>An Oriental Supper Scene.
"'Wilt thou die for me, Peter?' asked Jesus, gazing on him with a sad, sweet look. 'Verily, verily, Peter, thou little knowest thyself. The cock shall not crow twice ere thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.'
"'Deny thee, Lord!' repeated Peter, with amazed grief and horror in his looks.
"'Yes, Peter,' answered Jesus, firmly but kindly, 'deny that thou ever knewest me; for the time draweth near when there shall be safety only in confessing ignorance of Jesus the Nazarene. And all ye,' he added, while his voice grew tremulous, and tears glistened in his eyes, 'all ye shall be offended because of me this night; ye shall be ashamed that ye are my disciples, and ye will think me a deceiver and will be displeased at me. Yea, every one of you shall desert me; for thus it is written: "The shepherd shall be smitten, and the sheep shall be scattered!"'
"When he saw that our hearts were troubled and that we were sad, and that the faithful Philip sobbed aloud at being supposed capable of abandoning his Master, he added, 'Let not your hearts be troubled; I go to prepare a place for you in my Father's house!'
"'Thy father, Lord, no longer liveth in Nazareth; and, were he alive, there are but two small apartments in his humble house,' said Thomas. 'How sayest thou that we are all to lodge there?'
"'Thomas, thou canst understand only what thine eyes see. I speak of my Father who is in heaven. In his house are many mansions.'
"Jesus then, as we drew near Cedron, began plainly to tell us that he was to die, and that by his death we should be admitted into a heavenly paradise and live forever. We could not understand all he said, but we knew that he was soon to be taken from us and sorrow filled all our hearts. After discoursing with us in the most touching words, he at length said:
"'Come, let us go over Cedron to the side of Olivet, into the garden we so much love to walk in.'
"We went with him, inclosing him as a guard, to conceal his person from the Jewish spies, as well as to defend him. Peter and James went before. The full moon shone brightly, and by its light glancing on the face of Jesus, by whom I walked, I saw that it was sadder than its wont, while he spoke but little.
"We at length crossed the brook and entered the dark groves of Olivet. Familiar with all the paths, we advanced to a central group of venerable olive trees, beneath which, tradition says, Abraham used to sit; and there Jesus, turning to us, said in a voice of the deepest woe:
"'Friends, the hour of my time of trial is come! My work is ended. I would be alone. Remain you here and watch, for we shall be sought for. Come with me, Peter, and you also, James. I am going to pray yonder.'
"'Take me, also, dear Lord!' I said, sorrowfully.
"'Yes, thou art always with me, beloved!' he answered. 'I will not leave thee now.'
"So leaving the eight friends to keep watch against the intrusion of his enemies, who were known to be everywhere seeking him, he walked away to the most secluded recesses of the garden. He stopped at the place near the rock where Adam is said to have hidden from Jehovah, and saying to us in a sorrowful tone, 'Tarry ye here, while I go apart and pray to my Father,' he went from us about a stone's cast and kneeled down, where a thick olive branch hanging low to the ground concealed him from our view. I was so solicitous lest he should leave us and we should see him no more, that I soon softly advanced near to the spot and beheld him prostrate on the ground, while deep groans broke from his heart. I heard his voice murmuring, but could not distinguish the words broken by grief; only the tones were those of strange horror and dread.
"As he prayed thus in great agony, I suddenly beheld a swift light pass by me, as if from the skies, and lo! an angel stood by the side of Jesus, bending over him and raising him up from the ground. A soft, bright glory shone around the spot, so that Peter, seeing it, advanced towards me, supposing some one had entered the garden bearing a torch. I beckoned to Peter to be motionless, and he gazed with me in speechless astonishment and admiration upon the form of the angel, from whose glorious face was emitted the radiance which illumined the place where Jesus was. As the angel raised Jesus from the ground, we saw that his divine countenance was convulsed with anguish, and upon his brow stood great shining drops of sweat, mingled with blood, which oozed from his pallid temples and, rolling down his marble cheeks, dropped to the ground. Never had we beheld a human visage so marred by sorrow, so deeply graven with the lines of agony.
"The angel seemed to utter soothing words, and pointed with his shining hand towards heaven, as if to encourage him with hope and give him strength. The face of Jesus grew more serene; he raised his eyes heavenward with a divine expression of holy love, and cried in a strong voice:
"'Thy will, not mine, O God, be done!'
"The angel then embraced him, as if strengthening him, and soaring upward, disappeared like a star returning into the blue depths of heaven, while Peter and I stood by wondering and full of awe at what we beheld.
"We remained for some time conversing together upon the wonderful vision we had seen, which confirmed us in the certainty that Jesus came from God, and was in truth the Messias that should come; but at length,wearied with our day's excitements, we must have fallen asleep, for we were suddenly startled by the voice of our dear Master saying:
"'Why sleep ye, children? But the hour is past for watching. Ye may sleep on now, for though your flesh is weary, your spirit is willing. I need your aid no longer!'
"While he was speaking, we saw many torches gleaming through the trees, along King David's walk, and the tramp of feet fell on our ears. We soon saw a large party advancing into the midst of the garden, who walked rapidly and spoke only in undertones. We at once took the alarm and said to Jesus:
"'Fly, dear Master! Let us ascend the hill, and escape by the way of Bethany, for these are enemies!'
"'Nay,' answered our dear Master. 'It must needs be that I deliver myself into the hands of these men. How else shall the Scriptures be fulfilled? Seek safety in flight for yourselves, but I must go whither they will lead me.'
"'Not so, Lord,' answered Peter. 'There is time for thee to escape; or, if not, we will stand by thee and defend thee.'
"So said all the disciples. Jesus shook his head and said, with a sad smile, 'Ye know not what ye say or would do. Mine hour is come!'
"While he yet spake the multitude drew nearer, and those who had the lead, raising their torches high above their heads, discovered us, with Jesus in the midst. To my surprise I beheld Judas acting as their guide, for he alone knew where his Master was to be found at that hour. Upon discovering Jesus this wicked man ran forward, with expressions of friendship in his face, and kissed Jesus on the cheek, saying:
"'Hail, Master! I am glad I have found thee!'
"'Judas,' said Jesus, 'betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?'
"When Judas heard this he turned to the multitude, at the head of which I recognized some of the chief priests, and of the most learned scribes of the Temple, and cried aloud:
"'This is he! Seize him, and hold him fast!'
"Thereupon the crowd, to the number of full ten score men, among whom were the vilest sort of people, rushed forward to lay hands upon Jesus, the moon and torches together shedding almost the bright light of day into the garden upon the whole group.
MOUNT OF OLIVES.
"At seeing them advance so furiously, with spears and clubs and swords, Peter and James placed themselves before Jesus to defend him, while I, being unarmed, cast myself across his breast, to shield his heart with my body. The more bold men in the crowd coming too near, Peter smote one of them with his sword, as he was reaching out his arm to grasp Jesus by the shoulder, and clave off his ear. At seeing this the crowd uttered a fierce shout, and were pressing upon us, when Jesus raised the palm of his hand and said quietly:
"'Whom seek ye?'
"Instantly the whole mass rolled backward, like a receding billow rebounding from the face of an immovable rock, and every man thereof fell with his forehead to the ground, where they all lay for a minute stunned. We twelve alone stood, for Judas had not been struck down, and now remained gazing with amazement and terror upon the prostrate enemies of Jesus.
"'Lord,' cried Peter, astonished, 'if thou canst thus repel thy foes, thou needest not fear them more. Shall I smite Judas also?'
"'Nay, put up thy sword, Peter! Let him remain to witness my power, that he may know that he nor his have any power over me save that I give them.'
"While he was thus speaking the people and soldiers rose to their feet, and, instead of flying, they seemed to be infuriated at their discomfiture; and the chief priests crying out that it was by sorcery that they had been thus stricken down, they rushed madly forward and laid their hands upon Jesus and upon us all. In vain I contended against numbers to rescue Jesus; overpowered, we were defeated and driven from the garden, leaving Jesus in the hands of his enemies."
When John had gone thus far in his relation, dear father, our tears and his were mingled. But we try and comfort ourselves with the word of his promise:
"Ye know not now, but ye shall know by and by, and shall believe truly that I came out from God. What now seems to you mysterious shall be made clear as light. Wait and have faith, and all shall be made known which now you understand not. Let no trials and degradations ye see me pass through cause your faith to fail. I am come into this world to conquer; but if I stoop, it is to raise up the world with me when I rise again!"
I have omitted to mention to you what more John related as wonderful touching the arrest of the Prophet. "As the chief priests bound and laid their hands on him, there was," he said, "heard in the air the sound of myriads of rushing wings, and notes like the gathering signal of a trumpet, echoing and re-echoing in the skies, as if a countless host of invisible beings were marshaling, armies by armies, in mid-heaven! At these fearful and sublime sounds all raised their heads but could behold nothing. Then Jesus said, with a majestic and commanding look, such as I had never before beheld upon his face:
"'Ye hear that I am not without heavenly friends! I have only to pray to my Father which is in heaven, and he will bid twelve legions of his angels, now hovering in the air and yearning to defend me from my foes, descend to my aid! But I desire not to use my powers for myself.'"
Thus, dear father, was Jesus borne away by a fierce multitude and dragged into the city.
John, whose interest in and affection for Jesus led him to follow them, heard all this; but Jesus made no answer, only walking quietly along, patiently enduring all they said and did.
As they entered the city gate the Roman guard, seeing the immense crowd and uproar, stopped them to learn the cause of the commotion.
"'We have here a traitor and conspirator, O captain of the guard,' answered Eli, the chief priest: 'a pestilent fellow, who calls himself Christ, a king! We have, therefore, with this band of hired soldiers, taken him, as he was met secretly with twelve of his fellow-conspirators, plotting to overthrow the government of Cæsar and make himself king of Judea.'
"'Long live Cæsar! Long live the emperor!' shouted the Roman soldiers. 'We have no king but Augustus Imperator!'
"Upon this many of the soldiers cried, 'Take him before the Procurator! He will give him his deserts, who would take his procuratorship away from him! To Pilate! To Pilate!'
"'To Annas!' shouted the Jews. 'First to Annas!'
"Then, with some shouting one thing and others another thing, he was hurried towards the house of Annas.
"When Annas knew that the prisoner was Jesus, he uttered a fearful oath expressive of his joy and wicked satisfaction, and, hastily robing and coming down into the court, he bade them bring the prisoner in. But the calm majesty of Jesus abashed him, and checked the course of insulting questions he began putting to him. At length finding that the Prophet would make no reply, he caused him to be bound still more closely with more cords, lest he should, like Samson, rend his bonds and escape on the way, and sent him to Caiaphas, the High Priest, saying to him:
"'Caiaphas will find voice for thy tongue, O Prophet! So, thou wouldst destroy the Temple, and callest thyself the Son of the Lord Jehovah! Out, blasphemer! Away with him, or the house will be swallowed up with the presence of one so impious! Away with the man! By the crown of David! Pilate will make thee king in truth, and give thee a Roman throne, to which, so that thou mayest not presently fall from it, he will nail thee foot and hand!'
"At this the cruel crowd shouted their approbation, and many cried:
"'Ay, to the cross! to the cross with him!'
"But others said, 'Nay, but to Caiaphas!'
"The captain of the Roman soldiers resolved that he should be taken before Pilate, and led the way thither, Jesus bound in the midst."
With renewed uproar they tumultuouslypressed forward, their way lighted by the red glare of a hundred torches, insulting the Roman soldiers with seditious cries. John followed, but being recognized as one of his disciples by a soldier in Æmilius' legion, he was seized and only escaped by leaving his apparel in the grasp of the rude Roman. Five of the disciples who have escaped arrest, are now in this house, whither John fled also, on eluding the grasp of the soldier, leaving his linen garment in his hand. We are all so sad and anxious! To move in favor of Jesus is only to share his fate and do him no service.
Yet through all, dear father, I do trust in him and hope! Oh, I cannot doubt his truth and power! I have seen him bring Lazarus up from the grave, and I will not believe but that he can save himself, and will save himself, from their hands. It is only when I shall behold him really no more—see him really dead—that my faith in his divine mission will waver.
With eyes blinded with tears, I can scarcely subscribe myself,
Your sad but loving daughter,
Adina.
My Dear Father:
I know not how to write—I know not what to say! Dismay and sorrow fill my heart! I feel as if life were a burden too heavy to hear! They have crucified him!
Verily fear and a snare are come upon us—desolation and destruction, O my father! We know not which way to turn. He in whom we trusted has proved as one of us, weak and impotent, and has suffered death without power to save himself. He that saved others could not escape the death of the Roman cross! While I write, I hear the priest Abner, in the court below, mocking my Uncle Amos in a loud voice:
"Your Messias is dead! A famous great prophet, surely, you Nazarenes have chosen—born in a manger and crucified as a thief! Said I not that he who could speak against the Temple and the priesthood was of Beelzebub?"
Rabbi Amos makes no reply. Shame and despair seal his lips. Thus our enemies triumph over us, and we answer only with confusion of face.
This unexpected, this unlooked-for, startling result has stupefied me, and not only me but all who have been so led by fascination as to trust in him. Even John, the beloved disciple, I hear now pacing the floor of the adjoining room, sobbing as if his noble heart would burst. Mary, my cousin's sweet voice, I catch from time to time trying to soothe him, although she is stricken like us all to the very earth. The unhappy John I hear despairingly answer her:
"Do not try to comfort me, Mary! There is no ground for hope more! He is dead—dead! All is lost! We who trusted in him have only to fly, if we would save our wretched lives, into Galilee, and return once more to our nets! The sun which shone so dazzlingly has proved a phantom light and gone out in darkness! He whom I could not but love, I see that I loved too well, since he proves not what I believed him to be! Oh, how could he be so like the Son of God and yet not be! Yet I loved and adored him as if he were the very Son of the Highest! But I have seen him die as a man—I have gazed on his lifeless body! I have beheld the deep wound made into his very heart by the Roman spear! I cast myself upon him, when he was taken down from the cross, and implored him, by his love for me, to give some sign that he was not holden by death! I placed my trembling hands over his heart. It was still—still—motionless as stone, like any other dead man's! He was dead—dead! With him die all our hopes—the hopes of Israel!"
"He may live again," said Mary, softly and hesitatingly, as if she herself had no such hope. "He raised Lazarus, thou dost remember!"
"Yes, for Jesus was living to do it," answered John, stopping in his walk; "but how can the dead raise the dead? No, he will never move, speak, nor breathe again!"
But I will not further delay the account of his trial and condemnation, for you will be anxious to know how such a man could be condemned to a malefactor's death. In my last letter I spoke of his arrest through the traitorous part enacted by Judas. Led by his captors, bound by the wrists with a cord, Jesus was taken from the dark groves of Olivet, where he had been found at prayer, and conducted with great noise into the city by Cæsar's gate. It is near this archway that Rabbi Amos lives. I will copy for you my Cousin Mary's account of it to Martha of Bethany, just written by her, instead of adding any more to my own.
"I went out upon the basilica, which overlooked the streets," says Mary, "and beheld a multitude advancing with torches flashing, and soon they came opposite the house, at least two hundred men in number, half clad and savage looking, with fierce eyes and scowling looks. Here and there among them was a Levite urging them on, and I also beheld Abner the priest firing their passions by loud oratory and eager gesticulations. Behind rode five Roman horsemen, with levelled spears, guarding a young man who walked with a firm step. I burst into tears. It was Jesus! His locks were dishevelled, his beard torn, his face marred, and his garments rent. He was pale and suffering, yet walked with a firm step. I burst into tears, and so did Adina, who had come out to see what was passing. He looked up and said touchingly, 'Mourn not for me.'
"He would have said more, but the priest smote him rudely upon the mouth, and the crowd, following his example, would have done him further insult but for the Roman soldiers, who turned their spears every way to guard him from violence, for they had rescued him from the terrible rage of the Jews by their centurion's orders, and were commanded to bring him safely before Pilate. So, thus guarded and escorted by the men who thirsted for his blood, he was led onward to the Pretorium, where the Roman Procurator resided. Gradually the whole multitude disappeared in the distance when silence, a dread and unearthly silence, succeeded. I turned and looked in Adina's face. She was leaning, as colorless as marble, against one of the columns of the basilica.
"'What can all this mean?' she said, with emotion. 'Can it be possible he has suffered himself to be taken—he who could destroy or make alive with a word? What means this dreadful scene we have just witnessed?'
"I could not answer. All I knew was what my eyes just beheld—that Jesus our Prophet, our King, our Messias, on whom all our hopes and the joy of Israel rested, was dragged a prisoner through the streets, helpless and without a helper. I trembled with I knew not what unknown forebodings. Suddenly Adina cried:
"'He cannot be harmed! He cannot die! He is a mighty Prophet, and has power that will strike his enemies dead. Let us not fear. He has yielded himself only the more terribly to defeat and destroy his foes. We will not fear what Pilate or the priests will do! They cannot harm the Anointed Shiloh of the Lord!'
"While we were yet talking, dear Martha, a dark figure passed stealthily along beneath the basilica, and seemed to court the shadows of the house. At this moment my father, Rabbi Amos, opened the outer gate, with a torch in his hand, to follow, at our request, the crowd of people, and see what should befall Jesus. The light glared full upon the tall, spare form of Peter, the Galilean fisherman. His dark, stern features wore an expression of earnest anxiety.
"'Is it thou, Peter?' exclaimed my father. 'What is all this? Who has ordered the arrest of Jesus? What has he done?'
"'That hateful and envious man, Caiaphas, seeks to destroy him, and has bribed with large lures of gold the baser Jews to do this thing. Come with me, Rabbi, and let us die with him!' and the Galilean pressed eagerly forward at a pace with which my father could not keep up.
"And this was an hour ago, and yet no news has come from the Pretorium; but from time to time a dreadful shout from the hill on which the palace of Caiaphas stands, breaks upon my ears, and the glare of unseen torches illumines the atmosphere high above the towers of the palace. It is a fearful night of agony and suspense. Adina, in her painful uncertainty, but for my entreaties would go forth alone towards the Pretorium to hear and know all. I can keep myself calm only by writing to you. Adina has also commenced a letter to her father, recording these sad things, but she drops her pen to start to the balcony at every sound. When will this fearful night end! What will the morrow reveal!
"It is an hour since I wrote the last line. The interval has been one of agony. Rumors have reached us that the priests insist on Pilate's passing sentence of death on the Prophet. The cries, 'Crucify him! Crucify him!' have distinctly reached our ears. John is now here. About half an hour after Jesus passed he reached our house nearly destitute of apparel, his clothing having been torn from off him by the Jews, in their efforts to make him their prisoner also. He is calm and confiding, saying that his beloved Master can never be injured by them, and that he will ere many hours deliver himself from his foes, and proclaim himself king of Israel with power such as man never had before. May the God of Jacob defend him! John has just gone up to the Temple to getnews, in disguise of a priest, wearing my father's robes.
"I have just seen a messenger passing in great haste along the street, and his horse falling, cast him almost upon our threshold. It was the page of Æmilius, the noble Roman knight, who is betrothed to my Cousin Adina. She hastened to his aid. He was but stunned, and soon was able to say that he bore a message from Lucia Metella, the fair and youthful bride of Pilate, urging him to have nothing to do with the Prophet, but to give him his liberty, for she had just awakened from an impressive dream in which she saw him sitting on the throne of the universe, crowned with the stars of heaven, the earth a footstool beneath his feet, and all nations assembled and doing him homage.
"This report of the page has filled our hearts with joy and hope inexpressible. Confident that Jesus is the Son of God, we will not fear what man can do unto him.
"My father has returned. It is day. He says nothing can save Jesus but his own divine power. The Jews are in number many thousands, and cry for his blood. Pilate has but a cohort of soldiers and fears to use force, lest the exasperated people break into open revolt and take the city from his hands, which they can with ease do if they will unite. 'He trembles,' said my father, 'between fear to condemn the innocent and dread of the vengeance of the Jews if he let him go. Nothing can save the Prophet but his own mighty miracle-working power. He who has saved others will surely save himself.'
"While my father was speaking a man rushed into our presence. He was low in stature, broad-chested, with a stiff, reddish beard, narrow eyes, and sharp, unpleasant visage. His attire was ragged and mean, as was his whole aspect. He grasped in his right hand a small bag, which rung with coin as his shaking fingers held it. He trembled all over, and seizing my father by the arm with the quick, nervous grasp of a lunatic, cried hoarsely:
"'Will he let them? Will he? Will he?'
"'Will he what, Iscariot? Of whom do you speak? Art thou crazed? Thou shouldst well be, after thy deed to-night!'
"'Will he let them kill him? Will he die? Will he die? Think you he will escape? He can if he will! Cords to him are ropes of sand!'
"'No, no. He is bound hand and foot!' answered my father, sadly. 'He makes no defense. I fear he will let them do as they will with him. He makes no effort to save his life.'
"At this Judas, for it was that wicked man, beat his knitted forehead in a frenzied manner with the bag of silver, and with a look of horrible despair rushed forth, crying as he went:
"'I will save him! The priests shall have their money again! He shall not die! If I had believed he would not do some miracle to escape them, I never would have sold him! I hoped to get their money, and trusted, if they bound him, for him to escape by his own power. I did not dream that he would not exert it to save himself. I will save thee, innocent man of God, for I, not thou, alone am guilty! Oh, if I had suspected this—but he shall not die!'
"With these ravings he disappeared towards the Pretorium, leaving us all amazed at what we had heard.
"The sun is up. The fate of Jesus is sealed! The Procurator has signed the sentence of death and he is to be crucified to-day. But, with Judas, I believe that he cannot die, and that he will signalize the hour by some wonderful miracle of personal deliverance. Thus, tremblingly, we hope and wait."
Here terminates, my dear father, what my cousin has written to Martha and Lazarus.
Your sorrowing but loving daughter,
Adina.
Dearest Father:
I have only terminated my last letter to take up my pen for the beginning of another, for I find relief only in writing to you from the deep affliction which has struck me to the earth. If anything can add to my mortification at the death of the Nazarene, Jesus, it is that I shall have endeavored so earnestly to make you believe in him also. Oh, I shall never have confidence in a human being again; and the more lovely, the more holy, the more heavenly the character of any one, the wiser and purer their teachings, the more distrustful shall I be of them.
But I will turn from these painful thoughts and, as I promised in my last, will give you an account of what passed at his trial.
It is now the morning following the crucifixion, and I am calmer than I was yesterday and will be able to write with more coherency. Twenty-four hours have passed since he was nailed to the cross. His followers have been, since his arrest, hunted like wild beasts of the wilderness. Annas has hired and filled with wine fierce Roman soldiers, and sent them everywhere to seize the fugitive Nazarenes. John was especially sought out, and the emissaries of Annas came at midnight last night to the house to take him, but we assisted him in making his escape by means of the subterranean passage that leads from the dwelling of Rabbi Amos to the catacombs beneath the Temple.
Æmilius, though only recently a convert from the paganism of Rome, is firm in his faith that Jesus will rise again to life; and, instead of giving up all, as we do, he says that he should not be amazed to be suddenly told by the soldiers, whom he left to guard his tomb, that he had burst forth alive from the dead!
But I have forgotten that I am to narrate to you, dear father, the particulars of his accusation, trial and condemnation. As I was not present in the Pretorium, I am indebted for the further details which I shall give, in part to John and in part to Rabbi Amos.
"As soon as the mob of Jews who had Jesus under arrest, and which I saw pass the house, reached the abode of Rabbi Annas, he asked them whom they had in custody, and when they answered that it was the great Nazarene Prophet, he said with joy:
"'Bring him into the lower court, that I may see him. By the rod of Aaron, I would have him do some notable miracle for me.'
"And thus speaking, the white-headed old man hastened down to the court, which, on reaching, he found thronged with the infuriated multitude. It was with difficulty he made a passage to where Jesus stood, both imprisoned and defended by a glittering lattice of Roman spears. After regarding him attentively he said, with curiosity yet with sarcasm:
"'Art thou, then, the King of the Jews? Hast thou come to reign on the throne of David? Show me a sign from heaven, and I will acknowledge thee, O Nazarene!'
"But Jesus stood calm and dignified, making no answer. Annas then angrily plucked him by the beard, and a messenger at the same moment arrived to say to him that Caiaphas, the High Priest, demanded to have Jesus brought before him. Upon this he said in a loud voice:
"'Lead him to the palace! Caiaphas, my son-in-law, would see the man who would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days!'
"There now arose a dreadful shout from the priests and people, who, rushing upon Jesus, cried, 'Crucify him!' and attempted to grasp his person, as they guarded him along the streets; but in protecting him, as they had been commanded to do, the Romans wounded several of the Jews. Hereupon there was a great cry of sedition and shouts of:
"'Down with the Roman eagles! Down with the barbarians! Death to the Gentiles!'
"These cries were followed up by a fearful rush of the mass of men upon the handful of guards. They were forced back, their spears broken like straws or turned aside, and Jesus successfully wrested from their power. But in the height of the battle Æmilius appeared with a portion of the legion of which he was Prefect, and instantly charging the people, who fled before the breasts of his horses, rescued the Prophet.
"'Rabbi,' said Æmilius to the Prophet, with compassionate respect, 'I know thou hast power from God to disperse as chaff this rabble of fiends. Speak, and let them perish at thy divine command!'
"'Nay, my son. I am come into the world for this hour,' answered Jesus. 'This, also, is a part of my mission from my Father. It becomes me to endure all things, even death.'
"'You cannot die, my Lord,' said Æmilius warmly. 'Did I not see thee raise Lazarus from the tomb?'
"'To die I came into this world, but not for myself. I lay down my life, and I can take it again. These men could have no power over me except my Father did grant it to them. And what my Father willeth I will also. Seek not, my son, to deliver me.'
"These words passed between them beneath the portico, as Æmilius was loosing the sharp cords from the bleeding wrists of the youthful Prophet.
"'To Caiaphas! To Caiaphas!' now cried the multitude, who had been for a moment awed by the bold charge of the Roman horse, but now grew bolder as some men removedthe dead and wounded out of sight. 'To the palace with the blasphemer! for he who calls himself God is, by our law, to be punished with death! To the High Priest with him!'
"'I can rescue you, great Prophet!' said Æmilius resolutely. 'Give me the word, and you are mounted on my horse and safe in the castle of David.'
"'The High Priest has sent for me. He must be obeyed,' answered Jesus; and Æmilius, surprised at his refusal to escape, reluctantly escorted him to the palace. The windows already glared with torches, and the superb Hall of Aaron was alight with a hundred flambeaux. Caiaphas was already upon his throne, although it was long past the hour of midnight—an unwonted time for him to sit in the council chamber; but his desire to have Jesus brought before him led him to hold an extraordinary court. A score of the elders and chief priests were standing about him, their dark, eager faces earnestly watching the entrance to get a look at the approaching Prophet. As Jesus serenely entered, led by the sorrowful Æmilius, Caiaphas bent his tall, gaunt form forward, thrust his neck and huge head in advance, and with keen eyes and sharp, scrutinizing glances, surveyed him whom he jealously looked upon as his foe.
"The multitude, pressing in, soon filled the vast hall and even crowded upon the rostrum, upon which were seated the scribes, elders and many of the principal priests. The Roman soldiers, with clanging steel, marched in, and arrayed themselves on either side of the High Priest's throne, leaving Jesus standing alone before its footstool.
"Contrasting with the brilliancy of the gorgeous hall and the glittering robes of the priests, surged and heaved and moved below the dark masses of the people, in their gray and brown caps and cloaks, for the night was cold and they wore their winter garments; and all this wild ocean of human forms gleamed with ten thousand eyes, flashing like the phosphorescent stars that glitter on the surface of the upheaving sea when the shadow of the storm-cloud hangs above it, and the winds are about to be unbound to lash it into fury. So seemed this terrible sea of human heads—Jesus the center of their looks and of their hate. He alone, of all that countless host, he alone was calm, serene, fearless! Caiaphas now waved his hand, with a gesture for silence, and addressed Jesus:
"'So, then,' he spoke, with haughty irony, 'thou art Jesus, the far-famed Galilean prophet! Men say thou canst raise the dead! We would fain behold a miracle. Thinkest thou, if we put thee to death presently, thou canst raise thyself?'
"'Jesus,' saith Rabbi Amos, who stood near him and saw all, 'Jesus remained unmoved. His bearing was marked by a certain divine dignity, while an expression of holy resignation sat upon his features. He looked like Peace, incarnate in the form of man! A soft influence seemed to flow from his presence, producing a universal but momentary emotion of sympathy. Caiaphas perceived it, and cried in his harsh, stern voice:
"'You have brought this man before me, men of Jerusalem; of what do you accuse him? Let those who have accusations come forward and make them. He is a Jew, and shall have justice by our laws.'
"'Ye Jews have no power to try a man for his life, most noble Caiaphas,' said Æmilius. 'The lives of all your nation are in the hand of Cæsar and of his tribunals. You can put no man to death.'
"Æmilius had spoken in hopes that if Jesus could be brought before Pilate, the Procurator, he might be by him released, for he knew Pilate had no envy or feeling against the Prophet.
"'Thou sayest well, noble Roman,' answered Caiaphas, 'but for the crime of blasphemy against the Temple we are permitted by Cæsar to judge our people by the laws of Moses. And this man, if rumor comes nigh the truth, has been guilty of blasphemy. But we will hear the witnesses.'
"Hereupon several of the chief priests and scribes who had been going in and out among the crowd, brought forward certain men whose very aspect showed them to be of the baser sort. One of these men testified that he had heard Jesus say that he would destroy the Temple and could again in three days rebuild it more magnificently than it was in the days of Solomon the Mighty.
"Upon this testimony all the priests shouted, 'Blasphemer!' and called for Jesus to be stoned to death.
"A second witness was now produced by Abijah, the most passionate of the scribes, who testified that Jesus had taught in Samaria that men would soon no longer worship in the Temple, but that the whole earth would be a temple for Jews and Gentiles.
"This was no sooner heard than some of the men gnashed at Jesus with their teeth, and but for the gestures and loud voice of the High Priest, they would have made an attempt to get him into their power.
"A third witness, a man who had been notorious for his crimes, now came up. He carried on his wrist a cock, with steel gaffs upon the spurs, as if he had just been brought up from the cock-pit to bear testimony, for such were the sort of fellows suborned by the priests. He testified that Jesus said that the day would soon come when not one stone should be left upon another of the Temple; that he had called it 'a den of thieves,' the priests 'blind guides' and 'deceivers,' the scribes 'foxes,' and the Pharisees 'hypocrites.'
"But the fourth and fifth witnesses contradicted each other, as also did others.
"Such opposite testimony perplexed and irritated Caiaphas and confounded the chief priests and scribes. The High Priest now began to perceive that Jesus would have to be released for want of testimony against him.
"'What! Galilean and blasphemer of God and his Temple, answerest thou nothing?' cried the High Priest; 'hearest thou not what these witness against thee?'
"But Jesus remained silent. Caiaphas was about to break the silence by some fierce words, when a voice was overheard the other side of the columns, on the left of the throne, where was a fireplace in which was burning a large fire, about which stood many persons. Rabbi Amos at once recognized in the violent speaker Peter, who had come in with him and John, the latter of whom, in the disguise of a priest, stood not far from Jesus, gazing tenderly upon him, and listening with the most painful interest to all that they testified against him; but Peter stood farther off, by the fire, yet not less eagerly attending to all that passed.
"'Thou art one of the Nazarene's followers!' cried the voice of a maid, who brought wood to feed the fire. 'Thou needest not to deny it. I am of Galilee, and knew thee when thou wert a fisherman. Seize him, for he is one of them!'
"'Woman, I swear by the altar and ark of God, and by the sacred Tables. I know not the fellow! I never saw Galilee!'
"'Thy speech betrayeth thee, now thou hast spoken!' cried the woman; 'thou art a Galilean, and thy name is Simon Bar-Jona. I know thee well, and how, three years ago, you and your brother Andrew left your nets to follow this Nazarene!'
"'May the thunders of Horeb and the curse of Jehovah follow me, if what thou sayest be true, woman. Thou mistakest me for some other man. I swear to you, by the head of my father, men and brethren, that I never saw his face before! I know not the man!'
"As he spoke," said John, "he cast his angry looks towards the place where Jesus stood. He caught his Master's eyes bent upon him, with a tender and reproving gaze, so full of sorrowing compassion, mingled with forgiveness, that I saw Peter start as if smitten with lightning. He then pressed his two hands to his face and, uttering a cry of anguish and despair that made the High Priest look, and which went to every heart, he rushed out by the open door into the darkness and disappeared. As he did so the cock, which was held tied upon the wrist of the third witness, crowed twice in a loud tone. I then remembered the words of Jesus to Peter, spoken but twelve hours before: 'This night, even before the cock crow the first watch of the morning, thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me!' Upon this," added John, "my confidence in my Master came back full and strong, and I felt that he would not, could not be harmed, for he foreknew all things that could happen to him, and would yet escape death.
"At length, after great excitement and dissension among the elders, chief priests and scribes, Caiaphas placed Jesus before their great council, at their demand. Their hall adjoined his own. Here they, as well as Caiaphas, questioned him closely, and said:
"'Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? I adjure thee by the living God, tell us plainly.'
"Jesus then elevated his princely form, and bending his eyes upon the face of the High Priest, with a look so brightly celestial that Caiaphas involuntarily dropped his eyelids to the ground, answered and said:
"'Ye have said that which I am!' The expression of his countenance," says John, "seemed to shine as he had seen it in the Mount, when he was transfigured before him.
"'Men of Israel and Judah, ye hear his words!' cried the High Priest, rending down the blue lace from his ephod. 'Hear ye his blasphemy! What think ye? Need we any further witness than his own mouth?'
"'He is guilty of death!' cried Abner, in ahoarse voice, his eyes, red with being up all the night, glaring like a leopard's; and advancing to where Jesus stood bound and bleeding, he spat in his face thrice.
"This was followed by a loud outcry for his death, and several vile fellows also spat upon him and pulled him by the beard.
"'Is this Jewish justice?' cried Æmilius indignantly to Caiaphas. 'Do you condemn and kill a man without witness? Stand back, for Romans are not used to see men condemned without law. Back, fellows, or your blood will flow sooner than his for which you thirst!'
"At this determined attitude they gave back for a moment, and left Jesus standing in the midst, sad but serene.
"John ran to him and wiped the blood and uncleanness from his lips and cheeks and beard, and gave him water, which the woman who had recognized Peter compassionately brought in a ewer.
"'Master, use thy power and escape from them!' whispered John.
"'Nay, tempt me not, beloved!' he answered. 'My power is not for my deliverance, but for that of the world. For you I can do mighty works, but for myself I do nothing. I came not to save my life, but to lay it down. Mine hour is at hand!'
"'Let not a handful of Romans frighten you, men of Jerusalem!' cried Abner. 'There is not a legion in all the city. Here we are masters, if we will it! To the rescue! Let me hear the lion of Judah roar in his might, and the eagle of Rome will shriek and fly away! To the rescue!'
"'Hold, men and brethren!' cried Caiaphas, who had judgment enough to see that the first blow would be the beginning of a revolution that would bring down upon the city the Roman army quartered in Syria and end in the destruction of the nation. 'Hold, madmen!'
"But his voice was drowned amid the roar of the human tempest. Æmilius and his men were borne away on the crest of the surge and so pressed by the bodies of the Jews that they could not make use of their weapons. In the wild confusion Jesus was carried by fierce hands to the opposite end of the council chamber, while Caiaphas strove to appease the wrath of Æmilius, who insisted that the fate of Jesus should be left with Pilate the Procurator.
"When Æmilius, aided by the authority of Caiaphas, at length came where Jesus had been dragged, they found him standing blindfolded among a crowd of the basest fellows of Jerusalem, who were diverting themselves by slapping his cheeks, and asking him to tell, by his divine knowledge of all things, who did it. They would also hold money before his blinded eyes, and ask him to name its value or inscription, and when he still kept silence they struck him.
"'We will let thee go, Nazarene,' said one, 'if thou wilt tell how many hairs I have in my beard.'
"'Nay, let him divine,' cried another, 'what I gave for my Passover lamb in the market, and the name of the Samaritan of whom I bought it!'
"'Out with your lambs, Kish!' shouted a third fellow, thrusting himself forward; 'let me hear him prophesy! What, Galilean! silent and sullen! I will make thee speak!' and he let a blow of his staff fall upon the head of Jesus which would have struck him to the earth, but for the voice of Caiaphas, which had arrested in part its force.
"'Men of Israel!' he cried aloud, 'that this pestilent Nazarene is a blasphemer we have heard with our ears, and by our law he ought to die, because he hath made himself the Son of God. But Cæsar hath taken the power of life and death out of our hands! We Jews can put no man to death, but the Romans only. That he hath spoken against Cæsar, and is a seditionist, can be proved. Let us take him before Pilate with this accusation!'
"This speech pleased the people, and, having rebound Jesus more securely, they cried all with one voice, 'To Pilate! To the Pretorium!'"
The multitude then poured out of the gates of the palace, like a foaming and chafing river which hath overflowed its banks, and with terrible cries, which we heard even in our house, took the direction towards the Pretorium.
It was with difficulty that Æmilius could protect the Prophet in safety up the hill and to the entrance of the Pretorium, which he entered with his prisoner just as the sun gilded the loftiest pinnacles of the Temple.
In another letter, dear father, I will continue the account of his trial, the remembrance of which, while I now write of it, almost rekindles again all my love, faith, devotion and confidence in him, for who but a man God-sustained could have borne so meekly all this pain, insult, ignominy and shame?
Adina.
My Dear Father:
This is the evening of the Great Day of the Feast, and the second day since the ignominious execution of him whom we all believed to have been the Christ, the Son of the Blessed. Yet he still lies dead in the tomb! Alas, that one so good and noble and wise should have been a deceiver! Henceforth I have no faith in goodness. I have wept till I can weep no more.
It is now the close of the High Day of the Feast. The slanting rays of the setting sun linger yet upon the gilded lances that terminate the lesser pinnacles of the holy house of the Lord. The smoke of incense curls lazily up from the sky from its unseen altar, and the deep voices of the choir of Levites, increased by those of the tens of thousands of Judah, who crowd all the courts of the Temple, fall upon my ears like muffled thunder. I never heard anything so solemn. Above the Temple has hung, since the crucifixion yesterday, the cloud of the smoke of the sacrifices, and it immovably depends over all the city like a pall. The sun does not penetrate it, though its light falls upon the earth outside of the city, but all Jerusalem remains in shadow. This cloud is a fearful sight, and all men have been watching it and talking of it and wondering. It seems to be in the form of black, gigantic wings, spreading a league broad over Jerusalem.
There it now hangs, visible from my window, but we are in some sort used to its dreadful presence and cease to fear; but we are lost in wonder. This morning when a high wind arose, blowing from the Great Sea eastward, every one expected and hoped to see the cloud sail away before it in the direction of the desert. But the only effect the wind produced was to agitate its whole surface in tumultuous billows, while the mass still retained its position above the city. The shadow it casts is supernatural and fearful, like the dread obscurity which marks an eclipse of the sun.
And this reminds me, my dear father, to mention what, in the multiplicity of subjects that rush to my pen for expression, I have omitted to state to you; and what is unaccountable unless men have, in truth, crucified in Jesus the very Son of God. At the time of his death the sun disappeared from the mid-heavens, and darkness, like that of night, followed over all the earth, so that the stars became visible, and the hills on which Jerusalem stands shook as if an earthquake had moved them, and many houses were thrown down; and where the dead are buried outside of the city, the earth and rocks were rent, tombs broken up, and many bodies of the dead were heaved to the surface and exposed to all eyes! These bodies have lain all to-day, for the Jews dare not touch them to re-bury them for fear of being defiled. All this is fearful and unaccountable. It is known, too, that as Jesus expired, the vail of the Temple was rent in twain and exposed the Holy of Holies to every common gaze! What will be the end of these things is known only to the God of Abraham. Never was so fearful a Passover before. Men's faces are pale and all look as though some dread calamity had befallen the nation.
My last letter, my dear father, closed with the termination of the examination of Jesus before Caiaphas.
Guarded by Æmilius, who was his true friend to the last, he was led to the house of Pilate.
The Pretorian gates were shut by the Roman guards as the tumultuous crowd advanced, for Pilate believed the Jews were in insurrection, and was prepared to defend his palace; for so few are the troops with him in the city that he has for some weeks held only the name of power rather than the reality. But when Æmilius explained to the captain of the guard that the Jews desired to accuse Jesus, the Nazarene, of sedition before the Procurator, he was admitted, with the chief men of the city, into the outer court of Antiochus, and at their call Pilate came forth to them. When he saw the vast concourse of people with Caiaphas and the chief priests, and many rich Sadducees, with the leading men of Jerusalem in the advance, and Jesus, bound and disfigured by the insults he had undergone, and Æmilius and his few soldiers enclosing him with their protecting spears, and heard the loud voices of the multitude, as of wolves baying for the blood of a defenceless lamb, he stood with amazement for a few moments surveying the scene.
"What means this, Æmilius?" he demanded of the young Prefect. "Who is this captive?"
"It is Jesus, called the Christ, my lord, the Prophet of Galilee. The Jews desire his death, accusing him of blaspheming their God, and—"
"But I have no concern with their religion or the worship of their God. Let them judge him after their own way," said Pilate, indifferently, and with an indolent air.
"But, most noble Roman," said Caiaphas, advancing to the portico on which the Procurator stood, "by our law he should suffer death, and thou knowest, though we can condemn, as we now have done this Galilean, we have no power to execute sentence of death."
"This is well said; but would you have me put one of your nation to death for blaspheming your God? So far as that is concerned, O priest," added Pilate, smiling contemptuously, "we Romans blaspheme him daily, for we worship him not and will have naught to do with your faith. Let the man go! I see no cause of death in him!"
He then spoke to Æmilius, and desired him to lead Jesus to the spot where he stood. Pilate regarded him with mingled pity and interest. After surveying him a moment, he turned to one of his officers and said aside: "A form divine and fit for Apollo, or any of the greater gods! His bearing is like a hero! Mehercule! The chisel of Praxiteles nor of Phidias ne'er traced the outlines of limbs and neck like these. He is the very incarnation of human symmetry and dignity!"
The courtiers nodded assent to these cool criticisms of the indolent and voluptuous Italian. Jesus, in the meanwhile, stood motionless before his judge, his eyes downcast and full of a holy sadness, and his lips compressed with immovable patience. Pilate now turned to him and said:
"Thou art, then, that Jesus of whom men talk so widely. Men say, O Jesus, that thou art wiser than ordinary men; that thou canst do works of necromancy and art skilled in the subtle mysteries of astrology. I would question thee upon these things. Wilt thou read my destiny for me in the stars? If thou answerest well I will befriend thee, and deliver thee from thy countrymen who seem to howl for thy blood."
"My lord!" cried Caiaphas, furiously, "thou must not let this man go! He is a deceiver and traitor to Cæsar. I charge him and formally accuse him, before thy tribunal, with making himself king of Judea!"
To this the whole multitude assented, in one deep voice of rage and fierce denunciation that shook the very walls of the Pretorium.
"What sayest thou?" demanded Pilate, "art thou a king? Methinks if thou wert such, these Jews have little need to fear thee." And the Roman cast a careless glance over the mean and torn apparel and half-naked limbs of the Prophet.
Before Jesus could reply, which he seemed about to do, there was heard a sudden commotion in the lower part of the court of Gabbatha, and a loud, hoarse voice was heard crying:
"Make way! Give back! He is innocent!"
All eyes turned in the direction of the archway, when a man was seen forcing his path towards the door of the Judgment Hall, in front of which Pilate was standing, with Jesus a step or two below.
"What means this madman?" cried the Procurator. "Some of you arrest him!"
"I am not mad! He is innocent! I have betrayed the innocent blood!" cried Iscariot, for it was he, leaping into the space in front of the portico. "Take back thy money, and let this holy Prophet of God go free! I swear to you by the altar he is innocent, and if thou harm him thou wilt be accursed with the vengeance of Jehovah! Take back thy silver, for he is innocent!"
"What is that to us? See thou to that!" answered Abner the priest, haughtily, while the eyes of Caiaphas, falling under the withering glance of the Roman Procurator, betrayed his guilt.
"Wilt thou not release him if I give thee back the pieces?" cried Judas, in accents of despair, taking Caiaphas by the mantle and then kneeling to him imploringly.
But Caiaphas angrily shook him off. At last, in a frenzied manner, he threw himself at the knees of Jesus, and cried in the most thrilling accents:
"Oh, Master! Master! Thou hast the power! Release thyself!"
"No, Judas," answered the Prophet, shaking his head and gazing down compassionately upon his betrayer, and without one look of resentment at his having betrayed him, "mine hour is come! For this hour I came into the world!"
"I believed surely thou wouldst not suffer thyself to be arrested. It is my avarice that hath slain thee! Oh, God! Oh, God! I see now it is too late!" Thus crying in a voice of despair, he arose and rushed, with his face hid in his cloak, forth from the presence of all, towards the outer gate.
This extraordinary interruption produced a startling effect upon all present, and a fewmoments elapsed before Pilate could resume his examination of Jesus, which he did by entering the Judgment Hall and taking his seat on the throne. He then repeated his question, but with more deference than before: "Art thou a king, then?"
"Thou sayest that which I am—a king," Jesus answered, with a dignity truly regal in its bearing; for all the time, bound and marred as he was by the hands of his enemies, pale with suffering and with standing a sleepless and fearful night upon his feet, exposed to cold and to insults, yet he had a kingly air, and there seemed to float about his head a divine glory, as if a sunbeam had been shining down upon him.
"Thou thyself hearest him!" exclaimed Caiaphas, standing upon the threshold of the Judgment Hall of the Gentile governor, which he would not enter for fear of defilement.
"He has everywhere publicly proclaimed that he has been ordained of God to re-establish the kingdom of Judah and overthrow the power of Cæsar in Jerusalem," added the governor of the Temple, lifting his voice so as to be heard above the voices of the priests and scribes, who, all speaking together, vehemently accused him of many other things.
Pilate at length obtained comparative silence, and then said to Jesus:
"Hearest thou these accusations? Hast thou no answer to make? Behold how many things they witness against thee!"
Pilate spoke as if he had taken a deep interest in Jesus, and would give him an opportunity of defending himself.
"He hath perverted the nation; a most pestilent and dangerous fellow!" exclaimed Caiaphas. "He is a blasphemer above all men!"
"I have nothing to do with your religion. If he hath blasphemed your gods, take ye him and judge him according to your laws," answered Pilate.
"Thou knowest, O noble Roman, that we have no power to execute to the death, therefore do we accuse him before thee."
"I am no Jew, priest! What care I for your domestic and religious quarrels? He hath done nothing that I can learn for which the laws of Imperial Rome, which now prevail here, can adjudge him to death. I, therefore, command his release."
Upon this the Jews sent up a cry of unmingled ferocity and vindictiveness. Caiaphas, forgetting his fear of defilement, advanced several steps into the Judgment Hall, and shaking his open hands at Pilate, cried:
"If thou lettest this man go, thou art not Cæsar's friend. Thou art in league with him. He that sets himself up as a king in all the wide bounds of Cæsar's dominions, wars against Cæsar, as well at Jerusalem as at Rome. If thou release this man, I and my nation will accuse thee to thy master, Tiberius, of favoring this Galilean's sedition."
When Pilate heard the name of Galilee, he asked if the prisoner were a Galilean. Upon being answered in the affirmative by the excited priests, he said to Æmilius:
"Hold! Loose not his bonds just now! Herod, the Tetrarch of Galilee, last night came up to the Passover feast of the Hebrew God, and is now at the old Maccabean Palace, with his retinue. Conduct your prisoner to him, and let Herod judge his own subjects!"
The chief priests and scribes now shouted with approbation at this decision, for they began to fear that Pilate would release Jesus, and they knew that the vacillating and reckless Herod would do whatsoever would gain popular applause.
"To Herod! To the Tetrarch of Galilee with him!" arose the cry.
But Caiaphas, frowning and dissatisfied, remained behind; and Pilate, glad to get rid of the delicate affair of condemning an innocent man, smilingly came out and spoke to the gloomy High Priest:
"Thou knowest I can condemn men only for crimes committed against the laws of the empire. This Jesus hath done nothing worthy of death."
"Noble Governor," answered Caiaphas, stopping in his angry strides up and down the porphyry floor of the outer portico, "thou forgettest that I brought him not before thee on this charge of blasphemy alone, but for sedition! By the altar of God, this is a crime known to thy laws, I wot!"
"True. You charge a young, defenceless, quiet, powerless man, destitute of money, men or arms, an obscure fisherman or carpenter of Galilee, with setting up a throne and kingdom against that of Tiberius Cæsar, the ruler of the earth! The idea is absurd! It should be treated only with ridicule. So will Herod say, when he understands the affair."
"So will not Cæsar say, my lord!" answered Caiaphas, with a sneer upon his curled lip. "If you let this man go, the Jewish nation will draw up a memorial, accusingyou to the emperor of protecting treason. You will be summoned by the senate to answer the charge; and though you should succeed in clearing yourself, you will have lost your government, given to another, and for your fair name, you will live, ever after, under Cæsar's suspicion."
Pilate turned pale, and bit his lips with vexation.
"My lord priest, thou art bent, I see, on this innocent man's death. I am no Jew, to understand how he has drawn upon himself thy terrible wrath and that of thy nation. I will see what Herod will say, who, being a Jew, is familiar with your customs."
Pilate now reseated himself upon his throne to give hearing to other complaints.
After the lapse of half an hour a youth threw himself from his horse, at the door of the court, and drew near the Procurator.
"What aileth thee, Alexander?" demanded Pilate, on seeing blood on his temples and that he seemed faint.
"But a trifle now, my lord. I was thrown from my horse, who was startled at a burning torch lying on the ground, and was detained at a hospitable house until I was able to remount, which brings me hither late."
"And why come at all? What news sends my fair wife, that she should despatch you from my house in Bethany at this early hour? No evil tidings, boy?"
"None, my lord, save this note."
The Greek page then handed his master a small roll of parchment, tied with scarlet thread. He cut the knot with his dagger and reading the contents became deadly pale. Caiaphas watched him closely, as if he would read, reflected in his eyes, the contents of the note which had so deeply moved him.
"Caiaphas," said the Procurator, "this prisoner must be released!"