my heart!" Saying this, the
tears chased each other down his cheeks in such abundance that they fell
upon the face of Dara. Again, he said, "Thy murderers shall meet with
merited vengeance, they shall be punished to the uttermost." Dara
blessed him, and said, "My end is approaching, but thy sweet discourse
and consoling kindness have banished all my grief. I shall now die with
a mind at rest. Weep no more--

"My course is finished, thine is scarce begun;
But hear my dying wish, my last request:
Preserve the honour of my family,
Preserve it from disgrace. I have a daughter
Dearer to me than life, her name is Roshung;
Espouse her, I beseech thee--and if Heaven
Should bless thee with a boy, O! let his name be
Isfendiyar, that he may propagate
With zeal the sacred doctrines of Zerdusht,
The Zendavesta, then my soul will be
Happy in Heaven; and he, at Nau-ruz tide,
Will also hold the festival I love,
And at the altar light the Holy Fire;
Nor will he cease his labour, till the faith
Of Lohurasp be everywhere accepted,
And everywhere believed the true religion."

Sikander promised that he would assuredly fulfil the wishes he had
expressed, and then Dara placed the palm of his brother's hand on his
mouth, and shortly afterwards expired. Sikander again wept bitterly, and
then the body was placed on a golden couch, and he attended it in sorrow
to the grave.

After the burial of Dara, the two ministers, Jamusipar and Mahiyar, were
brought near the tomb, and executed upon the dar.

Just vengeance upon the guilty head,
For they their generous monarch's blood had shed.

Sikander had now no rival to the throne of Persia, and he commenced his
government under the most favorable auspices. He continued the same
customs and ordinances which were handed down to him, and retained every
one in his established rank and occupation. He gladdened the heart by
his justice and liberality. Keeping in mind his promise to Dara, he now
wrote to the mother of Roshung, and communicating to her the dying
solicitations of the king, requested her to send Roshung to him, that he
might fulfil the last wish of his brother. The wife of Dara immediately
complied with the command, and sent her daughter with various presents
to Sikander, and she was on her arrival married to the conqueror,
acceding to the customs and laws of the empire. Sikander loved her
exceedingly, and on her account remained some time in Persia,