46 Alexander goes to Darius,

46 Alexander goes to Darius,

prince was a brave man, & a hardy & [very] true to Alexander. And then Alexander bade him leap on a horse, and bring with him another horse & follow him. And he did so. And when they came together to the water of Graunte, that in the language of Persia es called Struma, they found it frozen over, and Alexander anon [chaunged] he wait, & left the foresaid prince with two horses at the waterside and himself, with the horse that he sat upon, went over the water upon the ice, toward the cite of Susis. And his prince besought him that he would suffer him went with him, not peradventure any disease fell him by the way. And Alexander answered & said, 'Abide me here,' quoth he, 'For he shall be my helper, when in dreams I saw appear unto me.' This [icy?] water I spake of before, all the winter seasons each night was frozen all over; but timely in the morning as soon as the warm sun hit upon it, then it dissolved again, & ran very swiftly; the [breadth?] of that water is the space of a furlong. When Alexander came to the gat of the city the Persians, when they saw him, had great wonder of his figure, and [wondered if?] if had been a god, and anon they asked him what he was. And he answered, and said he was a messenger sent from king Alexander to their lord Darius, and [be-lyfe] they brought him to him. Darius, when Alexander come before him, said unto him, 'Here art though,' quoth he. 'I am,' quoth Alexander, 'sent unto thee from king Alexander to [wiete] wherto thou tarries to come to him to give him battle. [Otherwise?] come & fight manfully with thine enemies or else submit thee to him & pay him tribute.

And Darius heard him and said, "Art thou then the Alexander who with such madness shaped they speech, for I see thou holdest thyself not from words as a messenger doth, but art bold as a king. Yet know that by thy words I am not frightened at all. Come dine with me this day.' And with these words, he reached ot his hand to him and took him by his right, and led him into the palace. And Alexander, musing, began to say: 'A right good token hath this barbarian wrought me when he clasped my right hand and drew me into