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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Christ Legends, by Selma Lagerlöf
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Christ Legends
+
+Author: Selma Lagerlöf
+
+Illustrator: Bertha Stuart
+
+Translator: Velma Swanston Howard
+
+Release Date: February 1, 2014 [EBook #44818]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRIST LEGENDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Shaun Pinder, Roger Frank and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                             CHRIST LEGENDS
+
+                                   BY
+
+                             SELMA LAGERLÖF
+
+                      Translated from the Swedish
+
+                                   BY
+
+                         VELMA SWANSTON HOWARD
+
+                      DECORATIONS BY BERTHA STUART
+
+                             [Illustration]
+
+                                NEW YORK
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+
+                                  1908
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                            Copyright, 1908,
+
+                                   BY
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+
+                                -------
+
+                        Published October, 1908
+
+                      THE QUINN & BODEN CO. PRESS
+                             RAHWAY, N. J.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                                CONTENTS
+
+                    THE HOLY NIGHT                  1
+                    THE EMPEROR’S VISION           13
+                    THE WISE MEN’S WELL            25
+                    BETHLEHEM’S CHILDREN           41
+                    THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT          73
+                    IN NAZARETH                    85
+                    IN THE TEMPLE                  95
+                    SAINT VERONICA’S KERCHIEF     119
+                    ROBIN REDBREAST               191
+                    OUR LORD AND SAINT PETER      203
+                    THE SACRED FLAME              221
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Holy Night]
+
+                             THE HOLY NIGHT
+
+
+When I was five years old I had such a great sorrow! I hardly know if I
+have had a greater since.
+
+It was then my grandmother died. Up to that time, she used to sit every
+day on the corner sofa in her room, and tell stories.
+
+I remember that grandmother told story after story from morning till
+night, and that we children sat beside her, quite still, and listened.
+It was a glorious life! No other children had such happy times as we
+did.
+
+It isn’t much that I recollect about my grandmother. I remember that she
+had very beautiful snow-white hair, and stooped when she walked, and
+that she always sat and knitted a stocking.
+
+And I even remember that when she had finished a story, she used to lay
+her hand on my head and say: “All this is as true, as true as that I see
+you and you see me.”
+
+I also remember that she could sing songs, but this she did not do every
+day. One of the songs was about a knight and a sea-troll, and had this
+refrain: “It blows cold, cold weather at sea.”
+
+Then I remember a little prayer she taught me, and a verse of a hymn.
+
+Of all the stories she told me, I have but a dim and imperfect
+recollection. Only one of them do I remember so well that I should be
+able to repeat it. It is a little story about Jesus’ birth.
+
+Well, this is nearly all that I can recall about my grandmother, except
+the thing which I remember best; and that is, the great loneliness when
+she was gone.
+
+I remember the morning when the corner sofa stood empty and when it was
+impossible to understand how the days would ever come to an end. That I
+remember. That I shall never forget!
+
+And I recollect that we children were brought forward to kiss the hand
+of the dead and that we were afraid to do it. But then some one said to
+us that it would be the last time we could thank grandmother for all the
+pleasure she had given us.
+
+And I remember how the stories and songs were driven from the homestead,
+shut up in a long black casket, and how they never came back again.
+
+I remember that something was gone from our lives. It seemed as if the
+door to a whole beautiful, enchanted world—where before we had been
+free to go in and out—had been closed. And now there was no one who
+knew how to open that door.
+
+And I remember that, little by little, we children learned to play with
+dolls and toys, and to live like other children. And then it seemed as
+though we no longer missed our grandmother, or remembered her.
+
+But even to-day—after forty years—as I sit here and gather together
+the legends about Christ, which I heard out there in the Orient, there
+awakes within me the little legend of Jesus’ birth that my grandmother
+used to tell, and I feel impelled to tell it once again, and to let it
+also be included in my collection.
+
+It was a Christmas Day and all the folks had driven to church except
+grandmother and I. I believe we were all alone in the house. We had not
+been permitted to go along, because one of us was too old and the other
+was too young. And we were sad, both of us, because we had not been
+taken to early mass to hear the singing and to see the Christmas
+candles.
+
+But as we sat there in our loneliness, grandmother began to tell a
+story.
+
+“There was a man,” said she, “who went out in the dark night to borrow
+live coals to kindle a fire. He went from hut to hut and knocked. ‘Dear
+friends, help me!’ said he. ‘My wife has just given birth to a child,
+and I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.’
+
+“But it was way in the night, and all the people were asleep. No one
+replied.
+
+“The man walked and walked. At last he saw the gleam of a fire a long
+way off. Then he went in that direction, and saw that the fire was
+burning in the open. A lot of sheep were sleeping around the fire, and
+an old shepherd sat and watched over the flock.
+
+“When the man who wanted to borrow fire came up to the sheep, he saw
+that three big dogs lay asleep at the shepherd’s feet. All three awoke
+when the man approached and opened their great jaws, as though they
+wanted to bark; but not a sound was heard. The man noticed that the hair
+on their backs stood up and that their sharp, white teeth glistened in
+the firelight. They dashed toward him. He felt that one of them bit at
+his leg and one at his hand and that one clung to his throat. But their
+jaws and teeth wouldn’t obey them, and the man didn’t suffer the least
+harm.
+
+“Now the man wished to go farther, to get what he needed. But the sheep
+lay back to back and so close to one another that he couldn’t pass them.
+Then the man stepped upon their backs and walked over them and up to the
+fire. And not one of the animals awoke or moved.”
+
+Thus far, grandmother had been allowed to narrate without interruption.
+But at this point I couldn’t help breaking in. “Why didn’t they do it,
+grandma?” I asked.
+
+“That you shall hear in a moment,” said grandmother—and went on with
+her story.
+
+“When the man had almost reached the fire, the shepherd looked up. He
+was a surly old man, who was unfriendly and harsh toward human beings.
+And when he saw the strange man coming, he seized the long spiked staff,
+which he always held in his hand when he tended his flock, and threw it
+at him. The staff came right toward the man, but, before it reached him,
+it turned off to one side and whizzed past him, far out in the meadow.”
+
+When grandmother had got this far, I interrupted her again. “Grandma,
+why wouldn’t the stick hurt the man?” Grandmother did not bother about
+answering me, but continued her story.
+
+“Now the man came up to the shepherd and said to him: ‘Good man, help
+me, and lend me a little fire! My wife has just given birth to a child,
+and I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.’
+
+“The shepherd would rather have said no, but when he pondered that the
+dogs couldn’t hurt the man, and the sheep had not run from him, and that
+the staff had not wished to strike him, he was a little afraid, and
+dared not deny the man that which he asked.
+
+“‘Take as much as you need!’ he said to the man.
+
+“But then the fire was nearly burnt out. There were no logs or branches
+left, only a big heap of live coals; and the stranger had neither spade
+nor shovel, wherein he could carry the red-hot coals.
+
+“When the shepherd saw this, he said again: ‘Take as much as you need!’
+And he was glad that the man wouldn’t be able to take away any coals.
+
+“But the man stooped and picked coals from the ashes with his bare
+hands, and laid them in his mantle. And he didn’t burn his hands when he
+touched them, nor did the coals scorch his mantle; but he carried them
+away as if they had been nuts or apples.”
+
+But here the story-teller was interrupted for the third time. “Grandma,
+why wouldn’t the coals burn the man?”
+
+“That you shall hear,” said grandmother, and went on:
+
+“And when the shepherd, who was such a cruel and hard-hearted man, saw
+all this, he began to wonder to himself: ‘What kind of a night is this,
+when the dogs do not bite, the sheep are not scared, the staff does not
+kill, or the fire scorch?’ He called the stranger back, and said to him:
+‘What kind of a night is this? And how does it happen that all things
+show you compassion?’
+
+“Then said the man: ‘I cannot tell you if you yourself do not see it.’
+And he wished to go his way, that he might soon make a fire and warm his
+wife and child.
+
+“But the shepherd did not wish to lose sight of the man before he had
+found out what all this might portend. He got up and followed the man
+till they came to the place where he lived.
+
+“Then the shepherd saw that the man didn’t have so much as a hut to
+dwell in, but that his wife and babe were lying in a mountain grotto,
+where there was nothing except the cold and naked stone walls.
+
+“But the shepherd thought that perhaps the poor innocent child might
+freeze to death there in the grotto; and, although he was a hard man, he
+was touched, and thought he would like to help it. And he loosened his
+knapsack from his shoulder, took from it a soft white sheepskin, gave it
+to the strange man, and said that he should let the child sleep on it.
+
+“But just as soon as he showed that he, too, could be merciful, his eyes
+were opened, and he saw what he had not been able to see before and
+heard what he could not have heard before.
+
+“He saw that all around him stood a ring of little silver-winged angels,
+and each held a stringed instrument, and all sang in loud tones that
+to-night the Saviour was born who should redeem the world from its sins.
+
+“Then he understood how all things were so happy this night that they
+didn’t want to do anything wrong.
+
+“And it was not only around the shepherd that there were angels, but he
+saw them everywhere. They sat inside the grotto, they sat outside on the
+mountain, and they flew under the heavens. They came marching in great
+companies, and, as they passed, they paused and cast a glance at the
+child.
+
+“There were such jubilation and such gladness and songs and play! And
+all this he saw in the dark night, whereas before he could not have made
+out anything. He was so happy because his eyes had been opened that he
+fell upon his knees and thanked God.”
+
+Here grandmother sighed and said: “What that shepherd saw we might also
+see, for the angels fly down from heaven every Christmas Eve, if we
+could only see them.”
+
+Then grandmother laid her hand on my head, and said: “You must remember
+this, for it is as true, as true as that I see you and you see me. It is
+not revealed by the light of lamps or candles, and it does not depend
+upon sun and moon; but that which is needful is, that we have such eyes
+as can see God’s glory.”
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Emperor’s Vision]
+
+                          THE EMPEROR’S VISION
+
+
+It happened at the time when Augustus was Emperor in Rome and Herod was
+King in Jerusalem.
+
+It was then that a very great and holy night sank down over the earth.
+It was the darkest night that any one had ever seen. One could have
+believed that the whole earth had fallen into a cellar-vault. It was
+impossible to distinguish water from land, and one could not find one’s
+way on the most familiar road. And it couldn’t be otherwise, for not a
+ray of light came from heaven. All the stars stayed at home in their own
+houses, and the fair moon held her face averted.
+
+The silence and the stillness were as profound as the darkness. The
+rivers stood still in their courses, the wind did not stir, and even the
+aspen leaves had ceased to quiver. Had any one walked along the
+seashore, he would have found that the waves no longer dashed upon the
+sands; and had one wandered in the desert, the sand would not have
+crunched under one’s feet. Everything was as motionless as if turned to
+stone, so as not to disturb the holy night. The grass was afraid to
+grow, the dew could not fall, and the flowers dared not exhale their
+perfume.
+
+On this night the wild beasts did not seek their prey, the serpents did
+not sting, and the dogs did not bark. And what was even more glorious,
+inanimate things would have been unwilling to disturb the night’s
+sanctity, by lending themselves to an evil deed. No false key could have
+picked a lock, and no knife could possibly have drawn a drop of blood.
+
+In Rome, during this very night, a small company of people came from the
+Emperor’s palace at the Palatine and took the path across the Forum
+which led to the Capitol. During the day just ended the Senators had
+asked the Emperor if he had any objections to their erecting a temple to
+him on Rome’s sacred hill. But Augustus had not immediately given his
+consent. He did not know if it would be agreeable to the gods that he
+should own a temple next to theirs, and he had replied that first he
+wished to ascertain their will in the matter by offering a nocturnal
+sacrifice to his genius. It was he who, accompanied by a few trusted
+friends, was on his way to perform this sacrifice.
+
+Augustus let them carry him in his litter, for he was old, and it was an
+effort for him to climb the long stairs leading to the Capitol. He
+himself held the cage with the doves for the sacrifice. No priests or
+soldiers or senators accompanied him, only his nearest friends.
+Torch-bearers walked in front of him in order to light the way in the
+night darkness and behind him followed the slaves, who carried the
+tripod, the knives, the charcoal, the sacred fire, and all the other
+things needed for the sacrifice.
+
+On the way the Emperor chatted gaily with his faithful followers, and
+therefore none of them noticed the infinite silence and stillness of the
+night. Only when they had reached the highest point of the Capitol Hill
+and the vacant spot upon which they contemplated erecting the temple,
+did it dawn upon them that something unusual was taking place.
+
+It could not be a night like all others, for up on the very edge of the
+cliff they saw the most remarkable being! At first they thought it was
+an old, distorted olive-trunk; later they imagined that an ancient stone
+figure from the temple of Jupiter had wandered out on the cliff. Finally
+it was apparent to them that it could be only the old sibyl.
+
+Anything so aged, so weather-beaten, and so giant-like in stature they
+had never seen. This old woman was awe-inspiring! If the Emperor had not
+been present, they would all have fled to their homes.
+
+“It is she,” they whispered to each other, “who has lived as many years
+as there are sand-grains on her native shores. Why has she come out from
+her cave just to-night? What does she foretell for the Emperor and the
+Empire—she, who writes her prophecies on the leaves of the trees and
+knows that the wind will carry the words of the oracle to the person for
+whom they are intended?”
+
+They were so terrified that they would have dropped on their knees with
+their foreheads pressed against the earth, had the sibyl stirred. But
+she sat as still as though she were lifeless. Crouching upon the
+outermost edge of the cliff, and shading her eyes with her hand, she
+peered out into the night. She sat there as if she had gone up on the
+hill that she might see more clearly something that was happening far
+away. _She_ could see things on a night like this!
+
+At that moment the Emperor and all his retinue marked how profound the
+darkness was. None of them could see a hand’s breadth in front of him.
+And what stillness! What silence! Not even the Tiber’s hollow murmur
+could they hear. The air seemed to suffocate them, cold sweat broke out
+on their foreheads, and their hands were numb and powerless. They feared
+that some dreadful disaster was impending.
+
+But no one cared to show that he was afraid, and everyone told the
+Emperor that this was a good omen. All Nature held its breath to greet a
+new god.
+
+They counseled Augustus to hurry with the sacrifice, and said that the
+old sibyl had evidently come out of her cave to greet his genius.
+
+But the truth was that the old sibyl was so absorbed in a vision that
+she did not even know that Augustus had come up to the Capitol. She was
+transported in spirit to a far-distant land, where she imagined that she
+was wandering over a great plain. In the darkness she stubbed her foot
+continually against something, which she believed to be grass-tufts. She
+stooped down and felt with her hand. No, it was not grass, but sheep.
+She was walking between great sleeping flocks of sheep.
+
+Then she noticed the shepherds’ fire. It burned in the middle of the
+field, and she groped her way to it. The shepherds lay asleep by the
+fire, and beside them were the long, spiked staves with which they
+defended their flocks from wild beasts. But the little animals with the
+glittering eyes and the bushy tails that stole up to the fire, were they
+not jackals? And yet the shepherds did not fling their staves at them,
+the dogs continued to sleep, the sheep did not flee, and the wild
+animals lay down to rest beside the human beings.
+
+This the sibyl saw, but she knew nothing of what was being enacted on
+the hill back of her. She did not know that there they were raising an
+altar, lighting charcoal and strewing incense, and that the Emperor took
+one of the doves from the cage to sacrifice it. But his hands were so
+benumbed that he could not hold the bird. With one stroke of the wing,
+it freed itself and disappeared in the night darkness.
+
+When this happened, the courtiers glanced suspiciously at the old sibyl.
+They believed that it was she who caused the misfortune.
+
+Could they know that all the while the sibyl thought herself standing
+beside the shepherds’ fire, and that she listened to a faint sound which
+came trembling through the dead-still night? She heard it long before
+she marked that it did not come from the earth, but from the sky. At
+last she raised her head; then she saw light, shimmering forms glide
+forward in the darkness. They were little flocks of angels, who, singing
+joyously, and apparently searching, flew back and forth above the wide
+plain.
+
+While the sibyl was listening to the angel-song, the Emperor was making
+preparations for a new sacrifice. He washed his hands, cleansed the
+altar, and took up the other dove. And, although he exerted his full
+strength to hold it fast, the dove’s slippery body slid from his hand,
+and the bird swung itself up into the impenetrable night.
+
+The Emperor was appalled! He fell upon his knees and prayed to his
+genius. He implored him for strength to avert the disasters which this
+night seemed to foreshadow.
+
+Nor did the sibyl hear any of this either. She was listening with her
+whole soul to the angel-song, which grew louder and louder. At last it
+became so powerful that it wakened the shepherds. They raised themselves
+on their elbows and saw shining hosts of silver-white angels move in the
+darkness in long, swaying lines, like migratory birds. Some held lutes
+and cymbals in their hands; others held zithers and harps, and their
+song rang out as merry as child-laughter, and as care-free as the lark’s
+trill. When the shepherds heard this, they rose up to go to the mountain
+city, where they lived, to tell of the miracle.
+
+They groped their way forward on a narrow, winding path, and the sibyl
+followed them. Suddenly it grew light up there on the mountain: a big,
+clear star kindled right over it, and the city on the mountain summit
+glittered like silver in the starlight. All the fluttering angel throngs
+hastened thither, shouting for joy, and the shepherds hurried so that
+they almost ran. When they reached the city, they found that the angels
+had assembled over a low stable near the city gate. It was a wretched
+structure, with a roof of straw and the naked cliff for a back wall.
+Over it hung the Star, and hither flocked more and more angels. Some
+seated themselves on the straw roof or alighted upon the steep
+mountain-wall back of the house; others, again, held themselves in the
+air on outspread wings, and hovered over it. High, high up, the air was
+illuminated by the shining wings.
+
+The instant the Star kindled over the mountain city, all Nature awoke,
+and the men who stood upon Capitol Hill could not help seeing it. They
+felt fresh, but caressing winds which traveled through space; delicious
+perfumes streamed up about them; trees swayed; the Tiber began to
+murmur; the stars twinkled, and suddenly the moon stood out in the sky
+and lit up the world. And out of the clouds the two doves came circling
+down and lighted upon the Emperor’s shoulders.
+
+When this miracle happened, Augustus rose, proud and happy, but his
+friends and his slaves fell on their knees.
+
+“Hail, Cæsar!” they cried. “Thy genius hath answered thee. Thou art the
+god who shall be worshiped on Capitol Hill!”
+
+And this cry of homage, which the men in their transport gave as a
+tribute to the Emperor, was so loud that the old sibyl heard it. It
+waked her from her visions. She rose from her place on the edge of the
+cliff, and came down among the people. It was as if a dark cloud had
+arisen from the abyss and rushed down the mountain height. She was
+terrifying in her extreme age! Coarse hair hung in matted tangles around
+her head, her joints were enlarged, and the dark skin, hard as the bark
+of a tree, covered her body with furrow upon furrow.
+
+Potent and awe-inspiring, she advanced toward the Emperor. With one hand
+she clutched his wrist, with the other she pointed toward the distant
+East.
+
+“Look!” she commanded, and the Emperor raised his eyes and saw. The
+vaulted heavens opened before his eyes, and his glance traveled to the
+distant Orient. He saw a lowly stable behind a steep rock wall, and in
+the open doorway a few shepherds kneeling. Within the stable he saw a
+young mother on her knees before a little child, who lay upon a bundle
+of straw on the floor.
+
+And the sibyl’s big, knotty fingers pointed toward the poor babe. “Hail,
+Cæsar!” cried the sibyl, in a burst of scornful laughter. “There is the
+god who shall be worshiped on Capitol Hill!”
+
+Then Augustus shrank back from her, as from a maniac. But upon the sibyl
+fell the mighty spirit of prophecy. Her dim eyes began to burn, her
+hands were stretched toward heaven, her voice was so changed that it
+seemed not to be her own, but rang out with such resonance and power
+that it could have been heard over the whole world. And she uttered
+words which she appeared to be reading among the stars.
+
+“Upon Capitol Hill shall the Redeemer of the world be
+worshiped,—_Christ_—but not frail mortals.”
+
+When she had said this, she strode past the terror-stricken men, walked
+slowly down the mountain, and disappeared.
+
+But, on the following day, Augustus strictly forbade the people to raise
+any temple to him on Capitol Hill. In place of it he built a sanctuary
+to the new-born God-Child, and called it Heaven’s Altar—_Ara Cœli_.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Wise Men’s Well]
+
+                          THE WISE MEN’S WELL
+
+
+In old Judea the Drought crept, gaunt and hollow-eyed, between shrunken
+thistles and yellowed grass.
+
+It was summertime. The sun beat down upon the backs of unshaded hills,
+and the slightest breath of wind tore up thick clouds of lime dust from
+the grayish-white ground. The herds stood huddled together in the
+valleys, by the dried-up streams.
+
+The Drought walked about and viewed the water supplies. He wandered over
+to Solomon’s Pools, and sighed as he saw that they still held a small
+quantity of water from their mountain sources. Then he journeyed down to
+the famous David’s Well, near Bethlehem, and found water even there.
+Finally, he tramped with shuffling gait toward the great highway which
+leads from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.
+
+When he had arrived about half-way, he saw the Wise Men’s Well, where it
+stands close by the roadside. He saw at a glance that it was almost dry.
+He seated himself on the curb, which consists of a single stone hollowed
+out, and looked into the well. The shining water-mirror, which usually
+was seen very near the opening, had sunk deep down, and the dirt and
+slime at the bottom of the well made it muddy and impure.
+
+When the Well beheld the Drought’s bronzed visage reflected in her
+clouded mirror, she shook with anguish.
+
+“I wonder when you will be exhausted,” said the Drought. “Surely, you do
+not expect to find any fresh water source, down there in the deep, to
+come and give you new life; and as for rain—God be praised! there can
+be no question of that for the next two or three months.”
+
+“You may rest content,” sighed the Well, “for nothing can help me now.
+It would take no less than a well-spring from Paradise to save me!”
+
+“Then I will not forsake you until every drop has been drained,” said
+the Drought. He saw that the old Well was nearing its end, and now he
+wanted to have the pleasure of seeing it die out drop by drop.
+
+He seated himself comfortably on the edge of the curb, and rejoiced as
+he heard how the Well sighed down there in the deep. He also took a keen
+delight in watching the thirsty wayfarers come up to the well-curb, let
+down the bucket, and draw it up again, with only a few drops of muddy
+water.
+
+Thus the whole day passed; and when darkness descended, the Drought
+looked again into the Well. A little water still shimmered down there.
+“I’ll stay here all night,” cried he, “so do not hurry yourself! When it
+grows so light that I can look into you once more, I am certain that all
+will be over with you.”
+
+The Drought curled himself up on the edge of the well-curb, while the
+hot night, which was even more cruel, and more full of torment than the
+day had been, descended over Judea. Dogs and jackals howled incessantly,
+and thirsty cows and asses answered them from their stuffy stalls.
+
+When the breeze stirred a little now and then, it brought with it no
+relief, but was as hot and suffocating as a great sleeping monster’s
+panting breath. The stars shone with the most resplendent brilliancy,
+and a little silvery new moon cast a pretty blue-green light over the
+gray hills. And in this light the Drought saw a great caravan come
+marching toward the hill where the Wise Men’s Well was situated.
+
+The Drought sat and gazed at the long procession, and rejoiced again at
+the thought of all the thirst which was coming to the well, and would
+not find one drop of water with which to slake itself. There were so
+many animals and drivers they could easily have emptied the Well, even
+if it had been quite full. Suddenly he began to think there was
+something unusual, something ghost-like, about this caravan which came
+marching forward in the night. First, all the camels came within sight
+on a hill, which loomed up, high and distinct, against the horizon; it
+was as though they had stepped straight down from heaven. They also
+appeared to be larger than ordinary camels, and bore—all too
+lightly—the enormous burdens which weighted them.
+
+Still he could not understand anything but that they were absolutely
+real, for to him they were just as plain as plain could be. He could
+even see that the three foremost animals were dromedaries, with gray,
+shiny skins; and that they were richly bridled and saddled, with fringed
+coverings, and were ridden by handsome, noble-looking knights.
+
+The whole procession stopped at the well. With three sharp jerks, the
+dromedaries lay down on the ground, and their riders dismounted. The
+pack-camels remained standing, and as they assembled they seemed to form
+a long line of necks and humps and peculiarly piled-up packs.
+
+Immediately, the riders came up to the Drought and greeted him by laying
+their hands upon their foreheads and breasts. He saw that they wore
+dazzling white robes and huge turbans, on the front of each of which
+there was a clear, glittering star, which shone as if it had been taken
+direct from the skies.
+
+“We come from a far-off land,” said one of the strangers, “and we bid
+thee tell us if this is in truth the Wise Men’s Well?”
+
+“It is called so to-day,” said the Drought, “but by to-morrow there will
+be no well here. It shall die to-night.”
+
+“I can understand this, as I see thee here,” said the man. “But is not
+this one of the sacred wells, which never run dry? or whence hath it
+derived its name?”
+
+“I know it is sacred,” said the Drought, “but what good will that do?
+The three wise men are in Paradise.”
+
+The three travelers exchanged glances. “Dost thou really know the
+history of this ancient well?” asked they.
+
+“I know the history of all wells and fountains and brooks and rivers,”
+said the Drought, with pride.
+
+“Then grant us a pleasure, and tell us the story!” begged the strangers;
+and they seated themselves around the old enemy to everything growing,
+and listened.
+
+The Drought shook himself and crawled up on the well-curb, like a
+story-teller upon his improvised throne, and began his tale.
+
+“In Gebas, in Media, a city which lies near the border of the
+desert—and, therefore, it has often been a free and well-beloved city
+to me,—there lived, many, many years ago, three men who were famed for
+their wisdom.
+
+“They were also very poor, which was a most uncommon state of affairs;
+for, in Gebas, knowledge was held in high esteem, and was well
+recompensed. With these men, however, it could hardly have been
+otherwise, for one of them was very old, one was afflicted with leprosy,
+and the third was a black, thick-lipped negro. People regarded the first
+as much too old to teach them anything; the second they avoided for fear
+of contagion; and the third they would not listen to, because they
+thought they knew that no wisdom had ever come from Ethiopia.
+
+“Meanwhile, the three wise ones became united through their common
+misery. They begged during the day at the same temple gate, and at night
+they slept on the same roof. In this way they at least had an
+opportunity to while away the hours, by meditating upon all the
+wonderful things which they observed in Nature and in the human race.
+
+“One night, as they slept side by side on a roof, which was overgrown
+with stupefying red poppies, the eldest among them awoke; and hardly had
+he cast a glance around him, before he wakened the other two.
+
+“‘Praised be our poverty, which compels us to sleep in the open!’ he
+said to them. ‘Awake! and raise your eyes to heaven!’
+
+“Well,” said the Drought, in a somewhat milder tone, “this was a night
+which no one who witnessed it can ever forget! The skies were so bright
+that the heavens, which usually resemble an arched vault, looked deep
+and transparent and full of waves, like a sea. The light surged
+backwards and forwards and the stars swam in their varying depths: some
+in among the light-waves; others upon the surface.
+
+“But farthest away and highest up, the three men saw a faint shadow
+appear. This shadow traveled through space like a ball, and came nearer
+and nearer, and, as the ball approached, it began to brighten. But it
+brightened as roses do—may God let them all wither!—when they burst
+from their buds. It grew bigger and bigger, the dark cover about it
+turned back by degrees, and light broke forth on its sides into four
+distinct leaves. Finally, when it had descended to the nearest of the
+stars, it came to a standstill. Then the dark lobes curled themselves
+back and unfolded leaf upon leaf of beautiful, shimmering, rose-colored
+light, until it was perfect, and shone like a star among stars.
+
+“When the poor men beheld this, their wisdom told them that at this
+moment a mighty king was born on earth: one, whose majesty and power
+should rise higher than that of Cyrus or of Alexander; and they said to
+one another: ‘Let us go to the father and mother of the new-born babe
+and tell them what we have seen! Mayhap they will reward us with a purse
+of coin or a bracelet of gold.’
+
+“They grasped their long traveling staves and went forth. They wandered
+through the city and out from the city gate; but there they felt
+doubtful for a moment as they saw before them the great stretch of dry,
+smooth desert, which human beings dread. Then they saw the new star cast
+a narrow stream of light across the desert sand, and they wandered
+confidently forward with the star as their guide.
+
+“All night long they tramped over the wide sand-plain, and throughout
+the entire journey they talked about the young, new-born king, whom they
+should find reposing in a cradle of gold, playing with precious stones.
+They whiled away the hours by talking over how they should approach his
+father, the king, and his mother, the queen, and tell them that the
+heavens augured for their son power and beauty and joy, greater than
+Solomon’s. They prided themselves upon the fact that God had called
+_them_ to see the Star. They said to themselves that the parents of the
+new-born babe would not reward them with less than twenty purses of
+gold; perhaps they would give them so much gold that they no longer need
+suffer the pangs of poverty.
+
+“I lay in wait on the desert like a lion,” said the Drought, “and
+intended to throw myself upon these wanderers with all the agonies of
+thirst, but they eluded me. All night the Star had led them, and on the
+morrow, when the heavens brightened and all the other stars grew pale,
+it remained steady and illumined the desert, and then guided them to an
+oasis where they found a spring and a ripe, fruit-bearing tree. There
+they rested all that day. And toward night, as they saw the Star’s rays
+border the sands, they went on.
+
+“From the human way of looking at things,” continued the Drought, “it
+was a delightful journey. The Star led them in such a way that they did
+not have to suffer either hunger or thirst. It led them past the sharp
+thistles, it avoided the thick, loose, flying sand; they escaped the
+burning sunshine and the hot desert storms. The three wise men said
+repeatedly to one another: ‘God is protecting us and blessing our
+journey. We are His messengers.’
+
+“Then, by degrees, they fell into my power,” said the Drought. “These
+star-wanderers’ hearts became transformed into as dry a desert as the
+one which they traveled through. They were filled with impotent pride
+and destructive greed.
+
+“‘We are God’s messengers!’ repeated the three wise ones. ‘The father of
+the new-born king will not reward us too well, even if he gives us a
+caravan laden with gold.’
+
+“By and by, the Star led them over the far-famed River Jordan, and up
+among the hills of Judea. One night it stood still over the little city
+of Bethlehem, which lay upon a hill-top, and shone among the olive
+trees.
+
+“But the three wise ones looked around for castles and fortified towers
+and walls, and all the other things that belong to a royal city; but of
+such they saw nothing. And what was still worse, the Star’s light did
+not even lead them into the city, but remained over a grotto near the
+wayside. There, the soft light stole in through the opening and revealed
+to the three wanderers a little Child, who was being lulled to sleep in
+its mother’s arms.
+
+“Although the three men saw how the Star’s light encircled the Child’s
+head, like a crown, they remained standing outside the grotto. They did
+not enter to prophesy honors and kingdoms for this little One. They
+turned away without betraying their presence. They fled from the Child,
+and wandered down the hill again.
+
+“‘Have we come in search of beggars as poor as ourselves?’ said they.
+‘Has God brought us hither that we might mock Him, and predict honors
+for a shepherd’s son? This Child will never attain any higher
+distinction than to tend sheep here in the valleys.’”
+
+The Drought chuckled to himself and nodded to his hearers, as much as to
+say: “Am I not right? There are things which are drier than the desert
+sands, but there is nothing more barren than the human heart.”
+
+“The three wise ones had not wandered very far before they thought they
+had gone astray and had not followed the Star rightly,” continued the
+Drought. “They turned their gaze upward to find again the Star, and the
+right road; but then the Star which they had followed all the way from
+the Orient had vanished from the heavens.”
+
+The three strangers made a quick movement, and their faces expressed
+deep suffering.
+
+“That which now happened,” continued the Drought, “is in accord with the
+usual manner of mankind in judging of what is, perhaps, a blessing.
+
+“To be sure, when the three wise men no longer saw the Star, they
+understood at once that they had sinned against God.
+
+“And it happened with them,” continued the Drought furiously, “just as
+it happens with the ground in the autumn, when the heavy rains begin to
+fall. They shook with terror, as one shakes when it thunders and
+lightens; their whole being softened, and humility, like green grass,
+sprang up in their souls.
+
+“For three nights and days they wandered about the country, in quest of
+the Child whom they would worship; but the Star did not appear to them.
+They grew more and more bewildered, and suffered the most overwhelming
+anguish and despair. On the third day they came to this well to drink.
+Then God had pardoned their sin. And, as they bent over the water, they
+saw in its depths the reflection of the Star which had brought them from
+the Orient. Instantly they saw it also in the heavens and it led them
+again to the grotto in Bethlehem, where they fell upon their knees
+before the Child and said: ‘We bring thee golden vessels filled with
+incense and costly spices. Thou shalt be the greatest king that ever
+lived upon earth, from its creation even unto its destruction.’
+
+“Then the Child laid his hand upon their lowered heads, and when they
+rose, lo! the Child had given them gifts greater than a king could have
+granted; for the old beggar had grown young, the leper was made whole,
+and the negro was transformed into a beautiful white man. And it is said
+of them that they were glorious! and that they departed and became
+kings—each in his own kingdom.”
+
+The Drought paused in his story, and the three strangers praised it.
+“Thou hast spoken well,” said they. “But it surprises me,” said one of
+them, “that the three wise men do nothing for the well which showed them
+the Star. Shall they entirely forget such a great blessing?”
+
+“Should not this well remain perpetually,” said the second stranger, “to
+remind mankind that happiness, which is lost on the heights of pride and
+vainglory, will let itself be found again in the depths of humility?”
+
+“Are the departed worse than the living?” asked the third. “Does
+gratitude die with those who live in Paradise?”
+
+But as he heard this, the Drought sprang up with a wild cry. He had
+recognized the strangers! He understood who the strangers were, and fled
+from them like a madman, that he might not witness how The Three Wise
+Men called their servants and led their camels, laden with water-sacks,
+to the Well and filled the poor dying Well with water, which they had
+brought with them from Paradise.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Bethlehem’s Children]
+
+                          BETHLEHEM’S CHILDREN
+
+
+Just outside the Bethlehem gate stood a Roman soldier, on guard. He was
+arrayed in full armor, with helmet. At his side he wore a short sword,
+and held in his hand a long spear. He stood there all day almost
+motionless, so that one could readily have believed him to be a man made
+of iron. The city people went in and out of the gate and beggars lolled
+in the shade under the archway, fruit venders and wine dealers set their
+baskets and jugs down on the ground beside the soldier, but he scarcely
+took the trouble to turn his head to look at them.
+
+It seemed as though he wanted to say: This is nothing to see. What do I
+care about you who labor and barter and come driving with oil casks and
+wine sacks! Let me see an army prepare to meet the enemy! Let me see the
+excitement and the hot struggle, when horsemen charge down upon a troop
+of foot-soldiers! Let me see the brave men who rush forward to scale the
+walls of a beleaguered city! Nothing is pleasing to my sight but war. I
+long to see the Roman Eagles glisten in the air! I long for the
+trumpets’ blast, for shining weapons, for the splash of red blood!
+
+Just beyond the city gate lay a fine meadow, overgrown with lilies. Day
+by day the soldier stood with his eyes turned toward this meadow, but
+never for a moment did he think of admiring the extraordinary beauty of
+the flowers. Sometimes he noticed that the passers-by stopped to admire
+the lilies, and it amazed him to think that people would delay their
+travels to look at anything so trivial. These people do not know what is
+beautiful, thought he.
+
+And as he thought thus, he saw no more the green fields and olive groves
+round about Bethlehem; but dreamed himself away in a burning-hot desert
+in sunny Libya. He saw a legion of soldiers march forward in a long,
+straight line over the yellow, trackless sand. There was no protection
+against the sun’s piercing rays, no cooling stream, no apparent
+boundaries to the desert, and no goal in sight, no end to their
+wanderings. He saw soldiers, exhausted by hunger and thirst, march
+forward with faltering step; he saw one after another drop to the
+ground, overcome by the scorching heat. Nevertheless, they marched
+onward without a murmur, without a thought of deserting their leader and
+turning back.
+
+Now, _there_ is something beautiful! thought the soldier, something that
+is worth the glance of a valiant man!
+
+Since the soldier stood on guard at the same post day after day, he had
+the best opportunity to watch the pretty children who played about him.
+But it was with the children as with the flowers: he didn’t understand
+that it could be worth his while to notice them. What is this to rejoice
+over? thought he, when he saw people smile as they watched the
+children’s games. It is strange that any one can find pleasure in a mere
+nothing.
+
+One day when the soldier was standing at his accustomed post, he saw a
+little boy about three years old come out on the meadow to play. He was
+a poor lad, who was dressed in a scanty sheepskin, and who played quite
+by himself. The soldier stood and regarded the newcomer almost without
+being aware of it himself. The first thing that attracted him was that
+the little one ran so lightly over the field that he seemed scarcely to
+touch the tips of the grass-blades. Later, as he followed the child’s
+play, he was even more astonished. “By my sword!” he exclaimed, “this
+child does not play like the others. What can it be that occupies him?”
+
+As the child played only a few paces away, he could see well enough what
+the little one was doing. He saw how he reached out his hand to capture
+a bee that sat upon the edge of a flower and was so heavily laden with
+pollen that it could hardly lift its wings for flight. He saw, to his
+great surprise, that the bee let itself be taken without trying to
+escape, and without using its sting. When the little one held the bee
+secure between his fingers, he ran over to a crack in the city wall,
+where a swarm of bees had their home, and set the bee down. As soon as
+he had helped one bee in this way, he hastened back to help another. All
+day long the soldier saw him catch bees and carry them to their home.
+
+“That boy is certainly more foolish than any I’ve seen hitherto,”
+thought the soldier. “What put it into his head to try and help these
+bees, who can take such good care of themselves without him, and who can
+sting him at that? What kind of a man will he become if he lives, I
+wonder?”
+
+The little one came back day after day and played in the meadow, and the
+soldier couldn’t help marveling at him and his games.
+
+“It is very strange,” thought he. “Here I have stood on guard for fully
+three years, and thus far I have seen nothing that could interest me,
+except this infant.”
+
+But the soldier was in nowise pleased with the child; quite the reverse!
+For this child reminded him of a dreadful prediction made by an old
+Hebrew seer, who had prophesied that a time of peace should come to this
+world some day; during a period of a thousand years no blood would be
+shed, no wars waged, but human beings would love one another like
+brethren. When the soldier thought that anything so dreadful might
+really come to pass, a shudder passed through his body, and he gripped
+his spear hard, as if he sought support.
+
+And now, the more the soldier saw of the little one and his play, the
+more he thought of the Thousand-year Reign of Peace. He did not fear
+that it had come already, but he did not like to be reminded of anything
+so hateful!
+
+One day, when the little one was playing among the flowers on the pretty
+meadow, a very heavy shower came bursting through the clouds. When he
+noticed how big and heavy the drops were that beat down upon the
+sensitive lilies, he seemed anxious for his pretty friends. He hurried
+away to the biggest and loveliest among them, and bent towards the
+ground the stiff stalk which held up the lily, so that the raindrops
+caught the chalices on their under side. As soon as he had treated one
+flower like this, he ran to another and bent its stem in the same way,
+so that the flower-cups were turned toward the ground. And then to a
+third and a fourth, until all the flowers in the meadow were protected
+against the rainfall.
+
+The soldier smiled to himself when he saw the boy’s work. “I’m afraid
+the lilies won’t thank him for this,” said he. “Naturally, every stalk
+is broken. It will never do to bend such stiff growths in that way!”
+
+But when the shower was over, the soldier saw the little lad hurry over
+to the lilies and raise them up. To his utter astonishment, the boy
+straightened the stiff stalks without the least difficulty. It was
+apparent that not one of them was either broken or bruised. He ran from
+flower to flower, and soon all the rescued lilies shone in their full
+splendor in the meadow.
+
+When the soldier saw this, he was seized with a singular rage. “What a
+queer child!” thought he. “It is incredible that he can undertake
+anything so idiotic. What kind of a man will he make, who cannot even
+bear to see a lily destroyed? How would it turn out if such a one had to
+go to war? What would he do if they ordered him to burn a house filled
+with women and children, or to sink a ship with all souls on board?”
+
+Again he thought of the old prophecy, and he began to fear that the time
+had actually come for its fulfilment. “Since a child like this is here,”
+thought he, “perhaps this awful time is very close at hand. Already,
+peace prevails over the whole earth; and surely the day of war will
+nevermore dawn. From this time forth, all peoples will be of the same
+mind as this child: they will be afraid to injure one another, yea, they
+will not have the heart even to crush a bee or a flower! No great deeds
+will be done, no glorious battles won, and no brilliant triumvirate will
+march up to the Capitol. Nothing more will happen that a brave man could
+long for.”
+
+And the soldier—who all the while hoped he would soon live through new
+wars and longed, through daring feats, to raise himself to power and
+riches—felt so exasperated with the little three-year-old that he
+raised his spear threateningly the next time the child ran past.
+
+Another day it was neither the bees nor the lilies the little one sought
+to protect, but he undertook something which struck the soldier as being
+much more needless and thankless.
+
+It was a fearfully hot day, and the sunrays fell upon the soldier’s
+helmet and armor and heated them until he felt as if he wore a suit of
+fire. To the passers-by it looked as if he must suffer tortures from the
+heat. His bloodshot eyes were ready to burst from their sockets, and his
+lips were dry and shriveled. But as he was inured to the burning heat of
+African deserts, he thought this a mere trifle, and it didn’t occur to
+him to move from his accustomed place. On the contrary, he took pleasure
+in showing the passers-by that he was so strong and hardy and did not
+need to seek shelter from the sun.
+
+While he stood thus, and let himself be nearly broiled alive, the little
+boy who was wont to play in the meadow came suddenly up to him. He knew
+very well that the soldier was not one of his friends and so he was
+always careful not to come within reach of his spear; but now he ran up
+to him, and regarded him long and carefully; then he hurried as fast as
+he could towards the road. When he came back, he held both hands like a
+bowl, and carried in this way a few drops of water.
+
+“Mayhap this infant has taken it upon himself to run and fetch water for
+me,” thought the soldier. “He is certainly wanting in common sense.
+Should not a Roman soldier be able to stand a little heat! What need for
+that youngster to run around and help those who require no help! I don’t
+want his compassion. I wish he and all like him were out of the world!”
+
+The little one came walking very slowly. He held his fingers close
+together, so that nothing should be spilled or wasted. All the while, as
+he was nearing the soldier, he kept his eyes anxiously fixed upon the
+little water which he brought with him, and did not see that the man
+stood there frowning, with a forbidding look in his eye. Then the child
+came up to the soldier and offered him the water.
+
+On the way his heavy blond curls had tumbled down over his forehead and
+eyes. He shook his head several times to get the hair out of his eyes,
+so that he could look up. When he succeeded at last, and became
+conscious of the hard expression on the soldier’s face, he was not
+frightened, but stood still and begged him, with a bewitching smile, to
+taste of the water which he had brought with him. But the soldier felt
+no desire to accept a kindness from the child, whom he regarded as his
+enemy. He did not look down into his pretty face, but stood rigid and
+immovable, and showed no sign that he understood what the child wished
+to do for him.
+
+Nor could the child understand that the man wished to repel him. He
+smiled all the while just as confidently, raised himself on the tips of
+his toes, and stretched his hands as high as he could that the big
+soldier might more easily get at the water.
+
+The soldier felt so insulted because a mere child wished to help him
+that he gripped his spear to drive the little one away.
+
+But just at that moment the extreme heat and sunshine beat down upon the
+soldier with such intensity that he saw red flames dance before his eyes
+and felt his brains melt within his head. He feared the sun would kill
+him, if he could not find instant relief.
+
+Beside himself with terror at the danger hovering over him, the soldier
+threw his spear on the ground, seized the child with both hands, lifted
+him up, and absorbed as much as he could of the water which the little
+one held in his hands.
+
+Only a few drops touched his tongue, but more was not needed. As soon as
+he had tasted of the water, a delicious coolness surged through his
+body, and he felt no more that the helmet and armor burnt and oppressed
+him. The sunrays had lost their deadly power. His dry lips became soft
+and moist again, and red flames no longer danced before his eyes.
+
+Before he had time to realize all this, he had already put down the
+child, who ran back to the meadow to play. Astonished, the soldier began
+to say to himself: “What kind of water was this that the child gave me?
+It was a glorious drink! I must really show him my gratitude.”
+
+But inasmuch as he hated the little one, he soon dismissed this idea.
+“It is only a child,” thought he, “and does not know why he acts in this
+way or that way. He plays only the play that pleases him best. Does he
+perhaps receive any gratitude from the bees or the lilies? On that
+youngster’s account I need give myself no trouble. He doesn’t even know
+that he has succored me.”
+
+The soldier felt, if possible, even more exasperated with the child a
+moment later, when he saw the commander of the Roman soldiers, who were
+encamped in Bethlehem, come out through the gate. “Just see what a risk
+I have run through that little one’s rash behavior!” thought he. “If by
+chance Voltigius had come a moment earlier, he would have seen me
+standing with a child in my arms.”
+
+Meanwhile, the Commander walked straight up to the soldier and asked him
+if they might speak together there without danger of being overheard. He
+had a secret to impart to him. “If we move ten paces from the gate,”
+replied the soldier, “no one can hear us.”
+
+“You know,” said the Commander, “that King Herod, time and again, has
+tried to get possession of a child that is growing up here in Bethlehem.
+His soothsayers and priests have told him that this child shall ascend
+his throne. Moreover, they have predicted that the new King will
+inaugurate a thousand-year reign of peace and holiness. You understand,
+of course, that Herod would willingly make him—Harmless!”
+
+“I understand!” said the soldier eagerly. “But that ought to be the
+easiest thing in the world.”
+
+“It would certainly be very easy,” said the Commander, “if the King only
+knew which one of all the children here in Bethlehem is The One.”
+
+The soldier knit his brows. “It is a pity his soothsayers can not
+enlighten him about this,” said he.
+
+“But now Herod has hit upon a ruse, whereby he believes he can make the
+young Peace-Prince harmless,” continued the Commander. “He promises a
+handsome gift to each and all who will help him.”
+
+“Whatsoever Voltigius commands shall be carried out, even without money
+or gifts,” said the soldier.
+
+“I thank you,” replied the Commander. “Listen, now, to the King’s plan!
+He intends to celebrate the birthday of his youngest son by arranging a
+festival, to which all male children in Bethlehem, who are between the
+ages of two and three years, shall be bidden, together with their
+mothers. And during this festival——” He checked himself suddenly, and
+laughed when he saw the look of disgust on the soldier’s face.
+
+“My friend,” he continued, “you need not fear that Herod thinks of using
+us as child-nurses. Now bend your ear to my mouth, and I’ll confide to
+you his design.”
+
+The Commander whispered long with the soldier, and when he had disclosed
+all, he said:
+
+“I need hardly tell you that absolute silence is imperative, lest the
+whole undertaking miscarry.”
+
+“You know, Voltigius, that you can rely on me,” said the soldier.
+
+When the Commander had gone and the soldier once more stood alone at his
+post, he looked around for the child. The little one played all the
+while among the flowers, and the soldier caught himself thinking that
+the boy swayed above them as light and attractive as a butterfly.
+
+Suddenly he began to laugh. “True,” said he, “I shall not have to vex
+myself very long over this child. He shall be bidden to the feast of
+Herod this evening.”
+
+He remained at his post all that day, until the even was come, and it
+was time to close the city gate for the night.
+
+When this was done, he wandered through narrow and dark streets, to a
+splendid palace which Herod owned in Bethlehem.
+
+In the center of this immense palace was a large stone-paved court
+encircled by buildings, around which ran three open galleries, one above
+the other. The King had ordered that the festival for the Bethlehem
+children should be held on the uppermost of these galleries.
+
+This gallery, by the King’s express command, was transformed so that it
+looked like a covered walk in a beautiful flower-garden. The ceiling was
+hidden by creeping vines hung with thick clusters of luscious grapes,
+and alongside the walls, and against the pillars stood small pomegranate
+trees, laden with ripe fruit. The floors were strewn with rose-leaves,
+lying thick and soft like a carpet. And all along the balustrades, the
+cornices, the tables, and the low divans, ran garlands of lustrous white
+lilies.
+
+Here and there in this flower garden stood great marble basins where
+glittering gold and silver fish played in the transparent water.
+Multi-colored birds from distant lands sat in the trees, and in a cage
+sat an old raven that chattered incessantly.
+
+When the festival began children and mothers filed into the gallery.
+Immediately after they had entered the palace, the children were arrayed
+in white dresses with purple borders and were given wreaths of roses for
+their dark, curly heads. The women came in, regal, in their crimson and
+blue robes, and their white veils, which hung in long, loose folds from
+high-peaked head-dresses, adorned with gold coins and chains. Some
+carried their children mounted upon their shoulders; others led their
+sons by the hand; some, again, whose children were afraid or shy, had
+taken them up in their arms.
+
+The women seated themselves on the floor of the gallery. As soon as they
+had taken their places, slaves came in and placed before them low
+tables, which they spread with the choicest of foods and wines—as
+befitting a King’s feast—and all these happy mothers began to eat and
+drink, maintaining all the while that proud, graceful dignity, which is
+the greatest ornament of the Bethlehem women.
+
+Along the farthest wall of the gallery, and almost hidden by
+flower-garlands and fruit trees, was stationed a double line of soldiers
+in full armor. They stood, perfectly immovable, as if they had no
+concern with that which went on around them. The women could not refrain
+from casting a questioning glance, now and then, at this troop of
+iron-clad men. “For what are they needed here?” they whispered. “Does
+Herod think we women do not know how to conduct ourselves? Does he
+believe it is necessary for so many soldiers to guard us?”
+
+But others whispered that this was as it should be in a King’s home.
+Herod himself never gave a banquet without having his house filled with
+soldiers. It was to honor them that the heavily armored warriors stood
+there on guard.
+
+During the first few moments of the feast, the children felt timid and
+uncertain, and sat quietly beside their mothers. But soon they began to
+move about and take possession of all the good things which Herod
+offered them.
+
+It was an enchanted land that the King had created for his little
+guests. When they wandered through the gallery, they found bee-hives
+whose honey they could pillage without the interference of a single
+crotchety bee. They found trees which, bending, lowered their
+fruit-laden branches down to them. In a corner they found magicians who,
+on the instant, conjured their pockets full of toys; and in another
+corner they discovered a wild-beast tamer who showed them a pair of
+tigers, so tame that they could ride them.
+
+But in this paradise with all its joys there was nothing which so
+attracted the attention of these little ones as the long line of
+soldiers who stood immovable at the extreme end of the gallery. Their
+eyes were captivated by their shining helmets, their stern, haughty
+faces, and their short swords, which reposed in richly jeweled sheaths.
+
+All the while, as they played and romped with one another, they thought
+continually about the soldiers. They still held themselves at a
+distance, but they longed to get near the men to see if they were alive
+and really could move themselves.
+
+The play and festivities increased every moment, but the soldiers stood
+all the while immovable. It seemed incredible to the little ones that
+people could stand so near the clusters of grapes and all the other
+dainties, without reaching out a hand to take them.
+
+Finally, there was one boy who couldn’t restrain his curiosity any
+longer. Slowly, but prepared for hasty retreat, he approached one of the
+armored men; and when he remained just as rigid and motionless, the
+child came nearer and nearer. At last he was so close to him that he
+could touch his shoe latchets and his shins.
+
+Then—as though this had been an unheard-of crime—all at once these
+iron-men set themselves in motion. With indescribable fury they threw
+themselves upon the children, and seized them! Some swung them over
+their heads, like missiles, and flung them between lamps and garlands
+over the balustrade and down to the court, where they were killed the
+instant they struck the stone pavement. Others drew their swords and
+pierced the children’s hearts; others, again, crushed their heads
+against the walls before they threw them down into the dark courtyard.
+
+The first moment after the onslaught, there was an ominous stillness.
+While the tiny bodies still swayed in the air, the women were petrified
+with amazement! But simultaneously all these unhappy mothers awoke to
+understand what had happened, and with one great cry they rushed toward
+the soldiers. There were still a few children left up in the gallery who
+had not been captured during the first attack. The soldiers pursued them
+and their mothers threw themselves in front of them and clutched with
+bare hands the naked swords, to avert the death-blow. Several women,
+whose children were already dead, threw themselves upon the soldiers,
+clutched them by the throat, and sought to avenge the death of their
+little ones by strangling their murderers.
+
+During this wild confusion, while fearful shrieks rang through the
+palace, and the most inhuman death cruelties were being enacted, the
+soldier who was wont to stand on guard at the city gate stood motionless
+at the head of the stairs which led down from the gallery. He took no
+part in the strife and the murder: only against the women who had
+succeeded in snatching their children and tried to fly down the stairs
+with them did he lift his sword. And just the sight of him, where he
+stood, grim and inflexible, was so terrifying that the fleeing ones
+chose rather to cast themselves over the balustrade or turn back into
+the heat of the struggle, than risk the danger of crowding past him.
+
+“Voltigius certainly did the right thing when he gave _me_ this post,”
+thought the soldier. “A young and thoughtless warrior would have left
+his place and rushed into the confusion. If I had let myself be tempted
+away from here, ten children at least would have escaped.”
+
+While he was thinking of this, a young woman, who had snatched up her
+child, came rushing towards him in hurried flight. None of the warriors
+whom she had to pass could stop her, because they were in the midst of
+the struggle with other women, and in this way she had reached the end
+of the gallery.
+
+“Ah, there’s one who is about to escape!” thought the soldier. “Neither
+she nor the child is wounded.”
+
+The woman came toward the soldier with such speed that she appeared to
+be flying, and he didn’t have time to distinguish the features of either
+the woman or her child. He only pointed his sword at them, and the
+woman, with the child in her arms, dashed against it. He expected that
+the next second both she and the child would fall to the ground pierced
+through and through.
+
+But just then the soldier heard an angry buzzing over his head, and the
+next instant he felt a sharp pain in one eye. It was so intense that he
+was stunned, bewildered, and the sword dropped from his hand. He raised
+his hand to his eye and caught hold of a bee, and understood that that
+which caused this awful suffering was only the sting of the tiny
+creature. Quick as a flash, he stooped down and picked up his sword, in
+the hope that as yet it was not too late to intercept the runaways.
+
+But the little bee had done its work very well.
+
+During the short time that the soldier was blinded, the young mother had
+succeeded in rushing past him and down the stairs; and although he
+hurried after her with all haste, he could not find her. She had
+vanished; and in all that great palace there was no one who could
+discover any trace of her.
+
+The following morning, the soldier, together with several of his
+comrades, stood on guard, just within the city gate. The hour was early,
+and the city gates had only just been opened. But it appeared as though
+no one had expected that they would be opened that morning; for no
+throngs of field laborers streamed out of the city, as they usually did
+of a morning. All the Bethlehem inhabitants were so filled with terror
+over the night’s bloodshed that no one dared to leave his home.
+
+“By my sword!” said the soldier, as he stood and stared down the narrow
+street which led toward the gate, “I believe Voltigius has made a stupid
+blunder. It would have been better had he kept the gates closed and
+ordered a thorough search of every house in the city, until he had found
+the boy who managed to escape from the feast. Voltigius expects that his
+parents will try to get him away from here as soon as they learn that
+the gates are open. I fear this is not a wise calculation. How easily
+they could conceal a child!”
+
+He wondered if they would try to hide the child in a fruit basket or in
+some huge oil cask, or amongst the grain-bales of a caravan.
+
+While he stood there on the watch for any attempt to deceive him in this
+way, he saw a man and a woman who came hurriedly down the street and
+were nearing the gate. They walked rapidly and cast anxious looks behind
+them, as though they were fleeing from some danger. The man held an ax
+in his hand with a firm grip, as if determined to fight should any one
+bar his way. But the soldier did not look at the man as much as he did
+at the woman. He thought that she was just as tall as the young mother
+who got away from him the night before. He observed also that she had
+thrown her skirt over her head. “Perhaps she wears it like this,”
+thought he, “to conceal the fact that she holds a child on her arm.”
+
+The nearer they approached, the plainer he saw the child which the woman
+bore on her arm outlined under the raised robe. “I’m positive it is the
+one who got away last night. I didn’t see her face, but I recognize the
+tall figure. And here she comes now, with the child on her arm, and
+without even trying to keep it concealed. I had not dared to hope for
+such a lucky chance,” said the soldier to himself.
+
+The man and woman continued their rapid pace all the way to the city
+gate. Evidently, they had not anticipated being intercepted here. They
+trembled with fright when the soldier leveled his spear at them, and
+barred their passage.
+
+“Why do you refuse to let us go out in the fields to our work?” asked
+the man.
+
+“You may go presently,” said the soldier, “but first I must see what
+your wife has hidden behind her robe.”
+
+“What is there to see?” said the man. “It is only bread and wine, which
+we must live upon to-day.”
+
+“You speak the truth, perchance,” said the soldier, “but if it is as you
+say, why does she turn away? Why does she not willingly let me see what
+she carries?”
+
+“I do not wish that you shall see it,” said the man, “and I command you
+to let us pass!”
+
+With this he raised his ax, but the woman laid her hand on his arm.
+
+“Enter thou not into strife!” she pleaded. “I will try some other way. I
+shall let him see what I bear, and I know that he can not harm it.” With
+a proud and confident smile she turned toward the soldier, and threw
+back a fold of her robe.
+
+Instantly the soldier staggered back and closed his eyes, as if dazed by
+a strong light. That which the woman held concealed under her robe
+reflected such a dazzling white light that at first he did not know what
+he saw.
+
+“I thought you held a child on your arm,” he said.
+
+“You see what I hold,” the woman answered.
+
+Then the soldier finally saw that that which dazzled and shone was only
+a cluster of white lilies, the same kind that grew in the meadow; but
+their luster was much richer and more radiant. He could hardly bear to
+look at them.
+
+He stuck his hand in among the flowers. He couldn’t help thinking that
+it must be a child the woman carried, but he felt only the cool
+flower-petals.
+
+He was bitterly deceived, and in his wrath he would gladly have taken
+both the man and the woman prisoners, but he knew that he could give no
+reason for such a proceeding.
+
+When the woman saw his confusion, she said: “Will you not let us go
+now?”
+
+The soldier quietly lowered the spear and stepped aside.
+
+The woman drew her robe over the flowers once more, and at the same time
+she looked with a sweet smile upon that which she bore on her arm. “I
+knew that you could not harm it, did you but see it,” she said to the
+soldier.
+
+With this, they hastened away; and the soldier stood and stared after
+them as long as they were within sight.
+
+While he followed them with his eyes, he almost felt sure that the woman
+did not carry on her arm a cluster of lilies, but an actual, living
+child.
+
+While he still stood and stared after the wanderers, he heard loud
+shouts from the street. It was Voltigius, with several of his men, who
+came running.
+
+“Stop them!” they cried. “Close the gates on them! Don’t let them
+escape!”
+
+And when they came up to the soldier, they said that they had tracked
+the runaway boy. They had sought him in his home, but then he had
+escaped again. They had seen his parents hasten away with him. The
+father was a strong, gray-bearded man who carried an ax; the mother was
+a tall woman who held a child concealed under a raised robe.
+
+The same moment that Voltigius related this, there came a Bedouin riding
+in through the gate on a good horse. Without a word, the soldier rushed
+up to the rider, jerked him down off the horse and threw him to the
+ground, and, with one bound, jumped into the saddle and dashed away
+toward the road.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two days later, the soldier rode forward through the dreary
+mountain-desert, which is the whole southern part of Judea. All the
+while he was pursuing the three fugitives from Bethlehem, and he was
+beside himself because the fruitless hunt never came to an end.
+
+“It looks, forsooth, as though these creatures had the power to sink
+into the earth,” he grumbled. “How many times during these days have I
+not been so close to them that I’ve been on the point of throwing my
+spear at the child, and yet they have escaped me! I begin to think that
+I shall never catch up with them.”
+
+He felt despondent, like one who believes he is struggling against some
+superior power. He asked himself if it might not be possible that the
+gods protected these people against him.
+
+“This trouble is in vain. Let me turn back before I perish from hunger
+and thirst in this barren land!” he said to himself, again and again.
+Then he was seized with fear of that which awaited him on his
+home-coming, should he turn back without having accomplished his
+mission.
+
+Twice he had permitted the child to escape, and neither Voltigius nor
+Herod would pardon him for anything of the kind.
+
+“As long as Herod knows that one of the Bethlehem children still lives,
+he will always be haunted by the same anxiety and dread,” said the
+soldier. “Most likely he will try to ease his worries by nailing me to a
+cross.”
+
+It was a hot noonday hour, and he suffered tortures from the ride
+through this mountain district on a road which wound around steep cliffs
+where no breeze stirred. Both horse and rider were ready to drop.
+
+Several hours before he had lost every trace of the fugitives, and he
+felt more disheartened than ever.
+
+“I must give it up,” thought he. “I verily believe it is time wasted to
+pursue them further. They must perish anyway in this awful wilderness.”
+
+As he thought this, he discovered, in a mountain-wall near the roadside,
+the vaulted entrance to a grotto.
+
+Immediately he rode up to the opening. “I will rest a while in this cool
+mountain cave,” thought he. “Then, mayhap, I can continue the pursuit
+with renewed strength.”
+
+As he was about to enter, he was struck with amazement! On each side of
+the opening grew a beautiful lily. The two stalks stood there tall and
+erect and full of blossoms. They sent forth an intoxicating odor of
+honey, and many bees buzzed around them.
+
+It was such an uncommon sight in this wilderness that the soldier did
+something extraordinary. He broke off a large white flower and took it
+with him into the cave.
+
+The cave was neither deep nor dark, and as soon as he entered he saw
+that there were already three travelers within: a man, a woman, and a
+child, who lay stretched out upon the ground, lost in deep slumber.
+
+The soldier had never before felt his heart beat as it did at this
+vision. They were the three runaways whom he had hunted so long. He
+recognized them instantly. And here they lay sleeping, unable to defend
+themselves and wholly in his power.
+
+He drew his sword quickly and bent over the sleeping child.
+
+Cautiously he lowered the sword toward the infant’s heart, and measured
+carefully, in order to kill with a single thrust.
+
+He paused an instant to look at the child’s countenance. Now, when he
+was certain of victory, he felt a grim pleasure in beholding his victim.
+
+But when he saw the child his joy increased, for he recognized the
+little boy whom he had seen play with bees and lilies in the meadow
+beyond the city gate.
+
+“Why, of course I should have understood this all the time!” thought he.
+“This is why I have always hated the child. This is the pretended Prince
+of Peace.”
+
+He lowered his sword again while he thought: “When I lay this child’s
+head at Herod’s feet, he will make me Commander of his Life Guard.”
+
+As he brought the point of the sword nearer and nearer the heart of the
+sleeping child, he reveled in the thought: “This time, at least, no one
+shall come between us and snatch him from my power.”
+
+But the soldier still held in his hand the lily which he had broken off
+at the grotto entrance; and while he was thinking of his good fortune, a
+bee that had been hidden in its chalice flew towards him and buzzed
+around his head.
+
+He staggered back. Suddenly he remembered the bees which the boy had
+carried to their home, and he remembered that it was a bee that had
+helped the child escape from Herod’s feast. This thought struck him with
+surprise. He held the sword suspended, and stood still and listened for
+the bee.
+
+Now he did not hear the tiny creature’s buzzing. As he stood there,
+perfectly still, he became conscious of the strong, delicious perfume
+which came from the lily that he held in his hand.
+
+Then he began to think of the lilies that the little one had saved; he
+remembered that it was a cluster of lilies that had hidden the child
+from his view and made possible the escape through the city gate.
+
+He became more and more thoughtful, and he drew back the sword.
+
+“The bees and the lilies have requited his good deeds,” he whispered to
+himself. Then he was struck by the thought that the little one had once
+shown even him a kindness, and a deep crimson flush mounted to his brow.
+
+“Can a Roman soldier forget to requite an accepted service?” he
+whispered.
+
+He fought a short battle with himself. He thought of Herod, and of his
+own desire to destroy the young Peace-Prince.
+
+“It does not become me to murder this child who has saved my life,” he
+said, at last.
+
+And he bent down and laid his sword beside the child, that the fugitives
+on awakening should understand the danger they had escaped.
+
+Then he saw that the child was awake. He lay and regarded the soldier
+with the beautiful eyes which shone like stars.
+
+And the warrior bent a knee before the child.
+
+“Lord, _thou_ art the Mighty One!” said he. “Thou art the strong
+Conqueror! Thou art He whom the gods love! Thou art He who shall tread
+upon adders and scorpions!”
+
+He kissed his feet and stole softly out from the grotto, while the
+little one smiled and smiled after him with great, astonished
+child-eyes.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Flight Into Egypt]
+
+                         THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT
+
+
+Far away in one of the Eastern deserts many, many years ago grew a palm
+tree, which was both exceedingly old and exceedingly tall.
+
+All who passed through the desert had to stop and gaze at it, for it was
+much larger than other palms; and they used to say of it, that some day
+it would certainly be taller than the obelisks and pyramids.
+
+Where the huge palm tree stood in its solitude and looked out over the
+desert, it saw something one day which made its mighty leaf-crown sway
+back and forth on its slender trunk with astonishment. Over by the
+desert borders walked two human beings. They were still at the distance
+at which camels appear to be as tiny as moths; but they were certainly
+two human beings—two who were strangers in the desert; for the palm
+knew the desert-folk. They were a man and a woman who had neither guide
+nor pack-camels; neither tent nor water-sack.
+
+“Verily,” said the palm to itself, “these two have come hither only to
+meet certain death.”
+
+The palm cast a quick, apprehensive glance around.
+
+“It surprises me,” it said, “that the lions are not already out to hunt
+this prey, but I do not see a single one astir; nor do I see any of the
+desert robbers, but they’ll probably soon come.”
+
+“A seven-fold death awaits these travelers,” thought the palm. “The
+lions will devour them, thirst will parch them, the sand-storm will bury
+them, robbers will trap them, sunstroke will blight them, and fear will
+destroy them.”
+
+And the palm tried to think of something else. The fate of these people
+made it sad at heart.
+
+But on the whole desert plain, which lay spread out beneath the palm,
+there was nothing which it had not known and looked upon these thousand
+years. Nothing in particular could arrest its attention. Again it had to
+think of the two wanderers.
+
+“By the drought and the storm!” said the palm, calling upon Life’s most
+dangerous enemies. “What is that that the woman carries on her arm? I
+believe these fools also bring a little child with them!”
+
+The palm, who was far-sighted—as the old usually are,—actually saw
+aright. The woman bore on her arm a child, that leaned against her
+shoulder and slept.
+
+“The child hasn’t even sufficient clothing on,” said the palm. “I see
+that the mother has tucked up her skirt and thrown it over the child.
+She must have snatched him from his bed in great haste and rushed off
+with him. I understand now: these people are runaways.
+
+“But they are fools, nevertheless,” continued the palm. “Unless an angel
+protects them, they would have done better to have let their enemies do
+their worst, than to venture into this wilderness.
+
+“I can imagine how the whole thing came about. The man stood at his
+work; the child slept in his crib; the woman had gone out to fetch
+water. When she was a few steps from the door, she saw enemies coming.
+She rushed back to the house, snatched up her child, and fled.
+
+“Since then, they have been fleeing for several days. It is very certain
+that they have not rested a moment. Yes, everything has happened in this
+way, but still I say that unless an angel protects them——
+
+“They are so frightened that, as yet, they feel neither fatigue nor
+suffering. But I see their thirst by the strange gleam in their eyes.
+Surely I ought to know a thirsty person’s face!”
+
+And when the palm began to think of thirst, a shudder passed through its
+tall trunk, and the long leaves’ numberless lobes rolled up, as though
+they had been held over a fire.
+
+“Were I a human being,” it said, “I should never venture into the
+desert. He is pretty brave who dares come here without having roots that
+reach down to the never-dying water veins. Here it can be dangerous even
+for palms; yea, even for a palm such as I.
+
+“If I could counsel them, I should beg them to turn back. Their enemies
+could never be as cruel toward them as the desert. Perhaps they think it
+is easy to live in the desert! But I know that, now and then, even I
+have found it hard to keep alive. I recollect one time in my youth when
+a hurricane threw a whole mountain of sand over me. I came near choking.
+If I could have died that would have been my last moment.”
+
+The palm continued to think aloud, as the aged and solitary habitually
+do.
+
+“I hear a wondrously beautiful melody rush through my leaves,” it said.
+“All the lobes on my leaves are quivering. I know not what it is that
+takes possession of me at the sight of these poor strangers. But this
+unfortunate woman is so beautiful! She carries me back, in memory, to
+the most wonderful thing that I ever experienced.”
+
+And while the leaves continued to move in a soft melody, the palm was
+reminded how once, very long ago, two illustrious personages had visited
+the oasis. They were the Queen of Sheba and Solomon the Wise. The
+beautiful Queen was to return to her own country; the King had
+accompanied her on the journey, and now they were going to part. “In
+remembrance of this hour,” said the Queen then, “I now plant a date seed
+in the earth, and I wish that from it shall spring a palm which shall
+grow and live until a King shall arise in Judea, greater than Solomon.”
+And when she had said this, she planted the seed in the earth and
+watered it with her tears.
+
+“How does it happen that I am thinking of this just to-day?” said the
+palm. “Can this woman be so beautiful that she reminds me of the most
+glorious of queens, of her by whose word I have lived and flourished
+until this day?
+
+“I hear my leaves rustle louder and louder,” said the palm, “and it
+sounds as melancholy as a dirge. It is as though they prophesied that
+some one would soon leave this life. It is well to know that it does not
+apply to me, since I can not die.”
+
+The palm assumed that the death-rustle in its leaves must apply to the
+two lone wanderers. It is certain that they too believed that their last
+hour was nearing. One saw it from their expression as they walked past
+the skeleton of a camel which lay in their path. One saw it from the
+glances they cast back at a pair of passing vultures. It couldn’t be
+otherwise; they must perish!
+
+They had caught sight of the palm and oasis and hastened thither to find
+water. But when they arrived at last, they collapsed from despair, for
+the well was dry. The woman, worn out, laid the child down and seated
+herself beside the well-curb, and wept. The man flung himself down
+beside her and beat upon the dry earth with his fists. The palm heard
+how they talked with each other about their inevitable death. It also
+gleaned from their conversation that King Herod had ordered the
+slaughter of all male children from two to three years old, because he
+feared that the long-looked-for King of the Jews had been born.
+
+“It rustles louder and louder in my leaves,” said the palm. “These poor
+fugitives will soon see their last moment.”
+
+It perceived also that they dreaded the desert. The man said it would
+have been better if they had stayed at home and fought with the
+soldiers, than to fly hither. He said that they would have met an easier
+death.
+
+“God will help us,” said the woman.
+
+“We are alone among beasts of prey and serpents,” said the man. “We have
+no food and no water. How should God be able to help us?” In despair he
+rent his garments and pressed his face against the dry earth. He was
+hopeless—like a man with a death-wound in his heart.
+
+The woman sat erect, with her hands clasped over her knees. But the
+looks she cast towards the desert spoke of a hopelessness beyond bounds.
+
+The palm heard the melancholy rustle in its leaves growing louder and
+louder. The woman must have heard it also, for she turned her gaze
+upward toward the palm-crown. And instantly she involuntarily raised her
+arms.
+
+“Oh, dates, dates!” she cried. There was such intense agony in her voice
+that the old palm wished itself no taller than a broom and that the
+dates were as easy to reach as the buds on a brier bush. It probably
+knew that its crown was full of date clusters, but how should a human
+being reach such a height?
+
+The man had already seen how beyond all reach the date clusters hung. He
+did not even raise his head. He begged his wife not to long for the
+impossible.
+
+But the child, who had toddled about by himself and played with sticks
+and straws, had heard the mother’s outcry.
+
+Of course the little one could not imagine that his mother should not
+get everything she wished for. The instant she said dates, he began to
+stare at the tree. He pondered and pondered how he should bring down the
+dates. His forehead was almost drawn into wrinkles under the golden
+curls. At last a smile stole over his face. He had found the way. He
+went up to the palm and stroked it with his little hand, and said, in a
+sweet, childish voice:
+
+“Palm, bend thee! Palm, bend thee!”
+
+But what was that, what was that? The palm leaves rustled as if a
+hurricane had passed through them, and up and down the long trunk
+traveled shudder upon shudder. And the tree felt that the little one was
+its superior. It could not resist him.
+
+And it bowed its long trunk before the child, as people bow before
+princes. In a great bow it bent itself towards the ground, and finally
+it came down so far that the big crown with the trembling leaves swept
+the desert sand.
+
+The child appeared to be neither frightened nor surprised; with a joyous
+cry he loosened cluster after cluster from the old palm’s crown. When he
+had plucked enough dates, and the tree still lay on the ground, the
+child came back again and caressed it and said, in the gentlest voice:
+
+“Palm, raise thee! Palm, raise thee!”
+
+Slowly and reverently the big tree raised itself on its slender trunk,
+while the leaves played like harps.
+
+“Now I know for whom they are playing the death melody,” said the palm
+to itself when it stood erect once more. “It is not for any of these
+people.”
+
+The man and the woman sank upon their knees and thanked God.
+
+“Thou hast seen our agony and removed it. Thou art the Powerful One who
+bendest the palm-trunk like a reed. What enemy should we fear when Thy
+strength protects us?”
+
+The next time a caravan passed through the desert, the travelers saw
+that the great palm’s leaf-crown had withered.
+
+“How can this be?” said a traveler. “This palm was not to die before it
+had seen a King greater than Solomon.”
+
+“Mayhap it hath seen him,” answered another of the desert travelers.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: In Nazareth]
+
+                              IN NAZARETH
+
+
+Once, when Jesus was only five years old, he sat on the doorstep outside
+his father’s workshop, in Nazareth, and made clay cuckoos from a lump of
+clay which the potter across the way had given him. He was happier than
+usual. All the children in the quarter had told Jesus that the potter
+was a disobliging man, who wouldn’t let himself be coaxed, either by
+soft glances or honeyed words, and he had never dared ask aught of him.
+But, you see, he hardly knew how it had come about. He had only stood on
+his doorstep and, with yearning eyes, looked upon the neighbor working
+at his molds, and then that neighbor had come over from his stall and
+given him so much clay that it would have been enough to finish a whole
+wine jug.
+
+On the stoop of the next house sat Judas, his face covered with bruises
+and his clothes full of rents, which he had acquired during his
+continual fights with street urchins. For the moment he was quiet, he
+neither quarreled nor fought, but worked with a bit of clay, just as
+Jesus did. But this clay he had not been able to procure for himself. He
+hardly dared venture within sight of the potter, who complained that he
+was in the habit of throwing stones at his fragile wares, and would have
+driven him away with a good beating. It was Jesus who had divided his
+portion with him.
+
+When the two children had finished their clay cuckoos, they stood the
+birds up in a ring in front of them. These looked just as clay cuckoos
+have always looked. They had big, round lumps to stand on in place of
+feet, short tails, no necks, and almost imperceptible wings.
+
+But, at all events, one saw at once a difference in the work of the
+little playmates. Judas’ birds were so crooked that they tumbled over
+continually; and no matter how hard he worked with his clumsy little
+fingers, he couldn’t get their bodies neat and well formed. Now and then
+he glanced slyly at Jesus, to see how he managed to make his birds as
+smooth and even as the oak-leaves in the forests on Mount Tabor.
+
+As bird after bird was finished, Jesus became happier and happier. Each
+looked more beautiful to him than the last, and he regarded them all
+with pride and affection. They were to be his playmates, his little
+brothers; they should sleep in his bed, keep him company, and sing to
+him when his mother left him. Never before had he thought himself so
+rich; never again could he feel alone or forsaken.
+
+The big brawny water-carrier came walking along, and right after him
+came the huckster, who sat joggingly on his donkey between the large
+empty willow baskets. The water-carrier laid his hand on Jesus’ curly
+head and asked him about his birds; and Jesus told him that they had
+names and that they could sing. All the little birds were come to him
+from foreign lands, and told him things which only he and they knew. And
+Jesus spoke in such a way that both the water-carrier and the huckster
+forgot about their tasks for a full hour, to listen to him.
+
+But when they wished to go farther, Jesus pointed to Judas. “See what
+pretty birds Judas makes!” he said.
+
+Then the huckster good-naturedly stopped his donkey and asked Judas if
+his birds also had names and could sing. But Judas knew nothing of this.
+He was stubbornly silent and did not raise his eyes from his work, and
+the huckster angrily kicked one of his birds and rode on.
+
+In this manner the afternoon passed, and the sun sank so far down that
+its beams could come in through the low city gate, which stood at the
+end of the street and was decorated with a Roman Eagle. This sunshine,
+which came at the close of the day, was perfectly rose-red—as if it had
+become mixed with blood—and it colored everything which came in its
+path, as it filtered through the narrow street. It painted the potter’s
+vessels as well as the log which creaked under the woodman’s saw, and
+the white veil that covered Mary’s face.
+
+But the loveliest of all was the sun’s reflection as it shone on the
+little water-puddles which had gathered in the big, uneven cracks in the
+stones that covered the street. Suddenly Jesus stuck his hand in the
+puddle nearest him. He had conceived the idea that he would paint his
+gray birds with the sparkling sunbeams which had given such pretty color
+to the water, the house-walls, and everything around him.
+
+The sunshine took pleasure in letting itself be captured by him, like
+paint in a paint pot; and when Jesus spread it over the little clay
+birds, it lay still and bedecked them from head to feet with a
+diamond-like luster.
+
+Judas, who every now and then looked at Jesus to see if he made more and
+prettier birds than his, gave a shriek of delight when he saw how Jesus
+painted his clay cuckoos with the sunshine, which he caught from the
+water pools. Judas also dipped his hand in the shining water and tried
+to catch the sunshine.
+
+But the sunshine wouldn’t be caught by him. It slipped through his
+fingers; and no matter how fast he tried to move his hands to get hold
+of it, it got away, and he couldn’t procure a pinch of color for his
+poor birds.
+
+“Wait, Judas!” said Jesus. “I’ll come and paint your birds.”
+
+“No, you shan’t touch them!” cried Judas. “They’re good enough as they
+are.”
+
+He rose, his eyebrows contracted into an ugly frown, his lips
+compressed. And he put his broad foot on the birds and transformed them,
+one after another, into little flat pieces of clay.
+
+When all his birds were destroyed, he walked over to Jesus, who sat and
+caressed his birds—that glittered like jewels. Judas regarded them for
+a moment in silence, then he raised his foot and crushed one of them.
+
+When Judas took his foot away and saw the entire little bird changed
+into a cake of clay, he felt so relieved that he began to laugh, and
+raised his foot to crush another.
+
+“Judas,” said Jesus, “what are you doing? Don’t you see that they are
+alive and can sing?”
+
+But Judas laughed and crushed still another bird.
+
+Jesus looked around for help. Judas was heavily built and Jesus had not
+the strength to hold him back. He glanced around for his mother. She was
+not far away, but before she could have gone there, Judas would have had
+ample time to destroy the birds. The tears sprang to Jesus’ eyes. Judas
+had already crushed four of his birds. There were only three left.
+
+He was annoyed with his birds, who stood so calmly and let themselves be
+trampled upon without paying the slightest attention to the danger.
+Jesus clapped his hands to awaken them; then he shouted: “Fly, fly!”
+
+Then the three birds began to move their tiny wings, and, fluttering
+anxiously, they succeeded in swinging themselves up to the eaves of the
+house, where they were safe.
+
+But when Judas saw that the birds took to their wings and flew at Jesus’
+command, he began to weep. He tore his hair, as he had seen his elders
+do when they were in great trouble, and he threw himself at Jesus’ feet.
+
+Judas lay there and rolled in the dust before Jesus like a dog, and
+kissed his feet and begged that he would raise his foot and crush him,
+as he had done with the clay cuckoos. For Judas loved Jesus and admired
+and worshiped him, and at the same time hated him.
+
+Mary, who sat all the while and watched the children’s play, came up and
+lifted Judas in her arms and seated him on her lap, and caressed him.
+
+“You poor child!” she said to him, “you do not know that you have
+attempted something which no mortal can accomplish. Don’t engage in
+anything of this kind again, if you do not wish to become the unhappiest
+of mortals! What would happen to any one of us who undertook to compete
+with one who paints with sunbeams and blows the breath of life into dead
+clay?”
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: In the Temple]
+
+                             IN THE TEMPLE
+
+
+Once there was a poor family—a man, his wife, and their little son—who
+walked about in the big Temple at Jerusalem. The son was such a pretty
+child! He had hair which fell in long, even curls, and eyes that shone
+like stars.
+
+The son had not been in the Temple since he was big enough to comprehend
+what he saw; and now his parents showed him all its glories. There were
+long rows of pillars and gilded altars; there were holy men who sat and
+instructed their pupils; there was the high priest with his breastplate
+of precious stones. There were the curtains from Babylon, interwoven
+with gold roses; there were the great copper gates, which were so heavy
+that it was hard work for thirty men to swing them back and forth on
+their hinges.
+
+But the little boy, who was only twelve years old, did not care very
+much about seeing all this. His mother told him that that which she
+showed him was the most marvelous in all the world. She told him that it
+would probably be a long time before he should see anything like it
+again. In the poor town of Nazareth, where they lived, there was nothing
+to be seen but gray streets.
+
+Her exhortations did not help matters much. The little boy looked as
+though he would willingly have run away from the magnificent Temple, if
+instead he could have got out and played on the narrow street in
+Nazareth.
+
+But it was singular that the more indifferent the boy appeared, the more
+pleased and happy were the parents. They nodded to each other over his
+head, and were thoroughly satisfied.
+
+At last, the little one looked so tired and bored that the mother felt
+sorry for him. “Now we have walked too far with you,” said she. “Come,
+you shall rest a while.”
+
+She sat down beside a pillar and told him to lie down on the ground and
+rest his head on her knee. He did so, and fell asleep instantly.
+
+He had barely closed his eyes when the wife said to the husband: “I have
+never feared anything so much as the moment when he should come here to
+Jerusalem’s Temple. I believed that when he saw this house of God, he
+would wish to stay here forever.”
+
+“I, too, have been afraid of this journey,” said the man. “At the time
+of his birth, many signs and wonders appeared which betokened that he
+would become a great ruler. But what could royal honors bring him except
+worries and dangers? I have always said that it would be best, both for
+him and for us, if he never became anything but a carpenter in
+Nazareth.”
+
+“Since his fifth year,” said the mother reflectively, “no miracles have
+happened around him. And he does not recall any of the wonders which
+occurred during his early childhood. Now he is exactly like a child
+among other children. God’s will be done above all else! But I have
+almost begun to hope that our Lord in His mercy will choose another for
+the great destinies, and let me keep my son with me.”
+
+“For my part,” said the man, “I am certain that if he learns nothing of
+the signs and wonders which occurred during his first years, then all
+will go well.”
+
+“I never speak with him about any of these marvels,” said the wife. “But
+I fear all the while that, without my having aught to do with it,
+something will happen which will make him understand who he is. I feared
+most of all to bring him to this Temple.”
+
+“You may be glad that the danger is over now,” said the man. “We shall
+soon have him back home in Nazareth.”
+
+“I have feared the wise men in the Temple,” said the woman. “I have
+dreaded the soothsayers who sit here on their rugs. I believed that when
+he should come to their notice, they would stand up and bow before the
+child, and greet him as Judea’s King. It is singular that they do not
+notice his beauty. Such a child has never before come under their eyes.”
+She sat in silence a moment and regarded the child. “I can hardly
+understand it,” said she. “I believed that when he should see these
+judges, who sit in the house of the Holy One and settle the people’s
+disputes, and these teachers who talk with their pupils, and these
+priests who serve the Lord, he would wake up and say: ‘It is here, among
+these judges, these teachers, these priests, that I am born to live.’”
+
+“What happiness would there be for him to sit shut in between these
+pillar-aisles?” interposed the man. “It is better for him to roam on the
+hills and mountains round about Nazareth.”
+
+The mother sighed a little. “He is so happy at home with us!” said she.
+“How contented he seems when he can follow the shepherds on their lonely
+wanderings, or when he can go out in the fields and see the husbandmen
+labor. I can not believe that we are treating him wrongly, when we seek
+to keep him for ourselves.”
+
+“We only spare him the greatest suffering,” said the man.
+
+They continued talking together in this strain until the child awoke
+from his slumber.
+
+“Well,” said the mother, “have you had a good rest? Stand up now, for it
+is drawing on toward evening, and we must return to the camp.”
+
+They were in the most remote part of the building and so began the walk
+towards the entrance.
+
+They had to go through an old arch which had been there ever since the
+time when the first Temple was erected on this spot; and near the arch,
+propped against a wall, stood an old copper trumpet, enormous in length
+and weight, almost like a pillar to raise to the mouth and play upon. It
+stood there dented and battered, full of dust and spiders’ webs, inside
+and outside, and covered with an almost invisible tracing of ancient
+letters. Probably a thousand years had gone by since any one had tried
+to coax a tone out of it.
+
+But when the little boy saw the huge trumpet, he stopped—astonished!
+“What is that?” he asked.
+
+“That is the great trumpet called the Voice of the Prince of this
+World,” replied the mother. “With this, Moses called together the
+Children of Israel, when they were scattered over the wilderness. Since
+his time no one has been able to coax a single tone from it. But he who
+can do this, shall gather all the peoples of earth under his dominion.”
+
+She smiled at this, which she believed to be an old myth; but the little
+boy remained standing beside the big trumpet until she called him. This
+trumpet was the first thing he had seen in the Temple that he liked.
+
+They had not gone far before they came to a big, wide Temple-court.
+Here, in the mountain-foundation itself, was a chasm, deep and
+wide—just as it had been from time immemorial. This chasm King Solomon
+had not wished to fill in when he built the Temple. No bridge had been
+laid over it; no inclosure had he built around the steep abyss. But
+instead, he had stretched across it a sword of steel, several feet long,
+sharpened, and with the blade up. And after ages and ages and many
+changes, the sword still lay across the chasm. Now it had almost rusted
+away. It was no longer securely fastened at the ends, but trembled and
+rocked as soon as any one walked with heavy steps in the Temple Court.
+
+When the mother took the boy in a roundabout way past the chasm, he
+asked: “What bridge is this?”
+
+“It was placed there by King Solomon,” answered the mother, “and we call
+it Paradise Bridge. If you can cross the chasm on this trembling bridge,
+whose surface is thinner than a sunbeam, then you can be sure of getting
+to Paradise.”
+
+She smiled and moved away; but the boy stood still and looked at the
+narrow, trembling steel blade until she called him.
+
+When he obeyed her, she sighed because she had not shown him these two
+remarkable things sooner, so that he might have had sufficient time to
+view them.
+
+Now they walked on without being detained, till they came to the great
+entrance portico with its columns, five-deep. Here, in a corner, were
+two black marble pillars erected on the same foundation, and so close to
+each other that hardly a straw could be squeezed in between them. They
+were tall and majestic, with richly ornamented capitals around which ran
+a row of peculiarly formed beasts’ heads. And there was not an inch on
+these beautiful pillars that did not bear marks and scratches. They were
+worn and damaged like nothing else in the Temple. Even the floor around
+them was worn smooth, and was somewhat hollowed out from the wear of
+many feet.
+
+Once more the boy stopped his mother and asked: “What pillars are
+these?”
+
+“They are pillars which our father Abraham brought with him to Palestine
+from far-away Chaldea, and which he called Righteousness’ Gate. He who
+can squeeze between them is righteous before God and has never committed
+a sin.”
+
+The boy stood still and regarded these pillars with great, open eyes.
+
+“You, surely, do not think of trying to squeeze yourself in between
+them?” laughed the mother. “You see how the floor around them is worn
+away by the many who have attempted to force their way through the
+narrow space; but, believe me, no one has succeeded. Make haste! I hear
+the clanging of the copper gates; the thirty Temple servants have put
+their shoulders to them.”
+
+But all night the little boy lay awake in the tent, and he saw before
+him nothing but Righteousness’ Gate and Paradise Bridge and the Voice of
+the Prince of this World. Never before had he heard of such wonderful
+things, and he couldn’t get them out of his head.
+
+And on the morning of the next day it was the same thing: he couldn’t
+think of anything else. That morning they were to leave for home. The
+parents had much to do before they took the tent down and loaded it upon
+a big camel, and before everything else was in order. They were not
+going to travel alone, but in company with many relatives and neighbors.
+And since there were so many, the packing naturally went on very slowly.
+
+The little boy did not assist in the work, but in the midst of the hurry
+and confusion he sat still and thought about the three wonderful things.
+
+Suddenly he concluded that he would have time enough to go back to the
+Temple and take another look at them. There was still much to be packed
+away. He could probably manage to get back from the Temple before the
+departure.
+
+He hastened away without telling any one where he was going to. He
+didn’t think it was necessary. He would soon return, of course.
+
+It wasn’t long before he reached the Temple and entered the portico
+where the two pillars stood.
+
+As soon as he saw them, his eyes danced with joy. He sat down on the
+floor beside them, and gazed up at them. As he thought that he who could
+squeeze between these two pillars was accounted righteous before God and
+had never committed sin, he fancied he had never seen anything so
+wonderful.
+
+He thought how glorious it would be to be able to squeeze in between the
+two pillars, but they stood so close together that it was impossible
+even to try it. In this way, he sat motionless before the pillars for
+well-nigh an hour; but this he did not know. He thought he had looked at
+them only a few moments.
+
+But it happened that, in the portico where the little boy sat, the
+judges of the high court were assembled to help folks settle their
+differences.
+
+The whole portico was filled with people, who complained about boundary
+lines that had been moved, about sheep which had been carried away from
+the flocks and branded with false marks, about debtors who wouldn’t pay.
+
+Among them came a rich man dressed in a trailing purple robe, who
+brought before the court a poor widow who was supposed to owe him a few
+silver shekels. The poor widow cried and said that the rich man dealt
+unjustly with her; she had already paid her debt to him once, and now he
+tried to force her to pay it again, but this she could not afford to do;
+she was so poor that should the judges condemn her to pay, she must give
+her daughters to the rich man as slaves.
+
+Then he who sat in the place of honor on the judges’ bench, turned to
+the rich man and said: “Do you dare to swear on oath that this poor
+woman has not already paid you?”
+
+Then the rich man answered: “Lord, I am a rich man. Would I take the
+trouble to demand my money from this poor widow, if I did not have the
+right to it? I swear to you that as certain as that no one shall ever
+walk through Righteousness’ Gate does this woman owe me the sum which I
+demand.”
+
+When the judges heard this oath they believed him, and doomed the poor
+widow to leave him her daughters as slaves.
+
+But the little boy sat close by and heard all this. He thought to
+himself: What a good thing it would be if some one could squeeze through
+Righteousness’ Gate! That rich man certainly did not speak the truth. It
+is a great pity about the poor old woman, who will be compelled to send
+her daughters away to become slaves!
+
+He jumped upon the platform where the two pillars towered into the
+heights, and looked through the crack.
+
+“Ah, that it were not altogether impossible!” thought he.
+
+He was deeply distressed because of the poor woman. Now he didn’t think
+at all about the saying that he who could squeeze through Righteousness’
+Gate was holy, and without sin. He wanted to get through only for the
+sake of the poor woman.
+
+He put his shoulder in the groove between the two pillars, as if to make
+a way.
+
+That instant all the people who stood under the portico, looked over
+toward Righteousness’ Gate. For it rumbled in the vaults, and it sang in
+the old pillars, and they glided apart—one to the right, and one to the
+left—and made a space wide enough for the boy’s slender body to pass
+between them!
+
+Then there arose the greatest wonder and excitement! At first no one
+knew what to say. The people stood and stared at the little boy who had
+worked so great a miracle.
+
+The oldest among the judges was the first one who came to his senses. He
+called out that they should lay hold on the rich merchant, and bring him
+before the judgment seat. And he sentenced him to leave all his goods to
+the poor widow, because he had sworn falsely in God’s Temple.
+
+When this was settled, the judge asked after the boy who had passed
+through Righteousness’ Gate; but when the people looked around for him,
+he had disappeared. For the very moment the pillars glided apart, he was
+awakened, as from a dream, and remembered the home-journey and his
+parents. “Now I must hasten away from here, so that my parents will not
+have to wait for me,” thought he.
+
+He knew not that he had sat a whole hour before Righteousness’ Gate, but
+believed he had lingered there only a few minutes; therefore, he thought
+that he would even have time to take a look at Paradise Bridge before he
+left the Temple.
+
+And he slipped through the throng of people and came to Paradise Bridge,
+which was situated in another part of the big temple.
+
+But when he saw the sharp steel sword which was drawn across the chasm,
+he thought how the person who could walk across that bridge was sure of
+reaching Paradise. He believed that this was the most marvelous thing he
+had ever beheld; and he seated himself on the edge of the chasm to look
+at the steel sword.
+
+There he sat down and thought how delightful it would be to reach
+Paradise, and how much he would like to walk across the bridge; but at
+the same time he saw that it would be simply impossible even to attempt
+it.
+
+Thus he sat and mused for two hours, but he did not know how the time
+had flown. He sat there and thought only of Paradise.
+
+But it seems that in the court where the deep chasm was, a large altar
+had been erected, and all around it walked white-robed priests, who
+tended the altar fire and received sacrifices. In the court there were
+many with offerings, and a big crowd who only watched the service.
+
+Then there came a poor old man who brought a lamb which was very small
+and thin, and which had been bitten by a dog and had a large wound.
+
+The man went up to the priests with the lamb and begged that he might
+offer it, but they refused to accept it. They told him that such a
+miserable gift he could not offer to our Lord. The old man implored them
+to accept the lamb out of compassion, for his son lay at the point of
+death, and he possessed nothing else that he could offer to God for his
+restoration. “You must let me offer it,” said he, “else my prayers will
+not come before God’s face, and my son will die!”
+
+“You must not believe but that I have the greatest sympathy with you,”
+said the priest, “but in the law it is forbidden to sacrifice a damaged
+animal. It is just as impossible to grant your prayers, as it is to
+cross Paradise Bridge.”
+
+The little boy did not sit very far away, so he heard all this.
+Instantly he thought what a pity it was that no one could cross the
+bridge. Perhaps the poor man might keep his son if the lamb were
+sacrificed.
+
+The old man left the Temple Court disconsolate, but the boy got up,
+walked over to the trembling bridge, and put his foot on it.
+
+He didn’t think at all about wanting to cross it to be certain of
+Paradise. His thoughts were with the poor man, whom he desired to help.
+
+But he drew back his foot, for he thought: “This is impossible. It is
+much too old and rusty, and would not hold even me!”
+
+But once again his thoughts went out to the old man whose son lay at
+death’s door. Again he put his foot down upon the blade.
+
+Then he noticed that it ceased to tremble, and that beneath his foot it
+felt broad and secure.
+
+And when he took the next step upon it, he felt that the air around him
+supported him, so that he could not fall. It bore him as though he were
+a bird, and had wings.
+
+But from the suspended sword a sweet tone trembled when the boy walked
+upon it, and one of those who stood in the court turned around when he
+heard the tone. He gave a cry, and then the others turned and saw the
+little boy tripping across the sword.
+
+There was great consternation among all who stood there. The first who
+came to their senses were the priests. They immediately sent a messenger
+after the poor man, and when he came back they said to him: “God has
+performed a miracle to show us that He will accept your offering. Give
+us your lamb and we will sacrifice it.”
+
+When this was done they asked for the little boy who had walked across
+the chasm; but when they looked around for him they could not find him.
+
+For just after the boy had crossed the chasm, he happened to think of
+the journey home, and of his parents. He did not know that the morning
+and the whole forenoon were gone, but thought: “I must make haste and
+get back, so that they will not have to wait. But first I want to run
+over and take a look at the Voice of the Prince of this World.”
+
+And he stole away through the crowd and ran over to the damp
+pillar-aisle where the copper trumpet stood leaning against the wall.
+
+When he saw it, and thought about the prediction that he who could coax
+a tone from it should one day gather all the peoples of earth under his
+dominion, he fancied that never had he seen anything so wonderful! and
+he sat down beside it and regarded it.
+
+He thought how great it would be to win all the peoples of earth, and
+how much he wished that he could blow in the old trumpet. But he
+understood that it was impossible, so he didn’t even dare try.
+
+He sat like this for several hours, but he did not know how the time
+passed. He thought only how marvelous it would be to gather all the
+peoples of earth under his dominion.
+
+But it happened that in this cool passageway sat a holy man who
+instructed his pupils, that sat at his feet.
+
+And now this holy man turned toward one of his pupils and told him that
+he was an impostor. He said the spirit had revealed to him that this
+youth was a stranger, and not an Israelite. And he demanded why he had
+sneaked in among his pupils under a false name.
+
+Then the strange youth rose and said that he had wandered through
+deserts and sailed over great seas that he might hear wisdom and the
+doctrine of the only true God expounded. “My soul was faint with
+longing,” he said to the holy man. “But I knew that you would not teach
+me if I did not say that I was an Israelite. Therefore, I lied to you,
+that my longing should be satisfied. And I pray that you will let me
+remain here with you.”
+
+But the holy man stood up and raised his arms toward heaven. “It is just
+as impossible to let you remain here with me, as it is that some one
+shall arise and blow in the huge copper trumpet, which we call the Voice
+of the Prince of this World! You are not even permitted to enter this
+part of the Temple. Leave this place at once, or my pupils will throw
+themselves upon you and tear you in pieces, for your presence desecrates
+the Temple.”
+
+But the youth stood still, and said: “I do not wish to go elsewhere,
+where my soul can find no nourishment. I would rather die here at your
+feet.”
+
+Hardly was this said when the holy man’s pupils jumped to their feet, to
+drive him away, and when he made resistance, they threw him down and
+wished to kill him.
+
+But the boy sat very near, so he heard and saw all this, and he thought:
+“This is a great injustice. Oh! if I could only blow in the big copper
+trumpet, he would be helped.”
+
+He rose and laid his hand on the trumpet. At this moment he no longer
+wished that he could raise it to his lips because he who could do so
+should be a great ruler, but because he hoped that he might help one
+whose life was in danger.
+
+And he grasped the copper trumpet with his tiny hands, to try and lift
+it.
+
+Then he felt that the huge trumpet raised itself to his lips. And when
+he only breathed, a strong, resonant tone came forth from the trumpet,
+and reverberated all through the great Temple.
+
+Then they all turned their eyes and saw that it was a little boy who
+stood with the trumpet to his lips and coaxed from it tones which made
+foundations and pillars tremble.
+
+Instantly, all the hands which had been lifted to strike the strange
+youth fell, and the holy teacher said to him:
+
+“Come and sit thee here at my feet, as thou didst sit before! God hath
+performed a miracle to show me that it is His wish that thou shouldst be
+consecrated to His service.”
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+As it drew on toward the close of day, a man and a woman came hurrying
+toward Jerusalem. They looked frightened and anxious, and called out to
+each and every one whom they met: “We have lost our son! We thought he
+had followed our relatives, but none of them have seen him. Has any one
+of you passed a child alone?”
+
+Those who came from Jerusalem answered them: “Indeed, we have not seen
+your son, but in the Temple we saw a most beautiful child! He was like
+an angel from heaven, and he has passed through Righteousness’ Gate.”
+
+They would gladly have related, very minutely, all about this, but the
+parents had no time to listen.
+
+When they had walked on a little farther, they met other persons and
+questioned them.
+
+But those who came from Jerusalem wished to talk only about a most
+beautiful child who looked as though he had come down from heaven, and
+who had crossed Paradise Bridge.
+
+They would gladly have stopped and talked about this until late at
+night, but the man and woman had no time to listen to them, and hurried
+into the city.
+
+They walked up one street and down another without finding the child. At
+last they reached the Temple. As they came up to it, the woman said:
+“Since we are here, let us go in and see what the child is like, which
+they say has come down from heaven!” They went in and asked where they
+should find the child.
+
+“Go straight on to where the holy teachers sit with their students.
+There you will find the child. The old men have seated him in their
+midst. They question him and he questions them, and they are all amazed
+at him. But all the people stand below in the Temple court, to catch a
+glimpse of the one who has raised the Voice of the Prince of this World
+to his lips.”
+
+The man and the woman made their way through the throng of people, and
+saw that the child who sat among the wise teachers was their son.
+
+But as soon as the woman recognized the child she began to weep.
+
+And the boy who sat among the wise men heard that some one wept, and he
+knew that it was his mother. Then he rose and came over to her, and the
+father and mother took him between them and went from the Temple with
+him.
+
+But as the mother continued to weep, the child asked: “Why weepest thou?
+I came to thee as soon as I heard thy voice.”
+
+“Should I not weep?” said the mother. “I believed that thou wert lost to
+me.”
+
+They went out from the city and darkness came on, and all the while the
+mother wept.
+
+“Why weepest thou?” asked the child. “I did not know that the day was
+spent. I thought it was still morning, and I came to thee as soon as I
+heard thy voice.”
+
+“Should I not weep?” said the mother. “I have sought for thee all day
+long. I believed that thou wert lost to me.”
+
+They walked the whole night, and the mother wept all the while.
+
+When day began to dawn, the child said: “Why dost thou weep? I have not
+sought mine own glory, but God has let me perform miracles because He
+wanted to help the three poor creatures. As soon as I heard thy voice, I
+came to thee.”
+
+“My son,” replied the mother. “I weep because thou art none the less
+lost to me. Thou wilt never more belong to me. Henceforth thy life
+ambition shall be righteousness; thy longing, Paradise; and thy love
+shall embrace all the poor human beings who people this earth.”
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Saint Veronica’s Kerchief]
+
+                       SAINT VERONICA’S KERCHIEF
+
+
+                                   I
+
+During one of the latter years of Emperor Tiberius’ reign, a poor
+vine-dresser and his wife came and settled in a solitary hut among the
+Sabine mountains. They were strangers, and lived in absolute solitude
+without ever receiving a visit from a human being. But one morning when
+the laborer opened his door, he found, to his astonishment, that an old
+woman sat huddled up on the threshold. She was wrapped in a plain gray
+mantle, and looked very poor. Nevertheless, she impressed him as being
+so respect-compelling, as she rose and came to meet him, that it made
+him think of what the legends had to say about goddesses who, in the
+form of old women, had visited mortals.
+
+“My friend,” said the old woman to the vine-dresser, “you must not
+wonder that I have slept this night on your threshold. My parents lived
+in this hut, and here I was born nearly ninety years ago. I expected to
+find it empty and deserted. I did not know that people still occupied
+it.”
+
+“I do not wonder that you thought a hut which lies so high up among
+these desolate hills should stand empty and deserted,” said the
+vine-dresser. “But my wife and I come from a foreign land, and as poor
+strangers we have not been able to find a better dwelling-place. But to
+you, who must be tired and hungry after the long journey, which you at
+your extreme age have undertaken, it is perhaps more welcome that the
+hut is occupied by people than by Sabine mountain wolves. You will at
+least find a bed within to rest on, and a bowl of goats’ milk, and a
+bread-cake, if you will accept them.”
+
+The old woman smiled a little, but this smile was so fleeting that it
+could not dispel the expression of deep sorrow which rested upon her
+countenance.
+
+“I spent my entire youth up here among these mountains,” she said. “I
+have not yet forgotten the trick of driving a wolf from his lair.”
+
+And she actually looked so strong and vigorous that the laborer didn’t
+doubt that she still possessed strength enough, despite her great age,
+to fight with the wild beasts of the forest.
+
+He repeated his invitation, and the old woman stepped into the cottage.
+She sat down to the frugal meal, and partook of it without hesitancy.
+Although she seemed to be well satisfied with the fare of coarse bread
+soaked in goats’ milk, both the man and his wife thought: “Where can
+this old wanderer come from? She has certainly eaten pheasants served on
+silver plates oftener than she has drunk goats’ milk from earthen
+bowls.”
+
+Now and then she raised her eyes from the food and looked around,—as if
+to try and realize that she was back in the hut. The poor old home with
+its bare clay walls and its earth floor was certainly not much changed.
+She pointed out to her hosts that on the walls there were still visible
+some traces of dogs and deer which her father had sketched there to
+amuse his little children. And on a shelf, high up, she thought she saw
+fragments of an earthen dish which she herself had used to measure milk
+in.
+
+The man and his wife thought to themselves: “It must be true that she
+was born in this hut, but she has surely had much more to attend to in
+this life than milking goats and making butter and cheese.”
+
+They observed also that her thoughts were often far away, and that she
+sighed heavily and anxiously every time she came back to herself.
+
+Finally she rose from the table. She thanked them graciously for the
+hospitality she had enjoyed, and walked toward the door.
+
+But then it seemed to the vine-dresser that she was pitifully poor and
+lonely, and he exclaimed: “If I am not mistaken, it was not your
+intention, when you dragged yourself up here last night, to leave this
+hut so soon. If you are actually as poor as you seem, it must have been
+your intention to remain here for the rest of your life. But now you
+wish to leave because my wife and I have taken possession of the hut.”
+
+The old woman did not deny that he had guessed rightly. “But this hut,
+which for many years has been deserted, belongs to you as much as to
+me,” she said. “I have no right to drive you from it.”
+
+“It is still your parents’ hut,” said the laborer, “and you surely have
+a better right to it than we have. Besides, we are young and you are
+old; therefore, you shall remain and we will go.”
+
+When the old woman heard this, she was greatly astonished. She turned
+around on the threshold and stared at the man, as though she had not
+understood what he meant by his words.
+
+But now the young wife joined in the conversation.
+
+“If I might suggest,” said she to her husband, “I should beg you to ask
+this old woman if she won’t look upon us as her own children, and permit
+us to stay with her and take care of her. What service would we render
+her if we gave her this miserable hut and then left her? It would be
+terrible for her to live here in this wilderness alone! And what would
+she live on? It would be just like letting her starve to death.”
+
+The old woman went up to the man and his wife and regarded them
+carefully. “Why do you speak thus?” she asked. “Why are you so merciful
+to me? You are strangers.”
+
+Then the young wife answered: “It is because we ourselves once met with
+great mercy.”
+
+                                   II
+
+This is how the old woman came to live in the vine-dresser’s hut. And
+she conceived a great friendship for the young people. But for all that
+she never told them whence she had come, or who she was, and they
+understood that she would not have taken it in good part had they
+questioned her.
+
+But one evening, when the day’s work was done, and all three sat on the
+big, flat rock which lay before the entrance, and partook of their
+evening meal, they saw an old man coming up the path.
+
+He was a tall and powerfully built man, with shoulders as broad as a
+gladiator’s. His face wore a cheerless and stern expression. The brows
+jutted far out over the deep-set eyes, and the lines around the mouth
+expressed bitterness and contempt. He walked with erect bearing and
+quick movements.
+
+The man wore a simple dress, and the instant the vine-dresser saw him,
+he said: “He is an old soldier, one who has been discharged from service
+and is now on his way home.”
+
+When the stranger came directly before them he paused, as if in doubt.
+The laborer, who knew that the road terminated a short distance beyond
+the hut, laid down his spoon and called out to him: “Have you gone
+astray, stranger, since you come hither? Usually, no one takes the
+trouble to climb up here, unless he has an errand to one of us who live
+here.”
+
+When he questioned in this manner, the stranger came nearer. “It is as
+you say,” said he. “I have taken the wrong road, and now I know not
+whither I shall direct my steps. If you will let me rest here a while,
+and then tell me which path I shall follow to get to some farm, I shall
+be grateful to you.”
+
+As he spake he sat down upon one of the stones which lay before the hut.
+The young woman asked him if he wouldn’t share their supper, but this he
+declined with a smile. On the other hand it was very evident that he was
+inclined to talk with them, while they ate. He asked the young folks
+about their manner of living, and their work, and they answered him
+frankly and cheerfully.
+
+Suddenly the laborer turned toward the stranger and began to question
+him. “You see in what a lonely and isolated way we live,” said he. “It
+must be a year at least since I have talked with any one except
+shepherds and vineyard laborers. Can not you, who must come from some
+camp, tell us something about Rome and the Emperor?”
+
+Hardly had the man said this than the young wife noticed that the old
+woman gave him a warning glance, and made with her hand the sign which
+means—Have a care what you say.
+
+The stranger, meanwhile, answered very affably: “I understand that you
+take me for a soldier, which is not untrue, although I have long since
+left the service. During Tiberius’ reign there has not been much work
+for us soldiers. Yet he was once a great commander. Those were the days
+of his good fortune. Now he thinks of nothing except to guard himself
+against conspiracies. In Rome, every one is talking about how, last
+week, he let Senator Titius be seized and executed on the merest
+suspicion.”
+
+“The poor Emperor no longer knows what he does!” exclaimed the young
+woman; and shook her head in pity and surprise.
+
+“You are perfectly right,” said the stranger, as an expression of the
+deepest melancholy crossed his countenance. “Tiberius knows that every
+one hates him, and this is driving him insane.”
+
+“What say you?” the woman retorted. “Why should we hate him? We only
+deplore the fact that he is no longer the great Emperor he was in the
+beginning of his reign.”
+
+“You are mistaken,” said the stranger. “Every one hates and detests
+Tiberius. Why should they do otherwise? He is nothing but a cruel and
+merciless tyrant. In Rome they think that from now on he will become
+even more unreasonable than he has been.”
+
+“Has anything happened, then, which will turn him into a worse beast
+than he is already?” queried the vine-dresser.
+
+When he said this, the wife noticed that the old woman gave him a new
+warning signal, but so stealthily that he could not see it.
+
+The stranger answered him in a kindly manner, but at the same time a
+singular smile played about his lips.
+
+“You have heard, perhaps, that until now Tiberius has had a friend in
+his household on whom he could rely, and who has always told him the
+truth. All the rest who live in his palace are fortune-hunters and
+hypocrites, who praise the Emperor’s wicked and cunning acts just as
+much as his good and admirable ones. But there was, as we have said, one
+alone who never feared to let him know how his conduct was actually
+regarded. This person, who was more courageous than senators and
+generals, was the Emperor’s old nurse, Faustina.”
+
+“I have heard of her,” said the laborer. “I’ve been told that the
+Emperor has always shown her great friendship.”
+
+“Yes, Tiberius knew how to prize her affection and loyalty. He treated
+this poor peasant woman, who came from a miserable hut in the Sabine
+mountains, as his second mother. As long as he stayed in Rome, he let
+her live in a mansion on the Palatine, that he might always have her
+near him. None of Rome’s noble matrons has fared better than she. She
+was borne through the streets in a litter, and her dress was that of an
+empress. When the Emperor moved to Capri, she had to accompany him, and
+he bought a country estate for her there, and filled it with slaves and
+costly furnishings.”
+
+“She has certainly fared well,” said the husband.
+
+Now it was he who kept up the conversation with the stranger. The wife
+sat silent and observed with surprise the change which had come over the
+old woman. Since the stranger arrived, she had not spoken a word. She
+had lost her mild and friendly expression. She had pushed her food
+aside, and sat erect and rigid against the door-post, and stared
+straight ahead, with a severe and stony countenance.
+
+“It was the Emperor’s intention that she should have a happy life,” said
+the stranger. “But, despite all his kindly acts, she too has deserted
+him.”
+
+The old woman gave a start at these words, but the young one laid her
+hand quietingly on her arm. Then she began to speak in her soft,
+sympathetic voice. “I can not believe that Faustina has been as happy at
+court as you say,” she said, as she turned toward the stranger. “I am
+sure that she has loved Tiberius as if he had been her own son. I can
+understand how proud she has been of his noble youth, and I can even
+understand how it must have grieved her to see him abandon himself in
+his old age to suspicion and cruelty. She has certainly warned and
+admonished him every day. It has been terrible for her always to plead
+in vain. At last she could no longer bear to see him sink lower and
+lower.”
+
+The stranger, astonished, leaned forward a bit when he heard this; but
+the young woman did not glance up at him. She kept her eyes lowered, and
+spoke very calmly and gently.
+
+“Perhaps you are right in what you say of the old woman,” he replied.
+“Faustina has really not been happy at court. It seems strange,
+nevertheless, that she has left the Emperor in his old age, when she had
+endured him the span of a lifetime.”
+
+“What say you?” asked the husband. “Has old Faustina left the Emperor?”
+
+“She has stolen away from Capri without any one’s knowledge,” said the
+stranger. “She left just as poor as she came. She has not taken one of
+her treasures with her.”
+
+“And doesn’t the Emperor really know where she has gone?” asked the
+wife.
+
+“No! No one knows for certain what road the old woman has taken. Still,
+one takes it for granted that she has sought refuge among her native
+mountains.”
+
+“And the Emperor does not know, either, why she has gone away?” asked
+the young woman.
+
+“No, the Emperor knows nothing of this. He can not believe she left him
+because he once told her that she served him for money and gifts only,
+like all the rest. She knows, however, that he has never doubted her
+unselfishness. He has hoped all along that she would return to him
+voluntarily, for no one knows better than she that he is absolutely
+without friends.”
+
+“I do not know her,” said the young woman, “but I think I can tell you
+why she has left the Emperor. The old woman was brought up among these
+mountains in simplicity and piety, and she has always longed to come
+back here again. Surely she never would have abandoned the Emperor if he
+had not insulted her. But I understand that, after this, she feels she
+has the right to think of herself, since her days are numbered. If I
+were a poor woman of the mountains, I certainly would have acted as she
+did. I would have thought that I had done enough when I had served my
+master during a whole lifetime. I would at last have abandoned luxury
+and royal favors to give my soul a taste of honor and integrity before
+it left me for the long journey.”
+
+The stranger glanced with a deep and tender sadness at the young woman.
+“You do not consider that the Emperor’s propensities will become worse
+than ever. Now there is no one who can calm him when suspicion and
+misanthropy take possession of him. Think of this,” he continued, as his
+melancholy gaze penetrated deeply into the eyes of the young woman, “in
+all the world there is no one now whom he does not hate; no one whom he
+does not despise—no one!”
+
+As he uttered these words of bitter despair, the old woman made a sudden
+movement and turned toward him, but the young woman looked him straight
+in the eyes and answered: “Tiberius knows that Faustina will come back
+to him whenever he wishes it. But first she must know that her old eyes
+need never more behold vice and infamy at his court.”
+
+They had all risen during this speech; but the vine-dresser and his wife
+placed themselves in front of the old woman, as if to shield her.
+
+The stranger did not utter another syllable, but regarded the old woman
+with a questioning glance. Is this _your_ last word also? he seemed to
+want to say. The old woman’s lips quivered, but words would not pass
+them.
+
+“If the Emperor has loved his old servant, then he can also let her live
+her last days in peace,” said the young woman.
+
+The stranger hesitated still, but suddenly his dark countenance
+brightened. “My friends,” said he, “whatever one may say of Tiberius,
+there is one thing which he has learned better than others; and that
+is—renunciation. I have only one thing more to say to you: If this old
+woman, of whom we have spoken, should come to this hut, receive her
+well! The Emperor’s favor rests upon any one who succors her.”
+
+He wrapped his mantle about him and departed the same way that he had
+come.
+
+                                  III
+
+After this, the vine-dresser and his wife never again spoke to the old
+woman about the Emperor. Between themselves they marveled that she, at
+her great age, had had the strength to renounce all the wealth and power
+to which she had become accustomed. “I wonder if she will not soon go
+back to Tiberius?” they asked themselves. “It is certain that she still
+loves him. It is in the hope that it will awaken him to reason and
+enable him to repent of his low conduct, that she has left him.”
+
+“A man as old as the Emperor will never begin a new life,” said the
+laborer. “How are you going to rid him of his great contempt for
+mankind? Who could go to him and teach him to love his fellow man? Until
+this happens, he can not be cured of suspicion and cruelty.”
+
+“You know that there is one who could actually do it,” said the wife. “I
+often think of how it would turn out, if the two should meet. But God’s
+ways are not our ways.”
+
+The old woman did not seem to miss her former life at all. After a time
+the young wife gave birth to a child. The old woman had the care of it;
+she seemed so content in consequence that one could have thought she had
+forgotten all her sorrows.
+
+Once every half-year she used to wrap her long, gray mantle around her,
+and wander down to Rome. There she did not seek a soul, but went
+straight to the Forum. Here she stopped outside a little temple, which
+was erected on one side of the superbly decorated square.
+
+All there was of this temple was an uncommonly large altar, which stood
+in a marble-paved court under the open sky. On the top of the altar,
+Fortuna, the goddess of happiness, was enthroned, and at its foot was a
+statue of Tiberius. Encircling the court were buildings for the priests,
+storerooms for fuel, and stalls for the beasts of sacrifice.
+
+Old Faustina’s journeys never extended beyond this temple, where those
+who would pray for the welfare of Tiberius were wont to come. When she
+cast a glance in there and saw that both the goddess’ and the Emperor’s
+statue were wreathed in flowers; that the sacrificial fire burned; that
+throngs of reverent worshipers were assembled before the altar, and
+heard the priests’ low chants sounding thereabouts, she turned around
+and went back to the mountains.
+
+In this way she learned, without having to question a human being, that
+Tiberius was still among the living, and that all was well with him.
+
+The third time she undertook this journey, she met with a surprise. When
+she reached the little temple, she found it empty and deserted. No fire
+burned before the statue, and not a worshiper was seen. A couple of
+dried garlands still hung on one side of the altar, but this was all
+that testified to its former glory. The priests were gone, and the
+Emperor’s statue, which stood there unguarded, was damaged and
+mud-bespattered.
+
+The old woman turned to the first passer-by. “What does this mean?” she
+asked. “Is Tiberius dead? Have we another Emperor?”
+
+“No,” replied the Roman, “Tiberius is still Emperor, but we have ceased
+to pray for him. Our prayers can no longer benefit him.”
+
+“My friend,” said the old woman, “I live far away among the mountains,
+where one learns nothing of what happens out in the world. Won’t you
+tell me what dreadful misfortune has overtaken the Emperor?”
+
+“The most dreadful of all misfortunes! He has been stricken with a
+disease which has never before been known in Italy, but which seems to
+be common in the Orient. Since this evil has befallen the Emperor, his
+features are changed, his voice has become like an animal’s grunt, and
+his toes and fingers are rotting away. And for this illness there
+appears to be no remedy. They believe that he will die within a few
+weeks. But if he does not die, he will be dethroned, for such an ill and
+wretched man can no longer conduct the affairs of State. You understand,
+of course, that his fate is a foregone conclusion. It is useless to
+invoke the gods for his success, and it is not worth while,” he added,
+with a faint smile. “No one has anything more either to fear or hope
+from him. Why, then, should we trouble ourselves on his account?”
+
+He nodded and walked away; but the old woman stood there as if stunned.
+
+For the first time in her life she collapsed, and looked like one whom
+age has subdued. She stood with bent back and trembling head, and with
+hands that groped feebly in the air.
+
+She longed to get away from the place, but she moved her feet slowly.
+She looked around to find something which she could use as a staff.
+
+But after a few moments, by a tremendous effort of the will, she
+succeeded in conquering the faintness.
+
+                                   IV
+
+A week later, old Faustina wandered up the steep inclines on the Island
+of Capri. It was a warm day and the dread consciousness of old age and
+feebleness came over her as she labored up the winding roads and the
+hewn-out steps in the mountain, which led to Tiberius’ villa.
+
+This feeling increased when she observed how changed everything had
+become during the time she had been away. In truth, on and alongside
+these steps there had always before been throngs of people. Here it used
+fairly to swarm with senators, borne by giant Libyans; with messengers
+from the provinces attended by long processions of slaves; with
+office-seekers; with noblemen invited to participate in the Emperor’s
+feasts.
+
+But to-day the steps and passages were entirely deserted. Gray-greenish
+lizards were the only living things which the old woman saw in her path.
+
+She was amazed to see that already everything appeared to be going to
+ruin. At most, the Emperor’s illness could not have progressed more than
+two months, and yet the grass had already taken root in the cracks
+between the marble stones. Rare growths, planted in beautiful vases,
+were already withered and here and there mischievous spoilers, whom no
+one had taken the trouble to stop, had broken down the balustrade.
+
+But to her the most singular thing of all was the entire absence of
+people. Even if strangers were forbidden to appear on the island,
+attendants at least should still be found there: the endless crowds of
+soldiers and slaves; of dancers and musicians; of cooks and stewards; of
+palace-sentinels and gardeners, who belonged to the Emperor’s household.
+
+When Faustina reached the upper terrace, she caught sight of two slaves,
+who sat on the steps in front of the villa. As she approached, they rose
+and bowed to her.
+
+“Be greeted, Faustina!” said one of them. “It is a god who sends thee to
+lighten our sorrows.”
+
+“What does this mean, Milo?” asked Faustina. “Why is it so deserted
+here? Yet they have told me that Tiberius still lives at Capri.”
+
+“The Emperor has driven away all his slaves because he suspects that one
+of us has given him poisoned wine to drink, and that this has brought on
+the illness. He would have driven even Tito and myself away, if we had
+not refused to obey him; yet, as you know, we have all our lives served
+the Emperor and his mother.”
+
+“I do not ask after slaves only,” said Faustina. “Where are the senators
+and field marshals? Where are the Emperor’s intimate friends, and all
+the fawning fortune-hunters?”
+
+“Tiberius does not wish to show himself before strangers,” said the
+slave. “Senator Lucius and Marco, Commander of the Life Guard, come here
+every day and receive orders. No one else may approach him.”
+
+Faustina had gone up the steps to enter the villa. The slave went before
+her, and on the way she asked: “What say the physicians of Tiberius’
+illness?”
+
+“None of them understands how to treat this illness. They do not even
+know if it kills quickly or slowly. But this I can tell you, Faustina,
+Tiberius must die if he continues to refuse all food for fear it may be
+poisoned. And I know that a sick man can not stay awake night and day,
+as the Emperor does, for fear he may be murdered in his sleep. If he
+will trust you as in former days, you might succeed in making him eat
+and sleep. Thereby you can prolong his life for many days.”
+
+The slave conducted Faustina through several passages and courts to a
+terrace which Tiberius used to frequent to enjoy the view of the
+beautiful bays and proud Vesuvius.
+
+When Faustina stepped out upon the terrace, she saw a hideous creature
+with a swollen face and animal-like features. His hands and feet were
+swathed in white bandages, but through the bandages protruded
+half-rotted fingers and toes. And this being’s clothes were soiled and
+dusty. It was evident he could not walk erect, but had been obliged to
+crawl out upon the terrace. He lay with closed eyes near the balustrade
+at the farthest end, and did not move when the slave and Faustina came.
+
+Faustina whispered to the slave, who walked before her: “But, Milo, how
+can such a creature be found here on the Emperor’s private terrace? Make
+haste, and take him away!”
+
+But she had scarcely said this when she saw the slave bow to the ground
+before the miserable creature who lay there.
+
+“Cæsar Tiberius,” said he, “at last I have glad tidings to bring thee.”
+
+At the same time the slave turned toward Faustina, but he shrank back,
+aghast! and could not speak another word.
+
+He did not behold the proud matron who had looked so strong that one
+might have expected that she would live to the age of a sibyl. In this
+moment, she had drooped into impotent age, and the slave saw before him
+a bent old woman with misty eyes and fumbling hands.
+
+Faustina had certainly heard that the Emperor was terribly changed, yet
+never for a moment had she ceased to think of him as the strong man he
+was when she last saw him. She had also heard some one say that this
+illness progressed slowly, and that it took years to transform a human
+being. But here it had advanced with such virulence that it had made the
+Emperor unrecognizable in just two months.
+
+She tottered up to the Emperor. She could not speak, but stood silent
+beside him, and wept.
+
+“Are you come now, Faustina?” he said, without opening his eyes. “I lay
+and fancied that you stood here and wept over me. I dare not look up for
+fear I will find that it was only an illusion.”
+
+Then the old woman sat down beside him. She raised his head and placed
+it on her knee.
+
+But Tiberius lay still, without looking at her. A sense of sweet repose
+enfolded him, and the next moment he sank into a peaceful slumber.
+
+                                   V
+
+A few weeks later, one of the Emperor’s slaves came to the lonely hut in
+the Sabine mountains. It drew on toward evening, and the vine-dresser
+and his wife stood in the doorway and saw the sun set in the distant
+west. The slave turned out of the path, and came up and greeted them.
+Thereupon he took a heavy purse, which he carried in his girdle, and
+laid it in the husband’s hand.
+
+“This, Faustina, the old woman to whom you have shown compassion, sends
+you,” said the slave. “She begs that with this money you will purchase a
+vineyard of your own, and build you a house that does not lie as high in
+the air as the eagles’ nests.”
+
+“Old Faustina still lives, then?” said the husband. “We have searched
+for her in cleft and morass. When she did not come back to us, I thought
+that she had met her death in these wretched mountains.”
+
+“Don’t you remember,” the wife interposed, “that I would not believe
+that she was dead? Did I not say to you that she had gone back to the
+Emperor?”
+
+This the husband admitted. “And I am glad,” he added, “that you were
+right, not only because Faustina has become rich enough to help us out
+of our poverty, but also on the poor Emperor’s account.”
+
+The slave wanted to say farewell at once, in order to reach densely
+settled quarters before dark, but this the couple would not permit. “You
+must stop with us until morning,” said they. “We can not let you go
+before you have told us all that has happened to Faustina. Why has she
+returned to the Emperor? What was their meeting like? Are they glad to
+be together again?”
+
+The slave yielded to these solicitations. He followed them into the hut,
+and during the evening meal he told them all about the Emperor’s illness
+and Faustina’s return.
+
+When the slave had finished his narrative, he saw that both the man and
+the woman sat motionless—dumb with amazement. Their gaze was fixed on
+the ground, as though not to betray the emotion which affected them.
+
+Finally the man looked up and said to his wife: “Don’t you believe God
+has decreed this?”
+
+“Yes,” said the wife, “surely it was for this that our Lord sent us
+across the sea to this lonely hut. Surely this was His purpose when He
+sent the old woman to our door.”
+
+As soon as the wife had spoken these words, the vine-dresser turned
+again to the slave.
+
+“Friend!” he said to him, “you shall carry a message from me to
+Faustina. Tell her this word for word! Thus your friend the vineyard
+laborer from the Sabine mountains greets you. You have seen the young
+woman, my wife. Did she not appear fair to you, and blooming with
+health? And yet this young woman once suffered from the same disease
+which now has stricken Tiberius.”
+
+The slave made a gesture of surprise, but the vine-dresser continued
+with greater emphasis on his words.
+
+“If Faustina refuses to believe my word, tell her that my wife and I
+came from Palestine, in Asia, a land where this disease is common. There
+the law is such that the lepers are driven from the cities and towns,
+and must live in tombs and mountain grottoes. Tell Faustina that my wife
+was born of diseased parents in a mountain grotto. As long as she was a
+child she was healthy, but when she grew up into young maidenhood she
+was stricken with the disease.”
+
+The slave bowed, smiled pleasantly, and said: “How can you expect that
+Faustina will believe this? She has seen your wife in her beauty and
+health. And she must know that there is no remedy for this illness.”
+
+The man replied: “It were best for her that she believed me. But I am
+not without witnesses. She can send inquiries over to Nazareth, in
+Galilee. There every one will confirm my statement.”
+
+“Is it perchance through a miracle of some god that your wife has been
+cured?” asked the slave.
+
+“Yes, it is as you say,” answered the laborer. “One day a rumor reached
+the sick who lived in the wilderness: ‘Behold, a great Prophet has
+arisen in Nazareth of Galilee. He is filled with the power of God’s
+spirit, and he can cure your illness just by laying his hand upon your
+forehead!’ But the sick, who lay in their misery, would not believe that
+this rumor was the truth. ‘No one can heal us,’ they said. ‘Since the
+days of the great prophets no one has been able to save one of us from
+this misfortune.’
+
+“But there was one amongst them who believed, and that was a young
+maiden. She left the others to seek her way to the city of Nazareth,
+where the Prophet lived. One day, when she wandered over wide plains,
+she met a man tall of stature, with a pale face and hair which lay in
+even, black curls. His dark eyes shone like stars and drew her toward
+him. But before they met, she called out to him: ‘Come not near me, for
+I am unclean, but tell me where I can find the Prophet from Nazareth!’
+But the man continued to walk towards her, and when he stood directly in
+front of her, he said: ‘Why seekest thou the Prophet of Nazareth?’—‘I
+seek him that he may lay his hand on my forehead and heal me of my
+illness.’ Then the man went up and laid his hand upon her brow. But she
+said to him: ‘What doth it avail me that you lay your hand upon my
+forehead? You surely are no prophet?’ Then he smiled on her and said:
+‘Go now into the city which lies yonder at the foot of the mountain, and
+show thyself before the priests!’
+
+“The sick maiden thought to herself: ‘He mocks me because I believe I
+can be healed. From him I can not learn what I would know.’ And she went
+farther. Soon thereafter she saw a man, who was going out to hunt,
+riding across the wide field. When he came so near that he could hear
+her, she called to him: ‘Come not close to me, I am unclean! But tell me
+where I can find the Prophet of Nazareth!’ ‘What do you want of the
+Prophet?’ asked the man, riding slowly toward her. ‘I wish only that he
+might lay his hand on my forehead and heal me of my illness.’ The man
+rode still nearer. ‘Of what illness do you wish to be healed?’ said he.
+‘Surely you need no physician!’ ‘Can’t you see that I am a leper?’ said
+she. ‘I was born of diseased parents in a mountain grotto.’ But the man
+continued to approach, for she was beautiful and fair, like a new-blown
+rose. ‘You are the most beautiful maiden in Judea!’ he exclaimed. ‘Ah,
+taunt me not—you, too!’ said she. ‘I know that my features are
+destroyed, and that my voice is like a wild beast’s growl.’
+
+“He looked deep into her eyes and said to her: ‘Your voice is as
+resonant as the spring brook’s when it ripples over pebbles, and your
+face is as smooth as a coverlet of soft satin.’
+
+“That moment he rode so close to her that she could see her face in the
+shining mountings which decorated his saddle. ‘You shall look at
+yourself here,’ said he. She did so, and saw a face smooth and soft as a
+newly-formed butterfly wing. ‘What is this that I see?’ she said. ‘This
+is not my face!’ ‘Yes, it is your face,’ said the rider. ‘But my voice,
+is it not rough? Does it not sound as when wagons are drawn over a stony
+road?’ ‘No! It sounds like a zither player’s sweetest songs,’ said the
+rider.
+
+“She turned and pointed toward the road. ‘Do you know who that man is
+just disappearing behind the two oaks?’ she asked.
+
+“‘It is he whom you lately asked after; it is the Prophet from
+Nazareth,’ said the man. Then she clasped her hands in astonishment, and
+tears filled her eyes. ‘Oh, thou Holy One! Oh, thou Messenger of God’s
+power!’ she cried. Thou hast healed me!’
+
+“Then the rider lifted her into the saddle and bore her to the city at
+the foot of the mountain and went with her to the priests and elders,
+and told them how he had found her. They questioned her carefully; but
+when they heard that the maiden was born in the wilderness of diseased
+parents, they would not believe that she was healed. ‘Go back thither
+whence you came!’ said they. ‘If you have been ill, you must remain so
+as long as you live. You must not come here to the city, to infect the
+rest of us with your disease.’
+
+“She said to them: ‘I know that I am well, for the Prophet from Nazareth
+hath laid his hand upon my forehead.’
+
+“When they heard this they exclaimed: ‘Who is he, that he should be able
+to make clean the unclean? All this is but a delusion of the evil
+spirits. Go back to your own, that you may not bring destruction upon
+all of us!’
+
+“They would not declare her healed, and they forbade her to remain in
+the city. They decreed that each and every one who gave her shelter
+should also be adjudged unclean.
+
+“When the priests had pronounced this judgment, the young maiden turned
+to the man who had found her in the field: ‘Whither shall I go now? Must
+I go back again to the lepers in the wilderness?’
+
+“But the man lifted her once more upon his horse, and said to her: ‘No,
+under no conditions shall you go out to the lepers in their mountain
+caves, but we two shall travel across the sea to another land, where
+there are no laws for clean and unclean.’ And they——”
+
+But when the vineyard laborer had got thus far in his narrative, the
+slave arose and interrupted him. “You need not tell any more,” said he.
+“Stand up rather and follow me on the way, you who know the mountains,
+so that I can begin my home journey to-night, and not wait until
+morning. The Emperor and Faustina can not hear your tidings a moment too
+soon.”
+
+When the vine-dresser had accompanied the slave, and come home again to
+the hut, he found his wife still awake.
+
+“I can not sleep,” said she. “I am thinking that these two will meet: he
+who loves all mankind, and he who hates them. Such a meeting would be
+enough to sweep the earth out of existence!”
+
+                                   VI
+
+Old Faustina was in distant Palestine, on her way to Jerusalem. She had
+not desired that the mission to seek the Prophet and bring him to the
+Emperor should be intrusted to any one but herself. She said to herself:
+“That which we demand of this stranger, is something which we can not
+coax from him either by force or bribes. But perhaps he will grant it us
+if some one falls at his feet and tells him in what dire need the
+Emperor is. Who can make an honest plea for Tiberius, but the one who
+suffers from his misfortune as much as he does?”
+
+The hope of possibly saving Tiberius had renewed the old woman’s youth.
+She withstood without difficulty the long sea trip to Joppa, and on the
+journey to Jerusalem she made no use of a litter, but rode a horse. She
+appeared to stand the difficult ride as easily as the Roman nobles, the
+soldiers, and the slaves who made up her retinue.
+
+The journey from Joppa to Jerusalem filled the old woman’s heart with
+joy and bright hopes. It was springtime, and Sharon’s plain, over which
+they had ridden during the first day’s travel, had been a brilliant
+carpet of flowers. Even during the second day’s journey, when they came
+to the hills of Judea, they were not abandoned by the flowers. All the
+multiformed hills between which the road wound were planted with fruit
+trees, which stood in full bloom. And when the travelers wearied of
+looking at the white and red blossoms of the apricots and persimmons,
+they could rest their eyes by observing the young vine-leaves, which
+pushed their way through the dark brown branches, and their growth was
+so rapid that one could almost follow it with the eye.
+
+It was not only flowers and spring green that made the journey pleasant,
+but the pleasure was enhanced by watching the throngs of people who were
+on their way to Jerusalem this morning. From all the roads and by-paths,
+from lonely heights, and from the most remote corners of the plain came
+travelers. When they had reached the road to Jerusalem, those who
+traveled alone formed themselves into companies and marched forward with
+glad shouts. Round an elderly man, who rode on a jogging camel, walked
+his sons and daughters, his sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and all
+his grandchildren. It was such a large family that it made up an entire
+little village. An old grandmother who was too feeble to walk her sons
+had taken in their arms, and with pride she let herself be borne among
+the crowds, who respectfully stepped aside.
+
+In truth, it was a morning to inspire joy even in the most disconsolate.
+To be sure the sky was not clear, but was o’ercast with a thin
+grayish-white mist, but none of the wayfarers thought of grumbling
+because the sun’s piercing brilliancy was dampened. Under this veiled
+sky the perfume of the budding leaves and blossoms did not penetrate the
+air as usual, but lingered over roads and fields. And this beautiful
+day, with its faint mist and hushed winds, which reminded one of Night’s
+rest and calm, seemed to communicate to the hastening crowds somewhat of
+itself, so that they went forward happy—yet with solemnity—singing in
+subdued voices ancient hymns, or playing upon peculiar old-fashioned
+instruments, from which came tones like the buzzing of gnats, or
+grasshoppers’ piping.
+
+When old Faustina rode forward among all the people, she became infected
+with their joy and excitement. She prodded her horse to quicker speed,
+as she said to a young Roman who rode beside her: “I dreamt last night
+that I saw Tiberius, and he implored me not to postpone the journey, but
+to ride to Jerusalem to-day. It appears as if the gods had wished to
+send me a warning not to neglect to go there this beautiful morning.”
+
+Just as she said this, she came to the top of a long mountain ridge, and
+there she was obliged to halt. Before her lay a large, deep
+valley-basin, surrounded by pretty hills, and from the dark, shadowy
+depths of the vale rose the massive mountain which held on its head the
+city of Jerusalem.
+
+But the narrow mountain city, with its walls and towers, which lay like
+a jeweled coronet upon the cliff’s smooth height, was this day magnified
+a thousand-fold. All the hills which encircled the valley were bedecked
+with gay tents, and with a swarm of human beings.
+
+It was evident to Faustina that all the inhabitants were on their way to
+Jerusalem to celebrate some great holiday. Those from a distance had
+already come, and had managed to put their tents in order. On the other
+hand, those who lived near the city were still on their way. Along all
+the shining rock-heights one saw them come streaming in like an unbroken
+sea of white robes, of songs, of holiday cheer.
+
+For some time the old woman surveyed these seething throngs of people
+and the long rows of tent-poles. Thereupon she said to the young Roman
+who rode beside her:
+
+“Verily, Sulpicius, the whole nation must have come to Jerusalem.”
+
+“It really appears like it,” replied the Roman, who had been chosen by
+Tiberius to accompany Faustina because he had, during a number of years,
+lived in Judea. “They celebrate now the great Spring Festival, and at
+this time all the people, both old and young, come to Jerusalem.”
+
+Faustina reflected a moment. “I am glad that we came to this city on the
+day that the people celebrate their festival,” said she. “It can not
+signify anything else than that the gods protect our journey. Do you
+think it likely that he whom we seek, the Prophet of Nazareth, has also
+come to Jerusalem to participate in the festivities?”
+
+“You are surely right, Faustina,” said the Roman. “He must be here in
+Jerusalem. This is indeed a decree of the gods. Strong and vigorous
+though you be, you may consider yourself fortunate if you escape making
+the long and troublesome journey up to Galilee.”
+
+At once he rode over to a couple of wayfarers and asked them if they
+thought the Prophet of Nazareth was in Jerusalem.
+
+“We have seen him here every day at this season,” answered one. “Surely
+he must be here even this year, for he is a holy and righteous man.”
+
+A woman stretched forth her hand and pointed towards a hill, which lay
+east of the city. “Do you see the foot of that mountain, which is
+covered with olive trees?” she said. “It is there that the Galileans
+usually raise their tents, and there you will get the most reliable
+information about him whom you seek.”
+
+They journeyed farther, and traveled on a winding path all the way down
+to the bottom of the valley, and then they began to ride up toward
+Zion’s hill, to reach the city on its heights. The woman who had spoken
+went along the same way.
+
+The steep ascending road was encompassed here by low walls, and upon
+these countless beggars and cripples sat or lolled. “Look,” said the
+woman who had spoken, pointing to one of the beggars who sat on the
+wall, “there is a Galilean! I recollect that I have seen him among the
+Prophet’s disciples. He can tell you where you will find him you seek.”
+
+Faustina and Sulpicius rode up to the man who had been pointed out to
+her. He was a poor old man with a heavy iron-gray beard. His face was
+bronzed by heat and sunshine. He asked no alms; on the contrary, he was
+so engrossed in anxious thought that he did not even glance at the
+passers-by.
+
+Nor did he hear that Sulpicius addressed him, and the latter had to
+repeat his question several times.
+
+“My friend, I’ve been told that you are a Galilean. I beg you,
+therefore, to tell me where I shall find the Prophet from Nazareth!”
+
+The Galilean gave a sudden start and looked around him, confused. But
+when he finally comprehended what was wanted of him, he was seized with
+rage mixed with terror. “What are you talking about?” he burst out. “Why
+do you ask me about that man? I know nothing of him. I’m not a
+Galilean.”
+
+The Hebrew woman now joined in the conversation. “Still I have seen you
+in his company,” she protested. “Do not fear, but tell this noble Roman
+lady, who is the Emperor’s friend, where she is most likely to find
+him.”
+
+But the terrified disciple grew more and more irascible. “Have all the
+people gone mad to-day?” said he. “Are they possessed by an evil spirit,
+since they come again and again and ask me about that man? Why will no
+one believe me when I say that I do not know the Prophet? I do not come
+from his country. I have never seen him.”
+
+His irritability attracted attention, and a couple of beggars who sat on
+the wall beside him also began to dispute his word.
+
+“Certainly you were among his disciples,” said one. “We all know that
+you came with him from Galilee.”
+
+Then the man raised his arms toward heaven and cried: “I could not
+endure it in Jerusalem to-day on that man’s account, and now they will
+not even leave me in peace out here among the beggars! Why don’t you
+believe me when I say to you that I have never seen him?”
+
+Faustina turned away with a shrug. “Let us go farther!” said she. “The
+man is mad. From him we will learn nothing.”
+
+They went farther up the mountain. Faustina was not more than two steps
+from the city gate, when the Hebrew woman who had wished to help her
+find the Prophet called to her to be careful. She pulled in her reins
+and saw that a man lay in the road, just in front of the horse’s feet,
+where the crush was greatest. It was a miracle that he had not already
+been trampled to death by animals or people.
+
+The man lay upon his back and stared upward with lusterless eyes. He did
+not move, although the camels placed their heavy feet close beside him.
+He was poorly clad, and besides he was covered with dust and dirt. In
+fact, he had thrown so much gravel over himself that it looked as if he
+tried to hide himself, to be more easily over-ridden and trampled down.
+
+“What does this mean? Why does this man lie here on the road?” asked
+Faustina.
+
+Instantly the man began shouting to the passers-by:
+
+“In mercy, brothers and sisters, drive your horses and camels over me!
+Do not turn aside for me! Trample me to dust! I have betrayed innocent
+blood. Trample me to dust!”
+
+Sulpicius caught Faustina’s horse by the bridle and turned it to one
+side. “It is a sinner who wants to do penance,” said he. “Do not let
+this delay your journey. These people are peculiar and one must let them
+follow their own bent.”
+
+The man in the road continued to shout: “Set your heels on my heart! Let
+the camels crush my breast and the asses dig their hoofs into my eyes!”
+
+But Faustina seemed loath to ride past the miserable man without trying
+to make him rise. She remained all the while beside him.
+
+The Hebrew woman who had wished to serve her once before, pushed her way
+forward again. “This man also belonged to the Prophet’s disciples,” said
+she. “Do you wish me to ask him about his Master?”
+
+Faustina nodded affirmatively, and the woman bent down over the man.
+
+“What have you Galileans done this day with your Master?” she asked. “I
+meet you scattered on highways and byways, but him I see nowhere.”
+
+But when she questioned in this manner, the man who lay in the dust rose
+to his knees. “What evil spirit hath possessed you to ask me about him?”
+he said, in a voice that was filled with despair. “You see, surely, that
+I have lain down in the road to be trampled to death. Is not that enough
+for you? Shall you come also and ask me what I have done with him?”
+
+When she repeated the question, the man staggered to his feet and put
+both hands to his ears.
+
+“Woe unto you, that you can not let me die in peace!” he cried. He
+forced his way through the crowds that thronged in front of the gate,
+and rushed away shrieking with terror, while his torn robe fluttered
+around him like dark wings.
+
+“It appears to me as though we had come to a nation of madmen,” said
+Faustina, when she saw the man flee. She had become depressed by seeing
+these disciples of the Prophet. Could the man who numbered such fools
+among his followers do anything for the Emperor?
+
+Even the Hebrew woman looked distressed, and she said very earnestly to
+Faustina: “Mistress, delay not in your search for him whom you would
+find! I fear some evil has befallen him, since his disciples are beside
+themselves and can not bear to hear him spoken of.”
+
+Faustina and her retinue finally rode through the gate archway and came
+in on the narrow and dark streets, which were alive with people. It
+seemed well-nigh impossible to get through the city. The riders time and
+again had to stand still. Slaves and soldiers tried in vain to clear the
+way. The people continued to rush on in a compact, irresistible stream.
+
+“Verily,” said the old woman, “the streets of Rome are peaceful pleasure
+gardens compared with these!”
+
+Sulpicius soon saw that almost insurmountable difficulties awaited them.
+
+“On these overcrowded streets it is easier to walk than to ride,” said
+he. “If you are not too fatigued, I should advise you to walk to the
+Governor’s palace. It is a good distance away, but if we ride we
+certainly will not get there until after midnight.”
+
+Faustina accepted the suggestion at once. She dismounted, and left her
+horse with one of the slaves. Thereupon the Roman travelers began to
+walk through the city.
+
+This was much better. They pushed their way quickly toward the heart of
+the city, and Sulpicius showed Faustina a rather wide street, which they
+were nearing.
+
+“Look, Faustina,” he said, “if we take this street, we will soon be
+there. It leads directly down to our quarters.”
+
+But just as they were about to turn into the street, the worst obstacle
+met them.
+
+It happened that the very moment when Faustina reached the street which
+extended from the Governor’s palace to Righteousness’ Gate and Golgotha,
+they brought through it a prisoner, who was to be taken out and
+crucified. Before him ran a crowd of wild youths who wanted to witness
+the execution. They raced up the street, waved their arms in rapture
+towards the hill, and emitted unintelligible howls—in their delight at
+being allowed to view something which they did not see every day.
+
+Behind them came companies of men in silken robes, who appeared to
+belong to the city’s élite and foremost. Then came women, many of whom
+had tear-stained faces. A gathering of poor and maimed staggered
+forward, uttering shrieks that pierced the ears.
+
+“O God!” they cried, “save him! Send Thine angel and save him! Send a
+deliverer in his direst need!”
+
+Finally there came a few Roman soldiers on great horses. They kept guard
+so that none of the people could dash up to the prisoner and try to
+rescue him.
+
+Directly behind them followed the executioners, whose task it was to
+lead forward the man that was to be crucified. They had laid a heavy
+wooden cross over his shoulder, but he was too weak for this burden. It
+weighed him down so that his body was almost bent to the ground. He held
+his head down so far that no one could see his face.
+
+Faustina stood at the opening of the little bystreet and saw the doomed
+man’s heavy tread. She noticed, with surprise, that he wore a purple
+mantle, and that a crown of thorns was pressed down upon his head.
+
+“Who is this man?” she asked.
+
+One of the bystanders answered her: “It is one who wished to make
+himself Emperor.”
+
+“And must he suffer death for a thing which is scarcely worth striving
+after?” said the old woman sadly.
+
+The doomed man staggered under the cross. He dragged himself forward
+more and more slowly. The executioners had tied a rope around his waist,
+and they began to pull on it to hasten the speed. But as they pulled the
+rope the man fell, and lay there with the cross over him.
+
+There was a terrible uproar. The Roman soldiers had all they could do to
+hold the crowds back. They drew their swords on a couple of women who
+tried to rush forward to help the fallen man. The executioners attempted
+to force him up with cuffs and lashes, but he could not move because of
+the cross. Finally two of them took hold of the cross to remove it.
+
+Then he raised his head, and old Faustina could see his face. The cheeks
+were streaked by lashes from a whip, and from his brow, which was
+wounded by the thorn-crown, trickled some drops of blood. His hair hung
+in knotted tangles, clotted with sweat and blood. His jaw was firm set,
+but his lips trembled, as if they struggled to suppress a cry. His eyes,
+tear-filled and almost blinded from torture and fatigue, stared straight
+ahead.
+
+But back of this half-dead person’s face, the old woman saw—as in a
+vision—a pale and beautiful One with glorious, majestic eyes and gentle
+features, and she was seized with sudden grief—touched by the unknown
+man’s misfortune and degradation.
+
+“Oh, what have they done with you, you poor soul!” she burst out, and
+moved a step nearer him, while her eyes filled with tears. She forgot
+her own sorrow and anxiety for this tortured man’s distress. She thought
+her heart would burst from pity. She, like the other women, wanted to
+rush forward and tear him away from the executioners!
+
+The fallen man saw how she came toward him, and he crept closer to her.
+It was as though he had expected to find protection with her against all
+those who persecuted and tortured him. He embraced her knees. He pressed
+himself against her, like a child who clings close to his mother for
+safety.
+
+The old woman bent over him, and as the tears streamed down her cheeks,
+she felt the most blissful joy because he had come and sought protection
+with her. She placed one arm around his neck, and as a mother first of
+all wipes away the tears from her child’s eyes, she laid her kerchief of
+sheer fine linen over his face, to wipe away the tears and the blood.
+
+But now the executioners were ready with the cross. They came now and
+snatched away the prisoner. Impatient over the delay, they dragged him
+off in wild haste. The condemned man uttered a groan when he was led
+away from the refuge he had found, but he made no resistance.
+
+Faustina embraced him to hold him back, and when her feeble old hands
+were powerless and she saw him borne away, she felt as if some one had
+torn from her her own child, and she cried: “No, no! Do not take him
+from me! He must not die! He shall not die!”
+
+She felt the most intense grief and indignation because he was being led
+away. She wanted to rush after him. She wanted to fight with the
+executioners and tear him from them.
+
+But with the first step she took, she was seized with weakness and
+dizziness. Sulpicius made haste to place his arm around her, to prevent
+her from falling.
+
+On one side of the street he saw a little shop, and carried her in.
+There was neither bench nor chair inside, but the shopkeeper was a
+kindly man. He helped her over to a rug, and arranged a bed for her on
+the stone floor.
+
+She was not unconscious, but such a great dizziness had seized her that
+she could not sit up, but was forced to lie down.
+
+“She has made a long journey to-day, and the noise and crush in the city
+have been too much for her,” said Sulpicius to the merchant. “She is
+very old, and no one is so strong as not to be conquered by age.”
+
+“This is a trying day, even for one who is not old,” said the merchant.
+“The air is almost too heavy to breathe. It would not surprise me if a
+severe storm were in store for us.”
+
+Sulpicius bent over the old woman. She had fallen asleep, and she slept
+with calm, regular respirations after all the excitement and fatigue.
+
+He walked over to the shop door, stood there, and looked at the crowds
+while he awaited her waking.
+
+                                  VII
+
+The Roman governor at Jerusalem had a young wife, and she had had a
+dream during the night preceding the day when Faustina entered the city.
+
+She dreamed that she stood on the roof of her house and looked down upon
+the beautiful court, which, according to the Oriental custom, was paved
+with marble, and planted with rare growths.
+
+But in the court she saw assembled all the sick and blind and halt there
+were in the world. She saw before her the pest-ridden, with bodies
+swollen with boils; lepers with disfigured faces; the paralytics, who
+could not move, but lay helpless upon the ground, and all the wretched
+creatures who writhed in torment and pain.
+
+They all crowded up towards the entrance, to get into the house; and a
+number of those who walked foremost pounded on the palace door.
+
+At last she saw that a slave opened the door and came out on the
+threshold, and she heard him ask what they wanted.
+
+Then they answered him, saying: “We seek the great Prophet whom God hath
+sent to the world. Where is the Prophet of Nazareth, he who is master of
+all suffering? Where is he who can deliver us from all our torment?”
+
+Then the slave answered them in an arrogant and indifferent tone—as
+palace servants do when they turn away the poor stranger:
+
+“It will profit you nothing to seek the great Prophet. Pilate has killed
+him.”
+
+Then there arose among all the sick a grief and a moaning and a gnashing
+of teeth which she could not bear to hear. Her heart was wrung with
+compassion, and tears streamed from her eyes. But when she had begun to
+weep, she awakened.
+
+Again she fell asleep; and again she dreamed that she stood on the roof
+of her house and looked down upon the big court, which was as broad as a
+square.
+
+And behold! the court was filled with all the insane and soul-sick and
+those possessed of evil spirits. And she saw those who were naked and
+those who were covered with their long hair, and those who had braided
+themselves crowns of straw and mantles of grass and believed they were
+kings, and those who crawled on the ground and thought themselves
+beasts, and those who came dragging heavy stones, which they believed to
+be gold, and those who thought that the evil spirits spoke through their
+mouths.
+
+She saw all these crowd up toward the palace gate. And the ones who
+stood nearest to it knocked and pounded to get in.
+
+At last the door opened, and a slave stepped out on the threshold and
+asked: “What do you want?”
+
+Then all began to cry aloud, saying: “Where is the great Prophet of
+Nazareth, he who was sent of God, and who shall restore to us our souls
+and our wits?”
+
+She heard the slave answer them in the most indifferent tone: “It is
+useless for you to seek the great Prophet, Pilate has killed him.”
+
+When this was said, they uttered a shriek as wild as a beast’s howl, and
+in their despair they began to lacerate themselves until the blood ran
+down on the stones. And when she that dreamed saw their distress, she
+wrung her hands and moaned. And her own moans awakened her.
+
+But again she fell asleep, and again, in her dream, she was on the roof
+of her house. Round about her sat her slaves, who played for her upon
+cymbals and zithers, and the almond trees shook their white blossoms
+over her, and clambering rose-vines exhaled their perfume.
+
+As she sat there, a voice spoke to her: “Go over to the balustrade which
+incloses the roof, and see who they are that stand and wait in your
+court!”
+
+But in the dream she declined, and said: “I do not care to see any more
+of those who throng my court to-night.”
+
+Just then she heard a clanking of chains and a pounding of heavy
+hammers, and the pounding of wood against wood. Her slaves ceased their
+singing and playing and hurried over to the railing and looked down. Nor
+could she herself remain seated, but walked thither and looked down on
+the court.
+
+Then she saw that the court was filled with all the poor prisoners in
+the world. She saw those who must lie in dark prison dungeons, fettered
+with heavy chains; she saw those who labored in the dark mines come
+dragging their heavy planks, and those who were rowers on war galleys
+come with their heavy iron-bound oars. And those who were condemned to
+be crucified came dragging their crosses, and those who were to be
+beheaded came with their broadaxes. She saw those who were sent into
+slavery to foreign lands and whose eyes burned with homesickness. She
+saw those who must serve as beasts of burden, and whose backs were
+bleeding from lashes.
+
+All these unfortunates cried as with one voice: “Open, open!”
+
+Then the slave who guarded the entrance stepped to the door and asked:
+“What is it that you wish?”
+
+And these answered like the others: “We seek the great Prophet of
+Nazareth, who has come to the world to give the prisoners their freedom
+and the slaves their lost happiness.”
+
+The slave answered them in a tired and indifferent tone: “You can not
+find him here. Pilate has killed him.”
+
+When this was said, she who dreamed thought that among all the unhappy
+there arose such an outburst of scorn and blasphemy that heaven and
+earth trembled. She was ice-cold with fright, and her body shook so that
+she awaked.
+
+When she was thoroughly awake, she sat up in bed and thought to herself:
+“I would not dream more. Now I want to remain awake all night, that I
+may escape seeing more of this horror.”
+
+And even whilst she was thinking thus, drowsiness crept in upon her
+anew, and she laid her head on the pillow and fell asleep.
+
+Again she dreamed that she sat on the roof of her house, and now her
+little son ran back and forth up there, and played with a ball.
+
+Then she heard a voice that said to her: “Go over to the balustrade,
+which incloses the roof, and see who they are that stand and wait in
+your court!” But she who dreamed said to herself: “I have seen enough
+misery this night. I can not endure any more. I would remain where I
+am.”
+
+At that moment her son threw his ball so that it dropped outside the
+balustrade, and the child ran forward and clambered up on the railing.
+Then she was frightened. She rushed over and seized hold of the child.
+
+But with that she happened to cast her eyes downward, and once more she
+saw that the court was full of people.
+
+In the court were all the peoples of earth who had been wounded in
+battle. They came with severed bodies, with cut-off limbs, and with big
+open wounds from which the blood oozed, so that the whole court was
+drenched with it.
+
+And beside these, came all the people in the world who had lost their
+loved ones on the battlefield. They were the fatherless who mourned
+their protectors, and the young maidens who cried for their lovers, and
+the aged who sighed for their sons.
+
+The foremost among them pushed against the door, and the watchman came
+out as before, and opened it.
+
+He asked all these, who had been wounded in battles and skirmishes:
+“What seek ye in this house?”
+
+And they answered: “We seek the great Prophet of Nazareth, who shall
+prohibit wars and rumors of wars and bring peace to the earth. We seek
+him who shall convert spears into scythes and swords into pruning
+hooks.”
+
+Then answered the slave somewhat impatiently: “Let no more come to
+pester me! I have already said it often enough. The great Prophet is not
+here. Pilate has killed him.”
+
+Thereupon he closed the gate. But she who dreamed thought of all the
+lamentation which would come now. “I do not wish to hear it,” said she,
+and rushed away from the balustrade. That instant she awoke. Then she
+discovered that in her terror she had jumped out of her bed and down on
+the cold stone floor.
+
+Again she thought she did not want to sleep more that night, and again
+sleep overpowered her, and she closed her eyes and began to dream.
+
+She sat once more on the roof of her house, and beside her stood her
+husband. She told him of her dreams, and he ridiculed her.
+
+Again she heard a voice, which said to her: “Go see the people who wait
+in your court!”
+
+But she thought: “I would not see them. I have seen enough misery
+to-night.”
+
+Just then she heard three loud raps on the gate, and her husband walked
+over to the balustrade to see who it was that asked admittance to his
+house.
+
+But no sooner had he leaned over the railing, than he beckoned to his
+wife to come over to him.
+
+“Know you not this man?” said he, and pointed down.
+
+When she looked down on the court, she found that it was filled with
+horses and riders, slaves were busy unloading asses and camels. It
+looked as though a distinguished traveler might have landed.
+
+At the entrance gate stood the traveler. He was a large elderly man with
+broad shoulders and a heavy and gloomy appearance.
+
+The dreamer recognized the stranger instantly, and whispered to her
+husband: “It is Cæsar Tiberius, who is here in Jerusalem. It can not be
+any one else.”
+
+“I also seem to recognize him,” said her husband; at the same time he
+placed his finger on his mouth, as a signal that they should be quiet
+and listen to what was said down in the court.
+
+They saw that the doorkeeper came out and asked the stranger: “Whom seek
+you?”
+
+And the traveler answered: “I seek the great Prophet of Nazareth, who is
+endowed with God’s power to perform miracles. It is Emperor Tiberius who
+calls him, that he may liberate him from a terrible disease, which no
+other physician can cure.”
+
+When he had spoken, the slave bowed very humbly and said: “My lord, be
+not wroth! but your wish can not be fulfilled.”
+
+Then the Emperor turned toward his slaves, who waited below in the
+court, and gave them a command.
+
+Then the slaves hastened forward—some with handfuls of ornaments,
+others carried goblets studded with pearls, other again dragged sacks
+filled with gold coin.
+
+The Emperor turned to the slave who guarded the gate, and said: “All
+this shall be his, if he helps Tiberius. With this he can give riches to
+all the world’s poor.”
+
+But the doorkeeper bowed still lower and said: “Master, be not wroth
+with thy servant, but thy request can not be fulfilled.”
+
+Then the Emperor beckoned again to his slaves, and a pair of them
+hurried forward with a richly embroidered robe, upon which glittered a
+breastpiece of jewels.
+
+And the Emperor said to the slave: “See! This which I offer him is the
+power over Judea. He shall rule his people like the highest judge, if he
+will only come and heal Tiberius!”
+
+The slave bowed still nearer the earth, and said: “Master, it is not
+within my power to help you.”
+
+Then the Emperor beckoned once again, and his slaves rushed up with a
+golden coronet and a purple mantle.
+
+“See,” he said, “this is the Emperor’s will: He promises to appoint the
+Prophet his successor, and give him dominion over the world. He shall
+have power to rule the world according to his God’s will, if he will
+only stretch forth his hand and heal Tiberius!”
+
+Then the slave fell at the Emperor’s feet and said in an imploring tone:
+“Master, it does not lie in my power to attend to thy command. He whom
+thou seekest is no longer here. Pilate hath killed him.”
+
+                                  VIII
+
+When the young woman awoke, it was already full, clear day, and her
+female slaves stood and waited that they might help her dress.
+
+She was very silent while she dressed, but finally she asked the slave
+who arranged her hair, if her husband was up. She learned that he had
+been called out to pass judgment on a criminal. “I should have liked to
+talk with him,” said the young woman.
+
+“Mistress,” said the slave, “it will be difficult to do so during the
+trial. We will let you know as soon as it is over.”
+
+She sat silent now until her toilet was completed. Then she asked: “Has
+any among you heard of the Prophet of Nazareth?”
+
+“The Prophet of Nazareth is a Jewish miracle performer,” answered one of
+the slaves instantly.
+
+“It is strange, Mistress, that you should ask after him to-day,” said
+another slave. “It is just he whom the Jews have brought here to the
+palace, to let him be tried by the Governor.”
+
+She bade them go at once and ascertain for what cause he was arraigned,
+and one of the slaves withdrew. When she returned she said: “They accuse
+him of wanting to make himself King over this land, and they entreat the
+Governor to let him be crucified.”
+
+When the Governor’s wife heard this, she grew terrified and said: “I
+must speak with my husband, otherwise a terrible calamity will happen
+here this day.”
+
+When the slaves said once again that this was impossible, she began to
+weep and shudder. And one among them was touched, so she said: “If you
+will send a written message to the Governor, I will try and take it to
+him.”
+
+Immediately she took a stylus and wrote a few words on a wax tablet, and
+this was given to Pilate.
+
+But him she did not meet alone the whole day; for when he had dismissed
+the Jews, and the condemned man was taken to the place of execution, the
+hour for repast was come, and to this Pilate had invited a few of the
+Romans who visited Jerusalem at this season. They were the commander of
+the troops and a young instructor in oratory, and several others
+besides.
+
+This repast was not very gay, for the Governor’s wife sat all the while
+silent and dejected, and took no part in the conversation.
+
+When the guests asked if she was ill or distraught, the Governor
+laughingly related about the message she had sent him in the morning. He
+chaffed her because she had believed that a Roman governor would let
+himself be guided in his judgments by a woman’s dreams.
+
+She answered gently and sadly: “In truth, it was no dream, but a warning
+sent by the gods. You should at least have let the man live through this
+one day.”
+
+They saw that she was seriously distressed. She would not be comforted,
+no matter how much the guests exerted themselves, by keeping up the
+conversation to make her forget these empty fancies.
+
+But after a while one of them raised his head and exclaimed: “What is
+this? Have we sat so long at table that the day is already gone?”
+
+All looked up now, and they observed that a dim twilight settled down
+over nature. Above all, it was remarkable to see how the whole
+variegated play of color which it spread over all creatures and objects,
+faded away slowly, so that all looked a uniform gray.
+
+Like everything else, even their own faces lost their color. “We
+actually look like the dead,” said the young orator with a shudder. “Our
+cheeks are gray and our lips black.”
+
+As this darkness grew more intense, the woman’s fear increased. “Oh, my
+friend!” she burst out at last. “Can’t you perceive even now that the
+Immortals would warn you? They are incensed because you condemned a holy
+and innocent man. I am thinking that although he may already be on the
+cross, he is surely not dead yet. Let him be taken down from the cross!
+I would with mine own hands nurse his wounds. Only grant that he be
+called back to life!”
+
+But Pilate answered laughingly: “You are surely right in that this is a
+sign from the gods. But they do not let the sun lose its luster because
+a Jewish heretic has been condemned to the cross. On the contrary, we
+may expect that important matters shall appear, which concern the whole
+kingdom. Who can tell how long old Tiberius——”
+
+He did not finish the sentence, for the darkness had become so profound
+he could not see even the wine goblet standing in front of him. He broke
+off, therefore, to order the slaves to fetch some lamps instantly.
+
+When it had become so light that he could see the faces of his guests,
+it was impossible for him not to notice the depression which had come
+over them. “Mark you!” he said half-angrily to his wife. “Now it is
+apparent to me that you have succeeded with your dreams in driving away
+the joys of the table. But if it must needs be that you can not think of
+anything else to-day, then let us hear what you have dreamed. Tell it us
+and we will try to interpret its meaning!”
+
+For this the young wife was ready at once. And while she related vision
+after vision, the guests grew more and more serious. They ceased
+emptying their goblets, and they sat with brows knit. The only one who
+continued to laugh and to call the whole thing madness, was the Governor
+himself.
+
+When the narrative was ended, the young rhetorician said: “Truly, this
+is something more than a dream, for I have seen this day not the
+Emperor, but his old friend Faustina, march into the city. Only it
+surprises me that she has not already appeared in the Governor’s
+palace.”
+
+“There is actually a rumor abroad to the effect that the Emperor has
+been stricken with a terrible illness,” observed the leader of the
+troops. “It also seems very possible to me that your wife’s dream may be
+a god-sent warning.”
+
+“There’s nothing incredible in this, that Tiberius has sent messengers
+after the Prophet to summon him to his sick-bed,” agreed the young
+rhetorician.
+
+The Commander turned with profound seriousness toward Pilate. “If the
+Emperor has actually taken it into his head to let this miracle-worker
+be summoned, it were better for you and for all of us that he found him
+alive.”
+
+Pilate answered irritably: “Is it the darkness that has turned you into
+children? One would think that you had all been transformed into
+dream-interpreters and prophets.”
+
+But the courtier continued his argument: “It may not be impossible,
+perhaps, to save the man’s life, if you sent a swift messenger.”
+
+“You want to make a laughing-stock of me,” answered the Governor. “Tell
+me, what would become of law and order in this land, if they learned
+that the Governor pardoned a criminal because his wife has dreamed a bad
+dream?”
+
+“It is the truth, however, and not a dream, that I have seen Faustina in
+Jerusalem,” said the young orator.
+
+“I shall take the responsibility of defending my actions before the
+Emperor,” said Pilate. “He will understand that this visionary, who let
+himself be misused by my soldiers without resistance, would not have had
+the power to help him.”
+
+As he was speaking, the house was shaken by a noise like a powerful
+rolling thunder, and an earthquake shook the ground. The Governor’s
+palace stood intact, but during some minutes just after the earthquake,
+a terrific crash of crumbling houses and falling pillars was heard.
+
+As soon as a human voice could make itself heard, the Governor called a
+slave.
+
+“Run out to the place of execution and command in my name that the
+Prophet of Nazareth shall be taken down from the cross!”
+
+The slave hurried away. The guests filed from the dining-hall out on the
+peristyle, to be under the open sky in case the earthquake should be
+repeated. No one dared to utter a word, while they awaited the slave’s
+return.
+
+He came back very shortly. He stopped before the Governor.
+
+“You found him alive?” said he.
+
+“Master, he was dead, and on the very second that he gave up the ghost,
+the earthquake occurred.”
+
+The words were hardly spoken when two loud knocks sounded against the
+outer gate. When these knocks were heard, they all staggered back and
+leaped up, as though it had been a new earthquake.
+
+Immediately afterwards a slave came up.
+
+“It is the noble Faustina and the Emperor’s kinsman Sulpicius. They are
+come to beg you help them find the Prophet from Nazareth.”
+
+A low murmur passed through the peristyle, and soft footfalls were
+heard. When the Governor looked around, he noticed that his friends had
+withdrawn from him, as from one upon whom misfortune has fallen.
+
+                                   IX
+
+Old Faustina had returned to Capri and had sought out the Emperor. She
+told him her story, and while she spoke she hardly dared look at him.
+During her absence the illness had made frightful ravages, and she
+thought to herself: “If there had been any pity among the Celestials,
+they would have let me die before being forced to tell this poor,
+tortured man that all hope is gone.”
+
+To her astonishment, Tiberius listened to her with the utmost
+indifference. When she related how the great miracle performer had been
+crucified the same day that she had arrived in Jerusalem, and how near
+she had been to saving him, she began to weep under the weight of her
+failure. But Tiberius only remarked: “You actually grieve over this? Ah,
+Faustina! A whole lifetime in Rome has not weaned you then of faith in
+sorcerers and miracle workers, which you imbibed during your childhood
+in the Sabine mountains!”
+
+Then the old woman perceived that Tiberius had never expected any help
+from the Prophet of Nazareth.
+
+“Why did you let me make the journey to that distant land, if you
+believed all the while that it was useless?”
+
+“You are the only friend I have,” said the Emperor. “Why should I deny
+your prayer, so long as I still have the power to grant it.”
+
+But the old woman did not like it that the Emperor had taken her for a
+fool.
+
+“Ah! this is your usual cunning,” she burst out. “This is just what I
+can tolerate least in you.”
+
+“You should not have come back to me,” said Tiberius. “You should have
+remained in the mountains.”
+
+It looked for a moment as if these two, who had clashed so often, would
+again fall into a war of words, but the old woman’s anger subsided
+immediately. The times were past when she could quarrel in earnest with
+the Emperor. She lowered her voice again; but she could not altogether
+relinquish every effort to obtain justice.
+
+“But this man was really a prophet,” she said. “I have seen him. When
+his eyes met mine, I thought he was a god. I was mad to allow him to go
+to his death.”
+
+“I am glad you let him die,” said Tiberius. “He was a traitor and a
+dangerous agitator.”
+
+Faustina was about to burst into another passion—then checked herself.
+
+“I have spoken with many of his friends in Jerusalem about him,” said
+she. “He had not committed the crimes for which he was arraigned.”
+
+“Even if he had not committed just these crimes, he was surely no better
+than any one else,” said the Emperor wearily. “Where will you find the
+person who during his lifetime has not a thousand times deserved death?”
+
+But these remarks of the Emperor decided Faustina to undertake something
+which she had until now hesitated about. “I will show you a proof of his
+power,” said she. “I said to you just now that I laid my kerchief over
+his face. It is the same kerchief which I hold in my hand. Will you look
+at it a moment?”
+
+She spread the kerchief out before the Emperor, and he saw delineated
+thereon the shadowy likeness of a human face.
+
+The old woman’s voice shook with emotion as she continued: “This man saw
+that I loved him. I know not by what power he was enabled to leave me
+his portrait. But mine eyes fill up with tears when I see it.”
+
+The Emperor leaned forward and regarded the picture, which appeared to
+be made up of blood and tears and the dark shadows of grief. Gradually
+the whole face stood out before him, exactly as it had been imprinted
+upon the kerchief. He saw the blood-drops on the forehead, the piercing
+thorn-crown, the hair, which was matted with blood, and the mouth whose
+lips seemed to quiver with agony.
+
+He bent down closer and closer to the picture. The face stood out
+clearer and clearer. From out the shadow-like outlines, all at once, he
+saw the eyes sparkle as with hidden life. And while they spoke to him of
+the most terrible suffering, they also revealed a purity and sublimity
+which he had never seen before.
+
+He lay upon his couch and drank in the picture with his eyes. “Is this a
+mortal?” he said softly and slowly. “Is this a mortal?”
+
+Again he lay still and regarded the picture. The tears began to stream
+down his cheeks. “I mourn over thy death, thou Unknown!” he whispered.
+
+“Faustina!” he cried out at last. “Why did you let this man die? He
+would have healed me.”
+
+And again he was lost in the picture.
+
+“O Man!” he said, after a moment, “if I can not gain my health from
+thee, I can still avenge thy murder. My hand shall rest heavily upon
+those who have robbed me of thee!”
+
+Again he lay still a long time; then he let himself glide down to the
+floor—and he knelt before the picture:
+
+“Thou art Man!” said he. “Thou art that which I never dreamed I should
+see.” And he pointed to his disfigured face and destroyed hands. “I and
+all others are wild beasts and monsters, but thou art Man.”
+
+He bowed his head so low before the picture that it touched the floor.
+“Have pity on me, thou Unknown!” he sobbed, and his tears watered the
+stones.
+
+“If thou hadst lived, thy glance alone would have healed me,” he said.
+
+The poor old woman was terror-stricken over what she had done. It would
+have been wiser not to show the Emperor the picture, thought she. From
+the start she had been afraid that if he should see it his grief would
+be too overwhelming.
+
+And in her despair over the Emperor’s grief, she snatched the picture
+away, as if to remove it from his sight.
+
+Then the Emperor looked up. And, lo! his features were transformed, and
+he was as he had been before the illness. It was as if the illness had
+had its root and sustenance in the contempt and hatred of mankind which
+had lived in his heart; and it had been forced to flee the very moment
+he had felt love and compassion.
+
+The following day Tiberius despatched three messengers.
+
+The first messenger traveled to Rome with the command that the Senate
+should institute investigations as to how the governor of Palestine
+administered his official duties and punish him, should it appear that
+he oppressed the people and condemned the innocent to death.
+
+The second messenger went to the vineyard-laborer and his wife, to thank
+them and reward them for the counsel they had given the Emperor, and
+also to tell them how everything had turned out. When they had heard
+all, they wept silently, and the man said: “I know that all my life I
+shall ponder what would have happened if these two had met.” But the
+woman answered: “It could not happen in any other way. It was too great
+a thought that these two should meet. God knew that the world could not
+support it.”
+
+The third messenger traveled to Palestine and brought back with him to
+Capri some of Jesus’ disciples, and these began to teach there the
+doctrine that had been preached by the Crucified One.
+
+When the disciples landed at Capri, old Faustina lay upon her death-bed.
+Still they had time before her death to make of her a follower of the
+great Prophet, and to baptize her. And in the baptism she was called
+Veronica, because to her it had been granted to give to mankind the true
+likeness of their Saviour.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Robin Redbreast]
+
+                            ROBIN REDBREAST
+
+
+It happened at the time when our Lord created the world, when He not
+only made heaven and earth, but all the animals and the plants as well,
+at the same time giving them their names.
+
+There have been many histories concerning that time, and if we knew them
+all, we should have light upon everything in this world which we can not
+now comprehend.
+
+At that time it happened one day when our Lord sat in His Paradise and
+painted the little birds, that the colors in our Lord’s paint pot gave
+out, and the goldfinch would have been without color if our Lord had not
+wiped all His paint brushes on its feathers.
+
+It was then that the donkey got his long ears, because he could not
+remember the name that had been given him.
+
+No sooner had he taken a few steps over the meadows of Paradise than he
+forgot, and three times he came back to ask his name. At last our Lord
+grew somewhat impatient, took him by his two ears, and said:
+
+“Thy name is ass, ass, ass!” And while He thus spake our Lord pulled
+both of his ears that the ass might hear better, and remember what was
+said to him. It was on the same day, also, that the bee was punished.
+
+Now, when the bee was created, she began immediately to gather honey,
+and the animals and human beings who caught the delicious odor of the
+honey came and wanted to taste of it. But the bee wanted to keep it all
+for herself and with her poisonous sting pursued every living creature
+that approached her hive. Our Lord saw this and at once called the bee
+to Him and punished her.
+
+“I gave thee the gift of gathering honey, which is the sweetest thing in
+all creation,” said our Lord, “but I did not give thee the right to be
+cruel to thy neighbor. Remember well that every time thou stingest any
+creature who desires to taste of thy honey, thou shalt surely die!”
+
+Ah, yes! It was at that time, too, that the cricket became blind and the
+ant missed her wings, so many strange things happened on that day!
+
+Our Lord sat there, big and gentle, and planned and created all day
+long, and towards evening He conceived the idea of making a little gray
+bird. “Remember your name is Robin Redbreast,” said our Lord to the
+bird, as soon as it was finished. Then He held it in the palm of His
+open hand and let it fly.
+
+After the bird had been testing his wings a while, and had seen
+something of the beautiful world in which he was destined to live, he
+became curious to see what he himself was like. He noticed that he was
+entirely gray, and that his breast was just as gray as all the rest of
+him. Robin Redbreast twisted and turned in all directions as he viewed
+himself in the mirror of a clear lake, but he couldn’t find a single red
+feather. Then he flew back to our Lord.
+
+Our Lord sat there on His throne, big and gentle. Out of His hands came
+butterflies that fluttered about His head; doves cooed on His shoulders;
+and out of the earth beneath Him grew the rose, the lily, and the daisy.
+
+The little bird’s heart beat heavily with fright, but with easy curves
+he flew nearer and nearer our Lord, till at last he rested on our Lord’s
+hand. Then our Lord asked what the little bird wanted. “I only wish to
+ask you about one thing,” said the little bird. “What is it you wish to
+know?” said our Lord. “Why should I be called Red Breast, when I am all
+gray, from the bill to the very end of my tail? Why am I called Red
+Breast when I do not possess one single red feather?” The bird looked
+beseechingly on our Lord with his tiny black eyes—then turned his head.
+About him he saw pheasants all red under a sprinkle of gold dust,
+parrots with marvelous red neck-bands, cocks with red combs, to say
+nothing about the butterflies, the goldfinches, and the roses! And
+naturally he thought how little he needed—just one tiny drop of color
+on his breast and he, too, would be a beautiful bird, and his name would
+fit him. “Why should I be called Red Breast when I am so entirely gray?”
+asked the bird once again, and waited for our Lord to say: “Ah, my
+friend, I see that I have forgotten to paint your breast feathers red,
+but wait a moment and it shall be done.”
+
+But our Lord only smiled a little and said: “I have called you Robin
+Redbreast, and Robin Redbreast shall your name be, but you must look to
+it that you yourself earn your red breast feathers.” Then our Lord
+lifted His hand and let the bird fly once more—out into the world.
+
+The bird flew down into Paradise, meditating deeply.
+
+What could a little bird like him do to earn for himself red feathers?
+The only thing he could think of was to make his nest in a brier bush.
+He built it in among the thorns in the close thicket. It looked as if he
+waited for a rose leaf to cling to his throat and give him color.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Countless years had come and gone since that day, which was the happiest
+in all the world! Human beings had already advanced so far that they had
+learned to cultivate the earth and sail the seas. They had procured
+clothes and ornaments for themselves, and had long since learned to
+build big temples and great cities—such as Thebes, Rome, and Jerusalem.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Then there dawned a _new_ day, one that will long be remembered in the
+world’s history. On the morning of this day Robin Redbreast sat upon a
+little naked hillock outside of Jerusalem’s walls, and sang to his young
+ones, who rested in a tiny nest in a brier bush.
+
+Robin Redbreast told the little ones all about that wonderful day of
+creation, and how the Lord had given names to everything, just as each
+Redbreast had told it ever since the first Redbreast had heard God’s
+word, and gone out of God’s hand. “And mark you,” he ended sorrowfully,
+“so many years have gone, so many roses have bloomed, so many little
+birds have come out of their eggs since Creation Day, but Robin
+Redbreast is still a little gray bird. He has not yet succeeded in
+gaining his red feathers.”
+
+The little young ones opened wide their tiny bills, and asked if their
+forbears had never tried to do any great thing to earn the priceless red
+color.
+
+“We have all done what we could,” said the little bird, “but we have all
+gone amiss. Even the first Robin Redbreast met one day another bird
+exactly like himself, and he began immediately to love it with such a
+mighty love that he could feel his breast burn. ‘Ah!’ he thought then,
+‘now I understand! It was our Lord’s meaning that I should love with so
+much ardor that my breast should grow red in color from the very warmth
+of the love that lives in my heart.’ But he missed it, as all those who
+came after him have missed it, and as even you shall miss it.”
+
+The little young ones twittered, utterly bewildered, and already began
+to mourn because the red color would not come to beautify their little,
+downy gray breasts.
+
+“We had also hoped that song would help us,” said the grown-up bird,
+speaking in long-drawn-out tones—“the first Robin Redbreast sang until
+his heart swelled within him, he was so carried away, and he dared to
+hope anew. ‘Ah!’ he thought, ‘it is the glow of the song which lives in
+my soul that will color my breast feathers red.’ But he missed it, as
+all the others have missed it and as even you shall miss it.” Again was
+heard a sad “peep” from the young ones’ half-naked throats.
+
+“We had also counted on our courage and our valor,” said the bird. “The
+first Robin Redbreast fought bravely with other birds, until his breast
+flamed with the pride of conquest. ‘Ah!’ he thought, ‘my breast feathers
+shall become red from the love of battle which burns in my heart.’ He,
+too, missed it, as all those who came after him have missed it, and as
+even you shall miss it.” The little young ones peeped courageously that
+they still wished to try and win the much-sought-for prize, but the bird
+answered them sorrowfully that it would be impossible. What could they
+do when so many splendid ancestors had missed the mark? What could they
+do more than love, sing, and fight? What could—the little bird stopped
+short, for out of one of the gates of Jerusalem came a crowd of people
+marching, and the whole procession rushed toward the hillock, where the
+bird had its nest. There were riders on proud horses, soldiers with long
+spears, executioners with nails and hammers. There were judges and
+priests in the procession, weeping women, and above all a mob of mad,
+loose people running about—a filthy, howling mob of loiterers.
+
+The little gray bird sat trembling on the edge of his nest. He feared
+each instant that the little brier bush would be trampled down and his
+young ones killed!
+
+“Be careful!” he cried to the little defenseless young ones, “creep
+together and remain quiet. Here comes a horse that will ride right over
+us! Here comes a warrior with iron-shod sandals! Here comes the whole
+wild, storming mob!” Immediately the bird ceased his cry of warning and
+grew calm and quiet. He almost forgot the danger hovering over him.
+Finally he hopped down into the nest and spread his wings over the young
+ones.
+
+“Oh! this is too terrible,” said he. “I don’t wish you to witness this
+awful sight! There are three miscreants who are going to be crucified!”
+And he spread his wings so that the little ones could see nothing.
+
+They caught only the sound of hammers, the cries of anguish, and the
+wild shrieks of the mob.
+
+Robin Redbreast followed the whole spectacle with his eyes, which grew
+big with terror. He could not take his glance from the three
+unfortunates.
+
+“How terrible human beings are!” said the bird after a little while. “It
+isn’t enough that they nail these poor creatures to a cross, but they
+must needs place a crown of piercing thorns upon the head of one of
+them. I see that the thorns have wounded his brow so that the blood
+flows,” he continued. “And this man is so beautiful, and looks about him
+with such mild glances that every one ought to love him. I feel as if an
+arrow were shooting through my heart, when I see him suffer!”
+
+The little bird began to feel a stronger and stronger pity for the
+thorn-crowned sufferer. “Oh! if I were only my brother the eagle,”
+thought he, “I would draw the nails from his hands, and with my strong
+claws I would drive away all those who torture him!” He saw how the
+blood trickled down from the brow of the Crucified One, and he could no
+longer remain quiet in his nest. “Even if I am little and weak, I can
+still do something for this poor tortured one,” thought the bird. Then
+he left his nest and flew out into the air, striking wide circles around
+the Crucified One. He flew around him several times without daring to
+approach, for he was a shy little bird, who had never dared to go near a
+human being. But little by little he gained courage, flew close to him,
+and drew with his little bill a thorn that had become imbedded in the
+brow of the Crucified One. And as he did this there fell on his breast a
+drop of blood from the face of the Crucified One;—it spread quickly and
+floated out and colored all the little fine breast feathers.
+
+Then the Crucified One opened his lips and whispered to the bird:
+“Because of thy compassion, thou hast won all that thy kind have been
+striving after, ever since the world was created.”
+
+As soon as the bird had returned to his nest his young ones cried to
+him: “Thy breast is red! Thy breast feathers are redder than the roses!”
+
+“It is only a drop of blood from the poor man’s forehead,” said the
+bird; “it will vanish as soon as I bathe in a pool or a clear well.”
+
+But no matter how much the little bird bathed, the red color did not
+vanish—and when his little young ones grew up, the blood-red color
+shone also on their breast feathers, just as it shines on every Robin
+Redbreast’s throat and breast until this very day.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Our Lord and Saint Peter]
+
+                        OUR LORD AND SAINT PETER
+
+
+It happened at the time when our Lord and Saint Peter were newly arrived
+in Paradise, after having wandered on earth and suffered hardships
+during many sorrowful years.
+
+One can imagine that the change was a joy to Saint Peter! One can
+picture to oneself that it was quite another matter to sit upon Paradise
+Mountain and look out over the world, instead of wandering from door to
+door, like a beggar. It was another matter to walk about in the
+beautiful gardens of Paradise, instead of roaming around on earth, not
+knowing if one would be given house-room on a stormy night, or if one
+would be forced to tramp the highway in the chill and darkness.
+
+One can imagine what a joy it must have been to get to the right place
+at last after such a journey. Saint Peter, to be sure, had not always
+been certain that all would end well. He couldn’t very well help feeling
+doubtful and troubled at times, for it had been almost impossible for
+poor Saint Peter to understand why there was any earthly need for them
+to have such a hard time of it, if our Lord was lord of all the world.
+
+Now, no yearning could come to torment him any more. That he was glad of
+this one can well believe.
+
+Now, he could actually laugh at all the misery which he and our Lord had
+been forced to endure, and at the little that they had been obliged to
+content themselves with.
+
+Once, when things had turned out so badly for them that Saint Peter
+thought he couldn’t stand it any longer, our Lord had taken him to a
+high mountain, and had begun the ascent without telling him what they
+were there for.
+
+They had wandered past the cities at the foot of the mountain, and the
+castles higher up. They had gone past the farms and cabins, and had left
+behind them the last wood-chopper’s cave.
+
+They had come at last to the part where the mountain stood naked,
+without verdure and trees, and where a hermit had built him a hut,
+wherein he might shelter needy travelers.
+
+Afterward, they had walked over the snowfields, where the mountain-rats
+sleep, and come to the piled-up ice masses, which stood on edge and
+a-tilt, and where scarcely a chamois could pass.
+
+Up there our Lord had found a little red-breasted bird, that lay frozen
+to death on the ice, and He had picked up the bullfinch and tucked it in
+His bosom. And Saint Peter remembered he had wondered if this was to be
+their dinner.
+
+They had wandered a long while on the slippery ice-blocks, and it had
+seemed to Saint Peter that he had never been so near perdition; for a
+deadly cold wind and a deadly dark mist enveloped them, and as far as he
+could discover, there wasn’t a living thing to be found. And, still,
+they were only half-way up the mountain.
+
+Then he begged our Lord to let him turn back.
+
+“Not yet,” said our Lord, “for I want to show you something which will
+give you courage to meet all sorrows.”
+
+For this they had gone on through mist and cold until they had reached
+an interminably high wall, which prevented them from going farther.
+
+“This wall extends all around the mountain,” said our Lord, “and you
+can’t step over it at any point. Nor can any living creature see
+anything of that which lies behind it, for it is here that Paradise
+begins; and all the way up to the mountain’s summit live the blessed
+dead.”
+
+But Saint Peter couldn’t help looking doubtful. “In there is neither
+darkness nor cold,” said our Lord, “but there it is always summer, with
+the bright light of suns and stars.”
+
+But Saint Peter was not able to persuade himself to believe this.
+
+Then our Lord took the little bird which He had just found on the ice,
+and, bending backwards, threw it over the wall, so that it fell down
+into Paradise.
+
+And immediately thereafter Saint Peter heard a loud, joyous trill, and
+recognized a bullfinch’s song, and was greatly astonished.
+
+He turned toward our Lord and said: “Let us return to the earth and
+suffer all that must be suffered, for now I see that you speak the
+truth, and that there is a place where Life overcomes death.”
+
+And they descended from the mountain and began their wanderings again.
+
+And it was years before Saint Peter saw any more than this one glimpse
+of Paradise; but he had always longed for the land beyond the wall. And
+now at last he was there, and did not have to strive and yearn any more.
+Now he could drink bliss in full measure all day long from never-dying
+streams.
+
+But Saint Peter had not been in Paradise a fortnight before it happened
+that an angel came to our Lord where He sat upon His throne, bowed seven
+times before Him, and told Him that a great sorrow must have come upon
+Saint Peter. He would neither eat nor drink, and his eyelids were red,
+as though he had not slept for several nights.
+
+As soon as our Lord heard this, He rose and went to seek Saint Peter.
+
+He found him far away, on one of the outskirts of Paradise, where he lay
+upon the ground, as if he were too exhausted to stand, and he had rent
+his garments and strewn his hair with ashes.
+
+When our Lord saw him so distressed, He sat down on the ground beside
+him, and talked to him, just as He would have done had they still been
+wandering around in this world of trouble.
+
+“What is it that makes you so sad, Saint Peter?” said our Lord.
+
+But grief had overpowered Saint Peter, so that he could not answer.
+
+“What is it that makes you so sad?” asked our Lord once again.
+
+When our Lord repeated the question, Saint Peter took the gold crown
+from his head and threw it at our Lord’s feet, as much as to say he
+wanted no further share in His honor and glory.
+
+But our Lord understood, of course, that Saint Peter was so disconsolate
+that he knew not what he did. He showed no anger at him.
+
+“You must tell me what troubles you,” said He, just as gently as before,
+and with an even greater love in His voice.
+
+But now Saint Peter jumped up; and then our Lord knew that he was not
+only disconsolate, but downright angry. He came toward our Lord with
+clenched fists and snapping eyes.
+
+“Now I want a dismissal from your service!” said Saint Peter. “I can not
+remain another day in Paradise.”
+
+Our Lord tried to calm him, just as He had been obliged to do many times
+before, when Saint Peter had flared up.
+
+“Oh, certainly you can go,” said He, “but you must first tell me what it
+is that displeases you.”
+
+“I can tell you that I awaited a better reward than this when we two
+endured all sorts of misery down on earth,” said Saint Peter.
+
+Our Lord saw that Saint Peter’s soul was filled with bitterness, and He
+felt no anger at him.
+
+“I tell you that you are free to go whither you will,” said He, “if you
+will only let me know what is troubling you.”
+
+Then, at last, Saint Peter told our Lord why he was so unhappy. “I had
+an old mother,” said he, “and she died a few days ago.”
+
+“Now I know what distresses you,” said our Lord. “You suffer because
+your mother has not come into Paradise.”
+
+“That is true,” said Saint Peter, and at the same time his grief became
+so overwhelming that he began to sob and moan.
+
+“I think I deserved at least that she should be permitted to come here,”
+said he.
+
+But when our Lord learned what it was that Saint Peter was grieving
+over, He, in turn, became distressed. Saint Peter’s mother had not been
+such that she could enter the Heavenly Kingdom. She had never thought of
+anything except to hoard money, and to the poor who had knocked at her
+door she had never given so much as a copper or a crust of bread. But
+our Lord understood that it was impossible for Saint Peter to grasp the
+fact that his mother had been so greedy that she was not entitled to
+bliss.
+
+“Saint Peter,” said He, “how can you be so sure that your mother would
+feel at home here with us?”
+
+“You say such things only that you may not have to listen to my
+prayers,” said Saint Peter. “Who wouldn’t be happy in Paradise?”
+
+“One who does not feel joy over the happiness of others can not rest
+content here,” said our Lord.
+
+“Then there are others than my mother who do not belong here,” said
+Saint Peter, and our Lord observed that he was thinking of Him.
+
+And He felt deeply grieved because Saint Peter had been stricken with
+such a heavy sorrow that he no longer knew what he said. He stood a
+moment and expected that Saint Peter would repent, and understand that
+his mother was not fit for Paradise. But the Saint would not give in.
+
+Then our Lord called an angel and commanded that he should fly down into
+hell and bring Saint Peter’s mother to Paradise.
+
+“Let me see how he carries her,” said Saint Peter.
+
+Our Lord took Saint Peter by the hand and led him out to a steep
+precipice which leaned slantingly to one side. And He showed him that he
+only had to lean over the precipice very, very little to be able to look
+down into hell.
+
+When Saint Peter glanced down, he could not at first see anything more
+than if he had looked into a deep well. It was as though an endless
+chasm opened under him.
+
+The first thing which he could faintly distinguish was the angel, who
+had already started on his way to the nether regions. Saint Peter saw
+how the angel dived down into the great darkness, without the least
+fear, and spread his wings just a little, so as not to descend too
+rapidly.
+
+But when Saint Peter’s eyes had become a little more used to the
+darkness he began to see more and more. In the first place, he saw that
+Paradise lay on a ring-mountain, which encircled a wide chasm, and it
+was at the bottom of this chasm that the souls of the sinful had their
+abode. He saw how the angel sank and sank a long while without reaching
+the depths. He became absolutely terrified because it was such a long
+distance down there.
+
+“May he only come up again with my mother!” said he.
+
+Our Lord only looked at Saint Peter with great sorrowful eyes. “There is
+no weight too heavy for my angel to carry,” said He.
+
+It was so far down to the nether regions that no ray of sunlight could
+penetrate thither: there darkness reigned. But it was as if the angel in
+his flight must have brought with him a little clearness and light, so
+that it was possible for Saint Peter to see how it looked down there.
+
+It was an endless, black rock-desert. Sharp, pointed rocks covered the
+entire foundation. There was not a green blade, not a tree, not a sign
+of life.
+
+But all over, on the sharp rocks, were condemned souls. They hung over
+the edges, whither they had clambered that they might swing themselves
+up from the ravine; and when they saw that they could get nowhere, they
+remained up there, petrified with anguish.
+
+Saint Peter saw some of them sit or lie with arms extended in ceaseless
+longing, and with eyes fixedly turned upwards. Others had covered their
+faces with their hands, as if they would shut out the hopeless horror
+around them. They were all rigid; there was not one among them who had
+the power to move. Some lay in the water-pools, perfectly still, without
+trying to rise from them.
+
+But the most dreadful thing of all was—there was such a great throng of
+the lost. It was as though the bottom of the ravine were made up of
+nothing but bodies and heads.
+
+And Saint Peter was struck with a new fear. “You shall see that he will
+not find her,” said he to our Lord.
+
+Once more our Lord looked at him with the same grieved expression. He
+knew of course that Saint Peter did not need to be uneasy about the
+angel.
+
+But to Saint Peter it looked all the while as if the angel could not
+find his mother in that great company of lost souls. He spread his wings
+and flew back and forth over the nether regions, while he sought her.
+
+Suddenly one of the poor lost creatures caught a glimpse of the angel,
+and he sprang up and stretched his arms towards him and cried: “Take me
+with you! Take me with you!”
+
+Then, all at once, the whole throng was alive. All the millions upon
+millions who languished in hell, roused themselves that instant, and
+raised their arms and cried to the angel that he should take them with
+him to the blessed Paradise.
+
+Their shrieks were heard all the way up to our Lord and Saint Peter,
+whose hearts throbbed with anguish as they heard.
+
+The angel swayed high above the condemned; but as he traveled back and
+forth, to find the one whom he sought, they all rushed after him, so
+that it looked as though they had been swept on by a whirlwind.
+
+At last the angel caught sight of the one he was to take with him. He
+folded his wings over his back and shot down like a streak of lightning,
+and the astonished Saint Peter gave a cry of joy when he saw the angel
+place an arm around his mother and lift her up.
+
+“Blessed be thou that bringest my mother to me!” said he.
+
+Our Lord laid His hand gently on Saint Peter’s shoulder, as if He would
+warn him not to abandon himself to joy too soon.
+
+But Saint Peter was ready to weep for joy, because his mother was saved.
+He could not understand that anything further would have the power to
+part them. And his joy increased when he saw that, quick as the angel
+had been when he had lifted her up, still several of the lost souls had
+succeeded in attaching themselves to her who was to be saved, in order
+that they, too, might be borne to Paradise with her.
+
+There must have been a dozen who clung to the old woman, and Saint Peter
+thought it was a great honor for his mother to help so many poor
+unfortunate beings out of perdition.
+
+Nor did the angel do aught to hinder them. He seemed not at all troubled
+with his burden, but rose and rose, and moved his wings with no more
+effort than if he were carrying a little dead birdling to heaven.
+
+But then Saint Peter saw that his mother began to free herself from the
+lost souls that had clung to her. She gripped their hands and loosened
+their hold, so that one after another tumbled down into hell.
+
+Saint Peter could hear how they begged and implored her; but the old
+woman did not desire that any one but herself should be saved. She freed
+herself from more and more of them, and let them fall down into misery.
+And as they fell, all space was filled with their lamentations and
+curses.
+
+Then Saint Peter begged and implored his mother to show some compassion,
+but she would not listen, and kept right on as before.
+
+And Saint Peter saw how the angel flew slower and slower, the lighter
+his burden became. Such fear took hold of Saint Peter that his legs
+shook, and he was forced to drop on his knees.
+
+Finally, there was only one condemned soul who still clung to St.
+Peter’s mother. This was a young woman who hung on her neck and begged
+and cried in her ear that she would let her go along with her to the
+blessed Paradise.
+
+The angel with his burden had already come so far that Saint Peter
+stretched out his arms to receive his mother. He thought that the angel
+had to make only two or three wing-strokes more to reach the mountain.
+
+Then, all of a sudden, the angel held his wings perfectly still, and his
+countenance became dark as night.
+
+For now the old woman had stretched her hands back of her and gripped
+the arms of the young woman who hung about her neck, and she clutched
+and tore until she succeeded in separating the clasped hands, so that
+she was free from this last one also.
+
+When the condemned one fell the angel sank several fathoms lower, and it
+appeared as though he had not the strength to lift his wings again.
+
+He looked down upon the old woman with a deep, sorrowful glance; his
+hold around her waist loosened, and he let her fall, as if she were too
+heavy a burden for him, now that she was alone.
+
+Thereupon he swung himself with a single stroke up into Paradise.
+
+But Saint Peter lay for a long while in the same place, and sobbed, and
+our Lord stood silent beside him.
+
+“Saint Peter,” said our Lord at last, “I never thought that you would
+weep like this after you had reached Paradise.”
+
+Then God’s old servant raised his head and answered: “What kind of a
+Paradise is this, where I can hear the moans of my dearest ones, and see
+the sufferings of my fellow men!”
+
+The face of our Lord became o’ercast by the deepest sorrow. “What did I
+desire more than to prepare a Paradise for all, of nothing but light and
+happiness?” He said. “Do you not understand that it was because of this
+I went down among men and taught them to love their neighbors as
+themselves? For as long as they do this not, there will be no refuge in
+heaven or on earth where pain and sorrow cannot reach them.”
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Sacred Flame]
+
+                            THE SACRED FLAME
+
+
+                                   I
+
+A great many years ago, when the city of Florence had only just been
+made a republic, a man lived there named Raniero di Raniero. He was the
+son of an armorer, and had learned his father’s trade, but he did not
+care much to pursue it.
+
+This Raniero was the strongest of men. It was said of him that he bore a
+heavy iron armor as lightly as others wear a silk shirt. He was still a
+young man, but already he had given many proofs of his strength. Once he
+was in a house where grain was stored in the loft. Too much grain had
+been heaped there; and while Raniero was in the house one of the loft
+beams broke down, and the whole roof was about to fall in. He raised his
+arms and held the roof up until the people managed to fetch beams and
+poles to prop it.
+
+It was also said of Raniero that he was the bravest man that had ever
+lived in Florence, and that he could never get enough of fighting. As
+soon as he heard any noise in the street, he rushed out from the
+workshop, in hopes that a fight had arisen in which he might
+participate. If he could only distinguish himself, he fought just as
+readily with humble peasants as with armored horsemen. He rushed into a
+fight like a lunatic, without counting his opponents.
+
+Florence was not very powerful in his time. The people were mostly wool
+spinners and cloth weavers, and these asked nothing better than to be
+allowed to perform their tasks in peace. Sturdy men were plentiful, but
+they were not quarrelsome, and they were proud of the fact that in their
+city better order prevailed than elsewhere. Raniero often grumbled
+because he was not born in a country where there was a king who gathered
+around him valiant men, and declared that in such an event he would have
+attained great honor and renown.
+
+Raniero was loud-mouthed and boastful; cruel to animals, harsh toward
+his wife, and not good for any one to live with. He would have been
+handsome if he had not had several deep scars across his face which
+disfigured him. He was quick to jump at conclusions, and quick to act,
+though his way was often violent.
+
+Raniero was married to Francesca, who was the daughter of Jacopo degli
+Uberti, a wise and influential man. Jacopo had not been very anxious to
+give his daughter to such a bully as Raniero, but had opposed the
+marriage until the very last. Francesca forced him to relent, by
+declaring that she would never marry any one else. When Jacopo finally
+gave his consent, he said to Raniero: “I have observed that men like you
+can more easily win a woman’s love than keep it; therefore I shall exact
+this promise from you: If my daughter finds life with you so hard that
+she wishes to come back to me, you will not prevent her.” Francesca said
+it was needless to exact such a promise, since she was so fond of
+Raniero that nothing could separate her from him. But Raniero gave his
+promise promptly. “Of one thing you can be assured, Jacopo,” said he—“I
+will not try to hold any woman who wishes to flee from me.”
+
+Then Francesca went to live with Raniero, and all was well between them
+for a time. When they had been married a few weeks, Raniero took it into
+his head that he would practice marksmanship. For several days he aimed
+at a painting which hung upon a wall. He soon became skilled, and hit
+the mark every time. At last he thought he would like to try and shoot
+at a more difficult mark. He looked around for something suitable, but
+discovered nothing except a quail that sat in a cage above the courtyard
+gate. The bird belonged to Francesca, and she was very fond of it; but,
+despite this, Raniero sent a page to open the cage, and shot the quail
+as it swung itself into the air.
+
+This seemed to him a very good shot, and he boasted of it to any one who
+would listen to him.
+
+When Francesca learned that Raniero had shot her bird, she grew pale and
+looked hard at him. She marveled that he had wished to do a thing which
+must bring grief to her; but she forgave him promptly and loved him as
+before.
+
+Then all went well again for a time.
+
+Raniero’s father-in-law, Jacopo, was a flax weaver. He had a large
+establishment, where much work was done. Raniero thought he had
+discovered that hemp was mixed with the flax in Jacopo’s workshop, and
+he did not keep silent about it, but talked of it here and there in the
+city. At last Jacopo also heard this chatter, and tried at once to put a
+stop to it. He let several other flax weavers examine his yarn and
+cloth, and they found all of it to be of the very finest flax. Only in
+one pack, which was designed to be sold outside of Florence, was there
+any mixture. Then Jacopo said that the deception had been practised
+without his knowledge or consent, by some one among his journeymen. He
+apprehended at once that he would find it difficult to convince people
+of this. He had always been famed for honesty, and he felt very keenly
+that his honor had been smirched.
+
+Raniero, on the other hand, plumed himself upon having succeeded in
+exposing a fraud, and he bragged about it even in Francesca’s hearing.
+
+She felt deeply grieved; at the same time she was as astonished as when
+he shot the bird. As she thought of this, she seemed suddenly to see her
+love before her; and it was like a great piece of shimmery gold cloth.
+She could see how big it was, and how it shimmered. But from one corner
+a piece had been cut away, so that it was not as big and as beautiful as
+it had been in the beginning.
+
+Still, it was as yet damaged so very little that she thought: “It will
+probably last as long as I live. It is so great that it can never come
+to an end.”
+
+Again, there was a period during which she and Raniero were just as
+happy as they had been at first.
+
+Francesca had a brother named Taddeo. He had been in Venice on a
+business trip, and, while there, had purchased garments of silk and
+velvet. When he came home he paraded around in them. Now, in Florence it
+was not the custom to go about expensively clad, so there were many who
+made fun of him.
+
+One night Taddeo and Raniero were out in the wine shops. Taddeo was
+dressed in a green cloak with sable linings, and a violet jacket.
+Raniero tempted him to drink so much wine that he fell asleep, and then
+he took his cloak off him and hung it upon a scarecrow that was set up
+in a cabbage patch.
+
+When Francesca heard of this she was vexed again with Raniero. That
+moment she saw before her the big piece of gold cloth—which was her
+love—and she seemed to see how it diminished, as Raniero cut away piece
+after piece.
+
+After this, things were patched up between them for a time, but
+Francesca was no longer so happy as in former days, because she always
+feared that Raniero would commit some misdemeanor that would hurt her
+love.
+
+This was not long in coming, either, for Raniero could never be
+tranquil. He wished that people should always speak of him and praise
+his courage and daring.
+
+At that time the cathedral in Florence was much smaller than the present
+one, and there hung at the top of one of its towers a big, heavy shield,
+which had been placed there by one of Francesca’s ancestors. It was the
+heaviest shield any man in Florence had been able to lift, and all the
+Uberti family were proud because it was one of their own who had climbed
+up in the tower and hung it there.
+
+But Raniero climbed up to the shield one day, hung it on his back, and
+came down with it.
+
+When Francesca heard of this for the first time she spoke to Raniero of
+what troubled her, and begged him not to humiliate her family in this
+way. Raniero, who had expected that she would commend him for his feat,
+became very angry. He retorted that he had long observed that she did
+not rejoice in his success, but thought only of her own kin. “It’s
+something else I am thinking of,” said Francesca, “and that is my love.
+I know not what will become of it if you keep on in this way.”
+
+After this they frequently exchanged harsh words, for Raniero happened
+nearly always to do the very thing that was most distasteful to
+Francesca.
+
+There was a workman in Raniero’s shop who was little and lame. This man
+had loved Francesca before she was married, and continued to love her
+even after her marriage. Raniero, who knew this, undertook to joke with
+him before all who sat at a table. It went so far that finally the man
+could no longer bear to be held up to ridicule in Francesca’s hearing,
+so he rushed upon Raniero and wanted to fight with him. But Raniero only
+smiled derisively and kicked him aside. Then the poor fellow thought he
+did not care to live any longer, and went off and hanged himself.
+
+When this happened, Francesca and Raniero had been married about a year.
+Francesca thought continually that she saw her love before her as a
+shimmery piece of cloth, but on all sides large pieces were cut away, so
+that it was scarcely half as big as it had been in the beginning.
+
+She became very much alarmed when she saw this, and thought: “If I stay
+with Raniero another year, he will destroy my love. I shall become just
+as poor as I have hitherto been rich.”
+
+Then she concluded to leave Raniero’s house and go to live with her
+father, that the day might not come when she should hate Raniero as much
+as she now loved him.
+
+Jacopo degli Uberti was sitting at the loom with all his workmen busy
+around him when he saw her coming. He said that now the thing had come
+to pass which he had long expected, and bade her be welcome. Instantly
+he ordered all the people to leave off their work and arm themselves and
+close the house.
+
+Then Jacopo went over to Raniero. He met him in the workshop. “My
+daughter has this day returned to me and begged that she may live again
+under my roof,” he said to his son-in-law. “And now I expect that you
+will not compel her to return to you, after the promise you have given
+me.”
+
+Raniero did not seem to take this very seriously, but answered calmly:
+“Even if I had not given you my word, I would not demand the return of a
+woman who does not wish to be mine.”
+
+He knew how much Francesca loved him, and said to himself: “She will be
+back with me before evening.”
+
+Yet she did not appear either that day or the next.
+
+The third day Raniero went out and pursued a couple of robbers who had
+long disturbed the Florentine merchants. He succeeded in catching them,
+and took them captives to Florence.
+
+He remained quiet a couple of days, until he was positive that this feat
+was known throughout the city. But it did not turn out as he had
+expected—that it would bring Francesca back to him.
+
+Raniero had the greatest desire to appeal to the courts, to force her
+return to him, but he felt himself unable to do this because of his
+promise. It seemed impossible for him to live in the same city with a
+wife who had abandoned him, so he moved away from Florence.
+
+He first became a soldier, and very soon he made himself commander of a
+volunteer company. He was always in a fight, and served many masters.
+
+He won much renown as a warrior, as he had always said he would. He was
+made a knight by the Emperor, and was accounted a great man.
+
+Before he left Florence, he had made a vow at a sacred image of the
+Madonna in the Cathedral to present to the Blessed Virgin the best and
+rarest that he won in every battle. Before this image one always saw
+costly gifts, which were presented by Raniero.
+
+Raniero was aware that all his deeds were known in his native city. He
+marveled much that Francesca degli Uberti did not come back to him, when
+she knew all about his success.
+
+At that time sermons were preached to start the Crusades for the
+recovery of the Holy Sepulchre from the Saracens, and Raniero took the
+cross and departed for the Orient. He not only hoped to win castles and
+lands to rule over, but also to succeed in performing such brilliant
+feats that his wife would again be fond of him, and return to him.
+
+                                   II
+
+The night succeeding the day on which Jerusalem had been captured, there
+was great rejoicing in the Crusaders’ camp, outside the city. In almost
+every tent they celebrated with drinking bouts, and noise and roystering
+were heard in every direction.
+
+Raniero di Raniero sat and drank with some comrades; and in his tent it
+was even more hilarious than elsewhere. The servants barely had time to
+fill the goblets before they were empty again.
+
+Raniero had the best of reasons for celebrating, because during the day
+he had won greater glory than ever before. In the morning, when the city
+was besieged, he had been the first to scale the walls after Godfrey of
+Boulogne; and in the evening he had been honored for his bravery in the
+presence of the whole corps.
+
+When the plunder and murder were ended, and the Crusaders in penitents’
+cloaks and with lighted candles marched into the Church of the Holy
+Sepulchre, it had been announced to Raniero by Godfrey that he should be
+the first who might light his candle from the sacred candles which burn
+before Christ’s tomb. It appeared to Raniero that Godfrey wished in this
+manner to show that he considered him the bravest man in the whole
+corps; and he was very happy over the way in which he had been rewarded
+for his achievements.
+
+As the night wore on, Raniero and his guests were in the best of
+spirits; a fool and a couple of musicians who had wandered all over the
+camp and amused the people with their pranks, came into Raniero’s tent,
+and the fool asked permission to narrate a comic story.
+
+Raniero knew that this particular fool was in great demand for his
+drollery, and he promised to listen to his narrative.
+
+“It happened once,” said the fool, “that our Lord and Saint Peter sat a
+whole day upon the highest tower in Paradise Stronghold, and looked down
+upon the earth. They had so much to look at, that they scarcely found
+time to exchange a word. Our Lord kept perfectly still the whole time,
+but Saint Peter sometimes clapped his hands for joy, and again turned
+his head away in disgust. Sometimes he applauded and smiled, and anon he
+wept and commiserated. Finally, as it drew toward the close of day, and
+twilight sank down over Paradise, our Lord turned to Saint Peter and
+said that now he must surely be satisfied and content. ‘What is it that
+I should be content with?’ Saint Peter asked, in an impetuous tone.
+‘Why,’ said our Lord slowly, ‘I thought that you would be pleased with
+what you have seen to-day.’ But Saint Peter did not care to be
+conciliated. ‘It is true,’ said he, ‘that for many years I have bemoaned
+the fact that Jerusalem should be in the power of unbelievers, but after
+all that has happened to-day, I think it might just as well have
+remained as it was.’”
+
+Raniero understood now that the fool spoke of what had taken place
+during the day. Both he and the other knights began to listen with
+greater interest than in the beginning.
+
+“When Saint Peter had said this,” continued the fool, as he cast a
+furtive glance at the knights, “he leaned over the pinnacle of the tower
+and pointed toward the earth. He showed our Lord a city which lay upon a
+great solitary rock that shot up from a mountain valley. ‘Do you see
+those mounds of corpses?’ he said. ‘And do you see the naked and
+wretched prisoners who moan in the night chill? And do you see all the
+smoking ruins of the conflagration?’ It appeared as if our Lord did not
+wish to answer him, but Saint Peter went on with his lamentations. He
+said that he had certainly been vexed with that city many times, but he
+had not wished it so ill as that it should come to look like this. Then,
+at last, our Lord answered, and tried an objection: ‘Still, you can not
+deny that the Christian knights have risked their lives with the utmost
+fearlessness,’ said He.”
+
+Then the fool was interrupted by bravos, but he made haste to continue.
+
+“Oh, don’t interrupt me!” he said. “Now I don’t remember where I left
+off—ah! to be sure, I was just going to say that Saint Peter wiped away
+a tear or two which sprang to his eyes and prevented him from seeing. ‘I
+never would have thought they could be such beasts,’ said he. ‘They have
+murdered and plundered the whole day. Why you went to all the trouble of
+letting yourself be crucified in order to gain such devotees, I can’t in
+the least comprehend.’”
+
+The knights took up the fun good-naturedly. They began to laugh loud and
+merrily. “What, fool! Is Saint Peter so wroth with us?” shrieked one of
+them.
+
+“Be silent now, and let us hear if our Lord spoke in our defense!”
+interposed another.
+
+“No, our Lord was silent. He knew of old that when Saint Peter had once
+got a-going, it wasn’t worth while to argue with him. He went on in his
+way, and said that our Lord needn’t trouble to tell him that finally
+they remembered to which city they had come, and went to church
+barefooted and in penitents’ garb. That spirit had, of course, not
+lasted long enough to be worth mentioning. And thereupon he leaned once
+more over the tower and pointed downward toward Jerusalem. He pointed
+out the Christians’ camp outside the city. ‘Do you see how your knights
+celebrate their victories?’ he asked. And our Lord saw that there was
+revelry everywhere in the camp. Knights and soldiers sat and looked upon
+Syrian dancers. Filled goblets went the rounds while they threw dice for
+the spoils of war and——”
+
+“They listened to fools who told vile stories,” interpolated Raniero.
+“Was not this also a great sin?”
+
+The fool laughed and shook his head at Raniero, as much as to say,
+“Wait! I will pay you back.”
+
+“No, don’t interrupt me!” he begged once again. “A poor fool forgets so
+easily what he would say. Ah! it was this: Saint Peter asked our Lord if
+He thought these people were much of a credit to Him. To this, of
+course, our Lord had to reply that He didn’t think they were.
+
+“‘They were robbers and murderers before they left home, and robbers and
+murderers they are even to-day. This undertaking you could just as well
+have left undone. No good will come of it,’ said Saint Peter.”
+
+“Come, come, fool!” said Raniero in a threatening tone. But the fool
+seemed to consider it an honor to test how far he could go without some
+one jumping up and throwing him out, and he continued fearlessly.
+
+“Our Lord only bowed His head, like one who acknowledges that he is
+being justly rebuked. But almost at the same instant He leaned forward
+eagerly and peered down with closer scrutiny than before. Saint Peter
+also glanced down. ‘What are you looking for?’ he wondered.”
+
+The fool delivered this speech with much animated facial play. All the
+knights saw our Lord and Saint Peter before their eyes, and they
+wondered what it was our Lord had caught sight of.
+
+“Our Lord answered that it was nothing in particular,” said the fool.
+“Saint Peter gazed in the direction of our Lord’s glance, but he could
+discover nothing except that our Lord sat and looked down into a big
+tent, outside of which a couple of Saracen heads were set up on long
+lances, and where a lot of fine rugs, golden vessels, and costly
+weapons, captured in the Holy City, were piled up. In that tent they
+carried on as they did everywhere else in the camp. A company of knights
+sat and emptied their goblets. The only difference might be that here
+there were more drinking and roystering than elsewhere. Saint Peter
+could not comprehend why our Lord was so pleased when He looked down
+there, that His eyes fairly sparkled with delight. So many hard and
+cruel faces he had rarely before seen gathered around a drinking table.
+And he who was host at the board and sat at the head of the table was
+the most dreadful of all. He was a man of thirty-five, frightfully big
+and coarse, with a blowsy countenance covered with scars and scratches,
+calloused hands, and a loud, bellowing voice.”
+
+Here the fool paused a moment, as if he feared to go on, but both
+Raniero and the others liked to hear him talk of themselves, and only
+laughed at his audacity. “You’re a daring fellow,” said Raniero, “so let
+us see what you are driving at!”
+
+“Finally, our Lord said a few words,” continued the fool, “which made
+Saint Peter understand what He rejoiced over. He asked Saint Peter if He
+saw wrongly, or if it could actually be true that one of the knights had
+a burning candle beside him.”
+
+Raniero gave a start at these words. Now, at last, he was angry with the
+fool, and reached out his hand for a heavy wine pitcher to throw at his
+face, but he controlled himself that he might hear whether the fellow
+wished to speak to his credit or discredit.
+
+“Saint Peter saw now,” narrated the fool, “that, although the tent was
+lighted mostly by torches, one of the knights really had a burning wax
+candle beside him. It was a long, thick candle, one of the sort made to
+burn twenty-four hours. The knight, who had no candlestick to set it in,
+had gathered together some stones and piled them around it, to make it
+stand.”
+
+The company burst into shrieks of laughter at this. All pointed at a
+candle which stood on the table beside Raniero, and was exactly like the
+one the fool had described. The blood mounted to Raniero’s head; for
+this was the candle which he had a few hours before been permitted to
+light at the Holy Sepulchre. He had been unable to make up his mind to
+let it die out.
+
+“When Saint Peter saw that candle,” said the fool, “it dawned upon him
+what it was that our Lord was so happy over, but at the same time he
+could not help feeling just a little sorry for Him. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘it
+was the same knight that leaped upon the wall this morning immediately
+after the gentleman of Boulogne, and who this evening was permitted to
+light his candle at the Holy Sepulchre ahead of all the others. ‘True!’
+said our Lord. ‘And, as you see, his candle is still burning.’”
+
+The fool talked very fast now, casting an occasional sly glance at
+Raniero. “Saint Peter could not help pitying our Lord. ‘Can’t you
+understand why he keeps that candle burning?’ said he. ‘You must believe
+that he thinks of your sufferings and death whenever he looks at it. But
+he thinks only of the glory which he won when he was acknowledged to be
+the bravest man in the troop after Godfrey.’”
+
+At this all Raniero’s guests laughed. Raniero was very angry, but he,
+too, forced himself to laugh. He knew they would have found it still
+more amusing if he hadn’t been able to take a little fun.
+
+“But our Lord contradicted Saint Peter,” said the fool. “‘Don’t you see
+how careful he is with the light?’ asked He. ‘He puts his hand before
+the flame as soon as any one raises the tent-flap, for fear the draught
+will blow it out. And he is constantly occupied in chasing away the
+moths which fly around it and threaten to extinguish it.’”
+
+The laughter grew merrier and merrier, for what the fool said was the
+truth. Raniero found it more and more difficult to control himself. He
+felt he could not endure that any one should jest about the sacred
+candle.
+
+“Still, Saint Peter was dubious,” continued the fool. “He asked our Lord
+if He knew that knight. ‘He’s not one who goes often to Mass or wears
+out the prie-dieu,’ said he. But our Lord could not be swerved from His
+opinion.
+
+“‘Saint Peter, Saint Peter,’ He said earnestly. ‘Remember that
+henceforth this knight shall become more pious than Godfrey. Whence do
+piety and gentleness spring, if not from my sepulchre? You shall see
+Raniero di Raniero help widows and distressed prisoners. You shall see
+him care for the sick and despairing as he now cares for the sacred
+candle flame.’”
+
+At this they laughed inordinately. It struck them all as very ludicrous,
+for they knew Raniero’s disposition and mode of living. But he himself
+found both the jokes and laughter intolerable. He sprang to his feet and
+wanted to reprove the fool. As he did this, he bumped so hard against
+the table—which was only a door set up on loose boxes—that it wabbled,
+and the candle fell down. It was evident now how careful Raniero was to
+keep the candle burning. He controlled his anger and gave himself time
+to pick it up and brighten the flame, before he rushed upon the fool.
+But when he had trimmed the light the fool had already darted out of the
+tent, and Raniero knew it would be useless to pursue him in the
+darkness. “I shall probably run across him another time,” he thought,
+and sat down.
+
+Meanwhile the guests had laughed mockingly, and one of them turned to
+Raniero and wanted to continue the jesting. He said: “There is one
+thing, however, which is certain, Raniero, and that is—this time you
+can’t send to the Madonna in Florence the most precious thing you have
+won in the battle.”
+
+Raniero asked why he thought that he should not follow his old habit
+this time.
+
+“For no other reason,” said the knight, “than that the most precious
+thing you have won is that sacred candle flame, which you were permitted
+to light at the church of the Holy Sepulchre in presence of the whole
+corps. Surely you can’t send that to Florence!”
+
+Again the other knights laughed, but Raniero was now in the mood to
+undertake the wildest projects, just to put an end to their laughter. He
+came to a conclusion quickly, called to an old squire, and said to him:
+“Make ready, Giovanni, for a long journey. To-morrow you shall travel to
+Florence with this sacred candle flame.”
+
+But the squire said a blunt no to this command. “This is something which
+I don’t care to undertake,” he said. “How should it be possible to
+travel to Florence with a candle flame? It would be extinguished before
+I had left the camp.”
+
+Raniero asked one after another of his men. He received the same reply
+from all. They scarcely seemed to take his command seriously.
+
+It was a foregone conclusion that the foreign knights who were his
+guests should laugh even louder and more merrily, as it became apparent
+that none of Raniero’s men wished to carry out his order.
+
+Raniero grew more and more excited. Finally he lost his patience and
+shouted: “This candle flame shall nevertheless be borne to Florence; and
+since no one else will ride there with it, I will do so myself!”
+
+“Consider before you promise anything of the kind!” said a knight. “You
+ride away from a principality.”
+
+“I swear to you that I will carry this sacred flame to Florence!”
+exclaimed Raniero. “I shall do what no one else has cared to undertake.”
+
+The old squire defended himself. “Master, it’s another matter for you.
+You can take with you a large retinue but me you would send alone.”
+
+But Raniero was clean out of himself, and did not consider his words.
+“I, too, shall travel alone,” said he.
+
+But with this declaration Raniero had carried his point. Every one in
+the tent had ceased laughing. Terrified, they sat and stared at him.
+
+“Why don’t you laugh any more?” asked Raniero. “This undertaking surely
+can’t be anything but a child’s game for a brave man.”
+
+                                  III
+
+The next morning at dawn Raniero mounted his horse. He was in full
+armor, but over it he had thrown a coarse pilgrim cloak, so that the
+iron dress should not become overheated by exposure to the sun’s rays.
+He was armed with a sword and battle-club, and rode a good horse. He
+held in his hand a burning candle, and to the saddle he had tied a
+couple of bundles of long wax candles, so the flame should not die out
+for lack of nourishment.
+
+Raniero rode slowly through the long, encumbered tent street, and thus
+far all went well. It was still so early that the mists which had arisen
+from the deep dales surrounding Jerusalem were not dispersed, and
+Raniero rode forward as in a white night. The whole troop slept, and
+Raniero passed the guards easily. None of them called out his name, for
+the mist prevented their seeing him, and the roads were covered with a
+dust-like soil a foot high, which made the horse’s tramp inaudible.
+
+Raniero was soon outside the camp and started on the road which led to
+Joppa. Here it was smoother, but he rode very slowly now, because of the
+candle, which burned feebly in the thick mist. Big insects kept dashing
+against the flame. Raniero had all he could do guarding it, but he was
+in the best of spirits and thought all the while that the mission which
+he had undertaken was so easy that a child could manage it.
+
+Meanwhile, the horse grew weary of the slow pace, and began to trot. The
+flame began to flicker in the wind. It didn’t help that Raniero tried to
+shield it with his hand and with the cloak. He saw that it was about to
+be extinguished.
+
+But he had no desire to abandon the project so soon. He stopped the
+horse, sat still a moment, and pondered. Then he dismounted and tried
+sitting backwards, so that his body shielded the flame from the wind. In
+this way he succeeded in keeping it burning; but he realized now that
+the journey would be more difficult than he had thought at the
+beginning.
+
+When he had passed the mountains which surround Jerusalem, the fog
+lifted. He rode forward now in the greatest solitude. There were no
+people, houses, green trees, nor plants—only bare rocks.
+
+Here Raniero was attacked by robbers. They were idle folk, who followed
+the camp without permission, and lived by theft and plunder. They had
+lain in hiding behind a hill, and Raniero—who rode backwards—had not
+seen them until they had surrounded him and brandished their swords at
+him.
+
+There were about twelve men. They looked wretched, and rode poor horses.
+Raniero saw at once that it would not be difficult for him to break
+through this company and ride on. And after his proud boast of the night
+before, he was unwilling to abandon his undertaking easily.
+
+He saw no other means of escape than to compromise with the robbers. He
+told them that, since he was armed and rode a good horse, it might be
+difficult to overpower him if he defended himself. And as he was bound
+by a vow, he did not wish to offer resistance, but they could take
+whatever they wanted, without a struggle, if only they promised not to
+put out his light.
+
+The robbers had expected a hard struggle, and were very happy over
+Raniero’s proposal, and began immediately to plunder him. They took from
+him armor and steed, weapons and money. The only thing they let him keep
+was the coarse cloak and the two bundles of wax candles. They sacredly
+kept their promise, also, not to put out the candle flame.
+
+One of them mounted Raniero’s horse. When he noticed what a fine animal
+he was, he felt a little sorry for the rider. He called out to him:
+“Come, come, we must not be too cruel toward a Christian. You shall have
+my old horse to ride.”
+
+It was a miserable old screw of a horse. It moved as stiffly, and with
+as much difficulty, as if it were made of wood.
+
+When the robbers had gone at last, and Raniero had mounted the wretched
+horse, he said to himself: “I must have become bewitched by this candle
+flame. For its sake I must now travel along the roads like a crazy
+beggar.”
+
+He knew it would be wise for him to turn back, because the undertaking
+was really impracticable. But such an intense yearning to accomplish it
+had come over him that he could not resist the desire to go on.
+Therefore, he went farther. He saw all around him the same bare,
+yellowish hills.
+
+After a while he came across a goatherd, who tended four goats. When
+Raniero saw the animals grazing on the barren ground, he wondered if
+they ate earth.
+
+This goatherd had owned a larger flock, which had been stolen from him
+by the Crusaders. When he noticed a solitary Christian come riding
+toward him, he tried to do him all the harm he could. He rushed up to
+him and struck at his light with his staff. Raniero was so taken up by
+the flame that he could not defend himself even against a goatherd. He
+only drew the candle close to him to protect it. The goatherd struck at
+it several times more, then he paused, astonished, and ceased striking.
+He noticed that Raniero’s cloak had caught fire, but Raniero did nothing
+to smother the blaze, so long as the sacred flame was in danger. The
+goatherd looked as though he felt ashamed. For a long time he followed
+Raniero, and in one place, where the road was very narrow, with a deep
+chasm on each side of it, he came up and led the horse for him.
+
+Raniero smiled and thought the goatherd surely regarded him as a holy
+man who had undertaken a voluntary penance.
+
+Toward evening Raniero began to meet people. Rumors of the fall of
+Jerusalem had already spread to the coast, and a throng of people had
+immediately prepared to go up there. There were pilgrims who for years
+had awaited an opportunity to get into Jerusalem, also some
+newly-arrived troops; but they were mostly merchants who were hastening
+with provisions.
+
+When these throngs met Raniero, who came riding backwards with a burning
+candle in his hand, they cried: “A madman, a madman!”
+
+The majority were Italians; and Raniero heard how they shouted in his
+own tongue, “Pazzo, pazzo!” which means “a madman, a madman.”
+
+Raniero, who had been able to keep himself well in check all day, became
+intensely irritated by these ever-recurring shouts. Instantly he
+dismounted and began to chastise the offenders with his hard fists. When
+they saw how heavy the blows were, they took to their heels, and Raniero
+soon stood alone on the road.
+
+Now Raniero was himself again. “In truth they were right to call me a
+madman,” he said, as he looked around for the light. He did not know
+what he had done with it. At last he saw that it had rolled down into a
+hollow. The flame was extinguished, but he saw fire gleam from a dry
+grass-tuft close beside it, and understood that luck was with him, for
+the flame had ignited the grass before it had gone out.
+
+“This might have been an inglorious end of a deal of trouble,” he
+thought, as he lit the candle and stepped into the saddle. He was rather
+mortified. It did not seem to him very probable that his journey would
+be a success.
+
+In the evening Raniero reached Ramle, and rode up to a place where
+caravans usually had night harbor. It was a large covered yard. All
+around it were little stalls where travelers could put up their horses.
+There were no rooms, but folk could sleep beside the animals.
+
+The place was overcrowded with people, yet the host found room for
+Raniero and his horse. He also gave fodder to the horse and food to the
+rider.
+
+When Raniero perceived that he was well treated, he thought: “I almost
+believe the robbers did me a service when they took from me my armor and
+my horse. I shall certainly get out of the country more easily with my
+light burden, if they mistake me for a lunatic.”
+
+When he had led the horse into the stall, he sat down on a sheaf of
+straw and held the candle in his hands. It was his intention not to fall
+asleep, but to remain awake all night.
+
+But he had hardly seated himself when he fell asleep. He was fearfully
+exhausted, and in his sleep he stretched out full length and did not
+wake till morning.
+
+When he awoke he saw neither flame nor candle. He searched in the straw
+for the candle, but did not find it anywhere.
+
+“Some one has taken it from me and extinguished it,” he said. He tried
+to persuade himself that he was glad that all was over, and that he need
+not pursue an impossible undertaking.
+
+But as he pondered, he felt a sense of emptiness and loss. He thought
+that never before had he so longed to succeed in anything on which he
+had set his mind.
+
+He led the horse out and groomed and saddled it.
+
+When he was ready to set out, the host who owned the caravansary came up
+to him with a burning candle. He said in Frankish: “When you fell asleep
+last night, I had to take your light from you, but here you have it
+again.”
+
+Raniero betrayed nothing, but said very calmly: “It was wise of you to
+extinguish it.”
+
+“I have not extinguished it,” said the man. “I noticed that it was
+burning when you arrived, and I thought it was of importance to you that
+it should continue to burn. If you see how much it has decreased, you
+will understand that it has been burning all night.”
+
+Raniero beamed with happiness. He commended the host heartily, and rode
+away in the best of spirits.
+
+                                   IV
+
+When Raniero broke away from the camp at Jerusalem, he intended to
+travel from Joppa to Italy by sea, but changed his mind after he had
+been robbed of his money, and concluded to make the journey by land.
+
+It was a long journey. From Joppa he went northward along the Syrian
+coast. Then he rode westward along the peninsula of Asia Minor, then
+northward again, all the way to Constantinople. From there he still had
+a monotonously long distance to travel to reach Florence. During the
+whole journey Raniero had lived upon the contributions of the pious.
+They that shared their bread with him mostly were pilgrims who at this
+time traveled _en masse_ to Jerusalem.
+
+Regardless of the fact that he nearly always rode alone, his days were
+neither long nor monotonous. He must always guard the candle flame, and
+on its account he never could feel at ease. It needed only a puff of
+breeze—a rain-drop—and there would have been an end to it.
+
+As Raniero rode over lonely roads, and thought only about keeping the
+flame alive, it occurred to him that once before he had been concerned
+with something similar. Once before he had seen a person watch over
+something which was just as sensitive as a candle flame.
+
+This recollection was so vague to him at first that he wondered if it
+was something he had dreamed.
+
+But as he rode on alone through the country, it kept recurring to him
+that he had participated in something similar once before.
+
+“It is as if all my life long I had heard tell of nothing else,” said
+he.
+
+One evening he rode into a city. It was after sundown, and the
+housewives stood in their doorways and watched for their husbands. Then
+he noticed one who was tall and slender, and had earnest eyes. She
+reminded him of Francesca degli Uberti.
+
+Instantly it became clear to him what he had been pondering over. It
+came to him that for Francesca her love must have been as a sacred flame
+which she had always wished to keep burning, and which she had
+constantly feared that Raniero would quench. He was astonished at this
+thought, but grew more and more certain that the matter stood thus. For
+the first time he began to understand why Francesca had left him, and
+that it was not with feats of arms he should win her back.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+The journey which Raniero made was of long duration. This was in part
+due to the fact that he could not venture out when the weather was bad.
+Then he sat in some caravansary, and guarded the candle flame. These
+were very trying days.
+
+One day, when he rode over Mount Lebanon, he saw that a storm was
+brewing. He was riding high up among awful precipices, and a frightful
+distance from any human abode. Finally he saw on the summit of a rock
+the tomb of a Saracen saint. It was a little square stone structure with
+a vaulted roof. He thought it best to seek shelter there.
+
+He had barely entered when a snowstorm came up, which raged for two days
+and nights. At the same time it grew so cold that he came near freezing
+to death.
+
+Raniero knew that there were heaps of branches and twigs out on the
+mountain, and it would not have been difficult for him to gather fuel
+for a fire. But he considered the candle flame which he carried very
+sacred, and did not wish to light anything from it, except the candles
+before the Blessed Virgin’s Altar.
+
+The storm increased, and at last he heard thunder and saw gleams of
+lightning.
+
+Then came a flash which struck the mountain, just in front of the tomb,
+and set fire to a tree. And in this way he was enabled to light his fire
+without having to borrow of the sacred flame.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+As Raniero was riding on through a desolate portion of the Cilician
+mountain district, his candles were all used up. The candles which he
+had brought with him from Jerusalem had long since been consumed; but
+still he had been able to manage because he had found Christian
+communities all along the way, of whom he had begged fresh candles.
+
+But now his resources were exhausted, and he thought that this would be
+the end of his journey.
+
+When the candle was so nearly burned out that the flame scorched his
+hand, he jumped from his horse and gathered branches and dry leaves and
+lit these with the last of the flame. But up on the mountain there was
+very little that would ignite, and the fire would soon burn out.
+
+While he sat and grieved because the sacred flame must die, he heard
+singing down the road, and a procession of pilgrims came marching up the
+steep path, bearing candles in their hands. They were on their way to a
+grotto where a holy man had lived, and Raniero followed them. Among them
+was a woman who was very old and had difficulty in walking, and Raniero
+carried her up the mountain.
+
+When she thanked him afterwards, he made a sign to her that she should
+give him her candle. She did so, and several others also presented him
+with the candles which they carried. He extinguished the candles,
+hurried down the steep path, and lit one of them with the last spark
+from the fire lighted by the sacred flame.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+One day at the noon hour it was very warm, and Raniero had lain down to
+sleep in a thicket. He slept soundly, and the candle stood beside him
+between a couple of stones. When he had been asleep a while, it began to
+rain, and this continued for some time, without his waking. When at last
+he was startled out of his sleep, the ground around him was wet, and he
+hardly dared glance toward the light, for fear it might be quenched.
+
+But the light burned calmly and steadily in the rain, and Raniero saw
+that this was because two little birds flew and fluttered just above the
+flame. They caressed it with their bills, and held their wings
+outspread, and in this way they protected the sacred flame from the
+rain.
+
+He took off his hood immediately, and hung it over the candle. Thereupon
+he reached out his hand for the two little birds, for he had been seized
+with a desire to pet them. Neither of them flew away because of him, and
+he could catch them.
+
+He was very much astonished that the birds were not afraid of him. “It
+is because they know I have no thought except to protect that which is
+the most sensitive of all, that they do not fear me,” thought he.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Raniero rode in the vicinity of Nicæa, in Bithynia. Here he met some
+western gentlemen who were conducting a party of recruits to the Holy
+Land. In this company was Robert Taillefer, who was a wandering knight
+and a troubadour.
+
+Raniero, in his torn cloak, came riding along with the candle in his
+hand, and the warriors began as usual to shout, “A madman, a madman!”
+But Robert silenced them, and addressed the rider.
+
+“Have you journeyed far in this manner?” he asked.
+
+“I have ridden like this all the way from Jerusalem,” answered Raniero.
+
+“Has your light been extinguished many times during the journey?”
+
+“Still burns the flame that lighted the candle with which I rode away
+from Jerusalem,” responded Raniero.
+
+Then Robert Taillefer said to him: “I am also one of those who carry a
+light, and I would that it burned always. But perchance you, who have
+brought your light burning all the way from Jerusalem, can tell me what
+I shall do that it may not become extinguished?”
+
+Then Raniero answered: “Master, it is a difficult task, although it
+appears to be of slight importance. This little flame demands of you
+that you shall entirely cease to think of anything else. It will not
+allow you to have any sweet-heart—in case you should desire anything of
+the sort—neither would you dare on account of this flame to sit down at
+a revel. You can not have aught else in your thoughts than just this
+flame, and must possess no other happiness. But my chief reason for
+advising you against making the journey which I have weathered is that
+you can not for an instant feel secure. It matters not through how many
+perils you may have guarded the flame, you can not for an instant think
+yourself secure, but must ever expect that the very next moment it may
+fail you.”
+
+But Robert Taillefer raised his head proudly and answered: “What you
+have done for your sacred flame I may do for mine.”
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Raniero arrived in Italy. One day he rode through lonely roads up among
+the mountains. A woman came running after him and begged him to give her
+a light from his candle. “The fire in my hut is out,” said she. “My
+children are hungry. Give me a light that I may heat my oven and bake
+bread for them!”
+
+She reached for the burning candle, but Raniero held it back because he
+did not wish that anything should be lighted by that flame but the
+candles before the image of the Blessed Virgin.
+
+Then the woman said to him: “Pilgrim, give me a light, for the life of
+my children is the flame which I am in duty bound to keep burning!” And
+because of these words he permitted her to light the wick of her lamp
+from his flame.
+
+Several hours later he rode into a town. It lay far up on the mountain,
+where it was very cold. A peasant stood in the road and saw the poor
+wretch who came riding in his torn cloak. Instantly he stripped off the
+short mantle which he wore, and flung it to him. But the mantle fell
+directly over the candle and extinguished the flame.
+
+Then Raniero remembered the woman who had borrowed a light of him. He
+turned back to her and had his candle lighted anew with sacred fire.
+
+When he was ready to ride farther, he said to her: “You say that the
+sacred flame which you must guard is the life of your children. Can you
+tell me what name this candle’s flame bears, which I have carried over
+long roads?”
+
+“Where was your candle lighted?” asked the woman.
+
+“It was lighted at Christ’s sepulchre,” said Raniero.
+
+“Then it can only be called Gentleness and Love of Humanity,” said she.
+
+Raniero laughed at the answer. He thought himself a singular apostle of
+virtues such as these.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Raniero rode forward between beautiful blue hills. He saw he was near
+Florence. He was thinking that he must soon part with his light. He
+thought of his tent in Jerusalem, which he had left filled with
+trophies, and the brave soldiers who were still in Palestine, and who
+would be glad to have him take up the business of war once more, and
+bear them on to new conquests and honors.
+
+Then he perceived that he experienced no pleasure in thinking of this,
+but that his thoughts were drawn in another direction.
+
+Then he realized for the first time that he was no longer the same man
+that had gone from Jerusalem. The ride with the sacred flame had
+compelled him to rejoice with all who were peaceable and wise and
+compassionate, and to abhor the savage and warlike.
+
+He was happy every time he thought of people who labored peacefully in
+their homes, and it occurred to him that he would willingly move into
+his old workshop in Florence and do beautiful and artistic work.
+
+“Verily this flame has recreated me,” he thought. “I believe it has made
+a new man of me.”
+
+                                   V
+
+It was Eastertide when Raniero rode into Florence.
+
+He had scarcely come in through the city gate—riding backwards, with
+his hood drawn down over his face and the burning candle in his
+hand—when a beggar arose and shouted the customary “Pazzo, pazzo!”
+
+At this cry a street gamin darted out of a doorway, and a loafer, who
+had had nothing else to do for a long time than to lie and gaze at the
+clouds, jumped to his feet. Both began shouting the same thing: “Pazzo,
+pazzo!”
+
+Now that there were three who shrieked, they made a good deal of noise
+and so woke up all the street urchins. They came rushing out from nooks
+and corners. As soon as they saw Raniero, in his torn coat, on the
+wretched horse, they shouted: “Pazzo, pazzo!”
+
+But this was only what Raniero was accustomed to. He rode quietly up the
+street, seeming: not to notice the shouters.
+
+Then they were not content with merely shouting, but one of them jumped
+up and tried to blow out the light. Raniero raised the candle on high,
+trying at the same time to prod his horse, to escape the boys.
+
+They kept even pace with him, and did everything they could to put out
+the light.
+
+The more he exerted himself to protect the flame the more excited they
+became. They leaped upon one another’s backs, puffed their cheeks out,
+and blew. They flung their caps at the candle. It was only because they
+were so numerous and crowded on one another that they did not succeed in
+quenching the flame.
+
+This was the largest procession on the street. People stood at the
+windows and laughed. No one felt any sympathy with a madman, who wanted
+to defend his candle flame. It was church hour, and many worshipers were
+on their way to Mass. They, too, stopped and laughed at the sport.
+
+But now Raniero stood upright in the saddle, so that he could shield the
+candle. He looked wild. The hood had fallen back and they saw his face,
+which was wasted and pale, like a martyr’s. The candle he held uplifted
+as high as he could.
+
+The entire street was one great swarm of people. Even the older ones
+began to take part in the play. The women waved their head-shawls and
+the men swung their caps. Every one worked to extinguish the light.
+
+Raniero rode under the vine-covered balcony of a house. Upon this stood
+a woman. She leaned over the lattice-work, snatched the candle, and ran
+in with it. The woman was Francesca degli Uberti.
+
+The whole populace burst into shrieks of laughter and shouts, but
+Raniero swayed in his saddle and fell to the street.
+
+As soon as he lay there stricken and unconscious, the street was emptied
+of people.
+
+No one wished to take charge of the fallen man. His horse was the only
+creature that stopped beside him.
+
+As soon as the crowds had got away from the street, Francesca degli
+Uberti came out from her house, with the burning candle in her hand. She
+was still pretty; her features were gentle, and her eyes were deep and
+earnest.
+
+She went up to Raniero and bent over him. He lay senseless, but the
+instant the candle light fell upon his face, he moved and roused
+himself. It was apparent that the candle flame had complete power over
+him. When Francesca saw that he had regained his senses, she said: “Here
+is your candle. I snatched it from you, as I saw how anxious you were to
+keep it burning. I knew of no other way to help you.”
+
+Raniero had had a bad fall, and was hurt. But now nothing could hold him
+back. He began to raise himself slowly. He wanted to walk, but wavered,
+and was about to fall. Then he tried to mount his horse. Francesca
+helped him. “Where do you wish to go?” she asked when he sat in the
+saddle again. “I want to go to the cathedral,” he answered. “Then I
+shall accompany you,” she said, “for I’m going to Mass.” And she led the
+horse for him.
+
+Francesca had recognized Raniero the very moment she saw him, but he did
+not see who she was, for he did not take time to notice her. He kept his
+gaze fixed upon the candle flame alone.
+
+They were absolutely silent all the way. Raniero thought only of the
+flame, and of guarding it well these last moments. Francesca could not
+speak, for she felt she did not wish to be certain of that which she
+feared. She could not believe but that Raniero had come home insane.
+Although she was almost certain of this, she would rather not speak with
+him, in order to avoid any positive assurance.
+
+After a while Raniero heard some one weep near him. He looked around and
+saw that it was Francesca degli Uberti, who walked beside him; and she
+wept. But Raniero saw her only for an instant, and said nothing to her.
+He wanted to think only of the sacred flame.
+
+Raniero let her conduct him to the sacristy. There he dismounted. He
+thanked Francesca for her help, but looked all the while not upon her,
+but on the light. He walked alone up to the priests in the sacristy.
+
+Francesca went into the church. It was Easter Eve, and all the candles
+stood unlighted upon the altars, as a symbol of mourning. Francesca
+thought that every flame of hope which had ever burned within her was
+now extinguished.
+
+In the church there was profound solemnity. There were many priests at
+the altar. The canons sat in a body in the chancel, with the bishop
+among them.
+
+By and by Francesca noticed there was commotion among the priests.
+Nearly all who were not needed to serve at Mass arose and went out into
+the sacristy. Finally the bishop went, too.
+
+When Mass was over, a priest stepped up to the chancel railing and began
+to speak to the people. He related that Raniero di Raniero had arrived
+in Florence with sacred fire from Jerusalem. He narrated what the rider
+had endured and suffered on the way. And he praised him exceeding much.
+
+The people sat spellbound and listened to this. Francesca had never
+before experienced such a blissful moment. “O God!” she sighed, “this is
+greater happiness than I can bear.” Her tears fell as she listened.
+
+The priest talked long and well. Finally he said in a strong, thrilling
+voice: “It may perchance appear like a trivial thing now, that a candle
+flame has been brought to Florence. But I say to you: Pray God that He
+will send Florence many bearers of Eternal Light; then she will become a
+great power, and be extolled as a city among cities!”
+
+When the priest had finished speaking, the entrance doors of the church
+were thrown open, and a procession of canons and monks and priests
+marched up the center aisle toward the altar. The bishop came last, and
+by his side walked Raniero, in the same cloak that he had worn during
+the entire journey.
+
+But when Raniero had crossed the threshold of the cathedral, an old man
+arose and walked toward him. It was Oddo, the father of the journeyman
+who had once worked for Raniero, and had hanged himself because of him.
+
+When this man had come up to the bishop and Raniero, he bowed to them.
+Thereupon he said in such a loud voice that all in the church heard him:
+“It is a great thing for Florence that Raniero has come with sacred fire
+from Jerusalem. Such a thing has never before been heard of or
+conceived. For that reason perhaps there may be many who will say that
+it is not possible. Therefore, I beg that all the people may know what
+proofs and witnesses Raniero has brought with him, to assure us that
+this is actually fire which was lighted in Jerusalem.”
+
+When Raniero heard this he said: “God help me! how can I produce
+witnesses? I have made the journey alone. Deserts and mountain wastes
+must come and testify for me.”
+
+“Raniero is an honest knight,” said the bishop, “and we believe him on
+his word.”
+
+“Raniero must know himself that doubts will arise as to this,” said
+Oddo. “Surely, he can not have ridden entirely alone. His little pages
+could certainly testify for him.”
+
+Then Francesca degli Uberti rushed up to Raniero. “Why need we
+witnesses?” said she. “All the women in Florence would swear on oath
+that Raniero speaks the truth!”
+
+Then Raniero smiled, and his countenance brightened for a moment.
+Thereupon he turned his thoughts and his gaze once more upon the candle
+flame.
+
+There was great commotion in the church. Some said that Raniero should
+not be allowed to light the candles on the altar until his claim was
+substantiated. With this many of his old enemies sided.
+
+Then Jacopo degli Uberti rose and spoke in Raniero’s behalf. “I believe
+every one here knows that no very great friendship has existed between
+my son-in-law and me,” he said; “but now both my sons and I will answer
+for him. We believe he has performed this task, and we know that one who
+has been disposed to carry out such an undertaking is a wise, discreet,
+and noble-minded man, whom we are glad to receive among us.”
+
+But Oddo and many others were not disposed to let him taste of the bliss
+he was yearning for. They got together in a close group and it was easy
+to see that they did not care to withdraw their demand.
+
+Raniero apprehended that if this should develop into a fight, they would
+immediately try to get at the candle. As he kept his eyes steadily fixed
+upon his opponents, he raised the candle as high as he could.
+
+He looked exhausted in the extreme, and distraught. One could see that,
+although he wished to hold out to the very last, he expected defeat.
+What mattered it to him now if he were permitted to light the candles?
+Oddo’s word had been a death-blow. When doubt was once awakened, it
+would spread and increase. He fancied that Oddo had already extinguished
+the sacred flame forever.
+
+A little bird came fluttering through the great open doors into the
+church. It flew straight into Raniero’s light. He hadn’t time to snatch
+it aside, and the bird dashed against it and put out the flame.
+
+Raniero’s arm dropped, and tears sprang to his eyes. The first moment he
+felt this as a sort of relief. It was better thus than if human beings
+had killed it.
+
+The little bird continued its flight into the church, fluttering
+confusedly hither and thither, as birds do when they come into a room.
+
+Simultaneously a loud cry resounded throughout the church: “The bird is
+on fire! The sacred candle flame has set its wings on fire!”
+
+The little bird chirped anxiously. For a few moments it fluttered about,
+like a flickering flame, under the high chancel arches. Then it sank
+suddenly and dropped dead upon the Madonna’s Altar.
+
+But the moment the bird fell upon the Altar, Raniero was standing there.
+He had forced his way through the church, no one had been able to stop
+him. From the sparks which destroyed the bird’s wings he lit the candles
+before the Madonna’s Altar.
+
+Then the bishop raised his staff and proclaimed: “God willed it! God
+hath testified for him!”
+
+And all the people in the church, both his friends and opponents,
+abandoned their doubts and conjectures. They cried as with one voice,
+transported by God’s miracle: “God willed it! God hath testified for
+him!”
+
+Of Raniero there is now only a legend, which says he enjoyed great good
+fortune for the remainder of his days, and was wise, and prudent, and
+compassionate. But the people of Florence always called him Pazzo degli
+Ranieri, in remembrance of the fact that they had believed him insane.
+And this became his honorary title. He founded a dynasty, which was
+named Pazzi, and is called so even to this day.
+
+It might also be worth mentioning that it became a custom in Florence,
+each year at Easter Eve, to celebrate a festival in memory of Raniero’s
+home-coming with the sacred flame, and that, on this occasion, they
+always let an artificial bird fly with fire through the church. This
+festival would most likely have been celebrated even in our day had not
+some changes taken place recently.
+
+But if it be true, as many hold, that the bearers of sacred fire who
+have lived in Florence and have made the city one of the most glorious
+on earth, have taken Raniero as their model, and have thereby been
+encouraged to sacrifice, to suffer and endure, this may here be left
+untold.
+
+For what has been done by this light, which in dark times has gone out
+from Jerusalem, can neither be measured nor counted.
+
+                                THE END
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                 THE HOME BOOK OF VERSE FOR YOUNG FOLKS
+
+               Compiled by Burton E. Stevenson, Editor of
+                       “The Home Book of Verse.”
+
+     With cover, and illustrations in color and black and white by
+          WILLY POGANY. Over 500 pages, large 12mo. $2.00 net.
+
+Not a rambling, hap-hazard collection but a vade-mecum for youth from
+the ages of six or seven to sixteen or seventeen. It opens with Nursery
+Rhymes and lullabies, progresses through child rhymes and jingles to
+more mature nonsense verse; then come fairy verses and Christmas poems;
+then nature verse and favorite rhymed stories; then through the trumpet
+and drum period (where an attempt is made to teach true patriotism) to
+the final appeal of “Life Lessons” and “A Garland of Gold” (the great
+poems for all ages).
+
+This arrangement secures sequence of sentiment and a sort of cumulative
+appeal. Nearly all the children’s classics are included, and along with
+them a body of verse not so well known but almost equally deserving.
+There are many real “finds,” most of which have never before appeared in
+any anthology.
+
+Mr. Stevenson has banished doleful and pessimistic verse, and has dwelt
+on hope, courage, cheerfulness and helpfulness. The book should serve,
+too, as an introduction to the greater poems, informing taste for them
+and appreciation of them, against the time when the boy or girl, grown
+into youth and maiden, is ready to swim out into the full current of
+English poetry.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                         PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                       LIFE-STORIES FOR THE YOUNG
+
+Dean Hodges’ SAINTS AND HEROES: To the End of the Middle Ages.
+
+Illustrated. $1.35 net.
+
+Biographies of Cyprian, Athanasius, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Jerome,
+Augustine, Benedict, Gregory the Great, Columba, Charlemagne,
+Hildebrand, Anselm, Bernard, Becket, Langton, Dominic, Francis,
+Wycliffe, Hus, Savonarola.
+
+Each of these men was a great person in his time, and represented its
+best qualities. Their dramatic and adventurous experiences make the
+story of their lives interesting as well as inspiring and suggestive.
+
+Church history and doctrine are touched upon only as they develop in the
+biographies.
+
+  “Here is much important history told in a readable and attractive
+  manner, and from the standpoint which makes history most vivid and
+  most likely to remain fixed in memory, namely, the standpoint of the
+  individual actor.”—Springfield Republican.
+
+Dean Hodges’ SAINTS AND HEROES: Since the Middle Ages
+
+Illustrated. $1.35 net.
+
+The new volume includes biographies of Luther, More, Loyola, Cranmer,
+Calvin, Knox, Coligny, William the Silent, Laud, Cromwell, Fox, Wesley,
+Bunyan and Brewster.
+
+John Buchan’s SIR WALTER RALEIGH
+
+With double-page pictures in color; cover linings. Square
+
+12mo. Price, $2.00 net.
+
+A life of Raleigh told in eleven chapters. Each chapter covers some
+important scene in his life and is told by some friend or follower as if
+seen with his own eyes. Some of the characters are invented, but all
+that they tell really happened.
+
+The narrative has spirit, color, and atmosphere, and is unusually well
+written.
+
+America figures largely in the story, and American boys will enjoy this
+book.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                   PUBLISHERS    VIII’12    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                        By CARROLL WATSON RANKIN
+
+                  ------------------------------------
+
+                           STORIES FOR GIRLS
+
+                            THE CINDER POND
+              Illustrated by Ada C. Williamson. $1.25 net.
+
+Years ago, a manufacturer built a great dock, jutting out from and then
+turning parallel to the shore of a northern Michigan town. The factory
+was abandoned, and following the habits of small towns, the space
+between the dock and the shore became “The Cinder Pond.” Jean started
+life in the colony of squatters that came to live in the shanties on the
+dock, but fortune, heroism, and a mystery combine to change her fortunes
+and those of her friends near the Cinder Pond.
+
+                     THE CASTAWAYS OF PETE’S PATCH
+              Illustrated by Ada C. Williamson. $1.25 net.
+
+A tale of five girls and two youthful grown-ups who enjoyed
+unpremeditated camping.
+
+                           DANDELION COTTAGE
+             Illustrated by Mmes. Shinn and Finley. $1.50.
+
+Four young girls secure the use of a tumbledown cottage. They set up
+housekeeping under numerous disadvantages, and have many amusements and
+queer experiences.
+
+  “A capital story. It is refreshing to come upon an author who can
+  tell us about real little girls, with sensible ordinary parents,
+  girls who are neither phenomenal nor silly.”—Outlook.
+
+                       THE ADOPTING OF ROSA MARIE
+   A sequel to “Dandelion Cottage.” Illustrated by Mrs. Shinn. $1.50.
+
+The little girls who played at keeping house in the earlier book,
+enlarge their activities to the extent of playing mother to a little
+Indian girl.
+
+  “Those who have read ‘Dandelion Cottage’ will need no urging to
+  follow further.... A lovable group of four real children, happily not
+  perfect, but full of girlish plans and pranks.... A delightful sense
+  of humor.”—Boston Transcript.
+
+                        THE GIRLS OF GARDENVILLE
+               Illustrated by Mary Wellman. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+Interesting, amusing, and natural stories of a girls’ club.
+
+  “Will captivate as many adults as if it were written for them....
+  The secret of Mrs. Rankin’s charm is her naturalness ... real
+  girls ... not young ladies with ‘pigtails,’ but girls of sixteen
+  who are not twenty-five ... as original as amusing.”—Boston Transcript.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                         PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                            BOOKS FOR GIRLS
+                          By BEULAH MARIE DIX
+
+                           BETTY-BIDE-AT-HOME
+              Illustrated by Faith Avery. 12mo. $1.25 net.
+
+A story of family life. Betty is just ready for college, her brother is
+studying medicine, her sister is almost able to make her own way in the
+world, when a sudden catastrophe compels Betty to choose between her own
+ambitions and her mother’s happiness. Betty stays at home and learns
+many things, among them the fact that duty and success can be combined.
+The account of her literary ventures will help girls who want to write.
+
+Betty is a spirited, energetic, lovable girl. The style and atmosphere
+of the story are both better than is usually the case in girls’ stories.
+
+                           FRIENDS IN THE END
+              Illustrated by Faith Avery. 12mo. $1.25 net.
+
+An out-of-door story for girls which tells how Dorothea Marden went,
+under protest, from the city to spend the summer at a farm in the New
+Hampshire mountains; how she met Jo Gifford from South Tuxboro, who had
+red hair, and knew she shouldn’t like her, but did; how Dorothea and Jo,
+at the farm, fell out with the young folks close by at Camp Comfort; how
+they carried on the war, with varying success, and how they were sorry
+that they did so, and how they were glad in the end to make peace.
+
+“Will attract boys and girls equally and be good for both.”—Outlook.
+
+“More than the usual plot and literary completeness.”—Christian
+Register.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                   PUBLISHERS    VIII’12    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                        BY ALICE CALHOUN HAINES
+                For Young Folks from 9 to 16 Years old.
+
+                  ------------------------------------
+
+                           PARTNERS FOR FAIR
+             With illustrations by Faith Avery. $1.25 net.
+
+A story full of action, not untinged by pathos, of a boy and his
+faithful dog and their wanderings after the poorhouse burns down. They
+have interesting experiences with a traveling circus; the boy is thrown
+from a moving train, and has a lively time with the Mexican Insurrectos,
+from whom he is rescued by our troops.
+
+                     THE LUCK OF THE DUDLEY GRAHAMS
+           Illustrated by Francis Day. 300 pp., 12mo. $1.50.
+
+A family story of city life. Lightened by humor and an airship.
+
+  “Among the very best of books for young folks. Appeals especially
+  to girls.”—Wisconsin List for Township Libraries.
+
+  “Promises to be perennially popular. A family of happy, healthy,
+  inventive, bright children make the best of restricted conditions and
+  prove themselves masters of circumstances.”—Christian Register.
+
+  “Sparkles with cleverness and humor.”—Brooklyn Eagle.
+
+                           COCK-A-DOODLE HILL
+           A sequel to the above. Illustrated by Francis Day.
+                         296 pp., 12mo. $1.50.
+
+“Cockle-a-doodle Hill” is where the Dudley Graham family went to live
+when they left New York, and here Ernie started her chicken-farm, with
+one solitary fowl, “Hennerietta.” The pictures of country scenes and the
+adventures and experiences of this household of young people are very
+life-like.
+
+  “No better book for young people than ‘The Luck of the Dudley
+  Grahams’ was offered last year. ‘Cock-a-Doodle Hill’ is another
+  of similar qualities.”—Philadelphia Press.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                  PUBLISHERS    (VIII’12)    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                   COMPANION STORIES OF COUNTRY LIFE
+                  FOR BOYS        By CHARLES P. BURTON
+
+                  ------------------------------------
+
+                         THE BOYS OF BOB’S HILL
+            Illustrated by George A. Williams. 12mo. $1.25.
+
+A lively story of a party of boys in a small New England town.
+
+  “A first-rate juvenile ... a real story for the live human boy—any
+  boy will read it eagerly to the end ... quite thrilling adventures.”
+  —Chicago Record-Herald.
+
+  “Tom Sawyer would have been a worthy member of the Bob’s Hill
+  crowd and shared their good times and thrilling adventures with
+  uncommon relish.... A jolly group of youngsters as nearly true to
+  the real thing in boy nature as one can ever expect to find between
+  covers.”—Christian Register.
+
+                          THE BOB’S CAVE BOYS
+                  Illustrated by Victor Perard. $1.50.
+
+  “It would be hard to find anything better in the literature of New
+  England boy life. Healthy, red-blooded, human boys, full of fun,
+  into trouble and out again, but frank, honest, and clean.”
+  —The Congregationalist.
+
+                         THE BOB’S HILL BRAVES
+                Illustrated by H. S. DeLay. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+The “Bob’s Hill” band spend a vacation in Illinois, where they play at
+being Indians, hear thrilling tales of real Indians, and learn much
+frontier history. A history of especial interest to “Boy Scouts.”
+
+  “Merry youngsters. Capital. Thrilling tales of the red men and
+  explorers. These healthy red-blooded, New England boys.”
+  —Philadelphia Press.
+
+                      THE BOY SCOUTS OF BOB’S HILL
+             Illustrated by Gordon Grant. 12mo. $1.25 net.
+
+The “Bob’s Hill” band organizes a Boy Scouts band and have many
+adventures. Mr. Burton brings in tales told around a camp-fire of La
+Salle, Joliet, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Northwestern Reservation.
+
+                            CAMP BOB’S HILL
+                Illustrated by Gordon Grant. $1.25 net.
+
+A tale of Boy Scouts on their summer vacation.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                         PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                    SHORT PLAYS ABOUT FAMOUS AUTHORS
+
+        (Goldsmith, Dickens, Heine, Fannie Burney, Shakespeare)
+
+                  By Maude Morrison Frank. $1.00 net.
+
+The Mistake at the Manor shows the fifteen-year-old Goldsmith in the
+midst of the humorous incident in his life which later formed the basis
+of “She Stoops to Conquer.”
+
+A Christmas Eve With Charles Dickens reveals the author as a poor
+factory boy in a lodging-house, dreaming of an old-time family
+Christmas.
+
+When Heine was Twenty-one dramatizes the early disobedience of the
+author in writing poetry against his uncle’s orders.
+
+Miss Burney at Court deals with an interesting incident in the life of
+the author of “Evelina” when she was at the Court of George III.
+
+The Fairies’ Plea, which is an adaptation of Thomas Hood’s poem, shows
+Shakespeare intervening to save the fairies from the scythe of Time.
+
+Designed in general for young people near enough to the college age to
+feel an interest in the personal and human aspects of literature, but
+the last two could easily be handled by younger actors. They can
+successfully be given by groups or societies of young people without the
+aid of a professional coach.
+
+                   LITTLE PLAYS FROM AMERICAN HISTORY
+                            FOR YOUNG FOLKS
+
+                 By Alice Johnstone Walker. $1.00 net.
+
+Hiding the Regicides, a number of brief and stirring episodes,
+concerning the pursuit of Colonels Whalley and Goff by the officers of
+Charles II at New Haven in old colony days.
+
+Mrs. Murray’s Dinner Party, in three acts, is a lively comedy about a
+Patriot hostess and British Officers in Revolutionary Days.
+
+Scenes from Lincoln’s Time; the martyred President does not himself
+appear. They cover Lincoln’s helping a little girl with her trunk, women
+preparing lint for the wounded, a visit to the White House of an
+important delegation from New York, and of the mother of a soldier boy
+sentenced to death—and the coming of the army of liberation to the
+darkies.
+
+Tho big events are touched upon, the mounting of all these little plays
+is simplicity itself, and they have stood the test of frequent school
+performance.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                         Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Christ Legends, by Selma Lagerlöf
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diff --git a/old/44818-0.zip b/old/44818-0.zip
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Christ Legends, by Selma Lagerl�f
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Christ Legends
+
+Author: Selma Lagerl�f
+
+Illustrator: Bertha Stuart
+
+Translator: Velma Swanston Howard
+
+Release Date: February 1, 2014 [EBook #44818]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRIST LEGENDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Shaun Pinder, Roger Frank and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                             CHRIST LEGENDS
+
+                                   BY
+
+                             SELMA LAGERL�F
+
+                      Translated from the Swedish
+
+                                   BY
+
+                         VELMA SWANSTON HOWARD
+
+                      DECORATIONS BY BERTHA STUART
+
+                             [Illustration]
+
+                                NEW YORK
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+
+                                  1908
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                            Copyright, 1908,
+
+                                   BY
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+
+                                -------
+
+                        Published October, 1908
+
+                      THE QUINN & BODEN CO. PRESS
+                             RAHWAY, N. J.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                                CONTENTS
+
+                    THE HOLY NIGHT                  1
+                    THE EMPEROR'S VISION           13
+                    THE WISE MEN'S WELL            25
+                    BETHLEHEM'S CHILDREN           41
+                    THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT          73
+                    IN NAZARETH                    85
+                    IN THE TEMPLE                  95
+                    SAINT VERONICA'S KERCHIEF     119
+                    ROBIN REDBREAST               191
+                    OUR LORD AND SAINT PETER      203
+                    THE SACRED FLAME              221
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Holy Night]
+
+                             THE HOLY NIGHT
+
+
+When I was five years old I had such a great sorrow! I hardly know if I
+have had a greater since.
+
+It was then my grandmother died. Up to that time, she used to sit every
+day on the corner sofa in her room, and tell stories.
+
+I remember that grandmother told story after story from morning till
+night, and that we children sat beside her, quite still, and listened.
+It was a glorious life! No other children had such happy times as we
+did.
+
+It isn't much that I recollect about my grandmother. I remember that she
+had very beautiful snow-white hair, and stooped when she walked, and
+that she always sat and knitted a stocking.
+
+And I even remember that when she had finished a story, she used to lay
+her hand on my head and say: "All this is as true, as true as that I see
+you and you see me."
+
+I also remember that she could sing songs, but this she did not do every
+day. One of the songs was about a knight and a sea-troll, and had this
+refrain: "It blows cold, cold weather at sea."
+
+Then I remember a little prayer she taught me, and a verse of a hymn.
+
+Of all the stories she told me, I have but a dim and imperfect
+recollection. Only one of them do I remember so well that I should be
+able to repeat it. It is a little story about Jesus' birth.
+
+Well, this is nearly all that I can recall about my grandmother, except
+the thing which I remember best; and that is, the great loneliness when
+she was gone.
+
+I remember the morning when the corner sofa stood empty and when it was
+impossible to understand how the days would ever come to an end. That I
+remember. That I shall never forget!
+
+And I recollect that we children were brought forward to kiss the hand
+of the dead and that we were afraid to do it. But then some one said to
+us that it would be the last time we could thank grandmother for all the
+pleasure she had given us.
+
+And I remember how the stories and songs were driven from the homestead,
+shut up in a long black casket, and how they never came back again.
+
+I remember that something was gone from our lives. It seemed as if the
+door to a whole beautiful, enchanted world--where before we had been
+free to go in and out--had been closed. And now there was no one who
+knew how to open that door.
+
+And I remember that, little by little, we children learned to play with
+dolls and toys, and to live like other children. And then it seemed as
+though we no longer missed our grandmother, or remembered her.
+
+But even to-day--after forty years--as I sit here and gather together
+the legends about Christ, which I heard out there in the Orient, there
+awakes within me the little legend of Jesus' birth that my grandmother
+used to tell, and I feel impelled to tell it once again, and to let it
+also be included in my collection.
+
+It was a Christmas Day and all the folks had driven to church except
+grandmother and I. I believe we were all alone in the house. We had not
+been permitted to go along, because one of us was too old and the other
+was too young. And we were sad, both of us, because we had not been
+taken to early mass to hear the singing and to see the Christmas
+candles.
+
+But as we sat there in our loneliness, grandmother began to tell a
+story.
+
+"There was a man," said she, "who went out in the dark night to borrow
+live coals to kindle a fire. He went from hut to hut and knocked. 'Dear
+friends, help me!' said he. 'My wife has just given birth to a child,
+and I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.'
+
+"But it was way in the night, and all the people were asleep. No one
+replied.
+
+"The man walked and walked. At last he saw the gleam of a fire a long
+way off. Then he went in that direction, and saw that the fire was
+burning in the open. A lot of sheep were sleeping around the fire, and
+an old shepherd sat and watched over the flock.
+
+"When the man who wanted to borrow fire came up to the sheep, he saw
+that three big dogs lay asleep at the shepherd's feet. All three awoke
+when the man approached and opened their great jaws, as though they
+wanted to bark; but not a sound was heard. The man noticed that the hair
+on their backs stood up and that their sharp, white teeth glistened in
+the firelight. They dashed toward him. He felt that one of them bit at
+his leg and one at his hand and that one clung to his throat. But their
+jaws and teeth wouldn't obey them, and the man didn't suffer the least
+harm.
+
+"Now the man wished to go farther, to get what he needed. But the sheep
+lay back to back and so close to one another that he couldn't pass them.
+Then the man stepped upon their backs and walked over them and up to the
+fire. And not one of the animals awoke or moved."
+
+Thus far, grandmother had been allowed to narrate without interruption.
+But at this point I couldn't help breaking in. "Why didn't they do it,
+grandma?" I asked.
+
+"That you shall hear in a moment," said grandmother--and went on with
+her story.
+
+"When the man had almost reached the fire, the shepherd looked up. He
+was a surly old man, who was unfriendly and harsh toward human beings.
+And when he saw the strange man coming, he seized the long spiked staff,
+which he always held in his hand when he tended his flock, and threw it
+at him. The staff came right toward the man, but, before it reached him,
+it turned off to one side and whizzed past him, far out in the meadow."
+
+When grandmother had got this far, I interrupted her again. "Grandma,
+why wouldn't the stick hurt the man?" Grandmother did not bother about
+answering me, but continued her story.
+
+"Now the man came up to the shepherd and said to him: 'Good man, help
+me, and lend me a little fire! My wife has just given birth to a child,
+and I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.'
+
+"The shepherd would rather have said no, but when he pondered that the
+dogs couldn't hurt the man, and the sheep had not run from him, and that
+the staff had not wished to strike him, he was a little afraid, and
+dared not deny the man that which he asked.
+
+"'Take as much as you need!' he said to the man.
+
+"But then the fire was nearly burnt out. There were no logs or branches
+left, only a big heap of live coals; and the stranger had neither spade
+nor shovel, wherein he could carry the red-hot coals.
+
+"When the shepherd saw this, he said again: 'Take as much as you need!'
+And he was glad that the man wouldn't be able to take away any coals.
+
+"But the man stooped and picked coals from the ashes with his bare
+hands, and laid them in his mantle. And he didn't burn his hands when he
+touched them, nor did the coals scorch his mantle; but he carried them
+away as if they had been nuts or apples."
+
+But here the story-teller was interrupted for the third time. "Grandma,
+why wouldn't the coals burn the man?"
+
+"That you shall hear," said grandmother, and went on:
+
+"And when the shepherd, who was such a cruel and hard-hearted man, saw
+all this, he began to wonder to himself: 'What kind of a night is this,
+when the dogs do not bite, the sheep are not scared, the staff does not
+kill, or the fire scorch?' He called the stranger back, and said to him:
+'What kind of a night is this? And how does it happen that all things
+show you compassion?'
+
+"Then said the man: 'I cannot tell you if you yourself do not see it.'
+And he wished to go his way, that he might soon make a fire and warm his
+wife and child.
+
+"But the shepherd did not wish to lose sight of the man before he had
+found out what all this might portend. He got up and followed the man
+till they came to the place where he lived.
+
+"Then the shepherd saw that the man didn't have so much as a hut to
+dwell in, but that his wife and babe were lying in a mountain grotto,
+where there was nothing except the cold and naked stone walls.
+
+"But the shepherd thought that perhaps the poor innocent child might
+freeze to death there in the grotto; and, although he was a hard man, he
+was touched, and thought he would like to help it. And he loosened his
+knapsack from his shoulder, took from it a soft white sheepskin, gave it
+to the strange man, and said that he should let the child sleep on it.
+
+"But just as soon as he showed that he, too, could be merciful, his eyes
+were opened, and he saw what he had not been able to see before and
+heard what he could not have heard before.
+
+"He saw that all around him stood a ring of little silver-winged angels,
+and each held a stringed instrument, and all sang in loud tones that
+to-night the Saviour was born who should redeem the world from its sins.
+
+"Then he understood how all things were so happy this night that they
+didn't want to do anything wrong.
+
+"And it was not only around the shepherd that there were angels, but he
+saw them everywhere. They sat inside the grotto, they sat outside on the
+mountain, and they flew under the heavens. They came marching in great
+companies, and, as they passed, they paused and cast a glance at the
+child.
+
+"There were such jubilation and such gladness and songs and play! And
+all this he saw in the dark night, whereas before he could not have made
+out anything. He was so happy because his eyes had been opened that he
+fell upon his knees and thanked God."
+
+Here grandmother sighed and said: "What that shepherd saw we might also
+see, for the angels fly down from heaven every Christmas Eve, if we
+could only see them."
+
+Then grandmother laid her hand on my head, and said: "You must remember
+this, for it is as true, as true as that I see you and you see me. It is
+not revealed by the light of lamps or candles, and it does not depend
+upon sun and moon; but that which is needful is, that we have such eyes
+as can see God's glory."
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Emperor's Vision]
+
+                          THE EMPEROR'S VISION
+
+
+It happened at the time when Augustus was Emperor in Rome and Herod was
+King in Jerusalem.
+
+It was then that a very great and holy night sank down over the earth.
+It was the darkest night that any one had ever seen. One could have
+believed that the whole earth had fallen into a cellar-vault. It was
+impossible to distinguish water from land, and one could not find one's
+way on the most familiar road. And it couldn't be otherwise, for not a
+ray of light came from heaven. All the stars stayed at home in their own
+houses, and the fair moon held her face averted.
+
+The silence and the stillness were as profound as the darkness. The
+rivers stood still in their courses, the wind did not stir, and even the
+aspen leaves had ceased to quiver. Had any one walked along the
+seashore, he would have found that the waves no longer dashed upon the
+sands; and had one wandered in the desert, the sand would not have
+crunched under one's feet. Everything was as motionless as if turned to
+stone, so as not to disturb the holy night. The grass was afraid to
+grow, the dew could not fall, and the flowers dared not exhale their
+perfume.
+
+On this night the wild beasts did not seek their prey, the serpents did
+not sting, and the dogs did not bark. And what was even more glorious,
+inanimate things would have been unwilling to disturb the night's
+sanctity, by lending themselves to an evil deed. No false key could have
+picked a lock, and no knife could possibly have drawn a drop of blood.
+
+In Rome, during this very night, a small company of people came from the
+Emperor's palace at the Palatine and took the path across the Forum
+which led to the Capitol. During the day just ended the Senators had
+asked the Emperor if he had any objections to their erecting a temple to
+him on Rome's sacred hill. But Augustus had not immediately given his
+consent. He did not know if it would be agreeable to the gods that he
+should own a temple next to theirs, and he had replied that first he
+wished to ascertain their will in the matter by offering a nocturnal
+sacrifice to his genius. It was he who, accompanied by a few trusted
+friends, was on his way to perform this sacrifice.
+
+Augustus let them carry him in his litter, for he was old, and it was an
+effort for him to climb the long stairs leading to the Capitol. He
+himself held the cage with the doves for the sacrifice. No priests or
+soldiers or senators accompanied him, only his nearest friends.
+Torch-bearers walked in front of him in order to light the way in the
+night darkness and behind him followed the slaves, who carried the
+tripod, the knives, the charcoal, the sacred fire, and all the other
+things needed for the sacrifice.
+
+On the way the Emperor chatted gaily with his faithful followers, and
+therefore none of them noticed the infinite silence and stillness of the
+night. Only when they had reached the highest point of the Capitol Hill
+and the vacant spot upon which they contemplated erecting the temple,
+did it dawn upon them that something unusual was taking place.
+
+It could not be a night like all others, for up on the very edge of the
+cliff they saw the most remarkable being! At first they thought it was
+an old, distorted olive-trunk; later they imagined that an ancient stone
+figure from the temple of Jupiter had wandered out on the cliff. Finally
+it was apparent to them that it could be only the old sibyl.
+
+Anything so aged, so weather-beaten, and so giant-like in stature they
+had never seen. This old woman was awe-inspiring! If the Emperor had not
+been present, they would all have fled to their homes.
+
+"It is she," they whispered to each other, "who has lived as many years
+as there are sand-grains on her native shores. Why has she come out from
+her cave just to-night? What does she foretell for the Emperor and the
+Empire--she, who writes her prophecies on the leaves of the trees and
+knows that the wind will carry the words of the oracle to the person for
+whom they are intended?"
+
+They were so terrified that they would have dropped on their knees with
+their foreheads pressed against the earth, had the sibyl stirred. But
+she sat as still as though she were lifeless. Crouching upon the
+outermost edge of the cliff, and shading her eyes with her hand, she
+peered out into the night. She sat there as if she had gone up on the
+hill that she might see more clearly something that was happening far
+away. _She_ could see things on a night like this!
+
+At that moment the Emperor and all his retinue marked how profound the
+darkness was. None of them could see a hand's breadth in front of him.
+And what stillness! What silence! Not even the Tiber's hollow murmur
+could they hear. The air seemed to suffocate them, cold sweat broke out
+on their foreheads, and their hands were numb and powerless. They feared
+that some dreadful disaster was impending.
+
+But no one cared to show that he was afraid, and everyone told the
+Emperor that this was a good omen. All Nature held its breath to greet a
+new god.
+
+They counseled Augustus to hurry with the sacrifice, and said that the
+old sibyl had evidently come out of her cave to greet his genius.
+
+But the truth was that the old sibyl was so absorbed in a vision that
+she did not even know that Augustus had come up to the Capitol. She was
+transported in spirit to a far-distant land, where she imagined that she
+was wandering over a great plain. In the darkness she stubbed her foot
+continually against something, which she believed to be grass-tufts. She
+stooped down and felt with her hand. No, it was not grass, but sheep.
+She was walking between great sleeping flocks of sheep.
+
+Then she noticed the shepherds' fire. It burned in the middle of the
+field, and she groped her way to it. The shepherds lay asleep by the
+fire, and beside them were the long, spiked staves with which they
+defended their flocks from wild beasts. But the little animals with the
+glittering eyes and the bushy tails that stole up to the fire, were they
+not jackals? And yet the shepherds did not fling their staves at them,
+the dogs continued to sleep, the sheep did not flee, and the wild
+animals lay down to rest beside the human beings.
+
+This the sibyl saw, but she knew nothing of what was being enacted on
+the hill back of her. She did not know that there they were raising an
+altar, lighting charcoal and strewing incense, and that the Emperor took
+one of the doves from the cage to sacrifice it. But his hands were so
+benumbed that he could not hold the bird. With one stroke of the wing,
+it freed itself and disappeared in the night darkness.
+
+When this happened, the courtiers glanced suspiciously at the old sibyl.
+They believed that it was she who caused the misfortune.
+
+Could they know that all the while the sibyl thought herself standing
+beside the shepherds' fire, and that she listened to a faint sound which
+came trembling through the dead-still night? She heard it long before
+she marked that it did not come from the earth, but from the sky. At
+last she raised her head; then she saw light, shimmering forms glide
+forward in the darkness. They were little flocks of angels, who, singing
+joyously, and apparently searching, flew back and forth above the wide
+plain.
+
+While the sibyl was listening to the angel-song, the Emperor was making
+preparations for a new sacrifice. He washed his hands, cleansed the
+altar, and took up the other dove. And, although he exerted his full
+strength to hold it fast, the dove's slippery body slid from his hand,
+and the bird swung itself up into the impenetrable night.
+
+The Emperor was appalled! He fell upon his knees and prayed to his
+genius. He implored him for strength to avert the disasters which this
+night seemed to foreshadow.
+
+Nor did the sibyl hear any of this either. She was listening with her
+whole soul to the angel-song, which grew louder and louder. At last it
+became so powerful that it wakened the shepherds. They raised themselves
+on their elbows and saw shining hosts of silver-white angels move in the
+darkness in long, swaying lines, like migratory birds. Some held lutes
+and cymbals in their hands; others held zithers and harps, and their
+song rang out as merry as child-laughter, and as care-free as the lark's
+trill. When the shepherds heard this, they rose up to go to the mountain
+city, where they lived, to tell of the miracle.
+
+They groped their way forward on a narrow, winding path, and the sibyl
+followed them. Suddenly it grew light up there on the mountain: a big,
+clear star kindled right over it, and the city on the mountain summit
+glittered like silver in the starlight. All the fluttering angel throngs
+hastened thither, shouting for joy, and the shepherds hurried so that
+they almost ran. When they reached the city, they found that the angels
+had assembled over a low stable near the city gate. It was a wretched
+structure, with a roof of straw and the naked cliff for a back wall.
+Over it hung the Star, and hither flocked more and more angels. Some
+seated themselves on the straw roof or alighted upon the steep
+mountain-wall back of the house; others, again, held themselves in the
+air on outspread wings, and hovered over it. High, high up, the air was
+illuminated by the shining wings.
+
+The instant the Star kindled over the mountain city, all Nature awoke,
+and the men who stood upon Capitol Hill could not help seeing it. They
+felt fresh, but caressing winds which traveled through space; delicious
+perfumes streamed up about them; trees swayed; the Tiber began to
+murmur; the stars twinkled, and suddenly the moon stood out in the sky
+and lit up the world. And out of the clouds the two doves came circling
+down and lighted upon the Emperor's shoulders.
+
+When this miracle happened, Augustus rose, proud and happy, but his
+friends and his slaves fell on their knees.
+
+"Hail, C�sar!" they cried. "Thy genius hath answered thee. Thou art the
+god who shall be worshiped on Capitol Hill!"
+
+And this cry of homage, which the men in their transport gave as a
+tribute to the Emperor, was so loud that the old sibyl heard it. It
+waked her from her visions. She rose from her place on the edge of the
+cliff, and came down among the people. It was as if a dark cloud had
+arisen from the abyss and rushed down the mountain height. She was
+terrifying in her extreme age! Coarse hair hung in matted tangles around
+her head, her joints were enlarged, and the dark skin, hard as the bark
+of a tree, covered her body with furrow upon furrow.
+
+Potent and awe-inspiring, she advanced toward the Emperor. With one hand
+she clutched his wrist, with the other she pointed toward the distant
+East.
+
+"Look!" she commanded, and the Emperor raised his eyes and saw. The
+vaulted heavens opened before his eyes, and his glance traveled to the
+distant Orient. He saw a lowly stable behind a steep rock wall, and in
+the open doorway a few shepherds kneeling. Within the stable he saw a
+young mother on her knees before a little child, who lay upon a bundle
+of straw on the floor.
+
+And the sibyl's big, knotty fingers pointed toward the poor babe. "Hail,
+C�sar!" cried the sibyl, in a burst of scornful laughter. "There is the
+god who shall be worshiped on Capitol Hill!"
+
+Then Augustus shrank back from her, as from a maniac. But upon the sibyl
+fell the mighty spirit of prophecy. Her dim eyes began to burn, her
+hands were stretched toward heaven, her voice was so changed that it
+seemed not to be her own, but rang out with such resonance and power
+that it could have been heard over the whole world. And she uttered
+words which she appeared to be reading among the stars.
+
+"Upon Capitol Hill shall the Redeemer of the world be
+worshiped,--_Christ_--but not frail mortals."
+
+When she had said this, she strode past the terror-stricken men, walked
+slowly down the mountain, and disappeared.
+
+But, on the following day, Augustus strictly forbade the people to raise
+any temple to him on Capitol Hill. In place of it he built a sanctuary
+to the new-born God-Child, and called it Heaven's Altar--_Ara Coeli_.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Wise Men's Well]
+
+                          THE WISE MEN'S WELL
+
+
+In old Judea the Drought crept, gaunt and hollow-eyed, between shrunken
+thistles and yellowed grass.
+
+It was summertime. The sun beat down upon the backs of unshaded hills,
+and the slightest breath of wind tore up thick clouds of lime dust from
+the grayish-white ground. The herds stood huddled together in the
+valleys, by the dried-up streams.
+
+The Drought walked about and viewed the water supplies. He wandered over
+to Solomon's Pools, and sighed as he saw that they still held a small
+quantity of water from their mountain sources. Then he journeyed down to
+the famous David's Well, near Bethlehem, and found water even there.
+Finally, he tramped with shuffling gait toward the great highway which
+leads from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.
+
+When he had arrived about half-way, he saw the Wise Men's Well, where it
+stands close by the roadside. He saw at a glance that it was almost dry.
+He seated himself on the curb, which consists of a single stone hollowed
+out, and looked into the well. The shining water-mirror, which usually
+was seen very near the opening, had sunk deep down, and the dirt and
+slime at the bottom of the well made it muddy and impure.
+
+When the Well beheld the Drought's bronzed visage reflected in her
+clouded mirror, she shook with anguish.
+
+"I wonder when you will be exhausted," said the Drought. "Surely, you do
+not expect to find any fresh water source, down there in the deep, to
+come and give you new life; and as for rain--God be praised! there can
+be no question of that for the next two or three months."
+
+"You may rest content," sighed the Well, "for nothing can help me now.
+It would take no less than a well-spring from Paradise to save me!"
+
+"Then I will not forsake you until every drop has been drained," said
+the Drought. He saw that the old Well was nearing its end, and now he
+wanted to have the pleasure of seeing it die out drop by drop.
+
+He seated himself comfortably on the edge of the curb, and rejoiced as
+he heard how the Well sighed down there in the deep. He also took a keen
+delight in watching the thirsty wayfarers come up to the well-curb, let
+down the bucket, and draw it up again, with only a few drops of muddy
+water.
+
+Thus the whole day passed; and when darkness descended, the Drought
+looked again into the Well. A little water still shimmered down there.
+"I'll stay here all night," cried he, "so do not hurry yourself! When it
+grows so light that I can look into you once more, I am certain that all
+will be over with you."
+
+The Drought curled himself up on the edge of the well-curb, while the
+hot night, which was even more cruel, and more full of torment than the
+day had been, descended over Judea. Dogs and jackals howled incessantly,
+and thirsty cows and asses answered them from their stuffy stalls.
+
+When the breeze stirred a little now and then, it brought with it no
+relief, but was as hot and suffocating as a great sleeping monster's
+panting breath. The stars shone with the most resplendent brilliancy,
+and a little silvery new moon cast a pretty blue-green light over the
+gray hills. And in this light the Drought saw a great caravan come
+marching toward the hill where the Wise Men's Well was situated.
+
+The Drought sat and gazed at the long procession, and rejoiced again at
+the thought of all the thirst which was coming to the well, and would
+not find one drop of water with which to slake itself. There were so
+many animals and drivers they could easily have emptied the Well, even
+if it had been quite full. Suddenly he began to think there was
+something unusual, something ghost-like, about this caravan which came
+marching forward in the night. First, all the camels came within sight
+on a hill, which loomed up, high and distinct, against the horizon; it
+was as though they had stepped straight down from heaven. They also
+appeared to be larger than ordinary camels, and bore--all too
+lightly--the enormous burdens which weighted them.
+
+Still he could not understand anything but that they were absolutely
+real, for to him they were just as plain as plain could be. He could
+even see that the three foremost animals were dromedaries, with gray,
+shiny skins; and that they were richly bridled and saddled, with fringed
+coverings, and were ridden by handsome, noble-looking knights.
+
+The whole procession stopped at the well. With three sharp jerks, the
+dromedaries lay down on the ground, and their riders dismounted. The
+pack-camels remained standing, and as they assembled they seemed to form
+a long line of necks and humps and peculiarly piled-up packs.
+
+Immediately, the riders came up to the Drought and greeted him by laying
+their hands upon their foreheads and breasts. He saw that they wore
+dazzling white robes and huge turbans, on the front of each of which
+there was a clear, glittering star, which shone as if it had been taken
+direct from the skies.
+
+"We come from a far-off land," said one of the strangers, "and we bid
+thee tell us if this is in truth the Wise Men's Well?"
+
+"It is called so to-day," said the Drought, "but by to-morrow there will
+be no well here. It shall die to-night."
+
+"I can understand this, as I see thee here," said the man. "But is not
+this one of the sacred wells, which never run dry? or whence hath it
+derived its name?"
+
+"I know it is sacred," said the Drought, "but what good will that do?
+The three wise men are in Paradise."
+
+The three travelers exchanged glances. "Dost thou really know the
+history of this ancient well?" asked they.
+
+"I know the history of all wells and fountains and brooks and rivers,"
+said the Drought, with pride.
+
+"Then grant us a pleasure, and tell us the story!" begged the strangers;
+and they seated themselves around the old enemy to everything growing,
+and listened.
+
+The Drought shook himself and crawled up on the well-curb, like a
+story-teller upon his improvised throne, and began his tale.
+
+"In Gebas, in Media, a city which lies near the border of the
+desert--and, therefore, it has often been a free and well-beloved city
+to me,--there lived, many, many years ago, three men who were famed for
+their wisdom.
+
+"They were also very poor, which was a most uncommon state of affairs;
+for, in Gebas, knowledge was held in high esteem, and was well
+recompensed. With these men, however, it could hardly have been
+otherwise, for one of them was very old, one was afflicted with leprosy,
+and the third was a black, thick-lipped negro. People regarded the first
+as much too old to teach them anything; the second they avoided for fear
+of contagion; and the third they would not listen to, because they
+thought they knew that no wisdom had ever come from Ethiopia.
+
+"Meanwhile, the three wise ones became united through their common
+misery. They begged during the day at the same temple gate, and at night
+they slept on the same roof. In this way they at least had an
+opportunity to while away the hours, by meditating upon all the
+wonderful things which they observed in Nature and in the human race.
+
+"One night, as they slept side by side on a roof, which was overgrown
+with stupefying red poppies, the eldest among them awoke; and hardly had
+he cast a glance around him, before he wakened the other two.
+
+"'Praised be our poverty, which compels us to sleep in the open!' he
+said to them. 'Awake! and raise your eyes to heaven!'
+
+"Well," said the Drought, in a somewhat milder tone, "this was a night
+which no one who witnessed it can ever forget! The skies were so bright
+that the heavens, which usually resemble an arched vault, looked deep
+and transparent and full of waves, like a sea. The light surged
+backwards and forwards and the stars swam in their varying depths: some
+in among the light-waves; others upon the surface.
+
+"But farthest away and highest up, the three men saw a faint shadow
+appear. This shadow traveled through space like a ball, and came nearer
+and nearer, and, as the ball approached, it began to brighten. But it
+brightened as roses do--may God let them all wither!--when they burst
+from their buds. It grew bigger and bigger, the dark cover about it
+turned back by degrees, and light broke forth on its sides into four
+distinct leaves. Finally, when it had descended to the nearest of the
+stars, it came to a standstill. Then the dark lobes curled themselves
+back and unfolded leaf upon leaf of beautiful, shimmering, rose-colored
+light, until it was perfect, and shone like a star among stars.
+
+"When the poor men beheld this, their wisdom told them that at this
+moment a mighty king was born on earth: one, whose majesty and power
+should rise higher than that of Cyrus or of Alexander; and they said to
+one another: 'Let us go to the father and mother of the new-born babe
+and tell them what we have seen! Mayhap they will reward us with a purse
+of coin or a bracelet of gold.'
+
+"They grasped their long traveling staves and went forth. They wandered
+through the city and out from the city gate; but there they felt
+doubtful for a moment as they saw before them the great stretch of dry,
+smooth desert, which human beings dread. Then they saw the new star cast
+a narrow stream of light across the desert sand, and they wandered
+confidently forward with the star as their guide.
+
+"All night long they tramped over the wide sand-plain, and throughout
+the entire journey they talked about the young, new-born king, whom they
+should find reposing in a cradle of gold, playing with precious stones.
+They whiled away the hours by talking over how they should approach his
+father, the king, and his mother, the queen, and tell them that the
+heavens augured for their son power and beauty and joy, greater than
+Solomon's. They prided themselves upon the fact that God had called
+_them_ to see the Star. They said to themselves that the parents of the
+new-born babe would not reward them with less than twenty purses of
+gold; perhaps they would give them so much gold that they no longer need
+suffer the pangs of poverty.
+
+"I lay in wait on the desert like a lion," said the Drought, "and
+intended to throw myself upon these wanderers with all the agonies of
+thirst, but they eluded me. All night the Star had led them, and on the
+morrow, when the heavens brightened and all the other stars grew pale,
+it remained steady and illumined the desert, and then guided them to an
+oasis where they found a spring and a ripe, fruit-bearing tree. There
+they rested all that day. And toward night, as they saw the Star's rays
+border the sands, they went on.
+
+"From the human way of looking at things," continued the Drought, "it
+was a delightful journey. The Star led them in such a way that they did
+not have to suffer either hunger or thirst. It led them past the sharp
+thistles, it avoided the thick, loose, flying sand; they escaped the
+burning sunshine and the hot desert storms. The three wise men said
+repeatedly to one another: 'God is protecting us and blessing our
+journey. We are His messengers.'
+
+"Then, by degrees, they fell into my power," said the Drought. "These
+star-wanderers' hearts became transformed into as dry a desert as the
+one which they traveled through. They were filled with impotent pride
+and destructive greed.
+
+"'We are God's messengers!' repeated the three wise ones. 'The father of
+the new-born king will not reward us too well, even if he gives us a
+caravan laden with gold.'
+
+"By and by, the Star led them over the far-famed River Jordan, and up
+among the hills of Judea. One night it stood still over the little city
+of Bethlehem, which lay upon a hill-top, and shone among the olive
+trees.
+
+"But the three wise ones looked around for castles and fortified towers
+and walls, and all the other things that belong to a royal city; but of
+such they saw nothing. And what was still worse, the Star's light did
+not even lead them into the city, but remained over a grotto near the
+wayside. There, the soft light stole in through the opening and revealed
+to the three wanderers a little Child, who was being lulled to sleep in
+its mother's arms.
+
+"Although the three men saw how the Star's light encircled the Child's
+head, like a crown, they remained standing outside the grotto. They did
+not enter to prophesy honors and kingdoms for this little One. They
+turned away without betraying their presence. They fled from the Child,
+and wandered down the hill again.
+
+"'Have we come in search of beggars as poor as ourselves?' said they.
+'Has God brought us hither that we might mock Him, and predict honors
+for a shepherd's son? This Child will never attain any higher
+distinction than to tend sheep here in the valleys.'"
+
+The Drought chuckled to himself and nodded to his hearers, as much as to
+say: "Am I not right? There are things which are drier than the desert
+sands, but there is nothing more barren than the human heart."
+
+"The three wise ones had not wandered very far before they thought they
+had gone astray and had not followed the Star rightly," continued the
+Drought. "They turned their gaze upward to find again the Star, and the
+right road; but then the Star which they had followed all the way from
+the Orient had vanished from the heavens."
+
+The three strangers made a quick movement, and their faces expressed
+deep suffering.
+
+"That which now happened," continued the Drought, "is in accord with the
+usual manner of mankind in judging of what is, perhaps, a blessing.
+
+"To be sure, when the three wise men no longer saw the Star, they
+understood at once that they had sinned against God.
+
+"And it happened with them," continued the Drought furiously, "just as
+it happens with the ground in the autumn, when the heavy rains begin to
+fall. They shook with terror, as one shakes when it thunders and
+lightens; their whole being softened, and humility, like green grass,
+sprang up in their souls.
+
+"For three nights and days they wandered about the country, in quest of
+the Child whom they would worship; but the Star did not appear to them.
+They grew more and more bewildered, and suffered the most overwhelming
+anguish and despair. On the third day they came to this well to drink.
+Then God had pardoned their sin. And, as they bent over the water, they
+saw in its depths the reflection of the Star which had brought them from
+the Orient. Instantly they saw it also in the heavens and it led them
+again to the grotto in Bethlehem, where they fell upon their knees
+before the Child and said: 'We bring thee golden vessels filled with
+incense and costly spices. Thou shalt be the greatest king that ever
+lived upon earth, from its creation even unto its destruction.'
+
+"Then the Child laid his hand upon their lowered heads, and when they
+rose, lo! the Child had given them gifts greater than a king could have
+granted; for the old beggar had grown young, the leper was made whole,
+and the negro was transformed into a beautiful white man. And it is said
+of them that they were glorious! and that they departed and became
+kings--each in his own kingdom."
+
+The Drought paused in his story, and the three strangers praised it.
+"Thou hast spoken well," said they. "But it surprises me," said one of
+them, "that the three wise men do nothing for the well which showed them
+the Star. Shall they entirely forget such a great blessing?"
+
+"Should not this well remain perpetually," said the second stranger, "to
+remind mankind that happiness, which is lost on the heights of pride and
+vainglory, will let itself be found again in the depths of humility?"
+
+"Are the departed worse than the living?" asked the third. "Does
+gratitude die with those who live in Paradise?"
+
+But as he heard this, the Drought sprang up with a wild cry. He had
+recognized the strangers! He understood who the strangers were, and fled
+from them like a madman, that he might not witness how The Three Wise
+Men called their servants and led their camels, laden with water-sacks,
+to the Well and filled the poor dying Well with water, which they had
+brought with them from Paradise.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Bethlehem's Children]
+
+                          BETHLEHEM'S CHILDREN
+
+
+Just outside the Bethlehem gate stood a Roman soldier, on guard. He was
+arrayed in full armor, with helmet. At his side he wore a short sword,
+and held in his hand a long spear. He stood there all day almost
+motionless, so that one could readily have believed him to be a man made
+of iron. The city people went in and out of the gate and beggars lolled
+in the shade under the archway, fruit venders and wine dealers set their
+baskets and jugs down on the ground beside the soldier, but he scarcely
+took the trouble to turn his head to look at them.
+
+It seemed as though he wanted to say: This is nothing to see. What do I
+care about you who labor and barter and come driving with oil casks and
+wine sacks! Let me see an army prepare to meet the enemy! Let me see the
+excitement and the hot struggle, when horsemen charge down upon a troop
+of foot-soldiers! Let me see the brave men who rush forward to scale the
+walls of a beleaguered city! Nothing is pleasing to my sight but war. I
+long to see the Roman Eagles glisten in the air! I long for the
+trumpets' blast, for shining weapons, for the splash of red blood!
+
+Just beyond the city gate lay a fine meadow, overgrown with lilies. Day
+by day the soldier stood with his eyes turned toward this meadow, but
+never for a moment did he think of admiring the extraordinary beauty of
+the flowers. Sometimes he noticed that the passers-by stopped to admire
+the lilies, and it amazed him to think that people would delay their
+travels to look at anything so trivial. These people do not know what is
+beautiful, thought he.
+
+And as he thought thus, he saw no more the green fields and olive groves
+round about Bethlehem; but dreamed himself away in a burning-hot desert
+in sunny Libya. He saw a legion of soldiers march forward in a long,
+straight line over the yellow, trackless sand. There was no protection
+against the sun's piercing rays, no cooling stream, no apparent
+boundaries to the desert, and no goal in sight, no end to their
+wanderings. He saw soldiers, exhausted by hunger and thirst, march
+forward with faltering step; he saw one after another drop to the
+ground, overcome by the scorching heat. Nevertheless, they marched
+onward without a murmur, without a thought of deserting their leader and
+turning back.
+
+Now, _there_ is something beautiful! thought the soldier, something that
+is worth the glance of a valiant man!
+
+Since the soldier stood on guard at the same post day after day, he had
+the best opportunity to watch the pretty children who played about him.
+But it was with the children as with the flowers: he didn't understand
+that it could be worth his while to notice them. What is this to rejoice
+over? thought he, when he saw people smile as they watched the
+children's games. It is strange that any one can find pleasure in a mere
+nothing.
+
+One day when the soldier was standing at his accustomed post, he saw a
+little boy about three years old come out on the meadow to play. He was
+a poor lad, who was dressed in a scanty sheepskin, and who played quite
+by himself. The soldier stood and regarded the newcomer almost without
+being aware of it himself. The first thing that attracted him was that
+the little one ran so lightly over the field that he seemed scarcely to
+touch the tips of the grass-blades. Later, as he followed the child's
+play, he was even more astonished. "By my sword!" he exclaimed, "this
+child does not play like the others. What can it be that occupies him?"
+
+As the child played only a few paces away, he could see well enough what
+the little one was doing. He saw how he reached out his hand to capture
+a bee that sat upon the edge of a flower and was so heavily laden with
+pollen that it could hardly lift its wings for flight. He saw, to his
+great surprise, that the bee let itself be taken without trying to
+escape, and without using its sting. When the little one held the bee
+secure between his fingers, he ran over to a crack in the city wall,
+where a swarm of bees had their home, and set the bee down. As soon as
+he had helped one bee in this way, he hastened back to help another. All
+day long the soldier saw him catch bees and carry them to their home.
+
+"That boy is certainly more foolish than any I've seen hitherto,"
+thought the soldier. "What put it into his head to try and help these
+bees, who can take such good care of themselves without him, and who can
+sting him at that? What kind of a man will he become if he lives, I
+wonder?"
+
+The little one came back day after day and played in the meadow, and the
+soldier couldn't help marveling at him and his games.
+
+"It is very strange," thought he. "Here I have stood on guard for fully
+three years, and thus far I have seen nothing that could interest me,
+except this infant."
+
+But the soldier was in nowise pleased with the child; quite the reverse!
+For this child reminded him of a dreadful prediction made by an old
+Hebrew seer, who had prophesied that a time of peace should come to this
+world some day; during a period of a thousand years no blood would be
+shed, no wars waged, but human beings would love one another like
+brethren. When the soldier thought that anything so dreadful might
+really come to pass, a shudder passed through his body, and he gripped
+his spear hard, as if he sought support.
+
+And now, the more the soldier saw of the little one and his play, the
+more he thought of the Thousand-year Reign of Peace. He did not fear
+that it had come already, but he did not like to be reminded of anything
+so hateful!
+
+One day, when the little one was playing among the flowers on the pretty
+meadow, a very heavy shower came bursting through the clouds. When he
+noticed how big and heavy the drops were that beat down upon the
+sensitive lilies, he seemed anxious for his pretty friends. He hurried
+away to the biggest and loveliest among them, and bent towards the
+ground the stiff stalk which held up the lily, so that the raindrops
+caught the chalices on their under side. As soon as he had treated one
+flower like this, he ran to another and bent its stem in the same way,
+so that the flower-cups were turned toward the ground. And then to a
+third and a fourth, until all the flowers in the meadow were protected
+against the rainfall.
+
+The soldier smiled to himself when he saw the boy's work. "I'm afraid
+the lilies won't thank him for this," said he. "Naturally, every stalk
+is broken. It will never do to bend such stiff growths in that way!"
+
+But when the shower was over, the soldier saw the little lad hurry over
+to the lilies and raise them up. To his utter astonishment, the boy
+straightened the stiff stalks without the least difficulty. It was
+apparent that not one of them was either broken or bruised. He ran from
+flower to flower, and soon all the rescued lilies shone in their full
+splendor in the meadow.
+
+When the soldier saw this, he was seized with a singular rage. "What a
+queer child!" thought he. "It is incredible that he can undertake
+anything so idiotic. What kind of a man will he make, who cannot even
+bear to see a lily destroyed? How would it turn out if such a one had to
+go to war? What would he do if they ordered him to burn a house filled
+with women and children, or to sink a ship with all souls on board?"
+
+Again he thought of the old prophecy, and he began to fear that the time
+had actually come for its fulfilment. "Since a child like this is here,"
+thought he, "perhaps this awful time is very close at hand. Already,
+peace prevails over the whole earth; and surely the day of war will
+nevermore dawn. From this time forth, all peoples will be of the same
+mind as this child: they will be afraid to injure one another, yea, they
+will not have the heart even to crush a bee or a flower! No great deeds
+will be done, no glorious battles won, and no brilliant triumvirate will
+march up to the Capitol. Nothing more will happen that a brave man could
+long for."
+
+And the soldier--who all the while hoped he would soon live through new
+wars and longed, through daring feats, to raise himself to power and
+riches--felt so exasperated with the little three-year-old that he
+raised his spear threateningly the next time the child ran past.
+
+Another day it was neither the bees nor the lilies the little one sought
+to protect, but he undertook something which struck the soldier as being
+much more needless and thankless.
+
+It was a fearfully hot day, and the sunrays fell upon the soldier's
+helmet and armor and heated them until he felt as if he wore a suit of
+fire. To the passers-by it looked as if he must suffer tortures from the
+heat. His bloodshot eyes were ready to burst from their sockets, and his
+lips were dry and shriveled. But as he was inured to the burning heat of
+African deserts, he thought this a mere trifle, and it didn't occur to
+him to move from his accustomed place. On the contrary, he took pleasure
+in showing the passers-by that he was so strong and hardy and did not
+need to seek shelter from the sun.
+
+While he stood thus, and let himself be nearly broiled alive, the little
+boy who was wont to play in the meadow came suddenly up to him. He knew
+very well that the soldier was not one of his friends and so he was
+always careful not to come within reach of his spear; but now he ran up
+to him, and regarded him long and carefully; then he hurried as fast as
+he could towards the road. When he came back, he held both hands like a
+bowl, and carried in this way a few drops of water.
+
+"Mayhap this infant has taken it upon himself to run and fetch water for
+me," thought the soldier. "He is certainly wanting in common sense.
+Should not a Roman soldier be able to stand a little heat! What need for
+that youngster to run around and help those who require no help! I don't
+want his compassion. I wish he and all like him were out of the world!"
+
+The little one came walking very slowly. He held his fingers close
+together, so that nothing should be spilled or wasted. All the while, as
+he was nearing the soldier, he kept his eyes anxiously fixed upon the
+little water which he brought with him, and did not see that the man
+stood there frowning, with a forbidding look in his eye. Then the child
+came up to the soldier and offered him the water.
+
+On the way his heavy blond curls had tumbled down over his forehead and
+eyes. He shook his head several times to get the hair out of his eyes,
+so that he could look up. When he succeeded at last, and became
+conscious of the hard expression on the soldier's face, he was not
+frightened, but stood still and begged him, with a bewitching smile, to
+taste of the water which he had brought with him. But the soldier felt
+no desire to accept a kindness from the child, whom he regarded as his
+enemy. He did not look down into his pretty face, but stood rigid and
+immovable, and showed no sign that he understood what the child wished
+to do for him.
+
+Nor could the child understand that the man wished to repel him. He
+smiled all the while just as confidently, raised himself on the tips of
+his toes, and stretched his hands as high as he could that the big
+soldier might more easily get at the water.
+
+The soldier felt so insulted because a mere child wished to help him
+that he gripped his spear to drive the little one away.
+
+But just at that moment the extreme heat and sunshine beat down upon the
+soldier with such intensity that he saw red flames dance before his eyes
+and felt his brains melt within his head. He feared the sun would kill
+him, if he could not find instant relief.
+
+Beside himself with terror at the danger hovering over him, the soldier
+threw his spear on the ground, seized the child with both hands, lifted
+him up, and absorbed as much as he could of the water which the little
+one held in his hands.
+
+Only a few drops touched his tongue, but more was not needed. As soon as
+he had tasted of the water, a delicious coolness surged through his
+body, and he felt no more that the helmet and armor burnt and oppressed
+him. The sunrays had lost their deadly power. His dry lips became soft
+and moist again, and red flames no longer danced before his eyes.
+
+Before he had time to realize all this, he had already put down the
+child, who ran back to the meadow to play. Astonished, the soldier began
+to say to himself: "What kind of water was this that the child gave me?
+It was a glorious drink! I must really show him my gratitude."
+
+But inasmuch as he hated the little one, he soon dismissed this idea.
+"It is only a child," thought he, "and does not know why he acts in this
+way or that way. He plays only the play that pleases him best. Does he
+perhaps receive any gratitude from the bees or the lilies? On that
+youngster's account I need give myself no trouble. He doesn't even know
+that he has succored me."
+
+The soldier felt, if possible, even more exasperated with the child a
+moment later, when he saw the commander of the Roman soldiers, who were
+encamped in Bethlehem, come out through the gate. "Just see what a risk
+I have run through that little one's rash behavior!" thought he. "If by
+chance Voltigius had come a moment earlier, he would have seen me
+standing with a child in my arms."
+
+Meanwhile, the Commander walked straight up to the soldier and asked him
+if they might speak together there without danger of being overheard. He
+had a secret to impart to him. "If we move ten paces from the gate,"
+replied the soldier, "no one can hear us."
+
+"You know," said the Commander, "that King Herod, time and again, has
+tried to get possession of a child that is growing up here in Bethlehem.
+His soothsayers and priests have told him that this child shall ascend
+his throne. Moreover, they have predicted that the new King will
+inaugurate a thousand-year reign of peace and holiness. You understand,
+of course, that Herod would willingly make him--Harmless!"
+
+"I understand!" said the soldier eagerly. "But that ought to be the
+easiest thing in the world."
+
+"It would certainly be very easy," said the Commander, "if the King only
+knew which one of all the children here in Bethlehem is The One."
+
+The soldier knit his brows. "It is a pity his soothsayers can not
+enlighten him about this," said he.
+
+"But now Herod has hit upon a ruse, whereby he believes he can make the
+young Peace-Prince harmless," continued the Commander. "He promises a
+handsome gift to each and all who will help him."
+
+"Whatsoever Voltigius commands shall be carried out, even without money
+or gifts," said the soldier.
+
+"I thank you," replied the Commander. "Listen, now, to the King's plan!
+He intends to celebrate the birthday of his youngest son by arranging a
+festival, to which all male children in Bethlehem, who are between the
+ages of two and three years, shall be bidden, together with their
+mothers. And during this festival----" He checked himself suddenly, and
+laughed when he saw the look of disgust on the soldier's face.
+
+"My friend," he continued, "you need not fear that Herod thinks of using
+us as child-nurses. Now bend your ear to my mouth, and I'll confide to
+you his design."
+
+The Commander whispered long with the soldier, and when he had disclosed
+all, he said:
+
+"I need hardly tell you that absolute silence is imperative, lest the
+whole undertaking miscarry."
+
+"You know, Voltigius, that you can rely on me," said the soldier.
+
+When the Commander had gone and the soldier once more stood alone at his
+post, he looked around for the child. The little one played all the
+while among the flowers, and the soldier caught himself thinking that
+the boy swayed above them as light and attractive as a butterfly.
+
+Suddenly he began to laugh. "True," said he, "I shall not have to vex
+myself very long over this child. He shall be bidden to the feast of
+Herod this evening."
+
+He remained at his post all that day, until the even was come, and it
+was time to close the city gate for the night.
+
+When this was done, he wandered through narrow and dark streets, to a
+splendid palace which Herod owned in Bethlehem.
+
+In the center of this immense palace was a large stone-paved court
+encircled by buildings, around which ran three open galleries, one above
+the other. The King had ordered that the festival for the Bethlehem
+children should be held on the uppermost of these galleries.
+
+This gallery, by the King's express command, was transformed so that it
+looked like a covered walk in a beautiful flower-garden. The ceiling was
+hidden by creeping vines hung with thick clusters of luscious grapes,
+and alongside the walls, and against the pillars stood small pomegranate
+trees, laden with ripe fruit. The floors were strewn with rose-leaves,
+lying thick and soft like a carpet. And all along the balustrades, the
+cornices, the tables, and the low divans, ran garlands of lustrous white
+lilies.
+
+Here and there in this flower garden stood great marble basins where
+glittering gold and silver fish played in the transparent water.
+Multi-colored birds from distant lands sat in the trees, and in a cage
+sat an old raven that chattered incessantly.
+
+When the festival began children and mothers filed into the gallery.
+Immediately after they had entered the palace, the children were arrayed
+in white dresses with purple borders and were given wreaths of roses for
+their dark, curly heads. The women came in, regal, in their crimson and
+blue robes, and their white veils, which hung in long, loose folds from
+high-peaked head-dresses, adorned with gold coins and chains. Some
+carried their children mounted upon their shoulders; others led their
+sons by the hand; some, again, whose children were afraid or shy, had
+taken them up in their arms.
+
+The women seated themselves on the floor of the gallery. As soon as they
+had taken their places, slaves came in and placed before them low
+tables, which they spread with the choicest of foods and wines--as
+befitting a King's feast--and all these happy mothers began to eat and
+drink, maintaining all the while that proud, graceful dignity, which is
+the greatest ornament of the Bethlehem women.
+
+Along the farthest wall of the gallery, and almost hidden by
+flower-garlands and fruit trees, was stationed a double line of soldiers
+in full armor. They stood, perfectly immovable, as if they had no
+concern with that which went on around them. The women could not refrain
+from casting a questioning glance, now and then, at this troop of
+iron-clad men. "For what are they needed here?" they whispered. "Does
+Herod think we women do not know how to conduct ourselves? Does he
+believe it is necessary for so many soldiers to guard us?"
+
+But others whispered that this was as it should be in a King's home.
+Herod himself never gave a banquet without having his house filled with
+soldiers. It was to honor them that the heavily armored warriors stood
+there on guard.
+
+During the first few moments of the feast, the children felt timid and
+uncertain, and sat quietly beside their mothers. But soon they began to
+move about and take possession of all the good things which Herod
+offered them.
+
+It was an enchanted land that the King had created for his little
+guests. When they wandered through the gallery, they found bee-hives
+whose honey they could pillage without the interference of a single
+crotchety bee. They found trees which, bending, lowered their
+fruit-laden branches down to them. In a corner they found magicians who,
+on the instant, conjured their pockets full of toys; and in another
+corner they discovered a wild-beast tamer who showed them a pair of
+tigers, so tame that they could ride them.
+
+But in this paradise with all its joys there was nothing which so
+attracted the attention of these little ones as the long line of
+soldiers who stood immovable at the extreme end of the gallery. Their
+eyes were captivated by their shining helmets, their stern, haughty
+faces, and their short swords, which reposed in richly jeweled sheaths.
+
+All the while, as they played and romped with one another, they thought
+continually about the soldiers. They still held themselves at a
+distance, but they longed to get near the men to see if they were alive
+and really could move themselves.
+
+The play and festivities increased every moment, but the soldiers stood
+all the while immovable. It seemed incredible to the little ones that
+people could stand so near the clusters of grapes and all the other
+dainties, without reaching out a hand to take them.
+
+Finally, there was one boy who couldn't restrain his curiosity any
+longer. Slowly, but prepared for hasty retreat, he approached one of the
+armored men; and when he remained just as rigid and motionless, the
+child came nearer and nearer. At last he was so close to him that he
+could touch his shoe latchets and his shins.
+
+Then--as though this had been an unheard-of crime--all at once these
+iron-men set themselves in motion. With indescribable fury they threw
+themselves upon the children, and seized them! Some swung them over
+their heads, like missiles, and flung them between lamps and garlands
+over the balustrade and down to the court, where they were killed the
+instant they struck the stone pavement. Others drew their swords and
+pierced the children's hearts; others, again, crushed their heads
+against the walls before they threw them down into the dark courtyard.
+
+The first moment after the onslaught, there was an ominous stillness.
+While the tiny bodies still swayed in the air, the women were petrified
+with amazement! But simultaneously all these unhappy mothers awoke to
+understand what had happened, and with one great cry they rushed toward
+the soldiers. There were still a few children left up in the gallery who
+had not been captured during the first attack. The soldiers pursued them
+and their mothers threw themselves in front of them and clutched with
+bare hands the naked swords, to avert the death-blow. Several women,
+whose children were already dead, threw themselves upon the soldiers,
+clutched them by the throat, and sought to avenge the death of their
+little ones by strangling their murderers.
+
+During this wild confusion, while fearful shrieks rang through the
+palace, and the most inhuman death cruelties were being enacted, the
+soldier who was wont to stand on guard at the city gate stood motionless
+at the head of the stairs which led down from the gallery. He took no
+part in the strife and the murder: only against the women who had
+succeeded in snatching their children and tried to fly down the stairs
+with them did he lift his sword. And just the sight of him, where he
+stood, grim and inflexible, was so terrifying that the fleeing ones
+chose rather to cast themselves over the balustrade or turn back into
+the heat of the struggle, than risk the danger of crowding past him.
+
+"Voltigius certainly did the right thing when he gave _me_ this post,"
+thought the soldier. "A young and thoughtless warrior would have left
+his place and rushed into the confusion. If I had let myself be tempted
+away from here, ten children at least would have escaped."
+
+While he was thinking of this, a young woman, who had snatched up her
+child, came rushing towards him in hurried flight. None of the warriors
+whom she had to pass could stop her, because they were in the midst of
+the struggle with other women, and in this way she had reached the end
+of the gallery.
+
+"Ah, there's one who is about to escape!" thought the soldier. "Neither
+she nor the child is wounded."
+
+The woman came toward the soldier with such speed that she appeared to
+be flying, and he didn't have time to distinguish the features of either
+the woman or her child. He only pointed his sword at them, and the
+woman, with the child in her arms, dashed against it. He expected that
+the next second both she and the child would fall to the ground pierced
+through and through.
+
+But just then the soldier heard an angry buzzing over his head, and the
+next instant he felt a sharp pain in one eye. It was so intense that he
+was stunned, bewildered, and the sword dropped from his hand. He raised
+his hand to his eye and caught hold of a bee, and understood that that
+which caused this awful suffering was only the sting of the tiny
+creature. Quick as a flash, he stooped down and picked up his sword, in
+the hope that as yet it was not too late to intercept the runaways.
+
+But the little bee had done its work very well.
+
+During the short time that the soldier was blinded, the young mother had
+succeeded in rushing past him and down the stairs; and although he
+hurried after her with all haste, he could not find her. She had
+vanished; and in all that great palace there was no one who could
+discover any trace of her.
+
+The following morning, the soldier, together with several of his
+comrades, stood on guard, just within the city gate. The hour was early,
+and the city gates had only just been opened. But it appeared as though
+no one had expected that they would be opened that morning; for no
+throngs of field laborers streamed out of the city, as they usually did
+of a morning. All the Bethlehem inhabitants were so filled with terror
+over the night's bloodshed that no one dared to leave his home.
+
+"By my sword!" said the soldier, as he stood and stared down the narrow
+street which led toward the gate, "I believe Voltigius has made a stupid
+blunder. It would have been better had he kept the gates closed and
+ordered a thorough search of every house in the city, until he had found
+the boy who managed to escape from the feast. Voltigius expects that his
+parents will try to get him away from here as soon as they learn that
+the gates are open. I fear this is not a wise calculation. How easily
+they could conceal a child!"
+
+He wondered if they would try to hide the child in a fruit basket or in
+some huge oil cask, or amongst the grain-bales of a caravan.
+
+While he stood there on the watch for any attempt to deceive him in this
+way, he saw a man and a woman who came hurriedly down the street and
+were nearing the gate. They walked rapidly and cast anxious looks behind
+them, as though they were fleeing from some danger. The man held an ax
+in his hand with a firm grip, as if determined to fight should any one
+bar his way. But the soldier did not look at the man as much as he did
+at the woman. He thought that she was just as tall as the young mother
+who got away from him the night before. He observed also that she had
+thrown her skirt over her head. "Perhaps she wears it like this,"
+thought he, "to conceal the fact that she holds a child on her arm."
+
+The nearer they approached, the plainer he saw the child which the woman
+bore on her arm outlined under the raised robe. "I'm positive it is the
+one who got away last night. I didn't see her face, but I recognize the
+tall figure. And here she comes now, with the child on her arm, and
+without even trying to keep it concealed. I had not dared to hope for
+such a lucky chance," said the soldier to himself.
+
+The man and woman continued their rapid pace all the way to the city
+gate. Evidently, they had not anticipated being intercepted here. They
+trembled with fright when the soldier leveled his spear at them, and
+barred their passage.
+
+"Why do you refuse to let us go out in the fields to our work?" asked
+the man.
+
+"You may go presently," said the soldier, "but first I must see what
+your wife has hidden behind her robe."
+
+"What is there to see?" said the man. "It is only bread and wine, which
+we must live upon to-day."
+
+"You speak the truth, perchance," said the soldier, "but if it is as you
+say, why does she turn away? Why does she not willingly let me see what
+she carries?"
+
+"I do not wish that you shall see it," said the man, "and I command you
+to let us pass!"
+
+With this he raised his ax, but the woman laid her hand on his arm.
+
+"Enter thou not into strife!" she pleaded. "I will try some other way. I
+shall let him see what I bear, and I know that he can not harm it." With
+a proud and confident smile she turned toward the soldier, and threw
+back a fold of her robe.
+
+Instantly the soldier staggered back and closed his eyes, as if dazed by
+a strong light. That which the woman held concealed under her robe
+reflected such a dazzling white light that at first he did not know what
+he saw.
+
+"I thought you held a child on your arm," he said.
+
+"You see what I hold," the woman answered.
+
+Then the soldier finally saw that that which dazzled and shone was only
+a cluster of white lilies, the same kind that grew in the meadow; but
+their luster was much richer and more radiant. He could hardly bear to
+look at them.
+
+He stuck his hand in among the flowers. He couldn't help thinking that
+it must be a child the woman carried, but he felt only the cool
+flower-petals.
+
+He was bitterly deceived, and in his wrath he would gladly have taken
+both the man and the woman prisoners, but he knew that he could give no
+reason for such a proceeding.
+
+When the woman saw his confusion, she said: "Will you not let us go
+now?"
+
+The soldier quietly lowered the spear and stepped aside.
+
+The woman drew her robe over the flowers once more, and at the same time
+she looked with a sweet smile upon that which she bore on her arm. "I
+knew that you could not harm it, did you but see it," she said to the
+soldier.
+
+With this, they hastened away; and the soldier stood and stared after
+them as long as they were within sight.
+
+While he followed them with his eyes, he almost felt sure that the woman
+did not carry on her arm a cluster of lilies, but an actual, living
+child.
+
+While he still stood and stared after the wanderers, he heard loud
+shouts from the street. It was Voltigius, with several of his men, who
+came running.
+
+"Stop them!" they cried. "Close the gates on them! Don't let them
+escape!"
+
+And when they came up to the soldier, they said that they had tracked
+the runaway boy. They had sought him in his home, but then he had
+escaped again. They had seen his parents hasten away with him. The
+father was a strong, gray-bearded man who carried an ax; the mother was
+a tall woman who held a child concealed under a raised robe.
+
+The same moment that Voltigius related this, there came a Bedouin riding
+in through the gate on a good horse. Without a word, the soldier rushed
+up to the rider, jerked him down off the horse and threw him to the
+ground, and, with one bound, jumped into the saddle and dashed away
+toward the road.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two days later, the soldier rode forward through the dreary
+mountain-desert, which is the whole southern part of Judea. All the
+while he was pursuing the three fugitives from Bethlehem, and he was
+beside himself because the fruitless hunt never came to an end.
+
+"It looks, forsooth, as though these creatures had the power to sink
+into the earth," he grumbled. "How many times during these days have I
+not been so close to them that I've been on the point of throwing my
+spear at the child, and yet they have escaped me! I begin to think that
+I shall never catch up with them."
+
+He felt despondent, like one who believes he is struggling against some
+superior power. He asked himself if it might not be possible that the
+gods protected these people against him.
+
+"This trouble is in vain. Let me turn back before I perish from hunger
+and thirst in this barren land!" he said to himself, again and again.
+Then he was seized with fear of that which awaited him on his
+home-coming, should he turn back without having accomplished his
+mission.
+
+Twice he had permitted the child to escape, and neither Voltigius nor
+Herod would pardon him for anything of the kind.
+
+"As long as Herod knows that one of the Bethlehem children still lives,
+he will always be haunted by the same anxiety and dread," said the
+soldier. "Most likely he will try to ease his worries by nailing me to a
+cross."
+
+It was a hot noonday hour, and he suffered tortures from the ride
+through this mountain district on a road which wound around steep cliffs
+where no breeze stirred. Both horse and rider were ready to drop.
+
+Several hours before he had lost every trace of the fugitives, and he
+felt more disheartened than ever.
+
+"I must give it up," thought he. "I verily believe it is time wasted to
+pursue them further. They must perish anyway in this awful wilderness."
+
+As he thought this, he discovered, in a mountain-wall near the roadside,
+the vaulted entrance to a grotto.
+
+Immediately he rode up to the opening. "I will rest a while in this cool
+mountain cave," thought he. "Then, mayhap, I can continue the pursuit
+with renewed strength."
+
+As he was about to enter, he was struck with amazement! On each side of
+the opening grew a beautiful lily. The two stalks stood there tall and
+erect and full of blossoms. They sent forth an intoxicating odor of
+honey, and many bees buzzed around them.
+
+It was such an uncommon sight in this wilderness that the soldier did
+something extraordinary. He broke off a large white flower and took it
+with him into the cave.
+
+The cave was neither deep nor dark, and as soon as he entered he saw
+that there were already three travelers within: a man, a woman, and a
+child, who lay stretched out upon the ground, lost in deep slumber.
+
+The soldier had never before felt his heart beat as it did at this
+vision. They were the three runaways whom he had hunted so long. He
+recognized them instantly. And here they lay sleeping, unable to defend
+themselves and wholly in his power.
+
+He drew his sword quickly and bent over the sleeping child.
+
+Cautiously he lowered the sword toward the infant's heart, and measured
+carefully, in order to kill with a single thrust.
+
+He paused an instant to look at the child's countenance. Now, when he
+was certain of victory, he felt a grim pleasure in beholding his victim.
+
+But when he saw the child his joy increased, for he recognized the
+little boy whom he had seen play with bees and lilies in the meadow
+beyond the city gate.
+
+"Why, of course I should have understood this all the time!" thought he.
+"This is why I have always hated the child. This is the pretended Prince
+of Peace."
+
+He lowered his sword again while he thought: "When I lay this child's
+head at Herod's feet, he will make me Commander of his Life Guard."
+
+As he brought the point of the sword nearer and nearer the heart of the
+sleeping child, he reveled in the thought: "This time, at least, no one
+shall come between us and snatch him from my power."
+
+But the soldier still held in his hand the lily which he had broken off
+at the grotto entrance; and while he was thinking of his good fortune, a
+bee that had been hidden in its chalice flew towards him and buzzed
+around his head.
+
+He staggered back. Suddenly he remembered the bees which the boy had
+carried to their home, and he remembered that it was a bee that had
+helped the child escape from Herod's feast. This thought struck him with
+surprise. He held the sword suspended, and stood still and listened for
+the bee.
+
+Now he did not hear the tiny creature's buzzing. As he stood there,
+perfectly still, he became conscious of the strong, delicious perfume
+which came from the lily that he held in his hand.
+
+Then he began to think of the lilies that the little one had saved; he
+remembered that it was a cluster of lilies that had hidden the child
+from his view and made possible the escape through the city gate.
+
+He became more and more thoughtful, and he drew back the sword.
+
+"The bees and the lilies have requited his good deeds," he whispered to
+himself. Then he was struck by the thought that the little one had once
+shown even him a kindness, and a deep crimson flush mounted to his brow.
+
+"Can a Roman soldier forget to requite an accepted service?" he
+whispered.
+
+He fought a short battle with himself. He thought of Herod, and of his
+own desire to destroy the young Peace-Prince.
+
+"It does not become me to murder this child who has saved my life," he
+said, at last.
+
+And he bent down and laid his sword beside the child, that the fugitives
+on awakening should understand the danger they had escaped.
+
+Then he saw that the child was awake. He lay and regarded the soldier
+with the beautiful eyes which shone like stars.
+
+And the warrior bent a knee before the child.
+
+"Lord, _thou_ art the Mighty One!" said he. "Thou art the strong
+Conqueror! Thou art He whom the gods love! Thou art He who shall tread
+upon adders and scorpions!"
+
+He kissed his feet and stole softly out from the grotto, while the
+little one smiled and smiled after him with great, astonished
+child-eyes.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Flight Into Egypt]
+
+                         THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT
+
+
+Far away in one of the Eastern deserts many, many years ago grew a palm
+tree, which was both exceedingly old and exceedingly tall.
+
+All who passed through the desert had to stop and gaze at it, for it was
+much larger than other palms; and they used to say of it, that some day
+it would certainly be taller than the obelisks and pyramids.
+
+Where the huge palm tree stood in its solitude and looked out over the
+desert, it saw something one day which made its mighty leaf-crown sway
+back and forth on its slender trunk with astonishment. Over by the
+desert borders walked two human beings. They were still at the distance
+at which camels appear to be as tiny as moths; but they were certainly
+two human beings--two who were strangers in the desert; for the palm
+knew the desert-folk. They were a man and a woman who had neither guide
+nor pack-camels; neither tent nor water-sack.
+
+"Verily," said the palm to itself, "these two have come hither only to
+meet certain death."
+
+The palm cast a quick, apprehensive glance around.
+
+"It surprises me," it said, "that the lions are not already out to hunt
+this prey, but I do not see a single one astir; nor do I see any of the
+desert robbers, but they'll probably soon come."
+
+"A seven-fold death awaits these travelers," thought the palm. "The
+lions will devour them, thirst will parch them, the sand-storm will bury
+them, robbers will trap them, sunstroke will blight them, and fear will
+destroy them."
+
+And the palm tried to think of something else. The fate of these people
+made it sad at heart.
+
+But on the whole desert plain, which lay spread out beneath the palm,
+there was nothing which it had not known and looked upon these thousand
+years. Nothing in particular could arrest its attention. Again it had to
+think of the two wanderers.
+
+"By the drought and the storm!" said the palm, calling upon Life's most
+dangerous enemies. "What is that that the woman carries on her arm? I
+believe these fools also bring a little child with them!"
+
+The palm, who was far-sighted--as the old usually are,--actually saw
+aright. The woman bore on her arm a child, that leaned against her
+shoulder and slept.
+
+"The child hasn't even sufficient clothing on," said the palm. "I see
+that the mother has tucked up her skirt and thrown it over the child.
+She must have snatched him from his bed in great haste and rushed off
+with him. I understand now: these people are runaways.
+
+"But they are fools, nevertheless," continued the palm. "Unless an angel
+protects them, they would have done better to have let their enemies do
+their worst, than to venture into this wilderness.
+
+"I can imagine how the whole thing came about. The man stood at his
+work; the child slept in his crib; the woman had gone out to fetch
+water. When she was a few steps from the door, she saw enemies coming.
+She rushed back to the house, snatched up her child, and fled.
+
+"Since then, they have been fleeing for several days. It is very certain
+that they have not rested a moment. Yes, everything has happened in this
+way, but still I say that unless an angel protects them----
+
+"They are so frightened that, as yet, they feel neither fatigue nor
+suffering. But I see their thirst by the strange gleam in their eyes.
+Surely I ought to know a thirsty person's face!"
+
+And when the palm began to think of thirst, a shudder passed through its
+tall trunk, and the long leaves' numberless lobes rolled up, as though
+they had been held over a fire.
+
+"Were I a human being," it said, "I should never venture into the
+desert. He is pretty brave who dares come here without having roots that
+reach down to the never-dying water veins. Here it can be dangerous even
+for palms; yea, even for a palm such as I.
+
+"If I could counsel them, I should beg them to turn back. Their enemies
+could never be as cruel toward them as the desert. Perhaps they think it
+is easy to live in the desert! But I know that, now and then, even I
+have found it hard to keep alive. I recollect one time in my youth when
+a hurricane threw a whole mountain of sand over me. I came near choking.
+If I could have died that would have been my last moment."
+
+The palm continued to think aloud, as the aged and solitary habitually
+do.
+
+"I hear a wondrously beautiful melody rush through my leaves," it said.
+"All the lobes on my leaves are quivering. I know not what it is that
+takes possession of me at the sight of these poor strangers. But this
+unfortunate woman is so beautiful! She carries me back, in memory, to
+the most wonderful thing that I ever experienced."
+
+And while the leaves continued to move in a soft melody, the palm was
+reminded how once, very long ago, two illustrious personages had visited
+the oasis. They were the Queen of Sheba and Solomon the Wise. The
+beautiful Queen was to return to her own country; the King had
+accompanied her on the journey, and now they were going to part. "In
+remembrance of this hour," said the Queen then, "I now plant a date seed
+in the earth, and I wish that from it shall spring a palm which shall
+grow and live until a King shall arise in Judea, greater than Solomon."
+And when she had said this, she planted the seed in the earth and
+watered it with her tears.
+
+"How does it happen that I am thinking of this just to-day?" said the
+palm. "Can this woman be so beautiful that she reminds me of the most
+glorious of queens, of her by whose word I have lived and flourished
+until this day?
+
+"I hear my leaves rustle louder and louder," said the palm, "and it
+sounds as melancholy as a dirge. It is as though they prophesied that
+some one would soon leave this life. It is well to know that it does not
+apply to me, since I can not die."
+
+The palm assumed that the death-rustle in its leaves must apply to the
+two lone wanderers. It is certain that they too believed that their last
+hour was nearing. One saw it from their expression as they walked past
+the skeleton of a camel which lay in their path. One saw it from the
+glances they cast back at a pair of passing vultures. It couldn't be
+otherwise; they must perish!
+
+They had caught sight of the palm and oasis and hastened thither to find
+water. But when they arrived at last, they collapsed from despair, for
+the well was dry. The woman, worn out, laid the child down and seated
+herself beside the well-curb, and wept. The man flung himself down
+beside her and beat upon the dry earth with his fists. The palm heard
+how they talked with each other about their inevitable death. It also
+gleaned from their conversation that King Herod had ordered the
+slaughter of all male children from two to three years old, because he
+feared that the long-looked-for King of the Jews had been born.
+
+"It rustles louder and louder in my leaves," said the palm. "These poor
+fugitives will soon see their last moment."
+
+It perceived also that they dreaded the desert. The man said it would
+have been better if they had stayed at home and fought with the
+soldiers, than to fly hither. He said that they would have met an easier
+death.
+
+"God will help us," said the woman.
+
+"We are alone among beasts of prey and serpents," said the man. "We have
+no food and no water. How should God be able to help us?" In despair he
+rent his garments and pressed his face against the dry earth. He was
+hopeless--like a man with a death-wound in his heart.
+
+The woman sat erect, with her hands clasped over her knees. But the
+looks she cast towards the desert spoke of a hopelessness beyond bounds.
+
+The palm heard the melancholy rustle in its leaves growing louder and
+louder. The woman must have heard it also, for she turned her gaze
+upward toward the palm-crown. And instantly she involuntarily raised her
+arms.
+
+"Oh, dates, dates!" she cried. There was such intense agony in her voice
+that the old palm wished itself no taller than a broom and that the
+dates were as easy to reach as the buds on a brier bush. It probably
+knew that its crown was full of date clusters, but how should a human
+being reach such a height?
+
+The man had already seen how beyond all reach the date clusters hung. He
+did not even raise his head. He begged his wife not to long for the
+impossible.
+
+But the child, who had toddled about by himself and played with sticks
+and straws, had heard the mother's outcry.
+
+Of course the little one could not imagine that his mother should not
+get everything she wished for. The instant she said dates, he began to
+stare at the tree. He pondered and pondered how he should bring down the
+dates. His forehead was almost drawn into wrinkles under the golden
+curls. At last a smile stole over his face. He had found the way. He
+went up to the palm and stroked it with his little hand, and said, in a
+sweet, childish voice:
+
+"Palm, bend thee! Palm, bend thee!"
+
+But what was that, what was that? The palm leaves rustled as if a
+hurricane had passed through them, and up and down the long trunk
+traveled shudder upon shudder. And the tree felt that the little one was
+its superior. It could not resist him.
+
+And it bowed its long trunk before the child, as people bow before
+princes. In a great bow it bent itself towards the ground, and finally
+it came down so far that the big crown with the trembling leaves swept
+the desert sand.
+
+The child appeared to be neither frightened nor surprised; with a joyous
+cry he loosened cluster after cluster from the old palm's crown. When he
+had plucked enough dates, and the tree still lay on the ground, the
+child came back again and caressed it and said, in the gentlest voice:
+
+"Palm, raise thee! Palm, raise thee!"
+
+Slowly and reverently the big tree raised itself on its slender trunk,
+while the leaves played like harps.
+
+"Now I know for whom they are playing the death melody," said the palm
+to itself when it stood erect once more. "It is not for any of these
+people."
+
+The man and the woman sank upon their knees and thanked God.
+
+"Thou hast seen our agony and removed it. Thou art the Powerful One who
+bendest the palm-trunk like a reed. What enemy should we fear when Thy
+strength protects us?"
+
+The next time a caravan passed through the desert, the travelers saw
+that the great palm's leaf-crown had withered.
+
+"How can this be?" said a traveler. "This palm was not to die before it
+had seen a King greater than Solomon."
+
+"Mayhap it hath seen him," answered another of the desert travelers.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: In Nazareth]
+
+                              IN NAZARETH
+
+
+Once, when Jesus was only five years old, he sat on the doorstep outside
+his father's workshop, in Nazareth, and made clay cuckoos from a lump of
+clay which the potter across the way had given him. He was happier than
+usual. All the children in the quarter had told Jesus that the potter
+was a disobliging man, who wouldn't let himself be coaxed, either by
+soft glances or honeyed words, and he had never dared ask aught of him.
+But, you see, he hardly knew how it had come about. He had only stood on
+his doorstep and, with yearning eyes, looked upon the neighbor working
+at his molds, and then that neighbor had come over from his stall and
+given him so much clay that it would have been enough to finish a whole
+wine jug.
+
+On the stoop of the next house sat Judas, his face covered with bruises
+and his clothes full of rents, which he had acquired during his
+continual fights with street urchins. For the moment he was quiet, he
+neither quarreled nor fought, but worked with a bit of clay, just as
+Jesus did. But this clay he had not been able to procure for himself. He
+hardly dared venture within sight of the potter, who complained that he
+was in the habit of throwing stones at his fragile wares, and would have
+driven him away with a good beating. It was Jesus who had divided his
+portion with him.
+
+When the two children had finished their clay cuckoos, they stood the
+birds up in a ring in front of them. These looked just as clay cuckoos
+have always looked. They had big, round lumps to stand on in place of
+feet, short tails, no necks, and almost imperceptible wings.
+
+But, at all events, one saw at once a difference in the work of the
+little playmates. Judas' birds were so crooked that they tumbled over
+continually; and no matter how hard he worked with his clumsy little
+fingers, he couldn't get their bodies neat and well formed. Now and then
+he glanced slyly at Jesus, to see how he managed to make his birds as
+smooth and even as the oak-leaves in the forests on Mount Tabor.
+
+As bird after bird was finished, Jesus became happier and happier. Each
+looked more beautiful to him than the last, and he regarded them all
+with pride and affection. They were to be his playmates, his little
+brothers; they should sleep in his bed, keep him company, and sing to
+him when his mother left him. Never before had he thought himself so
+rich; never again could he feel alone or forsaken.
+
+The big brawny water-carrier came walking along, and right after him
+came the huckster, who sat joggingly on his donkey between the large
+empty willow baskets. The water-carrier laid his hand on Jesus' curly
+head and asked him about his birds; and Jesus told him that they had
+names and that they could sing. All the little birds were come to him
+from foreign lands, and told him things which only he and they knew. And
+Jesus spoke in such a way that both the water-carrier and the huckster
+forgot about their tasks for a full hour, to listen to him.
+
+But when they wished to go farther, Jesus pointed to Judas. "See what
+pretty birds Judas makes!" he said.
+
+Then the huckster good-naturedly stopped his donkey and asked Judas if
+his birds also had names and could sing. But Judas knew nothing of this.
+He was stubbornly silent and did not raise his eyes from his work, and
+the huckster angrily kicked one of his birds and rode on.
+
+In this manner the afternoon passed, and the sun sank so far down that
+its beams could come in through the low city gate, which stood at the
+end of the street and was decorated with a Roman Eagle. This sunshine,
+which came at the close of the day, was perfectly rose-red--as if it had
+become mixed with blood--and it colored everything which came in its
+path, as it filtered through the narrow street. It painted the potter's
+vessels as well as the log which creaked under the woodman's saw, and
+the white veil that covered Mary's face.
+
+But the loveliest of all was the sun's reflection as it shone on the
+little water-puddles which had gathered in the big, uneven cracks in the
+stones that covered the street. Suddenly Jesus stuck his hand in the
+puddle nearest him. He had conceived the idea that he would paint his
+gray birds with the sparkling sunbeams which had given such pretty color
+to the water, the house-walls, and everything around him.
+
+The sunshine took pleasure in letting itself be captured by him, like
+paint in a paint pot; and when Jesus spread it over the little clay
+birds, it lay still and bedecked them from head to feet with a
+diamond-like luster.
+
+Judas, who every now and then looked at Jesus to see if he made more and
+prettier birds than his, gave a shriek of delight when he saw how Jesus
+painted his clay cuckoos with the sunshine, which he caught from the
+water pools. Judas also dipped his hand in the shining water and tried
+to catch the sunshine.
+
+But the sunshine wouldn't be caught by him. It slipped through his
+fingers; and no matter how fast he tried to move his hands to get hold
+of it, it got away, and he couldn't procure a pinch of color for his
+poor birds.
+
+"Wait, Judas!" said Jesus. "I'll come and paint your birds."
+
+"No, you shan't touch them!" cried Judas. "They're good enough as they
+are."
+
+He rose, his eyebrows contracted into an ugly frown, his lips
+compressed. And he put his broad foot on the birds and transformed them,
+one after another, into little flat pieces of clay.
+
+When all his birds were destroyed, he walked over to Jesus, who sat and
+caressed his birds--that glittered like jewels. Judas regarded them for
+a moment in silence, then he raised his foot and crushed one of them.
+
+When Judas took his foot away and saw the entire little bird changed
+into a cake of clay, he felt so relieved that he began to laugh, and
+raised his foot to crush another.
+
+"Judas," said Jesus, "what are you doing? Don't you see that they are
+alive and can sing?"
+
+But Judas laughed and crushed still another bird.
+
+Jesus looked around for help. Judas was heavily built and Jesus had not
+the strength to hold him back. He glanced around for his mother. She was
+not far away, but before she could have gone there, Judas would have had
+ample time to destroy the birds. The tears sprang to Jesus' eyes. Judas
+had already crushed four of his birds. There were only three left.
+
+He was annoyed with his birds, who stood so calmly and let themselves be
+trampled upon without paying the slightest attention to the danger.
+Jesus clapped his hands to awaken them; then he shouted: "Fly, fly!"
+
+Then the three birds began to move their tiny wings, and, fluttering
+anxiously, they succeeded in swinging themselves up to the eaves of the
+house, where they were safe.
+
+But when Judas saw that the birds took to their wings and flew at Jesus'
+command, he began to weep. He tore his hair, as he had seen his elders
+do when they were in great trouble, and he threw himself at Jesus' feet.
+
+Judas lay there and rolled in the dust before Jesus like a dog, and
+kissed his feet and begged that he would raise his foot and crush him,
+as he had done with the clay cuckoos. For Judas loved Jesus and admired
+and worshiped him, and at the same time hated him.
+
+Mary, who sat all the while and watched the children's play, came up and
+lifted Judas in her arms and seated him on her lap, and caressed him.
+
+"You poor child!" she said to him, "you do not know that you have
+attempted something which no mortal can accomplish. Don't engage in
+anything of this kind again, if you do not wish to become the unhappiest
+of mortals! What would happen to any one of us who undertook to compete
+with one who paints with sunbeams and blows the breath of life into dead
+clay?"
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: In the Temple]
+
+                             IN THE TEMPLE
+
+
+Once there was a poor family--a man, his wife, and their little son--who
+walked about in the big Temple at Jerusalem. The son was such a pretty
+child! He had hair which fell in long, even curls, and eyes that shone
+like stars.
+
+The son had not been in the Temple since he was big enough to comprehend
+what he saw; and now his parents showed him all its glories. There were
+long rows of pillars and gilded altars; there were holy men who sat and
+instructed their pupils; there was the high priest with his breastplate
+of precious stones. There were the curtains from Babylon, interwoven
+with gold roses; there were the great copper gates, which were so heavy
+that it was hard work for thirty men to swing them back and forth on
+their hinges.
+
+But the little boy, who was only twelve years old, did not care very
+much about seeing all this. His mother told him that that which she
+showed him was the most marvelous in all the world. She told him that it
+would probably be a long time before he should see anything like it
+again. In the poor town of Nazareth, where they lived, there was nothing
+to be seen but gray streets.
+
+Her exhortations did not help matters much. The little boy looked as
+though he would willingly have run away from the magnificent Temple, if
+instead he could have got out and played on the narrow street in
+Nazareth.
+
+But it was singular that the more indifferent the boy appeared, the more
+pleased and happy were the parents. They nodded to each other over his
+head, and were thoroughly satisfied.
+
+At last, the little one looked so tired and bored that the mother felt
+sorry for him. "Now we have walked too far with you," said she. "Come,
+you shall rest a while."
+
+She sat down beside a pillar and told him to lie down on the ground and
+rest his head on her knee. He did so, and fell asleep instantly.
+
+He had barely closed his eyes when the wife said to the husband: "I have
+never feared anything so much as the moment when he should come here to
+Jerusalem's Temple. I believed that when he saw this house of God, he
+would wish to stay here forever."
+
+"I, too, have been afraid of this journey," said the man. "At the time
+of his birth, many signs and wonders appeared which betokened that he
+would become a great ruler. But what could royal honors bring him except
+worries and dangers? I have always said that it would be best, both for
+him and for us, if he never became anything but a carpenter in
+Nazareth."
+
+"Since his fifth year," said the mother reflectively, "no miracles have
+happened around him. And he does not recall any of the wonders which
+occurred during his early childhood. Now he is exactly like a child
+among other children. God's will be done above all else! But I have
+almost begun to hope that our Lord in His mercy will choose another for
+the great destinies, and let me keep my son with me."
+
+"For my part," said the man, "I am certain that if he learns nothing of
+the signs and wonders which occurred during his first years, then all
+will go well."
+
+"I never speak with him about any of these marvels," said the wife. "But
+I fear all the while that, without my having aught to do with it,
+something will happen which will make him understand who he is. I feared
+most of all to bring him to this Temple."
+
+"You may be glad that the danger is over now," said the man. "We shall
+soon have him back home in Nazareth."
+
+"I have feared the wise men in the Temple," said the woman. "I have
+dreaded the soothsayers who sit here on their rugs. I believed that when
+he should come to their notice, they would stand up and bow before the
+child, and greet him as Judea's King. It is singular that they do not
+notice his beauty. Such a child has never before come under their eyes."
+She sat in silence a moment and regarded the child. "I can hardly
+understand it," said she. "I believed that when he should see these
+judges, who sit in the house of the Holy One and settle the people's
+disputes, and these teachers who talk with their pupils, and these
+priests who serve the Lord, he would wake up and say: 'It is here, among
+these judges, these teachers, these priests, that I am born to live.'"
+
+"What happiness would there be for him to sit shut in between these
+pillar-aisles?" interposed the man. "It is better for him to roam on the
+hills and mountains round about Nazareth."
+
+The mother sighed a little. "He is so happy at home with us!" said she.
+"How contented he seems when he can follow the shepherds on their lonely
+wanderings, or when he can go out in the fields and see the husbandmen
+labor. I can not believe that we are treating him wrongly, when we seek
+to keep him for ourselves."
+
+"We only spare him the greatest suffering," said the man.
+
+They continued talking together in this strain until the child awoke
+from his slumber.
+
+"Well," said the mother, "have you had a good rest? Stand up now, for it
+is drawing on toward evening, and we must return to the camp."
+
+They were in the most remote part of the building and so began the walk
+towards the entrance.
+
+They had to go through an old arch which had been there ever since the
+time when the first Temple was erected on this spot; and near the arch,
+propped against a wall, stood an old copper trumpet, enormous in length
+and weight, almost like a pillar to raise to the mouth and play upon. It
+stood there dented and battered, full of dust and spiders' webs, inside
+and outside, and covered with an almost invisible tracing of ancient
+letters. Probably a thousand years had gone by since any one had tried
+to coax a tone out of it.
+
+But when the little boy saw the huge trumpet, he stopped--astonished!
+"What is that?" he asked.
+
+"That is the great trumpet called the Voice of the Prince of this
+World," replied the mother. "With this, Moses called together the
+Children of Israel, when they were scattered over the wilderness. Since
+his time no one has been able to coax a single tone from it. But he who
+can do this, shall gather all the peoples of earth under his dominion."
+
+She smiled at this, which she believed to be an old myth; but the little
+boy remained standing beside the big trumpet until she called him. This
+trumpet was the first thing he had seen in the Temple that he liked.
+
+They had not gone far before they came to a big, wide Temple-court.
+Here, in the mountain-foundation itself, was a chasm, deep and
+wide--just as it had been from time immemorial. This chasm King Solomon
+had not wished to fill in when he built the Temple. No bridge had been
+laid over it; no inclosure had he built around the steep abyss. But
+instead, he had stretched across it a sword of steel, several feet long,
+sharpened, and with the blade up. And after ages and ages and many
+changes, the sword still lay across the chasm. Now it had almost rusted
+away. It was no longer securely fastened at the ends, but trembled and
+rocked as soon as any one walked with heavy steps in the Temple Court.
+
+When the mother took the boy in a roundabout way past the chasm, he
+asked: "What bridge is this?"
+
+"It was placed there by King Solomon," answered the mother, "and we call
+it Paradise Bridge. If you can cross the chasm on this trembling bridge,
+whose surface is thinner than a sunbeam, then you can be sure of getting
+to Paradise."
+
+She smiled and moved away; but the boy stood still and looked at the
+narrow, trembling steel blade until she called him.
+
+When he obeyed her, she sighed because she had not shown him these two
+remarkable things sooner, so that he might have had sufficient time to
+view them.
+
+Now they walked on without being detained, till they came to the great
+entrance portico with its columns, five-deep. Here, in a corner, were
+two black marble pillars erected on the same foundation, and so close to
+each other that hardly a straw could be squeezed in between them. They
+were tall and majestic, with richly ornamented capitals around which ran
+a row of peculiarly formed beasts' heads. And there was not an inch on
+these beautiful pillars that did not bear marks and scratches. They were
+worn and damaged like nothing else in the Temple. Even the floor around
+them was worn smooth, and was somewhat hollowed out from the wear of
+many feet.
+
+Once more the boy stopped his mother and asked: "What pillars are
+these?"
+
+"They are pillars which our father Abraham brought with him to Palestine
+from far-away Chaldea, and which he called Righteousness' Gate. He who
+can squeeze between them is righteous before God and has never committed
+a sin."
+
+The boy stood still and regarded these pillars with great, open eyes.
+
+"You, surely, do not think of trying to squeeze yourself in between
+them?" laughed the mother. "You see how the floor around them is worn
+away by the many who have attempted to force their way through the
+narrow space; but, believe me, no one has succeeded. Make haste! I hear
+the clanging of the copper gates; the thirty Temple servants have put
+their shoulders to them."
+
+But all night the little boy lay awake in the tent, and he saw before
+him nothing but Righteousness' Gate and Paradise Bridge and the Voice of
+the Prince of this World. Never before had he heard of such wonderful
+things, and he couldn't get them out of his head.
+
+And on the morning of the next day it was the same thing: he couldn't
+think of anything else. That morning they were to leave for home. The
+parents had much to do before they took the tent down and loaded it upon
+a big camel, and before everything else was in order. They were not
+going to travel alone, but in company with many relatives and neighbors.
+And since there were so many, the packing naturally went on very slowly.
+
+The little boy did not assist in the work, but in the midst of the hurry
+and confusion he sat still and thought about the three wonderful things.
+
+Suddenly he concluded that he would have time enough to go back to the
+Temple and take another look at them. There was still much to be packed
+away. He could probably manage to get back from the Temple before the
+departure.
+
+He hastened away without telling any one where he was going to. He
+didn't think it was necessary. He would soon return, of course.
+
+It wasn't long before he reached the Temple and entered the portico
+where the two pillars stood.
+
+As soon as he saw them, his eyes danced with joy. He sat down on the
+floor beside them, and gazed up at them. As he thought that he who could
+squeeze between these two pillars was accounted righteous before God and
+had never committed sin, he fancied he had never seen anything so
+wonderful.
+
+He thought how glorious it would be to be able to squeeze in between the
+two pillars, but they stood so close together that it was impossible
+even to try it. In this way, he sat motionless before the pillars for
+well-nigh an hour; but this he did not know. He thought he had looked at
+them only a few moments.
+
+But it happened that, in the portico where the little boy sat, the
+judges of the high court were assembled to help folks settle their
+differences.
+
+The whole portico was filled with people, who complained about boundary
+lines that had been moved, about sheep which had been carried away from
+the flocks and branded with false marks, about debtors who wouldn't pay.
+
+Among them came a rich man dressed in a trailing purple robe, who
+brought before the court a poor widow who was supposed to owe him a few
+silver shekels. The poor widow cried and said that the rich man dealt
+unjustly with her; she had already paid her debt to him once, and now he
+tried to force her to pay it again, but this she could not afford to do;
+she was so poor that should the judges condemn her to pay, she must give
+her daughters to the rich man as slaves.
+
+Then he who sat in the place of honor on the judges' bench, turned to
+the rich man and said: "Do you dare to swear on oath that this poor
+woman has not already paid you?"
+
+Then the rich man answered: "Lord, I am a rich man. Would I take the
+trouble to demand my money from this poor widow, if I did not have the
+right to it? I swear to you that as certain as that no one shall ever
+walk through Righteousness' Gate does this woman owe me the sum which I
+demand."
+
+When the judges heard this oath they believed him, and doomed the poor
+widow to leave him her daughters as slaves.
+
+But the little boy sat close by and heard all this. He thought to
+himself: What a good thing it would be if some one could squeeze through
+Righteousness' Gate! That rich man certainly did not speak the truth. It
+is a great pity about the poor old woman, who will be compelled to send
+her daughters away to become slaves!
+
+He jumped upon the platform where the two pillars towered into the
+heights, and looked through the crack.
+
+"Ah, that it were not altogether impossible!" thought he.
+
+He was deeply distressed because of the poor woman. Now he didn't think
+at all about the saying that he who could squeeze through Righteousness'
+Gate was holy, and without sin. He wanted to get through only for the
+sake of the poor woman.
+
+He put his shoulder in the groove between the two pillars, as if to make
+a way.
+
+That instant all the people who stood under the portico, looked over
+toward Righteousness' Gate. For it rumbled in the vaults, and it sang in
+the old pillars, and they glided apart--one to the right, and one to the
+left--and made a space wide enough for the boy's slender body to pass
+between them!
+
+Then there arose the greatest wonder and excitement! At first no one
+knew what to say. The people stood and stared at the little boy who had
+worked so great a miracle.
+
+The oldest among the judges was the first one who came to his senses. He
+called out that they should lay hold on the rich merchant, and bring him
+before the judgment seat. And he sentenced him to leave all his goods to
+the poor widow, because he had sworn falsely in God's Temple.
+
+When this was settled, the judge asked after the boy who had passed
+through Righteousness' Gate; but when the people looked around for him,
+he had disappeared. For the very moment the pillars glided apart, he was
+awakened, as from a dream, and remembered the home-journey and his
+parents. "Now I must hasten away from here, so that my parents will not
+have to wait for me," thought he.
+
+He knew not that he had sat a whole hour before Righteousness' Gate, but
+believed he had lingered there only a few minutes; therefore, he thought
+that he would even have time to take a look at Paradise Bridge before he
+left the Temple.
+
+And he slipped through the throng of people and came to Paradise Bridge,
+which was situated in another part of the big temple.
+
+But when he saw the sharp steel sword which was drawn across the chasm,
+he thought how the person who could walk across that bridge was sure of
+reaching Paradise. He believed that this was the most marvelous thing he
+had ever beheld; and he seated himself on the edge of the chasm to look
+at the steel sword.
+
+There he sat down and thought how delightful it would be to reach
+Paradise, and how much he would like to walk across the bridge; but at
+the same time he saw that it would be simply impossible even to attempt
+it.
+
+Thus he sat and mused for two hours, but he did not know how the time
+had flown. He sat there and thought only of Paradise.
+
+But it seems that in the court where the deep chasm was, a large altar
+had been erected, and all around it walked white-robed priests, who
+tended the altar fire and received sacrifices. In the court there were
+many with offerings, and a big crowd who only watched the service.
+
+Then there came a poor old man who brought a lamb which was very small
+and thin, and which had been bitten by a dog and had a large wound.
+
+The man went up to the priests with the lamb and begged that he might
+offer it, but they refused to accept it. They told him that such a
+miserable gift he could not offer to our Lord. The old man implored them
+to accept the lamb out of compassion, for his son lay at the point of
+death, and he possessed nothing else that he could offer to God for his
+restoration. "You must let me offer it," said he, "else my prayers will
+not come before God's face, and my son will die!"
+
+"You must not believe but that I have the greatest sympathy with you,"
+said the priest, "but in the law it is forbidden to sacrifice a damaged
+animal. It is just as impossible to grant your prayers, as it is to
+cross Paradise Bridge."
+
+The little boy did not sit very far away, so he heard all this.
+Instantly he thought what a pity it was that no one could cross the
+bridge. Perhaps the poor man might keep his son if the lamb were
+sacrificed.
+
+The old man left the Temple Court disconsolate, but the boy got up,
+walked over to the trembling bridge, and put his foot on it.
+
+He didn't think at all about wanting to cross it to be certain of
+Paradise. His thoughts were with the poor man, whom he desired to help.
+
+But he drew back his foot, for he thought: "This is impossible. It is
+much too old and rusty, and would not hold even me!"
+
+But once again his thoughts went out to the old man whose son lay at
+death's door. Again he put his foot down upon the blade.
+
+Then he noticed that it ceased to tremble, and that beneath his foot it
+felt broad and secure.
+
+And when he took the next step upon it, he felt that the air around him
+supported him, so that he could not fall. It bore him as though he were
+a bird, and had wings.
+
+But from the suspended sword a sweet tone trembled when the boy walked
+upon it, and one of those who stood in the court turned around when he
+heard the tone. He gave a cry, and then the others turned and saw the
+little boy tripping across the sword.
+
+There was great consternation among all who stood there. The first who
+came to their senses were the priests. They immediately sent a messenger
+after the poor man, and when he came back they said to him: "God has
+performed a miracle to show us that He will accept your offering. Give
+us your lamb and we will sacrifice it."
+
+When this was done they asked for the little boy who had walked across
+the chasm; but when they looked around for him they could not find him.
+
+For just after the boy had crossed the chasm, he happened to think of
+the journey home, and of his parents. He did not know that the morning
+and the whole forenoon were gone, but thought: "I must make haste and
+get back, so that they will not have to wait. But first I want to run
+over and take a look at the Voice of the Prince of this World."
+
+And he stole away through the crowd and ran over to the damp
+pillar-aisle where the copper trumpet stood leaning against the wall.
+
+When he saw it, and thought about the prediction that he who could coax
+a tone from it should one day gather all the peoples of earth under his
+dominion, he fancied that never had he seen anything so wonderful! and
+he sat down beside it and regarded it.
+
+He thought how great it would be to win all the peoples of earth, and
+how much he wished that he could blow in the old trumpet. But he
+understood that it was impossible, so he didn't even dare try.
+
+He sat like this for several hours, but he did not know how the time
+passed. He thought only how marvelous it would be to gather all the
+peoples of earth under his dominion.
+
+But it happened that in this cool passageway sat a holy man who
+instructed his pupils, that sat at his feet.
+
+And now this holy man turned toward one of his pupils and told him that
+he was an impostor. He said the spirit had revealed to him that this
+youth was a stranger, and not an Israelite. And he demanded why he had
+sneaked in among his pupils under a false name.
+
+Then the strange youth rose and said that he had wandered through
+deserts and sailed over great seas that he might hear wisdom and the
+doctrine of the only true God expounded. "My soul was faint with
+longing," he said to the holy man. "But I knew that you would not teach
+me if I did not say that I was an Israelite. Therefore, I lied to you,
+that my longing should be satisfied. And I pray that you will let me
+remain here with you."
+
+But the holy man stood up and raised his arms toward heaven. "It is just
+as impossible to let you remain here with me, as it is that some one
+shall arise and blow in the huge copper trumpet, which we call the Voice
+of the Prince of this World! You are not even permitted to enter this
+part of the Temple. Leave this place at once, or my pupils will throw
+themselves upon you and tear you in pieces, for your presence desecrates
+the Temple."
+
+But the youth stood still, and said: "I do not wish to go elsewhere,
+where my soul can find no nourishment. I would rather die here at your
+feet."
+
+Hardly was this said when the holy man's pupils jumped to their feet, to
+drive him away, and when he made resistance, they threw him down and
+wished to kill him.
+
+But the boy sat very near, so he heard and saw all this, and he thought:
+"This is a great injustice. Oh! if I could only blow in the big copper
+trumpet, he would be helped."
+
+He rose and laid his hand on the trumpet. At this moment he no longer
+wished that he could raise it to his lips because he who could do so
+should be a great ruler, but because he hoped that he might help one
+whose life was in danger.
+
+And he grasped the copper trumpet with his tiny hands, to try and lift
+it.
+
+Then he felt that the huge trumpet raised itself to his lips. And when
+he only breathed, a strong, resonant tone came forth from the trumpet,
+and reverberated all through the great Temple.
+
+Then they all turned their eyes and saw that it was a little boy who
+stood with the trumpet to his lips and coaxed from it tones which made
+foundations and pillars tremble.
+
+Instantly, all the hands which had been lifted to strike the strange
+youth fell, and the holy teacher said to him:
+
+"Come and sit thee here at my feet, as thou didst sit before! God hath
+performed a miracle to show me that it is His wish that thou shouldst be
+consecrated to His service."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+As it drew on toward the close of day, a man and a woman came hurrying
+toward Jerusalem. They looked frightened and anxious, and called out to
+each and every one whom they met: "We have lost our son! We thought he
+had followed our relatives, but none of them have seen him. Has any one
+of you passed a child alone?"
+
+Those who came from Jerusalem answered them: "Indeed, we have not seen
+your son, but in the Temple we saw a most beautiful child! He was like
+an angel from heaven, and he has passed through Righteousness' Gate."
+
+They would gladly have related, very minutely, all about this, but the
+parents had no time to listen.
+
+When they had walked on a little farther, they met other persons and
+questioned them.
+
+But those who came from Jerusalem wished to talk only about a most
+beautiful child who looked as though he had come down from heaven, and
+who had crossed Paradise Bridge.
+
+They would gladly have stopped and talked about this until late at
+night, but the man and woman had no time to listen to them, and hurried
+into the city.
+
+They walked up one street and down another without finding the child. At
+last they reached the Temple. As they came up to it, the woman said:
+"Since we are here, let us go in and see what the child is like, which
+they say has come down from heaven!" They went in and asked where they
+should find the child.
+
+"Go straight on to where the holy teachers sit with their students.
+There you will find the child. The old men have seated him in their
+midst. They question him and he questions them, and they are all amazed
+at him. But all the people stand below in the Temple court, to catch a
+glimpse of the one who has raised the Voice of the Prince of this World
+to his lips."
+
+The man and the woman made their way through the throng of people, and
+saw that the child who sat among the wise teachers was their son.
+
+But as soon as the woman recognized the child she began to weep.
+
+And the boy who sat among the wise men heard that some one wept, and he
+knew that it was his mother. Then he rose and came over to her, and the
+father and mother took him between them and went from the Temple with
+him.
+
+But as the mother continued to weep, the child asked: "Why weepest thou?
+I came to thee as soon as I heard thy voice."
+
+"Should I not weep?" said the mother. "I believed that thou wert lost to
+me."
+
+They went out from the city and darkness came on, and all the while the
+mother wept.
+
+"Why weepest thou?" asked the child. "I did not know that the day was
+spent. I thought it was still morning, and I came to thee as soon as I
+heard thy voice."
+
+"Should I not weep?" said the mother. "I have sought for thee all day
+long. I believed that thou wert lost to me."
+
+They walked the whole night, and the mother wept all the while.
+
+When day began to dawn, the child said: "Why dost thou weep? I have not
+sought mine own glory, but God has let me perform miracles because He
+wanted to help the three poor creatures. As soon as I heard thy voice, I
+came to thee."
+
+"My son," replied the mother. "I weep because thou art none the less
+lost to me. Thou wilt never more belong to me. Henceforth thy life
+ambition shall be righteousness; thy longing, Paradise; and thy love
+shall embrace all the poor human beings who people this earth."
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Saint Veronica's Kerchief]
+
+                       SAINT VERONICA'S KERCHIEF
+
+
+                                   I
+
+During one of the latter years of Emperor Tiberius' reign, a poor
+vine-dresser and his wife came and settled in a solitary hut among the
+Sabine mountains. They were strangers, and lived in absolute solitude
+without ever receiving a visit from a human being. But one morning when
+the laborer opened his door, he found, to his astonishment, that an old
+woman sat huddled up on the threshold. She was wrapped in a plain gray
+mantle, and looked very poor. Nevertheless, she impressed him as being
+so respect-compelling, as she rose and came to meet him, that it made
+him think of what the legends had to say about goddesses who, in the
+form of old women, had visited mortals.
+
+"My friend," said the old woman to the vine-dresser, "you must not
+wonder that I have slept this night on your threshold. My parents lived
+in this hut, and here I was born nearly ninety years ago. I expected to
+find it empty and deserted. I did not know that people still occupied
+it."
+
+"I do not wonder that you thought a hut which lies so high up among
+these desolate hills should stand empty and deserted," said the
+vine-dresser. "But my wife and I come from a foreign land, and as poor
+strangers we have not been able to find a better dwelling-place. But to
+you, who must be tired and hungry after the long journey, which you at
+your extreme age have undertaken, it is perhaps more welcome that the
+hut is occupied by people than by Sabine mountain wolves. You will at
+least find a bed within to rest on, and a bowl of goats' milk, and a
+bread-cake, if you will accept them."
+
+The old woman smiled a little, but this smile was so fleeting that it
+could not dispel the expression of deep sorrow which rested upon her
+countenance.
+
+"I spent my entire youth up here among these mountains," she said. "I
+have not yet forgotten the trick of driving a wolf from his lair."
+
+And she actually looked so strong and vigorous that the laborer didn't
+doubt that she still possessed strength enough, despite her great age,
+to fight with the wild beasts of the forest.
+
+He repeated his invitation, and the old woman stepped into the cottage.
+She sat down to the frugal meal, and partook of it without hesitancy.
+Although she seemed to be well satisfied with the fare of coarse bread
+soaked in goats' milk, both the man and his wife thought: "Where can
+this old wanderer come from? She has certainly eaten pheasants served on
+silver plates oftener than she has drunk goats' milk from earthen
+bowls."
+
+Now and then she raised her eyes from the food and looked around,--as if
+to try and realize that she was back in the hut. The poor old home with
+its bare clay walls and its earth floor was certainly not much changed.
+She pointed out to her hosts that on the walls there were still visible
+some traces of dogs and deer which her father had sketched there to
+amuse his little children. And on a shelf, high up, she thought she saw
+fragments of an earthen dish which she herself had used to measure milk
+in.
+
+The man and his wife thought to themselves: "It must be true that she
+was born in this hut, but she has surely had much more to attend to in
+this life than milking goats and making butter and cheese."
+
+They observed also that her thoughts were often far away, and that she
+sighed heavily and anxiously every time she came back to herself.
+
+Finally she rose from the table. She thanked them graciously for the
+hospitality she had enjoyed, and walked toward the door.
+
+But then it seemed to the vine-dresser that she was pitifully poor and
+lonely, and he exclaimed: "If I am not mistaken, it was not your
+intention, when you dragged yourself up here last night, to leave this
+hut so soon. If you are actually as poor as you seem, it must have been
+your intention to remain here for the rest of your life. But now you
+wish to leave because my wife and I have taken possession of the hut."
+
+The old woman did not deny that he had guessed rightly. "But this hut,
+which for many years has been deserted, belongs to you as much as to
+me," she said. "I have no right to drive you from it."
+
+"It is still your parents' hut," said the laborer, "and you surely have
+a better right to it than we have. Besides, we are young and you are
+old; therefore, you shall remain and we will go."
+
+When the old woman heard this, she was greatly astonished. She turned
+around on the threshold and stared at the man, as though she had not
+understood what he meant by his words.
+
+But now the young wife joined in the conversation.
+
+"If I might suggest," said she to her husband, "I should beg you to ask
+this old woman if she won't look upon us as her own children, and permit
+us to stay with her and take care of her. What service would we render
+her if we gave her this miserable hut and then left her? It would be
+terrible for her to live here in this wilderness alone! And what would
+she live on? It would be just like letting her starve to death."
+
+The old woman went up to the man and his wife and regarded them
+carefully. "Why do you speak thus?" she asked. "Why are you so merciful
+to me? You are strangers."
+
+Then the young wife answered: "It is because we ourselves once met with
+great mercy."
+
+                                   II
+
+This is how the old woman came to live in the vine-dresser's hut. And
+she conceived a great friendship for the young people. But for all that
+she never told them whence she had come, or who she was, and they
+understood that she would not have taken it in good part had they
+questioned her.
+
+But one evening, when the day's work was done, and all three sat on the
+big, flat rock which lay before the entrance, and partook of their
+evening meal, they saw an old man coming up the path.
+
+He was a tall and powerfully built man, with shoulders as broad as a
+gladiator's. His face wore a cheerless and stern expression. The brows
+jutted far out over the deep-set eyes, and the lines around the mouth
+expressed bitterness and contempt. He walked with erect bearing and
+quick movements.
+
+The man wore a simple dress, and the instant the vine-dresser saw him,
+he said: "He is an old soldier, one who has been discharged from service
+and is now on his way home."
+
+When the stranger came directly before them he paused, as if in doubt.
+The laborer, who knew that the road terminated a short distance beyond
+the hut, laid down his spoon and called out to him: "Have you gone
+astray, stranger, since you come hither? Usually, no one takes the
+trouble to climb up here, unless he has an errand to one of us who live
+here."
+
+When he questioned in this manner, the stranger came nearer. "It is as
+you say," said he. "I have taken the wrong road, and now I know not
+whither I shall direct my steps. If you will let me rest here a while,
+and then tell me which path I shall follow to get to some farm, I shall
+be grateful to you."
+
+As he spake he sat down upon one of the stones which lay before the hut.
+The young woman asked him if he wouldn't share their supper, but this he
+declined with a smile. On the other hand it was very evident that he was
+inclined to talk with them, while they ate. He asked the young folks
+about their manner of living, and their work, and they answered him
+frankly and cheerfully.
+
+Suddenly the laborer turned toward the stranger and began to question
+him. "You see in what a lonely and isolated way we live," said he. "It
+must be a year at least since I have talked with any one except
+shepherds and vineyard laborers. Can not you, who must come from some
+camp, tell us something about Rome and the Emperor?"
+
+Hardly had the man said this than the young wife noticed that the old
+woman gave him a warning glance, and made with her hand the sign which
+means--Have a care what you say.
+
+The stranger, meanwhile, answered very affably: "I understand that you
+take me for a soldier, which is not untrue, although I have long since
+left the service. During Tiberius' reign there has not been much work
+for us soldiers. Yet he was once a great commander. Those were the days
+of his good fortune. Now he thinks of nothing except to guard himself
+against conspiracies. In Rome, every one is talking about how, last
+week, he let Senator Titius be seized and executed on the merest
+suspicion."
+
+"The poor Emperor no longer knows what he does!" exclaimed the young
+woman; and shook her head in pity and surprise.
+
+"You are perfectly right," said the stranger, as an expression of the
+deepest melancholy crossed his countenance. "Tiberius knows that every
+one hates him, and this is driving him insane."
+
+"What say you?" the woman retorted. "Why should we hate him? We only
+deplore the fact that he is no longer the great Emperor he was in the
+beginning of his reign."
+
+"You are mistaken," said the stranger. "Every one hates and detests
+Tiberius. Why should they do otherwise? He is nothing but a cruel and
+merciless tyrant. In Rome they think that from now on he will become
+even more unreasonable than he has been."
+
+"Has anything happened, then, which will turn him into a worse beast
+than he is already?" queried the vine-dresser.
+
+When he said this, the wife noticed that the old woman gave him a new
+warning signal, but so stealthily that he could not see it.
+
+The stranger answered him in a kindly manner, but at the same time a
+singular smile played about his lips.
+
+"You have heard, perhaps, that until now Tiberius has had a friend in
+his household on whom he could rely, and who has always told him the
+truth. All the rest who live in his palace are fortune-hunters and
+hypocrites, who praise the Emperor's wicked and cunning acts just as
+much as his good and admirable ones. But there was, as we have said, one
+alone who never feared to let him know how his conduct was actually
+regarded. This person, who was more courageous than senators and
+generals, was the Emperor's old nurse, Faustina."
+
+"I have heard of her," said the laborer. "I've been told that the
+Emperor has always shown her great friendship."
+
+"Yes, Tiberius knew how to prize her affection and loyalty. He treated
+this poor peasant woman, who came from a miserable hut in the Sabine
+mountains, as his second mother. As long as he stayed in Rome, he let
+her live in a mansion on the Palatine, that he might always have her
+near him. None of Rome's noble matrons has fared better than she. She
+was borne through the streets in a litter, and her dress was that of an
+empress. When the Emperor moved to Capri, she had to accompany him, and
+he bought a country estate for her there, and filled it with slaves and
+costly furnishings."
+
+"She has certainly fared well," said the husband.
+
+Now it was he who kept up the conversation with the stranger. The wife
+sat silent and observed with surprise the change which had come over the
+old woman. Since the stranger arrived, she had not spoken a word. She
+had lost her mild and friendly expression. She had pushed her food
+aside, and sat erect and rigid against the door-post, and stared
+straight ahead, with a severe and stony countenance.
+
+"It was the Emperor's intention that she should have a happy life," said
+the stranger. "But, despite all his kindly acts, she too has deserted
+him."
+
+The old woman gave a start at these words, but the young one laid her
+hand quietingly on her arm. Then she began to speak in her soft,
+sympathetic voice. "I can not believe that Faustina has been as happy at
+court as you say," she said, as she turned toward the stranger. "I am
+sure that she has loved Tiberius as if he had been her own son. I can
+understand how proud she has been of his noble youth, and I can even
+understand how it must have grieved her to see him abandon himself in
+his old age to suspicion and cruelty. She has certainly warned and
+admonished him every day. It has been terrible for her always to plead
+in vain. At last she could no longer bear to see him sink lower and
+lower."
+
+The stranger, astonished, leaned forward a bit when he heard this; but
+the young woman did not glance up at him. She kept her eyes lowered, and
+spoke very calmly and gently.
+
+"Perhaps you are right in what you say of the old woman," he replied.
+"Faustina has really not been happy at court. It seems strange,
+nevertheless, that she has left the Emperor in his old age, when she had
+endured him the span of a lifetime."
+
+"What say you?" asked the husband. "Has old Faustina left the Emperor?"
+
+"She has stolen away from Capri without any one's knowledge," said the
+stranger. "She left just as poor as she came. She has not taken one of
+her treasures with her."
+
+"And doesn't the Emperor really know where she has gone?" asked the
+wife.
+
+"No! No one knows for certain what road the old woman has taken. Still,
+one takes it for granted that she has sought refuge among her native
+mountains."
+
+"And the Emperor does not know, either, why she has gone away?" asked
+the young woman.
+
+"No, the Emperor knows nothing of this. He can not believe she left him
+because he once told her that she served him for money and gifts only,
+like all the rest. She knows, however, that he has never doubted her
+unselfishness. He has hoped all along that she would return to him
+voluntarily, for no one knows better than she that he is absolutely
+without friends."
+
+"I do not know her," said the young woman, "but I think I can tell you
+why she has left the Emperor. The old woman was brought up among these
+mountains in simplicity and piety, and she has always longed to come
+back here again. Surely she never would have abandoned the Emperor if he
+had not insulted her. But I understand that, after this, she feels she
+has the right to think of herself, since her days are numbered. If I
+were a poor woman of the mountains, I certainly would have acted as she
+did. I would have thought that I had done enough when I had served my
+master during a whole lifetime. I would at last have abandoned luxury
+and royal favors to give my soul a taste of honor and integrity before
+it left me for the long journey."
+
+The stranger glanced with a deep and tender sadness at the young woman.
+"You do not consider that the Emperor's propensities will become worse
+than ever. Now there is no one who can calm him when suspicion and
+misanthropy take possession of him. Think of this," he continued, as his
+melancholy gaze penetrated deeply into the eyes of the young woman, "in
+all the world there is no one now whom he does not hate; no one whom he
+does not despise--no one!"
+
+As he uttered these words of bitter despair, the old woman made a sudden
+movement and turned toward him, but the young woman looked him straight
+in the eyes and answered: "Tiberius knows that Faustina will come back
+to him whenever he wishes it. But first she must know that her old eyes
+need never more behold vice and infamy at his court."
+
+They had all risen during this speech; but the vine-dresser and his wife
+placed themselves in front of the old woman, as if to shield her.
+
+The stranger did not utter another syllable, but regarded the old woman
+with a questioning glance. Is this _your_ last word also? he seemed to
+want to say. The old woman's lips quivered, but words would not pass
+them.
+
+"If the Emperor has loved his old servant, then he can also let her live
+her last days in peace," said the young woman.
+
+The stranger hesitated still, but suddenly his dark countenance
+brightened. "My friends," said he, "whatever one may say of Tiberius,
+there is one thing which he has learned better than others; and that
+is--renunciation. I have only one thing more to say to you: If this old
+woman, of whom we have spoken, should come to this hut, receive her
+well! The Emperor's favor rests upon any one who succors her."
+
+He wrapped his mantle about him and departed the same way that he had
+come.
+
+                                  III
+
+After this, the vine-dresser and his wife never again spoke to the old
+woman about the Emperor. Between themselves they marveled that she, at
+her great age, had had the strength to renounce all the wealth and power
+to which she had become accustomed. "I wonder if she will not soon go
+back to Tiberius?" they asked themselves. "It is certain that she still
+loves him. It is in the hope that it will awaken him to reason and
+enable him to repent of his low conduct, that she has left him."
+
+"A man as old as the Emperor will never begin a new life," said the
+laborer. "How are you going to rid him of his great contempt for
+mankind? Who could go to him and teach him to love his fellow man? Until
+this happens, he can not be cured of suspicion and cruelty."
+
+"You know that there is one who could actually do it," said the wife. "I
+often think of how it would turn out, if the two should meet. But God's
+ways are not our ways."
+
+The old woman did not seem to miss her former life at all. After a time
+the young wife gave birth to a child. The old woman had the care of it;
+she seemed so content in consequence that one could have thought she had
+forgotten all her sorrows.
+
+Once every half-year she used to wrap her long, gray mantle around her,
+and wander down to Rome. There she did not seek a soul, but went
+straight to the Forum. Here she stopped outside a little temple, which
+was erected on one side of the superbly decorated square.
+
+All there was of this temple was an uncommonly large altar, which stood
+in a marble-paved court under the open sky. On the top of the altar,
+Fortuna, the goddess of happiness, was enthroned, and at its foot was a
+statue of Tiberius. Encircling the court were buildings for the priests,
+storerooms for fuel, and stalls for the beasts of sacrifice.
+
+Old Faustina's journeys never extended beyond this temple, where those
+who would pray for the welfare of Tiberius were wont to come. When she
+cast a glance in there and saw that both the goddess' and the Emperor's
+statue were wreathed in flowers; that the sacrificial fire burned; that
+throngs of reverent worshipers were assembled before the altar, and
+heard the priests' low chants sounding thereabouts, she turned around
+and went back to the mountains.
+
+In this way she learned, without having to question a human being, that
+Tiberius was still among the living, and that all was well with him.
+
+The third time she undertook this journey, she met with a surprise. When
+she reached the little temple, she found it empty and deserted. No fire
+burned before the statue, and not a worshiper was seen. A couple of
+dried garlands still hung on one side of the altar, but this was all
+that testified to its former glory. The priests were gone, and the
+Emperor's statue, which stood there unguarded, was damaged and
+mud-bespattered.
+
+The old woman turned to the first passer-by. "What does this mean?" she
+asked. "Is Tiberius dead? Have we another Emperor?"
+
+"No," replied the Roman, "Tiberius is still Emperor, but we have ceased
+to pray for him. Our prayers can no longer benefit him."
+
+"My friend," said the old woman, "I live far away among the mountains,
+where one learns nothing of what happens out in the world. Won't you
+tell me what dreadful misfortune has overtaken the Emperor?"
+
+"The most dreadful of all misfortunes! He has been stricken with a
+disease which has never before been known in Italy, but which seems to
+be common in the Orient. Since this evil has befallen the Emperor, his
+features are changed, his voice has become like an animal's grunt, and
+his toes and fingers are rotting away. And for this illness there
+appears to be no remedy. They believe that he will die within a few
+weeks. But if he does not die, he will be dethroned, for such an ill and
+wretched man can no longer conduct the affairs of State. You understand,
+of course, that his fate is a foregone conclusion. It is useless to
+invoke the gods for his success, and it is not worth while," he added,
+with a faint smile. "No one has anything more either to fear or hope
+from him. Why, then, should we trouble ourselves on his account?"
+
+He nodded and walked away; but the old woman stood there as if stunned.
+
+For the first time in her life she collapsed, and looked like one whom
+age has subdued. She stood with bent back and trembling head, and with
+hands that groped feebly in the air.
+
+She longed to get away from the place, but she moved her feet slowly.
+She looked around to find something which she could use as a staff.
+
+But after a few moments, by a tremendous effort of the will, she
+succeeded in conquering the faintness.
+
+                                   IV
+
+A week later, old Faustina wandered up the steep inclines on the Island
+of Capri. It was a warm day and the dread consciousness of old age and
+feebleness came over her as she labored up the winding roads and the
+hewn-out steps in the mountain, which led to Tiberius' villa.
+
+This feeling increased when she observed how changed everything had
+become during the time she had been away. In truth, on and alongside
+these steps there had always before been throngs of people. Here it used
+fairly to swarm with senators, borne by giant Libyans; with messengers
+from the provinces attended by long processions of slaves; with
+office-seekers; with noblemen invited to participate in the Emperor's
+feasts.
+
+But to-day the steps and passages were entirely deserted. Gray-greenish
+lizards were the only living things which the old woman saw in her path.
+
+She was amazed to see that already everything appeared to be going to
+ruin. At most, the Emperor's illness could not have progressed more than
+two months, and yet the grass had already taken root in the cracks
+between the marble stones. Rare growths, planted in beautiful vases,
+were already withered and here and there mischievous spoilers, whom no
+one had taken the trouble to stop, had broken down the balustrade.
+
+But to her the most singular thing of all was the entire absence of
+people. Even if strangers were forbidden to appear on the island,
+attendants at least should still be found there: the endless crowds of
+soldiers and slaves; of dancers and musicians; of cooks and stewards; of
+palace-sentinels and gardeners, who belonged to the Emperor's household.
+
+When Faustina reached the upper terrace, she caught sight of two slaves,
+who sat on the steps in front of the villa. As she approached, they rose
+and bowed to her.
+
+"Be greeted, Faustina!" said one of them. "It is a god who sends thee to
+lighten our sorrows."
+
+"What does this mean, Milo?" asked Faustina. "Why is it so deserted
+here? Yet they have told me that Tiberius still lives at Capri."
+
+"The Emperor has driven away all his slaves because he suspects that one
+of us has given him poisoned wine to drink, and that this has brought on
+the illness. He would have driven even Tito and myself away, if we had
+not refused to obey him; yet, as you know, we have all our lives served
+the Emperor and his mother."
+
+"I do not ask after slaves only," said Faustina. "Where are the senators
+and field marshals? Where are the Emperor's intimate friends, and all
+the fawning fortune-hunters?"
+
+"Tiberius does not wish to show himself before strangers," said the
+slave. "Senator Lucius and Marco, Commander of the Life Guard, come here
+every day and receive orders. No one else may approach him."
+
+Faustina had gone up the steps to enter the villa. The slave went before
+her, and on the way she asked: "What say the physicians of Tiberius'
+illness?"
+
+"None of them understands how to treat this illness. They do not even
+know if it kills quickly or slowly. But this I can tell you, Faustina,
+Tiberius must die if he continues to refuse all food for fear it may be
+poisoned. And I know that a sick man can not stay awake night and day,
+as the Emperor does, for fear he may be murdered in his sleep. If he
+will trust you as in former days, you might succeed in making him eat
+and sleep. Thereby you can prolong his life for many days."
+
+The slave conducted Faustina through several passages and courts to a
+terrace which Tiberius used to frequent to enjoy the view of the
+beautiful bays and proud Vesuvius.
+
+When Faustina stepped out upon the terrace, she saw a hideous creature
+with a swollen face and animal-like features. His hands and feet were
+swathed in white bandages, but through the bandages protruded
+half-rotted fingers and toes. And this being's clothes were soiled and
+dusty. It was evident he could not walk erect, but had been obliged to
+crawl out upon the terrace. He lay with closed eyes near the balustrade
+at the farthest end, and did not move when the slave and Faustina came.
+
+Faustina whispered to the slave, who walked before her: "But, Milo, how
+can such a creature be found here on the Emperor's private terrace? Make
+haste, and take him away!"
+
+But she had scarcely said this when she saw the slave bow to the ground
+before the miserable creature who lay there.
+
+"C�sar Tiberius," said he, "at last I have glad tidings to bring thee."
+
+At the same time the slave turned toward Faustina, but he shrank back,
+aghast! and could not speak another word.
+
+He did not behold the proud matron who had looked so strong that one
+might have expected that she would live to the age of a sibyl. In this
+moment, she had drooped into impotent age, and the slave saw before him
+a bent old woman with misty eyes and fumbling hands.
+
+Faustina had certainly heard that the Emperor was terribly changed, yet
+never for a moment had she ceased to think of him as the strong man he
+was when she last saw him. She had also heard some one say that this
+illness progressed slowly, and that it took years to transform a human
+being. But here it had advanced with such virulence that it had made the
+Emperor unrecognizable in just two months.
+
+She tottered up to the Emperor. She could not speak, but stood silent
+beside him, and wept.
+
+"Are you come now, Faustina?" he said, without opening his eyes. "I lay
+and fancied that you stood here and wept over me. I dare not look up for
+fear I will find that it was only an illusion."
+
+Then the old woman sat down beside him. She raised his head and placed
+it on her knee.
+
+But Tiberius lay still, without looking at her. A sense of sweet repose
+enfolded him, and the next moment he sank into a peaceful slumber.
+
+                                   V
+
+A few weeks later, one of the Emperor's slaves came to the lonely hut in
+the Sabine mountains. It drew on toward evening, and the vine-dresser
+and his wife stood in the doorway and saw the sun set in the distant
+west. The slave turned out of the path, and came up and greeted them.
+Thereupon he took a heavy purse, which he carried in his girdle, and
+laid it in the husband's hand.
+
+"This, Faustina, the old woman to whom you have shown compassion, sends
+you," said the slave. "She begs that with this money you will purchase a
+vineyard of your own, and build you a house that does not lie as high in
+the air as the eagles' nests."
+
+"Old Faustina still lives, then?" said the husband. "We have searched
+for her in cleft and morass. When she did not come back to us, I thought
+that she had met her death in these wretched mountains."
+
+"Don't you remember," the wife interposed, "that I would not believe
+that she was dead? Did I not say to you that she had gone back to the
+Emperor?"
+
+This the husband admitted. "And I am glad," he added, "that you were
+right, not only because Faustina has become rich enough to help us out
+of our poverty, but also on the poor Emperor's account."
+
+The slave wanted to say farewell at once, in order to reach densely
+settled quarters before dark, but this the couple would not permit. "You
+must stop with us until morning," said they. "We can not let you go
+before you have told us all that has happened to Faustina. Why has she
+returned to the Emperor? What was their meeting like? Are they glad to
+be together again?"
+
+The slave yielded to these solicitations. He followed them into the hut,
+and during the evening meal he told them all about the Emperor's illness
+and Faustina's return.
+
+When the slave had finished his narrative, he saw that both the man and
+the woman sat motionless--dumb with amazement. Their gaze was fixed on
+the ground, as though not to betray the emotion which affected them.
+
+Finally the man looked up and said to his wife: "Don't you believe God
+has decreed this?"
+
+"Yes," said the wife, "surely it was for this that our Lord sent us
+across the sea to this lonely hut. Surely this was His purpose when He
+sent the old woman to our door."
+
+As soon as the wife had spoken these words, the vine-dresser turned
+again to the slave.
+
+"Friend!" he said to him, "you shall carry a message from me to
+Faustina. Tell her this word for word! Thus your friend the vineyard
+laborer from the Sabine mountains greets you. You have seen the young
+woman, my wife. Did she not appear fair to you, and blooming with
+health? And yet this young woman once suffered from the same disease
+which now has stricken Tiberius."
+
+The slave made a gesture of surprise, but the vine-dresser continued
+with greater emphasis on his words.
+
+"If Faustina refuses to believe my word, tell her that my wife and I
+came from Palestine, in Asia, a land where this disease is common. There
+the law is such that the lepers are driven from the cities and towns,
+and must live in tombs and mountain grottoes. Tell Faustina that my wife
+was born of diseased parents in a mountain grotto. As long as she was a
+child she was healthy, but when she grew up into young maidenhood she
+was stricken with the disease."
+
+The slave bowed, smiled pleasantly, and said: "How can you expect that
+Faustina will believe this? She has seen your wife in her beauty and
+health. And she must know that there is no remedy for this illness."
+
+The man replied: "It were best for her that she believed me. But I am
+not without witnesses. She can send inquiries over to Nazareth, in
+Galilee. There every one will confirm my statement."
+
+"Is it perchance through a miracle of some god that your wife has been
+cured?" asked the slave.
+
+"Yes, it is as you say," answered the laborer. "One day a rumor reached
+the sick who lived in the wilderness: 'Behold, a great Prophet has
+arisen in Nazareth of Galilee. He is filled with the power of God's
+spirit, and he can cure your illness just by laying his hand upon your
+forehead!' But the sick, who lay in their misery, would not believe that
+this rumor was the truth. 'No one can heal us,' they said. 'Since the
+days of the great prophets no one has been able to save one of us from
+this misfortune.'
+
+"But there was one amongst them who believed, and that was a young
+maiden. She left the others to seek her way to the city of Nazareth,
+where the Prophet lived. One day, when she wandered over wide plains,
+she met a man tall of stature, with a pale face and hair which lay in
+even, black curls. His dark eyes shone like stars and drew her toward
+him. But before they met, she called out to him: 'Come not near me, for
+I am unclean, but tell me where I can find the Prophet from Nazareth!'
+But the man continued to walk towards her, and when he stood directly in
+front of her, he said: 'Why seekest thou the Prophet of Nazareth?'--'I
+seek him that he may lay his hand on my forehead and heal me of my
+illness.' Then the man went up and laid his hand upon her brow. But she
+said to him: 'What doth it avail me that you lay your hand upon my
+forehead? You surely are no prophet?' Then he smiled on her and said:
+'Go now into the city which lies yonder at the foot of the mountain, and
+show thyself before the priests!'
+
+"The sick maiden thought to herself: 'He mocks me because I believe I
+can be healed. From him I can not learn what I would know.' And she went
+farther. Soon thereafter she saw a man, who was going out to hunt,
+riding across the wide field. When he came so near that he could hear
+her, she called to him: 'Come not close to me, I am unclean! But tell me
+where I can find the Prophet of Nazareth!' 'What do you want of the
+Prophet?' asked the man, riding slowly toward her. 'I wish only that he
+might lay his hand on my forehead and heal me of my illness.' The man
+rode still nearer. 'Of what illness do you wish to be healed?' said he.
+'Surely you need no physician!' 'Can't you see that I am a leper?' said
+she. 'I was born of diseased parents in a mountain grotto.' But the man
+continued to approach, for she was beautiful and fair, like a new-blown
+rose. 'You are the most beautiful maiden in Judea!' he exclaimed. 'Ah,
+taunt me not--you, too!' said she. 'I know that my features are
+destroyed, and that my voice is like a wild beast's growl.'
+
+"He looked deep into her eyes and said to her: 'Your voice is as
+resonant as the spring brook's when it ripples over pebbles, and your
+face is as smooth as a coverlet of soft satin.'
+
+"That moment he rode so close to her that she could see her face in the
+shining mountings which decorated his saddle. 'You shall look at
+yourself here,' said he. She did so, and saw a face smooth and soft as a
+newly-formed butterfly wing. 'What is this that I see?' she said. 'This
+is not my face!' 'Yes, it is your face,' said the rider. 'But my voice,
+is it not rough? Does it not sound as when wagons are drawn over a stony
+road?' 'No! It sounds like a zither player's sweetest songs,' said the
+rider.
+
+"She turned and pointed toward the road. 'Do you know who that man is
+just disappearing behind the two oaks?' she asked.
+
+"'It is he whom you lately asked after; it is the Prophet from
+Nazareth,' said the man. Then she clasped her hands in astonishment, and
+tears filled her eyes. 'Oh, thou Holy One! Oh, thou Messenger of God's
+power!' she cried. Thou hast healed me!'
+
+"Then the rider lifted her into the saddle and bore her to the city at
+the foot of the mountain and went with her to the priests and elders,
+and told them how he had found her. They questioned her carefully; but
+when they heard that the maiden was born in the wilderness of diseased
+parents, they would not believe that she was healed. 'Go back thither
+whence you came!' said they. 'If you have been ill, you must remain so
+as long as you live. You must not come here to the city, to infect the
+rest of us with your disease.'
+
+"She said to them: 'I know that I am well, for the Prophet from Nazareth
+hath laid his hand upon my forehead.'
+
+"When they heard this they exclaimed: 'Who is he, that he should be able
+to make clean the unclean? All this is but a delusion of the evil
+spirits. Go back to your own, that you may not bring destruction upon
+all of us!'
+
+"They would not declare her healed, and they forbade her to remain in
+the city. They decreed that each and every one who gave her shelter
+should also be adjudged unclean.
+
+"When the priests had pronounced this judgment, the young maiden turned
+to the man who had found her in the field: 'Whither shall I go now? Must
+I go back again to the lepers in the wilderness?'
+
+"But the man lifted her once more upon his horse, and said to her: 'No,
+under no conditions shall you go out to the lepers in their mountain
+caves, but we two shall travel across the sea to another land, where
+there are no laws for clean and unclean.' And they----"
+
+But when the vineyard laborer had got thus far in his narrative, the
+slave arose and interrupted him. "You need not tell any more," said he.
+"Stand up rather and follow me on the way, you who know the mountains,
+so that I can begin my home journey to-night, and not wait until
+morning. The Emperor and Faustina can not hear your tidings a moment too
+soon."
+
+When the vine-dresser had accompanied the slave, and come home again to
+the hut, he found his wife still awake.
+
+"I can not sleep," said she. "I am thinking that these two will meet: he
+who loves all mankind, and he who hates them. Such a meeting would be
+enough to sweep the earth out of existence!"
+
+                                   VI
+
+Old Faustina was in distant Palestine, on her way to Jerusalem. She had
+not desired that the mission to seek the Prophet and bring him to the
+Emperor should be intrusted to any one but herself. She said to herself:
+"That which we demand of this stranger, is something which we can not
+coax from him either by force or bribes. But perhaps he will grant it us
+if some one falls at his feet and tells him in what dire need the
+Emperor is. Who can make an honest plea for Tiberius, but the one who
+suffers from his misfortune as much as he does?"
+
+The hope of possibly saving Tiberius had renewed the old woman's youth.
+She withstood without difficulty the long sea trip to Joppa, and on the
+journey to Jerusalem she made no use of a litter, but rode a horse. She
+appeared to stand the difficult ride as easily as the Roman nobles, the
+soldiers, and the slaves who made up her retinue.
+
+The journey from Joppa to Jerusalem filled the old woman's heart with
+joy and bright hopes. It was springtime, and Sharon's plain, over which
+they had ridden during the first day's travel, had been a brilliant
+carpet of flowers. Even during the second day's journey, when they came
+to the hills of Judea, they were not abandoned by the flowers. All the
+multiformed hills between which the road wound were planted with fruit
+trees, which stood in full bloom. And when the travelers wearied of
+looking at the white and red blossoms of the apricots and persimmons,
+they could rest their eyes by observing the young vine-leaves, which
+pushed their way through the dark brown branches, and their growth was
+so rapid that one could almost follow it with the eye.
+
+It was not only flowers and spring green that made the journey pleasant,
+but the pleasure was enhanced by watching the throngs of people who were
+on their way to Jerusalem this morning. From all the roads and by-paths,
+from lonely heights, and from the most remote corners of the plain came
+travelers. When they had reached the road to Jerusalem, those who
+traveled alone formed themselves into companies and marched forward with
+glad shouts. Round an elderly man, who rode on a jogging camel, walked
+his sons and daughters, his sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and all
+his grandchildren. It was such a large family that it made up an entire
+little village. An old grandmother who was too feeble to walk her sons
+had taken in their arms, and with pride she let herself be borne among
+the crowds, who respectfully stepped aside.
+
+In truth, it was a morning to inspire joy even in the most disconsolate.
+To be sure the sky was not clear, but was o'ercast with a thin
+grayish-white mist, but none of the wayfarers thought of grumbling
+because the sun's piercing brilliancy was dampened. Under this veiled
+sky the perfume of the budding leaves and blossoms did not penetrate the
+air as usual, but lingered over roads and fields. And this beautiful
+day, with its faint mist and hushed winds, which reminded one of Night's
+rest and calm, seemed to communicate to the hastening crowds somewhat of
+itself, so that they went forward happy--yet with solemnity--singing in
+subdued voices ancient hymns, or playing upon peculiar old-fashioned
+instruments, from which came tones like the buzzing of gnats, or
+grasshoppers' piping.
+
+When old Faustina rode forward among all the people, she became infected
+with their joy and excitement. She prodded her horse to quicker speed,
+as she said to a young Roman who rode beside her: "I dreamt last night
+that I saw Tiberius, and he implored me not to postpone the journey, but
+to ride to Jerusalem to-day. It appears as if the gods had wished to
+send me a warning not to neglect to go there this beautiful morning."
+
+Just as she said this, she came to the top of a long mountain ridge, and
+there she was obliged to halt. Before her lay a large, deep
+valley-basin, surrounded by pretty hills, and from the dark, shadowy
+depths of the vale rose the massive mountain which held on its head the
+city of Jerusalem.
+
+But the narrow mountain city, with its walls and towers, which lay like
+a jeweled coronet upon the cliff's smooth height, was this day magnified
+a thousand-fold. All the hills which encircled the valley were bedecked
+with gay tents, and with a swarm of human beings.
+
+It was evident to Faustina that all the inhabitants were on their way to
+Jerusalem to celebrate some great holiday. Those from a distance had
+already come, and had managed to put their tents in order. On the other
+hand, those who lived near the city were still on their way. Along all
+the shining rock-heights one saw them come streaming in like an unbroken
+sea of white robes, of songs, of holiday cheer.
+
+For some time the old woman surveyed these seething throngs of people
+and the long rows of tent-poles. Thereupon she said to the young Roman
+who rode beside her:
+
+"Verily, Sulpicius, the whole nation must have come to Jerusalem."
+
+"It really appears like it," replied the Roman, who had been chosen by
+Tiberius to accompany Faustina because he had, during a number of years,
+lived in Judea. "They celebrate now the great Spring Festival, and at
+this time all the people, both old and young, come to Jerusalem."
+
+Faustina reflected a moment. "I am glad that we came to this city on the
+day that the people celebrate their festival," said she. "It can not
+signify anything else than that the gods protect our journey. Do you
+think it likely that he whom we seek, the Prophet of Nazareth, has also
+come to Jerusalem to participate in the festivities?"
+
+"You are surely right, Faustina," said the Roman. "He must be here in
+Jerusalem. This is indeed a decree of the gods. Strong and vigorous
+though you be, you may consider yourself fortunate if you escape making
+the long and troublesome journey up to Galilee."
+
+At once he rode over to a couple of wayfarers and asked them if they
+thought the Prophet of Nazareth was in Jerusalem.
+
+"We have seen him here every day at this season," answered one. "Surely
+he must be here even this year, for he is a holy and righteous man."
+
+A woman stretched forth her hand and pointed towards a hill, which lay
+east of the city. "Do you see the foot of that mountain, which is
+covered with olive trees?" she said. "It is there that the Galileans
+usually raise their tents, and there you will get the most reliable
+information about him whom you seek."
+
+They journeyed farther, and traveled on a winding path all the way down
+to the bottom of the valley, and then they began to ride up toward
+Zion's hill, to reach the city on its heights. The woman who had spoken
+went along the same way.
+
+The steep ascending road was encompassed here by low walls, and upon
+these countless beggars and cripples sat or lolled. "Look," said the
+woman who had spoken, pointing to one of the beggars who sat on the
+wall, "there is a Galilean! I recollect that I have seen him among the
+Prophet's disciples. He can tell you where you will find him you seek."
+
+Faustina and Sulpicius rode up to the man who had been pointed out to
+her. He was a poor old man with a heavy iron-gray beard. His face was
+bronzed by heat and sunshine. He asked no alms; on the contrary, he was
+so engrossed in anxious thought that he did not even glance at the
+passers-by.
+
+Nor did he hear that Sulpicius addressed him, and the latter had to
+repeat his question several times.
+
+"My friend, I've been told that you are a Galilean. I beg you,
+therefore, to tell me where I shall find the Prophet from Nazareth!"
+
+The Galilean gave a sudden start and looked around him, confused. But
+when he finally comprehended what was wanted of him, he was seized with
+rage mixed with terror. "What are you talking about?" he burst out. "Why
+do you ask me about that man? I know nothing of him. I'm not a
+Galilean."
+
+The Hebrew woman now joined in the conversation. "Still I have seen you
+in his company," she protested. "Do not fear, but tell this noble Roman
+lady, who is the Emperor's friend, where she is most likely to find
+him."
+
+But the terrified disciple grew more and more irascible. "Have all the
+people gone mad to-day?" said he. "Are they possessed by an evil spirit,
+since they come again and again and ask me about that man? Why will no
+one believe me when I say that I do not know the Prophet? I do not come
+from his country. I have never seen him."
+
+His irritability attracted attention, and a couple of beggars who sat on
+the wall beside him also began to dispute his word.
+
+"Certainly you were among his disciples," said one. "We all know that
+you came with him from Galilee."
+
+Then the man raised his arms toward heaven and cried: "I could not
+endure it in Jerusalem to-day on that man's account, and now they will
+not even leave me in peace out here among the beggars! Why don't you
+believe me when I say to you that I have never seen him?"
+
+Faustina turned away with a shrug. "Let us go farther!" said she. "The
+man is mad. From him we will learn nothing."
+
+They went farther up the mountain. Faustina was not more than two steps
+from the city gate, when the Hebrew woman who had wished to help her
+find the Prophet called to her to be careful. She pulled in her reins
+and saw that a man lay in the road, just in front of the horse's feet,
+where the crush was greatest. It was a miracle that he had not already
+been trampled to death by animals or people.
+
+The man lay upon his back and stared upward with lusterless eyes. He did
+not move, although the camels placed their heavy feet close beside him.
+He was poorly clad, and besides he was covered with dust and dirt. In
+fact, he had thrown so much gravel over himself that it looked as if he
+tried to hide himself, to be more easily over-ridden and trampled down.
+
+"What does this mean? Why does this man lie here on the road?" asked
+Faustina.
+
+Instantly the man began shouting to the passers-by:
+
+"In mercy, brothers and sisters, drive your horses and camels over me!
+Do not turn aside for me! Trample me to dust! I have betrayed innocent
+blood. Trample me to dust!"
+
+Sulpicius caught Faustina's horse by the bridle and turned it to one
+side. "It is a sinner who wants to do penance," said he. "Do not let
+this delay your journey. These people are peculiar and one must let them
+follow their own bent."
+
+The man in the road continued to shout: "Set your heels on my heart! Let
+the camels crush my breast and the asses dig their hoofs into my eyes!"
+
+But Faustina seemed loath to ride past the miserable man without trying
+to make him rise. She remained all the while beside him.
+
+The Hebrew woman who had wished to serve her once before, pushed her way
+forward again. "This man also belonged to the Prophet's disciples," said
+she. "Do you wish me to ask him about his Master?"
+
+Faustina nodded affirmatively, and the woman bent down over the man.
+
+"What have you Galileans done this day with your Master?" she asked. "I
+meet you scattered on highways and byways, but him I see nowhere."
+
+But when she questioned in this manner, the man who lay in the dust rose
+to his knees. "What evil spirit hath possessed you to ask me about him?"
+he said, in a voice that was filled with despair. "You see, surely, that
+I have lain down in the road to be trampled to death. Is not that enough
+for you? Shall you come also and ask me what I have done with him?"
+
+When she repeated the question, the man staggered to his feet and put
+both hands to his ears.
+
+"Woe unto you, that you can not let me die in peace!" he cried. He
+forced his way through the crowds that thronged in front of the gate,
+and rushed away shrieking with terror, while his torn robe fluttered
+around him like dark wings.
+
+"It appears to me as though we had come to a nation of madmen," said
+Faustina, when she saw the man flee. She had become depressed by seeing
+these disciples of the Prophet. Could the man who numbered such fools
+among his followers do anything for the Emperor?
+
+Even the Hebrew woman looked distressed, and she said very earnestly to
+Faustina: "Mistress, delay not in your search for him whom you would
+find! I fear some evil has befallen him, since his disciples are beside
+themselves and can not bear to hear him spoken of."
+
+Faustina and her retinue finally rode through the gate archway and came
+in on the narrow and dark streets, which were alive with people. It
+seemed well-nigh impossible to get through the city. The riders time and
+again had to stand still. Slaves and soldiers tried in vain to clear the
+way. The people continued to rush on in a compact, irresistible stream.
+
+"Verily," said the old woman, "the streets of Rome are peaceful pleasure
+gardens compared with these!"
+
+Sulpicius soon saw that almost insurmountable difficulties awaited them.
+
+"On these overcrowded streets it is easier to walk than to ride," said
+he. "If you are not too fatigued, I should advise you to walk to the
+Governor's palace. It is a good distance away, but if we ride we
+certainly will not get there until after midnight."
+
+Faustina accepted the suggestion at once. She dismounted, and left her
+horse with one of the slaves. Thereupon the Roman travelers began to
+walk through the city.
+
+This was much better. They pushed their way quickly toward the heart of
+the city, and Sulpicius showed Faustina a rather wide street, which they
+were nearing.
+
+"Look, Faustina," he said, "if we take this street, we will soon be
+there. It leads directly down to our quarters."
+
+But just as they were about to turn into the street, the worst obstacle
+met them.
+
+It happened that the very moment when Faustina reached the street which
+extended from the Governor's palace to Righteousness' Gate and Golgotha,
+they brought through it a prisoner, who was to be taken out and
+crucified. Before him ran a crowd of wild youths who wanted to witness
+the execution. They raced up the street, waved their arms in rapture
+towards the hill, and emitted unintelligible howls--in their delight at
+being allowed to view something which they did not see every day.
+
+Behind them came companies of men in silken robes, who appeared to
+belong to the city's �lite and foremost. Then came women, many of whom
+had tear-stained faces. A gathering of poor and maimed staggered
+forward, uttering shrieks that pierced the ears.
+
+"O God!" they cried, "save him! Send Thine angel and save him! Send a
+deliverer in his direst need!"
+
+Finally there came a few Roman soldiers on great horses. They kept guard
+so that none of the people could dash up to the prisoner and try to
+rescue him.
+
+Directly behind them followed the executioners, whose task it was to
+lead forward the man that was to be crucified. They had laid a heavy
+wooden cross over his shoulder, but he was too weak for this burden. It
+weighed him down so that his body was almost bent to the ground. He held
+his head down so far that no one could see his face.
+
+Faustina stood at the opening of the little bystreet and saw the doomed
+man's heavy tread. She noticed, with surprise, that he wore a purple
+mantle, and that a crown of thorns was pressed down upon his head.
+
+"Who is this man?" she asked.
+
+One of the bystanders answered her: "It is one who wished to make
+himself Emperor."
+
+"And must he suffer death for a thing which is scarcely worth striving
+after?" said the old woman sadly.
+
+The doomed man staggered under the cross. He dragged himself forward
+more and more slowly. The executioners had tied a rope around his waist,
+and they began to pull on it to hasten the speed. But as they pulled the
+rope the man fell, and lay there with the cross over him.
+
+There was a terrible uproar. The Roman soldiers had all they could do to
+hold the crowds back. They drew their swords on a couple of women who
+tried to rush forward to help the fallen man. The executioners attempted
+to force him up with cuffs and lashes, but he could not move because of
+the cross. Finally two of them took hold of the cross to remove it.
+
+Then he raised his head, and old Faustina could see his face. The cheeks
+were streaked by lashes from a whip, and from his brow, which was
+wounded by the thorn-crown, trickled some drops of blood. His hair hung
+in knotted tangles, clotted with sweat and blood. His jaw was firm set,
+but his lips trembled, as if they struggled to suppress a cry. His eyes,
+tear-filled and almost blinded from torture and fatigue, stared straight
+ahead.
+
+But back of this half-dead person's face, the old woman saw--as in a
+vision--a pale and beautiful One with glorious, majestic eyes and gentle
+features, and she was seized with sudden grief--touched by the unknown
+man's misfortune and degradation.
+
+"Oh, what have they done with you, you poor soul!" she burst out, and
+moved a step nearer him, while her eyes filled with tears. She forgot
+her own sorrow and anxiety for this tortured man's distress. She thought
+her heart would burst from pity. She, like the other women, wanted to
+rush forward and tear him away from the executioners!
+
+The fallen man saw how she came toward him, and he crept closer to her.
+It was as though he had expected to find protection with her against all
+those who persecuted and tortured him. He embraced her knees. He pressed
+himself against her, like a child who clings close to his mother for
+safety.
+
+The old woman bent over him, and as the tears streamed down her cheeks,
+she felt the most blissful joy because he had come and sought protection
+with her. She placed one arm around his neck, and as a mother first of
+all wipes away the tears from her child's eyes, she laid her kerchief of
+sheer fine linen over his face, to wipe away the tears and the blood.
+
+But now the executioners were ready with the cross. They came now and
+snatched away the prisoner. Impatient over the delay, they dragged him
+off in wild haste. The condemned man uttered a groan when he was led
+away from the refuge he had found, but he made no resistance.
+
+Faustina embraced him to hold him back, and when her feeble old hands
+were powerless and she saw him borne away, she felt as if some one had
+torn from her her own child, and she cried: "No, no! Do not take him
+from me! He must not die! He shall not die!"
+
+She felt the most intense grief and indignation because he was being led
+away. She wanted to rush after him. She wanted to fight with the
+executioners and tear him from them.
+
+But with the first step she took, she was seized with weakness and
+dizziness. Sulpicius made haste to place his arm around her, to prevent
+her from falling.
+
+On one side of the street he saw a little shop, and carried her in.
+There was neither bench nor chair inside, but the shopkeeper was a
+kindly man. He helped her over to a rug, and arranged a bed for her on
+the stone floor.
+
+She was not unconscious, but such a great dizziness had seized her that
+she could not sit up, but was forced to lie down.
+
+"She has made a long journey to-day, and the noise and crush in the city
+have been too much for her," said Sulpicius to the merchant. "She is
+very old, and no one is so strong as not to be conquered by age."
+
+"This is a trying day, even for one who is not old," said the merchant.
+"The air is almost too heavy to breathe. It would not surprise me if a
+severe storm were in store for us."
+
+Sulpicius bent over the old woman. She had fallen asleep, and she slept
+with calm, regular respirations after all the excitement and fatigue.
+
+He walked over to the shop door, stood there, and looked at the crowds
+while he awaited her waking.
+
+                                  VII
+
+The Roman governor at Jerusalem had a young wife, and she had had a
+dream during the night preceding the day when Faustina entered the city.
+
+She dreamed that she stood on the roof of her house and looked down upon
+the beautiful court, which, according to the Oriental custom, was paved
+with marble, and planted with rare growths.
+
+But in the court she saw assembled all the sick and blind and halt there
+were in the world. She saw before her the pest-ridden, with bodies
+swollen with boils; lepers with disfigured faces; the paralytics, who
+could not move, but lay helpless upon the ground, and all the wretched
+creatures who writhed in torment and pain.
+
+They all crowded up towards the entrance, to get into the house; and a
+number of those who walked foremost pounded on the palace door.
+
+At last she saw that a slave opened the door and came out on the
+threshold, and she heard him ask what they wanted.
+
+Then they answered him, saying: "We seek the great Prophet whom God hath
+sent to the world. Where is the Prophet of Nazareth, he who is master of
+all suffering? Where is he who can deliver us from all our torment?"
+
+Then the slave answered them in an arrogant and indifferent tone--as
+palace servants do when they turn away the poor stranger:
+
+"It will profit you nothing to seek the great Prophet. Pilate has killed
+him."
+
+Then there arose among all the sick a grief and a moaning and a gnashing
+of teeth which she could not bear to hear. Her heart was wrung with
+compassion, and tears streamed from her eyes. But when she had begun to
+weep, she awakened.
+
+Again she fell asleep; and again she dreamed that she stood on the roof
+of her house and looked down upon the big court, which was as broad as a
+square.
+
+And behold! the court was filled with all the insane and soul-sick and
+those possessed of evil spirits. And she saw those who were naked and
+those who were covered with their long hair, and those who had braided
+themselves crowns of straw and mantles of grass and believed they were
+kings, and those who crawled on the ground and thought themselves
+beasts, and those who came dragging heavy stones, which they believed to
+be gold, and those who thought that the evil spirits spoke through their
+mouths.
+
+She saw all these crowd up toward the palace gate. And the ones who
+stood nearest to it knocked and pounded to get in.
+
+At last the door opened, and a slave stepped out on the threshold and
+asked: "What do you want?"
+
+Then all began to cry aloud, saying: "Where is the great Prophet of
+Nazareth, he who was sent of God, and who shall restore to us our souls
+and our wits?"
+
+She heard the slave answer them in the most indifferent tone: "It is
+useless for you to seek the great Prophet, Pilate has killed him."
+
+When this was said, they uttered a shriek as wild as a beast's howl, and
+in their despair they began to lacerate themselves until the blood ran
+down on the stones. And when she that dreamed saw their distress, she
+wrung her hands and moaned. And her own moans awakened her.
+
+But again she fell asleep, and again, in her dream, she was on the roof
+of her house. Round about her sat her slaves, who played for her upon
+cymbals and zithers, and the almond trees shook their white blossoms
+over her, and clambering rose-vines exhaled their perfume.
+
+As she sat there, a voice spoke to her: "Go over to the balustrade which
+incloses the roof, and see who they are that stand and wait in your
+court!"
+
+But in the dream she declined, and said: "I do not care to see any more
+of those who throng my court to-night."
+
+Just then she heard a clanking of chains and a pounding of heavy
+hammers, and the pounding of wood against wood. Her slaves ceased their
+singing and playing and hurried over to the railing and looked down. Nor
+could she herself remain seated, but walked thither and looked down on
+the court.
+
+Then she saw that the court was filled with all the poor prisoners in
+the world. She saw those who must lie in dark prison dungeons, fettered
+with heavy chains; she saw those who labored in the dark mines come
+dragging their heavy planks, and those who were rowers on war galleys
+come with their heavy iron-bound oars. And those who were condemned to
+be crucified came dragging their crosses, and those who were to be
+beheaded came with their broadaxes. She saw those who were sent into
+slavery to foreign lands and whose eyes burned with homesickness. She
+saw those who must serve as beasts of burden, and whose backs were
+bleeding from lashes.
+
+All these unfortunates cried as with one voice: "Open, open!"
+
+Then the slave who guarded the entrance stepped to the door and asked:
+"What is it that you wish?"
+
+And these answered like the others: "We seek the great Prophet of
+Nazareth, who has come to the world to give the prisoners their freedom
+and the slaves their lost happiness."
+
+The slave answered them in a tired and indifferent tone: "You can not
+find him here. Pilate has killed him."
+
+When this was said, she who dreamed thought that among all the unhappy
+there arose such an outburst of scorn and blasphemy that heaven and
+earth trembled. She was ice-cold with fright, and her body shook so that
+she awaked.
+
+When she was thoroughly awake, she sat up in bed and thought to herself:
+"I would not dream more. Now I want to remain awake all night, that I
+may escape seeing more of this horror."
+
+And even whilst she was thinking thus, drowsiness crept in upon her
+anew, and she laid her head on the pillow and fell asleep.
+
+Again she dreamed that she sat on the roof of her house, and now her
+little son ran back and forth up there, and played with a ball.
+
+Then she heard a voice that said to her: "Go over to the balustrade,
+which incloses the roof, and see who they are that stand and wait in
+your court!" But she who dreamed said to herself: "I have seen enough
+misery this night. I can not endure any more. I would remain where I
+am."
+
+At that moment her son threw his ball so that it dropped outside the
+balustrade, and the child ran forward and clambered up on the railing.
+Then she was frightened. She rushed over and seized hold of the child.
+
+But with that she happened to cast her eyes downward, and once more she
+saw that the court was full of people.
+
+In the court were all the peoples of earth who had been wounded in
+battle. They came with severed bodies, with cut-off limbs, and with big
+open wounds from which the blood oozed, so that the whole court was
+drenched with it.
+
+And beside these, came all the people in the world who had lost their
+loved ones on the battlefield. They were the fatherless who mourned
+their protectors, and the young maidens who cried for their lovers, and
+the aged who sighed for their sons.
+
+The foremost among them pushed against the door, and the watchman came
+out as before, and opened it.
+
+He asked all these, who had been wounded in battles and skirmishes:
+"What seek ye in this house?"
+
+And they answered: "We seek the great Prophet of Nazareth, who shall
+prohibit wars and rumors of wars and bring peace to the earth. We seek
+him who shall convert spears into scythes and swords into pruning
+hooks."
+
+Then answered the slave somewhat impatiently: "Let no more come to
+pester me! I have already said it often enough. The great Prophet is not
+here. Pilate has killed him."
+
+Thereupon he closed the gate. But she who dreamed thought of all the
+lamentation which would come now. "I do not wish to hear it," said she,
+and rushed away from the balustrade. That instant she awoke. Then she
+discovered that in her terror she had jumped out of her bed and down on
+the cold stone floor.
+
+Again she thought she did not want to sleep more that night, and again
+sleep overpowered her, and she closed her eyes and began to dream.
+
+She sat once more on the roof of her house, and beside her stood her
+husband. She told him of her dreams, and he ridiculed her.
+
+Again she heard a voice, which said to her: "Go see the people who wait
+in your court!"
+
+But she thought: "I would not see them. I have seen enough misery
+to-night."
+
+Just then she heard three loud raps on the gate, and her husband walked
+over to the balustrade to see who it was that asked admittance to his
+house.
+
+But no sooner had he leaned over the railing, than he beckoned to his
+wife to come over to him.
+
+"Know you not this man?" said he, and pointed down.
+
+When she looked down on the court, she found that it was filled with
+horses and riders, slaves were busy unloading asses and camels. It
+looked as though a distinguished traveler might have landed.
+
+At the entrance gate stood the traveler. He was a large elderly man with
+broad shoulders and a heavy and gloomy appearance.
+
+The dreamer recognized the stranger instantly, and whispered to her
+husband: "It is C�sar Tiberius, who is here in Jerusalem. It can not be
+any one else."
+
+"I also seem to recognize him," said her husband; at the same time he
+placed his finger on his mouth, as a signal that they should be quiet
+and listen to what was said down in the court.
+
+They saw that the doorkeeper came out and asked the stranger: "Whom seek
+you?"
+
+And the traveler answered: "I seek the great Prophet of Nazareth, who is
+endowed with God's power to perform miracles. It is Emperor Tiberius who
+calls him, that he may liberate him from a terrible disease, which no
+other physician can cure."
+
+When he had spoken, the slave bowed very humbly and said: "My lord, be
+not wroth! but your wish can not be fulfilled."
+
+Then the Emperor turned toward his slaves, who waited below in the
+court, and gave them a command.
+
+Then the slaves hastened forward--some with handfuls of ornaments,
+others carried goblets studded with pearls, other again dragged sacks
+filled with gold coin.
+
+The Emperor turned to the slave who guarded the gate, and said: "All
+this shall be his, if he helps Tiberius. With this he can give riches to
+all the world's poor."
+
+But the doorkeeper bowed still lower and said: "Master, be not wroth
+with thy servant, but thy request can not be fulfilled."
+
+Then the Emperor beckoned again to his slaves, and a pair of them
+hurried forward with a richly embroidered robe, upon which glittered a
+breastpiece of jewels.
+
+And the Emperor said to the slave: "See! This which I offer him is the
+power over Judea. He shall rule his people like the highest judge, if he
+will only come and heal Tiberius!"
+
+The slave bowed still nearer the earth, and said: "Master, it is not
+within my power to help you."
+
+Then the Emperor beckoned once again, and his slaves rushed up with a
+golden coronet and a purple mantle.
+
+"See," he said, "this is the Emperor's will: He promises to appoint the
+Prophet his successor, and give him dominion over the world. He shall
+have power to rule the world according to his God's will, if he will
+only stretch forth his hand and heal Tiberius!"
+
+Then the slave fell at the Emperor's feet and said in an imploring tone:
+"Master, it does not lie in my power to attend to thy command. He whom
+thou seekest is no longer here. Pilate hath killed him."
+
+                                  VIII
+
+When the young woman awoke, it was already full, clear day, and her
+female slaves stood and waited that they might help her dress.
+
+She was very silent while she dressed, but finally she asked the slave
+who arranged her hair, if her husband was up. She learned that he had
+been called out to pass judgment on a criminal. "I should have liked to
+talk with him," said the young woman.
+
+"Mistress," said the slave, "it will be difficult to do so during the
+trial. We will let you know as soon as it is over."
+
+She sat silent now until her toilet was completed. Then she asked: "Has
+any among you heard of the Prophet of Nazareth?"
+
+"The Prophet of Nazareth is a Jewish miracle performer," answered one of
+the slaves instantly.
+
+"It is strange, Mistress, that you should ask after him to-day," said
+another slave. "It is just he whom the Jews have brought here to the
+palace, to let him be tried by the Governor."
+
+She bade them go at once and ascertain for what cause he was arraigned,
+and one of the slaves withdrew. When she returned she said: "They accuse
+him of wanting to make himself King over this land, and they entreat the
+Governor to let him be crucified."
+
+When the Governor's wife heard this, she grew terrified and said: "I
+must speak with my husband, otherwise a terrible calamity will happen
+here this day."
+
+When the slaves said once again that this was impossible, she began to
+weep and shudder. And one among them was touched, so she said: "If you
+will send a written message to the Governor, I will try and take it to
+him."
+
+Immediately she took a stylus and wrote a few words on a wax tablet, and
+this was given to Pilate.
+
+But him she did not meet alone the whole day; for when he had dismissed
+the Jews, and the condemned man was taken to the place of execution, the
+hour for repast was come, and to this Pilate had invited a few of the
+Romans who visited Jerusalem at this season. They were the commander of
+the troops and a young instructor in oratory, and several others
+besides.
+
+This repast was not very gay, for the Governor's wife sat all the while
+silent and dejected, and took no part in the conversation.
+
+When the guests asked if she was ill or distraught, the Governor
+laughingly related about the message she had sent him in the morning. He
+chaffed her because she had believed that a Roman governor would let
+himself be guided in his judgments by a woman's dreams.
+
+She answered gently and sadly: "In truth, it was no dream, but a warning
+sent by the gods. You should at least have let the man live through this
+one day."
+
+They saw that she was seriously distressed. She would not be comforted,
+no matter how much the guests exerted themselves, by keeping up the
+conversation to make her forget these empty fancies.
+
+But after a while one of them raised his head and exclaimed: "What is
+this? Have we sat so long at table that the day is already gone?"
+
+All looked up now, and they observed that a dim twilight settled down
+over nature. Above all, it was remarkable to see how the whole
+variegated play of color which it spread over all creatures and objects,
+faded away slowly, so that all looked a uniform gray.
+
+Like everything else, even their own faces lost their color. "We
+actually look like the dead," said the young orator with a shudder. "Our
+cheeks are gray and our lips black."
+
+As this darkness grew more intense, the woman's fear increased. "Oh, my
+friend!" she burst out at last. "Can't you perceive even now that the
+Immortals would warn you? They are incensed because you condemned a holy
+and innocent man. I am thinking that although he may already be on the
+cross, he is surely not dead yet. Let him be taken down from the cross!
+I would with mine own hands nurse his wounds. Only grant that he be
+called back to life!"
+
+But Pilate answered laughingly: "You are surely right in that this is a
+sign from the gods. But they do not let the sun lose its luster because
+a Jewish heretic has been condemned to the cross. On the contrary, we
+may expect that important matters shall appear, which concern the whole
+kingdom. Who can tell how long old Tiberius----"
+
+He did not finish the sentence, for the darkness had become so profound
+he could not see even the wine goblet standing in front of him. He broke
+off, therefore, to order the slaves to fetch some lamps instantly.
+
+When it had become so light that he could see the faces of his guests,
+it was impossible for him not to notice the depression which had come
+over them. "Mark you!" he said half-angrily to his wife. "Now it is
+apparent to me that you have succeeded with your dreams in driving away
+the joys of the table. But if it must needs be that you can not think of
+anything else to-day, then let us hear what you have dreamed. Tell it us
+and we will try to interpret its meaning!"
+
+For this the young wife was ready at once. And while she related vision
+after vision, the guests grew more and more serious. They ceased
+emptying their goblets, and they sat with brows knit. The only one who
+continued to laugh and to call the whole thing madness, was the Governor
+himself.
+
+When the narrative was ended, the young rhetorician said: "Truly, this
+is something more than a dream, for I have seen this day not the
+Emperor, but his old friend Faustina, march into the city. Only it
+surprises me that she has not already appeared in the Governor's
+palace."
+
+"There is actually a rumor abroad to the effect that the Emperor has
+been stricken with a terrible illness," observed the leader of the
+troops. "It also seems very possible to me that your wife's dream may be
+a god-sent warning."
+
+"There's nothing incredible in this, that Tiberius has sent messengers
+after the Prophet to summon him to his sick-bed," agreed the young
+rhetorician.
+
+The Commander turned with profound seriousness toward Pilate. "If the
+Emperor has actually taken it into his head to let this miracle-worker
+be summoned, it were better for you and for all of us that he found him
+alive."
+
+Pilate answered irritably: "Is it the darkness that has turned you into
+children? One would think that you had all been transformed into
+dream-interpreters and prophets."
+
+But the courtier continued his argument: "It may not be impossible,
+perhaps, to save the man's life, if you sent a swift messenger."
+
+"You want to make a laughing-stock of me," answered the Governor. "Tell
+me, what would become of law and order in this land, if they learned
+that the Governor pardoned a criminal because his wife has dreamed a bad
+dream?"
+
+"It is the truth, however, and not a dream, that I have seen Faustina in
+Jerusalem," said the young orator.
+
+"I shall take the responsibility of defending my actions before the
+Emperor," said Pilate. "He will understand that this visionary, who let
+himself be misused by my soldiers without resistance, would not have had
+the power to help him."
+
+As he was speaking, the house was shaken by a noise like a powerful
+rolling thunder, and an earthquake shook the ground. The Governor's
+palace stood intact, but during some minutes just after the earthquake,
+a terrific crash of crumbling houses and falling pillars was heard.
+
+As soon as a human voice could make itself heard, the Governor called a
+slave.
+
+"Run out to the place of execution and command in my name that the
+Prophet of Nazareth shall be taken down from the cross!"
+
+The slave hurried away. The guests filed from the dining-hall out on the
+peristyle, to be under the open sky in case the earthquake should be
+repeated. No one dared to utter a word, while they awaited the slave's
+return.
+
+He came back very shortly. He stopped before the Governor.
+
+"You found him alive?" said he.
+
+"Master, he was dead, and on the very second that he gave up the ghost,
+the earthquake occurred."
+
+The words were hardly spoken when two loud knocks sounded against the
+outer gate. When these knocks were heard, they all staggered back and
+leaped up, as though it had been a new earthquake.
+
+Immediately afterwards a slave came up.
+
+"It is the noble Faustina and the Emperor's kinsman Sulpicius. They are
+come to beg you help them find the Prophet from Nazareth."
+
+A low murmur passed through the peristyle, and soft footfalls were
+heard. When the Governor looked around, he noticed that his friends had
+withdrawn from him, as from one upon whom misfortune has fallen.
+
+                                   IX
+
+Old Faustina had returned to Capri and had sought out the Emperor. She
+told him her story, and while she spoke she hardly dared look at him.
+During her absence the illness had made frightful ravages, and she
+thought to herself: "If there had been any pity among the Celestials,
+they would have let me die before being forced to tell this poor,
+tortured man that all hope is gone."
+
+To her astonishment, Tiberius listened to her with the utmost
+indifference. When she related how the great miracle performer had been
+crucified the same day that she had arrived in Jerusalem, and how near
+she had been to saving him, she began to weep under the weight of her
+failure. But Tiberius only remarked: "You actually grieve over this? Ah,
+Faustina! A whole lifetime in Rome has not weaned you then of faith in
+sorcerers and miracle workers, which you imbibed during your childhood
+in the Sabine mountains!"
+
+Then the old woman perceived that Tiberius had never expected any help
+from the Prophet of Nazareth.
+
+"Why did you let me make the journey to that distant land, if you
+believed all the while that it was useless?"
+
+"You are the only friend I have," said the Emperor. "Why should I deny
+your prayer, so long as I still have the power to grant it."
+
+But the old woman did not like it that the Emperor had taken her for a
+fool.
+
+"Ah! this is your usual cunning," she burst out. "This is just what I
+can tolerate least in you."
+
+"You should not have come back to me," said Tiberius. "You should have
+remained in the mountains."
+
+It looked for a moment as if these two, who had clashed so often, would
+again fall into a war of words, but the old woman's anger subsided
+immediately. The times were past when she could quarrel in earnest with
+the Emperor. She lowered her voice again; but she could not altogether
+relinquish every effort to obtain justice.
+
+"But this man was really a prophet," she said. "I have seen him. When
+his eyes met mine, I thought he was a god. I was mad to allow him to go
+to his death."
+
+"I am glad you let him die," said Tiberius. "He was a traitor and a
+dangerous agitator."
+
+Faustina was about to burst into another passion--then checked herself.
+
+"I have spoken with many of his friends in Jerusalem about him," said
+she. "He had not committed the crimes for which he was arraigned."
+
+"Even if he had not committed just these crimes, he was surely no better
+than any one else," said the Emperor wearily. "Where will you find the
+person who during his lifetime has not a thousand times deserved death?"
+
+But these remarks of the Emperor decided Faustina to undertake something
+which she had until now hesitated about. "I will show you a proof of his
+power," said she. "I said to you just now that I laid my kerchief over
+his face. It is the same kerchief which I hold in my hand. Will you look
+at it a moment?"
+
+She spread the kerchief out before the Emperor, and he saw delineated
+thereon the shadowy likeness of a human face.
+
+The old woman's voice shook with emotion as she continued: "This man saw
+that I loved him. I know not by what power he was enabled to leave me
+his portrait. But mine eyes fill up with tears when I see it."
+
+The Emperor leaned forward and regarded the picture, which appeared to
+be made up of blood and tears and the dark shadows of grief. Gradually
+the whole face stood out before him, exactly as it had been imprinted
+upon the kerchief. He saw the blood-drops on the forehead, the piercing
+thorn-crown, the hair, which was matted with blood, and the mouth whose
+lips seemed to quiver with agony.
+
+He bent down closer and closer to the picture. The face stood out
+clearer and clearer. From out the shadow-like outlines, all at once, he
+saw the eyes sparkle as with hidden life. And while they spoke to him of
+the most terrible suffering, they also revealed a purity and sublimity
+which he had never seen before.
+
+He lay upon his couch and drank in the picture with his eyes. "Is this a
+mortal?" he said softly and slowly. "Is this a mortal?"
+
+Again he lay still and regarded the picture. The tears began to stream
+down his cheeks. "I mourn over thy death, thou Unknown!" he whispered.
+
+"Faustina!" he cried out at last. "Why did you let this man die? He
+would have healed me."
+
+And again he was lost in the picture.
+
+"O Man!" he said, after a moment, "if I can not gain my health from
+thee, I can still avenge thy murder. My hand shall rest heavily upon
+those who have robbed me of thee!"
+
+Again he lay still a long time; then he let himself glide down to the
+floor--and he knelt before the picture:
+
+"Thou art Man!" said he. "Thou art that which I never dreamed I should
+see." And he pointed to his disfigured face and destroyed hands. "I and
+all others are wild beasts and monsters, but thou art Man."
+
+He bowed his head so low before the picture that it touched the floor.
+"Have pity on me, thou Unknown!" he sobbed, and his tears watered the
+stones.
+
+"If thou hadst lived, thy glance alone would have healed me," he said.
+
+The poor old woman was terror-stricken over what she had done. It would
+have been wiser not to show the Emperor the picture, thought she. From
+the start she had been afraid that if he should see it his grief would
+be too overwhelming.
+
+And in her despair over the Emperor's grief, she snatched the picture
+away, as if to remove it from his sight.
+
+Then the Emperor looked up. And, lo! his features were transformed, and
+he was as he had been before the illness. It was as if the illness had
+had its root and sustenance in the contempt and hatred of mankind which
+had lived in his heart; and it had been forced to flee the very moment
+he had felt love and compassion.
+
+The following day Tiberius despatched three messengers.
+
+The first messenger traveled to Rome with the command that the Senate
+should institute investigations as to how the governor of Palestine
+administered his official duties and punish him, should it appear that
+he oppressed the people and condemned the innocent to death.
+
+The second messenger went to the vineyard-laborer and his wife, to thank
+them and reward them for the counsel they had given the Emperor, and
+also to tell them how everything had turned out. When they had heard
+all, they wept silently, and the man said: "I know that all my life I
+shall ponder what would have happened if these two had met." But the
+woman answered: "It could not happen in any other way. It was too great
+a thought that these two should meet. God knew that the world could not
+support it."
+
+The third messenger traveled to Palestine and brought back with him to
+Capri some of Jesus' disciples, and these began to teach there the
+doctrine that had been preached by the Crucified One.
+
+When the disciples landed at Capri, old Faustina lay upon her death-bed.
+Still they had time before her death to make of her a follower of the
+great Prophet, and to baptize her. And in the baptism she was called
+Veronica, because to her it had been granted to give to mankind the true
+likeness of their Saviour.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Robin Redbreast]
+
+                            ROBIN REDBREAST
+
+
+It happened at the time when our Lord created the world, when He not
+only made heaven and earth, but all the animals and the plants as well,
+at the same time giving them their names.
+
+There have been many histories concerning that time, and if we knew them
+all, we should have light upon everything in this world which we can not
+now comprehend.
+
+At that time it happened one day when our Lord sat in His Paradise and
+painted the little birds, that the colors in our Lord's paint pot gave
+out, and the goldfinch would have been without color if our Lord had not
+wiped all His paint brushes on its feathers.
+
+It was then that the donkey got his long ears, because he could not
+remember the name that had been given him.
+
+No sooner had he taken a few steps over the meadows of Paradise than he
+forgot, and three times he came back to ask his name. At last our Lord
+grew somewhat impatient, took him by his two ears, and said:
+
+"Thy name is ass, ass, ass!" And while He thus spake our Lord pulled
+both of his ears that the ass might hear better, and remember what was
+said to him. It was on the same day, also, that the bee was punished.
+
+Now, when the bee was created, she began immediately to gather honey,
+and the animals and human beings who caught the delicious odor of the
+honey came and wanted to taste of it. But the bee wanted to keep it all
+for herself and with her poisonous sting pursued every living creature
+that approached her hive. Our Lord saw this and at once called the bee
+to Him and punished her.
+
+"I gave thee the gift of gathering honey, which is the sweetest thing in
+all creation," said our Lord, "but I did not give thee the right to be
+cruel to thy neighbor. Remember well that every time thou stingest any
+creature who desires to taste of thy honey, thou shalt surely die!"
+
+Ah, yes! It was at that time, too, that the cricket became blind and the
+ant missed her wings, so many strange things happened on that day!
+
+Our Lord sat there, big and gentle, and planned and created all day
+long, and towards evening He conceived the idea of making a little gray
+bird. "Remember your name is Robin Redbreast," said our Lord to the
+bird, as soon as it was finished. Then He held it in the palm of His
+open hand and let it fly.
+
+After the bird had been testing his wings a while, and had seen
+something of the beautiful world in which he was destined to live, he
+became curious to see what he himself was like. He noticed that he was
+entirely gray, and that his breast was just as gray as all the rest of
+him. Robin Redbreast twisted and turned in all directions as he viewed
+himself in the mirror of a clear lake, but he couldn't find a single red
+feather. Then he flew back to our Lord.
+
+Our Lord sat there on His throne, big and gentle. Out of His hands came
+butterflies that fluttered about His head; doves cooed on His shoulders;
+and out of the earth beneath Him grew the rose, the lily, and the daisy.
+
+The little bird's heart beat heavily with fright, but with easy curves
+he flew nearer and nearer our Lord, till at last he rested on our Lord's
+hand. Then our Lord asked what the little bird wanted. "I only wish to
+ask you about one thing," said the little bird. "What is it you wish to
+know?" said our Lord. "Why should I be called Red Breast, when I am all
+gray, from the bill to the very end of my tail? Why am I called Red
+Breast when I do not possess one single red feather?" The bird looked
+beseechingly on our Lord with his tiny black eyes--then turned his head.
+About him he saw pheasants all red under a sprinkle of gold dust,
+parrots with marvelous red neck-bands, cocks with red combs, to say
+nothing about the butterflies, the goldfinches, and the roses! And
+naturally he thought how little he needed--just one tiny drop of color
+on his breast and he, too, would be a beautiful bird, and his name would
+fit him. "Why should I be called Red Breast when I am so entirely gray?"
+asked the bird once again, and waited for our Lord to say: "Ah, my
+friend, I see that I have forgotten to paint your breast feathers red,
+but wait a moment and it shall be done."
+
+But our Lord only smiled a little and said: "I have called you Robin
+Redbreast, and Robin Redbreast shall your name be, but you must look to
+it that you yourself earn your red breast feathers." Then our Lord
+lifted His hand and let the bird fly once more--out into the world.
+
+The bird flew down into Paradise, meditating deeply.
+
+What could a little bird like him do to earn for himself red feathers?
+The only thing he could think of was to make his nest in a brier bush.
+He built it in among the thorns in the close thicket. It looked as if he
+waited for a rose leaf to cling to his throat and give him color.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Countless years had come and gone since that day, which was the happiest
+in all the world! Human beings had already advanced so far that they had
+learned to cultivate the earth and sail the seas. They had procured
+clothes and ornaments for themselves, and had long since learned to
+build big temples and great cities--such as Thebes, Rome, and Jerusalem.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Then there dawned a _new_ day, one that will long be remembered in the
+world's history. On the morning of this day Robin Redbreast sat upon a
+little naked hillock outside of Jerusalem's walls, and sang to his young
+ones, who rested in a tiny nest in a brier bush.
+
+Robin Redbreast told the little ones all about that wonderful day of
+creation, and how the Lord had given names to everything, just as each
+Redbreast had told it ever since the first Redbreast had heard God's
+word, and gone out of God's hand. "And mark you," he ended sorrowfully,
+"so many years have gone, so many roses have bloomed, so many little
+birds have come out of their eggs since Creation Day, but Robin
+Redbreast is still a little gray bird. He has not yet succeeded in
+gaining his red feathers."
+
+The little young ones opened wide their tiny bills, and asked if their
+forbears had never tried to do any great thing to earn the priceless red
+color.
+
+"We have all done what we could," said the little bird, "but we have all
+gone amiss. Even the first Robin Redbreast met one day another bird
+exactly like himself, and he began immediately to love it with such a
+mighty love that he could feel his breast burn. 'Ah!' he thought then,
+'now I understand! It was our Lord's meaning that I should love with so
+much ardor that my breast should grow red in color from the very warmth
+of the love that lives in my heart.' But he missed it, as all those who
+came after him have missed it, and as even you shall miss it."
+
+The little young ones twittered, utterly bewildered, and already began
+to mourn because the red color would not come to beautify their little,
+downy gray breasts.
+
+"We had also hoped that song would help us," said the grown-up bird,
+speaking in long-drawn-out tones--"the first Robin Redbreast sang until
+his heart swelled within him, he was so carried away, and he dared to
+hope anew. 'Ah!' he thought, 'it is the glow of the song which lives in
+my soul that will color my breast feathers red.' But he missed it, as
+all the others have missed it and as even you shall miss it." Again was
+heard a sad "peep" from the young ones' half-naked throats.
+
+"We had also counted on our courage and our valor," said the bird. "The
+first Robin Redbreast fought bravely with other birds, until his breast
+flamed with the pride of conquest. 'Ah!' he thought, 'my breast feathers
+shall become red from the love of battle which burns in my heart.' He,
+too, missed it, as all those who came after him have missed it, and as
+even you shall miss it." The little young ones peeped courageously that
+they still wished to try and win the much-sought-for prize, but the bird
+answered them sorrowfully that it would be impossible. What could they
+do when so many splendid ancestors had missed the mark? What could they
+do more than love, sing, and fight? What could--the little bird stopped
+short, for out of one of the gates of Jerusalem came a crowd of people
+marching, and the whole procession rushed toward the hillock, where the
+bird had its nest. There were riders on proud horses, soldiers with long
+spears, executioners with nails and hammers. There were judges and
+priests in the procession, weeping women, and above all a mob of mad,
+loose people running about--a filthy, howling mob of loiterers.
+
+The little gray bird sat trembling on the edge of his nest. He feared
+each instant that the little brier bush would be trampled down and his
+young ones killed!
+
+"Be careful!" he cried to the little defenseless young ones, "creep
+together and remain quiet. Here comes a horse that will ride right over
+us! Here comes a warrior with iron-shod sandals! Here comes the whole
+wild, storming mob!" Immediately the bird ceased his cry of warning and
+grew calm and quiet. He almost forgot the danger hovering over him.
+Finally he hopped down into the nest and spread his wings over the young
+ones.
+
+"Oh! this is too terrible," said he. "I don't wish you to witness this
+awful sight! There are three miscreants who are going to be crucified!"
+And he spread his wings so that the little ones could see nothing.
+
+They caught only the sound of hammers, the cries of anguish, and the
+wild shrieks of the mob.
+
+Robin Redbreast followed the whole spectacle with his eyes, which grew
+big with terror. He could not take his glance from the three
+unfortunates.
+
+"How terrible human beings are!" said the bird after a little while. "It
+isn't enough that they nail these poor creatures to a cross, but they
+must needs place a crown of piercing thorns upon the head of one of
+them. I see that the thorns have wounded his brow so that the blood
+flows," he continued. "And this man is so beautiful, and looks about him
+with such mild glances that every one ought to love him. I feel as if an
+arrow were shooting through my heart, when I see him suffer!"
+
+The little bird began to feel a stronger and stronger pity for the
+thorn-crowned sufferer. "Oh! if I were only my brother the eagle,"
+thought he, "I would draw the nails from his hands, and with my strong
+claws I would drive away all those who torture him!" He saw how the
+blood trickled down from the brow of the Crucified One, and he could no
+longer remain quiet in his nest. "Even if I am little and weak, I can
+still do something for this poor tortured one," thought the bird. Then
+he left his nest and flew out into the air, striking wide circles around
+the Crucified One. He flew around him several times without daring to
+approach, for he was a shy little bird, who had never dared to go near a
+human being. But little by little he gained courage, flew close to him,
+and drew with his little bill a thorn that had become imbedded in the
+brow of the Crucified One. And as he did this there fell on his breast a
+drop of blood from the face of the Crucified One;--it spread quickly and
+floated out and colored all the little fine breast feathers.
+
+Then the Crucified One opened his lips and whispered to the bird:
+"Because of thy compassion, thou hast won all that thy kind have been
+striving after, ever since the world was created."
+
+As soon as the bird had returned to his nest his young ones cried to
+him: "Thy breast is red! Thy breast feathers are redder than the roses!"
+
+"It is only a drop of blood from the poor man's forehead," said the
+bird; "it will vanish as soon as I bathe in a pool or a clear well."
+
+But no matter how much the little bird bathed, the red color did not
+vanish--and when his little young ones grew up, the blood-red color
+shone also on their breast feathers, just as it shines on every Robin
+Redbreast's throat and breast until this very day.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Our Lord and Saint Peter]
+
+                        OUR LORD AND SAINT PETER
+
+
+It happened at the time when our Lord and Saint Peter were newly arrived
+in Paradise, after having wandered on earth and suffered hardships
+during many sorrowful years.
+
+One can imagine that the change was a joy to Saint Peter! One can
+picture to oneself that it was quite another matter to sit upon Paradise
+Mountain and look out over the world, instead of wandering from door to
+door, like a beggar. It was another matter to walk about in the
+beautiful gardens of Paradise, instead of roaming around on earth, not
+knowing if one would be given house-room on a stormy night, or if one
+would be forced to tramp the highway in the chill and darkness.
+
+One can imagine what a joy it must have been to get to the right place
+at last after such a journey. Saint Peter, to be sure, had not always
+been certain that all would end well. He couldn't very well help feeling
+doubtful and troubled at times, for it had been almost impossible for
+poor Saint Peter to understand why there was any earthly need for them
+to have such a hard time of it, if our Lord was lord of all the world.
+
+Now, no yearning could come to torment him any more. That he was glad of
+this one can well believe.
+
+Now, he could actually laugh at all the misery which he and our Lord had
+been forced to endure, and at the little that they had been obliged to
+content themselves with.
+
+Once, when things had turned out so badly for them that Saint Peter
+thought he couldn't stand it any longer, our Lord had taken him to a
+high mountain, and had begun the ascent without telling him what they
+were there for.
+
+They had wandered past the cities at the foot of the mountain, and the
+castles higher up. They had gone past the farms and cabins, and had left
+behind them the last wood-chopper's cave.
+
+They had come at last to the part where the mountain stood naked,
+without verdure and trees, and where a hermit had built him a hut,
+wherein he might shelter needy travelers.
+
+Afterward, they had walked over the snowfields, where the mountain-rats
+sleep, and come to the piled-up ice masses, which stood on edge and
+a-tilt, and where scarcely a chamois could pass.
+
+Up there our Lord had found a little red-breasted bird, that lay frozen
+to death on the ice, and He had picked up the bullfinch and tucked it in
+His bosom. And Saint Peter remembered he had wondered if this was to be
+their dinner.
+
+They had wandered a long while on the slippery ice-blocks, and it had
+seemed to Saint Peter that he had never been so near perdition; for a
+deadly cold wind and a deadly dark mist enveloped them, and as far as he
+could discover, there wasn't a living thing to be found. And, still,
+they were only half-way up the mountain.
+
+Then he begged our Lord to let him turn back.
+
+"Not yet," said our Lord, "for I want to show you something which will
+give you courage to meet all sorrows."
+
+For this they had gone on through mist and cold until they had reached
+an interminably high wall, which prevented them from going farther.
+
+"This wall extends all around the mountain," said our Lord, "and you
+can't step over it at any point. Nor can any living creature see
+anything of that which lies behind it, for it is here that Paradise
+begins; and all the way up to the mountain's summit live the blessed
+dead."
+
+But Saint Peter couldn't help looking doubtful. "In there is neither
+darkness nor cold," said our Lord, "but there it is always summer, with
+the bright light of suns and stars."
+
+But Saint Peter was not able to persuade himself to believe this.
+
+Then our Lord took the little bird which He had just found on the ice,
+and, bending backwards, threw it over the wall, so that it fell down
+into Paradise.
+
+And immediately thereafter Saint Peter heard a loud, joyous trill, and
+recognized a bullfinch's song, and was greatly astonished.
+
+He turned toward our Lord and said: "Let us return to the earth and
+suffer all that must be suffered, for now I see that you speak the
+truth, and that there is a place where Life overcomes death."
+
+And they descended from the mountain and began their wanderings again.
+
+And it was years before Saint Peter saw any more than this one glimpse
+of Paradise; but he had always longed for the land beyond the wall. And
+now at last he was there, and did not have to strive and yearn any more.
+Now he could drink bliss in full measure all day long from never-dying
+streams.
+
+But Saint Peter had not been in Paradise a fortnight before it happened
+that an angel came to our Lord where He sat upon His throne, bowed seven
+times before Him, and told Him that a great sorrow must have come upon
+Saint Peter. He would neither eat nor drink, and his eyelids were red,
+as though he had not slept for several nights.
+
+As soon as our Lord heard this, He rose and went to seek Saint Peter.
+
+He found him far away, on one of the outskirts of Paradise, where he lay
+upon the ground, as if he were too exhausted to stand, and he had rent
+his garments and strewn his hair with ashes.
+
+When our Lord saw him so distressed, He sat down on the ground beside
+him, and talked to him, just as He would have done had they still been
+wandering around in this world of trouble.
+
+"What is it that makes you so sad, Saint Peter?" said our Lord.
+
+But grief had overpowered Saint Peter, so that he could not answer.
+
+"What is it that makes you so sad?" asked our Lord once again.
+
+When our Lord repeated the question, Saint Peter took the gold crown
+from his head and threw it at our Lord's feet, as much as to say he
+wanted no further share in His honor and glory.
+
+But our Lord understood, of course, that Saint Peter was so disconsolate
+that he knew not what he did. He showed no anger at him.
+
+"You must tell me what troubles you," said He, just as gently as before,
+and with an even greater love in His voice.
+
+But now Saint Peter jumped up; and then our Lord knew that he was not
+only disconsolate, but downright angry. He came toward our Lord with
+clenched fists and snapping eyes.
+
+"Now I want a dismissal from your service!" said Saint Peter. "I can not
+remain another day in Paradise."
+
+Our Lord tried to calm him, just as He had been obliged to do many times
+before, when Saint Peter had flared up.
+
+"Oh, certainly you can go," said He, "but you must first tell me what it
+is that displeases you."
+
+"I can tell you that I awaited a better reward than this when we two
+endured all sorts of misery down on earth," said Saint Peter.
+
+Our Lord saw that Saint Peter's soul was filled with bitterness, and He
+felt no anger at him.
+
+"I tell you that you are free to go whither you will," said He, "if you
+will only let me know what is troubling you."
+
+Then, at last, Saint Peter told our Lord why he was so unhappy. "I had
+an old mother," said he, "and she died a few days ago."
+
+"Now I know what distresses you," said our Lord. "You suffer because
+your mother has not come into Paradise."
+
+"That is true," said Saint Peter, and at the same time his grief became
+so overwhelming that he began to sob and moan.
+
+"I think I deserved at least that she should be permitted to come here,"
+said he.
+
+But when our Lord learned what it was that Saint Peter was grieving
+over, He, in turn, became distressed. Saint Peter's mother had not been
+such that she could enter the Heavenly Kingdom. She had never thought of
+anything except to hoard money, and to the poor who had knocked at her
+door she had never given so much as a copper or a crust of bread. But
+our Lord understood that it was impossible for Saint Peter to grasp the
+fact that his mother had been so greedy that she was not entitled to
+bliss.
+
+"Saint Peter," said He, "how can you be so sure that your mother would
+feel at home here with us?"
+
+"You say such things only that you may not have to listen to my
+prayers," said Saint Peter. "Who wouldn't be happy in Paradise?"
+
+"One who does not feel joy over the happiness of others can not rest
+content here," said our Lord.
+
+"Then there are others than my mother who do not belong here," said
+Saint Peter, and our Lord observed that he was thinking of Him.
+
+And He felt deeply grieved because Saint Peter had been stricken with
+such a heavy sorrow that he no longer knew what he said. He stood a
+moment and expected that Saint Peter would repent, and understand that
+his mother was not fit for Paradise. But the Saint would not give in.
+
+Then our Lord called an angel and commanded that he should fly down into
+hell and bring Saint Peter's mother to Paradise.
+
+"Let me see how he carries her," said Saint Peter.
+
+Our Lord took Saint Peter by the hand and led him out to a steep
+precipice which leaned slantingly to one side. And He showed him that he
+only had to lean over the precipice very, very little to be able to look
+down into hell.
+
+When Saint Peter glanced down, he could not at first see anything more
+than if he had looked into a deep well. It was as though an endless
+chasm opened under him.
+
+The first thing which he could faintly distinguish was the angel, who
+had already started on his way to the nether regions. Saint Peter saw
+how the angel dived down into the great darkness, without the least
+fear, and spread his wings just a little, so as not to descend too
+rapidly.
+
+But when Saint Peter's eyes had become a little more used to the
+darkness he began to see more and more. In the first place, he saw that
+Paradise lay on a ring-mountain, which encircled a wide chasm, and it
+was at the bottom of this chasm that the souls of the sinful had their
+abode. He saw how the angel sank and sank a long while without reaching
+the depths. He became absolutely terrified because it was such a long
+distance down there.
+
+"May he only come up again with my mother!" said he.
+
+Our Lord only looked at Saint Peter with great sorrowful eyes. "There is
+no weight too heavy for my angel to carry," said He.
+
+It was so far down to the nether regions that no ray of sunlight could
+penetrate thither: there darkness reigned. But it was as if the angel in
+his flight must have brought with him a little clearness and light, so
+that it was possible for Saint Peter to see how it looked down there.
+
+It was an endless, black rock-desert. Sharp, pointed rocks covered the
+entire foundation. There was not a green blade, not a tree, not a sign
+of life.
+
+But all over, on the sharp rocks, were condemned souls. They hung over
+the edges, whither they had clambered that they might swing themselves
+up from the ravine; and when they saw that they could get nowhere, they
+remained up there, petrified with anguish.
+
+Saint Peter saw some of them sit or lie with arms extended in ceaseless
+longing, and with eyes fixedly turned upwards. Others had covered their
+faces with their hands, as if they would shut out the hopeless horror
+around them. They were all rigid; there was not one among them who had
+the power to move. Some lay in the water-pools, perfectly still, without
+trying to rise from them.
+
+But the most dreadful thing of all was--there was such a great throng of
+the lost. It was as though the bottom of the ravine were made up of
+nothing but bodies and heads.
+
+And Saint Peter was struck with a new fear. "You shall see that he will
+not find her," said he to our Lord.
+
+Once more our Lord looked at him with the same grieved expression. He
+knew of course that Saint Peter did not need to be uneasy about the
+angel.
+
+But to Saint Peter it looked all the while as if the angel could not
+find his mother in that great company of lost souls. He spread his wings
+and flew back and forth over the nether regions, while he sought her.
+
+Suddenly one of the poor lost creatures caught a glimpse of the angel,
+and he sprang up and stretched his arms towards him and cried: "Take me
+with you! Take me with you!"
+
+Then, all at once, the whole throng was alive. All the millions upon
+millions who languished in hell, roused themselves that instant, and
+raised their arms and cried to the angel that he should take them with
+him to the blessed Paradise.
+
+Their shrieks were heard all the way up to our Lord and Saint Peter,
+whose hearts throbbed with anguish as they heard.
+
+The angel swayed high above the condemned; but as he traveled back and
+forth, to find the one whom he sought, they all rushed after him, so
+that it looked as though they had been swept on by a whirlwind.
+
+At last the angel caught sight of the one he was to take with him. He
+folded his wings over his back and shot down like a streak of lightning,
+and the astonished Saint Peter gave a cry of joy when he saw the angel
+place an arm around his mother and lift her up.
+
+"Blessed be thou that bringest my mother to me!" said he.
+
+Our Lord laid His hand gently on Saint Peter's shoulder, as if He would
+warn him not to abandon himself to joy too soon.
+
+But Saint Peter was ready to weep for joy, because his mother was saved.
+He could not understand that anything further would have the power to
+part them. And his joy increased when he saw that, quick as the angel
+had been when he had lifted her up, still several of the lost souls had
+succeeded in attaching themselves to her who was to be saved, in order
+that they, too, might be borne to Paradise with her.
+
+There must have been a dozen who clung to the old woman, and Saint Peter
+thought it was a great honor for his mother to help so many poor
+unfortunate beings out of perdition.
+
+Nor did the angel do aught to hinder them. He seemed not at all troubled
+with his burden, but rose and rose, and moved his wings with no more
+effort than if he were carrying a little dead birdling to heaven.
+
+But then Saint Peter saw that his mother began to free herself from the
+lost souls that had clung to her. She gripped their hands and loosened
+their hold, so that one after another tumbled down into hell.
+
+Saint Peter could hear how they begged and implored her; but the old
+woman did not desire that any one but herself should be saved. She freed
+herself from more and more of them, and let them fall down into misery.
+And as they fell, all space was filled with their lamentations and
+curses.
+
+Then Saint Peter begged and implored his mother to show some compassion,
+but she would not listen, and kept right on as before.
+
+And Saint Peter saw how the angel flew slower and slower, the lighter
+his burden became. Such fear took hold of Saint Peter that his legs
+shook, and he was forced to drop on his knees.
+
+Finally, there was only one condemned soul who still clung to St.
+Peter's mother. This was a young woman who hung on her neck and begged
+and cried in her ear that she would let her go along with her to the
+blessed Paradise.
+
+The angel with his burden had already come so far that Saint Peter
+stretched out his arms to receive his mother. He thought that the angel
+had to make only two or three wing-strokes more to reach the mountain.
+
+Then, all of a sudden, the angel held his wings perfectly still, and his
+countenance became dark as night.
+
+For now the old woman had stretched her hands back of her and gripped
+the arms of the young woman who hung about her neck, and she clutched
+and tore until she succeeded in separating the clasped hands, so that
+she was free from this last one also.
+
+When the condemned one fell the angel sank several fathoms lower, and it
+appeared as though he had not the strength to lift his wings again.
+
+He looked down upon the old woman with a deep, sorrowful glance; his
+hold around her waist loosened, and he let her fall, as if she were too
+heavy a burden for him, now that she was alone.
+
+Thereupon he swung himself with a single stroke up into Paradise.
+
+But Saint Peter lay for a long while in the same place, and sobbed, and
+our Lord stood silent beside him.
+
+"Saint Peter," said our Lord at last, "I never thought that you would
+weep like this after you had reached Paradise."
+
+Then God's old servant raised his head and answered: "What kind of a
+Paradise is this, where I can hear the moans of my dearest ones, and see
+the sufferings of my fellow men!"
+
+The face of our Lord became o'ercast by the deepest sorrow. "What did I
+desire more than to prepare a Paradise for all, of nothing but light and
+happiness?" He said. "Do you not understand that it was because of this
+I went down among men and taught them to love their neighbors as
+themselves? For as long as they do this not, there will be no refuge in
+heaven or on earth where pain and sorrow cannot reach them."
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Sacred Flame]
+
+                            THE SACRED FLAME
+
+
+                                   I
+
+A great many years ago, when the city of Florence had only just been
+made a republic, a man lived there named Raniero di Raniero. He was the
+son of an armorer, and had learned his father's trade, but he did not
+care much to pursue it.
+
+This Raniero was the strongest of men. It was said of him that he bore a
+heavy iron armor as lightly as others wear a silk shirt. He was still a
+young man, but already he had given many proofs of his strength. Once he
+was in a house where grain was stored in the loft. Too much grain had
+been heaped there; and while Raniero was in the house one of the loft
+beams broke down, and the whole roof was about to fall in. He raised his
+arms and held the roof up until the people managed to fetch beams and
+poles to prop it.
+
+It was also said of Raniero that he was the bravest man that had ever
+lived in Florence, and that he could never get enough of fighting. As
+soon as he heard any noise in the street, he rushed out from the
+workshop, in hopes that a fight had arisen in which he might
+participate. If he could only distinguish himself, he fought just as
+readily with humble peasants as with armored horsemen. He rushed into a
+fight like a lunatic, without counting his opponents.
+
+Florence was not very powerful in his time. The people were mostly wool
+spinners and cloth weavers, and these asked nothing better than to be
+allowed to perform their tasks in peace. Sturdy men were plentiful, but
+they were not quarrelsome, and they were proud of the fact that in their
+city better order prevailed than elsewhere. Raniero often grumbled
+because he was not born in a country where there was a king who gathered
+around him valiant men, and declared that in such an event he would have
+attained great honor and renown.
+
+Raniero was loud-mouthed and boastful; cruel to animals, harsh toward
+his wife, and not good for any one to live with. He would have been
+handsome if he had not had several deep scars across his face which
+disfigured him. He was quick to jump at conclusions, and quick to act,
+though his way was often violent.
+
+Raniero was married to Francesca, who was the daughter of Jacopo degli
+Uberti, a wise and influential man. Jacopo had not been very anxious to
+give his daughter to such a bully as Raniero, but had opposed the
+marriage until the very last. Francesca forced him to relent, by
+declaring that she would never marry any one else. When Jacopo finally
+gave his consent, he said to Raniero: "I have observed that men like you
+can more easily win a woman's love than keep it; therefore I shall exact
+this promise from you: If my daughter finds life with you so hard that
+she wishes to come back to me, you will not prevent her." Francesca said
+it was needless to exact such a promise, since she was so fond of
+Raniero that nothing could separate her from him. But Raniero gave his
+promise promptly. "Of one thing you can be assured, Jacopo," said he--"I
+will not try to hold any woman who wishes to flee from me."
+
+Then Francesca went to live with Raniero, and all was well between them
+for a time. When they had been married a few weeks, Raniero took it into
+his head that he would practice marksmanship. For several days he aimed
+at a painting which hung upon a wall. He soon became skilled, and hit
+the mark every time. At last he thought he would like to try and shoot
+at a more difficult mark. He looked around for something suitable, but
+discovered nothing except a quail that sat in a cage above the courtyard
+gate. The bird belonged to Francesca, and she was very fond of it; but,
+despite this, Raniero sent a page to open the cage, and shot the quail
+as it swung itself into the air.
+
+This seemed to him a very good shot, and he boasted of it to any one who
+would listen to him.
+
+When Francesca learned that Raniero had shot her bird, she grew pale and
+looked hard at him. She marveled that he had wished to do a thing which
+must bring grief to her; but she forgave him promptly and loved him as
+before.
+
+Then all went well again for a time.
+
+Raniero's father-in-law, Jacopo, was a flax weaver. He had a large
+establishment, where much work was done. Raniero thought he had
+discovered that hemp was mixed with the flax in Jacopo's workshop, and
+he did not keep silent about it, but talked of it here and there in the
+city. At last Jacopo also heard this chatter, and tried at once to put a
+stop to it. He let several other flax weavers examine his yarn and
+cloth, and they found all of it to be of the very finest flax. Only in
+one pack, which was designed to be sold outside of Florence, was there
+any mixture. Then Jacopo said that the deception had been practised
+without his knowledge or consent, by some one among his journeymen. He
+apprehended at once that he would find it difficult to convince people
+of this. He had always been famed for honesty, and he felt very keenly
+that his honor had been smirched.
+
+Raniero, on the other hand, plumed himself upon having succeeded in
+exposing a fraud, and he bragged about it even in Francesca's hearing.
+
+She felt deeply grieved; at the same time she was as astonished as when
+he shot the bird. As she thought of this, she seemed suddenly to see her
+love before her; and it was like a great piece of shimmery gold cloth.
+She could see how big it was, and how it shimmered. But from one corner
+a piece had been cut away, so that it was not as big and as beautiful as
+it had been in the beginning.
+
+Still, it was as yet damaged so very little that she thought: "It will
+probably last as long as I live. It is so great that it can never come
+to an end."
+
+Again, there was a period during which she and Raniero were just as
+happy as they had been at first.
+
+Francesca had a brother named Taddeo. He had been in Venice on a
+business trip, and, while there, had purchased garments of silk and
+velvet. When he came home he paraded around in them. Now, in Florence it
+was not the custom to go about expensively clad, so there were many who
+made fun of him.
+
+One night Taddeo and Raniero were out in the wine shops. Taddeo was
+dressed in a green cloak with sable linings, and a violet jacket.
+Raniero tempted him to drink so much wine that he fell asleep, and then
+he took his cloak off him and hung it upon a scarecrow that was set up
+in a cabbage patch.
+
+When Francesca heard of this she was vexed again with Raniero. That
+moment she saw before her the big piece of gold cloth--which was her
+love--and she seemed to see how it diminished, as Raniero cut away piece
+after piece.
+
+After this, things were patched up between them for a time, but
+Francesca was no longer so happy as in former days, because she always
+feared that Raniero would commit some misdemeanor that would hurt her
+love.
+
+This was not long in coming, either, for Raniero could never be
+tranquil. He wished that people should always speak of him and praise
+his courage and daring.
+
+At that time the cathedral in Florence was much smaller than the present
+one, and there hung at the top of one of its towers a big, heavy shield,
+which had been placed there by one of Francesca's ancestors. It was the
+heaviest shield any man in Florence had been able to lift, and all the
+Uberti family were proud because it was one of their own who had climbed
+up in the tower and hung it there.
+
+But Raniero climbed up to the shield one day, hung it on his back, and
+came down with it.
+
+When Francesca heard of this for the first time she spoke to Raniero of
+what troubled her, and begged him not to humiliate her family in this
+way. Raniero, who had expected that she would commend him for his feat,
+became very angry. He retorted that he had long observed that she did
+not rejoice in his success, but thought only of her own kin. "It's
+something else I am thinking of," said Francesca, "and that is my love.
+I know not what will become of it if you keep on in this way."
+
+After this they frequently exchanged harsh words, for Raniero happened
+nearly always to do the very thing that was most distasteful to
+Francesca.
+
+There was a workman in Raniero's shop who was little and lame. This man
+had loved Francesca before she was married, and continued to love her
+even after her marriage. Raniero, who knew this, undertook to joke with
+him before all who sat at a table. It went so far that finally the man
+could no longer bear to be held up to ridicule in Francesca's hearing,
+so he rushed upon Raniero and wanted to fight with him. But Raniero only
+smiled derisively and kicked him aside. Then the poor fellow thought he
+did not care to live any longer, and went off and hanged himself.
+
+When this happened, Francesca and Raniero had been married about a year.
+Francesca thought continually that she saw her love before her as a
+shimmery piece of cloth, but on all sides large pieces were cut away, so
+that it was scarcely half as big as it had been in the beginning.
+
+She became very much alarmed when she saw this, and thought: "If I stay
+with Raniero another year, he will destroy my love. I shall become just
+as poor as I have hitherto been rich."
+
+Then she concluded to leave Raniero's house and go to live with her
+father, that the day might not come when she should hate Raniero as much
+as she now loved him.
+
+Jacopo degli Uberti was sitting at the loom with all his workmen busy
+around him when he saw her coming. He said that now the thing had come
+to pass which he had long expected, and bade her be welcome. Instantly
+he ordered all the people to leave off their work and arm themselves and
+close the house.
+
+Then Jacopo went over to Raniero. He met him in the workshop. "My
+daughter has this day returned to me and begged that she may live again
+under my roof," he said to his son-in-law. "And now I expect that you
+will not compel her to return to you, after the promise you have given
+me."
+
+Raniero did not seem to take this very seriously, but answered calmly:
+"Even if I had not given you my word, I would not demand the return of a
+woman who does not wish to be mine."
+
+He knew how much Francesca loved him, and said to himself: "She will be
+back with me before evening."
+
+Yet she did not appear either that day or the next.
+
+The third day Raniero went out and pursued a couple of robbers who had
+long disturbed the Florentine merchants. He succeeded in catching them,
+and took them captives to Florence.
+
+He remained quiet a couple of days, until he was positive that this feat
+was known throughout the city. But it did not turn out as he had
+expected--that it would bring Francesca back to him.
+
+Raniero had the greatest desire to appeal to the courts, to force her
+return to him, but he felt himself unable to do this because of his
+promise. It seemed impossible for him to live in the same city with a
+wife who had abandoned him, so he moved away from Florence.
+
+He first became a soldier, and very soon he made himself commander of a
+volunteer company. He was always in a fight, and served many masters.
+
+He won much renown as a warrior, as he had always said he would. He was
+made a knight by the Emperor, and was accounted a great man.
+
+Before he left Florence, he had made a vow at a sacred image of the
+Madonna in the Cathedral to present to the Blessed Virgin the best and
+rarest that he won in every battle. Before this image one always saw
+costly gifts, which were presented by Raniero.
+
+Raniero was aware that all his deeds were known in his native city. He
+marveled much that Francesca degli Uberti did not come back to him, when
+she knew all about his success.
+
+At that time sermons were preached to start the Crusades for the
+recovery of the Holy Sepulchre from the Saracens, and Raniero took the
+cross and departed for the Orient. He not only hoped to win castles and
+lands to rule over, but also to succeed in performing such brilliant
+feats that his wife would again be fond of him, and return to him.
+
+                                   II
+
+The night succeeding the day on which Jerusalem had been captured, there
+was great rejoicing in the Crusaders' camp, outside the city. In almost
+every tent they celebrated with drinking bouts, and noise and roystering
+were heard in every direction.
+
+Raniero di Raniero sat and drank with some comrades; and in his tent it
+was even more hilarious than elsewhere. The servants barely had time to
+fill the goblets before they were empty again.
+
+Raniero had the best of reasons for celebrating, because during the day
+he had won greater glory than ever before. In the morning, when the city
+was besieged, he had been the first to scale the walls after Godfrey of
+Boulogne; and in the evening he had been honored for his bravery in the
+presence of the whole corps.
+
+When the plunder and murder were ended, and the Crusaders in penitents'
+cloaks and with lighted candles marched into the Church of the Holy
+Sepulchre, it had been announced to Raniero by Godfrey that he should be
+the first who might light his candle from the sacred candles which burn
+before Christ's tomb. It appeared to Raniero that Godfrey wished in this
+manner to show that he considered him the bravest man in the whole
+corps; and he was very happy over the way in which he had been rewarded
+for his achievements.
+
+As the night wore on, Raniero and his guests were in the best of
+spirits; a fool and a couple of musicians who had wandered all over the
+camp and amused the people with their pranks, came into Raniero's tent,
+and the fool asked permission to narrate a comic story.
+
+Raniero knew that this particular fool was in great demand for his
+drollery, and he promised to listen to his narrative.
+
+"It happened once," said the fool, "that our Lord and Saint Peter sat a
+whole day upon the highest tower in Paradise Stronghold, and looked down
+upon the earth. They had so much to look at, that they scarcely found
+time to exchange a word. Our Lord kept perfectly still the whole time,
+but Saint Peter sometimes clapped his hands for joy, and again turned
+his head away in disgust. Sometimes he applauded and smiled, and anon he
+wept and commiserated. Finally, as it drew toward the close of day, and
+twilight sank down over Paradise, our Lord turned to Saint Peter and
+said that now he must surely be satisfied and content. 'What is it that
+I should be content with?' Saint Peter asked, in an impetuous tone.
+'Why,' said our Lord slowly, 'I thought that you would be pleased with
+what you have seen to-day.' But Saint Peter did not care to be
+conciliated. 'It is true,' said he, 'that for many years I have bemoaned
+the fact that Jerusalem should be in the power of unbelievers, but after
+all that has happened to-day, I think it might just as well have
+remained as it was.'"
+
+Raniero understood now that the fool spoke of what had taken place
+during the day. Both he and the other knights began to listen with
+greater interest than in the beginning.
+
+"When Saint Peter had said this," continued the fool, as he cast a
+furtive glance at the knights, "he leaned over the pinnacle of the tower
+and pointed toward the earth. He showed our Lord a city which lay upon a
+great solitary rock that shot up from a mountain valley. 'Do you see
+those mounds of corpses?' he said. 'And do you see the naked and
+wretched prisoners who moan in the night chill? And do you see all the
+smoking ruins of the conflagration?' It appeared as if our Lord did not
+wish to answer him, but Saint Peter went on with his lamentations. He
+said that he had certainly been vexed with that city many times, but he
+had not wished it so ill as that it should come to look like this. Then,
+at last, our Lord answered, and tried an objection: 'Still, you can not
+deny that the Christian knights have risked their lives with the utmost
+fearlessness,' said He."
+
+Then the fool was interrupted by bravos, but he made haste to continue.
+
+"Oh, don't interrupt me!" he said. "Now I don't remember where I left
+off--ah! to be sure, I was just going to say that Saint Peter wiped away
+a tear or two which sprang to his eyes and prevented him from seeing. 'I
+never would have thought they could be such beasts,' said he. 'They have
+murdered and plundered the whole day. Why you went to all the trouble of
+letting yourself be crucified in order to gain such devotees, I can't in
+the least comprehend.'"
+
+The knights took up the fun good-naturedly. They began to laugh loud and
+merrily. "What, fool! Is Saint Peter so wroth with us?" shrieked one of
+them.
+
+"Be silent now, and let us hear if our Lord spoke in our defense!"
+interposed another.
+
+"No, our Lord was silent. He knew of old that when Saint Peter had once
+got a-going, it wasn't worth while to argue with him. He went on in his
+way, and said that our Lord needn't trouble to tell him that finally
+they remembered to which city they had come, and went to church
+barefooted and in penitents' garb. That spirit had, of course, not
+lasted long enough to be worth mentioning. And thereupon he leaned once
+more over the tower and pointed downward toward Jerusalem. He pointed
+out the Christians' camp outside the city. 'Do you see how your knights
+celebrate their victories?' he asked. And our Lord saw that there was
+revelry everywhere in the camp. Knights and soldiers sat and looked upon
+Syrian dancers. Filled goblets went the rounds while they threw dice for
+the spoils of war and----"
+
+"They listened to fools who told vile stories," interpolated Raniero.
+"Was not this also a great sin?"
+
+The fool laughed and shook his head at Raniero, as much as to say,
+"Wait! I will pay you back."
+
+"No, don't interrupt me!" he begged once again. "A poor fool forgets so
+easily what he would say. Ah! it was this: Saint Peter asked our Lord if
+He thought these people were much of a credit to Him. To this, of
+course, our Lord had to reply that He didn't think they were.
+
+"'They were robbers and murderers before they left home, and robbers and
+murderers they are even to-day. This undertaking you could just as well
+have left undone. No good will come of it,' said Saint Peter."
+
+"Come, come, fool!" said Raniero in a threatening tone. But the fool
+seemed to consider it an honor to test how far he could go without some
+one jumping up and throwing him out, and he continued fearlessly.
+
+"Our Lord only bowed His head, like one who acknowledges that he is
+being justly rebuked. But almost at the same instant He leaned forward
+eagerly and peered down with closer scrutiny than before. Saint Peter
+also glanced down. 'What are you looking for?' he wondered."
+
+The fool delivered this speech with much animated facial play. All the
+knights saw our Lord and Saint Peter before their eyes, and they
+wondered what it was our Lord had caught sight of.
+
+"Our Lord answered that it was nothing in particular," said the fool.
+"Saint Peter gazed in the direction of our Lord's glance, but he could
+discover nothing except that our Lord sat and looked down into a big
+tent, outside of which a couple of Saracen heads were set up on long
+lances, and where a lot of fine rugs, golden vessels, and costly
+weapons, captured in the Holy City, were piled up. In that tent they
+carried on as they did everywhere else in the camp. A company of knights
+sat and emptied their goblets. The only difference might be that here
+there were more drinking and roystering than elsewhere. Saint Peter
+could not comprehend why our Lord was so pleased when He looked down
+there, that His eyes fairly sparkled with delight. So many hard and
+cruel faces he had rarely before seen gathered around a drinking table.
+And he who was host at the board and sat at the head of the table was
+the most dreadful of all. He was a man of thirty-five, frightfully big
+and coarse, with a blowsy countenance covered with scars and scratches,
+calloused hands, and a loud, bellowing voice."
+
+Here the fool paused a moment, as if he feared to go on, but both
+Raniero and the others liked to hear him talk of themselves, and only
+laughed at his audacity. "You're a daring fellow," said Raniero, "so let
+us see what you are driving at!"
+
+"Finally, our Lord said a few words," continued the fool, "which made
+Saint Peter understand what He rejoiced over. He asked Saint Peter if He
+saw wrongly, or if it could actually be true that one of the knights had
+a burning candle beside him."
+
+Raniero gave a start at these words. Now, at last, he was angry with the
+fool, and reached out his hand for a heavy wine pitcher to throw at his
+face, but he controlled himself that he might hear whether the fellow
+wished to speak to his credit or discredit.
+
+"Saint Peter saw now," narrated the fool, "that, although the tent was
+lighted mostly by torches, one of the knights really had a burning wax
+candle beside him. It was a long, thick candle, one of the sort made to
+burn twenty-four hours. The knight, who had no candlestick to set it in,
+had gathered together some stones and piled them around it, to make it
+stand."
+
+The company burst into shrieks of laughter at this. All pointed at a
+candle which stood on the table beside Raniero, and was exactly like the
+one the fool had described. The blood mounted to Raniero's head; for
+this was the candle which he had a few hours before been permitted to
+light at the Holy Sepulchre. He had been unable to make up his mind to
+let it die out.
+
+"When Saint Peter saw that candle," said the fool, "it dawned upon him
+what it was that our Lord was so happy over, but at the same time he
+could not help feeling just a little sorry for Him. 'Oh,' he said, 'it
+was the same knight that leaped upon the wall this morning immediately
+after the gentleman of Boulogne, and who this evening was permitted to
+light his candle at the Holy Sepulchre ahead of all the others. 'True!'
+said our Lord. 'And, as you see, his candle is still burning.'"
+
+The fool talked very fast now, casting an occasional sly glance at
+Raniero. "Saint Peter could not help pitying our Lord. 'Can't you
+understand why he keeps that candle burning?' said he. 'You must believe
+that he thinks of your sufferings and death whenever he looks at it. But
+he thinks only of the glory which he won when he was acknowledged to be
+the bravest man in the troop after Godfrey.'"
+
+At this all Raniero's guests laughed. Raniero was very angry, but he,
+too, forced himself to laugh. He knew they would have found it still
+more amusing if he hadn't been able to take a little fun.
+
+"But our Lord contradicted Saint Peter," said the fool. "'Don't you see
+how careful he is with the light?' asked He. 'He puts his hand before
+the flame as soon as any one raises the tent-flap, for fear the draught
+will blow it out. And he is constantly occupied in chasing away the
+moths which fly around it and threaten to extinguish it.'"
+
+The laughter grew merrier and merrier, for what the fool said was the
+truth. Raniero found it more and more difficult to control himself. He
+felt he could not endure that any one should jest about the sacred
+candle.
+
+"Still, Saint Peter was dubious," continued the fool. "He asked our Lord
+if He knew that knight. 'He's not one who goes often to Mass or wears
+out the prie-dieu,' said he. But our Lord could not be swerved from His
+opinion.
+
+"'Saint Peter, Saint Peter,' He said earnestly. 'Remember that
+henceforth this knight shall become more pious than Godfrey. Whence do
+piety and gentleness spring, if not from my sepulchre? You shall see
+Raniero di Raniero help widows and distressed prisoners. You shall see
+him care for the sick and despairing as he now cares for the sacred
+candle flame.'"
+
+At this they laughed inordinately. It struck them all as very ludicrous,
+for they knew Raniero's disposition and mode of living. But he himself
+found both the jokes and laughter intolerable. He sprang to his feet and
+wanted to reprove the fool. As he did this, he bumped so hard against
+the table--which was only a door set up on loose boxes--that it wabbled,
+and the candle fell down. It was evident now how careful Raniero was to
+keep the candle burning. He controlled his anger and gave himself time
+to pick it up and brighten the flame, before he rushed upon the fool.
+But when he had trimmed the light the fool had already darted out of the
+tent, and Raniero knew it would be useless to pursue him in the
+darkness. "I shall probably run across him another time," he thought,
+and sat down.
+
+Meanwhile the guests had laughed mockingly, and one of them turned to
+Raniero and wanted to continue the jesting. He said: "There is one
+thing, however, which is certain, Raniero, and that is--this time you
+can't send to the Madonna in Florence the most precious thing you have
+won in the battle."
+
+Raniero asked why he thought that he should not follow his old habit
+this time.
+
+"For no other reason," said the knight, "than that the most precious
+thing you have won is that sacred candle flame, which you were permitted
+to light at the church of the Holy Sepulchre in presence of the whole
+corps. Surely you can't send that to Florence!"
+
+Again the other knights laughed, but Raniero was now in the mood to
+undertake the wildest projects, just to put an end to their laughter. He
+came to a conclusion quickly, called to an old squire, and said to him:
+"Make ready, Giovanni, for a long journey. To-morrow you shall travel to
+Florence with this sacred candle flame."
+
+But the squire said a blunt no to this command. "This is something which
+I don't care to undertake," he said. "How should it be possible to
+travel to Florence with a candle flame? It would be extinguished before
+I had left the camp."
+
+Raniero asked one after another of his men. He received the same reply
+from all. They scarcely seemed to take his command seriously.
+
+It was a foregone conclusion that the foreign knights who were his
+guests should laugh even louder and more merrily, as it became apparent
+that none of Raniero's men wished to carry out his order.
+
+Raniero grew more and more excited. Finally he lost his patience and
+shouted: "This candle flame shall nevertheless be borne to Florence; and
+since no one else will ride there with it, I will do so myself!"
+
+"Consider before you promise anything of the kind!" said a knight. "You
+ride away from a principality."
+
+"I swear to you that I will carry this sacred flame to Florence!"
+exclaimed Raniero. "I shall do what no one else has cared to undertake."
+
+The old squire defended himself. "Master, it's another matter for you.
+You can take with you a large retinue but me you would send alone."
+
+But Raniero was clean out of himself, and did not consider his words.
+"I, too, shall travel alone," said he.
+
+But with this declaration Raniero had carried his point. Every one in
+the tent had ceased laughing. Terrified, they sat and stared at him.
+
+"Why don't you laugh any more?" asked Raniero. "This undertaking surely
+can't be anything but a child's game for a brave man."
+
+                                  III
+
+The next morning at dawn Raniero mounted his horse. He was in full
+armor, but over it he had thrown a coarse pilgrim cloak, so that the
+iron dress should not become overheated by exposure to the sun's rays.
+He was armed with a sword and battle-club, and rode a good horse. He
+held in his hand a burning candle, and to the saddle he had tied a
+couple of bundles of long wax candles, so the flame should not die out
+for lack of nourishment.
+
+Raniero rode slowly through the long, encumbered tent street, and thus
+far all went well. It was still so early that the mists which had arisen
+from the deep dales surrounding Jerusalem were not dispersed, and
+Raniero rode forward as in a white night. The whole troop slept, and
+Raniero passed the guards easily. None of them called out his name, for
+the mist prevented their seeing him, and the roads were covered with a
+dust-like soil a foot high, which made the horse's tramp inaudible.
+
+Raniero was soon outside the camp and started on the road which led to
+Joppa. Here it was smoother, but he rode very slowly now, because of the
+candle, which burned feebly in the thick mist. Big insects kept dashing
+against the flame. Raniero had all he could do guarding it, but he was
+in the best of spirits and thought all the while that the mission which
+he had undertaken was so easy that a child could manage it.
+
+Meanwhile, the horse grew weary of the slow pace, and began to trot. The
+flame began to flicker in the wind. It didn't help that Raniero tried to
+shield it with his hand and with the cloak. He saw that it was about to
+be extinguished.
+
+But he had no desire to abandon the project so soon. He stopped the
+horse, sat still a moment, and pondered. Then he dismounted and tried
+sitting backwards, so that his body shielded the flame from the wind. In
+this way he succeeded in keeping it burning; but he realized now that
+the journey would be more difficult than he had thought at the
+beginning.
+
+When he had passed the mountains which surround Jerusalem, the fog
+lifted. He rode forward now in the greatest solitude. There were no
+people, houses, green trees, nor plants--only bare rocks.
+
+Here Raniero was attacked by robbers. They were idle folk, who followed
+the camp without permission, and lived by theft and plunder. They had
+lain in hiding behind a hill, and Raniero--who rode backwards--had not
+seen them until they had surrounded him and brandished their swords at
+him.
+
+There were about twelve men. They looked wretched, and rode poor horses.
+Raniero saw at once that it would not be difficult for him to break
+through this company and ride on. And after his proud boast of the night
+before, he was unwilling to abandon his undertaking easily.
+
+He saw no other means of escape than to compromise with the robbers. He
+told them that, since he was armed and rode a good horse, it might be
+difficult to overpower him if he defended himself. And as he was bound
+by a vow, he did not wish to offer resistance, but they could take
+whatever they wanted, without a struggle, if only they promised not to
+put out his light.
+
+The robbers had expected a hard struggle, and were very happy over
+Raniero's proposal, and began immediately to plunder him. They took from
+him armor and steed, weapons and money. The only thing they let him keep
+was the coarse cloak and the two bundles of wax candles. They sacredly
+kept their promise, also, not to put out the candle flame.
+
+One of them mounted Raniero's horse. When he noticed what a fine animal
+he was, he felt a little sorry for the rider. He called out to him:
+"Come, come, we must not be too cruel toward a Christian. You shall have
+my old horse to ride."
+
+It was a miserable old screw of a horse. It moved as stiffly, and with
+as much difficulty, as if it were made of wood.
+
+When the robbers had gone at last, and Raniero had mounted the wretched
+horse, he said to himself: "I must have become bewitched by this candle
+flame. For its sake I must now travel along the roads like a crazy
+beggar."
+
+He knew it would be wise for him to turn back, because the undertaking
+was really impracticable. But such an intense yearning to accomplish it
+had come over him that he could not resist the desire to go on.
+Therefore, he went farther. He saw all around him the same bare,
+yellowish hills.
+
+After a while he came across a goatherd, who tended four goats. When
+Raniero saw the animals grazing on the barren ground, he wondered if
+they ate earth.
+
+This goatherd had owned a larger flock, which had been stolen from him
+by the Crusaders. When he noticed a solitary Christian come riding
+toward him, he tried to do him all the harm he could. He rushed up to
+him and struck at his light with his staff. Raniero was so taken up by
+the flame that he could not defend himself even against a goatherd. He
+only drew the candle close to him to protect it. The goatherd struck at
+it several times more, then he paused, astonished, and ceased striking.
+He noticed that Raniero's cloak had caught fire, but Raniero did nothing
+to smother the blaze, so long as the sacred flame was in danger. The
+goatherd looked as though he felt ashamed. For a long time he followed
+Raniero, and in one place, where the road was very narrow, with a deep
+chasm on each side of it, he came up and led the horse for him.
+
+Raniero smiled and thought the goatherd surely regarded him as a holy
+man who had undertaken a voluntary penance.
+
+Toward evening Raniero began to meet people. Rumors of the fall of
+Jerusalem had already spread to the coast, and a throng of people had
+immediately prepared to go up there. There were pilgrims who for years
+had awaited an opportunity to get into Jerusalem, also some
+newly-arrived troops; but they were mostly merchants who were hastening
+with provisions.
+
+When these throngs met Raniero, who came riding backwards with a burning
+candle in his hand, they cried: "A madman, a madman!"
+
+The majority were Italians; and Raniero heard how they shouted in his
+own tongue, "Pazzo, pazzo!" which means "a madman, a madman."
+
+Raniero, who had been able to keep himself well in check all day, became
+intensely irritated by these ever-recurring shouts. Instantly he
+dismounted and began to chastise the offenders with his hard fists. When
+they saw how heavy the blows were, they took to their heels, and Raniero
+soon stood alone on the road.
+
+Now Raniero was himself again. "In truth they were right to call me a
+madman," he said, as he looked around for the light. He did not know
+what he had done with it. At last he saw that it had rolled down into a
+hollow. The flame was extinguished, but he saw fire gleam from a dry
+grass-tuft close beside it, and understood that luck was with him, for
+the flame had ignited the grass before it had gone out.
+
+"This might have been an inglorious end of a deal of trouble," he
+thought, as he lit the candle and stepped into the saddle. He was rather
+mortified. It did not seem to him very probable that his journey would
+be a success.
+
+In the evening Raniero reached Ramle, and rode up to a place where
+caravans usually had night harbor. It was a large covered yard. All
+around it were little stalls where travelers could put up their horses.
+There were no rooms, but folk could sleep beside the animals.
+
+The place was overcrowded with people, yet the host found room for
+Raniero and his horse. He also gave fodder to the horse and food to the
+rider.
+
+When Raniero perceived that he was well treated, he thought: "I almost
+believe the robbers did me a service when they took from me my armor and
+my horse. I shall certainly get out of the country more easily with my
+light burden, if they mistake me for a lunatic."
+
+When he had led the horse into the stall, he sat down on a sheaf of
+straw and held the candle in his hands. It was his intention not to fall
+asleep, but to remain awake all night.
+
+But he had hardly seated himself when he fell asleep. He was fearfully
+exhausted, and in his sleep he stretched out full length and did not
+wake till morning.
+
+When he awoke he saw neither flame nor candle. He searched in the straw
+for the candle, but did not find it anywhere.
+
+"Some one has taken it from me and extinguished it," he said. He tried
+to persuade himself that he was glad that all was over, and that he need
+not pursue an impossible undertaking.
+
+But as he pondered, he felt a sense of emptiness and loss. He thought
+that never before had he so longed to succeed in anything on which he
+had set his mind.
+
+He led the horse out and groomed and saddled it.
+
+When he was ready to set out, the host who owned the caravansary came up
+to him with a burning candle. He said in Frankish: "When you fell asleep
+last night, I had to take your light from you, but here you have it
+again."
+
+Raniero betrayed nothing, but said very calmly: "It was wise of you to
+extinguish it."
+
+"I have not extinguished it," said the man. "I noticed that it was
+burning when you arrived, and I thought it was of importance to you that
+it should continue to burn. If you see how much it has decreased, you
+will understand that it has been burning all night."
+
+Raniero beamed with happiness. He commended the host heartily, and rode
+away in the best of spirits.
+
+                                   IV
+
+When Raniero broke away from the camp at Jerusalem, he intended to
+travel from Joppa to Italy by sea, but changed his mind after he had
+been robbed of his money, and concluded to make the journey by land.
+
+It was a long journey. From Joppa he went northward along the Syrian
+coast. Then he rode westward along the peninsula of Asia Minor, then
+northward again, all the way to Constantinople. From there he still had
+a monotonously long distance to travel to reach Florence. During the
+whole journey Raniero had lived upon the contributions of the pious.
+They that shared their bread with him mostly were pilgrims who at this
+time traveled _en masse_ to Jerusalem.
+
+Regardless of the fact that he nearly always rode alone, his days were
+neither long nor monotonous. He must always guard the candle flame, and
+on its account he never could feel at ease. It needed only a puff of
+breeze--a rain-drop--and there would have been an end to it.
+
+As Raniero rode over lonely roads, and thought only about keeping the
+flame alive, it occurred to him that once before he had been concerned
+with something similar. Once before he had seen a person watch over
+something which was just as sensitive as a candle flame.
+
+This recollection was so vague to him at first that he wondered if it
+was something he had dreamed.
+
+But as he rode on alone through the country, it kept recurring to him
+that he had participated in something similar once before.
+
+"It is as if all my life long I had heard tell of nothing else," said
+he.
+
+One evening he rode into a city. It was after sundown, and the
+housewives stood in their doorways and watched for their husbands. Then
+he noticed one who was tall and slender, and had earnest eyes. She
+reminded him of Francesca degli Uberti.
+
+Instantly it became clear to him what he had been pondering over. It
+came to him that for Francesca her love must have been as a sacred flame
+which she had always wished to keep burning, and which she had
+constantly feared that Raniero would quench. He was astonished at this
+thought, but grew more and more certain that the matter stood thus. For
+the first time he began to understand why Francesca had left him, and
+that it was not with feats of arms he should win her back.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+The journey which Raniero made was of long duration. This was in part
+due to the fact that he could not venture out when the weather was bad.
+Then he sat in some caravansary, and guarded the candle flame. These
+were very trying days.
+
+One day, when he rode over Mount Lebanon, he saw that a storm was
+brewing. He was riding high up among awful precipices, and a frightful
+distance from any human abode. Finally he saw on the summit of a rock
+the tomb of a Saracen saint. It was a little square stone structure with
+a vaulted roof. He thought it best to seek shelter there.
+
+He had barely entered when a snowstorm came up, which raged for two days
+and nights. At the same time it grew so cold that he came near freezing
+to death.
+
+Raniero knew that there were heaps of branches and twigs out on the
+mountain, and it would not have been difficult for him to gather fuel
+for a fire. But he considered the candle flame which he carried very
+sacred, and did not wish to light anything from it, except the candles
+before the Blessed Virgin's Altar.
+
+The storm increased, and at last he heard thunder and saw gleams of
+lightning.
+
+Then came a flash which struck the mountain, just in front of the tomb,
+and set fire to a tree. And in this way he was enabled to light his fire
+without having to borrow of the sacred flame.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+As Raniero was riding on through a desolate portion of the Cilician
+mountain district, his candles were all used up. The candles which he
+had brought with him from Jerusalem had long since been consumed; but
+still he had been able to manage because he had found Christian
+communities all along the way, of whom he had begged fresh candles.
+
+But now his resources were exhausted, and he thought that this would be
+the end of his journey.
+
+When the candle was so nearly burned out that the flame scorched his
+hand, he jumped from his horse and gathered branches and dry leaves and
+lit these with the last of the flame. But up on the mountain there was
+very little that would ignite, and the fire would soon burn out.
+
+While he sat and grieved because the sacred flame must die, he heard
+singing down the road, and a procession of pilgrims came marching up the
+steep path, bearing candles in their hands. They were on their way to a
+grotto where a holy man had lived, and Raniero followed them. Among them
+was a woman who was very old and had difficulty in walking, and Raniero
+carried her up the mountain.
+
+When she thanked him afterwards, he made a sign to her that she should
+give him her candle. She did so, and several others also presented him
+with the candles which they carried. He extinguished the candles,
+hurried down the steep path, and lit one of them with the last spark
+from the fire lighted by the sacred flame.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+One day at the noon hour it was very warm, and Raniero had lain down to
+sleep in a thicket. He slept soundly, and the candle stood beside him
+between a couple of stones. When he had been asleep a while, it began to
+rain, and this continued for some time, without his waking. When at last
+he was startled out of his sleep, the ground around him was wet, and he
+hardly dared glance toward the light, for fear it might be quenched.
+
+But the light burned calmly and steadily in the rain, and Raniero saw
+that this was because two little birds flew and fluttered just above the
+flame. They caressed it with their bills, and held their wings
+outspread, and in this way they protected the sacred flame from the
+rain.
+
+He took off his hood immediately, and hung it over the candle. Thereupon
+he reached out his hand for the two little birds, for he had been seized
+with a desire to pet them. Neither of them flew away because of him, and
+he could catch them.
+
+He was very much astonished that the birds were not afraid of him. "It
+is because they know I have no thought except to protect that which is
+the most sensitive of all, that they do not fear me," thought he.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Raniero rode in the vicinity of Nic�a, in Bithynia. Here he met some
+western gentlemen who were conducting a party of recruits to the Holy
+Land. In this company was Robert Taillefer, who was a wandering knight
+and a troubadour.
+
+Raniero, in his torn cloak, came riding along with the candle in his
+hand, and the warriors began as usual to shout, "A madman, a madman!"
+But Robert silenced them, and addressed the rider.
+
+"Have you journeyed far in this manner?" he asked.
+
+"I have ridden like this all the way from Jerusalem," answered Raniero.
+
+"Has your light been extinguished many times during the journey?"
+
+"Still burns the flame that lighted the candle with which I rode away
+from Jerusalem," responded Raniero.
+
+Then Robert Taillefer said to him: "I am also one of those who carry a
+light, and I would that it burned always. But perchance you, who have
+brought your light burning all the way from Jerusalem, can tell me what
+I shall do that it may not become extinguished?"
+
+Then Raniero answered: "Master, it is a difficult task, although it
+appears to be of slight importance. This little flame demands of you
+that you shall entirely cease to think of anything else. It will not
+allow you to have any sweet-heart--in case you should desire anything of
+the sort--neither would you dare on account of this flame to sit down at
+a revel. You can not have aught else in your thoughts than just this
+flame, and must possess no other happiness. But my chief reason for
+advising you against making the journey which I have weathered is that
+you can not for an instant feel secure. It matters not through how many
+perils you may have guarded the flame, you can not for an instant think
+yourself secure, but must ever expect that the very next moment it may
+fail you."
+
+But Robert Taillefer raised his head proudly and answered: "What you
+have done for your sacred flame I may do for mine."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Raniero arrived in Italy. One day he rode through lonely roads up among
+the mountains. A woman came running after him and begged him to give her
+a light from his candle. "The fire in my hut is out," said she. "My
+children are hungry. Give me a light that I may heat my oven and bake
+bread for them!"
+
+She reached for the burning candle, but Raniero held it back because he
+did not wish that anything should be lighted by that flame but the
+candles before the image of the Blessed Virgin.
+
+Then the woman said to him: "Pilgrim, give me a light, for the life of
+my children is the flame which I am in duty bound to keep burning!" And
+because of these words he permitted her to light the wick of her lamp
+from his flame.
+
+Several hours later he rode into a town. It lay far up on the mountain,
+where it was very cold. A peasant stood in the road and saw the poor
+wretch who came riding in his torn cloak. Instantly he stripped off the
+short mantle which he wore, and flung it to him. But the mantle fell
+directly over the candle and extinguished the flame.
+
+Then Raniero remembered the woman who had borrowed a light of him. He
+turned back to her and had his candle lighted anew with sacred fire.
+
+When he was ready to ride farther, he said to her: "You say that the
+sacred flame which you must guard is the life of your children. Can you
+tell me what name this candle's flame bears, which I have carried over
+long roads?"
+
+"Where was your candle lighted?" asked the woman.
+
+"It was lighted at Christ's sepulchre," said Raniero.
+
+"Then it can only be called Gentleness and Love of Humanity," said she.
+
+Raniero laughed at the answer. He thought himself a singular apostle of
+virtues such as these.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Raniero rode forward between beautiful blue hills. He saw he was near
+Florence. He was thinking that he must soon part with his light. He
+thought of his tent in Jerusalem, which he had left filled with
+trophies, and the brave soldiers who were still in Palestine, and who
+would be glad to have him take up the business of war once more, and
+bear them on to new conquests and honors.
+
+Then he perceived that he experienced no pleasure in thinking of this,
+but that his thoughts were drawn in another direction.
+
+Then he realized for the first time that he was no longer the same man
+that had gone from Jerusalem. The ride with the sacred flame had
+compelled him to rejoice with all who were peaceable and wise and
+compassionate, and to abhor the savage and warlike.
+
+He was happy every time he thought of people who labored peacefully in
+their homes, and it occurred to him that he would willingly move into
+his old workshop in Florence and do beautiful and artistic work.
+
+"Verily this flame has recreated me," he thought. "I believe it has made
+a new man of me."
+
+                                   V
+
+It was Eastertide when Raniero rode into Florence.
+
+He had scarcely come in through the city gate--riding backwards, with
+his hood drawn down over his face and the burning candle in his
+hand--when a beggar arose and shouted the customary "Pazzo, pazzo!"
+
+At this cry a street gamin darted out of a doorway, and a loafer, who
+had had nothing else to do for a long time than to lie and gaze at the
+clouds, jumped to his feet. Both began shouting the same thing: "Pazzo,
+pazzo!"
+
+Now that there were three who shrieked, they made a good deal of noise
+and so woke up all the street urchins. They came rushing out from nooks
+and corners. As soon as they saw Raniero, in his torn coat, on the
+wretched horse, they shouted: "Pazzo, pazzo!"
+
+But this was only what Raniero was accustomed to. He rode quietly up the
+street, seeming: not to notice the shouters.
+
+Then they were not content with merely shouting, but one of them jumped
+up and tried to blow out the light. Raniero raised the candle on high,
+trying at the same time to prod his horse, to escape the boys.
+
+They kept even pace with him, and did everything they could to put out
+the light.
+
+The more he exerted himself to protect the flame the more excited they
+became. They leaped upon one another's backs, puffed their cheeks out,
+and blew. They flung their caps at the candle. It was only because they
+were so numerous and crowded on one another that they did not succeed in
+quenching the flame.
+
+This was the largest procession on the street. People stood at the
+windows and laughed. No one felt any sympathy with a madman, who wanted
+to defend his candle flame. It was church hour, and many worshipers were
+on their way to Mass. They, too, stopped and laughed at the sport.
+
+But now Raniero stood upright in the saddle, so that he could shield the
+candle. He looked wild. The hood had fallen back and they saw his face,
+which was wasted and pale, like a martyr's. The candle he held uplifted
+as high as he could.
+
+The entire street was one great swarm of people. Even the older ones
+began to take part in the play. The women waved their head-shawls and
+the men swung their caps. Every one worked to extinguish the light.
+
+Raniero rode under the vine-covered balcony of a house. Upon this stood
+a woman. She leaned over the lattice-work, snatched the candle, and ran
+in with it. The woman was Francesca degli Uberti.
+
+The whole populace burst into shrieks of laughter and shouts, but
+Raniero swayed in his saddle and fell to the street.
+
+As soon as he lay there stricken and unconscious, the street was emptied
+of people.
+
+No one wished to take charge of the fallen man. His horse was the only
+creature that stopped beside him.
+
+As soon as the crowds had got away from the street, Francesca degli
+Uberti came out from her house, with the burning candle in her hand. She
+was still pretty; her features were gentle, and her eyes were deep and
+earnest.
+
+She went up to Raniero and bent over him. He lay senseless, but the
+instant the candle light fell upon his face, he moved and roused
+himself. It was apparent that the candle flame had complete power over
+him. When Francesca saw that he had regained his senses, she said: "Here
+is your candle. I snatched it from you, as I saw how anxious you were to
+keep it burning. I knew of no other way to help you."
+
+Raniero had had a bad fall, and was hurt. But now nothing could hold him
+back. He began to raise himself slowly. He wanted to walk, but wavered,
+and was about to fall. Then he tried to mount his horse. Francesca
+helped him. "Where do you wish to go?" she asked when he sat in the
+saddle again. "I want to go to the cathedral," he answered. "Then I
+shall accompany you," she said, "for I'm going to Mass." And she led the
+horse for him.
+
+Francesca had recognized Raniero the very moment she saw him, but he did
+not see who she was, for he did not take time to notice her. He kept his
+gaze fixed upon the candle flame alone.
+
+They were absolutely silent all the way. Raniero thought only of the
+flame, and of guarding it well these last moments. Francesca could not
+speak, for she felt she did not wish to be certain of that which she
+feared. She could not believe but that Raniero had come home insane.
+Although she was almost certain of this, she would rather not speak with
+him, in order to avoid any positive assurance.
+
+After a while Raniero heard some one weep near him. He looked around and
+saw that it was Francesca degli Uberti, who walked beside him; and she
+wept. But Raniero saw her only for an instant, and said nothing to her.
+He wanted to think only of the sacred flame.
+
+Raniero let her conduct him to the sacristy. There he dismounted. He
+thanked Francesca for her help, but looked all the while not upon her,
+but on the light. He walked alone up to the priests in the sacristy.
+
+Francesca went into the church. It was Easter Eve, and all the candles
+stood unlighted upon the altars, as a symbol of mourning. Francesca
+thought that every flame of hope which had ever burned within her was
+now extinguished.
+
+In the church there was profound solemnity. There were many priests at
+the altar. The canons sat in a body in the chancel, with the bishop
+among them.
+
+By and by Francesca noticed there was commotion among the priests.
+Nearly all who were not needed to serve at Mass arose and went out into
+the sacristy. Finally the bishop went, too.
+
+When Mass was over, a priest stepped up to the chancel railing and began
+to speak to the people. He related that Raniero di Raniero had arrived
+in Florence with sacred fire from Jerusalem. He narrated what the rider
+had endured and suffered on the way. And he praised him exceeding much.
+
+The people sat spellbound and listened to this. Francesca had never
+before experienced such a blissful moment. "O God!" she sighed, "this is
+greater happiness than I can bear." Her tears fell as she listened.
+
+The priest talked long and well. Finally he said in a strong, thrilling
+voice: "It may perchance appear like a trivial thing now, that a candle
+flame has been brought to Florence. But I say to you: Pray God that He
+will send Florence many bearers of Eternal Light; then she will become a
+great power, and be extolled as a city among cities!"
+
+When the priest had finished speaking, the entrance doors of the church
+were thrown open, and a procession of canons and monks and priests
+marched up the center aisle toward the altar. The bishop came last, and
+by his side walked Raniero, in the same cloak that he had worn during
+the entire journey.
+
+But when Raniero had crossed the threshold of the cathedral, an old man
+arose and walked toward him. It was Oddo, the father of the journeyman
+who had once worked for Raniero, and had hanged himself because of him.
+
+When this man had come up to the bishop and Raniero, he bowed to them.
+Thereupon he said in such a loud voice that all in the church heard him:
+"It is a great thing for Florence that Raniero has come with sacred fire
+from Jerusalem. Such a thing has never before been heard of or
+conceived. For that reason perhaps there may be many who will say that
+it is not possible. Therefore, I beg that all the people may know what
+proofs and witnesses Raniero has brought with him, to assure us that
+this is actually fire which was lighted in Jerusalem."
+
+When Raniero heard this he said: "God help me! how can I produce
+witnesses? I have made the journey alone. Deserts and mountain wastes
+must come and testify for me."
+
+"Raniero is an honest knight," said the bishop, "and we believe him on
+his word."
+
+"Raniero must know himself that doubts will arise as to this," said
+Oddo. "Surely, he can not have ridden entirely alone. His little pages
+could certainly testify for him."
+
+Then Francesca degli Uberti rushed up to Raniero. "Why need we
+witnesses?" said she. "All the women in Florence would swear on oath
+that Raniero speaks the truth!"
+
+Then Raniero smiled, and his countenance brightened for a moment.
+Thereupon he turned his thoughts and his gaze once more upon the candle
+flame.
+
+There was great commotion in the church. Some said that Raniero should
+not be allowed to light the candles on the altar until his claim was
+substantiated. With this many of his old enemies sided.
+
+Then Jacopo degli Uberti rose and spoke in Raniero's behalf. "I believe
+every one here knows that no very great friendship has existed between
+my son-in-law and me," he said; "but now both my sons and I will answer
+for him. We believe he has performed this task, and we know that one who
+has been disposed to carry out such an undertaking is a wise, discreet,
+and noble-minded man, whom we are glad to receive among us."
+
+But Oddo and many others were not disposed to let him taste of the bliss
+he was yearning for. They got together in a close group and it was easy
+to see that they did not care to withdraw their demand.
+
+Raniero apprehended that if this should develop into a fight, they would
+immediately try to get at the candle. As he kept his eyes steadily fixed
+upon his opponents, he raised the candle as high as he could.
+
+He looked exhausted in the extreme, and distraught. One could see that,
+although he wished to hold out to the very last, he expected defeat.
+What mattered it to him now if he were permitted to light the candles?
+Oddo's word had been a death-blow. When doubt was once awakened, it
+would spread and increase. He fancied that Oddo had already extinguished
+the sacred flame forever.
+
+A little bird came fluttering through the great open doors into the
+church. It flew straight into Raniero's light. He hadn't time to snatch
+it aside, and the bird dashed against it and put out the flame.
+
+Raniero's arm dropped, and tears sprang to his eyes. The first moment he
+felt this as a sort of relief. It was better thus than if human beings
+had killed it.
+
+The little bird continued its flight into the church, fluttering
+confusedly hither and thither, as birds do when they come into a room.
+
+Simultaneously a loud cry resounded throughout the church: "The bird is
+on fire! The sacred candle flame has set its wings on fire!"
+
+The little bird chirped anxiously. For a few moments it fluttered about,
+like a flickering flame, under the high chancel arches. Then it sank
+suddenly and dropped dead upon the Madonna's Altar.
+
+But the moment the bird fell upon the Altar, Raniero was standing there.
+He had forced his way through the church, no one had been able to stop
+him. From the sparks which destroyed the bird's wings he lit the candles
+before the Madonna's Altar.
+
+Then the bishop raised his staff and proclaimed: "God willed it! God
+hath testified for him!"
+
+And all the people in the church, both his friends and opponents,
+abandoned their doubts and conjectures. They cried as with one voice,
+transported by God's miracle: "God willed it! God hath testified for
+him!"
+
+Of Raniero there is now only a legend, which says he enjoyed great good
+fortune for the remainder of his days, and was wise, and prudent, and
+compassionate. But the people of Florence always called him Pazzo degli
+Ranieri, in remembrance of the fact that they had believed him insane.
+And this became his honorary title. He founded a dynasty, which was
+named Pazzi, and is called so even to this day.
+
+It might also be worth mentioning that it became a custom in Florence,
+each year at Easter Eve, to celebrate a festival in memory of Raniero's
+home-coming with the sacred flame, and that, on this occasion, they
+always let an artificial bird fly with fire through the church. This
+festival would most likely have been celebrated even in our day had not
+some changes taken place recently.
+
+But if it be true, as many hold, that the bearers of sacred fire who
+have lived in Florence and have made the city one of the most glorious
+on earth, have taken Raniero as their model, and have thereby been
+encouraged to sacrifice, to suffer and endure, this may here be left
+untold.
+
+For what has been done by this light, which in dark times has gone out
+from Jerusalem, can neither be measured nor counted.
+
+                                THE END
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                 THE HOME BOOK OF VERSE FOR YOUNG FOLKS
+
+               Compiled by Burton E. Stevenson, Editor of
+                       "The Home Book of Verse."
+
+     With cover, and illustrations in color and black and white by
+          WILLY POGANY. Over 500 pages, large 12mo. $2.00 net.
+
+Not a rambling, hap-hazard collection but a vade-mecum for youth from
+the ages of six or seven to sixteen or seventeen. It opens with Nursery
+Rhymes and lullabies, progresses through child rhymes and jingles to
+more mature nonsense verse; then come fairy verses and Christmas poems;
+then nature verse and favorite rhymed stories; then through the trumpet
+and drum period (where an attempt is made to teach true patriotism) to
+the final appeal of "Life Lessons" and "A Garland of Gold" (the great
+poems for all ages).
+
+This arrangement secures sequence of sentiment and a sort of cumulative
+appeal. Nearly all the children's classics are included, and along with
+them a body of verse not so well known but almost equally deserving.
+There are many real "finds," most of which have never before appeared in
+any anthology.
+
+Mr. Stevenson has banished doleful and pessimistic verse, and has dwelt
+on hope, courage, cheerfulness and helpfulness. The book should serve,
+too, as an introduction to the greater poems, informing taste for them
+and appreciation of them, against the time when the boy or girl, grown
+into youth and maiden, is ready to swim out into the full current of
+English poetry.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                         PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                       LIFE-STORIES FOR THE YOUNG
+
+Dean Hodges' SAINTS AND HEROES: To the End of the Middle Ages.
+
+Illustrated. $1.35 net.
+
+Biographies of Cyprian, Athanasius, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Jerome,
+Augustine, Benedict, Gregory the Great, Columba, Charlemagne,
+Hildebrand, Anselm, Bernard, Becket, Langton, Dominic, Francis,
+Wycliffe, Hus, Savonarola.
+
+Each of these men was a great person in his time, and represented its
+best qualities. Their dramatic and adventurous experiences make the
+story of their lives interesting as well as inspiring and suggestive.
+
+Church history and doctrine are touched upon only as they develop in the
+biographies.
+
+  "Here is much important history told in a readable and attractive
+  manner, and from the standpoint which makes history most vivid and
+  most likely to remain fixed in memory, namely, the standpoint of the
+  individual actor."--Springfield Republican.
+
+Dean Hodges' SAINTS AND HEROES: Since the Middle Ages
+
+Illustrated. $1.35 net.
+
+The new volume includes biographies of Luther, More, Loyola, Cranmer,
+Calvin, Knox, Coligny, William the Silent, Laud, Cromwell, Fox, Wesley,
+Bunyan and Brewster.
+
+John Buchan's SIR WALTER RALEIGH
+
+With double-page pictures in color; cover linings. Square
+
+12mo. Price, $2.00 net.
+
+A life of Raleigh told in eleven chapters. Each chapter covers some
+important scene in his life and is told by some friend or follower as if
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+that they tell really happened.
+
+The narrative has spirit, color, and atmosphere, and is unusually well
+written.
+
+America figures largely in the story, and American boys will enjoy this
+book.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                   PUBLISHERS    VIII'12    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                        By CARROLL WATSON RANKIN
+
+                  ------------------------------------
+
+                           STORIES FOR GIRLS
+
+                            THE CINDER POND
+              Illustrated by Ada C. Williamson. $1.25 net.
+
+Years ago, a manufacturer built a great dock, jutting out from and then
+turning parallel to the shore of a northern Michigan town. The factory
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+life in the colony of squatters that came to live in the shanties on the
+dock, but fortune, heroism, and a mystery combine to change her fortunes
+and those of her friends near the Cinder Pond.
+
+                     THE CASTAWAYS OF PETE'S PATCH
+              Illustrated by Ada C. Williamson. $1.25 net.
+
+A tale of five girls and two youthful grown-ups who enjoyed
+unpremeditated camping.
+
+                           DANDELION COTTAGE
+             Illustrated by Mmes. Shinn and Finley. $1.50.
+
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+queer experiences.
+
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+  tell us about real little girls, with sensible ordinary parents,
+  girls who are neither phenomenal nor silly."--Outlook.
+
+                       THE ADOPTING OF ROSA MARIE
+   A sequel to "Dandelion Cottage." Illustrated by Mrs. Shinn. $1.50.
+
+The little girls who played at keeping house in the earlier book,
+enlarge their activities to the extent of playing mother to a little
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+
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+
+                        THE GIRLS OF GARDENVILLE
+               Illustrated by Mary Wellman. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+Interesting, amusing, and natural stories of a girls' club.
+
+  "Will captivate as many adults as if it were written for them....
+  The secret of Mrs. Rankin's charm is her naturalness ... real
+  girls ... not young ladies with 'pigtails,' but girls of sixteen
+  who are not twenty-five ... as original as amusing."--Boston Transcript.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                         PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                            BOOKS FOR GIRLS
+                          By BEULAH MARIE DIX
+
+                           BETTY-BIDE-AT-HOME
+              Illustrated by Faith Avery. 12mo. $1.25 net.
+
+A story of family life. Betty is just ready for college, her brother is
+studying medicine, her sister is almost able to make her own way in the
+world, when a sudden catastrophe compels Betty to choose between her own
+ambitions and her mother's happiness. Betty stays at home and learns
+many things, among them the fact that duty and success can be combined.
+The account of her literary ventures will help girls who want to write.
+
+Betty is a spirited, energetic, lovable girl. The style and atmosphere
+of the story are both better than is usually the case in girls' stories.
+
+                           FRIENDS IN THE END
+              Illustrated by Faith Avery. 12mo. $1.25 net.
+
+An out-of-door story for girls which tells how Dorothea Marden went,
+under protest, from the city to spend the summer at a farm in the New
+Hampshire mountains; how she met Jo Gifford from South Tuxboro, who had
+red hair, and knew she shouldn't like her, but did; how Dorothea and Jo,
+at the farm, fell out with the young folks close by at Camp Comfort; how
+they carried on the war, with varying success, and how they were sorry
+that they did so, and how they were glad in the end to make peace.
+
+"Will attract boys and girls equally and be good for both."--Outlook.
+
+"More than the usual plot and literary completeness."--Christian
+Register.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                   PUBLISHERS    VIII'12    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                        BY ALICE CALHOUN HAINES
+                For Young Folks from 9 to 16 Years old.
+
+                  ------------------------------------
+
+                           PARTNERS FOR FAIR
+             With illustrations by Faith Avery. $1.25 net.
+
+A story full of action, not untinged by pathos, of a boy and his
+faithful dog and their wanderings after the poorhouse burns down. They
+have interesting experiences with a traveling circus; the boy is thrown
+from a moving train, and has a lively time with the Mexican Insurrectos,
+from whom he is rescued by our troops.
+
+                     THE LUCK OF THE DUDLEY GRAHAMS
+           Illustrated by Francis Day. 300 pp., 12mo. $1.50.
+
+A family story of city life. Lightened by humor and an airship.
+
+  "Among the very best of books for young folks. Appeals especially
+  to girls."--Wisconsin List for Township Libraries.
+
+  "Promises to be perennially popular. A family of happy, healthy,
+  inventive, bright children make the best of restricted conditions and
+  prove themselves masters of circumstances."--Christian Register.
+
+  "Sparkles with cleverness and humor."--Brooklyn Eagle.
+
+                           COCK-A-DOODLE HILL
+           A sequel to the above. Illustrated by Francis Day.
+                         296 pp., 12mo. $1.50.
+
+"Cockle-a-doodle Hill" is where the Dudley Graham family went to live
+when they left New York, and here Ernie started her chicken-farm, with
+one solitary fowl, "Hennerietta." The pictures of country scenes and the
+adventures and experiences of this household of young people are very
+life-like.
+
+  "No better book for young people than 'The Luck of the Dudley
+  Grahams' was offered last year. 'Cock-a-Doodle Hill' is another
+  of similar qualities."--Philadelphia Press.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                  PUBLISHERS    (VIII'12)    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                   COMPANION STORIES OF COUNTRY LIFE
+                  FOR BOYS        By CHARLES P. BURTON
+
+                  ------------------------------------
+
+                         THE BOYS OF BOB'S HILL
+            Illustrated by George A. Williams. 12mo. $1.25.
+
+A lively story of a party of boys in a small New England town.
+
+  "A first-rate juvenile ... a real story for the live human boy--any
+  boy will read it eagerly to the end ... quite thrilling adventures."
+  --Chicago Record-Herald.
+
+  "Tom Sawyer would have been a worthy member of the Bob's Hill
+  crowd and shared their good times and thrilling adventures with
+  uncommon relish.... A jolly group of youngsters as nearly true to
+  the real thing in boy nature as one can ever expect to find between
+  covers."--Christian Register.
+
+                          THE BOB'S CAVE BOYS
+                  Illustrated by Victor Perard. $1.50.
+
+  "It would be hard to find anything better in the literature of New
+  England boy life. Healthy, red-blooded, human boys, full of fun,
+  into trouble and out again, but frank, honest, and clean."
+  --The Congregationalist.
+
+                         THE BOB'S HILL BRAVES
+                Illustrated by H. S. DeLay. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+The "Bob's Hill" band spend a vacation in Illinois, where they play at
+being Indians, hear thrilling tales of real Indians, and learn much
+frontier history. A history of especial interest to "Boy Scouts."
+
+  "Merry youngsters. Capital. Thrilling tales of the red men and
+  explorers. These healthy red-blooded, New England boys."
+  --Philadelphia Press.
+
+                      THE BOY SCOUTS OF BOB'S HILL
+             Illustrated by Gordon Grant. 12mo. $1.25 net.
+
+The "Bob's Hill" band organizes a Boy Scouts band and have many
+adventures. Mr. Burton brings in tales told around a camp-fire of La
+Salle, Joliet, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Northwestern Reservation.
+
+                            CAMP BOB'S HILL
+                Illustrated by Gordon Grant. $1.25 net.
+
+A tale of Boy Scouts on their summer vacation.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                         PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                    SHORT PLAYS ABOUT FAMOUS AUTHORS
+
+        (Goldsmith, Dickens, Heine, Fannie Burney, Shakespeare)
+
+                  By Maude Morrison Frank. $1.00 net.
+
+The Mistake at the Manor shows the fifteen-year-old Goldsmith in the
+midst of the humorous incident in his life which later formed the basis
+of "She Stoops to Conquer."
+
+A Christmas Eve With Charles Dickens reveals the author as a poor
+factory boy in a lodging-house, dreaming of an old-time family
+Christmas.
+
+When Heine was Twenty-one dramatizes the early disobedience of the
+author in writing poetry against his uncle's orders.
+
+Miss Burney at Court deals with an interesting incident in the life of
+the author of "Evelina" when she was at the Court of George III.
+
+The Fairies' Plea, which is an adaptation of Thomas Hood's poem, shows
+Shakespeare intervening to save the fairies from the scythe of Time.
+
+Designed in general for young people near enough to the college age to
+feel an interest in the personal and human aspects of literature, but
+the last two could easily be handled by younger actors. They can
+successfully be given by groups or societies of young people without the
+aid of a professional coach.
+
+                   LITTLE PLAYS FROM AMERICAN HISTORY
+                            FOR YOUNG FOLKS
+
+                 By Alice Johnstone Walker. $1.00 net.
+
+Hiding the Regicides, a number of brief and stirring episodes,
+concerning the pursuit of Colonels Whalley and Goff by the officers of
+Charles II at New Haven in old colony days.
+
+Mrs. Murray's Dinner Party, in three acts, is a lively comedy about a
+Patriot hostess and British Officers in Revolutionary Days.
+
+Scenes from Lincoln's Time; the martyred President does not himself
+appear. They cover Lincoln's helping a little girl with her trunk, women
+preparing lint for the wounded, a visit to the White House of an
+important delegation from New York, and of the mother of a soldier boy
+sentenced to death--and the coming of the army of liberation to the
+darkies.
+
+Tho big events are touched upon, the mounting of all these little plays
+is simplicity itself, and they have stood the test of frequent school
+performance.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                         Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Christ Legends, by Selma Lagerl�f
+
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+    <title>Christ Legends, by Selma Lagerlöf</title>
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+    <meta name='DC.Title' content='Christ Legends' />
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+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Christ Legends, by Selma Lagerlöf
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Christ Legends
+
+Author: Selma Lagerlöf
+
+Illustrator: Bertha Stuart
+
+Translator: Velma Swanston Howard
+
+Release Date: February 1, 2014 [EBook #44818]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRIST LEGENDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Shaun Pinder, Roger Frank and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a href='images/title-h.jpg'><img src='images/title.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='sc'>Copyright</span>, 1908,<br/>
+    <br/>
+    BY<br/>
+    <br/>
+    HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='c000' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <i>Published October, 1908</i><br/>
+    <br/>
+    THE QUINN &amp; BODEN CO. PRESS<br/>
+    RAHWAY, N. J.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>CONTENTS</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='container-center'><div class='container-left'>
+<table summary=''>
+<tr><td class='c001'>THE HOLY NIGHT</td><td class='c002'><a href='#story1'>1</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c001'>THE EMPEROR’S VISION</td><td class='c002'><a href='#story2'>13</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c001'>THE WISE MEN’S WELL</td><td class='c002'><a href='#story3'>25</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c001'>BETHLEHEM’S CHILDREN</td><td class='c002'><a href='#story4'>41</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c001'>THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT</td><td class='c002'><a href='#story5'>73</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c001'>IN NAZARETH</td><td class='c002'><a href='#story6'>85</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c001'>IN THE TEMPLE</td><td class='c002'><a href='#story7'>95</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c001'>SAINT VERONICA’S KERCHIEF</td><td class='c002'><a href='#story8'>119</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c001'>ROBIN REDBREAST</td><td class='c002'><a href='#story9'>191</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c001'>OUR LORD AND SAINT PETER</td><td class='c002'><a href='#story10'>203</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c001'>THE SACRED FLAME</td><td class='c002'><a href='#story11'>221</a></td></tr>
+</table>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a href='images/i_005_lg.jpg'><img src='images/i_005.jpg' alt='' class='ig002' /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<h2 id='story1' class='c003'>THE HOLY NIGHT</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c004'>When I was five years old I had such a
+great sorrow! I hardly know if I
+have had a greater since.</p>
+
+<p>It was then my grandmother died. Up
+to that time, she used to sit every day on the
+corner sofa in her room, and tell stories.</p>
+
+<p>I remember that grandmother told story after
+story from morning till night, and that we children
+sat beside her, quite still, and listened. It
+was a glorious life! No other children had
+such happy times as we did.</p>
+
+<p>It isn’t much that I recollect about my grandmother.
+I remember that she had very beautiful
+snow-white hair, and stooped when she
+walked, and that she always sat and knitted a
+stocking.</p>
+
+<p>And I even remember that when she had finished
+a story, she used to lay her hand on my
+head and say: “All this is as true, as true as
+that I see you and you see me.”</p>
+
+<p>I also remember that she could sing songs,
+but this she did not do every day. One of
+the songs was about a knight and a sea-troll,
+and had this refrain: “It blows cold, cold
+weather at sea.”</p>
+
+<p>Then I remember a little prayer she taught
+me, and a verse of a hymn.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the stories she told me, I have but a
+dim and imperfect recollection. Only one of
+them do I remember so well that I should be
+able to repeat it. It is a little story about
+Jesus’ birth.</p>
+
+<p>Well, this is nearly all that I can recall about
+my grandmother, except the thing which I remember
+best; and that is, the great loneliness
+when she was gone.</p>
+
+<p>I remember the morning when the corner
+sofa stood empty and when it was impossible
+to understand how the days would ever come
+to an end. That I remember. That I shall
+never forget!</p>
+
+<p>And I recollect that we children were brought
+forward to kiss the hand of the dead and that
+we were afraid to do it. But then some one
+said to us that it would be the last time we
+could thank grandmother for all the pleasure
+she had given us.</p>
+
+<p>And I remember how the stories and songs
+were driven from the homestead, shut up in a
+long black casket, and how they never came
+back again.</p>
+
+<p>I remember that something was gone from
+our lives. It seemed as if the door to a whole
+beautiful, enchanted world—where before we
+had been free to go in and out—had been
+closed. And now there was no one who knew
+how to open that door.</p>
+
+<p>And I remember that, little by little, we children
+learned to play with dolls and toys, and
+to live like other children. And then it seemed
+as though we no longer missed our grandmother,
+or remembered her.</p>
+
+<p>But even to-day—after forty years—as I sit
+here and gather together the legends about
+Christ, which I heard out there in the
+Orient, there awakes within me the little legend
+of Jesus’ birth that my grandmother
+used to tell, and I feel impelled to tell it
+once again, and to let it also be included in my
+collection.</p>
+
+<p>It was a Christmas Day and all the folks had
+driven to church except grandmother and I.
+I believe we were all alone in the house. We
+had not been permitted to go along, because one
+of us was too old and the other was too young.
+And we were sad, both of us, because we had
+not been taken to early mass to hear the singing
+and to see the Christmas candles.</p>
+
+<p>But as we sat there in our loneliness, grandmother
+began to tell a story.</p>
+
+<p>“There was a man,” said she, “who went
+out in the dark night to borrow live coals to
+kindle a fire. He went from hut to hut and
+knocked. ‘Dear friends, help me!’ said he.
+‘My wife has just given birth to a child, and I
+must make a fire to warm her and the little one.’</p>
+
+<p>“But it was way in the night, and all the
+people were asleep. No one replied.</p>
+
+<p>“The man walked and walked. At last he
+saw the gleam of a fire a long way off. Then
+he went in that direction, and saw that the fire
+was burning in the open. A lot of sheep were
+sleeping around the fire, and an old shepherd
+sat and watched over the flock.</p>
+
+<p>“When the man who wanted to borrow fire
+came up to the sheep, he saw that three big
+dogs lay asleep at the shepherd’s feet. All
+three awoke when the man approached and
+opened their great jaws, as though they wanted
+to bark; but not a sound was heard. The man
+noticed that the hair on their backs stood up
+and that their sharp, white teeth glistened in the
+firelight. They dashed toward him. He felt
+that one of them bit at his leg and one at his
+hand and that one clung to his throat. But their
+jaws and teeth wouldn’t obey them, and the man
+didn’t suffer the least harm.</p>
+
+<p>“Now the man wished to go farther, to get
+what he needed. But the sheep lay back to
+back and so close to one another that he couldn’t
+pass them. Then the man stepped upon their
+backs and walked over them and up to the fire.
+And not one of the animals awoke or moved.”</p>
+
+<p>Thus far, grandmother had been allowed to
+narrate without interruption. But at this point
+I couldn’t help breaking in. “Why didn’t they
+do it, grandma?” I asked.</p>
+
+<p>“That you shall hear in a moment,” said
+grandmother—and went on with her story.</p>
+
+<p>“When the man had almost reached the fire,
+the shepherd looked up. He was a surly old
+man, who was unfriendly and harsh toward human
+beings. And when he saw the strange man
+coming, he seized the long spiked staff, which
+he always held in his hand when he tended his
+flock, and threw it at him. The staff came right
+toward the man, but, before it reached him, it
+turned off to one side and whizzed past him,
+far out in the meadow.”</p>
+
+<p>When grandmother had got this far, I interrupted
+her again. “Grandma, why wouldn’t
+the stick hurt the man?” Grandmother did not
+bother about answering me, but continued her
+story.</p>
+
+<p>“Now the man came up to the shepherd and
+said to him: ‘Good man, help me, and lend me
+a little fire! My wife has just given birth to
+a child, and I must make a fire to warm her
+and the little one.’</p>
+
+<p>“The shepherd would rather have said no,
+but when he pondered that the dogs couldn’t
+hurt the man, and the sheep had not run from
+him, and that the staff had not wished to strike
+him, he was a little afraid, and dared not deny
+the man that which he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“‘Take as much as you need!’ he said to
+the man.</p>
+
+<p>“But then the fire was nearly burnt out.
+There were no logs or branches left, only a big
+heap of live coals; and the stranger had neither
+spade nor shovel, wherein he could carry the
+red-hot coals.</p>
+
+<p>“When the shepherd saw this, he said again:
+‘Take as much as you need!’ And he was glad
+that the man wouldn’t be able to take away any
+coals.</p>
+
+<p>“But the man stooped and picked coals from
+the ashes with his bare hands, and laid them in
+his mantle. And he didn’t burn his hands when
+he touched them, nor did the coals scorch his
+mantle; but he carried them away as if they
+had been nuts or apples.”</p>
+
+<p>But here the story-teller was interrupted for
+the third time. “Grandma, why wouldn’t the
+coals burn the man?”</p>
+
+<p>“That you shall hear,” said grandmother,
+and went on:</p>
+
+<p>“And when the shepherd, who was such a
+cruel and hard-hearted man, saw all this, he
+began to wonder to himself: ‘What kind of a
+night is this, when the dogs do not bite, the
+sheep are not scared, the staff does not kill, or
+the fire scorch?’ He called the stranger back,
+and said to him: ‘What kind of a night is this?
+And how does it happen that all things show
+you compassion?’</p>
+
+<p>“Then said the man: ‘I cannot tell you if
+you yourself do not see it.’ And he wished to
+go his way, that he might soon make a fire
+and warm his wife and child.</p>
+
+<p>“But the shepherd did not wish to lose sight
+of the man before he had found out what all
+this might portend. He got up and followed
+the man till they came to the place where he
+lived.</p>
+
+<p>“Then the shepherd saw that the man didn’t
+have so much as a hut to dwell in, but that his
+wife and babe were lying in a mountain grotto,
+where there was nothing except the cold and
+naked stone walls.</p>
+
+<p>“But the shepherd thought that perhaps the
+poor innocent child might freeze to death there
+in the grotto; and, although he was a hard man,
+he was touched, and thought he would like to
+help it. And he loosened his knapsack from
+his shoulder, took from it a soft white sheepskin,
+gave it to the strange man, and said that he
+should let the child sleep on it.</p>
+
+<p>“But just as soon as he showed that he, too,
+could be merciful, his eyes were opened, and he
+saw what he had not been able to see before
+and heard what he could not have heard before.</p>
+
+<p>“He saw that all around him stood a ring of
+little silver-winged angels, and each held a
+stringed instrument, and all sang in loud tones
+that to-night the Saviour was born who should
+redeem the world from its sins.</p>
+
+<p>“Then he understood how all things were so
+happy this night that they didn’t want to do
+anything wrong.</p>
+
+<p>“And it was not only around the shepherd
+that there were angels, but he saw them everywhere.
+They sat inside the grotto, they sat outside
+on the mountain, and they flew under the
+heavens. They came marching in great companies,
+and, as they passed, they paused and
+cast a glance at the child.</p>
+
+<p>“There were such jubilation and such gladness
+and songs and play! And all this he saw
+in the dark night, whereas before he could not
+have made out anything. He was so happy because
+his eyes had been opened that he fell upon
+his knees and thanked God.”</p>
+
+<p>Here grandmother sighed and said: “What
+that shepherd saw we might also see, for the
+angels fly down from heaven every Christmas
+Eve, if we could only see them.”</p>
+
+<p>Then grandmother laid her hand on my head,
+and said: “You must remember this, for it is
+as true, as true as that I see you and you see
+me. It is not revealed by the light of lamps
+or candles, and it does not depend upon sun and
+moon; but that which is needful is, that we have
+such eyes as can see God’s glory.”</p>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a href='images/i_017_lg.jpg'><img src='images/i_017.jpg' alt='' class='ig003' /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<h2 id='story2' class='c003'>THE EMPEROR’S VISION</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c004'>It happened at the time when Augustus was
+Emperor in Rome and Herod was King in
+Jerusalem.</p>
+
+<p>It was then that a very great and holy night
+sank down over the earth. It was the darkest
+night that any one had ever seen. One could
+have believed that the whole earth had fallen
+into a cellar-vault. It was impossible to distinguish
+water from land, and one could not find
+one’s way on the most familiar road. And
+it couldn’t be otherwise, for not a ray of light
+came from heaven. All the stars stayed at home
+in their own houses, and the fair moon held her
+face averted.</p>
+
+<p>The silence and the stillness were as profound
+as the darkness. The rivers stood still in their
+courses, the wind did not stir, and even the
+aspen leaves had ceased to quiver. Had any
+one walked along the seashore, he would have
+found that the waves no longer dashed upon
+the sands; and had one wandered in the desert,
+the sand would not have crunched under one’s
+feet. Everything was as motionless as if turned
+to stone, so as not to disturb the holy night.
+The grass was afraid to grow, the dew could
+not fall, and the flowers dared not exhale their
+perfume.</p>
+
+<p>On this night the wild beasts did not seek
+their prey, the serpents did not sting, and the
+dogs did not bark. And what was even more
+glorious, inanimate things would have been unwilling
+to disturb the night’s sanctity, by lending
+themselves to an evil deed. No false key could
+have picked a lock, and no knife could possibly
+have drawn a drop of blood.</p>
+
+<p>In Rome, during this very night, a small company
+of people came from the Emperor’s palace
+at the Palatine and took the path across the
+Forum which led to the Capitol. During the
+day just ended the Senators had asked the Emperor
+if he had any objections to their erecting
+a temple to him on Rome’s sacred hill. But
+Augustus had not immediately given his consent.
+He did not know if it would be agreeable to
+the gods that he should own a temple next to
+theirs, and he had replied that first he wished
+to ascertain their will in the matter by offering
+a nocturnal sacrifice to his genius. It was he
+who, accompanied by a few trusted friends, was
+on his way to perform this sacrifice.</p>
+
+<p>Augustus let them carry him in his litter, for
+he was old, and it was an effort for him to
+climb the long stairs leading to the Capitol. He
+himself held the cage with the doves for the
+sacrifice. No priests or soldiers or senators
+accompanied him, only his nearest friends.
+Torch-bearers walked in front of him in order
+to light the way in the night darkness and behind
+him followed the slaves, who carried the
+tripod, the knives, the charcoal, the sacred fire,
+and all the other things needed for the sacrifice.</p>
+
+<p>On the way the Emperor chatted gaily with
+his faithful followers, and therefore none of
+them noticed the infinite silence and stillness of
+the night. Only when they had reached the
+highest point of the Capitol Hill and the vacant
+spot upon which they contemplated erecting the
+temple, did it dawn upon them that something
+unusual was taking place.</p>
+
+<p>It could not be a night like all others, for
+up on the very edge of the cliff they saw the
+most remarkable being! At first they thought
+it was an old, distorted olive-trunk; later they
+imagined that an ancient stone figure from the
+temple of Jupiter had wandered out on the cliff.
+Finally it was apparent to them that it could
+be only the old sibyl.</p>
+
+<p>Anything so aged, so weather-beaten, and so
+giant-like in stature they had never seen. This
+old woman was awe-inspiring! If the Emperor
+had not been present, they would all have fled
+to their homes.</p>
+
+<p>“It is she,” they whispered to each other,
+“who has lived as many years as there are sand-grains
+on her native shores. Why has she come
+out from her cave just to-night? What does
+she foretell for the Emperor and the Empire—she,
+who writes her prophecies on the leaves of
+the trees and knows that the wind will carry
+the words of the oracle to the person for whom
+they are intended?”</p>
+
+<p>They were so terrified that they would have
+dropped on their knees with their foreheads
+pressed against the earth, had the sibyl stirred.
+But she sat as still as though she were lifeless.
+Crouching upon the outermost edge of the cliff,
+and shading her eyes with her hand, she peered
+out into the night. She sat there as if she had
+gone up on the hill that she might see more
+clearly something that was happening far away.
+<em>She</em> could see things on a night like this!</p>
+
+<p>At that moment the Emperor and all his
+retinue marked how profound the darkness was.
+None of them could see a hand’s breadth in
+front of him. And what stillness! What silence!
+Not even the Tiber’s hollow murmur
+could they hear. The air seemed to suffocate
+them, cold sweat broke out on their foreheads,
+and their hands were numb and powerless.
+They feared that some dreadful disaster was
+impending.</p>
+
+<p>But no one cared to show that he was afraid,
+and everyone told the Emperor that this was
+a good omen. All Nature held its breath to
+greet a new god.</p>
+
+<p>They counseled Augustus to hurry with the
+sacrifice, and said that the old sibyl had
+evidently come out of her cave to greet his
+genius.</p>
+
+<p>But the truth was that the old sibyl was so
+absorbed in a vision that she did not even know
+that Augustus had come up to the Capitol. She
+was transported in spirit to a far-distant land,
+where she imagined that she was wandering
+over a great plain. In the darkness she stubbed
+her foot continually against something, which
+she believed to be grass-tufts. She stooped down
+and felt with her hand. No, it was not grass,
+but sheep. She was walking between great
+sleeping flocks of sheep.</p>
+
+<p>Then she noticed the shepherds’ fire. It
+burned in the middle of the field, and she groped
+her way to it. The shepherds lay asleep by the
+fire, and beside them were the long, spiked
+staves with which they defended their flocks
+from wild beasts. But the little animals with
+the glittering eyes and the bushy tails that stole
+up to the fire, were they not jackals? And yet
+the shepherds did not fling their staves at them,
+the dogs continued to sleep, the sheep did not
+flee, and the wild animals lay down to rest beside
+the human beings.</p>
+
+<p>This the sibyl saw, but she knew nothing of
+what was being enacted on the hill back of her.
+She did not know that there they were raising
+an altar, lighting charcoal and strewing incense,
+and that the Emperor took one of the doves
+from the cage to sacrifice it. But his hands were
+so benumbed that he could not hold the bird.
+With one stroke of the wing, it freed itself and
+disappeared in the night darkness.</p>
+
+<p>When this happened, the courtiers glanced
+suspiciously at the old sibyl. They believed that
+it was she who caused the misfortune.</p>
+
+<p>Could they know that all the while the sibyl
+thought herself standing beside the shepherds’
+fire, and that she listened to a faint sound which
+came trembling through the dead-still night?
+She heard it long before she marked that it
+did not come from the earth, but from the sky.
+At last she raised her head; then she saw light,
+shimmering forms glide forward in the darkness.
+They were little flocks of angels, who,
+singing joyously, and apparently searching, flew
+back and forth above the wide plain.</p>
+
+<p>While the sibyl was listening to the angel-song,
+the Emperor was making preparations for
+a new sacrifice. He washed his hands, cleansed
+the altar, and took up the other dove. And,
+although he exerted his full strength to hold
+it fast, the dove’s slippery body slid from his
+hand, and the bird swung itself up into the
+impenetrable night.</p>
+
+<p>The Emperor was appalled! He fell upon
+his knees and prayed to his genius. He implored
+him for strength to avert the disasters
+which this night seemed to foreshadow.</p>
+
+<p>Nor did the sibyl hear any of this either. She
+was listening with her whole soul to the angel-song,
+which grew louder and louder. At last
+it became so powerful that it wakened the shepherds.
+They raised themselves on their elbows
+and saw shining hosts of silver-white angels
+move in the darkness in long, swaying lines, like
+migratory birds. Some held lutes and cymbals
+in their hands; others held zithers and harps,
+and their song rang out as merry as child-laughter,
+and as care-free as the lark’s trill.
+When the shepherds heard this, they rose up
+to go to the mountain city, where they lived, to
+tell of the miracle.</p>
+
+<p>They groped their way forward on a narrow,
+winding path, and the sibyl followed them. Suddenly
+it grew light up there on the mountain:
+a big, clear star kindled right over it, and the
+city on the mountain summit glittered like silver
+in the starlight. All the fluttering angel throngs
+hastened thither, shouting for joy, and the shepherds
+hurried so that they almost ran. When
+they reached the city, they found that the angels
+had assembled over a low stable near the city
+gate. It was a wretched structure, with a roof
+of straw and the naked cliff for a back wall.
+Over it hung the Star, and hither flocked more
+and more angels. Some seated themselves on
+the straw roof or alighted upon the steep mountain-wall
+back of the house; others, again, held
+themselves in the air on outspread wings, and
+hovered over it. High, high up, the air was
+illuminated by the shining wings.</p>
+
+<p>The instant the Star kindled over the mountain
+city, all Nature awoke, and the men who
+stood upon Capitol Hill could not help seeing
+it. They felt fresh, but caressing winds which
+traveled through space; delicious perfumes
+streamed up about them; trees swayed; the
+Tiber began to murmur; the stars twinkled, and
+suddenly the moon stood out in the sky and lit
+up the world. And out of the clouds the two
+doves came circling down and lighted upon the
+Emperor’s shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>When this miracle happened, Augustus rose,
+proud and happy, but his friends and his slaves
+fell on their knees.</p>
+
+<p>“Hail, Cæsar!” they cried. “Thy genius
+hath answered thee. Thou art the god who
+shall be worshiped on Capitol Hill!”</p>
+
+<p>And this cry of homage, which the men in
+their transport gave as a tribute to the Emperor,
+was so loud that the old sibyl heard it. It waked
+her from her visions. She rose from her place
+on the edge of the cliff, and came down among
+the people. It was as if a dark cloud had
+arisen from the abyss and rushed down the
+mountain height. She was terrifying in her
+extreme age! Coarse hair hung in matted
+tangles around her head, her joints were
+enlarged, and the dark skin, hard as the bark
+of a tree, covered her body with furrow upon
+furrow.</p>
+
+<p>Potent and awe-inspiring, she advanced toward
+the Emperor. With one hand she clutched
+his wrist, with the other she pointed toward
+the distant East.</p>
+
+<p>“Look!” she commanded, and the Emperor
+raised his eyes and saw. The vaulted heavens
+opened before his eyes, and his glance traveled
+to the distant Orient. He saw a lowly stable
+behind a steep rock wall, and in the open doorway
+a few shepherds kneeling. Within the
+stable he saw a young mother on her knees
+before a little child, who lay upon a bundle of
+straw on the floor.</p>
+
+<p>And the sibyl’s big, knotty fingers pointed toward
+the poor babe. “Hail, Cæsar!” cried the
+sibyl, in a burst of scornful laughter. “There
+is the god who shall be worshiped on Capitol
+Hill!”</p>
+
+<p>Then Augustus shrank back from her, as
+from a maniac. But upon the sibyl fell the
+mighty spirit of prophecy. Her dim eyes began
+to burn, her hands were stretched toward
+heaven, her voice was so changed that it seemed
+not to be her own, but rang out with such
+resonance and power that it could have been
+heard over the whole world. And she uttered
+words which she appeared to be reading among
+the stars.</p>
+
+<p>“Upon Capitol Hill shall the Redeemer of
+the world be worshiped,—<em>Christ</em>—but not
+frail mortals.”</p>
+
+<p>When she had said this, she strode past the
+terror-stricken men, walked slowly down the
+mountain, and disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>But, on the following day, Augustus strictly
+forbade the people to raise any temple to him
+on Capitol Hill. In place of it he built a sanctuary
+to the new-born God-Child, and called it
+<span class='sc'>Heaven’s Altar</span>—<em>Ara Cœli</em>.</p>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a href='images/i_029_lg.jpg'><img src='images/i_029.jpg' alt='' class='ig004' /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<h2 id='story3' class='c003'>THE WISE MEN’S WELL</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c004'>In old Judea the Drought crept, gaunt and
+hollow-eyed, between shrunken thistles and
+yellowed grass.</p>
+
+<p>It was summertime. The sun beat down upon
+the backs of unshaded hills, and the slightest
+breath of wind tore up thick clouds of lime dust
+from the grayish-white ground. The herds
+stood huddled together in the valleys, by the
+dried-up streams.</p>
+
+<p>The Drought walked about and viewed the
+water supplies. He wandered over to Solomon’s
+Pools, and sighed as he saw that they still held
+a small quantity of water from their mountain
+sources. Then he journeyed down to the famous
+David’s Well, near Bethlehem, and found
+water even there. Finally, he tramped with
+shuffling gait toward the great highway which
+leads from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.</p>
+
+<p>When he had arrived about half-way, he saw
+the Wise Men’s Well, where it stands close by
+the roadside. He saw at a glance that it was
+almost dry. He seated himself on the curb,
+which consists of a single stone hollowed out,
+and looked into the well. The shining water-mirror,
+which usually was seen very near the
+opening, had sunk deep down, and the dirt and
+slime at the bottom of the well made it muddy
+and impure.</p>
+
+<p>When the Well beheld the Drought’s bronzed
+visage reflected in her clouded mirror, she shook
+with anguish.</p>
+
+<p>“I wonder when you will be exhausted,” said
+the Drought. “Surely, you do not expect to
+find any fresh water source, down there in the
+deep, to come and give you new life; and as for
+rain—God be praised! there can be no question
+of that for the next two or three months.”</p>
+
+<p>“You may rest content,” sighed the Well,
+“for nothing can help me now. It would take
+no less than a well-spring from Paradise to save
+me!”</p>
+
+<p>“Then I will not forsake you until every drop
+has been drained,” said the Drought. He saw
+that the old Well was nearing its end, and now
+he wanted to have the pleasure of seeing it die
+out drop by drop.</p>
+
+<p>He seated himself comfortably on the edge of
+the curb, and rejoiced as he heard how the
+Well sighed down there in the deep. He also
+took a keen delight in watching the thirsty wayfarers
+come up to the well-curb, let down the
+bucket, and draw it up again, with only a few
+drops of muddy water.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the whole day passed; and when darkness
+descended, the Drought looked again into
+the Well. A little water still shimmered down
+there. “I’ll stay here all night,” cried he, “so
+do not hurry yourself! When it grows so light
+that I can look into you once more, I am certain
+that all will be over with you.”</p>
+
+<p>The Drought curled himself up on the edge
+of the well-curb, while the hot night, which was
+even more cruel, and more full of torment than
+the day had been, descended over Judea. Dogs
+and jackals howled incessantly, and thirsty cows
+and asses answered them from their stuffy stalls.</p>
+
+<p>When the breeze stirred a little now and then,
+it brought with it no relief, but was as hot and
+suffocating as a great sleeping monster’s panting
+breath. The stars shone with the most resplendent
+brilliancy, and a little silvery new moon cast
+a pretty blue-green light over the gray hills.
+And in this light the Drought saw a great caravan
+come marching toward the hill where the
+Wise Men’s Well was situated.</p>
+
+<p>The Drought sat and gazed at the long procession,
+and rejoiced again at the thought of
+all the thirst which was coming to the well, and
+would not find one drop of water with which
+to slake itself. There were so many animals
+and drivers they could easily have emptied the
+Well, even if it had been quite full. Suddenly
+he began to think there was something unusual,
+something ghost-like, about this caravan which
+came marching forward in the night. First, all
+the camels came within sight on a hill, which
+loomed up, high and distinct, against the horizon;
+it was as though they had stepped straight
+down from heaven. They also appeared to be
+larger than ordinary camels, and bore—all too
+lightly—the enormous burdens which weighted
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Still he could not understand anything but
+that they were absolutely real, for to him they
+were just as plain as plain could be. He could
+even see that the three foremost animals were
+dromedaries, with gray, shiny skins; and that
+they were richly bridled and saddled, with
+fringed coverings, and were ridden by handsome,
+noble-looking knights.</p>
+
+<p>The whole procession stopped at the well.
+With three sharp jerks, the dromedaries lay
+down on the ground, and their riders dismounted.
+The pack-camels remained standing,
+and as they assembled they seemed to form a
+long line of necks and humps and peculiarly
+piled-up packs.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately, the riders came up to the
+Drought and greeted him by laying their hands
+upon their foreheads and breasts. He saw that
+they wore dazzling white robes and huge
+turbans, on the front of each of which there was a
+clear, glittering star, which shone as if it had
+been taken direct from the skies.</p>
+
+<p>“We come from a far-off land,” said one of
+the strangers, “and we bid thee tell us if this
+is in truth the Wise Men’s Well?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is called so to-day,” said the Drought,
+“but by to-morrow there will be no well here.
+It shall die to-night.”</p>
+
+<p>“I can understand this, as I see thee here,”
+said the man. “But is not this one of the
+sacred wells, which never run dry? or whence
+hath it derived its name?”</p>
+
+<p>“I know it is sacred,” said the Drought, “but
+what good will that do? The three wise men
+are in Paradise.”</p>
+
+<p>The three travelers exchanged glances.
+“Dost thou really know the history of this
+ancient well?” asked they.</p>
+
+<p>“I know the history of all wells and fountains
+and brooks and rivers,” said the Drought, with
+pride.</p>
+
+<p>“Then grant us a pleasure, and tell us the
+story!” begged the strangers; and they seated
+themselves around the old enemy to everything
+growing, and listened.</p>
+
+<p>The Drought shook himself and crawled up
+on the well-curb, like a story-teller upon his
+improvised throne, and began his tale.</p>
+
+<p>“In Gebas, in Media, a city which lies near
+the border of the desert—and, therefore, it has
+often been a free and well-beloved city to me,—there
+lived, many, many years ago, three men
+who were famed for their wisdom.</p>
+
+<p>“They were also very poor, which was a most
+uncommon state of affairs; for, in Gebas, knowledge
+was held in high esteem, and was well
+recompensed. With these men, however, it
+could hardly have been otherwise, for one of
+them was very old, one was afflicted with leprosy,
+and the third was a black, thick-lipped
+negro. People regarded the first as much too
+old to teach them anything; the second they
+avoided for fear of contagion; and the third
+they would not listen to, because they thought
+they knew that no wisdom had ever come from
+Ethiopia.</p>
+
+<p>“Meanwhile, the three wise ones became
+united through their common misery. They
+begged during the day at the same temple gate,
+and at night they slept on the same roof. In
+this way they at least had an opportunity to
+while away the hours, by meditating upon all
+the wonderful things which they observed in
+Nature and in the human race.</p>
+
+<p>“One night, as they slept side by side on a
+roof, which was overgrown with stupefying red
+poppies, the eldest among them awoke; and
+hardly had he cast a glance around him, before
+he wakened the other two.</p>
+
+<p>“‘Praised be our poverty, which compels us
+to sleep in the open!’ he said to them. ‘Awake!
+and raise your eyes to heaven!’</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said the Drought, in a somewhat
+milder tone, “this was a night which no one
+who witnessed it can ever forget! The skies
+were so bright that the heavens, which usually
+resemble an arched vault, looked deep and transparent
+and full of waves, like a sea. The light
+surged backwards and forwards and the stars
+swam in their varying depths: some in among
+the light-waves; others upon the surface.</p>
+
+<p>“But farthest away and highest up, the three
+men saw a faint shadow appear. This shadow
+traveled through space like a ball, and came
+nearer and nearer, and, as the ball approached,
+it began to brighten. But it brightened as roses
+do—may God let them all wither!—when they
+burst from their buds. It grew bigger and
+bigger, the dark cover about it turned back by
+degrees, and light broke forth on its sides into
+four distinct leaves. Finally, when it had descended
+to the nearest of the stars, it came to a
+standstill. Then the dark lobes curled themselves
+back and unfolded leaf upon leaf of beautiful,
+shimmering, rose-colored light, until it
+was perfect, and shone like a star among stars.</p>
+
+<p>“When the poor men beheld this, their wisdom
+told them that at this moment a mighty
+king was born on earth: one, whose majesty
+and power should rise higher than that of Cyrus
+or of Alexander; and they said to one another:
+‘Let us go to the father and mother of the
+new-born babe and tell them what we have seen!
+Mayhap they will reward us with a purse of coin
+or a bracelet of gold.’</p>
+
+<p>“They grasped their long traveling staves
+and went forth. They wandered through the
+city and out from the city gate; but there they
+felt doubtful for a moment as they saw before
+them the great stretch of dry, smooth desert,
+which human beings dread. Then they saw the
+new star cast a narrow stream of light across
+the desert sand, and they wandered confidently
+forward with the star as their guide.</p>
+
+<p>“All night long they tramped over the wide
+sand-plain, and throughout the entire journey
+they talked about the young, new-born king,
+whom they should find reposing in a cradle of
+gold, playing with precious stones. They whiled
+away the hours by talking over how they should
+approach his father, the king, and his mother,
+the queen, and tell them that the heavens augured
+for their son power and beauty and joy,
+greater than Solomon’s. They prided themselves
+upon the fact that God had called <em>them</em>
+to see the Star. They said to themselves that
+the parents of the new-born babe would not
+reward them with less than twenty purses of
+gold; perhaps they would give them so much
+gold that they no longer need suffer the pangs
+of poverty.</p>
+
+<p>“I lay in wait on the desert like a lion,” said
+the Drought, “and intended to throw myself
+upon these wanderers with all the agonies of
+thirst, but they eluded me. All night the Star
+had led them, and on the morrow, when the
+heavens brightened and all the other stars grew
+pale, it remained steady and illumined the desert,
+and then guided them to an oasis where they
+found a spring and a ripe, fruit-bearing tree.
+There they rested all that day. And toward
+night, as they saw the Star’s rays border the
+sands, they went on.</p>
+
+<p>“From the human way of looking at things,”
+continued the Drought, “it was a delightful
+journey. The Star led them in such a way that
+they did not have to suffer either hunger or
+thirst. It led them past the sharp thistles, it
+avoided the thick, loose, flying sand; they
+escaped the burning sunshine and the hot
+desert storms. The three wise men said repeatedly
+to one another: ‘God is protecting
+us and blessing our journey. We are His
+messengers.’</p>
+
+<p>“Then, by degrees, they fell into my power,”
+said the Drought. “These star-wanderers’
+hearts became transformed into as dry a desert
+as the one which they traveled through. They
+were filled with impotent pride and destructive
+greed.</p>
+
+<p>“‘We are God’s messengers!’ repeated the
+three wise ones. ‘The father of the new-born
+king will not reward us too well, even if he
+gives us a caravan laden with gold.’</p>
+
+<p>“By and by, the Star led them over the far-famed
+River Jordan, and up among the hills
+of Judea. One night it stood still over the little
+city of Bethlehem, which lay upon a hill-top, and
+shone among the olive trees.</p>
+
+<p>“But the three wise ones looked around for
+castles and fortified towers and walls, and all
+the other things that belong to a royal city; but
+of such they saw nothing. And what was still
+worse, the Star’s light did not even lead them
+into the city, but remained over a grotto near
+the wayside. There, the soft light stole in
+through the opening and revealed to the three
+wanderers a little Child, who was being lulled
+to sleep in its mother’s arms.</p>
+
+<p>“Although the three men saw how the Star’s
+light encircled the Child’s head, like a crown,
+they remained standing outside the grotto. They
+did not enter to prophesy honors and kingdoms
+for this little One. They turned away without
+betraying their presence. They fled from the
+Child, and wandered down the hill again.</p>
+
+<p>“‘Have we come in search of beggars as
+poor as ourselves?’ said they. ‘Has God
+brought us hither that we might mock Him,
+and predict honors for a shepherd’s son? This
+Child will never attain any higher distinction
+than to tend sheep here in the valleys.’”</p>
+
+<p>The Drought chuckled to himself and nodded
+to his hearers, as much as to say: “Am
+I not right? There are things which are drier
+than the desert sands, but there is nothing more
+barren than the human heart.”</p>
+
+<p>“The three wise ones had not wandered very
+far before they thought they had gone astray
+and had not followed the Star rightly,” continued
+the Drought. “They turned their gaze
+upward to find again the Star, and the right
+road; but then the Star which they had followed
+all the way from the Orient had vanished from
+the heavens.”</p>
+
+<p>The three strangers made a quick movement,
+and their faces expressed deep suffering.</p>
+
+<p>“That which now happened,” continued the
+Drought, “is in accord with the usual manner
+of mankind in judging of what is, perhaps, a
+blessing.</p>
+
+<p>“To be sure, when the three wise men no
+longer saw the Star, they understood at once
+that they had sinned against God.</p>
+
+<p>“And it happened with them,” continued the
+Drought furiously, “just as it happens with the
+ground in the autumn, when the heavy rains
+begin to fall. They shook with terror, as one
+shakes when it thunders and lightens; their
+whole being softened, and humility, like green
+grass, sprang up in their souls.</p>
+
+<p>“For three nights and days they wandered
+about the country, in quest of the Child whom
+they would worship; but the Star did not appear
+to them. They grew more and more bewildered,
+and suffered the most overwhelming
+anguish and despair. On the third day they
+came to this well to drink. Then God had pardoned
+their sin. And, as they bent over the
+water, they saw in its depths the reflection of the
+Star which had brought them from the Orient.
+Instantly they saw it also in the heavens and it
+led them again to the grotto in Bethlehem,
+where they fell upon their knees before the
+Child and said: ‘We bring thee golden vessels
+filled with incense and costly spices. Thou shalt
+be the greatest king that ever lived upon earth,
+from its creation even unto its destruction.’</p>
+
+<p>“Then the Child laid his hand upon their
+lowered heads, and when they rose, lo! the Child
+had given them gifts greater than a king could
+have granted; for the old beggar had grown
+young, the leper was made whole, and the negro
+was transformed into a beautiful white man.
+And it is said of them that they were glorious!
+and that they departed and became kings—each
+in his own kingdom.”</p>
+
+<p>The Drought paused in his story, and the
+three strangers praised it. “Thou hast spoken
+well,” said they. “But it surprises me,” said
+one of them, “that the three wise men do nothing
+for the well which showed them the Star.
+Shall they entirely forget such a great blessing?”</p>
+
+<p>“Should not this well remain perpetually,”
+said the second stranger, “to remind mankind
+that happiness, which is lost on the heights of
+pride and vainglory, will let itself be found
+again in the depths of humility?”</p>
+
+<p>“Are the departed worse than the living?”
+asked the third. “Does gratitude die with those
+who live in Paradise?”</p>
+
+<p>But as he heard this, the Drought sprang up
+with a wild cry. He had recognized the
+strangers! He understood who the strangers
+were, and fled from them like a madman, that
+he might not witness how The Three Wise Men
+called their servants and led their camels, laden
+with water-sacks, to the Well and filled the poor
+dying Well with water, which they had brought
+with them from Paradise.</p>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a href='images/i_045_lg.jpg'><img src='images/i_045.jpg' alt='' class='ig005' /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<h2 id='story4' class='c003'>BETHLEHEM’S CHILDREN</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c004'>Just outside the Bethlehem gate stood a
+Roman soldier, on guard. He was arrayed
+in full armor, with helmet. At his side he wore
+a short sword, and held in his hand a long
+spear. He stood there all day almost motionless,
+so that one could readily have believed
+him to be a man made of iron. The city people
+went in and out of the gate and beggars lolled
+in the shade under the archway, fruit venders
+and wine dealers set their baskets and jugs down
+on the ground beside the soldier, but he scarcely
+took the trouble to turn his head to look at
+them.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed as though he wanted to say: This
+is nothing to see. What do I care about you
+who labor and barter and come driving with
+oil casks and wine sacks! Let me see an army
+prepare to meet the enemy! Let me see the
+excitement and the hot struggle, when horsemen
+charge down upon a troop of foot-soldiers!
+Let me see the brave men who rush forward
+to scale the walls of a beleaguered city! Nothing
+is pleasing to my sight but war. I long
+to see the Roman Eagles glisten in the air! I
+long for the trumpets’ blast, for shining weapons,
+for the splash of red blood!</p>
+
+<p>Just beyond the city gate lay a fine meadow,
+overgrown with lilies. Day by day the soldier
+stood with his eyes turned toward this meadow,
+but never for a moment did he think of admiring
+the extraordinary beauty of the flowers. Sometimes
+he noticed that the passers-by stopped to
+admire the lilies, and it amazed him to think
+that people would delay their travels to look
+at anything so trivial. These people do not
+know what is beautiful, thought he.</p>
+
+<p>And as he thought thus, he saw no more the
+green fields and olive groves round about Bethlehem;
+but dreamed himself away in a burning-hot
+desert in sunny Libya. He saw a legion of
+soldiers march forward in a long, straight line
+over the yellow, trackless sand. There was no
+protection against the sun’s piercing rays, no
+cooling stream, no apparent boundaries to the
+desert, and no goal in sight, no end to their
+wanderings. He saw soldiers, exhausted by
+hunger and thirst, march forward with faltering
+step; he saw one after another drop to the
+ground, overcome by the scorching heat. Nevertheless,
+they marched onward without a murmur,
+without a thought of deserting their leader
+and turning back.</p>
+
+<p>Now, <em>there</em> is something beautiful! thought
+the soldier, something that is worth the glance
+of a valiant man!</p>
+
+<p>Since the soldier stood on guard at the same
+post day after day, he had the best opportunity
+to watch the pretty children who played
+about him. But it was with the children as
+with the flowers: he didn’t understand that it
+could be worth his while to notice them. What
+is this to rejoice over? thought he, when he saw
+people smile as they watched the children’s
+games. It is strange that any one can find pleasure
+in a mere nothing.</p>
+
+<p>One day when the soldier was standing at his
+accustomed post, he saw a little boy about three
+years old come out on the meadow to play. He
+was a poor lad, who was dressed in a scanty
+sheepskin, and who played quite by himself.
+The soldier stood and regarded the newcomer
+almost without being aware of it himself. The
+first thing that attracted him was that the little
+one ran so lightly over the field that he seemed
+scarcely to touch the tips of the grass-blades.
+Later, as he followed the child’s play, he was
+even more astonished. “By my sword!” he
+exclaimed, “this child does not play like the
+others. What can it be that occupies him?”</p>
+
+<p>As the child played only a few paces away, he
+could see well enough what the little one was
+doing. He saw how he reached out his hand
+to capture a bee that sat upon the edge of a
+flower and was so heavily laden with pollen
+that it could hardly lift its wings for flight. He
+saw, to his great surprise, that the bee let itself
+be taken without trying to escape, and without
+using its sting. When the little one held the
+bee secure between his fingers, he ran over to a
+crack in the city wall, where a swarm of bees
+had their home, and set the bee down. As soon
+as he had helped one bee in this way, he hastened
+back to help another. All day long the soldier
+saw him catch bees and carry them to their
+home.</p>
+
+<p>“That boy is certainly more foolish than
+any I’ve seen hitherto,” thought the soldier.
+“What put it into his head to try and help
+these bees, who can take such good care of
+themselves without him, and who can sting him
+at that? What kind of a man will he become
+if he lives, I wonder?”</p>
+
+<p>The little one came back day after day and
+played in the meadow, and the soldier couldn’t
+help marveling at him and his games.</p>
+
+<p>“It is very strange,” thought he. “Here I
+have stood on guard for fully three years, and
+thus far I have seen nothing that could interest
+me, except this infant.”</p>
+
+<p>But the soldier was in nowise pleased with
+the child; quite the reverse! For this child
+reminded him of a dreadful prediction made by
+an old Hebrew seer, who had prophesied that
+a time of peace should come to this world some
+day; during a period of a thousand years no
+blood would be shed, no wars waged, but human
+beings would love one another like brethren.
+When the soldier thought that anything so
+dreadful might really come to pass, a shudder
+passed through his body, and he gripped his
+spear hard, as if he sought support.</p>
+
+<p>And now, the more the soldier saw of the
+little one and his play, the more he thought of
+the Thousand-year Reign of Peace. He did not
+fear that it had come already, but he did not
+like to be reminded of anything so hateful!</p>
+
+<p>One day, when the little one was playing
+among the flowers on the pretty meadow, a very
+heavy shower came bursting through the clouds.
+When he noticed how big and heavy the drops
+were that beat down upon the sensitive lilies,
+he seemed anxious for his pretty friends. He
+hurried away to the biggest and loveliest among
+them, and bent towards the ground the stiff
+stalk which held up the lily, so that the raindrops
+caught the chalices on their under side.
+As soon as he had treated one flower like this,
+he ran to another and bent its stem in the same
+way, so that the flower-cups were turned toward
+the ground. And then to a third and a
+fourth, until all the flowers in the meadow were
+protected against the rainfall.</p>
+
+<p>The soldier smiled to himself when he saw
+the boy’s work. “I’m afraid the lilies won’t
+thank him for this,” said he. “Naturally, every
+stalk is broken. It will never do to bend such
+stiff growths in that way!”</p>
+
+<p>But when the shower was over, the soldier
+saw the little lad hurry over to the lilies and
+raise them up. To his utter astonishment, the
+boy straightened the stiff stalks without the least
+difficulty. It was apparent that not one of them
+was either broken or bruised. He ran from
+flower to flower, and soon all the rescued lilies
+shone in their full splendor in the meadow.</p>
+
+<p>When the soldier saw this, he was seized with
+a singular rage. “What a queer child!” thought
+he. “It is incredible that he can undertake anything
+so idiotic. What kind of a man will he
+make, who cannot even bear to see a lily destroyed?
+How would it turn out if such a one
+had to go to war? What would he do if they
+ordered him to burn a house filled with women
+and children, or to sink a ship with all souls
+on board?”</p>
+
+<p>Again he thought of the old prophecy, and he
+began to fear that the time had actually come
+for its fulfilment. “Since a child like this is
+here,” thought he, “perhaps this awful time is
+very close at hand. Already, peace prevails over
+the whole earth; and surely the day of war will
+nevermore dawn. From this time forth, all peoples
+will be of the same mind as this child: they
+will be afraid to injure one another, yea, they
+will not have the heart even to crush a bee or a
+flower! No great deeds will be done, no glorious
+battles won, and no brilliant triumvirate will
+march up to the Capitol. Nothing more will
+happen that a brave man could long for.”</p>
+
+<p>And the soldier—who all the while hoped he
+would soon live through new wars and longed,
+through daring feats, to raise himself to power
+and riches—felt so exasperated with the little
+three-year-old that he raised his spear threateningly
+the next time the child ran past.</p>
+
+<p>Another day it was neither the bees nor the
+lilies the little one sought to protect, but he
+undertook something which struck the soldier
+as being much more needless and thankless.</p>
+
+<p>It was a fearfully hot day, and the sunrays
+fell upon the soldier’s helmet and armor and
+heated them until he felt as if he wore a suit
+of fire. To the passers-by it looked as if he
+must suffer tortures from the heat. His bloodshot
+eyes were ready to burst from their sockets,
+and his lips were dry and shriveled. But as he
+was inured to the burning heat of African deserts,
+he thought this a mere trifle, and it didn’t
+occur to him to move from his accustomed place.
+On the contrary, he took pleasure in showing
+the passers-by that he was so strong and hardy
+and did not need to seek shelter from the sun.</p>
+
+<p>While he stood thus, and let himself be nearly
+broiled alive, the little boy who was wont to
+play in the meadow came suddenly up to him.
+He knew very well that the soldier was not one
+of his friends and so he was always careful not
+to come within reach of his spear; but now he
+ran up to him, and regarded him long and
+carefully; then he hurried as fast as he could
+towards the road. When he came back, he
+held both hands like a bowl, and carried in this
+way a few drops of water.</p>
+
+<p>“Mayhap this infant has taken it upon himself
+to run and fetch water for me,” thought the
+soldier. “He is certainly wanting in common
+sense. Should not a Roman soldier be able to
+stand a little heat! What need for that youngster
+to run around and help those who require
+no help! I don’t want his compassion. I wish
+he and all like him were out of the world!”</p>
+
+<p>The little one came walking very slowly. He
+held his fingers close together, so that nothing
+should be spilled or wasted. All the while, as
+he was nearing the soldier, he kept his eyes
+anxiously fixed upon the little water which he
+brought with him, and did not see that the man
+stood there frowning, with a forbidding look
+in his eye. Then the child came up to the
+soldier and offered him the water.</p>
+
+<p>On the way his heavy blond curls had tumbled
+down over his forehead and eyes. He
+shook his head several times to get the hair out
+of his eyes, so that he could look up. When
+he succeeded at last, and became conscious of
+the hard expression on the soldier’s face, he was
+not frightened, but stood still and begged him,
+with a bewitching smile, to taste of the water
+which he had brought with him. But the soldier
+felt no desire to accept a kindness from the
+child, whom he regarded as his enemy. He did
+not look down into his pretty face, but stood
+rigid and immovable, and showed no sign
+that he understood what the child wished to do
+for him.</p>
+
+<p>Nor could the child understand that the man
+wished to repel him. He smiled all the while
+just as confidently, raised himself on the tips of
+his toes, and stretched his hands as high as he
+could that the big soldier might more easily get
+at the water.</p>
+
+<p>The soldier felt so insulted because a mere
+child wished to help him that he gripped his
+spear to drive the little one away.</p>
+
+<p>But just at that moment the extreme heat
+and sunshine beat down upon the soldier with
+such intensity that he saw red flames dance before
+his eyes and felt his brains melt within
+his head. He feared the sun would kill him, if
+he could not find instant relief.</p>
+
+<p>Beside himself with terror at the danger hovering
+over him, the soldier threw his spear on
+the ground, seized the child with both hands,
+lifted him up, and absorbed as much as he could
+of the water which the little one held in his
+hands.</p>
+
+<p>Only a few drops touched his tongue, but
+more was not needed. As soon as he had
+tasted of the water, a delicious coolness surged
+through his body, and he felt no more that the
+helmet and armor burnt and oppressed him.
+The sunrays had lost their deadly power.
+His dry lips became soft and moist again,
+and red flames no longer danced before his
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Before he had time to realize all this, he
+had already put down the child, who ran back
+to the meadow to play. Astonished, the soldier
+began to say to himself: “What kind of water
+was this that the child gave me? It was a
+glorious drink! I must really show him my
+gratitude.”</p>
+
+<p>But inasmuch as he hated the little one, he
+soon dismissed this idea. “It is only a child,”
+thought he, “and does not know why he acts in
+this way or that way. He plays only the play
+that pleases him best. Does he perhaps receive
+any gratitude from the bees or the lilies? On
+that youngster’s account I need give myself no
+trouble. He doesn’t even know that he has succored
+me.”</p>
+
+<p>The soldier felt, if possible, even more exasperated
+with the child a moment later, when
+he saw the commander of the Roman soldiers,
+who were encamped in Bethlehem, come out
+through the gate. “Just see what a risk I have
+run through that little one’s rash behavior!”
+thought he. “If by chance Voltigius had come
+a moment earlier, he would have seen me standing
+with a child in my arms.”</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the Commander walked straight
+up to the soldier and asked him if they might
+speak together there without danger of being
+overheard. He had a secret to impart to him.
+“If we move ten paces from the gate,” replied
+the soldier, “no one can hear us.”</p>
+
+<p>“You know,” said the Commander, “that
+King Herod, time and again, has tried to get
+possession of a child that is growing up here
+in Bethlehem. His soothsayers and priests have
+told him that this child shall ascend his throne.
+Moreover, they have predicted that the new
+King will inaugurate a thousand-year reign of
+peace and holiness. You understand, of course,
+that Herod would willingly make him—<span class='sc'>Harmless</span>!”</p>
+
+<p>“I understand!” said the soldier eagerly.
+“But that ought to be the easiest thing in the
+world.”</p>
+
+<p>“It would certainly be very easy,” said the
+Commander, “if the King only knew which
+one of all the children here in Bethlehem is
+<span class='sc'>The One</span>.”</p>
+
+<p>The soldier knit his brows. “It is a pity
+his soothsayers can not enlighten him about
+this,” said he.</p>
+
+<p>“But now Herod has hit upon a ruse, whereby
+he believes he can make the young Peace-Prince
+harmless,” continued the Commander. “He
+promises a handsome gift to each and all who
+will help him.”</p>
+
+<p>“Whatsoever Voltigius commands shall be
+carried out, even without money or gifts,” said
+the soldier.</p>
+
+<p>“I thank you,” replied the Commander.
+“Listen, now, to the King’s plan! He intends
+to celebrate the birthday of his youngest son by
+arranging a festival, to which all male children
+in Bethlehem, who are between the ages of two
+and three years, shall be bidden, together with
+their mothers. And during this festival——”
+He checked himself suddenly, and laughed when
+he saw the look of disgust on the soldier’s face.</p>
+
+<p>“My friend,” he continued, “you need not
+fear that Herod thinks of using us as child-nurses.
+Now bend your ear to my mouth, and
+I’ll confide to you his design.”</p>
+
+<p>The Commander whispered long with the soldier,
+and when he had disclosed all, he said:</p>
+
+<p>“I need hardly tell you that absolute silence
+is imperative, lest the whole undertaking
+miscarry.”</p>
+
+<p>“You know, Voltigius, that you can rely on
+me,” said the soldier.</p>
+
+<p>When the Commander had gone and the soldier
+once more stood alone at his post, he looked
+around for the child. The little one played all
+the while among the flowers, and the soldier
+caught himself thinking that the boy swayed
+above them as light and attractive as a butterfly.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly he began to laugh. “True,” said
+he, “I shall not have to vex myself very long
+over this child. He shall be bidden to the feast
+of Herod this evening.”</p>
+
+<p>He remained at his post all that day, until
+the even was come, and it was time to close
+the city gate for the night.</p>
+
+<p>When this was done, he wandered through
+narrow and dark streets, to a splendid palace
+which Herod owned in Bethlehem.</p>
+
+<p>In the center of this immense palace was a
+large stone-paved court encircled by buildings,
+around which ran three open galleries, one above
+the other. The King had ordered that the festival
+for the Bethlehem children should be held
+on the uppermost of these galleries.</p>
+
+<p>This gallery, by the King’s express command,
+was transformed so that it looked like a covered
+walk in a beautiful flower-garden. The ceiling
+was hidden by creeping vines hung with thick
+clusters of luscious grapes, and alongside the
+walls, and against the pillars stood small pomegranate
+trees, laden with ripe fruit. The floors
+were strewn with rose-leaves, lying thick and
+soft like a carpet. And all along the balustrades,
+the cornices, the tables, and the low
+divans, ran garlands of lustrous white lilies.</p>
+
+<p>Here and there in this flower garden stood
+great marble basins where glittering gold and
+silver fish played in the transparent water.
+Multi-colored birds from distant lands sat in
+the trees, and in a cage sat an old raven that
+chattered incessantly.</p>
+
+<p>When the festival began children and mothers
+filed into the gallery. Immediately after they
+had entered the palace, the children were arrayed
+in white dresses with purple borders and
+were given wreaths of roses for their dark,
+curly heads. The women came in, regal, in
+their crimson and blue robes, and their white
+veils, which hung in long, loose folds from high-peaked
+head-dresses, adorned with gold coins
+and chains. Some carried their children mounted
+upon their shoulders; others led their sons by
+the hand; some, again, whose children were
+afraid or shy, had taken them up in their arms.</p>
+
+<p>The women seated themselves on the floor of
+the gallery. As soon as they had taken their
+places, slaves came in and placed before them
+low tables, which they spread with the choicest
+of foods and wines—as befitting a King’s feast—and
+all these happy mothers began to eat and
+drink, maintaining all the while that proud,
+graceful dignity, which is the greatest ornament
+of the Bethlehem women.</p>
+
+<p>Along the farthest wall of the gallery, and
+almost hidden by flower-garlands and fruit trees,
+was stationed a double line of soldiers in full
+armor. They stood, perfectly immovable, as if
+they had no concern with that which went on
+around them. The women could not refrain
+from casting a questioning glance, now and then,
+at this troop of iron-clad men. “For what are
+they needed here?” they whispered. “Does
+Herod think we women do not know how to
+conduct ourselves? Does he believe it is necessary
+for so many soldiers to guard us?”</p>
+
+<p>But others whispered that this was as it should
+be in a King’s home. Herod himself never gave
+a banquet without having his house filled with
+soldiers. It was to honor them that the heavily
+armored warriors stood there on guard.</p>
+
+<p>During the first few moments of the feast,
+the children felt timid and uncertain, and sat
+quietly beside their mothers. But soon they
+began to move about and take possession of all
+the good things which Herod offered them.</p>
+
+<p>It was an enchanted land that the King had
+created for his little guests. When they wandered
+through the gallery, they found bee-hives
+whose honey they could pillage without the interference
+of a single crotchety bee. They found
+trees which, bending, lowered their fruit-laden
+branches down to them. In a corner they found
+magicians who, on the instant, conjured their
+pockets full of toys; and in another corner they
+discovered a wild-beast tamer who showed them
+a pair of tigers, so tame that they could ride
+them.</p>
+
+<p>But in this paradise with all its joys there was
+nothing which so attracted the attention of these
+little ones as the long line of soldiers who stood
+immovable at the extreme end of the gallery.
+Their eyes were captivated by their shining
+helmets, their stern, haughty faces, and their
+short swords, which reposed in richly jeweled
+sheaths.</p>
+
+<p>All the while, as they played and romped with
+one another, they thought continually about the
+soldiers. They still held themselves at a distance,
+but they longed to get near the men to
+see if they were alive and really could move
+themselves.</p>
+
+<p>The play and festivities increased every moment,
+but the soldiers stood all the while immovable.
+It seemed incredible to the little ones
+that people could stand so near the clusters of
+grapes and all the other dainties, without reaching
+out a hand to take them.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, there was one boy who couldn’t restrain
+his curiosity any longer. Slowly, but prepared
+for hasty retreat, he approached one of
+the armored men; and when he remained just
+as rigid and motionless, the child came nearer
+and nearer. At last he was so close to him that
+he could touch his shoe latchets and his shins.</p>
+
+<p>Then—as though this had been an unheard-of
+crime—all at once these iron-men set themselves
+in motion. With indescribable fury they threw
+themselves upon the children, and seized them!
+Some swung them over their heads, like missiles,
+and flung them between lamps and garlands over
+the balustrade and down to the court, where
+they were killed the instant they struck the
+stone pavement. Others drew their swords and
+pierced the children’s hearts; others, again,
+crushed their heads against the walls before they
+threw them down into the dark courtyard.</p>
+
+<p>The first moment after the onslaught, there
+was an ominous stillness. While the tiny bodies
+still swayed in the air, the women were petrified
+with amazement! But simultaneously all these
+unhappy mothers awoke to understand what
+had happened, and with one great cry they
+rushed toward the soldiers. There were still
+a few children left up in the gallery who had
+not been captured during the first attack. The
+soldiers pursued them and their mothers threw
+themselves in front of them and clutched with
+bare hands the naked swords, to avert the death-blow.
+Several women, whose children were
+already dead, threw themselves upon the soldiers,
+clutched them by the throat, and sought
+to avenge the death of their little ones by
+strangling their murderers.</p>
+
+<p>During this wild confusion, while fearful
+shrieks rang through the palace, and the most
+inhuman death cruelties were being enacted, the
+soldier who was wont to stand on guard at the
+city gate stood motionless at the head of the
+stairs which led down from the gallery. He
+took no part in the strife and the murder: only
+against the women who had succeeded in snatching
+their children and tried to fly down the
+stairs with them did he lift his sword. And
+just the sight of him, where he stood, grim and
+inflexible, was so terrifying that the fleeing ones
+chose rather to cast themselves over the balustrade
+or turn back into the heat of the struggle,
+than risk the danger of crowding past
+him.</p>
+
+<p>“Voltigius certainly did the right thing when
+he gave <em>me</em> this post,” thought the soldier. “A
+young and thoughtless warrior would have left
+his place and rushed into the confusion. If I
+had let myself be tempted away from here, ten
+children at least would have escaped.”</p>
+
+<p>While he was thinking of this, a young
+woman, who had snatched up her child, came
+rushing towards him in hurried flight. None
+of the warriors whom she had to pass could stop
+her, because they were in the midst of the struggle
+with other women, and in this way she had
+reached the end of the gallery.</p>
+
+<p>“Ah, there’s one who is about to escape!”
+thought the soldier. “Neither she nor the child
+is wounded.”</p>
+
+<p>The woman came toward the soldier with
+such speed that she appeared to be flying, and
+he didn’t have time to distinguish the features
+of either the woman or her child. He only
+pointed his sword at them, and the woman, with
+the child in her arms, dashed against it. He
+expected that the next second both she and
+the child would fall to the ground pierced
+through and through.</p>
+
+<p>But just then the soldier heard an angry buzzing
+over his head, and the next instant he felt
+a sharp pain in one eye. It was so intense that
+he was stunned, bewildered, and the sword
+dropped from his hand. He raised his hand
+to his eye and caught hold of a bee, and understood
+that that which caused this awful suffering
+was only the sting of the tiny creature.
+Quick as a flash, he stooped down and picked
+up his sword, in the hope that as yet it was
+not too late to intercept the runaways.</p>
+
+<p>But the little bee had done its work very
+well.</p>
+
+<p>During the short time that the soldier was
+blinded, the young mother had succeeded in
+rushing past him and down the stairs; and although
+he hurried after her with all haste, he
+could not find her. She had vanished; and in
+all that great palace there was no one who could
+discover any trace of her.</p>
+
+<p>The following morning, the soldier, together
+with several of his comrades, stood on guard,
+just within the city gate. The hour was early,
+and the city gates had only just been opened.
+But it appeared as though no one had expected
+that they would be opened that morning; for no
+throngs of field laborers streamed out of the
+city, as they usually did of a morning. All the
+Bethlehem inhabitants were so filled with terror
+over the night’s bloodshed that no one dared to
+leave his home.</p>
+
+<p>“By my sword!” said the soldier, as he stood
+and stared down the narrow street which led
+toward the gate, “I believe Voltigius has made
+a stupid blunder. It would have been better
+had he kept the gates closed and ordered a
+thorough search of every house in the city, until
+he had found the boy who managed to escape
+from the feast. Voltigius expects that his
+parents will try to get him away from here as
+soon as they learn that the gates are open. I
+fear this is not a wise calculation. How easily
+they could conceal a child!”</p>
+
+<p>He wondered if they would try to hide the
+child in a fruit basket or in some huge oil cask,
+or amongst the grain-bales of a caravan.</p>
+
+<p>While he stood there on the watch for any
+attempt to deceive him in this way, he saw a man
+and a woman who came hurriedly down the
+street and were nearing the gate. They walked
+rapidly and cast anxious looks behind them, as
+though they were fleeing from some danger.
+The man held an ax in his hand with a firm
+grip, as if determined to fight should any one
+bar his way. But the soldier did not look at
+the man as much as he did at the woman. He
+thought that she was just as tall as the young
+mother who got away from him the night
+before. He observed also that she had thrown
+her skirt over her head. “Perhaps she wears
+it like this,” thought he, “to conceal the fact
+that she holds a child on her arm.”</p>
+
+<p>The nearer they approached, the plainer he
+saw the child which the woman bore on her
+arm outlined under the raised robe. “I’m positive
+it is the one who got away last night. I
+didn’t see her face, but I recognize the tall
+figure. And here she comes now, with the child
+on her arm, and without even trying to keep
+it concealed. I had not dared to hope for such
+a lucky chance,” said the soldier to himself.</p>
+
+<p>The man and woman continued their rapid
+pace all the way to the city gate. Evidently,
+they had not anticipated being intercepted here.
+They trembled with fright when the soldier
+leveled his spear at them, and barred their
+passage.</p>
+
+<p>“Why do you refuse to let us go out in the
+fields to our work?” asked the man.</p>
+
+<p>“You may go presently,” said the soldier,
+“but first I must see what your wife has hidden
+behind her robe.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is there to see?” said the man. “It
+is only bread and wine, which we must live
+upon to-day.”</p>
+
+<p>“You speak the truth, perchance,” said the
+soldier, “but if it is as you say, why does she
+turn away? Why does she not willingly let me
+see what she carries?”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not wish that you shall see it,” said
+the man, “and I command you to let us pass!”</p>
+
+<p>With this he raised his ax, but the woman laid
+her hand on his arm.</p>
+
+<p>“Enter thou not into strife!” she pleaded.
+“I will try some other way. I shall let him
+see what I bear, and I know that he can not harm
+it.” With a proud and confident smile she
+turned toward the soldier, and threw back a fold
+of her robe.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly the soldier staggered back and
+closed his eyes, as if dazed by a strong light.
+That which the woman held concealed under
+her robe reflected such a dazzling white light
+that at first he did not know what he saw.</p>
+
+<p>“I thought you held a child on your arm,”
+he said.</p>
+
+<p>“You see what I hold,” the woman answered.</p>
+
+<p>Then the soldier finally saw that that which
+dazzled and shone was only a cluster of white
+lilies, the same kind that grew in the meadow;
+but their luster was much richer and more radiant.
+He could hardly bear to look at them.</p>
+
+<p>He stuck his hand in among the flowers. He
+couldn’t help thinking that it must be a child
+the woman carried, but he felt only the cool
+flower-petals.</p>
+
+<p>He was bitterly deceived, and in his wrath
+he would gladly have taken both the man and
+the woman prisoners, but he knew that he could
+give no reason for such a proceeding.</p>
+
+<p>When the woman saw his confusion, she said:
+“Will you not let us go now?”</p>
+
+<p>The soldier quietly lowered the spear and
+stepped aside.</p>
+
+<p>The woman drew her robe over the flowers
+once more, and at the same time she looked
+with a sweet smile upon that which she bore
+on her arm. “I knew that you could not
+harm it, did you but see it,” she said to the
+soldier.</p>
+
+<p>With this, they hastened away; and the soldier
+stood and stared after them as long as they
+were within sight.</p>
+
+<p>While he followed them with his eyes, he almost
+felt sure that the woman did not carry
+on her arm a cluster of lilies, but an actual,
+living child.</p>
+
+<p>While he still stood and stared after the
+wanderers, he heard loud shouts from the street.
+It was Voltigius, with several of his men, who
+came running.</p>
+
+<p>“Stop them!” they cried. “Close the gates
+on them! Don’t let them escape!”</p>
+
+<p>And when they came up to the soldier, they
+said that they had tracked the runaway boy.
+They had sought him in his home, but then
+he had escaped again. They had seen his parents
+hasten away with him. The father was a
+strong, gray-bearded man who carried an ax; the
+mother was a tall woman who held a child concealed
+under a raised robe.</p>
+
+<p>The same moment that Voltigius related this,
+there came a Bedouin riding in through the
+gate on a good horse. Without a word, the
+soldier rushed up to the rider, jerked him down
+off the horse and threw him to the ground, and,
+with one bound, jumped into the saddle and
+dashed away toward the road.</p>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<p>Two days later, the soldier rode forward
+through the dreary mountain-desert, which is
+the whole southern part of Judea. All the while
+he was pursuing the three fugitives from Bethlehem,
+and he was beside himself because the
+fruitless hunt never came to an end.</p>
+
+<p>“It looks, forsooth, as though these creatures
+had the power to sink into the earth,” he grumbled.
+“How many times during these days
+have I not been so close to them that I’ve been
+on the point of throwing my spear at the child,
+and yet they have escaped me! I begin to think
+that I shall never catch up with them.”</p>
+
+<p>He felt despondent, like one who believes he
+is struggling against some superior power. He
+asked himself if it might not be possible that
+the gods protected these people against him.</p>
+
+<p>“This trouble is in vain. Let me turn back before
+I perish from hunger and thirst in this barren
+land!” he said to himself, again and again.
+Then he was seized with fear of that which
+awaited him on his home-coming, should he turn
+back without having accomplished his mission.</p>
+
+<p>Twice he had permitted the child to escape,
+and neither Voltigius nor Herod would pardon
+him for anything of the kind.</p>
+
+<p>“As long as Herod knows that one of the
+Bethlehem children still lives, he will always
+be haunted by the same anxiety and dread,” said
+the soldier. “Most likely he will try to ease
+his worries by nailing me to a cross.”</p>
+
+<p>It was a hot noonday hour, and he suffered
+tortures from the ride through this mountain
+district on a road which wound around steep
+cliffs where no breeze stirred. Both horse and
+rider were ready to drop.</p>
+
+<p>Several hours before he had lost every trace
+of the fugitives, and he felt more disheartened
+than ever.</p>
+
+<p>“I must give it up,” thought he. “I verily
+believe it is time wasted to pursue them
+further. They must perish anyway in this awful
+wilderness.”</p>
+
+<p>As he thought this, he discovered, in a
+mountain-wall near the roadside, the vaulted entrance
+to a grotto.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately he rode up to the opening. “I
+will rest a while in this cool mountain cave,”
+thought he. “Then, mayhap, I can continue the
+pursuit with renewed strength.”</p>
+
+<p>As he was about to enter, he was struck with
+amazement! On each side of the opening grew
+a beautiful lily. The two stalks stood there
+tall and erect and full of blossoms. They sent
+forth an intoxicating odor of honey, and many
+bees buzzed around them.</p>
+
+<p>It was such an uncommon sight in this wilderness
+that the soldier did something extraordinary.
+He broke off a large white flower and
+took it with him into the cave.</p>
+
+<p>The cave was neither deep nor dark, and as
+soon as he entered he saw that there were already
+three travelers within: a man, a woman,
+and a child, who lay stretched out upon the
+ground, lost in deep slumber.</p>
+
+<p>The soldier had never before felt his heart
+beat as it did at this vision. They were the
+three runaways whom he had hunted so long.
+He recognized them instantly. And here they
+lay sleeping, unable to defend themselves and
+wholly in his power.</p>
+
+<p>He drew his sword quickly and bent over the
+sleeping child.</p>
+
+<p>Cautiously he lowered the sword toward the
+infant’s heart, and measured carefully, in order
+to kill with a single thrust.</p>
+
+<p>He paused an instant to look at the child’s
+countenance. Now, when he was certain of
+victory, he felt a grim pleasure in beholding his
+victim.</p>
+
+<p>But when he saw the child his joy increased,
+for he recognized the little boy whom he had
+seen play with bees and lilies in the meadow beyond
+the city gate.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, of course I should have understood
+this all the time!” thought he. “This is why
+I have always hated the child. This is the
+pretended Prince of Peace.”</p>
+
+<p>He lowered his sword again while he thought:
+“When I lay this child’s head at Herod’s feet,
+he will make me Commander of his Life
+Guard.”</p>
+
+<p>As he brought the point of the sword nearer
+and nearer the heart of the sleeping child, he
+reveled in the thought: “This time, at least,
+no one shall come between us and snatch him
+from my power.”</p>
+
+<p>But the soldier still held in his hand the lily
+which he had broken off at the grotto entrance;
+and while he was thinking of his good fortune,
+a bee that had been hidden in its chalice flew
+towards him and buzzed around his head.</p>
+
+<p>He staggered back. Suddenly he remembered
+the bees which the boy had carried to their
+home, and he remembered that it was a bee that
+had helped the child escape from Herod’s feast.
+This thought struck him with surprise. He held
+the sword suspended, and stood still and listened
+for the bee.</p>
+
+<p>Now he did not hear the tiny creature’s
+buzzing. As he stood there, perfectly still, he
+became conscious of the strong, delicious perfume
+which came from the lily that he held in
+his hand.</p>
+
+<p>Then he began to think of the lilies that the
+little one had saved; he remembered that it was
+a cluster of lilies that had hidden the child from
+his view and made possible the escape through
+the city gate.</p>
+
+<p>He became more and more thoughtful, and
+he drew back the sword.</p>
+
+<p>“The bees and the lilies have requited his
+good deeds,” he whispered to himself. Then
+he was struck by the thought that the little one
+had once shown even him a kindness, and a
+deep crimson flush mounted to his brow.</p>
+
+<p>“Can a Roman soldier forget to requite an
+accepted service?” he whispered.</p>
+
+<p>He fought a short battle with himself. He
+thought of Herod, and of his own desire to
+destroy the young Peace-Prince.</p>
+
+<p>“It does not become me to murder this child
+who has saved my life,” he said, at last.</p>
+
+<p>And he bent down and laid his sword beside
+the child, that the fugitives on awakening should
+understand the danger they had escaped.</p>
+
+<p>Then he saw that the child was awake. He
+lay and regarded the soldier with the beautiful
+eyes which shone like stars.</p>
+
+<p>And the warrior bent a knee before the child.</p>
+
+<p>“Lord, <em>thou</em> art the Mighty One!” said he.
+“Thou art the strong Conqueror! Thou art
+He whom the gods love! Thou art He who
+shall tread upon adders and scorpions!”</p>
+
+<p>He kissed his feet and stole softly out from
+the grotto, while the little one smiled and smiled
+after him with great, astonished child-eyes.</p>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a href='images/i_077_lg.jpg'><img src='images/i_077.jpg' alt='' class='ig006' /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<h2 id='story5' class='c003'>THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c004'>Far away in one of the Eastern deserts many,
+many years ago grew a palm tree, which
+was both exceedingly old and exceedingly tall.</p>
+
+<p>All who passed through the desert had to stop
+and gaze at it, for it was much larger than other
+palms; and they used to say of it, that some
+day it would certainly be taller than the obelisks
+and pyramids.</p>
+
+<p>Where the huge palm tree stood in its solitude
+and looked out over the desert, it saw something
+one day which made its mighty leaf-crown sway
+back and forth on its slender trunk with astonishment.
+Over by the desert borders walked
+two human beings. They were still at the distance
+at which camels appear to be as tiny as
+moths; but they were certainly two human beings—two
+who were strangers in the desert; for
+the palm knew the desert-folk. They were a
+man and a woman who had neither guide nor
+pack-camels; neither tent nor water-sack.</p>
+
+<p>“Verily,” said the palm to itself, “these two
+have come hither only to meet certain death.”</p>
+
+<p>The palm cast a quick, apprehensive glance
+around.</p>
+
+<p>“It surprises me,” it said, “that the lions
+are not already out to hunt this prey, but I do
+not see a single one astir; nor do I see any of the
+desert robbers, but they’ll probably soon come.”</p>
+
+<p>“A seven-fold death awaits these travelers,”
+thought the palm. “The lions will devour
+them, thirst will parch them, the sand-storm will
+bury them, robbers will trap them, sunstroke will
+blight them, and fear will destroy them.”</p>
+
+<p>And the palm tried to think of something else.
+The fate of these people made it sad at heart.</p>
+
+<p>But on the whole desert plain, which lay
+spread out beneath the palm, there was nothing
+which it had not known and looked upon
+these thousand years. Nothing in particular
+could arrest its attention. Again it had to think
+of the two wanderers.</p>
+
+<p>“By the drought and the storm!” said the
+palm, calling upon Life’s most dangerous enemies.
+“What is that that the woman carries
+on her arm? I believe these fools also bring
+a little child with them!”</p>
+
+<p>The palm, who was far-sighted—as the old
+usually are,—actually saw aright. The woman
+bore on her arm a child, that leaned against her
+shoulder and slept.</p>
+
+<p>“The child hasn’t even sufficient clothing on,”
+said the palm. “I see that the mother has
+tucked up her skirt and thrown it over the child.
+She must have snatched him from his bed in
+great haste and rushed off with him. I understand
+now: these people are runaways.</p>
+
+<p>“But they are fools, nevertheless,” continued
+the palm. “Unless an angel protects them, they
+would have done better to have let their enemies
+do their worst, than to venture into this
+wilderness.</p>
+
+<p>“I can imagine how the whole thing came
+about. The man stood at his work; the child
+slept in his crib; the woman had gone out to
+fetch water. When she was a few steps from
+the door, she saw enemies coming. She rushed
+back to the house, snatched up her child, and
+fled.</p>
+
+<p>“Since then, they have been fleeing for several
+days. It is very certain that they have not
+rested a moment. Yes, everything has happened
+in this way, but still I say that unless
+an angel protects them——</p>
+
+<p>“They are so frightened that, as yet, they
+feel neither fatigue nor suffering. But I see
+their thirst by the strange gleam in their eyes.
+Surely I ought to know a thirsty person’s face!”</p>
+
+<p>And when the palm began to think of thirst,
+a shudder passed through its tall trunk, and the
+long leaves’ numberless lobes rolled up, as
+though they had been held over a fire.</p>
+
+<p>“Were I a human being,” it said, “I should
+never venture into the desert. He is pretty
+brave who dares come here without having roots
+that reach down to the never-dying water veins.
+Here it can be dangerous even for palms; yea,
+even for a palm such as I.</p>
+
+<p>“If I could counsel them, I should beg them
+to turn back. Their enemies could never be as
+cruel toward them as the desert. Perhaps they
+think it is easy to live in the desert! But I
+know that, now and then, even I have found it
+hard to keep alive. I recollect one time in my
+youth when a hurricane threw a whole mountain
+of sand over me. I came near choking. If I
+could have died that would have been my last
+moment.”</p>
+
+<p>The palm continued to think aloud, as the
+aged and solitary habitually do.</p>
+
+<p>“I hear a wondrously beautiful melody rush
+through my leaves,” it said. “All the lobes
+on my leaves are quivering. I know not what
+it is that takes possession of me at the sight
+of these poor strangers. But this unfortunate
+woman is so beautiful! She carries me back, in
+memory, to the most wonderful thing that I ever
+experienced.”</p>
+
+<p>And while the leaves continued to move in a
+soft melody, the palm was reminded how once,
+very long ago, two illustrious personages had
+visited the oasis. They were the Queen of Sheba
+and Solomon the Wise. The beautiful Queen
+was to return to her own country; the King had
+accompanied her on the journey, and now they
+were going to part. “In remembrance of this
+hour,” said the Queen then, “I now plant a date
+seed in the earth, and I wish that from it shall
+spring a palm which shall grow and live until
+a King shall arise in Judea, greater than Solomon.”
+And when she had said this, she planted
+the seed in the earth and watered it with her
+tears.</p>
+
+<p>“How does it happen that I am thinking of
+this just to-day?” said the palm. “Can this
+woman be so beautiful that she reminds me of
+the most glorious of queens, of her by whose
+word I have lived and flourished until this
+day?</p>
+
+<p>“I hear my leaves rustle louder and louder,”
+said the palm, “and it sounds as melancholy as
+a dirge. It is as though they prophesied that
+some one would soon leave this life. It is well
+to know that it does not apply to me, since I
+can not die.”</p>
+
+<p>The palm assumed that the death-rustle in
+its leaves must apply to the two lone wanderers.
+It is certain that they too believed that their
+last hour was nearing. One saw it from their
+expression as they walked past the skeleton of
+a camel which lay in their path. One saw it
+from the glances they cast back at a pair of
+passing vultures. It couldn’t be otherwise; they
+must perish!</p>
+
+<p>They had caught sight of the palm and oasis
+and hastened thither to find water. But when
+they arrived at last, they collapsed from despair,
+for the well was dry. The woman, worn out,
+laid the child down and seated herself beside
+the well-curb, and wept. The man flung himself
+down beside her and beat upon the dry earth
+with his fists. The palm heard how they talked
+with each other about their inevitable death. It
+also gleaned from their conversation that King
+Herod had ordered the slaughter of all male
+children from two to three years old, because
+he feared that the long-looked-for King of the
+Jews had been born.</p>
+
+<p>“It rustles louder and louder in my leaves,”
+said the palm. “These poor fugitives will soon
+see their last moment.”</p>
+
+<p>It perceived also that they dreaded the desert.
+The man said it would have been better if they
+had stayed at home and fought with the soldiers,
+than to fly hither. He said that they
+would have met an easier death.</p>
+
+<p>“God will help us,” said the woman.</p>
+
+<p>“We are alone among beasts of prey and
+serpents,” said the man. “We have no food
+and no water. How should God be able to
+help us?” In despair he rent his garments and
+pressed his face against the dry earth. He was
+hopeless—like a man with a death-wound in his
+heart.</p>
+
+<p>The woman sat erect, with her hands clasped
+over her knees. But the looks she cast towards
+the desert spoke of a hopelessness beyond
+bounds.</p>
+
+<p>The palm heard the melancholy rustle in its
+leaves growing louder and louder. The woman
+must have heard it also, for she turned her gaze
+upward toward the palm-crown. And instantly
+she involuntarily raised her arms.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, dates, dates!” she cried. There was
+such intense agony in her voice that the old palm
+wished itself no taller than a broom and that
+the dates were as easy to reach as the buds on
+a brier bush. It probably knew that its crown
+was full of date clusters, but how should a
+human being reach such a height?</p>
+
+<p>The man had already seen how beyond all
+reach the date clusters hung. He did not even
+raise his head. He begged his wife not to
+long for the impossible.</p>
+
+<p>But the child, who had toddled about by himself
+and played with sticks and straws, had heard
+the mother’s outcry.</p>
+
+<p>Of course the little one could not imagine that
+his mother should not get everything she wished
+for. The instant she said dates, he began to
+stare at the tree. He pondered and pondered
+how he should bring down the dates. His forehead
+was almost drawn into wrinkles under the
+golden curls. At last a smile stole over his
+face. He had found the way. He went up
+to the palm and stroked it with his little hand,
+and said, in a sweet, childish voice:</p>
+
+<p>“Palm, bend thee! Palm, bend thee!”</p>
+
+<p>But what was that, what was that? The
+palm leaves rustled as if a hurricane had passed
+through them, and up and down the long trunk
+traveled shudder upon shudder. And the tree
+felt that the little one was its superior. It could
+not resist him.</p>
+
+<p>And it bowed its long trunk before the child,
+as people bow before princes. In a great bow it
+bent itself towards the ground, and finally it
+came down so far that the big crown with the
+trembling leaves swept the desert sand.</p>
+
+<p>The child appeared to be neither frightened
+nor surprised; with a joyous cry he loosened
+cluster after cluster from the old palm’s crown.
+When he had plucked enough dates, and the
+tree still lay on the ground, the child came
+back again and caressed it and said, in the
+gentlest voice:</p>
+
+<p>“Palm, raise thee! Palm, raise thee!”</p>
+
+<p>Slowly and reverently the big tree raised
+itself on its slender trunk, while the leaves played
+like harps.</p>
+
+<p>“Now I know for whom they are playing the
+death melody,” said the palm to itself when it
+stood erect once more. “It is not for any of
+these people.”</p>
+
+<p>The man and the woman sank upon their
+knees and thanked God.</p>
+
+<p>“Thou hast seen our agony and removed it.
+Thou art the Powerful One who bendest the
+palm-trunk like a reed. What enemy should
+we fear when Thy strength protects us?”</p>
+
+<p>The next time a caravan passed through the
+desert, the travelers saw that the great palm’s
+leaf-crown had withered.</p>
+
+<p>“How can this be?” said a traveler. “This
+palm was not to die before it had seen a King
+greater than Solomon.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mayhap it hath seen him,” answered another
+of the desert travelers.</p>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a href='images/i_089_lg.jpg'><img src='images/i_089.jpg' alt='' class='ig007' /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<h2 id='story6' class='c003'>IN NAZARETH</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c004'>Once, when Jesus was only five years old,
+he sat on the doorstep outside his father’s
+workshop, in Nazareth, and made clay cuckoos
+from a lump of clay which the potter across
+the way had given him. He was happier than
+usual. All the children in the quarter had told
+Jesus that the potter was a disobliging man, who
+wouldn’t let himself be coaxed, either by soft
+glances or honeyed words, and he had never
+dared ask aught of him. But, you see, he hardly
+knew how it had come about. He had only
+stood on his doorstep and, with yearning eyes,
+looked upon the neighbor working at his molds,
+and then that neighbor had come over from his
+stall and given him so much clay that it would
+have been enough to finish a whole wine jug.</p>
+
+<p>On the stoop of the next house sat Judas, his
+face covered with bruises and his clothes full
+of rents, which he had acquired during his continual
+fights with street urchins. For the moment
+he was quiet, he neither quarreled nor
+fought, but worked with a bit of clay, just as
+Jesus did. But this clay he had not been able
+to procure for himself. He hardly dared
+venture within sight of the potter, who complained
+that he was in the habit of throwing stones at
+his fragile wares, and would have driven him
+away with a good beating. It was Jesus who
+had divided his portion with him.</p>
+
+<p>When the two children had finished their clay
+cuckoos, they stood the birds up in a ring in
+front of them. These looked just as clay
+cuckoos have always looked. They had big,
+round lumps to stand on in place of feet, short
+tails, no necks, and almost imperceptible wings.</p>
+
+<p>But, at all events, one saw at once a difference
+in the work of the little playmates. Judas’ birds
+were so crooked that they tumbled over continually;
+and no matter how hard he worked
+with his clumsy little fingers, he couldn’t get their
+bodies neat and well formed. Now and then
+he glanced slyly at Jesus, to see how he managed
+to make his birds as smooth and even as
+the oak-leaves in the forests on Mount Tabor.</p>
+
+<p>As bird after bird was finished, Jesus became
+happier and happier. Each looked more beautiful
+to him than the last, and he regarded
+them all with pride and affection. They were
+to be his playmates, his little brothers; they
+should sleep in his bed, keep him company, and
+sing to him when his mother left him. Never
+before had he thought himself so rich; never
+again could he feel alone or forsaken.</p>
+
+<p>The big brawny water-carrier came walking
+along, and right after him came the huckster,
+who sat joggingly on his donkey between the
+large empty willow baskets. The water-carrier
+laid his hand on Jesus’ curly head and asked
+him about his birds; and Jesus told him that
+they had names and that they could sing.
+All the little birds were come to him from
+foreign lands, and told him things which only
+he and they knew. And Jesus spoke in such
+a way that both the water-carrier and the
+huckster forgot about their tasks for a full
+hour, to listen to him.</p>
+
+<p>But when they wished to go farther, Jesus
+pointed to Judas. “See what pretty birds Judas
+makes!” he said.</p>
+
+<p>Then the huckster good-naturedly stopped
+his donkey and asked Judas if his birds also
+had names and could sing. But Judas knew
+nothing of this. He was stubbornly silent and
+did not raise his eyes from his work, and the
+huckster angrily kicked one of his birds and
+rode on.</p>
+
+<p>In this manner the afternoon passed, and the
+sun sank so far down that its beams could come
+in through the low city gate, which stood at
+the end of the street and was decorated with
+a Roman Eagle. This sunshine, which came
+at the close of the day, was perfectly
+rose-red—as if it had become mixed with blood—and
+it colored everything which came in its path,
+as it filtered through the narrow street. It
+painted the potter’s vessels as well as the log
+which creaked under the woodman’s saw, and
+the white veil that covered Mary’s face.</p>
+
+<p>But the loveliest of all was the sun’s reflection
+as it shone on the little water-puddles which
+had gathered in the big, uneven cracks in the
+stones that covered the street. Suddenly Jesus
+stuck his hand in the puddle nearest him. He
+had conceived the idea that he would paint his
+gray birds with the sparkling sunbeams which
+had given such pretty color to the water, the
+house-walls, and everything around him.</p>
+
+<p>The sunshine took pleasure in letting itself
+be captured by him, like paint in a paint pot;
+and when Jesus spread it over the little clay
+birds, it lay still and bedecked them from head
+to feet with a diamond-like luster.</p>
+
+<p>Judas, who every now and then looked at
+Jesus to see if he made more and prettier birds
+than his, gave a shriek of delight when he saw
+how Jesus painted his clay cuckoos with the
+sunshine, which he caught from the water pools.
+Judas also dipped his hand in the shining water
+and tried to catch the sunshine.</p>
+
+<p>But the sunshine wouldn’t be caught by him.
+It slipped through his fingers; and no matter
+how fast he tried to move his hands to get
+hold of it, it got away, and he couldn’t procure
+a pinch of color for his poor birds.</p>
+
+<p>“Wait, Judas!” said Jesus. “I’ll come and
+paint your birds.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, you shan’t touch them!” cried Judas.
+“They’re good enough as they are.”</p>
+
+<p>He rose, his eyebrows contracted into an ugly
+frown, his lips compressed. And he put his
+broad foot on the birds and transformed them,
+one after another, into little flat pieces of clay.</p>
+
+<p>When all his birds were destroyed, he walked
+over to Jesus, who sat and caressed his birds—that
+glittered like jewels. Judas regarded them
+for a moment in silence, then he raised his
+foot and crushed one of them.</p>
+
+<p>When Judas took his foot away and saw
+the entire little bird changed into a cake of
+clay, he felt so relieved that he began to laugh,
+and raised his foot to crush another.</p>
+
+<p>“Judas,” said Jesus, “what are you doing?
+Don’t you see that they are alive and can sing?”</p>
+
+<p>But Judas laughed and crushed still another
+bird.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus looked around for help. Judas was
+heavily built and Jesus had not the strength to
+hold him back. He glanced around for his
+mother. She was not far away, but before she
+could have gone there, Judas would have had
+ample time to destroy the birds. The tears
+sprang to Jesus’ eyes. Judas had already
+crushed four of his birds. There were only
+three left.</p>
+
+<p>He was annoyed with his birds, who stood
+so calmly and let themselves be trampled upon
+without paying the slightest attention to the
+danger. Jesus clapped his hands to awaken
+them; then he shouted: “Fly, fly!”</p>
+
+<p>Then the three birds began to move their
+tiny wings, and, fluttering anxiously, they succeeded
+in swinging themselves up to the eaves
+of the house, where they were safe.</p>
+
+<p>But when Judas saw that the birds took to
+their wings and flew at Jesus’ command, he began
+to weep. He tore his hair, as he had seen
+his elders do when they were in great trouble,
+and he threw himself at Jesus’ feet.</p>
+
+<p>Judas lay there and rolled in the dust before
+Jesus like a dog, and kissed his feet and begged
+that he would raise his foot and crush him, as
+he had done with the clay cuckoos. For Judas
+loved Jesus and admired and worshiped him,
+and at the same time hated him.</p>
+
+<p>Mary, who sat all the while and watched
+the children’s play, came up and lifted Judas in
+her arms and seated him on her lap, and
+caressed him.</p>
+
+<p>“You poor child!” she said to him, “you
+do not know that you have attempted something
+which no mortal can accomplish. Don’t
+engage in anything of this kind again, if you do
+not wish to become the unhappiest of mortals!
+What would happen to any one of us who
+undertook to compete with one who paints with
+sunbeams and blows the breath of life into dead
+clay?”</p>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a href='images/i_099_lg.jpg'><img src='images/i_099.jpg' alt='' class='ig008' /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<h2 id='story7' class='c003'>IN THE TEMPLE</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c004'>Once there was a poor family—a man,
+his wife, and their little son—who walked
+about in the big Temple at Jerusalem. The son
+was such a pretty child! He had hair which
+fell in long, even curls, and eyes that shone
+like stars.</p>
+
+<p>The son had not been in the Temple since
+he was big enough to comprehend what he saw;
+and now his parents showed him all its glories.
+There were long rows of pillars and gilded
+altars; there were holy men who sat and instructed
+their pupils; there was the high priest
+with his breastplate of precious stones. There
+were the curtains from Babylon, interwoven
+with gold roses; there were the great copper
+gates, which were so heavy that it was hard
+work for thirty men to swing them back and
+forth on their hinges.</p>
+
+<p>But the little boy, who was only twelve years
+old, did not care very much about seeing all
+this. His mother told him that that which she
+showed him was the most marvelous in all the
+world. She told him that it would probably
+be a long time before he should see anything
+like it again. In the poor town of Nazareth,
+where they lived, there was nothing to be seen
+but gray streets.</p>
+
+<p>Her exhortations did not help matters much.
+The little boy looked as though he would willingly
+have run away from the magnificent Temple,
+if instead he could have got out and played
+on the narrow street in Nazareth.</p>
+
+<p>But it was singular that the more indifferent
+the boy appeared, the more pleased and happy
+were the parents. They nodded to each other
+over his head, and were thoroughly satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>At last, the little one looked so tired and
+bored that the mother felt sorry for him.
+“Now we have walked too far with you,” said
+she. “Come, you shall rest a while.”</p>
+
+<p>She sat down beside a pillar and told him to
+lie down on the ground and rest his head on
+her knee. He did so, and fell asleep instantly.</p>
+
+<p>He had barely closed his eyes when the wife
+said to the husband: “I have never feared anything
+so much as the moment when he should
+come here to Jerusalem’s Temple. I believed
+that when he saw this house of God, he would
+wish to stay here forever.”</p>
+
+<p>“I, too, have been afraid of this journey,”
+said the man. “At the time of his birth, many
+signs and wonders appeared which betokened
+that he would become a great ruler. But what
+could royal honors bring him except worries
+and dangers? I have always said that it would
+be best, both for him and for us, if he never
+became anything but a carpenter in Nazareth.”</p>
+
+<p>“Since his fifth year,” said the mother reflectively,
+“no miracles have happened around
+him. And he does not recall any of the wonders
+which occurred during his early childhood.
+Now he is exactly like a child among other children.
+God’s will be done above all else! But
+I have almost begun to hope that our Lord in
+His mercy will choose another for the great
+destinies, and let me keep my son with me.”</p>
+
+<p>“For my part,” said the man, “I am certain
+that if he learns nothing of the signs and wonders
+which occurred during his first years, then
+all will go well.”</p>
+
+<p>“I never speak with him about any of these
+marvels,” said the wife. “But I fear all the
+while that, without my having aught to do
+with it, something will happen which will make
+him understand who he is. I feared most of
+all to bring him to this Temple.”</p>
+
+<p>“You may be glad that the danger is over
+now,” said the man. “We shall soon have him
+back home in Nazareth.”</p>
+
+<p>“I have feared the wise men in the Temple,”
+said the woman. “I have dreaded the soothsayers
+who sit here on their rugs. I believed
+that when he should come to their notice, they
+would stand up and bow before the child, and
+greet him as Judea’s King. It is singular that
+they do not notice his beauty. Such a child
+has never before come under their eyes.” She
+sat in silence a moment and regarded the child.
+“I can hardly understand it,” said she. “I
+believed that when he should see these judges,
+who sit in the house of the Holy One and settle
+the people’s disputes, and these teachers who
+talk with their pupils, and these priests who
+serve the Lord, he would wake up and say: ‘It
+is here, among these judges, these teachers, these
+priests, that I am born to live.’”</p>
+
+<p>“What happiness would there be for him to
+sit shut in between these pillar-aisles?” interposed
+the man. “It is better for him to roam
+on the hills and mountains round about
+Nazareth.”</p>
+
+<p>The mother sighed a little. “He is so happy
+at home with us!” said she. “How contented
+he seems when he can follow the shepherds
+on their lonely wanderings, or when he can
+go out in the fields and see the husbandmen
+labor. I can not believe that we are treating
+him wrongly, when we seek to keep him for
+ourselves.”</p>
+
+<p>“We only spare him the greatest suffering,”
+said the man.</p>
+
+<p>They continued talking together in this strain
+until the child awoke from his slumber.</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said the mother, “have you had a
+good rest? Stand up now, for it is drawing
+on toward evening, and we must return to the
+camp.”</p>
+
+<p>They were in the most remote part of the
+building and so began the walk towards the
+entrance.</p>
+
+<p>They had to go through an old arch which
+had been there ever since the time when the
+first Temple was erected on this spot; and near
+the arch, propped against a wall, stood an
+old copper trumpet, enormous in length and
+weight, almost like a pillar to raise to the mouth
+and play upon. It stood there dented and battered,
+full of dust and spiders’ webs, inside and
+outside, and covered with an almost invisible
+tracing of ancient letters. Probably a thousand
+years had gone by since any one had tried to
+coax a tone out of it.</p>
+
+<p>But when the little boy saw the huge trumpet,
+he stopped—astonished! “What is that?”
+he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“That is the great trumpet called the Voice
+of the Prince of this World,” replied the
+mother. “With this, Moses called together the
+Children of Israel, when they were scattered
+over the wilderness. Since his time no one has
+been able to coax a single tone from it. But
+he who can do this, shall gather all the peoples
+of earth under his dominion.”</p>
+
+<p>She smiled at this, which she believed to be
+an old myth; but the little boy remained standing
+beside the big trumpet until she called him.
+This trumpet was the first thing he had seen
+in the Temple that he liked.</p>
+
+<p>They had not gone far before they came to a
+big, wide Temple-court. Here, in the mountain-foundation
+itself, was a chasm, deep and wide—just
+as it had been from time immemorial. This
+chasm King Solomon had not wished to fill in
+when he built the Temple. No bridge had been
+laid over it; no inclosure had he built around
+the steep abyss. But instead, he had stretched
+across it a sword of steel, several feet long,
+sharpened, and with the blade up. And after
+ages and ages and many changes, the sword
+still lay across the chasm. Now it had almost
+rusted away. It was no longer securely fastened
+at the ends, but trembled and rocked as soon as
+any one walked with heavy steps in the Temple
+Court.</p>
+
+<p>When the mother took the boy in a roundabout
+way past the chasm, he asked: “What
+bridge is this?”</p>
+
+<p>“It was placed there by King Solomon,”
+answered the mother, “and we call it Paradise
+Bridge. If you can cross the chasm on this
+trembling bridge, whose surface is thinner than
+a sunbeam, then you can be sure of getting to
+Paradise.”</p>
+
+<p>She smiled and moved away; but the boy
+stood still and looked at the narrow, trembling
+steel blade until she called him.</p>
+
+<p>When he obeyed her, she sighed because she
+had not shown him these two remarkable things
+sooner, so that he might have had sufficient time
+to view them.</p>
+
+<p>Now they walked on without being detained,
+till they came to the great entrance portico with
+its columns, five-deep. Here, in a corner, were
+two black marble pillars erected on the same
+foundation, and so close to each other that hardly
+a straw could be squeezed in between them.
+They were tall and majestic, with richly ornamented
+capitals around which ran a row of
+peculiarly formed beasts’ heads. And there
+was not an inch on these beautiful pillars that
+did not bear marks and scratches. They were
+worn and damaged like nothing else in the
+Temple. Even the floor around them was worn
+smooth, and was somewhat hollowed out from
+the wear of many feet.</p>
+
+<p>Once more the boy stopped his mother and
+asked: “What pillars are these?”</p>
+
+<p>“They are pillars which our father Abraham
+brought with him to Palestine from far-away
+Chaldea, and which he called Righteousness’
+Gate. He who can squeeze between them is
+righteous before God and has never committed
+a sin.”</p>
+
+<p>The boy stood still and regarded these pillars
+with great, open eyes.</p>
+
+<p>“You, surely, do not think of trying to
+squeeze yourself in between them?” laughed
+the mother. “You see how the floor around
+them is worn away by the many who have
+attempted to force their way through the
+narrow space; but, believe me, no one has
+succeeded. Make haste! I hear the
+clanging of the copper gates; the thirty
+Temple servants have put their shoulders to
+them.”</p>
+
+<p>But all night the little boy lay awake in the
+tent, and he saw before him nothing but Righteousness’
+Gate and Paradise Bridge and the
+Voice of the Prince of this World. Never before
+had he heard of such wonderful things, and
+he couldn’t get them out of his head.</p>
+
+<p>And on the morning of the next day it was
+the same thing: he couldn’t think of anything
+else. That morning they were to leave for
+home. The parents had much to do before they
+took the tent down and loaded it upon a big
+camel, and before everything else was in order.
+They were not going to travel alone, but in
+company with many relatives and neighbors.
+And since there were so many, the packing naturally
+went on very slowly.</p>
+
+<p>The little boy did not assist in the work,
+but in the midst of the hurry and confusion he
+sat still and thought about the three wonderful
+things.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly he concluded that he would have
+time enough to go back to the Temple and take
+another look at them. There was still much
+to be packed away. He could probably manage
+to get back from the Temple before the
+departure.</p>
+
+<p>He hastened away without telling any one
+where he was going to. He didn’t think it was
+necessary. He would soon return, of course.</p>
+
+<p>It wasn’t long before he reached the Temple
+and entered the portico where the two pillars
+stood.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as he saw them, his eyes danced with
+joy. He sat down on the floor beside them, and
+gazed up at them. As he thought that he who
+could squeeze between these two pillars was accounted
+righteous before God and had never
+committed sin, he fancied he had never seen
+anything so wonderful.</p>
+
+<p>He thought how glorious it would be to be
+able to squeeze in between the two pillars, but
+they stood so close together that it was impossible
+even to try it. In this way, he sat motionless
+before the pillars for well-nigh an hour;
+but this he did not know. He thought he had
+looked at them only a few moments.</p>
+
+<p>But it happened that, in the portico where
+the little boy sat, the judges of the high
+court were assembled to help folks settle their
+differences.</p>
+
+<p>The whole portico was filled with people, who
+complained about boundary lines that had been
+moved, about sheep which had been carried
+away from the flocks and branded with false
+marks, about debtors who wouldn’t pay.</p>
+
+<p>Among them came a rich man dressed in a
+trailing purple robe, who brought before the
+court a poor widow who was supposed to owe
+him a few silver shekels. The poor widow cried
+and said that the rich man dealt unjustly with
+her; she had already paid her debt to him once,
+and now he tried to force her to pay it again,
+but this she could not afford to do; she was so
+poor that should the judges condemn her to
+pay, she must give her daughters to the rich
+man as slaves.</p>
+
+<p>Then he who sat in the place of honor on
+the judges’ bench, turned to the rich man and
+said: “Do you dare to swear on oath that this
+poor woman has not already paid you?”</p>
+
+<p>Then the rich man answered: “Lord, I am
+a rich man. Would I take the trouble to demand
+my money from this poor widow, if I
+did not have the right to it? I swear to you
+that as certain as that no one shall ever walk
+through Righteousness’ Gate does this woman
+owe me the sum which I demand.”</p>
+
+<p>When the judges heard this oath they believed
+him, and doomed the poor widow to
+leave him her daughters as slaves.</p>
+
+<p>But the little boy sat close by and heard
+all this. He thought to himself: What a good
+thing it would be if some one could squeeze
+through Righteousness’ Gate! That rich man
+certainly did not speak the truth. It is a great
+pity about the poor old woman, who will be
+compelled to send her daughters away to become
+slaves!</p>
+
+<p>He jumped upon the platform where the two
+pillars towered into the heights, and looked
+through the crack.</p>
+
+<p>“Ah, that it were not altogether impossible!”
+thought he.</p>
+
+<p>He was deeply distressed because of the poor
+woman. Now he didn’t think at all about the
+saying that he who could squeeze through
+Righteousness’ Gate was holy, and without sin.
+He wanted to get through only for the sake
+of the poor woman.</p>
+
+<p>He put his shoulder in the groove between
+the two pillars, as if to make a way.</p>
+
+<p>That instant all the people who stood under
+the portico, looked over toward Righteousness’
+Gate. For it rumbled in the vaults, and it sang
+in the old pillars, and they glided apart—one
+to the right, and one to the left—and made a
+space wide enough for the boy’s slender body
+to pass between them!</p>
+
+<p>Then there arose the greatest wonder and
+excitement! At first no one knew what to say.
+The people stood and stared at the little boy
+who had worked so great a miracle.</p>
+
+<p>The oldest among the judges was the first one
+who came to his senses. He called out that
+they should lay hold on the rich merchant, and
+bring him before the judgment seat. And he
+sentenced him to leave all his goods to the poor
+widow, because he had sworn falsely in God’s
+Temple.</p>
+
+<p>When this was settled, the judge asked after
+the boy who had passed through Righteousness’
+Gate; but when the people looked around for
+him, he had disappeared. For the very moment
+the pillars glided apart, he was awakened, as
+from a dream, and remembered the home-journey
+and his parents. “Now I must hasten away
+from here, so that my parents will not have to
+wait for me,” thought he.</p>
+
+<p>He knew not that he had sat a whole hour
+before Righteousness’ Gate, but believed he had
+lingered there only a few minutes; therefore, he
+thought that he would even have time to take
+a look at Paradise Bridge before he left the
+Temple.</p>
+
+<p>And he slipped through the throng of people
+and came to Paradise Bridge, which was situated
+in another part of the big temple.</p>
+
+<p>But when he saw the sharp steel sword which
+was drawn across the chasm, he thought how the
+person who could walk across that bridge was
+sure of reaching Paradise. He believed that
+this was the most marvelous thing he had ever
+beheld; and he seated himself on the edge of
+the chasm to look at the steel sword.</p>
+
+<p>There he sat down and thought how delightful
+it would be to reach Paradise, and how
+much he would like to walk across the bridge;
+but at the same time he saw that it would be
+simply impossible even to attempt it.</p>
+
+<p>Thus he sat and mused for two hours, but
+he did not know how the time had flown. He
+sat there and thought only of Paradise.</p>
+
+<p>But it seems that in the court where the
+deep chasm was, a large altar had been erected,
+and all around it walked white-robed priests,
+who tended the altar fire and received sacrifices.
+In the court there were many with offerings,
+and a big crowd who only watched the
+service.</p>
+
+<p>Then there came a poor old man who brought
+a lamb which was very small and thin, and
+which had been bitten by a dog and had a large
+wound.</p>
+
+<p>The man went up to the priests with the lamb
+and begged that he might offer it, but they
+refused to accept it. They told him that such
+a miserable gift he could not offer to our Lord.
+The old man implored them to accept the lamb
+out of compassion, for his son lay at the point
+of death, and he possessed nothing else that
+he could offer to God for his restoration. “You
+must let me offer it,” said he, “else my prayers
+will not come before God’s face, and my son
+will die!”</p>
+
+<p>“You must not believe but that I have the
+greatest sympathy with you,” said the priest,
+“but in the law it is forbidden to sacrifice a
+damaged animal. It is just as impossible to
+grant your prayers, as it is to cross Paradise
+Bridge.”</p>
+
+<p>The little boy did not sit very far away, so
+he heard all this. Instantly he thought what
+a pity it was that no one could cross the bridge.
+Perhaps the poor man might keep his son if
+the lamb were sacrificed.</p>
+
+<p>The old man left the Temple Court disconsolate,
+but the boy got up, walked over to the
+trembling bridge, and put his foot on it.</p>
+
+<p>He didn’t think at all about wanting to cross
+it to be certain of Paradise. His thoughts were
+with the poor man, whom he desired to help.</p>
+
+<p>But he drew back his foot, for he thought:
+“This is impossible. It is much too old and
+rusty, and would not hold even me!”</p>
+
+<p>But once again his thoughts went out to the
+old man whose son lay at death’s door. Again
+he put his foot down upon the blade.</p>
+
+<p>Then he noticed that it ceased to tremble,
+and that beneath his foot it felt broad and
+secure.</p>
+
+<p>And when he took the next step upon it, he
+felt that the air around him supported him, so
+that he could not fall. It bore him as though
+he were a bird, and had wings.</p>
+
+<p>But from the suspended sword a sweet tone
+trembled when the boy walked upon it, and one
+of those who stood in the court turned around
+when he heard the tone. He gave a cry, and
+then the others turned and saw the little boy
+tripping across the sword.</p>
+
+<p>There was great consternation among all who
+stood there. The first who came to their senses
+were the priests. They immediately sent a messenger
+after the poor man, and when he came
+back they said to him: “God has performed a
+miracle to show us that He will accept your
+offering. Give us your lamb and we will sacrifice
+it.”</p>
+
+<p>When this was done they asked for the little
+boy who had walked across the chasm; but
+when they looked around for him they could
+not find him.</p>
+
+<p>For just after the boy had crossed the chasm,
+he happened to think of the journey home, and
+of his parents. He did not know that the morning
+and the whole forenoon were gone, but
+thought: “I must make haste and get back, so
+that they will not have to wait. But first I want
+to run over and take a look at the Voice of the
+Prince of this World.”</p>
+
+<p>And he stole away through the crowd and
+ran over to the damp pillar-aisle where the copper
+trumpet stood leaning against the wall.</p>
+
+<p>When he saw it, and thought about the prediction
+that he who could coax a tone from it
+should one day gather all the peoples of earth
+under his dominion, he fancied that never had
+he seen anything so wonderful! and he sat
+down beside it and regarded it.</p>
+
+<p>He thought how great it would be to win
+all the peoples of earth, and how much he
+wished that he could blow in the old trumpet.
+But he understood that it was impossible, so
+he didn’t even dare try.</p>
+
+<p>He sat like this for several hours, but he did
+not know how the time passed. He thought
+only how marvelous it would be to gather all
+the peoples of earth under his dominion.</p>
+
+<p>But it happened that in this cool passageway
+sat a holy man who instructed his pupils, that
+sat at his feet.</p>
+
+<p>And now this holy man turned toward one
+of his pupils and told him that he was an impostor.
+He said the spirit had revealed to him
+that this youth was a stranger, and not an
+Israelite. And he demanded why he had
+sneaked in among his pupils under a false name.</p>
+
+<p>Then the strange youth rose and said that
+he had wandered through deserts and sailed
+over great seas that he might hear wisdom and
+the doctrine of the only true God expounded.
+“My soul was faint with longing,” he said to
+the holy man. “But I knew that you would
+not teach me if I did not say that I was an
+Israelite. Therefore, I lied to you, that my
+longing should be satisfied. And I pray that
+you will let me remain here with you.”</p>
+
+<p>But the holy man stood up and raised his
+arms toward heaven. “It is just as impossible
+to let you remain here with me, as it is that
+some one shall arise and blow in the huge copper
+trumpet, which we call the Voice of the
+Prince of this World! You are not even
+permitted to enter this part of the Temple. Leave
+this place at once, or my pupils will throw themselves
+upon you and tear you in pieces, for your
+presence desecrates the Temple.”</p>
+
+<p>But the youth stood still, and said: “I do not
+wish to go elsewhere, where my soul can find
+no nourishment. I would rather die here at
+your feet.”</p>
+
+<p>Hardly was this said when the holy man’s
+pupils jumped to their feet, to drive him away,
+and when he made resistance, they threw him
+down and wished to kill him.</p>
+
+<p>But the boy sat very near, so he heard and
+saw all this, and he thought: “This is a great
+injustice. Oh! if I could only blow in the big
+copper trumpet, he would be helped.”</p>
+
+<p>He rose and laid his hand on the trumpet.
+At this moment he no longer wished that he
+could raise it to his lips because he who could
+do so should be a great ruler, but because he
+hoped that he might help one whose life was
+in danger.</p>
+
+<p>And he grasped the copper trumpet with his
+tiny hands, to try and lift it.</p>
+
+<p>Then he felt that the huge trumpet raised
+itself to his lips. And when he only breathed,
+a strong, resonant tone came forth from the
+trumpet, and reverberated all through the great
+Temple.</p>
+
+<p>Then they all turned their eyes and saw that
+it was a little boy who stood with the trumpet
+to his lips and coaxed from it tones which made
+foundations and pillars tremble.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly, all the hands which had been lifted
+to strike the strange youth fell, and the holy
+teacher said to him:</p>
+
+<p>“Come and sit thee here at my feet, as thou
+didst sit before! God hath performed a miracle
+to show me that it is His wish that thou shouldst
+be consecrated to His service.”</p>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<p>As it drew on toward the close of day, a man
+and a woman came hurrying toward Jerusalem.
+They looked frightened and anxious, and called
+out to each and every one whom they met:
+“We have lost our son! We thought he had
+followed our relatives, but none of them have
+seen him. Has any one of you passed a child
+alone?”</p>
+
+<p>Those who came from Jerusalem answered
+them: “Indeed, we have not seen your son, but
+in the Temple we saw a most beautiful child!
+He was like an angel from heaven, and he has
+passed through Righteousness’ Gate.”</p>
+
+<p>They would gladly have related, very minutely,
+all about this, but the parents had no
+time to listen.</p>
+
+<p>When they had walked on a little farther,
+they met other persons and questioned them.</p>
+
+<p>But those who came from Jerusalem wished
+to talk only about a most beautiful child who
+looked as though he had come down from
+heaven, and who had crossed Paradise
+Bridge.</p>
+
+<p>They would gladly have stopped and talked
+about this until late at night, but the man and
+woman had no time to listen to them, and hurried
+into the city.</p>
+
+<p>They walked up one street and down another
+without finding the child. At last they reached
+the Temple. As they came up to it, the woman
+said: “Since we are here, let us go in and see
+what the child is like, which they say has come
+down from heaven!” They went in and asked
+where they should find the child.</p>
+
+<p>“Go straight on to where the holy teachers
+sit with their students. There you will find the
+child. The old men have seated him in their
+midst. They question him and he questions
+them, and they are all amazed at him. But all
+the people stand below in the Temple court,
+to catch a glimpse of the one who has raised
+the Voice of the Prince of this World to his
+lips.”</p>
+
+<p>The man and the woman made their way
+through the throng of people, and saw that
+the child who sat among the wise teachers was
+their son.</p>
+
+<p>But as soon as the woman recognized the
+child she began to weep.</p>
+
+<p>And the boy who sat among the wise men
+heard that some one wept, and he knew that
+it was his mother. Then he rose and came
+over to her, and the father and mother took
+him between them and went from the Temple
+with him.</p>
+
+<p>But as the mother continued to weep, the
+child asked: “Why weepest thou? I came to
+thee as soon as I heard thy voice.”</p>
+
+<p>“Should I not weep?” said the mother. “I
+believed that thou wert lost to me.”</p>
+
+<p>They went out from the city and darkness
+came on, and all the while the mother wept.</p>
+
+<p>“Why weepest thou?” asked the child. “I
+did not know that the day was spent. I thought
+it was still morning, and I came to thee as soon
+as I heard thy voice.”</p>
+
+<p>“Should I not weep?” said the mother. “I
+have sought for thee all day long. I believed
+that thou wert lost to me.”</p>
+
+<p>They walked the whole night, and the mother
+wept all the while.</p>
+
+<p>When day began to dawn, the child said:
+“Why dost thou weep? I have not sought
+mine own glory, but God has let me perform
+miracles because He wanted to help the three
+poor creatures. As soon as I heard thy voice,
+I came to thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“My son,” replied the mother. “I weep
+because thou art none the less lost to me. Thou
+wilt never more belong to me. Henceforth thy
+life ambition shall be righteousness; thy longing,
+Paradise; and thy love shall embrace all
+the poor human beings who people this earth.”</p>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a href='images/i_123_lg.jpg'><img src='images/i_123.jpg' alt='' class='ig009' /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<h2 id='story8' class='c003'>SAINT VERONICA’S KERCHIEF</h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+<div class='nf-center c004'  >
+    <span class='larger'>I</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>During one of the latter years of Emperor
+Tiberius’ reign, a poor vine-dresser
+and his wife came and settled in a solitary
+hut among the Sabine mountains. They were
+strangers, and lived in absolute solitude without
+ever receiving a visit from a human being.
+But one morning when the laborer opened his
+door, he found, to his astonishment, that an
+old woman sat huddled up on the threshold. She
+was wrapped in a plain gray mantle, and looked
+very poor. Nevertheless, she impressed him as
+being so respect-compelling, as she rose and
+came to meet him, that it made him think of
+what the legends had to say about goddesses
+who, in the form of old women, had visited
+mortals.</p>
+
+<p>“My friend,” said the old woman to the vine-dresser,
+“you must not wonder that I have slept
+this night on your threshold. My parents lived
+in this hut, and here I was born nearly ninety
+years ago. I expected to find it empty and
+deserted. I did not know that people still occupied
+it.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not wonder that you thought a hut
+which lies so high up among these desolate hills
+should stand empty and deserted,” said the vine-dresser.
+“But my wife and I come from a
+foreign land, and as poor strangers we have
+not been able to find a better dwelling-place.
+But to you, who must be tired and hungry after
+the long journey, which you at your extreme age
+have undertaken, it is perhaps more welcome
+that the hut is occupied by people than by Sabine
+mountain wolves. You will at least find a bed
+within to rest on, and a bowl of goats’ milk, and
+a bread-cake, if you will accept them.”</p>
+
+<p>The old woman smiled a little, but this smile
+was so fleeting that it could not dispel the expression
+of deep sorrow which rested upon her
+countenance.</p>
+
+<p>“I spent my entire youth up here among these
+mountains,” she said. “I have not yet forgotten
+the trick of driving a wolf from his lair.”</p>
+
+<p>And she actually looked so strong and vigorous
+that the laborer didn’t doubt that she still
+possessed strength enough, despite her great
+age, to fight with the wild beasts of the forest.</p>
+
+<p>He repeated his invitation, and the old
+woman stepped into the cottage. She sat down
+to the frugal meal, and partook of it without
+hesitancy. Although she seemed to be well satisfied
+with the fare of coarse bread soaked in
+goats’ milk, both the man and his wife thought:
+“Where can this old wanderer come from?
+She has certainly eaten pheasants served on silver
+plates oftener than she has drunk goats’
+milk from earthen bowls.”</p>
+
+<p>Now and then she raised her eyes from the
+food and looked around,—as if to try and
+realize that she was back in the hut. The poor
+old home with its bare clay walls and its earth
+floor was certainly not much changed. She
+pointed out to her hosts that on the walls there
+were still visible some traces of dogs and deer
+which her father had sketched there to amuse
+his little children. And on a shelf, high up, she
+thought she saw fragments of an earthen dish
+which she herself had used to measure milk in.</p>
+
+<p>The man and his wife thought to themselves:
+“It must be true that she was born in this hut,
+but she has surely had much more to attend to
+in this life than milking goats and making butter
+and cheese.”</p>
+
+<p>They observed also that her thoughts were
+often far away, and that she sighed heavily and
+anxiously every time she came back to herself.</p>
+
+<p>Finally she rose from the table. She thanked
+them graciously for the hospitality she had enjoyed,
+and walked toward the door.</p>
+
+<p>But then it seemed to the vine-dresser that
+she was pitifully poor and lonely, and he exclaimed:
+“If I am not mistaken, it was not
+your intention, when you dragged yourself up
+here last night, to leave this hut so soon. If
+you are actually as poor as you seem, it must
+have been your intention to remain here for
+the rest of your life. But now you wish to
+leave because my wife and I have taken possession
+of the hut.”</p>
+
+<p>The old woman did not deny that he had
+guessed rightly. “But this hut, which for many
+years has been deserted, belongs to you as much
+as to me,” she said. “I have no right to drive
+you from it.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is still your parents’ hut,” said the laborer,
+“and you surely have a better right to
+it than we have. Besides, we are young and
+you are old; therefore, you shall remain and
+we will go.”</p>
+
+<p>When the old woman heard this, she was
+greatly astonished. She turned around on the
+threshold and stared at the man, as though she
+had not understood what he meant by his words.</p>
+
+<p>But now the young wife joined in the conversation.</p>
+
+<p>“If I might suggest,” said she to her husband,
+“I should beg you to ask this old woman
+if she won’t look upon us as her own children,
+and permit us to stay with her and take care
+of her. What service would we render her if we
+gave her this miserable hut and then left her?
+It would be terrible for her to live here in this
+wilderness alone! And what would she live
+on? It would be just like letting her starve
+to death.”</p>
+
+<p>The old woman went up to the man and his
+wife and regarded them carefully. “Why do
+you speak thus?” she asked. “Why are you
+so merciful to me? You are strangers.”</p>
+
+<p>Then the young wife answered: “It is because
+we ourselves once met with great mercy.”</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>II</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>This is how the old woman came to live in
+the vine-dresser’s hut. And she conceived a
+great friendship for the young people. But for
+all that she never told them whence she had
+come, or who she was, and they understood
+that she would not have taken it in good part
+had they questioned her.</p>
+
+<p>But one evening, when the day’s work was
+done, and all three sat on the big, flat rock
+which lay before the entrance, and partook of
+their evening meal, they saw an old man coming
+up the path.</p>
+
+<p>He was a tall and powerfully built man, with
+shoulders as broad as a gladiator’s. His face
+wore a cheerless and stern expression. The
+brows jutted far out over the deep-set eyes, and
+the lines around the mouth expressed bitterness
+and contempt. He walked with erect bearing
+and quick movements.</p>
+
+<p>The man wore a simple dress, and the instant
+the vine-dresser saw him, he said: “He is an
+old soldier, one who has been discharged from
+service and is now on his way home.”</p>
+
+<p>When the stranger came directly before them
+he paused, as if in doubt. The laborer, who
+knew that the road terminated a short distance
+beyond the hut, laid down his spoon and called
+out to him: “Have you gone astray, stranger,
+since you come hither? Usually, no one takes
+the trouble to climb up here, unless he has an
+errand to one of us who live here.”</p>
+
+<p>When he questioned in this manner, the
+stranger came nearer. “It is as you say,” said
+he. “I have taken the wrong road, and now
+I know not whither I shall direct my steps. If
+you will let me rest here a while, and then tell
+me which path I shall follow to get to some
+farm, I shall be grateful to you.”</p>
+
+<p>As he spake he sat down upon one of the
+stones which lay before the hut. The young
+woman asked him if he wouldn’t share their
+supper, but this he declined with a smile. On
+the other hand it was very evident that he was
+inclined to talk with them, while they ate. He
+asked the young folks about their manner of
+living, and their work, and they answered him
+frankly and cheerfully.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly the laborer turned toward the
+stranger and began to question him. “You see
+in what a lonely and isolated way we live,”
+said he. “It must be a year at least since I
+have talked with any one except shepherds and
+vineyard laborers. Can not you, who must come
+from some camp, tell us something about Rome
+and the Emperor?”</p>
+
+<p>Hardly had the man said this than the young
+wife noticed that the old woman gave him a
+warning glance, and made with her hand the
+sign which means—Have a care what you say.</p>
+
+<p>The stranger, meanwhile, answered very
+affably: “I understand that you take me for
+a soldier, which is not untrue, although I have
+long since left the service. During Tiberius’
+reign there has not been much work for us
+soldiers. Yet he was once a great commander.
+Those were the days of his good fortune. Now
+he thinks of nothing except to guard himself
+against conspiracies. In Rome, every one is
+talking about how, last week, he let Senator
+Titius be seized and executed on the merest
+suspicion.”</p>
+
+<p>“The poor Emperor no longer knows what
+he does!” exclaimed the young woman; and
+shook her head in pity and surprise.</p>
+
+<p>“You are perfectly right,” said the stranger,
+as an expression of the deepest melancholy
+crossed his countenance. “Tiberius knows that
+every one hates him, and this is driving him
+insane.”</p>
+
+<p>“What say you?” the woman retorted.
+“Why should we hate him? We only deplore
+the fact that he is no longer the great Emperor
+he was in the beginning of his reign.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are mistaken,” said the stranger.
+“Every one hates and detests Tiberius. Why
+should they do otherwise? He is nothing but
+a cruel and merciless tyrant. In Rome they
+think that from now on he will become even
+more unreasonable than he has been.”</p>
+
+<p>“Has anything happened, then, which will
+turn him into a worse beast than he is already?”
+queried the vine-dresser.</p>
+
+<p>When he said this, the wife noticed that
+the old woman gave him a new warning signal,
+but so stealthily that he could not see it.</p>
+
+<p>The stranger answered him in a kindly manner,
+but at the same time a singular smile played
+about his lips.</p>
+
+<p>“You have heard, perhaps, that until now
+Tiberius has had a friend in his household on
+whom he could rely, and who has always told
+him the truth. All the rest who live in his
+palace are fortune-hunters and hypocrites, who
+praise the Emperor’s wicked and cunning acts
+just as much as his good and admirable ones.
+But there was, as we have said, one alone who
+never feared to let him know how his conduct
+was actually regarded. This person, who was
+more courageous than senators and generals,
+was the Emperor’s old nurse, Faustina.”</p>
+
+<p>“I have heard of her,” said the laborer.
+“I’ve been told that the Emperor has always
+shown her great friendship.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Tiberius knew how to prize her affection
+and loyalty. He treated this poor peasant
+woman, who came from a miserable hut
+in the Sabine mountains, as his second mother.
+As long as he stayed in Rome, he let her live
+in a mansion on the Palatine, that he might
+always have her near him. None of Rome’s
+noble matrons has fared better than she. She
+was borne through the streets in a litter, and
+her dress was that of an empress. When the
+Emperor moved to Capri, she had to accompany
+him, and he bought a country estate for
+her there, and filled it with slaves and costly
+furnishings.”</p>
+
+<p>“She has certainly fared well,” said the
+husband.</p>
+
+<p>Now it was he who kept up the conversation
+with the stranger. The wife sat silent and
+observed with surprise the change which had
+come over the old woman. Since the stranger
+arrived, she had not spoken a word. She had
+lost her mild and friendly expression. She had
+pushed her food aside, and sat erect and rigid
+against the door-post, and stared straight ahead,
+with a severe and stony countenance.</p>
+
+<p>“It was the Emperor’s intention that she
+should have a happy life,” said the stranger.
+“But, despite all his kindly acts, she too has
+deserted him.”</p>
+
+<p>The old woman gave a start at these words,
+but the young one laid her hand quietingly on
+her arm. Then she began to speak in her soft,
+sympathetic voice. “I can not believe that
+Faustina has been as happy at court as you
+say,” she said, as she turned toward the
+stranger. “I am sure that she has loved
+Tiberius as if he had been her own son. I can
+understand how proud she has been of his noble
+youth, and I can even understand how it must
+have grieved her to see him abandon himself in
+his old age to suspicion and cruelty. She has
+certainly warned and admonished him every day.
+It has been terrible for her always to plead in
+vain. At last she could no longer bear to see
+him sink lower and lower.”</p>
+
+<p>The stranger, astonished, leaned forward a
+bit when he heard this; but the young woman
+did not glance up at him. She kept her eyes
+lowered, and spoke very calmly and gently.</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps you are right in what you say of
+the old woman,” he replied. “Faustina has
+really not been happy at court. It seems strange,
+nevertheless, that she has left the Emperor in
+his old age, when she had endured him the span
+of a lifetime.”</p>
+
+<p>“What say you?” asked the husband. “Has
+old Faustina left the Emperor?”</p>
+
+<p>“She has stolen away from Capri without
+any one’s knowledge,” said the stranger. “She
+left just as poor as she came. She has not
+taken one of her treasures with her.”</p>
+
+<p>“And doesn’t the Emperor really know
+where she has gone?” asked the wife.</p>
+
+<p>“No! No one knows for certain what road
+the old woman has taken. Still, one takes it
+for granted that she has sought refuge among
+her native mountains.”</p>
+
+<p>“And the Emperor does not know, either,
+why she has gone away?” asked the young
+woman.</p>
+
+<p>“No, the Emperor knows nothing of this.
+He can not believe she left him because he
+once told her that she served him for money
+and gifts only, like all the rest. She knows,
+however, that he has never doubted her unselfishness.
+He has hoped all along that she
+would return to him voluntarily, for no one
+knows better than she that he is absolutely without
+friends.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not know her,” said the young woman,
+“but I think I can tell you why she has left
+the Emperor. The old woman was brought up
+among these mountains in simplicity and piety,
+and she has always longed to come back here
+again. Surely she never would have abandoned
+the Emperor if he had not insulted her. But
+I understand that, after this, she feels she has
+the right to think of herself, since her days are
+numbered. If I were a poor woman of the
+mountains, I certainly would have acted as
+she did. I would have thought that I had done
+enough when I had served my master during
+a whole lifetime. I would at last have abandoned
+luxury and royal favors to give my soul
+a taste of honor and integrity before it left me
+for the long journey.”</p>
+
+<p>The stranger glanced with a deep and tender
+sadness at the young woman. “You do not
+consider that the Emperor’s propensities will
+become worse than ever. Now there is no one
+who can calm him when suspicion and misanthropy
+take possession of him. Think of this,”
+he continued, as his melancholy gaze penetrated
+deeply into the eyes of the young woman, “in
+all the world there is no one now whom he does
+not hate; no one whom he does not despise—no
+one!”</p>
+
+<p>As he uttered these words of bitter despair,
+the old woman made a sudden movement and
+turned toward him, but the young woman looked
+him straight in the eyes and answered: “Tiberius
+knows that Faustina will come back to
+him whenever he wishes it. But first she must
+know that her old eyes need never more behold
+vice and infamy at his court.”</p>
+
+<p>They had all risen during this speech; but the
+vine-dresser and his wife placed themselves in
+front of the old woman, as if to shield her.</p>
+
+<p>The stranger did not utter another syllable,
+but regarded the old woman with a questioning
+glance. Is this <em>your</em> last word also? he seemed
+to want to say. The old woman’s lips quivered,
+but words would not pass them.</p>
+
+<p>“If the Emperor has loved his old servant,
+then he can also let her live her last days in
+peace,” said the young woman.</p>
+
+<p>The stranger hesitated still, but suddenly his
+dark countenance brightened. “My friends,”
+said he, “whatever one may say of Tiberius,
+there is one thing which he has learned better
+than others; and that is—renunciation. I have
+only one thing more to say to you: If this old
+woman, of whom we have spoken, should come
+to this hut, receive her well! The Emperor’s
+favor rests upon any one who succors her.”</p>
+
+<p>He wrapped his mantle about him and departed
+the same way that he had come.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>III</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>After this, the vine-dresser and his wife never
+again spoke to the old woman about the Emperor.
+Between themselves they marveled that
+she, at her great age, had had the strength
+to renounce all the wealth and power to which
+she had become accustomed. “I wonder if she
+will not soon go back to Tiberius?” they asked
+themselves. “It is certain that she still loves
+him. It is in the hope that it will awaken him
+to reason and enable him to repent of his low
+conduct, that she has left him.”</p>
+
+<p>“A man as old as the Emperor will never
+begin a new life,” said the laborer. “How are
+you going to rid him of his great contempt for
+mankind? Who could go to him and teach him
+to love his fellow man? Until this happens, he
+can not be cured of suspicion and cruelty.”</p>
+
+<p>“You know that there is one who could
+actually do it,” said the wife. “I often think
+of how it would turn out, if the two should
+meet. But God’s ways are not our ways.”</p>
+
+<p>The old woman did not seem to miss her
+former life at all. After a time the young wife
+gave birth to a child. The old woman had the
+care of it; she seemed so content in consequence
+that one could have thought she had forgotten
+all her sorrows.</p>
+
+<p>Once every half-year she used to wrap her
+long, gray mantle around her, and wander down
+to Rome. There she did not seek a soul, but
+went straight to the Forum. Here she stopped
+outside a little temple, which was erected on
+one side of the superbly decorated square.</p>
+
+<p>All there was of this temple was an uncommonly
+large altar, which stood in a marble-paved
+court under the open sky. On the top
+of the altar, Fortuna, the goddess of happiness,
+was enthroned, and at its foot was a statue of
+Tiberius. Encircling the court were buildings
+for the priests, storerooms for fuel, and stalls
+for the beasts of sacrifice.</p>
+
+<p>Old Faustina’s journeys never extended beyond
+this temple, where those who would pray
+for the welfare of Tiberius were wont to come.
+When she cast a glance in there and saw that
+both the goddess’ and the Emperor’s statue
+were wreathed in flowers; that the sacrificial fire
+burned; that throngs of reverent worshipers
+were assembled before the altar, and heard the
+priests’ low chants sounding thereabouts, she
+turned around and went back to the mountains.</p>
+
+<p>In this way she learned, without having to
+question a human being, that Tiberius was still
+among the living, and that all was well with
+him.</p>
+
+<p>The third time she undertook this journey,
+she met with a surprise. When she reached the
+little temple, she found it empty and deserted.
+No fire burned before the statue, and not a
+worshiper was seen. A couple of dried garlands
+still hung on one side of the altar, but this
+was all that testified to its former glory. The
+priests were gone, and the Emperor’s statue,
+which stood there unguarded, was damaged and
+mud-bespattered.</p>
+
+<p>The old woman turned to the first passer-by.
+“What does this mean?” she asked. “Is Tiberius
+dead? Have we another Emperor?”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” replied the Roman, “Tiberius is still
+Emperor, but we have ceased to pray for him.
+Our prayers can no longer benefit him.”</p>
+
+<p>“My friend,” said the old woman, “I live
+far away among the mountains, where one learns
+nothing of what happens out in the world.
+Won’t you tell me what dreadful misfortune
+has overtaken the Emperor?”</p>
+
+<p>“The most dreadful of all misfortunes! He
+has been stricken with a disease which has never
+before been known in Italy, but which seems to
+be common in the Orient. Since this evil has
+befallen the Emperor, his features are changed,
+his voice has become like an animal’s grunt, and
+his toes and fingers are rotting away. And for
+this illness there appears to be no remedy. They
+believe that he will die within a few weeks. But
+if he does not die, he will be dethroned, for
+such an ill and wretched man can no longer conduct
+the affairs of State. You understand, of
+course, that his fate is a foregone conclusion.
+It is useless to invoke the gods for his success,
+and it is not worth while,” he added, with a
+faint smile. “No one has anything more
+either to fear or hope from him. Why,
+then, should we trouble ourselves on his
+account?”</p>
+
+<p>He nodded and walked away; but the old
+woman stood there as if stunned.</p>
+
+<p>For the first time in her life she collapsed, and
+looked like one whom age has subdued. She
+stood with bent back and trembling head, and
+with hands that groped feebly in the air.</p>
+
+<p>She longed to get away from the place, but
+she moved her feet slowly. She looked around
+to find something which she could use as a staff.</p>
+
+<p>But after a few moments, by a tremendous
+effort of the will, she succeeded in conquering
+the faintness.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>IV</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>A week later, old Faustina wandered up the
+steep inclines on the Island of Capri. It was
+a warm day and the dread consciousness of old
+age and feebleness came over her as she labored
+up the winding roads and the hewn-out steps
+in the mountain, which led to Tiberius’ villa.</p>
+
+<p>This feeling increased when she observed how
+changed everything had become during the time
+she had been away. In truth, on and alongside
+these steps there had always before been throngs
+of people. Here it used fairly to swarm with
+senators, borne by giant Libyans; with messengers
+from the provinces attended by long
+processions of slaves; with office-seekers; with
+noblemen invited to participate in the Emperor’s
+feasts.</p>
+
+<p>But to-day the steps and passages were entirely
+deserted. Gray-greenish lizards were the
+only living things which the old woman saw in
+her path.</p>
+
+<p>She was amazed to see that already everything
+appeared to be going to ruin. At most, the
+Emperor’s illness could not have progressed
+more than two months, and yet the grass had
+already taken root in the cracks between the
+marble stones. Rare growths, planted in beautiful
+vases, were already withered and here and
+there mischievous spoilers, whom no one had
+taken the trouble to stop, had broken down the
+balustrade.</p>
+
+<p>But to her the most singular thing of all
+was the entire absence of people. Even if
+strangers were forbidden to appear on the
+island, attendants at least should still be found
+there: the endless crowds of soldiers and slaves;
+of dancers and musicians; of cooks and stewards;
+of palace-sentinels and gardeners, who belonged
+to the Emperor’s household.</p>
+
+<p>When Faustina reached the upper terrace, she
+caught sight of two slaves, who sat on the steps
+in front of the villa. As she approached, they
+rose and bowed to her.</p>
+
+<p>“Be greeted, Faustina!” said one of them.
+“It is a god who sends thee to lighten our
+sorrows.”</p>
+
+<p>“What does this mean, Milo?” asked Faustina.
+“Why is it so deserted here? Yet they
+have told me that Tiberius still lives at Capri.”</p>
+
+<p>“The Emperor has driven away all his slaves
+because he suspects that one of us has given
+him poisoned wine to drink, and that this has
+brought on the illness. He would have driven
+even Tito and myself away, if we had not refused
+to obey him; yet, as you know, we have all
+our lives served the Emperor and his mother.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not ask after slaves only,” said
+Faustina. “Where are the senators and field marshals?
+Where are the Emperor’s intimate
+friends, and all the fawning fortune-hunters?”</p>
+
+<p>“Tiberius does not wish to show himself
+before strangers,” said the slave. “Senator
+Lucius and Marco, Commander of the Life
+Guard, come here every day and receive orders.
+No one else may approach him.”</p>
+
+<p>Faustina had gone up the steps to enter the
+villa. The slave went before her, and on the
+way she asked: “What say the physicians of
+Tiberius’ illness?”</p>
+
+<p>“None of them understands how to treat this
+illness. They do not even know if it kills quickly
+or slowly. But this I can tell you, Faustina,
+Tiberius must die if he continues to refuse all
+food for fear it may be poisoned. And I know
+that a sick man can not stay awake night and
+day, as the Emperor does, for fear he may be
+murdered in his sleep. If he will trust you as in
+former days, you might succeed in making him
+eat and sleep. Thereby you can prolong his
+life for many days.”</p>
+
+<p>The slave conducted Faustina through several
+passages and courts to a terrace which Tiberius
+used to frequent to enjoy the view of the beautiful
+bays and proud Vesuvius.</p>
+
+<p>When Faustina stepped out upon the terrace,
+she saw a hideous creature with a swollen face
+and animal-like features. His hands and feet
+were swathed in white bandages, but through
+the bandages protruded half-rotted fingers and
+toes. And this being’s clothes were soiled and
+dusty. It was evident he could not walk erect,
+but had been obliged to crawl out upon the
+terrace. He lay with closed eyes near the balustrade
+at the farthest end, and did not move
+when the slave and Faustina came.</p>
+
+<p>Faustina whispered to the slave, who walked
+before her: “But, Milo, how can such a creature
+be found here on the Emperor’s private terrace?
+Make haste, and take him away!”</p>
+
+<p>But she had scarcely said this when she saw
+the slave bow to the ground before the miserable
+creature who lay there.</p>
+
+<p>“Cæsar Tiberius,” said he, “at last I have
+glad tidings to bring thee.”</p>
+
+<p>At the same time the slave turned toward
+Faustina, but he shrank back, aghast! and could
+not speak another word.</p>
+
+<p>He did not behold the proud matron who had
+looked so strong that one might have expected
+that she would live to the age of a sibyl. In
+this moment, she had drooped into impotent
+age, and the slave saw before him a bent old
+woman with misty eyes and fumbling hands.</p>
+
+<p>Faustina had certainly heard that the Emperor
+was terribly changed, yet never for a
+moment had she ceased to think of him as
+the strong man he was when she last saw him.
+She had also heard some one say that this
+illness progressed slowly, and that it took years
+to transform a human being. But here it had
+advanced with such virulence that it had made
+the Emperor unrecognizable in just two months.</p>
+
+<p>She tottered up to the Emperor. She could
+not speak, but stood silent beside him, and
+wept.</p>
+
+<p>“Are you come now, Faustina?” he said,
+without opening his eyes. “I lay and fancied
+that you stood here and wept over me. I dare
+not look up for fear I will find that it was only
+an illusion.”</p>
+
+<p>Then the old woman sat down beside him.
+She raised his head and placed it on her
+knee.</p>
+
+<p>But Tiberius lay still, without looking at her.
+A sense of sweet repose enfolded him, and the
+next moment he sank into a peaceful slumber.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>V</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>A few weeks later, one of the Emperor’s
+slaves came to the lonely hut in the Sabine mountains.
+It drew on toward evening, and the vine-dresser
+and his wife stood in the doorway and
+saw the sun set in the distant west. The slave
+turned out of the path, and came up and greeted
+them. Thereupon he took a heavy purse, which
+he carried in his girdle, and laid it in the husband’s
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>“This, Faustina, the old woman to whom
+you have shown compassion, sends you,” said
+the slave. “She begs that with this money
+you will purchase a vineyard of your own, and
+build you a house that does not lie as high in
+the air as the eagles’ nests.”</p>
+
+<p>“Old Faustina still lives, then?” said the
+husband. “We have searched for her in cleft
+and morass. When she did not come back
+to us, I thought that she had met her death in
+these wretched mountains.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t you remember,” the wife interposed,
+“that I would not believe that she was dead?
+Did I not say to you that she had gone back
+to the Emperor?”</p>
+
+<p>This the husband admitted. “And I am
+glad,” he added, “that you were right, not
+only because Faustina has become rich enough
+to help us out of our poverty, but also on
+the poor Emperor’s account.”</p>
+
+<p>The slave wanted to say farewell at once, in
+order to reach densely settled quarters before
+dark, but this the couple would not permit.
+“You must stop with us until morning,” said
+they. “We can not let you go before you
+have told us all that has happened to Faustina.
+Why has she returned to the Emperor? What
+was their meeting like? Are they glad to be
+together again?”</p>
+
+<p>The slave yielded to these solicitations. He
+followed them into the hut, and during the
+evening meal he told them all about the Emperor’s
+illness and Faustina’s return.</p>
+
+<p>When the slave had finished his narrative,
+he saw that both the man and the woman sat
+motionless—dumb with amazement. Their gaze
+was fixed on the ground, as though not to betray
+the emotion which affected them.</p>
+
+<p>Finally the man looked up and said to his
+wife: “Don’t you believe God has decreed
+this?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” said the wife, “surely it was for this
+that our Lord sent us across the sea to this lonely
+hut. Surely this was His purpose when He
+sent the old woman to our door.”</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the wife had spoken these words,
+the vine-dresser turned again to the slave.</p>
+
+<p>“Friend!” he said to him, “you shall carry
+a message from me to Faustina. Tell her this
+word for word! Thus your friend the vineyard
+laborer from the Sabine mountains greets you.
+You have seen the young woman, my wife. Did
+she not appear fair to you, and blooming with
+health? And yet this young woman once
+suffered from the same disease which now has
+stricken Tiberius.”</p>
+
+<p>The slave made a gesture of surprise, but the
+vine-dresser continued with greater emphasis on
+his words.</p>
+
+<p>“If Faustina refuses to believe my word, tell
+her that my wife and I came from Palestine,
+in Asia, a land where this disease is common.
+There the law is such that the lepers are driven
+from the cities and towns, and must live in tombs
+and mountain grottoes. Tell Faustina that my
+wife was born of diseased parents in a mountain
+grotto. As long as she was a child she was
+healthy, but when she grew up into young
+maidenhood she was stricken with the disease.”</p>
+
+<p>The slave bowed, smiled pleasantly, and said:
+“How can you expect that Faustina will believe
+this? She has seen your wife in her beauty
+and health. And she must know that there is
+no remedy for this illness.”</p>
+
+<p>The man replied: “It were best for her that
+she believed me. But I am not without witnesses.
+She can send inquiries over to Nazareth,
+in Galilee. There every one will confirm my
+statement.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is it perchance through a miracle of some
+god that your wife has been cured?” asked the
+slave.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, it is as you say,” answered the laborer.
+“One day a rumor reached the sick who lived
+in the wilderness: ‘Behold, a great Prophet has
+arisen in Nazareth of Galilee. He is filled with
+the power of God’s spirit, and he can cure your
+illness just by laying his hand upon your forehead!’
+But the sick, who lay in their misery,
+would not believe that this rumor was the truth.
+‘No one can heal us,’ they said. ‘Since the
+days of the great prophets no one has been able
+to save one of us from this misfortune.’</p>
+
+<p>“But there was one amongst them who believed,
+and that was a young maiden. She left
+the others to seek her way to the city of Nazareth,
+where the Prophet lived. One day, when
+she wandered over wide plains, she met a man
+tall of stature, with a pale face and hair which
+lay in even, black curls. His dark eyes shone
+like stars and drew her toward him. But before
+they met, she called out to him: ‘Come
+not near me, for I am unclean, but tell me where
+I can find the Prophet from Nazareth!’ But
+the man continued to walk towards her, and
+when he stood directly in front of her, he said:
+‘Why seekest thou the Prophet of Nazareth?’—‘I
+seek him that he may lay his hand on my
+forehead and heal me of my illness.’ Then
+the man went up and laid his hand upon her
+brow. But she said to him: ‘What doth it avail
+me that you lay your hand upon my forehead?
+You surely are no prophet?’ Then he smiled
+on her and said: ‘Go now into the city which
+lies yonder at the foot of the mountain, and
+show thyself before the priests!’</p>
+
+<p>“The sick maiden thought to herself: ‘He
+mocks me because I believe I can be healed.
+From him I can not learn what I would know.’
+And she went farther. Soon thereafter she saw
+a man, who was going out to hunt, riding across
+the wide field. When he came so near that
+he could hear her, she called to him: ‘Come
+not close to me, I am unclean! But tell me
+where I can find the Prophet of Nazareth!’
+‘What do you want of the Prophet?’ asked the
+man, riding slowly toward her. ‘I wish only
+that he might lay his hand on my forehead and
+heal me of my illness.’ The man rode still
+nearer. ‘Of what illness do you wish to be
+healed?’ said he. ‘Surely you need no physician!’
+‘Can’t you see that I am a leper?’
+said she. ‘I was born of diseased parents in a
+mountain grotto.’ But the man continued to
+approach, for she was beautiful and fair, like
+a new-blown rose. ‘You are the most beautiful
+maiden in Judea!’ he exclaimed. ‘Ah,
+taunt me not—you, too!’ said she. ‘I know
+that my features are destroyed, and that my
+voice is like a wild beast’s growl.’</p>
+
+<p>“He looked deep into her eyes and said to
+her: ‘Your voice is as resonant as the spring
+brook’s when it ripples over pebbles, and your
+face is as smooth as a coverlet of soft satin.’</p>
+
+<p>“That moment he rode so close to her that
+she could see her face in the shining mountings
+which decorated his saddle. ‘You shall look
+at yourself here,’ said he. She did so, and saw
+a face smooth and soft as a newly-formed butterfly
+wing. ‘What is this that I see?’ she said.
+‘This is not my face!’ ‘Yes, it is your face,’
+said the rider. ‘But my voice, is it not rough?
+Does it not sound as when wagons are drawn
+over a stony road?’ ‘No! It sounds like a
+zither player’s sweetest songs,’ said the rider.</p>
+
+<p>“She turned and pointed toward the road.
+‘Do you know who that man is just disappearing
+behind the two oaks?’ she asked.</p>
+
+<p>“‘It is he whom you lately asked after; it is
+the Prophet from Nazareth,’ said the man.
+Then she clasped her hands in astonishment,
+and tears filled her eyes. ‘Oh, thou Holy One!
+Oh, thou Messenger of God’s power!’ she
+cried. Thou hast healed me!’</p>
+
+<p>“Then the rider lifted her into the saddle
+and bore her to the city at the foot of the
+mountain and went with her to the priests and
+elders, and told them how he had found her.
+They questioned her carefully; but when they
+heard that the maiden was born in the wilderness
+of diseased parents, they would not believe
+that she was healed. ‘Go back thither whence
+you came!’ said they. ‘If you have been ill,
+you must remain so as long as you live. You
+must not come here to the city, to infect the
+rest of us with your disease.’</p>
+
+<p>“She said to them: ‘I know that I am well,
+for the Prophet from Nazareth hath laid his
+hand upon my forehead.’</p>
+
+<p>“When they heard this they exclaimed:
+‘Who is he, that he should be able to make
+clean the unclean? All this is but a delusion
+of the evil spirits. Go back to your own, that
+you may not bring destruction upon all of us!’</p>
+
+<p>“They would not declare her healed, and
+they forbade her to remain in the city. They
+decreed that each and every one who gave her
+shelter should also be adjudged unclean.</p>
+
+<p>“When the priests had pronounced this judgment,
+the young maiden turned to the man who
+had found her in the field: ‘Whither shall I
+go now? Must I go back again to the lepers
+in the wilderness?’</p>
+
+<p>“But the man lifted her once more upon his
+horse, and said to her: ‘No, under no conditions
+shall you go out to the lepers in their
+mountain caves, but we two shall travel across
+the sea to another land, where there are no
+laws for clean and unclean.’ And they——”</p>
+
+<p>But when the vineyard laborer had got thus
+far in his narrative, the slave arose and interrupted
+him. “You need not tell any more,”
+said he. “Stand up rather and follow me on
+the way, you who know the mountains, so that
+I can begin my home journey to-night, and not
+wait until morning. The Emperor and Faustina
+can not hear your tidings a moment too soon.”</p>
+
+<p>When the vine-dresser had accompanied the
+slave, and come home again to the hut, he found
+his wife still awake.</p>
+
+<p>“I can not sleep,” said she. “I am thinking
+that these two will meet: he who loves all
+mankind, and he who hates them. Such a
+meeting would be enough to sweep the earth out
+of existence!”</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>VI</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Old Faustina was in distant Palestine, on her
+way to Jerusalem. She had not desired that
+the mission to seek the Prophet and bring him
+to the Emperor should be intrusted to any one
+but herself. She said to herself: “That which
+we demand of this stranger, is something which
+we can not coax from him either by force
+or bribes. But perhaps he will grant it us if
+some one falls at his feet and tells him in
+what dire need the Emperor is. Who can make
+an honest plea for Tiberius, but the one who
+suffers from his misfortune as much as he
+does?”</p>
+
+<p>The hope of possibly saving Tiberius had
+renewed the old woman’s youth. She withstood
+without difficulty the long sea trip to
+Joppa, and on the journey to Jerusalem she
+made no use of a litter, but rode a horse. She
+appeared to stand the difficult ride as easily
+as the Roman nobles, the soldiers, and the slaves
+who made up her retinue.</p>
+
+<p>The journey from Joppa to Jerusalem filled
+the old woman’s heart with joy and bright
+hopes. It was springtime, and Sharon’s plain,
+over which they had ridden during the first
+day’s travel, had been a brilliant carpet of
+flowers. Even during the second day’s journey,
+when they came to the hills of Judea, they were
+not abandoned by the flowers. All the multiformed
+hills between which the road wound
+were planted with fruit trees, which stood in full
+bloom. And when the travelers wearied of
+looking at the white and red blossoms of the
+apricots and persimmons, they could rest their
+eyes by observing the young vine-leaves, which
+pushed their way through the dark brown
+branches, and their growth was so rapid that
+one could almost follow it with the eye.</p>
+
+<p>It was not only flowers and spring green that
+made the journey pleasant, but the pleasure was
+enhanced by watching the throngs of people
+who were on their way to Jerusalem this morning.
+From all the roads and by-paths, from
+lonely heights, and from the most remote corners
+of the plain came travelers. When they
+had reached the road to Jerusalem, those who
+traveled alone formed themselves into companies
+and marched forward with glad shouts.
+Round an elderly man, who rode on a jogging
+camel, walked his sons and daughters, his sons-in-law
+and daughters-in-law, and all his grandchildren.
+It was such a large family that it
+made up an entire little village. An old grandmother
+who was too feeble to walk her sons
+had taken in their arms, and with pride she
+let herself be borne among the crowds, who
+respectfully stepped aside.</p>
+
+<p>In truth, it was a morning to inspire joy even
+in the most disconsolate. To be sure the sky
+was not clear, but was o’ercast with a thin
+grayish-white mist, but none of the wayfarers
+thought of grumbling because the sun’s piercing
+brilliancy was dampened. Under this veiled sky
+the perfume of the budding leaves and blossoms
+did not penetrate the air as usual, but lingered
+over roads and fields. And this beautiful day,
+with its faint mist and hushed winds, which
+reminded one of Night’s rest and calm, seemed
+to communicate to the hastening crowds somewhat
+of itself, so that they went forward happy—yet
+with solemnity—singing in subdued voices
+ancient hymns, or playing upon peculiar old-fashioned
+instruments, from which came tones
+like the buzzing of gnats, or grasshoppers’
+piping.</p>
+
+<p>When old Faustina rode forward among all
+the people, she became infected with their joy
+and excitement. She prodded her horse to
+quicker speed, as she said to a young Roman
+who rode beside her: “I dreamt last night that
+I saw Tiberius, and he implored me not to
+postpone the journey, but to ride to Jerusalem
+to-day. It appears as if the gods had wished to
+send me a warning not to neglect to go there
+this beautiful morning.”</p>
+
+<p>Just as she said this, she came to the top
+of a long mountain ridge, and there she was
+obliged to halt. Before her lay a large, deep
+valley-basin, surrounded by pretty hills, and
+from the dark, shadowy depths of the vale rose
+the massive mountain which held on its head
+the city of Jerusalem.</p>
+
+<p>But the narrow mountain city, with its walls
+and towers, which lay like a jeweled coronet
+upon the cliff’s smooth height, was this day magnified
+a thousand-fold. All the hills which
+encircled the valley were bedecked with gay
+tents, and with a swarm of human beings.</p>
+
+<p>It was evident to Faustina that all the inhabitants
+were on their way to Jerusalem to
+celebrate some great holiday. Those from a
+distance had already come, and had managed
+to put their tents in order. On the other hand,
+those who lived near the city were still on
+their way. Along all the shining rock-heights
+one saw them come streaming in like an unbroken
+sea of white robes, of songs, of holiday
+cheer.</p>
+
+<p>For some time the old woman surveyed these
+seething throngs of people and the long rows
+of tent-poles. Thereupon she said to the young
+Roman who rode beside her:</p>
+
+<p>“Verily, Sulpicius, the whole nation must
+have come to Jerusalem.”</p>
+
+<p>“It really appears like it,” replied the
+Roman, who had been chosen by Tiberius to
+accompany Faustina because he had, during a
+number of years, lived in Judea. “They celebrate
+now the great Spring Festival, and at this
+time all the people, both old and young, come
+to Jerusalem.”</p>
+
+<p>Faustina reflected a moment. “I am glad
+that we came to this city on the day that the
+people celebrate their festival,” said she. “It
+can not signify anything else than that the gods
+protect our journey. Do you think it likely
+that he whom we seek, the Prophet of Nazareth,
+has also come to Jerusalem to participate in the
+festivities?”</p>
+
+<p>“You are surely right, Faustina,” said the
+Roman. “He must be here in Jerusalem. This
+is indeed a decree of the gods. Strong and vigorous
+though you be, you may consider yourself
+fortunate if you escape making the long
+and troublesome journey up to Galilee.”</p>
+
+<p>At once he rode over to a couple of wayfarers
+and asked them if they thought the
+Prophet of Nazareth was in Jerusalem.</p>
+
+<p>“We have seen him here every day at this
+season,” answered one. “Surely he must be
+here even this year, for he is a holy and righteous
+man.”</p>
+
+<p>A woman stretched forth her hand and
+pointed towards a hill, which lay east of the
+city. “Do you see the foot of that mountain,
+which is covered with olive trees?” she
+said. “It is there that the Galileans usually
+raise their tents, and there you will get the
+most reliable information about him whom you
+seek.”</p>
+
+<p>They journeyed farther, and traveled on a
+winding path all the way down to the bottom
+of the valley, and then they began to ride
+up toward Zion’s hill, to reach the city on
+its heights. The woman who had spoken went
+along the same way.</p>
+
+<p>The steep ascending road was encompassed
+here by low walls, and upon these countless
+beggars and cripples sat or lolled. “Look,”
+said the woman who had spoken, pointing to
+one of the beggars who sat on the wall, “there
+is a Galilean! I recollect that I have seen him
+among the Prophet’s disciples. He can tell you
+where you will find him you seek.”</p>
+
+<p>Faustina and Sulpicius rode up to the man
+who had been pointed out to her. He was a
+poor old man with a heavy iron-gray beard.
+His face was bronzed by heat and sunshine. He
+asked no alms; on the contrary, he was so
+engrossed in anxious thought that he did not
+even glance at the passers-by.</p>
+
+<p>Nor did he hear that Sulpicius addressed him,
+and the latter had to repeat his question several
+times.</p>
+
+<p>“My friend, I’ve been told that you are a
+Galilean. I beg you, therefore, to tell me where
+I shall find the Prophet from Nazareth!”</p>
+
+<p>The Galilean gave a sudden start and looked
+around him, confused. But when he finally comprehended
+what was wanted of him, he was
+seized with rage mixed with terror. “What are
+you talking about?” he burst out. “Why do
+you ask me about that man? I know nothing
+of him. I’m not a Galilean.”</p>
+
+<p>The Hebrew woman now joined in the
+conversation. “Still I have seen you in his company,”
+she protested. “Do not fear, but tell
+this noble Roman lady, who is the Emperor’s
+friend, where she is most likely to find him.”</p>
+
+<p>But the terrified disciple grew more and more
+irascible. “Have all the people gone mad to-day?”
+said he. “Are they possessed by an
+evil spirit, since they come again and again
+and ask me about that man? Why will no one
+believe me when I say that I do not know the
+Prophet? I do not come from his country. I
+have never seen him.”</p>
+
+<p>His irritability attracted attention, and a
+couple of beggars who sat on the wall beside
+him also began to dispute his word.</p>
+
+<p>“Certainly you were among his disciples,”
+said one. “We all know that you came with
+him from Galilee.”</p>
+
+<p>Then the man raised his arms toward heaven
+and cried: “I could not endure it in Jerusalem
+to-day on that man’s account, and now they will
+not even leave me in peace out here among
+the beggars! Why don’t you believe me when
+I say to you that I have never seen him?”</p>
+
+<p>Faustina turned away with a shrug. “Let
+us go farther!” said she. “The man is mad.
+From him we will learn nothing.”</p>
+
+<p>They went farther up the mountain. Faustina
+was not more than two steps from the
+city gate, when the Hebrew woman who had
+wished to help her find the Prophet called to
+her to be careful. She pulled in her reins and
+saw that a man lay in the road, just in front
+of the horse’s feet, where the crush was
+greatest. It was a miracle that he had not
+already been trampled to death by animals or
+people.</p>
+
+<p>The man lay upon his back and stared upward
+with lusterless eyes. He did not move,
+although the camels placed their heavy feet
+close beside him. He was poorly clad, and
+besides he was covered with dust and dirt. In
+fact, he had thrown so much gravel over himself
+that it looked as if he tried to hide himself,
+to be more easily over-ridden and trampled
+down.</p>
+
+<p>“What does this mean? Why does this man
+lie here on the road?” asked Faustina.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly the man began shouting to the
+passers-by:</p>
+
+<p>“In mercy, brothers and sisters, drive your
+horses and camels over me! Do not turn aside
+for me! Trample me to dust! I have betrayed
+innocent blood. Trample me to dust!”</p>
+
+<p>Sulpicius caught Faustina’s horse by the
+bridle and turned it to one side. “It is a sinner
+who wants to do penance,” said he. “Do
+not let this delay your journey. These people
+are peculiar and one must let them follow their
+own bent.”</p>
+
+<p>The man in the road continued to shout: “Set
+your heels on my heart! Let the camels crush
+my breast and the asses dig their hoofs into
+my eyes!”</p>
+
+<p>But Faustina seemed loath to ride past the
+miserable man without trying to make him rise.
+She remained all the while beside him.</p>
+
+<p>The Hebrew woman who had wished to serve
+her once before, pushed her way forward again.
+“This man also belonged to the Prophet’s disciples,”
+said she. “Do you wish me to ask him
+about his Master?”</p>
+
+<p>Faustina nodded affirmatively, and the woman
+bent down over the man.</p>
+
+<p>“What have you Galileans done this day
+with your Master?” she asked. “I meet you
+scattered on highways and byways, but him I
+see nowhere.”</p>
+
+<p>But when she questioned in this manner, the
+man who lay in the dust rose to his knees.
+“What evil spirit hath possessed you to ask me
+about him?” he said, in a voice that was filled
+with despair. “You see, surely, that I have lain
+down in the road to be trampled to death. Is
+not that enough for you? Shall you come also
+and ask me what I have done with him?”</p>
+
+<p>When she repeated the question, the man
+staggered to his feet and put both hands to
+his ears.</p>
+
+<p>“Woe unto you, that you can not let me die
+in peace!” he cried. He forced his way
+through the crowds that thronged in front of
+the gate, and rushed away shrieking with terror,
+while his torn robe fluttered around him like
+dark wings.</p>
+
+<p>“It appears to me as though we had come
+to a nation of madmen,” said Faustina, when she
+saw the man flee. She had become depressed by
+seeing these disciples of the Prophet. Could
+the man who numbered such fools among his
+followers do anything for the Emperor?</p>
+
+<p>Even the Hebrew woman looked distressed,
+and she said very earnestly to Faustina: “Mistress,
+delay not in your search for him whom
+you would find! I fear some evil has befallen
+him, since his disciples are beside themselves
+and can not bear to hear him spoken of.”</p>
+
+<p>Faustina and her retinue finally rode through
+the gate archway and came in on the narrow
+and dark streets, which were alive with people.
+It seemed well-nigh impossible to get through
+the city. The riders time and again had to stand
+still. Slaves and soldiers tried in vain to clear
+the way. The people continued to rush on in
+a compact, irresistible stream.</p>
+
+<p>“Verily,” said the old woman, “the streets
+of Rome are peaceful pleasure gardens compared
+with these!”</p>
+
+<p>Sulpicius soon saw that almost insurmountable
+difficulties awaited them.</p>
+
+<p>“On these overcrowded streets it is easier to
+walk than to ride,” said he. “If you are not
+too fatigued, I should advise you to walk to
+the Governor’s palace. It is a good distance
+away, but if we ride we certainly will not get
+there until after midnight.”</p>
+
+<p>Faustina accepted the suggestion at once. She
+dismounted, and left her horse with one of the
+slaves. Thereupon the Roman travelers began
+to walk through the city.</p>
+
+<p>This was much better. They pushed their
+way quickly toward the heart of the city, and
+Sulpicius showed Faustina a rather wide street,
+which they were nearing.</p>
+
+<p>“Look, Faustina,” he said, “if we take this
+street, we will soon be there. It leads directly
+down to our quarters.”</p>
+
+<p>But just as they were about to turn into
+the street, the worst obstacle met them.</p>
+
+<p>It happened that the very moment when
+Faustina reached the street which extended from
+the Governor’s palace to Righteousness’ Gate
+and Golgotha, they brought through it a prisoner,
+who was to be taken out and crucified.
+Before him ran a crowd of wild youths who
+wanted to witness the execution. They raced
+up the street, waved their arms in rapture towards
+the hill, and emitted unintelligible howls—in
+their delight at being allowed to view something
+which they did not see every day.</p>
+
+<p>Behind them came companies of men in silken
+robes, who appeared to belong to the city’s
+élite and foremost. Then came women, many
+of whom had tear-stained faces. A gathering
+of poor and maimed staggered forward, uttering
+shrieks that pierced the ears.</p>
+
+<p>“O God!” they cried, “save him! Send
+Thine angel and save him! Send a deliverer
+in his direst need!”</p>
+
+<p>Finally there came a few Roman soldiers on
+great horses. They kept guard so that none
+of the people could dash up to the prisoner
+and try to rescue him.</p>
+
+<p>Directly behind them followed the executioners,
+whose task it was to lead forward the
+man that was to be crucified. They had laid
+a heavy wooden cross over his shoulder, but
+he was too weak for this burden. It weighed
+him down so that his body was almost bent
+to the ground. He held his head down so far
+that no one could see his face.</p>
+
+<p>Faustina stood at the opening of the little bystreet
+and saw the doomed man’s heavy tread.
+She noticed, with surprise, that he wore a
+purple mantle, and that a crown of thorns was
+pressed down upon his head.</p>
+
+<p>“Who is this man?” she asked.</p>
+
+<p>One of the bystanders answered her: “It
+is one who wished to make himself Emperor.”</p>
+
+<p>“And must he suffer death for a thing which
+is scarcely worth striving after?” said the old
+woman sadly.</p>
+
+<p>The doomed man staggered under the cross.
+He dragged himself forward more and more
+slowly. The executioners had tied a rope
+around his waist, and they began to pull on
+it to hasten the speed. But as they pulled the
+rope the man fell, and lay there with the cross
+over him.</p>
+
+<p>There was a terrible uproar. The Roman
+soldiers had all they could do to hold the crowds
+back. They drew their swords on a couple of
+women who tried to rush forward to help the
+fallen man. The executioners attempted to
+force him up with cuffs and lashes, but he could
+not move because of the cross. Finally two of
+them took hold of the cross to remove it.</p>
+
+<p>Then he raised his head, and old Faustina
+could see his face. The cheeks were streaked
+by lashes from a whip, and from his brow, which
+was wounded by the thorn-crown, trickled some
+drops of blood. His hair hung in knotted
+tangles, clotted with sweat and blood. His jaw
+was firm set, but his lips trembled, as if they
+struggled to suppress a cry. His eyes, tear-filled
+and almost blinded from torture and
+fatigue, stared straight ahead.</p>
+
+<p>But back of this half-dead person’s face, the
+old woman saw—as in a vision—a pale and beautiful
+One with glorious, majestic eyes and gentle
+features, and she was seized with sudden grief—touched
+by the unknown man’s misfortune
+and degradation.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, what have they done with you, you
+poor soul!” she burst out, and moved a step
+nearer him, while her eyes filled with tears.
+She forgot her own sorrow and anxiety for this
+tortured man’s distress. She thought her heart
+would burst from pity. She, like the other
+women, wanted to rush forward and tear him
+away from the executioners!</p>
+
+<p>The fallen man saw how she came toward
+him, and he crept closer to her. It was as
+though he had expected to find protection with
+her against all those who persecuted and tortured
+him. He embraced her knees. He
+pressed himself against her, like a child who
+clings close to his mother for safety.</p>
+
+<p>The old woman bent over him, and as the
+tears streamed down her cheeks, she felt the
+most blissful joy because he had come and
+sought protection with her. She placed one arm
+around his neck, and as a mother first of all
+wipes away the tears from her child’s eyes, she
+laid her kerchief of sheer fine linen over his face,
+to wipe away the tears and the blood.</p>
+
+<p>But now the executioners were ready with the
+cross. They came now and snatched away the
+prisoner. Impatient over the delay, they
+dragged him off in wild haste. The condemned
+man uttered a groan when he was led away
+from the refuge he had found, but he made no
+resistance.</p>
+
+<p>Faustina embraced him to hold him back,
+and when her feeble old hands were powerless
+and she saw him borne away, she felt as if
+some one had torn from her her own child,
+and she cried: “No, no! Do not take him
+from me! He must not die! He shall not
+die!”</p>
+
+<p>She felt the most intense grief and indignation
+because he was being led away. She wanted
+to rush after him. She wanted to fight with
+the executioners and tear him from them.</p>
+
+<p>But with the first step she took, she was
+seized with weakness and dizziness. Sulpicius
+made haste to place his arm around her, to
+prevent her from falling.</p>
+
+<p>On one side of the street he saw a little shop,
+and carried her in. There was neither bench
+nor chair inside, but the shopkeeper was a
+kindly man. He helped her over to a rug, and
+arranged a bed for her on the stone floor.</p>
+
+<p>She was not unconscious, but such a great
+dizziness had seized her that she could not sit
+up, but was forced to lie down.</p>
+
+<p>“She has made a long journey to-day, and
+the noise and crush in the city have been too
+much for her,” said Sulpicius to the merchant.
+“She is very old, and no one is so strong as
+not to be conquered by age.”</p>
+
+<p>“This is a trying day, even for one who is
+not old,” said the merchant. “The air is almost
+too heavy to breathe. It would not surprise me
+if a severe storm were in store for us.”</p>
+
+<p>Sulpicius bent over the old woman. She had
+fallen asleep, and she slept with calm, regular
+respirations after all the excitement and fatigue.</p>
+
+<p>He walked over to the shop door, stood there,
+and looked at the crowds while he awaited her
+waking.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>VII</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Roman governor at Jerusalem had a
+young wife, and she had had a dream during
+the night preceding the day when Faustina entered
+the city.</p>
+
+<p>She dreamed that she stood on the roof of
+her house and looked down upon the beautiful
+court, which, according to the Oriental custom,
+was paved with marble, and planted with rare
+growths.</p>
+
+<p>But in the court she saw assembled all the
+sick and blind and halt there were in the world.
+She saw before her the pest-ridden, with bodies
+swollen with boils; lepers with disfigured faces;
+the paralytics, who could not move, but lay
+helpless upon the ground, and all the wretched
+creatures who writhed in torment and pain.</p>
+
+<p>They all crowded up towards the entrance,
+to get into the house; and a number of those
+who walked foremost pounded on the palace
+door.</p>
+
+<p>At last she saw that a slave opened the door
+and came out on the threshold, and she heard
+him ask what they wanted.</p>
+
+<p>Then they answered him, saying: “We seek
+the great Prophet whom God hath sent to the
+world. Where is the Prophet of Nazareth,
+he who is master of all suffering? Where is he
+who can deliver us from all our torment?”</p>
+
+<p>Then the slave answered them in an arrogant
+and indifferent tone—as palace servants do when
+they turn away the poor stranger:</p>
+
+<p>“It will profit you nothing to seek the great
+Prophet. Pilate has killed him.”</p>
+
+<p>Then there arose among all the sick a grief
+and a moaning and a gnashing of teeth which
+she could not bear to hear. Her heart was
+wrung with compassion, and tears streamed
+from her eyes. But when she had begun to
+weep, she awakened.</p>
+
+<p>Again she fell asleep; and again she dreamed
+that she stood on the roof of her house and
+looked down upon the big court, which was as
+broad as a square.</p>
+
+<p>And behold! the court was filled with all the
+insane and soul-sick and those possessed of evil
+spirits. And she saw those who were naked
+and those who were covered with their long
+hair, and those who had braided themselves
+crowns of straw and mantles of grass and believed
+they were kings, and those who crawled
+on the ground and thought themselves beasts,
+and those who came dragging heavy stones,
+which they believed to be gold, and those who
+thought that the evil spirits spoke through their
+mouths.</p>
+
+<p>She saw all these crowd up toward the palace
+gate. And the ones who stood nearest to it
+knocked and pounded to get in.</p>
+
+<p>At last the door opened, and a slave stepped
+out on the threshold and asked: “What do
+you want?”</p>
+
+<p>Then all began to cry aloud, saying: “Where
+is the great Prophet of Nazareth, he who was
+sent of God, and who shall restore to us our
+souls and our wits?”</p>
+
+<p>She heard the slave answer them in the most
+indifferent tone: “It is useless for you to seek
+the great Prophet, Pilate has killed him.”</p>
+
+<p>When this was said, they uttered a shriek as
+wild as a beast’s howl, and in their despair they
+began to lacerate themselves until the blood ran
+down on the stones. And when she that dreamed
+saw their distress, she wrung her hands and
+moaned. And her own moans awakened
+her.</p>
+
+<p>But again she fell asleep, and again, in her
+dream, she was on the roof of her house.
+Round about her sat her slaves, who played
+for her upon cymbals and zithers, and the almond
+trees shook their white blossoms over
+her, and clambering rose-vines exhaled their
+perfume.</p>
+
+<p>As she sat there, a voice spoke to her: “Go
+over to the balustrade which incloses the roof,
+and see who they are that stand and wait in
+your court!”</p>
+
+<p>But in the dream she declined, and said: “I
+do not care to see any more of those who throng
+my court to-night.”</p>
+
+<p>Just then she heard a clanking of chains and
+a pounding of heavy hammers, and the pounding
+of wood against wood. Her slaves ceased
+their singing and playing and hurried over to
+the railing and looked down. Nor could she
+herself remain seated, but walked thither and
+looked down on the court.</p>
+
+<p>Then she saw that the court was filled with
+all the poor prisoners in the world. She saw
+those who must lie in dark prison dungeons,
+fettered with heavy chains; she saw those who
+labored in the dark mines come dragging their
+heavy planks, and those who were rowers on
+war galleys come with their heavy iron-bound
+oars. And those who were condemned to be
+crucified came dragging their crosses, and those
+who were to be beheaded came with their broadaxes.
+She saw those who were sent into slavery
+to foreign lands and whose eyes burned with
+homesickness. She saw those who must serve
+as beasts of burden, and whose backs were bleeding
+from lashes.</p>
+
+<p>All these unfortunates cried as with one voice:
+“Open, open!”</p>
+
+<p>Then the slave who guarded the entrance
+stepped to the door and asked: “What is it
+that you wish?”</p>
+
+<p>And these answered like the others: “We
+seek the great Prophet of Nazareth, who has
+come to the world to give the prisoners their
+freedom and the slaves their lost happiness.”</p>
+
+<p>The slave answered them in a tired and indifferent
+tone: “You can not find him here.
+Pilate has killed him.”</p>
+
+<p>When this was said, she who dreamed
+thought that among all the unhappy there arose
+such an outburst of scorn and blasphemy that
+heaven and earth trembled. She was ice-cold
+with fright, and her body shook so that she
+awaked.</p>
+
+<p>When she was thoroughly awake, she sat
+up in bed and thought to herself: “I would not
+dream more. Now I want to remain awake
+all night, that I may escape seeing more of this
+horror.”</p>
+
+<p>And even whilst she was thinking thus, drowsiness
+crept in upon her anew, and she laid her
+head on the pillow and fell asleep.</p>
+
+<p>Again she dreamed that she sat on the roof
+of her house, and now her little son ran back and
+forth up there, and played with a ball.</p>
+
+<p>Then she heard a voice that said to her:
+“Go over to the balustrade, which incloses
+the roof, and see who they are that stand and
+wait in your court!” But she who dreamed
+said to herself: “I have seen enough misery this
+night. I can not endure any more. I would
+remain where I am.”</p>
+
+<p>At that moment her son threw his ball so
+that it dropped outside the balustrade, and the
+child ran forward and clambered up on the railing.
+Then she was frightened. She rushed
+over and seized hold of the child.</p>
+
+<p>But with that she happened to cast her eyes
+downward, and once more she saw that the
+court was full of people.</p>
+
+<p>In the court were all the peoples of earth who
+had been wounded in battle. They came with
+severed bodies, with cut-off limbs, and with big
+open wounds from which the blood oozed, so
+that the whole court was drenched with it.</p>
+
+<p>And beside these, came all the people in the
+world who had lost their loved ones on the
+battlefield. They were the fatherless who
+mourned their protectors, and the young maidens
+who cried for their lovers, and the aged who
+sighed for their sons.</p>
+
+<p>The foremost among them pushed against
+the door, and the watchman came out as before,
+and opened it.</p>
+
+<p>He asked all these, who had been wounded in
+battles and skirmishes: “What seek ye in this
+house?”</p>
+
+<p>And they answered: “We seek the great
+Prophet of Nazareth, who shall prohibit wars
+and rumors of wars and bring peace to the
+earth. We seek him who shall convert spears
+into scythes and swords into pruning hooks.”</p>
+
+<p>Then answered the slave somewhat impatiently:
+“Let no more come to pester me! I
+have already said it often enough. The great
+Prophet is not here. Pilate has killed him.”</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon he closed the gate. But she who
+dreamed thought of all the lamentation which
+would come now. “I do not wish to hear it,”
+said she, and rushed away from the balustrade.
+That instant she awoke. Then she discovered
+that in her terror she had jumped out of her
+bed and down on the cold stone floor.</p>
+
+<p>Again she thought she did not want to sleep
+more that night, and again sleep overpowered
+her, and she closed her eyes and began to dream.</p>
+
+<p>She sat once more on the roof of her house,
+and beside her stood her husband. She told
+him of her dreams, and he ridiculed her.</p>
+
+<p>Again she heard a voice, which said to her:
+“Go see the people who wait in your court!”</p>
+
+<p>But she thought: “I would not see them. I
+have seen enough misery to-night.”</p>
+
+<p>Just then she heard three loud raps on the
+gate, and her husband walked over to the balustrade
+to see who it was that asked admittance
+to his house.</p>
+
+<p>But no sooner had he leaned over the railing,
+than he beckoned to his wife to come over to
+him.</p>
+
+<p>“Know you not this man?” said he, and
+pointed down.</p>
+
+<p>When she looked down on the court, she
+found that it was filled with horses and riders,
+slaves were busy unloading asses and camels.
+It looked as though a distinguished traveler
+might have landed.</p>
+
+<p>At the entrance gate stood the traveler. He
+was a large elderly man with broad shoulders
+and a heavy and gloomy appearance.</p>
+
+<p>The dreamer recognized the stranger instantly,
+and whispered to her husband: “It is
+Cæsar Tiberius, who is here in Jerusalem. It
+can not be any one else.”</p>
+
+<p>“I also seem to recognize him,” said her husband;
+at the same time he placed his finger on
+his mouth, as a signal that they should be quiet
+and listen to what was said down in the court.</p>
+
+<p>They saw that the doorkeeper came out and
+asked the stranger: “Whom seek you?”</p>
+
+<p>And the traveler answered: “I seek the great
+Prophet of Nazareth, who is endowed with
+God’s power to perform miracles. It is Emperor
+Tiberius who calls him, that he may liberate
+him from a terrible disease, which no
+other physician can cure.”</p>
+
+<p>When he had spoken, the slave bowed very
+humbly and said: “My lord, be not wroth! but
+your wish can not be fulfilled.”</p>
+
+<p>Then the Emperor turned toward his slaves,
+who waited below in the court, and gave them
+a command.</p>
+
+<p>Then the slaves hastened forward—some
+with handfuls of ornaments, others carried goblets
+studded with pearls, other again dragged
+sacks filled with gold coin.</p>
+
+<p>The Emperor turned to the slave who
+guarded the gate, and said: “All this shall
+be his, if he helps Tiberius. With this he can
+give riches to all the world’s poor.”</p>
+
+<p>But the doorkeeper bowed still lower and
+said: “Master, be not wroth with thy servant,
+but thy request can not be fulfilled.”</p>
+
+<p>Then the Emperor beckoned again to his
+slaves, and a pair of them hurried forward with
+a richly embroidered robe, upon which glittered
+a breastpiece of jewels.</p>
+
+<p>And the Emperor said to the slave: “See!
+This which I offer him is the power over Judea.
+He shall rule his people like the highest judge,
+if he will only come and heal Tiberius!”</p>
+
+<p>The slave bowed still nearer the earth, and
+said: “Master, it is not within my power to
+help you.”</p>
+
+<p>Then the Emperor beckoned once again, and
+his slaves rushed up with a golden coronet and
+a purple mantle.</p>
+
+<p>“See,” he said, “this is the Emperor’s will:
+He promises to appoint the Prophet his successor,
+and give him dominion over the world.
+He shall have power to rule the world according
+to his God’s will, if he will only stretch forth
+his hand and heal Tiberius!”</p>
+
+<p>Then the slave fell at the Emperor’s feet and
+said in an imploring tone: “Master, it does
+not lie in my power to attend to thy command.
+He whom thou seekest is no longer here. Pilate
+hath killed him.”</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>VIII</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>When the young woman awoke, it was already
+full, clear day, and her female slaves stood
+and waited that they might help her dress.</p>
+
+<p>She was very silent while she dressed, but
+finally she asked the slave who arranged her
+hair, if her husband was up. She learned that
+he had been called out to pass judgment on a
+criminal. “I should have liked to talk with
+him,” said the young woman.</p>
+
+<p>“Mistress,” said the slave, “it will be difficult
+to do so during the trial. We will let you
+know as soon as it is over.”</p>
+
+<p>She sat silent now until her toilet was completed.
+Then she asked: “Has any among you
+heard of the Prophet of Nazareth?”</p>
+
+<p>“The Prophet of Nazareth is a Jewish miracle
+performer,” answered one of the slaves
+instantly.</p>
+
+<p>“It is strange, Mistress, that you should ask
+after him to-day,” said another slave. “It is
+just he whom the Jews have brought here
+to the palace, to let him be tried by the
+Governor.”</p>
+
+<p>She bade them go at once and ascertain for
+what cause he was arraigned, and one of the
+slaves withdrew. When she returned she said:
+“They accuse him of wanting to make himself
+King over this land, and they entreat the Governor
+to let him be crucified.”</p>
+
+<p>When the Governor’s wife heard this, she
+grew terrified and said: “I must speak with my
+husband, otherwise a terrible calamity will happen
+here this day.”</p>
+
+<p>When the slaves said once again that this
+was impossible, she began to weep and shudder.
+And one among them was touched, so she said:
+“If you will send a written message to the
+Governor, I will try and take it to him.”</p>
+
+<p>Immediately she took a stylus and wrote a
+few words on a wax tablet, and this was given to
+Pilate.</p>
+
+<p>But him she did not meet alone the whole
+day; for when he had dismissed the Jews, and
+the condemned man was taken to the place of
+execution, the hour for repast was come, and to
+this Pilate had invited a few of the Romans
+who visited Jerusalem at this season. They
+were the commander of the troops and a
+young instructor in oratory, and several others
+besides.</p>
+
+<p>This repast was not very gay, for the Governor’s
+wife sat all the while silent and dejected,
+and took no part in the conversation.</p>
+
+<p>When the guests asked if she was ill or distraught,
+the Governor laughingly related about
+the message she had sent him in the morning.
+He chaffed her because she had believed that
+a Roman governor would let himself be guided
+in his judgments by a woman’s dreams.</p>
+
+<p>She answered gently and sadly: “In truth,
+it was no dream, but a warning sent by the
+gods. You should at least have let the man
+live through this one day.”</p>
+
+<p>They saw that she was seriously distressed.
+She would not be comforted, no matter how
+much the guests exerted themselves, by keeping
+up the conversation to make her forget these
+empty fancies.</p>
+
+<p>But after a while one of them raised his head
+and exclaimed: “What is this? Have we sat so
+long at table that the day is already gone?”</p>
+
+<p>All looked up now, and they observed that
+a dim twilight settled down over nature. Above
+all, it was remarkable to see how the whole
+variegated play of color which it spread over
+all creatures and objects, faded away slowly,
+so that all looked a uniform gray.</p>
+
+<p>Like everything else, even their own faces
+lost their color. “We actually look like the
+dead,” said the young orator with a shudder.
+“Our cheeks are gray and our lips black.”</p>
+
+<p>As this darkness grew more intense, the
+woman’s fear increased. “Oh, my friend!” she
+burst out at last. “Can’t you perceive even
+now that the Immortals would warn you? They
+are incensed because you condemned a holy and
+innocent man. I am thinking that although he
+may already be on the cross, he is surely not
+dead yet. Let him be taken down from the
+cross! I would with mine own hands nurse his
+wounds. Only grant that he be called back
+to life!”</p>
+
+<p>But Pilate answered laughingly: “You are
+surely right in that this is a sign from the gods.
+But they do not let the sun lose its luster because
+a Jewish heretic has been condemned to the
+cross. On the contrary, we may expect that
+important matters shall appear, which concern
+the whole kingdom. Who can tell how long
+old Tiberius——”</p>
+
+<p>He did not finish the sentence, for the darkness
+had become so profound he could not see
+even the wine goblet standing in front of him.
+He broke off, therefore, to order the slaves to
+fetch some lamps instantly.</p>
+
+<p>When it had become so light that he could
+see the faces of his guests, it was impossible for
+him not to notice the depression which had
+come over them. “Mark you!” he said half-angrily
+to his wife. “Now it is apparent to me
+that you have succeeded with your dreams in
+driving away the joys of the table. But if it
+must needs be that you can not think of anything
+else to-day, then let us hear what you have
+dreamed. Tell it us and we will try to interpret
+its meaning!”</p>
+
+<p>For this the young wife was ready at once.
+And while she related vision after vision, the
+guests grew more and more serious. They
+ceased emptying their goblets, and they sat with
+brows knit. The only one who continued to
+laugh and to call the whole thing madness, was
+the Governor himself.</p>
+
+<p>When the narrative was ended, the young
+rhetorician said: “Truly, this is something more
+than a dream, for I have seen this day not
+the Emperor, but his old friend Faustina,
+march into the city. Only it surprises me that
+she has not already appeared in the Governor’s
+palace.”</p>
+
+<p>“There is actually a rumor abroad to the
+effect that the Emperor has been stricken with
+a terrible illness,” observed the leader of the
+troops. “It also seems very possible to me that
+your wife’s dream may be a god-sent warning.”</p>
+
+<p>“There’s nothing incredible in this, that
+Tiberius has sent messengers after the Prophet
+to summon him to his sick-bed,” agreed the
+young rhetorician.</p>
+
+<p>The Commander turned with profound seriousness
+toward Pilate. “If the Emperor has
+actually taken it into his head to let this miracle-worker
+be summoned, it were better for you
+and for all of us that he found him alive.”</p>
+
+<p>Pilate answered irritably: “Is it the darkness
+that has turned you into children? One would
+think that you had all been transformed into
+dream-interpreters and prophets.”</p>
+
+<p>But the courtier continued his argument: “It
+may not be impossible, perhaps, to save the
+man’s life, if you sent a swift messenger.”</p>
+
+<p>“You want to make a laughing-stock of me,”
+answered the Governor. “Tell me, what would
+become of law and order in this land, if they
+learned that the Governor pardoned a criminal
+because his wife has dreamed a bad dream?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is the truth, however, and not a dream,
+that I have seen Faustina in Jerusalem,” said
+the young orator.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall take the responsibility of defending
+my actions before the Emperor,” said Pilate.
+“He will understand that this visionary, who
+let himself be misused by my soldiers without
+resistance, would not have had the power to
+help him.”</p>
+
+<p>As he was speaking, the house was shaken
+by a noise like a powerful rolling thunder, and
+an earthquake shook the ground. The Governor’s
+palace stood intact, but during some
+minutes just after the earthquake, a terrific crash
+of crumbling houses and falling pillars was
+heard.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as a human voice could make itself
+heard, the Governor called a slave.</p>
+
+<p>“Run out to the place of execution and command
+in my name that the Prophet of Nazareth
+shall be taken down from the cross!”</p>
+
+<p>The slave hurried away. The guests filed
+from the dining-hall out on the peristyle, to be
+under the open sky in case the earthquake should
+be repeated. No one dared to utter a word,
+while they awaited the slave’s return.</p>
+
+<p>He came back very shortly. He stopped before
+the Governor.</p>
+
+<p>“You found him alive?” said he.</p>
+
+<p>“Master, he was dead, and on the very second
+that he gave up the ghost, the earthquake
+occurred.”</p>
+
+<p>The words were hardly spoken when two loud
+knocks sounded against the outer gate. When
+these knocks were heard, they all staggered back
+and leaped up, as though it had been a new
+earthquake.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately afterwards a slave came up.</p>
+
+<p>“It is the noble Faustina and the Emperor’s
+kinsman Sulpicius. They are come to beg you
+help them find the Prophet from Nazareth.”</p>
+
+<p>A low murmur passed through the peristyle,
+and soft footfalls were heard. When the Governor
+looked around, he noticed that his friends
+had withdrawn from him, as from one upon
+whom misfortune has fallen.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>IX</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Old Faustina had returned to Capri and had
+sought out the Emperor. She told him her
+story, and while she spoke she hardly dared look
+at him. During her absence the illness had
+made frightful ravages, and she thought to
+herself: “If there had been any pity among
+the Celestials, they would have let me die before
+being forced to tell this poor, tortured man
+that all hope is gone.”</p>
+
+<p>To her astonishment, Tiberius listened to her
+with the utmost indifference. When she related
+how the great miracle performer had been crucified
+the same day that she had arrived in Jerusalem,
+and how near she had been to saving
+him, she began to weep under the weight of
+her failure. But Tiberius only remarked: “You
+actually grieve over this? Ah, Faustina! A
+whole lifetime in Rome has not weaned you
+then of faith in sorcerers and miracle workers,
+which you imbibed during your childhood in
+the Sabine mountains!”</p>
+
+<p>Then the old woman perceived that Tiberius
+had never expected any help from the Prophet
+of Nazareth.</p>
+
+<p>“Why did you let me make the journey to
+that distant land, if you believed all the while
+that it was useless?”</p>
+
+<p>“You are the only friend I have,” said the
+Emperor. “Why should I deny your prayer,
+so long as I still have the power to grant it.”</p>
+
+<p>But the old woman did not like it that the
+Emperor had taken her for a fool.</p>
+
+<p>“Ah! this is your usual cunning,” she burst
+out. “This is just what I can tolerate least
+in you.”</p>
+
+<p>“You should not have come back to me,” said
+Tiberius. “You should have remained in the
+mountains.”</p>
+
+<p>It looked for a moment as if these two, who
+had clashed so often, would again fall into a
+war of words, but the old woman’s anger subsided
+immediately. The times were past when
+she could quarrel in earnest with the Emperor.
+She lowered her voice again; but she could not
+altogether relinquish every effort to obtain
+justice.</p>
+
+<p>“But this man was really a prophet,” she
+said. “I have seen him. When his eyes met
+mine, I thought he was a god. I was mad to
+allow him to go to his death.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am glad you let him die,” said Tiberius.
+“He was a traitor and a dangerous agitator.”</p>
+
+<p>Faustina was about to burst into another
+passion—then checked herself.</p>
+
+<p>“I have spoken with many of his friends in
+Jerusalem about him,” said she. “He had
+not committed the crimes for which he was
+arraigned.”</p>
+
+<p>“Even if he had not committed just these
+crimes, he was surely no better than any one
+else,” said the Emperor wearily. “Where will
+you find the person who during his lifetime has
+not a thousand times deserved death?”</p>
+
+<p>But these remarks of the Emperor decided
+Faustina to undertake something which she had
+until now hesitated about. “I will show you
+a proof of his power,” said she. “I said to
+you just now that I laid my kerchief over
+his face. It is the same kerchief which I
+hold in my hand. Will you look at it a
+moment?”</p>
+
+<p>She spread the kerchief out before the Emperor,
+and he saw delineated thereon the shadowy
+likeness of a human face.</p>
+
+<p>The old woman’s voice shook with emotion
+as she continued: “This man saw that I loved
+him. I know not by what power he was
+enabled to leave me his portrait. But mine eyes
+fill up with tears when I see it.”</p>
+
+<p>The Emperor leaned forward and regarded
+the picture, which appeared to be made up of
+blood and tears and the dark shadows of grief.
+Gradually the whole face stood out before him,
+exactly as it had been imprinted upon the kerchief.
+He saw the blood-drops on the forehead,
+the piercing thorn-crown, the hair, which was
+matted with blood, and the mouth whose lips
+seemed to quiver with agony.</p>
+
+<p>He bent down closer and closer to the picture.
+The face stood out clearer and clearer.
+From out the shadow-like outlines, all at once,
+he saw the eyes sparkle as with hidden life.
+And while they spoke to him of the most terrible
+suffering, they also revealed a purity and
+sublimity which he had never seen before.</p>
+
+<p>He lay upon his couch and drank in the picture
+with his eyes. “Is this a mortal?” he said
+softly and slowly. “Is this a mortal?”</p>
+
+<p>Again he lay still and regarded the picture.
+The tears began to stream down his cheeks. “I
+mourn over thy death, thou Unknown!” he
+whispered.</p>
+
+<p>“Faustina!” he cried out at last. “Why
+did you let this man die? He would have healed
+me.”</p>
+
+<p>And again he was lost in the picture.</p>
+
+<p>“O Man!” he said, after a moment, “if I
+can not gain my health from thee, I can still
+avenge thy murder. My hand shall rest heavily
+upon those who have robbed me of thee!”</p>
+
+<p>Again he lay still a long time; then he let
+himself glide down to the floor—and he knelt
+before the picture:</p>
+
+<p>“Thou art Man!” said he. “Thou art that
+which I never dreamed I should see.” And he
+pointed to his disfigured face and destroyed
+hands. “I and all others are wild beasts and
+monsters, but thou art Man.”</p>
+
+<p>He bowed his head so low before the picture
+that it touched the floor. “Have pity on me,
+thou Unknown!” he sobbed, and his tears
+watered the stones.</p>
+
+<p>“If thou hadst lived, thy glance alone would
+have healed me,” he said.</p>
+
+<p>The poor old woman was terror-stricken over
+what she had done. It would have been wiser
+not to show the Emperor the picture, thought
+she. From the start she had been afraid that
+if he should see it his grief would be too overwhelming.</p>
+
+<p>And in her despair over the Emperor’s grief,
+she snatched the picture away, as if to remove
+it from his sight.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Emperor looked up. And, lo! his
+features were transformed, and he was as he
+had been before the illness. It was as if the
+illness had had its root and sustenance in the
+contempt and hatred of mankind which had
+lived in his heart; and it had been forced to
+flee the very moment he had felt love and
+compassion.</p>
+
+<p>The following day Tiberius despatched three
+messengers.</p>
+
+<p>The first messenger traveled to Rome with
+the command that the Senate should institute
+investigations as to how the governor of Palestine
+administered his official duties and punish
+him, should it appear that he oppressed the
+people and condemned the innocent to death.</p>
+
+<p>The second messenger went to the vineyard-laborer
+and his wife, to thank them and reward
+them for the counsel they had given the Emperor,
+and also to tell them how everything
+had turned out. When they had heard all, they
+wept silently, and the man said: “I know that
+all my life I shall ponder what would have happened
+if these two had met.” But the woman
+answered: “It could not happen in any other
+way. It was too great a thought that these
+two should meet. God knew that the world
+could not support it.”</p>
+
+<p>The third messenger traveled to Palestine and
+brought back with him to Capri some of Jesus’
+disciples, and these began to teach there the
+doctrine that had been preached by the Crucified
+One.</p>
+
+<p>When the disciples landed at Capri, old Faustina
+lay upon her death-bed. Still they had time
+before her death to make of her a follower
+of the great Prophet, and to baptize her. And
+in the baptism she was called Veronica, because
+to her it had been granted to give to mankind
+the true likeness of their Saviour.</p>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a href='images/i_195_lg.jpg'><img src='images/i_195.jpg' alt='' class='ig010' /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<h2 id='story9' class='c003'>ROBIN REDBREAST</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c004'>It happened at the time when our Lord
+created the world, when He not only made
+heaven and earth, but all the animals and the
+plants as well, at the same time giving them
+their names.</p>
+
+<p>There have been many histories concerning
+that time, and if we knew them all, we should
+have light upon everything in this world which
+we can not now comprehend.</p>
+
+<p>At that time it happened one day when our
+Lord sat in His Paradise and painted the little
+birds, that the colors in our Lord’s paint pot
+gave out, and the goldfinch would have been
+without color if our Lord had not wiped all
+His paint brushes on its feathers.</p>
+
+<p>It was then that the donkey got his long
+ears, because he could not remember the name
+that had been given him.</p>
+
+<p>No sooner had he taken a few steps over
+the meadows of Paradise than he forgot, and
+three times he came back to ask his name. At
+last our Lord grew somewhat impatient, took
+him by his two ears, and said:</p>
+
+<p>“Thy name is ass, ass, ass!” And while
+He thus spake our Lord pulled both of his
+ears that the ass might hear better, and remember
+what was said to him. It was on the same
+day, also, that the bee was punished.</p>
+
+<p>Now, when the bee was created, she began
+immediately to gather honey, and the animals
+and human beings who caught the delicious odor
+of the honey came and wanted to taste of it.
+But the bee wanted to keep it all for herself and
+with her poisonous sting pursued every living
+creature that approached her hive. Our Lord
+saw this and at once called the bee to Him and
+punished her.</p>
+
+<p>“I gave thee the gift of gathering honey,
+which is the sweetest thing in all creation,” said
+our Lord, “but I did not give thee the right
+to be cruel to thy neighbor. Remember well
+that every time thou stingest any creature who
+desires to taste of thy honey, thou shalt surely
+die!”</p>
+
+<p>Ah, yes! It was at that time, too, that the
+cricket became blind and the ant missed her
+wings, so many strange things happened on that
+day!</p>
+
+<p>Our Lord sat there, big and gentle, and
+planned and created all day long, and towards
+evening He conceived the idea of making a
+little gray bird. “Remember your name is
+Robin Redbreast,” said our Lord to the bird,
+as soon as it was finished. Then He held it
+in the palm of His open hand and let it fly.</p>
+
+<p>After the bird had been testing his wings
+a while, and had seen something of the beautiful
+world in which he was destined to live,
+he became curious to see what he himself was
+like. He noticed that he was entirely gray,
+and that his breast was just as gray as all the
+rest of him. Robin Redbreast twisted and
+turned in all directions as he viewed himself
+in the mirror of a clear lake, but he couldn’t
+find a single red feather. Then he flew back
+to our Lord.</p>
+
+<p>Our Lord sat there on His throne, big and
+gentle. Out of His hands came butterflies that
+fluttered about His head; doves cooed on His
+shoulders; and out of the earth beneath Him
+grew the rose, the lily, and the daisy.</p>
+
+<p>The little bird’s heart beat heavily with
+fright, but with easy curves he flew nearer and
+nearer our Lord, till at last he rested on our
+Lord’s hand. Then our Lord asked what the
+little bird wanted. “I only wish to ask you
+about one thing,” said the little bird. “What is
+it you wish to know?” said our Lord. “Why
+should I be called Red Breast, when I am all
+gray, from the bill to the very end of my
+tail? Why am I called Red Breast when I do
+not possess one single red feather?” The bird
+looked beseechingly on our Lord with his tiny
+black eyes—then turned his head. About him
+he saw pheasants all red under a sprinkle of
+gold dust, parrots with marvelous red neck-bands,
+cocks with red combs, to say nothing
+about the butterflies, the goldfinches, and the
+roses! And naturally he thought how little
+he needed—just one tiny drop of color on his
+breast and he, too, would be a beautiful bird,
+and his name would fit him. “Why should I
+be called Red Breast when I am so entirely
+gray?” asked the bird once again, and waited
+for our Lord to say: “Ah, my friend, I see that
+I have forgotten to paint your breast feathers
+red, but wait a moment and it shall be done.”</p>
+
+<p>But our Lord only smiled a little and said:
+“I have called you Robin Redbreast, and Robin
+Redbreast shall your name be, but you must
+look to it that you yourself earn your red breast
+feathers.” Then our Lord lifted His hand
+and let the bird fly once more—out into the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>The bird flew down into Paradise, meditating
+deeply.</p>
+
+<p>What could a little bird like him do to earn
+for himself red feathers? The only thing he
+could think of was to make his nest in a brier
+bush. He built it in among the thorns in the
+close thicket. It looked as if he waited for
+a rose leaf to cling to his throat and give him
+color.</p>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<p>Countless years had come and gone since that
+day, which was the happiest in all the world!
+Human beings had already advanced so far
+that they had learned to cultivate the earth
+and sail the seas. They had procured clothes
+and ornaments for themselves, and had long
+since learned to build big temples and great
+cities—such as Thebes, Rome, and Jerusalem.</p>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<p>Then there dawned a <em>new</em> day, one that will
+long be remembered in the world’s history. On
+the morning of this day Robin Redbreast sat
+upon a little naked hillock outside of Jerusalem’s
+walls, and sang to his young ones, who rested
+in a tiny nest in a brier bush.</p>
+
+<p>Robin Redbreast told the little ones all about
+that wonderful day of creation, and how the
+Lord had given names to everything, just as
+each Redbreast had told it ever since the first
+Redbreast had heard God’s word, and gone out
+of God’s hand. “And mark you,” he ended
+sorrowfully, “so many years have gone, so
+many roses have bloomed, so many little birds
+have come out of their eggs since Creation Day,
+but Robin Redbreast is still a little gray bird.
+He has not yet succeeded in gaining his red
+feathers.”</p>
+
+<p>The little young ones opened wide their tiny
+bills, and asked if their forbears had never
+tried to do any great thing to earn the priceless
+red color.</p>
+
+<p>“We have all done what we could,” said
+the little bird, “but we have all gone amiss.
+Even the first Robin Redbreast met one day
+another bird exactly like himself, and he began
+immediately to love it with such a mighty love
+that he could feel his breast burn. ‘Ah!’ he
+thought then, ‘now I understand! It was our
+Lord’s meaning that I should love with so
+much ardor that my breast should grow red in
+color from the very warmth of the love that
+lives in my heart.’ But he missed it, as all those
+who came after him have missed it, and as
+even you shall miss it.”</p>
+
+<p>The little young ones twittered, utterly bewildered,
+and already began to mourn because the
+red color would not come to beautify their little,
+downy gray breasts.</p>
+
+<p>“We had also hoped that song would help
+us,” said the grown-up bird, speaking in long-drawn-out
+tones—“the first Robin Redbreast
+sang until his heart swelled within him, he was
+so carried away, and he dared to hope anew.
+‘Ah!’ he thought, ‘it is the glow of the song
+which lives in my soul that will color my breast
+feathers red.’ But he missed it, as all the others
+have missed it and as even you shall miss it.”
+Again was heard a sad “peep” from the young
+ones’ half-naked throats.</p>
+
+<p>“We had also counted on our courage and
+our valor,” said the bird. “The first Robin
+Redbreast fought bravely with other birds, until
+his breast flamed with the pride of conquest.
+‘Ah!’ he thought, ‘my breast feathers shall
+become red from the love of battle which burns
+in my heart.’ He, too, missed it, as all those
+who came after him have missed it, and as even
+you shall miss it.” The little young ones peeped
+courageously that they still wished to try and
+win the much-sought-for prize, but the bird
+answered them sorrowfully that it would be impossible.
+What could they do when so many
+splendid ancestors had missed the mark? What
+could they do more than love, sing, and fight?
+What could—the little bird stopped short, for
+out of one of the gates of Jerusalem came a
+crowd of people marching, and the whole procession
+rushed toward the hillock, where the
+bird had its nest. There were riders on proud
+horses, soldiers with long spears, executioners
+with nails and hammers. There were judges
+and priests in the procession, weeping women,
+and above all a mob of mad, loose people
+running about—a filthy, howling mob of
+loiterers.</p>
+
+<p>The little gray bird sat trembling on the
+edge of his nest. He feared each instant that
+the little brier bush would be trampled down
+and his young ones killed!</p>
+
+<p>“Be careful!” he cried to the little defenseless
+young ones, “creep together and remain
+quiet. Here comes a horse that will ride right
+over us! Here comes a warrior with iron-shod
+sandals! Here comes the whole wild, storming
+mob!” Immediately the bird ceased his cry
+of warning and grew calm and quiet. He almost
+forgot the danger hovering over him.
+Finally he hopped down into the nest and spread
+his wings over the young ones.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh! this is too terrible,” said he. “I don’t
+wish you to witness this awful sight! There
+are three miscreants who are going to be crucified!”
+And he spread his wings so that the
+little ones could see nothing.</p>
+
+<p>They caught only the sound of hammers, the
+cries of anguish, and the wild shrieks of the
+mob.</p>
+
+<p>Robin Redbreast followed the whole spectacle
+with his eyes, which grew big with terror. He
+could not take his glance from the three
+unfortunates.</p>
+
+<p>“How terrible human beings are!” said the
+bird after a little while. “It isn’t enough that
+they nail these poor creatures to a cross, but
+they must needs place a crown of piercing thorns
+upon the head of one of them. I see that the
+thorns have wounded his brow so that the blood
+flows,” he continued. “And this man is so
+beautiful, and looks about him with such mild
+glances that every one ought to love him. I
+feel as if an arrow were shooting through my
+heart, when I see him suffer!”</p>
+
+<p>The little bird began to feel a stronger and
+stronger pity for the thorn-crowned sufferer.
+“Oh! if I were only my brother the eagle,”
+thought he, “I would draw the nails from his
+hands, and with my strong claws I would drive
+away all those who torture him!” He saw
+how the blood trickled down from the brow of
+the Crucified One, and he could no longer remain
+quiet in his nest. “Even if I am little
+and weak, I can still do something for this
+poor tortured one,” thought the bird. Then he
+left his nest and flew out into the air, striking
+wide circles around the Crucified One. He flew
+around him several times without daring to
+approach, for he was a shy little bird, who had
+never dared to go near a human being. But
+little by little he gained courage, flew close to
+him, and drew with his little bill a thorn that
+had become imbedded in the brow of the Crucified
+One. And as he did this there fell on his
+breast a drop of blood from the face of the
+Crucified One;—it spread quickly and floated
+out and colored all the little fine breast feathers.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Crucified One opened his lips and
+whispered to the bird: “Because of thy compassion,
+thou hast won all that thy kind have
+been striving after, ever since the world was
+created.”</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the bird had returned to his nest
+his young ones cried to him: “Thy breast is
+red! Thy breast feathers are redder than the
+roses!”</p>
+
+<p>“It is only a drop of blood from the poor
+man’s forehead,” said the bird; “it will vanish
+as soon as I bathe in a pool or a clear well.”</p>
+
+<p>But no matter how much the little bird
+bathed, the red color did not vanish—and when
+his little young ones grew up, the blood-red
+color shone also on their breast feathers, just
+as it shines on every Robin Redbreast’s throat
+and breast until this very day.</p>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a href='images/i_207_lg.jpg'><img src='images/i_207.jpg' alt='' class='ig011' /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<h2 id='story10' class='c003'>OUR LORD AND SAINT PETER</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c004'>It happened at the time when our Lord and
+Saint Peter were newly arrived in Paradise,
+after having wandered on earth and suffered
+hardships during many sorrowful years.</p>
+
+<p>One can imagine that the change was a joy
+to Saint Peter! One can picture to oneself that
+it was quite another matter to sit upon Paradise
+Mountain and look out over the world, instead
+of wandering from door to door, like a
+beggar. It was another matter to walk about
+in the beautiful gardens of Paradise, instead of
+roaming around on earth, not knowing if one
+would be given house-room on a stormy night,
+or if one would be forced to tramp the highway
+in the chill and darkness.</p>
+
+<p>One can imagine what a joy it must have
+been to get to the right place at last after such
+a journey. Saint Peter, to be sure, had not
+always been certain that all would end well.
+He couldn’t very well help feeling doubtful and
+troubled at times, for it had been almost impossible
+for poor Saint Peter to understand why
+there was any earthly need for them to have
+such a hard time of it, if our Lord was lord of
+all the world.</p>
+
+<p>Now, no yearning could come to torment
+him any more. That he was glad of this one
+can well believe.</p>
+
+<p>Now, he could actually laugh at all the misery
+which he and our Lord had been forced to
+endure, and at the little that they had been
+obliged to content themselves with.</p>
+
+<p>Once, when things had turned out so badly
+for them that Saint Peter thought he couldn’t
+stand it any longer, our Lord had taken him
+to a high mountain, and had begun the ascent
+without telling him what they were there for.</p>
+
+<p>They had wandered past the cities at the
+foot of the mountain, and the castles higher
+up. They had gone past the farms and cabins,
+and had left behind them the last wood-chopper’s
+cave.</p>
+
+<p>They had come at last to the part where the
+mountain stood naked, without verdure and
+trees, and where a hermit had built him a hut,
+wherein he might shelter needy travelers.</p>
+
+<p>Afterward, they had walked over the snowfields,
+where the mountain-rats sleep, and come
+to the piled-up ice masses, which stood on edge
+and a-tilt, and where scarcely a chamois could
+pass.</p>
+
+<p>Up there our Lord had found a little
+red-breasted bird, that lay frozen to death on the
+ice, and He had picked up the bullfinch and
+tucked it in His bosom. And Saint Peter remembered
+he had wondered if this was to be
+their dinner.</p>
+
+<p>They had wandered a long while on the slippery
+ice-blocks, and it had seemed to Saint
+Peter that he had never been so near perdition;
+for a deadly cold wind and a deadly dark mist
+enveloped them, and as far as he could discover,
+there wasn’t a living thing to be found.
+And, still, they were only half-way up the
+mountain.</p>
+
+<p>Then he begged our Lord to let him turn
+back.</p>
+
+<p>“Not yet,” said our Lord, “for I want to
+show you something which will give you courage
+to meet all sorrows.”</p>
+
+<p>For this they had gone on through mist and
+cold until they had reached an interminably
+high wall, which prevented them from going
+farther.</p>
+
+<p>“This wall extends all around the mountain,”
+said our Lord, “and you can’t step over
+it at any point. Nor can any living creature see
+anything of that which lies behind it, for it is
+here that Paradise begins; and all the way up
+to the mountain’s summit live the blessed
+dead.”</p>
+
+<p>But Saint Peter couldn’t help looking doubtful.
+“In there is neither darkness nor cold,”
+said our Lord, “but there it is always summer,
+with the bright light of suns and stars.”</p>
+
+<p>But Saint Peter was not able to persuade himself
+to believe this.</p>
+
+<p>Then our Lord took the little bird which He
+had just found on the ice, and, bending backwards,
+threw it over the wall, so that it fell
+down into Paradise.</p>
+
+<p>And immediately thereafter Saint Peter
+heard a loud, joyous trill, and recognized a bullfinch’s
+song, and was greatly astonished.</p>
+
+<p>He turned toward our Lord and said: “Let
+us return to the earth and suffer all that must
+be suffered, for now I see that you speak the
+truth, and that there is a place where Life overcomes
+death.”</p>
+
+<p>And they descended from the mountain and
+began their wanderings again.</p>
+
+<p>And it was years before Saint Peter saw any
+more than this one glimpse of Paradise; but
+he had always longed for the land beyond the
+wall. And now at last he was there, and did
+not have to strive and yearn any more. Now
+he could drink bliss in full measure all day long
+from never-dying streams.</p>
+
+<p>But Saint Peter had not been in Paradise a
+fortnight before it happened that an angel
+came to our Lord where He sat upon His
+throne, bowed seven times before Him, and
+told Him that a great sorrow must have come
+upon Saint Peter. He would neither eat nor
+drink, and his eyelids were red, as though he
+had not slept for several nights.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as our Lord heard this, He rose and
+went to seek Saint Peter.</p>
+
+<p>He found him far away, on one of the outskirts
+of Paradise, where he lay upon the
+ground, as if he were too exhausted to stand,
+and he had rent his garments and strewn his
+hair with ashes.</p>
+
+<p>When our Lord saw him so distressed, He
+sat down on the ground beside him, and talked
+to him, just as He would have done had they
+still been wandering around in this world of
+trouble.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it that makes you so sad, Saint
+Peter?” said our Lord.</p>
+
+<p>But grief had overpowered Saint Peter, so
+that he could not answer.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it that makes you so sad?” asked
+our Lord once again.</p>
+
+<p>When our Lord repeated the question, Saint
+Peter took the gold crown from his head and
+threw it at our Lord’s feet, as much as to say
+he wanted no further share in His honor and
+glory.</p>
+
+<p>But our Lord understood, of course, that
+Saint Peter was so disconsolate that he knew not
+what he did. He showed no anger at him.</p>
+
+<p>“You must tell me what troubles you,” said
+He, just as gently as before, and with an even
+greater love in His voice.</p>
+
+<p>But now Saint Peter jumped up; and then
+our Lord knew that he was not only disconsolate,
+but downright angry. He came toward
+our Lord with clenched fists and snapping eyes.</p>
+
+<p>“Now I want a dismissal from your service!”
+said Saint Peter. “I can not remain
+another day in Paradise.”</p>
+
+<p>Our Lord tried to calm him, just as He had
+been obliged to do many times before, when
+Saint Peter had flared up.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, certainly you can go,” said He, “but
+you must first tell me what it is that displeases
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>“I can tell you that I awaited a better reward
+than this when we two endured all sorts
+of misery down on earth,” said Saint Peter.</p>
+
+<p>Our Lord saw that Saint Peter’s soul was
+filled with bitterness, and He felt no anger at
+him.</p>
+
+<p>“I tell you that you are free to go whither
+you will,” said He, “if you will only let me
+know what is troubling you.”</p>
+
+<p>Then, at last, Saint Peter told our Lord why
+he was so unhappy. “I had an old mother,”
+said he, “and she died a few days ago.”</p>
+
+<p>“Now I know what distresses you,” said our
+Lord. “You suffer because your mother has
+not come into Paradise.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is true,” said Saint Peter, and at the
+same time his grief became so overwhelming
+that he began to sob and moan.</p>
+
+<p>“I think I deserved at least that she should
+be permitted to come here,” said he.</p>
+
+<p>But when our Lord learned what it was that
+Saint Peter was grieving over, He, in turn, became
+distressed. Saint Peter’s mother had not
+been such that she could enter the Heavenly
+Kingdom. She had never thought of anything
+except to hoard money, and to the poor who
+had knocked at her door she had never given
+so much as a copper or a crust of bread. But
+our Lord understood that it was impossible for
+Saint Peter to grasp the fact that his mother
+had been so greedy that she was not entitled
+to bliss.</p>
+
+<p>“Saint Peter,” said He, “how can you be
+so sure that your mother would feel at home
+here with us?”</p>
+
+<p>“You say such things only that you may not
+have to listen to my prayers,” said Saint Peter.
+“Who wouldn’t be happy in Paradise?”</p>
+
+<p>“One who does not feel joy over the happiness
+of others can not rest content here,” said
+our Lord.</p>
+
+<p>“Then there are others than my mother who
+do not belong here,” said Saint Peter, and our
+Lord observed that he was thinking of Him.</p>
+
+<p>And He felt deeply grieved because Saint
+Peter had been stricken with such a heavy sorrow
+that he no longer knew what he said. He
+stood a moment and expected that Saint Peter
+would repent, and understand that his mother
+was not fit for Paradise. But the Saint would
+not give in.</p>
+
+<p>Then our Lord called an angel and commanded
+that he should fly down into hell and
+bring Saint Peter’s mother to Paradise.</p>
+
+<p>“Let me see how he carries her,” said Saint
+Peter.</p>
+
+<p>Our Lord took Saint Peter by the hand and
+led him out to a steep precipice which leaned
+slantingly to one side. And He showed him
+that he only had to lean over the precipice very,
+very little to be able to look down into hell.</p>
+
+<p>When Saint Peter glanced down, he could
+not at first see anything more than if he had
+looked into a deep well. It was as though an
+endless chasm opened under him.</p>
+
+<p>The first thing which he could faintly distinguish
+was the angel, who had already started
+on his way to the nether regions. Saint Peter
+saw how the angel dived down into the great
+darkness, without the least fear, and spread his
+wings just a little, so as not to descend too
+rapidly.</p>
+
+<p>But when Saint Peter’s eyes had become a
+little more used to the darkness he began to
+see more and more. In the first place, he saw
+that Paradise lay on a ring-mountain, which
+encircled a wide chasm, and it was at the bottom
+of this chasm that the souls of the sinful
+had their abode. He saw how the angel sank
+and sank a long while without reaching the
+depths. He became absolutely terrified because
+it was such a long distance down there.</p>
+
+<p>“May he only come up again with my
+mother!” said he.</p>
+
+<p>Our Lord only looked at Saint Peter with
+great sorrowful eyes. “There is no weight too
+heavy for my angel to carry,” said He.</p>
+
+<p>It was so far down to the nether regions that
+no ray of sunlight could penetrate thither: there
+darkness reigned. But it was as if the angel in
+his flight must have brought with him a little
+clearness and light, so that it was possible for
+Saint Peter to see how it looked down there.</p>
+
+<p>It was an endless, black rock-desert. Sharp,
+pointed rocks covered the entire foundation.
+There was not a green blade, not a tree, not a
+sign of life.</p>
+
+<p>But all over, on the sharp rocks, were condemned
+souls. They hung over the edges,
+whither they had clambered that they might
+swing themselves up from the ravine; and when
+they saw that they could get nowhere, they remained
+up there, petrified with anguish.</p>
+
+<p>Saint Peter saw some of them sit or lie with
+arms extended in ceaseless longing, and with
+eyes fixedly turned upwards. Others had covered
+their faces with their hands, as if they
+would shut out the hopeless horror around
+them. They were all rigid; there was not one
+among them who had the power to move.
+Some lay in the water-pools, perfectly still,
+without trying to rise from them.</p>
+
+<p>But the most dreadful thing of all was—there
+was such a great throng of the lost. It
+was as though the bottom of the ravine were
+made up of nothing but bodies and heads.</p>
+
+<p>And Saint Peter was struck with a new fear.
+“You shall see that he will not find her,” said
+he to our Lord.</p>
+
+<p>Once more our Lord looked at him with the
+same grieved expression. He knew of course
+that Saint Peter did not need to be uneasy about
+the angel.</p>
+
+<p>But to Saint Peter it looked all the while as
+if the angel could not find his mother in that
+great company of lost souls. He spread his
+wings and flew back and forth over the nether
+regions, while he sought her.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly one of the poor lost creatures
+caught a glimpse of the angel, and he sprang
+up and stretched his arms towards him and
+cried: “Take me with you! Take me with
+you!”</p>
+
+<p>Then, all at once, the whole throng was
+alive. All the millions upon millions who languished
+in hell, roused themselves that instant,
+and raised their arms and cried to the angel
+that he should take them with him to the
+blessed Paradise.</p>
+
+<p>Their shrieks were heard all the way up to
+our Lord and Saint Peter, whose hearts
+throbbed with anguish as they heard.</p>
+
+<p>The angel swayed high above the condemned;
+but as he traveled back and forth, to
+find the one whom he sought, they all rushed
+after him, so that it looked as though they had
+been swept on by a whirlwind.</p>
+
+<p>At last the angel caught sight of the one he
+was to take with him. He folded his wings
+over his back and shot down like a streak of
+lightning, and the astonished Saint Peter gave
+a cry of joy when he saw the angel place an
+arm around his mother and lift her up.</p>
+
+<p>“Blessed be thou that bringest my mother to
+me!” said he.</p>
+
+<p>Our Lord laid His hand gently on Saint
+Peter’s shoulder, as if He would warn him not
+to abandon himself to joy too soon.</p>
+
+<p>But Saint Peter was ready to weep for joy,
+because his mother was saved. He could not
+understand that anything further would have
+the power to part them. And his joy increased
+when he saw that, quick as the angel had been
+when he had lifted her up, still several of the
+lost souls had succeeded in attaching themselves
+to her who was to be saved, in order that they,
+too, might be borne to Paradise with her.</p>
+
+<p>There must have been a dozen who clung to
+the old woman, and Saint Peter thought it was
+a great honor for his mother to help so many
+poor unfortunate beings out of perdition.</p>
+
+<p>Nor did the angel do aught to hinder them.
+He seemed not at all troubled with his burden,
+but rose and rose, and moved his wings with no
+more effort than if he were carrying a little
+dead birdling to heaven.</p>
+
+<p>But then Saint Peter saw that his mother began
+to free herself from the lost souls that had
+clung to her. She gripped their hands and
+loosened their hold, so that one after another
+tumbled down into hell.</p>
+
+<p>Saint Peter could hear how they begged and
+implored her; but the old woman did not desire
+that any one but herself should be saved. She
+freed herself from more and more of them, and
+let them fall down into misery. And as they
+fell, all space was filled with their lamentations
+and curses.</p>
+
+<p>Then Saint Peter begged and implored his
+mother to show some compassion, but she
+would not listen, and kept right on as before.</p>
+
+<p>And Saint Peter saw how the angel flew
+slower and slower, the lighter his burden became.
+Such fear took hold of Saint Peter that
+his legs shook, and he was forced to drop on his
+knees.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, there was only one condemned soul
+who still clung to St. Peter’s mother. This was
+a young woman who hung on her neck and
+begged and cried in her ear that she would let
+her go along with her to the blessed Paradise.</p>
+
+<p>The angel with his burden had already come
+so far that Saint Peter stretched out his arms to
+receive his mother. He thought that the angel
+had to make only two or three wing-strokes
+more to reach the mountain.</p>
+
+<p>Then, all of a sudden, the angel held his
+wings perfectly still, and his countenance became
+dark as night.</p>
+
+<p>For now the old woman had stretched her
+hands back of her and gripped the arms of the
+young woman who hung about her neck, and
+she clutched and tore until she succeeded in
+separating the clasped hands, so that she was free
+from this last one also.</p>
+
+<p>When the condemned one fell the angel sank
+several fathoms lower, and it appeared as
+though he had not the strength to lift his wings
+again.</p>
+
+<p>He looked down upon the old woman with
+a deep, sorrowful glance; his hold around her
+waist loosened, and he let her fall, as if she
+were too heavy a burden for him, now that she
+was alone.</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon he swung himself with a single
+stroke up into Paradise.</p>
+
+<p>But Saint Peter lay for a long while in the
+same place, and sobbed, and our Lord stood
+silent beside him.</p>
+
+<p>“Saint Peter,” said our Lord at last, “I
+never thought that you would weep like this
+after you had reached Paradise.”</p>
+
+<p>Then God’s old servant raised his head and
+answered: “What kind of a Paradise is this,
+where I can hear the moans of my dearest
+ones, and see the sufferings of my fellow
+men!”</p>
+
+<p>The face of our Lord became o’ercast by the
+deepest sorrow. “What did I desire more than
+to prepare a Paradise for all, of nothing but
+light and happiness?” He said. “Do you not
+understand that it was because of this I went
+down among men and taught them to love their
+neighbors as themselves? For as long as they
+do this not, there will be no refuge in heaven
+or on earth where pain and sorrow cannot reach
+them.”</p>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a href='images/i_225_lg.jpg'><img src='images/i_225.jpg' alt='' class='ig012' /></a>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<h2 id='story11' class='c003'>THE SACRED FLAME</h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+<div class='nf-center c004'  >
+    <span class='larger'>I</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>A great many years ago, when the city
+of Florence had only just been made a
+republic, a man lived there named Raniero di
+Raniero. He was the son of an armorer, and
+had learned his father’s trade, but he did not
+care much to pursue it.</p>
+
+<p>This Raniero was the strongest of men. It
+was said of him that he bore a heavy iron
+armor as lightly as others wear a silk shirt.
+He was still a young man, but already he had
+given many proofs of his strength. Once he
+was in a house where grain was stored in the
+loft. Too much grain had been heaped there;
+and while Raniero was in the house one of the
+loft beams broke down, and the whole roof was
+about to fall in. He raised his arms and held
+the roof up until the people managed to fetch
+beams and poles to prop it.</p>
+
+<p>It was also said of Raniero that he was the
+bravest man that had ever lived in Florence,
+and that he could never get enough of fighting.
+As soon as he heard any noise in the street, he
+rushed out from the workshop, in hopes that a
+fight had arisen in which he might participate.
+If he could only distinguish himself, he fought
+just as readily with humble peasants as with
+armored horsemen. He rushed into a fight
+like a lunatic, without counting his opponents.</p>
+
+<p>Florence was not very powerful in his time.
+The people were mostly wool spinners and
+cloth weavers, and these asked nothing better
+than to be allowed to perform their tasks in
+peace. Sturdy men were plentiful, but they
+were not quarrelsome, and they were proud of
+the fact that in their city better order prevailed
+than elsewhere. Raniero often grumbled because
+he was not born in a country where there
+was a king who gathered around him valiant
+men, and declared that in such an event he
+would have attained great honor and renown.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero was loud-mouthed and boastful;
+cruel to animals, harsh toward his wife, and not
+good for any one to live with. He would have
+been handsome if he had not had several deep
+scars across his face which disfigured him. He
+was quick to jump at conclusions, and quick to
+act, though his way was often violent.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero was married to Francesca, who was
+the daughter of Jacopo degli Uberti, a wise
+and influential man. Jacopo had not been very
+anxious to give his daughter to such a bully as
+Raniero, but had opposed the marriage until
+the very last. Francesca forced him to relent,
+by declaring that she would never marry any
+one else. When Jacopo finally gave his consent,
+he said to Raniero: “I have observed
+that men like you can more easily win a
+woman’s love than keep it; therefore I shall
+exact this promise from you: If my daughter
+finds life with you so hard that she wishes to
+come back to me, you will not prevent her.”
+Francesca said it was needless to exact such a
+promise, since she was so fond of Raniero that
+nothing could separate her from him. But
+Raniero gave his promise promptly. “Of one
+thing you can be assured, Jacopo,” said he—“I
+will not try to hold any woman who wishes to
+flee from me.”</p>
+
+<p>Then Francesca went to live with Raniero,
+and all was well between them for a time.
+When they had been married a few weeks,
+Raniero took it into his head that he would
+practice marksmanship. For several days he
+aimed at a painting which hung upon a wall.
+He soon became skilled, and hit the mark every
+time. At last he thought he would like to try
+and shoot at a more difficult mark. He looked
+around for something suitable, but discovered
+nothing except a quail that sat in a cage above
+the courtyard gate. The bird belonged to
+Francesca, and she was very fond of it; but,
+despite this, Raniero sent a page to open the
+cage, and shot the quail as it swung itself into
+the air.</p>
+
+<p>This seemed to him a very good shot, and he
+boasted of it to any one who would listen to
+him.</p>
+
+<p>When Francesca learned that Raniero had
+shot her bird, she grew pale and looked hard at
+him. She marveled that he had wished to do a
+thing which must bring grief to her; but she
+forgave him promptly and loved him as
+before.</p>
+
+<p>Then all went well again for a time.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero’s father-in-law, Jacopo, was a flax
+weaver. He had a large establishment, where
+much work was done. Raniero thought he had
+discovered that hemp was mixed with the flax
+in Jacopo’s workshop, and he did not keep
+silent about it, but talked of it here and there in
+the city. At last Jacopo also heard this chatter,
+and tried at once to put a stop to it. He let
+several other flax weavers examine his yarn and
+cloth, and they found all of it to be of the very
+finest flax. Only in one pack, which was designed
+to be sold outside of Florence, was there
+any mixture. Then Jacopo said that the deception
+had been practised without his knowledge
+or consent, by some one among his journeymen.
+He apprehended at once that he would find it
+difficult to convince people of this. He had
+always been famed for honesty, and he felt very
+keenly that his honor had been smirched.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero, on the other hand, plumed himself
+upon having succeeded in exposing a fraud,
+and he bragged about it even in Francesca’s
+hearing.</p>
+
+<p>She felt deeply grieved; at the same time she
+was as astonished as when he shot the bird. As
+she thought of this, she seemed suddenly to see
+her love before her; and it was like a great
+piece of shimmery gold cloth. She could see
+how big it was, and how it shimmered. But
+from one corner a piece had been cut away, so
+that it was not as big and as beautiful as it had
+been in the beginning.</p>
+
+<p>Still, it was as yet damaged so very little that
+she thought: “It will probably last as long as
+I live. It is so great that it can never come to
+an end.”</p>
+
+<p>Again, there was a period during which she
+and Raniero were just as happy as they had
+been at first.</p>
+
+<p>Francesca had a brother named Taddeo. He
+had been in Venice on a business trip, and,
+while there, had purchased garments of silk and
+velvet. When he came home he paraded
+around in them. Now, in Florence it was not
+the custom to go about expensively clad, so
+there were many who made fun of him.</p>
+
+<p>One night Taddeo and Raniero were out in
+the wine shops. Taddeo was dressed in a green
+cloak with sable linings, and a violet jacket.
+Raniero tempted him to drink so much wine
+that he fell asleep, and then he took his cloak
+off him and hung it upon a scarecrow that was
+set up in a cabbage patch.</p>
+
+<p>When Francesca heard of this she was vexed
+again with Raniero. That moment she saw
+before her the big piece of gold cloth—which
+was her love—and she seemed to see how it
+diminished, as Raniero cut away piece after
+piece.</p>
+
+<p>After this, things were patched up between
+them for a time, but Francesca was no longer
+so happy as in former days, because she always
+feared that Raniero would commit some misdemeanor
+that would hurt her love.</p>
+
+<p>This was not long in coming, either, for
+Raniero could never be tranquil. He wished
+that people should always speak of him and
+praise his courage and daring.</p>
+
+<p>At that time the cathedral in Florence was
+much smaller than the present one, and there
+hung at the top of one of its towers a big, heavy
+shield, which had been placed there by one of
+Francesca’s ancestors. It was the heaviest
+shield any man in Florence had been able to lift,
+and all the Uberti family were proud because
+it was one of their own who had climbed up in
+the tower and hung it there.</p>
+
+<p>But Raniero climbed up to the shield one day,
+hung it on his back, and came down with it.</p>
+
+<p>When Francesca heard of this for the first
+time she spoke to Raniero of what troubled
+her, and begged him not to humiliate her family
+in this way. Raniero, who had expected that
+she would commend him for his feat, became
+very angry. He retorted that he had long observed
+that she did not rejoice in his success,
+but thought only of her own kin. “It’s something
+else I am thinking of,” said Francesca,
+“and that is my love. I know not what will
+become of it if you keep on in this way.”</p>
+
+<p>After this they frequently exchanged harsh
+words, for Raniero happened nearly always to
+do the very thing that was most distasteful to
+Francesca.</p>
+
+<p>There was a workman in Raniero’s shop who
+was little and lame. This man had loved Francesca
+before she was married, and continued to
+love her even after her marriage. Raniero, who
+knew this, undertook to joke with him before
+all who sat at a table. It went so far that
+finally the man could no longer bear to be held
+up to ridicule in Francesca’s hearing, so he
+rushed upon Raniero and wanted to fight with
+him. But Raniero only smiled derisively and
+kicked him aside. Then the poor fellow
+thought he did not care to live any longer, and
+went off and hanged himself.</p>
+
+<p>When this happened, Francesca and Raniero
+had been married about a year. Francesca
+thought continually that she saw her love before
+her as a shimmery piece of cloth, but on
+all sides large pieces were cut away, so that it
+was scarcely half as big as it had been in the
+beginning.</p>
+
+<p>She became very much alarmed when she saw
+this, and thought: “If I stay with Raniero another
+year, he will destroy my love. I shall
+become just as poor as I have hitherto been
+rich.”</p>
+
+<p>Then she concluded to leave Raniero’s house
+and go to live with her father, that the day
+might not come when she should hate Raniero
+as much as she now loved him.</p>
+
+<p>Jacopo degli Uberti was sitting at the loom
+with all his workmen busy around him when he
+saw her coming. He said that now the thing
+had come to pass which he had long expected,
+and bade her be welcome. Instantly he ordered
+all the people to leave off their work and arm
+themselves and close the house.</p>
+
+<p>Then Jacopo went over to Raniero. He met
+him in the workshop. “My daughter has this
+day returned to me and begged that she may
+live again under my roof,” he said to his son-in-law.
+“And now I expect that you will not
+compel her to return to you, after the promise
+you have given me.”</p>
+
+<p>Raniero did not seem to take this very seriously,
+but answered calmly: “Even if I had
+not given you my word, I would not demand
+the return of a woman who does not wish to be
+mine.”</p>
+
+<p>He knew how much Francesca loved him,
+and said to himself: “She will be back with
+me before evening.”</p>
+
+<p>Yet she did not appear either that day or the
+next.</p>
+
+<p>The third day Raniero went out and pursued
+a couple of robbers who had long disturbed
+the Florentine merchants. He succeeded
+in catching them, and took them captives to
+Florence.</p>
+
+<p>He remained quiet a couple of days, until
+he was positive that this feat was known
+throughout the city. But it did not turn out as
+he had expected—that it would bring Francesca
+back to him.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero had the greatest desire to appeal to
+the courts, to force her return to him, but he
+felt himself unable to do this because of his
+promise. It seemed impossible for him to live
+in the same city with a wife who had abandoned
+him, so he moved away from Florence.</p>
+
+<p>He first became a soldier, and very soon he
+made himself commander of a volunteer company.
+He was always in a fight, and served
+many masters.</p>
+
+<p>He won much renown as a warrior, as he had
+always said he would. He was made a knight
+by the Emperor, and was accounted a great
+man.</p>
+
+<p>Before he left Florence, he had made a vow
+at a sacred image of the Madonna in the Cathedral
+to present to the Blessed Virgin the best
+and rarest that he won in every battle. Before
+this image one always saw costly gifts, which
+were presented by Raniero.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero was aware that all his deeds were
+known in his native city. He marveled much
+that Francesca degli Uberti did not come back
+to him, when she knew all about his success.</p>
+
+<p>At that time sermons were preached to start
+the Crusades for the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre
+from the Saracens, and Raniero took the
+cross and departed for the Orient. He not only
+hoped to win castles and lands to rule over, but
+also to succeed in performing such brilliant
+feats that his wife would again be fond of him,
+and return to him.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>II</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The night succeeding the day on which Jerusalem
+had been captured, there was great rejoicing
+in the Crusaders’ camp, outside the city.
+In almost every tent they celebrated with drinking
+bouts, and noise and roystering were heard
+in every direction.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero di Raniero sat and drank with some
+comrades; and in his tent it was even more hilarious
+than elsewhere. The servants barely had
+time to fill the goblets before they were empty
+again.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero had the best of reasons for celebrating,
+because during the day he had won greater
+glory than ever before. In the morning, when
+the city was besieged, he had been the first to
+scale the walls after Godfrey of Boulogne; and
+in the evening he had been honored for his
+bravery in the presence of the whole corps.</p>
+
+<p>When the plunder and murder were ended,
+and the Crusaders in penitents’ cloaks and with
+lighted candles marched into the Church of the
+Holy Sepulchre, it had been announced to Raniero
+by Godfrey that he should be the first who
+might light his candle from the sacred candles
+which burn before Christ’s tomb. It appeared
+to Raniero that Godfrey wished in this manner
+to show that he considered him the bravest man
+in the whole corps; and he was very happy over
+the way in which he had been rewarded for his
+achievements.</p>
+
+<p>As the night wore on, Raniero and his guests
+were in the best of spirits; a fool and a couple
+of musicians who had wandered all over the
+camp and amused the people with their pranks,
+came into Raniero’s tent, and the fool asked
+permission to narrate a comic story.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero knew that this particular fool was
+in great demand for his drollery, and he promised
+to listen to his narrative.</p>
+
+<p>“It happened once,” said the fool, “that our
+Lord and Saint Peter sat a whole day upon the
+highest tower in Paradise Stronghold, and
+looked down upon the earth. They had so
+much to look at, that they scarcely found time
+to exchange a word. Our Lord kept perfectly
+still the whole time, but Saint Peter sometimes
+clapped his hands for joy, and again turned his
+head away in disgust. Sometimes he applauded
+and smiled, and anon he wept and commiserated.
+Finally, as it drew toward the close
+of day, and twilight sank down over Paradise,
+our Lord turned to Saint Peter and
+said that now he must surely be satisfied
+and content. ‘What is it that I should be content
+with?’ Saint Peter asked, in an impetuous
+tone. ‘Why,’ said our Lord slowly, ‘I thought
+that you would be pleased with what you have
+seen to-day.’ But Saint Peter did not care to
+be conciliated. ‘It is true,’ said he, ‘that for
+many years I have bemoaned the fact that Jerusalem
+should be in the power of unbelievers,
+but after all that has happened to-day, I think it
+might just as well have remained as it was.’”</p>
+
+<p>Raniero understood now that the fool spoke
+of what had taken place during the day. Both
+he and the other knights began to listen with
+greater interest than in the beginning.</p>
+
+<p>“When Saint Peter had said this,” continued
+the fool, as he cast a furtive glance at the
+knights, “he leaned over the pinnacle of the
+tower and pointed toward the earth. He
+showed our Lord a city which lay upon a great
+solitary rock that shot up from a mountain valley.
+‘Do you see those mounds of corpses?’
+he said. ‘And do you see the naked and
+wretched prisoners who moan in the night chill?
+And do you see all the smoking ruins of the conflagration?’
+It appeared as if our Lord did
+not wish to answer him, but Saint Peter went on
+with his lamentations. He said that he had certainly
+been vexed with that city many times, but
+he had not wished it so ill as that it should
+come to look like this. Then, at last, our Lord
+answered, and tried an objection: ‘Still, you
+can not deny that the Christian knights have
+risked their lives with the utmost fearlessness,’
+said He.”</p>
+
+<p>Then the fool was interrupted by bravos, but
+he made haste to continue.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, don’t interrupt me!” he said. “Now
+I don’t remember where I left off—ah! to be
+sure, I was just going to say that Saint Peter
+wiped away a tear or two which sprang to his
+eyes and prevented him from seeing. ‘I never
+would have thought they could be such beasts,’
+said he. ‘They have murdered and plundered
+the whole day. Why you went to all the trouble
+of letting yourself be crucified in order to
+gain such devotees, I can’t in the least comprehend.’”</p>
+
+<p>The knights took up the fun good-naturedly.
+They began to laugh loud and merrily.
+“What, fool! Is Saint Peter so wroth with
+us?” shrieked one of them.</p>
+
+<p>“Be silent now, and let us hear if our Lord
+spoke in our defense!” interposed another.</p>
+
+<p>“No, our Lord was silent. He knew of old
+that when Saint Peter had once got a-going, it
+wasn’t worth while to argue with him. He
+went on in his way, and said that our Lord
+needn’t trouble to tell him that finally they remembered
+to which city they had come, and
+went to church barefooted and in penitents’
+garb. That spirit had, of course, not lasted
+long enough to be worth mentioning. And
+thereupon he leaned once more over the tower
+and pointed downward toward Jerusalem. He
+pointed out the Christians’ camp outside the
+city. ‘Do you see how your knights celebrate
+their victories?’ he asked. And our Lord saw
+that there was revelry everywhere in the camp.
+Knights and soldiers sat and looked upon
+Syrian dancers. Filled goblets went the rounds
+while they threw dice for the spoils of war
+and——”</p>
+
+<p>“They listened to fools who told vile
+stories,” interpolated Raniero. “Was not this
+also a great sin?”</p>
+
+<p>The fool laughed and shook his head at Raniero,
+as much as to say, “Wait! I will pay you
+back.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, don’t interrupt me!” he begged once
+again. “A poor fool forgets so easily what he
+would say. Ah! it was this: Saint Peter asked
+our Lord if He thought these people were much
+of a credit to Him. To this, of course, our
+Lord had to reply that He didn’t think they
+were.</p>
+
+<p>“‘They were robbers and murderers before
+they left home, and robbers and murderers they
+are even to-day. This undertaking you could
+just as well have left undone. No good will
+come of it,’ said Saint Peter.”</p>
+
+<p>“Come, come, fool!” said Raniero in a
+threatening tone. But the fool seemed to consider
+it an honor to test how far he could go
+without some one jumping up and throwing him
+out, and he continued fearlessly.</p>
+
+<p>“Our Lord only bowed His head, like one
+who acknowledges that he is being justly rebuked.
+But almost at the same instant He
+leaned forward eagerly and peered down with
+closer scrutiny than before. Saint Peter also
+glanced down. ‘What are you looking for?’
+he wondered.”</p>
+
+<p>The fool delivered this speech with much
+animated facial play. All the knights saw our
+Lord and Saint Peter before their eyes, and
+they wondered what it was our Lord had
+caught sight of.</p>
+
+<p>“Our Lord answered that it was nothing in
+particular,” said the fool. “Saint Peter gazed
+in the direction of our Lord’s glance, but he
+could discover nothing except that our Lord sat
+and looked down into a big tent, outside of
+which a couple of Saracen heads were set up on
+long lances, and where a lot of fine rugs, golden
+vessels, and costly weapons, captured in the
+Holy City, were piled up. In that tent they
+carried on as they did everywhere else in the
+camp. A company of knights sat and emptied
+their goblets. The only difference might be
+that here there were more drinking and roystering
+than elsewhere. Saint Peter could not
+comprehend why our Lord was so pleased when
+He looked down there, that His eyes fairly
+sparkled with delight. So many hard and cruel
+faces he had rarely before seen gathered around
+a drinking table. And he who was host at the
+board and sat at the head of the table was
+the most dreadful of all. He was a man of
+thirty-five, frightfully big and coarse, with a
+blowsy countenance covered with scars and
+scratches, calloused hands, and a loud, bellowing
+voice.”</p>
+
+<p>Here the fool paused a moment, as if he
+feared to go on, but both Raniero and the
+others liked to hear him talk of themselves, and
+only laughed at his audacity. “You’re a daring
+fellow,” said Raniero, “so let us see what
+you are driving at!”</p>
+
+<p>“Finally, our Lord said a few words,” continued
+the fool, “which made Saint Peter understand
+what He rejoiced over. He asked
+Saint Peter if He saw wrongly, or if it could
+actually be true that one of the knights had a
+burning candle beside him.”</p>
+
+<p>Raniero gave a start at these words. Now,
+at last, he was angry with the fool, and reached
+out his hand for a heavy wine pitcher to throw
+at his face, but he controlled himself that he
+might hear whether the fellow wished to speak
+to his credit or discredit.</p>
+
+<p>“Saint Peter saw now,” narrated the fool,
+“that, although the tent was lighted mostly by
+torches, one of the knights really had a burning
+wax candle beside him. It was a long, thick
+candle, one of the sort made to burn twenty-four
+hours. The knight, who had no candlestick
+to set it in, had gathered together some
+stones and piled them around it, to make it
+stand.”</p>
+
+<p>The company burst into shrieks of laughter
+at this. All pointed at a candle which stood on
+the table beside Raniero, and was exactly like
+the one the fool had described. The blood
+mounted to Raniero’s head; for this was the
+candle which he had a few hours before been
+permitted to light at the Holy Sepulchre. He
+had been unable to make up his mind to let it
+die out.</p>
+
+<p>“When Saint Peter saw that candle,” said
+the fool, “it dawned upon him what it was that
+our Lord was so happy over, but at the same
+time he could not help feeling just a little sorry
+for Him. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘it was the same
+knight that leaped upon the wall this morning
+immediately after the gentleman of Boulogne,
+and who this evening was permitted to light his
+candle at the Holy Sepulchre ahead of all the
+others. ‘True!’ said our Lord. ‘And, as you
+see, his candle is still burning.’”</p>
+
+<p>The fool talked very fast now, casting an
+occasional sly glance at Raniero. “Saint Peter
+could not help pitying our Lord. ‘Can’t you
+understand why he keeps that candle burning?’
+said he. ‘You must believe that he thinks of
+your sufferings and death whenever he looks at
+it. But he thinks only of the glory which he
+won when he was acknowledged to be the
+bravest man in the troop after Godfrey.’”</p>
+
+<p>At this all Raniero’s guests laughed. Raniero
+was very angry, but he, too, forced himself
+to laugh. He knew they would have found
+it still more amusing if he hadn’t been able to
+take a little fun.</p>
+
+<p>“But our Lord contradicted Saint Peter,”
+said the fool. “‘Don’t you see how careful he
+is with the light?’ asked He. ‘He puts his
+hand before the flame as soon as any one raises
+the tent-flap, for fear the draught will blow it
+out. And he is constantly occupied in chasing
+away the moths which fly around it and threaten
+to extinguish it.’”</p>
+
+<p>The laughter grew merrier and merrier, for
+what the fool said was the truth. Raniero
+found it more and more difficult to control himself.
+He felt he could not endure that any one
+should jest about the sacred candle.</p>
+
+<p>“Still, Saint Peter was dubious,” continued
+the fool. “He asked our Lord if He knew that
+knight. ‘He’s not one who goes often to Mass
+or wears out the prie-dieu,’ said he. But our
+Lord could not be swerved from His opinion.</p>
+
+<p>“‘Saint Peter, Saint Peter,’ He said earnestly.
+‘Remember that henceforth this knight shall
+become more pious than Godfrey. Whence do
+piety and gentleness spring, if not from my sepulchre?
+You shall see Raniero di Raniero help
+widows and distressed prisoners. You shall see
+him care for the sick and despairing as he now
+cares for the sacred candle flame.’”</p>
+
+<p>At this they laughed inordinately. It struck
+them all as very ludicrous, for they knew Raniero’s
+disposition and mode of living. But he
+himself found both the jokes and laughter intolerable.
+He sprang to his feet and wanted to
+reprove the fool. As he did this, he bumped so
+hard against the table—which was only a door
+set up on loose boxes—that it wabbled, and the
+candle fell down. It was evident now how
+careful Raniero was to keep the candle burning.
+He controlled his anger and gave himself time
+to pick it up and brighten the flame, before he
+rushed upon the fool. But when he had
+trimmed the light the fool had already darted
+out of the tent, and Raniero knew it would be
+useless to pursue him in the darkness. “I shall
+probably run across him another time,” he
+thought, and sat down.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the guests had laughed mockingly,
+and one of them turned to Raniero and
+wanted to continue the jesting. He said:
+“There is one thing, however, which is certain,
+Raniero, and that is—this time you can’t send
+to the Madonna in Florence the most precious
+thing you have won in the battle.”</p>
+
+<p>Raniero asked why he thought that he should
+not follow his old habit this time.</p>
+
+<p>“For no other reason,” said the knight,
+“than that the most precious thing you have
+won is that sacred candle flame, which you were
+permitted to light at the church of the Holy
+Sepulchre in presence of the whole corps.
+Surely you can’t send that to Florence!”</p>
+
+<p>Again the other knights laughed, but Raniero
+was now in the mood to undertake the
+wildest projects, just to put an end to their
+laughter. He came to a conclusion quickly,
+called to an old squire, and said to him: “Make
+ready, Giovanni, for a long journey. To-morrow
+you shall travel to Florence with this sacred
+candle flame.”</p>
+
+<p>But the squire said a blunt no to this command.
+“This is something which I don’t care
+to undertake,” he said. “How should it be
+possible to travel to Florence with a candle
+flame? It would be extinguished before I had
+left the camp.”</p>
+
+<p>Raniero asked one after another of his men.
+He received the same reply from all. They
+scarcely seemed to take his command seriously.</p>
+
+<p>It was a foregone conclusion that the foreign
+knights who were his guests should laugh
+even louder and more merrily, as it became apparent
+that none of Raniero’s men wished to
+carry out his order.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero grew more and more excited.
+Finally he lost his patience and shouted: “This
+candle flame shall nevertheless be borne to Florence;
+and since no one else will ride there with
+it, I will do so myself!”</p>
+
+<p>“Consider before you promise anything of
+the kind!” said a knight. “You ride away
+from a principality.”</p>
+
+<p>“I swear to you that I will carry this sacred
+flame to Florence!” exclaimed Raniero. “I
+shall do what no one else has cared to undertake.”</p>
+
+<p>The old squire defended himself. “Master,
+it’s another matter for you. You can take
+with you a large retinue but me you would send
+alone.”</p>
+
+<p>But Raniero was clean out of himself, and
+did not consider his words. “I, too, shall
+travel alone,” said he.</p>
+
+<p>But with this declaration Raniero had carried
+his point. Every one in the tent had
+ceased laughing. Terrified, they sat and stared
+at him.</p>
+
+<p>“Why don’t you laugh any more?” asked
+Raniero. “This undertaking surely can’t be
+anything but a child’s game for a brave man.”</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>III</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The next morning at dawn Raniero mounted
+his horse. He was in full armor, but over
+it he had thrown a coarse pilgrim cloak,
+so that the iron dress should not become
+overheated by exposure to the sun’s rays.
+He was armed with a sword and battle-club,
+and rode a good horse. He held in his
+hand a burning candle, and to the saddle he had
+tied a couple of bundles of long wax candles,
+so the flame should not die out for lack of
+nourishment.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero rode slowly through the long, encumbered
+tent street, and thus far all went well.
+It was still so early that the mists which had
+arisen from the deep dales surrounding Jerusalem
+were not dispersed, and Raniero rode forward
+as in a white night. The whole troop
+slept, and Raniero passed the guards easily.
+None of them called out his name, for the mist
+prevented their seeing him, and the roads were
+covered with a dust-like soil a foot high, which
+made the horse’s tramp inaudible.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero was soon outside the camp and
+started on the road which led to Joppa. Here
+it was smoother, but he rode very slowly now,
+because of the candle, which burned feebly in
+the thick mist. Big insects kept dashing against
+the flame. Raniero had all he could do guarding
+it, but he was in the best of spirits and
+thought all the while that the mission which he
+had undertaken was so easy that a child could
+manage it.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the horse grew weary of the
+slow pace, and began to trot. The flame began
+to flicker in the wind. It didn’t help that Raniero
+tried to shield it with his hand and with
+the cloak. He saw that it was about to be extinguished.</p>
+
+<p>But he had no desire to abandon the project
+so soon. He stopped the horse, sat still a moment,
+and pondered. Then he dismounted and
+tried sitting backwards, so that his body
+shielded the flame from the wind. In this way
+he succeeded in keeping it burning; but he realized
+now that the journey would be more difficult
+than he had thought at the beginning.</p>
+
+<p>When he had passed the mountains which
+surround Jerusalem, the fog lifted. He rode
+forward now in the greatest solitude. There
+were no people, houses, green trees, nor plants—only
+bare rocks.</p>
+
+<p>Here Raniero was attacked by robbers.
+They were idle folk, who followed the camp
+without permission, and lived by theft and
+plunder. They had lain in hiding behind a hill,
+and Raniero—who rode backwards—had not
+seen them until they had surrounded him and
+brandished their swords at him.</p>
+
+<p>There were about twelve men. They looked
+wretched, and rode poor horses. Raniero saw
+at once that it would not be difficult for him to
+break through this company and ride on. And
+after his proud boast of the night before, he
+was unwilling to abandon his undertaking
+easily.</p>
+
+<p>He saw no other means of escape than to
+compromise with the robbers. He told them
+that, since he was armed and rode a good horse,
+it might be difficult to overpower him if he defended
+himself. And as he was bound by a
+vow, he did not wish to offer resistance, but they
+could take whatever they wanted, without a
+struggle, if only they promised not to put out
+his light.</p>
+
+<p>The robbers had expected a hard struggle,
+and were very happy over Raniero’s proposal,
+and began immediately to plunder him. They
+took from him armor and steed, weapons and
+money. The only thing they let him keep was
+the coarse cloak and the two bundles of wax
+candles. They sacredly kept their promise,
+also, not to put out the candle flame.</p>
+
+<p>One of them mounted Raniero’s horse.
+When he noticed what a fine animal he was, he
+felt a little sorry for the rider. He called out
+to him: “Come, come, we must not be too cruel
+toward a Christian. You shall have my old
+horse to ride.”</p>
+
+<p>It was a miserable old screw of a horse. It
+moved as stiffly, and with as much difficulty, as
+if it were made of wood.</p>
+
+<p>When the robbers had gone at last, and
+Raniero had mounted the wretched horse, he
+said to himself: “I must have become bewitched
+by this candle flame. For its sake I
+must now travel along the roads like a crazy
+beggar.”</p>
+
+<p>He knew it would be wise for him to turn
+back, because the undertaking was really impracticable.
+But such an intense yearning to
+accomplish it had come over him that he could
+not resist the desire to go on. Therefore, he
+went farther. He saw all around him the same
+bare, yellowish hills.</p>
+
+<p>After a while he came across a goatherd, who
+tended four goats. When Raniero saw the animals
+grazing on the barren ground, he wondered
+if they ate earth.</p>
+
+<p>This goatherd had owned a larger flock,
+which had been stolen from him by the Crusaders.
+When he noticed a solitary Christian
+come riding toward him, he tried to do him all
+the harm he could. He rushed up to him and
+struck at his light with his staff. Raniero was
+so taken up by the flame that he could not defend
+himself even against a goatherd. He only
+drew the candle close to him to protect it. The
+goatherd struck at it several times more, then
+he paused, astonished, and ceased striking. He
+noticed that Raniero’s cloak had caught fire,
+but Raniero did nothing to smother the blaze,
+so long as the sacred flame was in danger. The
+goatherd looked as though he felt ashamed.
+For a long time he followed Raniero, and in
+one place, where the road was very narrow,
+with a deep chasm on each side of it, he came
+up and led the horse for him.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero smiled and thought the goatherd
+surely regarded him as a holy man who had
+undertaken a voluntary penance.</p>
+
+<p>Toward evening Raniero began to meet people.
+Rumors of the fall of Jerusalem had already
+spread to the coast, and a throng of people
+had immediately prepared to go up there.
+There were pilgrims who for years had awaited
+an opportunity to get into Jerusalem, also some
+newly-arrived troops; but they were mostly
+merchants who were hastening with provisions.</p>
+
+<p>When these throngs met Raniero, who came
+riding backwards with a burning candle in his
+hand, they cried: “A madman, a madman!”</p>
+
+<p>The majority were Italians; and Raniero
+heard how they shouted in his own tongue,
+“Pazzo, pazzo!” which means “a madman,
+a madman.”</p>
+
+<p>Raniero, who had been able to keep himself
+well in check all day, became intensely irritated
+by these ever-recurring shouts. Instantly he
+dismounted and began to chastise the offenders
+with his hard fists. When they saw how heavy
+the blows were, they took to their heels, and
+Raniero soon stood alone on the road.</p>
+
+<p>Now Raniero was himself again. “In truth
+they were right to call me a madman,” he said,
+as he looked around for the light. He did not
+know what he had done with it. At last he saw
+that it had rolled down into a hollow. The
+flame was extinguished, but he saw fire gleam
+from a dry grass-tuft close beside it, and understood
+that luck was with him, for the flame had
+ignited the grass before it had gone out.</p>
+
+<p>“This might have been an inglorious end of
+a deal of trouble,” he thought, as he lit the candle
+and stepped into the saddle. He was rather
+mortified. It did not seem to him very probable
+that his journey would be a success.</p>
+
+<p>In the evening Raniero reached Ramle, and
+rode up to a place where caravans usually had
+night harbor. It was a large covered yard.
+All around it were little stalls where travelers
+could put up their horses. There were no
+rooms, but folk could sleep beside the animals.</p>
+
+<p>The place was overcrowded with people, yet
+the host found room for Raniero and his horse.
+He also gave fodder to the horse and food to
+the rider.</p>
+
+<p>When Raniero perceived that he was well
+treated, he thought: “I almost believe the robbers
+did me a service when they took from me
+my armor and my horse. I shall certainly
+get out of the country more easily with my light
+burden, if they mistake me for a lunatic.”</p>
+
+<p>When he had led the horse into the stall, he
+sat down on a sheaf of straw and held the candle
+in his hands. It was his intention not to
+fall asleep, but to remain awake all night.</p>
+
+<p>But he had hardly seated himself when he
+fell asleep. He was fearfully exhausted, and
+in his sleep he stretched out full length and did
+not wake till morning.</p>
+
+<p>When he awoke he saw neither flame nor candle.
+He searched in the straw for the candle,
+but did not find it anywhere.</p>
+
+<p>“Some one has taken it from me and extinguished
+it,” he said. He tried to persuade himself
+that he was glad that all was over, and that
+he need not pursue an impossible undertaking.</p>
+
+<p>But as he pondered, he felt a sense of emptiness
+and loss. He thought that never before
+had he so longed to succeed in anything on
+which he had set his mind.</p>
+
+<p>He led the horse out and groomed and saddled
+it.</p>
+
+<p>When he was ready to set out, the host who
+owned the caravansary came up to him with a
+burning candle. He said in Frankish: “When
+you fell asleep last night, I had to take your
+light from you, but here you have it again.”</p>
+
+<p>Raniero betrayed nothing, but said very
+calmly: “It was wise of you to extinguish it.”</p>
+
+<p>“I have not extinguished it,” said the man.
+“I noticed that it was burning when you arrived,
+and I thought it was of importance to
+you that it should continue to burn. If you see
+how much it has decreased, you will understand
+that it has been burning all night.”</p>
+
+<p>Raniero beamed with happiness. He commended
+the host heartily, and rode away in the
+best of spirits.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>IV</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>When Raniero broke away from the camp
+at Jerusalem, he intended to travel from Joppa
+to Italy by sea, but changed his mind after he
+had been robbed of his money, and concluded
+to make the journey by land.</p>
+
+<p>It was a long journey. From Joppa he went
+northward along the Syrian coast. Then he
+rode westward along the peninsula of Asia
+Minor, then northward again, all the way to
+Constantinople. From there he still had a monotonously
+long distance to travel to reach
+Florence. During the whole journey Raniero
+had lived upon the contributions of the pious.
+They that shared their bread with him mostly
+were pilgrims who at this time traveled <em>en
+masse</em> to Jerusalem.</p>
+
+<p>Regardless of the fact that he nearly always
+rode alone, his days were neither long nor monotonous.
+He must always guard the candle
+flame, and on its account he never could feel at
+ease. It needed only a puff of breeze—a rain-drop—and
+there would have been an end to it.</p>
+
+<p>As Raniero rode over lonely roads, and
+thought only about keeping the flame alive, it
+occurred to him that once before he had been
+concerned with something similar. Once
+before he had seen a person watch over something
+which was just as sensitive as a candle
+flame.</p>
+
+<p>This recollection was so vague to him at first
+that he wondered if it was something he had
+dreamed.</p>
+
+<p>But as he rode on alone through the country,
+it kept recurring to him that he had participated
+in something similar once before.</p>
+
+<p>“It is as if all my life long I had heard tell
+of nothing else,” said he.</p>
+
+<p>One evening he rode into a city. It was after
+sundown, and the housewives stood in their
+doorways and watched for their husbands.
+Then he noticed one who was tall and slender,
+and had earnest eyes. She reminded him of
+Francesca degli Uberti.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly it became clear to him what he had
+been pondering over. It came to him that for
+Francesca her love must have been as a sacred
+flame which she had always wished to keep
+burning, and which she had constantly feared
+that Raniero would quench. He was astonished
+at this thought, but grew more and more
+certain that the matter stood thus. For the first
+time he began to understand why Francesca had
+left him, and that it was not with feats of arms
+he should win her back.</p>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<p>The journey which Raniero made was of
+long duration. This was in part due to the fact
+that he could not venture out when the weather
+was bad. Then he sat in some caravansary,
+and guarded the candle flame. These were
+very trying days.</p>
+
+<p>One day, when he rode over Mount Lebanon,
+he saw that a storm was brewing. He was
+riding high up among awful precipices, and a
+frightful distance from any human abode.
+Finally he saw on the summit of a rock the
+tomb of a Saracen saint. It was a little square
+stone structure with a vaulted roof. He thought
+it best to seek shelter there.</p>
+
+<p>He had barely entered when a snowstorm
+came up, which raged for two days and nights.
+At the same time it grew so cold that he came
+near freezing to death.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero knew that there were heaps of
+branches and twigs out on the mountain, and it
+would not have been difficult for him to gather
+fuel for a fire. But he considered the candle
+flame which he carried very sacred, and did not
+wish to light anything from it, except the candles
+before the Blessed Virgin’s Altar.</p>
+
+<p>The storm increased, and at last he heard
+thunder and saw gleams of lightning.</p>
+
+<p>Then came a flash which struck the mountain,
+just in front of the tomb, and set fire to a tree.
+And in this way he was enabled to light his
+fire without having to borrow of the sacred
+flame.</p>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<p>As Raniero was riding on through a desolate
+portion of the Cilician mountain district, his
+candles were all used up. The candles which
+he had brought with him from Jerusalem had
+long since been consumed; but still he had been
+able to manage because he had found Christian
+communities all along the way, of whom he had
+begged fresh candles.</p>
+
+<p>But now his resources were exhausted, and
+he thought that this would be the end of his
+journey.</p>
+
+<p>When the candle was so nearly burned out
+that the flame scorched his hand, he jumped
+from his horse and gathered branches and dry
+leaves and lit these with the last of the flame.
+But up on the mountain there was very little
+that would ignite, and the fire would soon burn
+out.</p>
+
+<p>While he sat and grieved because the sacred
+flame must die, he heard singing down the road,
+and a procession of pilgrims came marching up
+the steep path, bearing candles in their hands.
+They were on their way to a grotto where a
+holy man had lived, and Raniero followed
+them. Among them was a woman who was
+very old and had difficulty in walking, and Raniero
+carried her up the mountain.</p>
+
+<p>When she thanked him afterwards, he made
+a sign to her that she should give him her candle.
+She did so, and several others also presented
+him with the candles which they carried.
+He extinguished the candles, hurried down the
+steep path, and lit one of them with the last
+spark from the fire lighted by the sacred flame.</p>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<p>One day at the noon hour it was very warm,
+and Raniero had lain down to sleep in a thicket.
+He slept soundly, and the candle stood beside
+him between a couple of stones. When he had
+been asleep a while, it began to rain, and this
+continued for some time, without his waking.
+When at last he was startled out of his sleep,
+the ground around him was wet, and he hardly
+dared glance toward the light, for fear it might
+be quenched.</p>
+
+<p>But the light burned calmly and steadily in
+the rain, and Raniero saw that this was because
+two little birds flew and fluttered just above the
+flame. They caressed it with their bills, and
+held their wings outspread, and in this way they
+protected the sacred flame from the rain.</p>
+
+<p>He took off his hood immediately, and hung
+it over the candle. Thereupon he reached out
+his hand for the two little birds, for he had
+been seized with a desire to pet them. Neither
+of them flew away because of him, and he could
+catch them.</p>
+
+<p>He was very much astonished that the birds
+were not afraid of him. “It is because they
+know I have no thought except to protect that
+which is the most sensitive of all, that they do
+not fear me,” thought he.</p>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<p>Raniero rode in the vicinity of Nicæa, in
+Bithynia. Here he met some western gentlemen
+who were conducting a party of recruits to
+the Holy Land. In this company was Robert
+Taillefer, who was a wandering knight and a
+troubadour.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero, in his torn cloak, came riding along
+with the candle in his hand, and the warriors
+began as usual to shout, “A madman, a madman!”
+But Robert silenced them, and addressed
+the rider.</p>
+
+<p>“Have you journeyed far in this manner?”
+he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“I have ridden like this all the way from
+Jerusalem,” answered Raniero.</p>
+
+<p>“Has your light been extinguished many
+times during the journey?”</p>
+
+<p>“Still burns the flame that lighted the candle
+with which I rode away from Jerusalem,”
+responded Raniero.</p>
+
+<p>Then Robert Taillefer said to him: “I am
+also one of those who carry a light, and I would
+that it burned always. But perchance you,
+who have brought your light burning all the
+way from Jerusalem, can tell me what I shall
+do that it may not become extinguished?”</p>
+
+<p>Then Raniero answered: “Master, it is a
+difficult task, although it appears to be of slight
+importance. This little flame demands of you
+that you shall entirely cease to think of anything
+else. It will not allow you to have any sweet-heart—in
+case you should desire anything of
+the sort—neither would you dare on account of
+this flame to sit down at a revel. You can not
+have aught else in your thoughts than just this
+flame, and must possess no other happiness.
+But my chief reason for advising you against
+making the journey which I have weathered is
+that you can not for an instant feel secure. It
+matters not through how many perils you may
+have guarded the flame, you can not for an instant
+think yourself secure, but must ever expect
+that the very next moment it may fail
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>But Robert Taillefer raised his head proudly
+and answered: “What you have done for your
+sacred flame I may do for mine.”</p>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<p>Raniero arrived in Italy. One day he rode
+through lonely roads up among the mountains.
+A woman came running after him and begged
+him to give her a light from his candle. “The
+fire in my hut is out,” said she. “My children
+are hungry. Give me a light that I may heat
+my oven and bake bread for them!”</p>
+
+<p>She reached for the burning candle, but Raniero
+held it back because he did not wish that
+anything should be lighted by that flame but the
+candles before the image of the Blessed Virgin.</p>
+
+<p>Then the woman said to him: “Pilgrim,
+give me a light, for the life of my children is
+the flame which I am in duty bound to keep
+burning!” And because of these words he permitted
+her to light the wick of her lamp from
+his flame.</p>
+
+<p>Several hours later he rode into a town. It
+lay far up on the mountain, where it was very
+cold. A peasant stood in the road and saw the
+poor wretch who came riding in his torn cloak.
+Instantly he stripped off the short mantle which
+he wore, and flung it to him. But the mantle
+fell directly over the candle and extinguished
+the flame.</p>
+
+<p>Then Raniero remembered the woman who
+had borrowed a light of him. He turned back
+to her and had his candle lighted anew with
+sacred fire.</p>
+
+<p>When he was ready to ride farther, he said
+to her: “You say that the sacred flame which
+you must guard is the life of your children. Can
+you tell me what name this candle’s flame bears,
+which I have carried over long roads?”</p>
+
+<p>“Where was your candle lighted?” asked
+the woman.</p>
+
+<p>“It was lighted at Christ’s sepulchre,” said
+Raniero.</p>
+
+<p>“Then it can only be called Gentleness and
+Love of Humanity,” said she.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero laughed at the answer. He thought
+himself a singular apostle of virtues such as
+these.</p>
+
+<hr class='c005' />
+
+<p>Raniero rode forward between beautiful blue
+hills. He saw he was near Florence. He was
+thinking that he must soon part with his light.
+He thought of his tent in Jerusalem, which he
+had left filled with trophies, and the brave soldiers
+who were still in Palestine, and who would
+be glad to have him take up the business of war
+once more, and bear them on to new conquests
+and honors.</p>
+
+<p>Then he perceived that he experienced no
+pleasure in thinking of this, but that his
+thoughts were drawn in another direction.</p>
+
+<p>Then he realized for the first time that he
+was no longer the same man that had gone from
+Jerusalem. The ride with the sacred flame had
+compelled him to rejoice with all who were
+peaceable and wise and compassionate, and to
+abhor the savage and warlike.</p>
+
+<p>He was happy every time he thought of people
+who labored peacefully in their homes, and
+it occurred to him that he would willingly move
+into his old workshop in Florence and do beautiful
+and artistic work.</p>
+
+<p>“Verily this flame has recreated me,” he
+thought. “I believe it has made a new man
+of me.”</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>V</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>It was Eastertide when Raniero rode into
+Florence.</p>
+
+<p>He had scarcely come in through the city
+gate—riding backwards, with his hood drawn
+down over his face and the burning candle in
+his hand—when a beggar arose and shouted
+the customary “Pazzo, pazzo!”</p>
+
+<p>At this cry a street gamin darted out of a
+doorway, and a loafer, who had had nothing
+else to do for a long time than to lie and gaze
+at the clouds, jumped to his feet. Both began
+shouting the same thing: “Pazzo, pazzo!”</p>
+
+<p>Now that there were three who shrieked,
+they made a good deal of noise and so woke up
+all the street urchins. They came rushing out
+from nooks and corners. As soon as they saw
+Raniero, in his torn coat, on the wretched horse,
+they shouted: “Pazzo, pazzo!”</p>
+
+<p>But this was only what Raniero was accustomed
+to. He rode quietly up the street, seeming:
+not to notice the shouters.</p>
+
+<p>Then they were not content with merely
+shouting, but one of them jumped up and tried
+to blow out the light. Raniero raised the candle
+on high, trying at the same time to prod his
+horse, to escape the boys.</p>
+
+<p>They kept even pace with him, and did
+everything they could to put out the light.</p>
+
+<p>The more he exerted himself to protect the
+flame the more excited they became. They
+leaped upon one another’s backs, puffed their
+cheeks out, and blew. They flung their caps at
+the candle. It was only because they were so
+numerous and crowded on one another that
+they did not succeed in quenching the flame.</p>
+
+<p>This was the largest procession on the street.
+People stood at the windows and laughed. No
+one felt any sympathy with a madman, who
+wanted to defend his candle flame. It was
+church hour, and many worshipers were on
+their way to Mass. They, too, stopped and
+laughed at the sport.</p>
+
+<p>But now Raniero stood upright in the saddle,
+so that he could shield the candle. He looked
+wild. The hood had fallen back and they saw
+his face, which was wasted and pale, like a martyr’s.
+The candle he held uplifted as high as
+he could.</p>
+
+<p>The entire street was one great swarm of
+people. Even the older ones began to take part
+in the play. The women waved their head-shawls
+and the men swung their caps. Every
+one worked to extinguish the light.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero rode under the vine-covered balcony
+of a house. Upon this stood a woman. She
+leaned over the lattice-work, snatched the candle,
+and ran in with it. The woman was Francesca
+degli Uberti.</p>
+
+<p>The whole populace burst into shrieks of
+laughter and shouts, but Raniero swayed in his
+saddle and fell to the street.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as he lay there stricken and unconscious,
+the street was emptied of people.</p>
+
+<p>No one wished to take charge of the fallen
+man. His horse was the only creature that
+stopped beside him.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the crowds had got away from the
+street, Francesca degli Uberti came out from
+her house, with the burning candle in her hand.
+She was still pretty; her features were gentle,
+and her eyes were deep and earnest.</p>
+
+<p>She went up to Raniero and bent over him.
+He lay senseless, but the instant the candle light
+fell upon his face, he moved and roused himself.
+It was apparent that the candle flame had
+complete power over him. When Francesca
+saw that he had regained his senses, she said:
+“Here is your candle. I snatched it from you,
+as I saw how anxious you were to keep it
+burning. I knew of no other way to help
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>Raniero had had a bad fall, and was hurt.
+But now nothing could hold him back. He
+began to raise himself slowly. He wanted to
+walk, but wavered, and was about to fall. Then
+he tried to mount his horse. Francesca helped
+him. “Where do you wish to go?” she asked
+when he sat in the saddle again. “I want to
+go to the cathedral,” he answered. “Then I
+shall accompany you,” she said, “for I’m going
+to Mass.” And she led the horse for him.</p>
+
+<p>Francesca had recognized Raniero the very
+moment she saw him, but he did not see who
+she was, for he did not take time to notice her.
+He kept his gaze fixed upon the candle flame
+alone.</p>
+
+<p>They were absolutely silent all the way. Raniero
+thought only of the flame, and of guarding
+it well these last moments. Francesca could
+not speak, for she felt she did not wish to be
+certain of that which she feared. She could not
+believe but that Raniero had come home insane.
+Although she was almost certain of this, she
+would rather not speak with him, in order to
+avoid any positive assurance.</p>
+
+<p>After a while Raniero heard some one weep
+near him. He looked around and saw that it
+was Francesca degli Uberti, who walked beside
+him; and she wept. But Raniero saw her only
+for an instant, and said nothing to her. He
+wanted to think only of the sacred flame.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero let her conduct him to the sacristy.
+There he dismounted. He thanked Francesca
+for her help, but looked all the while not upon
+her, but on the light. He walked alone up to
+the priests in the sacristy.</p>
+
+<p>Francesca went into the church. It was Easter
+Eve, and all the candles stood unlighted
+upon the altars, as a symbol of mourning.
+Francesca thought that every flame of hope
+which had ever burned within her was now
+extinguished.</p>
+
+<p>In the church there was profound solemnity.
+There were many priests at the altar. The
+canons sat in a body in the chancel, with the
+bishop among them.</p>
+
+<p>By and by Francesca noticed there was commotion
+among the priests. Nearly all who were
+not needed to serve at Mass arose and went
+out into the sacristy. Finally the bishop went,
+too.</p>
+
+<p>When Mass was over, a priest stepped up to
+the chancel railing and began to speak to the
+people. He related that Raniero di Raniero
+had arrived in Florence with sacred fire from
+Jerusalem. He narrated what the rider had
+endured and suffered on the way. And he
+praised him exceeding much.</p>
+
+<p>The people sat spellbound and listened to
+this. Francesca had never before experienced
+such a blissful moment. “O God!” she sighed,
+“this is greater happiness than I can bear.”
+Her tears fell as she listened.</p>
+
+<p>The priest talked long and well. Finally he
+said in a strong, thrilling voice: “It may perchance
+appear like a trivial thing now, that a
+candle flame has been brought to Florence.
+But I say to you: Pray God that He will send
+Florence many bearers of Eternal Light; then
+she will become a great power, and be extolled
+as a city among cities!”</p>
+
+<p>When the priest had finished speaking, the
+entrance doors of the church were thrown open,
+and a procession of canons and monks and
+priests marched up the center aisle toward the
+altar. The bishop came last, and by his side
+walked Raniero, in the same cloak that he had
+worn during the entire journey.</p>
+
+<p>But when Raniero had crossed the threshold
+of the cathedral, an old man arose and walked
+toward him. It was Oddo, the father of the
+journeyman who had once worked for Raniero,
+and had hanged himself because of him.</p>
+
+<p>When this man had come up to the bishop
+and Raniero, he bowed to them. Thereupon
+he said in such a loud voice that all in the
+church heard him: “It is a great thing for
+Florence that Raniero has come with sacred fire
+from Jerusalem. Such a thing has never before
+been heard of or conceived. For that reason
+perhaps there may be many who will say that it
+is not possible. Therefore, I beg that all the
+people may know what proofs and witnesses
+Raniero has brought with him, to assure us that
+this is actually fire which was lighted in Jerusalem.”</p>
+
+<p>When Raniero heard this he said: “God
+help me! how can I produce witnesses? I have
+made the journey alone. Deserts and mountain
+wastes must come and testify for me.”</p>
+
+<p>“Raniero is an honest knight,” said the
+bishop, “and we believe him on his word.”</p>
+
+<p>“Raniero must know himself that doubts
+will arise as to this,” said Oddo. “Surely, he
+can not have ridden entirely alone. His little
+pages could certainly testify for him.”</p>
+
+<p>Then Francesca degli Uberti rushed up to
+Raniero. “Why need we witnesses?” said
+she. “All the women in Florence would swear
+on oath that Raniero speaks the truth!”</p>
+
+<p>Then Raniero smiled, and his countenance
+brightened for a moment. Thereupon he
+turned his thoughts and his gaze once more
+upon the candle flame.</p>
+
+<p>There was great commotion in the church.
+Some said that Raniero should not be allowed
+to light the candles on the altar until his claim
+was substantiated. With this many of his old
+enemies sided.</p>
+
+<p>Then Jacopo degli Uberti rose and spoke in
+Raniero’s behalf. “I believe every one here
+knows that no very great friendship has existed
+between my son-in-law and me,” he said; “but
+now both my sons and I will answer for him.
+We believe he has performed this task, and we
+know that one who has been disposed to carry
+out such an undertaking is a wise, discreet, and
+noble-minded man, whom we are glad to receive
+among us.”</p>
+
+<p>But Oddo and many others were not disposed
+to let him taste of the bliss he was yearning for.
+They got together in a close group and it was
+easy to see that they did not care to withdraw
+their demand.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero apprehended that if this should develop
+into a fight, they would immediately try
+to get at the candle. As he kept his eyes steadily
+fixed upon his opponents, he raised the candle
+as high as he could.</p>
+
+<p>He looked exhausted in the extreme, and distraught.
+One could see that, although he
+wished to hold out to the very last, he expected
+defeat. What mattered it to him now if he
+were permitted to light the candles? Oddo’s
+word had been a death-blow. When doubt was
+once awakened, it would spread and increase.
+He fancied that Oddo had already extinguished
+the sacred flame forever.</p>
+
+<p>A little bird came fluttering through the
+great open doors into the church. It flew
+straight into Raniero’s light. He hadn’t time
+to snatch it aside, and the bird dashed against
+it and put out the flame.</p>
+
+<p>Raniero’s arm dropped, and tears sprang to
+his eyes. The first moment he felt this as a sort
+of relief. It was better thus than if human beings
+had killed it.</p>
+
+<p>The little bird continued its flight into
+the church, fluttering confusedly hither and
+thither, as birds do when they come into a
+room.</p>
+
+<p>Simultaneously a loud cry resounded
+throughout the church: “The bird is on fire!
+The sacred candle flame has set its wings on
+fire!”</p>
+
+<p>The little bird chirped anxiously. For a few
+moments it fluttered about, like a flickering
+flame, under the high chancel arches. Then it
+sank suddenly and dropped dead upon the Madonna’s
+Altar.</p>
+
+<p>But the moment the bird fell upon the Altar,
+Raniero was standing there. He had forced
+his way through the church, no one had been
+able to stop him. From the sparks which destroyed
+the bird’s wings he lit the candles before
+the Madonna’s Altar.</p>
+
+<p>Then the bishop raised his staff and proclaimed:
+“God willed it! God hath testified
+for him!”</p>
+
+<p>And all the people in the church, both his
+friends and opponents, abandoned their doubts
+and conjectures. They cried as with one voice,
+transported by God’s miracle: “God willed it!
+God hath testified for him!”</p>
+
+<p>Of Raniero there is now only a legend, which
+says he enjoyed great good fortune for the remainder
+of his days, and was wise, and prudent,
+and compassionate. But the people of Florence
+always called him Pazzo degli Ranieri, in remembrance
+of the fact that they had believed
+him insane. And this became his honorary
+title. He founded a dynasty, which was named
+Pazzi, and is called so even to this day.</p>
+
+<p>It might also be worth mentioning that it
+became a custom in Florence, each year at Easter
+Eve, to celebrate a festival in memory of
+Raniero’s home-coming with the sacred flame,
+and that, on this occasion, they always let an
+artificial bird fly with fire through the church.
+This festival would most likely have been celebrated
+even in our day had not some changes
+taken place recently.</p>
+
+<p>But if it be true, as many hold, that the bearers
+of sacred fire who have lived in Florence and
+have made the city one of the most glorious on
+earth, have taken Raniero as their model, and
+have thereby been encouraged to sacrifice, to
+suffer and endure, this may here be left untold.</p>
+
+<p>For what has been done by this light, which
+in dark times has gone out from Jerusalem, can
+neither be measured nor counted.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    THE END
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>THE HOME BOOK OF VERSE FOR YOUNG FOLKS</span><br/>
+    <br/>
+    <i>Compiled by</i> <span class='sc'>Burton E. Stevenson</span>, <i>Editor of<br/>
+    “The Home Book of Verse.”</i><br/>
+    <br/>
+    <i>With cover, and illustrations in color and black and white by<br/>
+    WILLY POGANY. Over 500 pages, large 12mo. $2.00 net.</i>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Not a rambling, hap-hazard collection but a vade-mecum
+for youth from the ages of six or seven to sixteen or seventeen.
+It opens with Nursery Rhymes and lullabies, progresses
+through child rhymes and jingles to more mature
+nonsense verse; then come fairy verses and Christmas
+poems; then nature verse and favorite rhymed stories; then
+through the trumpet and drum period (where an attempt
+is made to teach true patriotism) to the final appeal of
+“Life Lessons” and “A Garland of Gold” (the great
+poems for all ages).</p>
+
+<p>This arrangement secures sequence of sentiment and a
+sort of cumulative appeal. Nearly all the children’s
+classics are included, and along with them a body of verse
+not so well known but almost equally deserving. There
+are many real “finds,” most of which have never before
+appeared in any anthology.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Stevenson has banished doleful and pessimistic
+verse, and has dwelt on hope, courage, cheerfulness and
+helpfulness. The book should serve, too, as an introduction
+to the greater poems, informing taste for them and
+appreciation of them, against the time when the boy or
+girl, grown into youth and maiden, is ready to swim out
+into the full current of English poetry.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY<br/>
+    PUBLISHERS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW YORK
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>LIFE-STORIES FOR THE YOUNG</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p><b><i>Dean Hodges’</i> SAINTS AND HEROES: To the End of the Middle Ages.</b></p>
+
+<p>Illustrated. $1.35 net.</p>
+
+<p>Biographies of Cyprian, Athanasius, Ambrose, Chrysostom,
+Jerome, Augustine, Benedict, Gregory the Great, Columba,
+Charlemagne, Hildebrand, Anselm, Bernard, Becket, Langton,
+Dominic, Francis, Wycliffe, Hus, Savonarola.</p>
+
+<p>Each of these men was a great person in his time, and represented
+its best qualities. Their dramatic and adventurous
+experiences make the story of their lives interesting as well
+as inspiring and suggestive.</p>
+
+<p>Church history and doctrine are touched upon only as they
+develop in the biographies.</p>
+
+<p class='c006'>
+“Here is much important history told in a readable and attractive
+manner, and from the standpoint which makes history most vivid and
+most likely to remain fixed in memory, namely, the standpoint of the
+individual actor.”—<i>Springfield Republican.</i>
+</p>
+
+<p><b><i>Dean Hodges</i>’ SAINTS AND HEROES: Since the Middle Ages</b></p>
+
+<p>Illustrated. $1.35 net.</p>
+
+<p>The new volume includes biographies of Luther, More,
+Loyola, Cranmer, Calvin, Knox, Coligny, William the Silent,
+Laud, Cromwell, Fox, Wesley, Bunyan and Brewster.</p>
+
+<p><b><i>John Buchan’s</i> SIR WALTER RALEIGH</b></p>
+
+<p>With double-page pictures in color; cover linings. Square</p>
+
+<p>12mo. Price, $2.00 net.</p>
+
+<p>A life of Raleigh told in eleven chapters. Each chapter
+covers some important scene in his life and is told by some
+friend or follower as if seen with his own eyes. Some of
+the characters are invented, but all that they tell really happened.</p>
+
+<p>The narrative has spirit, color, and atmosphere, and is
+unusually well written.</p>
+
+<p>America figures largely in the story, and American boys will
+enjoy this book.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY<br/>
+    PUBLISHERS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class='smaller'>VIII</span>’12&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW YORK
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>By CARROLL WATSON RANKIN</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='c007' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>STORIES FOR GIRLS</span><br/>
+    <br/>
+    <b>THE CINDER POND</b><br/>
+    Illustrated by <span class='sc'>Ada C. Williamson</span>. $1.25 net.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Years ago, a manufacturer built a great dock, jutting out
+from and then turning parallel to the shore of a northern
+Michigan town. The factory was abandoned, and following
+the habits of small towns, the space between the dock and
+the shore became “The Cinder Pond.” Jean started life in the
+colony of squatters that came to live in the shanties on the
+dock, but fortune, heroism, and a mystery combine to change
+her fortunes and those of her friends near the Cinder Pond.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <b>THE CASTAWAYS OF PETE’S PATCH</b><br/>
+    Illustrated by <span class='sc'>Ada C. Williamson</span>. $1.25 net.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>A tale of five girls and two youthful grown-ups who enjoyed
+unpremeditated camping.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <b>DANDELION COTTAGE</b><br/>
+    Illustrated by Mmes. <span class='sc'>Shinn</span> and <span class='sc'>Finley</span>. $1.50.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Four young girls secure the use of a tumbledown cottage.
+They set up housekeeping under numerous disadvantages, and
+have many amusements and queer experiences.</p>
+
+<p class='c006'>
+“A capital story. It is refreshing to come upon an author who can
+tell us about real little girls, with sensible ordinary parents, girls who
+are neither phenomenal nor silly.”—<i>Outlook.</i>
+</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <b>THE ADOPTING OF ROSA MARIE</b><br/>
+    A sequel to “Dandelion Cottage.” Illustrated by Mrs. <span class='sc'>Shinn</span>. $1.50.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The little girls who played at keeping house in the earlier
+book, enlarge their activities to the extent of playing mother
+to a little Indian girl.</p>
+
+<p class='c006'>
+“Those who have read ‘Dandelion Cottage’ will need no urging to
+follow further.... A lovable group of four real children, happily not
+perfect, but full of girlish plans and pranks.... A delightful sense
+of humor.”—<i>Boston Transcript.</i>
+</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <b>THE GIRLS OF GARDENVILLE</b><br/>
+    Illustrated by <span class='sc'>Mary Wellman</span>. 12mo. $1.50.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Interesting, amusing, and natural stories of a girls’ club.</p>
+
+<p class='c006'>
+“Will captivate as many adults as if it were written for them....
+The secret of Mrs. Rankin’s charm is her naturalness ... real
+girls ... not young ladies with ‘pigtails,’ but girls of sixteen who are not
+twenty-five ... as original as amusing.”—<i>Boston Transcript.</i>
+</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY<br/>
+    PUBLISHERS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW YORK
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>BOOKS FOR GIRLS<br/>
+    <i>By BEULAH MARIE DIX</i></span><br/>
+    <br/>
+    <b>BETTY-BIDE-AT-HOME</b><br/>
+    Illustrated by <span class='sc'>Faith Avery</span>. 12mo. $1.25 net.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>A story of family life. Betty is just ready for college, her
+brother is studying medicine, her sister is almost able to make
+her own way in the world, when a sudden catastrophe compels
+Betty to choose between her own ambitions and her mother’s
+happiness. Betty stays at home and learns many things, among
+them the fact that duty and success can be combined. The
+account of her literary ventures will help girls who want to
+write.</p>
+
+<p>Betty is a spirited, energetic, lovable girl. The style and
+atmosphere of the story are both better than is usually the
+case in girls’ stories.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <b>FRIENDS IN THE END</b><br/>
+    Illustrated by <span class='sc'>Faith Avery</span>. 12mo. $1.25 net.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>An out-of-door story for girls which tells how Dorothea
+Marden went, under protest, from the city to spend the
+summer at a farm in the New Hampshire mountains; how she
+met Jo Gifford from South Tuxboro, who had red hair, and
+knew she shouldn’t like her, but did; how Dorothea and Jo, at
+the farm, fell out with the young folks close by at Camp Comfort;
+how they carried on the war, with varying success, and
+how they were sorry that they did so, and how they were glad
+in the end to make peace.</p>
+
+<p><span class='smaller'>“Will attract boys and girls equally and be good for both.”—<i>Outlook.</i></span></p>
+
+<p><span class='smaller'>“More than the usual plot and literary completeness.”—<i>Christian Register.</i></span></p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY<br/>
+    PUBLISHERS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class='smaller'>VIII</span>’12&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW YORK
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>BY ALICE CALHOUN HAINES</span><br/>
+    <i>For Young Folks from 9 to 16 Years old.</i>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='c007' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <b>PARTNERS FOR FAIR</b><br/>
+    With illustrations by <span class='sc'>Faith Avery</span>. $1.25 net.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>A story full of action, not untinged by pathos, of a boy
+and his faithful dog and their wanderings after the poorhouse
+burns down. They have interesting experiences with a
+traveling circus; the boy is thrown from a moving train, and
+has a lively time with the Mexican Insurrectos, from whom he
+is rescued by our troops.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <b>THE LUCK OF THE DUDLEY GRAHAMS</b><br/>
+    Illustrated by <span class='sc'>Francis Day</span>. 300 pp., 12mo. $1.50.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>A family story of city life. Lightened by humor and an
+airship.</p>
+
+<p class='c006'>“Among the very best of books for young folks. Appeals especially
+to girls.”—<i>Wisconsin List for Township Libraries.</i><br/>
+<br/>
+“Promises to be perennially popular. A family of happy, healthy,
+inventive, bright children make the best of restricted conditions and
+prove themselves masters of circumstances.”—<i>Christian Register.</i><br/>
+<br/>
+“Sparkles with cleverness and humor.”—<i>Brooklyn Eagle.</i></p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    COCK-A-DOODLE HILL<br/>
+    A sequel to the above. Illustrated by <span class='sc'>Francis Day</span>.<br/>
+    296 pp., 12mo. $1.50.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>“Cockle-a-doodle Hill” is where the Dudley Graham family
+went to live when they left New York, and here Ernie started
+her chicken-farm, with one solitary fowl, “Hennerietta.” The
+pictures of country scenes and the adventures and experiences
+of this household of young people are very life-like.</p>
+
+<p class='c006'>“No better book for young people than ‘The Luck of the Dudley
+Grahams’ was offered last year. ‘Cock-a-Doodle Hill’ is another of
+similar qualities.”—<i>Philadelphia Press.</i></p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY<br/>
+    PUBLISHERS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<span class='smaller'>VIII</span>’12)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW YORK
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>COMPANION STORIES OF COUNTRY LIFE</span><br/>
+    FOR BOYS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>By CHARLES P. BURTON</i>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='c007' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <b>THE BOYS OF BOB’S HILL</b><br/>
+    Illustrated by <span class='sc'>George A. Williams</span>. 12mo. $1.25.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>A lively story of a party of boys in a small New England
+town.</p>
+
+<p class='c006'>“A first-rate juvenile ... a real story for the live human boy—any
+boy will read it eagerly to the end ... quite thrilling adventures.”—<i>Chicago
+Record-Herald.</i><br/>
+<br/>
+“Tom Sawyer would have been a worthy member of the Bob’s Hill
+crowd and shared their good times and thrilling adventures with
+uncommon relish.... A jolly group of youngsters as nearly true to
+the real thing in boy nature as one can ever expect to find between
+covers.”—<i>Christian Register.</i></p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <b>THE BOB’S CAVE BOYS</b><br/>
+    Illustrated by <span class='sc'>Victor Perard</span>. $1.50.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c006'>
+“It would be hard to find anything better in the literature of New
+England boy life. Healthy, red-blooded, human boys, full of fun,
+into trouble and out again, but frank, honest, and clean.”—<i>The Congregationalist.</i>
+</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <b>THE BOB’S HILL BRAVES</b><br/>
+    Illustrated by <span class='sc'>H. S. DeLay</span>. 12mo. $1.50.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The “Bob’s Hill” band spend a vacation in Illinois, where
+they play at being Indians, hear thrilling tales of real Indians,
+and learn much frontier history. A history of especial interest
+to “Boy Scouts.”</p>
+
+<p class='c006'>
+“Merry youngsters. Capital. Thrilling tales of the red men and
+explorers. These healthy red-blooded, New England boys.”—<i>Philadelphia
+Press.</i>
+</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <b>THE BOY SCOUTS OF BOB’S HILL</b><br/>
+    Illustrated by <span class='sc'>Gordon Grant</span>. 12mo. $1.25 net.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The “Bob’s Hill” band organizes a Boy Scouts band and
+have many adventures. Mr. Burton brings in tales told around
+a camp-fire of La Salle, Joliet, the Louisiana Purchase, and
+the Northwestern Reservation.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <b>CAMP BOB’S HILL</b><br/>
+    Illustrated by <span class='sc'>Gordon Grant</span>. $1.25 net.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>A tale of Boy Scouts on their summer vacation.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY<br/>
+    PUBLISHERS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW YORK
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>SHORT PLAYS ABOUT FAMOUS AUTHORS</span><br/>
+    <br/>
+    (Goldsmith, Dickens, Heine, Fannie Burney, Shakespeare)<br/>
+    <br/>
+    <span class='sc'>By Maude Morrison Frank.</span> $1.00 <i>net</i>.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='sc'>The Mistake at the Manor</span> shows the fifteen-year-old
+Goldsmith in the midst of the humorous incident in his life which
+later formed the basis of “She Stoops to Conquer.”</p>
+
+<p><span class='sc'>A Christmas Eve With Charles Dickens</span> reveals the author
+as a poor factory boy in a lodging-house, dreaming of an old-time
+family Christmas.</p>
+
+<p><span class='sc'>When Heine was Twenty-one</span> dramatizes the early disobedience
+of the author in writing poetry against his uncle’s orders.</p>
+
+<p><span class='sc'>Miss Burney at Court</span> deals with an interesting incident in
+the life of the author of “Evelina” when she was at the Court
+of George III.</p>
+
+<p><span class='sc'>The Fairies’ Plea</span>, which is an adaptation of Thomas Hood’s
+poem, shows Shakespeare intervening to save the fairies from
+the scythe of Time.</p>
+
+<p>Designed in general for young people near enough to the
+college age to feel an interest in the personal and human aspects
+of literature, but the last two could easily be handled by
+younger actors. They can successfully be given by groups or
+societies of young people without the aid of a professional coach.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <span class='larger'>LITTLE PLAYS FROM AMERICAN HISTORY<br/>
+    FOR YOUNG FOLKS</span><br/>
+    <br/>
+    <span class='sc'>By Alice Johnstone Walker.</span> $1.00 <i>net</i>.
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='sc'>Hiding the Regicides</span>, a number of brief and stirring episodes,
+concerning the pursuit of Colonels Whalley and Goff by the
+officers of Charles II at New Haven in old colony days.</p>
+
+<p><span class='sc'>Mrs. Murray’s Dinner Party</span>, in three acts, is a lively comedy
+about a Patriot hostess and British Officers in Revolutionary
+Days.</p>
+
+<p><span class='sc'>Scenes from Lincoln’s Time</span>; the martyred President does not
+himself appear. They cover Lincoln’s helping a little girl with
+her trunk, women preparing lint for the wounded, a visit to the
+White House of an important delegation from New York, and
+of the mother of a soldier boy sentenced to death—and the coming
+of the army of liberation to the darkies.</p>
+
+<p>Tho big events are touched upon, the mounting of all these
+little plays is simplicity itself, and they have stood the test of
+frequent school performance.</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY<br/>
+    <span class='sc'>Publishers</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class='sc'>New York</span>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Christ Legends, by Selma Lagerlöf
+
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+</pre>
+
+  </body>
+  <!-- created with fpn.py 1.29 on 2014-02-01 13:19:36 GMT -->
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Christ Legends, by Selma Lagerloef
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Christ Legends
+
+Author: Selma Lagerloef
+
+Illustrator: Bertha Stuart
+
+Translator: Velma Swanston Howard
+
+Release Date: February 1, 2014 [EBook #44818]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRIST LEGENDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Shaun Pinder, Roger Frank and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                             CHRIST LEGENDS
+
+                                   BY
+
+                             SELMA LAGERLOeF
+
+                      Translated from the Swedish
+
+                                   BY
+
+                         VELMA SWANSTON HOWARD
+
+                      DECORATIONS BY BERTHA STUART
+
+                             [Illustration]
+
+                                NEW YORK
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+
+                                  1908
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                            Copyright, 1908,
+
+                                   BY
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+
+                                -------
+
+                        Published October, 1908
+
+                      THE QUINN & BODEN CO. PRESS
+                             RAHWAY, N. J.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                                CONTENTS
+
+                    THE HOLY NIGHT                  1
+                    THE EMPEROR'S VISION           13
+                    THE WISE MEN'S WELL            25
+                    BETHLEHEM'S CHILDREN           41
+                    THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT          73
+                    IN NAZARETH                    85
+                    IN THE TEMPLE                  95
+                    SAINT VERONICA'S KERCHIEF     119
+                    ROBIN REDBREAST               191
+                    OUR LORD AND SAINT PETER      203
+                    THE SACRED FLAME              221
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Holy Night]
+
+                             THE HOLY NIGHT
+
+
+When I was five years old I had such a great sorrow! I hardly know if I
+have had a greater since.
+
+It was then my grandmother died. Up to that time, she used to sit every
+day on the corner sofa in her room, and tell stories.
+
+I remember that grandmother told story after story from morning till
+night, and that we children sat beside her, quite still, and listened.
+It was a glorious life! No other children had such happy times as we
+did.
+
+It isn't much that I recollect about my grandmother. I remember that she
+had very beautiful snow-white hair, and stooped when she walked, and
+that she always sat and knitted a stocking.
+
+And I even remember that when she had finished a story, she used to lay
+her hand on my head and say: "All this is as true, as true as that I see
+you and you see me."
+
+I also remember that she could sing songs, but this she did not do every
+day. One of the songs was about a knight and a sea-troll, and had this
+refrain: "It blows cold, cold weather at sea."
+
+Then I remember a little prayer she taught me, and a verse of a hymn.
+
+Of all the stories she told me, I have but a dim and imperfect
+recollection. Only one of them do I remember so well that I should be
+able to repeat it. It is a little story about Jesus' birth.
+
+Well, this is nearly all that I can recall about my grandmother, except
+the thing which I remember best; and that is, the great loneliness when
+she was gone.
+
+I remember the morning when the corner sofa stood empty and when it was
+impossible to understand how the days would ever come to an end. That I
+remember. That I shall never forget!
+
+And I recollect that we children were brought forward to kiss the hand
+of the dead and that we were afraid to do it. But then some one said to
+us that it would be the last time we could thank grandmother for all the
+pleasure she had given us.
+
+And I remember how the stories and songs were driven from the homestead,
+shut up in a long black casket, and how they never came back again.
+
+I remember that something was gone from our lives. It seemed as if the
+door to a whole beautiful, enchanted world--where before we had been
+free to go in and out--had been closed. And now there was no one who
+knew how to open that door.
+
+And I remember that, little by little, we children learned to play with
+dolls and toys, and to live like other children. And then it seemed as
+though we no longer missed our grandmother, or remembered her.
+
+But even to-day--after forty years--as I sit here and gather together
+the legends about Christ, which I heard out there in the Orient, there
+awakes within me the little legend of Jesus' birth that my grandmother
+used to tell, and I feel impelled to tell it once again, and to let it
+also be included in my collection.
+
+It was a Christmas Day and all the folks had driven to church except
+grandmother and I. I believe we were all alone in the house. We had not
+been permitted to go along, because one of us was too old and the other
+was too young. And we were sad, both of us, because we had not been
+taken to early mass to hear the singing and to see the Christmas
+candles.
+
+But as we sat there in our loneliness, grandmother began to tell a
+story.
+
+"There was a man," said she, "who went out in the dark night to borrow
+live coals to kindle a fire. He went from hut to hut and knocked. 'Dear
+friends, help me!' said he. 'My wife has just given birth to a child,
+and I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.'
+
+"But it was way in the night, and all the people were asleep. No one
+replied.
+
+"The man walked and walked. At last he saw the gleam of a fire a long
+way off. Then he went in that direction, and saw that the fire was
+burning in the open. A lot of sheep were sleeping around the fire, and
+an old shepherd sat and watched over the flock.
+
+"When the man who wanted to borrow fire came up to the sheep, he saw
+that three big dogs lay asleep at the shepherd's feet. All three awoke
+when the man approached and opened their great jaws, as though they
+wanted to bark; but not a sound was heard. The man noticed that the hair
+on their backs stood up and that their sharp, white teeth glistened in
+the firelight. They dashed toward him. He felt that one of them bit at
+his leg and one at his hand and that one clung to his throat. But their
+jaws and teeth wouldn't obey them, and the man didn't suffer the least
+harm.
+
+"Now the man wished to go farther, to get what he needed. But the sheep
+lay back to back and so close to one another that he couldn't pass them.
+Then the man stepped upon their backs and walked over them and up to the
+fire. And not one of the animals awoke or moved."
+
+Thus far, grandmother had been allowed to narrate without interruption.
+But at this point I couldn't help breaking in. "Why didn't they do it,
+grandma?" I asked.
+
+"That you shall hear in a moment," said grandmother--and went on with
+her story.
+
+"When the man had almost reached the fire, the shepherd looked up. He
+was a surly old man, who was unfriendly and harsh toward human beings.
+And when he saw the strange man coming, he seized the long spiked staff,
+which he always held in his hand when he tended his flock, and threw it
+at him. The staff came right toward the man, but, before it reached him,
+it turned off to one side and whizzed past him, far out in the meadow."
+
+When grandmother had got this far, I interrupted her again. "Grandma,
+why wouldn't the stick hurt the man?" Grandmother did not bother about
+answering me, but continued her story.
+
+"Now the man came up to the shepherd and said to him: 'Good man, help
+me, and lend me a little fire! My wife has just given birth to a child,
+and I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.'
+
+"The shepherd would rather have said no, but when he pondered that the
+dogs couldn't hurt the man, and the sheep had not run from him, and that
+the staff had not wished to strike him, he was a little afraid, and
+dared not deny the man that which he asked.
+
+"'Take as much as you need!' he said to the man.
+
+"But then the fire was nearly burnt out. There were no logs or branches
+left, only a big heap of live coals; and the stranger had neither spade
+nor shovel, wherein he could carry the red-hot coals.
+
+"When the shepherd saw this, he said again: 'Take as much as you need!'
+And he was glad that the man wouldn't be able to take away any coals.
+
+"But the man stooped and picked coals from the ashes with his bare
+hands, and laid them in his mantle. And he didn't burn his hands when he
+touched them, nor did the coals scorch his mantle; but he carried them
+away as if they had been nuts or apples."
+
+But here the story-teller was interrupted for the third time. "Grandma,
+why wouldn't the coals burn the man?"
+
+"That you shall hear," said grandmother, and went on:
+
+"And when the shepherd, who was such a cruel and hard-hearted man, saw
+all this, he began to wonder to himself: 'What kind of a night is this,
+when the dogs do not bite, the sheep are not scared, the staff does not
+kill, or the fire scorch?' He called the stranger back, and said to him:
+'What kind of a night is this? And how does it happen that all things
+show you compassion?'
+
+"Then said the man: 'I cannot tell you if you yourself do not see it.'
+And he wished to go his way, that he might soon make a fire and warm his
+wife and child.
+
+"But the shepherd did not wish to lose sight of the man before he had
+found out what all this might portend. He got up and followed the man
+till they came to the place where he lived.
+
+"Then the shepherd saw that the man didn't have so much as a hut to
+dwell in, but that his wife and babe were lying in a mountain grotto,
+where there was nothing except the cold and naked stone walls.
+
+"But the shepherd thought that perhaps the poor innocent child might
+freeze to death there in the grotto; and, although he was a hard man, he
+was touched, and thought he would like to help it. And he loosened his
+knapsack from his shoulder, took from it a soft white sheepskin, gave it
+to the strange man, and said that he should let the child sleep on it.
+
+"But just as soon as he showed that he, too, could be merciful, his eyes
+were opened, and he saw what he had not been able to see before and
+heard what he could not have heard before.
+
+"He saw that all around him stood a ring of little silver-winged angels,
+and each held a stringed instrument, and all sang in loud tones that
+to-night the Saviour was born who should redeem the world from its sins.
+
+"Then he understood how all things were so happy this night that they
+didn't want to do anything wrong.
+
+"And it was not only around the shepherd that there were angels, but he
+saw them everywhere. They sat inside the grotto, they sat outside on the
+mountain, and they flew under the heavens. They came marching in great
+companies, and, as they passed, they paused and cast a glance at the
+child.
+
+"There were such jubilation and such gladness and songs and play! And
+all this he saw in the dark night, whereas before he could not have made
+out anything. He was so happy because his eyes had been opened that he
+fell upon his knees and thanked God."
+
+Here grandmother sighed and said: "What that shepherd saw we might also
+see, for the angels fly down from heaven every Christmas Eve, if we
+could only see them."
+
+Then grandmother laid her hand on my head, and said: "You must remember
+this, for it is as true, as true as that I see you and you see me. It is
+not revealed by the light of lamps or candles, and it does not depend
+upon sun and moon; but that which is needful is, that we have such eyes
+as can see God's glory."
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Emperor's Vision]
+
+                          THE EMPEROR'S VISION
+
+
+It happened at the time when Augustus was Emperor in Rome and Herod was
+King in Jerusalem.
+
+It was then that a very great and holy night sank down over the earth.
+It was the darkest night that any one had ever seen. One could have
+believed that the whole earth had fallen into a cellar-vault. It was
+impossible to distinguish water from land, and one could not find one's
+way on the most familiar road. And it couldn't be otherwise, for not a
+ray of light came from heaven. All the stars stayed at home in their own
+houses, and the fair moon held her face averted.
+
+The silence and the stillness were as profound as the darkness. The
+rivers stood still in their courses, the wind did not stir, and even the
+aspen leaves had ceased to quiver. Had any one walked along the
+seashore, he would have found that the waves no longer dashed upon the
+sands; and had one wandered in the desert, the sand would not have
+crunched under one's feet. Everything was as motionless as if turned to
+stone, so as not to disturb the holy night. The grass was afraid to
+grow, the dew could not fall, and the flowers dared not exhale their
+perfume.
+
+On this night the wild beasts did not seek their prey, the serpents did
+not sting, and the dogs did not bark. And what was even more glorious,
+inanimate things would have been unwilling to disturb the night's
+sanctity, by lending themselves to an evil deed. No false key could have
+picked a lock, and no knife could possibly have drawn a drop of blood.
+
+In Rome, during this very night, a small company of people came from the
+Emperor's palace at the Palatine and took the path across the Forum
+which led to the Capitol. During the day just ended the Senators had
+asked the Emperor if he had any objections to their erecting a temple to
+him on Rome's sacred hill. But Augustus had not immediately given his
+consent. He did not know if it would be agreeable to the gods that he
+should own a temple next to theirs, and he had replied that first he
+wished to ascertain their will in the matter by offering a nocturnal
+sacrifice to his genius. It was he who, accompanied by a few trusted
+friends, was on his way to perform this sacrifice.
+
+Augustus let them carry him in his litter, for he was old, and it was an
+effort for him to climb the long stairs leading to the Capitol. He
+himself held the cage with the doves for the sacrifice. No priests or
+soldiers or senators accompanied him, only his nearest friends.
+Torch-bearers walked in front of him in order to light the way in the
+night darkness and behind him followed the slaves, who carried the
+tripod, the knives, the charcoal, the sacred fire, and all the other
+things needed for the sacrifice.
+
+On the way the Emperor chatted gaily with his faithful followers, and
+therefore none of them noticed the infinite silence and stillness of the
+night. Only when they had reached the highest point of the Capitol Hill
+and the vacant spot upon which they contemplated erecting the temple,
+did it dawn upon them that something unusual was taking place.
+
+It could not be a night like all others, for up on the very edge of the
+cliff they saw the most remarkable being! At first they thought it was
+an old, distorted olive-trunk; later they imagined that an ancient stone
+figure from the temple of Jupiter had wandered out on the cliff. Finally
+it was apparent to them that it could be only the old sibyl.
+
+Anything so aged, so weather-beaten, and so giant-like in stature they
+had never seen. This old woman was awe-inspiring! If the Emperor had not
+been present, they would all have fled to their homes.
+
+"It is she," they whispered to each other, "who has lived as many years
+as there are sand-grains on her native shores. Why has she come out from
+her cave just to-night? What does she foretell for the Emperor and the
+Empire--she, who writes her prophecies on the leaves of the trees and
+knows that the wind will carry the words of the oracle to the person for
+whom they are intended?"
+
+They were so terrified that they would have dropped on their knees with
+their foreheads pressed against the earth, had the sibyl stirred. But
+she sat as still as though she were lifeless. Crouching upon the
+outermost edge of the cliff, and shading her eyes with her hand, she
+peered out into the night. She sat there as if she had gone up on the
+hill that she might see more clearly something that was happening far
+away. _She_ could see things on a night like this!
+
+At that moment the Emperor and all his retinue marked how profound the
+darkness was. None of them could see a hand's breadth in front of him.
+And what stillness! What silence! Not even the Tiber's hollow murmur
+could they hear. The air seemed to suffocate them, cold sweat broke out
+on their foreheads, and their hands were numb and powerless. They feared
+that some dreadful disaster was impending.
+
+But no one cared to show that he was afraid, and everyone told the
+Emperor that this was a good omen. All Nature held its breath to greet a
+new god.
+
+They counseled Augustus to hurry with the sacrifice, and said that the
+old sibyl had evidently come out of her cave to greet his genius.
+
+But the truth was that the old sibyl was so absorbed in a vision that
+she did not even know that Augustus had come up to the Capitol. She was
+transported in spirit to a far-distant land, where she imagined that she
+was wandering over a great plain. In the darkness she stubbed her foot
+continually against something, which she believed to be grass-tufts. She
+stooped down and felt with her hand. No, it was not grass, but sheep.
+She was walking between great sleeping flocks of sheep.
+
+Then she noticed the shepherds' fire. It burned in the middle of the
+field, and she groped her way to it. The shepherds lay asleep by the
+fire, and beside them were the long, spiked staves with which they
+defended their flocks from wild beasts. But the little animals with the
+glittering eyes and the bushy tails that stole up to the fire, were they
+not jackals? And yet the shepherds did not fling their staves at them,
+the dogs continued to sleep, the sheep did not flee, and the wild
+animals lay down to rest beside the human beings.
+
+This the sibyl saw, but she knew nothing of what was being enacted on
+the hill back of her. She did not know that there they were raising an
+altar, lighting charcoal and strewing incense, and that the Emperor took
+one of the doves from the cage to sacrifice it. But his hands were so
+benumbed that he could not hold the bird. With one stroke of the wing,
+it freed itself and disappeared in the night darkness.
+
+When this happened, the courtiers glanced suspiciously at the old sibyl.
+They believed that it was she who caused the misfortune.
+
+Could they know that all the while the sibyl thought herself standing
+beside the shepherds' fire, and that she listened to a faint sound which
+came trembling through the dead-still night? She heard it long before
+she marked that it did not come from the earth, but from the sky. At
+last she raised her head; then she saw light, shimmering forms glide
+forward in the darkness. They were little flocks of angels, who, singing
+joyously, and apparently searching, flew back and forth above the wide
+plain.
+
+While the sibyl was listening to the angel-song, the Emperor was making
+preparations for a new sacrifice. He washed his hands, cleansed the
+altar, and took up the other dove. And, although he exerted his full
+strength to hold it fast, the dove's slippery body slid from his hand,
+and the bird swung itself up into the impenetrable night.
+
+The Emperor was appalled! He fell upon his knees and prayed to his
+genius. He implored him for strength to avert the disasters which this
+night seemed to foreshadow.
+
+Nor did the sibyl hear any of this either. She was listening with her
+whole soul to the angel-song, which grew louder and louder. At last it
+became so powerful that it wakened the shepherds. They raised themselves
+on their elbows and saw shining hosts of silver-white angels move in the
+darkness in long, swaying lines, like migratory birds. Some held lutes
+and cymbals in their hands; others held zithers and harps, and their
+song rang out as merry as child-laughter, and as care-free as the lark's
+trill. When the shepherds heard this, they rose up to go to the mountain
+city, where they lived, to tell of the miracle.
+
+They groped their way forward on a narrow, winding path, and the sibyl
+followed them. Suddenly it grew light up there on the mountain: a big,
+clear star kindled right over it, and the city on the mountain summit
+glittered like silver in the starlight. All the fluttering angel throngs
+hastened thither, shouting for joy, and the shepherds hurried so that
+they almost ran. When they reached the city, they found that the angels
+had assembled over a low stable near the city gate. It was a wretched
+structure, with a roof of straw and the naked cliff for a back wall.
+Over it hung the Star, and hither flocked more and more angels. Some
+seated themselves on the straw roof or alighted upon the steep
+mountain-wall back of the house; others, again, held themselves in the
+air on outspread wings, and hovered over it. High, high up, the air was
+illuminated by the shining wings.
+
+The instant the Star kindled over the mountain city, all Nature awoke,
+and the men who stood upon Capitol Hill could not help seeing it. They
+felt fresh, but caressing winds which traveled through space; delicious
+perfumes streamed up about them; trees swayed; the Tiber began to
+murmur; the stars twinkled, and suddenly the moon stood out in the sky
+and lit up the world. And out of the clouds the two doves came circling
+down and lighted upon the Emperor's shoulders.
+
+When this miracle happened, Augustus rose, proud and happy, but his
+friends and his slaves fell on their knees.
+
+"Hail, Caesar!" they cried. "Thy genius hath answered thee. Thou art the
+god who shall be worshiped on Capitol Hill!"
+
+And this cry of homage, which the men in their transport gave as a
+tribute to the Emperor, was so loud that the old sibyl heard it. It
+waked her from her visions. She rose from her place on the edge of the
+cliff, and came down among the people. It was as if a dark cloud had
+arisen from the abyss and rushed down the mountain height. She was
+terrifying in her extreme age! Coarse hair hung in matted tangles around
+her head, her joints were enlarged, and the dark skin, hard as the bark
+of a tree, covered her body with furrow upon furrow.
+
+Potent and awe-inspiring, she advanced toward the Emperor. With one hand
+she clutched his wrist, with the other she pointed toward the distant
+East.
+
+"Look!" she commanded, and the Emperor raised his eyes and saw. The
+vaulted heavens opened before his eyes, and his glance traveled to the
+distant Orient. He saw a lowly stable behind a steep rock wall, and in
+the open doorway a few shepherds kneeling. Within the stable he saw a
+young mother on her knees before a little child, who lay upon a bundle
+of straw on the floor.
+
+And the sibyl's big, knotty fingers pointed toward the poor babe. "Hail,
+Caesar!" cried the sibyl, in a burst of scornful laughter. "There is the
+god who shall be worshiped on Capitol Hill!"
+
+Then Augustus shrank back from her, as from a maniac. But upon the sibyl
+fell the mighty spirit of prophecy. Her dim eyes began to burn, her
+hands were stretched toward heaven, her voice was so changed that it
+seemed not to be her own, but rang out with such resonance and power
+that it could have been heard over the whole world. And she uttered
+words which she appeared to be reading among the stars.
+
+"Upon Capitol Hill shall the Redeemer of the world be
+worshiped,--_Christ_--but not frail mortals."
+
+When she had said this, she strode past the terror-stricken men, walked
+slowly down the mountain, and disappeared.
+
+But, on the following day, Augustus strictly forbade the people to raise
+any temple to him on Capitol Hill. In place of it he built a sanctuary
+to the new-born God-Child, and called it Heaven's Altar--_Ara Coeli_.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Wise Men's Well]
+
+                          THE WISE MEN'S WELL
+
+
+In old Judea the Drought crept, gaunt and hollow-eyed, between shrunken
+thistles and yellowed grass.
+
+It was summertime. The sun beat down upon the backs of unshaded hills,
+and the slightest breath of wind tore up thick clouds of lime dust from
+the grayish-white ground. The herds stood huddled together in the
+valleys, by the dried-up streams.
+
+The Drought walked about and viewed the water supplies. He wandered over
+to Solomon's Pools, and sighed as he saw that they still held a small
+quantity of water from their mountain sources. Then he journeyed down to
+the famous David's Well, near Bethlehem, and found water even there.
+Finally, he tramped with shuffling gait toward the great highway which
+leads from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.
+
+When he had arrived about half-way, he saw the Wise Men's Well, where it
+stands close by the roadside. He saw at a glance that it was almost dry.
+He seated himself on the curb, which consists of a single stone hollowed
+out, and looked into the well. The shining water-mirror, which usually
+was seen very near the opening, had sunk deep down, and the dirt and
+slime at the bottom of the well made it muddy and impure.
+
+When the Well beheld the Drought's bronzed visage reflected in her
+clouded mirror, she shook with anguish.
+
+"I wonder when you will be exhausted," said the Drought. "Surely, you do
+not expect to find any fresh water source, down there in the deep, to
+come and give you new life; and as for rain--God be praised! there can
+be no question of that for the next two or three months."
+
+"You may rest content," sighed the Well, "for nothing can help me now.
+It would take no less than a well-spring from Paradise to save me!"
+
+"Then I will not forsake you until every drop has been drained," said
+the Drought. He saw that the old Well was nearing its end, and now he
+wanted to have the pleasure of seeing it die out drop by drop.
+
+He seated himself comfortably on the edge of the curb, and rejoiced as
+he heard how the Well sighed down there in the deep. He also took a keen
+delight in watching the thirsty wayfarers come up to the well-curb, let
+down the bucket, and draw it up again, with only a few drops of muddy
+water.
+
+Thus the whole day passed; and when darkness descended, the Drought
+looked again into the Well. A little water still shimmered down there.
+"I'll stay here all night," cried he, "so do not hurry yourself! When it
+grows so light that I can look into you once more, I am certain that all
+will be over with you."
+
+The Drought curled himself up on the edge of the well-curb, while the
+hot night, which was even more cruel, and more full of torment than the
+day had been, descended over Judea. Dogs and jackals howled incessantly,
+and thirsty cows and asses answered them from their stuffy stalls.
+
+When the breeze stirred a little now and then, it brought with it no
+relief, but was as hot and suffocating as a great sleeping monster's
+panting breath. The stars shone with the most resplendent brilliancy,
+and a little silvery new moon cast a pretty blue-green light over the
+gray hills. And in this light the Drought saw a great caravan come
+marching toward the hill where the Wise Men's Well was situated.
+
+The Drought sat and gazed at the long procession, and rejoiced again at
+the thought of all the thirst which was coming to the well, and would
+not find one drop of water with which to slake itself. There were so
+many animals and drivers they could easily have emptied the Well, even
+if it had been quite full. Suddenly he began to think there was
+something unusual, something ghost-like, about this caravan which came
+marching forward in the night. First, all the camels came within sight
+on a hill, which loomed up, high and distinct, against the horizon; it
+was as though they had stepped straight down from heaven. They also
+appeared to be larger than ordinary camels, and bore--all too
+lightly--the enormous burdens which weighted them.
+
+Still he could not understand anything but that they were absolutely
+real, for to him they were just as plain as plain could be. He could
+even see that the three foremost animals were dromedaries, with gray,
+shiny skins; and that they were richly bridled and saddled, with fringed
+coverings, and were ridden by handsome, noble-looking knights.
+
+The whole procession stopped at the well. With three sharp jerks, the
+dromedaries lay down on the ground, and their riders dismounted. The
+pack-camels remained standing, and as they assembled they seemed to form
+a long line of necks and humps and peculiarly piled-up packs.
+
+Immediately, the riders came up to the Drought and greeted him by laying
+their hands upon their foreheads and breasts. He saw that they wore
+dazzling white robes and huge turbans, on the front of each of which
+there was a clear, glittering star, which shone as if it had been taken
+direct from the skies.
+
+"We come from a far-off land," said one of the strangers, "and we bid
+thee tell us if this is in truth the Wise Men's Well?"
+
+"It is called so to-day," said the Drought, "but by to-morrow there will
+be no well here. It shall die to-night."
+
+"I can understand this, as I see thee here," said the man. "But is not
+this one of the sacred wells, which never run dry? or whence hath it
+derived its name?"
+
+"I know it is sacred," said the Drought, "but what good will that do?
+The three wise men are in Paradise."
+
+The three travelers exchanged glances. "Dost thou really know the
+history of this ancient well?" asked they.
+
+"I know the history of all wells and fountains and brooks and rivers,"
+said the Drought, with pride.
+
+"Then grant us a pleasure, and tell us the story!" begged the strangers;
+and they seated themselves around the old enemy to everything growing,
+and listened.
+
+The Drought shook himself and crawled up on the well-curb, like a
+story-teller upon his improvised throne, and began his tale.
+
+"In Gebas, in Media, a city which lies near the border of the
+desert--and, therefore, it has often been a free and well-beloved city
+to me,--there lived, many, many years ago, three men who were famed for
+their wisdom.
+
+"They were also very poor, which was a most uncommon state of affairs;
+for, in Gebas, knowledge was held in high esteem, and was well
+recompensed. With these men, however, it could hardly have been
+otherwise, for one of them was very old, one was afflicted with leprosy,
+and the third was a black, thick-lipped negro. People regarded the first
+as much too old to teach them anything; the second they avoided for fear
+of contagion; and the third they would not listen to, because they
+thought they knew that no wisdom had ever come from Ethiopia.
+
+"Meanwhile, the three wise ones became united through their common
+misery. They begged during the day at the same temple gate, and at night
+they slept on the same roof. In this way they at least had an
+opportunity to while away the hours, by meditating upon all the
+wonderful things which they observed in Nature and in the human race.
+
+"One night, as they slept side by side on a roof, which was overgrown
+with stupefying red poppies, the eldest among them awoke; and hardly had
+he cast a glance around him, before he wakened the other two.
+
+"'Praised be our poverty, which compels us to sleep in the open!' he
+said to them. 'Awake! and raise your eyes to heaven!'
+
+"Well," said the Drought, in a somewhat milder tone, "this was a night
+which no one who witnessed it can ever forget! The skies were so bright
+that the heavens, which usually resemble an arched vault, looked deep
+and transparent and full of waves, like a sea. The light surged
+backwards and forwards and the stars swam in their varying depths: some
+in among the light-waves; others upon the surface.
+
+"But farthest away and highest up, the three men saw a faint shadow
+appear. This shadow traveled through space like a ball, and came nearer
+and nearer, and, as the ball approached, it began to brighten. But it
+brightened as roses do--may God let them all wither!--when they burst
+from their buds. It grew bigger and bigger, the dark cover about it
+turned back by degrees, and light broke forth on its sides into four
+distinct leaves. Finally, when it had descended to the nearest of the
+stars, it came to a standstill. Then the dark lobes curled themselves
+back and unfolded leaf upon leaf of beautiful, shimmering, rose-colored
+light, until it was perfect, and shone like a star among stars.
+
+"When the poor men beheld this, their wisdom told them that at this
+moment a mighty king was born on earth: one, whose majesty and power
+should rise higher than that of Cyrus or of Alexander; and they said to
+one another: 'Let us go to the father and mother of the new-born babe
+and tell them what we have seen! Mayhap they will reward us with a purse
+of coin or a bracelet of gold.'
+
+"They grasped their long traveling staves and went forth. They wandered
+through the city and out from the city gate; but there they felt
+doubtful for a moment as they saw before them the great stretch of dry,
+smooth desert, which human beings dread. Then they saw the new star cast
+a narrow stream of light across the desert sand, and they wandered
+confidently forward with the star as their guide.
+
+"All night long they tramped over the wide sand-plain, and throughout
+the entire journey they talked about the young, new-born king, whom they
+should find reposing in a cradle of gold, playing with precious stones.
+They whiled away the hours by talking over how they should approach his
+father, the king, and his mother, the queen, and tell them that the
+heavens augured for their son power and beauty and joy, greater than
+Solomon's. They prided themselves upon the fact that God had called
+_them_ to see the Star. They said to themselves that the parents of the
+new-born babe would not reward them with less than twenty purses of
+gold; perhaps they would give them so much gold that they no longer need
+suffer the pangs of poverty.
+
+"I lay in wait on the desert like a lion," said the Drought, "and
+intended to throw myself upon these wanderers with all the agonies of
+thirst, but they eluded me. All night the Star had led them, and on the
+morrow, when the heavens brightened and all the other stars grew pale,
+it remained steady and illumined the desert, and then guided them to an
+oasis where they found a spring and a ripe, fruit-bearing tree. There
+they rested all that day. And toward night, as they saw the Star's rays
+border the sands, they went on.
+
+"From the human way of looking at things," continued the Drought, "it
+was a delightful journey. The Star led them in such a way that they did
+not have to suffer either hunger or thirst. It led them past the sharp
+thistles, it avoided the thick, loose, flying sand; they escaped the
+burning sunshine and the hot desert storms. The three wise men said
+repeatedly to one another: 'God is protecting us and blessing our
+journey. We are His messengers.'
+
+"Then, by degrees, they fell into my power," said the Drought. "These
+star-wanderers' hearts became transformed into as dry a desert as the
+one which they traveled through. They were filled with impotent pride
+and destructive greed.
+
+"'We are God's messengers!' repeated the three wise ones. 'The father of
+the new-born king will not reward us too well, even if he gives us a
+caravan laden with gold.'
+
+"By and by, the Star led them over the far-famed River Jordan, and up
+among the hills of Judea. One night it stood still over the little city
+of Bethlehem, which lay upon a hill-top, and shone among the olive
+trees.
+
+"But the three wise ones looked around for castles and fortified towers
+and walls, and all the other things that belong to a royal city; but of
+such they saw nothing. And what was still worse, the Star's light did
+not even lead them into the city, but remained over a grotto near the
+wayside. There, the soft light stole in through the opening and revealed
+to the three wanderers a little Child, who was being lulled to sleep in
+its mother's arms.
+
+"Although the three men saw how the Star's light encircled the Child's
+head, like a crown, they remained standing outside the grotto. They did
+not enter to prophesy honors and kingdoms for this little One. They
+turned away without betraying their presence. They fled from the Child,
+and wandered down the hill again.
+
+"'Have we come in search of beggars as poor as ourselves?' said they.
+'Has God brought us hither that we might mock Him, and predict honors
+for a shepherd's son? This Child will never attain any higher
+distinction than to tend sheep here in the valleys.'"
+
+The Drought chuckled to himself and nodded to his hearers, as much as to
+say: "Am I not right? There are things which are drier than the desert
+sands, but there is nothing more barren than the human heart."
+
+"The three wise ones had not wandered very far before they thought they
+had gone astray and had not followed the Star rightly," continued the
+Drought. "They turned their gaze upward to find again the Star, and the
+right road; but then the Star which they had followed all the way from
+the Orient had vanished from the heavens."
+
+The three strangers made a quick movement, and their faces expressed
+deep suffering.
+
+"That which now happened," continued the Drought, "is in accord with the
+usual manner of mankind in judging of what is, perhaps, a blessing.
+
+"To be sure, when the three wise men no longer saw the Star, they
+understood at once that they had sinned against God.
+
+"And it happened with them," continued the Drought furiously, "just as
+it happens with the ground in the autumn, when the heavy rains begin to
+fall. They shook with terror, as one shakes when it thunders and
+lightens; their whole being softened, and humility, like green grass,
+sprang up in their souls.
+
+"For three nights and days they wandered about the country, in quest of
+the Child whom they would worship; but the Star did not appear to them.
+They grew more and more bewildered, and suffered the most overwhelming
+anguish and despair. On the third day they came to this well to drink.
+Then God had pardoned their sin. And, as they bent over the water, they
+saw in its depths the reflection of the Star which had brought them from
+the Orient. Instantly they saw it also in the heavens and it led them
+again to the grotto in Bethlehem, where they fell upon their knees
+before the Child and said: 'We bring thee golden vessels filled with
+incense and costly spices. Thou shalt be the greatest king that ever
+lived upon earth, from its creation even unto its destruction.'
+
+"Then the Child laid his hand upon their lowered heads, and when they
+rose, lo! the Child had given them gifts greater than a king could have
+granted; for the old beggar had grown young, the leper was made whole,
+and the negro was transformed into a beautiful white man. And it is said
+of them that they were glorious! and that they departed and became
+kings--each in his own kingdom."
+
+The Drought paused in his story, and the three strangers praised it.
+"Thou hast spoken well," said they. "But it surprises me," said one of
+them, "that the three wise men do nothing for the well which showed them
+the Star. Shall they entirely forget such a great blessing?"
+
+"Should not this well remain perpetually," said the second stranger, "to
+remind mankind that happiness, which is lost on the heights of pride and
+vainglory, will let itself be found again in the depths of humility?"
+
+"Are the departed worse than the living?" asked the third. "Does
+gratitude die with those who live in Paradise?"
+
+But as he heard this, the Drought sprang up with a wild cry. He had
+recognized the strangers! He understood who the strangers were, and fled
+from them like a madman, that he might not witness how The Three Wise
+Men called their servants and led their camels, laden with water-sacks,
+to the Well and filled the poor dying Well with water, which they had
+brought with them from Paradise.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Bethlehem's Children]
+
+                          BETHLEHEM'S CHILDREN
+
+
+Just outside the Bethlehem gate stood a Roman soldier, on guard. He was
+arrayed in full armor, with helmet. At his side he wore a short sword,
+and held in his hand a long spear. He stood there all day almost
+motionless, so that one could readily have believed him to be a man made
+of iron. The city people went in and out of the gate and beggars lolled
+in the shade under the archway, fruit venders and wine dealers set their
+baskets and jugs down on the ground beside the soldier, but he scarcely
+took the trouble to turn his head to look at them.
+
+It seemed as though he wanted to say: This is nothing to see. What do I
+care about you who labor and barter and come driving with oil casks and
+wine sacks! Let me see an army prepare to meet the enemy! Let me see the
+excitement and the hot struggle, when horsemen charge down upon a troop
+of foot-soldiers! Let me see the brave men who rush forward to scale the
+walls of a beleaguered city! Nothing is pleasing to my sight but war. I
+long to see the Roman Eagles glisten in the air! I long for the
+trumpets' blast, for shining weapons, for the splash of red blood!
+
+Just beyond the city gate lay a fine meadow, overgrown with lilies. Day
+by day the soldier stood with his eyes turned toward this meadow, but
+never for a moment did he think of admiring the extraordinary beauty of
+the flowers. Sometimes he noticed that the passers-by stopped to admire
+the lilies, and it amazed him to think that people would delay their
+travels to look at anything so trivial. These people do not know what is
+beautiful, thought he.
+
+And as he thought thus, he saw no more the green fields and olive groves
+round about Bethlehem; but dreamed himself away in a burning-hot desert
+in sunny Libya. He saw a legion of soldiers march forward in a long,
+straight line over the yellow, trackless sand. There was no protection
+against the sun's piercing rays, no cooling stream, no apparent
+boundaries to the desert, and no goal in sight, no end to their
+wanderings. He saw soldiers, exhausted by hunger and thirst, march
+forward with faltering step; he saw one after another drop to the
+ground, overcome by the scorching heat. Nevertheless, they marched
+onward without a murmur, without a thought of deserting their leader and
+turning back.
+
+Now, _there_ is something beautiful! thought the soldier, something that
+is worth the glance of a valiant man!
+
+Since the soldier stood on guard at the same post day after day, he had
+the best opportunity to watch the pretty children who played about him.
+But it was with the children as with the flowers: he didn't understand
+that it could be worth his while to notice them. What is this to rejoice
+over? thought he, when he saw people smile as they watched the
+children's games. It is strange that any one can find pleasure in a mere
+nothing.
+
+One day when the soldier was standing at his accustomed post, he saw a
+little boy about three years old come out on the meadow to play. He was
+a poor lad, who was dressed in a scanty sheepskin, and who played quite
+by himself. The soldier stood and regarded the newcomer almost without
+being aware of it himself. The first thing that attracted him was that
+the little one ran so lightly over the field that he seemed scarcely to
+touch the tips of the grass-blades. Later, as he followed the child's
+play, he was even more astonished. "By my sword!" he exclaimed, "this
+child does not play like the others. What can it be that occupies him?"
+
+As the child played only a few paces away, he could see well enough what
+the little one was doing. He saw how he reached out his hand to capture
+a bee that sat upon the edge of a flower and was so heavily laden with
+pollen that it could hardly lift its wings for flight. He saw, to his
+great surprise, that the bee let itself be taken without trying to
+escape, and without using its sting. When the little one held the bee
+secure between his fingers, he ran over to a crack in the city wall,
+where a swarm of bees had their home, and set the bee down. As soon as
+he had helped one bee in this way, he hastened back to help another. All
+day long the soldier saw him catch bees and carry them to their home.
+
+"That boy is certainly more foolish than any I've seen hitherto,"
+thought the soldier. "What put it into his head to try and help these
+bees, who can take such good care of themselves without him, and who can
+sting him at that? What kind of a man will he become if he lives, I
+wonder?"
+
+The little one came back day after day and played in the meadow, and the
+soldier couldn't help marveling at him and his games.
+
+"It is very strange," thought he. "Here I have stood on guard for fully
+three years, and thus far I have seen nothing that could interest me,
+except this infant."
+
+But the soldier was in nowise pleased with the child; quite the reverse!
+For this child reminded him of a dreadful prediction made by an old
+Hebrew seer, who had prophesied that a time of peace should come to this
+world some day; during a period of a thousand years no blood would be
+shed, no wars waged, but human beings would love one another like
+brethren. When the soldier thought that anything so dreadful might
+really come to pass, a shudder passed through his body, and he gripped
+his spear hard, as if he sought support.
+
+And now, the more the soldier saw of the little one and his play, the
+more he thought of the Thousand-year Reign of Peace. He did not fear
+that it had come already, but he did not like to be reminded of anything
+so hateful!
+
+One day, when the little one was playing among the flowers on the pretty
+meadow, a very heavy shower came bursting through the clouds. When he
+noticed how big and heavy the drops were that beat down upon the
+sensitive lilies, he seemed anxious for his pretty friends. He hurried
+away to the biggest and loveliest among them, and bent towards the
+ground the stiff stalk which held up the lily, so that the raindrops
+caught the chalices on their under side. As soon as he had treated one
+flower like this, he ran to another and bent its stem in the same way,
+so that the flower-cups were turned toward the ground. And then to a
+third and a fourth, until all the flowers in the meadow were protected
+against the rainfall.
+
+The soldier smiled to himself when he saw the boy's work. "I'm afraid
+the lilies won't thank him for this," said he. "Naturally, every stalk
+is broken. It will never do to bend such stiff growths in that way!"
+
+But when the shower was over, the soldier saw the little lad hurry over
+to the lilies and raise them up. To his utter astonishment, the boy
+straightened the stiff stalks without the least difficulty. It was
+apparent that not one of them was either broken or bruised. He ran from
+flower to flower, and soon all the rescued lilies shone in their full
+splendor in the meadow.
+
+When the soldier saw this, he was seized with a singular rage. "What a
+queer child!" thought he. "It is incredible that he can undertake
+anything so idiotic. What kind of a man will he make, who cannot even
+bear to see a lily destroyed? How would it turn out if such a one had to
+go to war? What would he do if they ordered him to burn a house filled
+with women and children, or to sink a ship with all souls on board?"
+
+Again he thought of the old prophecy, and he began to fear that the time
+had actually come for its fulfilment. "Since a child like this is here,"
+thought he, "perhaps this awful time is very close at hand. Already,
+peace prevails over the whole earth; and surely the day of war will
+nevermore dawn. From this time forth, all peoples will be of the same
+mind as this child: they will be afraid to injure one another, yea, they
+will not have the heart even to crush a bee or a flower! No great deeds
+will be done, no glorious battles won, and no brilliant triumvirate will
+march up to the Capitol. Nothing more will happen that a brave man could
+long for."
+
+And the soldier--who all the while hoped he would soon live through new
+wars and longed, through daring feats, to raise himself to power and
+riches--felt so exasperated with the little three-year-old that he
+raised his spear threateningly the next time the child ran past.
+
+Another day it was neither the bees nor the lilies the little one sought
+to protect, but he undertook something which struck the soldier as being
+much more needless and thankless.
+
+It was a fearfully hot day, and the sunrays fell upon the soldier's
+helmet and armor and heated them until he felt as if he wore a suit of
+fire. To the passers-by it looked as if he must suffer tortures from the
+heat. His bloodshot eyes were ready to burst from their sockets, and his
+lips were dry and shriveled. But as he was inured to the burning heat of
+African deserts, he thought this a mere trifle, and it didn't occur to
+him to move from his accustomed place. On the contrary, he took pleasure
+in showing the passers-by that he was so strong and hardy and did not
+need to seek shelter from the sun.
+
+While he stood thus, and let himself be nearly broiled alive, the little
+boy who was wont to play in the meadow came suddenly up to him. He knew
+very well that the soldier was not one of his friends and so he was
+always careful not to come within reach of his spear; but now he ran up
+to him, and regarded him long and carefully; then he hurried as fast as
+he could towards the road. When he came back, he held both hands like a
+bowl, and carried in this way a few drops of water.
+
+"Mayhap this infant has taken it upon himself to run and fetch water for
+me," thought the soldier. "He is certainly wanting in common sense.
+Should not a Roman soldier be able to stand a little heat! What need for
+that youngster to run around and help those who require no help! I don't
+want his compassion. I wish he and all like him were out of the world!"
+
+The little one came walking very slowly. He held his fingers close
+together, so that nothing should be spilled or wasted. All the while, as
+he was nearing the soldier, he kept his eyes anxiously fixed upon the
+little water which he brought with him, and did not see that the man
+stood there frowning, with a forbidding look in his eye. Then the child
+came up to the soldier and offered him the water.
+
+On the way his heavy blond curls had tumbled down over his forehead and
+eyes. He shook his head several times to get the hair out of his eyes,
+so that he could look up. When he succeeded at last, and became
+conscious of the hard expression on the soldier's face, he was not
+frightened, but stood still and begged him, with a bewitching smile, to
+taste of the water which he had brought with him. But the soldier felt
+no desire to accept a kindness from the child, whom he regarded as his
+enemy. He did not look down into his pretty face, but stood rigid and
+immovable, and showed no sign that he understood what the child wished
+to do for him.
+
+Nor could the child understand that the man wished to repel him. He
+smiled all the while just as confidently, raised himself on the tips of
+his toes, and stretched his hands as high as he could that the big
+soldier might more easily get at the water.
+
+The soldier felt so insulted because a mere child wished to help him
+that he gripped his spear to drive the little one away.
+
+But just at that moment the extreme heat and sunshine beat down upon the
+soldier with such intensity that he saw red flames dance before his eyes
+and felt his brains melt within his head. He feared the sun would kill
+him, if he could not find instant relief.
+
+Beside himself with terror at the danger hovering over him, the soldier
+threw his spear on the ground, seized the child with both hands, lifted
+him up, and absorbed as much as he could of the water which the little
+one held in his hands.
+
+Only a few drops touched his tongue, but more was not needed. As soon as
+he had tasted of the water, a delicious coolness surged through his
+body, and he felt no more that the helmet and armor burnt and oppressed
+him. The sunrays had lost their deadly power. His dry lips became soft
+and moist again, and red flames no longer danced before his eyes.
+
+Before he had time to realize all this, he had already put down the
+child, who ran back to the meadow to play. Astonished, the soldier began
+to say to himself: "What kind of water was this that the child gave me?
+It was a glorious drink! I must really show him my gratitude."
+
+But inasmuch as he hated the little one, he soon dismissed this idea.
+"It is only a child," thought he, "and does not know why he acts in this
+way or that way. He plays only the play that pleases him best. Does he
+perhaps receive any gratitude from the bees or the lilies? On that
+youngster's account I need give myself no trouble. He doesn't even know
+that he has succored me."
+
+The soldier felt, if possible, even more exasperated with the child a
+moment later, when he saw the commander of the Roman soldiers, who were
+encamped in Bethlehem, come out through the gate. "Just see what a risk
+I have run through that little one's rash behavior!" thought he. "If by
+chance Voltigius had come a moment earlier, he would have seen me
+standing with a child in my arms."
+
+Meanwhile, the Commander walked straight up to the soldier and asked him
+if they might speak together there without danger of being overheard. He
+had a secret to impart to him. "If we move ten paces from the gate,"
+replied the soldier, "no one can hear us."
+
+"You know," said the Commander, "that King Herod, time and again, has
+tried to get possession of a child that is growing up here in Bethlehem.
+His soothsayers and priests have told him that this child shall ascend
+his throne. Moreover, they have predicted that the new King will
+inaugurate a thousand-year reign of peace and holiness. You understand,
+of course, that Herod would willingly make him--Harmless!"
+
+"I understand!" said the soldier eagerly. "But that ought to be the
+easiest thing in the world."
+
+"It would certainly be very easy," said the Commander, "if the King only
+knew which one of all the children here in Bethlehem is The One."
+
+The soldier knit his brows. "It is a pity his soothsayers can not
+enlighten him about this," said he.
+
+"But now Herod has hit upon a ruse, whereby he believes he can make the
+young Peace-Prince harmless," continued the Commander. "He promises a
+handsome gift to each and all who will help him."
+
+"Whatsoever Voltigius commands shall be carried out, even without money
+or gifts," said the soldier.
+
+"I thank you," replied the Commander. "Listen, now, to the King's plan!
+He intends to celebrate the birthday of his youngest son by arranging a
+festival, to which all male children in Bethlehem, who are between the
+ages of two and three years, shall be bidden, together with their
+mothers. And during this festival----" He checked himself suddenly, and
+laughed when he saw the look of disgust on the soldier's face.
+
+"My friend," he continued, "you need not fear that Herod thinks of using
+us as child-nurses. Now bend your ear to my mouth, and I'll confide to
+you his design."
+
+The Commander whispered long with the soldier, and when he had disclosed
+all, he said:
+
+"I need hardly tell you that absolute silence is imperative, lest the
+whole undertaking miscarry."
+
+"You know, Voltigius, that you can rely on me," said the soldier.
+
+When the Commander had gone and the soldier once more stood alone at his
+post, he looked around for the child. The little one played all the
+while among the flowers, and the soldier caught himself thinking that
+the boy swayed above them as light and attractive as a butterfly.
+
+Suddenly he began to laugh. "True," said he, "I shall not have to vex
+myself very long over this child. He shall be bidden to the feast of
+Herod this evening."
+
+He remained at his post all that day, until the even was come, and it
+was time to close the city gate for the night.
+
+When this was done, he wandered through narrow and dark streets, to a
+splendid palace which Herod owned in Bethlehem.
+
+In the center of this immense palace was a large stone-paved court
+encircled by buildings, around which ran three open galleries, one above
+the other. The King had ordered that the festival for the Bethlehem
+children should be held on the uppermost of these galleries.
+
+This gallery, by the King's express command, was transformed so that it
+looked like a covered walk in a beautiful flower-garden. The ceiling was
+hidden by creeping vines hung with thick clusters of luscious grapes,
+and alongside the walls, and against the pillars stood small pomegranate
+trees, laden with ripe fruit. The floors were strewn with rose-leaves,
+lying thick and soft like a carpet. And all along the balustrades, the
+cornices, the tables, and the low divans, ran garlands of lustrous white
+lilies.
+
+Here and there in this flower garden stood great marble basins where
+glittering gold and silver fish played in the transparent water.
+Multi-colored birds from distant lands sat in the trees, and in a cage
+sat an old raven that chattered incessantly.
+
+When the festival began children and mothers filed into the gallery.
+Immediately after they had entered the palace, the children were arrayed
+in white dresses with purple borders and were given wreaths of roses for
+their dark, curly heads. The women came in, regal, in their crimson and
+blue robes, and their white veils, which hung in long, loose folds from
+high-peaked head-dresses, adorned with gold coins and chains. Some
+carried their children mounted upon their shoulders; others led their
+sons by the hand; some, again, whose children were afraid or shy, had
+taken them up in their arms.
+
+The women seated themselves on the floor of the gallery. As soon as they
+had taken their places, slaves came in and placed before them low
+tables, which they spread with the choicest of foods and wines--as
+befitting a King's feast--and all these happy mothers began to eat and
+drink, maintaining all the while that proud, graceful dignity, which is
+the greatest ornament of the Bethlehem women.
+
+Along the farthest wall of the gallery, and almost hidden by
+flower-garlands and fruit trees, was stationed a double line of soldiers
+in full armor. They stood, perfectly immovable, as if they had no
+concern with that which went on around them. The women could not refrain
+from casting a questioning glance, now and then, at this troop of
+iron-clad men. "For what are they needed here?" they whispered. "Does
+Herod think we women do not know how to conduct ourselves? Does he
+believe it is necessary for so many soldiers to guard us?"
+
+But others whispered that this was as it should be in a King's home.
+Herod himself never gave a banquet without having his house filled with
+soldiers. It was to honor them that the heavily armored warriors stood
+there on guard.
+
+During the first few moments of the feast, the children felt timid and
+uncertain, and sat quietly beside their mothers. But soon they began to
+move about and take possession of all the good things which Herod
+offered them.
+
+It was an enchanted land that the King had created for his little
+guests. When they wandered through the gallery, they found bee-hives
+whose honey they could pillage without the interference of a single
+crotchety bee. They found trees which, bending, lowered their
+fruit-laden branches down to them. In a corner they found magicians who,
+on the instant, conjured their pockets full of toys; and in another
+corner they discovered a wild-beast tamer who showed them a pair of
+tigers, so tame that they could ride them.
+
+But in this paradise with all its joys there was nothing which so
+attracted the attention of these little ones as the long line of
+soldiers who stood immovable at the extreme end of the gallery. Their
+eyes were captivated by their shining helmets, their stern, haughty
+faces, and their short swords, which reposed in richly jeweled sheaths.
+
+All the while, as they played and romped with one another, they thought
+continually about the soldiers. They still held themselves at a
+distance, but they longed to get near the men to see if they were alive
+and really could move themselves.
+
+The play and festivities increased every moment, but the soldiers stood
+all the while immovable. It seemed incredible to the little ones that
+people could stand so near the clusters of grapes and all the other
+dainties, without reaching out a hand to take them.
+
+Finally, there was one boy who couldn't restrain his curiosity any
+longer. Slowly, but prepared for hasty retreat, he approached one of the
+armored men; and when he remained just as rigid and motionless, the
+child came nearer and nearer. At last he was so close to him that he
+could touch his shoe latchets and his shins.
+
+Then--as though this had been an unheard-of crime--all at once these
+iron-men set themselves in motion. With indescribable fury they threw
+themselves upon the children, and seized them! Some swung them over
+their heads, like missiles, and flung them between lamps and garlands
+over the balustrade and down to the court, where they were killed the
+instant they struck the stone pavement. Others drew their swords and
+pierced the children's hearts; others, again, crushed their heads
+against the walls before they threw them down into the dark courtyard.
+
+The first moment after the onslaught, there was an ominous stillness.
+While the tiny bodies still swayed in the air, the women were petrified
+with amazement! But simultaneously all these unhappy mothers awoke to
+understand what had happened, and with one great cry they rushed toward
+the soldiers. There were still a few children left up in the gallery who
+had not been captured during the first attack. The soldiers pursued them
+and their mothers threw themselves in front of them and clutched with
+bare hands the naked swords, to avert the death-blow. Several women,
+whose children were already dead, threw themselves upon the soldiers,
+clutched them by the throat, and sought to avenge the death of their
+little ones by strangling their murderers.
+
+During this wild confusion, while fearful shrieks rang through the
+palace, and the most inhuman death cruelties were being enacted, the
+soldier who was wont to stand on guard at the city gate stood motionless
+at the head of the stairs which led down from the gallery. He took no
+part in the strife and the murder: only against the women who had
+succeeded in snatching their children and tried to fly down the stairs
+with them did he lift his sword. And just the sight of him, where he
+stood, grim and inflexible, was so terrifying that the fleeing ones
+chose rather to cast themselves over the balustrade or turn back into
+the heat of the struggle, than risk the danger of crowding past him.
+
+"Voltigius certainly did the right thing when he gave _me_ this post,"
+thought the soldier. "A young and thoughtless warrior would have left
+his place and rushed into the confusion. If I had let myself be tempted
+away from here, ten children at least would have escaped."
+
+While he was thinking of this, a young woman, who had snatched up her
+child, came rushing towards him in hurried flight. None of the warriors
+whom she had to pass could stop her, because they were in the midst of
+the struggle with other women, and in this way she had reached the end
+of the gallery.
+
+"Ah, there's one who is about to escape!" thought the soldier. "Neither
+she nor the child is wounded."
+
+The woman came toward the soldier with such speed that she appeared to
+be flying, and he didn't have time to distinguish the features of either
+the woman or her child. He only pointed his sword at them, and the
+woman, with the child in her arms, dashed against it. He expected that
+the next second both she and the child would fall to the ground pierced
+through and through.
+
+But just then the soldier heard an angry buzzing over his head, and the
+next instant he felt a sharp pain in one eye. It was so intense that he
+was stunned, bewildered, and the sword dropped from his hand. He raised
+his hand to his eye and caught hold of a bee, and understood that that
+which caused this awful suffering was only the sting of the tiny
+creature. Quick as a flash, he stooped down and picked up his sword, in
+the hope that as yet it was not too late to intercept the runaways.
+
+But the little bee had done its work very well.
+
+During the short time that the soldier was blinded, the young mother had
+succeeded in rushing past him and down the stairs; and although he
+hurried after her with all haste, he could not find her. She had
+vanished; and in all that great palace there was no one who could
+discover any trace of her.
+
+The following morning, the soldier, together with several of his
+comrades, stood on guard, just within the city gate. The hour was early,
+and the city gates had only just been opened. But it appeared as though
+no one had expected that they would be opened that morning; for no
+throngs of field laborers streamed out of the city, as they usually did
+of a morning. All the Bethlehem inhabitants were so filled with terror
+over the night's bloodshed that no one dared to leave his home.
+
+"By my sword!" said the soldier, as he stood and stared down the narrow
+street which led toward the gate, "I believe Voltigius has made a stupid
+blunder. It would have been better had he kept the gates closed and
+ordered a thorough search of every house in the city, until he had found
+the boy who managed to escape from the feast. Voltigius expects that his
+parents will try to get him away from here as soon as they learn that
+the gates are open. I fear this is not a wise calculation. How easily
+they could conceal a child!"
+
+He wondered if they would try to hide the child in a fruit basket or in
+some huge oil cask, or amongst the grain-bales of a caravan.
+
+While he stood there on the watch for any attempt to deceive him in this
+way, he saw a man and a woman who came hurriedly down the street and
+were nearing the gate. They walked rapidly and cast anxious looks behind
+them, as though they were fleeing from some danger. The man held an ax
+in his hand with a firm grip, as if determined to fight should any one
+bar his way. But the soldier did not look at the man as much as he did
+at the woman. He thought that she was just as tall as the young mother
+who got away from him the night before. He observed also that she had
+thrown her skirt over her head. "Perhaps she wears it like this,"
+thought he, "to conceal the fact that she holds a child on her arm."
+
+The nearer they approached, the plainer he saw the child which the woman
+bore on her arm outlined under the raised robe. "I'm positive it is the
+one who got away last night. I didn't see her face, but I recognize the
+tall figure. And here she comes now, with the child on her arm, and
+without even trying to keep it concealed. I had not dared to hope for
+such a lucky chance," said the soldier to himself.
+
+The man and woman continued their rapid pace all the way to the city
+gate. Evidently, they had not anticipated being intercepted here. They
+trembled with fright when the soldier leveled his spear at them, and
+barred their passage.
+
+"Why do you refuse to let us go out in the fields to our work?" asked
+the man.
+
+"You may go presently," said the soldier, "but first I must see what
+your wife has hidden behind her robe."
+
+"What is there to see?" said the man. "It is only bread and wine, which
+we must live upon to-day."
+
+"You speak the truth, perchance," said the soldier, "but if it is as you
+say, why does she turn away? Why does she not willingly let me see what
+she carries?"
+
+"I do not wish that you shall see it," said the man, "and I command you
+to let us pass!"
+
+With this he raised his ax, but the woman laid her hand on his arm.
+
+"Enter thou not into strife!" she pleaded. "I will try some other way. I
+shall let him see what I bear, and I know that he can not harm it." With
+a proud and confident smile she turned toward the soldier, and threw
+back a fold of her robe.
+
+Instantly the soldier staggered back and closed his eyes, as if dazed by
+a strong light. That which the woman held concealed under her robe
+reflected such a dazzling white light that at first he did not know what
+he saw.
+
+"I thought you held a child on your arm," he said.
+
+"You see what I hold," the woman answered.
+
+Then the soldier finally saw that that which dazzled and shone was only
+a cluster of white lilies, the same kind that grew in the meadow; but
+their luster was much richer and more radiant. He could hardly bear to
+look at them.
+
+He stuck his hand in among the flowers. He couldn't help thinking that
+it must be a child the woman carried, but he felt only the cool
+flower-petals.
+
+He was bitterly deceived, and in his wrath he would gladly have taken
+both the man and the woman prisoners, but he knew that he could give no
+reason for such a proceeding.
+
+When the woman saw his confusion, she said: "Will you not let us go
+now?"
+
+The soldier quietly lowered the spear and stepped aside.
+
+The woman drew her robe over the flowers once more, and at the same time
+she looked with a sweet smile upon that which she bore on her arm. "I
+knew that you could not harm it, did you but see it," she said to the
+soldier.
+
+With this, they hastened away; and the soldier stood and stared after
+them as long as they were within sight.
+
+While he followed them with his eyes, he almost felt sure that the woman
+did not carry on her arm a cluster of lilies, but an actual, living
+child.
+
+While he still stood and stared after the wanderers, he heard loud
+shouts from the street. It was Voltigius, with several of his men, who
+came running.
+
+"Stop them!" they cried. "Close the gates on them! Don't let them
+escape!"
+
+And when they came up to the soldier, they said that they had tracked
+the runaway boy. They had sought him in his home, but then he had
+escaped again. They had seen his parents hasten away with him. The
+father was a strong, gray-bearded man who carried an ax; the mother was
+a tall woman who held a child concealed under a raised robe.
+
+The same moment that Voltigius related this, there came a Bedouin riding
+in through the gate on a good horse. Without a word, the soldier rushed
+up to the rider, jerked him down off the horse and threw him to the
+ground, and, with one bound, jumped into the saddle and dashed away
+toward the road.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two days later, the soldier rode forward through the dreary
+mountain-desert, which is the whole southern part of Judea. All the
+while he was pursuing the three fugitives from Bethlehem, and he was
+beside himself because the fruitless hunt never came to an end.
+
+"It looks, forsooth, as though these creatures had the power to sink
+into the earth," he grumbled. "How many times during these days have I
+not been so close to them that I've been on the point of throwing my
+spear at the child, and yet they have escaped me! I begin to think that
+I shall never catch up with them."
+
+He felt despondent, like one who believes he is struggling against some
+superior power. He asked himself if it might not be possible that the
+gods protected these people against him.
+
+"This trouble is in vain. Let me turn back before I perish from hunger
+and thirst in this barren land!" he said to himself, again and again.
+Then he was seized with fear of that which awaited him on his
+home-coming, should he turn back without having accomplished his
+mission.
+
+Twice he had permitted the child to escape, and neither Voltigius nor
+Herod would pardon him for anything of the kind.
+
+"As long as Herod knows that one of the Bethlehem children still lives,
+he will always be haunted by the same anxiety and dread," said the
+soldier. "Most likely he will try to ease his worries by nailing me to a
+cross."
+
+It was a hot noonday hour, and he suffered tortures from the ride
+through this mountain district on a road which wound around steep cliffs
+where no breeze stirred. Both horse and rider were ready to drop.
+
+Several hours before he had lost every trace of the fugitives, and he
+felt more disheartened than ever.
+
+"I must give it up," thought he. "I verily believe it is time wasted to
+pursue them further. They must perish anyway in this awful wilderness."
+
+As he thought this, he discovered, in a mountain-wall near the roadside,
+the vaulted entrance to a grotto.
+
+Immediately he rode up to the opening. "I will rest a while in this cool
+mountain cave," thought he. "Then, mayhap, I can continue the pursuit
+with renewed strength."
+
+As he was about to enter, he was struck with amazement! On each side of
+the opening grew a beautiful lily. The two stalks stood there tall and
+erect and full of blossoms. They sent forth an intoxicating odor of
+honey, and many bees buzzed around them.
+
+It was such an uncommon sight in this wilderness that the soldier did
+something extraordinary. He broke off a large white flower and took it
+with him into the cave.
+
+The cave was neither deep nor dark, and as soon as he entered he saw
+that there were already three travelers within: a man, a woman, and a
+child, who lay stretched out upon the ground, lost in deep slumber.
+
+The soldier had never before felt his heart beat as it did at this
+vision. They were the three runaways whom he had hunted so long. He
+recognized them instantly. And here they lay sleeping, unable to defend
+themselves and wholly in his power.
+
+He drew his sword quickly and bent over the sleeping child.
+
+Cautiously he lowered the sword toward the infant's heart, and measured
+carefully, in order to kill with a single thrust.
+
+He paused an instant to look at the child's countenance. Now, when he
+was certain of victory, he felt a grim pleasure in beholding his victim.
+
+But when he saw the child his joy increased, for he recognized the
+little boy whom he had seen play with bees and lilies in the meadow
+beyond the city gate.
+
+"Why, of course I should have understood this all the time!" thought he.
+"This is why I have always hated the child. This is the pretended Prince
+of Peace."
+
+He lowered his sword again while he thought: "When I lay this child's
+head at Herod's feet, he will make me Commander of his Life Guard."
+
+As he brought the point of the sword nearer and nearer the heart of the
+sleeping child, he reveled in the thought: "This time, at least, no one
+shall come between us and snatch him from my power."
+
+But the soldier still held in his hand the lily which he had broken off
+at the grotto entrance; and while he was thinking of his good fortune, a
+bee that had been hidden in its chalice flew towards him and buzzed
+around his head.
+
+He staggered back. Suddenly he remembered the bees which the boy had
+carried to their home, and he remembered that it was a bee that had
+helped the child escape from Herod's feast. This thought struck him with
+surprise. He held the sword suspended, and stood still and listened for
+the bee.
+
+Now he did not hear the tiny creature's buzzing. As he stood there,
+perfectly still, he became conscious of the strong, delicious perfume
+which came from the lily that he held in his hand.
+
+Then he began to think of the lilies that the little one had saved; he
+remembered that it was a cluster of lilies that had hidden the child
+from his view and made possible the escape through the city gate.
+
+He became more and more thoughtful, and he drew back the sword.
+
+"The bees and the lilies have requited his good deeds," he whispered to
+himself. Then he was struck by the thought that the little one had once
+shown even him a kindness, and a deep crimson flush mounted to his brow.
+
+"Can a Roman soldier forget to requite an accepted service?" he
+whispered.
+
+He fought a short battle with himself. He thought of Herod, and of his
+own desire to destroy the young Peace-Prince.
+
+"It does not become me to murder this child who has saved my life," he
+said, at last.
+
+And he bent down and laid his sword beside the child, that the fugitives
+on awakening should understand the danger they had escaped.
+
+Then he saw that the child was awake. He lay and regarded the soldier
+with the beautiful eyes which shone like stars.
+
+And the warrior bent a knee before the child.
+
+"Lord, _thou_ art the Mighty One!" said he. "Thou art the strong
+Conqueror! Thou art He whom the gods love! Thou art He who shall tread
+upon adders and scorpions!"
+
+He kissed his feet and stole softly out from the grotto, while the
+little one smiled and smiled after him with great, astonished
+child-eyes.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Flight Into Egypt]
+
+                         THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT
+
+
+Far away in one of the Eastern deserts many, many years ago grew a palm
+tree, which was both exceedingly old and exceedingly tall.
+
+All who passed through the desert had to stop and gaze at it, for it was
+much larger than other palms; and they used to say of it, that some day
+it would certainly be taller than the obelisks and pyramids.
+
+Where the huge palm tree stood in its solitude and looked out over the
+desert, it saw something one day which made its mighty leaf-crown sway
+back and forth on its slender trunk with astonishment. Over by the
+desert borders walked two human beings. They were still at the distance
+at which camels appear to be as tiny as moths; but they were certainly
+two human beings--two who were strangers in the desert; for the palm
+knew the desert-folk. They were a man and a woman who had neither guide
+nor pack-camels; neither tent nor water-sack.
+
+"Verily," said the palm to itself, "these two have come hither only to
+meet certain death."
+
+The palm cast a quick, apprehensive glance around.
+
+"It surprises me," it said, "that the lions are not already out to hunt
+this prey, but I do not see a single one astir; nor do I see any of the
+desert robbers, but they'll probably soon come."
+
+"A seven-fold death awaits these travelers," thought the palm. "The
+lions will devour them, thirst will parch them, the sand-storm will bury
+them, robbers will trap them, sunstroke will blight them, and fear will
+destroy them."
+
+And the palm tried to think of something else. The fate of these people
+made it sad at heart.
+
+But on the whole desert plain, which lay spread out beneath the palm,
+there was nothing which it had not known and looked upon these thousand
+years. Nothing in particular could arrest its attention. Again it had to
+think of the two wanderers.
+
+"By the drought and the storm!" said the palm, calling upon Life's most
+dangerous enemies. "What is that that the woman carries on her arm? I
+believe these fools also bring a little child with them!"
+
+The palm, who was far-sighted--as the old usually are,--actually saw
+aright. The woman bore on her arm a child, that leaned against her
+shoulder and slept.
+
+"The child hasn't even sufficient clothing on," said the palm. "I see
+that the mother has tucked up her skirt and thrown it over the child.
+She must have snatched him from his bed in great haste and rushed off
+with him. I understand now: these people are runaways.
+
+"But they are fools, nevertheless," continued the palm. "Unless an angel
+protects them, they would have done better to have let their enemies do
+their worst, than to venture into this wilderness.
+
+"I can imagine how the whole thing came about. The man stood at his
+work; the child slept in his crib; the woman had gone out to fetch
+water. When she was a few steps from the door, she saw enemies coming.
+She rushed back to the house, snatched up her child, and fled.
+
+"Since then, they have been fleeing for several days. It is very certain
+that they have not rested a moment. Yes, everything has happened in this
+way, but still I say that unless an angel protects them----
+
+"They are so frightened that, as yet, they feel neither fatigue nor
+suffering. But I see their thirst by the strange gleam in their eyes.
+Surely I ought to know a thirsty person's face!"
+
+And when the palm began to think of thirst, a shudder passed through its
+tall trunk, and the long leaves' numberless lobes rolled up, as though
+they had been held over a fire.
+
+"Were I a human being," it said, "I should never venture into the
+desert. He is pretty brave who dares come here without having roots that
+reach down to the never-dying water veins. Here it can be dangerous even
+for palms; yea, even for a palm such as I.
+
+"If I could counsel them, I should beg them to turn back. Their enemies
+could never be as cruel toward them as the desert. Perhaps they think it
+is easy to live in the desert! But I know that, now and then, even I
+have found it hard to keep alive. I recollect one time in my youth when
+a hurricane threw a whole mountain of sand over me. I came near choking.
+If I could have died that would have been my last moment."
+
+The palm continued to think aloud, as the aged and solitary habitually
+do.
+
+"I hear a wondrously beautiful melody rush through my leaves," it said.
+"All the lobes on my leaves are quivering. I know not what it is that
+takes possession of me at the sight of these poor strangers. But this
+unfortunate woman is so beautiful! She carries me back, in memory, to
+the most wonderful thing that I ever experienced."
+
+And while the leaves continued to move in a soft melody, the palm was
+reminded how once, very long ago, two illustrious personages had visited
+the oasis. They were the Queen of Sheba and Solomon the Wise. The
+beautiful Queen was to return to her own country; the King had
+accompanied her on the journey, and now they were going to part. "In
+remembrance of this hour," said the Queen then, "I now plant a date seed
+in the earth, and I wish that from it shall spring a palm which shall
+grow and live until a King shall arise in Judea, greater than Solomon."
+And when she had said this, she planted the seed in the earth and
+watered it with her tears.
+
+"How does it happen that I am thinking of this just to-day?" said the
+palm. "Can this woman be so beautiful that she reminds me of the most
+glorious of queens, of her by whose word I have lived and flourished
+until this day?
+
+"I hear my leaves rustle louder and louder," said the palm, "and it
+sounds as melancholy as a dirge. It is as though they prophesied that
+some one would soon leave this life. It is well to know that it does not
+apply to me, since I can not die."
+
+The palm assumed that the death-rustle in its leaves must apply to the
+two lone wanderers. It is certain that they too believed that their last
+hour was nearing. One saw it from their expression as they walked past
+the skeleton of a camel which lay in their path. One saw it from the
+glances they cast back at a pair of passing vultures. It couldn't be
+otherwise; they must perish!
+
+They had caught sight of the palm and oasis and hastened thither to find
+water. But when they arrived at last, they collapsed from despair, for
+the well was dry. The woman, worn out, laid the child down and seated
+herself beside the well-curb, and wept. The man flung himself down
+beside her and beat upon the dry earth with his fists. The palm heard
+how they talked with each other about their inevitable death. It also
+gleaned from their conversation that King Herod had ordered the
+slaughter of all male children from two to three years old, because he
+feared that the long-looked-for King of the Jews had been born.
+
+"It rustles louder and louder in my leaves," said the palm. "These poor
+fugitives will soon see their last moment."
+
+It perceived also that they dreaded the desert. The man said it would
+have been better if they had stayed at home and fought with the
+soldiers, than to fly hither. He said that they would have met an easier
+death.
+
+"God will help us," said the woman.
+
+"We are alone among beasts of prey and serpents," said the man. "We have
+no food and no water. How should God be able to help us?" In despair he
+rent his garments and pressed his face against the dry earth. He was
+hopeless--like a man with a death-wound in his heart.
+
+The woman sat erect, with her hands clasped over her knees. But the
+looks she cast towards the desert spoke of a hopelessness beyond bounds.
+
+The palm heard the melancholy rustle in its leaves growing louder and
+louder. The woman must have heard it also, for she turned her gaze
+upward toward the palm-crown. And instantly she involuntarily raised her
+arms.
+
+"Oh, dates, dates!" she cried. There was such intense agony in her voice
+that the old palm wished itself no taller than a broom and that the
+dates were as easy to reach as the buds on a brier bush. It probably
+knew that its crown was full of date clusters, but how should a human
+being reach such a height?
+
+The man had already seen how beyond all reach the date clusters hung. He
+did not even raise his head. He begged his wife not to long for the
+impossible.
+
+But the child, who had toddled about by himself and played with sticks
+and straws, had heard the mother's outcry.
+
+Of course the little one could not imagine that his mother should not
+get everything she wished for. The instant she said dates, he began to
+stare at the tree. He pondered and pondered how he should bring down the
+dates. His forehead was almost drawn into wrinkles under the golden
+curls. At last a smile stole over his face. He had found the way. He
+went up to the palm and stroked it with his little hand, and said, in a
+sweet, childish voice:
+
+"Palm, bend thee! Palm, bend thee!"
+
+But what was that, what was that? The palm leaves rustled as if a
+hurricane had passed through them, and up and down the long trunk
+traveled shudder upon shudder. And the tree felt that the little one was
+its superior. It could not resist him.
+
+And it bowed its long trunk before the child, as people bow before
+princes. In a great bow it bent itself towards the ground, and finally
+it came down so far that the big crown with the trembling leaves swept
+the desert sand.
+
+The child appeared to be neither frightened nor surprised; with a joyous
+cry he loosened cluster after cluster from the old palm's crown. When he
+had plucked enough dates, and the tree still lay on the ground, the
+child came back again and caressed it and said, in the gentlest voice:
+
+"Palm, raise thee! Palm, raise thee!"
+
+Slowly and reverently the big tree raised itself on its slender trunk,
+while the leaves played like harps.
+
+"Now I know for whom they are playing the death melody," said the palm
+to itself when it stood erect once more. "It is not for any of these
+people."
+
+The man and the woman sank upon their knees and thanked God.
+
+"Thou hast seen our agony and removed it. Thou art the Powerful One who
+bendest the palm-trunk like a reed. What enemy should we fear when Thy
+strength protects us?"
+
+The next time a caravan passed through the desert, the travelers saw
+that the great palm's leaf-crown had withered.
+
+"How can this be?" said a traveler. "This palm was not to die before it
+had seen a King greater than Solomon."
+
+"Mayhap it hath seen him," answered another of the desert travelers.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: In Nazareth]
+
+                              IN NAZARETH
+
+
+Once, when Jesus was only five years old, he sat on the doorstep outside
+his father's workshop, in Nazareth, and made clay cuckoos from a lump of
+clay which the potter across the way had given him. He was happier than
+usual. All the children in the quarter had told Jesus that the potter
+was a disobliging man, who wouldn't let himself be coaxed, either by
+soft glances or honeyed words, and he had never dared ask aught of him.
+But, you see, he hardly knew how it had come about. He had only stood on
+his doorstep and, with yearning eyes, looked upon the neighbor working
+at his molds, and then that neighbor had come over from his stall and
+given him so much clay that it would have been enough to finish a whole
+wine jug.
+
+On the stoop of the next house sat Judas, his face covered with bruises
+and his clothes full of rents, which he had acquired during his
+continual fights with street urchins. For the moment he was quiet, he
+neither quarreled nor fought, but worked with a bit of clay, just as
+Jesus did. But this clay he had not been able to procure for himself. He
+hardly dared venture within sight of the potter, who complained that he
+was in the habit of throwing stones at his fragile wares, and would have
+driven him away with a good beating. It was Jesus who had divided his
+portion with him.
+
+When the two children had finished their clay cuckoos, they stood the
+birds up in a ring in front of them. These looked just as clay cuckoos
+have always looked. They had big, round lumps to stand on in place of
+feet, short tails, no necks, and almost imperceptible wings.
+
+But, at all events, one saw at once a difference in the work of the
+little playmates. Judas' birds were so crooked that they tumbled over
+continually; and no matter how hard he worked with his clumsy little
+fingers, he couldn't get their bodies neat and well formed. Now and then
+he glanced slyly at Jesus, to see how he managed to make his birds as
+smooth and even as the oak-leaves in the forests on Mount Tabor.
+
+As bird after bird was finished, Jesus became happier and happier. Each
+looked more beautiful to him than the last, and he regarded them all
+with pride and affection. They were to be his playmates, his little
+brothers; they should sleep in his bed, keep him company, and sing to
+him when his mother left him. Never before had he thought himself so
+rich; never again could he feel alone or forsaken.
+
+The big brawny water-carrier came walking along, and right after him
+came the huckster, who sat joggingly on his donkey between the large
+empty willow baskets. The water-carrier laid his hand on Jesus' curly
+head and asked him about his birds; and Jesus told him that they had
+names and that they could sing. All the little birds were come to him
+from foreign lands, and told him things which only he and they knew. And
+Jesus spoke in such a way that both the water-carrier and the huckster
+forgot about their tasks for a full hour, to listen to him.
+
+But when they wished to go farther, Jesus pointed to Judas. "See what
+pretty birds Judas makes!" he said.
+
+Then the huckster good-naturedly stopped his donkey and asked Judas if
+his birds also had names and could sing. But Judas knew nothing of this.
+He was stubbornly silent and did not raise his eyes from his work, and
+the huckster angrily kicked one of his birds and rode on.
+
+In this manner the afternoon passed, and the sun sank so far down that
+its beams could come in through the low city gate, which stood at the
+end of the street and was decorated with a Roman Eagle. This sunshine,
+which came at the close of the day, was perfectly rose-red--as if it had
+become mixed with blood--and it colored everything which came in its
+path, as it filtered through the narrow street. It painted the potter's
+vessels as well as the log which creaked under the woodman's saw, and
+the white veil that covered Mary's face.
+
+But the loveliest of all was the sun's reflection as it shone on the
+little water-puddles which had gathered in the big, uneven cracks in the
+stones that covered the street. Suddenly Jesus stuck his hand in the
+puddle nearest him. He had conceived the idea that he would paint his
+gray birds with the sparkling sunbeams which had given such pretty color
+to the water, the house-walls, and everything around him.
+
+The sunshine took pleasure in letting itself be captured by him, like
+paint in a paint pot; and when Jesus spread it over the little clay
+birds, it lay still and bedecked them from head to feet with a
+diamond-like luster.
+
+Judas, who every now and then looked at Jesus to see if he made more and
+prettier birds than his, gave a shriek of delight when he saw how Jesus
+painted his clay cuckoos with the sunshine, which he caught from the
+water pools. Judas also dipped his hand in the shining water and tried
+to catch the sunshine.
+
+But the sunshine wouldn't be caught by him. It slipped through his
+fingers; and no matter how fast he tried to move his hands to get hold
+of it, it got away, and he couldn't procure a pinch of color for his
+poor birds.
+
+"Wait, Judas!" said Jesus. "I'll come and paint your birds."
+
+"No, you shan't touch them!" cried Judas. "They're good enough as they
+are."
+
+He rose, his eyebrows contracted into an ugly frown, his lips
+compressed. And he put his broad foot on the birds and transformed them,
+one after another, into little flat pieces of clay.
+
+When all his birds were destroyed, he walked over to Jesus, who sat and
+caressed his birds--that glittered like jewels. Judas regarded them for
+a moment in silence, then he raised his foot and crushed one of them.
+
+When Judas took his foot away and saw the entire little bird changed
+into a cake of clay, he felt so relieved that he began to laugh, and
+raised his foot to crush another.
+
+"Judas," said Jesus, "what are you doing? Don't you see that they are
+alive and can sing?"
+
+But Judas laughed and crushed still another bird.
+
+Jesus looked around for help. Judas was heavily built and Jesus had not
+the strength to hold him back. He glanced around for his mother. She was
+not far away, but before she could have gone there, Judas would have had
+ample time to destroy the birds. The tears sprang to Jesus' eyes. Judas
+had already crushed four of his birds. There were only three left.
+
+He was annoyed with his birds, who stood so calmly and let themselves be
+trampled upon without paying the slightest attention to the danger.
+Jesus clapped his hands to awaken them; then he shouted: "Fly, fly!"
+
+Then the three birds began to move their tiny wings, and, fluttering
+anxiously, they succeeded in swinging themselves up to the eaves of the
+house, where they were safe.
+
+But when Judas saw that the birds took to their wings and flew at Jesus'
+command, he began to weep. He tore his hair, as he had seen his elders
+do when they were in great trouble, and he threw himself at Jesus' feet.
+
+Judas lay there and rolled in the dust before Jesus like a dog, and
+kissed his feet and begged that he would raise his foot and crush him,
+as he had done with the clay cuckoos. For Judas loved Jesus and admired
+and worshiped him, and at the same time hated him.
+
+Mary, who sat all the while and watched the children's play, came up and
+lifted Judas in her arms and seated him on her lap, and caressed him.
+
+"You poor child!" she said to him, "you do not know that you have
+attempted something which no mortal can accomplish. Don't engage in
+anything of this kind again, if you do not wish to become the unhappiest
+of mortals! What would happen to any one of us who undertook to compete
+with one who paints with sunbeams and blows the breath of life into dead
+clay?"
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: In the Temple]
+
+                             IN THE TEMPLE
+
+
+Once there was a poor family--a man, his wife, and their little son--who
+walked about in the big Temple at Jerusalem. The son was such a pretty
+child! He had hair which fell in long, even curls, and eyes that shone
+like stars.
+
+The son had not been in the Temple since he was big enough to comprehend
+what he saw; and now his parents showed him all its glories. There were
+long rows of pillars and gilded altars; there were holy men who sat and
+instructed their pupils; there was the high priest with his breastplate
+of precious stones. There were the curtains from Babylon, interwoven
+with gold roses; there were the great copper gates, which were so heavy
+that it was hard work for thirty men to swing them back and forth on
+their hinges.
+
+But the little boy, who was only twelve years old, did not care very
+much about seeing all this. His mother told him that that which she
+showed him was the most marvelous in all the world. She told him that it
+would probably be a long time before he should see anything like it
+again. In the poor town of Nazareth, where they lived, there was nothing
+to be seen but gray streets.
+
+Her exhortations did not help matters much. The little boy looked as
+though he would willingly have run away from the magnificent Temple, if
+instead he could have got out and played on the narrow street in
+Nazareth.
+
+But it was singular that the more indifferent the boy appeared, the more
+pleased and happy were the parents. They nodded to each other over his
+head, and were thoroughly satisfied.
+
+At last, the little one looked so tired and bored that the mother felt
+sorry for him. "Now we have walked too far with you," said she. "Come,
+you shall rest a while."
+
+She sat down beside a pillar and told him to lie down on the ground and
+rest his head on her knee. He did so, and fell asleep instantly.
+
+He had barely closed his eyes when the wife said to the husband: "I have
+never feared anything so much as the moment when he should come here to
+Jerusalem's Temple. I believed that when he saw this house of God, he
+would wish to stay here forever."
+
+"I, too, have been afraid of this journey," said the man. "At the time
+of his birth, many signs and wonders appeared which betokened that he
+would become a great ruler. But what could royal honors bring him except
+worries and dangers? I have always said that it would be best, both for
+him and for us, if he never became anything but a carpenter in
+Nazareth."
+
+"Since his fifth year," said the mother reflectively, "no miracles have
+happened around him. And he does not recall any of the wonders which
+occurred during his early childhood. Now he is exactly like a child
+among other children. God's will be done above all else! But I have
+almost begun to hope that our Lord in His mercy will choose another for
+the great destinies, and let me keep my son with me."
+
+"For my part," said the man, "I am certain that if he learns nothing of
+the signs and wonders which occurred during his first years, then all
+will go well."
+
+"I never speak with him about any of these marvels," said the wife. "But
+I fear all the while that, without my having aught to do with it,
+something will happen which will make him understand who he is. I feared
+most of all to bring him to this Temple."
+
+"You may be glad that the danger is over now," said the man. "We shall
+soon have him back home in Nazareth."
+
+"I have feared the wise men in the Temple," said the woman. "I have
+dreaded the soothsayers who sit here on their rugs. I believed that when
+he should come to their notice, they would stand up and bow before the
+child, and greet him as Judea's King. It is singular that they do not
+notice his beauty. Such a child has never before come under their eyes."
+She sat in silence a moment and regarded the child. "I can hardly
+understand it," said she. "I believed that when he should see these
+judges, who sit in the house of the Holy One and settle the people's
+disputes, and these teachers who talk with their pupils, and these
+priests who serve the Lord, he would wake up and say: 'It is here, among
+these judges, these teachers, these priests, that I am born to live.'"
+
+"What happiness would there be for him to sit shut in between these
+pillar-aisles?" interposed the man. "It is better for him to roam on the
+hills and mountains round about Nazareth."
+
+The mother sighed a little. "He is so happy at home with us!" said she.
+"How contented he seems when he can follow the shepherds on their lonely
+wanderings, or when he can go out in the fields and see the husbandmen
+labor. I can not believe that we are treating him wrongly, when we seek
+to keep him for ourselves."
+
+"We only spare him the greatest suffering," said the man.
+
+They continued talking together in this strain until the child awoke
+from his slumber.
+
+"Well," said the mother, "have you had a good rest? Stand up now, for it
+is drawing on toward evening, and we must return to the camp."
+
+They were in the most remote part of the building and so began the walk
+towards the entrance.
+
+They had to go through an old arch which had been there ever since the
+time when the first Temple was erected on this spot; and near the arch,
+propped against a wall, stood an old copper trumpet, enormous in length
+and weight, almost like a pillar to raise to the mouth and play upon. It
+stood there dented and battered, full of dust and spiders' webs, inside
+and outside, and covered with an almost invisible tracing of ancient
+letters. Probably a thousand years had gone by since any one had tried
+to coax a tone out of it.
+
+But when the little boy saw the huge trumpet, he stopped--astonished!
+"What is that?" he asked.
+
+"That is the great trumpet called the Voice of the Prince of this
+World," replied the mother. "With this, Moses called together the
+Children of Israel, when they were scattered over the wilderness. Since
+his time no one has been able to coax a single tone from it. But he who
+can do this, shall gather all the peoples of earth under his dominion."
+
+She smiled at this, which she believed to be an old myth; but the little
+boy remained standing beside the big trumpet until she called him. This
+trumpet was the first thing he had seen in the Temple that he liked.
+
+They had not gone far before they came to a big, wide Temple-court.
+Here, in the mountain-foundation itself, was a chasm, deep and
+wide--just as it had been from time immemorial. This chasm King Solomon
+had not wished to fill in when he built the Temple. No bridge had been
+laid over it; no inclosure had he built around the steep abyss. But
+instead, he had stretched across it a sword of steel, several feet long,
+sharpened, and with the blade up. And after ages and ages and many
+changes, the sword still lay across the chasm. Now it had almost rusted
+away. It was no longer securely fastened at the ends, but trembled and
+rocked as soon as any one walked with heavy steps in the Temple Court.
+
+When the mother took the boy in a roundabout way past the chasm, he
+asked: "What bridge is this?"
+
+"It was placed there by King Solomon," answered the mother, "and we call
+it Paradise Bridge. If you can cross the chasm on this trembling bridge,
+whose surface is thinner than a sunbeam, then you can be sure of getting
+to Paradise."
+
+She smiled and moved away; but the boy stood still and looked at the
+narrow, trembling steel blade until she called him.
+
+When he obeyed her, she sighed because she had not shown him these two
+remarkable things sooner, so that he might have had sufficient time to
+view them.
+
+Now they walked on without being detained, till they came to the great
+entrance portico with its columns, five-deep. Here, in a corner, were
+two black marble pillars erected on the same foundation, and so close to
+each other that hardly a straw could be squeezed in between them. They
+were tall and majestic, with richly ornamented capitals around which ran
+a row of peculiarly formed beasts' heads. And there was not an inch on
+these beautiful pillars that did not bear marks and scratches. They were
+worn and damaged like nothing else in the Temple. Even the floor around
+them was worn smooth, and was somewhat hollowed out from the wear of
+many feet.
+
+Once more the boy stopped his mother and asked: "What pillars are
+these?"
+
+"They are pillars which our father Abraham brought with him to Palestine
+from far-away Chaldea, and which he called Righteousness' Gate. He who
+can squeeze between them is righteous before God and has never committed
+a sin."
+
+The boy stood still and regarded these pillars with great, open eyes.
+
+"You, surely, do not think of trying to squeeze yourself in between
+them?" laughed the mother. "You see how the floor around them is worn
+away by the many who have attempted to force their way through the
+narrow space; but, believe me, no one has succeeded. Make haste! I hear
+the clanging of the copper gates; the thirty Temple servants have put
+their shoulders to them."
+
+But all night the little boy lay awake in the tent, and he saw before
+him nothing but Righteousness' Gate and Paradise Bridge and the Voice of
+the Prince of this World. Never before had he heard of such wonderful
+things, and he couldn't get them out of his head.
+
+And on the morning of the next day it was the same thing: he couldn't
+think of anything else. That morning they were to leave for home. The
+parents had much to do before they took the tent down and loaded it upon
+a big camel, and before everything else was in order. They were not
+going to travel alone, but in company with many relatives and neighbors.
+And since there were so many, the packing naturally went on very slowly.
+
+The little boy did not assist in the work, but in the midst of the hurry
+and confusion he sat still and thought about the three wonderful things.
+
+Suddenly he concluded that he would have time enough to go back to the
+Temple and take another look at them. There was still much to be packed
+away. He could probably manage to get back from the Temple before the
+departure.
+
+He hastened away without telling any one where he was going to. He
+didn't think it was necessary. He would soon return, of course.
+
+It wasn't long before he reached the Temple and entered the portico
+where the two pillars stood.
+
+As soon as he saw them, his eyes danced with joy. He sat down on the
+floor beside them, and gazed up at them. As he thought that he who could
+squeeze between these two pillars was accounted righteous before God and
+had never committed sin, he fancied he had never seen anything so
+wonderful.
+
+He thought how glorious it would be to be able to squeeze in between the
+two pillars, but they stood so close together that it was impossible
+even to try it. In this way, he sat motionless before the pillars for
+well-nigh an hour; but this he did not know. He thought he had looked at
+them only a few moments.
+
+But it happened that, in the portico where the little boy sat, the
+judges of the high court were assembled to help folks settle their
+differences.
+
+The whole portico was filled with people, who complained about boundary
+lines that had been moved, about sheep which had been carried away from
+the flocks and branded with false marks, about debtors who wouldn't pay.
+
+Among them came a rich man dressed in a trailing purple robe, who
+brought before the court a poor widow who was supposed to owe him a few
+silver shekels. The poor widow cried and said that the rich man dealt
+unjustly with her; she had already paid her debt to him once, and now he
+tried to force her to pay it again, but this she could not afford to do;
+she was so poor that should the judges condemn her to pay, she must give
+her daughters to the rich man as slaves.
+
+Then he who sat in the place of honor on the judges' bench, turned to
+the rich man and said: "Do you dare to swear on oath that this poor
+woman has not already paid you?"
+
+Then the rich man answered: "Lord, I am a rich man. Would I take the
+trouble to demand my money from this poor widow, if I did not have the
+right to it? I swear to you that as certain as that no one shall ever
+walk through Righteousness' Gate does this woman owe me the sum which I
+demand."
+
+When the judges heard this oath they believed him, and doomed the poor
+widow to leave him her daughters as slaves.
+
+But the little boy sat close by and heard all this. He thought to
+himself: What a good thing it would be if some one could squeeze through
+Righteousness' Gate! That rich man certainly did not speak the truth. It
+is a great pity about the poor old woman, who will be compelled to send
+her daughters away to become slaves!
+
+He jumped upon the platform where the two pillars towered into the
+heights, and looked through the crack.
+
+"Ah, that it were not altogether impossible!" thought he.
+
+He was deeply distressed because of the poor woman. Now he didn't think
+at all about the saying that he who could squeeze through Righteousness'
+Gate was holy, and without sin. He wanted to get through only for the
+sake of the poor woman.
+
+He put his shoulder in the groove between the two pillars, as if to make
+a way.
+
+That instant all the people who stood under the portico, looked over
+toward Righteousness' Gate. For it rumbled in the vaults, and it sang in
+the old pillars, and they glided apart--one to the right, and one to the
+left--and made a space wide enough for the boy's slender body to pass
+between them!
+
+Then there arose the greatest wonder and excitement! At first no one
+knew what to say. The people stood and stared at the little boy who had
+worked so great a miracle.
+
+The oldest among the judges was the first one who came to his senses. He
+called out that they should lay hold on the rich merchant, and bring him
+before the judgment seat. And he sentenced him to leave all his goods to
+the poor widow, because he had sworn falsely in God's Temple.
+
+When this was settled, the judge asked after the boy who had passed
+through Righteousness' Gate; but when the people looked around for him,
+he had disappeared. For the very moment the pillars glided apart, he was
+awakened, as from a dream, and remembered the home-journey and his
+parents. "Now I must hasten away from here, so that my parents will not
+have to wait for me," thought he.
+
+He knew not that he had sat a whole hour before Righteousness' Gate, but
+believed he had lingered there only a few minutes; therefore, he thought
+that he would even have time to take a look at Paradise Bridge before he
+left the Temple.
+
+And he slipped through the throng of people and came to Paradise Bridge,
+which was situated in another part of the big temple.
+
+But when he saw the sharp steel sword which was drawn across the chasm,
+he thought how the person who could walk across that bridge was sure of
+reaching Paradise. He believed that this was the most marvelous thing he
+had ever beheld; and he seated himself on the edge of the chasm to look
+at the steel sword.
+
+There he sat down and thought how delightful it would be to reach
+Paradise, and how much he would like to walk across the bridge; but at
+the same time he saw that it would be simply impossible even to attempt
+it.
+
+Thus he sat and mused for two hours, but he did not know how the time
+had flown. He sat there and thought only of Paradise.
+
+But it seems that in the court where the deep chasm was, a large altar
+had been erected, and all around it walked white-robed priests, who
+tended the altar fire and received sacrifices. In the court there were
+many with offerings, and a big crowd who only watched the service.
+
+Then there came a poor old man who brought a lamb which was very small
+and thin, and which had been bitten by a dog and had a large wound.
+
+The man went up to the priests with the lamb and begged that he might
+offer it, but they refused to accept it. They told him that such a
+miserable gift he could not offer to our Lord. The old man implored them
+to accept the lamb out of compassion, for his son lay at the point of
+death, and he possessed nothing else that he could offer to God for his
+restoration. "You must let me offer it," said he, "else my prayers will
+not come before God's face, and my son will die!"
+
+"You must not believe but that I have the greatest sympathy with you,"
+said the priest, "but in the law it is forbidden to sacrifice a damaged
+animal. It is just as impossible to grant your prayers, as it is to
+cross Paradise Bridge."
+
+The little boy did not sit very far away, so he heard all this.
+Instantly he thought what a pity it was that no one could cross the
+bridge. Perhaps the poor man might keep his son if the lamb were
+sacrificed.
+
+The old man left the Temple Court disconsolate, but the boy got up,
+walked over to the trembling bridge, and put his foot on it.
+
+He didn't think at all about wanting to cross it to be certain of
+Paradise. His thoughts were with the poor man, whom he desired to help.
+
+But he drew back his foot, for he thought: "This is impossible. It is
+much too old and rusty, and would not hold even me!"
+
+But once again his thoughts went out to the old man whose son lay at
+death's door. Again he put his foot down upon the blade.
+
+Then he noticed that it ceased to tremble, and that beneath his foot it
+felt broad and secure.
+
+And when he took the next step upon it, he felt that the air around him
+supported him, so that he could not fall. It bore him as though he were
+a bird, and had wings.
+
+But from the suspended sword a sweet tone trembled when the boy walked
+upon it, and one of those who stood in the court turned around when he
+heard the tone. He gave a cry, and then the others turned and saw the
+little boy tripping across the sword.
+
+There was great consternation among all who stood there. The first who
+came to their senses were the priests. They immediately sent a messenger
+after the poor man, and when he came back they said to him: "God has
+performed a miracle to show us that He will accept your offering. Give
+us your lamb and we will sacrifice it."
+
+When this was done they asked for the little boy who had walked across
+the chasm; but when they looked around for him they could not find him.
+
+For just after the boy had crossed the chasm, he happened to think of
+the journey home, and of his parents. He did not know that the morning
+and the whole forenoon were gone, but thought: "I must make haste and
+get back, so that they will not have to wait. But first I want to run
+over and take a look at the Voice of the Prince of this World."
+
+And he stole away through the crowd and ran over to the damp
+pillar-aisle where the copper trumpet stood leaning against the wall.
+
+When he saw it, and thought about the prediction that he who could coax
+a tone from it should one day gather all the peoples of earth under his
+dominion, he fancied that never had he seen anything so wonderful! and
+he sat down beside it and regarded it.
+
+He thought how great it would be to win all the peoples of earth, and
+how much he wished that he could blow in the old trumpet. But he
+understood that it was impossible, so he didn't even dare try.
+
+He sat like this for several hours, but he did not know how the time
+passed. He thought only how marvelous it would be to gather all the
+peoples of earth under his dominion.
+
+But it happened that in this cool passageway sat a holy man who
+instructed his pupils, that sat at his feet.
+
+And now this holy man turned toward one of his pupils and told him that
+he was an impostor. He said the spirit had revealed to him that this
+youth was a stranger, and not an Israelite. And he demanded why he had
+sneaked in among his pupils under a false name.
+
+Then the strange youth rose and said that he had wandered through
+deserts and sailed over great seas that he might hear wisdom and the
+doctrine of the only true God expounded. "My soul was faint with
+longing," he said to the holy man. "But I knew that you would not teach
+me if I did not say that I was an Israelite. Therefore, I lied to you,
+that my longing should be satisfied. And I pray that you will let me
+remain here with you."
+
+But the holy man stood up and raised his arms toward heaven. "It is just
+as impossible to let you remain here with me, as it is that some one
+shall arise and blow in the huge copper trumpet, which we call the Voice
+of the Prince of this World! You are not even permitted to enter this
+part of the Temple. Leave this place at once, or my pupils will throw
+themselves upon you and tear you in pieces, for your presence desecrates
+the Temple."
+
+But the youth stood still, and said: "I do not wish to go elsewhere,
+where my soul can find no nourishment. I would rather die here at your
+feet."
+
+Hardly was this said when the holy man's pupils jumped to their feet, to
+drive him away, and when he made resistance, they threw him down and
+wished to kill him.
+
+But the boy sat very near, so he heard and saw all this, and he thought:
+"This is a great injustice. Oh! if I could only blow in the big copper
+trumpet, he would be helped."
+
+He rose and laid his hand on the trumpet. At this moment he no longer
+wished that he could raise it to his lips because he who could do so
+should be a great ruler, but because he hoped that he might help one
+whose life was in danger.
+
+And he grasped the copper trumpet with his tiny hands, to try and lift
+it.
+
+Then he felt that the huge trumpet raised itself to his lips. And when
+he only breathed, a strong, resonant tone came forth from the trumpet,
+and reverberated all through the great Temple.
+
+Then they all turned their eyes and saw that it was a little boy who
+stood with the trumpet to his lips and coaxed from it tones which made
+foundations and pillars tremble.
+
+Instantly, all the hands which had been lifted to strike the strange
+youth fell, and the holy teacher said to him:
+
+"Come and sit thee here at my feet, as thou didst sit before! God hath
+performed a miracle to show me that it is His wish that thou shouldst be
+consecrated to His service."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+As it drew on toward the close of day, a man and a woman came hurrying
+toward Jerusalem. They looked frightened and anxious, and called out to
+each and every one whom they met: "We have lost our son! We thought he
+had followed our relatives, but none of them have seen him. Has any one
+of you passed a child alone?"
+
+Those who came from Jerusalem answered them: "Indeed, we have not seen
+your son, but in the Temple we saw a most beautiful child! He was like
+an angel from heaven, and he has passed through Righteousness' Gate."
+
+They would gladly have related, very minutely, all about this, but the
+parents had no time to listen.
+
+When they had walked on a little farther, they met other persons and
+questioned them.
+
+But those who came from Jerusalem wished to talk only about a most
+beautiful child who looked as though he had come down from heaven, and
+who had crossed Paradise Bridge.
+
+They would gladly have stopped and talked about this until late at
+night, but the man and woman had no time to listen to them, and hurried
+into the city.
+
+They walked up one street and down another without finding the child. At
+last they reached the Temple. As they came up to it, the woman said:
+"Since we are here, let us go in and see what the child is like, which
+they say has come down from heaven!" They went in and asked where they
+should find the child.
+
+"Go straight on to where the holy teachers sit with their students.
+There you will find the child. The old men have seated him in their
+midst. They question him and he questions them, and they are all amazed
+at him. But all the people stand below in the Temple court, to catch a
+glimpse of the one who has raised the Voice of the Prince of this World
+to his lips."
+
+The man and the woman made their way through the throng of people, and
+saw that the child who sat among the wise teachers was their son.
+
+But as soon as the woman recognized the child she began to weep.
+
+And the boy who sat among the wise men heard that some one wept, and he
+knew that it was his mother. Then he rose and came over to her, and the
+father and mother took him between them and went from the Temple with
+him.
+
+But as the mother continued to weep, the child asked: "Why weepest thou?
+I came to thee as soon as I heard thy voice."
+
+"Should I not weep?" said the mother. "I believed that thou wert lost to
+me."
+
+They went out from the city and darkness came on, and all the while the
+mother wept.
+
+"Why weepest thou?" asked the child. "I did not know that the day was
+spent. I thought it was still morning, and I came to thee as soon as I
+heard thy voice."
+
+"Should I not weep?" said the mother. "I have sought for thee all day
+long. I believed that thou wert lost to me."
+
+They walked the whole night, and the mother wept all the while.
+
+When day began to dawn, the child said: "Why dost thou weep? I have not
+sought mine own glory, but God has let me perform miracles because He
+wanted to help the three poor creatures. As soon as I heard thy voice, I
+came to thee."
+
+"My son," replied the mother. "I weep because thou art none the less
+lost to me. Thou wilt never more belong to me. Henceforth thy life
+ambition shall be righteousness; thy longing, Paradise; and thy love
+shall embrace all the poor human beings who people this earth."
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Saint Veronica's Kerchief]
+
+                       SAINT VERONICA'S KERCHIEF
+
+
+                                   I
+
+During one of the latter years of Emperor Tiberius' reign, a poor
+vine-dresser and his wife came and settled in a solitary hut among the
+Sabine mountains. They were strangers, and lived in absolute solitude
+without ever receiving a visit from a human being. But one morning when
+the laborer opened his door, he found, to his astonishment, that an old
+woman sat huddled up on the threshold. She was wrapped in a plain gray
+mantle, and looked very poor. Nevertheless, she impressed him as being
+so respect-compelling, as she rose and came to meet him, that it made
+him think of what the legends had to say about goddesses who, in the
+form of old women, had visited mortals.
+
+"My friend," said the old woman to the vine-dresser, "you must not
+wonder that I have slept this night on your threshold. My parents lived
+in this hut, and here I was born nearly ninety years ago. I expected to
+find it empty and deserted. I did not know that people still occupied
+it."
+
+"I do not wonder that you thought a hut which lies so high up among
+these desolate hills should stand empty and deserted," said the
+vine-dresser. "But my wife and I come from a foreign land, and as poor
+strangers we have not been able to find a better dwelling-place. But to
+you, who must be tired and hungry after the long journey, which you at
+your extreme age have undertaken, it is perhaps more welcome that the
+hut is occupied by people than by Sabine mountain wolves. You will at
+least find a bed within to rest on, and a bowl of goats' milk, and a
+bread-cake, if you will accept them."
+
+The old woman smiled a little, but this smile was so fleeting that it
+could not dispel the expression of deep sorrow which rested upon her
+countenance.
+
+"I spent my entire youth up here among these mountains," she said. "I
+have not yet forgotten the trick of driving a wolf from his lair."
+
+And she actually looked so strong and vigorous that the laborer didn't
+doubt that she still possessed strength enough, despite her great age,
+to fight with the wild beasts of the forest.
+
+He repeated his invitation, and the old woman stepped into the cottage.
+She sat down to the frugal meal, and partook of it without hesitancy.
+Although she seemed to be well satisfied with the fare of coarse bread
+soaked in goats' milk, both the man and his wife thought: "Where can
+this old wanderer come from? She has certainly eaten pheasants served on
+silver plates oftener than she has drunk goats' milk from earthen
+bowls."
+
+Now and then she raised her eyes from the food and looked around,--as if
+to try and realize that she was back in the hut. The poor old home with
+its bare clay walls and its earth floor was certainly not much changed.
+She pointed out to her hosts that on the walls there were still visible
+some traces of dogs and deer which her father had sketched there to
+amuse his little children. And on a shelf, high up, she thought she saw
+fragments of an earthen dish which she herself had used to measure milk
+in.
+
+The man and his wife thought to themselves: "It must be true that she
+was born in this hut, but she has surely had much more to attend to in
+this life than milking goats and making butter and cheese."
+
+They observed also that her thoughts were often far away, and that she
+sighed heavily and anxiously every time she came back to herself.
+
+Finally she rose from the table. She thanked them graciously for the
+hospitality she had enjoyed, and walked toward the door.
+
+But then it seemed to the vine-dresser that she was pitifully poor and
+lonely, and he exclaimed: "If I am not mistaken, it was not your
+intention, when you dragged yourself up here last night, to leave this
+hut so soon. If you are actually as poor as you seem, it must have been
+your intention to remain here for the rest of your life. But now you
+wish to leave because my wife and I have taken possession of the hut."
+
+The old woman did not deny that he had guessed rightly. "But this hut,
+which for many years has been deserted, belongs to you as much as to
+me," she said. "I have no right to drive you from it."
+
+"It is still your parents' hut," said the laborer, "and you surely have
+a better right to it than we have. Besides, we are young and you are
+old; therefore, you shall remain and we will go."
+
+When the old woman heard this, she was greatly astonished. She turned
+around on the threshold and stared at the man, as though she had not
+understood what he meant by his words.
+
+But now the young wife joined in the conversation.
+
+"If I might suggest," said she to her husband, "I should beg you to ask
+this old woman if she won't look upon us as her own children, and permit
+us to stay with her and take care of her. What service would we render
+her if we gave her this miserable hut and then left her? It would be
+terrible for her to live here in this wilderness alone! And what would
+she live on? It would be just like letting her starve to death."
+
+The old woman went up to the man and his wife and regarded them
+carefully. "Why do you speak thus?" she asked. "Why are you so merciful
+to me? You are strangers."
+
+Then the young wife answered: "It is because we ourselves once met with
+great mercy."
+
+                                   II
+
+This is how the old woman came to live in the vine-dresser's hut. And
+she conceived a great friendship for the young people. But for all that
+she never told them whence she had come, or who she was, and they
+understood that she would not have taken it in good part had they
+questioned her.
+
+But one evening, when the day's work was done, and all three sat on the
+big, flat rock which lay before the entrance, and partook of their
+evening meal, they saw an old man coming up the path.
+
+He was a tall and powerfully built man, with shoulders as broad as a
+gladiator's. His face wore a cheerless and stern expression. The brows
+jutted far out over the deep-set eyes, and the lines around the mouth
+expressed bitterness and contempt. He walked with erect bearing and
+quick movements.
+
+The man wore a simple dress, and the instant the vine-dresser saw him,
+he said: "He is an old soldier, one who has been discharged from service
+and is now on his way home."
+
+When the stranger came directly before them he paused, as if in doubt.
+The laborer, who knew that the road terminated a short distance beyond
+the hut, laid down his spoon and called out to him: "Have you gone
+astray, stranger, since you come hither? Usually, no one takes the
+trouble to climb up here, unless he has an errand to one of us who live
+here."
+
+When he questioned in this manner, the stranger came nearer. "It is as
+you say," said he. "I have taken the wrong road, and now I know not
+whither I shall direct my steps. If you will let me rest here a while,
+and then tell me which path I shall follow to get to some farm, I shall
+be grateful to you."
+
+As he spake he sat down upon one of the stones which lay before the hut.
+The young woman asked him if he wouldn't share their supper, but this he
+declined with a smile. On the other hand it was very evident that he was
+inclined to talk with them, while they ate. He asked the young folks
+about their manner of living, and their work, and they answered him
+frankly and cheerfully.
+
+Suddenly the laborer turned toward the stranger and began to question
+him. "You see in what a lonely and isolated way we live," said he. "It
+must be a year at least since I have talked with any one except
+shepherds and vineyard laborers. Can not you, who must come from some
+camp, tell us something about Rome and the Emperor?"
+
+Hardly had the man said this than the young wife noticed that the old
+woman gave him a warning glance, and made with her hand the sign which
+means--Have a care what you say.
+
+The stranger, meanwhile, answered very affably: "I understand that you
+take me for a soldier, which is not untrue, although I have long since
+left the service. During Tiberius' reign there has not been much work
+for us soldiers. Yet he was once a great commander. Those were the days
+of his good fortune. Now he thinks of nothing except to guard himself
+against conspiracies. In Rome, every one is talking about how, last
+week, he let Senator Titius be seized and executed on the merest
+suspicion."
+
+"The poor Emperor no longer knows what he does!" exclaimed the young
+woman; and shook her head in pity and surprise.
+
+"You are perfectly right," said the stranger, as an expression of the
+deepest melancholy crossed his countenance. "Tiberius knows that every
+one hates him, and this is driving him insane."
+
+"What say you?" the woman retorted. "Why should we hate him? We only
+deplore the fact that he is no longer the great Emperor he was in the
+beginning of his reign."
+
+"You are mistaken," said the stranger. "Every one hates and detests
+Tiberius. Why should they do otherwise? He is nothing but a cruel and
+merciless tyrant. In Rome they think that from now on he will become
+even more unreasonable than he has been."
+
+"Has anything happened, then, which will turn him into a worse beast
+than he is already?" queried the vine-dresser.
+
+When he said this, the wife noticed that the old woman gave him a new
+warning signal, but so stealthily that he could not see it.
+
+The stranger answered him in a kindly manner, but at the same time a
+singular smile played about his lips.
+
+"You have heard, perhaps, that until now Tiberius has had a friend in
+his household on whom he could rely, and who has always told him the
+truth. All the rest who live in his palace are fortune-hunters and
+hypocrites, who praise the Emperor's wicked and cunning acts just as
+much as his good and admirable ones. But there was, as we have said, one
+alone who never feared to let him know how his conduct was actually
+regarded. This person, who was more courageous than senators and
+generals, was the Emperor's old nurse, Faustina."
+
+"I have heard of her," said the laborer. "I've been told that the
+Emperor has always shown her great friendship."
+
+"Yes, Tiberius knew how to prize her affection and loyalty. He treated
+this poor peasant woman, who came from a miserable hut in the Sabine
+mountains, as his second mother. As long as he stayed in Rome, he let
+her live in a mansion on the Palatine, that he might always have her
+near him. None of Rome's noble matrons has fared better than she. She
+was borne through the streets in a litter, and her dress was that of an
+empress. When the Emperor moved to Capri, she had to accompany him, and
+he bought a country estate for her there, and filled it with slaves and
+costly furnishings."
+
+"She has certainly fared well," said the husband.
+
+Now it was he who kept up the conversation with the stranger. The wife
+sat silent and observed with surprise the change which had come over the
+old woman. Since the stranger arrived, she had not spoken a word. She
+had lost her mild and friendly expression. She had pushed her food
+aside, and sat erect and rigid against the door-post, and stared
+straight ahead, with a severe and stony countenance.
+
+"It was the Emperor's intention that she should have a happy life," said
+the stranger. "But, despite all his kindly acts, she too has deserted
+him."
+
+The old woman gave a start at these words, but the young one laid her
+hand quietingly on her arm. Then she began to speak in her soft,
+sympathetic voice. "I can not believe that Faustina has been as happy at
+court as you say," she said, as she turned toward the stranger. "I am
+sure that she has loved Tiberius as if he had been her own son. I can
+understand how proud she has been of his noble youth, and I can even
+understand how it must have grieved her to see him abandon himself in
+his old age to suspicion and cruelty. She has certainly warned and
+admonished him every day. It has been terrible for her always to plead
+in vain. At last she could no longer bear to see him sink lower and
+lower."
+
+The stranger, astonished, leaned forward a bit when he heard this; but
+the young woman did not glance up at him. She kept her eyes lowered, and
+spoke very calmly and gently.
+
+"Perhaps you are right in what you say of the old woman," he replied.
+"Faustina has really not been happy at court. It seems strange,
+nevertheless, that she has left the Emperor in his old age, when she had
+endured him the span of a lifetime."
+
+"What say you?" asked the husband. "Has old Faustina left the Emperor?"
+
+"She has stolen away from Capri without any one's knowledge," said the
+stranger. "She left just as poor as she came. She has not taken one of
+her treasures with her."
+
+"And doesn't the Emperor really know where she has gone?" asked the
+wife.
+
+"No! No one knows for certain what road the old woman has taken. Still,
+one takes it for granted that she has sought refuge among her native
+mountains."
+
+"And the Emperor does not know, either, why she has gone away?" asked
+the young woman.
+
+"No, the Emperor knows nothing of this. He can not believe she left him
+because he once told her that she served him for money and gifts only,
+like all the rest. She knows, however, that he has never doubted her
+unselfishness. He has hoped all along that she would return to him
+voluntarily, for no one knows better than she that he is absolutely
+without friends."
+
+"I do not know her," said the young woman, "but I think I can tell you
+why she has left the Emperor. The old woman was brought up among these
+mountains in simplicity and piety, and she has always longed to come
+back here again. Surely she never would have abandoned the Emperor if he
+had not insulted her. But I understand that, after this, she feels she
+has the right to think of herself, since her days are numbered. If I
+were a poor woman of the mountains, I certainly would have acted as she
+did. I would have thought that I had done enough when I had served my
+master during a whole lifetime. I would at last have abandoned luxury
+and royal favors to give my soul a taste of honor and integrity before
+it left me for the long journey."
+
+The stranger glanced with a deep and tender sadness at the young woman.
+"You do not consider that the Emperor's propensities will become worse
+than ever. Now there is no one who can calm him when suspicion and
+misanthropy take possession of him. Think of this," he continued, as his
+melancholy gaze penetrated deeply into the eyes of the young woman, "in
+all the world there is no one now whom he does not hate; no one whom he
+does not despise--no one!"
+
+As he uttered these words of bitter despair, the old woman made a sudden
+movement and turned toward him, but the young woman looked him straight
+in the eyes and answered: "Tiberius knows that Faustina will come back
+to him whenever he wishes it. But first she must know that her old eyes
+need never more behold vice and infamy at his court."
+
+They had all risen during this speech; but the vine-dresser and his wife
+placed themselves in front of the old woman, as if to shield her.
+
+The stranger did not utter another syllable, but regarded the old woman
+with a questioning glance. Is this _your_ last word also? he seemed to
+want to say. The old woman's lips quivered, but words would not pass
+them.
+
+"If the Emperor has loved his old servant, then he can also let her live
+her last days in peace," said the young woman.
+
+The stranger hesitated still, but suddenly his dark countenance
+brightened. "My friends," said he, "whatever one may say of Tiberius,
+there is one thing which he has learned better than others; and that
+is--renunciation. I have only one thing more to say to you: If this old
+woman, of whom we have spoken, should come to this hut, receive her
+well! The Emperor's favor rests upon any one who succors her."
+
+He wrapped his mantle about him and departed the same way that he had
+come.
+
+                                  III
+
+After this, the vine-dresser and his wife never again spoke to the old
+woman about the Emperor. Between themselves they marveled that she, at
+her great age, had had the strength to renounce all the wealth and power
+to which she had become accustomed. "I wonder if she will not soon go
+back to Tiberius?" they asked themselves. "It is certain that she still
+loves him. It is in the hope that it will awaken him to reason and
+enable him to repent of his low conduct, that she has left him."
+
+"A man as old as the Emperor will never begin a new life," said the
+laborer. "How are you going to rid him of his great contempt for
+mankind? Who could go to him and teach him to love his fellow man? Until
+this happens, he can not be cured of suspicion and cruelty."
+
+"You know that there is one who could actually do it," said the wife. "I
+often think of how it would turn out, if the two should meet. But God's
+ways are not our ways."
+
+The old woman did not seem to miss her former life at all. After a time
+the young wife gave birth to a child. The old woman had the care of it;
+she seemed so content in consequence that one could have thought she had
+forgotten all her sorrows.
+
+Once every half-year she used to wrap her long, gray mantle around her,
+and wander down to Rome. There she did not seek a soul, but went
+straight to the Forum. Here she stopped outside a little temple, which
+was erected on one side of the superbly decorated square.
+
+All there was of this temple was an uncommonly large altar, which stood
+in a marble-paved court under the open sky. On the top of the altar,
+Fortuna, the goddess of happiness, was enthroned, and at its foot was a
+statue of Tiberius. Encircling the court were buildings for the priests,
+storerooms for fuel, and stalls for the beasts of sacrifice.
+
+Old Faustina's journeys never extended beyond this temple, where those
+who would pray for the welfare of Tiberius were wont to come. When she
+cast a glance in there and saw that both the goddess' and the Emperor's
+statue were wreathed in flowers; that the sacrificial fire burned; that
+throngs of reverent worshipers were assembled before the altar, and
+heard the priests' low chants sounding thereabouts, she turned around
+and went back to the mountains.
+
+In this way she learned, without having to question a human being, that
+Tiberius was still among the living, and that all was well with him.
+
+The third time she undertook this journey, she met with a surprise. When
+she reached the little temple, she found it empty and deserted. No fire
+burned before the statue, and not a worshiper was seen. A couple of
+dried garlands still hung on one side of the altar, but this was all
+that testified to its former glory. The priests were gone, and the
+Emperor's statue, which stood there unguarded, was damaged and
+mud-bespattered.
+
+The old woman turned to the first passer-by. "What does this mean?" she
+asked. "Is Tiberius dead? Have we another Emperor?"
+
+"No," replied the Roman, "Tiberius is still Emperor, but we have ceased
+to pray for him. Our prayers can no longer benefit him."
+
+"My friend," said the old woman, "I live far away among the mountains,
+where one learns nothing of what happens out in the world. Won't you
+tell me what dreadful misfortune has overtaken the Emperor?"
+
+"The most dreadful of all misfortunes! He has been stricken with a
+disease which has never before been known in Italy, but which seems to
+be common in the Orient. Since this evil has befallen the Emperor, his
+features are changed, his voice has become like an animal's grunt, and
+his toes and fingers are rotting away. And for this illness there
+appears to be no remedy. They believe that he will die within a few
+weeks. But if he does not die, he will be dethroned, for such an ill and
+wretched man can no longer conduct the affairs of State. You understand,
+of course, that his fate is a foregone conclusion. It is useless to
+invoke the gods for his success, and it is not worth while," he added,
+with a faint smile. "No one has anything more either to fear or hope
+from him. Why, then, should we trouble ourselves on his account?"
+
+He nodded and walked away; but the old woman stood there as if stunned.
+
+For the first time in her life she collapsed, and looked like one whom
+age has subdued. She stood with bent back and trembling head, and with
+hands that groped feebly in the air.
+
+She longed to get away from the place, but she moved her feet slowly.
+She looked around to find something which she could use as a staff.
+
+But after a few moments, by a tremendous effort of the will, she
+succeeded in conquering the faintness.
+
+                                   IV
+
+A week later, old Faustina wandered up the steep inclines on the Island
+of Capri. It was a warm day and the dread consciousness of old age and
+feebleness came over her as she labored up the winding roads and the
+hewn-out steps in the mountain, which led to Tiberius' villa.
+
+This feeling increased when she observed how changed everything had
+become during the time she had been away. In truth, on and alongside
+these steps there had always before been throngs of people. Here it used
+fairly to swarm with senators, borne by giant Libyans; with messengers
+from the provinces attended by long processions of slaves; with
+office-seekers; with noblemen invited to participate in the Emperor's
+feasts.
+
+But to-day the steps and passages were entirely deserted. Gray-greenish
+lizards were the only living things which the old woman saw in her path.
+
+She was amazed to see that already everything appeared to be going to
+ruin. At most, the Emperor's illness could not have progressed more than
+two months, and yet the grass had already taken root in the cracks
+between the marble stones. Rare growths, planted in beautiful vases,
+were already withered and here and there mischievous spoilers, whom no
+one had taken the trouble to stop, had broken down the balustrade.
+
+But to her the most singular thing of all was the entire absence of
+people. Even if strangers were forbidden to appear on the island,
+attendants at least should still be found there: the endless crowds of
+soldiers and slaves; of dancers and musicians; of cooks and stewards; of
+palace-sentinels and gardeners, who belonged to the Emperor's household.
+
+When Faustina reached the upper terrace, she caught sight of two slaves,
+who sat on the steps in front of the villa. As she approached, they rose
+and bowed to her.
+
+"Be greeted, Faustina!" said one of them. "It is a god who sends thee to
+lighten our sorrows."
+
+"What does this mean, Milo?" asked Faustina. "Why is it so deserted
+here? Yet they have told me that Tiberius still lives at Capri."
+
+"The Emperor has driven away all his slaves because he suspects that one
+of us has given him poisoned wine to drink, and that this has brought on
+the illness. He would have driven even Tito and myself away, if we had
+not refused to obey him; yet, as you know, we have all our lives served
+the Emperor and his mother."
+
+"I do not ask after slaves only," said Faustina. "Where are the senators
+and field marshals? Where are the Emperor's intimate friends, and all
+the fawning fortune-hunters?"
+
+"Tiberius does not wish to show himself before strangers," said the
+slave. "Senator Lucius and Marco, Commander of the Life Guard, come here
+every day and receive orders. No one else may approach him."
+
+Faustina had gone up the steps to enter the villa. The slave went before
+her, and on the way she asked: "What say the physicians of Tiberius'
+illness?"
+
+"None of them understands how to treat this illness. They do not even
+know if it kills quickly or slowly. But this I can tell you, Faustina,
+Tiberius must die if he continues to refuse all food for fear it may be
+poisoned. And I know that a sick man can not stay awake night and day,
+as the Emperor does, for fear he may be murdered in his sleep. If he
+will trust you as in former days, you might succeed in making him eat
+and sleep. Thereby you can prolong his life for many days."
+
+The slave conducted Faustina through several passages and courts to a
+terrace which Tiberius used to frequent to enjoy the view of the
+beautiful bays and proud Vesuvius.
+
+When Faustina stepped out upon the terrace, she saw a hideous creature
+with a swollen face and animal-like features. His hands and feet were
+swathed in white bandages, but through the bandages protruded
+half-rotted fingers and toes. And this being's clothes were soiled and
+dusty. It was evident he could not walk erect, but had been obliged to
+crawl out upon the terrace. He lay with closed eyes near the balustrade
+at the farthest end, and did not move when the slave and Faustina came.
+
+Faustina whispered to the slave, who walked before her: "But, Milo, how
+can such a creature be found here on the Emperor's private terrace? Make
+haste, and take him away!"
+
+But she had scarcely said this when she saw the slave bow to the ground
+before the miserable creature who lay there.
+
+"Caesar Tiberius," said he, "at last I have glad tidings to bring thee."
+
+At the same time the slave turned toward Faustina, but he shrank back,
+aghast! and could not speak another word.
+
+He did not behold the proud matron who had looked so strong that one
+might have expected that she would live to the age of a sibyl. In this
+moment, she had drooped into impotent age, and the slave saw before him
+a bent old woman with misty eyes and fumbling hands.
+
+Faustina had certainly heard that the Emperor was terribly changed, yet
+never for a moment had she ceased to think of him as the strong man he
+was when she last saw him. She had also heard some one say that this
+illness progressed slowly, and that it took years to transform a human
+being. But here it had advanced with such virulence that it had made the
+Emperor unrecognizable in just two months.
+
+She tottered up to the Emperor. She could not speak, but stood silent
+beside him, and wept.
+
+"Are you come now, Faustina?" he said, without opening his eyes. "I lay
+and fancied that you stood here and wept over me. I dare not look up for
+fear I will find that it was only an illusion."
+
+Then the old woman sat down beside him. She raised his head and placed
+it on her knee.
+
+But Tiberius lay still, without looking at her. A sense of sweet repose
+enfolded him, and the next moment he sank into a peaceful slumber.
+
+                                   V
+
+A few weeks later, one of the Emperor's slaves came to the lonely hut in
+the Sabine mountains. It drew on toward evening, and the vine-dresser
+and his wife stood in the doorway and saw the sun set in the distant
+west. The slave turned out of the path, and came up and greeted them.
+Thereupon he took a heavy purse, which he carried in his girdle, and
+laid it in the husband's hand.
+
+"This, Faustina, the old woman to whom you have shown compassion, sends
+you," said the slave. "She begs that with this money you will purchase a
+vineyard of your own, and build you a house that does not lie as high in
+the air as the eagles' nests."
+
+"Old Faustina still lives, then?" said the husband. "We have searched
+for her in cleft and morass. When she did not come back to us, I thought
+that she had met her death in these wretched mountains."
+
+"Don't you remember," the wife interposed, "that I would not believe
+that she was dead? Did I not say to you that she had gone back to the
+Emperor?"
+
+This the husband admitted. "And I am glad," he added, "that you were
+right, not only because Faustina has become rich enough to help us out
+of our poverty, but also on the poor Emperor's account."
+
+The slave wanted to say farewell at once, in order to reach densely
+settled quarters before dark, but this the couple would not permit. "You
+must stop with us until morning," said they. "We can not let you go
+before you have told us all that has happened to Faustina. Why has she
+returned to the Emperor? What was their meeting like? Are they glad to
+be together again?"
+
+The slave yielded to these solicitations. He followed them into the hut,
+and during the evening meal he told them all about the Emperor's illness
+and Faustina's return.
+
+When the slave had finished his narrative, he saw that both the man and
+the woman sat motionless--dumb with amazement. Their gaze was fixed on
+the ground, as though not to betray the emotion which affected them.
+
+Finally the man looked up and said to his wife: "Don't you believe God
+has decreed this?"
+
+"Yes," said the wife, "surely it was for this that our Lord sent us
+across the sea to this lonely hut. Surely this was His purpose when He
+sent the old woman to our door."
+
+As soon as the wife had spoken these words, the vine-dresser turned
+again to the slave.
+
+"Friend!" he said to him, "you shall carry a message from me to
+Faustina. Tell her this word for word! Thus your friend the vineyard
+laborer from the Sabine mountains greets you. You have seen the young
+woman, my wife. Did she not appear fair to you, and blooming with
+health? And yet this young woman once suffered from the same disease
+which now has stricken Tiberius."
+
+The slave made a gesture of surprise, but the vine-dresser continued
+with greater emphasis on his words.
+
+"If Faustina refuses to believe my word, tell her that my wife and I
+came from Palestine, in Asia, a land where this disease is common. There
+the law is such that the lepers are driven from the cities and towns,
+and must live in tombs and mountain grottoes. Tell Faustina that my wife
+was born of diseased parents in a mountain grotto. As long as she was a
+child she was healthy, but when she grew up into young maidenhood she
+was stricken with the disease."
+
+The slave bowed, smiled pleasantly, and said: "How can you expect that
+Faustina will believe this? She has seen your wife in her beauty and
+health. And she must know that there is no remedy for this illness."
+
+The man replied: "It were best for her that she believed me. But I am
+not without witnesses. She can send inquiries over to Nazareth, in
+Galilee. There every one will confirm my statement."
+
+"Is it perchance through a miracle of some god that your wife has been
+cured?" asked the slave.
+
+"Yes, it is as you say," answered the laborer. "One day a rumor reached
+the sick who lived in the wilderness: 'Behold, a great Prophet has
+arisen in Nazareth of Galilee. He is filled with the power of God's
+spirit, and he can cure your illness just by laying his hand upon your
+forehead!' But the sick, who lay in their misery, would not believe that
+this rumor was the truth. 'No one can heal us,' they said. 'Since the
+days of the great prophets no one has been able to save one of us from
+this misfortune.'
+
+"But there was one amongst them who believed, and that was a young
+maiden. She left the others to seek her way to the city of Nazareth,
+where the Prophet lived. One day, when she wandered over wide plains,
+she met a man tall of stature, with a pale face and hair which lay in
+even, black curls. His dark eyes shone like stars and drew her toward
+him. But before they met, she called out to him: 'Come not near me, for
+I am unclean, but tell me where I can find the Prophet from Nazareth!'
+But the man continued to walk towards her, and when he stood directly in
+front of her, he said: 'Why seekest thou the Prophet of Nazareth?'--'I
+seek him that he may lay his hand on my forehead and heal me of my
+illness.' Then the man went up and laid his hand upon her brow. But she
+said to him: 'What doth it avail me that you lay your hand upon my
+forehead? You surely are no prophet?' Then he smiled on her and said:
+'Go now into the city which lies yonder at the foot of the mountain, and
+show thyself before the priests!'
+
+"The sick maiden thought to herself: 'He mocks me because I believe I
+can be healed. From him I can not learn what I would know.' And she went
+farther. Soon thereafter she saw a man, who was going out to hunt,
+riding across the wide field. When he came so near that he could hear
+her, she called to him: 'Come not close to me, I am unclean! But tell me
+where I can find the Prophet of Nazareth!' 'What do you want of the
+Prophet?' asked the man, riding slowly toward her. 'I wish only that he
+might lay his hand on my forehead and heal me of my illness.' The man
+rode still nearer. 'Of what illness do you wish to be healed?' said he.
+'Surely you need no physician!' 'Can't you see that I am a leper?' said
+she. 'I was born of diseased parents in a mountain grotto.' But the man
+continued to approach, for she was beautiful and fair, like a new-blown
+rose. 'You are the most beautiful maiden in Judea!' he exclaimed. 'Ah,
+taunt me not--you, too!' said she. 'I know that my features are
+destroyed, and that my voice is like a wild beast's growl.'
+
+"He looked deep into her eyes and said to her: 'Your voice is as
+resonant as the spring brook's when it ripples over pebbles, and your
+face is as smooth as a coverlet of soft satin.'
+
+"That moment he rode so close to her that she could see her face in the
+shining mountings which decorated his saddle. 'You shall look at
+yourself here,' said he. She did so, and saw a face smooth and soft as a
+newly-formed butterfly wing. 'What is this that I see?' she said. 'This
+is not my face!' 'Yes, it is your face,' said the rider. 'But my voice,
+is it not rough? Does it not sound as when wagons are drawn over a stony
+road?' 'No! It sounds like a zither player's sweetest songs,' said the
+rider.
+
+"She turned and pointed toward the road. 'Do you know who that man is
+just disappearing behind the two oaks?' she asked.
+
+"'It is he whom you lately asked after; it is the Prophet from
+Nazareth,' said the man. Then she clasped her hands in astonishment, and
+tears filled her eyes. 'Oh, thou Holy One! Oh, thou Messenger of God's
+power!' she cried. Thou hast healed me!'
+
+"Then the rider lifted her into the saddle and bore her to the city at
+the foot of the mountain and went with her to the priests and elders,
+and told them how he had found her. They questioned her carefully; but
+when they heard that the maiden was born in the wilderness of diseased
+parents, they would not believe that she was healed. 'Go back thither
+whence you came!' said they. 'If you have been ill, you must remain so
+as long as you live. You must not come here to the city, to infect the
+rest of us with your disease.'
+
+"She said to them: 'I know that I am well, for the Prophet from Nazareth
+hath laid his hand upon my forehead.'
+
+"When they heard this they exclaimed: 'Who is he, that he should be able
+to make clean the unclean? All this is but a delusion of the evil
+spirits. Go back to your own, that you may not bring destruction upon
+all of us!'
+
+"They would not declare her healed, and they forbade her to remain in
+the city. They decreed that each and every one who gave her shelter
+should also be adjudged unclean.
+
+"When the priests had pronounced this judgment, the young maiden turned
+to the man who had found her in the field: 'Whither shall I go now? Must
+I go back again to the lepers in the wilderness?'
+
+"But the man lifted her once more upon his horse, and said to her: 'No,
+under no conditions shall you go out to the lepers in their mountain
+caves, but we two shall travel across the sea to another land, where
+there are no laws for clean and unclean.' And they----"
+
+But when the vineyard laborer had got thus far in his narrative, the
+slave arose and interrupted him. "You need not tell any more," said he.
+"Stand up rather and follow me on the way, you who know the mountains,
+so that I can begin my home journey to-night, and not wait until
+morning. The Emperor and Faustina can not hear your tidings a moment too
+soon."
+
+When the vine-dresser had accompanied the slave, and come home again to
+the hut, he found his wife still awake.
+
+"I can not sleep," said she. "I am thinking that these two will meet: he
+who loves all mankind, and he who hates them. Such a meeting would be
+enough to sweep the earth out of existence!"
+
+                                   VI
+
+Old Faustina was in distant Palestine, on her way to Jerusalem. She had
+not desired that the mission to seek the Prophet and bring him to the
+Emperor should be intrusted to any one but herself. She said to herself:
+"That which we demand of this stranger, is something which we can not
+coax from him either by force or bribes. But perhaps he will grant it us
+if some one falls at his feet and tells him in what dire need the
+Emperor is. Who can make an honest plea for Tiberius, but the one who
+suffers from his misfortune as much as he does?"
+
+The hope of possibly saving Tiberius had renewed the old woman's youth.
+She withstood without difficulty the long sea trip to Joppa, and on the
+journey to Jerusalem she made no use of a litter, but rode a horse. She
+appeared to stand the difficult ride as easily as the Roman nobles, the
+soldiers, and the slaves who made up her retinue.
+
+The journey from Joppa to Jerusalem filled the old woman's heart with
+joy and bright hopes. It was springtime, and Sharon's plain, over which
+they had ridden during the first day's travel, had been a brilliant
+carpet of flowers. Even during the second day's journey, when they came
+to the hills of Judea, they were not abandoned by the flowers. All the
+multiformed hills between which the road wound were planted with fruit
+trees, which stood in full bloom. And when the travelers wearied of
+looking at the white and red blossoms of the apricots and persimmons,
+they could rest their eyes by observing the young vine-leaves, which
+pushed their way through the dark brown branches, and their growth was
+so rapid that one could almost follow it with the eye.
+
+It was not only flowers and spring green that made the journey pleasant,
+but the pleasure was enhanced by watching the throngs of people who were
+on their way to Jerusalem this morning. From all the roads and by-paths,
+from lonely heights, and from the most remote corners of the plain came
+travelers. When they had reached the road to Jerusalem, those who
+traveled alone formed themselves into companies and marched forward with
+glad shouts. Round an elderly man, who rode on a jogging camel, walked
+his sons and daughters, his sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and all
+his grandchildren. It was such a large family that it made up an entire
+little village. An old grandmother who was too feeble to walk her sons
+had taken in their arms, and with pride she let herself be borne among
+the crowds, who respectfully stepped aside.
+
+In truth, it was a morning to inspire joy even in the most disconsolate.
+To be sure the sky was not clear, but was o'ercast with a thin
+grayish-white mist, but none of the wayfarers thought of grumbling
+because the sun's piercing brilliancy was dampened. Under this veiled
+sky the perfume of the budding leaves and blossoms did not penetrate the
+air as usual, but lingered over roads and fields. And this beautiful
+day, with its faint mist and hushed winds, which reminded one of Night's
+rest and calm, seemed to communicate to the hastening crowds somewhat of
+itself, so that they went forward happy--yet with solemnity--singing in
+subdued voices ancient hymns, or playing upon peculiar old-fashioned
+instruments, from which came tones like the buzzing of gnats, or
+grasshoppers' piping.
+
+When old Faustina rode forward among all the people, she became infected
+with their joy and excitement. She prodded her horse to quicker speed,
+as she said to a young Roman who rode beside her: "I dreamt last night
+that I saw Tiberius, and he implored me not to postpone the journey, but
+to ride to Jerusalem to-day. It appears as if the gods had wished to
+send me a warning not to neglect to go there this beautiful morning."
+
+Just as she said this, she came to the top of a long mountain ridge, and
+there she was obliged to halt. Before her lay a large, deep
+valley-basin, surrounded by pretty hills, and from the dark, shadowy
+depths of the vale rose the massive mountain which held on its head the
+city of Jerusalem.
+
+But the narrow mountain city, with its walls and towers, which lay like
+a jeweled coronet upon the cliff's smooth height, was this day magnified
+a thousand-fold. All the hills which encircled the valley were bedecked
+with gay tents, and with a swarm of human beings.
+
+It was evident to Faustina that all the inhabitants were on their way to
+Jerusalem to celebrate some great holiday. Those from a distance had
+already come, and had managed to put their tents in order. On the other
+hand, those who lived near the city were still on their way. Along all
+the shining rock-heights one saw them come streaming in like an unbroken
+sea of white robes, of songs, of holiday cheer.
+
+For some time the old woman surveyed these seething throngs of people
+and the long rows of tent-poles. Thereupon she said to the young Roman
+who rode beside her:
+
+"Verily, Sulpicius, the whole nation must have come to Jerusalem."
+
+"It really appears like it," replied the Roman, who had been chosen by
+Tiberius to accompany Faustina because he had, during a number of years,
+lived in Judea. "They celebrate now the great Spring Festival, and at
+this time all the people, both old and young, come to Jerusalem."
+
+Faustina reflected a moment. "I am glad that we came to this city on the
+day that the people celebrate their festival," said she. "It can not
+signify anything else than that the gods protect our journey. Do you
+think it likely that he whom we seek, the Prophet of Nazareth, has also
+come to Jerusalem to participate in the festivities?"
+
+"You are surely right, Faustina," said the Roman. "He must be here in
+Jerusalem. This is indeed a decree of the gods. Strong and vigorous
+though you be, you may consider yourself fortunate if you escape making
+the long and troublesome journey up to Galilee."
+
+At once he rode over to a couple of wayfarers and asked them if they
+thought the Prophet of Nazareth was in Jerusalem.
+
+"We have seen him here every day at this season," answered one. "Surely
+he must be here even this year, for he is a holy and righteous man."
+
+A woman stretched forth her hand and pointed towards a hill, which lay
+east of the city. "Do you see the foot of that mountain, which is
+covered with olive trees?" she said. "It is there that the Galileans
+usually raise their tents, and there you will get the most reliable
+information about him whom you seek."
+
+They journeyed farther, and traveled on a winding path all the way down
+to the bottom of the valley, and then they began to ride up toward
+Zion's hill, to reach the city on its heights. The woman who had spoken
+went along the same way.
+
+The steep ascending road was encompassed here by low walls, and upon
+these countless beggars and cripples sat or lolled. "Look," said the
+woman who had spoken, pointing to one of the beggars who sat on the
+wall, "there is a Galilean! I recollect that I have seen him among the
+Prophet's disciples. He can tell you where you will find him you seek."
+
+Faustina and Sulpicius rode up to the man who had been pointed out to
+her. He was a poor old man with a heavy iron-gray beard. His face was
+bronzed by heat and sunshine. He asked no alms; on the contrary, he was
+so engrossed in anxious thought that he did not even glance at the
+passers-by.
+
+Nor did he hear that Sulpicius addressed him, and the latter had to
+repeat his question several times.
+
+"My friend, I've been told that you are a Galilean. I beg you,
+therefore, to tell me where I shall find the Prophet from Nazareth!"
+
+The Galilean gave a sudden start and looked around him, confused. But
+when he finally comprehended what was wanted of him, he was seized with
+rage mixed with terror. "What are you talking about?" he burst out. "Why
+do you ask me about that man? I know nothing of him. I'm not a
+Galilean."
+
+The Hebrew woman now joined in the conversation. "Still I have seen you
+in his company," she protested. "Do not fear, but tell this noble Roman
+lady, who is the Emperor's friend, where she is most likely to find
+him."
+
+But the terrified disciple grew more and more irascible. "Have all the
+people gone mad to-day?" said he. "Are they possessed by an evil spirit,
+since they come again and again and ask me about that man? Why will no
+one believe me when I say that I do not know the Prophet? I do not come
+from his country. I have never seen him."
+
+His irritability attracted attention, and a couple of beggars who sat on
+the wall beside him also began to dispute his word.
+
+"Certainly you were among his disciples," said one. "We all know that
+you came with him from Galilee."
+
+Then the man raised his arms toward heaven and cried: "I could not
+endure it in Jerusalem to-day on that man's account, and now they will
+not even leave me in peace out here among the beggars! Why don't you
+believe me when I say to you that I have never seen him?"
+
+Faustina turned away with a shrug. "Let us go farther!" said she. "The
+man is mad. From him we will learn nothing."
+
+They went farther up the mountain. Faustina was not more than two steps
+from the city gate, when the Hebrew woman who had wished to help her
+find the Prophet called to her to be careful. She pulled in her reins
+and saw that a man lay in the road, just in front of the horse's feet,
+where the crush was greatest. It was a miracle that he had not already
+been trampled to death by animals or people.
+
+The man lay upon his back and stared upward with lusterless eyes. He did
+not move, although the camels placed their heavy feet close beside him.
+He was poorly clad, and besides he was covered with dust and dirt. In
+fact, he had thrown so much gravel over himself that it looked as if he
+tried to hide himself, to be more easily over-ridden and trampled down.
+
+"What does this mean? Why does this man lie here on the road?" asked
+Faustina.
+
+Instantly the man began shouting to the passers-by:
+
+"In mercy, brothers and sisters, drive your horses and camels over me!
+Do not turn aside for me! Trample me to dust! I have betrayed innocent
+blood. Trample me to dust!"
+
+Sulpicius caught Faustina's horse by the bridle and turned it to one
+side. "It is a sinner who wants to do penance," said he. "Do not let
+this delay your journey. These people are peculiar and one must let them
+follow their own bent."
+
+The man in the road continued to shout: "Set your heels on my heart! Let
+the camels crush my breast and the asses dig their hoofs into my eyes!"
+
+But Faustina seemed loath to ride past the miserable man without trying
+to make him rise. She remained all the while beside him.
+
+The Hebrew woman who had wished to serve her once before, pushed her way
+forward again. "This man also belonged to the Prophet's disciples," said
+she. "Do you wish me to ask him about his Master?"
+
+Faustina nodded affirmatively, and the woman bent down over the man.
+
+"What have you Galileans done this day with your Master?" she asked. "I
+meet you scattered on highways and byways, but him I see nowhere."
+
+But when she questioned in this manner, the man who lay in the dust rose
+to his knees. "What evil spirit hath possessed you to ask me about him?"
+he said, in a voice that was filled with despair. "You see, surely, that
+I have lain down in the road to be trampled to death. Is not that enough
+for you? Shall you come also and ask me what I have done with him?"
+
+When she repeated the question, the man staggered to his feet and put
+both hands to his ears.
+
+"Woe unto you, that you can not let me die in peace!" he cried. He
+forced his way through the crowds that thronged in front of the gate,
+and rushed away shrieking with terror, while his torn robe fluttered
+around him like dark wings.
+
+"It appears to me as though we had come to a nation of madmen," said
+Faustina, when she saw the man flee. She had become depressed by seeing
+these disciples of the Prophet. Could the man who numbered such fools
+among his followers do anything for the Emperor?
+
+Even the Hebrew woman looked distressed, and she said very earnestly to
+Faustina: "Mistress, delay not in your search for him whom you would
+find! I fear some evil has befallen him, since his disciples are beside
+themselves and can not bear to hear him spoken of."
+
+Faustina and her retinue finally rode through the gate archway and came
+in on the narrow and dark streets, which were alive with people. It
+seemed well-nigh impossible to get through the city. The riders time and
+again had to stand still. Slaves and soldiers tried in vain to clear the
+way. The people continued to rush on in a compact, irresistible stream.
+
+"Verily," said the old woman, "the streets of Rome are peaceful pleasure
+gardens compared with these!"
+
+Sulpicius soon saw that almost insurmountable difficulties awaited them.
+
+"On these overcrowded streets it is easier to walk than to ride," said
+he. "If you are not too fatigued, I should advise you to walk to the
+Governor's palace. It is a good distance away, but if we ride we
+certainly will not get there until after midnight."
+
+Faustina accepted the suggestion at once. She dismounted, and left her
+horse with one of the slaves. Thereupon the Roman travelers began to
+walk through the city.
+
+This was much better. They pushed their way quickly toward the heart of
+the city, and Sulpicius showed Faustina a rather wide street, which they
+were nearing.
+
+"Look, Faustina," he said, "if we take this street, we will soon be
+there. It leads directly down to our quarters."
+
+But just as they were about to turn into the street, the worst obstacle
+met them.
+
+It happened that the very moment when Faustina reached the street which
+extended from the Governor's palace to Righteousness' Gate and Golgotha,
+they brought through it a prisoner, who was to be taken out and
+crucified. Before him ran a crowd of wild youths who wanted to witness
+the execution. They raced up the street, waved their arms in rapture
+towards the hill, and emitted unintelligible howls--in their delight at
+being allowed to view something which they did not see every day.
+
+Behind them came companies of men in silken robes, who appeared to
+belong to the city's elite and foremost. Then came women, many of whom
+had tear-stained faces. A gathering of poor and maimed staggered
+forward, uttering shrieks that pierced the ears.
+
+"O God!" they cried, "save him! Send Thine angel and save him! Send a
+deliverer in his direst need!"
+
+Finally there came a few Roman soldiers on great horses. They kept guard
+so that none of the people could dash up to the prisoner and try to
+rescue him.
+
+Directly behind them followed the executioners, whose task it was to
+lead forward the man that was to be crucified. They had laid a heavy
+wooden cross over his shoulder, but he was too weak for this burden. It
+weighed him down so that his body was almost bent to the ground. He held
+his head down so far that no one could see his face.
+
+Faustina stood at the opening of the little bystreet and saw the doomed
+man's heavy tread. She noticed, with surprise, that he wore a purple
+mantle, and that a crown of thorns was pressed down upon his head.
+
+"Who is this man?" she asked.
+
+One of the bystanders answered her: "It is one who wished to make
+himself Emperor."
+
+"And must he suffer death for a thing which is scarcely worth striving
+after?" said the old woman sadly.
+
+The doomed man staggered under the cross. He dragged himself forward
+more and more slowly. The executioners had tied a rope around his waist,
+and they began to pull on it to hasten the speed. But as they pulled the
+rope the man fell, and lay there with the cross over him.
+
+There was a terrible uproar. The Roman soldiers had all they could do to
+hold the crowds back. They drew their swords on a couple of women who
+tried to rush forward to help the fallen man. The executioners attempted
+to force him up with cuffs and lashes, but he could not move because of
+the cross. Finally two of them took hold of the cross to remove it.
+
+Then he raised his head, and old Faustina could see his face. The cheeks
+were streaked by lashes from a whip, and from his brow, which was
+wounded by the thorn-crown, trickled some drops of blood. His hair hung
+in knotted tangles, clotted with sweat and blood. His jaw was firm set,
+but his lips trembled, as if they struggled to suppress a cry. His eyes,
+tear-filled and almost blinded from torture and fatigue, stared straight
+ahead.
+
+But back of this half-dead person's face, the old woman saw--as in a
+vision--a pale and beautiful One with glorious, majestic eyes and gentle
+features, and she was seized with sudden grief--touched by the unknown
+man's misfortune and degradation.
+
+"Oh, what have they done with you, you poor soul!" she burst out, and
+moved a step nearer him, while her eyes filled with tears. She forgot
+her own sorrow and anxiety for this tortured man's distress. She thought
+her heart would burst from pity. She, like the other women, wanted to
+rush forward and tear him away from the executioners!
+
+The fallen man saw how she came toward him, and he crept closer to her.
+It was as though he had expected to find protection with her against all
+those who persecuted and tortured him. He embraced her knees. He pressed
+himself against her, like a child who clings close to his mother for
+safety.
+
+The old woman bent over him, and as the tears streamed down her cheeks,
+she felt the most blissful joy because he had come and sought protection
+with her. She placed one arm around his neck, and as a mother first of
+all wipes away the tears from her child's eyes, she laid her kerchief of
+sheer fine linen over his face, to wipe away the tears and the blood.
+
+But now the executioners were ready with the cross. They came now and
+snatched away the prisoner. Impatient over the delay, they dragged him
+off in wild haste. The condemned man uttered a groan when he was led
+away from the refuge he had found, but he made no resistance.
+
+Faustina embraced him to hold him back, and when her feeble old hands
+were powerless and she saw him borne away, she felt as if some one had
+torn from her her own child, and she cried: "No, no! Do not take him
+from me! He must not die! He shall not die!"
+
+She felt the most intense grief and indignation because he was being led
+away. She wanted to rush after him. She wanted to fight with the
+executioners and tear him from them.
+
+But with the first step she took, she was seized with weakness and
+dizziness. Sulpicius made haste to place his arm around her, to prevent
+her from falling.
+
+On one side of the street he saw a little shop, and carried her in.
+There was neither bench nor chair inside, but the shopkeeper was a
+kindly man. He helped her over to a rug, and arranged a bed for her on
+the stone floor.
+
+She was not unconscious, but such a great dizziness had seized her that
+she could not sit up, but was forced to lie down.
+
+"She has made a long journey to-day, and the noise and crush in the city
+have been too much for her," said Sulpicius to the merchant. "She is
+very old, and no one is so strong as not to be conquered by age."
+
+"This is a trying day, even for one who is not old," said the merchant.
+"The air is almost too heavy to breathe. It would not surprise me if a
+severe storm were in store for us."
+
+Sulpicius bent over the old woman. She had fallen asleep, and she slept
+with calm, regular respirations after all the excitement and fatigue.
+
+He walked over to the shop door, stood there, and looked at the crowds
+while he awaited her waking.
+
+                                  VII
+
+The Roman governor at Jerusalem had a young wife, and she had had a
+dream during the night preceding the day when Faustina entered the city.
+
+She dreamed that she stood on the roof of her house and looked down upon
+the beautiful court, which, according to the Oriental custom, was paved
+with marble, and planted with rare growths.
+
+But in the court she saw assembled all the sick and blind and halt there
+were in the world. She saw before her the pest-ridden, with bodies
+swollen with boils; lepers with disfigured faces; the paralytics, who
+could not move, but lay helpless upon the ground, and all the wretched
+creatures who writhed in torment and pain.
+
+They all crowded up towards the entrance, to get into the house; and a
+number of those who walked foremost pounded on the palace door.
+
+At last she saw that a slave opened the door and came out on the
+threshold, and she heard him ask what they wanted.
+
+Then they answered him, saying: "We seek the great Prophet whom God hath
+sent to the world. Where is the Prophet of Nazareth, he who is master of
+all suffering? Where is he who can deliver us from all our torment?"
+
+Then the slave answered them in an arrogant and indifferent tone--as
+palace servants do when they turn away the poor stranger:
+
+"It will profit you nothing to seek the great Prophet. Pilate has killed
+him."
+
+Then there arose among all the sick a grief and a moaning and a gnashing
+of teeth which she could not bear to hear. Her heart was wrung with
+compassion, and tears streamed from her eyes. But when she had begun to
+weep, she awakened.
+
+Again she fell asleep; and again she dreamed that she stood on the roof
+of her house and looked down upon the big court, which was as broad as a
+square.
+
+And behold! the court was filled with all the insane and soul-sick and
+those possessed of evil spirits. And she saw those who were naked and
+those who were covered with their long hair, and those who had braided
+themselves crowns of straw and mantles of grass and believed they were
+kings, and those who crawled on the ground and thought themselves
+beasts, and those who came dragging heavy stones, which they believed to
+be gold, and those who thought that the evil spirits spoke through their
+mouths.
+
+She saw all these crowd up toward the palace gate. And the ones who
+stood nearest to it knocked and pounded to get in.
+
+At last the door opened, and a slave stepped out on the threshold and
+asked: "What do you want?"
+
+Then all began to cry aloud, saying: "Where is the great Prophet of
+Nazareth, he who was sent of God, and who shall restore to us our souls
+and our wits?"
+
+She heard the slave answer them in the most indifferent tone: "It is
+useless for you to seek the great Prophet, Pilate has killed him."
+
+When this was said, they uttered a shriek as wild as a beast's howl, and
+in their despair they began to lacerate themselves until the blood ran
+down on the stones. And when she that dreamed saw their distress, she
+wrung her hands and moaned. And her own moans awakened her.
+
+But again she fell asleep, and again, in her dream, she was on the roof
+of her house. Round about her sat her slaves, who played for her upon
+cymbals and zithers, and the almond trees shook their white blossoms
+over her, and clambering rose-vines exhaled their perfume.
+
+As she sat there, a voice spoke to her: "Go over to the balustrade which
+incloses the roof, and see who they are that stand and wait in your
+court!"
+
+But in the dream she declined, and said: "I do not care to see any more
+of those who throng my court to-night."
+
+Just then she heard a clanking of chains and a pounding of heavy
+hammers, and the pounding of wood against wood. Her slaves ceased their
+singing and playing and hurried over to the railing and looked down. Nor
+could she herself remain seated, but walked thither and looked down on
+the court.
+
+Then she saw that the court was filled with all the poor prisoners in
+the world. She saw those who must lie in dark prison dungeons, fettered
+with heavy chains; she saw those who labored in the dark mines come
+dragging their heavy planks, and those who were rowers on war galleys
+come with their heavy iron-bound oars. And those who were condemned to
+be crucified came dragging their crosses, and those who were to be
+beheaded came with their broadaxes. She saw those who were sent into
+slavery to foreign lands and whose eyes burned with homesickness. She
+saw those who must serve as beasts of burden, and whose backs were
+bleeding from lashes.
+
+All these unfortunates cried as with one voice: "Open, open!"
+
+Then the slave who guarded the entrance stepped to the door and asked:
+"What is it that you wish?"
+
+And these answered like the others: "We seek the great Prophet of
+Nazareth, who has come to the world to give the prisoners their freedom
+and the slaves their lost happiness."
+
+The slave answered them in a tired and indifferent tone: "You can not
+find him here. Pilate has killed him."
+
+When this was said, she who dreamed thought that among all the unhappy
+there arose such an outburst of scorn and blasphemy that heaven and
+earth trembled. She was ice-cold with fright, and her body shook so that
+she awaked.
+
+When she was thoroughly awake, she sat up in bed and thought to herself:
+"I would not dream more. Now I want to remain awake all night, that I
+may escape seeing more of this horror."
+
+And even whilst she was thinking thus, drowsiness crept in upon her
+anew, and she laid her head on the pillow and fell asleep.
+
+Again she dreamed that she sat on the roof of her house, and now her
+little son ran back and forth up there, and played with a ball.
+
+Then she heard a voice that said to her: "Go over to the balustrade,
+which incloses the roof, and see who they are that stand and wait in
+your court!" But she who dreamed said to herself: "I have seen enough
+misery this night. I can not endure any more. I would remain where I
+am."
+
+At that moment her son threw his ball so that it dropped outside the
+balustrade, and the child ran forward and clambered up on the railing.
+Then she was frightened. She rushed over and seized hold of the child.
+
+But with that she happened to cast her eyes downward, and once more she
+saw that the court was full of people.
+
+In the court were all the peoples of earth who had been wounded in
+battle. They came with severed bodies, with cut-off limbs, and with big
+open wounds from which the blood oozed, so that the whole court was
+drenched with it.
+
+And beside these, came all the people in the world who had lost their
+loved ones on the battlefield. They were the fatherless who mourned
+their protectors, and the young maidens who cried for their lovers, and
+the aged who sighed for their sons.
+
+The foremost among them pushed against the door, and the watchman came
+out as before, and opened it.
+
+He asked all these, who had been wounded in battles and skirmishes:
+"What seek ye in this house?"
+
+And they answered: "We seek the great Prophet of Nazareth, who shall
+prohibit wars and rumors of wars and bring peace to the earth. We seek
+him who shall convert spears into scythes and swords into pruning
+hooks."
+
+Then answered the slave somewhat impatiently: "Let no more come to
+pester me! I have already said it often enough. The great Prophet is not
+here. Pilate has killed him."
+
+Thereupon he closed the gate. But she who dreamed thought of all the
+lamentation which would come now. "I do not wish to hear it," said she,
+and rushed away from the balustrade. That instant she awoke. Then she
+discovered that in her terror she had jumped out of her bed and down on
+the cold stone floor.
+
+Again she thought she did not want to sleep more that night, and again
+sleep overpowered her, and she closed her eyes and began to dream.
+
+She sat once more on the roof of her house, and beside her stood her
+husband. She told him of her dreams, and he ridiculed her.
+
+Again she heard a voice, which said to her: "Go see the people who wait
+in your court!"
+
+But she thought: "I would not see them. I have seen enough misery
+to-night."
+
+Just then she heard three loud raps on the gate, and her husband walked
+over to the balustrade to see who it was that asked admittance to his
+house.
+
+But no sooner had he leaned over the railing, than he beckoned to his
+wife to come over to him.
+
+"Know you not this man?" said he, and pointed down.
+
+When she looked down on the court, she found that it was filled with
+horses and riders, slaves were busy unloading asses and camels. It
+looked as though a distinguished traveler might have landed.
+
+At the entrance gate stood the traveler. He was a large elderly man with
+broad shoulders and a heavy and gloomy appearance.
+
+The dreamer recognized the stranger instantly, and whispered to her
+husband: "It is Caesar Tiberius, who is here in Jerusalem. It can not be
+any one else."
+
+"I also seem to recognize him," said her husband; at the same time he
+placed his finger on his mouth, as a signal that they should be quiet
+and listen to what was said down in the court.
+
+They saw that the doorkeeper came out and asked the stranger: "Whom seek
+you?"
+
+And the traveler answered: "I seek the great Prophet of Nazareth, who is
+endowed with God's power to perform miracles. It is Emperor Tiberius who
+calls him, that he may liberate him from a terrible disease, which no
+other physician can cure."
+
+When he had spoken, the slave bowed very humbly and said: "My lord, be
+not wroth! but your wish can not be fulfilled."
+
+Then the Emperor turned toward his slaves, who waited below in the
+court, and gave them a command.
+
+Then the slaves hastened forward--some with handfuls of ornaments,
+others carried goblets studded with pearls, other again dragged sacks
+filled with gold coin.
+
+The Emperor turned to the slave who guarded the gate, and said: "All
+this shall be his, if he helps Tiberius. With this he can give riches to
+all the world's poor."
+
+But the doorkeeper bowed still lower and said: "Master, be not wroth
+with thy servant, but thy request can not be fulfilled."
+
+Then the Emperor beckoned again to his slaves, and a pair of them
+hurried forward with a richly embroidered robe, upon which glittered a
+breastpiece of jewels.
+
+And the Emperor said to the slave: "See! This which I offer him is the
+power over Judea. He shall rule his people like the highest judge, if he
+will only come and heal Tiberius!"
+
+The slave bowed still nearer the earth, and said: "Master, it is not
+within my power to help you."
+
+Then the Emperor beckoned once again, and his slaves rushed up with a
+golden coronet and a purple mantle.
+
+"See," he said, "this is the Emperor's will: He promises to appoint the
+Prophet his successor, and give him dominion over the world. He shall
+have power to rule the world according to his God's will, if he will
+only stretch forth his hand and heal Tiberius!"
+
+Then the slave fell at the Emperor's feet and said in an imploring tone:
+"Master, it does not lie in my power to attend to thy command. He whom
+thou seekest is no longer here. Pilate hath killed him."
+
+                                  VIII
+
+When the young woman awoke, it was already full, clear day, and her
+female slaves stood and waited that they might help her dress.
+
+She was very silent while she dressed, but finally she asked the slave
+who arranged her hair, if her husband was up. She learned that he had
+been called out to pass judgment on a criminal. "I should have liked to
+talk with him," said the young woman.
+
+"Mistress," said the slave, "it will be difficult to do so during the
+trial. We will let you know as soon as it is over."
+
+She sat silent now until her toilet was completed. Then she asked: "Has
+any among you heard of the Prophet of Nazareth?"
+
+"The Prophet of Nazareth is a Jewish miracle performer," answered one of
+the slaves instantly.
+
+"It is strange, Mistress, that you should ask after him to-day," said
+another slave. "It is just he whom the Jews have brought here to the
+palace, to let him be tried by the Governor."
+
+She bade them go at once and ascertain for what cause he was arraigned,
+and one of the slaves withdrew. When she returned she said: "They accuse
+him of wanting to make himself King over this land, and they entreat the
+Governor to let him be crucified."
+
+When the Governor's wife heard this, she grew terrified and said: "I
+must speak with my husband, otherwise a terrible calamity will happen
+here this day."
+
+When the slaves said once again that this was impossible, she began to
+weep and shudder. And one among them was touched, so she said: "If you
+will send a written message to the Governor, I will try and take it to
+him."
+
+Immediately she took a stylus and wrote a few words on a wax tablet, and
+this was given to Pilate.
+
+But him she did not meet alone the whole day; for when he had dismissed
+the Jews, and the condemned man was taken to the place of execution, the
+hour for repast was come, and to this Pilate had invited a few of the
+Romans who visited Jerusalem at this season. They were the commander of
+the troops and a young instructor in oratory, and several others
+besides.
+
+This repast was not very gay, for the Governor's wife sat all the while
+silent and dejected, and took no part in the conversation.
+
+When the guests asked if she was ill or distraught, the Governor
+laughingly related about the message she had sent him in the morning. He
+chaffed her because she had believed that a Roman governor would let
+himself be guided in his judgments by a woman's dreams.
+
+She answered gently and sadly: "In truth, it was no dream, but a warning
+sent by the gods. You should at least have let the man live through this
+one day."
+
+They saw that she was seriously distressed. She would not be comforted,
+no matter how much the guests exerted themselves, by keeping up the
+conversation to make her forget these empty fancies.
+
+But after a while one of them raised his head and exclaimed: "What is
+this? Have we sat so long at table that the day is already gone?"
+
+All looked up now, and they observed that a dim twilight settled down
+over nature. Above all, it was remarkable to see how the whole
+variegated play of color which it spread over all creatures and objects,
+faded away slowly, so that all looked a uniform gray.
+
+Like everything else, even their own faces lost their color. "We
+actually look like the dead," said the young orator with a shudder. "Our
+cheeks are gray and our lips black."
+
+As this darkness grew more intense, the woman's fear increased. "Oh, my
+friend!" she burst out at last. "Can't you perceive even now that the
+Immortals would warn you? They are incensed because you condemned a holy
+and innocent man. I am thinking that although he may already be on the
+cross, he is surely not dead yet. Let him be taken down from the cross!
+I would with mine own hands nurse his wounds. Only grant that he be
+called back to life!"
+
+But Pilate answered laughingly: "You are surely right in that this is a
+sign from the gods. But they do not let the sun lose its luster because
+a Jewish heretic has been condemned to the cross. On the contrary, we
+may expect that important matters shall appear, which concern the whole
+kingdom. Who can tell how long old Tiberius----"
+
+He did not finish the sentence, for the darkness had become so profound
+he could not see even the wine goblet standing in front of him. He broke
+off, therefore, to order the slaves to fetch some lamps instantly.
+
+When it had become so light that he could see the faces of his guests,
+it was impossible for him not to notice the depression which had come
+over them. "Mark you!" he said half-angrily to his wife. "Now it is
+apparent to me that you have succeeded with your dreams in driving away
+the joys of the table. But if it must needs be that you can not think of
+anything else to-day, then let us hear what you have dreamed. Tell it us
+and we will try to interpret its meaning!"
+
+For this the young wife was ready at once. And while she related vision
+after vision, the guests grew more and more serious. They ceased
+emptying their goblets, and they sat with brows knit. The only one who
+continued to laugh and to call the whole thing madness, was the Governor
+himself.
+
+When the narrative was ended, the young rhetorician said: "Truly, this
+is something more than a dream, for I have seen this day not the
+Emperor, but his old friend Faustina, march into the city. Only it
+surprises me that she has not already appeared in the Governor's
+palace."
+
+"There is actually a rumor abroad to the effect that the Emperor has
+been stricken with a terrible illness," observed the leader of the
+troops. "It also seems very possible to me that your wife's dream may be
+a god-sent warning."
+
+"There's nothing incredible in this, that Tiberius has sent messengers
+after the Prophet to summon him to his sick-bed," agreed the young
+rhetorician.
+
+The Commander turned with profound seriousness toward Pilate. "If the
+Emperor has actually taken it into his head to let this miracle-worker
+be summoned, it were better for you and for all of us that he found him
+alive."
+
+Pilate answered irritably: "Is it the darkness that has turned you into
+children? One would think that you had all been transformed into
+dream-interpreters and prophets."
+
+But the courtier continued his argument: "It may not be impossible,
+perhaps, to save the man's life, if you sent a swift messenger."
+
+"You want to make a laughing-stock of me," answered the Governor. "Tell
+me, what would become of law and order in this land, if they learned
+that the Governor pardoned a criminal because his wife has dreamed a bad
+dream?"
+
+"It is the truth, however, and not a dream, that I have seen Faustina in
+Jerusalem," said the young orator.
+
+"I shall take the responsibility of defending my actions before the
+Emperor," said Pilate. "He will understand that this visionary, who let
+himself be misused by my soldiers without resistance, would not have had
+the power to help him."
+
+As he was speaking, the house was shaken by a noise like a powerful
+rolling thunder, and an earthquake shook the ground. The Governor's
+palace stood intact, but during some minutes just after the earthquake,
+a terrific crash of crumbling houses and falling pillars was heard.
+
+As soon as a human voice could make itself heard, the Governor called a
+slave.
+
+"Run out to the place of execution and command in my name that the
+Prophet of Nazareth shall be taken down from the cross!"
+
+The slave hurried away. The guests filed from the dining-hall out on the
+peristyle, to be under the open sky in case the earthquake should be
+repeated. No one dared to utter a word, while they awaited the slave's
+return.
+
+He came back very shortly. He stopped before the Governor.
+
+"You found him alive?" said he.
+
+"Master, he was dead, and on the very second that he gave up the ghost,
+the earthquake occurred."
+
+The words were hardly spoken when two loud knocks sounded against the
+outer gate. When these knocks were heard, they all staggered back and
+leaped up, as though it had been a new earthquake.
+
+Immediately afterwards a slave came up.
+
+"It is the noble Faustina and the Emperor's kinsman Sulpicius. They are
+come to beg you help them find the Prophet from Nazareth."
+
+A low murmur passed through the peristyle, and soft footfalls were
+heard. When the Governor looked around, he noticed that his friends had
+withdrawn from him, as from one upon whom misfortune has fallen.
+
+                                   IX
+
+Old Faustina had returned to Capri and had sought out the Emperor. She
+told him her story, and while she spoke she hardly dared look at him.
+During her absence the illness had made frightful ravages, and she
+thought to herself: "If there had been any pity among the Celestials,
+they would have let me die before being forced to tell this poor,
+tortured man that all hope is gone."
+
+To her astonishment, Tiberius listened to her with the utmost
+indifference. When she related how the great miracle performer had been
+crucified the same day that she had arrived in Jerusalem, and how near
+she had been to saving him, she began to weep under the weight of her
+failure. But Tiberius only remarked: "You actually grieve over this? Ah,
+Faustina! A whole lifetime in Rome has not weaned you then of faith in
+sorcerers and miracle workers, which you imbibed during your childhood
+in the Sabine mountains!"
+
+Then the old woman perceived that Tiberius had never expected any help
+from the Prophet of Nazareth.
+
+"Why did you let me make the journey to that distant land, if you
+believed all the while that it was useless?"
+
+"You are the only friend I have," said the Emperor. "Why should I deny
+your prayer, so long as I still have the power to grant it."
+
+But the old woman did not like it that the Emperor had taken her for a
+fool.
+
+"Ah! this is your usual cunning," she burst out. "This is just what I
+can tolerate least in you."
+
+"You should not have come back to me," said Tiberius. "You should have
+remained in the mountains."
+
+It looked for a moment as if these two, who had clashed so often, would
+again fall into a war of words, but the old woman's anger subsided
+immediately. The times were past when she could quarrel in earnest with
+the Emperor. She lowered her voice again; but she could not altogether
+relinquish every effort to obtain justice.
+
+"But this man was really a prophet," she said. "I have seen him. When
+his eyes met mine, I thought he was a god. I was mad to allow him to go
+to his death."
+
+"I am glad you let him die," said Tiberius. "He was a traitor and a
+dangerous agitator."
+
+Faustina was about to burst into another passion--then checked herself.
+
+"I have spoken with many of his friends in Jerusalem about him," said
+she. "He had not committed the crimes for which he was arraigned."
+
+"Even if he had not committed just these crimes, he was surely no better
+than any one else," said the Emperor wearily. "Where will you find the
+person who during his lifetime has not a thousand times deserved death?"
+
+But these remarks of the Emperor decided Faustina to undertake something
+which she had until now hesitated about. "I will show you a proof of his
+power," said she. "I said to you just now that I laid my kerchief over
+his face. It is the same kerchief which I hold in my hand. Will you look
+at it a moment?"
+
+She spread the kerchief out before the Emperor, and he saw delineated
+thereon the shadowy likeness of a human face.
+
+The old woman's voice shook with emotion as she continued: "This man saw
+that I loved him. I know not by what power he was enabled to leave me
+his portrait. But mine eyes fill up with tears when I see it."
+
+The Emperor leaned forward and regarded the picture, which appeared to
+be made up of blood and tears and the dark shadows of grief. Gradually
+the whole face stood out before him, exactly as it had been imprinted
+upon the kerchief. He saw the blood-drops on the forehead, the piercing
+thorn-crown, the hair, which was matted with blood, and the mouth whose
+lips seemed to quiver with agony.
+
+He bent down closer and closer to the picture. The face stood out
+clearer and clearer. From out the shadow-like outlines, all at once, he
+saw the eyes sparkle as with hidden life. And while they spoke to him of
+the most terrible suffering, they also revealed a purity and sublimity
+which he had never seen before.
+
+He lay upon his couch and drank in the picture with his eyes. "Is this a
+mortal?" he said softly and slowly. "Is this a mortal?"
+
+Again he lay still and regarded the picture. The tears began to stream
+down his cheeks. "I mourn over thy death, thou Unknown!" he whispered.
+
+"Faustina!" he cried out at last. "Why did you let this man die? He
+would have healed me."
+
+And again he was lost in the picture.
+
+"O Man!" he said, after a moment, "if I can not gain my health from
+thee, I can still avenge thy murder. My hand shall rest heavily upon
+those who have robbed me of thee!"
+
+Again he lay still a long time; then he let himself glide down to the
+floor--and he knelt before the picture:
+
+"Thou art Man!" said he. "Thou art that which I never dreamed I should
+see." And he pointed to his disfigured face and destroyed hands. "I and
+all others are wild beasts and monsters, but thou art Man."
+
+He bowed his head so low before the picture that it touched the floor.
+"Have pity on me, thou Unknown!" he sobbed, and his tears watered the
+stones.
+
+"If thou hadst lived, thy glance alone would have healed me," he said.
+
+The poor old woman was terror-stricken over what she had done. It would
+have been wiser not to show the Emperor the picture, thought she. From
+the start she had been afraid that if he should see it his grief would
+be too overwhelming.
+
+And in her despair over the Emperor's grief, she snatched the picture
+away, as if to remove it from his sight.
+
+Then the Emperor looked up. And, lo! his features were transformed, and
+he was as he had been before the illness. It was as if the illness had
+had its root and sustenance in the contempt and hatred of mankind which
+had lived in his heart; and it had been forced to flee the very moment
+he had felt love and compassion.
+
+The following day Tiberius despatched three messengers.
+
+The first messenger traveled to Rome with the command that the Senate
+should institute investigations as to how the governor of Palestine
+administered his official duties and punish him, should it appear that
+he oppressed the people and condemned the innocent to death.
+
+The second messenger went to the vineyard-laborer and his wife, to thank
+them and reward them for the counsel they had given the Emperor, and
+also to tell them how everything had turned out. When they had heard
+all, they wept silently, and the man said: "I know that all my life I
+shall ponder what would have happened if these two had met." But the
+woman answered: "It could not happen in any other way. It was too great
+a thought that these two should meet. God knew that the world could not
+support it."
+
+The third messenger traveled to Palestine and brought back with him to
+Capri some of Jesus' disciples, and these began to teach there the
+doctrine that had been preached by the Crucified One.
+
+When the disciples landed at Capri, old Faustina lay upon her death-bed.
+Still they had time before her death to make of her a follower of the
+great Prophet, and to baptize her. And in the baptism she was called
+Veronica, because to her it had been granted to give to mankind the true
+likeness of their Saviour.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Robin Redbreast]
+
+                            ROBIN REDBREAST
+
+
+It happened at the time when our Lord created the world, when He not
+only made heaven and earth, but all the animals and the plants as well,
+at the same time giving them their names.
+
+There have been many histories concerning that time, and if we knew them
+all, we should have light upon everything in this world which we can not
+now comprehend.
+
+At that time it happened one day when our Lord sat in His Paradise and
+painted the little birds, that the colors in our Lord's paint pot gave
+out, and the goldfinch would have been without color if our Lord had not
+wiped all His paint brushes on its feathers.
+
+It was then that the donkey got his long ears, because he could not
+remember the name that had been given him.
+
+No sooner had he taken a few steps over the meadows of Paradise than he
+forgot, and three times he came back to ask his name. At last our Lord
+grew somewhat impatient, took him by his two ears, and said:
+
+"Thy name is ass, ass, ass!" And while He thus spake our Lord pulled
+both of his ears that the ass might hear better, and remember what was
+said to him. It was on the same day, also, that the bee was punished.
+
+Now, when the bee was created, she began immediately to gather honey,
+and the animals and human beings who caught the delicious odor of the
+honey came and wanted to taste of it. But the bee wanted to keep it all
+for herself and with her poisonous sting pursued every living creature
+that approached her hive. Our Lord saw this and at once called the bee
+to Him and punished her.
+
+"I gave thee the gift of gathering honey, which is the sweetest thing in
+all creation," said our Lord, "but I did not give thee the right to be
+cruel to thy neighbor. Remember well that every time thou stingest any
+creature who desires to taste of thy honey, thou shalt surely die!"
+
+Ah, yes! It was at that time, too, that the cricket became blind and the
+ant missed her wings, so many strange things happened on that day!
+
+Our Lord sat there, big and gentle, and planned and created all day
+long, and towards evening He conceived the idea of making a little gray
+bird. "Remember your name is Robin Redbreast," said our Lord to the
+bird, as soon as it was finished. Then He held it in the palm of His
+open hand and let it fly.
+
+After the bird had been testing his wings a while, and had seen
+something of the beautiful world in which he was destined to live, he
+became curious to see what he himself was like. He noticed that he was
+entirely gray, and that his breast was just as gray as all the rest of
+him. Robin Redbreast twisted and turned in all directions as he viewed
+himself in the mirror of a clear lake, but he couldn't find a single red
+feather. Then he flew back to our Lord.
+
+Our Lord sat there on His throne, big and gentle. Out of His hands came
+butterflies that fluttered about His head; doves cooed on His shoulders;
+and out of the earth beneath Him grew the rose, the lily, and the daisy.
+
+The little bird's heart beat heavily with fright, but with easy curves
+he flew nearer and nearer our Lord, till at last he rested on our Lord's
+hand. Then our Lord asked what the little bird wanted. "I only wish to
+ask you about one thing," said the little bird. "What is it you wish to
+know?" said our Lord. "Why should I be called Red Breast, when I am all
+gray, from the bill to the very end of my tail? Why am I called Red
+Breast when I do not possess one single red feather?" The bird looked
+beseechingly on our Lord with his tiny black eyes--then turned his head.
+About him he saw pheasants all red under a sprinkle of gold dust,
+parrots with marvelous red neck-bands, cocks with red combs, to say
+nothing about the butterflies, the goldfinches, and the roses! And
+naturally he thought how little he needed--just one tiny drop of color
+on his breast and he, too, would be a beautiful bird, and his name would
+fit him. "Why should I be called Red Breast when I am so entirely gray?"
+asked the bird once again, and waited for our Lord to say: "Ah, my
+friend, I see that I have forgotten to paint your breast feathers red,
+but wait a moment and it shall be done."
+
+But our Lord only smiled a little and said: "I have called you Robin
+Redbreast, and Robin Redbreast shall your name be, but you must look to
+it that you yourself earn your red breast feathers." Then our Lord
+lifted His hand and let the bird fly once more--out into the world.
+
+The bird flew down into Paradise, meditating deeply.
+
+What could a little bird like him do to earn for himself red feathers?
+The only thing he could think of was to make his nest in a brier bush.
+He built it in among the thorns in the close thicket. It looked as if he
+waited for a rose leaf to cling to his throat and give him color.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Countless years had come and gone since that day, which was the happiest
+in all the world! Human beings had already advanced so far that they had
+learned to cultivate the earth and sail the seas. They had procured
+clothes and ornaments for themselves, and had long since learned to
+build big temples and great cities--such as Thebes, Rome, and Jerusalem.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Then there dawned a _new_ day, one that will long be remembered in the
+world's history. On the morning of this day Robin Redbreast sat upon a
+little naked hillock outside of Jerusalem's walls, and sang to his young
+ones, who rested in a tiny nest in a brier bush.
+
+Robin Redbreast told the little ones all about that wonderful day of
+creation, and how the Lord had given names to everything, just as each
+Redbreast had told it ever since the first Redbreast had heard God's
+word, and gone out of God's hand. "And mark you," he ended sorrowfully,
+"so many years have gone, so many roses have bloomed, so many little
+birds have come out of their eggs since Creation Day, but Robin
+Redbreast is still a little gray bird. He has not yet succeeded in
+gaining his red feathers."
+
+The little young ones opened wide their tiny bills, and asked if their
+forbears had never tried to do any great thing to earn the priceless red
+color.
+
+"We have all done what we could," said the little bird, "but we have all
+gone amiss. Even the first Robin Redbreast met one day another bird
+exactly like himself, and he began immediately to love it with such a
+mighty love that he could feel his breast burn. 'Ah!' he thought then,
+'now I understand! It was our Lord's meaning that I should love with so
+much ardor that my breast should grow red in color from the very warmth
+of the love that lives in my heart.' But he missed it, as all those who
+came after him have missed it, and as even you shall miss it."
+
+The little young ones twittered, utterly bewildered, and already began
+to mourn because the red color would not come to beautify their little,
+downy gray breasts.
+
+"We had also hoped that song would help us," said the grown-up bird,
+speaking in long-drawn-out tones--"the first Robin Redbreast sang until
+his heart swelled within him, he was so carried away, and he dared to
+hope anew. 'Ah!' he thought, 'it is the glow of the song which lives in
+my soul that will color my breast feathers red.' But he missed it, as
+all the others have missed it and as even you shall miss it." Again was
+heard a sad "peep" from the young ones' half-naked throats.
+
+"We had also counted on our courage and our valor," said the bird. "The
+first Robin Redbreast fought bravely with other birds, until his breast
+flamed with the pride of conquest. 'Ah!' he thought, 'my breast feathers
+shall become red from the love of battle which burns in my heart.' He,
+too, missed it, as all those who came after him have missed it, and as
+even you shall miss it." The little young ones peeped courageously that
+they still wished to try and win the much-sought-for prize, but the bird
+answered them sorrowfully that it would be impossible. What could they
+do when so many splendid ancestors had missed the mark? What could they
+do more than love, sing, and fight? What could--the little bird stopped
+short, for out of one of the gates of Jerusalem came a crowd of people
+marching, and the whole procession rushed toward the hillock, where the
+bird had its nest. There were riders on proud horses, soldiers with long
+spears, executioners with nails and hammers. There were judges and
+priests in the procession, weeping women, and above all a mob of mad,
+loose people running about--a filthy, howling mob of loiterers.
+
+The little gray bird sat trembling on the edge of his nest. He feared
+each instant that the little brier bush would be trampled down and his
+young ones killed!
+
+"Be careful!" he cried to the little defenseless young ones, "creep
+together and remain quiet. Here comes a horse that will ride right over
+us! Here comes a warrior with iron-shod sandals! Here comes the whole
+wild, storming mob!" Immediately the bird ceased his cry of warning and
+grew calm and quiet. He almost forgot the danger hovering over him.
+Finally he hopped down into the nest and spread his wings over the young
+ones.
+
+"Oh! this is too terrible," said he. "I don't wish you to witness this
+awful sight! There are three miscreants who are going to be crucified!"
+And he spread his wings so that the little ones could see nothing.
+
+They caught only the sound of hammers, the cries of anguish, and the
+wild shrieks of the mob.
+
+Robin Redbreast followed the whole spectacle with his eyes, which grew
+big with terror. He could not take his glance from the three
+unfortunates.
+
+"How terrible human beings are!" said the bird after a little while. "It
+isn't enough that they nail these poor creatures to a cross, but they
+must needs place a crown of piercing thorns upon the head of one of
+them. I see that the thorns have wounded his brow so that the blood
+flows," he continued. "And this man is so beautiful, and looks about him
+with such mild glances that every one ought to love him. I feel as if an
+arrow were shooting through my heart, when I see him suffer!"
+
+The little bird began to feel a stronger and stronger pity for the
+thorn-crowned sufferer. "Oh! if I were only my brother the eagle,"
+thought he, "I would draw the nails from his hands, and with my strong
+claws I would drive away all those who torture him!" He saw how the
+blood trickled down from the brow of the Crucified One, and he could no
+longer remain quiet in his nest. "Even if I am little and weak, I can
+still do something for this poor tortured one," thought the bird. Then
+he left his nest and flew out into the air, striking wide circles around
+the Crucified One. He flew around him several times without daring to
+approach, for he was a shy little bird, who had never dared to go near a
+human being. But little by little he gained courage, flew close to him,
+and drew with his little bill a thorn that had become imbedded in the
+brow of the Crucified One. And as he did this there fell on his breast a
+drop of blood from the face of the Crucified One;--it spread quickly and
+floated out and colored all the little fine breast feathers.
+
+Then the Crucified One opened his lips and whispered to the bird:
+"Because of thy compassion, thou hast won all that thy kind have been
+striving after, ever since the world was created."
+
+As soon as the bird had returned to his nest his young ones cried to
+him: "Thy breast is red! Thy breast feathers are redder than the roses!"
+
+"It is only a drop of blood from the poor man's forehead," said the
+bird; "it will vanish as soon as I bathe in a pool or a clear well."
+
+But no matter how much the little bird bathed, the red color did not
+vanish--and when his little young ones grew up, the blood-red color
+shone also on their breast feathers, just as it shines on every Robin
+Redbreast's throat and breast until this very day.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Our Lord and Saint Peter]
+
+                        OUR LORD AND SAINT PETER
+
+
+It happened at the time when our Lord and Saint Peter were newly arrived
+in Paradise, after having wandered on earth and suffered hardships
+during many sorrowful years.
+
+One can imagine that the change was a joy to Saint Peter! One can
+picture to oneself that it was quite another matter to sit upon Paradise
+Mountain and look out over the world, instead of wandering from door to
+door, like a beggar. It was another matter to walk about in the
+beautiful gardens of Paradise, instead of roaming around on earth, not
+knowing if one would be given house-room on a stormy night, or if one
+would be forced to tramp the highway in the chill and darkness.
+
+One can imagine what a joy it must have been to get to the right place
+at last after such a journey. Saint Peter, to be sure, had not always
+been certain that all would end well. He couldn't very well help feeling
+doubtful and troubled at times, for it had been almost impossible for
+poor Saint Peter to understand why there was any earthly need for them
+to have such a hard time of it, if our Lord was lord of all the world.
+
+Now, no yearning could come to torment him any more. That he was glad of
+this one can well believe.
+
+Now, he could actually laugh at all the misery which he and our Lord had
+been forced to endure, and at the little that they had been obliged to
+content themselves with.
+
+Once, when things had turned out so badly for them that Saint Peter
+thought he couldn't stand it any longer, our Lord had taken him to a
+high mountain, and had begun the ascent without telling him what they
+were there for.
+
+They had wandered past the cities at the foot of the mountain, and the
+castles higher up. They had gone past the farms and cabins, and had left
+behind them the last wood-chopper's cave.
+
+They had come at last to the part where the mountain stood naked,
+without verdure and trees, and where a hermit had built him a hut,
+wherein he might shelter needy travelers.
+
+Afterward, they had walked over the snowfields, where the mountain-rats
+sleep, and come to the piled-up ice masses, which stood on edge and
+a-tilt, and where scarcely a chamois could pass.
+
+Up there our Lord had found a little red-breasted bird, that lay frozen
+to death on the ice, and He had picked up the bullfinch and tucked it in
+His bosom. And Saint Peter remembered he had wondered if this was to be
+their dinner.
+
+They had wandered a long while on the slippery ice-blocks, and it had
+seemed to Saint Peter that he had never been so near perdition; for a
+deadly cold wind and a deadly dark mist enveloped them, and as far as he
+could discover, there wasn't a living thing to be found. And, still,
+they were only half-way up the mountain.
+
+Then he begged our Lord to let him turn back.
+
+"Not yet," said our Lord, "for I want to show you something which will
+give you courage to meet all sorrows."
+
+For this they had gone on through mist and cold until they had reached
+an interminably high wall, which prevented them from going farther.
+
+"This wall extends all around the mountain," said our Lord, "and you
+can't step over it at any point. Nor can any living creature see
+anything of that which lies behind it, for it is here that Paradise
+begins; and all the way up to the mountain's summit live the blessed
+dead."
+
+But Saint Peter couldn't help looking doubtful. "In there is neither
+darkness nor cold," said our Lord, "but there it is always summer, with
+the bright light of suns and stars."
+
+But Saint Peter was not able to persuade himself to believe this.
+
+Then our Lord took the little bird which He had just found on the ice,
+and, bending backwards, threw it over the wall, so that it fell down
+into Paradise.
+
+And immediately thereafter Saint Peter heard a loud, joyous trill, and
+recognized a bullfinch's song, and was greatly astonished.
+
+He turned toward our Lord and said: "Let us return to the earth and
+suffer all that must be suffered, for now I see that you speak the
+truth, and that there is a place where Life overcomes death."
+
+And they descended from the mountain and began their wanderings again.
+
+And it was years before Saint Peter saw any more than this one glimpse
+of Paradise; but he had always longed for the land beyond the wall. And
+now at last he was there, and did not have to strive and yearn any more.
+Now he could drink bliss in full measure all day long from never-dying
+streams.
+
+But Saint Peter had not been in Paradise a fortnight before it happened
+that an angel came to our Lord where He sat upon His throne, bowed seven
+times before Him, and told Him that a great sorrow must have come upon
+Saint Peter. He would neither eat nor drink, and his eyelids were red,
+as though he had not slept for several nights.
+
+As soon as our Lord heard this, He rose and went to seek Saint Peter.
+
+He found him far away, on one of the outskirts of Paradise, where he lay
+upon the ground, as if he were too exhausted to stand, and he had rent
+his garments and strewn his hair with ashes.
+
+When our Lord saw him so distressed, He sat down on the ground beside
+him, and talked to him, just as He would have done had they still been
+wandering around in this world of trouble.
+
+"What is it that makes you so sad, Saint Peter?" said our Lord.
+
+But grief had overpowered Saint Peter, so that he could not answer.
+
+"What is it that makes you so sad?" asked our Lord once again.
+
+When our Lord repeated the question, Saint Peter took the gold crown
+from his head and threw it at our Lord's feet, as much as to say he
+wanted no further share in His honor and glory.
+
+But our Lord understood, of course, that Saint Peter was so disconsolate
+that he knew not what he did. He showed no anger at him.
+
+"You must tell me what troubles you," said He, just as gently as before,
+and with an even greater love in His voice.
+
+But now Saint Peter jumped up; and then our Lord knew that he was not
+only disconsolate, but downright angry. He came toward our Lord with
+clenched fists and snapping eyes.
+
+"Now I want a dismissal from your service!" said Saint Peter. "I can not
+remain another day in Paradise."
+
+Our Lord tried to calm him, just as He had been obliged to do many times
+before, when Saint Peter had flared up.
+
+"Oh, certainly you can go," said He, "but you must first tell me what it
+is that displeases you."
+
+"I can tell you that I awaited a better reward than this when we two
+endured all sorts of misery down on earth," said Saint Peter.
+
+Our Lord saw that Saint Peter's soul was filled with bitterness, and He
+felt no anger at him.
+
+"I tell you that you are free to go whither you will," said He, "if you
+will only let me know what is troubling you."
+
+Then, at last, Saint Peter told our Lord why he was so unhappy. "I had
+an old mother," said he, "and she died a few days ago."
+
+"Now I know what distresses you," said our Lord. "You suffer because
+your mother has not come into Paradise."
+
+"That is true," said Saint Peter, and at the same time his grief became
+so overwhelming that he began to sob and moan.
+
+"I think I deserved at least that she should be permitted to come here,"
+said he.
+
+But when our Lord learned what it was that Saint Peter was grieving
+over, He, in turn, became distressed. Saint Peter's mother had not been
+such that she could enter the Heavenly Kingdom. She had never thought of
+anything except to hoard money, and to the poor who had knocked at her
+door she had never given so much as a copper or a crust of bread. But
+our Lord understood that it was impossible for Saint Peter to grasp the
+fact that his mother had been so greedy that she was not entitled to
+bliss.
+
+"Saint Peter," said He, "how can you be so sure that your mother would
+feel at home here with us?"
+
+"You say such things only that you may not have to listen to my
+prayers," said Saint Peter. "Who wouldn't be happy in Paradise?"
+
+"One who does not feel joy over the happiness of others can not rest
+content here," said our Lord.
+
+"Then there are others than my mother who do not belong here," said
+Saint Peter, and our Lord observed that he was thinking of Him.
+
+And He felt deeply grieved because Saint Peter had been stricken with
+such a heavy sorrow that he no longer knew what he said. He stood a
+moment and expected that Saint Peter would repent, and understand that
+his mother was not fit for Paradise. But the Saint would not give in.
+
+Then our Lord called an angel and commanded that he should fly down into
+hell and bring Saint Peter's mother to Paradise.
+
+"Let me see how he carries her," said Saint Peter.
+
+Our Lord took Saint Peter by the hand and led him out to a steep
+precipice which leaned slantingly to one side. And He showed him that he
+only had to lean over the precipice very, very little to be able to look
+down into hell.
+
+When Saint Peter glanced down, he could not at first see anything more
+than if he had looked into a deep well. It was as though an endless
+chasm opened under him.
+
+The first thing which he could faintly distinguish was the angel, who
+had already started on his way to the nether regions. Saint Peter saw
+how the angel dived down into the great darkness, without the least
+fear, and spread his wings just a little, so as not to descend too
+rapidly.
+
+But when Saint Peter's eyes had become a little more used to the
+darkness he began to see more and more. In the first place, he saw that
+Paradise lay on a ring-mountain, which encircled a wide chasm, and it
+was at the bottom of this chasm that the souls of the sinful had their
+abode. He saw how the angel sank and sank a long while without reaching
+the depths. He became absolutely terrified because it was such a long
+distance down there.
+
+"May he only come up again with my mother!" said he.
+
+Our Lord only looked at Saint Peter with great sorrowful eyes. "There is
+no weight too heavy for my angel to carry," said He.
+
+It was so far down to the nether regions that no ray of sunlight could
+penetrate thither: there darkness reigned. But it was as if the angel in
+his flight must have brought with him a little clearness and light, so
+that it was possible for Saint Peter to see how it looked down there.
+
+It was an endless, black rock-desert. Sharp, pointed rocks covered the
+entire foundation. There was not a green blade, not a tree, not a sign
+of life.
+
+But all over, on the sharp rocks, were condemned souls. They hung over
+the edges, whither they had clambered that they might swing themselves
+up from the ravine; and when they saw that they could get nowhere, they
+remained up there, petrified with anguish.
+
+Saint Peter saw some of them sit or lie with arms extended in ceaseless
+longing, and with eyes fixedly turned upwards. Others had covered their
+faces with their hands, as if they would shut out the hopeless horror
+around them. They were all rigid; there was not one among them who had
+the power to move. Some lay in the water-pools, perfectly still, without
+trying to rise from them.
+
+But the most dreadful thing of all was--there was such a great throng of
+the lost. It was as though the bottom of the ravine were made up of
+nothing but bodies and heads.
+
+And Saint Peter was struck with a new fear. "You shall see that he will
+not find her," said he to our Lord.
+
+Once more our Lord looked at him with the same grieved expression. He
+knew of course that Saint Peter did not need to be uneasy about the
+angel.
+
+But to Saint Peter it looked all the while as if the angel could not
+find his mother in that great company of lost souls. He spread his wings
+and flew back and forth over the nether regions, while he sought her.
+
+Suddenly one of the poor lost creatures caught a glimpse of the angel,
+and he sprang up and stretched his arms towards him and cried: "Take me
+with you! Take me with you!"
+
+Then, all at once, the whole throng was alive. All the millions upon
+millions who languished in hell, roused themselves that instant, and
+raised their arms and cried to the angel that he should take them with
+him to the blessed Paradise.
+
+Their shrieks were heard all the way up to our Lord and Saint Peter,
+whose hearts throbbed with anguish as they heard.
+
+The angel swayed high above the condemned; but as he traveled back and
+forth, to find the one whom he sought, they all rushed after him, so
+that it looked as though they had been swept on by a whirlwind.
+
+At last the angel caught sight of the one he was to take with him. He
+folded his wings over his back and shot down like a streak of lightning,
+and the astonished Saint Peter gave a cry of joy when he saw the angel
+place an arm around his mother and lift her up.
+
+"Blessed be thou that bringest my mother to me!" said he.
+
+Our Lord laid His hand gently on Saint Peter's shoulder, as if He would
+warn him not to abandon himself to joy too soon.
+
+But Saint Peter was ready to weep for joy, because his mother was saved.
+He could not understand that anything further would have the power to
+part them. And his joy increased when he saw that, quick as the angel
+had been when he had lifted her up, still several of the lost souls had
+succeeded in attaching themselves to her who was to be saved, in order
+that they, too, might be borne to Paradise with her.
+
+There must have been a dozen who clung to the old woman, and Saint Peter
+thought it was a great honor for his mother to help so many poor
+unfortunate beings out of perdition.
+
+Nor did the angel do aught to hinder them. He seemed not at all troubled
+with his burden, but rose and rose, and moved his wings with no more
+effort than if he were carrying a little dead birdling to heaven.
+
+But then Saint Peter saw that his mother began to free herself from the
+lost souls that had clung to her. She gripped their hands and loosened
+their hold, so that one after another tumbled down into hell.
+
+Saint Peter could hear how they begged and implored her; but the old
+woman did not desire that any one but herself should be saved. She freed
+herself from more and more of them, and let them fall down into misery.
+And as they fell, all space was filled with their lamentations and
+curses.
+
+Then Saint Peter begged and implored his mother to show some compassion,
+but she would not listen, and kept right on as before.
+
+And Saint Peter saw how the angel flew slower and slower, the lighter
+his burden became. Such fear took hold of Saint Peter that his legs
+shook, and he was forced to drop on his knees.
+
+Finally, there was only one condemned soul who still clung to St.
+Peter's mother. This was a young woman who hung on her neck and begged
+and cried in her ear that she would let her go along with her to the
+blessed Paradise.
+
+The angel with his burden had already come so far that Saint Peter
+stretched out his arms to receive his mother. He thought that the angel
+had to make only two or three wing-strokes more to reach the mountain.
+
+Then, all of a sudden, the angel held his wings perfectly still, and his
+countenance became dark as night.
+
+For now the old woman had stretched her hands back of her and gripped
+the arms of the young woman who hung about her neck, and she clutched
+and tore until she succeeded in separating the clasped hands, so that
+she was free from this last one also.
+
+When the condemned one fell the angel sank several fathoms lower, and it
+appeared as though he had not the strength to lift his wings again.
+
+He looked down upon the old woman with a deep, sorrowful glance; his
+hold around her waist loosened, and he let her fall, as if she were too
+heavy a burden for him, now that she was alone.
+
+Thereupon he swung himself with a single stroke up into Paradise.
+
+But Saint Peter lay for a long while in the same place, and sobbed, and
+our Lord stood silent beside him.
+
+"Saint Peter," said our Lord at last, "I never thought that you would
+weep like this after you had reached Paradise."
+
+Then God's old servant raised his head and answered: "What kind of a
+Paradise is this, where I can hear the moans of my dearest ones, and see
+the sufferings of my fellow men!"
+
+The face of our Lord became o'ercast by the deepest sorrow. "What did I
+desire more than to prepare a Paradise for all, of nothing but light and
+happiness?" He said. "Do you not understand that it was because of this
+I went down among men and taught them to love their neighbors as
+themselves? For as long as they do this not, there will be no refuge in
+heaven or on earth where pain and sorrow cannot reach them."
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: The Sacred Flame]
+
+                            THE SACRED FLAME
+
+
+                                   I
+
+A great many years ago, when the city of Florence had only just been
+made a republic, a man lived there named Raniero di Raniero. He was the
+son of an armorer, and had learned his father's trade, but he did not
+care much to pursue it.
+
+This Raniero was the strongest of men. It was said of him that he bore a
+heavy iron armor as lightly as others wear a silk shirt. He was still a
+young man, but already he had given many proofs of his strength. Once he
+was in a house where grain was stored in the loft. Too much grain had
+been heaped there; and while Raniero was in the house one of the loft
+beams broke down, and the whole roof was about to fall in. He raised his
+arms and held the roof up until the people managed to fetch beams and
+poles to prop it.
+
+It was also said of Raniero that he was the bravest man that had ever
+lived in Florence, and that he could never get enough of fighting. As
+soon as he heard any noise in the street, he rushed out from the
+workshop, in hopes that a fight had arisen in which he might
+participate. If he could only distinguish himself, he fought just as
+readily with humble peasants as with armored horsemen. He rushed into a
+fight like a lunatic, without counting his opponents.
+
+Florence was not very powerful in his time. The people were mostly wool
+spinners and cloth weavers, and these asked nothing better than to be
+allowed to perform their tasks in peace. Sturdy men were plentiful, but
+they were not quarrelsome, and they were proud of the fact that in their
+city better order prevailed than elsewhere. Raniero often grumbled
+because he was not born in a country where there was a king who gathered
+around him valiant men, and declared that in such an event he would have
+attained great honor and renown.
+
+Raniero was loud-mouthed and boastful; cruel to animals, harsh toward
+his wife, and not good for any one to live with. He would have been
+handsome if he had not had several deep scars across his face which
+disfigured him. He was quick to jump at conclusions, and quick to act,
+though his way was often violent.
+
+Raniero was married to Francesca, who was the daughter of Jacopo degli
+Uberti, a wise and influential man. Jacopo had not been very anxious to
+give his daughter to such a bully as Raniero, but had opposed the
+marriage until the very last. Francesca forced him to relent, by
+declaring that she would never marry any one else. When Jacopo finally
+gave his consent, he said to Raniero: "I have observed that men like you
+can more easily win a woman's love than keep it; therefore I shall exact
+this promise from you: If my daughter finds life with you so hard that
+she wishes to come back to me, you will not prevent her." Francesca said
+it was needless to exact such a promise, since she was so fond of
+Raniero that nothing could separate her from him. But Raniero gave his
+promise promptly. "Of one thing you can be assured, Jacopo," said he--"I
+will not try to hold any woman who wishes to flee from me."
+
+Then Francesca went to live with Raniero, and all was well between them
+for a time. When they had been married a few weeks, Raniero took it into
+his head that he would practice marksmanship. For several days he aimed
+at a painting which hung upon a wall. He soon became skilled, and hit
+the mark every time. At last he thought he would like to try and shoot
+at a more difficult mark. He looked around for something suitable, but
+discovered nothing except a quail that sat in a cage above the courtyard
+gate. The bird belonged to Francesca, and she was very fond of it; but,
+despite this, Raniero sent a page to open the cage, and shot the quail
+as it swung itself into the air.
+
+This seemed to him a very good shot, and he boasted of it to any one who
+would listen to him.
+
+When Francesca learned that Raniero had shot her bird, she grew pale and
+looked hard at him. She marveled that he had wished to do a thing which
+must bring grief to her; but she forgave him promptly and loved him as
+before.
+
+Then all went well again for a time.
+
+Raniero's father-in-law, Jacopo, was a flax weaver. He had a large
+establishment, where much work was done. Raniero thought he had
+discovered that hemp was mixed with the flax in Jacopo's workshop, and
+he did not keep silent about it, but talked of it here and there in the
+city. At last Jacopo also heard this chatter, and tried at once to put a
+stop to it. He let several other flax weavers examine his yarn and
+cloth, and they found all of it to be of the very finest flax. Only in
+one pack, which was designed to be sold outside of Florence, was there
+any mixture. Then Jacopo said that the deception had been practised
+without his knowledge or consent, by some one among his journeymen. He
+apprehended at once that he would find it difficult to convince people
+of this. He had always been famed for honesty, and he felt very keenly
+that his honor had been smirched.
+
+Raniero, on the other hand, plumed himself upon having succeeded in
+exposing a fraud, and he bragged about it even in Francesca's hearing.
+
+She felt deeply grieved; at the same time she was as astonished as when
+he shot the bird. As she thought of this, she seemed suddenly to see her
+love before her; and it was like a great piece of shimmery gold cloth.
+She could see how big it was, and how it shimmered. But from one corner
+a piece had been cut away, so that it was not as big and as beautiful as
+it had been in the beginning.
+
+Still, it was as yet damaged so very little that she thought: "It will
+probably last as long as I live. It is so great that it can never come
+to an end."
+
+Again, there was a period during which she and Raniero were just as
+happy as they had been at first.
+
+Francesca had a brother named Taddeo. He had been in Venice on a
+business trip, and, while there, had purchased garments of silk and
+velvet. When he came home he paraded around in them. Now, in Florence it
+was not the custom to go about expensively clad, so there were many who
+made fun of him.
+
+One night Taddeo and Raniero were out in the wine shops. Taddeo was
+dressed in a green cloak with sable linings, and a violet jacket.
+Raniero tempted him to drink so much wine that he fell asleep, and then
+he took his cloak off him and hung it upon a scarecrow that was set up
+in a cabbage patch.
+
+When Francesca heard of this she was vexed again with Raniero. That
+moment she saw before her the big piece of gold cloth--which was her
+love--and she seemed to see how it diminished, as Raniero cut away piece
+after piece.
+
+After this, things were patched up between them for a time, but
+Francesca was no longer so happy as in former days, because she always
+feared that Raniero would commit some misdemeanor that would hurt her
+love.
+
+This was not long in coming, either, for Raniero could never be
+tranquil. He wished that people should always speak of him and praise
+his courage and daring.
+
+At that time the cathedral in Florence was much smaller than the present
+one, and there hung at the top of one of its towers a big, heavy shield,
+which had been placed there by one of Francesca's ancestors. It was the
+heaviest shield any man in Florence had been able to lift, and all the
+Uberti family were proud because it was one of their own who had climbed
+up in the tower and hung it there.
+
+But Raniero climbed up to the shield one day, hung it on his back, and
+came down with it.
+
+When Francesca heard of this for the first time she spoke to Raniero of
+what troubled her, and begged him not to humiliate her family in this
+way. Raniero, who had expected that she would commend him for his feat,
+became very angry. He retorted that he had long observed that she did
+not rejoice in his success, but thought only of her own kin. "It's
+something else I am thinking of," said Francesca, "and that is my love.
+I know not what will become of it if you keep on in this way."
+
+After this they frequently exchanged harsh words, for Raniero happened
+nearly always to do the very thing that was most distasteful to
+Francesca.
+
+There was a workman in Raniero's shop who was little and lame. This man
+had loved Francesca before she was married, and continued to love her
+even after her marriage. Raniero, who knew this, undertook to joke with
+him before all who sat at a table. It went so far that finally the man
+could no longer bear to be held up to ridicule in Francesca's hearing,
+so he rushed upon Raniero and wanted to fight with him. But Raniero only
+smiled derisively and kicked him aside. Then the poor fellow thought he
+did not care to live any longer, and went off and hanged himself.
+
+When this happened, Francesca and Raniero had been married about a year.
+Francesca thought continually that she saw her love before her as a
+shimmery piece of cloth, but on all sides large pieces were cut away, so
+that it was scarcely half as big as it had been in the beginning.
+
+She became very much alarmed when she saw this, and thought: "If I stay
+with Raniero another year, he will destroy my love. I shall become just
+as poor as I have hitherto been rich."
+
+Then she concluded to leave Raniero's house and go to live with her
+father, that the day might not come when she should hate Raniero as much
+as she now loved him.
+
+Jacopo degli Uberti was sitting at the loom with all his workmen busy
+around him when he saw her coming. He said that now the thing had come
+to pass which he had long expected, and bade her be welcome. Instantly
+he ordered all the people to leave off their work and arm themselves and
+close the house.
+
+Then Jacopo went over to Raniero. He met him in the workshop. "My
+daughter has this day returned to me and begged that she may live again
+under my roof," he said to his son-in-law. "And now I expect that you
+will not compel her to return to you, after the promise you have given
+me."
+
+Raniero did not seem to take this very seriously, but answered calmly:
+"Even if I had not given you my word, I would not demand the return of a
+woman who does not wish to be mine."
+
+He knew how much Francesca loved him, and said to himself: "She will be
+back with me before evening."
+
+Yet she did not appear either that day or the next.
+
+The third day Raniero went out and pursued a couple of robbers who had
+long disturbed the Florentine merchants. He succeeded in catching them,
+and took them captives to Florence.
+
+He remained quiet a couple of days, until he was positive that this feat
+was known throughout the city. But it did not turn out as he had
+expected--that it would bring Francesca back to him.
+
+Raniero had the greatest desire to appeal to the courts, to force her
+return to him, but he felt himself unable to do this because of his
+promise. It seemed impossible for him to live in the same city with a
+wife who had abandoned him, so he moved away from Florence.
+
+He first became a soldier, and very soon he made himself commander of a
+volunteer company. He was always in a fight, and served many masters.
+
+He won much renown as a warrior, as he had always said he would. He was
+made a knight by the Emperor, and was accounted a great man.
+
+Before he left Florence, he had made a vow at a sacred image of the
+Madonna in the Cathedral to present to the Blessed Virgin the best and
+rarest that he won in every battle. Before this image one always saw
+costly gifts, which were presented by Raniero.
+
+Raniero was aware that all his deeds were known in his native city. He
+marveled much that Francesca degli Uberti did not come back to him, when
+she knew all about his success.
+
+At that time sermons were preached to start the Crusades for the
+recovery of the Holy Sepulchre from the Saracens, and Raniero took the
+cross and departed for the Orient. He not only hoped to win castles and
+lands to rule over, but also to succeed in performing such brilliant
+feats that his wife would again be fond of him, and return to him.
+
+                                   II
+
+The night succeeding the day on which Jerusalem had been captured, there
+was great rejoicing in the Crusaders' camp, outside the city. In almost
+every tent they celebrated with drinking bouts, and noise and roystering
+were heard in every direction.
+
+Raniero di Raniero sat and drank with some comrades; and in his tent it
+was even more hilarious than elsewhere. The servants barely had time to
+fill the goblets before they were empty again.
+
+Raniero had the best of reasons for celebrating, because during the day
+he had won greater glory than ever before. In the morning, when the city
+was besieged, he had been the first to scale the walls after Godfrey of
+Boulogne; and in the evening he had been honored for his bravery in the
+presence of the whole corps.
+
+When the plunder and murder were ended, and the Crusaders in penitents'
+cloaks and with lighted candles marched into the Church of the Holy
+Sepulchre, it had been announced to Raniero by Godfrey that he should be
+the first who might light his candle from the sacred candles which burn
+before Christ's tomb. It appeared to Raniero that Godfrey wished in this
+manner to show that he considered him the bravest man in the whole
+corps; and he was very happy over the way in which he had been rewarded
+for his achievements.
+
+As the night wore on, Raniero and his guests were in the best of
+spirits; a fool and a couple of musicians who had wandered all over the
+camp and amused the people with their pranks, came into Raniero's tent,
+and the fool asked permission to narrate a comic story.
+
+Raniero knew that this particular fool was in great demand for his
+drollery, and he promised to listen to his narrative.
+
+"It happened once," said the fool, "that our Lord and Saint Peter sat a
+whole day upon the highest tower in Paradise Stronghold, and looked down
+upon the earth. They had so much to look at, that they scarcely found
+time to exchange a word. Our Lord kept perfectly still the whole time,
+but Saint Peter sometimes clapped his hands for joy, and again turned
+his head away in disgust. Sometimes he applauded and smiled, and anon he
+wept and commiserated. Finally, as it drew toward the close of day, and
+twilight sank down over Paradise, our Lord turned to Saint Peter and
+said that now he must surely be satisfied and content. 'What is it that
+I should be content with?' Saint Peter asked, in an impetuous tone.
+'Why,' said our Lord slowly, 'I thought that you would be pleased with
+what you have seen to-day.' But Saint Peter did not care to be
+conciliated. 'It is true,' said he, 'that for many years I have bemoaned
+the fact that Jerusalem should be in the power of unbelievers, but after
+all that has happened to-day, I think it might just as well have
+remained as it was.'"
+
+Raniero understood now that the fool spoke of what had taken place
+during the day. Both he and the other knights began to listen with
+greater interest than in the beginning.
+
+"When Saint Peter had said this," continued the fool, as he cast a
+furtive glance at the knights, "he leaned over the pinnacle of the tower
+and pointed toward the earth. He showed our Lord a city which lay upon a
+great solitary rock that shot up from a mountain valley. 'Do you see
+those mounds of corpses?' he said. 'And do you see the naked and
+wretched prisoners who moan in the night chill? And do you see all the
+smoking ruins of the conflagration?' It appeared as if our Lord did not
+wish to answer him, but Saint Peter went on with his lamentations. He
+said that he had certainly been vexed with that city many times, but he
+had not wished it so ill as that it should come to look like this. Then,
+at last, our Lord answered, and tried an objection: 'Still, you can not
+deny that the Christian knights have risked their lives with the utmost
+fearlessness,' said He."
+
+Then the fool was interrupted by bravos, but he made haste to continue.
+
+"Oh, don't interrupt me!" he said. "Now I don't remember where I left
+off--ah! to be sure, I was just going to say that Saint Peter wiped away
+a tear or two which sprang to his eyes and prevented him from seeing. 'I
+never would have thought they could be such beasts,' said he. 'They have
+murdered and plundered the whole day. Why you went to all the trouble of
+letting yourself be crucified in order to gain such devotees, I can't in
+the least comprehend.'"
+
+The knights took up the fun good-naturedly. They began to laugh loud and
+merrily. "What, fool! Is Saint Peter so wroth with us?" shrieked one of
+them.
+
+"Be silent now, and let us hear if our Lord spoke in our defense!"
+interposed another.
+
+"No, our Lord was silent. He knew of old that when Saint Peter had once
+got a-going, it wasn't worth while to argue with him. He went on in his
+way, and said that our Lord needn't trouble to tell him that finally
+they remembered to which city they had come, and went to church
+barefooted and in penitents' garb. That spirit had, of course, not
+lasted long enough to be worth mentioning. And thereupon he leaned once
+more over the tower and pointed downward toward Jerusalem. He pointed
+out the Christians' camp outside the city. 'Do you see how your knights
+celebrate their victories?' he asked. And our Lord saw that there was
+revelry everywhere in the camp. Knights and soldiers sat and looked upon
+Syrian dancers. Filled goblets went the rounds while they threw dice for
+the spoils of war and----"
+
+"They listened to fools who told vile stories," interpolated Raniero.
+"Was not this also a great sin?"
+
+The fool laughed and shook his head at Raniero, as much as to say,
+"Wait! I will pay you back."
+
+"No, don't interrupt me!" he begged once again. "A poor fool forgets so
+easily what he would say. Ah! it was this: Saint Peter asked our Lord if
+He thought these people were much of a credit to Him. To this, of
+course, our Lord had to reply that He didn't think they were.
+
+"'They were robbers and murderers before they left home, and robbers and
+murderers they are even to-day. This undertaking you could just as well
+have left undone. No good will come of it,' said Saint Peter."
+
+"Come, come, fool!" said Raniero in a threatening tone. But the fool
+seemed to consider it an honor to test how far he could go without some
+one jumping up and throwing him out, and he continued fearlessly.
+
+"Our Lord only bowed His head, like one who acknowledges that he is
+being justly rebuked. But almost at the same instant He leaned forward
+eagerly and peered down with closer scrutiny than before. Saint Peter
+also glanced down. 'What are you looking for?' he wondered."
+
+The fool delivered this speech with much animated facial play. All the
+knights saw our Lord and Saint Peter before their eyes, and they
+wondered what it was our Lord had caught sight of.
+
+"Our Lord answered that it was nothing in particular," said the fool.
+"Saint Peter gazed in the direction of our Lord's glance, but he could
+discover nothing except that our Lord sat and looked down into a big
+tent, outside of which a couple of Saracen heads were set up on long
+lances, and where a lot of fine rugs, golden vessels, and costly
+weapons, captured in the Holy City, were piled up. In that tent they
+carried on as they did everywhere else in the camp. A company of knights
+sat and emptied their goblets. The only difference might be that here
+there were more drinking and roystering than elsewhere. Saint Peter
+could not comprehend why our Lord was so pleased when He looked down
+there, that His eyes fairly sparkled with delight. So many hard and
+cruel faces he had rarely before seen gathered around a drinking table.
+And he who was host at the board and sat at the head of the table was
+the most dreadful of all. He was a man of thirty-five, frightfully big
+and coarse, with a blowsy countenance covered with scars and scratches,
+calloused hands, and a loud, bellowing voice."
+
+Here the fool paused a moment, as if he feared to go on, but both
+Raniero and the others liked to hear him talk of themselves, and only
+laughed at his audacity. "You're a daring fellow," said Raniero, "so let
+us see what you are driving at!"
+
+"Finally, our Lord said a few words," continued the fool, "which made
+Saint Peter understand what He rejoiced over. He asked Saint Peter if He
+saw wrongly, or if it could actually be true that one of the knights had
+a burning candle beside him."
+
+Raniero gave a start at these words. Now, at last, he was angry with the
+fool, and reached out his hand for a heavy wine pitcher to throw at his
+face, but he controlled himself that he might hear whether the fellow
+wished to speak to his credit or discredit.
+
+"Saint Peter saw now," narrated the fool, "that, although the tent was
+lighted mostly by torches, one of the knights really had a burning wax
+candle beside him. It was a long, thick candle, one of the sort made to
+burn twenty-four hours. The knight, who had no candlestick to set it in,
+had gathered together some stones and piled them around it, to make it
+stand."
+
+The company burst into shrieks of laughter at this. All pointed at a
+candle which stood on the table beside Raniero, and was exactly like the
+one the fool had described. The blood mounted to Raniero's head; for
+this was the candle which he had a few hours before been permitted to
+light at the Holy Sepulchre. He had been unable to make up his mind to
+let it die out.
+
+"When Saint Peter saw that candle," said the fool, "it dawned upon him
+what it was that our Lord was so happy over, but at the same time he
+could not help feeling just a little sorry for Him. 'Oh,' he said, 'it
+was the same knight that leaped upon the wall this morning immediately
+after the gentleman of Boulogne, and who this evening was permitted to
+light his candle at the Holy Sepulchre ahead of all the others. 'True!'
+said our Lord. 'And, as you see, his candle is still burning.'"
+
+The fool talked very fast now, casting an occasional sly glance at
+Raniero. "Saint Peter could not help pitying our Lord. 'Can't you
+understand why he keeps that candle burning?' said he. 'You must believe
+that he thinks of your sufferings and death whenever he looks at it. But
+he thinks only of the glory which he won when he was acknowledged to be
+the bravest man in the troop after Godfrey.'"
+
+At this all Raniero's guests laughed. Raniero was very angry, but he,
+too, forced himself to laugh. He knew they would have found it still
+more amusing if he hadn't been able to take a little fun.
+
+"But our Lord contradicted Saint Peter," said the fool. "'Don't you see
+how careful he is with the light?' asked He. 'He puts his hand before
+the flame as soon as any one raises the tent-flap, for fear the draught
+will blow it out. And he is constantly occupied in chasing away the
+moths which fly around it and threaten to extinguish it.'"
+
+The laughter grew merrier and merrier, for what the fool said was the
+truth. Raniero found it more and more difficult to control himself. He
+felt he could not endure that any one should jest about the sacred
+candle.
+
+"Still, Saint Peter was dubious," continued the fool. "He asked our Lord
+if He knew that knight. 'He's not one who goes often to Mass or wears
+out the prie-dieu,' said he. But our Lord could not be swerved from His
+opinion.
+
+"'Saint Peter, Saint Peter,' He said earnestly. 'Remember that
+henceforth this knight shall become more pious than Godfrey. Whence do
+piety and gentleness spring, if not from my sepulchre? You shall see
+Raniero di Raniero help widows and distressed prisoners. You shall see
+him care for the sick and despairing as he now cares for the sacred
+candle flame.'"
+
+At this they laughed inordinately. It struck them all as very ludicrous,
+for they knew Raniero's disposition and mode of living. But he himself
+found both the jokes and laughter intolerable. He sprang to his feet and
+wanted to reprove the fool. As he did this, he bumped so hard against
+the table--which was only a door set up on loose boxes--that it wabbled,
+and the candle fell down. It was evident now how careful Raniero was to
+keep the candle burning. He controlled his anger and gave himself time
+to pick it up and brighten the flame, before he rushed upon the fool.
+But when he had trimmed the light the fool had already darted out of the
+tent, and Raniero knew it would be useless to pursue him in the
+darkness. "I shall probably run across him another time," he thought,
+and sat down.
+
+Meanwhile the guests had laughed mockingly, and one of them turned to
+Raniero and wanted to continue the jesting. He said: "There is one
+thing, however, which is certain, Raniero, and that is--this time you
+can't send to the Madonna in Florence the most precious thing you have
+won in the battle."
+
+Raniero asked why he thought that he should not follow his old habit
+this time.
+
+"For no other reason," said the knight, "than that the most precious
+thing you have won is that sacred candle flame, which you were permitted
+to light at the church of the Holy Sepulchre in presence of the whole
+corps. Surely you can't send that to Florence!"
+
+Again the other knights laughed, but Raniero was now in the mood to
+undertake the wildest projects, just to put an end to their laughter. He
+came to a conclusion quickly, called to an old squire, and said to him:
+"Make ready, Giovanni, for a long journey. To-morrow you shall travel to
+Florence with this sacred candle flame."
+
+But the squire said a blunt no to this command. "This is something which
+I don't care to undertake," he said. "How should it be possible to
+travel to Florence with a candle flame? It would be extinguished before
+I had left the camp."
+
+Raniero asked one after another of his men. He received the same reply
+from all. They scarcely seemed to take his command seriously.
+
+It was a foregone conclusion that the foreign knights who were his
+guests should laugh even louder and more merrily, as it became apparent
+that none of Raniero's men wished to carry out his order.
+
+Raniero grew more and more excited. Finally he lost his patience and
+shouted: "This candle flame shall nevertheless be borne to Florence; and
+since no one else will ride there with it, I will do so myself!"
+
+"Consider before you promise anything of the kind!" said a knight. "You
+ride away from a principality."
+
+"I swear to you that I will carry this sacred flame to Florence!"
+exclaimed Raniero. "I shall do what no one else has cared to undertake."
+
+The old squire defended himself. "Master, it's another matter for you.
+You can take with you a large retinue but me you would send alone."
+
+But Raniero was clean out of himself, and did not consider his words.
+"I, too, shall travel alone," said he.
+
+But with this declaration Raniero had carried his point. Every one in
+the tent had ceased laughing. Terrified, they sat and stared at him.
+
+"Why don't you laugh any more?" asked Raniero. "This undertaking surely
+can't be anything but a child's game for a brave man."
+
+                                  III
+
+The next morning at dawn Raniero mounted his horse. He was in full
+armor, but over it he had thrown a coarse pilgrim cloak, so that the
+iron dress should not become overheated by exposure to the sun's rays.
+He was armed with a sword and battle-club, and rode a good horse. He
+held in his hand a burning candle, and to the saddle he had tied a
+couple of bundles of long wax candles, so the flame should not die out
+for lack of nourishment.
+
+Raniero rode slowly through the long, encumbered tent street, and thus
+far all went well. It was still so early that the mists which had arisen
+from the deep dales surrounding Jerusalem were not dispersed, and
+Raniero rode forward as in a white night. The whole troop slept, and
+Raniero passed the guards easily. None of them called out his name, for
+the mist prevented their seeing him, and the roads were covered with a
+dust-like soil a foot high, which made the horse's tramp inaudible.
+
+Raniero was soon outside the camp and started on the road which led to
+Joppa. Here it was smoother, but he rode very slowly now, because of the
+candle, which burned feebly in the thick mist. Big insects kept dashing
+against the flame. Raniero had all he could do guarding it, but he was
+in the best of spirits and thought all the while that the mission which
+he had undertaken was so easy that a child could manage it.
+
+Meanwhile, the horse grew weary of the slow pace, and began to trot. The
+flame began to flicker in the wind. It didn't help that Raniero tried to
+shield it with his hand and with the cloak. He saw that it was about to
+be extinguished.
+
+But he had no desire to abandon the project so soon. He stopped the
+horse, sat still a moment, and pondered. Then he dismounted and tried
+sitting backwards, so that his body shielded the flame from the wind. In
+this way he succeeded in keeping it burning; but he realized now that
+the journey would be more difficult than he had thought at the
+beginning.
+
+When he had passed the mountains which surround Jerusalem, the fog
+lifted. He rode forward now in the greatest solitude. There were no
+people, houses, green trees, nor plants--only bare rocks.
+
+Here Raniero was attacked by robbers. They were idle folk, who followed
+the camp without permission, and lived by theft and plunder. They had
+lain in hiding behind a hill, and Raniero--who rode backwards--had not
+seen them until they had surrounded him and brandished their swords at
+him.
+
+There were about twelve men. They looked wretched, and rode poor horses.
+Raniero saw at once that it would not be difficult for him to break
+through this company and ride on. And after his proud boast of the night
+before, he was unwilling to abandon his undertaking easily.
+
+He saw no other means of escape than to compromise with the robbers. He
+told them that, since he was armed and rode a good horse, it might be
+difficult to overpower him if he defended himself. And as he was bound
+by a vow, he did not wish to offer resistance, but they could take
+whatever they wanted, without a struggle, if only they promised not to
+put out his light.
+
+The robbers had expected a hard struggle, and were very happy over
+Raniero's proposal, and began immediately to plunder him. They took from
+him armor and steed, weapons and money. The only thing they let him keep
+was the coarse cloak and the two bundles of wax candles. They sacredly
+kept their promise, also, not to put out the candle flame.
+
+One of them mounted Raniero's horse. When he noticed what a fine animal
+he was, he felt a little sorry for the rider. He called out to him:
+"Come, come, we must not be too cruel toward a Christian. You shall have
+my old horse to ride."
+
+It was a miserable old screw of a horse. It moved as stiffly, and with
+as much difficulty, as if it were made of wood.
+
+When the robbers had gone at last, and Raniero had mounted the wretched
+horse, he said to himself: "I must have become bewitched by this candle
+flame. For its sake I must now travel along the roads like a crazy
+beggar."
+
+He knew it would be wise for him to turn back, because the undertaking
+was really impracticable. But such an intense yearning to accomplish it
+had come over him that he could not resist the desire to go on.
+Therefore, he went farther. He saw all around him the same bare,
+yellowish hills.
+
+After a while he came across a goatherd, who tended four goats. When
+Raniero saw the animals grazing on the barren ground, he wondered if
+they ate earth.
+
+This goatherd had owned a larger flock, which had been stolen from him
+by the Crusaders. When he noticed a solitary Christian come riding
+toward him, he tried to do him all the harm he could. He rushed up to
+him and struck at his light with his staff. Raniero was so taken up by
+the flame that he could not defend himself even against a goatherd. He
+only drew the candle close to him to protect it. The goatherd struck at
+it several times more, then he paused, astonished, and ceased striking.
+He noticed that Raniero's cloak had caught fire, but Raniero did nothing
+to smother the blaze, so long as the sacred flame was in danger. The
+goatherd looked as though he felt ashamed. For a long time he followed
+Raniero, and in one place, where the road was very narrow, with a deep
+chasm on each side of it, he came up and led the horse for him.
+
+Raniero smiled and thought the goatherd surely regarded him as a holy
+man who had undertaken a voluntary penance.
+
+Toward evening Raniero began to meet people. Rumors of the fall of
+Jerusalem had already spread to the coast, and a throng of people had
+immediately prepared to go up there. There were pilgrims who for years
+had awaited an opportunity to get into Jerusalem, also some
+newly-arrived troops; but they were mostly merchants who were hastening
+with provisions.
+
+When these throngs met Raniero, who came riding backwards with a burning
+candle in his hand, they cried: "A madman, a madman!"
+
+The majority were Italians; and Raniero heard how they shouted in his
+own tongue, "Pazzo, pazzo!" which means "a madman, a madman."
+
+Raniero, who had been able to keep himself well in check all day, became
+intensely irritated by these ever-recurring shouts. Instantly he
+dismounted and began to chastise the offenders with his hard fists. When
+they saw how heavy the blows were, they took to their heels, and Raniero
+soon stood alone on the road.
+
+Now Raniero was himself again. "In truth they were right to call me a
+madman," he said, as he looked around for the light. He did not know
+what he had done with it. At last he saw that it had rolled down into a
+hollow. The flame was extinguished, but he saw fire gleam from a dry
+grass-tuft close beside it, and understood that luck was with him, for
+the flame had ignited the grass before it had gone out.
+
+"This might have been an inglorious end of a deal of trouble," he
+thought, as he lit the candle and stepped into the saddle. He was rather
+mortified. It did not seem to him very probable that his journey would
+be a success.
+
+In the evening Raniero reached Ramle, and rode up to a place where
+caravans usually had night harbor. It was a large covered yard. All
+around it were little stalls where travelers could put up their horses.
+There were no rooms, but folk could sleep beside the animals.
+
+The place was overcrowded with people, yet the host found room for
+Raniero and his horse. He also gave fodder to the horse and food to the
+rider.
+
+When Raniero perceived that he was well treated, he thought: "I almost
+believe the robbers did me a service when they took from me my armor and
+my horse. I shall certainly get out of the country more easily with my
+light burden, if they mistake me for a lunatic."
+
+When he had led the horse into the stall, he sat down on a sheaf of
+straw and held the candle in his hands. It was his intention not to fall
+asleep, but to remain awake all night.
+
+But he had hardly seated himself when he fell asleep. He was fearfully
+exhausted, and in his sleep he stretched out full length and did not
+wake till morning.
+
+When he awoke he saw neither flame nor candle. He searched in the straw
+for the candle, but did not find it anywhere.
+
+"Some one has taken it from me and extinguished it," he said. He tried
+to persuade himself that he was glad that all was over, and that he need
+not pursue an impossible undertaking.
+
+But as he pondered, he felt a sense of emptiness and loss. He thought
+that never before had he so longed to succeed in anything on which he
+had set his mind.
+
+He led the horse out and groomed and saddled it.
+
+When he was ready to set out, the host who owned the caravansary came up
+to him with a burning candle. He said in Frankish: "When you fell asleep
+last night, I had to take your light from you, but here you have it
+again."
+
+Raniero betrayed nothing, but said very calmly: "It was wise of you to
+extinguish it."
+
+"I have not extinguished it," said the man. "I noticed that it was
+burning when you arrived, and I thought it was of importance to you that
+it should continue to burn. If you see how much it has decreased, you
+will understand that it has been burning all night."
+
+Raniero beamed with happiness. He commended the host heartily, and rode
+away in the best of spirits.
+
+                                   IV
+
+When Raniero broke away from the camp at Jerusalem, he intended to
+travel from Joppa to Italy by sea, but changed his mind after he had
+been robbed of his money, and concluded to make the journey by land.
+
+It was a long journey. From Joppa he went northward along the Syrian
+coast. Then he rode westward along the peninsula of Asia Minor, then
+northward again, all the way to Constantinople. From there he still had
+a monotonously long distance to travel to reach Florence. During the
+whole journey Raniero had lived upon the contributions of the pious.
+They that shared their bread with him mostly were pilgrims who at this
+time traveled _en masse_ to Jerusalem.
+
+Regardless of the fact that he nearly always rode alone, his days were
+neither long nor monotonous. He must always guard the candle flame, and
+on its account he never could feel at ease. It needed only a puff of
+breeze--a rain-drop--and there would have been an end to it.
+
+As Raniero rode over lonely roads, and thought only about keeping the
+flame alive, it occurred to him that once before he had been concerned
+with something similar. Once before he had seen a person watch over
+something which was just as sensitive as a candle flame.
+
+This recollection was so vague to him at first that he wondered if it
+was something he had dreamed.
+
+But as he rode on alone through the country, it kept recurring to him
+that he had participated in something similar once before.
+
+"It is as if all my life long I had heard tell of nothing else," said
+he.
+
+One evening he rode into a city. It was after sundown, and the
+housewives stood in their doorways and watched for their husbands. Then
+he noticed one who was tall and slender, and had earnest eyes. She
+reminded him of Francesca degli Uberti.
+
+Instantly it became clear to him what he had been pondering over. It
+came to him that for Francesca her love must have been as a sacred flame
+which she had always wished to keep burning, and which she had
+constantly feared that Raniero would quench. He was astonished at this
+thought, but grew more and more certain that the matter stood thus. For
+the first time he began to understand why Francesca had left him, and
+that it was not with feats of arms he should win her back.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+The journey which Raniero made was of long duration. This was in part
+due to the fact that he could not venture out when the weather was bad.
+Then he sat in some caravansary, and guarded the candle flame. These
+were very trying days.
+
+One day, when he rode over Mount Lebanon, he saw that a storm was
+brewing. He was riding high up among awful precipices, and a frightful
+distance from any human abode. Finally he saw on the summit of a rock
+the tomb of a Saracen saint. It was a little square stone structure with
+a vaulted roof. He thought it best to seek shelter there.
+
+He had barely entered when a snowstorm came up, which raged for two days
+and nights. At the same time it grew so cold that he came near freezing
+to death.
+
+Raniero knew that there were heaps of branches and twigs out on the
+mountain, and it would not have been difficult for him to gather fuel
+for a fire. But he considered the candle flame which he carried very
+sacred, and did not wish to light anything from it, except the candles
+before the Blessed Virgin's Altar.
+
+The storm increased, and at last he heard thunder and saw gleams of
+lightning.
+
+Then came a flash which struck the mountain, just in front of the tomb,
+and set fire to a tree. And in this way he was enabled to light his fire
+without having to borrow of the sacred flame.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+As Raniero was riding on through a desolate portion of the Cilician
+mountain district, his candles were all used up. The candles which he
+had brought with him from Jerusalem had long since been consumed; but
+still he had been able to manage because he had found Christian
+communities all along the way, of whom he had begged fresh candles.
+
+But now his resources were exhausted, and he thought that this would be
+the end of his journey.
+
+When the candle was so nearly burned out that the flame scorched his
+hand, he jumped from his horse and gathered branches and dry leaves and
+lit these with the last of the flame. But up on the mountain there was
+very little that would ignite, and the fire would soon burn out.
+
+While he sat and grieved because the sacred flame must die, he heard
+singing down the road, and a procession of pilgrims came marching up the
+steep path, bearing candles in their hands. They were on their way to a
+grotto where a holy man had lived, and Raniero followed them. Among them
+was a woman who was very old and had difficulty in walking, and Raniero
+carried her up the mountain.
+
+When she thanked him afterwards, he made a sign to her that she should
+give him her candle. She did so, and several others also presented him
+with the candles which they carried. He extinguished the candles,
+hurried down the steep path, and lit one of them with the last spark
+from the fire lighted by the sacred flame.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+One day at the noon hour it was very warm, and Raniero had lain down to
+sleep in a thicket. He slept soundly, and the candle stood beside him
+between a couple of stones. When he had been asleep a while, it began to
+rain, and this continued for some time, without his waking. When at last
+he was startled out of his sleep, the ground around him was wet, and he
+hardly dared glance toward the light, for fear it might be quenched.
+
+But the light burned calmly and steadily in the rain, and Raniero saw
+that this was because two little birds flew and fluttered just above the
+flame. They caressed it with their bills, and held their wings
+outspread, and in this way they protected the sacred flame from the
+rain.
+
+He took off his hood immediately, and hung it over the candle. Thereupon
+he reached out his hand for the two little birds, for he had been seized
+with a desire to pet them. Neither of them flew away because of him, and
+he could catch them.
+
+He was very much astonished that the birds were not afraid of him. "It
+is because they know I have no thought except to protect that which is
+the most sensitive of all, that they do not fear me," thought he.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Raniero rode in the vicinity of Nicaea, in Bithynia. Here he met some
+western gentlemen who were conducting a party of recruits to the Holy
+Land. In this company was Robert Taillefer, who was a wandering knight
+and a troubadour.
+
+Raniero, in his torn cloak, came riding along with the candle in his
+hand, and the warriors began as usual to shout, "A madman, a madman!"
+But Robert silenced them, and addressed the rider.
+
+"Have you journeyed far in this manner?" he asked.
+
+"I have ridden like this all the way from Jerusalem," answered Raniero.
+
+"Has your light been extinguished many times during the journey?"
+
+"Still burns the flame that lighted the candle with which I rode away
+from Jerusalem," responded Raniero.
+
+Then Robert Taillefer said to him: "I am also one of those who carry a
+light, and I would that it burned always. But perchance you, who have
+brought your light burning all the way from Jerusalem, can tell me what
+I shall do that it may not become extinguished?"
+
+Then Raniero answered: "Master, it is a difficult task, although it
+appears to be of slight importance. This little flame demands of you
+that you shall entirely cease to think of anything else. It will not
+allow you to have any sweet-heart--in case you should desire anything of
+the sort--neither would you dare on account of this flame to sit down at
+a revel. You can not have aught else in your thoughts than just this
+flame, and must possess no other happiness. But my chief reason for
+advising you against making the journey which I have weathered is that
+you can not for an instant feel secure. It matters not through how many
+perils you may have guarded the flame, you can not for an instant think
+yourself secure, but must ever expect that the very next moment it may
+fail you."
+
+But Robert Taillefer raised his head proudly and answered: "What you
+have done for your sacred flame I may do for mine."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Raniero arrived in Italy. One day he rode through lonely roads up among
+the mountains. A woman came running after him and begged him to give her
+a light from his candle. "The fire in my hut is out," said she. "My
+children are hungry. Give me a light that I may heat my oven and bake
+bread for them!"
+
+She reached for the burning candle, but Raniero held it back because he
+did not wish that anything should be lighted by that flame but the
+candles before the image of the Blessed Virgin.
+
+Then the woman said to him: "Pilgrim, give me a light, for the life of
+my children is the flame which I am in duty bound to keep burning!" And
+because of these words he permitted her to light the wick of her lamp
+from his flame.
+
+Several hours later he rode into a town. It lay far up on the mountain,
+where it was very cold. A peasant stood in the road and saw the poor
+wretch who came riding in his torn cloak. Instantly he stripped off the
+short mantle which he wore, and flung it to him. But the mantle fell
+directly over the candle and extinguished the flame.
+
+Then Raniero remembered the woman who had borrowed a light of him. He
+turned back to her and had his candle lighted anew with sacred fire.
+
+When he was ready to ride farther, he said to her: "You say that the
+sacred flame which you must guard is the life of your children. Can you
+tell me what name this candle's flame bears, which I have carried over
+long roads?"
+
+"Where was your candle lighted?" asked the woman.
+
+"It was lighted at Christ's sepulchre," said Raniero.
+
+"Then it can only be called Gentleness and Love of Humanity," said she.
+
+Raniero laughed at the answer. He thought himself a singular apostle of
+virtues such as these.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Raniero rode forward between beautiful blue hills. He saw he was near
+Florence. He was thinking that he must soon part with his light. He
+thought of his tent in Jerusalem, which he had left filled with
+trophies, and the brave soldiers who were still in Palestine, and who
+would be glad to have him take up the business of war once more, and
+bear them on to new conquests and honors.
+
+Then he perceived that he experienced no pleasure in thinking of this,
+but that his thoughts were drawn in another direction.
+
+Then he realized for the first time that he was no longer the same man
+that had gone from Jerusalem. The ride with the sacred flame had
+compelled him to rejoice with all who were peaceable and wise and
+compassionate, and to abhor the savage and warlike.
+
+He was happy every time he thought of people who labored peacefully in
+their homes, and it occurred to him that he would willingly move into
+his old workshop in Florence and do beautiful and artistic work.
+
+"Verily this flame has recreated me," he thought. "I believe it has made
+a new man of me."
+
+                                   V
+
+It was Eastertide when Raniero rode into Florence.
+
+He had scarcely come in through the city gate--riding backwards, with
+his hood drawn down over his face and the burning candle in his
+hand--when a beggar arose and shouted the customary "Pazzo, pazzo!"
+
+At this cry a street gamin darted out of a doorway, and a loafer, who
+had had nothing else to do for a long time than to lie and gaze at the
+clouds, jumped to his feet. Both began shouting the same thing: "Pazzo,
+pazzo!"
+
+Now that there were three who shrieked, they made a good deal of noise
+and so woke up all the street urchins. They came rushing out from nooks
+and corners. As soon as they saw Raniero, in his torn coat, on the
+wretched horse, they shouted: "Pazzo, pazzo!"
+
+But this was only what Raniero was accustomed to. He rode quietly up the
+street, seeming: not to notice the shouters.
+
+Then they were not content with merely shouting, but one of them jumped
+up and tried to blow out the light. Raniero raised the candle on high,
+trying at the same time to prod his horse, to escape the boys.
+
+They kept even pace with him, and did everything they could to put out
+the light.
+
+The more he exerted himself to protect the flame the more excited they
+became. They leaped upon one another's backs, puffed their cheeks out,
+and blew. They flung their caps at the candle. It was only because they
+were so numerous and crowded on one another that they did not succeed in
+quenching the flame.
+
+This was the largest procession on the street. People stood at the
+windows and laughed. No one felt any sympathy with a madman, who wanted
+to defend his candle flame. It was church hour, and many worshipers were
+on their way to Mass. They, too, stopped and laughed at the sport.
+
+But now Raniero stood upright in the saddle, so that he could shield the
+candle. He looked wild. The hood had fallen back and they saw his face,
+which was wasted and pale, like a martyr's. The candle he held uplifted
+as high as he could.
+
+The entire street was one great swarm of people. Even the older ones
+began to take part in the play. The women waved their head-shawls and
+the men swung their caps. Every one worked to extinguish the light.
+
+Raniero rode under the vine-covered balcony of a house. Upon this stood
+a woman. She leaned over the lattice-work, snatched the candle, and ran
+in with it. The woman was Francesca degli Uberti.
+
+The whole populace burst into shrieks of laughter and shouts, but
+Raniero swayed in his saddle and fell to the street.
+
+As soon as he lay there stricken and unconscious, the street was emptied
+of people.
+
+No one wished to take charge of the fallen man. His horse was the only
+creature that stopped beside him.
+
+As soon as the crowds had got away from the street, Francesca degli
+Uberti came out from her house, with the burning candle in her hand. She
+was still pretty; her features were gentle, and her eyes were deep and
+earnest.
+
+She went up to Raniero and bent over him. He lay senseless, but the
+instant the candle light fell upon his face, he moved and roused
+himself. It was apparent that the candle flame had complete power over
+him. When Francesca saw that he had regained his senses, she said: "Here
+is your candle. I snatched it from you, as I saw how anxious you were to
+keep it burning. I knew of no other way to help you."
+
+Raniero had had a bad fall, and was hurt. But now nothing could hold him
+back. He began to raise himself slowly. He wanted to walk, but wavered,
+and was about to fall. Then he tried to mount his horse. Francesca
+helped him. "Where do you wish to go?" she asked when he sat in the
+saddle again. "I want to go to the cathedral," he answered. "Then I
+shall accompany you," she said, "for I'm going to Mass." And she led the
+horse for him.
+
+Francesca had recognized Raniero the very moment she saw him, but he did
+not see who she was, for he did not take time to notice her. He kept his
+gaze fixed upon the candle flame alone.
+
+They were absolutely silent all the way. Raniero thought only of the
+flame, and of guarding it well these last moments. Francesca could not
+speak, for she felt she did not wish to be certain of that which she
+feared. She could not believe but that Raniero had come home insane.
+Although she was almost certain of this, she would rather not speak with
+him, in order to avoid any positive assurance.
+
+After a while Raniero heard some one weep near him. He looked around and
+saw that it was Francesca degli Uberti, who walked beside him; and she
+wept. But Raniero saw her only for an instant, and said nothing to her.
+He wanted to think only of the sacred flame.
+
+Raniero let her conduct him to the sacristy. There he dismounted. He
+thanked Francesca for her help, but looked all the while not upon her,
+but on the light. He walked alone up to the priests in the sacristy.
+
+Francesca went into the church. It was Easter Eve, and all the candles
+stood unlighted upon the altars, as a symbol of mourning. Francesca
+thought that every flame of hope which had ever burned within her was
+now extinguished.
+
+In the church there was profound solemnity. There were many priests at
+the altar. The canons sat in a body in the chancel, with the bishop
+among them.
+
+By and by Francesca noticed there was commotion among the priests.
+Nearly all who were not needed to serve at Mass arose and went out into
+the sacristy. Finally the bishop went, too.
+
+When Mass was over, a priest stepped up to the chancel railing and began
+to speak to the people. He related that Raniero di Raniero had arrived
+in Florence with sacred fire from Jerusalem. He narrated what the rider
+had endured and suffered on the way. And he praised him exceeding much.
+
+The people sat spellbound and listened to this. Francesca had never
+before experienced such a blissful moment. "O God!" she sighed, "this is
+greater happiness than I can bear." Her tears fell as she listened.
+
+The priest talked long and well. Finally he said in a strong, thrilling
+voice: "It may perchance appear like a trivial thing now, that a candle
+flame has been brought to Florence. But I say to you: Pray God that He
+will send Florence many bearers of Eternal Light; then she will become a
+great power, and be extolled as a city among cities!"
+
+When the priest had finished speaking, the entrance doors of the church
+were thrown open, and a procession of canons and monks and priests
+marched up the center aisle toward the altar. The bishop came last, and
+by his side walked Raniero, in the same cloak that he had worn during
+the entire journey.
+
+But when Raniero had crossed the threshold of the cathedral, an old man
+arose and walked toward him. It was Oddo, the father of the journeyman
+who had once worked for Raniero, and had hanged himself because of him.
+
+When this man had come up to the bishop and Raniero, he bowed to them.
+Thereupon he said in such a loud voice that all in the church heard him:
+"It is a great thing for Florence that Raniero has come with sacred fire
+from Jerusalem. Such a thing has never before been heard of or
+conceived. For that reason perhaps there may be many who will say that
+it is not possible. Therefore, I beg that all the people may know what
+proofs and witnesses Raniero has brought with him, to assure us that
+this is actually fire which was lighted in Jerusalem."
+
+When Raniero heard this he said: "God help me! how can I produce
+witnesses? I have made the journey alone. Deserts and mountain wastes
+must come and testify for me."
+
+"Raniero is an honest knight," said the bishop, "and we believe him on
+his word."
+
+"Raniero must know himself that doubts will arise as to this," said
+Oddo. "Surely, he can not have ridden entirely alone. His little pages
+could certainly testify for him."
+
+Then Francesca degli Uberti rushed up to Raniero. "Why need we
+witnesses?" said she. "All the women in Florence would swear on oath
+that Raniero speaks the truth!"
+
+Then Raniero smiled, and his countenance brightened for a moment.
+Thereupon he turned his thoughts and his gaze once more upon the candle
+flame.
+
+There was great commotion in the church. Some said that Raniero should
+not be allowed to light the candles on the altar until his claim was
+substantiated. With this many of his old enemies sided.
+
+Then Jacopo degli Uberti rose and spoke in Raniero's behalf. "I believe
+every one here knows that no very great friendship has existed between
+my son-in-law and me," he said; "but now both my sons and I will answer
+for him. We believe he has performed this task, and we know that one who
+has been disposed to carry out such an undertaking is a wise, discreet,
+and noble-minded man, whom we are glad to receive among us."
+
+But Oddo and many others were not disposed to let him taste of the bliss
+he was yearning for. They got together in a close group and it was easy
+to see that they did not care to withdraw their demand.
+
+Raniero apprehended that if this should develop into a fight, they would
+immediately try to get at the candle. As he kept his eyes steadily fixed
+upon his opponents, he raised the candle as high as he could.
+
+He looked exhausted in the extreme, and distraught. One could see that,
+although he wished to hold out to the very last, he expected defeat.
+What mattered it to him now if he were permitted to light the candles?
+Oddo's word had been a death-blow. When doubt was once awakened, it
+would spread and increase. He fancied that Oddo had already extinguished
+the sacred flame forever.
+
+A little bird came fluttering through the great open doors into the
+church. It flew straight into Raniero's light. He hadn't time to snatch
+it aside, and the bird dashed against it and put out the flame.
+
+Raniero's arm dropped, and tears sprang to his eyes. The first moment he
+felt this as a sort of relief. It was better thus than if human beings
+had killed it.
+
+The little bird continued its flight into the church, fluttering
+confusedly hither and thither, as birds do when they come into a room.
+
+Simultaneously a loud cry resounded throughout the church: "The bird is
+on fire! The sacred candle flame has set its wings on fire!"
+
+The little bird chirped anxiously. For a few moments it fluttered about,
+like a flickering flame, under the high chancel arches. Then it sank
+suddenly and dropped dead upon the Madonna's Altar.
+
+But the moment the bird fell upon the Altar, Raniero was standing there.
+He had forced his way through the church, no one had been able to stop
+him. From the sparks which destroyed the bird's wings he lit the candles
+before the Madonna's Altar.
+
+Then the bishop raised his staff and proclaimed: "God willed it! God
+hath testified for him!"
+
+And all the people in the church, both his friends and opponents,
+abandoned their doubts and conjectures. They cried as with one voice,
+transported by God's miracle: "God willed it! God hath testified for
+him!"
+
+Of Raniero there is now only a legend, which says he enjoyed great good
+fortune for the remainder of his days, and was wise, and prudent, and
+compassionate. But the people of Florence always called him Pazzo degli
+Ranieri, in remembrance of the fact that they had believed him insane.
+And this became his honorary title. He founded a dynasty, which was
+named Pazzi, and is called so even to this day.
+
+It might also be worth mentioning that it became a custom in Florence,
+each year at Easter Eve, to celebrate a festival in memory of Raniero's
+home-coming with the sacred flame, and that, on this occasion, they
+always let an artificial bird fly with fire through the church. This
+festival would most likely have been celebrated even in our day had not
+some changes taken place recently.
+
+But if it be true, as many hold, that the bearers of sacred fire who
+have lived in Florence and have made the city one of the most glorious
+on earth, have taken Raniero as their model, and have thereby been
+encouraged to sacrifice, to suffer and endure, this may here be left
+untold.
+
+For what has been done by this light, which in dark times has gone out
+from Jerusalem, can neither be measured nor counted.
+
+                                THE END
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                 THE HOME BOOK OF VERSE FOR YOUNG FOLKS
+
+               Compiled by Burton E. Stevenson, Editor of
+                       "The Home Book of Verse."
+
+     With cover, and illustrations in color and black and white by
+          WILLY POGANY. Over 500 pages, large 12mo. $2.00 net.
+
+Not a rambling, hap-hazard collection but a vade-mecum for youth from
+the ages of six or seven to sixteen or seventeen. It opens with Nursery
+Rhymes and lullabies, progresses through child rhymes and jingles to
+more mature nonsense verse; then come fairy verses and Christmas poems;
+then nature verse and favorite rhymed stories; then through the trumpet
+and drum period (where an attempt is made to teach true patriotism) to
+the final appeal of "Life Lessons" and "A Garland of Gold" (the great
+poems for all ages).
+
+This arrangement secures sequence of sentiment and a sort of cumulative
+appeal. Nearly all the children's classics are included, and along with
+them a body of verse not so well known but almost equally deserving.
+There are many real "finds," most of which have never before appeared in
+any anthology.
+
+Mr. Stevenson has banished doleful and pessimistic verse, and has dwelt
+on hope, courage, cheerfulness and helpfulness. The book should serve,
+too, as an introduction to the greater poems, informing taste for them
+and appreciation of them, against the time when the boy or girl, grown
+into youth and maiden, is ready to swim out into the full current of
+English poetry.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                         PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                       LIFE-STORIES FOR THE YOUNG
+
+Dean Hodges' SAINTS AND HEROES: To the End of the Middle Ages.
+
+Illustrated. $1.35 net.
+
+Biographies of Cyprian, Athanasius, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Jerome,
+Augustine, Benedict, Gregory the Great, Columba, Charlemagne,
+Hildebrand, Anselm, Bernard, Becket, Langton, Dominic, Francis,
+Wycliffe, Hus, Savonarola.
+
+Each of these men was a great person in his time, and represented its
+best qualities. Their dramatic and adventurous experiences make the
+story of their lives interesting as well as inspiring and suggestive.
+
+Church history and doctrine are touched upon only as they develop in the
+biographies.
+
+  "Here is much important history told in a readable and attractive
+  manner, and from the standpoint which makes history most vivid and
+  most likely to remain fixed in memory, namely, the standpoint of the
+  individual actor."--Springfield Republican.
+
+Dean Hodges' SAINTS AND HEROES: Since the Middle Ages
+
+Illustrated. $1.35 net.
+
+The new volume includes biographies of Luther, More, Loyola, Cranmer,
+Calvin, Knox, Coligny, William the Silent, Laud, Cromwell, Fox, Wesley,
+Bunyan and Brewster.
+
+John Buchan's SIR WALTER RALEIGH
+
+With double-page pictures in color; cover linings. Square
+
+12mo. Price, $2.00 net.
+
+A life of Raleigh told in eleven chapters. Each chapter covers some
+important scene in his life and is told by some friend or follower as if
+seen with his own eyes. Some of the characters are invented, but all
+that they tell really happened.
+
+The narrative has spirit, color, and atmosphere, and is unusually well
+written.
+
+America figures largely in the story, and American boys will enjoy this
+book.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                   PUBLISHERS    VIII'12    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                        By CARROLL WATSON RANKIN
+
+                  ------------------------------------
+
+                           STORIES FOR GIRLS
+
+                            THE CINDER POND
+              Illustrated by Ada C. Williamson. $1.25 net.
+
+Years ago, a manufacturer built a great dock, jutting out from and then
+turning parallel to the shore of a northern Michigan town. The factory
+was abandoned, and following the habits of small towns, the space
+between the dock and the shore became "The Cinder Pond." Jean started
+life in the colony of squatters that came to live in the shanties on the
+dock, but fortune, heroism, and a mystery combine to change her fortunes
+and those of her friends near the Cinder Pond.
+
+                     THE CASTAWAYS OF PETE'S PATCH
+              Illustrated by Ada C. Williamson. $1.25 net.
+
+A tale of five girls and two youthful grown-ups who enjoyed
+unpremeditated camping.
+
+                           DANDELION COTTAGE
+             Illustrated by Mmes. Shinn and Finley. $1.50.
+
+Four young girls secure the use of a tumbledown cottage. They set up
+housekeeping under numerous disadvantages, and have many amusements and
+queer experiences.
+
+  "A capital story. It is refreshing to come upon an author who can
+  tell us about real little girls, with sensible ordinary parents,
+  girls who are neither phenomenal nor silly."--Outlook.
+
+                       THE ADOPTING OF ROSA MARIE
+   A sequel to "Dandelion Cottage." Illustrated by Mrs. Shinn. $1.50.
+
+The little girls who played at keeping house in the earlier book,
+enlarge their activities to the extent of playing mother to a little
+Indian girl.
+
+  "Those who have read 'Dandelion Cottage' will need no urging to
+  follow further.... A lovable group of four real children, happily not
+  perfect, but full of girlish plans and pranks.... A delightful sense
+  of humor."--Boston Transcript.
+
+                        THE GIRLS OF GARDENVILLE
+               Illustrated by Mary Wellman. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+Interesting, amusing, and natural stories of a girls' club.
+
+  "Will captivate as many adults as if it were written for them....
+  The secret of Mrs. Rankin's charm is her naturalness ... real
+  girls ... not young ladies with 'pigtails,' but girls of sixteen
+  who are not twenty-five ... as original as amusing."--Boston Transcript.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                         PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                            BOOKS FOR GIRLS
+                          By BEULAH MARIE DIX
+
+                           BETTY-BIDE-AT-HOME
+              Illustrated by Faith Avery. 12mo. $1.25 net.
+
+A story of family life. Betty is just ready for college, her brother is
+studying medicine, her sister is almost able to make her own way in the
+world, when a sudden catastrophe compels Betty to choose between her own
+ambitions and her mother's happiness. Betty stays at home and learns
+many things, among them the fact that duty and success can be combined.
+The account of her literary ventures will help girls who want to write.
+
+Betty is a spirited, energetic, lovable girl. The style and atmosphere
+of the story are both better than is usually the case in girls' stories.
+
+                           FRIENDS IN THE END
+              Illustrated by Faith Avery. 12mo. $1.25 net.
+
+An out-of-door story for girls which tells how Dorothea Marden went,
+under protest, from the city to spend the summer at a farm in the New
+Hampshire mountains; how she met Jo Gifford from South Tuxboro, who had
+red hair, and knew she shouldn't like her, but did; how Dorothea and Jo,
+at the farm, fell out with the young folks close by at Camp Comfort; how
+they carried on the war, with varying success, and how they were sorry
+that they did so, and how they were glad in the end to make peace.
+
+"Will attract boys and girls equally and be good for both."--Outlook.
+
+"More than the usual plot and literary completeness."--Christian
+Register.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                   PUBLISHERS    VIII'12    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                        BY ALICE CALHOUN HAINES
+                For Young Folks from 9 to 16 Years old.
+
+                  ------------------------------------
+
+                           PARTNERS FOR FAIR
+             With illustrations by Faith Avery. $1.25 net.
+
+A story full of action, not untinged by pathos, of a boy and his
+faithful dog and their wanderings after the poorhouse burns down. They
+have interesting experiences with a traveling circus; the boy is thrown
+from a moving train, and has a lively time with the Mexican Insurrectos,
+from whom he is rescued by our troops.
+
+                     THE LUCK OF THE DUDLEY GRAHAMS
+           Illustrated by Francis Day. 300 pp., 12mo. $1.50.
+
+A family story of city life. Lightened by humor and an airship.
+
+  "Among the very best of books for young folks. Appeals especially
+  to girls."--Wisconsin List for Township Libraries.
+
+  "Promises to be perennially popular. A family of happy, healthy,
+  inventive, bright children make the best of restricted conditions and
+  prove themselves masters of circumstances."--Christian Register.
+
+  "Sparkles with cleverness and humor."--Brooklyn Eagle.
+
+                           COCK-A-DOODLE HILL
+           A sequel to the above. Illustrated by Francis Day.
+                         296 pp., 12mo. $1.50.
+
+"Cockle-a-doodle Hill" is where the Dudley Graham family went to live
+when they left New York, and here Ernie started her chicken-farm, with
+one solitary fowl, "Hennerietta." The pictures of country scenes and the
+adventures and experiences of this household of young people are very
+life-like.
+
+  "No better book for young people than 'The Luck of the Dudley
+  Grahams' was offered last year. 'Cock-a-Doodle Hill' is another
+  of similar qualities."--Philadelphia Press.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                  PUBLISHERS    (VIII'12)    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                   COMPANION STORIES OF COUNTRY LIFE
+                  FOR BOYS        By CHARLES P. BURTON
+
+                  ------------------------------------
+
+                         THE BOYS OF BOB'S HILL
+            Illustrated by George A. Williams. 12mo. $1.25.
+
+A lively story of a party of boys in a small New England town.
+
+  "A first-rate juvenile ... a real story for the live human boy--any
+  boy will read it eagerly to the end ... quite thrilling adventures."
+  --Chicago Record-Herald.
+
+  "Tom Sawyer would have been a worthy member of the Bob's Hill
+  crowd and shared their good times and thrilling adventures with
+  uncommon relish.... A jolly group of youngsters as nearly true to
+  the real thing in boy nature as one can ever expect to find between
+  covers."--Christian Register.
+
+                          THE BOB'S CAVE BOYS
+                  Illustrated by Victor Perard. $1.50.
+
+  "It would be hard to find anything better in the literature of New
+  England boy life. Healthy, red-blooded, human boys, full of fun,
+  into trouble and out again, but frank, honest, and clean."
+  --The Congregationalist.
+
+                         THE BOB'S HILL BRAVES
+                Illustrated by H. S. DeLay. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+The "Bob's Hill" band spend a vacation in Illinois, where they play at
+being Indians, hear thrilling tales of real Indians, and learn much
+frontier history. A history of especial interest to "Boy Scouts."
+
+  "Merry youngsters. Capital. Thrilling tales of the red men and
+  explorers. These healthy red-blooded, New England boys."
+  --Philadelphia Press.
+
+                      THE BOY SCOUTS OF BOB'S HILL
+             Illustrated by Gordon Grant. 12mo. $1.25 net.
+
+The "Bob's Hill" band organizes a Boy Scouts band and have many
+adventures. Mr. Burton brings in tales told around a camp-fire of La
+Salle, Joliet, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Northwestern Reservation.
+
+                            CAMP BOB'S HILL
+                Illustrated by Gordon Grant. $1.25 net.
+
+A tale of Boy Scouts on their summer vacation.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                         PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                    SHORT PLAYS ABOUT FAMOUS AUTHORS
+
+        (Goldsmith, Dickens, Heine, Fannie Burney, Shakespeare)
+
+                  By Maude Morrison Frank. $1.00 net.
+
+The Mistake at the Manor shows the fifteen-year-old Goldsmith in the
+midst of the humorous incident in his life which later formed the basis
+of "She Stoops to Conquer."
+
+A Christmas Eve With Charles Dickens reveals the author as a poor
+factory boy in a lodging-house, dreaming of an old-time family
+Christmas.
+
+When Heine was Twenty-one dramatizes the early disobedience of the
+author in writing poetry against his uncle's orders.
+
+Miss Burney at Court deals with an interesting incident in the life of
+the author of "Evelina" when she was at the Court of George III.
+
+The Fairies' Plea, which is an adaptation of Thomas Hood's poem, shows
+Shakespeare intervening to save the fairies from the scythe of Time.
+
+Designed in general for young people near enough to the college age to
+feel an interest in the personal and human aspects of literature, but
+the last two could easily be handled by younger actors. They can
+successfully be given by groups or societies of young people without the
+aid of a professional coach.
+
+                   LITTLE PLAYS FROM AMERICAN HISTORY
+                            FOR YOUNG FOLKS
+
+                 By Alice Johnstone Walker. $1.00 net.
+
+Hiding the Regicides, a number of brief and stirring episodes,
+concerning the pursuit of Colonels Whalley and Goff by the officers of
+Charles II at New Haven in old colony days.
+
+Mrs. Murray's Dinner Party, in three acts, is a lively comedy about a
+Patriot hostess and British Officers in Revolutionary Days.
+
+Scenes from Lincoln's Time; the martyred President does not himself
+appear. They cover Lincoln's helping a little girl with her trunk, women
+preparing lint for the wounded, a visit to the White House of an
+important delegation from New York, and of the mother of a soldier boy
+sentenced to death--and the coming of the army of liberation to the
+darkies.
+
+Tho big events are touched upon, the mounting of all these little plays
+is simplicity itself, and they have stood the test of frequent school
+performance.
+
+                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
+                         Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Christ Legends, by Selma Lagerloef
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