ppearance as a benefit.

When for the first time he drank water from an earthen jug, instead of
a silver goblet, he thought of Diogenes, who cast his cup aside when he
saw a boy raise water to his lips in his hand, yet with whom the great
Macedonian conqueror of the world would have changed places "if he had
not been Alexander."

The active, merry son of Bias's Amalekite friend gladly rendered him
the help and guidance for which he had been reluctant to ask his
ill-tempered slave, and he soon became accustomed to the simple fare of
the nomads. Bread and milk, fruits and vegetables from his neighbour's
little garden, satisfied him, and when the wine he had drunk was used,
he contented himself, obedient to old Tabus's advice, with pure water.

As he still had several gold coins on his person, and wore two costly
rings on his finger, he doubtless thought of sending to Clysma for meat,
poultry, and wine, but he had refrained from doing so through the advice
of the Amalekite woman, who anointed his eyes with Tabus's salve and
protected them by a shade of fresh leaves from the dazzling rays of
the desert sun. She, like the sorceress on the Owl's Nest, warned him
against all viands that inflamed the blood, and he willingly allowed her
to take away what she and her gray-haired father, the experienced head
of the tribe, pronounced detrimental to his recovery.

At first the "beggar's fare" seemed repulsive, but he soon felt that it
was benefiting him after the riotous life of the last few months.

One day, when the Amalekite took off his bandage, he thought he saw
a faint glimmer of light, and how his heart exulted at this faint
foretaste of the pleasure of sight!

In an instant hope sprang up with fresh power in his excitable soul,
and his lost cheerfulness returned to him like a butterfly to the newly
opened flower. The image of his beloved Daphne rose before him in sunny
radiance, and he saw himself in his studio in the service of his art.

He had always been fond of children, and the little ones in the
Amalekite family quickly discovered this, and crowded around their blind
friend, who played all sorts of games with them, and in spite of the
bandaged eyes, over which spread a broad shade of green leaves, could
make whistles with his skilful artist hands from the reeds and willow
branches they brought.

He saw before him the object to which his heart still clung as
distinctly as if he need only stretch out his hand to