Persians and other choice troops of the army were posted, the breathless and disordered Athenian Hoplites found themselves in far greater difficulties. The tribes Leontis and Antiochis, with Themistoklês and Aristeidês among them, were actually defeated, broken, driven back, and pursued by the Persians and Sakae. Miltiadês seems to have foreseen the possibility of such a check when he found himself compelled to diminish so materially the depth of his centre; for his wings having routed the enemies opposed to them, were stayed from pursuit until the centre was extricated, and the Persians and Sakae put to flight along with the rest. The pursuit then became general, and the Persians were chased to their ships ranged in line along the shore some of them became involved in the impassable marsh and there perished. The Athenians tried to set the ships on fire, but the defence here was both vigorous and successful— several of the forward warriors of Athens were slain, and only seven ships out of the numerous fleet destroyed. This part of the battle terminated to the advantage of the Persians. They repulsed the Athenians from the sea-shore, and secured a safe re-embarkation; leaving few or no prisoners, but a rich spoil of tents and equipments which had been disembarked and could not be carried away. Herodotus estimates the number of those who fell on the Persian side in this memorable action at 6400 men: the number of Athenians dead is accurately known, since all were collected for the last solemn obsequies-they were 192. How many were wounded we do not hear. BATTLE OF PHARSALIA-FLIGHT AND DEATH OF POMPEY. (From "Keightley's History of Rome.") PHARSALIA, a town of Thessaly in Greece, now called Satal'ge, on a slope facing the N., 20 miles S. of Larissa. This famous battle was fought near the town, 48 B. C. THE two armies now lay in sight of each other; that of Pompey, which consisted of forty-five thousand infantry and seven thousand cavalry, beside light troops, was superior in number but inferior in quality. Cæsar's army, of twenty-two thousand foot, and one thousand cavalry, was composed of hardy veterans, used to victory, and confident in themselves and their leader. The superior number of their troops, and their late successes, had raised the confidence of the Pompeian leaders, and nothing, we are told, could exceed their insolence; they contended with one another for the dignities and priesthoods in the state, and disposed of the consulate for several years to come. Scipio, Lentulus Spinther, and L. Domitius had an angry contest for the chief-priesthood with which Cæsar was invested, for of his defeat not a doubt was entertained; and when Pompey acted with caution, he was accused of protracting the war out of the vanity of seeing such a number of consulars and prætorians under his command. Proscriptions and confiscations were resolved on; "in short," says Cicero, "excepting Pompey himself and a few others (I speak of the principal leaders), they carried on the war with such a spirit of rapaciousness, and breathed such principles of cruelty in their conversation, that I could not think even of our success without horror. To this I must add, that some of our most dignified men were deeply involved in debt; and, in short, there was nothing good among them but their cause." Pompey, who was superstitious by nature, had been greatly encouraged by accounts of favourable signs in the entrails of the victims and such like sent him by the haruspices from Rome, and he resolved to risk a general engagement. He drew up his army at the foot of the hill on which he was encamped; but Cæsar, unwilling to engage him at a disadvantage, prepared to decamp. Just, however, as the order was given, seeing that Pompey had advanced into the plain, he changed his mind, and made ready to engage. The right wing of the Pompeians, commanded by Lentulus, rested on the river Enîpeus. Pompey himself, with Domitius, commanded the left; his father-in-law, Scipio, the centre; the horse and light troops were all on the left. Cæsar's right was commanded by himself and P. Sulla; his left by M. Antonius; the centre by Domitius Calvinus; to strengthen his cavalry, he had mingled through it some of his most active foot-soldiers; and he placed six cohorts separate from his line, to act on occasion against the enemy's horse. Pompey had directed his men to stand and receive the enemy's charge, hoping thus to engage them when out of breath with running; but the Cæsarians, when they found that the enemy did not advance, halted of themselves, and having recovered their breath, advanced in order and hurled their pila. They then fell on sword in hand; the Pompeians did the same; and while they were engaged, their horse and light troops, having attacked and defeated Cæsar's cavalry, were preparing to take G his infantry in flank, when he made the signal to the six cohorts, who fell on and drove them off the field. It is said that Cæsar had directed his men to aim their blows at the faces of the horsemen, and that the young Roman knights fled sooner than run the risk of having their beauty spoiled. The six cohorts then took the Pompeian left wing in the rear, while Cæsar brought into action his third line, which had not yet been engaged. The Pompeians broke, and fled. Pompey, whose whole reliance was on his left wing, now despairing of victory, retired to his tent to await the event of the battle. But Cæsar soon led his men to the attack of the camp, which was carried after an obstinate resistance from the cohorts which had been left to guard it. Pompey, laying aside his general's habit, mounted a horse, and left it by the Decuman gate.1 Cæsar found the tents of Lentulus and others hung with ivy, fresh turves cut for seats, tables covered with plate, and all the preparations for celebrating a victory. Leaving some troops to guard the two camps, he followed a body of the Pompeians who had fled to a hill, but they abandoned it and made for Larissa; he however got between them and that town, and finally forced them to surrender. His own loss in this battle, he tells us, was only 200 men and 30 centurions; that of the Pompeians was 15,000, of whom but 6000 were soldiers, the rest being servants and the like: upwards of 24,000 were made prisoners. He granted life and liberty to all; and finding, it is said, in Pompey's tent the letters of several men of rank, he imitated that general's own conduct in Spain, and burned without reading them. We must now follow the unhappy Pompey Magnus. He rode with about thirty followers to the gates of Larissa, but would not enter the town lest the people should incur the anger of Cæsar. He then went on to the Vale of Tempe, and at the mouth of the Penêüs got on board a merchantman which he found lying there; thence he sailed to the mouth of the Strymôn, and having obtained some money from his friends at Amphipolis, proceeded to Mytilêne in Lesbos, where he had left his wife Cornelia. Having taken her and his son Sextus on board, and collected a few vessels, he proceeded to Cilicia, and thence to Cyprus. He had intended going to Syria, but finding that the people of Antioch had declared for Cæsar, he 1 Dec'uman gate, the principal gate of the Roman camp. gave up that design; and having gotten money from the publicans and some private persons, and collected about two thousand men, he made sail for Egypt. It is said that he had consulted with his friends whether he should seek a refuge with the king of the Parthians, or retire to king Juba in Africa, or repair to the young king of Egypt, whose father had been restored to his throne through his influence some years before. The latter course was decided on, and he sailed for Pelusium, where the young king (who was at war with his sister Cleopatra, whom their father had made joint-heir of the throne) was lying with his army. Pompey sent to request his protection, on account of his friendship for his father. The king's ministers, either fearing that Pompey, by means of the troops which had been left there by Gabinius, might attempt to make himself master of the kingdom, or despising his fallen fortunes, resolved on his death. They sent Achillas, a captain of the guard, with Septimius, a former Roman centurion, and some others in a small boat to invite him to land. He was requested to come into the boat, as the shore was too oozy and shallow for a ship to approach it. He consented, and directing two centurions and his freedman Philip and a slave to follow him, and having embraced Cornelia, he entered the boat, and then turning round repeated the following lines of Sophocles: He who unto a prince's house repairs, Becomes his slave, though he go thither free. They went on some time in silence; at length Pompey turning to Septimius, said, "If I mistake not, you and I have been fellow-soldiers." Septimius merely nodded assent; the silence was resumed; Pompey began to read over what he had prepared to say to the king in Greek. Meantime the boat approached the shore; Cornelia and his friends saw several of the royal officers coming down to receive Pompey, who, taking hold of Philip's arm, rose from his seat. As he rose Septimius stabbed him in the back; Achillas and a Roman named Salvius then struck him: Pompey drew his mantle before his face, groaned, and died in silence. Those on shipboard gave a loud piercing cry of grief, and set sail without delay, pursued by some Egyptian vessels. The head of Pompey was cut off; his trunk was thrown on the beach, where his faithful freedman stayed by it, and having washed it in the sea, collected the wreck of a fishing-boat and prepared a pyre to burn it. While he was thus engaged, an old Roman who had served under Pompey came up, and saying that the honour of aiding at the obsequies of the greatest of Roman generals compensated him in some sort for the evils of an abode in a foreign land, assisted him in his pious office. DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. (From Washington Irving's Life of Columbus.) CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, whom God honoured to be the discoverer of the New World, was born in Genoa, about the year 1435. He first landed at San Salvador, Oct. 11, 1492. This great and good man, to the everlasting disgrace of Spain, died broken-hearted, and in the greatest poverty, at Valladolid, 1506. WHEN on the evening of the third day they beheld the sun go down upon a shoreless horizon, they broke forth into clamorous turbulence. Fortunately, however, the manifestations of neighbouring land were such on the following day as no longer to admit a doubt. Besides a quantity of fresh weeds, such as grow in rivers, they saw a green fish of a kind which keeps about rocks; then a branch of thorn with berries on it, and recently separated from the tree, floated by them; then they picked up a reed, a small board, and, above all, a staff artificially carved. All gloom and mutiny now gave way to sanguine expectation; and throughout the day each one was eagerly on the watch, in hopes of being the first to discover the long-sought-for land, In the evening, when, according to invariable custom on board of the admiral's ship, the mariners had sung the Salve Regina, or vesper hymn to the Virgin, he made an impressive address to his crew. He pointed out the goodness of God in thus conducting them by such soft and favouring breezes across a tranquil ocean, cheering their hopes continually with fresh signs, increasing as their fears augmented, and thus leading and guiding them to a promised land. The breeze had been fresh all day, with more sea than usual, and they had made great progress. At sunset they had stood again to the west, and were ploughing the waves at a rapid rate, the Pinta keeping the lead, from her superior sailing. The greatest animation prevailed throughout the ships; not an eye was closed that night. As the evening darkened, Columbus took his station on the top of the castle or cabin on the high poop of his vessel. However he might carry a cheerful and confident countenance during the day, it was to him a |