with her, and she invested the place, with a design to reduce it by force.

In the mean time, Chalcias having lost his life in the pursuit of Lathyrus, that prince, B. c. 102, taking advantage of the disorder occasioned in the army by the loss of their general, marched with all his troops into Egypt, hoping to find it unprovided with forces in the absence of his mother, who had carried her best troops with her into Phenicia. But his hopes were ill-founded. The forces which Cleopatra had left for the defence of the country bravely defended it, till others, which she had despatched from Phenicia upon receiving advice of the invasion, arrived. Lathyrus was, in consequence, obliged to return to Palestine, where he took up his winter quarters at Gaza.

Cleopatra pushed the siege of Ptolemais with so much vigour, that she at length reduced it. As soon as she entered the city, Alexander made her a visit, and brought rich presents with him to recommend himself to her favour. He was successful in his application; but what conduced most to this was, his hatred for her son Lathyrus, which alone was sufficient to insure him a favourable reception with Cleopatra; thus reversing the order of nature, whose dictates are, love to our offspring. An inspired prophet has asked-" Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?" Isa. xlix. 15; thereby indicating that such conduct was foreign to human nature. The history of Cleopatra declares that the tender mother may become the bitter persecutor of her offspring, that affection for them may be swallowed up in self-love and vain ambition; and that which is

the shade of immortality, And in itself a shadow,"

can transform the parent into a monster.

Some of Cleopatra's courtiers pointed out to her the fair opportunity she now had of making herself mistress of Judea, and all the dominions of Alexander, by seizing his person, earnestly pressing her to perform this foul act. The queen was inclined to follow their advice; but Ananias represented to her the infamy of such a deed: that it would be acting contrary to the honour and good faith, which are the foundations of society; that such conduct would be prejudicial to her interests; and that it would draw upon her the abhorrence of all the Jews dispersed throughout the world. He so

effectually prevailed by his arguments and influence with Cleopatra, that she abandoned the design, and renewed her alliance with Alexander, who having, after his return to Jerusalem, recruited his army, took the field anew, and crossing the Jordan, laid seige to Gadara.

Lathyrus having spent the winter at Gaza, and finding that all his efforts against Palestine were of no avail, so long as his mother opposed him, left the country, and returned to Cyprus. Cleopatra then sailed back into Egypt; and thus Palestine, says Josephus, was delivered from all foreign forces, to the great joy of the Jewish nation.

Being informed, upon her return to Alexandria, that Lathyrus had entered into a treaty, at Damascus, with Antiochus Cyzicenus, and that with the aid expected from him he was preparing to make a new attempt for the recovery of the crown of Egypt; to make a diversion, she gave her daughter Selene, whom she had taken from Lathyrus, to Antiochus Grypus, sending him at the same time a considerable supply of troops and money. By this means, Grypus being enabled to renew the war with his brother Cyzicenus, the latter was so entirely employed in defending himself, that he could not lend any assistance to Lathyrus, who was thereby obliged to forego his intentions, and return to Cyprus.

During these years, Ptolemy Alexander, the younger brother, acted the base part of a slave, under the specious appearance of a sovereign. At length, however, tired out with the indignities he suffered from this warlike fury, and terrified with the cruelty with which Cleopatra persecuted his brother Lathyrus, especially in thus taking from him his wife, and giving her to his enemy; and, moreover, observing that she did not scruple to commit the greatest crimes to gratify her ambition, that prince did not consider himself any longer safe near her, and therefore stole away privately from Alexandria, choosing rather to live in safety, than to reign with so wicked and cruel a mother, in continual danger of his life.

flight alarmed the queen; for she was well aware that the Alexandrians would not suffer her to reign without one of her sons. She therefore used all her art to prevail upon Alexander to return; and, after much solicitation, he was prevailed upon to accede to her request. Not long after, however, B. c. 89, Cleopatra, not being able to bear a companion in the supreme authority, nor to admit her son to share the honour of the throne with her, resolved to put him to death. The prince heard of her resolve, and he prevented

its performance by cutting her off first, thus punishing her for her crimes, but by a crime equal to her own. Surely, when we read of such dark deeds as these being committed without repugnance under the influence of paganism, we ought to lift up our heart unto the Giver of all good for the privileges we enjoy for living in a country where, and at an age when, doctrines are promulgated which inculcate the love of God and man, and which are calculated to bind mankind together in one holy bond of love and concord.

The crime of Alexander (for it was a crime which even his mother's evil designs cannot extenuate) did not remain unpunished. As soon as it was known that the son had caused the mother to be put to death, the enormity of the crime stirred up all his subjects against him. They would not suffer a parricide to reign over them, but drove him out of the country with ignominy, and recalled Lathyrus from Cyprus, and replaced him on the throne.

For some time, Alexander led a rambling life in the island of Cos, while his brother returned in triumph, amidst the acclamations of his people. But the next year, Alexander, having collected some ships, attempted to return into Egypt. He was met at sea by Tyrrhus, Ptolemy's admiral, who defeated him, and obliged him to flee to Myra, in Lycia. From Myra, he steered towards the island of Cyprus, hoping the inhabitants would declare in his favour, and place him on the throne, which his brother had vacated to return to Egypt. Choreas, another of Ptolemy's admirals, came up with him while he was preparing to land, and killed him in the engagement, after he had borne the title of king for the space of nineteen years.

But

During the troubles that disturbed Egypt, Apion, the natural son of Physcon, maintained peace and tranquillity in his dominions. At length, after a reign of twenty-one years, he died, devising Cyrenaica to the Romans, in order to secure them from the miseries in which the countries subject to the Egyptian government were involved.

Lathyrus, upon re-ascending the throne of Egypt, began to settle all things upon their ancient footing, and to remedy, as far as possible, the many disorders and abuses which had crept in during the late troubles. But the inhabitants of Thebes refused to submit to his regulations, and even attempted to shake off the yoke, and resume their ancient liberties. Lathyrus marched against the rebels, defeated them, and laid siege to their city, which they defended with incredi

At the end of that time, B. c.

ble obstinacy for three years. 82, he took it, and, by way of punishment, suffered the enraged soldiers to plunder it, who left every where melancholy marks of their avarice and cruelty. Thebes, which till then had been one of the greatest and wealthiest cities of Egypt, was reduced so effectually, that it never after made any figure in history.

Towards the latter end of the reign of Lathyrus, Lucullus being sent by Sylla to procure ships from the princes who retained any regard for the Roman name, in order to block up the ports of Piraeus and Munychia, landed at Alexandria; where the inhabitants, pursuant to the orders of Lathyrus, received him with those honours which were paid only to the kings of Egypt. The king, however, could not be prevailed upon to part with any of his ships, pretending that he was threatened with a civil war in his own dominions. He therefore dismissed Lucullus, after having presented him with his portrait, cut in an emerald of great value.

Lathyrus did not long survice the ruin of Thebes. The next year, B. C. 81, he died, after having reigned thirty-six years; eleven jointly with his mother in Egypt, eighteen in Cyprus, and seven alone in Egypt, after the death of his mother. He was succeeded by his only legitimate child, whose proper name was Berenice, but who, according to the established custom of that family, was called Cleopatra, under which name her brief history is here introduced.

CLEOPATRA.-ALEXANDER II.

Sylla, at the time of Cleopatra's accession to the throne, was perpetual dictator at Rome; and his power was so great, that he gave or took away crowns at pleasure. Hearing, therefore, that Lathyrus was dead, without male issue, he sent Alexander, the son of that Alexander who had reigned before Lathyrus, and murdered his mother, to succeed his uncle in the kingdom, as the next heir of the male line.

This Alexander had met with many adventures. When Cleopatra, the mother of Alexander and Lathyrus, marched with her army into Phenicia against the latter, she sent her grandson, Alexander, of whom we are now speaking, into the island of Cos, with a large sum of money, jewels, and other valuable articles, as noticed before. When Mithridates made himself master of that Island, the inhabitants delivered into his hands the Egyptian prince, and the treasures which Cleo

patra deposited there with him. The king of Pontus gave him an education suitable to his birth; but he, not thinking himself safe with a prince who had imbrued his hands in the blood of his own children, fled from the court of Mithridates, and took refuge in the camp of Sylla, who was then at war in Asia. From that time, he had resided in the dictator's family, some say, as a domestic, till news was brought to Rome of the death of Lathyrus. Sylla then sent him to take possession of the crown of Egypt, as the proper heir of the deceased king. But the Alexandrians having placed Cleopatra, the daughter of Lathyrus, on the throne, six months before his arrival in Egypt, some difficulty occurred. To compromise the matter, however, and avoid displeasing Sylla, the Alexandrians prevailed upon Alexander to marry Cleopatra, and reign jointly

with her.

The nuptials were celebrated with great pomp and magnificence; but Alexander, either out of dislike to Cleopatra, or wishing to have no associate on the throne, caused her to be assassinated, nineteen days after the marriage.

Porphyry and Appian tell us, that the Alexandrians, provoked at this murder, and the haughty and imperious airs their new king assumed, rose up in arms, surrounded his palace, and dragging him into the gymnasium, put him to death, after a reign of nineteen days. Suetonius and Cicero, however, make it manifest that he reigned fifteen years after this tragical act, during which time he made himself odious to his subjects by his cruelty and his vices, till at length they made a general insurrection, and would have sacrificed him to their resentment, had he not withdrawn from Egypt. He fled first to Pompey, who was then in that neighbourhood, carrying on the war with Mithridates, king of Pontus, and he offered him rich presents to espouse his cause, and restore him to the crown. But Pompey refused to meddle with this matter, as being foreign to his commission. Alexander then took refuge in the city of Tyre, whither he had sent before a great part of his treasures. While in this city, Alexander sent ambassadors to the Roman senate, to make an appeal against his rebellious subjects; but, dying before the negotiation was finished, he made over, by his last will, all his rights to the Roman people, declaring them heirs to his kingdom, in order that he might raise a dispute between Rome and his rival, Auletes, whom the Egyptians had placed on the throne. B. C. 65.