e hair--he
was therefore an old man, out of all questions of love. But Darius was
glad that the Hebrew queen never referred to former times, nor ever
seemed to regret her old lover. Had he known of that night meeting in
Atossa's toilet chamber, and of what Atossa had said then, his fury
would probably have had no bounds. But he never knew. Nehushta was too
utterly broken-hearted by the blow she had received to desire vengeance,
and though she quietly scorned all intercourse with the woman who had
injured her, she cared not to tell the king of the injury. It was too
late. Had she known of the cruel deception that had been practised on
her, one hour before she had married Darius, Atossa would have been in
her grave these three years, and Nehushta would not have been queen. But
the king knew none of these things, and rejoiced daily in the wisdom of
his chief counsellor and in the favour Auramazda had shown in sending
him such a man in his need.

Meanwhile, Atossa's hatred grew apace. She saw with anger that her power
of tormenting Nehushta was gone from her, that the spirit she had loved
to torture was broken beyond all sensibility, and that the man who had
scorned her love was grown greater than she. Against his wisdom and the
king's activity, she could do little, and her strength seemed to spend
itself in vain. Darius laughed mercilessly at her cunning objections to
Zoroaster's reforms; and Zoroaster himself eyed hear coldly, and passed
her by in silence when they met.

She bethought herself of some scheme whereby to destroy Zoroaster's
power by a sudden and violent shock; and for a time, she affected at
more than usual serenity of manner, and her smile was sweeter than ever.
If it were possible, she thought, to attract the king's attention and
forces to some distant point, it would not be a difficult matter to
produce a sudden rising or disturbance in Stakhar, situated as the place
was upon the very extreme border of the kingdom, within a few hours'
march across the hills from the uncivilised desert country, which was
infested at that time with hostile and turbulent tribes. She had a
certain number of faithful retainers at her command still, whom she
could employ as emissaries in both directions, and in spite of the scene
that had taken place at Shushan when Phraortes was brought to her by the
king, she knew she could still command his services for a revolution.
He was a Magian at heart, and hated the existing monarchy