some of their subjects without any advantage to ourselves.  Nevertheless, I will own that my expedition to India was an exploit of the son of Jupiter, not of the son of Philip.  I had done better if I had stayed to give more consistency to my Persian and Grecian Empires, instead of attempting new conquests and at such a distance so soon.  Yet even this war was of use to hinder my troops from being corrupted by the effeminacy of Asia, and to keep up that universal awe of my name which in those countries was the great support of my power.

Charles.—­In the unwearied activity with which I proceeded from one enterprise to another, I dare call myself your equal.  Nay, I may pretend to a higher glory than you, because you only went on from victory to victory; but the greatest losses were not able to diminish my ardour or stop the efforts of my daring and invincible spirit.

Alexander.—­You showed in adversity much more magnanimity than you did in prosperity.  How unworthy of a prince who imitated me was your behaviour to the king your arms had vanquished!  The compelling Augustus to write himself a letter of congratulation to one of his vassals whom you had placed in his throne, was the very reverse of my treatment of Porus and Darius.  It was an ungenerous insult upon his ill-fortune.  It was the triumph of a little and a low mind.  The visit you made him immediately after that insult was a further contempt, offensive to him, and both useless and dangerous to yourself.

Charles.—­I feared no danger from it.  I knew he durst not use the power I gave him to hurt me.

Alexander.—­If his resentment in that instant had prevailed over his fear, as it was likely to do, you would have perished deservedly by your insolence and presumption.  For my part, intrepid as I was in all dangers which I thought it was necessary or proper for me to meet, I never put myself one moment in the power of an enemy whom I had offended.  But you had the rashness of folly as well as of heroism.  A false opinion conceived of your enemy’s weakness proved at last your undoing.  When, in answer to some reasonable propositions of peace sent to you by the Czar, you said, “You would come and treat with him at Moscow,” he replied very justly, “That you affected to act like Alexander, but should not find in him a Darius.”  And, doubtless, you ought to have been better acquainted with the character of that prince.  Had Persia been governed by a Peter Alexowitz when I made war against it, I should have acted more cautiously, and not have counted so much on the superiority of my troops in valour and discipline over an army commanded by a king who was so capable of instructing them in all they wanted.

Charles.—­The battle of Narva, won by eight thousand Swedes against fourscore thousand Muscovites, seemed to authorise my contempt of the nation and their prince.