Page:A Biographical Dictionary of the Celebrated Women of Every Age and Country (1804).djvu/677

Rh In short Cyrus gave her the most honourable treatment. This charmed Panthea so much, that she prevailed with her husband to come over with his troops to him. Abradates asking his consort, what return he should make him for his great humanity and kindness, she replied, 'Only endeavour to behave as generously towards him, as he has done towards you.' Abradates after this, offered his service to that monarch, who accepted of it. Panthea equipped her husband for the fight, exhorted him to behave courageously, and took a most tender farewell. Abradates upon this went and joined Cyrus, and coming to an engagement, he fought with the utmost intrepidity; but was thrown out of his chariot, and being afterwards deserted by his friends, fell in the field. Panthea found his corpse, and, laying it in her own sedan, brought it to the river Pactolus. Her slaves dug a grave upon a little hillock, whilst she herself was sitting on the ground, with his head in her lap, dressing him with all the ornaments she had about her. Cyrus came to the place where Panthea was sitting by the corpse, and the mournful spectacle drew tears from his eyes. Afterwards, speaking in the most tender terms, he took hold of Abradates's hand, which came off into his, it having been cut through with an Egyptian spear. This greatly increased the grief of Cyrus; but as for Panthea, she was inconsolable, and taking the hand from Cyrus, kissed it, and fixed it on again as well as she could, crying out, 'The rest, O Cyrus, is as this;' and then 'I am sensible, that I am the chief cause of this catastrophe. For I was silly enough to exhort him to perform some action, by which he might prove how much he was your friend.'

Cyrus having wept silently for some time, endeavoured to console her, by declaring, that due honours should be