When Alexander saw the beautiful procession, headed by such a dignified
old man, he quickly got down from his horse, knelt before Jaddua, and
worshiped the name written on his holy vestments.

His officers, astonished at this unusual humility, finally asked him why
he did such honor to a foreign priest. Then Alexander told them of a
vision he had had before leaving Macedon. In it he had beheld Jaddua,
who bade him come over to Asia without fear, as it was written that the
Persians would be delivered into his hands.

Walking beside the aged Jaddua, Alexander entered the holy city of
Jerusalem and the courts of the temple. Here he offered up a sacrifice
to the Lord, and saw the Books of Daniel and Zech-a-ri'ah, in which his
coming and conquests were all foretold.

XCIX. THE AFRICAN DESERT.

After staying a few days in Jerusalem, Alexander continued on his way to
Egypt, which he quickly conquered also. Here he founded a new city at
the mouth of the Nile, and named it Al-ex-an'dri-a, after himself. It
was so favorably located, that it soon became an important town, and
has continued so even till the present day.

Then, having heard that there was a famous temple in Lib'y-a, dedicated
to Jupiter, Alexander resolved to go there and visit it. The road lay
through an African desert, and the journey was very dangerous indeed.

The soldiers toiled painfully along over the burning sand, in which
their feet sank up to the ankles. The blazing African sun fell straight
down upon their heads, and made them stagger and grow faint with the
heat.

From time to time a hot wind, the simoom, blew over the desert, raising
great clouds of dust, and choking men and horses as it rolled over them
like a torrent, burying them under its shifting waves.

The horses died from thirst and fatigue, for such animals are not fit
for travel in the desert. The only creature which can journey
comfortably over the dreary waste of the Sa-ha'ra is the camel, whose
stomach is made in a peculiar way, so that it can drink a large quantity
of water at a time, and store it up for future use.

Undaunted by fatigue or danger, Alexander pressed onward. Like his
soldiers, he suffered from heat and thirst; and like them, too, he was
deceived by the mirage.

This is an optical effect due to a peculiar condition of the desert
atmosphere. The traveler suddenly sees trees, grass, and running water,
apparently a short distance before him. He hastens ea