{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_64991/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_64991","id":"gutenberg_64991","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64991","summary":null,"tags":["Alexander, the Great, 356 B.C.-323 B.C. -- Juvenile fiction","Category: Historical Novels","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore"],"text":"Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this\n      file which includes the original illustrations.\n      See 64991-h.htm or 64991-h.zip:\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/64991/pg64991-images.html)\n      or\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/64991/64991-h.zip)\n\n\n      Images of the original pages are available through\n      Internet Archive. See\n      https://archive.org/details/storyofalexander00steeuoft\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s note:\n\n      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).\n\n      Changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF ALEXANDER\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\nTHE STORY OF ALEXANDER TOLD BY ROBERT STEELE & DRAWN BY FRED MASON\n\nLondon in the Strand\nDavid Nutt\n1894]\n\n\n\n\n  M. M. S.\n  A TOKEN OF\n  FRIENDSHIP AND ADMIRATION\n\n\n\n\nAN OPEN LETTER\n\n\n  _MY DEAR GRACIE_\n\n_When I promised some months ago to tell you a fairy story, I did\nnot remember that most of them have been so well told by my friend\nMr. Jacobs, and others, that it would be difficult to find any\nfresh ones worth telling you._\n\n_Then I remembered that there was a time, hundreds of years ago,\nwhen folk here in England were fond of hearing and telling stories,\nand when, in the long winter evenings, people gathered round the\ncastle-fire in the great hall, lord and lady, squires and dames,\npages, varlets, children, even the dogs, all of them listening\nto the old chaplain who read them a never-ending tale of a brave\nknight and a wicked enchanter; or, better still, to a travelling\ntale-teller who brought the last story from France and Italy.\n\u201cNow,\u201d thought I, \u201cthe tales that pleased these folk so well\nwould perhaps suit young people of to-day.\u201d For the men who lived\nthen were large hearted and simple souled, and if it is true, as\nour great English poet said, \u201cMen are but children of a larger\ngrowth\u201d--and it was true of that time--perhaps the stories of the\nmen of those days would still have the power to please the children\nof ours._\n\n_Well, I began to turn over some of those big books you have seen\nin my room, and to read their stories again to choose one for you,\nand the first story I read was the History of Alexander the Great.\nYou must not be frightened about the tale, however; there are no\ndates and summaries at the ends of the chapters to learn, and,\nthough I believe every word of it myself, I am afraid that if you\nwere to put some of it in your examination paper on Greek History,\nthe mistress who marked it would be annoyed, and I am certain that\nyou will not find the pictures like those of the Greeks in your\nother books. This is only a tale, and the Alexander and Darius, the\nGreeks and the Jews, it tells about, are not the ones you have read\nof, but different people with the same names._\n\n_The reason for choosing the story of Alexander to tell you is\nthis: it was the earliest and one of the most interesting of\nthe stories of the Middle Age. Everyone liked it, everyone knew\nsomething about it, and everyone told it his own way. Even the\nanimals (in a tale of Reynard the Fox) liked it, and one of them\ntold it to the lion. All the English poets of those days knew and\nloved it. If, then, you could read any of the Middle Age tales, you\ncould read this one._\n\n_So you must now fancy that times are changed; you are sitting\nin some great castle-hall, and all the people round you are in\ndresses like those that Mr. Mason has drawn for you; perhaps you\nare sitting on a throne like the queen in the picture, and I am\nsitting on the stool before you, and I begin to tell you a story\nof the bravest knight in the world, his wars, and the wonderful\nthings he saw and did. And as all the young folk gather round and\nlisten, if the older folk come with them and bring the great Latin\nbook to see if I tell the story right, when they can get it (for it\nis very rare) they will find that I have taken the story-teller\u2019s\nprivilege--I have left out much that was not interesting, and I\nhave told you some things the old story-tellers used to leave out._\n\n_Perhaps you will find that there is too much fighting in the\nstory: if so, remember that it was nearly the only game people\nplayed at in those days, so that it took the place of rowing or\ntennis, cycling or cricket among the young people then. But the\nfighting had this serious side to it--that a young lady might wake\nany morning and find an army besieging her home, ready to burn it\ndown and carry her away prisoner. So, you see, everyone understood\nabout fighting and took an interest in hearing of it._\n\n_And now I leave you with your story. If it pleases you, and shows\nyou who were the heroes of our ancestors, and what were the stories\nthey delighted in, it will have reached the object of_\n\n  _Your loving liegeman_\n\n  _R. S._\n\n\n\n\n  CONTENTS\n\n\n                                                        PAGE\n\n  CHAPTER I. HOW ANECTANABUS WAS KING OF EGYPT,\n  AND WHY HE FLED INTO THE LAND OF MACEDON                 1\n\n  CHAPTER II. OF OLYMPIAS AND ANECTANABUS, OF THE\n  MAGIC HE WROUGHT, AND OF THE BIRTH OF ALEXANDER          9\n\n  CHAPTER III. HOW ALEXANDER TAMED THE HORSE\n  BUCEPHALUS, AND HOW HE DID HIS FIRST DEED OF\n  ARMS                                                    21\n\n  CHAPTER IV. TELLS OF THE EMBASSY OF DARIUS,\n  OF THE DEATH OF PHILIP, AND THE CROWNING OF\n  ALEXANDER                                               30\n\n  CHAPTER V. HOW ALEXANDER GATHERED AN ARMY\n  TOGETHER: HOW HE BUILT ALEXANDRIA AND LAID\n  SIEGE TO THE CITY OF TYRE                               39\n\n  CHAPTER VI. TELLS OF THE FORAY OF KADESH, AND\n  OF ITS ENDING, AND OF THE TAKING OF THE CITY OF\n  TYRE                                                    47\n\n  CHAPTER VII. HOW ALEXANDER CAME TO JERUSALEM,\n  HOW THE BISHOP MET HIM, AND WHAT THERE BEFELL\n  HIM                                                     55\n\n  CHAPTER VIII. TELLS HOW DARIUS THE EMPEROR\n  SENT PRESENTS TO ALEXANDER, AND WHAT WAS THE\n  PRESENT SENT BACK TO HIM                                63\n\n  CHAPTER IX. TELLS HOW ALEXANDER DESTROYED\n  THEBES AND HOW IT WAS REBUILT, AND OF HIS\n  RETURN TO PERSIA                                        73\n\n  CHAPTER X. HOW ALEXANDER DEFEATED THE PERSIANS,\n  AND HOW HE WENT TO THE FEAST OF DARIUS                  82\n\n  CHAPTER XI. TELLS OF THE BATTLE BETWEEN ALEXANDER\n  AND DARIUS, AND OF THE SLAYING OF DARIUS                94\n\n  CHAPTER XII. HOW ALEXANDER MARRIED ROXANA,\n  THE DAUGHTER OF THE EMPEROR, AND HOW HE\n  DEFEATED PORUS THE KING OF INDIA                       102\n\n  CHAPTER XIII. HOW ALEXANDER AND HIS MEN PASSED\n  THE NIGHT OF FEAR, AND HOW HE SAW THE GREATEST\n  AND THE LEAST THING ON EARTH                           111\n\n  CHAPTER XIV. HOW ALEXANDER AND HIS ARMY\n  PASSED THROUGH THE VALLEY OF TERROR AND\n  SOUGHT THE WELLS OF LIFE                               124\n\n  CHAPTER XV. HOW THE BRAHMANS CAME TO KING\n  ALEXANDER AND WHAT HE LEARNT FROM THEM: AND\n  OF THE COMING OF THE AMAZONS                           138\n\n  CHAPTER XVI. HOW ALEXANDER PASSED THROUGH\n  THE LAND OF DARKNESS AND SLEW THE BASILISK             148\n\n  CHAPTER XVII. HOW ALEXANDER CAME TO THE TREES\n  OF THE SUN AND THE MOON, AND WHAT THEY TOLD\n  HIM                                                    159\n\n  CHAPTER XVIII. HOW ALEXANDER SLEW PORUS AND\n  WON BACK THE WIFE OF CANDOYL AND WAS KNOWN\n  OF CANDACE WHEN HE CAME TO HER                         171\n\n  CHAPTER XIX. TELLS HOW ALEXANDER DEFEATED\n  GOG AND MAGOG, HOW HE WENT UP INTO THE AIR\n  AND DOWN INTO THE SEA                                  188\n\n  CHAPTER XX. HOW ALEXANDER CAME TO HIS LIFE\u2019S\n  END AND WAS BURIED, AND WHAT THEREON BEFELL            204\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I. HOW ANECTANABUS WAS KING OF EGYPT, AND WHY HE FLED INTO\nTHE LAND OF MACEDON.\n\n\nOnce upon a time a king reigned over the land of Egypt, whose name\nwas Anectanabus. In his time that land was the richest in the\nworld, and its people were wise and happy; but Anectanabus was the\nwisest and the noblest of them, and under his rule all men, both\ngreat and small, prospered. The field-workers ploughed and reaped,\nthe merchants travelled and chaffered, the wise men studied and\nwrote and taught, and the great lords watched over the land, helped\nthe poor, and guarded all men. Shortly to say, the land of Egypt\nwas in those days the home of plenty and of peace, of mirth and of\ngame.\n\nNow Anectanabus was, above all men, skilled in the arts of magic,\nfor he had learned the secrets of Egypt that were not written down\nin books, but cut in the stone on the sides of the great temples,\nand on the Pillars of the Sun: and when he was a young man he had\nbeen taken into the secret chambers of the Pyramids, and had been\nlaid in the stone coffin of the gods, and there the secrets had\nbeen whispered to him which the kings and priests of Egypt had\ndiscovered for a thousand years. And chief of all his crafts, he\nhad the power of making images of men to do what he would, and\nwhatever the images did, that the men they were like to, did: and\nhe used this art to save his land from war. For if a fleet of\nships came to attack his land he would make images of them in wax\nto float on water, and images of his own ships, and then he would\ncause the ships of the enemy to turn and flee before his ships or\never a blow was struck, and as he did, so it happened in the war.\nOr if an army came against him, he caused it to flee in the same\nway, so that no king of the countries about dared to come out and\nmake war on Egypt. And many other arts he used, but all for the\ngood of his land, so that men loved him and served him with joy.\n\nIt fell upon a day that Anectanabus was sitting in his palace hall\non his da\u00efs, and round him were his dukes and princes, and the\ngreat hall of the palace was filled with men in rich array. In that\nland, the king showed himself to men but rarely, and when he did so\nhe was clothed in his noblest and fairest dress, with his crown on\nhis head, and his nobles and all men were dressed in their best,\nso that the hall shone with gold, and sparkled and dazzled with\ngems and stones, and the blue and scarlet and purple and green of\nthe nobles filled the place with a flood of colour. The chief men\nof a certain city had petitioned the king about a certain matter,\nand a great duke had just risen from his seat to speak about it,\nwhen a cry was heard outside, and through the open doors, past\nthe great screen, a man in half armour covered with dust and foam\nrushed into the presence of the king. Then the heralds hurried\nup to him, and crossing their wands before him, asked of him his\nerrand, and why he entered the hall of the king in such unseemly\ndress. But he, heeding their words never a whit, pressed forward,\ncalled out with a loud voice, \u201cO King, the Persians are on us,\u201d and\nstraightway staggered, and fell down lifeless, for he had ridden\nhard without rest and sleep with the message of the lord warden of\nthe sea.\n\nA great silence fell on the hall, men looked on each other\u2019s faces\nbut none spoke or moved; then the silence was broken by the shuffle\nof the heralds bearing away the body of the messenger, and the\ndukes drew up nearer to one another, but still no man spoke; for\nthe king\u2019s face was dark and troubled, and he had asked none for\ncounsel. Now Anectanabus was troubled, not because he feared the\nenemy, but because he had never before been taken by surprise, for\never he knew by his magic art the words of the message before\nthey were uttered. So he sat silent for a while, but at last he\nbethought himself, and rose and left the hall, going to a little\nroom behind the da\u00efs, where he could be alone, for he sought to\nknow by his magic art who, and how many, and where were his foes.\nBut the great lords sat on in silence in the king\u2019s hall, waiting\ntill some of them should be sent against the foe, and silently and\nnoiselessly the people passed out of the hall.\n\nAs soon as Anectanabus was alone in his room, he went to a coffer\nof oak covered with broad bands of steel, and opened it with a\ngolden key which he drew from his breast. Then he drew out a robe\nof fair white linen, and putting off his rich attire he clothed\nhimself in it, keeping on his golden crown. Taking some spices, he\nthrew them on a brazier of burning embers, and opened the casements\nof the room, and round and round the brazier he went till a heavy\nsmoke filled the room, and hung over a great copper bowl of water\non the table in the middle of it. This done, Anectanabus took a\nshort wand of polished steel in his hand and pointing it across\nthe bowl to the four quarters of the earth--North, East, South,\nWest--he began to utter spells. And now it seemed as if the smoke\nfrom the room gathered over the water, and disappeared, leaving the\nroom full of light, and the outside day darkened, and looking on\nthe surface of the water the king saw a fleet of ships coming in\nfull sail towards him. But what an endless number of them there\nseemed to be,--ships large and small, beating the waves with their\noars, over their sides hanging the shields of dukes and earls and\nknights, the sun shining from their weapons, the masts and pennons\nrising like a forest, and high over all the banner of Persia\nflying, the rising sun conquering the night. Then Anectanabus\ntouched the water with his wand, and all the ships vanished, and\nthe air of the room was clear and bright.\n\nWith a grave face and a heavy heart Anectanabus returned to his\nlords, and ordered them to meet in arms on the sea-coast in seven\ndays, there to keep the land from Persians or any other foes, and\nhe dismissed them each to his place, after he had spoken brave\nwords to them, and reminded them of the victories they had won,\n\u201cand,\u201d he said, \u201cthough the enemy be many, one lion puts many\ndeer to flight, and we may well destroy our foes as we have done\nbefore.\u201d But ever in his heart he feared, for that the foe had come\nupon him by surprise, and his magic art had told him nothing of it.\n\nIn the night, when all men slept, he rose and went to the room in\nwhich he wrought all his magic, and clothed himself in the white\nrobes, and brought forth his instruments from the oaken box, and\ncast a yellow powder on the brazier. Then he filled the great\ncopper bowl with water, looking black in the dim light of the room,\nand taking wax he moulded ships, some white, some black, and set\nthem to float on the water in the vessel. Next he drew from the\nbox a rod of palm-wood and touched them one by one, and as he did\nso they separated and gathered into two fleets at either side of\nthe bowl. Then throwing some incense on the brazier, Anectanabus\nbegan to mutter his magic words, and round and round the bowl he\nwalked, and the first time he threw in some gold, and the second\ntime a stone, and the third time some dust. Soon the two fleets\nbegan to move towards one another, and Anectanabus began to invoke\ndestruction on the enemy as he was wont to do; but when the\nbattle was joined, he saw that the ships of Egypt were one by one\ndestroyed or taken, nor could any of his mightiest spells turn the\nbattle. So he saw that the gods had forsaken him, and that there\nwas no hope for him; and he deemed it better to go away and let his\nkingdom fall into the hands of the Persians, than to resist them\nwithout hope of victory, and to be made a slave at the end; and his\nheart was great, and he had no son or daughter for whom to fight.\n\nThe next day he rose and went about with a light heart and a merry\ncheer, and did the things that were to be done, and when night fell\nhe laid off the royal robes and the crown of Egypt, and dressed him\nas one of the wise clerks of the land, and went to the barber and\ncaused him to shave off his beard, and cut his hair, so that no man\nshould know him, and he gathered store of gold and jewels, such as\nhe could carry, and his instruments of magic and of star-reading,\nand called to him three of his servants who had served him all his\nlife, and when they were loaded with his gear, he slipped out at\na postern gate of the palace, and set off on foot into the world,\nnot knowing where he should go. Long would it be to tell what lands\nhe passed through, how he went from Egypt into Ethiopia, and from\nthence he passed through many countries till at the last he came to\nMacedon, where it fell that he settled and ended his days. But no\none ever thought him to be anything but some diviner or soothsayer,\nnor wist the folk that he had been a mighty king of men.\n\nThe tale tells of the care he left behind him in his palace when\nmen found that he had gone. The princes sought their lord in his\nprivate chambers, and when he was not to be seen there, knights and\nbarons ran about with tears on their cheeks, their ladies swooned,\nand all men cursed the day. At the last, when they could get no\nnews, they joined in procession to the temple of Serapis, the\ngreatest of their gods, to ask his aid and counsel in their sore\nstrait, and there they burned rich incense, and offered many noble\ngifts and sacrifices. Then the god gave them this answer: \u201cFear\nnot, O folk, for your king is safe. Ye shall be subject to the\nPersians, nor may ye any way escape. But cease your sorrow; the son\nof his works shall return, he shall avenge your defeat, he shall\ndestroy Persia, he shall be the noblest Emperor of the world.\u201d\n\nSo this people made an image of Anectanabus in black marble,\ndressed in his royal robes, sceptre in hand, and crown on head,\nand beneath the statue was graved in golden letters the prophecy\nof their god Serapis, that men might have it in mind in the evil\ndays that were on them. For the Persians conquered them, and year\nby year they treated them more hardly, and life was bitter to them,\nand the Egyptians looked back year after year to the happy days of\nAnectanabus, the last king of Egypt, and waited in hope till he\nshould come back again.\n\n[Illustration: ONE LION PVTTETH TO FLIGHT MANY DEER]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II. OF OLYMPIAS AND ANECTANABUS, OF THE MAGIC HE WROUGHT,\nAND OF THE BIRTH OF ALEXANDER.\n\n\nIt fell on a day that as Anectanabus was travelling through the\nland of Macedon, he came to the chief city of the land, and there\nhis yeomen took lodging for him, and he thought to dwell there some\ndays, for the city was fair and well placed on a fertile plain, and\nit was in the month of May. And when he talked to the men of the\ntown he heard say that Philip, the king of the land, had gone out\nto war, but that he had left there his queen Olympias to govern\nthe folk, and that the next day was, as it happened, the feast of\nher birthday. Now this queen had custom on feast days to ride out\ninto the country near, and there sports and tournaments were held,\nand all folk rejoiced before her. So Anectanabus thought in his\nmind that he would go out and look upon her, for he had heard that\nOlympias was the fairest woman in Greece,--nay, in all the world.\n\nEarly next day after meat, the queen mounted a white mule and rode\nthrough the city to the plain, with her wise men and her maids\nabout her, and much she joyed to see the fair show that the city\nmade, for everywhere that she came the town was hung with rich\nhangings and embroidery, and every man was eager to see the queen,\nand at all corners were bands of maidens singing and beating drums\nand timbrels. So the queen rode through the city, and when she\ncame to the plain, each man did his best in the sports, if by any\nmeans he could gain a prize from her hands. Among the crowd of men\non the plain was Anectanabus, and he looked not at one thing or\nanother but only at the queen, so that at the last she turned and\nsaw him, and because he was unlike all other there in clothing and\nin bearing she took notice of him and saw at once that he was a\nstranger: and since he looked ever at her face nor looked away when\nshe turned to him, at the end she sent men to him to know who he\nwas. So he came and did her reverence, and she asked him who he was\nand what he would, and he told her that he was a clerk, and that\nhe went from place to place, doing the will of the great gods: and\nOlympias bade him come to her at the palace.\n\nNow every day the queen sat on the royal seat in the great hall of\nthe palace, and men came to her and spoke before her of good and\nbad, and among the rest next day came Anectanabus. And as the queen\nlooked upon him, he bowed him down, and said, \u201cHail, fair Queen of\nMacedon;\u201d and the queen noted his speech, for he spoke as one that\nwas a king and not as a clerk, though he were clothed in weeds of\ndrab and went with shaven crown. So she made him to sit down before\nher on a silk-covered seat, and she began to question him full\nfairly, whether he were of Egypt, and what manner of folk were in\nthat land, and what was the learning of its wise men--for she knew\nby his tongue that he was an outlander, and be like an Egyptian.\nAnd Anectanabus answered her and told her of the land of Egypt, and\nof its wonders, and of its wisdom, how some men told the meaning of\ndreams, and whether they were true or false, and when they should\ncome to pass; some men understood the song of the birds and the\nvoice of beasts; some could tell of the birth of children, and of\nthe length of life; some could declare the secret counsels of men,\nwhich never were spoken to any one; and some could read the course\nof the stars and the signs of heaven, and say what shall come to\npass in few years\u2019 time--\u201cand, fair Queen,\u201d continued he, \u201cI have\nso clear a knowledge of all these arts, that I can prove myself\na master in each of them.\u201d So saying, he leaned forward from his\nseat, and stared in a study, still as a stone, at her face. Then\nsaid the queen, \u201cWhat art thou musing on, Master; why dost thou\nsit so still?\u201d \u201cI am thinking, O Queen,\u201d said he, \u201con the words of\nmy god, who long ago told me that I should sit in a strange land an\nexile, and see the fairest queen on earth.\u201d Then the queen prayed\nhim to show her how he sought out these things, and he drew out of\nhis bosom a little box with seven pieces of ivory in it, and he\nshowed her how by casting these he could tell what should happen\nto men, and answer questions about their deeds. And he showed her\nseven precious stones, on each of which a wondrous figure was\ncarved, which preserved men who wore them from all harm. And then\nhe drew out his table of ivory with three rings upon it, by which\nhe read the stars: the first ring was of brass, and on it were\nmarked the twelve houses of fate; the second was of bright silver,\nand on it were marked wondrous beasts, the twelve signs of the\nheavens; and the third was of red gold, and on it were marked the\nsun and the moon; and as he showed them he told her the course of\nthe stars, and how they governed the life of men.\n\n[Illustration: Anectanabus telleth the Queen\u2019s fate.]\n\nAnd Olympias said to him, \u201cO Master, tell me the day on which my\nlord that I love was born, and then I shall know thy skill.\u201d \u201cSmall\nskill were that,\u201d said Anectanabus, \u201cto tell the past; is there\nnaught of the future you would learn?\u201d \u201cYea,\u201d said the Queen, \u201ctell\nme what shall part Philip and me, for it is told me by my wise\nwomen that if he returns from battle he shall take another wife,\nand send me away for ever.\u201d \u201cNay, not for ever,\u201d said the Egyptian,\n\u201cnot for ever, nor for long shall he put thee away, for will he\nnill he, he must have thee for his queen.\u201d Then Olympias wondered\ngreatly, and she asked Anectanabus how this should be, and the wise\nman answered and told her, how that the great god of her country,\nAmmon, should give her a fair son who should help her all his life,\nand how that the god would protect her till her son was grown. Then\nwas the queen right glad, and she promised Anectanabus that when\nthese things should happen she would honour him all her life. Then\nthe wise man rose from his seat, and after looking on the queen for\na while, went from the hall to make his enchantments as at other\ntimes.\n\nNow that night the moon was at full, when all herbs have their\nstrongest might, so Anectanabus got him forth from the city into a\nwild place, where no man might see him, and there he drew up herbs\nfor his enchantments, marking the fairest and best, and when the\nhour of the moon was come he plucked them out by the roots, and\nwashed the earth from them in running water. Then he ground them\ntogether in a mortar, and wrung out the juice, and he made an image\nof the queen in white wax, and anointed it with the juice of the\nplants he had gathered, and calling on the powers of the air with\nis conjurations, he made a dream for the queen. So she, lying\nin her palace alone, saw a huge dragon enter and circle the room\nthree times--then it came and stood before her, and, lo! it was a\nman, but a man in shape like to her god; and the man told her that\nshe should have a son who should defend her in all her cares, and\noverride all her foes. Then the queen woke from her dream, and\nstretched out her hands to the god she had seen, but the room was\ndark, so, springing from her bed, she ran to the door, but that was\nsafely fast, and groping round she found naught in the room; and\nsad that her dream was false, she fell asleep again thinking of the\nwise Egyptian, who, mayhap, should tell her what it meant.\n\nEarly on the morrow the queen rose from her sleep, and sent her\nhousecarles for Anectanabus in haste; then when he came she took\nhim apart and told him all her dream. Then said he to the queen:\n\u201cIf thou art willing, and not afraid, I can show thee this god face\nto face, and thou waking; but thine eyes must be opened to see him.\u201d\n\nSo was the queen glad, and she assigned him a room in her palace;\nand the next night did Anectanabus, by his art magic, change\nhimself into a dragon such as the queen had seen in her dream, and\nflying through the air with his heavy wings he came into the place\nof the queen. Then she rose up to meet him, but the sight was so\nterrible to her that she covered her face with her hands; but soon\nshe heard a voice bidding her look up, and lo! before her was the\nfigure of her god Ammon--a strong, fair man, bearing on his head\ntwo horns. Then was she glad of her life, that she alone of all\nliving women had seen this thing; and he spoke to her of all the\nthings that Anectanabus had told her, and of how her son should\nride through the world.\n\nSo fell she to sleep, and when she woke in the morning light there\nwas none there, and the doors of the palace were fast, and great\nthanks she gave to Anectanabus for his magic, for she wist not that\nher god was but a show of the wise Egyptian.\n\nBut in that same night that the queen had dreamed, the Egyptian\nhad so wrought his enchantments that in the hour of Philip\u2019s star\nhe too had fallen asleep, and he dreamed that a dragon had taken\nhim up through the air, and had borne him off to his own palace,\nand to the room in which Olympias, his queen, lay sleeping. Then\ntried he to draw near her, but she felt not his touch nor heard\nhis voice; and suddenly he was ware of a god in the room in the\nshape of Ammon, and the god came to the queen and laid his hand\non her, and waked her, and sealed her with a gold seal. So Philip\ndrew near, and saw that on this seal were three things graved--the\nhead of a mighty lion, the burst of the morning sun rising over\nthe world, and a sharp, keen blade of a sword; and he heard the\ngod say: \u201cWoman, thy son that I give thee shall be thy defender.\u201d\nNow Philip when he woke, was so sore troubled by his dream that he\ncalled on his diviners to say to him what it should mean. Then said\nthe chief of the magicians: \u201cO King, this thy dream means that thy\nwife shall give thee a son fair and mighty. And because on the seal\nthou sawest a lion\u2019s head, as the lion is the chief of all beasts,\nthis son shall be a chief and a master among all chieftains. And\nsince on the seal was the burst of the sunrise, so shall this son\nride through the world, and everywhere shall he be exalted till he\ncomes to the Land of the East; and the biting brand showeth that by\nhis sword shall nations out of number be conquered and bow to him.\nBut for the dragon that bore thee from hence to thy own land, he\nshall be to thee for an aid, and that right soon.\u201d And then was the\nking glad in his heart.\n\nBut Anectanabus knew by his box of stones how that Philip should\nbe sore beset on a certain day, and so, going out into a desert\nplace, he called up to him by art magic a great bird from the sea,\nwith broad wings, great beak, and strong claws like iron. And as\nit drew near him it circled him seven times, and then sunk down at\nhis feet. Then the Egyptian took and rubbed him with the juice of\nthe plants he had gathered, from wingtip to wingtip, and from head\nto tail, and then with his mightiest spells he sent him forth over\nland and sea. And lo! he seemed no more a sea bird, but a mighty\ndragon flying through the air. But far away Philip was in deadly\nbattle, for he had been all day fighting, and now was he wearied,\nand a great stone had struck him, so that he reeled to the ground,\nand his men were at point to fly, and his foes were clamouring with\njoy, and their eyes were burning to slay, when the great dragon\nflew towards them, and men paused to see what should happen, and\nlo! it fell on the foemen, and first on him who had struck down\nPhilip, and men\u2019s swords fell on it and were shivered, and none\ndared to see its face, and the men of Macedon took fresh heart, and\nPhilip sprang up shouting, \u201cThe God, the Gods for us!\u201d and the foe\nwere routed and their king slain, and far away the great dragon\nrose in the air and disappeared, no man knowing whither.\n\nSo Philip came home with much joy, honoured of men, and when he met\nhis queen he kissed her fair, and they spoke of their dreams, and\nof what the god had promised them. And it fell that two wonders\nhappened to them. For one day as they sat at meat in the hall, and\nfolk around them great and small, a great dragon came into the\npalace, and men fled, save some that drew sword and turned pale,\nbut the king cried out: \u201cFaith, but this is the noble dragon that\nturned the fight for us that other even.\u201d Then the king was glad,\nbut the great worm came slowly up the hall till it reached the\nqueen, and there it raised its head on her knees, and she knew it\nfor the dragon that had come to her, and lifted its head and kissed\nit, and all men looked for some change; but the dragon turned and\nwent its way out as it came in, and those outside saw nought save\nthe Egyptian diviner standing at the gate.\n\nAnd one other day, as Philip sat in his great hall, with all his\nnobles and chief men round him, there came a singing-bird into the\nhall and sang a sweet song, and circled his head, and came and sat\non his knee, and there dropped an egg and flew away. Then as the\nking sat and looked, the egg rolled from his knee and fell to the\nground, and there it broke, and a little worm came out and crawled\nabout, but soon it died. Then a great clerk near him said: \u201cThis\nsignifieth, O king, that thy blithe lady\u2019s son shall walk the world\nand win it, and die a bitter death before he may return.\u201d These\nwere the wonders that happened ere the birth of Alexander.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nNow drew on the time when this noble child was to be born, and as\nhe came to earth temples and towers tumbled on heaps, thunder rang\nthrough the welkin, darkness fell over the earth, the wind rose\nand blew, the lightning flashed over the land, and great stones\nfell from the sky. Then Philip feared, and said: \u201cSurely this son\nthat is born shall do great things, and men will call me the father\nof this child\u201d; and with that he went to Olympias and comforted\nher. But the child grew, nor was he like to father nor mother. His\nhair was yellow-tawny, like a lion\u2019s, his eyes were bright and\nglistening, piercing like blazing stars; grim and fierce was his\nlook, one of his eyes black as a coal, the other yellow like gold;\nhis voice was loud, even from his first cry, nor could any hear it\nwithout inward fear. Alexander was his name, and the wisest man\nof all the world, Aristotle, was his tutor, nor would he learn of\nother. Clever and wise was he, nor did he sit with the crowd of\nboys, but on a bench beside his master, for it became not a king\u2019s\nson to sit down undistinguished from other boys. In four or five\nyears he learnt more than many scholars learn in seventy winters.\nAnd when he was eleven years old he set him to learn the art and\ncraft of battle, to wield a spear and a lance, to ride a noble\nsteed in armour, so that in a few years was none equal to him, and\nin adventures of arms he surpassed all men.\n\nIt fell on a day that Philip the king was with him, and greatly did\nhe praise him for his deeds, and much was his heart moved towards\nhim; but he said: \u201cSorely my mind is troubled that nought of me\nhast thou in look, nor height, nor colour, whereby men may know\nthat thou art my son\u201d: for Philip was tall and black and dark-eyed.\nThen was the noble queen Olympias grieved when she heard tell of\nthe king\u2019s saying, and she sent for Anectanabus, the Egyptian,\nand he came, but with little speed, for he was now old and grey.\nAnd when he was before her, she asked him what should fall of the\nking\u2019s speech, for ever she had feared the doom that was to come;\nbut he comforted her, and bade her fear not, for he read day and\nnight the stars for her, and none of the king\u2019s thoughts were\nagainst her.\n\nSo he went out, and Alexander with him, and as they went, ever\nthe Egyptian looked at the stars, and down at the ground, and\nsighed. So Alexander asked him at what planet was he looking, and\nAnectanabus showed it him. Then he asked him why he sighed, and\nthe Egyptian said: \u201cMy hour draws near, the son of my works shall\nslay me! Look over our heads and see that red star shine--the star\nof Hercules, how bitterly it moves, but noble Mercury shines ever,\nand great Jove, how jollily he shines--the doom of my destiny is\non me.\u201d And as he said the word, Alexander stumbled forward, and\npushing the unhappy Egyptian, he fell from the wall of the town\nwhere they were walking into the ditch which surrounded it, and\nwith a cry sank. The youth plunged in after him, but when he found\nhis body the old man was dead, and with what grief we cannot tell,\nAlexander carried home the body of Anectanabus to the palace of his\nmother. Let others tell the story of her grief, of her tears, and\nof the splendid tomb of the exiled king--I cannot.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III. HOW ALEXANDER TAMED THE HORSE BUCEPHALUS, AND HOW HE\nDID HIS FIRST DEED OF ARMS.\n\n\nSo it was that there was at this time a certain prince in the land\nof Cappadocia, and in the night as he lay sleeping a vision came to\nhim, and it seemed that his room was filled with a shimmering blaze\nof light, and while he looked a great dragon came into the room,\nand he shut his eyes for fear. Then there came a voice, saying,\n\u201cFear not, O king, but look up, and hearken to my words,\u201d and when\nhe raised his head he saw an exceeding fair man standing in the\nroom, and he had two horns on his head, and a golden crown like one\nof the gods. Then the vision bade him convey the horse Bucephalus\nto the land of Macedonia to king Philip; and tell him that he who\nshould tame this horse should rule the land after him. The prince\nanswered, \u201cWhere is this horse Bucephalus that I may take him?\u201d and\nthe vision said that on the morrow the horse should be brought him.\nAnd suddenly the room was dark, but the prince lay turning this\nmatter in his mind till the grey of the first dawn, and he slept.\n\nOn the morrow as he sat on his seat under the oak of judgment,\nthere came to him some of the country folk bringing with them a\nfair white colt, and his mouth was bound with iron chains. As they\ncame near the king asked them whose was the foal and why they\nbrought him in chains; and the men answered that this colt was so\nwild that no man dare go near him to mount him, and that he would\ntake no food since he had left his mother but the flesh of men.\nThen they consulted the priest of the temple, and he bade them\ncarry the young horse to the king, for he would never be tamed but\nby a great king\u2019s son, nor could any other man mount him. So the\nking gave them a great reward and they went their way. Now the\nhorse had on his forehead two bones like small horns, and the men\ncalled him for that Bucephalus.\n\nNow when the horse was brought to Philip the king of Macedonia he\nwas fain of him, for he was of noble form, and it seemed as if he\nwould be the best horse in the world, so he thanked the prince\ngreatly, and made men build a stable for the horse of iron bars,\nstrong and good. Therein was he put, and men doomed to death\nwere brought to that place and thrown to him, and he tore them to\npieces, and fed on them. And no man willingly went near the stable\nin which he was.\n\nIt fell on a day when Alexander was come to youth, that he chanced\nto stand at a window of the palace while this wild horse was being\nled by in iron chains, and the prince wondered at the sight, for it\nseemed to him that this was the noblest of horses, and he could not\ntell why he was kept in chains. But when he had come down to the\ncourtyard the grooms had gone, so he followed them searching for\nthe horse\u2019s stable, and at the last he came upon the iron house,\nand looking into it he wondered at the horrible things he saw\nthere. Then one of the grooms came up to him and told him how the\nhorse fed on man\u2019s flesh, and how that should be till he was tamed\nand ridden by a great king\u2019s son. Hearing this Alexander went up\nto the bars and called the horse, and the wild animal came up to\nthem, and laid out his neck. Then the prince put his hand through\nthe bars and Bucephalus licked it, and folded his feet and fell to\nthe ground, looking up into Alexander\u2019s face.\n\nThus was the horse tamed, and Alexander lifted up the gate-bolts\nand entered the stable boldly, and stroked Bucephalus on his back\nwith his hand, while the horse turned his head round and watched\nhim fondly. Then he got a bridle and saddle, and girt him round\nand loosed his chains, and leaping on his back rode him off, while\nthe good white horse obeyed the rein as if he had been ridden ten\nyears. Now, while Alexander was riding him round the courtyard,\nmen had run to king Philip and had told him how the prince had\ngone into the cage of the fierce man-eating horse, and the king\ncame down to see what should hap, and found Alexander master of\nthe horse. Then Philip the fierce remembered the saying of the\ngods, and he greeted him with words of praise, and said, \u201cSon, of\na truth thou shalt reign in my stead when I am gone, and the land\nshall wax great. Ask now a gift of me, and I will give it.\u201d \u201cThen,\u201d\nsaid Alexander, \u201cmake me a knight, and a chief with men-at-arms to\nfollow me.\u201d\n\nGreat was the joy of Philip that his son\u2019s first wish was to be a\nleader of men in war, and that he had done this great thing, so\nhe granted it with good will. \u201cI give thee, O son,\u201d said he, \u201cone\nhundred of my best horses, and sixty thousand gold pieces from my\ncoffers, and the best of my chieftains and proved princes to be thy\nmen, and free of my house shalt thou be, to abide there in peace,\nor to go from it to seek adventure in war. Thou hast done a man\u2019s\ndeed, and man shalt thou be called.\u201d Then the prince gave him lowly\nthanks, and sped off to gather together a little band of twelve\nchieftains, picked and proved leaders of men, whom he had chosen to\nlead his men, and when this was done each got together tried men\nto follow them till the number of the band was made up.\n\nNow when Alexander had got together his band, he made ready to go\nout in search of his first adventure, and in few days he rode out\ninto the world in knightly array into a land unknown, nor did he\nstay until he came into the land of Peloponnesus. Now the king of\nthis land was called Nicholas, and when tidings were brought him\nthat a band of strange knights had come into his land, he ordered\nthat a host should be gathered together, and he with a few knights\nrode out far before his following, and came to the men of Alexander\nand began to question them in his wrath and anger, \u201cOh, ye knights,\nwho is your leader, and why come you here in my land?\u201d Then the\ncourteous knight Alexander came to the front: \u201cSir knight,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cPhilip the fierce, king of Macedon, is my father, and I am his\nheir Alexander.\u201d And the king stood up in his stirrups, and sternly\nlooking at him, said, \u201cWhom think you that I am?\u201d \u201cSir,\u201d said\nAlexander, \u201cyou are as now king of this folk, nor do I grudge your\nhonour, but beware of pride, for wise men tell that the highest\nthing falls soonest, and that which is least of all is ofttimes\nbrought to the stars.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue is thy word,\u201d said the king, \u201cand soon shalt thou prove its\ntruth it may be; look well to thyself lest thy speech come home to\nthee.\u201d\n\nThen Alexander burst into rage, and with bitter words ordered him\nto return to his following if he wished safety, and Nicholas the\nking, flaming with bitter wasp-like anger, took up a handful of mud\nand threw it in the face of Alexander, and swore by the heart of\nhis father that he would put him to death with his own hands if he\nfled not. But the noble Alexander controlled his rage at the foul\ninsult, and keeping his face by a mighty effort, though his hands\nwere gripping each other through, said, \u201cAs thou hast wronged me\ncauselessly, Nicholas, I swear by my father and by my god that thou\nshalt see me ere long for this cause, and that I shall take thy\nland from thee, or thou my life from me.\u201d So a day was set for them\nto meet in fight, and they parted on either side.\n\nNow were men on both parts getting them ready for the fight.\nAlexander hurried home into Macedon and assembled a mighty host of\nknights and archers, men proved and skilled in arms. And when the\nhost was assembled, with his princes and captains, he sought the\npresence of Philip and took his leave, and mounting Bucephalus his\nbrave white horse, he led, first of all, his army out of the broad\ngates of the town. So on the appointed day the field is covered\nwith the array of either host, and now men lift up the banners\nand shake them out to the wind, and the clarions sound out till\nthe whole field rings with the music, and the woods and the hills\nanswer them again. Then each noble prepares for battle, his helm\non his head he strides to his horse, and jumps on his steel-clad\nsaddle, he hangs round his throat his bright shimmering shield, and\nhandles his lance. Then is the stamping of steeds, the stripping\nof banners, the clouds of dust rise in the air, and suddenly the\ncrowds meet with a shock in the middle of the plain. Now the steeds\nrear up against each other, and the spears break through the\nblazoned shields and through the helmet bars, while the cypress\nlance shafts splinter into fragments, and down fall knights and\ndukes from their steeds.\n\nWell and nobly did the young Alexander fight his first battle. Sir\nNicholas took him a spear, and rushed on the young knight to get\nhim a name, and to keep his oath that he had sworn. Then Alexander\ntook another lance from his squire, for the first one was strained\nin the fight by this time and might betray him, and they met one\nanother in the field, and men stayed to see this fight. So sore\nwere their strokes that the long lances split, even from point\nto handgrip, so that there was not an ell long piece in either\nman\u2019s hand. Then each threw the fragment away, and out flashed\ntheir swords from the sheaths, and they hacked and hewed at each\nother through mail-coat and helmet. But mail and helm were good\nand gave not way, till Alexander grew mad with rage, and with one\nfull stroke he struck off the head of King Nicholas clear through\nthe neck and helm, and he fell down to the earth. So it was that\nAlexander got him great worship by this victory, for all the men\nof that country and their lords came to him, and falling on their\nknees put them in his mercy, and acknowledged him as ruler of the\nland. Thus he defeated his enemy, and revenged the insult of King\nNicholas, and returned home with fame and good to his father.\n\nThe tale tells that as he entered Macedon he found the town at\nfeast, and his father at his high table; but another woman sat in\nthe seat of the queen, for Philip had put away Olympias, as the\nseers had told her years before. So Alexander bowed him down meekly\nin seeming, and said, \u201cFather, I pray thee receive the fruits of my\nfirst victory ere I go hence to the wedding.\u201d \u201cAnd whose wedding\ndost thou go to?\u201d said the king. \u201cTo my mother\u2019s,\u201d said he, \u201cfor I\nwill marry her to some noble king, and I will make him the greatest\nking on earth, for it likes me not to stay here while she is in\ndisgrace, and I know not for what.\u201d Then Philip grew white with\nwrath, but one Lysias, a knight at the table, said, \u201cO king, heed\nnot his talk, for this fair queen shall bring thee a son greater\nthan him.\u201d Turning to him, Alexander with his truncheon struck him\na blow so that he fell dead to the ground, and men said that in\ntruth he had deserved it; but Philip started up at the deed, and\nsnatching a blade rushed on Alexander, aiming a fierce blow at\nhim, for the gods had blinded his eyes so that he knew not wisdom\nfrom folly, or right-doing from wrong. But as he came on, his\nfeet failed him, and ere he reached Alexander the king staggered,\nstumbled, and fell to the ground, though no man saw cause for it.\nThen Alexander laughed out loud, and said, \u201cDoes the Governor of\nGreece fear one youth? What ails thee to fall?\u201d and he struck over\nthe tables of the feast, and dragging the bride out of the hall\nby her hair he brought her to his mother, for his heart was full\nof wrath at the wrong done to her, while Philip was carried away\nstricken with sore sickness. Thus was his mother avenged, and the\nmarriage feast disturbed.\n\nBut when Alexander\u2019s wrath cooled it came into his heart to make\npeace between Philip and his mother, and rising up he went to the\nbed of Philip, and there he spoke words as a friend might speak,\nand the gods put in the king\u2019s heart to forgive the death of\nLysias, and to reconcile him to his wife; and so the king rose up,\nand leaning on Alexander\u2019s shoulder, went with him to Olympias, and\nthere he took her in his arms and kissed her, and forgave all her\nfaults, and she was made queen again, and reigned in Macedon to her\nlife\u2019s end.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV. TELLS OF THE EMBASSY OF DARIUS, OF THE DEATH OF PHILIP,\nAND THE CROWNING OF ALEXANDER.\n\n\nThe tale tells that on a day men told in Macedon that an embassy\nfrom the Emperor of the World, Darius of Persia, was drawing near;\nand the whole city came out, men, women, and children, to see them\nenter. But there was doubt and fear in the court of Philip, for\nthey were coming to demand from him the tribute which he had not\npaid for the last three years, and the king had made up his mind\nto be no more subject to the Persians, and Alexander had sworn\nto conquer them in war if his father would raise an army against\nthem, but Philip would not, for he knew that no man could count the\narmies of Darius, spent he his whole life to that end.\n\nAnd so the heralds came riding up to the gate of the town mounted\non their high steeds, and there were three of them, and each of\nthem was a king, and wore armour of proof. On each man\u2019s head was\na golden crown, and their pages bore before them their helmets.\nThe herald who was on the right wore bright silver armour; his\nsurcoat was dark green, and on it was worked a fierce tiger rushing\non his prey, and he was the herald of Media. The herald riding on\nthe left wore black armour from head to foot, and his surcoat was\nof scarlet, and on it was a wild boar turning to face his foe, and\nthis was the herald of Persia. But the herald in the middle was\nclad from head to foot in bright gold, and his surcoat was of a\ndeep clear blue, and on it shone the sun high over all the world,\nand all men shouted when they saw him, for he was a head taller\nthan common men, and he was the herald of the Emperor of the World.\n\nWhen they reached the gate the trumpeters blew three long calls on\ntheir trumpets with a silence between each, and the drawbridge,\nwhich had been raised, slowly fell, and the great gate of the\ncity opened, and the herald of the King of Macedon came forth and\ngreeted them fair, and offered them rest and hostage till such\ntime as they should see the king. But they said, \u201cO dear brother\nand friend, it is not fitting that we eat or drink in this town\ntill we have done the errand of our lord, or till we know whether\nwe harbour with friends and servants, or with foes and traitors\nof the Master of the World. Wherefore we pray you, dear brother,\nthat you will lead us to the hall of your prince that we may do our\nerrand, not doubting that after it we shall be beholden to your\nlove for rest and comfort.\u201d So the heralds dismounted, and their\nmen remained without with their horses, while they went into the\ntown and through the streets up to the palace hall of Philip.\n\nNow the king was sitting on his throne under the da\u00efs at the upper\nend of the hall, and on his right hand sat the noble Alexander, and\nround the king on his right and his left were the nobles of the\nland, greybeards and youth. And when the coming of the heralds was\ntold them the king rose from his seat, and as they stepped forward\nso did he, and he came to the middle of the hall and three steps\nfurther, for all men did reverence in those days to the herald.\nAnd he greeted them, and on the neck of each man he threw a chain\nof gold, and much he praised them for their fame. But the heralds\nspoke and said, \u201cO king, we have a message for thee, nor may we\ndelay.\u201d And he said, \u201cSpeak on.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: The Heralds of the Emperor Darius.]\n\nSo the Wild Boar of Persia spake: \u201cO Philip, for three years thou\nhast not sent thy accustomed tribute to Persia, nor a part of it.\nNow, therefore, pay it at once, or fear the wrath of Persia.\u201d Then\nthe Tiger of Darius the Mede, spake: \u201cO king, forasmuch as in\npast years thou hast served the king, and as perchance thy land\nhas suffered from famine and war, thy king and friend, Darius,\nforgives thee freely thy past tribute by my mouth.\u201d But the herald\nof the Empire of the World added: \u201cOn this condition only, that\nthou payest over to me three sacks full of Grecian earth in token\nof thy obedience to the great Emperor, and to show that hereafter\nthy tribute shall not fail.\u201d\n\nFor a short time there was silence in the great hall, and then\nAlexander spake out: \u201cFair father and lord, suffer me to answer\nfor thee.\u201d Then turning to the heralds, \u201cReturn,\u201d said he, \u201creturn\nto your people and to your master, and bid him to send no more\nmessages here of this matter, for know that Philip hath a son grown\nthat yields to no man, and obeys no lord. Tell him that the land\nof Macedon which in times past yielded him wealth so freely is now\nbarren, and will give him henceforth no tribute, come what may.\u201d\nThese words and more he said, yet he departed not from the courtesy\nthat beseemeth great lords, and the heralds wondered at his speech,\nand greatly they praised him to his father. But Alexander sought\nout the herald of the Sun and gave him a fair jewel, and said to\nhim that it was to retain him against the day when he should be\nemperor in his turn.\n\nIt must be said that these heralds had gone through all the lands\nsubject to the Emperor of Persia, for they had a secret errand\nfrom Darius. Now Darius had no son, and but one fair daughter,\nRoxana by name, and he was minded to marry her to one of the\nking\u2019s sons of the lands, so the heralds were straitly charged to\nget the portraits of the princes and kings, and in their train\nwas a skilled painter. Thus it fell that during the three days of\nguesting the painter drew a likeness of the prince exactly his\nheight and size, and it was taken back to Darius with the other\nportraits, that the Emperor might choose the prince who should\nmarry his daughter, and succeed him in the empire. And after the\nthree days of hostage the heralds took their leave of King Philip,\nand went their way, and in due time they arrived at the court of\nDarius, the proud king of Persia, and there they told him how his\ntribute was lost, and how Philip\u2019s son had spoken.\n\nIn Macedon meanwhile many things had happened, for it was told\nPhilip that all the land of Armenia had revolted against him, and\nthat the earls and princes were in arms, so Alexander gathered a\nhost and marched against them, and, shortly to tell, he laid waste\nall the land of the rebels. But while he had marched away a worse\nthing fell to Philip, for a prince of the land, Pausanius, son of\nCerastes, who dwelt in the marches of Macedon, and was one of his\nnoblest knights, rose against him. And this was the reason of his\nrebellion:--For many years this lord had loved the queen Olympias,\nand when Philip put her away he had come to the feast of the\nking\u2019s new marriage to defy him and to take her away, but when\nAlexander restored her to her place he departed sorrowful, and the\nlove in his heart burned up, till at the last he summoned all his\nfriends to make war on Philip, if by any means he might kill him,\nand carry off the fair queen to be his wife.\n\nNow Philip gathered together all his men and went out to war with\nPausanius, but the folk that were with him were few, and when they\nmet in the field fear fell on him, and he turned and fled to his\ncastle. Then all men shouted when they saw that the great Philip\nhad shewn his back, and Pausanius sprung out of the ranks on his\nproud steed, and speeding after the king struck him through the\nback to the breast and bore him to the earth, and there he lay on\nthe highway half dead. Then Pausanius rode on, and all Philip\u2019s men\nfell back, for they were sore troubled when they saw their king\nwounded to death. So the prince came to the castle, and joy was in\nhis heart, for he thought to bring out the fair queen and to lead\nher away. But in the heat of his joy Alexander returned victorious\nfrom Armenia with the nobles of Macedon, and when he heard the\nnoise of the weapons he spurred into the town. Now the queen had\nshut the door of the castle-keep, and when the noise of the host\nwas heard she flew to the window at the top, and by the arms and\nspoil she knew it was her son returned victorious. Then the queen\ncalled to her son with a loud voice, \u201cO son, who shall never be\nconquered, avenge and help thy mother in her need,\u201d and Alexander\nheard her, and wrath rose in his heart. But when Pausanius heard\nthat Alexander had come, he came armed out of the palace, and with\nhim a host of mighty men, and the hosts met in mid-field; yet short\nwas the fight, for Alexander swung out his sharp sword and with one\nblow struck him dead, and all his men gave up their weapons to the\nnoble conqueror. Then came one and told him that his father lay\nwounded on the highway, and Alexander rushed forth and found him as\none near death, and he fell down by his side and wept bitterly. But\nthe old king said, \u201cAh, son Alexander, now am I near my end, but\nyet am I glad to have lived long enough to see my slayer so soon\nkilled. Well be thou that thou hast avenged me.\u201d Then he raised up\nhis head and looked at his son, but the effort was too much for\nhim, and with one groan he died.\n\nThe tale tells of how Alexander grieved for the death of Philip\nas one grieves for the loss of his father, and of the burial of\nthe old king: how he was borne on men\u2019s shoulders to bale, how his\nbarons and knights followed him as he was laid to rest in his own\nland, and how all men of the land, rich and poor, noble and simple,\ngrieved for the loss of the great king. The next day Alexander\nsat on his throne, a bright gold crown studded with gems on his\nhead, and in his hand the sceptre of his father. Then the heralds\nproclaimed that all the court should draw near, and that all men\nshould do their liege homage to him, and they came at his call,\nand all men acknowledged him as lord on their bended knees, and\nAlexander put off his crown from him and laid it on the throne,\nand rose up and spoke to his people in this wise: \u201cFair lords, I\nwill in no wise be contrary to your wills, nor to your deeds. But I\nshow to you that I hate frauds and malice, and as I have loved you\nduring my father\u2019s life, so will I do in time to come. And I both\ncounsel and pray you that ye dread the gods, and obey them; and\nthat ye choose for king him that shall best provide for the good\nestate of his people, and that shall be most courteous and merciful\nto poor folk, him that will best keep justice and the right of the\nfeeble against the mighty, and him that most boldly shall put him\nin array to destroy your enemies; for such ought to be chosen king\nand none other.\u201d\n\nNow when the lords of the land had heard his reasons abovesaid,\nand considered his great discretion, wit, and understanding, they\nmarvelled greatly, and answered him thus: \u201cWe have heard and\nunderstand thy great reasons, and have received thy good counsels,\nand therefore we will and beseech thee that thou reign over us, and\nhave the lordship upon us. During thy life may there be none who\nshall deserve to be our king rather than thou.\u201d And thus they chose\nhim to be their king, and crowned him, and gave him their troth,\nand prayed the gods to bless and maintain him.\n\nThat night as Alexander lay on his bed he dreamed, and in his\ndream he saw Anectanabus, the wise Egyptian, come to him; on his\nhead were two ram\u2019s horns, and his coat was brown. It seemed that\nhe came to him as he lay, and put his hand on his shoulder and\nsaid, \u201cStay thou not in this land of Macedon, but go forth into\nall lands, for thou shalt conquer them, and they shall be subject\nto thee, and thou shalt not die, except on a soil of iron, beneath\na sky of gold.\u201d Then came to him one dressed in robes of blue and\npurple and gold, covered with all manner of embroidered figures,\nand on his head was a strange crown of gold and pearls and precious\nstones, and he said, \u201cThe God whom I serve shall teach thee to\ndestroy the empire of the Persians.\u201d And last there came to him a\nvery fair lady, tall and graceful, and she looked on him with love,\nand said, \u201cO Alexander, my heart\u2019s lord, when thou hast overcome\nthe Persians, indeed thou shalt reign over them, and I shall be thy\nqueen and lady-love. Let this be the sign between thee and me, that\nwe meet first at the feast of the Lord of Persia.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V. HOW ALEXANDER GATHERED AN ARMY TOGETHER: HOW HE BUILT\nALEXANDRIA AND LAID SIEGE TO THE CITY OF TYRE.\n\n\nAs to the giving in marriage of the daughter of Darius, the Emperor\nof Persia, it is to be told that on a set day the wise men of the\nland came before him, and the painter brought out to them the\nportraits he had made, and they examined them but found none that\nwas worthy to rule, for one was covetous, and another quarrelsome,\nand a third given to much speaking, and these faults the wise men\nread in the faces on the parchment. Then they came to the likeness\nof Alexander and all men said \u201cThis man is born to be lord of men\u201d\nand they brought it before Darius, and he sent for his daughter\nRoxana, and made her stand by the picture, and when she did so, she\nwas taller than the figure painted thereon. Then Darius turned\naway and said nought, but shook his head, and Roxana took with her\nthe cast-away drawing and bore it to her own rooms, and kept it\nsafe; and she vowed offerings to the gods if they would make this\nman her lord and husband.\n\nBut Alexander gathered together all the warriors of the land, and\nmade them a speech: \u201cLo, barons of Macedon, Thrace, and Thessaly,\nand all true Greeks, how like you now your liege lord: look on my\nface and let fear depart: hold up your hearts, and flee from no\nalien while Alexander lives. The gods have granted me that all the\nbarbarians shall obey me: and there shall be no nation so rich or\ngreat under heaven that my name shall not be honoured there, for\nwe of Greece shall be praised and feared over the wide world. Now,\nthen, prepare ye for war; he who has arms of his own, trusty and\ngood, let him take them; he who has them not, let him come to me,\nand I will furnish him for battle.\u201d\n\nThen answered him with one voice all the old knights and peers of\nhis father\u2019s army: \u201cSire, we have fought often in hard fields with\nSir Philip, your father, and many winters have gone over our heads;\nnow our force fails us and our flesh is weak, for be the flower\nnever so fresh it fades at the last. Sir, all the days of our youth\nare long past, we are over-travelled and tired, our heads are white\nand too weak to bear the helmet or to seek adventures of arms.\nExcuse us, Lord, we pray, and take with thee younger men, stout in\nbattle, and fit to deal heavy strokes.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, by my crown,\u201d said the king, \u201cI cannot spare my old men; an\narmy of young men will often break their line in battle, trusting\nto their own strength. I choose the older men who do all their\nworks by plan and counsel.\u201d And the old knights yielded to his\nwishes, and all men praised his wisdom.\n\nNow the time had come when kings go out to war, and Alexander took\nship from the coast of Greece and sailed towards Italy. So at\nthe first his army turned towards Chalcedon, a strong and mighty\ncity, and he besieged it. And when the men of the city fought but\nfaintly, Alexander rode up to the walls and cried out with a loud\nvoice: \u201cO men of Chalcedon, either fight bravely or yield up your\ntown without delay\u201d; and they of the city were so fearful that\nat the sound of his voice they owned him for master, and all the\nland took him for lord. Then Alexander sailed into Italy and took\ntribute of all men; even the mighty Romans sent him sixty thousand\ngold pieces, and Europe was subject to him.\n\nFrom Europe the king sailed over the great sea into Africa, and\nmany days he sought an enemy and found none, for the fame of\nhim had gone before him. On a day he sought a temple of the god\nAmmon with his earls and mighty men, and there happed on the way\na marvel. For it fell as he was going, that a hart with a huge\nhead leaped forth before them; hardly had man ever seen so noble a\nbeast. Then said Alexander: \u201cLo, the emperor of harts, slay him ere\nhe escape.\u201d And all men shot, but so fleet was the hart that none\ncould reach him. Then Alexander bent a bow, and with a mighty shout\nlet fly at him, and the arrow struck him and pierced him through,\nthough all men deemed that the hart was far out of bowshot. Then\nhis men wondered greatly, and the country folk who saw the shot\ndeemed that Alexander was indeed some god, and the name of the\nplace is called in their tongue Bowshot to this day. But the king\nwent into the temple and offered great gifts.\n\nThen went Alexander on his way and came to a very fruitful land,\na land with twelve rivers running into the sea. And on a night as\nhe lay on his bed he saw in a dream the god of the land, tall and\nfair, clad in a chestnut-brown robe, wearing on his head a gold\ncrown, and having two horns like ram\u2019s horns. And as he dreamed\nthe god said to him, pointing to a high mountain: \u201cKing Alexander,\ncanst thou lift yonder hill and carry it on thy shoulder.\u201d \u201cNay,\u201d\nsaid Alexander, \u201cwho is there under heaven who might try?\u201d \u201cKing,\u201d\nsaid the god, \u201cyour name shall ever be remembered, till yonder hill\nis removed from its place.\u201d Then Alexander laughed out with joy,\nand he said to the vision: \u201cI beseech thee now, O Shining One, tell\nme as at this time ere thou pass away how I shall die, and when my\nday shall come?\u201d Then the god looked on him sadly, and said: \u201cTruly\nI hold it better that a man should not seek to know that which\nshall come upon him; yet since thou hast asked me, I tell thee that\nthou shalt conquer all nations, and die by poison, and thy years\nshall be finished ere thou reach middle age. Ask me no more of this\nas now; far in the Land of the East thou shalt be told the end of\nthy days by number.\u201d And with these words the light in the room\nflickered and blew sideways, and Alexander started up, and behold\nthere was no man with him. Then in the morning the king ordered his\nmen to build him there a city, and that city remains to this day,\nand the name of it is Alexandria.\n\nNow when the city was built, and men from Greece had come thither,\nwith merchants from Tyre and from far lands, to dwell, to buy, and\nto sell, Alexander went forth with his host through all the land of\nEgypt, and the men of that land feared him as one of the high gods.\nAnd as he came to a certain city he found in it an image of a king\ncarved in black stone, a crown on its head, and a royal sceptre in\nits hand; but below it were many words carven--the words which the\ngod had told the men of the land many years before. Then Alexander\nasked the chief men of the city: \u201cSirs, what statue is this, and\nwhat be the words that are written beneath it?\u201d And the men of that\nplace answered him: \u201cTruly, O king, this man was Anectanabus, once\nking of all this land; yet because he was bidden of the gods he\nleft us, and the writing below tells us that he shall come again\nand free us from the Persians, and make us a great people. And some\nmen say that it shall be a son of his that shall do these great\nthings.\u201d Then Alexander knew that this was that same Egyptian who\nhad been his fosterer, and he said to the men of the place: \u201cI knew\nthe man, and for his sake I will make ye free from all men, rich\nand happy shall ye be.\u201d And he fell at the feet of the statue and\nkissed it, and they stood by him in silence.\n\nBut on a day it was told him that they of Tyre had destroyed a ship\nof Alexandria, and had spoken evil of him, and Alexander marched\ninto Syria with all his host to subdue it and to conquer Tyre. Now\nTyre was a fair city, built on an island in a bay, with the sea\nwashing up to its walls. And it was so strong that no army had ever\ntaken it, and so rich that its merchants were princes and hired\narmies to defend them, and all the country round owned the men of\nTyre as their lords. But they of the city said: \u201cWhat king shall\ninjure Tyre, for our walls defend us, and our ships sail every sea,\nand bring to us the good things of earth and food and drink, and\nour wealth is great, and all men shall serve us for it?\u201d\n\nBut Alexander and his host were marching towards them, and one\nday the men of Tyre saw the army of Alexander on the plain before\nthem, for he had taken two strong cities, Damascus and Sidon, and\nhad made all the land subject to him. And as they looked the camp\nseemed to grow and tents were raised, and no man could count their\nnumber. So Alexander\u2019s army was before the town, and he thought\nthat he should take it easily, but not a few troubles were suffered\nbefore Tyre submitted to him.\n\nNow it fell that many days had been spent in fruitless assaults on\nthe city before Alexander found out that its walls were too high\nfor him to take it by storm. Everywhere were turrets and towers of\ndefence, and the wild waves of the sea outside beat on the walls to\nas much purpose as the army of Alexander. Then men began to murmur\nand complain first of one thing, then of another, and Alexander\nordered them to construct a great castle beside the city in the\nsea, and raise it up to the height of the walls of the city, that\nhe might prevent ships coming into it to bring food and riches. But\nwhen the tower was nearly finished the army was in sore strait, for\nfood was wanting in the camp. Princes, dukes and fierce knights\nwere famishing, yea, all men were starving.\n\nThen Alexander pitied his men, and resolved to get provision and\nhelp for them, so he sent special messengers to those tribes which\nwere near, bidding them to send him help both in men and in food.\nAnd among others he sent to Jaddua, chief bishop in Jerusalem, and\nadmonished him to send fresh men for the fight and food for the\nfolk that were with him, and to pay all the tribute due to Darius\nto the Greeks. And he told his scribe to put into the letter gentle\nwords, saying that it was better to be the helpers of the men of\nMacedon than to be the servants of Darius.\n\nNow when the messengers came to Jerusalem they were received by the\nchief bishop in a great hall, and when they gave him the king\u2019s\nletter he went away into an upper room to read it by himself. But\nwhen he had read it he stayed a little, and then coming down the\nsteps into the hall he gave this answer to the envoys: \u201cSirs,\nreturn to Alexander, and say thus: Many years have passed since I\nmade oath never to harm Persia, nor to pass in arms against Darius\nall the days of his life.\u201d When Alexander received this answer he\nwas very wroth, and he vowed to teach the Jews whose orders they\nshould obey; yet he would not leave the siege of Tyre, but sent\naway a part of his army to obtain food for him and the rest of the\nGreeks.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI. TELLS OF THE FORAY OF KADESH, AND OF ITS ENDING, AND OF\nTHE TAKING OF THE CITY OF TYRE.\n\n\nNow the chief of the band he sent was Meleager, one of Alexander\u2019s\nmost valiant knights, and he had with him five hundred lances and\ntheir men-at-arms. His orders were to ride through the valley to\nthe city of Kadesh, which belonged to Tyre, to drive together all\nthe cattle and flocks in the plains, and to bring them to the army\nof Alexander. So he set out, and with him was Sir Sampson, a bold\nknight of the land, who knew all the country round about. They were\nso successful that they gathered together a host of beasts beyond\nnumber, and soon they turned towards Tyre with delight in their\nhearts. But before they had travelled a mile all the country was\nalarmed, and rose in arms against them, and a very valiant knight,\nTheosell, came riding out to meet them, and to prevent their\ngetting away before the host appeared. Now Theosell and his men\nwere armed in plate, and they made such a sudden rush on the Greeks\nthat they struck many down and overrode them, so that those who\nfell to the ground never rose after, and their blows were mighty.\nThen Meleager was moved with wrath when he saw the Greeks turn and\nflee, and mounted as he was on a young horse he seized his spear\nand spurred against the enemy, striking great blows. Sampson, on\nthe other hand, broke his lance at the first encounter, and struck\nout right and left with the broken end, hewing down his foes;\nalso Aristes, a noble knight, was one of those who were chief in\ntheir resistance to the foe, and Caulus had no less an enemy than\nTheosell himself. The first stroke of Caulus\u2019 sword fell on the\nhelmet of Theosell, and struck down through the wooden crest--the\ngreat wild boar\u2019s head--down into the helmet, and before Theosell\nhad recovered from the blow a great swing of the sword struck off\nhis head. Now when this noble knight was fallen to the ground all\nthe folk that followed him, and were able, fled away, and Meleager\nand his men rejoiced that they had slain the leader of their foes\nand had won the field.\n\nSuddenly they were interrupted by the sound of a horn, and they\nsaw an army marching out of Kadesh against them under the command\nof Beritinus, a great lord of the country. The tale tells that\nthere were with him thirty thousand lances clad in plate armour\nand mounted, with others following on foot, so that clouds of dust\ncovered them, and the earth seemed to shake at their tread. Then\nthe Macedonians were sore dismayed to see such a great host come\nout against them, and Meleager was in great mind to send a message\nto Alexander, asking him for aid before they joined battle. But\nthere was no man who would go on such an errand, or leave his\ncomrades in danger of death, and all men set their faces to live\nand die together.\n\nThe first onset of the foe was a fierce one, and not few of them,\nwith their chief Beritinus, met their death, but the Macedonians\nlost Sampson and many another noble. Then began a long struggle\nbetween the few Macedonians and their foes, till at last they were\nbeaten down to a little group of tired, wounded, and bleeding\nsoldiers, breathless and faint, hardly able to strike a blow, yet\nresolved not to flee. Then the brave knight Aristes, although sore\nwounded himself, slew one of the enemy, and, leaping on his horse,\nspurred off to Alexander for help before all the little band was\ndestroyed. Little need to tell that the king was sore grieved, and\ngathering together in haste as many of his knights as he could,\nhe rode off to the rescue of Meleager through the valley, leaving\nTyre and the camp. And ever as he went his eyes dropped tears as he\nthought of his good knights slain, and most of all he grieved for\nSampson, whom he loved well.\n\nBut while Alexander was riding through the valley away from Tyre\nthe men of the town were busy. He had finished a great tower in the\nwater over against the city wall, and had left a guard within it to\nkeep it till his return. But Sir Balaan of Tyre, one of the chief\nmen of the town, prepared great machines and engines for casting\nstones into the tower, and when he had driven the guard from its\nwalls, he sallied out of the town with a host of armed men and\nattacked it. Then the men of the tower defended it sharply, and\nsent out showers of darts and great stones. But Balaan fought so\nbitterly, and sent such a cloud of stones, that none of the Greeks\ncould show themselves on the tower, and his slaves brought engines\nand threw down the top of the tower and tilted it into the sea,\nand all the men in it were slain. Then he got boats and barges and\nattacked the bottom of the castle, and broke down all its lower\npart, and threw the heaps into the sea, and the winds and the sea\nhelped him, and a storm arose and beat the pieces small, so that\nnot one beam remained fastened to another. Thus this great work was\ndestroyed in a day, and Balaan returned to the city and barred the\ngate as before.\n\nBy this time Alexander had come out of the valley and reached\nthe plain of Kadesh. Before him he saw here and there a few of\nhis men fighting in scattered groups, while others of the enemy\nwere collecting the cattle and sheep to drive them home again.\nAll over the plain he saw his men struck down surrounded by heaps\nof the enemy. Then his eyes flamed out with wrath at the sight\nof their danger, and he struck spurs into Bucephalus his horse,\nand springing out with a spear rode straight at the thickest of\nhis foes; and ever as he rode he struck them to earth, so that\nthrough the thickest of the throng his way was marked by a clear\nwide path and his nobles rode after him. And when his lance broke\nhe drew out his long sword and struck down all before him till no\nman of the enemy was on the plain who was not stricken down and a\nprisoner. Then he turned to those of his men who were still alive\nand comforted them with fair words, and much he praised their\nvalour, and then bound up their wounds, and the king left order\nthat the dead should be buried under stone or marble monuments, and\ngathering together the prey, great and small, flocks and herds, he\nreturned with his men to Tyre.\n\nThe tale tells that as he rode out of the valley and came into view\nof Tyre his first look was towards the great tower he had built,\nand sore was he grieved when he found that it had been destroyed,\nand that his soldiers that were in it had perished; and all the\nMacedonians mourned, and they trusted no longer that Tyre would be\ntaken. But that same night Alexander was sleeping by himself in his\ntent, and he thought that he saw a great vine before him, and that\nhe put out his hand and plucked one grape out of a ripe cluster.\nThen he flung it on the floor and put his foot on it, and when he\nhad broken it, lo! wine flowed out, so much that it was a wonder to\nsee. In the morning, when the king rose, he called to him a wise\nman, and bade him tell what the dream should mean; and the wise man\nsaid: \u201cO king, fear not; Tyre is thine own; for this berry that\nthou didst break is the town of Tyre, and thou shalt tread under\nthy feet its towers within few days.\u201d Then the king rejoiced, and\nset about to make many plans, if by any means he might come within\nthe walls of Tyre.\n\nSoon another tower was in building, right in the same place as the\nfirst had been, half as large again and higher than the town-walls,\nfirmly anchored and fastened so that it could not move, close\nagainst the sea-wall of the town. And when the tower was built\nAlexander clad himself in armour of steel, its plates shining in\nthe sun, and went to the top of it and looked over the town and\nsaw its walls, and then he looked to his camp and saw the Greeks,\nand he resolved to make no more delay but to take it by storm at\nonce. So he ordered the Macedonians to make ready for the battle,\nand when they saw him on the walls of Tyre to lose no time, but\neach man to follow him. Then began the beating of drums and the\nloud blare of the trumpets till the town and camp rang with their\nbrazen strokes, and all men rushed to the assault of the walls.\nThe archers came within bowshot of the walls, covered with great\nshields which they held before them, each shield covering two men,\nand shot keenly at every mark that showed itself, and their arrows\nwere deadly as adders; nor were they of the town less eager to\nreturn their bowshot, and from the walls they cast great stones\namong the Greeks. Suddenly the gates of the town opened, and the\nTyrians made a sally out, wounding and killing many of the archers,\nfor they were good spearmen, and could cast the dart.\n\nBut Alexander and his princes had passed up into the tower, and\nsome of the lords were armed with lances, and some bore huge\ntwo-handed swords, and many carried the battle-axe, and a few\nhad cross-bows which shot great bolts of steel. Then from the\ntower they passed on to the sea-wall of Tyre and fought their\nway among a crowd of foes, Alexander ever the first. Long were\nit to tell of the fight and of his valour, for they of the town\nworthily withstood him, and ere they made sure their footing on\nthe town-wall, many knights had been stricken down backward into\nthe deep water. But when they saw that, the Greeks became maddened\nwith rage, and no wound could make them pause, and as they obtained\na footing they fell to shooting with cross-bows, and with their\ngreat catapults, each stone like a man\u2019s head, and the yeomen\ngot out great crowbars and began to tear down the turrets and\nbattlements; while the knights hurried forward beating down their\nopponents. At last a breach in the walls was made, and then the\nhost of Alexander rushed into the town, eager to revenge the death\nof so many of their comrades, and the men of Tyre thronged thick\nto the wall to guard the entrance. But Alexander forced his way\nthrough them all and over the broken wall into the city, and the\nfirst man he met was Balaan. Short was the fight, for one stroke of\nhis mighty sword laid Balaan low, and he was thrown into the sea\nbeneath the walls. Then when the Tyrians were driven from the walls\nthe Greeks clambered up them with all manner of ladders, on each\nstep a cluster, and those who had no ladders climbed up the stones\nwithout them, and in short time Tyre was in their hands, for after\nthe death of Sir Balaan no man could lead the men of the town or\ngive them heart to fight.\n\nThen Alexander commanded to cast down the walls of Tyre, and when\nit was done it came into his mind to punish the men of Jerusalem\nfor their refusal to send him help against Tyre, and his army moved\ndown towards the city. And on his way he conquered the land of the\nPhilistines, and burned down the city of Gaza.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII. HOW ALEXANDER CAME TO JERUSALEM, HOW THE BISHOP MET\nHIM, AND WHAT THERE BEFELL HIM.\n\n\nWhen the word was brought to Jerusalem that Tyre was taken, and\nthat Alexander was on the march towards the city to punish it for\nits disobedience, there was heavy grief and woe, and Jaddua the\nbishop was in great awe, for he said to himself: \u201cNow have I but a\nfew days ago refused to obey this great warrior, and when he the\nmost needed help I denied it him; better had it been for me that\nanything should have happened before I grieved this man, and did\nnot his command. Woe is me and my city.\u201d And Jaddua called together\nthe men of the city, and said: \u201cNow is Alexander at hand, and will\ndestroy our city and us unless heaven help us.\u201d\n\nSo men went through the streets, and it was ordered that all the\ninhabitants of the city should fast for three days, men, women\nand children, and that they should appear in the temple and cry\nwith clean hearts to the King of Heaven to keep them safe from\nthis mighty conqueror. And so it was that the whole city fell to\nprayers and fasting, and woe was on every face. But on the third\nnight, when all the city was asleep and the sacrifices ended, then\na shining one stood by the bishop and spoke joyful words to him,\nsaying: \u201cSir Bishop, I bring thee tidings of bliss and solace. I am\nsent to thee from the Master of men to bid thee be not cast down.\nNow, therefore, rise up early and array all thy city, its streets\nand its houses, in fair attire, open its gates wide, let every man\nbe apparelled in clean and milk-white clothes. And as for thee and\nthy priests and prelates, clothe thee in the dress of thy rule, and\nwhen this conqueror comes, go ye forth to meet him. And fear not to\ngreet him nobly, for he must ride and reign over the round world to\nthe day of his death.\u201d\n\nThen when the day broke the bishop rose and called together all the\nchief of the people, and told them his vision and what the voice\nhad bade him do; and all his clergy and the city assented that so\nit should be, that the city should be adorned and that all men\nshould go forth to meet this their sovereign. So all the people\nhurried home and brought out their richest treasure to adorn the\ncity.\n\nThe broad streets were arched over with awnings of rich and rare\nstuffs. The ground was covered with Tartary silk and with taffeta,\nthat so noble a ruler should not tread on bare earth. The pavement\nwas covered over with woven stuffs, and canopies of fine linen\nwere stretched on high over the gates of the city to keep off the\nheat of the sun, and they were gathered on either side with silken\nropes, and drawn back like curtains, while the houses were hung\nwith Indian stuff of bright blue embroidered with stars, even to\nthe eaves. Thus was the town adorned, and when the gates were\nopened, men without might deem that they looked in on one of the\nseven heavens.\n\nAnd now the people of the city began to come out in procession,\nclothed in their richest robes. First came the bishop with the\npriests of the temple, dressed in royal magnificence. He wore under\nall a long robe covered with birds and beasts embroidered in blue\nand purple, and on that a robe with gold skirts, with many shining\nstones sprinkled all over, and set stiff with sapphires and other\ngems, and powdered with pearls of the purest hue. Over this he cast\non a cope of chestnut colour with rich ribands of gold, and round\nthe hem a border of violet flowers, embroidered with satyrs and\nfauns and the wild beasts of the forest. And on his head he wore\na great mitre forged out of pure gold, bordered with pearls, and\ncovered with such precious stones that no man might look upon it,\nfor it struck out shimmering shafts of light like the beams of the\nbright sun. And with the bishop came the doctors of law, the judges\nof the city, and they were all dressed in tunics of scarlet silk\nbrought from Tartary, and were loaded with their golden chains of\noffice; and after them the clergy, all clothed in their brightest\ndress. Such a sight had never been seen before, nor will it be seen\nagain.\n\nAfter the bishop and his attendants the whole city came in order,\nMayor, merchants, masters and men, widows and wives, all came with\ntheir companies, and each of them dressed in white linen pure as\nthe driven snow. Then a company of children came forth with bells\nand banners and blazing torches; some bore censers with silver\nchains and burning spices within, whose smoke rose to the clouds,\ntwo bore a cushion of brown velvet embroidered with pearls to\nbe held before the bishop for his book to rest on, others bore\ncandlesticks of gold and of silver, and the relics of the temple,\nthe richest of the world. And all the procession went on till they\ncame to a little place outside the town whence they could see the\ntemple, and there they abode the coming of the king.\n\nAnd now they heard the tramp of feet and the distant sound of\narms and horses, for all men kept silence in fear and doubt and\nhalf-hope, and they knew not how soon they might be ridden down\nand slain or made slaves, or whether they should indeed be saved\nas the bishop had told them. Then they saw Alexander riding up\nwith a host of dukes and princes and earls, and at the same time\nthe king caught sight of their array, and when Alexander saw this\nmultitude of men in milk-white clothes he thought it a marvel, and\nhe turned and saw the crowd of priests in maniples and stoles, and\nthe doctors of the law and the prelates in their robes; and amidst\nthem all, the chief amongst them, the bishop, dressed in his array\nof gold and purple and fine linen; and the king\u2019s eyes fixed on him\nand looking up he beheld on his mitre a plate of fine gold, and on\nit was graven the great name of The Maker of Men. Then the king\ncommanded his knights to approach no nearer on pain of their lives,\nbut all, great and small, to remain behind, and he spurred on his\nhorse till he came up to the spot where the bishop was standing,\nand then jumping down he fell on his knees before the bishop on the\ncold earth, and beating his breast worshipped the Holy Name that he\nsaw written on his head.\n\nThen all the people bowed themselves down before Alexander as he\nstood up, and meekly kneeling they cried with a keen voice: \u201cLong\nmay he live, long may he live.\u201d Then the fairest lady of them\nall came out and cried: \u201cLo, Alexander, the noblest lord under\nheaven, long may he live, the mighty emperor, the wielder of all\nthe world, the mightiest on the earth.\u201d And all the people of\nthe city answered her with one voice: \u201cLong may he live, long may\nhe live.\u201d Then stepped out a man and he cried out: \u201cLo, he that\novercometh all men, who shall be overcome never; The greatest, the\nmost glorious, that ever was made by God.\u201d And all the people cried\nout at once: \u201cLong may he live, long may he live.\u201d\n\nNow there were with Alexander many of the rulers of the land of\nSyria who had yielded up their lands to him, and when they saw him\nbow down, as they thought, to the bishop of the Jews, they held it\na great wonder. Then Parmeon, one of Alexander\u2019s princes, went up\nto him, and asked him why he bowed down to the bishop of Jews, when\nall other men bowed before him instead. And Alexander answered him:\n\u201cNay, I neither hailed him nor bowed down to him, but to the King\nof Heaven alone, the Father of gods and of men. For many days ago,\nwhen I was in Macedon, one appeared to me in such a dress and shape\nas this man now wears. And I mused in my mind how I might win Asia,\nand he bade me fear not, but that all the land should be mine, and\nwhen I saw this man, verily he seemed the same god who had spoken\nto me. Now have I good hope, by the help of this God whose Name is\nwritten yonder, to conquer Darius and to destroy the empire of the\nPersians.\u201d\n\nAnd now the bishop had greeted Alexander full lowly, and all men\nhad done him homage, and they prayed the king to enter into the\ntown, and Alexander marvelled to see how fair a city it was, and\nthe people of the land received him with reverence and joy as he\nwere the leader of them all, or as one come down from the gods.\nThen went they through the town, and the bishop brought them to the\ntemple that the great knight and king, Dan Solomon, had built, and\nthe wise men of the temple came forth, and Alexander heard of their\nlore. Then came one of the oldest of them all and spoke words to\nthe bishop, and he arose and bowed down before Alexander and said:\n\u201cO king, verily there are words concerning thee and thy deeds in\nthe books of our holy place,\u201d and he ordered the temple guardians,\nand they brought out a huge roll, a broad book full of dark sayings\nof the times to be, and there was the saying of a mighty seer, one\nDaniel by name, and Alexander read how that the men out of Greece\nshould utterly destroy the people of Persia.\n\nThereupon was Alexander merry of heart, for he deemed that the\ntime had come, and that he should indeed beat down Persia, and\nhe ordered his men to fetch great gifts, and to each man he gave\nchains of gold, and jewels of pearls and of rubies, and to the\nbishop he gave store of bezants, great round heavy golden coins,\nsuch as bishops love, and he showed him a heap of golden talents,\nbut the bishop feared to take such riches. Then said the king: \u201cO\nBishop, ask what thou wilt in this world, anything mayest thou ask\nthat I may give, and I will grant it thee ere I go hence.\u201d And the\nbishop bowed him down to the ground and said: \u201cO King Alexander,\nthis thing of all others I deeply desire, durst I name it, that\nthou wouldst grant us the use of our law, as our fathers before us\nhave obeyed it, and if it may be, grant us that we pay no tribute\nfor seven years, in memory of the joy of thy coming, then shall all\nmen pray for thee and serve thee, and, if I may but add one thing,\ngrant to those of Media and of Babylon that they may freely obey\nour law.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat grant I thee,\u201d said the king, \u201cask now for thyself, and be\nserved.\u201d \u201cNay, lord, no more, if I may have your love and your\nlordship while my life lasts,\u201d said the bishop, and he and all men\nmeekly thanked Alexander. And Alexander appointed a lord to dwell\nin the town, hear what men said, and be his viceroy, and the bishop\nblessed him, and he departed into the cities near at hand, and all\nof them came out to welcome him and to acknowledge him their lord.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII. TELLS HOW DARIUS THE EMPEROR SENT PRESENTS TO\nALEXANDER, AND WHAT WAS THE PRESENT SENT BACK TO HIM.\n\n\nBut it fell that some of them of Tyre had fled into the court of\nDarius, and they complained to him of their city destroyed, and\n\u201call this,\u201d said they, \u201cwe suffered because we obeyed the great\nking, the Emperor Darius.\u201d Then began the Emperor to question them\nconcerning this Alexander, what manner of man he was, what was his\nstature and his strength, whether he were brave or no. And they,\nwilling to bring shame on the name of their enemy, shewed Darius a\npainting of him on parchment. But when Darius looked on it he burst\ninto laughter, and all men smiled, and he said: \u201cWell for ye, ye\nmen of Tyre, if ye were beaten by such a man as this, for never saw\nI such a warrior,\u201d for they had painted him a little shrivelled\ncreature, more like an ape than a man, with long arms, and one leg\nlonger than the other, blinking and stupid, the most miserable\nobject that had ever been seen. And Darius drove the men of Tyre\nfrom his presence, and asked his wise men concerning Alexander, who\nand what manner of man he was; and they told him how he was the\nking\u2019s son of Macedon, and how they had chosen him as fit to be the\nhusband of Roxana, and how he had rejected him because of his small\nstature.\n\nThen Darius bade search for his portrait and bring it before him\nthat he might look on him; but when they sought it they found it\nnot among the other likenesses, for it is to be said that Roxana\nthe Queen had borne it with her and treasured it up with her chief\ntreasures. So he thought within himself that he would prove the\nheart and wit of the Greek, and he commanded, and they brought him\npresents for Alexander, and first was a ball covered with gold;\n\u201cfor,\u201d said he, \u201che must have something to play with;\u201d then he\nadded a hat, \u201cand,\u201d said he, \u201cthis is better than a crown;\u201d and\nlast they brought him a head-covering made of twigs and osiers;\n\u201cthis is better for such an one as thou, O Alexander, than a bright\nsteel helm.\u201d And Darius fell back upon his throne, laughing, and\nordered messengers to take them to Alexander, bearing with them a\nletter under his broad seal.\n\nSo Darius called for his scribes, and they came before him, and he\nordered them to write a letter to Alexander, and this was the form\nof the letter he wrote:\n\n\u201cDARIUS, the Emperor, king of kings, lord of lords, predecessor of\nprinces, equal to the Sun, the lord of the earth, to Alexander, our\nsubject and our servant.\n\n\u201cFor it is reported to us that thou, through the vanity and\nvainglory of thy heart, hast got together warriors to lay waste\nparts of our kingdom, and hast now with thee a number of wretches,\nthieves and vagabonds, and by their means dost think to wield at\nthy will the power of Persia:\n\n\u201cNow, therefore, be warned in time, for thou art weak before me,\neven if thou hadst gathered against my empire all the men in the\nworld outside it, for my people are so many that they are like to\nthe stars of heaven in number. Submit in time; the Persians are\nfamed to be unbeaten.\n\n\u201cIt is told me that thou, a dwarf and weakling, dost covet the rule\nof all the lands under the wide heavens, and that, like a storm of\nwind-blown snow, driven hither and thither, thou passest over all\nlands with a train of ruffians behind thee. I have not yet armed my\nmen against thee; beware, when my hand shall be raised, thy life is\ndone. Turn again, boy, to thy mother\u2019s care; take these toys I send\nthee. Know that the riches of Persia are so great, that a heap of\nits gold would shut out the light of the sun, and blame thyself for\nall the evils that shall fall on thee if thou disobey.\n\n\u201cNow, therefore, return at once to Macedon, or, not as the son of\nPhilip, but as a leader of a band of petty thieves shalt thou be\nhung.\u201d\n\nAnd when the letter was written the bearer of the kind\u2019s seal\ncame forward, and the letter was closed, and cords of green silk\nrun through the edges, and dipped in wax, and the great seal was\nstamped upon the wax, and it was given to the messengers of the\nking, with strait commandment that they should tarry neither\nnight nor day until the king\u2019s letter was given into the hands of\nAlexander.\n\n[Illustration: When he saw the letter, his heart was filled with\nrage nevertheless he read it out in the hearing of his knights &\nnobles & they were moved with fear.]\n\nNow, Alexander was standing in the midst of his barons when the\nmessengers of Darius arrived, and as their commandment was urgent,\nhe bade them to be brought to him at once. And when he saw the\nletter his heart was filled with rage, nevertheless he read it out\nin the hearing of his knights and nobles; and when these heard it\ntheir hearts were moved with fear of the mighty words of Darius.\nSo Alexander looked on them and he saw that they were afraid, and\nhe spoke to them: \u201cWhat now! my worthy warriors, my bold knights\nand barons, the best under heaven that ever king had, let it never\nbe told against you that the proud boasting of a letter of Darius\nbrought you to doubt yourselves, else were it shame indeed. Look\nyou, now, every day we ride through a village you may hear as\nloud a yelping from any cur at a cottage door, but loud as they\nbark they never bite. But methinks his letter should rather make\nyou rejoice, when he tells you what treasure of gold he has, for\nit needs but to be bold and that treasure shall be yours.\u201d And\nthen the anger in the king\u2019s heart broke out, and turning to the\nmessengers of Darius, he said: \u201cBut for ye, that dare to bring such\nthreats to a Greek, ye shall learn the anger of Alexander. Take\nthem by the throats,\u201d said he to the attendants, \u201cand for their\nmaster\u2019s sake, hang them on the gallows.\u201d\n\nThen the messengers were amazed, and with a keen cry called to\nAlexander: \u201cAlas, O king, what fault lies in us, if it please thee,\nthat we should die thus suddenly.\u201d \u201cThe sayings of your sovereign\nlord,\u201d said he, \u201cforce me to such deeds as I would never have\ndone else: lo, now, he calls me a thief in this letter.\u201d But they\nfell on their knees before him and said: \u201cO king, Darius himself\ndictated those words, for he knew not of your knighthood, nor of\nyour strength, nor of your worthiness, and so he wrote boldly; but\ngrant us our lives, and leave to go, and we will show him all your\npower and your might.\u201d So Alexander forgave them and made them a\ngreat feast in his own tent, and made much of them, so that he\nwon their hearts; and they said to him: \u201cSir Alexander, send with\nus, we pray thee, but one thousand of your knights, and we will\ndeliver Darius into your hands.\u201d But the king answered them with\nlittle love: \u201cRejoice in your feast, O messengers; verily no knight\nof mine shall be sent to aid in betraying your lord.\u201d\n\nBut in the night, one of the Persian messengers, a little man and a\ncrooked, having one arm longer than the other, came to the tent of\nthe king, and when he was admitted he asked that all men might be\nput forth. So they were left alone, and the messenger drew from his\nbreast a leathern roll, and in it was a blue embroidered silk bag\nof fair work, the lion on one side and the rising sun on the other,\nand he laid it in the hand of the king. Then Alexander opened it,\nand found within a scarf of green covered with fair half-open\nflowers, and he looked on the messenger, and he answered: \u201cO king,\nthe fairest dame in Persia sends thee this to the end that thou\nmayest wear it in thy helm. One day, if the gods will, thou shalt\nsee her and know her name.\u201d Then the messenger bowed low, and went\nhis way to his fellows, and all men slept.\n\nThe next day the messengers were called before Alexander and his\ncouncil, and a letter was given them, closely sealed up, to bear to\nDarius. Now this was the form of the letter:\n\n\u201cI, ALEXANDER OF MACEDON, son and heir of Philip the defender of\nGreece, and of Olympias the fair, to thee Darius, prince of the\nPersians, the conqueror of every land--as you say yourself--thus\nwrite under my seal.\n\n\u201cLet no man despise any neighbour who seems to be smaller and\npoorer than himself, since the lowest is often raised to the\nheavens, and the proudest ground to dust. And thou, Emperor of the\nWorld as thou callest thyself, dost dishonour to thy name when thou\nsendest such gifts out of Persia. Thou speakest as if thou wert one\nof the gods that cannot die. I am but a mortal man, and will attack\nthee.\n\n\u201cThou hast destroyed thine own renown. If I am beaten, thou thyself\nhast called me but a petty thief, and no honour shalt thou have:\nif I overcome thee, the greater glory is mine, and men shall ever\ntell how I have conquered a king, the greatest in the world.\nNevertheless I hope that one of thy tales is true, that of the\ngreatness of thy riches, for it has raised our hopes, and sharpened\nour wits, and made us eager for battle, that we may the sooner\nexchange our poverty for thy riches.\n\n\u201cBut as for thy presents, know, O Darius, that the ball thou hast\nsent represents the world, and thou hast handed over the mastery\nof the world to me: the hollow hat held before the head when it\nis bowed, shows that all kings shall bow before me: and this\nheadpiece of twigs is to say that ever shall I overcome, and be\novercome never. In the day of thy defeat, O Darius, remember my\ninterpretation of thy gifts.\u201d\n\nThen great gifts were given to the messengers, and they were sent\nout of the camp to Darius, and Alexander made all his preparations\nfor the war against the Persians. But when Darius had read the\nletter of Alexander, and heard the words of the messengers, he was\nsore angered, and he made up his mind to fall on the Greeks and to\ndestroy the power of Alexander. So he wrote to two of his greatest\nsatraps, the duke Priam and the duke Antigonus, ordering them to\nget their forces together and to go out and seize this insolent lad\nwho was so bold as to defy the army of the Persians, and who had\nentered the borders of Asia with such a large number of followers.\n\u201cThen,\u201d said Darius, \u201cbring him bound to me, that he may be well\nbeaten with scourges and then I will sew him up in a mantle of\nbright purple and send him to his mother. Since he is so proud, the\npunishment of a child will be best for him, and when all is over he\nmay play at home at bowls or handball with his mother\u2019s servants.\u201d\n\nNow this letter reached the dukes soon after they had fought a\ngreat battle with Alexander\u2019s men and had been defeated; so when\nthey had broken the king\u2019s broad seal and turned the leaf to read\nthe letter, they looked on one another, and they thought that\nDarius could not know what manner of man Alexander was, or how\nhard it was to stand before him in battle. So Sir Priam the duke\nwrote to Darius by a special messenger that this child, whom they\nhad been ordered to seize, had wasted all their lands, and had\npassed through the province, and that when they had raised an army\nto meet him, neither prince nor soldier could face him sword in\nhand: and the letter ended by begging the king to come at once to\ntheir aid with as many men as he could, that the honour of Persia\nmight not be put to shame.\n\nSo Darius called a council to advise him as to the best means of\nmeeting Alexander, but before they were met another messenger came\nwith tidings that the Greeks had crossed the river that was called\nthe boundary of Persia, and that they were now in the Emperor\u2019s own\nland. And when this was told the council all men wondered how that\nAlexander should be so bold as to enter Persia, or to disobey the\nletter of Darius, and they advised the king to write once again to\nhim, reproving him, and that if he still disobeyed, that he should\nbe crushed to the earth, and the king did so, for he knew not how\na man could disobey his order.\n\nThe tale tells that when this letter reached Alexander it found\nhim in great grief, for messengers had come from Macedon telling\nthat his mother was like to die, and Alexander had bidden his men\nstrike their tents and return home to Macedon. So the messengers\ndrew near trembling, and gave the letter of Darius to Alexander,\nand with it was a glove full of poppy seeds, which are almost the\nsmallest of all seeds. So Alexander read the letter and he laughed\nout, for Darius had told him that even the gods obeyed him on\nearth, and now bade him return to Macedonia ere his wrath should\narise. \u201cAnd as a token,\u201d added Darius, \u201cI send thee this glove full\nof seeds, count them if thou canst, and thou hast the number of\nknights in my army. But the seeds are numberless, and so are the\nsoldiers I rule.\u201d\n\nThen Alexander called to him the messengers, and said: \u201cHearken,\nand tell the king that which you see and hear.\u201d Then he took the\nglove and poured out some of the seeds into his hand, and biting\nthem he said: \u201cHere I see that the soldiers of Darius are passing\nmany, but they seem to be soft and feeble, as these seeds prove.\nBut be they soft or hard, it matters but little.\u201d And he wrote\na letter to Darius telling him that though he was returning to\nMacedon it was not on account of the threats of the Persians, but\nbecause his mother was at point of death, and that he would return\nwith an army larger than before. \u201cAnd in answer to thy glove full\nof seeds, I send thee a purse full of black pepper, that thou mayst\nsee the comparison between the Persian and the Macedonian.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX. TELLS HOW ALEXANDER DESTROYED THEBES AND HOW IT WAS\nREBUILT AND OF HIS RETURN TO PERSIA.\n\n\nThe tale tells that when the messengers of Darius departed, loaded\nwith rich presents, to carry the message of Alexander to their\nlord, Alexander and his host set out on their homeward way, and\npassing through Arabia, a great army of Persians fell on them,\nunder the leadership of duke Amonta, the head of all that province.\nLong were it to tell of this fight, for Amonta was one of the\nbravest of the Persians, and it seemed that Alexander had found an\nequal. Two days the fight had lasted, from the grey morning till\ndark night; many were the noble knights overthrown on both sides,\nand such showers of blood fell that the fetlocks of the horses were\ncovered with blood. But on the third day, the story tells that\nin broad mid-day the battle was at its highest, when suddenly the\nsky began to grow dark, and, looking up, men saw darkness over the\nface of the sun. Then all men feared for the wrath of the gods, but\nAlexander cried out to the Greeks with a mighty voice: \u201cSee, the\nGreeks have conquered the sun of Persia,\u201d and with a great shout,\nthe men of Macedon fell again on the Persians, and they turned and\nfled from the field, and many of them were slain, struck from their\nhorses by the mighty blows of the Greeks. Then Amonta the duke was\nborne away from the field by the mad rush of the frightened horses,\nand his wounds were sore, so that he could not face the enemy, and\nat the last he fled with the rest.\n\nBut so it was, that when he came to the Court of Darius, that he\nfound there the king\u2019s messengers, who had just arrived from the\ncamp of Alexander, for they had ridden slowly with the letter and\nthe gifts. And Darius the emperor was seated on his da\u00efs, holding\nthe letter in his hand unopened, and he questioned the messengers:\n\u201cWhat said he of the seeds I sent him?\u201d Then the messengers\nanswered: \u201cThe king caught up a handful of them and bit them, and\nhe said, truly the Persians were many, but there was one thing that\npleased him, they were but soft.\u201d Then Darius put forth his hand to\nthe purse and bit at one of the grains in it, and he said: \u201cTruly,\nbe his men even as few as these, if they be but as keen and sharp,\nall the world would be too weak to meet them in arms.\u201d\n\nThen the Duke Amonta spake up among the peers who were standing\nround, and he said: \u201cBy your leave, my most gracious lord, this\nking leads but few men, but never were there fiercer in the field\nthan they are. For I fell on them with an army greater than their\nown by five thousand men, and yet they defeated us and slew many\nfierce earls and brave knights, and threw down my banner. Three\ndays we fought with hard blows on either side, yet at the last\nhardly did I escape unslain from their hands. Yet was Alexander\nnone the prouder for their victory, but he buried the dead Greeks\nand Persians side by side in the grave with all honour.\u201d Then\nthe King of Persia grieved for the death of his knights, but he\nrejoiced more at the going of Alexander.\n\nThe march of Alexander took him on through Cilicia and over the\nmountains of Taurus and into the land of Troy, and there he saw the\nplace where Troy had once been, and the famous river Scamander, and\ngrieved because there was no noble poet like Homer to tell of his\ndeeds. And at the last he came to Macedon, and there he found his\nmother mended of her malady, and great was his joy. Then he stayed\nwith her some days rejoicing, and he got together fresh soldiers,\nand set his face against the land of Persia, ready to begin a\njourney from which he was never to return.\n\nNow Alexander marched through the land of Greece, and the story\ntells of many adventures which fell to his lot, for some cities\nwelcomed him gladly, and others closed their gates against him, and\nonce the horses of his army were like to have been lost for want\nof forage, so that his knights feared, and murmured against him;\nbut the tale tells chiefly how he warred against Thebes and Athens,\nand what there befell him. Now the town of Thebes was famous for\ndeeds of arms, and Alexander sent to the town to ask for four bold\nknights to go with him to the war with Darius; but the folk of\nThebes shut the gates of the town, and bade him pass on if he did\nnot wish to meet his death at their hands. Then Alexander laughed\nout in scorn and said: \u201cYe be brave men, O Thebans, the mightiest\non earth, and now ye have proffered war to my princes and to me.\nWhy shut ye your gates, for honour bids you come out and meet me in\nthe field to maintain your words?\u201d\n\nThen the siege of Thebes began: he placed four thousand archers\nround the town, with orders to shoot at every wight that showed\nhimself on the walls; he set two thousand men, armed with coats\nof mail and plate armour, to dig down the walls and buildings;\none thousand were told off to fire the gates of the town, and\nthree thousand were appointed to the engines of war. Alexander got\ntogether too a body of slingers to help any of these that were\noverpowered. Now when all things were set, the trumpets blew out\nand the assault commenced. First the archers advanced, covered with\ntheir broad shields, till they got within bowshot of the walls, and\nall at once the hemp cords were drawn and the arrows flew through\nthe air. Then the arbalasters bent their cross-bows and out whirred\nthe quarrels, crashing through the coats of mail. The engines shot\nout their great stones into the towers, and then the fire began to\nburst out at the gates, and soon the four gates of the town were\nin flames, and the town itself began to burn. Then those who were\nunslain in the town yielded them up.\n\nBut there were two minds in the camp as to Thebes; some of\nAlexander\u2019s peers rejoiced to see the town burning, but a minstrel\nof Thebes, Hismon by name, came before Alexander with a sad face,\nasking Alexander to have some mercy on the town. Then said the\nking: \u201cWhy art thou so sad of cheer, my clerk, before me?\u201d and the\nminstrel answered: \u201cO mighty conqueror, if by any means thou canst\nshow mercy on our rich town.\u201d Then was Alexander wroth that any man\nshould be sad before him at what the king had willed, and without\nmore words he gave strait command that the walls of the town should\nbe beaten down and every house in it burnt; and that done he went\non his way with his men, and many of the Thebans went with him, for\nthat they had no longer a city.\n\nThe tale tells that one of the knights of Thebes who followed\nAlexander\u2019s host, a valiant and a mighty man, asked at the temple\nof his god when Thebes should be rebuilt and who should build it,\nand the god answered: \u201cHe who shall build the town shall conquer\nthrice in strife; when that shall be, then shall he raise the\nwalls.\u201d Now as the knight returned to the army of Alexander he\nheard the herald proclaiming with the sound of a trumpet that the\nking would hold a tournament at Corinth, and that great games\nshould there be played. So when the day came the Theban knight\ncame into the ring, and asked of Alexander permission to wrestle,\nand the king appointed a champion to wrestle with him, and soon\nthe champion was thrown. Then another wrestler came forth, and he\ntoo was cast to the earth. And Alexander said: \u201cNow, in faith, if\nthou conquer but once again, thou shalt be crowned for the noblest\nwrestler in Greece.\u201d Then came forth a mighty man, the tallest of\nthe Macedonians, and the Theban knight deemed that he should indeed\nbe beaten, but he thought on the words of the god, and the love of\nhis city filled him, and they scarce grappled before he threw the\ngiant on the ground, and a great shout went up from all men.\n\nThen he was brought to the king and knelt before him, and Alexander\ntook a fair gold crown filled with precious stones, and set it\non his head; and the heralds came to him and said: \u201cTell us thy\nname, O noble knight, that we may write it in our books,\u201d And he\nsaid: \u201cTruly, sirs, my name is Cityless.\u201d \u201cHow so,\u201d said the king;\n\u201cwhat name is that, and how got you it?\u201d \u201cMy lovely lord,\u201d said\nthe knight, \u201cbefore you came I had a people and a town, now have I\nnone, and Cityless am I, and Cityless must be my name.\u201d Then the\nking knew that he was a knight of Thebes, and his heart relented\nfor the city, and he gave orders to cry aloud that all men might\nreturn with the knight to rebuild the town in its first state. So\nwas the saying of the god fulfilled.\n\nSo Alexander went on his way through the land of Greece, and from\neach town he received help and tokens of his lordship. But two\ngreat cities refused at first, the cities of Athens and Sparta,\nthough afterwards they obeyed him. Then he came to the ocean and\nsailed over into Asia, and with him were two hundred thousand men,\nand tidings came to Darius, and he called his council and said\nunto them: \u201cLo, how this Greek grows in might, the more I despise\nhim the greater his power. I sent him playthings, but now he will\nmaster us if we take not heed.\u201d Then said the king\u2019s brother to\nhim: \u201cIf your majesty do not as this man does, we may leave our\nland to him, for in strife he helps his men in all their needs, and\nso his name increases.\u201d And another lord spoke: \u201cThis Macedonian\nis like a lion who leaps on his prey with joy.\u201d \u201cHow so?\u201d said\nDarius, and the knight answered: \u201cYears agone, I was sent with\nyour heralds to Philip his father to claim our tribute, and then I\nsaw and heard him. For your herald told how all men would gather\nat your orders against the foe of the empire--Medes, Parthians,\nItalians--and the youth said: \u2018Yes, but one wolf will worry many\nsheep, and a Greek army will rout many barbarians,\u2019 for so he\ncalled the army of the great king.\u201d So Darius got together his army.\n\nThe tale tells that Alexander on a day went to bathe in a river,\nand the king was heated and the river cold, so that he fell sick\nof a fever and was like to have died. And all the men of his army\nmourned, and said: \u201cDid Darius but know this he would fall on us\nwith his might;\u201d and truly they did well to grieve, for the health\nof the head keeps all the body well. Then one Philip the Leech,\na young man, but well skilled in all manner of medicine, came\nto the tent of Alexander, and said: \u201cMy lord, I can cure you in\nfew hours with a syrup of herbs.\u201d When the duke Parmenides heard\nthis he was jealous of Philip, for he feared that Alexander would\npromote him to great power, so he came privily to the king, and\nsaid: \u201cO king Alexander, take not the drink of Philip, and trust\nhim not, for verily it has been told me that Darius has offered his\nfair daughter and great wealth to the man that shall slay thee,\u201d\nand with that he showed the king a letter in which these things\nwere written. Now Philip had brought the cup to Alexander, and\nthe king stretched out his hand, and looked him in the face, and\ntook the cup, and drank it, and gave the letter to Philip, and the\nphysician looked on it, and said: \u201cMy life for thine, O king, as I\nam guiltless of evil towards thee.\u201d So Alexander fell into a sleep,\nand all men kept such watch that no noise was heard in the camp,\nand when he awoke he was whole and healthy. So he called Philip\nthe Leech to him, and gave him great rewards, but Parmenides the\ntraitor he beheaded.\n\nThen marched he through the land of Media and Armenia till he came\nto the great river, the river Euphrates; and there was no ford over\nwhich the army could pass, so needs must they make a bridge, and\nmen brought boats and bound them together with chains, and then\nthey passed over, first the horses and the baggage, and then the\narmy. And when they were all over the king took his axe and smote\nthe chains in sunder so that the swift stream drove down the boats,\nand the bridge was broken; then turning to his men, he said: \u201cIf we\nflee, here shall we be overtaken and slain; better is it that never\nwe turn our back to the foe, for he that follows has the flower of\nvictory, and in no wise he that flees. Be happy and rejoice, for\nnever shall we see Macedon till the barbarians bow before us--then\nshall we blithe return.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X. HOW ALEXANDER DEFEATED THE PERSIANS, AND HOW HE WENT TO\nTHE FEAST OF DARIUS.\n\n\nNow for the first time the armies of the Macedonians and the\nPersians came in face of each other, and hopes of victory were on\neither side, for the Persians were many, and their battle-leaders\nwere five hundred noble knights. The sun shone brightly, the\ntrumpets rang out against each other, and the long streamers of\nthe lances danced in the wind; the horses pranced, and the young\nknights clashed their arms. Soon Darius ordered the battle to\nbegin, the knights laid their spears in rest, and each, with his\nshield hung before him, spurred his horse; the Greeks came on to\nmeet them, and they crashed into each other with a thundering noise\nand a shout, and all the fair field was covered with stumbling\nsteeds and knights dismounted and wounded and dead; and the clash\nof sword-strokes cutting through coats of mail sounded like the\nnoise of a giant\u2019s smithy. For few minutes the field was covered\nwith clouds of dust, and Alexander could see nothing of the result,\nbut soon it appeared that the Greeks had driven back the foe, and\nthat the first attack of the Persians had failed. So he called\nthe Greek knights around him, and after a breathing space he gave\norders that in their turn they should ride on the enemy.\n\nBut Darius had seen how his men were being borne down, and had\nnoted how their king was first among the Macedonians, and how\nthat no man stood before his blows, so he called to him one of\nhis bravest champions, and said to him: \u201cSir Knight, seest thou\nyon leader of the Greeks, look you now, he wears the colour of my\ndaughter; go thou, arm thee in fresh armour as a man of Macedon,\nand slay him. And if thou so doest, I will give thee my daughter\nRoxana to wife, and thou shalt be after me in the land of Persia.\u201d\nThen that knight answered and said: \u201cThou art my lord; whatsoever\nthou biddest that will I do, and I will smite his head from off his\nshoulders, that no man may hereafter stand against the Emperor.\u201d So\nhe arrayed him in clean bright armour, and over his armour he put\non a silk surcoat in colour like to that of the Macedonians, and\nrode out among them.\n\nNow Alexander was ranging his knights for their grand attack on the\nPersians, and the trumpets blew, and all together they charged down\non the foe. Close behind Alexander rode the Persian knight, and no\nman could see who he was, for the bars of his helmet were closed.\nAnd Alexander, as his wont was, rode into the thick of the fight,\nand struck great blows here and there, and no man stood before him.\nThen the knight drew his sword and spurred on his horse, and struck\nthe king such a blow that it cut through his helmet and down into\nhis cheek, and then as the king wheeled round his horse the sword\nbroke in the helmet. And when the knights around saw the blow they\nrushed on the disguised Persian, but Alexander stayed them from\nhurting him, and said:\n\n\u201cWhat, my knight, why hast thou wounded thy lord and thy helper?\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said the knight, \u201cI am no knight of thine; this did I for\nSir Darius, who promised me his daughter if I hewed off thy head.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake him away,\u201d said the king, \u201cbut harm him not till I give order\nabout him.\u201d\n\nThen Alexander turned to his lords and said:\n\n\u201cWhat shall be done to him for this deed?\u201d\n\nAnd one man advised to hang him, and another to cut off his head,\nand another to burn him alive. But Alexander looked displeased, and\nsaid:\n\n\u201cNay, he has but done his duly to his lord, in that he obeyed his\nword, and his lord has all the blame of his deed. He that condemns\nhim judges himself, for did I order one of you to slay Darius that\nmust ye do. Let him depart and go to his lord, for he strikes a\ngood stroke.\u201d\n\nSo that Persian knight went unharmed from the camp of Alexander,\nand told all these things to Darius.\n\nThen Darius feared, for his army was put to flight, and his knights\nbegan to compare him with the king of the Macedonians, and he\nrode away to a strong city near that place, and there he stayed\nbut short time, for Alexander followed him, and came against that\ncity and took it, and found there treasure untold, and the wife of\nDarius, and his mother, the wisest woman in all Asia; but Darius\nhimself escaped him and fled away. There came one of the princes of\nPersia to Alexander and offered to deliver Darius into his hand,\nfor that he had served that king for twenty years, and yet he had\nnever given him reward; but Alexander refused to take Darius by\ntreachery, and he said: \u201cOne king must not betray another.\u201d So\nday by day the Persian lords came into the Greek camp and owned\nAlexander as their emperor.\n\nNow was another army and a greater one being got together, for\nall the lords of Persia and the kings of the countries about, and\nPorus, king of India, were summoned for a set day. But letters\ncame from the king of India saying that he was sore sick, and could\ngive no aid till he was recovered, and that then he would come; and\nletters came from the mother of Darius, an exceeding wise woman, in\nwhich she bade him make peace with Alexander and submit to him, or\notherwise the empire of the Persians would be utterly overthrown.\nBut he would not obey her, for he hoped to destroy the army of the\nGreeks from the face of the earth. So all the might of Persia met\nat its chief town, Susa.\n\nAfter short time the army of the Greeks had got them ready for the\nfight, and they began to follow up the war against Darius, and they\nwent not so quickly as the Persians, since they were in an enemy\u2019s\nland; but at the last they came in sight of the town of Susa, and\nbehold, it lay in a great plain, and a river a furlong broad lay\nbetween it and them. So Alexander purposed in his mind to send a\nherald to challenge the Persians to fight, for he would not be said\nto attack them without granting them due time. That night, as he\nlay asleep in his tent, he dreamed a dream, and a man of Macedon\nstood by him, dressed in rich attire, with two horns on his head,\nand he knew that it was one of the gods, and the god said to him:\n\u201cMy son, send no messenger to Susa, but go thyself, so shalt thou\nsee Darius and his court, for I will be with thee, and no harm\nshall come to thee.\u201d Then Alexander arose early in the morning and\ntold his knights his dream, and how the god had promised to guard\nhim. So he dressed himself as a herald, and rode off with one of\nhis knights before the sun rose to the army of Darius. Now when\nthey came to the great river Granton, which lay between them and\nthe town of Susa, they found it frozen over with ice a foot thick,\nso he bade the lord that was with him to wait there for him, and he\nhimself rode over the river alone to the camp of Darius.\n\nThe tale tells that this river was wondrous cold by nature,\nand that whether by art magic, or because it was so cold every\nnight, it froze into ice after the sun went down, and the ice was\nexceeding thick; but when the sun rose and the day warmed, then\nthe ice cracked and melted, and the river ran so fast that no man\nmight swim in it, nor might any boat cross it but with danger, and\nno bridge could be built across it for the ice. When the day broke\nthe ice began to thaw, but Alexander was safely over, and he rode\nslowly towards the town. Now when he came to the wall of Susa he\nstopped at the barrier, and bade the men bring him before Darius,\nand they obeyed him, for his rich clothing and his speech showed\nhim to be some great man. And Darius asked him: \u201cWhat man art thou,\nand what doest thou here?\u201d Then Alexander answered him: \u201cO king,\nI am sent to thee by Alexander, he bids thee prepare for battle;\nwhy dost thou stay in the walls of thy town; either come out and\nfight him or own him for master.\u201d And Darius said: \u201cWert thou the\nman himself thou couldst not speak more proudly, but I care never a\ndeal for all thy bold sayings. Still for thy sovereign\u2019s sake that\nsent thee hither, thou shalt sit at supper with me this even;\u201d and\nDarius did him great honour, for all men in those days reverenced\nthe heralds.\n\nSo the heralds of Persia welcomed him, and there came clerks and\nwise men and talked with him of the lands of Greece and of the\nWest, and they told him of the nobles of Persia and of the wonders\nof the land and its richness, and of the land of India and the\nmarvels that men spoke of it. Now among the clerks was one who\nwas short and crooked and ungainly, and the others took little\nheed of him, and he stayed for a while behind and listened, saying\nnought. Then Alexander noticed him and said within himself: \u201cSuch\na crooked and misshapen man would not be in the court of a king\nif he were not exceeding wise,\u201d so he spake to him, and the clerk\nanswered him in few words but weighty. But when those of the court\nwere without for a space, the clerk said: \u201cWere Alexander here,\nhe would see the fairest maid on earth at the supper this even;\nand much honour would she do the knight who wore her scarf in the\nfront of battle.\u201d And with that he drew back, nor did he speak when\nAlexander drew out the scarf from his breast. Then the clerks and\nwise men departed and the great lords came to ask him of the arms\nof the Greek lords, and of their deeds in battle, and of Alexander.\n\nWhen even was come the king gave his hand to Alexander and led\nhim into the hall of his palace, and he sat at meat with Darius.\nAnd ever he thought within himself: \u201cThis barbarian does me great\nhonour in this hall, but soon shall the hall be mine by right.\u201d Now\nthe hall of the palace was of beaten gold; the walls, the seats,\nthe tables, the floor, all were covered with thick plates of gold,\nand the vessels of service, the cups and dishes and platens, were\nof fine gold. And those of the Persians that were there looked upon\nAlexander with curiosity, and they thought little of him since he\nwas so short, for the heralds of the King of Persia were taller\nthan any man in Persia, and the Persians are tall men; but they\nknew not the wisdom and the valour of the man, for they wist not\nthat it was Alexander himself.\n\nAs they sat down to meat, Alexander was put in a seat on the left\nhand of Darius, and as he looked around him he saw at the table on\nthe right hand of the King the fairest damsel that man had ever\nseen, and his eyes saw, almost without seeing, that her robe was of\ngreen covered with fair opening buds, the crown of spring and the\npromise of summer. And as he looked on her she lifted her eyes on\nhim, and saw the scarf of green he wore, and she looked on his face\neagerly and then looked down and away, and fear and longing and\ncontent and hope and joy struggled in her heart, but her face was\nthat of a king\u2019s daughter in the palace hall of her father. Then\nAlexander rejoiced in his heart and he said: \u201cThis maid shall be my\nvery love and my queen.\u201d\n\nNow the feast began, servants ran to and fro, busily helping one\nanother and serving the guests diligently; lutes and harps were\nplayed by the minstrels, and as fast as one dish was taken from the\ntable another was brought, and the butlers brought forth the wine\nin great goblets of gold, studded with gems, and handed them to the\nguests. Now Alexander did after the manner of heralds at the feast\nof a king, for when he had drunk from the cup that which was in it,\nhe took it up and put it in the breast of his doublet. Then Roxana\nthe Queen called to her the servants and they brought her a cup of\nwine, and she bade them carry it to the herald of the Greeks from\nRoxana the daughter of the Emperor, and they did so. Then Alexander\nbowed low, and rejoiced, and drank from the cup, and when it was\nempty, he put it also in his breast. So the servants of the Persian\nKing saw it and they were envious and wondered, and one said to\nanother: \u201cLet us see if he will do it again;\u201d and they brought him\na third cup, yet more precious, and Alexander took it, and again\nwhen he had drunk he put it in his breast for himself. Then these\nservants went and fell before the king and told him of the case,\nhow that the Greek herald had drunk from the golden cups, and had\nput them in his breast to take them away from the feast. So Darius\nrose up in his seat, and with a proud, disdainful look, said: \u201cO\nfriend, why dost thou take my vessels from me? That is shame to\nthee and me.\u201d \u201cSire,\u201d said Alexander, \u201cit is custom in our king\u2019s\nfeasts that the goblet given to the guest is his with what is in\nit; but since you keep not this custom here, I give you your cups,\u201d\nand taking them from his breast he gave them to the butlers. So all\nmen\u2019s eyes were on Alexander, and they wondered that he could stand\nbefore the face of Darius, and they began to consider his face, his\nform, and his voice.\n\nNow amongst them that were at meat with Darius that even was one\nAnepo, the Herald of the Sun, he who had formerly visited Macedon,\nand to whom Alexander had given a golden chain in earnest of the\ndays to come. And Anepo looked on him, and said to himself: \u201cIs not\nthis the son of Philip?\u201d and just then their eyes crossed, and he\nsaw the face of Alexander, and noticed how that the eyes were of\ntwo colours--one blue, one dark--and getting up from his seat he\ncame softly near Darius, who was sitting on his high seat, and he\nsaid to him: \u201cVerily, O king of kings, this messenger that sitteth\nhere is no herald, but Alexander the Macedonian himself, or I am no\ntrue herald.\u201d Now Alexander had seen the eyes of Anepo, and when he\ngot up he watched him, and he heard the sound of his name in the\nwhisper, and he rose from the table as if he would handle a lute,\nbut instead he snatched a torch from the hands of one of them that\nstood by, and was out of the hall towards the stables before any\nman could say he was gone.\n\nNow by good fortune his horse was fed, so he loosed him and sprang\non his back, and out of the court like a spark from a fire, and no\nman could stop him. But when the alarm was given, Darius ordered\nall men to follow, and men rushed in all directions; they searched\nthe rooms of the palace, they searched the stables, some clad\nthem in armour and rode out into the night, and some to the city\ngates. But little avail they made, for there was no moon, and\nthe clearness of the night served but to mislead them, and their\nshouts served to warn Alexander of where they were, and if they\nkept silence one rode against another, and many rode into the deep\nditches of the fields or stumbled in the miry ways, and at last,\none by one, they came in, and no man among them all had heard or\nseen aught of Alexander, and well was it for them that they had to\nface the wrath of Darius, rather than the sword of the Greek.\n\nIn that same hour that Alexander fled out of the palace of Darius\na golden image of the emperor of Persia fell to the ground, and\nwhen men came to raise it they found it broken into fragments, and\nthey feared greatly; and when Darius heard of it he fell aweeping,\nand he said: \u201cSurely this tokens trouble to the empire, and death\nto me;\u201d and he sat in sore grief thinking of the boldness of\nAlexander, and his courage left him, so that he became weak as a\nwoman.\n\nOf Roxana it is to be told how her heart was glad that she had\nseen the lord of Macedon, and great thanks she gave to the gods\nbecause he had seen her face, and noted how fair she was, for she\nhad watched without looking at him the turning of his eyes toward\nher, and the joy of his heart in her beauty. That night she sat\nwith her maidens, and ever she sent one or another for tidings of\nthe herald, and none brought answer, and at the end one came and\ntold how all the knights had come back from the pursuit. Then her\nmaidens came round about her and praised her beauty above all other\ntimes, and she gave a great gift to that one who had brought the\nnews of the safety of the Greek, howbeit the maiden knew not that\nit was the meed of her tidings, and thought it was the pay of her\nflattering words.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI. TELLS OF THE BATTLE BETWEEN ALEXANDER AND DARIUS, AND\nOF THE SLAYING OF DARIUS.\n\n\nBut Alexander had ridden out into the night, and knew not at first\nin what direction he was riding, but soon, when the lights borne by\nthe mounted men began to scatter over the fields, he reined in his\nbonny steed and looked up to the sky, and there low down he saw the\nseven stars rising from the plain, and he turned his horse\u2019s head\nand rode slowly towards them, and ever he waited for some sign, for\nhe knew that he was coming near the river Granton. But while he was\nwaiting he saw a great flame rise in the air far on his left hand,\nand its rays lay along a stretch of smooth ice, and beside it was\na man on horseback, and he knew him for his companion that he had\nleft at the river, and he shouted to him in the Greek tongue, and\nwhen he heard the answer he spurred his horse and rode on to the\nice. But it was well for him that the fire was before him, for far\non the right the river ice began to crack and grind, since it was\nnot yet firm, and suddenly his horse slipped and both sank into the\nriver; and the man struggled out by the help of the thin ice which\nbroke off piece by piece before him till he touched bottom, but\nthe good steed was belike struck by the ice, for it sank and was\ndrowned. Now when he came to the shore he was amazed, for there was\nneither fire nor light, so he called to the Greek knight, and when\nhe came up he questioned him, and he found him sore afraid, \u201cfor,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201ca great dragon has circled me about for hours, so that I\nfeared to raise my head.\u201d Then Alexander straitly charged him that\nhe should not speak of this thing, and they returned to the camp,\nand all men rejoiced to see him.\n\nOn the next day King Alexander called to him his dukes and his\ncaptains, and they brought up their men in fifties and in hundreds\nand in thousands, till they were assembled on the plain; and\nAlexander rose on high and told them how that he had seen the might\nof the Persians, and he encouraged them and told them that never\nshould the crowds of the Persians equal the Greeks, for, said he,\n\u201cIt takes many flies to make war on wasps, be they but few;\u201d and\nall the army laughed and rejoiced in his bravery and knowledge.\nNow by this time Darius had assembled his host and led them forth\non the plain to the shores of Granton, and there he set up the\ntents, and prepared him a royal seat and passed his army before\nhim in review. First the war-chariots drove by, drawn by swift\ncoursers, and on either side the chariots were set with scythe\nblades, keen and sharp as knives, then the knights passed him in\nfull armour, and every man followed by his squire and his footmen,\nand then passed a host of archers and crossbowmen: and as each\nhost passed, they went on into the field and set themselves in\narray, and the knights mounted their huge war-horses. And on their\nside the Greeks were drawn up in array, and Alexander was at their\nhead, mounted on his steed Bucephalus, the best horse under heaven.\nNow Alexander spurred out into the open space and rode before the\narmy of the Persians, and dared any of their champions to come out\nand fight with him, but not one of them durst meet him, for their\nhearts were stricken with fear.\n\nSo with the sound of trumpets both sides advanced to the attack,\nand in few minutes they were at the sword\u2019s point. The tale tells\nthat for two miles there was a fight all along the line between\nthe Persian and the Greek knights. From sunrise to sunset the\nslaughter lasted and both sides fought bravely, the air was thick\nwith arrows, a hail-storm of winged darts; and now the Persians\nbegan to give way, their noblest captains were dead, and nowhere\nhad they driven back the Greeks. King Darius had set himself on\nhis golden car at the early dawn, and all day he had watched the\nfiercest of the fight, and messengers had told him of what befell,\nbut in the end he lost hope, and took to flight; and suddenly\ndarkness came upon the land, so that men feared to move, for the\ngreat war-chariots were thundering over the plain, and whoso got in\ntheir way was cut to pieces by the blades on their wheels, and the\nhosts of Persians were mowed down like corn before them. So Darius\nreached the Granton which his men had crossed so proudly the day\nbefore, and he rejoiced that he found it frozen over, and he rode\nover the stream in the dead of night, and many of his great nobles\nwere with him. Then after him came the flying host of the Persians,\nand on they came, till the broad stream was covered with men and\nhorses. But their weight was too much for the ice, and it bent down\nand broke away from the banks, and then of a sudden it broke into\nthousands of pieces, and the night was filled with the screams of\nhorses and men and their shouts and cries, and the dark water was\nfilled with struggling crowds striving to pull themselves up on to\nlittle pieces of ice that would not bear their weight; until one\nby one their struggles ceased, and the rush of the river bore them\naway, so that of that mighty host scarce a tenth reached the shore\nin safety.\n\nNow over against the plain was a certain castle, not very strong,\nand Darius had brought thither his daughter Roxana, that she might\nsee the battle, for she had much besought him to let her see the\nfield, though she told him not that her chief desire was to see the\nglory of the Lord of Macedon. But when the battle was over, and the\nPersians were fleeing, the lord of the castle shut the gates, and\nset a ward, opening to no man small or great. So on the morrow the\nhost of the Greeks came near and summoned this lord to yield up the\ncastle to Alexander, but he withstood them and laughed at them.\nThen Alexander came near, and swore by the gods that if he yielded\nnot up the castle in an hour he would hang every man in it on its\nbattlements, but if they yielded to his power he would save them\nalive. Then the lord came forth and sought speech of Alexander, and\nprayed him concerning the safety of Roxana, and the King laughed\nout and said: \u201cWhere should she be safer than with her mother and\nher grandam, who are with me in my camp?\u201d So the lord of the castle\nopened his gates and they brought forth Roxana in her litter to\nAlexander, and he opened not the litter, but bowed before it, and\nbade them bear it to her mother in the camp; and great was the joy\nof the queens when they met, for Alexander bore him to them as a\nson and not as a conqueror.\n\nThen was Darius in sore grief; for his empire was broken, his\nmother and his wife and his only daughter were in the hands of his\nenemy, and nought of hope was there save the help that Porus had\npromised him: so he sent messengers to Alexander offering him all\nhis wealth if he would return his family into his hands, and go to\nhis own land. But when the messengers had come to Alexander and\nhad done their errand to him, Alexander received them roughly, and\nthough all the Macedonians rejoiced, he said, \u201cWhy does your master\nspeak thus to me; if I have conquered him, let him own me as lord;\nif not, let him come out and meet me in the field. As for his gold,\nit is mine when I wish to take it, without his offer.\u201d And the\nmessengers returned to Darius loaded with gifts and honour, while\nAlexander\u2019s men were gathering together the bodies of them that\nwere slain and tending the hurts of the wounded. And after the army\nwas rested, Alexander gave them leave and they scattered over the\nplain up and down, and they found the old-time palace of the kings\nof Persia and the tombs of the lords of the land, and one of these\nwas made of a noble amethyst, graven over with palm trees and with\nbirds, and so clear was it, that men might see within it the body;\nand the name written on it was Ninus. Others among them came on a\ngreat tower, and they forced it open and found in it men of all\nnations, Greeks and barbarians, who had been put there by Darius,\nand some had lost a hand, and some an eye, and some a foot. So\nwhen they were brought before Alexander, they cried to him, and\nhe set them free and gave to each of them a talent, and they went\ntheir ways whither they would, blessing the Greeks.\n\nNow when the messengers returned to Darius and told him the words\nof Alexander, and how that he needs must give up his empire if he\ncould not conquer him, the Persian set him to try one last chance\nto recover his power, and he sent letters to Porus, king of India,\noffering him great wealth and honour if he would come and fight\nwith Alexander, and saying that he would pay the wage of the armies\nhimself, and that all the spoil of the Greeks should be theirs. And\nthe messengers went their way to India, but one of the chief men\nof Darius\u2019 council came by night secretly to Alexander, and told\nhim all that was in the mind of Darius. So Alexander was wroth, and\nhe swore that he would never take the name of Emperor till Darius\nwas slain, and he began to prepare his soldiers for an attack upon\nSusa, but ere he had given his orders tidings came that Darius was\nslain.\n\nAnd this was the manner of his death. When it was told in Susa that\nthe Greeks were preparing to assault the town, all men feared, even\nthe knights of Darius, and the king withdrew himself into an inner\nroom of his palace. There came to him two of his knights whom he\nloved, and whom he had raised up from the lowest of the people,\nand had made great and rich, so that they were equal with great\npeers. These foul traitors had said within themselves, \u201cSurely\nAlexander has sworn the death of Darius, and he will give us great\npraise and honour if we slay him,\u201d so that when they came into the\nroom to the king, they drew their swords and looked on one another,\nand smote at Darius. But their hands failed them for fear, so\nthat they slew not the king at first, and he cried out, \u201cO sons,\nwhy slay ye me; is not my sorrow great enough, that ye of all men\nshould turn against me? Yea, and the lord of the Greeks will reward\nye and avenge my death at your hands.\u201d But his words moved them\nnot, and they thrust their swords through him, so that the royal\nrobes were covered with blood, and he fell down, as if dead; while\nthe knights went out, and none knew that they had been with the\nking.\n\nLong did he lie there alone, for his servants feared to come in\nbefore him, but at last his nurse, an old dame of eighty winters,\nmade as if she had a petition to offer, and opened the door of the\nroom, and saw him stricken to death. So she cried aloud, and the\nservants ran in, and bore him to a bed in the palace.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII. HOW ALEXANDER MARRIED ROXANA, THE DAUGHTER OF THE\nEMPEROR, AND HOW HE DEFEATED PORUS THE KING OF INDIA.\n\n\nThen came messengers to Alexander bringing word that Darius lay in\nhis palace nigh death, and that there was no man among the Persians\nwho might give orders or make head against him. So the king bade\narm his knights, and he rode into the city of Susa, and when the\nmen of the city saw them coming the chief of them went out to the\ngate of the city and received him royally with reverence and joy,\nsaying, \u201cWelcome be thou, O warrior, famed o\u2019er all the world,\u201d\nwhile the hearts of those who had rebelled against Darius failed\nthem, and they fled from him and hid their heads till they should\nknow Alexander the King\u2019s thought of the death of the lord of the\nPersians.\n\nThen Alexander rode through the town to the palace of Darius, and\nwhen he entered it he wondered at its beauty, that any mortal man\nshould make one so fair. The floor was wrought of clear stones\nand crystal in divers colours, the walls were covered with golden\nplates, on which were set gems and stars of blue, whose sight\ndazzled the eyes, and high over all rose a beautiful dome covered\nwith enamel and ornaments of trees and flowers. Now when Alexander\nhad seen these things he went through the hall and into the chamber\nof Darius, and there he saw him laid on his bed at point of death;\nfor he was so sore smitten that no man could bind up his wounds,\nand at every breath the blood gushed out. And the king of the\nGreeks was moved by pure pity, and he leaned over the dying man\nand kissed him, and said, \u201cComfort thee, my lord, and rise and be\nemperor still in all thy former honour and dignity, for as for\nthese defeats they are the fortune of war, which exalts one man\nand puts down another; but I, O King, will defend thee and avenge\nthee on thine enemies;\u201d and he burst into sobs of grief. And Darius\nraised him on his bed, and kissed his hand and his neck, and said,\n\u201cO son, this is but the common fate of man, nor must I grieve\novermuch. I was rich and grew proud, now am I poor. Bury me, my\nson, among my fathers, the lords of Persia, and rule thou the land.\nMy mother and my wife are with you; guard them as you have done\nand help them. My daughter Roxana I leave to you for wife; it suits\nwell that a noble king should have the fairest wife on earth. Take\nheed of what I have said; be tender of my knights,\u201d and Darius the\nking fell back and died.\n\nSo it was that in few days after the chief men of Persia and of\nMedea came to Alexander and led him to the throne of Darius, and\ncrowned him with the golden crown, hailing him Emperor of the\nWorld; and they brought to him the fair damsel Roxana, the daughter\nof Darius, covered with a thick veil, and set her on the throne\nbeside him. Now Alexander had not seen the damsel, except once\nat the supper of Darius her father, though she had been in his\ncamp for many days, but she knew him, for she had preserved his\nportrait since the time that Darius had thrown it aside, and her\nheart was glad that she was to be his queen. And as the rulers of\nPersia brought Alexander to the throne they showed him that it had\nseven steps--the first an amethyst, which showed the king should be\nof sober mind; the second an emerald, to show that a king should\nsee clearly; the third a topaz, to remind him how things are not\nwhat they seem always; the fourth step a garnet, to remind him of\nfame and honour; the fifth an adamant, to show a king should be\nsteadfast; the sixth of pure gold, to show a king should be chief;\nthe seventh of earth, to remind the king that he must die. And at\neach step the wise men explained its meaning to him, and on the\nseventh they crowned him, and fell down before him, and Roxana with\nthem, and he lifted her up and raised her veil before them, and\nwhen he saw her he loved her, and with his own hands he put a crown\non her head.\n\nAfter Alexander was crowned he sent messengers into all parts of\nthe land to spread the news, and to give orders for the safety of\nthe land, and he made a proclamation offering their due reward to\nthe slayers of Darius. When they heard this the two knights came\nforward in hope, and looked to get great riches, but he ordered\nthem to be hanged near the grave of Darius, and all the Persian\nnobles rejoiced, for they loved Darius, and had grieved sore at his\nmurder. Then Alexander appointed one of the uncles of Darius to\nbe lord and governor of Persia, and he married Roxana, and made a\ngreat feast through the land, which lasted for eight days, and all\nthe land of Persia rejoiced and was glad.\n\nIn few days, however, the warlike spirit of Alexander came upon him\nagain, and he resolved to set out and conquer the king of India,\nPorus, who had threatened him with war if he attacked Darius. So\nhe gathered together a great host of Medes and Persians, and added\nthem to his own Greeks, and with them he marched out of Persia\ntowards the borders of India, through the great desert which lay\nbetween them, leaving Roxana his queen behind with her mother and\nuncle. And after they had spent many days in the passage, and were\nwearied of the wild waste where no water was, and the high hills\nand the hollows and the broad plains, the Greeks began to murmur\namong themselves, and to ask, \u201cWhy should we do more, since we\nhave conquered the Persians, and seized the empire which formerly\ntook tribute of our fathers? This land of India is inhabited but\nby beasts, and as for Alexander, he lives but for fighting, and if\nhe lived in peace he would die as if he were starved. Let us leave\nhim to fight with these barbarians, and go home in peace.\u201d When\nAlexander heard them, he gathered together his knights and peers,\nand reproached them. He told them how he had saved them in their\ntroubles, how he had exposed himself to danger on their behalf, and\nhow he had always been first in battle among them. Then he said\nthat if they feared and deserted him, he would keep on alone till\nhe had fulfilled his fate, nor would he return to Greece until he\nhad conquered all lands under heaven. And when he had finished his\nspeech the hearts of his princes turned to him, and they sought his\ngrace, and promised to follow him everywhere to the death, without\nquestion or murmur.\n\nIn these days a messenger arrived from Porus bearing a message of\nthreats and sneers to Alexander, and when the message was given\nto him in the presence of his men, some of the Greeks feared, for\nthis was a new land to them, and they knew not what wonders Porus\nmight bring against them. But Alexander cared never a whit for any\nof his words, and the message he sent back was bolder than that\nhe received, so that Porus became very angry when he heard it,\nand he assembled his army in haste and sent them out forthwith\nagainst Alexander, without waiting for a part of it not yet come to\nhim. And though he had not all his army, yet he had more soldiers\nthan Alexander, and he had with him chariots armed with scythes,\nten thousand at least, and he had unicorns in his host, and more\nthan all he had four hundred elephants, each with a castle on its\nback and thirty men in armour. Now the Greeks had never fought\nagainst elephants, nor had they even seen them, so that they were\nsore afraid, for their swords could not pierce the skin of the\nelephants, and the great beasts trampled them down, and the men\non their backs threw darts at them and shot arrows, and there was\nno means of turning them back. Thus the Greeks and the Persians\nwere driven back that day by the Indians through their elephants.\nBut when night came on Alexander ordered all his men and they got\ngreat suits of armour and hammered them together, and they filled\nthem with coals and lit great fires round about them, so that they\nbecame red hot, and all the night the Greeks made these brazen men\nand kept them hot, and at first dawn the fires were put out and\nthese red-hot brazen men were brought before the host, and when the\nelephants attacked them as before and threw their trunks round them\nto cast them on the ground and trample them, the hot metal burnt\ntheir trunks and their feet, and they turned and fled, and trampled\ndown their own men, hooting horribly. Then Alexander ordered the\nPersians to attack the Indian army while it was in confusion, but\nPorus rallied them and there was a great battle; but at the last\nAlexander with his men came to the aid of the Persians, and the\nIndians were defeated and Porus took to flight, and fled away in\nhaste, and Alexander and his host were left masters of the field.\n\nNext day he marched to a city near that place, the chief of all\nthat Porus was lord of, and no man hindered, so that Alexander\nentered it and found there the palace of Porus, and his house was\nnoble and fair. It had four hundred pillars of gold, and between\neach was a grape vine with carved leaves and grapes of all precious\nstones, some of clear crystals, some of pearls, some of emeralds,\nand of other gems. And all the walls were covered with thick plates\nof gold, the thinnest of them was an inch thick, and they were set\nwith stones like the stars of heaven, and the doors of the rooms\nwere of ivory carved and adorned, and the bars and bolts were of\nebony; the upper rooms were all of cypress or of cedar, and in all\nthe rooms there were golden statues and images seated on thrones\nof gold, and over them hangings of rich embroidery; and in the\npalace hall there was a fair tree, and on the branches of it were\nall manner of birds, each painted and made like to its nature, but\nwith their bills and claws of fine gold, and whenever the king\nwished they made as sweet a melody as if it were the month of May.\nBut time fails us to tell of all the beauties of this palace. And\nwhen Alexander entered the palace he wondered greatly and went\nthrough it till he came to a room which was shut, and on it was\na label, \u201cFor Alexander alone.\u201d Then he stayed, and he would not\nenter the room, for he feared some wile of the Indian King, and he\ngot together his wise men, and with them he opened the door. But\nwhen he did so, he heard a burst of merry laughter, and he looked,\nand lo, before him was a fair young girl, and she said to him,\n\u201cIt is bravely done of thee, O Alexander, to open this door with\nsuch aid; am I then so fearful?\u201d And Alexander was abashed for a\nmoment, but he said, \u201cO damsel, the presents of Indian kings are\nnot always so charming as thou art,\u201d and he sat down beside her and\ntalked with her. But while she was speaking, one of the wise men of\nGreece had watched her, and he liked not the manner of her eyes,\nand he came near to the king and spoke to him, \u201cO King, beware\nof this damsel, for methinketh that she is not of human kind like\nto other women.\u201d Then the damsel said, \u201cAway with this dotard, O\nKing, kiss my lips and see if I be not a woman.\u201d And the wise man\nsaid, \u201cO Alexander, verily this is one of the poison-maidens of\nIndia, for in this land they feed girls from their birth on deadly\npoison, so that poison is their food, and food their poison, and\nwhoever kisses them dies immediately.\u201d Then one of the lords of\nthe Persians came forward and said, \u201cO fool, how tellest thou such\na tale to my lord Alexander,\u201d and turning to Alexander, he said,\n\u201cMay thy slave show this dotard is wrong?\u201d And the king doubted,\nbut he trusted his wise man, so the Persian lord leaned forward and\nkissed the girl on the lips, and fell down dead. Then she laughed\nmerrily, and said, \u201cO Alexander, if thou hadst not been guided by\nthe counsel of thy wise men, such would have been thy fate.\u201d But\nall the Greeks fled out of the room. Then the maiden blew a whistle\nand two great serpents came from their holes in the corner of the\nroom, and circled round her.\n\nNow the next morn, when men went to fetch the damsel before King\nAlexander, they found the room empty, but for one great snake that\nlay on the divan, and they came and told the King, and he knew that\nthe damsel had been left there to cause his death, and he was on\nhis guard.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII. HOW ALEXANDER AND HIS MEN PASSED THE NIGHT OF FEAR,\nAND HOW HE SAW THE GREATEST AND THE LEAST THING ON EARTH.\n\n\nWithin a month came tidings that Porus had gathered together\nanother army, and would wage war with Alexander, for the hosts\nthat had been on the march to him were there, and those of the\nIndians who had fled from the first battle, and all were anxious\nto overcome the Greeks. Alexander set out with his men, though it\nwas in August, in the hottest of the year, for it was his habit\nto attack the enemy and never let them attack him. But his men\nsuffered greatly from the heat, and some died of it alone, since\ntheir way led them into a desert place where they had to wear all\ntheir armour, for the land was full of snakes and adders shining in\ngold and bright colours, and if a man put off his armour and one\nof these bit him, his death was certain.\n\nAnd when they passed the place of the snakes they came into a dry\nland where were no rivers or wells of water, and the army suffered\ngreatly, for the water in their vessels dried up, and no man had to\ndrink. For two days they toiled on, searching for water and finding\nnone, and in the evening a certain knight, Severus by name, came\non a little water in a hollow beneath some stones, and put it in\nhis helmet and brought it with joy to Alexander and offered it to\nhim. Then Alexander thanked him greatly, and before all his knights\nhe took it up in his hands, as if he were going to drink it, and\nthen he put it down and said, \u201cIf I drink this, will it sustain\nall the army, or shall I only be refreshed, and they thirsty\nstill?\u201d And the knight said, \u201cLord, our will is that you be first\nrefreshed.\u201d \u201cWhat, and all ye perish?\u201d said the Prince, and he held\nout the helmet before his lords, and poured out the water on the\ndry ground. \u201cI will thirst first and feast last of all my men.\u201d\nAnd the hearts of all his army were rejoiced, as if they had drunk\nabundantly.\n\nAnd that night the wind began to blow, and the camels smelt water\non the breeze, and they lifted themselves up and went towards it,\nand none could stop them, all the hosts followed them, and they\nled them after four hours\u2019 journey to a little stream full of\nreeds. The soldiers of the host drank therein, but when it came to\nwatering the beasts they found that there were too many of them,\nfor all the goods of the camp were loaded on elephants, and on\ncamels, and on mules. Then they searched about, but they found\nno other water near, so they made up their minds to follow this\nbrook till they came to its end in some great river or lake, and\nin a day\u2019s time they came to a great castle in a lake all full of\nreeds. So the beasts and the men drank, and when they had rested\nthey began to enquire whose was this castle, and what was inside\nit. Now they rode round the lake, but nowhere did they see any\nroad by which the castle could be entered, nor any gate to it,\nbut there seemed to be men on the walls who were looking at them\nand their array. At the last, however, they saw two rows of great\ntrees running across the lake towards the castle, and some of the\nknights spurred their horses into the water between them, and found\na passage where the water came up to their horses\u2019 necks. Then they\nsounded the trumpets from the shore, but there was no answer from\nthe castle, nor any banner displayed. So the knights rode into the\nwater along the causeway, and on and on till they came near the\ncastle, and saw a great gate closed, and over it a notice carved in\ngreat letters filled with bright gold.\n\nAnd when they had read it they tried to pass on to the castle, but\nthey found that the road sank, so that their horses had to swim,\nand great beasts like sea lions rose through the water, and threw\nthem off their steeds, so that they turned their horses\u2019 heads and\ncame to land again, and shewed all these things to Alexander.\n\nNow these were the words on the stone:\n\n\u201cNO MAN MAY ENTER TO THE GREATEST AND LEAST TREASURE OF THE WORLD,\nTILL HE HAS PASSED THE NIGHT OF FEAR.\u201d\n\nAnd as the day began to fall, the whole camp heard a roar as\nof many wild beasts, and they looked and saw an army of tigers\nand dragons coming against them, and Alexander and his men drew\ntheir swords, but the beasts of the army were so terrified by the\nroaring of the wild beasts that they fled away and no man could\nstop them, and needs most the knights and soldiers follow them.\nBut not far from there was a small lake of sweet water, and the\nhorses and mules, the camels and the elephants, crowded into this\npool, and gathered together in a ring in the middle of it, and\nstood there trembling and shivering. Then Alexander ordered his men\nto pitch their tents round this pool and to remain on guard, and\nthey began to cut down wood for fires, and to prepare to lie there\nat their ease for some days. When night fell the moon rose over\nthe mountains, and men ceased work and rested to enjoy the sweet\ncoolness of the evening air, and the quiet rest of all things in\nthe moonlight.\n\nOn a sudden, the plain seemed covered with crawling monsters\nmaking for the pool round which the Greeks were encamped; giant\ncrayfish, of many colours, scorpions, and scaled adders. At first\ntheir coming was silent, and they could only be seen in the bright\nmoonlight coming nearer and nearer, and then the hiss of the adders\nand the dash of the shells was heard, and then the sound grew\nlouder till it seemed that all the hills resounded with it, and men\nheard the keen cry of great dragons coming down among them. Under\nthe moon the knights could see the dragons\u2019 crested heads and their\ngolden breasts, and their eyes flashing out flames of fire, as they\ncame on and on, nearer and nearer the line, and they said one to\nanother, \u201cVerily, this is a night of fear, beyond all other.\u201d\n\nAnd Alexander looked to the safety of all men, for he went round\nthe camp, and saw that all men were in their place, and he called\nto him his knights and strengthened their hearts, and bade them\ntake example by him and do as he did. Then he armed himself and\ntook a shield and a sword, and with his knights went out before the\nline and began to slay the loathsome beasts that had come against\nthem, while his archers and bowmen were shooting them down. But\never as they slew and slew, the reptiles swarmed up, and now and\nthen the shrill cry of a man in agony would show that one of his\nknights or archers was overborne by the flood of writhing beasts,\nand carried away or slain. For hours the fight lasted, but when the\nmoon was high in the heaven the flood of reptiles seemed to cease,\nand in a few minutes there were no more living round the camp, and\nAlexander gathered his knights and found that twenty knights and\nthirty archers had been slain in this attack.\n\nAfter the fight was over, men began to light fires around the camp,\nand there was soon a ring of flames round the host, but before an\nhour had passed and men called the fourth hour of the night, the\nwatchmen raised a cry, and all the army saw a host of great crabs\ndrawing near the camp. So the knights in armour of plate came out\nagainst them with their lances, for no swords could smite through\ntheir shells. And again the fighting was fierce, for the lances\nwere shivered against the crabs, and when men hewed off their claws\nthey clung still to the armour and bit through it, till at the last\nthe knights snatched up brands from the fires and thrust them into\nthe open jaws of the crabs, and they turned and fled, and left the\ncamp at peace.\n\nAnd when the watchmen called the fifth hour of the night, there\ncame up from the desert a band of fierce great lions, white and\nlarge as bulls. These the knights went out to meet, and a fierce\nbattle took place, but the Greeks feared them not, and soon these\nalso were put to flight. And there followed them a rush of wild\nboars, with great teeth and stout bristles, and these too were\nslain or driven away.\n\nNow the sixth hour of the night drew nigh, and the moon was low\ndown in the heavens, and the burden beasts of the army began to\ncome to shore and lie down, and the men of the host were a-weary,\nwhen the watchmen cried out with a loud voice and there came up a\nhost of wild men of the woods, having six hands, and these came up,\nand they feared not to rush on the knights, for they knew not the\nuse of iron, but with bowshots and handblows they were driven off,\nand they escaped to the hills and the woods.\n\nAnd in the seventh hour there came up a great fierce beast against\nthem, with a black head, and on it were three huge horns, and he\nwas larger than an elephant, and so sore was his attack on the host\nthat he slew eight and twenty men, but Alexander ran up to him,\nand with his sword he slew him, and men rejoiced, for their hearts\nbegan to fail them for the long watch of the Night of Fear.\n\nNow the day began to break, and the earth was lightened, though as\nyet there was no dawn, and the watchmen called the eighth hour, and\nthere came up mice as large as foxes, and they came near and fed on\nthe bodies of those things that were slain, and when men or beasts\ncame near them, they bit them, and whatever was bitten fell down\ndead, and the archers shot at them and drove them away. Then came\na crowd of foul bats as large as doves, and they flew about and\nflapped their wings in the face of the soldiers and bit them where\nthey could on cheeks, or nose, or chin, or ears, and none could\ndeliver themselves from them, but suddenly the dawn came, and the\nsun leaped up over the hills, and the black bats fled away, and men\nsaw birds of a red colour come flying in among them, yet without\nharming them, as if to wish them joy of the day; and the Night of\nFear was over.\n\nThen the trumpeters of the Greeks sounded out their morning blast,\nand when it was over men heard another blast of the trumpets\nfrom the castle that they had seen the day before, and a great\ndrawbridge was let down, and a boat was brought to it and set on\nthe lake, and into it entered an old man dressed in long flowing\nrobes, bearing a precious casket in his hands, and with him were\nheralds and trumpeters. And when they came to the shore they were\nmet by the guards whom Alexander had sent to meet them, and they\ncame on to the camp, and at the gate of the camp the aged man\nhalted, and Alexander came out to him. Then they greeted each\nother, and the elder told Alexander who he was, and that the\ncastle was set there to guard a precious thing, the greatest and\nthe lightest thing in the world, and to show those who came there\nwhat they should do in times to come. Then Alexander was glad of\nheart, and he besought him to show him some of his wisdom. So the\nelder took a gold crown out of the casket he bore, and put it on\nAlexander\u2019s head, and bade him come with him to the castle, for\nthat there he should see all these things.\n\nIn going to the castle, Alexander went by boat with the elder,\nand his chief knights rode after him on horseback along the path\nthrough the water, and when they came to the deep place the\ndrawbridge was let down to them and they mounted it and rode\nthrough the gateway into the courtyard of the castle, and Alexander\nand the elder were with them. So they were led into the great hall\nof the castle, and when they entered it they saw, at the place\nwhere the seat of the lord should be, a niche cut in the wall,\nand on the arch over it were written the words, \u201cTHE GREATEST\nTREASURE,\u201d and below it were the words, \u201cAND THE LEAST.\u201d Now when\nthey went up to it, they saw a rich cushion, and on it was lying\nan egg-shaped stone, and as they looked on it they saw a circle of\nbrown on it and inside a clear black ring; and the stone was clear\nas crystal, and when one looked into it one saw men, and houses,\nand riches, and wealth, and all that man could desire or think\nof. So they brought out this treasure and laid it in the hand of\nAlexander, and lo! it became so heavy that he could not hold it,\nand they laid it on a beam of a balance, and in the other pan they\nplaced gold and silver, a great quantity, and it weighed more than\nall. Then they cast on the beam all the treasures they had, and the\nstone outweighed them all. Then Alexander sent for the gold that he\nhad with him, but the stone was heavier than all the treasure of\nthe Persians and the Greeks. And Alexander said. \u201cTruly, this is\nthe greatest of treasures.\u201d\n\nThen the elder bade them take away all those treasures to their\nowners, and he took up a pinch of dust from the ground and laid it\non the stone, and lo! from being so great, there was no mean thing\nthat did not outweigh it; a blade of straw, a scrap of wood was\nheavier than this, and all its beauty and goodness were gone from\nit, so that no man would desire it or look upon it. Then Alexander\nasked of him what was this wonder, and why it did thus, and the\nelder told him the meaning of all this, and the name of the stone,\nand he said that the castle was put there to guard the way to the\nWells of Life, and he told Alexander things that should come to\npass. Then Alexander asked him how long he should live, and how\nshould he die, and the elder told him not, but he said that he\nshould learn from the trees of the sun and of the moon when he came\nto the shores of the great sea. And he told him that first must he\ngo north into the desert and meet and conquer King Porus, and that\nthen he should pass into the east through the Valley of Terror till\nhe saw the Three Wells of Life, and that then he should find the\nTemple of the Sun and the trees which should tell him of what was\nto befall him. And Alexander gave him great gifts and left him and\nreturned to his camp.\n\nThus Alexander turned northward, and in few days he was in the land\nof Bactria, and all the men of the land came to him with presents\nand gifts, and he received them, and abode there thirty days,\nthat his men might recover their strength. And there came to him\nmessengers and told him that Porus was encamped with his host a\nfour days\u2019 journey off; and Alexander disguised himself as one of\nthose that supplied the camp with wine and flesh, and driving some\ncattle before him he came into the camp of Porus, that he might see\nhow many men he had and what was their mind towards him. The guards\nof the camp laid hold on Alexander, for that he was a stranger, and\nbrought him before Porus, and the king asked him who he was and\nwhence he came. Then Alexander answered that he was a poor man of\nthat land, and the Macedonians had taken away his cattle and his\ngoods, but he had escaped with some which he was trying to sell.\nAnd Porus asked him had he seen Alexander, and what was he doing,\nand Alexander answered that he was sitting in his tent warming\nhimself at a fire. Then Porus laughed out, and he was glad to hear\nthat his enemy was so feeble that he had to sit in his tent, and\nhe asked how old he was. And Alexander answered that he was a\npoor herdsman and knew not the king\u2019s matters; so Porus gave him a\nletter to Alexander and a great reward, and promised him more if he\nshould bring an answer again, and Alexander returned to his camp.\n\nNow the letter of Porus was a challenge to Alexander, offering to\nmeet him in single combat, for he said that no king or emperor\nshould be such a coward as to send men to battle unless he joined\nin it himself, and that it would be better if only the kings on\neach side fought, for it would spare the blood of the people; and\nhe offered to let the whole matter rest on this combat, so that\nif Alexander won he should be king of India, and if he won then\nall the lands should obey him. Now Porus was a tall man, a head\nand shoulders taller than any man of his army, while Alexander was\nshort even among little men, and Porus counted on an easy victory.\n\nWhen the armies drew near in line of battle, Alexander sent out\na herald to Porus accepting his offer, and in short time all was\nready for the fight, and the two kings, armed in full armour, were\nopposite one another. When the fight began, Porus advanced, proud\nof his strength and size, and ignorant of the great strength of\nAlexander, and both spurred at each other full tilt, and their\nlances broke to shivers, but neither was unhorsed. So they turned\ntheir horses and drew their swords, and Porus struck Alexander with\nhis sword, and cut into the helmet, but the blow of Alexander was\nso fierce that it struck Porus out of his saddle and threw him to\nthe ground senseless. Then all the knights of India cast up a keen\ncry, but Alexander dismounted, and caused the heralds to take off\nthe helmet of Porus and to give him aid; and when Porus came to\nlife again he owned him vanquished, and Alexander gave him back his\nkingdom, and from an enemy he became a friend and a subject to the\nlord of the Greeks.\n\nOn a night after Alexander lay in his tent musing alone, and he\nfell to thinking of his short life, and of the way he had come, and\nof the wonders of the land, and of the deeds he should do, when it\nseemed that there was with him in the tent his fosterer, the whilom\nKing of Egypt, and he said to him, \u201cO my son Alexander, many deeds\nshalt thou do, and many wonders shalt thou see, yet trust thou not\nto thy sight. Remember the stone in the Castle of the Lake, which\nwas but the eye of man, for while he lives it may not be satisfied.\nTrust men who seem thy friends, but trust them not overmuch: fear\nthe gods and them alone, for I am with thee to help thee.\u201d Then the\ngod departed, and Alexander lay alone asleep.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV. HOW ALEXANDER AND HIS ARMY PASSED THROUGH THE VALLEY\nOF TERROR AND SOUGHT THE WELLS OF LIFE.\n\n\nMany hundred years before, one of the great heroes of the Greeks,\nHercules by name, had come into India, and had conquered the people\nof the land, and had set up great pillars of marble wherever he had\ncome. So Alexander, now that he had beaten Porus in battle, made\nup his mind to follow in the footsteps of Hercules and to see the\nwonders of India; and King Porus promised to go with him and to\nguide him. But before this he sought to find the Wells of Life of\nwhich the Elder had spoken to him in the castle in the lake. But\nPorus knew not of the way, nor any of the men in his army. So he\nturned again towards the South as the Elder had bidden him, and\nfared on his way.\n\nNow as the host was on its march, it fell that the Greeks came\namong a poor folk which lived in holes and caves of the earth,\nand so poor were they that no man or woman of them had clothing\nor ornament, but they all went naked, save that their king wore a\nring of gold on his head. As Alexander and his host drew near, this\nfolk sent messengers to him asking what he wanted among them, and\ntelling him of their poverty, so that he could win nothing from\nthem. Then the king made strait inquiry into their lives, and he\nfound that they were indeed so poor that they lived in caves and\nholes of the hillside, and he was moved by compassion, and made up\nhis mind that they should be the better of his coming to them, so\nhe offered to give them what thing they should ask of him, however\ngreat it should be. Then the king of that folk of naked wise men\ndrew near, and said: \u201cO Alexander, this is our request; that thou\ngrant us never to die, for nothing else do we need.\u201d Then said the\nking to them: \u201cO people, needs must that I die one day myself; how,\nthen, may I grant ye this thing?\u201d And the naked wise men said:\n\u201cSince thou must die, O King, why dost thou hurry from one side of\nthe world to the other to slay a peaceful folk?\u201d For a short while\nAlexander was silent; then he spoke: \u201cKnow, O feeble folk, that as\nthe sea is stirred not by itself but by the breath of heaven, so\nI am driven to do the will of the gods.\u201d Then the naked wise men\nleft him and returned to their own place, for they would take no\ngifts from Alexander lest they should become rich.\n\nTwo days after the parting with these men the host of Alexander\ncame on a desert place in which men saw a great temple, but no\nman was therein. Then entered the priests and wise men, and they\nsaw nought save two great images, one of gold and the other of\nsilver. And as they considered the images they saw thereon writing\nin the old language of the Greeks, and when they had read it they\nunderstood that these were the images of Hercules which he had set\nup when he came into India. When Alexander saw them he wondered at\ntheir size, and could not believe that they were of solid gold, so\nhe ordered his men to pierce them through, and they found no hollow\nwithin, but all was of pure metal. Now by the finding of these\nimages Alexander knew that he was in the right way, because here\nit was that Hercules had turned back when he came into the land;\nbut Alexander and his host went on, for he desired to see all the\nmarvels of the land of India. So it was that, on the third day from\ntheir parting from the temple, they heard the sound of a river, and\ngoing near it, they found that it was very broad and deep; and when\nthe men came up they found that in no wise could men swim in it to\ncross it. On the further side they saw women carrying great maces\nand battle-axes of gold and silver, but there was no man among\nthem, or any weapon of iron or bronze, only of gold or silver.\nThen Alexander and his men sought to cross the river in boats, but\ngreat black beasts rose out of the river and bit the boats in half,\nso that scarcely did they escape to land with their lives, and\nthey gave up the thought of seeing the land guarded by women, and\nmarched on by the side of the river.\n\nAs they were in camp next evening, they heard suddenly the sound\nof trumpeting, and the watchmen told of a host of elephants coming\ntoward them. Then Alexander asked Porus and his men, but none knew\nof any king of this land who could gather such a host, so men on\nhorseback rode out to see them, and when they came near they saw no\nman with the elephants, and they returned and told the king. All\nmen were in fear, and the Indians most of all, for they knew the\nmadness of elephants, but Alexander bade a few of his men mount\ntheir steeds, and to drag with them each man some swine before the\nelephants, for he knew how that the elephant loathes the swine and\ncannot remain in his presence. And it fell as Alexander had said,\nfor when the elephants heard the squealing and grunting of the\nswine their wrath fell, and they turned, with lowered trunks and\nflapping ears, and hurried away from the loathsome sound. Then the\nIndians praised the wisdom of Alexander, for that, though he was\nmighty in fight, he would not risk the lives of his men when he\ncould use craft to save them.\n\nNow no man in the army had ever been in this land before, and their\nhearts began to fail them when they thought that Hercules had\nturned back from the journey, and they grew afraid, and Alexander\nbegan to think that the gods were angered at his boldness, and had\nsent the herd of elephants to drive him away; and so next day he\nmoved the camp to the west instead of keeping on his march to the\nsouth, and pitched it on a great plain where there was no shelter\nof hills or trees, save that to the south many miles off there was\na range of hills. When even was near, suddenly the clear sky became\ncovered with thick clouds, the sun became red and then seemed to go\nout, and from the thick gloom a storm broke on the camp. The winds\nblew, as it seemed, from all sides, north and south, east and west;\nthey tore down the tents and scattered them, so that no shelter\nwas left; and then the thunder rolled, the lightning flashed, and\nthe hail and rain ran along the ground. Never had the Greeks and\nIndians seen such a storm, and they said among themselves, \u201cWe are\nrightly served for leaving the road we were told to follow, till\nwe had seen the things we were bidden to see.\u201d So at morning light\nAlexander turned his face towards the south, and the army marched\ntowards the hills. Now though these hills seemed small and near,\nyet they were really great and far off, so that it was five days\nbefore they came to a valley near them by which they could enter\ninto the hills; and as they came near it they found but a narrow\npassage into it, and well-trodden. When they were in it they found\nthat the valley was broad, and shut in between high hills on all\nsides, that no man could climb them, and there was no water in that\nvalley, and no living or green thing. Here then they pitched their\ntents.\n\nNext morning when they awoke they found the air thick with snow,\nand the cold was piercing, so Alexander ordered great fires to\nbe lit on all sides, while the varlets were bidden to tread down\nthe snow and stamp it flat with their feet. Then, as it grew near\nmid-day, the air grew darker and a cloud filled the valley, and\nthey heard a great noise as if the earth was being torn apart, and\nsparks of fire fell through the cloud, so that the tents were burnt\nwhere they fell, and if they fell on men they burnt into the flesh\nand left a scar. Then all the host were in terror, and Alexander\nbade them offer incense and sacrifices to the gods, and they did\nso, and a wind sprung up and drove away the clouds, and left the\nair clear and cold. When men had rested for a short time and given\nthanks to the gods for their safety, they began to move to the\nother end of the valley to pass out, and they came to an altar in\nthe midst, with the bones of dead men lying round it, but they had\nnot been slain there, for there was no mark of wound or gyves. On\nsight of this the leaders of the host halted around it, but none of\nthem could read the marks on it or know to what god it was raised.\nNow while they were gathered round it men came running in haste\nfrom the front, and they bore news that there was no way by which\nmen could leave the valley, and that they must needs turn back by\nthe way they came in. Then Alexander gave orders to return, but\nwhen the army did so, lo, there was no way out in that direction or\nin any other, for no man could tell the way by which they had come\ninto that vale. In short time all men were seeking for a road, but\nnone could be found, though great rewards were offered by the king\nto him who should come upon the path. Then were the host in great\nfear, for they said that the gods were wroth with them, and had\nbrought them into this land to slay them; but Alexander had trust\nin the words of his god and feared not.\n\nThe wise men of the army and the priests of the gods were all\nthis time gathered round the altar in the midst of the valley,\ntrying to make out the meaning of the marks upon it, and now an\nold Egyptian diviner came and stood before Alexander and said to\nhim, \u201cO King, I have read the writing on the altar, and I can tell\nthee the way out;\u201d and the king said, \u201cSay on.\u201d Then said he, \u201cO\nAlexander, this valley is the Valley of Terror, of which ancient\nstories tell, and whatsoever men come into it, they cannot leave it\nexcept one man of them stays behind a willing victim, to save the\nrest, wherefore on the altar are these words, \u2018THE ALTAR OF WILLING\nVICTIMS.\u2019 Now, O King, we cannot leave this valley till one man of\nthe host stands at the altar and offers himself to stay here for\nthe safety of the army, with a willing mind.\u201d And when the other\nwise men heard this, they bade the king to make speed before the\nwhole army should die of fear, or of hunger. So Alexander called\nthe host together by the sound of the trumpet, and when they were\nall in one place, he rose up and told them how that the whole\narmy was doomed to die, except that one man would offer himself\nwillingly to die for the host. Then all men burst into grief for\nmany men there were who would not fear death for the army, but\nthere was none who would willingly die. So for the space of half\nan hour no one came forward. Then Alexander the Emperor arose and\nsaid, \u201cO Greeks, Persians, and Indians, seeing that I have led ye\ninto this land it is fitting that I lead you out, and since this\nmay not be, I myself will stay here so that ye may safely depart.\u201d\nThen the leaders came round him with tears and sobs, but he would\nnot listen to them, but bade them prepare for their journey. The\ntrumpets sounded again, and all men kept silence, for they saw\nAlexander with his left hand on the Altar of Willing Victims, and\nhis right hand raised on high, and they heard him devote himself to\nthe God of the Valley--a willing victim for the release of the army.\n\n[Illustration: Now when all had left the valley but Alexander,\nstanding at the Altar of Willing Victims, and Bucephalus his horse\nby him, it was already evening, & the earth seemed to shake & the\nway out was closed up.]\n\nSoon as the words were said, a crash was heard at the head of the\nvalley, and when men looked they saw that a huge cliff had fallen,\nand had opened a broad way out into the open plain beyond, and\nmen hurried to load their beasts and the knights rode on, and at\nthe last Porus rode on with them, for Alexander had bidden him\nfear nothing, for the gods had promised him that he should not\ndie save between a soil of iron and a sky of gold, so that needs\nmust he escape from this Valley of Terror, and Alexander had told\nthe leaders of the host to abide forty days for him on the plain\noutside if need be. Now when all the army had passed through, and\nno man was left in the valley but Alexander, standing at the Altar\nof Willing Victims, and Bucephalus his horse by him, it was already\nevening, and the earth seemed to shake, and the way out was closed\nup. When night fell, and all was dark, then the air seemed full of\nfright, and from one side or another groans were heard, but none\ncame near. As hours drew on, the horse shivered with fear, and\nwhen Alexander patted his flanks they were covered with cold dew,\nand at last Bucephalus put his head under his master\u2019s cloak, and\nstood still, trembling. But Alexander stood all that night by\nthe altar with one hand on it, and he saw nothing, and heard but\nthe groans which echoed through the air.\n\nWhen day dawned all was still in the valley, and as Alexander\nlooked about he saw around him nothing but high rocks coming sheer\ndown from the mountain sides, but when the sun shone into the\nvalley, he took heart and began to ride round the sides to examine\nthem for himself, and this he did three times, but he found no\nway out. Then he sat down by a great stone, on which was marked a\nfive-pointed star, with many letters written on it, and as he did\nso the words of Anectanabus came into his mind, how that this star\nwas put for a seal over spirits in prison, and he remembered the\nmighty words that call on the spirits of the air and the earth,\nand he said them, and bade the spirit under the seal answer him.\nThen a voice came from under the stone and answered him, and told\nwho he was, and how he had been shut under that stone for hundreds\nof years to work the will of the gods; and he asked Alexander\nto let him go free. So Alexander knew that if he set free this\nspirit he would destroy the enchantment of the Valley of Terror,\nand he determined to let the spirit go, but first he questioned\nhim as to the way out, and the road to the Wells of Life, and how\nhe should know them. Then said the spirit, \u201cO Alexander, there be\nthree Wells of Life, nor is it easy to find them. These be their\nproperties. The first is the Well of Life, and in it if any dead\nthing is put, it straightway comes to life again. The second is\nthe Well of Youth, and in it all who bathe come again to the age\nof twenty-five, be they an hundred winters old. The third is the\nWell of Never-dying Men, and he who bathes in it shall not die of\nany disease or hurt of iron, yet may he suffer pain of disease and\nhunger, but he cannot die. Nor can this well be seen of all men,\nor at any day, for but once in a year can it be seen, and then no\nmore of any man for another year. For the way out, I myself will\nlead you and your horse, and I will give you the stone Elmas, which\nshall guide you to the wells, for it shall shine and sparkle while\nyou are in the right way, and when you are in the wrong it shall\ngrow dull and dark. Long and dreary shall the road be, and few may\ngo with thee to that land.\u201d\n\nThen Alexander drew his sword and cut away the words marked on the\nfive-pointed star, and when they were rubbed out, he hacked away\nthe comers of the star, and as he did so, the earth-shook, and the\nstone rolled over, and a young man stood by him holding a ruby in\nhis hand, and he said, \u201cO King, take the stone Elmas, and set it in\nthe handle of thy sword, and come thou and thy horse with me, for\nthe valley is open, and men shall call it no longer the Valley of\nTerror.\u201d So the king came with his horse, and he passed out where\nthe army had gone, and mounted his horse, and turned to thank his\nguide, and lo I he was alone. Then he rode into camp, and all men\nrejoiced to see him.\n\nNow, as Alexander came into the camp of the Greeks from the valley,\nan old man of the country came up on the other side, and the guards\nbrought him before the King. Then he asked him concerning the land,\nand who was the lord of it, and the old man said that no man ruled\nin it, and few lived in it. Then Alexander asked him of the Wells\nof Life, and the old man answered that he had seen them in his\nyouth and had bathed in the Well of Youth. Then Alexander asked him\nif he would guide him to them, and the old man said he would, but\nthat he would not bathe in them, for he wished not to live past his\ntime. So he went with Alexander and his host as they travelled far\ninto the land of Ind.\n\nFor many days the host travelled, till at last the old man said\nthat they were near the land of the Wells of Life, and then\nAlexander bade the army to halt, and he chose out a few of his\nGreeks and with them he set out on his search. It had been told\nAlexander that in the land there were many wells, and that none\ncould tell one from another, till they came to the right one, so\nthat he had prepared a way to find them out. Now the first well\nthey should come to was the Well of Life, and Alexander bade all\nhis men take in hand a salt fish, and wash it in every well they\ncame to, till they should see some strange thing, when they were\nto tell it to him. It must be said that they of the host knew not\nwhat Alexander was seeking, nor what was the reason of this washing\nof salt fish. So the men went from one well to another, laughing\nand joking, and washing their salt fish, till one of them, Andreas\nby name, dipped his fish into a certain well, and suddenly the\nfish came to life in his hand and slipped out into the well. Then\nhe cried out with a loud voice, and all the men near came running\nup to him, but he could say or do nothing but point to the fish\nswimming about in the spring. So they fetched Alexander to the\nspring, and he gave orders to fill a cask with the water of it, but\nthe old man said that the water was useless except it were drunk\nwhen it was drawn from the spring.\n\nThen he came to the Well of Youth, and it was in a dry land where\nno man dwelt, for there was no river or tree near. And Alexander\nwould fain have the old man bathe in that well, but he would not,\nfor he said that it was good to be young once, and to be foolish\nonce, but to be young twice would be to be always a fool, and old\nage was best when a man was tired of life. So the young men bathed\nin the spring and their hearts grew hopeful, and they rejoiced in\ntheir youth.\n\nThere remained the Well of Never-dying Men to be sought for, but\nthe old man told them that this was not here, nor was there any\nway to it from that place, for they must seek it in the dark\ndesert. On this Alexander asked him of that desert, and he said\nthat there the land was dark day and night, the sun shone not\nthere, and there was no track or path for men to travel by. \u201cYet,\u201d\nsaid the old man \u201cit will be easy for thee to enter into the land\nand to find the well, for thy stone Elmas will guide thee to it\nwhen thou art in the land.\u201d And with these words the old man turned\naway, and when Alexander looked for him, behold, he was not with\nthem. Then Alexander and his men returned to the army.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV. HOW THE BRAHMANS CAME TO KING ALEXANDER AND WHAT HE\nLEARNT FROM THEM: AND OF THE COMING OF THE AMAZONS.\n\n\nNow the tale tells that by this time the army was encamped near the\ngreat river of India, the river Ganges. The river was very broad so\nthat men could just see across it from one bank to another, and it\nwas full of all manner of living beasts, crocodiles, scorpions, and\nsnakes, so that men dare not swim in it nor drive in their horses.\nIt happened on a day, that three men came to the other side of the\nriver, and stood there, so that the guards came to Alexander and\ntold him of it, and he came to the bank over against them. Then the\nking bade one of his nobles ask them who they were, whence they\ncame, and what was their wish; and they answered, \u201cWe be Brahmans,\nthat never thought or did harm, and we bear a message from our\nlord Dindimus to the lord of this army, Sir Alexander of Greece.\u201d\nAnd when he heard this the king ordered a carpenter to make a boat\nto pass the river, and as soon as it was ready, he sent a knight\nover the river with a message inviting them to come: so they\ncrossed the river and stood before him. Now they were very old men.\n\nThen Alexander spoke to these Brahmans of one thing and another,\nand found that they lived in another manner than the Greeks; for\nwhat he esteemed rich and noble and good, they set little or no\nstore by, and what they admired he thought mean and poor. But since\nhe was a wise king, and one who desired to learn the secrets of\nthings, he sent a letter to the chief of the Brahmans asking him to\ndescribe what their nation did, \u201cfor,\u201d said he, \u201cyou differ from\nus very greatly, it cannot harm you to tell us about yourselves,\nand we may learn from your example. A candle when it is alight can\nlight many others without burning less brightly.\u201d And with this\nletter of Alexander\u2019s the Brahmans went away to their lord, and in\ndue time they returned bearing an answer.\n\nThe tale tells in full of these letters, though it likes me not to\nwrite them here at length, but the answer of Dindimus astonished\nthe Greeks. He told them that the Brahmans were a lowly folk, who\nneither ploughed nor reaped, fished nor hunted, who lived on the\nfruits of the earth, and who drank water, who fought not and\nlied not, who studied not, nor wore fine clothing, who loved the\nsun and the sea, the woods and the song of birds, and who cared\nneither for iron nor for gold. Then he went on to reprove them\nfor their worship of evil gods, for their pride, cruelty, and\navarice. However, Alexander answered him fairly, but only drew on\nhimself a worse reproof. Then Alexander seized eight of the chief\nBrahmans, and put to each of them a question, saying that the one\nwho answered worst should be put to death first.\n\nSo the first of them was brought before him, and he said to him,\n\u201cThis is thy question: Why have you no graves in which to bury\nyour dead?\u201d The old man said, \u201cWe are buried in the cave in the\nhillside where we pass our days, that we may know that our present\nlife is but a training for the future.\u201d Then came the second, and\nthe king asked him, \u201cWhich are more in number, the dead or the\nliving?\u201d \u201cThose that are dead are more in number than the living,\nthou thyself knowest how many men thou hast slain,\u201d said the old\nman. Then came the third and Alexander said, \u201cWhat is the most\nwicked thing in creation?\u201d \u201cMan is the most wicked thing, and thou\nthyself art one of the worst of men, for many men hast thou slain,\nand few hast thou saved from death.\u201d \u201cIs night older than day, or\nday older than night?\u201d was the next question of the king, and the\nBrahman answered him that night was older than day. Then he asked\nthe others these questions, and to each of them the wise men gave\nhim a good answer. \u201cHow do you live, and now do you die?\u201d \u201cIs death\nmightier than life?\u201d \u201cWho is it that has never been born?\u201d \u201cWhich\nis man\u2019s strongest limb, his right hand or his left?\u201d\n\nAt the last the lord of Macedon forgave their bold speech and let\nthem go; but, before they went, Alexander asked them, as his custom\nwas, what were the wonders of their land?\n\nThen the eldest of the Brahmans told him of a wonderful well in\nthe land, that few men dare drink of, for he that was miserly or\nunfaithful to his trust and drank of it, went mad on the spot.\nBut Alexander did not fear this, for no man had ever thought him\nmiserly, for when he had shared the spoil at Macedon, he left for\nhimself only hope and glory. Then the king asked to be led to that\nplace, and he went with few of his knights without fear, for the\nBrahmans were an unarmed folk. Now, as he went on his way with the\nBrahman, he came into a certain town of the land, and saw two men\npleading before the Judge, and he drew near to listen to them. The\nfirst of them stood up before the Judge, and said, \u201cSir, in time\npast I bought a house from this man, and dwelt in it; now, long\nafter, I have found in it a treasure hid under the earth of the\ngarden, which is not mine. Accordingly I offered to deliver the\ntreasure to him, and carried it to his house, but he has refused\nit and will not take it. Wherefore, sir, I beseech you that he be\ncompelled to take this treasure, since he knows full well that it\nis not mine, for I have no right to it.\u201d Then Alexander said to\nthe Brahman, \u201cSurely this man is foolish, for he might keep this\ntreasure to himself.\u201d But the Judge turned to the other man, and\nbade him answer what was said against him. So he stood up and said,\n\u201cSir Judge, that same treasure was never mine, but he has digged\nin a place that no other man who had the house has digged, and\nhath made that his own which before had no master. And, therefore,\nI have no right to take it.\u201d Then Alexander said to the Brahman,\n\u201cSurely this man may take it, for the land was his, and the other\nman wishes him to take it.\u201d\n\nAs he spoke, the two men talked together for a moment, and then\nthey turned toward the Judge, and begged him to take the treasure\nhimself, for they would have none of it. Then the Judge answered,\nand said, \u201cSince ye say that ye have no right thereto, so that\nneither he to whom the heritage belonged in time past, nor he\nto whom it now belongs may have it, how should I have any right\nthereto, that am but a stranger in the matter, and never before\nheard a word spoken of it. Would you escape the burden that falls\non you, and give me the charge of the treasure; that were evil done\nof you.\u201d And, after awhile, he took them and asked of him that had\nfound the treasure whether they had any children or no: so one of\nthem answered that he had a young son. Then he asked the other if\nhe had a daughter, and he said that he had. When he heard that,\nthe Judge was glad, and he ordered them to make a marriage between\nthe two, and that they should give them the treasure between them\nas a marriage portion. And when Alexander heard this judgment, he\nhad great marvel thereof, and said thus to the Judge: \u201cI trow there\nis not in all the world so righteous a judge as thou art.\u201d Then\nthe Judge looked on him with wonder, for he knew that he was an\noutlander by his speech, though he wist not that he was Alexander,\nand he asked him whether any Judge in his own country would have\ndone otherwise. \u201cYea, certainly,\u201d said Alexander, \u201cin many lands\nwould they have judged otherwise.\u201d Then the Judge had great marvel\nthereat, and he asked the king whether it rained, and if the sun\nshone in that land; as if he would give him to understand that\nit was strange that the gods should send any light, or rain, or\nother good things to them that do not right and true judgment. But\nAlexander had greater marvel than before, and he said there were\nbut few such nations upon earth as the people of this land.\n\nThen king Alexander went with the old Brahman in search of the\nwell, and at the last they came to the place where the well was,\nand it was a great square tank, built down into the ground with\nblocks of stone, the sides covered with green moss, and the steps\ndamp and slippery, the water at the bottom dark and clear, but\nthe Brahman put forth his hand and said to the King, \u201cO foolish\nof heart, bathe not in this well, for thou art both miser and\nunfaithful. Miser art thou for thy words about him who found the\ntreasure: unfaithful in that thy heart judged not as the Judge of\nthe land did.\u201d And Alexander turned away in silence, for his heart\njudged him, and he dared not enter the well, so he returned to his\narmy.\n\nAnd as Alexander went out of that land he passed through a city, in\nthe which all the houses of the city were of one height, neither\nwas any house greater in show than another. Now before the door\nof every house was a great pit dug, and this pit was always open.\nThen Alexander asked for the lord or judge of that city, and they\ntold him that there was in their city no judge or lord. And the\nking wondered greatly how such a thing should be, that a city could\nremain without a head or a judge; and he asked of the inhabitants\nthereof whereto such things should serve. So the dwellers in that\nplace answered him and said: \u201cO king, whereas thou dost wonder that\nwe have no lord over us to do justice among us, know thou that we\nhave learnt to do justice ourselves, wherefore we need no man over\nus to do it for us.\u201d Then said he to the men of the city: \u201cWhy do\nye make these pits before the doors of your houses?\u201d And they\nanswered him: \u201cKnow, O Alexander, that these pits are our graves,\nwhich every man makes before his door to be his own house, to which\neach of us must go, and there dwell until his deeds are judged.\u201d\nAnd Alexander asked them yet another question: \u201cWhy are your houses\nbuilt of one height?\u201d and they answered him: \u201cO King, love and\njustice cannot be even among all the people of a place if some of\nthem are greater than others, and no house nor family shall be\ngreater than other in this our town.\u201d Then Alexander departed from\nthem, wondering, but well pleased.\n\nThe tale tells that before Alexander fought against Porus he sent\nmessengers to all lands in Asia, and among the rest to the land\nof the Amazons. It is said of that land that only women live in\nit, and it is governed by women, and whatever man comes into it\nhe is straightway slain; for the first founders of that land were\nthe wives of the men that were called Goths, the which men were\ncruelly slain, and then their wives took their husbands\u2019 armour\nand weapons, and fell on their enemies with manly hearts, and took\nrevenge of the death of their husbands. For by dint of sword they\nslew all men, both old men and children, and saved the females,\nand parted out the prey, and purposed to live ever after without\ncompany of men. And by the example of their husbands they had\never two queens among them, one to lead the host and fight against\nenemies, the other to govern and rule the kindreds. In short time\nthey became such fierce warriors that they had a great part of Asia\nunder their lordship nigh a hundred years; and among them they\nsuffered no man to live or abide, but of the nations that were nigh\nto them they chose husbands, and they nourished their children till\nthey were seven years old, and then their sons they sent to their\nfathers, but they saved their daughters and taught them to shoot\nand to hunt. It is told that the great Hercules was the first who\ndaunted their fierceness, and that was more by friendship than by\nstrength.\n\nNow came messengers from Calistris, queen of the Amazons, to\nAlexander, bearing letters from her in answer to his demand of\ntribute, for she had heard how Alexander had followed in the\nfootsteps of Hercules, and had gone into India, and the letters\ntold of her land and its customs, and of the number of warriors she\nhad, and she went on: \u201cI wonder at thy wit, that thou purposest\nto fight with women, for if fortune be on our side, and if it hap\nthat thou be overcome, then art thou shamed for evermore, when\nthou art overcome of women; and if our gods be wroth with us, and\nthou overcomest us, it shall be little honour to thee that thou\nhast overcome a band of women.\u201d And when Alexander looked over the\nletter he laughed, and wondered on her answer, and said that it\nwas not seemly to overcome women with sword and anger, but rather\nwith love and noble dealing: and therefore he sent messengers\nto them offering friendship and a treaty. Then the queen of the\nAmazons came with many of her maidens, and they reached Alexander\nwhen he returned from the land of the Brahmans, and abode with him\nmany months, and at the last they departed from him and went to\ntheir own land, being subject to his empire, not by violence, but\nby friendship and by love.\n\nAnd after these things Alexander reared up a pillar of marble, and\nupon it he wrote in the tongue of the Greeks and of the Indians.\nNow the inscription in Greek characters was but this:--\n\n  \u0391 \u0392 \u0393 \u0394 \u0395\n\nthe first five letters of the alphabet, and they stood for the same\nwords as those in the Indian inscription:\n\n  \u0391\u039b\u0395\u039e\u0391\u039d\u0394\u03a1\u039f\u03a3 \u0392\u0391\u03a3\u0399\u039b\u0395\u03a5\u03a3 \u0393\u0395\u039d\u039f\u03a3 \u0394\u0399\u039f\u03a3 \u0395\u039a\u03a4\u0399\u03a3\u0395\n\n\u201cKing Alexander the God-born built this:\u201d and he graved it deep on\nthe sides of the pillar.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI. HOW ALEXANDER PASSED THROUGH THE LAND OF DARKNESS AND\nSLEW THE BASILISK.\n\n\nFew days after Alexander and his army entered into a plain full of\nfair flowers and trees. Now the trees of this land were fruitful\nand bore all manner of food for man, and amongst them were apples\nand almonds, vines and pomegranates, and plums and damsons; and it\nwas in this land that the Greeks first ate of damsons, for they\ndid eat of them three days while they were in the forest. But as\nthey went through the wood, they came upon giants twice as high\nas other men, clad in coats of skin, and covered with long hair.\nSo the Greeks and the Indians were sore afraid lest these giants\nshould fall upon them and slay them, while the giants called one\nto another, and came together through the trees to gaze on them,\nfor they had never seen men before. When the Greeks saw that these\ngiants were calling to one another and coming together, they drew\nup in line of battle, and the knights clad in armour mounted their\nbattle horses, and the archers and spearmen prepared their weapons\nfor the onset: for the Greeks had never heard of giants who did\nno harm to men. But these giants were great stupid oafs who stood\ngazing with open mouths at Alexander and his men preparing to slay\nthem, and their food was grapes and pomegranates. And when the army\nwas drawn up in line, and all men were ready, Alexander gave the\nword and they raised a loud shout so that the woods rang again, and\nthe giants turned and fled, for they had never heard sound of man\nor of trumpet. Then the knights followed them and slew some six\nhundred of them in the field and in the chase, so that none of them\nwere left in the land round about.\n\nThe tale tells that Alexander passed on with his army, still\nseeking the wonders of the land and finding no man in this part of\nit, till he came to another river where he halted for many days.\nAnd there came men of the land to him, and Alexander asked them of\nthe wonders of the land, so they told him of certain trees near by\nwhich grew with the sun, and when it was high they were great, and\nas the sun fell below the earth so the trees grew smaller and sank\ndown into the soil. But when the king would set out to see this\nmarvel, they told him that no man could go near it for there was\na wild man who guarded the wood and suffered no one to pass. Then\nAlexander sought counsel of his wise men, and they bade him take\na fair white maiden such as the wild man had never seen and hold\nher before him, and so they did, and the wild man became quiet and\nstill at the sight of her, so the Greeks crept up to him and bound\nhim in great chains, and brought him before the King\u2019s tent: now\nthis wild man was covered with hair stout and strong, and his arms\nwere great, and his strength was as that of ten men. And when the\nKing had gazed on him they bound him to a tree, and slew him, and\nburnt him to ashes, for he had slain much folk of that country.\n\nNext day the King and his company came to the place of the trees,\nand they wondered at the sight, how they grew as the day grew, and\nthe height of them was a spear\u2019s length, and on them were fruits\nlike to apples, and men called them the trees of the sun. Now\nthe tent of the King was over against the place where the trees\ngrew, and in the hot sunlight he felt thirst, so he bade one of\nhis carles fetch him an apple, and the man sprang forth to do his\nbidding, but when he laid his hand on the fruit he fell to the\nground as if he was slain. There were birds on those trees among\nthe branches and some men wished to put their hands on them, for\nthey did not fly away from them, but as they did so, flames of fire\ncame out from the trees; and the men of the country told them that\nno man could touch these trees and live. Then Alexander asked them\nof the Land of Darkness, for the stone Elmas shone brightly, and he\nknew that he was drawing near that land: but they said that no man\nwent to that land, for the way was through a desert that none could\ncross.\n\nThen Alexander chose him out of all his army three hundred young\nmen, able to endure hardship, and they made them ready to go with\nhim to the Land of Darkness, while the army was left in the hand\nof King Porus; and he gave orders that the young men should carry\nwith them stores of food and water to pass through the desert to\nthe land they sought. Now there was a certain old man in the army\nnamed Bushi, who had two sons chosen to go with the King, and he\nbade them to take him with them to the Land of Darkness, but they\nsaid to him that the King had straightly commanded that no old man\nshould go with them. Then said the old man, \u201cO Sons, make strong\na box, and put me inside it, and set the box on a mule and carry\nit with the baggage, and it shall be for your good, for a party\nwithout old men to advise can come to no good.\u201d So his sons did\nas he bade them, and closed him in a box, and set him on a mule\u2019s\nback, and carried him with them to the land. And as Alexander went\non his way they met men of the land, journeying in the desert,\nand these told them of the Well of Life, and how a man had drunk\nof that well, but he could not find his way out of the Land of\nDarkness, and ever he wandered to and fro, up and down, till at\nlast he gave up the search, and dwelt in a tower alone, and as the\nyears rolled on he grew smaller and smaller, and more and more\ncruel, and when men came into that land, he slew them and fed on\ntheir flesh.\n\nNow when Alexander drew near the Land he came to a desert land,\nwhere was neither well nor living thing, and they hastened through\nit for five days, but on the morrow of the sixth day the sun rose\nnot, and there was no light of day: and so the king knew that he\nhad come on the Land of Darkness, but the tales that he had heard\ncame to his mind, and he feared, for he had no mind to wander\nthrough that land without a guide. Then he went back with his men\nfor half a day\u2019s journey, and lo! the light of the evening, so he\ncamped in that place and waited for morning light. On the morrow he\ntook counsel with his men, as to the way of return, and he offered\ngreat reward to any man who should show the way of a safe journey\nback, but his young men said, \u201cO King, it is ours to go where thou\ndost order us, and what thou biddest, that will we do:\u201d and he\nfound no counsel in them. Then the two sons told their father how\nthe King had stopped and asked for counsel, and Bushi bade them\nbring him before Alexander, and when they feared he bade them be\nbold, for he had good counsel to give.\n\nThe tale tells that the King was sitting sorrowful in his tent that\nday, for he dared not enter the Land without some means of safe\nreturn, and he was unwilling to go back to the army without having\nreached his object; and when the guards entered and told that an\nold man sought speech of him, he thought that one of the gods must\nhave come to his help. So he made him to sit in his own seat, for\nthe man was very old and feeble, and asked him what he would. Then\nBushi answered and said, \u201cO King, hear the words of an old man;\nthere is no love like the love of a mother for her young. Now thou\nhast here with thee, many asses with their foals. This is my word\nto thee. Leave here on the borders of the Land, half thy men with\ntheir baggage trains, and leave with them the young foals, and go\nthou with their mothers and the rest of thy men into the Land, and\ndo thy heart\u2019s desire: then when thou wilt return from this Land,\nloosen the mothers and leave them free, and take them for thy\nguides, and they will lead thee back to the place where their young\nones be.\u201d\n\nThen Alexander the King praised him greatly, and gave rich reward\nto the young men, his sons, and he offered to take the old man\nto the Well of Life, but he would not, for he said, \u201cHow should\nI desire to live for ever, being such a man as I am, for the\nbitterness of death is past to me.\u201d Then he gave counsel to the\nKing that no man should bathe in any well in the land, till he had\nseen it, for if he did the well would disappear for a year. So\nAlexander did as the old man Bushi advised him, for he divided his\nmen into two bands, and one he left on the borders of the Land of\nDarkness, with their baggage and with the young foals, and one he\ntook with him, and the men he took with him he straightly charged\nto come to him when they found the well, and on no account to bathe\nin it. So he entered the Land, and the stone Elmas shone with a\nlight like a star, and guided them on the road for three days. But\non the fourth day it grew duller, and Alexander knew that he had\npassed the place of the Well of Life; and he ordered his men to\nsearch for the well in all directions, but not to go out of sound\nof the trumpets which rang out every hour, and to come into the\ncamp when it sounded. Seven times did the trumpet sound, and the\nscouts came in, but on the seventh time, one of them, Philotus by\nname, came in with his hair wet, and Alexander knew that he had\ndisobeyed the word of the king, and had bathed in the well. Then\nsaid he to him, \u201cO Philotus, canst thou lead me to the well thou\nhast bathed in,\u201d and the man answered, \u201cYea, Lord;\u201d and they set\nout together, but no well could be found. Then the wrath of the\nKing burst out, for he knew that he should see the Well no more for\na year if he remained in that place, and that all the labour of his\nexpedition was spent for nought but to make this Indian immortal,\nand he bade men bring great stones, and build them in a pillar\nround the Indian and close it at the top, and they did so, and he\nwas left alive inside the pillar, for indeed the Greeks could not\nslay him. This done, Alexander put the reins on the necks of his\nasses, and they turned and led the way to their young, and in three\ndays he was out of the Land of Darkness and on his way to the army.\n\nIn few days the King set out again with his host and went on his\nway towards the mountain lands, and ever the way led upward till\nafter eleven days\u2019 journey they came to a great plain among the\nmountains, covered with trees and plants, and well watered by noble\nrivers. The fruits were of the finest savour, and the water was\nsweeter than milk or mead, and clearer than crystal. So they went\non through the land for many days, but they found no man in it,\nand no houses or temples of the gods; until they came to a high\nmountain which seemed to reach even to the clouds, and no way was\nthere of crossing it, it was so steep and rugged. But when they\ncame up to this range they found two passes which led through the\nrange, and where they met was a great temple, and the one path\nled to the East, the way of the sun-rising, and the other to the\nNorth. Now there was no man to tell them where these paths led, or\nwhat was to be met in them. Then Alexander thought within himself\nthat he would go to the East, for the Gods had predicted that in\nthe East he should learn when and where was the end of his days,\nand the army of the King went through the pass for seven days.\n\nBut on the eighth day, a sudden death fell on many of the men in\nthe host, for when they came to a certain spot or place among\nthe mountains, ever one or another noble knight would fall down\nsuddenly and lie dead on the road, nor did all men who passed the\nplace die, but some only. Then fear came upon all men, and those\nwho had passed the place dared not move either forward or backward,\nand those who had not passed it would not go forward, nor indeed\ndid the King command them, for all men said, \u201cThe wrath of the gods\nis upon us for coming into this land.\u201d So Alexander sought to find\nthe reason for this death, and he went with one of his knights up\nthe mountains at the side of the pass, till he came to a place\nwhence he could see the whole of the pass and the mountains behind\nit, and looking down into the valley he saw in one of the clefts\nof the hills a loathly serpent, old and wrinkled, his thin long\nneck and great head lying on the ground before it. And while the\nKing looked down, the ungainly worm slowly raised its heavy head\nand looked down on the valley, and let it fall again, and a cry of\ngrief from his men told him that two more of his knights had fallen\ndead on the pass, and Alexander knew that his eyes saw the Basilisk.\n\nThe tale tells that this beast is the most deadly of all serpents,\nfor its venom is such that whatsoever living thing it looks on it\nslays, yea, the very grass is withered by its deadly breath. And\nno man may slay it unawares easily, for once a man slew one with a\nlance, and the venom of it was such that he died from it, though he\ncame no nearer the body than a spear\u2019s length. This the king knew\nand he sought not to slay it with a weapon, but he worked so that\nthe worm should kill itself; for he caused his men to make a shield\nlarger than a man, and on this shield he bade put a bright polished\nmirror, and he wrapped his feet in linen, and put off his armour,\nand going softly he bore the shield with its mirror before him, and\nset it down before the den of the basilisk, and went his way. But\nthe basilisk raised its head as its manner was, and looked before\nit, and saw its face in the mirror, and the poison of its own look\nkilled it, so it fell dead with its eyes wide open, and lay along\nthe path. Then the knight who was on the mountain watching blew his\nhorn, and all men heard it and rejoiced and praised the brave king\nwho had delivered them from the basilisk.\n\nAll this while the march of the host had lain between mountains,\nand when men climbed to the top they saw nothing but other\nmountains stretching away as far as they could see, no towns, no\nvillages, no living things, and on the day after the basilisk was\nslain, the road suddenly stopped among the mountains, and the host\ncould go no further. Then Alexander the King bade them turn back\nto the parting of the ways, and as they passed the place where\nthe basilisk had been he bade them burn it in asbestos cloth,\nand take its ashes, for the ashes of the basilisk are a precious\nthing, able to turn lead into pure gold, but the men found it not,\nthough the great mirror was still there. And at the last they came\nto the temple at the parting of the ways, and the army lay round\nthe temple for a day to rest, for they were sore wearied with the\npassage through the Eastward way. The next day at sunrise two aged\nmen came out of the temple, and Alexander spoke with them and they\ntold him of the ways, how that Bacchus, one of the gods, had made\nthis road when he came into India and conquered it, and how he had\ncaused the mountains to come together and block it up, so that no\nman should pass through by it after. Then Alexander asked them of\nthe Northward way, and they told him how it led to the Trees of the\nSun and Moon: and they told of the wonders of the trees, and how\nthey spoke with men\u2019s tongues, and told what should be in time to\ncome, and Alexander the King rejoiced.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII. HOW ALEXANDER CAME TO THE TREES OF THE SUN AND THE\nMOON, AND WHAT THEY TOLD HIM.\n\n\nHowbeit Alexander made no sign to them of his joy, for he seemed\nnot to believe the old men, and he said: \u201cHave I spread the might\nof my name from the East even unto the West to no end but to\nbecome a sport to old men and dotards.\u201d Then the old men made oath\nby the gods that this thing was true, and they told the King how\nthat these trees spoke both in the Greek and the Indian language;\nand Alexander asked them of the way to this marvel, and the men\nanswered: \u201cO King, whosoever thou art, no greater marvel shalt thou\nsee than this we tell thee of. The way to it is a journey of ten\ndays, nor can your army pass because of the narrow paths, and the\nwant of water, but at the most four thousand men with their beasts\nof burden and their food.\u201d Then all the friends of the King and his\ncompanions besought him to go and see this great thing, and he made\nas if he hearkened to their prayers, and consented to go with them.\nSo he left the army with its baggage and the elephants in the hands\nof King Porus his friend, and set out on the Northward Way to seek\nthe trees which spoke to men.\n\nNow the Northward Way was like the Eastward one, a narrow road\namong high mountains, and little ease was there in going through\nit, and for three days they came to no water, but at noon on the\nfourth day they came to a spring which flowed out of a cave on the\nhillside. Then the Indians told Alexander that this cave was sacred\nto Bacchus, so he entered it and offered up a sacrifice to the god,\nand prayed him that he might return safe to Macedon, lord of the\nworld, but he got no sign from the god that his prayer was heard.\nThen on the morrow he set out, and on the tenth day at even they\ncame to the foot of a great cliff, shining in the setting sun from\nthousands of brilliant points like diamonds, and from chains of red\ngold leading from step to step up the face of the rock, high up\nbeyond the ken of men. And as the sun shone on it the steps seemed\ncarved from sapphires and rubies, so deep were the blue and red of\ntheir colour. Then Alexander the king set up altars to the gods of\nheaven, and offered sacrifices to each one of them, and he and his\nmen lay that night at the foot of the cliff.\n\nEarly in the morning he arose, and when he had called to him his\ntwelve tried princes, he began to ascend the steps on the side of\nthe mountain, and as he went up it seemed to him that he was going\ninto the clouds, and when he looked down, the path by which he had\ncome seemed as a silver ribbon among the hills, and the men of\nhis host seemed smaller than bees, and nothing that might happen\nseemed strange to him, for his joy and lightness of heart. So on\nand on they went and at length they came to the last of the steps,\ntwo thousand five hundred of them, and they found that on the top\nof the cliff was a wide plain, and in the distance they saw a fair\npalace set in a garden, and a noble minster shining in the sun\nlike gold. All the plain was full of rich and noble trees bearing\nprecious balm and spices, and many fruits grew on their branches,\nand the inhabitants of the plain fed on them, for there were many\nmen on the plain, and all men and women were clothed in the skins\nof panthers or of tigers sewn together, and they spoke in the\nIndian tongue. As the Greeks drew near the palace they saw it, what\na fair home it was, and how it had two broad doors to its hall, and\nseventy windows of diverse shape, and when they came to the doors\nthey found them covered with beaten gold, and set with fair stones.\n\nBut the doors of the palace opened and shut, and there stood before\nthem a negro, ten feet high, with great teeth showing over his\nlips, his ears pierced and a great pearl in each, and clothed in\nskins. And when he had saluted them he asked them why they had come\nto that land, and they said that they wished to see the trees that\nspoke, and to hear something from them. Then the negro bade them to\ntake three of them, and to put off their shoes, and their weapons\nand ornaments, and to clothe themselves in fair white linen, and\nAlexander and two of his companions did so, and the negro brought\nthem within the palace, leaving the rest of their companions\noutside. And as they went in they marked the fair garden, and in it\nwere golden vines bearing on them grapes of rubies and carbuncles,\nand they saw how precious a place it was, so that Paradise alone\nexcelled it.\n\nNow when they were come to the inner door of the hall, the negro\nbowed himself down before them, and opened the door before them,\nbut went not in himself, for that room was the chief of the palace,\nand when they lifted up their heads they saw before them a couch\nand on it was a man. Now the hangings of the couch were of golden\nbrocade, and its coverlet was blue, embroidered with shining ones\nin bright gold, and the bedhead was embroidered with cherubim with\nglancing wings, and the canopy with the bright seraphim. The\ncurtains were of silk and on them was a fair garden of needlework,\nand in it were beasts and birds, and the pillars were of the same,\nand all the points and ornaments were of pearl. The romance tells\nthat he who rested in that room was one of the noblest-looking men\nthat ever had life, with a face bright and bold as fire, his hair\nwas long and grey, and his beard was as white as the driven snow.\nWhen the King and his peers saw him they knew that he must be of\nthe blood of the gods and not of mankind, and they knelt down on\nthe ground before him, and saluted him with all reverence. Then\nhe reached out his arms to them, and raised him on the bed, and\nanswered them: \u201cHail, Alexander,\u201d said he, \u201cAll hail, thou who\nwieldest the earth, thou and thy princes are welcome. Sir, thou\nshalt see with thy sight such marvels as never before man saw; and\nthou shalt hear of what shall come, things that no man hath heard\nbut thee.\u201d Then was the King astonished that his name was known,\nand he said, \u201cOh, holy happy man, how dost thou name my name, since\nthou hast never seen me before?\u201d And the god answered: \u201cYea, I knew\nthee ere a word of thy fame had spread over the earth.\u201d Then he\nwent on: \u201cWish ye to look upon the trees that bloom for ever, the\ntrees of the sun and of the moon, that can speak and tell thee of\nwhat is to be?\u201d And Alexander the king said, \u201cYes by my crown, this\nwould I do more than anything else in the world.\u201d Then the god\nsaid, \u201cArt thou clean of body and mind, thou and thy friends; for\nno man may enter the place where they are who is not pure of all\nstain?\u201d and Alexander answered that they were. So the Elder arose\nfrom his bed, and cast on him a mantle of gold, and the ground\nglittered for the glory of his weeds, and he led them to the door,\nand there stood there two elders like to those Alexander had seen\nat the Parting of the Ways, and he gave them into their hands,\nand bade them lead them to the place where they would be. Then he\nturned and departed, and Alexander and his friends Ptolemy and\nAntiochus went with the elders.\n\nAs they went the elders asked them if they had any metal or rich\nthing with them, and bade them cast it off, and one of the elders\nstayed at the door of the minster while the other led them through\nit, and after that the three Greek lords passed through a wondrous\nthick wood, full of most precious trees, olives and sycamores,\ncypresses and cedars, with balm and myrrh trickling down the trunk\nand all manner of incense and aromatic spices. In this wood they\ncame upon a little round clear space, and when they looked they\nsaw a great tree whereon was neither fruit nor leaves, bark nor\nbast, and it was one hundred feet high. And on it they saw a bird\nresting on one Of its branches, and the bird was of the size of a\npeacock, with a crest such as the peacock has, and its cheeks and\njaws were red like a fowl, and its breast was of golden feathers,\nand its back and tail of blue speckled with crimson, and its body\nof gold and red speckled with grey. Then Alexander the king stayed\nand considered this bird and wondered at it, and the guide answered\nhis thought: \u201cWhy dost thou wait and wonder, yon is the Ph\u0153nix, the\nbird that lives a hundred years, and has no mate:\u201d and he turned\nthem a little way and they saw a spot where two trees grew side\nby side, the trees of the Sun and the Moon. \u201cBehold now,\u201d quoth\nthe guide, \u201cthese holy trees; form in thy mind the question thou\nwouldst ask of them, but say it not in words that can be heard; and\nthou shalt have an answer in plain words, such as no other oracle\ngives. And this shall be a sign to thee that the gods are good to\nthee, since they read thy thoughts and need not words to tell them\nthy question.\u201d\n\nThe tale tells us that these trees were not like others, but their\nboles and leaves shone like metal, and the tree of the sun was like\ngold, and the tree of the moon was like silver, and the tree of the\nsun was the male, and that of the moon the female. Then Alexander\nasked his guide: \u201cIn what way will the trees answer me?\u201d and the\nElder answered him: \u201cTruly, O King, the Sun-tree begins to speak\nin the Indian tongue, and ends in Greek; but the Moon-tree, since\nit is female, speaks in a contrary manner, for it begins in Greek\nand finishes in Indian, and thus in two tongues each tells us its\nmission of fate.\u201d Then he wished to offer sacrifices before the\ntrees to honour them as gods, but the Elder forbade him, for he\nsaid that no living thing was to be injured in this place, and no\nfire must be brought there, but that the only sacrifices offered\nto the trees were kisses on the tree-boles. And when he heard this\nAlexander the King knelt down on the ground and kissed the boles of\nthe trees one after the other, and asked within himself whether he\nshould return to Macedon, where his mother dwelt, having conquered\nall the earth.\n\nNow, when he had asked this question in his mind, and he and his\nfellows were kneeling on the ground before the tree, suddenly it\nbegan to move, and the leaves began to quiver, though all was still\nand calm in the forest, and there was a sound of going in the\ntree-tops, and a sighing as if the wind was rustling through the\nleaves, and the sighing and moaning of the leaves grew louder, and\nwith a swaying sough this answer came to the King: \u201cO Alexander,\nunbeaten in war thou art, and shalt be lord of all the world, yet\nnever shalt thou see the soil of thy sires, or return to thy dear\nland of Macedon; thou shalt see thy mother and thy land no more.\u201d\nWhen they heard these things the companions of Alexander fell down\nto the ground as if dead, so great was their grief, and they heard\nno more of what was said; but Alexander knelt down before the\nMoon-tree to ask of it a question. Then the Elder came to him and\nsaid: \u201cO King, the tree of the Moon answers not till the night has\ncome, and the moon is full in the sky.\u201d So the King turned to his\ncompanions, and comforted them with his kind words and gifts, and\nbade them be of good cheer.\n\nWhen the night was come Alexander rose up again to go before the\nMoon-tree, and to hear its oracles, and his companions told him\nof the danger of being unarmed and alone by night, but Alexander\nfeared not, for it was not lawful to slay any one in that forest,\nneither was there any man in it save the guide and themselves. And\nhaving adored the tree and kissed it, he knelt down before it, and\nthought to ask when and where should be his end. Then at the moment\nwhen the rays of the moon made the leaves shine with splendour,\nhe heard a voice from the tree: \u201cAlexander, the end of thy life\ndraws near; this year shall be thine, but in the ninth month of\nthe next thou shalt die at Babylon, deceived by him in whom you\nfully trust.\u201d Then he was filled with grief and he looked at his\nfriends, and he knew that they were ready to die for him if need\nbe, and he thought of the other companions in whom he trusted, and\nthat if he slew them he might save himself, and then he thought of\nthe endless suspicion and sorrow he would live in for the rest of\nhis days, and he remembered the words of the god when he told him\nthat it was not good for men to know the end of their days, and he\nstrengthened his heart and comforted his friends, and he bade them\nswear never to reveal the things they had heard, and again they\nreturned to the minster, and found tents thereby where they might\nrest, and beds of skins, and on an ivory table there was food and\ndrink set for them, fruit and bread, and water from the stream. So\nthey slept and rested.\n\nThen in the morning the Elder woke him from sleep, and led him\nbefore the bare tree, and bade him ask of it what he would, and\nhe knelt before it and kissed it, and asked in his mind, \u201cWho is\nit that shall harm my mother or sisters or myself?\u201d Then he had\nthis answer from the tree: \u201cO mighty lord, if I should tell thee\nthe man who should betray thee it were easy for thee to slay him\nand to overcome thy fate, and the oracles would be made of none\neffect. Therefore thou shalt die at Babylon, not by iron, as thou\ndeemest, nor by gold, silver, nor by any vile metal, but by poison.\nThy mother shall die by the vilest death, and shall lie unburied in\nthe common way, to be eaten by birds and dogs. Thy sisters shall\nlive long and happy lives. Short as thy life shall be, thou shalt\nbe lord of all lands. Now ask no more, but return to thy army and\nto Porus thy friend.\u201d And the Elder came up to him and said: \u201cLet\nus depart with speed, for the weeping and moaning of thy companions\nhave offended the holy ones of the trees,\u201d and Alexander and his\ncompanions departed from the forest. Then he asked the Elder who\nwas the god of the palace, and he told the King it was Bacchus, who\nhad sent him to the temple at the Parting of the Ways, and who had\nwelcomed him in the palace. So Alexander came to his peers, and\nwith them went down the golden stairway and joined the host, and\nhurried on day after day until he came to the Parting of the Ways,\nand there he found his army under the command of Porus his friend.\n\nAnd after the army was gathered together, Alexander the King spoke\nof his journey to the oracles, and how he had climbed the stairway,\nand how he had been guided by the god, and had asked the trees of\nhis fate, and he told them that the trees had promised him that\nhe should conquer the world, and return to Macedon, and live a\nlong life, and all the army shouted with joy. But the comrades of\nAlexander and his twelve peers were sad, for they knew what was\nforetold, yet they said not a word of it, but shouted with the\nrest. Then Porus the Indian doubted of the truth, and he questioned\nthe king\u2019s companions closely, but they told him not of the oracle:\nhowbeit he was assured in his heart that Alexander was to die, and\nhe thought to seize on the empire, and he began to contrive the\nking\u2019s death; and Alexander knew of his questionings, and kept\nwatch over his doings.\n\nThen orders were sent to the host to prepare for their march, for\nAlexander was minded to set out and conquer the nations that had\nnot yet submitted to him, yet before he started, he bade men set\nup two marble pillars at the temple of the Parting of the Ways,\nand between them a pillar of gold, and on it was written in the\nlanguage of the land, how that Alexander the king had come to this\nspot and had conquered all nations, and it said how that there was\nno passage to the Eastward but to the Northward only. And when this\nwas done all the tents were struck and the host moved into a land\nto the north, where they had not yet been; and the people of the\nland brought him tribute.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII. HOW ALEXANDER SLEW PORUS AND WON BACK THE WIFE OF\nCANDOYL AND WAS KNOWN OF CANDACE WHEN HE CAME TO HER.\n\n\nAfter these things the host of the Greeks and the Persians and\nthe Indians was gathered together, in one place, and messengers\ncame from all the kings of the land to it to Alexander the king,\nbringing gifts of rare and precious things, of gold and spices, of\nthe skins of a fish like to a leopard\u2019s skin, of living lions and\nother wild beasts. Now, among these was the messenger of a Queen\nof the land, Candace by name, the widow of a great king friend\nand cousin of Porus; and they brought with them letters to King\nPorus from her. And when Alexander heard tell of her, he asked the\nKing of India concerning her, who she was, and what manner of men\nshe ruled over, and Porus answered and told him how she was the\nfairest woman in India, and how she had married his near kinsman,\nand had borne him three sons, Candoyl, Marcippus, and Caratros.\nThen he told him how he had sent his daughter to her for safety,\nand how she had married her to Caratros, her youngest son, who\nshould reign after her, as the custom of that folk was: and he told\nof the gods she worshipped, and of the people she ruled, and of the\nriches of the land. Then Alexander was fain of her presence, and\nsent rich gifts, and a golden image of Ammon his god, and a letter\nin which he asked her to journey towards the mountains and meet him\nthere, and he gave the messengers wealth and a strict command to\ntarry not till they brought him word again. But Porus purposed evil\nin his heart, for he sought to stir up wrath against Alexander in\nRoxana the Queen.\n\nThus the messengers came to Queen Candace and they laid before her\nthe letter of Alexander, and his gifts, and told how she had been\nhonoured by the wealth given to her messengers, and besought her\nto meet the Lord of the Greeks, but she would not, for she knew\nthe double mind of Porus, and would not adventure herself where\nshe could meet him, yet was she willing to please Alexander, so\nshe sent again her messengers, and richer gifts than before, and\na letter praising his knighthood and his valour, and the power of\nhis gods. Now these were her gifts, a crown of gold set with a\nhundred precious stones, and two hundred and ten chains of red\ngold, and thirty rich goblets carved with pelicans and parrots,\nfive Ethiopian slaves of one age, a rhinoceros, a thousand beryls\nin caskets of ebon-wood, and four elephants to carry this wealth,\nand on the back of each was the skin of a spotted panther, rich and\nprecious. So the messengers went their way, and with them Queen\nCandace sent a cunning painter, and she prayed him in private to\nmake her a portrait of the king on parchment, noting all his shape\nand proportion. And it was done as she said, for Alexander received\nher gifts and well entreated her messengers, and sent them home;\nand when they came the painter brought his drawing before her, and\nshe rejoiced, for she had longed to see what manner of man the\nGreek lord was, and now was her wish fulfilled.\n\nIt fell on a day that Alexander was in his tent, and one of his\nclerks was there with him, and as men went out and he chanced to be\nalone with the king, he fell on his knees before him, and besought\ngrace. Then Alexander comforted him and bade him speak out boldly\nand fear not. So this clerk told the king how Porus knew that the\ndeath of Alexander was near, and that he had gathered together\nmen from all parts to slay him, and he told him how that the men\nof Gog and Magog were on the march from the frozen lands of the\nNorth at the pay of Porus. Then Alexander asked how this should\nbe, and the clerk told him that he had been sent to them in years\nback by Darius, and that then it had been a full year\u2019s journey,\nbut now had they come nearer, so that one month saw the beginning\nand the end of the way to them, when Porus had sent him. Then the\nLord of the Greeks grew wrathful and began to doubt all men, for\nhe remembered that he should die by the hands of a friend whom he\ntrusted, wherefore he sent messengers for Porus, and when he came\nhe said to him: \u201cO Porus, is not the half of my throne sufficient\nfor thee, but thou must adventure to slay me by the hand of the\nouter barbarians? True knight thou art not, or thou wouldest scorn\nto do by another what thou durst not attempt thyself.\u201d But Porus\nthe king stood silent, and turned red and purple and white in\nturns, and then he tugged off his glove and threw it at the feet\nof Alexander on the ground. Then said Alexander: \u201cO Porus, though\nmayhap it were better to slay thee as a traitor, yet thou hast been\nmy fellow at board and bed, and I will meet thee as thou wishest,\nthat at least thou shalt die as a true knight, if thou couldst not\nlive as one.\u201d Then he called for his page and he bade him take up\nthe glove and put it in his helmet against the set day.\n\nOn the third day at sunrise all men rose up early and came to the\nfield of war outside the camp, and each man took his place round\nthe field, the Greeks on the south, the Indians on the north,\nand the Persians where they would on either side. And as they\nlooked they saw the tent of Alexander hung with green silk and\nembroideries at the east end of the field, and the tent of Porus\nhung with cloth of gold at the other. Before the doors stood pages\nand trumpeters, and from time to time long calls rung out in the\nair, notes of defiance and of confidence. From end to end of the\nfield ran a partition dividing it into two strips, for the battle\nwas to be fought out with the lance alone, and in the middle was\na high seat in which Ptolemy the king\u2019s lieutenant was to sit as\njudge. Beside and below him were places for the heralds, and as\ntime wore on they took their seats. And now the bustle round the\ntents increased, and men went in and out, and the noise of the\nhammer on the rivets rose between the calls. Then came a pause,\nand the squires brought long lances and laid them before the\nheralds, and they measured them side by side, and returned them to\nthe squires, who bore them back to their tents. A long call was\nsounded, and a troop of men brought in between them the famous\nwhite horse Bucephalus, and at the sight of him all the warriors\nof Greece shouted, for many times had they followed him in battle,\nand they deemed him the best horse in the world, though he was now\nstricken in years; and when this shout died away another was raised\nby the Indian knights as their lord\u2019s great black horse came in to\nthe field, and the two horses smelled each other from afar, and\nneighed out their defiance.\n\nNow sounded the drums and clarions, and from afar the procession of\nthe lord of the lists came into the field, and amid the shouts of\nthe army Ptolemy sat down on the throne, and all men kept silence.\nThen the heralds rose and saluted him, and he spoke to them, and\nsoon they broke up into two parties, and went one to each tent, and\neach man\u2019s eyes followed a party, this way or that. As they came\nbefore the tent doors, the squires drew aside the curtains and the\nkings stood before the heralds, clad in armour from head to foot.\nThen the processions re-formed and with lowly reverence the knights\nwere brought before the lord of the lists, where they repeated one\nby one the solemn oath that they had used no charm or magic against\ntheir foe, but that the battle should be fought, man to man and\nhorse to horse, till death: and as they stood side by side the\ngiant Porus showed taller and stronger when compared with the Lord\nof Macedon.\n\nThen the knights mounted their horses, and saluting each other and\nthe lord of the lists, they turned away and rode to the end of the\nlists and stood there two images of bright steel, waiting for the\nsign of battle. A few moments pass, the lord of the field rises,\nand the trumpet-call rings out, first low and steady and strong,\nthen higher and louder till it seems to carry men\u2019s hearts with it\nto the clouds, and in the midst of its last and loudest call the\nbaton is thrown down, and the two knights are spurring towards one\nanother; no man breathes, each stride brings them nearer, their aim\nseems true, when a shout rises from the Greeks, and next second\nboth knights are on the ground, the air is filled with curses and\ncries, the lists are peopled with heralds and knights and squires,\nthe black horse is galloping wildly over the field, Alexander\nis kneeling by the side of his horse Bucephalus, and Porus is\nlying still on the field, for he had shifted his lance and taken\ntraitor\u2019s aim at the good horse and slain him, while Alexander had\nstruck him on the helm and thrown him far on the ground.\n\nSo the lord of the lists stood up and bade the heralds bring the\nknights before him, but they came back and told him how Porus\nlay deathlike on the field, yet was he unhurt to all seeming, so\nPtolemy spake to Alexander and said, \u201cSir Alexander, thou hast\ndone thy duly as a true knight, thine adversary is at thy mercy to\nslay or to spare.\u201d Then Alexander answered, \u201cWere it not for his\ntraitorous dealing to my good steed I would forgive him yet again,\nnor may I slay him unarmed, but by to-morrow morn I will meet\nhim again on foot, sword to sword, till one of us die.\u201d Then the\nsquires carried Porus away to his tent, and the Indian knights went\naway from the field shamefast, but the Persians and the Greeks\nrejoiced in the fame of their lord, and mourned over the death of\nthe good steed Bucephalus. That day Alexander built a tomb for his\nhorse and laid him there, and bitter were the tears he shed, for\nit seemed to him that the best days of his life were beginning to\nleave him, and his evil days had begun.\n\nWhen the morrow came all men went again to their places, and the\nheralds and the trumpeters sat down in their seats, and Ptolemy\nbade silence. Then the two knights were brought before him, on\nfoot, armed with sword and dagger, and he placed them before each\nother, and bade them fall to when the trumpet sounded. The heralds\nrose and made proclamation: \u201cLo ye, all men here present, these\nknights, Sir Alexander of Macedon and Sir Porus of India, be met\nfor the agreement of certain differences between them; if now any\nman shall enter this field, or aid them in any way, he shall fall\nunder pain of death, until this difference be voided.\u201d Then all men\nkept silence, till the lord of the field let fall his sceptre and\nthe trumpets rang out one shrill call.\n\nScarcely had the sound died away before the two knights began\ncircling round each other, like birds watching an opportunity to\ndart in and seize their prey; but they dared not adventure, for\nPorus was tall and long of reach, and Alexander was nimble and\nlong-armed and very mighty, and each man wished to strike a blow\nthat would end the fight at once, and time after time they came\nnear each other and stepped back again, till at the last Porus\nstruck at the left shoulder of Alexander, which was just in his\nreach, and Alexander caught the blow on his shoulder, and running\nforward struck with his right arm alone, and drove his sword-edge\nthrough helm and cheek-bone and skull, and Porus fell dead on the\nground, and the Greeks shouted with joy. Thus was the treason of\nPorus, his evil thoughts and his unknightly deeds, avenged by\nAlexander. But when he was dead the Lord of Macedon gave him burial\nlike one of the kings, and he built over him a temple, with walls\nand towers and priests to pray for him perpetually.\n\nAt this time it fell that Candoyl, the eldest son of Candace the\nqueen, came before his mother and said to her, \u201cFair mother and\nqueen, grant me that I may leave thy lands and journey out into the\nworld;\u201d and she said, \u201cGo, my son, with my blessing and leave, and\ntarry not till thou return.\u201d So he got together much wealth and\ndeparted, with his wife and his servants, and came to a certain\nstrong city called Bebrik, and harboured there, and when the morrow\nwas come and he departed, the king of Bebrik came round and met him\non a certain bent, and slew many of his men, and one of the king\u2019s\nknights took the lady and bore her off to the town, shrieking\nand lamenting so as to pierce the heart of any true knight: for\nit is to be said that the king of Bebrik had loved her for many\nyears. Then was Candoyl sore troubled, and he went on his way to\nthe army of Alexander to seek his grace, if by any means he would\nhelp him to recover his lady and love. Soon he came near the camp\nand entered it, and the watchmen took him and brought him before\nPtolemy, the most noble of the Greeks after Alexander, and he asked\nhim, \u201cWhat manner of man art thou, and what dost thou here? What is\nthe cause of thy coming? Let us know thy name?\u201d \u201cSire,\u201d said he, \u201cI\nam Candoyl, the son of Candace the conqueress,\u201d and he told him of\nhis coming, and of what befell him in the way. Then Ptolemy hurried\nfrom the tent, leaving Candoyl in ward of a knight, and went into\nthe cabin where the King was lying, and found him asleep. So he\nwaked him gently and told him the tidings, how a knight, the son of\nCandace the queen, had come to crave his help against the king of\nBebrik, who had reft his wife from him.\n\nThen said Alexander, \u201cGo back again to thy tent, put on thy head\nthe richest diadem I have, a crown of red gold, and a king\u2019s\nmantle, and seat thee in the king\u2019s seat as though thou wert\nmyself, let my knights come about thee and call thee by my name\nwith all due reverence, and then send messengers for me, and call\nme Antiochus, and I shall obey thy bidding as I were thy liegeman.\nAnd when I come to thy call, and kneel before thee, declare to me\nall the case of Candoyl\u2019s adventure openly before him, and be not\nabashed when I bow, nor bid me not to rise, but let thy countenance\nbe solemn when thou art speaking, and say then, \u2018Antiochus, my\nnoble, let us see thy wisdom in this matter, do thou wisely advise\nme.\u2019\u201d So Ptolemy hurried away and clothed him in the dress of an\nemperor, and sent for Alexander in the name of Antiochus, and when\nhe was come, he told him the tale before Candoyl, and asked his\nadvice. Then answered Antiochus, \u201cWere it your will, noble Emperor,\nI would fare with this knight to recover his wife, and would bid\nthe king of Bebrik on pain of his eyes restore her, and if not, we\nshould grind his city and him to dust.\u201d Then Candoyl bowed before\nthe king, and said, \u201cSir Antiochus, of all men be thou happy, thy\nwisdom is worthy of a king clad in gold with crown and sceptre.\u201d\nSo Alexander and Candoyl rode forth that same night, and when it\nwas dawn they came before the walls of Bebrik. Then the watch on\nthe gate saw them, and cried out, \u201cWho are ye, O knights; whence\nand what is your errand?\u201d And Alexander answered, \u201cIt is Sir\nCandoyl, that has come for his spouse, and I am the messenger of\nthe Lord of Macedon, and I bid you, if you will save your city from\ndestruction, to yield his bride to him without delay.\u201d Then the\nburghers of the city were filled with fear, though they were a\nstiff-necked folk, and they went in a body to the palace of their\nking, and burst open the gates and brought forth the dame, and led\nher to her husband in all honour. So Candoyl thanked him heartily,\nand said, \u201cI pray thee, dear prince, pass with me to my mother,\nthat thou mayst have the honour and reward thou hast merited for\nthy deeds.\u201d Then was the King rejoiced at these words, and he said,\n\u201cGo we to Alexander to ask his leave, and gladly will I follow thee\nand do thy will;\u201d for he would not have him to think him other than\nAntiochus; so they went to Ptolemy and he gave him full leave to\ndepart.\n\nNow drew they near the city of Candace the queen, and she heard of\nthe coming of Candoyl her son and his wife, and how she had been\ntaken prisoner by the king of Bebrik, and released by a knight of\nMacedon, who was with them, and she was glad in her heart, and\ngreatly rejoiced. Into a chamber she went and changed all her\nweeds, and put on a robe of red gold and a rich mantle over it,\na crown and a kerchief clustered with gems, and came down from\nher palace gate surrounded by her knights, and found them before\nit. So she clasped her son in her arms and kissed him, and said,\n\u201cWelcome be thou, my loved son, and thou, my dearest daughter, and\nI am glad of your guest, as the gods give me joy:\u201d and Alexander\nlooked on her, and his heart rejoiced, for he thought her likest\nof all women to Olympias his mother; fair and fresh was she as a\nfalcon, or as some spirit from another world. So they came into\nher castle-hall, full of precious stones and adorned with gems,\nits pillars of porphyry, and its floor of bright crystal, clear\nas a river, and there they sat at meat--Alexander and Candace and\nCandoyl, served together at the high table.\n\nOn the morrow at first light Candace the queen came with her\nladies and took the Greek knight Antiochus through the palace and\nshowed him how richly it was built, and all the wonders in it,\ngreat and small. And when he had seen all these things she asked\nhim of the palace of Alexander, and he told her how it was not so\nrich as hers, but was a home for fighting men to rest in, and to\nprepare for new wars, while the palaces of the Kings of the East\nwere fitter to make men long for ease than to give them heart for\nthe toil and danger of battle. Then said the Queen, \u201cOther wonders\nstill shall I show thee, O Antiochus, wonders that no king hath the\nlike of,\u201d and she bade her servants go forth, and giving her hand\nto the Greek led him into a room, covered with cypress and with\ncedar from floor to roof, where they sat down on two thrones in the\nroom. Soon a mighty sound was heard, and as the Greek looked out\nhe saw the trees and the fields and the town moving round him, and\nhe knew that he was in a chamber that turned round by some hidden\npower. It is to be said that this room was turned round by the\nstrength of twenty tame elephants that the queen kept for this end,\nand everyday she came and sat in the chamber and looked from the\nwindow while it was turned for a space. So as the false Antiochus\nlooked he wondered and said, \u201cVerily, O Queen, were such a wonder\nas this in our land of Macedon, proud would our lord the king be of\nit above all his treasures\u201d; and Candace looked on him and said,\n\u201cAlexander, this is but little to the wonders that the men of this\nland can show the Greeks.\u201d\n\nThen Alexander sprang up from his seat at the calling of his name,\nfor well he knew the danger he was in, and all his face turned\npale, since any of the kings of India would give his weight in\ngold to have him in their power, and he said, \u201cNay, lady, my name\nis Antiochus,\u201d but she rose and took him by the hand with a kindly\nlaugh, and going to the recess drew back the tapestry banging and\nshewed him a picture in parchment whereon he was painted dressed in\nhis royal robes. \u201cSee for thyself,\u201d said she, \u201cthat I have made no\nmistake.\u201d Then as the king looked on the picture his face turned\nyellow, and his flesh trembled. \u201cWhy fades thy fair hue?\u201d said the\nlady, \u201cthou warrior of all the world, the conqueror of Persia and\nof India, the Medes and the Parthians! Lo, now, thou art here in\na woman\u2019s ward, in spite of all thy worthy deeds. Where is now\nthy praise that reaches up to heaven? It is gone at once, at the\nturning of the breath of a woman.\u201d Then she waited for a space,\nbut the lord of Macedon answered her naught, for his heart waxed\nhot within him, and he ground his teeth with rage as he looked\nhither and thither, so she said, \u201cWhy dost thou vex thy soul, Sir\nConqueror, what may thy manhood avail thee, or all thy rage?\u201d Then\nthe King answered her and said, \u201cFor one thing only I grieve, that\nI have not my sword, nor may I see any weapon.\u201d \u201cAnd, my fair\nknight, what bold brave deed would thy sword help thee to, if thou\nhadst one?\u201d \u201cSince I am taken unawares,\u201d quoth he, \u201csurely I would\nslay thee where thou sittest, and myself after.\u201d Then Candace the\nQueen laughed out, \u201cThat were the deed of a true knight,\u201d said she,\n\u201cbut not yet are we to do and suffer such things; hast thou not\nrescued my son\u2019s wife from the hands of the king of Bebrik? Surely\nI shall save thee unharmed from my folk. Yet were it known that\nthou wert here, not all my power could save thee, since thou hast\nslain the Lord of India, good Porus, whose daughter my youngest\nson Caratros has taken to wife. But no man has seen thy picture\nfrom the day I had it till now.\u201d Then the Lord of Macedon came near\nher, and she took him by the hand and led him into the hall of the\npalace.\n\nNow when Candace the Queen left Alexander in the hall she came on\nher two sons Candoyl and Caratros, and they were in sore strife.\nFor after the Queen had borne away with her the Greek, Caratros\nsaid to his brother Candoyl, \u201cNow has this Greek Lord slain my\nfather-in-law, Porus the Good, and needs must I have revenge or my\nwife will go mad. I will slay this lord Antiochus, his friend and\nmessenger, and when he comes to revenge his servant, I will go out\nand slay him in combat.\u201d But Candoyl answered him, \u201cMy brother,\nthe Lord of Macedon has helped me, and this knight, Sir Antiochus,\nhas recovered for me my wife: I brought him hither, and I shall\nlead him in safety to his lord\u2019s tents.\u201d Then Candace the Queen\nsaid, \u201cCaratros, my son, what honour will come to thee for slaying\na guest and a friend? Shall anything come of it but sorrow?\u201d But\nCaratros grew angry and said, \u201cWhat ails thee brother, that we\nshould strive with each other in this matter, leave me to do my\nwill.\u201d Then Candace the Queen went quickly and took Alexander\ninto council and told him how her son wished to slay him, and how\nCandoyl would fight for him. \u201cLord Alexander,\u201d said she, \u201cI pray\nthee, make peace between my children.\u201d Then Alexander rose up,\nand came to the room of the brethren, and the clash of swords was\nheard, so he caught up a weapon and ran between them and beat down\ntheir swords, saying, \u201cFair lords, this must not be, ye must not\nfight alone.\u201d And after he had quieted them, he spake to Caratros\nin fair words, saying, \u201cMy good lord, if you end my life, you can\nwin no praise for it, since I am in thy hands. Alexander has seven\nhundred knights as good as I am, if I were precious to him, would\nhe have let me come in a strange land without ward or retinue?\nNot so, my lord, but if in truth you desire to look on Alexander,\nyou need but give me the goods I crave for and I will immediately\nput that prince into your hands.\u201d Then Caratros rejoiced, and\nkissed his brother in his joy; and Candace the Queen called to her\nAlexander and said, \u201cHappy should I be, if you were ever with me,\nthen should all my foes be destroyed.\u201d So she gave him a crown of\namethysts and diamonds, and a noble mantle, and dearly she kissed\nhim, and bade him farewell. And the Lord of Macedon departed and\nwith him Candoyl went as his guide, for he thought that Caratros\nhis brother might again change his mind and work him evil, if the\nGreek knight returned alone to the camp; and he purposed to lead\nhim through the mountains and to shew him the place where Candace\nhis mother worshipped the great gods, and heard oracles of things\nto come, and teamed the mysteries of the gods.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX. TELLS HOW ALEXANDER DEFEATED GOG AND MAGOG, HOW HE\nWENT UP INTO THE AIR, AND DOWN INTO THE SEA.\n\n\nCandoyl and Alexander rode from the city out into the open country,\nand all day passed through it, till as the sun went down they came\nnear the hills, and they found there a cave, great beyond measure,\nhidden between two hills, and there they harboured all night. And\nwhen evening was come Candoyl spoke to Alexander and said, \u201cSir,\nin this cave men say that the gods appear, and tell men what shall\ncome to pass.\u201d Then was Alexander rejoiced and gave thanks to the\ngods, and went in to the darkest part of the cave, but Candoyl\nabode at the mouth. And as Alexander drew near he saw a great cloud\nand from it a light glimmering like stars, and as he gazed him\nthought he saw in the midst of it a throne, and on it was a great\ngrisly god whose eyes shone out fierce like lanterns. Then was\nAlexander sore dismayed, and fell to the ground. \u201cHail, Alexander!\u201d\nquoth that high god. \u201cSire, what is thy name, and now shall I call\nthee?\u201d said the king. \u201cThinthisus is my name, and all the world is\nunder my hand. Yet hast thou built a city in thy name, and thou\nhast set me there no temple.\u201d \u201cSire, if I return to Macedon, I will\nbuild thee a temple as master of the gods: none shall be like it in\nany land.\u201d \u201cNay, nay, long not thereafter; thou shalt never look\non that land. Go further, and behold.\u201d Then the king looked and he\nsaw another cloud not far off, so he went thither, and lo! another\ngrim god seated before him. Kneeling on the earth he asked, \u201cWho\nart thou, Lord?\u201d and the god answered him, \u201cI am Serapis, the god\nof thy father, the father of gods.\u201d Then said Alexander, \u201cTell me,\nI pray thee, the name of the man that shall slay me:\u201d but the god\nanswered him, \u201cO king, in time past I told thee that should any man\nknow the cause of his death beforehand, he would suffer greatly;\nbe of good heart, thou hast conquered many nations, thou shalt yet\ndo great deeds; thou hast built a mighty city which shall endure\nfor ever; many men shall resort there, and many races of kings\nshall rule it; thou shalt die and be buried in a noble city far\nfrom thine own land.\u201d Alexander bowed himself down before the god\nand returned to the mouth of the cave, and found Candoyl waiting\nfor him in the morning dawn, and the plain lay before him covered\nwith his armies, and he bade farewell to the son of Candace, each\ndeparting to his own.\n\nIt fell as Alexander rode on towards his camp that he began to\ndoubt in his mind that something was wrong, for all things looked\nto be untended, and no guards were set round the army, and as he\ndrew nearer he heard shouts and cries, so he spurred up his steed\nand rode into the camp, and no man stopped him, for all were drawn\nto one place. But when he had come thither he found that the\nGreeks were drawn up in array, and that the Indians and Persians\nwere running hither and thither, shouting and crying; so that\nevery now and then a band of them would turn against the Greeks\nand make as if to force their way among them, and when they were\ndriven back they would again begin to cry and shout. So the Lord\nof Macedon rode up among them, and no man of the Indians knew him,\nfor his helmet was closed, and he came to his own men and they\nknew him, and shouted for joy and opened a way for him. Then he\nsent for Ptolemy, and when he was come he asked him what was the\ncause of this trouble and why the Indians were so sore afraid. But\nit is to be said that at the sound of Alexander\u2019s voice all men\nhad returned to their tents and the guard had gone out round the\ncamp. Then Ptolemy told the king how that men had come to the camp\nthree days agone telling of a new and strange folk coming from the\nnorth, frightful beyond bearing, and how they destroyed all things\nthey came across and spared nothing that was good, but what they\nconsumed not they wasted, and whom they kept not for slaves they\nkilled in their wanton sport. And they were short, shorter than\nany men, and no man might look on them without fear. So these men\nhad fled from before them, and they had come to King Alexander to\npreserve them from their enemies, and Ptolemy charged them to tell\ntheir tale to no man. But when they had been in the camp two days\nand had not seen the Lord of Macedon, their fear broke out again,\nand they told their tale to whoever would hear them, and the story\nspread, and a saying arose among the Indians that this foe was\nright at hand, and they clamoured for Alexander to come out and\nlead them, and they threatened to tear the camp to pieces if he\ncame not.\n\nThen were these ambassadors of fear brought before Alexander, and\nhe questioned them of this people and of its coming, and they told\nhim how that they were scarce ten days\u2019 journey from them, and that\nthey were settled in that land and had sown a crop, for it was ever\ntheir custom to come into a land at sowing time and to make the\nmen of that land their slaves, so that they reaped the harvest\nfor them, and then to slay them or drive them out to starve. And\nthe ambassadors told how this race of dwarfs raged horribly at the\nname of Alexander, and said they had come to destroy him and the\nGreeks from the face of the earth, and they told last how these men\nwere enemies of the Gods themselves above all things, so that evil\nwas their good and good their evil. Then Alexander asked which of\nthem had seen this folk, but no man had seen them, save one who had\nbeen far off them. So he sent for the clerk who had told him of the\ndouble-dealing of Porus and straitly questioned him, and he told\nthe king how these folk were scarce two cubits high, but stronger\nthan mortal men. \u201cFor in winter they wear no clothing, but they are\ncovered with hair from their waist downward; their mouths are huge\nand set with fangs like a wild boar, their hands are like lion\u2019s\nclaws, no man may look on their eyes when they are set on him, and\ntheir ears are so great that in sleep they serve as coverlets. Two\nprinces have they, whose names are Gog and Magog.\u201d Moreover the\nclerk said mayhap the saying of the ambassadors was true, that they\nwould wait where they were till next spring time, yet mayhap they\nmight move before winter came on. Then Alexander decided that he\nwould attack these dwarfs in the land where they were and drive\nthem back to their own land.\n\nThe tale tells that the march of the army lay through a strange\nland and many wonders there befell them, for they passed through\nthe valley of serpents and fought the griffins; they came to the\nshores of the sea and saw there wondrous beasts, and many things\nof which it were long to speak. On the third day of their march\nthey came into a dark valley smelling sweetly of all spices, there\ncloves and ginger, and the pepper plant grew. But among these\nshrubs were many serpents and adders, who lived on the plants and\nhad none other food, and these snakes had on their heads an emerald\ncrown, as it were of goldsmith\u2019s beaten work. Now the people of\nthat land, when they wish to gather the pepper, set fire to this\nwood, and the flame drives away the snakes, but blackens and rivels\nthe pepper. In the hills of this place were many precious stones\ncalled smaragds, and Alexander set his heart on gathering them,\nand sent men to climb the hills, but when they came near the place\nwhere the stones were, beasts came out and fell on them, in shape\nlike lions but with cleft claws a yard across, and among them\nwere griffins, with birds\u2019 wings and beak and claws but otherwise\nlike to a lion, and each of them so strong that it might bear\naway a knight full armed on his horse. Then came up Alexander and\nencouraged his dukes, and bade them shoot with a will, and the\narchers and arbalasters shot altogether, and the knights struck\ndown and killed many of the beasts with their lances and their\nbattle-axes, but the griffins tore the knights from their saddles\nand with their tails blinded them so that they could not see where\nto strike, and at last the Greeks were driven down, and over two\nhundred of those who wore golden spurs were slain in that fierce\nfight. Yet were a few of the griffins beaten down, and four of them\nwere bound in strong chains and borne away by Alexander.\n\nOn the morrow after the host had come clear away from these hills,\nit came to a great and mighty river running straight down to the\nshores of ocean, and its banks were covered with huge reeds,\nlonger than the highest tree, and so heavy that twenty men could\nscarce lift them. Of these reeds Alexander bade them make barges\nand ferry over his host, for the river was twenty furlongs broad,\nand two days were spent in the crossing over of the army. And\nwhen Alexander and his men were on the further side of the river\nthe people of the land came to him, and they were a simple folk,\nclothed in the skins of great fish and of beasts. Nor were they\ninhospitable, for they brought sponges, white and purple, mussels\nso great that six men might make a meal of one, eels from the river\nthicker than a man\u2019s leg, and lampreys weighing twenty pounds\neach. Then Alexander thanked them for their gifts, and gave them\ngreat rewards, and asked them of their land and its wonders, and\nthey told him of the sirens who lived in that river, women with\nlong hair for clothing who lived in the water like fishes. Yet\nwhen these creatures saw any man they drew him into the water,\nif he knew not their craft, and kept him there till he died, and\nsometimes they bound him to the great reeds and forced him to make\nsport for them till at the last they killed him, for they had\nneither love nor hate nor any care or thought, naught of mankind\nsave its outward semblance. Then Alexander bade his men to search\nfor these beasts and offered great rewards, and at the last two\nof them were taken and brought before him, and they were white as\nsnow, their hair came down to their feet round their body, and they\nwere taller than men have custom to be, yet they could not live\nwithout water, and in few hours\u2019 time both were dead.\n\nAnd Alexander the king spoke with their wise men of the combat with\nthe dwarfs from the desert of the north, since the men of that\nland were exceeding wise, and they told him of the way by which\nhe could fall on them at unawares; and when they knew that he had\nwith him in the host the griffins they rejoiced and told him of a\nmarvellous thing. Then the Lord of Macedon caused his smiths to\nmake him a chair of black iron, and on the top of it at each corner\nwas a large smaragd stone, and they brought the chair to the top\nof an exceeding high mountain in that land, and when they had come\nthither they bound the griffins to each corner of the chair at the\nbottom with great and very strong chains, for Alexander was minded\nto be carried up into the air by the griffins that he might see\nall lands. So when he was set in his chair and covered round with\ngreat bars of iron, he bade them uncover the eyes of the griffins,\nand they saw the smaragd stones fixed high above them and all at\nonce they flew up towards the stones, for the sight of that stone\nis meat and drink to these animals, and they hunger to gather it\ntogether and to bear it off to their dens, neither care they for\nany hurt they receive in the getting of it. So they flew and soon\nAlexander was borne out of sight of men, high above the clouds, and\nhe saw the earth below him like a basin, and the lands, and the\nway to the dwarfs, the men of Gog and Magog, and still they flew\nhigher and the earth grew small like a mill-stone and the ocean and\nthe rivers seemed like a writhing adder, and then the gods struck\nthe griffins with fear, and they shut their eyes and stretched out\ntheir wings, and sunk lower and lower till they lay at the last on\nthe ground in a green field in a strange land, and Alexander looked\nround and saw far on the towers of Jerusalem. But the griffins\narose, and flew away till they came to their nest in the mountains,\nand when they came thither the Lord of Macedon left his seat and\nmade his way through the hills till he came to the river, when he\ncrossed it and came to his army again.\n\nThen marched the host on its way and at the last it came near the\ncountry of the ambassadors where the abominable dwarfs were, and\nwhen they came there the ambassadors went forward to bring the news\nof the coming of the Greeks. It chanced that the third day after\nthe coming of the ambassadors was a feast of the dwarf-folk, and\nall the men of that country kept the news of the coming of the\nGreeks from them so that they met in all their number in one place.\nIt was of custom among them that every feast some one should be\nslain in torment that the chief men of the dwarf-folk might give a\npresage of what should befall the folk, and that feast one of them\nwas to be slain for he had given food to a man that was starving\nin a prison cell. So the ambassadors returned and told Alexander\nwhat was to be done; and he deemed it well to fall on them when\nthey were all in one place. And this he did, and the fight was long\nand sore between him and the dwarfs, for the dwarfs were so small\nthat they escaped the lance point, and they ran under the horses\nand houghed them, and their skins were so tough that the arrows\nglanced off them, if they did not hit straight, and the sword edges\nslipped, but the claws of the dwarfs and their teeth and their\narrows availed them little against the armour of the Macedonians.\n\nIn the night after the battle of the first day the guards cried\nout for that lights were moving on the field of battle, and soon\nthree dwarfs came near holding in their hands peeled white wands;\nand when the guards saw them they brought them to the tent of\nAlexander. Then the eldest of them said, \u201cO leader of the Greeks\nfrom Macedon, truly ye be braver than the Persians or the men of\nIndia, give us now an ounce of gold and a sword for each man and\nwe will return whence we came.\u201d Then Alexander said, \u201cO leader of\nthe dwarfs, haters of God and men, meseems I am not come to this\nland but to free mankind from you. If ye abide my face till day I\nwill slay you all, and if ye flee I will pursue you till ye return\nto your own land.\u201d Then he bade his men to take them and lead them\nfrom the camp.\n\nIt was of custom among this folk to travel in great waggons, and\nto make of these their forts in times of danger, so on the morrow\nwhen the Greeks and the Persians drew out in battle array, the\ndwarf-folk came not forth all to attack them as on the day before,\nbut the more part stayed within the waggons, and when the knights\nrode up to the waggons their progress was stopped and they could\ngo no further, and the dwarfs stood on the waggons and mocked and\njeered at them as they shot their arrows at them, and the knights\nwere sore angered and brought up firebrands but the dwarfs had\ncovered the waggons with hides so that they burnt not. So that day\nwore on, and when night came the Greeks returned to their camp,\nand they spent the night in plans for the morrow. When it was light\nthe army of Alexander got them ready for another day\u2019s fighting,\nbut when they came out on the plain, they found not the hordes of\nthe dwarfs for they had departed, burning all the country round.\nThen Alexander provided good store of food and drink and began to\nfollow up the abominable dwarfs, for well he knew that he should\nfind neither on the road, for these wretches destroy all the crops\nand poison and defile all the springs of water they pass. And after\nmany days he came to the land of the dwarfs, and there he found\ntwo-and-twenty kings, and fought a great battle with them, and made\nthem give up all the iron and copper in their land, and then he set\nhis men to build a great wall at the entrance to their land.\n\nNow the land of the dwarfs lies behind two very high mountains\nand there is no way by which men may come in or go out of it but\nbetween these mountains, so Alexander built a wall across from\none to the other and he strengthened it with the iron and the\ncopper of the dwarfs, and wrought mighty spells on it, so that no\ndwarf should pass over it, and left them there. And all the world\nrejoiced and praised the name of Alexander, and this deed of his\nwas counted the greatest of his life. And in after days a tale\ngrew, and men told how every day the dwarf-folk came down to the\nwall and tore it down bit by bit with their claws, and night by\nnight the spells of Alexander prevailed and the wall was made whole\nagain, because this folk feared not the gods, nor obeyed them. But\nthe tale tells that when the enemy of the gods and the deceiver of\nmen shall come on earth, he will teach them to name their children\n\u201cInshallah,\u201d which means, if the gods will, and then when they call\ntheir children to help them, they will tear down the wall, and come\nout from their prison, and destroy the cities of Alexander, and the\nworks of men since his time, and bring death on all men, if the\ngods stay them not.\n\nFurthermore men told of this dwarf-folk, that they have among\nthem sorcerers who work such spells that the might of the dwarfs\nis increased an hundred-fold, and that when the time shall come,\nthese sorcerers will run through the air between heaven and earth,\nswifter than the wind, and will slay a child, and will dip the\nweapons of the dwarf-folk in its blood, and each of the dwarfs\nshall have with him a hundred warriors on horseback, armed with\nmace and spear. And when they ride out through the broken wall and\nthrough the iron threshold that Alexander built to strengthen the\nwall, the hooves of their horses shall wear away a span-depth from\nthe lower threshold of iron, and their spear-points shall wear away\na span-height from the upper threshold of brass. And these sayings\nof men show how great was their fear of the dwarf-folk, and their\nthanks to the Lord of Macedon, who freed the land from them.\n\nAfter these things the heart of Alexander was lifted up and he\nthought within himself that he was even as one of the high gods,\nfor he had travelled through the air, where no man had been before,\nborne by griffins on an iron throne, and he had saved all men from\nthe foes of mankind, and he had raised himself above all men in\npower and dignity, nor had any man conquered him or stood before\nhis face. So when his army turned and came to the shores of ocean,\na new thought came into his mind how that he would see the wonders\nof the sea, and the things that live there, and come not up to the\nsurface of the deep.\n\nSo he ordered, and his cunning men began to make for him great\nsheets of green glittering glass, and to shape it into a box, and\nbind it with great girths of iron, that he might sit in it and see\nall things that were without it, while he himself was untouched.\nThen he bade them take it to the borders of ocean, and bind great\nchains to it, and take it in a boat, and when he was entered into\nit to let it sink to the bottom of the sea for a set space of time.\nAnd as all things were ready, and he had given in charge to Roboas,\nson of Antipater, whom he loved, to draw him up after the set time,\nthere came to him a clerk who had been sent to him by Roxana the\nQueen on a special errand. So the clerk drew near, and said, \u201cO\nAlexander, thus saith Roxana thy Queen and thy love: Many nights\nhave I been troubled concerning thee, for a man with two horns on\nhis head has stood by me, and has warned me of evil that may hap\nto thee. Now, therefore, I send thee a ring, one of the treasures\nof Darius, my father; slay and offer a sacrifice to the gods, rub\nthe ring with the blood, and wear it, and no evil shall happen thee\non the sea or under it.\u201d Then Alexander did as the messenger bade\nhim, and offered the sacrifice to the gods, and put the ring on his\nfinger, but none of those who stood by understood the matter, for\nthe message was a secret one.\n\n[Illustration: Alexander sees the wonders of the sea]\n\nThe tale tells that Alexander entered into the vessel of glass,\nand quickly shut the wicket; and his princes pointed it with pitch\nso that no water might come in at the joints, and in a moment he\nentered the deep with a heavy plunge. There saw he fish whose\nfigures he had never dreamed of, with forms diverse and horrible,\nand creeping things and four-footed things crawling on the sea\nbottom, and feeding on strange fruits of corals and sea weeds and\ntrees growing on the sand and sea ooze, and great monsters came\nsailing up to the side of the cage and looked in and turned away\naffrighted, and other sights he saw such that he would never tell\nto any man till the day of his death, for they were so horrible\nthat tongue could not tell or man hear them told, and Alexander\nfell down on the floor of his vessel of glass and lay there for a\ntime without life.\n\nNow when the set time was come that Alexander was to be drawn up,\nit fell that Roboas, the son of Antipater, was struck by some god\nwith blindness, for he loosened the chain from the ship and let\nit fall so that it ran into the sea and sunk. And as he saw what\nhe had done, and how he had destroyed the life of his lord, he\nplunged into the sea straightway, if so be he might die with him,\nfor his comrades were like to tear him in pieces. But the great\niron chains falling into the sea broke the vessel of glass, and the\ngods saved Alexander again, for the chains crushed him not, and the\nglass wounded him not, and he was borne to the surface of the sea\nwhether by the rush of the water or by the virtue of the ring of\nRoxana, and his princes saw him come to the surface and they took\nhim up, for they thought it was Roboas, and when they found it was\nAlexander great was their joy, and Roboas also they brought up, and\nAlexander forgave him, for much did he love him.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX. HOW ALEXANDER CAME TO HIS LIFE\u2019S END AND WAS BURIED,\nAND WHAT THEREON BEFELL.\n\n\nFurthermore after the descent of Alexander into the sea, messengers\ncame from Susa with the word that the king of Babylon, Nabuzardan,\nhad refused the tribute that he ought to pay, and had declared war\nagainst the Lord of Macedon, for he deemed that Alexander would\nnot return from the far lands to which he had departed, and he\nthought that the city Babylon could not be taken of man, for it was\nexceeding great and strong, and needed help of no man when it was\nclosed up. Then Alexander the king grew very wroth, and bade all\nmen prepare to go to Babylon, for he would gather all the armies\nof the empire against it, and he turned his face towards the land\nof Babylon and marched towards it, and they went through mighty\ndeserts and strange lands, and many strange things they saw and\nwild beasts of strange shapes, and some that breathed out fire, and\nhad teeth and claws like iron, and were covered with scales like\nbrass. But above all wonders of the land men brought him a certain\nbird called Caladrius. Now this bird is white of colour and hath no\npart of blackness, and its nature is such that when a man suffers\nfrom great sickness, and this bird turneth away its face from him\nthat is sick, then without doubt the man shall die. And if the sick\nman shall escape, the bird setteth its sight on him and beholdeth\nhim as it were fawning and playing. And Alexander made proof of its\nwondrous gifts.\n\nNow the land of Babylon is the best land to bear all manner of\nbread-corn and fruit and wine; full of sweet spices, herbs, and\ntrees; and most rich of precious stones and of divers metals,\nwith great plenty of camels, horses, oxen, asses, mules and other\nbeasts. And the greatness of the city may scarcely be told, for the\nwalls were fifty cubits thick, and as much in height, and the city\nwas four hundred and fourscore furlongs about. The walls were of\nburnt tiles and brick, and without was a broad ditch and deep. Into\nthat ditch ran the river Euphrates all about the city. And in the\nfront of the walls were an hundred gates, and about the walls were\ndwelling places for them that should defend the city, and those\nplaces of defence were wondrous huge and strong.\n\nOn the day that Alexander came into the land of Babylon, there met\nhim messengers from his mother Olympias and from Aristotle the\nwise, whom he had left to govern the land of Macedon. And Olympias\nwrote telling of troubles in the kingdom, now Antipater the father\nof Cassander and Roboas had stirred up the people against her,\nand how he sought to be king of Macedon, for he had heard that\nAlexander should return no more to Greece. But Aristotle wrote\npraising the wondrous works he had wrought, and the sights he had\nseen.\n\nSoon the Lord of Macedon pitched his tents before the walls of\nBabylon, and called on Nabuzardan its king to yield himself up. Now\nit was the custom of Alexander when he besieged a town that for\nthree days a white flag hung over his tent, and after that a black\none flew, and if the town yielded while the white flag was flying,\nthen Alexander received it into the number of his friends, but if\nthey yielded not then were they treated as enemies and slain or\nsold for slaves. And three days did the heralds come to the walls\nof Babylon, and sound their trumpets and call on them to yield, but\nthey did not, and on the fourth day, Alexander brought up great\ncatapults and sent huge stones into the city, and the people feared\nand sent out the dead body of Nabuzardan their king, and yielded\nthem to the mercy of Alexander. Then the Lord of Macedon entered\ninto the city with all his men, and they came into it and abode\nthere many months.\n\nSo Alexander reigned in Babylon, and of the gold of India and of\nPersia he bade men make him a throne, and they brought the gold on\nhorses, and on camels, and on elephants, and cast it into a heap\ntwelve cubits high, and this was the fashion of the throne they\nmade. It was at the top of twelve steps, and was surrounded by\ntwelve images, the shapes of his twelve tried princes, and each of\nthese held up the heavy work of the canopy of the throne. The seat\nof the throne was of smaragd stone, green and clear, and above all,\nin the canopy, was a lovely carbuncle which shone in the darkest of\nthe night like a sun, and on the steps of the throne were engraved\nthe names of all the countries of the world, for they were subject\nto his rule. Then made he a crown adorned with noble and precious\nstones, rich beyond all telling, and on it was a name telling of\nhis power and might. And his heart swelled within him and he forgot\nthe warnings of the gods who had told him of his death.\n\nThen wondrous things began to happen in the land, signs and\nmarvels, for on one day an ass fell upon a noble lion and kicked it\nto death, nor did the lion resist, and on another day a child was\nborn in shape like a lion from the waist up, and the child spoke a\nword and died. So Alexander asked his wise men and the priests of\nBabylon, and they told him that it showed evil that should happen\nto him. And this is how the evil came. There was a certain great\nlord in Macedon, Antipater by name, and he sent to gather poison\nfrom the rock of Nonacris, and so strong was this poison that no\ncup or vessel might contain it, save only it were made from the\nhoof of a horse. So when he had gathered it he sent messengers to\nhis son Cassander with the poison, and he bade him fear not to\nuse it. Now Cassander and Roboas his brother had determined evil\ntowards Alexander in their hearts since the day when Roboas had let\nAlexander loose in the sea, and since the day when Cassander had\ncome into the camp to Alexander. For when Cassander had done his\nhomage to his lord, one of the Indian kings came up and fell on the\nground before him, and kissed the ground at his feet, and Cassander\nlaughed out at the Indian king, wherefore Alexander was offended,\nand struck him a blow so that he reeled against the wall. So when\nthe poison came Cassander rejoiced, and he told his brother, and\nthey set a day to kill the Lord of Macedon, the noble Alexander.\n\nThe tale tells how Alexander held high feast in his palace at\nBabylon, seated on his golden throne with his crown on his head,\nand Roxana the queen by his side, and with him the twelve princes\nof Greece, who had been his companions and his friends from the\ndays of his youth up. And they rejoiced and were glad, for all\nnations were put under their feet, and the burden of warfare was\nover, and now they had to rule the folk and to lead happy days,\nand they trusted that they should be great kings under Alexander\nthe emperor. And now men passed the wine, and full draughts were\ndrunk, and Nearchus told a tale of the wonders that he had seen in\nthe great sea of ocean when he had sailed there at the orders of\nAlexander, and another great lord reached for a lyre and sung a\nsong of old days. Then men told tales of their deeds in battle, and\neach man boasted how near he had been to Alexander in the days of\nthe great battles, and at the last men fell to talk of that good\nsteed Bucephalus, and how he bore the king in battle, and served\nhim faithfully, and fought with him, and Cassander said to Roboas\nhis brother \u201cWhat thou hast to do, that do,\u201d and Roboas rose and\nbrought a cup to Alexander, and said \u201cDear Lord, this cup is made\nfrom the hoof of thy brave steed, Bucephalus the white; drink we a\ncup in memory of this horse, the best in the world.\u201d And Alexander\nrose and said \u201cO Bucephalus, my fair horse, thou failedst me never;\nwere this cup my bane, I would refuse it not from thee,\u201d and he\ndrank it down. Then he sat down for a space, and then he fell\nforward from his seat, and his sword fell from its sheath, and\npierced his side, and he called but twice \u201cHelp! Help!\u201d Yet when\nhis lords ran to him and raised him, he said \u201cNay, my good lords of\nMacedon, it is nought; drink ye and rejoice for the good days to\ncome,\u201d but he turned to Cassander and said \u201cMy faithful liegeman,\ngo and fetch me somewhat to ease me of this pain,\u201d for he trusted\nin Cassander as he did in his nearest friend. But Cassander brought\nhim that which only increased his pain.\n\nThat night Alexander the king lay alone in his palace at Babylon,\nfor he would have no man near him to watch by him or to guard him,\nand as he lay the cold poison weighed on his heart. Then his brain\ngrew dizzy and faint, and the room seemed measurelessly great,\nand all men seemed far away. The beginning of the night seemed to\nbe long time past, the dawn of day was still too far away to hope\nfor, the pain became over great to bear, the poison ran through the\nveins and seemed to eat his throat with a cold fire, and in the\nmidst of his trouble and fear the light went out and the darkness\ncame on him like a net round him. Then he feared indeed, for he\nknew that he could not stay there with the terror that was on him,\nand he tried to stand and walk, but he could not for his wound and\nthe poison that he had drunk, he thought of the great cold river\nflowing near and the water seemed to call him, so he crawled out\nof the room on hands and knees painfully, step by step, till the\nmorning broke and he found himself in the garden of the palace\nclose on the bank of the river, and said, \u201cThe gods have left me,\nand I know not why; but one more effort, and I shall be free of\nthis burning and wound.\u201d Then he heard a great cry \u201cMy lord, my\nlife!\u201d and Roxana the Queen came running down the garden to him,\nand after her the women, and the lords of Greece. So one of them\nsnatched a shield from the guard that came up and laid it on the\nground for the King, and Roxana sat him on the shield and rested\nhis head on her bosom, while Ptolemy held up his golden shield over\nhim to guard his eyes from the rays of the morning sun, and a cry\nof confused voices went up round him. Then Roxana the Queen said,\nfor in truth she knew not what to say, \u201cSee, my lord, a canopy of\ngold for my Emperor.\u201d \u201cAye, fair lady love,\u201d said Alexander, \u201ca sky\nof gold, and a soil of iron; now are the fates accomplished and my\ntime is surely come; bear me back to my bed that I may die there.\u201d\nThen at the word all men there burst into tears and lamentation,\nfor the end of all things seemed at hand now their lord was to die\nso young, and what words can tell the grief of Roxana the Queen.\n\nSo his lords bore him gently to his bed in the palace, and stood\nround it, and listened to the words that he spoke, and Alexander\nsent for his scribes and bade them bring parchment and an inkhorn\nfor his will. So it was done and he shared out all the lands that\nhe had conquered amongst his war-dukes, to every man of them a\nkingdom. And he left to the priests of Egypt a thousand talents\nof gold and his body that they should keep it for ever, and for\nhis wife Roxana, if she should have a son he should be Emperor\nafter him, if a daughter she should be married to the best of\nthe Macedonians and he should be Emperor. Then Alexander put his\nseal to the parchment, and all the dukes put their seals on it as\nwitnesses, and the will was folded up and laid in a precious casket\nbefore them all.\n\nNow drew on the time that this noble Prince was to die, and all the\nworld suffered with the pain of losing him. The thunders rolled\nand crashed, the lightnings flashed wide over the land, and there\nwas a darkness of thick clouds, and the earth was rent hither and\nthither, and huge towers toppled and fell, so that all that was\nstrong and well-founded became weak and unstable as water, and the\nfoundations of all things were shaken. Then men in far-off lands\nfeared and wondered what these things should mean, and when they\nhurried to the temples of the gods to enquire, the oracles answered\n\u201cThe earth is poorer to-day by the loss of its most noble knight\nand king,\u201d and all men knew that Alexander was dying. Then the\nseamen heard voices over the sea of weeping and wailing, and they\nknew that all people mourned for the death of the Lord of Macedon,\nthe bravest, the most courteous, and most generous of knights.\n\nBut the army of the Macedonians came round the dwelling of their\nchief, as it ever was their wont in time of danger, though they\nknew that they could not help him, nor he them, in this his day of\npassing away from them. Their hearts longed to see him once more,\nto look on the face that had led them smiling into danger and out\nof it again, and it may be, to touch the hand that had struck such\nblows in their aid, or had given such gifts to them as he had.\nSo Alexander the king was brought on his bed into the great hall\nof his palace, and the Macedonians crowded round to see him, and\none of them was over-bold and asked him \u201cWhom dost thou leave to\nbe lord of thine army?\u201d and Alexander lifted up his head and said\n\u201cPerdiccas, I leave my army and my Queen in thy charge, take care\nof them: as I have loved thee, love and keep them in my memory.\u201d\nThen the Macedonians began to weep and lament and those who were\nnear kissed the cold hand of their king, and they went out, and the\nsound of their sobs and lamentations was like the dying away of a\nthunder storm far off.\n\nThere stood up in the midst of them a lord of Macedon, Solentius by\nname, and said \u201cMen of Macedon, our land was a small one, and our\nname was lightly esteemed in Greece, till this man\u2019s father was\nborn, and he ruled us and made us a mighty people among the Greeks,\nand subdued Athens and made us first among the folk of our land.\nAnd when he died, and Alexander our lord came to the throne he went\nwide into the world, and rode over it, and conquered it, and he\nmade the footmen of his army lords over the people and kings among\nthe barbarian folk, so that no man stands before the Macedonians,\nand they are the first of folk under heaven. Now is he at point to\ndie, and what shall fall to us, for no man has he left behind him\nwho can take his place. Soon shall the empire of the Macedonians be\nbroken to pieces, and the name of the country be forgotten.\u201d And\nall men said that he had spoken true, and they lamented exceedingly.\n\nAnd Alexander died: and the sun was eclipsed.\n\nThen Ptolemy sent physicians, and they embalmed the body of\nAlexander, and dressed it in his imperial robes, and set it in a\nchariot, and with all the army of Macedon, marched from the land\nof Babylon to the land of Egypt, to the city of Alexandria which\nAlexander had built. And when they were come there, Ptolemy built\na golden sepulchre for him in a high place looking over the city\nhe had built and the sea, and there he set a chair of state, and\nin it was the body of Alexander, clothed as the Emperor of the\nWorld, with his crown upon his head: his right hand held a golden\nsceptre, and his left a golden ball, and on his knees lay his\nsword, sheathed and swaddled in his girdle, for he should no more\ndraw it in the face of the foe.\n\nThe tale tells of Olympias that when men told in Macedon that\nAlexander was dead, Antipater the traitor sent men, and they seized\nthe lovely queen, and slew her, and cast out her body to the beasts\nof the field, and the fowls of the air; and great wars followed\nthat cruel deed. And other things are told of the son of Alexander\nand Roxana, but never did he reach the empire of his father, nor\nattain the fame of Alexander.\n\nOn a day there came to the tomb of Alexander wise men from all\nlands, and one said, \u201cAlexander made his treasure of gold, and the\ngold endures, but not Alexander.\u201d The second said, \u201cYesterday the\nwhole world did not satisfy him, to-day four ells are enough.\u201d\nThe third said, \u201cYesterday he ruled the people, to-day the people\nrules him.\u201d The fourth said, \u201cYesterday he could save a multitude\nfrom death, to-day he cannot save his own life.\u201d The fifth said,\n\u201cYesterday he led his army from the city, to-day they led him to\nhis burial.\u201d The sixth said, \u201cYesterday he pressed down the earth,\nto-day it weighs him down.\u201d The seventh said, \u201cYesterday all men\nfeared him, to-day they hold him in small honour.\u201d The last said,\n\u201cYesterday he had friends and enemies, to-day all men are alike to\nhim.\u201d\n\nThen they went away, and Alexander was alone, sitting in his chair,\nof state, watching his city.\n\n[Illustration: WHO SHALL ME GIVEN TEARES TO COMPLAIN\n\nTHE DEATH OF GENTILLESSE AND OF FRANCHISE.\n\nTHE END]\n\n\n\n\nAFTER-WORDS\n\n\n\n\nThe story which has just been told may be looked on as the result\nof ten centuries of Eastern and Western imagination. The career\nof the historical Alexander is perhaps one of the most important\nthings, in its way, that have happened on our earth, and could not\nfail to give rise to a plenteous crop of legend and of marvels.\nEven in his lifetime the Greek orators allowed their language\nto run riot in the telling of his deeds, which required no\nexaggeration to stand out before the world.\n\n[Sidenote: _Greek Text of Pseud-Callisthenes._]\n\nThe form of the story was fixed much as we have it now, certainly\nbefore the third century of our era, and probably much earlier, in\nthe work of which a corrupt text has come down to us, under the\nname of Callisthenes, one of the companions of Alexander. The Greek\ntext of this work was printed by Muller (Paris, 1877) from three\nMSS. in the Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale at Paris, which represent three\ndifferent classes of MS. There are about twenty MSS. of the work\nknown.\n\n[Sidenote: _Probable Alexandrian origin of the Romance._]\n\nThe origin of this romance is probably Egyptian. In fact, there\nseems little reason to doubt Favre\u2019s guess, that its composition\nwas due to one of the Ptolemies, who were successors of Alexander\non the Egyptian throne, and willing to legitimatise their rule by\nconnecting it with that of the last of the ancient kings. The style\nof the Greek seems to be Alexandrian, and Nicephorus Calistes (X.\n36), speaks of the Life of Alexander written by the Alexandrian.\nOther considerations tend to support the Egyptian origin of the\nromance. The character of the magic is distinctly Egyptian (see\na very interesting discussion of some points in Budge\u2019s Syriac\nVersion of the Alexander Story, pp. xxxix. _et seq._). The way in\nwhich magic has been attributed to Anectanabus agrees with Egyptian\ntradition, which has always attributed supernatural powers to him.\nReuvens, in his Third Letter (p. 76), gives an account of a papyrus\ndescribing some of his magical powers, and Tertullian, in the \u201cDe\nAnima\u201d (lvii.), names him as one of the masters of magic.\n\n[Sidenote: _Julius Valerius and his Epitome._]\n\nThe story was translated into Latin by Julius Valerius early in\nthe fourth century, since the translation is one of the sources of\nthe \u201cItinerarium Alexandri\u201d (340-345 A.D.). An epitome of Julius\nValerius, made in the ninth century, was published by Zacher\n(Halle, 1867). Our earliest MS. of Julius Valerius is at Turin, and\ndates from about 800 A.D. He is quoted by Syncellus in the eighth\ncentury, and by Malala in the ninth.\n\nThe most important translation--the one which is known as the\n\u201cHistoria Alexandri Magni de Proeliis\u201d--is, however, due to the\ntenth century. Leo the Archpriest seems to have been sent on an\nembassy to Constantinople to the Emperors Constantine and Romanus\n(920-944) by John and Marius, Dukes of Campania (941-965), and\nwhile there he seems to have collected many books, among which was\nthe Story of Alexander. On his return he was commanded by Duke John\nto translate the story into Latin.\n\n[Sidenote: _Alberic de Besan\u00e7on. And the decasyllabic poem._]\n\n[Sidenote: _Lamprecht\u2019s Version._]\n\nThe Alexander Story came into European literature early in the\ntwelfth century. As far as we know it was introduced by Alberic\nde Besan\u00e7on. Of his work there exists now only a fragment of\nabout 105 lines, first printed by Heyse, Berlin, 1856, 8vo. We\ncan, however, judge of it by the decasyllabic poem, of which two\nportions are printed by Meyer. It was founded on Julius Valerius\nand the authentic histories of Alexander. Alberic rejects with\ndisdain the story of Anectanabus\u2019 parentage of Alexander, judging\nit a disgrace to any true knight to be base-born. The character of\nthe missing parts of the poem may also be gathered from the German\nversion of Lamprecht the preacher, who wrote towards the end of the\ntwelfth century, and who seems to have made use of Alberic\u2019s poem\ntill it concluded with the episode of Nicholas. The poems printed\nby Meyer here change their versification, and are henceforth in\nAlexandrines, the continuator being Simon le Poitevin.\n\n[Sidenote: _Lambert li Tors and Alexandre de Paris._]\n\nThe development of the Alexander Story in Europe is due, however,\nneither to Alberic nor Lamprecht, but to Lambert li Tors and\nAlexandre de Bernay (or Paris), who in the middle of the century\nwrote the romance in Alexandrines. The poem was full of the magical\nwonders which Alberic had rejected; it adopted the Egyptian origin\nof Alexander and the wondrous stories of Bucephalus, and became\ninstantaneously popular.\n\n[Sidenote: _The Alexander Cycle._]\n\nBut medieval listeners were not satisfied with so meagre\ninformation as the Romance of Alexander gave. Here was a great king\nfoully murdered, beautiful queens beheaded; is there no justice in\nthe skies? So in quick succession came the \u201cTestament d\u2019Alexandre\u201d\nof Pierre de Saint Cloor, and in 1190 \u201cLa Vengeance Alexandre\u201d\nof Gui de Cambrai. Another poem on the same subject was written\nbetween 1288-1308 by Jean le Nevelois (Nevelaux), and a new cycle\nof poems was opened by the \u201cVoeux du Paon\u201d of Jacques de Longuyon,\n1312, the \u201cRestor du Paon\u201d of Brisebarre de Douay (before 1338).\nThe Alexander cycle finishes by Jean de la Mote\u2019s \u201cParfait du\nPaon,\u201d 1340.\n\n[Sidenote: _Eustace of Kent._]\n\nMeanwhile the Alexander Story itself had gone on its way. Eustace\nof Kent had incorporated it in his (still inedited) \u201cRoman de\nToute Chevalrie\u201d in the middle of the thirteenth century. Four\nmanuscripts of this work still exist, and it seems to be the stock\nfrom which many English translations have been made, notably\nthat published by Weber in 1810. About the same time the prose\ntranslation of the \u201cDe Proeliis\u201d was made, a translation which\nprofoundly influenced the later story-tellers. Soon the Epitome of\nJulius Valerius, and a letter of Alexander to Aristotle, giving an\naccount of the wonders of India, were translated. Fr\u00e8re Jehan de\nVignay wrote a prose romance of Alexander in 1341, unfortunately\nlost, and the roll is closed in 1445 by \u201cl\u2019Histoire d\u2019Alexandre\u201d of\nJean Wauquelin.\n\n[Sidenote: _English Versions._]\n\nOur English versions seem to have been later. Very few of them have\nbeen printed, a fact perhaps due to the very insufficient support\nextended to the Early English Text Society, which has printed the\nportions to be found of two of them. Our earliest version seems\nto be that of which some extracts are given in Warton. There was\nan English version of 48,000 lines or so of the Alexander Story,\nbelonging to the Duke of Roxburghe, but the MS. has disappeared.\nWeber, in his \u201cEarly English Metrical Romances,\u201d gives a rhymed\npoem of 8031 lines. Two fragments are known of an alliterative\ntranslation of Lambert li Tors, which must have been of enormous\nlength; and a nearly complete poem, which follows pretty closely\nthe \u201cDe Proeliis,\u201d is printed under the name of \u201cThe Wars of\nAlexander.\u201d The three last are published by the Early English Text\nSociety. Gower, in the \u201cConfessio Amantis,\u201d also makes use of\nepisodes of the romance. Cockayne printed an A.S. version of the\nletter of Alexander.\n\nWe have thus run down the line which brought the tale from Egypt\nto Chaucer\u2019s doors, so that he could sing that--\n\n      \u201c_Alisaundre\u2019s storie is so commune_\n      _That everie wight that hath discrecionne_\n      _Hath horde somewhat or al of his fortune;_\u201d\n\nbut we would not have the reader think that here is an exhaustive\nlist, even along the line of descent we have traced, of the forms\nof the Alexander Story. Amongst other European versions are the\nGerman prose version (printed in 1478, Aug. Vind., fo.), made by\nJohn Hartlieb Moller, at the command of Albert, Duke of Bavaria.\nThere are further, early Spanish, Italian, Norse, Swedish, Dutch,\nand Russian versions. An early rhyme, preserving an incident of the\nstory, is printed by Schiller, \u201cThesaur. Antiq. Teuton,\u201d t. i., in\nthe Rhythm. de S. Annone, xiv., xv.\n\nIt hardly comes within our province to refer to other forms of the\nAlexander Story in Europe, except in the briefest possible way. A\nwork often mistaken for the \u201cDe Proeliis\u201d is the compilation of\nRadulphus of St Albans, who compiled from Quintus Curtius and other\nauthors a Life of Alexander. In 1236 William of Spoleto wrote a\nLife of Alexander in Latin elegiacs, a work quoted by Warton as of\nAretinus Quilichinus.\n\n[Sidenote: _Independent Legends--Persian, Arabic._]\n\nThe Pseud-Callisthenes is often spoken of as the work of Simeon\nSeth, protovestiarius of the palace of Antiochus at Constantinople,\nand was in the last century considered a translation from the\nPersian about the year 1070. Other reasons apart the dissimilarity\nbetween the Egyptian and the Persian forms of the story would\ndisprove this theory. Just as the Egyptians represented Alexander\nas the son of the last of their native kings, so the Persians\nrepresented him (in the popular legend) as the son of Darius\n(Codomannus of the Kayanian dynasty), and of a daughter of Philip\nof Macedon, who was brought up by his grandfather, and afterwards\novercame his elder brother. An independent tradition seems to have\ngrown up among the Arabs, making him the son of an old woman, and\nborn in obscurity, his name being originally Mazban (Lord of the\nMarches), son of Marzabah, descended from Yunan, son of Japhet\n(Burton, \u201cArabian Nights\u201d).\n\n[Sidenote: _Syriac Versions._]\n\nAn early Arabic version of the Greek must have been made about the\neighth century, from which the Syriac version we have at present\nwas made, but unfortunately this has not been found. A Syriac\nversion was made in the eighth century, of which parts exist;\nbut our most complete version is that made in the seventh-ninth\ncentury, and published with a version by Budge. Eight chapters\nof this are missing, and it is noticeable that the source of the\ntranslation did not contain the interpolations from Palladius\n(367-431) which the Greek text now does. An Armenian version is\nattributed to Moses of Chorene (fifth century), who certainly knew\nthe story.\n\n[Sidenote: _Armenian, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Ethiopic, Coptic._]\n\nThe story early passed into Hebrew. It is found in Jos. ben\nGorion (lib. II. p. 94, ed. Oxon. 1704, 4to), and a pseudonymous\ntranslation of the work of Ptolemy, son of Lagos, by Samuel ben\nJudah ben Sibbon of Granada, appeared in the thirteenth century.\n(See a French translation of a Hebrew version by J. Levi, \u201cRevue\ndes Etudes Juives,\u201d III. 241.) It is found in the Arabic of\nSaid ibn Batrik (939 A.D.), Patriarch of Alexandria (Eutychus.,\ned. Pocock, Oxon. 1606), and in Gregory Abul Farag (1265). Mohl\nbelieved that Firdusi had an Arab author before him when writing\nof Alexander. Among the Persian writers may be named Firdusi\n(1024), Nizami (1203), and Mirkond (1497). An Ethiopic version\nwill shortly be published by Budge; and among others existing are\nversions in Coptic, Malay, and Siamese. Several detached incidents\nconnect themselves with the story. Thus we may mention the \u201cIter\nad Paradisum,\u201d twelfth century (of Talmudic origin), printed at\nKonigsberg, 1859; the Gog and Magog story, &c.\n\n[Sidenote: _Anectanabus._]\n\nThe Egyptian king who figures in our story as Anectanabus is known\nto history as Necht-neb-f (Nakhtenephen). His mutilated statue\nand two inscriptions are in the British Museum. He was overthrown\nby Ochus, and retreated into Ethiopia some four years after the\nbirth of Alexander. We have already referred to the reputation\nfor magic that attached to him early in the Christian era. The\nform Anectanabus is used as being the form (sometimes shortened to\nAnec) in which the name appears in Gower and the poet of \u201cThe Wars\nof Alexander.\u201d His history may be read in Wiedemann, \u201cAegyptische\nGeschichte,\u201d p. 716, or in Maspero, \u201cHistoire du Peuples de\nl\u2019Orient,\u201d pp. 566-7.\n\n[Sidenote: _Plutarch and the Alexander Story._]\n\nIt is difficult to resist the conclusion that Plutarch had before\nhim such a collection of tales as the \u201cPseud-Callisthenes,\u201d and\nwas thinking of them when he wrote his first pages of the Life of\nAlexander. The tradition of his birth from the visit of a dragon\nis accounted for by the habits of the Macedonian women, who are\naccustomed to pet large snakes. Justin XI. 2, 3, and XII. 16,\nand Solinus, cap. XV., also mention the tradition. Other points\nwhere Plutarch is contradicting the legend will readily suggest\nthemselves. However, this is saying nothing more than that many of\nthe stories must have grown up about the time of Alexander, or soon\nafter his death. The filiation of Alexander and Ammon is one of\nthese, the cartouche of Alexander being \u201cAlexander, son of Amen.\u201d\n\nThere has been no attempt to give a Greek character to the story.\nEven when the alteration of a letter would have made a good Greek\nname, as in the case of Pausanius, it has not been altered, and\nSir Samson, Sir Balaan, speak for themselves. But, on the other\nhand, as the tales make him Christian or Pagan by turns, we have\nnot tried to make him consistent. In the same way, it was found\nimpossible to leave out the visit to Jerusalem, which makes such a\ncentral point in the medieval stories.\n\n[Sidenote: _Medieval Illuminated Copies._]\n\nA word as to the illustrations--not those of our book, but those\nof the veritable medieval illuminators. Among the chief treasures\nof the British Museum are its illuminated copies of the Alexander\nRomance, notably 19. D. I and 20. B. XX. Some others are older, but\nthese are filled with most beautiful paintings of the incidents\nof the story. I may be allowed to mention one thing here which\nI have noticed. In each of them, at the beginning, is a sort of\nfrontispiece divided into compartments, and labelled The Castle of\nCairo, The Town of Babylon (with Anectanabus shown on the walls\nor elsewhere), The Garden of Balm, and The Mills of Babylon. Now,\nthese seem to have no connection with the French prose translation\nin which they are found. Cairo is not mentioned in it, there is no\nstory of a garden of balm, and there is no story of the mills of\nBabylon, which are large floating water-mills like those at Old\nLondon Bridge.\n\n\nFINISHED THIS THIRTIETH DAY OF MAY 1894 BY ME, ROBERT STEELE, AND\nPRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO., LONDON, FOR DAVID NUTT IN THE\nSTRAND.\n\n\n\n\n      *      *      *      *      *      *\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s note:\n\n  Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been\n  corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within\n  the text and consultation of external sources.\n\n  Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,\n  and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.\n\n  Pg 25: \u2018and gan question\u2019 replaced by \u2018and began to question\u2019.\n\n  Pg 55: \u2018CHAP. VII\u2019 replaced by \u2018CHAPTER VII\u2019.\n\n  Pg 131: \u2018and whatsover men\u2019 replaced by \u2018and whatsoever men\u2019.\n\n  Pg 163: \u2018the earth. Then\u2019 replaced by \u2018the earth.\u201d Then\u2019.","title":"The Story of Alexander","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":59745}