posal, and sent, accordingly, to make
the demand. The king, as the physician had anticipated, could not
endure to part with his daughter in such a way, nor did he, on the
other hand, dare to incur the displeasure of so powerful a monarch by
a direct and open refusal. He finally resolved upon escaping from the
difficulty by a stratagem.

There was a young and beautiful captive princess in his court named
Nitetis. Her father, whose name was Apries, had been formerly the King
of Egypt, but he had been dethroned and killed by Amasis. Since the
downfall of her family, Nitetis had been a captive; but, as she was
very beautiful and very accomplished, Amasis conceived the design of
sending her to Cyrus, under the pretense that she was the daughter
whom Cyrus had demanded. He accordingly brought her forth, provided
her with the most costly and splendid dresses, loaded her with
presents, ordered a large retinue to attend her, and sent her forth to
Persia.

Cyrus was at first very much pleased with his new bride. Nitetis
became, in fact, his principal favorite; though, of course, his other
wife, whose name was Cassandane, and her children, Cambyses and
Smerdis, were jealous of her, and hated her. One day, a Persian lady
was visiting at the court, and as she was standing near Cassandane,
and saw her two sons, who were then tall and handsome young men, she
expressed her admiration of them, and said to Cassandane, "How proud
and happy you must be!" "No," said Cassandane; "on the contrary, I am
very miserable; for, though I am the mother of these children, the
king neglects and despises me. All his kindness is bestowed on this
Egyptian woman." Cambyses, who heard this conversation, sympathized
deeply with Cassandane in her resentment. "Mother," said he, "be
patient, and I will avenge you. As soon as I am king, I will go to
Egypt and turn the whole country upside down."

In fact, the tendency which there was in the mind of Cambyses to look
upon Egypt as the first field of war and conquest for him, so soon as
he should succeed to the throne, was encouraged by the influence of
his father; for Cyrus, although he was much captivated by the charms
of the lady whom the King of Egypt had sent him, was greatly incensed
against the king for having practiced upon him such a deception.
Besides, all the important countries in Asia were already included
within the Persian dominions. It was plain that if any future progress
were to be made in ex