starting for Asia, when he was murdered by Pausanias, one of his
subjects, whom he had treated very unkindly.

XCI. BIRTH OF ALEXANDER.

When Philip died, he was succeeded by his son Alexander, a young man of
twenty, who had already earned a good name by leading part of the army
at the battle of Chaeronea. His efforts, as you know, had defeated the
Sacred Battalion of the Thebans, and helped much to secure the victory.

Through his mother, O-lym'pi-as, Alexander was a descendant of Achilles,
the well-known hero of the Trojan War. He was born at Pel'la, a city of
Macedon, three hundred and fifty-six years before Christ. His father was
so pleased to have a son, that he said that all the boys born in his
kingdom on the same day should be brought up with Alexander in the
palace, and become his bodyguard.

Thus you see the young prince had plenty of playmates; and, as there
was nothing he liked better than fighting, he soon began to play
soldiers, and to train his little regiment.

From the very first, the Macedonians had declared that Alexander was
born to greatness, and several noted events that took place on the day
of his birth served to confirm this belief.

In the first place, Par-me'ni-o, Philip's general, won a grand victory
on that day; then Philip's horses, which had been sent to Olympia, got
the prize at the chariot races; and, lastly, the famous temple at
Ephesus, dedicated to Diana, was burned to the ground.

The first two events were joyful in the extreme; but the burning of
this temple, which was among the wonders of the world, was a great
calamity. Every one was anxious to know how it had happened; and all
were very angry when they found out that it was not an accident, but had
been done on purpose.

The man who had set fire to it was crazy. His name was E-ros'tra-tus;
and when he was asked why he had done such a wicked thing, he said that
it was only to make his name immortal. The people were so indignant,
that they not only condemned him to die, but forbade all mention of his
name, hoping that it would be forgotten.

In spite of this care, Erostratus' name has come down to us. It is
immortal indeed, but who except a crazy man would wish to win such fame,
and could bear to think that all who ever heard of him would condemn his
action, and consider him as wicked as he was insane?

Alexander was first given over to the care of a nurse. He loved her
dearly as long as he lived, and her son C