tainly the Sousighirli of Spon, and the Sousonghirli of Tournefort It is situated at the termination and on the back of the mountains which we had just passed. About five hundred paces from the village runs a river, and beyond this river extends a beautiful and spacious plain. This river of Sousonghirli is no other than the Granicus; and this unknown plain is the plain of Mysia. What is then the spell of glory? A traveller comes to a river, in which he observes nothing remarkable; he is told that the name of this river is Sousonghirli: he crosses it, and pursues his way. But should some one perchance call out to him: 'Tis the Granicus!---he starts, opens his astonished eyes, fixes them on the river, as if the water possessed a magic power, or as if a supernatural voice were to be heard on its banks. We halted three hours at Sousonghirli, and I spent the whole of that time in contemplating the Granicus. It is very narrow; the west bank is steep and rugged; and its water, which is bright and limpid, flows over a sandy bottom. This stream, in the place where I saw it, is not more than forty feet broad, and three and a half deep; but in spring it rises and runs with impetuosity. Let us hear what Plutarch says: "In the mean time, the generals of Darius had assembled an immense army, and had taken post upon the banks of the Granicus; so that Alexander was under the necessity of fighting there, to open the gates of Asia. Many of his officers were ap prehensive of the depth of the river, and the rough and uneven banks on the other side; and some thought that a proper regard should be paid to a traditionary usage with respect to the time, for the kings of Macedon never marched out to war in the month Dæsius. Alexander cured them of this piece of superstition, by ordering that month to be called the second Artemisius; and when Parmenio objected to his attempting a passage so late in the day, he replied: "The Hellespont would blush, if after having passed it, he should be afraid of the Granicus." At the same time he threw himself into the stream with thirteen troops of horse; and as he advanced in the face of the enemy's arrows, in spite of the steep banks which were lined with cavalry well-armed, and the rapidity of the river which often bore him down or covered him with its waves, his motions seemed rather the effects of madness than sound sense. He held on, however, till by astonishing efforts he gained the opposite bank, which the mud rendered extremely slippery and dangerous. When he was there, he was forced to stand an engagement with the enemy hand to hand, and with much confusion on his part, because they attacked his men as fast as they came over, before he had time to form them; for the Persian troops charging with loud shouts, and with horse against horse, made good use of their spears, and when those were broken, of their swords. "Numbers pressed hard upon Alexander, be cause he was easy to be distinguished, both by his buckler and his crest, on each side of which was a large and beautiful plume of white feathers. His cuirass was pierced by a javelin at the joint; but he escaped unhurt. After this, Rhoesaces and Spithridates, two officers of high distinction, attacked him jointly. The latter he avoided with great address, and received the former with such a stroke of his spear upon his breast-plate, that it broke in pieces. He then drew his sword to dispatch him, but his adversary still maintained the combat. In the mean time Spithridates came up on one side of him, and raising himself on his horse gave him a blow with his battle-axe, which cut off his crest, with one side of the plume; nay, such was its force, that the helmet could hardly resist it, and that it even penetrated to his hair. Spithridates was about to repeat his stroke, when the celebrated Clitus prevented him, by running him through the body with his spear. At the same time, Alexander with his sword brought Rhosaces to the ground. 1 "While the cavalry were thus furiously and critically engaged, the Macedonian phalanx passed the river, and then the infantry likewise engaged. The enemy made no considerable or long resistance, but soon turned their backs and fled; all but the Grecian mercenaries, who, forming upon an eminence, desired Alexander to give his word of honor that they should be spared. But that prince, influenced rather by his passion than his reason, instead of giving them quarter, advanced to attack them, and was so warmly received that he had his horse killed under him. It was not, however, the famous Bucephalus. In this dispute more of his men were killed and wounded than in all the rest of the battle; for here they had to do with experienced soldiers, who fought with a courage heightened by despair. "The barbarians, we are told, lost in this battle twenty thousand foot and two thousand five hundred horse; whereas Alexander had only thirtyfour men killed, nine of which were infantry. To do honor to their memory, he erected to each of them a statue in brass, the workmanship of Lysippus. And that the Greeks might have their share in the glory of the day, he distributed among them presents out of the spoil; to the Athenians, in particular, he sent three hundred bucklers. Upon the rest of the spoils he put this pompous inscription; "Won by Alexander the son of Philip, and the Greeks (excepting the Lacedæmonians) from the barbarians in Asia." It is one single individual, then, who thus immortalizes a 'little river in a desert! Here falls an immense empire, and here rises an empire still more immense; the Indian Ocean hears the fall of the throne that is overturned near the shores of the Propontis; the Ganges beholds the approach of the leopard with four wings, which triumphed on the banks of the Granicus; Babylon, which the * Daniel. king built in the splendour of his power, opens her gates to admit a new master; Tyre, the queen of ships, is humbled, and her rival springs up out of the sands of Alexandria. Alexander was guilty of crimes: he was unable to withstand the intoxication of his success, but by what magnanimity did he not atone for the errors of his life! His crimes were always expiated by his tears: with Alexander every thing came from the heart. He began and terminated his career with two sublime expressions. On his departure to make war upon Darius, he divided his dominions among his officers." What then do you reserve for yourself?" cried they in astonishment. Hope," was his reply."To whom do you leave the empire?" said these same officers to him when expiring. "To the most worthy," answered he. Place between these two expressions, the conquest of the world, achieved with thirty-five thousand men, in less than ten years, and you must admit that if ever man resembled a god among mortals, that man was Alexander. His. premature death adds something divine to his memory, for we behold him ever fair, young, and triumphant, without any of those corporeal infirmities, without any of those reverses of fortune which age and time are sure to bring. This divinity vanishes, and mortals are unable to sup. port the weight of his work. "His kingdom," says the prophet, "shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven."* * Daniel. |