Cleopatra, being an account of the fall and vengeance of Harmachis, the royal Egyptian, as set forth by his own hand . and Magician-in-Chiefto the Queen, with the pay andperquisites of that office, whichwere not small. Rooms weregiven me in the palace, also,through which I passed at night tothe high watch-tower, whence Ilooked on the stars and drew theirauguries. For at this time Cleo-patra was much troubled aboutmatters political, and not knowing how the great struggleamong the Roman factions would end, but being very desirousto side with the strongest, she took constant counsel with meas to
Cleopatra, being an account of the fall and vengeance of Harmachis, the royal Egyptian, as set forth by his own hand . and Magician-in-Chiefto the Queen, with the pay andperquisites of that office, whichwere not small. Rooms weregiven me in the palace, also,through which I passed at night tothe high watch-tower, whence Ilooked on the stars and drew theirauguries. For at this time Cleo-patra was much troubled aboutmatters political, and not knowing how the great struggleamong the Roman factions would end, but being very desirousto side with the strongest, she took constant counsel with meas to the warnings of the stars. These I read to her in suchmanner as best seemed to fit the high interest of my Antony, the Roman Triumvir, was now in Asia Minor,and, rumour ran, very wroth because it had been told himthat Cleopatra was hostile to the Triumvirate, in that herGeneral, Serapion, had aided Cassius. But Cleopatra pro-tested loudly to me and others that Serapion had acted againsther will. Yet Charmion told me that, as with Allienus, itwas because of a prophecy of Dioscorides the unlucky that the 1. U4 CLEOPATRA Queen herself had secretly ordered Serapion so to do. Still,this did not save Serapion, for to prove to Antony that shewas innocent she dragged the General from the sanctuaryand slew him. Woe be to those who carry out the will oftyrants if the scale should rise against them ! And so Sera-pion perished. Meanwhile all things went well with us, for the minds ofCleopatra and those about her were so set upon affairs abroadthat neither she nor they thought of revolt at home. But dayby day our party gathered strength in the cities of Egypt, andeven in Alexandria, which is to Egypt as another land, allthings being foreign there. Day by day, those who doubtedwere won over and sworn to the cause by that oath whichcannot be broken, and our plans of action more firmly every other day I went forth from the palace to takecounsel with my uncle Sepa, and there a
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1894
