ing him that his wife had borne
him a son. On hearing this the Prince cried out that he wished it were
otherwise, for his new-born son would be a hindrance to his design and
an added bond that he must tear from his heart before he could go away.

That night, however, when all lay sleeping the Prince and one faithful
servant made their way secretly from the Palace. It had strangely come
to pass, perchance through the work of spirits, that all the guards at
the Palace and the city gates were asleep, and the two went forth
unhindered, riding on horse-back; and they spurred their horses to the
utmost so when the morning came they would be far away. Then the Prince
gave his attendant, who was named Channa, all the money and jewels that
he possessed and told him to return to the Palace and tell the King
that he, the Prince, had gone forth in search of enlightenment and
would some day become a Buddha.

When Channa departed, the Prince gave his fine clothes to a beggar who
was passing and took in return the beggar's faded yellow robe, and he,
who had been used to all the luxuries of the Court, went from door to
door begging his food and eating the bitter bread of poverty.

He crossed the river called the Ganges and came at last to a city named
Rajagha. And here he soon attracted attention because his appearance
and mien were so noble that even his coarse clothes and his new way of
life could not disguise him. He called himself a prince no longer, but
instead took the name of Gotama, this being one of the names of the
family from which he sprang.

In course of time the King of the new country where the Prince was
begging his bread and meditating on Life and Death desired to see the
holy man of whom he had heard much talk, and he offered the Prince
lands and riches. But the Prince told him that he had already laid
aside far greater riches than these, and that nothing in life mattered
to him except his quest for the truth, which one day he would surely
find. And the King, whose name was Bimbasara, asked him when he had
found the truth to return and teach it to the people of his
country--and this the Prince promised to do.

For a long time the Prince lived in a cave not far from Rajagha and
studied the faith of India as it was then taught, but his studies
brought him no nearer to gaining the truth. So he went into the
wilderness, where, he believed, fasting and meditation might bring him
the things he sought.

He traveled so