efeat of the
Egyptians.--Inhuman conduct of Cambyses.--His treatment of
Psammenitus.--The train of captive maidens.--The young men.--Scenes
of distress and suffering.--Composure of Psammenitus.--Feelings of the
father.--His explanation of them.--Cambyses relents.--His treatment of
the body of Amasis.--Cambyses's desecrations.--The sacred bull
Apis.--Cambyses stabs the sacred bull.--His mad expeditions.--The sand
storm.--Cambyses a wine-bibber.--Brutal act of Cambyses.--He is deemed
insane.

About five or six hundred years before Christ, almost the whole of the
interior of Asia was united in one vast empire. The founder of this
empire was Cyrus the Great. He was originally a Persian; and the whole
empire is often called the Persian monarchy, taking its name from its
founder's native land.

Cyrus was not contented with having annexed to his dominion all the
civilized states of Asia. In the latter part of his life, he conceived
the idea that there might possibly be some additional glory and power
to be acquired in subduing certain half-savage regions in the north,
beyond the Araxes. He accordingly raised an army, and set off on an
expedition for this purpose, against a country which was governed by a
barbarian queen named Tomyris. He met with a variety of adventures on
this expedition, all of which are fully detailed in our history of
Cyrus. There is, however, only one occurrence that it is necessary to
allude to particularly here. That one relates to a remarkable dream
which he had one night, just after he had crossed the river.

To explain properly the nature of this dream, it is necessary first to
state that Cyrus had two sons. Their names were Cambyses and Smerdis.
He had left them in Persia when he set out on his expedition across
the Araxes. There was also a young man, then about twenty years of
age, in one of his capitals, named Darius. He was the son of one of
the nobles of Cyrus's court. His father's name was Hystaspes.
Hystaspes, besides being a noble of the court, was also, as almost all
nobles were in those days, an officer of the army. He accompanied
Cyrus in his march into the territories of the barbarian queen, and
was with him there, in camp, at the time when this narrative
commences.

Cyrus, it seems, felt some misgivings in respect to the result of his
enterprise; and, in order to insure the tranquillity of his empire
during his absence, and the secure transmission of his power to his
rightful suc