sued, having gained ground of the horses, stood still (for they exceeded them much in speed), and when these came up with them, they did the same thing again; so that our horsemen could take them by no other means but by dividing themselves into relays, and succeeding one another in the chase. The flesh of those that were taken was like that of red deer, but more tender. None could take an ostrich; the horsemen who pursued them soon giving it over: for they flew far away, as they fled, making use both of their feet to run, and of their wings when expanded as a sail to waft them along. As for the bustards, they may be taken, if one springs them hastily, they making short flights like partridges, and are soon tired. Their flesh was very delicious.

In marching through the country he came to the river Masca, a hundred feet in breadth, surrounding a large uninhabited city, called Corsote; whence, after continuing three days, taking in provisions, he made

few other birds: they are scarce to be approached by any contrivance, as I have been taught by many disappointments : possibly this may be owing to their exquisite sense of hearing; no bird having, in proportion to its size, so large an aperture to convey it. What Xenophon says concerning their short flights can only be understood of them before they are full grown; for, when they are so, they make flights of five or six miles with great ease. Pliny and Xenophon, like many other people, differ in their taste with relation to bustards; the first calls them damnatas in cibis; the last we find commends them.

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2 We have no roe-deer in the south of England. They are common in France, des chevreuils. I have often seen them hunted there: they run the foil more than a hare, and hunt shorter they have great speed; but, as they do not run within themselves, but often tappy, and consequently give frequent views, they seldom stand long even before the hounds. They are vastly less than our fallow-deer, and are very good meat, when fat, which seldom happens.

ninety parasangs in thirteen days' march, through a desert, still keeping the Euphrates on his right, and came to Pylæ; during which marches many sumpter horses died of hunger, there being no grass, or any other plant, but the whole country intirely barren; the inhabitants being employed near the river in digging mill-stones, which they afterwards fashioned and con-veyed to Babylon for sale, to buy provisions for their support. By this time the army wanted corn, and there was none to be bought, but in the Lydian market, which was in the camp of the barbarians, belonging to Cyrus, where a capithe of wheat or barley-meal was sold for four sigli. The siglus is worth seven Attic oboli and a half; and the capithe holds two Attic chonixes so that the soldiers lived on flesh! Some of these marches were very long, when Cyrus had a mind his army should go on till they came to water or forage. And once, where the road was narrow, and so deep, that the carriages could not pass without difficulty, Cyrus stopped, with those about him of the greatest authority and fortune, and ordered Glus and Pigres to take some of the barbarians belonging to his army, and help the carriages through; but thinking they went slowly about it, he commanded as in anger the most considerable Persians who were with him to assist in hastening on the carriages, which afforded an instance of their ready obedience; for, throwing off their purple robes, where each of them happened to stand, they ran as if it had been for a prize, even down a very steep hill, in their costly vests and embroidered drawers, some even with chains about their necks and bracelets round their wrists; and, leaping into the dirt with these, they lifted up the carriages, and brought them out sooner than can be imagined. On the whole, Cyrus appeared throughout to hasten their march,

stopping nowhere unless to get provisions, or for other things that were very necessary; he judging the quicker he marched, the more unprepared the king would be to encounter him, and the slower, the more numerous would be the king's army; for it was obvious to any person of attention that the Persian empire, though strong with regard to the extent of country and numbers of men, was however weak by reason of the great distance of places, and the division of its forces, when surprised by a sudden invasion.

In their march through the desert they discovered a large and populous city situated on the other side of the Euphrates, called Carmande, where the soldiers bought provisions, having passed over to it on rafts, by filling the skins,' which they made use of for tents, with dry hay, and sewing them together so close, that the water could not get therein: these provisions were such as wine made of the fruit of the palm-trees2 and panic, there being great plenty of this in the country.

1 This method of passing rivers was formerly much in use; as the soldiers' tents were generally made of skins, instead of canvass, they had always great numbers of them at hand. The tents of the Romans were also made of skins. Alexander, in his victorious march through Asia, passed several rivers in this manner, particularly the Oxus, the passage of which is described by Arrian in such a manner, that it is obvious to any one he had this description of Xenophon in his eye, which I think he explains much better than I can.

2 The fruit of the palm-tree is properly called dates, of which there is an infinite variety. Of these they make in Persia a wine, which is very agreeable, but does not keep well. Of this wine Cambyses, when he was in Egypt, sent a hogshead to the king of the Ethiopians as a present. With this wine the Egyptians washed their dead bodies before they embalmed them. By the way, I have always thought that the fruit of a certain palm-tree described by Pliny, who calls the trees syagri, answers exactly to the cocoa-nut. This palm-tree, he says, grew in that part of the Lower Egypt which he calls Chora Alexandriæ.

It was here that a dispute arose between Menon's soldiers and those of Clearchus: the latter, thinking one of Menon's men in the wrong, struck him; the soldier thereon informed his companions of it, who not only resented it, but were violently incensed against Clearchus, who, the same day, after he had been at the place where the men passed the river, and inspected the provisions, rode back to his own tent with a few attendants through Menon's army; and before the arrival of Cyrus, who was on his way thither, it happened that one of Menon's soldiers, as he was riving wood, saw Clearchus riding through the camp, and threw his axe at him, but missed him; then another, and another threw stones at him, on which a great outcry ensuing, many did the same. However, Clearchus escaped to his own quarter, and immediately ordered his men to their arms: commanding the heavy-. armed soldiers to stand still, resting their shields against their knees, and taking with him the Thracians and the horse, of whom he had above forty in his army, the greatest part Thracians, he rode up to Me-> non's men, who thereon were in great consternation, as well as Menon himself, and ran to their arms, while others stood amazed, not knowing what to do. Proxenus, for he happened to be coming after them at the head of his heavy-armed men, advanced between them both, and making his soldiers stand to their arms, begged of Clearchus to desist. But he took it very ill that, having narrowly escaped being stoned to death, the other should speak tamely of his grievance; and therefore desired he would withdraw from between them. In the mean time Cyrus came up, and being informed of what had happened, immediately took his arms, and with the Persians who were present rode between them, and spoke to them in the following

manner: Clearchus, and Proxenus, and you Greeks who are present! you are not sensible of what you are doing; for, if you fight with one another, be assured that I shall this day be destroyed, and you not long after; for if our affairs decline, all these barbarians whom you see before you will be greater enemies to you than those belonging to the king.' Clearchus hearing this, came to himself, and both sides resigning their anger, laid up their arms where they were before.

VI. While they were marching forward, there appeared the footing and dung of horses, which, by the print of their feet, were judged to be about two thousand, marching before, burning all the forage, and every thing else that could be of any use. There was a Persian, by name Orontas, a prince of the blood, and of reputation in military affairs equal to the most considerable among the Persians; having formed a design to betray Cyrus, with whom he had before been at war; but being now reconciled, told Cyrus, that if he would give him a thousand horse, he would place himself in ambuscade, and either destroy those horse that burned all before him, or take many of them prisoners, which would prevent them both from burning the country, and from being able to inform the king that they had seen his army. Cyrus thinking this proposal for his service, ordered him to take a detachment out of every troop belonging to the several commanders.

Orontas, presuming the horse were ready, wrote a letter to the king, acquainting him that he should come to him with as many horse as he could get, and desiring him to give orders at the same time to his own horse that they should receive him as a friend; reminding him also of his former friendship and fidelity. This letter he gave to a trusty person, as he thought,