frontier, he found his soldiers very averse to fighting
against Ptolemy, a general whom they had always regarded with extreme
respect and veneration, and who, as was well known, had governed his
province in Egypt with the greatest wisdom, justice, and moderation.
Perdiccas treated this disaffection in a very haughty and domineering
manner. He called his soldiers rebels, and threatened to punish them
as such. This aroused their indignation, and from secret murmurings
they proceeded to loud and angry complaints. Perdiccas was not their
king, they said, to lord it over them in that imperious manner. He was
nothing but the tutor of their kings, and they would not submit to any
insolence from him. Perdiccas was soon quite alarmed to observe the
degree of dissatisfaction which he had awakened, and the violence of
the form which it seemed to be assuming. He changed his tone, and
attempted to soothe and conciliate the minds of his men. He at length
succeeded so far as to restore some degree of order and discipline to
the army, and in that condition the expedition entered Egypt.[E]

[Footnote E: For the route taken by this expedition, see map.]

Perdiccas crossed one of the branches of the Nile, and then led his
army forward to attack Ptolemy in a strong fortress, where he had
intrenched himself with his troops. The forces of Perdiccas, though
much more numerous than those of Ptolemy, fought with very little
spirit; while those of Ptolemy exerted themselves to the utmost, under
the influence of the strong attachment which they felt for their
commander. Perdiccas was beaten in the engagement; and he was so much
weakened by the defeat, that he determined to retreat back across the
river. When the army arrived at the bank of the stream, the troops
began to pass over; but after about half the army had crossed, they
found, to their surprise, that the water, which had been growing
gradually deeper all the time, became impassable. The cause of this
deepening of the stream was at first a great mystery, since the
surface of the water, as was evident by marks along the shore,
remained all the time at the same level. It was at length ascertained
that the cause of this extraordinary phenomenon was, that the sands in
the bottom of the river were trampled up by the feet of the men and
horses in crossing, so that the current of the water could wash them
away; and such was the immense number of footsteps made by the
successive bodies of troops