1 files changed, 14765 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/old/5175.txt b/old/5175.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..84753b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/5175.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,14765 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Pearl-Maiden, by H. Rider Haggard
+
+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: Pearl-Maiden
+
+Author: H. Rider Haggard
+
+Release Date: April 22, 2006 [EBook #5175]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEARL-MAIDEN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by John Bickers; Dagny
+
+
+
+
+
+PEARL-MAIDEN
+
+
+A Tale Of The Fall of Jerusalem
+
+
+By H. Rider Haggard
+
+First Published 1901.
+
+TO
+
+GLADYS CHRISTIAN
+
+A DWELLER IN THE EAST THIS EASTERN TALE IS DEDICATED BY HER OWN AND HER
+FATHER'S FRIEND
+
+THE AUTHOR
+
+Ditchingham: September 14, 1902.
+
+
+
+
+
+PEARL-MAIDEN
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE PRISON AT CAESAREA
+
+It was but two hours after midnight, yet many were wakeful in Caesarea on
+the Syrian coast. Herod Agrippa, King of all Palestine--by grace of
+the Romans--now at the very apex of his power, celebrated a festival in
+honour of the Emperor Claudius, to which had flocked all the mightiest
+in the land and tens of thousands of the people. The city was full of
+them, their camps were set upon the sea-beach and for miles around;
+there was no room at the inns or in the private houses, where guests
+slept upon the roofs, the couches, the floors, and in the gardens. The
+great town hummed like a hive of bees disturbed after sunset, and though
+the louder sounds of revelling had died away, parties of feasters,
+many of them still crowned with fading roses, passed along the
+streets shouting and singing to their lodgings. As they went, they
+discussed--those of them who were sufficiently sober--the incidents of
+that day's games in the great circus, and offered or accepted odds upon
+the more exciting events of the morrow.
+
+The captives in the prison that was set upon a little hill, a frowning
+building of brown stone, divided into courts and surrounded by a
+high wall and a ditch, could hear the workmen at their labours in the
+amphitheatre below. These sounds interested them, since many of those
+who listened were doomed to take a leading part in the spectacle of this
+new day. In the outer court, for instance, were a hundred men called
+malefactors, for the most part Jews convicted of various political
+offences. These were to fight against twice their number of savage Arabs
+of the desert taken in a frontier raid, people whom to-day we should
+know as Bedouins, mounted and armed with swords and lances, but wearing
+no mail. The malefactor Jews, by way of compensation, were to be
+protected with heavy armour and ample shields. Their combat was to
+last for twenty minutes by the sand-glass, when, unless they had shown
+cowardice, those who were left alive of either party were to receive
+their freedom. Indeed, by a kindly decree the King Agrippa, a man who
+did not seek unnecessary bloodshed, contrary to custom, even the wounded
+were to be spared, that is, if any would undertake the care of them.
+Under these circumstances, since life is sweet, all had determined to
+fight their best.
+
+In another division of the great hall was collected a very different
+company. There were not more than fifty or sixty of these, so the wide
+arches of the surrounding cloisters gave them sufficient shelter and
+even privacy. With the exception of eight or ten men, all of them old,
+or well on in middle age, since the younger and more vigorous males had
+been carefully drafted to serve as gladiators, this little band was
+made of women and a few children. They belonged to the new sect called
+Christians, the followers of one Jesus, who, according to report, was
+crucified as a troublesome person by the governor, Pontius Pilate, a
+Roman official, who in due course had been banished to Gaul, where he
+was said to have committed suicide. In his day Pilate was unpopular
+in Judaea, for he had taken the treasures of the Temple at Jerusalem to
+build waterworks, causing a tumult in which many were killed. Now he
+was almost forgotten, but very strangely, the fame of this crucified
+demagogue, Jesus, seemed to grow, since there were many who made a kind
+of god of him, preaching doctrines in his name that were contrary to the
+law and offensive to every sect of the Jews.
+
+Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Levites, priests, all called out against
+them. All besought Agrippa that he would be rid of them, these apostates
+who profaned the land and proclaimed in the ears of a nation awaiting
+its Messiah, that Heaven-born King who should break the Roman yoke and
+make Jerusalem the capital of the world, that this Messiah had come
+already in the guise of an itinerant preacher, and perished with other
+malefactors by the death of shame.
+
+Wearied with their importunities, the King listened. Like the cultivated
+Romans with whom he associated, Agrippa had no real religion. At
+Jerusalem he embellished the Temple and made offerings to Jehovah; at
+Berytus he embellished the temple and made offerings there to Jupiter.
+He was all things to all men and to himself--nothing but a voluptuous
+time-server. As for these Christians, he never troubled himself about
+them. Why should he? They were few and insignificant, no single man of
+rank or wealth was to be found among them. To persecute them was easy,
+and--it pleased the Jews. Therefore he persecuted them. One James, a
+disciple of the crucified man called Christ, who had wandered about the
+country with him, he seized and beheaded at Jerusalem. Another, called
+Peter, a powerful preacher, he threw into prison, and of their followers
+he slew many. A few of these were given over to be stoned by the Jews,
+but the pick of the men were forced to fight as gladiators at Berytus
+and elsewhere. The women, if young and beautiful, were sold as slaves,
+but if matrons or aged, they were cast to the wild beasts in the circus.
+
+Such was the fate, indeed, that was reserved for these poor victims in
+the prison on this very day of the opening of our history. After the
+gladiators had fought and the other games had been celebrated, sixty
+Christians, it was announced, old and useless men, married woman and
+young children whom nobody would buy, were to be turned down in the
+great amphitheatre. Then thirty fierce lions, with other savage beasts,
+made ravenous by hunger and mad with the smell of blood, were to be let
+loose among them. Even in this act of justice, however, Agrippa suffered
+it to be seen that he was gentle-hearted, since of his kindness he had
+decreed that any whom the lions refused to eat were to be given clothes,
+a small sum of money, and released to settle their differences with the
+Jews as they might please.
+
+Such was the state of public feeling and morals in the Roman world of
+that day, that this spectacle of the feeding of starved beasts with live
+women and children, whose crime was that they worshipped a crucified
+man and would offer sacrifice to no other god, either in the Temple
+or elsewhere, was much looked forward to by the population of Caesarea.
+Indeed, great sums of money were ventured upon the event, by means of
+what to-day would be called sweepstakes, under the regulations of which
+he who drew the ticket marked with the exact number of those whom the
+lions left alive, would take the first prize. Already some far-seeing
+gamblers who had drawn low numbers, had bribed the soldiers and wardens
+to sprinkle the hair and garments of the Christians with valerian water,
+a decoction which was supposed to attract and excite the appetite of
+these great cats. Others, whose tickets were high, paid handsomely for
+the employment of artifices which need not be detailed, calculated to
+induce in the lions aversion to the subject that had been treated.
+The Christian woman or child, it will be observed, who was to form
+the _corpus vile_ of these ingenious experiments, was not considered,
+except, indeed, as the fisherman considers the mussel or the sand-worm
+on his hook.
+
+Under an arch by themselves, and not far from the great gateway where
+the guards, their lances in hand, could be seen pacing up and down,
+sat two women. The contrast in the appearance of this pair was very
+striking. One, who could not have been much more than twenty years of
+age, was a Jewess, too thin-faced for beauty, but with dark and lovely
+eyes, and bearing in every limb and feature the stamp of noble blood.
+She was Rachel, the widow of Demas, a Graeco-Syrian, and only child of
+the high-born Jew Benoni, one of the richest merchants in Tyre. The
+other was a woman of remarkable aspect, apparently about forty years
+of age. She was a native of the coasts of Libya, where she had been
+kidnapped as a girl by Jewish traders, and by them passed on to
+Phoenicians, who sold her upon the slave market of Tyre. In fact she was
+a high-bred Arab without any admixture of negro blood, as was shown by
+her copper-coloured skin, prominent cheek bones, her straight, black,
+abundant hair, and untamed, flashing eyes. In frame she was tall and
+spare, very agile, and full of grace in every movement. Her face was
+fierce and hard; even in her present dreadful plight she showed no fear,
+only when she looked at the lady by her side it grew anxious and tender.
+She was called Nehushta, a name which Benoni had given her when many
+years ago he bought her upon the market-place. In Hebrew Nehushta means
+copper, and this new slave was copper-coloured. In her native land,
+however, she had another name, Nou, and by this name she was known to
+her dead mistress, the wife of Benoni, and to his daughter Rachel, whom
+she had nursed from childhood.
+
+The moon shone very brightly in a clear sky, and by the light of it an
+observer, had there been any to observe where all were so occupied
+with their own urgent affairs, could have watched every movement and
+expression of these women. Rachel, seated on the ground, was rocking
+herself to and fro, her face hidden in her hands, and praying. Nehushta
+knelt at her side, resting the weight of her body on her heels as only
+an Eastern can, and stared sullenly at nothingness.
+
+Presently Rachel, dropping her hands, looked at the tender sky and
+sighed.
+
+"Our last night on earth, Nou," she said sadly. "It is strange to think
+that we shall never again see the moon floating above us."
+
+"Why not, mistress? If all that we have been taught is true, we shall
+see that moon, or others, for ever and ever, and if it is not true, then
+neither light nor darkness will trouble us any more. However, for my own
+part I don't mean that either of us should die to-morrow."
+
+"How can you prevent it, Nou?" asked Rachel with a faint smile. "Lions
+are no respecters of persons."
+
+"Yet, mistress, I think that they will respect my person, and yours,
+too, for my sake."
+
+"What do you mean, Nou?"
+
+"I mean that I do not fear the lions; they are country-folk of mine and
+roared round my cradle. The chief, my father, was called Master of Lions
+in our country because he could tame them. Why, when I was a little
+child I have fed them and they fawned upon us like dogs."
+
+"Those lions are long dead, Nou, and the others will not remember."
+
+"I am not sure that they are dead; at least, blood will call to blood,
+and their company will know the smell of the child of the Master of
+Lions. Whoever is eaten, we shall escape."
+
+"I have no such hope, Nou. To-morrow we must die horribly, that King
+Agrippa may do honour to his master, Caesar."
+
+"If you think that, mistress, then let us die at once rather than be
+rent limb from limb to give pleasure to a stinking mob. See, I have
+poison hidden here in my hair. Let us drink of it and be done: it is
+swift and painless."
+
+"Nay, Nou, it would not be right. I may lift no hand against my own
+life, or if perchance I may, I have to think of another life."
+
+"If you die, the unborn child must die also. To-night or to-morrow, what
+does it matter?"
+
+"Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof. Who knows? To-morrow Agrippa
+may be dead, not us, and then the child might live. It is in the hand of
+God. Let God decide."
+
+"Lady," answered Nehushta, setting her teeth, "for your sake I have
+become a Christian, yes, and I believe. But I tell you this--while I
+live no lion's fangs shall tear that dear flesh of yours. First if need
+be, I will stab you there in the arena, or if they take my knife from
+me, then I will choke you, or dash out your brains against the posts."
+
+"It may be a sin, Nou; take no such risk upon your soul."
+
+"My soul! What do I care about my soul? You are my soul. Your mother was
+kind to me, the poor slave-girl, and when you were an infant, I rocked
+you upon my breast. I spread your bride-bed, and if need be, to save you
+from worse things, I will lay you dead before me and myself dead across
+your body. Then let God or Satan--I care not which--deal with my soul.
+At least, I shall have done my best and died faithful."
+
+"You should not speak so," sighed Rachel. "But, dear, I know it is
+because you love me, and I wish to die as easily as may be and to join
+my husband. Only if the child could have lived, as I think, all three
+of us would have dwelt together eternally. Nay, not all three, all four,
+for you are well-nigh as dear to me, Nou, as husband or as child."
+
+"That cannot be, I do not wish that it should be, who am but a slave
+woman, the dog beneath the table. Oh! if I could save you, then I would
+be glad to show them how this daughter of my father can bear their
+torments."
+
+The Libyan ceased, grinding her teeth in impotent rage. Then suddenly
+she leant towards her mistress, kissed her fiercely on the cheek and
+began to sob, slow, heavy sobs.
+
+"Listen," said Rachel. "The lions are roaring in their dens yonder."
+
+Nehushta lifted her head and hearkened as a hunter hearkens in the
+desert. True enough, from near the great tower that ended the southern
+wall of the amphitheatre, echoed short, coughing notes and fierce
+whimperings, to be followed presently by roar upon roar, as lion after
+lion joined in that fearful music, till the whole air shook with the
+volume of their voices.
+
+"Aha!" cried a keeper at the gate--not the Roman soldier who marched
+to and fro unconcernedly, but a jailor, named Rufus, who was clad in
+a padded robe and armed with a great knife. "Aha! listen to them, the
+pretty kittens. Don't be greedy, little ones--be patient. To-night you
+will purr upon a full stomach."
+
+"Nine of them," muttered Nehushta, who had counted the roars, "all
+bearded and old, royal beasts. To hearken to them makes me young again.
+Yes, yes, I smell the desert and see the smoke rising from my father's
+tents. As a child I hunted them, now they will hunt me; it is their
+hour."
+
+"Give me air! I faint!" gasped Rachel, sinking against her.
+
+With a guttural exclamation of pity Nehushta bent down. Placing her
+strong arms beneath the slender form of her young mistress, and lifting
+her as though she were a child, she carried her to the centre of the
+court, where stood a fountain; for before it was turned to the purposes
+of a jail once this place had been a palace. Here she set her mistress
+on the ground with her back against the stonework, and dashed water in
+her face till presently she was herself again.
+
+While Rachel sat thus--for the place was cool and pleasant and she could
+not sleep who must die that day--a wicket-gate was opened and several
+persons, men, women, and children, were thrust through it into the
+court.
+
+"Newcomers from Tyre in a great hurry not to lose the lions' party,"
+cried the facetious warden of the gate. "Pass in, my Christian friends,
+pass in and eat your last supper according to your customs. You will
+find it over there, bread and wine in plenty. Eat, my hungry friends,
+eat before you are eaten and enter into Heaven or--the stomach of the
+lions."
+
+An old woman, the last of the party, for she could not walk fast, turned
+round and pointed at the buffoon with her staff.
+
+"Blaspheme not, you heathen dog!" she said, "or rather, blaspheme on
+and go to your reward! I, Anna, who have the gift of prophecy, tell you,
+renegade who were a Christian, and therefore are doubly guilty, that
+_you_ have eaten your last meal--on earth."
+
+The man, a half-bred Syrian who had abandoned his faith for profit and
+now tormented those who were once his brethren, uttered a furious curse
+and snatched a knife from his girdle.
+
+"You draw the knife? So be it, perish by the knife!" said Anna.
+Then without heeding him further the old woman hobbled on after her
+companions, leaving the man to slink away white to the lips with terror.
+He had been a Christian and knew something of Anna and of this "gift of
+prophecy."
+
+The path of these strangers led them past the fountain, where Rachel and
+Nehushta rose to greet them as they came.
+
+"Peace be with you," said Rachel.
+
+"In the name of Christ, peace," they answered, and passed on towards
+the arches where the other captives were gathered. Last of all, at some
+distance behind the rest, came the white-haired woman, leaning on her
+staff.
+
+As she approached, Rachel turned to repeat her salutation, then uttered
+a little cry and said:
+
+"Mother Anna, do you not know me, Rachel, the daughter of Benoni?"
+
+"Rachel!" she answered, starting. "Alas! child, how came you here?"
+
+"By the paths that we Christians have to tread, mother," said Rachel,
+sadly. "But sit; you are weary. Nou, help her."
+
+Anna nodded, and slowly, for her limbs were stiff, sank down on to the
+step of the fountain.
+
+"Give me to drink, child," she said, "for I have been brought upon a
+mule from Tyre, and am athirst."
+
+Rachel made her hands into a cup, for she had no other, and held water
+to Anna's lips, which she drank greedily, emptying them many times.
+
+"For this refreshment, God be praised. What said you? The daughter of
+Benoni a Christian! Well, even here and now, for that God be praised
+also. Strange that I should not have heard of it; but I have been in
+Jerusalem these two years, and was brought back to Tyre last Sabbath as
+a prisoner."
+
+"Yes, Mother, and since then I have become both wife and widow."
+
+"Whom did you marry, child?"
+
+"Demas, the merchant. They killed him in the amphitheatre yonder at
+Berytus six months ago," and the poor woman began to sob.
+
+"I heard of his end," replied Anna. "It was a good and noble one, and
+his soul rests in Heaven. He would not fight with the gladiators, so he
+was beheaded by order of Agrippa. But cease weeping, child, and tell me
+your story. We have little time for tears, who, perhaps, soon will have
+done with them."
+
+Rachel dried her eyes.
+
+"It is short and sad," she said. "Demas and I met often and learned to
+love each other. My father was no friend to him, for they were rivals in
+trade, but in those days knowing no better, Demas followed the faith
+of the Jews; therefore, because he was rich my father consented to our
+marriage, and they became partners in their business. Afterwards,
+within a month indeed, the Apostles came to Tyre, and we attended their
+preaching--at first, because we were curious to learn the truth of this
+new faith against which my father railed, for, as you know, he is of the
+strictest sect of the Jews; and then, because our hearts were touched.
+So in the end we believed, and were baptised, both on one night, by
+the very hand of the brother of the Lord. The holy Apostles departed,
+blessing us before they went, and Demas, who would play no double part,
+told my father of what we had done. Oh! mother, it was awful to see. He
+raved, shouted and cursed us in his rage, blaspheming Him we worship.
+More, woe is me that I should have to tell it: When we refused to become
+apostates he denounced us to the priests, and the priests denounced
+us to the Romans, and we were seized and thrown into prison; but my
+husband's wealth, most of it except that which the priests and Romans
+stole, stayed with my father. For many months we were held in prison
+here in Caesarea; then they took my husband to Berytus, to be trained
+as a gladiator, and murdered him. Here I have stayed since with this
+beloved servant, Nehushta, who also became a Christian and shared our
+fate, and now, by the decree of Agrippa, it is my turn and hers to die
+to-day."
+
+"Child, you should not weep for that; nay, you should be glad who at
+once will find your husband and your Saviour."
+
+"Mother, I am glad; but, you see my state. It is for the child's sake I
+weep, that now never will be born. Had it won life even for an hour all
+of us would have dwelt together in bliss until eternity. But it cannot
+be--it cannot be."
+
+Anna looked at her with her piercing eyes.
+
+"Have you, then, also the gift of prophecy, child, who are so young a
+member of the Church, that you dare to say that this or that cannot be?
+The future is in the hand of God. King Agrippa, your father, the Romans,
+the cruel Jews, those lions that roar yonder, and we who are doomed to
+feed them, are all in the hand of God, and that which He wills shall
+befall, and no other thing. Therefore, let us praise Him and rejoice,
+and take no thought for the morrow, unless it be to pray that we may die
+and go hence to our Master, rather than live on in doubts and terrors
+and tribulations."
+
+"You are right, mother," answered Rachel, "and I will try to be brave,
+whatever may befall; but my state makes me feeble. The spirit, truly, is
+willing, but oh! the flesh is weak. Listen, they call us to partake of
+the Sacrament of the Lord--our last on earth"; and rising, she began to
+walk towards the arches.
+
+Nehushta stayed to help Anna to her feet. When she judged her mistress
+to be out of hearing she leaned down and whispered:
+
+"Mother, you have the gift; it is known throughout the Church. Tell me,
+will the child be born?"
+
+The old woman fixed her eyes upon the heavens, then answered, slowly:
+
+"The child will be born and live out its life, and I think that none of
+us are doomed to die this day by the jaws of lions, though some of us
+may die in another fashion. But I think also that your mistress goes
+very shortly to join her husband. Therefore it was that I showed her
+nothing of what came into my mind."
+
+"Then it is best that I should die also, and die I will."
+
+"Wherefore?"
+
+"Because I go to wait upon my mistress?"
+
+"Nay, Nehushta," answered Anna, sternly, "you stay to guard her child,
+whereof when all these earthly things are done you must give account to
+her."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE VOICE OF A GOD
+
+Of all the civilisations whose records lie open to the student, that
+of Rome is surely one of the most wonderful. Nowhere, not even in old
+Mexico, was high culture so completely wedded to the lowest barbarism.
+Intellect Rome had in plenty; the noblest efforts of her genius are
+scarcely to be surpassed; her law is the foundation of the best of our
+codes of jurisprudence; art she borrowed but appreciated; her military
+system is still the wonder of the world; her great men remain great
+among a multitude of subsequent competitors. And yet how pitiless she
+was! What a tigress! Amid all the ruins of her cities we find none of a
+hospital, none, I believe, of an orphan school in an age that made many
+orphans. The pious aspirations and efforts of individuals seem never
+to have touched the conscience of the people. Rome incarnate had no
+conscience; she was a lustful, devouring beast, made more bestial by her
+intelligence and splendour.
+
+King Agrippa in practice was a Roman. Rome was his model, her ideals
+were his ideals. Therefore he built amphitheatres in which men were
+butchered, to the exquisite delight of vast audiences. Therefore, also,
+without the excuse of any conscientious motive, however insufficient or
+unsatisfactory, he persecuted the weak because they were weak and their
+sufferings would give pleasure to the strong or to those who chanced to
+be the majority of the moment.
+
+The season being hot it was arranged that the great games in honour of
+the safety of Caesar, should open each day at dawn and come to an end an
+hour before noon. Therefore from midnight onwards crowds of spectators
+poured into the amphitheatre, which, although it would seat over twenty
+thousand, was not large enough to contain them all. An hour before the
+dawn the place was full, and already late comers were turned back from
+its gates. The only empty spaces were those reserved for the king,
+his royal guests, the rulers of the city, with other distinguished
+personages, and for the Christian company of old men, women and children
+destined to the lions, who, it was arranged, were to sit in full view
+of the audience until the time came for them to take their share in the
+spectacle.
+
+When Rachel joined the other captives she found that a long rough table
+had been set beneath the arcades, and on it at intervals, pieces of
+bread and cups and vases containing wine of the country that had been
+purchased at a great price from the guards. Round this table the elders
+or the infirm among the company were seated on a bench, while the rest
+of the number, for whom there was not room, stood behind them. At its
+head was an old man, a bishop among the Christians, one of the five
+hundred who had seen the risen Lord and received baptism from the
+hands of the Beloved Disciple. For some years he had been spared by the
+persecutors of the infant Church on account of his age, dignity, and
+good repute, but now at last fate seemed to have overtaken him.
+
+The service was held; the bread and wine, mixed with water, were
+consecrated with the same texts by which they are blessed to-day, only
+the prayers were extempore. When all had eaten from the platters and
+drunk from the rude cups, the bishop gave his blessing to the community.
+Then he addressed them. This, he told them, was an occasion of peculiar
+joy, a love-feast indeed, since all they who partook of it were about to
+lay down the burden of the flesh and, their labours and sorrows ended,
+to depart into bliss eternal. He called to their memory the supper of
+the Passover which had taken place within the lifetime of many of
+them, when the Author and Finisher of their faith had declared to the
+disciples that He would drink no more wine till He drank it new with
+them in His kingdom. Such a feast it was that lay spread before them
+this night. Let them be thankful for it. Let them not quail in the hour
+of trial. The fangs of the savage beasts, the shouts of the still more
+savage spectators, the agony of the quivering flesh, the last terror of
+their departing, what were these? Soon, very soon, they would be done;
+the spears of the soldiers would despatch the injured, and those among
+them whom it was ordained should escape, would be set free by the
+command of the representative of Caesar, that they might prosecute the
+work till the hour came for them to pass on the torch of redemption to
+other hands. Let them rejoice, therefore, and be very thankful, and
+walk to the sacrifice as to a wedding feast. "Do you not rejoice, my
+brethren?" he asked. With one voice they answered, "We rejoice!" Yes,
+even the children answered thus.
+
+Then they prayed again, and again with uplifted hands the old man
+blessed them in the holy Triune Name.
+
+Scarcely had this service, as solemn as it was simple, been brought
+to an end when the head jailer, whose blasphemous jocosity since his
+reproof by Anna was replaced by a mien of sullen venom, came forward and
+commanded the whole band to march to the amphitheatre. Accordingly, two
+by two, the bishop leading the way with the sainted woman Anna, they
+walked to the gates. Here a guard of soldiers was waiting to receive
+them, and under their escort they threaded the narrow, darkling streets
+till they came to that door of the amphitheatre which was used by those
+who were to take part in the games. Now, at a word from the bishop, they
+began to chant a solemn hymn, and singing thus, were thrust along the
+passages to the place prepared for them. This was not, as they expected,
+a prison at the back of the amphitheatre, but, as has been said, a spot
+between the enclosing wall and the podium, raised a little above the
+level of the arena. Here, on the eastern side of the building, they were
+to sit till their turn came to be driven by the guards through a little
+wicket-gate into the arena, where the starving beasts of prey would be
+loosed upon them.
+
+It was now the hour before sunrise, and the moon having set, the vast
+theatre was plunged in gloom, relieved only here and there by stray
+torches and cressets of fire burning upon either side of the gorgeous,
+but as yet unoccupied, throne of Agrippa. This gloom seemed to oppress
+the audience with which the place was crowded; at any rate none of them
+shouted or sang, or even spoke loudly. They addressed each other
+in muffled tones, with the result that the air seemed to be full of
+mysterious whisperings. Had this poor band of condemned Christians
+entered the theatre in daylight, they would have been greeted with
+ironical cries and tauntings of "Dogs' meat!" and with requests that
+they should work a miracle and let the people see them rise again from
+the bellies of the lions. But now, as their solemn song broke upon the
+silence, it was answered only by one great murmur, which seemed to shape
+itself to the words, "the Christians! The doomed Christians!"
+
+By the light of a single torch the band took their places. Then once
+more they sang, and in that chastening hour the audience listened with
+attention, almost with respect. Their chant finished, the bishop stood
+up, and, moved thereto by some inspiration, began to address the mighty
+throng, whom he could not see, and who could not see him. Strangely
+enough they hearkened to him, perhaps because his speech served to while
+away the weary time of waiting.
+
+"Men and brethren," he began, in his thin, piercing notes, "princes,
+lords, peoples, Romans, Jews, Syrians, Greeks, citizens of Idumaea, of
+Egypt, and of all nations here gathered, hearken to the words of an old
+man destined and glad to die. Listen, if it be your pleasure, to the
+story of One whom some of you saw crucified under Pontius Pilate, since
+to know the truth of that matter can at least do you no hurt."
+
+"Be silent!" cried a voice, that of the renegade jailer, "and cease
+preaching your accursed faith!"
+
+"Let him alone," answered other voices. "We will hear this story of his.
+We say--let him alone."
+
+Thus encouraged the old man spoke on with an eloquence so simple and yet
+so touching, with a wisdom so deep, that for full fifteen minutes none
+cared even to interrupt him. Then a far-away listener cried:
+
+"Why must these people die who are better than we?"
+
+"Friend," answered the bishop, in ringing tones, which in that heavy
+silence seemed to search out even the recesses of the great and crowded
+place, "we must die because it is the will of King Agrippa, to whom
+God has given power to destroy us. Mourn not for us because we perish
+cruelly, since this is the day of our true birth, but mourn for King
+Agrippa, at whose hands our blood will be required, and mourn, mourn for
+yourselves, O people. The death that is near to us perchance is nearer
+still to some of you; and how will you awaken who perish in your sins?
+What if the sword of God should empty yonder throne? What if the voice
+of God should call on him who fills it to make answer of his deeds?
+Soon or late, O people, it will call on him and you to pass hence, some
+naturally in your age, others by the sharp and dreadful roads of sword,
+pestilence or famine. Already those woes which He whom you crucified
+foretold, knock at your door, and within a few short years not one of
+you who crowd this place in thousands will draw the breath of life.
+Nothing will remain of you on earth save the fruit of those deeds which
+you have done--these and your bones, no more. Repent you, therefore,
+repent while there is time; for I, whom you have doomed, I am bidden to
+declare that judgment is at hand. Yes, even now, although you see him
+not, the Angel of the Lord hangs over you and writes your names within
+his book. Now while there is time I would pray for you and for your
+king. Farewell."
+
+As he spoke those words "the Angel of the Lord hangs over you," so great
+was the preacher's power, and in that weary darkness so sharply had he
+touched the imagination of his strange audience, that with a sound like
+to the stir of rustling trees, thousands of faces were turned upwards,
+as though in search of that dread messenger.
+
+"Look, look!" screamed a hundred voices, while dim arms pointed to some
+noiseless thing that floated high above them against the background
+of the sky, which grew grey with the coming dawn. It appeared and
+disappeared, appeared again, then seemed to pass downward in the
+direction of Agrippa's throne, and vanished.
+
+"It is that magician's angel," cried one, and the multitudes groaned.
+
+"Fool," said another, "it was but a bird."
+
+"Then for Agrippa's sake," shrilled a new voice, "the gods send that it
+was not an owl."
+
+Thereat some laughed, but the most were silent. They knew the story of
+King Agrippa and the owl, and how it had been foretold that this spirit
+in the form of a bird would appear to him again in the hour of his
+death, as it had appeared to him in the hour of his triumph.[*]
+
+     [*] See Josephus, "Antiquities of the Jews," Book XVII.,
+     Chap. VI., Sec. 7; and Book XIX., Chap. VIII., Sec. 2.
+
+Just then from the palace to the north arose a sound of the blare of
+trumpets. Now a herald, speaking on the summit of the great eastern
+tower, called out that it was dawn above the mountains, and that King
+Agrippa came with all his company, whereon the preaching of the old
+Christian and his tale of a watching Vengeance were instantly forgotten.
+Presently the glad, fierce notes of the trumpets drew nearer, and in the
+grey of the daybreak, through the great bronze gates of the Triumphal
+Way that were thrown open to greet him, advanced Agrippa, wonderfully
+attired and preceded by his legionaries. At his right walked Vibius
+Marsus, the Roman President of Syria, and on his left Antiochus, King of
+Commagena, while after him followed other kings, princes, and great men
+of his own and foreign lands.
+
+Agrippa mounted his golden throne while the multitude roared a welcome,
+and his company were seated around and behind him according to their
+degree.
+
+Once more the trumpets sounded, and the gladiators of different arms,
+headed by the equites who fought on horseback, numbering in all more
+than five hundred men, were formed up in the arena for the preliminary
+march past--the salutation of those about to die to their emperor and
+lord. Now, that they also might take their part in the spectacle, the
+band of Christian martyrs were thrust through the door in the podium,
+and to make them seem as many as possible in number, marshalled two by
+two.
+
+Then the march past began. Troop by troop, arrayed in their shining
+armour and armed, each of them, with his own familiar weapon, the
+gladiators halted in front of Agrippa's throne, giving to him the
+accustomed salutation of "Hail, King, we who are about to die, salute
+thee," to be rewarded with a royal smile and the shouts of the approving
+audience. Last of all came the Christians, a motley, wretched-looking
+group, made up of old men, terrified children clinging to their mothers,
+and ill-clad, dishevelled women. At the pitiful sight, that very mob
+which a few short minutes before had hung upon the words of the bishop,
+their leader, now, as they watched them hobbling round the arena in the
+clear, low light of the dawning, burst into peals of laughter and called
+out that each of them should be made to lead his lion. Quite heedless
+of these scoffs and taunts, they trudged on through the white sand that
+soon would be so red, until they came opposite to the throne.
+
+"Salute!" roared the audience.
+
+The bishop held up his hand and all were silent. Then, in the thin voice
+with which they had become familiar, he said:
+
+"King, we who are about to die--forgive thee. May God do likewise."
+
+Now the multitude ceased laughing, and with an impatient gesture,
+Agrippa motioned to the martyrs to pass on. This they did humbly;
+but Anna, being old, lame and weary, could not walk so fast as her
+companions. Alone she reached the saluting-place after all had left it,
+and halted there.
+
+"Forward!" cried the officers. But she did not move nor did she speak.
+Only leaning on her staff she looked steadily up at the face of the king
+Agrippa. Some impulse seemed to draw his eyes to hers. They met, and
+it was noted that he turned pale. Then straightening herself with
+difficulty upon her tottering feet, Anna raised her staff and pointed
+with it to the golden canopy above the head of Herod. All stared upward,
+but saw nothing, for the canopy was still in the shadow of the velarium
+which covered all the outer edge of the cavea, leaving the centre open
+to the sky. It would appear, however, that Agrippa did see something,
+for he who had risen to declare the games open, suddenly sank back upon
+his throne, and remained thus lost in thought. Then Anna limped forward
+to join her company, who once more were driven through the little gate
+in the wall of the arena.
+
+For a second time, with an effort, Agrippa lifted himself from his
+throne. As he rose the first level rays of sunrise struck full upon him.
+He was a tall and noble-looking man, and his dress was glorious. To
+the thousands who gazed upon him from the shadow, set in that point of
+burning light he seemed to be clothed in a garment of glittering silver.
+Silver was his crown, silver his vest, silver the wide robe that flowed
+from his shoulders to the ground.
+
+"In the name of Caesar, to the glory of Caesar, I declare these games
+open!" he cried.
+
+Then, as though moved by a sudden impulse, all the multitude rose
+shouting: "The voice of a god! The voice of a god! The voice of the god
+Agrippa!"
+
+Nor did Agrippa say them nay; the glory of such worship thundered at
+him from twenty thousand throats made him drunken. There for a while he
+stood, the new-born sunlight playing upon his splendid form, while the
+multitude roared his name, proclaiming it divine. His nostrils spread to
+inhale this incense of adoration, his eyes flashed and slowly he waved
+his arms, as though in benediction of his worshippers. Perchance there
+rose before his mind a vision of the wondrous event whereby he, the
+scorned and penniless outcast, had been lifted to this giddy pinnacle
+of power. Perchance for a moment he believed that he was indeed divine,
+that nothing less than the blood and right of godhead could thus have
+exalted him. At least he stood there, denying naught, while the people
+adored him as Jehovah is adored of the Jews and Christ is adored of the
+Christians.
+
+Then of a sudden smote the Angel of the Lord. Of a sudden intolerable
+pain seized upon his vitals, and Herod remembered that he was but mortal
+flesh, and knew that death was near.
+
+"Alas!" he cried, "I am no god, but a man, and even now the common fate
+of man is on me."
+
+As he spoke a great white owl slid from the roof of the canopy above him
+and vanished through the unroofed centre of the cavea.
+
+"Look! look! my people!" he cried again, "the spirit that brought me
+good fortune leaves me now, and I die, my people, I die!" Then, sinking
+upon his throne, he who a moment gone had received the worship of a god,
+writhed there in agony and wept. Yes, Herod wept.
+
+Attendants ran to him and lifted him in their arms.
+
+"Take me hence to die," he moaned. Now a herald cried:
+
+"The king is smitten with a sore sickness, and the games are closed. To
+your homes, O people."
+
+For a while the multitude sat silent, for they were fear-stricken. Then
+a murmur rose among them that spread and swelled till it became a roar.
+
+"The Christians! The Christians! They prophesied the evil. They have
+bewitched the king. They are wizards. Kill them, kill them, kill them!"
+
+Instantly, like waves pouring in from every side, hundreds and thousands
+of men began to flow towards that place where the martyrs sat. The walls
+and palisades were high. Sweeping aside the guards, they surged against
+them like water against a rock; but climb they could not. Those in front
+began to scream, those behind pressed on. Some fell and were trodden
+underfoot, others clambered upon their bodies, in turn to fall and be
+trodden underfoot.
+
+"Our death is upon us!" cried one of the Nazarenes.
+
+"Nay, life remains to us," answered Nehushta. "Follow me, all of you,
+for I know the road," and, seizing Rachel about the middle, she began to
+drag her towards a little door. It was unlocked and guarded by one man
+only, the apostate jailer Rufus.
+
+"Stand back!" he cried, lifting his spear.
+
+Nehushta made no answer, only drawing a dagger from her robe, she fell
+upon the ground, then of a sudden rose again beneath his guard. The
+knife flashed and went home to the hilt. Down fell the man screaming for
+help and mercy, and there, in the narrow way, his spirit was stamped out
+of him. Beyond lay the broad passage of the vomitorium. They gained it,
+and in an instant were mixed with the thousands who sought to escape the
+panic. Some perished, some were swept onwards, among them Nehushta and
+Rachel. Thrice they nearly fell, but the fierce strength of the Libyan
+saved her mistress, till at length they found themselves on the broad
+terrace facing the seashore.
+
+"Whither now?" gasped Rachel.
+
+"Where shall I lead you?" answered Nehushta. "Do not stay. Be swift."
+
+"But the others?" said Rachel, glancing back at the fighting, trampling,
+yelling mob.
+
+"God guard them! We cannot."
+
+"Leave me," moaned her mistress. "Save yourself, Nou; I am spent," and
+she sank down to her knees.
+
+"But I am still strong," muttered Nehushta, and lifting the swooning
+woman in her sinewy arms, she fled on towards the port, crying, "Way,
+way for my lady, the noble Roman, who has swooned!"
+
+And the multitude made way.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE GRAIN STORE
+
+Having passed the outer terraces of the amphitheatre in safety, Nehushta
+turned down a side street, and paused in the shadow of the wall to think
+what she should do. So far they were safe; but even if her strength
+would stand the strain, it seemed impossible that she should carry her
+mistress through the crowded city and avoid recapture. For some months
+they had both of them been prisoners, and as it was the custom of the
+inhabitants of Caesarea, when they had nothing else to do, to come to the
+gates of their jail, and, through the bars, to study those within, or
+even, by permission of the guards, to walk among them, their appearance
+was known to many. Doubtless, so soon as the excitement caused by the
+illness of the king had subsided, soldiers would be sent to hunt down
+the fugitives who had escaped from the amphitheatre. More especially
+would they search for her, Nehushta, and her mistress, since it would be
+known that one of them had stabbed the warden of the gate, a crime for
+which they must expect to die by torture. Also--where could they go who
+had no friends, since all Christians had been expelled the city?
+
+No, there was but one chance for them--to conceal themselves.
+
+Nehushta looked round her for a hiding-place, and in this matter, as in
+others on that day, fortune favoured them. This street in the old days,
+when Caesarea was called Strato's Tower, had been built upon an inner
+wall of the city, now long dismantled. At a distance of a few yards
+from where Nehushta had stopped stood an ancient gateway, unused save
+at times by beggars who slept under it, which led nowhere, for the outer
+arch of it was bricked up. Into this gateway Nehushta bore her mistress
+unobserved, to find to her relief that it was quite untenanted, though
+a still smouldering fire and a broken amphora containing clean water
+showed her that folk had slept there who could find no better lodging.
+So far so good; but here it would be scarcely safe to hide, as the
+tenants or others might come back. Nehushta looked around. In the thick
+wall was a little archway, beneath which commenced a stair. Setting
+Rachel on the ground, she ran up it, lightly as a cat. At the top of
+thirty steps, many of them broken, she found an old and massive door.
+With a sigh of disappointment, the Libyan turned to descend again; then,
+by an afterthought, pushed at the door. To her surprise it stirred.
+Again she pushed, and it swung open. Within was a large chamber, lighted
+by loopholes pierced in the thickness of the wall, for the use of
+archers. Now, however, it served no military purpose, but was used as a
+storehouse by a merchant of grain, for there in a corner lay a heap of
+many measures of barley, and strewn about the floor were sacks of skin
+and other articles.
+
+Nehushta examined the room. No hiding-place could be better--unless the
+merchant chanced to come to visit his store. Well, that must be risked.
+Down she sped, and with much toil and difficulty carried her still
+swooning mistress up the steps and into the chamber, where she laid her
+on a heap of sacks.
+
+Again, by an afterthought, she ventured to descend, this time to fetch
+the broken jar of water. Then she closed the door, setting it fast with
+a piece of wood, and began to chafe Rachel's hands and to sprinkle her
+face from the jar. Presently the dark eyes opened and her mistress sat
+up.
+
+"Is it over, and is this Paradise?" she murmured.
+
+"I should not call the place by that name, lady," answered Nehushta,
+drily, "though perhaps, in contrast with the hell that we have left,
+some might think it so. Drink!" and she held the water to her lips.
+
+Rachel obeyed her eagerly. "Oh! it is good," she said. "But how came we
+here out of that rushing crowd?"
+
+Before she answered, muttering "After the mistress, the maid," Nehushta
+swallowed a deep draught of water in her turn, which, indeed, she needed
+sorely. Then she told her all.
+
+"Oh! Nou," said Rachel, "how strong and brave you are! But for you I
+should be dead."
+
+"But for God, you mean, mistress, for I hold that He sent that
+knife-point home."
+
+"Did you kill the man?" asked Rachel.
+
+"I think that he died by a dagger-thrust as Anna foretold," she answered
+evasively; "and that reminds me that I had better clean the knife, since
+blood on the blade is evidence against its owner." Then drawing the
+dagger from its hiding-place she rubbed it with dust, which she took
+from a loop-hole, and polished it bright with a piece of hide.
+
+Scarcely was this task accomplished to Nehushta's satisfaction when her
+quick ears caught a sound.
+
+"For your life, be silent," she whispered, and laid her face sideways
+to a crack in the cement floor and listened. Well might she listen, for
+below were three soldiers searching for her and her mistress.
+
+"The old fellow swore that he saw a Libyan woman carrying a lady down
+this street," said one of them, the petty officer in charge, to his
+companion, "and there was but a single brown-skin in the lot; so if they
+aren't here I don't know where they can be."
+
+"Well," grumbled one of the soldiers, "this place is as empty as a drum,
+so we may as well be going. There'll be fun presently which I don't want
+to miss."
+
+"It was the black woman who knifed our friend Rufus, wasn't it--in the
+theatre there?" asked the third soldier.
+
+"They say so; but as he was trodden as flat as a roof-board, and they
+had to take him up in pieces, it is difficult to know the truth of that
+matter. Anyhow his mates are anxious to get the lady, and I should be
+sorry to die as she will, when they do, or her mistress either. They
+have leave to finish them in their own fashion."
+
+"Hadn't we best be going?" said the first soldier, who evidently was
+anxious to keep some appointment.
+
+"Hullo!" exclaimed the second, a sharp-eyed fellow, "there's a stair; we
+had better just look up it."
+
+"Not much use," answered the officer. "That old thief Amram, the
+corn-merchant, has a store there, and he isn't one of the sort to leave
+it unlocked. Still, just go and see."
+
+Then came the sound of footsteps on the stair, and presently a man could
+be heard fumbling at the further side of the door. Rachel shut her eyes
+and prayed; Nehushta, drawing the knife from her bosom, crept towards
+the doorway like a tigress, and placed her left hand on the stick that
+held it shut. Well it was that she did so, since presently the soldier
+gave a savage push that might easily have caused the wood to slip on the
+cemented floor. Now, satisfied that it was really locked, he turned and
+went down the steps.
+
+With a gasp of relief Nehushta once more set her ear to the crack.
+
+"It's fast enough," reported the man, "but perhaps it might be as well
+to get the key from Amram and have a look."
+
+"Friend," said the officer, "I think that you must be in love with this
+black lady; or is it her mistress whom you admire? I shall recommend
+you for the post of Christian-catcher to the cohort. Now we'll try that
+house at the corner, and if they are not there, I am off to the palace
+to see how his godship is getting on with that stomach-ache and whether
+it has moved him to order payment of our arrears. If he hasn't, I tell
+you flatly that I mean to help myself to something, and so do the rest
+of the lads, who are mad at the stopping of the games."
+
+"It would be much better to get that key from Amram and have a look
+upstairs," put in number two soldier reflectively.
+
+"Then go to Amram, or to Pluto, and ask for the key of Hades for aught
+I care!" replied his superior with irritation. "He lives about a league
+off at the other end of the town."
+
+"I do not wish for the walk," said the conscientious soldier; "but as we
+are searching for these escaped Christians, by your leave, I do think it
+would have been much better to have got that key from Amram and peeped
+into the chamber upstairs."
+
+Thereon the temper of the officer, already ruffled by the events of
+the morning and the long watch of the preceding night, gave way, and he
+departed, consigning the Christians, escaped or recaptured, Amram and
+the key, his subordinate, and even the royal Agrippa who did not pay
+his debts, to every infernal god of every religion with which he was
+acquainted.
+
+Nehushta lifted her head from the floor.
+
+"Thanks be to God! They are gone," she said.
+
+"But, Nou, will they not come back? Oh! I fear lest they should come
+back."
+
+"I think not. That sharp-nosed rat has made the other angry, and I
+believe that he will find him some harder task than the seeking of a key
+from Amram. Still, there is danger that this Amram may appear himself to
+visit his store, for in these days of festival he is sure to be selling
+grain to the bakers."
+
+Scarcely were the words out of her mouth when a key rattled, the door
+was pushed sharply, and the piece of wood slipped and fell. Then the
+hinges creaked, and Amram--none other--entered, and, closing the door
+behind him, locked it, leaving the key in the lock.
+
+Amram was a shrewd-faced, middle-aged Phoenician and, like most
+Phoenicians of that day, a successful trader, this corn-store
+representing only one branch of his business. For the rest he was clad
+in a quiet-coloured robe and cap, and to all appearance unarmed.
+
+Having locked the door, he walked to a little table, beneath which stood
+a box containing his tablets whereon were entered the amounts of corn
+bought and delivered, to come face to face with Nehushta. Instantly she
+slid between him and the door.
+
+"Who in the name of Moloch are you?" he asked, stepping back astonished,
+to perceive as he did so, Rachel seated on the heap of sacks; "and you,"
+he added. "Are you spirits, thieves, ladies in search of a lodging,
+or--perchance those two Christians whom the soldiers are looking for in
+yonder house?"
+
+"We are the two Christians," said Rachel desperately. "We fled from the
+amphitheatre, and have taken refuge here, where they nearly found us."
+
+"This," said Amram solemnly, "comes of not locking one's office. Do not
+misunderstand me; it was no fault of mine. A certain apprentice is to
+blame, to whom I shall have a word to say. In fact, I think that I will
+say it at once," and he stepped towards the door.
+
+"Indeed you will not," interrupted Nehushta.
+
+"And pray, my Libyan friend, how will you prevent me?"
+
+"My putting a knife into your gizzard, as I did through that of the
+renegade Rufus an hour or two ago! Ah! I see you have heard the story."
+
+Amram considered, then replied:
+
+"And what if I also have a knife?"
+
+"In that case," said Nehushta, "draw it, and we will see which is the
+better, man or woman. Merchant, your weapon is your pen. You have not a
+chance with me, an Arab of Libya, and you know it."
+
+"Yes," answered Amram, "I think I do; you desert folk are so reckless
+and athletic. Also, to be frank, as you may have guessed, I am unarmed.
+Now, what do you propose?"
+
+"I propose that you get us safely out of Caesarea, or, if you prefer it,
+that we shall all die here in this grain-store, for, by whatever god you
+worship, Phoenician, before a hand is laid upon my mistress or me, this
+knife goes through your heart. I owe no love to your people, who bought
+me, a king's daughter, as a slave, and I shall be quite happy to close
+my account with one of them. Do you understand?"
+
+"Perfectly, perfectly. Why show such temper? The affair is one of
+business; let us discuss it in a business spirit. You wish to escape
+from Caesarea; I wish you to escape from my grain-store. Let me go out
+and arrange the matter."
+
+"On a plank; not otherwise unless we accompany you," answered Nehushta.
+"Man, why do you waste words with us. Listen. This lady is the only
+child of Benoni, the great merchant of Tyre. Doubtless you know him?"
+
+"To my cost," replied Amram, with a bow. "Three times has he overreached
+me in various bargains."
+
+"Very well; then you know also that he is rich and will pay him
+liberally who rescues his daughter from great peril."
+
+"He might do so, but I am not sure."
+
+"I am sure," answered Nehushta, "and for this service my mistress here
+will give you a bill for any reasonable sum drawn upon her father."
+
+"Yes, but the question is--will he honour it? Benoni is a prejudiced
+man, a very prejudiced man, a Jew of the Jew, who--does not like
+Christians."
+
+"I think that he will honour it, I believe that he will honour it; but
+that risk is yours. See here, merchant, a doubtful draft is better than
+a slit throat."
+
+"Quite so. The argument is excellent. But you desire to escape. If you
+keep me here, how can I arrange the matter?"
+
+"That is for you to consider. You do not leave this place except in our
+company, and then at the first sign of danger I drive this knife home
+between your shoulders. Meanwhile my mistress is ready to sign any
+moderate draft upon her father."
+
+"It is not necessary. Under the circumstances I think that I will trust
+to the generosity of my fellow trader Benoni. Meanwhile I assure you
+that nothing will give me greater happiness than to fall in with your
+views. Believe me, I have no prejudice against Christians, since those
+of them whom I have met were always honest and paid their debts in full.
+I do not wish to see you or your mistress eaten by lions or tortured.
+I shall be very glad to think that you are following the maxims of your
+peculiar faith to an extreme old age, anywhere, outside the limits of my
+grain-store. The question is, how can I help you do this? At present I
+see no way."
+
+"The question is--how will you manage to keep your life in you over the
+next twelve hours?" answered Nehushta grimly. "Therefore I advise you
+to find a way"; and to emphasise her words she turned, and, having made
+sure that the door was locked, slipped its key into the bosom of her
+dress.
+
+Amram stared at her in undisguised admiration. "I would that I were
+unmarried," he said, "which is not the case," and he sighed; "for
+then, upon my word, I should be inclined to make a certain proposal to
+you----"
+
+"Nehushta--that is my name----"
+
+"Nehushta--exactly. Well, it is out of the question."
+
+"Quite."
+
+"Therefore I have a suggestion to make. To-night a ship of mine sails
+for Tyre. Will you honour me by accepting a passage on her?"
+
+"Certainly," answered Nehushta, "provided that you accompany us."
+
+"It was not my intention to go to Tyre this voyage."
+
+"Then your intention can be changed. Look you, we are desperate, and our
+lives are at stake. Your life is also at stake, and I swear to you, by
+the Holy One we worship, that before any harm comes to my mistress you
+shall die. Then what will your wealth and your schemes avail you in the
+grave? It is a little thing we ask of you--to help two innocent people
+to escape from this accursed city. Will you grant it? Or shall I put
+this dagger through your throat? Answer, and at once, or I strike and
+bury you in your own corn."
+
+Even in that light Amram turned visibly paler. "I accept your terms,"
+he said. "At nightfall I will conduct you to the ship, which sails two
+hours after sunset with the evening wind. I will accompany you to Tyre
+and deliver the lady over to her father, trusting to his liberality for
+my reward. Meanwhile, this place is hot. That ladder leads to the roof,
+which is parapeted, so that those sitting or even standing there, cannot
+be seen. Shall we ascend?"
+
+"If you go first; and remember, should you attempt to call out, my knife
+is always ready."
+
+"Of that I am quite aware--you have said so several times. I have passed
+my words, and I do not go back upon my bargains. The stars are with you,
+and, come what may, I obey them."
+
+Accordingly they ascended to the roof, Amram going first, Nehushta
+following him, and Rachel bringing up the rear. On it, projecting inward
+from the parapet, was a sloping shelter once made use of by the look-out
+sentry in bad or hot weather. The change from the stifling store below
+with its stench of ill-cured hides, to this lofty, shaded spot, where
+the air moved freely, was so pleasant to Rachel, outworn as she was with
+all she had gone through, that presently she fell asleep, not to wake
+again till evening. Nehushta, however, who did not go to sleep, and
+Amram, employed themselves in watching the events that passed in the
+city below. From this height they could see the great square surrounding
+the palace, and the strange scenes being enacted therein. It was crowded
+by thousands of people, for the most part seated on the ground, clad in
+garments of sack-cloth and throwing dust upon the heads of themselves,
+their wives and children. From all this multitude a voice of
+supplication rose to heaven, which, even at that distance, reached the
+ears of Nehushta and her companion in a murmur of sound, constant and
+confused.
+
+"They pray that the king may live," said Amram.
+
+"And I pray that he may die," answered Nehushta.
+
+The merchant shrugged his shoulders. "I care nothing either way,
+provided that the peace is not disturbed to the injury of trade. On the
+whole, however, he is a good king who causes money to be spent, which is
+what kings are for--in Judaea--where they are but feathers puffed up by
+the breath of Caesar, to fall if he cease to blow. But look!"
+
+As he spoke, a figure appeared upon the steps of the palace who made
+some communication to the crowd, whereon a great wail went up to the
+very skies.
+
+"You have your wish," said Amram; "Herod is dead or dying, and now,
+I suppose, as his son is but a child, that we shall be ruled by some
+accursed thief of a Roman procurator with a pocket like a sack without a
+bottom. Surely that old bishop of yours who preached in the amphitheatre
+this morning, must have had a hint of what was coming, from his familiar
+spirit; or perhaps he saw the owl and guessed its errand. Moreover, I
+think that troubles are brewing for others besides Herod, since the old
+man said as much.
+
+"What became of him and the rest?" asked Nehushta.
+
+"Oh! a few were trampled to death, and others the Jews stirred up the
+mob to stone, saying that they had bewitched the king, which they, who
+were disappointed of the games, did gladly. Some, however, are said to
+have escaped, and, like yourselves, lie in hiding."
+
+Nehushta glanced at her mistress, now fast asleep, her pale face resting
+on her arm.
+
+"The world is hard--for Christians," she said.
+
+"Friend, it is hard for all, as, were I to tell you my own story, even
+you would admit," and he sighed. "At least you Christians believe in
+something beyond," he went on; "for you death is but a bridge leading to
+a glorious city, and I trust that you may be right. Is not your mistress
+delicate?"
+
+Nehushta nodded.
+
+"She was never very strong, and sorrow has done its work with her. They
+killed her husband at Berytus yonder, and--her trouble is very near."
+
+"Yes, yes, I heard that story, also that his blood is on the hands
+of her own father, Benoni. Ah! who is so cruel as a bigot Jew? Not
+we Phoenicians even, of whom they say such evil. Once I had a
+daughter"--here his hard face softened--"but let be, let be! Look you,
+the risk is great, but what I can do I will do to save her, and you
+also, friend, since, Libyan or no, you are a faithful woman. Nay, do not
+doubt me. I have given my word, and if I break it willingly, then may I
+perish and be devoured of dogs. My ship is small and undecked. In that
+she shall not sail, but a big galley weighs for Alexandria to-night,
+calling at Apollonia and Joppa, and in it I will take you passages,
+saying that the lady is a relative of mine and that you are her slave.
+This is my advice to you--that you go straight to Egypt, where there are
+many Christians who will protect you for a while. Thence your mistress
+can write to her father, and if he will receiver her, return. If not, at
+least she will be safe, since no writ of Herod runs in Alexandria, and
+there they do not love the Jews."
+
+"Your counsel seems good," said Nehushta, "if she will consent to it."
+
+"She must consent who, indeed, is in no case to make other plans. Now
+let me go. Before nightfall I will return again with food and clothing,
+and lead you to the ship."
+
+Nehushta hesitated.
+
+"I say to you, do not fear. Will you not trust me?"
+
+"Yes," answered Nehushta, "because I must. Nay, the words are not kind,
+but we are sadly placed, and it is strange to find a true friend in one
+whom I have threatened with a knife."
+
+"I understand," said Amram gravely. "Let the issue prove me. Now descend
+that you may lock the door behind me. When I return I will stand in
+the open space yonder with a slave, making pretence to re-bind a burst
+bundle of merchandise. Then come down and admit me without fear."
+
+When the Phoenician had gone Nehushta sat by her sleeping mistress, and
+waited with an anxious heart. Had she done wisely? Would Amram betray
+them and send soldiers to conduct them, not to the ship, but to some
+dreadful death? Well, if so, at least she would have time to kill her
+mistress and herself, and thus escape the cruelties of men. Meanwhile
+she could only pray; and pray she did in her fierce, half-savage
+fashion, never for herself, but for her mistress whom she loved, and for
+the child that, she remembered thankfully, Anna had foretold would be
+born and live out its life. Then she remembered also that this same holy
+woman had said that its mother's hours would be few, and at the thought
+Nehushta wept.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE BIRTH OF MIRIAM
+
+The time passed slowly, but none came to disturb them. Three hours after
+noon Rachel awoke, refreshed but hungry, and Nehushta had no food to
+give her except raw grain, from which she turned. Clearly and in few
+words she told her mistress all that had passed, asking her consent to
+the plan.
+
+"It seems good as another," said Rachel with a little sigh, "and I thank
+you for making it, Nou, and the Phoenician, if he is a true man. Also I
+do not desire to meet my father--at least, for many years. How can I,
+seeing the evil which he has brought upon me?"
+
+"Do not speak of that," interrupted Nehushta hastily, and for a long
+while they were silent.
+
+It was an hour before sunset, or a little less, when at length Nehushta
+saw two persons walk on to the patch of open ground which she watched
+continually--Amram and a slave who bore a bundle on his head. Just then
+the rope which bound this bundle seemed to come loose; at least, at his
+master's command, the man set it down and they began to retie it, then
+advanced slowly towards the archway. Now Nehushta descended, unlocked
+the door and admitted Amram, who carried the bundle.
+
+"Where is the slave?" she asked.
+
+"Have no fear, friend; he is trusty and watches without, not knowing
+why. Come, you must both of you be hungry, and I have food. Help me
+loose this cord."
+
+Presently the package was undone, and within it appeared, first, two
+flagons of old wine, then meats more tasty then Nehushta had seen
+for months, then rich cloaks and other garments made in the Phoenician
+fashion, and a robe of white with coloured edges, such as was worn by
+the body-slaves of the wealthy among that people. Lastly--and this
+Amram produced from his own person--there was a purse of gold, enough to
+support them for many weeks. Nehushta thanked him with her eyes, and was
+about to speak.
+
+"There, say nothing," he interrupted. "I passed my word, and I have kept
+it, that is all. Also on this money I shall charge interest, and your
+mistress can repay it in happier days. Now listen: I have taken the
+passages, and an hour after sunset we will go aboard. Only I warn you,
+do not let it be known that you are escaped Christians, for the seamen
+think that such folk bring them bad luck. Come, help me carry the food
+and wine. After you have eaten you can both of you retire here and robe
+yourselves."
+
+Presently they were on the roof.
+
+"Lady," said Nehushta, "we did well to put faith in this man. He has
+come back, and see what he has brought us."
+
+"The blessing of God be on you, sir, who help the helpless!" exclaimed
+Rachel, looking hungrily at the tempting meats which she so sorely
+needed.
+
+"Drink," said Amram cheerfully, as he poured wine and water into a cup;
+"it will hearten you, and your faith does not forbid the use of the
+grape, for have I not heard you styled the society of drunkards?"
+
+"That is only one bad name among many, sir," said Rachel, as she took
+the cup.
+
+Then they ate and were satisfied, and afterwards descended into
+the corn-store to wash with the remainder of the water, and clothe
+themselves from head to foot in the fragrant and beautiful garments
+that might have been made for their wear, so well had Amram judged their
+sizes and needs.
+
+By the time that they were dressed the light was dying. Still, they
+waited a while for the darkness; then, with a new hope shining through
+their fears, crept silently into the street, where the slave, a sturdy,
+well-armed fellow, watched for them.
+
+"To the quay," said Amram, and they walked forward, choosing those
+thoroughfares that were most quiet. It was well for them that they did
+this, for now it was known that Agrippa's sickness was mortal, the most
+of the soldiers were already in a state of mutiny, and, inflamed with
+wine, paraded the market-places and larger streets, shouting and singing
+obscene songs, and breaking into the liquor shops and private houses,
+where they drank healths to Charon, who was about to bear away their
+king in his evil bark. As yet, however, they had not begun killing those
+against whom they had a grudge. This happened afterwards, though it has
+nothing to do with our story.
+
+Without trouble or molestation the party reached the quay, where a
+small boat with two Phoenician rowers was waiting for them. In it they
+embarked, except the slave, and were rowed out to the anchorage to board
+a large galley which lay half a mile or more away. This they did without
+difficulty, for the night was calm, although the air hung thick and
+heavy, and jagged clouds, wind-breeders as they were called, lay upon
+the horizon. On the lower deck of the galley stood its captain, a
+sour-faced man, to whom Amram introduced his passengers, who were, as he
+declared, relatives of his own proceeding to Alexandria.
+
+"Good," said the captain. "Show them to their cabin, for we sail as soon
+as the wind rises."
+
+To the cabin they went accordingly, a comfortable place stored with all
+that they could need; but as they passed to it Nehushta heard a sailor,
+who held a lantern in his hand, say to his companion:
+
+"That woman is very like one whom I saw in the amphitheatre this morning
+when they gave the salute to King Agrippa."
+
+"The gods forbid it!" answered the other. "We want no Christians here to
+bring evil fortune on us."
+
+"Christians or no Christians, there is a tempest brewing, if I
+understand the signs of the weather," muttered the first man.
+
+In the cabin Amram bade his guests farewell.
+
+"This is a strange adventure," he said, "and one that I did not look
+for. May it prove to the advantage of us all. At the least I have done
+my best for your safety, and now we part."
+
+"You are a good man," replied Rachel, "and whatever may befall us, I
+pray again that God may bless you for your kindness to His servants.
+I pray also that He may lead you to a knowledge of the truth as it was
+declared by the Lord and Master Whom we serve, that your soul may win
+salvation and eternal life."
+
+"Lady," said Amram, "I know nothing of these doctrines, but I promise
+you this: that I will look into them and see whether or no they commend
+themselves to my reason. I love wealth, like all my people, but I am
+not altogether a time-server, or a money-seeker. Lady, I have lost those
+whom I desire to find again."
+
+"Seek and you will find."
+
+"I will seek," he answered, "though, mayhap, I shall never find."
+
+Thus they parted.
+
+Presently the night breeze began to flow off the land, the great sail
+was hoisted, and with the help of oars, worked by slaves, the ship
+cleared the harbour and set her course for Joppa. Two hours later the
+wind failed so that they could proceed only by rowing over a dead and
+oily sea, beneath a sky that was full of heavy clouds. Lacking any stars
+to steer by, the captain wished to cast anchor, but as the water proved
+too deep they proceeded slowly, till about an hour before dawn a sudden
+gust struck them which caused the galley to lean over.
+
+"The north wind! The black north wind!" shouted the steersman, and the
+sailors echoed his cry dismally, for they knew the terrors of that wind
+upon the Syrian coast. Then the gale began to rage. By daylight the
+waves were running high as mountains and the wind hissed through the
+rigging, driving them forward beneath a small sail. Nehushta crawled out
+of the cabin, and, in the light of an angry dawn, saw far away the white
+walls of a city built near the shore.
+
+"Is not that Appolonia?" she asked of the captain.
+
+"Yes," he answered, "it is Appolonia sure enough, but we shall not
+anchor there this voyage. Now it is Alexandria for us or nothing."
+
+So they rushed past Appolonia and forward, climbing the slopes of the
+rising seas.
+
+Thus things went on. About mid-day the gale became a hurricane, and do
+what they would they were driven forward, till at length they saw
+the breakers forming on the coast. Rachel lay sick and prostrate, but
+Nehushta went out of the cabin to watch.
+
+"Are we in danger?" she asked of a sailor.
+
+"Yes, accursed Christian," he replied, "and you have brought it on us
+with your evil eye."
+
+Then Nehushta returned to the cabin where her mistress lay almost
+senseless with sea-sickness. On board the ship the terror and confusion
+grew. For a while they were able to beat out to sea until the mast
+was carried away. Then the rudder broke, and, as the oars could not be
+worked in that fearful tempest, the galley began to drive shorewards.
+Night fell, and who can describe the awful hours that followed? All
+control of the vessel being lost, she drove onwards whither the wind and
+the waves took her. The crew, and even the oar-slaves, flew to the wine
+with which she was partly laden, and strove to drown their terrors in
+drink. Thus inflamed, twice some of them came to the cabin, threatening
+to throw their passengers overboard. But Nehushta barred the door and
+called through it that she was well armed and would kill the first
+man who tried to lay a hand upon her. So they went away, and after the
+second visit grew too drunken to be dangerous.
+
+Again the dawn broke over the roaring, foaming sea and revealed the
+fate that awaited them. Not a mile away lay the grey line of shore, and
+between them and it a cruel reef on which the breakers raged. Towards
+this reef they were driving fast. Now the men grew sober in their fear,
+and began to build a large raft of oars and timber; also to make ready
+the boat which the galley carried. Before all was done she struck beak
+first, and was lifted on to a great flat rock, where she wallowed, with
+the water seething round her. Then, knowing that their hour was come,
+the crew made shift to launch the boat and raft on the lee side, and
+began to clamber into them. Now Nehushta came out of the cabin and
+prayed the captain to save them also, whereon he answered her with an
+oath that this bad luck was because of them, and that if either she or
+her mistress tried to enter the boat, they would stab them and cast them
+into the sea as an offering to the storm-god.
+
+So Nehushta struggled back to the cabin, and kneeling by the side of her
+mistress, with tears told her that these black-hearted sailors had
+left them alone upon the ship to drown. Rachel answered that she cared
+little, but only desired to be free of her fear and misery.
+
+As the words left her lips, Nehushta heard a sound of screaming, and
+crawling to the bulwarks, looked forth to see a dreadful sight. The boat
+and the raft, laden with a great number of men who were fighting for
+places with each other, having loosed from the lee of the ship, were
+come among the breakers, which threw them up as a child throws a ball at
+play. Even while Nehushta gazed, their crafts were overturned, casting
+them into the water, every one there to be dashed against the rocks
+or drowned by the violence of the waves, so that not a man of all that
+ship's company came living to the shore.
+
+Like tens of thousands of others on this coast in all ages, they
+perished, every one of them--and that was the reward of their
+wickedness.
+
+Giving thanks to God, Who had brought them out of that danger against
+their wills, Nehushta crept back to the cabin and told her mistress what
+had passed.
+
+"May they find pardon," said Rachel, shuddering; "but as for us, it will
+matter little whether we are drowned in the boat or upon the galley."
+
+"I do not think that we shall drown," answered Nehushta.
+
+"How are we to escape it, Nou? The ship lies upon the rock, where the
+great waves will batter her to pieces. Feel how she shakes beneath their
+blows, and see the spray flying over us."
+
+"I do not know, mistress; but we shall not drown."
+
+Nehushta was right, for after they had remained fast a little longer
+they were saved, thus: Suddenly the wind dropped, then it rose again in
+a last furious squall, driving before it a very mountain of water. This
+vast billow, as it rushed shorewards, caught the galley in its white
+arms and lifted her not only off the rock whereon she lay, but over the
+further reefs, to cast her down again upon a bed of sand and shells,
+within a stone's throw of the beach, where she remained fast, never to
+shift more.
+
+Now also, as though its work were done, the gale ceased, and, as is
+common on the Syrian coast, the sea sank rapidly, so that by nightfall
+it was calm again. Indeed, three hours before sunset, had both of them
+been strong and well, they might have escaped to the land by wading. But
+this was not to be, for now what Nehushta had feared befell, and when
+she was least fitted to bear it, being worn out with anguish of mind and
+weariness of body, pain took sudden hold of Rachel, of which the end was
+that, before midnight, there, in that broken vessel upon a barren coast
+where no man seemed to live, a daughter was born to her.
+
+"Let me see the child," said Rachel. So Nehushta showed it to her by the
+light of a lamp which burned in the cabin.
+
+It was a small child, but very white, with blue eyes and dark hair that
+curled. Rachel gazed at it long and tenderly. Then she said, "Bring me
+water while there is yet time."
+
+When the water was brought she dipped her trembling hand into it, and
+made the sign of the Cross upon the babe's forehead, baptising her with
+the name of Miriam, after that of her own mother, to the service and the
+company of Jesus the Christ.
+
+"Now," she said, "whether she live an hour or an hundred years, this
+child is a Christian, and whatever befalls, should she come to the age
+of understanding, see to it, Nou, who are henceforth the foster-mother
+of her body and her soul, that she does not forget the rites and duties
+of her faith. Lay this charge on her also as her father commanded, and
+as I command, that should she be moved to marriage, she wed none who is
+not a Christian. Tell her that such was the will of those who begat her,
+and that if she be obedient to it, although they are dead, and as it
+seems strengthless, yet shall their blessing be upon her all her life's
+days, and with it the blessing of the Lord she serves."
+
+"Oh!" moaned Nehushta, "why do you speak thus?"
+
+"Because I am dying. Gainsay me not. I know it well. My life ebbs from
+me. My prayers have been answered, and I was preserved to give this
+infant birth; now I go to my appointed place and to one who waits for
+me, and to the Lord in Whose care he is in Heaven, as we are in His
+care on earth. Nay, do not mourn; it is no fault of yours, nor could any
+physician's skill have saved me, whose strength was spent in suffering,
+and who for many months have walked the world, bearing in my breast a
+broken heart. Give me of that wine to drink--and listen."
+
+Nehushta obeyed and Rachel went on: "So soon as my breath has left me,
+take the babe and seek some village on the shore where it can be nursed,
+for which service you have the means to pay. Then when she is strong
+enough and it is convenient, travel, not to Tyre--for there my father
+would bring up the child in the strictest rites and customs of the
+Jews--but to the village of the Essenes upon the shores of the Dead sea.
+There find out my mother's brother, Ithiel, who is of their society, and
+present to him the tokens of my name and birth which still hang about
+my neck, and tell him all the story, keeping nothing back. He is not a
+Christian, but he is a good and gentle-hearted man who thinks well of
+Christians, and is grieved at their persecution, since he wrote to my
+father reproving him for his deeds towards us and, as you know, strove,
+but in vain, to bring about our release from prison. Say to him that I,
+his kinswoman, pray of him, as he will answer to God, and in the name of
+the sister whom he loved, to protect my child and you; to do nothing
+to turn her from her faith, and in all things to deal with her as his
+wisdom shall direct--for so shall peace and blessing come upon him."
+
+Thus spoke Rachel, but in short and broken words. Then she began to
+pray, and, praying, fell asleep. When she woke again the dawn was
+breaking. Signing to Nehushta to bring her the child, for now she could
+no longer speak, she scanned it earnestly in the new-born light, then
+placed her hand upon its head and blessed it. Nehushta she blessed also,
+thanking her with her eyes and kissing her. Then again she seemed to
+fall asleep, and presently, when Nehushta looked at her, Rachel was
+dead.
+
+Nehushta understood and gave a great and bitter cry, since to her after
+the death of her first mistress, this woman had been all her life. As a
+child she had nursed her; as a maiden shared her joys and sorrows; as a
+wife and widow toiled day and night fiercely and faithfully to console
+her in her desolation and to protect her in the dreadful dangers through
+which she had passed. Now, to end it all, it was her lot to receive her
+last breath and to take into her arms her new-born infant.
+
+Then and there Nehushta swore that as she had done by the mother she so
+would do by the child till the day when her labours ended. Were it not
+for this child, indeed, they would have ended now, Christian though she
+was, since she was crushed with bitter sorrow and her heart seemed void
+of hope or joy. All her days had been hard--she who was born to great
+place among her own wild people far away, and snatched thence to be a
+slave, set apart by her race and blood from those into whose city she
+was sold; she who would have naught to do with base men nor become the
+plaything of those of higher birth; she who had turned Christian and
+drunk deep of the tribulations of the faith; she who had centred all her
+eager heart upon two beloved women, and lost them both. All her days had
+been hard, and here and now, by the side of her dead mistress, she would
+have ended them. But the child remained, and while it lived, she would
+live. If it died, then perhaps she would die also.
+
+Meanwhile Nehushta had no time for grief, since the babe must be fed,
+and within twelve hours. Yet, as she could not bury her, and would not
+throw her to the sharks, she was minded to give her mistress a royal
+funeral after the custom of her own Libyan folk. Here was flame, and
+what pyre could be grander than this great ship?
+
+Lifting the body from its couch, Nehushta carried it to the deck and
+laid it by the broken mast, closing the eyes and folding the hands.
+Then she loosened from about the neck those tokens of which Rachel had
+spoken, made some food and garments into a bundle, and, carrying the
+lamp with her, went into the captain's cabin amidships. Here a money-box
+was open, and in it gold and some jewels which this man had abandoned
+in his haste. These she took, adding them to her own store and securing
+them about her. This done she fired the cabin, and passing to the hold,
+broke a jar of oil and fired that also. Then she fled back again, knelt
+by her dead mistress and kissed her, took the child, wrapping it warmly
+in a shawl, and by the ladder of rope which the sailors had used, let
+herself down into the quiet sea. Its waters did not reach higher than
+her middle, and soon she was standing on the shore and climbing the
+sandhills that lay beyond. At their summit she turned to look, and lo!
+yonder where the galley was, already a great pillar of fire shot up to
+heaven, for there was much oil in the hold and it burnt furiously.
+
+"Farewell!" she cried, "farewell!"
+
+Then, weeping bitterly, Nehushta walked on inland.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+MIRIAM IS ENTHRONED
+
+Presently Nehushta found herself out of sight of the sea and among
+cultivated land, for here were vines and fig trees grown in gardens
+fenced with stone walls; also patches of ripening barley and of wheat
+in the ear, much trodden down as though horses had been feeding there.
+Beyond these gardens she came to a ridge, and saw beneath her a village
+of many houses of green brick, some of which seemed to have been
+destroyed by fire. Into this village she walked boldly, and there the
+first sight that met her eyes was that of sundry dead bodies, upon which
+dogs were feeding.
+
+On she went up the main street, till she saw a woman peeping at her over
+a garden wall.
+
+"What has chanced here?" asked Nehushta, in the Syrian tongue.
+
+"The Romans! the Romans! the Romans!" wailed the woman. "The head of our
+village quarrelled with the tax-gatherers, and refused to pay his dues
+to Caesar. So the soldiers came a week ago and slaughtered nearly all
+of us, and took such sheep and cattle as they could find, and with them
+many of the young folk, to be sold as slaves, so that the rest are left
+empty and desolate. Such are the things that chance in this unhappy
+land. But, woman, who are you?"
+
+"I am one shipwrecked!" answered Nehushta, "and I bear with me a
+new-born babe--nay, the story is too long to tell you; but if in this
+place there is any one who can nurse the babe, I will pay her well."
+
+"Give it me!" said the woman, in an eager whisper; "my child perished in
+the slaughter; I ask no reward."
+
+Nehushta looked at her. Her eyes were wild, but she was still young and
+healthy, a Syrian peasant.
+
+"Have you a house?" she asked.
+
+"Yes, it still stands, and my husband lives; we hid in a cave, but alas!
+they slew the infant that was out with the child of a neighbour. Quick,
+give me the babe."
+
+So Nehushta gave it to her, and thus Miriam was nurtured at the breast
+of one whose offspring had been murdered because the head of the village
+had quarrelled with a Roman tax-collector. Such was the world in the
+days when Christ came to save it.
+
+After she had suckled the child the woman led Nehushta to her house, a
+humble dwelling that had escaped the fire, where they found the husband,
+a wine-grower, mourning the death of his infant and the ruin of his
+town. To him she told as much of her story as she thought well, and
+proffered him a gold piece, which, so she swore, was one of ten she had
+about her. He took it gladly, for now he was penniless, and promised
+her lodging and protection, and the service of his wife as nurse to the
+child for a month at least. So there Nehushta stayed, keeping herself
+hid, and at the end of the month gave another gold piece to her
+hosts, who were kindly folk that never dreamed of working her evil or
+injustice. Seeing this, Nehushta found yet more money, wherewith the
+man, blessing her, bought two oxen and a plough, and hired labour to
+help him gather what remained of his harvest.
+
+The shore where the infant was born upon the wrecked ship, was at
+a distance of about a league from Joppa and two days' journey from
+Jerusalem, whence the Dead Sea could be reached in another two days.
+When Nehushta had dwelt there for some six months, as the babe throve
+and was hearty, she offered to pay the man and his wife three more
+pieces of gold if they would travel with her to the neighbourhood of
+Jericho, and, further, to purchase a mule and an ass for the journey,
+which she would give to them when it was accomplished. The eyes of these
+simple folk glistened at the prospect of so much wealth, and they agreed
+readily, promising also to stay three months by Jericho, if need were,
+till the child could be weaned. So a man was hired to guard the house
+and vines, and they started in the late autumn, when the air was cool
+and pleasant.
+
+Of their journey nothing need be said, save that they accomplished it
+without trouble, being too humble in appearance to attract the notice of
+the thieves who swarmed upon the highways, or of the soldiers who were
+set to catch the thieves.
+
+Skirting Jerusalem, which they did not enter, on the sixth day they
+descended into the valley of the Jordan, through the desolate hills by
+which it is bordered. Camping that night outside the town, at daybreak
+on the seventh morning they started, and by two hours after noon came to
+the village of the Essenes. On its outskirts they halted, while Nehushta
+and the nurse, bearing with them the child, that by now could wave its
+arms and crow, advanced boldly into the village, where it would appear
+men dwelt only--at least no women were to be seen--and asked to be led
+to the Brother Ithiel.
+
+The man to whom they spoke, who was robed in white, and engaged in
+cooking outside a large building, averted his eyes in answering, as
+though it were not lawful for him to look upon the face of a woman.
+He said, very civilly, however, that Brother Ithiel was working in the
+fields, whence he would not return till supper time.
+
+Nehushta asked where these fields were, since she desired to speak with
+him at once. The man answered that if they walked towards the green
+trees that lined the banks of Jordan, which he pointed out to them, they
+could not fail to find Ithiel, as he was ploughing in the irrigated land
+with two white oxen, the only ones they had. Accordingly they set out
+again, having the Dead Sea on their right, and travelled for the half of
+a league through the thorn-scrub that grows in this desert. Passing the
+scrub they came to lands which were well cultivated and supplied with
+water from the Jordan by means of wheels and long poles with a jar at
+one end and a weight at the other, which a man could work, emptying the
+contents of the jar again and again into an irrigation ditch.
+
+In one of these fields they saw the two white oxen at their toil,
+and behind them the labourer, a tall man of about fifty years of age,
+bearded, and having a calm face and eyes that were very deep and quiet.
+He was clad in a rough robe of camel's hair, fastened about his middle
+with a leathern girdle, and wore sandals on his feet. To him they went,
+asking leave to speak with him, whereon he halted the oxen and greeted
+them courteously, but, like the man in the village, turned his eyes away
+from the faces of the women. Nehushta bade the nurse stand back out of
+hearing, and, bearing the child in her arms, said:
+
+"Sir, tell me, I pray you, if I speak to Ithiel, a priest of high rank
+among this people of the Essenes, and brother to the dead lady Miriam,
+wife of Benoni the Jew, a merchant of Tyre?"
+
+At the mention of these names Ithiel's face saddened, then grew calm
+again.
+
+"I am so called," he answered; "and the lady Miriam is my sister, who
+now dwells in the happy and eternal country beyond the ocean with all
+the blessed"--for so the Essenes imagined that heaven to which they went
+when the soul was freed from the vile body.
+
+"The lady Miriam," continued Nehushta, "had a daughter Rachel, whose
+servant I was."
+
+"Was?" he interrupted, startled from his calm. "Has she then been put to
+death by those fierce men and their king, as was as her husband Demas?"
+
+"Nay, sir, but she died in childbirth, and this is the babe she bore";
+and she held the sleeping little one towards him, at whom he gazed
+earnestly, yes, and bent down and kissed it--since, although they saw so
+few of them, the Essenes loved children.
+
+"Tell me that sad story," he said.
+
+"Sir, I will both tell it and prove it to be true"; and Nehushta told
+him all from the beginning to the end, producing to his sight the tokens
+which she had taken from the breast of her mistress, and repeating her
+last message to him word for word. When she had finished, Ithiel turned
+away and mourned a while. Then, speaking aloud, he put up a prayer to
+God for guidance--for without prayer these people would not enter upon
+anything, however simple--and came back to Nehushta, who stood by the
+oxen.
+
+"Good and faithful woman," he said, "who it would seem are not fickle
+and light-hearted, or worse, like the multitude of your sex--perchance
+because your dark skin shields you from their temptations--you have set
+me in a cleft stick, and there I am held fast. Know that the rule of my
+order is that we should have naught to do with females, young or old;
+therefore how can I receive you or the child?"
+
+"Of the rules of your order, sir, I know nothing," answered Nehushta
+sharply, since the words about the colour of her skin had not pleased
+her; "but of the rules of nature I do know, and something of the rules
+of God also, for, like my mistress and this infant, I am a Christian.
+These tell me, all of them, that to cast out an orphan child who is of
+your own blood, and whom a cruel fortune has thus brought to your door,
+would be an evil act, and one for which you must answer to Him who is
+above the rules of any order."
+
+"I may not wrangle, especially with a woman," replied Ithiel, who seemed
+ill at ease; "but if my first words are true, this is true also, that
+those same rules enjoin upon us hospitality, and above all, that we must
+not turn away the helpless or the destitute."
+
+"Clearly, then, sir, least of any must you turn away this child whose
+blood is your blood, and those dead mother sent her to you, that she
+might not fall into the power of a grandfather who has dealt so cruelly
+with those he should have cherished, to be brought up among Zealots as
+a Jew and taught to make offering of living things, and be anointed with
+the oil and blood of sacrifice."
+
+"No, no, the thought is horrible," answered Ithiel, holding up his
+hands. "It is better, far better that she should be a Christian than one
+of that fanatic and blood-spilling faith." This he said, because among
+the Essenes the use of oil was held to be unclean. Also above all
+things, they loathed the offering of life in sacrifice to God; who,
+although they did not acknowledge Christ--perhaps because He was never
+preached to them, who would listen to no new religion--practised the
+most of His doctrines with the greatest strictness.
+
+"The matter is too hard for me," he went on. "I must lay it before a
+full Court of the hundred curators, and what they decide, that will
+be done. Still, this is our rule: to assist those who need and to show
+mercy, to accord succour to such as deserve it, and to give food to
+those in distress. Therefore, whatever the Court, which it will take
+three days to summon, may decide, in the meanwhile I have the right to
+give you, and those with you, shelter and provision in the guest-house.
+As it chances, it is situated in that part of the village where dwell
+the lowest of our brethren, who are permitted to marry, so there you
+will find company of your own sex."
+
+"I shall be glad of it," answered Nehushta drily. "Also I should call
+them the highest of the brethren, since marriage is a law of God, which
+God the Father has instituted, and God the Son has blessed."
+
+"I may not wrangle, I may not wrangle," replied Ithiel, declining the
+encounter; "but certainly, that is a lovely babe. Look. Its eyes are
+open and they are beautiful as flowers"; and again he bent down and
+kissed the child, then added with a groan of remorse, "Alas! sinner that
+I am, I am defiled; I must purify myself and do penance."
+
+"Why?" asked Nehushta shortly.
+
+"For two reasons: I have touched your dress, and I have given way to
+earthly passion and embraced a child--twice. Therefore, according to our
+rule, I am defiled."
+
+Then Nehushta could bear it no more.
+
+"Defiled! you puppet of a foolish rule! It is the sweet babe that is
+defiled! Look, you have fouled its garments with your grimy hand and
+made it weep by pricking it with your beard. Would that your holy rule
+taught you how to handle children and to respect honest women who are
+their mothers, without whom there would be no Essenes."
+
+"I may not wrangle," said Ithiel, nervously; for now woman was appearing
+before him in a new light; not as an artful and a fickle, but as an
+angry creature, reckless of tongue and not easy to be answered. "These
+matters are for the decision of the curators. Have I not told you so?
+Come, let us be going. I will drive the oxen, although it is not time
+to loose them from the plough, and do you and your companion walk at a
+distance behind me. No, not behind--in front, that I may see that you do
+not drop the babe, or suffer it to come to any harm. Truly it is sweet
+to look at, and, may God forgive me, I do not like to lose sight of its
+face, which, it seems to me, resembles that of my sister when she was
+also in arms."
+
+"Drop the babe!" began Nehushta; then understanding that this victim of
+a rule already loved it dearly, and would suffer much before he parted
+with it, pitying his weakness, she said only, "Be careful that you do
+not frighten it with your great oxen, for you men who scorn women have
+much to learn."
+
+Then, accompanied by the nurse, she stalked ahead in silence, while
+Ithiel followed after at a distance, leading the cattle by the hide
+loops about their horns, lest in their curiosity or eagerness to get
+home, they should do some mischief to the infant or wake it from its
+slumbers. In this way they proceeded to the lower part of the village,
+till they came to a good house--empty as it chanced--where guests were
+accommodated in the best fashion that this kind and homely folk could
+afford. Here a woman was summoned, the wife of one of the lower order of
+the Essenes, to whom Ithiel spoke, holding his hand before his eyes,
+as though she were not good to look at. To her, from a distance, he
+explained the case, bidding her to provide all things needful, and
+to send a man to bring in the husband of the nurse with the beasts of
+burden, and attend to his wants and theirs. Then, warning Nehushta to be
+very careful of the infant and not to expose it to the sun, he departed
+to report the matter to the curators, and to summon the great Court.
+
+"Are all of them like this?" asked Nehushta of the woman,
+contemptuously.
+
+"Yes, sister," she answered, "fools, every one. Why, of my own husband
+I see little; and although, being married, he ranks but low among them,
+the man is forever telling me of the faults of our sex, and how they are
+a snare set for the feet of the righteous, and given to the leading
+of these same righteous astray, especially if they be not their own
+husbands. At times I am tempted indeed to prove his words true. Oh! it
+would not be difficult for all their high talk; I have learned as much
+as that, for Nature is apt to make a mock of those who deny Nature, and
+there is no parchment rule that a woman cannot bring to nothing. Yet,
+since they mean well, laugh at them and let them be, say I. And now come
+into the house, which is good, although did women manage it, it would be
+better."
+
+So Nehushta went into that house with the nurse and her husband, and
+there for several days dwelt in great comfort. Indeed, there was nothing
+that she or the child, or those with them, could want which was not
+provided in plenty. Messages reached her even, through the woman, to ask
+if she would wish the rooms altered in any way, and when she said that
+there was not light enough in that in which the child slept, some of
+the elders of the Essenes arrived and pierced a new window in the
+wall, working very hard to finish the task before sunset. Also even the
+husband of the nurse was not allowed to attend to his own beasts, which
+were groomed and fed for him, till at length he grew so weary of doing
+nothing, that on the third day he went out to plough with the Essenes
+and worked in the fields till dark.
+
+It was on the fourth morning that the full Court gathered in the great
+meeting-house, and Nehushta was summoned to appear before it, bringing
+the babe with her. Thither she went accordingly, to find the place
+filled with a hundred grave and reverend men, all clad in robes of the
+purest white. In the lower part of that large chamber she sat alone upon
+a chair, while before her upon benches ranged one above the other, so
+that all could see, were gathered the hundred curators.
+
+It seemed that Ithiel had already set out the case, since the President
+at once began to question her on various points of her story, all of
+which she was able to explain to the satisfaction of the Court. Then
+they debated the matter among themselves, some of them arguing that
+as the child was a female, as well as its nurse, neither of them could
+properly be admitted to the care of the community, especially as both
+were of the Christian faith, and it was stipulated that in this faith
+they should remain. Others answered that hospitality was their first
+duty, and that he would be weak indeed who was led aside from their rule
+by a Libyan woman of middle age and an infant of a few months. Further,
+that the Christians were a good people, and that there was much in
+their doctrines which tallied with their own. Next, one made a strange
+objection--namely, that if they adopted this child they would learn
+to love it too much, who should love God and their order only. To this
+another answered, Nay, they should love all mankind, and especially the
+helpless.
+
+"Mankind, not womankind," was the reply; "for this infant will grow into
+a woman."
+
+Now they desired Nehushta to retire that they might take the votes.
+Before she went, however, holding up the child that all could see it as
+it lay smiling in her arms, she implored them not to reject the prayer
+of a dead woman, and so deprive this infant of the care of the relative
+whom that departed lady had appointed to be its guardian, and of the
+guidance and directing wisdom of their holy Order. Lastly, she reminded
+them that if they thrust her out, she must carry the infant to its
+grandfather, who, if he received it at all, would certainly bring it up
+in the Jewish faith, and thereby, perhaps, cause it to lose its soul,
+the weight of which sin would be upon their heads.
+
+After this Nehushta was led away to another chamber and remained there
+a long while, till at length she was brought back again by one of the
+curators. On entering the great hall her eyes sought the face of Ithiel,
+who had not been allowed to speak, since the matter having to do with a
+great-niece of his own, it was held that his judgment might be warped.
+Seeing that he smiled, and evidently was well pleased, she knew her
+cause was won.
+
+"Woman," said the President, "by a great majority of this Court we
+have come to an irrevocable decision upon the matter that has been laid
+before it by our brother Ithiel. It is, for reasons which I need not
+explain, that on this point our rule may be stretched so far as to admit
+the child Miriam to our care, even though it be of the female sex, which
+care is to endure until she comes to a full age of eighteen years, when
+she must depart from among us. During this time no attempt will be made
+to turn her from her parents' faith in which she has been baptised. A
+house will be given you to live in, and you will be supplied with the
+best we have for the use of our ward Miriam and yourself. Twice a week
+a deputation of the curators will visit the house, and stay there for
+an hour to see that the health of the infant is good, and that you are
+doing your duty by it, in which, if you fail, you will be removed. It is
+prayed that you will not talk to these curators on matters which do not
+concern the child. When she grows old enough the maid Miriam will be
+admitted to our gatherings, and instructed also by the most learned
+amongst us in all proper matters of letters and philosophy, on which
+occasions you will sit at a distance and not interfere unless your care
+is required.
+
+"Now, that every one may know our decision, we will escort you back to
+your house, and to show that we have taken the infant under our care,
+our brother Ithiel will carry it while you walk behind and give him such
+instruction in this matter as may be needful."
+
+Accordingly a great procession was formed, headed by the President and
+ended by the priests. In the centre of the line marched Ithiel bearing
+the babe Miriam, to his evident delight, and Nehushta, who instructed
+him so vigorously that at length he grew confused and nearly let it
+fall. Thereon, setting this detail of the judgment at defiance, Nehushta
+snatched it from his arms, calling him a clumsy and ignorant clown only
+fit to handle an ox. To this Ithiel made no answer, nor was he at
+all wroth, but finished the journey walking behind her and smiling
+foolishly.
+
+Thus was the child Miriam, who afterwards came to be called the Queen of
+the Essenes, royally escorted to her home. But little did these good men
+know that it was not a house which they were giving her, but a throne,
+built of the pure gold of their own gentle hearts.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+CALEB
+
+It may be wondered whether any girl who was ever born into the world
+could boast a stranger or a happier upbringing than Miriam. She was, it
+is true, motherless, but by way of compensation Fate endowed her with
+several hundred fathers, each of whom loved her as the apple of his
+eye. She did not call them "Father" indeed, a term which under the
+circumstances they thought incorrect. To her, one and all, they went
+by the designation of "Uncle," with their name added if she happened to
+know it, if not as Uncle simply. It cannot be said, however, that Miriam
+brought peace to the community of the Essenes. Indeed, before she had
+done with them she rent it with deep and abiding jealousies, to the
+intense but secret delight of Nehushta, who, although she became a
+person of great importance among them as the one who had immediate
+charge of their jewel, could never forgive them certain of their
+doctrines or their habit of persistent interference.
+
+The domiciliary visits which took place twice a week, and, by special
+subsequent resolution passed in full Court, on the Sabbath also,
+were, to begin with, the subject of much covert bitterness. At first a
+standing committee was appointed to make these visits, of whom Ithiel
+was one. Before two years had gone by, however, much murmuring arose
+in the community upon this matter. It was pointed out in language that
+became vehement--for an Essene--that so much power should not be left in
+the hands of one fixed set of individuals, who might become careless or
+prejudiced, or, worst of all, neglectful of the welfare of the child who
+was the guest not of them only, but of the whole order. It was demanded,
+therefore, that this committee should change automatically every month,
+so that all might serve upon it in turn, Ithiel, as the blood-relation
+of Miriam, remaining its only permanent member. This proposal was
+opposed by the committee, but as no one else would vote for them the
+desired alteration was made. Further, to be removed temporarily, or
+for good, from its roster was thenceforth recognised as one of the
+punishments of the order.
+
+Indeed, the absurdities to which its existence gave rise, especially as
+the girl grew in years, sweetness and beauty, cannot be numbered. Thus,
+every visiting member must wash his whole person and clothe himself in
+clean garments before he was allowed to approach the child, "lest he
+should convey to her any sickness, or impure substance, or odour."
+Then there was much trouble because some members were discovered to
+be ingratiating themselves with Miriam by secretly presenting her with
+gifts of playthings, some of them of great beauty, which they fashioned
+from wood, shells, or even hard stones. Moreover, they purveyed articles
+of food such as they found the child loved; and this it was that led
+to their detection, for, having eaten of them, she was ill. Thereupon
+Nehushta, enraged, disclosed the whole plot, using the most violent
+language, and, amidst murmurs of "Shame on them!" designating the
+offenders by name. They were removed from their office, and it was
+decreed that henceforth any gifts made to the child must be offered to
+her by the committee as a whole, and not by a single individual, and
+handed over in their name by Ithiel, her uncle.
+
+Once, when she was seven years old, and the idol of every brother among
+the Essenes, Miriam fell ill with a kind of fever which often strikes
+children in the neighbourhood of Jericho and the Dead Sea. Among the
+brethren were several skilful and famous physicians, who attended her
+night and day. But still the fever could not be abated, and at last,
+with tears, they announced that they feared for the child's life. Then
+indeed there was lamentation among the Essenes. For three days and three
+nights did they wrestle in constant prayer to God that she might be
+spared, many of them touching nothing but water during all that time.
+Moreover, they sat about at a distance from her house, praying and
+seeking tidings. If it was bad they beat their breasts, if good they
+gave thanks. Never was the sickbed of a monarch watched with more
+care or devotion than that of this little orphan, and never was
+a recovery--for at length she did recover--received with greater
+thankfulness and joy.
+
+This was the truth. These pure and simple men, in obedience to the
+strict rule they had adopted, were cut off from all the affections of
+life. Yet, the foundation-stone of their doctrine being Love, they
+who were human must love something, so they loved this child whom they
+looked upon as their ward, and who, as there was none other of her age
+and sex in their community, had no rival in their hearts. She was the
+one joy of their laborious and ascetic hours; she represented all the
+sweetness and youth of this self-renewing world, which to them was so
+grey and sapless. Moreover, she was a lovely maid, who, wherever she had
+been placed, would have bound all to her.
+
+The years went by and the time came when, in obedience to the first
+decree, Miriam must be educated. Long were the discussions which ensued
+among the curators of the Essenes. At length three of the most learned
+of their body were appointed to this task, and the teaching began. As
+it chanced, Miriam proved an apt pupil, for her memory was good, and
+she had a great desire to learn many things, more especially history and
+languages, and all that has to do with nature. One of her tutors was an
+Egyptian, who, brought up in the priests' college at Thebes, when on
+a journey to Judaea had fallen sick near Jericho, been nursed by the
+Essenes and converted to their doctrine. From him Miriam learnt much
+of their ancient civilisation, and even of the inner mysteries of the
+Egyptian religion, and of its high and secret interpretations which were
+known only to the priests. The second, Theophilus by name, was a Greek
+who had visited Rome, and he taught her the tongues and literature of
+those countries. The third, all his life long had studied beasts and
+birds and insects, and the workings of nature, and the stars and their
+movements, in which things he instructed her day by day, taking her
+abroad with him that examples of each of them might be before her eyes.
+
+Lastly, when she grew older, there was a fourth master, who was an
+artist. He taught Miriam how to model animals, and even men, in the clay
+of the Jordan, and how to carve them out in marble, and something of the
+use of pigments. Also this man, who was very clever, had a knowledge
+of singing and instrumental music, which he imparted to her in her odd
+hours. Thus it came about that Miriam grew learned and well acquainted
+with many matters of which most girls of her day and years had never
+even heard. Nor did she lack knowledge of the things of her own faith,
+though in these the Essenes did not instruct her further than its
+doctrines tallied with their own. Of the rest, Nehushta told her
+something; moreover, on several occasions Christian travellers or
+preachers visited this country to address the Essenes or the other Jews
+who dwelt there. When they learned her case, these showed themselves
+very eager to inform her of the Christian doctrine. Among them was one
+old man who had heard the preaching of Jesus Christ, and been present
+at His Crucifixion, to all of which histories the girl listened with
+eagerness, remembering them to the last hour of her life.
+
+Further, and perhaps this was the best part of her education, she lived
+in the daily company of Nature. But a mile or two away spread the Dead
+Sea, and along its melancholy and lifeless shores, fringed with the
+white trunks of trees that had been brought down by Jordan, she would
+often walk. Before her day by day loomed the mountains of Moab, while
+behind her were the fantastic and mysterious sand-hills of the desert,
+backed again by other mountains and that grey, tormented country which
+stretches between Jericho and Jerusalem. Quite near at hand also ran the
+broad and muddy Jordan, whose fertile banks were clothed in spring
+with the most delicious greenery and haunted by kingfishers, cranes,
+wildfowl, and many other birds. About these banks, too, stretching into
+the desert land beyond, the flowers of the field grew by myriads, at
+different periods of the year carpeting the whole earth with various
+colours, brilliant as are those of the rainbow. These it was her delight
+to gather, and even to cultivate in the garden of her house.
+
+Thus wisdom, earthly and divine, was gathered in Miriam's heart till
+very soon its light began to shine through her eyes and face, making
+them ever more tender and beautiful. Nor did she lack charm and grace of
+person. From the first, in stature she was small and delicate, pale also
+in complexion; but her dark hair was plenteous and curling, and her eyes
+were large and of a deep and tender blue. Her hands and feet were very
+slender, and her every gesture quick and agile as that of a bird. Thus
+she grew up loving all things and beloved by all; for even the flowers
+which she tended and the creatures that she fed, seemed in her to find a
+friend.
+
+Now of so much learning and all this system of solemn ordered hours,
+Nehushta did not approve. For a while she bore with it, but when Miriam
+was about eleven years of age, she spoke her mind to the Committee and
+through them to the governing Court of Curators.
+
+Was it right that a child should be brought up thus, she asked, and
+turned into a grave old woman whilst, quite heedless of such things,
+others of her age were occupied with youthful games? The end of it might
+be that her brain would break and she would die or become crazy, and
+then what good would so much wisdom do her? It was necessary that
+she should have more leisure and other children with whom she could
+associate.
+
+"White-bearded hermits," she added with point, "were not suitable as
+sole companions to a little maid."
+
+Thereon followed much debate and consultation with the doctors, who
+agreed that friends of her own years should be found for the child.
+This, however, proved difficult, since among these Essenes were no other
+girls. Therefore those friends must be of the male sex. Here too were
+difficulties, as at that time, of the lads adopted by this particular
+community which they were destined to join in after days, there was but
+one of equal birth with Miriam. Now so far as concerned their own
+order the Essenes thought little of social distinctions, or even of the
+differences of blood and race. But Miriam was not of their order; she
+was their guest, no more, to whom they stood in the place of parents,
+and who would go from them out into the great world. Therefore,
+notwithstanding their childlike simplicity, being, many of them, men
+experienced in life, they did not think it right that she should mix
+with those of lower breeding.
+
+This one lad, Caleb by name, was born in the same year as Miriam, when
+Cuspius Fadus became governor on the death of Agrippa. His father was
+Jew of very high rank named Hilliel, who, although he sided from time
+to time with the Roman party, was killed by them, or perished among the
+twenty thousand who were trampled to death at the Feast of the Passover
+at Jerusalem, when Cumanus, the Procurator, ordered his soldiers to
+attack the people. Thereon the Zealots, who considered him a traitor,
+managed to get possession of all his property, so that his son Caleb,
+whose mother was dead, was brought in a destitute condition by one
+of her friends to Jericho. There, as she could not dispose of him
+otherwise, he was given over to the Essenes, to be educated in their
+doctrine, and, should he wish it, to enter their order when he reached
+full age. This lad, it was now decreed, should become the playmate of
+Miriam, a decision that pleased both of them very well.
+
+Caleb was a handsome child with quick, dark eyes that watched everything
+without seeming to watch, and black hair which curled upon his
+shoulders. He was clever also and brave; but though he did his best to
+control his temper, by nature very passionate and unforgiving. Moreover,
+that which he desired he would have, if by any means it could be
+obtained, and was faithful in his loves as in his hates. Of these hates
+Nehushta was one. With all the skill of a Libyan, whose only book is
+that of Nature and men's faces, she read the boy's heart at once and
+said openly that he might come to be the first in any cause--if he did
+not betray it--and that when God mixed his blood of the best, lest Caesar
+should find a rival He left out the salt of honesty and filled up the
+cup with the wine of passion. When these sayings were repeated to Caleb
+by Miriam, who thought them to be a jest fit to tease her playmate
+with, he did not fly into one of his tempers, as she had hoped, but only
+screwed up his eyelids after his fashion in certain moods, and looked
+black as the rain-storm above Mount Nebo.
+
+"Did you hear, Caleb?" asked Miriam, somewhat disappointed.
+
+"Oh, yes! Lady Miriam," for so he had been ordered to call her. "I
+heard. Do you tell that old black woman that I will lead more causes
+than she ever thought of, for I mean to be the first everywhere. Also
+that whatever God left out of my cup, at least He mixed it with a good
+memory."
+
+When Nehushta heard this, she laughed and said that it was true enough,
+only he that tried to climb several ladders at once generally fell to
+the ground, and that when a head had said good-bye to its shoulders, the
+best of memories got lost between the two.
+
+Miriam liked Caleb, but she never loved him as she did the old men, her
+uncles, or Nehushta, who to her was more than all. Perhaps this may have
+been because he never grew angry with her whatever she might say or do,
+never even spoke to her roughly, but always waited on her pleasure
+and watched for her wish. Still, of all companions he was the best. If
+Miriam desired to walk by the Dead Sea, he would desire the same. If
+she wanted to go fishing in the Jordan, he would make ready the baits or
+net, and take the fishes off the hook--a thing she hated. If she sought
+a rare flower, Caleb would hunt it out for days, although she knew well
+that in himself he did not care for flowers, and when he had found it,
+would mark the spot and lead her there in triumph. Also there was this
+about him, as she was soon quick enough to learn: he worshipped her.
+Whatever else might be false, that note in his nature rang true. If one
+child could love another, then Caleb loved Miriam, first with the love
+of children, then as a man loves a woman. Only--and this was the sorrow
+of it--Miriam never loved Caleb. Had she done so both their stories
+would have been very different. To her he was a clever companion and no
+more.
+
+What made the thing more strange was that he loved no one else, except,
+mayhap, himself. In this way and in that the lad soon came to learn his
+own history, which was sad enough, with the result that if he hated the
+Romans who had invaded the country and trampled it beneath their heel,
+still more did he hate those of the Jews who looked upon his father
+as their enemy and had stolen all the lands and goods that were his by
+right. As for the Essenes who reared and protected him, so soon as
+he came to an age when he could weigh such matters, he held them in
+contempt, and because of their continual habit of bathing themselves and
+purifying their garments, called them the company of washer-women. On
+him their doctrines left but a shallow mark. He thought, as he explained
+to Miriam, that people who were in the world should take the world as
+they found it, without dreaming ceaselessly of another world to which,
+as yet, they did not belong; a sentiment that to some extent Nehushta
+shared.
+
+Wishing, with the zeal of the young, to make a convert, Miriam preached
+to him the doctrine of Christianity, but without success. By blood Caleb
+was a Jew of the Jews, and could not understand or admire a God who
+would consent to be trodden under foot and crucified. The Messiah he
+desired to follow must be a great conqueror, one who would overthrow
+the Caesars and take the throne of Caesar, not a humble creature with
+his mouth full of maxims. Like the majority of his own, and, indeed,
+of every generation, to the last day of his life, Caleb was unable to
+divine that mind is greater than matter, while spirit is greater
+than mind; and that in the end, by many slow advances and after many
+disasters seemingly irremediable, spirituality will conquer all. He
+looked to a sword flashing from thrones, not to the word of truth spoken
+by lowly lips in humble streets or upon the flanks of deserts, trusting
+to the winds of Grace to bear it into the hearts of men and thus
+regenerate their souls.
+
+Such was Caleb, and these things are said of him here because the child
+is father to the man.
+
+Swiftly the years went by. There were tumults in Judaea and massacres in
+Jerusalem. False prophets such as Theudas, who pretended that he could
+divide Jordan, attracted thousands to their tinsel standards, to be hewn
+down, poor folk! by the Roman legions. Caesars rose and fell; the great
+Temple was at length almost completed in its glory, and many events
+happened which are remembered even to this day.
+
+But in the little village of the Essenes by the grey shores of the Dead
+Sea, nothing seemed to change, except that now and again an aged brother
+died, and now and again a new brother was admitted. They rose before
+daylight and offered their invocation to the sun; they went out to
+toil in the fields and sowed their crops, to reap them in due season,
+thankful if they were good, still thankful if they were bad. They
+washed, they prayed, they mourned over the wickedness of the world, and
+wove themselves white garments emblematic of a better. Also, although
+of this Miriam knew nothing, they held higher and more secret services
+wherein they invoked the presence of their "angels," and by arts of
+divination that were known to them, foretold the future, an exercise
+which brought them little joy. But as yet, however evil might be the
+omens, none came to molest their peaceful life, which ran quietly
+towards the great catastrophe as often deep waters swirl to the lip of a
+precipice.
+
+At length when Miriam was seventeen years of age, the first stroke of
+trouble fell upon them.
+
+From time to time the high priests at Jerusalem, who hated the Essenes
+as heretics, had made demands upon them that they should pay tithe for
+the support of the sacrifices in the Temple. This they refused to do,
+since all sacrifices were hateful to them. So things went on until the
+day of the high priest Ananos, who sent armed men to the village of the
+Essenes to take the tithes. These were refused to them, whereon they
+broke open the granary and helped themselves, destroying a great deal
+which they could not carry away. As it chanced, on that day Miriam,
+accompanied by Nehushta, had visited Jericho. Returning in the afternoon
+they passed through a certain torrent bed in which were many rocks, and
+among them thickets of thorn trees. Here they were met by Caleb, now
+a noble-looking youth very strong and active, who carried a bow in his
+hand and on his back a sheath of six arrows.
+
+"Lady Miriam," he said, "well met. I have come to seek you, and to
+warn you not to return by the road to-day, since on it you will meet
+presently those thieves sent by the high priest to plunder the stores of
+the Order, who, perhaps, will offer you insult or mischief, for they are
+drunk with wine. Look, one of them has struck me," and he pointed to a
+bruise upon his shoulder and scowled.
+
+"What then shall we do?" asked Miriam. "Go back to Jericho?"
+
+"Nay, for there they will come too. Follow up this gully till you reach
+the footpath a mile away, and by it walk to the village; so you will
+miss these robbers."
+
+"That is a good plan," said Nehushta. "Come, lady."
+
+"Whither are you going, Caleb?" asked Miriam, lingering, since she saw
+that he did not mean to accompany them.
+
+"I? Oh, I shall hide among the rocks near by till the men are passed,
+and then go to seek that hyena which has been worrying the sheep. I have
+tracked him down and may catch him as he comes from his hole at sunset.
+That is why I have brought my bow and arrows."
+
+"Come," broke in Nehushta impatiently, "come. The lad well knows how to
+guard himself."
+
+"Be careful, Caleb, that you get no hurt from the hyena," said Miriam,
+doubtfully, as Nehushta seized her by the wrist and dragged her away.
+"It is strange," she added as they went, "that Caleb should choose this
+evening to go hunting."
+
+"Unless I mistake, it is a human hyena whom he hunts," answered Nehushta
+shortly. "One of those men struck him, and he desires to wash the wound
+with his blood."
+
+"Oh, surely not! Nou. That would be taking vengeance, and revenge is
+evil."
+
+Nehushta shrugged her shoulders. "Caleb may think otherwise, as I do at
+times. Wait, and we shall see."
+
+As it chanced, they did see something. The footpath by which they
+returned to the village ran over a high ridge of ground, and from its
+crest, although they were a mile or more away, in that clear desert
+air they could easily discern the line of the high priest's servants
+straggling along, driving before them a score or so of mules, laden with
+wine and other produce which they had stolen from the stores. Presently
+the company of them descended into that gully along which the road ran,
+whence a minute or two later rose a sound of distant shouting. Then they
+appeared on the further side, running, or riding their beasts hither
+and thither, as though in search of some one, while four of them carried
+between them a man who seemed to be hurt, or dead.
+
+"I think that Caleb has shot his hyena," said Nehushta meaningly; "but
+I have seen nothing, and if you are wise, you will say nothing. I do not
+like Caleb, but I hate these Jewish thieves, and it is not for you to
+bring your friend into trouble."
+
+Miriam looked frightened but nodded her head, and no more was said of
+the matter.
+
+That evening, as Miriam and Nehushta stood at the door of their house in
+the cool, by the light of the full moon they saw Caleb advancing towards
+them down the road, a sight that made Miriam glad at heart, for she
+feared lest he might have come into trouble. Catching sight of them, he
+asked permission to enter through the door, which he closed behind them,
+so that now they stood in the little garden within the wall.
+
+"Well," said Nehushta, "I see that you had a shot at your hyena; did you
+kill it?"
+
+"How do you know that?" he asked, looking at her suspiciously.
+
+"A strange question to put to a Libyan woman who was brought up among
+bowmen," she replied. "You had six arrows in your quiver when we met
+you, and now I count but five. Also your bow was newly waxed; and look,
+the wax is rubbed where the shaft lay."
+
+"I shot at the beast, and, as I think, hit it. At least, I could not
+find the arrow again, although I searched long."
+
+"Doubtless. You do not often miss. You have a good eye and a steady
+hand. Well, the loss of a shaft will not matter, since I noticed,
+also, that this one was differently barbed from the others, and double
+feathered; a true Roman war-shaft, such as they do not make here. If
+any find your wounded beast you will not get its hide, since it is known
+that you do not use such arrows." Then, with a smile that was full of
+meaning, Nehushta turned and entered the house, leaving him staring
+after her, half in wrath and half in wonder at her wit.
+
+"What does she mean?" he asked Miriam, but in the voice of one who
+speaks to himself.
+
+"She thinks that you shot at a man, not at a beast," replied Miriam;
+"but I know well that you could not have done this, since that would be
+against the rule of the Essenes."
+
+"Even the rule of the Essenes permits a man to protect himself and his
+property from thieves," he answered sulkily.
+
+"Yes, to protect himself if he is attacked, and his property--if he has
+any. But neither that faith nor mine permits him to avenge a blow."
+
+"I was one against many," he answered boldly. "My life was on the
+hazard: it was no coward's act."
+
+"Were there, then, a troop of these hyenas?" asked Miriam, innocently.
+"I thought you said it was a solitary beast that took the sheep."
+
+"It was a whole company of beasts who took the wine, and smote those in
+charge of it as though they were street dogs."
+
+"Hyenas that took wine like the tame ape whom the boys make drunken over
+yonder----"
+
+"Why do you mock me," broke in Caleb, "who must know the truth? Or if
+you do not know it, here it is. That thief beat me with his staff, and
+called me the son of a dog, and I swore that I would pay him back. Pay
+him back I did, for the head of that shaft which Nehushta noted, stands
+out a span beyond his neck. They never saw who shot it; they never saw
+me at all, who thought at first that the man had fallen from his horse.
+By the time they knew the truth I was away where they could not follow.
+Now go and tell the story if you will, or let Nehushta, who hates me,
+tell it, and give me over to be tortured by the servants of the high
+priest, or crucified as a murderer by the Romans."
+
+"Neither Nehushta nor I saw this deed done, nor shall we bear witness
+against you, Caleb, or judge you, who doubtless were provoked by violent
+and lawless men. Yet, Caleb, you told me that you came out to warn us,
+and it grieves me to learn that the true wish of your heart was to take
+the life of a man."
+
+"It is false," he answered angrily; "I said that I came to warn you, and
+afterwards to kill a hyena. To make you safe--that was my first thought,
+and until you were safe my enemy was safe also. Miriam, you know it
+well."
+
+"Why should I know it? To you, Caleb, I think revenge is more than
+friendship."
+
+"Perhaps; for I have few friends who am a penniless orphan brought up by
+charity. But, Miriam, to me revenge is not more than--love."
+
+"Love," she stammered, turning crimson to her hair and stepping back a
+pace; "what do you mean, Caleb?"
+
+"What I say, neither more nor less," he answered sullenly. "As I have
+worked one crime to-day, I may as well work two, and dare to tell the
+lady Miriam, the Queen of the Essenes, that I love her, though she loves
+not me--as yet."
+
+"This is madness," faltered Miriam.
+
+"Mayhap, but it is a madness which began when first I saw you--that was
+soon after we learned to speak--a madness which will continue until I
+cease to see you, and that shall be soon before I grow silent forever.
+Listen, Miriam, and do not think my words only those of a foolish boy,
+for all my life shall prove them. This love of mine is a thing with
+which you must reckon. You love me not--therefore, even had I the power,
+I would not force myself upon you against your will; only I warn you,
+learn to love no other man, for then it shall go ill either with him or
+with me. By this I swear it," and, snatching her to him, Caleb kissed
+her on the forehead, then let her go, saying, "Fear not. It is the first
+and last time, except by your own will. Or if you fear, tell the story
+to the Court of the Essenes, and--to Nehushta, who will right your
+wrongs."
+
+"Caleb," she gasped, stamping her foot upon the ground in anger, "Caleb,
+you are more wicked than I dreamed, and," she added, as though to
+herself--"and greater!"
+
+"Yes," he answered, as he turned to go, "I think that you are right. I
+am more wicked than you dreamed and--greater. Also, Miriam, I love you
+as you will never be loved again. Farewell!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+MARCUS
+
+That night those of the curators who were engaged in prayer and fasting
+were disturbed by the return of an officer of those Jews that had
+robbed them, who complained violently that a man of his company had been
+murdered by one of the Essenes. They asked how and when, and were told
+that the man had been shot down with an arrow, in a gully upon the road
+to Jericho, by a person unknown. They replied that robbers sometimes met
+with robbers, and asked to see the arrow, which proved to be of a Roman
+make, such as these men carried in their own quivers. This the Essenes
+pointed out, and at length, growing angry at the unreasonableness of
+a complaint made by persons of the worst character, drove him and his
+escort from their doors, bidding them take their story to the high
+priest Ananos, with the goods which they had stolen, or, if they
+preferred it, to that still greater thief, the Roman procurator,
+Albinus.
+
+This they did not neglect to do, with the result that presently the
+Essenes were commanded to send some of their head men to appear before
+Albinus to answer the charges laid against them. Accordingly they
+dispatched Ithiel and two others, who were kept waiting three months at
+Jerusalem before they could even obtain a hearing. At length the cause
+came on, and after some few minutes of talk was adjourned, being but a
+petty matter. That same evening Ithiel was informed by an intermediary
+that if his Order would pay a certain large sum of money to Albinus,
+nothing more would be heard of the question. This the Essenes refused
+to do, as it was against their principles, saying that they demanded
+nothing but justice, which they were not prepared to buy. So they spoke,
+being ignorant that one of their neophytes, Caleb, had in fact aimed the
+fatal arrow.
+
+Then Albinus, wearying of the business and finding that there was no
+profit to be made out of the Essenes, commanded them to be gone, saying
+that he would send an officer to make inquiry on the spot.
+
+Another two months went by, and at length this officer arrived, attended
+by an escort of twenty soldiers.
+
+As it chanced, on a certain morning in the winter season, Miriam
+with Nehushta was walking on the Jericho road, when suddenly they saw
+approaching towards them this little body of armed men. Perceiving that
+they were Romans, they turned out of the path to hide themselves among
+the thorns of the desert. Thereon he who seemed to be the officer
+spurred his horse forward to intercept them.
+
+"Do not run--stand still," said Nehushta to Miriam, "and show no sign of
+fear."
+
+So Miriam halted and began to gather a few autumn flowers that still
+bloomed among the bushes, till the shadow of the officer fell upon
+her--that shadow in which she was destined to walk all her life-days.
+
+"Lady," said a pleasant voice in Greek, spoken with a somewhat foreign
+accent--"lady, pardon, and I pray you, do not be alarmed. I am a
+stranger to this part of the country, which I visit on official
+business. Will you of your kindness direct me to the village of a people
+called Essenes, who live somewhere in this desert?"
+
+"Oh, sir!" answered Miriam, "do you, who come with Roman soldiers, mean
+them any harm?"
+
+"Not I. But why do you ask?"
+
+"Because, sir, I am of their community."
+
+The officer stared at her--this beautiful, blue-eyed, white-skinned,
+delicate-featured girl, whose high blood proclaimed itself in every tone
+and gesture.
+
+"You, lady, of the community of the Essenes! Surely then those priests
+in Jerusalem lie more deeply than I thought. They told me that the
+Essenes were old ascetics who worship Apollo, and could not bear so
+much as the sight of a woman. And now you say you are an Essene--you, by
+Bacchus! you!" and he looked at her with an admiration which,
+although there was nothing brutal or even rude about it, was amusingly
+undisguised.
+
+"I am their guest," she said.
+
+"Their guest? Why, this is stranger still. If these spiritual
+outlaws--the word is that old high priest's, not mine--share their bread
+and water with such guests, my sojourn among them will be happier than I
+thought."
+
+"They brought me up, I am their ward," Miriam explained again.
+
+"In truth, my opinion of the Essenes rises, and I am convinced that
+those priests slandered them. If they can shape so sweet a lady, surely
+they must themselves be good and gentle"; and he bowed gravely, perhaps
+to mark the compliment.
+
+"Sir, they are both good and gentle," answered Miriam; "but of this you
+will be able to judge for yourself very shortly, seeing that they live
+near at hand. If you will follow us over yonder rise we will show you
+their village, whither we go."
+
+"By your leave, I will accompany you," he said, dismounting before she
+could answer; then added, "Pardon me for one moment--I must give some
+orders," and he called to a soldier, who, with his companions, had
+halted at a little distance.
+
+The man advanced saluting, and, turning aside, his captain began to talk
+with him, so that now, for the first time, Miriam could study his face.
+He was young--not more than five or six and twenty years of age--of
+middle height, and somewhat slender, but active in movement and athletic
+in build. Upon his head, which was round and not large, in place of the
+helmet that hung at his saddle-bow, he wore a little cap, steel lined
+and padded as a protection against the sun, and beneath it she could see
+that his short, dark brown hair curled closely. Under the tan caused by
+exposure to the heat, his skin was fair, and his grey eyes, set rather
+wide apart, were quick and observant. For the rest, his mouth was
+well-shaped, though somewhat large, and the chin clean-shaved, prominent
+and determined. His air was that of a soldier accustomed to command, but
+very genial, and, when he smiled, showing his regular white teeth, even
+merry--the air of one with a kind and generous heart.
+
+Miriam looked at him, and in an instant was aware that she liked him
+better than any man--that is any young man--she had ever seen. This,
+however, was no great or exclusive compliment to the Roman, since of
+such acquaintances she had but few, if, indeed, Caleb was not the only
+one. However, of this she was sure, she liked him better than Caleb,
+because, even then and there, comparing them in her thoughts, this
+truth came home to her; with it, too, a certain sense of shame that the
+newcomer should be preferred to the friend of her childhood, although of
+late that friend had displeased her by showing too warm a friendship.
+
+Having given his instructions, the captain dismissed the orderly,
+commanding him to follow at a distance with the men. Then saying, "Lady,
+I am ready," he began to walk forward, leading his horse by the bridle.
+
+"You will forgive me," he added, "if I introduce myself more formally.
+I am called Marcus, the son of Emilius--a name which was known in its
+day," and he sighed, "as I hope before I have done with it, mine will
+be. At present I cannot boast that this is so, who, unless it should
+please my uncle Caius to decease and leave me the great fortune he
+squeezes out of the Spaniards--neither of which things he shows any
+present intention of doing--am but a soldier of fortune: an officer
+under the command of the excellent and most noble procurator Albinus,"
+he added sarcastically. "For the rest," he went on, "I have spent a
+year in this interesting and turbulent but somewhat arid land of
+yours, coming here from Egypt, and am now honoured with a commission
+to investigate and make report on a charge laid at the door of your
+virtuous guardians, the Essenes, of having murdered, or been privy to
+the murder of, a certain rascally Jew, who, as I understand, was sent
+with others to steal their goods. That, lady, is my style and history.
+By way of exchange, will you be pleased to tell me yours?"
+
+Miriam hesitated, not being sure whether she should enter on such
+confidences at so short a notice. Thereon, Nehushta, who was untroubled
+by doubts, and thought it politic to be quite open with this Roman, a
+man in authority, answered for her.
+
+"Lord, this maiden, whose servant I am, as I was that of her grandmother
+and mother before her----"
+
+"Surely you cannot be so old," interrupted Marcus. He made it a rule to
+be polite to all women, whatever their colour, having noticed that life
+went more easily with those who were courteous to the sex.
+
+Nehushta smiled a little as she answered--for at what age does a woman
+learn to despise a compliment?--"Lord, they both died young"; then
+repeated, "This maiden is the only child of the high-born Graeco-Syrian
+of Tyre, Demas, and his noble wife, Rachel----"
+
+"I know Tyre," he interrupted. "I was quartered there till two months
+ago"; adding in a different tone, "I understand that this pair no longer
+live."
+
+"They died," said Nehushta sadly, "the father in the amphitheatre at
+Berytus by command of the first Agrippa, and the mother when her child
+was born."
+
+"In the amphitheatre at Berytus? Was he then a malefactor?"
+
+"No, sir," broke in Miriam proudly; "he was a Christian."
+
+"Oh! I understand. Well, they are ill-spoken of as enemies of the human
+race, but for my part I have had to do with several Christians and found
+them very good people, though visionary in their views." Here a doubt
+struck him and he said, "But, lady, I understand that you are an
+Essene."
+
+"Nay, sir," she replied in the same steady voice, "I also am a
+Christian, who have been protected by the Essenes."
+
+He looked at her with pity and replied, "It is a dangerous profession
+for one so young and fair."
+
+"Dangerous let it be," she said; "at least it is mine from the beginning
+to the end."
+
+Marcus bowed, perceiving that the subject was not to be pursued, and
+said to Nehushta, "Continue the story, my friend."
+
+"Lord, the father of my lady's mother is a very wealthy Jewish merchant
+of Tyre, named Benoni."
+
+"Benoni," he said, "I know him well, too well for a poor man!--a Jew of
+the Jews, a Zealot, they say. At least he hates us Romans enough to be
+one, although many is the dinner that I have eaten at his palace. He is
+the most successful trader in all Tyre, unless it be his rival Amram,
+the Phoenician, but a hard man, and as able as he is hard. Now I think
+of it, he has no living children, so why does not your lady, his
+grandchild, dwell with him rather than in this desert?"
+
+"Lord, you have answered your own question. Benoni is a Jew of the
+Jews; his granddaughter is a Christian, as I am also. Therefore when her
+mother died, I brought her here to be taken care of by her uncle Ithiel
+the Essene, and I do not think Benoni knows even that she lives. Lord,
+perhaps I have said too much; but you must soon have heard the story
+from the Essenes, and we trust to you, who chance to be Benoni's friend,
+to keep our secret from him."
+
+"You do not trust in vain; yet it seems sad that all the wealth and
+station which are hers by right should thus be wasted."
+
+"Lord, rank and station are not everything; freedom of faith and person
+are more than these. My lady lacks for nothing, and--this is all her
+story."
+
+"Not quite, friend; you have not told me her name."
+
+"Lord, it is Miriam."
+
+"Miriam, Miriam," he repeated, his slightly foreign accent dwelling
+softly on the syllables. "It is a very pretty name, befitting such
+a----" and he checked himself.
+
+By now they were on the crest of the rise, and, stopping between two
+clumps of thorn trees, Miriam broke in hastily:
+
+"See, sir, there below lies the village of the Essenes; those green
+trees to the left mark the banks of Jordan, whence we irrigate our
+fields, while that grey stretch of water to the right, surrounded by a
+wall of mountain, is the Dead Sea."
+
+"Is it so? Well, the green is pleasant in this desert, and those fields
+look well cultivated. I hope to visit them some day, for I was brought
+up in the country, and, although I am a soldier, still understand a
+farm. As for the Dead Sea, it is even more dreary than I expected. Tell
+me, lady, what is that large building yonder?"
+
+"That," she answered, "is the gathering hall of the Essenes."
+
+"And that?" he asked, pointing to a house which stood by itself.
+
+"That is my home, where Nehushta and I dwell."
+
+"I guessed as much by the pretty garden." Then he asked her other
+questions, which she answered freely enough, for Miriam, although she
+was half Jewish, had been brought up among men, and felt neither fear
+nor shame in talking with them in a friendly and open fashion, as an
+Egyptian or a Roman or a Grecian lady might have done.
+
+While they were still conversing thus, of a sudden the bushes on their
+path were pushed aside, and from between them emerged Caleb, of whom she
+had seen but little of late. He halted and looked at them.
+
+"Friend Caleb," said Miriam, "this is the Roman captain Marcus, who
+comes to visit the curators of the Order. Will you lead him and his
+soldiers to the council hall and advise my uncle Ithiel and the others
+of his coming, since it is time for us to go home?"
+
+Caleb glared at her, or rather at the stranger, with sullen fury; then
+he answered:
+
+"Romans always make their own road; they do not need a Jew to guide
+them," and once more he vanished into the scrub on the further side of
+the path.
+
+"Your friend is not civil," said Marcus, as he watched him go. "Indeed,
+he has an inhospitable air. Now, if an Essene could do such a thing,
+I should think that here is a man who might have drawn an arrow upon a
+Jewish tax-gatherer," and he looked inquiringly at Miriam.
+
+"That lad!" put in Nehushta. "Why, he never shot anything larger than a
+bird of prey."
+
+"Caleb," added Miriam in excuse, "does not like strangers."
+
+"So I see," answered Marcus; "and to be frank, lady, I do not like
+Caleb. He has an eye like a knife-point."
+
+"Come, Nehushta," said Miriam, "this is our road, and there runs that
+of the captain and his company. Sir, farewell, and thank you for your
+escort."
+
+"Lady, for this while farewell, and thank you for your guidance."
+
+Thus for that day they parted.
+
+The dwelling which many years before had been built by the Essenes
+for the use of their ward and her nurse, stood next to the large
+guest-house. Indeed, it occupied a portion of the ground which
+originally belonged to it, although now the plot was divided into two
+gardens by an irrigation ditch and a live pomegranate fence, covered at
+this season of the year with its golden globes of fruit. That evening,
+as Miriam and Nehushta walked in the garden, they heard the familiar
+voice of Ithiel calling to them from the other side of this fence, and
+presently above it saw his kindly face and venerable white head.
+
+"What is it, my uncle?" asked Miriam running to him.
+
+"Only this, child; the noble Roman captain, Marcus, is to stay in the
+guest-house during his visit to us, so do not be frightened if you hear
+or see men moving about in this garden--If, indeed, Romans care to walk
+in gardens. I am to bide here also, to play host to him and see that he
+lacks nothing. Also I do not think that he will give you any trouble,
+since, for a Roman, he seems both courteous and kindly."
+
+"I am not afraid, my uncle," said Miriam; "indeed," she added, blushing
+a little in spite of herself, "Nehushta and I have already become
+acquainted with this captain"; and she told him of their meeting beyond
+the village.
+
+"Nehushta, Nehushta," said Ithiel reprovingly, "have I not said to you
+that you should not walk so far afield without some of the brethren as
+an escort? You might, perchance, have met thieves, or drunken men."
+
+"My lady wished to gather some flowers she sought," answered Nehushta,
+"as she has done without harm for many a year; and being armed, I did
+not fear thieves, if such men are to be found where all are poor."
+
+"Well, well, as it chances, no harm has happened; but do not go out
+unattended again, lest the soldiers should not be so courteous as their
+captain. They will not trouble you by the way, since, with the exception
+of a single guard, they camp yonder by the streamlet. Farewell for this
+night, my child; we will meet to-morrow."
+
+Then Miriam went to rest and dreamed of the Roman captain, and that
+he, she, and Nehushta made a journey together and met with many great
+adventures, wherein Caleb played some strange part. In that dream the
+captain Marcus protected them from all these dangers, till at length
+they came to a calm sea, on which floated a single white ship wherein
+they must embark, having the sign of the Cross woven in its sails. Then
+she awoke and found that it was morning.
+
+Of all the arts she had been taught, Miriam was fondest of that of
+modelling in clay, for which she had a natural gift. Indeed, so great
+had her skill become, that these models which she made, after they had
+been baked with fire, were, at her wish, sold by the Essenes to any who
+took a fancy to them. As to the money which they fetched, it was paid
+into a fund to be distributed among the poor.
+
+This art Miriam carried on in a reed-thatched shed in the garden, where,
+by an earthen pipe, water was delivered into a stone basin, which she
+used to damp her clay and cloths. Sometimes also, with the help of
+masons and the master who had taught her, now a very old man, she copied
+these models in marble, which the Essenes brought to her from the ruins
+of a palace near Jericho. At the time that the Romans came she was
+finishing a work more ambitious than any which she had undertaken as
+yet; namely, a life-sized bust cut from the fragment of an ancient
+column to the likeness of her great-uncle, Ithiel. On the afternoon
+following the day that she met Marcus, clad in her white working-robe,
+she was occupied in polishing this bust, with the assistance of
+Nehushta, who handed her the cloths and grinding-powder. Suddenly
+shadows fell upon her, and turning, she beheld Ithiel and the Roman.
+
+"Daughter," said Ithiel, smiling at her confusion, "I have brought the
+captain Marcus to see your work."
+
+"Oh, my uncle!" she replied indignantly, "am I in a state to receive
+any captain?" and she held out her wet hands and pointed to her garments
+begrimed with clay and powder. "Look at me."
+
+"I look," said Ithiel innocently, "and see naught amiss."
+
+"And I look, lady," added Marcus in his merry voice, "and see much to
+admire. Would that more of your sex could be found thus delightfully
+employed."
+
+"Alas, sir," she replied, adroitly misunderstanding him, for Miriam did
+not lack readiness, "in this poor work there is little to admire. I am
+ashamed that you should look on the rude fashionings of a half-trained
+girl, you who must have seen all those splendid statues of which I have
+been told."
+
+"By the throne of Caesar, lady," he exclaimed in a voice that carried a
+conviction of his earnestness, staring hard at the bust of Ithiel before
+him, "as it chances, although I am not an artist, I do know something of
+sculpture, since I have a friend who is held to be the best of our
+day, and often for my sins have sat as model to him. Well, I tell you
+this--never did the great Glaucus produce a bust like that."
+
+"I daresay not," said Miriam smiling. "I daresay the great Glaucus would
+go mad if he saw it."
+
+"He would--with envy. He would say that it was the work of one of the
+glorious Greeks, and of no modern."
+
+"Sir," said Ithiel reprovingly, "do not make a jest of the maid, who
+does the best she can; it pains her and--is not fitting."
+
+"Friend Ithiel," replied Marcus, turning quite crimson, "you must indeed
+think that I lack manners who would come to the home of any artist to
+mock his work. I say what I mean, neither more nor less. If this bust
+were shown in Rome, together with yourself who sat for it, the lady
+Miriam would find herself famous within a week. Yes," and he ran his eye
+quickly over various statuettes, some of them baked and some in the raw
+clay, models, for the most part, of camels or other animals or birds,
+"yes, and it is the same with all the rest: these are the works of
+genius, no less."
+
+At this praise, to them so exaggerated, Miriam, pleased as she could not
+help feeling, broke into clear laugher, which both Ithiel and Nehushta
+echoed. Now, so wroth was he, the face of Marcus grew quite pale and
+stern.
+
+"It seems," he said severely, "that it is not I who mock. Tell me, lady,
+what do you with these things?" and he pointed to the statuettes.
+
+"I, sir? I sell them; or at least my uncles do."
+
+"The money is given to the poor," interposed Ithiel.
+
+"Would it be rude to ask at what price?"
+
+"Sometimes," replied Ithiel with pride, "travellers have given me as
+much as a silver shekel.[*] Once indeed, for a group of camels with
+their Arabian drivers, I received four shekels; but that took my niece
+three months to do."
+
+[*] About 2s. 6d. of English money.
+
+"A shekel! Four shekels!" said Marcus in a voice of despair; "I will buy
+them all--no, I will not, it would be robbery. And this bust?"
+
+"That, sir, is not for sale; it is a gift to my uncle, or rather to my
+uncles, to be set up in their court-room."
+
+An idea struck Marcus. "I am here for a few weeks," he said. "Tell
+me, lady, if your uncle Ithiel will permit it, at what price will you
+execute a bust of myself of the same size and quality?"
+
+"It would be dear," said Miriam, smiling at the notion, "for the marble
+costs something, and the tools, which wear out. Oh, it would be very
+dear!" This she repeated, wondering what she could ask in her charitable
+avarice. "It would be----" yes, she would venture it--"fifty shekels!"
+
+"I am poor enough," replied Marcus quietly, "but I will give you two
+hundred."
+
+"Two hundred!" gasped Miriam. "It is absurd. I could never accept two
+hundred shekels for a piece of stonework. Then indeed you might say that
+you had fallen among thieves on the banks of Jordan. No. If my
+uncles will permit it and there is time, I will do my poor best for
+fifty--only, sir, I advise you against it, since to win that bad
+likeness you must sit for many weary hours."
+
+"So be it," said Marcus. "As soon as I get to any civilised place I will
+send you enough commissions to make the beggars in these parts rich for
+life, and at a very different figure. Let us begin at once."
+
+"Sir, I have no leave."
+
+"The matter," explained Ithiel, "must be laid before the Court of
+Curators, which will decide upon it to-morrow. Meanwhile, as we are
+talking here, I see no harm if my niece chooses to work a lump of clay,
+which can be broken up later should the Court in its wisdom refuse your
+request."
+
+"I hope for its own sake that the Court in its wisdom will not be such
+a fool," muttered Marcus to himself; adding aloud, "Lady, where shall I
+place myself? You will find me the best of sitters. Have I not the great
+Glaucus for a friend--until I show him this work of yours?"
+
+"If you will, sir, be seated on that stool and be pleased to look
+towards me."
+
+"I am your servant," said Marcus, in a cheerful voice; and the sitting
+began.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+MARCUS AND CALEB
+
+On the morrow, as he had promised, Ithiel brought this question
+of whether or no Miriam was to be allowed to execute a bust of the
+centurion, Marcus, before the Court of the Curators of the Essenes, who
+were accustomed thus to consider questions connected with their ward's
+welfare in solemn conclave. There was a division of opinion. Some of
+them saw no harm; others, more strait-laced, held that it was scarcely
+correct that a Roman whose principles, doubtless, were lax, should be
+allowed to sit to the lady whom they fondly called their child. Indeed,
+it seemed dubious whether the leave would be given, until a curator,
+with more worldly wisdom than the rest, suggested that as the captain
+seemed desirous of having his picture taken in stone, under the
+circumstances of his visit, which included a commission to make a
+general report upon their society to the authorities, it might be
+scarcely wise to deny his wish. Finally, a compromise was effected. It
+was agreed that Miriam should be permitted to do the work, but only
+in the presence of Ithiel and two other curators, one of them her own
+instructor in art.
+
+Thus it came about that when Marcus presented himself for the second
+time, at an hour fixed by Ithiel, he found three white-bearded and
+white-robed old gentlemen seated in a row in the workshop, and behind
+them, a smile on her dusky face, Nehushta. As he entered they rose and
+bowed to him, a compliment which he returned. Now Miriam appeared, to
+whom he made his salutation.
+
+"Are these," he said, indicating the elders, "waiting their turn to be
+modelled, or are they critics?"
+
+"They are critics," said Miriam drily, as she lifted the damp cloths
+from the rude lump of clay.
+
+Then the work began. As the three curators were seated in a line at
+the end of the shed, and did not seem to think it right to leave their
+chairs, they could see little of its details, and as they were early
+risers and the afternoon was hot, soon they were asleep, every one of
+them.
+
+"Look at them," said Marcus; "there is a subject for any artist."
+
+Miriam nodded, and taking three lumps of clay, working deftly and
+silently, presently produced to his delighted sight rough but excellent
+portraits of these admirable men, who, when they woke up, laughed at
+them very heartily.
+
+Thus things went on from day to day. Each afternoon the elders attended,
+and each afternoon they sank to slumber in their comfortable chairs, an
+example that Nehushta followed, or seemed to follow, leaving Miriam and
+her model practically alone. As may be guessed, the model, who liked
+conversation, did not neglect these opportunities. Few were the subjects
+which the two of them failed to discuss. He told her of all his life,
+which had been varied and exciting, omitting, it is true, certain
+details; also of the wars in which he had served, and the countries that
+he had visited. She in turn told him the simple story of her existence
+among the Essenes, which he seemed to find of interest. When these
+subjects were exhausted they discussed other things--the matter of
+religion, for instance. Indeed, Miriam ventured to expound to him the
+principles of her faith, to which he listened respectfully and with
+attention.
+
+"It sounds well," he said at length with a sigh, "but how do such maxims
+fit in with this world of ours? See now, lady, I am not old, but already
+I have studied so many religions. First, there are the gods of Greece
+and Rome, my own gods, you understand--well, the less said of them the
+better. They serve, that is all. Then there are the gods of Egypt, as
+to which I made inquiry, and of them I will say this: that beneath the
+grotesque cloak of their worship seems to shine some spark of a holy
+fire. Next come the gods of the Phoenicians, the fathers of a hideous
+creed. After them the flame worshippers and other kindred religions of
+the East. There remain the Jews, whose doctrine seems to me a savage
+one; at least it involves bloodshed with the daily offering of blood.
+Also they are divided, these Jews, for some are Pharisees, some
+Sadducees, some Essenes. Lastly, there are you Christians, whose faith
+is pure enough in theory, but whom all unite against in hate. What is
+the worth of a belief in this crucified Preacher who promises that He
+will raise those who trust in Him from the dead?"
+
+"That you will find out when everything else has failed you," answered
+Miriam.
+
+"Yes, it is a religion for those whom everything else has failed. When
+that chances to the rest of us we commit suicide and sink from sight."
+
+"And we," she said proudly, "rise to life eternal."
+
+"It may be so, lady, it may be so; but let us talk of something
+more cheerful," and he sighed. "At present, I hold that nothing is
+eternal--except perhaps such art as yours."
+
+"Which will be forgotten in the first change of taste, or crumbled in
+the first fire. But see, he is awake. Come here, my master, and work
+this nostril, for it is beyond me."
+
+The old artist advanced and looked at the bust with admiration.
+
+"Maid Miriam," he said, "I used to have some skill in this art, and I
+taught you its rudiments; but now, child, I am not fit to temper your
+clay. Deal with the nostril as you will; I am but a hodman who bears the
+bricks, you are the heaven-born architect. I will not meddle, I will not
+meddle; yet perhaps----" and he made a suggestion.
+
+"So?" said Miriam, touching the clay with her tool. "Oh, look! it is
+right now. You are clever, my master."
+
+"It was always right. I may be clever, but you have genius, and would
+have found the fault without any help from me."
+
+"Did I not say so?" broke in Marcus triumphantly.
+
+"Sir," replied Miriam, "you say a great deal, and much of it, I think,
+you do not mean. Please be silent; at this moment I wish to study your
+lips, and not your words."
+
+So the work went on. They did not always talk, for soon they found that
+speech is not necessary to true companionship. Once Miriam began to
+sing, and since she discovered that her voice pleased Marcus and soothed
+the slumbers of the elders, she sang often; quaint, sad songs of the
+desert and of the Jordan fishermen. Also she told him tales and legends,
+and when she had done Nehushta told others--wild stories of Libya, some
+of them very dark and bloody, others of magic, black or white. Thus
+these afternoons passed happily enough, and the clay model being
+finished, after the masons among the brethren had rough hewn it for her,
+Miriam began to fashion it in marble.
+
+There was one, however, for whom these days did not pass happily--Caleb.
+From the time that he had seen Miriam walking side by side with Marcus
+he hated the brilliant-looking Roman in whom, his instinct warned him,
+he had found a dangerous rival. Oh, how he hated him! So much, indeed,
+that even in the moment of first meeting he could not keep his rage and
+envy in his heart, but suffered them to be written on his face, and
+to shine like danger signals in his eyes, which, it may be remembered,
+Marcus did not neglect to note.
+
+Of Miriam Caleb had seen but little lately. She was not angry with him,
+since his offence was of a nature which a woman can forgive, but in
+her heart she feared him. Of a sudden, as it were, the curtain had been
+drawn, and she had seen this young man's secret spirit and learned that
+it was a consuming fire. It had come home to her that every word he
+spoke was true, that he who was orphaned and not liked even by the
+gentle elders of the Essenes, loved but one being upon earth--herself,
+whereas already his bosom seethed with many hates. She was sure also
+that any man for whom she chanced to care, if such an one should ever
+cross her path, would, as Caleb had promised, go in danger at his hands,
+and the thought frightened her. Most of all did it frighten her when she
+saw him glower upon Marcus, although in truth the Roman was nothing to
+her. Yet, as she knew, Caleb had judged otherwise.
+
+But if she saw little of him, of this Miriam was sure enough--that he
+was seldom far from her, and that he found means to learn from day to
+day how she spent her hours. Indeed, Marcus told her that wherever he
+went he met that handsome young man with revengeful eyes, who she had
+said was named Caleb. Therefore Miriam grew frightened and, as the issue
+will show, not without cause.
+
+One afternoon, while Miriam was at work upon the marble, and the three
+elders were as usual sunk in slumber, Marcus said suddenly:
+
+"I forgot. I have news for you, lady. I have found out who murdered that
+Jewish thief whose end, amongst other things, I was sent to investigate.
+It was your friend Caleb."
+
+Miriam started so violently that her chisel gave an unexpected effect to
+one of Marcus's curls.
+
+"Hush!" she said, glancing towards the sleepers, one of whom had just
+snored so loudly that he began to awake at the sound; then added in a
+whisper, "They do not know, do they?"
+
+He shook his head and looked puzzled.
+
+"I must speak to you of this matter," she went on with agitation, and in
+the same whisper. "No, not now or here, but alone."
+
+"When and where you will," answered Marcus, smiling, as if the prospect
+of a solitary conversation with Miriam did not displease him, although
+this evil-doing Caleb was to be its subject. "Name the time and place,
+lady."
+
+By now the snoring elder was awake, and rising from his chair with a
+great noise, which in turn roused the others. Nehushta also rose from
+her seat and in doing so, as though by accident, overset a copper tray
+on which lay metal tools.
+
+"In the garden one hour after sunset. Nehushta will leave the little
+lower door unlocked."
+
+"Good," answered Marcus; then added in a loud voice, "Not so, lady. Ye
+gods! what a noise! I think the curl improved by the slip. It looks less
+as though it had been waxed after the Egyptian fashion. Sirs, why do
+you disturb yourselves? I fear that to you this long waiting must be as
+tedious as to me it seems unnecessary."
+
+The sun was down, and the last red glow had faded from the western sky,
+which was now lit only by the soft light of a half-moon. All the
+world lay bathed in peace and beauty; even the stern outlines of the
+surrounding mountains seemed softened, and the pale waters of the Dead
+Sea and the ashen face of the desert gleamed like silver new cast from
+the mould. From the oleanders and lilies which bloomed along the edge
+of the irrigation channels, and from the white flowers of the glossy,
+golden-fruited orange trees, floated a perfume delicious to the sense,
+while the silence was only broken from time to time by the bark of a
+wandering dog or the howl of a jackal in the wilderness.
+
+"A very pleasant night--to talk about Caleb," reflected Marcus, who had
+reached the appointed spot ten minutes before the time, as he strolled
+from the narrow belt of trees that were planted along the high, outer
+wall, into the more open part of the garden. Had Marcus chanced to
+notice that this same Caleb, walking softly as a cat, and keeping with
+great care in the shadow, had followed him through the little door which
+he forgot to lock, and was now hidden among those very trees, he might
+have remembered a proverb to the effect that snakes hide in the greenest
+grass and the prettiest flowers have thorny stems. But he thought of no
+such thing, who was lost in happy anticipations of a moonlight interview
+with a lovely and cultured young lady, whose image, to speak truth, had
+taken so deep a hold upon his fancy, that sometimes he wondered how he
+would be able to banish it thence again. At present he could think of
+no better means than that which at this moment he was following
+with delight. Meetings in moonlit gardens tend proverbially to
+disenchantment!
+
+Presently Marcus caught the gleam of a white robe followed by a dark
+one, flitting towards him through the dim and dewy garden, and at the
+sight his heart stood still, then began to beat again in a disorderly
+fashion. Had he known it, another heart a few yards behind him also
+stood still, and then began to beat like that of a man in a violent
+rage. It seems possible, also, that a third heart experienced unusual
+sensations.
+
+"I wish she had left the old lady behind," muttered Marcus. "No, I
+don't, for then there are brutes who, if they knew, might blame her";
+and, luckily for himself, he walked forward a few paces to meet the
+white robe, leaving the little belt of trees almost out of hearing.
+
+Now Miriam stood before him, the moonlight shining on her delicate face
+and in her tranquil eyes, which always reminded him of the blue depths
+of heaven.
+
+"Sir," she began----
+
+"Oh, I pray you," he broke in, "cease from ceremony and call me Marcus!"
+
+"Captain Marcus," she repeated, dwelling a little on the unfamiliar
+name, "I beg that you will forgive me for disturbing you at so
+unseasonable an hour."
+
+"Certainly I forgive you, Lady Miriam," he replied, also dwelling on
+her name and copying her accent in a fashion that made the grim-faced
+Nehushta smile.
+
+She waved her hand in deprecation. "The truth is, that this matter of
+Caleb's----"
+
+"Oh, may all the infernal gods take Caleb! as I have reason to believe
+they shortly will," broke in Marcus angrily.
+
+"But that is just what I wish to prevent; we have met here to talk of
+Caleb."
+
+"Well, if you must--talk and let us be done with him. What about Caleb?"
+
+Miriam clasped her hands. "What do you know of him, Captain Marcus?"
+
+"Know? Why, just this: a spy I have in my troop has found out a country
+fellow who was hunting for mushrooms or something--I forget what--in a
+gully a mile away, and saw this interesting youth hide himself there
+and shoot that Jewish plunderer with a bow and arrow. More--he has found
+another man who saw the said Caleb an hour or two before help himself
+to an arrow out of one of the Jew's quivers, which arrow appears to be
+identical with, or at any rate, similar to, that which was found in the
+fellow's gullet. Therefore, it seems that Caleb is guilty, and that it
+will be my duty to-morrow to place him under arrest, and in due course
+to convey him to Jerusalem, where the priests will attend to his little
+business. Now, Lady Miriam, is your curiosity satisfied about Caleb?"
+
+"Oh," she said, "it cannot be, it must not be! The man had struck him
+and he did but return a blow for a blow."
+
+"An arrow for a blow, you mean; the point of a spear for the push of its
+handle. But, Lady Miriam, you seem to be very deep in the confidence of
+Caleb. How do you come to know all this?"
+
+"I don't know, I only guess. I daresay, nay, I am sure, that Caleb is
+quite innocent."
+
+"Why do you take such an interest in Caleb?" asked Marcus suspiciously.
+
+"Because he was my friend and playmate from childhood."
+
+"Umph," he answered, "a strange couple--a dove and a raven. Well, I am
+glad that you did not catch his temper, or you would be more dangerous
+even than you are. Now, what do you want me to do?"
+
+"I want you to spare Caleb. You, you, you--need not believe those
+witnesses."
+
+"To think of it!" said Marcus, in mock horror. "To think that one whom I
+thought so good can prove so immoral. Do you then wish to tempt me from
+my duty?"
+
+"Yes, I suppose so. At least the peasants round here are great liars."
+
+"Lady," said Marcus, with stern conviction, "Caleb has improved upon his
+opportunities as a playmate; he has been making love to you. I thought
+so from the first."
+
+"Oh," she answered, "how can you know that? Besides, he promised that he
+would never do it again."
+
+"How can I know that? Why, because Caleb would have been a bigger fool
+than I take him for if he had not. And if it rested with me, certainly
+he never would do it again. Now be honest with me, if a woman can on
+such a matter, and tell me true: are you in love with this Caleb?"
+
+"I--I? In love with Caleb? Of course not. If you do not believe me, ask
+Nehushta."
+
+"Thank you, I will be content with your own reply. You deny that you are
+in love with him, and I incline to believe you; but, on the other hand,
+I remember that you would naturally say this, since you might think that
+any other answer would prejudice the cause of Caleb with me."
+
+"With you! What can it matter to you, sir, whether or no I am in love
+with Caleb, who, to tell you the truth, frightens me?"
+
+"And that, I suppose, is why you plead so hard for him?"
+
+"No," she answered with a sudden sternness, "I plead hard for him as in
+like case I would plead hard for you--because he has been my friend, and
+if he did this deed he was provoked to it."
+
+"Well spoken," said Marcus, gazing at her steadily. Indeed, she was
+worth looking at as she stood there before him, her hands clasped, her
+breast heaving, her sweet, pale face flushed with emotion and her lovely
+eyes aswim with tears. Of a sudden as he gazed Marcus lost control of
+himself. Passion for this maiden and bitter jealousy of Caleb arose like
+twin giants in his heart and possessed him.
+
+"You say you are not in love with Caleb," he said. "Well, kiss me and I
+will believe you."
+
+"How could such a thing prove my words?" she asked indignantly.
+
+"I do not know and I do not care. Kiss me once and I will believe
+further that the peasants of these parts are all liars. I feel myself
+beginning to believe it."
+
+"And if I will not?"
+
+"Then I am afraid I must refer the matter to a competent tribunal at
+Jerusalem."
+
+"Nehushta, Nehushta, you have heard. What shall I do?"
+
+"What shall you do?" said Nehushta drily. "Well, if you like to give the
+noble Marcus a kiss, I shall not blame you overmuch or tell on you. But
+if you do not wish it, then I think you would be a fool to put yourself
+to shame to save Caleb."
+
+"Yet, I will do it--and to save Caleb only," said Miriam with a sob, and
+she bent towards him.
+
+To her surprise Marcus drew back, placing his hand before his face.
+
+"Forgive me," he said. "I was a brute who wished to buy kisses in such
+a fashion. I forgot myself; your beauty is to blame, and your sweetness
+and everything that is yours. I pray," he added humbly, "that you will
+not think the worse of me, since we men are frail at times. And now,
+because you ask me, though I have no right, I grant your prayer. Mayhap
+those witnesses lied; at least, the man's sin, if sin there be, can be
+excused. He has naught to fear from me."
+
+"No," broke in Nehushta, "but I think you have much to fear from him;
+and I am sorry for that, my lord Marcus, for you have a noble heart."
+
+"It may be so; the future is on the knees of the gods, and that which
+is fated will befall. My Lady Miriam, I, your humble servant and friend,
+wish you farewell."
+
+"Farewell," she answered. "Yes, Nehushta is right, you have a noble
+heart"; and she looked at him in such a fashion that it flashed across
+his mind that were he to proffer that request of his again, it might
+not be refused. But Marcus would not do it. He had tasted of the joy of
+self-conquest, who hitherto, after the manner of his age and race, had
+denied himself little, and, as it seemed to him, a strange new power
+was stirring in his heart--something purer, higher, nobler, than he had
+known before. He would cherish it a while.
+
+Of all that were spoken there in the garden, Caleb, the watcher, could
+catch no word. The speakers did not raise their voices and they stood
+at a distance, so that although he craned his head forward as far as he
+dared in the shadow of the trees, sharp and trained as they were, naught
+save a confused murmur reached his ears. But if these failed him, his
+eyes fed full, so that he lost no move or gesture. It was a passionate
+love scene, this was clear, for Nehushta stood at a little distance with
+her back turned, while the pair poured out their sweet speeches to each
+other. Then at length, as he had expected, came the climax. Yes, oh!
+shameless woman--they were embracing. A mist fell upon Caleb's eyes, in
+which lights flashed like red-hot swords lifting and smiting, the blood
+drummed in his ears as though his raging, jealous heart would burst.
+He would kill that Roman now on the spot. Miriam should never kiss him
+more--alive.
+
+Already Caleb had drawn the short-sword from its hiding-place in his
+ample robe; already he had stepped out from the shadow of the trees,
+when of a sudden his reason righted itself like a ship that has been
+laid over by a furious squall, and caution came back to him. If he
+did this that faithless guardian, Nehushta, who without doubt had been
+bought with Roman gold, would come to the assistance of her patron and
+thrust her dagger through his back, as she well could do. Or should he
+escape that dagger, one or other of them would raise the Essenes on
+him, and he would be given over to justice. He wished to slay, not to be
+slain. It would be sweet to kill the Roman, but if he himself were laid
+dead across his body, leaving Miriam alive to pass to some other man,
+what would he be advantaged? Presently they must cease from their
+endearments; presently his enemy would return as he had come, and then
+he might find his chance. He would wait, he would wait.
+
+Look, they had parted; Miriam was gliding back to the house, and Marcus
+came towards him, walking like a man in his sleep. Only Nehushta
+stood where she was, her eyes fixed upon the ground as though she were
+reasoning with herself. Still like a man in a dream, Marcus passed him
+within touch of his outstretched hand. Caleb followed. Marcus opened the
+door, went out of it, and pulled it to behind him. Caleb caught it
+in his hand, slipped through and closed it. A few paces down the
+wall--eight or ten perhaps--was another door, by which Marcus entered
+the garden of the guest-house. As he turned to shut this, Caleb pushed
+in after him, and they were face to face.
+
+"Who are you?" asked the Roman, springing back.
+
+Caleb, who by now was cool enough, closed the door and shot the bolt.
+Then he answered, "Caleb, the son of Hilliel, who wishes a word with
+you."
+
+"Ah!" said Marcus, "the very man, and, as usual, unless the light
+deceives me, in an evil humour. Well, Caleb the son of Hilliel, what is
+your business with me?"
+
+"One of life and death, Marcus the son of Emilius," he answered, in such
+a tone that the Roman drew his sword and stood watching him.
+
+"Be plain and brief, young man," he said.
+
+"I will be both plain and brief. I love that lady from whom you have
+just parted, and you also love, or pretend to love, her. Nay, deny it
+not; I have seen all, even to your kisses. Well, she cannot belong to
+both of us, and I intend that in some future day she shall belong to
+me if arm and eye do not fail me now. Therefore one of us must die
+to-night."
+
+Marcus stepped back, overcome not with fear, but with astonishment.
+
+"Insolent," he said, "you lie! There were no kisses, and our talk was of
+your neck, that I gave to her because she asked it, which is forfeit for
+the murder of the Jew."
+
+"Indeed," sneered Caleb. "Now, who would have thought that the noble
+Captain Marcus would shelter thus behind a woman's robe? For the rest,
+my life is my own and no other's to give or to receive. Guard yourself,
+Roman, since I would kill you in fair fight. Had I another mind you
+would be dead by now, never knowing the hand that struck you. Have no
+fear; I am your equal, for my forefathers were nobles when yours were
+savages."
+
+"Boy, are you mad," asked Marcus, "to think that I, who have fought in
+three wars, can fear a beardless youth, however fierce? Why, if I feared
+you I have but to blow upon this whistle and my guards would hale you
+hence to a felon's death. For your own sake it is that I pray you to
+consider. Setting aside my rank and yours, I will fight you if you will,
+and now. Yet think. If I kill you there is an end, and if by chance you
+should kill me, you will be hunted down as a double murderer. As it is,
+I forgive you, because I know how bitter is the jealousy of youth,
+and because you struck no assassin's blow when you might have done so
+safely. Therefore, I say, go in peace, knowing that I shall not break my
+word."
+
+"Cease talking," said Caleb, "and come out into the moonlight."
+
+"I am glad that is your wish," replied Marcus. "Having done all I can
+to save you, I will add that I think you a dangerous cub, of whom the
+world, the lady Miriam and I alike will be well rid. Now, what weapon
+have you? A short sword and no mail? Well, so have I. In this we are
+well matched. Stay, I have a steel-lined cap, and you have none. There
+it goes, to make our chances equal. Wind your cloak about your left arm
+as I do. I have known worse shields. Good foothold, but an uncertain
+light. Now, go!"
+
+Caleb needed no encouragement. For one second they stood facing each
+other, very types of the Eastern and Western world; the Roman--sturdy,
+honest-eyed, watchful and fearless, his head thrown back, his feet
+apart, his shield arm forward, his sword hand pressed to his side from
+which the steel projected. Over against him was the Jew, crouched like a
+tiger about to spring, his eyes half closed as though to concentrate the
+light, his face working with rage, and every muscle quivering till his
+whole flesh seemed to move upon his bones, like to that of a snake.
+Suddenly, uttering a low cry, he sprang, and with that savage onslaught
+the fight began and ended.
+
+Marcus was ready; moreover, he knew what he would do. As the man came,
+stepping swiftly to one side, he caught the thrust of Caleb's sword in
+the folded cloak, and since he did not wish to kill him, struck at his
+hand. The blow fell upon Caleb's first finger and severed it, cutting
+the others also, so that it dropped to the ground with the sword that
+they had held. Marcus put his foot upon the blade, and wheeled round.
+
+"Young man," he said sternly, "you have learnt your lesson and will bear
+the mark of it till your death day. Now begone."
+
+The wretched Caleb ground his teeth. "It was to the death!" he said, "it
+was to the death! You have conquered, kill me," and with his bloody hand
+he tore open his robe to make a path for the sword.
+
+"Leave such talk to play-actors," answered Marcus. "Begone, and be sure
+of this--that if ever you try to bring treachery on me, or trouble on
+the lady Miriam, I will kill you sure enough."
+
+Then with a sound that was half curse and half sob, Caleb turned and
+slunk away. With a shrug of the shoulder Marcus also turned to go, when
+he felt a shadow fall upon him, and swung round, to find Nehushta at his
+side.
+
+"And pray where did you come from, my Libyan friend?" he asked.
+
+"Out of that pomegranate fence, my Roman lord, whence I have seen and
+heard all that passed."
+
+"Indeed. Then I hope that you give me credit for good sword-play and
+good temper."
+
+"The sword-play was well enough, though nothing to boast of with such a
+madman for a foe. As for the temper, it was that of a fool."
+
+"Such," soliloquised Marcus, "is the reward of virtue. But I am curious.
+Why?"
+
+"Because, my lord Marcus, this Caleb will grow into the most dangerous
+man in Judaea, and to none more dangerous than to my lady Miriam and
+yourself. You should have killed him while you had the chance, before
+his turn comes to kill you."
+
+"Perhaps," answered Marcus with a yawn; "but, friend Nehushta, I have
+been associating with a Christian and have caught something of her
+doctrines. That seems a fine sword. You had better keep it. Good-night."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE JUSTICE OF FLORUS
+
+On the following morning, when the roll of the neophytes of the Essenes
+was called, Caleb did not appear. Nor did he answer to his name on the
+next day, or indeed ever again. None knew what had become of him until
+a while after a letter was received addressed to the Curators of the
+Court, in which he announced that, finding he had no vocation for an
+Essenic career, he had taken refuge with friends of his late father, in
+some place not stated. There, so far as the Essenes were concerned, the
+matter ended. Indeed, as the peasant who was concealed in the gully when
+the Jew was murdered had talked of what he had witnessed, even the most
+simple-minded of the Essenes could suggest a reason for this sudden
+departure. Nor did they altogether regret it, inasmuch as in many ways
+Caleb had proved himself but an unsatisfactory disciple, and already
+they were discussing the expediency of rejecting him from the fellowship
+of their peaceful order. Had they known that when he vanished he left
+behind him a drawn sword and one of his forefingers, their opinion on
+this point might have been strengthened. But this they did not know,
+although Miriam knew it through Nehushta.
+
+A week went by, during which time Miriam and Marcus did not meet, as no
+further sittings were arranged for the completion of the bust. In fact,
+they were not needful, since she could work from the clay model, which
+she did, till, labouring at it continually, the marble was done and even
+polished. One morning as the artist was putting the last touches to her
+labours, the door of the workshop was darkened and she looked up to
+see Marcus, who, except for his helmet, was clad in full mail as though
+about to start upon a journey. As it chanced, Miriam was alone in the
+place, Nehushta having gone to attend to household affairs. Thus for the
+first time they met with no other eyes to watch them.
+
+At the sight of him she coloured, letting the cloth fall from her hand
+which remained about the neck of the marble.
+
+"I ask your pardon, Lady Miriam," said Marcus, bowing gravely, "for
+breaking in thus upon your privacy; but time presses with me so that I
+lacked any to give notice to your guardians of my visit."
+
+"Are you leaving us?" she faltered.
+
+"Yes, I am leaving you."
+
+Miriam turned aside and picked up the cloth, then answered, "Well, the
+work is done, or will be in a few minutes; so if you think it worth the
+trouble, take it."
+
+"That is my intention. The price I will settle with your uncles."
+
+She nodded. "Yes, yes, but if you will permit me, I should like to pack
+it myself, so that it comes to no harm upon the journey. Also with your
+leave I will retain the model, which by right belongs to you. I am not
+pleased with this marble; I wish to make another."
+
+"The marble is perfect; but keep the model if you will. I am very glad
+that you should keep it."
+
+She glanced at him, a question in her eyes, then looked away.
+
+"When do you go?" she asked.
+
+"Three hours after noon. My task is finished, my report--which is to
+the effect that the Essenes are a most worthy and harmless people who
+deserve to be encouraged, not molested--is written. Also I am called
+hence in haste by a messenger who reached me from Jerusalem an hour ago.
+Would you like to know why?"
+
+"If it pleases you to tell me, yes."
+
+"I think that I told you of my uncle Caius, who was pro-consul under
+the late emperor for the richest province of Spain, and--made use of his
+opportunities."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, the old man has been smitten with a mortal disease. For aught I
+know he may be already dead, although the physicians seemed to think
+he would live for another ten months, or perhaps a year. Being in this
+case, suddenly he has grown fond of his relations, or rather relation,
+for I am the only one, and expressed a desire to see me, to whom for
+many years he has never given a single penny. He has even announced his
+intention--by letter--of making me his heir 'should he find me worthy,'
+which, to succeed Caius, whatever my faults, indeed I am not, since of
+all men, as I have told him in past days, I hold him the worst. Still,
+he has forwarded a sum of money to enable me to journey to him in haste,
+and with it a letter from the Caesar, Nero, to the procurator Albinus,
+commanding him to give me instant leave to go. Therefore, lady, it seems
+wise that I should go."
+
+"Yes," answered Miriam. "I know little of such things, but I think that
+it is wise. Within two hours the bust shall be finished and packed," and
+she stretched out her hand in farewell.
+
+Marcus took the hand and held it. "I am loth to part with you thus," he
+said suddenly.
+
+"There is only one fashion of parting," answered Miriam, striving to
+withdraw her hand.
+
+"Nay, there are many; and I hate them all--from you."
+
+"Sir," she asked with gentle indignation, "is it worth your while to
+play off these pretty phrases upon me? We have met for an hour; we
+separate--for a lifetime."
+
+"I do not see the need of that. Oh, the truth may as well out. I wish it
+least of all things."
+
+"Yet it is so. Come, let my hand go; the marble must be finished and
+packed."
+
+The face of Marcus became troubled, as though he were reasoning with
+himself, as though he wished to take her at her word and go, yet could
+not.
+
+"Is it ended?" asked Miriam presently, considering him with her quiet
+eyes.
+
+"I think not; I think it is but begun. Miriam, I love you."
+
+"Marcus," she answered steadily, "I do not think I should be asked to
+listen to such words."
+
+"Why not? They have always been thought honest between man and woman."
+
+"Perhaps, when they are meant honestly, which in this case can scarcely
+be."
+
+He grew hot and red. "What do you mean? Do you suppose----"
+
+"I suppose nothing, Captain Marcus."
+
+"Do you suppose," he repeated, "that I would offer you less than the
+place of wife?"
+
+"Assuredly not," she replied, "since to do so would be to insult you.
+But neither do I suppose that you really meant to offer me that place."
+
+"Yet that was in my mind, Miriam."
+
+Her eyes grew soft, but she answered:
+
+"Then, Marcus, I pray you, put it out of your mind, since between us
+rolls a great sea."
+
+"Is it named Caleb?" he asked bitterly.
+
+She smiled and shook her head. "You know well that it has no such name."
+
+"Tell me of this sea."
+
+"It is easy. You are a Roman worshipping the Roman gods; I am a
+Christian worshipping the God of the Christians. Therefore we are
+forever separate."
+
+"Why? I do not understand. If we were married you might come to think
+like me, or I might come to think like you. It is a matter of the spirit
+and the future, not of the body and the present. Every day Christians
+wed those who are not Christians; sometimes, even, they convert them."
+
+"Yes, I know; but in my case this may not be--even if I wished that it
+should be."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because both by the command of my murdered father and of her own desire
+my mother laid it on me with her dying breath that I should take to
+husband no man who was not of our faith."
+
+"And do you hold yourself to be bound by this command?"
+
+"I do, without doubt and to the end."
+
+"However much you might chance to love a man who is not a Christian?"
+
+"However much I might chance to love such a man."
+
+Marcus let fall her hand. "I think I had best go," he said.
+
+"Yes."
+
+Then came a pause while he seemed to be struggling with himself.
+
+"Miriam, I cannot go."
+
+"Marcus, you must go."
+
+"Miriam, do you love me?"
+
+"Marcus, may Christ forgive me, I do."
+
+"Miriam, how much?"
+
+"Marcus, as much as a woman may love a man."
+
+"And yet," he broke out bitterly, "you bid me begone because I am not a
+Christian."
+
+"Because my faith is more than my love. I must offer my love upon the
+altar of my faith--or, at the least," she added hurriedly, "I am bound
+by a rope that cannot be cut or broken. To break it would bring down
+upon your head and mine the curse of Heaven and of my parents, who are
+its inhabitants."
+
+"And if I became of your faith?"
+
+Her whole face lit up, then suddenly its light died.
+
+"It is too much to hope. This is not a question of casting incense on an
+altar; it is a matter of a changed spirit and a new life. Oh! have done.
+Why do you play with me?"
+
+"A changed spirit and a new life. At the best that would take time."
+
+"Yes, time and thought."
+
+"And would you wait that time? Such beauty and such sweetness as are
+yours will not lack for suitors."
+
+"I shall wait. I have told you that I love you; no other man will be
+anything to me. I shall wed no other man."
+
+"You give all and take nothing; it is not just."
+
+"It is as God has willed. If it pleases God to touch your heart and to
+preserve us both alive, then in days to come our lives may be one life.
+Otherwise they must run apart till perchance we meet--in the eternal
+morning."
+
+"Oh, Miriam, I cannot leave you thus! Teach me as you will."
+
+"Nay, go, Marcus, and teach yourself. Am I a bait to win your soul? The
+path is not so easy, it is very difficult. Fare you well!"
+
+"May I write to you from Rome?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, why not, if by that time you should care to write, who then will
+have recovered from this folly of the desert and an idle moon?"
+
+"I shall write and I shall return, and we will talk of these matters;
+so, most sweet, farewell."
+
+"Farewell, Marcus, and the love of God go with you."
+
+"What of your love?"
+
+"My love is with you ever who have won my heart."
+
+"Then, Miriam, at least I have not lived in vain. Remember this always,
+that much as I may worship you, I honour you still more," and kneeling
+before her he kissed first her hand, and next the hem of her robe. Then
+he turned and went.
+
+
+
+That night, watching from the roof of her house by the light of the full
+moon, Miriam saw Marcus ride away at the head of his band of soldiers.
+On the crest of a little ridge of ground outside the village he halted,
+leaving them to go on, and turning his horse's head looked backward.
+Thus he stood awhile, the silver rays of the moon shining on his bright
+armour and making him a point of light set between two vales of shadow.
+Miriam could guess whither his eyes were turned and what was in his
+heart. It seemed to her, even, that she could feel his loving thought
+play upon her and that with the ear of his spirit he could catch the
+answer of her own. Then suddenly he turned and was lost in the gloom of
+the night.
+
+Now that he was gone, quite gone, Miriam's courage seemed to leave her,
+and leaning her head upon the parapet she wept tears that were soft but
+very bitter. Suddenly a hand was laid upon her shoulder and a voice,
+that of old Nehushta, spoke in her ear.
+
+"Mourn not," it said, "since him whom you lose in the night you may find
+again in the daytime."
+
+"In no day that dawns from an earthly sun, I fear me, Nou. Oh, Nou! he
+has gone, and taken my heart with him, leaving in its place a throbbing
+pain which is more than I can bear."
+
+"He will come back; I tell you that he will come back," she answered,
+almost fiercely; "for your life and his are intertwined--yes, to the
+end--a single cord bearing a double destiny. I know it; ask me not how;
+but be comforted, for it is truth. Moreover, though it be sharp, your
+pain is not more than you can bear, else it would never be laid upon
+you."
+
+"But, Nou, if he does come back, what will it help me, who am built in
+by this strict command of them that begat me, to break through which
+would be to sin against and earn the curse of God and man?"
+
+"I do not know; I only know this, that in that wall, as in others, a
+door will be found. Trouble not for the future, but leave it in the
+hand of Him Who shapes all futures. Sufficient to the day is the evil
+thereof. So He said. Accept the saying and be grateful. It is something
+to have gained the love of such a one as this Roman, for, unless the
+wisdom which I have gained through many years is at fault, he is true
+and honest; and that man must be good at heart who can be reared in Rome
+and in the worship of its gods and yet remain honest. Remember these
+things, and I say be grateful, since there are many who go through their
+lives knowing no such joy, even for an hour."
+
+"I will try, Nou," said Miriam humbly, still staring at the ridge whence
+Marcus had vanished.
+
+"You will try, and you will succeed. Now there is another matter of
+which I must speak to you. When the Essenes received us it was solemnly
+decreed that if you lived to reach the full age of eighteen years you
+must depart from among them. That hour struck for you nearly a year ago,
+and, although you heard nothing of it, this decree was debated by the
+Court. Now such decrees may not be broken, but it was argued that the
+words 'full age of eighteen years,' meant and were intended to mean
+until you reached your nineteenth birthday; that is--in a month from
+now."
+
+"Then must we go, Nou?" asked Miriam in dismay, for she knew no other
+world but this village in the desert, and no other friends than these
+venerable men whom she called her uncles.
+
+"It seems so, especially as it is now guessed that Caleb fought the
+Captain Marcus upon your account. Oh! that tale is talked of--for one
+thing, the young wild-cat left a claw behind him which the gardener
+found."
+
+"I trust then it is known also that the fault was none of mine. But,
+Nou, whither shall we go who have neither friends, nor home, nor money?"
+
+"I know not; but doubtless in this wall also there is a door. If the
+worst comes to the worst, a Christian has many brothers; moreover, with
+your skill in the arts you need never lack for a living in any great
+city in the world."
+
+"It is true," said Miriam, brightening; "that is, if I may believe
+Marcus and my old master."
+
+"Also," continued Nehushta, "I have still almost all the gold that the
+Phoenician Amram gave us when I fled with your mother, and added to it
+that which I took from the strong box of the captain of the galley on
+the night when you were born. So have no fear, we shall not want; nor
+indeed would the Essenes suffer such a thing. Now, child, you are weary;
+go to rest and dream that you have your lover back again."
+
+
+
+It was with a heavy heart that Caleb, defeated and shamed, shook the
+dust of the village of the Essenes off his feet. At dawn on the morning
+after the night that he had fought the duel with Marcus, he also might
+have been seen, a staff in his bandaged hand and a bag of provisions
+over his shoulder, standing upon the little ridge and gazing towards the
+house which sheltered Miriam. In love and war things had gone ill with
+him, so ill that at the thought of his discomfiture he ground his teeth.
+Miriam cared nothing for him; Marcus had defeated him at the first
+encounter and given him his life; while, worst of all, these two
+from whom he had endured so much loved each other. Few, perhaps, have
+suffered more sharply than he suffered in that hour; for what agonies
+are there like those of disappointed love and the shame of defeat when
+endured in youth? With time most men grow accustomed to disaster and
+rebuff. The colt that seems to break its heart at the cut of a whip,
+will hobble at last to the knacker unmoved by a shower of blows.
+
+While Caleb looked, the red rim of the sun rose above the horizon,
+flooding the world with light and life. Now birds began to chirp, and
+beasts to move; now the shadows fled away. Caleb's impressionable nature
+answered to this change. Hope stirred in his breast, even the pain of
+his maimed hand was forgotten.
+
+"I will win yet," he shouted to the silent sky; "my troubles are done
+with. I will shine like the sun; I will rule like the sun, and my
+enemies shall whither beneath my power. It is a good omen. Now I am glad
+that the Roman spared my life, that in a day to come I may take his--and
+Miriam."
+
+Then he turned and trudged onward through the glorious sunlight,
+watching his own shadow that stretched away before him.
+
+"It goes far," he said again; "this also is a very good omen."
+
+Caleb thought much on his way to Jerusalem; moreover he talked with all
+whom he met, even with bandits and footpads whom his poverty could not
+tempt, for he desired to learn how matters stood in the land. Arrived in
+Jerusalem he sought out the home of that lady who had been his mother's
+friend and who gave him over, a helpless orphan, to the care of the
+Essenes. He found that she was dead, but her son lived, a man of kind
+heart and given to hospitality, who had heard his story and sheltered
+him for his mother's sake. When his hand was healed and he procured some
+good clothes and a little money from his friend, without saying anything
+of his purpose, Caleb attended the court of Gessius Florus, the Roman
+procurator, at his palace, seeking an opportunity to speak with him.
+
+Thrice did he wait thus for hours at a time, on each occasion to be
+driven away at last by the guards. On his fourth visit he was more
+fortunate, for Florus, who had noted him before, asked why he stood
+there so patiently. An officer replied that the man had a petition to
+make.
+
+"Let me hear it then," said the governor. "I sit in this place to
+administer justice by the grace and in the name of Caesar."
+
+Accordingly, Caleb was summoned and found himself in the presence of a
+small, dark-eyed, beetle-browed Roman with cropped hair, who looked what
+he was--one of the most evil rulers that ever held power in Judaea.
+
+"What do you seek, Jew?" he asked in a harsh voice.
+
+"What I am assured I shall find at your hands, O most noble Florus,
+justice against the Jews--pure justice"; words at which the courtiers
+and guards tittered, and even Florus smiled.
+
+"It is to be had at a price," he replied.
+
+"I am prepared to pay the price."
+
+"Then set out your case."
+
+So Caleb set it out. He told how many years before his father had
+been accidentally slain in a tumult, and how he, the son, being but an
+infant, certain Jews of the Zealots had seized and divided his estate
+on the ground that his father was a partisan of the Romans, leaving him,
+the son, to be brought up by charity--which estate, consisting of tracts
+of rich lands and certain house property in Jerusalem and Tyre, was
+still in their possession or in that of their descendants.
+
+The black eyes of Florus glistened as he heard.
+
+"Their names," he said, snatching at his tablets. But as yet Caleb was
+not minded to give the names. First, he intimated that he desired to
+arrive at a formal agreement as to what proportion of the property, if
+recovered, would be handed over to him, the heir. Then followed much
+haggling; but in the end it was agreed that as he had been robbed
+because his father was supposed to favour the Romans, the lands and a
+large dwelling with warehouse attached, at Tyre, together with one-half
+the back rents, if recoverable, should be given to the plaintiff.
+The governor, or as he put it, Caesar, for his share was to retain
+the property in Jerusalem and the other half of the rents. In this
+arrangement Caleb proved himself, as usual, prescient. Houses, as he
+explained afterwards, could be burned or pulled down, but beyond the
+crops on it, land no man could injure. Then, after the agreement had
+been duly signed and witnessed, he gave the names, bringing forward good
+testimony to prove all that he had said.
+
+Within a week those Jews who had committed the theft, or their
+descendants, were in prison, whence they did not emerge till they had
+been stripped, not only of the stolen property, but of everything else
+that they possessed. Either because he was pleased at so great and
+unexpected a harvest, or perhaps for the reason that he saw in Caleb
+an able fellow who might be useful in the future, Florus fulfilled his
+bargain with him to the letter.
+
+Thus it came about that by a strange turn of the wheel of chance, within
+a month of his flight from the colony of the Essenes, Caleb, the outcast
+orphan, with his neck in danger of the sword, became a man of influence,
+having great possessions. His sun had risen indeed.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+BENONI
+
+A while later Caleb, no longer a solitary wanderer with only his feet
+to carry him, his staff to protect him, and a wallet to supply him with
+food, but a young and gallant gentleman, well-armed, clad in furs and a
+purple cloak, accompanied by servants and riding a splendid horse, once
+more passed the walls of Jerusalem. On the rising ground beyond the
+Damascus gate he halted and looked back at the glorious city with her
+crowded streets, her mighty towers, her luxurious palaces, and her
+world-famed temple that dominated all, which from here seemed as a
+mountain covered with snow and crowned with glittering gold.
+
+"I will rule there when the Romans have been driven out," he said to
+himself, for already Caleb had grown very ambitious. Indeed, the wealth
+and the place that had come to him so suddenly, with which many men
+would have been satisfied, did but serve to increase his appetite
+for power, fame, and all good things. To him this money was but a
+stepping-stone to greater fortunes.
+
+Caleb was journeying to Tyre to take possession of his house there,
+which the Roman commander of the district had been bidden to hand over
+to him. Also he had another object. At Tyre dwelt the old Jew, Benoni,
+who was Miriam's grandfather, as he had discovered years before; for
+when they were still children together she had told him all her story.
+This Benoni, for reasons of his own, he desired to see.
+
+
+
+On a certain afternoon in one of the palaces of Tyre a man might have
+been sitting in a long portico, or verandah as we should call it,
+which overlooked the Mediterranean, whose blue waters lapped the
+straight-scarped rock below--for this house was in the island city, not
+in that of the mainland where most of the rich Syrians dwelt.
+
+The man was old and very handsome. His dark eyes were quick and full of
+fire, his nose was hooked like the beak of a bird of prey, his hair and
+beard were long and snowy white. His robes also were rich and splendid,
+and over them, since at this season of the year even at Tyre it was
+cold, he wore a cloak of costly northern furs. The house was worthy of
+its owner. Built throughout of the purest marble, the rooms were roofed
+and panelled with sweet-smelling cedar of Lebanon, whence hung many
+silver lamps, and decorated by statuary and frescoes. On the marble
+floors were spread rugs, beautifully wrought in colours, while here and
+there stood couches, tables and stools, fashioned for the most part of
+ebony from Libya, inlaid with ivory and pearl.
+
+Benoni, the owner of all this wealth, having finished his business
+for that day--the taking count of a shipload of merchandise which had
+reached him from Egypt--had eaten his midday meal and now sought his
+couch under the portico to rest a while in the sun. Reclining on the
+cushions, soon he was asleep; but it would seem that his dreams were
+unhappy--at the least he turned from side to side muttering and moving
+his hands. At last he sat up with a start.
+
+"Oh, Rachel, Rachel!" he moaned, "why will you haunt my sleep? Oh! my
+child, my child, have I not suffered enough? Must you bring my sin back
+to me in this fashion? May I not shut my eyes even here in the sunlight
+and be at peace a while? What have you to tell me that you come thus
+often to stand here so strengthless and so still? Nay, it is not you; it
+is my sin that wears your shape!" and Benoni hid his face in his hands,
+rocking himself to and fro and moaning aloud.
+
+Presently he sprang up. "It was no sin," he said, "it was a righteous
+act. I offered her to the outraged majesty of Jehovah, as Abraham, our
+father, would have offered Isaac, but the curse of that false prophet is
+upon me and mine. That was the fault of Demas, the half-bred hound who
+crept into my kennel, and whom, because she loved him, I gave to her as
+husband. Thus did he repay me, the traitor, and I--I repaid him. Ay! But
+the sword fell upon two necks. He should have suffered, and he alone.
+Oh, Rachel, my lost daughter Rachel, forgive me, you whose bones lie
+there beneath the sea, forgive me! I cannot bear those eyes of yours. I
+am old, Rachel, I am old."
+
+Thus Benoni muttered to himself, as he walked swiftly to and fro; then,
+worn out with his burst of solitary, dream-bred passion, he sank back
+upon the couch.
+
+As he sat thus, an Arab doorkeeper, gorgeously apparelled and armed with
+a great sword, appeared in the portico, and after looking carefully to
+see that his master was not asleep, made a low salaam.
+
+"What is it?" asked Benoni shortly.
+
+"Master, a young lord named Caleb wishes speech with you."
+
+"Caleb? I know not the name," replied Benoni. "Stay, it must be the
+son of Hilliel, whom the Roman governor"--and turning, he spat upon the
+ground--"has brought to his own again. I heard that he had come to take
+possession of the great house on the quay. Bring him hither."
+
+The Arab saluted and went. Presently he returned and ushered in Caleb,
+now a noble-looking young man clad in fine raiment. Benoni bowed to
+him and prayed him to be seated. Caleb bowed in return, touching his
+forehead in Eastern fashion with his hand, from which, as his host
+noticed, the forefinger was missing.
+
+"I am your servant, sir," said Benoni with grave courtesy.
+
+"Master, I am your slave," answered Caleb. "I have been told that you
+knew my father; therefore, on this, my first visit to Tyre, I come to
+make my respects to you. I am the son of Hilliel, who perished many
+years ago in Jerusalem. You may have heard his story and mine."
+
+"Yes," answered Benoni scanning his visitor, "I knew Hilliel--a clever
+man, but one who fell into a trap at last, and I see that you are his
+son. Your face proves it; indeed, it might be Hilliel who stands before
+me."
+
+"I am proud that you should say so," answered Caleb, though already he
+guessed that between Benoni and his father no love had been lost. "You
+know," he added, "that certain of our people seized my inheritance,
+which now has been restored to me--in part."
+
+"By Gessius Florus the procurator, I think, who on this account, has
+cast many Jews--some of them innocent--into prison."
+
+"Indeed! Is that so? Well, it was concerning this Florus that I came
+chiefly to ask your advice. The Roman has kept a full half of my
+property," and Caleb sighed and looked indignant.
+
+"You are indeed fortunate that he has not kept it all."
+
+"I have been brought up in the desert far from cities," pleaded Caleb.
+"Is there no law by which I may have justice of this man? Cannot you
+help me who are great among our people?"
+
+"None," answered Benoni. "Roman citizens have rights, Jews what they can
+get. You can appeal to Caesar if you wish, as the jackal appealed to the
+lion. But if you are wise you will be content with half the carcase.
+Also I am not great; I am but an old merchant without authority."
+
+Caleb looked downfallen. "It seems that the days are hard for us Jews,"
+he said. "Well, I will be content and strive to forgive my enemies."
+
+"Better be content and strive to smite your enemies," answered Benoni.
+"You who were poor are rich; for this much thank God."
+
+"Night and morning I do thank Him," replied Caleb earnestly and with
+truth.
+
+Then there was silence for a while.
+
+"Is it your intention to reside in Hezron's--I mean in your house--in
+Tyre?" asked Benoni, breaking it.
+
+"For a time, perhaps, until I find a tenant. I am not accustomed to
+towns, and at present they seem to stifle me."
+
+"Where were you brought up, sir?"
+
+"Among the Essenes by Jericho. But I am not an Essene--their creed
+disgusted me; I belong to that of my fathers."
+
+"There are worse men," replied Benoni. "A brother of my late wife is an
+Essene, a kindly natured fool named Ithiel; you may have known him."
+
+"Oh, yes, I know him. He is one of their curators and the guardian of
+the lady Miriam, his great-niece."
+
+The old man started violently, then, recovering himself, said:
+
+"Forgive me, but Miriam was the name of my lost wife--one which it
+disturbs me to hear. But how can this girl be Ithiel's grand-niece? He
+had no relations except his sister."
+
+"I do not know," answered Caleb carelessly. "The story is that the lady
+Miriam, whom they call the Queen of the Essenes, was brought to them
+nineteen or twenty years ago by a Libyan woman named Nehushta,"--here
+again Benoni started--"who said that the child's mother, Ithiel's
+niece, had been shipwrecked and died after giving birth to the infant,
+commanding that it should be brought to him to be reared. The Essenes
+consenting, he accepted the charge, and there she is still."
+
+"Then is this lady Miriam an Essene?" asked Benoni in a thick, slow
+voice.
+
+"No; she is of the sect of the Christians, in which faith she has been
+brought up as her mother desired."
+
+The old man rose from his couch and walked up and down the portico.
+
+"Tell me of the lady Miriam, sir," he said presently, "for the tale
+interests me. What is she like?"
+
+"She is, as I believe, the most beautiful maiden in the whole world,
+though small and slight; also she is the most sweet and learned."
+
+"That is high praise, sir," said Benoni.
+
+"Yes, master, and perhaps I exaggerate her charms, as is but natural."
+
+"Why is it natural?"
+
+"Because we were brought up together, and I hope that one day she will
+be my wife."
+
+"Are you then affianced to this maid?"
+
+"No, not affianced--as yet," replied Caleb, with a little smile; "but I
+will not trouble you with a history of my love affairs. I have already
+trespassed too long upon your kindness. It is something to ask of you
+who may not desire my acquaintance, but if you will do me the honour to
+sup with me to-morrow night, your servant will be grateful."
+
+"I thank you, young sir. I will come, I will come, for in truth,"
+he added hastily, "I am anxious to hear news of all that passes at
+Jerusalem, which, I understand, you left but a few days since, and I
+perceive that you are one whose eyes and ears are always open."
+
+"I try both to see and to hear," said Caleb modestly. "But I am very
+inexperienced, and am not sure which cause a man who hopes to become
+both wise and good, ought to espouse in these troubled days. I need
+guidance such as you could give me if you wished. For this while,
+farewell."
+
+Benoni watched his visitor depart, then once more began to wander up and
+down the portico.
+
+"I do not trust that young man," he thought, "of whose doings I have
+heard something; but he is rich and able, and may be of service to our
+cause. This Miriam of whom he speaks, who can she be? unless, indeed,
+Rachel bore a daughter before she died. Why not? She would not have left
+it to my care who desired that it should be reared in her own accursed
+faith and looked upon me as the murderer of her husband and herself. If
+so, I who thought myself childless, yet have issue upon the earth--at
+least there is one in whom my blood runs. Beautiful, gifted--but a
+Christian! The sin of the parents has descended on the child--yes, the
+curse is on her also. I must seek her out. I must know the truth. Man,
+what is it now? Can you not see that I would be alone?"
+
+"Master, your pardon," said the Arab servant, bowing, "but the Roman
+captain, Marcus, desires speech with you."
+
+"Marcus? Oh, I remember the officer who was stationed here. I am not
+well, I cannot see him. Bid him come to-morrow."
+
+"Master, he bid me say that he sails for Rome to-night."
+
+"Well, well, admit him," answered Benoni. "Perchance he comes to pay his
+debt," he added.
+
+The Arab departed, and presently the Roman was ushered in.
+
+"Greetings, Benoni," he said, with his pleasant smile. "Here am I, yet
+alive, for all your fears; so you see your money is still safe."
+
+"I am glad to hear it, my lord Marcus," answered the Jew, bowing low.
+"But if it will please you to produce it, with the interest, I think,"
+he added drily, "it may be even safer in my strongbox."
+
+Marcus laughed pleasantly.
+
+"Produce it?" he said. "What jest is this? Why, I come to borrow more to
+defray my costs to Rome."
+
+Benoni's mouth shut like a trap.
+
+"Nay," said Marcus, holding up his hand, "don't begin. I know it all.
+The times are full of trouble and danger. Such little ready cash as you
+have at command is out at interest in safer countries--Egypt, Rome,
+and Italy; your correspondent at Alexandria has failed to make you the
+expected remittance; and you have reason to believe that every ship in
+which you are concerned is now at the bottom of the ocean. So would you
+be so good as to lend me half a talent of silver--a thousand shekels in
+cash and the rest in bills of exchange on your agents at Brundisium?"
+
+"No," said Benoni, sternly.
+
+"Yes," replied Marcus, with conviction. "Look you, friend Benoni, the
+security is excellent. If I don't get drowned, or have my throat slit
+between here and Italy, I am going to be one of the richest men in Rome;
+so this is your last chance of lending me a trifle. You don't believe
+it? Then read this letter from Caius, my uncle, and this rescript signed
+by Nero the Caesar."
+
+Benoni perused the documents and returned them.
+
+"I offer you my congratulations," he said. "If God permits it and you
+will walk steadily, your future should be brilliant, since you are of
+a pleasant countenance, and when you choose to use it, behind that
+countenance lies a brain. But here I see no security for my money, since
+even if all things go right, Italy is a long way off."
+
+"Man, do you think that I should cheat you?" asked Marcus hotly.
+
+"No, no, but accidents might happen."
+
+"Well, I will make it worth your while to risk them. For the half-talent
+write a talent charged upon my estate, whether I live or die. And be
+swift, I pray you, for I have matters to speak of, of more importance
+than this miserable money. Whilst I was commissioner among the Essenes
+on the banks of Jordan----"
+
+"The Essenes! What of the Essenes?" broke in Benoni.
+
+Marcus considered him with his grey eyes, then answered:
+
+"Let us settle this little matter of business and I will tell you."
+
+"Good. It is settled; you shall have the acknowledgment to sign and the
+consideration in cash and bills before you leave my house. Now what of
+these Essenes?"
+
+"Only this," said Marcus; "they are a strange people who read the
+future, I know not how. One of them with whom I became friendly,
+foretold that mighty troubles were about to fall upon this land of
+yours--slaughter and pestilence, and famine, such as the world has not
+seen."
+
+"That is an old prophecy of those accursed Nazarenes," broke in Benoni.
+
+"Call them not accursed, friend," said Marcus, in an odd voice, "for you
+should do so least of all men. Nay, hear me out. It may be a prophecy of
+the Nazarenes, but it is also a prophecy of the Essenes, and I believe
+it, who watch the signs of the times. Now the elder told me this, that
+there will be a great uprising of the Jews against the strength of
+Caesar, and that most of those who join in it shall perish. He even gave
+names, and among them was yours, friend Benoni. Therefore, because you
+have lent me money, although I am a Roman, I have come to Tyre to warn
+you to keep clear of rebellions and other tumults."
+
+The old man listened quietly, but not as one who disbelieves.
+
+"All this may be so," he said, "but if my name is written in that book
+of the dead, the angel of Jehovah has chosen me, and I cannot escape his
+sword. Moreover, I am aged, and"--here his eyes flashed--"it is a good
+end to die fighting one's country's enemies."
+
+"How you Jews do love us to be sure!" said Marcus with a little laugh.
+
+"The nation that sends a Gessius Florus, or even an Albinus, to rule its
+alien subjects must needs be loved," replied Benoni with bitter sarcasm.
+"But let us be done with politics lest we grow angry. It is strange, but
+a visitor has just left me who was brought up among these Essenes."
+
+"Indeed," said Marcus, staring vacantly into the sea.
+
+"He told me that a young and beautiful woman resides with them who is
+named the Queen of the Essenes. Did you chance to see her, my lord?"
+
+Instantly Marcus became very wide awake. "Oh, yes, I saw her; and what
+else did he tell you?"
+
+"He told me that this lady was both beautiful and learned."
+
+"That is true," said Marcus with enthusiasm. "To my mind, although she
+is small, I never saw one lovelier, nor do I know a sculptor who is her
+equal. If you will come with me to the ship I will open the case and
+show you the bust she made of me. But tell me, did this visitor of yours
+lack the forefinger on one hand--his right?"
+
+"He did."
+
+"Then I suppose that he is named Caleb."
+
+"Yes; but how do you know that?"
+
+"Because I cut off his forefinger," said Marcus, "in a fair fight, and,"
+he added savagely, "he is a young rascal, as murderous as he is able,
+whose life I did ill to spare."
+
+"Ah," said Benoni, "it seems that I have still some discernment, for
+just so I judged him. Well, what more do you know of the lady?"
+
+"Something, since in a way I am affianced to her."
+
+"Indeed! Well, this is strange, for so, as he told me, is Caleb."
+
+"He told you that?" said Marcus springing from his chair. "Then he lies,
+and would that I had time to prove it on his body! She rejected him; I
+have it from Nehushta; also I know it in other ways."
+
+"Then she did accept you, my lord Marcus?"
+
+"Not quite," he replied sadly; "but that was only because I am not a
+Christian. She loves me all the same," he added, recovering. "Upon that
+point there can be no doubt."
+
+"Caleb seemed to doubt it," suggested Benoni.
+
+"Caleb is a liar," repeated Marcus with emphasis, "and one of whom you
+will do well to beware."
+
+"Why should I beware of him?"
+
+Marcus paused a moment, then answered boldly:
+
+"Because the lady Miriam is your granddaughter and the heiress of your
+wealth. I say it, since if I did not Caleb would; probably he has done
+so already."
+
+For a moment Benoni hid his face in his hands. Then he lifted it and
+said:
+
+"I thought as much, and now I am sure. But, my lord Marcus, if my blood
+is hers my wealth is my own."
+
+"Just so. Keep it if you will, or leave it where you will. It is Miriam
+I seek, and not your money."
+
+"I think that Caleb seeks both Miriam and my money--like a prudent
+man. Why should he not have them? He is a Jew of good blood; he will, I
+think, rise high."
+
+"And I am a Roman of better blood who will rise higher."
+
+"Yes, a Roman, and I, the grandfather, am a Jew who do not love you
+Romans."
+
+"And Miriam is neither Jew nor Roman, but a Christian, brought up not by
+you, but by the Essenes; and she loves me, although she will not marry
+me because I am not a Christian."
+
+Benoni shrugged his shoulders as he answered:
+
+"All of this is a problem which I must ponder on and solve."
+
+Marcus sprang from his seat and stood before the old man with menace in
+his air.
+
+"Look you, Benoni," he said, "this is a problem not to be solved by you
+or by Caleb, but by Miriam herself, and none other. Do you understand?"
+
+"I understand that you threaten me."
+
+"Ay, I do. Miriam is of full age; her sojourn with the Essenes must come
+to an end. Doubtless you will take her to dwell with you. Well, beware
+how you deal by her. If she wishes to marry Caleb of her own free will,
+let her do so. But if you force her to it, or suffer him to force her,
+then by your God, and by my gods, and by her God, I tell you that I will
+come back and take such a vengeance upon him and upon you, and upon all
+your people, that it shall be a story for generations. Do you believe
+me?"
+
+Benoni looked up at the man who stood before him in his youth and
+beauty, his eyes on fire and his form quivering with rage, and looking,
+shrank back a little. He did not know that this light-hearted Roman had
+such strength and purpose at command. Now he understood for the first
+time that he was a true son of the terrible race of conquerors, who, if
+he were crossed, could be as merciless as the worst of them, one whose
+very honesty and openness made him to be feared the more.
+
+"I understand that you believe what you say. Whether when you are back
+at Rome, where there are women as fair as the Queen of the Essenes, you
+will continue to believe it, is another matter."
+
+"Yes, a matter for me to settle."
+
+"Quite so--for you to settle. Have you anything to add to the commands
+you are pleased to lay upon your humble creditor, Benoni the merchant?"
+
+"Yes, two things. First, that when I leave this house you will no longer
+be my creditor. I have brought money to pay you off in full, principal
+and interest. My talk of borrowing was but a play and excuse to learn
+what you knew of Miriam. Nay, do not start, though it may seem strange
+to you that I also can be subtle. Foolish man, did you think that I with
+my prospects should be left to lack for a miserable half-talent? Why,
+there at Jerusalem I could have borrowed ten, or twenty, if I would
+promise my patronage by way of interest. My servants wait with the
+gold without. Call them in presently and pay yourself, principal and
+interest, and something for a bonus. Now for the second, Miriam is a
+Christian. Beware how you tamper with her faith. It is not mine, but I
+say--beware how you tamper with it. You gave her father and her mother,
+your own daughter, to be slaughtered by gladiators and to be torn by
+lions because, forsooth, they did not think as you do. Lift one finger
+against her and I will hale you into the amphitheatre at Rome, there
+yourself to be slaughtered by gladiators, or to be torn by lions.
+Although I am absent I shall know all that you do, for I have friends
+who are good and spies that are better. Moreover, I return here shortly.
+Now I ask you, will you give me your solemn word, swearing it by that
+God whom you worship, first, that you will not attempt to force your
+granddaughter Miriam into marriage with Caleb the Jew; and secondly,
+that you will shelter her, treating her with all honour, and suffering
+her to follow her own faith in freedom?"
+
+Benoni sprang from his couch.
+
+"No, Roman, I will not. Who are you who dare to dictate to me in my own
+house as to how I shall deal with my own grandchild? Pay what you owe
+and get you gone, and darken my doors no more. I have done with you."
+
+"Ah!" said Marcus. "Well, perhaps it is time that you should
+travel. Those who travel and see strange countries and peoples, grow
+liberal-minded, which you are not. Be pleased to read this paper," and
+he laid a writing before him.
+
+Benoni took it and read. It was worded thus:
+
+"To Marcus, the son of Emilius, the captain, in the name of Caesar,
+greetings. Hereby we command you, should you in your discretion think
+fit, to seize the person of Benoni, the Jewish merchant, a dweller in
+Tyre, and to convey him as a prisoner to Rome, there to answer charges
+which have been laid against him, with the particulars of which you are
+acquainted, which said particulars you will find awaiting you in Rome,
+of having conspired with certain other Jews, to overthrow the authority
+of Caesar in this his province of Judaea.
+
+"(Signed) Gessius Florus, Procurator."
+
+Benoni having read sank back upon his couch, gasping, his white face
+livid with surprise and fear. Then a thought seemed to strike him.
+Seizing the paper he tore it into fragments.
+
+"Now, Roman," he said, "where is your warrant?"
+
+"In my pocket," answered Marcus; "that which I showed you was but a
+copy. Nay, do not ring, do not touch that bell. See this," and he drew
+a silver whistle from his robe. "Outside your gate stand fifty soldiers.
+Shall I sound it?"
+
+"Not so," answered Benoni. "I will swear the oath, though indeed it is
+needless. Why should you suppose that I could wish to force this maid
+into any marriage, or to work her evil on account of matters of her
+faith?"
+
+"Because you are a Jew and a bigot. You gave her father and her mother
+to a cruel death, why should you spare her? Also you hate me and all
+my people; why, then, should you not favour my rival, although he is a
+murderer whose life I have twice spared at the prayer of Miriam? Swear
+now."
+
+So Benoni lifted his hand and swore a solemn oath that he would not
+force his granddaughter, Miriam, to marry Caleb, or any other man;
+and that he would not betray the secret of her faith, or persecute her
+because of it.
+
+"It is not enough," said Marcus. "Write it down and sign."
+
+So Benoni went to the table and wrote out his undertaking and signed it,
+Marcus signing also as a witness.
+
+"Now, Benoni," he said, as he took the paper, "listen to me. That
+warrant leaves your taking to my discretion, after I have made search
+into the facts. I have made such search and it seems that I am not
+satisfied. But remember that the warrant is still alive and can be
+executed at any moment. Remember also that you are watched and if
+you lift a finger against the girl, it will be put in force. For the
+rest--if you desire that the prophecy of the Essene should not come
+true, it is my advice that you cease from making plots against the
+majesty of Caesar. Now bid your servant summon him who waits in the
+antechamber, that he may discharge my debt. And so farewell. When and
+where we shall meet again I do not know, but be sure that we shall
+meet." Then Marcus left the portico.
+
+Benoni watched him go, and as he watched, an evil look gathered on his
+face.
+
+"Threatened. Trodden to the dirt. Outwitted by that Roman boy," he
+murmured. "Is there any cup of shame left for me to drink? Who is the
+traitor and how much does he know? Something, but not all, else my
+arrest could scarcely have been left to the fancy of this patrician,
+favourite though he be. Yes, my lord Marcus, I too am sure that we shall
+meet again, but the fashion of that meeting may be little to your taste.
+You have had your hour, mine is to come. For the rest, I must keep my
+oath, since to break it would be too dangerous, and might cut the hair
+that holds the sword. Also, why should I wish to harm the girl, or to
+wed her to this rogue Caleb, than whom, mayhap, even the Roman would be
+better? At least he is a man who does not cheat or lie. Indeed, I long
+to see the maid. I will go at once to Jordan."
+
+Then he sounded his bell and commanded that the servant of the lord
+Marcus should be admitted.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE ESSENES LOSE THEIR QUEEN
+
+The Court of the Essenes was gathered in council debating the subject
+of the departure of their ward, Miriam. She must go, that was evident,
+since not even for her, whom they loved as though each of them had been
+in truth her father or her uncle, could their ancient, sacred rule
+be broken. But where was she to go and how should she be supported as
+became her? These were the questions that troubled them and that they
+debated earnestly. At length her great-uncle Ithiel suggested that she
+should be summoned before them, that they might hear her wishes. To this
+his brethren agreed, and he was sent to fetch her.
+
+A while later, attended by Nehushta, Miriam arrived, clad in a robe
+of pure white, and wearing on her head a wimple of white, edged with
+purple, and about her waist a purple scarf. So greatly did the Essenes
+love and reverence this maid, that as she entered, all the hundred of
+the Court rose and remaining standing until she herself was seated. Then
+the President, who was sorrowful and even shamefaced, addressed her,
+telling her their trouble, and praying her pardon because the ordinance
+of their order forced them to arrange that she should depart from among
+them. At the end of this speech he asked her what were her wishes as
+regarded her own future, adding that for her maintenance she need have
+no fear, since out of their revenues a modest sum would be set aside
+annually which would suffice to keep her from poverty.
+
+In answer Miriam, also speaking sadly, thanked them from her heart
+for all their goodness, telling them she had long known this hour of
+separation to be at hand. As to where she should dwell, since tumults
+were so many in Jerusalem, she suggested that she might find a home in
+one of the coast cities, where perhaps some friend or relative of the
+brethren would shelter Nehushta and herself.
+
+Instantly eight or ten of those present said that they knew such trusty
+folk in one place or another, and the various offers were submitted to
+the Court for discussion. While the talk was still going on there came
+a knock upon the door. After the usual questions and precautions, a
+brother was admitted who informed them that there had arrived in the
+village, at the head of a considerable retinue, Benoni, the Jewish
+merchant of Tyre. He stated that he desired speech with them on the
+subject of his granddaughter Miriam, who, he learned, was, or had been
+recently, in their charge.
+
+"Here may be an answer to the riddle," said the President. "We know of
+this Benoni, also that he purposed to demand his granddaughter of us,
+though until he did so it was not for us to speak." Then he put it to
+the Court that Benoni should be admitted.
+
+To this they agreed, and presently the Jew came, splendidly attired, his
+long white beard flowing down a robe that glittered with embroideries of
+gold and silver. Entering the dim, cool hall, he stared in amazement at
+the long half-circles of venerable, white-robed men who were gathered
+there. Next his quick eyes fell upon the lovely maiden who, attended
+by the dark-visaged Nehushta, sat before them on a seat of honour; and
+looking, he guessed that she must be Miriam.
+
+"Little wonder," reflected Benoni to himself, "that all men seem to love
+this girl, since at the first sight of her my own heart softens."
+
+Then he bowed to the President of the Court and the President bowed
+back in answer. But not one of the rest so much as moved his head, since
+already every man of them hated this stranger who was about to carry
+away her whom they called their Queen.
+
+"Sirs," said Benoni breaking the silence, "I come here upon a
+strange errand--namely, to ask of you a maid whom I believe to be my
+granddaughter, of whose existence I learned not long ago, and whom, as
+it seems, you have sheltered from her birth. Is she among you here?" and
+he looked at Miriam.
+
+"The lady Miriam sits yonder," said the President. "You are right in
+naming her your granddaughter, as we have known her to be from the
+beginning."
+
+"Then why," said Benoni, "did I not know it also?"
+
+"Because," answered the President quietly, "we did not think it fitting
+to deliver a child that was committed to our charge, to the care of one
+who had brought her father, and tried to bring her mother, his own seed,
+to the most horrible of deaths."
+
+As he spoke he fixed his eyes indignantly upon Benoni; as did every man
+of all that great company, till even the bold-faced Jew dropped his head
+abashed.
+
+"I am not here," he said, recovering himself, "to make defence of what
+I have done, or have not done in the past. I am here to demand that my
+grandchild, now as I perceive a woman grown, may be handed over to me,
+her natural guardian."
+
+"Before this can be considered," answered the President, "we who have
+been her guardians for so many years, should require guarantees and
+sureties."
+
+"What guarantees, and what sureties?" asked Benoni.
+
+"These among others--That money sufficient for her support after your
+death should be settled upon her. That she shall be left reasonable
+liberty in the matter of her daily life and her marriage, if it should
+please her to marry. Lastly, that as we have undertaken not to meddle
+with her faith, or to oppress her into changing it, so must you
+undertake also."
+
+"And if I refuse these things?" asked Benoni.
+
+"Then you see the lady Miriam for the first and last time," answered
+the President boldly, while the others nodded approval. "We are men
+of peace, but, merchant, you must not, therefore, think us men without
+power. We must part with the lady Miriam, who to every one of us is as
+a daughter, because the unbreakable rule of our order ordains that she,
+who is now a woman grown, can no longer remain among us. But wherever
+she dwells, to the last day of her life our love shall go with her
+and the whole strength of our Order shall protect her. If any harm is
+attempted to her, we shall be swift to hear and swifter to avenge. If
+you refuse our conditions, she will vanish from your sight, and then,
+merchant, go, search the world, the coasts of Syria, the banks of Egypt,
+and the cities of Italy--and find her if you can. We have spoken."
+
+Benoni stroked his white beard before he answered.
+
+"You talk proudly," he said. "Did I shut my eyes I might fancy that this
+voice was the voice of a Roman procurator speaking the decrees of Caesar.
+Still, I am ready to believe that what you promise you can perform,
+since I for one am sure that you Essenes are not mere harmless heretics
+who worship angels and demons, see visions, prophesy things to come by
+the help of your familiars, and adore the sun in huts upon the desert."
+He paused, but the President, without taking the slightest notice of his
+insults or sarcasms, repeated merely:
+
+"We have spoken," and as with one voice, like some great echo, the whole
+hundred of them cried, "We have spoken!"
+
+"Do you hear them, master?" said Nehushta in the silence that followed.
+"Well, I know them. They mean what they say, and you are right--what
+which they threaten they can perform."
+
+"Let my grandchild speak," said Benoni. "Daughter, is it your wish that
+such dishonouring bonds should be laid upon me?"
+
+"Grandsire," replied Miriam, in a pure, clear voice, "I may not quarrel
+with that which is done for my own good. For the wealth I care little,
+but I would not become a slave in everything save the name, nor do
+I desire to set my feet in that path my parents trod. What my uncles
+say--all of these"--and she waved her hand--"speaking in the name of the
+thousands that are without, that I do, for they love me and I love them,
+and their mind is my mind and their words are my words."
+
+"Proud-spirited, and well spoken, like all her race," muttered Benoni.
+Still he stroked his beard and hesitated.
+
+"Be pleased to give your answer," said the President, "that we may
+finish our discussion before the hour of evening prayer. To help you
+to it, remember one thing--we ask no new conditions." Benoni glanced
+up quickly and the President added: "Those of which we have received a
+copy, that you swore to and signed in the presence of Marcus the Roman,
+are enough for us."
+
+Now it was Miriam's turn to look, first up and then down. As for her
+grandfather, he turned white with anger, and broke into a bitter laugh.
+
+"Now I understand----"
+
+"----that the arm of the Essenes is longer than you thought, since it
+can reach from here to Rome," said the President.
+
+"Ay! that you can plot with Romans. Well, be careful lest the sword
+of these Romans prove longer than _you_ thought and reach even to your
+hearts, O you peaceful dwellers in the desert!" Then, as though he
+feared some answer, he added quickly, "I am minded to return and leave
+this maiden with you to dispose of as you think fit. Yet I will not do
+so, for she is very fair and gracious, and with the wealth that I can
+give her, may fill some high place in the world. Also--and this is more
+to me--I am old and draw near my end and she alone has my blood in her
+veins. Therefore I will agree to all your terms, and take her home with
+me to Tyre, trusting that she may learn to love me."
+
+"Good," said the President. "To-morrow the papers shall be prepared and
+signed. Meanwhile we pray you to be our guest."
+
+Next evening signed they were accordingly, Benoni agreeing without demur
+to all that the Essenes asked on behalf of her who had been their
+ward, and even assigning to her a separate revenue during his lifetime.
+Indeed, now that he had seen her, so loth was he to part with this
+new-found daughter, that he would have done still more had it been asked
+of him, lest she should be spirited from his sight, as, did he refuse,
+might well happen.
+
+Three days later Miriam bade farewell to her protectors, who accompanied
+her by hundreds to the ridge above the village. Here they stopped, and
+seeing that the moment of separation was at hand, Miriam's tears began
+to flow.
+
+"Weep not, beloved child," said Ithiel, "for though we part with you in
+body, yet shall we always be with you in the spirit, now in this life,
+and as we think, after this life. Moreover, by night and day, we shall
+watch over you, and if any attempt to harm you--" here he glanced at
+Benoni, that brother-in-law to whom he bore but little love--"the very
+winds will bear us tidings, and in this way or that, help will come."
+
+"Have no fear, Ithiel," broke in Benoni, "my bond, which you hold, is
+good and it will be backed by love."
+
+"That I believe also," said Miriam; "and if it be so, grandsire, I will
+repay love for love." Then she turned to the Essenes and thanked them in
+broken words.
+
+"Be not downhearted," said Ithiel in a thick voice, "for I hope that
+even in this life we shall meet again."
+
+"May it be so," answered Miriam, and they parted, the Essenes returning
+sadly to their home, and Benoni taking the road through Jericho to
+Jerusalem.
+
+Travelling slowly, at the evening of the second day they set their camp
+on open ground not far from the Damascus gate of the Holy City, but
+within the new north wall that had been built by Agrippa. Into the city
+itself Benoni would not enter, fearing lest the Roman soldiers should
+plunder them. At moonrise Nehushta took Miriam by the hand and led her
+through the resting camels to a spot a few yards from the camp.
+
+There, standing with her back to the second wall, she pointed out to her
+a cliff, steep but of no great height, in which appeared little caves
+and ridges of rock that, looked at from this distance, gave to its face
+a rude resemblance to a human skull.
+
+"See," she said solemnly. "Yonder the Lord was crucified."
+
+Miriam heard and sank to her knees in prayer. As she knelt there the
+grave voice of her grandfather spoke behind her, bidding her rise.
+
+"Child," he said, "it is true. True is it also that signs and wonders
+happened after the death of that false Messiah, and that for me and mine
+He left a curse behind Him which it may well be is not done with yet. I
+know your faith, and I have promised to let you follow it in peace. Yet
+I beseech of you, do not make prayers to your God here in public, where
+with malefactors He suffered as a malefactor, lest others less tolerant
+should see you and drag you to your father's death."
+
+Miriam bowed her head and returned to the camp, nor at that time did
+any further words pass between them on this matter of her religion.
+Thenceforward, however, she was careful to do nothing which could bring
+suspicion on her grandfather.
+
+Four days later they came to the rich and beautiful city of Tyre, and
+Miriam saw the sea upon which she had been born. Hitherto, she had
+fancied that its waters were much like those of the Dead Lake, upon
+whose shores she had dwelt so many years; but when she perceived the
+billows rushing onwards, white-crested, to break in thunder against the
+walls of island Tyre, she clapped her hands with joy. Indeed, from that
+day to the end of her life she loved the sea in all its moods, and
+for hours at a time would find it sufficient company. Perhaps this was
+because the seethe of its waves was the first sound that her ears had
+heard, while her first breath was salted with its spray.
+
+From Jerusalem, Benoni had sent messengers mounted on swift horses
+bidding his servants make ready to receive a guest. So it came about
+that when she entered his palace in Tyre, Miriam found it decked as
+though for a bride, and wandered in amazement--she who had known nothing
+better than the mud-houses of the Essenes--from hall to hall of the
+ancient building that in bygone generations had been the home of kings
+and governors. Benoni followed her steps, watching her with grave eyes,
+till at length all was visited save the gardens belonging to him which
+were on the mainland.
+
+"Are you pleased with your new home, daughter?" he asked presently.
+
+"My grandfather, it is beautiful," she answered. "Never have I dreamed
+of such a place as this. Say, may I work my art in one of these great
+rooms?"
+
+"Miriam," he answered, "of this house henceforth you are the mistress,
+as in time to come you will be its owner. Believe me, child, it was
+not needed that so many and such different men should demand from me
+sureties for your comfort and your safety. All I have is yours, whilst
+all you have, including your faith and your friends, of whom there seem
+to be many, remains your own. Yet, should it please you to give me in
+return some small share of your love, I who am childless and friendless
+shall be grateful."
+
+"That is my desire," answered Miriam hurriedly; "only, grandsire,
+between you and me----"
+
+"Speak it not," he said, with a gesture almost of despair, "or rather I
+will speak it--between you and me runs the river of your parents' blood.
+It is so, yet, Miriam, I will confess to you that I repent me of that
+deed. Age makes us judge more kindly. To me your faith is nothing and
+your God a sham, yet I know now that to worship Him is not worthy of
+death--at least not for that cause would I bring any to their death
+to-day, or even to stripes and bonds. I will go further; I will stoop
+even to borrow from His creed. Do not His teachings bid you to forgive
+those who have done you wrong?"
+
+"They do, and that is why Christians love all mankind."
+
+"Then bring that law into this home of ours, Miriam, and love me who
+sorrow for what I did in the blind rage of my zeal, and who now in my
+old age am haunted by its memory."
+
+Then for the first time Miriam threw herself into the old man's arms and
+kissed him on the brow.
+
+So it came about that they made their peace and were happy together.
+
+Indeed, day by day Benoni loved her more, till at length she was
+everything to him, and he grew jealous of all who sought her company,
+and especially of Nehushta.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE RING, THE NECKLACE AND THE LETTER
+
+So Miriam came to Tyre, where, for many months, her life was peaceful
+and happy enough. At first she had feared meeting Caleb, who she knew
+from her grandfather was dwelling there; but as it chanced, he had left
+the city upon business of his own, so for the while she was free of him.
+In Tyre were many Christians with whom she made friends and worshipped,
+Benoni pretending to know nothing of the matter. Indeed, at this time
+and place it was the Jews rather than the Christians who were in danger
+at the hands of the Syrians and Greeks, who hated them for their wealth
+and faith, threatening them continually with robbery and massacre. But
+as yet that storm did not burst, and in its brewing the Christians, who
+were few, humble, and of all races, escaped notice.
+
+Thus it came about that Miriam dwelt in quiet, occupying herself much
+with her art of modelling and going abroad but little, since it was
+scarcely safe for her, the grandchild of the rich Jew merchant, to show
+her face in the streets. Though she was surrounded by every luxury, far
+more than she needed, indeed, this lack of liberty irked her who had
+been reared in the desert, till at times she grew melancholy and would
+sit for hours looking on the sea and thinking. She thought of her mother
+who had sat thus before her; of her father, who had perished beneath the
+gladiators' swords; of the kindly old men who had nurtured her, and of
+the sufferings of her brothers and sisters in the faith in Rome and at
+Jerusalem. But most of all she thought of Marcus, her Roman lover, whom,
+strive as she would, she could never forget--no, not for a single hour.
+She loved him, that was the truth of it, and between them there was a
+great gulf fixed, not of the sea only, which ships could sail, but of
+that command which the dead had laid upon her. He was a pagan and she
+was a Christian, and they might not wed. By now, too, it was likely that
+he had forgotten her, the girl who took his fancy in the desert. At Rome
+there were many noble and lovely women--oh! she could scarcely bear to
+think of it. Yet night by night she prayed for him, and morn by morn
+his face arose before her half-awakened eyes. Where was he? What was he
+doing? For aught she knew he might be dead. Nay, for then, surely, her
+heart would have warned her. Still, she craved for tidings, and alas!
+there were none.
+
+At length tidings did come--the best of tidings. One day, wearying
+of the house, with the permission of her grandfather, and escorted by
+servants, Miriam had gone to walk in the gardens that he owned to
+the north of that part of the city on the mainland, which was called
+Palaetyrus. They were lovely gardens, well watered and running down to
+the sea-edge, and in them grew beautiful palms and other trees, with
+fruitful shrubs and flowers. Here, when they had roamed a while, Miriam
+and Nehushta sat down upon the fallen column of some old temple and
+rested. Suddenly they heard a footstep, and Miriam looked up to see
+before her a Roman officer, clad in a cloak that showed signs of
+sea-travel, and, guiding him, one of Benoni's servants.
+
+The officer, a rough but kindly looking man of middle age, bowed to her,
+asking in Greek if he spoke to the lady Miriam, the granddaughter of
+Benoni the Jew, she who had been brought up among the Essenes.
+
+"Sir, I am she," answered Miriam.
+
+"Then, lady, I, who am named Gallus, have an errand to perform"; and
+drawing from his robe a letter tied with silk and sealed, and with the
+letter a package, he handed them to her.
+
+"Who sends these?" she asked, hope shining in her eyes, "and whence come
+they?"
+
+"From Rome, lady, as fast as sails could waft them and me. And the
+sender is the noble Marcus, called the Fortunate."
+
+"Oh!" said Miriam, blushing to her eyes, "tell me, sir, is he well?"
+
+"Not so well but that such a look as that, lady, would better him, or
+any other man, could he be here to see it," answered the Roman, gazing
+at her with admiration.
+
+"Did you then leave him ill? I do not understand."
+
+"Nay, his health seemed sound, and his uncle Caius being dead his wealth
+can scarce be counted, or so they say, since the old man made him his
+heir. Perhaps that is why the divine Nero has taken such a fancy to him
+that he can scarce leave the palace. Therefore I cannot say that Marcus
+is well to-day, since sometimes Nero's friends are short-lived. Nay,
+be not frightened, I did but jest; your Marcus is safe enough. Read the
+letter, lady, and waste no time. As for me, my mission is fulfilled.
+Thank me not; it is reward enough to have seen that sweet face of yours.
+Fortunate indeed is the star of Marcus, and, though I am jealous of
+the man, for your sake I pray that it may lead him back to you. Lady,
+farewell."
+
+"Cut the silk, Nou," said Miriam when the Captain Gallus had gone.
+"Quick. I have no knife."
+
+Nehushta obeyed smiling and the letter was unrolled. It, or those parts
+of it which concern us, ran thus:
+
+"To the lady Miriam, from Marcus the Roman, her friend, by the hand of
+the Captain Gallus.
+
+"Dear friend and lady, greeting. Already since I came here I have
+written you one letter, but this day news has reached me that the ship
+which bore it foundered off the coast of Sicily. So, as Neptune has that
+letter, and with it many good men, although I write more ill than I do
+most things, I send you another by this occasion, hoping, I who am vain,
+that you have not forgotten me, and that the reading of it may even give
+you pleasure. Most dear Miriam, know that I accomplished my voyage to
+Rome in safety, visiting your grandsire on the way to pay him a debt I
+owed. But that story you will perhaps have heard.
+
+"From Tyre I sailed for Italy, but was cast away upon the coasts of
+Melita, where many of us were drowned. By the favour of some god,
+however--ah! what god I wonder--I escaped, and taking another ship came
+safely to Brundisium, whence I travelled as fast as horses would carry
+me to Rome. Here I arrived but just in time, for I found my uncle Caius
+very will. Believing, moreover, that I had been drowned in the shipwreck
+at Melita, he was about to make a will bequeathing his property to the
+Emperor Nero, but by good fortune of this he had said nothing. Had he
+done so I should, I think, be as poor to-day as when I left you,
+dear, and perhaps poorer still, for I might have lost my head with my
+inheritance.
+
+"As it was I found favour in the sight of my uncle Caius, who a week
+after my arrival executed a formal testament leaving to me all his land,
+goods, and moneys, which on his death three months later I inherited.
+Thus I have become rich--so rich that now, having much money to spend,
+by some perversity which I cannot explain, I have grown careful and
+spend as little as possible. After I had entered into my inheritance I
+made a plan to return to Judaea, for one reason and one alone--to be near
+to you, most sweet Miriam. At the last moment I was stayed by a very
+evil chance. That bust which you made of me I had managed to save from
+the shipwreck and bring safe to Rome--now I wish it was at the bottom of
+the sea, and you shall learn why.
+
+"When I came into possession of this house in the Via Agrippa, which is
+large and beautiful, I set it in a place of honour in the antechamber
+and summoned that sculptor, Glaucus, of whom I have spoken to you, and
+others who follow the art, to come and pass judgment upon the work. They
+came, they wondered and they were silent, for each of them feared lest
+in praising it he should exalt some rival. When, however, I told them
+that it was the work of a lady in Judaea, although they did not believe
+me, since all of them declared that no woman had shaped that marble,
+knowing that they had nothing to fear from so distant an artist whoever
+he might be, they began to praise the work with one voice, and all that
+evening until the wine overcame them, talked of nothing else. Also they
+continued talking on the morrow, until at length the fame of the thing
+came to the ears of Nero, who also is an artist of music and other
+things. The end of it was that one day, without warning, the Emperor
+visited my house and demanded to see the bust, which I showed to him.
+For many minutes he examined it through the emerald with which he aids
+his sight, then asked:
+
+"'What land had the honour to bear the genius who wrought this work?'
+
+"I answered, 'Judaea,' a country, by the way, of which he seemed to know
+little, except that some fanatics dwelt there, who refused to worship
+him. He said that he would make that artist ruler of Judaea. I replied
+that the artist was a woman, whereon he answered that he cared
+nothing--she should still rule Judaea, or if this could not be managed he
+would send and bring her to Rome to make a statue of him to be set up in
+the Temple at Jerusalem for the Jews to worship.
+
+"Now I saw that I had been foolish, and knowing well what would have
+been your fate, my Miriam, had he once set eyes on you, I sighed and
+answered, that alas! it was impossible, since you were dead, as I proved
+to him by a long story with which I will not trouble you. Moreover, now
+that he was sure that you were dead, I showed him the little statuette
+of yourself looking into water, which you gave me. Whereon he burst
+into tears, at the thought that such an one had departed from the earth,
+while it was still cursed with so many who are wicked, old and ugly.
+
+"Still he did not go, but remained admiring the bust, till at length one
+of his favourites who accompanied him, whispered in my ear that I must
+present it to the Emperor. I refused, whereon he whispered back that if
+I did not, assuredly before long it would be taken, and with it all my
+other goods, and, perhaps, my life. So, since I must, I changed my mind
+and prayed him to accept it; whereon he embraced, first the marble and
+then me, and caused it to be borne away then and there, leaving me mad
+with rage.
+
+"Now I tell you all this silly story for a reason, since it has hindered
+and still hinders me from leaving Rome. Thus: two days later I received
+an Imperial decree, in which it was stated that the incomparable work of
+art brought from Judaea by Marcus, the son of Emilius, had been set up
+in a certain temple, where those who would please their Emperor were
+desired to present themselves and worship it and the soul of her by
+whom it was fashioned. Moreover, it was commanded that I, Marcus, whose
+features had served as a model for the work, should be its guardian and
+attend twice weekly in the temple, that all might see how the genius of
+a great artist is able to make a thing of immortal beauty from a coarse
+original of flesh and blood. Oh, Miriam, I have no patience to write of
+this folly, yet the end of it is, that except at the cost of my fortune
+and the risk of my life, it is impossible for me to leave Rome. Twice
+every week, or by special favour, once only, must I attend in that
+accursed temple where my own likeness stands upon a pedestal of marble,
+and before it a marble altar, on which are cut the words: 'Sacrifice, O
+passer-by, to the spirit of the departed genius who wrought this divine
+work.'
+
+"Yes, there I sit, I who am a soldier, while fools come in and gaze
+first at the marble and then at me, saying things for which often I long
+to kill them, and casting grains of incense into the little fire on the
+altar in sacrifice to your spirit, whereby I trust it may be benefited.
+Thus, Miriam, are we ruled in Rome to-day.
+
+"Meanwhile, I am in great favour with Nero, so that men call me 'the
+Fortunate,' and my house the 'Fortunate House,' a title of ill-omen.
+
+"Yet out of this evil comes some good, since because of his present
+affection for me, or my bust, I have now and again for your sake,
+Miriam, been able to do service, even to the saving of their lives,
+to those of your faith. Here there are many Christians whom it is an
+amusement to Nero to persecute, torture, and slay, sometimes by soaking
+them in tar and making of them living torches to illuminate his gardens,
+and sometimes in other fashions. The lives of sundry of these poor
+people he has given to me, when I begged them of him. Indeed, he has
+done more. Yesterday Nero came himself to the temple and suggested that
+certain of the Christians should be sacrificed in a very cruel fashion
+here as an offering to your spirit. I answered that this could give it
+little pleasure, seeing that in your lifetime you also were a Christian.
+Thereon he wrung his hands, crying out, 'Oh! what a crime have I
+committed,' and instantly gave orders that no more Christians should be
+killed. So for a little while, thanks to your handiwork, and to me who
+am called 'the Model,' they are safe--those who are left of them.
+
+"I hear that there are wars and tumults in Judaea, and that Vespasian,
+a great general, is to be sent to quell them. If I can I will come with
+him, but at present--such is the madness of my master--this is too much
+to hope, unless, indeed, he wearies suddenly of the 'Divine Work' and
+its attendant 'Model.'
+
+"Meanwhile I also cast incense upon your altar, and pray that in these
+troubles you may come to no harm.
+
+"Miriam, I am most unhappy. I think of you always and yet I cannot come
+to you. I picture you in many dangers, and I am not there to save you. I
+even dare to hope that you would wish to see me again; but it is the
+Jew Caleb, and other men, who see you and make offerings to your sweet
+beauty as I make them to your spirit. I beseech you, Miriam, do not
+accept the offerings, lest in some day to come, when I am once more a
+soldier, and have ceased to be a custodian of busts, it should be the
+worse for those worshippers, and especially for Caleb.
+
+"What else have I to tell you? I have sought out some of the great
+preachers of your faith, hoping that by the magic whereof they are said
+to be masters, they would be able to assure me of your welfare. But
+to my sorrow they gave me no magic--in which it seems they do not
+deal--only maxims. Also, from these I bought for a great sum certain
+manuscripts written by themselves containing the doctrines of your law,
+which I intend to study so soon as I have time. Indeed, this is a task
+which I wish to postpone, since did I read I might believe and turn
+Christian, to serve in due course as a night-light in Nero's gardens.
+
+"I send you a present, praying that you will accept it. The emerald in
+the ring is cut by my friend, the sculptor Glaucus. The pearls are fine
+and have a history which I hope to tell you some day. Wear them always,
+beloved Miriam, for my sake. I do not forget your words; nay, I ponder
+them day and night. But at least you said you loved me, and in wearing
+these trinkets you break no duty to the dead. Write to me, I pray you,
+if you can find a messenger. Or, if you cannot write, think of me always
+as I do of you. Oh, that we were back together in that happy village of
+the Essenes, to whom, as to yourself, be all good fortune! Farewell.
+
+"Your ever faithful friend and lover,
+
+"Marcus."
+
+
+Miriam finished her letter, kissed it, and hid it in her bosom. Then she
+opened the packet and unlocked the ivory box within by a key that hung
+to it. Out of the casket she took a roll of soft leather. This she undid
+and uttered a little cry of joy, for there lay a necklace of the most
+lovely pearls that she had ever seen. Nor was this all, for threaded
+on the pearls was a ring, and cut upon its emerald bezel the head of
+Marcus, and her own head taken from the likeness she had given him.
+
+"Look! Nou, look!" said Miriam, showing her the beauteous trinkets.
+
+"A sight to make old eyes glisten," answered Nehushta handling them. "I
+know something of pearls, and these are worth a fortune. Happy maid, to
+whom is given such a lover."
+
+"Unhappy maid who can never be a happy wife," sighed Miriam, her blue
+eyes filling with tears.
+
+"Grieve not; that still may chance," answered Nehushta, as she fastened
+the pearls about Miriam's neck. "At least you have heard from him and
+he still loves you, which is much. Now for the ring--the marriage
+finger--see, how it fits."
+
+"Nay, I have no right," murmured Miriam; still she did not draw it off
+again.
+
+"Come, let us be going," said Nehushta, hiding the casket in her amble
+robe, "for the sun sinks, and to-night there are guests to supper."
+
+"What guests?" asked Miriam absently.
+
+"Plotters, every one," said Nehushta, shrugging her shoulders. "The
+great scheme to drive the Romans from the Holy City ripens fast, and
+your grandsire waters its root. I pray that we may not all of us gather
+bitter grapes from that vine. Have you heard that Caleb is back in
+Tyre?"
+
+"Caleb!" faltered Miriam, "No."
+
+"Well, he is. He arrived yesterday and will be among the guests
+to-night. He has been fighting up in the desert there, and bravely, for
+I am told that he was one of those who seized the fortress of Masada and
+put its Roman garrison to the sword."
+
+"Then he is against the Romans?"
+
+"Yes, because he hopes to rule the Jews, and risks much to gain more."
+
+"I do not wish to meet him," said Miriam.
+
+"Nay, but you must, and the sooner the better. Why do you fear the man?"
+
+"I know not, but fear him I do, now and always."
+
+
+
+When Miriam entered the supper chamber that night, the guests to the
+number of twelve were already seated on their couches, waiting for the
+feast to begin. By her grandfather's command she was arrayed in her
+richest robes fashioned and broidered after the Grecian fashion, having
+her hair gathered into coils upon her head and held with a golden net.
+Round her waist was a girdle of gold set with gems, about her throat the
+necklace of pearls which Marcus had sent her, and on her hand a single
+ring--that with his likeness and her own. As she entered the great
+chamber, looking most lovely, notwithstanding her lack of height, her
+grandfather came forward to meet her and present her to the guests,
+who rose in greeting. One by one they bowed to her and one by one she
+searched their faces with her eyes--faces for the most part stern and
+fierce. Now all had passed and she sighed with relief, for among them
+there was no Caleb. Even as she did so a curtain swung aside and Caleb
+entered.
+
+It was he, of that there could be no doubt; but oh! how changed since
+last she had seen him two years before. Then he had been but a raw,
+passionate youth; now he was a tall and splendid young man, very
+handsome in his dark fashion, very powerful of frame also and quick of
+limb. His person was matched by his attire, which was that of an Eastern
+warrior noble, and his mien was proud and conquering. As he advanced
+the guests bowed to him in respect, as to a man of great and assured
+position who may become greater still. Yes, even Benoni showed him
+this respect, stepping forward to greet him. All these greetings Caleb
+acknowledged lightly, even haughtily, till of a sudden he saw Miriam
+standing somewhat in the shadow, and heedless of the other guests pushed
+his way towards her.
+
+"Thus we meet again, Miriam," he said, his proud face softening as
+he spoke and his eyes gazing on her with a sort of rapture. "Are you
+pleased to see me?"
+
+"Surely, Caleb," she answered. "Who would not be well pleased to meet
+the playfellow of her childhood?"
+
+He frowned, for childhood and its play were not in his thoughts. Before
+he could speak again Benoni commanded the company to be seated, whereon
+Miriam took her accustomed place as mistress of the house.
+
+To her surprise Caleb seated himself beside her on the couch that should
+have been reserved for the oldest guest, who for some moments was left
+a wanderer and wrathful, till Benoni, seeing what had passed, called him
+to his side. Then, golden vessels of scented water having been handed
+by slaves to each guest in turn, the feast began. As Miriam was about to
+dip her fingers in the water she remembered the ring upon her left hand
+and turned the bezel inwards. Caleb noted the action, but said nothing.
+
+"Whence come you, Caleb?" she asked.
+
+"From the wars, Miriam. We have thrown down the gate to Rome, and she
+has picked it up."
+
+She looked at him inquiringly and asked, "Was it wise?"
+
+"Who can tell?" he answered. "At least it is done. For my part I
+hesitated long, but your grandfather won me over, so now I must follow
+my fate."
+
+Then he began to tell her of the taking of Masada and of the bloody
+struggles of the factions in Jerusalem.
+
+After this he spoke of the Essenes, who still occupied their village,
+though in fear, for all about them was much fighting; and of their
+childish days together--talk which pleased her greatly. Whilst they
+spoke thus, a messenger entered the room and whispered something
+into the ear of Benoni, who raised his hands to Heaven as though in
+gratitude.
+
+"What tidings?" asked one.
+
+"This, my friends. Cestius Gallus the Roman has been hunted from the
+walls of Jerusalem and his army is destroyed in the pass of Beth-horon."
+
+"God be praised!" said the company as though with one voice.
+
+"God be praised," repeated Caleb, "for so great and glorious a victory!
+The accursed Romans are fallen indeed."
+
+Only Miriam said nothing.
+
+"What is in your mind?" he asked looking at her.
+
+"That they will spring up again stronger than before," she replied, then
+at a signal from Benoni, rose and left the feast.
+
+From the supper chamber Miriam passed down a passage to the portico and
+there seated herself, resting her arms upon the marble balustrade and
+listening to the waves as they lapped against the walls below.
+
+That day had been disturbed, different, indeed, from all the peaceful
+days which she was wont to spend. First had come the messenger bearing
+her lover's gifts and letter which already she longed to read again;
+then hard upon his heels, like storm upon the sunshine, he who, unless
+she was mistaken, still wished to be her lover--Caleb. How curious was
+the lot of all three of them! How strangely had they been exalted! She,
+the orphan ward of the Essenes, was now a great and wealthy lady with
+everything her heart could desire--except one thing, indeed, which
+it desired most of all. And Marcus, the debt-saddled Roman soldier of
+fortune, he also, it seemed, had suddenly become great and wealthy,
+pomps that he held at the price of playing some fool's part in a temple
+to satisfy the whimsy of an Imperial madman.
+
+Caleb, too, had found fortune, and in these tumultuous times risen
+suddenly to place and power. All three of them were seated upon
+pinnacles, but as Miriam felt, they were pinnacles of snow, which for
+aught she knew, might be melted by the very sun of their prosperity. She
+was young, she had little experience, yet as Miriam sat there watching
+the changeful sea, there came upon her a great sense of the instability
+of things, and an instinctive knowledge of their vanity. The men who
+were great one day, whose names sounded in the mouths of all, the next
+had vanished, disgraced or dead. Parties rose and parties fell, high
+priest succeeded high priest, general supplanted general, yet upon each
+and all of them, like the following waves that rolled beneath her, came
+dark night and oblivion. A little dancing in the sunshine, a little
+moaning in the shade, then death, and after death----
+
+"What are you thinking of, Miriam?" said a rich voice at her elbow, the
+voice of Caleb.
+
+She started, for here she believed herself alone, then answered:
+
+"My thoughts matter nothing. Why are you here? You should be with your
+fellow----"
+
+"Conspirators. Why do you not say the word? Well, because sometimes one
+wearies even of conspiracy. Just now we triumph and can take our ease.
+I wish to make the most of it. What ring is that you wear upon your
+finger?"
+
+Miriam straightened herself and grew bold.
+
+"One which Marcus sent me," she answered.
+
+"I guessed as much. I have heard of him; he has become a creature of the
+mad Nero, the laughing-stock of Rome."
+
+"I do not laugh at him, Caleb."
+
+"No, you were ever faithful. But, say, do you laugh at me?"
+
+"Indeed not; why should I, since you seem to fill a great and dangerous
+part with dignity?"
+
+"Yes, Miriam, my part is both great and dangerous. I have risen high and
+I mean to rise higher."
+
+"How high?"
+
+"To the throne of Judaea."
+
+"I think a cottage stool would be more safe, Caleb."
+
+"Mayhap, but I do not like such seats. Listen, Miriam, I will be great
+or die. I have thrown in my lot with the Jews, and when we have cast out
+the Romans I shall rule."
+
+"_If_ you cast out the Romans, and _if_ you live. Caleb, I have no faith
+in the venture. We are old friends, and I pray of you to escape from it
+while there is yet time."
+
+"Why, Miriam?"
+
+"Because He Whom your people crucified and Whom I serve prophesied its
+end. The Romans will crush you, Caleb. His blood lies heavy upon the
+head of the Jews, and the hour of payment is at hand."
+
+Caleb thought a while, and when he spoke again the note of confidence
+had left his voice.
+
+"It may be so, Miriam," he said, "though I put no faith in the sayings
+of your prophet; but at least I have taken my part and will see the play
+through. Now for the second time I ask you to share its fortunes. I have
+not changed my mind. As I loved you in childhood and as a youth, so I
+love you as a man. I offer to you a great career. In the end I may fall,
+or I may triumph, still either the fall or the triumph will be worth
+your sharing. A throne, or a glorious grave--both are good; who can say
+which is the better? Seek them with me, Miriam."
+
+"Caleb, I cannot."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because it is laid upon me as a birthright, or a birth-duty, that I
+should wed no man who is not a Christian. You know the story."
+
+"Then if there were no such duty would you wed me, Miriam?"
+
+"No," she answered faintly.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because I love another man whom also I am forbid to wed, and until
+death I am pledged to him."
+
+"The Roman, Marcus?"
+
+"Aye, the Roman Marcus. See, I wear his ring," and she lifted her
+hand, "and his gift is about my throat," and she touched the necklet of
+pearls. "Till death I am his and his alone. This I say, because it is
+best for all of us that you should know the truth."
+
+Caleb ground his teeth in bitter jealousy.
+
+"Then may death soon find him!" he said.
+
+"It would not help you, Caleb. Oh! why cannot we be friends as we were
+in the old times!"
+
+"Because I seek more than friendship, and soon or late, in this way or
+in that, I swear that I will have it."
+
+As the words left his lips footsteps were heard, and Benoni appeared.
+
+"Friend Caleb," he said, "we await you. Why, Miriam, what do you here?
+To your chamber, girl. Affairs are afoot in which women should have no
+part."
+
+"Yet as I fear, grandfather, women will have to bear the burden,"
+answered Miriam. Then, bowing to Caleb, she turned and left them.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+WOE, WOE TO JERUSALEM
+
+Two more years went by, two dreadful, bloody years. In Jerusalem the
+factions tore each other. In Galilee let the Jewish leader Josephus,
+under whom Caleb was fighting, do what he would, Vespasian and his
+generals stormed city after city, massacring their inhabitants by
+thousands and tens of thousands. In the coast towns and elsewhere
+Syrians and Jews made war. The Jews assaulted Gadara and Gaulonitis,
+Sebaste and Ascalon, Anthedon and Gaza, putting many to the sword.
+Then came their own turn, for the Syrians and Greeks rose upon them and
+slaughtered them without mercy. As yet, however, there had been no blood
+shed in Tyre, though all knew that it must come. The Essenes, who
+had been driven from their home by the Dead Sea and taken refuge in
+Jerusalem, sent messengers to Miriam warning her to flee from Tyre,
+where a massacre was being planned; warning her also not to come to
+Jerusalem, which city they believed to be doomed, but to escape, if
+possible over sea. Nor was this all, for her own people, the Christians,
+besought her to fly for her life's sake with them to the city of Pella,
+where they were gathering from Jerusalem and all Judaea. To both Miriam
+answered that what her grandsire did, that she must do. If he fled,
+she would fly; if he stayed at Tyre, she would stay; if he went to
+Jerusalem, she would go; for he had been good to her and she had sworn
+that while he lived she would not desert him. So the Essene messengers
+went back to Jerusalem, and the Christian elders prayed with her, and
+having blessed her and consigned her to the care of the Most High and
+His Son, their Lord, departed to Pella, where, as it was fated, through
+all those dreadful times not a hair of their heads was touched.
+
+When she had parted from them, Miriam sought out her grandfather, whom
+she found pacing his chamber with a troubled air.
+
+"Why do you look so sad, Miriam?" he asked. "Have some of your friends
+warned you that new sorrows are afoot?"
+
+"Yes, grandfather," and she told him all.
+
+"I do not believe them," he said passionately. "Say, do you? Where is
+their authority? I tell you that we shall triumph. Vespasian is now
+Emperor in Rome, and there will forget this little land; and the rest,
+those enemies who are of our own house and those without it, we will
+conquer and kill. The Messiah will come, the true Messiah. Many signs
+and wonders declare that he is at hand. Ay! I myself have had a vision
+concerning him. He will come, and he will conquer, and Jerusalem shall
+be great and free and see her desire upon her enemies. I ask--where is
+your authority for these croakings?"
+
+Miriam drew a roll from her robe and read: "But when ye see Jerusalem
+compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. Then
+let them which are in Judaea flee unto the mountains; and let them which
+are in the midst of her depart out; and let not them that are in the
+country enter therein. For these are days of vengeance, that all things
+that are written may be fulfilled. Woe to them that are with child and
+to them that give suck in those days! for there shall be great distress
+upon the land and wrath unto this people. And they shall fall by the
+edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all the nations; and
+Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the
+Gentiles be fulfilled."
+
+Benoni listened patiently until she had done. Then he answered with
+contempt:
+
+"So says the book of your Law, but mine tells me otherwise. Well,
+child, if you believe it and are afraid, begone with your friends, the
+Christians, and leave me to meet this storm alone."
+
+"I do believe it," she answered quietly, "but I am not afraid."
+
+"That is strange," he said, "since you must then believe also that you
+will come to a cruel death, which has terrors for the young and fair."
+
+"Not so, grandfather, for this same writing promises that in these
+troubles not one of us Christians shall perish. It is for you that I
+fear, not for myself, who will go where you go, and bide where you bide.
+Therefore, once more, and for the last time, I pray you to be wise and
+fly--who otherwise must be slain"; and as Miriam said the words her blue
+eyes filled with tears.
+
+Benoni looked at her and for a moment his courage was shaken.
+
+"Of your book I take no account," he said, "but in the vision of your
+pure spirit I am tempted to believe. Perhaps the things that you foresee
+will happen, so, child, fly. You will not lack an escort and I can give
+you treasure."
+
+She shook her head. "I have said that I will not go without you."
+
+"Then I fear that you here must bide, for I will not leave my wealth and
+home, even to save my life, and still less will I desert my people in
+their holy war. Only, Miriam, if things fall out ill for us, remember
+that I entreated you to depart, and do not reproach me."
+
+"That I shall never do," she answered, smiling, and coming to the old
+man kissed him tenderly.
+
+So they abode on in Tyre, and a week later the storm burst.
+
+For many days it had not been safe for Jews to show themselves in the
+streets of the city, since several who crept out about their business,
+or to fetch water or provisions, had been set upon and beaten to death
+by the mob, stirred up to the work by Roman emissaries. This time Benoni
+had employed in putting his house, which was part of an ancient fortress
+that had stood many a siege, into a state of defence, and in supplying
+it with an ample store of victuals. Also he sent messengers to Caleb,
+who was said to be in command of the Jewish force at Joppa, telling him
+of their peril. Because it was so strong many of the principal Jews in
+Tyre, to the number of over a hundred indeed, had flocked into Benoni's
+palace-fortress, together with their wives and children, since there
+was no other place in their power in the town which could be so easily
+defended. Lastly, in the outer courts and galleries were stationed fifty
+or more faithful servants and slaves who understood the use of arms.
+
+Thus things remained, the Syrians threatening them through the gates or
+from the windows of high houses, and no more, till one night Miriam was
+awakened by a dreadful sound of screaming. She sprang from her bed and
+instantly Nehushta was at her side.
+
+"What happens?" she gasped as she dressed herself hastily.
+
+"Those Syrian dogs attack the Jews," answered Nehushta, "on the mainland
+and in the lower city. Come to the roof, whence we can see what passes,"
+and hand in hand they ran to the sea-portico and up its steep steps.
+
+The dawn was just breaking, but looking from the walled roof they had
+no need of its light, since everywhere in the dim city below and in
+Palaetyrus on the mainland, houses flared like gigantic torches. In their
+red glare they could see the thousands of the attackers dragging out
+their inmates to death, or thrusting them back into the flames, while
+the night was made horrible with the shouts of the maddened mob, the
+cries of the victims and the crackling roar of burning houses.
+
+"Oh! Christ have mercy on them," sobbed Miriam.
+
+"Why should He?" asked Nehushta. "They slew Him and rejected Him;
+now they pay the price He prophesied. May He have mercy on us, His
+servants."
+
+"He would not have spoken thus," said Miriam indignantly.
+
+"Nay, but justice speaks. Those who take the sword shall perish by the
+sword. Even so have these Jews done to the Greeks and Syrians in many of
+the cities--they who are blind and mad. Now it is their hour, and mayhap
+ours. Come, lady, these are no sights for you, though you might do well
+to learn to bear them, since if you escape you may see many such.
+Come, and if you wish we will pray for these Jews, especially for their
+children, who are innocent, and for ourselves."
+
+That day at noon, most of the poorer and least protected Jews of
+the city having been killed, the Syrians began their attack upon the
+fortified palace of Benoni. Now it was that the defenders learned that
+they had to deal with no mere rabble, but with savage hordes, many
+thousands strong, directed by officers skilled in war. Indeed these men
+might be seen moving among them, and from their armour and appearance
+it was easy to guess that they were Romans. This, in fact, was the case,
+since Gessius Florus, the wicked, and after him other officers, made it
+part of their policy to send Romans to stir up the Syrians against the
+Jews and to assist them in their slaughter.
+
+First an attack was made upon the main gates, but when it was found that
+these were too strong to be taken easily, the assailants retreated with
+a loss of a score of men shot by the defenders from the wall. Then other
+tactics were adopted, for the Syrians, possessing themselves of the
+neighbouring houses, began to gall the garrison with arrows from the
+windows. Thus they drove them under cover, but did little more, since
+the palace was all of marble with cemented roofs, and could not be fired
+with the burning shafts they sent down upon it.
+
+So the first day passed, and during the night no attack was made upon
+them. When dawn came they learned the reason, for there opposite to
+the gates was reared a great battering-ram; moreover, out at sea a huge
+galley was being rowed in as close to their walls as the depth of water
+would allow, that from her decks the sailors might hurl stones and siege
+arrows by means of catapults and thus break down their defences and
+destroy them.
+
+Then it was that the real fight began. The Jews posted on the roof
+of the house poured arrows on the men who strove to work the ram, and
+killed many of them, till they were able to push the instrument so close
+that it could no longer be commanded. Now it got to work and with three
+blows of the great baulk of timber, of which the ram was fashioned,
+burst in the gates. Thereon the defenders, headed by old Benoni himself,
+rushed out and put those who served it to the sword; then before
+they could be overcome, retreated across the ditch to the inner wall,
+breaking down the wooden bridge behind them. Now, since the ram was
+of no further use, as it could not be dragged through the ditch, the
+galley, that was anchored within a hundred paces, began to hurl huge
+stones and arrows at them, knocking down the walls and killing several,
+including two women and three children.
+
+Thus matters went on till noon, the besiegers galling them with their
+arrows from the land side and the galley battering them from the sea,
+while they could do little or nothing in return, having no engines.
+Benoni called a council and set out the case, which was desperate
+enough. It was evident, he said, that they could not hold out another
+day, since at nightfall the Syrians would cross the narrow protecting
+ditch and set up a battering-ram against the inner wall. Therefore,
+they must do one of two things--sally out and attempt to cut their way
+through and gain open country, or fight on and at the last kill the
+women and children and rush out, those that were left of them, to be
+hacked down by the besieging thousands. As the first plan gave no hope,
+since, cumbered as they were with helpless people, they could not expect
+to escape the city, in their despair they decided on the second. All
+must die, therefore they would perish by each other's hands. When this
+decision was known, a wail went up from the women and the children began
+to scream with fright, those of them who were old enough to understand
+their doom.
+
+Nehushta caught Miriam by the arm.
+
+"Come to the highest roof," she said; "it is safe from the stones and
+arrows, and thence, if need be, we can hurl ourselves into the water and
+die an easy death."
+
+So they went and crouched there, praying, for their case was desperate.
+Suddenly Nehushta touched Miriam and pointed to the sea. She looked and
+saw another galley approaching fast as oars and sails could bring her.
+
+"What of it?" she asked heavily. "It will but hasten the end."
+
+"Nay," replied Nehushta, "this ship is Jewish; she does not fly the
+Eagles, or a Phoenician banner. Behold! the Syrian vessel is getting up
+her anchors and preparing for fight."
+
+It was true enough, for now the oars of the Syrian shot out and she
+forged ahead towards the newcomer. But just then the current caught
+her, laying her broadside on, whereon the Jewish ship, driven by the
+following wind, shifted her helm and, amidst a mighty shouting from sea
+and shore, drove down upon her, striking her amidships with its beak so
+that she heeled over. Then there was more tumult, and Miriam closed her
+eyes to shut out the horrid sight.
+
+When she opened them again the Syrian galley had vanished, only the
+water was spotted with black dots which were the heads of men.
+
+"Gallantly done!" screamed Nehushta. "See, she anchors and puts out her
+boats; they will save us yet. Down to the water-gate!"
+
+On their way they met Benoni coming to seek them, and with him won the
+steps which were already crowded with fugitives. The two boats of the
+galley drew near and in the bow of the first of them stood a tall and
+noble-looking figure.
+
+"It is Caleb," said Miriam, "Caleb who has come to save us."
+
+Caleb it was indeed. At a distance of ten paces from the steps he halted
+his boat and called aloud:
+
+"Benoni, Lady Miriam and Nehushta, if you still live, stand forward."
+
+They stood forward.
+
+"Now wade into the sea," he cried again, and they waded out until
+the water reached their armpits, when they were seized one by one and
+dragged into the boat. Many followed them and were also dragged in,
+until that boat and the other were quite full, whereon they turned and
+were rowed to the galley. Having embarked them, the two boats went
+back and again were filled with fugitives, for the most part women and
+children.
+
+Again they went, but as they laded for the third time, the ends of
+ladders appeared above the encircling walls of the steps, and Syrians
+could be seen rushing out upon the portico, whence they began to lower
+themselves with ropes. The end of that scene was dreadful. The boats
+were full, till the water indeed began to overflow their gunwales,
+but many still remained upon the steps or rushed into the water,
+women screaming and holding their children above their heads, and men
+thrusting them aside in the mad rush for life. The boats rowed off, some
+who could swim following them. For the rest, their end was the sword. In
+all, seventy souls were rescued.
+
+Miriam flung herself downwards upon the deck of the galley and burst
+into tears, crying out:
+
+"Oh! save them! Can no one save them?" while Benoni seated at her side,
+the water running from his blood-stained garment, moaned:
+
+"My house sacked; my wealth taken; my people slain by the Gentiles!"
+
+"Thank God Who has saved us," broke in old Nehushta, "God and Caleb; and
+as for you, master, blame yourself. Did not we Christians warn you of
+what was to come? Well, as it has been in the beginning, so it shall be
+in the end."
+
+Just then Caleb appeared before them, proud and flushed with triumph,
+as he well might be who had done great things and saved Miriam from the
+sword. Benoni rose and, casting his arms about his neck, embraced him.
+
+"Behold your deliverer!" he said to Miriam, and stooping down, he drew
+her to her feet.
+
+"I thank you, Caleb. I can say no more," she murmured; but in her
+heart she knew that God had delivered her and that Caleb was but His
+instrument.
+
+"I am well repaid," answered Caleb gravely. "For me this has been a
+fortunate day, who on it have sunk the great Syrian galley and rescued
+the woman--whom I love."
+
+"Oath or no oath," broke in Benoni, bethinking him of what he had
+promised in the past, "the life you saved is yours, and if I have my way
+you shall take her and such of her heritage as remains."
+
+"Is this a time to speak of such things?" said Miriam, looking up. "See
+yonder," and she pointed to the scene in progress on the seashore. "They
+drive our friends and servants into the sea and drown them," and once
+more she began to weep.
+
+Caleb sighed. "Cease from useless tears, Miriam. We have done our best
+and it is the fortune of war. I dare not send out the boats again even
+if the mariners would listen to my command. Nehushta, lead your lady to
+the cabin and strip her of these wet garments lest she take cold in this
+bitter wind. But first, Benoni, what is your mind?"
+
+"To go to my cousin Mathias, the high priest at Jerusalem," answered the
+old man, "who has promised to give me shelter if in these days any can
+be found."
+
+"Nay," broke in Nehushta, "sail for Egypt."
+
+"Where also they massacre the Jews by thousands till the streets of
+Alexandria run with their blood," replied Caleb with sarcasm; adding,
+"Well, to Egypt I cannot take you who must bring this ship to those who
+await her on this side of Joppa, whence I am summoned to Jerusalem."
+
+"Whither and nowhere else I will go," said Benoni, "to share in my
+nation's death or triumph. If Miriam wills it, I have told her she can
+leave me."
+
+"What I have said before I say again," replied Miriam, "that I will
+never do."
+
+Then Nehushta took her to the cabin, and presently the oars began to
+beat and the great galley stood out of the harbour, till in the silence
+of the sea the screams of the victims and the shouts of the victors died
+away, and as night fell naught could be seen of Tyre but the flare from
+the burning houses of the slaughtered Jews.
+
+Save for the sobs and cries of the fugitives who had lost their friends
+and goods the night passed in quiet, since, although it was winter, the
+sea was calm and none pursued their ship. At daybreak she anchored,
+and coming from the cabin with Nehushta, in the light of the rising sun
+Miriam saw before her a ridge of rocks over which the water poured, and
+beyond it a little bay backed by a desolate coast. Nehushta also saw and
+sighed.
+
+"What is this place?" asked Miriam.
+
+"Lady, it is the spot where you were born. On yonder flat rock lay
+the vessel, and there I burned her many years ago. See those blackened
+timbers half buried in the sand upon the beach; doubtless they are her
+ribs."
+
+"It is strange that I should return hither, and thus, Nou," said Miriam
+sighing.
+
+"Strange, indeed, but mayhap there is a meaning in it. Before you came
+in storm to grow to womanhood in peace; now, perchance, you come on a
+peaceful sea to pass through womanhood in storm."
+
+"Both journeys began with death, Nou."
+
+"As all journeys end. Blackness behind and blackness in front, and
+between them a space of sunshine and shadow--that is the law. Yet have
+no fear, for dead Anna, who had the gift of prophecy, foretold that you
+should live out your life, though with me, whose days are almost done,
+it may be otherwise."
+
+Miriam's face grew troubled.
+
+"I fear neither life nor death, Nou, who am willing to meet either as
+may chance. But to part with you--ah! that thought makes me fear."
+
+"I think that it will not be yet awhile," said Nehushta, "for although
+I am old, I still have work to do before I lay me down and sleep. Come,
+Caleb calls us. We are to disembark while the weather holds."
+
+So Miriam entered the boat with her grandfather and others who had
+escaped, for the faces of all of them were set towards Jerusalem, and
+was rowed to the shore over that very rock where first she drew her
+breath. Here they found Jews who had been watching for the coming of the
+galley. These men gave them a kind reception, and, what they needed even
+more, food, fire and some beasts of burden for their journey.
+
+When all were gathered on the beach Caleb joined them, having handed
+over the galley to another Jew, who was to depart in her with those
+that waited on the shore, upon some secret mission of intercepting Roman
+corn-ships. When these men heard what he had done at Tyre, at first they
+were inclined to be angry, since they said that he had no authority to
+risk the vessel thus, but afterwards, seeing that he had succeeded, and
+with no loss of men, praised him and said that it was a very great deed.
+
+So the galley put about and sailed away, and they, to the number of some
+sixty souls, began their journey to Jerusalem. A little while later they
+came to a village, the same where Nehushta had found the peasant and his
+wife, whose inhabitants, at the sight of them, fled, thinking that they
+were one of the companies of robbers that hunted the land in packs,
+like wolves, plundering or murdering all they met. When they learnt the
+truth, however, these people returned and heard their story in silence,
+for in those days such tales were common enough. As it came to an end
+a withered, sunburned woman advanced to Nehushta, and, laying one hand
+upon her arm, pointed with the other at Miriam, saying:
+
+"Tell me, friend, is that the babe I suckled?"
+
+Then Nehushta, knowing her to be the nurse who had travelled with
+them to the village of the Essenes, greeted her, and answered "Yea,"
+whereupon the woman cast her arms about Miriam and embraced her.
+
+"Day by day," she said, "have I thought of you, little one, and now
+that my eyes have seen you grown so sweet and fair, I care not--I whose
+husband is dead and who have no children--how soon they close upon the
+world." Then she blessed her, and called upon her angel to protect her
+yonder in Jerusalem, and found her food and an ass to ride; and so they
+parted, to meet no more.
+
+As it happened, they were fortunate upon that journey, since, with the
+armed guard of twenty men who accompanied Caleb, they were too strong a
+party to be attacked by the wandering bands of thieves, and, although
+it was reported that Titus and his army had already reached Caesarea from
+Egypt, they met no Romans. Indeed, their only enemy was the cold, which
+proved so bitter that when, on the second night, they camped upon the
+heights over against Jerusalem, having no tents and fearing to light
+fires, they were obliged to walk about till daylight to keep their blood
+astir. Then it was that they saw strange and terrible things.
+
+In the clear sky over Jerusalem blazed a great comet, in appearance like
+a sword of fire. It was true that they had seen it before at Tyre, but
+never before had it shown so bright. Moreover, there it had not the
+appearance of a sword. This they thought to be an ill omen, all of them
+except Benoni, who said that the point of the sword stretched out over
+Caesarea, presaging the destruction of the Romans by the hand of God.
+Towards dawn, the pale, unnatural lustre of the comet faded, and the
+sky grew overcast and stormy. At length the sun came up, when, to their
+marvelling eyes, the fiery clouds took strange shapes.
+
+"Look, look!" said Miriam, grasping her grandfather by the arm, "there
+are armies in the heavens, and they fight together."
+
+They looked, and, sure enough, it seemed as though two great hosts
+were there embattled. They could discern the legions, the wind-blown
+standards, the charging chariots, and the squadrons of impetuous horse.
+The firmament had become a battle-ground, and lo! it was red as with
+the blood of the fallen, while the air was full of strange and dreadful
+sounds, bred, perhaps, of wind and distant thunder, that came to them
+like the wail of the vanquished and the dull roar of triumphant armies.
+So terrified were they at the sight, that they crouched upon the ground
+and hid their faces in their hands. Only old Benoni standing up, his
+white beard and robes stained red by the ominous light, cried out that
+this celestial scene foretold the destruction of the enemies of God.
+
+"Ay!" said Nehushta, "but which enemies?"
+
+The tall Caleb, marching on his round of the camp, echoed:
+
+"Yes, which enemies?"
+
+Suddenly the light grew, all these fantastic shapes melted into a red
+haze, which sank down till Jerusalem before them seemed as though she
+floated in an ocean of blood and fire. Then a dark cloud came up and for
+a while the holy Hill of Zion vanished utterly away. It passed, the blue
+sky reappeared, and lo! the clear light streamed upon her marble palaces
+and clustered houses, and was reflected from the golden roofs of the
+Temple. So calm and peaceful did the glorious city look that none would
+have deemed indeed that she was already nothing but a slaughter-house,
+where factions fought furiously, and day by day hundreds of Jews
+perished beneath the knives of their own brethren.
+
+Caleb gave the word to break their camp, and with bodies shivering in
+the cold and spirits terrified by fear, they marched across the rugged
+hills towards the Joppa gate, noting as they passed into the valley
+that the country had been desolated, for but little corn sprang in the
+fields, and that was trodden down, while of flocks and herds they saw
+none. Reaching the gate they found it shut, and there were challenged by
+soldiers, wild-looking men with ferocious faces of the army of Simon of
+Gerasa that held the Lower City.
+
+"Who are you and what is your business?" these asked.
+
+Caleb set out his rank and titles, and as these did not seem to satisfy
+them Benoni explained that the rest of them were fugitives from Tyre,
+where there had been a great slaughter of the Jews.
+
+"Fugitives always have money; best kill them," said the captain of the
+gate. "Doubtless they are traitors and deserve to die."
+
+Caleb grew angry and commanded them to open, asking by what right they
+dared to exclude him, a high officer who had done great service in the
+wars.
+
+"By the right of the strong," they answered. "Those who let in Simon
+have to deal with Simon. If you are of the party of John or of Eleazer
+go to the Temple and knock upon its doors," and they pointed mockingly
+to the gleaming gates above.
+
+"Has it come to this, then," asked Benoni, "that Jew eats Jew in
+Jerusalem, while the Roman wolves raven round the walls? Man, we are
+of no party, although, as I think, my name is known and honoured by all
+parties--the name of Benoni of Tyre. I demand to be led, not to Simon,
+or to John, or to Eleazer, but to my cousin, Mathias, the high priest,
+who bids us here."
+
+"Mathias, the high priest," said the captain; "that is another matter.
+Well, this Mathias let us into the city, where we have found good
+quarters, and good plunder; so as one turn deserves another, we may as
+well let in his friends. Pass, cousin of Mathias the high priest, with
+all your company," and he opened the gate.
+
+They entered and marched up the narrow streets towards the Temple. It
+was the hour of the day when all men should be stirring and busy with
+their work, but lo! the place was desolate--yes, although so crowded, it
+still was desolate. On the pavement lay bodies of men and women slain
+in some midnight outrage. From behind the lattices of the windows they
+caught sight of the eyes of hundreds peeping at them, but none gave them
+a good-morrow, or said one single word. The silence of death seemed to
+brood upon the empty thoroughfares. Presently it was broken by a single
+wailing voice that reached their ears from so far away that they could
+not catch its meaning. Nearer and nearer it came, till at length in
+the dark and narrow street they caught sight of a thin, white-bearded
+figure, naked to the waist as though to show the hideous scars and
+rod-weals with which its back and breast were scored, still festering,
+some of them. This was the man who uttered the cries, and these were the
+words he spoke:
+
+"A voice from the East! a voice from the West! a voice from the four
+Winds! a voice against Jerusalem and against the Temple! a voice against
+the bridegrooms and the brides! a voice against the whole people! Woe,
+woe to Jerusalem!"
+
+Now he was upon them, yes, and marching through them as though he saw
+them not, although they shrank to one side and the other of the narrow
+street to avoid the touch of this ominous, unclean creature who scarcely
+seemed to be a man.
+
+"Fellow, what do these words mean?" cried Benoni in angry fear. But,
+taking no heed, his pale eyes fixed upon the heavens, the wanderer
+answered only, "Woe, woe to Jerusalem! Woe to you who come up to
+Jerusalem!"
+
+So he passed on, still uttering those awful words, till at length they
+lost sight of his naked form and the sound of his crying grew faint and
+died away.
+
+"What a fearful greeting is this!" said Miriam, wringing her hands.
+
+"Ay!" answered Nehushta, "but the farewell will be worse. The place is
+doomed and all in it."
+
+Only Caleb said, striving to look unconcerned:
+
+"Have no fear, Miriam. I know the man. He is mad."
+
+"Where does wisdom end and madness begin?" asked Nehushta.
+
+Then they went on towards the gates of the Temple, always through the
+same blood-stained, empty streets.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE ESSENES FIND THEIR QUEEN AGAIN
+
+They went on towards the gates of the Temple, but many a long day was
+destined to go by ere Miriam reached them. The entrance by which they
+were told they must approach if they sought speech of the high priest,
+was one of the two Huldah Gates on the south side of the Royal Cloister,
+and thither they came across the valley of Tyropaeon. As they drew near
+to them of a sudden that gate which stood most to the east was flung
+wide, and out of it issued a thousand or more of armed men, like ants
+from a broken nest, who, shouting and waving swords, rushed towards
+their company. As it chanced, at the moment they were in the centre
+of an open space that once had been covered with houses but was now
+cumbered with hundreds of blackened and tottering walls, for fire had
+devoured them.
+
+"It is the men of John who attack us," cried a voice, whereon, moved by
+a common impulse, the little band turned and fled for shelter among the
+ruined houses; yes, even Caleb and Benoni fled.
+
+Before they reached them, lo! from these crumbling walls that they had
+thought untenanted save by wandering dogs, out rushed another body of
+savage warriors, the men of Simon who held the Lower City.
+
+After this, Miriam knew little of what happened. Swords and spears
+flashed round her, the factions fell upon each other, slaughtering
+each other. She saw Caleb cut down one of the soldiers of John, to be
+instantly assaulted in turn by a soldier of Simon, since all desired
+to kill, but none cared whom they slew. She saw her grandfather rolling
+over and over on the ground in the grip of a man who looked like a
+priest; she saw women and children pierced with spears. Then Nehushta
+seized her by the hand, and plunging a knife into the arm of a man who
+would have stayed them, dragged her away. They fled, an arrow sang past
+her ear; something struck her on the foot. Still they fled, whither she
+knew not, till at length the sound of the tumult died away. But not yet
+would Nehushta stop, for she feared that they might be followed. So on
+they went, and on, meeting few and heeded by none, till at length Miriam
+sank to the ground, worn out with fear and flight.
+
+"Up," said Nehushta.
+
+"I cannot," she answered. "Something has hurt my foot. See, it bleeds!"
+
+Nehushta looked about her, and saw that they were outside the second
+wall in the new city of Bezetha, not far from the old Damascus Gate, for
+there, to their right and a little behind them, rose the great tower of
+Antonia. Beneath this wall were rubbish-heaps, foul-smelling and covered
+over with rough grasses and some spring flowers, which grew upon the
+slopes of the ancient fosse. Here seemed a place where they might lie
+hid awhile, since there were no houses and it was unsavoury. She dragged
+Miriam to her feet, and, notwithstanding her complaints and swollen
+ankle, forced her on, till they came to a spot where, as it is to-day,
+the wall was built upon foundations of living rock, roughly shaped,
+and lined with crevices covered by tall weeds. To one of these crevices
+Nehushta brought Miriam, and, seating her on a bed of grass, examined
+her foot, which seemed to have been bruised by a stone from a sling.
+Having no water with which to wash the bleeding hurt, she made a
+poultice of crushed herbs and tied it about the ankle with a strip of
+linen. Even before she had finished her task, so exhausted was Miriam
+that she fell fast asleep. Nehushta watched her a while, wondering
+what they should do next, till, in that lonely place bathed by the warm
+spring sun, she also began to doze.
+
+Suddenly she awoke with a start, having dreamed that she saw a man with
+white face and beard peering at them from behind a rough angle of rock.
+She stared: there was the rock as she had dreamed of it, but no man.
+She looked upward. Above them, piled block upon gigantic block, rose the
+wall, towering and impregnable. Thither he could not have gone, since
+on it only a lizard could find foothold. Nor was he anywhere else, for
+there was no cover; so she decided that he must have been some searcher
+of the rubbish-heap, who, seeing them hidden in the tall grasses, had
+fled away. Miriam was still sound asleep, and in her weariness presently
+Nehushta again began to doze, till at length--it may have been one hour
+later, or two or three, she knew not--some sound disturbed her.
+Opening her eyes, once more behind that ridge of rock she saw, not one
+white-bearded face, but two, staring at her and Miriam. As she sat up
+they vanished. She remained still, pretending to sleep, and again they
+appeared, scanning her closely and whispering to each other in eager
+tones. Suddenly one of the faces turned a little so that the light fell
+on it. Now Nehushta knew why in her dream it had seemed familiar, and in
+her heart thanked God.
+
+"Brother Ithiel," she said in a quiet voice, "why do you hide like a
+coney in these rocks?"
+
+Both heads disappeared, but the sound of whispering continued. Then one
+of them rose again among the green grasses as a man might rise out of
+water. It was Ithiel's.
+
+"It is indeed you, Nehushta?" said his well-remembered voice.
+
+"Who else?" she asked.
+
+"And that lady who sleeps at your side?"
+
+"Once they called her Queen of the Essenes; now she is a hunted
+fugitive, waiting to be massacred by Simon, or John, or Eleazer, or
+Zealots, or Sicarii, or any other of the holy cut-throats who inhabit
+this Holy City," answered Nehushta bitterly.
+
+Ithiel raised his hands as though in thankfulness, then said:
+
+"Hush! hush! Here the very birds are spies. Brother, creep to that rock
+and look if any men are moving."
+
+The Essene obeyed, and answered, "None; and they cannot see us from the
+wall."
+
+Ithiel motioned to him to return.
+
+"Does she sleep sound?" he asked of Nehushta, pointing to Miriam.
+
+"Like the dead."
+
+Then, after another whispered conference, the pair of them crept round
+the angle of the rock. Bidding Nehushta follow them, they lifted the
+sleeping Miriam, and carried her between them through a dense growth of
+shrubs to another rock. Here they moved some grass and pushed aside a
+stone, revealing a hole not much larger than a jackal would make. Into
+this the brother entered, heels first. Then Nehushta, by his directions,
+taking the feet of the senseless Miriam, with her help he bore her into
+the hole, that opened presently into a wide passage. Last of all Ithiel,
+having lifted the grasses which their feet had trodden, followed them,
+pulling the stone back to its place, and cutting off the light. Once
+more they were in darkness, but this did not seem to trouble the
+brethren, for again lifting Miriam, they went forward a distance of
+thirty or forty paces, Nehushta holding on to Ithiel's robe. Now, at
+length, the cold air of this cave, or perhaps its deep gloom and the
+motion, awoke Miriam from her swoon-like sleep. She struggled in their
+hands, and would have cried out, had not Nehushta bade her to be silent.
+
+"Where am I?" she said. "Is this the hall of death?"
+
+"Nay, lady. Wait a while, all shall be explained."
+
+While she spoke and Miriam clung to her affrighted, Ithiel struck iron
+and flint together. Catching the spark upon tinder he blew it to a flame
+and lighted a taper which burnt up slowly, causing his white beard and
+face to appear by degrees out of the darkness, like that of a ghost
+rising from the tomb.
+
+"Oh! surely I am dead," said Miriam, "for before me stands the spirit of
+my uncle Ithiel."
+
+"Not the spirit, Miriam, but the flesh," answered the old man in a voice
+that trembled with joy. Then, since he could restrain himself no longer,
+he gave the taper to the brother, and, taking her in his arms, kissed
+her again and again.
+
+"Welcome, most dear child," he said; "yes, even to this darksome den,
+welcome, thrice welcome, and blessed be the eternal God Who led our feet
+forth to find you. Nay, do not stop to talk, we are still too near the
+wall. Give me your hand and come."
+
+Miriam glanced up as she obeyed, and by the feeble light of the taper
+saw a vast rocky roof arching above them. On either side of her also
+were walls of rough-hewn rock down which dripped water, and piled upon
+the floor or still hanging half-cut from the roof, boulders large enough
+to fashion a temple column.
+
+"What awful place is this, my uncle?" she asked.
+
+"The cavern whence Solomon, the great king, drew stone for the building
+of the Temple. Look, here are his mason's marks upon the wall. Here he
+fashioned the blocks and thus it happened that no sound of saw or hammer
+was heard within the building. Doubtless also other kings before and
+since his day have used this quarry, as no man knows its age."
+
+While he spoke thus he was leading her onwards over the rough,
+stone-hewn floor, where the damp gathered in little pools. Following the
+windings of the cave they turned once, then again and yet again, so that
+soon Miriam was utterly bewildered and could not have found her way back
+to the entrance for her life's sake. Moreover, the air had become so hot
+and stifling that she could scarcely breathe.
+
+"It will be better presently," said Ithiel, noticing her distress, as he
+drew her limping after him into what seemed to be a natural crevice of
+rock hardly large enough to allow the passage of his body. Along this
+crevice they scrambled for eight or ten paces, to find themselves
+suddenly in a tunnel lined with masonry, and so large that they could
+stand upright.
+
+"Once it was a watercourse," explained Ithiel, "that filled the great
+tank, but now it has been dry for centuries."
+
+Down this darksome shaft hobbled Miriam, till presently it ended in a
+wall, or what seemed to be a wall--for when Ithiel pressed upon a stone
+it turned. Beyond it the tunnel continued for twenty or thirty paces,
+leading them at length into a vast chamber with arched roof and cemented
+sides and bottom, which in some bygone age had been a water-tank. Here
+lights were burning, and even a charcoal fire, at which a brother was
+engaged in cooking. Also the air was pure and sweet, doubtless because
+of the winding water-channels that ran upwards. Nor did the place lack
+inhabitants, for there, seated in groups round the tapers, or watching
+the cooking over the charcoal fire, were forty or fifty men, still clad,
+for the most part, in the robes of the Essenes.
+
+"Brethren," cried Ithiel, in answer to the challenge of one who was set
+to watch the entry, "I bring back to you her whom we lost a while ago,
+the lady Miriam."
+
+They heard, and seizing the tapers, ran forward.
+
+"It is she!" they cried, "our queen and none other, and with her
+Nehushta the Libyan! Welcome, welcome, a thousand times, dear lady!"
+
+Miriam greeted them one and all, and before these greetings were
+finished they brought her food to eat, rough but wholesome, also good
+wine and sweet water. Then while she ate she heard all their story. It
+seemed that more than a year ago the Romans, marching on Jericho, had
+fallen upon their village and put a number of them to death, seizing
+others as slaves. Thereon the remnant fled to Jerusalem, where many more
+perished, for, being peaceable folk, all the factions robbed and slew
+them. Seeing, at last, that to live at large in the city would be to
+doom themselves to extinction, and yet not daring to leave it, they
+sought a refuge in this underground place, of which, as it chanced, one
+of their brethren had the secret. This he had inherited from his father,
+so that it was known to no other living man.
+
+Here by degrees they laid up a great store of provisions of all sorts,
+of charcoal for burning, and other necessaries, carrying into the place
+also clothes, bedding, cooking utensils and even some rough furniture.
+These preparations being made, the fifty of them who remained removed
+themselves to the vaults where now they had already dwelt three months,
+and here, so far as was possible, continued to practise the rules of
+their order. Miriam asked how they kept their health in this darkness,
+to which they replied that sometimes they went out by that path
+which she had just followed, and mingled with the people in the city,
+returning to their hole at night. Ithiel and his companion were on such
+a journey when they found her. Also they had another passage to the
+upper air which they would show her later.
+
+When Miriam had finished eating, dressed her hurt, and rested a while,
+they took her to explore the wonders of the place. Beyond this great
+cistern, that was their common room, lay more to the number of six or
+seven, one of the smallest of which was given to Nehushta and herself
+to dwell in. Others were filled with stores enough to last them all for
+months. Last of all was a cave, not very large, but deep, which always
+held sweet water. Doubtless there was a spring at the bottom of it,
+which, when the other rain-fed tanks grew dry, still kept it supplied.
+From this cistern that had been used for generations after the others
+were abandoned, a little stair ran upwards, worn smooth by the feet of
+folk long dead, who had come hither to draw water.
+
+"Where does it lead?" asked Miriam.
+
+"To the ruined tower above," answered Ithiel. "Nay, another time I will
+show you. Now your place is made ready for you, go, let Nehushta bathe
+your foot, and sleep, for you must need it sorely."
+
+So Miriam went and laid herself down to rest in the little cemented
+vault which was to be her home for four long months; and being worn
+out, notwithstanding the sufferings she had passed and her fears for
+her grandfather, slept there as soundly as ever she had done in her
+wind-swept chamber at the palace of Tyre, or in her house at the village
+of the Essenes.
+
+When she awoke and saw the darkness all about her, she thought that it
+must be night; then remembering that in this place it was always night,
+called to Nehushta, who uncovered the little lamp that burned in a
+corner of the vault, and went out, to return presently with the news
+that according to the Essenes, it was day. So she rose and put on her
+robes, and they passed together into the great chamber. Here they found
+the Essenes at prayer and making their reverences to the sun which they
+could not see, after which they ate their morning meal. Now Miriam spoke
+to Ithiel, telling him of her trouble about her grandfather, who, if he
+himself still lived, would think that she was dead.
+
+"One thing is certain," replied her great-uncle: "that you shall not go
+out to seek him, nor must you tell him of your hiding-place, since soon
+or late this might mean that all of us would be destroyed, if only for
+the sake of the food which we have hoarded."
+
+Miriam asked if she could not send a message. He answered:
+
+"No, since none would dare to take it." In the end, however, after she
+had pleaded with him long and earnestly, it was agreed that she should
+write the words, "I am safe and well, but in a place that I must not
+tell you of," and sign her name upon a piece of parchment. This letter
+Ithiel, who purposed to creep out into the city that evening disguised
+as a beggar, to seek for tidings, said he would take, and, if might
+be, bribe some soldier to deliver it to Benoni at the house of the high
+priest, if he were there.
+
+So Miriam wrote the letter, and at nightfall Ithiel and another brother
+departed, taking it with them.
+
+On the following morning they returned, safe, but with a dreadful tale
+of the slaughters in the city and in the Temple courts, where the mad
+factions still fought furiously.
+
+"Your tidings, my uncle?" said Miriam, rising to meet him. "Does he
+still live?"
+
+"Be of good comfort," he answered. "Benoni reached the house of Mathias
+in safety, and Caleb also, and now they are sheltering within the Temple
+walls. This much I had from one of the high priest's guards, who, for
+the price of a piece of gold I gave him, swore that he would deliver the
+letter without fail. But, child, I will take no more, for that soldier
+eyed me curiously and said it was scarcely safe for beggars to carry
+gold."
+
+Miriam thanked him for his goodness and his news, saying that they
+lifted a weight from her heart.
+
+"I have other tidings that may perhaps make it lighter still," went on
+the old man, looking at her sideways. "Titus with a mighty host draws
+near to Jerusalem from Caesarea."
+
+"There is no joy in that tale," replied Miriam, "for it means that the
+Holy City will be besieged and taken."
+
+"Nay, but among that host is one who, if all the stories are true," and
+again he glanced at her face, "would rather take you than the city."
+
+"Who?" she said, pressing her hands against her heart and turning redder
+than the lamplight.
+
+"One of Titus' prefects of horse, the noble Roman, Marcus, whom in
+byegone days you knew by the banks of Jordan."
+
+Now the red blood fled back to Miriam's heart, and she turned so faint
+that had not the wall been near at hand she would have fallen.
+
+"Marcus?" she said. "Well, he swore that he would come, yet it will
+bring him little nearer me;" and she turned and sought her chamber.
+
+So Marcus had come. Since he sent the letter and the ring that was upon
+her hand, and the pearls which were about her throat, she had heard no
+more of him. Twice she had written and forwarded the writings by the
+most trusty messenger whom she could find, but whether they reached him
+she did not know. For more than two years the silence between them had
+been that of death, till, indeed, at times she thought that he must be
+dead. And now he was come back, a commander in the army of Titus, who
+marched to punish the rebellious Jews. Would she ever see him again?
+Miriam could not tell. Yet she knelt and prayed from her pure heart that
+if it were once only, she might speak with him face to face. Indeed,
+it was this hope of meeting that, more than any other, supported her
+through all those dreadful days.
+
+A week went by, and although the hurt to her foot had healed, like some
+flower in the dark Miriam drooped and languished in those gloomy vaults.
+Twice she prayed her uncle to be allowed to creep to the mouth of the
+hole behind the ridge of rock, there to breathe the fresh air and
+see the blessed sky. But this he would not suffer. The thing was
+too dangerous, he said; for although none knew the secret of their
+hiding-place, already two or three fugitives had found their way into
+the quarries by other entrances, and these it was very difficult to pass
+unseen.
+
+"So be it," answered Miriam, and crept back to her cell.
+
+Nehushta looked after her anxiously, then said:
+
+"If she cannot have air I think that she will soon die. Is there no
+way?"
+
+"One," answered Ithiel, "but I fear to take it. The staircase from the
+spring leads to an ancient tower that, I am told, once was a palace
+of the kings, but now for these many years has been deserted, for its
+entrance is bricked up lest thieves should make it their home. None can
+come into that tower, nor is it used for purposes of war, not standing
+upon any wall, and there she might sit at peace and see the sun; yet I
+fear to let her do so."
+
+"It must be risked," answered Nehushta. "Take me to visit this place."
+
+So Ithiel led her to the cistern, and from the cistern up a flight of
+steps to a little vaulted chamber, into which they entered through
+a stone trap-door, made of the same substance as the paving of the
+chamber, so that, when it was closed, none would guess that there was
+a passage beneath. From this old store-room, for such it doubtless was,
+ran more steps, ending, to all appearance, in a blank wall. Coming to
+it, Ithiel thrust a piece of flat iron, a foot or more in length, into a
+crack in this wall, lifted some stone latch within, and pushed, whereon
+a block of masonry of something more than the height and width of a man,
+and quite a yard in thickness, swung outwards. Nehushta passed through
+the aperture, followed by Ithiel.
+
+"See," he said, loosing his hold of the stone, which without noise
+instantly closed, so that behind them there appeared to be nothing but a
+wall, "it is well hung, is it not? and to come hither without this iron
+would be dangerous. Here is the crack where it must be set to lift the
+latch within."
+
+"Whoever lived here guarded their food and water well," answered
+Nehushta.
+
+Then Ithiel showed her the place. It was a massive tower of a square
+of about forty feet, whereof the only doorway, as he told her, had been
+bricked up many years before to keep the thieves and vagabonds from
+sheltering there. In height it must have measured nearly a hundred
+feet, and its roof had long ago rotted away. The staircase, which was
+of stone, still remained, however, leading to four galleries, also
+of stone. Perhaps once there were floors as well, but if so these had
+vanished, only the stone galleries and their balustrades remaining.
+Ithiel led Nehushta up the stair, which, though narrow, was safe and
+easy. Resting at each story, at length they came to that gallery which
+projected from its sides within ten feet of the top of the tower, and
+saw Jerusalem and the country round spread like a map beneath. Then,
+as it was sunset, they returned. At the foot of the stair Ithiel gave
+Nehushta the piece of iron and showed her how to lift the secret latch
+and pull upon the block of hewn stone that was a door, so that it opened
+to swing to again behind them.
+
+Next morning, before it was dawn in the world above, Miriam aroused
+Nehushta. She had been promised that this day she should be taken up the
+Old Tower, and so great was her longing for the scent of the free air
+and the sight of the blue sky that she had scarcely closed her eyes this
+night.
+
+"Have patience, lady," said Nehushta, "have patience. We cannot start
+until the Essenes have finished their prayers to the sun, which, down in
+this black hole, they worship more earnestly than ever."
+
+So Miriam waited, though she would eat nothing, till at length Ithiel
+came and led them past the cistern up the stairs to the store or
+treasure chamber, where the trap-door stood wide, since, except in case
+of some danger, they had no need to shut it. Next, they reached the door
+of solid stone which Ithiel showed her how to open, and entered the base
+of the massive building. There, far above her, Miriam saw the sky again,
+red from the lights of morning, and at the sight of it clapped her hands
+and called aloud.
+
+"Hush!" said Ithiel. "These walls are thick, yet it is not safe to raise
+a voice of joy in Jerusalem, that home of a thousand miseries, lest,
+perchance, some should hear it through a cleft in the masonry, and cause
+search to be made for the singer. Now, if you will, follow me."
+
+So they went up and up, till at last they reached the topmost gallery,
+where the wall was pierced with loopholes and overhanging platforms,
+whence stones and other missiles could be hurled upon an attacking
+force. Miriam looked out eagerly, walking round the gallery from
+aperture to aperture.
+
+To the south lay the marble courts and glittering buildings of the
+Temple, whence, although men fought daily in them, the smoke of
+sacrifice still curled up to heaven. Behind these were the Upper and the
+Lower City, crowded with thousands of houses, packed, every one of them,
+with human beings who had fled hither for refuge, or, notwithstanding
+the dangers of the time, to celebrate the Passover. To the east was the
+rugged valley of Jehoshaphat, and beyond it the Mount of Olives, green
+with trees soon to be laid low by the Romans. To the north the new city
+of Bezetha, bordered by the third wall and the rocky lands beyond. Not
+far away, also, but somewhat in front of them and to the left, rose the
+mighty tower of Antonia, now one of the strongholds of John of Gischala
+and the Zealots, while also to the west, across the width of the city,
+were the towers of Hippicus, Phasael and Mariamne, backed by the splendid
+palace of Herod. Besides these were walls, fortresses, gates and palaces
+without number, so intricate and many that the eye could scarcely follow
+or count them, and, between, the numberless narrow streets of Jerusalem.
+These and many other things Ithiel pointed out to Miriam, who listened
+eagerly till he wearied of the task. Then they looked downwards through
+the overhanging platforms of stone to the large market-place beneath and
+to the front, and upon the roofs of the houses, mostly of the humbler
+sort, that were built behind almost up to the walls of the Old Tower,
+whereon many people were gathered as though for safety, eating their
+morning meal, talking anxiously together, and even praying.
+
+Whilst they were thus engaged, Nehushta touched Miriam and pointed
+to the road which ran from the Valley of Thorns on the northeast.
+She looked, and saw a great cloud of dust that advanced swiftly, and
+presently, through the dust, the sheen of spears and armour.
+
+"The Romans!" said Nehushta quietly.
+
+She was not the only one who had caught sight of them, for suddenly the
+battlement of every wall and tower, the roof of every lofty house, the
+upper courts of the Temple, and all high places became crowded with
+thousands and tens of thousands of heads, each of them staring towards
+that advancing dust. In silence they stared as though their multitudes
+were stricken dumb, till presently, from far below out of the maze of
+winding streets, floated the wail of a single voice.
+
+"Woe, woe to Jerusalem!" said the voice. "Woe, woe to the City and the
+Temple!"
+
+They shuddered, and as it seemed to them, all the listening thousands
+within reach of that mournful cry shuddered also.
+
+"Aye!" repeated Ithiel, "woe to Jerusalem, for yonder comes her doom."
+
+Now on the more rocky ground the dust grew thinner, and through it they
+could distinguish the divisions of the mighty army of destroyers. First
+came thousands of Syrian allies and clouds of scouts and archers, who
+searched the country far and wide. Next appeared the road-makers and the
+camp-setters, the beasts of burden with the general's baggage and its
+great escort, followed by Titus himself, his bodyguard and officers,
+by pikemen and by horsemen. Then were seen strange and terrible-looking
+engines of war beyond count, and with them the tribunes, and the
+captains of cohorts and their guards who preceded the engines, and that
+"abomination of desolation," the Roman Eagles, surrounded by bands of
+trumpeters, who from time to time uttered their loud, defiant note.
+After them marched the vast army in ranks six deep, divided into legions
+and followed by their camp-bearers and squadrons of horse. Lastly were
+seen the packs of baggage, and mercenaries by thousands and tens of
+thousands. On the Hill of Saul the great host halted and began to
+encamp. An hour later a band of horsemen five or six hundred strong
+emerged out of this camp and marched along the straight road to
+Jerusalem.
+
+"It is Titus himself," said Ithiel. "See, the Imperial Standard goes
+before him."
+
+On they came till, from their lofty perch, Miriam, who was keen-sighted,
+could see their separate armour and tell the colour of their horses.
+Eagerly she searched them with her eyes, for well she guessed that
+Marcus would be one of those who accompanied his general upon this
+service. That plumed warrior might be he, or that with the purple cloak,
+or that who galloped out from near by the Standard on an errand. He was
+there; she was sure he was there, and yet they were as far apart as when
+the great sea rolled between them.
+
+Now, as they reconnoitred and were passing the Tower of Women, of a
+sudden the gate opened, and from alleys and houses where they had lain
+in ambush were poured out thousands of Jews. Right through the thin line
+of horsemen they pierced, uttering savage cries, then doubled back upon
+the severed ends. Many were cut down; Miriam could see them falling from
+their horses. The Imperial Standard sank, then rose and sank again to
+rise once more. Now dust hid the combat, and she thought that all the
+Romans must be slain. But no, for presently they began to appear beyond
+the dust, riding back by the way they had come, though fewer than they
+were. They had charged through the multitude of Jews and escaped. But
+who had escaped and who were left behind? Ah! that she could not tell;
+and it was with a sick and anxious heart that Miriam descended the steps
+of the tower into the darkness of the caves.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+WHAT PASSED IN THE TOWER
+
+Nearly four months had gone by. Perhaps, during the whole history of the
+world there never has been and never will be more cruel suffering than
+was endured by the inhabitants of Jerusalem during that period, or
+rather by the survivors of the nation of the Jews who were crowded
+together within its walls. Forgetting their internecine quarrels in the
+face of overwhelming danger, too late the factions united and fought
+against the common foe with a ferocity that has been seldom equalled.
+They left nothing undone which desperate men could do. Again and again
+they sallied forth against the Romans, slaughtering thousands of them.
+They captured their battering-rams and catapults. They undermined the
+great wooden towers which Titus erected against their walls, and burnt
+them. With varying success they made sally upon sally. Titus took the
+third wall and the new city of Bezetha. He took the second wall and
+pulled it down. Then he sent Josephus, the historian, to persuade the
+Jews to surrender, but his countrymen cursed and stoned him, and the war
+went on.
+
+At length, as it seemed to be impossible to carry the place by assault,
+Titus adopted a surer and more terrible plan. Enclosing the first
+unconquered wall, the Temple, and the fortress by another wall of his
+own making, he sat down and waited for starvation to do its work. Then
+came the famine. At the beginning, before the maddened, devil-inspired
+factions began to destroy each other and to prey upon the peaceful
+people, Jerusalem was amply provisioned. But each party squandered the
+stores that were within its reach, and, whenever they could do so, burnt
+those of their rivals, so that the food which might have supplied the
+whole city for months, vanished quickly in orgies of wanton waste and
+destruction. Now all, or almost all, was gone, and by tens and hundreds
+of thousands the people starved.
+
+Those who are curious about such matters, those who desire to know how
+much human beings can endure, and of what savagery they can be capable
+when hunger drives them, may find these details set out in the pages of
+Josephus, the renegade Jewish historian. It serves no good purpose and
+will not help our story to repeat them; indeed for the most part they
+are too terrible to be repeated. History does not record, and the mind
+of man cannot invent a cruelty which was not practised by the famished
+Jews upon other Jews suspected of the crime of having hidden food
+to feed themselves or their families. Now the fearful prophecy was
+fulfilled, and it came about that mothers devoured their own infants,
+and children snatched the last morsel of bread from the lips of their
+dying parents. If these things were done between those who were of
+one blood, what dreadful torment was there that was not practised by
+stranger upon stranger? The city went mad beneath the weight of its
+abominable and obscene misery. Thousands perished every day, and every
+night thousands more escaped, or attempted to escape, to the Romans,
+who caught the poor wretches and crucified them beneath the walls, till
+there was no more wood of which to make the crosses, and no more ground
+whereon to stand them.
+
+
+
+All these things and many others Miriam saw from her place of outlook
+in the gallery of the deserted tower. She saw the people lying dead
+by hundreds in the streets beneath. She saw the robbers hale them from
+their houses and torture them to discover the hiding-place of the food
+which they were supposed to have hidden, and when they failed, put them
+to the sword. She saw the Valley of the Kidron and the lower slopes of
+the Mount of Olives covered with captive Jews writhing on their crosses,
+there to die as the Messiah whom they had rejected, died. She saw the
+furious attacks, the yet more furious sallies and the dreadful daily
+slaughter, till at length her heart grew so sick within her, that
+although she still took refuge in the ruined tower to escape the gloom
+beneath, Miriam would spend whole hours lying on her face, her fingers
+thrust into her ears, that she might shut out the sights and sounds of
+this unutterable woe.
+
+Meanwhile, the Essenes, who still had stores of food, ventured forth but
+rarely, lest the good condition of their bodies, although their faces
+were white as death from dwelling in the darkness, should tempt the
+starving hordes to seize and torture them in the hope of discovering
+the hiding-places of their nutriment. Indeed, to several of the brethren
+this happened; but in obedience to their oaths, as will be seen in the
+instance of the past President Theophilus--who went out and was no more
+heard of--they endured all and died without a murmur, having betrayed
+nothing. Still, notwithstanding the danger, driven to it by utter
+weariness of their confinement in the dark and by the desire of
+obtaining news, from time to time one of them would creep forth at night
+to return again before daybreak. From these men Miriam heard that
+after the murder of the high priest Mathias and his sons, together with
+sixteen of the Sanhedrim, on a charge of correspondence with the Romans,
+her grandfather, Benoni, had been elected to that body, in which he
+exercised much influence and caused many to be put to death who were
+accused of treason or of favouring the Roman cause. Caleb also was in
+the Temple and foremost in every fight. He was said to have sworn an
+oath that he would slay the Prefect of Horse, Marcus, with whom he had
+an ancient quarrel, or be slain himself. It was told, indeed, that they
+had met once already and struck some blows at each other, before they
+were separated by an accident of war.
+
+The beginning of August came at length, and the wretched city, in
+addition to its other miseries, panted in the heat of a scorching summer
+sun and was poisoned by the stench from the dead bodies that filled the
+streets and were hurled in thousands from the walls. Now the Romans
+had set up their battering engines at the very gates of the Temple, and
+slowly but surely were winning their way into its outer courts.
+
+On a certain night, about an hour before the dawn, Miriam woke Nehushta,
+telling her that she was stifling there in those vaults and must ascend
+the tower. Nehushta said that it was folly, whereon Miriam answered that
+she would go alone. This she would not suffer her to do, so together
+they passed up the stairs according to custom, and, having gained the
+base of the tower through the swinging door of stone, climbed the steps
+that ran in the thickness of the wall till they reached the topmost
+gallery. Here they sat, fanned by the faint night wind, and watched the
+fires of the Romans stretched far and wide around the walls and even
+among the ruins of the houses almost beneath them, since that part of
+the city was taken.
+
+Presently the dawn broke, a splendid, fearful dawn. It was as though the
+angel of the daybreak had dipped his wing into a sea of blood and dashed
+it against the brow of Night, still crowned with her fading stars. Of a
+sudden the heavens were filled with blots and threads of flaming colour
+latticed against the pale background of the twilight sky. Miriam watched
+it with a kind of rapture, letting its glory and its peace sink into
+her troubled soul, while from below arose the sound of awakening camps
+making ready for the daily battle. Soon a ray of burning light, cast
+like a spear from the crest of the Mount of Olives across the Valley of
+Jehoshaphat, struck full upon the gold-roofed Temple and its courts. At
+its coming, as though at a signal, the northern gates were thrown wide,
+and through them poured a flood of gaunt and savage warriors. They came
+on in thousands, uttering fierce war-cries. Some pickets of Romans tried
+to stay their rush; in a minute they were overcome and destroyed. Now
+they were surging round the feet of a great wooden tower filled with
+archers. Here the fight was desperate, for the soldiers of Titus rushed
+up by companies to defend their engine. But they could not drive back
+that onset, and presently the tower was on fire, and in a last mad
+effort to save their lives its defenders were casting themselves
+headlong from the lofty platform. With shouts of triumph the Jews rushed
+through the breaches in the second wall, and leaving what remained of
+the castle of Antonia on the left, poured down into the maze of streets
+and ruined houses that lay immediately behind the Old Tower whence
+Miriam watched.
+
+In front of this building, which the Romans had never attempted to
+enter, since for military purposes it was useless to them, lay the open
+space, once, no doubt, part of its garden, but of late years used as a
+cattle market and a place where young men exercised themselves in arms.
+Bordering the waste on its further side were strong fortifications, the
+camping ground of the twelfth and fifteenth legions. Across this open
+space those who remained of the Romans fled back towards their outer
+line, followed by swarms of furious Jews. They gained them, such as
+were not overtaken, but the Jews who pursued were met with so fierce
+a charge, delivered by the fresh troops behind the defences, that
+they were in turn swept back and took refuge among the ruined houses.
+Suddenly Miriam's attention became concentrated upon the mounted officer
+who led this charge, a gallant-looking man clad in splendid armour,
+whose clear, ringing voice, as he uttered the words of command, had
+caught her ear even through the tumult and the shouting. The Roman
+onslaught having reached its limit, began to fall back again like the
+water from an exhausted wave upon a slope of sand. At the moment the
+Jews were in no condition to press the enemy's retreat, so that the
+mounted officer who withdrew last of all, had time to turn his horse,
+and heedless of the arrows that sang about him, to study the ground
+now strewn with the wounded and the dead. Presently he looked up at the
+deserted tower as though wondering whether he could make use of it, and
+Miriam saw his face. It was Marcus, grown older, more thoughtful also,
+and altered somewhat by a short curling beard, but still Marcus and no
+other.
+
+"Look! look!" she said.
+
+Nehushta nodded. "Yes, it is he; I thought so from the first. And now,
+having seen him, lady, shall we be going?"
+
+"Going?" said Miriam, "wherefore?"
+
+"Because one army or the other may chance to think that this building
+would be useful to them, and break open the walled-up door. Also they
+might explore this staircase, and then----"
+
+"And then," answered Miriam quietly, "we should be taken. What of it?
+If the Jews find us we are of their party; if the Romans--well, I do not
+greatly fear the Romans."
+
+"You mean you do not fear one Roman. But who knows, but that he may
+presently lie dead----"
+
+"Oh! say it not," answered Miriam, pressing her hand upon her heart.
+"Nay, safe or unsafe, I will see this fight out. Look, yonder is
+Caleb--yes, Caleb himself, shouting to the Jews. How fierce is his face,
+like that of a hyena in a snare. Nay, now I will not go--go you and
+leave me in peace to watch the end."
+
+"Since you are too heavy and strong for my old arms to carry down those
+steep steps, so be it," answered Nehushta calmly. "After all, we have
+food with us, and our angels can guard us as well on the top of a tower
+as in those dirty cisterns. Also this fray is worth the watching."
+
+As she spoke, the Romans having re-formed, led by the Prefect Marcus and
+other officers, advanced from their entrenchment, to be met half-way by
+the Jews, now reinforced from the Temple, among whom was Caleb. There,
+in the open space, they fought hand to hand, for neither force would
+yield an inch. Miriam, watching through the stone bars from above, had
+eyes for only two of all that multitude of men--Marcus, whom she loved,
+and Caleb, whom she feared. Marcus was attacked by a Jew, who stabbed
+his horse, to be instantly stabbed himself by a Roman who came to the
+rescue of his commander. After this he fought on foot. Caleb killed
+first one soldier than another. Watching him, Miriam grew aware that he
+was cutting his way towards some point, and that the point was Marcus.
+This Marcus seemed to know; at least, he also strove to cut his way
+towards Caleb. Nearer and nearer they came, till at length they met and
+began to rain blows upon each other; but not for long, for just then a
+charge of some Roman horsemen separated them. After this both parties
+retired to their lines, taking their wounded with them.
+
+Thus, with pauses, sometimes of two or three hours, the fight went on
+from morning to noon, and from noon to sunset. During the latter part
+of the time the Romans made no more attacks, but were contented with
+defending themselves while they awaited reinforcements from without the
+city, or perhaps the results of some counter-attack in another part.
+
+Thus the advantage rested, or seemed to rest, with the Jews, who held
+all the ruined houses and swept the open space with their arrows. Now
+it was that Nehushta's fears were justified, for having a little leisure
+the Jews took a beam of wood and battered in the walled-up doorway of
+the tower.
+
+"Look!" said Nehushta, pointing down.
+
+"Oh, Nou!" Miriam answered, "I was wrong. I have run you into danger.
+But indeed I could not go. What shall we do now?"
+
+"Sit quiet until they come to take us," said Nehushta grimly, "and then,
+if they give us time, explain as best we may."
+
+As it chanced, however, the Jews did not come, since they feared that
+if they mounted the stair some sudden rush of Romans might trap such
+of them as were within before they had time to descend again. Only they
+made use of the base of the tower to shelter those of their wounded
+whose hurts were so desperate that they dared not move them.
+
+Now the fighting having ceased for a while, the soldiers of both sides
+amused themselves with shouting taunts and insults at each other, or
+challenges to single combat. Presently Caleb stepped forward from the
+shelter of a wall and called out that if the Prefect Marcus would meet
+him alone in the open space he had something to say which he would be
+glad to hear. Thereupon Marcus, stepping out from his defences, where
+several of his officers seemed to be striving to detain him, answered:
+
+"I will come," and walked to the centre of the market, where he was met
+by Caleb.
+
+Here the two of them spoke together alone, but of what they said Miriam
+and Nehushta, watching them from above, could catch no word.
+
+"Oh! will they fight?" said Miriam.
+
+"It seems likely, since each of them has sworn to slay the other,"
+answered Nehushta.
+
+While she spoke Marcus, shaking his head as though to decline some
+proposal, and pointing to the men of his command, who stood up watching
+him, turned to walk back to his own lines, followed by Caleb, who
+shouted out that he was a coward and did not dare to stand alone before
+him. At this insult Marcus winced, then went on again, doubtless because
+he thought it his duty to rejoin his company, whereon Caleb, drawing
+his sword, struck him with the flat of it across the back. Now the Jews
+laughed, while the Romans uttered a shout of rage at the intolerable
+affront offered to their commander. As for Marcus, he wheeled round,
+sword in hand, and flew straight at Caleb's throat.
+
+But it was for this that the Jew had been waiting, since he knew that no
+Roman, and least of all Marcus, would submit to the indignity of such a
+blow. As his adversary came on, made almost blind with fury, he leapt
+to one side lightly as a lion leaps, and with all the force of his long
+sinewy arm brought down his heavy sword upon the head of Marcus. The
+helm was good, or the skull beneath must have been split in two by that
+blow, which, as it was, shore through it and bit deeply into the bone.
+Beneath the shock Marcus staggered, threw his arms wide, and let fall
+his sword. With a shout Caleb sprang at him to make an end of him, but
+before he could strike the Roman seemed to recover himself, and, knowing
+that his weapon was gone, did the only thing he could, rushed straight
+at his foe. Caleb's sword fell on his shoulder, but the tempered mail
+withstood it, and next instant Marcus had gripped him in his arms. Down
+they came together to the earth, rolling over each other, the Jew trying
+to stab the Roman, the Roman to choke the Jew with his bare hand. Then
+from the Roman lines rose a cry of "Rescue!" and from the Jews a cry of
+"Take him."
+
+Out poured the combatants from either side of the market-place by
+hundreds and by thousands, and there in its centre, round the struggling
+forms of Caleb and of Marcus, began the fiercest fight of all that day.
+Where men stood, there they fell, for none would give back, since the
+Romans, outnumbered though they were, preferred to die rather than leave
+a wounded and beloved captain a prisoner in the hands of cruel enemies,
+while the Jews knew too well the value of such a prize to let it escape
+them easily. So great was the slaughter that presently Marcus and Caleb
+were hidden beneath the bodies of the fallen. More and more Jews rushed
+into the fray, but still the Romans pushed onwards with steady valour,
+fighting shoulder to shoulder and shield to shield.
+
+Then of a sudden, with a savage yell a fresh body of Jews, three or
+four hundred strong, appeared at the west end of the market-place, and
+charged upon the Romans, taking them in flank. The officer in command
+saw his danger, and knowing that it was better that his captain should
+die than that the whole company should be destroyed and the arms of
+Caesar suffer a grave defeat, gave orders for a retirement. Steadily,
+as though they were on parade, and dragging with them those of their
+wounded comrades who could not walk, the legionaries fell back, heedless
+of the storm of spears and arrows, reaching their own lines before the
+outflanking body of Jews could get among them. Then seeing that there
+was nothing more to be gained, since to attempt to storm the Roman works
+was hopeless, the victorious Jews also retreated, this time not to the
+houses behind the tower, but only to the old market wall thirty or forty
+paces in front of it, which they proceeded to hold and strengthen in the
+fading light. Seeing that they were lost, such of the wounded Romans as
+remained upon the field committed suicide, preferring to fall upon their
+own spears than into the hands of the Jews to be tortured and crucified.
+Also for this deed they had another reason, since it was the decree of
+Titus that any soldier who was taken living should be publicly disgraced
+by name and expelled from the ranks of the legion, and, if recaptured,
+in addition suffer death or banishment.
+
+Gladly would Marcus have followed their example and thereby--though he
+knew it not--save himself much misery and shame in the future, but he
+had neither time nor weapon; moreover, so weak was he with struggling
+and the loss of blood, that even as he and Caleb were dragged by savage
+hands from among the fallen, he fainted. At first they thought that he
+was dead, but one of the Jews, who chanced to be a physician by trade,
+declared that this was not so, and that if he were left quiet for a
+while, he would come to himself again. Therefore, as they desired to
+preserve this Prefect alive, either to be held as an hostage or to be
+executed in sight of the army of Titus, they brought him into the Old
+Tower, clearing it of their own wounded, except such of them as had
+already breathed their last. Here they set a guard over him, though of
+this there seemed to be little need, and went under the command of the
+victorious Caleb to assist in strengthening the market-wall.
+
+All of these things Miriam watched from above in such an agony of fear
+and doubt, that at times she thought that she would die. She saw her
+lover and Caleb fall locked in each other's arms; she saw the hideous
+fray that raged around them. She saw them dragged from the heap of
+slain, and at the end of it all, by the last light of day, saw Marcus,
+living or dead, she knew not which, borne into the tower, and there laid
+upon the ground.
+
+"Take comfort," whispered Nehushta, pitying her dreadful grief. "The
+lord Marcus lives. If he were dead they would have stripped him and
+left his body with the others. He lives, and they purpose to hold him
+captive, else they would have suffered Caleb to put his sword through
+him, as you noted he wished to do so soon as he found his feet."
+
+"Captive," answered Miriam. "That means that he will be crucified like
+the others whom we saw yesterday upon the Temple wall."
+
+Nehushta shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"It may be so," she said, "unless he finds means to destroy himself
+or--is saved."
+
+"Saved! How can he be saved?" Then in her woe the poor girl fell upon
+her knees clasping her hands and murmuring: "Oh! Jesus Christ whom I
+serve, teach me how to save Marcus. Oh! Jesus, I love him, although he
+is not a Christian; love him also because I love him, and teach me how
+to save him. Or if one must die, take my life for his, oh! take my life
+for his."
+
+"Cease," said Nehushta, "for I think I hear an answer to your prayer.
+Look now, he is laid just where the stair starts and not six feet from
+the stone door that leads down into the cistern. Except for some dead
+men the tower is empty; also the two sentries stand outside the breach
+in the brickwork with which it was walled up, because there they find
+more light, and their prisoner is unarmed and helpless, and cannot
+attempt escape. Now, if the Roman lives and can stand, why should we not
+open that door and thrust him through it?"
+
+"But the Jews might see us and discover the secret of the hiding-place
+of the Essenes, whom they would kill because they have hidden food."
+
+"Once we were the other side of the door, they could never come at them,
+even if they have time to try," answered Nehushta. "Before ever they
+could burst the door the stone trap beneath can be closed and the roof
+of the stair that leads to it let down by knocking away the props and
+flooded in such a fashion that a week of labour would not clear it out
+again. Oh! have no fear, the Essenes know and have guarded against this
+danger."
+
+Miriam threw her arms about the neck of Nehushta and kissed her.
+
+"We will try, Nou, we will try," she whispered, "and if we fail, why
+then we can die with him."
+
+"To you that prospect may be pleasing, but I have no desire to die with
+the lord Marcus," answered Nehushta drily. "Indeed, although I like him
+well, were it not for your sake I should leave him to his chance. Nay,
+do not answer or give way to too much hope. Remember, perhaps he is
+dead, as he seems to be."
+
+"Yes, yes," said Miriam wildly, "we must find out. Shall we go now?"
+
+"Aye, while there is still a little light, for these steps are breakneck
+in the dark. No, do you follow me."
+
+So on they glided down the ancient, darksome stairway, where owls hooted
+and bats flittered in their faces. Now they were at the last flight,
+which descended to a little recess set at right angles to the steps and
+flush with the floor of the basement, for once the door of the stairway
+had opened here. Thus a person standing on the last stair could not be
+seen by any in the tower. They reached the step and halted. Then very
+stealthily Nehushta went on to her hands and knees and thrust her head
+forward so that she could look into the base of the tower. It was dark
+as the grave, only a faint gleam of starlight reflected from his armour
+showed where Marcus lay, so close that she could touch him with her
+hand. Also almost opposite to her the gloom was relieved by a patch
+of faint grey light. Here it was that the wall had been broken in, for
+Nehushta could see the shadows of the sentries crossing and recrossing
+before the ragged opening.
+
+She leant yet lower towards Marcus and listened. He was not dead, for he
+breathed. More, she heard him stir his hand and thought that she could
+see it move upwards towards his wounded head. Then she drew back.
+
+"Lady," she whispered, "he lives, and I think he is awake. Now you must
+do the rest as your wit may teach you how, for if I speak to him he will
+be frightened, but your voice he may remember if he has his senses."
+
+At these words all her doubts and fears seemed to vanish from Miriam's
+heart, her hand grew steady and her brain clear, for Nature told her
+that if she wished to save her lover she would need both clear brain and
+steady hand. The timid, love-racked girl was transformed into a woman
+of iron will and purpose. In her turn she kneeled and crept a little
+forward from the stair, so that her face hung over the face of Marcus.
+Then she spoke in a soft whisper.
+
+"Marcus, awake and listen, Marcus; but I pray of you do not stir or make
+a noise. I am Miriam, whom once you knew."
+
+At this name the dim form beneath her seemed to quiver, and the lips
+muttered, "Now I know that I am dead. Well, it is better than I hoped
+for. Speak on, sweet shade of Miriam."
+
+"Nay, Marcus, you are not dead, you are only wounded and I am not a
+spirit, I am a woman, that woman whom once you knew down by the banks of
+Jordan. I have come to save you, I and Nehushta. If you will obey what I
+tell you, and if you have the strength to stand, we can guide you into
+a secret place where the Essenes are hidden, who for my sake will take
+care of you until you are able to return to the Romans. If you do not
+escape I fear that the Jews will crucify you."
+
+"By Bacchus, so do I," said the whisper beneath, "and that will be worse
+than being beaten by Caleb. But this is a dream, I know it is a dream.
+If it were Miriam I should see her, or be able to touch her. It is but a
+dream of Miriam. Let me dream on," and he turned his head.
+
+Miriam thought for a moment. Time was short and it was necessary to make
+him understand. Well, it was not difficult. Slowly she bent a little
+lower and pressed her lips upon his.
+
+"Marcus," she went on, "I kiss you now to show you that I am no dream
+and how needful it is that you should be awakened. Had I light I could
+prove to you that I am Miriam by your ring which is upon my fingers and
+your pearls which are about my neck."
+
+"Cease," he answered, "most beloved, I was weak and wandering, now I
+know that this is not a dream, and I thank Caleb who has brought us
+together again, against his wish, I think. Say, what must I do?"
+
+"Can you stand?" asked Miriam.
+
+"Perhaps. I am not sure. I will try."
+
+"Nay, wait. Nehushta, come hither; you are stronger than I. Now, while I
+unlatch the secret door, do you lift him up. Be swift, I hear the guard
+stirring without."
+
+Nehushta glided forward and knelt by the wounded man, placing her arms
+beneath him.
+
+"Ready," she said. "Here is the iron."
+
+Miriam took it, and stepping to the wall, felt with her fingers for the
+crack, which in that darkness it took time to find. At length she had
+it, and inserting the thin hooked iron, lifted the hidden latch and
+pulled. The stone door was very heavy and she needed all her strength to
+move it. At last it began to swing.
+
+"Now," she said to Nehushta, who straightened herself and dragged the
+wounded Marcus to his feet.
+
+"Quick, quick!" said Miriam, "the guards enter."
+
+Supported by Nehushta, Marcus took three tottering steps and reached the
+open door. Here, on its very threshold indeed, his strength failed him,
+for he was wounded in the knee as well as in the head. Groaning, "I
+cannot," he fell to the ground, dragging the old Libyan with him, his
+breastplate clattering loud against the stone threshold. The sentry
+without heard the sound and called to a companion to give him the
+lantern. In an instant Nehushta was up again, and seizing Marcus by his
+right arm, began to drag him through the opening, while Miriam, setting
+her back against the swinging stone to keep it from closing, pushed
+against his feet.
+
+The lantern appeared round the angle of the broken masonry.
+
+"For your life's sake!" said Miriam, and Nehushta dragged her hardest at
+the heavy, helpless body of the fallen man. He moved slowly. It was too
+late; if that light fell on him all was lost. In an instant Miriam took
+her resolve. With an effort she swung the door wide, then as Nehushta
+dragged again she sprang forward, keeping in the shadow of the wall. The
+Jew who held the lantern, alarmed by the sounds within, entered hastily
+and, catching his foot against the body of a dead man who lay there,
+stumbled so that he fell upon his knee. In her hand Miriam held the key,
+and as the guard regained his feet, but not before its light fell upon
+her, she struck with it at the lamp, breaking and extinguishing it.
+
+Then she turned to fly, for, as she knew well, the stone would now be
+swinging on its pivot.
+
+Alas! her chance had gone, for the man, stretching out his arm, caught
+her about the middle and held her fast, shouting loudly for help. Miriam
+struggled, she battered him with the iron and dragged at him with her
+left hand, but in vain, for in that grip she was helpless as a child who
+fights against its nurse. While she fought thus she heard the dull thud
+of the closing stone, and even in her despair rejoiced, knowing that
+until Marcus was beyond its threshold it could not be shut. Ceasing from
+her useless struggle she gathered the forces of her mind. Marcus was
+safe; the door was shut and could not be opened from the further side
+until another iron was procured; the guard had seen nothing. But her
+escape was impossible. Her part was played, only one thing remained for
+her to do--keep silence and his secret.
+
+Men bearing lights were rushing into the tower. Her right hand, which
+held the iron, was free, and lest it should tell a tale she cast the
+instrument from her towards that side of the deserted place which she
+knew was buried deep in fallen stones, fragments of rotted timber and
+dirt from the nests of birds. Then she stood still. Now they were upon
+her, Caleb at the head of them.
+
+"What is it?" he cried.
+
+"I know not," answered the guard. "I heard a sound as of clanking armour
+and ran in, when some one struck the lantern from my hand, a strong
+rascal with whom I have struggled sorely, notwithstanding the blows that
+he rained upon me with his sword. See, I hold him fast."
+
+They held up their lights and saw a beautiful, dishevelled maid, small
+and frail of stature, whereon they laughed out loud.
+
+"A strong thief, truly," said one. "Why, it is a girl! Do you summon the
+watch every time a girl catches hold of you?"
+
+Before the words died upon the speaker's lips, another man called out,
+"The Roman! The Prefect has gone! Where is the prisoner?" and with a
+roar of wrath they began to search the place, as a cat searches for the
+mouse that escapes her. Only Caleb stood still and stared at the girl.
+
+"Miriam!" he said.
+
+"Yes, Caleb," she answered quietly. "This is a strange meeting, is it
+not? Why do you break in thus upon my hiding-place?"
+
+"Woman," he shouted, mad with anger, "where have you hidden the Prefect
+Marcus?"
+
+"Marcus?" she answered; "is he here? I did not know it. Well, I saw a
+man run from the tower, perhaps that was he. Be swift and you may catch
+him."
+
+"No man left the tower," answered the other sentry. "Seize that woman,
+she has hidden the Roman in some secret place. Seize her and search."
+
+So they caught Miriam, bound her and began running round and round the
+wall. "Here is a staircase," called a man, "doubtless he has gone up it.
+Come, friends."
+
+Then taking lights with them, they mounted the stairs to the very top,
+but found no one. Even as they came down again a trumpet blew and from
+without rose the sound of a mighty shouting.
+
+"What happens now?" said one.
+
+As he spoke an officer appeared in the opening of the tower.
+
+"Begone," he cried. "Back to the Temple, taking your prisoner with you.
+Titus himself is upon us at the head of two fresh legions, mad at the
+loss of his Prefect and so many of his soldiers. Why! where is the
+wounded Roman, Marcus?"
+
+"He has vanished," answered Caleb sullenly. "Vanished"--here he glanced
+at Miriam with jealous and vindictive hate--"and in his place has left
+to us this woman, the grand-daughter of Benoni, Miriam, who strangely
+enough was once his love."
+
+"Is it so?" said the officer. "Girl, tell us what you have done with the
+Roman, or die. Come, we have no time to lose."
+
+"I have done nothing. I saw a man walk past the sentries, that is all."
+
+"She lies," said the officer contemptuously. "Here, kill this
+traitress."
+
+A man advanced lifting his sword, and Miriam, thinking that all was
+over, hid her eyes while she waited for the blow. Before it fell,
+however, Caleb whispered something to the officer which caused him to
+change his mind.
+
+"So be it," he said. "Hold your hand and take this woman with you to
+the Temple, there to be tried by her grandfather, Benoni, and the other
+judges of the Sanhedrim. They have means to cause the most obstinate
+to speak, whereas death seals the lips forever. Swift, now, swift, for
+already they are fighting on the market-place."
+
+So they seized Miriam and dragged her away from the Old Tower, which an
+hour later was taken possession of by the Romans, who destroyed it with
+the other buildings.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE SANHEDRIM
+
+The Jewish soldiers haled Miriam roughly through dark and tortuous
+streets, bordered by burnt-out houses, and up steep stone slopes deep
+with the debris of the siege. Indeed, they had need to hasten, for, lit
+with the lamp of flaming dwellings, behind them flowed the tide of war.
+The Romans, driven back from this part of the city by that day's furious
+sally, under cover of the night were re-occupying in overwhelming
+strength the ground that they had lost, forcing the Jews before them and
+striving to cut them off from their stronghold in the Temple and that
+part of the Upper City which they still held.
+
+The party of Jews who had Miriam in their charge were returning to the
+Temple enclosure, which they could not reach from the north or east
+because the outer courts and cloisters of the Holy House were already in
+possession of the Romans. So it happened that they were obliged to make
+their way round by the Upper City, a long and tedious journey. Once
+during that night they were driven to cover until a great company of
+Romans had marched past. Caleb wished to attack them, but the other
+captains said that they were too few and weary, so they lay hid for
+nearly three hours, then went on again. After this there were other
+delays at gates still in the hands of their own people, which one by one
+were unbolted to them. Thus it was not far from daylight when at length
+they passed over a narrow bridge that spanned some ravine and through
+massive doors into a vast dim place which, as Miriam gathered from the
+talk of her captors, was the inner enclosure of the Temple. Here, at the
+command of that captain who had ordered her to be slain, she was thrust
+into a small cell in one of the cloisters. Then the men in charge of her
+locked the door and went away.
+
+Sinking exhausted to the floor, Miriam tried to sleep, but could not,
+for her brain seemed to be on fire. Whenever she shut her eyes there
+sprang up before them visions of some dreadful scene which she had
+witnessed, while in her ears echoed now the shouts of the victors, now
+the pitiful cry of the dying, and now again the voice of the wounded
+Marcus calling her "Most Beloved." Was this indeed so, she wondered?
+Was it possible that he had not forgotten her during those years of
+separation when there must have been so many lovely ladies striving to
+win him, the rich, high-placed Roman lord, to be their lover or their
+husband? She did not know, she could not tell: perhaps, in such a
+plight, he would have called any woman who came to save him his Most
+Beloved, yes, even old Nehushta, and even then and there she smiled a
+little at the thought. Yet his voice rang true, and he had sent her the
+ring, the pearls and the letter, that letter which, although she knew
+every word of it, she still carried hidden in the bosom of her robe. Oh!
+she believed that he did love her, and, believing, rejoiced with all her
+heart that it had pleased God to allow her to save his life, even at the
+cost of her own. She had forgotten. There was his wound--he might die of
+it. Nay, surely he would not die. For her sake, the Essenes who knew him
+would treat him well, and they were skilful healers; also, what better
+nurse than Nehushta could be found? Ah! poor Nou, how she would grieve
+over her. What sorrow must have taken hold of her when she heard the
+rock door shut and found that her nursling was cut off and captured by
+the Jews.
+
+Happy, indeed, was it for Miriam that she could not witness what had
+chanced at the further side of that block of stone; that she could not
+see Nehushta beating at it with her hands and striving to thrust her
+thin fingers to the latch which she had no instrument to lift, until the
+bones were stripped of skin and flesh. That she could not hear Marcus,
+come to himself again, but unable to rise from off his knees, cursing
+and raving with agony at her loss, and because she, the tender lady whom
+he loved, for his sake had fallen into the hands of the relentless
+Jews. Yes, that she could not hear him cursing and raving in his utter
+helplessness, till at length the brain gave in his shattered head, and
+he fell into a fevered madness, that for many weeks was unpierced by any
+light of reason or of memory. All this, at least, was spared to her.
+
+Well, the deed was done and she must pay the price, for without a doubt
+they would kill her, as they had a right to do, who had saved a Roman
+general from their clutches. Or if they did not, Caleb would, Caleb
+whose bitter jealousy, as her instinct told her, had turned his love to
+hate. Never would he let her live to fall, perchance, as his share of
+the Temple spoil, into the hands of the Roman rival who had escaped him.
+
+It was not too great a price. Because of the birth doom laid upon her,
+even if he sought it, and fortune brought them back together again, she
+could never be a wife to Marcus. And for the rest she was weary, sick
+with the sight and sound of slaughter and with the misery that in these
+latter days, as her Lord had prophesied, was come upon the city that
+rejected him and the people who had slain Him, their Messiah. Miriam
+wished to die, to pass to that home of perfect and eternal peace in
+which she believed; where, mayhap, it might be given to her in reward of
+her sufferings, to watch from afar over the soul of Marcus, and to make
+ready an abode for it to dwell in through all the ages of infinity. The
+thought pleased her, and lifting his ring, she pressed it to her lips
+which that very night had been pressed upon his lips, then drew it off
+and hid it in her hair. She wished to keep that ring until the end, if
+so she might. As for the pearls, she could not hide them, and though she
+loved them as his gift--well, they must go to the hand of the spoiler,
+and to the necks of other women, who would never know their tale.
+
+This done Miriam rose to her knees and began to pray with the vivid,
+simple faith that was given to the first children of the Church. She
+prayed for Marcus, that he might recover and not forget her, and that
+the light of truth might shine upon him; for Nehushta, that her sorrow
+might be soothed; for herself, that her end might be merciful and her
+awakening happy; for Caleb, that his heart might be turned; for the dead
+and dying, that their sins might be forgiven; for the little children,
+that the Lord of Pity would have pity on their sufferings; for the
+people of the Jews, that He would lift the rod of His wrath from off
+them; yes, and even for the Romans, though for these, poor maid, she
+knew not what petition to put up.
+
+Her prayer finished, once more Miriam strove to sleep and dozed a
+little, to be aroused by a curious sound of feeble sighing, which seemed
+to come from the further side of the cell. By now the dawn was streaming
+through the stone lattice work above the doorway, and in its faint light
+Miriam saw the outlines of a figure with snowy hair and beard, wrapped
+in a filthy robe that had once been white. At first she thought that
+this figure must be a corpse thrust here out of the way of the living,
+it was so stirless. But corpses do not sigh as this man seemed to do.
+Who could he be, she wondered? A prisoner like herself, left to die, as,
+perhaps, she would be left to die? The light grew a little. Surely there
+was something familiar about the shape of that white head. She crept
+nearer, thinking that she might be able to help this old man who was
+so sick and suffering. Now she could see his face and the hand that lay
+upon his breast. They were those of a living skeleton, for the bones
+stood out, and over them the yellow skin was drawn like shrivelled
+parchment; only the deep sunk eyes still shone round and bright. Oh! she
+knew the face. It was that of Theophilus the Essene, a past president
+of the order indeed, who had been her friend from earliest childhood and
+the master who taught her languages in those far-off happy years which
+she spent in the village by the Dead Sea. This Theophilus she had found
+dwelling with the Essenes in their cavern home, and none of them had
+welcomed her more warmly. Some ten days ago, against the advice of
+Ithiel and others, he had insisted on creeping out to take the air and
+gather news in the city. Then he was a stout and hale old man, although
+pale-faced from dwelling in the darkness. From that journey he had not
+returned. Some said that he had fled to the country, others that he had
+gone over to the Romans, and yet others that he had been slain by some
+of Simon's men. Now she found him thus!
+
+Miriam came and bent over him.
+
+"Master," she said, "what ails you? How came you here?"
+
+He turned his hollow, vacant eyes upon her face.
+
+"Who is it that speaks to me thus gently?" he asked in a feeble voice.
+
+"I, your ward, Miriam."
+
+"Miriam! Miriam! What does Miriam in this torture-den?"
+
+"Master, I am a prisoner. But speak of yourself."
+
+"There is little to say, Miriam. They caught me, those devils, and
+seeing that I was still well-fed and strong, although sunk in years,
+demanded to know whence I had my food in this city of starvation. To
+tell them would have been to give up our secret and to bring doom upon
+the brethren, and upon you, our guest and lady. I refused to answer,
+so, having tortured me without avail, they cast me in here to starve,
+thinking that hunger would make me speak. But I have not spoken. How
+could I, who have taken the oath of the Essenes, and been their ruler?
+Now at length I die."
+
+"Oh! say not so," said Miriam, wringing her hands.
+
+"I do say it and I am thankful. Have you any food?"
+
+"Yes, a piece of dried meat and barley bread, which chanced to be in my
+robe when I was captured. Take them and eat."
+
+"Nay, Miriam, that desire has gone from me, nor do I wish to live, whose
+days are done. But save the food, for doubtless they will starve you
+also. And, look, there is water in that jar, they gave it me to make
+me live the longer. Drink, drink while you can, who to-morrow may be
+thirsty."
+
+For a time there was silence, while the tears that gathered in Miriam's
+eyes fell upon the old man's face.
+
+"Weep not for me," he said presently, "who go to my rest. How came you
+here?"
+
+She told him as briefly as she might.
+
+"You are a brave woman," he said when she had finished, "and that Roman
+owes you much. Now I, Theophilus, who am about to die, call down the
+blessing of God upon you, and upon him also for your sake, for your
+sake. The shield of God be over you in the slaughter and the sorrow."
+
+Then he shut his eyes and either could not or would not speak again.
+
+Miriam drank of the pitcher of water, for her thirst was great. Crouched
+at the side of the old Essene, she watched him till at length the door
+opened, and two gaunt, savage-looking men entered, who went to where
+Theophilus lay and kicked him brutally.
+
+"What would you now?" he said, opening his eyes.
+
+"Wake up, old man," cried one of them. "See, here is flesh," and he
+thrust a lump of some filthy carrion to his lips. "Smell it, taste it,"
+he went on, "ah! is it not good? Well, tell us where is that store of
+food which made you so fat who now are so thin, and you shall have it
+all, yes, all, all."
+
+Theophilus shook his head.
+
+"Bethink you," cried the man, "if you do not eat, by sunrise to-morrow
+you will be dead. Speak then and eat, obstinate dog, it is your last
+chance."
+
+"I eat not and I tell not," answered the aged martyr in a voice like a
+hollow groan. "By to-morrow's sunrise I shall be dead, and soon you
+and all this people will be dead, and God will have judged each of us
+according to his works. Repent you, for the hour is at hand."
+
+Then they cursed him and smote him because of his words of ill-omen, and
+so went away, taking no notice of Miriam in the corner. When they had
+gone she came forward and looked. His jaw had fallen. Theophilus the
+Essene was at peace.
+
+Another hour went by. Once more the door was opened and there appeared
+that captain who had ordered her to be killed. With him were two Jews.
+
+"Come, woman," he said, "to take your trial."
+
+"Who is to try me?" Miriam asked.
+
+"The Sanhedrim, or as much as is left of it," he answered. "Stir now, we
+have no time for talking."
+
+So Miriam rose and accompanied them across the corner of the vast court,
+in the centre of which the Temple rose in all its glittering majesty.
+As she walked she noticed that the pavement was dotted with corpses, and
+that from the cloisters without went up flames and smoke. They seemed to
+be fighting there, for the air was full of the sound of shouting,
+above which echoed the dull, continuous thud of battering rams striking
+against the massive walls.
+
+They took her into a great chamber supported by pillars of white
+marble, where many starving folk, some of them women who carried or led
+hollow-cheeked children, sat silent on the floor, or wandered to and
+fro, their eyes fixed upon the ground as though in aimless search
+for they knew not what. On a dais at the end of the chamber twelve or
+fourteen men sat in carved chairs; other chairs stretched to the right
+and left of them, but these were empty. The men were clad in magnificent
+robes, which seemed to hang ill upon their gaunt forms, and, like those
+of the people in the hall, their eyes looked scared and their faces were
+white and shrunken. These were all who were left of the Sanhedrim of the
+Jews.
+
+As Miriam entered one of their number was delivering judgment upon
+a wretched starving man. Miriam looked at the judge. It was her
+grandfather, Benoni, but oh! how changed. He who had been tall and
+upright was now drawn almost double, his teeth showed yellow between his
+lips, his long white beard was ragged and had come out in patches, his
+hand shook, his gorgeous head-dress was awry. Nothing was the same about
+him except his eyes, which still shone bright, but with a fiercer fire
+than of old. They looked like the eyes of a famished wolf.
+
+"Man, have you aught to say?" he was asking of the prisoner.
+
+"Only this," the prisoner answered. "I had hidden some food, my
+own food, which I bought with all that remained of my fortune. Your
+hyaena-men caught my wife, and tormented her until she showed it them.
+They fell upon it, and, with their comrades, ate it nearly all. My wife
+died of starvation and her wounds, my children died of starvation, all
+except one, a child of six, whom I fed with what remained. Then she
+began to die also, and I bargained with the Roman, giving him jewels and
+promising to show him the weak place in the wall if he would convey the
+child to his camp and feed her. I showed him the place, and he fed her
+in my presence, and took her away, whither I know not. But, as you know,
+I was caught, and the wall was built up, so that no harm came of my
+treason. I would do it again to save the life of my child, twenty times
+over, if needful. You murdered my wife and my other children; murder me
+also if you will. I care nothing."
+
+"Wretch," said Benoni, "what are your miserable wife and children
+compared to the safety of this holy place, which we defend against the
+enemies of Jehovah? Lead him away, and let him be slain upon the wall,
+in the sight of his friends, the Romans."
+
+"I go," said the victim, rising and stretching out his hands to the
+guards, "but may you also all be slain in the sight of the Romans, you
+mad murderers, who, in your lust for power, have brought doom and agony
+upon the people of the Jews."
+
+Then they dragged him out, and a voice called--"Bring in the next
+traitor."
+
+Now Miriam was brought forward. Benoni looked up and knew her.
+
+"Miriam?" he gasped, rising, to fall back again in his seat, "Miriam,
+you here?"
+
+"It seems so, grandfather," she answered quietly.
+
+"There is some mistake," said Benoni. "This girl can have harmed none.
+Let her be dismissed."
+
+The other judges looked up.
+
+"Best hear the charge against her first?" said one suspiciously, while
+another added, "Is not this the woman who dwelt with you at Tyre, and
+who is said to be a Christian?"
+
+"We do not sit to try questions of faith, at least not now," answered
+Benoni evasively.
+
+"Woman, is it true that you are a Christian?" queried one of the judges.
+
+"Sir, I am," replied Miriam, and at her words the faces of the Sanhedrim
+grew hard as stones, while someone watching in the crowd hurled a
+fragment of marble at her.
+
+"Let it be for this time," said the judge, "as the Rabbi Benoni says, we
+are trying questions of treason, not of faith. Who accuses this woman,
+and of what?"
+
+A man stepped forward, that captain who had wished to put Miriam to
+death, and she saw that behind him were Caleb, who looked ill at ease,
+and the Jew who had guarded Marcus.
+
+"I accuse her," he said, "of having released the Roman Prefect, Marcus,
+whom Caleb here wounded and took prisoner in the fighting yesterday, and
+brought into the Old Tower, where he was laid till we knew whether he
+would live or die."
+
+"The Roman Prefect, Marcus?" said one. "Why, he is the friend of Titus,
+and would have been worth more to us than a hundred common men. Also,
+throughout this war, none has done us greater mischief. Woman, if,
+indeed, you let him go, no death can repay your wickedness. Did you let
+him go?"
+
+"That is for you to discover," answered Miriam, for now that Marcus was
+safe she would tell no more lies.
+
+"This renegade is insolent, like all her accursed sect," said the judge,
+spitting on the ground. "Captain, tell your story, and be brief."
+
+He obeyed. After him that soldier was examined from whose hand Miriam
+had struck the lantern. Then Caleb was called and asked what he knew of
+the matter.
+
+"Nothing," he answered, "except that I took the Roman and saw him laid
+in the tower, for he was senseless. When I returned the Roman had gone,
+and this lady Miriam was there, who said that he had escaped by the
+doorway. I did not see them together, and know no more."
+
+"That is a lie," said one of the judges roughly. "You told the captain
+that Marcus had been her lover. Why did you say this?"
+
+"Because years ago by Jordan she, who is a sculptor, graved a likeness
+of him in stone," answered Caleb.
+
+"Are artists always the lovers of those whom they picture, Caleb?" asked
+Benoni, speaking for the first time.
+
+Caleb made no answer, but one of the Sanhedrim, a sharp-faced man, named
+Simeon, the friend of Simon, the son of Gioras, the Zealot, who sat
+next to him, cried, "Cease this foolishness; the daughter of Satan is
+beautiful; doubtless Caleb desires her for himself; but what has that
+to do with us?" though he added vindictively, "it should be remembered
+against him that he is striving to hide the truth."
+
+"There is no evidence against this woman, let her be set free,"
+exclaimed Benoni.
+
+"So we might expect her grandfather to think," said Simeon, with
+sarcasm. "Little wonder that we are smitten with the Sword of God when
+Rabbis shelter Christians because they chance to be of their house, and
+when warriors bear false witness concerning them because they chance to
+be fair. For my part I say that she is guilty, and has hidden the man
+away in some secret place. Otherwise why did she dash the light from the
+soldier's hand?"
+
+"Mayhap to hide herself lest she should be attacked," answered another,
+"though how she came in the tower, I cannot guess."
+
+"I lived there," said Miriam. "It was bricked up until yesterday and
+safe from robbers."
+
+"So!" commented that judge, "you lived alone in a deserted tower like
+a bat or an owl, and without food or water. Then these must have been
+brought to you from without the walls, perhaps by some secret passage
+that was known to none, down which you loosed the Prefect, but had no
+time to follow him. Woman, you are a Roman spy, as a Christian well
+might be. I say that she is worthy of death."
+
+Then Benoni rose and rent his robes.
+
+"Does not enough blood run through these holy courts?" he asked, "that
+you must seek that of the innocent also? What is your oath? To do
+justice and to convict only upon clear, unshaken testimony. Where is
+this testimony? What is there to show that the girl Miriam had any
+dealings with this Marcus, whom she had not seen for years? In the Holy
+Name I protest against this iniquity."
+
+"It is natural that you should protest," said one of his brethren.
+
+Then they fell into discussion, for the question perplexed them sorely,
+who, although they were savage, still wished to be honest.
+
+Suddenly Simeon looked up, for a thought struck him.
+
+"Search her," he said, "she is in good case, she may have food, or the
+secret of food, about her, or," he added--"other things."
+
+Now two hungry-looking officers of the court seized Miriam and rent her
+robe open at the breast with their rough hands, since they would not be
+at the pains of loosening it.
+
+"See," cried one of them, "here are pearls, fit wear for so fine a lady.
+Shall we take them?"
+
+"Fool, let the trinkets be," answered Simeon angrily. "Are we common
+thieves?"
+
+"Here is something else," said the officer, drawing the roll of Marcus's
+cherished letter from her breast.
+
+"Not that, not that," the poor girl gasped.
+
+"Give it here," said Simeon, stretching out his lean hand.
+
+Then he undid the silk case and, opening the letter, read its first
+lines aloud. "'To the lady Miriam, from Marcus the Roman, by the hand of
+the Captain Gallus.' What do you say to that, Benoni and brethren?
+Why, there are pages of it, but here is the end: 'Farewell, your ever
+faithful friend and lover, Marcus.' So, let those read it who have the
+time; for my part I am satisfied. This woman is a traitress; I give my
+vote for death."
+
+"It was written from Rome two years ago," pleaded Miriam; but no one
+seemed to heed her, for all were talking at once.
+
+"I demand that the whole letter be read," shouted Benoni.
+
+"We have no time, we have no time," answered Simeon. "Other prisoners
+await their trial, the Romans are battering our gates. Can we waste more
+precious minutes over this Nazarene spy? Away with her."
+
+"Away with her," said Simon the son of Gioras, and the others nodded
+their heads in assent.
+
+Then they gathered together discussing the manner of her end, while
+Benoni stormed at them in vain. Not quite in vain, however, for they
+yielded something to his pleading.
+
+"So be it," said their spokesman, Simon the Zealot. "This is our
+sentence on the traitress--that she suffer the common fate of traitors
+and be taken to the upper gate, called the Gate Nicanor, that divides
+the Court of Israel from the Court of Women, and bound with the chain to
+the central column that is over the gate, where she may be seen both of
+her friends the Romans and of the people of Israel whom she has striven
+to betray, there to perish of hunger and of thirst, or in such fashion
+as God may appoint, for so shall we be clean of a woman's blood. Yet,
+because of the prayer of Benoni, our brother, of whose race she is, we
+decree that this sentence shall not be carried out before the set
+of sun, and that if in the meanwhile the traitress elects to give
+information that shall lead to the recapture of the Roman prefect,
+Marcus, she shall be set at liberty without the gates of the Temple. The
+case is finished. Guards, take her to the prison whence she came."
+
+So they seized Miriam and led her thence through the crowd of onlookers,
+who paused from their wanderings and weary searching of the ground
+to spit at or curse her, and thrust her back into her cell and to the
+company of the cold corpse of Theophilus the Essene.
+
+Here Miriam sat down, and partly to pass the time, partly because she
+needed it, ate the bread and dried flesh which she had left hidden in
+the cell. After this sleep came to her, who was tired out and the worst
+being at hand, had nothing more to fear. For four or five hours she
+rested sweetly, dreaming that she was a child again, gathering flowers
+on the banks of Jordan in the spring season, till, at length, a sound
+caused her to awake. She looked up to see Benoni standing before her.
+
+"What is it, grandfather?" she asked.
+
+"Oh! my daughter," groaned the wretched old man, "I am come here at some
+risk, for because of you and for other reasons they suspect me, those
+wolf-hearted men, to bid you farewell and to ask your pardon."
+
+"Why should you ask my pardon, grandfather? Seeing things as they see
+them, the sentence is just enough. I am a Christian, and--if you would
+know it--I did, as I hope, save the life of Marcus, for which deed my
+own is forfeit."
+
+"How?" he asked.
+
+"That, grandfather, I will not tell you."
+
+"Tell me, and save yourself. There is little chance that they will take
+him, since the Jews have been driven from the Old Tower."
+
+"The Jews might re-capture the tower, and I will not tell you. Also, the
+lives of others are at stake, of my friends who have sheltered me, and
+who, as I trust, will now shelter him."
+
+"Then you must die, and by this death of shame, for I am powerless to
+save you. Yes, you must die tied to a pinnacle of the gateway, a mockery
+to friend and foe. Why, if it had not been that I still have some
+authority among them, and that you are of my blood, girl though you be,
+they would have crucified you upon the wall, serving you as the Romans
+serve our people."
+
+"If it pleases God that I should die, I shall die. What is one life
+among so many tens of thousands? Let us talk of other things while we
+have time."
+
+"What is there to talk of, Miriam, save misery, misery, misery?" and
+again he groaned. "You were right, and I have been wrong. That Messiah
+of yours whom I rejected, yes, and still reject, had at least the gift
+of prophecy, for the words that you read me yonder in Tyre will be
+fulfilled upon this people and city, aye, to the last letter. The Romans
+hold even the outer courts of the Temple; there is no food left. In the
+upper town the inhabitants devour each other and die, and die till none
+can bury the dead. In a day or two, or ten--what does it matter?--we
+who are left must perish also by hunger and the sword. The nation of the
+Jews is trodden out, the smoke of their sacrifices goes up no more, and
+the Holy House that they have builded will be pulled stone from stone,
+or serve as a temple for the worship of heathen gods."
+
+"Will Titus show no mercy? Can you not surrender?" asked Miriam.
+
+"Surrender? To be sold as slaves or dragged a spectacle at the wheels of
+Caesar's triumphal car, through the shouting streets of Rome? No, girl,
+best to fight it out. We will seek mercy of Jehovah and not of Titus.
+Oh! I would that it were done with, for my heart is broken, and this
+judgment is fallen on me--that I, who, of my own will, brought my
+daughter to her death, must bring her daughter to death against my will.
+If I had hearkened to you, you would have been in Pella, or in Egypt. I
+lost you, and, thinking you dead, what I have suffered no man can know.
+Now I find you, and because of the office that was thrust upon me, I,
+even I, from whom your life has sprung, must bring you to your doom."
+
+"Grandfather," Miriam broke in, wringing her hands, for the grief
+of this old man was awful to witness, "cease, I beseech you, cease.
+Perhaps, after all, I shall not die."
+
+He looked up eagerly. "Have you hope of escape?" he asked. "Perchance
+Caleb----"
+
+"Nay, I know naught of Caleb, except that there is still good in his
+heart, since at the last he tried to save me--for which I thank him.
+Still, I had sooner perish here alone, who do not fear death in my
+spirit, whatever my flesh may fear, than escape hence in his company."
+
+"What then, Miriam? Why should you think----?" and he paused.
+
+"I do not think, I only trust in God and--hope. One of our faith, now
+long departed, who foretold that I should be born, foretold also that
+I should live out my life. It may be so--for that woman was holy, and a
+prophetess."
+
+As she spoke there came a rolling sound like that of distant thunder,
+and a voice without called:
+
+"Rabbi Benoni, the wall is down. Tarry not, Rabbi Benoni, for they seek
+you."
+
+"Alas! I must begone," he said, "for some new horror is fallen upon us,
+and they summon me to the council. Farewell, most beloved Miriam, may
+my God and your God protect you, for I cannot. Farewell, and if, by any
+chance, you live, forgive me, and try to forget the evil that, in my
+blindness and my pride, I have brought upon yours and you, but oh! most
+of all upon myself."
+
+Then he embraced her passionately and was gone, leaving Miriam weeping.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+THE GATE OF NICANOR
+
+Another two hours went by, and the lengthening shadows cast through the
+stonework of the lattice told Miriam that the day was drawing to its
+end. Suddenly the bolts were shot and the door opened.
+
+"The time is at hand," she said to herself, and at the thought her heart
+beat fast and her knees trembled, while a mist came before her eyes, so
+that she could not see. When it passed she looked up, and there before
+her, very handsome and stately, though worn with war and hunger, stood
+Caleb, sword in hand and clad in a breast plate dinted with many blows.
+At the sight, Miriam's courage came back to her; at least before him she
+would show no fear.
+
+"Are you sent to carry out my sentence?" she asked.
+
+He bowed his head. "Yes, a while hence, when the sun sinks," he answered
+bitterly. "That judge, Simeon, who ordered you to be searched, is a man
+with a savage heart. He thought that I tried to save you from the wrath
+of the Sanhedrim; he thought that I----"
+
+"Let be what he thought," interrupted Miriam, "and, friend Caleb, do
+your office. When we were children together often you tied my hands and
+feet with flowers, do you remember? Well, tie them now with cords, and
+make an end."
+
+"You are cruel," he said, wincing.
+
+"Indeed! some might have thought that you are cruel. If, for instance,
+they had heard your words in that tower last night when you gave up my
+name to the Jews and linked it with another's."
+
+"Oh! Miriam," he broke in in a pleading voice, "if I did this--and
+in truth I scarcely know what I did--it was because love and jealousy
+maddened me."
+
+"Love? The love of the lion for the lamb! Jealousy? Why were you
+jealous? Because, having striven to murder Marcus--oh! I saw the fight
+and it was little better, for you smote him unawares, being fully
+prepared when he was not--you feared lest I might have saved him from
+your fangs. Well, thanks be to God! I did save him, as I hope. And now,
+officer of the most merciful and learned Sanhedrim, do your duty."
+
+"At least, Miriam," Caleb went on, humbly, for her bitter words, unjust
+as they were in part, seemed to crush him, "at least, I strove my best
+for you to-day--after I found time to think."
+
+"Yes," she answered, "to think that other lions would get the lamb which
+you chance to desire for yourself."
+
+"More," he continued, taking no note. "I have made a plan."
+
+"A plan to do what?"
+
+"To escape. If I give the signal on your way to the gate where I must
+lead you, you will be rescued by certain friends of mine who will hide
+you in a place of safety, while I, the officer, shall seem to be cut
+down. Afterwards I can join you and under cover of the night, by a way
+of which I know, we will fly together."
+
+"Fly? Where to?"
+
+"To the Romans, who will spare you because of what you did
+yesterday--and me also."
+
+"Because of what _you_ did yesterday?"
+
+"No--because you will say that I am your husband. It will not be true,
+but what of that?"
+
+"What of it, indeed?" asked Miriam, "since it can always become true.
+But how is it that you, being one of the first of the Jewish warriors,
+are prepared to fly and ask the mercy of your foes? Is it because----"
+
+"Spare to insult me, Miriam. You know well why it is. You know well that
+I am no traitor, and that I do not fly for fear."
+
+"Yes," she answered, in a changed tone, for his manly words touched her,
+"I know that."
+
+"It is for you that I fly, for your sake I will eat this dirt and crown
+myself with shame. I fly that for the second time I may save you."
+
+"And in return you demand--what?"
+
+"Yourself."
+
+"That I will not give, Caleb. I reject your offer."
+
+"I feared it," he answered huskily, "who am accustomed to such denials.
+Then I demand this, for know that if once you pass your word I may trust
+it: that you will not marry the Roman Marcus."
+
+"I cannot marry the Roman Marcus any more than I can marry you, because
+neither of you are Christians, and as you know well it is laid upon
+me as a birth duty that I may take no man to husband who is not a
+Christian."
+
+"For your sake, Miriam," he answered slowly, "I am prepared to be
+baptised into your faith. Let this show you how much I love you."
+
+"It does not show that you love the faith, Caleb, nor if you did love it
+could I love you. Jew or Christian, I cannot be your wife."
+
+He turned his face to the wall and for a while was silent. Then he spoke
+again.
+
+"Miriam, so be it. I will still save you. Go, and marry Marcus, if
+you can, only, if I live, I will kill him if I can, but that you need
+scarcely fear, for I do not think that I shall live."
+
+She shook her head. "I will not go, who am weary of flights and hidings.
+Let God deal with me and Marcus and you as He pleases. Yet I thank you,
+and am sorry for the unkind words I spoke. Oh! Caleb, cannot you put me
+out of your mind? Are there not many fairer women who would be glad to
+love you? Why do you waste your life upon me? Take your path and suffer
+me to take mine. Yet all this talk is foolishness, for both are likely
+to be short."
+
+"Yours, and that of Marcus the Roman, and my own are all one path,
+Miriam, and I seek no other. As a lad, I swore that I would never take
+you, except by your own wish, and to that oath I hold. Also, I swore
+that if I could I would kill my rival, and to that oath I hold. If he
+kills me, you may wed him. If I kill him, you need not wed me unless you
+so desire. But this fight is to the death, yes, whether you live or die,
+it is still to the death as between me and him. Do you understand?"
+
+"Your words are very plain, Caleb, but this is a strange hour to choose
+to speak them, seeing that, for aught I know, Marcus is already
+dead, and that within some short time I shall be dead, and that death
+threatens you and all within this Temple."
+
+"Yet we live, Miriam, and I believe that for none of the three of us is
+the end at hand. Well, you will not fly, either with me or without me?"
+
+"No, I will not fly."
+
+"Then the time is here, and, having no choice, I must do my duty,
+leaving the rest to fate. If, perchance, I can rescue you afterwards, I
+will, but do not hope for such a thing."
+
+"Caleb, I neither hope nor fear. Henceforth I struggle no more. I am in
+other hands than yours, or those of the Jews, and as They fashion the
+clay so shall it be shaped. Now, will you bind me?"
+
+"I have no such command. Come forth if it pleases you, the officers wait
+without. Had you wished to be rescued, I should have taken the path on
+which my friends await us. Now we must go another."
+
+"So be it," said Miriam, "but first give me that jar of water, for my
+throat is parched."
+
+He lifted it to her lips and she drank deeply. Then they went. Outside
+the cloister four men were waiting, two of them those doorkeepers who
+had searched her in the morning, the others soldiers.
+
+"You have been a long while with the pretty maid, master," said one of
+them to Caleb. "Have you been receiving confession of her sins?"
+
+"I have been trying to receive confession of the hiding-place of the
+Roman, but the witch is obstinate," he answered, glaring angrily at
+Miriam.
+
+"She will soon change her tune on the gateway, master, where the nights
+are cold and the day is hot for those who have neither cloaks for their
+backs nor water for their stomachs. Come on, Blue Eyes, but first give
+me that necklet of pearls, which may serve to buy a bit of bread or a
+drink of wine," and he thrust his filthy hand into her breast.
+
+Next instant a sword flashed in the red light of the evening to fall
+full on the ruffian's skull, and down he went dead or dying.
+
+"Brute," said Caleb with an angry snarl, "go to seek bread and wine in
+Gehenna. The maid is doomed to death, not to be plundered by such as
+you. Come forward."
+
+The companions of the fallen man stared at him. Then one laughed, for
+death was too common a sight to excite pity or surprise, and said:
+
+"He was ever a greedy fellow. Let us hope that he has gone where there
+is more to eat."
+
+Then, preceded by Caleb, they marched through the long cloisters, passed
+an inner door, turned down more cloisters on the right, and, following
+the base of the great wall, came to its beautiful centre gate, Nicanor,
+that was adorned with gold and silver, and stood between the Court of
+Women and the Court of Israel. Over this gateway was a square building,
+fifty feet or more in height, containing store chambers and places where
+the priests kept their instruments of music. On its roof, which was
+flat, were three columns of marble, terminated by gilded spikes. By the
+gate one of the Sanhedrim was waiting for them, that same relentless
+judge, Simeon, who had ordered Miriam to be searched.
+
+"Has the woman confessed where she hid the Roman?" he asked of Caleb.
+
+"No," he answered, "she says that she knows nothing of any Roman."
+
+"Is it so, woman?"
+
+"It is so, Rabbi."
+
+"Bring her up," he went on sternly, and they passed through some
+stone chambers to a place where there was a staircase with a door of
+cedar-wood. The judge unlocked it, locking it again behind them, and
+they climbed the stairs till they came to another little door of stone,
+which, being opened, Miriam found herself on the roof of the gateway.
+They led her to the centre pillar, to which was fastened an iron chain
+about ten feet in length. Here Simeon commanded that her hands should
+be bound behind her, which was done. Then he brought out of his robe a
+scroll written in large letters, and tied it on to her breast. This was
+the writing on the scroll:
+
+"Miriam, Nazarene and Traitress, is doomed here to die as God shall
+appoint, before the face of her friends, the Romans."
+
+Then followed several signatures of members of the Sanhedrim, including
+that of her grandfather, Benoni, who had thus been forced to show the
+triumph of patriotism over kinship.
+
+This done the end of the chain was made fast round her middle and
+riveted with a hammer in such fashion that she could not possibly escape
+its grip. Then all being finished the men prepared to leave. First,
+however, Simeon addressed her:
+
+"Stay here, accursed traitress, till your bones fall piecemeal from
+that chain," he said, "stay, through storm and shine, through light
+and darkness, while Roman and Jew alike make merry of your sufferings,
+which, if my voice had been listened to, would have been shorter, but
+more cruel. Daughter of Satan, go back to Satan and let the Son of the
+carpenter save you if he can."
+
+"Spare to revile the maid," broke in Caleb furiously, "for curses are
+spears that fall on the heads of those that throw them."
+
+"Had I my will," answered the Rabbi, "a spear should fall upon your
+head, insolent, who dare to rebuke your elders. Begone before me, and be
+sure of this, that if you strive to return here it shall be for the last
+time. More is known about you, Caleb, then you think, and perhaps you
+also would make friends among the Romans."
+
+Caleb made no answer, for he knew the venom and power of this Zealot
+Simeon, who was the chosen friend and instrument of the savage John of
+Gischala. Only he looked at Miriam with sad eyes, and, muttering "You
+would have it so, I can do no more. Farewell," left her to her fate.
+
+So there in the red light of the sunset, with her hands bound, a placard
+setting out her shame upon her breast, and chained like a wild beast
+to the column of marble, Miriam was left alone. Walking as near to the
+little battlement as the length of her chain would allow, she looked
+down into the Court of Israel, where many of the Zealots had gathered to
+catch sight of her. So soon as they saw her they yelled and hooted and
+cast a shower of stones, one of which struck her on the shoulder. With a
+little cry of pain she ran back as far as she could reach on the further
+side of the pillar. Hence she could see the great Court of Women, whence
+the Gate Nicanor was approached by fifteen steps forming the half of a
+circle and fashioned of white marble. This court now was nothing but
+a camp, for the outer Court of the Gentiles having been taken by the
+Romans, their battering rams were working at its walls.
+
+Then the night fell, but brought no peace with it, for the rams smote
+continually, and since they were not strong enough to break through the
+huge stones of the mighty wall, the Romans renewed their attempt to take
+them by storm in the hours of darkness. But, indeed, it was no darkness,
+for the Jews lit fires upon the top of the wall, and by their light
+drove off the attacking Romans. Again and again, from her lofty perch,
+Miriam could see the scaling ladders appear above the crest of the wall.
+Then up them would come long lines of men, each holding a shield above
+his head. As the foremost of these scrambled on to the wall, the waiting
+Jews rushed at them and cut them down with savage shouts, while other
+Jews seizing the rungs of the ladder, thrust it from the coping to fall
+with its living load back into the ditch beneath. Once there were great
+cries of joy, for two standard-bearers had come up the ladders carrying
+their ensigns with them. The men were overpowered and the ensigns
+captured to be waved derisively at the Romans beneath, who answered the
+insult with sullen roars of rage.
+
+So things went on till at length the legionaries, wearing of this
+desperate fighting, took another counsel. Hitherto Titus had desired to
+preserve all the Temple, even to the outer courts and cloisters, but now
+he commanded that the gates, built of great beams of cedar and overlaid
+with silver plates, should be fired. Through a storm of spears and
+arrows soldiers rushed up to them and thrust lighted brands into every
+joint and hinge. They caught, and presently the silver plates ran down
+their blazing surface in molten streams of metal. Nor was this all, for
+from the gates the fire spread to the cloisters on either side, nor did
+the outworn Jews attempt to stay its ravages. They drew back sullenly,
+and seated in groups upon the paving of the Court of Women, watching the
+circle of devouring flame creep slowly on. At length the sun rose. Now
+the Romans were labouring to extinguish the fire at the gateway, and to
+make a road over the ruins by which they might advance. When it was
+done at last, with shouts of triumph the legionaries, commanded by Titus
+himself and accompanied by a body of horsemen, advanced into the Court
+of Women. Back before them fled the Jews, pouring up the steps of the
+Gate Nicanor, on the roof of which Miriam was chained to her pinnacle.
+But of her they took no note, none had time to think, or even to look
+at a single girl bound there on high in punishment for some offence, of
+which the most of them knew nothing. Only they manned the walls to right
+and left, and held the gateway, but to the roof where Miriam was they
+did not climb, because its parapet was too low to shelter them from the
+arrows of their assailants.
+
+The Romans saw her, however, for she perceived that some of his officers
+were pointing her out to a man on horseback, clad in splendid armour,
+over which fell a purple cloak, whom she took to be Titus himself. Also
+one of the soldiers shot an arrow at her which struck upon the spiked
+column above her head and, rebounding, fell at her feet. Titus noted
+this, for she saw the man brought before him, and by his gestures
+gathered that the general was speaking to him angrily. After this no
+more arrows were shot at her, and she understood that their curiosity
+being stirred by the sight of a woman chained upon a gateway, they did
+not wish to do her mischief.
+
+Now the August sun shone out from a cloudless sky till the hot air
+danced above the roofs of the Temple and the pavings of the courts, and
+the thousands shut within their walls were glad to crowd into the shadow
+to shelter from its fiery beams. But Miriam could not escape them
+thus. In the morning and again in the afternoon she was able indeed, by
+creeping round it, to take refuge in the narrow line of shade thrown by
+the marble column to which she was made fast. At mid-day, however, it
+flung no shadow, so for all those dreadful hours she must pant in the
+burning heat without a drop of water to allay her thirst. Still she bore
+it till at length came evening and its cool.
+
+That day the Romans made no attack, nor did the Jews attempt a sally.
+Only some of the lighter of the engines were brought into the Court of
+Women, whence they hurled their great stones and heavy darts into the
+Court of Israel beyond. Miriam watched these missiles as they rushed by
+her, once or twice so close that the wind they made stirred her hair.
+The sight fascinated her and took her mind from her own sufferings.
+She could see the soldiers working at the levers and pulleys till the
+strings of the catapult or the boards of the balista were drawn to their
+places. Then the darts or the stones were set in the groove prepared to
+receive it, a cord was pulled and the missile sped upon its way, making
+an angry humming noise as it clove the air. At first it looked small;
+then approaching it grew large, to become small again to her following
+sight as its journey was accomplished. Sometimes, the stones, which did
+more damage than the darts, fell upon the paving and bounded along it,
+marking their course by fragments of shattered marble and a cloud of
+dust. At others, directed by an evil fate, they crashed into groups
+of Jews, destroying all they touched. Wandering to and fro among these
+people was that crazed man Jesus, the son of Annas, who had met them
+with his wild prophetic cry as they entered into Jerusalem, and whose
+ill-omened voice Miriam had heard again before Marcus was taken at the
+fight in the Old Tower. To and fro he went, none hindering him, though
+many thrust their fingers in their ears and looked aside as he passed,
+wailing forth: "Woe, woe to Jerusalem! Woe to the city and the Temple!"
+Of a sudden, as Miriam watched, he was still for a moment, then throwing
+up his arms, cried in a piercing voice, "Woe, woe to myself!" Before the
+echo of his words had died against the Temple walls, a great stone cast
+from the Court of Women rushed upon him through the air and felled him
+to the earth. On it went with vast bounds, but Jesus, the son of Annas,
+lay still. Now, in the hour of the accomplishment of his prophecy, his
+pilgrimage was ended.
+
+All the day the cloisters that surrounded the Court of Women burned
+fiercely, but the Jews, whose heart was out of them, did not sally
+forth, and the Romans made no attack upon the inner Court of Israel. At
+length the last rays of the setting sun struck upon the slopes of the
+Mount of Olives, the white tents of the Roman camps, and the hundreds
+of crosses, each bearing its ghastly burden, that filled the Valley of
+Jehoshaphat and climbed up the mountain sides wherever space could be
+found for them to stand. Then over the tortured, famished city down fell
+the welcome night. To none was it more welcome than to Miriam, for with
+it came a copious dew which seemed to condense upon the gilded spike of
+her marble pillar, whence it trickled so continually, that by licking
+a little channel in the marble, she was enabled, before it ceased, to
+allay the worst pangs of her thirst. This dew gathered upon her hair,
+bared neck and garments, so that through them also she seemed to take
+in moisture and renew her life. After this she slept a while, expecting
+always to be awakened by some fresh conflict. But on that night none
+took place, the fight was for the morrow. Meanwhile there was peace.
+
+Miriam dreamed in her uneasy sleep, and in this dream many visions came
+to her. She saw this sacred hill of Moriah, whereon the Temple stood, as
+it had been in the beginning, a rugged spot clothed with ungrafted carob
+trees and olives, and inhabited, not of men, but by wild boars and the
+hyaenas that preyed upon their young. Almost in its centre lay a huge
+black stone. To this stone came a man clad in the garb of the Arabs of
+the desert, and with him a little lad whom he bound upon the stone as
+though to offer him in sacrifice. Then, as he was about to plunge a
+knife into his heart, a glory shone round the place, and a voice cried
+to him to hold his hand. That was a vision of the offering of Isaac. It
+passed, and there came another vision.
+
+Again she saw the sacred height of Moriah, and lo! a Temple stood upon
+it, a splendid building, but not that which she knew, and in front of
+this Temple the same black rock. On the rock, where once the lad had
+been bound, was an altar, and before the altar a glorious man clad
+in priestly robes, who offered sacrifice of lambs and oxen and in a
+sonorous voice gave praise to Jehovah in the presence of a countless
+host of people. This she knew was the vision of Solomon the King.
+
+It passed, and lo! by this same black rock stood another man, pale and
+eager-faced, with piercing eyes, who reproached the worshippers in the
+Temple because of the wickedness of their hearts, and drove them from
+before him with a scourge of cords. This she knew was a vision of Jesus,
+the Son of Mary, that Messiah Whom she worshipped, for as He drove out
+the people He prophesied the desolation that should fall upon them, and
+as they fled they mocked Him.
+
+The picture passed, and again she saw the black rock, but now it lay
+beneath a gilded dome and light fell upon it through painted windows.
+About it moved many priests whose worship was strange to her, and so
+they seemed to move for ages. At length the doors of that dome were
+burst open, and upon the priests rushed fair-faced, stately-looking men,
+clad in white mail and bearing upon their shields and breastplates
+the symbol of the Cross. They slaughtered the votaries of the strange
+worship, and once more the rock was red with blood. Now they were gone
+in turn and other priests moved beneath the dome, but the Cross had
+vanished thence, and its pinnacles were crowned with crescents.
+
+That vision passed, and there came another of dim, undistinguishable
+hordes that tore down the crescents and slaughtered the ministers of the
+strange faith, and gave the domed temple to the flames.
+
+That vision passed, and once more the summit of Mount Moriah was as it
+had been in the beginning: the wild olive and the wild fig flourished
+among its desolate terraces, the wild boar roamed beneath their shade,
+and there were none to hunt him. Only the sunlight and the moonlight
+still beat upon the ancient Rock of Sacrifice.
+
+That vision passed, and lo! around the rock, filling the Valley of
+Jehoshaphat and the valleys beyond, and the Mount of Olives and the
+mountains above, yes, and the empty air between earth and sky, further
+than the eye could reach, stood, rank upon rank, all the countless
+million millions of mankind, all the millions that had been and were yet
+to be, gazing, every one of them, anxiously and in utter silence upon
+the scarred and naked Rock of Sacrifice. Now upon the rock there grew
+a glory so bright that at the sight of it all the million of millions
+abased their eyes. And from the glory pealed forth a voice of a trumpet,
+that seemed to say:
+
+"This is the end and the beginning, all things are accomplished in their
+order, now is the day of Decision."
+
+Then, in her dream, the sun turned red as blood and the stars seemed
+to fall and winds shook the world, and darkness covered it, and in the
+winds and the darkness were voices, and standing upon the rock, its arms
+stretched east and west, a cross of fire, and filling the heavens above
+the cross, company upon company of angels. This last vision of judgment
+passed also and Miriam awoke again from her haunted, horror-begotten
+sleep, to see the watch-fires of the Romans burning in the Court of
+Women before her, and from the Court of Israel behind her, where they
+were herded like cattle in the slaughterer's yard, to hear the groans of
+the starving Jews who to-morrow were destined to the sword.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+THE DEATH-STRUGGLE OF ISRAEL
+
+Now the light began to grow, but that morning no sun rose upon the sight
+of the thousands who waited for its coming. The whole heaven was dark
+with a gray mist that seemed to drift up in billows from the sea,
+bringing with it a salt dampness. For this mist Miriam was thankful,
+since had the sun shone hotly she knew not how she would have lived
+through another day. Already she grew very weak, who had suffered so
+much and eaten so little, and whose only drink had been the dew, but she
+felt that while the mist hid the sun her life would bide with her.
+
+To others also this mist was welcome. Under cover of it Caleb approached
+the gateway, and although he could not ascend it, as the doors were
+locked and guarded, he cast on to its roof so cleverly, that it fell
+almost at Miriam's feet, a linen bag in which was a leathern bottle
+containing wine and water, and with it a mouldy crust of bread,
+doubtless all that he could find, or buy, or steal. Kneeling down,
+Miriam loosed the string of the bag with her teeth and devoured the
+crust of bread, again returning thanks that Caleb had been moved to this
+thought. But from the bottle she could not drink, for her hands being
+bound behind her, she was able neither to lift it nor to untie the thong
+that made fast its neck. Therefore, as, notwithstanding the dew which
+she had lapped, she needed drink sorely and longed also for the use of
+her hands to protect herself from the tormenting attacks of stinging
+gnats and carrion flies, she set herself to try to free them.
+
+Now the gilt spike that crowned her pillar was made fast with
+angle-irons let into the marble and the edge of one of these irons
+projected somewhat and was rough. Looking at it the thought came into
+Miriam's mind that it might serve to rub through the cord with which her
+hands were bound. So standing with her back to the pillar she began her
+task, to find that it must be done little by little, since the awkward
+movement wearied her, moreover, her swollen arms chafing against the
+marble of the column became intolerably sore. Yet, although the pain
+made her weep, from time to time she persevered. But night fell before
+the frayed cord parted.
+
+In the mist also the Romans came near to the gate, notwithstanding the
+risk, for they were very curious about her, and called to her asking
+why she was bound there. She replied in the Latin language, which was
+understood by very few of the Jews, that it was because she had rescued
+a Roman from death. Before they could speak again those who questioned
+her were driven back by a shower of arrows discharged from the wall, but
+in the distance she thought that she saw one of them make report to an
+officer, who on receipt of it seemed to give some orders.
+
+Meanwhile, also under cover of the mist, the Jews were preparing
+themselves for battle. To the number of over four thousand men they
+gathered silently in the Court of Israel. Then of a sudden the gates
+were thrown open, and among them that of Nicanor. The trumpets blew a
+signal and out they poured into the Court of Women, driving in the Roman
+guards and outposts as sticks and straws are driven by a sudden flood.
+But the legionaries beyond were warned, and locking their shields
+together stood firm, so that the Jews fell back from their iron line as
+such a flood falls from an opposing rock. Yet they would not retreat,
+but fought furiously, killing many of the Romans, until at length Titus
+charged on them at the head of a squadron of horse and drove them back
+headlong through the gates. Then the Romans came on and put those whom
+they had captured to the sword, but as yet they did not attempt the
+storming of the gates. Only officers advanced as near to the wall
+as they dared and called to the Jews to surrender, saying that Titus
+desired to preserve their Temple and to spare their lives. But the Jews
+answered them with insults, taunts, and mockery, and Miriam, listening,
+wondered what spirit had entered into these people and made them mad, so
+that they chose death and destruction rather than peace and mercy. Then
+she remembered her strange visions of the night, and in them seemed to
+find an answer.
+
+Having repulsed this desperate sally the Roman officers set thousands
+of men to work to attempt to extinguish the flaming cloisters, since,
+notwithstanding the answer of the Jews, Titus still desired to save the
+Temple. As for its defenders, beyond guarding the walls of the Court
+of Israel, they did no more. Gathering in such places as were most
+protected from the darts and stones thrown by the engines, they crouched
+upon the ground, some in sullen silence, some beating their breasts and
+rending their robes, while the women and children wailed in their
+misery and hunger, throwing dust upon their heads. The Gate of Nicanor,
+however, was still held by a strong guard, who suffered none to approach
+it, nor did any attempt to ascend to its roof. That Caleb still lived
+Miriam knew, for she had seen him, covered with dust and blood, driven
+back by the charge of Roman horse up the steps of the gateway. This,
+indeed, he was one of the last to pass before it was closed and barred
+to keep out the pursuing Romans. After that she saw no more of him for
+many a month.
+
+So that day also, the last of the long siege, wore away. At nightfall
+the thick mist cleared, and for the last time the rich rays of sunset
+shone upon the gleaming roof and burning pinnacles of the Temple and
+were reflected from the dazzling whiteness of its walls. Never had it
+looked more beautiful than it did in that twilight as it towered, still
+perfect, above the black ruins of the desolated city. The clamour and
+shouting had died away, even the mourners had ceased their pitiful
+cries; except the guards, the Romans had withdrawn and were eating their
+evening meal, while those who worked the terrible engines ceased from
+their destroying toil. Peace, an ominous peace, brooded on the place,
+and everywhere, save for the flames that crackled among the cedar-wood
+beams in the roofs of the cloisters, was deep silence, such as in tropic
+lands precedes the bursting of a cyclone. To Miriam who watched, it
+seemed as though in the midst of this unnatural quiet Jehovah was
+withdrawing Himself from the house where His Spirit dwelt and from the
+people who worshipped Him with their lips, but rejected Him in their
+hearts. Her tormented nerves shuddered with a fear that was not of the
+body, as she stared upwards at the immense arch of the azure evening
+sky, half expecting that her mortal eyes would catch some vision of
+the departing wings of the Angel of the Lord. But there she could see
+nothing except the shapes of hundreds of high-poised eagles. "Where the
+carcase is there shall the eagles be gathered together," she muttered to
+herself, and remembering that these four birds were come to feast upon
+the bones of the whole people of the Jews and upon her own, she shut her
+eyes and groaned.
+
+Then the light died on the Temple towers and faded from the pale slopes
+of the mountains, and in place of the wheeling carrion birds bright
+stars shone out one by one upon the black mantle of the night.
+
+Once again, setting her teeth because of the agony that the touch of the
+marble gave to her raw and swollen flesh, Miriam began to fret the cords
+which bound her wrists against the rough edge of the angle-iron. She was
+sure that it was nearly worn through, but oh! how could she endure the
+agony until it parted? Still she did endure, for at her feet lay the
+bottle, and burning thirst drove her to the deed. Suddenly her reward
+came, and she felt that her arms were free; yes, numbed, swollen and
+bleeding, they fell against her sides, wrenching the stiffened muscles
+of her shoulders back to their place in such a fashion that she
+well-nigh fainted with the pain. Still they were free, and presently she
+was able to lift them, and with the help of her teeth to loose the ends
+of the cord, so that the blood could run once more through her blackened
+wrists and hands. Again she waited till some feeling had come back into
+her fingers, which were numb and like to mortify. Then she knelt down,
+and drawing the leather bottle to her, held it between her palms, while,
+with her teeth, she undid its thong. The task was hard, for it was well
+tied, but at length the knots gave, and Miriam drank. So fearful was
+her thirst that she could have emptied the bottle at a draught, but this
+she, who had lived in the desert, was too wise to do, for she knew that
+it might kill her. Also when that was gone there was no more. So she
+drank half of it in slow sips, then tied the string as well as she was
+able and set it down again.
+
+Now the wine, although it was mixed with water, took hold of her who for
+so long had eaten nothing save a mouldy crust, so that strange sounds
+drummed in her ears, and sinking down against the column she became
+senseless for a while. She awoke again, feeling somewhat refreshed and,
+though her head seemed as though it did not belong to her, well able
+to think. Her arms also were better and her fingers had recovered their
+feeling. If only she could loose that galling chain, she thought to
+herself, she might escape, for now death, however strong her faith, was
+very near and unlovely; also she suffered in many ways. To die and
+pass quick to Heaven--that would be well, but to perish by inches of
+starvation, heat, cold, and cramped limbs, with pains within and without
+and a swimming sickness of the head, ah! it was hard to bear. She knew
+that even were she free she could not hope to descend the gateway by
+its staircase, since the doors were locked and barred, and if she passed
+them it would be but to find herself among the Jews in the vaulted
+chambers beneath. But, so she thought, perhaps she could drop from the
+roof, which was not so very high, on to the paving in front of the first
+stair, and then, if she was unhurt, run or crawl to the Romans, who
+might give her shelter.
+
+So Miriam tried to undo the chain, only to find that as well might she
+hope to pull down the Gate Nicanor with her helpless hands. At this
+discovery she wept, for now she grew weak. Well for Miriam was it that
+she could not have her wish, for certainly had she attempted to
+drop down from the gateway to the marble paving, or even on to the
+battlements of the walls which ran up to it on either side, her bones
+would have been shattered like the shell of an egg and she must have
+perished miserably.
+
+While she grieved thus, Miriam heard a stir in the Court of Israel, and
+by the dim starlight saw that men were gathering, to do what she knew
+not. Presently, as she wondered, the great gates were opened very softly
+and out poured the Jews upon their last sally. Miriam was witnessing the
+death-struggle of the nation of Israel. At the foot of the marble steps
+they divided, one-half of them rushing towards the cloister on the
+right, and the other to that upon the left. Their object, as it seemed
+to her, was to slay those Roman soldiers, who, by the command of Titus,
+were still engaged in fighting the flames that devoured these beautiful
+buildings, and then to surprise the camp beyond. The scheme was such as
+a madman might have made, seeing that the Romans, warned by the sortie
+of the morning, had thrown up a wall across the lower part of the Court
+of Women, and beyond that were protected by every safeguard known to the
+science of ancient war. Also the moment that the first Jew set his foot
+upon the staircase, watching sentries cried out in warning and trumpets
+gave their call to arms.
+
+Still, they reached the cloisters and killed a few Romans who had not
+time to get away. Following those who fled, they came to the wall and
+began to try to force it, when suddenly on its crest and to the rear
+appeared thousands of those men whom they had hoped to destroy, every
+one of them wakeful, armed and marshalled. The Jews hesitated, and, like
+a living stream of steel, the Roman ranks poured over the wall. Then, of
+a sudden, terror seized those unhappy men, and, with a melancholy cry of
+utter despair, they turned to flee back to the Court of Israel. But this
+time the Romans were not content with driving them away, they came on
+with them; some of them even reached the gate before them. Up the marble
+steps poured friend and foe together; together they passed the open
+gate, in their mad rush sweeping away those who had stayed to guard it,
+and burst into the Court of Israel. Then leaving some to hold the gate
+and reinforced continually by fresh companies from the camps within and
+without the Temple courts, the Romans ran on towards the doors of the
+Holy House, cutting down the fugitives as they went. Now none attempted
+to stand; there was no fight made; even the bravest of the Jewish
+warriors, feeling that their hour was come and that Jehovah had deserted
+His people, flung down their weapons and fled, some to escape to the
+Upper City, more to perish on the Roman spears.
+
+A few attempted to take refuge in the Holy House itself, and after these
+followed some Romans bearing torches in their hands. Miriam, watching
+terrified from the roof of the Gate Nicanor, saw them go, the torches
+floating on the dusky air like points of wind-tossed fire. Then suddenly
+from a certain window on the north side of the Temple sprang out a flame
+so bright that from where she stood upon the gate, Miriam could see
+every detail of the golden tracery. A soldier mounted on the shoulders
+of another and not knowing in his madness that he was a destroying
+angel, had cast a torch into and fired the window. Up ran the bright,
+devouring flame spreading outwards like a fan, so that within some few
+minutes all that side of the Temple was but a roaring furnace. Meanwhile
+the Romans were pressing through the Gate Nicanor in an unending stream,
+till presently there was a cry of "Make way! Make way!"
+
+Miriam looked down to see a man, bare-headed and with close-cropped
+hair, white-robed also and unarmoured, as though he had risen from
+his couch, riding on a great war-horse, an ivory wand in his hand and
+preceded by an officer who bore the standard of the Roman Eagles. It was
+Titus itself, who as he came shouted to the centurions to beat back the
+legionaries and extinguish the fire. But who now could beat them back?
+As well might he have attempted to restrain the hosts of Gehenna burst
+to the upper earth. They were mad with the lust of blood and the lust of
+plunder, and even to the voice of their dread lord they paid no heed.
+
+New flames sprang up in other parts of the vast Temple. It was doomed.
+The golden doors were burst open and, attended by his officers, Titus
+passed through them to view for the first and last time the home of
+Jehovah, God of the Jews. From chamber to chamber he passed, yes, even
+into the Holy of Holies itself, whence by his command were brought out
+the golden candlesticks and the golden table of shrewbread, nor, since
+God had deserted His habitation, did any harm come to him for that deed.
+
+Now the Temple which for one thousand one hundred and thirty years had
+stood upon the sacred summit of Mount Moriah, went upwards in a sheet of
+flame, itself the greatest of the sacrifices that had ever been offered
+there; while soldiers stripped it of its gold and ornaments, tossing the
+sacred vessels to each other and tearing down the silken curtains of the
+shrine. Nor were victims lacking to that sacrifice, for in their blind
+fury the Romans fell upon the people who were crowded in the Court of
+Israel, and slew them to the number of more than ten thousand, warrior
+and priest, citizen and woman and child together, till the court swarm
+with blood and the Rock of Offering was black with the dead who had
+taken refuge there. Yet these did not perish quite unavenged, for many
+of the Romans, their arms filled with priceless spoils of gold and
+silver, the treasures of immemorial time, sank down overcome by the
+heat, and where they fell they died.
+
+From the Court of Israel went up one mighty wail of those who sank
+beneath the sword. From the thousands of the Romans went up a savage
+shout of triumph, the shout of those who put them to the sword. From the
+multitude of the Jews who watched this ruin from the Upper City went
+up a ceaseless scream of utter agony, and dominating all, like the
+accompaniment of some fearful music, rose the fierce, triumphant roar of
+fire. In straight lines and jagged pinnacles the flames soared hundreds
+of feet into the still air, leaping higher and ever higher as the white
+walls and gilded roofs fell in, till all the Temple was but one gigantic
+furnace, near which none could bide save the dead, whose very garments
+took fire as they lay upon the ground. Never, was such a sight seen
+before; never, perhaps, will such a sight be seen again--one so awesome,
+yet so majestic.
+
+Now every living being whom they could find was slain, and the Romans
+drew back, bearing their spoil with them. But the remainder of the Jews,
+to the number of some thousands, escaped by the bridges, which they
+broke down behind them, across the valley into the Upper City, whence
+that piercing, sobbing wail echoed without cease. Miriam watched till
+she could bear the sight no longer. The glare blinded her, the heat of
+the incandescent furnace shrivelled her up, her white dress scorched and
+turned brown. She crouched behind the shelter of her pinnacle gasping
+for breath. She prayed that she might die, and could not. Now she
+remembered the drink that remained in the leathern bottle, and swallowed
+it to the last drop. Then she crouched down again against the pillar,
+and lying thus her senses left her.
+
+
+
+When they came back it was daylight, and from the heap of ashes that
+had been the Temple of Herod and the most glorious building in the whole
+world, rose a thick cloud of black smoke, pierced here and there by
+little angry tongues of fire. The Court of Israel was strewn so thick
+with dead that in places the soldiers walked on them as on a carpet,
+or to be rid of them, hurled them into the smouldering ruins. Upon the
+altar that stood on the Rock of Sacrifice a strange sight was to be
+seen, for set up there was an object like the shaft of a lance wreathed
+with what seemed to be twining snakes and surmounted by a globe on which
+she stood a golden eagle with outspread wings. Gathered in front of it
+were a vast number of legionaries who did obeisance to this object. They
+were offering worship to the Roman standards upon the ancient altar of
+the God of Israel! Presently a figure rode before them attended by
+a glittering staff of officers, to be greeted with a mighty shout of
+"Titus _Imperator_! Titus _Imperator_!" Here on the sense of his triumph
+his victorious legions named their general Caesar.
+
+Nor was the fighting altogether ended, for on the roofs of some of
+the burning cloisters were gathered a few of the most desperate of the
+survivors of the Jews, who, as the cloisters crumbled beneath them,
+retreated slowly towards the Gate Nicanor, which still stood unharmed.
+The Romans, weary with slaughter, called to them to come down and
+surrender, but they would not, and Miriam watching them, to her horror
+saw that one of these men was none other than her grandfather, Benoni.
+As they would not yield, the Romans shot at them with arrows, so that
+presently every one of them was down except Benoni, whom no dart seemed
+to touch.
+
+"Cease shooting," cried a voice, "and bring a ladder. That man is brave
+and one of the Sanhedrim. Let him be taken alive."
+
+A ladder was brought and reared against the wall near the Gate Nicanor
+and up it came Romans. Benoni retreated before them till he stood upon
+the edge of the gulf of advancing fire. Then he turned round and faced
+them. As he turned he caught sight of Miriam huddled at the base of her
+column upon the roof of the gate, and thinking that she was dead, wrung
+his hands and tore his beard. She guessed his grief, but so weak and
+parched was she, that she could call no word of comfort to him, or do
+more than watch the end with fascinated eyes.
+
+The soldiers came on along the top of the wall till they feared to
+approach nearer to the fire, lest they should fall through the burning
+rafters.
+
+"Yield!" they cried. "Yield, fool, before you perish! Titus gives you
+your life."
+
+"That he may drag me, an elder of Israel, in chains through the streets
+of Rome," answered the old Jew scornfully. "Nay, I will not yield, and I
+pray God that the same end which you have brought upon this city and its
+children, may fall upon your city and its children at the hands of men
+even more cruel than yourselves."
+
+Then stooping down he lifted a spear which lay upon the wall and hurled
+it at them so fiercely, that it transfixed the buckler of one of the
+soldiers and the arm behind the buckler.
+
+"Would that it had been your heart, heathen, and the heart of all your
+race!" he screamed, and lifting his hands as though in invocation,
+suddenly plunged headlong into the flames beneath.
+
+Thus, fierce and brave to the last, died Benoni the Jew.
+
+
+
+Again Miriam fainted, again to be awakened. The door that led from
+the gate chambers to its roof burst open and through it sped a figure
+bare-headed and dishevelled, his torn raiment black with blood and
+smoke. Staring at him, Miriam knew the man who Simeon--yes, Simeon,
+her cruel judge, who had doomed her to this dreadful end. After him,
+gripping his robe indeed, came a Roman officer, a stout man of middle
+age, with a weather-beaten kindly face, which in some dim way seemed to
+be familiar to her, and after him again, six soldiers.
+
+"Hold him!" he panted. "We must have one of them to show if only that
+the people may know what a live Jew is like," and the officer tugged so
+fiercely at the robe that in his struggles to be free, for he also hoped
+to die by casting himself from the gateway tower, Simeon fell down.
+
+Next instant the soldiers were on him and held him fast. Then it was for
+the first time that the captain caught sight of Miriam crouched at the
+foot of her pillar.
+
+"Why," he said, "I had forgotten. That is the girl whom we saw yesterday
+from the Court of Women and whom we have orders to save. Is the poor
+thing dead?"
+
+Miriam lifted her wan face and looked at him.
+
+"By Bacchus!" he said, "I have seen that face before; it is not one that
+a man would forget. Ah! I have it now." Then he stooped and eagerly read
+the writing that was tied upon her breast:
+
+"Miriam, Nazarene and traitress, is doomed here to die as God shall
+appoint before the face of her friends, the Romans."
+
+"Miriam," he said, then started and checked himself.
+
+"Look!" cried one of the soldiers, "the girl wears pearls, and good
+ones. Is it your pleasure that I should cut them off?"
+
+"Nay, let them be," he answered. "Neither she nor her pearls are for any
+of us. Loosen her chain, not her necklet."
+
+So with much trouble they broke the rivets of the chain.
+
+"Can you stand, lady?" said the captain to Miriam.
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"Then I needs must carry you," and stooping down he lifted her in
+his strong arms as though she had been but a child, and, bidding the
+soldiers bring the Jew Simeon with them, slowly and with great care
+descended the staircase up which Miriam had been taken more than sixty
+hours before.
+
+Passing through the outer doors into the archway where the great gate by
+which the Romans had gained access to the Temple stood wide, the captain
+turned into the Court of Israel, where some soldiers who were engaged
+in dividing spoil looked up laughing and asked him whose baby he had
+captured. Paying no heed to them he walked across the court, picking his
+way through the heaps of dead to a range of the southern cloisters which
+were still standing, where officers might be seen coming and going.
+Under one of these cloisters, seated on a stool and employed in
+examining the vessels and other treasures of the Temple, which were
+brought before him one by one, was Titus. Looking up he saw this strange
+procession and commanded that they should be brought before him.
+
+"Who is it that you carry in your arms, captain?" he asked.
+
+"That girl, Caesar," he answered, "who was bound upon the gateway and
+whom you have orders should not be shot at."
+
+"Does she still live?"
+
+"She lives--no more. Thirst and heat have withered her."
+
+"How came she there?"
+
+"This writing tells you, Caesar."
+
+Titus read. "Ah!" he said, "Nazarene. An evil sect, worse even than
+these Jews, or so thought the late divine Nero. Traitress also. Why, the
+girl must have deserved her fate. But what is this? 'Is doomed to die as
+God shall appoint before the face of her friends, the Romans.' How are
+the Romans her friends, I wonder? Girl, if you can speak, tell me who
+condemned you."
+
+Miriam lifted her dark head from the shoulder of the captain on which it
+lay and pointed with her finger at the Jew, Simeon.
+
+"Is that so, man?" asked Caesar. "Now tell the truth, for I shall learn
+it, and if you lie you die."
+
+"She was condemned by the Sanhedrim, among whom was her own grandfather,
+Benoni; there is his signature with the rest upon the scroll," Simeon
+answered sullenly.
+
+"For what crime?"
+
+"Because she suffered a Roman prisoner to escape, for which deed," he
+added furiously, "may her soul burn in Gehenna for ever and aye!"
+
+"What was the name of the prisoner?" asked Titus.
+
+"I do not remember," answered Simeon.
+
+"Well," said Caesar, "it does not greatly matter, for either he is safe
+or he is dead. Your robes, what are left of them, show that you also are
+one of the Sanhedrim. Is it not so?"
+
+"Yes. I am Simeon, a name that you have heard."
+
+"Ah! Simeon, here it is, written on this scroll first of all. Well,
+Simeon, you doomed a high-born lady to a cruel death because she saved,
+or tried to save, a Roman soldier, and it is but just that you should
+drink of your own wine. Take him and fasten him to the column on the
+gateway and leave him there to perish. Your Holy House is destroyed,
+Simeon, and being a faithful priest, you would not wish to survive your
+worship."
+
+"There you are right, Roman," he answered, "though I should have been
+better pleased with a quicker end, such as I trust may overtake you."
+
+Then they led him off, and presently Simeon appeared upon the gateway
+with Miriam's chain about his middle and Miriam's rope knotted afresh
+about his wrists.
+
+"Now for this poor girl," went on Titus Caesar. "It seems that she is
+a Nazarene, a sect of which all men speak ill, for they try to subvert
+authority and preach doctrines that would bring the world to ruin. Also
+she was false to her own people, which is a crime, though one in this
+instance whereof we Romans cannot complain. Therefore, if only for the
+sake of example it would be wrong to set her free; indeed, to do so,
+would be to give her to death. My command is, then, that she shall be
+taken good care of, and if she recovers, be sent to Rome to adorn my
+Triumph, should the gods grant me such a thing, and afterwards be
+sold as a slave for the benefit of the wounded soldiers and the poor.
+Meanwhile, who will take charge of her?"
+
+"I," said that officer who had freed Miriam. "There is an old woman who
+tends my tent, who can nurse her in her sickness."
+
+"Understand, friend," answered Titus, "that no harm is to be done to
+this girl, who is my property."
+
+"I understand, O Caesar," said the officer. "She shall be treated as
+though she were my daughter."
+
+"Good. You who are present, remember his words and my decree. In Rome,
+if we live to reach it, you shall give account to me of the captive
+lady, Miriam. Now take her away, for there are greater matters to be
+dealt with than the fortunes of this girl."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+PEARL-MAIDEN
+
+Many days had gone by, but still the fighting was not ended, for the
+Jews continued to hold the Upper City. As it chanced, however, in one of
+the assaults upon it that officer who had rescued Miriam was badly hurt
+by a spear-thrust in the leg, so that he could be of no more service
+in this war. Therefore, because he was a man whom Titus trusted, he was
+ordered to sail with others of the sick for Rome, taking in his charge
+much of the treasure that had been captured, and for this purpose
+travelled down to Tyre, whence his vessel was to put to sea. In
+obedience to the command of Caesar he had carried the captive Miriam to
+the camp of his legion upon the Mount of Olives, and there placed her
+in a tent, where an old slave-woman tended her. For a while it was not
+certain whether she should live or die, for her sufferings and all that
+she had seen brought her so near to death that it was hard to keep her
+from passing its half-opened gates. Still, with good food and care, the
+strength came back to her body. But in mind Miriam remained sick, since
+during all these weeks she wandered in her talk, so that no word of
+reason passed her lips.
+
+Now, many would have wearied of her and thrust her out to take her
+chance with hundreds of other poor creatures who roamed about the land
+until they perished or were enslaved of Arabs. But this Roman did not
+act thus; in truth, as he had promised it should be, had she been his
+daughter, Miriam would not have been better tended. Whenever his duties
+gave him time he would sit with her, trying to beguile her madness, and
+after he himself was wounded, from morning to night they were together,
+till at length the poor girl grew to love him in a crazy fashion, and
+would throw her arms about his neck and call him "uncle," as in the
+old days she had named the Essenes. Moreover, she learned to know the
+soldiers of that legion, who became fond of her and would bring her
+offerings of fruit and winter flowers, or of aught else that they
+thought would please her. So when the captain received his orders to
+proceed to Tyre with the treasure and take ship there, he and his guard
+took Miriam with them, and journeying easily, reached the city on the
+eighth day.
+
+As it chanced their ship was not ready, so they camped on the outskirts
+of Paleotyrus, and by a strange accident in that very garden which had
+been the property of Benoni. This place they reached after sunset one
+evening and set up their tents, that of Miriam and the old slave-woman
+being placed on the seashore next to the tent of her protector. This
+night she slept well, and being awakened at the dawn by the murmur of
+the sea among the rocks, went to the door of the tent and looked out.
+All the camp was sleeping, for here they had no enemy to fear, and a
+great calm lay upon the sea and land. Presently the mist lifted and
+the rays of the rising sun poured across the blue ocean and its gray,
+bordering coast.
+
+With that returning light, as it happened, the light returned also into
+Miriam's darkened mind. She became aware that this scene was familiar;
+she recognised the outlines of the proud and ancient island town. More,
+she remembered that garden; yes, there assuredly was the palm-tree
+beneath which she had often sat, and there the rock, under whose shadow
+grew white lilies, where she had rested with Nehushta when the Roman
+captain brought her the letter and the gifts from Marcus. Instinctively
+Miriam put her hand to her neck. About it still hung the collar of
+pearls, and on the pearls the ring which the slave-woman had found in
+her hair and tied there for safety. She took off the ring and placed it
+back upon her finger. Then she walked to the rock, sat down and tried
+to think. But for this, as yet her mind was not strong enough, for there
+rose up in it vision after vision of blood and fire, which crushed and
+overwhelmed her. All that went before the siege was clear, the rest one
+red confusion.
+
+While she sat thus the Roman captain hobbled from his pavilion, resting
+on a crutch, for his leg was still lame and shrivelled. First he went to
+Miriam's tent to inquire after her of the old woman, as was his custom
+at the daybreak, then, learning that she had gone out of it, looked
+round for her. Presently he perceived her sitting in the shade of the
+rock gazing at the sea, and followed to join her.
+
+"Good morning to you, daughter," he said. "How have you slept after your
+long journey?" and paused, expecting to be answered with some babbling,
+gentle nonsense such as flowed from Miriam's lips in her illness. But
+instead of this she rose and stood before him looking confused. Then she
+replied:
+
+"Sir, I thank you, I have slept well; but tell me, is not yonder town
+Tyre, and is not this the garden of my grandfather, Benoni, where I used
+to wander? Nay, how can it be? So long has passed since I walked in
+this garden, and so many things have happened--terrible, terrible things
+which I cannot remember," and she hid her eyes in her hand and moaned.
+
+"Don't try to remember them," he said cheerfully. "There is so much in
+life that it is better to forget. Yes, this is Tyre, sure enough. You
+could not recognise it last night because it was too dark, and this
+garden, I am told, did belong to Benoni. Who it belongs to now I do not
+know. To you, I suppose, and through you to Caesar."
+
+Now while he spoke thus somewhat at random, for he was watching her
+all the while, Miriam kept her eyes fixed upon his face, as though she
+searched there for something which she could but half recall. Suddenly
+an inspiration entered into them and she said:
+
+"Now I have it! You are the Roman captain, Gallus, who brought me the
+letter from----" and she paused, thrusting her hand into the bosom of
+her robe, then went on with something like a sob: "Oh! it is gone. How
+did it go? Let me think."
+
+"Don't think," said Gallus; "there are so many things in the world which
+it is better not to think about. Yes, as it happens, I am that man,
+and some years ago I did bring you the letter from Marcus, called The
+Fortunate. Also, as it chanced, I never forgot your sweet face and knew
+it again at a time when it was well that you should find a friend. No,
+we won't talk about it now. Look, the old slave calls you. It is time
+that you should break your fast, and I also must eat and have my wound
+dressed. Afterwards we will talk."
+
+All that morning Miriam saw nothing more of Gallus. Indeed, he did not
+mean that she should, since he was sure that her new-found sense ought
+not to be overstrained at first, lest it should break down again, never
+to recover. So she went out and sat alone by the garden beach, for the
+soldiers had orders to respect her privacy, and gazed at the sea.
+
+As she sat thus in quiet, event by event the terrible past came back to
+her. She remembered it all now--their flight from Tyre; the march into
+Jerusalem; the sojourn in the dark with the Essenes; the Old Tower and
+what befell there; the escape of Marcus; her trial before the Sanhedrim;
+the execution of her sentence upon the gateway; and then that fearful
+night when the flames of the burning Temple scorched to her very brain,
+and the sights and sounds of slaughter withered her heart. After this
+she could recall but one more thing--the vision of the majestic figure
+of Benoni standing against a background of black smoke upon the lofty
+cloister-roof and defying the Romans before he plunged headlong in the
+flames beneath. Of her rescue on the roof of the Gate Nicanor, of her
+being carried before Titus Caesar in the arms of Gallus, and of his
+judgment concerning her she recollected nothing. Nor, indeed, did she
+ever attain to a clear memory of those events, while the time between
+them and the recovery of her reason by the seashore in the garden at
+Tyre always remained a blank. That troubled fragment of her life was
+sunk in a black sea of oblivion.
+
+At length the old woman came to summon Miriam to her midday meal, and
+led her, not to her own tent, but to that which was pitched to serve as
+an eating-place for the captain, Gallus. As she went she saw knots of
+soldiers gathered across her path as though to intercept her, and turned
+to fly, for the sight of them brought back the terrors of the siege.
+
+"Have no fear of them," said the old woman, smiling. "Ill would it go
+here with him who dared to lift a finger against their Pearl-Maiden."
+
+"Pearl-Maiden! Why?" asked Miriam.
+
+"That is what they call you, because of the necklace that was upon your
+breast when you were captured, which you wear still. As for why--well,
+I suppose because they love you, the poor sick thing they nursed. They
+have heard that you are better and gather to give you joy of it; that is
+all."
+
+Sure enough, the words were true, for, as Miriam approached, these
+rough legionaries cheered and clapped their hands, while one of them an
+evil-looking fellow with a broken nose, who was said to have committed
+great cruelties during the siege, came forward bowing and presented her
+with a handful of wild-flowers, which he must have collected with some
+trouble, since, at this season of the year they were not common. She
+took them, and being still weak, burst into tears.
+
+"Why should you treat me thus," she asked, "who am, as I understand, but
+a poor captive?"
+
+"Nay, nay," answered a sergeant, with an uncouth oath. "It is we who are
+your captives, Pearl-Maiden, and we are glad, because your mind has come
+to you, though, seeing how sweet you were without it, we do not know
+that it can better you very much."
+
+"Oh! friends, friends," began Miriam, then once more broke down.
+
+Meanwhile, hearing the disturbance Gallus had come from his tent and was
+hobbling towards them, when suddenly he caught sight of the tears upon
+Miriam's face and broke out into such language as could only be used by
+a Roman officer of experience.
+
+"What have you been doing to her, you cowardly hounds?" he shouted. "By
+Caesar and the Standards, if one of you has even said a word that she
+should not hear, he shall be flogged until the bones break through his
+skin," and his very beard bristling with wrath, Gallus uttered a
+series of the most fearful maledictions upon the head of that supposed
+offender, his female ancestry, and his descendants.
+
+"Your pardon, captain," said the sergeant, "but _you_ are uttering many
+words that no maiden should hear."
+
+"Do you dare to argue with me, you foul-tongued camp scavenger?" shouted
+Gallus. "Here, guard, lash him to that tree! Fear not, daughter; the
+insult shall be avenged; we shall teach his dirty tongue to sing another
+tune," and again he cursed him, naming him by new names.
+
+"Oh! sir, sir," broke in Miriam, "what are you about to do? This man
+offered me no insult, none of them offered me anything except kind words
+and flowers."
+
+"Then how is it that you weep?" asked Gallus suspiciously.
+
+"I wept, being still weak, because they who are conquerors were so kind
+to one who is a slave and an outcast."
+
+"Oh!" said Gallus. "Well, guard, you need not tie him up this time, but
+after all I take back nothing that I have said, seeing that in this way
+or in that they did make you weep. What business had they to insult you
+with their kindness? Men, henceforth you will be so good as to remember
+that this maiden is the property of Titus Caesar, and after Caesar, of
+myself, in whose charge he placed her. If you have any offerings to make
+to her, and I do not dissuade you from that practice, they must be made
+through me. Meanwhile, there is a cask of wine, that good old stuff from
+the Lebanon which I had bought for the voyage. If you should wish to
+drink the health of our--our captive, it is at your service."
+
+Then taking Miriam by the hand he led her into the eating-tent, still
+grumbling at the soldiers, who for their part laughed and sent for the
+wine. They knew their captain's temper, who had served with them through
+many a fight, and knew also that this crazed Pearl-Maiden whom he saved
+had twined herself into his heart, as was her fortune with most men of
+those among whom from time to time fate drove her to seek shelter.
+
+In the tent Miriam found two places set, one for herself and one for the
+captain Gallus.
+
+"Don't talk to me," he said, "but sit down and eat, for little enough
+you have swallowed all the time you were sick, and we sail to-morrow
+evening at the latest, after which, unless you differ from most women,
+little enough will you swallow on these winter seas until it pleases
+whatever god we worship to bring us to the coasts of Italy. Now here are
+oysters brought by runner from Sidon, and I command that you eat six of
+them before you say a word."
+
+So Miriam ate the oysters obediently, and after the oysters, fish,
+and after the fish the breast of a woodcock. But from the autumn lamb,
+roasted whole, which followed, she was forced to turn.
+
+"Send it out to the soldiers," she suggested, and it was sent as her
+gift.
+
+"Now, my captive," said Gallus, drawing his stool near to her, "I want
+you to tell me what you can remember of your story. Ah! you don't know
+that for many days past we have dined together and that it had been your
+fashion to sit with your arm round my old neck and call me your uncle.
+Nay, child, you need not blush, for I am more than old enough to be your
+father, let alone your uncle, and nothing but a father shall I ever be
+to you."
+
+"Why are you so good to me?" asked Miriam.
+
+"Why? Oh! for several reasons. First, you were the friend of a comrade
+of mine who often talked of you, but who now is dead. Secondly, you
+were a sick and helpless thing whom I chanced to rescue in the great
+slaughter, and who ever since has been my companion; and thirdly--yes,
+I will say it, though I do not love to talk of that matter, I had a
+daughter, who died, and who, had she lived, would have been of about
+your age. Your eyes remind me of hers--there, is that not enough?
+
+"But now for the story. Stay. I will tell you what I know of it. Marcus,
+he whom they called The Fortunate, but whose fortune has deserted him,
+was in love with you--like the rest of us. Often he talked to me of you
+in Rome, where we were friends after a fashion, though he was set far
+above me, and by me sent to you that letter which I delivered here in
+this garden, and the trinket that you wear about your neck, and if I
+remember right, with it a ring--yes, it is upon your finger. Well, I
+took note of you at the time and went my way to the war, and when I
+chanced to find you lately upon the top of the Gate Nicanor, although
+you were more like a half-burnt cinder than a fair maiden, I knew you
+again and carried you off to Caesar, who named you his slave and bade me
+take charge of you and deliver you to him in Rome. Now I want to know
+how you came to be upon that gateway."
+
+So Miriam began and told him all her tale, while he listened patiently.
+When she had done he rose and, limping round the little table, bent over
+and kissed her solemnly upon the brow.
+
+"By all the gods of the Romans, Greeks, Christians, Jews, and barbarian
+nations, you are a noble-hearted woman," he said, "and that kiss is
+my tribute to you. Little wonder that puppy, Marcus, is called The
+Fortunate, since, even when he deserved to die who suffered himself to
+be taken alive, you appeared to save him--to save him, by Venus, at the
+cost of your own sweet self. Well, most noble traitress, what now?"
+
+"I ask that question of you, Gallus. What now? Marcus, whom you should
+call no ill name, and who was overwhelmed through no fault of his own,
+fighting like a hero, has vanished----"
+
+"Across the Styx, I fear me. Indeed that would be best for him, since no
+Roman must be taken prisoner and live."
+
+"Nay, I think not, or at the least I hope he lives. My servant,
+Nehushta, would nurse him for my sake, and for my sake the Essenes,
+among whom I dwelt, would guard him, even to the loss of their own
+lives. Unless his wound killed him I believe that Marcus is alive
+to-day."
+
+"And if that is so you wish to communicate with him?"
+
+"What else, Gallus? Say, what fate will befall me when I reach Rome?"
+
+"You will be kept safe till Titus comes. Then, according to his command,
+you must walk in his Triumph, and after that, unless he changes his
+mind, which is not likely, since he prides himself upon never having
+reversed a decree, however hastily it was made, or even added to or
+taken from a judgment, you must, alas! be set up in the Forum and sold
+as a slave to the highest bidder."
+
+"Sold as a slave to the highest bidder!" repeated Miriam faintly. "That
+is a poor fate for a woman, is it not? Had it been that daughter of
+yours who died, for instance, you would have thought it a poor fate for
+her, would you not?"
+
+"Do not speak of it, do not speak of it," muttered Gallus into his
+beard. "Well, in this, as in other things, let us hope that fortune will
+favour you."
+
+"I should like Marcus to learn that I am to march in the Triumph, and
+afterwards to be set up in the Forum and sold as a slave to the highest
+bidder," said Miriam.
+
+"I should like Marcus to learn--but, in the name of the gods--how is he
+to learn, if he still lives? Look you, we sail to-morrow night. What do
+you wish me to do?"
+
+"I wish you to send a messenger to Marcus bearing a token from me to
+him."
+
+"A messenger! What messenger? Who can find him? I can despatch a
+soldier, but your Marcus is with the Essenes, who for their own sakes
+will keep him fast enough as a hostage, if they have cured him. Also the
+Essenes live, according to your story, in some hyaena-burrow, opening out
+of an underground quarry in Jerusalem, that is, if they have not been
+discovered and killed long ago. How, then, will any soldier find their
+hiding-place?"
+
+"I do not think that such a man would find it," answered Miriam, "but I
+have friends in this city, and if I could come at them I might discover
+one who would meet with better fortune. You know that I am a Christian
+who was brought up among the Essenes, both of them persecuted people
+that have their secrets. If I find a Christian or an Essene he would
+take my message and--unless he was killed--deliver it."
+
+Now Gallus thought for a while, then he said, "If I were to go out in
+Tyre asking for Christians or Essenes, none would appear. As well might
+a stork go out and call upon a frog. But that old slave-woman, who has
+tended on me and you, she is cunning in her way, and if I promised to
+set her at liberty should she succeed, well, perhaps she might succeed.
+Stay, I will summon her," and he left the tent.
+
+Some minutes later he returned, bringing the slave with him.
+
+"I have explained the matter to this woman, Miriam," he said, "and I
+think that she understands, and can prove to any who are willing to
+visit you, that they will have a free pass in to and out of the camp,
+and need fear no harm. Tell her, then, where she is to go and whom she
+must seek."
+
+So Miriam told the woman, saying, "Tell any Essene whom you can find
+that she who is called their Queen, bids his presence, and if he asks
+more, give him this word--'The sun rises.' Tell any Christian whom you
+can find that Miriam, their sister, seeks his aid, and if he asks more,
+give him this word--'The dawn comes.' Do you understand?"
+
+"I understand," answered the woman.
+
+"Then go," said Gallus, "and be back by nightfall, remembering that if
+you fail, in place of liberty you travel to Rome, whence you will return
+no more."
+
+"My lord, I go," answered the woman, beating her forehead with her hand
+and bowing herself from their presence.
+
+By nightfall she was back again with the tidings that no Christians
+seemed to be left in Tyre; all had fled to Pella, or elsewhere. Of the
+Essenes, however, she had found one, a minor brother of the name of
+Samuel, who, on hearing that Miriam was the captive, and receiving the
+watchword, said that he would visit the camp after dark, although he
+greatly feared that this might be some snare set to catch him.
+
+After dark he came accordingly, and was led by the old woman, who waited
+outside to meet him, to the tent where Miriam sat with Gallus. This
+Samuel proved to be a brother of the lowest order of the Essenes, whom,
+although he knew of her, Miriam had never seen. He had been absent from
+the village by the Jordan at the time of the flight of the sect, having
+come to Tyre by leave of the Court to bid farewell to his mother, who
+was on her deathbed. Hearing that the brethren had fled, and his mother
+being still alive, he had remained in Tyre instead of seeking to rejoin
+them at Jerusalem, thus escaping the terrors of the siege. That was
+all his story. Now, having buried his mother, he desired to rejoin the
+brotherhood, if any of them were left alive.
+
+After Gallus had left the tent, since it was not lawful that she should
+speak of their secrets in the presence of any man who was not of the
+order, Miriam, having first satisfied herself that he was in truth
+a brother, told this Samuel all she knew of the hiding-place of the
+Essenes beyond the ancient quarry, and asked him if he was willing to
+try to seek it out. He said yes, for he desired to find them; also he
+was bound to give her what help he could, since should the brethren
+discover that he had refused it, he would be expelled from their order.
+Then, having pledged him to be faithful to her trust, not by oath, which
+the Essenes held unlawful, but in accordance with their secret custom
+which was known to her, she took from her hand the ring that Marcus had
+sent her, bidding him find out the Essenes, and, if their Roman prisoner
+was yet alive, and among them, to deliver it to him with a message
+telling him of her fate and whither she had gone. If he was dead, or
+not to be found anywhere, then he was to deliver the ring to the Libyan
+woman named Nehushta, with the same message. If he could not find
+her either, then to her uncle Ithiel, or, failing him, to whoever was
+president of the Essenes, with the same message, praying any or all of
+them to succour her in her troubles, should that be possible. At the
+least they were to let her have tidings at the house of Gallus, the
+captain, in Rome, where he proposed to place her in charge of his wife
+until the time came for her to be handed over to Titus and to walk in
+the Triumph. Moreover, in case the brother should forget, she wrote
+a letter that he might deliver to any of those for whom she gave the
+message. In this letter Miriam set out briefly all that had befallen her
+since that night of parting in the Old Tower, and by the help of Gallus,
+whom she now recalled to the tent, the particulars of her rescue and of
+the judgment of Caesar upon her person, ending it with these words:
+
+"If it be the will of God and your will, O you who may read this letter,
+haste, haste to help me, that I may escape the shame more sore than
+death which awaits me yonder in Rome."
+
+This letter she signed, "Miriam, of the house of Benoni," but she did
+not write upon it the names of those to whom it was addressed, fearing
+lest it should fall into other hands and bring trouble upon them.
+
+Then Gallus asked the man Samuel what money he needed for his journey
+and as a reward for his service. He answered that it was against his
+rule to take any money, who was bound to help those under the protection
+of the order without reward or fee, whereat Gallus stared and said that
+there were stranger folk in this land than in any others that he knew,
+and they were many.
+
+So Samuel, having bowed before Miriam and pressed her hand in a certain
+fashion in token of brotherhood and fidelity, was led out of the camp
+again, nor did she ever see him more. Yet, as it proved, he was a
+faithful messenger, and she did well to trust him.
+
+Next day, at the prayer of Miriam, Gallus also wrote a letter, which
+gave him much trouble, to a friend of his, who was a brother officer
+with the army at Jerusalem, enclosing one to be handed to Marcus if,
+perchance, he should have rejoined the Standards.
+
+"Now daughter," he said, "we have done all that can be done, and must
+leave the rest to fate."
+
+"Yes," she answered with a sigh, "we must leave the rest to fate, as you
+Romans call God."
+
+In the evening they set sail for Italy, and with them much of the
+captured treasure, many sick and wounded men and a guard of soldiers. As
+it chanced, having taken the sea after the autumn gales and before those
+of mid-winter began, they had a swift and prosperous voyage, enduring no
+hardships save once from want of water. Within thirty days they came to
+Rhegium, whence they marched overland to Rome, being received everywhere
+very gladly by people who were eager for tidings of the war.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THE MERCHANT DEMETRIUS
+
+When on that fateful night in the Old Tower Miriam sprang forward to
+strike the lantern from the hand of the Jew, Nehushta, who was bending
+over the fallen Marcus and dragging at his body, did not even see that
+she had left the door.
+
+With an effort, the slope of the rocky passage beyond favouring her, she
+half-drew, half-lifted the Roman through the entrance. Then it was, as
+she straightened herself a little to take breath, that she heard the
+thud of the rock door closing behind her. Still, as it was dark, she did
+not guess that Miriam was parted from them, for she said:
+
+"Ah! into what troubles do not these men lead us poor women. Well, just
+in time, and I think that none of them saw us."
+
+There was no answer. Sound could not pierce that wall and the place was
+silent as a tomb.
+
+"Lady! In the Name of Christ, where are you, lady?" asked Nehushta in
+a piercing whisper, and the echoes of the gallery answered--"Where are
+you, lady?"
+
+Just then Marcus awoke.
+
+"What has chanced? What place is this, Miriam?" he asked.
+
+"This has chanced," answered Nehushta in the same awful voice. "We are
+in the passage leading to the vaults; Miriam is in the hands of the Jews
+in the Old Tower, and the door is shut between us. Accursed Roman! to
+save your life she has sacrificed herself. Without doubt she sprang from
+the door to dash the lantern from the hand of the Jew, and before she
+could return again it had swung home. Now they will crucify her because
+she rescued you--a Roman."
+
+"Don't talk, woman," broke in Marcus savagely, "open the door. I am
+still a man, I can still fight, or," he added with a groan, remembering
+that he had no sword, "at the least I can die for her."
+
+"I cannot," gasped Nehushta. "She had the iron that lifts the secret
+latch. If you had kept your sword, Roman, it might perhaps have served,
+but that has gone also."
+
+"Break it down," said Marcus. "Come, I will help."
+
+"Yes, yes, Roman, you will help to break down three feet of solid
+stone."
+
+Then began that hideous scene whereof something has been said. Nehushta
+strove to reach the latch with her fingers. Marcus, standing upon one
+foot, strove to shake the stone with his shoulder, the black, silent
+stone that never so much as stirred. Yet they worked madly, their breath
+coming in great gasps, knowing that the work was in vain, and that even
+if they could open the door, by now it would be to find Miriam gone,
+or at the best to be taken themselves. Suddenly Marcus ceased from his
+labour.
+
+"Lost!" he moaned, "and for my sake. O ye gods! for my sake." Then
+down he fell, his harness clattering on the rocky step, and lay there,
+muttering and laughing foolishly.
+
+Nehushta ceased also, gasping: "The Lord help you, Miriam, for I cannot.
+Oh! after all these years to lose you thus, and because of that man!"
+and she glared through the darkness towards the fallen Marcus, thinking
+in her heart that she would kill him.
+
+"Nay," she said to herself, "she loved him, and did she know it might
+pain her. Better kill myself; yes, and if I were sure that she is dead
+this, sin or no sin, I would do."
+
+As she sat thus, helpless, hopeless, she saw a light coming up the stair
+towards them. It was borne by Ithiel. Nehushta rose and faced him.
+
+"Praise be to God! there you are at length," he said. "Thrice have I
+been up this stair wondering why Miriam did not come."
+
+"Brother Ithiel," answered Nehushta, "Miriam will come no more; she
+is gone, leaving us in exchange this man Marcus, the Roman prefect of
+Horse."
+
+"What do you mean? What do you mean?" he gasped. "Where is Miriam?"
+
+"In the hands of the Jews," she answered. Then she told him all that
+story.
+
+"There is nothing to be done," he moaned when she had finished. "To open
+the door now would be but to reveal the secret of our hiding-place to
+the Jews or to the Romans, either of whom would put us to the sword, the
+Jews for food, the Romans because we are Jews. We can only leave her to
+God and protect ourselves."
+
+"Had I my will," answered Nehushta, "I would leave myself to God and
+still strive to protect her. Yet you are right, seeing that many lives
+cannot be risked for the sake of one girl. But what of this man?"
+
+"We will do our best for him," answered Ithiel, "for so she who
+sacrificed herself for his sake would have wished. Also years ago he was
+our guest and befriended us. Stay here a while and I will bring men to
+carry him to the vault."
+
+So Ithiel went away to return with sundry of the brethren, who lifted
+Marcus and bore him down the stairs and passages to that darksome
+chamber where Miriam had slept, while other brethren shut the trap-door,
+and loosened the roof of the passage, blocking it with stone so that
+without great labour none could pass that path for ever.
+
+Here in this silent, sunless vault for many, many days Marcus lay sick
+with a brain fever, of which, had it not been for the skilful nursing
+of Nehushta and of the leeches among the Essenes, he must certainly
+have died. But these leeches, who were very clever, doctored the deep
+sword-cut in his head, removing with little iron hooks the fragments of
+bone which pressed upon his brain, and dressing that wound and another
+in his knee with salves.
+
+Meanwhile, they learned by their spies that both the Temple and Mount
+Sion had fallen. Also they heard of the trial of Miriam and of her
+exposure on the Gate Nicanor, but of what happened to her afterwards
+they could gather nothing. So they mourned her as dead.
+
+Now, their food being at length exhausted and the watch of the Romans
+having relaxed, they determined, those who were left of them, for some
+had died and Ithiel himself was very ill, to attempt to escape from the
+hateful vaults that had sheltered them for all these months. A question
+arose as to what was to be done with Marcus, now but a shadow of a man,
+who still wandered somewhat in his mind, but who had passed the worst of
+his sickness and seemed like to live. Some were for abandoning him; some
+for sending him back to the Romans; but Nehushta showed that it would be
+wise to keep him as a hostage, so that if they were attacked they might
+produce him and in return for their care, perhaps buy their lives. In
+the end they agreed upon this course, not so much for what they might
+gain by it, but because they knew that it would have pleased the lost
+maid whom they called their Queen, who had perished to save this man.
+
+So it came about that upon a certain night of rain and storm, when none
+were stirring, a number of men with faces white as lepers, of the hue,
+indeed, of roots that have pushed in the dark, might have been seen
+travelling down the cavern quarries, now tenanted only by the corpses
+of those who had perished there from starvation, and so through the hole
+beneath the wall into the free air. With them went litters bearing their
+sick, and among the sick, Ithiel and Marcus. None hindered their flight,
+for the Romans had deserted this part of the ruined city and were
+encamped around the towers in the neighbourhood of Mount Sion, where
+some few Jews still held out.
+
+Thus it happened that by morning they were well on the road to Jericho,
+which, always a desert country, was now quite devoid of life. On they
+went, living on roots and such little food as still remained to them,
+to Jericho itself, where they found nothing but a ruin haunted by a
+few starving wretches. Thence they travelled to their own village, to
+discover that, for the most part, this also had been burnt. But certain
+caverns in the hillside behind, which they used as store-houses,
+remained, and undiscovered in them a secret stock of corn and wine that
+gave them food.
+
+Here, then, they camped and set to work to sow the fields which no
+Romans or robbers had been able to destroy, and so lived hardly, but
+unmolested, till at length the first harvest came and with it plenty.
+
+In this dry and wholesome air Marcus recovered rapidly, who by nature
+was very strong. When first his wits returned to him he recognised
+Nehushta, and asked her what had chanced. She told him all she knew, and
+that she believed Miriam to be dead, tidings which caused him to
+fall into a deep melancholy. Meanwhile, the Essenes treated him with
+kindness, but let him understand that he was their prisoner. Nor if he
+had wished it, and they had given him leave to go, could he have left
+them at that time, seeing that the slightest of his hurts proved to be
+the worst, since the spear or sword-cut having penetrated to the joint
+and let out the oil, the wound in his knee would heal only by very slow
+degrees, and for many weeks left him so lame that he could not walk
+without a crutch. So here he sat by the banks of the Jordan, mourning
+the past and well-nigh hopeless for the future.
+
+Thus in solitude, tended by Nehushta, who now had grown very grim and
+old, and by the poor remnant of the Essenes, Marcus passed four or five
+miserable months. As he grew stronger he would limp down to the village
+where his hosts were engaged in rebuilding some of their dwellings, and
+sit in the garden of the house that was once occupied by Miriam. Now it
+was but an overgrown place, yet among the pomegranate bushes still stood
+that shed which she had used as a workshop, and in it, lying here and
+there as they had fallen, some of her unfinished marbles, among them one
+of himself which she began and cast aside before she executed that bust
+which Nero had named divine and set him to guard in the Temple at Rome.
+To Marcus it was a sad place, haunted by a thousand memories, yet he
+loved it because those memories were all of Miriam.
+
+Titus, said rumour, having accomplished the utter destruction of
+Jerusalem, had moved his army to Caesarea or Berytus, where he passed the
+winter season in celebrating games in the amphitheatres. These he made
+splendid by the slaughter of vast numbers of Jewish prisoners, who were
+forced to fight against each other, or, after the cruel Roman fashion,
+exposed to the attacks of ravenous wild beasts. But although he thought
+of doing so, Marcus had no means of communicating with Titus, and was
+still too lame to attempt escape. Could he have found any, indeed, to
+make use of them might have brought destruction upon the Essenes, who
+had treated him kindly and saved his life. Also among the Romans it was
+a disgrace for a soldier, and especially for an officer of high rank, to
+be made prisoner, and he was loth to expose his own shame. As Gallus had
+told Miriam, no Roman should be taken alive. So Marcus attempted to do
+nothing, but waited, sick at heart, for whatever fate fortune might send
+him. Indeed, had he been quite sure that Miriam was dead, he, who was
+disgraced and a captive, would have slain himself and followed her. But
+although none doubted her death--except Nehushta--his spirit did not
+tell him that this was so. Thus it came about that Marcus lived on among
+the Essenes till his health and strength came back to him, as it was
+appointed that he should do until the time came for him to act. At
+length that time came.
+
+When Samuel, the Essene, left Tyre, bearing the letter and the ring of
+Miriam, he journeyed to Jerusalem to find the Holy City but a heap
+of ruins, haunted by hyaenas and birds of prey that feasted on the
+innumerable dead. Still, faithful to his trust, he strove to discover
+that entrance to the caverns of which Miriam had told him, and to this
+end hovered day by day upon the north side of the city near to the old
+Damascus Gate. The hole he could not find, for there were thousands of
+stones behind which jackals had burrowed, and how was he to know which
+of these openings led to caverns, nor were there any left to direct him.
+Still, Samuel searched and waited in the hope that one day an Essene
+might appear who would guide him to the hiding-place of the brethren.
+But no Essene appeared, for the good reason that they had fled already.
+In the end he was seized by a patrol of Roman soldiers who had observed
+him hovering about the place and questioned him very strictly as to his
+business. He replied that it was to gather herbs for food, whereon their
+officer said that they would find him food and with it some useful
+work. So they took him and pressed him into a gang of captives who were
+engaged in pulling down the walls, that Jerusalem might nevermore become
+a fortified city. In this gang he was forced to labour for over four
+months, receiving only his daily bread in payment, and with it many
+blows and hard words, until at last he found an opportunity to make his
+escape.
+
+Now among his fellow-slaves was a man whose brother belonged to the
+Order of the Essenes, and from him he learned that they had gone back
+to Jordan. So thither Samuel started, having Miriam's ring still hidden
+safely about his person. Reaching the place without further accident he
+declared himself to the Essenes, who received him with joy, which was
+not to be wondered at, since he was able to tell them that Miriam, whom
+they named their Queen and believed to be dead, was still alive. He
+asked them if they had a Roman prisoner called Marcus hidden away
+among them, and when they answered that this was so, said that he had
+a message from Miriam which he was charged to deliver to him. Then they
+led him to the garden where her workshop had been, telling him that
+there he would find the Roman.
+
+Marcus was seated in the garden, basking in the sunshine, and with him
+Nehushta. They were talking of Miriam--indeed, they spoke of little
+else.
+
+"Alas! although I seem to know her yet alive, I fear that she must be
+dead," Marcus was saying. "It is not possible that she could have lived
+through that night of the burning of the Temple."
+
+"It does not seem possible," answered Nehushta, "yet I believe that she
+did live--as in your heart you believe also. I do not think it was
+fated that any Christian should perish in that war, since it has been
+prophesied otherwise."
+
+"Prove it to me, woman, and I should be inclined to become a Christian,
+but of prophecies and such vague talk I am weary."
+
+"You will become a Christian when your heart is touched and not before,"
+answered Nehushta sharply. "That light is from within."
+
+As she spoke the bushes parted and they saw the Essene, Samuel, standing
+in front of them.
+
+"Whom do you seek, man?" asked Nehushta, who did not know him.
+
+"I seek the noble Roman, Marcus," he answered, "for whom I have a
+message. Is that he?"
+
+"I am he," said Marcus, "and now, who sent you and what is your
+message?"
+
+"The Queen of the Essenes, whose name is Miriam, sent me," replied the
+man.
+
+Now both of them sprang to their feet.
+
+"What token do you bear?" asked Marcus in a slow, restrained voice, "for
+know, we thought that lady dead."
+
+"This," he answered, and drawing the ring from his robe he handed it to
+him, adding, "Do you acknowledge the token?"
+
+"I acknowledge it. There is no such other ring. Have you aught else?"
+
+"I had a letter, but it is lost. The Roman soldiers robbed me of my robe
+in which it was sewn, and I never saw it more. But the ring I saved by
+hiding it in my mouth while they searched me."
+
+Marcus groaned, but Nehushta said quickly:
+
+"Did she give you no message? Tell us your story and be swift."
+
+So he told them all.
+
+"How long was this ago?" asked Nehushta.
+
+"Nearly five months. For a hundred and twenty days I was kept as a slave
+at Jerusalem, labouring at the levelling of the walls."
+
+"Five months," said Marcus. "Tell me, do you know whether Titus has
+sailed?"
+
+"I heard that he had departed from Alexandria on his road to Rome."
+
+"Miriam will walk in his Triumph, and afterwards be sold as a slave!
+Woman, there is no time to lose," said Marcus.
+
+"None," answered Nehushta; "still, there is time to thank this faithful
+messenger."
+
+"Ay," said Marcus. "Man, what reward do you seek? Whatever it be it
+shall be paid to you who have endured so much. Yes, it shall be paid,
+though here and now I have no money."
+
+"I seek no reward," replied the Essene, "who have but fulfilled my
+promise and done my duty."
+
+"Yet Heaven shall reward you," said Nehushta. "And now let us hence to
+Ithiel."
+
+Back they went swiftly to the caves that were occupied by the Essenes
+during the rebuilding of their houses. In a little cabin that was
+open to the air lay Ithiel. The old man was on his death-bed, for age,
+hardship, and anxiety had done their work with him, so that now he was
+unable to stand, but reclined upon a pallet awaiting his release. To him
+they told their story.
+
+"God is merciful," he said, when he had heard it. "I feared that she
+might be dead, for in the presence of so much desolation, my faith grows
+weak."
+
+"It may be so," answered Marcus, "but your merciful God will allow this
+maiden to be set up in the Forum at Rome and sold to the highest bidder.
+It would have been better that she perished on the gate Nicanor."
+
+"Perhaps this same God," answered Ithiel with a faint smile, "will
+deliver her from that fate, as He has delivered her from many others.
+Now what do you seek, my lord Marcus?"
+
+"I seek liberty, which hitherto you have refused to me, Ithiel. I must
+travel to Rome as fast as ships and horses can carry me. I desire to
+be present at that auction of the captives. At least, I am rich and can
+purchase Miriam--unless I am too late."
+
+"Purchase her to be your slave?"
+
+"Nay, to be my wife."
+
+"She will not marry you; you are not a Christian."
+
+"Then, if she asks it, to set her free. Man, would it not be better that
+she should fall into my hands than into those of the first passer-by who
+chances to take a fancy to her face?"
+
+"Yes, I think it is better," answered Ithiel, "though who am I that I
+should judge? Let the Court be summoned and at once. This matter must be
+laid before them. If you should purchase her and she desires it, do you
+promise that you will set her free?"
+
+"I promise it."
+
+Ithiel looked at him strangely and said: "Good, but in the hour of
+temptation, if it should come, see that you do not forget your word."
+
+So the Court was called together, not the full hundred that used to sit
+in the great hall, but a bare score of the survivors of the Essenes, and
+to them the brother, Samuel, repeated his tale. To them also Marcus made
+his petition for freedom, that he might journey to Rome with Nehushta,
+and if it were possible, deliver Miriam from her bonds. Now, some of
+the more timid of the Essenes spoke against the release of so valuable
+a hostage upon the chance of his being able to aid Miriam, but Ithiel
+cried from his litter:
+
+"What! Would you allow our own advantage to prevail against the hope
+that this maiden, who is loved by everyone of us, may be saved? Shame
+upon the thought. Let the Roman go upon his errand, since we cannot."
+
+So in the end they agreed to let him go, and, as he had none, even
+provided money for his faring out of their scanty, secret store,
+trusting that he might find opportunity to repay it in time to come.
+
+That night Marcus and Nehushta bade farewell to Ithiel.
+
+"I am dying," said the old Essene. "Before ever you can set foot in Rome
+the breath will be out of my body, and beneath the desert sand I shall
+lie at peace--who desire peace. Yet, say to Miriam, my niece, that my
+spirit will watch over her spirit, awaiting its coming in a land where
+there are no more wars and tribulations, and that, meanwhile, I who love
+her bid her to be of good cheer and to fear nothing."
+
+So they parted from Ithiel and travelled upon horses to Joppa, Marcus
+disguising his name and rank lest some officer among the Romans
+should detain him. Here by good fortune they found a ship sailing for
+Alexandria, and in the port of Alexandria a merchant vessel bound for
+Rhegium, in which they took passage, none asking them who they might be.
+
+
+
+Upon the night of the burning of the Temple, Caleb, escaping the
+slaughter, was driven with Simon the Zealot across the bridge into the
+Upper City, which bridge they broke down behind them. Once he tried to
+return, in the mad hope that during the confusion he might reach the
+gate Nicanor and, if she still lived, rescue Miriam. But already the
+Romans held the head of the bridge, and already the Jews were hacking at
+its timbers, so in that endeavour he failed and in his heart made sure
+that Miriam had perished. So bitterly did Caleb mourn, who, fierce and
+wayward as he was by nature, still loved her more than all the world
+besides, that for six days or more he sought death in every desperate
+adventure which came to his hand, and they were many. But death fled
+him, and on the seventh day he had tidings.
+
+A man who was hidden among the ruins of the cloisters managed to escape
+to the Upper City. From him Caleb learned that the woman, who was said
+to have been found upon the roof of the gate Nicanor, had been brought
+before Titus, who gave her over to the charge of a Roman captain, by
+whom she had been taken without the walls. He knew no more. The story
+was slight enough, yet it sufficed for Caleb, who was certain that this
+woman must be Miriam. From that moment he determined to abandon the
+cause of the Jews, which, indeed, was now hopeless, and to seek out
+Miriam, wherever she might be. Yet, search as he would, another fifteen
+days went by before he could find his opportunity.
+
+At length Caleb was placed in charge of a watch upon the wall, and, the
+other members of his company falling asleep from faintness and fatigue,
+contrived in the dark to let himself down by a rope which he had
+secreted, dropping from the end of it into the ditch. In this ditch he
+found many dead bodies, and from one of them, that of a peasant who
+had died but recently, took the clothes and a long winter cloak of
+sheepskins, which he exchanged for his own garments. Then, keeping only
+his sword, which he hid beneath the cloak, he passed the Roman pickets
+in the gloom and fled into the country. When daylight came Caleb cut
+off his beard and trimmed his long hair short. After this, meeting a
+countryman with a load of vegetables which he had licence to sell in the
+Roman camp Caleb bought his store from him for a piece of gold, for he
+was well furnished with money, promising the simple man that if he said
+a word of it he would find him out and kill him. Then counterfeiting the
+speech and actions of a peasant, which he, who had been brought up among
+them down by the banks of Jordan, well could do, Caleb marched boldly to
+the nearest Roman camp and offered his wares for sale.
+
+Now this camp was situated outside the gate of Gennat, not far from the
+tower Hippicus. Therefore, it is not strange that although in the course
+of his bargaining he made diligent inquiry as to the fate of the girl
+who had been taken to the gate Nicanor, Caleb could hear nothing of her,
+seeing that she was in a camp situated on the Mount of Olives, upon
+the other side of Jerusalem. Baffled for that day, Caleb continued his
+inquiries on the next, taking a fresh supply of vegetables, which he
+purchased from the same peasant, to another body of soldiers camping in
+the Valley of Himnon. So he went on from day to day searching the
+troops which surrounded the city, and working from the Valley of Himnon
+northwards along the Valley of the Kedron, till on the tenth day he came
+to a little hospital camp pitched on the slope of the hill opposite to
+the ruin which once had been the Golden Gate. Here, while proffering his
+vegetables, he fell into talk with the cook who was sent to chaffer with
+him.
+
+"Ah!" said the cook handling the basket with satisfaction, "it is a
+pity, friend, that you did not bring this stuff here a while ago when
+we wanted it sorely and found it hard to come by in this barren,
+sword-wasted land."
+
+"Why?" asked Caleb carelessly.
+
+"Oh! because of a prisoner we had here, a girl whose sufferings had made
+her sick in mind and body, and whose appetite I never knew how to tempt,
+for she turned from meat, and ever asked for fish, of which, of course,
+we had none, or failing that, for green food and fruits."
+
+"What were her name and story?" asked Caleb.
+
+"As for her name I know it not. We called her Pearl-Maiden because of a
+collar of pearls she wore and because also she was white and beautiful
+as a pearl. Oh! beautiful indeed, and so gentle and sweet, even in her
+sickness, that the roughest brute of a legionary with a broken head
+could not choose but to love her. Much more then, that old bear, Gallus,
+who watched her as though she were his own cub."
+
+"Indeed? And where is this beautiful lady now? I should like to sell her
+something."
+
+"Gone, gone, and left us all mourning."
+
+"Not dead?" said Caleb in a new voice of eager dismay, "Oh! not dead?"
+
+The fat cook looked at him calmly.
+
+"You take a strange interest in our Pearl-Maiden, Cabbage-seller," he
+said. "And, now that I come to think of it, you are a strange-looking
+man for a peasant."
+
+With an effort Caleb recovered his self-command.
+
+"Once I was better off than I am now, friend," he answered. "As you
+know, in this country the wheel of fortune has turned rather quick of
+late."
+
+"Yes, yes, and left many crushed flat behind it."
+
+"The reason why I am interested," went on Caleb, taking no heed, "is
+that I may have lost a fine market for my goods."
+
+"Well, and so you have, friend. Some days ago the Pearl-Maiden departed
+to Tyre in charge of the captain, Gallus, on her way to Rome. Perhaps
+you would wish to follow and sell her your onions there."
+
+"Perhaps I should," answered Caleb. "When you Romans have gone this
+seems likely to become a bad country for gardeners, since owls and
+jackals do not buy fruit, and you will leave no other living thing
+behind you."
+
+"True," answered the cook. "Caesar knows how to handle a broom and he has
+made a very clean sweep," and he pointed complacently to the heaped-up
+ruins of the Temple before them. "But how much for the whole basket
+full?"
+
+"Take them, friend," said Caleb, "and sell them to your mess for
+the best price that you can get. You need not mention that you paid
+nothing."
+
+"Oh! no, I won't mention it. Good morning, Mr. Cabbage-grower, good
+morning."
+
+Then he stood still watching as Caleb vanished quickly among the great
+boles of the olive trees. "What can stir a Jew so much," he reflected to
+himself, "as to make him give something for nothing, and especially to a
+Roman? Perhaps he is Pearl-Maiden's brother. No, that can't be from his
+eyes--her lover more likely. Well, it is no affair of mine, and although
+he never grew them, the vegetables are good and fresh."
+
+
+
+That evening when Caleb, still disguised as a peasant, was travelling
+through the growing twilight across the hills that bordered the road to
+Tyre, he heard a mighty wailing rise from Jerusalem and knew that it was
+the death-cry of his people. Now, everywhere above such portions of the
+beleaguered city as remained standing, shot up tall spires and wreaths
+of flame. Titus had forced the walls, and thousands upon thousands of
+Jews were perishing beneath the swords of his soldiers, or in the fires
+of their burning homes. Still, some ninety thousand were left alive,
+to be driven like cattle into the Court of Women. Here more than ten
+thousand died of starvation, while some were set aside to grace the
+Triumph, some to be slaughtered in the amphitheatres at Caesarea and
+Berytus, but the most were transported to Egypt, there, until they died,
+to labour in the desert mines. Thus was the last desolation accomplished
+and the prophecy fulfilled: "And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt
+again with ships . . . and there ye shall sell yourselves unto your
+enemies for bondmen and for bondwomen, and no man shall buy you." Thus
+did "Ephraim return to Egypt," whence he came forth to sojourn in the
+Promised Land until the cup of his sin was full. Now once more that land
+was a desert without inhabitants; all its pleasant places were waste;
+all its fenced cities destroyed, and over their ruins and the bones of
+their children flew Caesar's eagles. The war was ended, there was peace
+in Judaea. _Solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant!_
+
+
+
+When Caleb reached Tyre, by the last light of the setting sun he saw a
+white-sailed galley beating her way out to sea. Entering the city, he
+inquired who went in the galley and was told Gallus, a Roman captain, in
+charge of a number of sick and wounded men, many of the treasures of the
+Temple, and a beautiful girl, who was said to be the grand-daughter of
+Benoni of that town.
+
+Then knowing that he was too late, Caleb groaned in bitterness of
+spirit. Presently, however, he took thought. Now, Caleb was wise in his
+generation, for at the beginning of this long war he had sold all his
+land and houses for gold and jewels, which, to a very great value, he
+had left hidden in Tyre in the house of a man he trusted, an old servant
+of his father's. To this store he had added from time to time out of
+the proceeds of plunder, of trading, and of the ransom of a rich Roman
+knight who was his captive, so that now his wealth was great. Going
+to the man's house, Caleb claimed and packed this treasure in bales of
+Syrian carpets to resemble merchandise.
+
+Then the peasant who had travelled into Tyre upon business about a mule,
+was seen no more, but in place of him appeared Demetrius, the Egyptian
+merchant, who bought largely, though always at night, of the merchandise
+of Tyre, and sailed with it by the first ship to Alexandria. Here this
+merchant bought much more goods, such as would find a ready sale in the
+Roman market, enough to fill the half of a galley, indeed, which lay in
+the harbour near the Pharos lading for Syracuse and Rhegium.
+
+At length the galley sailed, meaning to make Crete, but was caught by
+a winter storm and driven to Paphos in Cyprus, where, being afraid to
+attempt the seas again, let the merchant, Demetrius, do what he would
+to urge them forward, the captain and crew of the galley determined
+to winter. So they beached her in the harbour and went up to the great
+temple, rejoicing to pay their vows and offer gifts to Venus, who had
+delivered them from the fury of the seas, that they might swell the
+number of her votaries.
+
+But although he accompanied them, since otherwise they might have
+suspected that he was a Jew, Demetrius, who sought another goddess,
+cursed Venus in his heart, knowing that had it not been for her delights
+the sailors would have risked the weather. Still, there was no help for
+it and no other ship by which he could sail, so here he abode for more
+than three months, spending his time in Curium, Amathos and Salamis,
+trading among the rich natives of Cyprus, out of whom he made a
+large profit, and adding wine, and copper from Tamasus to his other
+merchandise, as much as there was room for on the ship.
+
+In the end after the great spring festival, for the captain said that it
+would not be fortunate to leave until this had been celebrated, they
+set sail and came by way of Rhodes to the Island of Crete, and thence
+touching at Cythera to Syracuse in Sicily, and so at last to Rhegium.
+Here the merchant, Demetrius, transhipped his goods into a vessel that
+was sailing to the port of Centum Cellae, and having reached that place
+hired transport to convey them to Rome, nearly forty miles away.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE CAESARS AND PRINCE DOMITIAN
+
+When the captain Gallus reached the outskirts of Rome he halted, for
+he did not desire that Miriam should be led through the streets in the
+daytime, and thus cause questions to be asked concerning her. Also he
+sent on a messenger bidding the man find out his wife, Julia, if she
+were still alive, since of this Gallus, who had not seen her for several
+years, could tell nothing, and inform her that he would be with her
+shortly, bringing with him a maiden who had been placed in his charge
+by Titus. Before nightfall, the messenger returned, and with him Julia
+herself, a woman past middle-age, but, although grey-haired, still
+handsome and stately.
+
+Miriam saw their meeting, which was a touching sight, since this
+childless couple who had been married for almost thirty years, had now
+been separated for a long time. Moreover, a rumour had reached Julia
+that her husband was not only wounded, but dead, wherefore her joy and
+thankfulness at his coming were even greater than they would otherwise
+have been. One thing, however, Miriam noted, that whereas her friend and
+benefactor, Gallus, held up his hands and thanked the gods that he found
+his wife living and well, Julia on her part said:
+
+"Aye, I thank God," touching her breast with her fingers as she spoke
+the words.
+
+Presently the matron seemed to notice her, and, looking at her with a
+doubtful eye, asked:
+
+"How comes it, husband, that you are in charge of this captive Jewess,
+if Jewess she be who is so fair?"
+
+"By the orders of Titus Caesar, wife," he answered, "to whom she must
+be delivered on his arrival. She was condemned to perish on the gate
+Nicanor as a traitress to the Jews and a Nazarene."
+
+Julia started and looked at the girl over her shoulder.
+
+"Are you of that faith, daughter?" she asked in a changed voice,
+crossing her hands upon her breast as though by chance.
+
+"I am, mother," answered Miriam, repeating the sign.
+
+"Well, well, husband," said Julia, "the maid's tale can wait. Whether
+she was a traitress to the Jews, or a follower of Christus, is not our
+affair. At least she is in your charge, and therefore welcome to me,"
+and stepping to where Miriam stood with bowed head she kissed her on the
+forehead, saying aloud:
+
+"I greet you, daughter, who are so sweet to see and in misfortune,"
+adding beneath her breath, "in the Name you know."
+
+Then Miriam was sure that she had fallen into the hands of a woman who
+was a Christian, and was thankful in her heart, for while the Caesars sat
+upon the Roman throne the Christians of every clime, rank and race were
+one great family.
+
+That evening, so soon as the darkness fell, they entered Rome by the
+Appian Gate. Here they separated, Gallus leading his soldiers to convoy
+the treasure to the safe keeping of that officer who was appointed to
+receive it, and afterwards to the camp prepared for them, while Julia,
+with Miriam and an escort of two men only, departed to her own home, a
+small dwelling in a clean but narrow and crowded street that overhung
+the Tiber between the Pons AElius and the Porta Flamina. At the door of
+the house Julia dismissed the soldiers, saying:
+
+"Go without fear, and take witness that I am bond for the safety of this
+captive."
+
+So the men went gladly enough, for they desired to rest after the toils
+of their long journey, and the door of the house having been opened by
+a servant and locked again behind them, Julia led Miriam across a little
+court to the sitting-room that lay beyond. Hanging lamps of bronze
+burned in the room, and by their light Miriam saw that it was very clean
+and well, though not richly, furnished.
+
+"This is my own house, daughter," she explained, "which my father left
+me, where I have dwelt during all these weary years that my husband has
+been absent in the wars of the East. It is a humble place, but you will
+find peace and safety in it, and, I trust, comfort. Poor child," she
+added in a gentle voice, "I who am also a Christian, though as yet of
+this my husband knows nothing, welcome you in the Name of the Lord."
+
+"In the Name of our Lord, I thank you," answered Miriam, "who am but a
+friendless slave."
+
+"Such find friends," said Julia, "and if you will suffer it I think that
+I shall be one of them." Then at a sign from the elder woman they knelt
+down, and in silence each of them put up her prayer of thanksgiving, the
+wife because her husband had come back to her safe, the maiden because
+she had been led to a house ruled by a woman of her own faith.
+
+After this they ate, a plain meal but well cooked and served. When it
+was done Julia conducted Miriam to the little whitewashed chamber which
+had been prepared for her. It was lighted from the court by a lattice
+set high in the wall, and, like all the house, very clean and sweet,
+with a floor of white marble.
+
+"Once another maid slept here," said Julia with a sigh, glancing at the
+white bed in the corner.
+
+"Yes," said Miriam, "she was named Flavia, was she not, your only child?
+Nay, do not be astonished. I have heard so much of her that I seem to
+have known her well, who can be known no more--here."
+
+"Did Gallus tell you?" asked Julia. "He used rarely to speak of her."
+
+Miriam nodded. "Gallus told me. You see he was very good to me and we
+became friends. For all that he has done, may Heaven bless him, who,
+although he seems rough, has so kind a heart."
+
+"Yes, may Heaven bless all of us, living and dead," answered Julia. Then
+she kissed Miriam and left her to her rest.
+
+When Miriam came out of her bedchamber on the following morning, she
+found Gallus clad in his body armour, now new cleaned, though dinted
+with many a blow, standing in the court and watching the water which
+squirted from a leaden pipe to fall into a little basin.
+
+"Greeting, daughter," he said, looking up. "I trust that you have rested
+well beneath my roof who have sojourned so long in tents."
+
+"Very well," she answered, adding, "If I might ask it, why do you wear
+your mail here in peaceful Rome?"
+
+"Because I am summoned to have an audience of Caesar, now within an
+hour."
+
+"Is Titus come, then?" she asked hurriedly.
+
+"Nay, nay, not Titus Caesar, but Vespasian Caesar, his father, to whom I
+must make report of all that was passing in Judaea when we left, of the
+treasure that I brought with me and--of yourself."
+
+"Oh! Gallus," said Miriam, "will he take me away from your charge?"
+
+"I know not. I hope not. But who can say? It is as his fancy may move
+him. But if he listens to me I swear that you shall stay here for ever;
+be sure of that."
+
+Then he went, leaning on a spear shaft, for the wound in his leg had
+caused it to shrink so much that he could never hope to be sound again.
+
+Three hours later he returned to find the two women waiting for him
+anxiously enough. Julia glanced at his face as he came through the door
+of the street wall into the vestibulum or courtyard where they were
+waiting.
+
+"Have no fear," she said. "When Gallus looks so solemn he brings good
+tidings, for if they are bad he smiles and makes light of them," and
+advancing she took him by the hand and led him past the porter's room
+into the atrium.
+
+"What news, husband?" she asked when the door was shut behind them so
+that none might overhear their talk.
+
+"Well," he answered, "first, my fighting days are over, since I am
+discharged the army, the physicians declaring that my leg will never be
+well again. Wife, why do you not weep?"
+
+"Because I rejoice," answered Julia calmly. "Thirty years of war and
+bloodshed are enough for any man. You have done your work. It is time
+that you should rest who have been spared so long, and at least I have
+saved while you were away, and there will be food to fill our mouths."
+
+"Yes, yes, wife, and as it happens, more than you think, since
+Vespasian, being gracious and pleased with my report, has granted me
+half-pay for all my life, to say nothing of a gratuity and a share of
+the spoil, whatever that may bring. Still I grieve, who can never hope
+to lift spear more."
+
+"Grieve not, for thus I would have had it, Gallus. But what of this
+maid?"
+
+"Well, I made my report about her, as I was bound to do, and at first
+Domitian, Caesar's son, being curious to see her, prompted Vespasian to
+order that she should be brought to the palace. Almost Caesar spoke the
+word, then a thought seemed to strike him and he was silent, whereon I
+said that she had been very sick and still needed care and nursing, and
+that if it was his will, my wife could tend her until such time as Titus
+Caesar, whose spoil she was, might arrive. Again Domitian interrupted,
+but Vespasian answered, 'The Jewish maid is not your slave, Domitian,
+or my slave. She is the slave of your brother, Titus. Let her bide with
+this worthy officer until Titus comes, he being answerable in his person
+and his goods that she shall then be produced before him, she or proof
+of her death.' Then, waving his hand to show that the matter was done
+with, he went on to speak of other things, demanding details of the
+capture of the Temple and comparing my list of the vessels and other
+gear with that which was furnished by the treasurer, into whose charge
+I handed them yesternight. So, Maid Miriam, till Titus comes you are
+safe."
+
+"Yes," answered Miriam with a sigh, "till Titus comes. But after
+that--what?"
+
+"The gods alone know," he said impatiently. "Meanwhile, since my head is
+on it, I must ask your word of you that you will attempt no flight."
+
+"I give it, Gallus," she answered smiling, "who would die rather than
+bring evil on you or yours. Also, whither should I fly?"
+
+"I know not. But you Christians find many friends: the rats themselves
+have fewer hiding-places. Still, I trust you, and henceforth you are
+free, till Titus comes."
+
+"Aye," repeated Miriam, "--till Titus comes."
+
+
+
+So for hard upon six months, till midsummer, indeed, Miriam dwelt in the
+house of Gallus and his wife, Julia. She was not happy, although to them
+she became as a daughter. Who could be happy even in the sunshine of
+a peaceful present, that walked her world between two such banks of
+shadow? Behind was the shadow of the terrible past; in front, black
+and forbidding, rose the shadow of the future, which might be yet more
+terrible, the future when she would be the slave of some man unknown.
+Sometimes walking with Julia, humbly dressed and mingling with the
+crowd, her head-dress arranged to hide her face as much as might be, she
+saw the rich lords of Rome go by in chariots, on horseback, in litters,
+all sorts and conditions of them, fat, proud men with bold eyes;
+hard-faced statesmen or lawyers; war-worn, cruel-looking captains;
+dissolute youths with foppish dress and perfumed hair, and shuddering,
+wondered whether she was appointed to any one of these. Or was it,
+perhaps, to that rich and greasy tradesman, or to yon low-born freedman
+with a cunning leer? She knew not, God alone knew, and in Him must be
+her trust.
+
+Once as Miriam was walking thus, gorgeously clad slaves armed with rods
+of office appeared, bursting a way through the crowded streets to an
+accompaniment of oaths and blows. After these came lictors bearing
+the fasces on their shoulders; then a splendid chariot drawn by white
+horses, and driven by a curled and scented charioteer. In it, that he
+might be the better seen, stood a young man, tall, ruddy-faced, and clad
+in royal attire, who looked downward as though from bashfulness, but
+all the while scanned the crowd out of the corners of his dim blue eyes
+shaded by lids devoid of lashes. For a moment Miriam felt those eyes
+rest upon her, and knew that she was the subject of some jest which
+their owner addressed to the exquisite charioteer, causing him to laugh.
+Then a horror of that man took hold of her, and when he had gone by,
+bowing in answer to the shouts of the people, who, as it seemed to her,
+cheered from fear and not with joy, she asked Julia who he might be.
+
+"Who but Domitian," she answered, "the son of one Caesar and the brother
+of another, who hates both and would like to wear their crown. He is
+an evil man, and if he should chance to cross your path, beware of him,
+Miriam."
+
+Miriam shuddered and said:
+
+"As well, mother, might you bid the mouse that is caught abroad to
+beware of the cat it meets at night."
+
+"Some mice find holes that cats cannot pass," answered Julia with
+meaning as they turned their faces homeward.
+
+During all this time, although Gallus made diligent inquiry among the
+soldiers who arrived from Judaea, Miriam could hear nothing of Marcus, so
+that at last she came to believe that he must be dead, and with him the
+beloved and faithful Nehushta, and to hope that if this were so she
+also might be taken. Still amongst all this trouble she had one great
+comfort. Under the mild rule of Vespasian, although their meeting-places
+were known, the Christians had peace for a while. Therefore, in company
+with Julia and many others of the brotherhood, she was able to visit the
+catacombs on the Appian Way by night, and there in those dismal, endless
+tombs to offer prayer and receive the ministrations of the Church. The
+great Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, had suffered martyrdom, indeed,
+but they had left many teachers behind them, and the chief of these soon
+grew to know and love the poor Jewish captive who was doomed to slavery.
+Therefore here also she found friends and consolation of spirit.
+
+In time Gallus came to learn that his wife was also of the Faith, and
+for a while this knowledge seemed to cast him down. In the end, however,
+he shrugged his shoulders and said that she was certainly of an age to
+judge for herself and that he trusted no harm might come of it. Indeed,
+when the principles of the Christian hope were explained to him, he
+listened to them eagerly enough, who had lost his only child, and until
+now had never heard this strange story of resurrection and eternal life.
+Still, although he listened, and even from time to time was present when
+the brethren prayed, he would not be baptised, who said that he was too
+sunk in years to throw incense on a new altar.
+
+At length Titus came, the Senate, which long before his arrival had
+decreed him a Triumph, meeting him outside the walls, and there, after
+some ancient formalities communicating to him their decision. Moreover,
+it was arranged that Vespasian, his father, should share in this
+Triumph, because of the great deeds which he had done in Egypt, so that
+it was said everywhere that this would be the most splendid ceremony
+which Rome had ever seen. After this Titus passed to his palace and
+there lived privately for several weeks, resting while the preparations
+for the great event went forward.
+
+One morning early Gallus was summoned to the palace, whence he returned
+rubbing his hands and trying to look pleased, with him, as Julia had
+said, a sure sign of evil tidings.
+
+"What is it, husband?" she asked.
+
+"Oh! nothing, nothing," he answered, "except that our Pearl-Maiden here
+must accompany me after the mid-day meal into the august presences of
+Vespasian and Titus. The Caesars wish to see her, that they may decide
+where she is to walk in the procession. If she is held to be beautiful
+enough, they will grant to her a place of honour, by herself. Do you
+hear that, wife--by herself, not far in front of the very chariot of
+Titus? As for the dress that she will wear," he went on nervously, since
+neither of his auditors seemed delighted with this news, "it is to be
+splendid, quite splendid, all of the purest white silk with little discs
+of silver sewn about it, and a representation of the Gate Nicanor worked
+in gold thread upon the breast of the robe."
+
+At this tidings Miriam broke down and began to weep.
+
+"Dry your tears, girl," he said roughly, although the thickness of his
+voice suggested that water and his own eyes were not far apart. "What
+must be, must be, and now is the time for that God you worship to show
+you some mark of favour. Surely, He should do so, seeing how long and
+how often you pray to Him in burrows that a jackal would turn from."
+
+"I think He will," answered Miriam, ceasing her sobs with a bold
+up-lifting of her soul towards the light of perfect faith.
+
+"I am sure He will," added Julia, gently stroking Miriam's dark and
+curling hair.
+
+"Then," broke in Gallus, driving the point to its logical conclusion,
+"what have you to fear? A long, hot walk through the shouting populace,
+who will do no harm to one so lovely, and after that, whatever good fate
+your God may choose for you. Come, let us eat, that you may look your
+best when you appear before the Caesars."
+
+"I would rather look my worst," said Miriam, bethinking her of Domitian
+and his bleared eyes. Still, to please Gallus, she tried to eat, and
+afterwards, accompanied by him and by Julia, was carried in a closed
+litter to the palace.
+
+Too soon she was there, arriving a little before them, and was helped
+from the litter by slaves wearing the Imperial livery. Now she found
+herself alone in a great marble court filled with officers and nobles
+awaiting audience.
+
+"That is the Pearl-Maiden," said one of them, whereon they all crowded
+around her, criticising her aloud in their idle curiosity.
+
+"Too short," said one. "Too thin," said another. "Too small in the foot
+for her ankle," said a third. "Fools," broke in a fourth, a young man
+with a fine figure and dark rings round his eyes, "what is the use
+of trying to cheapen this piece of goods thus in the eyes of the
+experienced? I say that this Pearl-Maiden is as perfect as those pearls
+about her own neck; on a small scale, perhaps, but quite perfect, and
+you will admit that I ought to know."
+
+"Lucius says that she is perfect," remarked one of them in a tone of
+acquiescence, as though that verdict settled the matter.
+
+"Yes," went on the critical Lucius, "now, to take one thing only, a
+point so often overlooked. Observe how fresh and firm her flesh is. When
+I press it thus," and he suited the action to the word, "as I thought,
+my finger leaves scarcely any mark."
+
+"But my arm does," said a gruff voice beside him, and next moment this
+scented judge of human beings received the point of the elbow of Gallus
+between the eyes just where the nose is set into the forehead. With such
+force and skill was the blow directed that next instant the critic was
+sprawling on his back upon the pavement, the blood gushing from his
+nostrils. Now most of them laughed, but some murmured, while Gallus
+said:
+
+"Way there, friends, way there! I am charged to deliver this lady to the
+Caesars and to certify that while she was in my care no man has so
+much as laid a finger on her. Way there, I pray you! And as for that
+whimpering puppy on his back, if he wishes it, he knows where to
+find Gallus. My sword will mark him worse than my elbow, if he wants
+blood-letting, that I swear."
+
+Now with jests and excuses they fell back one and all. There were few
+of them who did not know that, lame as he might be now, old Gallus was
+still the fiercest and most dreaded swordsman of his legion. Indeed he
+was commonly reported to have slain eighteen men in single combat, and
+when young even to have faced the most celebrated gladiator of the day
+for sport, or to win a private bet, and given him life as he lay at his
+mercy.
+
+So they passed on through long halls guarded by soldiers, till at length
+they came to a wide passage closed with splendid curtains, where the
+officer on duty asked them their business. Gallus told him and he
+vanished through the curtains, whence he returned presently, beckoning
+them to advance. They followed him down a corridor set with busts of
+departed emperors and empresses, to find themselves in a round marble
+chamber, very cool and lighted from above. In this chamber sat and
+stood three men: Vespasian, whom they knew by his strong, quiet face and
+grizzled hair; Titus, his son, "the darling of mankind," thin, active,
+and aesthetic-looking, with eyes that were not unkindly, a sarcastic
+smile playing about the corners of his mouth; and Domitian, his brother,
+who has already been described, a man taller than either of them by half
+a head, and more gorgeously attired. In front of the august three was a
+master of ceremonies clad in a dark-coloured robe, who was showing them
+drawings of various sections of the triumphal procession, and taking
+their orders as to such alterations as they wished.
+
+Also there were present, a treasurer, some officers and two or three of
+the intimate friends of Titus.
+
+Vespasian looked up.
+
+"Greeting, worthy Gallus," he said in the friendly, open voice of one
+who has spent his life in camps, "and to your wife, Julia, greeting
+also. So that is the Pearl-Maiden of whom we have heard so much talk.
+Well, I do not pretend to be a judge of beauty, still I say that this
+Jewish captive does not belie her name. Titus, do you recognise her?"
+
+"In truth, no, father. When last I saw her she was a sooty, withered
+little thing whom Gallus yonder carried in his great arms, as a child
+might carry a large doll that he had rescued from the fire. Yes, I agree
+that she is beautiful and worthy of a very good place in the procession.
+Also she should fetch a large price afterwards, for that necklace of
+pearls goes with her--make a note of this, Scribe--and the reversion to
+considerable property in Tyre and elsewhere. This, by special favour,
+she will be allowed to inherit from her grandfather, the old rabbi,
+Benoni, one of the Sanhedrim, who perished in the burning of the
+Temple."
+
+"How can a slave inherit property, son?" asked Vespasian, raising his
+eyebrows.
+
+"I don't know," answered Titus with a laugh. "Perhaps Domitian can tell
+you. He says that he has studied law. But so I have decreed."
+
+"A slave," interrupted Domitian wisely, "has no rights and can hold no
+property, but the Caesar of the East"--here he sneered--"can declare that
+certain lands and goods will pass to the highest bidder with the person
+of the slave, and this, Vespasian Caesar, my father, is what I understand
+Titus Caesar, my brother, has thought it good to do in the present
+instance."
+
+"Yes," said Titus in a quiet voice, though his face flushed, "that,
+Domitian, is what I have thought it good to do. In such a matter is not
+my will enough?"
+
+"Conqueror of the East," replied Domitian, "Thrower-down of the mountain
+stronghold called Jerusalem, to which the topless towers of Ilium were
+as nothing, and Exterminator of a large number of misguided fanatics,
+in what matter is not your will enough? Yet a boon, O Caesar. As you are
+great, be generous," and with a mocking gesture he bowed the knee to
+Titus.
+
+"What boon do you seek of me, brother, who know that all I have is, or,"
+he added slowly, "will be--yours?"
+
+"One that is already granted by your precious words, Titus. Of all you
+have, which is much, I seek only this Pearl-Maiden, who has taken my
+fancy. The girl only, not her property in Tyre, wherever that may be,
+which you can keep for yourself."
+
+Vespasian looked up, but before he could speak, Titus answered quickly:
+
+"I said, Domitian, 'all I have.' This maid I have not, therefore the
+words do not apply. I have decreed that the proceeds of the sale of
+these captives is to be divided equally between the wounded soldiers and
+the poor of Rome. Therefore she is their property, not mine. I will not
+rob them."
+
+"Virtuous man! No wonder that the legions love him who cannot withdraw
+one lot from a sale of thousands, even to please an only brother,"
+soliloquised Domitian.
+
+"If you wish for the maid," went on Titus, taking no heed of the insult,
+"the markets are open--buy her. It is my last word."
+
+Suddenly Domitian grew angry, the false modesty left his face, his
+tall form straightened itself, and he stared round with his blear,
+evil-looking eyes.
+
+"I appeal," he shouted, "I appeal from Caesar the Small to Caesar the
+Great, from the murderer of a brave barbarian tribe to the conqueror
+of the world. O Caesar, Titus here declared that all he has is mine. Yet
+when I ask him for the gift of one captive girl he refuses me. Command,
+I pray you, that he should keep his word."
+
+Now the officers and the secretaries looked up, for of a sudden this
+small matter had become very important. For long the quarrel between
+Titus and his jealous brother had smouldered, now over the petty
+question of a captive it had broken into flame.
+
+The face of Titus grew hard and stern as that of some statue of the
+offended Jove.
+
+"Command, I pray you, father," he said, "that my brother should cease
+to offer insult to me. Command also that he should cease to question my
+will and my authority in matters great or small that are within my rule.
+Since you are appealed to as Caesar, as Caesar judge, not of this thing
+only but of all, for there is much between him and me that needs to be
+made plain."
+
+Vespasian looked round him uneasily, but seeing no escape and that
+beneath the quarrel lay issues which were deep and wide, he spoke out in
+his brave, simple-minded fashion.
+
+"Sons," he said, "seeing that there are but two of you who together, or
+one after the other, must inherit the world, it is an evil-omened thing
+that you should quarrel thus, since on the chances of your enmity may
+hang your own fates and the fates of peoples. Be reconciled, I pray
+you. Is there not enough for both? As for the matter in hand--this is my
+judgment. With all the spoils of Judaea, this fair maid is the property
+of Titus. Titus, whose boast it is that he does not go back upon his
+word, has decreed that she shall be sold and her price divided between
+the sick soldiers and the poor. Therefore she is no longer his to give
+away, even to his brother. With Titus I say--if you desire the girl,
+Domitian, bid your agent buy her in the market."
+
+"Aye, I will buy her," snarled Domitian, "but this I swear, that soon
+or late Titus shall pay the price and one that he will be loth to give."
+Then followed by his secretary and an officer, he turned and left the
+audience hall.
+
+"What does he mean?" asked Vespasian, looking after him with anxious
+eyes.
+
+"He means that----" and Titus checked himself. "Well, time and my
+destiny will show the world what he means. So be it. As for you,
+Pearl-Maiden, who, though you know it not, have cost Caesar so dear,
+well, you are fairer than I thought, and shall have the best of places
+in the pageant. Yet, for your sake, I pray that one may be found who,
+when you come to the market-place, may outbid Domitian," and he waved
+his hand to show that the audience was at an end.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+THE TRIUMPH
+
+Another week went by and the eve of the Triumph was at hand. On the
+afternoon before the great day sewing-women had come to the house of
+Gallus, bringing with them the robe that Miriam must wear. As had been
+promised, it was splendid, of white silk covered with silver discs and
+having the picture of the gate Nicanor fashioned on the breast, but cut
+so low that it shamed Miriam to put it on.
+
+"It is naught, it is naught," said Julia. "The designer has made it thus
+that the multitude may see those pearls from which you take your name."
+But to herself she thought: "Oh! monstrous age, and monstrous men, whose
+eyes can delight in the disgrace of a poor unfriended maiden. Surely
+the cup of iniquity of my people is full, and they shall drink it to the
+dregs!"
+
+That same afternoon also came an assistant of the officer, who was
+called the Marshal, with orders to Gallus as to when and where he was to
+deliver over his charge upon the morrow. With him he brought a packet,
+which, when opened, proved to contain a splendid golden girdle,
+fashioned to the likeness of a fetter. The clasp was an amethyst,
+and round it were cut these words: "The gift of Domitian to her who
+to-morrow shall be his."
+
+Miriam threw the thing from her as though it were a snake.
+
+"I will not wear it," she said. "I say that I will not wear it; at least
+to-day I am my own," while Julia groaned and Gallus cursed beneath his
+breath.
+
+Knowing her sore plight, that evening there came to visit her one of the
+elders of the Christian Church in Rome, a bishop named Cyril, who had
+been the friend and disciple of the Apostle Peter. To him the poor girl
+poured out all the agony of her heart.
+
+"Oh! my father, my father in Christ," she said, "I swear to you that
+were I not of our holy faith, rather than endure this shame I would slay
+myself to-night! Other dangers have I passed, but they have been of the
+body alone, whereas this----. Pity me and tell me, you in whose ear God
+speaks, tell me, what must I do?"
+
+"Daughter," answered the grave and gentle man, "you must trust in God.
+Did He not save you in the house at Tyre? Did He not save you in the
+streets of Jerusalem? Did He not save you on the gate Nicanor?"
+
+"He did," answered Miriam.
+
+"Aye, daughter, and so shall He save you in the slave-market of Rome. I
+have a message for your ear, and it is that no shame shall come near
+to you. Tread your path, drink your cup, and fear nothing, for the Lord
+shall send His angel to protect you until such time as it pleases Him to
+take you to Himself."
+
+Miriam looked at him, and as she looked peace fell upon her soul and
+shone in her soft eyes.
+
+"I hear the word of the Lord spoken through the mouth of His messenger,"
+she said, "and henceforth I will strive to fear nothing, no, not even
+Domitian."
+
+"Least of all Domitian, daughter, that son of Satan, whom Satan shall
+pay in his own coin."
+
+Then going to the door he summoned Julia, and while Gallus watched
+without, the two of them prayed long and earnestly with Miriam. When
+their prayer was finished the bishop rose, blessed her, and bade her
+farewell.
+
+"I leave you, daughter," he said, "but though you see him not, another
+takes my place. Do you believe?"
+
+"I have said that I believe," murmured Miriam.
+
+Indeed, in those days when men still lived who had seen the Christ and
+His voice still echoed through the world, to the strong faith of His
+followers, it was not hard to credit that His angel did descend to earth
+to protect and save at their Master's bidding.
+
+So Cyril, the bishop, went, and that night from many a catacomb prayers
+rose up to Heaven for Miriam in her peril. That night also she slept
+peacefully.
+
+Two hours before the dawn, Julia awoke her and arrayed her in the
+glittering, hateful garments. When all was ready, with tears she bade
+her farewell.
+
+"Child, child," she said, "you have become to me as my own daughter was,
+and now I know not how and when we shall meet again."
+
+"Perhaps sooner than you think," Miriam answered. "But if not, if,
+indeed, I speak to you for the last time, why, then, my blessings on you
+who have played a mother's part to a helpless maid that was no kin of
+yours. Yes, and on you Gallus also, who have kept me safe through so
+many dangers."
+
+"And who hopes, dear one, to keep you safe through many more. Since
+I may not swear by the gods before you, I swear it by the Eagles that
+Domitian will do well to have a care how he deals by you. To him I owe
+no fealty and, as has been proved before to-day, the sword of vengeance
+can reach the heart of princes."
+
+"Aye, Gallus," said Miriam gently, "but let it not be your sword, nor, I
+trust, shall you need to think of vengeance."
+
+Then the litter was brought into the courtyard, with the guards that
+were sent to accompany it, and they started for the gathering-place
+beyond the Triumphal Way. Dark though it still was, all Rome was astir.
+On every side shone torches, from every house and street rose the murmur
+of voices, for the mighty city made herself ready to celebrate the
+greatest festival which her inhabitants had seen. Even now at times the
+press was so dense that the soldiers were obliged to force a way through
+the crowd, which poured outwards to find good places along the line of
+the Triumph, or to take up their station on stands of timber, and in
+houses they had hired, whose roofs, balconies and windows commanded the
+path of the pageant.
+
+They crossed the Tiber. This Miriam knew by the roar of the water
+beneath, and because the crush upon the narrow bridge was so great.
+Thence she was borne along through country comparatively open, to the
+gateways of some large building, where she was ordered to dismount from
+the litter. Here officers were waiting who took charge of her, giving to
+Gallus a written receipt for her person. Then, either because he would
+not trust himself to bid her farewell, or because he did not think it
+wise to do so in the presence of the officers, Gallus turned and left
+her without a word.
+
+"Come on, girl," said a man, but a secretary, looking up from his
+tablets, called to him:
+
+"Gently there with that lot, or you will hear about it. She is
+Pearl-Maiden, the captive who made the quarrel between the Caesars and
+Domitian, of which all Rome is talking. Gently, I tell you, gently, for
+many free princesses are worth less to-day."
+
+Hearing this, the man bowed to Miriam, almost with reverence, and
+begged her to follow him to a place that had been set apart for her. She
+obeyed, passing through a great number of people, of whom all she could
+see in the gloom of the breaking dawn was that, like herself, they were
+captives, to a little chamber where she was left alone watching the
+light grow through the lattice, and listening to the hum of voices
+that rose without, mingled now and again with sobs and wails of grief.
+Presently the door opened and a servant entered with bread on a platter
+and milk in an earthenware vessel. These she took thankfully, knowing
+that she would need food to support her during the long day, but
+scarcely had she begun to eat when a slave appeared clad in the imperial
+livery, and bearing a tray of luxurious meats served in silver vessels.
+
+"Pearl-Maiden," he said, "my master, Domitian, sends you greeting and
+this present. The vessels are your own, and will be kept for you, but he
+bids me add, that to-night you shall sup off dishes of gold."
+
+Miriam made no answer, though one rose to her lips; but after the man
+had departed, with her foot she overset the tray so that the silver
+vases fell clattering to the floor, where the savory meats were
+spilled. Then she went on eating the bread and milk till her hunger was
+satisfied.
+
+Scarcely had she finished her meal, when an officer entered the cell and
+led her out into a great square, where she was marshalled amongst many
+other prisoners. By now the sun was up and she saw before her a splendid
+building, and gathered below the building all the Senate of Rome in
+their robes, and many knights on horses, and nobles, and princes from
+every country with their retinues--a very wonderful and gallant sight.
+In front of the building were cloisters, before which were set two ivory
+chairs, while to right and left of these chairs, as far as the eye could
+reach, were drawn up thousand upon thousands of soldiers; the Senate,
+the Knights and the Princes, as she could see from the rising ground
+whereon she stood, being in front of them and of the chairs. Presently
+from the cloisters, clad in garments of silk and wearing crowns of
+laurel, appeared the Caesars, Vespasian and Titus, attended by Domitian
+and their staffs. As they came the soldiers saw them and set up a mighty
+triumphant shout which sounded like the roar of the sea, that endured
+while the Caesars sat themselves upon their thrones. Up and up went
+the sound of the continual shouting, till at length Vespasian rose and
+lifted his hand.
+
+Then silence fell and, covering his head with his cloak, he seemed to
+make some prayer, after which Titus also covered his head with his
+cloak and offered a prayer. This done, Vespasian addressed the soldiers,
+thanking them for their bravery and promising them rewards, whereon they
+shouted again until they were marched off to the feast that had been
+made ready. Now the Caesars vanished and the officers began to order the
+great procession, of which Miriam could see neither the beginning nor
+the end. All she knew was that before her in lines eight wide were
+marshalled two thousand or more Jewish prisoners bound together with
+ropes, among whom, immediately in front of her, were a few women. Next
+she came, walking by herself, and behind her, also walking by himself, a
+dark, sullen-looking man, clad in a white robe and a purple cloak, with
+a gilded chain about his neck.
+
+Looking at him she wondered where she had seen his face, which seemed
+familiar to her. Then there rose before her mind a vision of the Court
+of the Sanhedrim sitting in the cloisters of the Temple, and of herself
+standing there before them. She remembered that this man was seated next
+to that Simeon who had been so bitter against her and pronounced upon
+her the cruel sentence of death, also that some one in the crowd had
+addressed him as Simon, the son of Gioras, none other than the savage
+general whom the Jews had admitted into the city to make way upon the
+Zealot, John of Gischala. From that day to this she had heard nothing
+of him till now they met again, the judge and the victim, caught in a
+common net. Presently, in the confusion they were brought together and
+he knew her.
+
+"Are you Miriam, the grand-daughter of Benoni?" he asked.
+
+"I am Miriam," she answered, "whom you, Simon, and your fellows doomed
+to a cruel death, but who have been preserved----"
+
+"----To walk in a Roman Triumph. Better that you had died, maiden, at
+the hands of your own people."
+
+"Better that you had died, Simon, at your own hands, or at those of the
+Romans."
+
+"That I am about to do," he replied bitterly. "Fear not, woman, you will
+be avenged."
+
+"I ask no vengeance," she answered. "Nay, cruel as you are I grieve that
+you, a great captain, should have come to this."
+
+"I grieve also, maiden. Your grandsire, old Benoni, chose the better
+part."
+
+Then the soldiers separated them and they spoke no more.
+
+An hour passed and the procession began its march along the Triumphal
+Way. Of it Miriam could see little. All she knew was that in front there
+were ranks of fettered prisoners, while behind men carried upon
+trays and tables the golden vessels of the Temple, the seven-branched
+candlestick and the ancient sacred book of the Jewish law. They were
+followed by other men, who bore aloft images of victory in ivory and
+gold. Then, although these did not join them till they reached the Porta
+Triumphalis, or the Gate of Pomp, attended, each of them, by lictors
+having their fasces wreathed with laurel, came the Caesars. First went
+Vespasian Caesar, the father. He rode in a splendid golden chariot, to
+which were harnessed four white horses led by Libyan soldiers. Behind
+him stood a slave clad in a dull robe, set there to avert the influence
+of the evil eye and of the envious gods, who held a crown above the head
+of the Imperator, and now and again whispered in his ear the ominous
+words, _Respice post te, hominem memento te_ ("Look back at me and
+remember thy mortality.")
+
+After Vespasian Caesar, the father, came Titus Caesar, the son, but his
+chariot was of silver, and graved upon its front was a picture of the
+Holy House of the Jews melting in the flames. Like his father he was
+attired in the _toga picta_ and _tunica palmata_, the gold-embroidered
+over-robe and the tunic laced with silver leaves, while in his right
+hand he held a laurel bough, and in his left a sceptre. He also was
+attended by a slave who whispered in his ear the message of mortality.
+
+Next to the chariot of Titus, alongside of it indeed, and as little
+behind as custom would allow, rode Domitian, gloriously arrayed and
+mounted on a splendid steed. Then came the tribunes and the knights
+on horseback, and after them the legionaries to the number of five
+thousand, every man of them having his spear wreathed in laurel.
+
+Now the great procession was across the Tiber, and, following its
+appointed path down broad streets and past palaces and temples, drew
+slowly towards its object, the shrine of Jupiter Capitolinus, that stood
+at the head of the Sacred Way beyond the Forum. Everywhere the side
+paths, the windows of houses, the great scaffoldings of timber, and the
+steps of temples were crowded with spectators. Never before did Miriam
+understand how many people could inhabit a single city. They passed them
+by thousands and by tens of thousands, and still, far as the eye could
+reach, stretched the white sea of faces. Ahead that sea would be quiet,
+then, as the procession pierced it, it began to murmur. Presently
+the murmur grew to a shout, the shout to a roar, and when the Caesars
+appeared in their glittering chariots, the roar to a triumphant peal
+which shook the street like thunder. And so on for miles and miles, till
+Miriam's eyes were dim with the glare and glitter, and her head swam at
+the ceaseless sound of shouting.
+
+Often the procession would halt for a while, either because of a check
+to one of the pageants in front, or in order that some of its members
+might refresh themselves with drink which was brought to them. Then the
+crowd, ceasing from its cheers, would make jokes, and criticise whatever
+person or thing they chanced to be near. Greatly did they criticise
+Miriam in this fashion, or at the least she thought so, who must
+listen to it all. Most of them, she found, knew her by her name of
+Pearl-Maiden, and pointed out to each other the necklace about her
+throat. Many, too, had heard something of her story, and looked eagerly
+at the picture of the gate Nicanor blazoned upon her breast. But the
+greater part concerned themselves only with her delicate beauty, passing
+from mouth to mouth the gossip concerning Domitian, his quarrel with the
+Caesars, and the intention which he had announced of buying this captive
+at the public sale. Always it was the same talk; sometimes more brutal
+and open than others--that was the only difference.
+
+Once they halted thus in the street of palaces through which they passed
+near to the Baths of Agrippa. Here the endless comments began again, but
+Miriam tried to shut her ears to it and looked about her. To her left
+was a noble-looking house built of white marble, but she noticed that
+its shutters were closed, also that it was undecorated with garlands,
+and idly wondered why. Others wondered too, for when they had wearied
+of discussing her points, she heard one plebeian ask another whose house
+that was and why it had been shut up upon this festal day. His fellow
+answered that he could not remember the owner's name, but he was a rich
+noble who had fallen in the Jewish wars, and that the palace was closed
+because it was not yet certain who was his heir.
+
+At that moment her attention was distracted by a sound of groans and
+laughter coming from behind. She looked round to see that the wretched
+Jewish general, Simon, had sunk fainting to the ground, overcome by
+the heat, or the terrors of his mind, or by the sufferings which he was
+forced to endure at the hands of his cruel guards, who flogged him as
+he walked, for the pleasure of the people. Now they were beating him to
+life again with their rods; hence the laughter of the audience and the
+groans of the victim. Sick at heart, Miriam turned away from this horrid
+sight, to hear a tall man, whose back was towards her, but who was clad
+in the rich robes of an Eastern merchant, asking one of the marshals of
+the Triumph, in a foreign accent, whether it was true that the captive
+Pearl-Maiden was to be sold that evening in the auction-mart of the
+Forum. The marshal answered yes, such were the orders as regarded her
+and the other women, since there was no convenient place to house them,
+and it was thought best to be rid of them and let their masters take
+them home at once.
+
+"Does she please you, sir? Are you going to bid?" he added. "If so, you
+will find yourself in high company."
+
+"Perhaps, perhaps," answered the man with a shrug of his shoulders.
+
+Then he vanished into the crowd.
+
+Now, for the first time that day, Miriam's spirit seemed to fail her.
+The weariness of her body, the foul talk, the fouler cruelty, the cold
+discussion of the sale of human beings to the first-comer as though they
+were sheep or swine, the fear of her fate that night, pressed upon and
+overcame her mind, so that she felt inclined, like Simon, the son of
+Gioras, to sink fainting to the pavement and lie there till the cruel
+rods beat her to her feet again. Hope sank low and faith grew dim, while
+in her heart she wondered vaguely what was the meaning of it all, and
+why poor men and women were made to suffer thus for the pleasure of
+other men and women; wondered also what escape there could be for her.
+
+While she mused thus, like a ray of light through the clouds, a sense
+of consolation, sweet as it was sudden, seemed to pierce the darkness
+of her bitter thoughts. She knew not whence it came, nor what it might
+portend, yet it existed, and the source of it seemed near to her. She
+scanned the faces of the crowd, finding pity in a few, curiosity in
+more, but in most gross admiration if they were men, or scorn of her
+misfortune and jealousy of her loveliness if they were women. Not from
+among these did that consolation flow. She looked up to the sky, half
+expecting to see there that angel of the Lord into whose keeping the
+bishop, Cyril, had delivered her. But the skies were empty and brazen
+as the faces of the Roman crowd; not a cloud could be seen in them, much
+less an angel.
+
+As her eyes sank earthwards their glance fell upon one of the windows of
+the marble house to her left. If she remembered right some few minutes
+before the shutters of that window had been closed, now they were open,
+revealing two heavy curtains of blue embroidered silk. Miriam thought
+this strange, and, without seeming to do so, kept her eyes fixed upon
+the curtains. Presently, for her sight was good, she saw fingers between
+them--long, dark-coloured fingers. Then very slowly the curtains were
+parted, and in the opening thus made appeared a face, the face of an old
+woman, dark and noble looking and crowned with snow-white hair. Even at
+that distance Miriam knew it in an instant.
+
+Oh, Heaven! it was the face of Nehushta, Nehushta whom she thought dead,
+or at least for ever lost. For a moment Miriam was paralysed, wondering
+whether this was not some vision born of the turmoil and excitement of
+that dreadful day. Nay, surely it was no vision, surely it was Nehushta
+herself who looked at her with loving eyes, for see! she made the sign
+of the cross in the air before her, the symbol of Christian hope and
+greeting, then laid her finger upon her lips in token of secrecy and
+silence. The curtain closed and she was gone, who not five seconds
+before had so mysteriously appeared.
+
+Miriam's knees gave way beneath her, and while the marshals shouted
+to the procession to set forward, she felt that she must sink to the
+ground. Indeed, she would have fallen had not some woman in the crowd
+stepped forward and thrust a goblet of wine into her hands, saying:
+
+"Drink that, Pearl-Maiden, it will make your pale cheeks even prettier
+than they are."
+
+The words were coarse, but Miriam, looking at the woman, knew her for
+one of the Christian community with whom she had worshipped in the
+catacombs. So she took the cup, fearing nothing, and drank it off. Then
+new strength came to her, and she went forward with the others on that
+toilsome, endless march.
+
+At length, however, it did end, an hour or so before sunset. They had
+passed miles of streets; they had trodden the Sacred Way bordered by
+fanes innumerable and adorned with statues set on columns; and now
+marched up the steep slope that was crowned by the glorious temple of
+Jupiter Capitolinus. As they began to climb it guards broke into their
+lines, and seizing the chain that hung about the neck of Simon, dragged
+him away.
+
+"Whither do they take you?" asked Miriam as he passed her.
+
+"To what I desire--death," he answered, and was gone.
+
+Now the Caesars, dismounting from their chariots, took up their stations
+by altars at the head of the steps, while beneath them, rank upon rank,
+gathered all those who had shared their Triumph, each company in its
+allotted place. Then followed a long pause, the multitude waiting for
+Miriam knew not what. Presently men were seen running from the Forum up
+a path that had been left open, one of them carrying in his hand some
+object wrapped in a napkin. Arriving in face of the Caesars he threw
+aside the cloth and held up before them and in sight of all the people
+the grizzly head of Simon, the son of Gioras. By this public murder of
+a brave captain of their foes was consummated the Triumph of the Romans,
+and at the sight of its red proof trumpets blew, banners waved, and from
+half a million throats went up a shout of victory that seemed to rend
+the very skies, for the multitude was drunk with the glory of its brutal
+vengeance.
+
+Then silence was called, and there before the Temple of Jove the beasts
+were slain, and the Caesars offered sacrifice to the gods that had given
+them victory.
+
+Thus ended the Triumph of Vespasian and Titus, and with it the record
+of the struggle of the Jews against the iron beak and claws of the Roman
+Eagle.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+THE SLAVE-RING
+
+Had Miriam chanced to look out of her litter as she passed the Temple
+of Isis, escorted by Gallus and the guards before dawn broke upon that
+great day of the Triumph, and had there been light to enable her to see,
+she might have beheld two figures galloping into Rome as fast as their
+weary horses would carry them. Both rode after the fashion of men, but
+one of them, wrapped in an Eastern garment that hid the face, was in
+fact a woman.
+
+"Fortune favours us, Nehushta," said the man in a strained voice. "At
+least, we are in time for the Triumph, who might so easily have been
+too late. Look, yonder they gather already by Octavian's Walks," and
+he pointed to the companies of soldiers who hurried past them to the
+meeting-place.
+
+"Yes, yes, my lord Marcus, we are in time. There go the eagles and
+here comes their prey," and in her turn Nehushta pointed to a guarded
+litter--had they but known it, the very one that carried the beloved
+woman whom they sought. "But whither now? Would you also march in the
+train of Titus?"
+
+"Nay, woman, it is too late. Also I know not what would be my welcome."
+
+"Your welcome? Why, you were his friend, and Titus is faithful to his
+friends."
+
+"Aye, but perhaps not to those who have been taken prisoner by the
+enemy. Towards the commencement of the siege that happened to a man I
+knew. He was captured with a companion. The companion the Jews slew, but
+as he was about to be beheaded upon the wall, this man slipped from the
+hands of the executioner, and leaping from it escaped with little hurt.
+Titus gave him his life, but dismissed him from his legion. Why should I
+fare better?"
+
+"That you were taken was no fault of yours, who were struck senseless
+and overwhelmed."
+
+"Maybe, but would that avail me? The rule, a good rule, is that no Roman
+soldier should yield to an enemy. If he is captured while insensible,
+then on finding his wits he must slay himself, as I should have striven
+to do, had I awakened to find myself in the hands of the Jews. But
+things fell out otherwise. Still, I tell you, Nehushta, that had it not
+been for Miriam, I should not have turned my face to Rome, at any rate
+until I had received pardon and permission from Titus."
+
+"What then are your plans, lord Marcus?"
+
+"To go to my own house near the Baths of Agrippa. The Triumph must pass
+there, and if Miriam is among the captives we shall see her. If not,
+then either she is dead or already sold, or perchance given as a present
+to some friend of Caesar's."
+
+Now they ceased talking, for the people were so many that they could
+only force their way through the press riding one after the other. Thus,
+Nehushta following Marcus, they crossed the Tiber and passed through
+many streets, decorated, most of them, for the coming pageant, till at
+length Marcus drew rein in front of a marble mansion in the Via Agrippa.
+
+"A strange home-coming," he muttered. "Follow me," and he rode round the
+house to a side-entrance.
+
+Here he dismounted and knocked at the small door for some time without
+avail. At length it was opened a little way, and a thin, querulous
+voice, speaking through the crack, said:
+
+"Begone, whoever you are. No one lives here. This is the house of
+Marcus, who is dead in the Jewish war. Who are you that disturb me?"
+
+"The heir of Marcus."
+
+"Marcus has no heir, unless it be Caesar, who doubtless will take his
+property."
+
+"Open, Stephanus," said Marcus, in a tone of command, at the same time
+pushing the door wide and entering. "Fool," he added, "what kind of a
+steward are you that you do not know your master's voice?"
+
+Now he who had kept the door, a withered little man in a scribe's brown
+robe, peered at this visitor with his sharp eyes, then threw up his
+hands and staggered back, saying:
+
+"By the spear of Mars! it is Marcus himself, Marcus returned from the
+dead! Welcome, my lord, welcome."
+
+Marcus led his horse through the deep archway, and when Nehushta had
+followed him into the courtyard beyond, returned, closed and locked the
+door.
+
+"Why did you think me dead, friend?" he asked.
+
+"Oh! my lord," answered the steward, "because all who have come home
+from the war declared that you had vanished away during the siege of the
+city of the Jews, and that you must either be dead or taken prisoner.
+Now I knew well that you would never disgrace your ancient house, or
+your own noble name, or the Eagles which you serve, by falling alive
+into the hands of the enemy. Therefore, I was sure that you were dead."
+
+Marcus laughed bitterly, then turning to Nehushta, said:
+
+"You hear, woman, you hear. If such is the judgment of my steward and
+freedman, what will be that of Caesar and my peers?" Then he added, "Now,
+Stephanus, that what you thought impossible--what I myself should have
+thought impossible--has happened. I was taken prisoner by the Jews,
+though through no fault of mine."
+
+"Oh! if so," said the old steward, "hide it, my lord, hide it. Why, two
+such unhappy men who had surrendered to save their lives and were found
+in some Jewish dungeon, have been condemned to walk in the Triumph this
+day. Their hands are to be tied behind them; in place of their swords
+they must wear a distaff, and on their breasts a placard with the words
+written: 'I am a Roman who preferred dishonour to death.' You would not
+wish their company, my lord."
+
+The face of Marcus went first red, then white.
+
+"Man," he said, "cease your ill-omened talk, lest I should fall upon
+my sword here before your eyes. Bid the slaves make ready the bath and
+food, for we need both."
+
+"Slaves, my lord? There are none here, save one old woman, who attends
+to me and the house."
+
+"Where are they then?" asked Marcus angrily.
+
+"The most part of them I have sent into the country, thinking it better
+that they should work upon your estates rather than live here idle, and
+others who were not needed I have sold."
+
+"You were ever careful, Stephanus." Then he added by an afterthought,
+"Have you any money in the house?"
+
+The old steward looked towards Nehushta suspiciously and seeing that
+she was engaged with the horses out of earshot, answered in a whisper:
+"Money? I have so much of it that I know not what to do. The strong
+place you know if is almost full of gold and still it comes. There
+are the rents and profits of your great estates for three years; the
+proceeds of the sale of slaves and certain properties, together with the
+large outstanding amount that was due to my late master, the Lord Caius,
+which I have at length collected. Oh! at least you will not lack for
+money."
+
+"There are other things that I could spare less readily," said Marcus,
+with a sigh; "still, it may be needed. Now tie up those horses by the
+fountain, and give us food, what you have, for we have ridden these
+thirty hours without rest. Afterwards you can talk."
+
+
+
+It was mid-day. Marcus, bathed, anointed, and clad in the robes of his
+order, was standing in one of the splendid apartments of his marble
+house, looking through an opening in the shutters at the passing of the
+Triumph. Presently old Nehushta joined him. She also was clad in clean,
+white robes which the slave woman had found for her.
+
+"Have you any news?" asked Marcus impatiently.
+
+"Some, lord, which I have pieced together from what is known by the
+slave-woman, and by your steward, Stephanus. A beautiful Jewish captive
+is to walk in the Triumph and afterwards to be sold with other captives
+in the Forum. They heard of her because it is said that there has been
+a quarrel between Titus and his brother Domitian, and Vespasian also, on
+account of this woman."
+
+"A quarrel? What quarrel?"
+
+"I, or rather your servants, know little of it, but they have heard that
+Domitian demanded the girl as a gift, whereon Titus told him that if
+he wished for her, he might buy her. Then the matter was referred to
+Vespasian Caesar, who upheld the decree of Titus. As for Domitian, he
+went away in a rage, declaring that he would purchase the girl and
+remember the affront which had been put upon him."
+
+"Surely the gods are against me," said Marcus, "if they have given me
+Domitian for a rival."
+
+"Why so, lord? Your money is as good as his, and perhaps you will pay
+more."
+
+"I will pay to my last piece, but will that free me from the rage and
+hate of Domitian?"
+
+"Why need he knew that you were the rival bidder?"
+
+"Why? Oh! in Rome everything is known--even the truth sometimes."
+
+"Time enough to trouble when trouble comes. First let us wait and see
+whether this maid be Miriam."
+
+"Aye," he answered, "let us wait--since we must."
+
+So they waited and with anxious eyes watched the great show roll by
+them. They saw the cars painted with scenes of the taking of Jerusalem
+and the statues of the gods fashioned in ivory and gold. They saw the
+purple hangings of the Babylonian broidered pictures, the wild beasts,
+and the ships mounted upon wheels. They saw the treasures of the temple
+and the images of victory, and many other things, for that pageant
+seemed to be endless, and still the captives and the Emperors did not
+come.
+
+One sight there was also that caused Marcus to shrink as though fire had
+burned him, for yonder, set in the midst of a company of jugglers and
+buffoons that gibed and mocked at them, were the two unhappy men who
+had been taken prisoners by the Jews. On they tramped, their hands bound
+behind them, clad in full armour, but wearing a woman's distaff where
+the sword should have been, and round their necks the placards which
+proclaimed their shame. The brutal Roman mob hooted them also, that mob
+which ever loved spectacles of cruelty and degradation, calling them
+cowards. One of the men, a bull-necked, black-haired fellow, suffered it
+patiently, remembering that at even he must be set free to vanish where
+he would. The other, who was blue-eyed and finer-featured, having gentle
+blood in his veins, seemed to be maddened by their talk, for he glared
+about him, gnashing his teeth like a wild beast in a cage. Opposite to
+the house of Marcus came the climax.
+
+"Cur," yelled a woman in the mob, casting a pebble that struck him on
+the cheek. "Cur! Coward!"
+
+The blue-eyed man stopped, and, wheeling round, shouted in answer:
+
+"I am no coward, I who have slain ten men with my own hand, five of them
+in single combat. You are the cowards who taunt me. I was overwhelmed,
+that is all, and afterwards in the prison I thought of my wife and
+children and lived on. Now I die and my blood be on you."
+
+Behind him, drawn by eight white oxen, was the model of a ship with the
+crew standing on its deck. Avoiding his guard, the man ran down the
+line of oxen and suddenly cast himself upon the ground before the
+wooden-wheeled car, which passed over his neck, crushing the life out of
+him.
+
+"Well done! Well done!" shouted the crowd, rejoicing at this unexpected
+sight. "Well done! He was brave after all."
+
+Then the body was carried away and the procession moved forward. But
+Marcus, who watched, hid his face in his hands, and Nehushta, lifting
+hers, uttered a prayer for the passing soul of the victim.
+
+Now the prisoners began to go past, marching eight by eight, hundreds
+upon hundreds of them, and once more the mob shouted and rejoiced over
+these unfortunates, whose crime was that they had fought for their
+country to the end. The last files passed, then at a little distance
+from them, tramping forward wearily, appeared the slight figure of a
+girl dressed in a robe of white silk blazoned at its breast with gold.
+Her bowed head, from which the curling tresses fell almost to her waist,
+was bared to the fierce rays of the sun, and on her naked bosom lay a
+necklace of great pearls.
+
+"Pearl-Maiden, Pearl-Maiden!" shouted the crowd.
+
+"Look!" said Nehushta, gripping the shoulder of Marcus with her hand.
+
+He looked, and after long years once more beheld Miriam, for though he
+had heard her voice in the Old Tower at Jerusalem, then her face was
+hidden from him by the darkness. There was the maid from whom he had
+parted in the desert village by Jordan, the same, and yet changed.
+Then she had been a lovely girl, now she was a woman on whom sorrow
+and suffering had left their stamp. The features were finer, the deep,
+patient eyes were frightened and reproachful; her beauty was such as we
+see in dreams, not altogether that of earth.
+
+"Oh! my darling, my darling," murmured Nehushta, stretching out her arms
+towards her. "Christ be thanked, that I have found you, my darling."
+Then she turned to Marcus, who was devouring Miriam with his eyes, and
+said in a fierce voice:
+
+"Roman, now that you see her again, do you still love her as much as of
+old time?"
+
+He took no note and she repeated the question. Then he answered:
+
+"Why do you trouble me with such idle words. Once she was a woman to be
+won, now she is a spirit to be worshipped."
+
+"Woman or spirit, or woman and spirit, beware how you deal with her,
+Roman," snarled Nehushta still more fiercely, "or----" and she left her
+hand fall upon the knife that was hidden in her robe.
+
+"Peace, peace!" said Marcus, and as he spoke the procession came to
+a halt before his windows. "How weary she is, and sad," he went on
+speaking to himself. "Her heart seems crushed. Oh! that I must stay here
+and see her thus, who dare not show myself! If she could but know! If
+she could but know!"
+
+Nehushta thrust him aside and took his place. Fixing her eyes upon
+Miriam she made some effort of the will, so fierce and concentrated that
+beneath the strain her body shook and quivered. See! Her thought reached
+the captive, for she looked up.
+
+"Stand to one side," she whispered to Marcus, then unlatched the
+shutters and slowly pushed them open. Now between her and the air was
+nothing but the silken curtains. Very gently she parted these with her
+hands, for some few seconds suffering her face to be seen between them.
+Then laying her fingers on her lips she drew back and they closed again.
+
+"It is well," she said, "she knows."
+
+"Let her see me also," said Marcus.
+
+"Nay, she can bear no more. Look, look, she faints."
+
+Groaning in bitterness of spirit they watched Miriam, who seemed
+about to fall. Now a woman gave her the cup of wine, and drinking she
+recovered herself.
+
+"Note that woman," muttered Marcus, "that I may reward her."
+
+"It is needless," answered Nehushta, "she seeks no reward."
+
+"She is more than a Roman, she is a Christian. As she passed it she made
+a sign of the cross with the cup."
+
+The waggons creaked; the officers shouted; the procession moved forward.
+From behind the curtain the pair kept their eyes fixed upon Miriam until
+she vanished in the dust and crowd. When she had gone they seemed to see
+little else; even the sight of the glorious Caesars could not hold their
+eyes.
+
+Marcus summoned the steward, Stephanus.
+
+"Go forth," he said, "and discover when and where the captive
+Pearl-Maiden is to be sold. Then return to me swiftly. Be secret and
+silent, and let none suspect whence you come or what you seek. Your life
+hangs upon it. Go."
+
+
+
+The sun was sinking fast, staining the marble temples and colonnades of
+the Forum blood-red with its level beams. For the most part the glorious
+place was deserted now, since, the Triumph over at length, the hundreds
+of thousands of the Roman populace, wearied out with pleasure and
+excitement, had gone home to spend the night in feasting. About one of
+the public slave-markets, however, a round of marble enclosed with
+a rope and set in front of a small building, where the slaves were
+sheltered until the moment of their sale, a mixed crowd was gathered,
+some of them bidders, some idlers drawn thither by curiosity. Others
+were in the house behind examining the wares before they came to the
+hammer. Presently an old woman, meanly clad with her face veiled to the
+eyes, and bearing on her back a heavy basket such as was used to carry
+fruit to market, presented herself at the door of the house.
+
+"What do you want?" asked the gatekeeper.
+
+"To inspect the slaves," she answered in Greek.
+
+"Go away," he said roughly, "you are not a buyer."
+
+"I may be if the stuff is good enough," she replied, slipping a gold
+coin into his hand.
+
+"Pass in, old lady, pass in," and in another second the door had closed
+behind her, and Nehushta found herself among the slaves.
+
+In this building the light was already so low that torches were burning
+for the convenience of visitors. By the flare of them Nehushta saw
+the unfortunate captives--there were but fifteen--seated upon marble
+benches, while slave women moved from the one to the other, washing
+their hands and feet and faces in scented water, brushing and tying
+their hair and removing the dust of the procession from their robes,
+so that they might look more comely to the eyes of the purchasers. Also
+there were present a fair number of bidders, twenty or thirty of them,
+who strolled from girl to girl discussing the points of each and at
+times asking them to stand up, or turn round, or show their arms
+and ankles, that they might judge of them better. At the moment when
+Nehushta entered one of these, a fat man with greasy curls who looked
+like an Eastern, was endeavouring to persuade a dark and splendid Jewess
+to let him see her foot. Pretending not to understand she sat still and
+sullen, till at length he stooped down and lifted her robe. Then in
+an instant the girl dealt him such a kick in the face that amidst the
+laughter of the spectators he rolled backwards on the floor, whence he
+rose with a cut and bloody forehead.
+
+"Very good, my beauty, very good," he muttered in a savage voice,
+"before twelve hours are over you shall pay for that."
+
+But again the girl sat sullen and motionless, pretending not to
+understand.
+
+Most of the public, however, were gathered about Miriam, who sat upon a
+chair by herself, her hands folded, her head bent down, a very picture
+of pitiful, outraged modesty. One by one as their turns came and the
+attendant suffered them to approach, the men advanced and examined her
+closely, though Nehushta noted that none of them were allowed to touch
+her with their hands. Placing herself at the end of the line she watched
+with all her eyes and listened with all her ears. Soon she had her
+reward. A tall man, dressed like a merchant of Egypt, went up to Miriam
+and bent over her.
+
+"Silence!" said the attendant. "I am ordered to suffer none to speak to
+the slave who is called Pearl-Maiden. Move on, sir, move on."
+
+The man lifted his head, and although in that gloom she could not
+see his face, Nehushta knew its shape. Still she was not sure, till
+presently he moved his right hand so that it came between her and the
+flame of one of the torches, and she perceived that the top joint of the
+first finger was missing.
+
+"Caleb," she thought to herself, "Caleb, escaped and in Rome! So
+Domitian has another rival." Then she went back to the door-keeper and
+asked him the name of the man.
+
+"A merchant of Alexandria named Demetrius," he said.
+
+Nehushta returned to her place. In front of her two men, agents who
+bought slaves and other things for wealthy clients, were talking.
+
+"More fit for a sale of dogs," said one, "after sunset when everybody is
+tired out, than for that of one of the fairest women who ever stood upon
+the block."
+
+"Pshaw," answered the other, "the whole thing is a farce. Domitian is in
+a hurry, that's all, so the auction must be held to-night."
+
+"He means to buy her?"
+
+"Of course. I am told that his factor, Saturius, has orders to go up
+to a thousand sestertia if need be," and he nodded towards a quiet man
+dressed in a robe of some rich, dark stuff, who stood in a corner of the
+place watching the company.
+
+"A thousand sestertia! For one slave girl! Ye gods! a thousand
+sestertia!"
+
+"The necklace goes with her, that is worth something, and there is
+property at Tyre."
+
+"Property in Tyre," said the other, "property in the moon. Come on, let
+us look at something a little less expensive. As I wish to keep my head
+on my shoulders, I am not going to bid against the prince in any case."
+
+"No, nor anyone else either. I expect he will get his fancy pretty cheap
+after all."
+
+Then the two men moved away, and a minute afterwards Nehushta found that
+it was her turn to approach Miriam.
+
+"Here comes a curious sort of buyer," said one of the attendants.
+
+"Don't judge the taste of the fruit by the look of the rind, young man,"
+answered Nehushta, and at the sound of that voice for the first time
+Pearl-Maiden lifted her head, then dropped it quickly.
+
+"She is well enough," Nehushta said aloud, "but there used to be
+prettier women when I was young; in fact, though dark, I was myself," a
+statement at which those within hearing, noting her gaunt and aged form
+bent beneath the heavy basket, tittered aloud. "Come, lift up your
+head, my dear," she went on, trying to entice the captive to consent by
+encouraging waves of her hand.
+
+They were fruitless; still, had any thought of it there was meaning in
+them. On Nehushta's finger, as it chanced, shone a ring which Miriam
+ought to know, seeing that for some years she had worn it on her own.
+
+It would seem that she did know it, at any rate her bosom and neck grew
+red and a spasm passed across her face which even the falling hair did
+not suffice to hide.
+
+The ring told Miriam that Marcus lived and that Nehushta was his
+messenger. This suspense at least was ended.
+
+Now the door-keeper called a warning and the buyers flocked from the
+building. Outside, the auctioneer, a smooth-faced, glib-tongued man, was
+already mounting the rostrum. Calling for silence he began his speech.
+On this evening of festival, he said, he would be brief. The lots he had
+to offer to the select body of connoisseurs he saw before him, were the
+property of the Imperator Titus, and the proceeds of the sale, it was
+his duty to tell them, would not go into Caesar's pocket, but were to be
+equally divided between the poor of Rome and deserving soldiers who
+had been wounded or had lost their health in the war, a fact which must
+cause every patriotic citizen to bid more briskly. These lots, he might
+say, were unique, being nothing else than the fifteen most beautiful
+girls, believed all of them to be of noble blood, among the many
+thousands who had been captured at the sack of Jerusalem, the city of
+the Jews, especially selected to adorn the great conqueror's Triumph.
+No true judge, who desired a charming memento of the victory of his
+country's arms, would wish to neglect such an opportunity, especially
+as he was informed that the Jewish women were affectionate, docile, well
+instructed in many arts, and very hard-working. He had only one more
+thing to say, or rather two things. He regretted that this important
+sale should be held at so unusual an hour. The reason was that there
+was really no place where these slaves could be comfortably kept without
+risk of their maltreatment or escape, so it was held to be best that
+they should be removed at once to the seclusion of their new homes, a
+decision, he was sure, that would meet the wishes of buyers. The second
+point was that among them was one lot of surpassing interest; namely,
+the girl who had come to be generally spoken of as Pearl-Maiden.
+
+This young woman, who could not be more than three or four-and-twenty
+years of age, was the last representative of a princely family of the
+Jews. She had been found exposed upon one of the gates of the holy house
+of that people, where it would seem she was sentenced to perish for some
+offence against their barbarous laws. As the clamours of the populace
+that day had testified, she was of the most delicate and distinguished
+beauty, and the collar of great pearls which she wore about her neck
+gave evidence of her rank. If he knew anything of the tastes of his
+countrymen the price which would be paid for her must prove a record
+even in that ring. He was aware that among the vulgar a great, almost
+a divine name had been coupled with that of this captive. Well, he knew
+nothing, except this, that he was certain that if there was any truth
+in the matter the owner of the name, as became a noble and a generous
+nature, would wish to obtain his prize fairly and openly. The bidding
+was as free to the humblest there--provided, of course, that he could
+pay, and he might remark that not an hour's credit would be given except
+to those who were known to him--as to Caesar himself. Now, as the light
+was failing, he would order the torches to be lit and commence the sale.
+The beauteous Pearl-Maiden, he might add, was Lot No. 7.
+
+So the torches were lit, and presently the first victim was led out and
+placed upon a stand of marble in the centre of the flaring ring. She was
+a dark-haired child of about sixteen years of age, who stared round her
+with a frightened gaze.
+
+The bidding began at five sestertia and ran up to fifteen, or about L120
+of our money, at which price she was knocked down to a Greek, who led
+her back into the receiving house, paid the gold to a clerk who was in
+attendance, and took her away, sobbing as she went. Then followed four
+others, who were sold at somewhat better prices. No. 6 was the dark and
+splendid Jewess who had kicked the greasy-curled Eastern in the face. As
+soon as she appeared upon the block, this brute stepped forward and bid
+twenty sestertia for her. An old grey-bearded fellow answered with a bid
+of twenty-five. Then some one bid thirty, which the Eastern capped with
+a bid of forty. So it went on till the large total of sixty sestertia
+was offered, whereon the Eastern advanced two more, at which price,
+amidst the laughter of the audience, she was knocked down to him.
+
+"You know me and that the money is safe," he said to the auctioneer. "It
+shall be paid to you to-morrow; I have enough to carry without lading
+myself up with so much gold. Come on, girl, to your new home, where I
+have a little score to settle with you," and grasping her by the left
+wrist he pulled her from the block and led her unresisting through the
+crowd and to the shadows beyond.
+
+Already No. 7 had been summoned to the block and the auctioneer was
+taking up his tale, when from out of these shadows rose the sound of a
+dreadful yell. Some of the audience snatched torches from their stands
+and ran to the spot whence it came. There, on the marble pavement
+lay the Eastern dead or dying, while over him stood the Jewess, a red
+dagger, his own, which she had snatched from its scabbard, in her hand,
+and on her stately face a look of vengeful triumph.
+
+"Seize her! Seize the murdering witch! Beat her to death with rods,"
+they cried, and at the command of the auctioneer slaves ran up to take
+her.
+
+She waited till they were near, then, without a word or a sound, lifted
+her strong, white arm and drove the knife deep into her own heart. For
+a moment she stood still, till suddenly she stretched her hands wide and
+fell face downwards dead upon the body of the brute who had bought her.
+
+The crowd gasped and was silent. Then one of them, a sickly looking
+patrician, called out:
+
+"Oh! I did well to come. What a sight! What a sight! Blessings on you,
+brave girl, you have given Julius a new pleasure."
+
+After this there was tumult and confusion while the attendants carried
+away the bodies. A few minutes later the auctioneer climbed back into
+his rostrum and alluded in moving terms to the "unfortunate accident"
+which had just happened.
+
+"Who would think," he said, "that one so beautiful could also be so
+violent? I weep when I consider that this noble purchaser, whose name
+I forget at the moment, but whose estate, by the way, is liable for the
+money, should have thus suddenly been transferred from the arms of Venus
+to that of Pluto, although it must be admitted that he gave the woman
+some provocation. Well, gentlemen, grief will not bring him to life
+again, and we who still stand beneath the stars have business to attend.
+Bear me witness, all of you, that I am blameless in this affair, and,
+slaves, bring out that priceless gem, the Pearl-Maiden."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+MASTER AND SLAVE
+
+Now a hush of expectancy fell upon the crowd, till presently two
+attendants appeared, each of them holding in his hand a flaming torch,
+and between them the captive Pearl-Maiden. So beautiful did she look as
+she advanced thus with bowed head, the red light of the torches falling
+upon her white robe and breast and reflected in a faint, shimmering line
+from the collar of pearls about her neck, that even that jaded company
+clapped as she came. In another moment she had mounted the two steps
+and was standing on the block of marble. The crowd pressed closer, among
+them the merchant of Egypt, Demetrius, and the veiled woman with the
+basket, who was now attended by a little man dressed as a slave and
+bearing on his back another basket, the weight of which he seemed
+to find irksome, since from time to time he groaned and twisted his
+shoulders. Also the chamberlain, Saturius, secure in the authority of
+his master, stepped over the rope and against the rule began to walk
+round and round the captive, examining her critically.
+
+"Look at her!" said the auctioneer. "Look for yourselves. I have nothing
+to say, words fail me--unless it is this. For more than twenty years I
+have stood in this rostrum, and during that time I suppose that fifteen
+or sixteen thousand young women have been knocked down to my hammer.
+They have come out of every part of the world; from the farthest East,
+from the Grecian mountains, from Egypt and Cyprus, from the Spanish
+plains, from Gaul, from the people of the Teutons, from the island of
+the Britons, and other barbarous places that lie still further north.
+Among them were many beautiful women, of every style and variety of
+loveliness, yet I tell you honestly, my patrons, I do not remember one
+who came so near perfection as this maiden whom I have the honour to
+sell to-night. I say again--look at her, look at her, and tell me with
+what you can find fault.
+
+"What do you say? Oh! yes, I am informed that her teeth are quite sound,
+there is no blemish to conceal, none at all, and the hair is all her
+own. That gentleman says that she is rather small. Well, she is not
+built upon a large scale, and to my mind that is one of her attractions.
+Little and good, you know, little and good. Only consider the
+proportions. Why, the greatest sculptors, ancient or modern, would
+rejoice to have her as model, and I hope that in the interests of the
+art-loving public"--here he glanced at the Chamberlain, Saturius--"that
+the fortunate person into whose hands she passes will not be so selfish
+as to deny them this satisfaction.
+
+"Now I have said enough and must but add this, that by the special
+decree of her captor, the Imperator Titus, the beautiful necklace of
+pearls worn by the maiden goes with her. I asked a jeweller friend of
+mine to look at it just now, and judging as well as he could without
+removing it from her neck, which was not allowed, he values it at least
+at a hundred sestertia. Also, there goes with this lot considerable
+property, situated in Tyre and neighbouring places, to which, had she
+been a free woman, she would have succeeded by inheritance. You may
+think that Tyre is a long way off and that it will be difficult to take
+possession of this estate, and, of course, there is something in the
+objection. Still, the title to it is secure enough, for here I have a
+deed signed by Titus Caesar himself, commanding all officials, officers
+and others concerned, to hand over without waste or deduction all
+property, real or personal, belonging to the estate of the late Benoni,
+the Jewish merchant of Tyre, and a member of the Sanhedrim--the lot's
+grandfather, I am informed, gentleman--to her purchaser, who has only to
+fill in his own name in the blank space, or any representatives whom he
+may appoint, which deed is especially declared to be indefeasible. Any
+one wish to see it? No? Then we will take it as read. I know that in
+such a matter, my patrons, my word is enough for you.
+
+"Now I am about to come to business, with the remark that the more
+liberal your bidding the better will our glorious general, Titus Caesar,
+be pleased; the better will the poor and the invalided soldiers, who
+deserve so well at your hands, be pleased; the better will the girl
+herself be pleased, who I am sure will know how to reward a generous
+appreciation of her worth; and the better shall I, your humble friend
+and servant, be pleased, because, as I may inform you in strict secrecy,
+I am paid, not by a fixed salary, but by commission.
+
+"Now, gentlemen, what may I say? A thousand sestertia to begin with? Oh!
+don't laugh, I expect more than that. What! Fifty? You are joking, my
+friend. However, the acorn grows into the oak, doesn't it? and I am told
+that you can stop the sources of the Tiber with your hat; so I'll start
+with fifty. Fifty--a hundred. Come, bid up, gentlemen, or we shall
+never get home to supper. Two hundred--three, four, five, six, seven,
+eight--ah! that's better. What are you stopping for?" and he addressed
+a hatchet-faced man who had thrust himself forward over the rope of the
+ring.
+
+The man shook his head with a sigh. "I'm done," he said. "Such goods
+are for my betters," a sentiment that seemed to be shared by his rivals,
+since they also stopped bidding.
+
+"Well, friend Saturius," said the auctioneer, "have you gone to sleep,
+or have you anything to say? Only in hundreds, now, gentlemen, mind,
+only in hundreds, unless I give the word. Thank you, I have nine
+hundred," and he looked round rather carelessly, expecting at heart that
+this bid would be the last.
+
+Then the merchant from Alexandria stepped forward and held up his
+finger.
+
+"A thousand, by the Gods!"
+
+Saturius looked at the man indignantly. Who was this that dared to bid
+against Domitian, the third dignitary in all the Roman empire, Caesar's
+son, Caesar's brother, who might himself be Caesar? Still he answered with
+another bid of eleven hundred.
+
+Once more the finger of Domitian went up.
+
+"Twelve. Twelve hundred!" said the auctioneer, in a voice of suppressed
+excitement, while the audience gasped, for such prices had not been
+heard of.
+
+"Thirteen," said the Chamberlain.
+
+Again the finger went up.
+
+"Fourteen hundred. I have fourteen hundred. Against you, worthy
+Saturius. Come, come, I must knock the lot down, which perhaps would not
+please some whom I could mention. Don't be stingy, friend, you have a
+large purse to draw on, and it is called the Roman Empire. Now. Thank
+you, I have fifteen hundred. Well, my friend yonder. What! Have you had
+enough?" and he pointed to the Alexandrian merchant, who, with a groan,
+had turned aside and hidden his face in his hands.
+
+"Knocked out, knocked out, it seems," said the auctioneer, "and though
+it is little enough under all the circumstances for this lot, who is as
+lovely as she is historical, I suppose that I can scarcely expect----"
+and he looked around despondently.
+
+Suddenly the old woman with the basket glanced up and, speaking in a
+quiet matter-of-fact voice but with a foreign accent, said:
+
+"Two thousand."
+
+A titter of laughter went around the room.
+
+"My dear madam?" queried the auctioneer, looking at her dubiously,
+"might I ask if you mean sester_tii_ or sester_tia_?[*] Your pardon, but
+it has occurred to me that you might be confounding the two sums."
+
+     [*] A _sestertius_ was worth less than 2d., a _sestertium_
+     was a sum of money of the value of about L8.
+
+"Two thousand sester_tia_," repeated the matter-of-fact voice with the
+foreign accent.
+
+"Well, well," said the auctioneer, "I suppose that I must accept the
+bid. Friend Saturius, I have two thousand sestertia, and it is against
+you."
+
+"Against me it must remain, then," replied the little man in a fury. "Do
+all the kings in the world want this girl? Already I have exceeded my
+limit by five hundred sestertia. I dare do no more. Let her go."
+
+"Don't vex yourself, Saturius," said the auctioneer, "bidding is one
+thing, paying another. At present I have a bona-fide bid of fifteen
+hundred from you. Unless this liberal but unknown lady is prepared with
+the cash I shall close on that. Do you understand, madam?"
+
+"Perfectly," answered the veiled old woman. "Being a stranger to Rome I
+thought it well to bring the gold with me, since strangers cannot expect
+credit."
+
+"To bring the gold with you!" gasped the auctioneer. "To bring two
+thousand sestertia with you! Where is it then?"
+
+"Where? Oh! in my servant's and my own baskets, and something more as
+well. Come, good sir, I have made my bid. Does the worthy gentleman
+advance?"
+
+"No," shouted Saturius. "You are being fooled, she has not got the
+money."
+
+"If he does not advance and no other worthy gentleman wishes to bid,
+then will you knock the lot down?" said the old woman. "Pardon me if
+I press you, noble seller of slaves, but I must ride far from Rome
+to-night, to Centum Cellae, indeed, where my ship waits; therefore, I
+have no time to lose."
+
+Now the auctioneer saw that there was no choice, since under the rules
+of the public mart he must accept the offer of the highest bidder.
+
+"Two thousand sestertia are bid for this lot No. 7, the Jewish captive
+known as Pearl-Maiden, sold by order of Titus Imperator, together with
+her collar of pearls and the property to which, as a free woman, she
+would have been entitled. Any advance on two thousand sestertia?" and he
+looked at Saturius, who shook his head. "No? Then--going--going--gone!
+I declare the lot sold, to be delivered on payment of the cash to the
+person named--by the way, madam, what is your name?"
+
+"Mulier."
+
+At this the company burst into a loud laugh.
+
+"Mulier?" repeated the auctioneer, "M u l i e r--Woman?"
+
+"Yes, am I not a woman, and what better name can I have than is given to
+all my sex?"
+
+"In truth, you are so wrapped up that I must take your word for it,"
+replied the auctioneer. "But come, let us put an end to this farce. If
+you have the money, follow me into the receiving house--for I must see
+to the matter myself--and pay it down."
+
+"With pleasure, sir, but be so good as to bring my property with
+you. She is too valuable to be left here unprotected amongst these
+distinguished but disappointed gentlemen."
+
+Accordingly Miriam was led from the marble stand into an office annexed
+to the receiving-house, whither she was followed by the auctioneer and
+by Nehushta and her servant, whose backs, it was now observed, bent
+beneath the weight of the baskets that were strapped upon them. Here the
+door was locked, and with the help of her attendant Nehushta loosened
+her basket, letting it fall upon the table with a sigh of relief.
+
+"Take it and count," he said to the auctioneer, untying the lid.
+
+He lifted it and there met his eye a layer of lettuces neatly packed.
+
+"By Venus!" he began in a fury.
+
+"Softly, friend, softly," said Nehushta, "these lettuces are of a kind
+which only grow in yellow soil. Look," and lifting the vegetables she
+revealed beneath row upon row of gold coin. "Examine it before you
+count," she said.
+
+He did so by biting pieces at hazard with his teeth and causing them to
+ring upon the marble table.
+
+"It is good," he said.
+
+"Quite so. Then count."
+
+So he and the clerk counted, even to the bottom of the basket, which was
+found to contain gold to the value of over eleven hundred sestertia.
+
+"So far well," he said, "but that is not enough."
+
+The buyer beckoned to the man with her who stood in the corner, his face
+hidden by the shadow, and he dragged forward the second basket, which he
+had already unstrapped from his shoulders. Here also were lettuces, and
+beneath the lettuces gold. When the full two thousand sestertia were
+counted, that is, over fifteen thousand pounds of our money, this second
+basket still remained more than a third full.
+
+"I ought to have run you up, madam," said the auctioneer, surveying the
+shining gold with greedy eyes.
+
+"Yes," she replied calmly, "if you had guessed the truth you might have
+done so. But who knows the truth, except myself?"
+
+"Are you a sorceress?" he asked.
+
+"Perhaps. What does it matter? At least, the gold will not melt. And,
+by the way, it is troublesome carrying so much of the stuff back again.
+Would you like a couple of handfuls for yourself, and say ten pieces for
+your clerk? Yes? Well, please first fill in that deed with the name
+that I shall give you and with your own as witness? Here it is--'Miriam,
+daughter of Demas and Rachel, born in the year of the death of Herod
+Agrippa.' Thank you. You have signed, and the clerk also, I think. Now I
+will take that roll.
+
+"One thing more, there is another door to this Receiving-house? With
+your leave I should prefer to go out that way, as my newly acquired
+property seems tired, and for one day has had enough of public notice.
+You will, I understand, give us a few minutes to depart before you
+return to the rostrum, and your clerk will be so courteous as to escort
+us out of the Forum. Now help yourself. Man, can't you make your hand
+larger than that? Well, it will suffice to pay for a summer holiday. I
+see a cloak there which may serve to protect this slave from the chill
+air of the night. In case it should be claimed, perhaps these five
+pieces will pay for it. Most noble and courteous sir, again I thank you.
+Young woman, throw this over your bare shoulders and your head; that
+necklace might tempt the dishonest.
+
+"Now, if our guide is ready we will be going. Slave, bring the basket,
+at the weight of which you need no longer groan, and you, young woman,
+strap on this other basket; it is as well that you should begin to be
+instructed in your domestic duties, for I tell you at once that having
+heard much of the skill of the Jews in those matters, I have bought you
+to be my cook and to attend to the dressing of my hair. Farewell, sir,
+farewell; may we never meet again."
+
+"Farewell," replied the astonished auctioneer, "farewell, my lady
+Mulier, who can afford to give two thousand sestertia for a cook! Good
+luck to you, and if you are always as liberal as this, may we meet once
+a month, say I. Yet have no fear," he added meaningly, "I know when I
+have been well treated and shall not seek you out--even to please Caesar
+himself."
+
+Three minutes later, under the guidance of the clerk, who was as
+discreet as his master, they had passed, quite undisturbed, through
+various dark colonnades and up a flight of marble stairs.
+
+"Now you are out of the Forum, so go your ways," he said.
+
+They went, and the clerk stood watching them until they were round
+a corner, for he was young and curious, and to him this seemed the
+strangest comedy of the slave-market of which he had ever even heard.
+
+As he turned to go he found himself face to face with a tall man, in
+whom he recognized that merchant of Egypt who had bid for Pearl-Maiden
+up to the enormous total of fourteen hundred sestertia.
+
+"Friend," said Demetrius, "which way did your companions go?"
+
+"I don't know," answered the clerk.
+
+"Come, try to remember. Did they walk straight on, or turn to the left,
+or turn to the right? Fix your attention on these, it may help you," and
+once more that fortunate clerk found five gold pieces thrust into his
+hand.
+
+"I don't know that they help me," he said, for he wished to be faithful
+to his hire.
+
+"Fool," said Demetrius in a changed voice, "remember quickly, or here
+is something that will----" and he showed him a dagger glinting in his
+hand. "Now then, do you wish to go the same road as they carried the
+Jewish girl and the Eastern?"
+
+"They turned to the right," said the clerk sulkily. "It is the truth,
+but may that road you speak of be yours who draw knives on honest folk."
+
+With a bound Demetrius left his side, and for the second time the clerk
+stood still, watching him go.
+
+"A strange business," he said to himself, "but, perhaps my master was
+right and that old woman is a sorceress, or, perhaps, the young one is
+the sorceress, since all men seem ready to pay a tribe's tribute to get
+hold of her; or, perhaps, they are both sorceresses. A strange story,
+of which I should like to know the meaning, and so, I fancy, would the
+Prince Domitian when he comes to hear of it. Saturius, the chamberlain,
+has a fat place, but I would not take it to-night, no, not if it were
+given to me."
+
+Then that young man returned to the mart in time to hear his master
+knock down Lot thirteen, a very sweet-looking girl, to Saturius himself,
+who proposed, though with a doubtful heart, to take her to Domitian as a
+substitute.
+
+Meanwhile, Nehushta, Miriam and the steward Stephanus, disguised as a
+slave, went on as swiftly as they dared towards the palace of Marcus
+in the Via Agrippa. The two women held each other by the hand but said
+nothing; their hearts seemed too full for speech. Only the old steward
+kept muttering--"Two thousand sestertia! The savings of years! Two
+thousand sestertia for that bit of a girl! Surely the gods have smitten
+him mad."
+
+"Hold your peace, fool," said Nehushta at length. "At least, I am not
+mad; the property that went with her is worth more than the money."
+
+"Yes, yes," replied the aggrieved Stephanus, "but how will that benefit
+my master? You put it in her name. Well, it is no affair of mine, and at
+least this accursed basket is much lighter."
+
+Now they were at the side door of the house, which Stephanus was
+unlocking with his key.
+
+"Quick," said Nehushta, "I hear footsteps."
+
+The door opened and they passed in, but at that moment one went by them,
+pausing to look until the door closed again.
+
+"Who was that?" asked Stephanus nervously.
+
+"He whom they called Demetrius, the merchant of Alexandria, but whom
+once I knew by another name," answered Nehushta in a slow voice while
+Stephanus barred the door.
+
+They walked through the archway into an antechamber lit by a single
+lamp, leaving Stephanus still occupied with his bolts and chains. Here
+with a sudden motion Nehushta threw off her cloak and tore the veil from
+her brow. In another instant, uttering a low, crooning cry, she flung
+her long arms about Miriam and began to kiss her again and again on the
+face.
+
+"My darling," she moaned, "my darling."
+
+"Tell me what it all means, Nou," said the poor girl faintly.
+
+"It means that God has heard my prayers and suffered my old feet to
+overtake you in time, and provided the wealth to preserve you from a
+dreadful fate."
+
+"Whose wealth? Where am I?" asked Miriam.
+
+Nehushta made no answer, only she unstrapped the basket from Miriam's
+back and unclasped the cloak from about her shoulders. Then, taking her
+by the hand, she led her into a lighted passage and thence through a
+door into a great and splendid room spread with rich carpets and adorned
+with costly furniture and marble images. At the end of this room was a
+table lighted by two lamps, and on the further side of this table sat
+a man as though he were asleep, for his face was hidden upon his arms.
+Miriam saw him and clung to Nehushta trembling.
+
+"Hush!" whispered her guide, and they stood still in the shadow.
+
+The man lifted his head so that the light fell full upon it, and Miriam
+saw that it was Marcus. Marcus grown older and with a patch of grey hair
+upon his temple where the sword of Caleb had struck him, very worn and
+tired-looking also, but still Marcus and no other. He was speaking to
+himself.
+
+"I can bear it no longer," he said. "Thrice have I been to the gate and
+still no sign. Doubtless the plan has miscarried and by now she is in
+the palace of Domitian. I will go forth and learn the worst," and he
+rose from the table.
+
+"Speak to him," whispered Nehushta, pushing Miriam forward.
+
+She advanced into the circle of the lamplight, but as yet Marcus did not
+see her, for he had gone to the window-place to find a cloak that lay
+there. Then he turned and saw her. Before him in her robe of white, the
+soft light shining on her gentle loveliness, stood Miriam. He stared at
+her bewildered.
+
+"Do I dream?" he said.
+
+"Nay, Marcus," she answered in her sweet voice, "you do not dream. I am
+Miriam."
+
+In an instant he was at her side and held her in his arms, nor did she
+resist him, for after so many fears and sufferings they seemed to her a
+home.
+
+"Loose me, I pray you," she said at length, "I am faint, I can bear no
+more."
+
+At her entreaty he suffered her to sink upon the cushions of a couch
+that was at hand.
+
+"Tell me, tell me everything," he said.
+
+"Ask it of Nehushta," she answered, leaning back. "I am spent."
+
+Nehushta ran to her side and began to chafe her hands. "Let be with
+your questions," she said. "I bought her, that's enough. Ask that old
+huckster, Stephanus, the price. But first in the name of charity give
+her food. Those who have walked through a Triumph to end the day on the
+slave block need victuals."
+
+"It is here, it is here," Marcus said confusedly, "such as there is."
+Taking a lamp he led the way to a table that was placed in the shadow,
+where stood some meat and fruit with flagons of rich coloured wine and
+pure water and shallow silver cups to drink from.
+
+Putting her arm about Miriam's waist, Nehushta supported her to the
+table and sat her down upon one of the couches. Then she poured out wine
+and put it to her lips, and cut meat and made her swallow it till Miriam
+would touch no more. Now the colour came back to her face, and her eyes
+grew bright again, and resting there upon the couch, she listened while
+Nehushta told Marcus all the story of the slave sale.
+
+"Well done," he said, laughing in his old merry fashion, "well done,
+indeed! Oh! what favouring god put it into the head of that honest old
+miser, Stephanus, from year to year to hoard up all that sum of gold
+against an hour of sudden need which none could foresee!"
+
+"My God and hers," answered Nehushta solemnly, "to Whom if He give you
+space, you should be thankful, which, by the way, is more than Stephanus
+is, who has seen so much of your savings squandered in an hour."
+
+"Your savings?" said Miriam, looking up. "Did you buy me, Marcus?"
+
+"I suppose so, beloved," he answered.
+
+"Then, then, I am your slave?"
+
+"Not so, Miriam," he replied nervously. "As you know well, it is I who
+am yours. All I ask of you is that you should become my wife."
+
+"That cannot be, Marcus," she answered in a kind of cry. "You know that
+it cannot be."
+
+His face turned pale.
+
+"After all that has come and gone between us, Miriam, do you still say
+so?"
+
+"I still say so."
+
+"You could give your life for me, and yet you will not give your life to
+me?"
+
+"Yes, Marcus."
+
+"Why? Why?"
+
+"For the reasons that I gave you yonder by the banks of Jordan; because
+those who begat me laid on me the charge that I should marry none who is
+not a Christian. How then can I marry you?"
+
+Marcus thought a moment.
+
+"Does the book of your law forbid it?" he asked.
+
+She shook her head. "No, but the dead forbid it, and rather will I join
+them than break their command."
+
+Again Marcus thought and spoke.
+
+"Well, then, since I must, I will become a Christian."
+
+She looked at him sadly and answered:
+
+"It is not enough. Do you remember what I told you far away in the
+village of the Essenes, that this is no matter of casting incense on an
+altar, but rather one of a changed spirit. When you can say those words
+from your heart as well as with your lips, then, Marcus, I will listen
+to you, but unless God calls you this you can never do."
+
+"What then do you propose?" he asked.
+
+"I? I have not had time to think. To go away, I suppose."
+
+"To Domitian?" he queried. "Nay, forgive me, but a sore heart makes
+bitter lips."
+
+"I am glad you asked forgiveness for those words, Marcus," she said
+quivering. "What need is there to insult a slave?"
+
+The word seemed to suggest a new train of thought to Marcus.
+
+"Yes," he said, "a slave--my slave whom I have bought at a great price.
+Well, why should I let you go? I am minded to keep you."
+
+"Marcus, you can keep me if you will, but then your sin against your own
+honour will be greater even than your sin against me."
+
+"Sin!" he said, passionately. "What sin? You say you cannot marry me,
+not because you do not wish it, if I understand you right, but for other
+reasons which have weight, at any rate with you. But the dead give no
+command as to whom you should love."
+
+"No, my love is my own, but if it is not lawful it can be denied."
+
+"Why should it be denied?" he asked softly and coming towards her. "Is
+there not much between you and me? Did not you, brave and blessed woman
+that you are, risk your life for my sake in the Old Tower at Jerusalem?
+Did you not for my sake stand there upon the gate Nicanor to perish
+miserably? And I, though it be little, have I not done something for
+you? Have I not so soon as your message reached me, journeyed here to
+Rome, at the cost, perhaps, of what I value more than life--my honour?"
+
+"Your honour?" she asked. "Why your honour?"
+
+"Because those who have been taken prisoner by the enemy and escaped are
+held to be cowards among the Romans," he answered bitterly, "and it may
+be that such a lot awaits me."
+
+"Coward! You a coward, Marcus?"
+
+"Aye. When it is known that I live, that is what my enemies will call me
+who lived on for your sake, Miriam--for the sake of a woman who denies
+me."
+
+"Oh!" she said, "this is bitter. Now I remember and understand what
+Gallus meant."
+
+"Then will you still deny me? Must I suffer thus in vain? Think, had it
+not been for you I could have stayed afar until the thing was forgotten,
+that is, if I still chose to live; but now, because of you, things are
+thus, and yet, Miriam--you deny me," and he put his arms about her and
+drew her to his breast.
+
+She did not struggle, she had no strength, only she wrung her hands and
+sobbed, saying:
+
+"What shall I do? Woe is me, what shall I do?"
+
+"Do?" said the voice of Nehushta, speaking clear as a clarion from the
+shadows. "Do your duty, girl, and leave the rest to Heaven."
+
+"Silence, accursed woman!" gasped Marcus, turning pale with anger.
+
+"Nay," she answered, "I will not be silent. Listen, Roman; I like you
+well, as you have reason to know, seeing that it was I who nursed you
+back to life, when for one hour's want of care you must have died. I
+like you well, and above everything on earth I wish that ere my eyes
+shut for the last time they may see your hand in her hand, and her hand
+in your hand, man and wife before the face of all men. Yet I tell you
+that now indeed you are a coward in a deeper fashion than that the
+Romans dream of; you are a coward who try to work upon the weakness of
+this poor girl's loving heart, who try in the hour of her sore distress
+to draw her from the spirit, if not from the letter, of her duty. So
+great a coward are you that you remind her even that she is your slave
+and threaten to deal with her as you heathen deal with slaves. You put a
+gloss upon the truth; you try to filch the fruit you may not pluck; you
+say 'you may not marry me, but you are my property, and therefore if you
+give way to your master it is no sin.' I tell you it is a sin, doubly
+a sin, since you would bind the weight of it on her back as well as on
+your own, and a sin that in this way or in that would bring its reward
+to both of you."
+
+"Have you finished?" asked Marcus coldly, but suffering Miriam to slip
+from his arms back upon the couch.
+
+"No, I have not finished; I spoke of the fruits of evil; now as my heart
+prompts me I speak of the promise of good. Let this woman go free as you
+have the power to do; strike the chains off her neck and take back the
+price that you have paid for her, since she has property which will
+discharge it to the last farthing, which property to-day stands in her
+name and can be conveyed to you. Then, go search the Scriptures and see
+if you can find no message in them. If you find it, well and good, then
+take her with a clean heart and be happy. If you find it not, well and
+good, then leave her with a clean heart and be sorrowful, for so it is
+decreed. Only in this matter do not dare to be double-minded, lest the
+last evil overtake you and her, and your children and hers. Now I have
+done, and, my lord Marcus, be so good as to signify your pleasure to
+your slave, Pearl-Maiden, and your servant, Nehushta the Libyan."
+
+Marcus began to walk up and down the room, out of the light into the
+shadow, out of the shadow into the light. Presently he halted, and the
+two women watching saw that his face was drawn and ashen, like the face
+of an old man.
+
+"My pleasure," he said vacantly, "--that is a strange word on my lips
+to-night, is it not? Well, Nehushta, you have the best of the argument.
+All you say is quite true, if a little over-coloured. Of course, Miriam
+is quite right not to marry me if she has scruples, and, of course, I
+should be quite wrong to take advantage of the accident of my being able
+to purchase her in the slave-ring. I think that is all I have to say.
+Miriam, I free you, as indeed I remember I promised the Essenes that I
+would do. Since no one knows you belong to me, I suppose that no formal
+ceremony will be necessary. It is a manumission 'inter amicos,' as the
+lawyers say, but quite valid. As to the title to the Tyre property,
+I accept it in payment of the debt, but I beg that you will keep it
+a while on my behalf, for, at present, there might be trouble about
+transferring it into my name. Now, good-night. Nehushta will take you to
+her room, Miriam, and to-morrow you can depart whither you will. I wish
+you all fortune, and--why do you not thank me? Under the circumstances,
+it would be kind."
+
+But Miriam only burst into a flood of tears.
+
+"What will you do, Marcus? Oh! what will you do?" she sobbed.
+
+"In all probability, things which I would rather you did not know of,"
+he answered bitterly, "or I may take it into my head to accept the
+suggestion of our friend, Nehushta, and begin to search those Scriptures
+of which I have heard so much; that seem, by the way, specially designed
+to prevent the happiness of men and women." Then he added fiercely, "Go,
+girl, go at once, for if you stand there weeping before me any longer, I
+tell you that I shall change my mind, and as Nehushta says, imperil the
+safety of your soul, and of my own--which does not matter."
+
+So Miriam stumbled from the room and through the curtained doorway. As
+Nehushta followed her Marcus caught her by the arm.
+
+"I have half a mind to murder you," he said, quietly.
+
+The old Libyan only laughed.
+
+"All I have said is true and for your own good, Marcus," she answered,
+"and you will live to know it."
+
+"Where will you take her?"
+
+"I don't know yet, but Christians always have friends."
+
+"You will let me hear of her."
+
+"Surely, if it is safe."
+
+"And if she needs help you will tell me?"
+
+"Surely, and if you need her help, and it can be done, I will bring her
+to you."
+
+"Then may I need help soon," he said. "Begone."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+THE REWARD OF SATURIUS
+
+Meanwhile, in one of the palaces of the Caesars not far from the Capitol,
+was being enacted another and more stormy scene. It was the palace of
+Domitian, whither, the bewildering pomp of the Triumph finished at last,
+the prince had withdrawn himself in no happy mood. That day many things
+had happened to vex him. First and foremost, as had been brought home
+to his mind from minute to minute throughout the long hours, its glory
+belonged not to himself, not even to his father, Vespasian, but to his
+brother, the conqueror of the Jews. Titus he had always hated, Titus,
+who was as beloved of mankind for his virtues, such as virtues were in
+that age, as he, Domitian, was execrated for his vices. Now Titus had
+returned after a brilliant and successful campaign to be crowned as
+Caesar, to be accepted as the sharer of his father's government, and to
+receive the ovations of the populace, while his brother Domitian must
+ride almost unnoted behind his chariot. The plaudits of the roaring mob,
+the congratulations of the Senate, the homage of the knights and subject
+princes, the offerings of foreign kings, all laid at the feet of Titus,
+filled him with a jealousy that went nigh to madness. Soothsayers had
+told him, it was true, that his hour would come, that he would live and
+reign after Vespasian and Titus had gone down, both of them, to Hades.
+But even if they spoke the truth this hour seemed a long way off.
+
+Also there were other things. At the great sacrifice before the temple
+of Jupiter, his place had been set too far back where the people could
+not see him; at the feast which followed the master of the ceremonies
+had neglected, or had forgotten, to pour a libation in his honour.
+
+Further, the beautiful captive, Pearl-Maiden, had appeared in the
+procession unadorned by the costly girdle which he had sent her; while,
+last of all, the different wines that he had drunk had disagreed with
+him, so that because of them, or of the heat of the sun, he suffered
+from the headache and sickness to which he was liable. Pleading this
+indisposition as an excuse, Domitian left the banquet very early, and
+attended by his slaves and musicians retired to his own palace.
+
+Here his spirits revived somewhat, since he knew that before long his
+chamberlain, Saturius, would appear with the lovely Jewish maiden
+upon whom he had set his fancy. This at least was certain, for he had
+arranged that the auction should be held that evening and instructed
+him to buy her at all costs, even for a thousand sestertia. Indeed, who
+would dare to bid for a slave that the Prince Domitian desired?
+
+Learning that Saturius had not yet arrived, he went to his private
+chambers, and to pass away the time commanded his most beautiful slaves
+to dance before him, where he inflamed himself by drinking more wine of
+a vintage that he loved. As the fumes of the strong liquor mounted to
+his brain the pains in his head ceased, at any rate for a while. Very
+soon he became half-drunk, and as was his nature when in drink, savage.
+One of the dancing slaves stumbled and growing nervous stepped out of
+time, whereon he ordered the poor half-naked girl to be scourged before
+him by the hands of her own companions. Happily for her, however, before
+the punishment began a slave arrived with the intelligence that Saturius
+waited without.
+
+"What, alone?" said the prince, springing to his feet.
+
+"Nay, lord," said the slave, "there is a woman with him."
+
+At this news instantly his ill-temper was forgotten.
+
+"Let that girl go," he said, "and bid her be more careful another time.
+Away, all the lot of you, I wish to be private. Now, slave, bid the
+worthy Saturius enter with his charge."
+
+Presently the curtains were drawn apart and through them came Saturius
+rubbing his hands and smiling somewhat nervously, followed by a woman
+wrapped in a long cloak and veiled. He began to offer the customary
+salutations, but Domitian cut him short.
+
+"Rise, man," he said. "That sort of thing is very well in public, but
+I don't want it here. So you have got her," he added, eyeing the draped
+form in the background.
+
+"Yes," replied Saturius doubtfully.
+
+"Good, your services shall be remembered. You were ever a discreet and
+faithful agent. Did the bidding run high?"
+
+"Oh! my lord, enormous, ee--normous. I never heard such bidding," and he
+stretched out his hands.
+
+"Impertinence! Who dared to compete with me?" remarked Domitian. "Well,
+what did you have to give?"
+
+"Fifty sestertia, my lord."
+
+"Fifty sestertia?" answered Domitian with an air of relief. "Well, of
+course it is enough, but I have known beautiful maidens fetch more. By
+the way, dear one," he went on, addressing the veiled woman, "you must,
+I fear, be tired after all that weary, foolish show."
+
+The "dear one" making no audible reply, Domitian went on:
+
+"Modesty is pleasing in a maid, but now I pray you, forget it for
+awhile. Unveil yourself, most beautiful, that I may behold that
+loveliness for which my heart has ached these many days. Nay, that task
+shall be my own," and he advanced somewhat unsteadily towards his prize.
+
+Saturius thought that he saw his chance. Domitian was so intoxicated
+that it would be useless to attempt to explain matters that night.
+Clearly he should retire as soon as possible.
+
+"Most noble prince and patron," he began, "my duty is done, with your
+leave I will withdraw."
+
+"By no means, by no means," hiccupped Domitian, "I know that you are an
+excellent judge of beauty, most discriminating Saturius, and I should
+like to talk over the points of this lady with you. You know, dear
+Saturius, that I am not selfish, and to tell the truth, which you won't
+mind between friends--who could be jealous of a wizened, last year's
+walnut of a man like you? Not I, Saturius, not I, whom everybody
+acknowledges to be the most beautiful person in Rome, much better
+looking than Titus is, although he does call himself Caesar. Now for it.
+Where's the fastening? Saturius, find the fastening. Why do you tie up
+the poor girl like an Egyptian corpse and prevent her lord and master
+from looking at her?"
+
+As he spoke the slave did something to the back of her head and the
+veil fell to the ground, revealing a girl of very pleasing shape and
+countenance, but who, as might be expected, looked most weary and
+frightened. Domitian stared at her with his bleared and wicked eyes,
+while a puzzled expression grew upon his face.
+
+"Very odd!" he said, "but she seems to have changed! I thought her eyes
+were blue, and that she had curling black hair. Now they are dark and
+she has straight hair. Where's the necklace, too? Where's the necklace?
+Pearl-Maiden, what have you done with your necklace? Yes, and why didn't
+you wear the girdle I sent you to-day?"
+
+"Sir," answered the Jewess, "I never had a necklace----"
+
+"My lord Domitian," began Saturius with a nervous laugh, "there is a
+mistake--I must explain. This girl is not Pearl-Maiden. Pearl-Maiden
+fetched so great a price that it was impossible that I should buy her,
+even for you----"
+
+He stopped, for suddenly Domitian's face had become terrible. All the
+drunkenness had left it, to be replaced by a mask of savage cruelty
+through which glared the pale and glittering eyes. The man appeared as
+he was, half satyr and half fiend.
+
+"A mistake----" he said. "Oh! a mistake? And I have been counting on
+her all these weeks, and now some other man has taken her from me--the
+prince Domitian. And you--you dare to come to me with this tale, and
+to bring this slut with you instead of my Pearl-Maiden----" and at the
+thought he fairly sobbed in his drunken, disappointed rage. Then he
+stepped back and began to clap his hands and call aloud.
+
+Instantly slaves and guards rushed into the chamber, thinking that their
+lord was threatened with some evil.
+
+"Men," he said, "take that woman and kill her. No, it might make a stir,
+as she was one of Titus's captives. Don't kill her, thrust her into the
+street."
+
+The girl was seized by the arms and dragged away.
+
+"Oh! my lord," began Saturius.
+
+"Silence, man, I am coming to you. Seize him, and strip him. Oh! I know
+you are a freedman and a citizen of Rome. Well, soon you shall be a
+citizen of Hades, I promise you. Now, bring the heavy rods and beat him
+till he dies."
+
+The dreadful order was obeyed, and for a while nothing was heard save
+the sound of heavy blows and the smothered moans of the miserable
+Saturius.
+
+"Wretches," yelled the Imperial brute, "you are playing, you do not hit
+hard enough. I will teach you how to hit," and snatching a rod from one
+of the slaves he rushed at his prostrate chamberlain, the others drawing
+back to allow their master to show his skill in flogging.
+
+Saturius saw Domitian come, and knew that unless he could change his
+purpose in another minute the life would be battered out of him. He
+struggled to his knees.
+
+"Prince," he cried, "hearken ere you strike. You can kill me if you will
+who are justly angered, and to die at your hands is an honour that I do
+not merit. Yet, dread lord, remember that if you slay me then you will
+never find that Pearl-Maiden whom you desire."
+
+Domitian paused, for even in his fury he was cunning. "Doubtless," he
+thought, "the knave knows where the girl is. Perhaps even he has hidden
+her away for himself."
+
+"Ah!" he said aloud, quoting the vulgar proverb, "'the rod is the mother
+of reason.' Well, can you find her?"
+
+"Surely, if I have time. The man who can afford to pay two thousand
+sestertia for a single slave cannot easily be hidden."
+
+"Two thousand sestertia!" exclaimed Domitian astonished. "Tell me that
+story. Slaves, give Saturius his robe and fall back--no, not too far, he
+may be treacherous."
+
+The chamberlain threw the garment over his bleeding shoulders and
+fastened it with a trembling hand. Then he told his tale, adding:
+
+"Oh! my lord, what could I do? You have not enough money at hand to pay
+so huge a sum."
+
+"Do, fool? Why you should have bought her on credit and left me
+to settle the price afterwards. Oh! never mind Titus, I could have
+outwitted him. But the mischief is done; now for the remedy, so far as
+it can be remedied," he added, grinding his teeth.
+
+"That I must seek to-morrow, lord."
+
+"To-morrow? And what will you do to-morrow?"
+
+"To-morrow I will find where the girl's gone, or try to, and then--why
+he who has bought her might die and--the rest will be easy."
+
+"Die he surely shall be who has dared to rob Domitian of his darling,"
+answered the prince with an oath. "Well, hearken, Saturius, for this
+night you are spared, but be sure that if you fail for the second time
+you also shall die, and after a worse fashion than I promised you. Now
+go, and to-morrow we will take counsel. Oh! ye gods, why do you deal
+so hardly with Domitian? My soul is bruised and must be comforted with
+poesy. Rouse that Greek from his bed and send him to me. He shall read
+to me of the wrath of Achilles when they robbed him of his Briseis, for
+the hero's lot is mine."
+
+So this new Achilles departed, now that his rage had left him, weeping
+maudlin tears of disappointed passion, to comfort his "bruised soul"
+with the immortal lines of Homer, for when he was not merely a brute
+Domitian fancied himself a poet. It was perhaps as well for his peace
+of mind that he could not see the face of Saturius, as the chamberlain
+comforted his bruised shoulders with some serviceable ointment, or hear
+the oath which that useful and industrious officer uttered as he sought
+his rest, face downwards, since for many days thereafter he was unable
+to lie upon his back. It was a very ugly oath, sworn by every god who
+had an altar in Rome, with the divinities of the Jews and the Christians
+thrown in, that in a day to come he would avenge Domitian's rods with
+daggers. Had the prince been able to do so, there might have risen in
+his mind some prescience of a certain scene, in which he must play a
+part on a far-off but destined night. He might have beheld a vision of
+himself, bald, corpulent and thin-legged, but wearing the imperial robes
+of Caesar, rolling in a frantic struggle for life upon the floor of his
+bed-chamber, at death grips with one Stephanus, while an old chamberlain
+named Saturius drove a dagger again and again into his back, crying at
+each stroke:
+
+"Oho! That for thy rods, Caesar! Oho! Dost remember the Pearl-Maiden?
+That for thy rods, Caesar, and that--and that--and _that_----!"
+
+But Domitian, weeping himself to sleep over the tale of the wrongs of
+the god-like Achilles, which did but foreshadow those of his divine
+self, as yet thought nothing of the rich reward that time should bring
+him.
+
+
+
+On the morrow of the great day of the Triumph the merchant Demetrius
+of Alexandria, whom for many years we have known as Caleb, sat in the
+office of the store-house which he had hired for the bestowal of his
+goods in one of the busiest thoroughfares of Rome. Handsome, indeed,
+noble-looking as he was, and must always be, his countenance presented
+a sorry sight. From hour to hour during the previous day he had fought a
+path through the dense crowds that lined the streets of Rome, to keep as
+near as might be to Miriam while she trudged her long route of splendid
+shame.
+
+Then came the evening, when, with the other women slaves, she was put
+up to auction in the Forum. To prepare for this sale Caleb had turned
+almost all his merchandise into money, for he knew that Domitian was a
+purchaser, and guessed that the price of the beautiful Pearl-Maiden, of
+whom all the city was talking, would rule high. The climax we know. He
+bid to the last coin that he possessed or could raise, only to find that
+others with still greater resources were in the market. Even the agent
+of the prince had been left behind, and Miriam was at last knocked down
+to some mysterious stranger woman dressed like a peasant. The woman was
+veiled and disguised; she spoke with a feigned voice and in a strange
+tongue, but from the beginning Caleb knew her. Incredible as it might
+seem, that she should be here in Rome, he was certain that she was
+Nehushta, and no other.
+
+That Nehushta should buy Miriam was well, but how came she by so vast a
+sum of money, here in a far-off land? In short, for whom was she buying?
+Indeed, for whom would she buy? He could think of one only--Marcus. But
+he had made inquiries and Marcus was not in Rome. Indeed he had every
+reason to believe that his rival was long dead, that his bones were
+scattered among the tens of thousands which whitened the tumbled ruins
+of the Holy City in Judaea. How could it be otherwise? He had last seen
+him wounded, as he thought to death--and he should know, for the stroke
+fell from his own hand--lying senseless in the Old Tower in Jerusalem.
+Then he vanished away, and where Marcus had been Miriam was found.
+Whither did he vanish, and if it was true that she succeeded in hiding
+him in some secret hole, what chance was there that he could have
+lived on without food and unsuccoured? Also if he lived, why had he
+not appeared long before? Why was not so wealthy a Patrician and
+distinguished a soldier riding in the triumphant train of Titus?
+
+With black despair raging in his breast, he, Caleb, had seen Miriam
+knocked down to the mysterious basket-laden stranger whom none could
+recognise. He had seen her depart together with the auctioneer and
+a servant, also basket-laden, to the office of the receiving house,
+whither he had attempted to follow upon some pretext, only to be stopped
+by the watchman. After this he hung about the door until he saw the
+auctioneer appear alone, when it occurred to him that the purchaser and
+the purchased must have departed by some other exit, perhaps in order
+to avoid further observation. He ran round the building to find himself
+confronted only by the empty, star-lit spaces of the Forum. Searching
+them with his eyes, for one instant it seemed to him that far away he
+caught sight of a little knot of figures climbing a black marble stair
+in the dark shadow of some temple. He sped across the open space, he
+ran up the great stair, to find at the head of it a young man in whom he
+recognised the auctioneer's clerk, gazing along a wide street as empty
+as was the stair.
+
+The rest is known to us. He followed, and twice perceived the little
+group of dark-robed figures hurrying round distant corners. Once he
+lost them altogether, but a passer-by on his road to some feast told him
+courteously enough which way they had gone. On he ran almost at hazard,
+to be rewarded in the end by the sight of them vanishing through a
+narrow doorway in the wall. He came to the door and saw that it was very
+massive. He tried it even, it was locked. Then he thought of knocking,
+only to remember that to state his business would probably be to meet
+his death. At such a place and hour those who purchased beautiful slaves
+might have a sword waiting for the heart of an unsuccessful rival who
+dared to follow them to their haunts.
+
+Caleb walked round the house, to find that it was a palace which seemed
+to be deserted, although he thought that he saw light shining through
+one of the shuttered windows. Now he knew the place again. It was here
+that the procession had halted and one of the Roman soldiers who had
+committed the crime of being taken captive escaped the taunts of the
+crowd by hurling himself beneath the wheel of a great pageant car. Yes,
+there was no doubt of it, for his blood still stained the dusty stones
+and by it lay a piece of the broken distaff with which, in their
+mockery, they had girded the poor man. They were gentle folk, these
+Romans! Why, measured by this standard, some such doom would have fallen
+upon his rival, Marcus, for Marcus also was taken prisoner--by himself.
+The thought made Caleb smile, since well he knew that no braver soldier
+lived. Then came other thoughts that pressed him closer. Somewhere in
+that great dead-looking house was Miriam, as far off from him as though
+she were still in Judaea. There was Miriam--and who was with her? The
+new-found lord who had spent two thousand sestertia on her purchase? The
+thought of it almost turned his brain.
+
+Heretofore, the life of Caleb had been ruled by two passions--ambition
+and the love of Miriam. He had aspired to be ruler of the Jews, perhaps
+their king, and to this end had plotted and fought for the expulsion of
+the Romans from Judaea. He had taken part in a hundred desperate battles.
+Again and again he had risked his life; again and again he had escaped.
+For one so young he had reached high rank, till he was numbered among
+the first of their captains.
+
+Then came the end, the last hideous struggle and the downfall. Once more
+his life was left in him. Where men perished by the hundred thousand he
+escaped, winning safety, not through the desire of it, but because of
+the love of Miriam which drove him on to follow her. Happily for himself
+he had hidden money, which, after the gift of his race, he was able to
+turn to good account, so that now he, who had been a leader in war
+and council, walked the world as a merchant in Eastern goods. All that
+glittering past had gone from him; he might become wealthy, but, Jew as
+he was, he could never be great nor fill his soul with the glory that
+it craved. There remained to him, then, nothing but this passion for
+one woman among the millions who dwelt beneath the sun, the girl who had
+been his playmate, whom he loved from the beginning, although she had
+never loved him, and whom he would love until the end.
+
+Why had she not loved him? Because of his rival, that accursed Roman,
+Marcus, the man whom time upon time he had tried to kill, but who had
+always slipped like water from his hands. Well, if she was lost to him
+she was lost to Marcus also, and from that thought he would take such
+comfort as he might. Indeed he had no other, for during those dreadful
+hours the fires of all Gehenna raged in his soul. He had lost--but who
+had found her?
+
+Throughout the long night Caleb tramped round the cold, empty-looking
+palace, suffering perhaps as he had never suffered before, a thing to
+be pitied of gods and men. At length the dawn broke and the light crept
+down the splendid street, showing here and there groups of weary and
+half-drunken revellers staggering homewards from the feast, flushed
+men and dishevelled women. Others appeared also, humble and industrious
+citizens going to their daily toil. Among them were people whose
+business it was to clean the roads, abroad early this morning, for after
+the great procession they thought that they might find articles of value
+let fall by those who walked in it, or by the spectators. Two of
+these scavengers began sweeping near the place where Caleb stood, and
+lightened their toil by laughing at him, asking him if he had spent his
+night in the gutter and whether he knew his way home. He replied that he
+waited for the doors of the house to be opened.
+
+"Which house?" they asked. "The 'Fortunate House?'" and they pointed to
+the marble palace of Marcus, which, as Caleb now saw for the first time,
+had these words blazoned in gold letters on its portico.
+
+He nodded.
+
+"Well," said one of them, "you will wait for some time, for that house
+is no longer fortunate. Its owner is dead, killed in the wars, and no
+one knows who his heir may be."
+
+"What was his name?" he asked.
+
+"Marcus, the favourite of Nero, also called the Fortunate."
+
+Then, with a bitter curse upon his lips Caleb turned and walked away.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+THE JUDGMENT OF DOMITIAN
+
+Two hours had gone by and Caleb, with fury in his heart, sat brooding in
+the office attached to the warehouse that he had hired. At that moment
+he had but one desire--to kill his successful rival, Marcus. Marcus had
+escaped and returned to Rome; of that there could be no doubt. He, one
+of the wealthiest of its patricians, had furnished the vast sum which
+enabled old Nehushta to buy the coveted Pearl-Maiden in the slave-ring.
+Then his newly acquired property had been taken to this house, where he
+awaited her. This then was the end of their long rivalry; for this he,
+Caleb, had fought, toiled, schemed and suffered. Oh! rather than such a
+thing should be, in that dark hour of his soul, he would have seen her
+cast to the foul Domitian, for Domitian, at least, she would have hated,
+whereas Marcus, he knew, she loved.
+
+Now there remained nothing but revenge. Revenged he must be, but how?
+He might dog Marcus and murder him, only then his own life would be
+hazarded, since he knew well the fate that awaited the foreigner, and
+most of all the Jew, who dared to lift his hand against a Roman noble,
+and if he hired others to do the work they might bear evidence against
+him. Now Caleb did not wish to die; life seemed the only good that he
+had left. Also, while he lived he might still win Miriam--after his
+rival had ceased to live. Doubtless, then she would be sold with his
+other slaves, and he could buy her at the rate such tarnished goods
+command. No, he would do nothing to run himself into danger. He would
+wait, wait and watch his opportunity.
+
+It was near at hand, for of old as to-day the king of evil was ever
+ready to aid those who called upon him with sufficient earnestness.
+Indeed, even as Caleb sat there in his office, there came a knock upon
+the door.
+
+"Open!" he cried savagely, and through it entered a small man with
+close-cropped hair and a keen, hard face which seemed familiar to him.
+Just now, however, that face was somewhat damaged, for one of the
+eyes had been blackened and a wound upon the temple was strapped
+with plaster. Also its owner walked lame and continually twitched his
+shoulders as though they gave him uneasiness. The stranger opened his
+lips to speak, and Caleb knew him at once. He was the chamberlain of
+Domitian who had been outbid by Nehushta in the slave ring.
+
+"Greeting, noble Saturius," he said. "Be seated, I pray, for it seems to
+pain you to stand."
+
+"Yes, yes," answered the chamberlain, "still I had rather stand. I met
+with an accident last night, a most unpleasant accident," and he coughed
+as though to cover up some word that leapt to his lips. "You also,
+worthy Demetrius--that is your name, is it not?" he added, eyeing him
+keenly--"look as though you had not slept well."
+
+"No," answered Caleb, "I also met with an accident--oh! nothing that
+you can see--a slight internal injury which is, I fear, likely to prove
+troublesome. Well, noble Saturius, how can I--serve you? Anything in the
+way of Eastern shawls, for instance?"
+
+"I thank you, friend, no. I come to speak of shoulders, not shawls," and
+he twitched his own--"women's shoulders, I mean. A remarkably fine pair
+for their size had that Jewish captive, by the way, in whom you seemed
+to take an interest last night--to the considerable extent indeed of
+fourteen hundred sestertia."
+
+"Yes," said Caleb, "they were well shaped."
+
+Then followed a pause.
+
+"Perhaps as I am a busy man," suggested Caleb presently, "you would not
+mind coming to the point."
+
+"Certainly, I was but waiting for your leave. As you may have heard, I
+represent a very noble person----"
+
+"Who, I think, took an interest in the captive to the extent of fifteen
+hundred sestertia," suggested Caleb.
+
+"Quite so--and whose interest unfortunately remains unabated, or rather,
+I should say, that it is transferred."
+
+"To the gentleman whose deep feeling induced him to provide five hundred
+more?" queried Caleb.
+
+"Precisely. What intuition you have! It is a gift with which the East
+endows her sons."
+
+"Suppose you put the matter plainly, worthy Saturius."
+
+"I will, excellent Demetrius. The great person to whom I have alluded
+was so moved when he heard of his loss that he actually burst into
+tears, and even reproached me, whom he loves more dearly than his
+brother----"
+
+"He might easily do that, if all reports are true," said Caleb, drily,
+adding, "Was it then that you met with your accident?"
+
+"It was. Overcome at the sight of my royal master's grief, I fell down."
+
+"Into a well, I suppose, since you managed to injure your eye, your
+back, and your leg all at once. There--I understand--these things will
+happen--in the households of the Great where the floors are so slippery
+that the most wary feet may slide. But that does not console the
+sufferer whose hurt remains, does it?"
+
+"No," answered Saturius with a snarl, "but until he is in a position to
+relay the floors, he must find chalk for his sandals and ointment for
+his back. I want the purchaser's name, and thought perhaps that you
+might have it, for the old woman has vanished, and that fool of an
+auctioneer knows absolutely nothing."
+
+"Why do you want his name?"
+
+"Because Domitian wants his head. An unnatural desire indeed that
+devours him; still one which, to be frank, I find it important to
+satisfy."
+
+Of a sudden a great light seemed to shine in Caleb's mind, it was as
+though a candle had been lit in a dark room.
+
+"Ah!" he said. "And supposing I can show him how to get this head, even
+how to get it without any scandal, do you think that in return he would
+leave me the lady's hand? You see I knew her in her youth and take a
+brotherly interest in her."
+
+"Quite so, just like Domitian and the two thousand sestertia man
+and, indeed, half the male population of Rome, who, when they saw her
+yesterday were moved by the same family feeling. Well, I don't see why
+he shouldn't. You see my master never cared for pearls that were not
+perfectly white, or admired ladies upon whom report cast the slightest
+breath of scandal. But he is of a curiously jealous disposition, and it
+is, I think, the head that he requires, not the hand."
+
+"Had you not better make yourself clear upon the point before we go any
+further?" asked Caleb. "Otherwise I do not feel inclined to undertake a
+very difficult and dangerous business."
+
+"With pleasure. Now would you let me have your demands, in writing,
+perhaps. Oh! of course, I understand--to be answered in writing."
+
+Caleb took parchment and pen and wrote:
+
+"A free pardon, with full liberty to travel, live and trade throughout
+the Roman empire, signed by the proper authorities, to be granted to one
+Caleb, the son of Hilliel, for the part he took in the Jewish war.
+
+"A written promise, signed by the person concerned, that if the head
+he desires is put within his reach the Jewish slave named Pearl-Maiden
+shall be handed over at once to Demetrius, the merchant of Alexandria,
+whose property she shall become absolutely and without question."
+
+"That's all," he said, giving the paper to Saturius. "The Caleb spoken
+of is a Jewish friend of mine to whom I am anxious to do a good turn,
+without whose help and evidence I should be quite unable to perform my
+share of the bargain. Being very shy and timid--his nerves were much
+shattered during the siege of Jerusalem--he will not stir without this
+authority, which, by the way, will require the signature of Titus Caesar,
+duly witnessed. Well, that is merely an offering to friendship; of
+course _my_ fee is the reversion to the lady, whom I desire to restore
+to her relations, who mourn her loss in Judaea."
+
+"Precisely--quite so," replied Saturius. "Pray do not trouble to
+explain further. I have always found those of Alexandria most excellent
+merchants. Well, I hope to be back within two hours."
+
+"Mind you come alone. As I have told you, everything depends upon this
+Caleb, and if he is in any way alarmed there is an end of the affair.
+He only has a possible key to the mystery. Should it be lost your patron
+will never get his head, and I shall never get my hand."
+
+"Oh! bid the timid Caleb have no fear. Who would wish to harm a dirty
+Jewish deserter from his cause and people? Let him come out of his sewer
+and look upon the sun. The Caesars do not war with carrion rats. Most
+worthy Demetrius, I go swiftly, as I hope to return again with all you
+need."
+
+"Good, most noble Saturius, and for both our sakes--remember that the
+palace floor is slippery, and do not get another fall, for it might
+finish you."
+
+"I am in deep waters, but I think that I can swim well," reflected Caleb
+as the door closed behind his visitor. "At any rate it gives me a chance
+who have no other, and that prince is playing for revenge, not love.
+What can Miriam be to him beyond the fancy of an hour, of which a thief
+has robbed him? Doubtless he wishes to kill the thief, but kings do not
+care for faded roses, which are only good enough to weave the chaplet of
+a merchant of Alexandria. So I cast for the last time, let the dice fall
+as it is fated."
+
+Very shortly afterwards in the palace of Domitian the dice began to
+fall. Humbly, most humbly, did that faithful chamberlain, Saturius,
+lay the results of his mission before his august master, Domitian,
+who suffering from a severe bilious attack that had turned his ruddy
+complexion to a dingy yellow, and made the aspect of his pale eyes more
+unpleasant than usual, was propped up among cushions, sniffing attar of
+roses and dabbing vinegar water upon his forehead.
+
+He listened indifferently to the tale of his jackal, until the full
+meaning of the terms asked by the mysterious Eastern merchant penetrated
+his sodden brain.
+
+"Why," he said, "the man wants Pearl-Maiden; that's his share, while
+mine is the life of the fellow who bought her, whoever he may be. Are
+you still mad, man, that you should dare to lay such a proposal before
+me? Don't you understand that I need both the woman and the blood of him
+who dared to cheat me out of her?"
+
+"Most divine prince, I understand perfectly, but this fish is only
+biting; he must be tempted or he will tell nothing."
+
+"Why not bring him here and torture him?"
+
+"I have thought of that, but those Jews are so obstinate. While you were
+twisting the truth out of him the other man would escape with the girl.
+Much better promise everything he asks and then----"
+
+"And then--what?"
+
+"And then forget your promises. What can be simpler?"
+
+"But he needs them in writing."
+
+"Let him have them in writing, my writing, which your divine self can
+repudiate. Only the pardon to Caleb, who I suppose is this Demetrius
+himself, can be signed by Titus. It will not affect you whether a Jew
+more or less has the right to trade in the Empire, if thereby you can
+win his services in an important matter. Then, when the time comes,
+you can net both your unknown rival and the lady, leaving our friend
+Demetrius to report the facts to her relatives in Judaea, for whom, as he
+states, he is alone concerned."
+
+"Saturius," said Domitian, growing interested, "you are not so foolish
+as I thought you were. Decidedly that trouble last night has quickened
+your wits. Be so good as to stop wriggling your shoulders, will you,
+it makes me nervous, and I wish that you would have that eye of yours
+painted. You know that I cannot bear the sight of black; it reminds
+me, who am by nature joyous and light-hearted as a child, of melancholy
+things. Now forge a letter for my, or rather for your signature,
+promising the reversion of Pearl-Maiden to this Demetrius. Then bear
+my greetings to Titus, begging his signature to an order granting
+the desired privileges to one Caleb, a Jew who fought against him at
+Jerusalem--with less success than I could have wished--whom I desire to
+favour."
+
+
+
+Three hours later Saturius presented himself for the second time in the
+office of the Alexandrian merchant.
+
+"Most worthy Demetrius," he said, "I congratulate you. Everything has
+been arranged as you wish. Here is the order, signed by Titus and duly
+witnessed, granting to you--I mean to your friend, Caleb--pardon for
+whatever he may have done in Judaea, and permission to live and trade
+anywhere that he may wish within the bounds of the Empire. I may tell
+you that it was obtained with great difficulty, since Titus, worn out
+with toil and glory, leaves this very day for his villa by the sea,
+where he is ordered by his physicians to rest three months, taking no
+part whatever in affairs. Does the document satisfy you?"
+
+Caleb examined the signatures and seals.
+
+"It seems to be in order," he said.
+
+"It is in order, excellent Demetrius. Caleb can now appear in the
+Forum, if it pleases him, and lecture upon the fall of Jerusalem for the
+benefit of the vulgar. Well, here also is a letter from the divine--or
+rather the half divine--Domitian to yourself, Demetrius of Alexandria,
+also witnessed by myself and sealed. It promises to you that if you give
+evidence enabling him to arrest that miscreant who dared to bid against
+him--no, do not be alarmed, the lady was not knocked down to you--you
+shall be allowed to take possession of her or to buy her at a reasonable
+valuation, not to exceed fifteen sestertia. That is as much as she will
+fetch now in the open market. Are you satisfied with this document?"
+
+Caleb read and scrutinised the letter.
+
+"The signatures of Domitian and of yourself as witness seem much alike,"
+he remarked suspiciously.
+
+"Somewhat," replied Saturius, with an airy gesture. "In royal houses
+it is customary for chamberlains to imitate the handwriting of their
+imperial masters."
+
+"And their morals--no, they have none--their manners also," commented
+Caleb.
+
+"At the least," went on Saturius, "you will acknowledge the seals----"
+
+"Which might be borrowed. Well, I will take the risk, for if there is
+anything wrong about these papers I am sure that the prince Domitian
+would not like to see them exhibited in a court of law."
+
+"Good," answered Saturius, with a relief which he could not altogether
+conceal. "And now for the culprit's name."
+
+"The culprit's name," said Caleb, leaning forward and speaking slowly,
+"is Marcus, who served as one of Titus Caesar's prefects of horse in
+the campaign of Judaea. He bought the lady Miriam, commonly known as
+Pearl-Maiden, by the agency of Nehushta, an old Libyan woman, who
+conveyed her to his house in the Via Agrippa, which is known as the
+'Fortunate House,' where doubtless, she now is."
+
+"Marcus," said Saturius. "Why, he was reported dead, and the matter of
+the succession to his great estates is now being debated, for he was the
+heir of his uncle, Caius, the pro-consul, who amassed a vast fortune
+in Spain. Also after the death of the said Caius, this Marcus was a
+favourite of the late divine Nero, who constituted him guardian of some
+bust of which he was enamoured. In short, he is a great man, if, as
+you say, he still lives, whom even Domitian will find it hard to meddle
+with. But how do you know all this?"
+
+"Through my friend Caleb. Caleb followed the black hag, Nehushta, and
+the beautiful Pearl-Maiden to the very house of Marcus, which he saw
+them enter. Marcus who was her lover, yonder in Judaea----"
+
+"Oh! never mind the rest of the story, I understand it all. But you have
+not yet shown that Marcus was in the house, and if he was, bad taste as
+it may have been to bid against the prince Domitian, well, at a public
+auction it is lawful."
+
+"Ye--es, but if Marcus has committed a crime, could he not be punished
+for that crime?"
+
+"Without doubt. But what crime has Marcus committed?"
+
+"The crime of being taken prisoner by the Jews and escaping from them
+with his life, for which, by an edict of Titus, whose laws are those
+of the Medes and Persians, the punishment is death, or at the least,
+banishment and degradation."
+
+"Well, and who can prove all this?"
+
+"Caleb can, because he took him prisoner."
+
+"And where," asked Saturius in exasperation, "where is this thrice
+accursed cur, Caleb?"
+
+"Here," answered Demetrius. "I am Caleb, O thrice blessed chamberlain,
+Saturius."
+
+"Indeed," said Saturius. "Well, that makes things more simple. And
+now, friend Demetrius--you prefer that name, do you not--what do you
+propose?"
+
+"I propose that the necessary documents should be procured, which, to
+your master, will not be difficult; that Marcus should be arrested in
+his house, put upon his trial and condemned under the edict of Titus,
+and that the girl, Pearl-Maiden, should be handed over to me, who will
+at once remove her from Rome."
+
+"Good," said Saturius. "Titus having gone, leaving Domitian in charge of
+military affairs, the thing, as it chances, is easy, though any sentence
+that may be passed must be confirmed by Caesar himself. And now, again
+farewell. If our man is in Rome, he shall be taken to-night, and
+to-morrow your evidence may be wanted."
+
+"Will the girl be handed over to me then?"
+
+"I think so," replied Saturius, "but of course I cannot say for certain,
+as there may be legal difficulties in the way which would hinder her
+immediate re-sale. However, you may rely upon me to do the best I can
+for you."
+
+"It will be to your advantage," answered Caleb significantly. "Shall we
+say--fifty sestertia on receipt of the slave?"
+
+"Oh! if you wish it, if you wish it, for gifts cement the hearts of
+friends. On account? Well, to a man with many expenses, five sestertia
+always come in useful. You know what it is in these palaces, so little
+pay and so much to keep up. Thank you, dear Demetrius, I will give you
+and the lady a supper out of the money--when you get her," he added to
+himself as he left the office.
+
+
+
+When early on the following morning Caleb came to his warehouse from the
+dwelling where he slept, he found waiting for him two men dressed in
+the livery of Domitian, who demanded that he would accompany them to the
+palace of the prince.
+
+"What for?"
+
+"To give evidence in a trial," they said.
+
+Then he knew that he had made no mistake, that his rival was caught, and
+in the rage of his burning jealousy, such jealousy as only an Eastern
+can feel, his heart bounded with joy. Still, as he trudged onward
+through streets glittering in the morning sunlight, Caleb's conscience
+told him that not thus should this rival be overcome, that he who went
+to accuse the brave Marcus of cowardice was himself a coward, and that
+from the lie which he was about to act if not to speak, could spring no
+fruit of peace or happiness. But he was mad and blind. He could think
+only of Miriam--the woman whom he loved with all his passionate nature
+and whose life he had preserved at the risk of his own--fallen at last
+into the arms of his rival. He would wrench her thence, yes, even at the
+price of his own honour and of her life-long agony, and, if it might be,
+leave those arms cold in death, as often already he had striven to do.
+When Marcus was dead perhaps she would forgive him. At the least he
+would occupy his place. She would be his slave, to whom, notwithstanding
+all that had been, he would give the place of wife. Then, after a little
+while, seeing how good and tender he was to her, surely she must forget
+this Roman who had taken her girlish fancy and learn to love him.
+
+Now they were passing the door of the palace. In the outer hall Saturius
+met them and motioned to the slaves to stand back.
+
+"So you have them," said Caleb, eagerly.
+
+"Yes, or to be exact, one of them. The lady has vanished."
+
+Caleb staggered back a pace.
+
+"Vanished! Where?"
+
+"I wish that I could tell you. I thought that perhaps you knew. At
+least we found Marcus alone in his house, which he was about to leave,
+apparently to follow Titus. But come, the court awaits you."
+
+"If she has gone, why should I come?" said Caleb, hanging back.
+
+"I really don't know, but you must. Here, slaves, escort this witness."
+
+Then seeing that it was too late to change his mind, Caleb waved them
+back and followed Saturius. Presently they entered an inner hall, lofty,
+but not large. At the head of it, clad in the purple robes of his royal
+house, sat Domitian in a chair, while to his right and left were narrow
+tables, at which were gathered five or six Roman officers, those of
+Domitian's own bodyguard, bare-headed, but arrayed in their mail. Also
+there were two scribes with their tablets, a man dressed in a lawyer's
+robe, who seemed to fill the office of prosecutor, and some soldiers on
+guard.
+
+When Caleb entered, Domitian, who, notwithstanding his youthful,
+ruddy countenance, looked in a very evil mood, was engaged in talking
+earnestly to the lawyer. Glancing up, he saw him and asked:
+
+"Is that the Jew who gives evidence, Saturius?"
+
+"My lord, it is the man," answered the chamberlain; "also the other
+witness waits without."
+
+"Good. Then bring in the accused."
+
+There was a pause, till presently Caleb heard footsteps behind him
+and looked round to see Marcus advancing up the hall with a proud and
+martial air. Their eyes met, and for an instant Marcus stopped.
+
+"Oh!" he said aloud, "the Jew Caleb. Now I understand." Then he marched
+forward and gave the military salute to the prince.
+
+Domitian stared at him with hate in his pale eyes, and said carelessly:
+
+"Is this the accused? What is the charge?"
+
+"The charge is," said the lawyer, "that the accused Marcus, a prefect
+of horse serving with Titus Caesar in Judaea, suffered himself to be taken
+prisoner by the Jews when in command of a large body of Roman troops,
+contrary to the custom of the army and to the edict issued by Titus
+Caesar at the commencement of the siege of Jerusalem. This edict
+commanded that no soldier should be taken alive, and that any soldier
+who was taken alive and subsequently rescued, or who made good his
+escape, should be deemed worthy of death, or at the least of degradation
+from his rank and banishment. My lord Marcus, do you plead guilty to the
+charge?"
+
+"First, I ask," said Marcus, "what court is this before which I am
+put upon my trial? If I am to be tried I demand that it shall be by my
+general, Titus."
+
+"Then," said the prosecutor, "you should have reported yourself to
+Titus upon your arrival in Rome. Now he has gone to where he may not
+be troubled, leaving the charge of military matters in the hands of
+his Imperial brother, the Prince Domitian, who, with these officers, is
+therefore your lawful judge."
+
+"Perhaps," broke in Domitian with bitter malice, "the lord Marcus was
+too much occupied with other pursuits on his arrival in Rome to find
+time to explain his conduct to the Caesar Titus."
+
+"I was about to follow him to do so when I was seized," said Marcus.
+
+"Then you put the matter off a little too long. Now you can explain it
+here," answered Domitian.
+
+Then the prosecutor took up the tale, saying that it had been
+ascertained on inquiry that the accused, accompanied by an old woman,
+arrived in Rome upon horseback early on the morning of the Triumph; that
+he went straight to his house, which was called "The House Fortunate,"
+where he lay hid all day; that in the evening he sent out the old woman
+and a slave carrying on their backs a great sum of gold in baskets,
+with which gold he purchased a certain fair Jewish captive, known as
+Pearl-Maiden, at a public auction in the Forum. This Pearl-Maiden, it
+would seem, was taken to his house, but when he was arrested on the
+morrow neither she nor the old woman were found there. The accused, he
+might add, was arrested just as he was about to leave the house, as
+he stated, in order to report himself to Titus Caesar, who had already
+departed from Rome. This was the case in brief, and to prove it he
+called a certain Jew named Caleb, who was now living in Rome, having
+received an amnesty given by the hand of Titus. This Jew was now a
+merchant who traded under the name of Demetrius.
+
+Then Caleb stood forward and told his tale. In answer to questions that
+were put to him, he related how he was in command of a body of the Jews
+which fought an action with the Roman troops at a place called the Old
+Tower, a few days before the capture of the Temple. In the course
+of this action he parleyed with a captain of the Romans, the Prefect
+Marcus, who now stood before him, and at the end of the parley
+challenged him to single combat. As Marcus refused the encounter and
+tried to run away, he struck him on the back with the back of his sword.
+Thereon a fight ensued in which he, the witness, had the advantage.
+Being wounded, the accused let fall his sword, sank to his knees and
+asked for mercy. The fray having now become general he, Caleb, dragged
+his prisoner into the Old Tower and returned to the battle.
+
+When he went back to the Tower it was to find that the captive had
+vanished, leaving in his place a lady who was known to the Romans as
+Pearl-Maiden, and who was afterwards taken by them and exposed for sale
+in the Forum, where she was purchased by an old woman whom he recognised
+as her nurse. He followed the maiden, having bid for her and being
+curious as to her destination, to a house in the Via Agrippa, which he
+afterwards learned was the palace of the accused Marcus. That was all he
+knew of the matter.
+
+Then the prosecutor called a soldier, who stated that he had been under
+the command of Marcus on the day in question. There he saw the Jew
+leader, whom he identified with Caleb, at the conclusion of a parley
+strike the accused, Marcus, on the back with the flat of his sword.
+After this ensued a fight, in which the Romans were repulsed. At the end
+of it, he saw their captain, Marcus, being led away prisoner. His sword
+had gone and blood was running from the side of his head.
+
+The evidence being concluded, Marcus was asked if he had anything to say
+in defence.
+
+"Much," he answered proudly, "when I am given a fair trial. I desire
+to call the men of my legion who were with me, none of whom I see here
+to-day except that man who has given evidence against me, a rogue
+whom, I remember, I caused to be scourged for theft, and dismissed his
+company. But they are in Egypt, so how can I summon them? As for the
+Jew, he is an old enemy of mine, who was guilty of murder in his youth,
+and whom once I overcame in a duel in Judaea, sparing his life. It is
+true that when my back was turned he struck me with his sword, and as I
+flew at him smote me a blow upon the head, from the effects of which I
+became senseless. In this state I was taken prisoner and lay for weeks
+sick in a vault, in the care of some people of the Jews, who nursed me.
+From them I escaped to Rome, desiring to report myself to Titus Caesar,
+my master. I appeal to Titus Caesar."
+
+"He is absent and I represent him," said Domitian.
+
+"Then," answered Marcus, "I appeal to Vespasian Caesar, to whom I will
+tell all. I am a Roman noble of no mean rank, and I have a right to
+be tried by Caesar, not by a packed court, whose president has a grudge
+against me for private matters."
+
+"Insolent!" shouted Domitian. "Your appeal shall be laid before Caesar,
+as it must--that is, if he will hear it. Tell us now, where is that
+woman whom you bought in the Forum, for we desire her testimony?"
+
+"Prince, I do not know," answered Marcus. "It is true that she came to
+my house, but then and there I gave her freedom and she departed from it
+with her nurse, nor can I tell whither she went."
+
+"I thought that you were only a coward, but it seems that you are a
+liar as well," sneered Domitian. Then he consulted with the officers
+and added, "We judge the case to be proved against you, and for having
+disgraced the Roman arms, when, rather than be taken prisoner, many a
+meaner man died by his own hand, you are worthy of whatever punishment
+it pleases Caesar to inflict. Meanwhile, till his pleasure is known, I
+command that you shall be confined in the private rooms of the military
+prison near the Temple of Mars, and that if you attempt to escape thence
+you shall be put to death. You have liberty to draw up your case in
+writing, that it may be transmitted to Caesar, my father, together with a
+transcript of the evidence against you."
+
+"Now," replied Marcus bitterly, "I am tempted to do what you say I
+should have done before, die by my own hand, rather than endure such
+shameful words and this indignity. But that my honour will not suffer.
+When Caesar has heard my case and when Titus, my general, also gives his
+verdict against me, I will die, but not before. You, Prince, and you,
+Captains, who have never drawn sword outside the streets of Rome, you
+call me coward, me, who have served with honour through five campaigns,
+who, from my youth till now have been in arms, and this upon the
+evidence of a renegade Jew who, for years, has been my private enemy,
+and of a soldier whom I scourged as a thief. Look now upon this breast
+and say if it is that of a coward!" and rending his robes asunder,
+Marcus exposed his bosom, scarred with four white wounds. "Call my
+comrades, those with whom I have fought in Gaul, in Sicily, in Egypt and
+in Judaea, and ask them if Marcus is a coward? Ask that Jew even, to whom
+I gave his life, whether Marcus is a coward?"
+
+"Have done with your boasting," said Domitian, "and hide those
+scratches. You were taken prisoner by the Jews--it is enough. You have
+your prayer, your case shall go to Caesar. If the tale you tell is true
+you would produce that woman who is said to have rescued you from the
+Jews and whom you purchased as a slave. When you do this we will take
+her evidence. Till then to your prison with you. Guards, remove the man
+Marcus, called the Fortunate, once a Prefect of Horse in the army of
+Judaea."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+THE BISHOP CYRIL
+
+On the morning following the day of the Triumph Julia, the wife of
+Gallus, was seated in her bed-chamber looking out at the yellow waters
+of the Tiber that ran almost beneath its window. She had risen at dawn
+and attended to the affairs of her household, and now retired to rest
+and pray. Mingled with the Roman crowd on the yesterday she had seen
+Miriam, whom she loved, marching wearily through the streets of Rome.
+Then, able to bear no more, she went home, leaving Gallus to follow the
+last acts of the drama. About nine o'clock that night he joined her and
+told her the story of the sale of Miriam for a vast sum of money, since,
+standing in the shadow beyond the light of the torches, he had been a
+witness of the scene at the slave-market. Domitian had been outbid, and
+their Pearl-Maiden was knocked down to an old woman with a basket on
+her back who looked like a witch, after which she vanished with her
+purchaser. That was all he knew for certain. Julia thought it little
+enough, and reproached her husband for his stupidity in not learning
+more. Still, although she seemed to be vexed, at heart she rejoiced.
+Into whoever's hand the maid had fallen, for a while at least she had
+escaped the vile Domitian.
+
+Now, as she sat and prayed, Gallus being abroad to gather more tidings
+if he could, she heard the courtyard door open, but took no notice
+of it, thinking that it was but the servant who returned from market.
+Presently, however, as she knelt, a shadow fell upon her and Julia
+looked up to see Miriam, none other than Miriam, and with her a
+dark-skinned, aged woman, whom she did not know.
+
+"How come you here?" she gasped.
+
+"Oh! mother," answered the girl in a low and thrilling voice, "mother,
+by the mercy of God and by the help of this Nehushta, of whom I have
+often told you, and--of another, I am escaped from Domitian, and return
+to you free and unharmed."
+
+"Tell me that story," said Julia, "for I do not understand. The thing
+sounds incredible."
+
+So Miriam told her tale. When it was done, Julia said:
+
+"Heathen though he is, this Marcus must be a noble-hearted man, whom may
+Heaven reward."
+
+"Yes," answered Miriam with a sigh, "may Heaven reward him, as I wish I
+might."
+
+"As you would have done had I not stayed you," put in Nehushta. Her
+voice was severe, but as she spoke something that Julia took to be a
+smile was seen for an instant on her grim features.
+
+"Well, friend, well," said Julia, "we have all of us fallen into
+temptation from time to time."
+
+"Pardon me, lady," answered Nehushta, "but speak for yourself. I never
+fell into any temptation--from a man. I know too much of men."
+
+"Then, friend," replied Julia, "return thanks for the good armour of
+your wisdom. For my part, I say that, like the lord Marcus, this maid
+has acted well, and my prayer is that she also may not lose her reward."
+
+"Mine is," commented Nehushta, "that Marcus may escape the payment which
+he will doubtless receive from the hand of Domitian if he can hunt him
+out," a remark at which the face of Miriam grew very troubled.
+
+Just then Gallus returned, and to him the whole history had to be told
+anew.
+
+"It is wonderful," he said, "wonderful! I never heard the like of it.
+Two people who love each other and who, when their hour comes, separate
+over some question of faith, or rather in obedience to a command laid
+upon one of them by a lady who died years and years ago. Wonderful--and
+I hope wise, though had I been the man concerned I should have taken
+another counsel."
+
+"What counsel, husband?" asked Julia.
+
+"Well--to get away from Rome with the lady as far as possible, and
+without more delay than was necessary. It seems to me that under the
+circumstances it would have been best for her to consider her scruples
+in another land. You see Domitian is not a Christian any more than
+Marcus is, and our maid here does not like Domitian and does like
+Marcus. No, it is no good arguing the thing is done, but I think that
+you Christians might very well add two new saints to your calendar. And
+now to breakfast, which we all need after so much night duty."
+
+So they went and ate, but during that meal Gallus was very silent, as
+was his custom when he set his brain to work. Presently he asked:
+
+"Tell me, Miriam, did any see you or your companion enter here?"
+
+"No, I think not," she answered, "for as it chanced the door of the
+courtyard was ajar and the servant has not yet returned."
+
+"Good," he said. "When she does return I will meet her and send her out
+on a long errand."
+
+"Why?" asked his wife.
+
+"Because it is as well that none should know what guests we have till
+they are gone again."
+
+"Until they are gone again!" repeated Julia, astonished. "Surely you
+would not drive this maid, who has become to us as our daughter, from
+your door?"
+
+"Yes, I would, wife, for that dear maid's sake," and he took Miriam's
+little hand in his great palm and pressed it. "Listen now," he went on,
+"Miriam, the Jewish captive, has dwelt in our care these many months,
+has she not, as is known to all, is it not? Well, if any one wants to
+find her, where will they begin by looking?"
+
+"Aye! where?" echoed Nehushta.
+
+"Why should any one wish to find her?" asked Julia. "She was bought in
+the slave-market for a great price by the lord Marcus, who, of his own
+will, has set her at liberty. Now, therefore, she is a free woman whom
+none can touch."
+
+"A free woman!" answered Gallus with scorn. "Is any woman free in Rome
+upon whom Domitian has set his mind? Surely, you Christians are too
+innocent for this world. Peace now, for there is no time to lose. Julia,
+do you cloak yourself and go seek that high-priest of yours, Cyril, who
+also loves this maid. Tell the tale to him, and say that if he would
+save her from great dangers he had best find some secret hiding-place
+among the Christians, for her and her companion, until means can be
+found to ship them far from Rome. What think you of that plan, my Libyan
+friend?"
+
+"I think that it is good, but not good enough," answered Nehushta. "I
+think that we had best depart with the lady, your wife, this very hour,
+for who can tell how soon the dogs will be laid upon our slot?"
+
+"And what say you, maid Miriam?" asked Gallus.
+
+"I? Oh! I thank you for your thought, and I say--let us hide in any
+place you will, even a drain or a stable, if it will save me from
+Domitian."
+
+
+
+Two hours later, in a humble and densely peopled quarter of the city,
+such as in our own day we should call a slum, where folk were employed
+making those articles which ministered to the comfort or the luxury of
+the more fortunate, a certain master-carpenter known as Septimus was
+seated at his mid-day meal in a little chamber above his workshop.
+His hands were rough with toil, and the dust of his trade was upon his
+garments and even powdered over his long gray beard, so that at first
+sight it would not have been easy to recognise in him that Cyril who was
+a bishop among the Christians. Yet it was he, one of the foremost of the
+Faith in Rome.
+
+A woman entered the room and spoke with him in a low voice.
+
+"The dame Julia, the wife of Gallus, and two others with her?" he said.
+"Well, we need fear none whom she brings; lead them hither."
+
+Presently the door opened and Julia appeared, followed by two veiled
+figures. He raised his hands to bless her, then checked himself.
+
+"Daughter, who are these?" he said.
+
+"Declare yourselves," said Julia, and at her bidding Miriam and Nehushta
+unveiled.
+
+At the sight of Miriam's face the bishop started, then turned to study
+that of her companion.
+
+"Who vouches for this woman?" he asked.
+
+"I vouch for myself," answered Nehushta, "seeing that I am a Christian
+who received baptism a generation since at the hands of the holy John,
+and who stood to pay the price of faith in the arena at Caesarea."
+
+"Is this so?" asked the bishop of Miriam.
+
+"It is so," she answered. "This Libyan was the servant of my
+grandmother. She nursed both my mother and myself, and many a time has
+saved my life. Have no fear, she is faithful."
+
+"Your pardon," said the bishop with a grave smile and addressing
+Nehushta, "but you who are old will know that the Christian who
+entertains strangers sometimes entertains a devil." Then he lifted up
+his hands and blessed them, greeting them in the name of their Master.
+
+"So, maid Miriam," he said, still smiling, "it would seem that I was no
+false prophet, and though you walked in the Triumph and were sold in the
+slave-ring--for this much I have heard--still the Angel of the Lord went
+with you."
+
+"Father, he went with me," she answered, "and he leads me here."
+
+Then they told him all the tale, and how Miriam sought a refuge from
+Domitian. He looked at her, stroking his long beard.
+
+"Is there anything you can do?" he asked. "Anything useful, I mean? But
+perhaps that is a foolish question, seeing that women--especially those
+who are well-favoured--do not learn a trade."
+
+"I have learnt a trade," answered Miriam, flushing a little. "Once I
+was held of some account as a sculptor; indeed I have heard that your
+Emperor Nero decreed divine honours to a bust from my hand."
+
+The bishop laughed outright. "The Emperor Nero! Well, the poor madman
+has gone to his own place, so let us say no more of him. But I heard of
+that bust; indeed I saw it; it was a likeness of Marcus Fortunatus, was
+it not, and in its fashion a great work? But our people do not make such
+things; we are artisans, not artists."
+
+"The artisan should be an artist," said Miriam, setting her mouth.
+
+"Perhaps, but as a rule he isn't. Do you think that you could mould
+lamps?"
+
+"There is nothing I should like better, that is if I am not forced to
+copy one pattern," she added as an afterthought.
+
+"Then," said the bishop, "I think, daughter, that I can show you how to
+earn a living, where none are likely to seek for you."
+
+
+
+Not a hundred paces away from the carpenter's shop where the master
+craftsman, Septimus, worked, was another manufactory, in which vases,
+basins, lamps, and all such articles were designed, moulded and baked.
+The customers who frequented the place, wholesale merchants for the most
+part, noted from and after the day of this interview a new workwoman,
+who, so far as her rough blouse permitted them to judge, seemed to be
+young and pretty, seated in a corner apart, beneath a window by the
+light of which she laboured. Later on they observed also, those of them
+who had any taste, that among the lamps produced by the factory appeared
+some of singular and charming design, so good, indeed, that although the
+makers reaped little extra benefit, the middlemen found no difficulty
+in disposing of these pieces at a high price. All day long Miriam sat
+fashioning them, while old Nehushta, who had learnt something of the
+task years ago by Jordan, prepared and tempered the clay and carried the
+finished work to the furnace.
+
+Now, though none would have guessed it, in this workshop all the
+labourers were Christians, and the product of their toil was cast into
+a common treasury on the proceeds of which they lived, taking, each of
+them, such share as their elders might decree, and giving the surplus to
+brethren who had need, or to the sick. Connected with these shops were
+lodging houses, mean enough to look at, but clean within. At the top
+of one of them, up three flights of narrow stairs, Miriam and Nehushta
+dwelt in a large attic that was very hot when the sun shone on the
+roof, and very cold in the bitter winds and rains of winter. In other
+respects, however, the room was not unpleasant, since being so high
+there were few smells and little noise; also the air that blew in at the
+windows was fresh and odorous of the open lands beyond the city.
+
+So there they dwelt in peace, for none came to search for the costly and
+beautiful Pearl-Maiden in those squalid courts, occupied by working
+folk of the meaner sort. By day they laboured, and at night they rested,
+ministering and ministered to in the community of Christian brotherhood,
+and, notwithstanding their fears and anxieties for themselves and
+another, were happier than they had been for years. So the weeks went
+by.
+
+Very soon tidings came to them, for these Christians knew of all that
+passed in the great city; also, when they met in the catacombs at night,
+as was their custom, especially upon the Lord's Day, Julia gave them
+news. From her they learned that they had done wisely to flee her house.
+Within three hours of their departure, indeed before Julia had returned
+there, officers arrived to inquire whether they had seen anything of the
+Jewish captive named Pearl-Maiden, who had been sold in the Forum on the
+previous night, and, as they said, escaped from her purchaser, on whose
+behalf they searched. Gallus received them, and, not being a Christian,
+lied boldly, vowing that he had seen nothing of the girl since he gave
+her over into the charge of the servants of Caesar upon the morning
+of the Triumph. So suspecting no guile they departed and troubled his
+household no more.
+
+
+
+From the palace of Domitian Marcus was taken to his prison near the
+Temple of Mars. Here, because of his wealth and rank, because also he
+made appeal to Caesar and was therefore as yet uncondemned of any crime,
+he found himself well treated. Two good rooms were given him to live in,
+and his own steward, Stephanus, was allowed to attend him and provide
+him with food and all he needed. Also upon giving his word that he would
+attempt no escape, he was allowed to walk in the gardens between the
+prison and the Temple, and to receive his friends at any hour of the
+day. His first visitor was the chamberlain, Saturius, who began by
+condoling with him over his misfortune and most undeserved position.
+Marcus cut him short.
+
+"Why am I here?" he asked.
+
+"Because, most noble Marcus, you have been so unlucky as to incur the
+displeasure of a very powerful man."
+
+"Why does Domitian persecute me?" he asked again.
+
+"How innocent are you soldiers!" said the chamberlain. "I will answer
+your question by another. Why do you buy beautiful captives upon whom
+royalty chances to have set its heart?"
+
+Marcus thought a moment, then said, "Is there any way out of this
+trouble?"
+
+"My lord Marcus, I came to show you one. Nobody really believes that you
+of all men failed in your duty out there in Jerusalem. Why, the thing
+is absurd, as even those carpet-captains before whom you were tried knew
+well. Still, your position is most awkward. There is evidence against
+you--of a sort. Vespasian will not interfere, for he is aware that this
+is some private matter of Domitian's, and having had one quarrel with
+his son over the captive, Pearl-Maiden, he does not wish for another
+over the man who bought her. No, he will say--this prefect was one of
+the friends and officers of Titus, let Titus settle the affair as it may
+please him when he returns."
+
+"At least Titus will do me justice," said Marcus.
+
+"Yes, without doubt, but what will that justice be? Titus issued an
+edict. Have you ever known him to go back upon his edicts, even to save
+a friend? Titus declared throughout his own camps those Romans who were
+taken prisoner by the Jews to be worthy of death or disgrace, and two of
+them, common men and cowards, have been publicly disgraced in the eyes
+of Rome. You were taken prisoner by the Jews and have returned alive,
+unfortunately for yourself, to incur the dislike of Domitian, who has
+raked up a matter that otherwise never would have been mooted."
+
+"Now," he says to Titus--"Show justice and no favour, as you showed in
+the case of the captive Pearl-Maiden, whom you refused to the prayer
+of your only brother, saying that she must be sold according to your
+decree. Even if he loves you dearly, as I believe he does, what, my lord
+Marcus, can Titus answer to that argument, especially as he also seeks
+no further quarrel with Domitian?"
+
+"You said you came to show me a way to safety--yet you tell me that my
+feet are set in the path of disgrace and death. Must this way of yours,
+then, be paved with gold?"
+
+"No," answered Saturius drily, "with pearls. Oh! I will be plain. Give
+up that necklace--and its wearer. What do you answer?"
+
+Now Marcus understood, and a saying that he heard on the lips of Miriam
+arose in his mind, though he knew not whence it came.
+
+"I answer," he said with set face and flashing eyes, "that I will not
+cast pearls before swine."
+
+"A pretty message from a prisoner to his judge," replied the chamberlain
+with a curious smile. "But have no fear, noble Marcus, it shall not
+be delivered. I am not paid to tell my royal master the truth. Think
+again."
+
+"I have thought," answered Marcus. "I do not know where the maiden is
+and therefore cannot deliver her to Domitian, nor would I if I could.
+Rather will I be disgraced and perish."
+
+"I suppose," mused Saturius, "that this is what they call true love,
+and to speak plainly," he added with a burst of candour, "I find it
+admirable and worthy of a noble Roman. My lord Marcus, my mission has
+failed, yet I pray that the Fates may order your deliverance from
+your enemies, and, in reward for these persecutions, bring back to you
+unharmed that maiden whom you desire, but whom I go to seek. Farewell."
+
+Two days later Stephanus, the steward of Marcus who waited upon him in
+his prison, announced that a man who said his name was Septimus wished
+speech with him, but would say nothing of his business.
+
+"Admit him," said Marcus, "for I grow weary of my own company," and
+letting his head fall upon his hand he stared through the bars of his
+prison window.
+
+Presently he heard a sound behind him, and looked round to see an old
+man clad in the robe of a master-workman, whose pure and noble face
+seemed in a strange contrast to his rough garments and toil-scarred
+hands.
+
+"Be seated and tell me your business," said Marcus courteously, and with
+a bow his visitor obeyed.
+
+"My business, my lord Marcus," he said in an educated and refined voice,
+"is to minister to those who are in trouble."
+
+"Then, sir, your feet have led you aright," answered Marcus with a
+sad laugh, "for this is the house of trouble and you see I am its
+inhabitant."
+
+"I know, and I know the cause."
+
+Marcus looked at him curiously. "Are you a Christian, sir?" he asked.
+"Nay, do not fear to answer; I have friends who are Christians," and he
+sighed, "nor could I harm you if I would, who wish to harm none, least
+of all a Christian."
+
+"My lord Marcus, I fear hurt at no man's hand; also the days of Nero
+have gone by and Vespasian reigns, who molests us not. I am Cyril, a
+bishop of the Christians in Rome, and if you will hear me I am come to
+preach to you my faith, which, I trust, may yet be yours."
+
+Marcus stared at the man; it was to him a matter of amazement that this
+priest should take so much trouble for a stranger. Then a thought struck
+him and he asked:
+
+"What fee do you charge for these lessons in a new religion?"
+
+The bishop's pale face flushed.
+
+"Sir," he answered, "if you wish to reject my message, do it without
+insult. I do not sell the grace of God for lucre."
+
+Again Marcus was impressed.
+
+"Your pardon," he said, "yet I have known priests take money, though it
+is true they were never of your faith. Who told you about me?"
+
+"One, my lord Marcus, to whom you have behaved well," answered Cyril
+gravely.
+
+Marcus sprang from his seat.
+
+"Do you mean--do you mean--?" he began and paused, looking round him
+fearfully.
+
+"Yes," replied the bishop in a whisper, "I mean Miriam. Fear not, she
+and her companions are in my charge, and for the present, safe. Seek to
+know no more, lest perchance their secret should be wrung from you. I
+and her brethren in the Lord will protect her to the last."
+
+Marcus began to pour out his thanks.
+
+"Thank me not," interrupted Cyril, "for what is at once my duty and my
+joy."
+
+"Friend Cyril," said Marcus, "the maid is in great danger. I have just
+learned that Domitian's spies hunt through Rome to find her, who, when
+she is found, will be spirited to his palace and a fate that you can
+guess. She must escape from Rome. Let her fly to Tyre, where she has
+friends and property. There, if she lies hid a while, she will be
+molested by none."
+
+The bishop shook his head.
+
+"I have thought of it," he said, "but it is scarcely possible. The
+officers at every port have orders to search all ships that sail with
+passengers, and detain any woman on them who answers to the description
+of her who was called Pearl-Maiden. This I know for certain, for I also
+have my officers, more faithful perhaps than those of Caesar," and he
+smiled.
+
+"Is there then no means to get her out of Rome and across the sea?"
+
+"I can think of only one, which would cost more money than we poor
+Christians can command. It is that a ship be bought in the name of some
+merchant and manned with sailors who can be trusted, such as I know how
+to find. Then she could be taken aboard at night, for on such a vessel
+there would be no right of search nor any to betray."
+
+"Find the ship and trusty men and I will find the money," said Marcus,
+"for I still have gold at hand and the means of raising more."
+
+"I will make inquiries," answered Cyril, "and speak with you further on
+the matter. Indeed it is not necessary that you should give this money,
+since such a ship and her cargo, if she comes there safely, should sell
+at a great profit in the Eastern ports. Meanwhile have no fear; in the
+protection of God and her brethren the maid is safe."
+
+"I hope so," said Marcus devoutly. "Now, if you have the time to spare,
+tell me of this God of whom you Christians speak so much but who seems
+so far away from man."
+
+"But who, in the words of the great apostle, my master, in truth is
+not far from any one of us," answered Cyril. "Now hearken, and may your
+heart be opened."
+
+Then he began his labour of conversion, reasoning till the sun sank and
+it was time for the prison gates to close.
+
+"Come to me again," said Marcus as they parted, "I would hear more."
+
+"Of Miriam or of my message?" asked Cyril with a smile.
+
+"Of both," answered Marcus.
+
+Four days went by before Cyril returned. They were heavy days for
+Marcus, since on the morrow of the bishop's visit he had learned that
+as Saturius had foretold, Vespasian refused to consider his case, saying
+that it must abide the decision of Titus when he came back to Rome.
+Meanwhile, he commanded that the accused officer should remain in
+prison, but that no judgment should issue against him. Here, then,
+Marcus was doomed to lie, fretting out his heart like a lion in a cage.
+
+From Cyril Marcus learned that Miriam was well and sent him her
+greetings, since she dared neither visit him nor write. The bishop told
+him also that he had found a certain Grecian mariner, Hector by name,
+a Roman citizen, who was a Christian and faithful. This man desired
+to sail for the coasts of Syria and was competent to steer a vessel
+thither. Also he thought that he could collect a crew of Christians and
+Jews who might be trusted. Lastly, he knew of several small galleys that
+were for sale, one of which, named the _Luna_, was a very good ship and
+almost new. Cyril told him, moreover, that he had seen Gallus and his
+wife Julia, and that these good people, having no more ties in Rome,
+partly because they desired to leave the city, and partly for love of
+Miriam, though more the second reason than the first, were willing to
+sell their house and goods and to sail with her to Syria.
+
+Marcus asked how much money would be needed, and when Cyril named the
+sum, sent for Stephanus and commanded him to raise it and to pay it
+over to the craftsman Septimus, taking his receipt in discharge. This
+Septimus promised to do readily enough by a certain day, believing that
+the gold was needed for his master's ransom. Then having settled all as
+well as might be, Cyril took up his tale and preached to Marcus of the
+Saviour of the world with great earnestness and power.
+
+Thus the days went on, and twice or thrice in every week Cyril visited
+Marcus, giving him tidings and instructing him in the Faith. Now the
+ship _Luna_ was bought and the most of her crew hired; also a cargo of
+such goods as would be salable in Syria was being laid into her hold at
+Ostia, the Greek, Hector, giving it out that this was a private venture
+of his own and some other merchants. As the man was well known for
+a bold trader who had bought and sold in many lands his tale caused
+neither wonder nor suspicion, none knowing that the capital was
+furnished by the steward of the prisoner Marcus through him who passed
+as the master craftsman and contractor Septimus. Indeed, until the after
+days Miriam did not know this herself, for it was kept from her by the
+special command of Marcus, and if Nehushta guessed the truth she held
+her tongue.
+
+
+
+Two full months had gone by. Marcus still languished in prison, for
+Titus had not yet returned to Rome, but as he learned from Cyril,
+Domitian wearied somewhat of his fruitless search for Miriam, although
+he still vowed vengeance against the rival who had robbed him. The ship
+_Luna_ was laden and ready for sea; indeed, if the wind and weather
+were favourable, she was to sail within a week. Gallus and Julia, having
+wound up their affairs, had removed to Ostia, whither Miriam was to be
+brought secretly on the night of the sailing of the _Luna_. Marcus was
+now at heart a Christian, but as yet had refused to accept baptism. Thus
+matters stood when Cyril visited the prison bringing with him Miriam's
+farewell message to her lover. It was very short.
+
+"Tell Marcus," she said, "that I go because he bids me, and that I know
+not whether we shall meet again. Say that perhaps it is best that we
+should not meet, since for reasons which he knows, even if he should
+still wish it, we may not marry. Say that in life or death I am his, and
+his only, and that until my last hour my thought and prayer will be for
+him. May he be delivered from all those troubles which, as I fear, I
+have brought upon him, through no will of mine. May he forgive me for
+them and let my love and gratitude make some amends for all that I have
+done amiss."
+
+To this Marcus answered: "Tell Miriam that from my heart I thank her for
+her message, and that my desire is that she should be gone from Rome so
+soon as may be, since here danger dogs her steps. Tell her that although
+it is true that mine has brought me shame and sorrow, still I give her
+love for love, and that if I come living from my prison I will follow
+her to Tyre and speak further of these matters. If I die, I pray that
+good fortune may attend her and that from time to time she will make the
+offering of an hour's thought to the spirit which once was Marcus."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+THE LAMP
+
+If Domitian at length slackened in his fruitless search for Miriam,
+Caleb, whose whole heart was in the hunt, proved more diligent. Still,
+he could find no trace of her. At first he made sure that if she was in
+Rome she would return to visit her friends and protectors, Gallus
+and his wife, and in the hope of thus discovering her, Caleb caused a
+constant watch to be kept on their abode. But Miriam never came there,
+nor, although their footsteps were dogged from day to day, did they lead
+him to her, since in truth Julia and Miriam met only in the catacombs,
+where he and his spies dared not venture. Soon, however, Gallus
+discovered that his home was kept under observation and its inmates
+tracked from place to place. It was this knowledge indeed which, more
+than any other circumstance, brought him to make up his mind to depart
+from Rome and dwell in Syria, since he said that he would no longer live
+in a city where night by night he and his were hunted like jackals. But
+when he left for Ostia, to wait there till the ship _Luna_ was ready,
+Caleb followed him, and in that small town soon found out all his plans,
+learning that he meant to sail with his wife in the vessel. Then, as he
+could hear nothing of Miriam, he returned to Rome.
+
+After all it was by chance that he discovered her and not through his
+own cleverness. Needing a lamp for his chamber he entered a shop where
+such things were sold, and examined those that the merchant offered to
+him. Presently he perceived one of the strange design of two palms with
+intertwining trunks and feathery heads nodding apart, having a lamp
+hanging by a little chain from the topmost frond of each of them. The
+shape of the trees struck him as familiar, and he let his eye run down
+their stems until it reached the base, which, to support so tall a
+piece, was large. Yes, the palms grew upon a little bank, and there
+beneath the water rippled, while between bank and water was a long,
+smooth stone, pointed at one end. Then in a flash Caleb recognised the
+place, as well he might, seeing that on many and many an evening had
+he and Miriam sat side by side upon that stone, angling for fish in the
+muddy stream of Jordan. There was no doubt about it, and, look! half
+hidden in the shadow of the stone lay a great fish, the biggest that
+ever he had caught--he could swear to it, for its back fin was split.
+
+A mist came before Caleb's eyes and in it across the years he saw
+himself a boy again. There he stood, his rod of reed bent double and the
+thin line strained almost to breaking, while on the waters of Jordan a
+great fish splashed and rolled.
+
+"I cannot pull him in," he cried. "The line will never bear it and the
+bank is steep. Oh! Miriam, we shall lose him!"
+
+Then there was a splash, and, behold! the girl at his side had sprung
+into the swiftly running river. Though its waters, reaching to her neck,
+washed her down the stream, she hugged to her young breast that great,
+slippery fish, yes, and gripped its back fin between her teeth, till
+with the aid of his reed rod he drew them both to land.
+
+
+
+"I will buy that lamp," said Caleb presently. "The design pleases me.
+What artist made it?"
+
+The merchant shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Sir, I do not know," he answered. "These goods are supplied to us with
+many others, such as joinery and carving, by one Septimus, who is a
+contractor and, they say, a head priest among the Christians, employing
+many hands at his shops in the poor streets yonder. One or more of them
+must be designers of taste, since of late we have received from him some
+lamps of great beauty."
+
+Then the man was called away to attend to another customer and Caleb
+paid for his lamp.
+
+That evening at dusk Caleb, bearing the lamp in his hand, found his
+way to the workshop of Septimus, only to discover that the part of the
+factory where lamps were moulded was already closed. A girl who had just
+shut the door, seeing him stand perplexed before it, asked civilly if
+she could help him.
+
+"Maiden," he answered, "I am in trouble who wish to find her who moulded
+this lamp, so that I may order others, but am told that she has left her
+work for the day."
+
+"Yes," said the maiden, looking at the lamp, which evidently she
+recognised. "It is pretty, is it not? Well, cannot you return
+to-morrow?"
+
+"Alas! no, I expect to be leaving Rome for a while, so I fear that I
+must go elsewhere."
+
+The girl reflected to herself that it would be a pity if the order were
+lost, and with it the commission which she might divide with the maker
+of the lamp. "It is against the rules, but I will show you where she
+lives," she said, "and if she is there, which is probable, for I have
+never seen her or her companion go out at night, you can tell her your
+wishes."
+
+Caleb thanked the girl and followed her through sundry tortuous lanes to
+a court surrounded by old houses.
+
+"If you go in there," she said, pointing to a certain doorway, "and
+climb to the top of the stairs, I forget whether there are three or four
+flights, you will find the makers of the lamp in the roof-rooms--oh!
+sir, I thank you, but I expected nothing. Good-night."
+
+At length Caleb stood at the head of the stairs, which were both steep,
+narrow, and in the dark hard to climb. Before him, at the end of a
+rickety landing, a small ill-fitting door stood ajar. There was light
+within the room beyond, and from it came a sound of voices. Caleb crept
+up to the door and listened, for as the floor below was untenanted he
+knew that none could see him. Bending down he looked through the space
+between the door and its framework and his heart stood still. There,
+standing full in the lamplight, clothed in a pure white robe, for her
+rough working dress lay upon a stool beside her, was Miriam herself,
+her elbow leaning on the curtained window-place. She was talking to
+Nehushta, who, her back bent almost double over a little charcoal fire,
+was engaged in cooking their supper.
+
+"Think," she was saying, "only think, Nou, our last night in this
+hateful city, and then, instead of that stifling workshop and the terror
+of Domitian, the open sea and the fresh salt wind and nobody to fear but
+God. _Luna!_ Is it not a beautiful name for a ship? I can see her, all
+silver----"
+
+"Peace," said Nehushta. "Are you mad, girl, to talk so loud? I though I
+heard a sound upon the stairs just now."
+
+"It is only the rats," answered Miriam cheerfully, "no one ever comes up
+here. I tell you that were it not for Marcus I could weep with joy."
+
+Caleb crept back to the head of the stairs and down several steps, which
+he began to re-ascend noisily, grumbling at their gloom and steepness.
+Then, before the women even had time to shut the door, he thrust it wide
+and walked straight into the room.
+
+"Your pardon," he began, then added quietly, "Why, Miriam, when we
+parted on the gate Nicanor, who could have foretold that we should live
+to meet again here in a Roman attic? And you, Nehushta. Why, we were
+separated in the fray outside the Temple walls, though, indeed, I
+think that I saw you in a strange place some months ago, namely, the
+slave-ring on the Forum."
+
+"Caleb," asked Miriam in a hollow voice, "what is your business here?"
+
+"Well, Miriam, it began with a desire for a replica of this lamp, which
+reminds me of a spot familiar to my childhood. Do you remember it? Now
+that I have found who is the lamp's maker----"
+
+"Cease fooling," broke in Nehushta. "Bird of ill-omen, you have come to
+drag your prey back to the shame and ruin which she has escaped."
+
+"I was not always called thus," answered Caleb, flushing, "when I
+rescued you from the house at Tyre for instance, or when I risked my
+life, Miriam, to throw you food upon the gate Nicanor. Nay, I come to
+save you from Domitian----"
+
+"And to take her for yourself," answered Nehushta. "Oh! we Christians
+also have eyes to see and ears to hear, and, black-hearted traitor
+that you are, we know all your shame. We know of your bargain with the
+chamberlain of Domitian, by which the body of the slave was to be the
+price of the life of her buyer. We know how you swore away the honour of
+your rival, Marcus, with false testimony, and how from week to week you
+have quartered Rome as a vulture quarters the sky till at length you
+have smelt out the quarry. Well, she is helpless, but One is strong, and
+may His vengeance fall upon your life and soul."
+
+Suddenly Nehushta's voice, that had risen to a scream, died away, and
+she stood before him threatening him with her bony fists, and searching
+his face with her burning eyes, a vengeance incarnate.
+
+"Peace, woman, peace," said Caleb, shrinking back before her. "Spare
+your reproaches; if I have sinned much it is because I have loved
+more----"
+
+"And hate most of all," added Nehushta.
+
+"Oh! Caleb," broke in Miriam, "if as you say you love me, why should you
+deal thus with me? You know well that I do not love you after this sort,
+no, and never can, and even if you keep me from Domitian, who does but
+make a tool of you, what would it advantage you to take a woman who
+leaves her heart elsewhere? Also I may never marry you for that same
+reason that I may not marry Marcus, because my faith is and must remain
+apart from yours. Would you make a base slave of your old playmate,
+Caleb? Would you bring her to the level of a dancing-girl? Oh! let me go
+in peace."
+
+"Upon the ship _Luna_," said Caleb sullenly.
+
+Miriam gasped! So he knew their plans.
+
+"Yes," she replied desperately, "upon the ship _Luna_, to find such a
+fate as Heaven may give me; at least to be at peace and free. For your
+soul's sake, Caleb, let me go. Once years ago you swore that you would
+not force yourself upon me against my will. Will you break that oath
+to-day?"
+
+"I swore also, Miriam, that it should go ill with any man who came
+between you and me. Shall I break that oath to-day? Give yourself to
+me of your own will and save Marcus. Refuse and I will bring him to his
+death. Choose now between me and your lover's life."
+
+"Are you a coward that you should lay such a choice upon me, Caleb?"
+
+"Call me what you will. Choose."
+
+Miriam clasped her hands and for a moment stood looking upwards. Then a
+light of purpose grew upon her face and she answered:
+
+"Caleb, I have chosen. Do your worst. The fate of Marcus is not in my
+hands, or your hands, but in the hands of God; nor, unless He wills it,
+can one hair of his head be harmed by you or by Domitian. For is it not
+written in the book of your own Law that 'the King's heart is in the
+hand of the Lord, he turneth it whithersoever he will.' But my honour is
+my own, and to stain it would be a sin for which I alone must answer to
+Heaven and to Marcus, dead or living--Marcus, who would curse and spit
+upon me did I attempt to buy his safety at such a price."
+
+"Is that your last word, Miriam?"
+
+"It is. If it pleases you by false witness and by murder to destroy the
+man who once spared you, then if such a thing be suffered, have your
+will and reap its fruits. I make no bargain with you, for myself or for
+him--do your worst to both of us."
+
+"So be it," said Caleb with a bitter laugh, "but I think that the ship
+_Luna_ will lack her fairest passenger."
+
+Miriam sank down upon a seat and covered her face with her hands, a
+piteous sight in her misery and the terror which, notwithstanding her
+bold words, she could not conceal. Caleb walked to the door and paused
+there, while the white-haired Nehushta stood by the brazier of charcoal
+and watched them both with her fierce eyes. Presently Caleb glanced
+round at Miriam crouched by the window and a strange new look came into
+his face.
+
+"I cannot do it," he said slowly, each word falling heavily from his
+lips like single rain-drops from a cloud, or the slow blood from a
+mortal wound.
+
+Miriam let her hands slip from her face and stared at him.
+
+"Miriam," he said, "you are right; I have sinned against you and this
+man Marcus. Now I will expiate my sin. Your secret is safe with me, and
+since you hate me I will never see you more. Miriam, we look upon
+each other for the last time. Further, if I can, I will work for the
+deliverance of Marcus and help him to join you in Tyre, whither the
+_Luna_ is bound--is she not? Farewell?"
+
+Once again he turned to go, but it would seem that his eyes were
+blinded, or his brain was dulled by the agony that worked within. At
+least Caleb caught his foot in the ancient uneven boards, stumbled, and
+fell heavily upon his face. Instantly, with a low hiss of hate and a
+spring like that of a cat, Nehushta was upon him. Thrusting her knees
+upon his back she seized the nape of his neck with her left hand and
+with her right drew a dagger from her bosom.
+
+"Forbear!" said Miriam. "Touch him with that knife and we part forever.
+Nay, I mean it. I myself will hand you to the officer, even if he hales
+me to Domitian."
+
+Then Nehushta rose to her feet.
+
+"Fool!" she said, "fool, to trust to that man of double moods, whose
+mercy to-night will be vengeance to-morrow. Oh! you are undone! Alas!
+you are undone!"
+
+Regaining his feet Caleb looked at her contemptuously.
+
+"Had you stabbed she might have been undone indeed," he said. "Now, as
+of old, there is little wisdom in that gray head of yours, Nehushta; nor
+can your hate suffer you to understand the intermingled good and evil
+of my heart." Then he advanced to Miriam, lifted her hand and kissed it.
+With a sudden movement she proffered him her brow.
+
+"Nay," he said, "tempt me not, it is not for me. Farewell."
+
+Another instant and he was gone.
+
+
+
+It would seem that Caleb kept his word, for three days later the vessel
+_Luna_ sailed unmolested from the port of Ostia in the charge of the
+Greek captain Hector, having on board Miriam, Nehushta, Julia, and
+Gallus.
+
+Within a week of this sailing Titus at length returned to Rome. Here in
+due course the case of Marcus was brought before him by the prisoner's
+friends, together with a demand that he should be granted a new and open
+trial for the clearing of his honour. Titus, who for his own reasons
+refused to see Marcus, listened patiently, then gave his decision.
+
+He rejoiced, he said, to learn that his close friend and trusted officer
+was still alive, since he had long mourned him as dead. He grieved that
+in his absence he should have been put upon his trial on the charge of
+having been taken captive, living, by the Jews, which, if Marcus upon
+his arrival in Rome had at once reported himself to him, would not have
+happened. He dismissed all accusations against his military honour and
+courage as mere idle talk, since he had a hundred times proved him to be
+the bravest of men, and knew, moreover, something of the circumstances
+under which he was captured. But, however willing he might be to do so,
+he was unable for public reasons to disregard the fact that he had been
+duly convicted by a court-martial, under the Prince Domitian, of having
+broken the command of his general and suffered himself to be taken
+prisoner alive. To do so would be to proclaim himself, Titus, unjust,
+who had caused others to suffer for this same offence, and to offer
+insult to the prince, his brother, who in the exercise of his discretion
+as commander in his absence, had thought fit to order the trial. Still,
+his punishment should be of the lightest possible. He commanded that on
+leaving his prison Marcus should go straight to his own house by
+night, so that there might be no public talk or demonstration among his
+friends, and there make such arrangement of his affairs as seemed good
+to him. Further, he commanded that within ten days he should leave
+Italy, to dwell or travel abroad for a period of three years, unless
+the time should be shortened by some special decree. After the lapse
+of these three years he would be free to return to Rome. This was his
+judgment and it could not be altered.
+
+As it chanced, it was the chamberlain Saturius who first communicated
+the Imperial decree to Marcus. Hurrying straight from the palace to the
+prison he was admitted into the prisoner's chamber.
+
+"Well," said Marcus, looking up, "what evil tidings have you now?"
+
+"None, none," answered Saturius. "I have very good tidings, and that is
+why I run so fast. You are only banished for three years, thanks to my
+secret efforts," and he smiled craftily. "Even your property is left to
+you, a fact which will, I trust, enable you to reward your friends for
+their labours on your behalf."
+
+"Tell me all," and the rogue obeyed, while Marcus listened with a face
+of stone.
+
+"Why did Titus decide thus?" he asked when it was finished. "Speak
+frankly, man, if you wish for a reward."
+
+"Because, noble Marcus, Domitian had been with him beforehand and told
+him that if he reversed his public judgment it would be a cause of open
+quarrel between them. This, Caesar, who fears his brother, does not seek.
+That is why he would not see you, lest his love for his friend should
+overcome his reason."
+
+"So the prince is still my enemy?"
+
+"Yes, and more bitter than before, since he cannot find the
+Pearl-Maiden, and is sure that you have spirited her away. Be advised by
+me and leave Rome quickly, lest worse things befall you."
+
+"Aye," said Marcus, "I will leave Rome quickly, for how shall I abide
+here who have lost my honour. Yet first it may please your master to
+know that by now the lady whom he seeks is far across the sea. Now get
+you gone, you fox, for I desire to be alone."
+
+The face of Saturius became evil.
+
+"Is that all you have to say?" he asked. "Am I to win no reward?"
+
+"If you stay longer," said Marcus, "you will win one which you do not
+desire."
+
+Then Saturius went, but without the door he turned and shook his fist
+towards the chamber he had left.
+
+"Fox," he muttered. "He called me fox and gave me nothing. Well, foxes
+may find some pickings on his bones."
+
+The chamberlain's road to the palace ran past the place of business of
+the merchant Demetrius. He stopped and looked at it. "Perhaps this one
+will be more liberal," he said to himself, and entered.
+
+In his private office he found Caleb alone, his face buried in his
+hands. Seating himself he plunged into his tale, ending it with an
+apology to Caleb for the lightness of the sentence inflicted upon
+Marcus.
+
+"Titus would do no more," he said; "indeed, were it not for the fear
+of Domitian, he could have not have been brought to do so much, for he
+loves the man, who has been a prefect of his bodyguard, and was deeply
+grieved that he must disgrace him. Still, disgraced he is, aye, and he
+feels it; therefore I trust that you, most generous Demetrius, who hate
+him, will remember the service of your servant in this matter."
+
+"Yes," said Caleb quietly, "fear not, you shall be well paid, for you
+have done your best."
+
+"I thank you, friend," answered Saturius, rubbing his hands, "and, after
+all, things may be better than they seem. That insolent fool let out
+just now that the girl about whom there is all this bother has been
+smuggled away somewhere across the seas. When Domitian learns that he
+will be so mad with anger that he may be worked up to take a little
+vengeance of his own upon the person of the noble Marcus, who has thus
+contrived to trick him. Also Marcus shall not get the Pearl-Maiden,
+for the prince will cause her to be followed and brought back--to you,
+worthy Demetrius."
+
+"Then," answered Caleb, slowly, "he must seek for her, not across the
+sea, but in its depths."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"I mean that I have tidings that Pearl-Maiden escaped in the ship _Luna_
+hard upon a month ago. This morning the captain and some mariners of the
+galley _Imperatrix_ arrived in Rome. They report that they met a
+great gale off Rhegium, and towards the end of it saw a vessel sink.
+Afterwards they picked up a sailor clinging to a piece of wood, who told
+them that the ship's name was _Luna_ and that she foundered with all
+hands."
+
+"Have you seen this sailor?"
+
+"No; he died of exhaustion soon after he was rescued; but I have seen
+the men of the galley, who brought me note of certain goods consigned to
+me in her hold. They repeated this story to me with their own lips."
+
+"So, after all, she whom so many sought was destined to the arms
+of Neptune, as became a pearl," reflected Saturius. "Well, well, as
+Domitian cannot be revenged upon Neptune he will be the more wroth with
+the man who sent her to that god. Now I go to tell him all these tidings
+and learn his mind."
+
+"You will return and acquaint me with it, will you not?" asked Caleb,
+looking up.
+
+"Certainly, and at once. Our account is not yet balanced, most generous
+Demetrius."
+
+"No," answered Caleb, "our accounts are not yet balanced."
+
+Two hours later the chamberlain reappeared in the office.
+
+"Well," said Caleb, "how does it go?"
+
+"Ill, very ill for Marcus, and well, very well for those who hate him,
+as you and I do, friend. Oh! never have I seen my Imperial master so
+enraged. Indeed, when he learned that Pearl-Maiden had escaped and was
+drowned, so that he could have no hope of her this side the Styx, it was
+almost dangerous to be near to him. He cursed Titus for the lightness of
+his sentence; he cursed you; he cursed _me_. But I turned his wrath
+into the right channel. I showed him that for all these ills Marcus, and
+Marcus alone, is to blame, Marcus who is to pay the price of them with
+a three years' pleasant banishment from Rome, which doubtless, will be
+remitted presently. I tell you that Domitian wept and gnashed his teeth
+at the thought of it, until I showed him a better plan--knowing that it
+would please you, friend Demetrius."
+
+"What plan?"
+
+Saturius rose, and having looked round to see that the door was
+fastened, came and whispered into Caleb's ear.
+
+"Look you, after sunset to-night, that is within two hours, Marcus is
+to be put out of his prison and conducted to the side door of his own
+house, that beneath the archway, where he is ordered to remain until
+he leaves Rome. In this house is no one except an old man, the steward
+Stephanus, and a slave woman. Well, before he gets there, certain trusty
+fellows, such as Domitian knows how to lay his hands upon, will have
+entered the house, and having secured the steward and the woman, will
+await the coming of Marcus beneath the archway. You can guess the rest.
+Is it not well conceived?"
+
+"Very well," answered Caleb. "But may there not be suspicion?"
+
+"None, none. Who would dare to suspect Domitian? A private crime,
+doubtless! The rich have so many enemies."
+
+What Saturius did not add was that nobody would suspect Domitian because
+the masked bravoes were instructed to inform the steward and the slave
+when they had bound and gagged them, that they were hired to do the deed
+of blood by a certain merchant named Demetrius, otherwise Caleb the Jew,
+who had an ancient quarrel against Marcus, which, already, he had tried
+to satisfy by giving false evidence before the court-martial.
+
+"Now," went on Saturius, "I must be going, for there are one or two
+little things which need attention, and time presses. Shall we balance
+that account, friend Demetrius?"
+
+"Certainly," said Caleb, and taking a roll of gold from a drawer he
+pushed it across the table.
+
+Saturius shook his head sadly. "I laid it at twice as much," he said.
+"Think how you hate him and how richly your hate will be fed. First
+disgraced unjustly, he, one of the best soldiers and bravest captains in
+the army, and then hacked to death by cutthroats in the doorway of his
+own house. What more could you want?"
+
+"Nothing," answered Caleb. "Only the man isn't dead yet. Sometimes the
+Fates have strange surprises for us mortals, friend Saturius."
+
+"Dead? He will be dead soon enough."
+
+"Good. You shall have the rest of the money when I have seen his body.
+No, I don't want any bungling and that's the best way to make certain."
+
+"I wonder," thought Saturius, as he departed out of the office and
+this history, "I wonder how I shall manage to get the balance of my
+fee before they have my Jewish friend by the heels. But it can be
+arranged--doubtless it can be arranged."
+
+When he had gone, Caleb, who, it would seem, also had things which
+needed attention and felt that time pressed, took pen and wrote a short
+letter. Next he summoned a clerk and gave orders that it was to be
+delivered two hours after sunset--not before.
+
+Meanwhile, he enclosed it in an outer wrapping so that the address was
+not seen. This done, he sat still for a time, his lips moving, almost as
+though he were engaged in prayer. Then, seeing that it was the hour of
+sunset, he rose, wrapped himself in a long dark cloak, such as was worn
+by Roman officers, and went out.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+HOW MARCUS CHANGED HIS FAITH
+
+Caleb was not the only one who heard the evil tidings of the ship
+_Luna_; it came to the ears of the bishop Cyril also, since little of
+any moment passed within the city of Rome which the Christians did not
+know.
+
+Like Caleb, he satisfied himself of the truth of the matter by an
+interview with the captain of the _Imperatrix_. Then with a sorrowful
+heart he departed to the prison near the Temple of Mars. Here the warden
+told him that Marcus wished to see no one, but answering "Friend, my
+business will not wait," he pushed past the man and entered the room
+beyond. Marcus was standing up in the centre of it, in his hand a
+drawn sword of the short Roman pattern, which, on catching sight of his
+visitor, he cast upon the table with an exclamation of impatience. It
+fell beside a letter addressed to "The Lady Miriam in Tyre. To be given
+into her own hand."
+
+"Peace be with you," said the bishop, searching his face with his quiet
+eyes.
+
+"I thank you, friend," answered Marcus, smiling strangely, "I need
+peace, and--seek it."
+
+"Son," asked the bishop, "what were you about to do?"
+
+"Friend," answered Marcus, "If you desire to know, I was about to fall
+upon my sword. One more minute and I should have been dead. They brought
+it me with the cloak and other things. It was thoughtful of them, and I
+guessed their meaning."
+
+Cyril lifted the sword from the table and cast it into a corner of the
+room.
+
+"God be thanked," he said, "Who led my feet here in time to save you
+from this sin. Why, because it has pleased Him to take her life, should
+you seek to take your own?"
+
+"Her life?" said Marcus. "What dreadful words are these. Her life! Whose
+life?"
+
+"The life of Miriam. I came to tell you. She is drowned upon the seas
+with all her company."
+
+For a moment Marcus stood swaying to and fro like a drunken man. Then he
+said:
+
+"Is it so indeed? Well, the more reason that I should make haste to
+follow her. Begone and leave me to do the deed alone," and he stepped
+towards the sword.
+
+Cyril set his foot upon the shining blade.
+
+"What is this madness?" he asked. "If you did not know of Miriam's
+death, why do you desire to kill yourself?"
+
+"Because I have lost more than Miriam. Man, they have robbed me of my
+honour. By the decree of Titus, I, Marcus, am branded as a coward. Yes,
+Titus, at whose side I have fought a score of battles--Titus, from whom
+I have warded many a blow--has banished me from Rome."
+
+"Tell me of this thing," said Cyril.
+
+So Marcus told him all. Cyril listened in silence, then said sternly:
+
+"Is it for this that you would kill yourself? Is your honour lessened by
+a decree based upon false evidence, and given for reasons of policy? Do
+you cease to be honourable because others are dishonourable, and would
+you--a soldier--fly from the battle? Now, indeed, Marcus, you show
+yourself a coward."
+
+"How can I live on who am so shamed?" he asked passionately. "My friends
+knew that I could not live, and that is why they wrapped a sword in
+yonder cloak and sent it me. Also Miriam, you say, is dead."
+
+"Satan sent it to you, Marcus, desiring to fashion of your foolish
+pride a ladder down which you might climb to hell. Cast aside this base
+temptation which wears the mask of false honour; face your trouble like
+a man, and conquer it by innocence--and faith."
+
+"Miriam! What of Miriam?"
+
+"Yes, what of Miriam? How would she welcome you yonder, who come
+to greet her with your blood upon your hands? Oh! son, do you not
+understand that this is the trial laid upon you? You have been brought
+low that you might rise high. Once the world gave you all it had
+to give. You were rich, you were a captain among captains; you were
+high-born; men called you 'The Fortunate.' Then Christ appealed to you
+in vain, you put Him by. What had you to do with the crucified carpenter
+of Galilee? Now by the plotting of your foes you have fallen. No longer
+do you rank high in your trade of blood. You are dismissed its service
+and an exile. The lesson of life has come home to you, therefore you
+seek to escape from life rather than bide in it to do your duty through
+good and ill, heedless of what men may say, and finding peace in the
+verdict of your own conscience. Let Him Whom you put by in your hours of
+pomp come to you now. Carry your cross with your shame as He carried His
+in His shame. In His light find light, in His peace find peace, and at
+the end her who has been taken from you awhile. Has my spirit spoken in
+vain with your spirit during all these many weeks, son Marcus? Already
+you have told me that you believe, and now at the first breath of
+trouble will you go back upon that which you know to be the Truth? Oh!
+once more listen to me, that your eyes may be opened before it is too
+late."
+
+"Speak on, I hear you," said Marcus with a sigh.
+
+So Cyril pleaded with him in the passion of one inspired, and as Marcus
+hearkened his heart was softened and his purpose turned.
+
+"I knew it all before, I believed it all before," he said at length,
+"but I would not accept your baptism and become a member of your
+Church."
+
+"Why not, son?"
+
+"Because had I done so she would have thought and you might have
+thought, and perhaps I myself should have thought that I did it, as once
+I offered to do, to win her whom I desired above all things on earth.
+Now she is dead and it is otherwise. Shrive me, father, and do your
+office."
+
+So there in the prison cell the bishop Cyril took water and baptised the
+Roman Marcus into the body of the Christian Church.
+
+"What shall I do now?" Marcus asked as he rose from his knees. "Once
+Caesar was my master, now you speak with the voice of Caesar. Command me."
+
+"I do not speak, Christ speaks. Listen. I am called by the Church to go
+to Alexandria in Egypt, whither I sail within three days. Will you who
+are exiled from Rome come with me? There I can find you work to do."
+
+"I have said that you are Caesar," answered Marcus. "Now it is sunset and
+I am free; accompany me to my house, I pray you, for there much business
+waits me in which I need counsel, who am overborne."
+
+So presently the gates were opened as Titus had commanded, and they went
+forth, attended only by a guard of two men, walking unnoted through the
+streets to the palace in the Via Agrippa.
+
+"There is the door," said the sergeant of the guard, pointing to the
+side entrance of the house. "Enter with your friend and, noble Marcus,
+fare you well."
+
+So they went to the archway, and finding the door ajar, passed through
+and shut it behind them.
+
+"For a house where there is much to steal this is ill guarded, son. In
+Rome an open gate ought to have a watchman," said Cyril as he groped his
+way through the darkness of the arch.
+
+"My steward Stephanus should be at hand, for the jailer advised him of
+my coming--who never thought to come," began Marcus, then of a sudden
+stumbled heavily and was silent.
+
+"What is it?" asked Cyril.
+
+"By the feel one who is drunken--or dead. Some beggar, perhaps, who
+sleeps off his liquor here."
+
+By now Cyril was through the archway and in the little courtyard beyond.
+
+"A light burns in that window," he said. "Come, you know the path, guide
+me to it. We can return to this sleeper."
+
+"Who seems hard to wake," added Marcus, as he led the way across the
+courtyard to the door of the offices. This also proved to be open and
+by it they entered the room where the steward kept his books and slept.
+Upon the table a lamp was burning, that which they had seen through the
+casement. Its light showed them a strange sight. An iron-bound box that
+was chained to the wall had been broken open and its contents rifled,
+for papers were strewn here and there, and on them lay an empty leathern
+money-bag. The furniture also was overturned as though in some struggle,
+while among it, one in the corner of the room and one beneath the marble
+table, which was too heavy to be moved, lay two figures, those of a man
+and a woman.
+
+"Murderers have been here," said Cyril with a groan.
+
+Marcus snatched the lamp from the table and held it to the face of the
+man in the corner.
+
+"It is Stephanus," he said, "Stephanus bound and gagged, but living,
+and the other is the slave woman. Hold the lamp while I loose them,"
+and drawing his short sword, he cut away the bonds, first of the one and
+then of the other. "Speak, man, speak!" he said, as Stephanus struggled
+to his feet. "What has chanced here?"
+
+For some moments the old steward stared at him with round, frightened
+eyes. Then he gasped:
+
+"Oh! my lord, I thought you dead. They said that they had come to kill
+you by command of the Jew Caleb, he who gave the evidence."
+
+"They! Who?" asked Marcus.
+
+"I know not, four men whose faces were masked. They said also that
+though you must die, they were commanded to do me and this woman no
+harm, only to bind and silence us. This they did, then, having taken
+what money they could find, went out to waylay you. Afterwards I heard
+a scuffle in the arch and well-nigh died of sorrow, for I who could
+neither warn nor help you, was sure that you were perishing beneath
+their knives."
+
+"For this deliverance, thank God," said Cyril, lifting up his hands.
+
+"Presently, presently," answered Marcus. "First follow me," and taking
+the lamp in his hand, he ran back to the archway.
+
+Beneath it a man lay upon his face--he across whom Marcus had stumbled,
+and about him blood flowed from many wounds. In silence they turned him
+over so that the light fell upon his features. Then Marcus staggered
+back amazed, for, behold! they were Caleb's, notwithstanding the blood
+and wounds that marred them, still dark and handsome in his death sleep.
+
+"Why," he said to Stephanus, "this is that very man whose bloody work,
+as they told us, the murderers came to do. It would seem that he has
+fallen into his own snare."
+
+"Are you certain, son?" asked Cyril. "Does not this gashed and gory
+cheek deceive you?"
+
+"Draw that hand of his from beneath the cloak," answered Marcus. "If I
+am right the first finger will lack a joint."
+
+Cyril obeyed and held up the stiffening hand. It was as Marcus had said.
+
+"Caught in his own snare!" repeated Marcus. "Well, though I knew he
+hated me, and more than once we have striven to slay each other in
+battle and private fight, never would I have believed that Caleb the Jew
+would sink to murder. He is well repaid, the treacherous dog!"
+
+"Judge not, that ye be not judged," answered Cyril. "What do you know of
+how or why this man came by his death? He may have been hurrying here to
+warn you."
+
+"Against his own paid assassins! No, father, I know Caleb better, only
+he was viler than I thought."
+
+Then they carried the body into the house and took counsel what they
+should do. While they reasoned together, for every path seemed full of
+danger, there came a knock upon the archway door. They hesitated, not
+knowing whether it would be safe to open, till the knock was repeated
+more loudly.
+
+"I will go, lord," said Stephanus, "for why need I fear, who am of no
+account to any one?"
+
+So he went, presently to return.
+
+"What was it?" asked Marcus.
+
+"Only a young man, who said that he had been strictly charged by his
+master, Demetrius the Alexandrian merchant, to deliver a letter at this
+hour. Here is the letter."
+
+"Demetrius, the Alexandrian merchant," said Marcus as he took it. "Why,
+under that name Caleb who lies there dead passed in Rome."
+
+"Read the letter," said Cyril.
+
+So Marcus cut the silk, broke the seal, and read:
+
+"To the noble Marcus,
+
+"In the past I have worked you evil and often striven to take your life.
+Now it has come to my ears that Domitian, who hates you even worse than
+I do, if for less reason, has laid a plot to murder you on the threshold
+of your own house. Therefore, by way of amends for that evidence which
+I gave against you that stained the truth, since no braver man ever
+breathed than you are, Marcus, it has come into my mind to visit the
+Palace Fortunate wrapped in such a cloak as you Roman captains wear.
+There, before you read this letter, perhaps we shall meet again. Still,
+mourn me not, Marcus, nor speak of me as generous, or noble, since
+Miriam is dead, and I who have followed her through life desire to
+follow her through death, hoping that there I may find a kinder fortune
+at her hands, or if not, forgetfulness. You who will live long, must
+drink deep of memory--a bitterer cup. Marcus, farewell. Since die I
+must, I would that it had been in open fight beneath your sword, but
+Fate, who has given me fortune, but no true favour, appoints me to the
+daggers of assassins that seek another heart. So be it. You tarry here,
+but I travel to Miriam. Why should I grumble at the road?
+
+"Caleb.
+
+"Written at Rome upon the night of my death."
+
+
+"A brave man and a bitter," said Marcus when he had finished reading.
+"Know, my father, that I am more jealous of him now than ever I was in
+his life's days. Had it not been for you and your preaching," he added
+angrily, "when he came to seek Miriam, he would have found me at her
+side. But now, how can I tell?"
+
+"Peace to your heathen talk!" answered the bishop. "Is the land of
+spirits then such as your poets picture, and do the dead turn to each
+other with eyes of earthly passion? Yet," he added more gently, "I
+should not blame you who, like this poor Jew, from childhood have been
+steeped in superstitions. Have no fear of his rivalry in the heavenly
+fields, friend Marcus, where neither do they marry or are given in
+marriage, nor think that self-murder can help a man. What the end of
+all this tale may be does not yet appear; still I am certain that yonder
+Caleb will take no gain in hurrying down to death, unless indeed he did
+it from a nobler motive than he says, as I for one believe."
+
+"I trust that it may be so," answered Marcus, "although in truth that
+another man should die for me gives me no comfort. Rather would I that
+he had left me to my doom."
+
+"As God has willed so it has befallen, for 'man's goings are of the
+Lord; how then can a man understand his own way?'" replied Cyril with a
+sigh. "Now let us to other matters, for time is short and it comes upon
+me that you will do well to be clear of Rome before Domitian finds that
+Caleb fell in place of Marcus."
+
+
+
+Nearly three more months had gone when, at length, one night as the sun
+vanished, a galley crept wearily into the harbour of Alexandria and cast
+anchor just as the light of Pharos began to shine across the sea. Her
+passage through the winter gales had been hard, and for weeks at a time
+she had been obliged to shelter in harbours by the way. Now, short of
+food and water, she had come safely to her haven, for which mercy the
+bishop Cyril with the Roman Marcus and such other Christians as were
+aboard of her gave thanks to Heaven upon their knees in their little
+cabin near the forecastle, for it was too late to attempt to land that
+night. Then they went on deck and, as all their food was gone and they
+had no drink except some stinking water, leaned upon the bulwarks and
+looked hungrily towards the shore, where gleamed the thousand lights of
+the mighty city. Near to them, not a bowshot away indeed, lay another
+ship. Presently, as they stared at her black outline, the sound of
+singing floated from her decks across the still, starlit waters of the
+harbour. They listened to it idly enough at first, till at length some
+words of that song reached their ears, causing them to look at each
+other.
+
+"That is no sailor's ditty," said Marcus.
+
+"No," answered Cyril, "it is a Christian hymn, and one that I know well.
+Listen. Each verse ends, 'Peace, be still!'"
+
+"Then," said Marcus, "yonder must be a Christian ship, else they would
+not dare to sing that hymn. The night is calm, let us beg the boat and
+visit it. I am thirsty, and those good folk may have fresh water."
+
+"If you wish," answered Cyril. "There too we may get tidings as well as
+water."
+
+A while later the little boat rowed to the side of the strange ship and
+asked leave to board of the watchman.
+
+"What sign do you give?" asked the officer.
+
+"The sign of the Cross," answered Cyril. "We have heard your hymn who
+are of the brotherhood of Rome."
+
+Then a rope ladder was thrown down to them and the officer bade them
+make fast and be welcome.
+
+They climbed upon the deck and went to seek the captain, who was in
+the afterpart of the ship, where an awning was stretched. In the space
+enclosed by this awning, which was lit with lanterns, stood a woman in
+a white robe, who sang the refrain of the hymn in a very sweet voice,
+others of the company, from time to time, joining in its choruses.
+
+"From the dead am I arisen" sang the voice, and there was something in
+the thrilling notes that went straight to the heart of Marcus, some tone
+and quality which were familiar.
+
+Side by side with Cyril he climbed onwards across the rowing benches,
+and the noise of their stumbling footsteps reaching the singer's ears,
+caused her to pause in her song. Then stepping forward a little, as
+though to look, she came under the lantern so that its light fell full
+upon her face, and, seeing nothing, once more took up her chant:
+
+"Oh ye faithless, from the dead am I arisen."
+
+"Look, look!" gasped Marcus, clutching Cyril by the arm. "Look! It is
+Miriam, or her spirit."
+
+Another instant and he, too, had come into the circle of the lamplight,
+so that his eyes met the eyes of the singer. Now she saw him and, with a
+little cry, sank senseless to the deck.
+
+
+
+So the long story ended. Afterwards they learned that the tale which had
+been brought to Rome of the loss of the ship _Luna_ was false. She had
+met the great gale, indeed, but had sheltered from it in a harbour,
+where the skill of her captain, Hector, brought her safely. Then she
+made her way to Sicily, where she refitted, and so on to one of the
+Grecian ports, in which she lay for eight weeks waiting for better
+weather, till a favouring wind brought her somewhat slowly to
+Alexandria, a port she won only two days before the galley of Marcus.
+It would seem, therefore, that the vessel that had foundered in sight
+of the _Imperatrix_ was either another ship also called the _Luna_, no
+uncommon name, or that the mariners of the _Imperatrix_ had not heard
+her title rightly. It may have been even that the dying sailor who told
+it to them wandered in his mind, and forgetting how his last ship was
+called, gave her some name with which he was familiar. At the least,
+through the good workings of Providence, that _Luna_ which bore Miriam
+and her company escaped the perils of the deep and in due time reached
+the haven of Alexandria.
+
+Before they parted that happy night all their tale was told. Miriam
+learned how Caleb had kept the promise that he made to her, although
+when he thought her dead his fierce and jealous heart would suffer him
+to tell nothing of it to Marcus. She learned also how it came about that
+Marcus had been saved from death at his own hand by Cyril and entered
+the company of the Christian brotherhood. Very glad were both of them to
+think in the after years that he had done this believing her to be lost
+to him in death. Now none could say that he had changed his faith to win
+a woman, nor could their own consciences whisper to them that this was
+possible, though even at the time he knew it not.
+
+So they understood how through their many trials, dangers, and
+temptations all things had worked together for good to them.
+
+
+
+On the morrow, there in the ship _Luna_, Marcus and Miriam, whom the
+Romans called Pearl-Maiden, were wedded by the bishop Cyril, the Captain
+Gallus giving the bride in marriage, while the white-haired, fierce-eyed
+Nehushta stood at their side and blessed them in the name of that dead
+mother whose command had not been broken.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Pearl-Maiden, by H. Rider Haggard
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEARL-MAIDEN ***
+
+***** This file should be named 5175.txt or 5175.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/7/5175/
+
+Produced by John Bickers; Dagny; David Widger
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+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
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.