ng knoll. At last_] things came to such a point
that Artamene found himself with fourteen others against
forty; so I leave you to judge, Sir [_Chrisante parle
toujours_], whether the party of the King of Pontus did not
believe they had conquered, and whether the Cappadocians had
not reason to think themselves beaten. But as, in this
fight, it was not allowed either to ask or to give quarter,
and was necessary either to win or to die, the most
despairing became the most valiant. [_The next stage is,
that in consequence of enormous efforts on his part, the
hero finds himself and his party ten to ten, which
"equality" naturally cheers them up. But the wounds of the
Cappadocians are the severer; the ten on their side become
seven, with no further loss to the enemy, and at last
Artamene finds himself, after three hours' fighting, alone
against three, though only slightly wounded. He wisely uses
his great agility in retiring and dodging; separates one
enemy from the other two, and kills him; attacks the two
survivors, and, one luckily stumbling over a buckler, kills
a second, so that at last the combat is single. During this
time the coward Artane abstains from intervening, all the
more because the one surviving champion of Pontus is a
personal rival of his, and because, by a very ingenious
piece of casuistry, he persuades himself that the two
combatants are sure to kill each other, and he, Artane,
surviving, will obtain the victory for self and country!_]

He is nearly right; but not quite. For after Artamene has wounded the
Pontic Pharnaces in six places, and Pharnaces Artamene in four (for we
wound "by the card" here), the hero runs Pharnaces through the heart,
receiving only a thigh-wound in return. He flourishes both swords, cries
"I have conquered!" and falls in a faint from loss of blood. Artane
thinks him dead, and without caring to come close and "mak sicker," goes
off to claim the victory. But Artamene revives, finds himself alone,
and, with what strength he has left, piles the arms of the dead
together, writes with his own blood on a silver shield--

TO
JUPITER
GUARDIAN OF TROPHIES,

and lies beside it as well as he can. The false news deceives for a
short time, but when the stipulated advance to the field takes place on
both sides, the discovery of the sur