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And all of Daniel's words came true; for only twelve months from that time, when Nebuchadnezzar was walking in his palace of the kingdom of Babylon, he looked out upon the mighty city, its walls, its temples, its palaces, and its gardens, and said, “Is not this great Babylon that I have built, by my own power and for my own greatness?"

While the words were yet on his lips, there came a voice from heaven, saying, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, the kingdom is taken from thee. They shall drive thee from mer, and thou shalt live with the beasts of the field! They shall make thee eat grass like the oxen, until thou knowest that God rules over all nations of the earth, and makes whomsoever He will to be king."

And in that same hour reason fled from King Nebuchadnezzar, so that he was no longer

fit to rule over his kingdom, or to live among men. He ate grass like oxen, and lay upon the ground, his body wet with the dew. His hair grew like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. But when the seven years were ended, reason came back; and King Nebuchadnezzar looked up to heaven, and praised God and honored him who lives forever, and whose kingdom shall have no end. Then the rulers and governors sought him, and made him king again, and all his greatness came back to him.

STORY OF BELSHAZZAR.

But, by and by, Nebuchudnezzar died, and Belshazzar became king of Babylon. He made great feasts to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine with them in his palace. And while he feasted, he commanded his servants to bring the gold and silver vessels that his father, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem. They brought the golden vessels, and the king and his princes drank from them; and as they drank, they praised their idols of gold and silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

But while they were feasting and making merry, lo! a hand wrote words upon the wall

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where the king and his lords held their feast. The king saw the hand that wrote. His face was changed, for he was filled with fear, so that his knees trembled and smote one against the other. "Bring in the wise men!" he cried out aloud to his servants. The wise men came. Whoever shall read this writing and tell the interpretation of it shall be clothed with scarlet and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom," he cried. But none of the wise men could read the writing or tell the interpretation.

Then the king was troubled yet more, and his lords were astonished at what they saw. The queen spoke to him, saying, “Let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy face be sad. There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in

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