an amount considerably greater than was really required under the circumstances of the case acting thus as he often did under the influence of a blind and uncalculating generosity The treasurer more prudent and master wished to reduce the amount but he did not dare directly to propose a reduction so he counted out the money and laid it in a pile in a place where Anthony was to pass thinking that when Anthony saw the amount he would perceive that it was too great Anthony in passing by asked what the money was the treasurer said it was the sum that he had ordered to be sent as a present to such a person naming the individual intended quick to perceive the object of the treasurer's maneuver he immediately replied Ha! is that all? I thought the sum I named would make a better appearance than that send him double the amount to determine under such circumstances as these to double an extravagance merely for the purpose of thwarting the honest attempt of a faithful servant to diminish it made to in so cautious and delicate a way is most certainly a fault but it is one of those faults for which the world in all ages will persist in admiring and praising the perpetrator in a word Anthony became the object of general attention and favor during his continuance at Alexandria whether he particularly attracted Cleopatra's attention at this time or not does not appear she however strongly attracted his he admired her blooming beauty her sprightliness and wit and her various accomplishments she was still however so young being but fifteen years of age while Anthony was nearly thirty that she probably made no very serious impression upon him a short time after this Anthony went back to Rome and did not see Cleopatra again for many years when the two Roman generals went away from Alexandria they left a considerable portion of the army behind them to aid him in keeping possession of his throne Anthony returned to Rome he acquired great renown by his march across the desert and by the successful accomplishment of the invasion of Egypt and the restoration of Ptolemy his funds too were replenished by the vast sums paid to him and to Gabinas by Ptolemy the amount which Ptolemy is said to have agreed to pay as the price of his restoration was two thousand talents equal to ten millions of dollars a sum which shows on how great a scale the operations of the celebrated campaign were conducted Ptolemy raised a large portion of the money required for his payments by confiscating the estates belonging to those friends of Bernice's government whom he ordered to be slain it was said in fact that the numbers were very much increased of those that were condemned to die by Ptolemy's standing in such urgent need of their property to meet his obligations Anthony through the results of this campaign found himself suddenly raised from the position of a disgraced and homeless fugitive to that of one of the most wealthy and renowned and consequently one of the most powerful personages in Rome the great civil war broke out between Caesar and Pompeii Anthony espoused the cause of Caesar in the meantime while the civil war between Caesar and Pompeii was raging Ptolemy succeeded in maintaining his seat on the throne by the aid of the Roman soldiers whom Anthony and Gabinias had left him for about three years when he found himself drawing toward the close of life the question arose to his mind to leave his kingdom Cleopatra was the oldest child and she was a princess of great promise both in respect to mental endowments and personal charms her brothers were considerably younger than she the claim of a son though younger seemed to be naturally stronger than that of a daughter but the commanding talents and rising influence of Cleopatra appeared to make it doubtful whether it would be safe to pass her by the father settled the question the way in which such difficulties were usually surmounted in the Ptolemy family he ordained that Cleopatra should marry the oldest of her brothers and that they too should jointly occupy the throne adhering also still to the idea of the alliance of Egypt with Rome which had been the leading principle of the whole policy of his reign he solemnly committed the execution of his will and the guardianship of his children by a provision instrument itself to the Roman senate the senate accepted the appointment and appointed Pompey as the agent on their part to perform the duties of the trust the attention of Pompey was immediately after that time too much engrossed by the civil war waged between himself and Caesar to take any active steps in respect to the duties of his appointment it seemed however that none more necessary for all parties in Alexandria appearing disposed after the death of the king to acquiesce in the arrangements which he had made and to join in carrying them into effect Cleopatra was married to her brother yet it is true only a boy he was about ten years old she was herself about eighteen they were both too young to govern they could only reign the affairs of the kingdom were conducted by two ministers whom their father had designated these ministers were Pothinas a eunuch who was a sort of secretary of state and Achilles the commander and chief of the armies thus though Cleopatra by these events became nominally a queen her real accession through the throne was not yet accomplished there were still many difficulties and dangers to be passed through before the period arrived when she became really a sovereign she did not herself make any immediate attempt to hasten this period but seems to have acquiesced on the other hand very quietly for a time in the arrangements which her father had made Pothinas was a eunuch he had been for a long time an officer of government under Ptolemy the father he was a proud, ambitious and domineering man determined very unscrupulous in respect to the means which he adopted to accomplish his ends he had been accustomed to regard Cleopatra as a mere child now that she was queen he was very unwilling that the real power should pass into her hands the jealousy and ill will which he felt toward her increased rapidly as he found in the course of the first two or three years after her father's death that she was advancing rapidly and in the influence and ascendancy which she was acquiring over all around her her beauty, her accomplishments and a certain indescribable charm which pervaded all her demeanor combined to give her great personal power but while these things awakened in other minds feelings of interest in Cleopatra and attachment to her they only increased the jealousy and envy of Pothinas Cleopatra was becoming his rival he endeavored to thwart and circumvent her he acted toward her in a haughty and overbearing manner in order to keep her down to what he considered her proper place as his ward for he was yet the guardian both of Cleopatra and her husband and the regent of the realm Cleopatra had a great deal of what is sometimes called spirit and her resentment was aroused by this treatment Pothinas took pains to enlist her young husband Ptolemy on his side as the quarrel advanced Ptolemy was younger and of a character much less marked and decided than Cleopatra Pothinas saw that he could maintain control over him much more easily and for a much longer time than over Cleopatra he contrived to awaken the young Ptolemy's jealousy of his wife's rising influence and to induce him to join in efforts to thwart and counteract it these attempts to turn her husband against her only aroused Cleopatra's resentment the more hers was not a spirit to be coerced the palace was filled with the dissensions of the rivals Pothinas and Ptolemy began to take measures for securing the army on their side an open rupture finally ensued and Cleopatra was expelled from the kingdom of Syria Syria was the nearest place of refuge and then besides it was the country from which the aid had been furnished by which her father had been restored to the throne when he had been expelled in a similar manner many years before her father it is true had gone first to Rome but the suckers which he had negotiated for had been sent from Syria Cleopatra hoped to obtain by going directly there nor was she disappointed she obtained an army and commenced her march toward Egypt following the same track which Antony and Gabinias had pursued in coming to reinstate her father Pothinas raised an army and went forth to meet her he took Achilles as the commander of the troops and the young Ptolemy as the nominal sovereign while he as the younger king's minister exercised the real power the troops of Pothinas advanced to Pelusium here they met the forces of Cleopatra coming from the east the armies encamped not very far from each other and both sides began to prepare for battle the battle however was not fought it was prevented by the occurrence of certain great and unforeseen events which at this crisis suddenly burst upon the scene of Egyptian history and turned the whole current of affairs into new and unexpected channels the breaking out of the civil war between the great Roman generals Caesar and Pompey and their respective partisans has already been mentioned as having occurred soon after the death of Cleopatra's father and as having prevented Pompey from undertaking the office of executor of the will this war had been raging ever since that time with terrible fury and violent thundering had been heard even in Egypt but it was too remote to awaken there any special alarm the immense armies of these two mighty conquerors had moved slowly like two ferocious birds of prey flying through the air and fighting as they fly across Italy into Greece and from Greece through Macedon into Thessaly contending in dreadful struggles with each other as they advanced at length a great final battle had been fought at Farsalia Pompey had been totally defeated he had fled to the seashore and there with a few ships and a small number of followers he had pushed out upon the Mediterranean not knowing whether to fly and overwhelmed with wretchedness and despair Caesar followed him in eager pursuit he had a small fleet of galleys with him on board of which he embarked two or three thousand men this was a force suitable perhaps for the pursuit of a fugitive but wholly insufficient for any other design Pompey thought of Ptolemy he remembered the efforts which he himself had made for the cause of Ptolemy Palletes at Rome and the success of those efforts in securing that monarch's restoration an event through which alone the young Ptolemy had been enabled to attain the crown of Ptolemy IV to Pelusium his little fleet off the shore sent to the land to ask Ptolemy to receive and protect him Pothinas, who was really the commander in Ptolemy's army made an answer to this application that Pompey should be received and protected and that he would send out a boat to bring him to the shore Pompey felt some misgivings in respect to this proffered hospitality but he finally concluded to go to the shore in the boat and send for him as soon as he landed the Egyptians by Pothinas's orders stabbed and beheaded him on the sand Pothinas and his consul had decided that this would be the safest course if they were to receive Pompey they reasoned Caesar would be made their enemy and if they refused to receive him Pompey himself would be offended and they did not know which of the two it would be safe to displease for they did not know in what way both the generals were to be allowed to live the war would ultimately end but by killing Pompey they said we shall be sure to please Caesar and Pompey himself will lie still in the meantime Caesar not knowing to what part of Egypt Pompey had fled pressed on directly to Alexandria he exposed himself to great danger in so doing for the forces under his command were not sufficient to protect him in case of his becoming involved in difficulties with the authorities there nor could he when once arrived on the Egyptian coast easily go away again for at the season of the year in which these events occurred there was a periodical wind which blew steadily toward that part of the coast and while it made it very easy for a fleet of ships to go to Alexandria rendered it almost impossible for them to return Caesar was very little accustomed to the danger in any of his enterprises and plans though still he was usually prudent and circumspect in this instance however his ardent interest in the pursuit of Pompey overruled all considerations of personal safety he arrived at Alexandria but he found that Pompey was not there he anchored his vessels in the port landed his troops and established himself in the city at these two events the assassination of one of the great Roman generals on the eastern extremity of the coast and the arrival of the other at the same moment at Alexandria on the western burst suddenly upon Egypt together like simultaneous claps of thunder the tidings struck the whole country with astonishment and immediately engrossed universal attention at the camps both of Cleopatra all was excitement and wonder instead of thinking of a battle both parties were wholly occupied and speculating on the results which were likely to accrue to one side or to the other under the totally new and unexpected aspect which public affairs had assumed of course the thoughts of all were turned toward Alexandria Pothinas immediately proceeded to the city taking with him the young king Achilles too either accompanied them or followed soon afterward they carried with them the head of Pompeii which they had cut off on the shore where they had killed him and also a seal which they took from his finger when they arrived at Alexandria they sent the head wrapped in a cloth and also the seal as presents to Caesar accustomed as they were to the brutal deeds and heartless casualties of the Ptolemies they suppose that Caesar would exult at the spectacle of the dissevered and ghastly head of his great rival and enemy instead of this he was shocked and displeased and ordered the head to be buried with the most solemn and imposing funeral ceremonies he however accepted and kept the seal the device engraved upon it was a lion holding a sword in his paw a fit album of the politics of the men who though in many respects magnanimous and just had filled the whole world with the terror of their quarrels the army of Ptolemy while he himself and his immediate counselors went to Alexandria was left at Pelusium under the command of other officers to watch Cleopatra Cleopatra herself would have been pleased also to repair to Alexandria an appeal to Caesar who it had been in her power to do so but she was beyond the confines of the country with the powerful army of her enemies ready to intercept her on any attempt to enter or pass through it she remained therefore at Pelusium uncertain what to do in the meantime Caesar soon found himself in a somewhat embarrassing situation at Alexandria he had been accustomed for many years to the possession and the exercise of the most absolute and despotic power wherever he might be and now that Pompey his great rival was dead he considered himself the monarch and master of the world he had not however at Alexandria any means sufficient to maintain and enforce such pretensions and yet he was not of a spirit to abate on that account in the slightest degree the advancing of them in the palaces of Alexandria as if he were himself the king he moved in state through the streets of the city at the head of his guards and displaying the customary emblems and supreme authority used at Rome he claimed the six thousand talents which Ptolemy Alides had formerly promised him for procuring a treaty of alliance with Rome and he called upon Pothinas to pay the balance due he said moreover that by the will of Alides the Roman people had been made the executor and that it devolved him as the Roman consul and consequently the representative of the Roman people to assume that trust and in the discharge of it to settle the dispute between Ptolemy and Cleopatra and he called upon Ptolemy to prepare and lay before him a statement of his claims and the grounds on which he maintained Ptolemy and Cleopatra on the other hand Pothinas, who had been as little accustomed to acknowledge a superior as Caesar though his supremacy and domination had been exercised on a somewhat humbler scale was obstinate and pertinacious in resisting all these demands though the means and methods which he exhorted to were of a character corresponding to his weak and ignoble mind he fomented quarrels in the streets of Alexandria and Populus and Caesar's soldiers he thought that as the number of troops under Caesar's command in the city and of vessels in the port was small he could tease and worried the Romans with impunity though he had not the courage openly to attack them he pretended to be a friend or at least not an enemy and yet he conducted himself toward them in an overbearing and agreed to make arrangements for supplying them with food and he did this by procuring damaged provisions of a most wretched quality and when the soldiers remonstrated he said to them that they who lived at other people's cost had no right to complain of their fare he caused wooden and earthen vessels to be used in the palace and said in explanation that he had been compelled to sell all the gold of the royal household to meet the exactions of Caesar he busied himself too about the city in endeavoring to excite Odium against Caesar's proposal to hear and decide the question at issue between Cleopatra and Ptolemy Ptolemy was a sovereign he said and was not amenable to any foreign power whatever thus without the courage or the energy to attempt any open manly of hostility he contented himself with making all the difficulty in his power by urging an incessant pressure of petty, vexatious and provoking but useless annoyances Caesar's demands may have been unjust but they were bold manly and undisguised the eunuch may have been right in resisting them but the mode was so mean and contemptible that mankind have always taken part with Caesar in the sentiments which they have formed as spectators of the contest with the very small force which Caesar had at his command and shut up as he was in the midst of a very great and powerful city in which both the garrison and the population were growing more and more hostile to him every day he soon found his situation was beginning to be attended with very serious danger he could not retire from the scene he probably would not have retired if he could have done so he remained therefore in the city conducting himself all the time with prudence and circumspection but yet maintaining as at first the same air of confident self-possession and superiority which always characterised his demeanor he however dispatched a messenger forthwith into Syria the nearest country under the Roman sway with orders that several legions which were hosted there should be embarked and forwarded to Alexandria with the utmost possible celerity End of Chapter 5 She resolves to go to Alexandria Caesar's address to the people its effects the mob dispersed Caesar convenes an assembly Caesar's decision satisfaction of the assembly festivals and rejoicings Pothinus and Achilles plot of Pothinus and Achilles escape of Achilles march of the Egyptian army measures of Caesar murder of the messengers intentions of Achilles assassination advance of Achilles Caesar's arrangements for defense Cleopatra and Ptolemy double dealing of Pothinus he is detected Pothinus beheaded Arsinoe and Ganymede flight of Arsinoe she is proclaimed queen by the army perplexity of the young Ptolemy In the meantime while the events related in the last chapter were taking place at Alexandria it was uncertain for a time what it was best for her to do she wished to be at Alexandria she knew very well that Caesar's power in controlling the course of affairs in Egypt would necessarily be supreme she was of course very earnest in her desire to be able to present her cause before him as it was Ptolemy and Pothinus were in communication with the arbiter and for Achinu assiduously cultivating his favor while she was far away her cause unheard and perhaps even her existence forgotten of course under such circumstances she was very earnest to get to Alexandria but how to accomplish this purpose was a source of great perplexity she could not march thither at the head of an army for the army of the king was strongly entrenched at Pellusium and effectually barred the way she could not attempt to pass alone or with few attendants through the country for every town and village was occupied with garrisons and officers Pothinus and she would be certainly intercepted she had no fleet and could not therefore make the passage by sea besides even if she could by any means reach the gates of Alexandria how was she to pass safely through the streets of the city to the palace where Caesar resided since the city except in Caesar's quarters was wholly in the hands of Pothinus's government the difficulties in the way of accomplishing her object seemed thus almost insurmountable she was however resolved to make the attempt she sent a message to Caesar asking permission to appear before him and plead her own cause Caesar replied urging her by all means to come she took a single boat and with the smallest number of attendants possible made her way along the coast to Alexandria the man on whom she principally relied in this hazardous expedition was a domestic named Apollodorus she had however some other attendants besides when the party reached Alexandria they waited until night then advanced to the foot of the walls of the citadel here Apollodorus rolled the queen up in a piece of carpeting and covering the whole package with the cloth he tied it with a thong so as to give it the appearance of a bale of ordinary merchandise and then throwing the load across his shoulder he advanced into the city Cleopatra was at this time about 21 years of age but she was of a slender and graceful form and the burden was consequently not very heavy Apollodorus came to the gates of the palace where Caesar was residing the guards at the gates asked him what it was that he was carrying he said that it was a present for Caesar so they allowed him to pass and the pretended porter carried his package in safely when it was unrolled and Cleopatra came out to view Caesar was perfectly charmed with the spectacle in fact the various conflicting emotions which she could not feel under such circumstances as these imparted a double interest to her beautiful and expressive face under her naturally bewitching manners guided by the adventure through which she had passed and yet pleased with her narrow escape from its dangers the curiosity and interest which she felt on the one hand in respect to the great personage into whose presence she had been thus strangely ushered was very strong but then on the other hand it was chastened and subdued by that feeling of timidity which in new and unexpected situations like these and under a consciousness of being the object of eager observation to the other sex is inseparable from the nature of women the conversation which Caesar held with Cleopatra deepened the impression which her first appearance had made upon him her intelligence and animation the originality of her ideas and the point and pertinence of her motive expressing them made her independently of her personal charms and exceedingly entertaining and agreeable companion she in fact completely won the great conqueror's heart and through the strong attachment to her which he immediately formed he became wholly disqualified to act partially between her and her brother in regard to their respective rights to the crown we call Ptolemy Cleopatra's brother for though he was also in fact her husband still as he was only 10 or 12 years of age at the time of Cleopatra's expulsion from Alexandria the marriage had been probably regarded thus far only as a mere matter of form Caesar was now about 52 he had a wife named Calpurnia to whom he had been married about 10 years she was living at this time in an unaustentatious and quiet manner at Rome she was a lady of an amiable and gentle character devotedly attached to her husband patient and forbearing in respect to his faults and often anxious and unhappy at the thought of the difficulties and dangers in which his ardent and unbounded ambition so often involved him Caesar immediately began to take a very strong interest in Cleopatra's cause he treated her personally with the fondest attention and it was impossible for her not to reciprocate to her degree the kind feeling with which he regarded her it was in fact something altogether new to her to have a warm and devoted friend espousing her cause tendering her protection and seeking in every way to promote her happiness her father had all his life neglected her her brother of years in understanding totally inferior to hers whom she had been compelled to make her husband had been her mortal enemy it is true that in depriving her of her inheritance and expelling her from her native land and only the tool and instrument of more designing men this however far from improving the point of view from which she regarded him made him appear not only hateful but contemptible too all the officers of government also in the Alexandrian court had turned against her because they had supposed that they could control her brother more easily if she were away thus she had always been surrounded by selfish mercenary and implacable foes now for the first time she seemed to have a friend a protector had suddenly risen to support and defend her a man of very alluring person and manners of a very noble and generous spirit and of the very highest station he loved her and she could not refrain from loving him in return she committed her cause entirely into his hands confided to him all her interests and gave herself up wholly into his power nor was the unbounded confidence which she reposed in him undeserved so far as related to his efforts to restore her to her throne the legions which Caesar had sent for into Syria had not yet arrived and his situation in Alexandria was still very defenseless and very precarious he did not however on this account abate in the least degree the loftiness and self-confidence of the position which he had assumed but he commenced immediately the work of securing Cleopatra's restoration this quiet assumption of the right and power to arbitrate and decide such a question as that of the claim to the throne in a country where he had accidentally landed and found rival claimants disputing for the succession while he was still wholly destitute of the means of enforcing the superiority which he so coolly assumed marks the immense ascendancy which the Roman power had attained at this time in the estimation of mankind and is besides specially characteristic of the genius and disposition of Caesar very soon after Cleopatra had come to him Caesar sent for the young Ptolemy and urged him the duty and expediency of restoring Cleopatra Cleopatra was beginning now to attain an age at which he might be supposed to have some opinion of his own on such a question he declared himself utterly opposed to any such design in the course of the conversation he learned that Cleopatra had arrived at Alexandria and that she was then concealed in Caesar's palace this intelligence awakened in his mind the greatest excitement and indignation he went away from Caesar's palace in a rage he tore the diadem which he was accustomed to wearing the streets from his head under his feet he declared to the people that he was betrayed and displayed the most violent indications of vexation and chagrin the chief subject of his complaint in the attempts which he made to awaken the popular indignation against Caesar and the Romans was the disgraceful impropriety of the position which his sister had assumed in surrendering herself as she had done to Caesar it is most probable however unless his character was very different from that of every other Ptolemy who awakened his jealousy and anger was fear of the commanding influence and power to which Cleopatra was likely to attain through the agency of so distinguished a protector rather than any other consequences of his friendship or any real considerations of delicacy in respect to his sister's good name or his own marital honor however this may be Ptolemy together with Puthinus and Achilles and all his other friends and adherents who joined him in the terrible outcry that he made against the coalition of Cleopatra and Caesar succeeded in producing a very general and violent tumult throughout the city the populace were aroused and began to assemble in great crowds full of indignation and anger some knew the facts and acted under something like an understanding of the cause of their anger others only knew that the aim of the sudden outbreak was to assault the Romans and were ready on any pretext known or unknown to join in any deeds of violence directed against these foreign intruders Ptolemy, far the larger portion who knew nothing and understood nothing but that there was to be a tumult and a riot in and around the palaces and were accordingly eager to be there Ptolemy and his officers had no large body of troops in Alexandria for the events which had thus far occurred since Caesar's arrival had succeeded each other so rapidly that a very short time had yet elapsed and the main army remained still at Pelusium the main force therefore by which Caesar was now attacked the population of the city headed perhaps by the few guards which the young king had at his command Caesar on his part had but a small portion of his forces at the palace where he was attacked the rest were scattered about the city he however seems to have felt no alarm he did not even confine himself to acting on the defensive he sent out a detachment of his soldiers with orders to seize Ptolemy and bring him in a prisoner soldiers trained, disciplined as the Roman veterans were and, nerved by the ardour and enthusiasm which seemed always to animate troops which were under Caesar's personal command could accomplish almost any undertaking against a mere populace however numerous or however furiously excited they might be the soldiers sallied out, seized Ptolemy and brought him in the populace were at first astounded at the daring presumption of this deed and then exasperated at the indignity of it considered as a violation the tumult would have greatly increased had it not been that Caesar who had now attained all his ends and thus having brought Cleopatra and Ptolemy both within his power thought it most expedient to allay it he accordingly ascended to the window of a tower or if some other elevated portion of his palace so high that missiles from the mob below could not reach him and began to make signals expressive of his wish to address them when silence was obtained he made them a speech well calculated by at the excitement he told them that he did not pretend to any right to judge between Cleopatra and Ptolemy as their superior but only in the performance of the duty solemnly assigned by Ptolemy Auletes the father to the Roman people whose representative he was other than this he claimed no jurisdiction in the case and his only wish in the discharge of the duty which devolved upon him to consider the cause was to settle the question in a manner just and equitable to all the parties concerned and thus arrest the progress of the civil war which if not arrested threatened to involve the country in the most terrible calamities he counseled them therefore to disperse and no longer disturb the peace of the city he would immediately take measures for trying the question between Cleopatra and Ptolemy and he did not doubt but that they would all be satisfied with his decision this speech made as it was in the eloquent and persuasive and yet dignified in imposing manner for which Caesar's harangues to turbulent assemblies like these were so famed produced a great effect some were convinced others were silenced and those whose resentment and anger were not appeased found themselves deprived of their power by the pacification of the rest the mob was dispersed and Ptolemy remained with Cleopatra in Caesar's custody the next day Caesar according to his promise convened an assembly of the principal people of Alexandria and officers of state and then brought out Ptolemy in Cleopatra he might decide their cause the original will which Ptolemy Auletes had executed had been deposited in the public archives of Alexandria and carefully preserved there an authentic copy of it had been sent to Rome Caesar caused the original will to be brought out and read to the assembly the provisions of it were perfectly explicit and clear it required that Cleopatra and Ptolemy should be married and then settled the sovereign power upon them jointly as king and queen it recognized the Roman Commonwealth as the ally of Egypt and constituted the Roman government the executor of the will and the guardian of the king and queen in fact so clear and explicit was this document that the simple reading of it seemed to be of itself a decision of the question when therefore Caesar announced that in his judgment Cleopatra was entitled to share the supreme power with Ptolemy and that it was his duty as the representative of the Roman power and the executor of the will to protect both the king and the queen and their respective rights there seemed to be nothing that could be said against his decision besides Cleopatra and Ptolemy there were two other children of Ptolemy in the royal family at this time one was a girl named Arsino the other a boy was singularly enough named like his brother Ptolemy these children were quite young but Caesar thought that it would perhaps gratify the Alexandrians and lead them to acquiesce more readily in his decision if he were to make some he accordingly proposed to assign the island of Cyprus as a realm for them this was literally a gift for Cyprus was at this time a Roman possession the whole assembly seemed satisfied with this decision except Pothinas he had been so determined and invetered an enemy to Cleopatra that as he was well aware her restoration must end in his downfall and ruin he went away from the assembly moodily determining that he would not submit to the decision to immediately adopt efficient measures to prevent his being carried into effect Caesar made arrangements for a series of festivals and celebrations to commemorate and confirm the re-establishment of a good understanding between the king and the queen and the consulment termination of the war such celebrations he judged would have great influence in removing any remaining animosities from the minds of the people and restore the dominion of a kind and friendly feeling throughout the city the people fell in with these measures but Pothinas and Achillus though they suppressed all outward expressions of discontentment made incessant efforts in secret to organize a party and to form plans for overthrowing the influence of Caesar and making Pothinas again the sole and exclusive sovereign Pothinas represented to all whom he could induce to listen to him that Caesar's real design was to make Cleopatra queen alone and to depose Pothinas and urged them to combine with him to resist the policy which would end Egypt under the dominion of a woman he also formed a plan in connection with Achillus for ordering the army back from Pelusium the army consisted of 30,000 men if that army could be brought to Alexandria and kept under Pothinas's orders Caesar and his 3,000 Roman soldiers would be, they thought, holy at their mercy there was however one danger to be guarded against in ordering the army to march toward the capital and that was that Ptolemy while under Caesar's influence would be in communication with the officers and so obtain command of its movements and thwart all the conspirator's designs to prevent this it was arranged between Pothinas and Achillus that the latter should make his escape from Alexandria proceed immediately to the camp at Pelusium resume the command of the troops there and conduct them himself to the capital and then in all these operations and also subsequently on his arrival he should obey no orders unless they came to him through Pothinas himself although sentinels and guards were probably stationed at the gates and avenues leading from the city Achillus contrived to effect his escape and join the army he placed himself at the head of the forces and commenced his march toward the capital Pothinas remained all the time within the city as a spy pretending to acquiesce in Caesar's decision and to be on friendly terms with him but really plotting for his overthrow and obtaining all the information which his position enabled him to command in order that he might cooperate with the army and Achillus when they should arrive all these things were done with the utmost secrecy and so cunning and adroit were the conspirators informing and executing their plots that Caesar seems to have had no knowledge of the measures which his enemies were taking until he suddenly heard that the main body of Ptolemy's army was approaching the city at least 20,000 strong in the meantime however the forces which he had sent for from Syria had not arrived and no alternative was left as well as he could with the very small force which he had at his disposal he determined however first to try the effective order sent out in Ptolemy's name to forbid the approach of the army to the city two officers were accordingly entrusted with these orders and sent out to communicate them to Achillus the names of these officers were Diascorides and Serapion it shows in a very striking point of view to what an incredible exaltation the authority and consequence of a sovereign king rose in those ancient days in the minds of men that Achillus at the moment when these men made their appearance in the camp bearing evidently some command from Ptolemy in the city considered it more prudent to kill them at once without hearing their message rather than to allow the orders to be delivered and then take the responsibility of disobeying them if he could succeed in marching to Alexandria and in taking possession of the city and then in expelling Caesar and Cleopatra and restoring Ptolemy to the exclusive possession of the throne he knew very well that the king would rejoice in the result and would overlook all the regularities on his part in the means by which he had accomplished it short of absolute disobedience of a known command whatever might be the commands that these messengers were bringing him he supposed that they doubtless originated not in Ptolemy's own free will but that they were dictated by the authority of Caesar still they would be commands coming in Ptolemy's name and the universal experience of officers serving under the military despots Ptolemy's ancient days showed that rather than to take the responsibility of directly disobeying a royal order once received it was safer to avoid receiving it by murdering the messengers Achilles therefore directed the officers to be seized and slain they were accordingly taken off and speared by the soldiers and then the bodies were borne away the soldiers however it was found had not done their work effectually there was no interest for them in such a cold-blooded assassination of compassion restrained their hands at any rate though both the men were desperately wounded only one died the other lived and recovered Achilles continued to advance toward the city Caesar finding that the crisis which was approaching was becoming very serious in its character took himself the whole command within the capital and began to make the best arrangements possible under the circumstances of the case to defend himself there his numbers were altogether too small the whole city against the overwhelming force which was advancing to assail it he accordingly entrenched his troops in the palaces and in the citadel and in such other parts of the city as it seemed practicable to defend he barricaded all the streets and avenues leading to these points and fortified the gates nor did he while thus doing all in his power to employ the insufficient means of defense already in his hands to the best advantage neglect the proper exertions for obtaining sucker from abroad sent off galleys to Syria, to Cyprus, to Rhodes and to every other point accessible from Alexandria where Roman troops might be expected to be found urging the authorities there to forward reinforcements to him with the utmost possible dispatch during all this time Cleopatra and Ptolemy remained in the palace with Caesar both ostensibly cooperating with him in his councils and measures for defending the city from Achilles Cleopatra of course was sincere and earnest in this cooperation but Ptolemy's common cause was very little to be relied upon although situated as he was he was compelled to seem to be on Caesar's side he must have secretly desired that Achilles should succeed and Caesar's plans be overthrown Puthinus was more active though not less cautious in his hostility to them he opened secret communication with Achilles sending him information from time to time of what took place within the walls and of the arrangements made there for the defense of the city against him and gave him also directions how to proceed he was very wary and sagacious in all these movements feigning all the time to be on Caesar's side he pretended to be very zealously employed in aiding Caesar to secure more effectually the various points where attacks were to be expected and in maturing and completing the arrangements for defense but notwithstanding all his cunning he was detected in his double dealing and his career was suddenly brought to a close before the great final conflict came on there was a barber in Caesar's household who for some reason or other began to suspect Puthinus and having little else to do he employed himself in watching the eunuch's movements and reporting them to Caesar Caesar directed the barber to continue his observations he did so his suspicions were soon confirmed and at length the letter which Puthinus had written to Achilles was intercepted and brought to Caesar this furnished the necessary proof of what they called his guilt and Caesar ordered him to be beheaded this circumstance produced of course a great excitement within the palace for Puthinus had been for many years the great ruling minister of state the king in fact in all but in name his execution alarmed a great many others who though in Caesar's power were secretly wishing that Achilles might prevail among those most disturbed by these fears was a man named Ganymede he was the officer who had charge of arsenal Cleopatra's sister the arrangement which Caesar had proposed for establishing her in conjunction with her brother Ptolemy over the island of Cyprus had not gone into effect for immediately after the decision of Caesar the attention of all concerned had been wholly engrossed by the tidings of the advance of the army and by the busy preparations which were required on all hands for the impending contest arsenal therefore with her governor Ganymede remained in the palace Ganymede had joined Puthinus in his plots and when Puthinus was beheaded he concluded that it would be safest for him to fly he accordingly resolved to make his escape from the city of Arseneau with him it was a very hazardous attempt but he succeeded in accomplishing it Arseneau was very willing to go for she was now beginning to be old enough to feel the impulse of that insatiable and reckless ambition which seemed to form such an essential element in the character of every son and daughter in the whole Ptolemyic line she was insignificant and powerless where she was but at the head of the army she might become immediately a queen it resulted in the first instance as she had anticipated Arseneau's army received her with acclamations under Ganymede's influence they decided that as all the other members of the royal family were endurance being held captive by a foreign general who had by chance obtained possession of the capital and were thus incapacitated for exercising the royal power the crown devolved upon Arseneau and they accordingly proclaimed her queen everything was now prepared for a desperate and determined contest for the crown between Cleopatra and Arseneau with Ganymede and Achilles for her chief officers on the other the young Ptolemy in the meantime remained Caesar's prisoner confused with the intricacies in which the quarrel had become involved and scarcely knowing now what to wish in respect to the issue of the contest it was very difficult to foresee whether it would be best for him that Cleopatra or that Arseneau should succeed End of Chapter 6 Chapter 7 of Cleopatra this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Alanna Jordan Cleopatra by Jacob Abbott Chapter 7 The Alexandrine War Forces of Caesar The Egyptian Army Fugitive Slaves Dangerous Situation of Caesar Presence of Caesar Influence of Cleopatra First Measures of Caesar Caesar's Stores Military Engines The Mole View of Alexandria Necessity of Taking Possession of the Mole Egyptian Fleet Caesar burns the Shipping The Fort Taken Burning of Alexandria Achilles Beheaded Plans of Ganymede His vigorous Measures Messengers of Ganymede Their Instructions Ganymede cuts off Caesar's supply of water Panic of the Soldiers Caesar's Wells Arrival of the Transylvanian Panic of the Soldiers Caesar's Wells Arrival of the Transports The Transports in Distress Loneness of the Coast A Combat Caesar's Successful Ganymede Equips a Fleet A Naval Conflict Caesar in Danger Another Victory The Egyptians Discouraged Secret Messengers Decimulation of Ptolemy Arrival of Mithridates Defeat of Ptolemy Terror and Confusion Death of Ptolemy Cleopatra Queen General Disappropriation of Caesar's Course Cleopatra's Son Caesarean Public Opinion of Her Conduct Caesar Departs for Rome He takes Arsenae with him The War which ensued as the result of the intrigues and maneuvers described in the last chapter is known in the history of Rome and Julius Caesar as the Alexandrine War The Events which occurred during the progress of it and its termination at last in the triumph of Caesar and the triumph of Caesar and the triumph of Caesar the last in the triumph of Caesar and Cleopatra will form the subject of this chapter Achilles had greatly the advantage over Caesar at the outset of the contest in respect to the strength of the forces under his command Caesar in fact had with him only a detachment of three or four thousand men a small body of troops which he had hastily put on board a little squadron of Rhodian galleys for pursuing Pompeii across the Mediterranean When he set sail from the European shores with his inconsiderable fleet it is probable that he had no expectation of even landing in Egypt at all and much less of being involved and great military undertakings there Achilles on the other hand was at the head of a force of twenty thousand effective men his troops were, it is true of a somewhat miscellaneous character but they were all veteran soldiers and neared to the climate of Egypt and skilled in all the modes of warfare which were suited to the character of the country some of them were Roman soldiers men who had come with the army of Mark Anthony from Syria when Ptolemy Alides Cleopatra's father had been stated on the throne and had been left in Egypt in Ptolemy's service when Anthony returned to Rome some were native Egyptians there was also in the army of Achilles a large number of fugitive slaves refugees who had made their escape from various points along the shores of the Mediterranean at different periods and had been from time to time incorporated into the Egyptian army the fugitives were all men of the most determined and desperate character Achilles had also in his command a force of two thousand horse such a body of cavalry made him of course perfect master of all the open country outside the city walls at the head of these troops Achilles gradually advanced to the very gates of Alexandria invested the city on every side and shut Caesar closely in the danger of the situation in which Caesar was placed was extreme but he had been so accustomed to succeed in extricating himself from the most imminent perils that neither he himself nor his army seemed to have experienced any concern in respect to the result Caesar personally felt a special pride and pleasure in encountering the difficulties and dangers which now beset him as Cleopatra was with him to witness his demeanor to admire his energy and courage and to reward by her love the efforts and sacrifices which he was making in espousing her cause she confided everything to him but she watched all the proceedings with the most eager interest elated with hope in respect to the result and proud of the champion who had thus volunteered to defend her word her heart was full of gratitude, admiration and love the immediate effect too of the emotions which she felt so strongly was greatly to heighten her natural charms the native force and energy of her character were softened and subdued her voice which always possessed a certain inexpressible charm was endued with the new sweetness through the influence of affection her countenance beamed with fresh animation and beauty and the sprightliness and vivacity of her character which became at later periods of her life, boldness and eccentricity now being softened and restrained within proper limits by the respectful regard with which she looked upon Caesar made her an enchanting companion Caesar was in fact entirely intoxicated with the fascinations which she unconsciously displayed under other circumstances than these a personal attachment so strong formed by a military commander while engaged in active service might have been expected to interfere in some degree with the discharge of his duties but in this case since it was for Cleopatra's sake and her behalf that the operations which Caesar had undertaken were to be prosecuted his love for her only stimulated the spirit and energy with which he engaged in them the first measure to be adopted was as Caesar plainly perceived to concentrate and strengthen his position in the city so that he might be able to defend himself there against Achilles until he should receive reinforcements from abroad for this purpose he selected a common group of palaces and citadels which lay together near the head of the long pier of Causeway which led to the pharaohs and withdrawing his troops from all other parts of the city established them there the quarter which he thus occupied contained the great city arsenals and public granaries Caesar brought together all the arms and munitions of war which he could find in other parts of the city and also all the corn and other provisions which were contained either in the public depots or in private warehouses and stored the hole within his lines he then enclosed the whole quarter with strong defenses the avenues leading to it were barricaded with walls of stone houses in the vicinity which might have afforded shelter to an enemy and the materials used in constructing walls wherever they were needed or in strengthening the barricades prodigious military engines made to throw heavy stones and beams of wood and other ponderous missiles were set up within his lines and openings were made in the walls and other defenses of the citadels wherever necessary to facilitate the action of these machines there was a strong fortress situated at the head of the pier or mole leading to the island of Ferris which was without Caesar's lines and still in the hands of the Egyptian authorities the Egyptians thus commanded the entrance to the mole the island itself also with the fortress at the other end of the pier was still in the possession of the Egyptian authorities who seemed disposed to hold it for Achilles the mole was very long as the island was nearly a mile from the shore there was quite a little town upon the island itself besides the fortress or castle built there to defend the place the garrison of this castle was strong and the inhabitants of the town too constituted a somewhat formidable population as they consisted of fishermen sailors, wreckers and such other desperate characters to congregate about such a spot Cleopatra and Caesar from the windows of their palace within the city looked out upon this island with the tall lighthouse rising in the center of it and the castle at its base and upon the long and narrow Ismus connecting it with the mainland and concluded that it was very essential that they should get possession of the post commanding as it did the entrance to the harbor which was on the south side of the mole and consequently on the side opposite to that which Achilles was advancing toward the city there were lying a large number of Egyptian vessels some dismantled and others manned and armed more or less effectively these vessels had not yet come into Achilles's hands but it would be certain that he would take possession of them as soon as he should gain admittance to those parts of the city which Caesar had abandoned this was extremely important to prevent for if Achilles held this fleet especially if he continued to command the island of pharaohs he would be perfect master of all the approaches to the city on the side of the sea he could then not only receive reinforcements and supplies himself from that quarter but he could also effectually cut off the Roman army from all possibility of receiving any it became therefore as Caesar thought imperiously necessary that he should protect himself from this danger this he did by sending out an expedition to burn all the shipping in the harbor and at the same time to take possession of a certain fort upon the island of pharaohs which commanded the entrance to the port this undertaking was abundantly successful the troops burned the shipping and held the Egyptian soldiers from it and put a Roman garrison into it instead and then returned in safety within Caesar's lines Cleopatra witnessed these exploits from her palace windows with feelings of the highest admiration for the energy and valor which her Roman protectors displayed the burning of the Egyptian ships in this action however fortunate for Cleopatra and Caesar was attended with a catastrophe which has ever since been lamented by the whole civilized world some of the burning ships were driven by the wind to the shore where they set fire to the buildings which were contiguous to the water the flames spread and produced an extensive conflagration in the course of which the largest part of the great library was destroyed this library was the only general collection of the ancient writings that had ever been made and the loss of it was never repaired the destruction of the Egyptian fleet resulted also in the downfall and ruin of Achilles from the time of Arsinoe's arrival in the camp there had been a constant rivalry and jealousy between himself and Ganymede the eunuch who had accompanied Arsinoe in her flight two parties had been formed in the army some declaring for Achilles and some for Ganymede Arsinoe advocated Ganymede's interests and when at length the fleet was burned she charged Achilles with having been by his neglect or incapacity the cause of the loss Achilles was tried, condemned and beheaded from that time Ganymede assumed the administration of Arsinoe's government as her minister of state and the commander in chief of her armies about the time that these occurrences took place the Egyptian army advanced into those parts of the city from which Caesar had withdrawn producing those terrible scenes of panic and confusion which always attend a sudden and violent change of military possession within the precincts of a city Ganymede brought up his troops on every side to the walls of Caesar's citadels and entrenchments and hemmed him closely in he cut off all avenues of approach to Caesar's lines by land and commenced preparations for an assault he constructed engines for battering down walls he opened shops and established forges in every part of the city for the manufacture of darts spears, pikes and all kinds of military machinery he built towers supported upon huge wheels with the design of filling them with armed men when readily available to make his assault upon Caesar's lines and moving them up to the walls of the citadels and palaces so as to give his soldiers the advantage of a lofty elevation in making their attacks he levied contributions on the rich citizens for the necessary funds and provided himself with men by pressing all the artisans laborers and men capable of bearing arms into his service he sent messengers back to the interior of the country in every direction summoning the people to arms and calling for contributions of money and military stores these messengers were instructed to urge upon the people that unless Caesar and his army were once expelled from Alexandria there was imminent danger that the national independence of Egypt would be forever destroyed the Romans they were to say they had sent one army into Egypt before under the command of Mark Antony under the pretense of restoring Ptolemy Olites to the throne now another commander with another force had come offering some other pretext for interfering in their affairs these Roman encroachments the messengers were to say would end in the complete subjugation of Egypt to a foreign power unless the people of the country arouse themselves to meet the danger manfully and to expel the intruders for some time the army within could not understand these changes and when at length they discovered the cause the soldiers were panic stricken at the thought that they were now apparently holy at the mercy of their enemies since without supplies of water they all immediately perish they considered it hopeless to attempt any longer to hold out and urged Caesar to evacuate the city embark on board his galleys and proceed to sea instead of doing this however Caesar ordering all other operations to be suspended employed the whole laboring force of his command under the direction of the captains of the several companies in digging wells in every part fresh water he said was almost invariably found at a moderate depth upon sea coasts even upon ground lying in very close proximity to the sea the digging was successful fresh water and great abundance was found thus this danger was passed and the men's fears effectually relieved a short time after these transactions occurred there came into the harbor one day along the shore west of the city a small sloop bringing the intelligence that a squadron of transports had arrived upon the coast to the westward of Alexandria and had anchored there being unable to come up to the city on account of an easterly wind which prevailed that season of the year the squadron was one which had been sent across the Mediterranean with arms ammunition and military wars for Caesar an answer to requisitions which he had made immediately after he had landed the transports being thus windbound on the coast and having nearly exhausted their supplies of water were in distress and they accordingly sent forward the sloop which was probably propelled by oars to make known their situation to Caesar and to ask for sucker Caesar immediately went himself on board one of his galleys and ordering the remainder of his little fleet to follow him he set sail out of the harbor and then turned to the westward with a view of proceeding along the coast to the place where the transports were lying all this was done secretly the land is so low in the vicinity of Alexandria that boats or galleys are out of sight from it at a very short distance from the shore in fact travelers say that in coming upon the coast the illusion produced by the spherical form of the surface of the water and the low and level character of the coast is such that one seems actually to descend from the sea to the land Caesar might therefore have easily kept his expedition a secret had it not been that in order to be provided with a supply of water for the immediately on reaching them he stopped at a solitary part of the coast at some distance from Alexandria and sent a party a little way into the interior in search for water this party were discovered by the country people and was intercepted by a troop of horse and made prisoners from these prisoners the Egyptians learned that Caesar himself was on the coast with a small squadron of galleys being spread in all directions the people flocked together from every quarter they hastily collected all the boats and vessels which could be obtained at the villages in that region and from the various branches of the Nile in the meantime Caesar had gone on to the anchorage ground of the squadron and had taken the transports in tow to bring them to the city for the galleys being propelled by oars were in a measure dependent of the wind on his return he found quite a formidable naval armament assembled to dispute the passage a severe conflict ensued but Caesar was victorious the navy which the Egyptians had so suddenly got together was as suddenly destroyed some of the vessels were burned others sunk and others captured and Caesar returned in triumph to the port with his transports and stores he was welcomed with the acclamations of his soldiers and still more warmly by the joy and gratitude of Cleopatra who had been waiting during his absence in great anxiety and suspense to know the result of the expedition aware as she was that her hero was exposing himself in it to the most imminent personal danger the rival of these reinforcements greatly improved Caesar's condition and the circumstance of their becoming forced upon the mind of Ganymede a sense of the absolute necessity that he should gain possession of the harbor if he intended to keep Caesar in check he accordingly determined to take immediate measures for forming naval force he sent along the coast and ordered every ship and galley that could be found in all the ports to be sent immediately to Alexandria he employed as many men as possible and around the city in building more he unroofed some of the most magnificent edifices to procure timber as a material for making benches and oars when all was ready he made a grand attack upon Caesar in the port and a terrible contest ensued for the possession of the harbor the mole, the island and the citadels and fortresses commanding the entrances from the sea Caesar well knew this contest would be a decisive one in respect to the final result of the war and he accordingly went forth himself to take an active and personal part in the conflict he felt doubtless too a strong emotion of pride and pleasure in exhibiting his prowess in the sight of Cleopatra who could watch the progress of the battle from the palace windows full of excitement at the dangers which he incurred admiration at the feats of strength and valor which he performed during this battle the life of the great conqueror was several times in the most imminent danger he wore a habit or mantle of the imperial purple which made him a conspicuous mark for his enemies and of course wherever he went in that place was the hottest of the fight once in the midst of a scene of most dreadful confusion and din he overloaded boat into the water and swam for his life holding his cloak between his teeth and drawing it through the water after him that it might not fall into the hands of his enemies he carried at the same time as he swam certain valuable papers which he wished to save holding them above his head with one hand while he propelled himself through the water with the other the result of this contest was another piece of victory for Caesar not only were the ships which the Egyptians had collected defeated and destroyed but the mole with the fortresses at each extremity of it and the island with the lighthouse and the town of pharaohs all fell into Caesar's hands the Egyptians now began to be discouraged the army and the people judging as mankind always do of the virtue of their military commanders and the experience of success began to be tired of the rule of Ganymede and Arsinoe they sent secret messengers to Caesar avowing their discontent and saying that if he would liberate Ptolemy who it will be recollected had been all this time held as sort of a prisoner of state in Caesar's palaces they thought that the people generally would receive him as their sovereign and that then an arrangement would easily be made for an amical adjustment of the whole controversy Caesar was strongly inclined to accede to this proposal he accordingly called Ptolemy into his presence and taking him kindly by the hand informed him of the wishes of the people of Egypt and gave him permission to go Ptolemy however begged not to be sent away he professed the strongest attachment to Caesar and the utmost confidence in him he very much preferred he said to remain under his protection Caesar replied that if those were his sentiments the separation would not be a lasting one if we part as friends he said we shall soon meet again by these and similar assurances he endeavored to encourage the young prince and then sent him away Ptolemy was received by the Egyptians with great joy and was immediately placed at the head of the government instead however to promote a settlement of the coral with Caesar he seemed to enter into it now himself personally with the utmost ardor and began at once to make the most extensive preparations both by sea and land for a vigorous prosecution of the war what the result of these operations would have been can now not be known for the general aspect of affairs was soon after these transactions totally changed by the occurrence of a new and very important event which suddenly intervened and which turned the attention of all parties both Egyptians and Romans to the eastern quarter of the kingdom the tidings arrived that a large army under the command of a general named Mithridates whom Caesar had dispatched into Asia for this purpose had suddenly appeared at Pelusium had captured that city and were now ready to march to Alexandria the Egyptian army immediately broke up its encampments in the neighborhood of Alexandria and marched to the eastward to meet these new invaders Caesar followed them with all the forces that he could safely take away from the city he left the city in the night and unobserved moved across the country with such celerity that he joined Mithridates before the forces of Ptolemy had arrived after various marches and maneuvers the armies met and a great battle was fought the Egyptians were defeated Ptolemy's camp was taken as the Roman army burst in upon one side of it the guards and attendants of Ptolemy fled upon the other clamoring over the ramparts and the utmost terror and confusion the foremost fell headlong into the ditch below which was thus soon filled to the brim with the dead and dying behind pressed on over the bridge thus formed trampling remorselessly as they fled on the bodies of their comrades who lay writhing, struggling and shrieking beneath their feet those who escaped reached the river they crowded together into a boat which lay at the bank and pushed off from the shore the boat was overloaded and it sank as soon as it left the land the Romans drew the bodies which floated to the shore upon the bank again and they found among them one which, by the royal cuirass which was upon it the customary badge and armor of the Egyptian kings they knew to be the body of Ptolemy the victory which Caesar obtained in this battle and the death of Ptolemy ended the war nothing now remained but for him to place himself at the head of the combined forces and march back to Alexandria the Egyptian forces which had been left there made no resistance and he entered the city in triumph he took Arseneuil prisoner he decreed that Cleopatra should reign as queen and that she should marry her youngest brother the other Ptolemy a boy at this time about eleven years of age a marriage with one so young was of course a mere form Cleopatra remained as before the companion of Caesar Caesar had in the meantime incurred great censure at Rome and throughout the whole Roman world for having thus turned aside from his own proper duties as the Roman council and the commander in chief of the armies of the empire to embroil himself in the quarrels of a remote and secluded kingdom with which the interests of the Roman Commonwealth were so little connected his friends and the authorities at Rome were continually urging him to return they were especially indignant at his protracted neglect of his own proper duties from knowing that he was held in Egypt by a guilty attachment to the queen thus not only violating his obligations to the state but likewise inflicting upon his wife, Calpurnia and his family at Rome an intolerable wrong but Caesar was so fascinated by Cleopatra's charms and by the mysterious and unaccountable influence which she exercised over him that he paid no heed to any of these remonstrances even after the war was ended he remained some months in Egypt to enjoy his favorites society he would spend whole nights in her company and feasting and revelry he made a splendid royal progress with her through Egypt after the war was over attended by a numerous train of Roman guards he formed a plan for taking her to Rome and marrying her there and he took measures for having the laws of the city altered so as to enable so though he was already married all these things produced great discontent and disaffection among Caesar's friends and throughout the Roman army the Egyptians too strongly censured the conduct of Cleopatra a son was born to her about this time whom the Alexandrians named from his father Caesarean Cleopatra was regarded in the new relation of mother which she now sustained not with interest and sympathy but with feelings of approach and condemnation Cleopatra was all this time growing more and more accomplished and more and more beautiful but her vivacity in spirit which had been so charming while it was simple and childlike now began to appear more forward and bold it is the characteristic of pure and lawful love to soften a subdue the heart and infuse a gentle and quiet spirit that which breaks over the barriers that God and nature have marked out for it tends to make women masculine and bold to injure it all her sensibilities and to destroy that gentleness and timidity of demeanor which have so great an influence in heightening her charms Cleopatra was beginning to experience these effects she was indifferent to the opinions of her subjects and was only anxious to maintain as long as possible her loyalty ascendancy over Caesar Caesar however finally determined to set out on his return to the capital leaving Cleopatra accordingly a sufficient force to secure the continuance of her power he embarked the remainder of his forces in his transports and galleys and sailed away he took the unhappy Arsinoe with him intending to exhibit her as a trophy to his Egyptian victories on his arrival at Rome End of Chapter 7