said credible. It is evident that
what you said was not true. Is it not so?"

Nehushta could not help smiling as she looked up and saw the kindly
light in the king's dark eyes. She thought she understood he was amusing
her for the sake of giving her time to collect herself, and in spite of
the determined intention of marrying her he had so lately expressed, she
felt safe with him.

"The king lives for ever," she answered, in the set phrase of assent
common at the court.

"It is very probable," replied Darius gravely. "So many people say so,
that I should have to believe all mankind liars if that were not true.
But I must return to your own particular case. It would have been easy
for you not to have said what you did. I must therefore suppose that in
going out of the way to make an attempt to deceive me in the face of
such evidence--by saying you were not weeping when the tears were
actually falling from those very soft eyes of yours--you had an object
to gain. Men employ truth and falsehood for much the same reason: A man
who does not respect truth will, therefore, lie when he can hope to gain
more by it. The man who lies expects to gain something by his lie, and
the man who tells the truth hopes that, in so doing, he will establish
himself a credit which he can use upon future occasions.[4] But the
object is the same. Tell me, therefore, princess, what did you hope to
gain by trying to deceive me?" Darius laughed as he concluded his
argument and looked at Nehushta to see what she would say--Nehushta
laughed also, she could hardly tell why. The king's brilliant, active
humour was catching. She reached out and thrust her foot into the little
slipper that still lay beside her, before she answered.

[Footnote 4: Herodotus, book iii. chap. lxxii.]

"What I said was true in one way and not in another," she said. "I had
been crying bitterly, but I stopped when I heard the king come and stand
beside me. So it was only the tears the king saw and not the weeping. As
for the object,"--she laughed a little,--"it was, perhaps, that I might
gain time to dry my eyes."

Darius shifted his position a little.

"I know," he said gravely. "And I know why you were weeping, and it is
my fault. Will you forgive me, princess? I am a hasty man, not
accustomed to think twice when I give my commands."

Nehushta looked up suddenly with an expression of inquiry.

"I sent him away very quickly," continued the king. "If I had though