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Thereafter Cambyses would have made war upon Carthage, but that the Phoenicians would not aid him; and against the Ethiopians, who are called "long-lived," but his army could get no food; and against the Ammonians, but the troops that went were seen no more. Now, madness came upon Cambyses, and he died, having committed many crimes, among which was the slaying of his brother Smerdis.
Cambyses and Smerdis were the only sons, but there were daughters, among whom Atossa was the most distinguished. The ladies of the court were accustomed to reside in different palaces, or in different suites of apartments in the same palace, so that they lived in a great measure isolated from each other.
In a word, Democedes found himself, by means of another unexpected change of fortune, suddenly elevated to a height as lofty as his misery and degradation had been low. He was, however, a captive still. The Queen Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, who has already been mentioned as the wife of Cambyses and of Smerdis the magian, was one of the wives of Darius. Her sister Antystone was another.
Darius told them that he had himself discovered the imposture and usurpation of Smerdis, and that he had come from Persia for the purpose of slaying him; and that now, since it appeared that the secret was known to so many, he was of opinion that they ought to act at once with the utmost decision. He thought there would be great danger in delay.
The marks of the mutilation could, indeed, on public occasions, be concealed by the turban, or helmet, or other head-dress which he wore; but in private there was great danger either that the loss of the ears, or the studied effort to conceal it, should be observed. Smerdis was, therefore, very careful to avoid being seen in private, by keeping himself closely secluded.
Smerdis, the grand chinchilla male brought over as a future mate for Atossa, is a royal cat. He looks as though he had run away from Bengal, but, like all of Mrs. Locke's cats, he is gentle and loving. His maternal grandparents are Silver King and Harebell, and his great-grandparents Perso and Beauty, all registered cats. On his father's side a pedigree of three generations can be traced.
Classes of savage nations. Embassadors sent to Ethiopia. The presents. The Ethiopian king detects the imposture. The Ethiopian king's opinion of Cambyses's presents. The Ethiopian bow. Return of the Icthyophagi. Jealousy of Cambyses. He orders Smerdis to be murdered. Cambyses grows more cruel. Twelve noblemen buried alive. Cambyses's cruelty to his sister. Her death. The venerable Croesus.
Like other wicked men, he found, in the end, that the schemes of wickedness which he had malignantly aimed at the destruction of others, had been all the time slowly and surely working out his own. The people of Persia, therefore, were prepared by Cambyses's own acts to believe that the usurper Smerdis was really Cyrus's son, and, next to Cambyses, the heir to the throne.
Besides this sister, Cambyses had brought his brother Smerdis with him into Egypt. Smerdis was younger than Cambyses, but he was superior to him in strength and personal accomplishments. Cambyses was very jealous of this superiority.
The few men whom Darius trusted were indeed rarely at Stakhar, the princes who had conspired against Smerdis, and Hydarnes and a few of the chief officers of the army, they were mostly in the various provinces, in command of troops and fortresses, actively employed in enforcing the measures the king was framing with Zoroaster, and which were to work such great changes in the destinies of the empire.
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