w away the bowl, saying he could do without
luxury as well as the child; and he drank henceforth from his hand.

As you see, Diogenes was a very strange man. He prided himself upon
always telling the truth, and upon treating all men alike. Some of his
disciples once met him wandering about the streets with a lantern,
anxiously peering into every nook and corner, and staring fixedly at
every person he met. When asked what he was looking for so carefully,
yet apparently with so little hope, he bluntly answered, "An honest
man."

Alexander had heard of this queer philosopher, and was anxious to see
him. He therefore went to the Temple of Ceres, escorted by all his
courtiers, on purpose to visit him. Diogenes was lying on the ground in
front of his tub, warming himself in the rays of the sun.

Alexander, drawing near, stood between the philosopher and the sun, and
tried to begin a conversation; but Diogenes gave surly answers, and
seemed to pay little heed to his visitor.

At last the young king proudly remarked, "I am Alexander the king!"

"And I," replied the philosopher in exactly the same tone, "am Diogenes
the cynic!"

As he could win nothing but short or rude answers, Alexander was about
to go away, but he first asked the sage if there was anything he could
do for him. "Yes," snapped Diogenes; "stand out of my sunshine!"

The courtiers were shocked at this insolent behavior, and began to talk
of the philosopher in a scornful tone as they were moving away.
Alexander, overhearing them, soon stopped them by saying, "If I were not
Alexander, I should like to be Diogenes."

By this remark he wished them to understand, that, if he could not be
master of all earthly things, he would rather despise them.

Strange to relate, Alexander the king, and Diogenes the cynic, died on
the same night, and from the same cause. Diogenes died in his tub, after
a too plentiful supper from the raw leg of an ox; while Alexander
breathed his last in a Bab-y-lo'ni-an palace, after having eaten and
drunk to excess at a rich banquet.

XCV. ALEXANDER'S BRILLIANT BEGINNING.

As soon as the Greek states had all been brought to a proper state of
obedience, Alexander prepared to conquer Persia, although he had a force
of only 34,500 men. These men were very well trained, however, and
promised to be more powerful on the battlefield than the million
warriors of Xerxes.

In his joy at departing, Alexander made rich presents to every