Читать книгу The Story of Alexander онлайн

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It fell upon a day that Anectanabus was sitting in his palace hall on his daïs, and round him were his dukes and princes, and the great hall of the palace was filled with men in rich array. In that land, the king showed himself to men but rarely, and when he did so he was clothed in his noblest and fairest dress, with his crown on his head, and his nobles and all men were dressed in their best, so that the hall shone with gold, and sparkled and dazzled with gems and stones, and the blue and scarlet and purple and green of the nobles filled the place with a flood of colour. The chief men of a certain city had petitioned the king about a certain matter, and a great duke had just risen from his seat to speak about it, when a cry was heard outside, and through the open doors, past the great screen, a man in half armour covered with dust and foam rushed into the presence of the king. Then the heralds hurried up to him, and crossing their wands before him, asked of him his errand, and why he entered the hall of the king in such unseemly dress. But he, heeding their words never a whit, pressed forward, called out with a loud voice, “O King, the Persians are on us,” and straightway staggered, and fell down lifeless, for he had ridden hard without rest and sleep with the message of the lord warden of the sea.