When he stayed his conquering arms on the banks of the Hyphasis it was not because his ardor was abated, but because his troops, tired with endless campaigning, and appalled at the thought of pushing farther into regions wholly unknown, refused absolutely to go any further, though he plied them with every argument. And after all his triumphs, at the very time that he fell into his last sickness at Babylon, he was meditating new campaigus and further acquisitions. He had literally set out for the conquest of the globe, and would never have rested till it was accomplished.

All that he did was on a kingly scale. When his war horse died he built a city called Bucephalia in his commemoration. When his friend Hephestion died he ordered a funeral pyre to be erected which cost the enormous sum of $11,000,000. In Asia, according to Plutarch, he founded seventy cities. At Persepolis the spoil loaded a train of five thousand camels. And his accumulated treasures of gold and silver were reckoned at $207,000,000.

How could such a character and such a career be better described in a few words than it was by the voice which Daniel heard, saying, "A mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided to ward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those." That such facts could be foreseen and accurately declared two centuries in advance, constitutes another brightly gleaming point in the visions. of Daniel.

冷凍

CHAPTER IV.

THE JEWS' APOCALYPSE.

DAN. 8: 8, 25; 9: 25-27; 11: 21, 31-36, 45; 12: 1. ISA. 35: 10; 44: 28; 49: 22, 23; 55: 5. B. C. 537-A. D. 70.

IN

N the year 537 B. C., soon after the capture of Babylon, a memorable scene was witnessed on the banks of the Euphrates. A company of travellers is crossing the plains from the east toward the west. But it is no ordinary company. It is not a caravan, but rather a score of caravans welded into one. Yonder in the advance is a squadron of horse seven hundred and thirty in number. Then come the camels, four hundred and thirty-five in number, their humped backs surmounted by the houdahs or cushioned seats, covered with a gay canopy, on which ride men and women whose rich attire and dignified demeanor mark them as people of wealth and distinction. Then come the mules and other beasts of burden, six thousand, nine hundred and sixty-five in number, some bearing the living freight of men, women or children, but the greater part loaded with burdens of every species of merchandise,- tent furniture, wardrobes, supplies of food, skins of water, and even vessels of gold and silver. In all there are eight thousand, one hundred and thirty-six animals stretching out in a vast column far as the eye can reach, one mile, two miles, three miles it may be, and seeming to the

distant observer like a mighty serpent winding its way over the dusty plain.

But by far the larger number of that great company are mak ing the slow journey of a thousand miles of distance and of four months duration wholly on foot. Plodding along by the side of the train, or intermingled with the beasts of burden, or following in the rear, we see a mixed multitude of forty thousand or more (for the whole throng numbers forty-nine thousand, six hundred and thirty-seven), a mighty procession, adding doubtless many furlongs to the length of the train.

Gray-haired men are here, helping their hesitating steps with stout sticks of acacia wood; mothers are here with anxious looks, calling back from their strayings the venturesome boys or fondling in their arms the infant of days; middle-aged men with wives and children, young men and maidens, boys and girls, all ages and all ranks, are here, and all bear in their faces and in their attire the marks of a common nationality.

It is not for their number that this company is chiefly remarkable, though they are a larger host than Alexander's army which conquered the world. Nor yet is it for the striking mixture of all ages and both sexes, for this is a common feature of Oriental travel. But it is the purpose that animates them, the errand which they are on, the high hopes that burn in their bosoms, and the lofty destinies to which they are called.

They are the choicest spirits of the world. There is more of real virtue, depth of feeling, true spirituality, nobility and strength of character in that company than exist on earth beside. Bend gently over them, sweet heavens, for on their movement and on the success of their enterprise hangs the real hope of the world!

God has so ordered that they shall play a chief part in the great drama of human advancement.

On their fortitude, their faith, their magnanimity and lofty self-devotion, depends the welfare of the world through coming time. Mark well the scene; it shall never be witnessed again. Follow them in thought with soulful interest as they plunge into the deserts of Syria and disappear for weeks from the gaze of the nation, for we are looking now at the very center of that great providential, historical movement, the mere outskirts of which have seemed so striking as we have heretofore surveyed them; for this is the prophetic remnant of the covenant people going up from Babylonian captivity to restore the worship of the living God, and to prepare a home in which can be born THE KING, and who shall yet rule the nations in righteousness.

For them all other movements are ordered. For them Nebuchadnezzar reigned. He was God's rod for their correction. He and his empire was God's sieve in which they were sifted till a holy seed hating idolatry was now separated out. For them Babylon was overthrown when the seventy years were expired. For them monotheistic Persia took the throne. For them Cyrus, who hated idolatry and sympathized with their worship and creed, was raised up and moved to issue the decree that made them free to resume both in the home of their fathers. And for them shall other empires rise and fall till their (and the world's) Messiah shall appear, ascend, and come again.

No wonder that an earnest and solemn look sits on every countenance. They are moving, and feel that they are, under the immediate direction of God. No wonder that their ranks seem pervaded by a strange elevation of soul. The spirit of prophecy is

among them. Daniel has instructed them. Haggai and Zechariah are probably of their number. No wonder that a subdued but triumphant joy gives buoyancy to their steps as the mighty chorus of two hundred voices chant David's songs of lofty praise; for this is the beginning of the fulfillment of Isaiah's words, "THE RANSOMED OF THE LORD SHALL RETURN AND COME TO ZION WITH SONGS AND EVERLASTING JOY UPON THEIR HEADS."

Two years pass. The captives have reached their destination. Led with consummate ability they have escaped the perils of the wilderness and have become established in the inheritance of their fathers. They have set up the altars of Jehovah. They have reinstated the priesthood and the Levitical service. lected the wood and the stone, the brass and the iron, all the ma terials needful for the rebuilding of the house of God, and this is the day appointed for the commencement of the work.

They have col

It is a high day. As we stand upon Mount Zion we see the whole area covered with a vast, excited and eager throng. The fifty thousand of the return are there. The many thousands who had lingered in Judea, in sorrow and reproach, until the seventy years of the captivity had passed, are also there. The Levites are there in impressive order, clad in white garments and holding in their hands the loud sounding cymbals. The priests are there, close to the site of the temple, shining in their sacred vestments, and holding aloft the silver trumpets ready at the right moment to give the expected signal.

But who is yonder man of well-knit frame and piercing eye standing on an elevated spot overlooking the whole scene and wearing the look and the insignia of authority? Mark him well, for he is a man whose name on the roll of fame deserves to be