He accordingly ordered the unfortunate messenger to be scourged and then sent back to Octavius, all lacerated with wounds, with orders to say to Octavius that if it displeased him to have one of his servants thus punished, he might revenge himself by scourging a servant of Antony's who was then, as it happened, in Octavius's power.
The news at length suddenly arrived at Alexandria that Octavius had appeared before Pelusium, and that the city had fallen into his hands.
The next thing Antony and Cleopatra well knew would be, that they should see him at the gates of Alexandria.

Neither Antony nor Cleopatra had any means of resisting his progress, and there was no place to which they could fly.

Nothing was to be done but to await, in consternation and terror, the sure and inevitable doom which was now so near.
Cleopatra gathered together all her treasures and sent them to her tomb.
These treasures consisted of great and valuable stores of gold, silver, precious stones, garments of the highest cost, and weapons, and vessels of exquisite workmanship and great value, the hereditary possessions of the Egyptian kings.

She also sent to the mausoleum an immense quantity of flax, tow, torches, and other combustibles.

These she stored in the lower apartments of the monument, with the desperate determination of burning herself and her treasures together rather than to fall into the hands of the Romans.
In the mean time, the army of Octavius steadily continued its march across the desert from Pelusium to Alexandria.