Budge_Ethiopic_Alexander

A CHRISTIAN ROMANCE. 46;
CHAPTER V.
And it came to pass that when Alexander the Alexander
king saw this he wept most bitterly, and [he sent army to en-
out] a herald to make a proclamation, and all the *" *" '"'^'
soldiers of the king were gathered together [to
him]; and he told them everything which he had
seen and ordered them not to go into any house
unless he had seen it [first], lest they perished.
Now those who obeyed his words were saved,
[p. 279] but those who loved riches and obeyed
him not perished; for the overweening love of
possessions destroyeth a man's soul.
Then Alexander himself went first and examined
carefully and thoroughly the places of ambush, and
he explored the ruins, and gave an indication to
his chosen men [where to follow]; then they came
in and brought out a vast and incalculable amount
of spoil. And Alexander went and examined the Alexander
brazen figure before which the people used to examines
dance continually to the sound of the drum, and f^^J'''"'''
the cymbals, and the organ, and every kind of
mechanical contrivance which they had invented
that they might dance and play by day and by
night; and he understood the marvellous thing,
and uncovered the ground below it and he saw
all the arrangement thereof, and the levers, and
the wheels, and the cords thereof Then straight-
way, at his desire all the mechanical contrivances
for dancinsf and the innumerable cunningf works
that were therein were brought out in their proper