THE MARCH. 61 



carriages drawn by mules, or in cages upon camels. 

 Then came the army without order or precision ; and 

 there rose a dust which resembled a white cloud, and 

 which could be seen across the plain for miles. The 

 enemy, when this cloud drew near, could distinguish 

 within it the gleaming of brazen armour; and they 

 could hear the sound of the lash, which was always part 

 of the military music of the Persians. When a battle 

 was fought, the king took his seat on a golden throne, 

 surrounded by his secretaries, who took notes during 

 the engagement, and recorded every word which fell 

 from the royal lips. 



This army was frequently required by the Persians. 

 They were a restless people, always lusting after war. 

 Vast as their empire was, it was not large enough for 

 them. The courtiers used to assure an enterprising 

 monarch that he was greater than all the kings that 

 were dead, and greater than those that were yet un- 

 born ; that it was his mission to extend the Persian 

 territory as far as God's heaven reached, in order that 

 the sun might shine on no land beyond their borders. 

 Hyperbole apart, it was the aim and desire of the 

 kings to annex the plains of Southern Russia, and so to 

 make the Black Sea a lake- in the interior of Persia ; 

 and to conquer Greece, the only land in Europe which 

 really merited their arms. In both these attempts 

 they completely failed. The Russian Tartars, who had 

 no fixed abode, whose houses were on wheels, decoyed 

 the Persian army far into the interior, eluded it in 

 pursuit, harassed and almost destroyed it in retreat. 

 The Greeks defeated them in pitched battles on Greek 

 soil, and defeated their fleets in Greek waters. 



This contest, which lasted many years, to the Greeks 

 was a matter of life and death ; but it was merely 



