tion: THE GALLEY OF CLEOPATRA.]

For three years Antony remained true to his new wife, and aided Octavius
in putting down the foes of Rome. Then, during a campaign in Syria, his
old passion for the fascinating Egyptian returned, he called Cleopatra
to him, dallied with her instead of prosecuting his march, and in the
end was forced to retreat in haste from the barbarian foe.

For three years now Antony was the willing slave of the enchanting
queen. The courage and stoical endurance of the soldier vanished, and
were replaced by the soft indulgence of the voluptuary. The rigid
discipline of the camp was exchanged for the idle and often childish
amusements of the Oriental court. Cleopatra enchained him with an
endless round of pleasures and profligacies. Now, while in a
fishing-boat on the Nile, the queen amused him by having salted fish
fixed by divers on his hook, which he drew up amid the laughter of the
party. Again she wagered that she would consume ten million sesterces at
a meal, and won her wager by drinking vinegar in which she had dissolved
a priceless pearl. All the enjoyments that the fancy of the cunning
enchantress could devise were spread around him, and he let the world
roll unheeded by while he yielded to their alluring charm.

Antony posed at festive tables in the character of the god Osiris, while
Cleopatra played the role of Isis. He issued coins which bore her head
and his. He gave away kingdoms and principalities in the East to please
her fancy. It was her hope and aim to lead her yielding lover to the
conquest of Rome, and to rule as empress of that imperial city.

But the madness of Antony led to destruction, not empire. The story of
his doings was repeated at Rome, where the voluptuary lost credit as
Octavius gained it. Antony's friends urged him to dismiss Cleopatra and
fight for the empire. Instead of this the infatuated madman divorced
Octavia and clung to the Egyptian queen.

This act led to an open rupture. Octavius, by authority of the senate,
declared war, not against Antony, but against Cleopatra. Antony was at
length roused. He gathered an army in haste, passed to Ephesus and
Athens, and everywhere levied men and collected ships. A last and great
struggle for the supreme headship of the Roman world was at hand.

Octavius was not skilled in war, but he had in Agrippa one of the ablest
of ancient generals, and was wise enough to trust all warlike operations
to him. Antony had strongly f