278 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 
ing and chaffing his legs, faw a foldier, probably a Perfian, 
who had loft his feeling by extreme numbnefs. The king 
immediately leaped from his chair, and ordered the foldier 
to be fet down upon it. The fire foon brought him to his 
fenfes, but he had almoft loft them again with fear, by find- 
ing himfelf in the king’s feat. To whom Alexander {faid, 
“ Remember, and diftinguifh, how much more advantage- 
* ous to man my government is than that of the kings 
“ of Perfia*. By fitting down on my feat, you have faved 
“ your life; by fitting on theirs, you would infallibly have 
“© lofiats” 
In Abyffinia it is confidered as a fundamental law of the 
land, that none of the royal family, who has any deformity 
or bodily defect, fhall be allowed to fucceed to the crown; 
and, for this purpofe, any of the princes, who may have 
efcaped from the mountain of Wechné, and who are after- 
wards taken, are mutilated in fome of their members, that 
thus they may be difqualified from ever fucceeding. In 
Perfia the fame was obferved. Procopius + tells us, that Za- 
mes, the fon of Cabades, was excluded from the throne be- 
caufe he was blind of one eye, the law of Perfia prohibit- 
ing any perfon that had a bodily defect to be elected king. 
Tue kings of Abyffinia were feldom feen by their fub- 
jects. Juftint fays, the Perfians hid the perfon of their king ~ 
to increafe their reverence for his majefty. And it was a 
law of Deioces §, king of the Medes, that nobody fhould be 
permitted 
* Val, Max. lib. v. cap. 16.—Q. Curt. lib, viii. + Procop. lib. i. cap. 11. 
{ Juftin. lib. i. § Herod. lib. i. 
