missive might well have provoked the young prince to some hasty act or some unworthy show of temper.  It is to the credit of Chosroes that he restrained himself, and even made another attempt to terminate the quarrel by a reconciliation.  While striving to outdo Bahram in the grandeur of his titles, he still addressed him as his friend.  He complimented him on his courage, and felicitated him on his excellent health.  “There were certain expressions,” he said, “in the letter that he had received, which he was sure did not speak his friend’s real feelings.  The amanuensis had evidently drunk more wine than he ought, and, being half asleep when he wrote, had put down things that were foolish and indeed monstrous.  But he was not disturbed by them.  He must decline, however, to send back to their prisons those whom he had released, since favors granted by royalty could not with propriety be withdrawn; and he must protest that in the ceremony of his coronation all due formalities had been observed.  As for stripping himself of his diadem, he was so far from contemplating it that he looked forward rather to extending his dominion over new worlds.  As Bahram had invited him, he would certainly pay him a visit; but he would be obliged to come as a king, and if his persuasions did not produce submission he would have to compel it by force of arms.  He hoped that Bahram would be wise in time, and would consent to be his friend and helper.”

This second overture produced no reply; and it became tolerably evident that the quarrel could only be decided by the arbitrament of battle.  Chosroes accordingly put himself at the head of such troops as he could collect, and marched against his antagonist, whom he found encamped on the Holwan River.  The place was favorable for an engagement; but Chosroes had no confidence in his soldiers.  He sought a personal interview with Bahram, and renewed his offers of pardon and favor; but the conference only led to mutual recriminations, and at its close both sides appealed to arms.  During six days the two armies merely skirmished, since Chosroes bent all his efforts towards avoiding a general engagement; but on the seventh day Bahram surprised him by an attack after night had fallen,a threw his troops into confusion, and then, by a skilful appeal to their feelings, induced them to desert their leader and come over to his side.  Chosroes was forced to fly.  He fell back on Ctesiphon; but despairing of making a successful defence, with the few troops that remained faithful to him, against the overwhelming force which Bahram had at his disposal, he resolved to evacuate the capital, to quit Persia, and to throw himself on the generosity of some one of his neighbors.  It is said that his choice was long undetermined between the Turks, the Arabs, the Khazars of the Caucasian region, and the Romans.  According to some writers, after leaving Ctesiphon, with his wives and children, his two uncles, and an escort of thirty men, he laid his reins on his horse’s