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Budge_Ethiopic_Alexander

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A CHRISTIAN ROMANCE. 46<br />

further he spake unto them, saying, "Turn ye<br />

"neither to the right hand nor to the left, and<br />

"tread nowhere except by the foundations of the<br />

"walls until ye arrive at the gateway; then open<br />

"the gates of the castle that we may come in."<br />

And they obeyed his commands and blindfolded<br />

themselves, and <strong>Alexander</strong> guided them by ropes <strong>Alexander</strong>'s<br />

and shewed them the place of the steps; and open the<br />

they descended to the ground and groped along ^'"*^'<br />

the foundation [stones of the walls], and thus came<br />

to the gates and opened them. And <strong>Alexander</strong><br />

allowed no man to enter therein without giving<br />

him information before so that he might not perish,<br />

for the whole city was girt about by fire, and by<br />

water, and by chains, and by steep places.<br />

And <strong>Alexander</strong> found an inscription which no<br />

man hitherto had understood, but God Almighty<br />

opened his mind and made him able to read it,<br />

and he found that it spake thus:— "By reason ofAn in-<br />

, , P . r^ ^ scription re-<br />

"the overabundance ot our possessions was Lrodveais the<br />

"Almighty provoked to wrath against us, for Si^^°^^y °'<br />

"measure of wheat used to sell for a dinar. And<br />

"besides all these things God Almighty sent upon<br />

"us the pestilence, and no man rose from his couch<br />

"that night except myself, [who rose] to write this<br />

"history of <strong>Alexander</strong> the king, who shall come<br />

"hither after one hundred and seventy years, even<br />

"as we have seen by divination in this city; and<br />

"the things which are of great price he will keep<br />

"for himself This my writing I transmit to my<br />

"people, and this [my] book is before me. And

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